Memories of Egypt

Title: Memories of Egypt – 7/8

Author: Telpei

Pairing(s): Seto/Jou, mentions of Priest Seto/Atemu

Beta: Jennie B.

Spoilers: Mentions of plot details from the series, up to the Doom arc.

Summary: Seto has always been bothered by the idea of his Ancient Egyptian past, but what would life be like without it?

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Chapter 7

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As soon as Seto’s car pulled up to the front of the warehouse, two armed men appeared to escort him to the interior. The CEO recognized them as Kaiba Corp. employees working security detail, and he had to wonder just how much of his company was corrupt. If he made it through this fiasco alive, a serious background check of his entire workforce would be in order.

The brunet was led into the dark warehouse at gunpoint, but he didn’t let his nervousness show. Nakamura was waiting just inside the door with an arrogant smirk on his lips and standing in a haughty posture. Seto felt pure hatred flow through his veins, but he held his tongue against the scathing remarks he longed to throw at the contemptuous old man. “Where’s Mokuba?” he demanded simply, focusing on his first priority.

“Right this way,” the man replied, turning and leading the way through the dark warehouse. At that moment, Seto almost wished he had accepted Jounouchi’s gun so that he could have shot the traitor in the back.

The faint emergency lights of the building emitted an eerie blue glow that lit the path through the many stacks of boxes of backordered Duel Monsters cards and other merchandise in the warehouse. The piles rose high towards the ceiling, but a lane had been cleared from the main entrance to the back section of the building. They finally arrived at a small office partition in the back of the storage area, and Nakamura stepped through the entrance without a backwards glance. Seto followed him inside, beginning to feel a little claustrophobic in the enclosed area. Instead of the high roof found in the garage section of the warehouse, the office space had low, seven foot ceilings, and was closed off from the rest of the building. Nakamura ordered one of the two men to stand guard at the entrance to the offices, and then led the young CEO further down the hall. The brunet glanced around the dark room, noticing the large wooden desk to the left and several filing cabinets, before they rounded a corner into a more brightly lit room.

When Seto’s eyes landed on his little brother, he felt his heart twist painfully in his chest. Mokuba’s lower lip was split and bloody, and his left eye was bruised and swollen. His shirt had been removed, revealing the pale skin of his skinny torso, and hideous, red wounds from the whip marred his back. His wrists were tied to the armrests of the chair in which he sat, and the rough rope was cutting into his skin. Seto was relieved to find that his brother was still alive, despite his precarious situation and obvious abuse. However, Mokuba didn’t seem too pleased to see his older brother.

“Look who showed up,” the boy snarled, his good eye narrowing in Seto’s direction. “I’m surprised you ditched your ~boyfriend~ to come and find me. You two seemed pretty content in the park.”

The brunet was confused for several moments before he realized that Mokuba was referring to Jounouchi. “It’s not what you think,” he tried to explain, taking a step towards his brother. The rift between them was tearing at Seto’s heart, and the pain seemed to increase each time he looked into the hateful grey eyes. However, when the CEO looked a little closer, he could detect the slightest amount of relief in Mokuba’s expression. “Of course I came for you, Mokie,” he said in a soft voice, coming to a stop when Nakamura placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from going any closer to the boy. “I would never leave you in the hands of these monsters.”

Mokuba snorted and looked away, but the brunet smiled a little anyway. He could tell his brother was glad to see him, even if the stubborn youth wouldn’t admit it. Seto shook the hand from his shoulder and straightened his posture. He then turned a famous Kaiba Glare on Nakamura. “Release him this instant. You’re getting what you want, so uphold your end of the bargain.”

The greying man gave a sly grin and tossed some extra rope at the guard who had followed them into the room. “Tie Kaiba-san up in his brother’s place, and release the boy,” he commanded. “I think this is a fair trade.”

For the sake of his pride, and to keep face for Mokuba, Seto calmly allowed himself to be led towards the wooden chair. He fished his wallet and his phone from his pocket and passed them to the boy once he had been released. “Call a taxi and get yourself to the hospital,” he murmured, before pulling his brother into a one-sided hug. To his surprise, Mokuba hesitated only a moment before responding and gripping his brother in a tight embrace. “Call Sasaki,” Seto added in a whisper, referring to another member of the Kaiba Corp board of directors. “He can be trusted. We’re not going down without a fight, you hear me?”

Mokuba nodded against his chest, but Seto held on to the boy for a moment longer before the guards pulled them apart. The brunet watched as his brother was allowed to leave the room while he was being tied down to the chair. “Nakamura, I swear that if you hurt one more hair on his head, you’ll die a slow, painful death,” he threatened, glaring at the man and trying desperately to ignore his satisfied smirk.

“Now, now, Kaiba, I’m a man of my word,” the man replied, striding forward and tilting Seto’s chin upwards with two fingers. “I promised not to do anything to the boy…personally, that is.”

Seto’s blood ran cold, and he began to struggle for the first time as the older businessman turned to the guard who still stood by the door. “Go after him,” Nakamura ordered with a wicked grin. “Don’t let him leave the building. I want him dead, and I want the body to disappear.”

The man gave a short, professional nod. He cocked his gun and turned from the room, heading back down the hall and towards the dark garage area of the warehouse.

“You bastard!” Seto snarled, pulling against the ropes that bound his wrists. “You’ll pay for this, Nakamura! You won’t get away with it!”

“Oh, I won’t?” the man asked with a cold laugh. “I believe I will, my dear Seto. No one knows you’re here, and no one is going to come and save you or your brother. You don’t have any friends in this world, Kaiba. You should have resigned from your position as CEO earlier, and I wouldn’t have been pushed to this extreme – but you’ve left me no choice, I’m afraid.”

A feeling of extreme helplessness overcame the brunet, and the emotion was so strong that he felt as if he couldn’t breathe. A gunshot rang out in the warehouse, and Seto felt tears collecting at the corners of his eyes. “You bastard,” he murmured, his voice broken and desperate. “You bastard!” he repeated, more loudly this time as he struggled anew against his bonds. “I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch!”

“There, there, Kaiba-san,” Nakamura soothed, but his forked tongue only caused the brunet to struggle that much harder. “I just need your signature right on this paper, and then you’ll be allowed to go free.”

“My life is worth nothing without my brother,” Seto seethed, glaring daggers at the man through the haze of his tears. “Kill me now, since I’m not going to sign any fucking papers. You went back on our deal, Nakamura, and I swear you’ll be dead before tonight is over.”

“Hm,” the man replied, frowning, “and here your brother assured me that you cared nothing for him. I guess he was wrong – too bad he had to die thinking that his only family didn’t even love him.” The man paused, obviously delighting in Seto’s misery, before he continued, “However, Kaiba-san, I really do need your signature. You see, I am very pleased with your new product and its projected profits. The WISH Pet looks like a worthy investment from my point of view. I intend to take over Kaiba Corp once you’re dead, and I need you to verify that I am the rightful successor to the company. Right now Sasaki holds that title, and I would hate to have to kill him, as well, on my route to power. I’m certain you wouldn’t want his blood on your conscience as well, would you, Kaiba-san? You need a clean soul if you want to have a happy afterlife.”

“I’d rather go to hell than leave you in charge of my company,” Seto growled, trying in vain to mask his pain and distress. He couldn’t see any way out of this situation, save for some sort of miracle.

“You’re still so arrogant,” Nakamura mused, circling Seto’s chair in a predatory manner. “The company doesn’t really belong to you anymore, Kaiba-san...you’re as good as dead.”

The brunet was about to snarl a response when a new presence cleared their throat from the doorway of the room. A small amount of hope was rekindled in Seto’s heart with this turn of events, but when Nakamura looked up and smiled the emotion was extinguished.

“Hirutani,” the Kaiba Corp board-member declared, striding forward and extending his hand. The two men shook and exchanged short words of greeting, while Seto ground his teeth together. He had been right, after all. If Hirutani was here, then Jounouchi had betrayed him, as well.

“I assume there have been no problems?” the newcomer asked, stepping further into the room and eyeing Seto with some amusement. “I see you’ve reduced the mighty CEO of Kaiba Corporation to tears. Good.”

The young businessman narrowed his eyes, cursing his rampant emotions. However, he knew that no amount of training could have prepared him to mask the grief he felt over the loss of his brother.

“Do you have his signature, yet?” the gang boss questioned, turning back to Nakamura. Upon receiving a negative response to his inquiry, the man sighed. “Very well,” he said, ushering a couple of his own goons into the room. “Don’t hold back,” he ordered, motioning the two ugly, scarred men towards Seto. “Torture him until he signs the damned papers, and then kill him slowly. Make him suffer for turning us away all those years ago.”

Seto grit his teeth, resigning himself to his fate. He remembered rejecting the Rintama gang when he had taken control of the corporation, and even now, he had no regrets. He had vowed that he would never become another Gozaburo, and looking back on his life, Seto found that he was happy with his accomplishments – save for his failed relationship with Mokuba. ‘Although, perhaps I’ll be seeing him sooner rather than later,’ the brunet thought to himself as he watched Hirtuani’s gang members lay out their equipment on a table nearby.

“This wasn’t in the plan,” another new voice said from behind Nakamura, but this voice was familiar. Seto looked up quickly, surprised to find Jounouchi standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. “You promised me you wouldn’t hurt him, Hirutani.”

“And I told you to wait outside,” the older man replied with a frown, meeting Jounouchi’s glare without flinching. “It’s really too bad that you haven’t been listening very well, Jounouchi. You used to be an indispensable ally, but that’s beginning to change. When I told you to follow Kaiba earlier this evening, I didn’t mean for you to become his lawyer. And yet, here you are, defending his rights. If I want to torture him and then kill him, you will not question me.”

“I won’t let you hurt him.” Jou stood his ground, his gaze unwavering as he confronted the dangerous man. The two were a mere three feet apart, close enough for either to strike out and begin a physical attack. “I’ll kill you if you lay a finger on him.”

Seto’s eyes widened in surprise as he watched Jounouchi draw his weapon and aim it at Hirutani. The two burly men who were meant to be Seto’s torturers were quick to jump to their leader’s defence, but Jou stopped them from drawing their own weapons by cocking his own gun and threatening Hirutani’s life. “Move another step and he dies,” the blond growled. Seto found himself paralysed with fear and unable to breathe. He desperately wanted to tell Jounouchi to stop, to tell the blond that he wasn’t worth it, and that he couldn’t bear to see another loved one die – but he just couldn’t seem to find his voice.

Instead, Hirutani heaved a sigh. “I went to such troubles to secure your loyalty, Jounouchi. Does that mean nothing to you?” he asked, and when Jou shook his head, the gang leader’s calm countenance dissolved into a snarl of fury. “I dished out serious cash for that little sister of yours, and I even had her killed so that she wouldn’t be a weakness for you,” he snarled, striking forward faster than lightning and knocking Jou’s gun to the ground. From out of nowhere, he produced a switchblade, and now that Hirtuani’s life wasn’t in immediate danger, the other two gang members were free to draw their own weapons. Snarling and cursing loudly, the blond found himself immediately cornered. The knife at his throat prevented him from fighting back. “But now, Jounouchi, you’ve outgrown your usefulness. Just like Nakamura over here,” Hirutani continued with a sneer. He cast a glare at the older businessman, whose eyes widened in shock. “It’s so hard to find good help these days.”

Using his blade, Hirutani forced Jou to sit in another chair in the room, and within moments the blond teen was tied down just as securely as Seto was. “I think I’ll let you watch while we torture your little friend,” the gang leader said with a smirk, turning his back on Jou.

What happened next occurred so quickly that Seto could barely follow the motions with his own eyes. Somehow, without attracting attention to himself, Nakamura had managed to get hold of Jounouchi’s forgotten gun and, without hesitating, he fired a bullet into Hirutani’s turned back. “That will teach you to try to double cross me!” the old man cried with rage, watching with satisfaction as Hirutani’s dead body hit the ground like a lead weight. His two followers were quick to react, both turning their own firearms on Nakamura, but the businessman was a surprisingly good shot.

The sound of simultaneous gunfire echoed through the room, the loud noise ringing in Seto’s ears as he watched in stunned horror. The taller of the two Rintama gang members was the first to hit the ground, killed by one of Nakamura’s bullets, while the other scarred man fired two rounds into the businessman’s chest. The old man wasn’t so easily killed, however, and even as he took his dying breath, his finger tightened on the trigger and he fired his last bullet into the other’s skull. They both slid to the ground, dead, the coppery smell of their pooling blood flooding Seto’s nostrils and causing his stomach to turn with discomfort.

The room grew silent for several moments; the loudest noise was the frantic beating of Seto’s heart and his ragged breathing. And then, suddenly, Jounouchi was at his side, cutting through the ropes that bound his wrists with a razor sharp knife. “We’ve got to get out of here,” the blond was saying, freeing Seto from his entrapment and pulling the brunet to his feet. “I got rid of Nakamura’s goons earlier, but Hirutani had backup on the way. No doubt the cops will be here soon, too...” The shorter male paused and frowned, giving Seto’s arm a sharp pinch when he noticed that the CEO wasn’t responding. “C’mon, Kaiba, don’t freak out on me yet! We have to leave!”

“I...I can’t,” Seto murmured, shaking his head as he stared, wide eyed, at the death that surrounded him. All he could picture was an image of Mokuba’s dead, lifeless body lying on the ground in a pool of his own dark red blood. “M-Mokie... We...we have to find him...” The tears were flowing again; Seto could feel the wetness on his cheeks, but he felt no shame. “Please...I can’t leave him here...”

Jounouchi smiled suddenly, reaching up to brush away Seto’s tears. “Don’t worry about your bro, Kaiba... he’s waiting for us out by your car. There was a big guy with a gun that looked pretty dangerous, but I took him out before he did any harm. Mokuba is safe and sound.”

Seto stared, stunned, for several long moments. He could barely understand what Jounouchi said after that, the words ‘Mokuba is safe’ repeating over and over again in his taxed mind. He allowed Jou to lead him out of the warehouse, and when his tear-filled blue eyes caught sight of his beloved younger brother standing beside his parked car, Seto let out a choked sob. Rushing forward, he caught Mokuba in a tight hug, crying openly when he felt the boy return the embrace.

In that moment, when Seto’s brain finally caught up with the situation and he realized that Mokuba was alive, really ~alive~, Seto was happier than he had ever been in his short life. “I love you,” he murmured, pressing his lips against his brother’s soft raven hair and squeezing the boy even tighter.

And then, when Mokuba replied with a choked, “I love you too, nii-sama,” Seto knew that things were going to be okay.

Ooo TBC ooO