A Conflict of Interest

xXx

Chapter Eight

Silent Night

"I'm afraid that's impossible, sir."

"What do you mean, impossible? I am your superior, and you do as I say!"

I remained cool-headed. "My sister is coming to stay for her school exchange in two weeks, remember? I can't just up and leave Sapporo, right now."

My boss stayed very silent for a moment. "Then you'll have to arrange for her to transfer schools. You can do that, right?"

I tried not to roll my eyes. "Shacho-san, I can't just up and leave Sapporo for one client. What about my other cases?"

"Two clients, Sorensen. You have KaibaCorporation to see to now," Nobita grunted. "That's more than enough reason to move to Domino City on a permanent basis. Let me worry about the others."

"And what about my sister? All her school arrangements were finalised months ago."

Nobita rubbed his beard in thought. "Very well, then. Let me see what I can do about that."

Later on that day, Nobita came back into my office. I had rather hoped he'd forgotten the whole thing, but, judging by his ruddy cheeks and chuffed expression, I figured this wasn't the case.

"I've made some calls," he said, plopping down on the armchair in the corner of my office. "and I've managed to secure you an apartment in the city. Furthermore, Domino High School has said that they would be happy to take Esther as soon as school starts up again, after Christmas."

"It's Estée."

"Sure, sure, Estée. And Toshio-san said he'd rent your place here, after you're gone. Am I a miracle worker, or what?"

I deadpanned. "If that's what you want to call it."

"Everything is taken care of." He grinned. "You'll just have to arrange to freight your things to your new apartment in January. I'm telling ya, it's spick and span. What's more, you can work out of the KaibaCorp offices, right in the centre of town."

"What?!" I dropped him an incredulous look. "are you seconding me to KaibaCorp?"

"I guess you could say that. Since our client base is expanding in the south, it's good to have some feet on the ground, down there."

"So, just to be clear, once the Hopkins case has wrapped, I'll be working for Kaiba full-time?"

He shrugged. "More or less. What, you're not happy about it?"

"No, I just…" I took off my glasses, trying to comprehend this completely life-altering turn of events. "I guess I wasn't expecting it all to happen so soon."

"Well, kiddo," Nobita said, standing up. "There ain't no one better fit for the job, than you. You'll do the Nobita name proud, I just know it!"

No pressure, I thought. Just when I thought I'd seen the back of KaibaCorp for a while, and – to that end – its sanctimonious CEO, I end up falling straight back into its proverbial lap.

xXx

September, October and November came and went in a blur, and before I knew it, I'd finished up work for the year and was on my way to the airport to collect my little sister, just in time for Christmas. Although, I guess she wasn't really that little anymore, and Japan didn't really celebrate Christmas, but that was beside the point.

It had been a couple of years since I'd seen Estée – in the flesh, at least. Before I left America, she had idolized me, and started taking Japanese when she began high school. Now, three years on from that, she was coming over on a one-year school exchange, and couldn't have been more excited about it. In a way, I think she wanted closure over Cecelia's death, too. Although she didn't remember Cecelia as well as I did – she was only nine when Cecelia passed away – Essie still thought fondly of her as her oldest sister.

Rubbing my mittened hands together, I ran from the car through the icy cold air to the airport terminal to wait for her, but, as soon as I stepped inside, I realised she'd already beaten me to it. There, standing in the arrivals hall with a couple of suitcases in tow, stood a leggy, tired-looking, raven-haired young woman. Good grief, how had she gotten so tall?! The girl was now taller than Cecelia or I had ever gotten. Must have our father's genes, I thought with a smile. As soon as our eyes fell upon each other, I felt my throat close up and advanced toward her.

"Essie!" I cried, throwing my arms around her. "Look at you, you beanpole!"

For a moment she couldn't speak, for she had dissolved into tears, clutching onto me for dear life, her shoulders racking with sobs. After a few moments, we both regained our composure. Her dark blue eyes were bloodshot, but she looked overwhelmed with relief and happiness to see me. "Lexie," she sniffled. "It's been so long! I can't believe I'm finally here!"

We laughed and chatted and rambled all the way home, and all night, too, until Essie was so exhausted she passed out on the couch. I chose not to disturb her; the fire was banked and she would be fine until the morning, so I put a spare duvet over her, and went to bed myself.

The following day was Christmas Eve, so Essie and I decided to go out and get a Christmas tree. By now, she was somewhat over her jetlag and feeling more human again, and was excited at the prospect of a day out seeing some of the sights, including a visit to see the snow monkeys, and a dip in a natural onsen.

Having not seen Essie for almost three years, I came to realise that she was, by all counts, a self-made "weeaboo", or the type of person that was obsessed with everything and anything to do with Japan and the Japanese way of life. Her knowledge of the language and culture was near flawless at this point, and she seemed to be deliriously excited to finally be here and start experiencing things first-hand.

Her first request had been that we go somewhere that made "real" sushi, which I wasn't entirely opposed to, being that I had a love for all things food and wine. Despite conversing mostly in our mother tongue of English, for the most part, she still insisted on throwing in Japanese words into our conversations, such as "kawaii" (especially when we went to see the monkeys), which was borderline embarrassing and, I could tell, was going to get irritating after a while.

The scenery was spectacular at this time of the year when the snow became knee-deep in places, and the city put on an exquisite display with Christmas lights and decorations. It reminded me a lot of when my parents took us to Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, when we were little. Tonight, being Christmas Eve, it looked especially festive, and young families and couples strolled the boulevards, gazing in shop windows and market stalls. Essie noted that she would like to come back later on for some carol singing and hot chocolate.

Essie looked up from her spot kneeling on the floor, decorating the tree, and glanced at me quizzically. "Did you just hear that?"

"Hear what?" I asked from the top of my step-ladder, trying to arrange some fairy lights without strangling myself in the process.

She shrugged. "Never mind. I just thought I heard a plane overhead, or something."

I shrugged too, having not heard anything, and it wasn't until 20 minutes later that a knock at our door startled us both, as we were admiring our handiwork, the tree now finished and scintillating in the light of the fire.

"Were you expecting someone?" Essie queried.

"That, I am not." I frowned, and went to answer it.

Needless to say, I nearly fell down when two young boys – one considerably older and taller than the other – were now standing in my doorway.

"Come on, bro!" Kaiba suddenly pitched forward, as if being pushed from behind. I stepped back, thinking he was about to fall right on top of me, but he caught himself.

"Ugh, Mokuba! Cut it out." Kaiba snapped.

I looked at them in blatant stupidity. "Um…konbanwa…Kaiba-san? Mokuba-chan?"

"Who is it?" Essie called from behind me.

I wasn't sure I wanted her to know – at least not like this. "What are you… doing here?" I screwed my eyes shut and shook my head, trying to prove to my disbelieving brain that I wasn't hallucinating. "How do you know where I live?"

"We tracked your cell-phone signal via satellite!" Mokuba informed me, enthusiastically.

I was stunned. "That's…not creepy at all…"

"We were on our way home from a business trip in Vladivostok," Mokuba continued, as if he hadn't heard me. "We thought we'd stop by for a visit. Right, nii-san?"

"Onee-chan?" Essie now stood at my shoulder.

Kaiba scratched his head. I don't think I'd ever seen him look so uncomfortable. "We were just…passing through."

"Oh, they speak English!" Essie cried in surprise. "Your English is really good!"

"Yeah, we learnt how to speak English when we were kids!" Mokuba replied, which I found ironic, given that he was still a kid.

"That's so awesome!" Essie clasped her hands together in delight.

I cleared my throat. "Kaiba, Mokuba, this is my sister, Estée. She's come to stay with me on a one-year school exchange."

"You can call me Essie," she replied, warmly.

There was awkward silence for a moment. "W-what brings you both here?" I asked, glancing at Kaiba who barely said a word the whole time.

"We wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, Lex-senpai!" Mokuba bubbled, and I thought I saw him prod his elder brother in the ribs.

Kaiba winced and, to my utter surprise, bowed in front of me and produced a bottle of what looked to be very expensive French Bordeaux from behind his back. "Uh…this is for you, Lexus-senpai."

I happened to know that the coastal Russian city of Vladivostok was on almost the exact same latitude as Sapporo and, as a result, would simply not have been on their flight path back to Domino, which was much further south, closer to Tokyo. This, together with Kaiba's odd behaviour, perplexed me, but I decided to let it slide and let them both come in out of the cold, taking the wine graciously. Whatever I had done to deserve this, I had no idea.

"Thank you, Kaiba… Uh, I don't really know what to say. This is very kind of you."

Kaiba blinked uncomfortably, and I noticed his fists were balled into a white-knuckled grip. What on Earth was wrong with him?

"How long are you guys staying in Sapporo for?" Essie asked.

Like a broken record, Kaiba said, "We're just passing through."

And, at the same time, Mokuba said, "We're staying the night!"

Essie and I looked at them in confusion given their completely different answers. Mokuba and Kaiba also exchanged confused looks, and for a few excruciating silent moments, we all just stood there like guppies in my living room, not knowing what in the fresh hell was going on.

"So…do you wanna come ice-skating with us, then?" Essie beamed.

I blanched. "Wait, what?"

"Sure!" Mokuba cried eagerly.

"I saw people skating on a frozen lake when we came back through town earlier," Essie shrugged. "We can go to the Christmas markets for hot cocoa after. What do you say?"

Ever the optimist – and by far the more adventurous one of the two of us, when it came to outdoor pursuits – Essie had me cornered. Kaiba and I exchanged impassive glances. Of all the client functions – if you could even call it that – that I had attended, this was sure to be one of the more interesting. Kaiba, himself, seemed even more stumped than I did. I had no idea what in God's name he was thinking even coming here, because obviously it wasn't for business.

"Nii-san? Can we at least stay a little longer before we go home?"

Kaiba sighed. "Mokuba…"

Like his brother, Mokuba was obviously used to getting his way, as well.

"It'll be fun, nii-san, come on!"

Kaiba looked befuddled for a moment, and then snapped back into his more usual demeanour. "We haven't got time, Mokuba. This was meant to be a flying visit."

"We've done the flying part!" the little smart-ass countered. "Pleeeeeease, bro?"

Finally, Kaiba relented. "Fine. But only for a few hours."

xXx

"I'm terrible at this, too, if it makes you feel any better." I said to Kaiba as we were pulling our skates on.

Kaiba grunted. "I haven't done this since I was, like, nine."

Short of looking like intoxicated giraffes trying our hand at ballet on ice, Kaiba and I somehow managed to fumble our way through a few rounds on the rink without doing the splits or pulling any tendons. Mokuba and Essie took to it like ducks to water – naturally – but after fifteen minutes or so, I was done for.

From there, we walked down the snowy boulevards of the city until we got to the Christmas markets, which were not-so-secretly one of my favourite things about this time of the year. There was something about the twinkling lights, mulled wine, carols and beautiful food and decorations on display in the quaint little stalls that gave me the warm fuzzies. Apparently, they had the same effect on Essie, who had gone completely googly-eyed at a stall that sold cakes and pastries that looked so perfect, it was hard to believe they were real. Unable to resist, I bought us each a chocolate-covered strawberry kebab. Given that Japan wasn't a Christian country, I was appreciative that many people still got into the festive spirit at this time of the year.

In what I guessed was an attempt to take the edge off of this rather awkward situation we had found ourselves in, Kaiba came back from a stall with a pitcher of mulled wine and two goblets. Again, I knew he was too young for alcohol, but he clearly did well at hiding his age. Mokuba and Essie joined us with steaming mugs of hot chocolate, and we all took a seat at a wooden table inside an Alpine chalet-style shack, that had a fire crackling in the corner, next to our table. Kaiba poured me a generous goblet and I took it graciously, swigging back several gulps. A few moments later, I felt a lot less agitated.

"Nii-san, can Essie and I go on one of the carnival rides, after this?" Mokuba piped up. "You could get some ideas for stage two of KaibaLand…"

"Kaiba Land?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"Seto owns an amusement park, named after us!" Mokuba replied. "Would you like to go, sometime?"

"Mokuba, I doubt that Lexus-senpai would be interested in going to Kaiba Land." Kaiba grunted.

"Given my irrational fear of heights, you're probably right."

"Well, I would like to go!" Essie said. "Just because my sister is a big chicken, doesn't mean I am!"

Once they'd finished their drinks, Kaiba and I watched Essie and Mokuba run off through the snow, towards what looked like some crazy Christmas-themed rollercoaster. In many ways, my sister was still quite juvenile; I blamed my over-protective parents for that. After Cecelia's death, they hardly let her do anything on her own, and were horrified when I had declared that I was moving to Japan, almost five years ago. Once I was settled here, they very begrudgingly allowed Essie to come for her school exchange, knowing she would be in good hands, with me.

"So, are you going to tell me the real reason why you're here?" I asked, once Kaiba and I were alone.

"There isn't one," he muttered. "We were returning from a business trip in Russia, and Mokuba wanted to see you."

I laughed. "Like I'm supposed to believe that. If you're here for my Blue Eyes, then you came an awful long way for nothing."

Kaiba scowled at me. "You sound like even more of a Christmas Grinch than I do."

"I somehow doubt that," I snickered.

"Mokuba enjoys this time of the year, so I do what I can, for him." Kaiba replied. "Christmas Day isn't much fun for an eleven year old, who has no family."

At that, I suddenly felt awful for both of them. "I'm sorry, Kaiba. It can't be easy for you."

"It's not, but…" he trailed off, his eyes going glassy, as if he were recalling a long-ago memory, but just as quickly, he straightened up. "It's just another day of the year. Life goes on."

I sensed that wasn't exactly what he had planned on saying, but I let it go. Kaiba might have a heart of glass, but not where Mokuba was concerned. That much was obvious. I sensed a deep pain in his heart from losing his parents so young, and quite possibly a feeling of resentment from being lumped with the responsibility of raising his younger brother like a father, after Gozaburo's mysterious demise.

"I take it you've heard that I'm moving to Domino, in the New Year?" I said, changing the subject.

He nodded. "Indeed."

"Did you have anything to do with that?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

He side-eyed me. "Perhaps."

"I thought as much."

"It will be more convenient, for the both of us, going forward. Wouldn't you agree?"

"If I'm being paid accordingly, sure." I replied, not really caring where I lived these days, as long as I was being paid well – although, I had grown fond of Sapporo, for some reason. It must have been the weather that reminded me of home, or something.

"What is it with you and this place, anyway?" Kaiba grumbled. "It's a dump."

"I'm not really a warm-weather kind of a person."

"Huh. Well, you'd better get used to it. Domino in summer is going to be your idea of hell."

"That's still six months away," I dismissed, drawing on the last of my mulled wine. "Come on, let's go find our siblings. I get the feeling your brother is leading my sister astray."

"More like the other way around."

Walking amongst the glowing lights of the winter carnival, with vendors and colourful rides every which way, we eventually found Mokuba and Essie on the carousel, laughing like young children as they went round and round. I was pleased to see that Essie hadn't lost her childlike innocence, although I was equally concerned as to how she was going to assert herself once she started school, here. Japanese high schools were a lot different to American high schools, and the students were burdened by greater responsibilities. Indeed, they were treated more like young adults, than like children. Furthermore, the fact that she was going to be in the same year as Kaiba, unsettled me.

"She looks a lot like you." Kaiba said as we stood there, watching them.

"I don't think so. She's the spit of Cecelia, just with black hair."

"Then you must have looked like triplets."

"Cecelia was the only blonde one." I replied, reminiscently. "I got the boring brown hair."

Kaiba slid his eyes down to me. "Brown hair isn't boring."

I shrugged. "Better than having green hair, I suppose."

Later that night, after we'd returned home, Essie and Mokuba ventured upstairs so that Mokuba could attempt to teach her how to play Duel Monsters, while Kaiba and I remained downstairs, discussing much more mundane topics such as law and business. It began snowing outside again, and, as I was already feeling a little giddy from the mulled wine at the markets, I decided to crack open the bottle of wine that Kaiba had given me, earlier. He didn't seem opposed to the idea of having another drink, although I was internally chastising myself for serving a minor.

As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, Kaiba gave me a pointed look when I returned from the kitchen, one dark eyebrow perfectly arched.

"I know you don't exactly celebrate Christmas, here, but…we do, so why not?" I shrugged, handing him his glass.

Kaiba took a sip. "Not bad."

"I don't know many fifteen year olds that like red wine," I smiled wryly.

"I'm sixteen." He snapped.

I sat down on the couch next to him. "You seem so much older than that, Kaiba."

"I don't have much of a choice."

"Don't you just…want to be a normal teenager, sometimes?"

He folded his arms. "I don't see the point in all that nonsense. We've all got to be adults one day, so why delay the inevitable?"

"There are a lot of great things about being a teenager, though." I replied, thinking about my own teen years, back in upstate New York.

"Like?"

"Like…you can be completely irresponsible and get away with it, most of the time…stay up all night, sleep all day… experience your first love, maybe…" I smiled hazily at him. "Right?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Yeah, none of those things really apply, to me."

"Not even a first love?"

He glared at me, but I could see the blush starting to flare up in his cheeks. "Especially not that."

I laughed. "Oh, come on, Kaiba. Surely there must be someone?"

He glared harder and set his wine glass down on the coffee table. "Even if there was, what's it to you?"

"Well, it's none of my business, I guess." I shrugged. "But, it would be reassuring to know that my client isn't just a robot." I teased.

"Speak for yourself."

My mouth dropped open. "I most certainly am not a robot."

"Prove it."

"You prove it!"

Kaiba put his elbow up on the back of the couch, and tilted his head down low by my ear. "And how would you like me to do that, Senpai?" he husked, tucking a snarl of escaped hair back behind my ear.

The dulcet tone of his voice set alarm bells off in my mind. Tipsy as I might have been, I knew that tone all too well.

"K-Kaiba, I was joking…"

"Oh…" he sounded somewhat disappointed. "Well, I wasn't."

With that, Kaiba tucked his thumb under my chin and closed his lips against mine. The wine made him taste like a warm summer day on a French vineyard, and despite the ridiculousness of it all – me, a twenty-three year old lawyer, and him, a sixteen year old multi-billionaire – I felt myself turning to jelly against him. It had been so long since I had been intimate with anyone; one might have even said I was starved of affection. I wondered if Kaiba – in all his handsome youthfulness – could possibly have felt the same.

Our lips moved in perfect unison and I felt an exhilarating rush of wantonness as our tongues glided and melded over each other. Kaiba's stubble bristled against my lips as he kissed me more vigorously than before, creating a delightful friction, before I apparently came to my senses and broke away from him. God, what am I doing?!

"Kaiba!?" I spluttered.

Flushed and breathing heavily, we stared at each other, our eyes a reflection of the other's, and I could hardly comprehend how that had just happened. His pupils were dilated in excitement and I could tell he would have liked to have taken it further, if I hadn't just put a stop to it.

He smirked at me, like the cat that had got the cream. "Not a robot, then?"

"N-no…"

"Onee-chan?"

We snapped our heads toward the hallway door, only to see Essie standing there with Mokuba leaning against her, looking like he was about to cark it at any moment. I immediately composed myself, as if Kaiba hadn't just kissed me seconds earlier.

"Yes, Essie?"

"I think Mokuba's ready for bed. Can they stay here tonight?"

I swallowed hard. "Kaiba was just about to leave."

Kaiba cleared his throat and stood up. "Come on, Mokuba. It's time to go home."

"But, nii-san…I want to stay here…"

"It would be no trouble, at all! We have a spare bedroom…" Essie bubbled with pleading eyes.

"Thank you, but, we must get back to Domino." Kaiba replied politely. Oh, so he did know how to turn on the manners, when called for.

With that said, Kaiba scooped the sleepy boy up into his arms and headed for the door. Essie and I followed, and the awkwardness was excruciating.

"Merry Christmas, Kaiba-san, Mokuba-chan." Essie smiled, bowing before both of them. "I guess I'll see you at school, next year?"

"Something like that." Kaiba muttered, indifferently. Then he turned to me. "I'll see you at the office on the sixth."

"You will." I replied, feeling the burn creeping up my neck. "Oyasumi nasai, Kaiba."

He inclined his head. "Goodnight, Senpai."

And, just like that, he was gone. Like the Ghost of Christmas Past, it was like he was never here at all.

xXx