A/N: Can I give a quick shout out to these people for leaving me kind reviews and/or following this story (sorry if I haven't replied before). Your support is greatly appreciated:
M. Rickney
Ki
mischiefchaos
Thank you all and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Now onwards with chapter 5 of 'A Side I Never Knew'
Mokuba chewed on his rice pops and milk, almost entirely bored of life already before the day began. The butler and the cook barely spoke to him, and as usual, Seto was doing work at the dining table. Even the newspaper laid on the middle of the table looked inviting right now if it would relieve him of the silence.
"So how's things going at the orphanage, Seto?" He finally asked his older brother, who looked up temporarily from his paperwork.
"It's day one, Mokuba. All seems to be in order so far."
The reply was terse, but it was a reply all the same. Mokuba decided to persist.
"At least it's a lot better than the dump we came from."
"Of course it is. I designed it, didn't I?"
"Sure." Mokuba took another mouthful of rice pops. "I was thinking I might go after school, see how things are getting on. You know, get more involved as I have been wanting to."
"And not to see Skye again, then?"
"What's Skye got to do with anything?"
"She's a distraction."
Though as soon as the words left his mouth, Seto wished he had clarified what he meant to say, even though the original statement was the truth – about her. She popped into his mind every now and then, and each time that happened, the picture was always the same: her pretty green eyes, just staring. It was unnerving for a control freak like Seto Kaiba, the way she had somehow left an impression on him. Sure, she was a pretty woman, but that was all she was. She didn't need to be given anymore thoughts to.
"You don't seem to mind it when it's Yugi and the gang coming over to hang out."
"Actually, I do, not that you ever listen to me nowadays." Seto grumbled. "Besides, even if we tried to shake them off, they still wouldn't leave us alone."
"That's true." Mokuba admitted "I still don't see why you think Skye would be a distraction for me. We've only met up once."
"You cling too easily to the past."
"Perhaps because not all bits of the past are that bad. You've given Skye a chance already with this job, maybe lay off her a little and let her perform, and maybe stop assuming she's there to do harm. At the very least she understands where we all come from."
Of course, Mokuba had a point, but he also understood well enough the subtext of what Seto was truly saying in this conversation, and it was the same mantra thrown at him from the moment they arrived in that orphanage so many years ago. He wanted to leave everything from their previous life behind, regardless of which memories were good or bad. Skye may have shared a limited amount of good times with them as children. But that didn't matter to Seto. If she was from the past, she was a problem until she proved otherwise.
Finishing his rice pops and stretching, Mokuba looked back to his now silent and brooding brother. "I'll see you later, bro."
Seto wanted to say something more, but Mokuba was already out of the door before the words could be formed. They wouldn't talk about it later on either. But still, this conversation gave Seto much food for thought, and not the good sort either. If anything, it was now more difficult to remove thoughts of Skye from his head at all.
"Do speed up, Seto! We have the McLaughlins arriving at any moment and I simply will not accept any tardiness." Gozaburo barked at young twelve year old Seto, who was hastily trying to up his tie while running down the steps. It hadn't been his fault per se that his alarm had not rung. He had set and checked it as always, but he didn't think the battery would fail in the middle of the night, which meant the next morning was a surprise panic. Of course, his step-father was not as sympathetic.
"Sorry." Seto muttered for the umpteenth time that morning, though all the apologies fell on deaf ears. Gozaburo hated tardiness, no matter the cause.
"Hmph. Pathetic boy." Gozaburo grunted, not caring that Seto heard him. Soon enough, both were stood at the bottom of the grand staircase of the Kaiba mansion, awaiting the arrival of the McLaughlin family. The clan eventually arrived through the front doors, with the grandfather and father first, followed by a pretty doll-like girl in tow. The grandfather held out his hand as he approached.
"Fair keepings with you, Mister Kaiba?" The grandfather's voice was deep and heavily accented, Seto guessed Irish? In any case, the man was intimidating vocally and certainly liked to make his presence known. But it was the frosty stare of the father in Gozaburo's direction that made Seto feel uncomfortable. It would take balls of steel to stare down a man such as the Kaiba patriarch.
Then there was the girl. Seto wasn't often interested in girls but this one was a pretty thing indeed, and very quiet. She looked around her, her gaze daydreamy, as though she were completely removed from the current situation. Seto almost envied that.
"You must be quite pleased to have an accomplished daughter, Robert." Gozaburo's voice boomed itself back into Seto's consciousness, speaking of the girl he hadn't taken his eyes off of for a few moments.
Placing a firm hand on his daughter's shoulder, Robert McLaughlin, who Seto guessed was the girl's father, merely looked the head of the Kaiba household and replied, "She is mine, after all."
"Hmph." Theodus McLaughlin grunted. "Accomplished she may be, but she is still a girl. At least you have a male heir to the company, Gozaburo. Consider yourself lucky. She is a wily little thing."
The girl finally stopped her wandering eyes and looked to the ground, a shadow of a hurt expression flashing on her face before it disappeared and left her face blank, like a still china doll.
"Women are wily things by nature, you get used to it if you marry them." Gozaburo chuckled darkly, staring directly at the young girl stood in front of her father. A pretty thing indeed…she would certainly be a good option to marry Seto off to, He thought, taking in the way she stood tall and perfectly straight. It would just be Seto next to try and break into the right mould. With a snarl, he glared down at Seto.
"Seto!" Gozaburo barked at his adopted son. "Take young Skye to your tutor room and mind yourself there quietly. I don't want any disturbances."
"Yes, sir." Seto grumbled and looked to the now named girl Skye, who was now eyeing Gozaburo very carefully. She didn't look frightened per se, but she didn't look comfortable to be there either.
"I assure you Mister Kaiba, our young Skye won't be any trouble to you, lest she wants to hear from us" The grandfather interjected, casting a glare down at his granddaughter, who did not make eye contact with him, nor blink.
"Indeed." Gozaburo replied drily, observing Skye for a moment. No doubt she would be accomplished as well as beauty; at least she might be a good influence on Seto, he thought, for the boy was far to fiery and strong headed for his liking sometimes. An example of how to quell any kind of temper would do the boy good.
The grandfather and Gozaburo then struck up a conversation concerning their future dealings, walking away to find a room more suitable for discussion. Seto was surprised to see that the very stoic father whispered something in his daughter's ear, before stroking her head with a gentle hand that seemed out of character for him, and then following the other two men up the stairs. Once the adults voices faded away, it was just Seto and Skye.
"Um…my name's Seto." Seto introduced himself awkwardly, first going to raise a hand forward to shake, before dropping it hastily.
Skye looked at him properly now with her green eyes, the colour of them like a dense forest, and offered a small smile. "It's nice to meet you, Seto. I'm Skye."
The two teens fell silent, not sure what else to say. Then the faint sound of piano music flowed through the corridors and Sets saw Skye looking perkier from hearing it.
"That'll be Mokie doing his piano lessons." Seto muttered half to himself, half to an intently listening Skye.
"Can you both play?" She asked.
"Mokie isn't bad, he's only eight. I'm a lot better, though I've had more lessons than him."
"I like to play Chopin. His music always sounds fluid and dreamy."
"I prefer Beethoven."
"A good choice."
Now more relaxed in each other's presence, the teens managed to give each other small smiles
"I suppose you would like a try on the piano?" Seto offered, indicating down one of the hallways to where the music was still coming from. Skye nodded eagerly and then followed Seto with an excited skip.
Seto opened the doors to the piano room, where they revealed the sweetest looking little boys Skye had ever seen. Hair dark and spiky like a hedgehog, beautiful violet eyes, and a smile that could easily melt hearts (at least if they didn't belong to Gozaburo Kaiba).
"Mokie, this is Skye McLaughlin. Her father and our father are discussing business today. Skye, this is my little brother Mokuba, or Mokie as I like to call him." Seto introduced his little brother, taking a seat beside him on the piano stool. Mokuba looked over to the doorway where Skye stood, looking at her wide eyed.
"You're really pretty, Miss Skye. It's lovely to meet you." He said sweetly, his cheeks reddening slightly as Skye blushed slightly from the flattery, but then bestowed him with bright smile.
"You're a sweet little kid, Mokuba. What have you been playing on the piano today?"
"I've been learning Debussy." Mokuba sat up proudly, pleased with himself that he remembered what he had been learning. "Do you play?"
"I think she more than likes it, she wants to have a try right now." Seto piped up, affectionately pulling Mokuba off the piano stool along with him so that it was free for Skye to use. Without needing to be asked twice, Skye was at the piano in almost an instance and sat herself neatly on the stool. She flexed her fingers carefully, a thoughtful expression coming to her face as she thought of what to play.
Then she put her hands gently on top of the piano keys and began to play. The tune was haunting and familiar to Seto in an instant: Moonlight Sonata. And to his surprise also, Skye played the symphony perfectly; every key was stroked right for time and tone, each note was made with expression in her dainty hands. She lost herself in the music, all sense of Seto and Mokuba fading from her mind as she concentrated, and for the few minutes that she played, the Kaiba brothers were slightly spellbound. Skye then came to a soft finish and took her hands back into her lap.
"Wow." Mokuba almost gasped, gazing at her in awe. "What piece was that?"
Skye turned and caught Seto's eye. This time, her face was relaxed, a small smile breaking through and lighting up her face.
"Beethoven."
"Could you teach me how to play it?" Mokuba asked, almost nervous as he fiddled with his jumper.
"Of course. Come and sit next to me."
Without having to be asked again, the younger Kaiba brother leapt onto the piano stool and paid close attention to Skye's instructions. Seto joined them by standing at the side to also watch carefully. Every now and then while Mokuba stumbled through learning the symphony, he would laugh out loud with Skye, and she would occasionally look at Seto, her smile getting bigger each time she looked. Seto would smile a little back at Skye when she looked and then nod his encouragement to Mokuba each time he erred or played a key right.
From then on, when the Kaiba brothers got to see Skye again, this was their meeting place: the piano room, huddled together and enjoying each other's company away from the overbearing nature of their parents. Seto often saw how begrudged Skye looked when it was time to leave, as though she didn't want their meetings to ever end, though she never quite expressed it out loud. Seto learned early on that most of Skye's thoughts were in her eyes only, and when those eyes would look at him as they left, he would feel sad to see her go. She truly was a beautiful piano player.
Skye was already up by 7am, dressed and ready to rouse her pupils in their dormitories. It had been useless trying to sleep much the night before anyhow (not that she got a lot of sleep other nights either). She opened the door to the common room and went to work awakening the children from their own slumbers.
"Good morning, it is time to wake up." She would call out as she rapped the doors to the children's' rooms. They shared in pairs luckily, so it was easy to keep track of who was where and how many beds needed to be filled once night time came again. She was also grateful that she didn't have to go back to any bedrooms this particular morning. It would make a good impression to Mr Sokolov if her dormitory children were turned out neatly, on time and ready to learn. She looked to the little ones she had gotten to know over the past couple of days, then smiled sympathetically as they all came through the common room, eyes droopy with sleep.
"Would anyone like a cup of tea or coffee?" She offered, grabbing a tin full of teabags ready. Some nodded and mumbled their choices, others made about their business getting ready. Like typical teens, the children got more chatty the more they woke up. After everyone was supped with caffeine and sufficiently dressed to attend breakfast, Skye led them all to the dining hall. As she entered the room, she spotted Ricardo. He looked up from chatting with one his children and saw her almost instantly, waving gently for her to join him.
"Good morning, Miss McLaughlin." Ricardo said cheerfully, pulling a chair away from the table for Skye to sit on. She met his playful smile with a shy one of her own.
"Buenos dias, Señor. I suppose your lot have given you an easy morning so far?"
"As have yours, I would imagine. News of your Wii skills travels fast and make you quite popular among the young."
"Of course." Skye grinned a little. "Which year group do you have first for your Mathematics class?"
"Beginners. Five to six years old. And you for English?"
"I'm the opposite end. Seventeen to eighteen year olds."
"I'd say that's a decent start." Ricardo popped a grape into his mouth, still smiling. "But the question I really want to ask is will you sit with me for lunch and dinner today?"
"Lunch and dinner? I must be better company than I thought." Skye teased a little, though her heart had begun fluttering again in his presence. He was such a devilishly charming man; how could she possibly say no?
Ricardo in the meantime chuckled and started tidying his breakfast place. "At the very least I'd like to get to know you better. I think we have more in common than we know of yet."
"I see." Skye took a sip of her tea. "Well, I suppose I'll see you at lunchtime and dinner then."
"Splendid. See you then, Miss McLaughlan." Ricardo gave her one final wink before leaving the table. Just as he did so, a petite blonde woman approached the table with a breakfast plate of her own.
"I see you've met our Ricardo. A wonderfully naughty man, isn't he?" The woman's voice was heavily accented Welsh, one that Skye could instantly recognise for Wales was never too far from Ireland.
"Quite." Skye replied, smiling only a little as the familiar crackle of nervousness came back to her, unsure of what to make of this very forward and brash young woman. "You are?"
"Daisy Jones. Horribly plain, I know, even for an Art teacher."
"At least your surname isn't a mouthful and everyone can understand your accent."
Daisy laughed out loud at the witty reply and dug into her breakfast.
"Ricardo told us you're the new English, so I thought I'd make a beeline. I was so bloody nervous when I first met everyone, but at least I started with the majority. How are you finding it all so far?" She asked.
Skye shrugged as she began peeling an orange. "It's been good. Can't make much of an opinion yet on the kids, but I seem to have a good bunch."
"Lucky. Some of mine are right little toe-rags. Still though, nothing like a wee Welsh lass to whip em into shape, eh?"
"Amen to that." Skye finally relaxed, instantly liking Daisy's down-to-earth ways. Teaching was never meant to be an easy job and sometimes, you just had to keep some mettle within to get the job done. "When did you move to Japan?"
"A couple of years ago. I finished my teaching straight after University and then went for a TEFL. Then I ended up here. I used to think I'd be surprised to get into teaching at all, but now I'm more surprised that the bastard Kaiba hired me. Bloody rude man grumbled that the orphanage wasn't in need of an art teacher, but luckily some of his advisors and that wee brother of his set him right."
"Mokuba's quite kind, I'm glad he's had some influence with dealings here." Skye smiled at the thought of the sweeter natured brother.
"First names already with one of the Kaibas? You're a privileged one, indeed. How did you manage that? Sleeping with the boss." Daisy teased. As Skye went silent and looked down at her food, Daisy then quickly jumped in again and said, "Sorry lass, I'm only joking with you. Dry Welsh humour see, an acquired taste. But still, fancy telling me how you know the brothers?"
Still not quite sure of Daisy's intentions, Skye carefully answered, "Our families crossed paths a few times a while back. Nothing serious. We were kids."
To Skye's relief, Daisy merely nodded and continued with her food. There was a moment of silence before someone called Daisy's name. Both women at the table looked up to see another woman coming towards their table, fumbling with their breakfast plate.
"Can you believe them kids over there who started takin' over the breakfast station and sloppin' it everywhere? Poor Morris from cleanin' damn near freaked out when he saw the mess." Every word was delivered so quickly that Skye could feel her head spinning with the speed. Just how fast could this woman go, especially with an American accent that came straight from the Deep South? And wow, these nerves were up and down like a rollercoaster this morning with each new face she had to deal with.
"Slow down, love, I think you nearly blew the lass over here away." Daisy laughed and turned to Skye. "You know, what I'm an arsehole. I didn't even ask your name. You are…?"
"Skye McLaughlin." Replied Skye, whose eyes were still on the newest arrival to the table. In short, Skye had never been stunned by such beauty. This woman was gorgeous: tanned skin that had been blessed by the Mediterranean sun, dazzling green eyes that reminded one of a feline, and black hair so sleek that it looked like a black mirror. The woman looked to Skye and nearly went beside herself with apology.
"Oh my lord, hi, so sorry! I'm Letisha, or Lee for short. Sorry for not introducin' myself properly, you must think me so rude."
"Lovely to meet you, Lee, and of course not. I take it you weren't used to such mess either?"
"Oh hell no! My momma woulda given me the belt for that stuff. She liked her stuff kept neat, you know what I'm sayin'? Guess old habits die hard." Lee sighed, picking at her breakfast slightly, all the while unable to stop looking over at the said mess that some boys were laughing over and cleaning up under strict instruction from the cleaners.
"Doesn't mean the laddies can't learn to not act like pigs, though as they say: boys will be boys. At least good old Morris is showing them how it's done." Daisy commented, wrinkling her nose in disgust she caught sight of some porridge that had somehow been spilt on a boy's jumper, looking almost like vomit.
Skye for her part silently agreed with the ladies, but made no input, for her temples were still thudding with her blood pulse. She just couldn't relax, no matter how friendly these ladies were. Ricardo made it feel easy somehow. But then Skye remembered her years as a child and a teenager. She never got on much well with other girls her age, not least because she preferred her studies and the peace and quiet. This left her often with little to no friends. How ironic that she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe history might repeat itself even into adulthood.
Then she shook some sense into herself. She had only just met these ladies and even if they had already buddied up, that didn't mean she couldn't either. Perhaps she just needed to spend more time with them to get used to their loud, vibrant personas.
"So what are you teaching, Lee?" Skye asked.
"Drama, can you tell? Life's a big one of that, lemme tell ya."
"Agreed." Daisy joined in, finishing the last scrapes of her breakfast plate.
"Maybe we can discuss the logistics of that over lunch and dinner? Ricardo's already invited me."
Lee's eyes went wide and she nearly let out a squeal. "Ricardo invited you to sit with him for lunch and dinner? Girl, you hittin' it on the first day, awesome! That man is just delicious."
"I know, jammy ain't she? I wouldn't mind a dish like that." Daisy said with a grin.
"He is a very charming man, but I would hesitate to say it's just lunch and dinner and only the first day. Not that I'm not open to further possibilities." Now it was Skye's turn to grin as the ladies were beside themselves with excitement, almost clambering over the table to hear more.
"You know, when I first saw you, I thought you were gonna be a real quiet lassie. But you fooled me one, I'll give ya that. You're a bit of a minx, aren't ya?" Said Daisy.
"Minx is right, look at her, all pleased with herself! So you won't mind if we be crashin' the party a little?" Lee giggled, placing her chin on the heel of her hand.
"The more the merrier." Skye felt relief at them accepting her request. At least she now had more people to talk to and get to know now. Finally, the nerves began to settle a little, ready to go for teaching for the day. "See you at lunch and dinner?"
"Like hell we'd be missin' it, girl, especially after the first day. Have fun with your kids, I think I'm in for a tough one with them nine year olds." Lee smiled, waving at Skye as she got up from the table.
"You think you got problems lass, I've got fourteen year olds and those twin boys who set off that prank yesterday are in that group!" Skye heard Daisy scoffing at Lee as she walked away. Still, the smile did not leave her face all morning, not even as she entered her classroom and saw many pairs of young eyes staring at her.
I don't think I've ever done a Christmas Eve update before, so here's to a first story chapter published on a day like today! Ask for this chapter, this is fairly short even for me, BUT I felt it needed to end on this note. We've seen a sneak peak into how Seto and Mokuba first met Skye, as well as more little indicators as to how Skye will get on with her new job at the orphanage. I'm planning to introduce some more characters from the orphanage, such as the children, in the next chapter. You never know, we may also get another unexpected visit from Seto or Mokuba yet…only time will tell.
Otherwise, seasons greetings to all and hope you have a Happy Christmas wherever you are in the world!
See you in 2019.
xXxCometxXx
Additonal notes
- TEFL = Teaching English as a Foreign Language
- The chapter title 'Meeting Penguins' was inspired by the song Penguin by Christina Perri. If you fancy giving it a listen to help set the mood for this part of the read, I would definitely recommend it. Christina has a beautiful voice and her music is a lulling comforter.