Author's Note: Hello everyone. Wow. It's 2021 and I find myself updating this very first chapter. It needed it! I'm sorry for my long absence, but I fell into other fandoms and my career and life found new directions too. But Paper Roses has always been part of that life too and I wanted to update this old friend of mine with what I hope is an improved style of writing.
Walking through a dream, I see you.
The crowds had been gathering outside the KaibaCorp building for the past two weeks with more and more news crews arriving every day. The story had leaked outside of Japan and spread worldwide like some kind of epidemic. The Japanese news crews had been joined by their European and American counterparts; all eager to cover the story that had swept the globe in a matter of days.
"So you're actually going through with this?" Mokuba didn't know what else to say; he knew his brother and knew when to give Seto his space, but two weeks without an update was long enough. Plonking down on the chair beside Seto's desk, the teenager raised his eyebrows, waiting for some kind of reply.
He didn't answer Mokuba's inquiry; he didn't have the energy to. For a fortnight now it had been press conferences in the mornings, board meetings all day, an interview in the evening and back to the mansion to finish some work, fall asleep at his desk for two hours, then morning time again and more press conferences. On top of all that, there was a new dueling tournament looming on the horizon. There were too many balls in the air and he couldn't afford to let one fall yet, even to deal with this newest problem.
"Seto, come on bro, gimme something; you always have a plan." Mokuba poked his brother's arm, ready to break into a big grin at the moment Seto would reveal his master plan to avoid this media storm. Because he was Seto; his big bro was always a few steps ahead of everyone else. He had to be.
"Leave me alone." Seto groaned out the words, letting his eyelids slide closed for a long few moments. He had a migraine and wanted nothing more than to lean his head against the table and sleep until the issue passed by. It was an unrealistic solution and wouldn't work, but he had no second plan. Besides, he didn't want to give an answer; the whole ordeal was out of his hands and that annoyed him more than anything. Another push on his shoulder, which Seto deftly ignored, hoping Mokuba would lose interest. Now would be an ideal time for the teenager to go into the city and spend time with Hawkins.
It was still hard to believe the boy even had a girlfriend; it seemed not that long ago he was just a little kid who tagged along with his older brother – Mokuba was now a fully-fledged teenager with a girlfriend and social life. Another push to his shoulder from the frustrated younger male; a bit more forceful this time, earning a murmured answer at last. "Haven't you got homework to do?"
"Seto, you're getting married!" Mokuba wanted to yell the words; maybe then Seto might understand the gravity of all this. Instead all Seto could do was roll his eyes up to heaven. Why was the whole world suddenly transfixed with his personal life when marriage was mentioned? Of course Gozaburo still creating problems from beyond the grave; it wasn't enough just to ruin his life when he was alive.
With little all else to do, the elder Kaiba brother shrugged his shoulders; an action he had never been familiar with in the past, and yet had grown accustomed to in the last few weeks. Standing from his desk, Seto walked around the study and stretched out his stiff muscles, Mokuba on his heels with every step. The kid had grown tall, almost rivalling him at this stage, and gone was the long shaggy mess of ebony; the youth now sported short black hair that made him look older than his sixteen years. He'd grown a lot in the last three years. "What choice do I have, Mokuba?"
That caught Mokuba off-guard and he stopped in his tracks following Seto; his big bro always had an answer and never asked him for a solution. Those blue eyes looked tired; Seto was genuinely looking for an answer and that made Mokuba feel uneasy. This was all their step-father's fault; just when you thought life was back on track, the old man managed to mess it all up from beyond the grave. Seto had turned twenty-one those two hectic weeks ago and with that milestone birthday had come the reading of Gozaburo Kaiba's will. Neither of them had known of the existence of the old man's will, nor had Roland or Seto's secretary; the man had entrusted it to a Tokyo-based lawyer years ago, giving instructions on when it should be released. And of course Gozaburo would demand that the will be made public; no way for them to bury it and pretend it didn't exist. Everything had been fine until the lawyer had read out one of the specifications towards the end, initiating the arrival of all the news crews only days later.
"Seto will marry the heir to Ashbrook Estates, Kisara Ashbrook. The engagement will commence upon the reading of this will. Denial of this stipulation will result in Seto Kaiba being denounced of the name Kaiba, and his assets forfeited to the von Schroeder family of Germany along with the Ashbrook Estates. In this event, Ms. Ashbrook will marry Zigfried von Schroeder."
Though he could barely remember the occasion, being only a small child at the time, Mokuba hazily recalled being at a large-scale function at the von Schroeder castle in Germany. Gozaburo had spent the night speaking with two other men, one pink-haired and the other a bright blond. That was all he remembered from the visit; he'd been far too busy hiding behind Seto's legs to take in any more details of their new lives. Thinking back on it now, that must have been when this stupid arrangement was being drawn up.
The past two weeks had been spent pouring over the many legal papers connected to the will; any KaibaCorp shares 'gifted' to them by Gozaburo when they were younger would be forfeited to Schroeder, which would likely result in a sharp drop in stock-prices and a definite attempt at a hostile take-over. With the way the global economy was going, the company couldn't afford to be dragged through the mud like that. Thousands could lose their jobs worldwide if KaibaCorp buckled. In the larger scale of things, a cold person would just shrug and justify the marriage as needed. Marriage was a small matter when weighed against the livelihoods of thousands of people and the future of such a huge company. But Mokuba wasn't a cold person and he couldn't see beyond the two lives that would be wound into the mess of this scenario. "But it's not just your life you could ruin, bro; you have to think of her too."
Because there was another person involved in all this; the woman called Kisara from France. He had only seen pictures of her in the news for the past two weeks, but Mokuba already felt immense pity for her. She was embroiled in all of this and none of it was her fault at all. "I … I'm just worried about you, Seto."
Mokuba sighed, his shoulders sagging with that admission and he scratched at the back of his neck. Truth be told and he felt so frustrated because he couldn't help with this problem. "Look, I'll get out of your hair for a few hours and handle things at KaibaCorp, okay?"
"I'd appreciate that." Seto nodded and couldn't deny the relief at not having to head back into the KC building today. With that, the younger Kaiba patted his brother on the shoulder and exited the study. Seto had always been a pillar of answers and unfazed cockiness, but the teenager couldn't bear seeing his brother so out of sorts and backed into a corner like this. So he would do what Seto had always done for him; take the work on his own shoulders instead.
The sound of knocking was what woke him from his accidental nap. Seto blinked nonplussed for a couple of seconds, trying to get his bearings. Roland was standing at the door of the elaborate study, hidden eyes locked onto his employer behind his ever-present shades. Seto silently cursed himself for falling asleep; there was so much to be done and organised within KaibaCorp, let alone in his own life at the moment.
Of course the tabloids had exploded with images of the Ashbrook heiress and articles detailing her entire life. The same young woman who had been an inconsequential heiress of a French vineyard estate. Well, that was putting it lightly and doing her a disservice; the Ashbrook Estates was one of the largest chains of vineyards across the globe, spanning Europe and into the USA and Australian markets too. He wasn't a wine-drinker and had been ignorant of all that a fortnight ago, but Seto like to do his research. Especially when it involved him.
That research had begun with a simple internet search and the web browser had returned images of the Ashbrook heiress that knocked the wind from him, literally. Of all the things Google could have thrown at him, Seto hadn't anticipated some buried memory of years ago. Of an entirely different lifetime.
Not wanting to hear of how another reporter had tried to get into KaibaCorp or a fangirl attempted to trespass onto the mansion's grounds, Seto stretched and spoke the first words that came to mind; he knew nothing about this girl, except for what the newspapers were circulating. "Roland, tell me what you know about Kisara Ashbrook."
The head of KaibaCorp security paused for a moment. The question was anticipated in the very least; wouldn't she be the lady of the Kaiba Mansion soon? But he couldn't shake the uneasiness he felt; gossiping or speaking about others was not something that sat well with Roland, but if Mr. Kaiba asked, then he could hardly refuse. "Mr. Kaiba, sir, she's a year younger than you, the only niece of Jonathon Ashbrook and heir to the family estates-"
"I know all that, Roland. Humour me for a second." Seto waved a hand, as if to swat away the rehearsed lines he knew Roland would offer. He was a respectful man, but he could get that same answer by simply switching on a generic celebrity-centred exposé show. But Seto was also astute enough to know that the security force would have done their own research into this dilemma to damage-control any stories that might take root in the media.
Dipping his head into a shallow bow, Roland nodded and offered only the description he had come up with from delving into this girl's private life. It was his job to protect both Mr. Kaiba and Mokuba and knowing everything about this Kisara Ashbrook was part of that duty. "She is intelligent and articulate, sir. Well-educated and spent some time studying in China as a teenager. A young woman with a peculiar beauty, but painfully shy it would seem."
"Thank you." With that nod from the CEO, Roland took his leave. Seto Kaiba heaved a heavy sigh; Mokuba was right about ruining two lives, but what could he do? If he declined the marriage then not only would KaibaCorp be in jeopardy to that idiot Schroeder, so would the Ashbrook Estates; they needed this wedding as much as KaibaCorp did thanks to that damned stipulation. Gozaburo and Jonathon must have foreseen the trouble and scandal an arranged marriage would cause; if no wedding happened then KaibaCorp assets would be forfeited to Schroeder and so would the Ashbrook Estates, along with their heiress. Although it was maddening that he had no choice in the matter, Seto felt guilty on behalf of Kisara; she had no choice whatsoever, being thrown about from company-owner to company-owner. But why that name, of all names? Kisara. He had seen her before. In a world where social-media and the spotlight found targets in every other person, he was unsurprised that such an affluent and influential family would ring a bell of recognition for him, but her name was striking a nerve that had never healed. He had put all of that in a mental box and decidedly not touched it again. What had happened those years ago in Egypt was over and done with. The life he had seen should have stayed in that mental compartment too. But it hadn't. She hadn't. You must not ... be captured by the shadows ...
Running a hand through his hair and growing utterly frustrated with this whole dead-end ordeal, Seto stood from his desk and headed for the door; he needed some fresh air.
Thousands of people would be out of work if this thing didn't go ahead in the foreseeable future. Ruin two lives, or thousands? With the way the economy in Japan and Europe was going at the moment, he really had no other option. With another groan, Seto looked back to the picture on-screen. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad? She was intelligent and attractive, but why did she have to look like that Kisara from back then? Brunette hair, dark eyes, blonde hair and light eyes. But dark blue eyes he felt like he knew and long colourless tresses.
A trophy-wife, was that what the old man had wanted? Set him up with the niece of a business contact, a person to leech from his accounts, occupy herself shopping and attend events on his arm? Seto had seen that play out time and time again as he worked his way up through the corporate world. It worked well for some, it crashed and burned for others. As for how it might work out for him, he didn't know and he didn't want to venture a guess because marriage had never been on mind. It was something that had never interested him; he had seen too many people air their dirty linen in public through mediation and lawyers, why would he ever want to put himself through that? To put her through that too. But that was the issue; they didn't have a choice – neither him nor Kisara.
A/n- I hope you guys liked this revised first chapter and thank you so much for taking the time to read it.