Amelda lay awake in his bed, surrounded by a cramped room that despite various promotions hadn't expanded by an inch.
Worse yet his guilty conscience let the walls closing in by the minute.
Like words had failed him when Kaiba, stupid, stupid naive Kaiba, had stated his intentions boldly, words were failing him now.
His mind was blank, hardly a thought worth thinking inside his throbbing head.
And if one speck of introspection dared surfacing it was dragged into the boiling, sheer endless abyss of hate, guilt and self-hate for feeling guilty.
Stalemate.
By betraying himself and his master when it had mattered Amelda had manoeuvred himself into a corner.
Back against the wall there was no going back to where he'd come from.
And the only other way of escape had been barred off by Kaiba's gullibility.
Entrapped.
No exit. No escape.
Left to watch the avalanche break free and smash something he no longer wanted to see broken.
There was no going back.
Not to Doma. As the swordsman was no longer sure what he was fighting for.
Not to Dartz. As the semi-god he'd once venerated and given his body to now scared him.
Of course in a physical sense there soon would be a going back...
Amelda rolled over and childishly hoped to resolve matters that way.
A quick escape was not an option, though Amelda had toyed with the idea.
He'd have to fake both his and his brother's death to begin with.
Leaving no traces they'd have to lie low for a while. And not even that was a guarantee for throwing Dartz off his scent.
If he wanted to he would always find him.
Worse yet, Dartz would leave it to Amelda to track him down and beg letting him rejoin the group.
His master loved playing games in a sense.
Not to seek after but to let the escapee see the error in their ways.
He did that to people; Amelda had seen it more than once and lived quiet well with forgetting all about it.
Until now.
The desert...at his master's feet...the unbearable heat...heat he dreaded...
God, the repressed conflicting feelings.
But Dartz loved toying with people like that.
A strategist he might be, his master lacked one essential virtue (or vice) compared to a full-blooded gambler like Kaiba.
Patience.
It seemed odd for a man laying low for centuries until the time was right, but perhaps this was the point.
Landscapes would slowly change; valleys would become deserts and vice versa but people came and went.
Dartz decided when the time was right and if someone or something failed him he would simply turn and go looking for a replacement.
Time happened to other people.
And thus Amelda had figured, was a chance.
If he'd keep out of his reach long enough he might, and this was just the tiniest of possibilities, but he might lose interest and let him go.
A soft glow coming from his now fully charged phone made Amelda flinch as he had mistaken it for the infrequently ominous glowing Orichalkos stone buried in a shoe box at the bottom of his drawer.
It did that now.
And he didn't have the guts to ask Rafael about the why.
Amelda rolled onto his back staring back at the darkness.
He could run away...
Yeah, right.
He'd never thought about going back at all.
Actually he'd figured that once his family had been avenged there would be nothing left of him but joy.
Enraptured and content he wouldn't care about what may come.
Not about himself.
Nor this world.
But that was back then.
Before Miruko...
They would have to flee again, change names and address and start over.
And he would have to explain.
"When will you be yourself, Amelda?"
The words still haunted him.
Actually all disquieting thoughts and words do at three o'clock in the morning.
It had been a while back when his brother had bluntly asked.
Long enough as to not classify as urgent but short enough time has passed so it wouldn't fade into category 'back then' a time span marked with 'past'. Something in the mental archives to frown upon but nothing to be concerned about.
Of course Miruko had immediately apologised and blamed it on boredom and lack of oxygen and the likes.
But Amelda had heard the tone vibrating within.
Someone else's voice.
Miruko was changing.
And, as the half-parent Amelda was, he dreaded the rapidly approaching days when a shoulder rub and hard candy would no longer solve all of life's problems.
Actually those days were long gone already, but...
A time when he would give his advice and Miruko would oppose.
Or it would no longer suffice.
Amelda enjoyed those nagging little disquieting feelings.
At least it wouldn't be his fault...
Going round in circles, from self-loath, to megalomania, to hate and guilt and back to self-loath again.
The thoughts spinning round and round in his head was making him sick.
Up to a point where there was nothing left to feel.
Amelda had reached the level of spiritual and mental defeat.
But he highly doubted this to be a sought after state of mind.
Mercifully he passed out around that time and slept for as little time as he was left with.
As if by telepathy a certain red-head was awake too long past midnight.
Fortunately not feeling as lost and useless as his older brother.
Because he had company.
The benefit of using the name 'Kaiba' was exploited shamelessly.
Mokuba had gotten used to it by now, so visiting hours were nothing more than a suggestion to him.
And it seemed to work.
All is fair in love and card games, so they say. (Or was that just his brother?)
Well up to the point when Seto would put his foot down, but the latter was far too occupied with this new deal.
It would buy them some more time.
Mokuba reluctantly pulled his gaze from his brooding lover and continued where he had left off.
And that was exactly what Mokuba was doing : buying more time.
His little plan had went so well it was almost scary.
Triumphantly he finished his mail and sent it.
"So that's it, then?" Miruko asked carefully, mattress shifting as Mokuba joined him underneath the duvet.
"Operation successfully postponed," Mokuba reassured him and then sealed their lips with a long, soppy kiss.
"No scar-revision..."
"With the performing surgeon cancelling all his appointments before he heads for the states in two days? I don't think so..."
They had planned on this, nonetheless Miruko was relieved.
The rustling of linen and goose down follow only to be interrupted by smacking of lips as they parted and sniggers.
"That's a lot of power to possess," Miruko thought aloud.
Not concerned, as Mokuba thought.
Just being reminded of what Amelda had done for him so far.
"I'll use it responsibly," Mokuba sniggered.
Both of them knowing damn well that he wouldn't.
But it didn't matter.
Sometimes it was good to know the right guy in the right place. (Or in his case bang the right guy in the right place).
Miruko chuckled at this thought.
For now he was glad to know his operation to be postponed.
Until he could have a word with his brother.
And perhaps afterwards it would stay that way...
A hand nestled between Miruko's thighs.
A questioning glare shot the intruder produced nothing more than a blush and a dry harrumph.
"Well," Mokuba mumbled.
"Well," Miruko repeated.
"I thought..."
"That's something knew then," Miruko cut him short. But smiled at their silly little lovers' games.
Mokuba had only just saved his boyfriend from further torment, so it was probably not the best of time to be thinking about it.
(Actually he was all the time.)
But he was too horny to be tactful.
Miruko ended the pathetic stammer with a kiss and pulled Mokuba closer.
"Alright, everything to shut you up..."
Considering all the hours Amelda had spent alone it was a shame what little words he exchanged with Raphael.
Pity was he felt like crying or screaming every time he looked in his direction.
And excused his deservedness to his companion by Kaiba being paranoid and employing staff with good hearing.
Raphael accepted this, albeit with growing reluctance.
He knew the redhead too well to let their talk on the balcony pass as second thoughts.
The awkward silence was cut short by Isono leading them to Kaiba's office.
Where a rare Kaiba, one in a good mood that was, awaited them.
Amelda shut himself off from the well-meaning banter before they got down to business and made his mind a blank.
Until he saw Raphael's jaw drop.
And replayed the words he'd half-listened to.
Not that he really needed to.
"...which you have my apologies for. As feeble as the over-used excuse seems, it is indeed a family matter that's keeping me from sealing our partnership right away. I'll have to decline your offer, for now..."
The promising suffix was lost to Raphael who acted mildly disappointed...
...when Amelda could see him being utterly at a loss before a brief glance of accusation was shot in his direction.
Luckily Amelda looked as puzzled and perplexed as he was and stared open-mouthed at Seto 'Unpredictable' Kaiba.
"Surprised, Miss Sotha?" Kaiba said conversationally, "after all it is my decision..."
Raphael understood.
And finished his role as turned down business partner.
"Oh, what a shame," Kaiba loosened his tie long after Raphael had left.
And not called Amelda for crossing his plans.
Kaiba had been pretty convincing.
"What is, sir?" Amelda asked as the intentional pause dragged on.
"I should have signed the papers back then," Kaiba tended to his coffee, "shipped you overseas as to lead the delegation. Then wait for you to catch up where you two had left off..."
"No, don't try to deny it Hanako," Kaiba interrupted feeling-found-out-Amelda immediately, "I've seen the looks you were exchanging. The distant sound of the second wedding bells ringing..."
Amelda didn't know what to make of that tone of voice.
Anyway it was hard to hear with his heartbeat echoing in his skull.
"No, no..." Kaiba chuckled sitting down again, "I must compliment your honesty. In the end it showed me the right way. No, hinted, perhaps. It was my decision after all."
Then he looked out of the window for a while before standing up and putting on his coat.
"You're going out again, sir?" Amelda asked still perplexed by the past hours' events.
"Yes, and you are too," Kaiba answered, beckoning Amelda to stand up before he shoved and secured him in his coat.
"Tea break, but don't make a habit out of it," he instructed his secretary as he pushed Amelda past the buzzing corridors.
"Where are we..."
"It's a nice little place I haven't been to what, years?"
Which was probably not a joke.
Not a regular in the high-end cafe they'd almost gone in and out unnoticed.
But someone had been tailing them from the moment they'd left the building.
Someone properly dressed for the occasion and quarter.
But wearing a strangely esoteric pendant which gave off a faint glow.