Middle of the Summer

Chapter: 1

Title: Prolongage

Fiction Rated: R for language, mature themes, adult humour and just stuff that tiny little people should not be reading about.

Disclaimer: I own only the characters that I create, and have no desire to kidnap those which I do not. I haven't the time (or the money) to organize such an event. Yu-Gi-Oh! Is credited to its respective owner— Takahashi Kazuki, I am simply borrowing his creations to carry out my biddings. Any songs that are mentioned in the duration of this story belong to (unless otherwise stated) the original composers. So ch'yeah! Keep your lawsuits in your pocket!

Summary: The two of them were nothing alike, and would probably have never become involved in each other's lives by choice. However, Mokuba's aspirations forced them to put up with each other, and much to their dismay- even enjoy it from time-to-time. (A Seto/OC fic.)

It had been three days since the letter had come home with Mokuba, sealed in a baby blue envelope, holding the chance for an interesting opportunity. Three days that Seto Kaiba had spent wondering if he was really so thrilled that this chance had been presented to his younger brother.

As the young CEO of his own dueling technology company, Kaiba Corporation, Seto had always envisioned that his brother's future would be to follow in his own footsteps and one day work for the company, perhaps take it over when Seto's rule had ended. However, three days ago when the young raven-haired Kaiba had skipped happily into his brother's study holding in his hands that blue envelope, Seto had to consider that at one point Mokuba might want to follow a different set of tracks for his own life.

"So are we going Seto?" the raven haired boy of eleven asked, his grayish eyes shining with excitement.

Yes, it had been three ago that Mokuba's elementary school music teacher had taken the initiative to set up a meeting with the highly regarded music department of McWilliams' Secondary School. Apparently his brother's musical talent far surpassed that of his peers and it had been his teacher's wish that he broaden his horizons as soon as possible.

Seto hadn't regarded of the young boy's interest in the musical arts as any more than a hobby until Mokuba had expressed his desire to explore related career possibilities.

"Yes, we'll leave shortly. Are you ready?" Seto replied looking up from his desktop computer where he had been doing some out-of-office work. His brother nodded smiling nervously, it was clear to many that the boy did not share his brother's calm demeanor. "Well you can go wait in the car, Frederic should be waiting in the front. I'll be out in just a few moments." The oldest Kaiba said giving a soft half-smile that was always reserved for his little brother and watching as the raven-haired child left the room.

Quickly he gathered a few stray papers from the top of his large oak desk and piled them neatly in to the corner. Noticing the light powder blue coloured paper at the top of the pile he picked it up and glanced it over yet again.

'Mr. Kaiba—

It has come to my attention since Mokuba's participation in our school's band began that your brother's musical capabilities are not being challenged in our curriculum. After speaking to the head of McWilliams' high school music department I was able to arrange an interview that could allow Mokuba to gain an early acceptance into their advanced music course. This would in no away affect his study of other subjects, as he would be furthering his musical education outside of his regular classes.

If you and your brother agree to take this opportunity the pre-arranged interview is this Saturday at 10:25am. You will be meeting with Mrs. Beatrice Gillis, the current head of the music department. We understand that your schedule may interfere with this meeting, however if you have any problems attending and wish for the interview to be rescheduled please do not hesitate to contact myself, or Mrs. Gillis herself.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Simone'

Below her name Mokuba's teacher had left phone and fax numbers to reach both women at, luckily Seto had been able to fit the interview in to his Saturday schedule that week. Folding the letter and slipping it into one of his drawers the nineteen-year-old stood up put on the white trench coat hanging by the door and left to join his brother in the sleek black car they were being driven in.

--

"It is my understanding that you were referred here by Mrs. Elaine Simone, from your elementary school, correct?" Mrs. Gillis asked Mokuba while she flipped though his records and a few letters of recommendation that had been put together by his current teachers.

Mokuba nodded shyly, not even bothering to hide his anxiety as he sat on one of the two large pinewood chairs placed in front of the large desk of a matching wood. The woman behind the desk was in her mid fifties with copper coloured hair held on top of her head with globs of hairspray and a face that much represented the face of a hound dog… though much less friendly.

She peered up from her papers. "I'm not going to lie, Mr. Kaiba but your brother's age is of mild concern. It says here that he is… eleven. Most of our students are in this particular program are in their senior year and plan on attending musical institutes for their post-secondary education." She explained staring at Seto though squinted eyes.

Seto looked from his brother, who was currently staring at his feet, back to the grotesque woman in front of them.

"Although I understand your concern, he was referred for a reason, I do not believe that the faculty at his current school would have asked us here today unless there was a belief that Mokuba could handle the curriculum." Seto said calmly, he wasn't overly impressed at the woman's lack of faith, then again he himself had no real understanding of his brother's talents.

"Well I suppose that we could line up an audition, and perhaps have him admitted to the program for next fall…" she said, looking over a calendar sitting on her desk and flipping a few months ahead.

Mokuba looked incredibly rejected, obviously this had not been the arrangement that he had hoped to be getting.

"… of course going from and elementary education in to this level of study could pose a problem, so his first year would be spent doing an introductory program…" she said emotionlessly.

Seto frowned, either this program was a very big deal, or this woman was deliberately giving him a hard time. He was just about to remind her that he could offer a generous contribution to their department but the doors slammed open and a loud voice interrupted him.

"I am so done here!"

The three people currently conversing in the room turned to the doorway where a medium height girl stood, she looked about eighteen. Long stringy blonde hair pulled up in to a messy pony tail that hung between her shoulders, she had pasty skin though freckles spread over the bridge of her nose.

Mrs. Gillis' jaw dropped as the young blonde stalked across the room and slammed her palms down on the older woman's desk, accidentally knocking a few papers off in her haste.

"Miss Shvakova, I hope one of your students has died or become lethally injured. Otherwise you have no reason to interrupt me in a meeting." Gillis seethed, her face turned a blotchy shade of red.

"I'm about to lethally injure one of them!" the blonde exclaimed loudly. "When I signed up to do this, I didn't know that I would be stuck with a bunch of bratty-ass sophomores!"

"Aldorina I strongly advise you to leave this room immediately, otherwise I will be forced to ask you to leave our building permanently." The head of the music department hissed, glancing towards Seto.

For the first time since she had entered the room Aldorina turned to look at the Kaiba brothers, here eyes resting on Mokuba.

"Oh! Is this the kid?" she asked, her dark drown eyes widening as she looked him over, as if suddenly drained of her rage she leaned back against her superior's desk looking strangely relaxed even though her attitude was (as Seto would have said) unacceptable when dealing with her boss. "I'm Ali." She said smiling widely at the raven-haired boy. "You got a name?"

"Who he is, is not any of your concern." Gillis snapped, obviously irritated. "Leave my office."

"What do you play?" Ali asked, completely ignoring the older woman's orders. Mokuba looked at the young woman with confusion written all over his face.

Rolling her eyes at his silence she snatched his records from the department head's hands and looked them over herself. "Impressive…" she muttered flipping though the sheets then frowning. "Let me guess… an audition within the next six months then a one year introductory course?" she inquired more towards Gillis than the young boy.

"Those were the arrangements we were discussing before you barged in, yes." The copper-haired woman said slowly, her eyes holding a somewhat inquisitive look. "Did you have a better idea?" the question was spoken as though there was no answer.

"Actually… yes." Ali said, her eyes lighting up as though she had suddenly come to some kind of conclusion. Her brown eyes darted from the papers to Mokuba, and then back to the woman behind the desk who was staring back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Well in his recommendation letter from Mrs. Simone, it says that he picks things up more easily than anyone she had ever seen… so I'm thinking, what if he doesn't need a full year to study introductory? What if he had a tutor, maybe he could get things done now and be able to enter in to the actual program a year earlier?" she spoke quickly staring at her boss and motioning to Mokuba whenever he was mentioned. "If he's as quick of a learner as she says... he would definatly benefit from one-on-one and get things done must, much faster!"

"Well, you know how I feel about giving special treatment… and where would we find a tutor for him? Not to mention that you are far ahead of yourself Aldorina, perhaps he wouldn't even make it past the audition."

Ali thought it over, her eyebrows tucked in to each other and she was mindlessly chewing at her mildly chapped lips as she thought. Then she slowly looked back at the paper currently in her hand before looking back at Mokuba smirking suspiciously and taking off quickly from the room.

The three sat there in silence from a moment before Gillis spoke.

"I apologize for her… she's only been here a week and has already found herself to be more trouble than most of our students."

"What does she do?" Mokuba finally spoke up, his mood seemed more hopeful since Ali's appearance.

"Well she's been volunteering for teaching the second year students applied musical theory. She graduated from her high school in America three months ago, unfortunately she's looking to get in to W.C Little University for the Arts here in Japan, and in order to gain acceptance there she needs a specific number of volunteer hours… which she is lacking."

Mokuba looked confused. "So she's American? But she speaks Japanese so well."

"No, she is originally from Russia. I'm not entirely filled in on her story; she just showed up in my office and told me she wanted to teach kids. It's my understanding that she has been back-and-forth from America to Japan for some time now."

"Alright! Come with me… uhm… what was your name?" Ali asked stepping excitedly back in to the room after about five minutes, looking extremely proud of herself.

"Mokuba." The raven-haired boy answered looking at his older brother, as if asking for permission to join her.

"And you're… who?" she asked following Mokuba's gaze to Seto.

"Seto Kaiba. I am Mokuba's brother, as well as legal guardian." The nineteen year old answered; his voice held no emotion but his face was etched with mild annoyance.

"Oh, okay. Well Mokuba you come with me, and Gillis… you might want to come too." She smirked towards the frigid woman.

"Where are you taking him?"

"Oh… I got a room cleared out so we can do his audition right now."

As soon as she heard this Mrs. Gillis' eyes bulged and her face turned red with anger.

"We don't even have enough information to know what kind of audition is to be held! And how did you clear a room?! Our music rooms are reserved for classes ahead of time, Miss Shvakova." She said, her voice shaking angrily.

"Not if they're being 'fumigated'…" Ali mumbled smirking evilly, before turning and ushering Mokuba up and out of the room. After being on the receiving end of and irritated glare Mrs. Gillis stood to follow the two, Seto trailing behind her.

After turning and walking though several hallways they found Mokuba and Ali in a large empty room, chairs escalating upwards in rows each one with a music stand placed in front of it, it was probably used as a practice room for the music department.

In the far corner Ali sat behind a large piano playing a jazz piece, it wasn't overly complicated, but something that a beginner wouldn't be able to master quickly. Mokuba stood next to her studying her hands as they played and listening intently with a look of concentration evident on his boyish features. As Seto and Gillis approached the two Ali stopped playing and regarded her superior with a quirky grin.

"Okay, Mokuba… now I want you to listen once more and take as much of it in as you can." She spoke to him softly. Once again she started in to the short piece and Seto watched as his brother gave his undivided attention to the sounds emitting from the instrument, the boy's fingers twitched slightly in time with the notes.

After a few moments of playing the blonde stopped and stood up, pushing the young Kaiba down on the bench and joining the two older people watching him.

"Now play as much of it as you can." She said smoothly.

"Oh Aldorina, that's completely and utterly ridiculous! He's a child you can't just expect him to be able to--" Gillis was cut off as Mokuba began to play the same tune that he had just heard sprout from the eighteen-year-old hands moments ago. It was slower, and slightly off beat, but all of the notes were there. Ali smirked knowingly as Mrs. Gillis stared shocked at the young boy whose face was wrinkled in concentration.

Seto didn't know much about piano, or music in general, but judging by the department head's shock, this was not something that most students his age could do so easily, he felt a small spark of pride glow within him at his brother's accomplishment although he tried to not let it register on his face.

Mokuba ended the tune, though clumsily, as he had only heard it twice and had not committed the full piece to memory. Ali clapped loudly, a toothy smile shot towards the boy and then a thumbs-up gesture. "Awesome, kid! Now on the piano there's a bit of sheet music, are you familiar with reading music?" she asked stepping towards him slightly. Mokuba nodded and looked up at the papers sitting in front of him propped up against the piano itself. His eyes looked over a few lines before returning to the face of the Russian teen.

"Uhm… it looks kind of complicated…" he said shyly.

"Don't worry about it, just play it for us and try your best." A friendly smile fell over Ali's face as she instructed him. Slowly Mokuba began to play, clumsily, as he kept looking from the music to his hands on the keyboard. But the music was clear and aside from the occasional off-key note he was playing well.

"Well, Miss Shvakova, I will admit that this is fascinating, and quite impressive." The copper-haired woman admitted grudgingly.

"No, what's fascinating is the fact that if you'd read his file – which you must not have – you would already know that Mokuba has been playing violin, and has only basic training in piano." She smirked, and then for the first time since her arrival she looked at Seto. "The kid is a freaking genius!" she exclaimed, though he sent a sour glance towards her at the informal reference to his brother, although he nodded curtly looking back towards Mokuba who was stumbling slightly over the complicated bridge of the song.

"Well, Aldorina since you have taken such a great interest in this child, and seem to have picked up more on his talents than I would have, why don't you tutor him though the introduction curriculum?" Mrs. Gillis asked. "Of course, we will need to get Mr. Kaiba's permission before any actions are taken." She explained looking towards Seto.

Seto furrowed his brow at this, he didn't particularly like Ali's attitude towards her superior, and her irresponsible behavior wasn't something he wanted Mokuba to pick up, but Mokuba did seem to like the girl. And she understood his talents more than even Mrs. Gillis did, and she was the head of the department.

Mokuba finished playing and had wandered back towards the rest of them; Ali immediately gave him a high-five and ruffled his hair, grinning goofily. "Hey kiddo that was really good!" she smiled, and Mokuba returned the gesture before turning to his brother.

"Well, if you think she is the best for the job, then we can set up weekly lessons." Seto said, his brother's eyes shining with accomplishment and he hugged the older boy around the waist.

"YES!" Ali exclaimed pumping her fist in to the air. "No more bitchy teenaged shit-heads!"

Mrs. Gillis' jaw dropped at the younger girls choice of wording in front of their newest benefactor, Seto Kaiba, and she immediately grabbed the blonde by the wrist and hauled her out of the room sending a hasty 'we'll call you' over her shoulder, and ordering a passing student to show the two brothers out.

Mokuba laughed softly as they passed the glass window of Gillis' office on their way out, the woman was red in the face and appeared to be shouting at Ali who stared lazily out the window, though smiled and waved when she saw the two Kaiba's walk past the window.

"This is so great, huh Seto!?" Mokuba smiled excitedly as he and his brother climbed back in to their car and their driver began to pull away from McWilliams' Secondary School. Seto looked down at his younger brother who was clearly thrilled by the past hour's events. He pat the raven-haired child on the shoulder and sent him a gentle half-smile.

"As long as you're happy."

Yup yup, there you have the first of many! Pretty boring... but the first chapter is never filled with mad action. We saw a bit of Ali, and got the beginning of the plot line rolling along. So leave me a few words, darlings, and I'll update for you!

Ciao!
KC.