(A/N: Short chapter, so uploaded early- thanks for reading! :)

Jounouchi was making his way cheerfully down the hall of the 39th floor at KaibaCorp's main office. The day was almost over, and he had slept great last night. Partly because of the fun he had at the mansion- he had actually beaten Mokuba at MarioKart! Ok, so the score was now 7 to 138, but still; a win was a win, right?

But, the lanky teen was also glad because he didn't have to help out at Mr. Kubo's shop today. The old man was really winding down the business.

Jou watched as he saw the head of the company himself marching towards him. He was moving hurriedly and his face was grim.

'Geez, doesn' that guy ever smile? The day's almost over... he needs to chill out.'

The blonde smiled as the other duelist approached. "Hey, Mr. Kaiba, how's- URRKK!" Jou felt himself being lifted off the ground by a powerful grip.

"You damned mutt- who the hell do you think you are?!" The blue-eyed duelist was absolutely livid.

"Wha-urg?!" The blonde was starting to feel frantic- his windpipe was being crushed. He squirmed wildly, but the taller brunette wouldn't let go.

The CEO lowered his voice to a furious hiss. "You told my little brother that I'm a homosexual, and now he thinks that's true!" He glared accusingly at the struggling employee.

"Urgkk!" Jou tried to speak, but his trachea was still blocked. He felt himself weakening under the pressure.

The brunette viciously spat his words at the suspended duelist. "You're fired. I don't want to see you within fifty yards of my family ever again, do you understand?!"

Kaiba then finally released his grip on the choking boy's throat.

Jou fell to the ground, staring at the white spots flashing in front of his eyes. He was too dizzy to stand up.

Without another word, the stone-faced corporate leader began smoothing out his suit and made to leave.

"Kai-ba."

Jou wheezed from the floor. He was rubbing his painful windpipe. "I just- wanted to hel-lp- he didn't-"

The brunette's arm shot out violently.

Jou flinched, and for one horrifying moment he expected a severe blow to the head. But apparently Kaiba had only thrown his arm out to point at the end of the hallway.

"LEAVE. NOW."

The blonde's breath finally returned, and he stood up quickly. His fiery attitude soon came back in full force. He glared at the billionaire.

"FINE! I don' need this kinda treatment! If I wanted my *ss kicked I'd go and find my pops!"

With one last glare at his ex-boss, the other duelist marched towards the stairwell as proudly as he could (with a faint limp from the fall).

Seto almost called security to ensure the mad dog didn't try and stick around. He was annoyed when he found that he didn't need to- he knew Jou would leave.

The enraged brunette soon headed downstairs himself. Roland could sense the fury radiating around his powerful employer, and he remained wisely silent on the drive home.

Kaiba stared out the tinted windows, glaring at nothing in particular. He remembered how Jou had responded- 'I just wanted to help.'

"Tch." That gossipy maid seemed to have been right- apparently the flea-bitten stray had said something inappropriate to Mokuba. Seto had never felt so disturbed- it was bad enough that the mutt could've spilled the beans to the public, but to corrupt his little brother?!

As advanced as the country was, Japan was still on par with many older nations when it came to attitudes on homosexuality. Many of the men in the world of high-finance were old, ultra-conservative bigots. If a powerful business magnate such as himself came out of the closet, it could ruin thousands of lives. And Seto Kaiba, being the youngest billionaire in the business world, already came under great scrutiny for having attended public school and remaining single (when many traditionalists thought it more prudent that he marry ASAP; if only to give Mokuba a 'mother-figure').

It was hard, but he couldn't lose all of his business partners and investors just because he wanted to start dating. Besides, he had an empire to run and a brother to raise. He was busy enough handling the eternal chaos of the main KaibaCorp office. Or as the ever-so-eloquent blonde put it, the 'place is crazy.'

Hnn. Why did so much of the garbage that came out of his dog's mouth actually make sense?

'Wait- why the hell do I keep thinking of that mutt as 'mine'? No matter; that's all history.'

The limousine slowly rolled up to the door, and Roland jumped to open the door for him.

The corporate mastermind, for all his brilliance, still had no idea what he was going to say when-

"Hey big bro! Welcome home!"

*sigh*

"Hello, Mokuba." The older Kaiba's tone was unusually tense and somber. Mokuba noticed immediately.

"Eh? Seto, what's wrong?" He peeked into the limo. "Why isn't Jounouchi with you?"

"Jounouchi-san is no longer an employee of KaibaCorp, nor is he allowed on the mansion grounds."

"But- but why?!" Mokuba looked thunderstruck. "Big brother, you always said that he was a great employee! And he's really nice!"

The other Kaiba closed his eyes. "Jounouchi betrayed my trust on a very important matter."

"What?!" The younger boy stopped in his tracks. "But- but Jou would never do that! He likes working at KaibaCorp; he said so!" The smaller sibling was shocked, and he began matching his brother's quick footsteps. Seto didn't reply as he strode into the mansion.

"Why would he want to harm KaibaCorp?!" Mokuba was growing increasingly upset as they walked into the front hall.

The taller brother shook his head. "It had nothing to do with business. The fact is that he talked to you about personal matters- matters that were highly inappropriate- without my permission."

"But Seto, what are you talking about?! Jounouchi's never said anything bad!"

"I mean, I did not give him permission to educate you on the topic of homosexuality."

The raven-haired duelist just stared blankly. "'Homo-sexuality?' What's that?"

The older Kaiba felt his veins instantly freeze. 'He didn't-'

The infamous teen forced himself to calm down. He took a deep breath and sat down on the closest couch. He motioned for Mokuba to follow him. The brunette looked directly into his brother's eyes.

"Mokuba. What did Jounouchi say to you?"

"About what?"

Kaiba nearly gulped, trying to figure out how to delicately phrase things.

"Yesterday- did he talk to you about anything unusual? Like, being 'gay'?"

"Oh, yeah; that." Mokuba nodded mildly. "I asked him what it meant, but he tried to get out of saying anything, and then he was really vague... but it was something like 'gay people like people of the same gender' or what not." The kid shrugged. "He wouldn't tell me more- he just said that it's bad to make fun of people who are gay."

"And- what, exactly, did he say about me?"

"You?" Mokuba stared, even more confused. "Well, nothing- I mean, I told him what I overheard in the kitchens; how the staff thought you were gay- but he said that's your personal business and I'm not allowed to pester you about it without your permission."

"The- staff?" Seto's stomach twisted, and he felt nauseated.

Mokuba nodded. "They were making jokes and stuff, and I got mad at the way they were talking about you. I wanted to yell at them, but I didn't know what their words meant, so I got Jounouchi to explain it to me."

'Oh... f*ck.'

It took all of Seto's strength not to hit himself in the forehead- what the hell had he been thinking?! The mutt had always adored Mokuba, almost like he was his own brother. Why had he believed that nosy maid over the honorable duelist? She was going to face grave consequences, but first things first...

"Thank you, Mokuba. I fear there may have been a... misunderstanding." The tired CEO rubbed his temples- he could feel the beginnings of a major headache coming on. "I have to head out, but I will try and be back before you go to bed."

Mokuba pouted. "Seto, why won't you tell me what's going on?!"

The taller sibling sighed. "Because, quite frankly, Mokuba... I don't even know."