Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the original work of Kazuki Takahashi. Only this fan fiction is mine.

Chapter 4 A TIE THAT BINDS (a side story)

The sun is already starting to set and darkness is slowly starting to fall. Most of the students of Domino High have already gone home by this time, which is just what he, Joey Wheeler, wanted. He would usually go to the rooftop to spend most of his free time and waits there for hours after classes were over before going home. It is now time to go home, suddenly remembering that he promised his sister that he would fetch her from the orphanage today. Serenity will be doing some volunteer work there.

He was nearing the orphanage when he saw two boys jumping on someone (which might be a girl due to that long, shiny black hair) and pulling her into a narrow and dark alley besides the orphanage building.

Alarmed, he decided to follow them to ensure that the girl will be unharmed. Despite not hearing any screams, he saw that the girl was warding off the advances of the two boys. Maybe he could surprise them and scare the boys into running off to avoid fighting.

Mokuba has had a terrible day today. Not that the time he spent at the orphanage had been terrible. It was actually kind of fun, meeting Serenity and playing with the boys. It was just that his throat has been bothering him all day. And when something bothers him, he tends to forget everything else around him. Now he's into this mess because he hadn't been careful enough.

He knew that shouting wouldn't help him in this case since his voice is now near to nothing. The best he could do was to ward off his attackers and possibly run away from them. It didn't help matters that the two boys were bigger than him. They easily dragged him into this dark alley and started touching him.

Being protected by his brother all his life, he was surprised by this attack on his person. Of course he knew about males molesting males, he watches the television after all, but he hasn't experienced anything like this before. No amount of punching or slapping could help him now, not when there are two of them ganging up on him. He wanted to faint to escape this nightmare when he heard a loud voice behind them.

'What do you think you're doing? Unhand her, you punks!'

He made quick work of those two, Mokuba thought when he saw that the boys are now unconscious after being subdued. His body could not stop quivering because of what had just happened and he looked up into the worried face of his rescuer.

'Don't worry; I am here to save you. Come with me now.'

His arms are strong, just like onii-sama's, Mokuba thought. I haven't been held like this by anyone for a long time, not even my big brother. Such a nice feeling, I feel quite safe, as if that scene before had been just a bad dream. Although there must have been something wrong with his hearing earlier, did he really hear him tell those boys to unhand her? Her who?

Joey carried the girl with him back to his house, which is just nearby. They would hide there for a while, and then he would call for the girl's parents later when the area is a bit safe. He tried to calm her down, offering her some tea.

'Hey, I was wondering why I didn't hear you screaming back there. Your voice gone or something?'

He saw her motioning to her throat and thought that she might have some kind of a vocal problem. She can still talk though but just barely, and he tried to move closer to hear her say the name 'Mokuba'.

'Mokuba? Isn't that a boy's name? Oh!'

And why the hell do I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks? Was it because I thought of him as a girl at first? Well, it's not like he has done a big mistake, he thought, Mokuba can be mistaken for a girl when you look at him. Which made him blush even more.

'Umm, maybe we should change your shirt eh,' pointing out to Mokuba's torn shirt, just to get his mind off the topic. He scrambled out and got one of his shirts so that Mokuba could change his. It didn't help him at all that the boy was silently laughing at his antics. They spent most of the time afterwards in silence.

But, Joey thought, this doesn't feel bad, just sitting here saying nothing. Lately I found myself liking my solitude more and more, but having someone with you during this kind of time also feels nice. A friendly kind of nice, he reminded himself.

After a few more minutes have gone by, Joey guessed that it's safe to go outside and Mokuba can go back home. He went with Mokuba to call on the public phone outside and waited until a car arrived to pick up the younger boy. Serenity was walking up to their apartment building just as Mokuba was going inside the car.

'Oh Joey, so you already know Mokuba Kaiba. He is a very nice boy!'

-continue chapter 5-

Author's Notes: Okay, calm down people. I haven't decided yet exactly what kind of relationship Joey and Mokuba have. For now, it's a friendship kind of thing but who knows if something more will go from there. We'll see...

Once again, I would like to thank those who have read this story, especially to kikoken, Heero Strife and Squallsgurl, who gave their reviews on the latest chapter. Thank you for all your support!