Disclaimer: why do I even bother…doing it for free!
The Ride of the Valkyries
Part 1
"Success is a double edge sword," Aoshi began solemnly. While still in college he found a great deal of success taking out Kanryu's operations in central, north and South America.
"Aided by the records you found in Colombia," Seto guessed. Aoshi nodded and waited as Seto recapped for Mokuba, Yugi and his friends, the incident in Colombia then continued.
"By the end of my second year in college I had eliminated much of Kanryu's weapons and drug distribution network in Central and South America. We found many allies in those countries who were more willing to work with me since I was not a law enforcement agency. Success was quick and almost effortless," Aoshi explained. Seto chuckled.
"I remember. Kanryu threw many tantrums at Gozaburo because he couldn't understand where all his resources were disappearing to. He was losing his biggest clients. Gozaburo kept telling him that it was you and your dad but Kanryu didn't believe him. He accused him of just being paranoid and obsessed with the Shinomori family," Seto explained laughing now as he remembered the immature displays of emotion from Kanryu.
"It's amazing how he didn't know it was you for so long!" Yugi pointed out.
"Well we took a page from Tokio-dono's book. We disappeared into the background," Kenshin replied.
"We went full ninja on missions: Get in. Get out. Never be seen! That was our motto," Sano added. Duke laughed.
"And of course every time he checked on you guys you were having fun with your friends and your family, acting like normal college kids. He'd never suspect you! That's so Bruce Wayne of you!" Duke put in and everyone laughed and Seto was surprised to see a chuckle on Aoshi too.
"That was the general idea. That's why I never suspected the plan Tokio had put in place to protect me. Or the real reason my sensei sent us on those "assignments" with Tokio and sometimes with Hajime or just on our own. I thought it was all just part of the plans to misdirect Kanryu – and some of it really was – so I never thought there would be other reasons until Nii-sama pointed it out," Aoshi explained.
"What was the other reason?" Serenity asked innocently. The reason seemed apparent to Seto now and he turned to Aoshi for the answer but it was Misao who explained it.
"The reason was so that Aoshi, Tokio and all of my friends, would have a normal life. So they could make happy memories too not just work and war," Misao replied with a sad smile.
"She knew that eventually our mission would end. She did not want us to look back at our lives and find them empty of the experiences that make us human," Aoshi added. Seto nodded.
"But I can see what you were saying before…that everything she ever made you do served a purpose. Nothing you did was ever a waste of time. I see that, even an outing to Disneyland with Tokio and your friends, while seemingly pointless, served to misdirect your enemies and provide stress relief," Seto put in. That's what Duel Monsters tournaments had been for him in those years with Gozaburo. It was why he loved Duel Monsters so much. He wondered what kind of assignments his new sensei would have for him. He itched now for his training to begin – all the while not realizing it had begun the minute he invited Aoshi into his home.
"Dragon boy's on fire!" Sano exclaimed laughing.
"Correct Seto. Nothing she asks you to do will ever be a waste of your time. I can promise you that," Aoshi assured him.
"Why did you say that your success had a pitfall?" Seto asked as he put a stone on the board. Gone in one move was the progress Aoshi had made on the game. Seto was ahead by six points all of a sudden after his lead had stayed steady at two or three points before. Seto smiled as once more Sano teased him about showing off his brain power. Seto was more interested in getting to the story though and Aoshi didn't seem too worried about whether he won or lost the Go match.
"Into the very fires of Mordor we must go Seto-kun, to answer that," Kenshin replied solemnly.
"It was friggin' Mount Doom, that's for sure!" Sano added annoyed as he typed a text into his phone.
"I became over-confident," Aoshi began. He placed a stone on the board and continued his tale…
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A feeling of deep dread stole over Aoshi but he did a good job hiding it as he looked down from a cliff into Kanryu's factory. Sensei had warned them that they were not ready for this kind of operation but he had come none the less. Kanryu's factory in Helmagistan was too well protected and too far from Baharavia's border for a quick escape if they needed it.
It wasn't the first time that he was in Helmagistan but he had never come to this region without Nightraven and that was making him a little nervous. He had taken out many of Kanryu's major distribution centers throughout the world already. He had turned many more into the authorities through agents that his sensei said could be trusted. The Baharavian authorities had been very supportive of Aoshi's activities because they reduced the attacks on their borders. But as he looked down on Kanryu's fortress the tiniest bit of doubt crept into his heart.
The place was enormous!
It was easily the size of a football stadium. The factory was at the back of the compound almost flush against the back of a ravine spewing thick black smoke from three chimney stacks, as its machines churned out weapons and ammunition day and night. Nestled in a basin at the end of a long gorge, there was only one way to approach the compound. Enormous three foot thick barbed gates were set in between the two sides of the gorge and they were the only way in or out of the compound.
The engines operating the gates groaned as they slowly swung the gates open to let some delivery trucks in and some out. Trucks were loaded night and day and head out in the desert towards their intended deliveries in Kanryu's secret depots throughout Asia. Kanryu's drivers knew many secret roads that led out of Helmagistan to various large ports in Asia and the Middle East. The totalitarian regime that ruled this country and some of the surrounding ones guaranteed him safe passage. Kanryu's "legitimate" export operations would deliver his goods to his clients around the world.
"The Black Gates of Mordor," whispered Ben Dickson – one of the guys in his team of seven – as they looked down to the factory. The brown haired former football player was right to make that comparison. You could almost imagine the chained giants being whipped by orcs to open the gates.
"Be careful not to get spotted by Sauron's eye," Roy Fokker – the team's pilot – whispered back. His bleach blonde hair and tan skin made him look more like a typical California surfer dude not a fantasy-reading nerd. But his Lord of the Rings reference was spot on too. Searchlights scanned the compound from two guard towers with large caliber machine guns mounted on a 180 degree pivot. The searchlights scanned the inside of the compound though not the cliffs surrounding it.
There were over 100 workers held prisoner inside the compound. With their seemingly impregnable set up the guards seem to only worry about riots and escape attempts. That was why they had chosen to rappel down the cliff behind the factory as their entrance. The black smoke coming from the factory chimneys would provide them some cover.
Aoshi turned and glared at Ben and Roy but in the darkness of the early evening his face was mostly invisible. Even if they had seen him, they weren't likely to be affected by his glare. Anyone who went on these missions with Aoshi was very hard to intimidate.
"It's a good thing we brought our elven cloaks of invisibility," Sano joined in. He was referring to the dark dune colored jumpsuits they were wearing. Once they arrived behind the factory, they would shed the jumpsuits, don disguises and send the jumpsuits back up the ropes to Eric and Roy. They would wait for Aoshi and his crew to finish their sabotage mission to send down the ropes again.
"They won't do us much good if the ring wraiths are out patrolling," Hiei added, his solemn tone made the others bite back chuckles.
"I don't see any Nazgul so I think we are good to go," Aoshi added gravely giving up on trying to stop them. He could hear the little hisses that their chuckles were turning into as they tried hard to keep from laughing out loud. He had remembered then what Night had said about pre-battle bantering.
"It relieves tension and then you're not so scared when you go into a fight,"
Night had said this in an operation in Nicaragua. It was their first operation after the incident in the training hall where Kenshin had accidentally injured Tokio and Kenshin was way too jumpy. Night had poked a little fun at him and at first Sano and Aoshi had stood up for him. But Kenshin immediately relaxed and Nightraven turned his good natured ribbing on Sano and Aoshi. They all had shared a laugh, everyone relaxed and the operation was a phenomenal success.
"You guys are certified nerds," Eric Trainer teased. Aoshi merely shook his head amused. This was the first time he attempted a massive mission without his sensei or Nightraven around to help. They didn't always come along and when they did they hardly did anything more than watch. He had spent weeks and a whole lot of cash preparing for this mission. He felt confident he could do this on his own.
"This from the man who knows every line in Casablanca?" countered Kenshin in a teasing tone. The rest of the guys hissed amused as they tried in vain to bite back chuckles.
"Casablanca is a classic," Eric whispered back defensively. His love of classic films from the 1940s was well known to his friends and co-workers.
"Whatever you say, nerd!" Sano teased and the guys tried even harder to quiet their chuckling. Aoshi took a deep breath and looked back down towards Kanryu's factory. It didn't look quite so intimidating anymore. Every detail of his carefully researched plan laid itself out perfectly in his mind. Flood lights were turned on now and even the searchlights on the towers at either end of the gates were an ally as the location of every guard was perfectly exposed.
"Alright, let's get started," Aoshi announced. They strapped on their climbing gear and began the descent into the very fires of Mordor…
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Victoria walked towards the kitchen, feeling exceedingly proud of herself for all her machinations had finally yielded the results she desired! Little Ushio was collected by her grandmother who was taking the little one home now. The Okazaki clan would be leaving soon since Seto and Mokuba would be eating dinner elsewhere. Seto's house staff were giving a new arrival a spirited account of Seto and Mokuba's impromptu party as she walked in.
"Roland!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she spotted Seto's chief of security. Roland moved towards her, a smirk on his usually solemn face. She hugged him and they smiled as the old friends greeted each other cheerfully.
"Seto said you were out of town this weekend. Let me guess: your boys called you to tell you your boss invited Aoshi Shinomori and all his pals to party with him at his house and you just had to come and see for yourself, right?" she announced in rapid fire and to the staff's surprise Roland laughed, they had never seen him laugh.
"I caught the first train back! I had to see this with my own eyes," Roland replied laughing. Taking her drink from the tray Nagisa was carrying back to the ballroom, Victoria walked out of the kitchen with Roland.
"So, any retirement plans yet?" Victoria asked as they walked towards the ballroom slowly. Victoria sipped her soft drink as Roland explained he had been in Tokyo this weekend visiting some friends and found someone he might be able to train as a replacement.
"He's likeable and easy going. He's smart and his martial arts skills are very impressive. He objects to firearms but he's well trained at working around and against them. I don't think that would be a problem," Roland explained. He continued saying he would test the boy out first by hiring him to guard Mokuba when he left for Ouran Academy in Tokyo for high school. The young man in question was the same age as Seto so Roland thought his age and his personality would make it easier to fit in with Seto and Mokuba's lifestyle.
"Seems like you got things all figured out pal, but it looks like it's a long game you're playing," Victoria remarked.
"Not really, I mean look at Seto, he took over Kaiba Corp when he was just fourteen. With a little training, this kid could be ready to take over for me fresh out of high school but I don't need him that soon," he replied with a shrug explaining none of his guys wanted the position anyway.
"I've been training Tomoya to act as backup for their home security force. He suffered an injury in high school that partially paralyzed his arm," he continued as they walked back slowly. A doctor friend of his in Tokyo had been able to rehabilitate Tomoya and restore full motion to his arm only recently. Tomoya and his family like Seto and Mokuba so he knew they were in it for the long haul.
Working at the mansion provided them a financially secure and comfortable life. But Tomoya – who was once a delinquent in high school and barely managed to graduate – was not head of security material though Roland believed that with some more training he could make a very good butler. Seto had yet to hire a replacement for Gozaburo's old butler. Victoria suggested instead that he train Nagisa for the position. From her observations, Nagisa seemed more aware of Seto and Mokuba's habits as well as their likes and dislikes.
"Besides her family seem to hover around her and love to please her. I suspect Tomoya would prefer she be in charge. She likes it here," Victoria suggested.
"Yea, you're right. She has kind of taken on that role since she got here. She's very competent and the Kaiba boys do like her and we could put her parents on the staff. The boys do love her father's bread," he replied thoughtfully. He would put the suggestion to Seto this week so they could make it official.
"I have one guy I could leave in charge of security if I wanted to right now but he's already slated for head of the park security and I…" he stopped just outside the party room. Nagisa came back out with her empty tray and he was silent as she quickly moved past them.
"You can't leave until you know he's going to be ok," Victoria finished as Roland's face was solemn once more. He looked at her and pain flitted past his eyes for a moment as he nodded. Gozaburo had hired Roland a year after he adopted Seto and Mokuba to be the boys' bodyguard. The war with the Shinomori clan was escalating and he was starting to suspect that Kanryu was going to betray him.
Seto was highly intelligent and extremely talented, Kanryu was starting to take too much interest in Seto and Mokuba. Aoshi had restricted his attacks to Kanryu's holdings not Gozaburo's. Kanryu – who was unmarried and childless – deduced it was because of Seto and Mokuba that they stayed their hand against Gozaburo. Roland explained he had tried to shield the boys when he was first hired but the damage was mostly done.
"They were human shields. Gozaburo knew that as long as he had two innocent lives hostage in this house, the Shinomori clan would be too honorable to attack him directly. That was the main reason he adopted Seto you know. He took Mokuba too because he wanted a way to control Seto. Seto was too smart and independent from the beginning," Roland explained sadly.
"I bet Gozaburo was pissed off at you daily!" Victoria replied. Roland chuckled darkly. Roland – though he was Genovian – was a veteran of the war to restore the royals in Baharavia and was hailed as a great national hero there. He had spent most of his young adult years in Baharavia working with the Rebels to restore Johan to his throne after an evil dictator forced him and his mother to flee to Genovia when he was a boy.
Roland saw many children's futures destroyed by the greed of men like Gozaburo there. In Baharavia he would be treated like a big celebrity. At home in Genovia, with his older brother married to the Dowager Queen Clarisse Renaldi, he would be treated like a prince. But Victoria knew he would never leave a damaged child without trying to save him.
"Yep! But he was too scared to fire me. I wonder why?" he added with mock innocence. Victoria laughed. Gozaburo had thrown many tantrums at Roland because Roland never lifted a finger to help his guards when a Shinomori – or someone related to them – came knocking on his door.
Roland always let him throw his tantrums then would remind Gozaburo he had done the job he was hired to do, which was to protect the boys from harm and his contract did not require him to do anything else. Then carefully threatened Gozaburo into going easy on the boys – because it was his job after all to protect them from harm.
"I tell you…after that guy died it was touch and go. He was a pissed off little kid with too much brains and money for his own good. He lost all control and I really didn't know what to do. That's why I called you but then Yugi Motou won that first duel and he seems to have recovered most of his better self since then. I guess that's why your guys didn't jump in to save Yugi and his friends, right?," Roland replied.
Victoria nodded, she had sensed that Yugi would win and with that first victory both boys would grow in a positive way. She briefly recapped for Roland all the stories they had exchanged thus far. Roland was very surprised to hear Seto had shared what happened on the blimp. Seto was angry and very confused after the incident. He had forced everyone on the bridge who had witnessed it into complete silence.
"I have been observing him since we arrived. I see a lot of anger but it seems mostly a show, just a mask," Victoria began slowly. "I understand why though, he needs to control everything and everyone around him to feel safe. Shuura briefly upset the order of his world by hijacking his control," she observed. Roland nodded in agreement.
"He's young, often people patronize him and try to take advantage of him because of his age. Fear is the quickest way he could ensure people take him seriously. Shuura exposed a vulnerability in him," Roland added.
"True, he has spent the last few years surrounded by enemies. With the exception of Duel Monsters, he couldn't afford to do the things a boy his age would normally enjoy doing," Victoria nodded in agreement noting that his fear tactics were only a temporary measure, it would not work forever and it could cause a whole host of other problems.
"I believe he knows that. But finding the right people who can earn his respect and work with him is tough," Roland added solemnly. Victoria agreed. She mentioned Aoshi had similar issues when he was trying to establish Oniwaban Security Services. Because of his reputation as a juvenile delinquent, people did not take him seriously at first. They treated him with suspicion and severe distrust.
"But he had your help Victoria. No one understands what having to fight stereotypes is like more than you," Roland commented concerned.
"True, but Seto has decided to become one of my students now. He has our support and will have access to our network," Victoria declared. Victoria let him know Aoshi was sending a candidate for his senior staff at Kaiba Corp. She had interned with him and Aoshi thought she had a lot of potential.
"She is young, courageous and full of energy. But she's clever and knows what it feels like to have to fight against prejudice. I think Ms. Makino would fit in nicely," Victoria added solemnly. She had someone else she could send Seto's way too who was young and smart and some hardships in his young life made him unflappable. She believed he might fit in too. Roland smiled relieved.
"But just so you know he has gotten better. He only threatens to fire me once a month now. Used to be once a day!" he teased to lighten the mood. Victoria laughed as he opened the door to the ballroom finally. Roland made a mental note to look into Ms. Makino's background and set up some kind of test for her. His young boss had wasted too much of his time on idiots who buckled under the pressure too quickly. Seto had yet to hire a new secretary too which was making Roland's life difficult because he was having to fill in for that position as well as his normal duties.
All the guests gathered around on one side of the room turned to look at them. Seto looked at him quizzically as Mokuba called out a cheerful greeting and asked him why he came back so soon. Victoria smiled, Roland's face was a stoic mask once more as they headed together towards Seto and his guests. It was how Roland had become Seto's most trusted guy. He took everything Seto did and said with the utmost seriousness. And she was able to tell right away that both Mokuba and Seto cared about and depended on their loyal bodyguard - Roland. She smirked in amusement as they joined the party.
'Seto's gonna be ok,' she thought as she watched Roland interact with the kids…
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Aoshi paused the story as Seto looked up at the door with a confused look on his face. Mokuba – and everyone else – turned to look in the direction Seto was looking and the answer became obvious.
"Hey Roland! What are you doing back so soon? Weren't you supposed to be in Tokyo until tomorrow?" called Mokuba. Roland reached the group and greeted Seto and Mokuba solemnly and very politely. Aoshi was not surprised to see his Sensei hanging out with an old war buddy.
"Sukoru texted me that you and Mr. Kaiba had invited home Mr. Shinomori and his friends for a party, I admit my wife and I were curious so we cut our trip short. Judging by the crowd of reporters massing outside, I'm glad we decided to return early," Roland replied very solemnly then turned to Seto and asked him if he had any special instructions on dealing with the reporters or if he just wanted Roland to send them away the usual way.
"Nope! We're gonna handle it!" pipped up Misao suddenly. She jumped up from her chair and extended her hand to Mokuba. He smiled and immediately took it as he got up to join her.
"And you two are going to help us!" Misao declared looking first at Seto then at Aoshi. Both of them deflated and Victoria chuckled at the aggrieved look they gave each other. They obviously would rather do anything but that!
"That sounds like an excellent idea. Both of you should go with Misao and Mokuba, tell them the feud is over, do a little PR for the park, that should make those reporters go away," Victoria added, Aoshi nodded in agreement.
"I can't argue with that," Seto replied getting up and closing up his jacket. With a heavy resigned sigh, ignoring the teasing snickers from Yugi and his friends both men followed Misao. Anzu asked if they could come and watch. Victoria said they could but to stay well out of the way so as to not distract any reporters. Sano asked where the kitchen was as they all got up.
"Should I get your duel disk Mr. Kaiba?" asked Roland very seriously. Seto rarely went in front of the press without his duel disk attached to his arm these days. Roland knew it made him feel more in control. Seto gave him a slight nod and Roland excused himself and turned to follow the command without hesitation.
"Come on Sano. I'll show you where the kitchen is," Victoria said as Sano got up. No one questioned why Sano wasn't joining in. Sano's confidentiality agreements forced him to avoid direct contact with the press. He considered it a perk of the job not to have to deal with the press. Mai took over Seto's chair without looking up from her phone.
"I'll wait here. My dad's blowing up my phone. He's really, really excited that the feud's over. He wants a recap," she put in dialing her father's number. They all walked away leaving Mai cheerfully chatting with her dad.
"You know…Kamo tried to talk me into coming with him to talk to you a couple of months ago. Just him and me," Misao said to Seto.
"Really!?" he replied surprised.
"Uncle Kamo campaigned aggressively against the feud. He was right of course. The feud had destroyed enough lives. It is the only time nii-sama and uncle Kamo have ever been on the same side. I'm not surprised he tried to go around us," Aoshi remarked.
"But he would have been successful too. Mokuba and I always watch his show. We've seen most of his movies too," Seto remarked surprised by how many people on Aoshi's side had been looking out for him and Mokuba.
"How come you didn't do it Misao?" Mokuba asked. She looked at Mokuba and smiled.
"Because Tokio is right! It had to be your decision. She was certain that when you and your brother were ready to talk to us, it would happen," Misao replied looking her cheerful self again.
"She was right of course. Here we are after all," Aoshi added as they all reached the front door. Victoria admonished the group to stay inside and let only Misao, Mokuba, Seto and Aoshi walk out to the reporters. The rest would watch from inside. Roland was standing by the door with his sunglasses on already and Seto's duel disk in his hands. With the most solemn expression he handed the device to his young boss. Victoria turned to Yugi.
"Try to stay out of sight. The last thing we need is those guys getting sidetracked asking about you and Seto's ongoing duel monsters rivalry. Especially after you two trashed his brand spankin' new duel dome in your last duel," she remarked amused. Yugi grinned and gave her a jaunty salute.
"Yes mam!" Yugi agreed enthusiastically. Victoria chuckled and she and Sano retired to the kitchen. Aoshi, Misao and Mokuba put on their heavier jackets while Seto strapped on his duel disk, it was starting to get chilly outside.
"Sano, since you're gonna be in Domino for a while, why don't you take Seto surfing with you?" Victoria asked as they approached the kitchen.
"Oh yea! I was thinking about asking him! It's tradition any way. New guy always gets a surfing lesson. Too bad the wolf's not around. I bet Seto would've loved his first lesson with the wolf. He likes the wolf! I can tell!" Sano replied with a chuckle as they entered the kitchen.
"No, I think it's better that you give him his first lesson. He'd try too hard to impress Hajime and wouldn't enjoy himself. He'll have more fun with you, Aoshi and Kenshin," Victoria replied. Sano thought about it for a second and agreed.
"Pardon me mam…but Mr. Zeru – one of Mr. Roland's men – surfs. He might have what Mr. Seto will need to go surfing," Nagisa pipped up cheerfully. Victoria smiled.
"That's excellent! He'll have someone to go surfing with him when the boys are not in town. Would you mind getting me Seto's sizes now? I need to see that a proper sized wet suit is sent to him right away," she replied to the eager young woman. Sano turned to Tomoya as Nagisa's husband offered to call Zeru and see if he had an extra board. Nagisa ran off to the laundry room with a big smile on her face.
"No, no worries man. Aoshi's got plenty of extra boards," Sano replied moving towards the trays Nagisa's father was pulling out of the oven. He explained to them that once Seto got the hang of surfing they'd get him his own board. It was tradition. Tomoya smiled and handed Sano a small plate and some napkins so he could help himself to the fresh baked snacks. Victoria was satisfied to see how happy these people were to work here. It guaranteed Seto some peace and safety at home. Nagisa came back quickly with the sizes written down for Victoria.
They left the kitchen and waited with Mai in the ballroom. Mai talked in a very animated tone with her father. It wasn't hard to tell Kamo was very happy about the end of the feud. She hung up promising to tell him more when she got home. The rest of the group returned and there was a definite swagger in Seto's steps. Misao and Mokuba looked very happy and Aoshi looked more Zen than ever – which meant he was happy too.
"Seto's letting me do a concert in the park for the closing ceremony at the end of the grand opening week!" Misao cheerfully announced.
"It seemed logical. The cross-section of fans between Duel Monsters and her music guarantees success for both of us," Seto added with a shrug. He sat on the armrest of his chair not asking Mai to move from where she was.
"That's a wonderful idea!" Victoria agreed cheerfully.
"Speaking of excellent ideas…Sensei's already got your first assignment!" Sano announced with a big grin on his face. Seto looked surprised.
"Excellent! That means she already knows what kind of melee training you will get Seto-kun!" Kenshin chimed in. Seto blinked surprised but pleased by how quickly this was all happening. Mai asked if she was going to specialize Seto in staff weapons.
"No, the duel disk gave me an idea that I think will suit Seto better. I have to talk to Night about it first but let's focus on getting in a little strength training first and a little fun! Go ahead tell him Sano," she replied with a smirk as she started sending text messages with her phone. Roland was still standing solemnly next to his boss but Victoria could tell he was happy to see Seto included in her group. He knew Victoria was very good at saving at-risk kids.
"You're going surfing with us tomorrow!" Sano announced cheerfully. Seto frowned. He had never been surfing before and didn't see how it would help in his new martial arts training but decided not to question it.
"Of course! It's tradition, that it is!" Kenshin exclaimed cheerfully pointing out how much fun they were all going to have tomorrow. Anzu chimed in saying that surfing was very fun and that she did it sometimes but only when Sano was around. Kenshin explained for the kids that whenever someone new entered the group they would teach them how to surf. If they liked it and wanted to keep doing it, the group would present the new guy with his/her own custom made board. Sano explained that the tradition had started when Hajime taught them all to surf on their first trip to California.
"Fun! I want to go surfing too!" Anzu pipped up eagerly.
"Don't you have a guest coming?" Victoria asked not looking up from her phone. Anzu explained to her friends that her family would be hosting a girl from Colorado called Cassandra Frasier as part of a student exchange program.
"Right! I totally forgot! Hanazaki's leaving next week! He's gonna be in Colorado," Yugi added. It was why they had been hanging out with him earlier at Burger World. He was to be hosted by a family in Colorado Springs in the US while Cassandra was here with Anzu's family.
"I guess the bad weather must've been what delayed her," Anzu noted and Yugi added that it was why Hanazaki hadn't left yet. Seto tried to be patient as he listened. He was excited to know that his training would start so soon but he wanted to hear what happened in Kanryu's factory. He only knew the tidbits he overheard Kanryu yell at Gozaburo. Aoshi had gotten very good at reading Seto by now so he knew the young man was starting to lose patience with all the segue ways. He decided to put the story back on track.
"So Roland, we had just begun telling Seto about what happened in Kanryu's factory in Helmagistan. Will you be staying for a while?" Aoshi asked.
"I would like to listen in. I am curious. Takeda and Gozaburo did not take it well at all," Roland replied. He had a rough week after that incident, he'd even hired a freelancer out of his own pocket and had his wife come in and help him prepare an escape in case he needed to get the boys out quick. Kanryu had accused Gozaburo of leaking information to his enemies. Roland thought they would come to blows.
"Gozaburo got very desperate trying to appease him," Roland very solemnly added. Seto said nothing as Aoshi recapped the story for Roland. Takeda had not been wrong. Seto sold information to the Shadow Broker about Takeda's factory after one of Kanryu's men had bullied Mokuba.
That accomplished two things: it gave him the funds to start planning his coup and he got revenge for the guys picking on his little brother. It was the first time he felt like he could really do it, that he could really take out Gozaburo Kaiba and take over Kaiba Corp. He had worried at the time that he had been reckless in trusting the Shadow Broker because of how alarmed Gozaburo had been and how crazy Kanryu got, but the broker covered for him and he was more careful after that.
'Of course, now that I know who the broker is, I understand why she covered for me,' Seto thought as Aoshi now took up the tale again. Roland pulled up another chair and positioned it in the middle between Mai and Aoshi with the Go board in front of it motioning for his boss to take it. Roland took the small foldup chair Tomoya brought for Mokuba because the boy turned it down and preferred to stay seated next to Misao. Seto put his next piece on the board as Aoshi continued…
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The factory had only one small exit and it was kept barred with two armed guards outside of it standing at the bottom of the staircase leading to the door. That door was connected to a small office, there two more guards looked down to the factory floor from behind thick bullet proof glass. That office had a barred metal door that led to a staircase down to the factory floor and there was another door inside the office that led to a catwalk where an additional two armed guards patrolled the length of the factory from above.
The products were placed on conveyor belts and sent out of the factory through five three foot by three foot windows where they were packed into crates and loaded onto the trucks. The workers were housed in a large room attached to the factory. It had about 50 cots and one foot by one foot barred openings in the ceiling and along one of the walls provided the only ventilation and light in that room. The only exits from the room led into the factory: one door for entering the factory and one door for returning to the barracks. There were two more armed guards on each door.
The workers were split into two shifts: half of them would work the day shift while the other half slept. After twelve hours the first shift would be sent to bed and the other half would come out to work for twelve hours. Only one meal was provided to the workers from a slot on the wall located just before the door leading back to the barracks. They did not receive this meal until the end of their shift as they returned to the cots.
There was a fifteen minute window in between shift changes where the factory was empty while the workers were fed and the machines reset and loaded for the next production run. Aoshi and Kenshin had taken out the two men outside guarding the entrance to the factory. Ben and Sano put on the two men's uniforms and were standing outside covering for them. Aoshi and Kenshin quietly took out the guards just inside the building before they could hit the alarm. Then Aoshi quickly moved out to the catwalk and stealthily took out the two men watching the doors from above as the workers switched shifts.
'So far so good,' thought Aoshi as he propped up the two dead guards to make it look like they were still up there watching if the ones on the ground looked up. They had to move fast though. The plan was to set off charges that would make the middle three windows where the product exited, one big hole. Once the workers realized that the factory was open they were hoping for a mad dash and maybe some rioting. Once the workers were on the move they would set off the rest of the charges. They would escape the way they came in the confusion and chaos.
Kenshin and Hiei moved liked ghosts through the factory. They hid the small but powerful devices with speed and precision in the machinery. All was going as he had hoped, weeks of preparation and research were paying off. Then he heard a muffled blast and alarms suddenly blared through the factory. Aoshi looked around from his hiding spot on the ceiling near the catwalk. Hiei and Kenshin froze and looked up at him as Ben and Sano rushed in yelling "Get out! Get out!"
Aoshi wasted no time as Hiei and Kenshin rushed through the factory trying to get to the exit. The guards started calling for the rest of the guards and Aoshi tossed one of the dead guards down from the cat walk at two armed men by the barracks door to distract them away from Kenshin and Hiei. Six more armed men suddenly materialized from inside the barracks. Aoshi's eyes went wide, he had no idea there would be more guards inside the prisoner barracks.
Kenshin was closest to the staircase and was already up the stairs waiting with Aoshi as Hiei within reach of the steps to the office. Workers were gunned down as they scrambled to get at some kind of cover. The guards by the doors to the barracks yelled threats and sprayed bullets in random directions heedless of what or who they hit. One of the explosives destined for the conveyor windows was still in Hiei's hand.
He realized that the guards were going to overwhelm them so thinking quickly he threw it in the general direction of the armed men coming out of the barracks. He turned away and hit the button on the remote that set off the charges on the conveyors and the charge he tossed. The guards on the other side of the building were knocked back and buried under masonry, machinery and prisoners who scrambled over them to get out. Aoshi saw Hiei throw the device and instinctively turned to cover Kenshin standing next to him.
Kenshin and Aoshi were knocked off their feet. Aoshi felt something hit him in the leg but he was too preoccupied with the safety of his team to think about it. Hiei suddenly struggled to get up the stairs and Aoshi realized that he had been injured. Despite his body armor a piece of metal from the conveyor had lodged itself in his ribs in the blast. Kenshin hurried with him down the steps to grab him and the two pulled Hiei up the stairs. Ben and Sano had taken cover behind the metal door and fired their rifles at attackers outside the facility.
"What happened?" Aoshi asked over the noise, his ears ringing from the explosion. Kenshin quickly set to trying to staunch the bleeding on Hiei. Sano quickly explained that a local militia group was assaulting the facility. They had blasted the gates clear off the hinges, half the canyon had come down and buried part of the complex. The guards' barracks was buried along with a good chunk of the forces in the base. The attackers surged in shouting vengeance, firing at anyone wearing Kanryu's uniform. Sano and Ben took turns to ditch part of the uniforms while firing out the door.
"We have to go," Aoshi said. He had managed to bar the little guard office to protect them from the attackers but that was only a temporary refuge. The attackers were taking no prisoners. Kanryu's forces were in the biggest fight of their previously comfortable lives. Sano turned to him, took one look at him then one at Hiei. He shook his head.
"We have to find another way out! You and Hiei won't be able to climb!" Sano called back. Aoshi blinked confused and was about to rebut when Kenshin pointed out the large gash on his leg pouring blood down the front of his pants.
"I can make it," grunted Hiei. "Wrap me up tight…I can make it," he insisted pulling at Kenshin. Aoshi tore a piece of his pants off and quickly began to bandage himself up as best he could.
"We have no choice. We will have to climb," Aoshi replied. Guilt made his chest tighten. He had not planned for this contingency.
"Aoshi, it isn't just the climb up, we have a mile hike back to the cave where we hid the jeep, then we have to drive back in the direction those other guys just came from to get to the helicopter," Kenshin pointed out as he tightened the makeshift bandage around Hiei's chest. Fear suddenly set in him as he wondered to himself if the helicopter was still where they had hidden it.
"It's the only way. We have to climb," grunted Hiei. Fear and guilt assaulted Aoshi. Why had he not planned for this contingency? He wasn't the only enemy Kanryu had after all. The attackers were busy looting and shooting everything in their path but for the time being they were distracted elsewhere. The explosions and fire now raging in the factory had sent them away from Aoshi and his group for now.
"I can help Hiei. I can carry him," Ben offered. At 6 foot 7 inches tall Ben was the biggest and strongest of the group, if anyone could carry Hiei up 50 feet worth of cliffside, it would be him.
"I can make the climb," Aoshi insisted though now that he took stock he realized he had several other cuts and bruises. His bullet proof vest had offered some protection so there weren't as many as there could've been but they were likely to get worse on the climb up. He had no choice, he had to get his guys out of here and they would never agree to leave without him. A lull in the battle on their side of the complex finally allowed them to sneak out of the building towards the spot where their climbing gear would be.
Ben and Kenshin helped Hiei as they quickly moved to the back of the building and signaled Eric and Roy to send down the climbing gear. Ben quickly strapped on his gear then helped Hiei with his. Ben hoisted Hiei onto his back and Kenshin then secured them both together. Sano had his gear on lightning fast and had begun to climb before anyone else. He would try to get to the top fast so he could help Ben and Aoshi up. Kenshin and Aoshi put on their gear last.
Kenshin went before Aoshi, he quickly caught up with Sano and the two raced up the side of the cliff to help their injured friends. More explosions rocked the compound and bits of stone rained down on the climbers. The smoke coming from the factory covered their escape. The climb was grueling as the adrenaline rush faded and the pain from his injuries started kicking in. Three quarters of the way up, he felt a tug on his rope and realized Kenshin was helping him climb. He looked up and saw that Sano and Eric were already pulling Ben and Hiei over the edge. Aoshi dug deep and pushed himself to climb faster.
'God, if I can get my friends home alive, I swear I will never complain again when Night shoots me with his paintball guns,' he prayed as he struggled to get to the top. Kenshin and Sano helped him over the edge. He asked where Roy had gone.
"We saw a large angry mob rushing towards the gate and he ran back to get the jeep as the gate blew up," Eric panted back. Aoshi nodded as he spotted their jeep kicking up dust as it raced towards them across the dusty plains. Tiredly they climbed up on the jeep. Kenshin was the last in as he set off the remaining explosives in the factory with his remote then hopped in.
"I have bad news guys," Roy began as he gunned the engine. He pointed to a spot in the distance further up the canyon they had just climbed out of. The canyon had a spider-y ending where other fissures in the earth connected to the main vain about five miles from the base. They had stashed their getaway helicopter in one of those fissures. A tiny plume of smoke coming from where they had stashed their helicopter sent a wave of guilt and fear through Aoshi.
"Our landing site was discovered and the helicopter is lost. We don't have enough gas to make it all the way back to the Baharavian border tonight," Roy continued.
"Kumar and the others?" Aoshi asked, Roy shook his head. Aoshi had enlisted a group of teenagers from a nearby village who wanted to avenge their fathers. Working in Kanryu's factory was a death sentence. No one taken to work there was ever seen or heard from again.
He clenched his teeth to keep from swearing but Sano did not hold the swear back. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. The town where Kumar was from was about 15 miles from the now ruined factory. They could hunker down and think of their next move. He said so to Roy but he had already thought of this and was heading in the general direction of that town.
"We can try to contact Baharavia from there and see if Sensei can send help. Night is in Valeria," Aoshi replied breathing heavily. Valeria was the second largest city in Baharavia and it was very well defended considering it was about twenty something miles from the border of Helmagistan. Roy nodded and gunned the engine away from the fires and the raging battle.
'Please god…let me get my friends out alive,' he prayed once more as the thunder of the battle receded…
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"You know…when I went to Duelist Kingdom with Yugi, mom and dad freaked out but you were kind of quiet about it. I guess I can see why," Anzu pointed out pensively. Sano finished chewing one of his little fresh baked cheese filled bun before he replied. Nagisa and her mother had brought out the last trays of snacks to the table. Everyone was munching on something as Aoshi did his storytelling.
"Yea well, Tokio and the wolf were right. Couldn't be mad at you. I did a lot more dangerous crap in the name of friendship," Sano replied with a shrug. Seto found it interesting that once more Tokio and Hajime were exerting some strong influence on these people.
'Yet they are just supposed to be average American suburbanites with 9 to 5 jobs…very interesting,' thought Seto. He also realized that none of these people – with the exception of Sano – had said anything to him about the Death Tower incident. Even then all Sano did was tease him a little.
'Aoshi and Kenshin even stood up for me,' thought Seto intrigued, more pieces of the puzzle were now falling quickly into place.
Anzu and Yugi had been in very real danger in the Death Tower. Anzu had applied around that time to work in his arcade under a false name but Seto recognized her standing in the line waiting to be interviewed and had his HR manager hire her on the spot. This was so he could lure Yugi more easily towards his trap. Yugi had to move his group of friends from room to room by solving some difficult puzzles which had deadly consequences if you got the answers wrong. Gozaburo's creepy butler had died in one of them. Despite all that, all Sano did was tease him about losing and let it go. He was certain now Tokio and Hajime had something to do with that.
Aoshi went back to his story now and explained that they managed to make it back to the safe house. Their contact Kumar – a boy of about 15 years – and some of the teenagers guarding the helicopter had made it back to the house as well. The attackers at the base had found them and worked Kumar's group up into a frenzy and most of them joined the attackers. Kumar had no choice but to abandon the helicopter and hurry back to his town with three of the ten boys Aoshi had recruited.
"We arrived at the safe house to find that the radio and our weapons stash was gone. The safe house had been raided by the new local warlord, thankfully they had not been very thorough and our food stores were intact. Roy and Ben were forced to trek back more than 20 miles to Baharavia," Aoshi explained that they did most of the trip on foot since a long mountain range divided Baharavia and Helmagistan.
In order for them to have driven out of Helmagistan they would have to drive about 60 more miles south from the town, then follow an old dirt road through the mountains. The road would end about 80 miles from Valeria and 150 from the capitol city of Celestia. Even if they didn't get shot by Baharavian or Helmagistan forces on the way, it would take them too long to reach help. The hazards on the roads would make the trip deadly for Hiei because of his injuries. That road was heavily guarded at both ends, border patrols often shot first and asked questions later. Sano drove them out to the foot of the mountain and barely managed to get the jeep back to the safe house as he ran out of gas.
"So the fellowship got broken up and Frodo and Sam ended up trekking over the mountains out of Sauron's domain instead of in?" Yugi asked with an innocent look on his face. Sano, Kenshin and to – everyone's shock – Aoshi, laughed. Slowly Yugi smiled, Seto narrowed his eyes.
'Good move Yugi,' thought Seto. Guilt and sadness had flitted on Aoshi's eyes through the story. He was struggling now to continue, that much was obvious to Seto. But Yugi was paying attention now too and came up with the right thing to say to lighten the emotional load.
"Very good Yugi. Yes, that is what happened. They had a speedier and more pleasant voyage than Frodo and Sam I assure you though Roy was injured on the way," Aoshi replied. He explained that it took them the rest of the night and part of the morning of almost non-stop hiking to arrive at a Baharavian army border outpost on foot. Once the officers there identified them, they drove to Valeria where Nightraven was staying at his house in Valeria.
"In those days, wherever Night was it was a good bet that Sis was gonna be there too," Sano added. Seto had been wondering at what point Tokio came into the story.
"This is where we truly discovered how fortunate we were to have a friend like her," Aoshi added. Victoria decided to step in now and tell that part of the story as Night and the boys had related the events to her later…
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Ben couldn't get enough water down his throat it seemed as he guzzled a liter after liter of the clear liquid down. He and Roy were taking turns trying to relate what had gone wrong. Roy sat near the a/c vent in the sitting room of Night's spacious home in Baharavia as Night asked him questions. Tokio bandaged Roy's sprained wrist and fastened a sling on his arm. He had taken a tumble in the hike up the mountain as they ran from a Helmagistan patrol.
She also treated all the other scrapes and bruises he and Ben had picked up on the climb up the cliff and the hike back. Then she pulled out one of her anatomy books and made him and Roy tell her exactly where Aoshi and Hiei's injuries were on a chart. She asked a lot of questions and Ben noticed that Night's frowned deepened with every answer.
Hiei's injuries were bad, that much seemed obvious to Ben since he had been the one to carry him. He tried his best to be careful but Hiei had been unconscious by the time Ben got him up the cliff. He woke when they got to the safe house but had been delirious when they left. He had lost a lot of blood and was running a fever when they left. He had been wearing some minor hearing protection and was wearing good body armor but Tokio was certain from his symptoms that he was suffering from a serious blast injury aside from the wound on his side.
"Ok, tell me what to do. I'll stabilize him and bring him back," Night said. Night was an extremely competent field medic. Ben didn't doubt that Night could help Hiei and bring him back alive. Tokio stared at the chart in her book. She looked up at Night, a look of desperation on her face.
"You can't. I have to go to them!" she announced to the shock of the men in the room. Night opened his mouth to protest but Ben beat him to it.
"Have you taken crazy pills woman! They'll kill Night and sell you to a warlord the instant you set foot there!" Ben shrieked at her. Tokio ignored his and Roy's protests.
"Please! Please take me to them! Hiei will die if I don't go to him now!" she begged him. Her eyes wide with fear for her dear friends' lives.
"Please Night! Please!" she continued and now a tear made its way down her face and any resistance in the old man died right then.
"Fine," he growled reluctantly "but you have to do everything I say! I say hide, you hide. I say run, you run! Everything I tell you to do, you do immediately and without question! Got it?" he ordered. Tokio wiped her tear away and nodded firmly, a beautiful smile appeared on her face and Night responded with a smirk between annoyed and amused. It made Ben think for a moment they had just enlisted Superman and Wonder Woman to help! He sent Tokio to get all the medical supplies she would need as he made preparations.
"We leave in two hours!" he called to her but Tokio was already running out of the room saying she'd be ready in one hour.
"Ok, so plenty of time for us to refuel and stock up," pointed out Ben ready to get back over there and get his friends out.
"You two idiots aren't going anywhere! Neither of you are in any condition!" Night growled at them. Both Ben and Roy protested but Night was having none of it. He threatened to hog-tie them and throw them in a closet if they insisted. Ben and Roy reluctantly accepted as they followed Night out of his sitting room where they had been gathered. The doorbell rang and the Kamiya sisters rushed in saying they had run into Tokio on her way to the pharmacy.
"She was rushing so she didn't say much! What happened?" Kaoru asked the worry on her face mirrored on her sister. Night motioned them over to his office. Roy and Ben explained the snafu on their mission as they walked towards the office.
Night's office was more of a workshop really. There were bits and pieces of electronics everywhere, various other little half-finished gadgets and a myriad of tools and maps lay on every surface, sat on the many shelves or hung on the walls. Sano had once described Night as the Willy Wonka of gadgets and weapons, it was a very accurate description. His gadgets were zany but extremely effective. Night pulled out some maps and began formulating his plan.
"What can we do?" asked Kaoru with a determined look on her face.
"Yea! How can we help?" added Shuura with a fierce look on her face. Night explained his plan to smuggle himself and Tokio across the border. To make their trek a little speedier, Shuura would fly them up the mountain and drop them near the top of the mountain. He and Tokio would trek down the mountain to the village.
"We should be able to avoid the patrols on the mountain. We'll be in disguise so we'll blend in with the locals and locate our guys," Night continued as he riffled through his maps explaining what he knew.
"With a new warlord in charge things are very touchy in the town where those idiots are hunkered down. There is a fully equipped military base there. If we try to get them out straight from there we'll bring in too much heat from too many different sides. The tank regiment alone would be a huge issue but I think they have SAMs and I bet they restocked with salvage from Kanryu's factory. There is a full company there that's likely grown in the takeover…with Hiei and Aoshi injured that's way too many soldiers for just us to take on. We need a more controlled situation," Night lectured as he finally found the map he was looking for. He turned to Shuura and Kaoru.
"We need to narrow things a bit and here's where it gets tricky for the two of you," he continued. He unfurled a map of the mountain range separating the two countries. North from the little town where the group was hunkered down, just under 20 miles there was a narrow pass where the mountains touched the Himalayan mountain ranges and continued to Nepal.
The pass was in the north east corner that connected Baharavia and Helmagistan with Nepal. The pass was very narrow, traversing it on foot was almost impossible as it was nothing but straight, sheer walls of stone at either side and constant rock slides. By air it had been a death sentence for many a pilot because of the violent gusts of wind that often smashed pilots in to the walls, though pilots with the right combination of luck and skill could succeed. Smugglers liked the pass because the minerals in the mountains scrambled radar and kept the Baharavian and Nepalese authorities from noticing them. The locals called it the Great Stone Giant.
"Can you make it Shuura?" Night asked solemnly.
"Can Luke Skywalker bullseye womprats on his T-16?" she countered with a confident smirk. Night laughed but Ben and Roy were not amused.
"Are you on acid? Even if you make it through, and believe me I don't doubt that you can, anyone attempting the pass to go in or out of Helmagistan gets shot down! They have missiles there!" Roy protested. There was a small outpost that belonged to Kanryu there. He uses it to fly special rush orders to his customers from it. He was allowed to operate it in return for shooting down any spy aircraft that might attempt to go through the pass into Helmagistan unseen. These days though military spy aircraft didn't bother with the pass and the only people who were ever shot down are the unfortunate pilots whose radar would get scrambled by the mineral contents of the mountains and got lost on their way to Valeria.
"I'll take out the missiles. You will wait for my signal to start your run," Night replied. Ben opened his mouth to say something but there was such conviction in Night's face and confidence in his tone that it was hard to doubt that he could really overpower a small army to take out the missiles.
"You gonna let me fly your Huey?" Shuura asked with a twinkle of excitement in her eyes. Night had an old Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter. It was an old utility military helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine, with two-blade main and tail rotors used heavily during military conflicts in the 60s.
Night had acquired it as little more than a shelled out husk. He had restored it and customized it. He kept it in great working order. He came regularly to Baharavia so he could fly training missions in it for the military academy in Valeria, where he volunteered often. He rarely let anyone else fly it. Shuura had been dying to take it up in the air from the minute she set eyes on it. He looked up from his map and smiled at her.
"Yes!" crowed Shuura pumping her fist. Kaoru just shook her head amused but knew now what her roll was gonna be on this rescue mission.
"Go look for Ana. She will get the big guns loaded," Night added going back to his map. Ana was the headmaster at the Baharavian Military Academy. She was also Aoshi's aunt. Ana had been adopted by the Shinomori family but she left their home to return to her family when she was about 17. Somehow she had ended up in Baharavia during its years of turmoil and became a national hero when she helped restore the royal family to the throne. She was very good friends with him and Victoria. She and Oume still treated each other like sisters – but she had no contact with either Hannya or Aoshi until recently.
"I'll do that while Shuura goes to get the helicopter fueled up and ready to go," Kaoru replied. It was clear now that Kaoru was to man on of the machine guns mounted on the helicopter.
"I will take out the SAMs but we might still have a fight to get them out. Make sure you two wear armor," Night instructed solemnly. Both women immediately promised not to leave without it as both women hurried to carry out Night's instructions. Roy and Ben looked frustrated and angry now at being left out.
"You two have done all you can. Go get something to eat and some rest. I'll take things from here," Night advised them not without a touch of sympathy. Ben and Roy were his boys from back when Oniwaban was still Silverleaf Security owned by Night. He recruited them young and fresh from high school as he had many of his best people. He nurtured their talents and felt sometimes that he had helped raise most of them. Aoshi had taken in all of Night's people when Night sold him the company. He sold his company to the boy only because Aoshi swore to treat his people with respect.
"Oh and Ben, call your parents and your sisters, they're worried about you. And Roy, your uncle and your dad, make sure you call them. I talked to them yesterday and your old man's not doing so good," Night added with a worried frown. He went back to his map as the two men left the room promising to follow all of his instructions.
Tokio was as good as her word. One hour later she was in Night's work shop with all of her supplies. She had been careful to acquire only essentials. But despite being frugal Night could easily tell she could take care of any injury she came across. He explained to her the disguise that she was going to wear and it didn't take Tokio long to get into character. She scared the heck out of Roy and Ben with her appearance. Kaoru and Shuura were amazed at Tokio's transformation.
"There is no way, those douche bags are gonna know what hit 'em!" Shuura exclaimed as she and her sister laughed. Night smirked just little as they all climbed onto the helicopter…
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"I know what you kids are thinking: What were two civilian women doing flying a military vehicle into hostile territory? But both ladies have earned special diplomatic dispensations from the royal family in Baharavia that allow them to operate in a military capacity when necessary," Victoria explained. She added that Kaoru and Shuura did a lot of work for the rural communities in Baharavia during monsoon season and for their heroic efforts the royal family extended some special privileges to both women.
"Wow…that's badass," Honda remarked.
"Yea totally! But I don't get how the Baharavian government just let a civilian have a fully decked out military vehicle sittin' in his backyard. Isn't that kind of thing not legal or at least frowned upon in most countries," Jou pondered out loud. To his surprise Roland answered him.
"Jonathan Nightraven isn't any ordinary guy. He is the first General of the Red Guard. Night saved King Johan's life a number of times during the war," Roland announced solemnly. He explained to the perplexed kids that when the royal family moved to retake their throne from a despot that had sent them into exile, Jonathan was among a small group of people who organized the rebellion to reinstate the royal family. The Red Guard were a special elite force that answered to the King directly. Night was officially retired but he still did assignments for the King whenever he was needed.
"He formed the guard more than almost thirty years ago and led the attack on the palace that finally deposed the military dictator oppressing that country. He has a special trust with King Johan and the royal family," Roland explained.
"And if anyone knows that, it's Roland! He's one of the first Red Knights and his son is a Red Knight. That's what they call the members of the Red Guard. He was with Night the whole way through the worst of that war. James is very active with Prince Marco keeping the border safe," Victoria pointed out with an amused smirk.
Roland shrugged modestly as the kids ooh-ed and aah-ed and asked him questions. Seto looked up at his head of security for a second. He had never really given any thought to Roland's record until a few months ago when he asked for time off to visit his brother and his brother's new wife. He had asked Roland why he stayed at Kaiba Corp. when he could go and live like a prince in his home country. Roland had simply replied that it would be boring, it was more exciting to work with him.
'But it would be exciting and not to mention far more prestigious to work for King Johan considering the problems he constantly has with his terrible neighbors and Roland's status as a great war hero,' Seto thought. He wondered now what really kept Roland and his wife – who was just as capable a warrior as Roland – here with him and Mokuba.
'He objected to the Death Tower and refused to participate, Aoshi said our teacher's people had been there watching the duel from the audience. I wonder if he had something to do with it – or maybe he meant Roland was the one who was going to intervene and save Yugi's friends,' he thought. His first instinct was to feel betrayed but he couldn't make the feeling stick. He knew the tragic history of Baharavia and after the things he had learned today he could guess now why Roland stayed and why he had called his old friend.
'He wants me to be strong but not without honor. He won't leave until I figure out how to do that,' he concluded not knowing quite how to feel about that. He promised himself to find out more later. He watched Aoshi put his next stone on the board and inch his score closer to Seto's.
'He's still not gonna win,' thought Seto. He noted though that rather than just call the game, as any other sensible opponent would, Aoshi was going to see the game through to whatever end. He smiled just a little at the strange revelations this day brought him as Victoria let Sano continue the story…