CHAPTER 22: The Impending Nightmare, Act 1

"AaaAAGH!" Seto bolted upright once again, a cold sweat gathering at his brow.

"Ah...had a nightmare, did we?"

Seto raised a hand to his forehead. "Jounouchi; I told you that it's nothing worth—" He turned and realized that it was not Jounouchi he was talking to. "—fuck."

Noa waved. "Did you have a pleasant sleep?"

Seto scowled. "You knocked me out."

Noa gave a sheepish shrug. "I pinched a nerve. I didn't hit you this time."

Seto rubbed his neck. "What time is it?"

Noa placed a plastic container on a makeshift table constructed of a felled file cabinet that was held up by cinderblocks. "Well; you 'fell asleep' around six last night...it's about eight in the morning now. Rice ball?" Noa held out a container of rice balls to Seto.

Seto turned away, his azure eyes gazing at some shattered windows. "Just so I'm up to speed here, it is Thursday, and you are going to discuss your purpose, right?"

Noa nodded impatiently. "You are far too serious, little Seto. We'll get to all that later. Right now, it's early and you must be hungry. I bought some sugared rice balls for breakfast; there's enough for you and me."

"I don't think so," Seto rejected.

Noa's smile faded. "They're not laced with poison. Besides, you look like you need to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Fine," Noa sighed. "I'll leave them here in case you change your mind. They're really good. If you ever need a nice rice snack, the Domino Rice Shack is an excellent place, despite its namesake."

Seto stared at the rice treats before looking towards the shattered windows once more.

Noa jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I'm going into the back for a little bit and freshen up. When I get back, we can talk."

%""Well, if you saw a blue-eyed kid that needed help, would you help him?"

The echoing quote boggled Jounouchi's mind to the point of frustration.

Dammit...just what the hell did that comment have to do with anythin'? What does he even mean by that? Jounouchi clenched his teeth as he jogged his way towards Kaiba's residence.

He never came home. Not after school. Not at dusk. Not even durin' the night. And he didn't say a damn thing to Mokuba. He coulda told 'im that he was spendin' the night at my place. He coulda told 'im that he had some business matters t'attend to. But instead, he says nothin'. Not a damn thing. To his own kid brother! I'm so gonna punch 'im the next time I see 'im.

He stopped and hunched over to catch his breath.

If I ever see 'im again.

He looked up and found himself staring directly at the iron gates that separated himself from the mansion. He composed himself, and rang the buzzer.

There was no reply.

Jounouchi scratched his chin, and rang the buzzer again.

Again, there was no reply.

Shit. If he came out lookin' for 'im—

"Seto?" A voice murmured over the intercom.

Jounouchi jumped a bit, taking notice of the extra buttons on the small panel. He pushed down on the green button, speaking directly into the small mesh field.

"It's just me, Mokuba."

There was a pause. "'Just you'? So Seto's not with you..."

Jounouchi sighed; he hated that he had to deliver the bad news. "Could I come in?"

"Yeah...I'll come out and unlock the gate—"

"Won't be necessary," Jounouchi replied back, and without hesitation he leapt up, his hands gripping firmly onto the top of the high wall. Planting his feet firmly on its concrete surface, Jounouchi gradually hoisted himself atop the wall, and jumped down, landing in a crouched position. He quickly stood up and quickly dashed towards the front door.

Jounouchi raised his hand to knock, but Mokuba--having anticipated Jounouchi's showy entrance—had already opened it.

"Seto would totally kick your butt if he saw you doing that," the boy chided.

"I know. But it was faster than waitin' fer that metal thing to open on up." Jounouchi removed his sneakers. "Have ya heard anythin' from yer bro between my leavin' the place and my gettin' here?"

Mokuba shook his head as he shut the door.

"Shit—" Jounouchi quickly clasped a hand over his mouth. "Sorry. It's just...I'm as upset about this as you are."

Mokuba nodded. "Should we...should we call the police?"

Jounouchi shook his head. "They'd never be able to find 'im fast enough." He paused to moisten his lips. "I've...got someone lookin' fer 'im, while I keep an eye on ya here."

"I'm not a baby, you know. You can look for him too!"

"What makes ya think I'm not?" Jounouchi walked towards the staircase.

"Where are you going?"

Jounouchi gestured at one of the doors with his thumb. "Gonna do some lookin' around."

"In Seto's room? Yeah right," Mokuba snorted. "Snoopin' around in there is a definite no-no. 'Sides, he locked it."

Jounouchi stopped. "Mokuba..."

Mokuba approached the foot of the staircase. "Yeah?"

"Outta curiosity, is there anythin' else 'bout yer brother that ya know? I mean, besides that orphan thing. How did ya guys wind up livin' in fancy digs like this?"

Mokuba's faced tensed for a moment. "We were adopted. By a rich guy."

"Oh? So uh, how did he buy it?"

"He had a...bad heart," Mokuba murmured.

"So it was a heart attack..." Jounouchi trailed.

Mokuba crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm gonna go have breakfast. You uh...you want anything?"

Jounouchi shrugged. "Whatever ya got, I'll pretty much eat it."

Mokuba nodded. "Okay. I'll just make sure you get the same thing I'm getting!"

"What does Seto usually have?"

"Just a boring ol' cup of coffee. You want that?" Mokuba raised a puzzled brow.

Jounouchi shook his head. "What? Naw, man. Just give me plenty o' whatever yer gettin'."

Mokuba nodded. "Okay. It'll be ready in about fifteen minutes. I'll call you."

Saying nothing further, Jounouchi shuffled over to the guest bedroom, glancing over at Seto's closed bedroom door before stepping inside the guest room.

He shut the door behind him, heaving a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. He stepped inside the bathroom, flipping on the light switch and closing the door shut.

He looked over at a pair of doors, cocking his head to the side in thought.

Now, which one 'a these was the linen closet, and which lead to his room?

He pointed to the door on the left, then to the door on the right, then back at the left door again. He nodded, and reached out for the knob.

I wonder if he left it locked...

He turned the knob.

Yup. Of course he would. This is Seto, after all.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a paper clip.

And this is me.

He unfolded the clip and inserted the wire inside the keyhole. He bit his lower lip as he carefully navigated the piece inside the lock. He nearly fumbled the piece, uttering a swear word as he recovered the piece and continued with his task.

He then heard the sound of the lock unwinding. He grinned. He tested the doorknob to ensure that he was successful, his grin spreading wider when the door opened. He pocketed the makeshift lockpick as he shut the door.

He stepped back inside the guest bedroom, glancing at his watch and gently biting on the inside of his cheek. He shoved his hands inside his pockets and made his way towards the door, when suddenly a hand covered his mouth and an arm wrapped around Jounouchi's waist, pinning his arms to his sides.

Suddenly, the mystery assailant forced Jounouchi to turn around so that he could get a look at the unknown visitor. Jounouchi's eyes widened.

"Amelda?!"

Amelda held a finger to his lips, and nodded.

"I don't know what brings ya here..." Jounouchi raised his fists. "But it's gotta be important, since you don't seem threatening." He lowered his fists.

Amelda gently nodded, and walked over to a small table, where he had set up his lap top computer. His fingers immediately moved in a fury the second they touched the keyboard; Jounouchi looked on with curious eyes.

Amelda slammed his finger onto a key, and turned the laptop around for Jounouchi to see.

I need you to translate something for me.

Jounouchi blinked, and pointed at his mouth.

Amelda arched a brow in a coy fashion as he turned the laptop back towards himself, and typed again. He turned the laptop around to Jounouchi.

All you have to do is type something on here. I have a program that translates your Japanese into English, and my English into Japanese. I don't know if it's terribly accurate, but it's the best I have to work with under the circumstances.

Jounouchi nodded. He cracked his knuckles, and slowly typed a reply, his eyes on the keys and his forefingers doing most of the work. He stared at the screen as soon as he finished, glancing over at Amelda.

Amelda smiled rather sheepishly as he translated Jounouchi's message.

Breakfast's in a few. Can it wait until after I eat?

Amelda chuckled as he casually nodded.

As Noa stepped out from a back door in his dwelling, he noticed that the plastic container was short one rice ball. He looked over at Seto and smiled with approval.

"Was it good?"

Seto shot an apathetic glance at the other Kaiba.

"Cripes, Seto...are you just such an introvert that you won't even tell me how the food was?"

"I just want answers. Has the time for you to beat around the bush finally come to a close?"

Noa slumped onto the couch, seating himself next to Seto. "All right; fine. You're so impatient. I guess that's how it is with business-minded people...I guess it was for my benefit that the reins of the corporation wound up in your hands, hmm? I'd certainly hate to lose my winning personality."

Seto turned his head and faced the young man.

"You see, I was originally going to inherit the company. Actually, I bet I'm still in the running to do so, should something happen to you. But anyway, I guess my story starts off similarly to your own. I was adopted at a very young age, for whoever my mother was decided that she didn't want the responsibility of taking care of a child and therefore dumped me off in an orphanage. I wonder if she did the same thing to you."

"Tch!" Seto scoffed.

Noa blinked. "What's wrong?"

"Why don't you tell me something that's more relevant to the question as to why you're after me?"

"But this is relevant, Seto, or did I just strike a nerve in mentioning your dearly departed mother? I'm simply giving you the unabridged explanation as to why I am after you. So anyway, I wasn't adopted too long after having been sitting in that orphanage. A man had come by, looking for a kid to raise because apparently his wife or mistress or whoever was incapable of having a kid. So they adopted me; fancy that!

"The man who adopted me was one Gozaburo Kaiba, the CEO of the Kaiba Financial Zaibatsu. Life in a distinguished family was pretty damn good. I had the best education, practiced sword arts like Kendo, and I took an interest in studying the various religions of the world. At the age of ten, I was considered to be something of a prodigy. Gozaburo--father—would never stop showing me off to his friends. He was always telling me about how proud he was of me."

Noa suddenly appeared grim. "When I was twelve, I was out playing with some of my friends. We were careful; we were always careful. Suddenly, a speeding car came over a hill, its driver losing control and running me down. It had put me in a coma for nearly two years; the doctors were sure that I wasn't going to make it, and my adopted mother had been so stressed out by the events that she had hung herself. When I awoke, I learned that I had already been replaced—by you. Father never stopped apologizing about it. He had explained that he didn't want the public to know that his son had been put in the hospital for a prolonged period of time because it was his belief that a Kaiba was never weak."

Seto scowled.

Noa raised a brow. "Yes; you of all people should know and understand father's belief as well as I do. Father hated weakness of any and every kind. That's why he provided the best education for me, for mental weakness was considered unacceptable. He provided an education in the defense arts to prevent physical weakness as well, and trained me in communication skills and assertiveness so that I could become a better leader. I showed father my appreciation for providing me with the best by doing nothing but the best.

"About a year after I came out of my coma, I came to visit father at his office in a private meeting. Father showed me a photo of the boy who replaced me: you. I was confused at first, because you very closely resembled me. He mentioned that we had the same mother and were therefore related by blood. "

"How did he know that?" Seto growled.

"He had apparently gotten ahold of our birth records," Noa answered nonchalantly. "Now, where was I?

"According to father, you gave him nothing but a hard time by being rebellious and stubborn, and he had to take more drastic measures in order for you to complete your studies. In fact, you had proved to be so difficult that he suspected that you were going to try and kill him. Of course, I couldn't believe it because you looked pretty harmless based on your photographs, but he told me that you apparently, in a strange fit of jealousy, snuck into your brother's room and—"

Seto whipped his right hand out so quickly that Noa didn't even flinch as Seto wrapped his fingers around the elder's throat.

Noa smiled. "Oh...still not over that."

"You think this is really funny," Seto seethed. "I asked you to tell me your purpose. Not to tell me how great 'father' Gozaburo was to you, nor did I ask that you remind me that I was the black sheep—you're certainly his son alright, buying into his bull."

"Such bold words coming from his murderer." Noa smiled like a cat.

Seto's eyes widened as he loosened his grip on Noa's throat. "What did you say?"

"Father knew you were liable to murder him. That's what we were meeting about at that time. He had a feeling that you were eventually going to kill him."

"I didn't kill him."

"That's what the media would like for everyone to believe. But honestly, why in the world would he want to commit suicide? The economy was doing decently, for once. The company was making millions. And, he was one of the most powerful men in the country, if not in the world. So therefore, it wouldn't make sense for him to just suddenly up and throw himself from the ninety-sixth floor of his own company—he had to have been pushed, by you. After all, they found you at the scene, but you were unconscious long enough that they assumed it was suicide and not murder."

Seto's fists clenched tightly to the point that they trembled heavily. "It wasn't murder."

"Then defend yourself already. Tell me what really happened."

Seto's lips moved. Noa cupped his ear and leaned closer. He frowned disapprovingly.

"Now you're the one playing games here, Seto. I'm disappointed in you. I ask to hear your side of the story and instead you choose to keep that to yourself." He narrowed his eyes. "This isn't the time. If you know what really happened that day then tell me, because if I don't learn the truth—" He revealed his hilted katana—"you'll be just as dead as father."

Seto shut his eyes as he bit down on his lower lip, his hands trembling. He glanced at Noa before staring down at his own hands—

%Blood began to spray forth like a gruesome shower%

"He had tried to kill me," Seto blurted out.

Noa blinked as he was unsheathing his blade. "I beg your pardon?"

"Gozaburo tried to have me murdered. Obviously, his tactic failed as I survived, and I came after him so I could confront him about it."

"So I was right."

"I had not intended to kill him! He killed himself before I could get anything out of him!" Seto asserted.

"Your story doesn't even add up! Why would he have tried to kill you, especially since that honour was handed to me?"

Seto stood up. "Well, what if I was indeed a threat? He may not have shown it, but perhaps Gozaburo was a paranoid man, and his paranoia became an obsession that festered in his mind like a virus to the point that he decided that he would kill me rather than wait for you to make your move."

"Impossible," Noa denied. "I've seen your photographs from two years ago. You were as harmless as a twig, and surely incapable of being a big enough threat that father would have tried to kill you sooner than projected."

"You're making the same mistake he made," Seto noted with a near-smile. "He also underestimated me as a harmless child, but he soon realized that it wasn't an heir he was trying to create, but something entirely dangerous and volatile—in other words, something he couldn't control. So he decided it was best to eliminate me so that I wouldn't have made that realization as to how dangerous I truly was, and it almost worked."

"Seto," Noa murmured. "Just what exactly happened on that day?"

"I already told you. He tried to have me killed, I tried to find out why, and he committed suicide."

Noa shook his head. "You only think he tried to kill you because of that conditioning he was putting you through." His brows knitted together; he was becoming angry. "He said that you were a problem. Perhaps your hatred of him stemmed from the fact that he wouldn't give you what you wanted rather than what you needed. Would make sense coming from a brat like you."
"Let's go."

"What?"

Seto raised arms in front of his chest. "This has become nothing more than a back-and-forth of accusations, with no end in sight. I think I've gleaned enough as to what your purpose is, so we may go ahead and fight already."

"You're in a real hurry just to die," Noa noted as he rested his weapon on his shoulder. "All right. We can go ahead and do this, but we must move to a more friendly accommodation for the battle. Follow me."

Seto arched a brow as he followed Noa, who approached the back door he had used earlier that day. Noa flashed a smile at Seto before unlocking the door and gently nudging it open.

Noa gestured to the opened door. "After you."

Seto made no hesitation to walk through, his eyes glancing down at Noa's arms to watch for any sudden movements, then up to take a look at the stage that the elder Kaiba had already set for their impeding battle.

Seto's mouth nearly fell open.

The stage was vast...and yet cluttered with debris. Downed pillars obstructed some of the paths, whilst others remained leaning. Shattered glass displaying a myriad of colours littered the stained crimson carpet; Seto looked up and noticed the stained glass windows. His azure eyes trailed downward and took notice of a statue of a robed feminine figure; he recognized the symbol as that of the Virgin Mary from the art history classes he took in past lessons.

"...a church," Seto concluded.

Noa nodded with satisfaction. "I felt that this would be the most appropriate setting for our battle. This church was abandoned before the mid-eighties, and destroyed in that earthquake six years ago."

"Hn. It'll suffice," Seto muttered. "I assume there will be no games this time?"

Noa shook his head. "It's just going to be a fight. Last man standing wins."

Seto appeared uneasy over Noa's implication. "A fight to the death? I'm afraid that I cannot accept--?!!"

His words were suddenly cut off by the feeling of a sharp object suddenly penetrating his right shoulder. He glanced over to see what was causing this pain. His eyes widened with shock.

Noa had stabbed Seto's shoulder with this katana; he increased the pressure he placed on the weapon to drive it a little further into Seto's shoulder. Seto grimaced as he attempted to restrain himself from screaming from the pain.

Noa smiled sadistically. "Fight's started..."

"Oh man! Totally hit the spot," Jounouchi declared as he put his fork down.

"You really woofed those pancakes down," Mokuba noted. "And that was like, what? Three servings?"

Jounouchi grinned as he wiped his hand across his mouth. "I'm gonna go wash up and call my friend and see if she found anythin'. I'll let ya know if I find anythin'. " He unseated himself and headed for the stairs.

Mokuba grabbed his bookbag. "Okay. I should get going to school...'cause I'm sure Seto would be upset if I didn't go. But I'll bring my phone with me, so call me if you find him!"

Jounouchi nodded. "No problem, kiddo. I'll be here."

Mokuba gave a short wave as he grabbed his bookbag and left the kitchen. Jounouchi sighed, and marched up the stairs to his guest room, a regretful expression on his face.

Shit; I hate havin' to lie to the kid, but it's fer his own protection...Seto's gonna have a shitload of explainin' to do anyway, so it's his problem. Not mine.

He opened the door and approached Amelda, who was typing as furiously as he could on his laptop in an attempt communicate with Jounouchi as quickly as possible. He turned the laptop over to Jounouchi.

Mokuba head out to school?

Jounouchi nodded. Amelda turned the laptop back to himself, his fingers moving in a blur on the keyboard. He faced the device to Jounouchi as soon as he completed and translated the message.

I found some newspaper articles about some events that had occurred at Kaiba Corp years ago. I need you to translate them for me as I suspect it will allow a better understanding of Noa's ties with Seto.

Jounouchi nodded and typed up a response. Amelda struck one of the keys to translate the blond's reply.

Cool. Show me what you got, and I'll tell you what they say.

Amelda nodded, and spent only a minute to pull up the articles. He turned the computer over to Jounouchi, who took no hesitation to begin reading the articles. Amelda watched intently as Jounouchi typed up a reply.

It doesn't say anything important. Just that the CEO's name is Gozaburo Kaiba and he announced some kind of financial plan.

Amelda took the laptop and made a reply.

Gozaburo was Seto's adopted father.

Jounouchi nodded.

"Guess you knew that, huh," Amelda muttered as he pulled up another article. He motioned for Jounouchi to read over the second piece.

Jounouchi's eyes skimmed over the contents. He shook his head.

"Dammit," Amelda cursed. "I have one more left..." He glanced over at Jounouchi, who appeared unsure as to what he was babbling about, and displayed the article to Jounouchi.

Jounouchi's face immediately showed change as he read the headline. His eyes moved up and down as he read the article, his expression becoming tense. He hurriedly typed his translation onto the computer.

Amelda translated Jounouchi's findings.

That Goza-whoever guy killed himself; he threw himself out of a window.?

Amelda bit his left thumbnail as he typed his reply.

I already knew about Gozaburo's suicide...

A rather surprised Jounouchi motioned that he wanted to say something on the laptop. Amelda handed the device back to Jounouchi. He typed something down, and handed it back to the crimson-haired assassin.

It mentioned someone was found injured at the scene...a fifteen-year-old boy who was reported as to being the heir. I bet that's Seto.

Amelda closed his eyes, leaning back in the chair.

Why isn't Seto here anyway? Is he in school or something?

Jounouchi sighed as he slowly typed on the laptop.

He's fighting Noa. I didn't say anything to Mokuba because I didn't want to worry him.

"Shit," Amelda cursed as he took the laptop and typed a question onto it.

Where is he fighting?

Jounouchi shrugged his shoulders, reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. He handed it to Amelda.

Amelda looked over the coordinates as Jounouchi typed on the laptop. He tapped the redhead on his shoulder and pointed to the laptop. Amelda hit one of the keys, translating the text so he could understand what Jounouchi wanted to say.

I found it when I was looking through the pockets on Seto's school uniform. You know how to get there, right? Tell me where he is, and I'll go get him.

Amelda raised a brow at the dirty blond. He turned towards the laptop and typed a suggestion to Jounouchi.

It's best that I go and find him then, since that's my specialty. Faster that way. Someone needs to stay and keep an eye on the kid...and perhaps dig around for some clues.

Jounouchi appeared uneasy at the suggestion, but slowly nodded in agreement.

Amelda nodded as he typed another message on the computer.

Great. Hopefully I won't be too late. If you can find anything, and I do mean ANYTHING, that could prove Noa's involvement in all of this, hand it over to me, and I'll see what I can analyse.

Amelda dashed for the window; he suddenly snapped his fingers as a sudden reminder crossed his mind. He quickly dashed to his laptop and single-handedly typed one more message:

I'm leaving my laptop here. Don't break it, okay?

Jounouchi sneered at Amelda, who smiled at Jounouchi as he leapt out of the window. Jounouchi glanced over at the computer, his eyebrows rising as he stared at the various icons on Amelda's desktop screen. He found deciphering the words to be something of a task and wished he had taken his English-language lessons more seriously.

He had to try, though.

I bet there's somethin' that Amelda missed the first time around. Jounouchi scanned over the various icons on the desktop, looking for something that could resemble what he needed to find.

What is it that I need to find? God; I hate English. Whoever decided that was the world's standard language should be punched in the head. Amelda said it was somethin' like a newspaper thing...an article. I think that's it. If I can find something that could resemble that word on here that would be great...all I gotta do is look for the letter 'A'.

He looked over the desktop icons, his eyes scrutinizing the foreign characters that made up the English alphabet. He drummed his fingers on the table impatiently as he found nothing that remotely resembled what he was looking for.

His luck finally kicked in. " Jounouchi's eyes lit up with realization. Article! I believe I've found it. Go Katsuya, go Katsuya... Jounouchi pointed the cursor onto the folder and clicked. A new window opened up, displaying seven file icons with numeric symbols to represent their names.

Okay...now what? Jounouchi sucked at his teeth as he leaned back. Man, if I were Seto, I'd have found everythin' and still make it in time for Chono's class. I'd also be taller and be packin' a chest the size o' China and so smart I'd never have to do schoolwork. Damn; Seto's got it pretty sweet. I guess I'll just click around 'til I find somethin'.

Jounouchi moved the cursor to the first file, double-clicking and waiting a second for the image to pull up.

Seen this one before. Try the next one...

He pulled up the second article.

Seen this one, too. Gozaburo's suicide...Mokuba told me it was a heart attack. Musta been too traumatic fer 'im to tell the truth, I suppose...

Jounouchi selected the fifth icon, the image opening up almost instantaneously. Jounouchi squinted his eyes and began reading.

May 27th, 20xx...Wife of Kaiba Corporation President and CEO Gozaburo Kaiba commits suicide. Those who knew her, including her husband, stated that she had become severely depressed after their son's accident.

Jounouchi blinked. Suicide? Son's accident--Seto? Holy shit...I wonder if Amelda saved that article?

He clicked on the sixth icon.

May 12th, 20xx...Son and heir of the Kaiba Corporation was rushed to the hospital today after a driver lost control of his vehicle and ran the boy down. Doctors are reporting that he is in critical condition, and that his chances of survival are very slim. The driver has been arrested and charged with hit-and-run and D.U.I. Gozaburo Kaiba, president and CEO of Kaiba Corporation, is seeking to persecute the driver to the fullest extent of the law.

"Jesus," Jounouchi whispered aloud. He continued to read. Could somethin' so traumatic aside from his adopted father's suicide be responsible for why he's so messed up?

December 19th, 20xx...Kaiba Corporation CEO and President Gozaburo Kaiba has announced that his son has made a complete and miraculous recovery. Doctors are saying that the boy is doing tremendously well and will be able to function normally prior to the accident that occurred seven months ago.

Jounouchi leaned back once again.

I know I ain't the swiftest, but somethin' 'bout that don't add up. Someone gets hit by a car, especially a fast one, they're pretty much done--especially if the kid was as fragile as Seto.

He closed his eyes.

Holy shit.

They snapped open; he leaned forward.

Could that kid have been Noa? Could Gozaburo have pulled a switch; replacin' Noa with Seto? They do look rather alike; pullin' a scheme like this would be pretty easy to pull off so long as nobody notices.

He leaned forward once again.

If I had some photographs to work with, this would be a hell of a lot easier prove. I'm guessin' Gozaburo wouldn't allow pictures...guess that's why Seto acted all mysterious with his name. It is a rather good idea.

An image of the azure-eyed teen flashed in Jounouchi's mind.

Damn you, blue-eyes. Damn you fer facin' this alone, man. I know ya know that I'm worried 'bout ya. I just wish ya knew that I...I...damn it.

Jounouchi slumped.

Blue eyes.

He cocked his head to the side.

Blue...eyes.

His eyes narrowed.

A Japanese...with blue eyes.

Jounouchi leapt up from his chair, briefly tripping and losing his footing on the rug but quickly reclaiming his balance as he rushed into the bathroom, and threw open the second "linen closet" door, revealing Seto's bedroom behind it. Jounouchi promptly stepped inside.

I saw Seto lookin' fer somethin' a few nights ago...It was in one of those drawers.

He opened up the top drawer and began to rummage through the clothing contained within.

He's gonna stop at nothin' to kill me fer lookin' through his things, but I gotta know the truth of the matter. I think I may be able to find some answers in this.

Jounouchi slammed the drawer shut when he had found nothing, and moved on to the middle drawer. He lifted the carefully folded pile of clothing, his expression becoming more and more annoyed as his efforts proved fruitless. He reached the bottom of the drawer, and his eyes widened with surprised.

Is that...lube and a handkerchief? And Seto gets onto me for bein' horny.

He shut the drawer and knelt down, opening the bottom drawer. I'm pretty sure it was in here.

He paused.

Unless he moved it. Man; that would suck if he did—

He uncovered a worn-out composition book.

--well, hell. There it is.

As Jounouchi pulled out the book, a small slip of paper slipped out and gently landed on Jounouchi's lap.

Jounouchi appeared surprised. Somethin' just fell outta there...looks like a note. He sniffed the paper. Don't look or smell old. Wonder if...naw; I shouldn't read it. None o' my business.

He opened the cover of the book, and placed the note between it and the pages. He hesitated to close the book as his eyes stared intently at the note.

Well, maybe just a peek...

Jounouchi pulled the note out of the book and single-handedly unfolded it with his left hand, spreading out the paper and exposing the text contained within.

Katsuya:

If you're reading this, you've been sticking your nose too far into things...but this time I won't be angry. As you may know, I am very difficult when it comes to elaborating about my past, and that is something that will remain unchanged. However, I suspected that this eventuality would be anything but, which is why you're reading this note now. This book holds some of the answers to your questions about me. Please be warned that some of the material contained within may prove to be disturbing. If you think any less of me after reading this, I will understand.

S. H.

Jounouchi slowly looked over at the small book held in his left hand. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

AUTHOR'S NOTES/COMMENTS

Originally, I had planned for this chapter to contain an ending that would be rather shocking, but instead I throw out a different cliffhanger because at sixteen pages, this chapter was running on long enough and in order to put everything I needed into it, there was no way in hell I would do a rush-job, and I didn't want to make it too long as it may have been too daunting to read. Please forgive me; the major events that were supposed to happen in this chapter are instead in the next. Hence, the titling of this chapter being followed by an "Act 1" as there is still much more to be told.

Much of the chapter's focus was placed on Jounouchi and his own dealings with Seto's unusual behaviour by investigating possible reasons and motivations for his sudden obsession with Noa with some unexpected help from Amelda (and his amazing language-translation program!). Jounouchi is still trying to understand Seto's last question about the blue-eyes, though in order to do so he will have to invade Seto's most personal space—a journal he used to keep. The note seems to indicate that Seto had come to the conclusion that Jounouchi would eventually find this book and read it. If you recall chapter 17, there is mention of Seto searching for a similar book...

Speaking of Kaiba and his troubled family ties, Noa's purpose has been revealed: To kill Seto Kaiba for the apparent murder of Gozaburo Kaiba. Did Gozaburo really kill himself by throwing himself out of a window, or was he pushed?

The next chapter will reveal the outcome between Seto and Noa's battle, and shed some more light on Jounouchi's investigation on Seto (remember, if you've been reading, some of the answers may come easier to you). Once again, I appreciate your taking the time to read this as well as your reviews.