Greetings! I wanted to get this chapter out this weekend, so I sort of
rushed through it. I hope it's okay regardless. I'm not going to reply
to reviews this time, but I do want to say that I appreciate you all
taking the time to leave one, and I enjoy hearing what you all have to
say.
Enjoy!
Part 7: Close Calls and Last Goodbyes
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The sound of the man's voice brought a surge of anger, and I slammed my good arm backwards, hoping that my elbow would hit something vital. I smirked as my attacker hissed in pain, but instead of releasing me, he pushed me further into the wall.
"If you don't let go of me right now, I will have you arrested for assault, Shishio."
Shishio momentarily tightened his hold on me, before releasing me.
"Computer, lights."
The computer immediately complied, and the office was flooded with light. I had to squint slightly to let my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, and was satisfied to see Shishio doing the same thing. I pushed myself off the wall and then turned to face the company's financial officer.
"Well, Mr. Kaiba. Who would have thought I'd find you snooping around my office in the middle of the night," Shishio said, his voice laced with sarcasm. The man smirked and took a few steps away from me. "You really should be more careful, Seto. If I had been a security guard, you could have been seriously hurt."
"Is that a threat?" I asked.
The smirk on Shishio's face, along with the renewed pain in my shoulder and head, and the residual shock of being surprised served to fuel my anger. I clenched my jaw, but otherwise kept my face impassive.
"In case you haven't noticed," I said as I closed the distance between myself and Shishio, "this company belongs to me, which means that this office, along with everything else in it, is mine."
Shishio nodded and did not move from his spot. He was daring me to do something he could use against him later, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
"You have a good point, of course, boss," Shishio said, using the term 'boss' with as much lack of respect as he could muster. "How am I expected to do my job if I can't count on the security of my office?"
"If you were doing your job, and your job only, you wouldn't have a need to worry about who comes into your office," I said.
I walked away from the man and stopped just inside the door to the outer office.
"What are you doing here at this time?" I asked, surprising him.
The man looked around the outer office, and then shrugged. "I forgot my laptop," he answered finally. "I had some things to take care of before tomorrow, but I couldn't do that without the laptop."
I raised an eyebrow. I hadn't seen the laptop in the office, but then again, I hadn't bothered to turn on the lights. That was something else I was going to have to get a hold of if I wanted to be thorough in my search of Shishio's dealings.
"It seems to be a bit late to be working, don't you think?"
Shishio smirked again. "I could say the same thing, Seto."
I returned the smirk. "I'm the boss, as you pointed out, Shishio. I never stop working."
With that, I walked out of the office, slamming the door behind me. I went directly to the elevator and was relieved when the doors opened immediately. Once inside, I leaned against the wall and released the breath I'd been holding. My head was pounding, and a dull throb emanated from my jarred shoulder. My injuries were never going to heal if I didn't get the proper amount of rest, but I didn't have time to rest. I held out my hands and noticed that they were shaking slightly. Shishio had surprised and scared me more than I wanted to admit. The man was definitely up to something, and now, more than ever, I wanted to find out what it was.
"Mr. Kaiba."
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I hurt all over. The second thing was that my cheek was resting against my desk. The third thing I noticed was that it was no longer dark inside my office.
"Mr. Kaiba, are you alright?"
I groaned as I lifted my head off the desk. It felt as if it weighted thirty pounds and I had to reach out and catch myself on the edge of the desk as a wave of dizziness hit, threatening to send me to the floor. Soft hands were suddenly on my shoulders, keeping me from falling. They gently steadied me and helped me lean back on my chair.
"Mr. Kaiba, you don't look well. You should go back to the hospital."
I finally looked up to find Kumiko, the housekeeper, staring at me with a disapproving expression on her face. Her hands rested on her hips, which was a sure sign that she was unhappy.
"I'm fine, Kumiko, I just fell asleep at my desk."
Kumiko was the only person who would dare speak to me in such a manner. She'd known me since I'd first come to live at the Kaiba mansion, having been the housekeeper while Gozaburo had been alive, and had, on many occasions, nursed me through my various injuries at the hands of my adoptive father.
"You don't look fine, young man. You would have fallen if I hadn't caught you."
Kumiko's eyes softened, and she kneeled down so that she was at eye level with me. She didn't touch me, but I could tell that she wanted to. I turned away, because I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say and I wasn't going to like it.
"Seto, I know that losing Mokuba hit you very hard," Kumiko began in a soft voice, "because he was the only family you had left. Not taking care of yourself like this isn't going to bring him back."
I clenched my jaw and it took everything I had not to tell her to shut up. She would have listened to me if I had, but out of everyone in the world, Kumiko deserved my respect for always treating my brother and me with kindness, even when Gozaburo told her not to.
"Mokuba wouldn't want to see you hurting like this, and don't tell me that you're not, because I know you well enough."
I had to chuckle at that, though it wasn't due to any humor in the situation. She had definitely been around for my 'education' at the hands of my adoptive father, so she knew all of my coping mechanisms. No one had ever been able to read me as well as Mokuba, because my brother had definitely known almost everything there was to know about me, but Kumiko came very close.
She sighed. "I'm going to go tell the cook to make you breakfast, and you are going to eat it," she said. "I'll see you in the dining room in an hour."
With that, she left the room. I turned my head to watch her leave, and not for the first time wished my mother hadn't died. What would it be like to have someone to go to when I was feeling sad or upset? What would it be like to completely confide in someone else, to not have to shoulder the burden of my life on my own? I snorted. Those were stupid questions at best. What was the point of longing for something I could never have?
I gathered up my laptop, where I'd earlier downloaded the photos from my cellular phone, and took it up to my room. What I'd found greatly disturbed me. Shishio was keeping two copies of the company's financial record. The totals on the two did not match, because one was considerably lower than the other. That led me to investigate the company's earnings and compare them to the reports Shishio himself had given me to sign last month. They did not match either. The company was making a lot more money that I'd been told it was. What was missing was being siphoned off to an unknown place. There was no doubt that Shishio was the one taking the money, because he was the only one with the power to alter the financial records so well that he could even fool me. If I had never gone through his desk to find the duplicate report, I never would have realized what was being done.
I put the laptop on my bed and made my way to the bathroom. I started the shower and took off my clothes. I hadn't looked at myself in the mirror when I got home last night, so I was surprised to find a bruise on my left cheek. I didn't remember hitting my face, but it must have happened when Shishio shoved me into the wall. My left shoulder was also bruised and swollen. I hadn't felt any pain when I'd woken up, and the fact alarmed me slightly. I should be feeling something, shouldn't I? Experimentally, I moved the shoulder and gasped when a stab of pain rushed down my arm. I grimaced at my reflection.
"There's the pain," I said.
I held my arm as close to my chest as I could while I showered, which made it hard to do simple things like wash my hair and body. It took me twice as long to shower with only one arm, but it finally got done. I dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt, and quickly went downstairs before Kumiko came up to look for me. I ran into her halfway down the stairs.
"I was about to go drag you down to breakfast," she said, smiling.
My only response was a grunt. I walked past her and into the dining room, where breakfast was already served. I wasn't hungry, but I sat down anyway, hoping that the mere fact I was here would keep Kumiko away. I placed the laptop on the table beside my plate and continued my review of everything I'd found out the night before.
Shishio's bank account reflected a lot of recent activity. He'd both received and transferred large amounts of money in the past few months. I hadn't been able to trace where the money had gone, but according to the records, the money that Shishio had received had come from a company called Industrias Nacionales, S. A. de C. V. based out of Mexico City. The records reflected the money as 'business expense reimbursement', but Kaiba Corp. did not have any dealings with any companies in Mexico. Whatever expenses Shishio had accrued had nothing to do with Kaiba Corp. Shishio was being paid off to do something, and I wanted to know what it was.
Now that I had some clues about what Shishio was doing, I wanted to investigate Spencer. I needed to go to the United States as soon as possible to see how much I could dig up on my other financial officer. The sound of someone clearing their throat to my right alerted me to the person standing quietly by the door, and I looked up to find Charles, the butler, watching me.
"Charles, just the man I wanted to see," I said as I waved him into the room. "I need you to get the jet ready to go to San Francisco. I want to leave as soon as possible. I'd normally fly myself, but I can't with this arm." I lifted my arm for emphasis.
"Very well, Mr. Kaiba. I will have the jet fueled and a pilot ready in a few hours."
"Was there something else?" I asked when Charles didn't leave to do what I'd asked him to do.
"Yes, there is. I hired a new driver. He's taken the limo and gone to take Mr. Moto to school as you instructed."
That got me out of my chair so fast that it toppled backwards and landed on the floor with a loud crash. "What?"
Charles stared at me, his eyes wide with surprise.
"I had a message from you waiting for me this morning to have Mr. Moto taken to school. I sent the driver to take care of it," Charles explained.
"I left you no such message, Charles," I said.
I didn't wait for any more explanations. I had a sinking feeling that despite my efforts, Yugi had just been dragged into this whole mess. I ran to the garage, grabbed a set of keys off the wall where the various key chains hung, and headed for the correct vehicle. The garage door was already open from earlier when the driver had taken out the limo, which I was grateful for. If it hadn't been, I would have driven right through it.
I made my way to Yugi's house as fast as I dared, not caring about who honked or cursed at me as I passed by. I narrowly avoided colliding with several cars and was on Yugi's street in record time. I didn't see my limo anywhere on the street, and as I neared Yugi's house, I noticed his grandfather out sweeping. Mr. Moto usually came out to sweep after Yugi left for school, so I didn't bother to stop. I floored it, and got out onto the main street once again.
Ahead of me, I saw a glimpse of a black car heading in the direction of the high school. I followed it, honking at people to get them out of my way. I was two cars behind it when I realized that I'd found my limo. I honked, hoping it would notice me and stop, but instead of doing that, it turned down a side street and sped up. I turned immediately after it, waiting for my chance to pass it. I got it a few blocks down, but ended up scraping the side of my car on a badly placed mailbox. I had to swerve into the sidewalk to avoid a stray dog, and flattened someone's lawn accessories in the process. I barely glanced back, intent on cutting off my limo. When I cleared it, I swerved onto its lane and hit the brakes, forcing the driver of the limo to come to a stop, or plow right into me. He stopped, but not in time to avoid hitting me. The impact sent me forward, until the seatbelt caught me and stopped me from hitting the windshield. My shoulder took another beating though, and I could already imagine the bruises that were going to form across my chest and shoulder.
I got out of the car and opened the driver's door. The man had unbuckled his seat belt so I had no trouble at all hauling him out. I pushed him against the hood of the car, while he struggled to get up.
"Yugi, get out of the car!" I yelled, before turning to the driver. "Who the hell are you? Who are you working for?"
I'd lost my patience and calm somewhere along the way, and was now seething. I pushed the man further into the hood, waiting for a reply.
"Kaiba, what's going on?"
I turned to find Yugi standing beside the back of the limo, his backpack in his hand, staring at me in complete confusion.
"Are you okay?" I asked him.
He nodded. "I'm fine."
Good, now that his wellbeing had been established, I turned back to the driver. "I asked you a question, now answer it!"
"My name is Takeshi Suzuki," the man said, his voice muffled by the hood of the limo. "I work for you, Mr. Kaiba. I was hired yesterday."
"Who hired you?" I asked. I pulled the man up off the hood, turned him around and slammed him into the side of the limo. "Who told you to come work for me?"
The man's eyes were wide, and his expression was one of fear. To his credit, he stood up to me and didn't back down.
"Your butler, Charles, hired me. He found me through an agency, and told me to come in to work this morning. I'm just doing what I was told to do. I didn't think I was going to get beaten up during the course of my workday."
He didn't seem to be lying, which made me even angrier. He was either completely innocent or a damn good actor. I was very good at reading people, and I couldn't read any malice in this man. He seemed a bit frightened and angry at the rough treatment, but he wasn't acting like he'd planned to kidnap Yugi or anything.
I released him, and he immediately straightened out his rumpled clothing. He looked at Yugi, before he turned back to me. "Now what?"
I took a deep breath, willing myself to be calm.
"Take the limo back to the house and have the damage repaired. I'll take care of my car later."
"Are you going to fire me?" he asked.
I looked at him for a moment, unsure of the answer to that. "Just go back to the house. I'll decide what to do later."
I walked away from him, grabbed Yugi's arm and led him towards my car. I sat him in the passenger seat and got in behind the wheel. I kept the car where it was until the limo was out of sight, then pulled out my cell phone and dialed a very familiar number.
"Charles," I said when the butler answered, "I'm sending Takeshi back to the house. Keep him there until I get back."
"Is everything okay, Mr. Kaiba?" Charles wanted to know.
"Everything is fine for now. Did you do a background check on him?"
"Of course, sir. He checked out. That's why I hired him."
I sighed. "Well, keep him at the house anyway. Don't let him leave, no matter what he says, okay?"
There was a momentary silence on the other line, before Charles answered that he understood.
"Oh, there's some damage to the limo," I said as an afterthought, "have it fixed."
"Yes, sir."
I hung up the phone, and came face to face with a very concerned Yugi.
"Now you get to tell me what's going on," he said.
I suddenly felt very tired. I didn't want to lie to Yugi. We had just started a relationship and already it was being based on lies. I was doing it for his best interest, however. He was important to me, and I wanted to keep him safe. If that meant lying to him, then so be it.
"It was a mistake, Yugi, nothing more. My driver got a little overzealous and forgot that I was going to take you to school instead."
Yugi's expression was one of disbelief. He wasn't stupid, and that excuse seemed lame even to me.
"So you rushed all the way out here, chased down your limo, cut it off, pulled the driver out of the car, roughed him up a bit and sent him home just because he decided to come pick me up? Do you think I'm an idiot, Kaiba?"
I sighed. "No, Yugi, I don't think you're an idiot," I said. "However, I do think that you're going to be late for school if I don't get you there within the next ten minutes."
"You're stalling, Kaiba."
I smiled. "Yes, Yugi, I am. I'm leaving for San Francisco later today, but I'll give you a call to let you know how things are. I will explain all of this to you, I promise, but for now, you're late for school."
Yugi shook his head, but let it go. He got out of the car, closed the door, and leaned through the open window.
"You're not going to get out of this explanation, you know that, right?"
"Yes, I know. Have a good day at school, Yugi."
Yugi smiled. "Have a good trip. I'll talk to you tonight."
With one last wave, he was gone. I sat in the car and watched him until he entered the building, my chest tightening with each step he took away from me. I wanted to get out of the car, run after him and take him with me so that I'd know he was safe, but I couldn't do that. I was already disrupting his life enough as it was. Besides, I was only going to be gone for a few days. We'd have plenty of time to talk when I got back.
Next up: Now what fun would that be if I just told you what was coming up? I'll let you all ponder that for a week or so.
Enjoy!
Part 7: Close Calls and Last Goodbyes
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The sound of the man's voice brought a surge of anger, and I slammed my good arm backwards, hoping that my elbow would hit something vital. I smirked as my attacker hissed in pain, but instead of releasing me, he pushed me further into the wall.
"If you don't let go of me right now, I will have you arrested for assault, Shishio."
Shishio momentarily tightened his hold on me, before releasing me.
"Computer, lights."
The computer immediately complied, and the office was flooded with light. I had to squint slightly to let my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, and was satisfied to see Shishio doing the same thing. I pushed myself off the wall and then turned to face the company's financial officer.
"Well, Mr. Kaiba. Who would have thought I'd find you snooping around my office in the middle of the night," Shishio said, his voice laced with sarcasm. The man smirked and took a few steps away from me. "You really should be more careful, Seto. If I had been a security guard, you could have been seriously hurt."
"Is that a threat?" I asked.
The smirk on Shishio's face, along with the renewed pain in my shoulder and head, and the residual shock of being surprised served to fuel my anger. I clenched my jaw, but otherwise kept my face impassive.
"In case you haven't noticed," I said as I closed the distance between myself and Shishio, "this company belongs to me, which means that this office, along with everything else in it, is mine."
Shishio nodded and did not move from his spot. He was daring me to do something he could use against him later, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
"You have a good point, of course, boss," Shishio said, using the term 'boss' with as much lack of respect as he could muster. "How am I expected to do my job if I can't count on the security of my office?"
"If you were doing your job, and your job only, you wouldn't have a need to worry about who comes into your office," I said.
I walked away from the man and stopped just inside the door to the outer office.
"What are you doing here at this time?" I asked, surprising him.
The man looked around the outer office, and then shrugged. "I forgot my laptop," he answered finally. "I had some things to take care of before tomorrow, but I couldn't do that without the laptop."
I raised an eyebrow. I hadn't seen the laptop in the office, but then again, I hadn't bothered to turn on the lights. That was something else I was going to have to get a hold of if I wanted to be thorough in my search of Shishio's dealings.
"It seems to be a bit late to be working, don't you think?"
Shishio smirked again. "I could say the same thing, Seto."
I returned the smirk. "I'm the boss, as you pointed out, Shishio. I never stop working."
With that, I walked out of the office, slamming the door behind me. I went directly to the elevator and was relieved when the doors opened immediately. Once inside, I leaned against the wall and released the breath I'd been holding. My head was pounding, and a dull throb emanated from my jarred shoulder. My injuries were never going to heal if I didn't get the proper amount of rest, but I didn't have time to rest. I held out my hands and noticed that they were shaking slightly. Shishio had surprised and scared me more than I wanted to admit. The man was definitely up to something, and now, more than ever, I wanted to find out what it was.
"Mr. Kaiba."
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I hurt all over. The second thing was that my cheek was resting against my desk. The third thing I noticed was that it was no longer dark inside my office.
"Mr. Kaiba, are you alright?"
I groaned as I lifted my head off the desk. It felt as if it weighted thirty pounds and I had to reach out and catch myself on the edge of the desk as a wave of dizziness hit, threatening to send me to the floor. Soft hands were suddenly on my shoulders, keeping me from falling. They gently steadied me and helped me lean back on my chair.
"Mr. Kaiba, you don't look well. You should go back to the hospital."
I finally looked up to find Kumiko, the housekeeper, staring at me with a disapproving expression on her face. Her hands rested on her hips, which was a sure sign that she was unhappy.
"I'm fine, Kumiko, I just fell asleep at my desk."
Kumiko was the only person who would dare speak to me in such a manner. She'd known me since I'd first come to live at the Kaiba mansion, having been the housekeeper while Gozaburo had been alive, and had, on many occasions, nursed me through my various injuries at the hands of my adoptive father.
"You don't look fine, young man. You would have fallen if I hadn't caught you."
Kumiko's eyes softened, and she kneeled down so that she was at eye level with me. She didn't touch me, but I could tell that she wanted to. I turned away, because I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say and I wasn't going to like it.
"Seto, I know that losing Mokuba hit you very hard," Kumiko began in a soft voice, "because he was the only family you had left. Not taking care of yourself like this isn't going to bring him back."
I clenched my jaw and it took everything I had not to tell her to shut up. She would have listened to me if I had, but out of everyone in the world, Kumiko deserved my respect for always treating my brother and me with kindness, even when Gozaburo told her not to.
"Mokuba wouldn't want to see you hurting like this, and don't tell me that you're not, because I know you well enough."
I had to chuckle at that, though it wasn't due to any humor in the situation. She had definitely been around for my 'education' at the hands of my adoptive father, so she knew all of my coping mechanisms. No one had ever been able to read me as well as Mokuba, because my brother had definitely known almost everything there was to know about me, but Kumiko came very close.
She sighed. "I'm going to go tell the cook to make you breakfast, and you are going to eat it," she said. "I'll see you in the dining room in an hour."
With that, she left the room. I turned my head to watch her leave, and not for the first time wished my mother hadn't died. What would it be like to have someone to go to when I was feeling sad or upset? What would it be like to completely confide in someone else, to not have to shoulder the burden of my life on my own? I snorted. Those were stupid questions at best. What was the point of longing for something I could never have?
I gathered up my laptop, where I'd earlier downloaded the photos from my cellular phone, and took it up to my room. What I'd found greatly disturbed me. Shishio was keeping two copies of the company's financial record. The totals on the two did not match, because one was considerably lower than the other. That led me to investigate the company's earnings and compare them to the reports Shishio himself had given me to sign last month. They did not match either. The company was making a lot more money that I'd been told it was. What was missing was being siphoned off to an unknown place. There was no doubt that Shishio was the one taking the money, because he was the only one with the power to alter the financial records so well that he could even fool me. If I had never gone through his desk to find the duplicate report, I never would have realized what was being done.
I put the laptop on my bed and made my way to the bathroom. I started the shower and took off my clothes. I hadn't looked at myself in the mirror when I got home last night, so I was surprised to find a bruise on my left cheek. I didn't remember hitting my face, but it must have happened when Shishio shoved me into the wall. My left shoulder was also bruised and swollen. I hadn't felt any pain when I'd woken up, and the fact alarmed me slightly. I should be feeling something, shouldn't I? Experimentally, I moved the shoulder and gasped when a stab of pain rushed down my arm. I grimaced at my reflection.
"There's the pain," I said.
I held my arm as close to my chest as I could while I showered, which made it hard to do simple things like wash my hair and body. It took me twice as long to shower with only one arm, but it finally got done. I dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt, and quickly went downstairs before Kumiko came up to look for me. I ran into her halfway down the stairs.
"I was about to go drag you down to breakfast," she said, smiling.
My only response was a grunt. I walked past her and into the dining room, where breakfast was already served. I wasn't hungry, but I sat down anyway, hoping that the mere fact I was here would keep Kumiko away. I placed the laptop on the table beside my plate and continued my review of everything I'd found out the night before.
Shishio's bank account reflected a lot of recent activity. He'd both received and transferred large amounts of money in the past few months. I hadn't been able to trace where the money had gone, but according to the records, the money that Shishio had received had come from a company called Industrias Nacionales, S. A. de C. V. based out of Mexico City. The records reflected the money as 'business expense reimbursement', but Kaiba Corp. did not have any dealings with any companies in Mexico. Whatever expenses Shishio had accrued had nothing to do with Kaiba Corp. Shishio was being paid off to do something, and I wanted to know what it was.
Now that I had some clues about what Shishio was doing, I wanted to investigate Spencer. I needed to go to the United States as soon as possible to see how much I could dig up on my other financial officer. The sound of someone clearing their throat to my right alerted me to the person standing quietly by the door, and I looked up to find Charles, the butler, watching me.
"Charles, just the man I wanted to see," I said as I waved him into the room. "I need you to get the jet ready to go to San Francisco. I want to leave as soon as possible. I'd normally fly myself, but I can't with this arm." I lifted my arm for emphasis.
"Very well, Mr. Kaiba. I will have the jet fueled and a pilot ready in a few hours."
"Was there something else?" I asked when Charles didn't leave to do what I'd asked him to do.
"Yes, there is. I hired a new driver. He's taken the limo and gone to take Mr. Moto to school as you instructed."
That got me out of my chair so fast that it toppled backwards and landed on the floor with a loud crash. "What?"
Charles stared at me, his eyes wide with surprise.
"I had a message from you waiting for me this morning to have Mr. Moto taken to school. I sent the driver to take care of it," Charles explained.
"I left you no such message, Charles," I said.
I didn't wait for any more explanations. I had a sinking feeling that despite my efforts, Yugi had just been dragged into this whole mess. I ran to the garage, grabbed a set of keys off the wall where the various key chains hung, and headed for the correct vehicle. The garage door was already open from earlier when the driver had taken out the limo, which I was grateful for. If it hadn't been, I would have driven right through it.
I made my way to Yugi's house as fast as I dared, not caring about who honked or cursed at me as I passed by. I narrowly avoided colliding with several cars and was on Yugi's street in record time. I didn't see my limo anywhere on the street, and as I neared Yugi's house, I noticed his grandfather out sweeping. Mr. Moto usually came out to sweep after Yugi left for school, so I didn't bother to stop. I floored it, and got out onto the main street once again.
Ahead of me, I saw a glimpse of a black car heading in the direction of the high school. I followed it, honking at people to get them out of my way. I was two cars behind it when I realized that I'd found my limo. I honked, hoping it would notice me and stop, but instead of doing that, it turned down a side street and sped up. I turned immediately after it, waiting for my chance to pass it. I got it a few blocks down, but ended up scraping the side of my car on a badly placed mailbox. I had to swerve into the sidewalk to avoid a stray dog, and flattened someone's lawn accessories in the process. I barely glanced back, intent on cutting off my limo. When I cleared it, I swerved onto its lane and hit the brakes, forcing the driver of the limo to come to a stop, or plow right into me. He stopped, but not in time to avoid hitting me. The impact sent me forward, until the seatbelt caught me and stopped me from hitting the windshield. My shoulder took another beating though, and I could already imagine the bruises that were going to form across my chest and shoulder.
I got out of the car and opened the driver's door. The man had unbuckled his seat belt so I had no trouble at all hauling him out. I pushed him against the hood of the car, while he struggled to get up.
"Yugi, get out of the car!" I yelled, before turning to the driver. "Who the hell are you? Who are you working for?"
I'd lost my patience and calm somewhere along the way, and was now seething. I pushed the man further into the hood, waiting for a reply.
"Kaiba, what's going on?"
I turned to find Yugi standing beside the back of the limo, his backpack in his hand, staring at me in complete confusion.
"Are you okay?" I asked him.
He nodded. "I'm fine."
Good, now that his wellbeing had been established, I turned back to the driver. "I asked you a question, now answer it!"
"My name is Takeshi Suzuki," the man said, his voice muffled by the hood of the limo. "I work for you, Mr. Kaiba. I was hired yesterday."
"Who hired you?" I asked. I pulled the man up off the hood, turned him around and slammed him into the side of the limo. "Who told you to come work for me?"
The man's eyes were wide, and his expression was one of fear. To his credit, he stood up to me and didn't back down.
"Your butler, Charles, hired me. He found me through an agency, and told me to come in to work this morning. I'm just doing what I was told to do. I didn't think I was going to get beaten up during the course of my workday."
He didn't seem to be lying, which made me even angrier. He was either completely innocent or a damn good actor. I was very good at reading people, and I couldn't read any malice in this man. He seemed a bit frightened and angry at the rough treatment, but he wasn't acting like he'd planned to kidnap Yugi or anything.
I released him, and he immediately straightened out his rumpled clothing. He looked at Yugi, before he turned back to me. "Now what?"
I took a deep breath, willing myself to be calm.
"Take the limo back to the house and have the damage repaired. I'll take care of my car later."
"Are you going to fire me?" he asked.
I looked at him for a moment, unsure of the answer to that. "Just go back to the house. I'll decide what to do later."
I walked away from him, grabbed Yugi's arm and led him towards my car. I sat him in the passenger seat and got in behind the wheel. I kept the car where it was until the limo was out of sight, then pulled out my cell phone and dialed a very familiar number.
"Charles," I said when the butler answered, "I'm sending Takeshi back to the house. Keep him there until I get back."
"Is everything okay, Mr. Kaiba?" Charles wanted to know.
"Everything is fine for now. Did you do a background check on him?"
"Of course, sir. He checked out. That's why I hired him."
I sighed. "Well, keep him at the house anyway. Don't let him leave, no matter what he says, okay?"
There was a momentary silence on the other line, before Charles answered that he understood.
"Oh, there's some damage to the limo," I said as an afterthought, "have it fixed."
"Yes, sir."
I hung up the phone, and came face to face with a very concerned Yugi.
"Now you get to tell me what's going on," he said.
I suddenly felt very tired. I didn't want to lie to Yugi. We had just started a relationship and already it was being based on lies. I was doing it for his best interest, however. He was important to me, and I wanted to keep him safe. If that meant lying to him, then so be it.
"It was a mistake, Yugi, nothing more. My driver got a little overzealous and forgot that I was going to take you to school instead."
Yugi's expression was one of disbelief. He wasn't stupid, and that excuse seemed lame even to me.
"So you rushed all the way out here, chased down your limo, cut it off, pulled the driver out of the car, roughed him up a bit and sent him home just because he decided to come pick me up? Do you think I'm an idiot, Kaiba?"
I sighed. "No, Yugi, I don't think you're an idiot," I said. "However, I do think that you're going to be late for school if I don't get you there within the next ten minutes."
"You're stalling, Kaiba."
I smiled. "Yes, Yugi, I am. I'm leaving for San Francisco later today, but I'll give you a call to let you know how things are. I will explain all of this to you, I promise, but for now, you're late for school."
Yugi shook his head, but let it go. He got out of the car, closed the door, and leaned through the open window.
"You're not going to get out of this explanation, you know that, right?"
"Yes, I know. Have a good day at school, Yugi."
Yugi smiled. "Have a good trip. I'll talk to you tonight."
With one last wave, he was gone. I sat in the car and watched him until he entered the building, my chest tightening with each step he took away from me. I wanted to get out of the car, run after him and take him with me so that I'd know he was safe, but I couldn't do that. I was already disrupting his life enough as it was. Besides, I was only going to be gone for a few days. We'd have plenty of time to talk when I got back.
Next up: Now what fun would that be if I just told you what was coming up? I'll let you all ponder that for a week or so.
