Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or anything dealing with Yu-Gi-Oh.
Guardian of the Gods
Chapter 6
Front Page Drama
The waiter gently handed Kaiba a copy of the magazine he requested. It featured on the front page, Ishizu Ishtar, the exhibitionist of the Egyptian collection at Domino museum. In large, dramatic letters was his own name, Seto Kaiba, across the bottom. He had to fire whoever the editor was for the issue, his own secretary could have composed the front cover better. However, he wanted to meet the photographer personally and give him his complements.
Seto Kaiba could not lie, Miss Ishtar was a very beautiful woman. The photographer knew exactly what he was doing. The front page seemed to add more mystery as to who she really was. The dress she wore the night of the fundraiser was modest, eye-catching, but modest. If Kaiba was going to sit through this 'casual date' thing, he was going to have something to look at. He sent a dress to her house the day after he talked to her on the balcony at the museum gala.
I knew that it had to be you. Who else could have donated so much money so frivolously?
Frivolously? I cannot have the people I associate with seen in a bad light. Besides, the more people who see your exhibit the more people who will participate in my tournament and the more likely I am to get my hands on those God cards.
Hmmm, and here I thought you were just being overly generous. I keep forgetting that word is not in your vocabulary.
And naïve is not in yours.
If you have a problem with me Kaiba, make it known. I may know more than I let on, but that does not warrant an attack from you. What I decide to keep to myself is my personal business and quite frankly, you are rude to even mention it. We have an agreement remember? I supply you with an Egyptian God card, you throw a tournament to draw out the other two. Nothing more, nothing less. Leave my business out of it.
Can we just dance please? This is what I get for trying to be nice. You will meet me for dinner later on this week, my secretary will set up a time with you and see to it that you have the proper attire and transportation. Just be at your place, ready to go.
He had that conversation with Ishizu exactly five days ago. Now he felt a little uneasy about seeing her again so soon. He did not know anything about her. Beyond the little spiel at the museum, Kaiba was left in the dark. What is she trying to hide anyway? Sure, she has her motives. And I have mine. But I cannot figure out what she would gain from this.
He sensed there was something off about the woman whom showed up suddenly, gave him one of the most powerful cards, a history lesson, a warning and then sent him on his way. Kaiba could tell that she was a formidable player in this life/game of chess. Being a king, he moved around the pawns knowing the larger picture.
Ishizu was also moving around pawns, but it seemed she knew the bigger picture beyond his own, although she did not fit the profile of any chess piece.
Napoleon said that men are kings or pawns, emperors or fools. He obviously never met a very determined woman, he thought to himself.
He was sitting at a table in an elegant French restaurant just west of Domino city. Kaiba knew it was a long shot, but maybe, just maybe if he got out of Domino, kept his schedule private, and communication to a minimum, that there would be no media coverage of his casual meeting with the Egyptian woman. He chose that particular restaurant, not because he had experienced it before, but because French restaurants were clichéd and did not have the atmosphere of 'casual dating'.
"Good evening Kaiba," said a heavily accented yet articulate voice. The waiter pulled out the empty chair opposite the CEO and kindly gestured Ishizu to her seat.
"Mademoiselle," he gave a decorated menu to the Egyptian woman.
When the waiter disappeared, Kaiba spoke up, finally finding his voice. "What will you have to eat? This restaurant is nowhere near good, but it will do for this little publicity stunt. And since you cannot read French, tell me what you would like and I will get you the closest substitute."
"I will have the pot au feu, since that is what you have settled on. I trust your judgment even though you are not refined enough to enjoy French cuisine."
Kaiba slowly closed his menu and set it down on the elegant cloth of the table. He leaned forward slightly and smirked. "I enjoy this. Really, I do. Let's keep it going for the rest of the night so that I do not become bored with pretending I want to be here."
"Pardon my French Kaiba, but you are even bored when you watch the pornography you've brought to life with your new holographic system."
"Is that what you use that so called magic for? Watching people watch porn? I don't know if you've taken voyeurism to a deeper level or if the world is just that sad."
"I use it to help others. I take care to watch over my brothers, not bury myself in so much work that a stranger can take them." That was not exactly truthful, but Ishizu was caught up in her banter with Kaiba that she did not care enough to stop and correct herself. Beating him seemed much more interesting and rewarding.
"You know, I did not think that of all the ways this could have turned out, difficult would have been one of them. But I guess that is what I should expect from a-,"
"I agree, this is more difficult than the tasks I have before me. I am wasting my time sitting here with you in this restaurant. I have better things to do," Ishizu leaned forward to rise from the chair when the waiter brought an appetizer and a bottle of red wine.
Ishizu smiled kindly and leaned back again. She would leave after the waiter walked away. She did not want to appear rude.
"Mr. Kaiba, how are you enjoying your date with the lovely Ishizu Ishtar?" A man appeared from the tall fern behind the couple holding a notepad and a short chewed on wooden pencil. A camera hung from his neck and he had a five o'clock shadow that suggested he had not been home in days.
"Excuse me?" Was all Kaiba could manage before the reporter's camera flashed in his face. The temporary blindness from the camera masked what irritation Ishizu could see on his face.
Kaiba looked out the windows of the restaurant to find that there were more paparazzi surrounding his car and the entrance to the establishment.
He groaned and yanked the camera from the reporter's neck. He pulled out the memory card and snapped the small piece of plastic in two. He then placed the pieces in his pocket, making a mental note to melt the pieces when he returned home.
Why did people have to complicate situations?
He grabbed Ishizu's arm and yanked her from her chair. He dragged her all the way to the doors of the restrooms and quickly called Roland. He did not give her a chance to protest.
"Get rid of those people around my car and bring it to the back of the restaurant. Now." Kaiba abruptly hung up the phone and shoved Ishizu into the kitchen doors. "Not a word," he growled in her ears as she opened her mouth to speak.
They walked briskly through the rows of ovens and chefs. Busting out of the back door, Ishizu heard tires screeching as a car rounded the corner on two wheels and slammed to a stop in front of them. The gust of wind created blew Ishizu's hair around her face and Kaiba's coattails around his ankles.
The doors unlocked as Kaiba wrenched the handle to the back door and threw Ishizu into the seat, jumping in after her. The black, fifth generation BMW 760Li revved into gear and raced down the street speeding past all the paparazzi, weaving in and out of cars.
The evening slowly came with an orange glow in the sky.
Ishizu sat leaning against the door, watching the cars and people go by as the driver continued on.
"Please take me to my home," Ishizu insisted, not looking away from the window.
Kaiba ignored her and instead watched her reflection in his window. "Continue home Roland. I will not take you to your house because they will follow you there and hound you with questions. They will take anything you say and twist it to use against me. You will wait at my house until I've gotten news that they have gone away."
Ishizu did not respond and instead huffed at the window.
The remainder of the car ride was silent.
Fifteen minutes later, they were past large steel gates and in front of Kaiba's manor. It was large even by mansion standards though it seemed to maintain a majestic aura.
Roland rushed around the side of the car where Ishizu reached for the door handle and opened it for her bowing as she emerged.
Somehow, Kaiba was already standing behind the man, rolling his eyes.
"Thank you, sir," Ishizu quietly said as she followed Kaiba up the enormous set of stairs leading to the front double doors.
She watched him press several buttons on the hidden keypad and heard the door unlock. Once inside the foyer, Roland offered to take her on a tour of the house, but Kaiba vehemently refused. "I did not give you orders to do so Roland, besides," he turned around to look at Ishizu still standing near the door, "She is not staying long."
"Yes, master," and with that Roland took his leave.
"Your servant is very nice," Ishizu said trying to make small talk of her short time in the Kaiba mansion.
"What are you getting at?"
"If I'm not going to be here for very long, I thought we could at least attempt to be civil for that short amount of time, unless, that too, escaped your capabilities."
Kaiba smiled cryptically. "This is my house. My rules, I say who is civil and who is not. Personally, I wouldn't mind if you just shut up. I'd say that's civil enough."
She ignored him and continued to talk anyway. "Is it civil to starve your guests?"
Kaiba almost forgot that he rushed them away once he saw the paparazzi. They did not even get a chance to sample the appetizer the waiter brought them.
"There's food in the kitchen, help yourself," he sighed.
"See, I knew you could do it," she said behind her as she followed her intuition in to the direction the kitchen resided.
"Hey, Ishizu! I did not know that Seto invited you to our house! Are you hungry?! I'm about to make something amazing. I'm gonna show off my cooking skills," Mokuba piped up, standing at the island in the middle of the kitchen.
"Is that so?" Ishizu smiled. She wondered how two brothers could be so different. Sure Marik was more headstrong and Odion was more protective, but their personalities did not differ as much as the Kaiba brothers. "Well Mokuba, what culinary delights do you have for me to try?"
He reached into the microwave behind him and pulled out a bowl. He set it in front of Ishizu and to her it looked like orange, gooey masses. She considered herself well-versed in the culinary world east of the prime meridian, but she had never seen what was in front of her before.
"It's called mac'n'cheese. Short for macaroni and cheese, it's the best, I swear!"
Ishizu smiled warmly, Mokuba's personality reminded her of a young, eager Marik. He didn't make her mac'n'cheese, but he did try to show her how independent and capable he was.
Ishizu bravely picked up her fork and put a small amount of the dish in her mouth. It was not as she expected it to be.
"Mokuba Kaiba, you are a culinary genius!" she announced and mock bowed before him.
He laughed, "Wait until you see what else I can come up with. Hey, I know!" he said getting off track. "Let's play games! I just got this new game for my VR system."
Taken aback by the sudden change in the subject Ishizu struggled to keep up. "VR system?"
"Yeah, it's the same technology Seto used for his holographics, but much cooler since it shows more than just duel monsters."
"Do these games involve hand-eye coordination?"
"Well duh, how to do you expect to shoot the enemy if you don't?"
"Oh," she whispered and wondered what she got herself into.
Kaiba stood a little ways from the entrance to the kitchen closest to the front doors and listened to Ishizu and his brother go back and forth. When he popped his head to see, Ishizu was getting along with Mokuba well. Kaiba could not help but think of all the sitters he went through to keep Mokuba while he was in school and at work. Most of the time, the sitters ended up quitting after a few weeks, they claimed that Mokuba was too high energy and too smart for his own good. Kaiba eventually gave up and temporarily left him in the care of the house staff, which went fine with the exception of the occasional mischief Mokuba would get himself into. And by mischief, it almost always meant with some piece of technology: the computers, the virtual reality systems, the video-teleconferencing systems, the manor's security, the school's records and security, and the occasional phone or two.
But Ishizu was playing with Mokuba and seemed comfortable doing it. She seemed nurturing and supportive of his quick mind and intellect.
Value the time you spend with those who are dear to you. Value something other than your power, your position, and your money. Those can all be taken away in an instant. Your family, your brother is what is important, Ishizu's words rang out in Kaiba's head. He felt an odd chill stiffen his spine. The laughter coming from the kitchen, from her, made his head feel hazy. Each sound that came from her mouth relaxed his muscles and lowered his guard. Kaiba could not understand the effect this woman was having on him.
He could not understand why he felt that she belonged here, playing with his brother. Some part of Kaiba felt that she was always there during everything, as if the road he walked went in the same direction as hers. But another part of him recognized that the feelings were foreign and could not have possibly been his own, as if something else was influencing his decisions and thoughts.
When Kaiba saw them approach the entrance to the kitchen, he emerged and ruffled Mokuba's hair as a greeting. Mokuba perked up when he saw the slightest hint of a genuine smile on his brother's face.
"Hey big bro, what's up?"
"Ishizu and I were just going to play a game of duel monsters, do you want to watch?" Kaiba said matter-of-factly. He did not know when he made that decision, but Kaiba figured he might as well do something productive to pass the time. Until Roland gave the okay that the Ishtar residence was cleared, Ishizu was going to stay.
Kaiba found that he actually did not mind if it took longer than usual.
"What?" Mokuba piped up.
"You're right, I don't know why I expected any less from a Kaiba," Ishizu sighed.
"Ishizu already said she was going to play my new video game with me," he looked up at her for confirmation. She held her hands up, surrendering in response.
"She will play with you later. For now, she and I are going to test our wits, something I've been waiting to do for a while," Kaiba had a feeling that Ishizu played duel monsters less frequently than he did, but more so than the average citizen of Domino. A duel would be a great way to clear his mind of subjective thoughts and fill them with strategy and fact.
Mokuba sighed as he gave up and followed to two upstairs to the second floor where one Kaiba's laboratories was located. Again, he punched in buttons on a keypad and Ishizu was introduced to a room for lack of a better description, made for the purpose of playing and testing duel monsters.
Ishizu looked at Kaiba incredulously with her mouth wide open. Of course he would have a room like this, he's a Kaiba. She shook her head and continued walking forward.
"Now, if you are a real duelist, you would never leave home without your deck."
"I never part with my deck for my protection," she replied lightly, but seriously.
Kaiba laughed. "Your protection? What could you possibly have in your deck that can protect you against anything?"
"If you want to duel me to flex your muscles, take care to humble yourself," she said changing the subject. "Your deck was nothing before I gave you Obelisk the Tormentor. And I have one advantage over you. I have already played with the Egyptian God Cards and know well enough how to hold myself against them. You have barely gotten your toes wet with one of them."
"This is a friendly match to sort of start over, start from scratch. We obviously got off on the wrong foot," those words slipped out of his mouth he admitted to himself.
"The wrong foot? That's not like the great Seto Kaiba," she challenged.
"That is where I have one advantage over you. I am Seto Kaiba, I know best what he is like. Now get on the platform so that we can begin," he said abruptly, slightly irritated. Kaiba tried his best to be 'civil' as Ishizu put it.
And it went unnoticed.
The two climbed the platforms that shifted to opposite sides of the dueling field. The whole arena came to life with lights and holograms. Above both of their heads, hologram projectors dropped down from the ceiling and came to life. Each displayed their opponent's life points and blinked to 8000.
"We'll let the computer decide who goes first," Kaiba said drawing five cards.
Thirty minutes later the platforms lowered and the lights shut off. Each life point counter showed zero before blinking and going black. The two duelists stepped off the platforms and made their way towards the door.
"Was your ego fed with that duel, Seto Kaiba?" Ishizu emerged from the room with a wide smile on her face.
"Hardly. A tie would not sate me. You're foolish to even think that."
"That's too bad, it'll have to do. I'm tired. I do not wish to play another match. Our test of wits has ended in a draw. Do you not think that's enough?"
"Never, I have to conquer you, I have to own you."
Ishizu raised an eyebrow in curiosity, simply smiled and left for the first floor. "Is that so? Is that all you ever yearn for, forbidden fruit? Like an indignant child, you throw tantrums when you do not get your way. Please," she turned to give him one last look of her face, "allow me to humble you." With that she left for the lower floor and out of the mansion.
Roland met her at the front gate, urging that she not leave until Kaiba cleared her house. She reassured him that she could take care of himself and that the bigger threat was on the second floor of the mansion.
"Kaiba is not as bad as he seems, trust me. He's just tired, busy, and lonely most of the time. He doesn't know how to act in front of company. However, he is concerned for your safety."
"I believe he is concerned about his reputation. My safety, if it even is a concern, comes second."
"Miss Ishtar, I tell you the truth when I say he is concerned for you. Please take this offer, it's the closest he's come to hospitality. I would hate to see it wasted."
"Human beings are capable of many great things. I am sure that Kaiba can exhibit this behavior again, it will just take the right situation," Ishizu gave Roland a warm smile. "Do not worry about me. I can see myself home. Right now Kaiba is having fun with his brother. I do not want to come between that."
Roland nodded his head and offered to at least drive her home, Ishizu agreed and thanked the man for his kindness.
Once home, Ishizu bathed and collapsed into bed. All of the paparazzi that Kaiba hand claimed were watched her house had left. She was at home alone and welcomed the silence. It allowed her to think clearly.
Instead of spending more time being concerned with her responsibilities, Ishizu put on her pajamas and allowed the millennium necklace to bring a faint glimpse of the future to her eyes. Everyone was alive and thriving. Everyone was happy, including Kaiba, or what Iahizu perceived as happiness. It was difficult to tell what emotion, if he felt any, Kaiba conveyed. But it seemed that in the future she would find him with a small smile on his face. That was enough to give her hope. It was a future that she desperately wanted but did not know how to achieve. The shortest path between two distances is a straight line, but with where the world was and the state of things currently, it would take nothing short of a miracle to get there.
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Undisclosed Location, One Day Later
Marik Ishtar pulled a white shirt on over his head before putting his dark purple robe on top of it. He stood in front of a tall mirror and mentally prepared himself for this day. Today was the day he was going to push the first domino in the line of events that would lead to his victory.
Living a life underground for the purpose of another never made sense to Marik. Even more so because the one person that caused him to live the life he had was over five-thousand years dead. Mysticism and religious beliefs could only go so far. His family for over five-hundred centuries, dedicated their entire existence to the return of a spirit. And no one questioned a thing.
Marik was born with strong curiosity and he had wondered about his family since he was a small child. It started with small, innocent questions. Who is the pharaoh? Why are we waiting for him to return? What good things did he do in his life? However, those questions soon matured when Marik realized the greater role he played in the Ishtar clan. When he found out about the Tombkeeper's initiation, he started to rebel. The questions turned spiteful and biting.
He could not confide in his sister and brother, his father threatened horrible consequences if he tried. The most he could ever do with them was eat dinner, do chores and spend small amounts of time studying their scriptures. Marik regretted how isolated he was from his sibling growing up. He yearned so much for the affection his late mother could not give him. The nights he would sneak into his sister's room, she would tell stories and sing him too sleep. He cherished that deeply. Ishizu was the closest thing he had to a mother, even though their father made sure they did not spend too much time together.
Marik's childhood days mostly consisted of studying, praying and paying reverence to the pharaoh whose tomb they protected. He hated studying so much. His father gave him so much attention; he should have felt as special as he was treated. But, it was a twisted, obsessed type of attention that frightened more than nurtured.
If Marik did not impress or excel, his father would display his disappointment psychologically. He could not help but despise the trap he was in. He was not allowed to go to the surface, he was not allowed to be curious about anything other than his duties. He was not allowed to ponder a life other than his own. He was not allowed to think his own thoughts, say his own words or have his own opinions.
Naturally, it was not before long that Marik receded emotionally and became obsessed with escaping from his tiring, abusive, demanding life.
Then time came for him to complete the Tombkeeper's initiation and by that point, Marik was depressed and frantic and vengeful. During the ceremony he tried to hide his fear and spite from his father, but somehow it only made his life worse. Marik had no choice but to obey his father, every part of him, every event in his life, every trauma his suffered happened according to his father's will.
The moment the sharp needles penetrated his back, Marik decided that he no longer would be the product of another man's desires. He would live his own life and make his own decisions. The taste of freedom his sister had given him the day the snuck out of their hovel, gave him the hope to somehow defy his father and leave with his siblings to start over and heal.
But that never happened.
Instead, a voice came to him when he was bearing the pain of the inscription being cut into his flesh. It promised to give him the power to attain his goals and save his brother and sister. It promised to avenge for all the abuse, emotional and physical. It promised a life above ground away from a dead king who was never going to return. It promised to fill his life with good things and protect him from anyone that would challenge him.
The voice was his own, but not. It was a part of him, but something so old and foreign. It knew him better than he knew himself. It told him things that he was not willing to admit to himself. It forced him to realize the things he had to do in order to have his own life.
He wanted to get away, the voice promised to show the way.
Marik listened.
The day after his back had been gouged and cut into, Marik knew it was only a matter of time before he confronted his father.
That time came, but Marik did not remember one thing that happened. His father had been murdered, but no one in that tomb mourned. His sister and brother dragged the body deeper into the tomb and shoved it into an empty clay sarcophagus.
After that moment, after the heavy thud of the dead body landing in the grave, Marik and his siblings spent two days talking and sharing their experiences about their father.
Marik thought they were on the way to healing, they all shared their worst. Odion was constantly beaten bloody and Marik suffered the most psychological abuse. Ishizu took the longest time to speak, but after explaining what she had to do to protect herself, Marik had wished they never learned to what depths their father descended.
Shaking off those dark memories, Marik walked away from the floor mirror and ventured into a hallway.
The first domino to fall in a line falls slower than the rest. It is unsure of the outcome of its actions, but it knows it's just one piece in a cascade of events that would change the shape of its world forever.
Today, Marik was going to expend the smallest effort into pushing over the first domino; he would sit back and enjoy the hurricane of chaos that was soon to follow. He was going to have his vengeance, he was going to have his victory.
Sorry I haven't posted in forever. I could give you an excuse, or I could just continue to write as if nothing happened. This chapter had given me some trouble because I couldn't decide to put filler in it or not. I didn't want to, so it sat on my hard drive for months. But yeah, I'll try to not let that much time pass by again. It's the summer, so school is out and I don't have any more excuses to not post.
Either way, thank you for reading and being patient.
With the next chapter, things will move faster and become much more interesting.
Please review. (Even though I haven't really been good about posting)
