Author's Note: This is the sequel to Rakitan Industries, the first story I wrote. I am working on the prequel and re-writing Rakitan Industries now, so some of this might not make sense until I get all of that back up. I am slowly but surely closing the gap between The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and this story. I hope that you will still find this enjoyable even if you have not read Rakitan Industries.
Disclaimer: This story is inspired by true events, but any character resemblances to real people are merely coincidental. Apart from a few scientific facts, this is not meant to be a description of what really happened. It is purely fantasy. Also, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the songs mentioned throughout this story. I only own Noel/Rakitan Industries.
Prologue: Over the past nine months, many things have happened. Seto Kaiba replaced most of his household staff with people he could trust; mostly members of Amanda's family. Mokuba and Penguin have been flirting a lot, but so far no significant progress has been made in their relationship. Penguin recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and dropped him off at the Domino City Orphanage. Seto Kaiba and his family planned to adopt the child on Christmas Day… right after church.
Chapter 1 Wednesday, December 25
Kisara stood by her husband, Tristan, and her aging mother-in-law. It was Christmas Day, and mass was about to begin. Tristan and Kisara had both been raised Catholic, but this was the first time in several years they had attended church. In fact, they had not been to church since they left home for college. The two of them had met during their second semester at Dartmouth University. Upon graduating, they eloped and never looked back… until now. Tristan's father died a week ago and his mother had begged him to come back to Domino so she would not have to spend Christmas alone. Reluctantly, Tristan and Kisara both put in for a month's worth of vacation time from their careers in America and flew back to Japan.
Kisara felt uncomfortable in the church. She had felt that way ever since puberty when she started having strange dreams. The same man always appeared to her and for the life of her she could not figure out why. She felt a strange connection with him, and although she did not know his name, she had secretly made up a name for him. She thought of him fondly as the king of her heart. Unfortunately, "king" was also a name frequently used for Jesus. Being in church bitterly reminded her that she had never actually met the king of her heart, so she avoided it as much as possible.
When Kisara left for college, the emptiness still did not go away. She confided her dreams in Tristan, who admitted that he also loved someone who he would probably never see again outside of his dreams. The only difference was that Tristan had already met the woman of his dreams once and failed to seal the deal before he completed high school and left for college. Deciding that they would be each other's best hope for life-long love, they married and settled down in America.
Kisara knelt down and prayed in a pious display for Tristan's mother. Kisara enjoyed taking this posture because it allowed her to shield her face from prying eyes while she contemplated, or tried not to contemplate, the king of her heart.
Tristan knelt beside his wife and whispered in the softest possible tone, "She's here. I was afraid of this. This is why I didn't want to come back to Domino."
Kisara knew immediately what he meant. A pang of jealously surged through her as she wondered what Tristan's high-school sweetheart could have that she did not have. Determined to find out for herself, she asked, "Which one is she?"
"She is directly across from us on the right side of the church. She's the one in pink, and her husband is right next to her."
Kisara raised her head and looked at the people in the adjoining pew. A jolt of shock ran through her body as she recognized a tall man with neatly trimmed brown hair. She had seen him on television a few times, but the connection never clicked until now. It was not his features, but his aura that gave him away. Kisara gulped and lowered her head quickly.
"What is it?" her husband whispered.
"Tristan, it's him. He's here."
…..
Mokuba, Serenity, Seto, Joan, Janet, and Sarah had arrived at the church with barely enough time to get a good seat. They were late because Seto had tried to get out of going at the last minute. Seto hated church, but Serenity and Mokuba thought it was good for the kids. Serenity also liked to socialize with the other families, and she felt uncomfortable when she had to make excuses for Seto's absence. Church also allowed the Kaibas to present a good face to the public. As the CEO of one of the largest corporations in the world, Seto Kaiba had to maintain good public relations to stay in business.
Joan, on the other hand, had no reason for being here other than to keep Seto company and pretend to be Mokuba's girlfriend. Although she enjoyed church as much as Serenity and Mokuba, she preferred to attend a small church out in the countryside. This cathedral, nestled between some of the largest skyscrapers in Domino City, was too huge and impersonal for her. In addition, this was the church where Joan took the sacrament of reconciliation, and no self-respecting Catholic confesses to the same priest that says their regular mass if they can avoid it. In this case, however, the priest was the one who had reason to feel uncomfortable.
Seto whispered to Joan, "So, have you Noelites ever considered making the Catholic Church pay for their abuses of little boys?"
"We have, but it's not really our cup of tea. The Church as an institution is really no more guilty of this particular offense than the police force. Statistically speaking, individuals from every institution on the planet molest children with equal frequency. The Church just got more flack from it because of their hypocrisy. Besides, the mainstream media has already done the topic to death. The government wants to keep the Church under its thumb because it of all institutions is the most organized and poses the greatest threat for a potential revolution. If anything, Noel would work to heal the public's opinion of the Church," Joan said under her breath.
The congregation stood. The mass started, and the priest processed into the church with his entourage of alter boys. "So, what about this one? What do you think he does when he is all alone with those little servants of his?" Seto persisted.
Joan bit back a laugh for a few seconds before she calmed down enough to whisper again. "He's straight. A little kinky, but still straight."
The priest reached the alter, bowed before the crucifix, and turned to face the congregation. "Good Morning," he greeted.
"Good morning, Father John," the congregation answered.
Father John scanned the congregation and caught sight of Joan. His eyes immediately jerked away, then back, then away again. "Tit… Today at Our Lady of F-faith, we celibate, er, celebrate the b-birth of Jesus Christ our Lord and S-savior, the prince of P-peace, and King of Heaven and Earth. Amen." Father John struggled through the rest of the mass introduction and then the congregation took their seats again.
Seto whispered to Joan, "You can't be serious about that dweeb. He can't even do his own job right, so how could he even begin to do you right?"
"You would be surprised. Besides, he usually speaks much more clearly than this at mass; I've seen a few recordings of him. Anyway, I think it's cute how he gets all nervous when I'm here." Joan squirmed a little and slipped her hand into Seto's lap.
Seto gently picked up her hand and held it firmly to keep it from wandering elsewhere. "What are you thinking?" he hissed.
"I've been a bad girl," said Joan, "I think I need a time-out."
"Forget it. Just behave yourself."
Joan looked at Seto lustfully, but Seto just smirked back in return. "Let's see how long you can hold back. If you're good, I'll take you in the limo after mass… after we get home."
Joan pouted, but eased off on her attempts to get into Seto's pants. Instead, she focused on going through the motions of the mass just like the rest of the people who were present. That is, everyone except for two.
….
Kisara, who had been keeping an eye on the Kaiba family, whispered to Tristan, "So, if Serenity is the one in pink, who is the girl in red?"
"Beats me," replied Tristan, "Maybe she is Kaiba's sister or something. Kaiba never mentioned having a sister, but I can't imagine anyone else fooling around with him like that, especially right in front of his wife.
"Maybe she is Kaiba's sister-in-law," Kisara suggested, "See the two kids? One looks more like Kaiba while the other one looks more like his younger brother. Do you think Mokuba could have gotten married while you were away?"
"That's a good possibility. Why don't we ask them after mass?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea? After all, you have a history with Serenity, and Kaiba looks so much like the man of my dreams."
"You're right, darling. I think we should leave well enough alone. Serenity looks happy, and I doubt she wants to talk to me."
Despite Tristan's resolve to avoid Serenity and let bye-gones be bye-gones, he found himself standing next to her while waiting in line for communion. Likewise, Kisara found herself standing beside the king of her heart as the double lines moved slowly forward to the front of the church while the choir sang "Panis Angelicus."
Under ordinary circumstances, Serenity would never speak during this sacred time of contemplation on the Body of Christ. However, in this case, she felt that it would be rude not to say something. She smiled at her high-school sweetheart and said, "Tristan! Is that really you? I haven't seen you in ages! Meet me after mass so we can catch up!"
"Sh-shure!" Tristan stuttered, "Um… yeah, after mass."
Just behind them, Seto and Kisara exchanged glances. Having never been properly introduced to each other, neither of them felt that it would be appropriate to speak. However, they exchanged bashful smiles.
Just behind Seto and Kisara, Joan was paired with Tristan's mother. The pious woman stared straight in front of her and did not even turn her head for an instant to look at Joan. It was of no consequence, though. Joan's focus was elsewhere. As she reached the front of the church, she caught Father John's eye and winked at him. Father John fumbled with the Eucharist and started stuttering again. Luckily for him, Joan was in line to receive communion from the deacon, and thus could not feasibly make any moves on him without causing a scene.
Mokuba followed Joan, and the two children followed Mokuba. Janet was old enough to take communion, while Sarah simply crossed her arms for a blessing. The Kaibas and the Taylors took their seats again, and the remainder of the mass passed uneventfully.
Closing Notes: As I wrote this, I refined my concept of this world's government. It is not an official government recognized by any country today, but we may be headed towards something like this in the near future. The government consists of an oligarchy of very powerful corporations. This means that Seto has some government power available to him if he ever chooses to wield it. However, as demonstrated in the first chapter of the first fic, Seto hates politics and only participates as necessary. If you want to get a better feel for what I intended with the government, there are two songs by David Rovics that express it very well: "Election" and "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy".
All place names that appear in this fic are merely for geographical and cultural reference, not political reference. Apparently, there is some debate about whether Domino City is in Japan or America. I am putting it in Japan because that is where the wiki says it is. However, location plays a very minor importance in this fic and an even smaller importance in the first fic.
Speaking of the first fic, a lot of this will probably not make sense to you unless you have read it. I am going to spend minimal time on character development with the Noelites, so go back and re-read the first fic if you find yourselves lost. There will be some new characters as well as more from your old favorites. I hope you enjoy it!
I am considering writing a prequel to nail down some of the complicated things that I only vaguely referenced in my first two stories. Now that I am nearing the end of this story in my paper notebooks, I'm starting to think of how much fun it would be to watch the relationship between Seto, Serenity, and Mokuba grow from scratch. I have not written a word of the prequel yet, but I am strongly considering doing it right after I finish this one. If this sounds like something you would find exciting, please send me a PM with suggestions of what you would like to see in it.
Call for Reviews: Although this story is almost complete on paper, I would still appreciate reviews for encouragement and tips on how to improve my writing. I have a BS, not a BA, so I am much more accustomed to writing non-fiction than fiction. I'm curious to know if this shows, and what I can do to make my fiction better.
Also, I am running short on names for OCs. Therefore, the first person to review gets to come up with a first name for Tristan's mother. Heck, you can name the whole Taylor family if you like! I only want his mother's name for this story, but I might find his father's name and his uncle's name and maybe his grandfather's name handy for the prequel.