#mentions of mokuba isono and kisara

[techno-sorcerer]

Adjusting to the Dark: Chapter 2 Waking Up

Story Summary:  After recovering from an attack, Kaiba attempts to return to work. The problem: it was a vampire attack, and he didn’t recover so much as turn. Meanwhile, demons lurk ready to strike and take Kaiba Corp at the first sign of weakness

Chapter Summary:  Kaiba attempts to rationalize and deal with the situation in front of him. Unfortunately, he came to some wrong conclusions. As his plan to get home veers off course, a helpful- if ominous- stranger appears.

Words: 6,241

Chapter Content Warnings: Graphic descriptions of gore and death at the start (as in very start hence the placement of the read more), general discussions of death throughout, referenced canonical suicide (Gozaburo’s)

Note: A detail was added to the last scene of chapter 1 (at the end of its first paragraph). I probably had thought I would include it at the start of this chapter but it really belonged there.

Second Note: I updated this chapter since something got fleshed out in my head while writing a later chapter that I then realized would be best to address it first here. I’ve added several paragraphs during Kaiba’s first encounter with Arnold the security guard.

Links to Previous Chapter: tumblr, ao3. ; Link to this chapter on ao3

Kaiba stared at the corpse in front of him and took a step backwards. His lip trembled and his hand shook at the scene.

The corpse looked outward with its head rolled to the side revealing a tight ring of red on the neck and two pairs of holes in its center. Its legs folded unnaturally as if somebody had picked up a doll and dropped it, and Kaiba realized a moment later that the analogy might be apt. Around the corpse was a small puddle of piss, the man’s bladder finally giving up just before death. A hiss of air escaped the corpse’s lips, but Kaiba heard no breathing after that. It was probably just gas leaving the corpse. Kaiba leaned forward and poked the body, hoping his senses were lying. It was warm, but it didn’t respond at all. It was actually dead.

Tearing his eyes away, Kaiba hoped to find something to explain the situation, but instead there was another two bodies tossed to the side and a garbage truck idling behind him. A dumpster stood beside him with its lid open and horrendous smells wafting out. A trash bag lay scattered next to one of the other bodies.

What had happened here? What even had the power to do this?

The only thought that came to mind that wasn’t straight out of a myth was the boy who attacked him.  While Kaiba didn’t pretend that he was particularly strong, he wasn’t weak either, yet trying to move the boy had been like fighting with a statue. Glancing at the holes on the corpse’s neck, he remembered feeling pinpricks on his own neck after the boy had pushed him up against the wall, and how his body had lost all of its energy afterwards. The memory of the pain moved his hand, and he found his fingers sliding over his own neck. A shiver went down Kaiba’s spine.

However, he didn’t feel any holes.

He remembered the pain. There should be something.  Maybe it was shallow? He pushed his fingers harder across his skin, hoping to find anything to support the memory. Even a slight throb would do.

There was nothing.

He stared at the deep holes on corpse’s neck, and practically pinched his own neck in frustration. What was going on?

Kaiba then glanced at his left hand. He had seen red welts appear across the back of his hand when the boy had squeezed it, but now it looked pristine if a bit pale. He opened and closed it as if to confirm that it was real, that it was his. It was.

Maybe the memory was fake? No. He wouldn’t voluntarily go near a pile of garbage, let alone lay under one. Something had to have at least incapacitated him and probably knocked him out. Maybe the memory was exaggerated?

As if the scene in front of him wasn’t. Why was he alive while these people were slaughtered? If the boy had qualms with anyone, it was him.

Kaiba stared at the body in front of him for a while before he shook his head. This was spinning his brain in circles and not accomplishing anything. He closed his eyes and blocked out the dizzying questions surrounding how he got here. He needed to focus on what he was going to do next. As his first priority, he had to get back to Kaiba Corp and from there home to Mokuba.  Mostly he wanted to see Mokuba. There was no particular reason for it. His brother was probably just as healthy, happy, and safe as he had been when he went to school that morning, and his brother would have no idea of what he just went through. But, it was Mokuba that kept his will strong during the vivid nightmare, and it was Mokuba that he needed to see. Everything else would be planned around that.

So, he probably wouldn’t spend much time at the corporate headquarters. His original reason for going to the office was to read some productivity and labor reports, and he could just as easily bring them home with him. He supposed cleaning himself up in the bathroom would also be reasonable, since he wouldn’t want his brother seeing him in this sorry state. He would also need to change into spare clothes to replace his current outfit, which was both waterlogged and stained. The less reason his brother had to worry the better.

Having established the best way to get home to Mokuba both quickly and presentably, Kaiba realized that he would have to report the murder. He frowned; he wasn’t sure how long that would take.

However, it did need to get done. Not only would waiting too long be suspicious, but the victims deserved it. They had done nothing wrong. Hell, they had been doing their jobs when they were attacked. Jobs he would have previously dismissed as unimportant and trivial but somebody had to do them, and now somebody was dead for it.

Kaiba opened his eyes and glanced around for hints to his location. Now that he wasn’t panicking over the gore, he could see that he was in the lowest basement level of a parking garage. There were no cars except the still running garbage truck, though Kaiba mused it was making enough noise for the whole garage. It practically made his ears ring. However, the only way out was past the offending sound, so he started his march out, stepping over a scattering of broken glass by the open driver’s door.

The garage was probably the one behind the Kaiba Corp Tower, since Kaiba doubted his attacker would try to drag his body very far. Or, at least he hoped he wouldn’t have to walk far in the open with everyone able to see- and smell- that he had just taken a trash bath.

He left the worst of the stench behind him as he ascended the ramp, so he pushed some gunk off his face and ventured a shallow breath in. He still stunk of course; it would take a change of clothes and several showers to get the last traces of garbage off his skin. But, he also smelled other things. The asphalt. Leftover gasoline fumes. Even a faint trace of body odor from the long gone visitors. Other than the garbage people, there probably hadn’t been anybody here for the past hour, not even people working a late shift. While it was nice to finally smell something other than rot, a part of Kaiba worried about how quickly he accepted the information. He knew that simply sniffing shouldn't have told him that, but he couldn’t convince himself otherwise.

Not too long after starting to walk, Kaiba reached an alcove with an elevator, and he practically melted with relief upon seeing the Kaiba Corp Tower lobby listed on the directory. He jammed the up button several times before finally ascending to the first floor.

Despite having walked through the floor many times on the way to his office, everything was new. Familiar details from the gurgle of the fountain to the pulse of the fluorescent lights felt more intense, but new details also emerged. He had never before gotten a whiff of the cleaning solution from the floor, nor had he ever noticed the air vents particular hiss. He hadn’t heard the particular squeak of rubber soled shoes, probably belonging to a security guard, against the tile floor, nor had he heard the slight hush of the guard breathing. Finally, he certainly had never heard soft thumping tuh-thub followed the security guard’s footsteps.

Blinking, Kaiba recognized it as a fuller, fleshier version of the sound which had captivated him while he was in the dumpster. Without the hunger gnawing at his nerves, no urgent need welled up inside him, but it was still alluring. He kept listening as he walked towards the company elevator that would carry him to his office.

The elevator dinged to acknowledge his request. The footsteps turned towards his direction, and then the rhythmic tuh-thub quickened. “Hey! Are you supposed to be here?”

Kaiba turned towards the guard, a buff man staring at him with wide eyes. A quick flare of Kaiba’s nostrils revealed the man to be healthy, albeit a bit nervous, and unsure of exactly why it seemed relevant, he tucked the information away for later. Moreover, Kaiba’s eyes locked onto the source of the thumping- or at least what his ears claimed was the source- inside the man’s chest. But, it was impossible. To think that he could actually be hearing… that was ridiculous. To even entertain the notion…

“Answer the question.”

Kaiba refocused his attention and forced himself to fill his lungs with air. “Of course I’m supposed to be here; I own the building. Now, let me get to my office.”

It was almost amusing to watch the realization dawn on the guard’s face, but instead of turning away the man reached for the walkie talkie on his vest. “I have somebody claiming to be Seto Kaiba. It might actually be him, but I’d like somebody from the office to come down and confirm.  He seems a bit worse for wear.”

“Is it really that hard to believe it's me?”

The man gave a small laugh. “Looking like that? A little. But, I mostly don’t want to declare you found without checking in. I haven’t been here long enough to make that kind of call.”

Found? The word gave Kaiba a pause. Slowly words fell out of his mouth. “How long was I gone?”

The thumping quickened again, and the man shifted his weight. It was always hard for employees to deliver bad news. “You were officially declared missing three days ago.”

Kaiba felt the floor drop out from under him. Three days. At least, to give them time to officially declare it. So, make it four. Mokuba had been waiting for four days, unsure of when or if he would come home. Isono was there of course, which helped things marginally, but it didn’t mean that Mokuba wouldn’t worry. It certainly didn’t mean he was safe. What if somebody tried to take advantage of the situation? What if the police had given up on him and insisted that Mokuba go back to the orphanage? There was only so much Isono could do especially because their agreement only went so far.

The agreement was, of course, that Isono was technically Kaiba’s and Mokuba’s legal guardian. After he had taken the company from Gozaburo and after his adopted father’s suicide, the government had decided that Kaiba needed someone to look after him. Kaiba disagreed; he’d seen what could happen if he gave someone that much power over him, and he had just barely gotten out of that situation. There was no way he’d submit himself like that again. Plus, even if- and Kaiba considered this a big if- the person involved didn’t abuse their position, Kaiba also knew parents were unreliable; he had already walked three of them to the grave. The first time, his relatives for whatever good they were had taken everything and left him to the orphanage.

There was also the issue of company bylaws. Gozaburo Kaiba was a man obsessed with legacy, and since Kaiba Corp was the pinnacle of that legacy, it was one he had kept close his chest with plans to do so even in death. At the company’s founding back when Gozaburo had still been young, he had inserted into the corporation’s founding document that CEO must themselves be a Kaiba. While this had been partly a way to secure his position in life, Seto Kaiba knew very well the man’s obsession with finding a perfect heir of his choosing, one that could act as his proxy come death. The man’s quest had dominated five years of Seto’s life.

So, adoption was not an option. It would break the legal ties that bound him to Gozaburo and more importantly Gozaburo’s name. Perhaps in good times, it could have been argued that with the inheritance already won the ties no longer mattered, but times were never good. There was always someone ready to argue the other case.

Unfortunately, he had at the time only been just shy of fifteen, and adoption or not, the state demanded a legal guardian. Chikuzen Oza, the scheming lawyer of the Big Five, would have had some difficulty arguing against the government to let him stay parentless. To achieve that and allow him to continue to protect his brother Mokuba would have been impossible. Trusting Chikuzen to not attempt to take the heir to Kaiba Corp for himself? Now that was laughable. Chikuzen, however, was no Gozaburo, and alerting the other four businessmen was enough for their mutual distrust to take care of the rest.

So, the honor had to go to someone and most importantly someone Kaiba trusted. Someone close enough that the government would accept the thin charade, but that wouldn’t attempt to use or, even more broadly, control him. That narrowed the list of candidates down to two: Kisara and Isono. Kisara was herself a tempting option, but while there was a chance that either of them would attempt to actually parent him, at least with Isono, a healthy dose of professional fear would ward him off. While Kisara seemed to fear many things as a head of security must, Kaiba knew better to think that he would ever be one of them.

But, because Isono respected the agreement, Isono’s guardianship was only a technicality and a flimsy one at that. It had given his lawyers enough to work with, but an extended disappearance and increased scrutiny could upset that balance. For that matter, getting sent to the orphanage- despite being Kaiba’s greatest fear for five years- was the least of the worries now. Mokuba would be the sole heir to Kaiba Corporation, and while he had been stepping up to help recently and would have Kisara and Isono to help him, he wasn’t ready for that yet. The economics of it, management practices, how to foster research and development, Mokuba could figure those out in time, but the internal politics would eat him alive.

“If you don’t mind me asking, but what happened?”  Kaiba shot him a glare. “That’s cool.”

Eventually an older man emerged from a doorway at the end of the hall; another wobblier tuh-thub followed the new pair of footsteps. Kaiba recognized him as someone who often worked with Kisara but couldn’t exactly place the man’s name. The older man nodded at the guard. “Thank you, Arnold. That is him. You may leave.” Arnold nodded back and gave Kaiba an uneasy side-eye before leaving.

Kaiba decided to ignore the guard and turned his attention to the older man. “Where’s Kisara?”

“Simply at home, sir. She had been spearheading the search for you, but eventually even she needs to sleep. Would you like me to call her in?”

“No,” Kaiba rolled his lips in disappointment. “There was just something I was going to ask her to do. You could probably do it just as well.” The older man composed himself, ready for orders. “I woke up by the dumpster in lower level parking garage next to three dead garbage collectors. This needs to be reported to the police, and we should start our own internal investigation of the incident as well. I will be heading upstairs to pick up some things from the office before heading home to be with family.” He realized that the situation would likely be more complicated than that, but sometimes simply saying things with enough authority made them true.

“Sir… If what you say is true, then it may be best if you waited down here until the police arrived. They will likely want an official statement. We can have Arnold pick up your things for you.”

“Of course.” Kaiba still pursed his lips. This might take longer than anticipated. “All I need are a couple of reports that should have been left on my desk and a spare school uniform in the lower left hand drawer of my desk.”

The older man gestured towards Arnold and repeated the instructions before handing him a key and sending him off. Then the man turned back to Kaiba. “I know you may not want to discuss this, but as the senior member of security in the building, it is my job. Are you ok?”

“I’m covered in trash, what do you think?” The older man seemed unimpressed with this answer. “Fine, yeste- Monday night I was attacked on my way back to the office. My attacker easily overpowered me and knocked me out. Maybe he thought I was dead and tried to dispose of my body because the next time I woke up, I was at the bottom of the dumpster. The time after that I woke up surrounded by dead bodies.” As he spoke the authoritative veneer slid off his voice, and he began to tremble. “What if he’s trying to torture me? We need to do our own investigation on this. I need to get home as soon as possible.”

The older man reached up to touch him but decided against it when he pulled away. He rarely wanted anyone to touch him, least of all now. The man seemed saddened by this. “Don’t worry. We will be conducting a thorough investigation parallel to the police’s. You will probably be able to go home as soon as you issue the statement. Another thing I have to ask is what happened to your hand?”

Kaiba cautiously started to lift up his left hand, remembering that he had checked it for marks before, but the man shook his head and gestured towards his right hand. Lifting that one up, Kaiba noticed a web of dark red blood across his knuckles and the back of his hand. Without thinking he pulled it up to his nose and sniffed, but he immediately recoiled at the smell of something sour in addition to the trashy haze. Kaiba suddenly became aware of the absurdity of the action and turned way from the man’s gaze. “I must have cut it while in the dumpster.”

The older man then excused himself to call the police station, leaving Kaiba with his thoughts for a moment. He hated it. Not being left alone, that was fine. It was all the noises, smells, and lights that made a quiet moment loud. It was the choice between focusing on things which shouldn’t be there or letting himself remember the garbage collector’s face. Kaiba curled inward and crossed his arms.

Eventually the older man returned, and Kaiba decided to correct a mistake. “I’m not sure I have your name.”

“Jun Liu, sir”

That rang a bell. “Kisara recruited you on a trip to Beijing, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

Kaiba considered things for a moment then noted, “I will notify Kisara of your performance today. You have done well.”

Not even half a minute after Arnold came down with the bag of clothes and reports, two people and two pairs of tuh-thub walked into the lobby and headed straight towards Kaiba. One was a round woman with her hair pulled back under a scarf with a stiff step, while trailing behind her was a short man who walked like he was trying not to dance to the song in his head. Like Arnold they both smelled healthy and fit though in a softer way. As they approached the woman reached into her jacket and pulled a badge out. “Hello, I’m Detective Wasseem, and this is Detective Ito. The crime scene is cordoned off and being processed by the officers, so we would now like to speak with you.” Detective Wasseem explained, twirling the badge in her hand before putting it away. “You must be Mr. Liu, who I talked with over the phone, and you must be Seto Kaiba.”

She reached out to shake both of their hands, nose crinkling when she reached towards Kaiba. He reluctantly grabbed her hand. Her warm hand stiffened upon contact and her tuh-thub jumped for a moment, before she released her grip.

“Kaiba is fine.” His first name always made him feel young, and while he may be younger than Jun Liu, he had the senior position at the company. “It's a good thing you could come out here. This is important.”

“Yeah,” Detective Ito laughed. “You got quite a horror show going down there.” He sounded almost irreverent, but Kaiba’s nose detected a trace of unease. Understandable, considering they just saw the bodies. Detective Ito let out another laugh. “In fact, you’re not that pleasant of a sight either.”

“Probably not that pleasant of a smell too, so it would be best for all of us if we got this over with as soon as possible.”

“You can say that again.” Detective Ito leaned forward and smiled, but upon not receiving a response from Kaiba, his expression dropped. “So, Mr. Liu mentioned you getting attacked. Could you expand on that? What did the attacker look like? Did they have any weapons?”

Kaiba shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I was dragged into an alley on the way back to work. When I could see who it was, it looked like one of my classmates Yugi Mutou, who has a very distinctive look. Short with spiked hair and blonde bangs. But, the attacker was also very different. His skin was darker. His hair was more sculpted but his bangs were wild. He didn’t act like Yugi either.  Yugi has a reputation for letting people walk over him, and he doesn’t have much to back up what spine he does have. Not like this.”

“Yes, your file mentions that you had gotten into a disagreement with Yugi Mutou and his grandfather over…” Detective Wasseem pulled out a small notebook from within her blazer. “Over a rare necklace. Yugi Mutou spent that night in the hospital with his grandfather, who was injured at one of your facilities. Were the incidents related?”

“My file?” The information was correct. He had transported Sugoroku Mutou to a virtual gaming center owned by Kaiba Corp. There, they each bet a copy of the White Dragon Necklace on a game of augmented reality chess, where they each took the place of the king.

Unfortunately for Sugoroku Mutou, the realism of the game, especially the death of the bishops, peons, and knights, shook the old man, and he played a poor game. After achieving check mate, the program ended with the losing player being attacked by the threatening piece. It was holographic and ultimately harmless, but it gave the old man enough of a scare to pass out. Yugi and his gaggle of friends had escorted the man to the hospital, though not before Yugi had attempted to get the necklace back, a challenge Kisara quickly dealt with herself.

“Your missing person file.” Detective Ito gave a reassuring smile. “It says that your brother and your assistant Isono had insisted the department investigate your disappearance because she suspected foul play. We are merely trying to tie in what you're saying to what’s there.”

“Moreover,” Detective Wasseem immediately cut in. “The file had eliminated Yugi Mutou and his family as suspects, since there are witnesses placing them at the hospital for the entire night that you went missing. Are you sure you want to say the attacker looked like him?”

Kaiba titled his head. “‘The file mentioned’, ‘the file had eliminated’. It doesn’t sound like you two were officially on the investigation, so you don’t seem to be in a position to tell me what I want to say, particularly because I was the one who contacted you about this, not the other way around.” Detective Wasseem leaned away at the remarks but kept a stern expression on her face, while Detective Ito sent his partner a questioning glance. “Moreover, I specifically emphasized that my attacker resembled Yugi in some ways, but was definitely not him. So, whatever Yugi was doing that night is actually irrelevant.

“The incidents were, however, related. Along with some occult nonsense, my attacker mentioned Sugoroku going to the hospital. Not sure how he knew about it, but he did. In fact we had a scuffle over the necklace, and it broke. Not too long after that, the boy disposed of me.”

Looking back, Kaiba mused that he probably should have left the new acquisition with Kisara and the other necklaces, but he had been so excited to finally have it that his judgment had lapsed. Then again, he had not known at the time that he would be attacked and thrown in a dumpster. Life was unpredictable and harsh; he’d learned that young. Still, he had wanted so badly to own the complete set. In a way, he now had a complete set of three, but it wasn’t the same.

“What kind of occult nonsense? It might help us track him down,” Detective Ito offered.

“Bullshit about demons and darkness mostly. The way he talked, it sounded like he thought I was possessed or something.”

Detective Wasseem looked like she was trying not to roll her eyes. “And, how did the boy dispose of you? Did he have any weapons?”

“He was just strong. I could barely do anything to stop him.” Kaiba’s hand wandered up to his neck. “It gets a little blurry, but I remember him pushing me against the wall and then pricks on my neck, though I don’t feel anything there now, so….” He didn’t want to sound weak, but he didn’t want to sound like a liar, especially with Detective Wasseem already suspicious. He left it at a shrug. “I blacked out not too long afterwards. Next I woke up, and I was buried in the dumpster unable to move because of the smell. After that, I woke up outside it with the bodies around me.”

“Could we see your neck?”

Kaiba moved his hand away.  He looked expectantly at the detectives and then at Jun Liu, who had stepped to the side.

“I don’t see anything.” Detective Waseem chided, tapping her finger against the notebook.

Detective Ito shrugged. “Not being hurt usually is a good thing.” His voice wavered a bit, and the emphasis dropped on the ‘usually’. “It should be a good thing that it didn’t happen.”

Kaiba let out a sigh and looked down. He remembered it. He remembered being pinned against the wall. He remembered the pain at his neck, and he certainly remembered how everything went numb and weak afterwards. And, whether or not that happened, he still ended up in a dumpster for three or four days, and he still woke up surrounded by corpses. His hand slowly and gracelessly fell to his side.

“There is a stain on your collar, sir,” Jun Liu spoke, startling everyone. He’d been so quiet he almost blended into the background. It was only his breathing and tuh-thub that reminded Kaiba he was still there, and focusing on the detectives, Kaiba had tuned those out. However captivating the noises were, they were still so much softer than talking.

“There are plenty of stains on my clothes. I assume this one is different.”

“It looks like it could be dried blood, sir.”

Kaiba’s mouth went into an ‘o’. Maybe it did happen. Unfortunately, before he could further process this new information, Detective Wasseem cut in, “While we are on the topic, what about the blood on your hand. How did that get there?”

Kaiba hesitated then shrugged. “Must have cut myself on something in the dumpster.”

“Are you aware that one of the garbage truck’s windows was shattered? By the looks of it, whoever attacked those people, busted the window in order to get to the driver. Most of the glass was on the driver's seat, and the seat belt was even ripped apart rather than unbuckled.”

“What does that ha-” Kaiba was in the middle of snapping back, when he saw his hand again. The web of red across his hand was formed of a number of little streaks, exactly what one would expect if shards of glass had fallen across it. He touched his fingers with his left hand. It felt normal, unharmed. He looked back at Detective Wasseem, who glared at him incredulously, while Detective Ito for once did not attempt to offer any hope. The evidence did seem fairly damning.

But, it also was completely ridiculous. “First, you would think my hand would still be hurting if I punched through the window of a truck, and it doesn’t hurt at all. Second, I don’t think I’m physically capable of ripping apart a seat belt, even if- if- I wanted to. Third, what do you think I did? Hop into a dumpster, wait four days, abandoning my brother and my company in the process, only to jump out and murder some garbage collectors I’ve never met before. Oh, and then walk up here to report it. Do you realize what you’re saying?”

Detective Ito responded. “We aren’t saying we know exactly what happened, but a number of details are suspicious, your hand among them. The bodies were still warm; they couldn’t have been there that long. Chances are you were there when they were murdered, and unless we check the tapes and find that someone left the garage not too long before you woke up, then you are by default the only suspect. You are right that things don’t entirely add up in any case, but you see why we have to check.”

“Or, you could realize that your only suspect is sheet white, hasn’t eaten any solid food in four days, and still smells like the deepest pits of hell,” A mysterious voice announced, causing Kaiba to almost jump out of his skin. “I’ve seen corpses that looked more alive.”

It took a moment Kaiba’s eyes to find the source of the voice, which turned out to be a dark skinned man in a suit with a white turban wrapped loosely around his head. But, something was wrong, deeply wrong. After a second, Kaiba realized that he wasn’t hearing anything from the man, not any footsteps, not a breath, and certainly not a tuh-thub. Taking a quick sniff, he realized that there were no new scents either. He could see the man and hear the man speak, but otherwise it was like he wasn’t there. With that Kaiba started to realize just how quickly he came to expect those senses, even as he tried to deny and ignore them.

Maybe this was proof that he wasn’t actually hearing- Kaiba loathed to acknowledge it with a name- heartbeats. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to be hearing or smelling these things. He was just out of it after being missing. In a dumpster. For four days. The stranger in front of him was normal.

The thought provided some comfort but didn’t stop the alarms going off in his head.

However, as Kaiba stared, wide eyed at the man, the two detectives were already talking. “Well, I can’t say whether I was expecting to see you here. You tend to work nights, but no one could find you around. Shannon said she hadn’t seen you around the department the past few days. Yet, somehow you always manage to show up.” Detective Wasseem almost spat the words out.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on something, but I appear where I am needed.”

The statement made Detective Ito laugh. “Of course you do. That’s why you have your finger in every pie in the department. And, you mention corpses looking more alive. I’ve never seen a corpse that sarcastic. And, for somebody who hasn’t eaten or drunk for four days, he seems fairly alert. Again, not saying he did it, but it is fairly odd, don’t you think.”

“Odd, perhaps. However, life contains many odd things, most of which we never know the rhyme or reason for. It doesn’t mean there isn’t any, though. The shock of waking up to that scene may have fed him some adrenaline. He may be pushing forward on willpower alone. He may be ignoring all the warning signs his body is sending him. We would never know just looking. Asking him may work, but there is a chance that even he does not know himself.” The strange man looked directly at him.

Kaiba blinked. They were talking about him, weren’t they? He curled his lip back in distaste. “I’m… no, I’m not entirely fine.” He continued staring at the stranger. “You haven’t introduced yourself.”

“Sorry for my rudeness.” The stranger gave a professional smile and bobbed his head. “I’m Detective Shadi. I was spearheading the investigation into your disappearance, and as such, I should have gotten here earlier. As said, there is important business I have to keep track of, and your sudden reappearance was quite the surprise.”

“It’s not like you were that much later than these bozos,” Kaiba snorted. Detective Shadi’s presence or lack thereof may be off putting, but he could still be useful. “Perhaps you can talk some sense into them.”

Detective Wasseem rolled her eyes. “If there is any sense in the Domino Police Department, it certainly wouldn’t come from Shadi. He transferred in half a year ago and has had the captain under his thumb ever since. He doesn’t have a partner and gets whatever cases fit his fancy. I’m not sure it even matters if he makes progress on them. Plus, whatever important business he’s talking about wasn’t with the department, and he hadn’t even put in leave. I don’t doubt the captain will somehow manage to ignore this, like everything else he does, but if you don’t want to look suspicious, he’s not the guy you want on your side.”

Detective Shadi seemed unfazed by the disparagement. “Maybe not me, but reason might convince you. If you leave him tonight, it's not like he can go anywhere. Not only is he the richest person in the city, but his face has also been plastered all over the news after his disappearance. If he wanted to avoid notice, he’d have to crawl back into a dumpster and even then eventually he’d have to feed. Let him go. You can get a warrant later.”

“Maybe,” Detective Wasseem said. “But, there’s still the issue of his health. ‘Not entirely fine’ is a long ways off from the condition we would expect someone with his story to be in. He should check into the hospital on the way home. It would be good to have a professional opinion on his condition.” She pressed her lips together and glanced at the ground. “You are right that he is a bit pale, and when we shook hands, he felt cool to the touch. He should probably get that checked out.”

Detective Shadi opened his mouth and then closed it before putting his finger tips together, glancing upward, and muttering something quick. He then looked directly at Kaiba. “Well, it seems like… a reasonable enough request.”

“And a necessary one for both the detectives here and myself,” Kaiba conceded. On one level, he felt physically fine. Better in fact than he had before the incident, which was a confusing and scary thought.  What if Detective Shadi was right and he was ignoring something?  There were of course signs. The sounds and smells that shouldn’t exist. The paleness and apparently coolness of his skin. The blood on his collar and across his fingers. What if he got home only to collapse on the floor? Kaiba wasn’t even sure why he was alive; the prospect of this all catching up to him didn’t sound far fetched.

“That would be satisfactory then.” Detective Wasseem did not sound or smell satisfied, but she put both her pen and her notepad away.

“I guess we’ll go back to examining dead bodies and pondering the depravity of human nature. Though, considering your clothes are covered in evidence, it would be great if you dropped them off at evidence. Later of course.” And, with that Detective Ito went back to lighthearted laughs and reassuring smiles. The two then turned to leave.

Kaiba turned towards Detective Shadi. “Are you going to be leaving as well?”

“There is something I would like to discuss with you before you leave, but if you have other business to attend to first, I can wait.”

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. “Surely, then, this can wait until another day.”

“No.”

“So, you think this is more important than a murder investigation?” Kaiba almost laughed.

Detective Shadi did not even blink at the question. “The investigation pertains to lives already lost due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control. What I come with now is a warning about what we can control and the lives, both yours and of those around you, that may be at stake.”

Well, if that wasn’t ominous. Though, perhaps Detective Shadi had some information on the boy who attacked him. While Detective Shadi was odd, he also seemed reasonable and competent, and Kaiba decided to hear him out. “I can’t imagine the scene I woke up to being an accident, but since you’re willing to wait, I have to first clean up. I’m not sure I can stand another moment smelling like this.”

Notes: As in the last chapter, one thing I’m doing with this work is having a lot of fun with limited perspectives, where no one has a complete idea of what is going on. Except maybe Shadi, but even Shadi has blind spots. Needless to say it was fun to write.

Bonus points if you can guess what Shadi was keeping an eye on. 

Also, I spent more time sifting through for typos this time, but there’s still a chance (probablilty sadly close to 1) that some made it through.

Thank you to @holybikinisbatman for helping me come up with names for Jun Liu and Detective Wasseem (her first name is Maram).

Fun facts: Jun Liu used to be in the military and Arnold does cross fit. 

[techno-sorcerer]

Adjusting to the Dark: Chapter 7 Unappetizing Truths

Story summary: After recovering from an attack, Kaiba attempts to return to work. The problem: it was a vampire attack, and he didn’t recover so much as turn. Meanwhile, demons lurk ready to strike and take Kaiba Corp at the first sign of weakness

Chapter summary: Preparing Mokuba’s parfait and a cup of coffee gives Kaiba a moment to look both forward and back. 

Words: 3,519

Chapter content Warnings: Referenced past misgendering (and as always tell me if you think I should add more)

“I’d offer to pull out the board and play a game of capsule monsters and hang out that way, but with all the work you have to do, we can save that for later,” Mokuba rambled as he practically bounced down the stairs. “So, what do you want to work on first?”

Kaiba shrugged. He had already made the mental checklist of what needed accomplishing, but that didn’t entirely answer where to start since it all had to get done anyway. “I will need you to get me caught up on what’s been happening at the company and if there has been anything suspicious. But...” As much as the Big Five needed containing, dealing with that now wasn’t entirely satisfying, not when there were other concerns on the table. Moreover, Isono hadn’t mentioned anything himself on the subject, and while he trusted Mokuba’s judgment, Isono was certainly more experienced in maters of internal politics. Kaiba’s lip curled. “You said you wanted to get a few licks in on whoever did this to me?”

Mokuba landed on the penultimate step and turned to look up at Kaiba with a mixture of excitement and determination. “Yeah?”

“Then, help me track down information on whoever did this. I have a few leads, and after talking to the person in charge of the investigation, we’ll likely have to get peace of mind on our own.”

The threat the boy posed to his safety and his ability to protect his brother was Kaiba’s first priority. Yet, even if Shadi was right and the boy was being kept on a leash unable to harm him again, it wouldn’t be enough. Not after what he had been through. Plus, Kaiba found the idea laughable that anything as simple as a leash- literal or not- could hold the boy back.

Mokuba titled his head. “Shadi? He was a bit weird, but he seemed to take it seriously enough. Seemed better than the other detectives anyway. I liked him.”

“He is certainly odd, and he seemed competent enough, at least at first.” Kaiba looked down at his brother, who was now walking again at his side, and wondered how much to say. That Shadi believed in bullshit such as vampires. That Shadi claimed to have a family who would kill him without a second thought. How about that Shadi had managed to commandeer his holographic system for his own uses, something that suggested power of some form whether social or technological. Or better yet, that Shadi had blatantly told him he was planning to interfere with a police investigation. Even after that there were a million other details making the man suspicious. In the end, Kaiba decided on the simplest and most direct answer. “He implied he knew who did this when we talked alone, but other detectives I talked to didn’t have a clue. We can’t rely on any of them.”

“Huh...” Mokuba considered this for a bit, his face scrunching up in confusion, before realization and anger dawned. “Wait! Shadi was the one who said you were probably dead. He said it with such certainty and sincerity. Like he didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news but he thought I deserved to know. And, you’re saying he didn’t think I deserved to know who hurt you, or that he was lying and knew you were alive?” Mokuba let out an exasperated sigh. “Why are adults- no, why are people like this?”

Kaiba immediately responded, “Because people are horrible.” They had already now entered the over-sized dining room, making their way to the kitchen behind.

“I mean I knew that,” Mokuba chuckled, “I didn’t even really believe him anyway. Just didn’t realize I had gotten my hopes up that somebody actually gave a shit.”

Kaiba considered his brother’s words. He didn’t want to defend Shadi at all, since the man was incredibly suspicious. But, there was a chance that they would have to talk with him again, either in dealing with the conclusion of his missing person’s case or while Shadi tried to get the murder under wraps, and one should always correctly identify the threat a potential enemy posed.

So, he clarified as they entered the kitchen, “Shadi is dangerous- don’t mistake that- but he did believe I had died. It seems he lies more through omission than direct statement, which means people are less likely to notice when he does. He knows how to be discrete, so the other detectives just think he’s weird without guessing the full amount of bullshit swimming in his brain. I’m just one of the unlucky bastards he tried to indoctrinate the moment he got me alone. Fortunately, I wasn’t so easily convinced. Unfortunately, same could not be said of the doctor who examined me, who should have known better. If he ever approaches you turn him away and don’t listen. He has a way of including just enough truth to make his ridiculous words worm their way into your skull.” He finished with a grimace remembering the incident in the bedroom. The words had gotten far deeper into Kaiba’s brain than he had hoped. He already regretted listening to Shadi for as long as he did, though he supposed it was useful to know that there were a bunch of occult nuts ready to kill him.

Mokuba shook his head, “As if I’d let him through the door after pulling that.”

“Good.” Kaiba opened the refrigerator. “Do you want whipped cream with it? Fruit? Cookies?” He didn’t know how to cook and had barely touched a stove in his life, deciding to leave most of that work to the mansion’s staff, but he would have been damned if he didn’t know how to put together his brother’s favorite treat, especially since it was so simple.

Mokuba took a moment to answer, and when Kaiba turned to look at his brother, an impish grin had spread across Mokuba’s face. “The works. And, you are going to have some too, right?”

Kaiba shrugged as he pulled the milk and butter from the fridge before in another trip getting a handful of berries and the cream. “Not hungry.” He then out of habit set some coffee to brew while he got the rest of the ingredients ready.

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that? ‘Cause most of the time, you’re just saying that. Plus, even if you actually for real weren’t hungry, that wouldn’t prevent you from having a treat.”

Mokuba wasn’t lying. There had been plenty of times when he had brushed off Isono’s and Mokuba’s prodding only for them to discover later that he hadn’t eaten in the past day. It wasn’t that he was trying to starve himself, but food was simply a necessity that wasn’t even near the top of the long list of necessities in his life. Plus, after years of having to complete assignments on an empty stomach, ignoring his body’s cries for food had become habit even when now that the threat was gone. It made the sense of starvation that had crawled to the front of his mind in the dumpster and had shaken him to the core all the more disconcerting.

“I did eat… something earlier. Haven’t felt this full in a while.”

“You hesitated.”

Kaiba glanced back at Mokuba and snorted rather than give a proper response. He didn’t want to acknowledge that he didn’t know what he had eaten. Nor did he want to admit to his brother that even as he was preparing the parfait it sounded completely unappealing.

Fortunately, Mokuba didn’t press further and changed the topic of conversation. “So… what leads do you have? What will the vice president be doing for Kaiba Corporation today?”

“I’ll be sifting through public and private online records to see if I can find a trace of my attacker. He looked around my age and did seem to have a connection to Yugi, so I’ll check schools records in the area first. That connection does give an opportunity to help the investigation.” Kaiba started measuring the ingredients for the pudding portion. “My attacker seemed to fancy himself a guardian angel of sort; he knew that I had won the white dragon necklace from Yugi’s grandfather and thought to get it back while passing a bit of extra judgment on the way. My techniques were a bit unusual, but...”

And, he supposed looking back a bit heavy handed.

He hadn’t forced the old man to play the chess game against him, and the old man had been confident enough he was going to teach Kaiba a lesson that he had almost done so willingly, but being escorted to the facility by Kaiba’s security detail hadn’t given the old man much of a choice either. Furthermore, while there was no point in doing things without at least a little bit of flare, he had also known going in that holograms could cause psychosomatic problems, especially for those with preexisting health problems. If your senses believed you were under attack, it sometimes didn’t matter whether you actually were or not; your body reacted. Kaiba hadn’t known that Sugoroku would be sent to the hospital, but knowing the older man’s age and the hyper-realistic setting he had used, he hadn’t been entirely surprised either.

That isn’t to say he wouldn’t have pressed Sugoroku Mutou in order to get the necklace. The necklaces in the set were beautiful sure and he had a fondness for the fierce beasts depicted, but he also had known from the moment he had first laid eyes on one that they were important.

Seven years ago, back at the orphanage, one of the necklaces had rested on Gozaburo’s fingers as he chided Kisara for talking to Seto. At that point Seto had little idea who this man was other than he was very powerful and visiting the orphanage for the good press. The second fact had meant little to him, but the first had already caught his attention.

While Gozaburo was talking with the orphanage’s director, Kisara had caught Seto trailing behind and had stepped back to warn him in a whisper that despite the visit Gozaburo was not interested in interacting with the children outside of scheduled photo shoots. Seto had replied that that was expected; he was just here to observe. The answer had amused Kisara, and she had asked some more questions, while keeping her eyes on Gozaburo and occasionally scanning the area.

And, who may I ask is observing Gozaburo Kaiba?

Seto. The staff might tell you a different name or say that I am not a boy, but they think a piece of paper says who you are. It doesn’t.

That’s an interesting name, Seto. Not exactly common. Where did you find it?

Came to me. Sounds more like me than the other name. And, point is I chose it. It’s mine. It doesn’t mean much, but it’s something they can’t take. Who are you and why do you care anyways?

My name is Kisara. It is my job to protect Kaiba. The name reminded me of something, but you are right names and paper don’t mean much. Decisions and people do. And, I would like to know about the boy who decided to observe my boss.

Last names can matter.

Seto, do you honestly think Kaiba would adopt?

He doesn’t look like he’d be easy to convince. I’d have to do my research first.

I doubt Kaiba would be the nicest of parents.

I am not looking for a nice parent. There are plenty of supposedly nice parents who just want a smart kid to brag about, but don’t care about that kid’s younger brother or say they can’t afford him. There are plenty of nice parents who stop even caring about the older brother because they think a piece of paper says who you are. Unfortunately, paper matters because people believe in it. Otherwise it's just paper.

Then, why care about Kaiba?

Because people believe in money.

Seto usually would have been annoyed by such idle chatter and by revealing so much, but she was also using his actual name and taking his words seriously. Perhaps as Mokuba had mentioned with Shadi, he hadn’t even realized his hopes had risen.

However, even if Seto had not been annoyed, Gozaburo had been furious after he finished his conversation with the director and turned to find Kisara making chatter with an orphan,  had taken the necklace out of his pocket while commanding Kisara to do her job. The necklace and the small dragon pendant at its end had immediately caught his attention, but more so had Kisara’s reaction. Kisara’s voice was firm when she reminded Gozaburo that she was able both talk and keep an eye on his safety and that this boy was certainly not a threat to it; she was certainly not weak. But, she had also flinched as his fingers had tightened around the pearls.

Seto had realized then that the necklaces had power, power that Gozaburo did not deserve. Kaiba realized- or was it remembered since it seemed like the thought had been with him the whole time, just unable to come to the surface- that though he had been the one collecting the necklaces, Kisara had the real claim.

So no, he would have made sure to get the necklace one way or another. But he could have worn the man down before making his move to make him more pliable; he could have adjusted the realism settings on the hologram so only necklaces rather than lives were at stake. Instead, his impatience at the man’s sentimentality had made his blood burn and had gotten the better of him.

He hadn’t realized his mind had drifted until Mokuba chimed in a tone Kaiba couldn’t quite catch, “You do always do things your own way.”

“True. But, the point is that Yugi is bully bait. I doubt I was the first to cause Yugi grief nor receive my attacker’s wrath. There likely have been other incidents, particularly involving other students. See if there are any suspicious reports surrounding Yugi or the high school more generally. We don’t even need a direct trace to Yugi yet, since that could have just not gotten reported. Just notify me if you find anything interesting, especially if you find a pattern.”

“Okay,” Mokuba nodded. “Look up reports around the school to see if there has been any other weird shit going on. Got it.” He started out the kitchen door before returning a couple moments later. “Going to get my laptop and head to the living room. Want me to bring yours down?”

“That would be helpful,” Kaiba replied, getting back to making the parfait and considering how he would accomplish his own task.

The first point of order would be to slip into the school’s network check through registration lists especially if the school kept the ID photos on hand to compare against his memory. A direct identification would be easiest. If that didn’t pan out, he could always check the surrounding schools as well. A frown started to crease Kaiba’s features. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. Kaiba may not have paid too much attention to social life at school, but he swore he would have noticed if there was a confident dark-skinned Yugi with even wilder hair running around Domino High. The boy had certainly looked… distinctive. Even if the boy went to another school, wouldn’t he have turned up in the police investigation?

Unless, of course, he did and for whatever unfortunate reason Shadi had decided not to include that in the file Detectives Wasseem and Ito had read.

While he was poking around the school files, he might as well see if Yugi, or for that manner any of the gaggle that had started following him, were mentioned in any disciplinary reports, especially as a victim. It would give Mokuba more to work with, since even Kaiba had to admit that ‘anything suspicious that happened to anybody at the school or in contact with Yugi’ was a bit broad, and barring outright identification, getting even just one other instance would help significantly, give them more leads and threads to pull on.

It wasn’t long before the pudding had cooked and the cream was whipped. Kaiba retrieved a large glass and layered the pudding, whipped cream, and other snacks inside, then put the pots in the sink and poured himself a mug of the now finished coffee. He breathed in and noted that it didn’t exactly smell appetizing, though he couldn’t put a finger on why. Then again, even if he wasn’t tired yet, it wasn’t like he drank the stuff just for the taste, and he probably would need it later anyway. As much as he had tried to convince Mokuba that him being awake was reasonable, he had no idea how long his current alertness would last.

Plus, coffee had never failed him before, and if he was going to drink it, he might as well drink it while it was still warm. He put the mug to his lips and took a gulp.

Or at least he tried to.

His mouth immediately reacted, spraying the dark brown liquid onto the counter and wall in front of him. Bad. Horrible. The taste wasn’t remarkably different from usual, though it lacked a certain sharpness or punch to the flavor. Yet, for some reason his mouth failed to recognize it as edible. He could have taken a shot of pure cooking oil or even gasoline for a similar effect, and as what little liquid remained started to each the back of his mouth, his gag reflex activated.

Kaiba’s body reacted so viscerally to the coffee that he forgot what he was doing, forgot to think. His whole body tensed, and he flailed for a moment. The mug accidentally slammed onto the countertop. The ceramic shattered and the rest of the coffee spilled onto the floor.

Kaiba stared at the mess for a moment, before his mouth’s protests convinced him to move. Dashing to the sink, he turned the nearest handle to the faucet and ran the water through his mouth, occasionally spitting to get as much of the taste out of his mouth as possible. The cold cleansing water bubbled around his teeth and swirled over his tongue. After a few seconds, the terrible taste seemed to finally disappear. he turned the faucet off and stared blankly at the sink.

It shouldn’t have tasted that bad; he’d forced plenty of disgusting food down his throat with barely a complaint at Gozaburo’s dinner table. Plus, his first cup hadn’t even tasted that bad. It didn’t make sense. He continued to stare at the sink.

Perhaps it had been simply a bad batch of beans.

Kaiba grabbed several wads of paper towels and cleaned up the mess, annoyed that this had to happen when the cleaning staff had already gone home, and then grabbed the parfait to head into the living room across the manor. There, Mokuba was perched on the couch, shoes on the fabric and legs contorted to hold his laptop. Kaiba considered reminding him to put his feet on the floor, but Mokuba looked comfortable. And, if Mokuba was comfortable, he would be able to focus easier as well.

His own laptop was on the coffee table, neatly set in front of the spot next to Mokuba and already plugged into the wall. Mokuba’s power cord was nowhere to be seen.

Kaiba set the parfait down on the table, sliding onto the seat next to Mokuba and tapping Mokuba’s shoulder to get his attention. Mokuba blinked and looked over, a smile spreading from ear to ear as his eyes landed on the heaps of pudding and cream. “Thank you so much!” He snatched the treat off the table and shoveled several scoops down his throat before looking at the table in front of Kaiba. “You already finished your coffee?”

“Swallow before speaking, and I threw it out. Something was off with the taste.”

Mokuba stared at him a moment before laughing. “Maybe four days cold turkey was what you needed. You do need to rest anyway.” He paused for a moment. “I mean I’d trade it in a heartbeat for you safe, but silver linings and all.”

Kaiba grimaced. Perhaps, though that shouldn’t have changed the taste. Regardless, if he got tired before work was through, he would brew another pot, rest be damned.

Still, he would rather bet on the fantasy that even in this state- recovering from shock with an already screwy brain addled further by other’s delusions- he could make it through the night unaided than pray that the next batch turns out better.  Kaiba pushed his limits and routinely ignored them, but he still knew they existed, however inconvenient that might be. Though if Mokuba was right and he had lost his coffee reliance, then at least he wouldn’t be dealing with withdraw symptoms which increased his chances significantly. Silver linings and all.

Author’s note: I might go back and write more of an author’s note later, but right now my brain is a bit fried. There are some interesting things going on here, my favorite of which is probably that small flashback with Kisara. Not only do we finally get to see her more directly, but I had had this scene seperately in my head before but hadn’t realized it would come up so soon. It was a little weird referencing Gozaburo just as Kaiba, but at the same time, before Seto and Mokuba were adpted let alone took control of the company, it wouldn’t make that much sense to make much sense to refer to Gozaburo by his given name, especially in a work setting.