Seto x Serenity- A Woman's Touch
Seto is instructed that as the icon of the dueling industry, he should stir up a bit more attention and publicity. How? Get married of course.
Hi again! This is my fifth (hopefully successful) Seto x Shizuka story and my third chapter story for them. Please read and review! Thanks so much again!
Chapter 1-- Business Proposition
"Excuse me?" Seto said, an indignant look on his ever-handsome features. He, as well as a few other 'trusted advisors' were seated in a dark, yet ornately decorated conference room between the thick blinds, a few piercing rays of light fell on the serious billionaire, his sharp features even more apparent in the late afternoon light. He and the advisers had been seated around an enormous, rectangular dark wood table in plush chairs. Kaiba Seto, though, stood irate at the head of the massive table, his expensive leather chair pushed out behind him. A large glowering painting of the late Kaiba Gozaburo hung menacingly behind the young man, darkly overhanging the nervous advisers.
"If you please, sir..." a fairly round man said softly, dabbing his profusely sweating brow with a handkerchief, "We merely suggested that your image has dwindled as of late and that..." he trailed off, unsure how to continue.
A thin, long-nosed man continued for him, "What he means to say is... er... We, as your advisory council, think it would be best... if you... er... consider taking a bride for yourself..."
Kaiba's eyebrow twitched but his murderous expression remained the same,
"What does having a blasted wife have to do with duel monsters?" he asked through clenched teeth. The members of the assembly quickly flipped through various data chart and surveys.
"W-well," the plump adviser stuttered, "Surveys do say that there are more and more female players rising... a-and having a woman join the family regime would most likely draw in more new female duelists--"
"Not to mention possibly providing a future heir for the Kaiba Corp. Industry." another man interjected.
At the statement, Kaiba's face visibly whitened a little and he crossed his arms,
"Mokuba is the legal heir of Kaiba Corporation Industries and all the related agreements." Kaiba stated sharply.
"Of course, of course!" The long-nosed man replied quickly while the council as a whole fidgeted in their seats, "But it would make quite a stir-- for publicity's sake!"
"And, of course," the plump man added, "If you dislike your bride, or if she becomes problematic, she can easily be disposed of once the topic has died down a bit."
The billionaire was silent and sat down heavily in his seat, folding his long hands so tightly that his knuckles appeared white. He sent a firm glare around the table, sending fearful shivers up and down each of the councilmembers' spines.
"Will you at least consider it?" A representative asked, little to no hope in his voice. The assembly watched the unmoving billionaire in absolute silence, excited but fearful for their jobs at the same time. Dread filled the freezing air and the council members glanced at one another, beads of sweat on their brows.
Mokuba, meanwhile, had his ear pressed to the huge cherry wood door (That, along with most of the doors of the mansion, towered at twice his height) in excited anticipation. Usually, his brother's meetings were about boring stuff-- statistics, accounts, and trends in sales. But somehow that day, Mokuba had a feeling that something exciting would happen. And, of course, he had been right. He barely dared to breathe as he awaited his brother's answer.
After a few minutes of dreadful silence, Kaiba made up his mind.
"I will consider the suggestion," he said with a straight face, "but if I do accept the proposition, the marriage will be in my terms and I will have the option to obliterate the deal at any time." Mokuba, as well as the rest of the council, nearly jumped in surprise.
"If any personal loss comes from this suggestion," Seto continued, "I assure you gentlemen, all of you will be immediately dismissed and wiped from all Kaiba Corp. records permanently. Understood?" A murmur of approval came from the council in response.
"Dismissed." Kaiba said shortly from where he sat. The businessmen quickly crammed away their charts and papers and rushed out of the cold conference room. Mokuba hid behind a marble table that stood in the middle of the large hall holding a huge vase of flowers. Once the stuffy men had made their way past the scruffy-haired boy, he tiptoed to the door, peering into the semi-dark room. His brother remained where he had been during the meeting, sitting at the large table with his elbows on the expensive table and his hands folded in front of his face. Mokuba knew this to be his habitual thinking pose, so he decided not to interfere.
As he silently turned away, though, his brother called out to him.
"Mokuba." The boy spun around and stepped in the doorway.
"Hi big brother!" Mokuba said cheerily, "I didn't wanna bug you, but I'm going out for some fresh air. Do you need anything?" he asked, his large lavender eyes shining with youth.
"No." his serious older brother replied, "Just some time to think. I know you were eavesdropping, so you know what's laying heavily on my mind." he cleared his throat, "We'll discuss this later. Go." Mokuba grinned,
"Okeydoke! I'll be back in a little while! Then I wanna hear all about it! Love you!" he said as he waved and headed on his way.
Seto chuckled to himself, "What an insane idea." he mused. The young billionaire turned to the large painting of the former CEO, "Like you said, when business is mixed with one's personal life, unexpected things are bound to happen." He smirked at the painting, "Those imbeciles-- they should be running home with their tails between their legs. But..." he looked out the window "I suppose I should give this a chance... just as you gave Mokuba and I a chance of a lifetime."
Mokuba whistled merrily as he rode his purple bike through town. What a strange day! He just had to get out and ride off all the excitement! His brother rarely--if ever-- even consideredproposals made by the council. And this! This wasn't just a mere business proposal of a new dueling device or card system, nor was it a simple budget plan for the upcoming year. This was marriage! Marriage! Mokuba laughed to himself, he had never expected his brother to agree to consideration!
Mokuba came to a long hill and let himself speed up to an exhilarating, if not dangerous, speed. The wind whipped through his messy raven hair and he grinned to himself, deep in his own thoughts. So deep in his thoughts, in fact, that he barely saw a bright-haired young woman step out of Onigumo's Flowers onto the sidewalk, carrying a large pot full of flowers, right into his path. When the image registered, he slammed on his breaks and went flying head over heals right onto the lady, his bike flying off to one side in the road. There was a loud smash as dirt and flowers flew everywhere, along from a slight shriek from the unsuspecting girl.
Mokuba scrambled to his feet shakily,
"I'm so sorry!" he apologized, expecting a rightfully deserved scolding from the unfortunate flower shop worker. Unexpectedly, though, the young woman just laughed. She gathered up the broken pieces of the pot, brushed the soil and petals from her apron and smiled up at the young boy. Mokuba recognized her immediately as Katsuya Jounichi's younger sister,
"Kawai Shizuka-san!" the boy cried as she brushed the dirt and flowers off of her. Mokuba quickly helped her up, "I'm sorry! I guess I wasn't watching where I was going-- I'll clean it up and pay for the flowers!"
Mokuba helped Shizuka up and leaned his bike against the overgrown flower shop.
"It's alright!" She said cheerily as always, "I'll go get a broom." She paused at the doorway, "How about I make some tea while you clean?" She asked with a kind smile Mokuba grinned,
"Sure!!" he said happily as Shizuka went to fetch a broom and dustpan.
Mokuba finished the task fairly quickly and paid Shizuka back for the flowers and the pot that he had ruined along with a little tip. The flower shop was empty, as it was around closing time. Mokuba soaked up the sent of wet foliage and freshly-cut flowers. Even the inside of the old flower shop was overgrown with leafy vines. Sunlight streamed through the window in the door and cast fanciful shadows in the shop with the glowing sunset light. The unlikely pals had met a few years before, during the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City tournaments. The young Kaiba brother had seen her occasionally on the street, always stopping for a humorous swap of stories about their crazy brothers.
Mokuba had visited Shizuka when her mother suddenly died, when her father had seemingly dropped from the face of the planet, and when she had gotten a job at Onigumo's. To her, the young boy had brightened her day when she most needed it.
"So, how are you?" Mokuba asked Shizuka as she set a tray of tea and cookies down on the backroom table,
"I've been fine" She said with her customary smile, "Katsuya lost his job as a waiter, though..."
"...he eat all the food again?" Mokuba asked as he gobbled down a cookie. Shizuka nodded,
"It's the third job he's lost in a month..." her eyes clouded over as she gazed out the overgrown window, "We're already squeezed into a little apartment... but unless he can get a really good job this time, it's a one bedroom apartment for us." She sighed and absentmindedly arranged some flowers.
The companionable silence was broken as thunder rattled the small shop,
"Oh no!" Shizuka said as she stood and grabbed her umbrella, "It sounds like rain! Do you think you'll make it home alright!?" Mokuba nodded as Shizuka grabbed her keys. The two hurried out into the damp evening air, the skies overcast with ominous dark clouds. Mokuba thanked Shizuka for the refreshments and headed on his way, leaving the cheerful girl alone with her flowered umbrella and the peaceful streets.
The rain just began to sprinkle as Mokuba pedaled up the long Kaiba Mansion drive. As the shaggy-haired Kaiba brother kicked off his shoes and looked out the window, it began to pour.
"I hope Shizuka-san made it home on time!" Mokuba said to himself as he slipped on a pair of slippers and went in search of his elder brother in the dark mansion.
Far up in the secluded West Wing, the older Kaiba brother stood at his window, completely unmoving. There was a sort of surreal and disturbing reality behind his decision. It wasn't an 'easy-fix' as many choices tended to be. His master bedroom was unlit and cold as always. Thick curtains framed the four-meter-high windows. Lightening sent streaks of blue light across the dark room, revealing the expensively furniture and dark artwork.
He had spend the entire evening in front of the large window, watching the clouds roll by and the golden sun set. The sky had deepened to a rich blue-black and the rain fell heavily on the expansive mansion gardens. He had been fighting with himself over the matter. Seto had never considered a wife; Mokuba came first, and work directly after. Kaiba had shown that he was quite capable of taking care of Mokuba and himself without the help of anyone else.
Then again...
Seto was not blind to how his younger brother had suffered from their parents' untimely deaths. Although Seto had been forced into mental adulthood back then, his younger brother was still young and vulnerable. Mokuba only vaguely remembered their mother. Perhaps that was the reason Seto was so averse to having another woman in the house...
Maybe he was afraid Mokuba would forget their mother entirely. But maybe having a womanly touch around the mansion would be a good thing. Someone else who genuinely wanted to spend time with them, not just another maid, nanny, or employee. Someone to give advice to Mokuba about things other than business and investment.
Gozaburo would never have considered something ridiculous. He would have shot down the crazy idea and those responsible would be permanently dismissed. Maybe that was the reason this insane idea intrigued the handsome billionaire. Seto had loathed the man, but adored the opportunities he had received because of the former Kaiba. Gozaburo seemingly had it all: money, power, and knowledge. But this... this was something even Gozaburo had never had; something even he never dared to do.
"There you are, big brother!" Seto was stirred from his thoughts as the younger Kaiba hauled open the over-sized door, letting golden light from the hall flood into the room. The younger boy jumped onto his brother's huge bed and Seto returned his gaze out into the rain.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Mokuba asked after awhile. The preteen boy received no answer from the silent man.
"Why don't you give it a try?" he said softly. Seto turned his attention to the boy, "I... I think it'd be nice! We've never had a lady in the house before!" As Seto watched the boy bounce cheerily on the plush bed, he was reminded of years before. An image of a rainy day, much the same as that day, as a toddler with bushy black hair bounced up and down on a small bed with a young mother. How they looked the same, Seto thought. Both shared dark unruly hair; large, innocent, violet eyes; and disarming smiles.
Seto's hardened expression softened at that smile, the smile that would permanently remind him of their loving mother. The powerful billionaire sighed, unable to refuse his brother,
"Alright. I'm getting married."
I hope you liked it! This, of course, it basically the introduction chapter! I hope you'll return to read more! Please check out some of my other Seto x Shizuka stories!
Next time: More romance and drama to come! The council reveals possible candidates to Seto: from movie stars to heiresses, the list goes on and on!
Thanks again! Please leave a review!
Mysteria Pearl