Target: Destiny
Chapter Eight
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A/N: Mika-- Chisara is still around. In this chapter, you'll see why she hasn't been mentioned the past few chapters. -Grin- Honestly, I couldn't possibly forget my favorite character! XD
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Malik entered the medical ward room Bakura was in with his hands held out before him. "Don't worry, guys, it's okay," he said confidently. Everyone stared at him, unimpressed.
"What's okay?" Ryoko asked innocently. Yuugi snorted disdainfully.
"Your idiocy stuns even the most patient of people," he told Malik and turned away.
Malik growled under his breath. "You want another go, porcupine-head?"
Yuugi whipped his head around at the provocation. He stalked up to Malik angrily. "That's just fine with me, you girly-looking Tevinelivian." The clearly-implied insult on Malik's heritage caused the room to fall deathly silent as everyone present waited for the general's reply.
"Okay, midget. Let me bang your head into the wall, so we can see how many times it takes to flatten your hair to a normal height," he suggested. The Earth prince looked about ready to pounce, so Bakura cleared his throat.
"Malik, do not try to steal from me the title of who hates Yuugi most. Yuugi, your hair wouldn't flatten anyway, so don't take the bait. Now, where is the tele-comm I asked for?"
Jounouchi stepped up to the bed and handed it to him. Malik leaned over the bed curiously to see which number Bakura was typing into the interface. "Who are you calling?" he wondered.
"The past twenty minutes I've been awake, I have not seen Anzu. Seeing as someone was trying to kidnap her when I received this injury, one can easily come to the conclusion that she has, indeed, been kidnapped. Therefore, who else could I be calling besides Seto Kaiba?"
The calm in his voice confused nearly everyone present. Malik scratched his head. "Why are you calling him then?"
"Because he kidnapped Anzu, you dolt!" Yuugi snapped as if it were obvious.
Silence fell over the room once more. The quiet beeping of the tele-comm as it tried to connect was the only sound penetrating the suddenly stifling room.
"Bah, busy," Bakura complained, setting the handheld device down for the moment. He looked around, slightly surprised. "You all look like stunned mullets. Except dumb-dumb there."
Yuugi glared at Bakura, knowing the insult was directed at him even though the Bakurian king had not looked at him nor said his name. He promised himself that he was going to have to kick Bakura's ass one of these days.
Malik was the first to recover his voice. He spoke slowly as if he was still in disbelief, "You mean to tell me the Prime Minister of Ascenia, Seto Kaiba, who has not been anywhere near Anzu in eight years, is obsessed with her and has kidnapped her?"
"No, no, Malik," Yuugi responded snottily. "He means to tell you he made the entire thing up just for kicks and is currently hiding his wife in a broom closet."
Malik growled and looked as if he wanted to beat Yuugi to a pulp right there, even in front of the children. Mai raised her hands in an annoyed manner.
"Look, can we go for five minutes without you two getting into a fight?" she demanded angrily. Careen nodded her agreement with rolled eyes.
Malik and Yuugi said not another word to each other and sat back down in chairs on opposite sides of the room. Bakura eyed the two of them momentarily. "Yuugi, how did you know it was Kaiba?" he wondered aloud. Everyone in the room was obviously curious, as well, for they turned and stared at the Prince of Earth expectantly.
"Well, I was called back to Earth for an 'emergency call,'" Yuugi began. "My grandfather's health is failing these past few years, and he is not in the condition to handle any emergencies. So anyway, I get back to Earth, and it's Seto Kaiba who called. I comm him back and the first words out of his mouth are 'Help us take out Bakura' meaning the planet," he added, seeing Bakura's insulted expression. "Naturally, I'm shocked and ask him what his reasoning is for going against his contract of alliance and trade. All he would tell me was 'The king is going to try to steal something from me.'"
"He stole her first!" Bakura cut in heatedly.
Yuugi continued, "Of course, I don't have any problem throwing Bakura here to the wolves, but Anzu would be very sad," he said, not noticing the vein throbbing angrily in the Bakurian king's forehead. "So, I told the Prime Minister that he was insane, and that Earth would not help him in any way. After I heard Anzu was kidnapped, the pieces of the puzzle came together easily."
Jounouchi narrowed his eyes. "That son of a bitch-"
"Language!" Careen snapped, covering Ryoko and Baku's ears.
"-He's going to get what's coming to him."
Mai sighed disgustedly. "Honestly, what is with you men: destroy the planet, and then negotiate with whatever rocks may be left?"
Four pairs of eyes turned to her simultaneously. "He took Anzu!" all of the men present shouted. The blonde held her hands up defensively.
"I love Anzu just as much as the rest of you, but you cannot destroy a planet over this. Hello! Anzu is on the planet anyway!" she pressed on.
"Well, can't we destroy it after we get her off?" Malik asked reasonably.
"No! That would make you all murderers!" Careen intervened. The four men downcasted their eyes, clearly disappointed. Mai and Careen sighed and shook their heads.
Bakura picked up the tele-comm and tried to contact Seto Kaiba again. This time, he connected through to a servant who went to fetch the Prime Minister.
"I'm busy!" Seto barked in the background. The servant must have groveled at his feet because a few moments later, Seto's livid face appeared on the screen. His expression softened considerably the second he realized who his caller was. He cleared his throat several times before speaking.
"What can I do for you, King Bakura?" he asked demurely. Bakura swatted away Malik's hand as he tried to grab the tele-comm to give Seto a good, verbal beating.
"Mr. Kaiba, tell your planetary neighbors to get out their cameras," Bakura said coolly. Seto Kaiba lifted a delicate brow.
"Pray tell, why would they need their cameras?" he asked, uninterestedly. Bakura smiled devilishly.
"Because after we get Anzu off of the mudball commonly called Ascenia, the explosion created when it's blown up will create one hell of a fireworks show."
"Yeah, bitch," Malik chimed in, "we're breakin' out the sparklers."
Bakura turned the tele-comm away, looking pointedly at Malik. His cousin sheepishly sat down again. The ivory-haired king returned the tele-comm to face him again only to see the line was dead; Seto had hung up. It was no matter. The point had been made, and Seto knew he could not deny any accusation against him. Actually, he had not seemed to want to. He had openly defied the Bakurian empire which brought with it the fury of all allied planets. Bakura wondered what gave Seto Kaiba so much confidence.
Malik leaned over Bakura's shoulder. He clucked his tongue. "Well, how fucking rude! He didn't even have the decency to say good-bye!"
"Quit cussing!" Careen yelled, whacking Malik on the back of the head.
"Someone get me out of the bed," Bakura instructed. Everyone hesitated, knowing he was still injured. "Come on, come on, time's a-wasting!"
Cautiously, Malik helped his cousin sit up and then step out of the bed. Bakura retrieved his cape from the bedside table and wrapped it around his shoulders, securing it in front. He turned to face the group.
"Okay," he started, gathering his thoughts and ignoring his throbbing head. "Here's the plan. Malik, contact Lasyupia because we'll need their great numbers. Yuugi, get your air force ready. I need to plot the coordinates to see how long it will take to get to Ascenia."
"Rot in hell, Bakura."
Everyone turned to stare at Yuugi. His arms were crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face. Jounouchi placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, asking him what was wrong.
"There's no way Earth is helping you after the way you accused me and the way he reacted," Yuugi said, staring pointedly at both Bakura and Malik.
"You're just going to leave Anzu hanging?" Malik demanded. Yuugi reached into his pocket and pulled out his IT device.
"I won't help you," he repeated before pressing a button on the device and disappearing. Ryoko and Baku stared at the spot he had just been standing in before slowly looking up at their seething father.
"Well, shit," Careen murmured.
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"Oh, I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, diddley dee. There they are, all standing in a row, bum bum bum. Big ones, small ones, some as big as Kaiba's head. Give 'em a twist, a flick of the wrist. Kaiba, you're fucking dead!"
Anzu groaned. I'm so bored, I've started rhyming. She flopped her head over to rest on her other shoulder. As the only part of her body which would still move, she refused to let her head rest around idly. Besides, moving her head back and forth gave her something to do. She had no clue how many hours had passed since she had last seen any form of life, and the cabin fever was wearing on her nerves. Hell, she'd welcome Seto Kaiba at this point.
"Miss Susie had a steamboat. The steamboat had a bell. Miss Susie went to Heaven. The steamboat went to hello, operator. Please give me number nine. And if you disconnect me, I'll kick you from behind the 'frigerator, there was a piece of glass. Miss Susie sat upon it and cut her big, fat--"
"Bored, are we?"
Anzu looked up sharply. Seto Kaiba was grinning at her, obviously quite amused. Anzu sneered at him. "Well, I'd twiddle my thumbs, but that isn't exactly possible right now."
He merely smiled at her silently. A strange purple vortex was alight behind him, sparkling mysteriously. It whirled around like a storm cloud. Anzu's eyes widened slightly, and she motioned her head in his direction.
"There's something behind you."
"Yes, it's a transportation vortex. Nothing to worry your pretty, little head over," he responded.
Anzu frowned. "Actually, I was talking about the cat that's about to eat you."
Before Seto could turn around, he was tackled to the ground by a great amount of weight. He howled in pain when sharp fangs sank into his arm. He turned around, struggling to throw the cat off of him. Eventually, he cursed foully and threw his free hand out at the cat, screaming a short incantation.
Immediately, the cat was thrown off of him and skidded across the floor a few feet. "Chisara!" Anzu cried, willing her body to move; it would not.
Grasping his bleeding arm, Seto scrambled to his feet and stomped over to the panther. He yanked the cat up by the scruff of its neck. Anzu was horrified to see her cat was now a five-pound kitten again. She shrieked in shock. Chisara growled and slapped around with her paws, but only hit air as her arm span was merely a foot now.
"How the hell did you get in here?" Seto wondered angrily, staring broodily at the kitten squirming in his grip. "Guess she came through the vortex when I kidnapped you," he informed Anzu curtly. He clearly recognized the cat as the same one Anzu had had with her when she had traveled to Ascenia with then-Prince Bakura.
"I'm going to kill you," he told Chisara after examining his wounded arm.
"No!" Anzu screamed, trying desperately to pull at the chains. Her body still would not budge. Seto looked over at her.
"Oh, fine, keep the damned furball," he said hotly. He tossed the cat at her. Anzu gasped, but the kitten expertly landed on her feet before padding over to her owner. Chisara meowed up at Anzu, slapping her paw at the carpeted floor. Anzu's expression softened; she knew her beloved pet must be wondering why her owner looks so big.
"Besides," Seto added, "I want you to be a happy bride, and you'll be angry with me if I hurt your cat."
Anzu wanted to inch away from him. He looked sincere. "You have problems," she whispered.
He didn't answer, but instead walked over to her, his robe swishing behind him elegantly. He cupped her chin and lowered his lips to hers. Anzu stiffened, and she tossed her head from side to side. His lips were not soft and full like Bakura's. She did not get 'butterflies' in her stomach at Seto's touch. She tightened her lips into a line when the Prime Minister pulled away from her.
"You taste so good," he commented, licking his lips. Anzu felt ill. "I suspect your husband will be here sometime to try to rescue you. It's too bad I'll kill him before you get to see him again."
He left Anzu then, knowing the sense of fear and heartache he left instilled within her. She looked down where Chisara was still sitting, pawing at her dangling feet. "I'm so sorry, baby," she whispered sadly. The kitten tilted her head and meowed. The sound was no longer deep and rumbling, but rather high-pitched. "I'm glad I have a friend now though."
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There you go. You know who the kidnapper is now. Seto. GASP, how could I! XD