Ningyo

Summary: While exploring a newly inherited house, Mokuba stumbles across a life sized robotic doll in the attic. The odd, yet beautiful creation arouses Seto's interest, and the tragic love story behind the house's origin begins to unfold.

Rated: T

Genre: Mystery

Author's Note: Eh heh…I'm sorry, I just started college, and I'm working on this totally awesome Yuugiou related project on YouTube. Have you guys heard of the Duel Monsters Fandub? I'm the translator. Anyway, this is just a little something I hope to finish by Halloween; it's meaty in content, but short in terms of chapters. I really like this idea, I even planned a prequel to it already. Oh, and it's totally AU. Because you know (SPOILER) isn't really a (SPOILER) and God knows (SPOILER) couldn't (SPOILER) to save his life.

Oh, and if you're curious about the pairing, it's not what you think. Meaning, whatever the main characters my imply, just ignore it and keep an open mind. It's nothing I haven't done before though...

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I'm getting close.

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1 – Inheritance

"It looks…really old."

"Even in death Gozaburo manages to give us another damn thing we don't need."

Mokuba Kaiba craned his neck upwards to get a full view of the creaking structure before them, squinting cobalt eyes against the bright drops of morning sun spilling from the crown of scarlet leaves adorning surrounding trees. The house was two stories tall, a pair of angular windows on the roof giving evidence of an attic. Its wooden structure was colored in rich greens and browns, complimenting the forested area it was built on. While stunning in terms of architecture, years of emptiness and harassment by rain and snow left it in a less than favorable condition. Several windows were clouded over in a light grey dust, blocking any sort of light from invading its shielded interior. The front door, decorated with a handsome (if not completely unnecessary) dragon shaped knocker, was blocked by two long boards crossed into an 'X,' which would hopefully relinquish their hold after a few well-placed thwacks from a crowbar.

"We're not really going to be living here, are we Seto?" The young boy said skeptically, nose wrinkling.

"It's a nice house in an ideal area," his older brother reasoned, pulling his heavy coat closer to his lean frame. "After a few core demolitions and some serious updating, it'd make a nice autumn home."

"Don't we already have like twelve autumn homes?"

"None of them in Kyoto," Seto replied coolly, checking his watch. "The movers should be here any minute, unless that trail we took was covered by all the leaves already."

"What was Gozaburo doing with a house like this anyway?" Mokuba prodded, walking closer to the building. "If it's nice now, it would've been nicer back then. To just board it up and leave it unused seems kinda pointless, don't you think?"

"Back when the Kaiba Corporation was used primarily for war weapons, Gozaburo took it upon himself to buy a number of houses in a given area, kick the families out, and use their homes as hideouts or planning stations for whatever side he was currently playing for…with the right price of course."

"How much d'you think he paid for this one?"

"Absolutely nothing; the documents say this place was abandoned for a few years before he bought it out. It looks undisturbed; I don't think anyone since the original owner has ever set foot inside." The brunette smirked slightly. "And with the door all boarded up, some of the original furniture might still be inside."

"Which means an antique auction at the next staff meeting," Mokuba snickered.

A loud honk alerted the two brothers towards a large truck barreling towards them. Its rubber wheels, unfit to be driven on anything other than asphalt, squealed and skidded across the dirt, leaving a muddy wave behind it. Mokuba backed away slowly, unsure if the driver even knew how to break; his brother pulled an unimpressed grimace but remained in place, fixing flawless blue eyes towards the approaching beast, as if daring it to run him over. Finally, with an agonized lurch, the vehicle stopped a few feet away from the siblings and an exasperated blonde jumped out, pocketing his keys with shaky hands.

Katsuya Jounouchi was a distant acquaintance of the Kaiba brothers, and a Kyoto local. He lived just a few miles from where they were currently, and his father was the head of a struggling moving business. Knowing the family was desperate, the business savvy Seto figured they'd take any amount given to them. He settled for what would be considered a generous amount to 'common people' standards, but much less than a professional company would have ever taken. The result? Helping the poor and keeping his own bank account nice and full.

"If I knew the damn house was in the middle of a freaking forest, I'd have asked for more money!" Jounouchi complained, kicking clods of dirt off his tires. "If my old man finds out this stupid truck–"

"Our car made it through just fine. Besides, I think 2,200,000 yen would be enough to buy a new truck for the business. That is, if your father doesn't blow it all on alcohol beforehand." Seto sneered.

"If I didn't need the cash so bad I would've dumped out all your furniture about mile ago," the other growled, tossing the taller man a crowbar. "Get rid of the X so we can get this over with."

"With pleasure."

Mokuba watched as his brother hooked the clawed end of the tool across the top board, wrist tensing as he pried both pieces off with a loud crack. Regaining his composure, he flung the broken X to the ground and raised an eyebrow towards the blonde.

"What? Is it locked? Just kick it down and replace it later!" Jounouchi snapped, as he had just begun to unload the truck.

"Mokuba, you want to do the honors?"

"So…it's not locked?" The boy said curiously, eyes widening. "That's kinda weird, isn't it? If they weren't trying to prevent anyone from coming in, maybe they blocked it to prevent anything inside from–"

"Theorize later; I want to get as much cleaning done as possible today so we can move everything in all at once tomorrow."

"But what if something pops out and tries to kill us?"

"We're the ones with the crowbar, remember?"

"Look kid, just open the God damned door before I get over there and use your face to unlock it," the blonde barked impatiently, earning a cold glare.

"If it comes down to that, we'll just use Jounouchi as a sacrifice," Seto said moodily.

Mokuba blinked and cast an uneasy glance over his shoulder before gripping the open mouth tightly and twisting the dragon clockwise, letting go immediately as he heard a groan from the never oiled hinges. Peering out sheepishly from behind his older brother, the young Kaiba shut his eyes as a gust of fine dust blew out into the woods as broken cobwebs hung lazily from the door's frame.

Seto coughed upon getting hit by the strong scent of long forgotten potpourri, and looked cautiously into the exposed room. Touches of light now cast an almost ghostly glow on the once pristine furniture that lay undisturbed in what looked to be the living room; ornate chairs and tables lay still, covered in memories from decades ago. The brothers exchanged looks before Seto moved to take the first step inside.

A digital chime rang through the air as the siblings' attention was now directed to their hired ("Heh, more like bribed!") help. By the look on Jounouchi's face as soon as he brought the outdated cell phone to his ear, Seto knew their extra hand was just about to bail.

"W-What? Are you sure? But I'm kinda… A-Ah, don't yell! You'll attract even more attention to… OKAY, OKAY, ALRIGHT! I'll come over right away!" The blonde snapped the phone shut and gave a nervous smile to the knowing brothers. "Th-That was my dad…he…kinda found my younger sis with a guy in her bedroom and–"

"Unnecessary information is unnecessary!" Mokuba wailed, covering his ears.

"I'll just get everything out of the back and I'll meet you guys up tomorrow so I can help–"

"If you scratch it, you're buying me a new one," Seto drawled, tossing the other man the keys to his car. "I know this sudden surge of trust is hard to digest, but we need our stuff to be NOT broken."

"Th-Thanks! I owe you–"

"You owe me several. Now do what you need to and come back first thing tomorrow morning or you're not getting paid AND I'm keeping the truck."

Cringing as the dirtied commoner got into his precious ride, the brunette turned his attention to the loaded truck and mentally prepared himself for some physical labor.

"Gonna need any help?" Mokuba asked.

"Not if it means having to pay for your broken radius. I'll bring all the boxes out the back; it'll take me a while, so if you wanna take a quick look at the house go on ahead. I'll call you out here when I've got everything set."

"You're making me go in there? Alone?"

"Don't tell me you're scared of dust Mokuba."

"I'm not!"

"Then at least scout out how much furniture is still in there so I know how many more trucks I'll have to call for."

"But–!"

"Mokuba…"

"If there's a dead body in there and I inhale whatever killed it," a deadpan look, "my blood will be on YOUR hands Seto!"

"I'll remember that."

Pouting childishly, the young Kaiba walked inside the old house, floorboards creaking under his weight.

He had seen the living room from outside, but found that its beauty could only be fully absorbed up close. The maple wood chairs and sofa were upholstered with embellished red fabric, still retaining its rich crimson despite the years of loneliness. An ornate rug released clouds of smoke as Mokuba waked across it slowly, holding his hand to his mouth and nose to prevent any inhalation. Empty picture frames hung eerily on the walls above a long dead fireplace, and an extinguished candlelit gold chandelier glowed dully in the sunlight.

Making tracks across the undisturbed floor, the boy entered what he assumed as the dining room, a long table complete with handsome chairs stood with an aged dignity, an arrangement of two plates, utensils and wine glasses lied out, ready to be used. A royal purple table runner holding the same design as the rest of the furniture looked worse for wear, but still retained some of its former elegance.

Treading carefully around the empty kitchen, Mokuba's mouth dropped open (causing him to cough and sputter violently) at the sight of a magnificent grand piano in a small room with a wall sized window. While the other rooms looked obviously untended, the sunlight pouring from the large glass filled the room with an ethereal light. There was a yellowed piece of sheet music still lying on the piano's stand, but its notes were long worn away with time. Mokuba approached the instrument and opened the lid carefully, turning away when a wave of dust emerged. The ebony and ivory keys gleamed like new, untouched by the grime. He pressed one lightly, a quiet hum of A sharp drifting through the empty house. He would have to get Seto to play some music after everything was settled; one couldn't find pianos of this quality anymore, with organic wooden parts and real ivory.

Mokuba noticed a previously unseen stairway peeking out from the next room, and went to investigate. Drawing a trail on the railway, the young Kaiba wandered up to the second floor and found three closed doors, each slightly different. The closest door to the stairs was locked, as Mokuba made several attempts to open it to no avail. The door on the left side of the hall led to an odd room with a single desk, torn book pages resting haphazardly on top. Like the sheet music, the ink had faded and they were beginning to turn a kind of beige; the open window possibly speeding up the process. Mokuba tried to make sense of the arrangement, but it was written in a language he was unfamiliar with.

"Guess I'll just add that to the list of stuff I have to ask Seto to do."

Slightly disheartened, he exited the room and entered the one right across from it, expression changing into that of surprise. The room was smaller than the other, but it resembled a child's bedroom, if not a nursery. A large bed, long enough to accommodate a person of average height, was placed in the center, dozens of deflated stuffed animals flopped onto the dusty covers. A circular rug, which was probably blue at one point in time, lay in front of a well-stocked bookshelf, its residents ranging from thick novels to simple picture books. Smirking, Mokuba took located an original copy of the classic Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and took it down, brushing off spindly cobwebs from its cover.

As he flipped through its pages, a small star shaped ornament that swung from the room's ceiling caught his attention. Placing the book on the floor, Mokuba stood on the tips of his toes to reach it, jumping backwards when a cascading ladder unfolded seemingly out of nowhere, accompanied by a flare of broken plaster pieces. Realizing he had just discovered (or rediscovered) a trap door to the house's attic, the curious boy cautiously climbed its rungs, heart thumping with a combination of excitement and apprehension.

The attic looked like any other attic in the world; large cardboard boxes littering the space, rolled up posters and paintings lying forgotten in the corner, broken appliances sticking out of garishly colored gift bags, a humanoid figure swathed in white sitting by the window…

…Oh Wait.

"Shit!" Mokuba swore, diving behind a box, graying his black hair and getting his jacket covered in filth. "Oh my God, oh my God, I knew it! This place is fricking haunted and now the ghost is gonna get me and steal my soul and I'll never get to tell that girl I liked her! What am I gonna do, what am I gonna do, what am I gonna do?" He shut his eyes fearfully, waiting for the spirit's cold touch of death to deliver him to his fate.

After panicking for a good five minutes, the young Kaiba chanced a quick peek at the figure, withdrawing as soon as he saw it was still there. He fumbled around the dark space (yelping when he accidently brushed against a spider) and found an open bag of glass marbles. Hoping he'd inherited his brother's lethal card flipping skills, he shaped his fist into a shooter and loaded a particularly large ball before flicking it with full force towards the offending ghost.

"Disappear, disappear, disappear, come on please, please, please!" Was the high-pitched plea.

A metallic clang echoed throughout attic. Mokuba blinked. The undead weren't supposed to be solid. And they definitely didn't clang. Standing up carefully, he saw that the figure had remained in the same stance as when he first entered the room, the marble having no effect at all. Now more curious than frightened, he tiptoed towards the window, his satchel of ammo ready at his side.

A soft gasp escaped his lips as he learned what his 'ghost' really was.

A life sized mechanical doll.

Dust clung to soft eyelashes that adorned gently closed eyes. Its mouth was shut in what looked to be an almost sad expression, though it was probably just a trick of the light. Layers of long, light blonde hair fell almost too perfectly over bronze shoulders, covering the majority of the doll's back, though some faded designs could still be seen. It was covered loosely in once white fabric, now worn ragged with age. Carefully crafted hands were clasped tightly around a small scrap of paper, held protectively to its chest. A picture of immaculate beauty, save for a pair of pearl white, faintly catlike metal ears that peaked out slightly from beneath its hair.

"I've seen these things before," the boy muttered. "It's an Actroid, one of those weird dolls that lonely old guys made when they realized they were never gonna get laid. They faded out in the late two-thousand and twenties though…I didn't know they could get so realistic…"

Confident that the doll had been inactive for quite some time, Mokuba stepped closer, a puff of settled dust rising with each step. He could now see that it was positioned as if it were looking out the window, as the dirt trail they had taken could be seen winding all the way up to the closest hill. He peered intently at the paper it held and reached out to touch it, stopping immediately when he heard a soft mechanical whir above his head. Cobalt eyes darted upwards and a sigh of relief escaped his mouth when he realized the figure was as frozen as ever. Mokuba gripped the scrap tightly and tried to take it away, surprised as he found it seemed to be stuck. He pulled, and paused again when he heard yet another click. Deciding that the noise was coming from outside, he attempted to retrieve the item once again.

A plume of smoky grime rose from the floor and caused the small boy to sneeze loudly, bringing up more unsettled dust.

It was at that moment he looked up and locked gazes with a pair of glassy lilac eyes.

--

Oh GEE, I wonder who the doll is. HMMM. The 'doll ears' were ripped straight out of Chobits by the way, so if you're having trouble envisioning them, just do a Google search. Actroids really do exist; they're creepy Japanese robots that blink, talk, move, and everything! But Malik (OMG SPOILED) isn't like that. Promise.

Review please! This fic will hopefully be done by Halloween, so you only have a small window of opportunity to make me feel good about myself!

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