V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V
t u r m o i l
-V-
by sir mocha
V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V
chapter 11: a b u s e
As Kaiba rode home in the limo, he stifled an enormous yawn. The day at work had been miserable, after the all-nighter he had pulled the previous night. Rei had been unusually fussy, and Kaiba had stayed up with her most of the night, trying to calm her incessant wails. He had managed to soothe her enough to bring her into the office, and dump her on his idiot secretary, but he had found work unusually long and tormenting.
Despite exhaustion, Kaiba felt an enormous amount of pride at the day's accomplishments. He had struck a deal with several major businessmen from companies Kaiba Corp owed money to, and Kaiba felt that, at long last, things were starting to look up in this scandal. He considered it one of the few 'good' days he'd had in a long time.
However, the other Kaiba Corp employees didn't share his sentiments. They had found their CEO to be in a particularly grumpy and foul mood all day, brought on by lack of sleep. Most of the workers in the building could hear the enraged bellows coming form the top floor, as more and more of their coworkers were fired for their 'incompetence'. Many of these newly fired workers would run from the building, sobbing and muttering obscenities towards the angry CEO.
Kaiba regarded the 17 firings with disdainful amusement. If only the fool would learn to do their jobs properly, he wouldn't have to let them go! The faults lay with them entirely.
Deep-down, Kaiba knew that this firing frenzy was really just an inappropriate outlet for the frustrations he felt regarding the revelation from Harrison about the real reason behind Mokuba's death. No matter how he looked at it, Kaiba could not rectify the problem without stooping to Harrison's level, and hiring an assassin of his own. If he hadn't been so busy with saving his company, he would have flown to the U.S. so he could personally blast the brains out of his traitorous ex-business-partner. As it was, that could wait. He knew that in time he would be able to avenge Mokuba's death.
Arriving at the mansion, his mind turned to other matters. Hmm… it's later than I realized. Wheeler will be arriving soon, to get Rei. I should feed Rei before then, and probably change her diaper, too. He looked down at Rei, who was sleeping peacefully after hours of being mistreated by the unfit secretary. I'm sorry, Rei, I know the secretary isn't ideal, but I still can't find anyone who will take care of you. You'll just have to bear it; I have more pressing matters to attend to.
Kaiba carried Rei up to her room, and hurriedly changed her diaper while keeping one eye on the clock. He didn't want to give Serenity the impression that he was neglecting Rei in any way. She was already mad enough after his fight with the Mutt. He had gotten word that the Mutt was just fine, so he didn't understand why Serenity was still so mad. Women, he thought irritably.
After changing Rei's diaper, he hurried to the kitchen to microwave her a bottle of milk. Maybe I have been neglecting her, he thought. But then again, maybe she's just being fussy. She's normally so well behaved. Last night was probably just a one-time event. Warmed milk in hand, he went back to her room.
He entered to find her wailing again, just as she had all night long. Dismayed, he tried to calm her. "Shh, shh, it's ok, Rei. Please stop crying! If you're crying when your mother gets here, she'll yell at me for being mean to you."
The cries continued, grating in his ears, irritating him. "Please stop crying!" he pleaded. "Are you hungry? Do you want your bottle?" He put the bottle in her mouth, only to have her push it away and continue with her crying.
"I'm not a psychic, ok!" he yelled, losing his temper with the baby for the first time. "I'm not a psychic, so just shut up for a moment, and let me think about what you need. I can't think with you crying like that!"
She's a baby. She doesn't understand what you're saying. Instead of asking her politely, like a sissy, why don't you make her be quiet?
He acted without thinking. Before he knew it, the deed had been done:
He had hit his daughter.
He stood over her, hand raised, while her cheek reddened from the slap. The two pairs of blue eyes stared at each other. Kaiba's contained shock, and regret, and a certain measure of self-loathing. Rei's were full of terror, and betrayal. After pledging her his love and protection, Kaiba had betrayed her, and now she lay there, afraid of this man whom she had trusted, and whom she had depended on to keep her safe.
Kaiba was astonished. He had never, ever wanted to hit Rei; it had just happened. But now, though he hadn't meant to, he hated himself for it. He hated the fact that the look of hurt in Rei's eyes was his doing. He hated the fact that he had done to Rei what Gozaburo had done to him time and time again. And most of all, he hated that tiny, sadistic part of him that got a rush out of 'teaching a lesson' to someone smaller and weaker than he.
He picked up Rei, cradling her in his arms, as he said to her over and over again, "I'm sorry, Rei. Please forgive me! I'm so sorry, Rei! I swear, I won't ever do it again!" But Rei, who was usually so warm and affectionate, was fussing, protesting being in his arms. It was obvious that she wanted to get somewhere she would be safe from his cruelty.
Dejectedly, Kaiba put her back in her carrier, wincing at the sight of her very red cheek. He already felt absolutely terrible, but then he realized with horror that Serenity, who would be here in only a few minutes, would be able to see at once what had happened. He rushed Rei downstairs, intent on getting an ice pack to take the redness away.
But Fate was not with the unfortunate young man. Just as he reached the kitchen, the doorbell rang. She can wait, he decided hurriedly. He opened the freezer door, and pulled out a bag of frozen peas. As he held it to Rei's cheek, she started wailing again.
The doorbell rang again, as an irate Serenity waited outside, wondering what was taking so long. Kaiba, or one of his butlers, was usually so prompt…
Lifting the ice pack, Kaiba noticed that the redness had lessened, but not enough to escape notice. He wondered whether he should just leave Serenity standing outside, while the redness went away, but then decided that that would be too suspicious.
Well, just because he cheek is a little red, it doesn't necessarily prove that I hit her! It could be anything… It could be from sleeping on it funny! Or maybe it could be a bug bite of some kind? That sounded desperate, but then again, Kaiba was feeling pretty desperate. He decided that it would be best to greet Serenity, with the hope that she didn't notice. And if she did… well, then, he would feign ignorance.
"Well, it's about time!" was Serenity's greeting when Kaiba finally opened the door. "Geez, Kaiba! What did you do to her?" she asked loudly over the din of Rei's cries. "She never cries like this!"
"I don't know," replied Kaiba, trying to keep his tone calm and neutral. "She was like this all last night, and a lot of the day, too."
Serenity looked at the prominent bags under Kaiba's eyes, and said, with a hint of concern, "You must be exhausted!" Before Kaiba could stop her, Serenity took the baby from his arms, and began to rock her.
"Well, I'll just go get her diaper bag, then, it's upstairs," said Kaiba, leaving rather quickly. He didn't want to give Serenity any time to notice anything wrong with her daughter.
But Serenity did notice. She looked down at Rei, only to see that Rei's cheek was rather red, and a bit swollen looking. Further examination revealed no but bites, or rashes, or anything out of the ordinary except for some swelling.
But this almost looks like…but he wouldn't…
But one look into Rei's pain-filled, sorrowful told Serenity that he just might…
"Well, here's the diaper bag," said Kaiba with a little too much cheerfulness. It sounded suspiciously like he was trying to cover something up.
"Kaiba, why was Rei crying?" asked Serenity, all hints of concern gone from her suspicious tone.
He paused. "I told you, I don't know…"
"Was it because you hit her?"
There was a very ominous silence, and Serenity saw Kaiba in a state she had never seen him in before: flustered.
Finally, Kaiba said, in a breaking voice, "It was an accident. I didn't mean to… I love Rei, and you know that! You KNOW I wouldn't do it on purpose!" He watched, crestfallen, as Serenity backed away from him, astonishment plain on her face.
"How could you?! I knew you were mean, Kaiba, but I didn't think you would stoop to child abuse! She backed into the door, and reached a shaking hand to the knob. With her other hand, she held Rei protectively. "I don't think Rei should be in the care of a man who hits her!" And then, with one smooth movement, she was out the door and running to her car.
"Wheeler?! Dammit, Serenity! I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late!" He stepped out after her, and followed her to her car.
"Stay away!" yelled Serenity, panicking. "I thing you've done enough damage! Just STAY AWAY!" With that, she started up the engine of the car, and pulled out of Kaiba's driveway, tires squealing.
"NO!" shouted Kaiba after her. "You forgot the diaper bag!" Rei NEEDS her diaper bag… I'll bring it to Serenity's apartment, and show her how caring I truly am that I would go to such trouble to make sure Rei's ok. Then she'll understand that I'm not bad like she thinks!
He fumbled around in his pocket for a few moments, and fished out a shiny ring of keys. Then he ran into the enormous garage on the side of the house, to the recently purchased motorcycle.
Five minutes later found him zooming down the road, going well over the speed limit. But he barely registered the other angry drivers; his mind was completely focused on getting to Serenity's house as fast as he could.
Riding through debris and garbage on the poorly lit street, he pulled up in front of the apartment building. He parked behind Serenity's second-hand car, and made record time climbing up the stairs to her third-floor apartment.
He pounded on the door, while yelling, "Serenity! Let me the hell in!"
"NO!" she yelled angrily. "Get away from Rei! Get away from my home!"
"DAMMIT SERENITY!" he yelled, losing his temper for the second time that night. "Just OPEN the door! If you don't, I swear I'll break the damn thing down!"
"G-go away!" said Serenity, cursing her hesitation. Kaiba's anger was infamous in the working world, and the last thing she wanted was to have that anger directed in full towards herself. It would have been easy for her to give in, especially to one so compelling and intimidating. But she had to remain strong, and protect Rei, as she felt it was her duty to do.
"Look, Serenity," said Kaiba. He sounded weary, but Serenity didn't want to fall for any of his tricks. "I'm not giving up until you let me in, and you listen to what I have to say."
The only answer he got was a very profound silence as Serenity contemplated on what to do. Then, after a few moments that felt like a geological age in Kaiba's mind, Serenity responded. "Then you're going to be out there all night, or at least until Joey gets home and decides to kick your ass."
Serenity didn't know what kind of response she was expecting from Kaiba. Maybe an explosion of fury, or threats against her life, but certainly not the silence she was met with. She almost convinced herself that Kaiba had given up, and left.
The sudden blow Kaiba landed on the door splintered the doorframe around the hinges. Serenity jumped away as the door fell with an almighty thump on the hardwood floor, revealing an enraged and heavily breathing Kaiba. He was staring at her with a malice that made her fear for her life, but also made her even more determined to stand up to his bullying.
"Serenity," said Kaiba menacingly, "you're going to listen to what I have to say, and you're going to believe me!"
She stared defiantly up at him, maneuvering between him and Rei, lying on the couch. The latter started to cry as she caught sight of Kaiba.
Kaiba transferred his gaze to Rei, instinct telling him to care for his crying daughter. Serenity took this opportunity, and while Kaiba's attention was diverted, she snatched a knife up off the kitchen table. It wasn't a very sharp knife (Joey had been using it to cut chicken), but it could definitely hurt someone, at the very least. The idea of stabbing or cutting Kaiba with a knife seemed preposterous to Serenity, but she didn't want to remain unarmed.
It seemed that Kaiba could read her mind, because he said to her, in an amused tone, "Serenity, you and I both know that you wouldn't stab me with a piece of silverware. Just put it down." He stepped towards her threateningly.
"NO!" she said obstinately, brandishing the pitiful weapon.
"Fine!" retorted Kaiba. He swung the diaper bag at Serenity, and it caught the little knife, sending it flying across the room to leave a slight divot in the wall.
"Well, I think I've won this little altercation," said Kaiba smugly. "Now, why don't you sit down, and we can talk." He gestured towards the couch. "NOW!" he barked, when she stood, unmoving.
Serenity had never seen Kaiba acting this way, and she suspected that something had finally snapped inside him, perhaps from stress, or exhaustion. But whatever the cause, there was a new spark of madness in his eyes that Serenity did not want to further aggravate. She quickly reached the conclusion that perhaps a tactic other than defiance would be best in this situation. Perhaps she could talk some sense into him, and avoid whatever danger she might be in.
She backed up to the couch, and scooped up a still-crying Rei, before sitting down, and staring up at Kaiba, her face unreadable.
"Well," said Kaiba, "I think you should know that it was not my intention to… to lose my temper with Rei. But she would not stop crying, and after a whole night without sleep, the last thing anyone wants is a fractious child to take care of!"
"Well," sneered Serenity, "if you were a good parent, you would be able to figure out, as I already have, that Rei is teething! And babies cry when they teethe because it hurts!"
"Shut up!" yelled Kaiba, provoked by Serenity's condescending tone. "I am a good parent! Would a bad father stay up ALL NIGHT because his kid would not stop crying? Would a bad father spend hours on the phone, only to be turned down my every daycare center in town? Would a bad father drive all the way across town to deliver his baby's diaper bag to the INGRATE mother? I DO NOT THINK SO!"
Kaiba was too focused on his rant to hear what Serenity did: the wail of an approaching police car, which stopped right outside the apartment complex. The sound was music to her ears, and she couldn't contain the smirk that spread across her face.
Kaiba, who expected Serenity to be properly cowed after his tirade, was mystified by her expression. "And what, may I ask, has made you so happy all of a sudden?"
She laughed softly. "You said, dear Seto, that you were 'the winner in our little altercation'. You never suspected that I might be one step ahead of you. You never considered that I might outsmart you."
She fell silent, and Kaiba could now hear the footsteps thundering up the stairs. He stared hard at Serenity, and asked her, "What did you do?!" But it was a rhetorical question. He knew that, somehow, she had managed to call the Domino City Police. And Kaiba knew that the thundering footsteps were coming for him.
Despite lack of sleep, the adrenaline that now coursed though him made him alert, and he did some very quick thinking to try to figure out a way out of this whole mess.
Use Wheeler as a shield, suggested the voice in his head. The police won't hurt you if there's a chance they might hurt her.
But upon further inspection of this idea, Kaiba was dismayed to find that, intentionally or not, Serenity had thwarted him again. If he tried to use her for a shield, he could end up hurting Rei, who was nestled in Serenity's protective arms. And Kaiba would take incarceration before he hurt Rei again.
The next thing Kaiba knew was pain, as he felt his arms twisted acutely behind his back by an officer. Several others aimed their tranquilizer guns at him, prepared to shoot if he put up a fight.
But Kaiba decided that it wouldn't be prudent to take on four armed cops at once. Rather, he knew that if he went without a fight, they'd be more lenient, and he'd be able to worm his way out of a serious punishment.
But before he was carted off, he asked Serenity, "When did you have time to call the police!?"
She smirked again. "I called right before you got here. Kaiba, you're so predictable! I knew you were going to follow me back! I've never known you to back down without having the last word."
Kaiba scowled, but when he saw Rei in Serenity's arms, he felt shame well up inside him. This whole thing is your fault, jerk, chided the voice in his head. If you could just learn to control your damn temper, nothing like this would happen.
Kaiba allowed the police to escort him out of the apartment. He knew that it was all his fault, and that he had screwed up just as he had before.
Serenity watched him go. After living with an abusive father, the thought that Kaiba had hit Rei struck a particular nerve, and she regarded him with disgust and anger. She remembered how contrite and repentant her own father had been after he hit her, only to have him do it again the next time he got drunk. And regardless of whether alcohol or stress was the cause, she wanted to take no chances that Kaiba would do it again.
But as adamant as she was about Kaiba's guilt, she had a feeling that it really had been an accident. After all, she was aware of how Kaiba doted on Rei, almost to the point of obsession.
He's not my problem anymore, thought Serenity. The police will make sure that he never gets near us again. I hope he gets put in jail for YEARS. I say good riddance to bad rubbish!
Yet she still felt inexplicably bad, and somewhat guilty, that she took away from Kaiba the little baby he loved so much. She knew that he considered Rei somewhat of a surrogate-Mokuba, and now that Kaiba had neither, Serenity wondered how he was going to manage.
V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V-V
august 21, 2004
I would just like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the flashbacks during Virtual World, where we see Kaiba shoving Mokuba around. I want to justify that Kaiba is not OOC in this chapter.
V...V is taking away even more of my symbols. This is the third time I've had to change the header... this does not make a happy Sir Mocha...
I said that chapter 11 would be the last chapter of Part II, but once I wrote it, it was, like, millions of pages long. So I split it into two chapters, and chapter 12 is mostly written.
X...X School is starting on August 30th. Bleaaaaaagh……
I saw the Kaiba-licious YGO Movie. I must say, it was better than I thought, and I did enjoy it even though the absolute lack of plot gave me a headache. A…A
Next weekend is the end of Battle City!! ::sniff:: It's been a looooong time… how am I gonna adjust to the change? I didn't watch much of Duelist Kingdom, but I saw all of Battle City, and it'll be weird when it's something new. And I don't count Virtual World, because that was just dumb, and a waste of time.
Thanks a million to all my wonderful reviewers! Everyone who reviewed gets a Seto school supply kit! (It'd be so cool if they really made Kaiba notebook paper! That'd be awesome!) Various pens, pencils, folders, notebooks, binders, and backpacks to
Setine
Chibi-Kari
Wise Man Domingo
Tinyflyer02
Amanda – propz for being an Amanda!
lil twin stars
Court12 – I won't say right now how the ending will be. You'll just have to wait and see. A.A
Subaru – you also get propz for being an Amanda!
kikoken
IcyPanther – Do you think this story needs more humor?
yugi4ever
chii-chan
Meii-chan – I think if Soujiro met Kaiba, they'd be sucked into some sort of vortex and combine together to form one person. A.A They're so much the same…
Pamster – I saw your review, and my eyes just bugged out! That's the longest, and one of the best, reviews I've ever gotten! Thank you so much! I don't have kids (not at my age!!), so it's a bit hard for me to understand the bond between a parent and child, though I'm trying my best. And when you were referring to plushies, and a fertile imagination… O.O A...A