A/N: Hey guys! Thank you for the WONDERFUL reviews, they mean the world to me! They really do. :D So, I'm sorry, but I forgot to mention anything about pairings. Everything is 'implied'. So here are the 'pairings'. YuugixAnzu, YamixAnzu, implied JouxMai, implied JouxShizuka, and strongly implied SetoxKisara later on. Just wanted to tell you now so you don't have any reason to stone me later. Please enjoy Chapter 2!
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Unusual, a Call for Concern
(Seto's POV)
There are very few times in my life where I can sit, be still, and feel absolutely nothing. My mental boundaries so strong not a single thought is allowed passage through my mind, my heart locked so tightly it would hurt to even try and unlock it again. And this all happens in a matter of seconds as I sit at the kitchen table of my… home? No. Home is where the heart is, and this is not where my heart lies.
My hands rested in my hair as I leaned forward against the table, my arms a barrier between me and the world. Mokuba would normally be asleep at this time, but after yesterday, I knew he would get up early to talk my ear off. Last night was a nightmare. I hadn't seen it coming. I never see it coming, and I should have.
The night before had been busy. Mokuba was upset with me because I'd been coming home later than usual. And by later, I mean three to five hours. Once or twice I didn't come home at all. Workaholic; I don't shy away from the heavy title. But last night, after hearing him complain once again how lonely he would be without my presence, I swore to myself to work overtime, to get done as quickly as possible and get home to him again. I'm not heartless, even though everyone seems to prove otherwise.
I came home early, just like I planned. I took off my jacket and called for him but all the lights were off. I found it strange. It was then that I remembered the text I'd sent an hour earlier, while I was rushing between a pressing meeting and a new project that needed a release deadline for immediately. Since my mind was in other places, I never got around to checking for a return text. But I didn't think much about worrying. Mokuba always sent a return message. He was always on top of things like that. Curse routine, it makes your mind dull.
When I checked my phone, there was no return text. I was about to text him again, when I received a message from a blocked number. I read it. There was a grainy photo of Mokuba, with… Yuugi, of all people, with his friends at the ice rink Mokuba had told me about. There was no message, but I caught the hint. I tracked his phone's GPS. Mokuba was still there.
I ran outside to my car, ready to go pick him up before anything could happen. That was when I got the call.
"Who the hell is this?" I growled when I saw the blocked number.
"An interested party," Was the stupid response. "Did you get our text?"
"I think your camera is crap and you kept your distance. Good job, I just might spare you." The automated voice on the other end laughed dryly.
"You've always been funny, Kaiba. But that photo was taken two hours ago, an hour before you texted him." My grip on the steering wheel tightened as I turned on the vehicle and sped out onto the freeway.
"So, you're an 'interested party'," I said calmly, locking my emotions to the back of my mind like I always did. After so many years, this ability became an art. "What are you interested in?"
"You, of course. Have you even tried calling your brother? To see if he's alright?"
"He can take care of himself. I'm merely concerned that you've underestimated him."
"Yes, quite right. He is a Kaiba, after all." Under any other circumstance, I would have smirked, maybe even smiled. But if my new enemy dared say it, that meant he had a counter-measure. And dare I say it, that idea scared me.
"I just wanted to talk to you. It's been an honor, Mr. Kaiba." My phone suddenly sparked in my hand and I threw it into the backseat. I didn't have time to check to see if it was alright. I was already halfway to the ice rink.
And after that was history. I breathed in deeply, calmly. I counted each second that went with each breath. A trick I learned when I was a kid. Heck, I was still a kid in some people's eyes. In my own, I felt like an old man. Seen too much, understood too much… felt too much, even.
So I locked it away and went into a frozen state. I hadn't moved in at least an hour, just sitting at the table and breathing to remain alive. God, I loved these moments… Everything so perfectly still and… just perfect, no matter how I looked at it.
That's when the still was disrupted by the heavy pounding of a child's footsteps. Mokuba crashed into the kitchen. I reacted by moving out of my frozen state and looking at him stonily. I still didn't understand everything that had happened. All I understood was that I would be advancing Mokuba's security for today. Just today, and I'd have everything sorted. I promised myself.
"You're up early," I said finally, tired of his staring. Mokuba stood at the other end of the table, gripping the chair tightly. It was clear he'd been thinking about something. 3 guesses at what that would be, I mused silently.
"I need to talk to you." Mokuba said seriously, and without stopping continued, "I think your actions were completely unjustified. No matter how you felt you didn't have to push Yuugi and Jou around like that. It wasn't like you! Now I want you to explain in detail what's going on." I stared at him. I hadn't expected a statement like that. He'd rehearsed it, planned it. He's just like you, a voice in my head whispered. I mentally shook myself clear of those thoughts and focused on a clear response.
"I don't have to explain myself to you," I said calmly and too quickly for my own liking. "It's probably nothing worth worrying over."
"I think I have plenty to worry about! And just because I'm a bit too young to understand certain things doesn't mean you can't tell me what's going on! I'm your little brother; I think I deserve to be told the truth!" Mokuba exclaimed.
"It's because you're my little brother that I won't tell you," I said, a slight growl escaping my throat. Mokuba's jaw tightened, as did his grip on the chair.
"Then tell me what you're going to do. That can't possible be such a big secret," He said in low tone, the only tone he used when he was thoroughly angry with me. I ignored it completely.
"Nothing. You'll go to school like it's any other day, and I'll stop by school before heading to work. I have to meet with the new Media Manager on the release date for the Virtual Reality Simulator." I said, standing and grabbing my coat. Mokuba glared at me.
"Somehow I doubt that's all you'll do," He said, his eyes flashing angrily.
"Then I must be doing something right." I replied coldly. With that, I stepped out of the room and headed for the garage. And true to Mokuba's word, before I even picked out my car for the day, I flipped open my cell and called Roland.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," Roland said.
"I want you to grab two of your best agents and watch Mokuba today. No one touches him, understood?"
"Of course. On it immediately."
I hung up and spotted my favorite Starch-white Lamborghini and climbed into the driver's seat. I started to relax when I sank slightly into the leather seats. I didn't like the way I spoke to Mokuba. But at the moment, my tone was not among my top concerns.
I looked at my cell's call history. The blocked number stared at me in the face. Your options are limited. What can you even do? That voice entered my mind again. My jaw set as I shoved the keys into the ignition. No, I was Seto Kaiba. I could do anything I set my mind to. It was the way I was wired. I almost smiled emptily, thinking about the way I worded that. Wired. More like re-wired.
With that in mind, I focused on the day ahead and sped off to school.
~((~^*^~))~
(Yuugi's POV)
The next day was a nightmare. At least it was for me. Jou and Honda were normal, except for their constant bashing of Kaiba. It was worse than ever. Before, their reasons to dislike him had no grounding. Everything they used to dislike about him was nearly non-existent. But now, after last night, it was like a flood gate opened, and they took that as their allowance to say whatever they wanted about him.
Anzu wouldn't back me up when I tried to defend him. She didn't say why, but I already knew why. She was a deeply emotional person, and she cared about all of us so much she'd do whatever it took to protect us. I could even think of a few times she had before. But after Kaiba was physically aggressive with us, suddenly she wasn't as willing to protect him anymore; even though she did believe the best about him most of the time.
Yami was brooding. I knew I could still count on him. But he was still trying to figure things out himself. Yami once told me that he was certain he'd known Kaiba in another life. So I could understand his frustration that he couldn't remember his past, let alone fully understand Kaiba's actions.
"It revolves around Mokuba, I'm certain," Yami said. "Something happened, and it involves Mokuba." I nodded.
"That would explain a lot," I agreed. "But it feels… deeper than that. Like there's something else tying in. I just can't figure out what."
"It wouldn't hurt to just ask him," Yami reasoned.
"Look, Yami, I believe the best about Kaiba, but I really doubt he's going to just sit down and tell us the truth, or tell us anything at all for that matter." I felt Yami smirk in my mind.
"You never know until you try."
I shrugged on my backpack and headed off to school.
Yami's words did leave me something to think about.
So I walked to school with my friends, just like always, and tried to ignore Jou and Honda's hateful comments about Kaiba. Anzu was unnaturally silent until we got to school, when she was finally able to change to subject to school topics.
When we made it into class, the first thing I noticed was Kaiba's absence. He was usually the first one here, so it was strange to see his seat empty. I walked over to one of the popular brainiacs, who showed up around the same time as the CEO. His name was… Yotoko, I believe.
"Hey, have you seen Kaiba?" I asked him nicely. Yotoko pushed up his glasses in thought.
"Uh, yes. I saw him near the Principle's office, talking with the secretary. It looked important."
"Thanks," I said with a smile.
"I'll be right back, guys," I said. Jou eyed me.
"Where you headed? The bathroom?" He asked.
"I'm going to look for Kaiba."
"Like heck you're going alone!" Jou immediately jumped up, followed by Honda. "I wanna give that guy a piece of my mind!" He agreed. I groaned.
"Not like that Jou. I just want to make sure he's alright."
"Okay, you can make sure he's 'alright' once I'm through with him!" I shook my head.
"Let them be," Yami's voice whispered in my mind. "You can't change their minds."
"I'm not worried about what they'll do to Kaiba, I'm worried about what he'll do to them if they attack him." I replied seriously. To this, Yami went silent.
"Look, I don't want you to hurt him!" I said, not voicing my concern that they would actually be completely overpowered in a fight with Kaiba. He was way bigger than them, and stronger by the looks of last night. But I didn't want to make Jou any more aggravated than he already was.
The two taller boys looked at each other, exchanging a silent conversation. Yuugi started to have a flashback of when he first met them, when they were just bullies always harassing him. They'd outgrown it, but when it came to each other's safety, the boundaries they'd made for themselves often became blurry. And it usually took Yuugi to point it out again.
"Fine. But I swear, if he makes any sort of move that seems suspicious, I'm not taking a chance." Jou finally grumbled, Honda nodding in affirmation. I smiled weakly and looked to Anzu.
"I'll wait here," She said calmly, but I could see her eyes were pleading. She was still working through her emotions. She didn't want to see Kaiba just yet. And I could respect that.
"Okay, thanks." I told her. She smiled and we left the classroom in search of Kaiba.
Thanks to Yotoko, it didn't take long to find him. He was sitting in the secretary's office, behind a desk in the corner.
"Kaiba, what are you doing?" Honda asked in surprise. I stared. He had an enormous stack of school work in front of him, and he was breezing through all of it at lightning speed.
"What does it look like?" Kaiba grunted, shoving three papers off into the second stack that was quickly growing. I turned to the secretary for an explanation.
"Mr. Kaiba is working ahead and completing all of today's and tomorrow's schoolwork. He's hoping to take a leave of absence without taking any more 'absent' days." She quickly explained, nodding to the large stack of papers that was quickly shrinking as Kaiba skimmed through it.
"Dang Kaiba, I know you're 'smart' but that's just insane," Jou exclaimed, watching Kaiba's quick and calculated movements with awe. I stared as well.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked him. "Does this have something to do with last night?" Kaiba immediately halted in his effort just long enough to glare death at me.
"That," he almost seethed, "is not your concern." He quickly returned to his work and I felt Jou bristle beside me.
"He was just asking you a question, rich boy."
"I didn't ask for your opinion, mutt." My arm moved slightly to the side, blocking Jou's clear path to the CEO. I looked up at my friend, hoping he could control himself for just a bit longer.
"Look, we just want to help. Is there anything we can do?" I asked calmly, keeping a respective distance between us and him. Kaiba's hand slowed and he… did he sigh? He looked up at us with cold, tired eyes and said simply, "You can leave." Recognizing his need for silence to work, I quickly ushered Jou and Honda out of the room with me closely following them.
"The nerve of that guy…!" Jou muttered when we were back out in the hallway. Honda looked through the door's glass window, watching Kaiba work.
"What's up with him? He usually doesn't do random weird stuff like this," Honda said thoughtfully.
"Just yesterday he was telling us that he'd used up too many absent days, so he was using them sparingly. What would warrant this?" Yami finally spoke into my mind. I nodded.
"This is very strange. We need to get to the bottom of this. We could call Mokuba?" I suddenly thought.
"I'm still not entirely sure of all the going's on in this timeline, but isn't he in school as well?" Yami replied. He seemed to pick up the answer from my responding emotion. That's right. And if I called Mokuba, that would just get him into trouble. I wouldn't do that.
I didn't have to think about it too long when the door to the office suddenly opened and Kaiba stalked out. He glared at us, not expecting us to have still been standing there.
"Don't you three have class to attend?" He said coldly before sweeping past us.
"You can't possibly be done already?!" Honda exclaimed, looking back at the window and seeing a neat, single stack left on the desk top.
"So what if I am? Get out of my way, I'm leaving."
"Kaiba, seriously, we just want to help. What's going on? I'm sure we could do something," I said, now that his attention was solely focused on me.
"What's going on, is I have a lot of work to do, and you are the only person standing in my way to getting there. So heed my words carefully, and get-out-of-the-way." I quickly moved out of his way.
"Dangit Kaiba!" Jou suddenly jumped forward. Kaiba halted and turned to glare at him.
"What's wrong with you? If you're not gonna' give us straight answers for your actions last night, then I'm going to duel you for it!" I expected Kaiba to scoff, accept the challenge, and then go on to attack Jou in every verbal way possible. So you can imagine my confusion when the obviously ticked off Seto Kaiba frowned deeply, and said nothing for several long moments. His eyes were dark, and he seemed to be thinking very deeply on something.
"I don't have time for this." He said eventually. He then turned, and began to walk away.
"What? Are you telling me you won't duel me?" Jou shouted, earning looks from passing students. This situation wasn't entirely unusual, so most of them kept walking. Very few stopped to watch.
"I'm telling you I'm busy, and I don't have time for you or your pathetic attempts to play a card game. Take a rain check, mutt. You should know by now that a dog like you can't possibly defeat someone like me."
That, combined with all the tension that occurred within the last twelve hours, Jou finally lost it.
"You JERK!" He swung his fist. Kaiba easily dodged and in a split second, I felt my heart stop when I saw the look in his eyes. Wide, hard, angry, and on the verge of chaos; a look I'd seen the day Yami shattered his mind, oh so long ago. But it was there, and it appeared to be very much alive.
Kaiba raised his arm and slammed his elbow into the joint that combined Jou's neck to his shoulder and back. Jou made a strangled sound as he hit the ground, reaching back to feel where the blow had fallen. Kaiba stared down at Jou's form, his eyes narrow and cold, calculating his next move. Jou glared up at Kaiba, and just about lunged up to strangle him, but Kaiba's leg moved faster. The next thing anyone knew, Jou had been slammed into the lockers. Kaiba stood still, just watching and staring at his own handiwork.
Jou forced himself to sit upright, wiping some blood off his chin as he caught his breath.
"Kaiba." I had hardly noticed when Yami took over my body. I didn't realize I'd been focusing so hard until I heard his voice instead of mine.
Kaiba looked at us and simply stared. Once again, his mind was elsewhere, somewhere untouchable and impossible to ever understand. I mentally shivered.
"Please. Stop this. It's not worth it." Yami urged. Kaiba's eyes flashed, finally something normal. I could see his usual calmness, clarity of the situation. He was coming back.
"Of course it's not," He finally spoke, his voice sounding a bit dry and strained. "That's what I was trying to say." He turned to leave, and Yami quickly followed him. We caught up with him once he was already outside.
"Kaiba, you can tell me what's wrong. If you like, I won't tell the others." Yami said. I bristled, but Yami was ignoring my feelings. I told the gang everything. And he was taking the liberty of promising not to breathe a word. It might just be the thing to make Kaiba open up, but I hated the idea of hiding something from my friends.
Kaiba stopped at his car, his hand frozen on the door handle. He turned to look up at me. His eyes were unreadable again, but this time, he almost looked emotional. And that was what scared me the most.
"You would actually keep a secret from your loyal little following?" He asked, his voice incredulous. Yami nodded firmly.
"If that's what you want. You can trust me, you know that. You never would have come to our rescues all those times if you didn't believe something about us. I won't force you, but I do want you to know that I can help."
Kaiba scoffed.
"You can't help."
"I can try to understand," Yami replied. I watched in amazement. I never would have guessed that Yami could actually keep Kaiba engaged in a conversation that could lead to the stone cold CEO to open up about anything.
Kaiba continued to stare, before he finally opened his mouth to speak.
"If you dare, say a word to anyone I will have your head." I felt my spirit glow in awe. Yami didn't return the emotion. His spirit felt dark and cold, old and powerful. Something was festering in his mind. I wondered if Yami was remembering something. If he was remembering the connection he used to share with Kaiba, in that other life. It still felt beyond me, but it was definitely a theory.
"There has been a threat that involves Mokuba. Last night, I received a text picture of Mokuba at the ice rink, with you, and then I received a call. I don't know what they want, and I intend to find out today." He then climbed into the car and turned it on. I stared after him as the car disappeared down the highway.
"Well, that solves one mystery," Yami said aloud, since no one was around to hear.
"But now I can't tell the others that Kaiba's just worried about his brother being threatened." I grumbled, but still felt happy with the fact Kaiba had opened up even that much.
"That part doesn't matter," Yami muttered. "What does matter, is that we can see the playing field with a new eye. Something is going on. You were right. By his reaction, this looks like something more than just Mokuba. He's acting unusual. Whatever this is, it's only just beginning."
~((~^*^~))~
(Seto's POV)
It was around 2 pm that I had a stroke of genius. It didn't take much for me to figure out the mind of my enemy. And this enemy was definitely the most interesting to me. After my meeting with the Media Manager, I went down to the labs and hacked my own cell phone. It took some time, but I managed to find the bug that they had used to make my phone chemically react to spark like it had the night before. It was a small virus that I'd opened with the text picture. And once I found that bug, I was able to trace it back to its source. I got the perpetrator's phone number.
I stared at the number in my hand as I thought about my next course of action. And that's when it occurred to me. I wanted to see this person. They were intriguing me.
They were power seekers. I could tell. They had sent a picture and a threatening message just to say, 'your brother is not as safe as you think he is'. It was a power play, showing me that they had some sort of leverage over me. But hah, they did not know Kaiba's as well as they thought.
So I sent them a text message. Bait, something they wouldn't dare leave unnoticed. I sent them a time and place, telling them I was free from 4pm to 5pm. I would be in my office, alone, and I wanted to meet this person. Whoever was leading this charade.
I sent the text and watched it in silence. This was a terrible idea. Dangerous even. Something was seriously wrong with me. And yet, I did it anyway. What did that say about my character?
You're becoming more like him. That voice said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. No. I'm. Not. I told myself firmly. When I opened my eyes again, I forced all my emotions to the back of my mind. What's done is done. Now all that was left was to remove the threat. Permanently.
~((~^*^~))~
(Mokuba's POV)
Was he an idiot? I mused silently to myself all day. He was absolutely insane if he thought I wouldn't notice his security goons watching me at school. But then again, maybe he did know I'd notice, and he was trying to show how in control he was. That in his eyes, I was still a child that needed to be looked after. Didn't he know that I was smarter now? That I was far stronger than I'd been back in the days of the orphanage? I could take care of myself. Sure, I did have a history of being kidnapped, but not too long ago I proved my ability to take care of myself by escaping on my own. I loved how proud he was of me that day. But even then, he still didn't trust me.
I sat in my room, back at home after a long day of wondering what was going through my brother's head. I tossed a ball in between my hands, sometimes throwing it up into the air, watching it hit the ceiling before it fell back down to me. I couldn't understand. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get it. Was Seto trying to send me a message? Was he trying to tell me something important? If so, I wasn't seeing it. All I could see and feel was the cold bitterness between us. It had been growing there lately, this void between us. It mostly started right after Noah's virtual reality. When we were kidnapped. I never told anyone about what Seto and I saw. Watching our pasts unfold before our very eyes. But something happened that changed in Seto. It was like a part of himself that was long dead reawakened. Something I never wanted to see again. And it was growing stronger every day, putting a barrier between us.
How could I be so blind to it? I wanted to believe that he was fine, that nothing was wrong. But the truth was anything but. Something was wrong with him. I had to confront him before it could become any worse.
I checked my cell phone. It was 5:30. It was around five that Seto usually called to tell me if he'd be home late, or if he'd be home at all. So far, I had no missed calls. I wondered if he was trying to ignore me after our argument that morning. Fine, I'd take the initiative.
I called his number and listened to it ring for several long moments. And then I was surprised when I got his voicemail. "Kaiba. Leave a message." I rolled my eyes at his condescending tone. I remembered when he made the voice mail. It hadn't been a good day. I laughed at the rage he'd been in after the material's manager had somehow 'lost' 1/3 of the new replacement parts for a new Duel Disk design. I was amused, but Seto was furious. So all in all, it was a crazy night.
I called his number again, certain he'd pick up this time. I listened to it ring. 3… 4…. 5…. "Kaiba. Leave a message." My jaw tightened as I set the phone down in my lap, pondering what this meant. It wasn't right. Seto was highly sensitive about his phone. If he even thought it vibrated in his pocket he'd rip it out and look it over. So a phone call? With a ring tone? And he didn't pick up? If he was in a meeting, it would have gone straight to voice mail. So why wasn't he available?
I sent a quick text, "You okay?" I waited for a response and counted to ten. The usual amount of time it took for him to reply. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Finally, there was no other alternative. I called his secretary.
"Kaiba's office," a chirpy, semi-annoying voice greeted me. I couldn't remember her name. Seto kept firing them too often for me to even keep track anymore.
"It's Mokuba. I need to talk to Seto."
"I'm sorry Mokuba; Mr. Kaiba stepped out at around 4 pm. He hasn't come back yet."
"Oh. Where was he going? Was he with anyone?"
"I believe he was going down to Lab 1, in the basement. He was on his phone when he left, but other than that he was by himself. I don't know anything more about that."
"Thank you. I'll see you later."
"Sure thing, toots."
I hung up and immediately dialed Roland's number.
"Mokuba, is something wrong?" Roland said, his tone worried. I pinched the bridge of my nose, ignoring how that was so Seto like.
"I don't know. But I need a ride to Kaiba Corp. Seto isn't picking up his phone and I'm getting worried."
"Of course. I'll bring the car around immediately."
I pulled on my coat and ran downstairs where Roland was waiting with the limo. I climbed in the back and counted every second until we arrived.
Jumping out of the car, I ran through the front doors and stepped into the elevator. Roland waved over two of the security guards to join me. I pressed the button that led to the basement. When the doors opened, I walked down the hallways until I saw the door marked "Lab One". I tested the doorknob. It was unlocked. I pushed it open and stared.
The lights were all on, and the room was completely empty. One of the rolling lab tables was pressed against the cabinets for whatever reason, and another table had fallen on its side. Tools lay all over the ground.
I leaned down and examined something I remembered Seto telling me, was a 'Microspatula'. It was basically used for transferring small amounts of solids from one spot to the next. It was sharp looking, but was really quite dull. And it was covered in something dark and wet.
"Roland, what is this?" I asked, picking it up and showing it to him. I stared at my fingers. They were red now.
"That's… blood."
I dropped it and listened to it clatter to the ground.
I immediately ripped out my cell phone and called Seto's number. I put it to my ear and listened to it ring. I walked around the room, examining the damage. Something terrible had happened here.
And that's when I heard it. The ringtone Seto had for my calls. It was a light, upbeat tone that I told him I liked. I never thought he'd actually use it. I froze and stared. It was coming from around the corner. No one was answering it. I looked over my shoulder at Roland and security. They seemed to sense what this could mean. I swallowed, hard, and forced one foot in front of the other.
I could hear nothing but my own breathing and the ringtone. The weight of the tension was pressing against my eardrums painfully. I took a deep breath, and forced myself to go around the bend.
I dropped my cell phone.
Seto lay on the floor. His jacket was missing; his clothes were torn in various areas and wrinkled elsewhere. His hair was wild and covered half his face. His lips were parted like he was going to say something. In his limp, pale hand laid his cell phone, which rang into the empty air. I looked at the caller ID. It read Mokuba.
~((~^*^~))~
A/N: Aaannnyway, I'm leaving it there for now! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but the next chapter is going to take some time, and I wanted to update sooner rather than later. I really hope you liked the chapter, and please review and let me know what you think! I seriously love to hear your thoughts, and I'm dying to know how you feel about this. Otherwise, I feel like you guys don't care and the story's not worth it. :'( So, PLEASE REVIEW.