Mokuba's Plan
By Pearl of the Dark Age
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Are you disappointed? I didn't think so.
Chapter 2
The stars twinkled overhead, winking at the earth below because they knew…
A junky old Toyota (1) with peeling blue paint came to an abrupt stop in front of the dingy downtown police station. There were no skid marks made by the worn-down tires. The threads were showing; revealing the over abuse of both the accelerator and the brakes. Two cats serenading the alley hissed at the intrusion.
The driver inside did not stir. Amelda's heart pounded so fiercely in his ribs that he swore it was going to bruise. White knuckles clutched the steering wheel. The thought had not occurred to him to let go.
Could it be? he asked himself again. He drew steadying breaths. His blood was supersaturated with adrenaline. He was on the verge of hyperventilation. He forced himself to think of what Raphael would say. This has to be a mistake.
But then again, Raphael didn't get calls in the middle of the night from the police claiming they have your younger brother in custody. The car door opened and the alley cats scrammed. Amelda stood up, surveying the darkness contrasted to the brightly lit interior of the station. He glanced at his watch. It's 03:14 at the Domino City Police Station. This is a very big mistake.
He did not know what he had expected, but this was not it. There were a dozen or so occupants inside. Amelda glanced around the scrupulously clean interior. There was a tell-tale puddle of coffee on the floor with the styrofoam cup (3) a few centimeters from the ankle of its owner. The young lady's chin was on her chest, snoozing blissfully. The hems of her pretty white slacks were quickly turning brown. In fact, everyone was asleep, including the cops. Everyone except one, who's face shined with innocence, but the velvet eyes betrayed him.
For a moment, Mokuba and Amelda just looked at each other.
"Okay, I'll bite," Amelda said. "Explain."
Mokuba looked at the floor. He spoke in just above a whisper, "Onii-chan, take me home with you."
"Don't call me that," Amelda replied with equal volume. He knew it was customary in Japan for young boys to call older boys 'older brother,' but coming from Mokuba, it only irked him. The disappointment that it was not in fact Miruko still lingered. When Mokuba did not respond, Amelda folded his arms. "Where's Kaiba?" he asked.
"Home."
"Why did you have the police call me? Why did you tell them that you are my younger brother? They told me you couldn't remember your name, or where you lived." Amelda was getting suspicious, "What kind of ploy is this? It's highly irregular of Kaiba."
"This is my idea, not Nii-sama's. I pretended to not know my name because I don't know your surname," Mokuba confessed. "I'm running away."
Amelda looked alarmed. He glanced around at all the drugged people, "What did you give them?"
"Nothing serious," Mokuba defended. "It only causes sleep and a few hours of amnesia. I also fixed the security tapes and the computer files. So, I was never here… and neither were you." Mokuba looked proud of himself, but Amelda only looked disdainful.
"Come," Amelda said. Mokuba followed. He gave Amelda's car a surreptitious look; Amelda only glared at him, daring him to make one comment as they got in. Amelda buckled himself, checked the mirrors, and prepared himself to go, but he did not start the ignition until after he said, "You better pray that the young lady in there isn't pregnant."
Mokuba looked horrified, "I didn't think…"
"Exactly!" Amelda cut him off swiftly, "You didn't think. Obviously this is a well thought out plan, but you failed to realize the consequences of your actions!" Amelda's voice boiled over in anger as they drove. Suddenly, he was furious, "What you did is dangerous on so many different levels! I don't even know where to begin! Not just for those people back there, but for me, your brother, and yourself!"
"How do you know I drugged Nii-sama, too?" Mokuba inquired, surprised.
"I didn't," Amelda admitted, equally surprised. This helped to ebb away the anger. Glancing over to his passenger, he explained, "It's dangerous because the second he realizes you're gone, he might do something stupid. He loves you! Why would you do this to him?"
Mokuba proceeded to explain the events that took place the previous day, about his 'plan,' and his 'theories' on love. Amelda listened without interruption. There were a few times Mokuba thought he saw Amelda smile, but he could not be sure. Then, they were both silent for awhile, until they stopped and Mokuba realized where they were.
"This is my house!" he shrieked.
"Yes," Amelda replied. "You're not going to run away. I refuse to condone your childish irrational."
"I'm not childish!"
"Yes, you are. I listened to you and heard all your points. Now, you're going to listen to mine! Causing anger, grief, and worry is not the way to change someone! Furthermore, you can't force someone to change! Especially Kaiba. Next, you took a huge risk in not knowing if I lived in Japan. I only moved here a year ago. Also, how do you know if all is forgiven by me? How do you know I'm not dangerous to you?"
"Because I never believed you were evil," Mokuba said, "I understood your pain. I also knew that once Raphael told you that Dartz was responsible, you'd give up taking your revenge on Nii-sama." Mokuba gave him a stern look.
Amelda did not say anything for a second. It was all true, even to the part that he learned the truth from Raphael. He never spoke to Kaiba after he lost his soul. "It was still very risky," Amelda stated, "to come downtown in the middle of the night on your own. There are many sickos out there." Mokuba could hear the concern brimming over. He hastened to make himself look chastened.
"Why me?" Amelda asked suddenly. "How did you know I live in Japan? Why did you think I'd go along with your plan?"
"Why you? Because I trust you, Onii-chan," Mokuba said sweetly. "I didn't know if you lived here or not. I had the police figure that out for me. If you didn't live here, because the last I heard, you were in Pisa-"
"What?" Amelda interrupted.
"Pisa," Mokuba said matter-of-factly. "That's where you were last rumored to be." Amelda suddenly did a very good impression of Seto's stony visage. "Ano, I figured that you might move here," Mokuba continued, "and I gave myself enough time by drugging Nii-sama just in case you didn't. I figured you would go along with my plan…" he faltered, "Actually, I never figured that."
"Hmph," Amelda said, "So far, I can only see wrong in this. You give me one good reason why I should comply, and I'll do so."
"Are you afraid of Nii-sama?" Mokuba chided.
Amelda smirked. Mokuba knew it was stupid to ask. "Reverse psychology doesn't work on me," Amelda stated simply. "Come on, one good reason… You've got five minutes, or in you go. You've wasted enough of my time. I have to drive all the way back to Osaka."
"You live in Osaka?"
"Yes. Now, hurry up."
Mokuba could only think of one good reason. He hoped it was good enough, because it was all he had, "If you do this for me… I'll consider us even."
"Even?"
"Yes, don't forget that you're indebted to me for trying to kill me and Nii-sama."
Dammit! Amelda bashed his head on the steering wheel. He rubbed his forehead gingerly and turned to look at Mokuba. Mokuba was smiling, because he knew he had struck gold. Dammit! Amelda thought again. "I hope you packed enough clothes," he muttered bitterly.
Livid. Lethal lividness. Seto Kaiba was so angry it should have been illegal. It should have killed him. After reading the note, the first thing he did was scream. Next, he called the police. Then, he called his secretary for the list of all the phone numbers of Mokuba's sensei and classmates, which was updated annually. He proceeded to ring them one by one. His anger incensed with each futile attempt.
A hurricane was blowing inside of his chest as he hung up the receiver on the last call. The wind blew in his ears, deafening him. He heard no words of consolation. He fought back tears. He felt completely alone.
His secretary informed the news media. The police had already come by for the formal report. A picture had been distributed. So far, there were no leads.
Alone. Seto's livid anger cut his hand as he gripped the pendant that hung around his neck.
A/N: All the information that can't fit into Author's Notes will be posted in my forum, Ink. Visit the forum - there are probably answers to questions you might have. I already have a bunch of topics up, and there will be LOTS more coming! Trust me... Especially when I start my next warshipping story, which my beta, gamma, and delta readers already know about!
REVIEWS PLEASE!