Ah, Starbucks, sacred land of coffee beans. Seto sat inside, sipping on, what else, his favored black coffee, relaxing himself. He deserved this, he reminded himself. All he needed was a good, long bit of relaxation. Free of work, free of crazy Siegfried, free of ghosts, just coffee, and perhaps some poetry. Yes, this was going to be a lovely afternoon, he was sure of it.

Humming the Katamari Damacy theme song to himself and half-listening to a phone conversation from the guy next to him, Katsuya cheerfully shook some cinnamon in his hot cocoa. At the corner of his eye, he saw--was that...?--Seto Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corporation. Was this the Starbucks he went to every day? Katsuya's heart raced as he began to approach him shyly.

Seto looked up. ...Oh, no, was that--? One of the mutts, figures. This one sported glasses and messy hair from an 'incident', so it must be the pansy mutt. He tried to ignore him, instead busying himself with sipping his coffee.

Katsuya held a fist to his pained heart. Did Mr. Kaiba just ignore him...? He suddenly remembered that he forgot his drink! Katsuya went back to the counter, and looked at the lone cup. ...It was a warm drink with whipped cream and topped with reddish spices, so it must've been his, right...? He put a lid on it, picked it up and walked briskly over to the young businessman.

Oh, here he was AGAIN. Maybe he should just add a glare over his coffee. "What in the name of god could you possibly want from me right now, mutt?"

Katsuya backed away slightly and focused on the floor. Kaiba's crankiness intimidated him a little bit. "Um, um... I just wanted to say hi... I hope you're feeling better, Mr. Kaiba..."

"...Quite." A sip of his coffee. "Was that it?"

"And, um... even though you're cranky..." Katsuya continued, "and... your brother um, did bad things to me a few days ago... I don't think very badly of you at all..."

"Not that you've even MET me to even be close to coming up with such a thought," muttered Seto. "Well, Mokuba's a horny little thing, so of course he's going to practically want sex from anyone or anything that moves."

With wide eyes, Katsuya blushed and took a sip of his drink. This cocoa sure tasted odd... a little bitter... but still somewhat chocolatey... Oh, well. "Y...y-you've heard of that... Oh, um... I... should have known what I would be getting myself into... I'm sorry about that..."

Meanwhile... the man who was at the counter with Katsuya earlier walked along the sidewalk and took a sip of his drink as well. "Hey, this isn't the mocha cappucino I ordered..." He thought aloud. "He took another sip, just to be sure his observation was correct. "...It's actually pretty good cocoa..."

"Yeah, well, now you know," he added irritably. "Now, what do you want? Because if the answer is 'nothing', I'd much rather be left alone."

Katsuya took another sip. "Um... I... just wanted to say hi to you... because... you need a friend, right? I don't like being alone, either..." Somehow, the new drink made him a little more talkative...

"...Who says I need a friend, hm? Maybe that's just your fluffy outlook on life talking."

"N-no, I mean it! Everyone needs a friend! Without friends, you're lonely, and if you're lonely, then you're sad, and if you're sad, you'd die early..." The drink was quite addictive. "I know it's kinda strange for me to care about people who don't like me, but... We're all human!"

"Okay, see, I've already tried the dying early thing a few times, and that didn't work. And who says I DON'T already have friends?"

Tears formed in Katsuya's eyes. "Y-y...you have...?" A sniffle. "Something must be wrong with you! Everything will be all right, I promise! And... can I meet your friends? Pretty please? Or, can you tell them I said hi?" Katsuya would have never been this bold to a stranger. It must've been the new drink...

...Facepalm. So much for his peaceful, relaxing afternoon. "You're a thick one, aren't you? DO NOT insinuate that there's something wrong with me--here's a hint: nobody likes being called crazy. And I don't care if you meet my 'friends' or not."

"I... I'm sorry... But I didn't say you were crazy. You just need to be happy!" By now, the two were stared at by the other patrons.

How damned peachy. How utterly embarrassing. "...I don't NEED anything but a nice afternoon by myself to unwind, and you're not helping with that, mutt."

Katsuya took another sip of his slightly bitter drink. "You just want to be alone...?" It cooled a little, allowing him to gulp some of it down. "Well, I want to play! And, I don't see the rest of my friends here right now... I know I should find them, but... you'll have to do!" At this moment, one would say that he had switched personalities with Mana.

He raised an eyebrow. "...What...the FUCK...is wrong with you? Don't make me douse you with the rest of my coffee."

Katsuya suddenly gasped and covered his ears. "...Please don't say that word ever again!"

"...What word?"

"...Th-that word. I know Mr. Bakura says it a lot... The one that started with..." He trailed off, too modest to say it himself.

"...Whatever."

"Just, um... try not to swear again, okay? It's not good for you."

"It's good for me. And others so they know how I feel. Makes me feel a whole hell of a lot better sometimes."

"Y-you... just said the name of the place that Anzu-chan always talks about..." Katsuya blinked, drinking modestly.

"...Wow, big whoop. Hell, hell, hell, not that I believe in what that bitch says, anyway..."

"STOP SAYING THOSE THINGS!!!" Now, everyone gaped at Katsuya and Kaiba.

...Oh dear god, I hate BOTH of these damn mutts, fuck it... "Oh, please, will you get a grip on yourself? You're about as emotionally sound as Ryou."

"What's wrong with Ryooooou?! He's a nice guy, and I'm a nice guy, too!" Katsuya gripped Mr. Kaiba's jacket. "Please give my friends and I a chance! We'll do anything!!!"

"..." He blinked once, clearly unamused by all of this. "Get," he began in a growl, "your fucking hands OFF of me before I cut them off."

Katsuya immediately let go of Kaiba's jacket. "I'llbegoodI'llbegood!" Katsuya babbled. "Just please don't hurt me, and please, pleeeeease don't say that horrible F-word again!"

"...Wow, you're a wuss. Fuuuuuck," he taunted with a roll of his eyes. "Now shoo and leave me to my damn coffee."

Katsuya covered his ears once more and cried so loudly that anyone within a fifty-yard radius could hear.

"...Oh, what the fucking hell is wrong with you people..." He stood up and stode over to the counter, placing another order. A few moments later, Seto was pouring cold water onto Katsuya. "There, you calmed down? Or did that make it worse? Either way, leave me alone."

Choking a sob, Katsuya managed to say, "W-why are you being so mean...?" He sniffed. "I... I just want to help..."

"Well, you're not." He sat back in his seat, propping his feet up on another chair. "All you're doing is ruining my good afternoon."

"I... I failed in making you happy..." Katsuya whimpered. "...If I leave you alone, I... guess that'd make you happier, but I might not finally get to see you smile..."

"...Heh. Heheheheh...you? Seeing me smile? The closest you'll get is a smirk like this." He did so. "Why would I ever be happy around one of the mutts? Neither of which I consider anything even remotely close to a 'friend'."

"That's being very rude, Mr. Kaiba," Katsuya replied, still sniffling. "You won't have any friends if you keep on acting like that..."

"I have enough friends. And I don't need people like you wanting to be my friend." He facepalmed again. "God, can you not see that I find you ANNOYING as hell, not lovable and fluffy?"

"I'm sorry... I just thought I would make you a bit happier..." murmured Katsuya. "Maybe... if you took a nap, you'd be less cranky...?" He took a final glug of his drink and tossed it in the garbage. "Or... maybe I should sing for you! I like music! Everyone likes music! Laaaaaa~ lalala-lala-la-la-lala-la-lalalaaaaaaaaa~...!"

"OH DEAR GOD STOP THAT HORRID SOUND OF CATS DYING! Do you WANT me to seriously pour the rest of my hot coffee all over you, because that'd really piss me off, because then I'd have to buy another."

"You don't have to be so MEAN, you MEANIE!!!" Katsuya raspberried at Kaiba. "I don't sound like cats dying! Dying kitties are hoooooriblllllllle!!"

"Which is exactly how you sound."

"No, I dooooooon't!!!" He wailed. "You're just mad because YOU don't ever sing!"

"Who says I don't?" he teased. "You don't even know the first thing about me personally, so maybe I sing in a church choir, and you'd never even know it."

"Oh yeah? PROVE IT!!! I bet you're an even crummier singer!!" Katsuya stuck his tongue out at Kaiba.

"I can get a fork, y'know," he threatened. "I can grab one right now and stick it through your tongue and onto the table." Another sip. "You are a sucky, pathetic, disgusting excuse for a human being, you know that, right?"

"GOSH, YOU'RE SO DARN MEAN!!!" Katsuya threw a fit and rambled along. "Why do you threaten people?! You know that's not nice! You're not being a very good boy, Mr. Kaiba, and good boys don't get their allowance! Do you get paid for being mean? No, you shouldn't! You may have a lot of money for no good reason, but I bet all of your friends are imaginary; not real like mine! You don't have courage to make friends, and you're taking all that out on poor little ME! You stop being such a whiny little pain or I'll--AAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!" Katsuya fell to the floor, clutching his throbbing head.

Okay, that had been really annoying, but that was just...morbidly amusing. "Wow. Talk about mood swings." He nudged Katsuya with his foot. "Dude, did you go all psychotic on me? They always seem to..."

"Th-that was coffee..." Katsuya muttered. "I shouldn't drink coffee anymore... I'm so sorry for acting like that..." He meekly looked up at the CEO, who was glaring at him. "M-m-maybe... you should stop drinking coffee, if it makes you cranky..."

"Coffee is the drink of the gods, in my opinion. No wonder you went crazy. Doubt it was black, else I'm sure you would've hated it. I like it, and it's full of caffeine, so I don't happen to care what you think of me or my coffee." He blinked and tilted his head. "If you didn't want coffee, why did you come into a Starbucks, of all places?"

"I ordered hot cocoa...!" Katsuya exclaimed. "I think that one guy took my cocoa... But I liked his drink, too... a little..."

"Hn. Too bad for you. Now get up off the floor and stop degrading yourself even further."

Still kneeling on the floor, Katsuya bowed. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Kaiba... Please don't be mad anymore; I apologized!!"

"...I thought I said stop degrading yourself. Do you have some strange need to do so without end or something?"

Katsuya slowly stood up. He wobbled just a little. "Do you forgive me, Mr. Kaiba? I'll forgive you..."

"Forgive you for acting like a moron?" He sat back down and scoffed. "Nope. Which means I don't forgive most of the world for anything, but whatever."

"I'd... I'd still forgive you... for acting like a meanie!" Katsuya started bawling again.

"Wow. That means so much to me, you have no idea. Will you PLEASE get out of my sight, or at least away from me?"

"...Okay..." Katsuya stopped crying and began to shuffle away. "...I'll go..." He turned the opposite direction, but he made a sudden stop. "Could you pretty please do me a favor, Mr. Kaiba? Please take a nap when you can. Trust me, you'll feel lots better." Katsuya walked away briskly, humming another cheerful song.