Story: Struck By You

Chapter Two: How To Save A Life

"Some sort of window to your right. As he goes left and you stay right. Between the lines of fear and blame, and you begin to wonder why you came."

-The Fray Lyrics, How To Save A Life

Kagome – Present -

This uppity bastard, he might as well just start calling himself King…

"What do you mean I can't go back to my apartment? Do you know how crazy that sounds?" I asked in annoyance. "I have to get my clothes and other things. I need to let Eri know I won't be there. She'll need to look for another roommate. It's good she found one, but with me gone it'll be hard. They were counting on me helping."

"You already signed the contract, it specifically states that you will remain here and that any outings will be approved by me." He smirked just slightly when I snatched the paper to look at it. I should have read through it more carefully, but I didn't fully understand some of the legal jargon he'd used. He hadn't really left me a choice but to sign anyway…. "If you are overly concerned, I'll cover your share of a few months rent for your friend. You will see her at school, so you can explain you decided to move, just don't tell her who I am or where you work."

"I have to get my stuff too. I will need clothes, and my school books and computer." I pointed out. "I have homework I need to do over the weekend."

"Anything you require can be moved by a team." He answered, remaining purposefully obtuse about my frustration. "I'll have it done by the end of tomorrow and Sunday you can work."

"I have things that can't just be replaced." I protested, crossing my arms. "I don't want some people I don't know handling my stuff. It's a waste anyway when I could do it myself. I already agreed to stay and signed your stupid forms, why are you saying I have to stay here?"

"You don't have to remain; the door is present, and I won't stop you." He remarked, glancing up from where he'd been typing for the first time to look at me. As if challenging me to walk out, and I was sorely tempted. "However, if you go our contract will be void and you will be on your own. You appear to believe that this is up for debate. It is not."

"You are impossible…" I threw my hands in the air, having many other things I'd like to say but hesitating since it was up to him really at this point if I could remain in the city or not. "What am I supposed to do here without my stuff?"

"You have work to do." He retorted looking back at his screen, did he treat all his people like this? "There are groceries in the fridge, make dinner instead of whimpering piteously. I need to work so you'll have to be quiet."

Did he just tell me to shut up and make him a sandwich? I bit my lip and curled my fingers into fists, not wanting to press him to the point that he kicked me out. I'd probably be doing a lot of that in the coming month. It hadn't even been a few hours and I wanted to murder him. How was I supposed to last a whole weekend, an entire cycle of the moon? I'd rather see the celestial body fall on him than must wait it's passing. I stalked over to the kitchen and drug open the door.

"Make it at least vaguely edible." I gripped the door harder at his comment. Was he serious right now? Was this some plan of his to make sure I'd break the agreement and he wouldn't have to give me my recommendation? Was this all some major joke and he just enjoyed playing with people's lives. Probably more that…what else did he have to do when he could buy anything? I was probably just some game to him.

"Don't give him the satisfaction."

Kaiba –

"Make it at least vaguely edible." I watched her body stiffen at my comment. She ruffled so easily. I had to admit, it might be more tolerable being away from the manor with someone to keep up an entertaining distraction. I was certain she had to be a spy, who that wasn't attempting to spy on me would agree to stay here, tolerate the treatment I was giving her.

It also had given me the latest idea I was working on. I'd been too rigid in some of my design structure so far. Making things able to bend so they wouldn't break was a concept I'd of gotten to eventually. Her falling over and breaking my bathroom though gave me the idea to try something a design with a little more wiggle room here and there than I'd been working with so far. The lack of much understanding of how travel between dimensions or time would function made a design that was overly precise impossible. The girl had, in her own way, managed to inspire the idea when I'd been blocked on progress before.

I glanced over to her, but she was dutifully preparing food, her previous annoyance at my comments gone judging by her now calmer expression. She was cutting vegetables and doing general prep for the meal as if she hadn't just been ready to punch me. As swiftly as she let my words get a rise out of her, she also recovered. Perhaps the exact personality I'd need for someone here if she could indeed keep her mouth shut when we were anywhere else. Something I'd need to put to a test at some point.

I rubbed my face and looked back at the screen. I was getting so tired that it was hard to focus but the cold helped a little. I wasn't sure why it was so cold in here. Was the heat or air conditioning broken? Something else I'd have to ask the landlord about. I shook my head and returned to my typing, wanting to get at least much of the theory of the formulae down before I took a break. I was close enough that I could save it soon.

Kagome –

Why did he just set bags in the fridge? Didn't he know he should put them away? I did my best not to think about how to murder my new 'boss' and instead picked out some things so I could make a meal from what was here. Stir fry judging by the noodles he'd picked, and I wasn't going to ask him, he'd probably pitch a fit. He was working on something I didn't understand. Whatever complex numbers and symbols he was typing out was beyond me. I was glad I had finished the math I needed for my degree years ago. I wasn't planning to ever take more.

My first impression on his insistence that I stay here was that he must be a pervert. Now I was less sure, he hadn't really looked at me other than with distain or to order me around in the few hours I'd been here. He wasn't pausing to stare, in fact much of the time I spent cleaning the house up he'd been at that same exact spot at his expensive looking laptop. Working on whatever it was he was doing. Maybe he was just a jerk that did want someone to clean his house and cook for him but with very eccentric behavior. Not that I wanted to give him any benefits of the doubt, I'd still be shoving something under my door whenever I finally went to bed.

What had gotten into me anyway? Demanding a great recommendation, thinking that any of this was a promising offer even for a second. It really wasn't that bad I suppose, the salary on that contract for the month I'd work here was more than I'd make at several other jobs in a year. He wasn't kidding that I'd be able to start saving. I felt bad for leaving Eri, but he'd even offered to cover that. This was so much to me, but it was nothing to him. I had to keep in mind that as much as it sounded great, any moment he opened his mouth I regretted agreeing to this.

I felt taken advantage of, but only limitedly now that I'd had the time to slow down and think more as I prepared. Sure, I'd been frightened, and at the time I felt like I didn't have a choice, but he'd said so himself. I could still leave anytime I wanted. I could walk out and perhaps not keep going here in Domino but go home to mom and Souta. He was limiting my choices but not taking them all away. That piece of paper was nothing more than a piece of paper, and while I couldn't keep on in Domino if I couldn't handle it then I could leave.

Work for Seto Kaiba for a month? It wasn't the best choice, but it was still a choice. Remaining here was up to me, I did believe he wouldn't have lifted a finger to stop me if I had gone for the door. That felt like giving up when I was being offered so much. I'd picked this as a medicine to the ails of my life. Now I just had to hope I wouldn't end up choking on it.

Stir fry didn't take that long, and I had made it for Eri and I a few times when we could afford fresh ingredients. It smelled awesome, and all of this had been bought by him today. I'd certainly eat better here. Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad. I served up a couple plates and put them on the table.

"Mister Kaiba." I didn't feel right calling him that, he was younger than I was. I wish the world had been handed to me as a kid and I had nothing to worry about at nineteen. He didn't even notice, he was just sitting there. I pursed my lips…he orders me to make food he could at least come eat. "Seto!"

He didn't budge, making me pause to consider him. He wasn't looking at the computer anymore, and his head was hanging slightly down. What in the world? He'd fallen asleep working? I guess my thought that he did nothing for his money wasn't correct. He apparently didn't get a lot of rest. I left the food on the warmer and walked over. His eyes were shut though barely visible beneath his brown bangs. Why did he keep them uneven like that? I suppose it was distinctive. He looked less intimidating when he was asleep, possibly because he wasn't talking. Then, I knew better than to think he was innocent. I frowned at the idea of having to wake him but still leaned forward to touch his shoulder.

"Hey, dinner is ready." I commented as I pushed once and then moved back. I'd expected him to strike out at me like a snake or grab my arm but all that happened was one of his hands fell from the desk. I frowned at him. Really? I leaned forward to take a better grip of his arm…but it was very warm. Instead of shaking him I reached up to check his forehead. Then I moved my hands to his cheeks, he was hotter than he should be. He was burning up. Did he just go and get sick on me on my first day? Was he doing this on purpose just to stress me out?

"I told you to stay out of my bedroom." He muttered, his cerulean eyes opening to look at me. He looked disoriented and pushed my hands away. "Get off me."

"You're still in the living room." I let go and stepped back, embarrassed at him catching me checking him over. That's what I get for being a decent person. He leaned back to his screen to start typing again once he'd focused a bit. "I finished dinner, but you were passed out at your desk. You have a fever, you should probably take something for it and lay down."

"I'm fine." He hissed, not glancing up from his typing. "Just bring me some food to the desk. I'll sleep when I'm done."

"I'm pretty sure you have a fever, I did a little training for field nursing before I decided to go into history." I replied, ignoring his assurance and orders. "Stay here. I'll get the thermometer."

He didn't answer, and I found the first aid kit in his bathroom. I had to dust off the top a little. After a moment I found what I was looking for and came back. "Here, put this under your tongue. Thankfully the battery still seems to work."

"What are you doing?" He looked at me when I held the tool toward him.

"You need to see what your temperature is." I replied. "And I don't want to hear your protests, if your poor attitude and bitterness alone could keep away illness then you'd never be sick at all."

"I don't ever get sick." He retorted, taking the thin piece of plastic only to set it to the side of his mouse to continue typing. "I told you to get me some food."

"Seto Kaiba, you pick up that thermometer, and check your temperature." I snapped, hands going to my hips. Of all the things I never thought I'd have to utter, that was certainly one of them. He was a grown man in control of his own company and he wouldn't do this simple thing?

"I told you, I'll be fine. You aren't going to earn any sort of extra accolades by…what are you…doing?" He grabbed my hand when I'd taken the tool to shove into his eternally yammering mouth.

"You could be more ill than you think. Just do it." I retorted. "I don't need you getting worse on me cause you refuse to check, what if I had to call an ambulance?"

He fought with my hands a moment as I tried to get the thermometer in his mouth but our struggle and my pushing only managed to knock him off balance. We both fell forward as the chair leaned too far back. Piles of cards flew up around us as we hit the floor. The thermometer went flying off onto another part of the carpet. He'd caught me as I fell, and I pushed myself up on his chest, staring in surprise back at him. He looked as shocked as I did at our unexpected relocation. This wasn't what I wanted, I started to scramble away but he held me in place.

"Don't." He snapped the single word, scowling at me. "You idiot. You'll hurt the cards if you don't get up carefully."

Of course, that was his concern…

He was still warm even through our clothes and I could feel muscles through the turtle neck he wore since I'd landed on his chest. We were in the middle of most of his cards that had been on one of the tables our fall had knocked over…

"We should just stay here then?" I asked in annoyance. "Let go of me, I don't care about your stupid cards. It's your fault we're IN this mess."

"Excuse you?" Kaiba snapped back, his grip tighter than his thin frame would first indicate. "This is all your fault. You're the one that went insane and tried to assault me with a thermometer. Just back up carefully from me instead of doing more damage you clutz. Then you can help me up, so I can see what got damaged."

"Fine." I just wanted away from him. This was awful. I pushed on his chest to back up, glancing at my feet and picking where I stepped carefully. I had to back up along his chest and then hips and legs to get to my feet, which was embarrassing enough. I straightened my hair and made sure I hadn't stepped on his cards before offering a hand. I knew I was blushing, but his face was red as well. I wasn't sure if that was this situation or just his fever. "Here. Come on."

He accepted my hand and got up gingerly, touching as few of the cards as he could, but there were certainly some that had been bent or slightly folded in our tumble. He was scowling at damage. I picked up the thermometer and handed it to him.

"Just check your temperature. I'll pick up your stupid cards." I shook my head at this scene. It could have been avoided. When I went to bent down and pick up he grabbed me and pulled me up to my feet.

"Do not touch them. I'll do it." His voice was cold, and he was pissed. Was he really this attached to Duel Monsters? He did however finally take the small stick from me to shove in his mouth. He bent down to start picking up the cards carefully, with a gentleness I wouldn't generally consider him capable. I wanted to help but he'd been clear about his feelings to me having any proximity to his precious game. I watched for a long moment, a little unsure what I should do. I jumped slightly when the beeping from the temperature being read finished. He took it out of his mouth to look at it, remaining quiet for several seconds.

"One hundred point six." He commented, holding it back toward me. "You're lucky you were right, Higuarashi."

I looked at the screen, and sure enough he had a temperature. It wasn't as bad as I'd first thought, but it was something. He was still on the floor collecting cards. I frowned at him. "You should stop that and lay down, it can be picked up later. I can make you something lighter to eat if you're hungry, but you should be resting not cleaning."

"I wouldn't need to be cleaning if you had some semblance of reason. Just go make something else to eat then." He retorted, and I frowned at him, walking off toward the kitchen. "Try not to burn down the building."

Did he need to act like that? Why did he even wanna keep me here if he didn't want any help? We wouldn't have fallen over on his cards if he would have just used the thermometer. He was going to just make himself sicker by ignoring that he was ill. I slammed a pot on the stove and dug around his shelves for soup.

Kaiba –

She was touching my face. Part of the reason I wanted someone that didn't really know me was to avoid these sorts of situations. This was not the best idea after all, I'd told her to stay out of my room when she wasn't cleaning it hadn't I? Why was she here? Why was she touching me?

I scowled at Kagome, pushing her away with protests and blinking as I looked around. I'd thought I'd laid down for a moment, but I was still at my desk. That wasn't like me, I needed to finish this, then I could sleep. A fever? Why was she doting over me?

"I'm fine." I replied to her talking at me. "Just bring me some food to the desk. I'll rest when I'm done."

She was talking but I was already focused on working again. I frowned when she held something in front of me. "What are you doing?"

"You need to see what your temperature is." She said seriously. "And I don't want to hear your protests, if your poor attitude and bitterness alone could keep away illness then you'd never be sick at all."

"I don't ever get sick." I remarked. Not totally true, but I rarely came down with anything or stayed sick long when I did. "I told you to get me some food."

"Seto Kaiba, you pick up that thermometer, and check your temperature." Her voice went up as she chided me. Was she trying to play my mom now?

"I told you, I'll be fine. You aren't going to earn any sort of extra accolades by…" I paused a split second, as she had picked up the tool and was reaching for my face. I grabbed her hand and stared in confusion at her attempt to force me to use it. "…what are you…doing?"

She was struggling with me to try and force this into my mouth. What was wrong with this woman? My initial assessment was off, perhaps I didn't need an assistant here at all. What did she think she was doing? She was still going on about my being ill and fighting with me physically now. She was going to…

Too late, I lost control of where I was on the chair and felt the moment of vertigo that comes right before a fall. I had the presence of mind to grab her and pull her on top of me, my deck in mid-planning was still set out. Our tumble backward slammed into the table and sent Duel Monsters cards flying up and around us, fluttering to the floor as we went. I grunted lightly as she landed on my chest and her knee dug into my thigh.

We stared at each other. What sort of hell beast was she? She didn't look aggressive now though, and her cheeks were turning red. The thermometer had scattered off like the cards in the fall so at least she didn't have it to continue her assault. She started to move, but she was going to put her hands on the floor, so I held her, so she wouldn't cause even more harm.

"Don't." I ordered, frowning at her. "You idiot. You'll hurt the cards if you don't get up carefully."

At least she paused, and her aggression had transformed into a deer in the headlights look. Her fingers brushed over my chest as she seemed unable to find a place she wanted to put them. If it wasn't for the horrified expression on her face I'd have accused, her of coping a feel.

"We should just stay here then?" She asked after a moment, her voice distorted into a higher pitch. "Let go of me, I don't care about your stupid cards. It's your fault we're IN this mess."

"Excuse you?" I replied incredulously. "This is all your fault. You're the one that went insane and tried to assault me with a thermometer. Just back up carefully from me instead of doing more damage you clutz. Then you can help me up, so I can see what you damaged."

"Fine." She backed up using my chest to push since I didn't plan to let her use the floor, moving down to my hips and then thighs before pushing herself to her feet. I scowled at her, was anyone this dumb? Even Wheeler probably had more intelligence than this. At least she managed not to step on anything and finally held a hand out to me. "Here. Come on."

I took her hand and pulled myself up with her aid. I did what I could not to damage anything else but their cards that got bent or folded in our collision. It was a dozen or so, but I'd also have to reorganize them now. I liked to work with the cards and separate them when I built decks, feel them under my hands, even if they weren't needed for my latest system. Though I'd have to stick to digitally working on decks until she left.

"Just check your temperature. I'll pick up your stupid cards." She'd found the thermometer and was holding it out to me again.

For her sake, she better hope she was right. If I didn't have a fever after all that, she was going to suffer. She started to bend down to collect the cards, but I pulled her back up. Certainly, having someone without much Duel Monsters knowledge was part of why I'd found her preferable, but I was second guessing that assessment.

"Do not touch them. I'll do it." I snapped at her, putting the thermometer in and starting it.

I leaned down to start gathering the cards carefully, I knew she wouldn't have done the same given her views. I was regretting taking in this accident-prone curse of a woman. At least nothing I couldn't replace had been bent up, but she probably had no idea how much some of the ones knocked to the floor were worth. She was standing there stupidly, something she was gifted at. The tool beeped that it was done I took it out to look at the small display.

"One hundred point six." I handed it back to her. "You're lucky you were right, Higurashi."

She took it and looked at it herself. "You should stop that and lay down, it can be picked up later. I can make something lighter to eat if you're hungry, but you should be resting not cleaning."

"I wouldn't need to be cleaning if you had some semblance of reason. Just go make something else to eat then." I snapped, hearing her walk off. "Try not to burn down the building."

I heard her slam a pot down and go digging for things. Not that she had any right to be offended when she was the one that failed to listen. I would have taken my temperature when I had finished but now she'd just caused a mess for no reason and I wouldn't really have time tonight to finish my formula. Of all the times to get sick, it of course had to be when I'd let a moron into my house. If she was here to spy I needed to be on top of my game, not passing out.

"Here." She'd stepped away from the oven where she'd been stirring while I gathered up my cards and brought me a bottle of water. "You should at least drink something. Just don't gulp it down, sip at it."

Was she sucking up now? Well, she should, not that it would save her from some sort of payback for this stunt. I took the bottle from her, watching her return to the kitchen as I opened it and took a drink. I hated to admit it, but the water was good. I was probably a little dehydrated, it was harder to stay on a regular schedule here compared to home and I hadn't really had as much water as I should since I'd made the move. I wavered a bit on my feet, cursing my own weakness, I'd have to organize these later. The fact that I at least got them off the floor was enough for now.

I sat at the table, tempted to run the bottle over my forehead but not willing to show that much of this sudden illness to her. Was this her doing? I wouldn't put it past one of Pegasus' spies to use some sort of biological warfare. Then, she was helping in her own way, and had no reason to if she had been the one to cause it. She had said she'd originally trained in nursing before changing to her current major, so she at least seemed to know what she was doing. I was doomed to get sick sometimes, and usually it only lasted a day or two at most…

"Here." She set the soup down and put two pills next to it. "Tylenol. It should help with the fever. If you need anything else tonight tell me, but I'm going to bed. Knock, don't come in. Whatever you have, I don't want."

She headed to the room I'd assigned her after the announcement. I couldn't help the slight perk to my lips at her exit. Being amused by her was a sign that I must be feverish…

End Chapter

This fic is a hard one. Somehow writing for Kaiba my chapters end up turning out much longer than some other characters I put Kagome with. I also tend to pause and rewrite larger portions cause Kaiba's a little harder to write for than some others, at least for me. Not that it's bad, just a little more difficult/time consuming than a few of my other fics.

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Thanks for the comments. I am glad some people seem to like my crack ideas.

Shiki – LOL, it could also be I find the most dickish of people to put Kagome with because I'm amused. I would love fanart, I hope you have time for it : ).

KyloRen'sgirl – Your name reminds me of a story I read recently with a girl who named her chicken Kylo Hen. As for Inuyasha/Yugioh. This is my second attempt at this sort of a crossover, though I'd like to think my writing has improved a lot since then.