Ginerva would recall the party that kicked off everything for her for years to come. The party responsible for introducing her to the boy who would later play an essential role in her life..
Japan
Eight Years Ago
Hundreds of people attended the party thrown by business magnate and chess champion Gozaburo Kaiba. Expensive cars lined both sides of the street, going up to a large, ornate white mansion.
These kind of parties were prevalent in Gozaburo's life.
He held a lot of parties like this to commemorate his latest accomplishment or that new weapon innovation. Everyone of significance was invited, and they gathered in their elegant cocktail attire to speak about the stock exchange and Lydia from accounting, as if either were intriguing.
Inside, adults and children, all adorned to the nines, crowded around to converse. A man and his daughter stood in the center of the party-goers, watching the events unfold.
Ginerva Salvatore was just eight years old and at the height of her cuteness. Her white hair had been twisted into a flower-shaped french braid, with little blue petals pinning it all together. She donned a royal blue dress with a white sash that wrapped around her and fastened into a huge bow in the back.
Bright blue eyes flutter back and forth as men and women dressed in gorgeous suits and gowns wander around.
Ginerva's father, Giuseppe Salvatore, stood to the side of her, hands clasped behind his back and mouth set into a stern line as he found a recognizable face in the crowd.
Adolf von Schroeder, president of Schroeder Corps. in Germany, strode into view, followed closely by his son, Siegfried, a child with dark pink hair styled in the most peculiar style and the same age as Ginerva.
She thought the father-son pair were quite foppish.
"Oh grande, the Schroeders are here." Giuseppe quipped as he saw the father and son approach where he and his daughter were standing. 'The family of losers... who the hell invited them? What could they possibly want?'
"What is the matter, papa?" Ginerva turned her head up at Giuseppe, seeing his new demeanor: tight lips, brown eyes narrowed into furious slits. Both vanished in a moment, and her father forced a smile.
"Nothing my dearest Gin."
Ginerva resisted rolling her eyes. She loathed being called Gin because it reminded her of her father's favorite drink. If you were close enough to her, she liked to be simply addressed as Vera. She understood now was not the time to bring it up.
"Fancy seeing you here, Herr Salvatore." Adolf greeted with a forced grin similar to Giuseppe's. "Have you met my son Siegfried?" He motioned to the child at his side, who was more interested in Ginerva than the introductions.
"I happened to be acquainted with the host. Naturally, I'd be invited to his gatherings." Giuseppe replied. "Can't say I had the pleasure." He disliked the way the boy kept glancing at his daughter. "This is my daughter, Ginerva Salvatore."
Adolf nodded in response.
"Lovely, really lovely. Frau Salvatore, your beauty outshines even the most exquisite flowers."
Ginerva felt a shiver run up and down her spine as the boy attempted to flirt. In her peripheral view, she noticed her father scowl. "Thank you." She will be respectful only to her father and Signore Gozaburo.
Siegfried offered his hand, and as Ginerva grabbed it, he flipped it over to kiss the back. If the look on Giuseppe's face was any indication, and looks were weapons of mass death, Siegfried would be dead, his body laid beneath the orange flowers in the Salvatore estate's backyard.
Ginerva made a point of wiping the back of her hand on her skirts as Siegfried moved his gaze away to look up at his father. Her father noticed the action and grinned in approval.
"Gentlemen, I trust you find the party to your enjoyment."
Giuseppe and Gozaburo had known each other since they were young boys, even younger than Ginerva is now; some may argue that they had a close friendship. As close a friendship as one could have in their line of work, running enterprises responsible for the manufacture and distribution of military armaments, Salvatore Shipping in Italy and KaibaCorp in Japan.
Gozaburo wore his normal attire for the event, which included a red business suit, black tie, and white dress shirt. Ginerva noticed that whenever she was in his company, he always wore the same red suit, and she wondered if it was all he had to wear.
Ginerva was always uneasy around her father's friend, despite the fact that he was usually nice to her.
Two kids accompanied Gozaburo; the younger one of the two clung onto the larger boy's arm and remained somewhat covered behind him. However, the elder boy continued to watch Ginerva. She swore she noticed a trace of red running across his cheekbones.
"I wanted to thank you for the invitation, Herr Kaiba."
"Thank you, Schroeder-san."
"You have really excelled yourself, old friend. This is the best celebration yet." Giuseppe looked down to see the two boys. "Is this the boy you wrote to me about? You always had an eye for quality; he'll make a fine successor."
"Yes, I'll make sure he does," Gozaburo said, his face lighting up with a rare smile as he looked at Ginerva. An expression that looked out of place on the man's face and for that reason alone, never failed to spook her out. "Oh, my, how you've grown. How old are you now?"
"Thank you," Ginerva replied, looking up at Gozaburo. "I'm eight years old."
Gozaburo sipped Sancerre from a wine glass, one hand in his suit pocket, and observed the father and daughter as they conversed. He felt compelled to commend Giuseppe on the child's upbringing as he considered the two orphans he was now saddled with. He grimaced and narrowed his eyes at Seto and his troublesome brother, Mokuba, who cowered from his gaze.
Gozaburo was certain it was because of the events earlier in the week. He would not allow such behavior.
Mokuba had strolled in unannounced when he was strictly informing Seto of his tasks and future responsibilities. Gozaburo was dissatisfied with his previous efforts and rose from his chair, walking over to the small brown-haired youngster standing in the center of the room. He raised his hand and quickly hit Seto across the face, asserting his dominance.
Seto winced but remained silent, not wanting to give his stepfather the satisfaction of an excuse to hit him harder. He clinched his teeth as Gozaburo's hand smacked across his face, leaving a crimson mark where he was struck. Mokuba jumped out just as Gozaburo drew his hand back to repeat the action, putting his arms around Seto's waist and wailing and screeching as loudly as his lungs would allow.
"I'd love to introduce my adopted son, Seto." Gozaburo replied, completely forgetting about Mokuba. Mokuba was of no importance to him. If Seto is going to take over his company, he needed ease him in as soon as possible.
"As I'm sure you are aware, Seto is the talk of the town. Believe me, I can relate. My son, too, is a prodigy, and he will not lose to him, or to your darling daughter," Adolf turned to Giuseppe next.
"You Schroeder's are all talk. Is that why you arrived tonight? To try to outperform Gozaburo and I?" Giuseppe spat back.
"It isn't like I hadn't already outperformed you, Herr Salvatore. The Salvatore's have never had a female successor for your shipping company, so why bring the child along? Unless you are interested in giving administration to one of your brothers, your company will cease operations at the exact moment you go auf wiedersehen." Adolf shrugged, and Giuseppe clenched his fist, preparing to squash the elder pinkette.
Ginerva sighed as she observed the adults argue like preschoolers. Parties like these bored her; she'd rather be at home practicing her dueling with Matteo, her minder, or playing Debussy on the piano.
"You two appeared to be as excited about this party as I am," Siegfried said, addressing Ginerva and Seto but disregarding Mokuba entirely. "How 'bout I liven things up and make things interesting, nein?"
Just as he finished speaking, lighting in the big hall flickered, and the once-loud audience fell silent. Seto and Mokuba looked at Siegfried, their eyes bulging and their mouths opened wide.
Ginerva shook her head and quipped, not impressed. "You find these type of shenanigans amusing, do you?"
"Ja, when you live alone, you tend to focus on your own projects. I dabble with technology as a hobby." Siegfried sniggered, then shifted his focus to Seto, his words becoming aggressive. The abrupt shift in tone caught Ginerva and Mokuba off guard. "It'd be in your best interest if we were friends not adversaries."
Hello and welcome to my Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic, The Maiden with Eyes of Blue. If this narrative sounds familiar, it's because I previously published it on the site Webnovel under a different pen name. Due to circumstances and personal discontent, I stopped updating there.
It is back. Yay! It's a Seto Kaiba/OC fanfic, as was the original. Ginerva Salvatore, the OC, will be a modern-day appearance of Kisara, the first incarnation of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The two-part prologues of The Maiden with Eyes of Blue take place years before the main series' events.
He may not be a big concern right now, but Siegfried will certainly be quite a challenge later on. I believe I did a good job of implying that in this chapter.
Fair warning: The Maiden with Eyes of Blue will include elements from anime and manga, as well as my own ideas. That being said, if Seto appears to be more aggressive than in the anime, it is because I based him on his manga counterpart.
Which brings me to my next question: what do you think of The Maiden with Eyes of Blue, featuring three summoning methods? My absolute favorite summoning method from a Yu-Gi-Oh sequel is Synchro, which I would like to include. In fact, this fanfiction is titled after a tuner monster.
Please share the thoughts you have on my idea in the comments area; I'd like to know what you all think.
• Name Translation & Origin
Ginerva is an Italian and Welsh name that means "white phantom" or "white fairy".
Salvatore is a traditional Italian surname meaning "savior".