Disclaimer: Well, why not? *puffs chest up proudly… and gets tackled by thirty-eight lawyers*

Look the Other Way

Yuki: =^_^=

(Translation: Since PM-chan is in hiding, here are the notes for this chapter.)

Yuki: =^_^=

(Translation: This chapter takes place on Sunday.)

Yuki: =^_^=

(Translation: It is entirely in Seto-sama's POV.)

Yuki: =^_^=

(Translation: There are, including this chapter, four more chapters of this story.)

Yuki: =^_^=

(Translation: Enjoy, mina-sama!)

Yami: Why are you calling him 'Seto-sama'? I thought you knew better.

Yuki: =^_^=

(Translation: Hee!)

        First of all, I must thank everyone for their patience. I realize that it was rather… um… evil of me to leave off there, but I just had to concentrate on my grades. And it really paid off. I got my first straight-A report card and my parents are finally off my back….

        Anyhow, then there are the usual thank you's. Many thanks to rayemars-san for her beta-reading, and of course… the dreaded paragraph!

        Thanks to Bronze Eagle (^_^ Hope you did well on your final projects!), Steph-hime (Fluff… umm… *smiles sheepishly* Oops?), LFangor (*makes a little Chaseshipping flag and waves it all around…* Whee!), Ninetails (*hug* Thanks for the plushies! *steals back the Ryuuji doll and has him do a little strip dance for Seto and Honda plushies* Whee! ^.^), Shamanic Guardian Lena (*grins* About ten? *gets smacked by Neko-baka-chan-chan's FPoD), Shenya (Supposedly, it's a concept called cliffhangers… Terry Brooks does it a LOT and makes me wait for about eight months to find out what happens. *FROTH and stalks author* I wanna know what happened to my favorite character, damn it!), yukoma (*nods* He isssss… *hugs Death*), Wildwolf (BakaKaiba and now BakaRyou… you better be careful of BakaCharacters are going to be coming after us! *gets dragged away by BakaYami* KYAAAAA!), *i n c o h e r e n t* (Yami no Bakura *preens*: See? I am funny? PM: *backs away* Just because you're funny doesn't mean you get to ask me if you cause my small intestines for playing jump rope!!), Ishizu Sango Halliwell (Ryou: Poor Seto? What about ME?! PM: You're the one who's leaving…), dani (How could I? Well… *grins* I got it in my head, and then I typed it… and then… *gets knocked unconscious by Ryuuji*), fani90 (*pout* But after this story, I have other ones! *waves stories in front of your face* You do not want Seto to kill meeeeeeee…), Ashrui chan (*gives you a bandaid in case you have bruises… a bandaid with little chibi Ryou's and Seto's), loanshark (XD I ended it like that deliberately to cause you all pain… *cackles before choking and collapsing*), AmunRa (*ruffles Mami's hair* Don't worry… I'll introduce her to a conscience sooner or later… *grin*), shini-kuma (Aww… *hands you a tissue), Shetan (*stares blankly at the note ashes before whimpering* Help…), C.M Aeris Queen of Insanity (XD *veryyyyy amused*), Angel-Belle (:P I hope I don't dissapoint on my tests… I might actually get an A in English! *crosses fingers*), ChildofMidnight (I like long reviews. *grin* Share, share! *plops down on ground with chibi eyes*), cheesepuff (Ryou: I am not difficult! *LOUD COUGHS*), TidBits (XD It's called irony… I think? :P), pondogirl (Don't worry, it's not the end! Still have 4 more chapters including this one to go! Plenty of time to kill someone off… uh… I mean get them back together!), Screwy Seven Number Four (What's an IRL? ^^;;; Sorry… my brain is kaput…), Blondie the Black Sheep (Ryou doesn't look as good with bruises… XD Now ribbons though…), Sam Bakura (Who is this therapy for? Ryou or me? XD I think I need it…), The Evil Laugh (Yeah… the drink killed off his mental facilities. I tried to tell myself that Ryou's been thinking about this for a while… 'course, I'm probably lying but I'm just gonna pretend anyway. XD And don't say you can't write! That's negative thinking!), rachiru-rebonu (^^;; Gomen, gomen! I hope this makes up for the wait…), treana (^_^ They'll get together sooner or later… promise!), and Fate (Sadist you say? XD) for their reviews! *hug*

        A note… I lost about four reviews (I don't know how…), so I apologize to those people. ::^_^:: And a side note to Neko-baka-chan-chan… where are youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu? *poke pester* XD

~ Flight ~

        "… Seto?"

        "Mami," I growl softly as I tighten my grip on her wrist. "We need to talk."

        "There is nothing to talk about," she hisses as she tries to wrench her arm away. But I hold her firmly, and I am not willing to let her get away from this. I am not going to let her do this to Ryou without some type of dire consequence. Dire consequence that goes something along the lines of a slow, extremely painful death.

        "There is a lot to talk about. Now do you want to do this voluntarily or am I going to have to drag you to my car?"

        "I could scream," she threatens, but the threat is weak. There is already defeat in her green eyes… I know her much too well not to see it.

        "Look," I take a deep breath as I try to be patient. Try being the key word, especially since I have a feeling that I am going to fail. "I just want to know what you did to Ryou."

        The defeat is immediately replaced by a new emotion: anger. Again, she pulls away and I let her, satisfied that she isn't going to be going anywhere. That is simply the type of person she is… unable to resist temptation. Temptation, in this case, of finally being able to get back at me for everything I have done for her.

        A part of me does indeed understand that what I did to her was wrong. But the rest of me is constantly reminding that part of her voluntary involvement in this situation, so I cannot blame myself. Well, I rarely do anyway… but it is a source of back-up in case my mind decides to malfunction and drop some unneeded guilt into my lap.

        "I did nothing to him that hasn't already been done to him by you," she snaps as she points a finger at my face. It is supposed to be threatening, but from her it is usually nothing more than comical. Comical in a pathetic way, of course. And even though I have already told her that, she still doesn't stop doing it.

        "I'm not in the mood for jokes, Mami," I growl. "What kind of answer is that?"

        She smiles, a sardonic little smile that I want to rip off her face.

        "It's the truthful answer, Seto." There is a pause as she prepares for her next attack. I should stop her, but at the same time I'm interested in what she is going to say. Interested in what excuses she so desperately wants to spoon feed me with.

        "I told him the truth."

        I lose my temper before I can control myself, "What the hell are you talking about?! You did not do any such thing… how could you possibly have told him the truth?!"

        "I told the only truth that you've been too blind to see!" she snaps back, her voice loud and very much high-pitched. It makes me want to cringe but I somehow control myself.

        She stands there, her green eyes full of hate and anger. The way she looks at me reminds me suspiciously of the way I tend to look at her, and I cannot help but be mildly surprised that I dislike the feeling greatly.

        "And what was the truth, pray tell?" I ask sarcastically as soon as we are both calm enough to continue.

        She fixes me with a look of pure surprise, "Haven't you figured it out yet, Seto?"

        "If I had known the answer all along, would I be wasting my brain cells and breath to be asking you what it is?" I practically bark back, somewhat like a rabid dog.

        "And to think that I used to believe that you spoke to me because you liked the sound of my melodious voice," she quips back as her hands smooth out the wrinkles of her skirt.

        "Save the sarcasm, will you? I asked you a question and I don't need a fifteen hour laughfest or lecture. All I want to know is what you said so we can go back to having our own lives."

        "And why do you even care?" Mami shoots back. "You could never be bothered to see me after the divorce; I always had to come to you! Why do you care what I have to say now?"

        "Because it affects me. It affected somebody I love. Why can't you understand that your actions have consequences for people other than yourself? You hurt him, and I would just like to know what you said that made him this way!"

        "So you only care about me when I affect you. Funny… it's a really good incentive to making me want to speak to you, Seto."

        "I'm not offering you a choice."

        "Oh, like that ever worked." Her lip curls back in an ugly sneer, and I really wonder what could possibly have possessed me to marry this demon. Except, I already know that answer….

        I just don't like it.

        "I told him that he didn't have a chance of getting back together with you."

        "What?!"

        She glares at me, "As if that is any big secret."

        "You told him that I would never get back together with him. You told him even though I have been waiting so long in order to tell him that I wished none of this ever happened? You—"

        "Oh, I told him something that he already knew. I told him something that I already knew, that he already knew, that everybody already knew except for you. I told him the truth and the reason why you won't accept it is because you won't look beyond your nose and see what's been staring at you in the face.

        "You left him, Seto. You caused all of this. You had a choice, and you made it. You tell me that I have to live with the consequences of my actions? What do you think I've been doing every day of my life since you left! I've been living with the consequences of my absolute stupidity in ever agreeing to marry you. And that's what you have been doing to yourself… and him. You've both been living with what happened because of your decision. You can't blame that on anyone else, Seto. You can't turn around and say that somebody made you do it because nobody made you do it. Nobody told you that you had to break up with him. That is nothing more than a figment of your overactive imagination that you would like to blame on the whole world. Well, guess what? You can't do that anymore.

        "So there's no point in blaming me for what you have caused, Seto."

        Silence follows her last statement, and I can only stare at her in awe of her… something. It's as if she has completely overwhelmed me and I cannot do anything about it.

        I hate feeling this way. I never feel this way.

        ….

        Is this how you feel, Ryou?

        It's not surprising that the first thing my mind should fall upon is my white-haired koi, especially since I have always lectured you about being so submissive to the wills of others. It's one of the things that drew me to you… this need to modify that so that you could stand up for yourself for a change. So that you could be your own person.

        But now that you're finally doing that… finally asserting your own will… why is it that the only thing I want to do is hold you back so that you will stay here with me?

        "Do you remember… when I asked you to agree that all of this was your fault?" she suddenly asks, very softly.

        I don't hesitate in my reply, "Yes."

        After all, what is the point of lying about something that we both know the answer to? There really is no point, and I'm not going to waste my time playing games. Especially with Okajima Mami.

        I have the suspicion that it is already too late for that though.

        "Do you know why I asked you that?"

        "Am I supposed to?" I bite back.

        "Yes," Mami scowls angrily. "You should. Sometimes, you make me believe that maybe you acknowledge the fact that you are responsible for everything that has happened. Sometimes, you fool me enough to entertain the possibility that you are trying to make up for what you have done. But then you just open your mouth and everything goes flying out the window like throwing a rock at a bird.

        "It's your fault any of this happened, and it's going to be your fault when it happens again. So what if I was trying to warn him? Sure, I was doing it out of spite, out of hate and jealousy. I'm fine admitting that I hate him, that I'm jealous of him, that I wish he could go to hell and stop bothering me. Apparently, being in America isn't far enough away, so maybe he has to drop off the face of this planet before you stop thinking about him. But it'd probably be easier to just brainwash you into never thinking about him for all the good that being on a different continent does to you. But just because I hate him doesn't mean that I wasn't trying to warn him too. Warning him was probably the best thing I could have done for him, compared with everything else I should and would have done if I had the chance.

        "You lost him, Seto. You lost the best thing that ever could have happened to you so how could you ever get it back if you were stupid enough to lose it the first time? It's absolutely ridiculous how you think. You think that the world is so kind that all you have to do is apologize and he'll come crawling back into your arms? Even he is not that pathetic. He's pathetic, all right, but nobody is that pathetic. Except maybe you.

        "How do you do it? You claim to be so pragmatic, yet you're just a foolish, idealistic romantic at heart. You look for things that are never going to be there. You're like Don Quixote or some ridiculous idiot like that! What the hell is wrong with you?

        "I. Did. Him. A. Favor."

        She finally stops, falling back slightly as she breaths heavily from the exertion she suffers due to her… speech. And I stand there, stoically, as I watch her.

        Part of me wants to hit her. The rest wonders how much of what she said was true.

        "You're wrong," I finally state. Calmly. Without emotion.

        She laughs.

        "I'm wrong?" she asks slowly, as if I am hard of hearing. "I'm wrong? Now there's a joke if I ever heard one. And to think that you have just spent all this time accusing me of making jokes. Now look who's talking, Kaiba Seto."

        "No. You are wrong. And I am going to prove it to you."

        She laughs again, a thin, bitter laugh.

        "And should we take bets on how long it will last this time?"

        I slap her.

        To give her credit, she doesn't shriek when I do so. But then again, I could have hit her a lot harder than I did… a lot harder. Her hand flies up to her cheek, her eyes filled with disbelief at what I have just done.

        My shoulders are shaking in rage but I can't help but regret what I have just done. I guess that it really isn't her fault that all this is happening… it's mine as well. And although I hate what she has said… it's in her right to believe it. And not all of it is wrong… some of it is very much off, but not all of it.

        She has also, in a twisted way, given me what I needed most.

        Incentive.

        I stare at her in an almost detached way. Her cheek is starting to turn red from the slap, but I barely take note of it as my mind continues to contemplate what has just happened. Incentive. Incentive to prove her wrong, to show her that she cannot be right about this. Not this time.

        It might strike me as odd that Mami, of all people, should be the one helping me make my decision. I can't really tell if it's intentional or not, but I have a feeling that it isn't. Although I sometimes have the feeling that she really does have some semblance of feelings for me, it's not enough to make me believe that she would intentionally do something that would benefit me.

        Mami is now staring at her hand, looking at it as if it had just fallen off and she is trying to figure out how to reattach it back on. There are some tears in her eyes, probably from the shock rather than any pain, but I can't be sure of that. None of them have been shed, and I have a feeling that they never will.

        If she had cried, would I feel more sympathetic?

        "… Gomen," I finally apologize gruffly. And maybe a part of me actually meant it. I will never know that for sure.

        She doesn't respond, still staring at her hand with wonder in her brown-green eyes.

        "I'll be going now then." Meimi should be home by now and I want to see her as soon as possible. I have the feeling that we are going to need to talk before I pursue this matter further.

        She still doesn't respond.

        It isn't until I turn and am starting to walk away when I hear her voice ask quietly, pathetically, "Did you ever love me?"

        I pause, standing there. I don't bother to look back at her, for what is the point? She's not looking at me, and even if I looked at her it would do no good to anybody. Not me, not her, not anybody. So there is no point in wasting my energy to do something that will never make a difference.

        "Does it matter?"

        "Just answer the question for once in your life, Seto."

        I sigh slowly, trying to figure out what would be the right thing to say. And finally, I answer truthfully, "Yes."

        "When?"

        "When you gave me Meimi," I reply as I turn around to look at her. She nods, but she doesn't look up at me ever.

        "Okay. I can live with that. I'll have to, anyway. It's not like I have a choice in the matter."

        "Heh," is my only reply as again I turn to walk away.

        This time, she doesn't stop me.

~ * ~

        My eyebrow quirks slightly and I feel a small smile on my lips as I watch Meimi's attempts at hanging up the wall poster you gave her. She likes it very much, as it is Saint Tail and we all know about my little obsession with that manga. Part of it has rubbed onto Meimi, just short of her trying to go out to solve crime.

        Unfortunately, Meimi is too short to hang up the poster without help, and she's too stubborn to ask for help or at the very least get a chair to stand on. So she keeps jumping up and down in an attempt to jump high enough to get the poster's hooks on the thumb tacks that somebody must have put up for her.

        "Meimi?" I smirk as I walk into the room.

        "Just a second!" she replies as she continues trying to hang up the poster. "I've almost got it!"

        "You know, if you waited a couple more years maybe you'll be tall enough to do that on your own," I reply as I quickly take the wall scroll before she can hurt herself. With little effort, I hook it onto the tacks and stand back to look at Meimi, who is now scowling at me.

        "I would have gotten it eventually," she mutters as she sticks her tongue out at me.

        "I'm sure you would have," I acknowledge, as I happen to know she can be very resourceful. Regardless, I sit down and she immediately climbs into my lap.

        "There's something I need to talk to you about."

        "Am I in trouble?"

        I immediately grow suspicious. "Is there something you should be in trouble for?"

        She immediately pales and backtracks, "No. Definitely not. I was just… uh… making sure?"

        "Right…."

        "Mm… so what were you going to talk about, tousama?" Meimi's eyes are wide with anticipation, and I search carefully for the right words. I can't help but feel slightly nervous; after all, this is a rather big deal and I really can't afford to mess up anymore. I honestly do not want to lose you.

        It never fails to strike me that even after eight years of separation, I still need to speak to you as if you are constantly by my side. It is almost as if you are my conscience, and I can't do anything without having your opinion first. Although these days, I can never tell what your opinion is going to be because you've been changing so much. In some ways, I can't help but be proud of this. You're not so meek anymore, although I should be used to change. Ever since we got together, you finally gained a will.

        I smile, distantly, and Meimi frowns, "Tousama?"

        "Hmm?"

        "What do you want to talk about?"

        … oops. I'm usually not this absent-minded, but I guess I am a bit distracted. I have a lot on my mind… mainly you, but that is a lot.

        My plan seems pretty simple, although I know that it is going to be anything but easy. Especially considering how anything concerning you always manages to become difficult. Not that I'm blaming you… it can just become rather frustrating, to say the least.

        I take in a deep breath and finally say, "Family."

        "Family?" Meimi looks confused as she repeats what I have just said. "What about it?"

        "What would you think of adding another member?"

        "Are we adopting Jyounouchi-san as a dog?" she suggests with a small smirk. I can't help but laugh at her statement, even though I know she doesn't mean it at all.

        "If only, but I don't think Mai and Takuya would appreciate that very much," I reply as I ruffle her hair affectionately. "Any other guesses?"

        "You're adopting somebody and I'm going to have a new sibling?"

        "That is the most random suggestion I have ever heard."

        "It always happens on TV."

        "So does that mean I should be cutting down on your TV time?"

        "Uh… no?"

        I love the bantering but I suppose that it isn't the time to be doing that. Especially since I only have another week to get this all resolved, and I don't want to waste any more time than I already have.

        "Meimi… you remember Ryou-san, right?"

        "Uh huh?"

        Admittedly, I am more than a little nervous. After all, what happens if Meimi is less than receptive with my… idea, I guess is the right way to term it. I can't force her to accept the fact that I want to find my old lover who ran off because of what I did to her eight years ago. What happens if she isn't comfortable?

        "What did you think of him?"

        "Uh…" Oh Kami-sama, I hate it when she does this 'uh' thing. She knows it annoys me and she keeps doing it. I think it's something she picked up from her mother…. "Why?"

        "I asked first, so you have to answer first," I reply simply.

        She scowls but it doesn't last long as she smiles brightly, "So are we going to be adopting him as my older brother?"

        "Meimi…."

        "Another father?" she looks at me sweetly, and I immediately know that there's a hell of a lot more going in her mind than she is letting on.

        I give her a stern look as I poke her lightly in the arm, "You have some explaining to do, Meimi."

        "Uh…."

        "Please stop doing that."

        She grins before climbing off my lap and running to the desk. A few minutes of fruitless rummaging makes me think that Otogi had a point when he started doing his own housekeeping. At least that feminine miser is always able to find what he is looking for… something that Meimi is apparently having problems doing right now.

        As I am off in my private dream world, Meimi suddenly reappears by handing me a photograph. It's not one of my own… but I recognize the scene immediately.

        It's the auction house. [1]

        I can't help but smile slightly as I look at the picture. It was, more or less, the first time I ever kissed Ryou and actually meant it that time too. Well, I meant it every time… but this time was different. We were alone, and we didn't have to do it. There really was no reason, as he was still under the impression that the whole situation was still me trying to get rid of Emi. But we still did it anyway, and it remains a fond memory. It was almost like the beginning of an actual relationship, as if we were finally starting to find something.

        I think it was then that I really realized that I wasn't going to be able to make this all go away when the week ended. Not when I was able to do this… when I wanted to do this.

        Suddenly, I frown as I look up at Meimi, who is watching me innocently.

        "Where did you get this picture?" I ask in a monotone voice.

        Perhaps if it was one of the pictures that I kept, I wouldn't be concerned. After all, she could have just found it on her own… and that would be the end of that. But this… I have never seen this in my life. And as mentioned in my oh-so-well organized thoughts, no one was supposed to be around there.

        So who could have taken the picture? Not to mention given it to Meimi, of course, but I figure with one answer the other will eventually come.

        "Uh…" Meimi's smile immediately drops off her face as she backs away. "A little birdy gave it to me?"

        "Try again."

        She grimaces as she gives me a pleading look, "Please don't hurt him?"

        "Why would I hurt him?" I reply. She gives me a disbelieving look and I suppose that she has a point there. I probably am going to hurt that person… as soon as I find out who he is.

        "… Ojisan."

        "Mokuba?!"

        "Uh… hai!" she chirps.

        "When?"

        "A couple of months ago."

        "… You've known all this time?"

        "Yes?"

        Well, I'm sure you're going to have a ball with this. I can just imagine your face as soon as you find out… you'll probably shriek, especially since you're still not used to witnesses when we get cozy with each other. And with this one… your face turned so red when Kohno [2] found us. His face was pretty red too, but he managed to keep his composure (somewhat) and drive us home without getting into an accident.

        "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

        She doesn't reply immediately, although her brow furrows, a sign that she is thinking hard. And finally, when she hits on the right words, she looks up at me.

        "You're… you're always so sad when you see him. You have a picture of him on your desk and you always look sad when you see it. I didn't want to hurt you."

        For a minute, I can't say anything. She's watching me, carefully, and I can't help but suddenly sputter, "You knew… you knew all along when you found him at the department store, didn't you?"

        "Not really… I just knew he looked like him," she cuddles close to me cautiously. "I didn't know until I saw you look at him…."

        "You… don't mind?"

        She looks at me, oddly, "Should I? I mean, I know I don't know him very well but he is always so nice to me and you are always so happy when he's with you…."

        I suppose that's one benefit of having Honda and Otogi as friends… she's used to them. She doesn't even question them, although I wouldn't have been surprised if she had.

        If I looked in the mirror right now, I'm sure I would scare myself because I can feel myself beaming. Beaming. I don't usually smile like this, as I prefer a small, restrained smile. But right now I am smiling so much that I feel like my face is going to break if I don't stop.

        "Shouldn't you get going?" Meimi interrupts, her face set in a small scowl. But her eyes are twinkling, and it ruins the affect. Perhaps I will have to train her in how to scowl and not really mean it without giving it away… but that's a different story for a different time.

        "Yes," I reply as I move to get up. But before I can do so, she embraces me tightly. And again I find myself smiling as I hug her back.

        "Ganbatte na [3], tousama."

~ * ~

        "He what?!"

        I cannot believe this. I just cannot believe this at all.

        How can you be gone?

        Otogi looks decidedly uncomfortable… as he should, since I have backed him into a corner and he has no way of escaping. My hands are clenched into fists and if I do not calm down soon, somebody is going to be hurt.

        "He went back to America, Kaiba," Otogi repeats. He is trying to be calm but I can tell that he isn't, especially from the nervous twitch when I take a step closer to him.

        "When?" I demand even though I more or less know the answer already. When else could it have been? I'm not stupid, and I prefer to be realistic.

        "Last night. Hiroto and I drove him to the airport."

        "You just let him go?!" I scream, despite myself.

        "Well, what else was I supposed to do?! Tie him to the bed and wait for you to come pick him up?!" Otogi screeches right back as he throws his arms up in the air. He is obviously exasperated, as am I. "I tried, all right? But there's only so much I can do to change his mind. He has a right to make his own decisions, even if I don't like them! I couldn't force him to stay, just like you couldn't."

        The last statement is more calmly pronounced, although there is still a hint of hysteria behind it. Otogi seems to get hysterical quite easily, much to my amusement. I don't know how he manages it, but he always blows things completely out of proportion and as a result, overreacts. He tries to act calm, but it's just not in his nature.

        Still, his words are sticking. This day has been rather overwhelming, from Mami's words to Meimi and now even Otogi. I would not be at all surprised if there was some greater force at work here… somebody who has much too much time on his or her hands and is now out to mess around with the lives of us mere mortals.

        I breathe in and out slowly as I try to get my mind organized. How is it that I have managed to let you slip out of my fingers again? I came here looking for you but you're already gone, and I have no idea how to find you. By this time, you're probably already home and there's nothing I can do about it.

        "Kaiba?" Otogi asks cautiously. I look down at him, almost blankly and still in a state of shock. How am I ever going to be able to correct my mistake this time?

        "What?"

        "I don't know where he lives…" he starts carefully. And I want to scream, shake him, and demand to know why he bothered to bring this up if he isn't going to be of any help.

        "But I know somebody who does."

~ * ~

        And, of course, that person just has to be the bonkotsu duelist. The bonkotsu duelist, who I will have to waste time to pry the necessary information from, and is currently standing in front of me with a look of disgust on his face.

        Since I did not even have to ring the doorbell before the door opens, I look down at him before asking as casually as I can considering everything that has happened, "Otogi called you, didn't he?"

        Jyounouchi scowls as he leans against the door frame, "And he told me what you wanted."

        "So are you going to tell me?"

        "Should I?"

        I am going to beat my head against the wall. Or at the very least, break his skull. That would probably be the better choice, as it will make me feel a lot better.

        I growl softly, trying to keep from losing my temper. It's a close call though, and we both know it. The smirk on his face reminds me suspiciously for Mami's expression when I found her, and the similarity is less than encouraging.

        "Yes, you should."

        "You have to give me a reason more than that, Kaiba."

        "You never asked for one before," I snap back. He doesn't react to that, so I continue, "You never asked for a reason when you 'invited' me to all those little outings you planned for Ryou's arrival. Don't think that I didn't notice that… so why would you need a reason now when you didn't need one before?"

        Jyounouchi shrugs slightly as he glares at me, "I didn't do that for you, Kaiba. I did it for him. And you must have screwed up again because he isn't here anymore."

        He is right, loath am I to admit it. What do you think of that, Ryou? I am admitting to the zako that he is right… luckily for me, he cannot hear my thoughts so my pride is not damaged too badly.

        "Just give me his address, Jyounouchi. That's all I want from you."

        "Why? So you can hurt him again?" he shakes his head and I have to control myself from making a hole in his front door by using his head as a battering ram. "No deal."

         I have a raging headache coming on, and my temper is about to snap. "What do you want me to do then, Jyounouchi? What do you want me to do to persuade you to give me the information that I need?"

        He's silent for a moment, as he mulls over my question. If he gives me any crap, I swear I'll kill him. Well, first I will pry that address out of his lifeless hands and then I'll kill him.

        Then again… you wouldn't like that, would you Ryou? You have some fond affection for Jyounouchi that I can't understand… you claim he is like an older brother to you. A really annoying older brother, that is. You already have one older brother, and he is nosy enough, so why do you need another? They're both quite similar, if you ask me. Although I still find Jyounouchi the more annoying of the two.

        "You know I dislike you a lot, Kaiba. It's not just some grudge; I really do dislike you. And during that week when the two of you 'got' together? I couldn't believe that you would ever do such a thing. I figured it was just a nasty plan that would eventually hurt Bakura while you walked away clean. So it was weird when he was so happy because of that week. I'd never seen him that happy before… so I didn't bother him about it anymore after that.

        "And at the same time, I have never seen him as depressed as the times you left him. You hurt him so much, you know? You think you know that but you don't know exactly how much you hurt him. How would you feel if you were rejected by the person you loved? Imagine if Mokuba came along and told you that he didn't want you to be his brother anymore. That's how much you hurt him.

        "Imagine eight years of that, Kaiba. Is it any wonder that I'm having problems doubting you? You could have ended this at any time, you know. You didn't have to wait for one of us to drag Bakura here… you could have just gone to America. You could afford it. But you just put all that aside and never bothered to do anything.

        "And yet I still tried to help the two of you when Bakura came." He rolls his eyes as he shakes his head. "I admit that it wasn't really my idea… it was Anzu's. You know her… she's convinced that with a little nudge, you two would be sitting in front of the sunset again, holding hands.

        "But she had a point. Bakura was happiest when he was with you, and he was saddest when he wasn't. And so if the only way to make him happy again was to get him together with you, then I was going to help him. Because that's what friends do, Kaiba. They put aside their differences and help each other. I don't know if you ever figured that out, but that's not the point. The point is that is why I helped you. It was never for you… you could rot and go to hell for all I could care. But if you did, Bakura wouldn't be happy anymore. And neither would Meimi, or Mokuba, or any of those people who have managed to care for you despite everything.

        "So…" he holds his hands up in a surrender position, "all I'm saying is that if I'm giving you that address, then you had better do things right this time. You've hurt him enough times, and I'm not going to help you do that again. You better make it up to him… you better go to him. Don't make him come to you again."

        "You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you?"

        "For eight years, more or less."

        I don't give him my answer immediately, even though I know what it is going to be. I suppose I should be grateful to him… after all, he's giving me a chance to get you back. Isn't that odd, Ryou? That Jyounouchi, of all people, should be helping me find you when he did everything in his power to keep us apart in our university years.

        I had always wondered if it would have been better if he succeeded. We would both be better off, wouldn't we? Well, at least you would….

        I think that it's time to put those thoughts away though.

        With that, I smirk and hold my hand out to Jyounouchi.

        "Give me the address, make inu."

~ * ~

        Five minutes later, I am back in the car and between yelling at Yamashiro to drive to the airport and putting on my seat belt, I manage to get my cell phone open and call Meimi.

        "Moshi moshi?"

        "Meimi?" I ask, confused. It is a female voice but it does not sound like Meimi. I have called her over the cell phone before and this definitely does not sound like her.

        It sounds more like…

        "Iie, Seto," the person laughs. "It's Aoko."

        "Aoko? What are you doing there?"

        "Hi, niisama!" a bright voice suddenly interrupts, and I groan as I realize that my personal baby-sitter/matchmaker fairy has decided to drop in. Currently, I can't decide whether I should be pleased that Mokuba is there or if I should kill him for giving Meimi the picture.

        "Mokuba… would you mind explaining me what is going on?"

        "Depends… when's the wedding?"

        I twitch, as I growl warningly, "Mokuba…."

        "A little after you left, Meimi called us. That was quite irresponsible of you, niisama, leaving your daughter all alone and unattended."

        "I was going to call you." Great, just great. I'm being lectured by my baby brother. This is just fabulous.

        "I'm sure you were," Mokuba replies patiently. "Are you coming back? With Bakura? I told him he had my approval to get back together with you, niisama. See? I wasn't that far off."

        "Mokuba," I interrupt. "Ryou went back to America."

        There is a long stretch of silence before Mokuba finally squeaks, "Oh. But then…."

        "I'm going to the airport."

        "Ohhh," his voice is a lot brighter now. "And I assume he'll be coming back with you then?"

        "I can't drag him back here, Mokuba. It's up to him… although I hope that he will."

        "Me too, tousama!" Meimi chirps. I can't help but smile… if only you could see this right now. It's rather strange, but at the same time heart-warming.

        "Use your famous niisama charm!" Mokuba suggests oh-so-helpfully. I hope he doesn't know about how well my 'famous niisama's charm' has been working lately… especially since you ran off the last time I tried it. "I'm sure everything is going to work out fine."

        "And if it doesn't?" I smirk. There's a lightness within me that is refusing to go away, despite the gravity of this situation. After all, nothing is concrete… and I don't know how well you will take me suddenly showing up on your front step without any warning whatsoever.

        "Well, then we will ask Yami to lend us his handcuffs," Aoko replies matter-of-factly, as if that is the normal thing to do. Meimi giggles, and I wonder exactly how much she has been corrupted in the past couple of minutes.

        Hopefully, though, it's not going to come down to that. Hopefully, everything will turn out all right and I will find you without any hassle.

        You told me, Ryou, that all of this was going to end when you went back to America. But I'm not going to let that happen. I asked you, remember? I asked you why it hurt so much for us to be apart if it wasn't right.

        You never gave me an answer… instead, you just looked away. But were you going to give me an answer? Were you even able to?

        I need to know. I'm not letting this go without a fight… I'm not letting you slip away again. I should never have let that happen the first time, but I can't do anything about that.

        The best I can do right now is find you… and we'll see where we go from there.        

Notes:

[1] Reference to chapter 7 of "Fairydust", where Seto and Ryou ended up making out in front of the auction house. I chose this incident because I wanted to show what Seto was thinking during their first make-out session. XD

[2] I finally felt guilty and gave the driver a last name. A first name is still waiting… *first name jumps out and tackles PM, biting her arm* ITAIIIIIII!

[3] Go for it.

PM: See? He is going after Ryou… so no need to kill the authoress! *waves spooky fingers* You will NOT kill the authoress… you will NOT kill the authoress….

Yami *tries to kill PM*

PM: KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! *ducks behind a tree* And BTW, for those of you who haven't seen, Nephthys-san and I are writing a collaboration under the pen name BriscoNLogan (*hides from Nalan-san!!*) titled Hanekaeri. It's a Seto/Ryou, Honda/Ryuuji fic… and go check it out if you have time! And if you can figure out what the BriscoNLogan means (without checking the story/profile first), you get a… err… a kiss from Yami-kun!

Yami: Say what?

PM: Please, Yami?

Yami: No.

PM: I'll give you a cookie.

Yami: NO.

PM: I'll give you another Yuki?

Yami: How dare you try to replace Yuki!

PM: Well, considering how Black Magician is aquanting him with a pair of scissors, I'd say he's going to need replacing if you don't do something soon.

Yami *screams and runs away to save Yuki*

PM: Keehee….

Pikachumaniac