Disclaimer – Not it, not mine.

AN: This is about the longest Author's Note you're going to get, not including the first one, during this fic. I don't like skewing word counts because of AN's. If you want to know things, I'll probably put updates on my profile thing or whatnot. Tune in there to find out what I have to say about this fic!

~"Shhhhh," Kaiba whispered, hugging his brother closer, running his fingers through his messy hair. He waited for his brother to calm down. He didn't want to ask any more questions tonight. He didn't know how his brother had gotten home safely, he was sure that the alleyway was being watched since the men knew there was someone else in the group. He had no idea how his brother was safe, he was just grateful that at the moment, he was. ~

Chapter 2

It wasn't long before Mokuba's sobbing form began to relax as he fell into a restless sleep nestled softly to his brother's chest. He decided that it would be best if he kept Mokuba with himself for the night, he was positive that his brother was going to have nightmares. With a long sigh he cradled his Mokuba into his arms to carry him to his bedroom one floor up.

"I don't care how you do it, just get it done". He snapped into his phone. He knew it was very late, but even at this hour he had standards. It was rare when he called his personal lawyer team this late, but matters were pressing. If it were discovered that the younger Kaiba was at the scene that occurred earlier that evening, there would be a media circus camping outside not only his office, but their home as well.

"Yes, I understand that it will be difficult without attracting suspicions, but I need to know what the press knows and more. I will not be made to wait for information; neither will I tolerate incompetence or failure from any member of this team. You are on my personal staff, do not mess this up." His icy tone pierced through the receiver. "I expect an update every hour on the hour until you have found the necessary information. Do not be late." He warned ending the call.

It had been an hour since Mokuba had come to him. Kaiba knew that he had work to do in protecting his younger brother. If people knew that he had been there, that he had seen the men that had apparently been kidnapping many talented young people, he'd become a target. He would be a target not only to the kidnappers themselves, but also to the families of the missing. People did crazy things when their loved ones were in danger, and Kaiba would be damned if anything more happened to his younger sibling. He had been through more than enough already.

However, he also knew that it was only a matter of time before someone began sniffing around the Kaiba estate. Just by being a schoolmate of both Muoto and Jounouchi, Kaiba will draw attention. Not to mention the fact that he, at 18 years of age, is a multi-billionaire with dozens of championship titles in everything from Duel Monsters to Fencing. Even if the kidnappers had no interest in him whatsoever, the media definitely would be. The media loved any excuse to follow him around regardless of current situations.

School! The thought jolted through him. How could he forget about school? He could skip the day to work on his current reports from Germany without too much suspicion, but Mokuba? It was amazing what people can find out. His brother wasn't like him. He wasn't able to hide his emotions like Kaiba could. He wasn't as good at pretending like everything was going exactly how he wanted it all of the time. He didn't like the situation, but he did have ideas.

It was going to be a long, restless night.

"Seto?" His younger brother called out to him.

"Mokuba, it's 5 in the morning, you should be sleeping." He replied without slowing his typing or looking away from his monitor.

"Can't sleep.." He mumbled his sad reply. A few moments later Kaiba found a temporary resident nestled into his lap complete with a pillow, blanket, and really messy black hair.

He smiled tenderly taking a break from typing to stroke his brother's hair. "Moki, it'll be alright." He promised, trying to calm his brother down.

"Will it?" His brother asked. "Are you going to help find Jou?" His voice sounded strained and guilty.

"Moki, I can't just throw myself into a search like this..." He paused when his brother sat straight up in his lap.

"But you have to!" His brother cried. "You have to help Jou or no one else will. Please Seto, please?" His large blue-grey eyes glistened with unshed tears. "If he hadn't been so nice to me, he wouldn't have gotten caught. He wouldn't be in trouble. He would be at home right now if I had told him I couldn't go with to get pizza. Please?" Mokuba's voice was on the edge of hysterics.

Kaiba's usually cold eyes were soft and full of worry as he gazed down at his brother. "Mokuba, it's not that easy." He sighed. "I can't just get involved in whatever I feel like. Who ever these people are, they could find out that you were there. They're probably searching for you right now because you saw them. They may not know who you are now, but who's to say they won't find out?"

"Who's to say they won't find out anyway!" Mokuba cried. "Please, Seto, please! Please help Jou." His voice caught as fresh tears began to cascade down his pale face.

"Shhh, calm down" Kaiba whispered pulling his brother into an embrace. He was happy his brother couldn't see his expression. The anger in his eyes, the cold murderous scowl. His brother was right. He knew that it was possible for the kidnappers to get Jou to tell them just who exactly had been with them; the little boy that had escaped. He realized then that he didn't know Jou enough to know how much time he had to ensure Mokuba's safety, how much the mutt could take. He would be damned if Mokuba was kidnapped again.

"Seto," Mokuba whispered, "I know you don't like Jou. I know you hate him, but please. Please? For me, please help Jou. He's a good person, I promise."

"Mokuba…" He sighed, all anger sliding from his face. "If I take on this project, I'll hardly be around." He replied, a decision beginning to form in his mind.

His brother pushed back from his arms to look up into his face, the tears beginning to slow. "You mean it?" He breathed. "You'll really help Jou?"

"I didn't say I'd help him." He reminded his brother. "I'm simply letting you know what would happen if I had." He sighed again, running a hand down his face. "It's not like I can switch Kaiba Corporations over to investigation corporations." He added tiredly. "If I start a search for him like you've asked, it will only be myself and a few good men."

"Oh thank you!" The relief was evident on his brother's face. Clear as day. He barely had enough time to shift his arm out of the way to avoid being trapped by his brother's high-speed hug.

He hugged his brother back decisions swirling in his mind. It was going to be interesting, finding Jou. But first, he needed to find out how long Jou could go while keeping a secret.