Disclaimer: I own nothing. Mix a bunch of genre shows together, and then point and laugh. This is that story.
Prologue
The Domino Chronicle
Friday, April 13
Murderous Heir Goes Private... Again
From silver spoon to bad-apple to gumshoe: The sole inheritor of the Kaiba fortune, and widely suspected teen murderer, wants you to trust him with your secrets.
By Mai Valentine
mvalentine(at)domchron(dot)com
DOMINO CITY, Ca. -- Detective Olivier Rafael of the Domino City Police Department said in a Chronicle exclusive interview yesterday that he is "hopeful" regarding alleged killer Seto Kaiba's decision to embark upon his own unsolicited business venture: Blue-Eyes Investigations.
"I think that it's a move in a positive direction for Mr. Kaiba. After everything that has happened in the last year, I'm hopeful that perhaps some more time out of the spotlight to pursue justice will help him find his place in the world."
As regular readers are well aware, The Chronicle was the first to break the story of young Seto Kaiba's arrest, and the report of his father's mysterious death following a stormy argument between the two that occurred last August. We here at The Chronicle have been following the story since, even after most major media outlets also began covering the homicide.
Although Seto Kaiba was never indicted for the murder due to "insufficient evidence," his younger brother, whose name The Chronicle has chosen not to publish due to his status as a minor, hastily paid his sibling's $500,000 bail costs, before the two went into hiding at the Kaiba Mansion and refused to give any public statements. The public, as well as officials, still taste the bitterness of lingering doubt.
"In this country, the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Mr. Kaiba was released as an innocent man, and his public record reflects that," was Detective Rafael's response to the question, "Do you, like most who are familiar with the case, believe Seto Kaiba is guilty of murdering his father?" As the lead investigator of the brutal homicide of the CEO of the Kaiba Corporation, Gozaburo Kaiba, Detective Rafael has a unique perspective on the events that took place the night of the murder, as well as those following Gozaburo's adopted son's arrest. When pressed for a more personal answer to the inquiry of the Kaiba heir's guilt, Detective Rafael would only say, "I can't know what happened that night between Seto and Gozaburo Kaiba. Only Seto Kaiba does. And he says that he did not kill his father. The DCPD investigators did not find enough evidence to pursue the contrary. That's the only reason why he wasn't prosecuted." After this statement, Detective Rafael left in a hurry, citing that another case needed his immediate attention.
Following the scandal, the Kaiba brothers receded into the bowels of the Kaiba Mansion. According to former servants, the elder Kaiba insulated himself in his quarters for weeks on end, only receiving sustenance through a dumbwaiter, and ignoring the heartfelt requests of his brother to leave his darkened room, and rejoin the living. Just two months after Seto's self-imposed exile began, he suddenly filed for both Emancipation, possibly spurred by being charged as an adult for murder at the turbulent age of sixteen, and for sole custody of his younger, eleven-year old brother. With the assistance of his lawyer, Charles Johnson, who also served as his counsel during Mr. Kaiba's brief time as a defendant, as well as being one of five acting employees on the Board of Directors of KaibaCorp, Seto Kaiba was awarded Minor Emancipation, and custody of his brother at the tender age of seventeen. These legal decisions were shocking and unheard of in most parts of the country.
Two weeks after Seto Kaiba's accelerated ascension into legal adulthood, his home, the cliffside Kaiba Mansion, at an estimated worth of over 33.5 million dollars, burnt to the ground. Arson was suspected, but an investigation deemed the origin of the blaze inconclusive. No one was reported injured in the fire, a strange and nearly miraculous outcome, considering the Mansion's staff of over 100 employees. Whether this was just another entry into the list of random tragic events that surround Seto Kaiba, or something more calculated, may never be discovered. A statement issued several days after the disaster by the newly instated head of the PR Department of KaibaCorp, Damian Lector, former assistant to Gozaburo Kaiba, (where Seto Kaiba still holds 51 percent of the stock-shares of the weapons manufacturing company as Willed by his father) read:
"Mr. Seto Kaiba and his brother wish to grieve over all of their losses in peace, and at this time, feel that they can only be allowed this in an undisclosed location. Until further notice, all business dealings of the Kaiba Corporation are to be entrusted to the Board of Directors, with Vice President Kenneth Gansley acting as CEO in Seto Kaiba's absence. The Kaiba brothers sincerely request compliance by the media and the public in these matters. Thank you."
While The Chronicle sympathizes with the mourning process that would be inevitable after the events over the last year, we continued to search for the location of the two remaining Kaibas long after the rest of the media stopped running bylines concerning them. Despite various sightings and accounts of the two from around the globe over several months, no one could pinpoint Seto Kaiba's location at any given time.
Until now - Last week a lease form was filed by Seto Kaiba for an office building in the least likely place we expected to find him: Back home, in Domino City. Why Mr. Kaiba chose to keep a low profile is unknown, though probably easy to guess. However, the company name cited on the application is even more intriguing: Blue-Eyes Investigations.
Further research revealed that Seto Kaiba also filed an application for a License to Practice Private Investigation, and it is likely that it has been awarded. All things considered, it looks as though Domino's own Prodigal Son has returned, and plans to stay a while.
The impending address of Blue-Eyes Investigations is 666 Millennium Lane, a location which no doubt Mr. Kaiba picked purposely. The clandestine nature of Seto Kaiba's machinations in procuring a residence of business should not be overlooked, given his history. The question that citizens of Domino will soon be asking themselves is this: "Can I trust someone to find the truth for me, when he may be denying the truth himself?"
The Blue-Eyes Investigations Office is quietly having its Grand Opening next week. Perhaps their first case could be the unsolved murder of Gozaburo Kaiba.
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The Domino Chronicle is Copyright - Mai Valentine: Editor for The Domino Chronicle Online Newspaper. All questions, and comments concerning the site can be sent to the Webmaster: rraptor(at)domchron(dot)com
The Domino Chronicle: They line them up, we push them down.
Author's Notes: Alright. I'm trying something new. Despite the seeming heaviness of this chapter, I'm going to try my best to keep this story free of angst unless angst is the most logical response (or unless Kaiba insists). I don't have some bigger arching plot in mind, and I have no idea how this will end. I'm not used to this kind of freedom, and it allows for some actual fun when writing! I only put this in the humor category to force myself to keep things light, since I've been told that humor and dialogue are my strengths. And boy do I plan to have fun with this! I'm just going to completely indulge myself, and celebrate my favorite parts of Yu-Gi-Oh (the characters!), and remind myself why I love it so much. I hope you guys reading enjoy it as well, and stick around for the ride! Thanks for reading!
-Edit: Re-uploaded with slightly altered numbers and words, so that I could keep my timeline straight. Nothing too signifigant. Just to clarify for those nit-pickers out there (like me), Kaiba was sixteen when he was arrested, but seventeen by the time he got custody of Mokuba. Carry on.