Chapter 3: Breaking New Ground

It always hit him when it was time to go home from work. Seto could go about his day, about his business, and work like nothing had changed. In his mind, it was business as usual. The deadlines for the new duel disk systems were set to come out at the beginning of the fourth quarter and sales projections were through the roof—everything was as it should be. Seto Kaiba, on a workday at Kaiba Corp., was a very successful and happy CEO. His life was great.

It was when he was gathering his things and loading his briefcase at the end of a work day that the absence of Mokuba hit Seto. Seto knew there would be no one waiting for him at home and that he would be greeted by an empty house. It was easy to pretend it was business as usual at work because Mokuba very rarely spent time at the office.

At the Kaiba Manor, though… that was where Seto felt his heart weigh the heaviest. There was never a second pair of shoes left by the door when he came home. There were no lights that were turned on. Seto never realized how empty Kaiba Manor could be without Mokuba in it. That wasn't to say that Seto didn't have fun at first; without Mokuba there, Seto became more relaxed. Some days he would keep his shoes on, even when he was in the house, maybe even when it had been raining outside! There was one day where he stayed up all night playing with a virtual reality duel simulator. There was another time where he decided to eat nothing but junk food for dinner because he didn't feel like cooking.

The first two weeks, Seto saw Mokuba's absence as parental bliss—he no longer had to be a good example or keep his brother on a set schedule. Seto could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted! Initially, Seto felt like a little kid that finally got to have the fun he had always dreamed of. And, in the beginning, it was a lot of fun.

It was during the last two weeks, however, that the novelty of his 'fun' wore off. As much as he liked not having to consider the example he was being he noticed that he missed having a routine… and someone to share that routine with. Seto realized that 90 percent of the reason he didn't feel like cooking was because he had no one to share a meal with. For as long as Seto could remember, he was a person that could enjoy a peaceful, quiet evening alone. He soon learned that there was a difference between enjoying being alone and being in an empty house.

These were only some of the many thoughts that were going through Seto's head as he stood in front of his desk, slowly picking up the items left to be packed away in his briefcase. Seto grabbed one of the file folders that he would need to review later. He then grabbed his computer charger. He picked up each item more slowly than before. The longer he was at Kaiba Corp., the longer he could avoid driving home. Seto looked down at his desk and spotted his cell phone. That day marked exactly one month since Mokuba had moved out to college and Seto wanted desperately to call his brother and check in. Seto was proud of himself for refraining from calling Mokuba for a whole month, believing that it was important to let Mokuba enjoy himself, but on that particular evening, it was difficult. Seto stared at his phone for what seemed like hours, only breaking his concentration the moment he saw someone walk into his office.

"Did you forget how to knock?" Seto asked snidely, grabbing the cell phone from his desk and shoving it into his briefcase. Seto looked up and his eyes met with Isono, his executive assistant and right-hand man at Kaiba Corp. Of all the Kaiba Corp. employees, Isono had worked for Seto the longest. Regardless, that didn't excuse Isono from bad manners.

"I deeply apologize, Master Kaiba! I didn't realize you were still at the office. I thought you would already be home by now. It is 7:30pm on a Friday and you usually leave early on Fridays, not late."

It was true that Seto usually left early on Fridays but that was before he had become an empty nester. Fridays were fun because Mokuba thought they were fun. Seto saw no reason to be in a hurry to rush home for the weekend now that Mokuba was gone.

"Some of us have work we have to do, Isono. I'm running a company so I don't have the time to run off to the weekend. I can only assume that's why you're leaving late, right?" Seto put the last of the file folders into his briefcase and snapped it shut. Isono stared at Seto, looking uncomfortable. Seto could tell there was something on his mind, "Go on then, spit it out. What's going on?"

"Master Kaiba, I… lied. I knew you would be in your office at this hour because you have been staying late at work for the past couple of weeks since Master Mokuba left. I came here because I'm worried about you," Seto, although annoyed by both Isono's lie and his concern, allowed Isono to continue speaking, "You've been acting strange at work ever since your brother left. You're all of the sudden so optimistic and so… pleased with everything. At first I thought it was because you liked how the various projects were moving along but then I realized that in the almost ten years that I've worked for you, I have never once heard you say you were happy with anything."

Seto raised an eyebrow upon hearing that, "Wait… so you're telling me that you're worried about me because I've been happy at work?"

Isono shrugged and looked down, searching for the best way to phrase what he wanted to say next. Seto sat down at his desk and beckoned Isono to take a seat, getting the sense that whatever they were going to talk about was going to take longer than a five minute conversation. Deep down, Seto was happy to have an excuse to delay going home.

Isono sat down at the chair in front of Seto's desk and then looked up.

"Sir, I'm saying that ever since Master Mokuba left, you've been putting all of your energy into your work and I don't know why it's made you so… pleasant, I suppose, but I know it must have everything to do with your brother being gone," Isono paused for a moment, as if contemplating whether his own logic made sense to him or not, "Perhaps that's a crazy assumption to make, but I guess you could say the bottom line is that I stayed late today because I care and I thought I could help."

Seto rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, "You're right to say that you're making a crazy assumption. I don't need any help and what help would you have to offer me anyway? If business is going well, you should be enjoying your weekend without having to think about work."

Seto tried to recall the pleasantness that Isono was describing. He supposed it was true that he wasn't yelling at people as much and was seemingly more optimistic than usual. Perhaps it was because business was going well and what was the problem with that? It wasn't that he felt like he had no reason to strive for perfection simply because Mokuba wasn't there to witness it and be proud of him, right? Seto determined that was crazy talk.

"I did have one suggestion to make—why don't you go somewhere tonight and have some fun, just for one night? I know you're not really the type to seek fun, but it is Friday night and most 24-year olds can be found having fun on a Friday night until the early hours on a Saturday morning."

Seto blatantly laughed at the mere suggestion that he would do anything fun, especially on a Friday night. The only kind of fun Seto had was accidental, or any time spent with Mokuba. Seto Kaiba was not one to seek out fun.

"You think I should go somewhere and have fun? And go where, exactly?"

"I don't know… perhaps a bar, Master Kaiba? Most folks your age have fun at bars."

"And what makes you think I have any interest in doing that?" Seto asked, taking an accusatory tone. Isono instantly regretted his suggestion and the fact that he had gone to Seto's office at all to talk to him. Isono's intentions were good and he cared for his boss, but Seto wasn't really the type to take suggestions or advice.

Isono looked up and gave Seto a halfhearted smile, "You're right—I should probably be heading out now, anyway. I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Isono got up and Seto immediately got up with him, "Wait, you're just going to leave?"

Seto's assistant nodded before bowing, "It's like you said, it's Friday night and I should get going. I'll see you on Monday."

Seto watched as Isono walked through the door and left the office. Seto turned to his left, staring out the window of his office that showed a panoramic view of Domino City. The sun was just beginning its descent over the city and the light stretched across the tops of the skyscrapers that overlooked the city. Of all the years Seto had lived in Domino City, not once had he ever been to a bar. Most weekends, most days, most weeks, Seto spent his free time within the walls of his home. Imagining those walls and the silence that would be awaiting him when he returned from work started making Seto anxious. Maybe it was time to get out and have fun… maybe he would go to a bar. He would only be out for a little bit; Seto reassured himself as he grabbed his coat and headed towards the elevator. He was going out for a little fresh air and then he would go home.

-YGO-

"This was a mistake," Seto said to himself out loud, angrily looking down at the beer in his hand that he took one sip of and then put down. The room was so loud and there were so many people at the bar that Seto was constantly getting shoved every time people were walking by. Seto scolded himself for thinking he would get anything resembling fresh air by being at a bar. Why had he taken Isono's suggestion to begin with? A bar would be the last place Seto would describe as 'fun.'

"Did you say you're trying to get laid?" The bartender leaned forward and asked over the blaring music. Seto eyes shot up.

"No, and that would be a weird thing to ask a bartender," Seto said, frankly.

"Oh, well if you were, those ladies over there have been ogling you for the past twenty minutes."

The bartender pointed to two women, scantily dressed with way too much make-up on, that waved to him the moment Seto looked their way. Seto was shook his head and turned back towards the bar—there was no way he was going to get himself mixed up in whatever those girls were thinking of doing. Seto took another swig of his beer, wishing he had remembered that he hated beer before painfully swallowing. He stared down at the glass in his hands, wondering what Mokuba was up to. Seto pulled up his sleeve and saw that the time was 10pm. He contemplated whether it was too late to call Mokuba at this hour and then wondered if he would even pick up.

"Hey, can I get a glass of whatever he's having and a shot of vodka, please?" someone asked as they slinked into the seat next to Seto.

Seto didn't look up from the glass in his hand—if he made eye contact, the person would feel inclined to talk to him and Seto wasn't in a talking mood. He simply wanted to spend some time outside of his house and that was it. Seto pulled up his sleeve again to check the time. He wasn't sure how much time was needed before he could feel good about his 'adventure' outside of his house.

"I like your watch," the man sitting next to Seto stated.

Seto pulled down his sleeve, covering the watch and causing Seto to consider leaving. This guy seemed like he was going to be a chatterbox, but Seto wasn't sure he was ready to leave the bar yet. The more he thought about the emptiness of his house, the more he felt like he should finish at least his beer before taking off. It was in that moment that Seto decided to leave his comfort zone… even if it was through conversing with a stranger who was trying to get drunk.

"Thanks, my brother gave it to me," Seto looked up from his beer for the first time in about ten minutes. He turned to the man to his left and nearly slipped off the bar stool underneath him when he saw who it was. The man turned to him and looked equally as shocked.

"Wheeler?"

"Kaiba?"

"A beer and vodka for the blond," said the bartender, leaving out the drinks in front of Joey.

Seto was relieved to see Joey not covered in dirt like he had seen him a month earlier, but having seen him at all and up close was more than unsettling. Joey may have been showered and shaved, but his hair was still a mess and there was leftover residue of oil that was left on his neck. Seto even noticed dirt encrusted in Joey's fingernails and tried to hide his disgust by averting his eyes and taking another swig of his beer. Joey laughed.

"What's so funny?" Seto asked, wiping the beer foam from his mouth.

"The situation, I suppose. I came to a bar hoping to meet someone and instead I met the one guy I hated the most from high school," Joey picked up the shot of vodka and pressed the glass to his mouth. In a quick 3-second motion, he tossed back his head and the vodka was gone by the time the shot glass hit the counter again. Joey let out a satisfying "Ah" after pushing the empty shot glass away from him and reaching for the beer.

"Bartender, I'm gonna need another shot of vodka, please. And one for my friend right here, too. Thanks."

Seto shot Joey a glare, "What's that about? I thought I just heard you say that you hated me. And I'm not drinking that, by the way."

Seto rolled his eyes, slipping out his phone from his pocket, hoping there was an email or text that could distract him from the situation he was in. There were no messages on his phone which caused Seto to sigh with frustration. He didn't know how to escape the conversation but the need to escape was becoming direr with each passing moment.

"I'm gonna need a lot of vodka to sit through this encounter and I figured you would need a shot just as much as me."

Seto slipped his phone back into his pocket and took out some cash he threw onto the counter. He waved to the bartender and pointed down at the money before turning to Joey. Joey was too preoccupied with his drink to notice Seto getting up to leave.

"Well, this was nice, but I'm gonna go."

Seto turned to get up and leave but got shoved back into his seat. The mere volume of people surrounding the bar and the area near the bar was overwhelming. Seto attempted a second time to slip through the crowd, but the moment someone's sweaty back rubbed against Seto's arm, he realized his disdain for human touch would outweigh his desire to leave. Seto was forced to sit back down on the bar stool—the only place he seemed to be protected from physical contact with anyone else.

Seto turned forward towards the bar and Joey pushed the shot glass full of vodka in front of Seto. Seto closed his eyes, wondering if this was truly happening. Seto couldn't fathom a worse nightmare than being stuck at a bar sitting next to Joey Wheeler, but that seemed to be where his evening was heading. Seto picked back up his nearly-abandoned beer and threw back another chug. It was going to be a long night.

-YGO-

A/N: I had a couple of different titles in mind for this chapter but the moment "Breaking New Ground" popped into my head; it felt perfect for this chapter and also for where this story is headed. As always, a huge shout-out to Rena Redhead for being my beta reader, muse, and my bestie! She and I have been having oodles of fun developing our stories together for the past couple months. I'm also hopeful to keep up my routine of posting at least once every month. Thank you guys for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!