With Kiara coming over it made Kaiba feel a little uneasy. Uneasy because the last time she was here he had to apply patches to her because of an injury she suffered from being out with her friends.
Seto stopped typing momentarily, seeing his younger brother coming into his home office.
"Seto, when will you finish working?" Mokuba asked
"Soon." Seto said "I'll finish reviewing these documents in an hour or so."
"But Seto...i'm worried about you, you know i saw this doctor on t.v. of a guy that's just like you he works so hard without rest and his siblings were worried if he got sick. Everything changed when He started seeing someone and that really helped him a lot."
"Like what a therapist?" Seto questioned dryly.
"No, I mean he met a woman that he really liked and he started dating her." Mokuba said "As a result, he was less uptight, less irritable and felt happier in himself. So there I will give you the solution to your problem. You need a girlfriend."
Seto blinked a few times letting out a sigh.
"No." Kaiba replied
"But Seto There are thousands of girls practically throwing themselves at you, but I understand that it takes time to get to know one. So..I was thinking that Kiara is a perfect match for you, She's nice, smart and she's our friend." Mokuba suggested. "At least think about it."
"How about this? I'll take it easy on Sundays." Kaiba said changing the subject knowing that his younger brother will keep pestering about his health. "If you're worried about my health I can take half a day off."
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In the car ride Kiara reached in her bag taking out a small roll on perfume bottle applying it to her neck and wrists, she was still in her school uniform so she wanted to at least get rid of the school smell.
'That's Better.'Kiara thought to herself.
She made her way to the Kaiba mansion with Mokuba greeting her.
"Why are you in your school uniform?" Mokuba asked "And what's with the bandage are you okay?" His eyes full of worry, Kiara raised her hand and patted Mokuba's head.
"I stopped by a ramen place after school with some friends so I didn't have time to go home and change."Kiara admitted " Also this is from an injury I got a few days ago, it's not serious."
The two are sitting in the game room, the two playing for over an hour on Mokuba's playstation, after that the young Kaiba went searching in his stacks of video games searching for one.
"Where is Seto?" Kiara asked, glancing around the room.
"He's at his work office," Mokuba said while reading the title of his game."He'll join us soon."
"I noticed that he has been working a lot more lately." Kiara said the young kaiba nodded.
"He works a lot." Mokuba mentioned. "When he gets home he stays cooked up in his office on his computer until dinner."
"That's not good. It's okay to work but he needs time to rest." Kiara said "He can't work in his company all the time."
"I told him that." Mokuba admitted "That's why he promised me he'll take it easy on Sundays."
"Well why don't I check on him while you pick out a game for us to play?" Kiara said.
"Okay." Mokuba said
Kaiba inhaled and exhaled deeply in an attempt to relax his aching shoulders, finishing up the last of the documents on his desk he loosely stretched his body across his desk to relax. Upon hearing a knock on the door he felt himself becoming very tense again.
"Who is it?" he questioned gruffly.
"It's me Kiara." She replied
"Come in." He said
The girl cautiously opened the door. Seto froze seeing Kiara with bandage wrapped around her wound. He tensed up, without a word he walked towards her.
"Who hurt you?" He grit his teeth.
"Oh..it's okay, I was hanging out with my friends, one thing led to another, and we sorta helped a detective find a criminal." Kiara said "The police already arrested him for this-"
"Police?" Seto said "What if they weren't there?! Don't you know what would've happened!"
"I'm fine now." Kiara replied she never saw Kaiba this tense before.
"I wouldn't call this fine! What if he went farther than that and touched you?!" Seto said raising his voice."Don't be so naive!"
"He didn't!" Kiara countered, "Don't get so worked up, everything is fine."
"Just because he didn't! Doesn't mean that others will have a chance to take advantage of you! " Kaiba countered.
Kiara stared at Seto, his body slightly shaking. "Did a doctor check it?" He asked.
Kiara shook her head no and explained that it was a minor cut. Kaiba picked up the phone. "I'll call a doctor to have that checked." He said Kiara didn't protest knowing it would make him even more upset.
It didn't take long for a doctor to arrive. When Mokuba noticed him, he followed, peeking through the door of his brother's office.
He saw that his older brother was in a foul mood and he didn't want to do or say anything to make it worse, so he watched the scene. After the doctor treated the small wound, Kiara thanked him.
"Seto, are you alright?" Kiara asked.
"Kiara, you need to be more careful." Seto sternly said "Men like that will see girls like you as an easy target."
"Thanks but I can take care of myself." Kiara replied.
"And look how that turned out." He said dryly
"It happened so fast and I just froze!" Kiara countered.
"Idiot!" Kaiba snapped at her. "Don't freeze up, you can't let other people take advantage of you!" Kaiba paused, trying to shake off this feeling, he thought back of those marks she had in her arm and another image of her without her blouse when he applied the patches...and now this, he grit his teeth and blurted out. "Especially men, they see a face and body like that...they'll do anything, even take you by force if they want to. So stop being a Dopey naive little girl living in a sugarplum castle!"
Kiara glared at him for that insult she felt that he's scolding her for something that she had no control over, she turned walking towards the door.
"I'm leaving." Kiara said
"I'll-"
"No, don't call anyone to take me home and don't offer to take me home either, I'm leaving by myself." Kiara said softly. "I'm not going to put up with you scolding me for something that isn't my fault."
Before Kaiba could say anything she left his office. Mokuba saw her. She quietly apologized to the young Kaiba wanting to reschedule for another time.
Seto tightened his fists. Kaiba didn't like to admit that he had a weakness. After she had left years ago it was only his younger brother, now he was pretty sure she was his other weakness.
Mokuba bit his bottom lip staring at his older brother. He saw Seto reach for his coat.
"Where are you going?" Mokuba asked
"Out." Kaiba said "I'll be back."
Mokuba ran towards the window and saw Kiara walking out to the gates, minutes later he saw Seto out walking taking the same route.
'He's following her?' Mokuba thought he lit up. 'Could that be a sign that Seto likes Kiara? I'll have to consult my sources with the doctor on T.v. for more advice.'
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Kaiba followed her home. It was the only way to keep her safe, especially at this hour in the night. If anything, there might be another man out there waiting for his next prey. Which is a perfectly good reason to follow her.
Following her was difficult. The girl was walking through the streets at quite a fast pace. She immediately stopped in her tracks, seeing a bush full of colorful flowers. She plucked one up smiling, her cheek rubbing on the petals.
Even with everything that happened, she's still the same Kiara he met years ago. The corners of his mouth turned upwards. He did admit she looked pretty cute. She put the flower behind her ear and continued walking.
The wind blew harshly a rustle amongst the trees, he saw her stop in her tracks. She shivered. Kaiba grimaced at the sight, having the slightest temptation to approach her and properly escort her home.
Kaiba kept reminiscing about the past between them.
'Why do you keep calling me Your Rose Knight?'young Seto asked as Kiara using a handkerchief lightly dabbing his cheek from the scratches he got, a clear sign he got in a fight to defend her from bullies.
'Because it's true You're my Rose knight! Just like that story my mom read to me! I know the story by heart.' Kiara giggled. 'The Rose Knight watches over his beloved from afar and protects her from harm.'
'What kind of story is that?' Seto asked
'The Rose Knight didn't start off as a Knight.' Kiara said 'I'll tell you more later on.'
Kaiba shook his head, wondering why he was thinking of that. Kaiba waited back a bit as he saw her nearing the gates to her home. He watched her draw closer, pressing the button onto the comp. The Gates opened and he saw the doors of her home open. Her mother nearly ran, she smiled relieved etched her face. She lurched forward, throwing her arms around her daughter's neck. The two held each other in a warm embrace.
"Kiara, you didn't call, " she murmured, whilst stroking her daughter's hair. "You had me so worried."
"I'm sorry mom," Kiara replied, feeling guilty for not calling her. "We had too much fun playing games that I forgot to call."
"It's okay, I'm happy to see you here safe." he heard her say, before planting a kiss on her cheek. "I have some great news to tell you, Do you remember Kaleb?"
"Kaleb, my old dance partner?" He heard Kiara say. "Why would he call me?"
"I'll tell you more when we get inside." Her mother said
Sighing to himself, he was happy having peace of mind knowing that she was safe and blue eyes flickered over the large house before he turned his back to leave.
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"Wait...so Kaleb wants me to dance with him?" Kiara said
"Yes, He said it's for a charity party to help raise money for an animal shelter." Her mother explained. "He said that it would be great for the guests to see the two young contestants from Dance junior again."
Kiara nodded in deep thought. Her mother handed her a card with a phone number written on it.
"This is his cell number, he said to give him a call to talk." Her mom said she kissed Kiara's cheek "Goodnight."
Kiara held the card. 'It's for a good cause. I'll leave him a message tomorrow before i go to school.' Kiara thought.
The Next day…..
Kiara told the news to her friends, Téa couldn't help but let out a squeal.
"I can't believe it! You and Kaleb Rippon are going to dance again!" Téa said with a wide grin.
"It's only one dance for charity." Kiara said, rubbing the back of her head lightly blushing.
"When I was younger, I watched that show, and your interactions with each other are so adorable!" Téa reminisced,"especially when they showed the clips of you two practicing! You two have such great chemistry."
"I don't get it. What's the big deal?" Joey said."I don't see anything special about this Kaleb guy."
Téa glared at Joey while Yugi let out a sigh.
"So…"Yugi started. " When are you going to see him?"
"After school, i'll be seeing him in his studio." Kiara said."So I won't be walking home with you guys."
"It's fine." Yugi said
As usual, the school day went by fast, and the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. The small group walked out only to see a small crowd of girls giggling and squealing.
"Eh? What's up with that?" Joey said Tristan and Yugi shrugged their shoulders. Moving closer, they saw a tall, slim male smiling seductively at the crowd of girls.
"Ladies, as much as I would love your company, I have business to attend to." He said with a prince-like smile.
"I think i've seen him before.." Joey muttered.
"Kaleb? What are you doing here?" Kiara spoke up.
Kaleb looked up at the direction of the voice and grinned widely. He walked towards the young heiress, taking her hand and kissing it. That scene made the other girls squeal.
"I came to pick you up so that we could practice our dance." Kaleb said
"That's nice of you."Kiara said, smiling.
Joey,Tristan, and Yugi watched Kiara talking to Kaleb. She walked to her group of friends.
"Guys, this is Kaleb." Kiara said "Kaleb these are my friends Joey, Tristan, and Yugi."
"Nice to meet you."Kaleb said, smiling. The other gave him a polite nod. "I'd love to stay and chat, but we have dance practice... maybe next time we can show them our routine."
"I think that's a great idea."Kiara said she turned to them smiling. "I'll let you guys know when we'll have our routine down to show you."
"Yeah!" Yugi said Joey and Tristan nodded.
"Be careful." Joey said
"Wow! This dance studio is yours?" Kiara looked around in awe. The two were on the third floor of Kalebs studio.
Kaleb chuckled. "After that contest, everything went well." he explained, walking towards his desk, opening a drawer, taking out a few stacks of cd's. "When i got a call from my agent about this charity dance, I immediately thought of you so that this would go well for the animal shelter."
"I'm happy to help especially for causes like this." Kiara said, smiling.
Kaleb smiled softly. "Let's change and start our warm-ups." he said
A Few Hours Later
Kaiba threw down his briefcase as soon as he got home; abandoning it on the living room couch. He really hated today. He went to school. Dropping off his homework only to see Kiara talking to some guy at the parking lot and what's worse is that she went in the car with this man. Didn't they just have this conversation yesterday about this?! She's too damn trusting! Unless.. if..she's seeing that guy? No... she would've mentioned him. He grits his teeth, feeling a burning sensation in his chest. "Just what is happening to me?" he said