Title: In Explanation
Author: starlight2005
Rating: T (to be safe)
Sequel to You'll Be Safe Here
A/N: As promised, here is the follow-up story of our favorite pharaoh. Sorry for the delay, I'm currently still attending class for college entrance exams this August (it being the University of the Philippines of course made it more complicated for me ::sighs::). Anyway, if something goes horribly wrong here, wrong grammar, info or stuff, please accept my apologies. You might notice that this is greatly influenced by my favorite book The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Great book, by the way. If not, do forgive me for my apparent ignorance. Oh, and by the way, don't hesitate to leave a review, okay? I'd love that.
::laughs:: I've kept you long enough. Read the first chapter and enjoy!
Chapter 1: Serenading Reveries
All journalists follow one similar philosophy, that is, to always maintain consistency no matter what. That for one to be the medium of truth and information, one must also prepare himself to practice what he preach unless he wishes to lose his credibility. Relatively, for one to gain the trust of other people, one should prove himself worth of such trust.
This way of thinking was easier said than done, however, but to those determined enough, maintaining every bit of credibility and near perfection was something one can easily accustomed with. And undercover agents who are depended on with various missions, all ranging from the least complicated to the most, also believe in such philosophy. Especially Yami Motou, World Protection Agent.
He was still the agency's best agent, deadly and cunning as ever, but everyone knew he had changed drastically within the span of three years. Exactly three years after he had gotten back at Shaqi, of course. How ironic, though, that our story will start with him standing by the window of his well-furnished office, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain. There was melancholy in the air, its origin far from being known to the crimson-eyed man, and with it floated an aura of uncertainty. Three years have passed so quickly, Shaqi was dead and the Nightstalkers have finally decided not to bug him anymore. It was nice, wasn't it? That he need not worry for any further danger watching his every move? That no one would ever scare him into thinking that something might have happened to someone he cares about. It was nice, right?
But still, everything seemed futile. The death of the 'bastard' he once called the man who killed himself didn't matter to him then, guarantying himself that he did what he had to do. Three years have passed indeed, and within those years, he couldn't bring himself to go on and forget what he had said and done then. It all felt so new to him, as if fighting Nightstalkers off, taunting Shaqi into finding him and manipulating every event and turning the tables around whenever Shaqi was concerned, were things he would normally do.
Why? He doesn't know.
He turned his back on the window as he looked at the drawer, he opened it and took out a folder stamped with red bold letters CASE CLOSED; he opened it again and looked at the picture in the upper right corner. His lips turned into a grimace, his eyes scrutinizing the man in the picture as if memorizing every detail, even the smallest scars on the man's face, and then he turned to read the last report regarding the case.
"Suspect committed suicide after setting the warehouse on fire. Agent Motou witnessed every ordeal."
The events were still glued vividly in his mind, his words echoed in his mind, the other's responses and cries of pain until death claimed him mingled ceaselessly with his random thoughts.
As if on cue, the door opened and Yami was brought back to his senses. He watched his partner settle himself in the sofa, granting said material to serve its purpose and please Bakura. The white-haired former thief stared at him and he stared back before going back to work. What was the point of reopening closed files, anyway?
"Something's troubling you," Bakura said, a statement rather than a question. He shook his head, denying it as usual before typing some words into his opened laptop.
"Nothing has happened ever since that mishap in January, what can disturb me?" the former monarch replied absentmindedly. The 'mishap' he was talking about, apparently, has happened more than four months ago.
"Something personal?" the other answered.
He grunted before deciding to ignore Bakura completely.
"You've been looking at the files again, haven't you?" Yami paused and looked at him, then turned away when he heard his phone ring. He smiled, that Seto of his always had perfect timing, he thought.
"Yes, Seto?"
"Are you busy?"
"Not exactly. Unless you call talking with Bakura busy, then that's your opinion, not mine. Surely the CEO of Kaiba Corporation has other more important things to do than ask if I'm busy?" He sensed the other smirk from the other line.
"Bakura's there? I thought he's with Ryou right now. Is he more of a disturbance than of assistance?"
"Seto, you know well enough that Bakura never assists. He just disturbs people. That's his job."
The executive laughed and his smile turned into a smirk as Bakura glared at him. "As much as I'd love talking to you all day, Dragon, I have other things to do so I'll just see you tonight, alright?"
"I'll see you tonight. Bye Yami."
The former pharaoh smirked at his partner, amused at seeing the other scowl at him before he shrugged nonchalantly and went back to work. He was absolutely certain his annoying partner was thinking up of things to remove that smug look on his face right now.
Which, as always, made him smirk even more.
XXX
It was already 7:00 PM when he arrived, his sleek new Porsche entering the curb and the mansion's garage. Seto's Ferrari was inside by now, he noticed, as he took his keys and walked inside. Just as he was about to open the door, however, he was pulled back and into a fiery kiss, which he returned with equal fervor.
Once they broke for air, he shook his head, whether out of amusement or exasperation, and then opened the door again. "Trust in you to sneak up on me, Dragon," he said to his lover. Seto grinned boyishly at him before spotting jet black hair sneaking off from the kitchen.
"You do know how worthless your attempts are from hiding that snack from us, right Mokuba?" he asked his younger brother, revealing an 18-year old and a bag of Lays. The younger Kaiba smiled sheepishly at them, and recently they wonder if said boy was just a childish 18-year old or a kid who happened to be an 18-year old.
"Welcome home, Seto, Yami. Hey, Ryou called and wondered where Bakura was. He was supposed to have dinner with Ryou and his girlfriend tonight," Mokuba greeted, diverging them from the present matter.
The CEO looked at his lover, the agent returning his gaze before sighing and flipping his phone open. "Bakura, you idiot, the dinner was tonight not tomorrow! Ryou's waiting for you and you're freaking him out," he told his partner, smiling smugly as the other panicked slightly before getting mad at him for not reminding him.
Seriously, Bakura, the monarch thought.
"See you tomorrow, tomb robber. By the way, whatever you're going to rant about Ryou, I certainly do not want to hear it, nor does Seto or Mokuba." Then he ended the call with satisfaction. Of course he didn't mean it, he would probably be forced to listen to the other the next day but hey, the white-haired agent didn't need to know he finds pleasure in annoying the other, right?
"Let's eat dinner," Seto said and pulled his lover into the dining room, following the hyperactive teen.
Just in the middle of their dinner, when Mokuba was finally made to eat his food and not just stare at it (having no appetite for such lavish tasteless kind of food), two consecutive rings from different mobile phones sounded in the hall, their owners alerted by the sounds brought and flipped the phones open.
"Paul," Yami answered, apathetic all of a sudden. The WPO chief seldom calls in the middle of their dinner unless something was really, really wrong. In fact, if it could be solved without him, Paul never calls at all.
"What is it?" the CEO said impatiently, knowing whoever called him would surely cost him his job if he didn't have a good reason why he called.
"Mr. K-Kaiba… somebody bought 30 of the Kaiba Corporation shares"
"What the hell do you mean 30?" he nearly yelled, briefly catching Yami's and Mokuba's concerned glances. He shook his head apologetically before leaving them to have the conversation in private.
Yami, finally reminding Paul was still on the other line, went back to their discussion. "I'm sorry. What were you saying, Paul?" he asked, the other, as he'd done before, repeated, fully understanding why the young agent had not heard him.
'Mr. Edmond Morrell was ambushed just a few minutes ago. His wife and son were killed but he was saved from uncertain death by his driver. He's in the hospital right now."
"Which hospital?" Yami replied, taking all the information in and thinking about every possible suspect existing in the globe. He made a move to stand from his seat, only to see his lover enter the hall with a scowl. This was definitely not good.
"The one he owns."
"Critical?"
"Just a leg injury. He'll live."
"And you want me to… check things out?"
"No."
"No?" the monarch repeated. If he wasn't taking the case; why being informed so soon then? He would receive the same report the next morning, wouldn't he?
"I called to inform you because Mr. Morrell is one of the shareholders of Kaiba Corp. and the CEO might want to hear this directly from a credible source."
XXX
A/N: Bad me… leaving a cliffie like that… sorry…