Kaiba grumbled to himself as he angrily stomped through the woods, trying his best to avoid low hanging branches and exposed roots. He hated being outside in general, but being surrounded by greenery was worse. He paused for a moment as he came to a fork in the trail, hating everything as he took out his phone for a flashlight.
It was dark now. Even though breakfast had felt like it was only minutes ago.
Fuck, which way was it? He thought, grumpily racking his brain for the directions Isono had given him.
He sighed and dialed Isono's number, tapping his foot impatiently as the trees began to look more and more threatening with each passing moment. "Pick up, pick up." He murmured nervously, gazing down at his feet.
Kaiba's shoes were covered in mud. The ground was wet and the air smelled of rain and moss. It was strange. He wondered...when did it rain?
"Yes, Sir?" Isono's voice over the phone made Kaiba jump. He had forgotten he was waiting for an answer.
He cleared his throat, "I'm at the fork in trail. Which way do I go now?" He asked crossing his free arm over his torso to warm himself up. Why was it so cold out now?
"Fork in the trail?" Isono questioned, his voice concerned.
Kaiba rolled his eyes and shivered, rubbing his sides, "Yeah. I'm here and I don't know which way to go." He was becoming frustrated.
"Sir, there is no fork in the trail on the way to Sala's cottage. It's a straight line from our gate. Did you take a wrong turn-"
"I haven't turned! I've been walking in a straight line this whole time!" Kaiba yelled, his eyes becoming hot with anger. He just wanted Atem to be safe again. He would do anything for his husband but this was all becoming too much.
"Sir...I'm trying to locate your phone via GPS an-I- the dot-" Isono's voice cut in and out before the call dropped completely.
Kaiba's heart sank into his fluttering stomach, "Isono? Isono?!" He yelled into the phone but no response. "Shit." He spat, shoving his useless phone into his jacket pocket.
He was lost.
He couldn't call anyone for help and due to his tendency to pace while talking on the phone, he now had no idea the direction from which he had come. Great. Just fucking great. He looked around, trying to find the fork in the trail once more.
It was nowhere to be found.
What the shit?!
He turned to look behind him. Those trees look closer than they were before... He tried to take a step back but paused when his foot squelched in the mud, thicker and deeper than it was earlier. He tried to free his foot from the mud trap, falling face first into the ground when his foot wouldn't give.
"Blegh!" He groaned, sitting up and coughing through his mud stained face. He forced his foot out of his dress shoe, the gucci slip-on still stuck in the mud as he struggled to stand up. He cringed as his dry sock sunk into the ground. He reached down, grabbing onto his loose shoe and pulling it out of the mud with a comical pop!
"Mr. Kaiba?" Sala's smooth voice penetrated his ears.
He spun around, blinking fervently when the day's sun blinded him and the dark forest became bright and clear. He gazed around in confusion. The trees were no longer threatening and the ground was no longer muddy. It was dry and solid.
For the first time in the woods, he had heard the birds chirping and the small waterfall on Sala's property trickling. The heaviness in his chest lifted, as did his mood. Relief. He was safe now.
"Mr. Kaiba are you alright?" She asked, not daring to move any closer to the man who had dislocated her shoulder and crushed her wrist.
Kaiba snapped out of his daze and looked down at his body. He was still covered in mud and must have looked insane holding one shoe in his hand, 'I...it was dark...and then it wasn't, I'm-I was lost." He stuttered, wondering what could have happened.
He raised an eyebrow when Sala sniffed at the air and closed her eyes. God, she was so strange.
"You're wearing cologne. Something must have taken a liking to you." She said, crossing her arms over her exposed cleavage.
Kaiba looked Sala up and down and realized the curly-haired botanist was in a lacy bra and panties and barely covered by her longline satin kimono, "Something or someone?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of her naked navel. It bared a striking resemblance to Atem's taut stomach.
Sala glared daggers at the tall brunette, "Is there a reason why you're here?"
He ran his free hand through his mud-soaked locks and sighed, "Can I come in? I need to explain." He tried to sound as gentle as possible.
"No." She said simply, turning on her heel and walking toward her home.
Kaiba quickly followed behind her, wondering how he missed the large cottage. It wasn't the biggest property but there were so many flowers and plants that weren't native to the forest, and a stone walkway that gave away the presence of a human being.
Why was it so dark before… He thought, catching up to Sala. "Please! I'm sorry I hurt you but Atem is in trouble and-"
"He was in trouble before too but you still found it necessary to twist my arm and kick me out of your home." She spat, not bothering to turn around when she got to her front door.
"Right now, Atem is being held hostage by that thing and if you're really the fan that you say you are, you'll help him out of this." Kaiba explained, "Please. Just let me in and I'll tell you what happened this morning…" His eyes darted back and forth in thought, "I don't-I can't lose him, Sala. Please...let me in." He begged, not noticing the tears streaming down his cheeks.
His heart fluttered when he heard Sala sigh in defeat and open the door. He looked up and saw that she had already disappeared inside, leaving the door open for Kaiba. He hurried inside, taking off his shoe and placing his mud covered slip-on next to it.
Kaiba closed the door behind him and sniffed the air. Chocolate chip cookies. They smelled delightful. He wandered into the kitchen, normally not enticed by sweet treats, but due to his moment in the woods, happily took a warm cookie off of the copper serving tray in the middle of the kitchen table.
He shoved the whole cookie in his mouth and moaned at how it melted on his tongue. Perfect. That was a perfect cookie. He took another one off of the tray and had a smaller bite, savoring the fresh taste. He wandered further into the cottage, walking down a small hallway and into a well lit room.
Sala was seated on a queen sized bed, her kimono tossed to the side, showing off her curvy yet muscular frame. Kaiba heard the shower running and suddenly felt uncomfortable, "Oh, I didn't know you had company." He said nervously, the warm cookie in his hand melting around his fingers. That would explain her sultry appearance.
"Did you think this get up was for you?" She spat, leaning back on her elbows, giving Kaiba a full view of her beautiful stomach. He stared, gawking at the overwhelming similarity between her and Atem.
The sound of the shower had stopped, and Kaiba shifted nervously as someone stepped out of the bathroom. He gasped, "Mokuba?!" His furrowed his brow in confusion. The man in front of him in just a towel looked like his brother, but looked...older, more mature.
"Hi...Nii-Sama…" The Mokuba look-alike purred, crawling onto the bed with Sala, "Why don't you join us?" He asked, pulling Sala onto his lap and burying his nose in the crook of her neck.
Kaiba shook his head and blinked rapidly. He gazed down at his hands, the half-eaten cookie he was holding had turned into a black gelatinous fluid that was slowly wrapping itself around his wrist. He yelled, trying to fling off the strange substance.
He fell to the wood floor, the fluid squelching and crawling up to his chest and splitting in half. The fluid wrapped itself up both of Kaiba's arms and pinned his wrists to the floor. He struggled in sheer panic, kicking his legs out as the room became dark and the wood beneath him became cold and wet. He was still in the woods.
"You'll only make it worse if you keep struggling." Sala and Mokuba said in unison, sitting on either side of Kaiba's head.
Kaiba kicked upward, trying to free himself as Sala straddled his waist. "Shh, shh... Habibi. Forget about Atem…" She mewled, freeing Kaiba's hands and moving them to her waist, "I can replace him…" She ground her hips down against Kaiba's, eliciting a pained groan from the blue eyed CEO.
He dug his fingernails into her skin, unwillingly bucking his hips up into hers, "No.." He breathed. He didn't want this. He wanted to be with Atem. Safe and warm in his husband's arms.
"Don't fight it, Nii-sama. It only hurts while you're dying." Mokuba whispered into his brother's ear. Kaiba's eyes widened when Sala's hands clamped around his neck. He tried to shake her off of him but to no avail. He choked out a gasp as he struggled harder, running out of air.
"Don't struggle, Seto." Mokuba hummed, "Seto...seto, Seto!" The teen voice became louder and louder.
Kaiba eyes shot open and he sat up, looking around the woods frantically as Mokuba tried to calm him. He gazed at his younger brother, checking the raven haired teens features for their unmistakable youth. He steadied his breathing when he realized he was safe. More or less.
He was sitting on the ground, still as muddy and wet as it had been when he fell. He looked down at his hands, covered in dirt and grime. He was still holding his shoe. What had happened?
"Seto, are you okay? Isono told me you were headed to Sala's cottage and I came after you." Mokuba explained, helping his brother to his feet, "When I found you, you were nowhere near the trail and you were knocked out." He was still upset with Kaiba but didn't feel right about his older brother venturing out into woods on his own.
Kaiba studied the ground and saw that there was an exposed root near where he had fallen. He rubbed his forehead, sucking in air through his clenched teeth when he felt a small bump just above his eyebrow. "I-I got stuck in the mud and fell over...I guess I bumped my head.." He said slowly, still shivering at how real the cookie in hand tasted and soft Sala's skin was. Just as soft as Atem's skin.
Mokuba blinked at his brother, hiding his worry, "Well, we should keep going. Once we get Sala to the mansion to help Atem-"
"No. I don't think-Ugh.." Kaiba groaned and held his forehead in his palm, "I think I'm going to be sick." He retched and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the muddy forest floor.
"Gross, Seto." Mokuba said, turning his head away from the mess in front of them, "Seto...are you...feeling normal?" He asked, hazarding a gaze at the vomit. It was black and coagulated like old blood.
Kaiba rubbed his forehead again, "I saw her...and you..you two were...together." He felt bile accumulating in the back of his throat at the memory of his matured younger brother half naked on a stranger's bed.
Mokuba raised an eyebrow, "We should get you indoors." He said simply, taking his brother by the arm and leading him down the correct path to Sala's cottage.
As the Kaiba brother's continued their journey, they could only hope that Atem was holding on for his life.
Thank you for reading!
Your comments, kudos, and reviews mean the world to me! Tell me how I'm doing or what you think is going to happen next!
If you're interested in more stories like this, feel free to join my discord server! Send me a DM on tumblr QueenBEWD if you're interested!