The Yellow Rose

Chapter 2: A Surprise

A Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfiction

By: Mazakai

Started: March 3, 2007

Completed: June 6, 2007

Folks: This is the first part to the trilogy that I'm writing. Hailey Ishtar is the character that I made up for myself, so I, Mazakai am Hailey Ishtar and Seto Kaiba is mine!

Disclaimer: Okay I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I wish I did, but I don't so I have to live with it. I really don't know what's really going to happen in this story, so don't get mad at me. Remember, this is just for fun.

Recap from chapter one:

We met the bright and bubbly Hailey Ishtar, twin sister of Marik Ishtar at the start of the Battle City tournament. She had moved from Egypt three years ago and connected with the gang. She also fell in like with the one and only Joey Wheeler. And needless to say, our young mister Wheeler was smitten with the young exotic beauty from the desert. Or so he thought. The motley crew of friends view the opening ceremonies of Seto Kaiba's new tournament and Hailey saw the man who was supposed to fulfill a prophecy of old dangling from a helicopter. After Seto's announcements, the gang went out for pizza and Hailey got her heart broken. Joey subconsciously had been leading Hailey on as both found out that Joey had deeper feelings for Mai, leaving Hailey out in the cold with a semi-crushed heart. Running from the arcade, Hailey finds solace in the dark Domino Park. Where she runs into the man who will someday change her life. Seto Kaiba. Seto for some reason unknown lets this crying beautiful girl into his life, becoming friends with her at first meeting. Both looking for some sort of comfort for their aching hearts. Letting Seto walk her around the park, Hailey and Seto find out more about each other and by the end of the night, Hailey's got an internship at Kaiba Corp. and Seto has a new best friend. Their budding relationship is put slightly on hold by the tournament, but still they keep at it. Seto soon finds himself think of nothing but the Egyptian girl he had met in the park and decides to do something about it. Little does he know, but Hailey is in the same dilemma. Ishizu, Hailey's older sister comes screaming through the house three weeks later, nearly hysterical:

"HAILEY!!!!"

Ishizu threw the double doors of her sisters study open and made the younger girl jump and spin around in alarm.

"What is it Izz, is something the matter?" Hailey asked approaching her older sister with concern Ishizu's face was flushed and her hair look tousled.

"There will be if you don't tell me why on earth there is an amazingly handsome young man down in the front hall asking for you with a bouquet of white roses." Ishizu said exasperatedly, flailing her arms around for emphasis.

"What do you mean? I didn't have any dates planned for tonight nor does anyone know that white roses are my favorite flower…except, wait dose this guy have sort of ruffled looking brown hair, deep navy eyes, a pale complexion, and is quite possibly the most gorgeous guy you've ever laid your eyes on?" Sarah asked, wondering if it really was who she thought it was.

By then Ishizu was bobbing her head up and down in agreement. Hailey squealed and gave her sister a hug, before racing out of the study and to her room with Jillian right on her heels.

"It's…"

And now on with the show.

"It's Seto. I told you about him when you got back three weeks ago from your trip." Hailey said excitedly, tearing off her pajama pants and sliding into a pair of jeans and grabbing a tan cotton jacket out of her closet. She slipped into a pair of black sandals with spiky heels and faced Ishizu with a worried expression on her face. "How do I look?"

"Fine, perfectly composed; come on, we don't want to keep that young man waiting downstairs forever."

At that Hailey shrieked and ran out of her room, surprisingly fast even in her heels. Ishizu followed her sister's path to the front door, even taking a few of the secret passageways that led through out the manor.

They reached the ground floor in record time and sure enough, Seto was standing in the entrance hall as patient as could be, looking at an old antique vase on one of the many tables around the hall. Clearing her throat, Hailey made her presence known and waltzed down the stairs to the marble floor.

Seto looked up and watched as she floated down the marble stairs in the large hall towards him. She looked just like he thought she would. In all honesty he had been thinking about surprising her and showing up one evening unannounced, but the tournament hadn't allowed that at all in the last few weeks. Only a couple of short phone conversations and a slight sighting around the city on random days. He had finally gotten a break and summoned enough courage to approach her house. So here he was, standing in the doorway of his friend's mansion with a bouquet of white rose in his hands.

"Seto, I'm surprised to see you! How are you?" Hailey asked, reaching where he was standing and giving him a friendly hug.

"I'm fine. I finally got a night off and I decided that I'd come and see how you were doing." Seto answered returning the hug and then pulled away, handing her the flowers. "Here, these are for you. You told me that white roses were your favorites."

"Thank you." Hailey said, taking the flowers and sniffing them lightly. Ishizu walked up and took the flowers from her sister and whispered that she would take them and put them in a vase. Hailey nodded and turned her attention back to Seto.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out for a late dinner with me." Seto asked looking her in the eye and smiling his own little smile.

"Sure, that'd be great." Hailey said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath and yelling out, "Jill, I'm going out!"

A muffled 'okay' rang through the halls and Hailey smiled brilliantly. Seto held out his arm and Hailey slid her hand into the crook of his elbow.

He led her to the door and Charles popped out of no where and held the door open for the couple. Seto nodded to the older man and Hailey smiled at her trusted mentor as they walked by.

The crisp night air met them with its gentle fingertips. Seto slid his arm out from her grasped and opened the passenger door to his black Porsche for her. He closed the door behind her and ran around to his side of the car and started the sleek car up.

They pulled out onto the drive that led to the manor and drove through the rest of the rich neighborhood. Seto began to hum as they turned onto the main road leading into London.

"Do you like Italian food?" he asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, there was this new, upper class Italian restaurant that had just opened downtown and he had been wanting to try it out.

"Like it, I love it. European food is my favorite." Hailey said excitedly.

"There's a new place that just opened in Tokyo that I've heard has pretty good pasta and other dishes. How does that sound for a late dinner?" Seto asked, stopping at a red light and looking directly at Hailey.

"Great. That sounds great."

Seto went back to humming his song from earlier. Hailey listened and imagined what it would sound like if he was singing. What she thought to be the chorus of the song seemed very familiar. She listened and tried to place it. Then it clicked. 'Luck be a Lady'. She could imagine what he sounded like when he sung this song. It was perfect for him.

By the time they reached the restaurant, Hailey had that song stuck in her head. Seto had hummed it the entire way there. He had the car parked by valet and held his hand out to her and they entered the restaurant.

They were seated in a private area by an indoor garden surrounded by pillars and statues and the like. The restaurant lights had been dimmed almost to the point of darkness and a candle lit center piece cast a warm golden glow over both Hailey and Seto's faces. Seto waited to sit down until Hailey was seated comfortably with her ankles crossed comfortably under her chair.

A waiter came to their table a short time later and they ordered their drinks; Seto got green tea and Hailey ordered a 'Shirley Temple', which was really Seven Up with cherry flavoring.

"What do you usually get," Seto asked, looking at Hailey over his menu. Hailey smiled at him, placing her menu down on the table.

"Usually, I start with a salad with Italian dressing. For the main entrée I get chicken fettuccini alfredo, and then a side of breadsticks." Hailey said, counting off what she usually got on her fingers. "What do you get most of the time?"

Seto laughed slightly and watched his friend with gentle eyes. "Usually I get a salad and then I get a dish of spaghetti with meat sauce and a side of breadsticks as well."

Hailey nodded in approval at his choice of food. The waiter returned and asked if they were ready to order. Both recited the meals they had described and the waiter went off to the kitchen to place their orders.

As they waited for their food in a comfortable silence, Seto began to hum Luck Be a Lady again. Hailey watched him carefully out of the corner of her eye as she sipped her drink. Was he trying to hint at something or what? Should she start humming Take My Breath Away in response? She liked Seto, she liked him a lot. If he asked her out she wouldn't say no; most definitely wouldn't say no.

She was about to start humming when the waiter returned with their food, breaking the moment momentarily. Seto looked up and thanked the man as he walked away.

Hailey smiled at him and toasted him with her glass; a gesture he returned with an equally warm smile. Picking up her fork, Hailey began to eat and talk with Seto.

He talked about his job as acting CEO of his stepfather's company and with managing the tournament with the help of his little brother Mokuba. Hailey listened intently, asking questions here and there, learning all she could about her soon to be boss and his company.

Seto watched Hailey as he talked. She seemed to be intently listening to him unlike some of the people he worked with. A light shone in her eyes that he had seen the first night he met her in the park. He had told Mokuba all about the impressive young lady who was sitting with him at the moment; and surprisingly enough, Mokuba wanted to meet her. Mokuba seemed to like Hailey even without meeting her formally or at all for that manner, which shocked Seto slightly.

He was going to do it. He was going to ask this beautiful young woman to be his girlfriend. He just had to get the courage up to do so. That shouldn't be too hard; he was after all Seto Kaiba, the youngest business tycoon in two centuries. But this was an entirely different playing field. This would be his debut performance, great.

"Seto, are you alright? You've been staring at me for the last five minutes. Do I have something on my face?" Hailey asked, waving her chopsticks in front of his face, shaking him out of his trance.

"No, sorry, you have nothing on your face. Everything's fine. Though, Hailey, there is something that I'd like to ask you about; just hear me out first before you reply though." Seto said, taking a gulp of tea and willing his mind to go forward with his brilliant plan…which he was making up on the spot. He took a deep breath and took the plunge.

"I was wondering, that is, once the tournament is finished, if you would like to go out with me. Now, I know that it's sudden and everything and you probably think I'm an idiot for even thinking that you'd consider going out with me steadily, but I really do like you. I noticed that there was something different about you from the moment I met you on the bridge in the park, because I never open up to someone like I did with you after only knowing you for a grand total of five seconds. And…"

He never got the chance to finish because at that precise moment, Hailey leaned across the table and placed a delicate finger on his lips. He fell silent as she moved even closer.

"Of course I'll go out with you once the tournament's over. All you had to do was ask." Hailey whispered before moving that final inch.

Her lips met with his in a tender kiss. Seto looked at her in shock before closing his eyes and kissing her back in the gentle way she had started things. Their lips moved together in a slow, loving glide a few moments more before she pulled away lightly.

Seto reached out for her hand and she gladly entwined their fingers together. She smiled up at him, eyes cast with an adoring look. He returned her smile, something he found himself doing more and more around Hailey.

They finished dinner in a comfortable silence, just enjoying being around each other. When they were done and waiter came and took their plates away and left the receipt on the table. Both Seto and Hailey reached for the slip of paper and their hands touched. Seto shook his head and pried the paper from Hailey's hand.

"I never let anyone pay for a dinner that I asked them to." He said, placing a silver credit card on the table. Hailey just shook her head in fake annoyance and finished off her drink.

The waiter came back, took Seto's card and ran off to scan it. He came back with the card and another little slip of paper, which he waited for as Seto signed his name on the dotted line.

Seto placed his card back into his wallet and stood before Hailey, holding out his hand to help her up. She grasped onto his outstretched hand and pulled herself up to her full height.

Still holding on to her small warm hand in his own, Seto led Hailey back out to his car and into the cool spring night.

Seto dropped Hailey back off at her manor about an hour later; of course that was after a moonlit stroll through the park. They both chuckled as a curtain fluttered in one of the front rooms, signaling that someone had been waiting for them to return.

Seto turned his head and smiled at Hailey before opening his door and running around to the passenger side to help Hailey out. He offered her his hand and then pulled her into his warm embrace once she was standing.

"I had a good time tonight. Thank you for going to dinner with me." Seto whispered into her hair. Hailey snuggled into his chest and hugged him tighter.

"You're welcome. I had a good time tonight as well. Though, you know this is the first tournament that I actually can't wait to be done with. And I assure you that's never happened before." She whispered back, inhaling the same smell of cologne from the first night she has met Seto.

"Heh, I know what you mean." Seto said with a chuckle. "Is your sister going to be waiting to bombard you with questions once you go inside?"

"Probably, knowing Ishizu; but I think you're worth the trouble."

"Thanks. As much as I like to be with you, I promised Mokuba I'd get home before eleven. He slept in to around eleven in the morning after the first time we met." Seto said; bring her hand up to his lips and kissing her hand gently. "Tonight was most enjoyable Ms. Ishtar and I hope that you found it to be the same."

Hailey laughed at his change of attitude and curtsied back to him. "I did find it to be rather enjoyable. The company was unbeatable as always. I hope that you return home safety and think about me until we meet again, fair Seto."

"Until that fateful day, dear lady." Seto bowed deeply and turned on his heel and got back into his car. With a wave, he drove off and into the night.

Sighing Hailey walked up to the large doors, and entered the warm front foyer. Ishizu walked out from the corridor leading to the kitchen, her tan skin flushed slightly.

"So—how was your night with the dashing Seto Kaiba?"

"Izz, I saw you run away from the curtain when we got home." Hailey said dryly, watching her sister give her one of the most shocked expressions she had ever seen.

"…"

"And to answer your question, we had a wonderful time. Seto's one of the sweetest guys I've ever met. He's a lot different from what they report in the news, or at least he is once he lets you in and you get to know him." Hailey said, walking up the marble stairs.

Ishizu stared at her sister and smiled softly. This was turning out better than expected.

Well, I think I'm going to end that chapter here. I know this was short, but short is sometimes better. Besides, all I can think about at the moment is information from my driver's manual. I'm getting my license today and all I can think about is stupid road signs!! Well, wish me luck and I promise to have more soon. Read and REVIEW, please! Bye!

Mazakai