Ishizu had been steadily losing her grip on the Domino Museum. Not once, not twice, but three times the Counsel had called into question her ability to handle situations. It wasn't that they were completely devoid, they were worried about the woman, as well. Whenever she appeared to them she seemed weary, strained, somewhat… off. No one dared speak a word of it to her, though, as she always seemed just a touch enough on the edge. They couldn't pinpoint the cause, nor was it their business as partners to her to do so. What they could do, and did try, though, was to tell her to relinquish some of her control to newer blood.
The suggestion had caused quite an uproar. One that the young woman was not known for. Ishizu had always been the defining picture of elegance, tact and a calm soothing grace. The Counsel had pinned her reaction to the fact that artifacts had been missing from the Domino Museum for little over three months now. Each time it happened they called upon her. Sometimes she answered, sometimes she didn't. The last time they had met they had promised her that if she did not resign they would, albeit miserably, have to withhold her position and fire her. That was, of course, unless she could resolve the case. Find the culprit. Set things right.
There was little chance that she alone could do so.
She'd decided to keep the missing items from the museum a secret from the media. Getting the thief riled up would only provoke him to continue to do it. She didn't know how he was getting past their systems and how he managed to leave no trail, but she had swore not only to the Counsel but to herself that she would find him and put an end to him. The most startling problem of all was what was being stolen.
The first night it had happened was in the Egyptian wing of the building, her favorite to frequent. It was there that she noticed graffiti upon the glass casing of the false slab that held the picture of the Pharaoh and his Priest doing battle. The Pharaoh was bloodied with red paints, his eyes blackened out. That was the first incident of trouble and it was followed by much more. It all centered around that one wing, around Atem. It was unfortunate, but she constantly felt the chills of something wrong.
Much as she tried she couldn't keep it from happening. The more she retreated to her office the more she felt like she was losing control. Not only of the situation, but herself. Every time she tried to think, to figure it all out, she felt trapped. She got cold. It was often she'd spiral so far out of control that she couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. It was becoming too much. Eventually she began thinking the Counsel was right. Maybe her time was over. Maybe she should retire.
But she just couldn't give up her position without a fight. If she left, she'd never really figure out what was going on. So she'd decided on a press conference. Perhaps she could draw the thief out. The morning it came, though, she felt worse than ever. She could barely breathe. She felt confined. The flashing lights of the cameras that followed her from the halls to her podium stung her. Her throat was closing. Her hands shook as she took her spot and the crowd hushed, waiting for her to explain why she'd called such a meeting.
When she opened her mouth nothing came out. Then strained, nonsensical noises spilled forth from her. Some didn't even sound like her own voice. She tried to stop it by clenching her teeth so hard she thought she felt one chip. This was not right. Whatever was happening to her needed to be stopped. She needed to get a hold of herself. She needed to…
Finally she took a breath, but she felt fires lick at her skin so suddenly. Who would help? When was the last time she'd been in that room, with that slab towering over her? Why was this happening?
"Things have been taken from this museum." She finally said. Her blue eyes were direct, but hazy. Something was amiss in them. Something dark. "We have proof that it was none other than Kaiba Seto."
The older reporters at the event quieted down, exchanging looks between each other. They couldn't quite figure out how he fit in here. He'd never been a supporter of the museum. Had he ever really been seen in this part of town? The hush was left in a whirlwind of excitement from the chatter of the young reporters fresh on the scene. They were only too eager to eat this sort of gossip up, needing nothing more than the testimony being fed to them to care.
"Unless he can rectify these mistakes and return to me what he's taken, we will release our security footage and bring him to court."
Why Kaiba? Why had she picked Kaiba?
Kaiba could take the abuse. And after how cold he'd been he deserved it. But could he help her? Would he? She'd only just slandered his name.
And in the highest office in Domino City only mere moments later, Kaiba Corporation stocks began to dip as rumor already swirled. Normally, on any other day of the year, Kaiba would not have cared what that lunatic was up to. Nor would he have cared how poorly she was running her museum. But she'd put him in a spot that he was not the least bit happy to be in. Angry wasn't even the right word for it.
Seething was close. Very close.
There was no way he could be spotted going to her turf to call her out, not after what she'd done. So she'd sent Isono out with backup to bring her to him. Discreetly. He knew Isono could handle that part, at least. But forcing her with firearms if they had to may have been a little out of his range. That's where the other men came in. She wouldn't be able to refuse. And if she did, he'd let the rumor mill buzz a bit more about the strange fact of her disappearance right after calling him out- and the wonder of whether or not Kaiba really did kill people who got in his way. That was one he'd never been able to shake, not since Gozaburo. And it suited his needs just fine.
When Isono radioed that they were on their way he darkened his office. He'd been all ready to greet her in his normal attire- not the office, he needed something entirely more threatening. And since they'd last parted he'd thankfully not seen her again. So his long ago Battle City attire would do just fine. The flare of the coat and the spikes along the hips and shoulders were intimidating, they peaked his height and weight to make him look like less of a stick. He was ready to greet her with as many threats as were necessary.
She was escorted into the office and left there with the shutting of the door. And the locking of it, too. Kaiba's glare cut right through her, already in a weakened state.
"Tell me why I shouldn't just kill you now and end all of the problems you just caused." He'd at least entertain the idea. And let her know it was on his mind.
Shakily she looked up at him, with those swirling dark eyes now. "I need…"
"I don't care what you need. I care only about the fact that in your lunacy you saw fit to drag Kaiba Corporation into the mud with such garbage." Steal things from a museum? Please. Kaiba Seto had no time or need for such nonsense.
Ishizu stumbled forward a little. "-help." She gasped out.
Kaiba cared only enough to arch a brow and cross his arms. "I can see that." Very clearly could he. "And why do you think I'll provide you with it?" Whatever it was she was after. Neither before or after what she pulled would he ever. He couldn't see clearly into her motives, they were skewed and nonsensical. Just like everything having ever to do with her and the rest of that cloud Yuugi walked around in. He'd been done with it for quite some time.
"He's here." Her tone warped a little and she raised a hand to press at the space where she felt heat accumulating. Right on her forehead, she felt like an eye was opening. Being burned into her.
His eyes rolled. This would be more than enough on his own security footage to show the woman had gone completely mad. But since he had gone to the trouble of pushing a few meetings out of the way and wasting the gas and firepower on getting her here, he just had to entertain this little play a few seconds longer. "Who?"
"Please." It was the last thing that sounded even close to her own tone before she seemed to keel over in consciousness. Her shoulders lurched forward, sending a spatter of black hair along her face and over her shoulders. It only a few seconds more she looked up, crooked smile on her lips, eyes not at all the same. "The one who lives in the darkness."
"This is more than enough." He up to his collar to press the radio inside the collar.
"Don't you remember how valiantly you tried to be rid of me?"
He remembered that voice, much as he didn't want to. That crazed brother of hers. Now he could see he was right in his assuming that insanity ran in the family. "I had nothing-" To do with it. His eyes rolled again. How could he even have been close to keeping up with this any longer now? "Isono." He'd finally pressed the button. "Do her a favor and throw her in a psychiatric ward. The one three countries over should do fine."
Kaiba was under no obligation to try and help her. Why she'd assumed that he would was something out of his guessing range, and not something he cared to think on more than the minute it took to drag her out of his office kicking and screaming. Kaiba's hands clenched and he glowered in his dark office. He hadn't needed any more reminders of them. How long could he keep telling himself... If Yuugi had been smart he would have locked them all up the moment he laid eyes on them- …then again, he had been stricken with the same kind of insanity- …hadn't he?