Disclaimer: Don't own it, people.
A/N: Two notes today. First off, in the English dubbed version of Yu Gi Oh, Joey Wheeler has a Brooklyn accent. If I remember correctly, this this is carried over from the Japanese version, where Jonouchi Katsuya has what is considered a rude accent because he doesn't use honorifics (ergo, -kun, -chan, -sama, et cetera). I am of course going by the English dubbed version, as I can't speak Japanese (yet!). However, I have no idea how to write a Brooklyn accent and make it look believable. Please excuse my sorry attempts to do so, and if you have any suggestions, feel free to... suggest them.
Secondly, just in case you haven't noticed, I always refer to people in the way that the person whose point of view I'm writing in thinks of them. Thus Seto is "Mr. Kaiba" when it's Carlson's pov, Joey is "Wheeler" when it's Seto's, et cetera.
"Carlson! Get moving!"
The goon looked up, surprised to hear his young boss' voice calling him to action. He hadn't expected Mr. Kaiba to come back for another hour, at least. He bit his lip, nervous. The blue-eyed CEO sounded extremely angry. That wasn't a good sign.
He could see him coming towards him now, emanating rage, the fire in his eyes evident even to Carlson, who was still some distance away. Definitely not a good sign.
He was closely followed, surprisingly enough, by Joan and a golden retriever, not on a leash but obviously with no intention of leaving Mr. Kaiba's side. Carlson was now severely confused.
He stood from his seat on a bench near where he had parked the limousine and trotted over to his boss. "Sir? What's goin'on?"
Mr. Kaiba wasted no time in telling him. "Mokuba is missing."
Both Carlson and Joan, who had apparently not been informed of the latest turn of events, gasped. "Missin', sir?" the goon managed to choke out.
Mr. Kaiba glared. "Did I stutter?"
"N-No, sir," Carlson replied, a bit of a stutter of his own entering his voice. "My apologies."
"Don't apologize, Carlson, move!" Mr. Kaiba reached over, grasping his arm and hurrying him along. Getting the idea, the goon sped up his pace, jogging to keep up with the long-legged teenager.
"What happened, sir?"
"According to the goon who called, he went out for some air over three hours ago. His cell phone is not responding, and he didn't tell anyone his exact destination. I want him found."
"Yes sir, we'll find him." They'd reached the limo now, and Carlson hurried to open the door of the long, sleek black car for his employer. "Do you have any idea where he might've gone?"
"If I knew that, Carlson, he wouldn't be missing, now would he?" Half into the car, Mr. Kaiba paused and turned to face Joan. "You're coming with us."
Joan and Carlson traded confused looks; that was not what they had been expecting.
"Seto?" she asked. "Are you sure?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You're complaining?"
"No, of course not, I just–"
"I don't care what 'you just.' I want answers, and I'm going to get them. Get in the car." He slid the rest of the way in himself, scooted down to the far end to make room, and snapped his fingers, emitting a short whistle. The dog who had followed him so closely up to this point barked gleefully and scrambled in after him, lying down on the seat and placing his head on Mr. Kaiba's lap.
Carlson blinked and raised his eyebrows, not sure what to make of this latest development, and looked at Joan. She gave him a small, uncertain smile, and slid into the limo. Shaking his head, he shut the door behind her, got into the driver's seat, and hurriedly left the apartment complex. They had a boy to find.
"This isn't working."
"Thank you ever so much for pointing out the obvious." Seto rolled his eyes, but didn't take his gaze away from scanning the side of the road. They had been searching for almost an hour, and there was still no sign of Mokuba.
Joan sighed. "We're not going to find him like this."
"Do you have a better idea?"
She pursed her lips, thinking. "Let's come at this logically. What about his friends' houses? Has someone checked there?"
He glanced over at her. "Friends?"
She frowned, not understanding. "Friends."
"He has no friends."
"He… doesn't have… any friends?"
"That is what I said, isn't it?" He shifted his attention back to the roadside.
She sat back, stunned. What kind of adolescent had no friends? Why?
Carlson cleared his throat. "Mr. Kaiba?"
"What?"
"Might he… is it possible he could be at Yugi Motou's house?"
Seto was silent, thinking this over. Joan looked at him curiously. Who was Yugi Motou? Why did Seto seem so... unenthusiastic about the idea of Mokuba being at his house?
Eventually he sighed. "The things I'll do for you, little brother. Carlson, set course for the Kame Game Shop."
"Yes, sir."
Seto and Joan continued to eye the crowds that walked the streets of Domino City, desperate to find the missing boy, as Carlson turned to a new part of the city.
They pulled into a small, turtle-shaped store with colorful posters of strange monsters in the windows. Joan eyed them with interest, noting both the name that accompanied each poster – Duel Monsters – and the initials KC in the lower right hand corner of many of the pictures. She had heard of the game before, though she didn't know much about it, and she was intrigued by the intricate images.
But she had more important things to worry about than a card game right now, and she hurriedly exited the limo via the door that Carlson held opened for her, following Willy and Seto into the shop.
She nearly bumped into him as the door swung shut behind her. He was standing stiffly in front of her, facing the counter at the far end of the room, clearly wishing he were somewhere else. She wondered why he disliked this place so much. It seemed nice enough to her.
A cheerful, if a little surprised-sounding, voice greeted them. "Hey, Kaiba! What're you doing here? Can I help you with something?"
"Perhaps," he began as he walked further into the room, allowing her to peer around him. She could see a short, wild-haired youth standing behind the counter, watching them with puzzled violet eyes.
Before Seto could continue, however, another, decisively unfriendly voice filled the room. "Kaiba! What's he doin' here?"
"Believe you me, Wheeler, there are many other places I would rather be at the moment," was the icy reply to the blonde-haired boy who had come out of one of the backrooms.
"Yeah? Well, den why don't ya go to dem, huh?"
Seto glanced idly at the short boy behind the counter. "Has he had his rabies shots? He appears to be foaming at the mouth."
"Argh! Kaiba!" Theblonde leaned across the counter, straining to reach the CEO. The other boy hastily reached over and grabbed him, keeping him back.
"Joey, stop it! Why don't you go back into the backroom and wait 'til he's gone; I can handle it."
"But Yugi–"
"That's right, Wheeler. Ignore me and I'll go away. It works for your fleas; it shouldn't be that much harder to do with me."
"Kaiba, I don't have fleas," he growled.
"I beg to differ. However, I didn't come here to argue with you, Wheeler. Do either of you know the current whereabouts of my younger brother?"
The two boys traded surprised looks. "No… I'm sorry, Kaiba, we don't," said the short one, slowly. "We saw him, what, two, three hours ago, now, Joey?" The blonde nodded. "But we don't know where he is now," the first boy continued.
"You saw him?"
The boy nodded.
"Did he mention his destination?"
"He said he was going home."
"Well, he never made it. Where was this encounter?"
"Not far from here. Hang on a sec, I'll show you." The boy half turned, shouting, "Grandpa! Can you cover the shop for a little while? I need to go out; it's important!"
There was a pause, then the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. An old man entered the room, looking about in surprise at the scene that greeted him. "I suppose so, Yugi. Don't take too long."
"I won't, Grandpa, thanks!" said the boy. He turned to the blonde. "You coming, Joey?"
His friend frowned, shifted uncomfortably, then nodded. "Yeah, Yug, I'm comin'. But not for ya," he added with a glare at Seto. "For the kid."
"I don't give a damn whether you come or what your reasons for doing so are, Wheeler." He was already heading for the door, brushing past Joan on his way. "Just show me the spot."
The two boys trotted after him, slowing down slightly to peer in curiosity at Joan and Willy. "Hey Kaiba, who's this?" the short boy asked.
"No one you need to concern yourself with."
The boy cocked his head at her in puzzlement.
"My name is Joan," she told him. She didn't elaborate further, as, though he seemed nice enough, she barely knew this boy.
Smiling amiably at her, he said, "I'm Yugi Motou. This is my friend Joey Wheeler."
She nodded at both of them. "It's nice to meet you."
"Hey! The last time I checked, when a person has been missing for several hours, it's considered an urgent situation – not one where you stand around and make formalities! Let's go!" Seto angry voice floated back to them. They hurried after him.
"This is the place?"
"This is it, Kaiba.The gang and I were heading to the Game Shop when we saw him going that way," Yugi explained, pointing to indicate what direction the boy had been going in. "We came over and talked to him for a little while. Then he said he needed to go home or people would start to worry."
"And he headed in the direction of the mansion?"
Yugi nodded, pointing again. "That way."
"That's the right way, all right," he mused aloud. "So why didn't he make it? Why wasn't he home hours ago?"
No one had any answers.
"Hey, maybe de mutt can sniff 'im out," Wheeler suggested, looking at the golden retriever that was sitting at Seto's feet.
"Really, Wheeler? I didn't know your nose was that strong," Seto smirked.
"Kaiba, I'm not a dog."
"Odd. You sure are growling like one."
"Hey, cut it out, you two. Isn't finding Mokuba more important?"
They both glared at Yugi, but had to agree.
"Joey had a good point, Kaiba," Yugi reasoned. "Can your dog track him?"
Seto resisted the urge to taunt Wheeler again and said, "No."
"Why not?"
"First off, we're in the middle of downtown Domino. There are so many scents here – people, shops, food, all the usual clutter that inhabits a city of any size – that a trained bloodhound would have difficulty separating them. Secondly, there's nowhere for him to start. We don't have anything with Mokuba's smell on it for him to get his scent."
"Oh."
"Enough chit chat. Start looking." With that, Seto strode off in the direction Yugi had pointed in. If anyone said anything to him after that, he was too caught up in his search to hear him.
That is, until he heard a startled shout, and Yugi frantically shouting for him. He ran in the direction of the voice, adrenaline surging through him. What had they found?
He soon found out for himself. Standing in an alley, gaping at something that lay at their feet, were Yugi and Wheeler. He heard Joan and Carlson running up behind him, attracted by the shouting.
And there, sprawled on it's side, one wheel spinning gently in the wind, was a wheelchair.
Seto drew in a deep, slow breath, and walked carefully past the two boys over to the chair. Willy followed him, whining softly. The CEO scratched the dog's head absently, trying to focus on the task at hand and not let the worry for his brother cloud his judgment.
Studying the scene, Seto tried to get an idea of what had happened. Judging from the position of the wheelchair, Mokuba had indeed been heading for home when someone in the alley had grabbed him, knocking over the chair and making him easy prey. The snapped seatbelt was testimony to how they had managed to get him out of the chair without someone on the street noticing. The end result was obvious, as there was no sign of the boy now. He clenched his fists, anger flaring up. His brother had been kidnapped. Again.
He heard Willy whining again, and looked down at the dog. He was nudging something on the ground.
"I don't… suppose there's any chance the chair isn't Mokuba's?" he heard Joan say hesitantly.
"No. There isn't," he replied, certainty in his tone.
"How can you be sure?" she challenged, though she didn't sound like she believed it herself.
He stepped over to Willy, bending down and picking up the item he had found. He held it up for them to see.
It was a locket, shaped to look like a Duel Monsters card. An identical one hung around his own neck.
Yugi, Wheeler, and Carlson all looked at it grimly, knowing what it meant. Joan had never seen it before, but she understood the implications, and closed her eyes as if in pain.
"What do we do now?" she asked.
"We find him."
"How?" she demanded.
"Well, we've already tried the traditional way, that being 'look,' so we're going to have to go a bit more high-tech, won't we? Luckily for us, technology is my specialty." He started to storm off, and was about to snap for Carlson andJoan to follow him when a voice stopped him.
"Kaiba, wait! We'll help!"
It was Yugi. He turned back to look at the smaller boy. "No. You won't."
Puzzlement crossed his features. "Why not? The more people looking, the greater the chance of finding him, right?"
Seto grit his teeth. He would not, could not accept any more help from his rival. His pride wouldn't stand for it, even for Mokuba. He met Yugi's gaze, trying to convey this without saying it aloud. Slowly, understanding, if not agreement, dawned in the boy's eyes.
"No." Seto repeated.
This time, Yugi gave him a slow nod and a sad smile. "All right, Kaiba. I understand."
"Wha- Yug, you're not jus' gonna stand for dat, are ya?" Wheeler protested.
Yugi looked at him. "I'll explain later, Joey." Turning back to Kaiba, he said, "You'll let us know when you find him?"
Seto couldn't help but feel grateful at that, though he didn't let it show. Yugi had said "when you find him." Not "if you find him." He nodded in answer to the boy's question.
"Okay. Thank you." Yugi grabbed Wheeler's arm and began to walk away. He stopped at the entrance to the alleyway and turned back. "Good luck, Seto," he said softly, and left.
Seto stared after him, then gazed up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, and pinks, oranges, and purples were streaked across the clouds. It was a beautiful sight, but the CEO saw none of it. All he could see was a pair of gray eyes, wide and scared, but at the same time filled with hope. Hope that he wouldn't be left alone, hope that he would be safe, hope that his big brother would chase away all of his fears. He had seen that look so many times…
His hand tightened around the locket. "Little brother…" he murmured. He looked down at the locket. "…Damn…"
He looked over at Carlson and Joan. "Carlson, grab that wheelchair. Both of you come with me. We have work to do."
A/N: Sorry if Joey looked like a bit of an idiot in this chapter. I actually like Joey; I wasn't trying to bash him. It's just so much fun to have Seto taunt him...