"Lloyd, tell me all you know about my stepfather's biological children." Kaiba demanded after he heard Lloyd's voice on the other end say hello.
"So you read it thoroughly." Lloyd drawled, not even attempting to answer Kaiba's demands.
"Tell me about the children, damn it. How many more are there?" Kaiba seethed pacing the floor of his bedroom angrily and frustrated by how Lloyd took his time in answering.
"There were originally two, but one died, so only one is left."
"And? What's his name and where can I find him?"
"Her; the child that's still alive is a girl—by the name of Kailyn."
"Oh, where is she? Where can I find her?"
"I…um…well…."
"Yes?" Kaiba narrowed his eyes, noticing only then that Mokuba was still in the room looking afraid and anxious. Quietly Kaiba whispered for his brother to leave, reassuring him that there was nothing to worry about. However, he was certain he hadn't convinced him of that.
"You see, Mr. Kaiba, I…I don't know where she is right now."
"Urr…that has to be a lie, if my stepfather entrusted you with the knowledge and holding of the Will, he'd have also demanded for you to know where the beneficiaries, his children, are. So you should know."
"Mr. Kaiba, I…you're right that I did know where she was—she was in my custody for many years, but…."
"What? My stepfather entrusted his daughter to a drunk?"
"I wasn't a drunk at the time." Lloyd replied indignantly, and then calmed down. "Those monthly payments are proof—he was paying for her expenses, as well as paying me for caring for her."
"That would explain why he paid so much." Kaiba mumbled, remembering the amount of money paid Lloyd per month—a large sum even for a lawyer. "Those payments stopped a year before I took over."
"Yes, Kailyn ran away and your stepfather found out about it—he refused to pay me again until she was found."
"…And you haven't found her yet, have you?"
"No, but I have some information that could help you find her, along with some photos. You could come to my office and pick them up if you like."
"No, you bring them to Kaiba Corp. tomorrow, noon. I have no other appointments then."
"Okay, have a good night then, Mr. Kaiba."
"Yeah, goodbye." Kaiba hung up and then laid down on his bed mind buzzing with a torrent of thoughts and suspicions. Assuming that Kailyn had run away during the year Gozaboru stopped making those payments, she'd been missing for less than two years—but something disturbed Kaiba about that idea. Namely—why didn't his stepfather take in Kailyn after Noa's death? Or even if not then, why didn't he take in her when he grew suspicious of Seto's plan to take over his company? Gozaboru must've care a lot about her if he'd pay Lloyd so much to care for her, but why didn't he care enough to choose her first instead of Seto or Mokuba? Did he prefer having sons?
That would be the only reason, Kaiba thought, remembering what his stepfather had wanted in an heir—he had wanted someone ruthless, with a business set mind to run the company, not some whiny, spoiled girl, which, with the amount of money spent on her, Kailyn would have to be.
Exhausted, Kaiba closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep, not even bothering to get under the covers.
The next day, waking up behind a dumpster, cold and not at all rested, K-Lyn felt her stomach growl, and she groaned as she opened her last can of food. After she'd finished eating she walked out of the alley where the dumpster was located, tossing out her can in the dumpster as she did so.
She'd had a dream last night, a dream about her past, about her life while she lived with Lloyd. Bittersweet it was more of a recollection than a dream, and K-Lyn missed those times—for they weren't all horrible.
While she had slept, she dreamt about one of the times she'd visited Lloyd's relatives in America. At the time Lloyd introduced her as his stepdaughter—which, she suppose was true since her birthmother had been married to Lloyd before she died.
During this visit, Lloyd insisted on dressing up in only the best, most high-class attire, in hopes that he could impress his estranged family.
Grand and elaborate in its décor, Lloyd's father's mansion dazzled K-Lyn who'd never seen anything so magnificent in her life; as far back as she could remember she'd lived with her stepfather in a small apartment in Japan that didn't compare to the size and quality of her step-grandfather's mansion. Made breathless by the grandeur of the mansion, she'd stood close by her stepfather as he greeted his relatives and introduced her to them.
"Lloyd, how nice of you to show up." A voice spoke from their right, in a tone that suggested false cheeriness.
"Hello brother." Lloyd half-smiled, his eyes glittering with jealous annoyance as he stared at the man who'd greeted him.
With blond hair the same shade and tint as Lloyd's, but of longer length, and his eyes auburn brown, this man, who was actually a young man of sixteen, chuckled uncomfortably as though struggling to remain polite. His skin had the smoothness of someone a few years younger than his age though he was already as tall as Lloyd who was twenty-eight years old then.
"Half-brother." The sixteen year old muttered, his lips barely moving, and I doubt anyone except me and Lloyd heard what he said. "You and I are only half-related."
"And I'm heartily glad of that." Lloyd replied as the teen's eyes shone with fiery indignation.
"And what do you mean by that, Lloyd?"
Before Lloyd could reply a beautiful lady, wearing a blue, white trimmed dress interrupted, linking her arm with the teen boy's.
"Pegasus, dear, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" She asked, her voice soft and melodious to my ears, her appearance captivating my eyes. Hair colored like an early spring's sun fell past her waist, seeming like delicate silk, while her eyes were baby blue, and sparkled with happiness.
"Um, Cyndia, this…" Pegasus fought to conceal his animosity of Lloyd form the lady, Cyndia. "This is my half-brother Lloyd Tensen, Cyndia. Lloyd, this is Cyndia, my fiancée."
"Nice to meet you, Lloyd."
"The pleasure's all mine." Lloyd took Cyndia's hand and gently pressed against his lips, never taking his eyes off her. "The presence of someone as beautiful as you makes me feel at though I'm in paradise."
"…." Pegasus glared at Lloyd, lips pressed in a thin line and eyes narrowed as he bristled with displeasure.
Lloyd did not notice, or at least didn't show that he noticed, his half-brother's displeasure as he continued to speak with Cyndia, saying such romantic things that the lady blushed with shy appreciation at his attention.
Struggling to control his indignation, Pegasus fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before averting his eyes, noticing K-Lyn for the first time.
"Why, Lloyd, you seem to have forgotten to introduce us to your guest." He chirped, smiling at K-Lyn before shifting his gaze back to Lloyd who seemed peeved by the interruption.
"Oh, Lloyd, she's adorable." Cyndia smiled delightfully at K-Lyn who moved closer to Lloyd shyly. "Is she yours?"
"She's my stepdaughter Kailyn."
"She looks so precious in that pale yellow dress, with her hair so carefully done." Cyndia smiled reaching down to touch K-Lyn's lightly green-tinted hair that fell past the girl's shoulders, curling just slightly in front. "Oh, I'd like to have a daughter like her someday."
Sadly K-Lyn remembered Cyndia's beautifully gentle smile, remembered the kindness in her voice and felt grief and guilt return to her heart. Wholeheartedly she missed the woman, had missed her for the past seven years, and regretted having met her just a year before she died.
A shiver ran up her spine though no breeze blew, touching her to her soul as though trying to force her to remember something she didn't want to, something she wouldn't let herself remember.
"It's no use trying to drag up memories, the past remains the past." Bitterly she walked along the sidewalk feeling her body grow numb as she repressed the other memories striving to gain the forefront of her thoughts.
While she walked she stole a glance at a passerby's watch, shocked at what time it was—11:00 AM. Had she really slept in that long after going to sleep the night before so early? She hadn't realized she'd been so exhausted.
After sighing in audibly, K-Lyn continued walking down the sidewalk looking briefly at each storefront to figure out from which she could shoplift, when a muffled noise from an alleyway caught her attention. It was barely distinguishable, but having lived on the streets for five years, K-Lyn knew it for what it was—someone struggling to scream or get away from someone.
Even though she knew it'd be safer to mind her business, K-Lyn stepped toward the sound, curiosity winning her over. Quietly she snuck to where she could see what was going on, and had to force herself not to gasp at what she saw. Two punks held a child with black hair, tied up and gagged between them, laughing as the boy struggled.
He can't be any older than ten. K-Lyn realized, fury slowly replacing her fear, and she inched closer so that she could hear what they were saying.
"Wonder how much his brother will pay for ransom."
"At least a couple million, maybe more. Heh."
"You think we should take some of our own payment from the kid?"
"Sure, heh, heh."
Congragulations to Psycho Demon-Witch and Amarie Miriel for correctly guessing that Lloyd was related to Pegasus.