Yu-Gi-Oh: Paroxysm [Ryou Bakura x Seto Kaiba]

[EDDE]

Morons. Absolute buffoons. No one was above the scrutiny of Seto Kaiba's ire when they screwed up so royally. Not even the government; especially not the government. Kaiba Corporation was innately dialed in to the entire world's infrastructure on every level. The amount of electronic interaction it had with it was beyond anything else. It had to be that way in order for the hologram system to work as flawlessly as it did across every corner of the globe. The satellites, the cabling, the air waves, even the old phone lines; all of it. Hell, he'd even had to bring new technologies to areas that wouldn't have received them for decades, if not more, in order to achieve his goals. And achieve them he had...

He didn't know what in the Hell the government thought they would achieve when they set off the strategic bombing attacks, but he sure as Hell knew it wasn't what they got. His own technology couldn't even survive the intense electromagnetic force that was set off due to their idiotic attempt at quelling a situation they had no idea how to deal with in the first place. Theirs was nothing compared to his. Currently he had no way of knowing how far and wide the damage had spread. What he did know was that with how intricately laced his technology was with the entire rest of the world, it was entirely possible that the Japanese government had just sent the entirety of human civilization back into the dark ages until someone could quell the issue.

He could be that someone. It wasn't as if he didn't have tech that was shielded from the blast put away. The issue, of course, would be the time it would take to get to it. This became a much bigger issue when you took into account the thing that had cause those absolute morons to stake their bombings in the first place. He wasn't entirely in the dark about their strategy. There was one thing he did understand about them.

The locations.

Each of the attacks had been in the cities where there had been reports of outbreaks. He didn't know what they thought it would accomplish, but it was obvious that it had to do with that. One had even been here in Domino. Luckily the assets weren't actually located at the Kaiba Corp. buildings or none of them would be where they were now. That being, he with Mokuba tucked under his arm against his side and carrying him along as he ran down the street. Ryou was at his side, the vice-like grip around his wrist likely incredibly painful if adrenaline weren't blocking it out. It made the most sense to be heading this way. It would become a target quickly but if they were fast enough, and lucky enough, they'd get there first.

Seto was more than a little surprised when he stopped at the gates to his mansion and there were still two guards standing there and a rather blatant lack of anyone attempting to find their way in just yet. It showed.

One of the big, burly men simply nodded and opened the gate for them. "Four of us stayed here with Roland. Look, we practially devoted our lives to protecting the two of you. We figured the least we could do is stick around until you get yourselves together. When you leave, we'll leave. So we'd kinda appreciate if you make it fast.... Sir."

For once, he didn't have any words. He didn't know what to say to them.

The need to stop for the gates to open had Seto settling for the slightest moment as he stared at them almost blankly. It was just long enough of a moment for a single thought to strike him. He honestly had no idea what they needed to do. He knew they needed supplies. He knew they needed to get out of here, away from the city. He knew they would have to survive without any of the luxuries they were used to. But it had been so long since he'd even had to think about how to do that, let alone since he'd been taught survival skills like that or even had to do such a thing, that he wasn't even sure where to begin. Sharp blue eyes landed down on Mokuba only to see he was still doing his best to hide his face in Seto's side, likely trying not to show how scared he was, or even attempting to hide that he was crying. So instead, they turned to Ryou, and the sharpness waned slightly.

 

[FavoredFox]

At first, he'd thought it was another invasion of duel monsters. Specifically the zombie variety. It had been a horrifying thought, that the ancient spirits that had been banished had somehow returned... He wished he'd been right. A few days following his friends along on a quest, a nail biting duel, a fair amount of bickering, and it would be done. The king returns and the world is saved. Even if he'd been left with Bakura's malice and cruelty, it would have been better than the reality.

They weren't holograms, they weren't creatures from hell. They were people. Or at least, they used to be.

Ryou's vision was a blur. All of the people Seto pulled him passed were hazy, the death grip on his wrist could barely be felt, and the loud crashing and hollering of looting riots was muted, as if he'd been pulled under water. The only thing clear in his mind, were his thoughts. Things had fallen apart fast. The news of ill people turning violent had hardly hit the air before the explosions rattled the city and the world went dark. Neither he, nor Mokuba had a chance to say a word before Seto scooped his little brother up under his arm, grabbed Ryou, and dragged them straight out the door.

He didn't have to ask where they were going, he figured it out pretty quickly, and it was the best idea they had. It wouldn't be long before the masses swarmed their home, but they did have time, and hopefully, it would be enough.

When they reached the gate, he couldn't help but stare in wide eyed confusion at the guard who had stayed behind. He knew Roland would stay, but he didn't expect anyone else to. He looked up at his partner to find a dumb founded look on his face. Seto had difficulty with gratitude at the best of times. He didn't say anything right away. It wasn't until Seto looked back at him, and Ryou saw something on his face that he never had before. Seto had no idea what to do. He swallowed hard, then took a small, steadying breath before pulling his wrist free of the man's grip. "Okay," he started with a slight nod.

First, he turned to the two guards who had stayed behind. His voice was calm. "Thank you, for everything." Ryou took Seto's wrist in hand this time. "You're dismissed," the smile on his lips was genuine, but pained. "Take whatever you need, and get somewhere safe." He would have offered to take them along, but he knew the answer to that already. "Get your families somewhere safe." With that, and a quiet 'good luck,' Ryou pulled Seto up the long driveway.

He was quiet for the first few yards before he collected himself, and thought back to everything his father had taught him about trekking through harsh conditions. He thought back to their damn near death walk through the desert dunes of Egypt. When he spoke again it was firm, commanding. Disturbingly similar to Seto's usual tone. "Seto, you and Mokuba go inside. Each of you need to pack a bag you can easily carry on your back. Fill it with two bottles of water each, a few cans of food, a can opener in at least one, another set of clothes, specifically a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt."

They reached the end of the drive and stopped at the steps leading to the front doors. Letting go of his wrist Ryou pointed at him "You need to change your shoes. No heels and nothing with a pointed toe. Sneakers, or running shoes and a pair of hiking boots." He paused for a moment and added. "Whatever space is left in your bags, fill with socks. Pack Roland and me a bag as well. I'll hitch up the Clydesdales and bring them around. Then we'll get Roland and the rest of the supplies and head north. The farther we are from the cities the better." Besides, he knew Seto had multiple locations around the country that could have survived the blasts, and the nearest was to the north.

 

[EDDE]

The guards stood a bit more stiff as they were addressed by Ryou. It wasn't in the way they did before when addressed by Seto. In fact, it was in obvious respect as they went so far as to give the most genuinely proper bow the blue eyed CEO had ever seen from them as they thanked him humbly, only to promptly close the gates behind them and remain at their posts as they'd said they would previously. Seto didn't keep his eyes on them for long as he allowed Ryou to lead him him on, the commanding tone from the former mouse of man beside him catching up all of hiss attention. And he listened to his instructions thoroughly. "Alright."

Seto Kaiba was a stubborn man, sometimes even absolutely insufferable, but he was anything but stupid. The directions he was being given were perfectly valid, and while he might have come up with them on his own given some time to think, they didn't have that time right now. He wasn't going to argue. He was simply going to do.

"Watch your back, Ryou. Come find me at the first sign of trouble. This place is a ticking time bomb. We might not have the time to get everything we need from here. There are other places. This isn't the end all stop," he reminded him.

He paused for a moment to look over the albino male, feeling the need to add more. He was used to being in charge, used to giving the orders, but he didn't have anything else he could tell him. At least, not that had to do with that. And whatever else he did have to say couldn't exactly form to words on the stoic man's lips.

So with a huff as they neared the front entrance, he shook his wrist free from that grasp and landed a heavy hand in soft white hair for a good moment. "Hurry up."

Then he finally let his brother down, who quickly wiped at his face and sniffled away whatever look he'd been hiding, and took him by the hand to tug him along into the house. "Come on, Mokuba. I need your help," he lied.