Chapter 33, Piece #45 * * * * * * * *
Seto and Mokuba circulated around the room, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. Really, though, Seto's attention was on his beautiful blonde.
Seto had been surprised and thrilled that the number three duelist was his soon-to-be love. The man had swaggered onto the stage, taken the cards with a slight sneer, glanced at the Egyptian art, and had virtually ignored Seto.
"Mokie, are you sure I never kissed him?" Seto asked as they moved from one group to the next. "I could definitely see myself kissing him."
"Nii-sama, you only spoke to him when you couldn't avoid it. Jou's a nice guy, but he's kind of, well, common."
"He looks like some European lord."
Mokuba snickered. "He's not." He suddenly cleared his throat as the French Minister of Trade and her daughter approached. "Madam, mademoiselle! Seto, te souviens-tu Madam et Mademoiselle Godwin?"
"Mais oui!" Seto replied, having no idea who the two women before him were. "Comment allez-vous?"
They spoke to what seemed like too many people in too many languages; CEO's from Germany and Russia, a Swiss banker and his wife, and a flurry of other boot-lickers that he cared nothing about. There was even a Saudi Prince and his entourage to round out the set!
"Is it just me," Mokuba remarked as the evening wound down, "or were you speaking Arabic?"
"I didn't before?" Seto looked surprised. "Papa taught us a few phrases. When I couldn't remember more than that, I just assumed it was part of the loss, and added it to my language studies."
"I looked at Arabic for about a minute." Mokuba shook his head. "I thought my brain would explode. I didn't know our dad was an Arab."
"Egyptian by birth, but his family immigrated when he was young. He used to say the only thing he really remembered was the sand. We'll work on the language together. How much more of this do we have? If I haven't kissed him, I want to rectify that lapse." Seto glanced around for the beautiful blonde. "And if I have, I'm anxious to repeat it."
"Nii-sama." Mokuba turned to face him. "Look, I'm all for you burying the hatchet with Jounouchi, but dating him is... Stupid. Sorry, that's the only word."
"Since when is dating stupid?"
"Not dating - I'd be thrilled to see you fall in love. But Jou's just not made for our world. Look at him tonight; he doesn't own a suit, couldn't even find a collared shirt and tie. No manners; he's fine with the gaming people, but he can't talk to anyone else in the room! He's a mutt! I love him - as a friend. But I don't want to see you make yourself - and him - miserable trying to make him something he's not."
"Did I raise you to be so shallow? Is money how you judge people?"
"Seto-"
"Did I raise you to believe that money was how you judge character?"
Mokuba rolled his eyes. "No, nii-sama. Money is the fuel, not the measure. A man with money will go further than a man without, but that doesn't mean he's a better man." He smiled despite himself. "You used to remind me that the only difference between the orphanage and Kaiba manor was the cost to keep them."
"Good. Glad to see I did something right. You said you liked Jounouchi."
"He's a great guy! Resourceful as hell. Funny, loyal. Can throw a punch and take one. And smart too, just not super educated like us."
"In short, he's a good man."
"Yes. He's a good man. But he's also a man you spent a lot of years irritating."
"Tonight this room was full of enemies who are now allies. I'll win him. Trust me."