Atem asks why Seto keeps coconut water in his room, and gets a lecture on electrolytes. She falls asleep beside him after a duel and wakes up touching his face, entirely by accident and with no idea what she's doing. Téa, listening to all of this over a video call, arrives at a conclusion Atem hasn't come close to.
This is a translation of an original work on Pixiv.
Original Title: 03 女の勘
Original Author: 葉人(@Hathor_yuki)
Personal site: https://prideshipping.sakura.ne.jp
Mokuba was in his uniform for the first time in a while, and she remembered he had said school started today. He was wearing a brand-new one because he had grown again over spring and summer. He was in the thick of his growth spurt; with a brother that tall, he had plenty of growing left.
Seto, who had said something complicated about securing degrees and titles, had apparently enrolled at a university overseas.
Term supposedly began in September, and since he was here in Japan she wondered whether that was all right, but according to Mokuba he had such a track record that he had effectively skipped ahead and already graduated, so there was no problem. Was that how it worked?
Over the summer, the one Atem saw most was not Aibou — that is, Yugi — but Téa, and even now they called each other at least every third day.
To Atem she was a close senior in the matter of being a woman, and a dear friend.
When she happened to mention that her periods seemed to be heavy, Téa brought her a thin belly warmer the next time they met. It had a pocket, and apparently in cold weather it was good to slip a heat pad inside.
The physician had told her warmth was good for it too, and she was impressed at how many different items existed for the purpose.
Still, the design was awfully cute, and the thought that this might be how Téa pictured her sat slightly badly with her.
After meals, not the usual chilled coconut water but the warm herbal tea Téa had taught her about.
The toughness with which women got through life was really something, Atem thought, missing the point slightly, as she put the cup to her lips. Note that she frequently forgot she was one of them.
Come to think of it, when she mentioned that the first thing she ever drank in the living world was the coconut water in Seto's room, Téa had laughed a great deal. Why was that?
It was faintly sweet and she was rather fond of it.
Besides, it had been in Seto's room, so it could hardly be anything bad.
"Kaiba. Why coconut water?"
Atem asked, out of nowhere.
"What about it?"
"No, I was wondering why you keep it around. You don't strike me as the sweet things type. Which made me think maybe it's that thing where you're, what, highly conscious about it."
Atem had no awareness of having said anything rude.
She had simply lined up the words that came up alongside her research into coconut water.
Nor was Seto a man to be angered by something at that level. He thought only that she had picked up more unnecessary knowledge somewhere. So he confined himself to a brief explanation.
"Conscious? What are you talking about? It's considered optimal for replacing the water and minerals lost through perspiration, and it contains nothing superfluous. That is the reason."
"Huh?"
"Isn't it my reason for drinking it that you wanted to know?"
He pointed at the bottle in Atem's hand.
"Ah — wait, so you don't drink it because it tastes good?"
"It should taste good. It's produced using carefully selected king coconuts."
"It's strange how your explanation makes it sound not the least bit good."
"What was that?"
"No, nothing. Forget it."
"Too late. Rather past that now."
That snort of a laugh through the nose had once looked like open mockery of other people and she hadn't liked it, but these days he simply seemed to be enjoying himself, and it didn't bother her.
Glancing sideways to check on him, her eyes met beautiful blue ones, and since staring outright felt improper she quietly looked away.
Looking with intent, she was made to confirm all over again that this man had a frighteningly beautiful face, and a build so well made it seemed manufactured.
Considerable specifications. He was in the media constantly and he stood out, so it made sense that he had admirers across the world, and she thought again that the talk of his popularity was probably true.
The women who had fallen for him were past counting, so she had heard. That effect had surely been in operation back when he declared the opening of Battle City, too. Rival or not, what a sinful man, she thought privately.
And then, as a high-scoring point on the inside, apparently it was his single-mindedness. If one accepted a reading in which that meant the same thing as obsession, she could follow it, but calling that Seto Kaiba single-minded — what a mismatch. Something like Obelisk the Tormentor with Kuriboh's card text attached? No. Surely not.
"Heh."
"What is it this time?"
Seto turned a dubious eye on her.
"Nothing. Laughing at something I remembered. Don't mind me."
"Clearly while looking at me. Say it."
"No can do. It's girl talk. I can't tell you."
"Hmph. Is that so."
Her little friends must have put something in her head again, Seto thought, watching Atem.
What they had talked about was something he could learn by examining the security network system inside Domino. He had no objection to laying all of it bare, but it was hardly worth going that far.
As with the suspected cold, if it were important Atem would come and tell him without fail.
Seto said it slowly, almost as though he were courting her.
"Don't keep too many secrets from me."
"I wonder about that."
The meaning packed into it had surely not landed, and she hadn't noticed that he was letting her swim like this either.
He wanted to make her understand that the distance between them was one in which he could uncover anything at any time, but he did no such thing. Nor would he give her the answer yet. Atem would find the answer herself and notice her own feelings. And by then it would already be too late. Without even waiting for that moment — at this stage it was already past saving.
Because that time, in the afterlife, it was Atem who had reached for Seto's hand and asked to be taken out. At that point Seto had won a certain kind of match.
Strictly speaking it had been a dead heat, so whether it counted as a win was unclear.
He wanted Atem to notice her own feelings soon, and he also wanted her not to notice, to sink deeper into the mire.
After all, she was within a distance where reaching out meant touching her easily. Catching her. If he cared to, he could shut her away where no one's eyes would ever reach her.
It was not that there was no frustration in it. He had always obtained what he wanted by the shortest route.
It might look unlike Seto Kaiba, but that was wrong. He already had her. All that remained was to give her freedom, endlessly, and to spoil her.
"That goes for you too. No hiding things."
Look who was talking.
I wonder, was all Seto answered. He allowed his mouth to soften. Perhaps this oblivious creature could be given a hint or so.
He took out a chilled bottle of coconut water and pressed it to the slender nape of her neck, and a foolish little yelp came out of her.
But Atem only widened her eyes in surprise for an instant, and after that laughed as though she were thoroughly enjoying herself.
It was not unusual for Atem to say rude things. By now it was close to a daily occurrence.
Morning. He had unusually managed to secure a solid block of time, so they had played duels until late the night before, spread the cards out for a post-game review, and fallen asleep side by side. This was the morning after.
Atem was touching Seto's cheek.
As always, Seto decided there was probably no deep meaning in it and let her do as she liked, but she started puzzling over something, so he took hold of the hand. It was, as it appeared, slender and soft. This was a woman's hand. Without meaning to, he eased his grip so as not to crush it.
"What is it?"
"I was thinking your skin is beautiful."
"I do manage my health."
"Mm, but the beard."
"Ah. That."
He touched Atem's cheek, where no beard could possibly grow. Brown, smooth skin.
There was no need for him to touch her and he was touching her anyway, which made it a rather large hint, he thought, cupping the side of her face.
Seen from outside it amounted to two lovers being affectionate, but Atem would have no such awareness.
"I am extremely busy."
"That's true. You work a lot."
"Therefore, if I have time to shave, I use it for something else."
"Mm."
"It was disposed of permanently, years ago."
"Huh?! That's — that's the aesthetically conscious thing, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about?"
Once again Atem was saying something rude, and of course she was unaware of it.
It was hardly a word one said to a person's face, but he was used to it by now, and Seto was not about to mind such a trifle at this stage.
"Ah — the cards."
Atem stirred, squirming. She had apparently only just noticed she had fallen asleep. It happened often enough that he had already gathered them before sleeping.
"On the table."
"I see. Thank you."
Atem said it smiling. This was quite poisonous to the eyes. Seto would have liked to take one of those defenceless lips exactly as they were.
He let out a thin breath.
It was hard to leave, but there was work. Seto took his hand from that cheek, pleasant against the palm, and sat up.
If he ever got used to this, it would be more than he could handle. He would surely be unable to let go, and unable to leave.
Which of them, he wondered, was the one without time to spare.
It didn't show on the surface, but the feeling was the same. Until then, she may as well drown.
He touched Atem's hair and ruffled the sleep-mussed strands once. Her hair, too, was fine and soft.
"I'm off."
"Ah. Have a good day."
This time he did get out of the bed, and Seto turned his back and left for work.
Today, too, Atem's girl talk was in full bloom.
"So I'm telling you, he's probably one of those highly conscious types."
"I feel like that's somehow not quite it, though."
Seto's consciousness was, in point of fact, high. As high as KaibaCorp's own advertising face, or higher. But he was high in that way because he recognised himself as being so, which made it a considerably different thing from the so-called highly conscious types Atem meant.
He was a man who, if he did something, did it all the way without holding back. So he arranged his appearance to suit whatever he needed to present at the time. His skin alone was naturally part of that, and so was the way he pitched his voice. Nor did he cut a single corner on the performances that whipped a crowd up.
When he needed to appear on a screen, he took the medium into account. At television size he used expression as well; in close-up he spoke with his eyes. In a sense he carried all of it out with real austerity.
But Atem knew none of this.
So she recounted the highly conscious incident that had occurred, and through the display she thought she caught, for some reason, a glint in Téa's eyes.
Lately Téa somehow seemed intent on pushing Atem and Seto together, so she regretted a little that she perhaps needn't have told her.
Even Atem understood, in principle, that they were a man and a woman.
But while they had slept side by side, nothing improper had happened, and neither of them harboured any such ulterior motive. Presumably. Probably. For the moment she told herself so.
She and Seto were eternal rivals. At least, that was how it stood in Atem's understanding.
Téa's, however, was different.
She murmured a single line, a little exasperated.
"You really are... quite the airhead, aren't you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"This might be hard going even for Kaiba."
"Why would it be hard on him? That would be extremely inconvenient."
"It has nothing to do with his work, so it's fine."
Nothing to do with work, but hard going. Atem hadn't the faintest idea what Téa meant.
Watching Atem tilt her head, Téa was remembering the day she took the call saying she had come back from the afterlife.
A call had come in from an unfamiliar Japanese number, and when she looked at the display the caller was named Seto Kaiba — where he had dug her number up, she had no idea. Given his connections it was no wonder if he knew a contact detail or two, her address, her workplace, even her schedule, and she accepted that much, but there was no reason for him to be calling.
This might be another incident of some kind; what on earth had happened this time? Half startled and half uneasy, she hurried and yet answered fearfully.
And on the line was Seto Kaiba himself, who said only: switch to video.
What appeared then was an aura she recognised and could never forget. That it was Atem startled her further. She remembered the shock even now. Naturally, no words came.
The scene she witnessed afterward was fairly shocking as well. It was a phone call; connecting it should have been the end of his involvement. Yet every time a sound went off or what the screen displayed slipped out of place, Atem called for Seto, and he dealt with it for her.
And Atem, for her part, seemed to be leaving it entirely to him, as though asking for help when stuck were simply what one did. Above all, the air the two of them were wrapped in was far too natural.
None of the ferocity from when they had faced each other back then. Perfectly peaceful.
She had heard on the wind that he had crossed dimensions to visit her several times, but something must have happened over there — she couldn't help thinking so. And as anyone could see, somewhere in that process he must have spoiled her outrageously; Téa could imagine it all too easily.
Even at that point she had wanted to say: you two are already going out, aren't you.
On the way home from the day they all played together, when the passing car collected Atem and took her home, there had been an Atem who was being treated as something enormously precious. He hadn't raised his voice at all, brushed off even Joey's combative words lightly, said only we're leaving, and escorted her to the car entirely naturally.
And Atem, for her part, chose to go home with him as though it were obvious.
There was no question those two had their feelings turned toward each other.
A woman's intuition said so.
Atem was a girl. So why, since then, had she heard nothing about the two of them dating or anything of the sort?
Was it possible she hadn't noticed her own feelings?
Airhead Atem aside, there was no way that man hadn't noticed. Was he noticing and staying silent? But to what end?
It didn't feel like anything so hopeful as wanting Atem to notice her own feelings.
He didn't leave things to others; he accomplished them with his own hands. That was how he had done, one after another, the things no one thought of and could never have achieved even if they had.
Besides, she had taken him for the type who obtained what he wanted by whatever means it took. So it was unthinkable that he was waiting patiently.
If he had something to say he said it; what he wanted to do he did. Feelings he put into words, and gave them shape.
In Téa's understanding, that was the kind of person Seto Kaiba was.
Which was why a relationship left dangling like this was impossible, of all people, for him.
But think as she might, she couldn't work it out.
In the end there was no way she could ever understand what Seto Kaiba was thinking, and Téa gave up on the thought.
