Chapter 4 : An Unexpected Apology

Arisa set my cup of "coffee" down on the desk and smiled before saying, "There is nothing new to report other than the meeting with Tsubah has been postponed until next week. The president called late last night and requested a change in schedule because of delays on his part, and he agreed to compensate you for the problems this may cause."

"I see," I replied as I sipped the synthetic juice. Maybe I should change this stuff so that it had the flavor of actual human blood? No, my blood high would be insanely out of control then. Arisa would be dead within a week, and I couldn't have that on my hands. Not only would it be extremely bad on my part, but she was loyal and just to me, and I couldn't do that to her even if I wanted to.

"Is there anything else I can get for you right now, sir?" she asked, her eyes shimmering in the morning light. She was wearing a light blue dress that went down to her knees and had no sleeves, along with a pair of black heels. Her hair was still in two braids that made her look several years younger.

"No thank you," I answered, setting the mug back down and turning to my computer. "I'm going to be working on several reports today, so if anybody calls, you have the right to forward them to me." Usually if people called, I told her to take a message and would later decide whether or not to deal with the problem. But on rare occasions like today, where it seemed like I would have a bit more time on my hands, I gave her a break and dealt with them myself.

"Yes sir." Bowing slightly, she quickly turned and left the room, leaving me in a comfortable silence. Uebana had already left his morning message; the guy from last night had obviously told him that I had been wounded, which must have pleased Uebana to say the least. I would admit that the wounds had surprised me, for hunters usually never made it that far, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. In fact, the bullet wounds for me was like a scratch on a child…save for the fact that I healed in thirty seconds while a scratch could take up to a week.

Taking out a folder, I began to sift through several papers before my phone rang. I rolled my eyes and quickly picked it up. "This is Kaiba," I answered, holding the phone in one hand while sifting with the other.

"Big Brother!" Mokuba exclaimed, making my eyes widen in surprise. "Where were you last night? I woke up, and the butler said you weren't home at all."

"Sorry Mokuba," I replied, setting the folder down on the desk. "I just had something come up last minute and had to stay at work. I really am sorry… I should have called you first."

"Brother… I really worry about your work habits lately. You need to take a break and rest. Seriously."

I just sat there, wondering what on Earth to say. He was right; he was always right. Yet I had to lie to him day-in and day-out just to cover up my identity as a vampire so that I could protect the little kid. I…hated it. "How about I take off work early today to hang out with you?" I asked, sitting up straighter in my chair. "I'm not going to be too busy today, and if anything comes up, I promise to put it on hold."

I heard my little brother gasp and asked, "Are you sure?"

I smiled. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay then! What do you want to do?"

"I don't care. You come up with it…although we aren't going to the park like last time. I'm not getting stalked by a bunch of middle-aged women who adore me."

Mokuba chuckled, and even I had to stifle a laugh at the memory. We had gone to the park just to walk around, as Mokuba loved being outdoors and always had, when a group of moms strolling around with their children saw me and began to interrogate me on how such a 'young, handsome man deals with the hardships of life these days'. It was comical now, but at the time it was the most embarrassing moment of my life. Ugh, publicity sucked. I didn't know if that was my vampiric nature or just me being a CEO. "Okay, Seto, I promise no park," he replied, getting me out of my little trance. "I'll see you around….four?"

"Four sounds good," I answered. "See you."

"Bye!" Hearing the phone click, I slowly set the phone back down and let out a sigh. I loved Mokuba with all my heart, and yet… I lied to him just to survive. It made me want to stab myself every time I made up some lousy excuse on why I hadn't slept, why I was working so hard, why I wasn't home on time… It sounded horrible, I knew that. It was so pathetic when you thought about it. I could make appointments all day with employees and potential business partners, yet dinner with my brother was a problem. What…what was wrong with me?

"Um…Mr. Kaiba," a small voice asked as two knocks on the door quickly brought me back to reality. "There's someone here to see you…but I've never seen her before."

"Come in, Arisa," I stated, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion. She quickly came in and shut the door behind her, walking up to the desk before blinking in surprise.

"Mr. Kaiba…are you alright?"

"Yes," I answered, blinking in surprise back at her. "Why do you ask?"

"I just…you look sad."

Sad? "I'm fine, Arisa," I stated, more to myself than her to be honest. "Now who is here to see me?"

"Um…she says that she knows you from a previous Duel Monsters tournament. Ishtar, I think she said her name was."

Ishizu Ishtar. And here I thought I was going to have a relaxing day.

"Did she happen to say why she was here?" I asked, sighing as I leaned back in my chair and looked down at the folder I had abandoned during my conversation with Mokuba.

"She says she has something important to talk to you about. I don't know why, but she also mentioned that it had little if nothing to do with the past, and that she would not lecture you…whatever that means."

I smirked and rolled my eyes. I wanted to say no and be done with it, but I knew Ishizu from past dealings. She was the type of person who would hunt you down until she got the answer, whether you liked it or not. Putting off the discussion would do me no good, and it was better to do it now when I had little work than when I was getting ready for several appointments. Sighing once more, I nodded my head and whispered, "Let her in."

"Okay, sir. And…would you like some more coffee?"

I glanced down at the mug before whispering, "Yes." She slowly picked it up and added, "If you need anything, just let me know," before exiting the office. Arisa was funny. She was like a little sister, I guess; she could always tell how I felt. Sad? Of course I was sad. Did people think I enjoyed lying to my little brother on a regular basis, having to drink blood to survive while dodging both human and vampire businesses and politics? Yeah, that's what was wrong with me. Everything.

Hearing the door open back up, I frowned at the sight of Ishizu Ishtar and waited until she closed the door behind her and walked forward, taking a seat on one of the green couches. "Don't make yourself at home," I warned. "You aren't staying that long."

"I don't intend to, Kaiba," she replied, her thick, Egyptian-accented voice flowing through the air. I growled; this woman bugged me to no end. Not because of her constant chatter on the past, not because of her fucked-up family situation (but then again, who was I to judge on that topic?), and not even because she dragged me into the mess involving her, Yami, and her crazed older brother. It was for one reason that she bugged the living shit out of me.

It was her aura.

I knew what her aura meant, but the fact that she didn't know it had amused me at first. Yet her ignorance of this fact had led to problems. Every time she was in a room with me, her aura drove me insane merely because she hadn't realized her own aura yet. Her aura was purely just and good, one you would think would be around a minister or priest. There was no evil whatsoever. Yet it wasn't her true aura, and I knew that very well. I could sense the discrepancies in her aura, indicating she wasn't ready yet. Even now, I could feel her aura reaching out for me, and I had problems fighting it off. It infuriated me that it didn't work the other way around.

Until she realized her potential, I was stuck in this position. Shit.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, noticing my silent composure. I cleared my throat and glared at her.

"I was just wondering what the hell you're doing here at nine in the morning. Don't you have a museum to be taking care of?"

Ishizu gave me a small smile and sighed. "I see you haven't changed in the past three years since the tournament. But you have a good point, and I know you're busy, so I'll be blunt." Biting her lower lip, Ishizu glanced up at me and said, "I need your help locating some information."

I knit my eyebrows together and frowned. "Information?" I repeated. "Isn't a museum supposed to be an archive of information? What are you asking me for?"

"I…" I noticed her shift uncomfortably and blinked in surprise. Something was seriously wrong. This woman was the most stoic, confident person in front of a crowd when she was trying to make a point. Hell, I couldn't even make her break with my signature glare that turned hardcore businessmen into jelly. I didn't need to see the shift in her aura to note that something was bugging her. "I know, but I'm looking for very specific information regarding something that museums don't usually track down."

"Are you researching illegal drugs?" I asked sarcastically, though I noticed my tone hinted a bit of concern. To cover this up, I added, "I don't know why I should help you research something you're afraid to do on your own in the first place."

"It's not that I'm afraid, Kaiba… I just…want to know the truth about something."

The truth? What the hell was this woman looking for? "I'm not going to help someone who can't be straight-forward with me," I stated. "Either tell me what's wrong or leave now. You're wasting my time." Not only was she wasting my time, but her aura was bugging the shit out of me. For some reason or other, it was doing its best to attract my attention, which not only made me uncomfortable, but I was sure she was feeling at least some bit of tension. I watched as she sat up straight and stared me straight in the eyes, making me smirk.

"I first want to apologize to you about three years ago," she began. My eyebrows rose on their own; this woman was actually apologizing for something? Now I knew something was wrong. "I shoved a lot down you and everyone else's throat about Egypt and the pasts each of you held, and I want to apologize to you especially for doing such a thing."

"And why did you take three years to accomplish this task?" I questioned, leaning forward and clasping my hands together on the desk. Maybe if I moved forward a little, her aura would stop annoying me. Besides, I wouldn't admit it to this woman, but she had me intrigued.

"Well…after the tournament, Marik and I did some research on our family in order to help restore our ties that were severed during his 'episode'," Ishizu began, making me groan. This was going to take awhile. "He wanted to study more about our heritage and about Egypt itself. He hoped that by doing this, he could regain his sense of pride in his homeland and make our family proud."

"I hate to interrupt, but I honestly don't care about whether Marik is happy about Egypt or not," I stated coldly. "That doesn't seem to have any relevance to why you're here."

"If you let me finish, Kaiba, I will explain," she retorted, glaring slightly at me. I smirked back at her; that was the Ishizu I knew. The one that was just as determined as me, the one that amused me. I respected her for her ability to stand up to someone like me. "After about three months of research, he came across a very peculiar book in our family library, which is in our home back in Egypt. He sent it to me, asking me to check it out, as he had never heard of the concepts written in it before. He seemed kind of…frightened of it, I guess, so I immediately read through it."

I could see a frown slowly appear on her face and waited for her to continue. "I couldn't believe it when I first read it," she said, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "It discussed things that I didn't even believe in, but if what it said was true, our family was involved in a lot more than simple tomb-keeping. I did several tests on the paper to make sure it wasn't just a hoax, and sure enough it was the true thing." Looking back up at me, she said, "Marik and I need information on this book. It deals with something our family was involved with, and I want to know what it means."

Something her family was involved with? Was she nuts? "So you want to drag me into another one of your stupid family quarrels?" I asked.

"Please, Kaiba," she stated, standing up and walking up to the desk. I backed up against my chair; her aura this close was more than a bit dangerous. Looking up into her eyes, I saw her desire for help. She was begging through her eyes for my support with this. "I need to know if this is true or not. If it is…then my apology towards you will be understood."

Studying her face, I asked slowly, "What is this about? What information are you trying to get?"

She sighed and swallowed before whispering, "My family apparently protected more than the tombs, yet only that knowledge was passed down. If I find out what my family was involved with, it will change my outlook on life forever. I will no longer be just a member of a tomb-keeper family. Please understand, Kaiba, I need help with this. This is more important to me right now than anything else."

The most important thing for me right now was to get her out of here. I didn't know what knowledge she was looking for, but I didn't care. Her aura was becoming extremely powerful, but I couldn't show one hint of weakness. It was driving me insane. "Look, I'm busy right now," I replied, trying to remain calm. "Visit me tomorrow, and we will discuss this matter more." Yes, tomorrow. Just to break the aura's grasp on me for a day would be good enough.

She slowly backed away and nodded. "Does this mean no?"

"It means we will discuss it later. But for now, just tell me this. Why should I be involved with your family once again? Why come to me on this subject?"

Ishizu studied the ground for a moment before glancing back up at me. "Do you want the honest truth?"

"That would be somewhat nice."

"I…I don't know. I just felt like…like I could trust you on this."

It took a lot of willpower to keep my facial expression stoic. Maybe her aura really was affecting her somehow. I smirked and said, "Fine. Whatever. I don't care. Just come by tomorrow, and we'll see whether or not I'll help you out."

She bowed slightly and smiled. "I… Thank you, Kaiba." Walking out of the room, I felt her aura diminish as she closed the door behind her and let out a long sigh. Grasping the mug firmly in my hands, I drank the cup dry and groaned. It had been amusing at first, but it was now to the point of torture. I wanted to know what information she was looking for, but her aura had sucked me dry of energy. But that meant it was only getting stronger…which meant…

I smirked. Maybe I should help her with this information retrieval. Who cared what it was on to begin with? If I could break her aura, I could—

No. I didn't need her. I lived night after night without her and any of her kind, and I wasn't going to quit now. Pressing a button on the phone, I heard Arisa's voice ask, "Is something the matter?"

"Bring me that whole mug of coffee," I demanded, letting go of the button. Arisa immediately came in with the entire pitcher and set it down on the table.

"Did her aura get to you sir?" she asked as I poured some into the cup. I wasn't a monster in etiquette, no matter how hungry I was. Most vampires were pictured showing their teeth off, ravishing their kill… Not me. Unless I bit the neck, I drank with etiquette. I wouldn't gush down an entire pitcher of blood just because an aura drained me.

"A bit," was all I said.

"Isn't she a--?"

"That's none of your concern, Arisa," I interrupted, glaring slightly at her. "Thank you for getting me this. You can go back to work now."

"Y-Yes sir," she immediately responded, bowing and leaving the room. I leaned back in my chair and sighed, draining the cup before refilling it, the blood restoring my system.

"Dammit Ishizu," I thought aloud. "You just had to be one, didn't you?"