Author's Note: This is part 2 of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy". Although "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" is a prequel to this, it is also a rewrite of the first story I ever wrote with a lot more material in the beginning.
Warning: There will be lemons/sexual content in this story, but not in this first chapter. I will provide adequate warning to those who do not wish to read them.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! and I am not making any money by doing this. Rakitan Industries is not affiliated with Rakitan Komputer. All corporations mentioned in this story are fictional, and any resemblance that the OCs have to real, actual persons is merely coincidental.
Music Lover's Alert: If you like to listen to music while you read, I recommend "To The Moon and Back" by Savage Garden.
Chapter 1 The Whole World is Watching
Serenity Wheeler stood at the alter of Our Lady of Faith Church holding a bouquet of pink and white flowers. Her long, straight auburn hair was covered with a sheer yellow veil, and her soft olivine eyes glistened with happiness. An elegant pink, almost white dress with classic feminine ruffles covered her graceful form.
Beside her stood Tea, a woman with short brown hair and azure eyes. Although it was actually Mai Valentine who encouraged Serenity's relationship with her fiancé during its early stages, Tea had been Serenity's friend much longer. Therefore, Tea took the Maid of Honor role. Plus, she looked fabulous in the lemon yellow bridesmaid dress that Serenity had picked with her.
On the other side of the church stood a tall man with brown hair of about twenty five. His electric blue eyes locked on her with a passion and intensity that the world had not witnessed since Romeo and Juliet. He wore a light blue tuxedo with a navy blue bow tie. Seto Kaiba had fast-tracked Serenity's childhood dreams by putting her through nursing school right after she graduated from high school. Unlike most women of twenty, Serenity's maturity and responsibility allowed her to skip four years of regular university experience before embarking on her career path. Now that she had a solid career and she still loved him, he was marrying her.
Beside Seto stood his younger brother Mokuba. Mokuba stood almost ten centimeters shorter than his older brother, but what he lacked in height he made up for in muscle. His long black hair flowed easily over his shoulders and his violet eyes gave him an exotic look that many women found alluring. Like his brother, he wore a light blue tuxedo with a dark blue tie.
Between Seto and Serenity stood an elderly priest who looked as if he should have retired ten years ago. His weak voice uttered, "Now, the couple will exchange vows which they have written themselves instead of the traditional vows."
Seto started. "Serenity, out of all the people I have ever met, you are the most kind-hearted and patient of them all. You have brought out a side of me that I thought my step-father had squashed. Now, I promise to protect and cherish you as my wife for as long as I live. I also promise not to insult your older brother anymore."
From the first pew in the church, a blond man of twenty three years grinned broadly. He almost opened his mouth to comment, but one stern look from him gorgeous buxom wife silenced him. Seto glanced at him briefly. There was something else he thought he was supposed to say, but it did not strike him as very important. Besides, Joey's smug face made him decide to keep his mouth shut before he made any other promises that might be difficult to keep.
Serenity pretended not to notice her brother squirming in the pew. Instead, she simply looked back at Seto and recited her own vows. "Seto, over the past five years you have been such a great friend to me. You cared for me while I was injured and supported me in achieving my dreams. Now, I promise to love you in sickness and in health, for better or for worse; I will love you no matter what happens." Serenity paused as if she was about to say more, but forgot what it was. Whatever she was about to say, it could not have been too important because, after her brief hesitation, she smiled to indicate that she was finished speaking.
Serenity and Seto then exchanged rings, and the priest validated their vows. Seto then threw his arms around his wife and kissed her while their witnesses cheered. Although Our Lady of Faith Church was huge, their guests only filled the first two pews. Seto had only invited two guests: his brother and his secretary Ms. Brown, who never smiled. He had only invited her on Serenity's suggestion because it was either her or Yugi, and he felt that the wedding would be intolerable with his arch rival present.
Serenity had invited several guests including her good friend Tea, her brother Joey, and several cousins. Since Serenity and Seto's parents were all deceased, they invited Mai Wheeler's parents as honorary guests. Like their daughter Mai, Mr. and Mrs. Valentine were spunky enough to breathe life into any party no matter how small it was.
As the newlywed Kaibas and their guests made their way to the wedding reception, the Valentines were already stealing the show. Seto found their presence quite a relief because he had no interest in entertaining the Wheeler family.
They were half-way through their meal when Ms. Brown got a call on her cell-phone and answered it without excusing herself from the table. Even though she was supposed to be celebrating with the guests, she still wore a drab brown dress and pulled her brown hair into a simple, professional bun. "Is there any damage to the files?" she said quickly and efficiently. After a few moments of listening, she replied, "I'll inform him," and hung up the phone.
Seto looked at his secretary with an icy gaze that did not seem to phase her at all. "What happened?" he growled.
"Kaiba Corporation has been hacked," Ms. Brown replied. She gazed back at him with an equally icy stare. Her eyes were the color of withered, frozen leaves.
"What!?" Seto and Mokuba both yelled simultaneously, jumping to their feet. The other guests simply stared at them in shock.
"It's all under control. Our system is secure again," the secretary said smoothly.
"Did you apprehend the hacker?" Seto said.
"What did he want?" Mokuba quickly interjected.
"The hacker copied all of our financial records, but didn't leave a trance that could lead back to him. He did, however, leave a short note," Ms. Brown said.
"What did the note say?" Serenity asked in wide-eyed wonder.
"The whole world is watching."
The wedding guests gasped. They had not heard that phrase spoken aloud in four years. It had been one of the many protest chants used by former citizens of countries all over the world that had been bought by corporations. Bakura, the CEO of Global Enterprises, had masterminded the whole operation. Bakura's butcher Gilbert Jones, the CEO of Stellar Defense, had facilitated their rise to power by squashing all resistance movements with satellite weapons. Ever since then, any talk of opposition to the corporate oligarchy was spoken in hushed tones. People tried to carry on their normal lives with varying degrees of success. Since Seto Kaiba himself held a small vote in all decisions made by the oligarchy and many CEOs enjoyed living on the island where Japan used to be because of its rich culture and abundant coastal areas, the island remained insulated from the changes that occurred in other parts of the world.
"Watching?" Seto said with a short laugh, "It's about time."
The other guests laughed nervously, and then went back to their dinners.
Closing Note and Call for Reviews: What did Seto and Serenity forget to say to each other? This comes into play later, so review and guess and if you get it right, you'll get to name one of the minor OCs who pops up later. Just to give you an idea, here are some of the characters who need names:
Mokuba's college friend who sets him up on a blind date
Mokuba's blind date
Tristan's college roommate
The Kaiba mansion's original chef (he's kind-of a jerk)
If enough people guess correctly, I'll have Mokuba's college friend set him up on more blind dates and/or write one-shots!