Control

Bakura grabbed Seto's hand before he slipped into one of the unused guest rooms. "Your highness."

"The joke's over. You might as well stop calling me that."

Bakura closed the door before Roland could get inside, locking it and stepping back from Seto. "Your highness," he said again, this time with greater emphasis. "I just heard."

"I'm supposed to believe you haven't known this entire time?" Seto asked, taking an extra step away. He didn't appreciate being grabbed and ushered behind a locked door without having the reason prior. He wouldn't have appreciated it regardless of the reason.

"I haven't. I doubt many people knew."

"Really?" Seto said, crossing his arms and propping a foot on the wall behind him. "It seems everyone else knew."

"Everyone else didn't know. Everyone else doesn't agree."

There was a lot to consider given the circumstances and what Seto had been led to believe, but he hardly had the time for it now. Now he wanted to break things, to break faces and securities, to make everyone feel the level of disgust and pain he was feeling. They had stolen everything from him and humiliated him.

And cutting off communications with Japan? It was a step too far.

"What are you doing here, Bakura?"

"Talking you down."

"I'm not looking to bring the war to the homefront," Seto said.

"Maybe you should, but given time."

Now that was something Seto hadn't expected. He cocked his head a bit and scrutinized Bakura for any signs of deception. As far as Seto knew, Bakura was entirely loyal to Joey and the crown, and during the gunshots, it had been him who got Joey off the street and picked the lock to get into the pharmacy. Although, doing the job he was hired for didn't necessarily mean Bakura was completely loyal to Joey.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you need to clear out to prevent a lot of deaths."

That was true, and if KaibaCorp was out of the war, then the people who died would mostly be Japanese, and that meant half the people knew were at risk. But that didn't answer why Bakura was coming to him, or why he would risk so much to have this conversation.

"Why?"

"You can't seriously think we all want to go to war over this."

"It was his plan from the start."

"A plan he probably didn't intend to inact until somewhere way off," Bakura said. He crossed his arms and leveled his glare. "You're smarter than this."

"You'll have to give me ten minutes before I've moved past the revelation that the last two years of my life were a lie."

Bakura checked his watch casually, then returned to glaring at Seto. "How long do you really think you have to get over this?"

"Until I have to see any of them again."

"At least you've got that much right," Bakura mumbled. But he took a step closer so he could speak in a hushed tone. "Be smart about this, your highness. You're the one thinking rationally, and you'll be the one to figure out a course of action."

"Is it just you who feels this way? Passionately enough to come to me?"

"Wouldn't call myself passionate," Bakura said. "But let's just say it's in no one's best interest to go to war over a mental breakdown."

As groundbreaking of a thought as that was, Seto lost interest. "I understand. Trust me when I say I won't be sitting on my hands, but for right now, leave me the fuck alone."

Bakura bowed his head for a long moment. "Whatever you need, your highness. Come to me and I'll help."

Seto watched him leave and let his gaze linger on the door after it had closed, leaving him alone in the bedroom to react however he felt justified. How did he feel justified acting? When everything was wrong and he didn't have anyone to talk to about it, how did Seto want to respond?

Rationally, he decided first. That was the most important response he could think of, and would be vital to making it through. He needed to think through any option he was faced with extensively and completely, because he didn't want to find out what might happen if he did anything to upset the crown.

Patiently, he determined next. There was no reason to rush into anything, aside from the fact that the longer he waited, the worse Japan's chances grew. But too fast and he would lose any chance, so balance would have to come along with patience.

And wisely. The possibilities were still too open for him, and could be anything from running to trying to end the war before it got too far along. It couldn't be his choice though. He needed to find out what Japan planned to do in response and tailor his reaction accordingly. Roland copied over his contacts, but Gozaburo would be able to get the answer, and Seto knew his number, which meant the contact didn't have to be through Roland.

But he would need to get to a phone without anyone finding out about it. Better than a single call, he needed an open line of communication that no one would be looking for, and no ideas for one came to mind. Roland would be under suspicion strictly due to his proximity to Seto. Bakura's loyalties were still unclear. And aside from them, Seto didn't know of anyone else who might be a possibility.

Having two people on his side, no outside contact, and no privacy left Seto with almost nothing. He sat on the edge of the bed to rest his head in his hands and try to think, to actually think, because any time he felt like he had the spark of an idea, it would wither and vanish, leaving him with just the memory of, "Be quiet."

That was the role they wanted for him. A figure with the right characteristics to stand in the background of photographs to make their family look better. He would stay quiet and let people assume that meant he was supportive of Pegasus's decision, like his silence meant he didn't care about the consequences to his family. His name and his face meant more to them than anything he might have had to say.

But Pegasus had been wrong. Seto being in their household wouldn't keep KaibaCorp from producing weapons. Nothing could happen to Seto, so any threats against him couldn't be taken seriously. The most they could threaten was to keep things how they had just become—Seto isolated and out of touch.

They couldn't really expect to keep that up, could they?

Seto stayed in the bedroom for a few hours without coming up with much of a plan, and told Roland to decline his invitation to dinner when they called for him. It was an excusable absence, to Seto's mind, at least, and he went upstairs to his room to find a distraction. Maybe if he distracted his mind from the problem, a solution would come to him. It had worked before with the software glitches he came across, but this was such a more vital matter. There was an entire country on the line, placed there because of things far out of Seto's control.

It wasn't an idea that came to him first, but Pegasus, standing boredly in the doorway between the living space and the office where Seto had camped out with a book.

"You didn't join us for dinner, Kaiba-boy."

"You can understand my lack of appetite."

"It's hardly a sign of confidence not to even pop in. What should I make of that?"

"Whatever you will."

With a gentle sigh and the easiest shake of the head, Pegasus closed the door and sat in the desk chair, facing Seto. He leaned his head to the side so half his face was veiled with hair, and watched with interest while Seto continued turning the pages.

"How much trouble will you cause for me?" Pegasus asked.

"It should be a give and take," Seto said with another page.

"As charming as your sarcasm is, I'd like an actual answer."

"I will not publicly denounce Japan, even only in action."

"Of course you will," Pegasus said in that same, easy tone. "You're a member of our family, and as such, will have full support in our actions and doings."

Seto snapped the book shut and took the same position as Pegasus, back straight and one leg crossed over the other, foot bouncing in the air. "You sound so sure."

"What do you think is going to happen here, Seto?" Pegasus asked, using Seto's name for one of the first times since his arrival. "That your family's home is off-limits just as a favor to you?"

That drew Seto's complete attention.

"It's because you're on our side. Because of that, we are assuming they will side with us as well. Though traitors are a different story. You don't expect me to believe my son-in-law is a traitor?"

Accepting that threat was harder than accepting the lie of the last two years. It wasn't just about Seto, but Mokuba. He was threatening Mokuba and Seto wouldn't stand for it. He had to do something, to say something, to threaten Pegasus back to keep him away from his family—

What leverage did Seto have?

Patience, he reminded himself. If solving this problem meant allowing Pegasus to believe Seto was complying, then it would just have to happen that way. Letting any risk come toward Mokuba was not a contingency Seto would deal with. For now, until he could get in touch with them, Seto would have to protect his family from halfway across the world.

"I appreciate you leaving them off the target list," Seto settled on saying.

Pegasus smiled politely. "It's my pleasure to let you know your family is safe. And I trust you'll be on stage with us at the next conference?"

With no other choice, Seto nodded.

"And at breakfast in the morning?"

Seto agreed again.

"And any time you're called on?"

"It's why I'm here."

Hands to his knees, Pegasus pushed himself up. "I'm glad we were able to come to an understanding. I expect you to be back in Joseph's bedroom within the week."

It was all Seto could do not to gawk at Pegasus's back when he left. Had Joey told him? Or was Pegasus assuming Seto had moved out because of the war? Certainly Joey hadn't told him what had happened. He couldn't have.

Seto didn't want to wait to find out who knew what other aspects of his personal life. He left the book on the couch and checked for Joey in the bedroom, empty, and stepped into the living space to decide if going out to search was worth his time. He left his gaze unfocused on the television, and then...looked down a bit.

Joey's game consoles connected to the internet, and Mokuba had the same kinds.

That could work.

He nodded to himself and chose to take a walk instead of looking for Joey. The ideas would come when he wasn't looking for them, and hopefully, more people would approach. The roof would be a private place for anyone not looking to draw attention, and maybe the open air would do him good.

The sun had set; no one would see him while he overlooked the city.

Keith only worked during the day, so Seto had the roof to himself and the sounds of the city. He went straight for the edge to look down, toward the HOT L sign, unchanged after all this time, and out to the world who hated him for things out of his hands. Cecelia had liked the view too, and the two of them had run into each other often sneaking up for a glimpse of it. Seto expected that memory to taint it for him, but he only smiled in the face of it.

He would figure out something. If he thought of it like a game of chess, he could break each part down into doable portions that didn't feel so daunting. The first part was simple. He needed to read the other player, which meant finding out what his course of action would be. If he was going to stay and fight, that meant one strategy, and if he was going to run, he would need another.

Seto stared at the city lights until they blurred together.

Tomorrow, he would try to get in touch with Mokuba. If the console failed, then he would work with Roland on another method. But one way or another, he would begin in the morning.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

You can expect an update on Sunday, June 11th.