Chapter 9
He watched her keenly from behind the rim of his paper cup. She sat daintily in a chair two tables in front of him, and one across, her back to him as she chatted with two of her friends. Her laughter was delicate, like the ring of a bell, and it seemed to be quite infectious because now she had both of her friends laughing too. This was not just any woman, no: it was a beautiful one, as could be seen by the numerous male glances in her direction. She had long, shining auburn hair, and big doe eyes peeking out from behind her bangs. Her face was heart-shaped and it held a sweet expression (she was quite innocent and naïve, he could just tell).
Sipping slowly from the cup, he contemplated how to get her alone in someplace quiet. Perhaps if he waited long enough, she would leave her friends in favour of walking down the street she had come through earlier. He hoped so, since it looked to be mostly bereft of people and would do well for what he planned. It was an amazing stroke of luck that he had run into her at all, actually. An interesting coincidence. Now he had the perfect lure (or would have) to bring his enemies into his trap. And all he needed now was the right moment, just the right timing and she would be his...
The woman laughed again, moving one hand up to cover her mouth politely. Her feet were crossed at the ankles underneath her chair, he noticed, and she tended to fold her hands neatly in her lap when she wasn't holding her cup. Would she scream or try to fight him? He highly doubted it.
He glanced away for a moment, eyeing the street and the small groups of people walking down it. It was good that it was not a busy day for shoppers. He needed as few people as possible...so he would have to worry about less witnesses. As he turned his gaze back to watch the woman again, he realized that she was making to leave. Gathering what was left of their morning coffee and pastries, the three girls left the table and started to walk down the street away from the coffee shop. Waiting a little while to be sure that they wouldn't notice, he also gathered his things and left his table, following in their footsteps.
All three of them walked slowly down the street, talking amiably with each other, distracted enough that one of them almost ran into another person walking in the opposite direction. He took careful consideration in making himself seem invisible by pretending to be more interested in his coffee than anything else. They were making it difficult for him to follow, in that he had to be even slower than them in order to stay far behind. Soon it would get to be problematic, if the crowds lessened any more and they realized they were being followed. He dropped the idea and decided to focus on the current situation, instead of the 'what ifs'.
They came to a corner, and to his pleasure, the woman bid her two friends goodbye and turned at the corner while they continued on down the street. He took another slow sip of his drink and hummed a tune under his breath, keeping his gaze upward as he too turned the corner. She was further down the street than he had expected; skipping somewhat and singing aloud a verse or two from a popular pop song, she was approaching another corner just ahead of her. Looking up and down the street they were on, he was excited to find that there was no one that he could see. The buildings were all small businesses, however, and so soon someone was likely to walk out of one of them and find the two of them there —he had better get this over with quickly. The coffee was discarded from his hand.
He picked up his pace and advanced towards her. Humming loudly to herself, she didn't hear him coming until it was already too late. Letting out a muffled cry, she grabbed the hand covering her mouth with both her own and tried to pull it away. "Now listen," he murmured darkly in one ear, "struggle any and I'll make you regret it. Come along nicely, Serenity, and I may just leave you conscious. Do those sound like acceptable terms to you?" He pulled her closer to his body in order to further restrict her movement. Trembling, she tilted her head back in order to get a look at her assailant, and then stared at him with wide eyes. The expression in his own eyes were reflected in hers: a deep need for revenge coupled with horrible experience and knowledge. His patience was rewarded; she nodded slightly in acquiescence. "Good," he purred in satisfaction, "now come with me. And don't make a fuss."
Gripping one of her wrists with one hand, he lead her back up the street. "Who are you?" She whispered meekly, stumbling a little at his quick pace.
Directing a feral grin over his shoulder, he answered. "Dr. Yoshida."
He was surprised at the sudden firmness in her voice, even though her skin still quivered beneath his hand. "My big brother Joey will come and rescue me, just you wait." She told him.
His grin only widened in response. "Oh, but that's exactly what I'm hoping for, my dear."
Serenity trailed behind in his black shadow and prayed to whatever gods were listening, that they might lead her brother to her and allow her to come home safe.
And somewhere in a different world so distant from her own, three gods of Egypt heard her plea.
And prepared to send an answer.
xXx
In a small, cozy living room of a certain Game Shop, there were crowded a number of people currently having an argument. One was called Seto Kaiba —he stood the tallest out of all of them, and he used this height to his advantage in trying to intimidate the others into agreeing with him. The second person, who was not easily intimidated, was busy trying to make Kaiba back down by shouting directly into his face. His name was Joey Wheeler. There stood behind Joey two of his friends. One was Téa Gardner, a stubborn woman who was trying to get Joey to calm down. The other was Tristan Taylor, who was busy egging Joey on. A little distance away were the more calm members of the gathering: Yuugi Mutou, and Ryou Bakura. These two sat on the couch in stressed silence, both unsure of how to rectify the situation.
"It'd be much easier if we just stormed the warehouse now. The quicker we get at him, the sooner this crazy stuff will be over with! It's for the good of your company, Kaiba, or did ya forget that?" Joey snapped.
"This is how you'll get yourself killed one day, Wheeler. If you continue to think with such ridiculous reasoning, soon no one will listen to anything you have to say at all. If we go in without a plan, we're sure to get blindsided with something we hadn't expected! This situation requires some critical thinking. And don't you dare tell me I've forgotten about the welfare of my company, ever! You know nothing of how hard I've worked to keep the Kaiba Corporation intact and in my hands. I've dealt with thieves before...so I think you should let me decide how to handle this," Kaiba retorted hotly. His voice was not as loud as Joey's, but it was no less sharp.
"Oh, so now we have no say in figuring out how to stop the guy?" Tristan shot at him.
Joey was very nearly pulling his hair out in frustration. "It's just like you to disregard everybody else's opinion, you know that? He has a Millennium Item! So now we're all involved, whether you like it or not. We're the only ones who really know about the power of these things. So we're definitely going to help bring this guy down, and you've just got to deal with that, okay?"
Téa put one hand on his arm. "Joey, calm down! Of course we're going to help. Kaiba wasn't implying that we wouldn't, at all," she tried for a stern tone, but Kaiba's voice easily overpowered hers.
"Not like you geeks will be any help at all, anyway," he sneered down at them.
Joey grabbed a fist full of Kaiba's shirt and growled in his face. "Why you little—"
Yuugi stood up hastily, holding out his hands in an expression of peace. "Guys, I think maybe we should just try to..."
"—rotten corporate scum, you—"
"...I think we all just need to calm down!" Yuugi shouted. Startled a bit, everyone turned to look at the flustered man, totally unused to hearing him yell. Yuugi took a deep breath, preparing to make a speech.
The phone rang.
Yuugi glanced at the door that led into the storefront and gave the group an apologetic look, saying, "Oh, just wait one moment, please. Everyone try and calm down for a second. Just let me answer this." He ducked out of the room and removed the receiver from its holder, hitting the flashing 'talk' button. Lowering his voice slightly, he said, "Hello, this is the Game Shop..."
"Hello, Pharaoh."
Yuugi's heart skipped a beat. For a single moment, all of his past flashed through his mind, and he found his throat choked up a little. And then he realized the problem behind this one statement: he was not the Pharaoh. Who was this person that had used that title so seriously? Who immediately knew his voice, and called him such a thing that he had not had directed to him in years?
"I suppose you're wondering who this is," continued the voice, as if reading his thoughts, "and you're wondering why I've called you such a thing, when you are obviously not him. Because you no longer have the Millennium Puzzle, do you, Yuugi Mutou? The spirit of the Pharaoh is no longer with you. Why is this? How did this come to be? I do not know, and I suppose you will not be interested in telling me, would you?"
The group had filtered into the storefront, wondering what Yuugi was doing (they had not heard his voice since he had answered the phone). Seeing his stricken expression, they stared in confusion and waited for an explanation from him.
"No, I suppose not," mused the man on the other end of the line, "I'll tell you who I am, shall I? This is the man you know as Dr. Yoshida speaking."
Yuugi jerked backwards from the phone in reaction, a little stunned, "Dr. Yoshida?" He cried out, and everyone in the room gasped.
"What is he saying? What does he want? Well?" Kaiba started demanding.
But Yuugi had no time to answer him. He heard a quiet chuckle from the other end of the line and hurriedly put the phone back to his ear. "Ah...the famous Seto Kaiba, if I am guessing correctly. Are all of your friends there with you then Yuugi, listening in? I'll tell you what I want, then. I really think we should meet face to face. And I have the perfect location in mind —you know where."
He knows we searched his hotel room. Yuugi reached for and found his voice. "And why should I meet up with you?" He asked thickly.
"Well, because I have something that might be rather important to you. Should you refuse, a young Miss Serenity Wheeler is likely to get hurt. And neither you nor your friend Joey would want that to happen, now would you?" Another low chuckle.
Yuugi fought the rising panic. "Serenity? What have you done with her?"
"Oh, nothing, for now..."
Joey leaped forward and grabbed the phone from Yuugi's hand. "Where the hell is my sister, you monster?" He shrieked into the mouthpiece.
There was a moment's pause, barely a second, but it was almost too much for everyone in the room as they tried to get a grip on the situation suddenly thrust upon them. And then there was an answer for Joey. "Come meet me at the warehouse, as soon as you can. I'll be waiting."
Click.
Joey stared in growing horror at the piece of technology lying so innocently in his palm. The dial tone resonated lowly from it, the only noise now sounding in the Game Shop. Wetting his lips, Yuugi searched for something to say. He reached forward and took the phone from Joey's still hand, hitting the 'off' button to stop the sound. "Joey...we can't know for sure...whether he has your sister," Yuugi whispered encouragingly. He did not know why he felt he had to whisper, but the breaking the silence suddenly seemed like taboo.
Jerking his head up, Joey turned and stared at Yuugi gratefully. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. I'll phone her now, that's what I'll do. Give me the phone, Yuugi. She should be home now anyway." Yuugi passed the phone back to Joey. A slow cold was making its way into his lungs from someplace he could not name, and breathing evenly was becoming a little difficult. Wishing hard that Serenity would pick up the phone, Yuugi and the others waited with baited breath as Joey dialled and placed the phone to his ear.
It was quiet enough to hear the answering machine coming from the phone against Joey's ear. A little angry, or panicked, or maybe both, Joey hung up and dialled again.
There was another beep as the answering machine picked up the call once again. Frustrated, Joey hung up and slammed the phone back into its receiver. "I'll go over there. I've gotta see for myself." He said firmly.
Kaiba grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face him. "Do that, Wheeler, and you may just be walking right into a trap. He went after your sister for a reason...don't think this is just random coincidence. This man knows you, Joey. And he knows far more than that, too, to be able to predict how we'd respond to this. Don't you see? It's a whole new game now."
Joey slapped his hand away, and his voice rose back up from the quiet murmur it had been before. "Don't tell me what to do about my sister, Kaiba! I'm gonna go an' find out for sure whether she's been kidnapped. Going to her home's the only way to really know, 'cause we can't trust this guy's word. And don't you call this a game, Kaiba! This is far more than that, okay? I've got to go see if my sister's at home, see if she's okay. So don't think you can stop me. I can take care of myself," he declared haughtily. Kaiba narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. He did not seem inclined to argue with Joey any longer, and so Joey turned to his friend Tristan. "Come on, let's go." He stalked out of the store.
Tristan started to go after him, and then stopped half-way out the door and gave Yuugi a determined look. "Don't worry, man. I'll look after him. We'll call you as soon as we know for sure, okay?" Yuugi nodded.
"Good luck, Tristan." Téa told him unhappily. He would need it.
Tristan left the store, the door banging closed behind him. Kaiba spoke up again. "Listen, Yuugi, if you continue to let your friend go on doing such reckless things, he's going to get somebody hurt. How do you know you're going to get a call at all? How long would you be prepared to wait for one...before deciding someone might possibly be hurt and going to see for yourself? Have you thought of any of this at all? Have you two thought of this?" He added as an afterthought, giving a stern glance to both Bakura and Téa. They looked a little uncertain, but then Bakura answered in a determined tone.
"You're right, Kaiba. We don't know if they'll come back. But we've got to have faith in our friends. Otherwise, who can we trust? So we've got to believe that they'll call. And that they'll come back." Bakura responded.
Yuugi and Téa looked at him in surprise, and then Yuugi broke into a small smile for the first time in a long while. "You're right, Bakura. How could I have forgotten to have faith? Joey will phone us soon, Kaiba, just you wait."
Kaiba sighed. "You guys go on and keep believing in your 'bonds of friendship', why don't you. I prefer to stick closer to facts." He turned toward the door, having had quite enough of the group for the day. Yuugi, Bakura, and Téa shared a look behind his back. There was no point in arguing with him. "And Yuugi...we still haven't reached a conclusion about what to do about this situation. Call me again when we can have a better more serious discussion. Until then, we should just think about coming up with a plan."
"All right, Kaiba." Yuugi agreed.
He did not answer, and left the Game Shop with no more sound than the bell on the door and the swish of his long white coat. There was a slight relaxation in each of the three people who remained. The situation was still tense, but now more bearable, at least, now that the more hot-headed members of the group had left. Téa broke the silence. "What are we going to do now, you guys? If Joey calls us and tells us for sure that his sister is missing, then you know he's going to want to go after her, regardless of what Kaiba says. Maybe even because of what Kaiba says," she sighed.
Bakura shrugged uncomfortably. "But Kaiba's right in that we have to think about all of this before we really do anything. We don't even know this guy. We just know about things that he's done. I mean, we haven't even seen him in person yet. So how do we know what kind of person he is, really? He could be awfully careful and strategic and we wouldn't even know it. So we'd be walking into that place without knowing what he's capable of."
"But," Yuugi hesitated and then went on with a deep breath, "the longer we leave this guy alone while we try and figure out a plan, the longer he has a chance to come up with something to thwart us with. And he has a better view of all of this than we do, after all...I just mean, it seems like he knows us and can figure us out better than we can him..." he looked to them for reassurance.
Téa only looked back in confusion. "What do you mean by 'it seems like he knows us'? Just because he says he kidnapped Serenity? Wasn't that only an attack against Joey? Well, we don't know why he'd attack Joey like that, but still,"
Yuugi shook his head. "When Kaiba first started asking me what he wanted and what he was saying, Dr. Yoshida recognized his voice and asked if I had all of my friends there with me. It's like he was picturing who was in the room. And then...also..." his voice dropped a little lower, "when I first picked up the phone, he called me...Pharaoh."
Téa's hands went up to her mouth. Bakura blinked in confusion. "But you're not the Pharaoh," he returned.
Yuugi nodded, and they suddenly realized his line of thought. "It's the fact that he called me that at all. That he chose that term specifically. He knows about the Millennium Puzzle. And so I'm guessing he knows about all the other Millennium Items, too."
"Who is this man?" Téa wondered aloud.
Shivering a little, though it was not cold in the Game Shop, Bakura gave them a sad smile. "Well, we had better find out soon."
xXx
It was a full hour after Joey had left the Game Shop that he finally reached his sister's home. Running ahead of Tristan, he pounded up the steps to the front door and fished out his key to quickly open the door. Tristan yelled out his name as he burst inside and began checking every room. "Joey! Slow down, man!" He gasped out between breaths.
Joey didn't respond...he was too busy opening every door and poking his head inside. "Serenity! Serenity!" It was no use, it seemed. There was no answering call from his sister, and every room he had checked so far was empty and apparently unused.
Pounding down the hall in his shoes, Joey grasped the doorknob into his sister's room and flung open the door. His eyes burned strangely: he couldn't remember feeling this helpless in a long time. It was just as he had expected, though he had desperately wished it were not so. His sister's room was empty.
He should have known instantly, when he had first tramped into his sister's house, shouting her name and hearing no response. But somewhere in the back of Joey's mind a little voice murmured 'it's not real if you can't see it'. Part of him had still hoped that she would be here, sitting in her room, possibly listening to some loud music in her earphones and so unable to hear him. But of course his sister never listened to loud music. With his heart hammering against his rib cage far harder than it seemed was strictly necessary, Joey leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment.
His friend had come up to his side while he was distracted. Now he spoke with sadness and regret. "I'll use the phone in the kitchen in order to get a hold of Yuugi," Tristan suggested, trying to break the anxiety in the air. But it was like a metal cage: his words only served to make it sound out, a hollow ring echoing in his ears. Tristan retreated into the kitchen.
Opening his eyes again, Joey listened with some effort to the conversation Tristan was having with Yuugi. He looked down the hallway into the empty bedroom and looked back towards the kitchen. And then he turned to the bedroom again. It seemed so dry and impersonal without her in it, as though it was not the décor nor the colour patterns that gave life to the room, but rather Serenity herself. Joey came to a decision.
Stomping back down the hall into the kitchen, he wretched the phone out of Tristan's hand while he was in mid-sentence. "Yuugi, I'm going after him. I gotta do this now."
Yuugi stumbled on the other end. "What?"
"My sister's counting on me, Yuugi. I've gotta do something. And I can't wait around while Kaiba discusses this plan and that idea and whatever else he's got in bumbling around in that thick head of his," Joey rushed, "and don't even try and stop me. I can't just sit here, Yuugi. I don't know how I'd face my ma if she came back from her business trip early and found Serenity missing. I'm gonna go and rescue my sister." He finished his sentence loudly, trying to overcome the stammer in his voice with volume alone.
The clock ticked gently on the wall while Joey waited, the second hand making a steady rhythm that he followed with his eyes. Then: "I guess there's only one question left to ask, then." Yuugi said, giving in.
Joey shot a triumphant look at Tristan and spoke into the phone with a greater degree of confidence. "You coming, man?" He asked Yuugi, the volume in his voice having dropped now that he was calmer.
"Yes." Yuugi replied. He wasn't going to ignore the needs of one of his best friends. If Joey really needed to do this, then Yuugi decided to support him all the way.
Joey looked over at Tristan now, who was scratching his head with a sigh and a look of acceptance. Tristan spoke quietly, but firmly.
"Let's hope we can end this."
