A/N: This is a bit of a re-vamp of a previous I posted. I wasn't really happy about the story was unfolding, so I've decided to write it with the idea I had originally in mind for the plot. For a bit of background, both story and characterisation are based on the sub version as I'm not a fan of what the dub did with the characters and all their nuances that were lost in translation.
Seto wasn't exactly keen on spending the night at the Opera, when he could have got some work done in the quiet of his hotel room. Unfortunately for him and his plans, Mokuba had been unusually persistent for him to come long. He'd argued it'd rude towards their business partners, who had kindly offered the tickets, not to go and according to whom going to the Palais Garnier to see a representation of Le Sacre du Printemps was a must see in one's life time.
Seto had to admit the auditorium was nice, its red velvet alley, marble columns and gold leaf detailing… Quite the change of scenery from Japan. He still had rather be in his hotel tonight than do this cliché tourist activities. While he had acquired a taste for classical music over the years, he preferred to listen to it while working, alone his office or study, or while relaxing in the comfort his couch with a glass of fine liquor. When it came to leisure time, he'd rather avoid places like this, like the Opera. They were usually full of business acquaintances and the likes, potential business partners or socialites attending for networking purposes, or for the ridiculous sake of feigning a refined and cultured public image.
Not quite the ideal place to recharge after a day of endless meetings and interviews at the dawn of their new amusement's park opening. The last line was always the most stressful and mentally draining, Seto found, but it was almost the most crucial in terms of communication, building the the hype and then not failing to meet the expectations built around said hype. Exporting Kaiba Land to Europe was a pretty big step and a bit of gamble, but Kaiba didn't see himself as a gambler, but a visionary, rather. It had taken a lot of negotiations and tremendous hours of market research to convince his shareholders, investors and everyone involve to implement a Japanese themed park in France. Dueling wasn't as popular as it was in America or Japan in Europe, but with the recent booming of geek culture and manga consumption, Kaiba could see a clear opportunity there. Besides, the city was full of tourists. This surely was going to be a big step for his brand in Europe. Though, he couldn't wait to get past the pressure the inauguration the opening of the park had put on him so he could focus on his next project in Japan. This had been an exhausting journey.
Mokuba, on the other hand, looked uncharacteristically enthusiastic about this ballet, to his elder brother's greatest surprise. He'd never known his brother to have any interest in high arts. And he didn't expect that much to change.
At least, he supposed this outing would save them from another argument about Mokuba's new fancy for partying and excessive drinking with questionable acquaintances, and all those college life's habits Seto wasn't exactly fond of, to say the least. This wasn't what he had imagined when his brother had been accepted to Todai. Was this really what the average life of university looked like these days? Isono had reassured him there was nothing to be overly concerned about Mokuba's new habits, so long as he wasn't failing or getting in trouble, his own son had apparently been the same with the partying. Seto had rather his brother put his leisure time to more productive activities and hobbies, which preferably wouldn't present any potential risks for public scandals and tarnishing the Kaiba's reputation. Unfortunately, the two brothers did not seem eye-to-eye on this matter, a divergence that led to regular clashes.
His departure to Tokyo for college life had certainly changed the little boy he'd looked after for most his life. Mokuba was an adult now, he was a man. He'd made another life of his own of which Seto wasn't part of. He knew this would not revoke or alter the bond they shared, but it wouldn't be the same as before, that much he was painfully aware of. As much as he hated to admit, the thought of his brother slowly drifting away, of his new life and friends overshadowing him, did scare him. Going back to an empty mansion at night – save for the house employees -, eating supper alone in the dining room, were all new habits he was having a hard time growing accustomed to…
He tried to shake the thoughts from his head as the velvet curtain opened, sinking his seat and resting his chin on his elbow. He might as well enjoy the fact, that for once, his brother and he got to spend time together, in peace and quiet.
Seto initially found it hard to immerse himself in the ballet and its story telling, but as it went on, he found himself taking an interest in observing and appreciating the dancers' skills and technique. He knew very little about dancing, but this surely must have taken a lot of work and discipline to achieve such a performance, that he could admire. Suddenly, it reminded him of her... How long had it been now since high school? Ten years. He wondered what she was up to these days. If she, too, was dancing in a ballet, somewhere in America as she said she wanted to. When Mokuba had first introduced the idea of them going to the Opéra, Seto couldn't say he didn't have a hunch, of sorts, but it seemed a little too far-fetched that Mazaki would be here. America had always been her dream and surely Mokuba would have mentioned her, if she were here.
As the dancers gathered on the stage towards the end of the representation, the entire crowd stood up for a standing ovation. Seto followed mechanically, as if he'd just woken up from a livid slumber, glancing sideways at Mokuba who seemed to have been completely enthralled by the ballet. Again, Seto was quite curious as to what had struck that in him. This whole charade was probably about some random girl, though. Seto saw no other logical explanation.
"That was amazing, wasn't it?" His brother commented as the dancers left the stage and the room started emptying itself.
"It was pretty good." He merely replied.
"Come on. Let's go backstage. There's someone we need to see." Mokuba hurried as they prepared to depart the alley. Seto knew he was of age for this sort of things, but he wasn't exactly thrilled of the prospect of watching his brother's courting endeavours while he just stood there, awkwardly.
It seemed he had no other options anyway as his brother led the way, practically running him out.
He was, nonetheless, mildly curious as to what sort of girl had his brother so taken. Mokuba tended to keep to himself in that regards, not that Seto would complain, but the eldest brother's private life, on the other hand, was a topic of conversation that had become far too recurrent for the latter's liking. Seto knew Mokuba did not mean ill, when he'd ask if he'd met anyone and encouraged him to, he found it quite unnerving still. Why was he so interested, in the first place? And what was so wrong about being single? Seto would lie to say he didn't sometimes long for a companion in his life, but leading a multinational made it very hard to meet that kind of person. First, there was the schedule that it made hard to meet anyone at all. Then, the pedigree, the money, the name which made it hard to meet anyone genuine. Amongst other things.
Seto had long resigned himself he'd likely ended up alone in life, just like how it'd started. And he was fine with it. Kaiba Seto had never and didn't need anyone. Or so he liked to tell himself…
His train of thoughts and various introspective musings were soon abruptly interrupted as they reached the lodges of the dancers. He'd expected anything but this… Maybe a little, but the reality of it was complete shock, to say the least;
"Anzu!" Mokuba exclaimed.
So this wasn't about some trivial fling, after all. Maybe this was worse, on second thought.
"Mokuba, what are you doing here?!" Mazaki replied, her face lightening at the sight of her brother.
"Well, Seto's business partners gave us those tickets and remembering you worked here, we just couldn't miss the occasion." Seto would roll his eyes at the "we", but refrained to. He'd rather keep his part in this conversation to the bare minimum to avoid any sort of awkwardness. He wouldn't even know what to say, in any case. It'd been ten years since he'd last spoken to her and since... well. Water had run under bridges, that he was aware of, but ten years of no communication was a long time. It felt weird to strike a casual conversation, in this context and not really knowing where he and Mazaki stood.
"It's been such a long time!"
"I know! What a surprise. I can't believe you'd come here!" She replied enthusiastically.
"It's good to see you." She added.
"You, too, Kaiba." She finally turned back to him, but what Seto assumed to be hypocritical cordiality was only met with perfect indifference and a mere polite greet. And that was about how long their exchange went. As her attention quickly switched back to Mokuba, it seemed like Seto didn't really exist anymore. But he didn't particularly care. Mazaki was Mokuba's friend. Not the other way around, she'd made that much very clear a long time ago.
As her brother enthused with her friend about old time, Kaiba watched from afar, this time, feeling like a complete stranger and almost like a nuisance in middle of these two, invisible...
Mazaki looked quite changed, he noted. Physically so. She looked much thiner, more toned and muscular as well, than he remembered-not that she'd ever been particularly endowed to begin with. Her traits looked more mature, too. But she looked exhausted. Not the kind of after-a-long-day exhausted, the kind of exhausted Seto sometimes looked himself.
But she still looked so damn pretty.
He was digressing…
"I'm sorry, Mokuba. I wish I could take on your invitation to dinner, but I have commitments tonight. I'm free tomorrow night and the following nights as well, since it was the last representation of the season, though. If you're still around, of course." Seto heard, finally snatched back from his thoughts.
"Don't worry. How about tomorrow night, then? Let's all go to dinner somewhere nice." Mokuba suggested. Seto was unsure why he was suddenly being included in their plans, regardless of whether he liked it or not.
"I'd like that."
Seto did not.
"I'll message you tomorrow, then." Mokuba said, bidding his friend good-bye.
At last, Kaiba sighed innerly.
The two Kaiba brothers then made their way out of the opera to a small street nearby, where their driver was waiting for them.
Kaiba released a sigh of exhaustion as they finally got into the car. This day was finally over. Now he could eventually hope to find some quiet and peace back at the hotel, do a bit of work on his laptop, before a second round of business meetings and running around the city tomorrow.
"So, where should we go tomorrow for dinner? I was thinking la Tour d'Argent since we've always wanted to eat there." Mokuba threw in casually, breaking the silence that had settled in the car.
"Hm?" Kaiba raised his head from his phone to look at his brother with a most blazé expression on his face. "I don't know. Why don't you ask your friend, since she's the one going with you."
"Oh, come on now! Don't give me that." Mokuba instantly retorted.
"Give you what, Mokuba." He replied, unamused.
"Acting so extra." Mokuba said with an annoyed frown. "You're going, too. It'll do you good to take your mind off work and socialise. Besides, you two seemed to be getting along pretty fine by the end of high school. If I didn't know any better, I could swear you even had a thing for her." Seto rolled his eyes, unsurprised by his brother's insistence. It would, after all, be out of character for Mokuba just to take 'no' for an answer, in this particular case. And Seto had rather no go in-depth for his reasons to refuse to tag along. He'd rather not recall what had been a terribly awkward and embarrassing moment. This was none of his brother's business, anyway.
"I have work to finish." He replied neutrally, knowing he was probably going regret his choice for an answer.
"Yes, Seto. I know. You always have to work to finish. But do I need to remind you again of what your doctor said, you need to slow down a little or-."
And there they went again.
"I can take care of myself just fine, Mokuba. As I always have. That's enough now." He interrupted yet another conversation he didn't want to have.
"Oh really? Look at you, the moment we got back into the car the first thing you did was checked your emails. Also can you not talk to me like I'm child. It's pretty annoying." His brother continued with tone akin to reprimanding that Seto wasn't liking. At all.
"I'm not having this conversation with you again, Mokuba. Not tonight."
"You need to take this more seriously, Seto. This isn't some joke. This is about your health." He countered with an aggravated grunt. "It's just crazy how you just don't know when to stop or even slow down a little."
"Seriously, I'm worried about you. Isono tells me you still spend most nights in the office and-"
"Fine." He resigned, raising his voice, perhaps a bit louder than intended. "I'll go to that goddamn dinner with you and your friend, if it so pleases you. Will you leave me alone now?" He resigned, finding himself lacking the mental energy to argue any further.
"Yeah." Mokuba leaned against the window without another word.
This night, the ride back to the hotel, felt dreadfully long.