Guardian Angel

By: Jensea/Kisoto Star/Angelique Tsunawa

Disclaimer: Standards apply. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or anything related to the show. I only own Angelique and this fanfic. Nothing more.

Author's note: I'd like to thank my beloved Kris for all of his help and inspiration for this story! If it weren't for you, love, I am sure I would have never placed this story down into words!

All of the little 's throughout the chapters indicate a small author's note at the end of the chapter it is in.

Chapter 4

The days had passed rather quickly and she found herself in a wild goose chase, following the elder Kaiba all over Japan like a magnetized ping-pong ball. She was exhausted, but she knew that giving up now would be condemning Mokuba to lord knew what. She could have killed herself for practically delivering him right into Pegasus's grasp. The child had just been with her mere hours before his kidnapping and what did she do? Fed him right to the enemy! She could only hope that his brother would understand and forgive her. Even though it wasn't entirely her fault, she still felt responsible for it in some way. Sighing, she found herself kneeling outside of the Kaiba Estate, trying her damndest to slip passed the guards. Getting passed the ones at the front gate was easy, but now she would have to thank their employer for the obstacle once she reached him. That was if he was even inside the massive place.

Jumping over a back wall, she double-checked her surroundings before slowly slipping across the yard. Half way across the lush, green, neatly trimmed grass, the patter of feet against concrete perked at her ears gently, catching her attention. By the sounds of the mumbling voices that came with the feet, it sounded like a group of guards. Shit, they were headed her way!

Ducking behind some high shrubbery against a wall of the house, she gulped hard and glanced down, ignoring their conversation for the most part. Something silver caught her gaze and, upon closer inspection… An air vent? Perfect! It was more than big enough for her to wiggle into. Within seconds she found herself crawling through the dusty ventilation system of the Kaiba Mansion, following the sound of the guards in a room up ahead. Her sources told her that Seto had returned... Maybe they were following some orders from him? As she listened, she heard differently.

"Pegasus wants him done away with. He's of no use to us with Mokuba and the company key in our grasp." A rather gruff looking suit stated with his arms crossed over his chest. He was taller than the others, only intensifying the dominating command that he seemed to hold over the others. He must have been the one calling all the shots.

"But, how do they plan to get the little brat to turn the damned thing over? Master Pegasus has tried everything and he won't do it willingly." A second chimed. He was a little more timid than the first, but, nonetheless, he would be a handful if she were to run into them.

Clamping a hand over her mouth, she shook her head slowly. No... They were tracking him? As she heard the guards move again, she followed, moving silently above them. Soon enough, she came across what appeared to be a computer network. She kept her ears and eyes on alert, being mindful of her movements, not wanting to be heard.

"Perfect..." She murmured, moving slowly to pull her backpack from her back. Even though the bag was rather burdensome, she knew that all of its contents were more than necessary. She made quick work of attaching one of the Kaiba Corporation laptops she had swiped during a similar visit to the company's Domino Office a few days earlier. She had to be quick. If anyone caught herm tapping into the terminal, she would be captured in no time. Pulling up a blue print and surveillance system of the house as well as any computer connections other than her own, she found that a terminal was operating in one of the lower levels of the mansion. "That must be him..."

Packing up her gear as quickly as she had pulled it out, she shimmied through the vents, trying to remember the map best she could, the image slowly fading in her mind. The sounds of the guards rallying weren't too far behind her. Shit, they must have found the open terminal as well. She had to get to him first she just had to. She prayed that all of her unsure chances and unclear sources would lead to him, to her goal, and not to a dead end, Or even worse, a trap. So far, she'd been lucky. Now, if that luck wouldn't just up and decide to run out on her.

Turning and twisting through the vents, she finally came to what seemed to be a dead end. But, she could still hear the guards. That just wasn't possible. Moving her hand forward for another step, she stopped dead in her tracks as the sounds of a computerized lock crackling slowly open. But, that wasn't what had stopped her. It was his voice. Her fingers gripped around the vent that they had fallen onto. Looking down, she heard him again along with the vocals on the computer system.

"Get that lock open, now!" One of the guards, the one that had been running the show so far, demanded.

She tensed up, fighting with her vocal cords a moment. This wasn't a time to chicken out! Fighting with them a moment longer, her leg kicked around, slamming down hard onto the vent, one set of hinges falling down, letting the vent hang from the other set. Glancing down, she met his gaze. "Kaiba-sama! Up here!"

He jumped slightly, startled by the sound of the vent falling open. At the sound of her voice, he met her gaze. God was she ever a sight for sore eyes right then. "Angie! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Jump now, talk later!" She yelled. He nodded, hearing the sounds of pounding on the door behind him. He shut off the computer and jumped up, scrambling into the air vents. He made sure to purge the system completely, covering any and all of his steps. A small loss to pay, really. He could always replace the entire thing later on. Swinging his legs up into it a second later as she held tight onto his hand, she pulled on his coat and shirt, slowly pulling him up into the vent.

"I'm guessing I'm not going to like what you came here to tell me."

She shushed him by covering his mouth with her hand once she had pulled the vent back up, being sure to keep as silent as she could when the goons walked into the room, completely puzzled. "Where the hell..."

"I could have sworn he was here! And I know you all heard the same voices that I did." The second from the first conversation she had caught earlier on exclaimed, fearful that their prey's get away would leave them all in a world of trouble. She smirked as he was pathetically defending himself.

"That doesn't matter now, just find him!" The leader demanded, the group slowly turning from the room. "We're all cooked if Pegasus gets to him before we do."

Angelique sighed once she was sure the suits were gone, removing her hand from Kaiba's mouth and relaxing against the wall of the vent, taking a slow, deep breath of air. She was relieved to have gotten out from under their noses, but they weren't out of harm's way yet. Glancing at him, she noticed the relieved look on his face, making his features soft and gentle. "Sorry for almost dropping in on you like that..."

He shook his head, opening his eyes once he had regained composure. "Don't worry. At this point, my main concern is getting out of here. I'm actually impressed, few people have managed to get through the suits, let alone make their way into and throughout the house… Or did my brother help you?"

She bit her lip, trying to avoid the subject of Mokuba. She had hoped the subject hadn't come up so soon. "No... Pegasus still has him..." She couldn't look at him as she moved passed, moving as quickly as she could. She knew that he had been completely informed of his brother's whereabouts by now. After all, caring for the child was among one of his top priorities. "Com'on. I doubt it's a good idea to linger in here..."

Seto looked at her, nodding. There was something she wasn't telling him. But, he would wait before pressing the girl on the matter right away. "We'll get to the roof, but I need to make a stop off in my room. If they haven't stolen anything, I have something I need to get."

He surged forward, almost charging through the air ducts, moving towards his room. She followed him closely, trying to keep as close as she could, not wanting to loose him. He could feel her on his tail, making him want to know even more what information she had on Mokuba, if any. Her presence nagged at him, making him even more curious with each passing moment. "Angelique…. Have you heard from him?"

"Let's just get out of here and I'll tell you on the way to Duelist Kingdom." She muttered, glancing around his room before unhooking the vent they had stopped at and pulling it inward, pushed it off to the side. She made room for him to drop in, thanking heavens that this one was located nearer to the floor instead of on the ceiling like the one before had been. Had Kaiba not been the person he was, he probably wouldn't have made that jump even with the help of the high backed chair he used as a springboard of sorts.

He moved silently about the room, tossing, removing, and rearranging things inside of his reinforced briefcase, being sure to leave room for his deck if he managed to somehow get it back once he would reach Duelist Kingdom. He then shifted a statue on the left dresser and pushed a sidewall, opening to a staircase that led to the roof. He glanced over his shoulder at her, nodding for her to follow. "Let's go Angie."

She finished covering the vent that they had come through, making sure all of their tracks had been successfully covered before she moved towards him. Before following him up the staircase, she looked around the room, taking it in. It was plain, dull, and incredibly unlike Kaiba. He wasn't plain and definitely didn't fit the definition of dull. She actually found him very exciting to be around. Today's events only proved that. She fell into a daze a moment as her eyes came to rest upon a picture of the two Kaiba brothers that sat neatly on a nearby desk. They were younger, much younger than they were now. Was Seto smiling? Actually smiling in it? What happened to that carefree grin? She jumped from her daze as he beckoned for her to follow, the door closing back into place as she ran up the secret passageway, concealing them.

He ran up to the roof once he was sure she had followed. "Alright Angie, we need to move fast, I assume they don't know about us yet, but they will eventually. When they do, they'll either try to destroy or disable the helicopters, so we'll pick one and we move." He was all business. Once they were off and away from immanent danger, he would try to get more details. At this point, he had to keep everything ordered and set. But, once he knew all he could and when he was prepared... Oohh how Pegasus would suffer.

She nodded, following him quickly. "But what about the one that you keep hidden in the attic?" She asked, smirking at him questioningly. Yes, she had done more than just a little extra credit homework on this self-assigned mission.

He shook his head. "That one if all else fails, but it's designed as an emergency launch. If it is used, it generates a lot of noise and damage. They would be on top of us like dogs on a steak." He gave her a slight smile then. "I have to admit, if you've done and learned all this on your own, I'm quite impressed."

Angelique gave him another small smile, tucking some loose strands of lavender hair behind her ear. "When a friend needs help, I'm right there." She whispered before pulling out a map from her back pocket. Unfolding and glancing at it, she smirked. "Now, back to the problem at hand... The one that you landed with from the cabin is a little too far off. We'd never make it there in time... But, this one here... It's just a few streets away. It's not a corporation approved get away vehicle, but I'm sure that using one of your personal crafts won't be a problem, will it?"

He gave her a mock questioning look, slightly amused. This was one study-buddy that had turned out to be a little more than useful. "Well, I'd need permission from the owner, but I think it just might work."

She giggled, tucking the map away. Did the almighty Kaiba just crack a joke? Smiling, she knew that she could get used to this over the stoic mask he always wore. "Com'on!" Before he could protest, she charged for the end of the roof, diving off the edge. It was what, a four, maybe five story drop?

Tenshi cursed her, pushing energy into her hikari's veins. She went soaring down towards the ground almost as if she had wings gliding her on the wind. Sending herself into a tumbling roll once she reached the lawn, she ignored the scolds from Tenshi. She smirked, standing up slowly once she had stopped, turning and smirking up at him.

"Hurry!" She was a sitting duck if he didn't follow.

He leapt down once he was sure she appeared safe. Skidding on the roof, he tumbled to a stop next to her, landing in a crouch then sprinting ahead. They were definitely pressed for time. Grabbing a tight hold of his briefcase, he called to her again, not looking over his shoulder as he bolted across the lawn and over the wall. "Let's go!"

She nodded, thanking Tenshi silently for help with that landing as she raced after him, keeping up fairly well. She made a sharp turn, keeping right on his heals the entire way. After a few twists and turns from street to ally and ally to street, they raced into the back of a rather discreet looking building. They had no trouble getting into it, let alone getting up onto the roof. Pegasus' goons obviously were a few steps behind them.

He ran for the helipad, Angelique still right behind him. He moved for the helicopter, gesturing for her to get in the pilot's seat. "You fly, let's go!"

She blinked at him. "Me!" She shrieked. Great. It seemed as if she wasn't even going to get a crash course in it either. Sighing, she closed her eyes, calling out softly, 'Tenshi... Some help here!'

'No problem, hon.' The shadow inside of the tiara smirked, taking over the girl's every movement, literally becoming her as she recomposed the girl's tense body, making quick work of the panel in front of her. Securing the headset over her ears, she flipped on the engine, glancing over the controls and gages with a keen eye. In mere seconds, they were lifting slowly from the pad.

After they were in the air, Kaiba relaxed somewhat, looking at the mansion as it became steadily smaller below them. He failed to notice how Angelique's eyes darkened and became more demonic, her hair loosing much of its vibrant curl and silver luster as it straightened and darkened along with her eyes for the briefest of moments. "You will pay Pegasus, I'll make sure of it."

He paused. Now that they were far from harm's way for the time being, he took the chance to ask again, "Angie, what happened to Mokuba? I need to know how bad the situation is."

Once Tenshi was sure Angelique had the basics, she retreated into the tiara once more, keeping a close eye on the girl, monitoring her almost too closely it seemed. She shook her head, trying to push the spirit completely from her mind, thankful that her item had remained hidden under the weird cloaking methods that Tenshi implied on it. She sighed, daring to glance over into his eyes a moment. "Well... A few hours before Pegasus took him as a so-called guest of sorts, he ran to me... He was scared, for your sake..."

He nodded. "I had spoken to him before I left. He wanted me to stay, but I had to finish the duel disk. I also needed some time for reflection. What's this about?"

She looked at him. "What do you mean? Mokuba came to me, feeling helpless because you had run off. He wanted to help you and he felt like he was butting against a wall! What was I to do? I thought he'd be safe with all of the servants and what not at the mansion... When he told me that you had "gone missing", I started looking for you... Then, when I found out that Pegasus had taken him..." She trailed off, turning her gaze back to the sky ahead, chewing the inside of her lip again.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Why would Mokuba be worried? I had told him about this over a week ago." Now his mind started working again, trying his damnedest to push the way worry aside. "Angie, when did you last see Mokuba?"

"About twelve hours before Pegasus "invited" him to the island..." She couldn't look at him, not when she was this close to breaking. "Kaiba-sama, I'm sorry... He was right there... I practically fed him to the dogs... Had I only known..." She clenched her eyes tight a moment before watching the clouds again, glancing at the consol. As the silence between them grew, she could tell only one thing for sure: this was doomed to be a long, uneventful trip.