Kiss the Crossdresser

by Decipher Philosophy

Joey will do anything to meet his favorite actor, Alexir De Gon, even if it means to sneak into Kaiba's charity party as a girl! Yet, Kaiba figures out and kicks him out with the insult that he can't pass for a hottie. Joey takes the insult to heart, and challenges him by continuing to cross dress. Puppyshipping, Chaseshipping, stepshipping, peachshipping, blueshipping, etc.

21. Chapter 21

The tour went by like a scratched DVD for Joey. There was moments when he could see his life rolling, but most of the time he was frustrated by how it stops, and makes him think of his past life, and the problems that he had now. He was now the chosen heir of the most powerful, influential, illegal, global enterprise in the world.

Joey had been given tabs by one of Kane's men who he knew by the past to be the definition of trustworthy, so he knew that he could trust these secured messages. Three months went by so quickly, and he had been spending a lot of time with Zigfried coincidentally on his part. As much as he didn't want to spend time with him, Zigfried served to help cloud his mind from his problems. They didn't spend time together outside, but when he was in a secluded place without the camera or reporters around, the pink haired CEO would bother him.

Duke and Tristan had been going about their work normally since they knew that was the best thing that they could do in order to smooth Joey's nerves. What can they tell the person that he had to save the world from not global dictatorship that could be stopped by a card game, but save it from four deadly, influential children of the most powerful godfather in the world, who can create real world chaos? They couldn't call Yugi to help them. Seto seemed to be estranged.

"Do you think that Kaiba called Joey?" Tristan asked his fiance. The two of them were hanging out together at the hotel pool. The CEO was lying on a lounge chair while he was floating in the water. "I haven't heard Joey say his name at all these last few months."

"Can you blame him? He's the one responsible to save the world, and now I don't know of whether I'm glad or horrified to have Zigfried's security with us. I honestly thought that this would go smoothly, but I should've known better when Joey's around. Nothing remains simple with him around."

"That should be my line." The bodyguard placed his arms on the floor where he stared at seriously as he spoke, "Joey always had an interesting life. I guess that's one of the reasons why I kept myself by his side because I knew that he was a good guy who just kept bracing himself against everything he never asked to be thrown at him. The divorce. The abuse. He joined a gang for survival because he lived in the ghetto part of Domino. Someone was either shooting a gun or being at the end of that gun. Then Yugi came along and made it better but not easier for him. After all that, Joey starts dressing up like a girl, falls in love with Kaiba, meets his ancient hot self, and now he has to become a controversial savior. I don't know whether to worry or admire that Joey seems to be keeping it together."

Duke thought he could relax after the few months passed, but even being under the bright sun of Italy, he wasn't. He knew he wouldn't, but he tried. He sat up to place his feet on the floor. "I don't know either. It scares me actually that he's this composed, and...normal. It's like none of this crazy stuff is happening at all to him. It makes me wonder of what else had happened to Joey in the past. Who is Joey?"

Tristan remained silent. He honestly asked himself that question ever since he met Joey, but never bothered to ask or research since he knew that he could only figure it out by asking Joey himself, and he doubted his friend was going to be straight with him.

Who is Joey Wheeler?

"Hey guys." The male at question came over to them in his female bathing suit that hid his male parts. "I just called my dad. Him n' McConnen is still alright. They haven't noticed anything weird. Even Yugi and Tea's de same, so it's cool." He noticed something in his friends' eyes. He immediately recognized it as curiosity, doubt and fear. Yet, he chose to ignore it, and continue acting as the Joey Wheeler they knew. "Cannonball!" he dived right into the pool causing water to splash at Duke and Tristan's face.

Tristan wanted to interrogate Joey, but right now wasn't the best time. He didn't know of when the best time was, but it just wasn't now. Joey needed him on his side, so he'll play along. He trusted that Joey would be straight with him eventually. He forced out a laugh. "Joey! There's no diving allowed here!"

"Whatevah! Nobody tells Joey Wheeler what he can or can't do!" The childish man declared childishly.

Duke snorted as he was also playing along like Tristan, "Unless your contract says so. Behave Joey."

Joey groaned loudly as he slowly sunk down. Tristan splashed his face which led to a splash war, and some volleyball with the other swimmers. Then the famous actor posed for the cameras, and signed autographs with his bright star-like smile.

After swimming at the pool, he toured around Venice. He tried to remain focus on remaining positive, but every person he passed, he looked at twice to make sure that they weren't a threat. Tristan and his body guards were around, but he felt so alone, and trapped. He wanted this place to be the last place that he had to go to, but there was several more continents to visit.

"I'm not a runnah, n' I never will be, but I just want to escape from being Joey Wheeler for a day to have a fresh perspective on things, y'know." Joey told Jona who was floating above him.

She replied, "I understand of what you mean, and I supposed that you also don't want it to be through your dreams, or having me take over is it."

"Yeah. And I thought about using Red Eyes to take my place, but Red Eyes doesn't know how to use human speech, yet." Joey inwardly sighed. "I tell myself that I'm doing this for my fans, but now, I don't know what I'm doing this for. Am I doing it to pretend that Kane isn't going to die? Am I doing it to escape responsibility? Or am I doing it because I don't want to face shou, yet?"

"Why not all of thee above?"

"Then I'm a coward."

"Or a cautious optimist." Jona floated down to stand beside him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright to feel nervous. You're human."

"A majority of the Perasma family is looking up to me to be beyond that."

"They don't expect you to be the god of power. They expect a god of hope, and you always given that Joey."

"Really?" Joey couldn't think of a time that he played a major role as someone who was the icon of hope.

"Yes." Jona nodded. "It's not a surprise that you wouldn't notice since you can't watch yourself. You can't think that all that time that you have been helping Atem out was that he was the only one who gave hope."

"No. Of course not. Me n' him n' every one of our friends gave each other the hope that we needed to move on. We always picked each other up to get through the toughest times. Even when it did seem hopeless. We continued to give hope no matter what. That's why I always know that every thing will be okay. Even if we lose, at least we didn't go down without a fight."

"Then why can't you instill those lessons into this new challenge?"

"The real question is whether it can work in real life. I know that people are going to die. Innocent people are gonna die cuz they do when trying to prevent a full-fledged world war. I know that I've been out of it a bit while traveling, but this world is beautiful despite it's dirty secrets."

"And what if this world war will bring people closer together? What if what Kane's children is planning is a good thing? A good catalyst."

Joey looked deep into his heart, and then firmly replied, "I don't care. The world is going to always be in deep shit, and perhaps war did bring countries closer together by mixing races, but war also leaves visible scars that can never be forgiven. War can't be an answer to any of this shit. There's other options."

The ancient queen smirked at his reply, "Speaking like a true queen."

"Is that the same as a powerful godfather?"

"Determine the course of action of a society? Determine the traitors and the allies, and their trials or punishments for betrayals? Create or cease wars, and uphold the status of a mother-fucking goddess? Oh yes, very similar. Except without the curtain of goodness."

"Yeah. Good pep talk."

"You're welcome." Jona then joked, "We shall have another session of pep talks next week. I shall have my assistant write down your appointment." They snorted.

Joey did feel a bit better. Yet, that immediately changed when he saw a car suddenly stop in front of him, and the black tinted windows rolled down. He heard the familiar click of a gun. "GET DOWN!" He pulled Tristan against a wall as Zigfried's guards pulled out their gun. Shots were fired heavily. Screams of civilians filled the streets as they ducked for cover.

Jona immediately possessed the shooter within the car, took out his hunting knife to stab the neck of the guy beside him, and the driver before slitting his own throat. She released him, and flew back to Joey. "They were sent by Richelle, but that's all they know."

Joey gritted his teeth. "Are they dead?"

"I slit their throats with a hunting knife. They'll most likely rule him as a traitor."

"Good." Joey figured that those three deserve it for hurting civilians. He swiftly swiped his red eyes card behind his back to secretly have his dragon fuse with him. His eyes reddened to scan the area. "None of the civilians were shot, except for one of Zigfried's men, but the shot is not critical. He'll be okay."

"Joey, are you okay?!" Tristan worriedly questioned beside him.

The ex-gangster looked over to him with his red eyes. "Yeah, I am. Everyone else will be. That was Richelle's doing."

"One of Kane's kids?"

It was weird hearing Tristan call them kids, so Joey clarified, "She's twenty-six. Cecilia is the same age, but they have different mothers. Monique is sixteen. Shou is our age."

"Wait, one of them is just sixteen?" That was pretty young for someone considering to take over such a big organization, but then remembering Kaiba, it could be considered a dumb question.

Nonetheless, Joey replied, "Yeah. She's the youngest. Like I said, Kane has twelve children, and almost each of them has a different mother. It wasn't Kane's idea to do that. His condoms would be sabotaged by the women he slept with. He got a vasectomy after Monique was introduced to him."

"Why didn't he get it before it reached ten?"

"Kane switched preference, but even rent boys have part time jobs as sperm banks."

"Did you just said 'rent boys'?"

"Not the point Tristan. You need to call Duke because this is gonna be all over de news. I need to make a call."

"To Kane?"

"No. One of his other daughters, Teagan. No one you'll ever meet, so don't ask. If anyone ask where I am, tell them that I was bought back to my room for safety. If Zigfried knows you're lying, tell him to fuck off." Joey looked around before turning into a shadow to slide away.

Tristan yelled out his question of where he was going, but he was ignored. The bodyguard clenched his fists, but he understood that Joey needed to do his own thing. He can't waste his time to explain everything to him. But dammit, can he get answers later?!

._._._.

"Big Brother!" Mokuba ran into Seto's office with a remote control. He turned on the flat screen TV on the international news with its volume set on high to grab Seto's attention from a file of papers. "Joey was almost killed a few hours ago!"

Seto, who had not talked to or seen Joey for the last few months despite his promises, felt his heart dropped. He turned his head so fast to face the TV screen that he almost had whiplash.

The news lady announced, "There has been a shooting today, and witnesses had said that it was aimed at the famous duelist, Joey Wheeler. His manager reports to us that he is fine, and is taken to a safe location. The odd thing about this shooting is that the person, who was shooting the proclaimed duelist, was the one who killed the people he was working with within that car, and killed himself. The reason why? Our police are investigating on that now."

Mokuba muted the TV. "Seto," Before he could speak another word, his older brother was already heading to the door. He quickly followed him.

Seto told him, "Mokuba, we're heading to Venice right now. I'll have Roland send our things in case we decide to stay longer."

"That's great, but Kaiba corp. is still-"

"Joey is more important right now." The two of them entered the elevator. The elder Kaiba faced his younger brother. "Is that alright with you?"

Mokuba frowned at that question. He knew he was the most important person in the world to his big brother, but he shouldn't be asked that sort of question. "Of course it is. I'm just reminding you that you should alert your assistant and Kisandra about this before going. Joey would love to see you, but he wouldn't want you making trouble for anyone by doing so unless it was necessary. Not that this isn't, but Joey is most likely okay."

Seto nodded. "I'm sorry. I..." He sighed through his nose. "I wasn't able to keep my promises, and I promised that I would to him."

"Joey understands."

"Did you message him?" Seto asked hopefully.

Mokuba hated to reply, but did. "N-no. I've been too busy trying to balance school and Kaiba corp. Ever since Pegasus died, it really hit our company."

"I know. I'm truly sorry, Mokuba."

"Don't say that! You didn't kill Pegasus!"

"No, but Gozaburo-"

"You had good intentions. Joey would tell you the same thing. Believe us." The younger Kaiba pleaded. It hurt to see how exhausted his older brother looked. Pegasus's death really did hit their company hard. Duel monsters were what really gave their company money. Card production didn't stop since Pegasus had four adopted sons who could take over, but then due to Seto being a suspect of murder, Seto's relationship with Industrial Illusions became more strained than it was before. Thus, they had to produce several other games and keep the good reputation of their company from collapsing.

He just hoped that Joey will be able to make Seto smile again.

._._._.

Seto wasn't on Joey's mind at the moment. He was too busy trying to arrange his next step of action against Richelle for endangering civilians. However, it appears that she disappeared from her father's radar. He composed himself. "I know that she's heartless, but I didn't think she would attack me so soon." He said over the phone. He was currently camouflaged with the sky with his glowing red eyes to make sure that there wasn't a second shooting. If there was, he and Jona would take care of it. The spirit was currently beside him whilst listening to his conversation.

On the other end, "Richelle already knows that our dad chose you to be the heir. The spy who told her had already been taken care of. This sloppiness is abhorrent to my family name, but it's not a surprise since the Perasma is divided, and other illegal organizations is already choosing who they want to support. Joey, take my advice, and kill yourself already, so this can calm down."

"I know, Teagan. I just needed a moment since it came to me as a shock. I knew your dad wanted me to be part of the family, but I didn't think that he'd want meh ta run it."

"I'm also shocked, but it makes sense. I have been keeping tabs of your cross dressing adventures, and you fought for your rights and respect to wear a skirt in this close-minded world. Your dueling skills isn't that bad either. We are also aware of your participation of saving the world several times."

"Nice to know dat you guys are stalkin' meh." Joey knew that they couldn't possibly know about him and Seto's relationship. He was careful, after all.

"It's done out of love." The daughter of one of the most powerful man in the world teases. "My dad only wanted to make sure that you were safe. Even if you left, you are still part of this family. But none of that mushy stuff anymore. I will do what I can with dad to make sure no civilians are hurt by Richelle. But Joey...consider killing yourself."

"Thanks, and I'll consider it." Joey hung up.

"I think it's best that we report back to Duke about this." Jona suggested.

"I'll text him that I'm fine, but I'm gonna take a walk. I'll be safe." He sent the text before landing safely in an alley where he dresses himself with guy clothes and sunglasses. People expected him in girl clothes, so they wouldn't look twice or thrice. "Jona, do you mind that I ask you to leave early? I need some time alone to clear my head."

The ancient spirit understood. Despite appearing composed, Joey needed to feel invisible at the moment to not get anyone hurt. "Alright. I'll come back tomorrow." She gave him a kiss on the temple before leaving.

With that, Joey began his walk while still being fused to his Red Eyes. In a few minutes, he heard the whirring of a motorcycle slow down, and then reached a full stop beside him. "Joey?" The said blond looked to the side to see Valon. The Aussie grinned widely at the sight of him without any idea of what he was going through. "Joey! Hiding from the media are we?"

"Shhh!" The star placed his finger on his lips while making a funny, crucial expression. He figured that Valon didn't watch the news, yet. He knew that he wanted to be alone, but Valon was someone he knew, but also the outside person of his life. Someone who could make him pretend to be a normal person. He needed him. "Are ya tryin' ta blow my cover, man!" He whispered harshly.

Valon chuckled. "Sorry. I knew you'd be here. We promised to have a date, remember?"

"Date?" Joey wasn't sure if he was pulling his leg or not.

"Yeah. The last time you called me before I came by to kidnap you from class. You can't forget the fun time we had in Kaibaland."

It slowly came back to him. "Oh right!" Then he thought about Seto. His boyfriend wouldn't want him to do this, but Joey wanted to spend time with someone outside of his crazy life. He guessed that it would be okay. "I don't remember it bein' a promise or nothin', but I'm up for anythin' ya have in mind. But it's not a date."

"Why not?" The biker inquired, "Didn't you and that Ryou bloke break up?"

"We did, but I have a new boyfriend."

Valon wasn't surprised, but he felt like he did miss a great opportunity. Yet, he didn't let his mood down. "Let me guess; I can't get to know this one either?"

"Nope!" Joey replied positively with that cute grin of his. "My dragon ratha have it dat no one knows about us, ya know."

"Your dragon? A dragon love, is he? Hmm? I feel like I'm going on a limb here, but he doesn't happen to have blue eyes, does he?"

"I think ya jus' threw your brain instead of a limb there, Valon. Bring meh to somewhere to eat! I'm starve!" Joey situated himself onto the back of Valon's bike. The biker handed him a helmet before having arms wrapped around him.

"Demanding now, are we? Won't your boyfriend get jealous if your with me?"

"Pfft! As if yur competition? Never."

"Ouch! You really hit me with that one! Way to bring a man down!"

Joey happily grinned, "Your fault for asking, now stop stallin' n' get meh some food! You've been here before so you gotta know the best restaurants around! They're always hidin'!"

"Whatever you say, Joey. One best restaurant in Venice comin' up!" The ex-criminal drove away.

As he did, Joey felt his heart leap up. He looked to the sky to see the clouds. "Seto...?"

Seto and Mokuba landed the blue eyes white dragon jet down to the FBO before entering a limo. The elder Kaiba used his phone to call Duke.

The dice duelist answered, "Hello?"

"Duke. It's me, Kaiba. Where's Joey?" The worried boyfriend questioned composedly, but also urgently.

"Joey? Sorry, but he's not with us right now."

"What?! But he had just been involved in a shooting a few hours ago! Why isn't he put under your protection?" Seto heard shuffling, and then a pissed off monkey began ranting to him, "HEY! IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR NOT CALLING OR EVEN TEXTING JOEY IN THE FIRST PLACE! RIGHT NOW, HE'S UNDER A LOT OF SHIT, AND ONLY NOW YOU TURN UP! WHAT THE HELL, MAN! YOUR LUCKY JOEY DIDN'T GET SHOT! AND FOR WHERE HE IS, WE DON'T KNOW CUZ JOEY NEEDED TIME TO HIMSELF! FOR ALL I KNOW, HE'S BETTER OFF NOT HAVING YOU AROUND! SO BYE AND DON'T CALL THIS NUMBER AGAIN! YOU GOT THAT!"

Tristan hung up the phone, and then gave it back to his fiance. He apologized, "I'm sorry, but Kaiba shouldn't have yelled at you like that when he doesn't know better."

Duke wrapped his arms around his stiff lover, "It's alright. I like how you defended me, and Kaiba deserved every word you said."

"Yeah." Tristan wrapped his arm around him, too. Yet, he didn't look at all relax. "Dammit, I wish we knew where Joey was though."

"Joey is going to be fine. He's half dragon with a powerful ancient spirit after all." The green-eyed beauty told him comfortingly, and honestly as if it was a fact. "As much as I hate to make you upset, Joey is better off without us around. If it was a duel, then we should be there, but it's not. We'll only get in the way, and Joey wouldn't want us to be hurt."

"I can't stand doing nothing." Tristan hated how powerless he felt.

However, Duke countered, "You're protecting me, and I'm doing the same. We're going to New York in a few months, and we will have to protect Yugi and Tea, too. We're still going to get married, and Joey will be there as your best man without anyone breaking in with a machine gun. That's what we can do for Joey and ourselves. And don't worry about Joey. Jona has his back."

Tristan felt a part of him wanting to tell Duke that he was wrong, so he could stay on edge, but the love of his life was right. "If anyone was to break in with a machine gun, I'll shoot him point blank in the head before he can do anything else."

"Add gun holster to your wedding suit. Gotcha." The shorter male teased lightly.

Seto slammed the phone down. Mokuba slightly winced at the loud impact it made. "Bi-Big Brother, we can call Joey instead. He should have his phone with him. I'll call him right now." He took out his cellphone, and was about to dial, but then an unreadable message was sent. "What the..." He pushed the message away to try calling Joey again, but the message kept preventing him.

"What's wrong, Mokuba?" Seto demanded for an answer, but not as harshly as he would to others.

The younger Kaiba answered lightly, "I think my phone got hacked, Seto."

"What?! Hand that over, Mokuba!" The genius took the cellphone, and saw the message sent in code. It didn't have to be growled. It was just another message to him that this idiot hacker was fucking with him. He growled lowly, as he said in hateful disgust, "Zigfried."

"Zigfried?! Why is he hacking my phone?" He thought that they were done with him at the Kaiba Grand Prix.

His older brother's face became contorted with great animosity. "He knows that we're here. Not a surprise since I came here in my own personal jet." Seto tried to remain composed afterwards, but after five months of doing so, he finally slipped, "What the hell was I thinking?! What the hell is he doing here?! Has he have something to do with Joey?! Why didn't I do my research before coming here?!"

"Seto!" Mokuba cried out to grab his attention. "I have another phone, and we'll call Duke to know of whether Zigfried has something to do with Joey." He began calling them with the speaker on, and thankfully, Duke answered.

"Mokuba?"

"Yeah. Sorry about Seto."

"It's cool. I'm guessing that he heard about the shooting."

"He did, and we are trying to find Joey, but Zigfried is getting in the way. Does he have any business with you?"

"Shit. Yeah, sorry. I agreed to a deal with Zigfried that he would supply more security to protect Joey."

Seto almost outright exploded, but he did burst, "You did what?!"

Mokuba turned off the speaker before his brother could ruin this call. "Sorry! So that's it, huh. Do you know of where we can find him?"

"Uh yeah. He told me specifically that he was heading to the Kaibaland that you guys built here." Duke mentally hit himself. "So that's his plan."

"Apparently. Thanks for the information, Duke. Call you later." Mokuba hung up, and then told his brother, "I think Zigfried wants to duel you at our dome at Kaibaland here."

Seto bristled. His glare becoming so sharp that Mokuba felt like a knife was being caressed against his skin. His elder brother demanded that their driver bought them to Kaibaland, and fast!

Joey, who was enjoying his time with Valon at the restaurant, couldn't enjoy it entirely because he felt Seto's presence, and it wasn't a good one. At first, it only felt like a bad tickle down his spine, but now he felt like someone's life was on the line.

"I'm sorry, Valon, but I gotta be somewhere." The worried lover stood up from his seat and took out his money with a tip added.

The confused biker stood up with him. "Huh? Why?"

"My dragon needs me." Joey was still fused with Red Eyes, so he was able to sense his lover, and he was close after all. "He's at Kaibaland."

That answer was completely out of the blue for the Aussie. "And just how did you just now that right now?"

Joey half-heartedly lied, "I just remembered that we made plans. I really need to go." He was going to go shadow, but then his wrist was caught.

"Wait! It's an hour walk! Let me give you a ride."

Joey knew that going shadow would be so much faster, but he didn't want to make Valon suspicious of him if he was to disappear suddenly. He also wanted to remain the normal person he is, so he agreed. Yet, he would make sure that Seto doesn't see him with Valon. They went on their merry way, but it didn't become so merry when he lets Valon stop at a red light.

While they were heading there, Seto already arrived to see Zigfried waiting for him at the front of the park . He stood in front of the blue eyes white dragon statue. The blue-eyed duelist almost didn't recognize the pathetic CEO due to his new haircut.

"Ah, Heir Kaiba, it's so nice of you to get my message so quickly." The teal-eyed male replied as he brushed his bangs to the side of his poofy, yet stylish short hair. It was an improvement, but what mattered was the duel disk attached to his arm.

"Cut the crap, Zigfried!" Seto approached him with his own duel disk. "If I get even the smallest of news that you had something to do with that shooting, I will end you!" He was speaking in Japanese, so the crowd didn't understand his threat as they began to build up around them. Mokuba remained at the back of the crowd.

"I tell you the truth, Heir Kaiba that I had nothing to do with the shooting, but I knew that you would come running to your beloved dog's arms to protect him." the Valkyrie themed duelist smirked. "Ah, but I'm afraid that that position had already been taken from you."

Seto felt confused, and he hated that feeling. "What are you talking about?!"

"I know about you and your dog, but I'm afraid that your dog is now my gazelle. You see, because you neglected him, he began to feel lonely, and gravitated towards me. Not surprising since I was there unlike you."

Seto knew Zigfried was lying, and was trying to make him angry to the point that he didn't think clearly, but that wasn't going to work. "Do you really think that I would believe that? If you think that my puppy would be the type to cheat, then you don't know him at all! But more importantly, if he was the type, he would have better taste than you!"

Zigfried chuckled, "I believe that it's you that doesn't know my gazelle. You promised to love him, und yet, you shun him because of work. You could say that it cleared his mind, und realize that he should be going for more capable, und far more compatible, und must I say far more handsome partners such as I."

"Stop wasting your breath, and get down to business. You want to duel me, don't you? Then let's duel, but on the condition that when I win, you will leave my puppy alone with a restraining order. And if you dare see him, call him, or even text him, or have any form of contact at all, I will see to it that you will be laid waste into nothing! Not even Leon could or would save you! Do we have a deal?"

The pink haired male didn't hesitate to answer, "Yes, but with the added condition that if I were to win, then you are not allowed to see Joey the same as I if I were to lose. Not that that would happen."

"Agreed. Let's do this."

The two of them readied their duel disk, and Zigfried took the first turn, and settled with summoning a monster with a card faced down. "Now it's your turn, Heir Kaiba."

"Heh. Hehehehe. HahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Seto guffawed loudly that everyone around him thought that he was going insane. The CEO stopped instantly to glare at the pathetic duelist before him. "You call that a move! Please! You have not improved at all! You're even more pathetic than before! I'm going to make you fall to your knees like the worthless retard you are to even think that you could try to persuade me to think that my own puppy could ever use you as a sorry excuse for a rebound!"

As he was shouting, Joey and Valon finally arrived. They ran in, and Joey was distracted for a moment by this really tall guy with hair like Mokuba's, and the same style with the stripes, jeans, and a jacket. Hell, he even had the same complexion, face, indigo eyes and- "HOLY SHIT, IT IS YOU!"

Mokuba turned around to who was shouting at him to see Joey...to see the blond looking up at him. "Joey! You're here! Valon?"

"'Ello!" The biker greeted.

The golden blond duelist yelled, "Did you hit a growth spout while I was gone?! I mean look at ya! You're as tall as Seto! And you lost your baby fat." He placed his hands on the fourteen year old's cheeks making Mokuba blush. Then Joey began to fondle his stomach. "Did you also grow some muscles while training? Wow, I can feel your abs growing. Are your legs the same?" He went lower which panicked Mokuba's not so innocent mind to grab him by the shoulders to bring him up before he could fondle his thighs.

"Jo-Joey! Seto's dueling Zigfried!"

"What?! Why?!"

Before he could get an answer, Ultimate Blue Eyes White Dragon was played on the field, and completely obliterated Zigfried! "NEEEIN!" The man fell to his knees, completely mortified by his quick loss that was being recorded by phones around them.

Seto didn't make it any better with his guffawing, and thunderous words, "It's just like I said. You are WORTHLESS. And even more pathetic than ever before! You better pack now, and leave, or you will regret it!" He then huffed before turning away. "Hmph. I wasted enough of my valuable time on a worm like you."

The crowd moved out of the way for him. Seto was heading to Mokuba, but then he was surprised to see Joey next to him in his male clothes. He felt relieved to see the blond, but then he felt a bitter sweetness when he saw Valon with them for some reason. Joey followed his eye sight, and realized he forgot to not appear next to Valon. Months of not seeing each other, and the last thing that he wanted was for his blue-eyed lover to be needlessly angry.

Seto gritted teeth as he passed them. "Mokuba, let's go."

"Se..." The ravenette stopped himself when he remembered that his older brother and Joey's relationship was a secret. He glanced at Joey who was staring at Seto wistfully. He sneakily brushed his thumb against Joey's hand reassuringly.

"Mokuba!"

"Coming! It's good to see you again, Joey." He ran after to his brother.

Valon watched them go, and then placed his hand on Joey's upper arm to catch his attention. "I guess I should leave. Do you want me to drop you at your place?"

"Uh." Joey felt a piece of paper in his hand. He turned away to take a quick glance of it. "Yeah, but I'd like to do something first."

"Uh, sure." The spiky haired brunet let go of him.

A little too late for Seto's taste when he glanced back at them from his limo. The CEO tightened his fists to the point that they were shaking. He forced himself into his limo before he did anything that may result into murder.

Joey was having similar ideas as he walked over to Zigfried. He took the rich snob by the collar to drag him to the men's bathroom that was luckily empty. He threw him to the wall, and held him there. "You should've known better than to challenge him to a duel." The fused male forgot his dragon so his eyes were glowing a deathly red. "Could've spared yourself the embarrassment, and I know Seto must've made a bargain with ya that you better scram cuz of your shit talkin'. You better follow along cuz I'll get to you before he does, n' you'll wish I never did." He threw him down onto the floor.

Zigfried lightly laughed. "You two are meant for each other. I can see that now, but you will wish that I remained by your side, Heir Joey. Richelle isn't an easy opponent."

Joey rolled his eyes. He wasn't surprised that Richelle would reach out to Zigfried who happened to be the CEO of the number one business specializing in security. He warned him, "You'll die within the year for working with her."

"By her hand or yours?" Zigfried seemed to find this funny.

Joey seriously replied, "Both. The way it's going to go down Ziggy is that there will be a gang war, and if Richelle wins, it will become a world war or worse, but I'm wastin' my breath on someone who's gonna die." Joey turned away, and then heard the click off a gun. He swiftly turned around to kick the gun out of Zigfried's hand, and then was about to kick him unconscious. However, he saw a green fire burn in Zigfried's eyes. "Gene." The pink haired male went for his second gun, but Joey reclaimed his focus to kick the light out of him.

"Red Eyes, it looks like Zigfried was still affected by the Queen's Shattered Mirror card, but the effect remained dormant inside him until he felt anger...no envy. Damn. This is worse than I thought it would be. I'll send a mental note to Jona. I need to see Seto." Joey walked out without a care about Zigfried. Someone else will take care of him. He headed to Valon who was on his motorcycle already.

"Where's the bloke you went in the bathroom with?" The biker questioned.

Joey replied as he got on, "Don't worry, he's alive with no broken bones."

"Guessing he deserved it."

"You have no idea." Joey then gave him the directions to a hotel that was written on the piece of paper that he was given. Valon dropped him off. They said their goodbyes before going separate ways again.

Joey ran to the hotel room that he knew Seto would be in. Before he entered, he remembered Red Eyes was still fused with him. "Sorry Red Eyes, but we gotta split." The dragon rumbled sadly, but he understood. "Don't worry. We'll play later like always." That put his dragon in a chipper mood to go back to his card.

With that done, he entered the room to see his lover sitting on a chair while taking a swig of alcohol. That spelled trouble for Joey immediately. He thread carefully into the room. "Seto, what's wrong?"

Seto placed his forehead on his hand. "What do you think is wrong?"

Joey took his glass away from him to place it on a nearby table. He straddled his lover's hips before stripping himself of his t-shirt. Seto felt his arousal rise easily at the sight of his lover's sensual sculpted body. The way his muscles rippled as he rocked his hips around and around like a stripper getting his money's worth, and Seto paid nothing that wasn't expensive.

"I missed you, my dragon master." Joey whispered to him huskily as if they were doing a dirty deed in a clean place. "Did you miss me?" He ran his hand across Seto's shoulders to his neck. He pressed his fingers and palm against them in a nice rhythm.

Seto moaned by the heavenly feel of his stress magically disappearing. The sly blond smirked as he leaned down to whisper seductively in his ear, "I'll take that as a yes." And then had his tongue run across the shell while continuing to roll his hips around and around against his lover's arousal. Joey sucked in air and swallowed down his saliva.

Seto gripped Joey's butt cheeks and squeezed hard, eliciting a moan out of the horny blond. The brunet picked him up, and dropped them onto the bed. The two kissed sloppily. Sliding their tongues together for the heck of it as they dry humped each other. Joey forced Seto out of his suit except for the dress shirt. He went slow when he was unbuttoning and zipping down the pants. The bulge was bigger than he remembered. Almost five months without sex, he was going to enjoy the sight of his boyfriend's hard on popping out of those pants. And damn, did the sight of it finally free make Joey swallow down his saliva again before turning them over.

The CEO breathlessly demanded, "69."

But Joey said, "I should take a shower first."

"Fine then."

They went into the bathroom, and Seto was still on getting their sixty-nine on, so he told Joey that this was going to be quick, and they were doing it on the bed. Joey didn't argue with him, but pointed out that he should wear a different shirt since it was white. The blond knew his place still, but Seto (maybe he was drunk; maybe he wasn't) took it off.

Joey's eyes widened at the sight on his lover's torso. Seto waited for his surprised reaction to change, and it changed into a curiosity, and perhaps...happiness. He understood the first emotion, but he wasn't sure of what to think about the second emotion because his torso wasn't something someone would like to see unless he wasn't right in the side.

The amber-eyed beauty looked up at him, and questioned, "Why now?"

Seto hesitated to reply, but he knew he shouldn't since it was now or never for him, so he replied, "It's because even after nearly five months of no contact at all, I still crave you. I will be honest to say that there were days that I haven't thought about you at all because of my busy life, but when I do, I desire your company to the point that everything and everyone else is a complete nuisance than it usually is. Another part of me lust for you and only you. All other bodies disgust or disinterest me. I want you to understand now that I want you as only mine." Joey became a soft shade of red that the blue-eyed male loved on him. Yet, it was a bittersweet sight for him. "I'm sorry for not keeping in contact with you. I-"

Joey interrupted him, "It's okay. Your business needed you."

"But-"

Joey silenced him with a quick kiss, and then told him, "You're here now, and that's what matters."

"I should've been here on September."

"Duty calls."

"Joey!" Seto grasped his upper arms, but he didn't hold them painfully. "I may be new to love, but I know for a fact that despite everything, I should've contacted you. There's no excuse I can tell you to justify this."

Joey softly smiled at him. "It wouldn't have meant anything." Seto let go of Joey's arms. He stared at his lover with furrowed brows of confusion. The shorter male explained, "It's just not your style. You're a man of action." He slowly placed his hand on his chest. His finger tips caressed the edges of one of the scars. They were old, so it didn't hurt for the ex-abused child. "You came here cuz you heard 'bout meh gettin' shot. You literally dropped everythin' ta make sure I was okay. That means more to me than anythin' ya could've done these last few months. I missed ya lots, but yur here now, so stop makin' this depressin' n' show meh if ya still love me or not."

Seto watches Joey's curious expression changed into one of pride as he continue to stare at the old wounds. His puppy was proud to see them, and was proud to know. The sight of those eyes...It made the CEO's considered-to-be nonexistent heart become overfilled with a new emotion that he didn't know he could feel. He wasn't sure what this feeling was called. All he knew right now was that he felt proud of his full naked body. More so than he did before.

He kissed Joey sweetly while blindly turning on the shower head. His hands roamed along the soft tan skin, and back muscles to his ample, round bottom. Joey tried to steady himself as he got on his tippy toes, so his lover didn't have to hurt his neck. He gasped when he felt a finger enter him. He pleaded, "More." He felt a second finger enter him, but that wasn't enough. He didn't care for the pain. "More!"

Seto pushed in three fingers into that wanton, wet hole. Joey got back on the soles of his feet to push back his ass against those fingers. "Ooh Seto, you have no idea of what I want to do to you now."

Joey naughtily thought, "Translation: Nasty, nasty things are gonna happen to ya that you'll feel so filthy n' yur gonna like it, moneybags."

Seto looked at him with a playful doubting expression. "Hmph. What were you doing with Valon earlier?"

I know that you would never cheat, but it doesn't mean that you don't have those dirty thoughts about other guys.

Joey understood of why he asked, but he still glared at him. "Why would I bother with a piece of shit cock?"

"Translation: Ask me that kind of question again, I'll pop ya, ya bastard."

That response made Seto smirk, and he caught the hidden threat behind it. He turned off the shower head, so they could lather each other with soap. It made them slippery against each other. Joey rubbed himself against Seto's body. His own penis enjoying the feel of Seto's lower stomach while he feels his lover's big one rub against his. He still feels those fingers deep inside him doing wonders to his prostate that he cums too soon. "AH!" He groaned.

Seto grinned down at the mess his lover made, but was washed off by the rushing water. "Can't restrain yourself, can we?"

Joey didn't care. He hadn't had a good orgasm in months. He took in gulps of air before replying, "Shut de fuck up, ya stiff legged egomaniac. Yur 'bout to blow, too." He had both hands grab hold of his lover's cock. He worked it like a shake weight. Seto cursed under his breath as he tried to prove Joey wrong, but his sexy lover played dirty. "Mm, mmm, oh yeah, yeah, that's it. Work it, baby."

Seto snorted, "You sound like a corny fitness instructor." He bit his lip from gasping when Joey remembered his sensitive spots.

"Are you really gonna complain?" The lovely amber-eyed beauty teased before continuing his promiscuous talking, "I want your cum all over meh. My dragon master, don't hold back. Do you want me to beg? Get on my knees n' beg like a good little bitch."

Their soapy body felt uncomfortable, so Joey turned on the shower head, and then accidentally knocked the soap bar off its place and onto the shower's floor. He turned away from Seto, and bend down to grab it, but predictably, the damn thing kept slipping from his hands. Seto didn't know of whether this was part of Joey's plan, but damn, his ass was pushing up against his pulsating dick that was ready to blow.

He tried to resist this temptation to win, but his iron will slipped, so he found his hands grasped hold of his hips before pressing his dick in between his perfect ass cheeks. Joey was startled by this. "Hey, wait!" He found his ass being used like a hotdog's bun as that huge sausage was enjoying its sweet pleasure of rubbing in between them. The blond growled at his lover, "Hey, I thought you wanted to do it on the bed!"

Seto didn't reply. He grunted instead as he came all over his fierce lover's back.

The warrior typed duelist looked over his shoulder to see the sticky substances. He snorted, "Can't restrain yurself, can we? OW!" He got a slapped on the ass for that smart comment.

The brunet turned off the shower head after cleaning Joey's back. He took the towel from the hanger to wipe and pat the wet drops away. His puppy chuckled, "Such a gentleman."

Seto chuckled, too. He gave Joey the towel when he was done. The blond obligingly dried his lover, too. They walked into the bedroom to land on the bed. They were so gonna get it on.

._._._.

Mokuba was lost in a digital world where he was surrounded by softly lit rows of neon blue numbers constantly changing in the dark place. "Noah!" He called out. "Noah! Where are you? I know you're out there!" He called out as he continued to walk through the infinitely vast room. "Noah!"

"Mokuba?" A female voice called out to him from behind.

The questioned male turned around to see his ex-girlfriend, Noe. His breathing stopped at the sight of her. It's been too long since he last saw her, and she's still so beautiful.

However, she appeared to be teary and afraid. She whispered to him as if they were among dangerous company, "Mokuba, I missed you."

His heart jumped at those words. He immediately took her in his arms in a second, much to Noe's surprise. He happily told her, "I missed you, too."

"It's bad to be this close to me." She warned him, but Mokuba immediately replied, "I still love you." He stepped back, and got on one of his knees without breaking eye contact from her. He profoundly proposed, "I swear that I can do better. Whatever I did or do wrong, I will do anything to make it up to be with you."

He thought that he was being charming, but Noe looked devastated. She sorrowfully inquired, "Even if I made your brother lie to you."

"Lie to me?" Mokuba stood up in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

"Mokuba, I'm Noah." She urgently confessed, and explained, "I downloaded my conscious into a cloned female body of mine, but lost my memories at first. But once I remembered, I ended our relationship because I didn't deserve to be with you. Not after everything I did."

There was an awkward pause. Mokuba just stared at her with this dumbfounded expression.

Noe blushed and shouted, "Mokuba!"

The pre-teen flinched. "Sorry! Wait, you're Noah?"

She frowned, and let her body switch to her male form. He replied, "Y-yeah. The scientist who I-mmph!" He was caught in a crushing hug. "Mo-Mokuba! Let go!"

The ravenette whispered, "No. I-I can't believe it's you. It's really you! You have no idea of how long I've been searching for you!"

"Well, you shouldn't have!" the virtual boy shoved him away. "I'm just going to get you hurt again!"

Mokuba was left confused again. "What do you mean?"

"It's not safe around me. It's never going to be safe around me!" Noah returned back to becoming Noe. "You should forget about me! Forget Noah! Forget Noe! Go and be happily in love with someone else! Go and be happy with your real brother! Forget us both if you want to see tomorrow!"

Mokuba bluntly replied, "No."

That complete opposite reaction to her flustered one, threw her off. "No?"

"No." Mokuba replied with that same bluntness. He explained, "Noe, being the brother of a multi-billionaire older brother who every other powerful organization wants to do the same thing that some whackjob did to Pegasus is not an easy life. I honestly lost track of how many times I've been kidnapped."

"Yeah, well, except of being kidnapped, you're going to be killed because of me! I may not be as famous or important as your older brother, but I am bad news, so stay away!"

"No."

"Stop saying that!" She pleaded desperately as tears was slipping pass her eyes. She folded her lips as she gulped down the pressure in her throat to her chest. "Are you stupid?! I told you to stay away! You told me that you'd do anything to please me, so" Her mouth was open, but she lost her train of thought as she knew that she was standing there like an idiot in front of the one person she loved first. Eventually, she found her train of thought back, "leave me the fuck alone!"

Mokuba lazily put his hands into his pocket as he selfishly, placidly declared, "Then I take back what I said."

Noe gasped at him, "Rude!"

Mokuba shrugged, "You can't order me to stop loving you. I don't care if your Noah or Noe. I don't care if you turn back into a male or female. I know how I feel when I'm with you, and I love you, Noah. We can be romantic if you want to, but I'm never going to stop loving you. I'm never going to stop; I'm never going to let you leave a third time. But if that does happen again, I'll search for you. I'll never stop searching for you. No matter how fruitless it is. I will find you. Do you understand of how important you are. You're important no matter what anyone says."

Noe shook her head as her frown deepened, but her chest felt alit and on fire. Yet, she pressed over it. "Seto and Joey knows that I'm alive, and I made them lie to you."

Mokuba reasonably asked, "Why would you make them do that?"

"Who cares why! I made them untrustworhy to you!"

"Seto hides a lot of secrets from me. This is a very important secret, but my brother doesn't does anything selfish unless he has a very good reason." Then he determinedly points out, "And I'm not going to waste time getting mad at them. What matters is that you're alive, and out there in need of saving...You do need saving right?"

Noe rolled her head to the back as she fakely smiled with a half-hearted, mirthful blow of air out of the nose. She straightened her head and rose her arms side to side only to drop them down to her side. She replied, defeated, "Go ask Seto or Joey or Jona."

"You know Jona?"

"Yeah, she's been keeping me company, but that doesn't matter. I need to wake up."

"Wake up? Is this a dream?"

"Yeah..." Noe furrowed her brows at that question.

._._._.

The next morning, Joey was clinging onto the blankets as he braced himself for each powerful thrust into him. He was screaming in deep, utter pleasure as his body quaked as each and every one of his nerves was set on overdrive. Sweat glistened, and his hair stuck against him. His nails dug into Seto's back. The powerful CEO winced at the pain, but it was worth it by the sight laid out before him, and the sweet sound of, "SETO! SETO! SETO! SETOOOOO!"

The cross dresser arched his back high against Seto's body as he came all over their torsos. Seto (wearing a condom) thrust his entire rod deep inside his lover, and came with a loud grunt and growl.

Before his body gave in to fall down, he exited Joey to roll to the side onto his back. They went on so many rounds last night, and this was their third round this morning. Seto thought it was over, but Joey snuggled up to him.

"I'm going to die." Seto muttered.

Joey burst out laughing. "What? Your tank's out?"

The brunet glared at him, and then sighed. "I just need a break. And breakfast for that matter. I believe our breakfast arrived an hour ago."

"It did?" His puppy's head perked up at the idea of food.

Seto refrained himself from laughing. He deadpanned, "You wouldn't know because you were so focused on riding me and moaning like a slut." He got smacked for that. Joey wasn't offended, but it felt like the right situation to do it.

"I'll get it since you de tired one." He escaped from the bed before Seto could smack him back.

He peeked out of the door to see no one. He cautiously put out his head to see no workers or cameras, so he opened the door wide open in all his naked glory to pull in the tray before closing it. The CEO stayed sitting on the bed while his lover passed him his plate of cold bread rolls, sausages, and eggs, but he didn't complain. The breakfast before this one satisfied him.

Joey sat next to him while eating his meal like a starved hobo. His lover asked, "Has Duke not been feeding you this whole time?" He got a soft elbow to the side.

The blond changed the subject, "So you have read my texts right?"

"Yes I have. Is it true that you still have one of the pieces from the puzzle that Yugi used to wear?"

"Yeah. It's in a safe place along with a chest that makes sure that they aren't found. But if they were, then it's a good thing Jona and I threw the rest of them in a volcano."

"Including the millennium necklace." The intelligent male pointed out.

Joey explained, "Yeah. Look. Jona had us destroy it, too, because she wasn't ready to see her past or make me see it. We couldn't wait for her to be ready because it's a dangerous weapon. It may not always be accurate, but it can do some serious damage if Gozaburo had them."

Seto considered this, and believed that despite this drawback, they still had a winning opportunity. "If Gozaburo was planning to use the millennium items to rule the world, then you two made the right call." Joey smiled at him which made the CEO smile back that sweet rare smile. Then it quickly disappeared. "I also read in your text that you were meeting a man that you wished that you told me about before meeting him."

"Yeah. It's Kane Perasma."

The CEO's eyes widen to saucers. "You know the godfather of Domino City, and head of the dangerous criminal shipping organization?"

The ex-gangster swallowed his mouthful of food while shifting himself to sit comfortably. He told him, "It's a long story, and it includes of how I got my bullet wound."

"I haven't given myself a holiday since Pegasus died, so I gave myself a week to remain here with you. Yet, I may have to leave if something dire was to happen." Joey understood. Seto knew that, yet it made him hate himself that his puppy did. "Joey," He placed his hand on his cheek. "I don't want to leave you."

"You won't." His considerate lover told him without conviction before clarifying, "Seto, you told me that you have faith in me, and that will always make us stay connected. N' I am going to return to Domino. You can count of that." He winked up at him. "So please wait for me."

The blue-eyed male didn't know of how many times Joey was going to make him fall in love with him. "I love you."

"I know." The blond broke out a huge grin as he tried to hold back Seto's butter knife that was covered in syrup. He made Seto give up his vengeful agenda by kissing him. He thought it worked when his boyfriend's hand lowered, but when he let go, he got syrup all over his chest. "Hey! I'm sticking enough, ya bastard!"

"Shut up. It's your fault for ruining the mood."

"Well, it's your fault for being such a piss baby."

"A piss what?"

"A piss baby." The cute duelist jokingly but also lovingly explained, "It's because you're always so pissy, and you're my baby."

Seto stared at him, and then declared, "Never call me that again."

Joey gave him a beautiful sly smile as the light soaring in from between the window curtains added to its beauty. "What are you going to do?" He challenged. "Cover me in more syrup?"

"I'll make you choke on my sausage." He threatened, and Joey wasn't sure of which sausage his lover was referring to. It was more likely the actual sausage since his lover loved to be literal, but he didn't want to risk being wrong so he stopped joking.

"Fine!" He claimed exasperatingly. "So back to mah dramatic life as a gangster, I was ten when I joined my first gang, but de leader wasn't Diesel Kane. It was actually Shou Perasma. Diesel Kane was just the front man."

"Shou Perasma is one of the twelve children of Mr. Perasma." Seto pointed out. "I had discovered Kane Perasma through Gozaburo's old files. There was so little on him, however, so I only know as much as a common strange aware of his existence would know."

"Well, you're right. Kane does have twelve children. Some of them with different mothers, but none of them were planned. Y'see, Kane didn't want children since he knew depending on offsprings would be stupid. But women from different organizations wanted his child, so that they could inherit pieces of his power. It kinda worked until Kane decided to have a vasectomy after switching his gender preference didn't work. He still didn't plan on making any of them his heir."

"That is because he chose you, didn't he." If this was over a year ago, Seto would've laughed at such idea of Joey being capable of wielding such power. But his lover had the tendency to surprise him.

"I don't think he was offering me this position since I was eleven." He wasn't sure if powerful men considered their heirs when they were at that age. "Let me start at the beginning so you can get it."

"Okay."

Joey started, "You already know of how my parents divorced, and my life started crashing fast afterwards. I was living at the worst parts of Domino City where people were getting shot everyday. I knew that in order to survive the streets, I needed ta be armed. I needed ta learn ta fight, n' I couldn't do that unless I joined a gang. I knew joining a gang would mean even more trouble, but I needed to survive."

"I don't blame you."

Joey smiled at his lover again. He placed his head against the curve of his shoulder as he intertwined their fingers. "Shou is the same age as us, but with the Perasma's family money, he was able to buy weapons and drugs while collecting hopeless guys off the streets to join him. I was one of dem, obviously. He gave me a gun, but I never used it even if I was cornered in a fight. I never dealed with the drugs, either, like I told ya. Even when I felt desperate for money, I never touched the stuff since I couldn't stand becomin' de reason someone became an addict."

"You made the right choice." Kaiba supported him.

That made Joey appreciate being in love with him. He continued, "Thanks. I know, but there are some choices I do regret like meeting Shou's dad. Shou created the gang so that he could prove to Kane that he was capable to be the next godfather, but obviously, that didn't work. Not when I was showing more initiative as a leader. When I was thirteen, Shou was planning to take out a rival gang with a strategy that he came up with, and Kane was present to hear it. When Kane left, I thought he didn't hear me when I pulled Shou to the side to tell him the problems with his strategy. Cuttin' to de chase, I was right n' Kane knew that since we were familiar with the streets n' I was spoutin' some common sense. Shou denied that I was right, but Kane came in ta prove I was. Shou got angry, and made me take control of the mission..."

"Did you?"

"I did, n' we succeeded in ruining de other gang. It took lives, but it was necessary in order for our gang to win. However, when Shou took over again, he did something drastic. He lied to me that we were breakin' into a house containin' a meth lab owned by another gang nearby. We were ordered ta shoot anyone in sight. I bought my gun, but I didn't plan on shootin'. Good thing cuz d house didn't contain no meth lab. It contained the family of one of the rival gang members who got on the wrong side of Shou. I immediately noticed what was wrong when one of us shot a woman that was just cooking oatmeal in the kitchen. I ran to the bedroom to find kids around my age. They were confused and frightened by what was happenin'. I helped them escape, and Shou caught me doin' it. He claimed meh to be a traitor, but he told me that I could prove my loyalty if I killed a man that was in the house. I didn't know who the man was, but I knew that even if I did, I wasn't goin' to do it. So Shou shot both of us." Joey stopped to recollect of what happened after that.

Seto waited patiently until he realized that his lover was way too deep into thought. He asked, "How did you survive?"

Joey looked at him with a wakeful expression from his day dream. He replied, "He shot me in the hip, but I was determined to live because who would take care of my dad. He's hopeless without meh. So I took out my cellphone, n' called a doctor I knew that lived in my neighborhood. He came over, n' I was still breathing but the guy n' woman who was shot wasn't. I still don't know of what happened to those kids. All I know is that I was able to stand a few weeks later to make it to school again."

"You told me before that only you and the doctor know about your wound. How was the doctor able to keep you hidden during recovery without Kane's knowledge of what happened?"

Joey replied, "Shou shot me without any witnesses, and the doctor died by cancer a month later. Shou would never tell Kane because he knew that shooting me would reveal of what a bad leader he was because Shou knows that he shot me cuz he was jealous. Kane approached me after school when I was fully healed, and offered me a place in his family, but I denied, and somewhat lied that it was because I didn't want anything to do with gangs anymore. He knew that I was lying, but I doubt he knew of the full reason why."

Seto furrowed his brows. His eyes narrowed to icy slits. "Why did you lie for someone who intended to kill you?"

"Like I said. I somewhat lied. If I had told the truth, Shou would've been punished for his sloppiness, n' I always had the feelin' that Shou never actually pulled the strings. I always had a feeling that it was his older sistah, Richelle, who did. When I first met her, I immediately knew that somethin' wasn't right with her. N' my suspicions are confirmed cuz she tried to kill me yesterday."

Joey saw Seto's jaw tightened. His eyes were as cold as two planets forming an ice age. His hand was restricted of circulation when Seto tightened his grip. He coldly suggested, "We should dispose of her immediately."

"Don't get carried away, dragon." Joey lightly scolded. "Disposing of her immediately would result in a gang war between me and the others. Right now, we are having a cold war that's slowly getting heated. I need to go through the rest of this world tour in order to keep it that way until Noe is finished with her invention. Jona and I had agreed over the last three months that it was best to play famous star for a few more months until Noe can finished it. Kane has no idea were Richelle is, and there's a possibility that she's working with Gozaburo, so-"

Seto pointed out, "We have three separate or connected obstacles now. One: We have to crossover your past incarnation by finishing her unfinished business. Two: We have to permanently kill Gozaburo without killing Noe in the process. Three: We have to ascend you to the throne as the rightful heir as Godfather of Domino City."

Joey didn't like the third one, but he had to do it. "Yeah. You don't mind me taking the place? I considered shutting it down, but then Jona, Duke and I figured that it was best that I worked as the Godfather to reassure that no world war happens. If I took control of the illegal shipping trade, then I have a part in what should happen. But that would put me and everyone I love under unimaginable danger."

"We can manage." Seto replied, not phased by what his lover just told him. "You will have the full support of the Kaiba Corporation this time. In the past, if my company and Kane's enterprise had combined, then both businesses would've both escalated to a higher power. More so than I am through partnering with Labelle corporations. But it's not the power benefits that I am hoping on, but the fact that we could cooperate with Leon for the advancement of tech security. The combination of my, yours, Labelle's, and the Von Schroeder corporation could become a great influence in the world to upgrade the demographic and epidemiologic transition stages around the world."

"Aim for world peace?" That was what Joey was getting out of whatever his smart ass boyfriend said.

"World peace is relative." Seto declared. "I meant that we could create a steady urban and rural world under our control."

Joey believed that his billionaire was thinking of a way to improve the lifestyle of the world. Not actual dominant control that would ruin people. "Do you really think that we can achieve that?"

"Of course, we can." There was no hint of doubt in the CEO's voice. "It won't establish world peace since we can't deplete racial tensions, but it could decrease poverty, stabilize and save environmental areas, and other opportunities that we can do to make this world a better place in the future."

Joey looked up at his lover with a surprised expression. "Wow. What made you so serious about making the world a better place?"

"Since I realized that I want to make a better world with you and Mokuba, Serenity and perhaps Noe in it. It's a farfetched idea, but I'm already so rich, and you're giving me a conscience, so why not try to do something good after we solve all three of our obstacles."

"I guess with Kane's organization, and your smart brain and everyone else's help, we could find a way to make it happen." Joey absorbed everything they talked about for a few seconds before saying, "Okay. Now that we got all of our shit straightened out between us, and your still limp like an old man-" Joey did not get to utter another coherent sentence after that.

But when afternoon came around, Seto called Roland to check on Kaiba corporation. Everything was going smoothly without him. Smoothly was all Seto could hope for during these trying days.

He and Joey was fully dressed since they were in the mood to get out of bed. However, he was not happy when Joey told him of what happened during his tour. "You spent time with Zigfried?"

"Jona made me do it, so we can check on what's wrong with him. She also checked his body multiple times, but squat. Until yesterday, he was envious of our relationship, so he glowed a bit. I'm afraid ta say that the duelists who played the card will experience its effects when they're envious."

"That would explain why none of the tests that my research team pulled made any progress. This is becoming more dangerous for civilians. We both know that envy can make people take rash actions to claim what they want despite the common sense that whatever they do will not give them the results that they desire. That can lead to more rash actions, and if the effects were to wear off, it's an underground roller coaster from there."

Joey's heart froze. "You're saying that there are literally innocent people out there makin' mistakes cuz of this?"

Seto eased him, "We don't know how drastic these effects are."

"Zigfried tried to shoot me yesterday." He wished he hadn't said that by the murderous look his lover had in eyes.

"HE WHAT?!"

"Seto!" Joey held the nape of his neck and his upper arm soothingly. "It's the card that is doing this. We gotta figure out of what we can do to turn this around like figure out an opposite card that is super common but super useful in any deck like monster reborn."

The CEO wasn't letting what Zigfried did go (he certainly had an idea of how to make him pay), but they needed to pay attention to the current problem. He declared, "That may require us to have some sort of...magic." Seto believed in the nonsense like an agnostic Christian, but he was still uncomfortable with the idea of him considering magic as a solution for duel monsters. Yet, he continued, "A magic that could cancel out the other effect."

"Like...the opposite of envy?"

"The closest contrast would be kindness if you consider the contrast between the seven deadly sins and the seven heavenly virtues."

"So we need the power of kindness..."

The two stared at each other. Joey had gone through the whole adventures that friendship and the heart of the cards was the way to go, but he thought that this time, the solution would be different. He was dead wrong. Seto's facial expressions remained stone.

Jona appeared having heard their conversation. "It's a possible solution." Joey looked upward, and Seto knew immediately that Jona was in the room. "We could ask Dartz if he is aware of such a gem existing."

"Yeah! Good idea!" Joey exclaimed and explained to his nonspiritual boyfriend, "Dartz might know of a gem or something that could help."

"Exactly how do you plan to achieve this? It had been bothering me of how you contacted a dead man."

Joey grinned goofily. He faced Jona to ask, "Can I bring him along?"

The ancient woman took control of his body so that Seto could understand. The act still unnerved the brunet as he crossed his arms, and glared icily at her. However, he said nothing of it. The woman replied, "It's possible. However you two will have to be in sync with each others' spiritual energy. How it works is this?" Jona swiped the red eyes card against the wrist band to unleash the dragon to provide the magic. He fused with the body, so she could create a volleyball sized crystal ball in her hands.

She continued, "Due to the fact that you have no duel monster essence within him, this crystal ball will provide as a blender to fuse your spiritual energy with the energy within here. It will be easy since all you have to do is input your will into this." She then added, "Of course, you don't know of where the special gap is. It's what we call the gateway to the doors of the spiritual world that contains the afterlife. So in order for you to find it, Joey will have to hold one of your hand while you both place your hands on this. Your will must be even with each other. Ready?"

"Must you question me." The CEO smirked. He succeeds in everything. It's up to Joey to catch up.

Jona went around the bed to sit on one side cross legged while placing the crystal ball in front of her. Seto sat cross legged opposite of her. She warned, "You are going to see a third eye appear on my beloved Joey's forehead. Don't get distracted."

"Whatever. Let's get this over and done with already."

Jona gave him a smile before exiting Joey's body. The two lovers held hands and placed their other hand on the crystal ball. Joey slightly blushed when their finger tips brushed against each other. When he really thought about it, he was kind of merging with Seto's soul within this crystal ball. He glanced at Seto who appeared to be solely concentrated on the crystal ball, but then the intense dark-hearted male shifted his concentration on him with a devious smirk. Joey went bright red making him shout, "Don't look at meh! I'm trynna concentrate here!"

Seto still kept looking at him with that ravashing expression. "What's wrong? Nervous? Don't think that you can keep of with me?"

"No!" Joey glared at him with his still reddening face. Jona covered her mouth as she snorted. The blond cutie frowned before explaining, "I-I was just thinking that-!" he softened his tone to a whisper as he looked away embarrassingly, "This kind of like our souls merging." Seto's teasing expression dropped to one of profound curiosity. "Bo-Both of our spiritual energy has to go in here, y'know, so it's like we're kinda becomin' one...Am I makin' sense?"

There was stark silence in the room before Joey was glomped by both Jona and Red Eyes coming out of his body. He found his body lying sideways on the bed as his cheeks were being smooshed together. "SO CUUUTE!"

"Mah fvashe huurd (My face hurt)." Joey told them. Jona and Red Eyes returned to his body. Joey got back into his sitting position only to find his two pained cheeks held so gently by two soft slim fingers, and a pair of soft thin lips against his. It felt so nice and good, but it ended to soon that his lips tingled. Seto spoke sweetly, "Now, you made me want to try harder."

Joey felt his face burn that steam must be coming out of him. "Don't make this dirty!"

"It's your fault for having a nasty mind. Although, I do love that part about you. Especially after what you did last night." Seto grinned at the glare he was receiving from his red puppy. "Let's begin."

Joey was miffed at Seto's sexy attitude, but they wasted enough time. They held hands again and placed their hand on the crystal ball. "Now Red Eyes." He felt his dragon at the front of his skull doing his duty to open his third eye. "Now Seto." They both began instilling their wills into the crystal ball. Seto witnesses a soft sapphire flame emitting out of his forearm, and being sucked into the item. Joey's own appeared to be the color of crimson. He sees the ball begin to light up into a bright white light, and then finds himself within a black room where he could see Joey and Jona. He noticed a door made of ice before them.

Jona knocked on the door, and then comes out a fish swimming in a block of ice that spoke, "Why have you knocked on the door?"

The woman replied, "We are here to see Dartz, last king of Atlantis."

The fish disappeared to be replaced by the insane maniac who had taken down his company for less than a day. The man was surprised to see him, "Oh, Mr. Kaiba. It's a pleasure to see you again after our last duel."

"Cut with the pleasantries, and let's get down to business. You knew about the gem. Gene, then that should mean that you know a gem that could counter its effect."

The man seemed to be not phased by his attitude. What can one expect from Seto Kaiba. He peacefully replied, "I am sorry, Mr. Kaiba, but my main focus was on the orichalcos stone."

Joey pointed out, "But you must at least know a stone capable of making a person feel kindness. We believe that if we can create a card with that kind of power, then we can stop its effects. Innocent people could be doing bad things that they wouldn't have done. We need an answer."

Dartz thought about it, and then replied, "I believe that I know of a method that will be able to cease Gene's effects now that I think of it, but it's not an easy method."

"Stop with being overdramatic and tell us already." Seto demanded impatiently.

"Of course, you are spending your energy to be here. I'm sorry. The method will make it easier for you to defect it if you are able to reach into every duelists hearts through the love they give to their own cards."

Seto said, "We can do that easily with Battle City 2. Yet, this time it would be world wide, and taking place within all the Kaibalands and the areas near it around the world. A majority of the duelists will be the ones will the Queen's shatter mirror card, but that card will be banned. However, if anyone foolishly dared to use the card during the duel, the newly advanced duel disk will not read it." He darkly chuckled, "If I was in favor with Pegasus's adopted sons, then I would have them ban the card. One of the reasons why Gozaburo killed Pegasus in the first place." He crossed his arms with a sullen expression, For those who do not attend Battle City 2, then it will be their loss, but they will have to deal with their problems until we defeat Gozaburo."

Joey added, "And I could have Kane help with security to make sure that nothing goes wrong."

Dartz spoke, "That is all pleasant ideas, but the difficult part will be to expend enough duel monster essence from your soul to the rest of the world. That sort of energy can only come from Joey, but only if he is successfully fused with his red eyes black dragon."

Jona quickly said, "That's dangerous. I was able to fuse with red eyes due to it being fatefully or coincidentally on the night that the millennium items were created. Great expense of duel monster essence was spread throughout the world that night. In order for it to be performed successfully was if we found someone fused with duel monster essence and the audacity to rip Joey's heart out of his chest."

Joey went white at the morbid imaginations of having his heart ripped out of his chest. Jona went through that, and he bet that it wasn't a joyride.

Seto instantly claimed, "Then we will find another solution."

"But Seto-" The reincarnation tried to reason, but his lover interrupted him, "We know only that Noe has this essence nonsense, and I don't trust her anywhere near your heart physically. Even if I did, there is no reassurance that it will be successful. I'm not risking your life for the world."

"But Mokuba is a part of the world." The blond reminded him. "Seto, if Richelle is working with Gozaburo, then this could be her plan to start a world war or worse! This card is effecting people around the world. Including rich, powerful people, n' you know that you could start a war if you wanted to."

Seto couldn't argue with that. He knew he could, and Joey was correct that Mokuba did live on this planet of theirs. His little brotheer was truly too dear to him. So much more than Joey, and his true love knew that. Joey was willing to sacrifice himself to protect Seto's most precious person. Despite the loving sentiment, it exasperated him. "Why is it so easy for you to kill yourself? Do you have a death wish? You never hesitate to sacrifice yourself!"

"Se-" Joey found himself abruptly in their own world. "-to!" He saw him getting off the bed and heading to the door. "Seto!" He hopped off the bed to hurry to him. "Seto!" He grabbed his wrist to turn him around.

The brunet briskly took his wrist back. "Dammit Joey!"

"Seto, I don't get why you're upset!" Joey kinda did, but it's not like him dying was a fact.

"Why I'm upset?!" Seto sounded incredulous to be told such a thing. "You just told me that you were fine with dying!"

"I'm not going to die!"

"Yet, you stupidly, indirectly tell me that you were fine with going through a damn ritual that we don't know will succeed! Jona was lucky because my father from another life time decided to slaughter a bunch of hooligans to create a damn trinket to save Egypt except it ends up almost being fuckin' destroyed because of it!"

Joey caught on of what his boyfriend was insinuating. "You think that this is all your fault, don't you?"

The CEO crossed his arms as he kept his face stoic as ever. "Why wouldn't it be? If I had stayed in that damn orphanage, then Gozaburo wouldn't be-"

"Wouldn't be nothing!" the amber eyed duelist cried out as if what he said made sense. He urgently told his love, "Seto, none of this is your fault!"

"Weird, since it always comes back to me. Mokuba has been kidnapped I don't know how many times now, but I was always sure, despite everything, that he would be okay. But you're a whole different story. Each and every time, I find you nearly killed." He dropped his arms to his side as he balled his fists. His eyes heavily concentrated on beautiful, lively amber eyes. He sternly listed out, "You were virtually erased in my virtual game; you almost died at Battle City; you gave your soul to Dartz; and now you are willing to risk your life over a five thousand year old ritual so you can save the world from this Richelle person and my own step-father."

"It's still not your fault, n' I'm sorry." Joey looked down at the floor. "Maybe I'm not-"

"Don't you dare say another word that will suggest that we end this." Seto pulled Joey into his arms. His hand placed at the back of his head while the other is on the small of his back. Joey could feel his heartbeat pound so strongly against his lover's ribs. Seto was worried, yet he's straining himself to remain calm. Guilt filled the underdog duelist. However, Seto told him honestly, "Because despite all those times of witnessing or knew that you were near death, you always did come back standing." The blue-eyed duelist withdrew himself, but kept his hands where they were. "Mokuba is waiting at another hotel. I better check on him to make sure that he isn't kidnapped again."

Joey tried to smile at the joke, but it didn't seem right. He told him, "Seto, only Noe can do it. I think Yugi also has some duel monster essence, too, but we both know that he can't do it, so we have to wait until Battle City 2, and that's not until next year, so relax." He wrapped his arms around his neck, and kissed him fervently.

Seto met it with equal passion before drawing back, schedule a time and place to meet with other details, gave each other their temporary goodbyes, and then separated. Joey wanted to run after him because they had just gotten together after months of separation, but Seto needed time to process his emotions.

"He'll be on board." Jona reassured him.

Joey frowned, "He's right, though. I never hesitate to risk my life for others. At first, I thought it was a good thing, but now, I feel like I'm just being selfish."

"Death of a love one, or even the expectation of one is hard on anyone."

"And Seto's still going through therapy over the death of his parents." He planted his butt down on his bed and roughly sighed as he ruffled his hair. "I'm a terrible boyfriend."

Jona argued, "Kaiba's parents died by an accident that he could not prevent, but your death will, optimistically, be from old age. However, if it wasn't, then you died a hero."

"Does it make the grieving easier?" Joey didn't want to sound hopeful since it would make him sound like he was looking forward to his death.

Jona sat down next to him. The ancient woman, from her experience through war, thoughtfully replied, "No. The sadness and pain remains the same except the more you have to grieve, then it feel like being roped down to the ground, and being suffocated by slabs of stone piling up one by one for each death that took place. It never gets easier. The sadness and pain never stops. But the anger. That's the difference. Kaiba is angry for feeling helpless for the death of his parents, and that anger made him the man that he is today. A man capable of doing anything."

"And if I were to die during this ritual, his anger could be directed towards Noe."

"He will actually be angry at himself for not being the person capable of doing the ritual."

"I would never want him to do something that traumatizing. Noe's familiar with gore and death."

"Well, all we ca do now is hope that Battle City will come, Noe will be free, and the ritual will become a success afterwards."

"Are you gonna teach her how to do it?"

The woman smirked. "Of course. I'm the only one who can. I mean Pyrrhus and I can."

"Think she'll accept doin' it?"

"She's the daughter of a psychotic military man who felt no remorse for the fact that his weapons were killing people. She will not be surprised to be given this task, but she will be happy to know that what she's doing is for the greater good. It's what she believes that is all she can ask for to do something right. She's getting better slowly."

"Thanks Jona. Tell Noe thanks, too."

Then Joey's cellphone rang in his pocket. He checked the caller ID to see Duke's pixelated name. "Looks like work needs me."

"A nice change of pace. You need to show your fans that you weren't frightened by some shooting."

Joey didn't really care for that at all at the moment, but he could use the distraction. "Here goes nothin'."

._._._.

Mokuba was currently typing away at his laptop within a white room that was only given a splash of color by the books arranged at the bookshelf and the potted plant placed at the end of the couch that his older brother was currently lying on as he rhapsodize (as enthusiastically as he could be) of Joey. The younger Kaiba didn't pause his typing since it apparently helped his brother remain calm, and his presence helped him open up more to the therapist who flew here last night so they could continue their sessions.

Seto was still not close nor fond of his therapist, but he did find him tolerable and trustworthy with his secrets, so his brother spoke of Joey's name acquiescently.

Mokuba was glad to see his older brother was doing better. He looked well rested, well fed, and happier after months of working himself to the bone. However, Mokuba also noticed that something agitated his brother.

"That is the end of our session." The therapist told them. "I will fly out tomorrow night, and expect a call of whether you will attend another session."

Seto sat up, and thanked him. They shook hands before the man exited.

Mokuba took the chance to ask, "Is something wrong, big brother?"

The elder Kaiba first pulled out a laptop of his own to check the status of his company, and do his own work. As he did this, he explained to his younger brother about the solution to stop the cards' evil without mentioning Gozaburo, or Noe, but he did mention of Richelle since he needed someone to be the person behind this. He also mentioned of Joey's problem.

"Whoa! Joey's the heir of a mafia."

"The correct term is crime family, and yes. He has a history with them, but he hadn't done anything illegal except be a witness, and plausibly an accessory to illegal drug trades, and murder. I have the suspicion that that is why he doesn't hesitate to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. He still finds himself unworthy on the ground he steps on due to the blood that he allowed to spill before him."

"But none of that was his fault. He didn't pull any triggers, and I bet he wasn't in the situation where he could live if he was able to stop other people from doing what they did."

Seto bitterly thought of Shou shooting his beloved Joey when he was younger because he couldn't pull the trigger. "Discussing this won't change Joey's guilt. He witnessed horrors that we never experienced ourselves except for the accidental death of our parents when we were children. All we can do is appreciate that it isn't destructive."

That reminded Mokuba of his dream. He wasn't sure if it was real, and it would be silly to ask Seto about it, but he felt deep down that he had to, so he built up his courage. He inquired, "Seto, are you keeping any secrets from me concerning Noe."

Seto froze his fingers. That gave away the answer to the younger Kaiba. He pulled back his hands as he stoically questioned, "Who told you?"

"I had a dream last night. I know you're going to find this ridiculous but hear me out. I think...Noe's and my mind connected. I didn't know that I was dreaming, but she did. She thought that I was just a dream until she realized that I wasn't. I'm sure I wasn't. And I woke up. Before that, she told me that she was Noah, and she wanted me to stop looking for her. But I told her no." Mokuba felt like he was rambling. He went straight to the point, "Seto, I'm not mad if you kept Noe a secret from me. I'm sure that you have a good reason, but I would like to know the truth now."

Seto understood. "Gozaburo is alive."

Mokuba felt his heart drop. He quickly connected the dots. "He has Noah?" He feared of the answer, and wished he hadn't known after all when he saw his brother nod. "Wh-why aren't we saving her?"

"That is because Gozaburo's headquarters is where I had my Battle City finals. The only logical action to take would be to ambush the area, and have Gozaburo assassinated. But that doesn't reassure that she won't use Noe as a shield or kill her himself in the process. There is also the fact that she's currently working on a device that will somehow help Jona finish her business so she may cross over. The device that she is creating will require my Battle City 2 in order to power this one device."

"Ah, so it's not so you can be the best again?"

"It's one of my many agendas right now. There is going to be a change in plans though. It will be world wide instead."

"E-EH?! Seriously?!"

"Yes. In order for us to cure the fools who used the Queen's shattered mirror card is if Joey is capable to reach into their dueling hearts."

"You told me that, and that he has to become one with the red eyes black dragon through a dangerous ritual."

"Yes. Noe will have to rip his heart out of his body quite literally." Mokuba went pale. Seto darkly chuckled, "There's no reassurance that this ritual will work, but I supposed even for someone as powerful as I, I can only rely on hope." A grim expression found its place on his face.

Mokuba regret talking about this. He sat down next to his brother and held his hand. "Big brother, Joey's going to be alright. He always give his all."

Seto softly smiled. "I know." He returned to his infamous scowl. "Joey and I will meet again at eight. What do you want to do since we are in Venice after all?"

"I don't mind just working. We've been to Venice before, anyway."

"But don't you want to have fun."

The ravenette stood up and faced his brother. "I can't have fun unless I know Noe is safe away from Gozaburo. I'm not throwing my life away, Seto. Instead, I'm taking control of it and investing my time to make sure that Kaiba corporation remains standing because we need it in order to save Noe. You understand, right?"

Seto closed his eyes as he thought to himself.

Mokuba has grown up without my notice. I am still not particularly fond of Noe, but I'm proud to see him take responsibility like an adult.

He smiled. "I do."

"Then I am flying back to Kaiba corporation. You can count on me, Seto." His indigo eyes shown with determination.

Seto stood up with a nod. "Alright then. Be safe."

"I will."

._._._.

Joey was glad to hear from Duke that Zigfried did leave with his bodyguards as promised. However, he had faced a problem of whether he should continue his touring since he didn't want to endanger other human lives. He posted this problem on his blog which went immediately on international news. Debates were discussed which Joey watched with Duke and Tristan in a hot tub.

Duke reminded him, "The tournament will be taking place five day from now, and there's already a crowd of protesters with picket signs and their own cheer."

"Will it cost ya money?" Joey asked.

"I don't know exactly, but I care about your safety first. I had decided that we should cancel the rest of the tour."

"What?! But Duke-"

"Lives are in danger. I know it will make us look bad, and my company may derail, but we don't know exactly what this Richelle girl is thinking. She may even plant a bomb in the stadium."

"I'll detect them with my Red Eyes. We need to let this tour continue because if we don't, then Kane will pester me to take control because of some five thousand year old book tellin' him he's gonna die!"

"How are you so sure that going with the tour is going to keep him from dying. He could have a heart attack."

"Don't say that!" Joey slammed his fists against the water.

"Chill dude!" Tristan ordered! "Duke is just proving his point."

"You both don't get it!" Joey watched his tongue. He controlled himself before replying, "Kane is like a second father to me. He helped me get a job when I didn't want to get into the drug trade. He helped me pay for my medical bills, and didn't make social services take me. I don't care if he had a motive behind them. He was one of the people who helped me through my rough childhood..."

Duke and Tristan looked at each other, and then the CEO asked, "Has it ever occurred to you that you might be able to read that five thousand year old book."

Joey was confused by this. "What?"

"Well, you have an ancient spirit with you who can probably read the book, and it told the fate of Kane. Maybe, it has the answers that you're looking for."

Jona who was sitting with them in the hot tub possessed Joey to reply, "The book doesn't work that way. I read it before, and the part about Kane's fate to die was simply a whiff of the spellbook's power when he opened it. It's simply a book filled with powerful spells, but a majority of them demands sacrifice and blood. I was capable to create my millennium chest through my own blood and Pyhrrus strength within me. It is best that the book is kept under Kane's care, and not used unless Joey had successfully went through his ritual to permanently fuse with Red Eyes. Or do you wish to find nintey-nine souls to sacrifice?"

Duke didn't have to think on that one. "We're good. So I guess I shouldn't cancel, but if you guys change your mind, then I won't hesitate to cancel it."

Joey resumed control. "Thanks, Duke."

"Kane...You had always been there for me. Even if you had a motive behind your actions, at least you were one of the first people who saw any value in a thug like me. And because of that, I was able to meet more people who could see the value in me. Tristan, Yugi, Tea, Ryou, Mai, Mokuba, Seto...Everyone. That's why I will not take my place as heir. I don't know of whether this is really the right choice to make, but it's the safest step to take for your sake."

._._._.

Teagan sat with her father Kane in an elegant tea room. The two were enjoying their tea and finger food as they discussed on the matter of Joey and Richelle. She spoke, "Joey has this fantasy that as long as he remains far away from our family, the destiny of your death will not happen. Stupid really, but I supposed that it's the best that he can do with his limited power."

Kane chuckled, "Joey has kindness that can be questionable at times, but despite how he sees himself in the mirror, he's a good person."

"For someone having troubling with identifying himself, are you sure that he's ready to take your throne?"

"I have the feeling that what is about to come will shape him to be the perfect person for the position."

At a deserted island, a red head with lilac eyes smirk at a picture of Joey in her hand. She whispers to herself, "I will have your soul, so Zorc shall rise again by my side."

._._._.

A/N: Hoped you enjoy it. And Richelle's aiming to bring Zorc back to life! And Joey's soul is the key!

Mokuba knows about Noe now, and surprisingly, he isn't angry at all! Because he loves Seto, and he's grown up! And as tall as him! And still in love with Noe despite knowing the fact that she's Noah. He knows he found his true love. Awww.