Yo, this is terrible, I definitely haven't updated since August 2003, and
here it is in February of 2004 just now getting up a new chapter on ANY of
my stories. I feel bad ... so this chapter's a bit on the long side. But
I'ma tell you up front, it's pretty bad. Not a lot of action. Hopefully,
I'm gonna have the interesting stuff start up next chapter. But I'm SO
SORRY! It's after 2am right now and I'm workin my butt off to get this
posted for you guys. *sniff* And no one will care. *shrugs* Too bad.
------------------------------ Disclaimer: Don't own it! And I'm still sorry it took so long ... ------------------------------
"Hello, Kaiba," Kea said when Kaiba was escorted into her hotel room the next afternoon. She temporarily took her eyes away from her laptop to say, "I got a phone call from your office today confirming our dinner tonight. Very efficient, I'm impressed."
"Well, I only accept the best when it comes to my company," Kaiba said. "Now, where do you plan for us to go?"
Kea saved the document she was working on and shut her laptop, sliding it carefully into its protective holder and pushing it under the bed's pillow. "After yesterday when I saw Mrs. Ming in the restaurant, it started reminding me of when I was a kid, so I want to take you somewhere I used to go all the time. It was ..." Kea trailed off a little bit and then shook her head. "It's a nice place."
Shrugging, Kaiba said, "Fine by me. I'm assuming that's your limo outside waiting for us?"
"Ah-ah-ah, Kaiba, you should never assume things," Kea said as she put her trenchcoat on.
"So if it's not your limo, then whose is it?"
"I never said it wasn't my limo, I just said you shouldn't assume things."
Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Are we leaving or what?" he asked impatiently.
Kea smirked and said, "Yes. Let's go."
------------------------------TEN MINUTES LATER ---------------------------- -
"And here we are," Kea said, stepping out of her limo with the help of Kaiba's hand. "My favorite place. Man, I haven't been here in years ..." She let her eyes scan over the small, run-down building as memories flooded over her. She shook it off and said, "Sorry."
"Hm. I've been here before," Kaiba said, looking over the sign of the tiny diner.
"Really? When was that? I don't see you as the kind of guy who would come to a place like this." Then, quickly correcting herself, Kea said, "I mean, I see you as the kind of guy in restaurants like we were in yesterday."
Kaiba said, "I was here when I was younger," then jerked his head towards the door in order to skip over the subject and stop Kea from asking any more questions. Kea noticed this, and decided to ease into the questions over dinner.
Things went smoothly for a while the way they had the night before. Light, useless conversation until their meal came, and silence as they ate. After Kaiba had halfway finished his plate, Kea took notice to what he was eating. It had been the favorite dish of her father before he passed away. He would always order it from this restaurant and bring it back home for her. It brought memories to her mind for a moment.
"Any reason why you picked that particular dish, Kaiba?" Kea asked as she rolled some spaghetti around her fork and placed it in her mouth.
Kaiba looked at Kea oddly and contemplated whether he wanted to reply or not. After taking a good look at her seemingly innocent features, he responded, "This is the only dish I've ever eaten here since my first visit when I was ten. It's habit by now."
"Funny, that's the same reason why I ordered my dish," Kea said plainly.
There was an awkward moment of silence before Kaiba spoke. "You wanted to discuss something with me."
"Hm? Oh, right," Kea said, repositioning herself in her chair. "My lab techs have been working on new technology for our computer programming unit which resembles one of your virtual reality games."
"On a computer?" Kaiba questioned.
"With attachments, of course," Kea responded. "Since the programming is so similar to yours, we'd like to buy from you a portion of your patent and transfer it into our program to enhance the graphics. Would you like to see a proposal?"
"Yes, please," Kaiba said instinctively, then wondered to himself why he used such a polite word. Kea didn't seem to notice or care, so he fixed the collar of his trench coat and waited for her to dig her proposal from her silver briefcase. She handed it over to him and he flipped through it.
"I'll have to read this in detail and get back to you," he said.
"Of course," Kea replied. "I've extended my stay in Japan for a week, so I'll be in touch."
This time there was less silence between the change in subject as Kea picked up her glass and softly said, "You know, Kaiba, it feels awfully weird being here with you."
Kaiba looked up and her and cocked an eyebrow. "How so?" he asked.
Keeping the same tone, Kea shrugged, saying, "I don't know. It just feels like I know you from somewhere. Other than when you wrecked my limo."
"You mean when YOU wrecked MY limo."
Kea smiled. "Whatever," she said. Then with a sigh, she said, "I don't know. It just feels odd coming back here to Domino and being in all these familiar places. It's awkward all over."
"That's right, you came to live with your godfather in Domino after your parents died," Kaiba said, recalling what Kea had said to him the night before.
Kea smirked a bit. "Good memory," she nodded. "So what about you, you got any special childhood memories?"
"Hmph. No," Kaiba snorted, looking back through Kea's proposal.
Kea blinked a few times, then slowly said, "Or ... um ... not-so-special childhood memories?"
"Better worded," Kaiba said, emotionless. "I didn't have a childhood after my parents died. Therefor I have no memories one way or the other."
Nodding, Kea took a small sip from her glass. Suddenly, the tone of her voice changed and she formally said, "I didn't tell you the original reason why I came to Domino, did I, Mr. Kaiba?"
Kaiba detected the change in her voice and became alert. "No," he said plainly. "Was there another reason besides your company?"
"Yes, the company was simply an excuse for me to come back," Kea responded. "The proposal is a gag, don't bother reading it. I came here-believe it or not-asking for your help."
Kaiba raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Reason," he stated flatly.
Kea looked around the restaurant suspiciously before leaning closer to Kaiba. "I don't know anything about my past after my parents died," she said. "I went to look into my government files and get information, but they've been locked. Tight. I've been working for over a year to crack them, but I can't get through."
"I thought you locked them yourself," Kaiba said curiously.
Smirking, Kea replied, "Oh, so you've tried to check me out already, have you?"
Kaiba realized he had caught himself in something he did not want to admit, and simply sipped his wine as Kea continued to talk.
"When I was living with my godfather," Kea began, "he'd always get these strange phone calls, then get nervous and send me next door with one of the neighbors. Eventually, he got so scared for me that he put me into foster care. Three days later, he was killed."
"How old were you?" Kaiba asked.
"Six when my parents were killed, almost seven when-"
"Killed?" Kaiba interrupted. "Who killed them?"
Kea took another glance around the restaurant before saying, "That's the thing, I don't know. There's a middle man. The guy who had been calling my godfather every day. I think he was the one who killed my parents, and he killed my godfather because he knew it."
There was a moment of silence before Kaiba asked, "And you want my help how?"
"You're a genius," Kea stated. "I think you can get through those files. And before you ask, I want mine and not my godfather's because I already have his. If you're willing to help me, I'll show them to you. There's something in his past that leads me to believe that the man who had been calling him is related to me. But I don't have any birth records on myself, or any sort of family history. I don't even know my real last name anymore."
Kaiba stared darkly at Kea for a moment, her emotionless orbs looking straight into his. After a few silent seconds, he said, "Fine. But under one condition."
"Name it."
Leaning forward over the table, Kaiba lowered his voice and, in a low voice, said, "I know Shatsana Incorporated specializes in advanced computer technology. I want your latest technology in the most recent models of my duel disk system."
Kea narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "There's a catch."
Kaiba smirked and simply said, "Don't put your company's name on it."
Kea sat in silence and pondered for a moment, then quietly replied, "You help me get the guy that killed my parents and I'll not only give you my latest tech, but I'll throw in the most advanced virtual reality programming America has ever seen."
Satisfied with the deal, Kaiba held his hand out to Kea. "And I'm assuming you're not going to go down easy?" he said.
"You get nothing unless I get what I'm after," Kea said, stretching out her arm and shaking with Kaiba. "Now, if you're not busy tonight, I'd like to show you the files I have on my godfather."
"I'm free all night. Let me call my brother and we'll leave."
------------------------------IN KEA'S HOTEL ROOM--------------------------- ---
"Any possible access codes you can think of? Birthdays, phone numbers?" Kaiba asked as he clicked away on Kea's laptop, trying to break the protected lock on her past files.
"I've tried it all and listed them out," said Kea. "There's a document titled 'codes' that have all the access codes I've tried. They obviously all failed. Have you looked over my godfather's records?"
Kaiba took a short break from the screen to look over at the manilla folder to his right. It was opened to a picture of Nicholas Swardsen, Kea's godfather. He scanned over the file for a moment before asking, "Have you scanned his fingerprints?"
"In all of America's government files and all of Japan's." Kea's response was quick and she never once took her eyes off of the work she had in front of her. "No police records anywhere."
"You gotta look between the lines," Kaiba mumbled before taking out his own laptop and opening numerous files and documents. He got to Japan's government database and began typing rapidly. It wasn't for another ten minutes before he stopped.
"Kea," Kaiba said.
"Hm?" Kea said, never drawing her eyes away from the files in front of her. She picked up a piece of old, wrinkled paper, and he eyes gazed off in thought as she looked at it.
"You said your godfather's name was Nicholas Swardsen, right?"
Kea looked up towards Kaiba in confusion. "Yeah, you've got his paperwork right in front of you." Kaiba scanned the words on the screen quickly as he scrolled down on the side. Then, slowly, he asked, "What about Henrik Swardsen?"
The response was somewhat hesitant. "Henrik? Why?"
"Henrik Swardsen, arrested in New York City in 1976 for armed robbery, no conviction. Philadelphia in 1978 for assault and battery, no conviction. Detroit, Michigan in 1981 for two counts of man slaughter. Convicted on both counts but escaped from prison in 1982." He continued to read a few more counts before Kea cried,
"Stop it! Why are you looking up Henrik Swardsen, anyway?" She turned back to the paper in her hand, then murmured, "I told you my godfather's name was Nicholas."
Remaining emotionless, Kaiba replied, "Nicholas Swardsen doesn't exist in the American files. At least not one who could be the age you said your godfather was. Henrik Swardsen has your godfather's birthday, and from these files, it looks like he lived in the same towns as you at the same times. Do you have the addresses of your old homes?"
Kaiba waited for a response, and turned to face Kea when he didn't get one. He found her staring intently at a piece of paper in her hand, seemingly lost in thought.
"What is it?" he asked.
"A note that Nick wrote on the day he sent me away," Kea replied quietly. "He left it on the coffee table and I grabbed it by mistake with one of my books before I left. I've been trying to figure it out for ages."
Kaiba rolled his eyes. He was making an attempt to help this girl and she was reminiscing over a piece of paper. He only hoped she would get her head on straight so he could get that new technology she was talking about for his duel disks. He sighed impatiently as Kea walked over to him and held the paper in front of him.
"You think you can decipher this handwriting?" she asked. "I can't make out the words, I don't read Hiragana and Katakana well. I tried working on it, but it's hard for me because it's handwritten ... I couldn't ask anyone else because for a long time, I wasn't sure who was with me or against me."
Kaiba took the paper from her hands and skimmed over it. It was hard to read, and he could just barely make out the curves of the characters. But after a moment, the content made Kaiba stop in his tracks, and he stared at it blankly.
"You recognize it, Kaiba?" Kea asked. "You think it means anything?"
Kaiba could get no words out as he started at the paper. He slowly placed it down on the desk in front of him and softly said, "Your godfather worked for someone in Japan, and it might link to who killed him and your parents."
Kea's eyes popped in confusion. "Who? Tell me! Will it help?" Her questions frantic, and she breathed unevenly as she waited for his response.
Kaiba closed his eyes for a moment, then simply responded, "Crack my files and check my adoption records."
And with that, he stood and shut his laptop, sliding it into his briefcase and walking out of the hotel room. Kea looked after him in confusion, again picking up the note and trying to understand the messy handwriting. In Japanese characters, written in a hurry with sloppy handwriting, the note read:
CALL FOSTER CARE & ADOPTION. PHONE GOZABURO.
------------------------------
*face drop* I hated this chapter. But I felt terrible because I haven't updated since August. *rolls eyes at myself* I know it sucked, so if you wanna flame me, make sure you KNOW that I already think it's terrible.
Oh, and I got a flame a while ago from a girl who called me a bitch and said my character was a complete Mary-Sue. Do I care? Not really. I don't put my real characters onto FF.net because with my original characters and stories, it takes too long to get into the action and people lose interest. Of course, people have lost interest already since I haven't updated in about six months ... *sweatdrop* ... but it's all gravy. R&R, por favor.
------------------------------ Disclaimer: Don't own it! And I'm still sorry it took so long ... ------------------------------
"Hello, Kaiba," Kea said when Kaiba was escorted into her hotel room the next afternoon. She temporarily took her eyes away from her laptop to say, "I got a phone call from your office today confirming our dinner tonight. Very efficient, I'm impressed."
"Well, I only accept the best when it comes to my company," Kaiba said. "Now, where do you plan for us to go?"
Kea saved the document she was working on and shut her laptop, sliding it carefully into its protective holder and pushing it under the bed's pillow. "After yesterday when I saw Mrs. Ming in the restaurant, it started reminding me of when I was a kid, so I want to take you somewhere I used to go all the time. It was ..." Kea trailed off a little bit and then shook her head. "It's a nice place."
Shrugging, Kaiba said, "Fine by me. I'm assuming that's your limo outside waiting for us?"
"Ah-ah-ah, Kaiba, you should never assume things," Kea said as she put her trenchcoat on.
"So if it's not your limo, then whose is it?"
"I never said it wasn't my limo, I just said you shouldn't assume things."
Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Are we leaving or what?" he asked impatiently.
Kea smirked and said, "Yes. Let's go."
------------------------------TEN MINUTES LATER ---------------------------- -
"And here we are," Kea said, stepping out of her limo with the help of Kaiba's hand. "My favorite place. Man, I haven't been here in years ..." She let her eyes scan over the small, run-down building as memories flooded over her. She shook it off and said, "Sorry."
"Hm. I've been here before," Kaiba said, looking over the sign of the tiny diner.
"Really? When was that? I don't see you as the kind of guy who would come to a place like this." Then, quickly correcting herself, Kea said, "I mean, I see you as the kind of guy in restaurants like we were in yesterday."
Kaiba said, "I was here when I was younger," then jerked his head towards the door in order to skip over the subject and stop Kea from asking any more questions. Kea noticed this, and decided to ease into the questions over dinner.
Things went smoothly for a while the way they had the night before. Light, useless conversation until their meal came, and silence as they ate. After Kaiba had halfway finished his plate, Kea took notice to what he was eating. It had been the favorite dish of her father before he passed away. He would always order it from this restaurant and bring it back home for her. It brought memories to her mind for a moment.
"Any reason why you picked that particular dish, Kaiba?" Kea asked as she rolled some spaghetti around her fork and placed it in her mouth.
Kaiba looked at Kea oddly and contemplated whether he wanted to reply or not. After taking a good look at her seemingly innocent features, he responded, "This is the only dish I've ever eaten here since my first visit when I was ten. It's habit by now."
"Funny, that's the same reason why I ordered my dish," Kea said plainly.
There was an awkward moment of silence before Kaiba spoke. "You wanted to discuss something with me."
"Hm? Oh, right," Kea said, repositioning herself in her chair. "My lab techs have been working on new technology for our computer programming unit which resembles one of your virtual reality games."
"On a computer?" Kaiba questioned.
"With attachments, of course," Kea responded. "Since the programming is so similar to yours, we'd like to buy from you a portion of your patent and transfer it into our program to enhance the graphics. Would you like to see a proposal?"
"Yes, please," Kaiba said instinctively, then wondered to himself why he used such a polite word. Kea didn't seem to notice or care, so he fixed the collar of his trench coat and waited for her to dig her proposal from her silver briefcase. She handed it over to him and he flipped through it.
"I'll have to read this in detail and get back to you," he said.
"Of course," Kea replied. "I've extended my stay in Japan for a week, so I'll be in touch."
This time there was less silence between the change in subject as Kea picked up her glass and softly said, "You know, Kaiba, it feels awfully weird being here with you."
Kaiba looked up and her and cocked an eyebrow. "How so?" he asked.
Keeping the same tone, Kea shrugged, saying, "I don't know. It just feels like I know you from somewhere. Other than when you wrecked my limo."
"You mean when YOU wrecked MY limo."
Kea smiled. "Whatever," she said. Then with a sigh, she said, "I don't know. It just feels odd coming back here to Domino and being in all these familiar places. It's awkward all over."
"That's right, you came to live with your godfather in Domino after your parents died," Kaiba said, recalling what Kea had said to him the night before.
Kea smirked a bit. "Good memory," she nodded. "So what about you, you got any special childhood memories?"
"Hmph. No," Kaiba snorted, looking back through Kea's proposal.
Kea blinked a few times, then slowly said, "Or ... um ... not-so-special childhood memories?"
"Better worded," Kaiba said, emotionless. "I didn't have a childhood after my parents died. Therefor I have no memories one way or the other."
Nodding, Kea took a small sip from her glass. Suddenly, the tone of her voice changed and she formally said, "I didn't tell you the original reason why I came to Domino, did I, Mr. Kaiba?"
Kaiba detected the change in her voice and became alert. "No," he said plainly. "Was there another reason besides your company?"
"Yes, the company was simply an excuse for me to come back," Kea responded. "The proposal is a gag, don't bother reading it. I came here-believe it or not-asking for your help."
Kaiba raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Reason," he stated flatly.
Kea looked around the restaurant suspiciously before leaning closer to Kaiba. "I don't know anything about my past after my parents died," she said. "I went to look into my government files and get information, but they've been locked. Tight. I've been working for over a year to crack them, but I can't get through."
"I thought you locked them yourself," Kaiba said curiously.
Smirking, Kea replied, "Oh, so you've tried to check me out already, have you?"
Kaiba realized he had caught himself in something he did not want to admit, and simply sipped his wine as Kea continued to talk.
"When I was living with my godfather," Kea began, "he'd always get these strange phone calls, then get nervous and send me next door with one of the neighbors. Eventually, he got so scared for me that he put me into foster care. Three days later, he was killed."
"How old were you?" Kaiba asked.
"Six when my parents were killed, almost seven when-"
"Killed?" Kaiba interrupted. "Who killed them?"
Kea took another glance around the restaurant before saying, "That's the thing, I don't know. There's a middle man. The guy who had been calling my godfather every day. I think he was the one who killed my parents, and he killed my godfather because he knew it."
There was a moment of silence before Kaiba asked, "And you want my help how?"
"You're a genius," Kea stated. "I think you can get through those files. And before you ask, I want mine and not my godfather's because I already have his. If you're willing to help me, I'll show them to you. There's something in his past that leads me to believe that the man who had been calling him is related to me. But I don't have any birth records on myself, or any sort of family history. I don't even know my real last name anymore."
Kaiba stared darkly at Kea for a moment, her emotionless orbs looking straight into his. After a few silent seconds, he said, "Fine. But under one condition."
"Name it."
Leaning forward over the table, Kaiba lowered his voice and, in a low voice, said, "I know Shatsana Incorporated specializes in advanced computer technology. I want your latest technology in the most recent models of my duel disk system."
Kea narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "There's a catch."
Kaiba smirked and simply said, "Don't put your company's name on it."
Kea sat in silence and pondered for a moment, then quietly replied, "You help me get the guy that killed my parents and I'll not only give you my latest tech, but I'll throw in the most advanced virtual reality programming America has ever seen."
Satisfied with the deal, Kaiba held his hand out to Kea. "And I'm assuming you're not going to go down easy?" he said.
"You get nothing unless I get what I'm after," Kea said, stretching out her arm and shaking with Kaiba. "Now, if you're not busy tonight, I'd like to show you the files I have on my godfather."
"I'm free all night. Let me call my brother and we'll leave."
------------------------------IN KEA'S HOTEL ROOM--------------------------- ---
"Any possible access codes you can think of? Birthdays, phone numbers?" Kaiba asked as he clicked away on Kea's laptop, trying to break the protected lock on her past files.
"I've tried it all and listed them out," said Kea. "There's a document titled 'codes' that have all the access codes I've tried. They obviously all failed. Have you looked over my godfather's records?"
Kaiba took a short break from the screen to look over at the manilla folder to his right. It was opened to a picture of Nicholas Swardsen, Kea's godfather. He scanned over the file for a moment before asking, "Have you scanned his fingerprints?"
"In all of America's government files and all of Japan's." Kea's response was quick and she never once took her eyes off of the work she had in front of her. "No police records anywhere."
"You gotta look between the lines," Kaiba mumbled before taking out his own laptop and opening numerous files and documents. He got to Japan's government database and began typing rapidly. It wasn't for another ten minutes before he stopped.
"Kea," Kaiba said.
"Hm?" Kea said, never drawing her eyes away from the files in front of her. She picked up a piece of old, wrinkled paper, and he eyes gazed off in thought as she looked at it.
"You said your godfather's name was Nicholas Swardsen, right?"
Kea looked up towards Kaiba in confusion. "Yeah, you've got his paperwork right in front of you." Kaiba scanned the words on the screen quickly as he scrolled down on the side. Then, slowly, he asked, "What about Henrik Swardsen?"
The response was somewhat hesitant. "Henrik? Why?"
"Henrik Swardsen, arrested in New York City in 1976 for armed robbery, no conviction. Philadelphia in 1978 for assault and battery, no conviction. Detroit, Michigan in 1981 for two counts of man slaughter. Convicted on both counts but escaped from prison in 1982." He continued to read a few more counts before Kea cried,
"Stop it! Why are you looking up Henrik Swardsen, anyway?" She turned back to the paper in her hand, then murmured, "I told you my godfather's name was Nicholas."
Remaining emotionless, Kaiba replied, "Nicholas Swardsen doesn't exist in the American files. At least not one who could be the age you said your godfather was. Henrik Swardsen has your godfather's birthday, and from these files, it looks like he lived in the same towns as you at the same times. Do you have the addresses of your old homes?"
Kaiba waited for a response, and turned to face Kea when he didn't get one. He found her staring intently at a piece of paper in her hand, seemingly lost in thought.
"What is it?" he asked.
"A note that Nick wrote on the day he sent me away," Kea replied quietly. "He left it on the coffee table and I grabbed it by mistake with one of my books before I left. I've been trying to figure it out for ages."
Kaiba rolled his eyes. He was making an attempt to help this girl and she was reminiscing over a piece of paper. He only hoped she would get her head on straight so he could get that new technology she was talking about for his duel disks. He sighed impatiently as Kea walked over to him and held the paper in front of him.
"You think you can decipher this handwriting?" she asked. "I can't make out the words, I don't read Hiragana and Katakana well. I tried working on it, but it's hard for me because it's handwritten ... I couldn't ask anyone else because for a long time, I wasn't sure who was with me or against me."
Kaiba took the paper from her hands and skimmed over it. It was hard to read, and he could just barely make out the curves of the characters. But after a moment, the content made Kaiba stop in his tracks, and he stared at it blankly.
"You recognize it, Kaiba?" Kea asked. "You think it means anything?"
Kaiba could get no words out as he started at the paper. He slowly placed it down on the desk in front of him and softly said, "Your godfather worked for someone in Japan, and it might link to who killed him and your parents."
Kea's eyes popped in confusion. "Who? Tell me! Will it help?" Her questions frantic, and she breathed unevenly as she waited for his response.
Kaiba closed his eyes for a moment, then simply responded, "Crack my files and check my adoption records."
And with that, he stood and shut his laptop, sliding it into his briefcase and walking out of the hotel room. Kea looked after him in confusion, again picking up the note and trying to understand the messy handwriting. In Japanese characters, written in a hurry with sloppy handwriting, the note read:
CALL FOSTER CARE & ADOPTION. PHONE GOZABURO.
------------------------------
*face drop* I hated this chapter. But I felt terrible because I haven't updated since August. *rolls eyes at myself* I know it sucked, so if you wanna flame me, make sure you KNOW that I already think it's terrible.
Oh, and I got a flame a while ago from a girl who called me a bitch and said my character was a complete Mary-Sue. Do I care? Not really. I don't put my real characters onto FF.net because with my original characters and stories, it takes too long to get into the action and people lose interest. Of course, people have lost interest already since I haven't updated in about six months ... *sweatdrop* ... but it's all gravy. R&R, por favor.
