"So . . . nice weather outside today." It was a statement that, at that precise moment, under those circumstances, could only have been voiced by Yugi. His attempt at breaking the awkward silence failed; the silence returned to its stubborn persistence after he spoke. The group sat all facing each other at a large round table. No one spoke simply from shock; except for Joey, who simply hadn't come around to knowing what it was that he should say. Even after Yugi had related to his friends what Kaiba had revealed about Mokuba, they certainly hadn't expected the young Kaiba Corp Vice President to show up at the back door of Solomon Moto's game shop.

"Look, guys, I realize that Seto's a jerk and treats you pretty badly. But that's the whole point. I'm trying to get my big brother back. My brother isn't really like that," Mokuba paused.

"Wait," Joey inserted. "Lemme get dis straight: You're tryin' to tell us that Money Bags ain't your real brother?" Frowns of annoyance appeared across the room, the deepest on Mokuba's face, simply because he hadn't had as much time to get used to Joey's not-so-brilliant remarks. The younger Kaiba, wisely, chose to ignore him. Instead, he turned imploring eyes to Yugi.

"Does he care? I mean, is he trying at all?" Overcome with the near despair of the boy, Tea rushed him with a hug, which he accepted stiffly.

"Of course he does, Mokuba. He has to!" She exclaimed, more for her own comfort than to answer Mokuba. "There's no way-" Joey shook his head in disbelief. Sure, Kaiba could be downright cruel at times, but Joey always knew that he had a soft spot for his younger brother. That Mokuba was even questioning this was just plain wrong, in his mind. But he didn't find it quite as hard to believe that Kaiba's behavior had merited Mokuba's unusual behavior.

"It seems that he doesn't quite know what to do, Mokuba," Yugi finally replied. "But he is trying." Mokuba shook his head in firm disagreement.

"He had the note," he said, almost accusatory, as he began to pace the room. "He knows what to do." Yugi was suddenly picturing Mokuba as a police negotiator, determined to have his demands met. "You have to talk to him," Mokuba continued more earnestly. "You, or the other you. You can help me get my brother back."

Seto sat in his office, still not working after having accomplished virtually nothing the entire day. Leaning back in his chair, he held a piece of paper loosely in his hands – a note from his younger brother.

Seto-

By now you may or may not have noticed that I have left. You may think this weak of me, but I hope that you have noticed, because it means that you still care.

I will not be coming back. I wish I could say that it isn't your fault, and in some ways that's true – I would never have had to do this if the brother I used to have was here. I hope that he is still there, somewhere, but I just can't stand the person that he's become.

This is not just an attempt to get attention; please don't think that. I'm really doing it for you. If you really want things to go back to the way they used to be, I can be found.

And you know how to get help. If I know you, then you've already decided to ignore this advice because you know who I'm talking about.

You know all about making deals, this is one I'm making with you. And that's part of the deal. Get over yourself and accept help for once.

I hope to see you soon, big brother,

Mokuba