Chapter 2

Katsumi returns.

Alternative chapter name: Katashi

togisumasareta yaiba no utsukushii
sono kissaki ni yoku nita sonata no yokogao
kanashimi to ikari ni hisomu

Translates to something along the lines of:

The beauty of a sharp blade,
Your (or rather, thy) profile looks very much like that sword point.
Lurking in the sadness and anger

Notes: SORRY! I'm so sorry for not updating anything for about a thousand years, and I'm sorry for this chapter, which was supposed to resolve a lot more than it does... and spends too much time focused on Katashi (who goes by Katsumi also)

I apologise again for the lack of promised activity in this chapter... I'll try harder in future, I pwomise:3

Anyway, Disclaimer: I own naught but my frozen fingers and screwed up neck- souvenirs from my computer over-usage.

Seto Kaiba paced his study, waiting for a business partner to show up, sipping periodically at his green tea (Just thought I'd play with the cliches).

Unwillingly, Mazaki crept into his head. Furious with the lack of control he seemed to have over his own mind, Seto slammed the tea on his desk, and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths, and methodically went through

Finally, he paused in his routine, and opened his eyes to find his open palm was not an inch from the straight nose of a tall, dark-haired young man with startling blue eyes.

The man clapped and bowed to Seto,

"Mr. Kaiba! As usual, your skills amaze me." He said, his face straight, but his eyes laughing,

Seto inclined his head,

"Katsumi Kobayashi, good to see you again," he said and, for once, respect was evident in his voice; this man deserved his position in society, and the respect of his peers, "will you sit down, and have some tea?"

Katsumi inclined his head and sat at the coffee table in the centre of the room, Seto sat opposite him and called his secretary.

As she poured both the men tea, Kaiba looked Katsumi in the eye,

"You said you had very important business to discuss." He said sharply, wary of the smokescreen of Kobayashi's diplomacy. Katsumi nodded,

"I am here to inform you of an attack that is to be made against your person in the next month," he began with equal bluntness, placing his tea on the table, "I will be frank, Kaiba, you are in grave danger."

Seto scowled,

"You know very well I can defend myself, Katsumi," he hissed, insulted by the slightly older man's concern for his safety, "you remember, I'm sure, we trained under the same sensei, and I used to wipe the floor with you."

Katsumi inclined his head again,

"I meant no offence, Seto," he said, his voice dangerously low, "I merely meant to warn you, this girl-"

Seto held up a hand,

"You mean to tell me, you wished to warn me that a girl is going to attempt an assassination," he snorted, "what is she going to do, hit me with a fan?"

Katsumi's eyes flashed, darkening at Seto's dismissive tone,

"This was always your weakness, Kaiba," Katsumi's voice remained steady, despite his anger, "you underestimate your rivals, how is that Mutou boy- Yugi, is it?- have you beaten him yet?"

Seto felt his cool nerves boiling over, he stood, kicking his chair back, and slamming his fist on the table. The cups of tea jumped about and spilled.

Seto kept his fist on the table, head lowered, his bangs covering his face,

"I think it is time you left, Kobayashi." He said quietly, Katsumi sighed,

"I apologise, Seto, I should not have brought up the boy," he hesitated, wary of pushing Seto farther than he had already, "but you must believe me when I tell you are in danger."

He walked around to Seto and pushed on his shoulders, forcing into the abandoned chair,

"Not because you cannot take her," he said gently, "but because if you kill her, you will have their wrath to deal with."

Seto looked up,

"How did I know this would be connected to The Cause?" he muttered, Katsumi laughed,

"Everything is connected to The Cause, my friend," he smiled, "especially this girl. Do you recall the prophecy?"

Seto's eyes widened marginally, but he scoffed,

"You know very well what I think of that nonsense, Katsumi," he scowled, "this was the one point we could never agree on."

Katsumi nodded,

"But regardless of wether or not the prophecy has any truth at all, I require your assistance."

Seto leaned back slightly in his chair; this was his area, negotiation, business, not prophecies and long-dead organizations he longed to be severed from,

"What do you need from me, Katsumi?"

Katsumi scowled, he hated having to ask Seto for favours, but it was for the good of The Cause,

"Two days ago," he began, "Daichi was murdered"

Seto sat forward, disgust evident on his face,

"I sincerely hope it had nothing to do with you, Katsumi."

"Do you really think so little of me?" Katsumi growled, "Daichi was my oldest friend, greatest ally, and the closest thing to a father I had."

Seto nodded, and Katsumi went on,

"He left behind Amaya, of course, and a daughter, who we have long suspected to be Mizuki, the one to restore the honour of The Cause-"

"Yes, yes, Kobayashi, I know the prophecy back-to-front, there is no need to recite the legend."

"We, that is to say, the traditional supporters of The Cause, do not know who murdered Daichi, or why, but I have my suspicions."

Seto cracked his knuckles, Daichi had been like a father to him as well, he had helped him in the times when Gozoburo's tyranny became too much,

"And they are?" snapped Seto, "I will kill the man myself."

Katsumi's eyes flashed dark once again,

"It is not your place," he barked, "This must be done by his daughter, and no one else. She is hungry for revenge, and I wish to see her succeed. She is dear to me."

Seto raised an eyebrow,

"Oh?" he smirked, "is she attractive?"

Katsumi rolled his eyes,

"As a sister, as a daughter. Amaya and Daichi were kind to me. Besides, I plan to mentor her."

Seto nodded, "Go on."

"I may not reveal my suspicions, or I will be killed. Mizumi's reign has seen all the traditional supporters bugged and trailed."

Katsumi's eyes swept the room for the hundredth time since he had arrived,

"I can only talk so freely now because your security is advanced; years ahead of The Cause's."

"That is why you insisted on meeting in my office."

"Yes. As I say, I may not speak freely, even here. But I have devised a way to point Mizuki in the right direction."

"How does this help you restore order and honour to The Cause?"

"Believe me when I say, killing the murderers will have a direct effect on how The Cause operates," hinted Katsumi, "and it is vital that you assist me."

Seto nodded,

"You wish to use me as a scapegoat?"

Katsumi laughed,

"In a way, yes," he smirked, "I am going to point her in your direction, you must prove somehow that you were not responsible for Daichi's death –this may require informing her of your past- and together, you can figure out for yourselves who exactly killed Daichi, and how to exact her revenge."

Seto gazed at a drop of spilled tea that was slowly trickling down the leg of the table. Like a tear…

"What is in it for me?" asked Seto plainly.

Katsumi smiled,

"Your freedom, for one,"

"My freedom? I am more free than any other man in the world, Katsumi."

"Ah, but you're not. And you know it. Your parents did not leave The Cause, and you had sworn yourself before they died. Mokuba is free, you are not."

Seto cursed. He had hope Katsumi would overlook that particular point. The man was right; Seto did underestimate his opponents, and his allies.

"There is another reward, Seto," said Katsumi, "revenge."

Seto hissed,

"My parents. You know who killed them."

"I have an idea."

"You always have ideas, thoughts, and hunches," snapped Seto, "I want proof."

"Oh, you'll get proof," chuckled Katsumi, "in time."

Seto nodded, Katsumi was a good businessman,

"Very well, then. I shall assist you, but thereafter, I am free, and I have no obligations to you, or The Cause."

Katsumi nodded, stood, and held out his hand,

"Try not to kill the girl, Seto. She isn't as emotionally stable as the rest of us, and I know you believe it tends to make one…weak."

Seto scoffed,

"I'll try. No promises."

Katsumi laughed,

"And I suggest you clean up that dojo of yours. I heard what you did to the pillar. Very disrespectful, as usual."

Seto smirked,

"So you do have a spy among my staff. I am impressed."

Katsumi grinned,

"You should be. Although, it didn't take a lot of persuading to keep her there after you paraded around naked."

Seto smirked,

"I shall enjoy figuring out which one is yours, Katashi," He smirked, "If you still go by that name,"

"I do. Good luck, Seto. I shall be watching your progress with the girl. Do not hurt her, or you will feel Amaya's wrath before you feel mine."

Seto shook Katashi's hand,

"I don't need luck, Katashi, I have skill."

As Seto saw the formidable man out the door, he could have sworn he heard a muttered:

"Cocky bastard."

Anzu sat on the couch in her house, legs crossed, arms folded, foot tapping against the leather-

Waiting.

It was almost exactly three days after her birthday, and the murder of her father. The time Katashi had promised to return for Anzu.

She checked her watch again, and mentally ran over the list of things she had packed,

Clothes, check,

Toiletries, check,

Father's old Daisho (1), check,

Reading material, check.

She had to admit... she was nervous.

Haruka watched her daughter waiting for Katashi and sighed,

My baby girl is leaving me, she thought, going off to get herself killed.

Katashi Kobayashi stood outside the Mazaki residence, locking his car with a flick of his finger.

He approached the door, and ignored the doorbell, instead opting to let himself in, in true Katashi style; he was polite and honourable when necessary, but at this moment, it was unnecessary.

He glanced around him, seeing a red light blink twice to his left. Scoffing quietly at the 'top-of-the-line' security device, he slipped a concealed blade attached to his finger behind the device, and deftly severed two of the six wires affixed to the wall.

There would be a call from the security company soon. He would be ready.

Katashi felt a presence behind him. It had to be Haruka, no one else could sneak up on him like that,

"Haruka." He said, turning around. It was not Haruka. It was Anzu,

This elicited a sharp intake of breath from Katashi, it was incredible, that she- an untrained rookie- could catch him unawares,

"You could have just asked for the combination," said Anzu, motioning to the security device, which was now hanging slightly askew from the wall, "The old-school James Bond method wasn't necessary."

Katashi said nothing, noticing she had Daichi's Daisho (okay, I'll clarify now, in case you couldn't be bothered checking the bottom of the page: Daisho is the two samurai swords, consisting of the Katana (full length) and Wakazashi (shorter dagger) they are worn together, and the Wakazashi is kinda…a backup. okay?) at Anzu's hip. She had drawn the Wakazashi, and was holding it awkwardly, in such a way that it could slip and injure her.

Katashi raised an eyebrow at her,

"The weapon is not necessary. And you are holding it wrong."

Anzu glared at him, ignoring the comment,

"Well, considering you broke into my home and destroyed my security system, I think it is necessary enough." She replied haughtily.

Katashi swept forward. He towered over her, but Anzu held her head high.
He considered her for a moment,

"How did you know I had come in, and how did you escape my notice?"

Anzu shrugged,

"I could sense something was wrong. It was…too quiet, like the house was trying to conceal something, like there was someone there, holding their breath. As for sneaking up on you, maybe you're just getting absentminded in your old age…" she grinned, mainly because it wasn't true, he looked to be only in his late twenties.

Katashi disregarded her insolent remark and concentrated on the information she had fed him,

"It appears you are very good at detection and subterfuge already. Without training, you are better than most of the adults in The Cause. However, it seems we will need to work on your sword technique."

In mere milliseconds, Katashi was at her side, the Wakazashi in his hands. Anzu stared, open-mouthed, at the space where he weapon had previously been residing,

"How…did…you…?"

Katashi merely chuckled, and plunged the dagger into a nearby table, Anzu gaped at his rudeness,

"It's not very polite to go attacking people's possessions, you know." She called furiously to his retreating form,

"It's not very polite to threaten a guest with a sword, you know." He chuckled, ignoring her squawking protests,

"I take it you're joining us, then." He said. It wasn't a question,

Anzu scowled,

"Not permanently. Just until I can get revenge on behalf of my father."

"You will need training first, so I suggest you control those impulses."

Anzu's scowl deepened, what a presumptuous bastard.

"Who said I was joining you!" she barked, following him through her home, scowling as he waved jauntily at a dubious haruka as they passed her.

Her mother gave Anzu a look that plainly said:

I'll never get used to him.

Anzu had to agree; he had more moods than a pregnant woman, and he jumped from homicidal to politely submissive in seconds,

"You have changed," he said casually in response to her not-quite question, "you may not have noticed- although I'm sure your mother has- but your demeanour, and even your physical appearance has changed."

Anzu opened her mouth to ask him what he meant, but he swept away before she had a chance.

He returned seconds later, bearing Anzu's bags, continuing his previous train of thought as if no time had passed,

"Besides, you packed your bags, so unless you're planning to skip town…"

Anzu grinned, feeling a shadow of her old good humour return.

She turned to her mother, and the smile faded,

"I'll visit you as often as I can, mama." She said. Glancing at Katashi, as if for some assurance. The man nodded once,

"I trust your discretion and prudence on the matter, Amay- Haruka."

Haruka nodded,

"Of course, my loyalties to you are as strong as ever, Katashi." She replied.

Anzu shook her head.

Never would she understand her mother.

As I said, SORRY! I will try and update soon, with more Seto goodiness, more information about The Cause, and more fun with the evil good bad guys

Reviews would be nice :)