Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Time on a Chain ❯ chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own Yu-gi-oh. I've just borrowed the guys to torture for a while.

Chapter 11


Willow came to breakfast late the next morning, she'd slipped into the house despite the fact that Seto
had changed the code after she left. Obviously in an attempt to find out what time she came in

After she'd disposed of the ragged jeans and olive tank top she'd worn she hadnt wasted any time
falling asleep. Now all she wanted was coffee and a lot of it. Anything to eat would be welcome too.

Mokuba was arguing with Seto, red faced and sulking.

"I'm tired of treadmill and indoor tracks. I want to go outside. We haven't heard from the Psycho
Writer for a week. He's probably in the booby hatch. I want to get my life back"

Seto just looked tired, he obviously hadn't slept well. He also looked like he was about to loose his
famous Kaiba temper and say things he didn't mean. Although Mokuba was no slouch in the temper
department, he just expressed it differently. He did have an ulcer after all.

Willow sipped at the coffee Joey handed her and tried to scrape her hair out of her face.

"Wills, how's the head? Feeling better?" Joey reached out to touch her sympathetically, she evaded his
touch without even noticing.

"Head? Oh, it's fine now. Good nights sleep fixed me up." Willow continued to drink her coffee while
listening to Seto and Mokuba argue. They were both getting angrier and more frustrated. Finally Joey
interrupted them; "Will you two put a sock in it? You're giving me a pain. Seto you can't keep him
cooped up in this house he'll go crazy and take the rest of us with him. And Mokuba, Sorry little buddy
but Seto's right too. You can't just go off by yourself. You have to take security with you."

Mokuba bulled up and snarled, "those idiots can't keep up with me. I want a good run, not a walk in
the park. I need to work off some stuff and I can't when they keep trying to hold me back. I want to go
up the mountain road and they can't get up it on ATVs. Damnit!!" Mokuba slammed his fist down on
the counter making smaller objects on it jump.

Willow looked at the three boys over the rim of her cup. She could keep up with Mokuba, in fact it
would be the other way around between them he would have trouble keeping up with her.

"I'll go with you. I can keep up. Give me time to finish this coffee and I'll change clothes." Willow
looked at Joey and Seto. They both had incredulous looks on their faces. "What? I've been trained
extensively. I can run for days with two hours sleep and less food and water than a slave. If I can't
keep up with him, I'll go in for retraining." Willow finished her coffee and forgot breakfast she didn't
want to run on a full stomach.

After digging around in the closet Willow found what she wanted. Gennie had gone shopping for her
and she couldn't believe the closet full of clothes she now owned, everything she could want from jeans
and BDUs to a formal length gown. She'd looked at the label which said Scazzi.

Willow put on the long biking shorts the spandex fitted her tightly showing off her long legs and slender
hips, the tank top hung loosely so she put on a sports bra as well. She looked in the mirror noticing that
she was decent but not understanding that the bra just highlighted the fact that while she was no Dolly
Parton she had very nice breasts and a muscular back and tight arms and shoulders. She was built like
a runner all long lean lines and taught muscles. She pulled her hair back and wrestled it into a sloppy
braid. Grabbing her sword she left the room at a run.

She slid down the banister, braid flying, so as not to keep Mokuba waiting too long. She didn't want
him to take off without her. He wasn't patient when he wanted to run. She was surprised by Seto's
fury.

"Damn! I've been telling Mokuba not to do that for years and managed to keep him from it, but if he
sees you doing it he'll be hell bent to copy you. Don't ever let me see you do that . . . no just plain
don't do it again."

"Oh. OK. Sorry, I didn't know it was forbidden. I don't recommend anyone doing anything they see
me doing. I've trained all my life to do things that no normal person can do." Willow eyed the stairs
and realized that if she'd fallen she would have landed on a marble toped table, it wouldn't have hurt
her much, she was like a cat; always landed on her feet but Mokuba or anyone else would break a leg
at least, more likely their back or neck.

Mokuba had already seen her and attacked Seto at once. "If she can do it, Big Brother, I ought to get
to slide down the banister too. I've been wanting to do it for years. Let me. please?! " Mokuba made
puppy-dog eyes at Seto.

"No, Mokuba, you know you can't! She shouldn't have either. Willow, if I see you do that again I'll
insist you submit to the same punishment that I would Mokuba." Seto hoped she'd cooperate. He
didn't want Mokuba to think she was getting away with something that he couldn't.

"I'll obey any house rules that you make me aware of. I'm sorry to cause trouble." Willow felt strange.
Seto hadn't dressed her down or been rude to her like her other clients would have been. He was
treating her almost like family. "Would you mind filling me in on house rules and punishments so I can
make informed decisions?"

"I should have done this sooner I'll type up a list while you and Mokuba are out running you and Joey
both should have one." After a look askance at Mokuba he continued " in fact I'll give one to Mokuba
too, he tends to forget rules he doesn't like."

Even thought I didn't know about the no sliding rule you should punish me anyway. I was stupid to do
such a dangerous thing just so I wouldn't make Mokuba wait. An injury now would diminish my
effectiveness." Willow braced for a punishment. In her experience they were corporal and painful.

"You're right. I will punish you. That was foolish of you. No dessert for a week."

Willow nearly strangled on her own spit, after she finished choking she managed in a still strangled
voice. "That's all? No dessert? For a week? "

Mokuba whined. "That's too long, if she'd known it'd be different. How about four days?"

Joey was looking at Willow he had a feeling that she'd been braced for something entirely different and
he wasn't sure he wanted to know what.

Seto capitulated easily. "Ok, Mokuba. You're right; four days. Willow, what did you expect?"

He knew from her choking fit that she'd expected something else

He wanted to have a serious talk with Joey about Willow. He was worried about her and didn't know
why. He knew somehow that he could trust her he was a good judge of people but something was
subtly wrong with her. He was hoping that Joey might have some insight based on his street smarts.

"Come on let's go! I want my run. I'm tired of staying inside." Mokuba had had it with all the delays,
he wanted his run and he wanted it now.

Willow shook her head slanting a look at Joey who seemed to find something interesting out the
window his distraction making him look older than his years.

Willow followed Mokuba out to the front drive to meet up with the security men on their ATVs. She
was getting way too attached to the three boys. {Damn, I'm gonna have to go be retrained. I don't
wanna go. I hate retraining. It hurts}

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Willow muttered to her self , "If that asshole runs by us one more time I'm gonna cut his head off.
We're running for our health and a face full of dust doesn't seem healthy."

Mokuba stopped to cough up the dust he'd swallowed. He was tired of this, every time he got going
good that idiot passed them in a cloud of dust and even Willow was muttering under her breath.

Mokuba started up the narrow path he liked best. It was beautiful and challenging. It was so rough and
narrow the ATVs couldn't get up it and that was saying something. He loved the run as he cut back
and forth with the curves of the path he could see several beautiful views. He didn't stop to gaze at
them the quick glimpses he got as he ran were satisfying in their own surreal way.

Willow wasn't happy with the situation, Mokuba had proven to be almost inexhaustible. She'd pushed
the pace as much as she dared she didn't want Mokuba to feel she was trying to show him up but she
wanted to exhaust him as quickly as possible and get him back inside. After running down the long
back drive to a path around the perimeter of the back area and circling that path twice Mokuba had
started up a very narrow path. Trying it seemed to her to get away from the idiot who kept stirring up
dust for them to breathe

Now they were headed up a path that would lead them into places where ambush was a real
possibility. Ducking low hanging twigs and skirting brush Willow was reminded of her training under her
first Sensai. He had been a sadistic teacher to say the least. He'd beat her for the slightest mistake and
chaining her just out of the reach of food and water had been one of his favorites she'd learned to pick
locks out of pure desperation. He'd always told her that a piece of wire would be her salvation. He
was the one who'd given an eight-year-old girl a sword three times too big for her and insisted she
learn to use it.

Mokuba had put on a burst of speed while she was daydreaming so Willow set out to catch him. Lucky
for both of them she did. Just as she ducked around a corner, she saw it. Something stretched across
the path.

"Stop! Now! Don't move!" at Willows snapped commands Mokuba froze almost in mid-step, he
looked questioningly over his shoulder.

Willow was glad that Mokuba had frozen, if he'd tripped the wire she didn't know what would have
happened.

"Stay right there. I want to see what that wire leads to." Willow followed the wire to its end. It was
attached to an electronic trip, like a detonator, but what did it activate.

Willow tried to send Mokuba back, but he wouldn't go, saying he wasn't leaving her; "What if that's
what they want? Separating me from you so they can get to me. No thanks! I'm staying right here."

"Ok. Stay. But if you disobey me by so much as the flick of an eyelid I'll go off on you good so help
me." Willow didn't like it but when he was right, he was right. She didn't want him out of her sight
anyway

Reaching out with a stick she'd picked up she tripped the wire. There was a small pop and a tree
farther down the path fell with a crash. If Mokuba had set it off by running through it, he would have
been crushed. She wondered how anyone knew how far down the path the actual dead fall trap
needed to be. Then she wondered who the mole was.

Willow turned her back to Mokuba and squatted, "Get on my back. Hurry. I don't know what other
traps there are up here. We're going into the trees." Willow jumped into the nearest tree and headed
back down the way they came. As she sprang from branch to branch keeping to the mid levels, she
kept her eyes open for anything suspicions.

Willow dropped from the trees landing in a crouch on a caltrop. Automatically cutting off the pain she
set Mokuba on his feet she pulled the caltrop from her foot licked the tip of the offending spike then
smelled it.

Mokuba, noticing what she was doing, squeaked. "What's that thing? What are you doing? Look.
There's another one."

She just grunted, looked around lifted Mokuba in her arms and jumped over the scattered caltrops/
they were covered with leaves so she hadn't seen them from the trees.

"Caltrop. Checking for poison. Watch out for more." Willow listened hearing only the wind in the trees
and other natural sounds. "Where do you think the security men are?"

"Probably still down at the trail head. They usually stay there. The trail loops around and comes in
about twenty feet from the entrance. You saw it."

"Yeah, I did. Lets go. Keep running, no mater what happens. Head straight for the house. No stopping.
Tell Seto what's happened." Willow kept her sword in her right hand and the saya in the left. The men
on their ATVs were going to be cover wether they liked it or not.

Willow had blocked out the pain in her foot so thoroughly that she forgot she was hurt. Mokuba ran
ahead of her down the trail, out into the group of security men and straight for the house. She followed
him to the displeasure of the security men.

"Damnit! That freaking, sword carrying, psycho bitch." The head of the security team, Daniels, chased
after them. "What the hell is going on?"

"Dead fall, caltrops." Willow saved her breath for running. She'd give the man a full report when
Mokuba was safe in the house.

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Joey couldn't sit down. Something was wrong but he couldn't figure out what. As he wandered from
front door to window to French doors all he could think of was Mokuba. He was driving Seto to
distraction.

"Wheeler, sit the fuck down. You're making me crazy." Seto was feeling funny, not a good funny
either. He was about to fall asleep on his feet. He'd gotten up this morning and decided not to take his
usual morning pill. He was lethargic and confused. Also, something wasn't right with Mokuba. He
sometimes had a sixth sense where his brother was concerned.

"Joey, I know you'll think I'm crazy but I need for you to go get Mokuba. I"m not feeling well.
Something's happening. Go to the garage, get an ATV and bring Mokuba back to the house. Now!"

Seto clutched his chest, his heart felt like it was going to burst. He was going to have to take a pill.

"Ok Seto I got a bad feeling too. I'm on my way. Call security. Tell them something's wrong."

Joey wasted no time heading for the garage and an ATV. He roared out of the back side of the house
directly into chaos. Mokuba was running all out for the house with Willow behind him looking over her
shoulder. Daniels, the head of the security team assigned to Mokuba, was behind and to one side of her
bearing down hard to keep up. Joey had never seen two people run so fast in his life.

He got to Mokuba snatched him up and dumped him in front on the saddle of the ATV facing
backwards.

"Hang onto me tight. Don't let go. We're heading for the house as fast as this thing will go."

Joey turned the ATV so fast he nearly tipped it over. Hitting the accelerator he bolted for the house as
fast as he could go.

Willow immediately turned to go back to the ambush intending to find any clue to who perpetrated such
an offence only to run right into the perp. himself. It was the ‘dust man' he was right behind the security
head with a furious snarl on his face and a gun in his hand.

He got off two shots before Daniels realized what he was doing. They kicked up dust behind and to
one side of Joey. Willow took care of the problem before her target could get off another shoot.

She jumped up and spun in the air getting a cut at the man's head as he passed her. She took off his
head with the blow but the angle was off, her cut was on a downward bias and hit the ATV as it ran by
under its own momentum. Her sword hit the back rack and broke right at the middle of its curve.

"Shit!" Willow couldn't have cared less about the sword except it left her unarmed.

She started to look for other enemies when Daniels yelled at her to get to the house and check up on
Joey and Mokuba. When she turned to look for them, she saw that Joey had run the ATV right into the
house and jerking Mokuba off disappeared deeper into it. Instead of going to the house she went back
to the ambush.

She wanted to see the sight before the security men trampled all over it.

When she searched the area, she found several things. The wire was new on the market not more than
six months old, the distance from the trip to the fall was paced off precisely, and there was a place off
the trail where someone had made a depression obviously either a ground cloth or sleeping bag.
Someone had been watching Mokuba for at least a month. The path the observer had taken went over
the crest of the hill and back to the back gate. They'd been sneaking over the gate or already in the
estate. She hated the grounds, they were almost impossible to protect adequately, she found that she
felt sorry for Daniels.

Scooping the head up on the way back, she horrified the dithering men by sticking it under her arm and
heading back for the house.

"Hey! Leave that here! We'll need it for identification. What are you doing with it?"

Willow tossed the head back to the speaker. "I forgot. I thought Seto might like to have it but you're
right. You need it more."

"Oh my god!" Catching the head was the last thing the guard wanted to do.

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Seto snatched Mokuba from Joey's arms and hugged him then he proceeded to check him out for
injuries, nearly stripping him in the process. Mokuba bore with this with amazing patience especially
considering his age. Finally squirming out of his grasp, he demanded, "Where the hell is Willow? I want
to see her now. Who was that asshole? How did he get on the security? Gimme back my shirt. Now!"
He sounded so like Seto it was startling.

Seto sent Mokuba and Joey onto his office. "Stay away from windows. Don't let anyone, not anyone,
in. Joey, that was one of the security men shooting at you." Joey nodded and lead Mokuba away.

Following, Seto started issuing orders. "No one is to enter or leave until Willow clears it. Find out who
that man is." Seto hadn't seen Willow kill the man, he only knew he'd been on security. "Pin him down
and find out who he's working f . . . oh."

Just then Willow stomped in swearing, she still hadn't noticed her foot, she looked Joey over, running
her eyes over him as impersonally as if he'd been a horse or dog. Mokuba didn't fare much better, she
only raised an eyebrow at his partially clothed state.

"Any injuries?" At head shakes from all three boys, she relaxed and headed for Seto's desk, intending
to use the phone.

Willow didn't realize she was leaving a bloody footprint until Seto yelped, then a lance of pain shot
from her foot to her brain.

"Oh! I forgot about that caltrop. Itai!" Willow pulled off her shoe. The caltrop had penetrated the sole
and pierced her foot behind the ball right in the dip behind and between the big and second toes. She
started for the bathroom down the hall limping slightly.

Seto found Willow trying to tend her foot. Unfortunately feet are the hardest part of the body to tend
without help especially the sole. So Willow was twisted around trying to see what was wrong and not
having any luck

"Lean on the sink and bend your knee. That way I can see what's been done." Seto took Willow's
ankle in his hand to hold her foot where he could see it. "What did you step on?"

Willow looked over her shoulder at Seto. His hands on her leg felt good. His warm gentle fingers
probed the wound while the other hand wrapped elegantly around her ankle. She sighed no one had
touched her with such gentleness in years.

"I stepped on a caltrop. I didn't see it because it was hidden in leaves on the path. Just patch me up
quick. I want some answers to some really ugly questions"

"Forget the questions for now. You need to get this taken care of. Caltrops are often poisoned. I'll get
one of the security men to find one. We'll send . . . " As he was talking Seto knelt on one knee on the
floor and rested her ankle on his other upraised knee.

"Don't worry about poison. It wasn't, I'd know if it was. Just dump . . . " Willow flinched slightly as
Seto dumped alcohol on the wound spreading it open with his fingers so the wound was throughly
flushed.

As he bandaged Willows foot, he gradually realized that her firm buttocks were right in his face as he
knelt on the floor with her small slender foot in his hands. He gulped as his blood went south {No! I
can't do, can't think this. She works for me. It's not right. She's so young!} Seto dropped Willow's
foot and stood up abruptly.

"Let's go. We need to find out what is going on."

Willow yelped as Seto picked her up and started to carry her back to his office. "Hey! What the hell
do you think you're doing. Put me down!"

"I don't want you walking in that foot. It won't clot if you keep bending it. I'll carry you to the office
and you can sit on my desk. Look as nasty as you want I'm the client and you do what I say." Seto
gave her such a menacing look that Willow subsided. It helped that she knew he was right. If she didn't
stay off her foot the wound wouldn't heal and she didn't need to be limping

Seto couldn't believe himself, this was as foolish as he ever got and it stopped right here. But she
smelled so good.

Seto parked Willow on his desk and called Mokuba and Joey to come from the other side of the room
where they'd been sitting on a couch.

"I'd really like to know what you were thinking. We needed to question that man. Why didn't you just
disarm him? Exactly what happened up the trail? " Seto just asked his questions, the pill had leveled off
and he wasn't tense, just sightly wired.

"I didn't have time to save him, he was on target that last shot and I really didn't want to take the
chance he'd a bead on Joey. He got his revenge though. I broke my sword. I'll have to get another . . .
or not."

Willow boiled her report down to bare bones. "That trap was only set in the last three or four days.
Someone had been watching Mokuba for a while. There was a place where someone had been hiding,
depression in the ground, underbrush cleared, and those caltrops were aimed at me. I'm sorry about
the shooter but just be glad that one of the guards stopped me. I forgot this isn't the Shadowlands. If he
hadn't I'd have brought you the head to see."

Joey made a face, mumbling, "Gah! Gross much."

Willow heard and, short tempered from adrenalin crash, snapped, "Shimatta, I am an assassin. I'm paid
for heads. Get over it."

An hour later Seto had sent Joey and Mokuba to their respective suites over Mokuba's objections.
Joey had just hauled him off realizing that he couldn't do anything to help Seto or Willow but; he could
keep Mokuba from brooding.

"Mokuba, why don't you get a shower? Then I'll play a game with you. We can' help Seto or Willow
with this. They are the only ones who know what to do. You'll only aggravate yourself and them. Don't
worry about anyone getting to you. I'll protect you." At Mokuba's skeptical look, Joey grumped,
"What? The only one I never could fight was my ol' man. I'm a good street fighter and boxer. He just
ran me over before I was old enough to know better. I've been in a gang since I was twelve, the only
reason I'm not active is Pops would send me to juvie."

Mokuba obediently headed for the shower, he intended to get to the bottom of Joey Wheeler sooner or
later and the sooner he started the better. As he showered, his active mind outlined a list of questions he
wanted answered. If Seto or Willow had been party to his plans, they would have realized he could be
more help than anyone else in the group.

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Gennie opened the door to Joey's room, she hated to do this right now but the boy had the right to
know

"Joey, I have this for you. I'm going to get Mr. Kaiba." Gennie made herself scarce.

Joey opened the file and began to read, thank goodness there were no pictures.


When Joey finished reading, he realized that Mokuba had been reading over his shoulder. He'd read
the most important parts already, the first few sheets weren't anything.

Joey began to laugh. Not a happy laughter it was sharp and bitter, almost hysterical.

Mokuba shook his head, "You and I both know who did that, she's a fiend incarnate. I like it"

"Be careful around her. She's crazy!" Joey couldn't believe that Willow had done the things she had.

He was beginning to believe what she kept telling them. Only someone who'd been in the Shadowlands
could even begin to think like that. She reminded him unpleasantly of Bakura or Malik.

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Well here it is another chapter. Kinda short but I'm sill wrestling with Ranma on my other fic. Please
don't lurk. Review! I know you're out there because I can count the hits. {Ok I'm whining, yes I am}

Also I can't quite decide on parings. I know it's Seto-Willow (no surprise there, I hope) but would it
be better Joey-Mokuba, Mokuba-Joey or Joey-Mai and Mokuba-no one.