Heir of the Creator
by: luxxi
Disclaimer: Seto Kaiba and all the other characters from Yu-Gi-Oh are not mine. However, original characters that I have created ARE mine.
Summary: There's a new heir at Industrial Illusions, Pegasus's heir. Who is it? And what does that have to with Seto Kaiba? Unbeknownst to him, he will be dragged into more than he ever dreamed of. SetoOC
Chapter 2: Connection
"Here Seto, have a good time," Mokuba Kaiba grinned mischievously at his brother while handing him his coat.
"Are you sure you are not going to come?" Seto asked his brother one last time.
"Nope. You know I hate those events as much as you do and I'm going to enjoy being able to get out of them as long as I can. See you later, big brother!" Mokuba waved as his brother left in the limo.
The estate on which the ball was being held was bustling with activity by the time Kaiba arrived. He didn't even have to present his invitation as the guards recognized him immediately. "Good evening, Mr. Kaiba. I see young Mr. Kaiba is not joining us tonight?"
Kaiba just grunted and followed a suited man to his table. He had to admit, the place did look great. There was a stage up front with a glossy dance surface before it. Small tables set for two were set neatly around the dance floor and stage. Kaiba found himself at one of the tables closest to both. Hmph, so they do recognize me as a powerful influence.
Unfortunately, they also recognized Yugi because he and Tea were seated at the table immediately to his right.
"Hello Kaiba!" Yugi greeted as soon as he saw him. The King of Games was dressed in a navy suit, looking quite professional. Tea, dressed in a sparkling red dress, smiled for his benefit.
Kaiba merely nodded, "Yugi."
Since there were so many people, the tables were set quite close so Kaiba found himself only a few feet away from his greatest rival.
"So…where's Taylor and the mutt?"
Yugi frowned, but ignored his insult, "Joey and Tristan came with us but their seats were not so close because Lana just gave them invitations yesterday."
The room was filling in quickly. Soon Kaiba couldn't spot an empty seat except for the one across from him.
"Speaking of which…since Lana is the one who gave them tickets, shouldn't she be here too?" Yugi was wondering when the lights dimmed and the spotlight focused on the stage.
Immediately Kaiba saw the change in Yugi as Croquet announced, "I give you Mr. Maximillian Pegasus!" Yugi's doing that thing he does when he duels. He's switching to that other part of him that he usually uses to duel or switches to when he is on guard.
Kaiba switched his gaze to the platform, but didn't clap as the crowd did.
Maximilian Pegasus walked out, white hair shining and trademark red suit neat. "Ah, hello my dears and welcome to our celebration. I see that everyone has deemed us worthy of your time…" he gazed around, "…except little Kaiba, it seems."
Kaiba growled inaudibly as Pegasus grinned down at him.
"He had previous arrangements, Pegasus," Kaiba ground out.
"Oh, such a pity. I was looking forward too seeing dear Mokuba again, Kaiba-boy."
Before Kaiba could reply, Pegasus had gone back to addressing the entire audience. "Now, I am growing old and therefore I have decided to pass on my title and company to someone else. I assure that my heir has all the capabilities of running Industrial Illusions, no matter what appearances suggest. I would warn you not to underestimate her. Now, it is my pleasure to introduce my heir, the next CEO of Industrial Illusions, Miss Ry Lana!"
The words barely had time to register themselves in Kaiba's mind before Lana stepped out from behind the curtain and into the spotlight.
Lana grinned smugly to herself as she proceeded toward the microphone, not at all nervous. She had been trained for this since she could remember.
She took in all the shocked looks and heard Tea's gasp. Her eyes wandered to Yugi; he didn't look as surprised as the others, but still surprised enough. Kaiba's face was blank, but she could see emotions in his clear blue eyes.
She knew that she was young, almost too young to be CEO, and she was a girl. She knew that people were already wondering why Pegasus had chosen her. And she knew they were whispering about her appearance.
Lana had the dress especially made for her debut night. It was lavender with a tight, strapless bodice laced with pearls. Filmy silk fanned out from her waist to the floor like a waterfall and jewels glistened
"Good evening, everyone. I know this has probably come as a surprise to all of you, but I assure you that I will carry on the legacy of Industrial Illusions as Mr. Pegasus did. I want to thank you all for coming and I look forward to meeting all of you."
She turned from the microphone and allowed Pegasus to lead her to a table at the front and center of the ballroom. Waiters started to come out with dishes and the silence in the ballroom dissipated.
Dinner went smoothly as many came up to her table to congratulate her. Yugi and Tea stopped by as well, but only formalities were exchanged as there were other people waiting. In fact, Lana suspected that the only person who hadn't come to their table was probably Seto Kaiba. Sneaking a glance over her shoulder, she saw him leaning languidly back in his chair, twirling a glass between two fingers. Although he looked relaxed, his eyes were quick and calculating. They met hers and stayed there. Lana nearly looked away; they were so cold.
"Lana? What do you think?" Pegasus asked his heir, who seemed not to be hearing him, "Lana?"
Lana pulled her glance away from Kaiba and smiled at him, "What is it?"
Pegasus gestured toward a middle-aged man standing next to him, "Mr. Mempro was just asking if you would like to dance, Lana."
She inwardly winced but pasted a smile on her face, "I would love to, Mr. Mempro."
Four dances later, she sighed in relief. No one had been as bold as to try anything inappropriate, yet. Another middle-aged man came up to her, "My name is Edward Lancaster, would you like to dance, Miss Lana?"
"It would be a pleasure." She realized her mistake as soon as he drew her onto the dance floor. He was holding her unusually close and his hand on her waist was sliding downward. She barely suppressed a shudder; only half the song left…
A strong deep voice interrupted her them, "If I may cut in?"
The man looked surprised while Lana breathed in relief. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Lana peered at the man in surprise and just about to say, "You don't know who he is?" when the voice sounded again. "Seto Kaiba and I wasn't asking you."
Lana pasted a false apologetic smile on her face, "I'm sorry Mr. Lancaster, but I did promise him a dance." She let Kaiba lead her away from the man and draw her into a slow dance, placing his hands on her waist. Her hands came to clasp around his neck.
"Thank you," she whispered, looking down at the floor.
"You looked uncomfortable," he replied gruffly, not looking at her either.
"Since when did you care about others, Seto Kaiba?"
He stiffened immediately, "I…"
She laughed softly and drew him closer, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, it wasn't meant to offend you Seto."
There was silence for a while, "What makes you think you can call me Seto?"
"Kaiba's a great last name, but Seto is your given first name. Besides, I'll let you call me Ryla."
The song changed to a faster pace, but he didn't let her go. Instead, he changed his grip and spun her out, making her skirt twirl beautifully. They were both great dancers so they had no need to concentrate on what their bodies were doing.
"Tell me why you are Pegasus's heir."
"You want toknow too?"
"It is quite a surprise."
"Why? You took over KaibaCorp when you were 15."
"Exactly, I took over, I didn't exactly Gozaburo a chance. You, on the other hand, were deemed a suitable heir by Pegasus himself," Kaiba pointed out.
She shrugged, "We'll see if I'm suitable soon enough, won't we?"
"You seemed different from the first time I met you, Ryla."
"I can't stand public schools. I'm only there for the same reason you are."
He dipped her and then twirled her around forcefully. She caught his smirk as she was dipped again.
"I think Industrial Illusions and KaibaCorp will be very close from now on."
She glanced up at his remark, "Close, but not merged."
"Come to my office tomorrow after school and we'll talk about it."
"What about all those other dear CEOs?" she asked.
"I'm the strongest and KaibaCorp could crush any one of them with one breath," he stated matter-of-factly.
Lana smiled. She knew that was true, but she wanted to hear it from his mouth.
"Excuse me, Kaiba, but may I borrow Lana for a dance?" Yugi appeared beside as the dance ended and another tune started up.
The two broke apart and Kaiba nodded in Lana's direction before stalking away.
"He's a good guy, just a bit grumpy, that's all," Yugi told her.
She looked at him curiously, "Where's Tea? And your other friends?"
"Tea's resting for a second and Joey and Tristan are still stuffing themselves. Oh, I still need to thank you for giving them invitations."
"It's not a problem."
"What did you mean when you said you owed me anyway?" Yugi asked, right before stepping on her right toes.
She grimaced perceptibly and Yugi blushed. "Sorry, I'm not such a great dancer." Suddenly he seemed to be having an inner conversation, his eyes becoming distant and then clearing.
Lana noted that he seemed to stand taller and exuded more confidence suddenly. "You saved Pegasus from the evil influence of his Millennium Eye, did you not?" she said, answering his earlier question.
"That makes sense, but you could have told us that you were Pegasus's heir."
She shrugged, "I would've thought you'd realized, being as powerful as you are, Yami," she emphasized his name.
He nearly tripped over his feet. "How do you know? I sensed something strange about you, but I don't know what it is."
"Don't worry, I'm not your enemy, Pharaoh," she replied mysteriously, a trademark Kaiba smirk on her face.
Yami's jaw dropped in utter shock, "What…how?"
The dance ended and she winked at him, 'I enjoyed the dance, Yami. See you in class! Go dance with Tea!"
She collapsed into a plush seat, massaging her temples. She had danced with nearly every eligible man there at least once. Guests were starting to leave and she finally had a chance to breathe.
"You'll get used to it Ry-ry," a voice said form behind her.
She craned her head to see Pegasus standing behind her. "I am fine," she pouted.
Pegasus laughed. "Ry-ry, you never cease to amuse me."
"I told you I hate that nickname. I am not a source of your amusement."
"Fine, let's go. These people will stay here all night if we don't take the initiative." He offered her his arm and she laced hers through his.
It took another hour to get form her table to the door because so many people wanted to talk to them. Just before they reached the door, a hand caught her wrist. "Seto!" she exclaimed.
Pegasus raised an eyebrow, "On fist name basis already with Kaiba-boy? I'm shocked."
"Don't forget," he whispered before melting back into the crowd.
She didn't know if she was dreading school or looking forward to it. On one hand, she wanted to see Seto, but the ball had been headline news everywhere and she was sure that by now, everyone knew exactly who she was.
Sighing she pulled up to the school parking lot in her shiny BMW convertible. Slipping on a pair of Versace sunglasses, she managed to get into the building before being recognized.
"That's her!" a voice gasped and soon everyone was crowding around her so tightly that she felt suffocated and faint.
"Hey, let her breathe!" someone pushed through the crowd and parted it so she could have some fresh air.
"Yugi!" she looked up, relieved. "Tea, Joey, Tristan. Thank God!"
"Are you okay?" Yugi asked worriedly.
"I'll be fine, thanks," she said, a genuine smile gracing her features. But as she looked around, the crowd had surged in again and they aren't letting anyone out anytime soon.
"Great," she heard Tristan mutter.
"What the hell is wrong with all of you people? Don't you all have something better to do with your lives than annoy the hell out of us?"
Lana sagged in relief as she heard the sharp voice at the edge of the crowd.
"Kaiba!" Joey growled.
"If you all don't scram this second, I'll call security and have you thrown out."
Immediately, the crowd thinned and she saw Seto standing there, looked thoroughly annoyed.
"Seto!" she launched herself onto him, burying her head in his shoulder. "I hate crowds! I hate it when people want to get so close…all that noise."
Aware of Yugi's knowing gaze, Tea's smirking one, Joey's outraged one, and Tristan's confused one, he detached himself carefully. "Ryla, calm down and regain control! You must never lose control in public like this. Didn't Pegasus teach you that much?"
"I know! I know!" she replied sharply, still breathing heavily.
The bell rang. "I'll see you later, Ryla." He walked away.
Yugi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get going."
She nodded and turned to all of them, "I'm sorry I was so mean when I first met you yesterday. I was very aggravated."
"Apology accepted," Tea said, while the guys nodded.
"Lana, do you want to come to hang out at Yugi's game shop today after school?"
"I'm sorry I can't. I'm going to discuss alliances between Industrial Illusions and KaibaCorp with Seto. I'll see you guys later." She waved as she walked away, laughing at the shocked expressions on her new friends' faces.