"ICOE" Chapter Twenty
Story Universe: the Lifestyles-verse
Series: In Case of Emergency
Chapter: Twenty - Coming Out of Your Skin (20/36)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1657
Disclaimer: Not mine.
20: Coming Out of Your Skin
Mokuba flashed his long-used, laminated identification card at security - breezing through the lobby, sauntering towards the elevator that would take him to his brother's office. A black cell phone was plastered to his ear, and he was talking animatedly into it. "Oh no, no - it's no trouble at all. Of course I'd love to, honey! Yeah, I can get you in. Don't even worry about it."
He took a quick glance at the expensive sports-watch on his wrist, then pressed the button of the floor he wanted and the doors slid together. He smiled at something the girl on the other end of the conversation had said. "What? Of course! Hey, babe, I'm a Kaiba - who could say no to me? Besides, I think Seto owns that block or something."
Straightening his hair with the help of the elevator's mirror, he listened half-heartedly to a long-winded speech of squeals, meant to be an exclamation of joy. "Of course Riku - oh yeah, tomorrow's fine. Well... I had a date, yes." He frowned, remembering Rebecca's flimsy excuse. "But the girl got food poisoning and had to cancel. So I'll pick you up? What time? Yeah, that sounds perfect. Okay. Yeah. Right, the outfit sounds great - I'm sure it's fabulous. Uh-huh. Goodbye." He hung up and clicked the phone shut.
Having successfully set up his entertainment for the following evening, Mokuba sighed happily and stuck his phone back into his pocket. A second later, the elevator 'ding-ed' and the doors slid open. He strode down the hallway and before too long was at Sakura's desk. He leaned against it and smiled at her cheekily. "Hey."
Sakura didn't look up for a moment, but after one more line of writing, she condescended to glance up at the intruder. And immediately gave him her full attention. "Oh!" Respectfully, she said, "Hello, Mokuba - here to see your brother?"
He winked flirtatiously. "You know it, skank." He gasped in mock-surpise at what surely hadn't been a slip. "Whoops! I meant Sakura."
She smiled at him venomously, her eyes filled with a dangerous light. "Now, now, Mokuba - that's not very nice."
"Oh, you know I was just teasing."
"Of course." She went back to her paperwork.
Mokuba coughed lightly. "So, sweetheart, want to tell Seto I'm here?"
"That's it - just tell him you're here? No inappropriate comments this time?"
"As much as I know you love it when I talk dirty, I think that'll be it for today." He watched as Sakura pushed the intercom button.
"Mr. Kaiba - your brother's here to see you. I'm sending him in." She looked up at Mokuba. "Go on in - he's not very busy right now."
"Kay thanks, babe." He laughed. "You know? Anzu hates you - really hates you. I just can't imagine why." He leaned over and cuffed her cheek softly with a single finger. Then, he winked and blew her a kiss. "See you later!" And he walked off to his brother's office, casually and in a way that was intentionally attractive.
Sakura watched, alive to a new possibility. Whether or not he meant it to be, nearly everything he did was flirtatious. Mokuba was probably almost as rich as his brother. And he was attractive. She looked towards the closed door, where she knew the two brothers were talking. Mokuba was a fun boy - he was flirtatious and stylish, and... He was a fun boy.
She shook her head and buried herself back in the remainder of her paperwork.
'Nope. Way too young for me.'
xXx
Not long after Mokuba had arrived, Sakura was off for her lunch break. There was a small eatery-slash-coffeehouse near the office, and she planned on grabbing a quick cappucino and maybe a half-a-sandwich. She was strolling through the lobby to leave when she noticed a very attractive man at the desk getting a visitor's pass for the day. He looked familiar, though she couldn't place him. When he turned a little and she saw a familiar looking cube dangling from his ear, it suddenly hit her.
"Oh! That game - with dice," she said to herself. He worked with another big gaming company, she knew, but she didn't exactly remember his company's name. In fact, she didn't even remember his name.
But she knew Kaiba must have invited him - or at least have known about the visit in advance. Otherwise any sort of representative for one of the other leading gaming companies wouldn't have even been let inside the buidling. She smiled to herself as she saw him slip the lanyard with the badge on it over his head. If this young, rich, handsome man was interested in the company... then what could be more attentive than the secretary to the CEO giving him a tour? Lunch could definitely wait.
"Excuse me," she said, getting his attention as he was walking off, "I don't think we've met yet." He gave her a puzzled expression, indicating that he knew they hadn't met. "Let me introduce myself - I'm Mr. Kaiba's secretary." He seemed surprised and a little impressed. "If you're interested, I'd be more than happy to give you a tour."
And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The tour went very well, and Sakura found the visitor to be an attentive, intelligent listener. "Huh - that was interesting," Otogi said a little later, as they walked out of a lab room on the eighth floor.
"Yes, KaibaCorp houses many of the country's most high-tech labs for testing new games. It's all very electronic and how could I possibly understand such top-of-the-line technology, but..." She smiled at him brightly, looking more attractive than ever. "Countless employees have assured me that we're very high-end."
Otogi laughed. "I have no doubt. This company's quite prestigious, you know."
She nodded. "Oh yes; I'm very proud to work here."
"And you seem to know your way around pretty well! I don't know why you'd say - "
Suddenly, screaming and wailing guitars pierced the pleasant, mostly-quiet atmosphere, interrupting him. "Oh - damn, I'm sorry." Otogi grinned apoogetically. "Um... new ringtone." He pressed the volume button on the side down to turn the phone to silent.
"Oh, that's perfectly all right," Sakura answered. "If it's important..."
He looked down to the number on the phone. "Nope." He smiled again. "Just the girlfriend - I'll call her back a little later."
"Of course." Sakura allowed herself a smirk, rather more sure of her conquest. "Would you like to see anything else?"
"No, I think that's enough shop-talk for awhile. I'm just about tired of KaibaCorp. - this was certainly enough for one visit."
"I hope you enjoyed your afternoon here, though."
Otogi grinned at her. "Oh, I definitely did." Sakura thought, with some amount of certainty, that she had been a key factor to his pleasure in the visit. "But you know, I feel bad about making you miss your lunch hour. If there's a... cafeteria around here, or something..."
"Well, yes, there is, but..." She smiled kindly, almost apologetically, as though sorry to inconvenience him. "The little shop a few doors down from here has much better coffee. And Mr. Kaiba's in a very important meeting now, so I'm not needed for at least a few more hours."
"Perfect! Let me buy you a latte or something." He must have sensed that she had no objection, because he didn't even bother phrasing it as a request.
As they walked, he guided her down the hallway, his hand gently touching the small of her back. He was already in the palm of her hand. "Make it a cappuccino, sir, and we've got a deal."
"No problem, Ms. Kudo - It'd be my pleasure."
She stopped and laid a hand on his arm, smiling disarmingly. "Please. It's Sakura."
xXx
Jounouchi hung up the phone. "That," he announced to the room - and mainly Mai - "was Shizuka."
Mai looked up from where she was digging out old take-out and pizza boxes from under the couch. "And... ?"
He frowned and crossed his arms angrily. "Otogi did not answer his phone when she called."
She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Yeah, thus proving all your bad opinions of him true." She stood up and dumped the contents of under-the-couch into a large, nearly-full trash bag beside her. "Well so what? How many times did she try to call?"
"Once."
"Once?"
"Yeah, just once." He seemed to realize this made his case rather weak. "But that doesn't matter," he said quickly, "because if he's going to be in a serious relationship with my little sister, then he better damn well pick up the phone when she calls!"
"Overprotective, much, hun?" She walked past him to get another garbage bag. When she came back, he was still sulking. "For crying out loud, get a grip! Shizuka's a big girl - I think she can make decisions about the men in her life on her own. Besides, they're cute together. You have to admit that she's happy with him."
"Well I do want her to be happy..." He thought for a moment. "But he didn't answer the - "
Mai kissed him quickly, effectively shutting him up. "Give them some room. I promise you, they're happy. And if anything happens, Shizuka can take care of herself. And just to give you a head's up - from what she's said to me, the girl's a little more than smitten."
"Really?" The prospect was dubious.
"Yes, no stop worrying. Come out of older brother mode and help me clean. How you manage to accumulate so much more trash even when I clean I will never know."
Jounouchi picked up the dust rag he had previously laid on the coffee-table. He thought for a moment. Then he said, "You know what? This would be so much more fun if we were naked."
~~~
Previous ♥ Next
Series: In Case of Emergency
Chapter: Twenty - Coming Out of Your Skin (20/36)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1657
Disclaimer: Not mine.
20: Coming Out of Your Skin
Mokuba flashed his long-used, laminated identification card at security - breezing through the lobby, sauntering towards the elevator that would take him to his brother's office. A black cell phone was plastered to his ear, and he was talking animatedly into it. "Oh no, no - it's no trouble at all. Of course I'd love to, honey! Yeah, I can get you in. Don't even worry about it."
He took a quick glance at the expensive sports-watch on his wrist, then pressed the button of the floor he wanted and the doors slid together. He smiled at something the girl on the other end of the conversation had said. "What? Of course! Hey, babe, I'm a Kaiba - who could say no to me? Besides, I think Seto owns that block or something."
Straightening his hair with the help of the elevator's mirror, he listened half-heartedly to a long-winded speech of squeals, meant to be an exclamation of joy. "Of course Riku - oh yeah, tomorrow's fine. Well... I had a date, yes." He frowned, remembering Rebecca's flimsy excuse. "But the girl got food poisoning and had to cancel. So I'll pick you up? What time? Yeah, that sounds perfect. Okay. Yeah. Right, the outfit sounds great - I'm sure it's fabulous. Uh-huh. Goodbye." He hung up and clicked the phone shut.
Having successfully set up his entertainment for the following evening, Mokuba sighed happily and stuck his phone back into his pocket. A second later, the elevator 'ding-ed' and the doors slid open. He strode down the hallway and before too long was at Sakura's desk. He leaned against it and smiled at her cheekily. "Hey."
Sakura didn't look up for a moment, but after one more line of writing, she condescended to glance up at the intruder. And immediately gave him her full attention. "Oh!" Respectfully, she said, "Hello, Mokuba - here to see your brother?"
He winked flirtatiously. "You know it, skank." He gasped in mock-surpise at what surely hadn't been a slip. "Whoops! I meant Sakura."
She smiled at him venomously, her eyes filled with a dangerous light. "Now, now, Mokuba - that's not very nice."
"Oh, you know I was just teasing."
"Of course." She went back to her paperwork.
Mokuba coughed lightly. "So, sweetheart, want to tell Seto I'm here?"
"That's it - just tell him you're here? No inappropriate comments this time?"
"As much as I know you love it when I talk dirty, I think that'll be it for today." He watched as Sakura pushed the intercom button.
"Mr. Kaiba - your brother's here to see you. I'm sending him in." She looked up at Mokuba. "Go on in - he's not very busy right now."
"Kay thanks, babe." He laughed. "You know? Anzu hates you - really hates you. I just can't imagine why." He leaned over and cuffed her cheek softly with a single finger. Then, he winked and blew her a kiss. "See you later!" And he walked off to his brother's office, casually and in a way that was intentionally attractive.
Sakura watched, alive to a new possibility. Whether or not he meant it to be, nearly everything he did was flirtatious. Mokuba was probably almost as rich as his brother. And he was attractive. She looked towards the closed door, where she knew the two brothers were talking. Mokuba was a fun boy - he was flirtatious and stylish, and... He was a fun boy.
She shook her head and buried herself back in the remainder of her paperwork.
'Nope. Way too young for me.'
xXx
Not long after Mokuba had arrived, Sakura was off for her lunch break. There was a small eatery-slash-coffeehouse near the office, and she planned on grabbing a quick cappucino and maybe a half-a-sandwich. She was strolling through the lobby to leave when she noticed a very attractive man at the desk getting a visitor's pass for the day. He looked familiar, though she couldn't place him. When he turned a little and she saw a familiar looking cube dangling from his ear, it suddenly hit her.
"Oh! That game - with dice," she said to herself. He worked with another big gaming company, she knew, but she didn't exactly remember his company's name. In fact, she didn't even remember his name.
But she knew Kaiba must have invited him - or at least have known about the visit in advance. Otherwise any sort of representative for one of the other leading gaming companies wouldn't have even been let inside the buidling. She smiled to herself as she saw him slip the lanyard with the badge on it over his head. If this young, rich, handsome man was interested in the company... then what could be more attentive than the secretary to the CEO giving him a tour? Lunch could definitely wait.
"Excuse me," she said, getting his attention as he was walking off, "I don't think we've met yet." He gave her a puzzled expression, indicating that he knew they hadn't met. "Let me introduce myself - I'm Mr. Kaiba's secretary." He seemed surprised and a little impressed. "If you're interested, I'd be more than happy to give you a tour."
And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The tour went very well, and Sakura found the visitor to be an attentive, intelligent listener. "Huh - that was interesting," Otogi said a little later, as they walked out of a lab room on the eighth floor.
"Yes, KaibaCorp houses many of the country's most high-tech labs for testing new games. It's all very electronic and how could I possibly understand such top-of-the-line technology, but..." She smiled at him brightly, looking more attractive than ever. "Countless employees have assured me that we're very high-end."
Otogi laughed. "I have no doubt. This company's quite prestigious, you know."
She nodded. "Oh yes; I'm very proud to work here."
"And you seem to know your way around pretty well! I don't know why you'd say - "
Suddenly, screaming and wailing guitars pierced the pleasant, mostly-quiet atmosphere, interrupting him. "Oh - damn, I'm sorry." Otogi grinned apoogetically. "Um... new ringtone." He pressed the volume button on the side down to turn the phone to silent.
"Oh, that's perfectly all right," Sakura answered. "If it's important..."
He looked down to the number on the phone. "Nope." He smiled again. "Just the girlfriend - I'll call her back a little later."
"Of course." Sakura allowed herself a smirk, rather more sure of her conquest. "Would you like to see anything else?"
"No, I think that's enough shop-talk for awhile. I'm just about tired of KaibaCorp. - this was certainly enough for one visit."
"I hope you enjoyed your afternoon here, though."
Otogi grinned at her. "Oh, I definitely did." Sakura thought, with some amount of certainty, that she had been a key factor to his pleasure in the visit. "But you know, I feel bad about making you miss your lunch hour. If there's a... cafeteria around here, or something..."
"Well, yes, there is, but..." She smiled kindly, almost apologetically, as though sorry to inconvenience him. "The little shop a few doors down from here has much better coffee. And Mr. Kaiba's in a very important meeting now, so I'm not needed for at least a few more hours."
"Perfect! Let me buy you a latte or something." He must have sensed that she had no objection, because he didn't even bother phrasing it as a request.
As they walked, he guided her down the hallway, his hand gently touching the small of her back. He was already in the palm of her hand. "Make it a cappuccino, sir, and we've got a deal."
"No problem, Ms. Kudo - It'd be my pleasure."
She stopped and laid a hand on his arm, smiling disarmingly. "Please. It's Sakura."
xXx
Jounouchi hung up the phone. "That," he announced to the room - and mainly Mai - "was Shizuka."
Mai looked up from where she was digging out old take-out and pizza boxes from under the couch. "And... ?"
He frowned and crossed his arms angrily. "Otogi did not answer his phone when she called."
She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Yeah, thus proving all your bad opinions of him true." She stood up and dumped the contents of under-the-couch into a large, nearly-full trash bag beside her. "Well so what? How many times did she try to call?"
"Once."
"Once?"
"Yeah, just once." He seemed to realize this made his case rather weak. "But that doesn't matter," he said quickly, "because if he's going to be in a serious relationship with my little sister, then he better damn well pick up the phone when she calls!"
"Overprotective, much, hun?" She walked past him to get another garbage bag. When she came back, he was still sulking. "For crying out loud, get a grip! Shizuka's a big girl - I think she can make decisions about the men in her life on her own. Besides, they're cute together. You have to admit that she's happy with him."
"Well I do want her to be happy..." He thought for a moment. "But he didn't answer the - "
Mai kissed him quickly, effectively shutting him up. "Give them some room. I promise you, they're happy. And if anything happens, Shizuka can take care of herself. And just to give you a head's up - from what she's said to me, the girl's a little more than smitten."
"Really?" The prospect was dubious.
"Yes, no stop worrying. Come out of older brother mode and help me clean. How you manage to accumulate so much more trash even when I clean I will never know."
Jounouchi picked up the dust rag he had previously laid on the coffee-table. He thought for a moment. Then he said, "You know what? This would be so much more fun if we were naked."
~~~
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