Despite What You Might Think…

YOU

Dedicated to Meena, the Meaner, whom, though not a Yu-Gi-Oh fan, is a wonderful scenario consultant and an absolutely frustrating beta.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEENA!!!

AN: In this chapter, I've introduced a new POV, which I think will add some depth to this story. Also, I've been reading and I'm sick of Anzu-bashing and the Kaiba "suicidals". Not a happy author therefore not a typical chapter. I think this one is actually light. Scene splicing is minimal…unfortunately.

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"Anzu!"

"Anzu. There ya are! We haven't seen ya all week." Anzu spun around to face her friends. She chuckled as Tristan smacked Joey upside the head.

"Course we've seen her, idiot!" Thus another friendly fight between the two was initiated. Yugi took this opportunity to rationalize their bits and pieces.

"What they mean is, you've been so busy lately," he said quietly, smiling. "What's up Anzu?"

"The usual, Yugi," she replied, "Just the usual." She glanced past him at Joey, Tristan and the continuous fight in the background.

"What've you guys been up to? Packed yet?" she asked expectantly. Suddenly, she felt extremely guilty. She'd been so caught up in Finals, dancing and - dare she admit it - Seto Kaiba that she had almost forgotten about her friends. They were leaving for a month and a half and this time she couldn't go with them. The least she could do was spend what little holiday time she could scrape with them. Which was what she intended to do.

"Yep." Yugi drew her attention once again, "Since we're leaving on Monday we were thinking it would be nice to spend some times together. You know, hang out; celebrate the end of school. After all, it's Saturday. If you're not busy, that is."

Maybe it was just her but Yugi Motou sure knew how to lay a guilt trip. If she hadn't felt self-centred before, she sure did now. Besides, how could she resist those puppy eyes? Yugi might view his height as a disadvantage - something he had only ever told her - but he was absolutely adorable in every other respect. Personally, she considered herself very lucky to have a friend like him. She loved even the other two, with their playful tempers and sometimes non-existent manners. They were like brothers to her.

"Sure thing, Yugi."

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"…If you multiplied by 10, the decimal point should be just in the right place and then…you're screwed." Seto Kaiba threw down his pen and leaned against his chair-back. There was a terrible knot in his lower back from bending over his desk too long and he had a low searing pain in the bone directly under his eyebrows.

It was Saturday; the day right after school ended. It was the beginning of the best holiday of the year. Unlike every other teenager in his class, however, Seto Kaiba was not outside enjoying freedom and sunshine. He was locked in his office, typing away hundreds of lines of code only to find that he had to start all over again. He swore repeatedly under his breath before shutting down his computer and gathering his files.

He too, deserved at least some rest during the holidays. If he had to work this spring, he'd do it home, comfortable and in Mokuba's company. Ok, not all of his spring. But, at least, he could do that today.

He clicked his briefcase shut and looked up as the door opened. His secretary, Ms. Ashiro, was a tall, thin, dignified, middle-aged woman. Everything about her person screamed "PROFESSIONAL". She was one of the company's most respected employees and definitely one of the most valuable.

"Mr Kaiba, you're leaving?" she asked, one dark eyebrow rose slightly.

"Yes," he replied, the tiredness in his voice sounding much more obvious than he had wanted it to. "It's the first day of the holidays. The least I can do is spend some times with Mokuba. Speaking of which…have you gotten any responses?"

"A few."

"And?"

"One has been selected. Although she is younger than would be expected, she is fully capable of handling any situation that might come up," she looked pointedly at Seto. He understood. She continued, "Her age may be a bonus. You said you didn't want someone too old…or should I say, boring?"

"True." Seto stood up and walked around his desk, handing over some of his files. "Cancel the rest of the day." He could have sworn that, had Ashiro's face not been so deadpan, she would have looked approving. He was about to open the door when Ashiro spoke up once again.

"One last thing, Mr Kaiba. You are aware that the Kaiba Corp 30th anniversary ball is coming up in a month?" she asked, sounding almost tentative.

"Yes." He answered, wondering what any of this had to with him. There was special committee handling all Kaiba Corp social events. He never even went to three-quarters of them.

"You are also aware that you a required to be present at such an event. It is a milestone in the company's history." He sighed. It was, after all, the 30th anniversary.

"Yes. Is this leading somewhere, Ms Ashiro?" He was getting impatient.

"Yes. I have been frequently requested to remind you - frequently - that you are required to have a female escort."

He frowned, "A date?"

For some inane reason, a picture of a petite brunette - frequently drenched by the rain - popped into his head. He closed his eyes impatiently, trying to clear it.

"Yes, sir. It is a black tie affair and will, of course, be highly publicized. Your singular presence would not do well for the company's image."

"What the hell does my 'singular presence' have to do with the company's image?" he questioned, no longer trying to bite back his anger. Ashiro, however, was not intimidated. He knew she had dealt with some of the original Kaibas and viewed Seto as no challenge.

"You are young, Mr Kaiba. The sooner you appear settled, the more competent is the appearance of this company's management. Also, it is in your best interest."

"I'm sixteen. How the hell can they expect a sixteen year old to be settled?" he was going to shout; he was raising his voice. When he received only a deadpan look, he relented.

"Fine. I'll figure something out," he said. Just when he thought he had enough on his plate…

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"A job?" asked Yugi sipping at his shake. Anzu nodded.

"Yeah."

"Why?" asked Joey between mouthfuls of burger. He looked genuinely surprised that she would want a job. His reaction when he found out she had already gotten one would be something to look forward to.

"Because it'll give me something to do while you guys are off gallivanting," she answered. She tried to remind herself to keep the resentment out of her voice. She was supposed to sound teasing - not bitter. Just because they were going off without her - again - didn't mean they didn't care. She told herself this over and over again. If only she could sound convincing…she shook her head slightly.

When they came back, she was still going to be their cheerleader, their best friend. When they looked away simultaneously, ashamed because they knew, some small part of her that thought the opposite smiled in bittersweet triumph. She broke the short yet immeasurably uncomfortable silence.

"It'll give me a source of funds other than my parents. If I want a car soon, I've got to pay half. The sooner I can, the better. Who knows," she teased, "you might come back to a fully mobile Anzu complete with wheels."

They smiled but looked as though the prospect absolutely terrified them to no end, which, in turn, made Anzu chuckle.

"So what's this job all about?" asked Tristan. "You a waitress or something?"

"You gotta wear a uniform?" Joey interjected, grinning. Everyone knew how much she hated waitress' uniforms. Every time they went somewhere, no matter how many times they had been there, she could start up a rant about the tastelessness of the garments. Something about the designs made them degrading.

"No, I don't. I'm babysitting…ish."

"Tough luck." Tristan said as the group gave her a collective look of remorse. She giggled lightly.

"It isn't that bad. The kid's like twelve or thirteen and apparently really into Duel Monsters."

"So you're babysittin' Mini-Yugi?" joked Joey. Yugi laughed.

"Something like that," she replied, finishing off her shake.

They prolonged their, "Cool."

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Anzu looked up from her novel, The Nanny Diaries, as her mother opened her bedroom door. Mrs Mazaki was a short, well-figured woman. Many said that she looked a lot like Anzu, or that Anzu looked a lot like her depending on how one looked at it. The difference in their ages was evident however. Her hair was longer, her features more mature, her outlook much more practical. But, by nature, she also had a generally genial disposition.

"Mail." Her mother dropped a stark white envelope against her dark violet comforter. Anzu raised an eyebrow slightly. Who got mail at 3:30 on a Saturday? Without removing her gaze from the page she was reading, her mother asked, "Don't you want to find out about your job?"

Oh. Anzu glanced back at the envelope and noticed that her name and address were in the same print used on the application reply she had received - verifying the date, time and place of her interview.

For some reason, the lady who had conducted her short yet encouraging interview had not wanted to give any details about the family she would be working for. If she were chosen, she would receive word by mail telling her where she was going to be working and how she was going to get there along with how much she would be earning.

She marked her page and reached for the letter. Her mother did the same and Anzu caught a glimpse of the title of her mother's novel, Blandings Castle by P.G. Wodehouse.

The brief letter was printed on the same stark white paper. She was to meet with lady who had interviewed her at the same place, same time, on Monday. She would meet her "charge" there. Great. She turned her face back up to her mother.

"Monday at noon. Can you drop me off?" she asked. Her mother nodded. And opened her book. However, before leaving the room, she walked closer to Anzu and hugged her with one arm. Anzu smiled and inhaled the scent of her mother's perfume.

"Luf you, Mama." Her mother smiled and, simultaneously, they went back to their reading. It was just the kind of relationship they had.

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"Please don't wander off." Great. Just what he needed - to be stuck in some café waiting to meet his newest nanny. Of course, they weren't telling him that. They called her his new "spring companion", someone a little older to keep his company and keep an eye on him. He snorted.

She was probably some fifty-year-old grandmother with rheumatism, who liked knitting, cats and gospel music. He groaned thinking, 'I'm never going to see the outside world again!'

He noticed the look his afternoon babysitter was giving him because of his groaning and snorting. Fine, he'd stop! What time was this lady supposed to meet them anyway? He rolled his eyes, folded his arms and settled himself into properly dissatisfied pout.

It wasn't that he was spoiled - he didn't think he was, at least - it was just such a nice day and here he was, stuck in some godforsaken shop waiting on the arrival latest torture instrument people could find to use on him. Wow.

What he wouldn't give to be swimming right now. Or maybe playing soccer…anything but be here. Either way, it wasn't fair to keep a thirteen-year-old locked up on any day of the spring holiday. Yet, here he was…locked up. He even had to try and look presentable.

The door opened and in walked one of the few people he knew outside of his family. Maybe she'd see him and come say hi. After all, any company was better than this strained, strict silence.

He watched as she scanned the room and her eyes landed on his babysitter. She started moving towards them and his hopes suddenly sky rocketed. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad spring after all.

She finally arrived next to their table. She greeted his babysitter, but not him. Apparently she hadn't seen him. He was hidden rather well considering.

"Ms. Mazaki, I'd like you to meet your new charge, Mokuba Kaiba," Ms. Ashiro said, standing out of the way so that Anzu got a good view of him. "Master Kaiba, please say hello."

"You?" She looked, in a word, flabbergasted. Someone hadn't told her whom she was going to be working with. He wondered if anyone told Seto whom he'd employed. Mokuba smiled slightly.

"Hey Anzu." He gave her a small wave of greeting. She swallowed before replying, very quietly:

"Hi Mokuba."

Mokuba's grin widened. This was going to be a very interesting spring.

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Anzu looked at Mokuba as he chattered away happily about what they could do during their time. He'd definitely grown some over the past half year. Not so much as to be completely different but he had changed. For one, he had gotten taller. When she had last stood next to him, the top of his head reached the middle of her chest. Now, the top of his head was a bit over her shoulder.

When he had smiled at her in the café she noticed that his smile hadn't been the pure smiled she remembered from six months ago. The right side of his mouth was quirked at an angle; his smile shadowed by a developing smirk. Something in his eyes made his expression appear ever so slightly acerbic. Also, Mokuba's soft, childlike features had chiselled out and though he still looked boyish, it was obvious he was no longer a child.

As Anzu reflected on the changes, she realised that mirrored in Mokuba were the handsome features of someone else she knew. Someone who seemed to think she was highly susceptible to rain. Good looks seemed to run in the Kaiba family and, in Anzu's opinion; Mokuba wouldn't have much trouble attracting the opposite sex. It was obvious that, like his brother, he was going to be tall. Unlike his brother, however, he had the added advantage of a much more open personality. Maybe if he just trimmed his hair…

"Anzu, are you listening to me?" Mokuba asked suddenly. Absently, she noted that his voice was already breaking. Anzu blushed. She'd been staring at a thirteen year old! She comforted herself with the thought that it was because he looked so much like…No; that was comforting in the least.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about how much you've grown," she said, leaning over to pinch his cheek in a Grandma-like fashion. He blushed. "By the way, if this is how far your house is, how am I ever going to get there every day?"

"A car. Seto arranged that someone pick you up everyday from your house and bring you here."

Here? Anzu looked out the window, to where Mokuba had gestured. The limo was moving through the high gates of the Kaiba mansion. Through the tinted windows she saw the lush lawns, the decorative trees, the potted plants…the fountain. Landscaping by a genius.

When the limo stopped, Mokuba held the door open for her, quite the gentleman. When she had made her way up the steps that led to the front door, she turned around and saw everything fully.

The house itself was marvellous. Four towering white Greek columns stood on each side of a huge, ornately carved mahogany door. The highlights were French windows. It was beautiful. How could Seto stay at his office throughout the day when his home looked like this? Anzu turned and found Mokuba looking at her strangely.

"Something wrong, Mokuba?" she asked, frowning.

"You called my brother Seto…" he mumbled. She had said that out loud? She tried to fight her blush.

"That is his name, right?"

"Yeah. It is," he replied. Anzu looked away, hoping he would forget it.

"Anyways, let me give you the tour. Stick close or you'll get lost," he said as he opened the front door. "Seto's always saying we have too many rooms. Who wants a house this size for just two people? And here's the living room…"

The next hour Anzu spent in awe. Every room of the Kaiba mansion was uniquely designed to fit its purpose. Each room's theme and architecture differed, from Baroque to Post-impressionist. Finally, Mokuba showed her where they would be spending most of their time…in his rooms. Literally. He had something to the effect of a small apartment minus the kitchen.

Almost everything about the room reflected Mokuba. On the inside of his door was a poster of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. The door leading to his bathroom sported a poster of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Duel-disk systems lay haphazardly around a centre table amidst a large, white, leather settee that looked as though it had been neglected from the day it had been bought.

Although he had a king-sized bed, a huge oak desk - complete with the latest PC, a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf and the settee, his room still had and insane amount of free space in the centre. 'Which is probably where he operates the Duel-disks,' though Anzu.

"And that's Seto's room," Mokuba stated nonchalantly, waving at the mahogany doors across from his. Anzu turned and stared at them until Mokuba asked, "So what do you wanna do first?"

Since she was technically his babysitter…"Whatever you want to."

"Well, I had wanted to swim but since you most likely don't have your stuff, you wanna duel?" She chuckled. So predictable.

"Sure."

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"Man! I can't believe you beat me again," complained Mokuba as he packed up his deck. Anzu simply smiled, clearing off her Duel-disk.

"Just luck, I guess."

"'Just luck'?" he asked incredulously. "You call those combos 'Just luck'?"

"Ok, so maybe I did have a strategy," she admitted. Mokuba laughed and shook his head. Who knew Anzu Mazaki would be so good at duelling? Hanging around Yugi Motou must pay off. It had only been a short while but he'd lost count of how many times she'd beaten him.

"With a strategy like that I'd be amazed if you didn't give Seto a tough time." Her reaction to his brother's name was the same unconscious gesture it had been for the past three days. Anzu's eyes darted quickly across the hall towards Seto's doors and then away just as quickly. Again, Mokuba pretended not to notice so as to not make her uncomfortable.

"I'm not that good," she murmured quietly.

"Come on, let's go downstairs," he said, turning towards the door. "Tomorrow, remember your swim stuff. The weather's great for swimming!"

Mokuba had what one could easily call a "half-hour crush". By the end of Monday he'd realised that if Anzu was interested in a Kaiba, it most definitely wasn't him.

Inadvertently, he'd continuously mentioned his older brother, and, each time, he noticed that it invoked the same reaction. In all truth, it surprised him somewhat. It had never appeared to him that Anzu and Seto had anything much to do with each other. The majority of what few times he'd seen them in the same setting they never even acknowledged each other's existence. But then again…

Mokuba looked up when Anzu asked him a question. She was standing next to the fireplace, which was hardly ever used, looking at the arrangement of framed photographs on the mantle. This was his favourite of the living rooms, Seto's too, and because of this, instead of the various pieces of valuable artwork that decorated the other rooms; there were photographs of the two of them. Centred on the wall above the fireplace, was a rather large portrait of their parents.

"Are these your parents?" she asked, gesturing upwards. He nodded. She continued to stare at the portrait for a moment then she said, "Your Mother was very beautiful."

"She was," he agreed, "Seto looks like her." He noticed that she dropped her eyes instantly. But it was true. Seto had their Mother's brown lush brown hair - a shade or two lighter than Anzu's, her blue eyes and her pale/light-tan complexion. Mokuba also had her blue eyes but he was naturally more tanned than his brother and he had their Father's black hair. Seto's height, however, came directly from their 6'3" Father, no question.

"I look like Dad but I don't have his height. I always thought Seto was better looking than I am," he admitted. Her eyes moved back up to his father.

"Your father was actually very handsome," she replied, "I wouldn't say it was a bad thing to look like him at all. And you're still growing. You'll get taller." Of course she vetoed the Seto comment.

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"Down here are pictures of Seto and I," Mokuba said, coming over to stand beside her and look at the photos, "this is me, when I was a baby."

Anzu watched as he pointed to one of a small, rosy bundle with tufts of black on its head. She smiled.

"You were cute." He blushed and continued.

"This is Seto when he was about a year old," Anzu had to look. It would be too obvious if she didn't. Seated on a couch that made him look even smaller than he really was, was a slightly chubby little baby clutching at a white teddy bear. She couldn't help it; she chuckled. Mokuba looked at her and smiled. Then leaned closer to her and whispered in a conspiratorial undertone, "If you promise never to tell, I'll tell you something about that bear."

"I promise," she replied, curious.

"You swear?" he questioned and she nodded. "I swear."

"Ok. Seto still has that bear." And that was it. Her heart went out to Seto Kaiba in that moment and Anzu knew it wasn't coming back. She had sworn a very long time ago that if she never let herself feel anything for him, she would be safe. She could easily never like him, never care about him.

Now, with her head full of images of him, alone in that mysterious room across from Mokuba's holding that bear whenever he missed his parents, when Yugi beat him, each time Mokuba was kidnapped, she knew she would never look at him the same way again. The picture it painted was so heart-wrenching that it made her throat clog.

"Anzu?" Mokuba asked, realising that she had frozen, "Are you ok?"

She managed to pull together what she could reach of her composure and smile at him. He looked sceptical and she nodded, still smiling. He seemed satisfied enough to continue.

Every picture she saw showed her something new, something else about a Kaiba that she didn't know at all. She almost snorted. Now she understood why he had said she 'presumed' to know him. No one knew him. Seto Kaiba was quite something. A package of surprises - nicely wrapped at that.

As Mokuba moved from picture to picture, Anzu watched that chubby little baby grow up. Although the pictures were few - on average there was one for each year - she thought she could see the changes take place. In the picture Mokuba showed her, saying that was the year their parents had died, Anzu saw that something in Seto had died also.

Suddenly, they came across one she could recognise instantly, a skinny twelve year old looking slightly insecure. Inwardly, she smiled at the thought. Seto Kaiba - insecure?

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Thursday was not a busy day at Kaiba Corp. Seto knew this. So he questioned himself: why the hell was he there? He might actually have gotten a full eight hours of sleep last night if he hadn't hauled himself out of bed to come stare at the back of his office door.

He glanced behind him towards the Domino skyline. It was eleven o'clock. Really, he didn't need to be at work today. Mokuba had mentioned something about swimming too. Within minutes, Seto Kaiba was driving his silver Porsche towards his house.

When he entered, he was greeted by one of the few servants in the mansion. Handing over his trench coat, he learned that Master Mokuba was swimming. Great. Instead of going off to change into his swim wear right away; he made a detour for the pool. He'd say hello first.

"Bet you can't!" he heard Mokuba call out as he neared door that led to the pool. Who the hell was he talking to? He moved closer and heard the reply.

"Can too!" A girl? Strange. Mokuba never mentioned inviting someone.

Transition from hallway to pool was stark. Unlike the plain white hallway, the pool area was spacious and highly Ancient-Western. The entire portion was made to resemble a Greek temple with an Olympic sized, sunken Romanesque pool in the centre. The floor was an abstract tiled mosaic.

As he pushed open the door, he realised that there was, in fact, a girl poised at the top of the high board. As he made his way further into the room, he focused his gaze on the girl's face. He almost gasped. What the hell was Anzu Mazaki doing in his house?

He may not have wanted to believe it, but there she was, in a black one piece that…Damn it, why wasn't she wearing tights this time? Wasn't there something - anything - to stop his mind from going where it seemed to want to go…very badly? As if that wasn't enough, it was at that moment that she decided to knock the wind out of him again.

She dived, somersaulting forward once, her body graceful and lithe, twice with her hair loose and flying and then, suddenly, they made eye contact and she lost her concentration. The last thing he saw were her arms flaying out before the floor disappeared and the water of the pool came up to meet him.

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Anzu had been enjoying her book and the light breezes that passed through the columns of the Kaiba pool area when suddenly, a dripping wet Mokuba had appeared above her and dared her to take a dive off the high board. He swore it was the most exhilarating thing possible. She declined. She was a pretty good swimmer but she wasn't in the mood for diving.

Mokuba, however, seemed to have other ideas. He taunted her and taunted her until she had to. Yes, she admitted it was immature to give in to his taunting but, really, who cared?

She'd gotten all the way up to the top of the high board when Mokuba decided to make his challenge a bit harder. A Triple Pike. Yeah, she could do that but she wasn't sure if she could even remember what it was. All of those swimming lessons she had attended back when her Mother could have sworn that Anzu was going to fall into sea had fled. That was when he started up again. And again, she gave in.

"Can too!" she had called down. Then she had steeled herself, prayed she was doing the right thing, and jumped. She relaxed and made the first somersault perfectly, she did the second one and in that split second, her hair flew away from her eyes and she saw him. Seto Kaiba was walking towards the pool, dressed only in black.

When their eyes connected, she didn't know what happened. It must have been a mixture of self-consciousness and the sudden awareness of his presence that did her in. Either way, she was out of time for the final somersault and tuck and in a horrid position to hit the water. If she hadn't hit at the moment she had, she would have laughed as Seto stepped over the edge of the pool and sunk.

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Seto was up to his nose in chlorinated water. And he was red as a tomato. He pulled himself up and out of the pool as Anzu did the same, grabbing the nearest towel and wrapping it around her soaked form. He thanked her for doing that. His mental morality thanked her.

He was about to ask Mokuba what he meant by inviting people here without his permission when a small fact that had been nagging at the back of his mind from the time he had first heard voice from the hallway. The companion for Mokuba. She was about to say something when he spoke.

"You?"

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AN: About the appearance of pictures in the Kaiba mansion, I thought it would be cool if Seto had portrait of his parents, for Mokuba. and it's kind of a tradition to take at least one picture a year, wouldn't you say?

About Mokuba's age: he's always seemed to me a bit like twelve. I don't know why people give eight year olds so much credit. He's thirteen because I've given him an early birthday while both Anzu and Seto (in this story at least) are born in the latter half of the year.

About the Crush: it was a spur of the moment thing. Will not develop. After all, it only lasted for half of an hour.

Ok, I'm leaving for my holiday on Thursday so I won't be posting until after the 25th. Sorry. Once again, thanks to all those who reviewed.

Reviews, Flames, Comments and Criticism are all welcome.