Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Sasae motte Touhou ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

JoeysGal: Well, no reviews yet, but that's OK. Do people not come to mm.org as much as they used to? Anyway, I forgot to put up a disclaimer last chapter so I suppose I'd better do that. For those of you who have read the first chapter, I hope you enjoy this one, too.

 

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! I do this only because I love writing fan fiction and do not make any profits off of it.

 

 

“Sasae motte Touhou”

Written and edited by: JoeysGal

Type: It's just a story.

Genre: Romance/Comedy, mainly.

Rating: If you think you're old enough to handle foul language and a bit of smut, be my guest.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Two

 

 

 

 

I walked home later that evening feeling unsure, a little apprehensive about the idea of sitting down to dinner with this man who was both admired and loathed by the world. Would I become part of the twisted tabloid world if somebody saw me out with him tonight? I could see it now - "Seto Kaiba's New Mystery Woman!" all over the next edition of Hello!.

 

It was almost six o'clock by the time I arrived home, which meant I had just over an hour to find something to wear so I looked semi-decent for this occasion. As it turned out, the only nice pieces I owned would only be good for a warm, summery night. It was, of course, not warm at all. I settled on a pair of black pants teamed with a dressy top. You could never go wrong with black, after all, being that it was timeless and had the effect of making your ass look shapely rather than frumpy. Besides, maybe he would appreciate my European style of clothing as opposed to the cutesy, sometimes radical approach to fashion that Japanese girls often had.

 

Being a European Caucasian living in an Eastern country had its pitfalls. For one, the clothes were designed for the generally short, petite size of most Japanese women. It could sometimes be hard to find anything that fit well. On the other hand, the men more or less thought you were overweight or abnormally tall. I came to know this well, having dated a young Japanese man for a short period of time. Let's just say it didn't end well.

 

Having decided to wait outside my apartment building for whomever it was that was coming to escort me, I thought it might have been wise to invest in an umbrella. As Murphy's Law would have it, it began to rain - right after I had finally been satisfied enough to exit the house with my coiffed, teased and hair-sprayed 'do. Thankfully, my ride came shortly after the rain began. I stared like a stunned mullet as the sleek black limousine rolled up to a halt. The driver exited the vehicle and came to open the door for me.

 

"Good evening," he said with a coy smile.

 

I nodded. "And to you." And slipped inside the elongated car.

 

Sitting alone in the back of this alien vehicle, I started to feel somewhat anxious. I half what expected Kaiba to be in the car upon arrival, but that was not the case. It struck me like a jolt of lightening that I actually had no idea what in the fresh Hell I was doing. Who said 'yes' to random strangers who asked you out for dinner because they wanted you to work for them? Certainly no traditionally respectful Japanese girl. Then again, that wasn't exactly me, was it now? I tried to push my nerves aside and decided to concentrate on the fact that this date was going to be purely for a professional incentive. Then again, if it was for that reason only, why didn't Kaiba just ask me to come for an interview at his offices? Suddenly, I felt a lot more nauseous.

 

**

 

"Enjoy your evening, madam." The chauffeur - whose name I learnt was Soiko - said as I stepped out of the limousine.

 

"Thank you, Soiko."

 

Upon arrival, I realised that the restaurant Kaiba had chosen to partake in this meeting was of an Indo-Chinese style and had to be one of the most upper-class places in the city. I vaguely recalled seeing a write-up in some trashy gossip magazine a while back about this place being one of Kaiba's favourites. Gingerly, I stepped inside the restaurant. Dark maroon and black Oriental-patterned walls stood boldly against the dim light cast down by beautiful, dramatic chandeliers. An aquarium the size of a small swimming pool featured against one side of the restaurant on the upper patio. The maitre d' glanced up at me and smiled as I gawked at the place.

 

"Your reservation?"

 

Startled, I racked my brain. "Uh... it will be in the name of Kaiba."

 

She appeared somewhat surprised, but quickly masked it with feigned innocence. "Right this way."

 

I followed the pretty Japanese waitress to a beautifully decorated table in the upper terrace of the restaurant. Sitting at the table - which was adjacent to the amazing tropical aquarium - was the business God himself, Seto Kaiba. So classily dressed was he that for a moment I thought I felt my knees buckle under me. An insane thought of being underdressed suddenly ran through my mind. Once again he was clad from head to toe in designer wear - Hugo Boss, if I wasn't mistaken. He looked up at me as the waitress pulled out my chair for me. An amused smile changed his features as he studied me; I scrutinized him back, trying not to let my nerve show.

 

“You polish up nicely,” He said in that composed, crisp voice of his.

 

I swallowed. “Could say the same for you.”

 

“Pinot noir?”

 

“Huh?” I asked at the abrupt change of subject. “Oh, wine, uh… I prefer sauvignon.”

 

“Not a fan of red?”

 

“Not particularly.”

 

“You don't know what you're missing out on.”

 

I forced my eyes not to roll. “I know what I like.” I smiled.

 

“So do I.”

 

I suddenly felt tingly. The way he gazed at me with those catlike blue eyes made you think forbidden thoughts.

 

“Would you like to order a starter? Our entrée special for this evening is oysters on the half shell in a virgin olive oil and Bloody Mary marinade.” The waitress, I realised, had returned rather fast.

 

Kaiba skimmed the menu. “I'd rather the tempura Tiger Prawns,” he said, and then addressing me, “What would you like?”

 

“I'll have the giant scallops, please.” I said, being an avid fan of seafood but not so much of raw, squishy oysters.

 

“Certainly.” The waitress then high-tailed it.

 

“So then, about this job…” I began, trying not to get caught up by Kaiba's sapphire eyes. Those eyes could make people do stupid things.

 

“My secretary is taking maternity leave very shortly.” Kaiba replied. “So it will only be temp work. A year at most.”

 

I had to say, I was genuinely surprised to hear that Kaiba actually had a job on offer. I thought, at the back of my mind, that he might just be one of those sleazy rich men who talk shit to get what they want, like the greasy property developers that frequented my work. I couldn't count the amount of times I had had comments on what I was wearing or questions about what I had been up to in the weekend. What the hell did they care? They were only out for one thing, after all.

 

“Suits me.” I replied, sipping my wine. “I don't plan to be in the country this time next year, anyway.”

 

“So I hear.”

 

How did he know about that? “Yokita told you?”

 

“I was curious.”

 

“About what? Me working for him?”

 

“Yes,” Kaiba replied, and for a moment I thought I saw his cheeks colour. “And also how he managed to find somebody who makes such a damned good cup of coffee.”

 

I snorted in embarrassment. “You should just buy a cappuccino maker.”

 

“It just seemed unusual for… someone like you… to be working in a privately owned practice.” I could see he was trying to word my Caucasian-ness as politely as possible.

 

“I am friends with the senior partner's daughter,” I explained. “She mentioned to her father that I needed a job to make some money so I could buy my ticket home. So, he hired me.”

 

“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

 

I smiled crookedly. “Is this an interview, now?”

 

Our entrees arrived. “That all depends on how you take the questions I'm about to ask you.”

 

Why did he have to be so cryptic? “Alright then, go ahead.” I replied, starting to feel a little more at ease. I plopped one of my giant scallops onto the stone grill plate in front of me. It sizzled and crackled a bit.

 

“Where are you from?” Kaiba asked bluntly, looking as though he had been trying to work it out the whole time we had been sitting here. “You don't sound American. Or British.”

 

“Do you speak English?” I asked.

 

“Yes,” he replied, in English. “Fluently.”

 

I grinned, a little taken aback, but not really surprised. Kaiba was supposed to be abnormally intelligent, after all. “Mind if we speak in it?”

 

“Not at all,” he replied. “Now, answer my question.”

 

I downed a scallop. “New Zealand.”

 

Recognition came to his expression. “It's no wonder I couldn't work out your accent.”

 

Despite that comment, I managed to laugh. “My home isn't a very well recognised country, really.”

 

“Do you like it here?”

 

“I love it.” I said simply, because I did. “If I could stay here, I would. But my visa is due to expire soon… And it's too damned hard to get a residency here.”

 

“What school did you attend?” Kaiba asked, popping one last prawn into his mouth before setting his plate aside.

 

“Sakomata College.” I said. I thought I saw him deadpan. “I know. It's not the most prestigious school in Domino, but it's what they call the `sister school' to my old high school at home. So I kind of got set-up through them.”

 

“How long were you there for?”

 

“I came to Japan when I was 17.” I replied, now involuntarily realising that my nerves had completely subsided. “I was only supposed to spend a year here, but I liked it so much that I decided to stay.”

 

Kaiba creased a brow slightly. “Didn't your family have anything to say about that?”

 

Something inside me recoiled. I smiled, though. “I lived with my step-father,” I started. “My real Dad was never on the scene, and my mum left my step-dad to be with some guy in Canada when I was 13. So when I told my step-dad - his name is Nigel - that I didn't really want to come home after a year living in Japan, he said that I should do what made me happy. So I stayed.”

 

“That's… interesting.” Kaiba said after a time. “It's nice to know that not everybody comes from the Brady Bunch.”

 

I laughed. “How about you? Tell me about your family.”

 

Suddenly the maitre d' sidled up to our table once again. “Are you ready to order your mains?”

 

“Yes,” Kaiba said, a little hastily. I noticed he hadn't actually even looked at the menu, yet. “I'll have the braised pork belly on garlic mash,” he finished.

 

“Certainly.” The maitre d' then turned to me. “And for you?”

 

“Uhh…” I hesitated, hurriedly trying to find something appetizing on the menu. Everything was terribly expensive, but I decided to splurge. “The crayfish mornay for me, thank you.”

 

With a swish of her pen, the waitress disappeared once again.

 

“Top up?” Kaiba questioned, reaching for the bottle of sauvignon blanc.

 

“Thank you,” I replied, letting him refill my glass. I gathered that he was deliberately evading my question about his own family, so decided not to press. “Exactly what will my job entail?” I questioned. “Obviously there will be more of a workload than what I'm doing at the moment.”

 

“Yes, I would imagine so.” Kaiba replied. “Basically you'll be typing up reports, organizing my appointments and daily schedule and taking my phone calls if I'm out or busy.”

 

“That's it?”

 

Kaiba smiled, almost cheekily, I thought. “I'm not so great at describing things in great detail,” he said. “So I guess you'll just have to see for yourself.”

 

I sat back, returning his smirk. “I haven't said I'd take the job, yet.”

 

“What will it take to persuade you, then?”

 

“You haven't mentioned any details on a salary, yet.”

 

“Double what you're on now.”

 

My breath suddenly caught in my throat. Double? He couldn't be serious. Then again, he was a billionaire. My annual salary was barely a drop in the ocean compared to the balance that I hated to think was in his bank account. He probably gave his kid brother the same amount for pocket money each week. Back to the point - if he was going to double my salary, I could be home in six months - if not sooner. How could I refuse?

 

“Really?”

 

“Really.” He confirmed.

 

I grinned so hard I thought my face might split in half. “Where do I sign?”

 

“I'll get a contract drafted for you tomorrow.”

 

I sat back and sipped my wine, scrutinizing him. He didn't appear to be joking in any manner or form, but if he was, he was bloody good at keeping a straight face. In any case, this was Seto Kaiba, the richest man in Japan and possibly all of Asia itself, so it's not like he couldn't afford it. I did wonder, though, why he had chosen me and not somebody else. I had a job already, after all. Why not interview people who were trying to get a job?

 

“You look like you don't believe me,” Kaiba said just as the waitress arrived with our meals.

 

“I guess I'm just… a bit shell-shocked.” I said. My meal looked delicious - a whole lobster tail with a creamy mornay sauce with a side of garlic and rosemary new potatoes and soy-marinated green beans. “A lot of people would give their eye teeth to be in my position right now, and I didn't even ask for it. I've never even thought about working for you before now.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

I shrugged. “I don't know… I guess I just thought you probably wouldn't have looked twice at someone like me.”

 

“I can see you have potential,” he said, tucking into his pork belly. “I wouldn't let just anyone work for me. Not saying you're `just anyone'.”

 

I tried to smile. “Well, I just hope I don't disappoint you.”

 

“If you do, you'll be the first to know.” He smiled wryly at me.

 

I laughed and refilled our glasses again. Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad after all.

 

**

 

JoeysGal: *crickets chirp* Ok, so it wasn't a cliffhanger… Would a cliffhanger make it more exciting? Let me know!! Sayonara :D