Author's Note: Hi guys! Exams are almost over so the next few chapters should be improved! Once again I kinda got a bit side-tracked with Seto at the beginning so the SchroederCorp bash will be concluding in the next chapter; promise! Hope you enjoy! XxxxxxX
Also, thanks for the really nice PMs guys!
"The rush / that comes with your embrace / and in this world of loneliness I see your face"
It was just gone three in the afternoon … five hours until Schroeder's thing; plenty of time. Plenty of time to do what exactly? All KaibaCorp business had been completed ahead of schedule so he wouldn't have to worry about anything tonight or tomorrow, so what did he do now?
Sighing, Seto picked up the same picture as earlier, with it becoming somewhat of a habit. Instead of his mind looking back on the hour or so spent in the pet store, it flitted to a mere few moments ago. Three years ago and he would have shaken his head and wrote the dancing off as a moment of weakness. Three years ago and he wouldn't have entertained the notion of kissing her. Three years ago things would have been very different than now.
But what about five thousand years ago?
If he were to believe what he'd seen in Egypt three years ago, then maybe things weren't all that different. He had blocked such thoughts from his head for thirty-six months, only to be confronted with them once again. The memories were hazy now and he'd convinced himself that he'd forgotten them, but the images flashed through his mind once in a while, just to remind him. He'd never really been one to believe in 'magic' per se, but it was hard to deny the things he'd seen through the years.
Magic was one thing, but destiny was a whole other topic he preferred not to touch upon. Soulmates. Blue-Eyes. A card and a person. A dragon and a young woman. A monster and a soul. Surely these things had to be different entities, right? The only blue eyes he saw when looking at Kisara were her sapphire irises, but yet … when he looked to his Blue-Eyes cards, she stared back at him, smiling and laughing.
She had died back then; died in order for him to survive. He had been her life-points back then, protecting them at all costs. She looked almost the same as back then; almost. Her hair might be the same colour, or lack of, but his Kisara's hair was wavy and curled slightly. Her voice was different aswell; more defined and soft, but with a sly side hidden beneath.
Had he just thought his Kisara?
So if they had been together all those years ago, did that have any influence on today? If an arranged marriage hadn't been on the cards, would they have ended up together? Or was the arranged marriage fate's way of making sure they were coupled yet again?
Groaning, Seto held his head in his hands; surely he was thinking much too far into this. And yet …
If he had loved her back then, did that mean he did now? Did he even have a choice in his own feelings at this stage? She'd been living in the mansion about a month at this stage, and in those four weeks she'd opened doors he hadn't even known existed. He knew how to play basic musical scales on the piano; for years he had viewed that instrument with contempt, but he was beginning to appreciate the sound it brought to the halls. The KaibaCorp building now seemed aesthetically pleasing to his eyes, and they even had a dog …
How was he supposed to know what exactly love was? Were Mokuba and Rebecca in love, or just infatuated at their ages? How was he supposed to know the difference? How did Mokuba know the difference? Another sigh as Seto placed the photograph down and leaned back in his chair, speaking aloud.
"What is love?"
He hadn't expected his study to answer him, and yet a voice did speak; a voice he recognised.
"Love, sir, is when you enjoy just being in her presence, be it talking or in silence. In my experience, people only ask that question when they are in love, sir."
Despite himself, Seto smirked as he looked to the door of his study, seeing the man to be standing there; at least someone had the guts to answer him and Roland had never held back when questioned. He was among the longest serving of all the KaibaCorp staff, and maybe it was his unfazed attitude towards his employer that kept the shaded man at the top of the company's payroll year after year.
"Thanks Roland, is there something you wanted?"
"Just to say I may be missing for a few days; Emiko is due in the next week, sir."
Emiko was Roland's wife; Seto had met her for the first time last year at a KaibaCorp function. She was an attractive woman with dark hair and green eyes, who also owned her own dress store in the middle of Domino.
Blinking, Seto stood from his desk; with all the hype about his and Kisara's marriage, he'd forgotten Emiko was pregnant again. Nodding his head, the young man walked towards the head of his security team.
"Of course, Roland. Did you find out the sex?"
"A girl, sir."
"Congratulations."
A handshake and congratulating smile; that would make for two boys and a little girl for Roland. The older man nodded his thanks and took leave; he had to go to the KaibaCorp building and take care of some interns before he knocked off for the day.
As the door clicked shut, Seto found himself staring back at his own desk, eyes looking to the photo again. Roland's words replayed in his head; did dancing in the foyer qualify as enjoying her presence? He'd merely asked what love was. Going by Roland's words, did that mean he was in love? Was he in love?
Okay, so she hadn't walked all that far, but Kai seemed preoccupied with chasing a few crows off the lawn, and she was quite happy to sit on the edge of the fountain and watch. It would be dark in an hour or two, a fact that was driven home by the birds flying overhead; all heading back to trees to roost for the night. Shivering slightly, the young woman thought back to the two dresses lying on her bed. The light blue one.
Thanks to Téa for the advice on formal wear, and for her uncanny timing. Smiling as she placed her phone back in her pocket, Kisara pulled the elastic from her hair and let the tresses fall down, warming her neck and ears. Her hair had been shorter once, only reaching just beyond her shoulders, but now the locks cascaded down to the middle of her back; a style she was much more comfortable with.
Sighing, Kisara let her mind return to the inevitable; the dancing in the foyer and of how it had ended. Should she have? Or was she right to make an excuse and get out of there? She'd only known him for a month … at the start of the week she'd convinced herself that it was impossible to fall in love with a man she'd been arranged to marry, and that reckoning still stood strong … but it was becoming rapidly undermined.
"What do you think, Kai? Should we have kissed?"
A yap was her answer, along with a growl as the little puppy began to pull out of her lacers. Why shouldn't they have kissed? It wasn't as if she was a nun who knew nothing of men … go back three years and maybe that could have been true. But studying in China and living with Vivian had introduced her to the opposite sex, away from watchful eyes.
Pouting, Kisara lowered a hand and picked up the small husky, running her hand over the smooth red and white fur. Kai had grown a lot in the weeks since her arrival here; something they had in common.
Looking down to the small forest in the corner of the grounds, Kisara contemplated heading in that direction, but it would take too long; by the time she got back it would be a rush to get ready for SchroederCorp, and she didn't do too well when rushed.
"Shhh! Joey move your head!"
"I'll move my head when you move your foot, dice-boy!"
Téa frowned as the boys continued arguing amongst themselves. Great, now the volume level was as high as it would go, and she still couldn't hear the television. The coverage would be starting in a few minutes, and it seemed as though everyone had congregated in the Muto's living room to watch. The room couldn't hold many more people; it had enough seats for five individuals and they were already well over that level.
She and Yugi had been intending to have a quiet evening in and watch the SchroederCorp coverage, but then Mokuba and Rebecca had called over, followed closely by Joey and Mai, and pretty much everyone else after that.
Losing her patience as Duke made to kick Joey and the blond grabbed his foot, Téa pinned the duo with a glare.
"Guys stop; it's starting!"
It took all of two seconds for a silence to fall on the cramped living room as a young reporter took the screen, standing outside the newest corporate building in Domino city. It looked like something from the Oscars, or another event of such calibre; there were men in tuxedos with women in dresses and high-heels, all posing before flashing cameras. A superfluous red carpet on the ground foretold of Zigfried's flamboyant and boastful nature.
"Hey Mokuba, what's Kisara wearing anyway?"
The youth shrugged at Mai's question; he hadn't gone home after school today. Having lived in the Kaiba Mansion for years now, the teenager knew how hectic things got just before an event like this and had decided to stay in the city for the evening. Whatever about Seto and Kisara rushing around, it was the maids who were the worst; they got excited and flitted around the large house, trying to get a glimpse at dresses or tuxes, and then meeting up to gossip about the outfits.
More people emerged from limousines, each vehicle bearing a different insignia on the side; he'd never seen so many company executives at one place before. The annual KC summit didn't even pull in the numbers now on-screen.
"Oh, I know her!"
Mokuba nodded as Rebecca pointed to the screen where a young woman had just emerged from another limo, hanging onto the arm of her partner; she was a good friend of Seto's. Maria Koriscova was a young Russian businesswoman who worked predominantly in the fashion industry, a fact made obvious by her tall frame and thin figure. She had been in Domino last year for a fashion expo and had had some business with KaibaCorp; something to do with game figurines and their attire.
More people made their way up the carpet, more logos; some he recognised and some were completely new to the youngster's eyes. Limo after limo until one pulled up to the end of the flaunting red carpet; one with an insignia he was most definitely familiar with.
"Here we go …"
As Mokuba spoke, having seen the KC logo on the side of the limousine, Téa crossed her fingers for Kisara; she hoped the newcomer would be okay. Seto Kaiba looked every part the confident company-owner he was with a slightly arrogant smirk. It seemed obvious that he was the youngest of the CEOs present, distinguished by his differing formal wear; not regimented by the stark black and white of the tuxedos worn by all around, the Kaiba had seen fit to sport a black shirt and trousers.
The two second lapse between Seto emerging from the limo and Kisara's debut on the red carpet felt like an hour to the watchers, as it did to the awaiting photographers. As the young French woman finally stood out alongside the man she was to marry the camera zoomed in and numerous bulbs flashed. Rebecca smiled as she heard Mokuba sigh with relief.
"Wow …"
Only now noticing that she'd been holding her breath, Téa smiled as she heard Tristan; he hadn't been introduced to Kisara yet and, knowing her friend, he hadn't paid all that much attention to the hype of the arranged marriage either. The brunette was glad she'd picked the light blue dress; it really suited Kisara.
More flashes emitted from the gathered paparazzi as the reporter began talking again, introducing the newest couple on the carpet to the viewers.
One step at a time, and keep a hand on Seto's arm. She found herself wishing the night was already over and done with. The more she thought about it, the more nervous the young woman became; glitz and glamour wasn't her thing, and yet here she was standing before a crowd of flashing lights. The red carpet beneath her high-heels seemed to stretch on for an age. The twenty-year-old kept the slight smile on her face as her feet automatically began walking. She'd been twice as nervous in the limo so Kosuke had tried to assure her and mentioned something about her and Seto's dancing in the foyer earlier; apparently the maids had watched for a little bit and the word had soon spread to all KaibaCorp staff. His analogy of an employee grapevine had made her laugh just as they'd pulled up at SchroederCorp.
"Ms. Ashbrook, over here!"
"Mr. Kaiba, Ms. Ashbrook!"
"This way!"
"Over here!"
More shouting, followed by the clicking shutters of countless cameras. Little red dots here and there where cameramen and women held the tools of their trade, training the lenses on-target. Demands for photographs from one side and shouts for poses from the other. As the blush fought to surface again, Kisara felt a light arm around her waist, along with a voice in her right ear.
"You're doing fine … all these cameras will be gone once we get inside; that's the reason they're all shouting now. Just smile and imagine this whole thing is already over."
That made her laugh lightly; it was comforting to know that he disliked being here too. Most of the faces surrounding them were strangers to her eyes; one or two rang faint bells of recognition in her memory. So this was what it was like to arrive at such a large function; it felt like a pressure cooker with press squeezing in at both sides of the carpet and innumerable flashes going off. Normally her aunt and uncle would attend such things to represent Ashbrook Estates, but not anymore; she was here as the significant other of Seto Kaiba, and something told Kisara that, although this was her first big-scale event, it surely wouldn't be her last.
"S-Seto …"
"Mmmm?"
It was an acquired skill, to be able to speak out of the corner of her mouth and still smile lightly for the watching cameras, not wanting to draw anymore attention than merited, but it was a skill Kisara found to be easy enough. As cobalt looked down questioningly, the young woman noticed that even with a pair of high-heels on her feet he was still taller than her.
"P-please don't leave me alone in here …"
"I won't, I promise."
More flashing cameras and shouts of direction from the photographers. There was another couple emerging from a limo at the end of the red carpet now; why couldn't the paparazzi focus on those two? It didn't really matter; they were still walking, with the doors of the SchroederCorp building looming. A person stood at each side of the double doors, holding them open for the arriving guests.
The change in atmosphere between outside the building on the carpet to the inside of SchroederCorp was instantaneous; as soon as the pressure cooker of outside was abandoned, a calmer more relaxed mood seemed to settle.
They had to pass through the lobby to get to the open doors that led unto some class of a function room. Running her eyes over the sparse few chairs and waste bins, Kisara frowned; KaibaCorp had leather armchairs and polished coffee tables for individuals to rest in comfort until they spoke to the receptionists. It was also bright, being surrounded by glass panes in comparison to the dark wood panelling Zigfried had chosen to use. In her opinion SchroederCorp's lobby seemed very subdued and none too pleasing to the eye.
"KaibaCorp's lobby is much more welcoming than this …"
Now those were words that made Seto smile; Kisara was looking around the empty lobby of the building. It was smaller than KaibaCorp's, starker and not very accommodating; all aspects that pleased the young CEO to no end as he walked through it.
"I hope he knows he just built on a flood plain aswell."
"What?"
Seto looked down as Kisara said this; it was news to him if Domino had a flood plain in its vicinity. Nodding her head, Kisara smiled slightly as she spoke.
"There's a small river running behind this building, but the water table rises in wet weather. This whole floor will flood if Zigfried didn't include flood-prevention fittings in his initial plans. That's why there was never a building here before, and why the plot was so cheap."
"How?"
"I have a degree in Geography."
Raised eyebrows; why hadn't he remembered this? She had told him she'd studied Geography a few days ago, when they'd been in the kitchen and he'd told her about Vivian's participation in the new tournament. Why was it that he didn't know very much about Kisara at all? A geographical degree was something he was envious of. To be able to distinguish the productivity of a region by either demographics or topography; that was a skill.
Seto smirked as he looked to his fiancée; it was just like she was talking about the piano or musical scales again; no stuttering or blushing, only fluid speech with knowledge behind it. Now he was really smiling; Schroeder had thought he was getting a bargain with cheap land in Domino and he'd get his comeuppance once the wet weather hit.
The function room didn't look any more appealing than the lobby had, or maybe he was just being biased. There were small groups gathered together in various places, no doubt talking business. Schroeder was nowhere to be seen … yet. Knowing the German, he would have to make a big and noticeable entrance to draw enough attention to himself. The idiot would want to have all eyes on him, eclipsing anyone else present. If there was a God above, then please don't let the man be wearing that atrocious pink suit he had sported during the last tournament.
An hour, maybe two and still no sign of Zigfried. Countless small chats about business with a few of the CEOs he was acquainted with, but Seto made a point of not getting too far into the conversations; Kisara knew nothing of business and it was unfair if she had to act intrigued every time another company owner came along.
Instead, he had decided to sit at one of the many tables and chairs set out for guests of the event; there were waiters going around with platters of food and glasses of wine for each table; Ashbrook wine, what a shrewd touch from Schroeder. Seto had just indicated a couple he had become acquainted with last year, with Kisara was looking to the pair, somewhat taken aback.
"Is she married to him?"
"Not yet, but look at the rock on her finger."
Kisara looked to the couple now dancing, locking her eyes onto the fourth finger of the young woman's left hand. Even from where she was sitting, the twenty-year-old could easily see the sparkle of a large diamond. It wasn't quite on par with her own engagement ring, but it was still impressive. The next thing she looked at was the male of the couple.
"Doesn't he seem a bit old?"
"He's about sixty and she's twenty-five or six … but he's the owner of a worldwide chain of microchip manufacturers, and she's had two previous husbands, all in their sixties or seventies."
Seto didn't need to say anymore to explain the workings of a gold-digger. Now that she looked around the room, Kisara could see a few more couples sporting the same age-gap between partners. Did anyone in the corporate world marry for love anymore? The irony of asking herself that question. Her blue eyes looked down to the engagement ring on her own finger. It was probably worth a lot of money, but nothing beyond that. And yet ...
As Seto picked up some of the food from a serving platter in the centre of the table, Kisara looked back to him, stifling a laugh as she picked up her glass of wine. She really hoped he knew what he was eating.
"Pattes de grenouilles …"
His French wasn't great by any standards, but Seto knew what those words meant and dropped what he had thought was chicken. Frogs legs, and he was guessing the small round food items were l'escargots; snails. She was laughing again … so now he knew two things that made her laugh, but both didn't work out all that well for him.
"Goût agréable?"
"Oui belle dame …"
He had never thought his French good, and now Seto knew it wasn't. She had asked if it had tasted nice, and he had said yes … well that was how Mokuba had told him to agree in French when asked a question by a woman. But Kisara was blushing lightly; it wasn't the self-conscious blush she had sported upon arriving in Japan , this was more slight in colour, only colouring just below her eyes.
"What did I say?"
"Y-yes … beautiful lady."
Seto made a mental note not to trust Mokuba ever again where another language was concerned, but shrugged nonetheless and nodded his head.
"Well it's true."
That only served in making her blush a little more and look away for a few seconds. The young woman could feel the heat rising to her cheeks all too quickly. She hoped he'd have lost interest by the time she looked back up; no such luck. What was it about the deep cobalt that stopped her from looking elsewhere?
"Hello there, Herr Kaiba."
And there was that entrance he'd been dreading all along as Kisara looked back to the floor; Zigfried had finally appeared … pink hair and clashing suit included.
A/n- Thanks a million as always for reading guys! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Note: "Herr" is the German equivalent of "Mr." and is how Zigfried refers to Kaiba throughout the KC Grand Prix arc. The reason I didn't use it in earlier versions is because I wasn't sure of its meaning or how to spell it, and I didn't want to offend any possible German readers. Thanks to a friend of mine who studies German, it's all good!
2nd Revision - 7/February/2011
