Memories are just where you laid them
Dragging the waters til the depths give up their dead
What did you expect to find?
Was it something you left behind?
Don't you remember anything I said when I said,
Don't fall away and leave me to myself
Don't fall away and leave love bleeding in my hands, in my hands again
And leave love bleeding in my hands, in my hands
Love lies bleeding
-Hemorrhage by Fuel
§
"Seto... What did Gozobora do to you?"
The words forced the infamous CEO to tense in his chair. A hard-stuck chord vibrated deep within and memories washed up. The paralyzing fear, bitter acrimony, stubborn resistance—each lingered long enough to be instantly dispelled.
That man is dead now. None of that matters anymore. He reminded himself sternly.
A frown narrowed the elder's features as he stared at his brother.
"What do you mean?"
Mokuba shifted uncomfortably under cold blue eyes. While the anger he caught there wasn't directed at his person; he felt guilty for being the cause of it.
"I mean... I know he was mean and worked you hard, what exactly did he do?
The scowl deepened, wrinkling Kaiba's smooth brow. No way in hell am I telling him what went on between me and that man. Mokuba is too innocent, too good.
"Why do you want to know?"
The black-haired kid lowered his gaze, the reply burning a hole in his mind.
You know that woman you seem to hate?
"Talla... she said something about Kestrel and I just thought... Well you remind me of her a little."
You're just like her.
"Hm," The duelist scoffed. "How so?"
The hard look on his face faltered as honest azure eyes met his face again, searching across the stoic plane.
"You both..."
Act so strong no matter how much pain you feel. You hide.
But the intelligent youth loved the chilled brunette too much, adored him too deeply, to say that.
"Never mind, I'm just being silly, bro."
The other Kaiba turned and made a quick flee toward the silver door. However a gentle pressure on his shoulder stopped the beeline.
"Mokuba..." The softer tone of the man's voice brought young blue eyes back up to him. The proud teen debated mentally for a moment.
"Gozobora taught me to lead a company, to sacrifice. But that is all in the past now, so forget about him. It no longer matters to anyone." The introverted words told the boy little, but somehow it was what he had needed to hear.
He returned a slight answer with a broad grin. "Thanks big bro, for everything."
Rubbing it off as best he could, the number one bachelor made a noise with his throat and then went back to the soft glow of the laptop.
Still smiling, the grade-schooler dismissed himself with a final glance back at his last family member.
Where would I be without you?
The head of Kaiba Corp didn't pause in his typing until he heard the door shut behind him. Then the patter of fingers fell useless as the odd conversation replayed in his head. After a moment of contemplation, a well-manicured hand began its rhythm on the black board again.
That woman is getting into all my business, and stirring up Mokuba. Even as he thought of this, his anger seemed somewhat forced. Why would that be?
"Thanks big bro, for everything."
It wasn't like the kid had needed to say that. Just seeing him smile was enough. Right?
"Thanks big bro, for everything."
Or maybe, just a little, Seto had liked hearing his brother understand a little of the sacrifice he paid for him. Maybe, just a little, Amun had known that too. Of course, he'd rather be fed to ravenous dogs than every admit it.
§
"Are you in position?"
"Hai,"
"Target locked?"
"No... they're is two of them. Which one am I supposed to go for?"
"What do you mean, two of them?"
"Two brats are in sight. Which one of them is the target."
"...Hold one moment, continue trailing."
"Fine."
There was a long pause and he followed the two people farther into the park.
"Still there?"
"Hai,"
"Good. You are supposed to go for the boy."
"...They both have hair longer than yours and they're wearing jackets."
"So?"
"I can't tell which is male without the possibility of detection."
"Kuso!"
"So which one do you want me to eliminate?"
The pair had stopped, conversing by a fountain with happy faces.
"..."
"Are you listening?"
"The black-haired one."
"Huh?"
"Your target... that kid Kaiba has black hair."
"Alright. Target locked."
One, two, three...
"You have the clear. Commence extermination."
"Hai."
The radio clicked off as he stepped from the shadows, gun in hand.
BOOM!
"What the fuck? You stupid—"
CRACK
The radio turned back on.
"Target eliminated."
§
Kestrel Amun was sitting in a restaurant, fiddling with her chopsticks. She glanced over at the boy Talla had ever so generously set her up with.
When I get back that girl is going to be in so much...
Her thoughts were disrupted by Yugi's gentle smile.
"You don't have to eat if you're not hungry, you know."
When the man she had talked to earlier suddenly appeared before her several years younger, the CEO had been shocked and wondering is something had gotten mixed up with her incense. However, after she asked about it and he used the strange necklace hanging around his neck to turn into an older, more mature counterpart, the woman was quite sure someone had doped her drink.
She still wasn't sure if this wasn't just the effects of crack. But, she was here and so was he, a bit nicer and not so pushy on the whole Egypt thing.
If he wasn't crazy, he's be pretty nice.
And that was what led up to the blond placing her utensils down in utter defeat.
"You're... you're not going to do that age thing again are you?"
Yugi smiled at her wariness.
"I won't force you to believe me, Kestrel. After all, it is pretty far fetched."
Insane and polite, that's new.
"Then why exactly... am I here?" The medic asked, openly bewildered.
Warm violet eyes met her own. "I just want to get to know you, okay? Once I build some trust, then we'll talk about the past. Deal?"
His outstretched palm was smaller than her own, but calloused and slit with fumbling of the sharp-edged cards.
It can't hurt anything I suppose. This kid is sweet anyways.
The elder Amun smiled and shook the hand.
"I accept, though it is going to be hard to gain my trust." Her golden eyes glimmered in a challenge.
"I will do it." Yami chuckled in the back of his mind.
On the outside, the dueling prodigy only winked. "Okay,"
Kess clapped her hands together. "So where to next?"
Good question, any ideas? The boy asked his counterpart.
"We should take her to meet our friends. After all, crazy people don't have friends like Tea and Joey." Yami mentally replied with pride.
And Tristan, The spiky-haired teen reminded Atem. "How about we go to see some of my friends? I know they'd love to meet you, and you'll get along with them great."
Before the businesswoman could reply however, a phone from inside her pocket rang.
"Sorry," She muttered, retrieving the singing metal object.
A frown appeared on her face as she read the caller-id. Sis
"I have to take this, it's my sister." The doctor told the man politely, who nodded in understanding.
Her slender fingers opened the phone. "Hello, Talla?"
There was a choking sound of the other end of the line. "Kess?"
She caught her adoptive daughter's tears and felt her heart clamp. "What's wrong?"
Another half-sob. Her tears were being choked half-way out by fury. "It—It's M—M—MOKUBA!"
Mouto looked worriedly at her as he heard a hysterical voice through the cell phone and its owner winced.
"What happened to him, Talla?"
Her sobs had completely dissolved now, leaving only gaping rage.
"We were taking a walk around the park and then this man came up and... and..." She was dissolving again.
The woman felt rather than saw, the blood drain from her face as her knuckled gripped the phone tighter.
"Sis, calm down. What did he do?" The trained physician was already taken over, logic ruling over the sickening feeling in her stomach.
The calm of her caretaker's voice calmed the distressed brunette enough to utter the next words.
"He shot him."
All was still, all was silent. And then the moment broke. Shoving emotions away, Kestrel turned to her training, letting it rule her actions.
"Talla call the hospital, get an ambulance out there stat. I'll meet you at Mikagi."
Clasping her phone shut, the woman closed her eyes for a moment before opening them, filled with grim determination on the shocked teen with her.
"I need to borrow your car."
§
Seto Kaiba was annoyed when someone called his personal cell line and more so when the name blinked: Amun.
"What is it?" He growled, forcing anger out of him this time.
"Meet me at Mikagi hospital." Her voice had a strange quality he had never heard—it was completely flat, like on auto drive.
"Why?" The man demanded, narrowing his blue eyes.
"Your brother was shot."
The phone clattered to the ground before the line disconnected.
§
"Whoa—are you sure you don't want me to drive?" The younger Mouto asked, clinging to his seat as his car took another dangerous turn at the hand of the fierce driver.
"I'm sorry, but speed is of the essence."
"She sounds just like Kaiba." The pharaoh noted.
Yeah, she must be really worried about Mokuba. The host mentally replied.
He felt hesitance until the spirit spoke up again after a pause.
"Yugi, let me handle the body right now."
He blinked. Why?
The tri-color haired man took his time in replying.
"I don't think you should be there if the worst happens."
The woman took another sharp corner, dodging between two heavy trucks.
Ok.
This time when the light flared and Yami's subtly changed features sat beside her, the elder Amun merely glanced and gritted her teeth.
He observed her tense set with crimson eyes. All emotion (and color) had been peeled away from her face, a mechanism used by practiced doctors.
"What do you want me to do when we get there?" Atem provided distraction, and it was a valid question.
He had walked past Mikagi Hospital once. It was bigger than their school, and he still got lost there. Plus he was a novice at best in medical technology, being 5,000 years slow.
She grinned the bumper of the car before her, forcing it to speed and swerve away from the inconsiderate driver.
"Stay in the Waiting Room. Say that you're a friend of Kestrel, the staff will meet your needs."
And despite the desperation of the situation, despite the monotone of her voice and the pale quality of her expression, despite the suicidal driving; the king of Egypt almost smiled. In the end, he had gained the trust of the pretty woman after all.
§
The CEO of Kaiba Corp stormed into Mikagi Hospital with snarls and death-glares at any who approached. Even the pistol-carrying security seemed uneasy to approach the infamous man on a warpath. He wasn't sure where he was going, only one thought registered in his mind.
Mokuba is hurt.
It brought waves of emotions in a usually cold person. Guilt at having failed as his self-appointed duty of protector, sorrow from knowing the one person he truly loved was in pain, fear of loosing the boy, and anger at whoever had done this to someone so innocent. Kaiba shoved anger toward the front, using it as a wall between all weakening feelings. He didn't stop the crazed tread until he spotted a familiar head of tawny hair, sticking out from under a white jacket that was being roughly thrown on a slender form.
Amun was giving out orders, standing beside a wheeling tray carrying a figure with matted black hair. Nameless people in white were beside her, following out the woman's commands without question. Before the business rival could elude him, the brunette caught her, the almost tangible waves of fury alerting her to his presence.
"What the hell happened?" He demanded, not noticing how his throat was constricting or his face was bleached.
However the physician before him noted the signs. "I'm taking him in for surgery. Waase here will update you."
"I am not laving my brother!" The blue-eyed teen spat with hurt rage.
The shorter figure spun on her heels, her facade lessening a little. "Kaiba if you interrupt this surgery you could Mokuba. I promise to save him, but you must let me work. Go wait."
There was a gentle firmness in her tone before the leader of a company was back again, barking orders and running after a wheeled cart.
Somehow her words had sapped the anger in the other man, and he could do nothing but trudge blindly back to the waiting room, his dark aura enough to clear the path. Slowly, the duelist sat down in a chair, frustrated with his head on his folded hands. Never had he felt so... useless.
"What did she say?"
The older brother turned swiftly with a snappy retort along the lines of 'shut the hell up', but it never left his lips as wide forest eyes met his.
The younger Amun was in a worse state then he was. Dried blood stained her matted brown hair. The normally tanned skin was pale and wet from tears. Her clothes were soaked with more red substance, and the man felt nauseous at the good idea that they were not the girl's. Curbing his response, the businessman gave a curt sentence.
"She wants me to wait here."
Talla gave a snort, and would have rolled her eyes if her heart had been a fraction lighter.
"About Mokuba?"
His cerulean eyes shut for a moment, recalling something as normal as a conversation amidst all this confusion.
"...She promised to save him."
And then slowly, the girl smiled.
"Then it's alright."
Seto was about to ask the girl what pills she had taken when the younger brunette smiled.
"Kess never breaks her promises."
The rich-boy tensed, no longer seeing Talla before him. Cursing under his breath, he stood and got one step before a stranger in white came running up to both of them.
Why the hell do they all wear white?
He was a young man, sandy-blond hair and warm green eyes. His sparrow-like features were lined with concern.
"Talla here, sorry I had to find you." The doctor said, handing his boss's daughter a clean shirt.
"Thanks, Waase." She replied, walking to the bathroom to change.
"Wait," The blond now called Waase held her wrist, his frown deepening as vivid green orbs caught sight of the blood in her rich cocoa locks.
"Were you hurt too?" His voice was mellow but refined, without accent.
Azure eyes paused, locked onto the female figure.
Her hand instinctively touched the top of her head, making her cringe. "It's not bad."
But Waase had already sat her down and called for a sterile kit and some gauze. "Sorry Talla, but your sister will have my head if she finds out you've been untreated."
A sudden realization popped into the tallest one's head and he sat back down beside the adoptive daughter.
"You were there, what happened?" He left no room for argument.
The doctor gave him a look at treating a patient so rough, but Mokuba's friend didn't mind.
At least he has a reason to be a jerk right now.
"We were taking a walk around the park when a guy with a gun came out and shot him. Then he bashed me on the—ow!" Green-hazel eyes winced then glared at the swift fingers cleaning the wound on her head.
"Sorry," Waase said calmly, finishing up the bandage.
The student shook her head experimentally, then stood up. "I'm going to make sure all the floors are running smooth. Knowing Kess, she pulled the top physicians on each level to help her so every thing's going to be a little hectic."
With that, the 12-year old bounded off, lost in the continuous stream of the hospital. The handsome CEO watched her go, feeling apathy and jealousy twinge in.
Even that kid is good for something. But what can I do? It's a joke.
"Hey buddy," Waase signaled for the duelist and got the get-the-fuck-out-of-my-face glare.
"Look, sitting here moping won't do anyone good. Why don't you read a magazine or get a drink."
"Hm," Kaiba replied haughtily.
The doctor sighed before giving up and walking away to more important patients. Only when he was sure the blond was gone did he pick up a magazine and began reading. He even forgot the briefcase.
§
"Blood loss is dangerous right now. It could lead to a coma if he doesn't get a transfusion fast." A sweet voice wrapped from behind her blue mask.
French was heard from under their leader's mask.
"Why don't we give him one then?"
The bullet had been successfully removed, thankfully only clipping the liver, which was stitched back up. But even though the bleeding had stopped, his white skin was dangerously lacking in the life-sustaining liquid.
Her heart bled a little more, but the medic pushed it out of her mind as the answer came.
"He is type O, it's really rare and we ran out of stores yesterday. Shipment comes in tomorrow."
"O, you said." The legendary surgeon repeated sharply.
"Yes," The Head of Stat replied.
The golden-eyed woman was quiet for a moment.
"Give me a syringe. We are doing a direct transfusion."
The other woman blinked in surprise.
"Whose?"
There was no room for fighting it as Kestrel spoke again.
"Mine."
§
The worried brother sat up like he had been bitten in the ass as tired, but twinkling bid-like eyes walked up to him. He was unaware of the 'Woman's Vogue' magazine clutched in his fists. Before he could demand information, the tawny-haired woman held her hand up.
"Mokuba won't even have a scar. He needs rest and some physical therapy for the next month , but nothing lasting."
The brunette opened and closed his mouth several times before words came out.
"This place isn't half bad."
The doctor nodded, pale and weary as she she stood.
"I like it enough."
He felt a little disturbed at her lack of biting remark, but didn't mention it.
"You... you really know what you are doing." He added with as cold a tone as he could.
But the medic smiled nonetheless. "You were really worried about him, weren't you?"
The infamous champion scoffed. "Hm, he's my brother."
"It's nice though, that you care so much." Her passionate voice was blearing, bright eyes drooping.
"Ms.Amun," Waase suddenly ran from behind.
It was just in time too, for the young woman slid to the ground.
"You lost too much blood. Wait here and I'll get you something to drink." The blond fussed for a moment before vanishing.
"How did you loose blood?" The older Kaiba asked, looking down at the figure leaning ahainst the wall.
"To save Mokuba..."
Her eyes opened at this, glowing with something indescribable.
"...Seto."
That night was the first time Kestrel ever said his first name.