Kaiba sat down, taking a few deep breaths before he began. He scanned the room. He then looked into Joey's eyes, before pulling away to look at the wall.

'I really didn't want you to know any of this.'

'Too late.' The brunet took a drawing breath.

'I'm been…blackmailed. Sort of.'

'Soft of?'

'For the last 3 years…someone…has had some information on me. Since then, I've been receiving messages about what I can…and cannot do.'

'Ok, that's not so bad.'

'It's a little worse than you think. They aren't doing it for Kaiba corp. image, they're doing it for their own gain.'

'What will they be gaining?' Joey thought for a moment, confused. He watched sadness flicker across the blue eyes.

'Kaiba corp.' His expression went totally blank. Joey's eyes widened.

'What the fuck Kaiba, you own Kaiba corp.'

'Not really.'

'But you're CEO.'

'Not for much longer.'

'Who's rich enough to buy you out?'

'Nobody.'

'Then how!'

'Blackmail.'

'What do they have on you?'

'They know some…things…I did a while a go and threatened to tell the police.'

'So, you can pay them off.'

'I said that.'

'And?' Now Joey was totally lost.

'They knew I'd say that. So…'

'So?'

'They had an…arrangement.' Joey watched Kaiba's face twist. 'If I didn't comply to their…rules…they would…do something, drastic.'

'Like?'

'Kill my family.'

'But, you're a Kaiba. No one fucks with you. How would they even get close? You only have Mokuba and he's always guarded.'

'While that may be true to the public, it's not true to life.'

'What's that mean?'

'It means, Mokuba isn't my only family. My parents are alive.'

'Why did you tell everyone they was?'

'I thought they were. However, my mother contacted me a while ago, from Germany.'

'How did you know it was her?'

'She had some…interesting proof. I'd rather not discuss it right now.' Joey nodded. 'Anyway, if I didn't comply with the guidelines set, this…person, would start killing my family members in brutal ways.'

'Surely that's a bluff.'

'I thought so too, however when Devlin told the news that…story, I found out it wasn't as big of a bluff as I thought.' Joey's heart stopped dead in his chest. He had no idea what to say or do.

'W-What happened?'

'I received my mother's index finger in the post 2 days afterwards.'

'Did they…'

'No, it was a warning.'

'Maybe it was just to scare you?'

'No. They killed my cousin the week before, after I refused to announce a new product.'

'Seriously?' The brunet nodded slowly.

'So, what happened in America?' Kaiba's face grew pale.

'Kelly is an…associate of this person. Which is why I'm posing with her. I don't know how she knows him, I don't even know who he is. But she was totally untraceable.'

'And James?'

'I was about to commit suicide to stop all the problems. I sat on top of Kaiba corp. in America ready to jump. He stopped me. We had a slight romance thereafter, but it was ended quickly.'

'Why?'

'Kelly found out. Said it was risky to be seen.'

'Oh?'

'She warned me Mokuba would be next if a scandal came loose.'

'But he's got high security…

'Apparently there is someone on the inside. Obviously I tried to trace them, but I couldn't do it.'

'What did you tell James?'

'Nothing. I just explained he could never be anything to me.'

'Did you mean it?'

'No.' Joey bit his lip.

'Did I…mean anything to you?' Kaiba slowly nodded. 'What happens if someone finds out I'm here?'

'You're Mokuba's guest. It doesn't concern them. To my knowledge.' Joey nodded. He was…shocked. He didn't know whether to believe Kaiba or not, but it seemed that the boy was totally genuine. Joey sighed, he really didn't know what to think. Kaiba stared at the wall, his eyes showing no emotion. Joey studied the man, his posture, his eyes. He looked, defeated, it was so un-Kaiba like. Slowly, Joey raised his hand, and hesitantly placed it on the brunets shoulder. The other shook visibly and turned his head slowly to meet warm brown eyes.

'It will be ok, I promise.' Joey smiled weakly, and the guilt within him rose. Whoever fucked up his last chance with Kaiba was going to pay…if only he knew who it was…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Heylo!

2nd chapter today. Not very long, but lotsa speech. I hope you like it. Sorry if the drama bit was lame, but it took me a full day of training to work some of this crap out, then I got some and thought 'screw it' and made it all up randomly!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Please R&R

Mwah!

(I'm working out why I've been awake 22 hours on 4 hours sleep and I'm not tired. Maybe that I have more sugar than Moki? Or than I'm slightly crazy! Who knows! I stayed up extra late to bring you this…so no…no more tonight! I'm very very sorry but it'll be around 6pm British time…maybe…yah. Sorry. Rambling.)

x