Author's Note; Don't know how I came up with the plot, but I began this fic when I was working on some of my fics on another site, see it was a Seto shrine, so I thought it was about time I wrote a fic somehow centered around him, also; I'm a HUGE Seto X Kisara fan and always wanted to pen a fic about them; so here goes...XXX
summary; In the months that have transpired since Atem's departure, a lot has changed in Domino. Upon returning to Japan, Seto and Mokuba were confronted with the true identities of their deceased parents; the heirs to the ancient Egyptian throne. Since the reign of Pharaoh Seto, one of his bloodline has held the seat of power and secrelty governed the mighty empire, and now Seto, as the oldest must carry on that tradition. It had taken a lot of persuasion, but upon Marik presenting him with the paternal charts that dated all the way back to the time of his past self, Seto had to belive his heritage and now secretly governs the country with consultance from Ishizu, with nobody else knowing, except of course, the dweeb patrol...But as the heir to the ancient throne, Seto is constantly in peril; Ishizu's family, the Tombkeepers have protected his bloodline for over five milenia now, from a lower-class peasant family; the band of skillful assassins known as the Aralanti. Since the reign of his past self, this family has sought to exterminate his bloodline and put an end to Seto's claim to the thronw...but what does the pale girl with white hair have to do with the millenia-old war? When an old frined from his orphanage days comes back into his life, Seto Kaiba realizes that somethings are more important than work, but just exaclty how important they are, he will soon find out...
Seto stood, Mokuba by his side, looking on at the sad building; after thirty-four years of open doors, the orphanage they had grown up in was closing, for good.
Though relieved to be out of it, Seto couldn't help but feel a rare pang of sadness; this place was the only home he'd ever known………unless you could call Gozaburo's harsh, prison-like treatment a home………
"It was right in that room there, that young Seto beat Gozaburo."
The now-twenty-year-old looked up at his name; one of the aged teachers was telling his colleague of the infamous chess match……….eight years………God, was it really that long ago?
"I'm going out back, Mokuba."
The raven-haired teenager nodded his head; going over to talk to the teacher he'd just spotted.
"Okay, I'm gonna stick in here for a while.'
Seto sat heavily on the swing he'd so often sat on as a twelve-year-old; eight years on and he was back in the same spot; talk about coming full-circle!
It had been Mokuba who had found out about the closure of the orphanage; if Seto had his way, he'd be back at KaibaCorp. Doing his job, or at least at their mansion on his laptop; either way he'd be doing something worthwhile, instead of moping around a dreary, old, closing memory………but his younger brother had played his Trump-Card;
"What about Kari, Seto?"
Kari Hirotsh had been the only real friend Seto had ever made. He'd encountered her in the orphanage, being bullied by some of the older boys. Seto had already been looking out for Mokuba, who was being bullied by the same lads, so, like a big brother; he also took care of Kari. The two fast became good friends; the three-year age-gap didn't even seem to registrar between them.
Seto taught Kari how to stand up for herself and, in return, she showed him all the shortcuts throughout the orphanage, having been there since she was seven; two years previous to Seto and Mokuba's arrival………but then he and Mokuba had left, Seto having won their freedom. After the chess match, Seto had pleaded with Gozaburo to adopt Kari aswell, not keen on leaving her alone, but the old bastard had refused adamantly………to this very day, he still felt guilty about leaving her behind, while he and Mokuba had become world-famous and richer than anyone aspired to be………she'd be seventeen now………Seto shook his handsome head, knowing it had been idiotic of him to believe he would run into her here; just wishful thinking………
"Yeah! I know my goddamn orders; make it to the mansion, I have a week left to get there………I'm not an idiot, you spasticated asshole!"
Kari snapped her phone shut angrily and checked her credit; she still had about twenty dollars left out of fifty, these long-distance calls were going to bleed her dry! She walked along the pavement, letting her long black hair down, free of its ponytail at last. She walked slowly, her worn runners comfortable on her feet. The teen squinted her hazel eyes up at the sky and sighed contentedly, enjoying the Japanese sunshine; it was such a stark contrast to the blistering heat of back home. All she carried with her was a rucksack, which contained some money and a few items of clothing. Kari pulled the short sleeve of her summer top down over the small, black tattoo on her right bicep; covering it from view. She stopped momentarily, realizing where she was as the gates appeared before her………it had been eight years since she had walked out of them with her relatives………she'd heard it was closing down today……… Kari shook her head; she was in Japan for a reason, not a trip down memory-fucking-lane! She had to make it to Domino in the next week; her relatives had been ringing, checking up on her. The girl still walked through the gates though, with a spiteful smirk as she imagined the look on her relatives' faces if they saw her carefree attitude; it felt great to be solo! She couldn't resist a glance inside, this place had been her equivalent of a home, and after all; how could she not have a remorseful look around?
Kari pushed open the door and walked into the familiar, carpeted hallway, She laughed to herself as she remembered the countless times she and Seto had run down this very hall, away from an enraged teacher, having been caught using her shortcuts again.
"Seto………"
The boy with hazel hair and cobalt eyes; he'd acted as an older brother to her, and she'd always be grateful to him for that………though………
"Ahhh!"
Kari was jolted out of her contemplating thoughts as she walked blindly round a corner, straight into somebody!
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking………"
She trailed off as she looked at the younger teen; a boy with hair as ebony as her own, but his eyes………she'd know those violet eyes anywhere!
"M………Mokuba?"
The lad looked at the shocked girl he'd just collided with. He didn't recognize her for a minute, but he'd seen that black hair and those brown eyes somewhere before………no! It couldn't be………he'd only been joking when he'd mentioned her to Seto earlier!
"Kari!"
She smirked widely as she looked down at his amazed face, nodding, forgetting her orders.
"Mokey, you've grown so much!"
Kari was right; in the eight years since their separation, the little boy she had hung around with was gone, in his place stood a handsome young teenager, tall for his fourteen years. After about twenty minutes of elated talking and catching up, Kari had a sudden thought.
"Is Seto here aswell?"
Mokuba nodded his raven head as another former-teacher made his way over.
"Yep; he's out back, you should go see him………I'll stay in here."
Kari laughed and nodded; Mokuba didn't really have much choice as the educator dragged him away, talking rapidly, delighted to see the young boy. She headed for the door she had, at first, walked in and took a right at the corner of the building, winding up in the eerily-familiar playground. Upon directing her gaze towards the old swing set, Kari saw a tall figure sitting on one of the two swings. He was wearing black pants, a dark navy shirt and a lighter-coloured navy trench coat. (Yes ladies…the Duellist Kingdom outfit is back!! Praise the heavens!!) She walked up, her feet light on the cemented ground.
"I knew you were a soppy prick!"
Seto's blue eyes snapped wide; he knew that voice! His head whipped round as she sat on the swing next to him.
"Kari!"
"Long time no see, Seto!"
She knew, by right, she shouldn't, but she did anyhow; Kari hugged the boy she had been friends with as a child, except, he wasn't a boy anymore; Seto had grown into a handsome young man, hazel hair and sapphire eyes, he was tall and………well………sexy!
As she pulled away, she laughed at Seto's shocked face; two minutes ago he'd been calling himself an idiot for hoping to see her and now his childhood friend, his only friend, was sitting on the swing beside him, just like eight years ago; definitely full-circle!
"Say something!"
She continued to laugh. Seto blinked and, at last, found his voice.
"But how, I mean, who adopted you?"
"My family found me about two months after you and Mokuba left, they took me home, to Egypt."
Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but grin; Kari had been living in the country he secretly ran! As he looked down at her, Seto noticed some dark bruises that were prominent on the tanned skin of her arms.
"What's with the bruises, Kari?"
Kari blushed; trust Seto to notice them! She couldn't tell him the truth; that would blow her cover, so her mind formulated an excuse; it wasn't exactly a complete lie………sort of………
"My relatives are the most patient of people…"
As he heard this, his cobalt eyes softened and Kari found herself looking at the same boy from all those years ago.
"I'm sorry I left you…"
She didn't know how to respond to this, so just joked it off with an attractive smirk.
"The famous Seto Kaiba; a softy!"
The old friends sat on the swings for the next hour; Seto clued Kari in on his life since leaving the orphanage, he obviously left out the parts about Atem, his past and his current ruling of Egypt. When asked about her own life, Kari's mind had worked over-time, producing a believable account, that also tied-in with her bruises; apparently, she had become fed-up with her abusive relatives and had runaway, stealing an amount of their money and had caught a plane to Japan, currently heading for the Duelling Capital of the world; Domino City. She supposed it wasn't that far a cry from the truth………in a way………
It was another while of talking and reminiscing before the two were interrupted by Seto's phone ringing. The young CEO answered it in an annoyed voice.
"What?"
There was a brief pause, in which the person at the other end spoke their part.
"I'm coming."
He hung up and stood, looking down at Kari.
"That was Mokuba, our limo's outside, I have to go."
Kari nodded with a smile and began to kick the sand beneath her feet; she hoped he would just leave, sure, it was great catching up with Seto after all this time, but the longer it took for her to reach Domino, the safer he was. Seto made it about fifty yards, before realizing something; he had abandoned her once before, he wasn't going to do it a second time!
"Kari…d'you have anywhere to stay?"
She looked around at him and lightly shook her head.
"I'll find a hostel or someth-"
"The hell! Our mansion has plenty of spare rooms, c'mon!"
She stood and forced, what she hoped, was a grateful smile. Secretly, she was unsure; she knew her orders and taking Seto's offer would make them a hell of a lot easier………but Seto, and Mokuba; they were her friends………in the end, her duty won and she walked the rest of the distance to the older boy, feeling slightly guilty about the acceptance.
"Kari's gonna stay with us for a while."
Seto, for once in his life, was actually happy with a decision; Kari was a friend who was in trouble, running away from an abusive family, and he'd put her up for as long as she needed. Oh, if only he knew the truth about his childhood friend.
Mokuba was happy when his brother told him of Kari's stay at the mansion; maybe she could get him away from that fucking laptop!
Author's Note; If you're wondering why I tagged this fic as 'Seto X Kisara' for modern days, then you should read and review the upcoming chapters; I have it all worked out...mwuhahahahahahahahahahahahah, XXX
A/n- did u like dis chptr? More reviews means more chapters peoples, thnkx XXXXX