Embracing Shadows

Chapter Five

Seto had no idea how long he'd been down in the cell but his hair was mattered and filthy and hanging shaggily around his shoulders, his once white suit was now brown from blood stains, dust and heavily soiled from torture sessions and felt disgusting to wear but it was the only set of clothing he had, his purple jacked was used by himself and Luna to sleep on and they where only provided with enough water to keep them alive and none to wash themselves or their clothes. He felt for Luna, their captors didn't even give her any sanitary products when her period had come so her clothing was blood stained for a different reason. She still hadn't been through a torture session like he and the old man had been through. Some days when they bought him back they didn't even bother healing him and there was so much blood pooled on the floor. Out of pure boredom when he wasn't to dizzy, twitchy or in too much pain from a session with his captors he'd paint on the wall with his own blood, and Luna would join him. She was a strange girl, touching someone else blood didn't seem to disturb her much at all. He wasn't sure whether it was just her way of coping with the situation or if she really way like this all the time. He'd paint pictures of the blue eyes white dragon beating the dark magician and she's draw pictures of her fantasy creatures. Blood and mud, that's what these walls where painted with. Draco would look at the picture with a strange fascination every time he came down and his mother would look sad whenever she saw them painting with blood, otherwise she tried to ignore the pictures that where slowly filling the cell. He found it relaxing painting on the wall in his own blood, though it wasn't always his own blood that he painted in. Today for example he'd just killed his two Death Eater and was covered in their blood and he had nothing better to do then paint on the walls some more. He was feeling happy for his small victory, it was like he had some control over his life again, even if it was only minuscule.

He'd killed the pair with his spare gun, he found it satisfying to see the tables turned and the fear in his captor's eyes, he'd managed to do something that the wizards hadn't expected from a lowly muggle that they didn't even consider worthy of breathing the same air, who was considered even more lowly then a slug. The death eaters all jumped in shock at the load noise the gun made, fear crossing their eyes at the unknown. Not all of them had been there the day he'd been captured so hadn't been witness to him wounding the snake man and the ones who had been witness honestly should've expected it considering how he'd hurt the ring leader of their group, but no, he'd still caught them by surprise. The first man he'd shot had been a clear kill, not much mess at all, the other man had sprayed blood out everywhere not only all over himself, but over the other occupants of the room, Draco had even thrown up. If they acted immediately he would've survived but none of them had experience with a gunshot wound that the let the man bleed out. The panic he'd inflicted on his captors was the type of fear they were trying to get out of him, but had so far not succeeded in. He'd laughed like the maniac that he had once been and was slowly becoming again. When they took the gun off him they didn't even bother with the rest of his torture session, he'd caught them by surprise and they hadn't been expecting it. They hadn't even checked him for other weapons, the idiots!

The painting helped calm him, he didn't want to be the person he'd once been before he met Yugi, he didn't want to see the disappointment in his brother eyes if Mokuba knew that he'd enjoyed killing his captors and a part of him begged for more blood, he didn't even feel guilt over what he'd done. Those people where monsters but he felt like he was more of a monster then his captors upstairs, these people, they seemed so mild in comparison to what Gozaburo was like, his step father had been a true monster. He'd been broken long ago, nothing these people had done to him yet was a nasty of vicious as what the man who adopted him had put him through. The only thing that could break him, these people didn't have, something that his step father did have, his brother Mokuba. After finishing the touches to his dragon, he began painting the face of his brother who he missed so much. He stopped for a moment, looking at the locket of his only family member, looking with a sad smile, wondering what his brother was currently doing, praying that he was safe. He could feel the warmness of his deck, like they were telling him that Mokuba was fine.

He was disturbed from his thoughts of his brother when Draco came still covered in blood, looking pale. He watched with a distant look in his eyes, like he wasn't really seeing, staring straight in his direction as he changed his brother to look more like a duel monster, as much as he missed the younger boy, he didn't want them seeing the mural on the wall and giving these demons the idea that he did after all have a weakness.

"Add a spot over here, and a spot over there, and a spot on your ear and a spot in your hair" Luna was singing as she drew spots on the wall.

She then changed the word to line and started drawing lines, using the blood that was covering Draco, and then the next word was swirl which was then followed by a nargle and then a heap more fantasy creatures.

"What's that tune you're singing to? That Kaiba's humming to? I've never heard it before." Draco asked, watching with fascination, his eyes not looking quiet as dead, they had some warmth back to them.

He hadn't realised it at first but at some point he'd started humming to her tune.

"It's a muggle song for children" she replied happily, it was the happiest she'd been in the last few weeks and it was relaxing seeing her in high spirits again. "I attended a muggle primary school while my father worked. It was quiet fascinating." She then went back to singing muggle nursery rhymes. And trying to teach it to Draco, it wasn't hard and before long he'd joined in, the song helping him forget his troubles for a few minutes.

"Kaiba, how can you act so normal after you've kill someone?" Draco asked in wonder, Luna still singing happily is the background. "Is it a normal muggle reaction to not care?"

"It's not normal, I'm not normal, I'm far from normal." He replied, seeing the pain in the other boys eyes, he wondered if he'd killed someone the boy cared about. "That's not the first time I've killed someone, it seems that I react less every time. I still see the faces of every single person that I've killed. Some of them deserved it like those Death Eaters upstairs, but not everyone" It was a weakness to show his true emotions so he responded almost in a monotone voice.

He still had two more weapons on him, a pocket knife and another knife strapped to his leg, he was already planning on when he'd use the knife. He wasn't going to have these monsters think he was someone weak that they could push around without any consequences.

"Please don't kill my mum and dad" Draco requested, looking pathetic as he let Luna run her fingers through his blood stained hair begging him to spare his parents lives even though he was being kept captive under Draco's parents' roof.

"I'll leave your mother alone, but I can't make any promises about your father, and your aunt Bella is on the top of my list of people I want to make suffer." After all Draco's mother had never participated in his tourture like his father had, and had never taunted them when she bought a meal down, unlike the very few occasions when the death eaters would bring their meal.

"I don't blame you, my aunt Bella is insane, over a decade in Azkaban seems to do that do a person." Draco then told them all about the wizards prison and the stories of the Death Eaters who'd escaped and stories of his Aunt and mother when they were younger.

KC

Yugi had convinced Mokuba to stop looking for Seto, for now and to come back home. He was hopeful that he'd get his rival back, after all a part of him suspected that he'd know if the re-incarnation of the high priest was dead. He looked at his grandfathers torn blue eyes card. It was like he could sense the Kaiba Corp president through the card.

"A part of me still thinks that rich boy faked his disappearance." Joey was speaking in the background to Tristan and Tea. "But I know that he'd never do that to his brother, unless he was protecting him from something worse by going into hiding."

"It's strange going for so long without seeing him, normally we see him at school or when we're duelling, but so far nothing. I keep expecting the mystery person to challenged Yugi to a duel and take him wherever Kaiba is if he loses." Tea commented.

"I know I wished that the jerk would just go and disappear, but I never truly meant it. I just never wanted to see him myself again." Joey sighed, like he was blaming himself for Kaiba's disappearance.

"I'm going to check on Mokuba, it's been a few days since I last saw him." Yugi told all his friends.

"Good idea" Tea agreed.

KC

Roland took the teenagers up to Mokuba, he had a dead look in his eyes and was wondering around from room to room. Looking for his older brother who been missing since Christmas, getting weepy over everything that would remind him of his only family.

"I don't know what to do" Mokuba screamed out in frustration. "I'm useless. I can't do anything. Everything reminds me of my brother. I don't need money, or a nice house, capsule monsters, an education. All I need is my brother to be happy, I'm not happy. I want Kaiba."

Yugi pulled the hysterical boy into a hug, managing to calm him down.

"Mokuba, you can stay with me till we find your brother" Yugi offered.

"But won't me leaving the house make my brother mad" Mokuba asked the teenager who went to school with his brother.

"He may pretend that he's mad while I'm around, but he put's your happiness first Mokuba, and staying in the mansion without him isn't the best for your happiness. My grandpa won't mind, he'll love having the extra person around the house."

"But won't I put you in danger by staying with you, I have lots of people trying to hurt me all the time because of who my brother is"

"And I have people trying to hurt me because I am the duel monster champion and have the Millennium Puzzle. Yami and I will do our best to keep you save while you stay with me."

"You're brother's one of the strongest people I know" Joey commented. "And the smartest, he's probably being a jerk right now to his captors, bet they have no clue what they've got themselves into. I bet he'd more trouble then they could've imagined. I don't know what we'll see the rich basted again but I'm sure he'll turn up when we least expect it."

Mokuba smiled slightly as Joey complimented and insulted his brother, smiling slightly. He couldn't believe that all the trouble he and his brother had put them through that they'd still help him out and considered him a friend, considered his brother a friend even though Seto always tried to push them away. His brother didn't like getting close to anyone; he'd lost too many people in the past. Mother, father and a few close friends. Even though his brother tried to act like it didn't matter, that he didn't care his brother just didn't want to be hurt by losing someone that he loved and cared about.

Feeling slightly better, he told Roland that he was going to stay with Yugi, which his brother advisor agreed with. Arranging a few members of staff to watch over the card shop, keeping Mokuba just as safe as if he'd been at the mansion.

KC

He walked into Yugi's room, it was small but it felt so homely compared to the cold mansion. He was going to be sleeping on a futon on the floor, Yugi had offered him the bed, but he was actually looking forward to sleeping on the futon."

"When my brother and I lived in England, we shared a room" Mokuba told him. "Dad had everything setup Japanese styled even though we were living in Europe so we all had futons. I hardly remember anything about my dad, but I still know that I miss him, and a part of me feels guilty for not missing him as much as I miss my brother."

"You've been with your brother longer than your father, it makes sense that you miss Kaiba more. My father died when I was four years old, my grandmother died just before I turned fourteen. Like you I barely remember my father, my grandmother's the one that I miss the most."

Mokuba pulled out the locket and looked at his picture of his brother, he missed his brother and hoped that the older boy would still be able to smile when he got him back, he didn't smile often anymore and was hoping that whoever had taken his brother hadn't ruined his chance of ever seeing the independent teenager smiling.

KC

He could feel himself becoming weaker after each torture session and knew that his chance of successfully using his knife to potentially escape was slipping away, the Death Eaters where still weary of him after he'd managed to kill two of their number. He'd been trying to wait for them to come complacent again. He really wished that Bella would give him a chance to use his knife on her, but so far he hadn't been able to touch her.

His opening never came on Bella herself, but instead her husband. He couldn't remember his name, but knew that he was Draco's uncle by marriage and wasn't a very nice man, and had shown an unnatural interest in Draco which he recognised as the same type of interest Gozaburo had shown in him. He'd crumbled to the floor, the death eaters leering at him, and with care pulled up his trouser leg to access the knife still strapped to his leg the Death Eater weren't even paying full attention to him and hadn't noticed him pull out his weapon, he tried to hide his smirk as the Death Eaters did there boasting routine before they started cursing him.

He eyed the Lestrange man once he had a steady grip on his knife, he knew he had only one chance and the timing had to be perfect. Just as Voldemort demanded all the attention to himself he leaped up from the ground, grabbing the man's wand with one hand and slashing his throat with his other. The wand sparkling as he touched it. So the wand could never be used against him again, he snapped the wand in half and threw the pieces in the fireplace which was always kept lit, the fire sparking from the wand pieces all the while blood sprayed his face, no one even noticed Lestrange and been attacked and was dead until the satisfying thud as he hit the floor.

Before the Death Eaters could throw a curse at him he threw his knife at the next closest Death Eater, he managed to impale the masked man in the stomach, but not enough to actually kill him. Unlike gun wounds the Death Eaters knew how to deal with knife wounds. The scream that Bella let out when she realised her husband was dead was ear shattering. She looked even more insane then usual and that was saying something since she looked the psychopath she was. He braced himself as the distraught Death Eater held out her wand and screamed out her favourite curse. The pain burned every nerve in his body, he collapsed to the ground and couldn't help but letting out his own ear shattering scream, the curse hurt more then it normally did, he could even feel it in his nails and hair even though you where not meant to be able to feel anything from hair and nails, worst of all he felt more of his soul shattering into fragments, every piece was like someone had stabbed him in the chest. At some point he'd started clawing his own face trying to get the pain out of his head. The shadows where starting to pull around him, trying to gather the fragmented soul pieces and pull them back to gather, the darkness pulling around him begging to be free, but he didn't have anything to mediate the magic, he had a strong desire to have the Millennium Rod that Marik Ishtar had posed at Battle City he was in too much pain to even question his thoughts and beliefs when it came to the Millennium Items all he knew was that if he got his hands on any of the Millennium Items these people would suffer the most horrific pain before having their souls sent to the Shadow Realm.

"Bella, stop, I want him sane." He heard shouting in the background, though it was hard to make out with his own screams. But she didn't stop, she kept going until the crazy woman was cursed herself and all he could think was it had been worth it. He didn't know why his captor was now claiming he wanted him sane, hadn't Voldemort been trying to break him for months now? Once the pain stopped he tried to hold onto consciousness but the relief of the pain stopping caused him to black out.