Disclaimer in first chapter.
Chapter 4:
Joey hardly slept that night. He had searched the area once more, earlier that evening but found no traces of the teen. The next day, he waited for the other to come to class. 'Absent—of course.' He tried asking Yugi and the others about their classmate but none of them had ever heard of or seen of the person Joey was describing. At this point, the blond was highly frustrated.
"Why? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah...look um, I'm not feeling too good—I'm gonna head back sooner." Joey told as he packed his bag and draped it over his shoulder.
"Right now? We still have two periods left." Tea asked with a surprised look.
"Yeah. I'm out. See ya guys tomorrow." The blond up and left.
"He's definitely acting weird. Hope everything is okay back at home." Yugi worried.
Joey had yet to decide if he wanted to tell his friends. In other words, did he want to involve them? They didn't know the person so far, so it wasn't as if they could help much, right?
The only thing the blond was able to catch a glimpse of was a symbol on his thief's neck. He found it to be a weird tattoo at first but since his motive seemed to be stealing the Red Eyes White Dragon, there must be a deeper meaning to it. The blond needed a person who could easily track anyone; who had the resources and data to locate cards and holders... Seto Kaiba flashed in his mind once. 'Ugh... if only it was that easy.' Before he made a fool of himself in front of Kaiba, he decided to stop by Yugi's grandpa's face first. 'Hey, he also had a vast knowledge on cards and symbols...'
Joey stood outside the game shop and took a deep breath. 'Okay, I'm going to handle this pretty calmly. I'm gonna walk in, say hi and ask if he has any idea regardin' this symbol or if he'd seen my thief.'
The door to the game stop chimed and Solomon Muto looked up. "Oh hi Joey," Th old man began but nearly bounced when the blond slammed his palm on the desk.
"Gramps! I need yer help!"
"Um...yes...?"
"Do you know what this symbol means?!" Joey rummaged through his bag and took out a hand drawing of a symbol.
"Hm?" Gramps looked long and hard on the poorly sketched drawing. "No, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this, sorry."
The blond whined. "Nah it's okay...Or! How about this—have ya seen a kid about this tall, wavy indigo hair?"
"Nope, sorry again." The elder shook his head.
The teen walked out of the shop feeling more helpless than when he walked in. Looks like Seto Kaiba was his only option, and he had made up his mind to do it. He'd do anything to get the card back.
Joey went straight to Kaiba Corp., stopping by the guards first and asking to see the CEO himself.
"Do you have an appointment? What's the last name?" The guard asks.
"Wheeler. Uh, no I don't have an appointment... I just wanted to talk to him."
"I'm sorry then we cannot let you through. Please leave."
"No! I mean, come on, it's really important—and I'm not some stranger. I met Kaiba once or twice outside. He knows me, just call him."
"I'm asking you to leave."
"Oh my God..." Joey wailed as he turned away and looked through his contacts. He called up Mokuba and hoped the teen would pick up.
"Hello?" Mokuba answered.
"Mokie! It's me, Joey! I need a huge favor! Where are you right now?"
"I'm at Kaiba Corp., why?"
"Perfect! Me too! Look I really have to speak to your brother, but the guard won't let me through. I promise it's important. Can ya please let me in?"
"...I'm really going to get reprimanded by my brother for this later."
"I owe you big time! Thanks!" Joey hung up and waited. Soon enough the guard received a call and nodded his head.
"You may pass. Mr. Kaiba's office is on the highest floor." The guard told.
"Got it!" The blond ran for it.
The teen made it to the last floor and looked around for Kaiba's office. Luckily for him it wasn't very hard to find. After knocking, the younger hoped he wasn't in the middle of a meeting.
Seto was standing by the glass wall, not anticipating any guests. "Come in." He was curious to see who it was. The blond peeked his head in.
"Um, hey?"
"You?" Shock was written all over his face. "What the hell is this? Who let you in?" It was soon replaced with a grimace.
"This is important, I swear. I really need your help." Joey acted the sincerest he could.
"I don't have time for this, get out now before I call someone." The brunette averted his face.
"Kaiba please!" Joey instantly knelt on one knee, hands plastered on the carpeted floor. That gesture caught the other off-guard. "I really...need your help...I'm begging ya." He mumbled through a clenched jaw.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you."
"I said I really need your help. I don't have anyone else to turn ta." The blond shut his eyes and spoke.
"Wow, this must be highly significant—for you to beg like this." Seto crossed his arms.
"I need your help in locating a card—"
"Seriously, a card? Don't waste my time. And here I thought—"
"No, I'm serious! It may seem like just a card to ya but to me that card is my everything! I had it for as long as I can remember, okay? That card is the only thing my mother left me with... It's just like what your Blue Eyes White Dragon is to ya. And as much as I hate ta say it you're the only one that has all the intel and ability ta find it."
Seto frowned. Throwing the 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' trick almost worked on him. Nonetheless, he felt like he could relate to what the other was saying. "You're forgetting the main point here. I have better things to attend to—what advantage would I have helping you?"
"… I don't have money but ya probably don't need any anyway…I'll do whatever ya want…" Joey heard a scoff. "I mean it! I may not look it but I can do a lot!" The taller teen continued to stare holes into him. "Oh! Actually, I also have this...I was hopin' to get information on this too since this is what took it from me." Joey lifted himself and took out a paper from pocket. Unfolding it, the teen showed the other the symbol.
'That—' The brunette was astonished to see Joey having any association with that. He had been trying to track that gang for weeks now. 'And now, this mut claimed that his card was taken by this gang. If anything, he could use Joey as bait...'
"Kaiba please..." Seto stared into warm brown eyes, full of helplessness.
While the other was silent, the blond dropped his head, ready to surrender. "Where did you last see it?" He didn't believe the question at first and shot his head up.
"Huh—oh ah—at school—no I mean the alley right behind our school. This kid wanted me ta battle him and he just snatched it."
"So, you practically lose in every way possible." The brunette couldn't stifle himself.
"Very funny! So, you actually agree to help me?"
"Spare me the obvious." Seto rolled his eyes and Joey secretly laughed at that. "Hand me the symbol, this ought to speed things up. At least you're not so useless."
'This wannabe...' The younger felt like yelling but nevertheless was very grateful. "Do you know anything about this symbol?"
"One of our team members reported it, but they weren't able to draw the most accurate version of it. In the end I didn't get anywhere. But at least yours looks trustworthy." The elder explained. Joey found himself smiling at the trivial compliment. "I'm going to send this to our staff for scanning and search." He took longs strides towards the door but stopped when a pair of hands held his arm back.
He rotated his head in bewilderment to see the blond gripping him with his head low. "Er…thanks a lot for doin' this…it really means a lot ta me—I mean really a lot. I appreciate it." Seto quite truthfully, didn't know how to respond to such a situation. Unfortunately, he couldn't tease the other since the thanks felt too sincere. And…strangely enough, he didn't hate it either. "Whatever." He waved him off.
Side story:
"Hold on, I'm dying to know, how on earth did you get inside in the first place?" Seto turned around and asked before he officially stepped outside the door.
Joey gulped. "Uh, I'm already in...why do ya wanna know now...?
"Clearly because that person will be fired for not doing their job properly."
"Well isn't that a relief then, you won't be firing this one." Joey said, causing the elder to raise a brow. "I actually called Mokuba directly, heh."
"Unbelievable."
To Be Continued...
Hey~ I know this chapter is a little shorter, but I'll be back soon. Thanks for reading~ Happy 2020.