Letters.

As far as Jou could tell, he'd been invited over to the Kaiba mansion on the account of dozens of letters.

When he had arrived, Mokuba was in a panic on the phone. He seemed to be calling everyone Seto had ever met and simultaneously asking them if they'd seen Seto recently and assuring them there was nothing to panic about. In between phone calls, Mokuba would scream or cry or try desperately to calm himself down. After Jou had been there for six phone calls, Mokuba decided to show him the reason he was there.

Jou followed the younger boy up the giant staircase and down a long hallway. When they stopped outside of a door, Mokuba pulled a glistening silver key out of his pocket. If Jou had held on to his colour-coded map, he would have seen that they were standing outside of Seto's office, one of the few rooms he hadn't explored.

When Mokuba finally got the door open, Jou had to admit he was a little shocked. He wasn't exactly sure what he had been expecting Seto's workplace to look like, but what he saw caught him off guard.

He supposed because every other room in the mansion was gigantic, this one would be too. Instead it was small and fairly cluttered. The only pieces of furniture in the room were a large, old desk, a small filing cabinet and a very lived-in looking chair. The floor was barely visible under all the half made electronics, tools and random electric scraps. Mokuba lead Jou past all the clutter right up to the surprisingly clean desk. There were pens and papers on the top, but otherwise nothing.

"When I got home on Tuesday he had locked himself in here and only came out to go to the washroom. I had to send food up to him and just keep knocking until he came to take it in there. He was in there day and night with the door lock until early this morning. When I woke up, his laptop and cell phone were on my bedside table with a note that just said he had to leave for a bit. When I went looking through the mansion for him, I found his office was open, so I looked for clues to where he might have gone. That's when I found this." Mokuba pulled open a drawer. "I have more phone calls to make, please tell me if you find anything about where he's gone." And with that Mokuba left Jou staring at a drawer stuffed full of letters addressed to him.

xXx

It had happened every night since Sunday. He'd start off with one of his basic nightmares and it would abruptly change in the middle to some sort of romp between Jou and himself, and tonight was no different.

Tonight's dream didn't take place in the bedroom, but in the hall. He'd just walked in through the door, coming home from picking up his brother when Gozabaro appeared in front of him, with a lustful look on his face.

'Mokuba, why don't you go upstairs to the games room, there's a surprise in there for you." The boy in question nodded enthusiastically as he gave his brother a hug and ran off to find his present. The two remaining males were silent until they heard the young boys excited squeals of delight.

"down" was the command Seto got as he was shoved to his knees. Even though he landed with bruising impact, he didn't make a noise. The pain would be far worse if he did. He stayed kneeling even as his foster father left the room for a short time and came back with a small wooden chest.

"Now boy, tonight you'll be greeting the guests as they come in." the man said as he walked behind his kneeling son. "So we can't have you trying to leave the hall, even if one of the guests asks you nicely, so you understand the need for precaution." He said as he cuffed Seto's wrists to their opposite ankle, forcing Seto to remain in a very uncomfortable kneeling position. "and we don't want you accidentally hurting and of our guest if you get tired." was the reasoning for jaw-opener shoved in his mouth. 'And lets not forget that you must look appealing. And with that, Seto's shirt was ripped open and his pants were undone and awkwardly lowered to his knees. "Almost perfect" the older man muttered as he reached once more into the wooden chest, taking out some nipple clamps and an elaborate cock ring.

When the guest started arriving, Seto's nipples were trapped in the bruising pressure of tiny C-clamps and his aching shaft and balls were restrained in numerous small leather belts. He wide open mouth was abused by every patron who walked through the door, and out of the corner of his eye, Seto saw the exchange of money, meaning there would be more of this treatment later.

Then it changed. He was still in the hall, kneeling and sucking some one off, but suddenly his jaw wasn't being forced open, and he was no longer being restrained. He also noticed there was a pair of hands buried deep in his hair, pushing his face into the body in front of him, and he was happy to let this all happen.

When the stranger came in his mouth, Seto happily swallowed it all down, and was lifted into a bruising kiss. Idly, in the back of his mind, he thought he was going to be very bruised the next day. When the kiss ended, Seto had opened his eyes to find himself staring into a familiar pair of playful brown eyes. "So Seto, what do ya say we take care of your little problem?" The blonde said giving a rough squeeze to Seto's no longer encased erection.

It was then that Seto woke up, with a shout of "JOU!" and cumming quite hard.

That was the first time that had ever happened. Usually he woke up right before that, and had a cold shower and tried to forget about it all by burying himself in his work, but not today. He couldn't, he had to get out, to get away from there. He needed to leave, to not have to deal with this. With anything. Silently he snuck into his brother's room and left his phone and laptop, the only ways anyone had to contact him. Then he went outside and ran. Seeing that it was 4 in the morning at the time, no one was on the streets. This worked nicely for Seto, he didn't want anyone to know what he was doing. Normally he's head to his spot in the woods, but that was where he went to think, and right now that was the last thing he wanted to do. He wanted to clear his mind completely, and there was only one way he knew how to do that, but unfortunately, it wasn't the right time. He'd have to wait a little longer.

xXx

Jou had gone through almost all of the envelopes. So far, not of the letters were finished. Most of them were just there very beginning, some only made it as far as "Dear Jounouchi" when they ended. After going through a few more, he reached the last one. Just by looking at the envelope he knew this one was different. For one thing, it was addressed, stamped and sealed. It was very crinkled and looked as though it had been shoved straight to the back of the drawer, which is probably what had happened to it. With shaking hands, Jou opened the envelope.

"Jou

"Why? Why are you in my head? You of all people. I don't understand it. No one has ever affected me like this. I never think about people unless there's a reason. The only person who is always in my thoughts on some level is Mokuba, but somehow you have infiltrated my minds barriers. Sure you get on my nerves like no one else, but it was always out of site out of mind. If you weren't around, you can trust I wouldn't give you a second thought. But then Mokuba asked for that damn favor, and suddenly, I can't get rid of you, and I don't understand why.

"Why now of all times, and why you of all people. It doesn't make logical sense, and trust me, I have tried to figure it out. I have looked at this problem from every angle, and I'm no closer to and answer as I was before. So I need to not think. I need to get away and not think anymore. Because I can't. My head hurts, I'm confused and I've never felt this way before. So I have to end it.

"Why you? It plagues me, night and day, no matter where I am or what I'm doing. So this is the end. It can't go on, and it won't if I have anything to do with it. I have to go. Goodbye."

And that was it. No from Seto, no indication on what exactly the brunette was planning to do, it just ended. To Jou it read an awful lot like a suicide note. "Dammit" he said quietly to himself, and ran to find Mokuba.

xXx

Seto was in a park. He had no idea where this park was, but it was far from his home and school and work, so he didn't care. There was very little chance that he would run into anyone he knew personally, and although he was recognized everywhere he went, the people here were leaving him alone.

Seto was currently sitting in a swing on a rusty set, lightly pushing himself back and fourth, listening to it squeak of the old chain. He remembered his father taking him and Mokuba to a park like this a long time ago. While his brother had gone on all the equipment, he had stayed on the swing the whole time, watching his father chase his younger brother around. When his father had tried to convince him to join them, he had declined the offer, insisting he like the swings best. When his father had asked why, he clearly remembered answering simply "I wanna touch the sky daddy."

Smiling at the memory, Seto started pumping his legs, kicking off from the ground whenever he could. Soon, his momentum was shaking the whole set, but he didn't care. I felt so nice to have the wind flowing through his hair, and when he reached the highest he could, which didn't seem as high as it used to, he convinced himself that he really could reach the sky, if he just tried hard enough, so with a few more powerful pumps to get himself as high as he could, he jumped, arms and legs flailing, with nothing to support him, he was suspended in a free fall for a couple seconds, but they lasted forever. He landed awkwardly, collapsing on his ankle and tearing a knee of his pants, but he didn't care. He had forgotten what it was like to just let go and have some fun. With a smile on his lips, he ran over to the jungle gym.

xXx

Mokuba's eyes filled with tears as he read the letter for the fourth time. Jou was trying desperately to calm him down. "Now Mokuba, we don't know for sure that it's a suicide note. It was just a theory. It could mean anything. Maybe he just went on vacation for a bit." He said, looking pleadingly at the younger boy. "Seto never goes on vacation" the younger boy said in a dead voice. "Well, maybe he's had a change of heart. Listen, it's still important that we find him. I mean, maybe he's out there, waiting for someone to stop him." Jou tried, trying to think of anything to cheer the boy up. 'Or maybe they're waiting for me to identify the body" the younger boy sighed. Jou just looked at him.

After a few moments of silence Jou tried a new tactic. "Mokuba, why don't you call the police? Maybe they've heard something. And they can go out and search for him." Mokuba seemed to agree, but gave no indication other then dialing. I'm gonna go get something to eat. It looks like you haven't eaten all day." As Jou made his way into the kitchen, he could hear the murmur of Mokuba's voice as he talked to the police. Just as he was looking for a tray to bring the food and drinks back into the living room, he could hear Mokuba's voice getting louder and louder. When he finally made it to the room, he heard the younger yell into the phone "No, you don't understand! My brother could be DEAD!"

xXx

Seto couldn't remember that last time he'd felt so alive. He'd spent all day out, just having fun. He'd played in that park, then gone shopping, and now he was just sitting in a quite garden doing nothing. Well, almost nothing. All day he had been plagued with that thought that these things would be more fun if he had someone else to share them with. Like Mokuba. He wondered if his brother was worried about him. He hoped not. He planned on being home bright and early the next morning to explain a few things to his brother. Things about himself.

He tried to keep thinking of Mokuba because if he didn't his mind would sneak in thoughts that this might be even more fun if Jou was there with him. An idea he had been running away from all week. He sighed. There was just no way he wouldn't not be able to think about that boy. Well, there was one way. A tried and true method. He checked the time, then his wallet, and realized a lot of time had passed and he had somewhere to be.

xXx

Jou looked at the clock and realized he had to go. He had almost forgotten he had work that night. "Mokuba, I have to go to work, and it's too late to call in sick. Are you gonna be okay here alone for a few hours. I'll come back as soon as I can, see if I can't get off early."

"It's ok Jou, I'll be fine by myself. I'll call you if I find out anything." The boy replied with a tired smile.

Jou ran all the way to work. He was still out of breath when he started waiting on customers. He was also distracted. He couldn't help thinking about Seto. Was he alright, was he dead in a gutter, would he ever see him again. About two hours into his shift, the manager came and asked him if anything was wrong. "You seem a little distracted." Jou assured him he was fine, and forced all thoughts of the brunette out of his mind. This worked for a bit. He immersed himself in his work, doing his best to serve everyone with a grin.

Then it happened. Yumi's voice came on over the speakers "Eye's to the front everyone" was all she said. There was confusion in the club. The front stage was dark, and only the first chords of a song could be heard. The suddenly, with a loud clash of the drums, all the lights went on, and a single figure was displayed. Jou dropped his tray.

"S…Seto?"

xXx

Happy New Year! Please, I'd appreciate nice reviews to start off this New Year! I'm aiming for Jou's birthday for the next chapter. Fingers crossed.