This chapter's dedicated to FanFiction. net fan, who helped me get unblocked about what Kaiba should do next! I almost had him go into "research mode", finding out more about the family's history. How boring would that have been?
Ten
Are You Him?
The security guard smirked down at Kaiba. "And what should I tell Master Pegasus this is about?"
Kaiba snorted. "This is not a social call. Hurry up and let me in, you idiot."
Pegasus literally waltzed into the room.
"Well, well, if it isn't Seto, how nice to see you again so soon. I should've known you wouldn't be able to stay away for long..."
"Don't address me on such familiar terms."
Pegsy relaxed into a plush leather wingback chair, besides which was a table with a tea service and a dish of pastries upon it. "Have a seat, my friend. Would you care for some tea and a nice pastry? Very delectable." A maid appeared and poured some red wine into a long-stemmed glass for him. Keeping his gaze set on Kaiba, he savored the first sip. "Or perhaps you'd like some wine?"
Kaiba's feet stayed firmly in place. "Why are you holding that ridiculous contest? What on earth could you possibly gain from it?"
Pegasus propped his chin on his hand. "You know, Kaiba Boy, for the president of a gaming company, you sure don't know much about fun."
Kaiba's frown shifted. "Fun? Anzu Mazaki is dead. Still having fun?"
Pegasus seemed to pause. For a second it looked like he might feel some regret at the news. However, he soon smiled anew. "Every game has winners... and losers."
"I'll find out what you're doing, Pegasus. I'll stop your sick games."
Pegasus sloshed the wine around in its glass, gazing at the ruby liquid inside. "And what concern is it of yours what happens to those kids?"
At his words, a mental image of Jouno's eyes lept unbidden into Kaiba's mind. His mouth twitched.
Midnight : Monday night/Tuesday pre-dawn
No sooner had Honda been pushed into the foyer was the door slammed shut behind him. He glared in that direction as he heard their running footsteps, then went to the wall besides the doorframe, feeling around for a lightswitch. He found it quickly and flicked it, filling the place with light. He looked around.
The first thing he noticed was how spacious it was-- the foyer and the staircase were both unusually large by Japanese standards. He smiled.
This place ain't bad. I think I could live here.
He looked at the doorways, and the hall. He squinted.
The hallway was long and so dark that he could not see what was at the other end. He could not see what was in the next room through the sliding doors off to the side, either. There was a mirror hanging on the wall, its surface deep gray.
As Honda peered into those shadows, he felt the fear creeping up on him. Although he felt like a fool for being afraid of shadows, he couldn't avoid the thought that maybe something was in those shadows. A shiver went over him.
He shook his head and took in a huge breath, then sighed it out.
Don't be stupid. You're just imagining things because they say this house is haunted. It's just stories. Besides, you've met real spirits-- Yami and Bakura! They're not so bad... Bakura only tried to kill us all a couple of times... Okay, that's not so reassuring. Crap.
"-- Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"
Honda's eyes saucered as he heard the sudden beeping and saw a pulsing red glow coming from the end of the hallway. Looking at that red glow, it was easy to imagine that something demonic lay in wait.
He crept very slowly along the wall, which only prolonged his agonizing over what it could be.
He reached the doorway and looked into the room. It was the kitchen. He could make out the shapes of the counters and the fridge. The red glow and the beeping came from a small object sitting on the table. Honda turned on the lights and looked at it.
Creepy electronic laughter filled the air. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
It was a bobblehead, a skeleton with glowing red eyes. It was holding a mini-tape recorder with a sticky-note on it that said Play me.
Honda slitted his eyes at the creepy little skull-head. Guess I've got no choice.
He pried the recorder out of the doll's grip and punched the play button.
It was Pegasus's voice he heard:
"Hello, Honda-Boy. Welcome and I do hope you'll enjoy your stay. I have a challenge for you to perform. It's a scavenger hunt of sorts. If my men have done their job, you should see a slip of paper on the table..."
Honda looked, and yes, there it was-- a computer printout of a short list.
"I have hidden everything on that list within the house. All you have to do, Dear Boy, is find them. Once you've done that, your challenge will be done and you can come claim a fabulous prize." Another nasally laugh, then static.
Honda turned off the recorder and scrutinized the list. It seemed simple enough.
1. Rubber Ball
2. Flannel Shirt
3. Sketchbook
4. Hairbrush
5. Photograph
Well, the most obvious place to find a hairbrush would be the upstairs bedroom.
He strode into the foyer, heading for the stairs. As he approached them, something from above caught his eye.
"-- Holy shit!"
None of them could sleep-- they were too worried about Anzu and Honda. Yugi, Yami, and Jouno wound up huddled around the fireplace, swathed in down comforters, grateful for each other's presence. Ryou and Bakura were in their room, sleeping soundly in each others' arms.
Yami said, "We don't need to worry about Anzu anymore. Her stay in the house has already ended."
Yugi gulped at Yami's utterance of the word ended. He shivered and cuddled up a little closer to the Pharaoh.
"Do you..." Jouno shook his head. "Never mind. Sorry." He was going to ask, Do you really think they're okay? but he knew Yami wouldn't have the kind of response that should be discussed in front of Yugi.
He snapped out of his thoughts and met Yami's gaze. He was smiling compassionately. "You need to get some rest, Joey. Try to sleep." The pharaoh then leaned against his hikari, who was already snoring softly, and closed his eyes.
Jouno laid down, but when he closed his eyes, the memory of Serenity's sad smile kept him awake.
"-- Holy shit!"
He recoiled, staring at the eyes that were watching him from atop the staircase.
After a few seconds, he forced himself to breathe again and let out a huge sigh. "Oh, man. You scared the shi-- the heck outta me. What are you doing here, huh?"
The little boy sat there, watching Honda through a window at the top of the stairs. He stared with jet-black eyes that shone with a strange dead light, as cold and inscrutable as pebbles at the bottom of a riverbed.
Honda sweatdropped. Man, what a creepy kid. "Uh, so, what's your name, little man?"
The boy stared at him for a few long seconds. "Toshio." His cold, dry voice sent a chill up Honda's spine.
"Oh, okay, Toshio, well, I'll just try to call someone to come get you, okay? Why don't you come on--"
Toshio jumped to his feet and ran off down the second floor corridor.
"Aw, shit. Hey, come back here!" Honda followed him up the stairs.
As he stepped onto the landing, he saw the boy vanish around a corner at the end of the hall. Before he could follow, he heard a sound.
-- click. click.
It was coming from behind the first door before him.
"Who's in there? Come on out."
CLICK. CLICK-CLICK.
Honda gulped. It's a trick. It's another one of Pegasus's dumb tricks!
He sighed and approached slowly, trying to be quiet. The door was open just a crack.
He crept up and peered in. He saw the glow of moonlight and heard the clicking. Reluctantly, he pushed the door open with his fingertips.
He sucked in a huge gasp when he saw an angry face staring at him from the shadows.
"Oh! Uh... Hello there." Sweat was trickling down Honda's face.
The man was standing in the shadows, biting his nails. His face was twisted into the most hateful glare.
CLICK. CLICK.
"Uh... I'm sorry..."
He stopped biting his nails long enough to abruptly swing his head to the side, filling the room with the dry, sick popping of his vertebrae.
Honda gulped. "Um..."
"... Are you him?"
Honda froze. Shit. "I'm sorry, what?"
The man took a step towards Honda, making him take a step back. His voice rose as he repeated himself. "Are you HIM?"
"Wait. I don't-- Agh--!"
Honda never had a chance.
Kaiba sat alone in the back of his black Rolls Royce, the only light the passing streetlights shining in from the sunroof. He couldn't stop thinking about those idiots, and the biggest idiot of all-- Jouno Wheeler.
Moron-- what have you gotten yourself into?
The phone rang.
"What is it?"
"Mister Kaiba, I just spoke to the coroner. Ms. Mazaki's body is missing."
Kaiba's eyes widened. "What... the fucking hell?"
... Anzu?
"-- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!"
Honda had been throttled, his larynx damaged very badly. It took him a few seconds to realize the strange sound he heard was now the only sound he could make.
The man held him so that he could not help but see Anzu's corpse, wrapped in plastic, blood dried on her face, white, soulless eyes, laid out on the bed.
Anzu... Anzu!
"Look at your whore! Don't she look good now?"
Tears welled up and Honda blinked them out. He knew that he would die, but more than that, he was overcome with grief at his friend's death. It dawned on him then that the others would come in, one by one, and they would all die.
Resigned, he closed his eyes, his lip trembling. If only I could warn you all. Yugi!
"Yugi!"
Yugi stirred slightly in Yami's arms. The fire in the hearth had died down to embers.
"Yugi, you'll die! One by one! Don't go into that house!"
Hearing that, Yugi's eyes snapped open. "What?"
He thought he'd heard a familiar voice.
"Honda?"
Seto Kaiba marched into the front door of the Saeki house, followed closely by his driver/bodyguard, Roland.
"Search down here. I'll check upstairs."
"Yes Sir."
He flew up the staircase, anticipating the sight of Jouno's blonde hair and smiling face. He found something in the first room he checked that stunned him silent.
"... Anzu..."
Her face was raw. Kaiba saw the broken mirror at the vanity and understood-- Anzu's face had been mutilated with a shard of broken glass.
Bastard... She's already dead, you sick fuck! He didn't realize that he was trembling with anger.
"Master Kaiba! You gotta see this!"
Roland was standing on the back porch. Seto joined him and found that he was looking at skid marks in the grass, leading to the back gate.
"Someone was dragged down to that road."
They followed the tracks by the glow of the streetlights, walking a short distance before they caught sight of him.
"That's Honda."
"He looks strange... Be careful, Sir."
They approached cautiously. Honda was kneeling in the middle of the road. However, he appeared to be defying gravity-- he was leaning so far forward that it seemed impossible for him to not fall on his face. Also, his hands were dangling in front of him, their knuckles just short of touching the ground.
"Honda. Honda!"
He didn't move or reply.
They understood once they got close enough to see it. So thin, so sinuous was the black twine that bound Honda by the neck to the branches of a nearby tree. His eyes were completely dead, dry and white. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth.
They looked him over, mesmerized and repulsed at the same time.
Kaiba growled under his breath: "Pegasus."
"This is so fucking bizarre. It's sick. Sir, this isn't twine. It's human hair. I can't even imagine how many hours it took the killer to braid it so meticulously."
Kaiba felt a strange pang in his chest. His heart was beating too fast.
Joey...
10
are you him?
finish