THE PARTING OF LOST SOULS
Chapter Ten: Search and Rescue
The other Yugi and Jonouchi walked back in the room and joined Mokuba and Emrys. The younger Kaiba placed the laptop on the chair as he sat on the marbled floor.
The other Yugi approached the raven-haired boy. "Jonouchi said you could help us find your brother."
Pointing at the laptop, the boy nodded with a smirk. "This has a global positioning system linked to our lockets. Ni-sama created these microchip homing devices after Duelist Kingdom. He also wrote the codes for the tracking program."
The blonde-haired duelist knelt beside Mokuba and observed the program running on the laptop. "Trust Kaiba to think of something this smart."
The younger sibling beamed as he typed and clicked on the keyboard. "He taught me how to use this tracking system, just in case. I was hoping, though, that it wouldn't come to this." His face then turned somber.
A tightlipped other Yugi said, "We'll find him, Mokuba."
Once the computer was done processing, the younger Kaiba snapped his fingers and said, "There! His last position is about thirty miles from here. It's been like that for the past four hours."
A brief moment of silence followed.
Shortly thereafter, the boy's eyes narrowed in bewilderment as he frantically clicked on the keyboard.
"What's wrong?" Jonouchi inquired with a frown.
"His signal's coming strong, but there's another signal I'm picking up from the same location."
"Do you think it's a fluke?"
Shaking his head, the young boy tapped at a certain area on the screen. "No, it's not. It's weird. This green dot is Ni-sama's signal, but there's this red one which partly overlaps his signal."
The other Yugi slightly bent down, resting his palms against his thighs to see the screen. "Are you sure about the location?"
"I'm positive. Here's the address. Just give it to the chauffeur. He'll know where to take you. Then use this laptop to pinpoint where they took Ni-sama."
Jonouchi then stood up and stared at his amethyst-eyed friend. "So who's going and who's staying?"
"I'll go. You and Mokuba need to stay here."
An apprehensive look cast over Jonouchi's face. "What about Emrys? You said that she's afraid of me..."
"Yugi told me everything. He trusts you and so do I," Emrys weakly replied from her bed. She then gazed into her lover's eyes. When he approached her, she held his hand with instinctive affection and whispered, "Please be careful, Yugi."
The younger Kaiba approached the bed and placed the laptop on the bed nearby the other Yugi. "Good luck. I already programmed this laptop to flash and warn you once you're close to Ni-sama's frequency. If you need us, just use the speed dial on his cell phone to call me."
"Which number should I dial?"
With a grin, the younger Kaiba replied as he rubbed his nose and winked, "Pound one. Makes sense, huh?"
The other Yugi smirked and winked back at the boy. Now focusing back on Emrys, he bent down and kissed her on the forehead. "Take care. I won't be long..." As he turned to his blonde-haired friend, the two slapped and clasped hands to remind each other of the friendship that bound them.
Jonouchi then cautioned, "Keep your eyes open and be safe. I won't let you down this time. I promise."
The other Yugi's amethyst eyes reflected his gratitude and trust for Jonouchi. He then turned around and left the room, ready to carry out his mission to search for Kaiba.
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After Yoshiko gave him a hard bite on his lip, Kaiba sneered, "You're one sick perverted bitch!"
Yoshiko squatted and straddled Kaiba's lap. She seductively played with his turtleneck as she leaned closer to him. "Thank you for the compliment. I take pride in making your life one living hell."
Kaiba spat, "Just go ahead and kill me, if that's what you want!"
With her right index finger up, Yoshiko repeatedly wagged it from left to right as she looked intoKaiba's azure eyes with scorn. "Tsk, tsk, tsk... Not just yet. What type of gracious host do you think I am, if I don't make you to squirm first? After all, where's the fun in all of this if I can't play with my toy first?"
Repulsed, Kaiba retorted, "You're disgusting...just like your father!"
Yoshiko stood up, slapped her captive, and glared at him with eyes that could burn through his cell wall. "You dare to dishonor my father?"
Kaiba tasted more blood, this time coming from a new split on his lip. Glowering at Yoshiko with vicious loathing, he retorted, "How could you betray everyone who trusted you? You're no different from your pathetic excuse of a father! Why should I respect a man who had no honor to begin with?"
Before storming out of Kaiba's cell, Yoshiko glanced back and said with clenched teeth and balled fists, "I'm not done with you yet, Kaiba. The fun's about to begin. When it does, you'll be begging for a quick end."
The sound of metal touching upon metal and angry footsteps echoed throughout the cavernous area.
As sapped out as Kaiba was, he sardonically smirked as he saw Yoshiko walk out. "Idiot! When it comes to mind games, you just messed with the wrong person. You don't have what it takes to be completely cold and sadistic, but I do..."
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The sun was about to set.
Mokuba absent-mindedly stared at the window from Emrys' hospital room.
Jonouchi, on the other hand, sat by the sleeping Emrys' bedside and watched the younger Kaiba from a few feet. He felt sorry for his two companions.
Those who were awake were startled as a male doctor wearing a crisp white shirt, black silk tie, black wool pants, and a white lab coat walked in the room. The middle-aged, bespectacled doctor's arrival woke Emrys up from her light sleep and prompted Mokuba to walk back and stand beside Jonouchi.
After approaching Emrys' bedside and keeping a non-reactive demeanor, the doctor asked, "So how are you feeling?"
The patient weakly replied, "Still in pain. Where's Doctor Ferris?"
While thumbing through the papers inside Emrys' chart, the man responded, "I'm Doctor Hanahan. Doctor Ferris asked me to take his place for today. He'll be back tomorrow."
Emrys gave Jonouchi a worried look. Seeing the blonde teen's reassurance reflected in his chestnut-brown eyes, she relaxed as the doctor skimmed through her chart.
Doctor Hanahan then said as he kept his eyes on her chart, "Your fever's subsiding, but not fast enough. Your heartbeat's still irregular. We'll keep monitoring your progress."
"What about this?" Emrys asked as she pointed at her left arm with a wince of pain.
The doctor glanced into his patient's eyes with sympathy slightly reflected in his light smile. "I know it's uncomfortable. Your potassium level's low and we need to administer it through your IV. I'll ask the nurse to switch the needle to your right arm once I return your chart up front." He then pulled out his pen, documented the brief consultation, and nodded a silent indication that he had already done his job.
"Thank you, Doctor."
Doctor Hanahan lifted his left hand to acknowledge Jonouchi and then left to see the next patient. As soon as he left, Emrys and Mokuba gave their respective sighs of relief.
Approaching footsteps echoed through the marbled hallway.
Three men - two dressed in uniform and another in a slate gray suit - walked through the hospital corridors. They were accompanied by one of the nurses who stopped a few feet in front of Emrys' room and then pointed them towards the door.
One by one, the new arrivals went inside the room. They spotted Mokuba and Jonouchi standing by Emrys' right bedside. The two officers approached and stood by the foot of Emrys' bed, one officer flanking each side.
The man in the slate gray suit reached inside his coat, produced a badge, and flashed it to the three. "Detective Garson, NYPD. We've been looking for you, Miss Emrys. You're hard to find, considering the hyped media reports about your accident and disappearance."
Emrys was still wide-eyed and stunned as she looked into Jonouchi's eyes.
The blonde-haired young man remained calm and collected. "Who are you?"
"They're the officers who asked us questions at the other hospital," the younger Kaiba replied.
Detective Garson nodded in agreement. "I'm assigned on the hit-and-run case that landed your friend in the hospital. Where's Mr. Kaiba?"
"He's not here," Mokuba responded.
The detective's gaze deepened as he tried to assess whether the boy was telling the truth. "When will he be back?"
Shaking his head, the young boy said, "We don't know. He's busy taking care of business matters."
A brief moment of silence followed.
The detective noted in a grave tone, "He was in a lot of trouble before..."
Mokuba raised his voice. "My brother's in trouble? Why?"
"There were witnesses who saw him drive off the parking lot with her from the other hospital. We earlier thought that he kidnapped her. Since I see that Miss Emrys is safe, then he just needs to answer a few questions from us."
This time, Jonouchi frowned, raised an eyebrow, and then asked, "What type of questions does he need to answer for?"
The detective glowered at the blond-haired young man. "Like how did a coma patient end up here? Why is she now confined in a different hospital?"
Emrys responded as her heart raced too quickly that her chest began to hurt, "Someone tried to kill us twice. If it weren't for Mister Kaiba, I'd be dead by now."
With marked frustration draped over his voice, the detective retorted, "He had my card. Why didn't he call me?"
"It wasn't safe for either of us," Emrys deadpanned, fully intent to defend Kaiba.
The younger Kaiba interjected to corroborate Emrys' words and his brother's innocence, "We didn't know she was here until this morning."
Directing the question to the three of them, the detective further inquired, "Do you have any idea who's behind in all of this?"
All three quietly shook their heads.
Mokuba then remarked, "Our friend, Yugi, is out there to find my brother."
The suited man's eyes narrowed. "To find your brother? He's missing?"
A tightlipped Jonouchi replied, "Yes."
"Does your friend know where to find him?"
Jonouchi and Mokuba nodded.
The police officer closer to the entrance walked towards the door, closed and locked it, and leaned against it.
Shocked and confused, the blonde teen demanded, "What are you doing?"
"To finish the job," the detective responded as his greenish-hued eyes glared at them with wickedness.
End of Chapter Ten
About Yoshiko
If you're wondering who Yoshiko is, she is the stage manager, personal assistant, and Emrys' long-time friend. She appears in Chapters 6 and 7 of The Encounter of Lost Souls (entitled The Prelude and The Night to Remember respectively).
Her primary mission is to keep Emrys - the crest-wielder - close to her, and has been involved with the sinister group before knowing and befriending Emrys. Just like her father, Yoshiko is bent to get power - even in the cruelest of ways.
But since fate has a way of intertwining things, she includes revenge against Kaiba and the other Yugi in her agenda after her father dies.
Kaiba, through the course of making arrangements for Alexa's concert at Kaiba Corporation's Domino Arena, meets and deals with Yoshiko. And the other Yugi meets Yoshiko for the first time in Chapter 6.
Author's Note
Although this story arc stands independently from The Encounter of Lost Souls and There Will Come Soft Rain, the three stories are inter-connected. This fact will also apply to most of the subsequent Yu-Gi-Oh fan fiction stories that I will post in the future.
Normal Disclaimer
Yu-Gi-Oh is the property copyrighted by Kazuki Takahashi. This fan fiction, as well as the original characters, is the author's property.
Enjoy reading!
PJ Zatken