Kaiba Corp. 7:30 p.m.
Seto Kaiba turned and smiled small to Rajata. "I was thinking about a lot of things, but my mind would always come back to you."
Rajata giggled and leaned against the railing of the balcony. She gazed over the city, taking in the lights from the busy strip. "You know if you keep thinking about me all the time I will give you nightmares."
Seto laughed out loud. He turned and sat on the edge of the railing, holding onto it with his hands. "I'm beginning to see that."
Rajata gave him a concerned look. She moved closer to him and put a hand on his leg. "You shouldn't sit up there, what if you fall?"
Seto looked down to her. "I won't fall. I'm not that stupid to commit suicide."
'You never know what you are capable of Seto Kaiba until you are faced with a situation. What are these feelings in my heart? I wish you would stop saying such things that make me feel…weak.' Rajata pulled herself from her thoughts. Seto had jumped down, resulting her hand now being on the top of his belt. Her eyes went wide and she jumped away from him. "I'm sorry Seto, lost in thoughts myself it would seem."
Seto looked down at Rajata with a smile. "How long can you stay?"
Rajata avoided his gaze; she remembered why she was there. "I need to be gone in thirty minutes. My partner is on his way and we'll be moving to…" Rajata stopped talking; she wouldn't give Seto more details than necessary. If she revealed the location of the Family Compound, he might try something stupid.
Seto walked into his office, waiting for Rajata to pass him before closing the sliding door. He took his shirt off and threw it onto the desk. He seemed to be fighting with himself to put his words together. He turned his back on Rajata; almost ashamed of what he was about to say, "Who are you Rajata?"
Rajata's heartbeat quickened again and her breathing sped up. 'Why is this happening again? All because he wants to know more about me I'm feeling….fear. What do I do?' Rajata let her eyes lock onto the back of his head. 'Turn around Seto; I want to know you are genuine. I want….' Rajata sucked in a breath and then said in a small, soft voice, "Seto, what are you feeling right now?"
Seto turned around slowly, locking his eyes on Rajata. His eyes were full of tears, threatening to overflow. His eyes showed fear, an overwhelming sense of fear and longing. "I don't know what I feel anymore. For days, I have felt confused. Before Mokuba was kidnapped, I couldn't help but think about you every minute, of everyday. Now though, I'm so confused it's starting to rip me apart. You should feel honored. I have never felt anything but annoyance for any woman I have ever met." Seto walked up to Rajata and held her face in his hands. "I want….no I need to know more about you."
Rajata's heart was stinging with pain from the look in Seto's eyes. She tried to force a small smile. "Seto, I wish I could tell you everything right now but I can't. I just hope when I do that you won't run away."
Seto eyes flashed anger. "Seto Kaiba does not run away from anything. Do you understand me?" Seto shook Rajata, tightening his grip on her shoulders.
Canaan threw open the door of the office. "Let her go asshole!" Canaan ran to Rajata's side and grabbed Seto's arm. He ripped Seto away from Rajata and pushed him away.
Before Rajata could stop him, Canaan pulled out his sword. He welds a simple samurai sword of an extremely strong metal. The blade itself would never break no matter what it hit. Seto backed up until he hit the wall. He reached to his side and grabbed a pole that was leaning against the wall. Seto stood in a defensive position and readied his make shift weapon. Rajata snapped out of her daze in time to see Canaan mount an attack. He ran towards Seto, swinging his blade with deadly purpose. Seto dodged to the right, ducking under the incoming blade. Seto swung the pipe to hit Canaan's head but Rajata sprang into action. Rajata used her forearm to block Seto's attack. The pipe hit her arm with enough force to send an audible crack through the office. Seto's eyes went wide and he dropped the pipe immediately. Canaan spun around on his feet and stared at Rajata.
"Rajata, please say you're wearing the hidden blade?" Canaan's eyes looked at her arm; he replaced his sword in the sheath.
Canaan reached a hand out to touch Rajata's arm, but she backed away from them both. Seto walked towards Rajata; he didn't let her back away from him. "Here let me see it." Seto said calmly as he reached to take off Rajata's jacket. Rajata did not fight him.
"I'm fine really; it's just a bump." Rajata allowed Seto to remove her jacket. When Seto finally saw what she was wearing his eyes widened slightly. He tried to block her from Canaan's view out of jealousy. He didn't want another man to see her. Rajata glared at the ground, trying to block the pain that was shooting up her arm. 'Seto hit harder than I thought he would have been able to. He seems to have had some training before. Wait what is that look in his eyes?' Rajata let her eyes run up Seto's body. His chest was covered in a light sheen of sweat from having Canaan attack him. Rajata ran her eyes back down his body, catching a glimpse of something a little out of the norm. 'Seto seems to have gotten a little excited at the sight of my outfit. He does seem to be blushing a little. I wonder what little fantasy is running through his head right now.' Rajata smiled mischievously as Seto attempted to roll up her sleeve as gently as he could. When he was rolling the fabric over the spot where he hit, Rajata screamed. She pulled her arm violently away from him, clutching it in her other hand. Tears stung at her eyes as she tried to compose herself.
Canaan ran to her side and held her up. Rajata leaned her weight against him as she tried to push the pain away from her mind. "Rajata that looks bad. It might be broken."
Seto picked up Rajata's jacket from the floor. "You should go see the Kaiba Corp. doctors. They need to put that in a splint. Come on, the doctors should still be here."
Rajata shook her head and pulled the fabric back down. She stood back up to her full height and glared from Canaan to Seto. They both avoided her gaze. "Don't you ever do something like that again Canaan and you, Seto, where did you learn to hit that hard?"
Seto blushed darkly and scratched the back of his head. "When I was adopted, Gozaburo made sure that I was taught how to fence."
Rajata shook her head and grabbed her jacket from Seto. "We need to get moving now. The more time we waste here is just going to put Mokuba in more danger. Canaan run down to my car and get all my blades that I let there."
Canaan nodded and without a word left the office. Seto turned to his desk and retrieved his shirt. As he pulled his shirt on, he locked eyes with Rajata. "You know, before Mokuba was kidnapped by this Family I had never even heard of them."
Rajata threw her jacket onto one of the sofas and sighed. "You never would have."
Seto nodded and sat down on the couch. "Which leads me to think that you have something to do with them? That also brings up a point that I am confused on. If I had never got involved with you, would Mokuba never have been in danger, and what else are you hiding exactly that will put us in more danger?"
Rajata glared at Seto's knees. She couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes. "I will be able to tell you everything once I get back. Until then I need your help with something."
Seto sat forward, puts his elbows onto his knees. "If it helps to get Mokuba back then I'll do whatever it takes."
Canaan returned to the office, handing Rajata her weapons. "So what is our next step?"
Rajata began to mount her weapons onto her again. "We will use one of the Kaiba Corp. helicopters to infiltrate the Family Compound. Once in we move as fast as we can to the center. No one should try to stop us. We'll break apart. Canaan, you will go and find Mokuba. Once you have him, make your way back to the copter and wait for me. If anyone tries to stop you, well you know what to do. In the meantime, I'm going to go find out what Anton wants with me."
Seto furrowed his brows as he pulled out his mobile phone. "Who is Anton?" Seto dialed a number into his phone and hurriedly spoke to the man at the other end. "A helicopter is waiting for you on the roof."
Canaan turned tail and began to run to the elevator. Rajata stayed behind and gave Seto a smile. "I'll explain everything when we get back tomorrow. Until then just please keep the police off the case as best you can okay? We should be back by tomorrow morning." Rajata gave Seto a small kiss on the lips and ran to the elevator to meet Canaan. He had an incredulous look on his face. "What is your problem?"
Canaan pressed the button for the roof and the doors closed. "Do you not think that you should get your arm looked at? I mean it looks broken."
Rajata sighed. "You worry too much. He just bruised the bone at the most and my hidden blade is keeping pressure on it enough."
Canaan nodded and stared at their reflections in the door. "Are you ready for this?"
"Deadly ready." Rajata smirked.
Canaan laughed and shook hands with Rajata. "Hope everything goes as planned."
Rajata nodded in agreement. 'Nothing can go wrong. We can't afford any mistakes with Mokuba's life on the line. The Pagoda is a fortress and we'll be on their turf. This is going to be dangerous.' Canaan and Rajata made their way to the awaiting copter. She told the pilot the directions to the Family's Pagoda. They took to the air and were on the way within minutes. 'It will take an hour to get there, until then I should try to get a small nap. I'm going to need all my wits about me when we get there. Anton is not going to make this meeting easy.'
Rajata awoke when Canaan nudged her leg. The Pagoda was rising in the moonlight on the horizon. They would be there any minute. Rajata instructed the pilot to land just outside the gates. "Why are we going outside the gates?"
Rajata glared out the window at the tower. "They aren't going to put up a fight. If they were planning on it, then we would have already been hit. They have anti-air missiles down there." Rajata pointed to a set of twin missile launchers. "They are waiting for us. We have a change of plans. I'm going in alone."
Canaan shook his head and raised his voice. "No way!"
Rajata glared at him, a fire set in her eyes. "Look they aren't going to do anything. Anton wants me to know something that is why he has reached out to me. When Mokuba is released I want you to make sure he is safely inside the copter. Other than that, stay out of the Pagoda."
Before the copter fully landed on the ground, Rajata jumped out. She hit the ground running and was upon the gate within minutes. The men at the gate bowed and the doors swung open. Rajata walked at a fast pace into the Pagoda stronghold. The assassins of the stronghold were lined up in the inner halls. They all bowed reluctantly as she strolled by. The main doors were open and waiting for her to walk in. The doors led into a very large room adorned with a long table. When Rajata passed the threshold of the room the doors were closed behind her. Rajata looked back at the doors as they closed. 'So far everyone seems to be at calm. It seems they were told to treat me like they used to, as a leader.'
Rajata walked to the end of the table and saw that it was adorned with wine and food. A man walked in wearing a black cloak to conceal his identity. "Did Anton send you to talk to me?" The man did not speak but instead ushered Rajata to have a seat and help herself. Rajata sat down at the end of the table, but did not reach for any of the food. She crossed her arms. The man removed his cloak and sat in the chair diagonal from Rajata. Rajata heart quickened and he hand shot up to her sword. "What are you doing here?"
Anton smiled at Rajata and held his hand up. "Don't take that out. I do not intend to cause you any harm. I was the one who asked you to come here, why would I not be here to greet you?" Anton ran a hand through his dark purple hair. His face was narrow and had an evil look too it. His eyes were dark and when he smiled, Rajata could see his sharpened teeth. The man was thin and wore a black suit. "Please have some wine. Trust me it's not poisoned." Anton poured a glass of wine for the both of them. He sipped on his and popped a piece of fruit into his mouth.
Rajata took the wine, sipping it graciously. The alcohol would numb the pain in her arm more. She glared at her adoptive father. "And why did you want me here Anton? Where is Mokuba?"
Anton gave her a warming smile and waved his hand. "As we speak he is being escorted to the front gate. Since you brought a friend with you Mokuba will be handed off to him." Anton paused and sipped his wine again. "So was that Canaan out there? I haven't seen him in a very long time. How is he doing?"
Rajata's rage exploded at Anton's smile. "That is none of your fucking concern you bastard!"
Anton's face darkened and smile faded. "No need for such language young lady. You know you shouldn't talk to your father in such a manner."
Rajata slammed her hand onto the table, instantly regretting it. The pain shot up her arm. "You are not my father Anton! What about Maximillion Pegasus?" Rajata was at the end of her patience line. She wanted answers.
Anton leaned forward, a dangerous and feral evil in his eyes. "Who told you about Pegasus?"
Rajata leaned back and smiled evilly. "I had an interesting conversation with him before I killed him."
Anton narrowed his eyes. "The late night news said it was suicide. I suspected that you had a hand in that. What did he tell you?"
Rajata glared at Anton. "Tell me the truth Anton."
"Fine, if you feel that you need to know." Anton took a forkful of his steak before he began his story. "You know I am your adoptive father and it is true that I never told you the whole story. Pegasus came to me with his newborn child shortly after your mother fell ill and died. He asked me take care of you, for we were childhood friends. Pegasus abandoned you. He never wanted you because you killed your mother. She couldn't survive the childbirth and it killed Pegasus to even look upon your face. But I loved you like you were my own. I took you in, glad that I could and would give you a good life. You grew up calling me father. I gave you a life that anyone would have fought for. Pegasus told me before he left you with me that if he took you home, he would strangle you. He wouldn't live with a murderer. Rajata, I have cared for you for years. I trained you and gave you everything you needed. I gave you a Family. What more could you have asked for you ungrateful child?"
Rajata was silent, lost in her thoughts. 'So Pegasus just abandoned me because his wife, my mother, got sick and couldn't survive bearing a child. That wouldn't have been my fault. So that is what he meant by he was the one who harmed me the most. He was planning on killing me before Anton took me in. Wait, how much of this story can I believe? Anton has lied to me before. I can't believe this until I see it for my own eyes.' Rajata sipped her wine before speaking. "I wanted someone to love me. It's true that you gave me anything I needed and things I wanted but you never truly loved me. You just acted like I was another one of your assassins."
Anton laughed. "If you were just another one of my assassins, I would have branded you and kept you until you were useless. Instead I offered you a choice remember?"
"I remember. You still haven't told me why you have asked me here." Rajata took an orange and a knife and began to peel it.
Anton smiled and finished his wine. "I wanted to offer you the chance to rejoin the Family. We would love to extend our open arms to our favorite daughter."
"What's wrong Anton? Can you not find any capable assassins?" Rajata scoffed.
Anton's eyes narrowed at Rajata's insult to his employees. "I just wanted to extend an olive branch to my daughter. If you decide to come back, all the things that you have done to us will be forgotten. We will start over fresh again, like nothing ever happen. We would forget ALL the past transgressions."
Rajata chuckled darkly. "You expect me to just forget what you did to Canaan?"
"The fact that I let him live after that night should be proof enough that I love you, Rajata."
Rajata remained silent. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I honestly would never be able to come back to you or this compound. If you have nothing else to say, then I will be taking my leave."
As Rajata stood up and headed to the door; Anton spoke, "Once you leave here tonight, I can promise you one thing. We will come after you again and again until you are dead. No one abandons the Family; that includes you. We will kill all your friends if we need to. I suggest you alienate yourself immediately. Do not let any loved ones get in the way again; this time I will kill anyone that stands in the way of killing you."
Rajata stopped at the door. 'Am I making the right choice? No, I am. I will never come back to Anton and if that means sheltering my friends by leaving them all then fine. I'm used to being alone anyway.' Rajata turned and faced Anton one final time. "I look forward to killing you and your assassins' one at a time. I will never let you hurt any of my friends so don't even try. Bring your worst to me and deal with me only." Rajata walked through the door and back through the gate. The assassins in the hall did not bow this time. They all stood still and silent, glaring at Rajata as she walked by. A young woman was among them, she looked wildly at Rajata. Rajata barely even glanced at her as she walked by. Rajata mounted the copter and they took off again towards Kaiba Corp.
Mokuba looked tired and hungry. Canaan was silent and stared at Rajata as she looked out the window. Rajata glanced at Mokuba and pulled him into her lap. She wrapped her arms securely around him. "Don't worry Mokuba, you are safe now. You will never have to worry about them again. They didn't hurt you right?"
Mokuba shook his head. "No, they didn't. The locked me in a room by myself. They would feed me a small meal once a day but they didn't give me anything today because they said you would be coming. Where is Seto?"
Rajata stroked the back of Mokuba's hair. "He's waiting for you at Kaiba Corp. He has been so worried about you. Sleep now little one, we will be there soon."
Mokuba cradled his head on Rajata's chest and fell sound asleep within a few minutes. Rajata smiled at Canaan. His face looked amused. "What happened in there?"
Rajata shrugged and shifted Mokuba on her lap to a more comfortable position. "Anton wanted me to come back to the Family."
Canaan's jaw dropped. "Did you tell him to stick his offer up his ass?"
Rajata giggled. "No, I politely declined. He told me that they would now come after me for blood. I'm afraid that I'll have to ask your help in watching the city for Family assassins."
Canaan nodded and kicked his feet up beside Rajata. "I'll kill whoever I have to."
"What happened when they brought Mokuba out?"
"Nothing really, Mokuba saw the Kaiba Corp. helicopter and ran to it. He thought his brother would be here and almost messed himself when he saw me. I explained that his brother sent us and he got in. None of the Family ever approached the copter directly."
Rajata nodded and watched as Canaan fell to sleep shortly after. 'Good, he needs sleep. Poor man has been too busy helping me to even sleep. I can't wait to reunite these two brothers. Mokuba looks so peaceful right now.' Rajata moved a strand of hair from Mokuba's face. 'How am I going to break it to Kaiba about my past? He'll probably want nothing to do with me.'
The helicopter landed on the roof of Kaiba Corp. Canaan said a groggy farewell and left Rajata on Kaiba's floor. Rajata nudged the office door open and walked through it. She carried Mokuba in her arms and shifted his weight again to help close the door behind her. When Seto heard the door close, he stopped typing and looked towards her. The site of Mokuba cause tears of joy to fall from his face. "Mokuba!" he exclaimed as he ran towards Rajata.
Rajata shushed Seto. "He's sleeping Seto. He's had a rough night. Can you get him something to eat, he's hungry?"
Seto nodded. "How about you?"
"Yes please, I'm starving."
"I'll be right back okay?" Seto rushed out of the office.
Rajata laid Mokuba down on the sofa, covering him with Seto's purple jacket. Mokuba rolled over and cuddled into his brother's jacket. Rajata walked to the door on the left side of Seto's office. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. After splashing cold water on her face and drying her face, she looked up into the mirror. "Holy shit, who are you?" Rajata screamed as she saw a man standing behind her.
The man was tall and tanned; he looked to be of Arab descent. His eyes were blue and soulless. He wore white robes and a turban; he seemed to be right out of Egypt. Rajata turned around to face the man. She noticed a large gold key around his neck. "Please calm down Rajata Tatsuo. My name is Shadi and I am here to give you something. But first I need to check something."
Shadi raised the gold key and touched the tip of it to Rajata's forehead. "Don't touch me you creep."
Shadi closed his eyes and second later opened them again. He lowered the key and smiled. "My Millennium Key would never lie to me, you are the chosen one."
"What did you do to me? What do you mean chosen one?" Rajata moved closer to the sink, pushing against it to get away from the man.
"You are chosen to wield the lost Millennium Item." Shadi pulled a wrapped parcel from his robes. He untied the package to reveal a golden dagger. The dagger had an eye on the hilt. "This is the Millennium Dagger. Use its power well my assassin."
Rajata reluctantly took the offered dagger; something was pulling her towards it. "What is this thing? What power?"
Shadi smiled and began to fade. "I will contact you again when you are alone; tomorrow, when you return home." Shadi bowed and faded away.
Rajata stared at the dagger in her hand. 'Millennium Dagger, I wonder if Yugi would know anything about this. He does have that puzzle after all. I am going to have to go and see him later today. First thing is first though; I have to fulfill my promise. I have to reveal everything to Seto Kaiba.' Rajata placed the dagger into her belt and took a deep breath. 'I don't know if I am making the right decision but I do know one thing: I am ready to start my life again. No more hesitations and fear, it is time for me to grow up and move past that night with Anton and Canaan. It is time that I try to get close to someone. It is time for my heart to open up to Seto Kaiba.' Rajata put her hand on the door and walked out into her new life. Seto turned on the couch and smiled at the sight of her. His chest was glistening in the late moonlight. His eyes shining like sapphires.
Next chapter: Rajata reveals all her secrets to Seto, but how will he react? What is this Millennium Dagger that Shadi gave to her? What powers and secrets does it hold?
