1ALRIGHT, CHAPTER 2 IS HERE!
BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT READ AND REVIEWED THIS STORY!
In this chapter, I'm going to explore the personal lives of Seto and Ishizu and their interaction with their younger brothers.
DISCLAIMER: IN THE WORLD OF YUGIOH!, I OWN NOTHING, KAZUKI TAKAHASHI-SENSEI OWNS EVERYTHING.
So with that said, on with the fic!
The sun sets, casting an orange glow on an apartment complex in the high-class area of the city. A very tired Ishizu Ishtar walks towards the apartment she shares with her charming younger brother. Her long ebony hair has grown longer and her cerulean eyes hold the intensity to rival a certain CEO's glare. Ishizu's body has the characteristic curves of her nationality which she chooses to cover with her conservative work clothes.
She is wearing a white button up blouse that is tucked into the waistband of her heather-gray pencil skirt that hugs her hips and thighs ending mid-calf. Since it is chilly, she is wearing a black knit sweater duster and on her feet are simple black pumps. Carrying a messenger bag and a stack of files she makes her way into the apartment. As she opens the door, her nose is greeted with the smell of traditional Egyptian food wafting from the kitchen. Ishizu slides out of her shoes and puts down her paper work, following the pungent smell of curry powder and onions as she enters the kitchen. Marik is busy at the stove top cooking a stew in a large pot. On the counter top are bits and pieces of ingredients and open containers are strewn about. Ishizu sits down at the counter with a smile on her face.
"Brother, I'm glad you decided to take care of dinner tonight, but I'm not sure if it's worth what you do to my kitchen." -observes Ishizu as she tidies up a little.
"Hello to you too dear sister. Dinner will be ready soon." - replies Marik.
"How was your first day of school?"
"It was okay. I met up with Yugi and his friends, they said hello."
As Marik speaks, he continues to cook as Ishizu cleans up his mess on the counter, completely oblivious to the mischievous gleam in her brother's eyes.
"How are they?" inquires Ishizu.
"Same as usual, they also congratulated you on getting your doctorate." Marik remarks.
As Marik speaks, he digs around in his pocket. Fishing out some money, he hands it over to his sister, who has a slightly bewildered look on her face.
"What's this for?"
"I also talked to Seto Kaiba, in fact I sit right next to him."
"I'm sure he loved that."-replies Ishizu as she gives the money back to Marik.
"Keep your money little brother, it wasn't a serious bet anyway."
"Thanks sis, but a bet is a bet even if it's made jokingly. I'll just have to buy you something with this money that you can't give back." -Marik replies with a smirk.
"If you insist, Marik."
"By the way, Kaiba also congratulated you on earning your doctorate."- Marik mentions in a seemingly casual tone.
"He really said that?" - his sister asks disbelievingly.
"Well, those weren't his exact words, I'm paraphrasing."
"I'm sure." -Ishizu manages before a quick laugh. "Part of me wishes I was attending school with you."
"Would that be the part that has a crush on Kaiba?"
"Excuse me?" asks Ishizu, her eyebrow raised in confusion.
Marik has now turned around and is looking Ishizu right in the eye, lavender meeting blue. From her expression. Marik can tell she actually has no idea what he's talking about. He rolls his eyes and sighs.
"C'mon Ishizu, will you just admit that he's the reason you chose to come to Domino City instead of that job in New York City at the Museum of Natural History?"
"Believe it or not Marik, I had other reasons for coming here." -replies Ishizu.
"Such as?"
"We have friends here for one and I get more freedom here instead of that job as an assistant curator in New York. Not to mention that the school system is better in Japan."
"Yeah . . . that didn't sound rehearsed at all."-drawls Marik in a disbelieving tone.
Ishizu sighs and rolls her eyes at Marik, who is expecting a response.
"What do you want me to say, Marik-'That I came here just to be around Seto Kaiba'?" - Ishizu answers, her voice wavering slightly. "The thought did occur to me, but I'm not the type to make a life-altering decision based on a whim."
"Maybe that's the problem, Izzy. You never do anything for yourself and you always put everyone else's needs before your own. It doesn't hurt to be selfish every once in a while."
"Like you?" - retorts Ishizu with a small smile.
Marik responds with a grin that rivals the Cheshire cat, "You aren't ready for that level of selfishness yet Ishizu. One must crawl before they can walk."
Ishizu smirks at Marik's joke as she ruffles his hair affectionately. The two continue to talk about their day as they set the table for dinner. Unbeknownst to them, another pair of siblings were also about to have a very similar conversation.
At the Kaiba Corp building in downtown Domino, CEO Seto Kaiba sits at his desk going over some invoices and budget reports. Mokuba Kaiba strolls in and plops on the couch adjacent to his brother. Over the past two years, Mokuba has grown about six inches but other than that looks the same. His grey eyes look at Seto as he rests his body that's tired from his duties at his school's kendo club.
"Hey big bro!"-greets the younger Kaiba.
"Hello Mokuba, how was school?"-replies Seto.
"Fine, in fact you're looking at the new vice captain of the kendo club. Usually, only third years get to hold positions in clubs."
"That's good Mokuba."
"Uh, did something happen today?"
"You could say that."
" . . . "
" . . ."
"Well, are you going to say what happened or what?" -exclaims Mokuba.
"Marik Ishtar has transferred to Domino High School."
"Really? What's he doing here?"
"Apparently, he and his sister moved back during the summer because she was offered a job at the museum." -replies Seto in a business-like manner.
At the mention of Ishizu, a smile grows upon Mokuba's face causing Seto to raise an eyebrow. Unbeknownst to the elder Kaiba, Mokuba had always thought Ishizu was perfect for Seto. He had become impressed with her after her duel with his older brother as well as their conversation before the final duel of Battle City. On both occasions, she had stood her ground to the intimidating CEO while remaining calm and collected, a feat not easily accomplished. Not to mention that the woman was intelligent, beautiful, and more importantly could match wits and glares with Seto Kaiba. The man who was often described as having a such an icy stare that it could even stop demons in their tracks. Suffice it to say, Seto has always been in a league of his own, but Ishizu was shaping up to be a worthy opponent. Lost in his thoughts, Mokuba barely notices as his brother makes a comment.
"I think Marik has some ulterior motives . . ."
"You think everyone has ulterior motives Seto."
Kaiba glares at his little brother, although that term wasn't so applicable anymore. Since entering his teen years, Mokuba had become bolder in their interactions with each other. Seto welcomed the change from shy boy to assertive teen, however he could do without the increasingly quick tongue of Mokuba Kaiba.
"I was implying that Marik is trying to get close to me for some unknown reason. He has practically decided on his own to become my new friend." states Seto.
New friend? Where the heck are you're old friends? Mokuba muses to himself before commenting. "Have you ever considered that he might actually just want to be your friend? When you aren't glaring at someone or criticizing them you can be quite amusing to mess with."
" Something I've noticed you've been increasingly fond of."
At his brother's observation, Mokuba shrugs as he begins to speak. "It passes the time . . . Anyway, I think you should give a friendship with Marik a chance. It isn't healthy for an eighteen year-old teenager to only have his thirteen year-old brother as a friend."
"Mokuba, I have a company to run."
Recognizing the phrase Seto often uses as a subject-change, the younger Kaiba sits up getting ready to make his exit.
"Fine, I can take a hint, I'll leave. Rebecca and I have to review for our field trip tomorrow anyway."
"Since when do you need to review anything, especially for a field trip?"
"Since I got a girlfriend. Maybe you should get a real girlfriend instead of letting those women who are just after your money hang around. It might help you lighten up a bit."-answers Mokuba with an all-knowing look on his face.
"Pssh! If I ever found a woman whose presence I could stand for more then five minutes as well as carry an intelligent conversation, I might actually take that advice of yours."-retorts the CEO.
"What about Ishizu Ishtar?"
"What about her?"
"I seem to remember the two of you spending plenty of time together as well as sharing quite a few conversations. From my point of view, you even seemed like you were occasionally enjoying yourself."
For the first time since they started their conversation, Seto has completely stopped typing and is looking right into Mokuba's eyes. In his head, he is thinking over the events of Battle City and, despite the "failures", he admits to himself that the Egyptian woman had intrigued him.
"Well, during her brief moments of sanity, devoid of all her destiny and fate nonsense, glimmers of intelligence did occasionally shine through." replies Seto, albeit begrudgingly.
"Wow . . . I bet it actually physically hurt you to make that compliment."
"Don't you have some "reviewing" to do?" snaps the elder brother, obviously wanting to end the conversation about his personal life.
Laughing, Mokuba gets up to leave."Later, Seto."
With that, the younger Kaiba leaves his older brother's office. As he walks by the secretary's desk outside Seto's office, he stops with a devilish smirk on his face. The secretary is an older woman in her late 30's and average looking. She was probably pretty cute when she was younger but the stress of children and married life has aged her. Mokuba always felt comfortable around the woman, she never treated him like a kid as he often was by Seto's other employees.
"Mokuba, Is there something I can help you with?
"Yes. Can you get me the personal phone number and address of Marik Ishtar and his sister Ishizu Ishtar . . . and please make sure that my dear brother actually makes it home tonight."requests Mokuba with a seemingly innocent smile.
"Of course." -replies the secretary with her own smile. "I'll have the phone numbers and address forwarded to your cell phone."
"Perfect."
Mokuba makes his way out of the building, dialing Rebecca Hawking's phone number on the way. From his office, Seto watches his brother leave, contemplating the conversation the two of them just had. His thoughts are interrupted when he hears the voice of his secretary through the speaker of his intercom.
"Mr.Kaiba, your guests are arriving to take part in the press conference. They're being assembled in conference room 3."
A quick look of confusion crosses Seto's face, before he remembers that he indeed has a press conference scheduled tonight. He presses a button on the intercom to reply.
"I'll be down shortly."
Kaiba stands and grabs his white trench coat, putting it on over his all-black outfit. Grabbing his laptop, he heads out of his office and closes the door. Within a few strides he passes his secretary and steps into his personal elevator as he makes his way down to the conference.
Later that night
Back at the Ishtar residence, Ishizu has changed into a white tank-top and a pair of loose black dorm pants. Over this, she is wearing a silk kimono-style robe- a birthday present from Marik last year. It is a deep blue with a cerulean blue band around the sleeves and collar. Along the sleeves and bottom are water lilies making the robe look like a pond. Ishizu's long hair has been twisted into a loose bun and she's wearing reading glasses as she peruses some inventory paperwork for the museum. Ishizu sits, cross-legged, in the large comfy chair in the living room. Marik is lying on the couch next to her with a bowl of chips resting on his stomach. He's munching away as he flips through the T.V. channels. Marik has changed out of his school uniform and is wearing a solid red t-shirt with matching flannel pajama bottoms. On his feet are plain tube socks as they hang over the edge of the couch. Flipping through more channels, lavender eyes widen as they find what he was looking for.
"Alright, Naruto Shippuden is on! This is the episode where they finally save Gaara!"- Marik exclaims.
"Did you finish your homework?"- asks Ishizu without raising her head from her work.
"Relax, mom, I already did it."- Marik responds sarcastically. "You know, if you dyed your hair pink you'd be exactly like Sakura."
Ishizu raises an eyebrow in bewilderment at the comment, having no idea who "Sakura" is. Marik's eyes however are glued to the screen as a pink-haired girl punches through the side of a cliff. A seemingly impossible feat to Ishizu, but she realizes it's just an anime and shrugs it off. The Egyptian woman returns to her work as she smiles at her brother's childlike wonder. After the show ends, Marik sings the ending theme song(Shooting Star- by Homemade Kazoku) in perfect Japanese, after all anime is how he learned the language. As the local news program starts, a reporter begins to list the top stories of the day.
" . . . And in gaming news, Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp, held an exclusive press conference earlier today to reveal the new upgrade to the company's popular duel disk system." says the reporter.
The screen shifts to footage of the press conference. Seto Kaiba is standing at a podium in front of a screen with the specs of the new duel disk projected behind him. To the other side of him is a stand holding up the sleek, new prototype. Kaiba's deep voice sounds through the television as Marik, Ishizu, and the other residents of Domino city watch.
"This latest duel disk is the new upgrade from the previous model. It has all the same features but with new attributes as well. Physically it is lighter and more compact to allow for easier transportation by the duelist. The memory of this model has been increased from 60 GB to 100 GB, therefore reducing the frequency a duelist needs to clear their harddrive. It also has the capability to record each and every move made on it to ensure clear victory. Each duel disk also has an individual recognition chip so that if they are lost or stolen, it can be returned to the owner. In addition to that, the chips can also be recognized by other duel disks for-"
"Mr. Kaiba, you're saying that the disks will be able to 'recognize' each other? What is the point of that?" -interrupts a reporter.
The reporter soon realizes the mistake he just made as Kaiba concentrates a soul-searing glare on the poor man.
"As I was about to clarify,"-Seto continues with an edge to his voice, "As a person duels, the disk records your amount of duels, dueling average, level, and other pertinent information. So when two duelists face each other, their duel disks will be able to gain their opponents statistics with a press of a button."
As he speaks, the screen behind him shows the different features to the crowd and viewers at home. After his presentation, the room erupts into a barrage of questions for Kaiba and cameras flash trying to catch the prize photograph of the corporation's new creation for the front page. Meanwhile, Marik and Ishizu both have their eyes glued to the screen. However while Marik, along with every other duelist in the world, is practically salivating over the new duel disk, Ishizu's eyes are focused solely on Seto Kaiba.
Seto seems to be doing well, . . . although it's not that much of a surprise seeing as he's so dedicated to his work. I suppose it's something we have in common. -muses Ishizu as her sapphire eyes remain on Kaiba.
Marik glances over to his sister, noticing (but not surprised) thatshe is openly staring at the handsome business man. She appears lost in thought, but a small smile graces her lips.
Wow, she isn't even trying to hide it . . .Ishizu is definitely interested in Kaiba. Now if the two of them got together, not only would it ensure my dear sister's happiness, I'd be able to get the coolest gaming stuff before it even hits the stores! - Marik thinks as a devilish grin pulls at the corners of his mouth.
Marik gets up from the couch slowly, trying not to catch Ishizu's attention. A feat that unfortunately the young Egyptian has never been able to pull off.
"Where are you going, Marik?"
"Um . . . to get a drink, the salt from these chips is starting to get to me."-Marik quickly yells as he makes his way into the kitchen.
Brushing off her brother's strange, but not unusual, behavior, Ishizu returns to her work. Marik however is in the kitchen searching his cell phone for a certain phone number.
Alright, it's time to implement my plan. Plan: Get The Two Workaholics Together!
(Hmm . . . Note to self: think of better name for the plan . . .)
Finding the number for Yugi Moto in his address book, Marik calls the boy.
"Hey Yugi, It's me . . . Marik! . . . MARIK ISHTAR! Anyway, you wouldn't happen to have Mokuba Kaiba's cell phone number, would you?
-TSUDUKU (TO BE CONTINUED!)
END OF CHAPTER 2!
NINJA-RENKA: SO FAR THIS WAS MY FAVE CHAPTER TO WRITE BECAUSE I GOT TO INTRODUCE MY FAVE CHARACTERS FROM YUGIOH!, ISHIZU AND MOKUBA!
MARIK: AHEM! WHAT ABOUT ME?
NINJA-RENKA: WHAT ABOUT YOU? ALL YOU DO IS RUIN MY PLOTS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!
MARIK: WELL I WASN'T , BUT YOU CAN FORGET IT NOW! IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, CALLED: STAGE I - MAKING CONTACT, MY INGENIOUS PLAN BEGINS!
NINJA-RENKA: WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT, AFTER ALL IT'S UP TO ME WHETHER OR NOT THIS HAIR-BRAINED SCHEME OF YOURS EVEN WORKS. SO THERE!
MARIK:(GRUMBLES) I HATE AUTHORS!
NINJA-RENKA: YEAH, YEAH, YEAH . . . ANYWAYS, QUICK DISCLAIMER: THE NARUTO FRANCHISE BELONGS TO MASASHI KISHIMOTO-SENSEI NOT ME OBVIOUSLY.
- NINJA-RENKA OUT!