" Yami! Calm down!"
" Hanase! Hanase ima!! I have to go find him! Hanase!!"
" Yami, you can't go out there if you don't know where he is!"
" I will find him! HA-NA-SE!!"
Honda, Jou and Otogi were holding onto Yami to keep him from jumping out the second story window and running off to find Seto.
The Pharaoh was furious. He had nearly blown up the entire house with his Shadow Powers. They had jumped up to twice his maximum when he found out what had happened to Seto. His koi was gone. Someone had taken him and was doing who knows what with him. He didn't know where his koi was, he didn't know if he was okay, he didn't know if he was in pain or alright. He didn't even know who took him.
But Yami didn't care. He wanted to go out and look anyway. He wanted to go and find his koi and punish whoever had taken him. He wanted them to pay and have Seto back in his arms where he belonged. If this person knew he was a spirit, they should know that he didn't like anyone touching his koi without his permission. He was already responsible for more a few people disappearing in Domino from getting too close or even goosing his koi. He'd even get up in arms over someone even staring at Seto from across the room for too long.
Jealous? Extremely. Possessive? You betcha. Push over? Absolutely not! He didn't know why everyone was trying to stop him. He would simply go into town, question everyone. If they knew where Seto was, he would find out, then kill them. If they didn't know, he would kill them for wasting his time. If they knew, but wouldn't tell him, well, it gets kind of messy from there. Either way, he would have narrowed down the leads to the people who knew where his koi was by sundown.
" Baka Pharaoh, you're not going to find anything the way you're acting." Bakura snorted from his place leaning on the wall.
Yami stopped struggling and turned his rage-induced insane eyes on the pale Tomb Robber. Bakura shifted a little; uneasy at the way the Pharaoh was looking at him. " You don't seem to be brimming with ideas thief! You're probably glad he's gone from me! How do I know you didn't have something to do with this?! How do I know you weren't a distraction?!!"
Bakura stiffened at the tone of voice; all uneasiness gone from his body. " Are you even listening to yourself Pharaoh?! You're talking like a madman and that's exactly what they want! If you're too angry to think then there's a great chance you'll never see him again! Now is not the time to lose your senses! If you want your priest back the first thing you're going to have to do is CALM DOWN!"
Yami listened to his words and let them sink in. He was right. He wouldn't be able to help Seto in anyway if he went crazy. He would have to calm down and think to get to him. He closed his eyes breathed deeply. This was not the time to lose it. He could go on a rampage once he found out where Seto was and who had him.
" You're right," He growled out, " Losing it now won't save Seto. I have to find him."
Bakura snorted. " I suggest looking right under your nose first of all. Maybe questioning a certain baby kangaroo."
All eyes turned to Jou. The blonde looked up at all the eyes and blushed sheepishly. " Eheh…what's everyone staring at?"
Yami shook his hand idly to contain the itch of just sending Jou to the Shadow Realm for being ignorant. But then he got what Bakura was saying. Jou had said that Shizuka had been crazy about getting here. And Shizuka was no longer present. The Eye Of Horus flashed brightly on his head and Yami was in front of Jou and holding him off the ground in a second. One hand gripped Jou's collar, the other was glowing dangerously with Shadow powers.
" You! Your sister! She's the one isn't she?!"
" Yami! Put him down! Jou wouldn't do something like that!" Anzu tried to diffuse the situation, but as usual, she went ignored.
Jou struggled in his grip and tried to break free. Yami was looking at him like he was ready to kill him. He looked insane with rage and trembled with contained fury. It would be best to try and calm him down before he said anything stupid.
" Now Yami, man, you're my best friend besides Honda, you know I wouldn't do that to you!"
" Usotsuki!" Yami barked," You knew about this! You protected her didn't you?!"
" Now wait a minute! Ya think Shizuka actually had something to do with this?! Shizuka wouldn't waste her time on a jerk like Kaiba!"
Wrong thing to say.
Jou's collar started to burn in Yami's grip. Jou panicked and tried to break free but there was no way to escape from Yami like this. He figured the smartest thing to do now would be to take back what he said. " I-I mean, Shizuka knows better dan ta come after what's yours Yami. Everyone knows dat Kaiba belongs to you!"
His collar smoked from the heat that had been passing through it. Yami stopped burning it, but the glare remained. " Nice backpedal. But that does not tell me what I want to know. Did you or did you not know about her involvement in this?"
Jou scowled down at him. " Hey! How do you know that Shizuka had anything to do with this?! She might not have been in her right mind!"
Yami snorted and dropped him unceremoniously on the floor. Jou grunted in pain and rubbed his backside while Yami walked calmly towards the bed with his arms crossed. He sat down on the bed and looked at Jou with a wicked, amused expression.
" And how exactly do you explain her knowing where we were when none of you were told?"
" Yugi could have heard you and told her!"
The small hikari puffed at the accusation. " Uso da! I did not! My mouth was busy at the time and you know it!"
Jou looked over at Yugi, blushing with an apologetic look. " Eheh…right, sorry about that Yugi-koi…"
" Yugi wouldn't tell anyway and I don't leak. How do you explain her disappearance and the note left behind?"
Jou started to say something, but then closed his mouth as he tried to think. Hismind tried to wrap around a concept that would explain his sister's disappearance and Kaiba's, and the note that was left behind. What could happen that would explain all of this and maintain Shizuka's innocence?
In all instances, the evidence pointed to his sister. Although he hated to admit it, his sister did have a crush on Kaiba. She'd had it for the longest time. And when Yami announced his claim of the brunette, Shizuka had been crushed. She still had posters and pictures of Kaiba covering her walls like a giant collage. She did seem to have an obsession now that he thought about it.
But would she be capable of something like this? No, it didn't make sense. Shizuka knew how territorial Yami was and she'd seen what he'd done to people who looked at Kaiba. Shizuka also couldn't over power Kaiba in physical comparison. So it had to be something else.
Nodding his head in affirmation, Jou told them his explanation of the matter. Shizuka couldn't force Kaiba to do anything; therefore, she could not have taken him anywhere.
Yami growled in irritation. His mind said that what Jou said was true, but his heart told him otherwise. Something was wrong with this whole situation. Something was off and he would find out what it was. And he would have his koi back. Seto was his and no one else's. It would forever stay that way too.
" Alright, if Shizuka didn't take him, then the question is, where are the both of them and who would want to take them?" Yugi broke into Yami's train of thought.
He shrugged. " Whoever it is, they know I'm a spirit and at least one of their intentions is to irritate me by taking my koi."
" Who would want to get at you and take Kaiba away in the process?" Anzu asked a stupid question as usual.
Bakura took this time to jump in the convo. " Now there's a long list. Who've you pissed off this century Pharaoh?"
" Don't test me Tomb Robber. I'd love to send your soul packing. But unfortunately, I need you to find Seto. So save your life and shut the hell up!" Yami's red eyes promised he would follow through with his threat.
Bakura wisely shut up.
Mai sighed and tried to break the tension in the room. " Well, what about Pegasus?"
Otogi puffed up this time. " Hey! Pegasus-sama wouldn't do something like this! He's not that bad!"
Yami snorted. " You think you know Pegasus Otogi? You don't know jack! He put my koi through hell! And I sure as hell wouldn't put something like this past him. But this isn't Pegasus' style. He would leave some sort of calling card to let us know it was him."
Jou nodded. " Yeah, that guy's a nut. He would want to brag about it."
Anzu shifted in her position on the floor. " Anou…what about the Big 5?"
Yami grinned decidedly evilly. " What Big 5?"
Everyone decided to leave that explanation for another day. They didn't want to know what happened to those men.
They all sat in silence for a while. Each one thinking of someone who could be a possible suspect, then dismissing the idea for one reason or another. Minutes ticked by and Yami grew more restless. He wanted to go out and do things his way. He wanted Seto back dammit!
Bakura leaned against the wall in deep thought. Maybe if he saved Seto first, the priest would come to him. He grinned at the thought and thought harder. Maybe this stalker person was an enemy of the past? Maybe that's why they hadn't thought of him yet?
He narrowed his eyes in concentration. Someone from the past with a grudge against the Pharaoh and a lust for the High Priest…
A quick inhale of breath brought everyone's attention to him. Bakura let out a breathless laugh. That's it! That's who it was! He remembered now! He'd been in the ballroom when he first saw him! It made perfect sense.
" That's it…"
Yami glared at him. " What's it?"
" I know who it is!"
The Pharaoh jumped from his sitting position on the bed and appeared in front of Bakura in seconds. He pinned Bakura to the wall by his throat. " Talk Tomb Robber!"
Bakura smirked. " Baka Pharaoh. Don't you remember a certain blonde Egyptian Pharaoh from a poor country? He seemed to take an immediate interest in your new High Priest? He even tried to assassinate you for money? He now has a hikari and both of them hate you? And who has the power to take someone from their right mind?"
Yami's eyes widened in recognition. He remembered the someone that Bakura was talking about. He remembered well and he wished he hadn't. That blonde had killed one of his koi's dragons and made him sad. He had also had the audacity to try and claim his koi from him! It did make sense!
The others watched in anticipation. Yami turned to tell, releasing Bakura. " The dead man walking that has my Seto, is a man named Nakht."
Jou frowned in confusion. " Nakht? Do we know a Nakht Honda?"
" No, but we knew a Natasha once."
" Oh I remember her, she was rude."
" You're telling me. And ugly too."
" Yeah and-"
" If we could get back to the subject at hand?!" Yami barked in. He hated when they went off like that. Idiots! This was not the time for human stupidity. He didn't have the time or patience for them.
The two sheepishly shrank down on the floor. " You were saying?"
" I was saying that the person who has my koi is Nakht. You don't know him as that because he doesn't go by that name anymore."
" Then what does he go by?"
" …Malik…"
OGE: Ohayo minna-san! It's early where I am and at the time I'm posting this. About 4:00AM. I should be sleeping, but I'm not so forgive if this doesn't flow like the other chapters or there's some typos. My brain is dead and I'm running on autopilot. So here's another chapter. Finally, the stalker is revealed. Seems simple doesn't it? All Yami must do is find Malik, then get Seto back. But is that really all there is too it?
Youji: You're evil, you know that?
OGE: Yeah…S'Great innit?
Youji: Oy vey…
OGE: Mou…I'm not speaking to you Chibi-Chan, you didn't reply to that E-mail I sent you, like a month ago! Mattaku…Are you avoiding me? Hidoi yo…
Youji: Oh good job Chibi-Chan she's all depressed now! Damn, you people only see her when she posts, I have to live with this girl…-_-*
