Weeks of isolation passed. Seto kept to herself, and although the rib was gradually healing, Gozaburo haunted her thoughts and dominated her nightmares.
Luckily he must have been more busy than usual, but that luck ran out.
Seto ignored him as he loomed over her in the library. She continued writing in Korean.
He took a seat across from her. "Good evening." he said in Korean. She responded in the language but didn't look up until he said in Japanese, "I'm leaving for a business convention tomorrow. You'll be joining me."
"... You should take Noa." she said then turned a page in her textbook. "He would enjoy that."
"You'll be joining me."
Since there wasn't a way to get out of it, Seto asked, "Where?"
"Las Vegas."
That would be a long flight. Seto leaned back as Gozaburo left the library. Crossing her arms, she wondered what all they would do in Vegas. She knew they had beautiful hotels and many attractions. Perhaps the trip wouldn't be completely horrible. Maybe there would be a duel monsters themed slot machine.
She went to bed early but couldn't sleep. As she turned on a lamp and opened her laptop, she realized the trip could provide a good opportunity to discuss with Gozaburo something she had been thinking about for quite some time now. She opened Roller Coaster Tycoon and spent most of the night perfecting Kaibaland.
The next morning Gozaburo personally brought her some clothes. To Seto's relief the black dress he handed her would cover her breasts and most of her thighs.
"You lack business clothes," Gozaburo stated. "There are shoes downstairs for you to try on."
Seto showered and dressed, and as she decided on the red heels that were relatively comfortable a maid gave her a makeup bag.
"What the hell. I'm not wearing this." she said as she looked through the contents. Of course there would be red lipstick. Pfft. Did Gozaburo ever tire of red?
"Yes, you are." Gozaburo said as he crossed the room. "You're going to look professional."
"I don't know what half of this is." she grumbled, but at a gesture from Gozaburo the maid began doing Seto's makeup for her.
Before long Noa was whining about wanting to go and glaring at Seto.
"I told him to take you." she told Noa for whatever it was worth.
Other staff members had gotten bags prepared for Gozaburo and Seto and were all taken care of. Seto just had to grab her laptop case and shove the charger into it.
14 long hours later as they stepped into fabulous Las Vegas, a crowd of reporters and protestors flocked to the two of them. Seto followed Gozaburo's lead in ignoring them.
The door locks clicked when they settled into a limo awaiting them.
Seto had already been tired from the trip here, and now she was further drained from the stress of the media storm they had walked through. In the midst of the screaming there had been so much noise she wasn't even sure what they were yelling about. Military shit, she assumed. Her English wasn't as flawless as Gozaburo's.
But now her attention was on the beauty of the Strip. Excalibur, New York New York (with its roller coaster that certainly caught her attention), the MGM grand, Monte Carlo and the Aria, Planet Hollywood.
"Would you pick somewhere for lunch?" Gozaburo offered, handing Seto his iPhone. He had a list of restaurants and hotels pulled up.
In a few minutes she was looking at pictures of the Luxor. What a beautiful place, and she felt strangely drawn to all its little details in photos of its restaurants. The Pyramid Cafe seemed nice. She looked over the menu then passed it back to Gozaburo.
The Luxor was on the other end of the strip, but that was fine. Gozaburo changed their course to the south when they could turn around, reading over the menu as well.
Traffic moved slowly. Seto had slept a little on the plane, but her chronic insomnia was catching up to her. Even so, this new place was far too interesting to fall back asleep no matter how much she needed it. Such beautiful buildings... There were several styles she was interested in integrating into her Kaibaland ideas. Actually... A resort hotel on the premises could be very fun. The idea behind the park was inexpensive entertainment for children, but a resort hotel could bring in the money needed to keep admission price low or even free.
"Have you been here before?" she asked Gozaburo.
"Many times, yes. They have a lot of business conventions." he answered as they climbed out of the limo and made their way into Luxor, passing through the lobby. Seto looked up, taking in the sight of thirty floors of rooms and monuments she had seen before on a documentary about Egypt. Ramses the Great, she thought it was supposed to be edging a threshold between the entrance and the casino. When she looked to Gozaburo, he was examining a map of the place on his phone.
"There's a Starbucks. There's three of them, in fact." he stated.
Three Starbucks...? This place was massive. "I could use some caffeine." Seto remarked.
When they had coffee in their hands, they explored the casino floor nearest to the Pyramid Cafe. The many sounds of the games weren't helping Seto's headache, but there was something about the colors she found relaxing as she watched Gozaburo spend 500 dollars. He won 1600 and gave after cashing out, gave Seto half of it to play with later. Both were ready to eat.
The Egyptian theme followed them into the cafe with hieroglyphs decorating edges of the ceiling. Columns with lotus blossoms were a nice touch, as well as the lotus blossoms on glass walls.
They were seated, and after glancing to a drink menu ordered a Pyramid, which was described as SKYY vodka and grapefruit juice. Seto ordered water, as she still had her coffee with her. Gozaburo ordered steak nachos and a burger.
Then the waitress looked to Seto. She pointed to a salad and looked at Gozaburo.
"I'm not ordering for you. Come on. Say it in English."
She could read in English perfectly fine, but to speak it...
Urgh, she had to try. She spoke slowly, but fortunately it was clear and correct.
Half way through lunch, Seto was on her laptop with a barely eaten salad pushed out of her way.
"You really should eat more. You're losing too much weight." Gozaburo remarked.
"You don't give a damn about my health. Don't pretend you do." she said coldly. She'd already eaten some salad and some of his nachos. It was more than she usually ate.
"Seto. Eat."
"I can't. But anyway... There's something I want to talk to you about."
"So talk."
She moved her computer to show him Roller Coaster Tycoon. "This is Roller Coaster Tycoon. It's a game where you build an amusement park, and I have compiled data to share with you on what I have learned from this game and what I have applied from my studies."
She pulled a notebook from a compartment in her laptop case, opening to all sorts of charts and calculations. For twenty minutes she explained it all, and Gozaburo hadn't interrupted once.
Seto closed the game and opened a PowerPoint presentation. 200 slides later, she was at a summary of why Gozaburo should fund this project and how much money she was asking for. She also mentioned her newest idea of adding a resort hotel to KaibaLand.
"I approve." Gozaburo finally said. "I'm very impressed by all of this data and your presentation." And turned on.
"You approve?"
"I approve. Your statistics and plans speak for themselves. This could become a very big thing, and I wouldn't want to regret turning down something that could have been very successful."
Her heart was beating faster now. She was so close to something that could bring her some joy.
Gozaburo added, "But I don't want it taking away from your other work."
"I understand. I already have a lot of it figured out."
"If it becomes too much of a distraction, I don't want to hear you arguing about giving it up."
"Yes, Sir."
"If you're able to balance it with your other responsibilities, that's great. I know you haven't been too happy lately. Your better focus on your education is commendable, but you are so miserable, aren't you? If you don't want a career in business, that's fine, Seto. You could always be a mother instead."
"...Wh-what."
"Noa would like to have a real sibling, I'm sure."
"WHAT."
Heads turned their way, and Seto was paler than usual, sinking back into her seat and letting the shock dissolve to anger.
"Glare at me all you like. It doesn't change what I said."
"You're disgusting. You're not funny."
"I had no intention of being funny. While we're here in Vegas we might as well get married."
"Shut up!"
"That was a joke, Seto."
The glare further narrowed. She watched him suspiciously, hoping so much that it really was a joke.
He leaned across the table, smirking to her. He had more control over her than either of them could have ever imagined he would have. "It's nothing to worry about. You're doing much better in your education. Relax. The money for the park is yours."
No pressure.
"Say... When was your last period?" he asked.
"... I haven't had them since I was thirteen." she answered. Stress could stop them.
"Hm..." Satisfied at the thrill of psychological torture, Gozaburo calmly finished his burger.
