Big thanks to: Isis the Sphinx, TheMadNovelist, starwefter, Coelectichi, and Shadowess 88 for leaving reviews :)
Chapter Ten
Okay, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Seto confessed to himself as he sat on the leather sofa in the living room with two girls, one of them continually gawking at him. A child would have put more thinking into a plan to raid the contents of a cookie jar than I did with this! He grit his teeth at not having thought things over before acting. You stupid idiot!
"Are you really a billionaire?" The eldest of the two girls asked as she sat on the sofa opposite Seto, a dazed dreamy look in her amber coloured eyes as she stared at him instead of doing her homework that was opened up in front of her.
"Yes." Seto sighed tiredly as he answered the same question which he had been asked a couple of minutes earlier and a couple more before that. He wished that she wouldn't look at him like that and had tried glaring at the golden blonde to discourage her, but had only made things worse as she now started batting her eyelids at him.
"Ignore her." The younger dark haired girl told him as she rolled her eyes. Unlike her sister she was doing her homework. "She makes those googly eyes at any guy she fancies and her brain is the size of a pea which is why she has to keep asking the same question over and over again."
"Hey!" The older sister exclaimed and threw a cushion to hit the other in her smug face.
"You've seen his ID twice already, so just leave him alone and finish your homework." The cushion was thrown back with twice the force.
Seto was glad to see the eldest girl cave in to the cushion attack and divert her attention from him. Using the psychic paper that he still had after forgetting to hand it back to its owner before they parted, he had told them his name before supplying them with the wallet, and in doing so they had accepted him as who he stated and into their home to wait. The man he had come to visit was still at work but due home any minute now; that was twenty minutes ago.
"Are you two still bothering mister Kaiba?" A blonde haired woman spoke as she appeared in the doorway and before either of her daughters had a chance to answer her, she started ushering them from the living room. "Go on, upstairs to your rooms and finish your homework there."
"But mom!" The blonde girl moaned.
"Stop complaining and just go!" The woman ordered as she watched both girls pack up their things and leave the room before she turned back to Seto. "I do apologise for their behaviour, and for my husband's lateness."
"Don't worry about it." Seto assured the woman baring an uneasy smile, and with that she left him alone in the room closing the door behind her. He let out a frustrated sigh and slouched where he sat as he had yet more second thoughts about the whole thing. If he's not here in another ten minutes then I'm out of here.
At first, paying his head of security a visit had seemed like a good idea to Seto. He and the older man were close friends, and apart from Mokuba, Roland was the only other person who knew him well. In fact there were things that this man knew that not even his younger brother was aware of. If anyone remembered him, Roland would. But Seto had overlooked the very important factor that he was no longer a Kaiba anymore and so would have most likely never even met him. Seto knew that he was clinging to false hope that he wouldn't let himself release. Perhaps their friendship could overcome the impossible and still remain in the altered timeline? Damn Gardner and those stupid friendship speeches she made all those years ago!
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Roland was about to place his keys in the front door of his home when it moved as his wife slowly and quietly opened it, a finger raised up to her lips signalling him to be quiet. "What's going on?" He whispered as he crossed the threshold and she closed the door behind him.
"There's a man waiting in the living room to see you." His wife whispered back. "Janie answered the door and let him in. He says he's Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp and even has ID to prove it." She saw her husband's brow wrinkle as it rose and knew that he was just as surprised underneath the dark shades he wore as what she had been at the time the strange man had first appeared.
"Where are the girls?" Roland voiced his first concern.
"They're upstairs out of the way now, but that man knows they're both in the house as they were doing their homework in the living room when he first arrived."
"Has he said why he's here?"
"No." His wife shook her head causing her golden curls to wobble. "I listened to my instincts and called the police; that was half an hour ago and still nothing…"
"Shhh, its okay." Roland pulled his wife closer to him and kissed her on the head as she started to shake with fear. "I'll keep this guy busy until the police arrive."
"Be careful Honey." His wife slowly pulled away.
"I will." Roland assured her. He still had his firearm on him and would not hesitate to use it if he needed to. Taking hold of the handle on the living room he thought about the name of the man on the other side. Seto Kaiba. He frowned in his thoughts. Why would 'he' allow one of his assassins to carry his name?
The door opened and Roland entered the room, making sure that his view didn't stray from the tired looking man on his sofa. Doesn't look much of a threat. He told himself and saw the younger man rise from where he sat. "So sorry to keep you waiting mister Kaiba."
Mister Kaiba. Seto smiled fondly to himself. Even though they were close friends, Roland always insisted on calling him that, and he could only remember a handful of times that the man had done otherwise.
"Would you mind informing me of your reason for being here this evening?" If he hadn't been wearing his shades then Roland's narrowed stare may have been intimidating. "And whilst you're at it, tell me your real name. Like you, I know damn well who the CEO of Kaiba Corp is, and you are not him."
"I just want to talk." Seto stated something that he thought he'd never hear himself say. "My real name is Seto Kaiba, and I am the CEO of Kaiba Corp." He reached inside his pocket, produced the wallet and opened it up to show the sceptic man.
Roland removed the shades on his face, revealing his lime green eyes that normally remained hidden underneath. He looked closer at the ID that was being shown to him, his eyebrows rising from what he saw. The information clearly wasn't the same as what his wife had seen, and a smirk appeared on his face. "If I had a name like that then I'd pretend to be somebody else too."
Seto flipped the psychic paper around to see what name it had displayed for Roland but saw nothing other than a blank space. Maybe it only shows people what they want, or are gullible enough to believe? He mused to himself as he placed it back in his pocket. That would explain why it worked earlier but not just now.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"Us."
"Us?!" Roland exclaimed. His suspicions of this guy being a hired gunman were now dwindling; clearly this man wasn't all there. Or was that what he was meant to think? Either way he would keep his man talking until the police arrived to remove him from his home.
"Roland, please tell me that you remember who I am." Seto's eyes were wide as they longed to hear someone confirm his 'true' self. "We've been through so much together, you can't have forgotten me that easily."
"I don't have a single clue as to who you are." Roland shook his head in cynical response to the younger man's plea. "Why don't you refresh my memory?"
Where to begin? Seto thought to himself and then decided that the beginning was always a good place start. "I was adopted by Gozaburo Kaiba when I was twelve, and not long after that you were hired as an extra bodyguard assigned to 'baby-sit' his latest assets. At first I saw you as just another one of his goons, until the day you walked in on the flogging I received for having discovered the Osterhagen plan……
# The whip came down hard across Seto's back and broke the already red raw skin. His eyes watered as he bit hard onto the inside of his cheek to stop his mouth from opening and the agonising sound of his discomfort escaping. Those bastards had set him up for this.
"Still denying that you went looking for those files?" Gozaburo sneered as he took pleasure from seeing the pain he inflicted upon his stepson.
"No." Seto gasped though he hadn't meant to. The answer he had very much intended, it was just the way it helplessly gushed out from his lips that he hadn't. "I've got nothing to deny because I 'didn't' going looking for those files!"
"Don't lie to me, boy!"
The whip came down again, this time it was high and flicked along the right side of Seto's neck to leave behind a seeping wound. He failed to hold back the yelp and his outstretched arms that steadied himself against the wall quivered. His stepfather's amused chortle erupted behind him, and Seto cursed himself for displaying such weakness.
"How much did you see?"
"I saw nothing but the page that was displayed when you caught me." Seto answered the question asked, failure to do so would only result in another lashing. The reply had been a lie. He had seen everything about the project which would result in many nuclear missiles embedded into the Earth's crust, and had he more time he would have deleted every trace of it from the data systems. He hated everything that his stepfather's company stood for.
"Caught? So you 'were' snooping?"
Shit! He'd messed up on his wording. "No."
CRACK! The strike had taken Seto by surprise, and as he clamped his mouth firmly shut his teeth sliced into his tongue. A coppery taste filled his mouth as warm blood slowly oozed into it and his eyes watered so much that they overflowed to cascade silently down his cheeks.
"You know how to stop this punishment."
Seto's fingers clenched in anger causing several of his nails to dig into the plaster on the wall. There was no way he was going to give the old man the satisfaction that he was aiming for. The confession where he would admit that he had overheard the Big Five talking about the project and had gone looking for all data on it as a result. Even though it was the truth, he would never allow himself to let that fact be known to the man with the whip standing behind him.
Gulping back the contents of his mouth, Seto was about to reply with a sarcastic remark as the whip came down and caught him off guard again. His knees buckled and he let out a painful cry. Arms shaking, his fingernails followed the grooves that he had previous etched in the wall, as he gradually descended to the floor.
"Get up!" Gozaburo demanded with a threatening hiss.
The pain in Seto's back raged so much now that he couldn't feel the droplets of blood as they slivered down his flesh. He panted hard as he drew in breath and fought back the rest of the pain that was starting to catch up with him. His body wouldn't be able to cope much longer but he was determined not to give in to his stepfather. Pushing himself back up, Seto would overcome the torture; he had to for his brother's sake.
A light tapping noise rapped on the office door before it opened. "Stay here." Gozaburo snarled before he left the cover of the dividing screen to confront the intruder in his office.
"Mister Kaiba, sir." Roland spoke to his boss as Gozaburo appeared from behind the screen. He also caught a brief glimpse of what he thought was a naked person still hiding back there, though it was hard to tell from that distance and whilst wearing his shades. "All of the protesters have been…."
"How dare you waltz into my office without first waiting to be granted permission to enter!" The CEO roared at the much younger man with dark hair. Fury burned deep in the narrowed brown eyes that fixed on the man who he had only recently employed sometime over the last couple of months. As much as he wanted to fire him right there, the man was an excellent sharp shooter and he planned on keeping him around for future uses. "Isono, you're still reasonably new here so I'll give you one last chance, but if you put another foot wrong in my presence then I'll make sure you regret the day that you even thought about joining my workforce!"
"Yes sir, I understand." Roland lowered his head in apology. "It won't happen again, sir."
"Good. Now get out of my sight!"
At a fast pace, Roland left the room and quickly closed the door behind him. He heard a sniggering to his right and glared at the other man he was assigned to work alongside, though the shades he wore cancelled the intimidating effect he was hoping to achieve. "You did that on purpose, Kemo."
"Of course." The man with pointy hair continued to laugh. He'd convinced the rookie that it was perfectly okay to enter their boss' office the way that he just had, in the hope of getting the man fired.
"Just what is your problem?" Roland asked as he squared off against the other man. "Yours and those other five stuck up bastards?" He noticed the way that nobody at Kaiba Corporation seemed to like him, especially the six he had just mentioned.
"My problem is you!" Kemo retorted as he stared back. He was actually about an inch shorter than Roland though his hairstyle made him the tallest out of the two. "You like to think of yourself as the same as us." He sneered. "But in fact you're nothing more that a glorified babysitter for those two brats."
Roland hated to admit it but the smug looking prick was right, though that still didn't stop his lips curling up in a smirk. "At least I'm not kissing ass to stay in my job."
Kemo grit his teeth as Roland walked away from him. "You just wait Isono; I'll make sure that you don't stay around for very much longer!"
Shrugging off the empty-made threat, Roland left to continue his duties for the rest of the afternoon. During that time he couldn't help but wonder about who, had been shielded behind the screen in his boss' office. It was clear that he had disturbed something in the process of entering the room unexpectedly, but what? Could it be that Gozaburo had had a woman in the room with him and that he had stumbled in on some kind of sexual act? Perhaps it was even a guy? Either way it really was none of his business so he cleared the thought from his mind as he parked the car outside of the Kaiba mansion.
"Here we are; home sweet home." Roland stated cheerily as he glanced at the boy on the back seat through the use of his rear view mirror. He frowned at the sight of the boy who wore a sad vacant expression. Now that he thought about it, Roland had never seen the kid smile once during the time he had been working in his job, not even when the younger boy was with him. "Penny for your thoughts?"
Blue eyes raised and flashed angrily back at Roland in the mirror before Seto silently opened the door and exited the car, taking the metal briefcase he had with him. He had only gone a couple of steps when the latch holding the case shut sprang open scattering its contents on the ground below. Upon seeing this, Roland left the driver's seat and helped the boy to retrieve all of the papers and discs that had fallen.
"I don't need your help, Isono." Seto snarled as he snatched a pile of papers from Roland's hands.
Roland stood back and let the bad tempered boy collect the rest of the items on his own. It was only from that height and angle that he noticed the faintest trace of blood on Seto's neck and shirt collar. "You appear to be bleeding, sir."
"I'm fine." Seto replied as he finished picking up his things and clipped his briefcase closed again. Slowly he rose and winced at the pain in his back as his shirt rubbed against the wounds that were trying to heal. He saw a concerned look on the face of his stepfather's lackey and swung his arm to reject the helping hand that was reaching out for him, knocking the shades clean from the man's face. "I said I'm fine!"
"You're clearly not, sir." Roland argued as he stared back at the furious blue orbs that contained a hint of fear. "Your father has entrusted me to look out for your wellbeing…"
"Don't you ever refer to that man as 'my father'!" Seto spat angrily before he stormed off towards the front door of the mansion. He fumbled for the key in his pocket to unlock the door and let himself inside. Since his brother was away on an overnight school trip, the old man had no need for the house staff that day, which also gave Gozaburo the perfect opportunity to be 'alone' with him later that evening.
Deciding to chase after the boy, Roland gently placed a hand on Seto's shoulder to stop him from escaping through the front door. He would find out whoever had harmed the boy he was supposed to be watching and sort the problem out before his boss could use it as the excuse he needed to fire him. Like a flash, his hand was knocked away and he received another furious glare which almost instantly gave way to the sorrow hiding behind the blue eyes.
"Let go of me!" Seto ordered as the man suddenly grabbed him by the wrist. He struggled as best as he could though the pain in his back weakened him greatly and soon found his other wrist also restrained. "Let go of me!" He screamed as tears began to build up in his eyes.
Roland did not mean to cause the boy any distress but knew that he would otherwise be too stubborn to reveal what had happened to him. He transferred both of Seto's wrists into the tight hold of one of his huge hands leaving the other free to peel down the shirt collar and expose the wound hidden beneath. "Who did this to you?" Roland was horrified at the sight as it continued to spread round onto and down the boy's back.
Seto kept his mouth tightly closed as he avoided looking at the man who had now let go of his wrists, and continued to remove his shirt completely as he tore it from his weak frame. Almost every part of him inside was screaming at himself to stop what was happening and lash out at the man, but his heart told him otherwise as this man who had fought hard to reveal his secret may be able to help him. With great difficulty he managed to push back all the strong negative feelings and pitifully mumbled his reply. "My stepfather, Gozaburo Kaiba."
Lime green eyes widened with shock of what they had just heard. "When? Where? Why?" Roland asked but got no reply as the boy had closed up and then it hit him. "You were the one behind the screen in his office when I entered earlier weren't you?" He saw Seto nod slightly with his eyes scrunched shut, no doubt to stop him from crying the tears that were still managing to gradually seep through. "I'm so sorry." Roland gasped as he wiped his hand across his face, appalled that his boss could do such a thing to the boy he had adopted.
Not being able to keep the sorrow stored up any longer, Seto began to sob quietly. He had always waited until he was safely locked in his own room and away from everyone else, especially his stepfather and younger brother, before he allowed the first tear to fall. But now that Roland knew his secret, and alone at the step of the door, he let the tears fall fast and freely as he crumbled into an emotional wreck. Roland's jacket was carefully placed over Seto's bare shoulders and he willingly leaned into the body of the man standing close to him.
Roland let the boy cry for as long as he needed and once the tears had stopped he put forward his proposal. "I wasn't able to do anything earlier, but from now on let me be there for you, Seto."
Blinking blue eyes stared up at the man who had dropped all formalities and addressed Seto as his actual self. For once it felt good to be referred to as more than just; 'boy'- that which was used by his stepfather as a reminder of which of them it was who held the power, and more often than not, usually meant that an unpleasant experience would also be waiting to emphasise that hold, 'big brother'- though he would never tire of his brother referring to him this way, Seto knew that there was so much more to him than this, or 'sir'- as Gozaburo had bullied all of his employees into addressing any Kaiba in the same manner, as a way of showing respect, but was nothing more than falsely used on the majority of the occasions it was spoken.
"That monster is paying me to guard you, so let me do it properly in the way he never intended for me to do so. Let me be the one you can turn to with your problems no matter how big or small. I'll do whatever I can that's within my power to protect both you and your brother from him or any other kind of harm. A spy amongst 'his' employees, father figure or just the one to tend to your wounds and pick you up when you're down; whatever you ask of me I will do it. You don't have to be alone anymore."
Touched by the devotion that the man was willing to give, the first smile that his new friend would see slowly graced the boy's face. "Thank you, Roland." #
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A/N: This chapter is one of the 'bigger' changes I made to the plot as I started to write it. Originally I had intended to lock Seto in the asylum, but that would have taken up too much time within the story to carry out, so I decided to use some ideas that I had about a prequel type fic. I think it works alot better, though it does mean that I axed out an appearance by Y.Bakura :(
I know it can been seen as cheesy and tacky, but I joined Roland's dub and japanese names to get one full name, because I suck at thinking up surnames :P And on the subject of names; What did Roland see displayed on the psychic paper? (I ask this question purely for fun, I don't have a clue what name he saw either)
Isis the Sphinx - The Doctor's letting it happen because at this point he doesn't know yet ;)
TheMadNovelist - "I bet the Doctor is going to be so - - off with Jack ne?" I'm actually about to start typing this scene.
starwefter - This is all happening on one timeline. Seto can either have an 'almost perfect' family life or Mokuba, there is no alternate dimension involved :( And as for being hooked on my story; yep, I have a habbit of getting deeply caught up in them, and also a bad habit of writing one-shots and starting others instead of trying to work on just one XD
Coelectichi - I think this fic must be out to get everybody watching Torchwood, lol. Some of the later chapters I wrote got me a little side tracked as I gave a kind of summery for a couple of episodes as I felt they were needed for non-Torchwood watchers/followers to understand the characters I've involved in this fic. I also realised that it will be a big series two spoiler for those who haven't seen it, but I guess that I did that from the first time I had Jack mention Gray. Sorry guys :(
Shadowess 88 - Sorry to disappoint you that there's no Yugi, Doctor, Jack or 'time-jumper' in this chapter. Hmm, you seem to be getting a little ahead of yourself with things. (looks around for amnesia pills to Retcon you with) j/k, lol.
KG
