"Sweet Disposition,
Never too soon.
Oh reckless abandon,
Like no one's watching you."
Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap
XXIV
"I look ridiculous," Mokuba grumbled to himself, pulling at his bowtie to loosen it.
"Would you quit it? For the fifth time, you look fine. Now would you please focus?" Seto snapped, not even turning toward Mokuba to scold him. In the six months she and Seto had been going out, Kisara had never heard Seto be so cross with Mokuba. She looked to see if Mokuba was fine and he patted her reassuringly on the hand.
"Don't worry about it, Kisara. Nii-sama is always cranky before the Tokyo Game Show." Just then, the limo came to a stop and the loud clatter of reporters and newscasters became present. Seto uncrossed his legs and turned to Kisara and Mokuba.
"Remember, I want you both to stick by me the entire time unless I say otherwise. Got it?"
"Why? Isn't this place going to be packed with security guards? I can't imagine anyone other than game developers will be able to get into the convention center," Kisara said, sure that this was just another instance where Seto was being more paranoid than he needed to be. Kisara had begun to notice that Seto seemed cautious and suspicious with every person he met. She couldn't understand why.
"Yes, but half the game developers at this convention are enemies of Nii-sama," Mokuba replied.
"Wait, what?"
"We have to go, come on," Seto commanded, opening the door. Once the door had been opened and the three had exited the car, the cameras had started clicking away from every angle. The scene was similar to that of a red carpet ceremony in Hollywood, only she couldn't imagine why this many people would be interested in the gaming industry. Perhaps it was just a Japan thing.
Seto took hold of Kisara and Mokuba's hand and walked past every reporter and cameraman that approached them. He wasn't interested in anything they had to say. Despite Domino City treating him like a celebrity, Seto never acted like one. His hands never let go of Kisara or Mokuba until they had entered the convention center. Although there was still a hustle and bustle going on everywhere, it was a little more relaxing with fewer reporters nearby.
"So what happens now? The show doesn't start for a while, right?" Kisara asked, wanting there to be some sort of conversation going on. The intensity and anxiety shrouding Seto was disconcerting for her to be around. Mokuba, on the other hand, seemed completely used to it. He was more concerned with how uncomfortable he felt in a bowtie rather than how his brother was feeling. He kept pulling at it, trying to loosen it without his brother noticing.
"We should probably go check on our booth and make sure everything's in order. It should already be set up and ready to go but it would be good to check," Mokuba mentioned. Seto nodded in agreement and the three of them headed towards the booth. That was until they heard a familiar voice call out to them.
"Oh Kaiba-boy, there you are!" Pegasus said, walking over to them with a grin on his face, "You're early as usual. I was wondering when I'd run into you." Seto rolled his eyes. Pegasus looked past him to Kisara and Mokuba, "And you brought your cheerleading squad, how sweet. How are you, Kisara? Mokuba? My, how the boy has grown since the last time I saw him." Mokuba inched away from Pegasus and Kisara put her hand on his shoulder. Since she had last met with Pegasus, she had been informed of the Duelist Kingdom incident which was why she refused to answer his question.
"Look Pegasus, we don't have time for useless small talk. We have a show to put on so if you'll excuse us…" Seto tried to walk past Pegasus but he wouldn't let Seto through.
"Just one moment, Kaiba. May I have a word with you?" Seto narrowed his eyes.
"If you're trying to find out what developments we'll be showcasing today, I can guarantee it's better than anything you have to show for," Seto grinned, "I can't give you any hints, of course. You'll just have to wait and see like everyone else." Seto was downplaying his feelings towards Pegasus. In actuality, Seto had become incredibly suspicious of Pegasus's recent 'buddy-buddy' attitude towards him but he refused to acknowledge how he was truly feeling. It was better to keep his caution a secret so until then, the two would banter as they always had. When he tried to walk past Pegasus a second time, Pegasus still refused.
"Those developments you're going to be presenting are precisely what I wanted to discuss with you." Seto rolled his eyes. Pegasus was clearly not going to let this one go. He turned back to Kisara.
"Will you watch Mokuba for me? I'll just be a moment." Kisara nodded. Pegasus led him a couple feet away to a less populated part of the convention center so that their conversation would be slightly more private.
"I wouldn't be so overt about your developments unless you investigated that spy problem within your company." Seto laughed.
"Oh, that's right. There's some spy selling my blueprints. What company did you say he work for again?"
"I don't know. Whoever it was didn't tell me. I wouldn't take this so lightly, though. I'm trying to help you." Seto laughed again, louder than last. Pegasus looked away, trying to keep himself composed. It was becoming increasingly difficult for the creator of Duel Monsters to remember why he was trying to so hard to help Seto.
"That's hilarious, Pegasus, because I can't believe you keep forgetting that we're not friends. So why bother helping me? Since when did you start to care about my company? You tried to steal it only a few years back," Seto paused, "Do you remember that?" Pegasus's attention was provoked once more, despite his better judgment. Maybe, just maybe, Seto would take him seriously if he told him the truth.
"Kaiba, what I did to you and your brother was wrong. I know that and I've lived with it for years now. It got to the point where I couldn't sleep at night, knowing the conscious decisions I made and how it harmed you. It caused me to seek help and when I did, I realized that the only way I would be able to move past what I had done was to make amends with you." To Seto, this was unheard of. Out of all the conversations he had ever held with one of his past enemies, not once had any of them asked for forgiveness. Seto had been wronged by the majority of the people he met over the course of his life thus forcing him to believe he could trust no one and that people, at their core, were evil. Therefore, he didn't know how to respond to Pegasus's plea for forgiveness… except to leave.
"I'll see you when the show starts, Pegasus. Until then, leave me alone," Seto stated, finally leaving from Pegasus's presence without difficulty. He returned to where Mokuba stood, alone, with his bowtie in his hand rather than around his neck. This was a cause of concern for Seto on many levels.
"Where's Kisara?" Mokuba quickly put his hands behind his back, concealing the bowtie.
"I dunno. I think she said she wanted to look around."
"And you let her go by herself?"
"Hey, you told her to watch me, not the other way around. Besides, I told her not to run off. I knew you'd be more upset if we both disappeared than if only one of us disappeared." Seto grumbled in frustration. There was so much left to do and the start of the show was fast approaching. He knew that his booth and presentation needed to be top priority before he left to try and find Kisara. He grabbed Mokuba's hand and proceeded to move through the crowd of guests and game developers. "Hey, wait! Where are we going?"
"She'll be fine until the show starts. I want to make sure everything is in order at the booth before I go looking for her. We don't have much time left," Seto swiftly replied, "And you better put that bowtie back on before I do it for you."
Kisara had completely forgotten about her previous worries when she saw all of the colorful posters, banners, and game consoles set up. She was hardly familiar with half of the companies that were there, barely realizing how large the gaming industry was, but the energy of the room was just so exciting. She went from booth to booth, playing demos, picking up flyers, and chatting with developers. She felt completely consumed by her intrigue and curiosity, causing her to forget that she had wandered off in the first place and why she was even there. Seto had walked her into the convention center so fast she had barely noticed all that there was to see. There were booths set up along the four walls of the convention center, with a giant stage in the middle where the biggest companies would be presenting their latest gaming developments and what they planned to release.
It wasn't until someone tapped her on the shoulder that she remembered why she was there.
"Good afternoon. Are you enjoying yourself?" Kisara turned around and was brought back to reality upon seeing Pegasus's face. Her expression of joy immediately went sour.
"Oh, it's you."
Pegasus held out his hand to her as he did earlier while he introduced himself, "Yes, I'm Pegasus, Maximillion Pegasus. I'm sure Kaiba-boy has told you all about me." Kisara crossed her arms and took a few steps back.
"I can only assume you know who I am, then?"
"But of course! You are the elegant Miss Safiya the press has fallen madly in love with… as well as Kaiba." Upon hearing the word 'love,' Kisara immediately stood up straight, feeling a great anxiety rise up within her. She tried to ignore it as best she could, remembering that she was still in the presence of Seto's adversary. Instead, she played off her anxiety as being coy.
"Oh please, the press is only obsessed with the drama of it all and I'm sure you wouldn't know a thing about Seto's personal life. That being said, I do know he doesn't want me talking to you. He told me what you did. He told me about Duelist Kingdom."
"I can't believe Kaiba is still upset about that. It happened years ago, not to mention that I was in a difficult place in my life at the time. He knows that," Pegasus sighed, "Kaiba can be so petty at times."
"You talk about Seto as if you're friends."
"Well, Kaiba's been in the business for a long time. I've known him for years. We used to be partners back when holographic dueling technology didn't exist. Sure, a lot has happened since then but I like to think that we could have a relationship outside of that," Pegasus stated, "Many of the people you see here today have known Kaiba for years. Working in this field for so long causes you to develop a sort of kinship with other developers. Kaiba may not admit it but it's true." Kisara uncrossed her arms and stared at him. While this was the first conversation she had ever had with Pegasus, she had to admit that he didn't seem like the monster Seto described him to be. In fact, he seemed just as human and sincere as everyone else. Could it be that this was another instance in which Seto believed the rest of the world was out to get him? Kisara couldn't understand why Seto felt the need to be so guarded all the time.
"I'm not surprised that you didn't know that about me," Pegasus added after a long silence, "I'm sure there's a lot you don't know about Kaiba either. Talking to some of the other game developers could help with that. Take him for example." Pegasus pointed to a man whom was standing five booths down. He was wearing a purple suit and had long, pink hair. Kisara had noticed earlier how oddly dressed everyone in the convention center was, but that man took the cake.
"Who's that?"
"That's Zigfried von Schroeder. He's the president of Schroeder Corp. and he's known Kaiba since he was a child because their fathers were competitors. They may be arch rivals but the Schroeders and the Kaibas do hold a certain amount of respect towards each other. You should talk to him. You might learn something." As strange as it might've seemed, Pegasus was right. Kisara barely knew anything about Seto and while she might've seen Pegasus as a threat twenty minutes earlier, she felt his advice held truth. Seto may have thought the world was out to get him but Kisara felt there was little evidence behind that sentiment.
"I think you're right and maybe I will go talk to him. Thanks for the advice," Kisara replied, shaking Pegasus's hand. Kisara started towards the Schroeder Corp. booth but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around once more.
"If you want Kaiba to be open with you, you need to be honest with him. I know there's a lot you wish to hide but neither of you will ever truly connect with each other unless one of you takes the first step. Kaiba doesn't know how to, but I know you do," Pegasus said, "I can tell by the way you look at him. I know the truth." Kisara chose to walk away instead of responding. She didn't want to think about opening up to Seto. She didn't want to think about the truth. Kisara had been avoiding her true feelings for two weeks now and she felt she could continue to do so for the rest of her life. She had made a promise to herself that she intended to keep.
"Well, well, well… if it isn't Kisara Safiya." Zigfried greeted Kisara with a kiss on the hand. As creepy as it seemed, Kisara kept Pegasus's advice in mind, ignoring the urge to turn the other way and run.
"Yes, that's me. And you're Zigfried von Schroeder, right?" Kisara moved past Zigfried to explore his booth.
"Indeed I am. Do you see anything you like?" Kisara picked up a gadget that looked incredibly similar to that of a Kaiba Corp. duel disk.
"No, but most of the items you have here look a lot like what Kaiba Corp. produces."
"Well, that's because he and I produce the same gaming equipment. We are competitors after all, we went into the gaming industry at the exact same time, both making the decision to change the type of companies our fathers had created." Kisara put the duel disk replica down and turned to face Zigfried.
"Kisara, there you are," Seto appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Kisara's hand, "I've been looking all over for you. The show's about to start so we have to move." Seto took one look at Zigfried and kept a firm hand around Kisara's.
"Oh Kaiba, you came just in time. Kisara and I were discussing our fathers and their previous business." Seto glared at him. As much as he loved gloating in Zigfried's presence about the success of his company over his, there simply wasn't any time. The show was going to start in a few minutes.
"That's great, Zigfried. Did you also talk about how your father died knowing his son was a failure too?" Zigfried's face darkened.
"I would watch your tone, Kaiba. You'll embarrass yourself before the show even starts."
"Until you have something worthwhile to present, I would worry about your own embarrassment," Seto started pulling Kisara away, "Let's go."
"Enjoy the show!" Zigfried called after him. There wasn't any time to think of a sarcastic response. He was more concerned with the presentation and where Kisara had been for the last twenty minutes.
"What were you thinking disappearing like that? Didn't I tell you how dangerous these people are?" Kisara rolled her eyes.
"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the rest of the world isn't out to get you?" The lights in the convention center suddenly dimmed, signifying that the show was about to start. Seto had stopped moving to take a look at who would be the first to present.
"We'll have to talk about it later. The show is starting." A spotlight overhead flicked on and to Seto's surprise, Zigfried was the one who appeared in the middle of the stage. A projector had also turned on, the Schroeder Corp. logo illuminating the room from behind where Zigfried was standing on stage.
"My name is Zigfried von Schroeder and I'm glad to be here with you today, starting the Tokyo Game Show with something we at Schroeder Corp. have been working very hard on for the last nine months." Seto was intrigued as to how Schroeder Corp. had convinced the board to present first. Only the most interesting and advanced developments were presented first, which was why Zigfried had never gone earlier than Kaiba Corp. It didn't make any sense. They couldn't have something that was better than what Kaiba Corp. planned to showcase that day.
Kisara, on the other hand, wasn't concerned with what was happening on stage at all. She thought about Pegasus's advice as she watched Seto, standing there, completely fixated on the show. For some reason, in that moment, she felt she couldn't hide her feelings any longer. She had to tell him the truth about how she felt. Perhaps Pegasus was right and that being honest would open a gate within Seto to bring his guard down. She squeezed his hand, causing Seto to turn his head.
"Seto, there's something I have to tell you…" Seto's eyes wandered back to stage.
"Are you sure it can't wait? I need to see what Zigfried is up to…" Kisara knew she couldn't wait. She had to do it now or she would forever try to run from her feelings. She shook her head.
"I can't. It's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now and it can't wait." There was an urgency in Kisara's voice that coaxed Seto to focus his attention on Kisara, although his eyes still tried to drift back toward the stage.
"Well, what is it? Tell me," Seto snapped, desperately wanting Kisara to tell him whatever it was she wanted to tell him so he could focus on the stage. Kisara bit her lip. She could feel her heart begin to race, her knees begin to knock… she hadn't told anyone what she was about to tell Seto.
"Seto, I'm… I'm…" Kisara knew what she needed to say, but no words were coming out. Just then, Seto's full attention was taken away once again.
"…I now present to you the latest advancement in holographic dueling technology—the Duel Gazer!" The Schroeder Corp. logo disappeared from the projector screen and was switch with an object that resembled a monocle. Zigfried himself pulled one out and slipped it over his eye. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you're familiar with Kaiba Corporation's duel disk technology, I promise you, Schroeder Corporation's Duel Gazers will give you even greater satisfaction. With the flick of the button, no longer do you see the monsters you battle, but you're transported to another world. You become completely immersed in the game with these portable virtual world technology that brings the game of Duel Monsters to life, greater than ever before!"
Seto's eyes widened. Duel Gazers? Holograms combined with virtual world technology? That was the exact same product Seto planned to present later that day. How could this have happened? Zigfried couldn't have come up with it all on his own… And it was in that moment, that Seto knew what was going on. Everything came together all at once. Seto's hand immediately dropped Kisara's as he stared at her.
"It was you…" Kisara was not sure what Seto was referring to. Before she could ask him what he meant, Mokuba appeared and ran over to Seto.
"Nii-sama, we have to shut down the presentation. Zigfried, I don't know how he did it, but—"
"I know how he did it. Pegasus was right, there was a spy and it was you all along, wasn't it?" Seto said, raising his voice with each word he spoke. It all made sense to him now. Moving here from Egypt out of the blue, wanting to work for him, talking to Zigfried earlier at the booth, causing him to fall in love… it all added up. Seto took several steps back, not sure what to do with all of the emotions within him that were on the verge of bursting.
"Hold on now, do you even know what you're saying?" Kisara asked, feeling completely blindsided by everything Seto was saying.
"No, I don't want to hold on. I'm done and we're through."
Mokuba gasped and twisted his head from Seto to Kisara. He would admit he wasn't completely sure what was going on, but he knew that Seto's anger was going to become a problem soon. He could tell it was becoming uncontrollable. Mokuba ran over to his brother. Kisara was having a hard time finding the right words to say, she could barely assess what Seto was accusing her of.
"Nii-sama, you need to calm down…" People began to pay less attention to Zigfried and more attention to the dispute going on between Seto and Kisara. Mokuba could tell that it was only a matter of seconds before things got out of hand.
"I'm not going to calm down. I knew she was bad news all along. Now somebody call security before I throw her out of here myself." Kisara stepped forward, deciding to take a more assertive approach.
"Before you start talking about me in the third person, tell me: Are you seriously breaking up with me because you think I'm a spy? What proof do you have?" Kisara demanded, more angry than upset that Seto was not only breaking up with her, but in front of a huge crowd that was now only fixated on what was happening between her and Seto.
"Oh please Kisara, it all adds up, right up to the moment I first saw you. I don't need proof, you know it yourself what you are. Weren't you just about to tell me something? Something you felt you should've told me a long time ago? Well, I'm all ears now. Why don't you spit it out before you get thrown out?" The realization of what she had wanted to tell him brought her back to her place of nervousness and worry she had previously been in before everything blew up. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face. She looked down to conceal them from all the attendees watching her. "Spit it out, Kisara."
"Nii-sama, stop it," Mokuba said, yanking on Seto's sleeve. He was too angry to know how cruel he was being. Mokuba couldn't understand how Seto could be so malicious to the woman he, moments ago, felt he was in love with. There were several moments of silence… the only sounds that could be heard were Kisara's hushed crying into her hands.
"No, I'm not going to spit it out," Kisara rebuked, dropping her hands from her face to take off her entry pass from around her neck. She wiped away the tears from her cheeks before throwing the badge right it in Seto's face, "It doesn't matter now. Apparently I'm a spy and I hope you're happy living with that." Just then the security guards came, armed and ready to escort Kisara from out of the building. Kisara pushed past them without even acknowledging their presence.
"Close down the booth. We're leaving," Seto instructed, walking in the other direction back to his booth. He didn't regret what he said to Kisara. He did, however, feel as though he had been punched in the chest at least twenty times. It took him several hours to realize the pain he was feeling wasn't physical, it was emotional and it was worse than any other pain he had ever felt before. He realized that while he had fallen in love with Kisara, she had just broken his heart for the first time.
A/N: OH MY GOSH, THAT TOOK ME FOREVER TO WRITE! So hi everybody! You're probably wondering why this didn't get posted on Valentine's Day like I promised everyone it would. Well, the thing is… life happened. RIGHT after I posted the last chapter, I got another job (as a writer! Which is really cool)… meaning I now have four jobs. As you can imagine, the last five weeks since school started have been utter chaos trying to manage all four jobs, being a full-time student, and having a life. It was absolute insanity, I still haven't figured out how to manage it all but when Valentine's Day rolled around, I just couldn't finish it in time, especially since I had such a busy Valentine's Day (it was also my 50 month anniversary with my boyfriend. :3) ANYHOW, besides personal life stuff, this chapter is ridiculously long. The reason for that is I didn't realize how much I had planned for this chapter and I didn't want to cut it up in to two chapters. I'm sure none of you mind. Where does this leave the story, then? Well, I think I'll need to return to updating once every month again so check back for the update between the 13-15 of March. Sorry again for being late but yeah, my life and this chapter ended up being way harder than I had planned! I may even decide to go back and re-write parts of it because so much happens and I'm not sure it all occurs in the right way. Nevertheless, this story is nowhere near over! There's still lots left to explore. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading. :D