Coral: Hi again~! Here's chapter 10! I really can't believe I actually made it to ten for this fic. ;w; Thank you all for the love and get well wishes!

Note: Plot is moving forward to a more serious tone, so expect that coming up. Also some more revelations and talking. This is focusing a bit more of Kaiba's side of what happened that day/night Jounouchi spoke before going to the Kame Game Shop to start fulfilling his promise. Speculating mostly on his part. I may have rushed on a few parts trying to get this done, so I apologize greatly for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter Ten

Typing on his laptop, Kaiba clicked his tongue in irritation. The opponent he was facing was quite stubborn in hiding certain key information behind defensive program codes. He had established a particular date that a certain amount of employees were hired, and a date approximately one month later in which the duel disks were test run. His blue orbs shined from the reflection of the screen light as he narrowed them in focus. The biggest hire date was when Kaiba Corporation had to do a clean sweep to filter out the traitors who attempted to take over the company with the influence of Industrial Illusions or otherwise bought out with said company. Of these employees hired, there were quite a bit ranging from security to IT to research.

Industrial Illusions... He scowled from the bad memories that the Duel Monsters creator put him and his brother through. He would never forgive him.

It wouldn't even be surprising if this intruder had outside help from the other company in the first place. Then again, Kaiba Corporation did have many rival companies who gazed upon their stock profits in envy. He wasn't going to put that possibility aside either. Remembering back on the blond's words about how it wasn't like him to beg somehow gave him a surge of confidence. He was Kaiba Seto, and under no circumstances was he going to bow down to anyone, much less this intruder.

Somehow the thought made his signature smirk make itself known. Who would have thought that the blond nobody of a duelist would be the one to cheer him on? Not that he needed it of course. Closing his eyes, he stood. He would let the computer continue to filter employees that met certain qualifications in their backgrounds to accomplish the feat, but for now it was time to visit his brother again.

Mokuba of course was quite thrilled to see his elder brother again and expressed such by grabbing his hand and leading him around the playground. He pointed out his favorite hiding spots among the bushes and would occasionally ask him about the future, of which Kaiba would carefully select his answers in a way for the child to be satisfied. It was very obvious that the child never bothered to play with the other children, or rather... The children never bothered to play with him. Most of them were a bit older than the five year old, and since Mokuba and his brother were usually together, the other kids simply grouped them together and never bothered with them. Mokuba didn't let it bother him though, at least not today when he had the CEO with him.

"Niisama?" murmured the child as he leaned against the older male.

"Hm?" The teen smiled gently as he felt the young one shift in his arms as the two of them sat in the grass under the playground trees.

Gazing up at the taller boy, he grinned back shyly, "Did we... Get adopted?"

The brunet paused.

A great silence befell the two; not even the sound of rustling leaves in the wind seemed to register.

The child didn't notice how heavy of an impact his innocent query had caused and instead settled for closing his drowsy heavy eyelids in content. "I hope that our new mommy or daddy are very nice..." He yawned stretching his small limbs before settling against his brother.

Sapphire blue eyes stared down in guilty conflict at the boy and he unconsciously squeezed the boy in a gentle hug. There was just no possible way he could tell him. Not then. Not even later.

Kaiba had set himself in a routine within the past few days since the discovery of his predicament. After speaking with Jounouchi in the morning (night time in the present), he would come to visit the five year old Mokuba. If he wasn't to visit Mokuba, he would be at the hotel analyzing the duel disk data and logically trying to piece together in his head how the intruder came to hack at the internal programming and what it had to do with his time switch with his past self. Other than the one trip to buy a set of casual clothing to set apart from his uniform, he didn't involve himself going anywhere else. Nor did he have any desire to. To end the day, he would come to speak to Jounouchi close to dusk, (dawn in the present). It was inconvenient at times, waiting in the phone booth like a lovesick fool, not knowing if Jounouchi would even call even though they had agreed to such a schedule. There were too many possible variances such as Jounouchi needing to take overtime, someone being sick, and so on.

Surprisingly though the blond had always kept to the times promised as close as possible. If anything Kaiba was beginning to even believe that the blond did care for him, although most likely from guilt. It wasn't going to stop him from rubbing it in for sure.

The orphanage his brother resided in restricted more and more visitors at a time, so his time spent with the child grew less. It didn't bother the boy too much, however for Kaiba that was a different story. Seeing the younger Mokuba gave Kaiba motivation; reason to continue driving forth, to keep moving rather than stand listless in his situation. It wasn't that not seeing the boy would make him lose sight of what he needed to do, but without him, Kaiba would have felt so lost.

Was he even alive right now? The morbid thought had sat on the back of the brunet's mind for a long time, occasionally making itself known. Just what did he needed to do to prove he was human; that he was living? Talking to Jounouchi usually kept the thought in check, but it was a temporary comfort. What if all of this were in fact figments of his thoughts? If he was dead, who was to say that this was something that happens in the afterlife, like a dream?

Laying a hand softly on his younger brother's head, he ruffled the dark locks before proceeding to say farewell for the time being. He needed to stay strong.

For Mokuba.

For both of them.

Jounouchi sobbed into tissues as the secretary patted his back. Mokuba had taken the liberty of using the elevator again and after acquiring the report, they left again in the elevator and the eleven year old went ahead to rejoin Isono and Seto who were waiting. The blond teen however, stayed behind to recount his torments and just needed a moment to vent.

"And then, and then, the elevator just kept going on and on!"

"There, there..."

"And my life flashed before my very eyes again!"

"I know, I know..."

"I never got to eat my Burger World meal!" wailed Jou as he blew into numerous tissues.

The secretary handed the teen the whole box of tissues sympathetically.

Jounouchi continued sobbing into the comforting two ply tissues not noticing the chuckles coming from behind him until after a good five minutes. He turned his teary face around, snot running from his nose in a large trail. "What's so funny about another man's torment?!"

The source of the laughter smiled back pleasantly. "I apologize. I couldn't help it."

The teen wiped his eyes and nose and glanced back at the other person up and down. There was a man slightly taller than him about a good few inches, yet a seemingly delicate build, skinny arms, overall pale skin, sleek platinum blond hair with long bangs, and piercing sun orange eyes. He wore a large white lab coat draped over his shoulders with casual formal wear, elbow long white collar shirt with a brown vest and a KC crest on his right collar. He had a pair of black rimmed glasses that sat on his breast pocket. Jounouchi blinked at this stranger before widening his eyes in recognition. "Oh, you're the guy who gave me my duel disk from the tech department!"

The other male blinked back in surprise before smiling once more. "Ah? I see, you were the one from the other day. Jounouchi Katsuya-kun, hm?"

With a prideful nod, Jounouchi thumped his chest. "The one and only! I happen to be a rather great duelist coming in second in Duelist Kingdom! And fourth in Battle City, but I could have been third, peh."

The man's eyes gleamed as he chuckled, raising a hand to his chin. "Very impressive! I do admire those who have the strength to stand up to such high ranks! It must have been no easy feat in the least." He observed Jounouchi with renewed interest, gazing the smaller boy from head to toe. "How is your Duel Disk faring?"

The blond's grin widened. "It seems to be in good shape, thanks!"

The technician nodded in satisfaction. "I'm glad to hear. Are you certain though that you do not need for us to look it over?" He noted the slight change in the boy's expression, shifting his head up in thought before responding by shaking his head.

"I'm good. My duel disk is good as new and I have no complaints." Jounouchi declared huffing with pride and holding up a thumbs up.

Chuckling once more, the technician reached out and placed a hand into soft blond locks, marveling at the texture with intrigue. "I am glad to hear. Should you need anything, please do not hesitate to see me. Any services you need will be on me."

Questioning amber brown eyes peered up at the IT worker. "Eh? Why?"

"Consider it a gift, it's not everyday that I have the pleasure of meeting such a fine high ranked duelist as yourself," smiling once more, the worker slid his long delicate fingers slowly out of the blond's hair and bowed slightly. "My name is Motonari Seishiro, Jounouchi-kun. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

"Ah... Un... Yoroshiku." Jounouchi dipped his head, gazing up at the other man warily. He could still feel the lingering touch of the other's cold lithe fingers dancing in his hair as though playing with strings long after the gesture was done.

Seishiro had no change in his elegant smile, half lidded sand colored eyes drinking in the sight of the blond entirely, practically engulfing him whole. His smile widened when he saw the teen shift his gaze away in slight discomfort, cheeks turning a splendid pink color. Interesting...

"Ah, well excuse me then." The blond said quickly and made to leave. His effort was in vain as he felt those fingers clamp over his wrist from behind. A cold shiver ran up his shoulders. Slowly he glanced at Seishiro, who still kept that same smile.

"A moment longer if you would, Jounouchi-kun?"

The blond narrowed his eyes and scowled to give off a threatening aura. This guy... "Oi. Get your hand off."

Seishiro, noticing the glare, paused thoughtfully as if to consider his options. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, he released the duelist's hand while raising his in surrender. "I mean no offense, Jounouchi-san. Apologies, of course."

The tenseness faded from the boy, but he still kept a guarded look. Something was kind of off about this person. For one thing he seemed a bit too eager to touch him, although it might have been the blond's over tense speculation. Maybe it was because he was a high ranked duelist as he said. "Um, sure. Just please don't do that."

The Kaiba corp worker nodded pleasantly, obviously pleased. "Absolutely. I just simply wanted to ask, are you quite familiar with our corporate executive officer?"

Jounouchi tilted his head in confusion. "Who?"

Seishiro chuckled in amusement, a delicate finger lifted to his lips. "Mm, I believe that to be Kaiba Seto-sama?"

Widening his eyes in recognition Jou nodded, "Ooh, you meant Kaiba...!" Then he paused before cautiously supplying, "Although anyone should know him, he's a big figurehead you know."

The smile didn't falter. "Yes, that I agree. This may be intrusive so I hope you can pardon me, but I was wondering if you knew him on a personal level?"

Jounouchi quirked an eyebrow. "Um, why?"

"I just noticed your uniform and I thought I saw the young vice president pass by." quipped the man in genuine curiosity, white locks of hair sweeping to the right with a slight tilt of the head.

The blond duelist hesitated. Kaiba did say to avoid his company because of the risk of the "rat" being there and who knew if anyone else was in alliance with said intruder? The man in front of him didn't seem like a bad guy per say on first impressions, but he was kind of quirky... "Well... I don't really know him per say. But yeah he does go to my school." He decided to play it safe for now by giving answers that most likely the media had already gone through.

"I see. Did he seem well?"

At this, Jounouchi shrugged. "Can't say. I usually don't see him. Why?"

"I usually would catch a glimpse of shachou making his runs, yet lately I haven't seen him."

The duelist nodded but inwardly gulped in guilt. "Oh, well wouldn't it make sense to ask the vice president then? He is his brother after all."

Seishiro paused before laughing lightly. "Yes, you are correct. It would make sense to ask him, however... As you've said, he is his brother. Should something happen, it wouldn't be unlikely for him to pull fronts."

Jounouchi grew a tad bit annoyed. "That's assuming much, don't you think? I mean he's a CEO, what if he's on vacation or something? It's not like it's any of your business, right?" The blond hadn't meant for the words to come out harsh, but remembering how Mokuba cried when talking about the supposed rumors, Jounouchi couldn't help releasing his frustration, "If anything, I think you should just do your nine to five and stop thinking about things outside your department."

The albino's copper eyes twinkled in amusement. "Right, of course. It isn't any of my business, but people do talk here in this company."

Obviously not happy with this, Jou retorted, "They should really mind their own business then. It's not like anything's going wrong, right?"

"Hmm, you seem to really care a lot for someone who isn't involved much with the company," observed the tech worker with a small laugh.

Taken aback, Jounouchi sputtered, "Huh?"

"It's a really nice quality. To care so much, that is."

Clearly embarrassed, the blond turned his head away with a huff, "Well, isn't normal to be a caring person?"

Seishiro smiled slowly, eyes growing slightly affectionate and soft, "Perhaps. But perhaps not." He bowed his head slightly at Jou, then straightened. "I won't keep you much longer. Thank you for your time, Jounouchi-kun. I dearly hope we meet once again soon." He turned as if to walk away, then paused before looking back at the teen with the same captivating smile, "You're quite an interesting person, Jounouchi-kun. I shall have to take a look at your duels if they are representative of how interesting you are."

Catching the flattery and not one to put down compliments, Jounouchi grinned widely and shouted back with a wave, "Yeah! Watch all of them, I'm the best of the best!" He boasted, thumping a hand to his chest proudly.

The taller man chuckled once more slowly with amusement. "Yes... You're very interesting indeed, Jounouchi-kun." He paused in thought once more, then clasped his hands together. "I almost forgot!" He exclaimed and briskly whipped out a pack of stapled papers. With a pleasant nod, he gently pressed the papers into Jou's hands. "I believe the vice president would find this information most useful." The citrus colored eyes gazed into Jounouchi's amber ones with a slight slyness. "I look forward to meeting you again soon, Jounouchi-kun."

Tilting his head in confusion, the blond glanced down at the papers before looking back at the other man. "Oh ok. Likewise, Motonari-san."

A light laugh. "Please, call me Seishiro."

Beaming, Jounouchi nodded. "Alright. Seishiro-san then."

With a small wave, the Kaiba Corporation worker turned and walked away.

By the time Mokuba, Seto, and Isono arrived where Jounouchi was standing, the IT personnel was long gone.

Kaiba attempted to make sense of it all. Had he been working hard to the point that he would have experienced the painful symptoms last night? "Doesn't make any sense..." He muttered. Furthermore, how was it that he couldn't even establish the possible perpetrator? By now he should have at least had some names, but the list was still large, and filtering through them by looking at past credentials was proving tedious. He narrowed his eyes. He was no more closer to finding the culprit than he was when he began. He paused in thought. Could there be a potentially easier way? He didn't examine Jounouchi's duel disk yet, but in order to do that, he'd have to make the bonkotsu work on his end. He frowned. No, if anything he couldn't put the teen up to that. Apart from the blond's clear lack of experience in terms of programming, he had already done enough. For now he needed to extract as much information as possible with what he had.

"Duelist Kingdom..." He muttered over and over. The time period was key. Whoever it was just had to have taken the opportunity to infiltrate during Kaiba Corporation, that much was certain. He decided to glance over the hired technology based personnel from IT to Research and Development. Surely whoever it was would not try to be in any other department, obviously wanting to be as close to the company's developing equipment and programs as much as possible. He scowled as he scanned the various profiles on the screen, scrutinizing the different faces one by one. The rat had to be there somewhere... After all there was only so much one could hide before it all come up to the surface.

Jounouchi smiled at the boys as they ran eagerly to the awaiting limousine. Stretching his limbs with a satisfied sigh, he walked toward the vehicle. "Say, Mokuba?"

"Yeah?" Mokuba grinned at the teen after plopping down on one side of the seats with Seto following suit.

He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of the boys leaning comfortably against one another. "Heh, it's nothing. Just you're doing your brother proud."

Blushing at the sudden compliment, Mokuba huffed and looked away. "O-of course! If I can't, I'm not a Kaiba!"

Jounouchi busted into laughter while Seto tilted his head in confusion.

The blond then turned his attention to the brunet, "Seto, how are you feeling? Do you wanna see the doctor now?"

Seto shook his head firmly. "I'm fine! We can go later. I wanna play more."

Sweatdropping, Jounouchi continued to pat the boy on the head. "We're definitely going to get you a check up when we get home. There's a family doctor available, right?"

Mokuba nodded. "We have medical staff available 24/7."

The blond whistled honestly impressed. "Lucky."

"Jounouchi-niisan?"

The duelist leaned over expectantly, "Yes, what is it, Seto?"

Fidgeting slowly, the boy glanced left and right before piping, "Are you a bee?"

Jounouchi widened his eyes. "B?" His mind grew blank. He thought for a moment on what the child could be saying, before finally gaping at the boy. Did he mean bi?! Where did he hear that from?! "B?!"

The boy nodded rapidly with a spark in his eyes.

With a shriek, Jounouchi clasped his hands over Seto's cheeks, "Listen Seto! You're way too young for that stuff! Don't think about it!"

Attempting to wriggle out of Jounouchi's hold, Seto found his large cheeks being squished and attempted to pout, "Buh, buh, Chounoch-mee..."

Mokuba's jaw dropped at the sight and attempted to interfere, tackling the bigger male with his body, "Too young for what?! Jounouchi! Stop it! Niisama!"

"No! No! Not until your mind is clean from the gutter!" Cue intense squishing of cheeks.

"Chounochee-meeshawn..."

"Stop Jounouchi!"

After about 5 minutes of cheek squishing and tackling, it finally occurred to the blond that the boy meant a honey bee and not... What he thought it was...

"I'm so sorry."

"Hmph!" Seto shook his head away with a scowl, cheeks puffed from so much squishing. It was almost reminiscent of a certain older Kaiba, save for the puffiness and the large eyes.

"Ice cream?" offered Jounouchi hesitantly.

Mokuba scowled this time. "Ice cream won't cut it."

The blond paused.

"Ice cream soda?"

"NO," chorused the boys with obvious disdain.

Boy, he really must have messed up if ice cream soda wouldn't work. Jounouchi sighed. "Hug?"

Surprisingly the boys relented and settled for encircling their arms around Jounouchi. The teen beamed as he squeezed the two back. He knew they loved him!

...

"Kaiba Land."

"At this hour?!"

Stare.

"I hate you two."

Hug.

Before going to the forcefully promised amusement park, Jounouchi asked to stop by his part time work to see how Honda fared. The boys agreed, but didn't remove their scowling pouty faces.

"You better hurry, Jounouchi!" complained Mokuba as he crossed his arms being very cross all the while giving a cross look.

Seto followed suit in a similar manner putting his hands on his hips sternly, giving a stern scowl, while giving a very stern gaze.

It was quite terrifying really, even to themselves although they wouldn't admit it.

Leaving the boys and Isono in the limo, he walked briskly into the flower shop inhaling the moist air that only a greenhouse would have. "Oi, Honda?"

And there was his friend wearing the flower shop apron pressing the potting soil into small pots. "Hey, Jounouchi," he responded absent-mindedly, focusing his attention on getting the dirt in good.

"Your friend here's been a big help, Jounouchi! I might consider getting him here as a part-timer too!" exclaimed the manager from behind the nearby counter. Stretching for a brief moment she grinned at Jou. "So, what's with the sudden visit? Don't tell me you miss your job already?"

Jounouchi laughed, "Mako-san, actually I wanted to make sure my friend here didn't burn the shop!" His grin grew wider, earning a big guffaw from the shop owner.

"I wouldn't do that!" protested the brunet in disdain as he hauled several bags of fertilizer from the back storeroom.

Mako shook her head as she burst out laughing. Attempting to stop her fit of giggles, she clasped a hand on the blond teen's shoulder. "Jounouchi. Do you mind if I talk to you for a moment?"

Jou smiled but braced himself in anticipation in case it may be bad news. "Sure thing Mako-san." Following the manager to the back room for employees, he blinked as the woman handed him a cold water bottle.

"Water's always nice, ne?" She beamed as the blond cuddled with the bottle like a precious baby. "So, Jou... I wanted to ask about those kids you were with the other day..."

Taking a swig of the water, the duelist relished the coolness rushing down his throat. Swallowing, he blinked at his manager. "Oh, them... Um... I knew it, they caused trouble for the shop, didn't they?" He moaned in lamentation.

Panicking, the manager waved her arms, "No, no, it's not like that at all, they were pretty well behaved! I don't mind kids, but my sister loved them."

Sighing in relief, Jounouchi sat down on one of the break room chairs. "Sister?"

Mako nodded. "I had an older sister once..." She coughed and looked away hesitantly for a moment before returning her gaze to Jou. "Um... I'm sorry. I just feel I can trust you and you've always been a good listener..."

Jounouchi shook his head quickly, "No, it's fine! Please tell me if it would help," he insisted.

Laughing the manager continued, "Well... It's been years ago so I'm kind of dull to it, ha. Anyway, that kid kind of reminded me something when he cried..." She opened her bottle of water with a good tweak and gulped down the liquid. "Ah..."

The blond gazed at his employer questioningly. Had Seto sparked something unpleasant maybe?

"My sister used to work at the nearby orphanage back when it was still in business, you know? It's been years ago, back when I was in high school, haha." She frowned for a moment, eyes growing blank. "I kind of wished though that she didn't care about the kids so much back then..."

Jounouchi's eyes grew wide a fraction. "Really?"

Mako shook her head. "Well, that's what I thought back then when I was an immature kid. She worked really hard there and at times wouldn't even come home in time for dinner, pulling overtime and stuff." She laughed hollowly. "I hate her... Why'd she have to leave..."

The blond worker placed a hand on Mako's shoulder sympathetically. "It's ok."

She shook her head once more with a sigh. "I kind of regretted not working harder to convince my sis not to go that day..."

"That day?"

The manager smile was tinted with faded melancholy, dull from over the years. "Yeah. It was my birthday. She needed to work as usual though, apparently they needed her help. I was still an annoying teen brat though. No offense kiddo."

Jounouchi pretended to pout, earning a small laugh.

"Well, we fought, I said some things that were really hurtful but I didn't care at the time. Looking back, I really was a selfish brat. Anyway, I thought at least she would have been home for dinner. She didn't and I was angry. But the next morning the police came by... There was a fire."

The duelist froze. He had a bad feeling on where this was going...

"She was gone, Jou... And I had the gall to be furious at her and the kids she cared about so much." Inhaling sharply she rubbed an eye. "Well, that was years ago. Not sure why I'm bothering you too much with this, I'm really sorry for the burden."

Jounouchi shook his head. "No, it's not at all. It's your sister... I have a sister too and if anything were to happen to her..."

At this, Mako burst out laughing. "You mean on top of those kids you have a sister too? Aw, Jou, you'll make a woman really happy." Pulling out a bag, she stuffed some more water bottles in it. "Anyway, thanks for listening. That boy kind of reminded me about how my sister would take care of kids like him... And well, it might not be possible for him to know her... Or maybe if he's super little at the time, maybe?" She turned her questioning gaze over to the listening boy. "So I wanted to ask, has he ever been an orphan at Domino's Home for Angels?"

Jou didn't know what to say. He couldn't say for certain whether or not the boy was a resident at that orphanage, but he didn't want to disappoint Mako either. In the end he was silent which didn't seem to bother the manager as much as he thought it would.

"Heheh, maybe not. Maybe I'm just imagining things. It's ok though. Thanks for listening, Jounouchi. You're a good worker." Before the blond could protest, she shoved the bag of water bottles in his arms. "Go give these to whoever's waiting for you outside, you all are giving the shop waaaay too much attention with that limo."

Jounouchi stammered as he was being pushed, "M-Mako-san, wait I-!"

Mako grinned apologetically. "I'll give you a bonus too, for ruining your day and all."

"That's not it at all! Mako-san, I know how it is! I really do!"

Blinking at the blond's passionate outcry from her attempt to shut him out, her eyes softened. The smile faded and she looked away. "Yeah... I think you do... I believe you, Jounouchi-kun. Thanks." She turned her gaze back over to Jounouchi. "It's been years though. I'm over it. Just, I kind of thought I was seeing something connected to her that's all... Um, that is to say... Uh... Well..."

The blond nodded understandingly. "You wanted to hold onto her memories as much as you can. You still do."

Mako widened her eyes in surprise at the boy's perceptiveness and small tears pricked the corners of her eyes, "Ha..." She covered her eyes slowly with both hands, "Yeah... I do... I really do miss her, Jou... I wish... I hadn't been horrible to her that day... I told her so many things. So many ugly things," she sniffed softly, "And I can never take it back..." She paused for a moment, rubbing her eyes before whipping up a finger. "Ahem! And let this be a lesson from an adult's point of view, kiddo!"

"Haaa? You tricked me! So this was all a freakin' adult lesson?!" Joked the duelist as he headed off all the while glancing back every now and then to make sure his manager was feeling ok for sure.

Mako laughed and waved him off. "Thanks for listening, Jounouchi-kun. I'll see you next time. And be sure to get yourself to work, ne?"

"Un. Anytime, Mako-san." With a final look at his boss, he stepped into the limo where the two boys awaited him.

Going to Kaiba Land was just like going to any other typical amusement park... Except it was probably bigger or something. Jounouchi sobbed as he held the two boys while they eagerly waved their arms wanting to go one way then another. He wanted to go hooooome.

Thankfully the day was nearly over and after a few rides, the children had enough and decided that having cotton candy on Jou's hair was punishment enough.

Thank. God.

With a heavy heart, Jounouchi grasped the two boys by hand once more to the awaiting limo.

"So, Jounouchi... How were you able to contact niisama?" whispered Mokuba in his ear.

Jounouchi whispered back, cupping a hand over his cheek, "I managed to talk to him by a payphone nearby my house and the Kame Game shop!"

"Really?! Can I talk to niisama?!" Mokuba could barely keep his excitement low.

Jounouchi nodded in assurance. "Of course!"

The younger Kaiba brother was elated. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Seto stared at this exchange for a while before he eventually lost patience. "What are you two talking about?" He pouted at the two boys who separated but shared a conspiratorial look.

"Nothing!" They exclaimed too quickly, waving their arms and panicking conspicuously.

The small brunet scrunched his face with a wriggly frown. "Are you hiding something?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Really?"

"Uh-huh!"

By now, Seto's face was a wrinkly mess as his frown continued to grow with frustration. He eventually decided to let it go though, but was still sad that he was being left out. "Ok..." He yelped in surprise as hands burrowed into his hair and he was gazing into Jounouchi's smiling face. "Jounouchi-nii?"

"I promise, it's not something too important, ok?" Grinning, he fluffed the boy's brown locks as big blue eyes peered at him. "It's just something about the company that's all."

Seto blinked and then nodded. "Ok. You know, you could have just said that," the child complained with a slight pout. He received a laugh in return and couldn't resist smiling himself.

Sitting back in content, Jounouchi turned his gaze over to Mokuba who mouthed, 'Good idea!' and he mouthed back, 'You're welcome.'

At this Seto frowned again. "I can read your lips, you know. Are you sure you're not hiding something from me?"

It took a while before the two of them finally got Seto to stop his cross-examination.

It wasn't long before Jou was talking to Kaiba once more as usual on the phone.

"Has the task been too much for you that you had to contact me late, bonkotsu?"

"I'm not a bonkotsu." grumbled the teen. "Anyway! I wanted to let you know that your brother wants to talk to you."

"Mokuba?!"

"Who else?" laughed Jou as Mokuba eagerly gazed at the payphone with wide eyes. Seto waited by the sidelines with Isono's supervision.

The line was quiet for a moment. "Let me speak with him then."

"'Course."

Mokuba's breath hitched as he eagerly snatched the handle off Jounouchi's hand. "Niisama?!"

"Mokuba?!"

"Niisama?! Can you hear me?!"

"Mokuba?!"

Jounouchi widened his eyes at this exchange. Exactly what was going on before him?! "Hey, Mokuba?" He stopped immediately as he saw tears beginning to form in the boy's blue grey eyes.

"I... Jounouchi... I don't hear him...!"

He gaped for a moment before slowly picking up the handle.

"Bonkotsu! What is the meaning of this?! How dare you play tricks on me! Does it look like this whole situation with me is funny with you?! How dare you insult me with my brother!"

Understandably both brothers were really upset at the lack of exchange. It was really strange though, and hearing Kaiba's anger confirmed that he did not hear Mokuba either. So why was Jounouchi able to hear and talk to Kaiba? The blond didn't understand and couldn't provide an answer... Until a small thought occurred to him. It was a thought, ridiculous as it was, but it was worth a try.

"Kaiba."

"What is it, fool?!"

"I'm going to try again. Bear with me."

"What are you talking about?! Bonkotsu!"

Mokuba blinked his teary eyes up at the teen questioningly while Jou whipped out his deck. "Jou...nouchi?"

The duelist gave the eleven year old a comforting smile before pulling out his Time Wizard card. "He's never failed me before on this... Maybe... Just maybe..."

Gasping in shock, the raven haired boy was confused as the card was pressed into his hands. He gazed up at the teen who once again handed the receiver with a smile. Realizing what Jounouchi was trying to do, he nodded and held the card as he gingerly picked up the phone from the other's hands. Almost at once, the clock wizard card began to shine brightly. He clenched his eyes tightly in anticipation and let out his breath.

"Niisama...?"

"Mokuba, it's you?!"

The boy gasped in surprise. There, in the receiver, over the phone, was the familiar gentle yet strong voice of his elder brother. The boy could hardly contain the multiple emotions pouring out at once. "Niisama! Yes, it's me!"

"I don't believe it! It really is you! Mokuba!"

"Niisama..." Mokuba sniffed. "Am I really dreaming right now?"

The voice on the other line replied gently, "No Mokuba, I'm here for you. Are you alright now?"

"Yes..."

"Has Jounouchi been capable?"

At this the boy laughed, "Of course, niisama... I'm fine... and so are you..."

"Good."

"How are you going to come back?"

"I don't know. But I'll find a way."

Mokuba nodded. "I know you will, niisama. You can definitely find it."

"Yes... Be careful, Mokuba."

"I will."

"I'm sure Jounouchi has already told you, but there is a company rat lurking in Kaiba Corp... I'm doing what I can to expose him."

"What can I do to help?"

"Stay low for now."

"Ok. I've gotten the reports you needed too, and forwarded them to me."

"Thank you, Mokuba. You're doing a great job."

"Hee hee... I miss you, niisama... Come home soon."

"Yes. I will... Let me talk to Jounouchi."

Beaming now, Mokuba handed the phone back over to Jou who hesitated before taking it.

"Yes, what do you want?"

"Is that really how you should address someone who you're trying to be civil with?"

"Last time I spoke to that person, he yelled at me like a maniac."

"Hmm... Must be quite the man."

"Tell me about it."

"Sounds dashing."

"Far from it."

"On the contrary he sounds like a very capable man of reason, unlike you."

"Baka, just how long are you going to keep filling your ego?"

"As much time as you're willing to waste, bonkotsu."

"Che!"

A chuckle on the other line.

Jounouchi frowned before asking, "So?"

"Hmm?"

"What did you need to talk to me about?"

"Would you believe me if I said nothing?"

"What?!"

"Just... To talk?"

"Ok, what have you been drinking?"

"Espresso."

"Must be strong stuff."

"It is."

"..."

"..."

"Um... Listen, Kaiba... I think something's pretty weird about all of this."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I first gave the phone to Mokuba, it sounded like you two couldn't hear each other, but I could."

"...Is that so?"

"Yeah... And when I gave Mokuba my Time Wizard just now, you two heard each other and talked."

"I see."

"So... I'm not sure what's going on with that but maybe Time Wizard has something to do with it."

"Hmph. All pointing back to that scruffy card of yours?"

"Hey, it's a good card, Kaiba."

"A lot of good it did me," the brunet sneered over the line.

Jounouchi sighed. No point in arguing. "Ok, you have a point."

"Hmm..."

"What?"

"You sometimes claimed me to be the weird one on our phone calls, Jounouchi... But I think the more curious one is you."

Jounouchi blinked. "Say wha?"

"You had a 'sense' somehow and picked up the payphone and sent the coin to my end at the beginning. You had a 'sense' once again when I placed the coin in the payphone out of curiosity and picked up the phone and we managed to talk. You just now had a 'feeling' that Time Wizard would work to let me talk to my brother. Tell me, Jounouchi... Just what are you?"

The blond widened his eyes. It was definitely pretty weird how he was experiencing all these different moments of strange clarity. And it definitely seemed pretty suspicious too that Jou had a lot to do with the CEO's predicament, not to mention that the duel started out with Jou in the first place. He opened his mouth to respond. Then closed. Then opened again. Then closed. What could he say?

"Hmph. Well, whatever it is about you, it certainly doesn't make you a better duelist in the least."

Jounouchi Katsuya scowled instantaneously. "Oi, I happen to be an amazing duelist thank you very much!"

"Amazing enough to scrub the dirt off my shoes, I'm sure."

"GRRRRR! Kaiba, teme!"

Whatever brief truce they had was tossed out the window long ago.

Mokuba and Seto sweatdropped as their temporary guardian raged over the phone line, not hearing the villainous cackle on the other side of the line obviously amused. Seto frowned as he glanced at the phonebooth Jounouchi was currently roaring in. It looked familiar...

"Ok, I will need you to raise your arms up." The doctor instructed gently.

The young orphan pouted all the while during the entire check up process, made more thorough due to concerns of his strange experiences. "I'm fiiiine." He whined as the doctor chuckled.

"Breath in. Out. Good." The doctor smiled as he wrote on the chart and declared, "It doesn't look like anything's wrong, but looks can be deceiving. We'll need to monitor his progress and the like. Are you prone to seizures, Seto?"

The young brunet shook his head.

"Well just in case, we'll watch out for it, ok?"

"I don't need medicine."

The doctor laughed. "Ok. We won't give medicine then. It looks like you won't need it, but your guardian Jounouchi here will need to watch you, ok?"

Seto nodded eagerly. He definitely wanted to end the doctor visit now.

The physician handed Jounouchi some instructions as well as a written prescription. "You don't have to fill it right away, but it's just in case, alright? PRN."

Jounouchi nodded. He didn't know what PRN stood for, but "just in case" made it clear enough.

Satisfied, the doctor left and Seto breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could play! The boy giggled as he grabbed Jounouchi's hands.

The blond teen smiled down warmly as he was led. He was so relieved that nothing was wrong with the boy. It was weird too, actually a lot of things were weird with regards to him and the boy. Was there something else that Jounouchi had to do? Was there a purpose to all this? A vibration shook him out of his thoughts. Looking at the caller ID, he stood and tapped the accept button. "Yo, Yugi!"

"Hi Jounouchi-kun!" chirped the voice of his good best friend. "How are you?"

"Good. Just got Seto checked out. Doctor says he's fine but to watch him."

"Mm, I see. That's good news. We wouldn't want anything worst to happen to him and he's so young too..."

"No kidding."

"So what else happened?"

"I came by to see Honda since I felt bad for him substituting on short notice. He seemed to be doing good too..."

"Mm-hm, that's good to hear."

"Hehe, yeah..."

"Anything else?"

"I talked to Kaiba."

"Oh, how's Kaiba-kun doing?"

"Same old prick as always," Jounouchi sighed, rubbing his forehead. Hearing his friend's laugh on the line did help uplift his mood, however.

"That's a good thing then."

"I guess..."

"Jounouchi-kun? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Yugi."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Alright then."

Jounouchi was silent for a moment before blurting, "Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Or the other you. Or both of you is fine. Oh, of course both of you are there," the duelist babbled on, "Anyway, when I spoke with Kaiba, something weird happened. See, when I tried to get Mokuba to talk to his brother, neither of them could hear a thing!"

A small sharp intake of breath was heard on Yugi's end.

Not hearing his friend's surprise, Jounouchi continued, "And I... I felt really bad. Mokuba was crying, I mean. Of course it's his brother we're talking about so he obviously wanted to talk to him and, uh, I... An idea came to me..."

Not wanting to ruin Jounouchi's current tirade, Yugi pressed on softly, "Go ahead, Jou."

Taking a deep breath, the blond duelist resumed, "I thought about the Time Wizard."

Yugi gasped on the line.

"Yeah, I know... It was crazy. I gave it to Mokuba to hold and then suddenly they could hear each other! But what else was crazy was that I... I could hear them both the whole time..."

"Is that so, Jounouchi-kun?"

"Believe me, I am not joking here. It's insane!"

"No, I believe you definitely! I'm just surprised, that's all... Actually I was going to ask you about it the other day, but since you made your promise, your time with the boys made it kind of hard for me to talk to you..."

"Aw Yugi..." Jounouchi gulped guiltily. He hadn't meant to keep his friend out of the picture at all. "Sorry about that..."

"No, no, it couldn't be helped, don't worry about it! Well, I wanted to tell you that when you spoke to Kaiba-kun the other day and I was there, I couldn't hear him either and neither could the spirit of the puzzle."

Now this was interesting. Not only was Kaiba not heard by Mokuba or Yugi, but the Millennium Puzzle spirit too?! "Really?"

"Yes. Jounouchi-kun, I'm not sure how or why is it that you could hear Kaiba on your own, but it might be a clue..."

"A clue?! But how?"

"Hmmm... I'm not sure, to be honest. But maybe what you've discovered with Mokuba is a surefire sign?"

Jounouchi froze for a moment before an instant bang of clarity hit, "That's it!"

"Eh?"

"Yugi, you're a genius! Well, Kaiba gave the hint first sorta, but you made it clear for me!"

"Um... I did?"

"Yeah! Thanks Yugi, I owe you big time! I'll be sure to get Seto home now!"

"Oh... Oh! Ok! I hope it works!"

"Alright, see you!"

"Good luck, Jounouchi-kun! We're all with you every step of the way!"

With a nod, the teen hung up. Now was time to test his idea, but probably best to talk it over with Kaiba just in case. He hoped with all his might that it would work.

The next early morning call, Jounouchi relayed his idea to the brunet, who firmly decided he didn't support it.

"Wait, why wouldn't you want to test this out?!" He complained over the phone.

"There's too many possible conflicts that could happen. For one thing, how do you know for sure that I will be swapped with my past self?"

"At least it's worth a try!"

"I need stone hard answers, not guesses, Jounouchi. I won't let you use my past self as a guinea pig for your ideas!"

"Che. Stop being so stubborn, Kaiba! Look, you've been calling the shots for the past few days, so now here's my turn. I'm gonna try this idea out and if it doesn't work, I'll make sure it doesn't affect you."

"How?"

"Heehee, secret!"

"...Fine. Normally I would keep rejecting outright, but since you allowed me to speak to my brother... Just this one time. Do NOT disappoint me."

"Great! Glad to hear you approve, moneybags!"

"Shut up, bonkotsu. This is only a special circumstance and you know it."

"Yeah, yeah..." Jounouchi couldn't help the plastered grin on his face. Any further creasing and it could practically become permanent.

"Be careful and stay out of sight."

"Yeah. Of course I will."

"And.."

"What?"

"...Nothing."

"Hm... Ok then..."

"Listen, bonkotsu..."

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"Huh? Kaiba?"

With that, the line cut off and the coin once more returned to the disposal panel. Jounouchi stared long and hard at the payphone, which offered no answers to his flooding mind of pure raw confusion. Kaiba had been acting strange over the phone, that he was certain. It wasn't too bad of a change, but it did make Jou somewhat worried. What if something was happening to the brunet and he was just being too stubborn to admit it? Every step forward seemed to go two steps back, so to speak, or at least that's how it felt.

Having no solutions enter his brain for the brunet's behavior, Jounouchi just simply stood there in the phone booth for the longest time.

Once school was over once more, Jounouchi and Yugi began discussing his plans.

"So Yugi, I really think it's worth a try."

"Hm... What did Kaiba-kun think of it?"

"He wasn't too sure, but I convinced him," grinned the blond with a thumbs up.

Yugi blinked for a moment before smiling as his friend kicked some loose pebbles on the concrete ground. "That must have been difficult, Jounouchi-kun."

"Mm, it was," Jou fake sobbed prior to patting his small friend on the back. "It's alright though! I'll do what it takes to bring that prick back!"

The champion duelist nodded in reassurance. "I'm certain you can do it. Good luck Jounouchi-kun. I'm sorry I can't come with you."

"It's alright. You needed to work with Jii-san at his shop, right?" Jounouchi grinned understandably, "Well, Isono's here now. Here goes nothing."

Yugi nodded as the spirit of the puzzle watched on carefully. He hoped Jounouchi absolutely knew what he was getting himself into. Time was a complicated thing after all.

Isono, opening the door to the limousine, nodded at Jounouchi who waved in greeting and plopped himself on the comfortable seat. Mokuba and Seto were inside as well, expectantly.

"Jounouchi... So this is it then?"

The blond teen nodded. "If all goes well, Mokuba... Seto, you'll be finally be able to go home."

Seto brightened at the news. "Really? Jounouchi-nii... How can I go?"

The duelist smiled with confidence. "I'll help you, don't worry! You'll be home in no time."

Overwhelmed with happiness, Seto jumped into Jounouchi's arms with glee. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll finally come back to my brother again!"

Not to be outdone, Mokuba launched himself in Jounouchi's arms as well, "I'm so happy for you niisama!"

"OOF!" grunted the teen in regret as the two youngsters squeezed the life out of him in excitement. He moaned for a moment before quickly gathering himself from the blow and grabbed the two boys in a grapple hold with much protest from the children. Pressing the button to lower down the limo partition, Jounouchi said to Isono, "Head left soon."

"Yes sir."

The boys ceased their struggling and watched outside the windows from the teen's arms with curiosity as the trees, electric poles, and various neighborhoods went by their vision. Soon, Jounouchi signaled for Isono to stop.

"Where are we?" murmured Mokuba as he exited the vehicle in surprise.

Jounouchi grinned and stretched his arms out while breathing in the fresh air. "The beach," he declared triumphantly. "I used to go here sometimes with Shizuka. We're visiting here for good luck before trying to bring Seto home."

Seto breathed in amazement as he took in the beautiful view of the oceanside. "Pretty..."

And indeed it was, with the glittering rays of light hitting the gentle waves of water clear and so blue, it was almost perfect for a desktop background. The sky was clear and not a single depressing cloud. The slight breeze tickled their noses with smells of the sea and nearby barbeque from a close hotel resort. For a moment the three sat down on the sand and admired the view, just enjoying the tranquility. Maybe, just maybe, things would turn out alright after all. Hopefully Seto would be able to come home soon to his brother who must be waiting.

Sadly soon the moment of quiet was gone as Jounouchi observed with reluctance at his watch. "Time to go..." He murmured, lifting himself from the sand.

"Jounouchi-nii? Where are we going to next?"

The teen closed his eyes for a moment. "Mm... Hm... Well, I think we should go to the park, and that's where I'll try to get Seto home."

Mokuba gazed at the duelist in shock. "The park?! But won't people be there?"

"Um, couldn't you ask for the park to be closed off or something?"

"Technically yes, but we still have to provide a reason despite our influence, you know."

"Oh... Hm... I guess not the park then... Maybe I can try back at your home then, Mokuba."

Mokuba nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Seto gazed up at the teenager who took care of him and his brother during the time of his stay in the future. It was really going to be good-bye then? Even though he was looking forward to coming home, he really grew to like Jounouchi, who took the time to listen to him. In a lot of different ways, he began to feel conflicted. After all even if he did go back, he would be going back as an orphan, with no one willing to adopt him and his brother together; not to mention the potential bullies against the brothers and all. Here in the future, he was a child and not a boy forced to become an adult so quickly. He had someone who genuinely cared for him and if his Mokuba was with him, the brunet child had no doubt that Jou would gladly care for him as well. It was a good diversion from what he faced in the real world that was his timeline. His blue eyes grew melancholic at the thoughts. He didn't want to stay, but he didn't want to leave either. "Um... We don't have to go so soon..." Seto mumbled as he held onto the blond's warm hand.

Jounouchi peered down curiously at Seto who looked away bashfully. "Hm?" He was taken by surprise when the boy suddenly clasped his arms around his legs. It took nearly all his strength not to trip then and there. "AUGH! Seto?!"

"I'm... I'm sorry! I... I don't wanna go yet, Jounouchi-nii!"

It took the blond a moment to comprehend the child's words and he was still going. "Seto...?"

"I don't wanna go... I had so much fun here... Here, no one's mean to me. There's people who really care about me and I get to play with Mokie, with Isono, and you, Jounouchi-nii! I could actually be me and not act like a grown up and just be happy... I know it's not right. I need to go back to my brother... But I wish..."

Dazedly, the blond reached down and patted the boy who continued to talk and shake all the while. It sort of did make sense, he concluded. The boy was an orphan who was forced into the role of an adult figure for his brother and was hardened by the cruel challenges of reality. Here, there was him to take care of him as well as his friends who showed him many different activities and Mokuba was there too. He had a nice bed to sleep in, a familiar face to wake up to, and he wasn't ever lonely in the strange future he was thrust in. Jounouchi bent over and lightly wrapped his hands over the small one's back. He felt the child stiffen for a bit but then relax and gaze up at him with large blue eyes that were tearing up. "Hey, it's ok Seto..." He smiled and used one hand to wipe away the stray tears on the boy's soft cheeks. "I'm really happy that you like me and everyone so much here. And that you're happy being here." As he rubbed small circles on Seto's back, he felt the young one lean his head comfortingly against his stomach. "Daijoubu... I promise everything will turn out ok in the end."

Mokuba gazed at the past form of his brother with slight feelings of melancholy and guilt. He figured as much that the things his brother couldn't have before was here in their current time and practically taken for granted. When he remembered the days following the death of their parents and how Seto was always his pillar, it was always difficult. He always felt that in some way the reason why Seto could not be the child he wanted to be was because of him, the little brother that was practically helpless. Still... Mokuba stood firm. He was determined to change that no matter what. Now, he could stand proudly and show his brother that he didn't have to worry about him. He owed at least that much to him. "Niisama... Don't worry."

Seto twisted his head from Jounouchi's comfort hold, eyes questioning from the boy's words.

"Even if I'm not able to help you as a five year old... I promise, I'll get better. I'm able to help you more too, so eventually you can be what you want, niisama and not have me as a liability..." Before he could finish, the raven haired boy was suddenly bombarded by a crying brunet his size, causing the both of them to fall over, sand flying in the air as a mini cloud. "N-niisama?!

"No! Shut up Mokie, you dummy! Don't say that! Don't ever say that!" Seto squeezed his future brother tightly with all his might as though loosening his hold would mean losing him forever. "I never saw you as a liability and I never will! I don't regret anything. I'm your brother and I'll always protect you! So please, don't think that... I needed you just as much as you needed me. I still do!"

Mokuba's breath hitched upon hearing those words from his brother's mouth. For a moment he just pressed his forehead against his brother's as he sniffled with a small laugh. "Niisama..." And here he was trying to comfort his brother yet he was the one being comforted instead. He squeezed back just as tightly. "I wanted to say thank you. Niisama, I'll do my best."

"I'm already proud of you, y-you idiot!"

The two boys bawled like crazy while they continued to hold each other as Jounouchi watched while trying very hard not to laugh.

Soon the three arrived back at the Kaiba manor and stood in front of the courtyard. The children peered curiously at Jounouchi, who carefully held his duel disk on his arm. Oddly enough, he didn't activate it, lest should Seto know and further ruin the past in some way. Instead he chose to hold up the card which was oddly enough glowing.

"Time Wizard!" He called out loudly as the light from the card grew bright. He pulled out the 100 yen coin from his pocket.

Mokuba couldn't help the "ooh" escaping his lips. There was no mechanisms to cause the light effect and yet it was glowing on its own. Just how was Jounouchi doing that?

It was just like he was dueling Kaiba once more, only this time, the odds of the coin landing on its edge was not as likely. Before Jounouchi flipped his trusty coin, he kneeled down to Seto's level.

Seto gazed up in curiosity as Jounouchi gave him a small hug. "Jounouchi-nii?"

"I'll never forget you, Seto," whispered the teen gently.

The brunet widened his eyes as the thought of departure finally hit. This was it. This was good bye...

Slowly, Jounouchi flipped the coin, only to widen his eyes as the boy hugged him once more as the small piece of circular metal exited his hand.

"Thank you... For everything, Jounouchi-nii..."

The Time Wizard card suddenly grew brighter and brighter.

"I'll never forget you!"

Vaguely, Jounouchi felt the boy shift in his arms and lean forward as the gentle bright light extended and engulfed them all.

Soon, the light faded, and Jounouchi Katsuya blinked his honey brown eyes, vision blurry from the close proximity of the blinding light. He frowned. Did it not work? He felt that it may have, but for Seto to still be in his arms, that probably was a no... Something was odd though. For some reason he was on the... ground? But it felt rather soft... Come to think of it, the small body he was holding... Didn't seem so small...?

Wide amber eyes gazed into shocked cerulean.

"Bonkotsu?!"

Big persian blue eyes peered into big caramel ones.

Seto nearly jumped back in shock, only to realize he was hugging what he thought was Jounouchi, but it was smaller? And he was leaning forward at the time, so... The brunet's eyes grew comically wider at the realization. His lips were touching... Another pair of lips?

It hasn't quite registered in the young ten year old's mind until he vaguely heard Mokuba's astonished screech, "Niisama!"

Immediately he let go of the other person who was just as shocked as he was. Seto gaped at the boy in front of him, who looked his age, who he... He...

"You kissed me!" The boy wailed in dismay.

Seto promptly fainted.

Coral: GAWD, finally! This took so much effort to finish because I kept being busy with work and my injuries definitely aren't helping in the least! But at least it's done! Let me know what you think, thank you so much for the support!