Guest: Thank you! I try to be good at those cliffhanging endings to keep reader interest.

CHAPTER TWO

He was so beside himself. Everything had happened so fast. The general manager sat beside him as they followed the ambulance in her car. After the paramedics confirmed the bump to his head wasn't serious, she had pulled him away so they could load his friend up on the ambulance.

"I…I d-didn't…d-d-didn't s-s-see…th-the c-car," he sobbed, tears streaming down his face.

The manager reached out to squeeze his arm gently.

"It's okay. He'll be okay. Now try taking some deep breaths. Tissues are in the door," the manager explained.

Pulling a few pieces of tissue out, he wiped his face and blew his nose.

"Is there someone you can call?" she asked.

His head bobbed up and down with the car. His hands moved automatically as they went about placing the call. It only took two rings before it was picked up.

"Hello?"

"Y-Yugi?"

"Mokuba? Mokuba, what's wrong?"

Mokuba sniffled. "Yugi, there's been an accident. An ambulance has Joey and I'm going to the hospital with him."

"Which hospital?"

Everything was in a blur up until the point Mokuba and Mrs. Maureen Hashiba were stepping into Joey's room. A groggy Joey turned his head towards them and smiled.

"Hey…boss. Hey…kid," Joey murmured.

"Hello, Joey," Maureen greeted with a soft voice.

Mokuba hung back, afraid to even look at Joey. The young male noticed and waved him over. Even in the low lighting and through his grogginess, Joey could still detect the tears gleaming in the boy's eyes. He reached out with his good arm and pulled the child close. His arm lay loose along the child's lower back.

"Hey, I'm gonna be okay. It's just a few cuts and bruises," Joey told him.

Mokuba's gaze shot to the right then back to Joey's face.

"Your arm is in a brace," Mokuba murmured.

Joey lifted his arm to reveal a blue brace keeping his arm stable. He flexed his fingers before putting it back down.

"Well that…that is one big bruise," Joey commented.

The duo chuckled. Joey spoke softly with the young boy, reassuring him he would be okay and he had had worst. During that time, an officer appeared to speak to Mrs. Maureen and Mokuba. At that same time, Yugi and Yami arrived. They switched out to let the couple sit with Joey who was quickly losing the ability to stay awake.

The officer took their accounts of what had happened.

"I hope you catch the driver," Mrs. Maureen said.

The officer smiled. "We did, Mam. He's actually downstairs getting looked at. He was complaining of whiplash."

Mrs. Maureen's eyebrows slowly rose.

"He's complaining? Excuse me."

Mokuba watched the lady turn and swiftly move down the hallway. Realizing where she was going, the officer thanked Mokuba and followed close after her. Mokuba shook his head while walking back to the room. He met Yami at the doorway. He opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly heard the sharp call of his name.

"Mokuba."

Yami raised an eyebrow as Mokuba's face lost all color. The young man turned to find his big brother walking toward him with his shadow Roland not far behind him. As his brother approached, Mokuba realized how stupid he was.

His phone. He wasn't even thinking when he had turned it on and called Yugi. He glanced up at the wall clock in his peripheral vision. It was long after six. His brother or Roland must have checked his phone when he didn't come home.

Completely ignoring Yami's presence, Seto reached his brother and grasped his arm.

"What are you doing here?" Seto demanded.

Mokuba's eyes glanced sideways at Joey's room before centering back to his brother.

"Joey got hi-," Mokuba started.

Seto's eyes flashed at the mention of the blonde man.

"I don't care about that mangy mutt. Where have you been? You didn't answer my calls and I had to track you by your phone," Seto questioned him.

Yami's gaze narrowed. He didn't like how Kaiba referred to his best friend or how he was speaking to his younger brother. Yugi appeared at the doorway, having overheard Kaiba's words.

"Kaiba, Mokuba. This isn't the place. Shh," Yugi gently urged them.

Kaiba snapped at the shorter youth to mind his own business. With his focus on Yugi, Seto missed seeing the angry flare of life in Mokuba's eyes.

"Yami, move Yugi from the door," Mokuba hissed.

Hearing the warning tone for what it was, Yami gently grabbed Yugi's arm and pulled him further out into the hallway. Seto was suddenly caught off guard when Mokuba jerked his arm free, snagged Seto's free arm, and tripped him. He went stumbling into the hospital room and barely caught himself with the wall.

Mokuba's head snapped up to Roland who looked mildly startled, too. To Roland's surprise, the young man held up his brother's cell phone and beeper.

"Hold these and keep the door closed. I need to talk with my brother."

Seto blinked to adjust his eyes in the low lighting. His eyes came clear as Mokuba closed the door behind him.

"We need to talk, Seto," Mokuba said, his voice firm and clear.

Seto glanced over his shoulder at the slumbering male. He shook his head.

"This isn't the time or place, Mokuba. We will talk at home," Seto told him.

Mokuba took a heavy step forward.

"No. Now is the time and place. This can't wait, Seto. The longer we wait, the worse it'll be," Mokuba replied.

Seto's gaze narrowed.

"Why did you skip school and deceive me and your security?" Seto asked.

It had been a long drive. No doubt Seto would have hacked the school computer and checked Mokuba's attendance. At least he wouldn't have to tell Seto about that part.

"Because I'm sick of school. I'm getting A's and maybe a B here and there, but I'm doing great in school. But that's not enough for you. Seto Kaiba's little brother can't be anything less than perfect because then maybe he isn't perfect," Mokuba said, his voice growing stronger with each word.

Seto tried to say something, but Mokuba cut him off.

"And you're never home! It shouldn't be called Kaiba Corp. It should just be called Seto. You have all those people working for you, but you have to make sure everything is perfect and it can't be unless you are there to fix things. You're paying people to do their jobs, but you won't let them!"

The steam in Mokuba seemed to ease out as he said everything that had been boiling over in him. His shoulders sagged as he turned away. He took the few steps back to the door. Reaching out foor the doorknob, Mokuba glanced back at Seto. The intensity in his gaze waned as he stared sadly at his brother.

"I thought I lived with my big brother. But all I see is a CEO."

Cluck! Mokuba pulled the door open and stepped out past Roland. He murmured to the security that he was going downstairs with Yugi and Yami to eat. The man nodded to him as he passed. Roland stepped inside and only then did Seto break his silence.

"You heard everything."

Roland nodded.

"He's wrong," Seto stated firmly.

Roland brought his hand up to take his sunglasses off. He gave Seto a calm, but serious look.

"The eye of the beholder, Sir," Roland commented.

Seto crossed his arms over his chest.

"You think he's right?" he asked, a slight warning tone to his voice.

"I think…that is a subject best for a morning after a good night's rest," Roland explained.

Seto closed his eyes. He hated to agree with the older man, but Mokuba had never lashed out like that before. He doubted they would even last the car ride home. He opened his eyes and half-turned to take a closer look at the sleeping patient. With more lighting from the open doorway, Seto had a better look at the male's injuries.

"I spoke with Mr. Motou. Mr. Wheeler will be permitted to leave in the morning. The hospital have permitted them to stay the night with him. They will make sure he gets home safely tomorrow," Roland explained.

Seto knew despite his dislike of Wheeler that Mokuba would be deeply concerned about him getting home.

"Get Wheeler's address from Yugi. He can stay the night and go home with Wheeler. Bring his bag to him tomorrow so he gets his homework done," Seto commanded.

"Already done, Sir."

Seto smirked. His Head of Security knew him well. He decided before they left to get a cup of a coffee and a little something to eat himself. When he wandered down to the cafeteria, Mokuba, Yugi, and Yami had already disappeared off to who knows where. Roland left him there to locate Mokuba and inform him of his brother's decision.

From his table against the wall, Seto was taking a sip of his coffee when he overheard two nurses at the next table.

"Did you hear about the young man in 402?" the first nurse asked.

"I did! He's very lucky, you know? If that car had managed to hit him full on or if it had been going any faster, he might have wound up in the ICU," the second nurse said.

"I know. Such a noble thing to do, too. Pushing that young man out of the way? The child was in hysterics until a doctor assured him his friend was okay. I don't think Dr. Mouri has ever been hugged that tight before."

Seto slowly set his coffee down. 402 was Wheeler's room. He brought a hand up to cover over his eyes. The young man he had saved…had pushed out of the way of a speeding care…was his little brother.

Why did that…Why did Wheeler have to go and do that, Seto thought.

It was a selfish thought. Seto knew that. He knew Wheeler treated his friends like family, but he never thought of Mokuba as being one of those people in Wheeler's life. Especially when he didn't get along well with the older brother.

"Did you hear they caught the driver?"

Seto raised an eyebrow and raised his cup to drink. He would make sure his lawyer looked into the matter to ensure maximum punishment for the man that almost hit Mokuba.

"No, I didn't. Good. I hope he rots in jail."

"It's worse. Police found the idiot and he complained of whiplash so they brought him here. The victim's manager came storming down and ripped into him. By the time she was done with him, the guy was sobbing his eyes out in the corner."

Seto smirked. Served him right. The nurses left, leaving Seto alone with his thoughts. He absentmindedly chewed on what little food he had bought. His brother had given him much to think about.

END OF CHAPTER TWO