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Chapter 1

Kaiba

From my resting place on the wall, I examined the lavish room before my eyes. Beautiful marble floors were illuminated by the crystal rays from hanging chandeliers and golden walls were decorated with pearl borders. Diamond rays of light bathed the room in a radiant shimmering atmosphere, adding a quiet elegance to the ornate ballroom. Hung on the walls were paintings, ranging from color pallets of winter grays to spring blues, which softened the gleaming brightness. All in effort to welcome the arriving guests into a realm of sophisticated splendor.

My gaze then fell onto the regal white pillars which silently supported the vaulted Renaissance styled domed ceiling. The towering columns held a resemblance to those located at the White House, significant and prideful as if they were supporting the weight of the world. Yet the guests overlooked their strength as they gushed about the "delicacy" of thin silver swirls which decorated the pillars.

Mistletoes were scattered around the room, wherever they could reach with their green tentacles, however most were concentrated in strategic places such as dark corners for couples who were feeling like returning to their teenage years. It didn't really have a great significance since most of the time the invited guests would share their affection for their loved one openly.

Red bows and multicolored lights were wrapped around a large emerald pine tree as it stood alone in the center of the dance floor. Couples waltzed around the tree in perfect sync with the soft, Christmas music that echoed hauntingly throughout the room. For couples who chosen not to dance, they lingered around the refreshment table, covered with gourmet French cuisine, or sat at one of the lavishly decorated tables sipping delicately at their wine as they ate their meal.

Every year I received an invitation to this waste of time they called a Christmas business "party". The only reason I even thought of attending this "party" was because my business partner had forced me to attend every single damn year.

Over the years, I wondered how this man, whom was still several promotions behind me, managed to find a way to force me (his boss) to come to this party every single damn year.

When I could push back the emotions of disgust, I had assumed it was because of our age difference. We were at least a decade apart, and he had been working at the company for many years, yet he didn't even blink an eyelash at my sudden ascension to CEO. So I partly believed he did it just to prove that his older age gave him some power over the otherwise more powerful me, who was gaining more with every passing second.

However the truth was he was sneaking into my office, and with the use of a duplicate key, he had stolen all my files on my latest projects. Then he would hide the files from me and threaten not to return them unless I promised to go to this "party". The day he returned from his vacation, long after I attend the "party", he would finally return the files.

For the rest of the day, he would pester me with lectures on how this was a good business endeavor before he began questioning to see if I had met an "interesting" woman. This was always followed after by the standard question, how sick was Mokuba afterwards?

By mid afternoon, he would start blathering on how the party would help improve my nonexistent social skills, accompanied by his opinion of my cold attitude. In these speeches, he would often repeat that I was anti-social, asexual or gay, egotistical, cold, cruel man and that it would benefit my being to have a few close friends and possibly a girlfriend. On the condition, he would always say if a woman would even bother to spare me a glance.

Honestly, I could have spent my time on more productive things, for example resting in my comfortably large mansion finding ways to improve my ever-growing company. There was absolutely nothing to feel excited about at this party or any party for that matter. All these types of parties tended to be similar: predictable with attention demanding men and women and a complete waste of my time.

Even the people never changed. I had to deal with the same rich CEO's who were accompanied by their less than classy girlfriends or wives (who in the end would probably take all their money and leave them for the next "big thing") as they tried to convince me to buy this product or to merge with this company. Meanwhile, their wives, girlfriends or whatever they were, tried to flatter me. Sometimes, they would try to win me over with words while some laid their perfectly manicured hands on my shoulder or arms. Occasionally, I would receive a woman who would flutter her eyelashes in what she thought was a testosterone inducing glance but really seemed as if she had nerve damage in her eyelids. Sometimes, I get the rare woman who would latch onto my arm and press her chest into me as if I was a man who would lose all thought process at just the mere sight of flesh.

And in all general terms they all held the same conversations with me, usually starting with something to the effect of this:

"Oh, your suit is so lovely tonight Mr. Kaiba. Where did you get it?"

Or, "Mr. Kaiba I heard of your new game. My little brother (some cases son) absolutely loves it. When is your next game coming out?"

As you can tell, none of those statements were conversation inducers and by the end left me with not only a pounding migraine but the urge to scrub my skin raw.

Then there was the fact that I had to deal with my brother's annual stomachaches because of his immature childish brain told him to pack every sweet that looked appetizing onto his small plate.

So why was I here? My business partner had died a year ago in a nasty car crash, eliminating all blackmail that forced me to come to this "party". Some people had assumed I was so heartless that I felt no feelings of sadness and sympathy when he died, but I would be lying if I were to say I was not relieved at freedom from blackmail.

Despite what people may think, I had held my business partner in a high regard. He was a hard worker and he had the strongest sense of morals I had ever seen. It wasn't surprising to hear him complain about famous celebrities and their attention seeking actions, that was when he wasn't complaining about me.

What thoroughly racked my brain was how he was able to tolerate with my indifference for so many years. He often found humor in my sarcastic comments that others would often find… offending. Unlike most people, he was not afraid of me and didn't really care about the amount of money I had or the cars I drove or the house I lived in.

Even dead the man sent my thoughts spiraling out of control. Before my mind began to wander, I focused my attention on the moving mass of black unruly hair as it maneuvered through the crowd. When he collided into people, I watched his head rise up and down in apology before he dashed off once more.

My business partner was like a second father to Mokuba. One of his claims was if I didn't stop working so hard that he would take Mokuba away. I knew that he cared for Mokuba like the son he could never have and his wife adored him. During the times she would watch him for me, she would always greet him with an embracing hug and a kiss on the forehead, practically drowning him with affection. I had always tried to pay her but she would always halt me at the opening of my wallet. As hard as it was to admit, I had owed the deceased man. For a good ten years, I had occupied his time and money and used his wife as a babysitting service. I suppose the least I could do was honor his one selfish wish.

But after my long philosophical pondering, I had come with the reason on why I had attended this accursed party. Mokuba. For weeks, he begged me to come to this wretched "party", slowly everyday stretching and stretching my nerves to their limits. I at one point had tried to convince him otherwise when I saw that rejection didn't work. I told him that we could go to the local bakery but he vehemently held his opinion and claimed it was not the "same".

"Mokuba, I don't need you getting sick again." I warned as he came walking past from his "visit" at the desert table. I could already see his plate was filled the brink, sweets covering as much surface area of the plate as possible.

"I won't, big brother." He replied cheerfully, his eyes were shining innocently in the chandelier's rays. I glared at him once more before I directed my attention to the room.

"Do you remember what happened last time?" I asked, my icy blue orbs moving to the corner of my eyes to settle on the little black haired devil. Mokuba just gazed at me, the wheels spinning behind his eyes. In the next minute, the pile had become taller.

Resisting the urge to show my agitation, I let my eyes roam around the room, finding that the bright decorations were starting to cause color spots in my vision. In attempt to escape this luxurious hell, I let my eyelids fall, comforted by the darkness my eyelids provided.

Everything about this place was agitating. From the golden jovial decorations, to the expensive food, to the frivolous wine and especially the ignorant people, I was beginning to feel the sting of regret.

My eyes were still closed when the crowd gasped in perfect unison. I really shouldn't have cared what awed the crowd of those greedy rich people but I went against my better judgment and opened my eyes. That's when I saw her.

She was walking down the stairs as graceful as a ballet dancer. From my observation, most of the men in the room closed their open jaws, in order to avoid physical punishment from their partner, and most women were sending the mysterious woman envious glares. Even I found I had to use an unusual amount of self-control to look away from the enchanting beauty.

She was wearing a strapless royal blue dress that stopped just above her knees and then it fluttered out to create a small train. Her lustrous long white tresses were sculptured into a neat bun. My fingers twitched at my side as I suppressed the fantasy of my hands ripping her hair out of the neat structure so my fingers could glide through the pearl locks. She wore light make up: clear lip-gloss with a soft white glittery eye shadow and just enough blush that it made her seem as if she was a glowing goddess.

As she glided down the staircase, her steps were soft and only made the slightest noise. Immediately as she placed her feet on the floor, she was surrounded by a crowd of men. Ignoring them, her eyes roamed the room, her gaze pausing when her sight fell upon me. The men were not as oblivious as I had believed them to be because at the change of her focus they immediately turned to see what had caught the beautiful woman's attention. When they had sighted me, all their eyes narrowed with detest as if that would frighten me away.

Noting the glares, she gave me an apologetic smile. I kept my emotionless facade and turned my eyes toward my little brother, who was filling his face with sweets. In her almost inhumane grace, she navigated her way out of the crowd and glided toward me. Watching her, she seemed so irresistible, so tempting, that I took a step backwards to put some distance between us.

What was I doing acting like a coward? Nobody could faze me, including this beautiful angelic- I stopped my thought process at that moment, disgusted by my love sick thoughts. How could she affect me like this when I didn't even know her?

"Would you like to dance?" She asked in a sweet voice as she came to stop in front of me. I could tell that she was nervous. It was obvious from her tense shoulders to her shifting focus to the fiddling of her fingers. It was as if she already knew my answer would be no; however, something about this woman had intrigued me, and it made me wondered if she was really worth my time.

"Yes" I grunted. An expression of shock and surprise came over her face, and I inwardly smirked that I had the ability to throw her off her game. The look didn't last long; instead it was replaced by a joyful expression. I noted the way her eyes brightened and crinkled from her small smile, and before I could say anything (if I was going to say anything) the petite woman grabbed my hand in her slender one and led me to the dance floor.

She must have known that I hated being the center of attention because we stopped at one of the far corners on the dance floor. I felt numerous men mustering their most threatening glares at me, and I inwardly laughed at their pathetic attempts.

Their dirty looks quickly disappeared when she turned those mysterious sapphire orbs in their direction. It was a warning, her way of telling them to continue their immature actions and see what would happen. They all quickly looked away and returned to finishing their business as if she never came.

With her attention fully focused on me, she placed her right hand on my left shoulder and her left hand on my right. At that moment, I wanted to genuinely feel hatred for the intimate position we were in and desire nothing more than to put as much distant between the two of us as possible. That's what I wanted to feel. There was something about the way her curves fit so perfectly to my body shape, like a puzzle piece. The feeling of her clothed skin against the fabric of my suit for some reason felt so right. Almost too right. Before I had even realized it, my hands developed a mind of their own and snaked their way around her slim waist.

I had seen it again, that pure look of innocent shock before her eyes had donned a mischievous glint in those sparkling ocean hued irises. It almost scared me. Almost because I was never frightened.

I watched her as she lowered her head so that it rested between the crook of my shoulder and my neck. I sighed under my breath, trying to ignore the tingling sensation of her breath against my exposed neck.

Several minutes had passed and my thoughts were completely occupied by her. By the time I had gotten back to studying my surroundings, I noticed that something was unusual. The Christmas tree was closer; I could even see the individual branches and decipher out the distinctive pine tree scent from the thousands of perfume trails. Other couples brushed closer by us, colorful skirts danced in my peripheral vision before they disappeared out sight. Following our footsteps, it finally dawned on me that we were dancing in circles around the Christmas tree.

We were in the center of the dance floor. I had no clue as to when we had gotten here. I looked around for any other couples to see that we weren't alone; however, the last couple was slowly exiting the dance floor, leaving us the last ones. I inwardly cursed. For a moment, I was almost glad that my business partner was dead, because that meant he wasn't here to witness this event for which I'm sure that he would have never let me live down.

It was official. This woman wasn't human at all. She was a demon.

After the last couple exited the dance floor, no one had joined us. It seemed that even if they saw it before their eyes it still unbelievable. In the gossip world there was ongoing rumor about me. They believed I was gay and secretly in love with the King of Games, my rival. I had always brushed it off. It was just unhappy people who lives were so boring that they felt the need to destroy mine. Though, I couldn't ignore… this problem. One reason was because the very problem was laying her head on my chest and the other was because the cameras were either filming or snapping rapidly with bright flashes of blinding light. In a couple hours, those pictures would be leaked to magazines and television shows. It was already presaged that my fellow board meeting members were going to bring up this subject in tomorrow's meeting.

Instead of trying to change the inevitable, I studied the face of the girl who got me into this problem in the first place. There was something so familiar about this girl, as if I had seen her from somewhere. White wasn't particularly a common hair color after all.

I wasn't given the time I wanted to ponder those thoughts when she suddenly lifted her head and gently pried herself out of my loose embrace. Carefully, she bent her legs in a curtsy as she bowed her head down.

"Thank you, Mr. Kaiba." She tilted her head just high enough so I was had a perfect view of her honest sapphire eyes.

"It's Seto." I told her as I buried my hands in my trousers pocket, glancing at Mokuba who was staring at us with pair of astonished eyes. From a quick glance at her, I could see she was completely confused by the sudden reply.

"My name is Seto." In a quick change of mood, she smiled sweetly; her eyes crinkling at the edges, the blue hue of her irises transformed into a sun bathed ocean.

X-x-X

Kisara

I stared at Mr. Kaiba with a confused look. He seemed to understand because he clarified for me.

"My name is Seto." I watched as he took a step backwards away as if he was ashamed. He looked so cute like that. With his hair disheveled and his bangs hanging over his eyes, it made his icy blue irises all the more mysterious, and I could see why women obsessed over him. I smiled.

This time he stared at me with those eyes and behind them, I could see it, a tiny flicker of surprise. I guess no one had ever smiled at him. I glanced over at his little brother. Okay maybe there was an exception or two.

If anyone else was in this position, I think that person would be scared of Mr. Kaiba. Somehow, I wasn't scared. I felt this urge - this wanting- to see past those cold, distant eyes and see the true Seto Kaiba. I wanted to see the soul that lay beyond the cold steel wall that blocked the world out. I couldn't help but think that beyond his indifference was lonely man. As if Mr. Ka-, it was going to take me a long time to get used to Seto- just wanted to be understood by people and maybe even loved.

Then again, this was Seto Kaiba and it could have all been in my imagination.

"What's your name?" He truly sounded interested. I wondered if this was the first time he had ever felt that way.

"Kisara." I replied. Out of social conduct, Mr. Kaiba took my hand and gently kissed the back of it. His lips, unlike his attitude, were warm and sent a warm tingling sensation up the length of my arm. I could tell that Mr. Kai-Seto was inexperienced to this nice gesture because his spine was rigid and his lips were tightly pressed against my skin in a firm line.

"Have a good night." He said as he stiffly stood up to his amazing height of six foot something. That was his goodbye before he sauntered his way back to his little brother. As I watched him leave I noticed how broad his shoulders were, as if he was holding the world on them, accumulating more and more burdens as he continued to live.

I glanced around the room and I watched as the other men glared at Seto with narrowed eyes but I ignored them. They weren't worth my time and they had their own partners.

"You have a safe night too." I yelled back. I don't think he heard me, for he started heading towards the door while talking (more like arguing) with his little brother. I could see his brother was teasing him. Now that was something I don't think anyone expected.

Author's Note: I decided to do this as a new story but since I deleted the original first chapter this is going to stay as the chapter. I am going to say again, after I am done revising this story, I am going to revise "Do You Really Love Me?" the sequel to this story, before I post any new chapters.