Title: All Silent and All White- Prologue
Author: Arasoi
Rating: R for language and adult situations
Pairing(s): Jou/Seto
Beta: Samurai Ashes and Kichara
Spoilers: Vague references here and there, including the end of the series
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, and I am not making money off this fan work.
Summary: 5 years later, a Christmas in Tokyo creates all new possibilities for two former classmates.
Author's Notes: This fic was originally written for the Lair's Christmas challenge, but wasn't finished in time. The challenge had a list of items that had to be included in the fics, so if you were wondering about any weird items or scenes, it's most likely one of those. As always, Japanese names, but Western order. Thanks to my betas- any remaining flaws are my fault. And yes, I do find it amusing that I'm posting a Christmas fic in July. :)
"No soul is desolate as long as there is a human being for whom it can feel trust and reverence.
What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?"
-George Eliot
Mokuba Kaiba, the Vice-President of Kaiba Corp. and most powerful teenager in Japan, sat in the back of the company's limo and sighed.
It was early December, and already he was feeling the crush of the oncoming holidays. With the rapid spread of Christmas traditions throughout Japan over the last few decades, Kaiba Corporation decided to push the holiday in order to boost sales. With Industrial Illusions celebrating the 10th anniversary of Duel Monsters, the PR department decided that a Christmas tournament in Tokyo was the perfect promotional tool. Surprisingly, Seto had agreed, and the largest Duel Monsters event in years had been born.
While Mokuba had been happy to see his brother involved in his first love again, it had practically doubled both of their workloads. Between that and his schoolwork, he was nearly running on empty. But that wasn't even the thing that worried him the most…
Earlier that day, he had received a call from Ryuugi Otogi. With a lot of their old friends flying in for Kaiba's Christmas tournament, Ryuuji had decided that a gathering was in order. A business associate of his owned a small inn north of Tokyo, and he offered it up for the week after the tournament for a vacation. There was even a gift exchange planned. There was only one problem…
Pressing his forehead against the cold glass of the window, Mokuba watched as his breath fogged against it. Getting Seto to come with him was going to be like pulling teeth. While his brother had relaxed a lot since his high school days, he was still a workaholic and very skittish around people…especially people who professed friendship.
Mokuba supposed it was an issue of trust, and thus, hard for Seto to overcome. Still, he felt that Yuugi and the others had more than proven that they were trustworthy.
Honestly, he was concerned about his brother. He was going to be graduating from high school soon, and next year, he was off to college. True, Tokyo University was close enough for frequent visits, but they would both be busy, and he was afraid that a little visit here or there wouldn't be sufficient. Seto was already isolated enough- without his little brother's constant prodding, he was just sure that Seto would completely shut himself off from the rest of the world.
This holiday season might be his last chance to get Seto to forge some friendships. They had argued countless times about Yuugi and the gang, but Seto remained almost obsessively stubborn about being anything other than polite acquaintances. In the past, Mokuba had tried everything from whining and begging to plotting and planning, and while he had managed to get Seto to some parties and other social gatherings, his brother had always returned with the same opinion and never really given friendship a fair chance.
Mokuba knew better now. The quickest way to get Seto to dig in his heels and refuse to do something was to try and manipulate him into it- he was far too clever to be fooled. The best he could do was hope that Seto would come on the trip, and maybe, after all these years, he would be ready for companionship…
All Silent and All White
Prologue
As the limousine pulled up to the front of the Kaiba Corp. building, Mokuba gathered his briefcase and put his wool gathering away. Running his hands through his short, black hair, he stepped out of the car with a nod to the driver. He turned around and blinked at the sight that greeted him.
The normally immaculate and efficient entrance to Kaiba Corp. had erupted into chaos. There were people running around and shouting and…was that a TREE shoved into the doors? Perplexed, Mokuba walked up to the door and tapped the shoulder of a Kaiba Corp. security guard.
"What's going on?" he asked.
The guard didn't bother to turn around as he answered. "Isn't it obvious? There's a big fucking tree stuck in the door. If Mr. Kaiba finds out about this…HEY! STOP PULLING ON IT! IT NEEDS TO GO IN, NOT OUT!" The guard turned around, lifting his hat to wipe at his brow as he cursed under his breath. "…Bunch of retarded morons…"
He stopped cold when he saw whom he had been talking to. Mokuba smirked a little to himself as all the color drained from the man's face. There were times when he really loved the effect that being a Kaiba had on people. "Ahhh…I mean…good afternoon, Mr. Kaiba."
"Good afternoon. Is that the tree that's suppose to go into the lobby?" The guard nodded. "Well, I guess I'll be going in the back entrance today, huh?" The guard nodded again, standing tall and at attention, and obviously afraid to open his mouth, lest he stick his foot in it again. "I'll assume you all have this under control, and that it will be solved before my brother finds out…if he hasn't heard about it already."
"Yes, sir!" the guard said. Without another word, the man ran back to the entrance, yelling with a newfound passion for his job. Mokuba shook his head. After some of the things he had witnessed in his short life, nothing really surprised him anymore.
Ten minutes later, he was standing outside his brother's office door. His secretary was gone, which meant he had probably sent her out on an errand. Mokuba paused outside the door and took a second to send up a quick prayer that today was a good day.
When he was a kid, he found his brother's fits of rage to be nothing special, he had them so frequently. Hell, sometimes he had even found them amusing, especially when that brutal rancor had been turned on someone deserving. Now, it found them trying and often headache-inducing. They always got less work done on the days Seto had his episodes. He took a deep breath, then threw open the door to his brother's office, and immediately winced at the sight that greeted him.
Bad day. Very bad day.
The normally immaculate office was ransacked- it looked as if Christmas had exploded all over Seto Kaiba. Not to mention his desk…the chair…the finely carpeted floor…
Apparently, since Kaiba Corp. had announced their commitment to Christmas, Christmas had decided to attach itself to the CEO. There were presents, probably from employees, stacked up in one corner, ignored, abandoned, and still wrapped. Around his brother's desk, there were various decoration samples from companies hoping to sponsor the tournament, as well as gift baskets and tins. And…was that a Christmas card propped up against the window? Mokuba was impressed- it was at least 4 feet tall, and looked to be bigger than Yuugi.
In the middle of it all, like a reluctant king of a kingdom gone mad, stood Seto Kaiba, bent over his cluttered desk, yelling in a phone with one hand while furiously writing with the other. Mokuba crept into the room, shutting the door behind him as quietly as possible. His brother glanced up, saw that it was him, and went back to writing.
"For the last time, I'm not interested in excuses. That typo made our company look unprofessional and unintelligent," Kaiba complained in a clipped manner. There was a pause, where the other party was saying something- something that Kaiba obviously didn't want to hear.
"No. Unacceptable. Here's what's going to happen. You will re-run the ad for free, place an apology in your corrections section, and give us a 50 discount on the next ad we place with you…IF we decide to do business with your company again. I'm transferring you to Marketing, they'll handle the details." Without waiting for a reply, Kaiba transferred the call and replaced the receiver, frowning at it for a moment before looking up at his little brother.
Mokuba gave him a small smile before gesturing around the room. "…Wow," was all he could say. Kaiba snorted.
"Wow indeed. If PR wasn't already full of this nonsense, I'd send it down there and let those fools take care of it." With a heavy sigh, Kaiba sat down and leaned back in his chair, frowning for a second before he reached down and pulled out a small wreath that he sat on. After tossing it across the room, he eyed his brother, who had begun rummaging through the goods. "How was school?" he finally asked, resting his head on the back of the chair while closing his eyes.
Mokuba shrugged, pressing the play button on an electronic Christmas tree. The toy started singing and dancing. Kaiba opened one eye and gave him a mild glare. "It was the same as always- boring and pointless. I can see why you never bothered finishing." It was true. The only reason Mokuba still attended high school was his desire to go to college. That, and the few friends he had made. However, most of his friends didn't even attend his school, so that wasn't even a real reason.
Kaiba gave an affirmative grunt. Apparently, his brother wasn't in the mood to talk today. Mokuba unwrapped a piece of hard candy and popped it in his mouth before asking, "Is that a fruitcake?"
"Yes. The catering service we hired sent it over. I fired them." Mokuba rolled his eyes. His brother could really use a little patience. If only he could give him that for Christmas. Bored, he reached down and activated the Christmas tree again. Seto's eyes snapped open.
"Mokuba, I swear to God, if you set that thing off one more time, it's going out that window faster than Gozaburo."
With a small "Eep!" he stepped away from the tree and decided that a strategic retreat was in order. He could tell Seto about the gathering later…when he was in a more receiving mood.
Grabbing his briefcase from the couch, he headed for the door. "Going to my office now. Come get me when you're ready for dinner." The phone ringing interrupted whatever reply his brother would have given him. As he closed the door behind him, he almost laughed as he heard Seto shouting into the phone.
"What do you mean, 'there's a tree stuck in the door'?"
End Prologue