It's incredibly quiet as we step out of the taxi at the front gate
of Kaiba
Mansion. Now, granted, the vampire guards are a lot quieter than
the
wolves, but this is quiet even for them. Not even a word of
hello, just a
single nod for all three of us. Something's wrong. You
don't have to
be psychic to see that. The vamps are quiet, but more alarming is
that I
can't hear the wolves having one of their parties out by the pool like
they do
almost every night.
Yami and I exchange a worried look, then I glance over to see one of
the vamps
paying the cab driver. From what I can tell, it even looks like
he's
giving the guy a pretty good tip. When he stands back up, I give
in and
ask the question that's been kicking around my mind these past few
minutes. "What's wrong?"
"Kaiba-sama wants you in the house as soon as possible."
Alarm crosses Yami's face, and he demands, "What happened?"
"You'll find out inside."
We now exchange bewildered looks before shrugging nearly in
unison. I look
over my shoulder to Mai, who simply shrugs as well. Oh well,
nothing else
to do but go inside and see what we can find out.
The vamp guards have a car waiting to drive us up to the door, and we
pile
in. Hell, Mai even breaks routine and sits in the back with us,
hurrying
in the car after me before the door can be closed behind me. "I
don't
like this," Yami intones. "Something has to have happened to get
them like this."
"The shooting today maybe?" I hazard a guess. "Cynthia got
hit. Maybe Pegasus is giving Treeboy some grief about that."
He nods in response. "Sounds like that would be mostly likely, I
think. It could be something else though."
"Like what?" But really, I dread to think what else could have
everyone like this. If it's not Pegasus, I'm pretty sure I don't
want to
know.
And I'm saved from hearing a response by the car stopping at the steps
and the
car door immediately opening. Mai's out the door like a rocket,
leaving
the two of us to stare after her a moment. "Move it or lose it,
boys." Somehow I don't like that threat coming from her, so I
scramble out with Yami right behind me. "Let's get this over
with."
Again, I shrug, careful to only use one shoulder. Really, it's
not much
more than a scrape, but it did bleed a bit. In fact, between the
blood
from it and from Cynthia, I had to trade in the shirt I'd been wearing
for one
of Seto's I found in the attached bathroom. It was a little odd
dressing
without a mirror and the shirt hangs awfully big on me, but at least
I'm a bit
more presentable, which is extra amusing given I caught me talking to
myself in
the lack of a mirror about which button went in which hole.
Chances are
getting better and better that I'm losing it big time.
Yami opens the door... and it's like walking into a tomb. It's
completely silent, and that in and of itself is more disturbing than
the fact it looks like almost everyone who lives here is in the main
hallway. I have to repress a shiver. It's that fucking cold
in here, and that's just what I'm getting off the living people.
If there's a homeless soul in here, I think I could lose it in the
mix. The wolves look like something the cat dragged in, and
weirdly Magnum looks the worst off of the bunch.
I half-turn to the woman standing behind me and hiss, "What's going on
here?"
"Bakura?" Magnum cuts in before she can say anything. He may
look like hell, but there's still something awfully commanding about
him. "Where were you?"
"We-" I start before Yami cuts me off.
"Mai sent us to Kaiba Corp." He always does this. If it
looks like there's the slightest possibility of trouble, he tries to
step in and take it for me. "She said we'd be safe there till
dark." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, chivalry is not dead.
Still, the whole room is practically vibrating from the tension - and
I'm not usually sensitive to those kinds of things.
I start to turn and talk to Mai again when Jounouchi-kitty pipes
up. "Dorobou." That was awfully calm for the cat, I think
to myself as I focus my attention onto him. "Who the fuck are you
talking to?"
I can't help it. I point at the blonde woman over my
shoulder. "Her." Please, don't tell me- I don't think
I can take another one. "Tell me you see her, Kitty.
Please." My voice feels strangled in my own throat, and it's all
I can do to get words out. Between the shooting and that voice
screaming in my head earlier, I don't think I can take another
incognito spirit. I dimly note Yami's arm squeezing my waist, but
right now, Jounouchi's answer is more important.
He shakes his head slowly. "The only people I see over there are
you and Yami... but I smell three." His voice is breaking
slightly, but I can barely tell that over the fact that this is all
really funny.
I turn to where Mai's standing, staring at me like I've fucking lost it
at last, and manage to get out around what are probably hysterical
chuckles, "I've heard of job dedication before, but seriously, Mai,
this is just too fucking much."
I faintly feel a hand close on my arm, and I follow it up to see
amber eyes staring at me almost levelly. I'm pretty sure another
thick, wet laugh escapes me before Kitty starts speaking.
"Dorobou... Bakura. Come on, let's go in the den." My
my, he sounds so calm. It could almost drain the humor out of the
situation. "It's quieter there. Just you, me, Yami, and
Marik."
'And Marik'? 'Quieter'? Isn't that a contradiction in
terms? I can feel an eyebrow quirk up before Yami gives me a
light tug. "Come on, Kura. Let's go," he whispers.
"Okay," I agree easily, letting my boyfriend (nope, need to change
that to 'lover' now) lead me towards the den. I call it 'the den'
anyway. Seth and Seto call it 'the family room', but I don't see
anyone spending any quality family time in there, at least not of the
less-than-R-rated sort, so it's 'the den', damn it. And what do
you know? It is quieter
in here. Even Marik's being quiet (and that's saying something),
and Kitty's relaying something softly to someone on the other side of
the door.
Of course, the minute I think that, Marik pulls Kitty in the room,
closes the door, and wraps his arms around him. Hmm, he's
definitely seeming better for my cat than Kitty's last love interest,
but then again, a rock might be better for Kitty than Icecube Seto -
and oddly, Kitty seems to be a calming influence on the Maliks.
Was Malik or Marik around last time something like this happened back
in Tokyo? No, wait, I met them after that. Never
mind. Anyway, they've moved on to full-fledged nuzzles, and I
almost want to ask if they'd like us to leave because I don't want to
think of my cat having a sex life, but I really don't want to leave;
all I want to do is stand here at the front of the room and do some of
my own cuddling with Yami because, excepting what happened a few hours
ago in Seto's office, it has been a fucking sucky two days.
I can feel the worry radiating off Yami, and he gives me a light
squeeze again. "I'm fine," I respond to the silent
question. And I don't think anyone's looked at me with so much
visible disbelief in their eyes before. So many that didn't come
out totally convincing, but I should still get points for trying to
spare their feelings, should I?
"Still," Kitty says smoothly, "maybe you should sit down. Both
of you," he clarifies with a nod to include Yami.
...And the way everyone's staring at me, I feel like the lab rat
that
did a neat trick once and they're waiting on me to repeat it.
"I'm not going to freak out again. I mean it. I'm
fine. I'm not crazy."
Yami moves around in front of me, his hand moving through my
hair. "We know, Kura. Of course you're not crazy.
Remember, I saw her too." He drops down on one of the couches and
pats the seat next to him. "Come here."
I get about half a step close and - pain. White,
shooting, hot
pain lacing through my already injured shoulder. Fucking
hell. Next thing I know, Yami's jumped me and we're on the floor
and I think Kitty just went out the window, maybe with Marik right
behidn me. Yami leans off my body when the door opens. I
don't even look to see who it is, but I know the voice:
Kisara. "Are you- What happened?!"
"Call a doctor!" Yami's yelling. Me, I'm trying to curl
into myself to make the hurt go away, but I can't because Yami's still
holding me down. Remind me when it doesn't hurt to thank him for
that, because this way I can't move and tear the wound, and hit him,
because it fucking hurts and I'll feel better when I've made myself a
smaller target.
I can almost hear Kisara's eyes goggle, but then she yells,
"Varon! Where are you, Varon?" Did we set up an intercom to
his apartment or something when I wasn't looking?
Okay, yes, this sucks, but pull it together, Bakura. It's not
like this hasn't happened before. If you didn't whine like a baby
when you got shot a lot worse at fourteen, there's no reason to do it
now at eighteen. It's just the fleshy part of your shoulder and
it went all the way through. Suck it up. Deep breaths, in
and out, push past the pain, just calm the fuck down. Now open
your eyes and deal with everything else.
Yami looks frantic. I think I've already noted I'm probably
the worst person in the world for him, given how many people want me
dead and how hung up he is on not being abandoned, but I'm not giving
up the ghost just yet. He glances down, and I try to summon a
reassuring look to my face. "I'm good," I whisper. "Let me
up."
"But, Kura! You've been shot!" His stage whisper has
definitely improved in these last two months. "You shouldn't move
or you might tear it."
"I know. It's not like it's the first time."
"The one earlier today doesn't count."
"I wasn't counting it."
I think I might have actually surprised him. His grip eases,
and I slip by his hands to sit up. I need something to clog the
bleeding because someone needs to make sure Jounouchi doesn't kill the
guy before I get my answers. Oh well, I think this shirt has had
it anyway. I'll just have to buy Seto a new one, I concede to
myself as I start working on getting it off.
"What're you doing?" And now he sounds horrified. Great,
I guess at the rate I'm going today, I'm going to break my boyfriend
before I can get in his pants again.
"Someone needs to go after Kitty," I grit out, "someone whose scent
he recognizes. I don't fancy walking around bleeding, so..."
"You're not walking around anywhere." Holy fuck, when did
Varon learn to teleport?! I'm glad I hadn't made it further than
my knees because they give out abruptly and I flop back against
Yami. Immediately I have to grit my teeth against the pain as the
back of wound hits his chest. Yami's arms are around me again to
hold me still. And Varon's smirking at me, one of those annoying
as shit 'I told you so' ones that I detest to no end. "What'd I
tell you?"
"Fuck you, asshole," I growl. "Jounouchi's going to eat the
shooter while you babble at me, and I won't find out the source."
He gazes back at me steadily. "There was a blond out there
after him."
Oh hell, Marik. "That's not much better than him being out
there alone. They'll end up sharing the kill." Marik'll eat
the soul after Jounouchi's done with the body. Bloody efficient,
if you ask me, which I'll note no one is. Yeesh, one little bout
of nerves...
"Nevertheless, you're staying in here till I'm done with you," he
breaks in, dropping a bag that probably weighs more than I do on the
floor next to me. He's digging around it as he continues, "And if
you try to get away, I'll have Mutou-kun cut you off."
...I hate him.
A little more than half an hour, several stitches, a few packs of
gauze, some bandages, a sling, and a shot of painkillers later, the
asshole's finishing taping the bandage in place when we hear a startled
shriek from outside that ends
in a body thumping on the floor inside.
And me being me and my slightly less than normal self, not to mention
hopped up on painkillers, I have to quip, "Did anyone order this?
I don't think it's mine."
Yami pushes himself to his feet smoothly and glares down.
"It's not
mine. I think we should bust it up a bit and return it to the
sender." Yeesh, I think I just went weak in the knees for a new
reason. Yami's pretty when he's being dangerous. If he gets
any prettier, I might have to jump him, Varon here or not.
"Special delivery via Leopard Express." And there's Kitty and
Malik. When'd they sneak back in here? "I kinda left the
gun behind. Good luck getting anything useful outta this fuckwit."
"Well, he makes good threats." I have to snicker at Malik's
commentary, but really it is a bit surprising the guy's still drawing
breath. If the look on Yami's face is any indication, he may not
be much longer though.
"I'm not telling you who sent me!" Wow, 'fuckwit' really is an
appropriate name for him. "I'd sooner die than-"
"Fuckwit, we already know who's paying you," I interrupt. "I
want to know who the leak is. Where's Shachou," I throw
as much sarcasm as I possibly can on the word, "getting his
information?" And for
the record, I'm glad Varon and Yami moved me on the couch; it's nice to
be able to look down on this idiot.
Kitty stalks over to the nitwit and crouches down next to him;
whatever else he does, I lose because his back is to me.
"Sweetie," he growls, "we can do this the easy way or we can do this
the hard way." Malik looks lost. Good, I'm not the only
one. "The easy way is, you give us a name, and I won't do
anything else to you." I'll note he didn't mention the rest of us
though. It's so hard not to smirk. "You can walk out the
front door and leave." Ignoring the giant pissed-off wolfpack,
of course. "The hard way is, you keep quiet and Ishtar gets to
cut you up. After he gets bored, Yami uses you for target
practice. After that, even if you're dead, Dorobou will make you
tell us what we want to
know. And there won't be a
body to find because I'll eat it.
So, dear, what's it going to be?"
Hmm, you'd have to be looking hard, but I think Yami and Varon both
just went a little green at the gills. So of course, let me be
the first to make things worse. "I don't know, Kitty. I bet
Fuckwit here would give you indigestion." I beam angelically
enough to put my little brother and both Mini-Me's to shame. "I
vote we fill the pool with acid and toss him in."
"No no no. We should slice him up in bite-sized pieces and
dump him in the shark tank at the aquarium." And apparently
Malik's joining the game. "Sharks'll eat anything. I saw
one eat a Volkswagon once." Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that."
"I hear there's an Egyptian exhibit at the museum. We could
always mummify him alive and add him to it." The first chance I
get, I'm so jumping my boyfriend's bones.
"Mutou-kun!" I nearly jump out of my skin when Varon joins
in. "You have to at least
remove the stomach and liver before you mummify him."
And I think Fuckwit just pissed himself. "Amelda!"
"Motherfucking- Son of a- I can't believe that- What
an- Bastard!" I
can't believe that asshole! Stupid tiger! I'm going to-
The guy on the floor is still talking though. "That's all I
was ever told. Just Amelda, no last name." Like that
asshole needs one. "C- can I go now? Please?"
"Get the fuck outta here. Go bleed somewhere else."
Thank you, Kitty. I think we've ruined Seto's carpet enough for
one night.
The guy's out the door and running fast enough to rival Mokuba on a
caffeine trip, so thankfully he's out of the room before Marik pipes
up, "Should you have mentioned the large, angry wolfpack on the front
lawn, suncat?"
Kitty smirks in a way that eerily reminds me of myself and Malik in
our Tokyo days. "Where's the fun in that?"
And before I realize what's happening, Yami's marching himself up to
the broken window and yelling out, "By the way, nice job missing Kura
at
the restaurant, asshole! I'm sure Cynthia-san and Mai-san
appreciated you shooting them!"
...I'm jumping Yami the second he's in range.
And the wolves tear the guy apart is music to my ears.
"You're not going to Tokyo."
I seriously hope Varon doesn't think he's winning this
argument. "I am going."
"There's no way in hell. Jounouchi and Ishtar can handle it."
"I'm the one they want dead." And I'm going to be the one to deal with Oyaji, one way or another. Amelda's just another step on the road to there. "I want to see for myself that no one else tries for me again."
"Well, that's great and all, but if you go off and tear the stitches I just oh so lovingly put in you," yeesh, guess I got Varon in a bit of a tizzy, "I'll just stand here and watch you bleed everywhere. I might give you a sponge to soak it up, but I'm not a seamstress. Besides, I'm invoking my doctor status to order you and Mutou-kun to stay the fuck in Domino!"
This is going nowhere fast. I have to bite back a smirk and heave a dramatic sigh. "Okay." I think I just broke Kitty. That, or he and Malik are onto my little charade already. Still... "You win. We'll stay here."
"So glad you see it my way." He's even smirking. Damn, I'm good. Maybe since I'm semi-retired from my usual job, I can go into acting.
"Then I guess we'll call you from Tokyo." Thank you, Kitty, for diverting the attention back off me. I quirk an eyebrow in a silent question. "Kajiki and Sasame are picking us up; I want to be there when the tigers find out."
Does he realize he's got this bloodthirsty glint in his eyes? I'm not going to mention it, but I'm surprised Malik - or worse, Marik - isn't jumping him now. Oh, I think I feel sorry for the tigers. They might be getting a free show, if the more psychotic Ishtar has anything to say about it. And if he keeps growling, Malik might have to do more than that 'I'm holding myself back, but I don't like it' moan. Hmm, haven't heard that one in a while.
And I might be mistaken, but I think either Yami's embarrassed by their little demonstration or he's annoyed by it; whichever it is, he's a little flushed. (Of course, there is always a third option, but I don't want to ponder why my boyfriend would want to be a voyeur with Kitty and Malik, because ugh... Kitty's like a little brother to me and the Maliks I've known forever.)
"I'll have my cellphone on me," I reply easily.
"We'll see you when you get back then," finishes Yami.
Jounouchi does this slight mouth-twitch-that-might-be-a-smirk that
is always my best bet he's about to say or do something that will be...
fun, since I don't think he knows he does it. "Wait till we're all
out of the room before you jump
each other again," he mouths off. "Seriously, did you even attempt
to shower?"
I will not look at Yami. I will not look at Yami. I will
not look at Yami. If I do, I might lose it. He'll be
starting
to either bristle in anger or flush in embarrassment. "Well,
there was a shower involved."
"How 'bout soap? And I don't mean as an alternative lube."
I will not start laughing. If I do, I won't be able to stop. But it's so hard to resist when Yami yells, "Yes!" ...Especially when I'm already thinking about that in other connotations. I can't stop the snicker that gets out though.
"Not thoroughly, though. I can still smell you all over each other." Kitty smirks, though I have to wonder if he sees Malik beside him. I know that expression; Jounouchi is definitely getting jumped in the helicopter because Malik is not known for his self-control. "Sex and my brother are two things I'd rather not think about in the same sentence."
"We've got a ride to catch, don't we?" That comes from Malik, amusingly enough. At least, it seems surprising to some people in the room, namely Yami and Varon. Like I've said, I've known Malik- Gods, has it been eight years? I'd say I'm starting to know him pretty well. Which reminds me...
"Malik?" I prompt. He half-glances over at me. "Remember what I told you." And told you and told you, from the night we first started sneaking into some of the more interesting clubs in Tokyo. And... there's the flush. His mind just gutter-dove.
Kitty shrugs. "Like Malik said, our ride's waiting. We'll call you after Amelda's kitty chow."
"Sure," I agree, not able to hold back the smirk that's emerging. "I'll keep an ear out for you."
That should be just long enough...
"I wasn't expecting you to back down so easily," Yami's saying as I half tune in, just in case I need to answer. "It probably wouldn't have been a good idea-" ah, there they are "-to go to Tokyo right now anyway." Tuck them in the sling so they don't any noise. Now... bed or door? He's slowing down closer to the bed, so I guess that'll be it. He sits down on it and pats the spot next to him for me to sit as well. Really, he's making this entirely too easy. I take a seat next to him, a little closer to the foot of the bed, arranging my bound arm with a wince. "Still hurts?"
"A little," I admit, leaning closer, "but not too much." This is actually a bit uncomfortable; I guess I might be pushing myself a little too far too fast, but I have to do this. I can rest later.
I lean a little closer and press my lips to his. He obligingly opens his mouth when I nibble at his lower lip and even lets me press him down into the bed. God, he tastes so good; I could almost forget what I'm doing if I let myself. His leg shifts against mine, and I feel a groan escape me. I grab one of his hands in my free one and pin it above his head.
The first clicking noise is eerily quiet, but the second is as loud as a gunshot, I muse to myself as I sit back up. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Yami squalks, trying to get enough leverage to get free or at least sit up.
"I'm going to Tokyo," I state as calmly as I can. I fish my lockpicks and spare pain meds out of the bedside table, pocketing them, and slide the phone out of his reach. "I'll call Varon or someone to let you out in a couple of hours, but I have to do this."
"Why?" You know, that was one of the most impressive snarls I've heard him do to date.
"No one is killing my father except me." I sigh, standing and starting towards the door. I can't even make myself look back at him as I finish, "You can beat the crap out of me or hate me if you want because God knows I deserve either one, but after all that bastard put us through, I've earned the right to be the one to kill him. Later, Pharaoh."
"Bakura-" I close the door behind me, cutting off whatever else he was going to say.
Hmm, I wonder why my chest feels so tight. Not now. If it's not life-threatening, not now. I've got a job to do.
09 October 2005
Wow, sorry for the delay, everyone! I ended up joining a novella challenge (idiot me, I joined with two stories), and I have just now been able to get back to work on my regular stories (i.e., the ones that don't have to be 10,000+ words). -.-;; Hopefully, the next few chapters shouldn't take nearly as long.