"Jounouchi is stupid enough to get used by a magician. I vote Jounouchi."
Ryou sighed and slumped forward in his seat on the opposite end of the sofa from Isono. Behind them, before them, and all around them, Seto paced in agitation. He'd been sitting placidly in the corner armchair when Ryou and Isono had entered his study, but had shot to his feet at the news they'd come bearing. Isono had suggested Ryou sit down, as Seto was prone to continue as he was now for quite a while.
"Please be serious," said Ryou. "The one working with the shadow magician could just as easily be Honda or even Yuugi. It could be Shizuka."
"You're on to something, there, Ryou," said Seto. He let out a sharp laugh like a bark. "Honda's equally if not more stupid than Jounouchi. That definitely confuses things. But which one is the one exactly stupid enough to work with a magician to threaten the world?"
"I really doubt it's a question of stupidity."
"That's because you're as much an idiot as your stupid friends are."
They'd come full circle again, back around to petty insults intended to take down the messenger within Seto's easy reach. Ryou gave up and turned to Isono, who mouthed a silent apology. He'd warned Ryou that Seto wouldn't take any of this well and to be prepared for Seto's foul mood. It felt very close to betrayal for Seto, knowing that that one of Yuugi's useless friends was trying to kill him, or drive him crazy, or whatever the hell it was they were doing. Seto was angry, and an angry Seto lashed out.
"We need to make a strategy, Mr. Kaiba," said Isono. "We need to figure out how this changes the level of the threat to you."
"Can't we just arrest them all and ship them off somewhere? Doesn't the company have facilities for that kind of thing?"
"Hey now," said Ryou.
"You dismantled the infrastructure supporting such facilities when you took over the company, sir. Such measures against corporate espionage haven't been taken in over a decade."
"Damn," said Seto with a twinge of regret. "Perhaps I was too hasty about that."
"I'm fairly certain Yuugi Mutou is not so easily disposed of anyway, Mr. Kaiba. He bears certain significance as a celebrity. His disappearance would be noted by the press."
"You have a point, Mr. Isono. I'll admit that," said Seto. He was pacing the floor between the sofa and the television now, in full view of his two-man audience. "But accidents happen all the time. Maybe we can hire some people—"
"You're not going to hurt my friends," said Ryou. "I've saved them once from evil and shadow magic. I will protect them from you."
Seto stopped his pacing and looked at Isono inquiringly. He pointed to Ryou, feigning obliviousness to Ryou's insolent glare. "Why the hell is Ryou Bakura even in my house, Mr. Isono? Do you both come in a pair now? I don't understand why two people were necessary to deliver this information when just one of you would've sufficed." He shot a hard look at Ryou. "Preferably the one of you actively in my employ and not the hanger-on."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba. It's just that he personally knows our suspects, and also a bit about shadow magic, so, I thought he might have some valuable input on our discussion."
"Ah yes, hearing him constantly complain is extremely helpful, Mr. Isono. If I feel the need to punch someone in the face on behalf of his idiot friends, he'll make an excellent candidate."
"Duly noted, sir. This is the last time I'll bring him."
"It better be, or I'll make sure it is myself."
The expression on Seto's face when he looked at Ryou again was darkly ominous. Ryou found he was suddenly exceedingly sympathetic to whoever it was in his group of friends that thought wrecking Seto Kaiba with shadow magic was a terrific idea. The only problem was that the whole world had to suffer for it, too.
"Let's think how this new information affects our approach," said Isono. "For one, we now have four potential suspects attached in some way to the shadow magician. Basically, we have a lead. How can we trace it back to the shadow magician?"
"Kidnap them and interrogate them."
Ryou sighed but held his tongue.
"We can't legally do that. Not because it's generally illegal everywhere, but actually because there's a stipulation in Yuugi Mutou's contract that his friends and family cannot be kidnapped by KaibaCorp. It's intended to prevent the company from using his loved ones as a form of leverage over him. In the event that such a thing happens, he's entitled to 30% of the company assets."
"I fucking signed off on that?"
"I believe it made sense at the time. You see, Master Mokuba had just—"
"Nevermind. I get it. What are our other options?"
"Surveillance. Check for suspicious activity. Observe your aura around the clock and compare it with data collected in the field. In a few days or a week, we ought to have it narrowed down, given the person makes considerable, trackable movements in that time."
"And then what? We can't kidnap them."
"We focus surveillance on that particular person and wait for them to lead us to the shadow magician."
"How long will that take?"
"It really depends on a lot of factors. It could take no time, or it could take months. But," here Isono hesitated. He set his face into an impassive mask before he continued, "I would highly suggest in the meantime that you cancel your upcoming charity duel with Yuugi Mutou."
Seto needed to sit down for this. He collapsed onto the sofa between Ryou and Isono, throwing his head back and staring at the ceiling, devastated and unreachable. He was physically worn out after an hour of sustained pacing and yelling at his interlocutors. Even Seto's unrestrained fury had its human limits. His breath had already shortened, though he fought against showing it.
Ryou, next to Seto, made a very obvious point of scooting away with a small sound of disgust at both how sweaty Seto was, and also in summation of Ryou's growing negative opinion of Seto as a person. Seto flipped him off without looking over.
"What do you mean cancel the duel?" asked Seto, making sure he'd heard that right. He shut his eyes to better process what it was Isono was telling him as Isono began to explain.
"Participating in a duel, sir, any public duel, puts you at considerable risk. It'd be an easy matter for the shadow magician to buy a ticket and get near enough to you to cast a spell. Perhaps the magician is waiting for just such an event to make a move? Plus, Yuugi's friends are likely to attend, and whatever function one of them serves is bound to take affect around you. Too many dangerous elements have the potential to converge."
"Limit the audience, then. Televise it instead. I'm not canceling the duel."
"There's still no guarantee that the magician won't infiltrate the camera crew. And also, you know Yuugi's friends always find a way to get into every duel in which Yuugi participates. It'll be impossible to keep them out."
Seto clasped his hands and brought his head forward, still not opening his eyes. He let out a heavy sigh. Ryou was amazed to realize that Seto was seriously considering whether or not a duel was worth whatever shadow spell was coming for him. Like it was an actual decision he was permitted to make. Like he just might go through with the duel anyway because dueling Yuugi was infinitely more important than the fate of the entire world.
"I'll consider it," said Seto, though it sounded as if he were already done considering it. It sounded as if the duel would still go on.
Ryou now seriously began to think about how best to spend his last days before Seto Kaiba willingly allowed shadow magic to destroy the damn world.