The Twelve Days of Christmas Chapter 1: Prologue, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Title: The Twelve Days of Christmas (Prologue)

Author: Kun II Kya

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Twelve days, twelve chances to prove his love.

--/--

Sounds of crisp snow crunching under his booted feet rang through the still air as Seto Kaiba meandered through the Domino Park. He was garbed plainly and, for once, not in one of his famous gravity defying trench coats. Slung carelessly over his torso was a thick tan sweater with a white t-shirt underneath and a pair of black trousers was clinging snugly to his hips.

To most, he would look like a normal pedestrian, albeit his fine features would garter at least a second look. But to a certain Jounouchi Katsuya, he was the embodiment of Heaven. Too bad the blonde was too afraid of having his feelings thrust brutally back into his face to actually confess. It would've saved Seto a whole lot of time and effort.

Seto sighed, running a gloved hand through his tousled cinnamon brown hair. Many a harsh wind had blown his way today, causing his mop of hair to rouse from its usually impeccably combed state. It was deemed a good thing by many, for it made him look younger and accented his striking cerulean eyes.

Said cerulean eyes shifted uneasily as their owner searched for someone. A particular blonde with an easygoing personality and large amber eyes that could make the toughest of men melt. But he was nowhere in sight, as usual. For some strange reason, every time Seto made an effort to escape from the daily routines of Kaiba Corp. and take a supposedly 'innocent' walk, there would always be a flash of blonde at the corner of his eye or the silhouette of a tall, gangly teenager running a few metres in front of him. But it was never Katsuya, not once.

"Kami-sama," he muttered under his breath as he spotted another flash of blonde, this time somewhere behind him. Those brief glimpses of someone similar to the object of his affections were getting increasingly annoying. "Am I going insane? Why can't I get that mutt out of my head?"

A small smile lit up his visage as Seto spotted a small girl running in the courtyard of the local orphanage. It was the orphanage that he had grew up in, to be precise. Although Lady Madelia's Orphanage didn't hold many fond memories for him, it comforted Seto to know that someone had found refuge there.

The brunette shifted his head from side to side, a relieved sigh bubbled forth from his lips as he noticed that no one was remotely near to him. He took long, brisk strides towards the entrance of the orphanage, eyes occasionally darting from one side to the other. It made him look curiously suspicious to the children, but they were wise not to comment on it.

Seto plastered a scowl on his face when he reached the Merry-Go-Round that he used to enjoy playing. Well, technically, he never played it, Mokuba did. But hey, who was keeping score? The little girl he had seen before was sitting nonchalantly on an intricately painted horse, arms wrapped around her torso in an attempt to warm her. Her lips were turning an unhealthy shade of blue.

Standing stiffly in the middle of the courtyard, he casually slipped a hand into the pocket of his jeans. There, inside, he fingered a small bill that was worth quite a lot of money in this city. Keeping an eye on all the other children, who had quickly deemed him unworthy of interest and resumed playing with their companions, he subtly slipped the bill into her hands and picked her into his arms. Miraculously, the raven haired girl didn't make a sound as he transported her inside.

"Here," he said, slipping another stack of bills onto the table of the headmistress. "Buy her some shoes and a coat." He pretended to eye her critically. "And some food to eat – it looks like you've been starving her."

--/--

Kaiba Seto kicked a random clod of snow that somehow made its way onto the sidewalk with a booted foot. He drew the collar of his sweater up a bit more, since he had forgotten the scarf Mokuba had bought him for Christmas last year at home. The brunette sighed again. His sullen mood wasn't going to brighten anytime soon.

His head, however, perked up from its very interesting view of the symmetrical sidewalk when he heard the distinct singing of children. Carolers! He couldn't make out the words, although from his distance away from them, it was clear that they were singing 'Silent Night.'

The CEO's steps quickened as he tried to reach them in time to hear the second song. Cheers and applause from the occupants of the house was heard as he came closer and closer. He didn't exactly know why he wanted to listen to some children with underdeveloped voices sing carols when he could hear them perfectly fine at home. Perhaps there was a small desire inside him to see what a normal childhood was like.

The carolers started on a second song when he finally got close enough to make out the words they were harmonizing.

Joy to the world! The Lord has come:
Let earth receive her King.
Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room,
And heav'n and nature sing, and heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and heav'n and nature sing.

Seto smiled serenely as he leaned against a light post, roughly about three metres away from the actual source of the singing. No need to make his presence known before it was absolutely necessary, if it was even capable of reaching the category of 'necessary'. He began tapping his foot on the nearly frozen ground as they reached the second verse.

Joy to the world! The Savior reigns:
Let men their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

This was so comforting. The sound of nearly a dozen energetic children, intent on spreading the Christmas cheer to their neighbors, although it was a bit too early for that, was simply sweet. The monotonous drone of automobiles in the background mixed with the singing of the youths was enough to lull anyone to sleep. Seto's eyelids drooped dangerously down as he relied more and more on the lamp post to keep his balance.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love, and wonders of His love
And wonders, wonders of His love.

"Hey, mister!" A young boy's voice rang through the brisk cold air, awakening Seto from his stupor. In his extended hand was an upside down cap, filled to the brim with coins and paper bills. "Are you doing to donate any money to us?"

Seto wordlessly dropped a generous bill into the offered cap, ignoring the shocked looks the kids were sending him.

--/--

Katsuya leaned against the brick wall of a deserted alley way, panting heavily. Seto had almost seen him, he was sure of it. But the temptation was too strong for the blond to resist. Who knew that Seto was even capable of smiling, let alone willingly donate so much money in one day?

His heart seemed to skip a beat as the mental image of Seto, smiling in contentment leaped behind his closed eyelids. It made Seto look simply adorable. His breathing even, the look of pure serenity on his face – it gave the impression that he was a normal person for once. Ironically enough, it was Seto's unnaturalness that helped earn him a special asylum in Katsuya's heart.

And his friends wondered why he fell in love with Seto Kaiba in the first place.

to be continued