Chapter 13: Vile Tactics

It was a gloomy morning. Clouds in various grays loomed overhead, threatening to bring down rain towards the inhabitants of Domino City. Jounouchi saw this as a rather "unlucky" sign; something he reminded himself would not prove helpful if he was going to settle his personal vendetta once and for all.

He also reminded himself of the scene he stumbled upon yesterday in the afternoon: four Crashers apparently tried to attack Seto,all meeting with injuries, and one of them revealed that he was nearly killed.

I can understand why he beat 'em all like he did, all brutal-like...I mean shit; that was his baby bro'...I can relate. But, the part 'bout him nearly killin' someone, with just his bare hands...that really bothers me...it's just not like him to do that.

Jounouchi shook his head.

No way. There's no way that Kaiba would be able to kill a dude. He's just an asshole that likes to piss people off fer fun; certainly he ain't no killer...'sides, them Crashers are just honourless, gutless pieces of shit. Probably made that part thing up about nearly killin'.

Jounouchi nodded self-assuredly. Should hear it right from the source, though, just to be sure. Don't know where Kaiba lives...Kaiba. Shit; funny how that's so easy for me to say in sucha short time...sounds better than 'Hirano'; I think.

The dirty blond closed his eyes as he conjured an image for the brunet that had played the main role of his dreams last night. He was barely aware of the sigh that escaped from his lips.

There's still that matter. Every night the same type o' dream. Kaiba in some kinda leather or wet shirt or even nothin' at all ...shit, that just got me hot. Good thing I'm wearin' a big shirt. Jounouchi paused as he looked down. I doubt it'll do much good hidin' that boner.

"Perhaps if you hunched over, maybe, just maybe you could hide that boner," a voice noted, making no effort to hide its amusement.

"What?!" Jounouchi's hands instantly tugged at his shirt, until he looked up. He frowned. Seto stood in the dirty blond's path, his hands casually resting in his pockets. He was dressed in a much more simple fashion consisting of a dark teal dress shirt and slacks with a navy blue trenchcoat. The only pieces of his ensemble that was part of his usual fare of unusual style was his cyber-style, metal plated boots, the glow bracelets that adorned his wrists, and the black clove cigarette between his fine lips.

"Ya got a hell of a way of makin' yerself known, Kai—"

Seto cleared his throat. "'Hirano'."

"'Hirano'. What're ya up to anyway? Shouldn't you be enjoyin' yer free time off from school findin' that Amelda guy? Or even getting' some sleep, because ya look real tired right now."

The brunet sighed, making Jounouchi shift uncomfortably for a moment; his amber eyes had locked on the slight heave that Seto's chest made--the plunging neckline due to his unbuttoned top only enhanced the dirty blond's arousal.

Jounouchi needed to divert his thoughts elsewhere. "Hirano? What's wrong?"

Seto gave Jounouchi a stern look. "Jounouchi, yesterday, I was attacked by the Crashers."

"So? I know yer able to handle yourself," Jounouchi shrugged, hoping that his indifference was effectively masking his concern.

Seto turned away uncomfortably. "Mokuba was present at that time. He saw the entire fight."

Jounouchi did his best to act surprised. "Mokuba? What did he think after seein' that? I mean, I doubt ya were really all that violent, so I doubt it traumatized him or anythin'."

Seto shifted uncomfortably. "Jounouchi, I...I didn't want Mokuba to see such an event take place. One of them was armed with a knife, and...shit; I don't know why I'm telling you this...I really just wanted to tell you that I was attacked so that you realize how dire this situation is getting and that you need to get your ass in gear with this."

"I know; I know!" Jounouchi exclaimed as he threw his arms up into the air. "I'm gonna duck outta school early and start huntin' those assholes down, get 'em to lead me to Hirutani so I can settle this thing. Don't think that I ain't doin' shit."

"Do however you will. I need to continue hunting for Amelda."

"Do ya even know where to start?"

Seto shook his head. "I'm going to do some searching on my computer to see if I can track him down that way."

Jounouchi raised a quizzical brow. "Eh? Like hackin' or somethin'?"

Seto responded with a coy glance.

"Oh," Jounouchi realized. "You sure that'll work?"

"Nothing is ever sure. Either it will or it won't."

"Spoken like a true pessimist."

"I prefer the term 'realist' myself." Seto paused as he inspected Jounouchi's facial features. "Something is bothering you."

Jounouchi cocked his head to the side, a skeptical expression on his face. "Who, me? Naw, man. If anythin's botherin' me, it's the usual. Besides, since when did you give a damn if somethin' bothered me or not, huh?"

"I just find your expression bothersome," Seto shrugged as he turned on his heel. "I suppose I shall be seeing you once this is all resolved."

"If it gets resolved," Jounouchi muttered. "Hey, Hirano."

Seto glanced over his shoulder. "Hn?"

Jounouchi appeared as though he had something of importance to say, but instead the dirty blond shook his head. "Uh...be careful, okay?"

"Please. Follow your own advice." Seto lazily waved to Jounouchi as he continued his departure.

"It was a suggestion!" Jounouchi called as he watched the retreating brunet with worried eyes. Kaiba...this is all gonna catch up to ya one day. Ya can't keep actin' like ya can handle everythin'...heh. Listen to me...I sound like I wanna be there to catch him when he does fall.

The dirty blond almost wanted to smile, when he took notice of a figure casually seated in a bench, his hands tucked inside his pockets and his head hung low. Jounouchi frowned as he cautiously approached the figure, his narrowed eyes not leaving the suspicious figure. The figure wore a form- fitting charcoal wife-beater, large baggy denim jeans, a pair of Vans brand sneakers, and a bucket hat that helped to hide his lowered head from Jounouchi's view.

Jounouchi could have sworn that he knew this person.

The figure lifted his head, a sly grin on his face. "It's been a while, Jou."

Jounouchi reeled back, his sneering expression remaining unchanged. He raised a brow as he murmured, "Kenshiro?"

Kenshiro looked up with a nod. "I hear you've been doin' well for yerself, bud...makin' money at the underground fights and all."

"Don't you fuckin' 'bud' me, Ken. Just what brings ya here? Ya lookin' to beat up more of my classmates, 'cause if ya are—"

Kenshiro held up a hand. "Stop, man. I ain't here to beat up on nobody. If it makes ya feel better, I've called off the attacks."

Jounouchi cracked his knuckles. "Is that so? Does Hirutani know that you went behind his back like that?"

"Hirutani..." Kenshiro's eyes glanced away from Jounouchi for a second. "Ya need to be at the ol' Suzuki building. I can only hold off the attacks fer about forty-eight hours 'til it's business as usual for the rest o' the Crashers."

Jounouchi frowned. "Why the hell do I need to be in a place like that?"

Kenshiro shrugged as he slowly rose to a standing position, his hands in his pockets. "Yer answers in regards to why this is goin' on and regardin' Hirutani are there. Besides, I figure if ya know where to look, then it may not go over so badly this time."

Jounouchi appeared dissatisfied. "If he's tryin' to get me to rejoin, you can tell him to shove it up his ass."

Kenshiro chuckled as he turned around, slowly strolling away. "Ah, ever the upstart...just be there, all right?"

Jounouchi frowned. "So what's with the ceasefire?"

Kenshiro continued on his way as he answered, "Because, Jounouchi, if there was one thing we shared in common, it was that we both believe that things should be played out more honourably. Be seein' ya."

"If that's the case," Jounouchi answered, "Then ya shoulda left with me."

Kenshiro smiled. "Heh. Ya know I can't do that," he replied to himself.

Jounouchi removed his stare from Kenshiro after asking his final question, his eyes closed as he was deep in recollective memory.

Jounouchi! Yer damn crazy if ya think you can take Hirutani!

Get the fuck outta my way, Ken! I promised him that if he didn't let me walk out of the Crashers, I'd force my way out!

Jounouchi, ya gotta turn back now! I ain't just sayin' this as a friend--

If yer any 'friend' of mine, then yer gonna step aside! Ya know damn well that there's no honour in that Hirutani, and ya know that what he did is gnawin' at ya hard like it is me.

...you may be right, but ya know Hirutani may try to kill ya fer this double- cross.

Heh. Fear of death is the last thing on my mind.

You don't have much to live fer, do ya?

Wrong. I have a hell of a lot. I just know I'm gonna be the one that walks away.

Jounouchi slowly opened his amber eyes, the final quote echoing in the back of his mind as his features softened.

There's just one more thing that I may just have to live for. No; that's not right...it's a person.

He wore a sheepish smirk as he realized what thought crossed his mind.

Yeah...I guess ya really have become important to me.

He then smacked his forehead. "Shit! I mean to ask him about that fight...awww...dammit!"

No matter how cautious he was, Seto knew it wasn't enough. He had taken the risk of going outdoors just to see the dirty blond, his supposed reason being that he wanted Jounouchi to go after his former comrades, his true reason being that he simply wanted to see the dirty blond one more time, before he actively pursued the mysterious assassin known as "Amelda".

"Amelda"...I know nothing of this person, not even his true name. What motive could he possibly have to kill me? It just doesn't make sense...I had spent the entirety of the night searching throughout the net and as many other systems as I could get a hold of, and still I get nothing. There must be something that I'm missing, but I am too exhausted to figure that out.

Seto broke from his thoughts for a moment to stretch, a moan passing from his lips.

I have not completely recovered from yesterday's encounter with those "Crashers", and the lack of sufficient sleep certainly is not helping. I should have taken Mokuba and ran rather than fight them.

He stood in front of the iron gates that separated him from the mansion he resided in. He placed his left forearm horizontally across the bars and leaned his head against his arm as if he were fatigued.

Mokuba has not spoken to me much since the fight. I don't blame him after that violent display I put on yesterday. I still don't completely understand why that had happened; surely I remembered my medication. Still, they should not have threatened Mokuba in the cowardly way that they did. Perhaps my actions were justified in that sense.

He smirked. Yeah...totally justified. Hopefully Mokuba will be feeling better; I let him take the day off since he may be feeling a little trauma. He insisted that he wasn't, but I insisted that he take the day off—that way, I may discuss with him about yesterday's incident.

He glanced at the "call" button on the panel that lay beside the gate, shrugged his shoulders, and instead leapt over the concrete wall, just like he had whenever he used to sneak back into the mansion under his "Platinum" persona. He dusted off his pants as he quickly stood, glancing in every which direction and reminded himself that he should have taken the security cameras into consideration before performing such a stunt. He casually walked towards the doors, and turned the knob.

The large foyer was the same as ever; vast and devoid of any personality. Seto frowned; he hated that everything in the mansion was so large.

I really ought to settle for a high-rise, Seto told himself in his head as he removed his boots.

"Mokuba! Could you come down so we can talk?" Seto called. "I promise that it won't be about those 'changes' this time!" He chuckled to himself as he reminded himself of how amusingly uncomfortable Mokuba appeared when his elder brother gave him "the talk".

Seto raised a puzzled brow when he heard no reply from Mokuba. He walked towards the stairs, his body tilted so that he could face in the general direction of Mokuba's closed bedroom door. "Mokuba?"

Seto walked past the stairs to his left and stuck his head into the kitchen. He shook his head.

"Not in here...perhaps he's playing Guilty Gear?"

Seto briskly jogged to the downstairs den, and frowned when he noticed that there was no sign of Mokuba.

Seto returned to the center of the foyer, and heaved a sigh, his hair briefly lifted by his breath for a moment.

"If he went to school, I'm going to be very disappointed," Seto muttered to himself as he headed for the closet to retrieve his slippers.

Suddenly, as he opened the door, the maid fell out of the closet. Seto managed to catch her before her head crashed against the marble floor. Seto immediately noticed that her chest was slowly rising and falling; an indication that she was still alive.

"Hey! What happened here?" Seto gently tapped the young maid's cheeks in an effort to bring her back into consciousness. "Wake up! What happened to you?" He glanced up towards the stairs but quickly returned his attention to the made when he heard her moan.

"...Young...m-master...please forgive me..." the maid murmured.

"What happened here?" Seto demanded.

The maid weakly raised her left arm and pointed towards the stairs. "A man...he forced his way... inside...he a-attacked me...told me I'd be...okay...upstairs...he's upstairs..."

"Just take it easy. I'll take care of this." Seto gently lifted the maid and briskly yet carefully carried her to the den, placing her upon the leather sofa.

It has to be Amelda, Seto quickly concluded as he hurried towards the stairs, removing his trench coat and throwing it behind him to increase his mobility. How did he know where to find me? Does he know about...Oh my God.

"MOKUBA!!"

He swung Mokuba's bedroom door open, his fear-filled azure eyes scanning the bedroom. He curled his upper lip in anger when he found the room to be unoccupied.

"Mokuba! Please tell me you're in hiding!" Seto silently berated himself; shouting aloud was the worst thing to do when there was a possible intruder remaining in the premises—an intruder with the intention to kill. He looked straight ahead, and found that his door was left ajar. He knitted his brows together as he dashed as quickly as his long legs could allow for, reaching his room in a speed that was almost considered superhuman. He shoved his hand against the door and forced it open.

He froze in horror as he lay sight to what lay within the confines of his very bedroom.

"About time you got back here, Kaiba-boy," Amelda taunted. The redhaired assassin was seated atop the lower right-hand corner of Seto's bed, one arm clutching an unusual-looking gun, and the other wrapped around the mouth of—

"Mokuba!!" Seto turned an infuriated stare at Amelda. "You...you coward! How did you know—"

"I have a very reliable informant," Amelda explained. "I hate that it has to come down to this, but my employer wants you dead and soon. He's such a dick, so the sooner I off you, the sooner I won't have to deal with HIM as well."

"So what does Mokuba have to do with this?" Seto demanded, his clenched fists shaking violently.

"It's called an incentive, Kaiba. Apparently, this boy is important to you, and I really don't want to take you out in just one shot. I understand that you're quite a fighter...why don't we engage in a battle before I drive a bullet through your skull, hrm?"

"Very well, then!" Seto raised his arms, initiating his Aikido stance. "We can take this outside. Let the boy go."

Amelda put on a modest smile. "That's just too easy. Mokuba's comin' with me." He briefly glanced over at his frightened hostage.

"If you don't let him go, you WILL regret it!" Seto growled as he quickly ran towards Amelda, whose smug demeanor remained unchanged.

"Later." Amelda quickly aimed his gun at Seto and pulled the trigger. Seto stopped cold when he felt something penetrate his left arm, in the bicep region.

"No!! Seto!" Mokuba managed to shout as he tried to struggle, but Amelda managed to overpower the boy and tightened his hold.

The brunet looked to his left and noticed a small dart that protruded from his arm. He snapped his head upwards, his gaze as hateful as ever. "What the hell did you just shoot me with?"

"Relax, Kaiba-boy. When I said I wanted a decent fight, I meant it. However, if we did this now it'd be too easy. Granted, my employer wants you dead ASAP, but I want to make a game out of this before it all ends."

"I asked "what", not "why", motherfucker," Seto snarled as he pulled the small dart out of his arm. "What did you shoot me with?"

"Oh yes; that. I simply shot you with a tranquilizer. Don't let the small size of that dart fool you; it's just potent enough to take effect almost instanty. It'll keep you out for a few hours. That's definitely long enough for me to take my leave."

"You son-of-a-bitch..." Seto could feel the relaxing effects of the tranquilizer; he shook his head in a futile attempt to resist. "I'll dislocate all of your limbs before you even get near that window."

Amelda smirked as he walked towards the window. "You're more then welcome to try. Hell; I'll even just stand at the window so you can get me."

Seto knew that the redhead was simply instigating, but the situation was too desperate. He tried to race towards Amelda, but the full effects of the tranquilizer was taking effect.

His legs felt as though they were tied to cinderblocks, his arms simply refused to move at all, and his vision blurred. He was helpless to the effects of the sedative as he saw the floor suddenly approach him.

Seto had barely taken two steps towards the crimson-haired assassin before he crashed onto the carpeted floor, his body completely succumbing to the tranquilizer. Amelda smiled.

"Don't feel so bad. I'll be sure to take care of the kid while you're sleeping. Besides, you looked like you needed the rest. Pleasant dreams and best of luck finding me, Kaiba-boy!" Amelda tightened his grip on a squirming Mokuba as he leapt out of the window.

Mokuba's screams for his brother was the last thing Seto heard before blackness overwhelmed his vision...

...and suddenly, his azure eyes were focused upon the cream-coloured ceiling. He slowly sat up, feeling groggy but immediately taking notice that he could no longer feel the debilitating effects of the dark Amelda shot him with moments ago.

At least, it only felt like moments ago; it was now dusk.

He slowly sat up, his golden locket the first thing he noticed as he glanced downwards.

It suddenly struck him.

I failed.

He gingerly held the locket in his palm.

I've failed him.

He tapped the locket and the small door receded, exposing a photograph of a younger Mokuba, looking cheerful as he held a chess piece in his left hand.

Seto clutched the locket tightly in his shaking grip.

I am so sorry, Mokuba...I've failed you.

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS

This was a relatively short chapter, especially in comparison to the last few. This chapter pretty much has set the scene for the major events that are to come that will wrap up this storyline—Jounouchi's final showdown with the Crashers, and Kaiba's showdown with the assassin Amelda. The next chapter is going to be a long one, but you absolutely cannot afford to miss it for the moment you may have been waiting for will finally arrive—and I think you know what I'm referring to so stay tuned, because things are really going to get intense from here, True Believers!

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this installment! Reviews are always welcomed!