Disclaimer: Let's see now. Multicolored dried out pens, check. Fifty-three notebooks of unfinished stories, check. Dryer lint, check. Fat lazy and semi-psychotic lap cat, check. YuGiOh…hm…let's put that on the want but will never have list along with the Loch Ness monster and a tolerable singing voice.
A Matter of Trust
Chapter 13
Mokuba must still not be feeling well. He's usually bouncing on the bed by now to wake me, she thought vaguely as she turned her face into the morning light. She smiled softly at the warmth and opened her eyes to greet the new day. After a moment she frowned as she realized that her bed was facing the wrong direction. Glancing up at the blue silk canopy, it dawned on her it was facing the right direction…it just wasn't her bed.
Pulling herself up slowly, she sighed with relief to see she was alone much as she had been the morning after the first night she had stayed with him. He had awakened before her, and she never even heard or felt him leave.
What could possibly have gone through his mind when he discovered her in his bed? I was suppose to wake before him so this wouldn't happen. He must think I'm a tramp, she thought shamefully as she slid out of the bed, her ankle aching slightly beneath her weight. She was surprisingly alert, only as one would be after a good night's rest, and she knew her suspicions had been correct. Something about his presence kept the nightmares at bay. It didn't seem logical. He was a man and therefore dangerous and untrustworthy…but Seto Kaiba was more than just a man.
Like a thief not wanting to be caught, she cautiously peered out the door before limping down the hallway to her own room and this time no one noticed. She was already dressed when El put in an appearance.
"Are you well, Ari," the nurse asked hesitantly as she eyed Ari straightening out the covers on her bed.
"Of course, El. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Then you slept well, did you?"
Ari froze for a moment and smiled softly to herself. "Yes, El, I did. How is Mokuba? Is he up?"
"Up and down for breakfast already, Ari."
"I suppose I'll join him then."
Nurse Jiura stared at her as if she had grown a second head. "Are you sure you are well, Ari?"
Ari smiled with the confidence her little secret had given her. "Quite well, El."
Mokuba was ecstatic to see her. "Are you sure you shouldn't be resting or something?"
"Not anymore than you should be," she said with a twinkle in her eye he had not seen for months.
Mokuba sniffed and rubbed his nose. "Aw, the doctor says I'm fine now."
"Good, because you get crabby when you're sick," she grinned and peered down at the plate Rory had set before her. Eggs and waffles. I am so hungry, she thought as she dug in eagerly. Both Rory and Mokuba stared at her for a moment in awe, almost convinced that this was the Ari they had always known.
"Hey, Ari, guess what," Mokuba finally spoke up when she had a couple bites.
"What?"
"Seto said I can bring you into Kaiba Corp whenever you think you're ready."
Her fork hovered over her plate. Kaiba Corp? Actually go outside the mansion? I would be with Mokuba and Kaiba will be there and they won't let anything happen to me…
"Today?" she asked and his eyes lit up.
"Are you sure? I mean so soon after, uh, well—"
"I want to know who I am, Mokuba," she said firmly and he grinned.
"Today it is then."
She fidgeted until Mokuba's hand clamped down on hers reassuringly. They were the only two in the back of the limo. Washiro and Sojo were in the front. Ari no longer had any qualms about Sojo's company ever since he answered her cry for help just as he had promised he would. Washiro was not one she knew well and she felt an instinctive dislike for the man's all too easy smile. But once they arrived at Kaiba Corp, all else was forgotten.
Mokuba took her to her own office straight away. It fostered the same familiarity as her room in the Kaiba mansion, but the memories merely flickered at the edge of her consciousness, not quite wanting to reveal themselves.
"I must have spent a lot of time here," she murmured as she walked in and sat at the desk. With an amused smirk she fingered the small doodle taped to the computer's external memory cache. It didn't take a genius to recognize the Devil Kaiba in the small sketch. Turning from it, she booted up the computer and typed in the password without second thought.
"See, you haven't forgotten everything, Ari," Mokuba said.
"Patterns and codes hardly make up the semblance of a memory, Mokuba," she replied, "but it is something. This is the program I was working on, isn't it? The one having similarities to the base program in your computer."
"Yeah, except this program here is a seven layer holographic enhancement program."
"Holographic enhancement? What for?"
"Um, I think I better let Seto answer that one," he evaded.
She spent hours in that office, scanning every file on her computer, sifting through every file in the cabinets and pausing for quite some time over a detailed blueprint of a fiber-optic cable that seemed to trigger a sense of possessiveness and pride within her. When she had nothing more to look through, Mokuba took her over to his brother's office.
"He's in a meeting, so we won't be bothering him or anything," Mokuba assured her as he pushed open the doors to the large office. Spacious and simply furnished, as she had expected. Mokuba pranced off to the desk where he set about toying with his brother's computer while Ari examined the bookshelves. On one shelf in front of all the books on business, there was a charming picture of Mokuba running towards the camera with his arms wide open as if he were about to embrace the photographer.
Ari smiled at the image and allowed her eyes to travel to the next frame. It was her. She stared at it frozen for a moment before reaching to pull it closer. The serene expression on her face was heartwarming. She was curled up in a sofa chair, sleeping. Was I ever that carefree and peaceful? Why would Kaiba have this picture here…in his office…next to Mokuba's?
Her hand trembled slightly as she set the picture down, once again reminded of the suspicion that something more might have existed between Seto Kaiba and the Ari of before. Turning away from the bookcase, her eyes caught sight of a picture frame occupying the same wall. Stepping closer, her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the fearsome creature.
"That's the other picture you drew," Mokuba spoke up and she glanced at him. "Remember, I mentioned it to you when you saw the one in my room. I wanted that one too, but Seto likes to keep it here."
Ari turned back to the picture and studied the detail. The dragon was fiercely magnificent, so real looking that she expected it to leap out of the frame. I can't believe I drew something like that. Why did I? As she stared at it, she noticed the unusual nature of the dragon's blue eye. It was human and as her stare lingered, the second image became clear. Overlapping the profile of the dragon was the face of Seto Kaiba.
Ari took a startled step back. How? Why? Was that how I saw him? Is that what he really is? She shivered and turned away from the picture, disturbed by the thoughts it provoked. I need to sit down.
Mokuba seemed intent on whatever game he had discovered on the laptop, so Ari fell onto the sofa and wrapped her arms around herself to quiet the unnatural chill. What sort of man is it that I have found myself trusting in? How much do I know about him really? The woman that drew that picture, did she respect or fear him? What did she know that I don't?
With a weary sigh, she curled up into the sofa, resting her head on the cushioned arm. I can't trust my memories, I can't trust my dreams, I can't even trust my reality. Isn't there anything I can trust? She closed her eyes against the tears threatening to escape. I'm so lost.
Kaiba paused in the doorway when he saw Mokuba sitting at his desk. "I wasn't expecting you to come in today," he said and his little brother looked up with a grin.
"Shh," he said, putting a finger to his lip and then pointing. Seto followed his gesture to the sleeping woman curled up on the sofa. He returned his glance to Mokuba with a raised brow and Mokuba's grin widened.
"She wanted to come," Mokuba explained softly.
Kaiba glanced at his watch and frowned. He hated to wake her, but it was considerably late and he was actually hungry for a change.
"Where is her coat?" he asked his brother as he strode into the room.
"In her office. Should I get it?"
Seto nodded and Mokuba closed the laptop before leaving.
What is it about her when she sleeps, so sweet and innocent…I can almost forget she is a different woman now, a stranger.
Hesitantly, he reached out and gently touched her shoulder. She woke with a start and he stepped back instinctively. Her wide doe-like eyes were bright with fright and he half expected her to bolt for the door. After a strained moment, she glanced away and rubbed the weariness from her eyes.
"What time is it," she asked sleepily.
"Quarter after seven," he said softly. "Mokuba is getting your coat."
"Here we go, oh Ari, you're awake," Mokuba's cheerful voice cut through the unease. "I got your coat for you."
"Thank you, Moki," she smiled as she accepted the coat from him. He held onto it for a moment and stared at her strangely.
"What's wrong," she asked hesitantly and then glanced up to see that Kaiba held the same strange expression. "W-what did I do?"
"It's just," Mokuba hesitated and then smiled shyly. "You haven't called me that since before the accident."
Ari stared at him. "Oh." She glanced down uncertainly at her coat. Why did I call him that? It just came out.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba?"
Seto and Mokuba both glanced up at the secretary hovering in the doorway.
"There's an emergency call from security—"
"I'll take it," he cut her short. "Mokuba, take Ari home."
"Okay," he said as Kaiba strode out of the room without a backward glance. "I guess it's just us for dinner, Ari."
"Sounds good to me," she agreed with a faint smile.
"When we compared the security codes used to access the observation deck the day of the accident against the hallway camera's time table, we found an inconsistency, sir. There was an access made that was not on the camera video feed."
"Someone doctored the footage?" Kaiba asked.
"It would seem so," Ian, present head of security agreed. "We are still trying to figure out how the footage could have been altered without any of us knowing. It was pure chance that we discovered the discrepancy at all."
"Did you retrieve it?"
"We just finished putting it together. We don't know what's on this, sir, so…"
"Play it," he snapped.
Ian nodded and punched in a code on the computer. The screen flickered.
"I'm certain you know, sir, that because this part of the footage was removed, this must be the person who put the Blue Eyes White Dragon into the holo-duel system."
"And how many people have access to that card? I'm as curious as you, Ian," Kaiba growled as he watched the screen. The seconds ticked by as if they were minutes until a figure walked onto the screen. Kaiba felt his heart still. He would know that person, that walk, anywhere.
Sure enough, a hand reached out and tapped at the code access panel to the observation deck.
"Don't tell me the code used was…"
"I'm afraid so," Ian said grimly. "It was Ms Nieche's."
