Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh. I'm just a poor pathetic writer subject to the whims of the muses haunting my dreams.
On the Wings of a Dragon
Chapter 24
A fire was lit under Seto Kaiba. It had a face and a name and in his memory smelled a whole lot like vanilla. I've failed her again! His anger drove him with a greater fury than pain ever could. He had tried denying how much he had missed her presence, the way her nearness seemed to issue forth a calm only the innocent were gifted with. Missing her had not been enough of an incentive to move him to action. She had struck him as no one else could.
Ari never broke faith with him. Instead she had sacrificed everything a woman had to give to keep her loyalty. The freedom she cherished, her prized inheritance and his goodwill, amounted to little more than refuse in the face of what she offered it for. There was only one reason a woman would go so far.
I failed her. I let someone hurt her and that someone was me! He glared at the sketch clutched in his hand, a scarred face with malevolent eyes drawn by her own hand so many weeks back. For the last time.
"He's inside, Mr. Kaiba," Sojo spoke and the young CEO lifted his vicious gaze to the security guard.
"See that we aren't disturbed," he growled as he stepped into the small room and closed the door behind him.
Sojo grinned and leaned back against the wall. "Yes sir, Mr. Kaiba."
Countless minutes passed as he stood guard before Mokuba came wandering down the hall in search of his brother.
"He's inside with the man who attacked you and Ms Nieche," Sojo informed the boy. "He asked not to be disturbed by anyone."
"You guys finally found him?" Mokuba's eyes widened. "After all this time?"
"It would seem he had been in hiding until recently, sir."
"Well, I want to talk to him too!" Mokuba exclaimed, reaching for the door. Before Sojo could react, the door opened and Kaiba stood there, hair ruffled and eyes wild. He pushed Mokuba back as he stepped out of the room.
"Call Inspector Otsuki and have him meet me at Omaka Enterprises. And dispose of that," he inclined his head toward the room, "when you're done. Come, Mokuba."
"Are we getting Ari back?"
"We are."
Sojo glanced into the room but could not see any sign of the man that had been there. Stepping in, he saw a figure slumped in the corner, battered to an unrecognizable clod and barely conscious. One eye opened as the guard stood above him.
"You should have known better," Sojo snorted, "then to mess with Seto Kaiba."
"What's going on?" Matzu demanded of people filing pass him in mass towards the elevators.
"An evacuation has been issued by the district police, sir," an executive paused to reply.
"Is my father aware of this?"
"I would assume so, sir."
"Useless," Matzu growled, pushing past the man. What are the police doing evacuating our headquarters?
Omaka was in his office on the phone and he gestured Matzu in when he saw him.
"I see. Yes, of course I will come down immediately, Inspector."
"What's going on?" Matzu demanded.
"It would seem someone has squealed. Inspector Otsuki has a warrant to shut down Omaka Enterprises for the duration of investigation."
"What kind of investigation?"
"Intentional copyright infringement, corporate extortion, and kidnapping."
"No one got all that from suspicion alone. It's Kaiba isn't it," Matzu growled.
Omaka frowned. "I have no doubt he has proof, otherwise he could not take such direct action." He straightened his collar and stepped around the desk. "I will deal with the benevolent Inspector."
"What do you want me to do?"
Omaka smirked. "Delete the evidence."
"Permanently?"
"I see no reason to go down with her when she has yet to provide something worth sinking for. I had hopes she retained Ashine's research, but I understand now she left it to Kaiba Corp. That is the only way they can claim copyright violation. She deceived us well."
"I'll take care of it," Matzu promised and Omaka nodded.
"See you downstairs."
Matzu accompanied his father to the elevator but took the stairs himself to the next floor down. The halls were eerily empty as he had known them to be only after hours. I'm going to enjoy this, he thought as he punched in the code and swung the door open.
She was sitting expectantly on the bed with her back against the wall and her legs pulled up before her.
"What's going on?" she asked. "Is there a fire or something?"
"No," he said, realizing the polite chiming that had signaled evacuation had finally stopped. "It is something far more…destructive."
"Destructive," she echoed softly, suddenly feeling uneasy. Glancing past him through the door he left open, Ari got the distinct feeling they were very alone.
"W-what's going on?" she asked again.
"You know what I will enjoy the most," he spoke quietly as he stepped towards her. "The knowledge that I've taken Kaiba's precious possession beyond redemption."
She bolted for the door and he caught her around her middle, swinging her back and throwing her on the bed. Faster than she could blink he had her pinned.
"Let me go!"
His laughter was grating. "You never should have turned me down, Ari. I could have given you everything."
"You're nothing but a lying son of a—"
"Careful, Ari," he interrupted. "You don't want to make me angry."
"Lunatic!"
"It runs in the family," he grinned as he shifted his hold to encompass both of her wrists in one hand. "You could have been a part of that family."
"I'd rather die!" she gasped as he started fumbling with the buttons on her blouse.
"Also my department," he breathed.
"No!" she cried, struggling futilely. His weight held her immobile and her heart quickened when his hand brushed bare skin. Not like this. Please not like this!
"Say, where did you get this?" he asked suddenly as he fingered the diamond pendant. "It's fine quality."
Ari forced herself to meet his hungry eyes. "From a real man," she snarled.
His eyes darkened and she cried out as the chain bit into her flesh with vicious force. "Such a shame," he said, the broken necklace dangling from his fingers. "Such a waste."
Pale fire flashed. "Give it back!"
Matzu laughed and tossed it aside. "There is so much more you should be concerned about, Ari, you stupid girl." He leaned into her and nuzzled her neck, his breath hot and rapid. "So much more."
"You too," she growled as she latched onto his ear. She clenched down like a rabid dog, reveling in the blasting scream that exploded from her victim. Matzu forcefully wrenched himself loose and tumbled off the bed. Suddenly free, Ari leaped up and bolted for the door, wiping her mouth on her sleeve as she leaped over his flailing body. I'm gonna be sick!
Not a soul was to be seen in the hallway and she felt the seclusion acutely. She stumbled to the elevators and slammed the down button.
"Come on, come on," she muttered.
"Ari!"
She gasped and stumbled away from the elevator. There has to be a stairwell around here somewhere! He's coming!
Adrenaline surge through her as she broke into a dead run. She could hear the pounding of steps behind her, closing in. There, ahead! The stairwell!
The bright sunlight streaming through the floor to ceiling window at the end of the hallway was blinding but she knew her escape was near, so near—.
"Ah!" she cried as his body slammed into her. Impact shattered thick glass and she found herself suddenly engulfed in blinding pain and light. Air and space weaved a tangled web of illusion but gripping pain swiftly pulled her back to reality.
She gasped as her eyes locked on her own hands clenching the jagged metal frame. Her feet struggled to find stable footing but merely slid along the length of the window beneath her. An insistent wind clawed at her, icy fingers seeking to complete what Matzu Omaka had started.
"Let go, Ari," a voice spoke terrifyingly close and she hazard a glance to her right. It was obvious he had a more stable hold on the ledge.
"Twenty-three floors to fall and it all ends!" Matzu hollered at her over the wind.
"No," she whimpered as she felt glass bite deeper into her hands, blood oozing through her fingers and slickening her hold.
I can't hold on! Hot tears streaked down her face defying the chill of the void beckoning her. Mokuba! Seto!
Slipping, slipping…life slid from her grasp and an anguish cry tore from her heart to rattle the heavens.
"I had hoped to see you on better terms, Inspector Otsuki," Omaka smiled pleasantly at the tall officer.
"I'm certain of that, Mr. Omaka. However, serious allegations have been launched against you. In fact, I have a warrant for your arrest."
"Under what charges?"
"Accessory to kidnapping for starters," Kaiba snapped as he stepped up beside the Inspector. "Where is she?"
"I don't know who you're talking about," Omaka returned flatly.
Kaiba pushed past him with vicious growl. "You better pray I find her."
"I'm coming with you, Seto!" Mokuba ran after him.
"No!" Kaiba snapped as he turned towards his brother.
"She's important to me too!" Mokuba retorted and Seto's expression softened.
"I'll find her, Moki. I promise. You just wait here, okay?"
"Twenty-third floor," a soft voice suddenly spoke.
"Lil!" Omaka snapped and the woman barely glanced at him. Removing her dark glasses to reveal a blackened eye, she met Kaiba's intense scrutiny.
"She's on the twenty-third floor. Hurry."
He didn't need to be told twice. Curse this slow elevator! He flexed his fists in agitation as he watched the lights flicker. Twenty-one, twenty-two….
A piercing cry resonated with bursting glass to sear through him as he stepped off the elevator, spinning him frantically in step.
"Let go, Ari. Twenty-three floors to fall and it all ends!"
"No," her desperate plea carried on the unhindered breeze to seize his heart.
Ari! On the wings of a dragon he flew the distance to the end of the hall, lunging desperately into vacant space as her broken cry shattered the sky to pieces.
Is this- is this what death feels like? Cold seeped within, warmth from without, and emptiness surrounded her.
"Ari!"
A voice, here, in this place? It's—.
Her eyes snapped open to stare into blue fire.
"Seto!" she gasped. He leaned through the broken window above her, an unrelenting grip on her forearm.
"I've got you," he assured her.
"You always get in the way!" Matzu shrieked and Kaiba cast a malicious glare on the man hanging beside Ari.
"I'll deal with you later," Kaiba snarled and leaned back to pull Ari up. She grasped the edge of the frame with her free hand, fingers grazing broken glass but ignorant of the added pain.
"Not this time!" Matzu hissed. He pulled a pistol from his jacket and steadied it at Kaiba. "Let her go!"
"Matzu, don't do this!" Ari cried.
"Shut up! You wanted out so I'm giving you a way out. You should be grateful!"
"You're insane," Kaiba growled.
"Why does everyone keep saying that? I find all of this intriguing really. If you don't let her go, I'll kill you and she'll fall anyway. You might as well save yourself."
"Let me go," Ari spoke suddenly and Seto looked down into her wide eyes.
"Are you crazy?"
"Mokuba needs you! Let me go!"
Matzu grinned broadly. "She's right. The boy needs you. You know she's not worth it, Kaiba."
"Shut up!"
"Seto, please!"
"No!" he screamed at her and his heart stilled as he stared into her pleading eyes. "Never."
"Tsk, tsk," Matzu shook his head. "I can't believe you would sell yourself for this tramp. I doubt she's any good in bed either, not that she gave me the chance to find out."
"You snake!" Kaiba hissed.
"Better a live snake then a dead dragon," he grinned, raising the pistol. "It's been real."
Seto! Glass sliced through her desperate fingers in search of salvation.
"I won't let you take what is mine!" she shrieked. Sunlight fractured crimson fire as the blood-stained shard sunk deep into his arm with malicious force. A reckless bullet chunked a piece of concrete just inches from Kaiba's face as Matzu pitched back into the unforgiving void, his screams of terror rending the air apart.
Ari could not tear her eyes from his flailing descent, finding all strength had abandoned her in her moment of unforgivable sin, the bloody shard of glass slipping from her fingers to follow him to his death. It awaits me too.
Kaiba pulled her slackened body to safety, carefully lifting her over the broken glass into his arms. "Ari," he breathed, cradling her against him.
"You came for me," she gasped.
Seto hugged her close. "I will always come for you, Ari." Always.
"For me," she said as tears began to stream. "You came!" Her bloody hands grasped his shirt as she buried her face in his chest, his arms enfolding her like a warm blanket.
He tenderly kissed her hair as her body began to shake uncontrollably. "It's all right," he whispered. "I'm here."
Ari sobbed as she had done only in her dreams, only in private, but now in the arms of her savior. Her years of pain and fears flowed freely onto his shirt to mingle with her own blood until she was empty of all strength and feeling. She sunk weakly in his embrace and felt him startle at her sudden limpness.
"Ari." He shifted her in his arms. Shock had settled in and her stare remained unfocused. There was so much blood it was hard to tell where it all was coming from. Tearing his handkerchief with his teeth, he bound her hands best he could. It will have to suffice for now. I need to get her out of here.
Silencing his heart and setting his jaw, he lifted her off the ground and prepared himself for what would greet him downstairs. When he stepped off the elevator into the lobby he carried the listless woman to a sofa and gently set her down into the soft leather.
"Stay with her, Mokuba," he ordered when his little brother reached them. "Don't let anyone talk to her."
Mokuba's wide eyes at the sight of blood quickly narrowed. "I won't," he stated with firm determination, stationing himself between Ari and the world that vied for answers.
Kaiba strode across the lobby to confront Inspector Otsuki. "You can question her tomorrow, Otsuki," he stated resolutely. "She needs medical treatment."
Otsuki eyed Kaiba's bloody shirt warily. "Unfortunately, Matzu Omaka is beyond medical treatment, Mr. Kaiba," he spoke grimly.
Kaiba held his gaze for a moment. "Come with me," he relented gruffly and led the officer back to where Ari sat staring at the floor.
"Ari," Seto spoke gently and she flinched. Good. She's starting to respond again. "Inspector Otsuki has a few questions for you."
Mokuba clenched her arm reassuringly as she turned her dull eyes on the Inspector.
Otsuki clenched his jaw as he stared at the bloody scratches crisscrossing her young face, her hands wrapped in crimson soaked cloth. Kneeling before her, he gently unwrapped one of her hands and swallowed hard at the deep lacerations.
"Lieutenant!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Get one of those medic's in here, now!"
"H-he had a gun," Ari spoke softly and Otsuki looked up into her opaque eyes.
"Ari, don't," Kaiba warned.
"I didn't want to," she whispered and Otsuki hushed her with a gesture.
"Come down to the station in a few days, Ma'am," he spoke gently. "When you've recovered some from this ordeal."
He relinquished her to the approaching medic and gestured Kaiba aside. "There are security camera's all over this building and with her testimony and the deal we cut with that thug you caught, I don't think there will be much of a problem."
"She's been through enough," Kaiba warned.
"I agree. I'll be as sparing as possible but she may have to testify in court if Omaka fights us all the way."
"Where is she!" an angry roar rumbled through the lobby as two officers tried to restrain Joko Omaka.
"Get him out of here!" Otsuki ordered and his officers struggled to comply.
"I want to see her! I want to see the tramp that killed my son!"
Ari cringed and Mokuba wrapped his arms protectively around her shoulders.
"Don't worry, Ari. I won't let him touch you."
Omaka's wild eyes found her and murder flashed across his face. "So help me, I'll make you pay for what you did, you worthless piece of—!"
Otsuki made no move to stop Kaiba, half-wishing it could be his own bare knuckles to shatter bone.
"Get him out of my sight," Seto snarled and the shocked officers shouldered the incoherent Omaka without hesitation.
"I'm sure I didn't see that," Otsuki murmured beside him.
"It wouldn't matter if you did," Kaiba growled.
Otsuki looked up at the young CEO and then back at the listless woman. "Understood."