First Yu-Gi-Oh! fic. English names were used. Hope you enjoy!
"We hope to meet you again, Mr. Kaiba," the businessman gave a toothy grin. The president of KaibaCorp debated what kind of response he should give, and settled for a thin, courteous smile.
"The pleasure was mine." He watched the man, a wealthy copper tycoon with a shock of gray hair, recede into the crowd with his trophy wife. There had been a time in his youth when he would have spat insults and worn only a haughty sneer, but as Kaiba Corporation grew and aged, it could no longer afford the tactless image he had emanated before. It had been years since his last Duel, and the only games he played now were simple board games with Mokuba, now a man in his own right.
He looked askance at his brother-tall, though not as tall as Seto, and his black hair finally tamed into something presentable. As endearing as his raggedy appearance had been in his childhood, Seto now filled with pride as he watched Mokuba rattle off smoothly in English, clearly impressing the girl he was talking to. Mokuba wore the inverted colors of Seto's outfit-a blue suit instead of white, and a white dress shirt instead of blue. It was his way of telling Seto that he was fine on his own, and still assuring his big brother that he always thought of him.
"First I find you here, and then I see you smiling?" A vaguely familiar voice commented incredulously. He turned his head to see none other than Téa Gardner, one of Yugi's friends, standing there, her arms wrapped around her body and her presence much more commanding than it had been, all those years back. "Surely tomorrow, I'll hear that Yugi has given up games to pursue his passion for baking." Seto gave a slight grin, the arrogant sort that was his usual look when he had first met Téa.
"There's nothing unusual for me to be at a business party in America, seeing as how it holds some of our largest KaibaLand parks." He swirled his glass-red wine, an acquired taste that he had not yet acquired. "That you, Miss Gardner, who are only a dancer in theatres, would be here is more baffling." It was her turn to grin.
"I happen to have a powerful sponsor here at this party, thank you very much, and I would say that I look like I fit right in."
"You do." Téa looked taken aback for a moment, but then giggled.
"You really have changed haven't you?" She gestured to the balcony. "Shall we get some fresh air and catch up?" Seto looked around, seeing only dry corporate men and his engrossed brother. Well, why not?
"Have you Dueled lately?" She asked. He figured this would come up.
"No, not in years." It took a long time for him to admit it, but the Duelist spirit that he had prided himself in when he was younger-it was hindering his job. Instead of watching over his company, he spent hours and hours compiling his deck, analyzing every strategy he had ever seen and coming up with counters-it was no wonder that KaibaCorp seemed to be in danger of being taken over every time he left for a few days. The fire still burned within him, but it no longer controlled him. It was then, and only then, that he began to enjoy games again-that they were no longer testaments to his worth, but hobbies. "The last time I Dueled was a publicity stunt at a Duel Monsters tournament." He then gave a slight smile. "And the time before that was the last time I beat Yugi." Téa laughed.
"Have you been keeping track of your record?"
"I'm still behind, but-well, if I really put time into it, I would be in the lead." He folded his arms. He had let go of his obsession, but not his pride.
"Did you win with Blue-Eyes?"
"Of course." There was a pause.
"Say, Kaiba-have you ever thought about having a relationship?" Seto turned to her. He hadn't thought she would ask this question. "You're 32, and there hasn't been a hint in the news that you've had a girlfriend-even a paramour." He scoffed, and a laugh escaped him.
"I see, you've been following me in the news that avidly, hm?" Téa pouted.
"How rude-don't misunderstand! I'm usually looking for entertainment related news, and your face just invariably crops up on everything I read." She took a hasty gulp of her glass, then blanched. Her fault for downing something so strong so quickly. "You know, there are a ton of women who'd throw themselves at your feet if you only looked at them. You've topped dozens of bachelor lists. While I don't think it'd be easy for you to love a girl, at least you should be showing some interest."
"Are you doubting my ability to have feelings, Miss Gardner?" He smirked as she went red. "No need to be embarrassed, it's true enough." He had seen too much treachery to consider any golddigger attractive-then again, he wasn't even interested in the women without ulterior motives...well, it was only to be expected. How could you desire something else when you had already seen perfection?
Something stirred within him-a deep secret that he tightly held a lid on in his chest. It wasn't true that he had never held any interest, but-should he tell her? This woman whose only exchanges with him had been how he didn't understand the friendship her groupies shared? But then again, this was also the same woman who had loved Atem, the other Yugi, the-he had to admit it now, didn't he?-ancient pharaoh. Who would he confide in, if not her?
"There-there was someone who caught my interest, once." It was a simple phrase that he had rehearsed before, so he couldn't believe the amount of effort it took to admit that. After all his denial of the occult, his years of managing the most powerful company in the world, Seto Kaiba had finally admitted his weakness. Yes, comely women regularly gazed at him with adoring eyes, models regularly approached him with an eye for intimacy-but none of this stirred his heart. There had been only one woman he had ever found beautiful, and she had been dead for three thousand years. "She had clear, watery blue eyes-white hair, an embarrassingly unkempt appearance-" He stopped. Perhaps he shouldn't admit that he had met her only once. "A fragile beauty, but a strong gaze. But she's long gone."
"...I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. Her spirit has always been by my side." Subconsciously, he laid a hand to his breastpocket, where a card was hidden within the handkerchief. He had not Dueled in years, but never left without Blue-Eyes by his heart. "She still supports me-even just the thought of her lifts me." Téa smiled, a bittersweet look that told him that she was reminded of her first love, Atem.
"That's beautiful, Kaiba."
"She was." They said nothing for a few moments. His pride and soul, who remembered him through millennia, to help him in his times of need, to speak to him even when she no longer had a human voice-and all he had done was watch her die once again in the other Yugi's memories. His only comfort was that the symbol of her spirit was now immortalized around the world, representing all the strength and beauty her soul had truly held.
"Can I ask how you guys met?" He gave a chuckle.
"It's more complicated than you'd think."
.._.._.._.._..
Seto Kaiba sat down in his sparse office in Japan. His very first office and home base, the room held a certain comfort for Seto. He opened the middle drawer of his desk and pulled out his deck. From his pocket, he pulled out his Blue-Eyes and added it to the deck. With a pause, he also added a newly acquired card-torn in two, but just as beautiful. Yugi had inherited the card from his grandfather after he had passed on, so Seto had known it would be difficult to convince Yugi to gift it to him. He only had vague memories of when he had tried to steal the card-that whole time had turned into a haze, and all Mokuba ever said about the incident was some babble about a Mind Crush.
His passion rekindled after his talk with Téa, he had visited Yugi for the sole purpose of begging him for the card. He had not specified money for compensation, knowing it would have been an insult. He could only plead, as he had been too prideful to do in the past, and hope Yugi would understand. Yugi had seen his weaknesses before, so it wasn't as embarrassing as he kept feeling it was. To his surprise, the Duelist-30 years old and still harboring his old doe-like expression-had handed him the card with a gentle smile on his face.
"Take it, Kaiba." And folded the card into his hand. "I know how much the Blue-Eyes means to you. I've had it for years-now she's yours." If Seto hadn't been the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, he would have wept.
Yugi...had he seen through me? Did he learn of her, too, in the other Yugi's world of memories? He laid out the four Blue-Eyes, and tried her name on his lips for the first time. "Kisara..." It sounded lovely. Then again, what else did he expect?
He handled the deck lovingly. Her purity had been a thing of dreams, her demureness breathtaking-Seto couldn't help but chuckle at his thoughts. Maybe it was true that opposites attract. All the same, however, her body was dead. Aside from when the Blue-Eyes was played on the field, she would never be with him. Perhaps, then, it was time to move on?
He laughed, a thin scoff that should not have sounded like a laugh at all. If he wasn't interested, he wasn't interested. Maybe he would try opening up later, but he'd also do fine just spoiling Mokuba's children in the future. There was no need to force feelings that simply didn't exist.
With only a bit of hesitation, he put the deck to his lips. For now, he was still in love. And what was wrong with that?