Chapter 12

The sky was threatening to rain. Dark clouds hung overhead, which was not unusual for the Kinnawa District during the warmer months. Namiko cast a few worried looks up and wondered, briefly, if her dress was dry clean only.

"Here you go," Namiko passed out photos to everyone. "It'll be faster if we all split up. And, I'd try the vendors here first. There doesn't seem to be that many tourists right now, but I'd still try them anyway. They tend to take the "Tour of the Hells" and will come back, sometimes, to see their favorite sites." Jou found it hard to look at her when she spoke. Her voice annoyed him, and he decided to stare at the photo instead. Kaiba tried not to watch Jounouchi, either, but found his eyes drifting in that direction anyway.

"Mokuba," he said with his eyes still on Jou, "stay with me. I don't want them trying to take you again."

"I can take care of myself," the child mumbled, but looked nervously down at his photo.

"What did I say?" Seto said sternly.

"Stick with you," Mokuba grumped back. "But, I have a question."

"Oh?" Seto looked down at his brother. "Is there a problem?"

"That was going to be my question to you. What happened between you and Jounouchi?" Namiko looked up from her picture sorting briefly. Seto found himself wanting to bite his lip. He resisted the urge. "Why do you say that?" he said in a quieter tone.

"He didn't say two words to you in the car. He's avoiding you now." Mokuba watched the blond leave without saying a word to anyone. "He looks mad. Really mad. Not that I care or anything, but he did come all this way to help us. So, what did you say to him?"

"You know, I should have just hired private investigators," Seto said, ignoring Mokuba. Mokuba noticed and raised an eyebrow. Seto shrugged, "Searching on our own has gotten us nowhere."

"I disagree," Mokuba said happily. "We can keep all of this quiet with just our group. I got to spend time with you. You pissed off Jounouchi. And, you got a new girlfriend." Mokuba put a sickly smile on his face and pointed to Namiko, who had her head down and was pushing the left over photos back into a white envelope. "You've done well, Nii-sama."

"Girlfriend?" Seto grumbled to himself. Well, actually, she's more like girlfriend "du jour."

Anzu was trying to decide which way to go.

"If you don't mind, I'll walk with you for awhile," Yugi said.

She smiled. "Thanks, Yugi. I think I'm going to go over to the Gokuraku (Paradise) Water Tasting. It's that small fountain over there." She pointed the way. But she couldn't resist the urge to pinch her nose shut. Oh, the smell of sulfur is really getting to me this morning, she thought. I'm sorry I had breakfast now. Yugi laughed when he saw her pinching her nose. She was all pink faced now. They walked on together.

Yugi looked down at the ground for a second. "Can I ask you a favor? I mean, if you say 'no,' I'll be okay with it. So, don't get mad and all…"

Anzu felt a little confused. It wasn't as confusing as when she woke up in Kaiba's house with no Yugi beside her and a sore right breast. But, it was confusion, just the same.

"Name it," she said.

"Do you mind if, after this, we follow Jounouchi for awhile. I feel like something's wrong with him today. And, back in Domino, I had this dream, and…."

Anzu said, "It's okay! I don't mind at all. If something inside says we should watch over Jounouchi, I think we should. Better yet, we can find out from Jounouchi what's bothering him. He's in a real mood."

She watched Yugi look relieved. His friend really did matter to him. And Anzu was all about friendship and staying together. Considering her own lonely family life, it was easy to make a "family" out of her friends. She would do what it took to keep them together and happy. After graduation, that was going to be a feat. But, she'd do it.

"Could you do something for me, Yugi?" she asked, keeping her head down.

"Sure! What is it?" Yugi looked at her hopefully.

"Could you...um…hold my hand?"

"Yeah," Yugi said with kind smile, "you make me feel lucky."

"Really?" Anzu said, feeling herself get happy all over again.

"Of course, because I'm with you." Cautiously, he took Anzu's hand in his and laced their fingers together. Anzu saw him blush and felt herself to be the luckiest in the world.

"Kaiba is an ass," Jou mumbled to himself and made tracks for the Hall of Buddhas. A sign was pointing the way up a slight incline. He had the picture in his hand and, unconsciously, he was bending one corner of it as he walked.

"Um, Katsuya-san?" a soft female voice called from behind.

Crap, just the person I did not want to be with right now, Jounouchi thought. "Namiko?" he pretended to respond to her politely. He turned around.

Namiko was scanning his face for something. Her smile flickered a bit but fell into a small grin. "I was hoping you'd so something for me later," she said sweetly.

"Oh?" Gee, why don't you go ask Kaiba-aijin-san? I'm sure he'll do all sorts of things to you…um…for you, he thought tartly.

"Yes, when we get back to the hotel, could you," she smiled down shyly, "teach me how to duel better? I mean, I'm not as good as you are. And, my loss to Anzu was pretty bad." She laughed at herself sheepishly. "I think I need a tutor---if it's not a bother."

"Why not ask Kaiba?" Jou asked. I'm sure he's taught you a lot already, he thought again.

"But, I'll bet you can explain things in a way I can understand. But, it's okay if you don't want to."

Jounouchi suddenly had the image in his head of Seto watching him tutor Namiko on the rules of Duel Monsters. The idea of them together and Namiko hanging on his every word as an expert in the game was fun. Jou found a crooked grin spreading on his face. "Well, yeah, I can show you a few things. You've got the basics down and all. I could give your deck a few pointers, too."

Namiko grinned at him. "Thanks," she said and her eyes drifted past Jounouchi. Her smile faded into a look of surprise. "Oh, no," she breathed. She hid the envelope of photos behind her back.

A tall man in a dark suit and sunglasses approached them. "You're the asshole from that night," he said and got into Jounouchi's face. Jou stared back, angry. "I aught ta pay you back for what you did," the man said. He looked around and saw people gathering to see the steam rising. "But, I'm here to give you a message." He had Mokuba's card pendant and he threw it at Namiko. She caught it shakily. "We're watching you. We know where you're staying. So, just wait."

"Why would we?" Jou said with an angry tone.

"Because we knew that you all hang out together. So, do it and," he stared up and down at Namiko, who shrinked visibly, "no one else gets involved."

The man walked off toward the gates. Namiko stared down at the locket and up at Jounouchi.

"Let me see that," Jou said and cautiously opened the locket. The picture of Seto as a child smiled up at him. He was wearing a long sleeved yellow shirt and a blue vest. Seto was holding a chess piece in the picture. His brown hair was in his eyes, the way it was now. And his smile was calm, peaceful

I wish I had met him back then. This "Seto" doesn't exist anymore. It's just "Kaiba" now, Jou thought.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"It's Mokuba's treasure."

"It looks like Kaiba-sama as a child."

Jounouchi nodded and made steps back to where he'd come. "We've got to find the others. They need to know that they're being watched."

Jou made tracks back to where they'd started that morning. The sky was growing darker. In the distance, he could see Seto and Mokuba standing near the green dragon statue. He sighed to himself but decided to swallow his pride and approach them.

"Jounouchi?" Seto said hesitantly. Seeing Jou walking toward him with Namiko made him feel sick inside. He tried to hide the guilty look on his face as they came nearer.

What do they want?

"Kaiba," Jounouchi said with seriousness. Then, he knelt down and looked Mokuba in the face. "I think I have something for you." Jou stretched his two palms out toward the child. In the callused hands, Mokuba could see his card-shaped locket and the leather strap.

"You've got it! I didn't think I'd ever see it again!" He snatched it back. Hurriedly, Mokuba opened it up to make sure the picture was still there. He held the strap up, dangling the locket, and showed Seto with a grin on his face.

"How did you get that?" Seto said, staring down in shock.

"We met up with one of these men," Namiko said, pointing to the tall man in the picture Seto was holding. "He threw the locket at me and said that we're being watched."

Namiko looked up into Seto's face. "I guess you have back what you needed. There's no point in staying in Beppu any longer." She gave a sad shrug.

"You've got to be kidding," he growled and looked around angrily. "Someone tried to take Mokuba, and I'm not leaving until I find out why. Obviously, the locket wasn't what they wanted. So, either they want my attention or something else from me."

Jounouchi began to walk away in the direction where he'd seen Yugi go. He was still mad at Kaiba and felt uncomfortable being around him. He stopped a few paces and said over his shoulder to Seto, "Oh, and for the record, 'you're welcome'."

The rain began pouring as Anzu and Yugi came into sight.

"I think we'd better leave!" Mokuba said, lowering his head. The group headed to the parking lot.

The rain poured all afternoon and evening. Yugi and Anzu sat in the lobby and watched the evening news. The University of Memphis' Institute of Art and Archaeology was reporting a stolen tablet and excavation summaries from one of their traveling tours of Japan. They showed photos of the stolen items. Yugi watched the broadcast with interest. There seemed to be something familiar about the images—almost a residual memory. A part of him felt like he understood the hieroglyphics and markings, but the meanings slipped through his mind before he could hold on to them. It was almost a song in his heart. There was a tug at his soul that he couldn't explain.

He's sad, Anzu thought, looking at his profile. I know he's thinking about Atem, and I do it, too. I wish I could help him somehow.

Anzu said to Yugi, "I hope they find the tablet. It would be a shame to have it lost forever." Oh, no! I said "lost forever"–it feels like I mentioned Atem. What an idiot I am.

Yugi just smiled back at her. "Is something up? You seem annoyed or something."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm just the same as always."

"And, now, the local weather," the newscaster said with temperatures in Celsius popping up on the screen.

Jounouchi walked through the lobby, thinking about hitting the drinks machine for a hot drink this time. He watched Mokuba head for the elevator and it went up to the fourth floor and stopped. "Why am I not surprised?" Jou said to himself. Mokuba was easy to read, unlike… Seto went out the front doors and disappeared. Jou looked to see if he was running through the parking lot for the rental car. But, he wasn't. He just disappeared from view. Jounouchi approached the glass doors.

What if something happened to him?! They said we were being watched. Oh, hell!

Jounouchi's heart was beating hard He approached the doors like a sleepwalker, eyes distant.

I know the way things are between us, but I can't let something happen to him.

He started running in the lobby.

Maybe, I can stop them before it's too late. Please…Please, let it be nothing. If it's only that, I can…

It was raining in heavy sheets. Lightning lit up the parking lot for a brief second. The doors quickly rattled open. Jounouchi, heartbeat shaking him now, ran through them with his fists clinched, ready for a fight. If someone was going to hurt Seto, he'd let them have it back twice as hard.

"Mutt?" Seto said, a cigarette glowing in his hand. He was leaning against the wall of the hotel under the yellow and white striped awning. He was surprised to see Jounouchi suddenly dash out onto the landing with him. Although he would never have admitted it, he squirmed inside from just looking at him.

"Eh?" It took a second to sink in. Jou's heartbeat was too fast. He suddenly felt like writing the word "baka" on his forehead in black ink, too. Yup, I'm a fool. "What are you doing?" Jounouchi said, deeply annoyed, trying not to take the deep gulps of air that his body wanted. If he did, he'd cough on Seto. The cigarette's stench stung his eyes. He had to put up with it when it came to the coffee shop's customers. He didn't like dealing with it in his personal life.

"I'm taking a break. I can't do this in my room. Mokuba insisted on a non-smoking room."

"Too right," Jou said sarcastically and stared at Seto in dismay. Why am I so surprised? I don't know him at all. Maybe I just have an "idea" of Kaiba. The real thing is much harder to deal with.

"So, you're going to lecture me, too? Just like Mokuba."

"No, I won't bother." Jounouchi said, trying to get over his adrenaline rush. It was another senseless conversation going nowhere. One talk was not going to convince him to stop and, most likely, this would become a life-long habit. For someone who likes to look and smell good, he's going to stink like an ashtray and have yellow teeth. I wonder how black his lungs will be ten years from now? I won't be around to see it. That's a comfort.

"Oh, really?" Seto said, bringing Jou out of his thoughts. Seto could see the disappointment on Jounouchi's face.

"Yeah, it would be pointless—as usual." Without saying another word, he walked back the way he had come. The doors rattled open. Seto let him go and flicked the freshly lit cigarette in the hard rain. It sizzled for a second before dying. Frustrated, Seto slammed his back against the brick exterior, crossing his arms against his chest. He turned his face to watch the sliding glass.

I hate my life, Jou thought sadly as the glass doors rattled shut.