Sorry for the delay in updating! I lost inspiration for a while after my good friend (who is an avid fanfic reader) flatly refused to read any of my fics (for reasons unknown to me)…but then I remembered you—my readers!
And then medical school applications happened…sigh…it seems like the world is trying to keep me from writing my fanfic! Anyway, thanks for following my fic until now
Well, back to Mokuba's kidnapping...
…
I pressed down the gas as far as it would go. There was no mistaking the location of the kidnapper. The scenery I saw behind Mokuba and that bastard was one I would never forget. How could I? It was the safe haven where Mokuba and I had often fled to while at the orphanage. While driving in a rage, ignoring any and all traffic rules, I thought of the times we had escaped to that row of sakura trees that seemed to greet us as we came. One time in particular crossed my mind…
Mokuba had been crying—the target of bullies as usual. His small frame, his innocent happiness and his desire to make friends with everyone had always made him an easy target. He was always too naïve, too sweet…but I wanted to protect that. If he alone could smile—that was enough for me.
I helped Mokuba through the crack in the fence and we ran until our lungs burst into the hollow beneath the old tree. Although in spring, it was a pretty sight—sakura blossoms in what seemed like an endless row of fragility—at other times, it seemed too bare. But it was the perfect place to hide.
"If you stop crying, we'll go somewhere new today," I said, watching Mokuba carefully.
"Like where?" Mokuba said, hiccupping.
"Hm. How about the zoo? I'm sure they have lions and tigers and…" I began.
"Tigers! I want to see a tiger! They look so strong," Mokuba said, smiling.
"Alright," I said, getting to my feet, "Let's go to the zoo!"
I took Mokuba's hand and ran around the tree, and through the cluster of sakura trees.
"And here we have the Indian tiger," I said, pointing at a small clearing. Although Mokuba knew as well as I that there was nothing there, his eyes lit up.
"A white one, too! With green eyes!" he exclaimed, reaching out his hand to pet the imaginary tiger. I grabbed his hand on reflex and felt my grasp tightening. Did he even know what it was to be afraid?
"Tigers are dangerous. You can't touch them," I said quickly. He nodded, but continued to watch the clearing.
"But they'll only hurt you if you hurt them, right?" he asked. I had no answer for him that day—nor now. If others attacked you only when you attacked them—there would have been no kidnapping today. There would have been no attack at the Kaiba Corporations headquarters, or in Cairo…
One of the first places I took Mokuba once Gozaburo died was the zoo—where danger was contained, where the tiger's beauty could be admired through a false sense of security.
A false sense of security that I had fallen into, I thought, shaking myself of my thoughts. I swerved sharply towards the river, my hands tightening around the steering wheel. Mokuba…this is my fault, I thought, anger, frustration—and guilt—flooding my system.
I flinched in surprise as my cell phone rang. I picked it up warily, half-expecting the kidnapper to be on the other end.
"Where the hell did you go?" Pegasus roared. I held the phone a good distance away from my ear, driving with one hand.
"I'm going to rescue my brother. Is there a problem with that?" I snapped.
"Yes! You happened to take one of the two vehicles we brought with us. You could have at least taken some bodyguards with you…" he seethed.
"I don't need your—or anyone else's help. This is my problem," I retorted, about to hang up.
"This is my problem, too. The kidnapper…I recognized his face. He's one of my bodyguards," Pegasus said.
"What?" I hissed, driving dangerously close to a mailbox.
"That's why it's my responsibility to…" he began.
"No. You lost the right to do anything in this situation after your security failed," I said.
"Fine. Think what you will. We've tracked the location of the kidnapper and are heading there now. I've alerted Yami of the location as well. We're all here for you, whether you like it or not," Pegasus said quickly and then hung up before I could reply.
Great. If Muto got involved in the kidnapping, what would happen to the millennium item?
I stopped the car abruptly in front of the row of sakura trees and rushed out. I ran to the old tree, gun in hand—only to find the place deserted.
"Mokuba! Mokuba!" I called out, knowing that it was futile. There was no one here, that much I knew well. Then where…
I heard a phone ring. Startled, I almost fired my gun. I spun around—to find a cell phone on the ground. I picked it up and snapped it open.
"You've become far too careless. I didn't think you would be fooled this easily," the voice on the other end said, laughing.
"Dammit! Where is my brother?" I cried, clenching the phone with enough pressure to crush it.
"My, my, you are getting desperate. It's giving me shivers to hear you this helpless," the voice drawled. I felt a wave of fury run through me and felt as if my skin was on fire.
"Quit toying with me," I hissed, getting back into the car. My mind—probably due to the insult to my ego—had remembered a certain detail from the scene of the kidnapper and Mokuba. They were sitting at a desk, with unusually small chairs…why had I not noticed it before?
I finally knew where my brother was. I just hoped that I wasn't too late…