"Tampered with it?!" Tea gasped. "Alright, that's it! Let's let the police handle this! We're not qualified for this kind of thing!"
At that moment, it seemed that everyone burst in.
"Oh my, oh my!" Mr. Thorton cried, seeing Seto still sitting on the floor with the broken piece of railing next to him. "What's happened?!"
"Yeah!" Tristan added as he, Bakura, and Yugi ran in. "Tell us!"
"Kaiba was pushed off the balcony!" Joey announced.
"Oh dear . . . oh dear . . . is he alright? Oh, please, Mr. Kaiba! Don't sue me!!" Mr. Thorton begged, wringing his hands.
Seto grunted in reply as he stood up. "I trust you didn't realize the railing had been tampered with?" he asked.
Mr. Thorton stared blankly at him, then grabbed his hair and wailed, "It's the curse!!"
"Excuse me, but would someone mind telling us what's been happening here?"
Everyone looked up to see two police officers standing in the doorway. Quickly the teens took turns explaining about the strange man and the events surrounding his appearance.
"This has definitely been toyed with," the first officer said grimly, looking at the broken balcony railing. "It didn't just fall apart for no reason."
"Are you certain you're alright, Mr. Kaiba?" the second officer asked, concerned.
Seto nodded curtly. "I'm fine. But if my presence here is no longer needed, I will take my leave."
"You may go, Mr. Kaiba," the first officer said, "but first, can you tell us about the man? Did you notice anything . . . unusual about him?"
Seto paused, thinking. "He walked with an odd limp," he said finally.
"That's true," Tea agreed, remembering. "But even with his injury, he could still run really fast."
The officer nodded. "This is an excellent clue."
Seto turned to leave. "I want to be notified of this man's capture," he requested.
"Of course, Mr. Kaiba," the officer agreed.
The others said goodbye to the young businessman and he soon departed. The officers interviewed Mr. Thorton briefly and then they departed as well.
"Oh, this is terrible!" Mr. Thorton wailed. "I'll probably get slapped with a lawsuit tomorrow!"
"I'm sure Kaiba won't do that," Yugi said kindly.
"I'll be sued blind! I should have sold the property while I had the chance!" the man moaned. The comb was now hanging from his hair, and he still didn't seem to notice. "I'm ruined!! Ruined, I tell you!"
Tea knew it was useless to try consoling him when he got like this. "Come on, guys," she said with a sigh, "let's see if we can clean up some of this mess." She indicated the merchandise that had been knocked over during the fight.
While they picked up fallen dolls and action figures, they discussed the case.
"I think we should search every square inch of this mall!" Joey declared. "That creep might still be hangin' around somewhere!"
"If he is, I'm sure the security team will find him," Tea said firmly. "Let's just forget about solving a new mystery, you guys. The police are trained for this kind of thing. We're not!"
"Yeah, so?" Joey said airily. "Police officers can get hurt too, you know. Just 'cause they're trained don't mean they won't get into any trouble."
"That's true," Bakura nodded.
"But what could we really do that the police aren't already doing?" Tea said in frustration.
"Not a lot, I suppose," Bakura said slowly, "but it's like Yugi said—the more people working on the case, the sooner it can get solved."
"Yeah, I guess," Tea said slowly, but she didn't sound convinced.
****
Seto walked down the dark, snow-covered streets of Domino City in irritation. He had not had to worry about criminals chasing him for two or three weeks now, ever since they had defeated Carmichael and his goons back in November. Gee, I was just starting to think maybe things were going back to normal around here, he said to himself cynically.
At that moment, an ear-piercing shriek rended the silence. Seto stopped short, startled, then turned and dashed down the nearby alley from whence the sound had come. He couldn't see anything at first, but then a little girl ran out of the shadows and grabbed his trenchcoat. "Help me!!" she cried. "They're after me!!"
"Huh? Who's after you, kid?" Seto asked, but then he heard a low, threatening voice from deep in the dark alley.
"Give the kid to us and maybe we'll let you live."
Seto put his arms around the sobbing child protectively. "Why should I let you have her?" he demanded.
"Because if you don't . . ."
". . . we'll leave your broken body here in this place for some unfortunate soul to find!" a second voice finished.
Seto glared. "I'm not afraid of you," he said stonily.
"You will be!" the first man hissed, reaching out his hand to grab the girl. "So just let us take the kid now while you're still in one piece!"
Seto snatched the man's hand and wrenched it away. "No one orders me around," he growled. "And no one is taking this kid!"
"You're gonna regret ever crossing us!" the second voice said, and Seto was suddenly grabbed from behind. Undaunted, the boy elbowed the man hard in the stomach and then pressed a pressure point on his arm. The man let him go, gasping in pain.
"You idiot!" the other man snapped. "I'll get him!" He lunged at Seto, but the teen was too quick for him. Before he knew what had happened, he was sprawled on the ground and Seto had placed his foot on the man's chest.
"Had enough yet?" Seto asked.
"Hey . . . you're just a kid yourself!" the man said in surprise. His eyes narrowed. "I'm not about to be defeated by some teenage brat!!" He grabbed Seto's leg and pulled him to the ground. "Say your prayers!"
The girl, trying to hide around the side of an old building, watched in horror, her bright eyes shining with worry.
Seto got to his feet and used a karate kick on the man, throwing him across the alley. The other man, still reeling from the pain Seto had dealt him, didn't seem to notice. Seto looked him over for only a second and then went back to the girl. "Come on, kid. I've gotta get you away from here." He scooped the child into his arms and then dashed off out of the alley. The frightened girl wrapped her arms around Seto's neck, not wanting to be separated from her rescuer.
Before long Seto had reached his limo and he threw the door open wildly. "Drive, now!" he yelled to the chauffeur as he climbed in, still holding the girl. The chauffeur complied, staring at the little newcomer confusedly through the rearview mirror.
Seto released the girl from his grasp and handed her the seatbelt, which she took shakily. "Now tell me, why were those men after you?" he asked.
The girl shook her head. "They wanted to get me so I couldn't try to rescue my mommy!"
Seto blinked. "Alright, kid, back up. Who are you, who were they, and why do they have your mother?"
"I'm Mara," the girl replied slowly, "and I don't know why they took my mommy, but they did, and I'm all alone!" Her words ran together as she broke into sobs.
Seto could see that she was in no condition to explain things to him right now. "It's alright, kid," he said gently, "don't try to talk. Just relax. I'll take you to my place until we can get this mess sorted out." Most people found Seto Kaiba aloof and distant, but he did have a soft spot for kids—especially sweet, innocent ones.
Mara nodded forlornly and looked at the floor.
Seto studied the girl curiously. She had lavender hair that came to just above her shoulders, bright blue eyes (which were now very sad), and a red ribbon in her hair. She was wearing a T-shirt with overalls—not exactly good attire for December weather—and was playing idly with a locket around her neck. She didn't look older than five, and certainly not older than six. Where could she have come from?
Before long, they arrived back at the Kaiba manor and Seto gently laid a hand on Mara's shoulder. "We're here, kid," he told her. She looked up at him and got out of the limo without saying a word. Seto led her up the walkway and up to the porch, where he opened the front door.
Velma was dusting when he came in with Mara, and the maid blinked in surprise. "Mr. Kaiba, who's this little lady?" she asked.
"This is Mara," Seto replied. He knelt next to the little girl. "This is Velma," he said. "Go with her now and she'll get you something to eat."
"Are you gonna help me find my mommy?" Mara asked.
"Of course I will, kid," Seto said kindly.
****
After a while, Mara found Seto in his home office and peeked in shyly.
Seto, sensing he was being watched, looked up. "Come in, kid," he said gently.
Mara slowly walked in and stood in front of Seto's desk. "Thank you for saving me," she said softly.
Seto smiled and came out from behind his desk. "Are you feeling any better, kid?" he asked.
"A little," Mara replied.
They walked over to the couch and sat down. "Now, can you tell me your story?" Seto queried.
Mara nodded. She spoke in a soft, slow tone, and Seto could tell that it hurt her to talk about this. "Well, it started a couple of months ago, when Daddy disappeared," she began, again absent-mindedly playing with the locket. "He's some kind of secret agent, and he goes around catching lots of bad people. We started getting these weird phone calls and letters in the mail after he'd been gone for about a week. Mommy didn't want to say anything, but I could tell she was awful worried! Then about three weeks ago, we suddenly packed up and ran away! Mommy said we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa, but . . . we never got there." Here Mara paused. She took a deep breath, then continued her tale. "We were on a train when these awful men came and ambushed us! All the lights went out and I could hear all kinds of screaming and yelling. I was calling for Mommy, but she didn't come. Then when the lights came on, she wasn't there!" Mara opened the locket and stared at a picture inside. "There were some more of those men, and they started chasing me! I went and hid in the baggage car until the train stopped, and then I had to hurry and get off!" She paused, then took a small piece of paper out of the locket. "I think Mommy knew those bad people would come after us," she said finally. "She told me that if any men ever started to chase me that I should run away as fast as I could until I found someone who could help! And . . . she gave me this." Mara held up the paper. "It looks like some funny math problem, but I don't think that's what it is."
Seto took the paper and stared at it.
3550 2N 6792E
2468 01937
"I think you're right, kid," he said finally. "I'm certain it has nothing to do with math. Did she tell you what you were supposed to do with this?"
Mara shook her head. "She didn't have time. As soon as she gave it to me, those awful men came on board the train!" The little girl had been trying to keep herself composed, but now she burst into tears.
Seto laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, kid," he said softly. "We'll find your parents. I promise."
The little girl looked up at him, trying to blink away her tears. Suddenly she smiled and threw her arms around Seto in a grateful embrace. Seto was surprised. He wasn't used to such affection, except from his brother Mokuba.
"Hey, it's getting late, kid," he said finally. "You'd better get to bed. Velma will show you where the spare rooms are. Tomorrow I'll see what I can do to find your parents."
Mara nodded and scampered out of the room.
Seto sighed and leaned back against the couch. What a strange day. He had dealt once again with the high-strung Mr. Thorton, been thrown off a balcony, and now had rescued a little girl and was on a quest to find her family.
He had just started to unwillingly doze when the door opened again and Mokuba came in. "Big brother?"
Seto started and came back to complete awareness. "Hey, Mokuba," he smiled, and the younger boy came over and climbed onto the couch with him.
"Velma said there's some girl here," Mokuba said, looking puzzled.
Seto ruffled his brother's hair. "There is," he replied, and he told Mokuba what had happened over the last couple of hours.
"Do you really think you can find her parents, Seto?" Mokuba asked, blinking worriedly.
"I don't know, kid, but I'm going to try," Seto said.
"Gosh, that must be awful for her, to be without her parents and not even know if they're okay," Mokuba remarked softly. He looked up at his brother with his expressive gray eyes. "I know how horrible I'd feel if anything happened to you, Seto," he whispered, hugging the older boy.
"Don't worry, Mokuba," Seto said tenderly, enfolding his brother in his arms. "We'll always be together. I'll make sure of it."
Mokuba sighed happily and soon fell asleep in Seto's arms. Seto watched the little boy for a while, remembering how much they'd been through together, and then he dozed off as well.
****
Yugi was preparing to go to sleep himself when the phone rang abruptly. "Hello, Muto residence," he said, wondering who on earth would be calling so late and hoping that nothing was wrong with anyone.
"Is this Yugi?" a muffled voice growled.
"Yes, it is," Yugi said with a blink of surprise.
"Quit your investigation if you wanna stay in this life," the voice hissed, and Yugi heard a click.
"Who is this?" Yugi demanded, but the person had hung up.
At that moment, it seemed that everyone burst in.
"Oh my, oh my!" Mr. Thorton cried, seeing Seto still sitting on the floor with the broken piece of railing next to him. "What's happened?!"
"Yeah!" Tristan added as he, Bakura, and Yugi ran in. "Tell us!"
"Kaiba was pushed off the balcony!" Joey announced.
"Oh dear . . . oh dear . . . is he alright? Oh, please, Mr. Kaiba! Don't sue me!!" Mr. Thorton begged, wringing his hands.
Seto grunted in reply as he stood up. "I trust you didn't realize the railing had been tampered with?" he asked.
Mr. Thorton stared blankly at him, then grabbed his hair and wailed, "It's the curse!!"
"Excuse me, but would someone mind telling us what's been happening here?"
Everyone looked up to see two police officers standing in the doorway. Quickly the teens took turns explaining about the strange man and the events surrounding his appearance.
"This has definitely been toyed with," the first officer said grimly, looking at the broken balcony railing. "It didn't just fall apart for no reason."
"Are you certain you're alright, Mr. Kaiba?" the second officer asked, concerned.
Seto nodded curtly. "I'm fine. But if my presence here is no longer needed, I will take my leave."
"You may go, Mr. Kaiba," the first officer said, "but first, can you tell us about the man? Did you notice anything . . . unusual about him?"
Seto paused, thinking. "He walked with an odd limp," he said finally.
"That's true," Tea agreed, remembering. "But even with his injury, he could still run really fast."
The officer nodded. "This is an excellent clue."
Seto turned to leave. "I want to be notified of this man's capture," he requested.
"Of course, Mr. Kaiba," the officer agreed.
The others said goodbye to the young businessman and he soon departed. The officers interviewed Mr. Thorton briefly and then they departed as well.
"Oh, this is terrible!" Mr. Thorton wailed. "I'll probably get slapped with a lawsuit tomorrow!"
"I'm sure Kaiba won't do that," Yugi said kindly.
"I'll be sued blind! I should have sold the property while I had the chance!" the man moaned. The comb was now hanging from his hair, and he still didn't seem to notice. "I'm ruined!! Ruined, I tell you!"
Tea knew it was useless to try consoling him when he got like this. "Come on, guys," she said with a sigh, "let's see if we can clean up some of this mess." She indicated the merchandise that had been knocked over during the fight.
While they picked up fallen dolls and action figures, they discussed the case.
"I think we should search every square inch of this mall!" Joey declared. "That creep might still be hangin' around somewhere!"
"If he is, I'm sure the security team will find him," Tea said firmly. "Let's just forget about solving a new mystery, you guys. The police are trained for this kind of thing. We're not!"
"Yeah, so?" Joey said airily. "Police officers can get hurt too, you know. Just 'cause they're trained don't mean they won't get into any trouble."
"That's true," Bakura nodded.
"But what could we really do that the police aren't already doing?" Tea said in frustration.
"Not a lot, I suppose," Bakura said slowly, "but it's like Yugi said—the more people working on the case, the sooner it can get solved."
"Yeah, I guess," Tea said slowly, but she didn't sound convinced.
****
Seto walked down the dark, snow-covered streets of Domino City in irritation. He had not had to worry about criminals chasing him for two or three weeks now, ever since they had defeated Carmichael and his goons back in November. Gee, I was just starting to think maybe things were going back to normal around here, he said to himself cynically.
At that moment, an ear-piercing shriek rended the silence. Seto stopped short, startled, then turned and dashed down the nearby alley from whence the sound had come. He couldn't see anything at first, but then a little girl ran out of the shadows and grabbed his trenchcoat. "Help me!!" she cried. "They're after me!!"
"Huh? Who's after you, kid?" Seto asked, but then he heard a low, threatening voice from deep in the dark alley.
"Give the kid to us and maybe we'll let you live."
Seto put his arms around the sobbing child protectively. "Why should I let you have her?" he demanded.
"Because if you don't . . ."
". . . we'll leave your broken body here in this place for some unfortunate soul to find!" a second voice finished.
Seto glared. "I'm not afraid of you," he said stonily.
"You will be!" the first man hissed, reaching out his hand to grab the girl. "So just let us take the kid now while you're still in one piece!"
Seto snatched the man's hand and wrenched it away. "No one orders me around," he growled. "And no one is taking this kid!"
"You're gonna regret ever crossing us!" the second voice said, and Seto was suddenly grabbed from behind. Undaunted, the boy elbowed the man hard in the stomach and then pressed a pressure point on his arm. The man let him go, gasping in pain.
"You idiot!" the other man snapped. "I'll get him!" He lunged at Seto, but the teen was too quick for him. Before he knew what had happened, he was sprawled on the ground and Seto had placed his foot on the man's chest.
"Had enough yet?" Seto asked.
"Hey . . . you're just a kid yourself!" the man said in surprise. His eyes narrowed. "I'm not about to be defeated by some teenage brat!!" He grabbed Seto's leg and pulled him to the ground. "Say your prayers!"
The girl, trying to hide around the side of an old building, watched in horror, her bright eyes shining with worry.
Seto got to his feet and used a karate kick on the man, throwing him across the alley. The other man, still reeling from the pain Seto had dealt him, didn't seem to notice. Seto looked him over for only a second and then went back to the girl. "Come on, kid. I've gotta get you away from here." He scooped the child into his arms and then dashed off out of the alley. The frightened girl wrapped her arms around Seto's neck, not wanting to be separated from her rescuer.
Before long Seto had reached his limo and he threw the door open wildly. "Drive, now!" he yelled to the chauffeur as he climbed in, still holding the girl. The chauffeur complied, staring at the little newcomer confusedly through the rearview mirror.
Seto released the girl from his grasp and handed her the seatbelt, which she took shakily. "Now tell me, why were those men after you?" he asked.
The girl shook her head. "They wanted to get me so I couldn't try to rescue my mommy!"
Seto blinked. "Alright, kid, back up. Who are you, who were they, and why do they have your mother?"
"I'm Mara," the girl replied slowly, "and I don't know why they took my mommy, but they did, and I'm all alone!" Her words ran together as she broke into sobs.
Seto could see that she was in no condition to explain things to him right now. "It's alright, kid," he said gently, "don't try to talk. Just relax. I'll take you to my place until we can get this mess sorted out." Most people found Seto Kaiba aloof and distant, but he did have a soft spot for kids—especially sweet, innocent ones.
Mara nodded forlornly and looked at the floor.
Seto studied the girl curiously. She had lavender hair that came to just above her shoulders, bright blue eyes (which were now very sad), and a red ribbon in her hair. She was wearing a T-shirt with overalls—not exactly good attire for December weather—and was playing idly with a locket around her neck. She didn't look older than five, and certainly not older than six. Where could she have come from?
Before long, they arrived back at the Kaiba manor and Seto gently laid a hand on Mara's shoulder. "We're here, kid," he told her. She looked up at him and got out of the limo without saying a word. Seto led her up the walkway and up to the porch, where he opened the front door.
Velma was dusting when he came in with Mara, and the maid blinked in surprise. "Mr. Kaiba, who's this little lady?" she asked.
"This is Mara," Seto replied. He knelt next to the little girl. "This is Velma," he said. "Go with her now and she'll get you something to eat."
"Are you gonna help me find my mommy?" Mara asked.
"Of course I will, kid," Seto said kindly.
****
After a while, Mara found Seto in his home office and peeked in shyly.
Seto, sensing he was being watched, looked up. "Come in, kid," he said gently.
Mara slowly walked in and stood in front of Seto's desk. "Thank you for saving me," she said softly.
Seto smiled and came out from behind his desk. "Are you feeling any better, kid?" he asked.
"A little," Mara replied.
They walked over to the couch and sat down. "Now, can you tell me your story?" Seto queried.
Mara nodded. She spoke in a soft, slow tone, and Seto could tell that it hurt her to talk about this. "Well, it started a couple of months ago, when Daddy disappeared," she began, again absent-mindedly playing with the locket. "He's some kind of secret agent, and he goes around catching lots of bad people. We started getting these weird phone calls and letters in the mail after he'd been gone for about a week. Mommy didn't want to say anything, but I could tell she was awful worried! Then about three weeks ago, we suddenly packed up and ran away! Mommy said we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa, but . . . we never got there." Here Mara paused. She took a deep breath, then continued her tale. "We were on a train when these awful men came and ambushed us! All the lights went out and I could hear all kinds of screaming and yelling. I was calling for Mommy, but she didn't come. Then when the lights came on, she wasn't there!" Mara opened the locket and stared at a picture inside. "There were some more of those men, and they started chasing me! I went and hid in the baggage car until the train stopped, and then I had to hurry and get off!" She paused, then took a small piece of paper out of the locket. "I think Mommy knew those bad people would come after us," she said finally. "She told me that if any men ever started to chase me that I should run away as fast as I could until I found someone who could help! And . . . she gave me this." Mara held up the paper. "It looks like some funny math problem, but I don't think that's what it is."
Seto took the paper and stared at it.
3550 2N 6792E
2468 01937
"I think you're right, kid," he said finally. "I'm certain it has nothing to do with math. Did she tell you what you were supposed to do with this?"
Mara shook her head. "She didn't have time. As soon as she gave it to me, those awful men came on board the train!" The little girl had been trying to keep herself composed, but now she burst into tears.
Seto laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, kid," he said softly. "We'll find your parents. I promise."
The little girl looked up at him, trying to blink away her tears. Suddenly she smiled and threw her arms around Seto in a grateful embrace. Seto was surprised. He wasn't used to such affection, except from his brother Mokuba.
"Hey, it's getting late, kid," he said finally. "You'd better get to bed. Velma will show you where the spare rooms are. Tomorrow I'll see what I can do to find your parents."
Mara nodded and scampered out of the room.
Seto sighed and leaned back against the couch. What a strange day. He had dealt once again with the high-strung Mr. Thorton, been thrown off a balcony, and now had rescued a little girl and was on a quest to find her family.
He had just started to unwillingly doze when the door opened again and Mokuba came in. "Big brother?"
Seto started and came back to complete awareness. "Hey, Mokuba," he smiled, and the younger boy came over and climbed onto the couch with him.
"Velma said there's some girl here," Mokuba said, looking puzzled.
Seto ruffled his brother's hair. "There is," he replied, and he told Mokuba what had happened over the last couple of hours.
"Do you really think you can find her parents, Seto?" Mokuba asked, blinking worriedly.
"I don't know, kid, but I'm going to try," Seto said.
"Gosh, that must be awful for her, to be without her parents and not even know if they're okay," Mokuba remarked softly. He looked up at his brother with his expressive gray eyes. "I know how horrible I'd feel if anything happened to you, Seto," he whispered, hugging the older boy.
"Don't worry, Mokuba," Seto said tenderly, enfolding his brother in his arms. "We'll always be together. I'll make sure of it."
Mokuba sighed happily and soon fell asleep in Seto's arms. Seto watched the little boy for a while, remembering how much they'd been through together, and then he dozed off as well.
****
Yugi was preparing to go to sleep himself when the phone rang abruptly. "Hello, Muto residence," he said, wondering who on earth would be calling so late and hoping that nothing was wrong with anyone.
"Is this Yugi?" a muffled voice growled.
"Yes, it is," Yugi said with a blink of surprise.
"Quit your investigation if you wanna stay in this life," the voice hissed, and Yugi heard a click.
"Who is this?" Yugi demanded, but the person had hung up.