A/N: new chap! whoo! the first chapter was more of something to get the ball rolling, but the story starts proper here. but the first chapter still has some relevance to the fact that Seto hasn't learned to slow things down. anyway, i hope you guys enjoy this one (:


[Chorus]

I'll always care for you

When you're awake and asleep

In all your dreams and reality

I'll always protect you

With my life and death

Never, I never want you to fall apart

- Dik by Wali Band

Seto grabbed a freshly-ironed white jacket from his servant and hurried into his awaiting limo. The moment the black door closed behind him, he sneaked a peek at his reflection on the window and smoothed out his hair. He checked his watch and sighed. It was a wonder he managed to freshen up and change for the launching of KaibaCorp's new product in a span of fifteen minutes after rushing home from a draggy meeting that did not accomplish anything much.

I hate meetings, he grumbled inwardly as he pressed a button to load the built-in flat screen television. The television immediately switched on to Channel NewsAsia, the news channel that had probably been set to be the primary channel. Of course, Seto had a few more spare channels set for Mokuba's benefit. Let the kid have his TV shows.

"What time do you have to be at the Shangri-La, sir?" his driver asked him over his shoulders.

Seto kept his focus on the television screen, something that he rarely did. "7.30," he replied. "But I'd like to be there by 7.25."

The driver sounded surprised. "But sir, it's already 7.20."

"Then step on it," his employer replied rather curtly. "Don't worry about the speeding tickets. Just get me there on time."

"Yes, Mr Kaiba."

The news channel was based in Singapore, but covered news just as well as the more commercialised news channels, Seto figured it would be better to have it on the television set. Furthermore, it seemed to be able to give news accurately from an Asian context. All the more it served him well; he had plans to expand his Duel Disks empire to the rest of the continent. After that small step, then he could establish more KaibaLand theme parks in those countries.

But right now, he has to endure four hours worth of corporate mingling. He liked coming up with new products; he even liked the launching events because everyone present could see his creations in full force. What he did not particularly like was the post-launching party. On one hand, it was a great way to build up contacts. On the other hand, he could do much more things than socialising with a bunch of back-stabbing executives.

He played the upcoming scene in his mind. As usual, he would walk through the doors, the guests would applause and he would proceed onstage. He would activate his built-in Duel Disk watch that had the highest level of holographic technology that he knew. Cards no longer need to be in hard copy. Rather, a holographic menu would enable a duellist to select the cards that they want to use in their duel. Of course, those who preferred having a hard copy of the cards in their hand could still use them. They simply had to place it in a designated slot on the watch strap. But the main focus of the watch was not the holographic card archive system; it was the fact that the entire Duel Disk system could be incorporated into a watch. Just press the red button at the side and all the necessary components would click into place.

"Are you alright back there, Mr Kaiba?"

Seto frowned at his driver's sudden randomness. "Yes. Why shouldn't I be?"

His driver shook his head. "Nothing, Mr Kaiba. I was just wondering if this speed is too much for you, especially since it's raining quite heavily now."

In the backseat, Seto smirked. "I'll tell you when it's not alright. How far are we from the hotel?"

"I'm sure we'll be able to reach it in fi –"

Seto gripped the sides of the leather upholstery tightly as the limo braked to a sudden halt. A loud bang ensued. He tried to peer out of the heavily-tinted windows, but the downpour was making it difficult to see anything clearly. He checked his watch. So much for reaching there by his designated time. He frowned at his driver who seemed to be shell-shocked and cleared his throat loudly.

"Is there a problem?"

The driver craned his neck to meet his employer's eyes. His face was ashen. He stuttered, "M-Mr-Mr Kaiba, I think we might have ran over something."

"Thinking doesn't confirm anything," Seto was getting annoyed now. Any sense of calmness that he obtained during the ride had gone out of the window. "It's probably a road bump or a stray cat."

"But Mr Kaiba…"

"Move on, Roland. I'm late. To ease your worry, maybe you can reverse, direct this car over to the side and speed off."

His driver obliged. Seto shut his eyes and pressed a hand to his temple, heaving a deep sigh. Why were there a lot of things occurring today that hampered his efforts from making it a smooth day? He wondered for a moment if he was losing his edge, thanks to the compulsory medical leave last week.

That's ridiculous, he reasoned out in the end. I hate to admit it, but there's 'downs' in life as well. Maybe this is one of those 'down' days.

The news anchor was delivering breaking news: apparently there had been another armed robbery, this time the victim one of the country's bank bosses. Several of the servants in the house had resist, and the robbers did not have any qualms in putting a bullet through their chest. Police investigators had deduced that the culprits were serial robbers, having burgled four other houses belonging to corporate leaders in the country.

Seto flicked out his cell phone and pressed a number on the speed dial. He waited for a few moments as the other line rang. No answer. He tried again. Still no answer.

Where's Mokuba? He could not prevent the worried thought from crossing his mind as he tried dialling his house.

"Good evening, Kaiba residence." Seto recognised the grandmotherly voice of his head servant, Nana Niko.

"Nana, is Mokuba at home?" Seto queried politely. Nana was perhaps one of his few employees that he regarded with the highest respect.

"I'm sorry, Mr Kaiba, but Mokuba hasn't returned yet. He's been out since morning with his friends. I believe they're your acquaintances as well. Mr Mutou, Mr Wheeler, Mr Taylor and Ms Gardner." The worry in Nana's voice was enough to fuel Seto's worry further. "He hasn't even called home the whole day, sir."

"Thank you, Nana. The moment Mokuba returns, please call me." Seto ended the conversation at the same time his limo pulled up at the hotel porch. He activated his cell phone's silent mode and pocketed it securely in the inner pocket of his jacket. His driver handed a small mirror over to him, and Seto quickly inspected himself. Satisfied that everything was in place, he placed the mirror on the seat next to him and reached to open the door of his limo. As if reading his move, the hotel's employee quickly held out the door for him.

Seto stepped out of the limo with his usual grace, nodding curtly at the group of reporters gathered at the steps. He ignored the flashes and sounds of camera bulbs going off as he proceeded towards hotel ballroom where the launching event was to take place. The moment the mahogany doors swung open and Seto Kaiba stepped in, whatever that he had pictured earlier in his limousine took place.

XO XO XO XO

Meanwhile, back on the slippery road where Seto Kaiba's limousine halted, a tall blond boy was frantically shaking a raven-haired teenager's shoulder in a bid for him to wake up. He blinked back the rain soaking his entire self as he yelled at a leggy brunette to call for an ambulance. A spiky-haired blond and a Mohawk brunette aided him in carrying the unconscious teenager into the shelter of a bus stop nearby.

A silver mobile phone lay on the street, forgotten despite ringing thrice.

XO XO XO XO

Seto made a last effort to smile for the cameras, posing with his activated Duel Disk Watch as if he was enjoying using it. The moment the last camera sound faded, Seto excused himself from the reporters to 'see to his guests'. Rather, he evaded both his reporters and guests completely as he headed for Roland who was standing guard at a far corner of the ballroom.

"Roland, I've been worrying for the whole time," it was not a confession; it was a statement. "See to it that security upgrading is done for both the mansion and the office. Physically and network-wise. Everything. The renovations done to the mansion might have altered the security system, but just to be on the safe side, upgrade everything."

Seto looked around for a while before adding in a low voice, "And can you please keep on contacting Mokuba? Direct his call to me if you get through."

Seto exchanged nods of agreement with his right-hand man before heading off to really see to his guests. He barely made it to the centre of the room before he was approached by a busty brunette in a Jean Paul Gaultier dress (this bit of information was known because she boasted to wear dresses only by that designer). Other male guests might find her exceptionally stunning. Seto did not deny that fact – but he also found her extremely pushy. Making it a point to keep his words short but civilised, he quickly untangled his arm from her grip before making his way to familiar business associates.

Unfortunately, the blonde kept on clinging to his arm, sidling up to his side almost immediately and using her charms to make the rest of the business associates at ease with her presence. Just as subtly as before, Seto pried her hand away. For a moment, he thought he was free when he managed to leave her talking with his business associates.

Seto felt his phone vibrating. Tugging at the lapel of his jacket, he thrusted his hand in to retrieve the phone. Just as he was about to answer the call, the silver phone was plucked from his grip. Seto stared crossly at the owner of the French manicured fingers that was dangling his phone in mid-air.

"Shouldn't you be entertaining your guests instead of answering calls?" Carolina Lobo teased in what was supposed to be a seductive voice. Seto found it less of seductive and more towards revolting.

"Miss Lobo, I'd appreciate it if you could hand the phone back to me now," Seto said evenly, looking straight at the blonde.

"I'll give it back to you, on one condition," Lobo said slyly, brushing her hair back against her bare shoulder. She leaned forward to whisper in Seto's ear, "If you dance with me."

Deep down, Seto felt like throttling the bimbo. However, he merely flashed her a smirk and took her by the waist as he whispered back, "If that pleases you."

He led her to the dance floor, and held her close to him, one hand around her waist, the other sneakily plucking his phone out of her grip whilst pretending to clasp her hand with his. The whole time, he maintained eye contact and forced his smile to stay on. Once he got hold of his cell phone, he pretended to peer over her shoulder and nodded.

"What is it, Seto?" Lobo asked as her free hand played with the strands of hair at the side of his face. Seto stifled a gag upon hearing her mention his name.

"I believe somebody wants to steal you for a dance," he said it smoothly with what he hoped was a flirtatious smile. "But to be fair to him, I'll let him borrow you."

"Really?" Lobo smiled widened. The moment she turned around to see nobody standing behind her offering his hand, Seto hastily snuck away to a far corner away from the music. If he ever wanted a girlfriend, he would never look at someone like Lobo.

He checked his cell phone and scrolled down to see his missed calls list. There were 4 calls from an unknown number. Wondering who it was to have persistently contacted him, Seto redialled the number and sighed impatiently as he waited for the other end to pick up.

"Kaiba Hospital. How may I help you?" the receptionist sounded bored.

Hospital? Why is my hospital calling me out of the blue?

"This is Seto Kaiba. I believe the hospital has contacted me 4 times within a span of ten minutes. Is anything the matter?" the way Seto said those words matched the receptionist's sentiment.

Suddenly the receptionist sounded more awake than a chipmunk, "Mr Kaiba! We tried calling you Mr Kaiba! Mr Kaiba, it's Mokuba!"

Seto wasted no time in dashing out of the ballroom, his call abruptly ended. He ran into Roland near the lobby area. Roland hurried over to him, most probably to tell him the recent news, but Seto cut him short by asking for the limousine keys. The reporters lounging nearby witnessed the young CEO abandoning his own event as he sped off into the night in his limo.

Within the next few minutes, the hotel lobby was completely devoid of reporters. The hotel porch was completely devoid of taxis, too.


There's a trace of irony with the song chorus and the storyline...

anw, stay tuned for the next chapter! will be written and hopefully uploaded soon (: