Reviews and critiques are welcome as to my writing skill. Pot shots at Christianity or any religion are not welcome at all. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrights, trademarks or registry in Yu-Gi-Oh. Wish I did!

4

"Morning. Your beauty sleep isn't helping, Mokuba." Seto looked at his brother's face, eyes - blood-shot and tired, complexion – pale.

But, his smile lit up the room, "Fortunately for you, Seto, I am currently unarmed, so can't pummel you with wads of paper." They grinned at each other.

"So, what are your plans for today, Big Brother?"

"I have some information I need to pick up and some people to meet. Matter of fact, I will have to leave very soon." Then, remembering that Mokuba was reported as upset when he came home yesterday, he asked, "Did you go on the field trip yesterday? Anything happen?"

"Yeah, I went. I was right, the instructor was boring. I did see some interesting things though." Mokuba looked eagerly at Seto, wanting to share it all with him.

His brother was heading for the door. "Tell me all about it when I get back, okay kiddo?" Mokuba deflated as Seto walked out.

"Sure," He looked at the closed door and whispered, "whenever that will be."

--

Kirii sat on the porch on her side of a once grand old house that had been renovated into a duplex. She had her feet kicked up on the railing and her chair balanced on two legs. She was multi-tasking, something her brain excelled at. She had laundry washing, the dishwasher going, and her funny little robot vacuum cleaner moving around the living room. She had her laptop, well, on her lap; a headphone stuck in one ear going to the CD player in her laptop and an earpiece in the other leading to the phone on her hip. Her pink-lacquered toes were keeping time with the music. She finished her call, brought up her calendar for today and made a note – Mokuba 2-4pm. It was currently noon. A pitcher of iced tea and some glasses were on the table next to her – you never know when someone might visit.

At the sound of a car pulling into the driveway next door, she looked up curiously. Hmm, fancy car, chauffeur, wonder who this could be. Seto stepped out of the car and walked purposefully up to the other side of the duplex.

"Tony's not there. He is running in a benefit race today. Will be back about 8pm, if you are interested in returning then." She paused for a second, "Shall I let him know to expect you?" A smile played around her lips seeing what she said had irritated him.

Deciding that a retort would be a waste of his time, he said, "Do that." Then he turned to leave.

"Thirsty?" she said indicating the iced tea.

He stopped and looked at her incredulously. "No, thanks. I'll pass this time." And any other time too.

As the car rolled away, Kirii shrugged and got back to work.

--

At the sound of a car pulling into her driveway, she looked at her watch and found that 2pm had crept up on her. She looked up at the car and was shocked. Fancy car, chauffeur, and Mokuba stepping out of the car and walking up to her with a smile. He lifted his left arm and showed off the bracelet he had tied around it and the Bible he had obtained. "Can we talk about the green bead?"

"Sure," she said. And for the next two hours they spoke about how to grow and live as a follower of Jesus.

--

Tony walked out onto the porch about 7:30pm. He was freshly showered and in his comfortable clothes: black jeans, blue polo, shoulder-length hair pulled neatly back into a ponytail which showed off his silver cross earring which hung halfway to his shoulder. Kirii was on the porch too, awaiting her taxi. She was stunning in a black, ankle-length evening gown, a split going up to her knee.

"Mmmmm mmmm mmmm." he said teasingly.

She rolled her eyes at him and stated the obvious, "You're sick! You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, but you love me anyway."

"Too true."

Two cars rolled down the street, one entered Tony's driveway and the taxi into Kirii's. With a nod of acknowledgement to Seto's ride, Tony offered his arm to Kirii and escorted her to her taxi. "Go get 'em, Tiger!" Then he whispered to her, "Pray that I still have a job after what I fear Seto and I are going to talk about."

"You got it. And remember, he's only human." They smiled at each other with genuine affection and then Tony shut the door. The taxi left and Tony sighed and turned to face Seto.

"What is she all dressed up for?"

"Benefit dinner." He motioned towards the door, "I don't know about you, but I have not had any dinner yet; so you are welcome to join me. It is nothing gourmet, but will satisfy the hunger."

Seto nodded to the driver, who backed out of the drive and left. "Sounds okay," he said as he followed him inside.

--

A while later, they sat in the living room facing each other. "So, you called this meeting. What's on your mind?"

"Tell me how a person with your record is working at KaibaCorp." Seto demanded. He had a smug look on his face and was ready for a fight.

Tony started laughing, which, of course, shocked Kaiba and made him extremely angry. "What is so funny? I see nothing funny about your past!"

"I find it very humorous that a person, who was advised to seek 'inwardly' for answers, would then seek into the advisor's past. That is the height of avoidance. What has my past to do with your questions?"

"I like to know who I am dealing with." Tony could almost hear Seto's teeth grinding.

"Okay, okay. If you are the hacker you are rumored to be, you know about my juvenile criminal record. At age 16, I was dealing and abusing drugs. I caused the death of 5 kids, about my age, from tainted drugs. The authorities had enough to convict me of possession and dealing; but not for the deaths. I spent a year in juvenile detention," Tony shook his head, "definitely not long enough for my crimes."

Seto was stunned that Tony would willingly admit this, so sat back and just listened.

"The record doesn't even touch how bad I really was.

"Now to answer your question: How did I, with my past, get hired at a prestigious company such as KaibaCorp?" Now Tony's face was full of emotion. "Because someone actually felt I was worth something, that I wasn't beyond redemption. This man shared with me that I was 'bad to the bone' – but that everyone was. It is the curse of human nature. Then he shared with me how the curse can be broken: by acknowledging that I was 'bad to the bone,' that I needed the love and sacrifice of Jesus to forgive and redeem me. I did, and the curse was broken.

"It was the strangest feeling. A great weight I hadn't even known was there was suddenly gone. The dismal, arrogant, snide and rebellious thoughts and feelings disappeared. It took my breath away. I felt brand new." Tony's eyes were full of tears, but his face was filled with joy and wonder. "I told this man about my experience and he quoted to me a verse from the Bible: 2 Corinthians 5:17 'Therefore if any man be in Christ (Jesus), he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.' I couldn't have explained it better than that.

"It was this man who arranged the job I have now, through a friend of a friend. He had faith that I would be good for this job and that this job would be good for me. And he was right. You know, if you have reviewed my employment file (which I am sure you have), that I do my job and do it well. That goes along with another verse he told me, Colossians 3:23 'and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.' "

Seto had looked at his employment file. There were no misconduct notations and quite a few commendations. Tony had transformed their records management from a disaster to a "well-oiled machine."

"Now are you ready to talk about you, or should I start with '20 questions' again?"

Seto didn't answer right away. He again brought out his deck and started thumbing through it. This time Tony just waited, trying to project his peace, understanding and caring toward his guest. Whether you know it or not Seto, you're with a friend.

Finally, Seto started to speak. "I still cannot figure out what I am looking for. I have everything. Money, power, my own company, skills, intelligence, but I am empty. The only thing I can look at and not feel this emptiness is my brother. But even then, I don't let myself enjoy him. I push him away, concentrate more on work or dueling or anything else. Why do I do that? I tell myself I would do anything for him, but I actually do nothing. I am failing him. Eventually, he will hate me as much as I hate myself.

"Why do I push Mokuba away?" Seto looked at Tony, confusion and self-loathing shining in his eyes.

Tony thought for a few moments. "If I may venture a guess, it is because he causes you to feel … a positive emotion. You have, for so long, been building a wall of either negative or neutral emotions around yourself that you can no longer stand to feel a positive one like your brother's love."

"So what would be your answer to this?"

"The same answer I have for everything." He stood up and stepped out of the room. He returned carrying a Bible.

Seto stood up, "Give me a break! Your answer is to my problems is an archaic religion and antiquated literature?" He was extremely disappointed in the direction this conversation had turned.

"Seto, I cannot express to you what this 'archaic religion and antiquated literature' has done for me. The same can be done for you, if you let it happen." He held out the Bible. "Please take it; read the Books and passages that I have marked. Open your mind … and your heart."

They looked at each other for a few moments. Then, snatching the book out of Tony's hand, Seto gave a curt nod. Using his communicator, he told his driver "I'm done here." He looked at Tony. "I don't see how this will help, but if it worked for you I'll look into it," said Kaiba unconvincingly.

Tony gave a sad half smile, then went out on a limb, "Whether you believe the way I do or not; whether you feel I am worthy or not, I would like to be your friend."

Seto looked at him suspiciously. Tony laughed, "No strings attached."

Seto just shook his head. What a nut case. The car was entering the driveway, and it was time to go.

Tony watched as the car pulled away. He rubbed his hands up and down his face. He was exhausted. Sitting down on the porch chair, he again prayed for Seto Kaiba.

--

Seto sat back and stared at the roof of the car. Change. If Tony was to be believed, he sure had changed in 3 short years. Yeah, but he needed to. For Pete's sake, he caused the death of 5 kids. He was a danger to himself and everyone around him.

/and you are not? …/

NO! But memories of Mokuba being in danger because of him, the looks of terror he enjoyed when he fired people when things didn't go his way, and others kept surfacing in his mind.

/are you sure? …/

Shut up! Seto screamed through his mind. He picked up his laptop and lost himself in his work again, the Bible sitting next to him - forgotten.