Disclaimer: WookieeBeta still does not own Yuugiou. Pity her.


Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude

Chapter Twelve: Lies and Eyes

By WookieeBeta


Planting his elbows on the desk and folding his hands in front of him, the gray-haired man leaned forward and frowned slightly. The charts on the wall behind him identified him as an oceanographer specializing in the Gulf of Mexico; however, the lack of certificates and awards suggested that he was a freelancer rather than a government employee.

"Could you please explain to me again why precisely you want me to take you down to Alaminos, Mister Kaiba?" the grizzled man said.

The young CEO took a deep breath before beginning. He spoke English fluently, but the man's peculiarly Texan accent made him slightly difficult to understand; also, his own Japanese accent made it hard for the partially-deaf American to understand what he said. "I am researching for a new game I'm designing," he said as clearly as possible. "I am basing part of the game on this canyon; I'd like to see it first-hand, in order to make the game as realistic as possible."

The old man (Kaiba vaguely remembered his name as Smith) raised an eyebrow. "A game? Why precisely do you want to make a game about this canyon?"

"My company creates virtual reality games," Kaiba explained. "This will be our first solely educational game. We will base each section on one specific location roughly representative of each zone. Our computer randomly selected this canyon out of a list of possible locations."

Smith leaned back in his chair, seeming to accept this. "I'm sorry if I'm being rude," he said. "It's just that there have been some strange things going on in that area in the last few days, and I can't help but be a little suspicious."

It was Kaiba's turn to frown. "Strange things? What kind of strange things?"

"Oh, nothing most people would notice," Smith replied dismissively. "The fish have all deserted that area; it's like they've been spooked off. I've seen it happen before, when someone tried to plant a rig over the canyon."

Kaiba eyed the man uneasily for a moment before turning back to business. "When will you be able to take me out?"

"Ah...how does the day after tomorrow sound? If you stay here in Galveston, I can pick you up in the morning and drive you down to the company marina. We can be at the canyon by two in the afternoon."

Kaiba nodded in acknowledgement. "I would appreciate it greatly. What time should I expect you?"

"We'll have to get out of here pretty early if we want to have enough daylight at the canyon - how does three in the morning sound? I know it's obscene, but - "

"Three sounds excellent. I will expect you then. I'm in the single-room flat at Bishop's Bungalow - you know the location, I presume?"

Smith nodded. "I used to live near there. Three AM, day after tomorrow."

"Perfect. Have a good day, Mr. Smith."

"And you, Mister Kaiba." They shook hands, and the Japanese teen left.

Behind him, Smith shut the door and sat on the edge of his desk. "Man, they sure do turn 'em out young over there these days."


"What're your plans for the weekend, Jou?" Anzu asked, glancing up from her book just long enough to ask the question.

"Mmmmph vrrrng grrgh vrrhe fughorugho vhifhg mhhrghhrvuh."

The aspiring dancer sweatdropped. "Uh...chew, and then answer," she suggested.

Jounouchi swallowed his huge bite of hamburger and tried again. "I'm going to see Sugoroku with Mokuba," he repeated.

"You're not serious!" his friend blanched. "Jounouchi, you can't just go see him out of the blue and start talking about Yuu - I mean..."

The blonde glowered at her in a remarkably good impression of Kaiba. "I have to know, Anzu. I just have to. If it was him, I have to find out why he's been avoiding us, and if it wasn't then at least I can offer 'Jiisan some support."

"You do what you want, I suppose," Anzu sighed. "I just don't think this is a good idea..."

"Just go back to reading your book, Anzu," the blonde replied.

The day passed slowly. Psychology and Language Arts were painfully boring; with Yuugi missing and Kaiba absent, algebra was even worse than usual. At long last the final bell rang, and Jou was out the door like a shot. It was a half-hour walk to the Kaiba mansion. Mokuba surprised his "surrogate brother" (as he'd taken to calling Jou in the elder Kaiba's absence) by opening the door himself and nearly forcing a plate of cookies down the blonde's throat as they left. They lasted all of one block. The raven-haired Kaiba's hyperness seemed to wear off as they approached the Kame Game Shop; Jou's anxiety level was sky-high and still rising.

"Well, nothing for it but to go for it, I s'pose," he said with forced cheerfulness. "You want to do the honors?" Mokuba shook his head, suddenly shy, so Jou knocked on the door himself. It opened almost immediately.

"Welcome to Kame Game Sh - oh, Jounouchi! And Mokuba! What are you two doing here?" The elderly Mouto's tone was light, but the blonde could see the slump in his frame that hadn't been there before.

"We came to see how you were doing," Jou said quickly, stepping inside. "I...I take it Yuugi hasn't turned up?"

Sugoroku shook his head with a sigh. "No. You would have been the first to know, I promise."

"...ah..." Jou's face fell; he'd been hoping against hope that his friend really had managed to escape somehow, and to hear anything to the contrary was almost heartbreaking.

Mokuba felt the tension in the air, and it made him uncomfortable. So he dug into his arsenal of 'atmosphere-breakers' and pulled out his usual weapons: Hyperness and The Kiddy Eyes. "Hey, Jouno," he said, tugging on Jou's sleeve. "Jouno?"

"Yeah? What is it, pipsqueak?"

"Since we're here...can I get some new cards? Seto almost never lets me come!" The cuteness factor jumped one notch, then another.

"Well..."

And another.

"Oh, come on," Sugoroku laughed. "I'll put it on your brother's tab, all right?"

"Cool!" Mokuba chirped, grinning. Score for the Eyes!


A/N 1: Nothing to say. Move along, move along…

A/N 2: Title change. – WB 09Nórui2006