Warnings: Mokuba thinking for himself...without Seto around.
Details: Seto's been kidnapped. Yami is still part of Yuugi. I don't particulary care for Anzu, but I recognize her role as an important one (some of the time) so she is in this fic. Jou is oblivious.

"Nii-sama, I'm home!" he sang out, pushing the front door closed behind him.

There was no answering call from the empty mansion.

Frowning, the black-haired teenager dropped his backpack down on the kitchen floor and ran up the stairs, wondering if Seto was in his office right now.

He opened the sound-proofed room, but it was empty.

"Nii-sama? Nii-sama!"

Still no answer.

More annoyed than worried, Mokuba started searching the house, wondering if perhaps his older brother had forgotten to tell him something that morning. Like, 'hey, Mokie, I'm going to be late coming home, don't worry'.

The top floor was empty. All the rooms were impeccably neat – the result of having a team of rabid housekeepers. Seto's door was half-closed, but Mokuba shoved it open, expecting something to be in his older brother's room to give a clue to his whereabouts.

Nothing.

He frowned, staring at the made-up bed and the laptop sitting partly open on his brother's desk. The room itself was Spartan but for the luxurious desk of mahogany.

Seto never leaves his laptop at home.

Everyone knew that, not just Mokuba. Seto seemed to have an attachment to his metal briefcase that was only trumped by his addiction to the internet, which only his laptop could provide anywhere. Something about radio transmitters and other scientific nonsense like that.

But that wasn't the point. Seto wasn't home, there wasn't a note of any sort and he'd left his laptop.

Mokuba growled low in his throat. Something was wrong.

Ring. Ring. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

Just answer the damn phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Yuugi, this is Mokuba."

"Hey, Mokuba." Yuugi seemed genuinely pleased to be talking to him.

"Have you seen my brother anywhere?"

There was a pause on the other end. "No, I haven't. Why? Is he late?"

Mokuba shook his head before realizing Yuugi wouldn't see it. "Nah, he's not late. He probably just disappeared to go work himself half to death and back."

Yuugi chuckled on the other end, but it sounded hollow to Mokuba's ears. He almost didn't hear the other bid him goodbye and hang up.

He just stood there, phone in his hand, staring at it without really seeing it at all.

Yuugi's the only thing that could possibly make Nii-sama forget to tell me where he's going.

So, where was he?

Mokuba closed his cell phone, but flipped it open again seconds later when it began to ring, aggressively shaking with the tone setting he'd picked out for his brother's calls.

Eagerly the teen answered the phone, half a dozen questions out before the caller could say 'hello' and a dozen more on his tongue when a chill voice froze them.

"You can stop looking for him. He's not coming home."

The phone clicked off and Mokuba stood unmoving, staring at the little piece of technology in his hand that had radiated that voice. Those words.

He's not coming home.

You can stop looking.

He's not coming home.

"And then the phone rang," Mokuba recounted dully. He was sitting between Yuugi and Anzu on the couch at the Kame Game Shop with Honda and Jou sprawled out on the floor halfway across the room.

"He's gone."

"What d'ya mean?" Jou seemed singularly at ease with the idea that Mokuba's only family had literally vanished into thin air.

Anzu glared at him, her hand reaching out to the teen staring into nowhere on the couch next to Yuugi.

"I'm sure we'll find him," Yuugi was saying, though his usually cheery voice was tempered by – something. Perhaps the Pharaoh was whispering in his ear.

Mokuba shook his head. "I'm not asking you to do anything," he said quietly, startling everyone into silence with the exception of Jounouchi.

"What d'ya mean?"

Does he know any other phrase? I'm beginning to see why Nii-sama despises him.

"I'm going after Seto," he answered, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "And I'm going alone," he added when Yuugi's hand settled on his shoulder.

"Why are you being this way?"

Do I really need a reason, Mazaki?

He shook his head and stood up, wavering unsteadily on legs that had run too far, too fast, too short a time ago. But he'd made up his mind.

Nii-sama's always coming after me – I can do the same for him.

"But Mokuba –"

Mokuba glared at Anzu. "I don't need the help, Mazaki," he answered sharply, then glanced at Yuugi. "I just didn't want you to worry too much."

"We will worry," the short duelist said softly. "I know Kaiba doesn't like having help tag along everywhere, but you're not your brother, Mokuba. Why won't you let us help you?"

Mokuba shook his head in lieu of granting an answer. I don't know myself, Yuugi, he admitted silently, but I feel this is something I have to do alone.

"Jes like a Kaiba t' rush off inta danger witout even askin' fer help," Jou grumbled.

Honda elbowed him in the ribs, and Mokuba leveled the blond duelist with a murderous look. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that – this time," he announced softly. His voice hardened. "But if you ever insult my family name or my brother again, I'll find a way to ban you from every Duel Monsters tournament forever afterwards."

"Yer bluffin'." Still, Jou looked uncertain, and certainly a little bit pale at the threat.

Mokuba pulled on his brother's trademark smirk. "Care to try me?"

Either the threat itself or his demonic appearance was enough to keep Jou from pressing the matter.

"I'll see you, Yuugi," Mokuba offered as a parting before leaving the Kame Game Shop.

Now how do I find where my brother is?

Password, the computer challenged.

He gave the acceptable response and the dark screen cleared away. Perhaps he wasn't as adept at this as Seto, but he did know the basics of computer hacking.

A safeguard slammed up.

But only the raw basics.

Dammit.

You've got mail, flashed across the screen.

Huh. An odd time for an email. He did consider that this could be a trick of some sort to lure him in, but he was beyond caring. Three clicks later and he'd opened the email.

Still looking for our big brother, are we? Well, if you wanted to find him at all, all you had to do was ask

A hyperlink glowed at the bottom of the page. "Find Seto", it read. Mokuba clicked it.

There was a blinding flash of light from the screen. He cried out in startlement, shielding his eyes from the suddenly too-brilliant monitor. The light gradually faded out, leaving white spots flickering in his vision.

What the hell? he wondered dazedly.

A pair of hands grabbed at his arms out of the darkness.

With an angry yell, Mokuba wrenched his arms away and turned to punch – hard. His first blow landed on someone's stomach, and someone else got a bruise-calling kick to the shin.

"What the hell do you want? Where is he?" he growled, continuing to dole out punishments wherever he could see or feel movement.

He kicked again and heard a satisfying groan.

"Mokuba –"

That voice –

"Mokuba, it's us!"

It took them a while to find the light switch. Mokuba had kicked Jou by-accident-on-purpose a few times as everyone fumbled around, though admittedly, it was the blond's fault for muttering "ungrateful bastard" when Yuugi had stopped Mokuba from beating them all to a pulp.

As the lights slowly came to life, Mokuba withdrew to a solitary corner of the room, near the frozen computer. It looked like a fuse had blown and caused the bright explosion of light earlier.

Every so often, he cast a glance over at Yuugi-tachi – all of whom were nursing various ills. Anzu had sustained the brunt of his kicking to her shins. Jou and Honda's arms bore the marks of his nails and Yuugi sported what would soon turn into quite an impressive black eye.

Mokuba shuffled over to where Yuugi was. "Sorry for hitting you in the face," he mumbled.

Yuugi looked surprised and put a hand up to his face. The duelist winced when his hand contacted the newly forming bruise. "Honestly, I hadn't even noticed," he put in.

Mokuba shrugged and looked away.

"I don't need you help to do this," he said after a moment. "I can save my brother myself. I don't even know why I told you guys, now. I should have known you'd act like this."

"Mokuba, all we want to do is help." Yuugi seemed to be pleading with him. The short duelist raised his hand as if to lay it on the black-haired teen's shoulder, then let it fall as he thought better of it.

Mokuba glowered. "I'm starting to think Seto is right," he growled. "Whenever you guys offer to help, trouble follows. I can't afford trouble, and neither can Seto."

When Yuugi frowned, Mokuba's scowl deepened. "Look at what a mess you've made already." He indicated the others in the room clumped together comparing injuries.

Part of him protest that was unfair – it hadn't been anyone's fault, just the result of good aim and poor timing. Mokuba refused to listen.

"Go home, Yuugi, before you make things worse." He didn't stop to find out if his hurtful words had had any impact on the King of Games, walking out of the room without looking back.

Author's Note: I don't know if this will be a -ship fic yet. I was considering having established polar and maybe a Bakura one. No peach... I don't like Anzu enough to do her the favor (which means no azure either). So, this is a gift of sorts for Ancient Midnight, because inspiration struck around the time I read of the hope for more of Mokuba. Here's to hoping Mokie doesn't appear wimpy without his big bro around!

--I have no idea how Seto got captured, but that isn't really the focus. I imagine it would take nothing short of a small army to get him, but if a small army was required, they were invisible (thanks, 4KIDZ) and very, very quiet.
--The explosion of light... Well, we all know how advanced computer systems are nowadays. So, for fun, let's combine computer systems and magic!