ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR
Elenion: I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or anything associated with it.
Yamiko Yakou- Will do. Thank you, it's great to hear stuff like that.
Jem Star- lol. I try my best to get the chapters out ASAP... It doesn't always happen, but I do try. And I'm glad you liked it.
Peneia Teke- Great eye! I'm soooo happy you pointed out that mistake. Don't you hate when that happens? That's one of my pet peeves the "your" or "you're" thing. So thanks!
Sakura- It's great to hear from you again. And plus, you're so into it. How did I get so lucky? Thanks!
Eternity's Angel- I just hope I can live up to your expectations. Or I guess, I should have said "write up to your expectations"... Thanks for the encouragement!
Jieli- Well, glad you like it. I thought Marik vs. Pegasus would be interesting. It's kinda hard to know who to root for. Yeah, the whole necklace thing was meant to be a very typical-Serenity moment. It just seemed to fit with her, and I'm glad you liked it.
Elenion: Sorry about the long time between updates! I was up the creek without a paddle, so to speak. My whole family was at a beach cottage without Internet access for a while... That and my laptop broke this week. So again, I'm really really sorry!
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Chapter 4
Night had come down hard on the city. There was no moon and clouds of smog blocked all but a few stars from view.
Serenity chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, looking over the slums that she and her brother now lived in. Her hand fiddled with the blind that she was holding slightly open. The weather was always hazy nowadays. She couldn't even remember the last time that it was a beautiful sunny day. It must have been months ago.
Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed hers and the blind was pulled to its proper position, blocking the city from sight. Serenity's eyes widened and she whipped her head around to see eyes the color of her own but now hard and demanding.
"Serenity! How many times have I told ya ta keep da blind closed?"
The small girl sighed and cast a glance of the now-closed blind. "I was just-"
"It's for ya own good, ya know dat."
Serenity nodded dejectedly. "I'm sorry, big brother."
Joey sighed and pulled her into a soft hug. He didn't want to be strict. Hell, he had figured that if anyone in their apartment was going to be strict, it would have been Serenity. But now, even in the middle of the night, there she was, peaking out of the blinds. And for some unfathomable reason, she was doing this only hours after escaping from gods-knew-what type of place!
The golden-haired twenty-year-old wrinkled his brow. This was all giving him a migraine, and his ankle still hurt like hell. He waited a few moments before speaking again. "I don't wanna press ya, Ren ..."
She pulled away from his arms so that she could look at his face clearly as he spoke.
"... but I really need ya ta tell me if ya wanna get outta here or not. I need ta know soon."
Serenity fidgeted with a strand of her hair. "Joey, I don't really want to leave..." she said, as she looked at the closed blind again, "but I think that you should decide."
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With a quiet whir, the Kaiba Corp chopper descended smoothly, landing with pinpoint precision. The towering CEO strode importantly into the dilapidated office building that was actually the headquarters of the rebel movement. Most offices were closed during the day, and it was very suspicious for one to be open during the night... which was why Seto Kaiba was headed for the basement.
His blue eyes glared directly ahead of him, intimidating anyone in the hallways. His face was well-known there, and no one would dare cross him, especially in his present mood: dangerous.
The building was old, ancient even. It was obviously not cared for very well, but that was typical anywhere those days.
Kaiba stepped neatly into the beat-up elevator and pressed the button for the basement with his long index finger. With a jolt, it began slowly chugging its way to the bottom.
Ding!He stepped smoothly off and bypassed the armed guard without so much as looking at him. Like the rest of the place, it was old, but this time, there was a foul smell- something like mold mixed with dead rodent. The entire place was setup just like an office building basement, but Kaiba had long known its secrets. It almost seemed like the rebels preferred such dark and dingy spaces for their meeting places. It was very unlike the movement's leader, Pegasus, but it wasn't altogether surprising.
'Cheap bastard...'
Grinning slightly, Kaiba silently pushed open the door with his fingertips marked Electrical Equipment and found the usual spacious room with numerous security camera screens. Unaware of the new presence in the room, two men in collared shirts were staring at a monitor depicting the Kaiba Corp chopper and talking with disdain.
"That arrogant bastard always has to make an entrance," the first man barked.
"He may be an arrogant bastard, but he's a powerful arrogant bastard. Don't you forget it," the second man replied. He was the one Kaiba had come to see- the financial manager of the rebel movement.
Kaiba smirked. "If I'm such an arrogant bastard, why should I do business with you?"
The two men paled and whirled around.
"K-kaiba..." the first man said, knees shaking. He was obviously a rookie in all of this.
"Yes. And who the hell are you?" Kaiba growled.
The trembling man mouthed something silently before he left without another word, leaving the second man alone with one smug Seto Kaiba.
Kaiba fixed the man with his chilling stare. "I hope you're aware that the payment for my projection equipment your organization gave me was counterfeit."
The man passed a hand through his black hair and fidgeted with a ring on his bony finger. "I... I wasn't aware of that, Mr. Kaiba."
Kaiba's smirk widened. "You know. One of the required talents in this business is the ability to lie. I'd say, you never developed that talent."
The poor man swallowed. "I'm d-deeply s-sorry, sir... B-but I'm afraid we don't have a-anymore c-cash on hand at the moment..."
The sad part was, it was probably true. But that didn't mean shit to the CEO of Kaiba Corp.
"Uh-huh. Well, should I just take my equipment now, then?" He turned to go and retrieve it immediately. As much as it was amusing to see the financial manager dig his own grave, he was a man of business.
The poor man was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He was positively panicking. His superiors, primarily Pegasus, would have his head if he couldn't make some type of deal. "Mr. Kaiba, p-please reconsider."
"And just what do you have to offer me?"
The door burst open. A bald man with horn-rimmed glasses rushed in. "Sir! I thought you should know-"
Kaiba crossed his arms, impatiently waiting.
"- the other side has threatened to blast Domino City. Apparently, the negotiations with Marik Ishtar didn't work out. The man was killed, but it seems the girl escaped. I have the file here if you want to l-" The bald man paused in his fast-paced speech when he met the icy gaze of Seto Kaiba.
The financial manager gulped and turned back to the ice-cold CEO. He most likely wouldn't be pleased about the interruption. "M-mr. K-kaiba... I d-don't know wh-what you w-want."
Little did he know that the short bald man had just saved his ass. Kaiba's fingers were fingering a certain engraving on a silver locket that still remained in his coat. Seto Kaiba's eyes narrowed and a smirk played across his features. "You're in luck."
"Wh-what?"
In two long strides, Kaiba crossed the room and stood directly before the financial manager and the bald man. His height was intimidating enough, but it was the eyes that did the trick. "You give me that file, and I won't bother you anymore about the money."
The financial head was taken aback. Above all things, he had never expected this from Seto Kaiba. And what would the Great Seto Kaiba want with one of their files? "I... I don't th-think..."
"It's either that, or Kaiba Corp will be getting it's equipment back."
It appeared that he had no other choice.
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Joey sighed. "I guess we could stay h-"
Ring ring!The siblings' heads snapped around to look at the phone. It was strange. Nobody ever called them, mostly because nobody outside of their organization was meant to know they lived there. It was a puzzle, that was for sure. Altogether, the phone was an ominous sound in the dark apartment.
"Maybe we shouldn't answer it, Joey..." Serenity whispered fearfully.
Joey shook his head, shaggy blond hairs falling before his eyes. "I dunno, Ren. Somethin' tells me I should..." His hand faltered a bit as it reached for the receiver. With a click, he picked up the phone. "H-hello?"
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Elenion: Don't worry. The updates should be coming much more quickly than this last one. Well, school is starting up again, but that shouldn't be too much of an obstacle. Feedback, corrections, etc are always great!
