Target: Destiny
Chapter Ten
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A/N: Mika- I, too, found it to be as amusing as hell to make Seto magical considering how much he hates magic in the manga. XD
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"No, no, no!" Yuugi yelled adamantly. "I won't!" He tapped his foot impatiently on the marble dais his throne was resting on. His arms were crossed stiffly as he looked away. His grandfather eyed him silently from his place on the throne next to Yuugi.
"You're just going to leave Anzu hanging high and dry?" Jounouchi shot back angrily. He stomped up the steps of the dais and over to stand in front of Yuugi's line of vision. The prince stubbornly looked the other way.
"She's got her highly intelligent husband who knows everything. Let him rescue her, and his little dog, Malik, too."
Jounouchi glared at his friend's sarcastic remark. "You are being an asshole, I hope you know."
Yuugi scowled at him then. "If I'm being an asshole, then it's because I've been around Bakura too much," he spat. "After all, he wrote the damn instruction manual for assholes."
"Yes, Bakura is an arrogant son of a bitch. That isn't Anzu's fault!" Jounouchi maintained. Yuugi's hard stare was unrelenting, and Jounouchi sighed. "Fine, I just thought you cared about her."
Jounouchi called up the coordinates of Bakura into his IT device and slammed his thumb down on the button, a little harder than necessary. After he had disappeared from the room, Yuugi stormed down the dais and out of the throne room.
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"I'm running out of songs," Anzu mused to herself. How many days have I been here? she wondered. She figured almost a week. She sarcastically wondered if Bakura planned on showing up anytime soon. Seto had said her husband was coming for her, but he had not been kind enough to leave an estimated time of arrival.
"I'm hungry, too," Anzu whispered at the feel of her baby's kick.
"Here."
Anzu would have jumped three feet had she been able to. Mokuba's voice behind her scared the living daylights out of her; she grudgingly allowed that she was not nearly as in tune with her surroundings as she had been in her bounty hunting days.
When the young boy stepped around to stand in front of her, he was holding a plate of vegetables in his hand. Anzu smiled.
"I'm grateful, but you'll have to feed me," she told him. He did not seem thrilled at the prospect.
"I'll let you down," he replied after a moment of eyeing the food, his fingers, and her mouth. Anzu shook her head.
"No, you musn't. He'll be very mad if he catches you letting me down," she warned.
He paused, considering her words. Finally, he threw his hand out to the side, and Anzu felt the chains begin to unlock around her wrists. The chain cuffs snapped off of her wrists, and she felt herself falling. Without being able to move, she would fall into a heap; she could not shield her abdomen.
"No, wait--!"
Just as gravity began to pull her down, Mokuba's hand flew out in front of him again, and Anzu found herself suspended in mid-air. Slowly, he lowered his hand, and Anzu descended gently to the cool, marble floor.
"I know what that collar is," he said. He groaned. "So, I still have to feed you." She stifled a giggle at his apparent unwillingness. He sat down next to her on the floor. She stay slumped against the wall, unable to do anything else.
"Oh, I haven't felt my arms for days. It feels wonderful to put them down," she moaned gratefully. Chisara began to purr, climbing up into her lap. Anzu wished she could pet her beloved panther.
Mokuba picked up her hand and squeezed her fingers around one of the vegetables, then raised her hand to her mouth for her. She chewed quickly and gratefully, not paying any heed to the ever-tasteless food of Ascenia. Her embarrassment over him having to move her arm didn't effect her too much in her hunger; Seto had apparently thought it was only necessary to feed her once a day. While she could deal with that normally, her unborn child was not too happy with the arrangement.
"Mokuba," she said between bites, "can I ask you a personal question?"
He shrugged, using her fingers to pick up another vegetable.
"How did your brother make you?" she inquired cautiously. He didn't seem to be bothered by the question.
"From a vial of my blood when I was alive. A doctor had taken it and frozen it when I was sick," he replied simply. Anzu would have sat straight up in shock had she been able to. Instead, she settled for nearly choking on the red, stringy vegetable in her mouth.
"He brought you back to life?" she demanded in a mixture of awe and creepiness.
The long-haired boy looked thoughtful. "Mmm, not really. He made this new body for me and restored my soul into it. I'm like a new me!" He laughed cheekily. Then he frowned a bit. "But, there are some memories I don't have, so I can't remember everything about my life before."
"But, how did he make your new body?" she wondered quietly.
"With magic, of course!"
"Of course," she commented. "Was he your brother before, too?"
He nodded. "See, I died of a disease I'd been born with when I was six years old. My body burned up. Seto was only three years older than me." Anzu silently did the math in her head. Had Mokuba's life gone on undisturbed, he'd be somewhere around thirty years old, maybe a few years older. He would be older than her!
"He obviously loves you very much to bring you back," Anzu remarked with a gentle smile.
He returned it. "He's my best friend."
Anzu's heart constricted a bit. She wondered if this boy would be left without his beloved big brother once Bakura got ahold of Seto Kaiba. Hell, she wished she could get her hands on the damn stalker.
"Mokuba, please explain to me why you are sitting on the floor, hand-feeding the woman who was previously chained up."
Mokuba's eyes were wide with apprehension as he stared at his brother who had just entered the room. Seto's arms were crossed over his chest, and his eyes were narrowed angrily.
"Brother, she is pregnant, and I just thought..." Mokuba trailed off quietly.
"I am very disappointed in you, Mokuba. You are not to enter this room again," Seto commanded. Anzu clenched her teeth.
"Don't you dare be mad at him! I told him you let me down all the time, and he thought it was okay!" she yelled. Chisara added a growl for extra measure. Mokuba looked at her, surprised.
"Is that so?" Seto ground out, his eyes flashing an eerie green. He raised his hands, and Anzu found herself flung up in the air. She cried out in pain as the cuffs slapped around her wrists. He informed her, "I will only accept so much disobedience from my wife."
"I am not your wife, and I never will be! Get the fucking clue!" she spat.
"I think a good punishment would be for you to have a small window to look out as a reminder that you will never again go outside," he suggested with a small smirk. She would do anything for the chance to slap it off his face. Seto waved his hand toward the far wall, and a small window appeared there, barely a square foot. Still, it was enough for Anzu to look out hungrily. Never go outside again? I could kill him, she thought.
"Come along, Mokuba," Seto said, holding his hand out for his younger brother.
"I'm sorry, Anzu," the twelve-year-old whispered before taking his brother's hand and exiting with him through the vortex.
Anzu sighed. "Well, Chisara, have at those vegetables," she said as she mournfully eyed the rest of her food which was now out of her reach.
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"Daddy, don't go!" Ryoko cried, clutching onto her father's arm. Baku's tiny hands were tugging on Bakura's cape. He knelt down in front of his two children.
"I'll be back before you know it. Aunt Careen and Aunt Mai are going to stay here with you, and you'll all have lots of fun," he told them. Ryoko let go of him and ran over to the group standing near the main ship in the center of the holding arena. The smaller jets had already left a few minutes prior, including those of the Aisulings.
"Uncle Malik! Uncle Jou! You don't go, too!" the young princess wailed.
Malik kissed her on the cheek. "Don't worry, Ryoko. We'll be back really soon!" Jounouchi nodded his agreement. Although Yuugi had decided to be an ass, Jounouchi still owed it to Anzu to assist in her rescue even though he wasn't particularly trained in anything other than street-brawl.
Mai approached her fellow Earthling. "Hey, don't die."
Jounouchi smiled. "You would be too heartbroken if I did, so of course, I won't." She rolled her eyes and waved him off as he boarded the ship.
"Lord Malik, be careful," Careen implored, twisting her skirt nervously in her hand. He grinned wolfishly at her.
"No need to worry. The pretty people never die," he joked. He turned to board the ship.
"Malik," the blonde woman called after him. He half-turned to see what she needed, but was nearly knocked to the ground when Careen launched herself into his arms, pressing her lips tightly onto his. His eyes widened slightly. Soon, he squeezed her to him, inhaling her scent as their lips caressed the other's. Finally, they broke apart, and he made a hooting sound.
"Yow! Now, I really won't die," he exclaimed with a wink. "I always knew you wanted me."
She smacked him on the arm and shooed him up into the ship.
Once Bakura was the only one left to board the ship, he hugged his son and daughter one last time and turned to the small group still gathered outside. He nodded to Careen, Mai, and the three Aisu princesses. He turned to the one man present.
"Raptia-"
"My king, I will guard them with my life," the younger man promised, saluting proudly. He had been replaced in the position of second-in-command to General Malik and, instead, given the honor of guarding the prince and princess.
Bakura nodded in approval and boarded the ship. He entered the control room. "Begin journey to Ascenia."
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Yeah, this chapter was short. Oh, friggin' well. XD There's probably two chapters left, maybe three. Eek, the end nears!