Author's Note: Hi everyone! Sorry for the wait, but it's assignment time in college. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and thanks again to Renolvr for her beta-reading. As always, expect chops and changes and typo-fixes over the next few days. XxxxX
Also, on the advice of a reader, I've changed the rating of Paper Roses from T to M just to be safe as it does depict an adult relationship and adult themes. That said, I don't want people to think that the M rating translates as a smutty sex-centric fic because that's not the direction I'm taking. The change in rating is just to be safe with younger readers on the site and the recent clamp-down on lemon stories. :)
"They just shake and try to break whatever peace I may find."
"Are you sure there's one in here?"
Kisara rifled through a few more bits and bobs as she asked the question, blowing her fringe out of her eyes as a discarded scissors surfaced out of the gloom of the cluttered drawer, along with an earring she had no idea she had lost. Moving a few more things from one side of the drawer and back to the other, she shook her head; there was no envelope presenting itself to her.
"I thought there was … I could be wrong though."
Seto shrugged as he eyed the new letter in his hand: as if having a tournament to run wasn't enough trouble for today, he also had that meeting with the Domino Business Association too and they had just seen fit to shove another letter under his nose, the officials at KaibaCorp were shouting for his attention again and they had to attend that wedding the day after tomorrow. Sighing, Seto ran a hand through his hair; the last of the first-tier duels was taking place today and it felt like the entire mansion was playing catch-up with the tournament. The whole security team had been drafted to KaibaLand today - Yugi was against the final amateur and it looked like the complete population of Domino had descended on KaibaLand to catch a glimpse of the King of Games even though the duel wasn't kicking off until after lunch-time.
"What're you looking for?"
"Wedding envelope for what's-his-face."
The CEO didn't even look up as he answered his brother; he was too busy trying to somehow map out the day ahead without forgetting about anyone. He could get Rin to handle things behind the scenes at KaibaLand during the morning and Roland could draw the second-tier duel match-ups this evening provided he wasn't caught up in crowd-control, but that still left the stupid meeting with the city's mayor and business owners and the annoying officials. He could ask Mokuba to suffer the men and women but the teenager had enough to do lately, with homework on top of monitoring the last duel.
"I can get another envelope in the city later?"
Seto flashed a smile of thanks and nodded his head as Kisara gave up on the messy drawer of odds and ends and stood up, brushing the dust off of her dark navy jeans. Excavating her ringing phone from a pocket, she pinned it to her ear with her shoulder and grabbed her handbag as her hearing was assaulted; Vivian wasn't the most patient of women. A rushed kiss and a silently-mouthed goodbye was all she could offer Seto between Viv's marching orders.
He watched as she walked through the swinging door and frowned; Kisara had been in a weird mood for a couple of days now. She'd been quiet all day yesterday and had been up before him this morning; normally she hogged the bed and laughed as he headed for work. Shaking his head, Seto figured he was probably just reading too much into it - everyone was trying to keep up with the tournament lately, between public announcements and the multitude of Duel Monsters fans that seemed to materialise every time they ventured anywhere. Looking to his brother, the older Kaiba smirked and showed him the newest letter from Domino's so-called business experts.
"So it's a no-go then?"
Akari sighed as she spoke, already knowing the answer to her own question; scheduling a nice dinner reservation on a day like today had been a bit optimistic even for her. The maid kicked the door of the bedroom shut behind her as Aki and the new girl exchanged looks; trying to have an adult conversation with them around was downright impossible.
"Afraid so, but I'll make it up; I promise."
"Yeah you will …"
It was she could do to nod her head with a smile; despite being so quiet and serious in his job, Isamu was a softie at heart and she could see how guilty he was at cancelling their plans. So dinner was out the window for the time-being and she doubted she'd see him before midnight tonight; the time they had with each other was definitely at odds with work these days. KaibaCorp's security team was on double-time this week and it seemed as though the majority of them were living in KaibaLand permanently for the past couple of days.
"You should go get some sleep, you look exhausted."
"If you think I'm bad then you should see Roland; a baby at home doesn't help …"
Akari smiled at that and shook her head as Isamu stood closer and she felt hands on her hips; she doubted having a newborn up for feeds was complimenting constant work-hours. She found it hard enough to keep on top of things at the mansion and maintain a clean apartment, let alone try to have a family at the same time; kudos to Roland. Shaking her head and avoiding a kiss, the small maid picked up one of the full laundry baskets on the floor and started walking in the direction of the stairs, Isamu sighing and following as he picked up a basket too; little time together meant even less time in bed together recently, but Akari had a point; no sense in getting fired for a fumble.
"Who's the girl with Aki?"
He'd seen a new face before his girlfriend had kicked the door closed; he knew Aki and Kimiko well from Akari's apartment and he knew the faces of the remaining maids but the other girl had been a stranger to him.
"Kaede, she's the replacement for the bitch; she's nice."
Akari hid a grin as she deliberately left out a little nugget of information. Poor new Kaede had been talking away to Aki yesterday as they dressed the beds and had let slip that she thought Roland's second-in-command was cute, not understanding why even the older Takara had started giggling until Kimiko had told her that Isamu was taken. Eying her man, the short girl smiled again; he'd probably get a big head if she told him that.
"So no gossip from the men in black?"
"Not outside of boring crowd-herding in KaibaLand, what about here?"
Akari shrugged and shook her head; nothing too interesting had happened over the last couple of days. The media world had led with the story of Mokuba and Rebecca for the past three or four days, but that was it really. Nearing the open landing of the foyer, Isamu stopped short as he heard a voice and pulled Akari back with him.
"I just want my things please."
Akari swallowed the protest in her throat as she heard it too; she knew that voice and she knew the next one that joined into the conversation. But her espionage days were over as Isamu pulled her in the other direction, away from the balustrade overlooking the foyer and away from the front-page topic all of Domino wanted to read about.
"And I just want to talk, Bec."
The blonde laughed at that, but it wasn't an amused laugh; all she wanted was to grab a few books she'd left in the library and maybe see Kai again and then go home and somehow avoid all the articles floating around with lies about her private life; so this must have been how Kisara felt every time something was printed.
"Talk about what exactly, Mokuba?"
He shrunk back at that, not liking to be put on the spot and scuffed his toe on the ground, an action that annoyed Rebecca to no end; he always done that to buy time for an answer, whether it was in school or home-life.
"Look, I'll come back when Seto's here … at least I might get my things."
Turning on her heel, Rebecca made for the front door; she had known it would be a bad idea to come to the mansion but she had hoped Mokuba would be busy at KaibaLand and one of the maids could have let her in. But no, that would have made things much too easy for her and life had no intentions of being easy lately.
"I'm sorry, Bec … I swear I didn't mean-"
She just glared at him and shook her head; it was a little too late for excuses now. She could have done with them a couple of days ago but all she had gotten was silence. Silence and a lot of time to think over the situation.
If she wanted to, the teenager could read papers and magazines and believe their lies that Mokuba had been seeing Suzu behind her back for months, or even that she was in the wrong and that she had focused too much on dueling to maintain their relationship. There was an infinite reserve of rumours flying out of the mill lately, even one where Suzu had 'seduced' Mokuba away from her. They were so blatantly false that a couple of them were amusing even. As if Mokuba even had it in him to tip-toe behind her back and do something like that; the guilt would eat him up instantly. She wasn't even that angry that he had tried to keep it from her. Deception was never going to be Mokuba's flaw.
"No, you never mean to hurt anyone ever, Mokuba. That's your problem."
"What?"
Rebecca shook her head again and felt a lump trying to block off her throat; she knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she agreed to go out with a Kaiba.
"You're too nice, you try to help everyone. If it's not a girl in maths, then it's Suzu and her parents' divorce or that other girl in music class."
"What's wrong with helping out?"
"Nothing, unless it hurts other people! Do you know how many times you said you'd help me study, how many walks you said we'd go on, or even the couple of dates in the city that never happened? You're always too busy helping fix someone else up."
He had no answer for that. Mokuba felt his conscience ringing a few bells of recognition; how many times had he called off plans with Bec to go help out someone else? He'd stepped in at KaibaCorp loads of times since Kisara arrived, he'd helped Suzu with her homework lots and Ayane and a load of others … but they were his friends. And he'd seen what could happen to kids no one wanted to help, he'd seen what had happened Noah when he had nobody to rely on. He'd seen so much ignorance in his life from people supposed to help that he didn't want to be a hypocrite.
Mokuba looked back up at Rebecca and faltered for a second as she held his stare; he saw blatant anger in there, something he knew he deserved but there was something else floating about in her blue eyes too.
"I … why didn't you yell at me then?"
She wiped away a loose tear and shrugged her shoulders. Mokuba felt like kicking himself and made to walk towards her; he didn't like seeing girls crying, especially if he was the reason.
"Because that's just the way you are. And why should you change because it doesn't suit me?"
"Rebecca-"
"Tell Seto I'll drop around for my stuff some other day."
She was gone out the front door before he could say anything else, leaving a guilt-ridden Mokuba to lean his head against the door and slam a fist into it with a curse; all the people he'd been helping and he'd overlooked the most important one. Little did he know that she was right on the other side of the door still, wiping away another tear as his foot connected with the heavy wood.
So that was the reason behind her odd humour. Pegasus had been in the country for a couple of weeks now, winning his duel yesterday, and she still hadn't met with him or even hinted that she'd like to. The night Koji had been taken ill, Seto had shared a limo back to the mansion with Vivian Wong and, somewhere between glaring looks and smart comments, she had told him about Pegasus' involvement in Kisara's childhood.
Seto kept his head low as a couple of people passed by; tonight was one night he didn't want people recognising him. Even Kisara hadn't realised he was a couple of yards behind her yet. And she didn't look up as he walked closer; just because he didn't see eye-to-his-one-eye with Pegasus didn't mean she wasn't allowed to. What happened in Duelist Kingdom was in the past and was his business with the man. That said, Seto had an inkling that Pegasus had tried to apologise in his own way over the years; every time KaibaCorp's stock prices struggled badly, Industrial Illusions would flood the market and drive down competing prices, letting the KC ones climb back to the top of the list.
"You look like her."
Kisara started and looked over her shoulder as she heard the voice. Smiling lightly, she looked back to the headstone; he wasn't the first person to say she looked like her famous mother, but apparently her smile was the same as her father's … at least that was what she had been told.
"Why didn't you tell me it was today?"
Kisara shrugged her answer as she sniffed; she didn't really know why - even Viv didn't know why she had skipped out on Yugi's duel early; it was a done deal the King of Games would beat the amateur anyway.
"You had enough to deal with today."
Seto shook his head as he stood closer. He'd managed to deal with the Domino Business Association rather quickly; their proposed plan had surprisingly made a lot of sense and the KaibaCorp officials had all scrambled off to their offices in an excited rush when he'd announced the new plan.
Taking a step forward, Kisara brushed her fringe behind her ear and stared down at the headstone, feeling herself falter; she didn't know whether to take another step and lower the flowers or to just turn tail and leave the cemetery - she hadn't known the man. She could just about remember her mother, but the blond man was a blank-face to her memory. She felt relief as a hand took the bouquet from her.
Seto stood forward and bent down to place the pale flowers beneath Matthew Ashbrook's picture; twenty years dead was a long time. There were no other flowers on the grave apart from a small wreath with handwriting he recognised; Pegasus' cursive never did improve. But surely there should have been something from the Ashbrooks themselves, especially from Jonathon to mark his younger brother's anniversary.
Eying the white roses on the pebbles, Kisara wondered how long they would last before the cold and wind ravaged them; maybe artificial blossoms would have been a better option or even paper roses … but that would have only been an imitation of the sentiment she wanted to convey. And she didn't want that; she wanted to tell the man of how much she would have liked to have known him, of how fondly her mother used to speak of him. Of how much she missed him.
"How can I miss someone I never knew? Isn't that a bit dumb?"
"No, it's only natural. I still miss my parents, my real ones."
Kisara pulled her thin blazer tighter around her as she looked up; that was the first she'd ever heard him speak of any parental figure, biological or not. Mokuba had told her he couldn't remember his father and that his mother had died after he'd been born … but Seto could remember them, both of them and Kisara couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not as she watched him stare at the grave. But whatever had flitted across Seto's eyes was gone in an instant with that small arrogant smirk back in place as he brushed some fly-away strands behind her ear.
"Ready to go?"
Kisara nodded her head and she gave the gravestone another quick look and saw the small wreath for the first time. Walking slowly away from the grave, the young woman tried to shake the déjà vu feeling she had and ran the day's happenings through her head; Yugi had won his duel at KaibaLand against the amateur, or so Vivian had text her an hour or two ago, and she had gotten the wedding envelope for the radio-guy's nuptials. They walked for a few minutes and Kisara felt her shoulders were a little lighter on this return trip to the cemetery.
"Heads-up, next week is going to be fun."
Leaning into Seto as they walked, Kisara looked up at him suspiciously. Fun never meant fun when he said it like that; it usually meant another period of rushing about was going to hit the mansion.
"Why?"
"You'll find out on the evening news, here."
The black bomber jacket might aswell find its way to her wardrobe as Seto surrendered it over; she seemed to wear it more than some of her own coats. Kisara didn't argue with him as she slid her hands through the sleeves; her conscience did object to him being left a layer down though, but Seto didn't seem to feel the cold as much as she did - maybe she just needed to acclimatise to Japanese winters. They walked in silence for a few minutes, slowly getting closer to the gate of the cemetery and Kisara found herself nestling all the closer to her fiancé. When was the last time she'd had him to herself like this? Over the past couple of days all they'd seen of each other was the groggy morning grumble and the late night breathing. A kiss here and there in between had broken the monotony.
"We haven't done this in a while."
"Walk around a graveyard?"
"Yes Seto, I meant we haven't walked around a graveyard together in a while."
Kisara smiled and shook her head as she spoke; there was a reason he was the head of a company, she told herself, but it just seemed to disappear every so often, replaced by a momentary lapse of logic.
"Careful, sarcasm suits you."
Seto smiled and slid his hand into the pocket of the black jacket, frowning when he came up empty. She just stood still and frowned as he searched the other pocket and got the same result.
"Shit …"
Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Kisara smiled lightly as her mind flashed back to the crowded KaibaCorp lobby and the first day she had spent with him. Burying her own hands in the pockets for warmth, she fought the urge to hop from foot to foot again; it was turning cold as evening drew in.
"What's wrong?"
"I forgot something, mind if we swing by KaibaCorp?"
Kisara shook her head as she shivered; she didn't mind where they went as long as she got to move and she had absolutely no plans for tonight as it stood. Téa was constantly rehearsing for Swan Lake, Mai was working all hours, Vivian was in a debating match with countless landlords, trying to strike a fair lease for a new branch of her parents' jewellery branch and she hadn't seen Rebecca in days, not since the girl had won her duel against Balfry Ginger.
Walking across an empty street, she noticed the lack of cars; usually the busy drivers had a tendency to use pedestrians as target-practice. But tonight it seemed as though the citizens were also taking a rest as the tournament broke for two days while the next stage was organised. Walking down the same narrow second-street that she had walked with Mokuba, Kisara looked up at the dark walls; the council had taken down all the Christmas lights last week and the city looked oddly bare without them.
Even the main street of the shopping district was deserted with most shops locking up for the night, but KaibaCorp was still open, its lights showing all the people still in their offices working away. More people flitted around the lobby with both of the receptionists busy with phone calls as they approached the front desk. Seto spoke a few low words to the younger woman and she nodded her head before rummaging about on her desk, moving a stack of papers and producing a large set of keys, handing them over to her boss all while keeping the customer on the other end of the line. Pocketing the keys, Seto looked to his watch and walked towards the elevator.
Too busy watching a few suited people arguing over a newspaper by one of the coffee tables, Kisara turned to ask Seto something, blushing as she found herself alone and spotted him smiling over by the lift; leaving her on her own was not cool and she stomped her way over to the doors of the elevator with reddened cheeks.
"Not funny, Seto."
"No it wasn't … it was very funny."
Trying to stop a smile pulling at her lips, Kisara crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look serious. But that plan went out the window as he pressed the very top button on the panel; she'd only ever been to the underground garage - the rest of KaibaCorp was still a mystery and Kisara knew it'd take a while to wrap her head around the countless rooms on its twenty-eight floors. But she knew what that button was for.
"Your office?"
Seto nodded his head as they neared the top floor of his building; if they went home now, then they'd miss the news bulletin and he wanted her to know what was going on next week as soon as possible - he'd given his word that the first mention of the happenings would be an official one and he wasn't going to recant now. She was out of the lift before he even registered the doors opening and Seto smiled lightly as Kisara inspected the hallway leading up to his office; it was still barer than he'd like and the furniture a lot more rudimentary than he was used to, but he'd had no time to alter the contractor's design after the earthquake - the new tournament had barrelled to the fore of his attention.
"It's way nicer than Zigfried's …"
And that was when he smiled properly; she knew all the right words. Holding the bunch of keys in one hand, Seto rooted about in his other pocket and retrieved the one key no one else had a copy to; even Mokuba had to use the original if he was filling in for a day. Unlocking the door, the CEO kicked it open and looked back at Kisara as she stared out over the city.
"You know, the view's even better from in here."
Looking up away from the panoramic view, she nodded her head and abandoned the window, click-clacking across the tiled floor. She had taken Vivian's advice and had made an effort with her clothing today, but the light blouse and blazer did nothing against the cold. Hugging the black bomber jacket around her all the more, something caught her attention in the office. There was a huge light-coloured desk, a television set into the wall, a mini-bar in the corner along with shelves of books and a large sofa to one side, but none of that was what beckoned her across the room.
Tracing a finger over the bumpy oil paint, Kisara smiled a little; the scales looked so real and so did its eyes. Her eyes. Despite what people said, she had always thought of the monster as a female. The holograms at KaibaLand had been surreal, but the Blue-Eyes White Dragon looked all the more imposing on the tangible canvas, each brush-stroke bringing the White Lightning even further to life as the office lights played tricks with the light and shadow of the painting.
Switching on the television, Seto turned and froze; he hadn't thought twice about having the artwork commissioned or about bringing her up here. He just hadn't thought at all. But then Kisara looked up at him and smile and he breathed again, and called himself an idiot. An idiot for thinking anything could happen - it was just a painting after all. And before he could say anything else, the newsreader appeared on the television and the first image on-screen was his building of course.
Seeing KaibaCorp on the news, Kisara left the gorgeous painting where it was and sat on the sofa, leaning back against Seto; the female anchor was talking a bit too fast for her to properly understand, but she got the gist of the announcement and smiled as Seto yawned; a bigger retailing branch of Kaiba Corporation was to begin construction in east Domino next week along with a new branch of Fujiwara Pharmaceuticals and four or five other businesses in a bid to rejuvenate that section of the city, with KaibaCorp being projected as the largest investment in the area.
"We're creating about a hundred jobs in construction and ultimately four hundred-ish, not counting the other businesses."
Kisara frowned as the screen showed the dilapidated buildings that would be transformed by these new investments. She should have been ecstatic for him and congratulating the bold move like anyone else would have done, but the young woman had a spanner to throw into the works and her conscience wouldn't let her stay quiet.
"But w-what about the, um … f-flood plain?"
Hearing the stammer, Seto glanced down and saw the blush rising in her cheeks.
"I know this girl with a degree in geography and I was hoping she could advise on the plans …"
Kisara just hid her face under his arm and nodded her head at those words; she was never asked to advise on things like this - the last piece of advice she had given was to Vivian, telling her to tone-down her fashion radar. But she was happy too and that was why she could feel an embarrassed blush replacing her nervous one; she liked the idea of trying to tackle the flooding problem and working around it and Seto had asked her to help, that was what she really liked - it beat sitting in the mansion with nothing to do.
So that was why the Domino Business Association had been clamouring for his time lately, along with Toshi's. She should have been happy for all the people it would employ, the new market for KaibaCorp and for Toshi's business and she was … but she was also relieved for Zigfried; more businesses in the area would attract more customers for SchroederCorp too.
The news broadcast moved on to other stories of less importance to the city; there was a girl in the east of Japan who had broken a world record, a spat between fishing boats off the coast and something to do with a snow festival in the mountains. Watching the little snippets of Japan's life, Kisara idly wondered how things were doing back in France; there had been a new President elected the last time she had checked and, by all accounts, that side of Europe was hitting a financial wall with the International Monetary Fund weighing in on the problems. The stock report was next on the agenda, something she was finding it a little bit easier to understand - KaibaCorp was up half a percent by the look of it.
Bored of the news and its forecast of more snow and cold weather, she fidgeted with the bunch of keys on Seto's lap; that must have been the reason for returning to KaibaCorp. Going through the countless keys, she wondered how he ever managed to find the one he wanted on the bunch; there were just too many. Watching her flick through them, Seto kept one eye on the television and listed the many things the keys were for.
"Front doors, meeting room doors, safe, another safe, safe, hologram room, technicians' room, safe … I still don't know what that one is for."
Looking up, Kisara giggled as he took the bundle from her and eyed the small gold key; that thing had been on the bunch for as long as he could remember and he still didn't have a clue what it was for; even Roland and Rin drew a blank on the key. He would've thrown it out ages ago only he had the nagging feeling it would be needed as soon as he dumped it; every other key had a use except for that stupid one and he had spent too many hours trying it in locks out of sheer stubbornness.
Hearing a familiar voice on the television, Seto handed the bunch of keys back to Kisara and looked to the screen; this was what he had been waiting for in earnest; the drawing of the second-tier duels. Watching Roland too, Kisara eyed the large sphere behind him where twelve coloured balls with names were being tossed about; six more duels until the tournament got really serious.
The first names drawn were Zigfried Von Schroeder against Fortune Salim and she could predict who would win that one already. The names got mixed up again and Roland named the next duelists as Yugi Muto opposite the amateur that had beaten Abe the Monkey Man; another easy match by all accounts. Totani Ialos would be facing Joey Wheeler and Kisara found herself rooting for Mai's boyfriend as Roland named the duelists in match four; Pegasus against the amateur who had defeated Dr. Richard Goat. Realizing that there were only four names left in the draw now, she watched with worry; she didn't want any of the four drawn against each other.
Unfortunately, that was the way the competition went and Roland called out Mai's name against Vivian's which left only two names free on the progress board behind the selection machine; the final duel of tier two would be Seto Kaiba against Rebecca Hawkins.
How come everyone wanted him when he was away from KaibaCorp? If he sat at his desk all day, Seto knew it would only be a matter of two or three phone calls. But no, that would be much too easy. Instead he had six missed calls and he was cancelling another before it even reached his voicemail; they could call Rin if it was that important.
"Seto …"
"I know, I'll put it on silent."
"Knock it off completely; I am not standing beside you if that keeps ringing."
Looking to Kisara, he smirked and didn't know whether to call her bluff or not; of course she'd stand beside him in the church - she didn't know anyone else. But she had a point and he switched the mobile phone off; knowing his luck the thing would ring in the middle of the service and he wouldn't have it said about him. Looking back to the walking grouch that used to be his fiancée, Seto chuckled and handed his phone over to her.
"In a bad mood, Kisara?"
"Don't do that, you know I am."
Banishing the phone into her clutch bag, Kisara shook her head and fumed a little more. She didn't want to be in a bad humour on someone else's big day, but she couldn't help it. Folding her arms over her chest, the young woman could feel her mouth twitching upwards as Seto smiled with amusement; it wasn't funny in the slightest.
After a quiet spell with only the lingering story of Mokuba and Rebecca in the tabloids, the press had decided to go in a whole other direction with their latest headlines; a picture taken at KaibaLand last week had spawned a whole new rumour mill. The baggy jeans and hoody had done little for her figure, Kisara conceded that, but it had by no means made her look heavy either. But the papers wouldn't have it and the new majority consensus was that she had 'put on a few pounds' … with the minority jumping the gun and proclaiming a new Kaiba heir was on the way, a story Rin put a definite end to with an official announcement. Seto on the other hand had found it funny and, according to Rika as she had done her hair, it wasn't the first time the press had spun such a tale with a romantic interest of his.
But seeing the amusing side of the situation wasn't something she found easy and Kisara had spent a few extra minutes eying her waist and her tummy in the mirror this morning. At least until Akari had appeared and suggested changing dress choice from a loose-ruffled blue number to the light grey dress with its tailored waist.
Blinking out of her stare, Kisara smiled as Toshi appeared beside Seto and flashed a friendly smile.
"I know something that'll cheer you up …"
Jumping as someone poked her from behind, Kisara spun, but her anger deflated as Vivian beamed back and eyed her up and down before giving a thumbs-up on the outfit. So that was what Seto had been hinting at last night; he had told her that Toshi's plus-one was someone she could speak to during the wedding reception; it was that or sit like a lemon anytime Seto got called away.
"Not too shabby, chick."
Vivian was hiding something, but Kisara felt her ego lift a little at the compliment; Akari had helped her pick the dress and lovely Rika had worked her magic again with her make-up and hair for the day. The light dove-grey dress reached as far has her knees and the cowl-neck was asymmetrical and fell to one side.
"You do look particularly beautiful today, Kisara."
And back was the self-conscious blush as she mumbled a thanks at Toshi's words. Compliments were things she was still trying to get used to accepting and it seemed to be the norm whenever she went to business things with Seto; they would greet him with a handshake and then she would get a head-to-toe look and a compliment to boot. Vivian was walking a circle around her, eying the dress and probably wondering if she could pilfer it at a later date. A low laugh brought her bad mood swinging back and Kisara looked up at Seto with a hand on her hip; it still wasn't funny.
But her bad mood faded away throughout the day, replaced instead by small smiles at pretty floral arrangements, the gorgeous bride and her flawless wedding dress, at lyrical vows and finally at the happy faces of the new couple as they made their way back down the aisle.
The reception afterwards wasn't as bad as she had thought. Shuichi Yoshida and his new bride were very grateful as she stood beside Seto and handed over the wedding envelope with both hands, a little tip Toshi had offered; it implied importance of what she was handing over. Kisara was thankful for Vivian as both Seto and Toshi were called away at various points in the evening. That said, Seto was quick to return when one of the male guests had given a stab at chatting up both her and Viv. One look from KaibaCorp's owner had sent the upstart scurrying off to the other side of the large room, something Vivian found great amusement in.
Then had come the cutting of the cake, a beautiful fondant-and-fruitcake creation, and the new couple's first dance. No one else dared step on the dance floor as the song beat out its romantic tune, the husband and wife slowly circling around the floor; too lost in the day to notice the countless eyes trained on them. The change of song had beckoned more couples to the polished wooden square; bridesmaids paired up with groomsmen and the bride and groom's parents had also silently joined the wedding party. And before she knew it, Kisara was staring up into the same dark blue eyes as usual, the dim lighting of the function room only making her strain all the more to focus on them. For all the money in the world, she couldn't have named the song that played as she let Seto lead the way. Seeing a couple of the bridesmaids eying her man, Kisara smiled and linked her arms lightly around his neck - her man.
Toshi passed by and whispered something in his ear, something that at first elicited a small smile from Seto until he looked about and found the person in question; the fat Rick-rolling man from months ago had slipped on a spilled drink and ended up on the floor. Seeing the mishap in slow-motion, the young man let loose a whole-hearted laugh at the accident. It wasn't the floored man that garnered Kisara's attention though; she couldn't keep the goofy smile from her face.
Even Seto done a double-take as he looked back down at her.
"What?"
"Nothing, I just haven't heard you properly laugh in a while."
Not since Koji died was what she really wanted to say, but the young woman held her tongue and settled for her answer. Her fiancé nodded his head and took a breath to say something, but left it out and instead offered a small smirk. A nuance that Kisara recognised straight away; it was the same smirk she got when he left early or had to stay late at KaibaCorp - Seto's version of an apology.
And even when Vivian had demanded she join the rabble of women gathering for the throwing of the bouquet, she gladly shook her head and tapped the ring on her left hand, earning a disappointed boo from Viv. It didn't matter anyway, as the bride's younger sister was the one to catch the pretty bouquet, though Vivian did end up with the bride's garter at the end of the night somehow …
"Oh god … this isn't my apartment."
Shaking her head as Vivian gingerly made her way across the kitchen, Kisara just smiled and switched the kettle on; it was too early for this. They had stayed until the end of the wedding reception before getting a lift back to the mansion from one of the provided chauffeurs. But the household was one person up on its usual headcount and, by the look of things, Viv's memory wasn't entirely intact this morning.
"How did I end up here? I wasn't that drunk."
No, she hadn't been drunk. Drunk was the last barrier Vivian ran into before she hurtled headlong into absolute alcoholism for the night. Granted, she had been well-behaved last night had participated in no fights, hadn't insulted anyone and had made it to the car with only a few stumbles.
"She said you could sleep here."
Shrugging as Seto appeared in the doorway and decidedly answered Vivian, Kisara nodded her head; Viv had been rather inebriated last night and had more or less fallen asleep in the back of the car, though she had kept her food down; that was always a plus. Sitting at the table, the brunette spared her t-shirt and pyjama bottoms a questioning look before lowering her head to hold it in hands. Eying Kaiba as he noisily moved a few things on the sideboard, she pointed at him and groaned as a flashback flitted across her memory.
"I had a dream … you were carrying me …"
"That wasn't a dream, Kisara do you have my phone?"
"It's still in my purse."
Nodding, Kisara pointed to her clutch bag on top of the microwave and placed a glass of water in front of her befuddled friend.
"Wait, rewind for a sec, what wasn't a dream?"
Waging a mental war against the tumbler of water, Vivian pushed it away and caught the look sent between Kisara and Kaiba-poo. Kisara smiled and placed two painkillers on the table beside the glass before looking back to Seto and his disguised struggle with the sparkly purse. She left him for a second, waiting for his patience to run out with the accessory.
"I give up on this thing …"
Taking the silver clutch, she undid the clasp with little trouble; there was a certain knack to it. Handing the phone over, Kisara raised her eyebrows and nodded at Vivian, getting only a shake of his head in response. The doorbell sounded from the foyer and the couple exchanged the same look again; a look encouraging the other to speak. Another few seconds of silence ticked by before Viv finally got an answer to her question.
"Well, you kind of fell asleep in the car and I couldn't lift you on my own …"
Feeling a blush creeping up on her at Kisara's words, Vivian shook her head and tried to bury it back into her hands, stopping short as she saw her wrist. Pulling the makeshift bracelet off, she examined the lace garter with its blue ribbon intertwined in the stitching and cringed.
"Ooops, I thought the men were supposed to catch this …"
"Oh Vivian … you have got to stop getting so drunk, sweetie."
The duelist just nodded her head and agreed with a sad pout; the fun of last night was only a vague haze through her current headache and it just wasn't worth it. Any other girl would have been ecstatic to think Seto Kaiba had carried them to bed … and she couldn't even recall the event. The kitchen door opened and Kai bounded in with a bark that seemed way too loud for Vivian's ears as one of the older maids followed.
"Kai, hush! Sorry to interrupt, but there's a gentleman at the door asking for Miss Ashbrook."
"Me?"
Patting Kai as she sat by her feet, Kisara looked up with surprise; usually house-calls were officials for Seto or some of Mokuba's friends. That and she couldn't think of any man who would call to the mansion for her; she wasn't particularly close to Téa's friends. The only other person it could be was-
"Oooh, Ziggy come for round two?"
Vivian's hangover had miraculously disappeared as she sat bolt upright and smiled as Seto headed for the foyer. Following close on his heels, Kisara sent her friend a glare and headed for the door, praying that Zigfried wasn't foolish enough to do such a thing. But it wasn't Zigfried standing on the front step of the mansion, nor was it anyone she had ever seen before. Not sure of this new person, Kisara stood just behind Seto as he spoke, sounding as though he was drawing the same blank as her.
"Can I help you?"
The short man looked straight past Seto and fixed his grey eyes on her instead, his voice betraying a slight French accent.
"Are you Miss Kisara Kiyomi Annette Ashbrook?"
"Y-yes."
It had been a long time since someone had full-named her like that and she couldn't help but recall her auntie scolding her for staying up late or not eating all of her vegetables. A brown envelope brought her back to the present and she felt a small flutter of hope that it was something from France.
"This is for you."
Taking the envelope with a blush, she undid the tie but froze as the man spoke again, a smug smile on his face.
"You've been served."
"What?"
Vivian had emerged from the kitchen in the hope of watching the conclusion of the company-owner brawl, visibly disappointed to find some office-looking guy instead. That disappointment turned instantly to indignation as the weedy man turned and retreated down the steps; why would Kisara, of all people, be summoned?
"Show me that …"
Taking the envelope, Seto pulled out the documents and started flicking through the pages while Vivian offered the visitor a two-fingered salute as he climbed back into his car and slammed the front door closed before he could respond. A few uneasy seconds ticked by and Kisara looked to Seto for answers; she didn't quite understand what was happening - an out of the blue visit was starting to look like more.
"Shit, Naoki call Rin and tell her to get here and call the head attorney too!"
"That doesn't sound good …"
Vivian mumbled under her breath as she eyed the pages in Kaiba's hand; anything that arrived in a brown envelope was rarely helpful and she didn't like the serious look on Kaiba's face either. But it was better than the worry on Kisara's.
"Sir, she wants to speak to you."
Naoki handed over the phone and offered a small bow before disappearing back down the hallway. His words to Rin were fast and serious and Kisara struggled to keep up with the jargon being thrown about; it was all sounding much too legal for her liking and she hadn't even done anything wrong. Hanging up the phone with an annoyed word, Seto ran back through the pages again and frowned.
"Seto, d-did I do something?"
It was only then he looked up and realised the situation. Flashing a small smile, he shook his head and checked his watch; maybe Mokuba would take those meetings today after all.
"No, you didn't … it's just. A former employee of Ashbrook Estates is suing your uncle for unfair dismissal. It's a subpoena for your testimony."
"In France?"
Of all the questions rattling about, that was the only one Kisara could force out; she didn't want to go back to France, not when everything was going so well. Vivian stood beside Seto and pointed to a few words halfway down the page, muttering about a timeline and loophole, something that Seto agreed with and nodded his head.
But Kisara didn't care for what the writ entailed. She didn't want to go back to France, she didn't want to testify against her family and she didn't want to stand up in front of people and speak. Surely they couldn't make her do it. They couldn't make her leave her life in Japan. Even the thought of it was making her irrationally upset, blurring her vision with impatient tears.
"I … I don't want t-to."
That stopped both Vivian and Seto mid-argument over something on the paper. The two instead looked to her and Viv was the first across the foyer, wrangling her into a squeezing hug that she had no intention of ending. But it was Seto she looked to as he gripped the subpoena tight enough to crease the paper.
"Don't worry, I'll fix this. Somehow. You won't be going back, I promise."
Kisara nodded lightly; Rin would get here and she would set the legal team on the case. Seto said he would fix it. And he would.
A/n- I hope you all liked it and if anyone has anything they'd like to in the next couple of chapters, then by all means let me know! I'm going to try and update before Christmas, but I have a few exams in college to deal with, so I'll try my best - I promise! XxxxxxX