Revelation [A Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfic]

1. Initiative

It happened again.

Satsuki had just slept with her boss for the second time in as many weeks.

And not just her boss, but the president of her company, at which she had been employed for less than a year. As she lay tangled in the sheets of his enormous bed, listening to the sound of water running in the bathroom nearby, she tried to recall how it all started.

She could hardly remember the first time they'd exchanged words — her memory hazed by the buzz of alcohol and the thrill of a launch party for a product that had been several months in the making. The product in question was the brainchild of Satsuki's research and development team, who had successfully innovated, nurtured, and launched a completely new line of Solid Vision virtual reality equipment meant for at-home use. Project Haven was part of KaibaCorp's plan to bring Solid Vision technology into every home by the end of the decade, creating a gaming and entertainment infrastructure that not even their greatest competitors could hope to challenge.

Up until the launch party, Satsuki had been convinced President Kaiba wasn't even aware of her existence. She was fairly far down the rungs of the corporate ladder, even for the R&D department, and he'd barely given her so much as a fleeting glance whenever he passed by her cubicle on the way to his office. But after two hours of sipping champagne with her teammates and schmoozing with executives at the launch party, she found a pair of steely blue eyes staring at her from across the confetti-covered room.

Seto Kaiba was known for his trademark smirk, but Satsuki had never seen it up close before — not until he'd swept toward her that night. She gaped at him until he was within arm's reach, then quickly spun away, sure that it was some sort of cardinal sin to look into the president's eyes for such an awkwardly long time.

"I hear you're the one who recommended we switch hardware platforms to optimize render times," he said, causing Satsuki to turn and nearly choke on the steep sip of champagne sliding down her throat. "Where did you get the idea?"

She coughed lightly; the burn of the bubbles made her eyes water. "I found some studies by SchroderCorp from a few years back," she said, as casually as if she were talking to a coworker sitting in the cubicle next to her. "They tried the better hardware but ran into a load of bugs, so they dropped it. It's actually kind of funny how close they were to cracking it."

The president made a low noise. At first, Satsuki couldn't tell if it was one of approval or dismissal, but he continued to linger, so she assumed the former. "Why didn't we run into the same bugs?" he pressed.

"I fixed them."

"You?"

Satsuki took a sharp breath inward; the glaze of alcohol threatened to turn it into a snort. "Yeah," she replied. "I guess."

He regarded her slowly, his eyes moving from the top of her head down to the tips of her toes. Satsuki suddenly became hyper-aware of her appearance, which since the start of the party had devolved from a versatile day-to-evening outfit into a mess of wrinkles and flyaway hairs.

Desperate to divert attention, she extended her hand. "I'm Satsuki Hidaka, by the way."

He stared at her palm a moment. "I know who you are."

Satsuki dropped her arm, her bemused half-smile falling away into a tight frown.

"Enjoy the party," he said brusquely, sliding his hands into the pockets of his primly pressed slacks. "I'll see you bright and early on Monday."

With that, he whirled around and disappeared into the crowd. Satsuki stared after him, blinking rapidly in an attempt to keep the room from spinning.