A/N; This was really hammering at me dear readers...I had the urge to write a whole bunch more. There is a lot of stuff going on...i realize...there are at least three seperate problems..

Also, I guess I was making up for my lack thereof chapter from last time...so this one seemed to get extra long. This was a cut back version too...so...yeah...It's not really a bad thing, just a warning

Chapter 10.

It was two weeks since everything ended. For Kaiba that meant an odd sensation of his feet (or foot, rather, he would think in a black comedy) falling out from under him. He knew that this was stress, but this wasn't usually the way that it would work itself out. He was used to feeling a lot like a simmering pot. It was okay as long as it went to a certain point and no more.

He eased himself behind his desk; the crutches were leaned against the side of the desk. Though he usually abhorred the idea of an assistant, he always had one nearby for the little things that needed to be done. He knew for an undetermined amount of time that his assistant, as well as his secretary, would become a lot more useful.

"Tea, Kaiba-sama," said assistant said, placing a cup just in front of him. He gave a mild nod of recognition before watching as his assistant slithered to the opposite side of his office and into a small annex, the door left open.

This day was just one of those really bad ones. Mokuba was hardly speaking to him. It wasn't something he didn't see coming. Not only was it a delicate situation, but Mokuba was also a teenager who, while level headed, had recently been under the pressures that he was under on a daily basis.

Kaiba took a sip of the tea and made a few keystrokes into his computer, waking it up. He had been dying to look at the reports all day, but instead he was being subjected to the trial. Not that it was a bad thing that it was going on, but it was a media storm that only managed to make a little headache start feeding on his brain right before he was bound to need it.

It wasn't supposed to be a long trial. It seemed easy enough to prove the points, but as he'd slowly been learning first-hand, the legal system enjoyed being complicated and long winded.

Kaiba sighed and called for his assistant to get the head of accounting in his office. He laid his hands over top a few fiscal reports. There was something that he had been looking for, and he was intent on finding it. Not that it was hard to be found. He'd been having constant updates through his recuperation. Now, those updates were all compiled together as obvious data. He didn't like to see it, but it was there.

The accounting head stood before him asking him how he was. "I want to cut to the chase," he said, and the man sat down. "I know there's been something going on, and I can probably tell what it is, but just let me understand how this—," he held up one of the folders, "—has been going unnoticed for the time that I have been absent. That's only a month, maybe a little more."

"What do you mean, Kaiba-sama?"

"This." He handed the folder over to the man who began scanning it for something suspicious. "I don't think it's all that obscure, to tell you the truth. I noticed it early on but thought that maybe Mokuba was playing around with things and I trusted him for it. But it's not some simple little shift. There is money being deliberately taken from the funds that are going to R and D, and there are only so many people that could take that money and make it hardly noticeable."

"I see what you're saying. These numbers aren't high enough to cause alarm, but they should have raised a red flag."

"So why didn't anyone catch them but me?"

The man was silent; his lips parted as if there was something that he wanted to say but was afraid to say it. It was a look that Kaiba had seen before. He sighed. "I want a full-fledged investigation on this. I want all that money traced to the moment that it started to disappear. I want to know who is taking it, why it is being taken, and where it is being taken."

"Yes sir." The man handed the folder back. "I'll make sure to get a hold of the police."

Kaiba nodded. The headache was growing worse. He put his hand to his leg and gently massaged the area just above where the cast ended at his thigh. Even though things were getting better, he still had pain that lingered.

He pulled out his phone and began to dial. He didn't think it would work, but he was still going to try. It was about time for Mokuba to be out of class.

One ring, two, three…

"Hello?"

Mokuba usually greeted him a little chirpier than that, but he would take it over Mokuba not having answered at all. "Moki…" He was waiting for something; what, he wasn't entirely sure. When Mokuba said nothing he continued: "I wanted you to come by the office so we can talk about a—,"

"How's the trial?"

There was the sentimentality that Kaiba had been looking for. He grinned, knowing that no matter what it was they were arguing about, there was never something that could break them apart so easily. No doubt there was going to be a long discussion, but it was a step in the right direction.

"Long," he replied curtly. "I was happy to be done with it for today."

"How much longer do you think it'll take?"

"A few days at most. More for the media than anything else." He took another sip of the tea. Things were falling back into normality just the slightest bit. He could feel the tension despite the love, but it was love nonetheless. "As I was saying. I wanted you to come by the office because I'm working on things and I don't know if I'll make it home. I was thinking we could have dinner here."

"That sounds good," Mokuba's voice dropped. "You shouldn't be working so hard. You're still hurt pretty bad."

"It's all getting better. I'll see you when you get here?"

They exchanged their good-byes and hung up. For a few moments Kaiba sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. It was a moment that he often passed up because, as far as he was concerned, it was nothing and could still be perfected.

Accomplishment.

It didn't take long for Mokuba to arrive. By the time that he was in the office and standing before his brother, Kaiba was already busy working on something else and almost didn't notice that his office door had been opened. When Mokuba was only inches away, he looked up.

At first there was quiet. The phone conversation seemed easy because they didn't have to read each other's faces and body language. Now they couldn't ignore it.

Mokuba pulled up a chair beside the desk. "Anything happen at school?"

"Nii-sama…you haven't asked me that since I was twelve."

"I don't know where else to start," he admitted somewhat coldly. "I don't want to set off another…argument." Kaiba made sure that he was looking Mokuba in the eye as he spoke.

"It wasn't an argument," Mokuba admitted. Kaiba knew that it really wasn't. It was him not able to deal with his thoughts as Mokuba spoke to him. He didn't like to lose his cool like that, especially not in front of his brother, but he couldn't help it entirely. Between his head and his heart there was a lot of confusion, and the thoughts were still not sorted out in accordance with the way that his heart was feeling. Mokuba was trying to straighten him out. "I want you to be okay, that's all. And right now you're not."

"I'm under a lot of stress right now." He said as a default response. Mokuba made a face.

"Nii-sama…"

"Generally," he added. But Mokuba wanted to talk about it, so talk they would. "This thing with Jou has…it's come to its end. I don't think there's any other way to put it. And to tell you the truth, I don't think you're all that comfortable with the fact that I was with him in the first place. Since, obviously, he's not a woman."

"I'll admit it's strange, but I think I can get over it. If it's what makes you happy, then I'll get used to the idea."

A general response, he realized. For once, he couldn't gauge exactly what Mokuba was thinking, even if he was looking him directly in the eye. This wasn't something the kind of conversation he ever expected to have with Mokuba.

"I don't intend to make any of this public or do any kind of charity or try and change the views the government has. I doubt I really plan anything serious with this. For all I know, this is as far as I'll ever get to being with somebody."

"Nii-sama…I don't want you to be alone."

"I'll never be alone," he said. "I have you."

"That's not what I mean, see…"he began to say something, frustrated, but then he stopped and took a breath. "Were you really that happy with Jou?"

Kaiba shrugged. "There was something endearing about the whole thing. I didn't really want to let go of him. You think you know somebody, but you don't until you really know them. Jou was a bit like a diamond in the rough. When you're passing each other in the halls and standing across from each other on a battle field there's not much time to really understand a person. I thought he was thinking that as well."

He didn't know why, but he was keeping his voice stony and almost cold. It was hard to admit these sorts of feelings, especially since Mokuba had only a lukewarm disposition, but he knew didn't intend to lie to his brother about this.

"It's what explains that…annoying little group. I suppose I knew it all along; that limitless compassion that they all have and I can't really ever understand…how can you be so kind to someone no matter what? You can't have that kind of trust with people…"

This was something that he would have told his therapist. It was a bit easier to talk to Mokuba about it though. At least Mokuba had witnessed it first hand and there wasn't a lot of pointless explanation of the whole convoluted situation.

"How far did you two go Seto?" Mokuba asked tentatively.

"Do you really want to know?"

Mokuba nodded. "You're gonna have to tell me sometime."

Kaiba closed his eyes and realized that he'd been playing with his locket. He dropped his hand away. "As far as you can."

"You and Jou…did it..?"

"Yes."

Mokuba straightened his back. "Wow, nii-sama I never thought that…"

"I know…."

"And with Jou?"

Kaiba nodded. He was still trying to gauge his little brother. Still trying to see if there was something that he could catch that Mokuba was thinking or feeling.

He saw it in the way that Mokuba's shoulders drooped.

"I know that he's your friend in some way or another," Kaiba began again. "The thoughts of being around him and knowing this will probably be strange but…"

"Nii-sama, are you afraid of what I think?"

Kaiba blinked. "Afraid?" He tried not to be confused.

"Yeah. You seem to think that I'm going to abandon you." Mokuba pressed the locket between his hands tightly. "That this is going to turn into something crazy."

"It already is. Look at everything it involves…there is nothing sane about any of this," he admitted, and he knew that part of it was because he was involved at all. He didn't try to make things complicated, but he knew that his 'way', should it be called, tended to make things harder than they should be. "I'm not afraid of what you think, or that you're going to abandon me…I just don't want you upset on my account. Especially not at something like this…"

"Nii-sama—"

"If there is anyone whose thoughts I care more about, it's yours. And I don't want you upset or angry or any array of emotions that are afraid or mad or unsafe because you're my brother. It's my job to see that you are happy, and if it's my fault that you're not…"

"Nii-sama, will you just listen to me? Stop talking for a few minutes, okay?"

Kaiba pinched his lips together, and he almost felt like running his hand across his mouth and pretending it was a zipper, only that was too childish a motion. He was flustered, but there was no reason for him to show it.

"I'm not mad at you…okay maybe I'm a little upset and unsure, but that's because this is all just weird and sudden and…yeah, you get it. But I just want you to listen to what I have to say sometimes just…because you never know—"

"I have been listening I just—"

"You're under stress because of all this. This is what I'm here for. I'm someone you can talk to because there's not a lot of people you can talk to nii-sama. It's why I don't like the psychiatrist because it feels like you don't trust me to know these things…"

"I've been depressed," he admitted, though he knew it wasn't much a surprise. "I knew there was something wrong with me, so I went to someone that I knew could fix it. I trust you with anything, Mokuba—"

"Then why didn't you tell me that you're gay?" Mokuba raised his voice at this. It hit Kaiba all of a sudden what the arguing was about. It wasn't that Mokuba was uncomfortable—unsure—but not uncomfortable; he would probably be pretty peeved too if Mokuba didn't tell him something that major. And the way that he handled it. As he closed his eyes and thought about it, he realized there were probably better ways of dealing with it than with anger.

"Because I…I didn't really know, and I didn't want to tell you if I didn't know and then have to retract what I said. It would be confusing and pointlessly emotional. I didn't want to tell you until I was sure…and I'm not really sure now."

"It sounds pretty concrete."

"This was a lot like an experiment." He was continuing on as if Mokuba hadn't spoken. "One that has had good results but…there's only so many people that I could trust and, to be honest, I don't want to end up being with someone and not being able to keep the media out of my hair because I'm being covert and secretive and they just have to know. And then…dragging you into this whole mess just seemed like it would be inappropriate. That's why I didn't tell you."

"So, you still don't really know?" Mokuba asked.

Kaiba tilted his head from side to side, and he spared a moment to look back at his assistant. The door was ajar, but he could see that his assistant was busy with a phone call and speaking quietly.

"I know that I find a male attractive," he said, once again being his objective self. "It's possible I'm simply bisexual. At least that way I'll probably end up finding someone so I won't be so 'lonely'," he said, smiling to Mokuba.

"But you were happy with Jou."

"Other than a few falsities there was nothing to build a relationship on. And now he wouldn't come back no matter what I offered."

"You don't have to offer him anything. He isn't something that you're trying to buy or win."

"You know what I mean. There would be no trust between us after what I did, and there are just some things that happen that you can't make up for or forget, so it would be useless to try."

"Well why not already fail before trying?" Mokuba asked. "General's don't go into battles thinking that they're going to lose."

"Samurai do. It's how they kept their humility."

"This isn't about humility though. And you aren't a samurai either. This is love, and yeah, it's hard but you can't give up just because you're unfamiliar with the terrain." Mokuba got up from his seat and came beside his brother, kneeling down to the arm of the chair. "If you still have any feelings left for Jou, promise me that you'll try."

Kaiba didn't break his gaze from his little brother, but he was lost inside his own mind trying to think if there was any way that he could actually still get together with Jou. It would be a tricky road full of blocks, but if he did it right…

"I'm not going to promise that it'll work out," he said. "Even if something does happen and we get back, it's a relationship…there's a high chance that it will fail for some other reason."

Mokuba hugged his brother. "I love you too, Moki," Kaiba patted his brother's back.

"So, are you hungry?" Mokuba asked when he sat back down. Kaiba smiled.

"If you are, I'll get you something," he said.

"Nii-sama!…you always say that." Of course, this was all an old routine. Kaiba smiled and turned his chair around, Mokuba pulling his up closer and leaning against the side of the desk with a textbook out in front of him while his brother worked on something.

Anyone who looked in might think that Kaiba was ignoring his little brother and working on business rather than concerning himself with family. This was how they were. Comfortable in their long silences and simply watching as the other did their work.

Only Kaiba was thinking the entire time of asking Mokuba about the business with R and D. He didn't want the accounting head's words to weed into his thoughts, but he realized all too quickly that it should have been something that Mokuba noticed.

For now, he would leave it alone. They still had fresh wounds and he wasn't about to start picking at them. He had an investigation drummed up, that was all he needed.

Though he was often used to nighttime calls about something that was drastic, he didn't expect the call that came to him at somewhere between two or three in the morning. It was two days after the trial began and he opened up to Mokuba.

"'Ello?"

"Why am I getting calls from the media in the middle of the night?" It took a Kaiba a moment to register the voice of his lawyer.

"The case...?" he asked; his voice was still dreamy. He shifted around into the sitting position, stifling a yawn.

"They weren't asking me about the case, Kaiba-san. They were asking me about personal things about you. Things that aren't normal; things I can't answer."

"What are you talking about?"

He reached over a flicked on the light. His brain had finally warmed up and he was blinking out the last bits of sleep from his eyes.

"Apparently you've secured your lines, Kaiba-san, so the media is trying to ask me things about your…about some kind of scandal that involves the man that was removed from the docket...Jounouchi Katsuya..."

"What did you tell them?"

"I hung up, but they kept calling. Kaiba-san, what's this about? They were asking me…intimate questions."

Kaiba looked over to the opposite side of the bed and imagined when he and Jou were lying there. "Intimate? That's…nonsense…"he said, but he had little conviction behind it when he said it.

"That's what I thought but…"

The lawyer paused; it only gave Kaiba the opportunity to begin thinking of who could possibly share the information. "Do they know whose saying these things?"

"They won't tell me anything when I start asking questions. I'm assuming whoever is trying to slander you like this is anonymous. These reporters weren't from mainstream newspapers…these must have been tabloids or gossip columns or something, but they're trying. I must have had at least ten call me. They're asking me why he was in your service at your home. They're saying you were 'punishing' him. You can't tell me anything about this?"

Kaiba eased himself to sit on the edge of the bed and retrieve his robe from a chair that was set nearby holding some of his things. He was tentative to answer. This was what he was afraid of most when he let Jou go. The plan was wonderful in the beginning. Now it was in shambles and he was cleaning up the pieces.

"Jounouchi and I are acquainted," he said. "I have no other comment than they. Most people know us because we've met each other in the Duel Monsters ring, but nothing else."

The worst thing that he could do was to lie to his lawyer. If there was one person he could trust, as far as confidentiality was concerned, it was his lawyer. His lawyer would disclose nothing; that was, of course, if it wasn't illegal or hurtful for another individual. And it was. And even then he had confidence that it wouldn't come to that, but in this almost desperate situation, where the wee hours played tricks on the minds of men, he didn't want to have confidence in the man.

"Are you sure Kaiba-san?"

"Yes, I'm sure. If he's been to my house, it's because he and Mokuba are friends. I have no control over that."

The lawyer hummed. "I'll see you later this morning?"

Kaiba said yes and hung up. He closed his eyes and brought his hands to his face, sighing.

"Scandal…"he muttered to himself as he eased up to stand. He almost fell over on the crutches. There was so much buzzing through his mind—it felt like a regular 'whodunit' and there were so many things that were flashing through his mind. For a second Mokuba popped up, but it quickly faded away. Then, the idea that his lawyer was playing him, creating a panic and releasing the story himself. But what did his lawyer know? The accident, that was about it. But he talked to Jou, he thought. He didn't know it was Jou…he answered himself.

What if it was Jou himself trying to prove something, trying to reveal everything that happened as a form of punishment? Only Jou wouldn't understand how badly it would hurt him. No one would really understand how badly something like this could effect. Even if it was only thought of as pointless gossip, or even slander, it was the effect on his reputation—on his company.

He tried to assure himself that it wasn't Jou. That was the least he could do to his psyche. Even if Jou was angry, he'd come to realize that there was something almost noble about the man that he called a dog. There was no way that Jou would have done it; he wouldn't have had it in him.

Who did that leave?

Throughout this whole thought process, Kaiba was working through his morning routine. At the end of his thoughts, when he realized that there were only so many people that could even speculate on the situation, he was in the living room. His laptop was balanced on his lap and he was looking to see if there was anything online yet. It would be on the Internet before it would be anywhere else. The searches were coming up empty, thankfully. He wondered how long that would be lasting.

He closed the computer and leaned back. It was still too early. Mokuba wouldn't be up for a few more hours; the staff wouldn't be working for a few hours.

The staff…it was possible that they ratted. Of course, it was possible. The cook, the maids…one could have even seen them in the act for all he knew. The hospital staff could have seen something, or at least thought they saw something.

"I should have been more careful…"he muttered. These were typically consequences that he considered, why didn't he with Jou? This time, his mind didn't have an answer prepared. He felt stumped.

He didn't want to be at his desk the moment that he stepped into his office. He could see it sitting in the center of his desk like a plague. It was likely his secretary who put it there. She had a habit of letting him know when he was in the news, good or bad. He sighed and picked up the magazine. It wasn't what he would call 'credible', but it was news nonetheless. He sat down and skimmed through the article, feeling slimy when he was finished. He was used to the press making him out as some kind of greedy bastard, but something like this seemed off. Maybe it was because it wasn't intellectually based, it was just someone trying to make a quick buck.

His assistant came up to his desk. "Imaki-san thought you might be interested," he said, telling Kaiba what he had already figured out. "It's disgusting what they print these days."

"Are you saying that because it's true or are you currying a few brownie points?" he asked mechanically. He was folding the paper into some random shape, no real direction in mind. His assistant stumbled on the question.

"Um…well…I…I was just saying it, sir."

Kaiba smirked. "It doesn't matter either way," he said, placing the folded magazine on his desk. "Are there any messages while I was away?"

"Ah…yes. The police were contacted over the issue with the missing money…"

He had been informed the day before that the police were involved. They were following the paper trail pretty quickly. Whoever was embezzling the money was doing a very bad job of it, and it was traced to an account in the U.S. They were working on a name, and he hoped that it would be soon. All the while he was keeping his eye on the numbers to see if they fluctuated. He wanted to catch the thief in the act. He was taking little bits of the allocated money at a time, nothing to worry about, at least until it was added up.

Kaiba turned away from his assistant and to the door as it opened. Mokuba walked through. "Hey," he waved. "Don't mind me…just stopping by."

"You're not getting pizza again…"

"I know nii-sama; I was just stopping by, like I said." He said down in a chair and seemed to keep to himself, realizing that his brother was in the middle of something. Kaiba gave his assistant a motion to continue.

"They seem to think they know who's taking it."

"And who would that be?"

"They aren't sure; they're still checking everything out. But the accounts all seem to be pointing to the head of R and D, Tatsukiyo."

Kaiba lowered his head. Of course it was that easy. If there was a lead in that direction, considering everything, it seemed pretty obvious. He put his elbows on the desk and sat in thought for a moment. "I want him in my office."

"You're not going to fire him, are you Kaiba-sama?" his assistant asked, frightened.

"I don't really think that's any of your business," he said. "Just get him up in my office."

Kaiba didn't realize that he was setting off an awful chain of events. He knew that there were such things as disgruntled employees, some who tried to be fiercer than others when it came to dealing with the loss of their job. It never ended up as anything serious; Kaiba was never afraid of these men, he's faced it all too much before. So when he called in Tatsukiyo and told him that he was going to be suspended pending investigation of embezzlement, he wasn't surprised that the man yelled: "What do you mean suspended? I have done nothing but worked tirelessly for this company, for you, Kaiba-sama."

Kaiba just brushed him away. Mokuba was surprised at this reaction, but Kaiba told him not to worry about it, that it wasn't as bad as he'd seen.

For the remainder of the night they sat together, talking to one another even though Mokuba only said that he would be their briefly. They said not a word about Jou, though they talked plenty about the allegations that were in the paper. Kaiba didn't elaborate on the legality of it.

As he ushered Mokuba to leave (it was his plan as well) he was jolted at the sound of someone knocking on his door. Mokuba opened it, looking at Imaki-san as she stood frozen in the doorway. "Kai-Kaiba-sama…you…it's…"She was pushed out of the way and Tatsukiyo walked came in, slamming the door and twisting the lock with it.

Kaiba looked over to his assistant's little room. The man had gone home nearly an hour before. "You should be at home," Kaiba said calmly.

Tatsukiyo said nothing, only took a few more steps forward. Mokuba stepped in front of his brother. "What do you want?"

"You're going to drop the investigation," he muttered.

"Like hell!"

"Mokuba, be quiet," Kaiba hissed. Unlike Mokuba, he could see that there was something else in this entire equation. He was waiting for it.

"But nii-sama—"

Mokuba was cut off at the sound of a hammer being pulled. He had heard it in too many movies; it was all too familiar. "I worked too hard to be investigated now…"he seethed. He took another step closer. Mokuba lunged forward, reckless, and tried to grab Tatsukiyo's wrist. The man hit him upside the cheek with the gun. Mokuba stumbled forward into the ground. Tatsukiyo knelt down next to Mokuba and put his arm around the teen's neck. "Unplug the phone, shut off the computer and put out your cell phone. You too pipsqueak," he said, pointing the gun in Mokuba's direction. "Now!"

How many times had Mokuba been in these frightening situations? Enough to know that Mokuba wasn't easily scared by it, but he still had the pleading eyes that told his brother to simply do as he was told. Kaiba pulled out his cell phone, turning it off and placing it on his desk.

"This has nothing to do with Mokuba. Let him go," Kaiba said, starched.

"Unplug the phone and stand up!"

"Can't you see his leg's messed up?" Mokuba managed. Tatsukiyo pressed his forearm harder into Mokuba's neck. The boy let out a squeal. "N-nii-sama…"

A/N: Dun Dun dun...well...if you have any questions, you can either leave them in comments or PM me...I just...have a feeling this might all be confusing, and I hope its not but, in case it is.

You can simmer on if its Jou or not, but...you can probably tell by all of your reviews...so till, next time, KenSan out!