Author's Note: Hi everyone! Sorry for the wait in updating but I'm currently back in college and trying to keep my head down a bit. That said, don't worry because I'm still scribbling notes down in he back of my folders. Also, the next update mightn't be up for a few weeks as I'm turning 21 this month with a party that I'm supposed to organise. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter! As always, expect cuts and chops to it in the coming days! XxxxxX
"You've been the only thing that's right in all I've done."
Once or twice the amateur thought he could grab onto a small chance and claw his way back into the competition. But the youngster never quite got a glimpse of that tiny chance. Marcus Laurent had flown from Northern France to Domino two weeks ago and the young man had made it further than most other amateurs, advancing from the street-duels and into the professional tier of the tournament, earning himself a handsome sliver of prize money.
But that was where his luck ran out. The water-themed deck didn't last very long against Seto's dragons. Lustre Dragon #2 put a definite end to the meagre match-up with a direct hit to the boy's life points. His counter went down to zero and Seto's stayed up at over three thousand as the large crowd cheered and clapped. The people of Domino didn't think twice about who to cheer for and neither did Kisara as she caught herself clapping her hands and just short of jumping up and down.
Vivian had implied she would feel some sort of confliction over the duel, but the young woman felt nothing of the sort as Seto's eyes found her in the crowd and his smirk lifted just enough for her to notice. He had won the duel, just as he said he would and that was all that mattered.
The next duel of the day played out with no problem and the tournament wound down its second day in the global spotlight.
Conflict was something that was present in everyone's life, whether it be eating that chocolate bar when a diet is in order or bypassing someone you could help, each side pulls in a different direction. She had felt different degrees of confliction in her life before; go to Italy for the winter or stay put in the chateau? And then there had been the indecision on whether to return to France or stay with Vivian in China, a regret Kisara still held in her chest. A dull pull that resounded almost as much as the bum note that sounded from the piano the day after Seto's duel.
One bum note that echoed off the walls of the upstairs foyer and bounced across the first-floor landing. It was unusual to hear the piano from such a distance; normally she was the one playing the instrument and Kisara found her curiosity getting the better of her and crossed over to the other side of the mansion. Another flat line of low notes thrummed along to her footsteps as her brain offered up suggestions on who was responsible for the tuneless rhythm. Maybe it was one of the maids? It definitely wasn't Seto - he was keeping an eye on things at KaibaLand all day.
Black hair and violet eyes. Of all the people she had expected to see, the teenager definitely wasn't one of the options. He pressed down on the same key again and again, creating the monotonous noise that hid the sound of her footsteps.
"Mokuba?"
The sound stopped dead, Mokuba looking up at his name and flashing a guilty smile as he recalled his hand from the piano.
"Sorry … guess I'll stick to strumming my guitar."
Though he smiled and said it in a joking manner, Kisara furrowed her eyebrows as she stood beside the piano and looked down at him; the smiley teen just didn't seem himself and he had never ventured near the piano before. He flashed another smile and stood from the leather stool, walking away from the now-silent piano.
"Why did you do it to her, Mokuba?"
Kisara crossed her arms over her chest as she asked the question everyone in Domino wanted an answer to. For the last couple of days there had been a tension in the mansion, an elephant of sorts in every room - it was a topic even the maids refused to poke at. She knew what was bothering Seto's brother but Kisara just hadn't thought she'd be the one to approach the matter; her mouth had bypassed her brain.
"Sorry, it's not my pla-"
"I screwed up, didn't I?"
A small blush coloured her cheeks as Mokuba stopped walking and looked back to her, his face more sombre than she'd ever seen it. Kisara nodded her head slightly; he had screwed up, but that wasn't what she had asked. Moving the stool back into place, she lowered the cover down over the ivory keys.
"I didn't mean to hurt Bec, you know …"
Kisara glanced up at that and looked Mokuba head-on. Kissing her best friend and hiding it from Rebecca was an awful silly way of not hurting her.
"I know, I know. It's just … I've been hanging out with Suzu a lot. She doesn't have many friends and her parents are going through a divorce and …"
Mokuba shrugged his shoulders and heaved a heavy sigh.
"I just thought I could make her feel better."
In that instant Kisara felt her resolve disappear and uncrossed her arms; Seto had a knack for making things better. But he could and it didn't hurt anyone else in the process, Mokuba on the other hand had helped Suzu at the expense of Rebecca.
"And now I've ruined their friendship and Bec won't even answer the phone when I call."
"You hurt her, Mokuba. It hurts to get cheated on …"
When Mokuba lifted his head to look at her, Kisara quickly averted her eyes to the window; she hadn't even told Seto about her old boyfriend yet, that he had decided to look elsewhere. Thankfully Mokuba didn't ask anything and instead ran a hand through his hair and scuffed his toe on the ground, not knowing what to say.
"So what happens now? Are you and Suzu getting together?"
The teenager shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head lightly.
"I think so, I mean I like her a lot and I don't want to have ruined her friendship with Bec for no reason …"
And there was another conflict. Kisara was nodding her head at Mokuba's answer and yet her heart was screaming at him to go back in time and undo what he had done, that he belonged with Rebecca. But it wasn't her place to say; it was Mokuba's life and Suzu was a very nice girl … she just wasn't Rebecca. She wasn't the blonde that had brought Kai to the mansion or the smiley kid who had given her countless crash courses on how to be with a Kaiba; the first friend she had made in Japan.
The crowd in KaibaLand just seemed to swell a bit more with each day of the tournament that passed. Elbowing past another spectator, Kisara briefly wondered if Domino was empty today or if even more dueling enthusiasts had descended on the city. There were so many people in the amusement park that it seemed hard to imagine even more watching duels on street-screens. Stopping short, she let a couple of kids race past but didn't bank on someone else walking into her from behind.
Catching her balance and already in a bad mood, Kisara turned to see who the culprit was; it wasn't that hard to stop walking when the person in front of you did.
"You may take that face off you, Ashbrook, you're the one who stopped walking!"
Whatever anger she had felt turned into giggles as Vivian wagged a finger her way and held her nose with her other hand. Only when she was sure she wasn't bleeding did the duelist sniff and fix her friend with a blaming glare.
"I've been calling your number since the last duel, what's up with that?"
Pulling her phone out of her pocket, Kisara cringed inwardly as she registered a few missed calls and text messages; having the device on silent the whole time might work when officials were at the mansion, but it was no good for registering calls.
"Sorry Viv, my head's somewhere else today."
"I'll say, what were you thinking with that outfit?"
Looking herself up and down, Kisara placed her hands on her hips and fixed Vivian with a glare of her own; her ensemble or jeans, sneakers and jacket was quite adequate given the winter temperatures of Japan and at the moment the young woman was regretting not bringing a scarf with her to defend against the cold creeping at her neck.
"Hey, it's cold and these clothes are warm; what's wrong with them?"
"I didn't say there was anything wrong with them, it's just you're gonna have a lot of attention on you as Kaiba-poo goes on in the tournament."
"Attention from who?"
Shoving her hands into her pockets, Kisara began walking again. The humour she was in today, she really couldn't give a flying care on who wanted to know what about her; it got a little old after a while.
"Uh, the fashion magazines of course. You don't see footballers wives wearing hoodies and scruffy trainers do you?"
"My trainers are not scruffy!"
"That's not the point chick, look at the last tournament; anyone attending the final in the reserved area had to dress up to the nines, not dress like a little teenager-"
"Oh alright, Vivian, I get the message."
Even as she said it, Kisara could hear the bite in her words and flashed her friend an apologising look as she shrugged her shoulders; she was just very easy to annoy lately. Mokuba had had Suzu at the mansion last night and she had tried her best to make the girl feel welcome while hiding her own blushing. Which was more than could be said for her fiancé; tactful Seto had decided to stay in his study all night, only reappearing after Suzu had gone home and she had gone to bed, trying his luck with a kiss.
"I'll have my head back when you're finished biting it off, thank you very much! What's your problem, Kisara?"
She wished she had an answer for Vivian as the older woman stood in front of her and stopped her walking forward, but Kisara had no proper reason to be in such a bad mood; Seto was just being himself and working a lot and Mokuba would have to deal with the mess he made. And with another pained pang from her abdomen, Kisara groaned and sighed as she shook her head.
"What? No bed-action for a few days?"
Blushing at Viv's question, the young woman shook her head and stepped around her friend; she was not answering that query. But she didn't need to; over a year of living together had given Vivian the answer and the older woman hid a sly smile as she teetered along in her high-heels.
"Or maybe you can't have any, is it? A whole five days, huh? Well, I hope Kaiba-poo knows how bad your Princess Mental Syndrome can get!"
Despite feeling like utter crap, Kisara couldn't stop a small smile from spreading as Vivian wrestled her into some form of hug and used her old codewords for the worst week of the month. Vivian might know how to deal with her bad mood, but Kisara had no doubt she had blind-sided Seto last night when he had finally retired from his study and kissed her - she had decidedly ruined the moment by yawning and turning over in his bed. It was awkward; how was she supposed to tell him sex wasn't going to happen for another couple of days without conversation turning into a mumbling blush? God, she felt like a child again, giggling about the reproductive system instead of an adult in a mature relationship. At least with her last boyfriend he had worked nightshifts and luck would have it that his nights off never coincided with her periods, but she had been living in the mansion a few months now and this was the first one since they had started sleeping together.
"Come on, to the next duel chick. What happened in the last one? I was kinda too busy trying to ring a certain someone to pay enough attention."
"Leon von Schroeder lost against Mai … for someone who wasn't paying attention, you were shouting for Mai loud enough."
Kisara smiled lightly as she flicked through her text messages; though she hadn't noticed Viv at Leon's duel, she had definitely heard her voice across the dueling field. Poor Leon had put up a good fight, but Mai was relentless when she got her Harpie Ladies out. At least Zigfried's brother had taken defeat in his stride and congratulated Mai as soon as the match was over. Seeing a text from Seto, Kisara looked up at one of the many signs dotted around KaibaLand; which way to the monitoring-room?
"Nu-uh, you are not going home without telling me who's dueling next … never thought I'd see the day when you of all people have to keep me clued into a tournament."
Vivian shook her head as she read the text message over her friend's shoulder. In the time they had spent living together, she had always been the one with small regional dueling tournaments on the television, forcing the European to watch them instead of that god-awful football thingy. Vivian knew she was out of practice at keeping a tab on things in KaibaLand, but it wasn't her fault - Kaiba shouldn't post such good-looking security staff to distract her; she knew he was doing it on purpose.
Stopping short as she nearly waltzed into Kisara again, Vivian just about avoided another collision with her friend and took a breath to argue it wasn't her fault, but she didn't; they had just arrived at the border of the next dueling field and people jostled all around them, with Kisara rooted to the spot and looking at her phone.
"What, lover-boy missing you already?"
She had seen the text and had more or less reasoned Kisara would be finding her way to Kaiba next and she didn't blame her; if she had him on her arm he'd never have a second of peace. But when she glanced back down over Kisara's shoulder it wasn't a text that was onscreen, it was a small chart of the four duelists participating in the two match-ups today. Realising the problem, Vivian placed a hand on the other girl's arm and began steering her away from the field in a hurry.
"Come on, we don't have to stay. I can watch the duel on television-"
"Leaving so soon? I would hope you could stay for the duel surely."
Not even trying to hid the cringe on her face, Vivian registered the accented voice and stopped walking as the tall figure stood in their way. The last time she'd seen Ziggy he had been hopefully close to being punched by Kaiba, a bout she would pay very good money to see in future.
"We're going."
"You can go if you like Frau Wong, but won't you stay and watch, Kisara?"
Blushing and looking down at the ground, Kisara wanted nothing more than to disappear into one of the cracks in the cement. Her phone buzzed in her hand and Vivian gripped her arm a little tighter. As if her blush wasn't creeping in fast enough, another rabble of cramps made certain she was hot under the collar.
"S-sorry, Zigfried … I have somewhere t-to be."
She let Viv pull her forward and took a few hurried steps, trying to put as much distance between herself and Zigfried as possible.
"Please Kisara?"
Hearing the plead, Vivian sighed heavily as her friend stopped walking. Looking back at SchroederCorp's owner, Kisara wrestled with her conscience and covered her right wrist; the bruises were more or less gone. A few people were beginning to look now, none of them properly realizing her predicament. Zigfried kept his icy eyes trained on her as another text message sent her phone buzzing again; probably another text from Seto.
Kisara faltered for a second; she still liked Zigfried despite what had happened and a quick glance around the crowd showed he had no one to support him at the duel … but Seto had asked her to meet him in the monitoring-room. But if she stayed would it create another situation like the one in his office? Her cheeks burned all the brighter as Zigfried's opponent, Ethan Shark, arrived at the dueling field and attention focused back on the German - why was he talking to Seto Kaiba's fiancée and not ready to duel?
"Sorry to interrupt, but if I could just borrow Kisara … I'm terrible at getting lost in this place."
A tall frame stood behind her, but not the one she was used to. Toshi placed a light hand on her shoulder as he spoke in a friendly tone. The once-doctor shrugged with nonchalance as Zigfried regarded him with an annoyed glare and Vivian beamed a wide smile his way.
"I was hoping you could show me the way to the surveillance room if it's not too much trouble?"
"Oh, I know the way!"
Though Viv almost skipped away from the duel without even the foggiest notion where the monitoring centre was, Kisara was too busy scanning the growing crowd; Leon Von Schroeder had just appeared by the sidelines on the other side of the dueling field and waved to his brother, helping her to make her mind up. Gripping her mobile phone tighter, Kisara looked to her childhood friend.
"Sorry Zigfried, good luck with your duel."
With those words, proudly free of a stutter, she turned and let herself be lightly steered away from the growing group of spectators. It was only as the commissioner announced the start of the duel that Toshi reclaimed his hand and offered an explanation.
"You two ladies looked like you needed some help."
Kisara smiled her thanks at Seto's friend and let Vivian take the steering wheel of the conversation as another bout of cramps hit her; it was going to be a long couple of days to deal with. Not only did she now have to make an effort and dress properly or risk Vivian's wrath, she felt as though part of her should have stayed at the dueling field and supported Zigfried … but that would have meant ignoring Seto.
She shook her head again as more violence filled the small screen; bangs, shouts and bursts of fire flashed into focus before even the cameraperson abandoned the newscast and ran for cover. Tahrir Square was living up to its nickname of Martyr Square; this was the worst she had ever seen the homeland. The president would have to step down, there seemed no other choice in the matter … not unless more people had to die.
"Allah …"
Ishizu tore her eyes away from the television as she heard the plea, followed by a few words of Arabic. Zakiya was only just coming up on twenty, sent to Domino from Cairo University to intern at the city's museum; the girl must have been worried for any family she had left at home and Ishizu could empathise with her there - surely Odion and Marik would lay low in the deserts of the country and steer clear of the cities.
Looking at her team of researchers and archaeologists, the young woman wondered if the Antiquities board had know something of the impending governmental collapse at home; they had seen it fit to send her out a few old colleagues, a couple of students and a few new faces all in the name of bettering Domino Museum's Egyptian exhibit. As the Secretary General of the council of Antiquities, Ishizu Ishtar was no fool and suspected relatives of hers dotted throughout the chain of command had expedited any paperwork to get the white sarcophagus out of the country along with her new group of colleagues.
She wouldn't have minded if it was purely old friends of hers or maybe a new researcher or two, but she hated having students sent over to her. She just seemed to lose all confidence in front of them and ended up putting distance between them and herself out of guilt. These people had to spend years of their lives and probably thousands of Egyptian pounds to get a qualification and work in a job they loved. She had been rushed through the study process, bolstered by Tombkeeper relations pulling as many strings as a marionette manipulator, and now she sat quite comfortably at the peak of her academic life aged just twenty-three.
One by one the newcomers filtered out of her office, most likely home to try and call family members. But she didn't bother; her brothers weren't idiots and they had enough work to do at the Valley of the Kings to keep them out of trouble.
"Do you need help with anything, Ms. Ishtar?"
Not realizing there was anyone left in the room, Ishizu switched off the television and turned to see one of the new students hovering at the door. She was trying to learn everyone's names as quickly as possible, but she still found herself glancing to the man's name badge fleetingly.
"No thank you, Ahmed, go home and call your family."
The young man smiled and nodded his head before taking his leave of the office. Looking around the once-spotless room, Ishizu heaved a sigh; her office had become the office of the entire Egyptian team now, at least until renovations in the museum finished up and the research labs would be opened up on the floor above them. The sooner the better in her opinion; she did not like people messing up her things.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, Ishizu sat down in her chair and groaned as she saw one of its small wheels sitting on her desk; it would have been nice to know who had done that. Picking up the letter she had received from her uncle, the Tombkeeper ran her gaze up and down it for the umpteenth time - even he had come up with no explanation for Kisara's spirit being alive and well in Kisara Ashbrook. The topic was now being spread through the network of Tombkeepers around Egypt, but Ishizu held out little faith for an answer as more and more trouble seemed to break out at home with every day that passed. Placing the letter in a desk drawer, under as many other things as she could, the curator turned her attention to the pile of files teetering on the very edge of her crowded desk; no time like the present to learn about her new comrades.
Nothing too pressing or interesting jumped out from the files; a repeat exam for Zakiya was still pending with results but the girl seemed to have a head screwed onto her shoulders, wanting to focus on the laboratory-side of archaeology. She was disappointed to read that the second of her three students was majoring in hieroglyphic studies; why was no one going for fieldwork? If there was one thing she loved more than showing off artefacts in museums, it was finding the actual things buried in sand, maybe even finding a name if she was lucky and connecting the object to an actual person that had once lived.
Ah! There was one smart person after all; the third student was doing a joint masters in fieldwork and translation. Ahmed Al Sabat, the boy she had just told to go home … Ishizu cringed as she read his transfer file; she was off to a fumbling start with the students in record-time. Ahmed had no family to call at home; his studying had been sponsored by one of the professors back in Cairo. Brown hair, brown eyes, a rugby player and studying for his final thesis with a smaller qualification in early dynastic pharaohs.
Tossing the file to one side, Ishizu grabbed her jacket and her keys; tomorrow was another day for putting her foot in it. Locking the office door behind her, she took a second to eye up the white sarcophagus. Of all the items she had seen in her life or brought to other countries, the coffin was her new favourite despite the much prettier lid being in storage. She had seen Kisara Ashbrook on the television today, during a recap of Seto Kaiba's duel yesterday morning. She missed dueling more than she thought she would. It had been a hobby she had learned as a child, surrounded by the tall stone tablets her family rediscovered every so often, and then it had evolved into a way to reach Marik when he had been furthest from her. But she had so much work to deal with these days, between Tombkeeper activities and her official job to keep tabs on …
At least the tournament was keeping the museum relatively empty; it gave her a few more days before the press came to take pictures of the new sarcophagus. And it also let her construct a few lies about the stone coffin, lies concerning an unknown queen and a lost dynasty in Egypt. A fabricated history she hoped would protect a normal girl from discovering a sorry life better left hidden in the sands of Egypt.
"So what are you gonna do bout Ziggy Stardust?"
Kisara sighed and shook her head at the question, pouring water into the mixing bowl in front of her.
"There's nothing to do, Viv, and his name is Zigfried."
"I say potato and you say pomme de terre, either way he's still awfully butt-hurt about you being with Kaiba."
Rolling a ball of dough between her hands, Kisara shot her friend a look and walked across the kitchen to the cooker. Zigfried was just having a hard time, that was all; he'd just broken up Rie and by all accounts the SchroederCorp branch wasn't exactly thriving in eastern Domino - it was a quite a bit from the central business district of the city and each morning the stock reports showed the shares decreasing in value just a little more.
"Here, crack an egg."
"Can't, I'm revising my deck."
"Vivian, you're not even dueling tomorrow, you're not dueling for another six days."
"Oh, alright then … I think I liked it better when you didn't watch Duel Monsters."
Kisara merely stuck her tongue out as her friend rolled her eyes and stood alongside the bubbling pot; she could be such a pain at times. Placing the round dumpling on a plate, she tore off another bunch of dough and started rolling it into another ball.
"What are those anyways?"
Vivian let another droplet of the egg fall into the boiling soup as she spoke, eyeing the little round things on the table.
"Dumplings."
"They don't look like any wontons I've ever seen …"
Adding another ball to the few already made, Kisara shook her head and put the now-empty mixing bowl into the sink. Leaning against the countertop, she took a breath as another bout of cramps decided to flare up; the sooner this week was over then the better.
"They aren't wonton dumplings, they're made from flour and water with some salt and pepper."
"And where did you learn to make them?"
"In Ireland, I stayed there for three or four months after China."
Vivian shrugged and turned back towards the egg-drop soup and stirred the chicken broth; her friend could never complain about seeing little of the world - the kid had more miles clocked up than most airliners.
"Where's Kaiba? I thought he told you he was going home."
"Got caught with some stuff at KaibaLand-"
Kisara stopped short as Kai perked her ears up and looked towards the open door of the kitchen; the swinging door was held open with a chair to leave out some heat - Vivian had decided opening a window would be too drastic a decision, possibly inviting creepy-crawlies from the woods on the mansion's grounds.
"Whoa, I knew I could smell something."
Kai took no time in bounding across the kitchen to jump up at Mokuba, the teenager ruffling her ears as he walked into the room. Kisara smiled and dropped the dumplings into the steaming pot.
"Vivian, this is Mokuba, Seto's younger brother. Mokuba, this is Vivian Wong; an old friend of mine."
"Pleased to meet you."
And Mokuba was unfaltering polite as he nodded his head and offered a light bow. The same couldn't be said for lovely Viv however as the once-model looked Mokuba up and down.
"Well, you grew up …"
It was the first time she had actually seen Mokuba blush, the youngster scratching the back of his head as he decidedly moved attention back to whatever was bubbling away on the cooker; he had created enough girl-trouble for himself already.
"I didn't know you could cook, Kisara."
And before she could even think about an answer to that remark, Vivian was in there again with a sweet smile.
"I taught her everything she knows."
"The only thing you taught me was to cook or starve."
No smart answer this time, just an accepting nod of her friend's head. Vivian was talented at a lot of things ranging from kung fu to working a catwalk, but she was the only person Kisara knew who could actually burn water and be proud of it.
"Yeah and you fattened me up with your cupcakes, that's why I had to quit modelling."
Mokuba smiled as he sat up on the kitchen table and turned his head towards Kisara; it was like a tennis match of comments between the two girls. And it was nice to see Seto's fiancée so at ease as she spun to look her friend head-on with no blush or stammering.
"You quit modelling because you got bored of it!"
"True story … anyways, what do you mean she can cook? Don't tell me a fine young specimen like you can't cook?"
Mokuba blinked and banished his smile as Vivian, quick as lightning, decided she was bored with one conversation and wanted to strike up another. Realizing he had been asked a question, he blinked and shrugged his shoulder.
"I can cook some things but Seto's way better than I am."
Kisara shook her head and gave the soup another stir before switching the gas off.
"Quit interrogating him, Viv."
Seeing two more people at the doorway of the kitchen, she hid a grin as Vivian remained oblivious. As Kai got ready to race over to Seto, Kisara caught the husky's attention and pointed to the floor, telling the dog to stay put as Viv set off on another rant.
"No, don't ruin it for me! I'm trying to picture Kaiba-poo in an apron."
"Trust me, not as dashing as it might sound."
Kisara couldn't keep her giggles in as Vivian turned a bright red and spun towards the voice as Toshi spoke from his spot by the door. Looking back at her friend, Vivian shook her head with a narrowed glare; it would have been nice for a heads-up. Mokuba just about swallowed a laugh as he picked up the envelopes on the table and held them out to his brother.
"Here bro, mail for you and something from the DBA."
The groan from Seto told Kisara that any post from the Domino Business Association was never a good thing, a theory fully verified by Toshi's amused chuckle.
"I told you you'd get one too, and I'm guessing that's an invitation to Shuichi Yoshida's wedding."
"Who?"
Kisara was glad Mokuba had asked the question; the name was ringing absolutely no bells of recognition with her. Swiping a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, she instinctively leaned against Seto as he stood beside her, catching a glimpse of a kissy-face Vivian sent her way.
"He owns one of Japan's largest radio stations, and you can't back out of it, Seto."
"Oh, and why not?"
He had been halfway through opening the envelope as Toshi spoke, but stubbornness made Seto look to his friend; he did not like to be told what he could and couldn't do.
"Because I got roped in to going and I need someone to talk to."
Smiling at Toshi's answer, Kisara looked to the invitation in Seto's hand, eying the stylish little card with its golden trim and embossed lettering; she still couldn't place the man in her memory.
"Why did he invite you? It's not like you're friends or anything."
"Because that's what business people do, chick. This guy probably has a tie-in somewhere with KaibaCorp, right?"
Looking from Viv and back up to Seto, Kisara was surprised when he nodded his head; she didn't know Vivian was so tuned in to the workings of the corporate world.
"He advertises the tournament and gets first offer of an interview with KaibaCorp staff in return."
"I guess you two will have to invite people you don't really know when you get married too, huh?"
And the elephant that had been in the mansion for days now, marching around the subject of Rebecca and Suzu falling out, was suddenly swinging its trunk in another direction as Mokuba asked his question with a wide smile from his perch on the kitchen table. It was only as Kisara's cheeks flooded with a blush and Vivian sent her a look that Mokuba realised his mistake; no one had properly tried to touch that topic of conversation yet, not when things seemed to being going so well between Seto and Kisara. The maids had been chatting about it earlier in the day and he'd just let his mouth run without even thinking about it.
"Yeah, I suppose we will."
She stopped fidgeting with her engagement ring as he spoke. Looking up at Seto, Kisara felt the blush fade from her cheeks a little as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh, I hate being a third-wheel. See you at the tournament chick! Kaiba-poo, I'm stealing one of your drivers!"
"And I couldn't possibly leave a lady to make her own way home."
Watching Toshi take his leave a step behind Vivian Wong, Seto fought the urge to ask where this lady was but instead smirked as Mokuba relinquished his seat on the table and didn't even try to make up an excuse for vacating the kitchen, just shrugged and called Kai to follow him out into the foyer.
"You know, I think we're getting faster at clearing a room."
She smiled at that comment, true as it was, but Kisara twirled her engagement ring around her finger once more as she looked to Seto.
"You didn't have to say-"
"Don't even go there. I did have to say it because it is going to happen and I want it to."
His hand found the pendant around her neck; the locket had been safe for weeks now. She looked back up to him as his hands framed either side of her neck; had he really just said that? She took a heartbeat to study his eyes and her mind flashed back to the night of Zigfried's company launch - she had thought he'd been drunk then. But he hadn't been and Seto was more than sober now. He had his armour down.
"I want it to happen too."
And that was when the smile broke out in full and Kisara nodded her head as she spoke, standing on her tippy-toes. Another round of cramps kicked off their fight in her abdomen, but they were competing with the butterflies of excitement taking flight in her stomach as she kissed the man she was going to marry.
"Ahem-ahem."
Her own guard sprang back into place at the noise, never mind Seto's. Vivian announced her return to the kitchen with an exaggerated cough, eyes searching the ceiling until she was sure the kissing was over. Even Kisara had to admit she was a bit annoyed with her friend this time as Seto glared at her.
"Problem Vivian, or is my house just too interesting to you?"
The Chinese woman placed a hand on her hip as she heard the bite in Kaiba's words; okay, she had interrupted but she hadn't done it on purpose. Taking up her teapot-stance, she fixed the CEO with her own death-eyes.
"Yes actually, your crappy limousine is broken. And might I suggest a do-not-interrupt sign next time you try to spice up your sex-"
"Vivian!"
Cutting her friend short, Kisara looked from Seto to Vivian; and she was meant to be the one with PMS? Seto did not like getting spied on and Vivian didn't like being reprimanded … and she didn't like being a mediator when even the looks they sent each other could kill. Looking to Viv, Kisara tried her best to assuage the atmosphere in the kitchen.
"Did the driver call a mechanic?"
"Said he can't get through."
"Tough luck, have fun walking."
She didn't even look away from Seto as she answered the question and his eyes stayed glued on her as he fired back a return. Forcing a smile, Vivian offered another solution to the problem at hand.
"Or I could just crash here for the night?"
"We're fixing the car."
As her fiancé headed for the front door, Kisara sent Vivian a look as she grabbed a black bomber jacket someone had left on the back of a chair, not entirely sure if it was Mokuba's or Seto's.
"What?"
"Nothing at all, come on."
Pushing her friend out the door ahead of her, Kisara shook her head; Seto and Vivian were too alike in her opinion. Steering Vivian out the front door, Kai bounded up to her and started running circles around both of them; the puppy excited to have so many people outside at the one time.
Toshi was lifting up the bonnet of the limo as Mokuba sat in the driver's seat and the actual driver, a man she had seen only a handful of times, stood to one side and let his employer have at the car - the mechanic obviously wanted to be fired if he wasn't answering his phone, despite being on an enviable wage and 24-hour-call. Snow was starting to fall again and Kisara was glad she had grabbed the jacket as she watched the makeshift pit-stop.
"Try and turn her over, Mokuba."
The teenager did as instructed and turned the key in the ignition, cringing as the engine tried to tick over but ended in a spluttered surrender. Seto mumbled something before rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and tinkering with something in the medusa that constituted the innards of the car. Mokuba tried to start the car again but met with the same result.
"Okay, I'll admit that's kinda hot …"
Blinking, Kisara looked to Vivian who had her eyes firmly on Seto as he inspected different bits and bobs under the bonnet of the limo. She was learning quite a lot tonight; evidently Mokuba could drive and Seto knew his way around a car. KaibaCorp's owner leaned further into the mechanics of the vehicle and Vivian gave a nod of appreciation.
"And how thoughtful of him to wear jeans … just look at that a-"
"Ahem, get your own."
Elbowing the other woman, Kisara raised her eyebrows as she spoke and felt a sense of possessiveness blow back into life.
"You tell her, Kisara."
Seto didn't even look up as he spoke and pulled at a small white plug thing, but she could tell he was grinning by the sound of his voice. Even Toshi was smiling as he kept a hand lightly holding up the bonnet in case the metal rod decided to give-way.
"Shush Kaiba, I'm admiring the view."
"Why thank you, Ms. Wong."
Vivian shrugged as Toshi theatrically brushed himself down, earning a laugh from Mokuba; she really didn't mind which company-owner she got to 'admire' for a while.
Seto had told her the problem with the limo, but it had sounded complicated and she had neither the memory nor the interest to try and recall the issue. All she knew was that it had taken almost an hour of tinkering with the car before Mokuba turned the key and the engine actually ran without coughing and giving up. When asked how he knew so much about cars, Seto merely shrugged and insisted that he liked to take things apart to see how they worked.
Walking back into the kitchen, Kisara figured that made sense; he did design the dueling platform and Duel Disk after all. Her fiancé was currently covered in black grease and oil stains from his arms to his ruined shirt and even a few runaway marks on his face. And, she was blaming Vivian for this one, but it was something Kisara found quite attractive as he tried to undo the small buttons of the dark shirt. Seto cursed under his breath as oil on his hands let the button slip away each time.
Not even thinking about it, Kisara reached out and undid the button, moving onto the next one as she could feel his eyes on her. Her hand fleetingly found the scar that ran along his collar bone. She moved onto the next button and found the start of his abdomen muscles and undoing the final two buttons showed the thin trail of hair disappearing beneath the waistband of his jeans.
"I meant it earlier. Pick a date, whatever you want."
Dirty hands caught hers as he spoke and Kisara looked up into those dark blue eyes. Despite the snow starting to fall outside again, the mansion was sweltering tonight with fires lit in the living room, some of the bedrooms and the library and she could feel the heat in the house at that moment in time as she nodded her head with a happy smile. His hands moved to her hips, stained hands resting on the black jacket she had pilfered and Kisara fisted her own hands in his shirt, letting Seto pull her closer as he dipped his head lower.
There was something hungry in that kiss and Kisara knew she returned it just as fervently as her hands gripped the ruined shirt tighter, getting stained as she tried to pull Seto closer to her. And though she wanted to continue, to explore where else the grease and oil might have gotten to, Kisara broke off the kiss as her lower abdomen played devil's advocate and she groaned as another set of cramps wracked her.
Seto stood a little closer and brushed her fringe out of her eyes as he smiled lightly.
"We can't tonight, can we?"
Kisara shook her head and let herself be pulled into a hug. When she spoke it was in a miserable voice that pined for the end of the week, for wine, for sex and for chocolate too.
"Nope … not for another few days."
"Oh well, there's chocolate in the fridge and I'm sure there has to be one more movie for you to talk through."
Seto shucked off his shirt and threw it in the laundry basket before wrapping his arms back around her. Kisara nodded her head in agreement and let herself be steered towards the living room. And when she did get to sleep that night it was with those arms around her again, protective and inviting.
But if there was one thing Kisara couldn't be protected from it was the nightmares that seemed to race through her subconscious every now again, raising their heads just as life seemed to throw itself back on-track.
And as she tossed and turned and tried to escape the clutches of the caterpillar-creature, something cut the chains again and they all fell from the platform. Just like every time before a hand caught her by the wrist and the jolt made her look up at her saviour. The face was always obscured but even through her cluttered mind, Kisara knew this nightmare was different. When the hand caught hers, she looked up to see vacant blue eyes staring down at her. They weren't in the dungeon anymore, but in the upturned KaibaCorp limo and the stranger was there, freeing her seatbelt to let her escape the crash. His face appeared hazily swimming around in her mind, familiar yet strange to her all at once. But he was smiling. As though he was happy she hadn't been harmed in the crash, happy that she hadn't fallen to the swirling shadows beneath the spiked platform. Those empty eyes seemed to fill with a spark of life when he smiled.
A/n- I hope you all liked it! And like I said, sorry for the wait in updating; I had hand-drawn a plan of how the new tournament would unfold (not an easy feat with twenty-four duelists) and I lost it, so I had to do it again. Also, "Frau" is the German equivalent of "Ms.". Thanks for reading everyone! XxxxxX