Seto Kaiba and Shizuka Kawai walked on quietly for some time with Seto leading the way and Shizuka struggling to match the stride of his long legs. As the silence drove on, Seto eyed his companion—though he still chose not to slow down for her sake.
The duo cautiously approached a glitzy hotel, the tallest building in the entire park, and what Serenity hoped would encompass some concept of safety and rest.
She felt thankful to have arrived without major incident on the way, but the trek had been long, shrinking stealthily behind shrubs and statues and bathhouses to avoid being seen by unsuspecting creatures across the width of the park property. She could count four different creatures, all of disgusting and disturbing nature – surely, the beings which created nightmares, she believed – but didn't know any of their names, nor did she wish any further her familiarity with them than staring fearfully after as they lumbered, or stalked, or squished, by while she pleaded for them not to notice her or the man crouching near to her.
Ordinarily, it would not have been Seto Kaiba's preference to resort to hiding, but he didn't see many other options, with an empty clip and no other means to defend himself, as well as the girl, other than direct combat, and he was too eager to locate his sibling to take the time for that.
Seto ducked behind a stone statue of his signature monster stationed in a proud stance in front of the tall building. He pulled Shizuka down with him and removed his weapon from its holster.
"We have to get up to the top floor. We can start with the elevator, but if it's not in operational use, we may have to walk. This is a twenty-five story building, including the ground floor. Are you up for this? If not, you're free to wait out here," he offered before she could answer, effectively taking away any means for her to protest.
"No," she shook her head as Seto had expected. "I don't want to stay out here by myself. I... I'll go in with you."
Seto nodded, and carefully peeked around the statue into the lobby. The lights were off, so there was no way, from his distance, to judge the safety of the fort. Having no other option but to stealthily move closer, he motioned for Shizuka to follow him. He held his weapon out in front of him, finger resting on the trigger guard, even though the weapon was useless without rounds. He preferred, at least, not to appear as helpless as he might seem without a visible weapon.
"Have you found anything helpful, Kaiba?" Shizuka had asked as he re-emerged from a security office sharing a structure with one of the many bathhouses on site, which they had been lucky enough to pass by along the pathway to the hotel.
Not so lucky however, as Seto's answer had indicated, to find the firepower he had been seeking inside.
"I came across a stock of rounds, but all that was in the weapons safe was non-lethal rifle ammunition, and unfortunately I found no weapon to go with them."
Seto had, however, found a medium sized knife and a baton left in a locker inside the security office, which he took. He did not favor close combat with the devils he expected to encounter, but a five-inch blade might fare better than an unarmed fist and an unloaded pistol, he rationed when loading the tools onto his person. The baton, he handed to Shizuka, who gazed at it with a puzzled expression as though she'd never seen anything like the item in her life.
"Just take it," he had said to her, showing her a place on her belt that she could hang the device so she wouldn't be burdened with it, but could retrieve it quickly and with ease if she needed to defend herself. "You'll likely never use it. But if you ever need to, you'll be damn glad to have it." She agreed with the concept, but admitted she didn't know the first thing about fighting, and quickly put the weapon out of her mind, forgotten.
Seto dropped the subject and pushed past the girl, relenting to the fact that he would indeed need to trek to the opposite side of the park as the roller coaster the two had come from in order to find proper ammunition for his pistol, something he had hoped, even expected, that he would not have to do before locating Mokuba.
Seto kept his shoulders rigid while he moved, making himself ready to turn on a dime and attack if needed. Shizuka tried her best to maintain a steady distance between the two—not too close to be in the way, but not too far that she no longer felt safe.
After squinting his eyes to inspect the hotel lobby through the haze of shadows, Seto concluded that he could detect no motion, and judged the area safe, so far as he could tell. He pulled at one of the glass doors to see if he would need to pull out his keycard, but found it unlocked.
The concept both surprised as well as unsettled him. He turned around to catch a last glimpse of the sky. Night had finally fallen, although the sun that day had not made much of an appearance in the first place. The flowing clouds that Seto was unable to put a name to still rolled like smooth grassy hills in a strong wind, and the air had a sour bite to it that didn't seem to be fading. With nightfall upon them, Seto would have assumed the entire park, even under ordinary conditions, should be closed by such an hour. Yet, here he was, in front of an unlocked building.
Either, Seto figured, someone with security access had re-opened the doors to get inside (possibly Mokuba, but Seto wouldn't allow himself to feel hopeful), or whoever shouldered the responsibility of locking the doors in the first place had failed his duty in keeping the building secure before leaving his post. Whatever the circumstances, Seto felt he had new motivation to move cautiously through the building whose security had been compromised.
Now, he had no idea who, or what he might find on the opposite side of those doors.
Seeing no other option, together, Seto and Shizuka entered the building regardless and made their way immediately to the elevator, beginning the long ride up to the top floor to Seto's suite, thankful to encounter nothing on the way, nor inside the cramped metal box.
Ordinarily, Seto may have placed his preference on taking the stairs, so as not to announce his location on every floor as he approached, but twenty-four flights of stairs would, he expected, prove to be too much for the young girl, as well as pose its own set of dangers.
Shizuka took a moment in the elevator to rest on the floor with her back against the wall, while Seto seemed either unwilling, or unable, to relax. His shoulders remained tense, and he kept one hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of his new knife. No words passed between the two as the box ascended toward their destination.
Along the way—between the eighteenth and nineteenth floors—a loud thud resounded from above the elevator, followed by a frightening grinding noise before the machine came to a halt. Shizuka, barely stifling a scream, leapt to her feet as she heard skittering across the top of the elevator. The lights flickered, but didn't go off completely.
"We have to get out," Seto commanded.
"Wha–? ...How?"
"Climb up the shaft, if we have to. After killing whatever is up there." Seto frowned as he checked the chamber of his pistol. He knew he'd counted his six shots accurately and would find no ammunition inside his gun, but double-checking seemed to validate his confidence. If he couldn't rely on his firearm, he'd have to fight head-on, close combat. Not something I wanted to resort to, but as long as it will keep us running...
"Shouldn't we at least try the emergency button?" Shizuka asked with concern. "Maybe there's an overnight security team?" She suggested hopefully with a tremble riding on her voice. But Seto shook his head.
"I don't want to advertise our location any more than we already have. Besides, though my park does incorporate twenty-four hour security, under the circumstances I would doubt there's anyone there to hear it, and I'm not waiting around for a response we'll never get so long as we've got company, up there." He pointed to the roof of the elevator with the barrel of his gun, and—almost as though on cue—the creature shifted again, reminding its captives of its presence.
"Or perhaps, if we're lucky…" Seto trailed off in contemplation. He let his gun hang back on his hip again. After a quick calculative glance at the large metal doors, Seto squeezed his fingers of each hand into the crack and pulled, prying the doors slowly apart a few inches. Much to his astonishment the elevator had stopped somewhat aligned with the nineteenth floor. It would be a leap to get up onto the floor, as it was roughly even with Seto's midsection, but it was a better option than trying to get around whatever was currently waiting above them.
"What are you going to do?" The redhead inquired.
In response, Seto slowly peeked his head out of the open doors and checked in each direction. He found no immediate danger and backed away from the exit, back toward the girl.
"I'm going to hoist you up." Her eyes widened in surprise. "Come on," he gestured for her to move toward the doors. "The hallway seems to be safe, and we can take the stairs from there. We're not far from the top now. And there's no point in leaving you in here, with that," Seto pointed upward.
Shizuka saw his logic and reluctantly moved toward the brunet. "So… how-?" she almost asked, but Seto interrupted her by grasping her around her waist and lifting her upward in a single motion so swift that the girl had no time to protest, save for a tiny squeal of surprise. She instinctively transferred her weight onto her arms and Seto further helped her up by moving his hands down to her hips and lifting further. The CEO struggled to avoid her flailing feet, lest they collide with his face as she finished crawling onto the nineteenth floor.
He quickly followed her out with a hurried leap, getting a knee through the doorway and pulled himself out. He ignored Shizuka's out held hand and climbed to his feet on his own.
"Let's get to the stairs. This way." Seto led them both to the staircase and checked its safety before going in, sensing nothing alarming, though he was surprised to find it so. "It's safe," he said and led the way up. Shizuka sighed with a sense of relief, not realizing she'd been holding her breath until she released it. The two began the trek up the final flights until they reached the floor they were headed for. Seto placed his hand on the doorknob to the twenty-fifth floor but halted when he heard a noise from the other side. Shizuka questioned him when he pressed his ear to the door to listen better. He didn't answer her.
The sound was faint, indicating that the danger, if any, was not immediately outside the door. As he was unable to distinguish what the nature of the sound was—only that something was there in the hallway—he decided to open the door anyway and investigate with vision. He slowly poked his head out of the cracked doorway with his pistol readied.
He escaped back into the staircase as he narrowly avoided a flailing object hurtling toward his head.
"What was that!" Shizuka exclaimed excitedly at the clattering. Seto hushed her with a hand out, so that he could better hear the noise from the hallway. He was finally able to distinguish voices—human voices––as they moved closer to Seto's location.
"Not another one on those freakin' things!" called the voice, which sounded deep enough to Seto to assume the owner was male.
"Not a monster, apparently," Seto explained to his charge.
"You mean... there are people out there? What are we waiting for?"
"I'm not rushing out there just to get attacked again," Seto argued. "It sounds like whoever it is has mistaken me for a hostile being, but the fact that I'm not won't necessarily stop a knee-jerk reaction. I'm not interested in getting shot at if he has weapons." Seto pressed his ear against the door and listened as more muffled words came.
"Did you have to launch my knife? Go pick it up!" A second voice sounded from the hallway, higher in pitch but still unrecognizable. The sound of footsteps approaching alerted Seto and he held his weapon out at eye level with his finger lightly brushing the trigger. He cautiously turned the door handle, and slowly—very slowly—pulled the door open a crack. As intended, the action gained the attention of the individuals in the hallway.
"Hey, look!" A third voice, sounding almost child-like, exclaimed. "Maybe it's not a monster!"
The owner of the first voice, closest to the door, retrieved the thrown weapon from the floor and held it out defensively as Seto pulled the door open wider. For an instant, Seto's hard gaze met the eyes of the human on the other side of the door. The face showed caution, and a trace of fear, and the man stepped back to let Seto slowly open the door.
"Onii-chan!" Shizuka exclaimed from behind Seto, upon seeing her big brother in his dangerous stance, with his weapon extended. She pushed past the CEO and carelessly attacked Jounouchi with a hug.
"Shizuka!" Jou folded the knife and let it fall back to the floor before wrapping both his arms tightly around his sister's back. "Where've you been, sis? I've been worryin' about you!" Shizuka tried to answer but she was hit with a wave of relief that left her trying to breathe through tears. Jounouchi only hugged her harder.
"Kaiba!" Mai announced. "What are you doing with Shizuka?" Hearing the man's name, Jou's eyes snapped to the open doorway and the brunet holstering a firearm.
"Hey, Rich Boy!" He shouted with a bitter tone to his already angry voice, then shifted his stance so he stood in between the girl and the man with a dangerous looking weapon. "What the hell were you doin' with my sister?"
Seto glared, annoyed. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with. She came to me for assistance, specifically to find you. Now that that's been accomplished and she's become your burden, I'll be on my way," he said with a hint of insincere cheer flowing in his voice. "I have my own things to take care of."
"Wait! Kaiba," Shizuka called to him before he could turn away. She released her brother. "I hate to ask after all you've already done for me, but…"
"Apparently you're going to anyway." Seto muttered under his breath.
"…But I wonder if we might be better off staying together. You have a good weapon, and-"
"What good could possibly be in it for me?" He demanded impatiently, not caring that he sounded selfish.
"Well, they say there's strength in numbers. I'm sure we could find a way to help you out, too."
"No thanks. I work better on my own. I'm not looking for a party—especially not one to waste my bullets for."
Shizuka looked to Mai and Yugi for support. She knew better than to ask her brother; he probably wanted to team up just as much as Seto did.
"Kaiba, hang on." Mai approached and looked him in the eye. She held up her folded knife, and he eyed it.
"Are you the ones who've been killing the monsters outside?" Jounouchi flashed a proud grin and nodded, but Seto only gave a cruel laugh. "You're doing a real piss-poor job. If you're just relying on that thing, you're eventually going to get yourselves killed."
"That's exactly what we're trying to say. And look," Mai gestured to her injured leg, which she'd been trying not to lean on. "We're already not doing so well."
"We came up here," Yugi added, "so Mai could rest, and to get a break from fighting those zombies. Not to mention, we wanted to stop and evaluate what's happening."
"The four of us could really use some muscle," Mai pressed. In the background, Jounouchi visibly deflated at the remark.
"I've got muscle…" he pouted to himself, flexing his bicep. Shizuka gave him a comforting smile and nodded to him.
"Can we at least help return the favor you showed to me?" Shizuka tried to refocus the group. "Let us help you find Mokuba. You know we'll probably find him faster with all five of us searching than if you went off by yourself."
Seto studied Shizuka's features, detecting no trace of treachery in her expression. Her plea, as far as he could tell, seemed genuine.
He shook his head at her. "You can't keep playing that card against me and expect it to work every time."
Shizuka frowned. "Kaiba, I'm not trying to trick you. I just feel like all of us will be better off together." There was a softness to her eyes. It disgusted him. He looked over the rest of her shabby crew. Yugi seemed practically useless in a fight, Jounouchi was about as advantageous as a bag of rocks, and regardless of whether or not Mai might have had any usefulness in combat, her injury appeared severe. Shizuka probably was doomed without him. He growled.
"Goddammit." He cursed under his breath, then spat, "Fine. I'll help you dweebs get out of the park, but that will be the point where my generosity dries up. But allow me to clarify a few things." He paused briefly to note that he held captive the group's attention. "First and foremost, Mokuba is my priority, in all contexts." Seto punctuated this point with a sweeping glare, as if his eyes were daring any one of them to defy him here. Nobody did.
"Next, I will not go out of my way to help you look for any more of your little 'pals', and I refuse to part with my personal weapon for any reason. And lastly," he spoke clearly, emphasizing each syllable as it leapt from his tongue, "In case you haven't noticed, this property is a survival zone, and I look after my own. That does not extend to any of you. If you get in my way, I will not be afraid to hurt you."
Mai waved the man off, unscathed by his threats, while Jounouchi ground his teeth to keep himself from an offended outburst.
Yugi gulped and nodded to Seto, feeling the odd responsibility to salute him as though Yugi were accepting orders from a commanding officer. After all, Seto did have a powerful commanding air.
But despite his threatening tone and harsh words, Shizuka only smiled at the man. "Thank you, Kaiba. We'll do our best to not slow you down." Seto narrowed his eyes at her, then spun on his heel. His trench coat made a wide, flowing sweep in the air as he did so.
Shizuka followed eagerly, and Jounouchi rushed to stay by her side. Yugi helped Mai limp along behind them, although her movements were quicker than they had been before.
"Hey, sis. You're not hurt, are you?" Jounouchi whispered as he fell into step with the rest of his group. Shizuka shook her head, but wasn't exactly thinking about the question. She looked toward the man's back down the hall taking long strides away from her group; the man who repeatedly scolded, berated and belittled her, and... her eyes glistened. He had also protected her, her inabilities notwithstanding, and that had made her feel, despite the chilliness of the outside air, a little bit warmer.
Seto reached his suite and paused in his stride to retrieve a key card, which he swiped through the card slot. A green light flashed and the door clicked open. The cautious brunet pushed it open further slowly with the handle of his new blade. Seeing no danger, he stepped inside, allowing for the others to follow.
Upon noting that the room was unoccupied, Seto's face set into a hard frown, which Shizuka hadn't failed to notice. She touched his arm, but he immediately pulled himself away.
"You were hoping he'd be here, weren't you?" She asked in low voice.
Seto acknowledged her question by catching her eye, but gave no indication of an answer.
A/N: This scene was, in combination with what I've written to accompany it, beginning to stretch on a little farther than I would like to post in one chapter, so I've decided to break it up here, and post both chapters at once - otherwise it feels to me as if I'm stopping nearly in the middle of a thought.
I have big plans for this story, so although we're on to chapter seven now, it feels to me as if we're just getting started. I still don't have much of an idea on how many chapters this will end up being by the end.
I expect the next update will happen somewhat soon as well. I am trying to update a little more often, without more of this one-post-a-month stuff.
Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading! You guys are, after all, why I'm here. I greatly value the time everyone has put into following.
Til next time!
~omgagr
