Welcome to part 2 of "The Boys." I came up with this scenario when I came to realize that for all the conflict Mokuba has dealt with in his young life, he hasn't really come face-to-face with that harbinger of emotional destruction that most kids deal with: bullies. Then again, maybe there aren't many who have the gall to pick on the richest kid in the school. I'm not sure.

In any case, as I mentioned before, this section is only 2 chapters long, as opposed to some of my later stories that will take 3 or even 4 to complete. Still, I had a lot of fun with it, and I think it shows an important element to both Mokuba's and Seto's characters. And that's what I'm doing this for in the first place, after all.


1.


Scooter Rodriguez stared incredulously, clearly not comprehending the idea that some little brat—never minding that Mokuba was only two years younger than Scooter himself—could possibly not only be unafraid of his clearly superior thuggish-ness, but insult him.

He did not understand what real confidence was.

"Hey!" Hunter snapped, and Mokuba didn't bat an eye. "You better watch your mouth, Kaiba! And how about you remember something: you came to us. So show some respect."

"Respect?" Mokuba asked sharply. "I don't know what sort of power you dorks think you have, but I respect people that earn it. And if you think that—" here he waved a contemptuous hand at Scooter "—has earned my respect, then you're about as stupid as he looks."

Too busy glaring at Hunter, Mokuba didn't notice the awed, nigh-worshipful expression on Connor's face. The blond boy had known, almost right from the start, that William Hunter and Mokuba Kaiba would never get along. There had been an instant animosity that somehow just felt like it would never go away. But now, Connor realized something:

Even if Mokuba didn't force Connor to make a choice, his brother certainly would. And as he watched the young Kaiba work, he realized that there wasn't any choice to make, anyway.

The choice had already been made.

"Did you...just call me a dork?" Hunter asked.

"No," Mokuba sneered, "I asked you out to dinner."

"Now listen, here, you—"

"Little punk? Brat? Bitch? I've heard it all, you know. I've heard worse. You don't scare me, Hunter. So unless you've got something new up your sleeves, I'm not exactly interested. So far, I'm just bored."

"You better be scared o—" Scooter started, complete with nonsensical hand gestures. Hunter shook his head, clearly getting fed up with his yapping guard dog, but said nothing.

"Aaaaahhhh..." Mokuba "cried," holding up his hands, "oh, no...the big, bad wolf is gonna blow my house down..."

Connor laughed, and Mokuba wondered if Scooter Rodriguez would actually explode. Hunter didn't look particularly enthused, either. A couple of the others seemed somewhat amused, but the looks on their faces showed that they didn't want to admit it.

"You might want to remember," Hunter said, straining to keep his voice calm in order to sound frightening (and failing), "that your school's in my neighborhood. I own that place, okay? So you can chicken out of this if you want, but it sure would be a shame if everybody found out what a little pansy the great Mokuba Kaiba really is."

Mokuba snickered, looking up at the sky. "That's awesome, Hunter. Really. But I really couldn't care less what you and your lapdogs think of me. You aren't worth worrying about."

"Aren't worth—"

Hunter held a hand out to silence Scooter. "That might be," he said, and he almost sounded as if he weren't scrambling for purchase, "but...you do care about your friend...don't you? You don't really want to bring Brinkley down with you...do you?"

"Oh, so now it's Brinkley," Mokuba said with a smirk. "What happened to 'Con'?"

Connor frowned. "You know what? Never mind. This is stupid. Let's go, Mokuba."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Hunter said sharply. "What's this? What is this? C'mon, man, you're one of us! You're not backin' out already, are ya? For some...punk?"

"This 'some punk' doesn't abandon me based on stupid decisions...like showing up here. Like listening to you. He doesn't call me 'Brinkley' when he's pissed off at somebody, doesn't use me as a bargaining chip. Doesn't ask me to steal."

"Yer both bitches!" Scooter snarled.

"Cute, Scooter, cute," Mokuba said. "You know big-boy words. Good for you. Maybe Hunter will give you a treat and pat you on the head for it. Go on, boy. Sit."

"Smart guy, huh? You think you can take all'a us, Moku-bitch? Huh?"

Mokuba's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"...Call me that again, Rodriguez. We'll find out."


2.


"Holy...what is this?"

"A hospital," Seto answered without looking at Joey. "It is, I am sure you realize, unfinished. But what this is, aside from the fact that it is where my brother has found himself, is unimportant."

"Whatcha think he's doin' here?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't think the kid would wanna come to this place if he was lookin' for a band-aid."

"I do not know," Seto said distractedly, and his voice held the faintest tinge of fear-irritation that told the blond he was worried about what he might find.

Joey couldn't blame him. A construction site wasn't exactly the prime place for an eleven-year-old to hang out, and any reason Mokuba might have to be there had a pretty high chance of being the opposite of good.

Was this irony tweaking Seto Kaiba's nose? Joey wondered.

He hoped not.

"Well, don't see 'im nowhere obvious," he said. "Guessin' he weren't callin' for a ride."

Seto scowled, none too pleased with Joey's commentary. He said nothing, however, choosing instead to scan the scene in front of him. Striding away from his car, he walked purposefully toward one of the workers, a tan-skinned twenty-something with a shirt tied about his head like a bandana. The man looked up.

He stood quickly as Seto approached, and his arm twitched upward a bit as if he'd been about to salute. He settled on wiping his hands on his jeans. "Holy...Seto Kaiba! Sir!"

Seto stopped in front of the man. "My brother is somewhere on this site. Where is he?"

"Uh..." the man blinked at the suddenness, the sharpness, of Seto's tone. He said, "I...I'm not sure, sir. I, uh...think I might'a seen some kids out near the back, over that way, though...sir."

The man pointed behind him.

Seto nodded. "Thank you," he said.

"Yeah," Joey added with a wink and a click of his tongue, "thanks, man." He patted the tanned man on the shoulder as he passed.

The man did not respond, so surprised to have seen his employer's employer that he seemed unable to produce breath, much less speech, and would later be frustrated but quite relieved that he had not asked for an autograph.


3.


"You're just...going to let this happen, huh?" Hunter asked.

Connor frowned. "Let what happen?"

"We're buddies, Con," came the reply, sounding half-pleading, half-scathing, "so why're you letting this guy screw that up? If he don't like it, why's that matter?"

"Mokuba was my friend first," Connor said, in a voice that was quite a bit stronger, braver, than was usual for him. He was usually rather meek, soft-spoken. But now, apparently taking from Mokuba's example, he was stern, and unwavering. "I trust him. If he doesn't like you guys, then I think there's probably good reason for that."

"How 'bout da fac' dat we don' like him, huh?"

"He doesn't like you because you're a raging moron," Connor snapped at Scooter. He noted, amused despite the fear that he was trying so hard to mask, that there wasn't really an outcry of objection to this.

"What the hell—"

"Shut it, Scoot," Hunter snarled, "you're proving them right, for Christ's sakes! Just...shut up and let me talk."

Connor took an unconscious step toward Mokuba, who seemed plainly amused by the whole thing. Mokuba smirked as he watched Hunter, and it looked so much like his brother that it seemed like an optical illusion.

Mokuba's hands slowly slipped out of his pockets, either in preparation to fight or to run. Connor wasn't sure which that the young Kaiba would choose, but he hoped that they would run. Connor knew how to run; he had no clue how to fight.

The blond boy thought that perhaps he should fix that problem at some point, in case something like this situation happened again.

"You can't just walk away from us, Brinkley," Hunter said coldly. "That's not how we do things. We invited you into the circle, and now you're backing out of your end of that deal? For some girly, pansy little punk?"

"Most people seem to like those of us who don't steal," Mokuba muttered. "I think I feel better being a pansy. At least I won't end up in prison."

"You're not pulling some high-hung moral garbage with me," Hunter replied sharply, "you're just chickening out."

"Right. I'm shaking."

This time, Mokuba didn't bother to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Hunter's eyebrow twitched; Scooter puffed out his chest.

"So, are you idiots done trying to intimidate me?" Mokuba asked. "I told you already. I'm not scared of you. Pegasus Crawford couldn't break me; you don't stand a chance. You can think you're tough all you want. Truth is, the real threats in my life could crush any of you without blinking."

He said this coldly, with a completely neutral expression on his face, and it struck Connor that he didn't know a single thing about his best friend's past.

He was suddenly scared to know.

"You think so...huh?"

"A'right, ladies, break it up!"


4.


Brent Tuscadero wasn't an especially brave man.

At least, he didn't think he was.

In fact, his current position kind of pointed out to him the fact that he was rather cowardly. C'mon, lying around hiding from a bunch of middle schoolers, waiting for them to steal his drill so he'd finally get them on tape in the act? So he could crawl back to Oliver Richards and tell him, see, see? I was right. They were taking my stuff! Bullies! Bullies!

He drew in a deep breath and forced it out in a frustrated huff. This was ridiculous. What was he doing? Those kids were going to get clobbered, and what was he going to do about it? Just sit here?

"...the real threats in my life could crush any of you without blinking," the black-haired boy was saying. Tuscadero knew that this one was Mokuba Kaiba, heir to the Kaiba Corporation. He didn't know the other boy. But did that really matter? Was he going to just...sit there? And watch them get the crap kicked out of them by a bunch of preppy, snobby little brats like Will Hunter and "The Boys"?

He got to his feet.

"You think so...huh?" Hunter was asking.

Tuscadero was about to step out into the open and call out to the little punk when he saw a young man with blond hair and a green jacket stride out toward them, a cocky grin on his face.

"A'right, ladies, break it up!"

The blond man was probably a teenager, but he still towered over Hunter and looked like someone who was no stranger to a fight. The blond was dressed casually; his jacket was actually just an over-shirt; he was dressed in blue jeans and sneakers.

But behind him...

Walking slowly, almost strolling, followed by a pair of men that looked like they'd fit right into the headquarters of the FBI, was the Man of the Hour himself.

Seto Kaiba, in all his Mafia boss splendor, watched the scene before him like he was wondering which of these gladiators would die first for his amusement.

Brent Tuscadero stood there, in his hiding spot, and couldn't move.


5.


Mokuba and Connor both jumped.

It was Joey who spoke, with a dangerous glint in his eyes and a wide, sneering grin on his face that made Mokuba's heart soar. And as if his newly instated volunteer bodyguard didn't do enough to lift his spirits, he saw that behind the blond, looking as immaculately irritated as he always did, was Seto.

The Boys were staring at Joey, but Mokuba stared at his brother. He dared to look relieved, until Seto caught his eyes. As if all the fear that Hunter and his gang had been trying to instill in him was suddenly let out, summoned by the icy gleam of his big brother's eyes, Mokuba suddenly found that his legs didn't want to support him.

It would strike him later that it was rather funny, really. That the game Hunter and The Boys had been trying to play, trying to intimidate him into quailing, could be so easily, so effortlessly, brought out by Seto Kaiba's very presence.

But then Seto turned to William Hunter, and the glare that had so frightened Mokuba magnified one-hundred fold, and that had an effect where none of Mokuba's antics had. Hunter went stiff, and his face whitened. He looked like he wanted to find somewhere to hide, to escape from that stare.

"Well, oh, well, boys!" Joey crowed in false (or perhaps it was real) glee, and crossed his arms over his chest. "We jus' been teachin' people lessons all over the place, ain't we? S'like we got a brand new batch o' fresh idiot flyin' into the city, huh? Whatcha think, Kaiba?"

"I...do not think that they are new," Seto said, and his tone was deceptively soft. "I would...assume that they are simply stupid."

Mokuba saw it, which meant that Seto of course had seen it; Will Hunter was getting angry. And with him, the rest of The Boys were angry as well.

"Before you ask," Seto said idly, "yes. I just insulted you. And I know that you know it, so do not bother asking. Do not speak, in fact. I am not interested in your pointless prating."

"Who the f—"

"Shut the hell up, Scooter!" Hunter all but screamed.

Scooter Rodriguez drew in a shocked breath and finally stopped trying to speak. Hunter tried to look stern, but in the face of Seto's cold, almost unfeeling anger he wasn't quite able to. It did Mokuba's heart well to see it, but he didn't dare smile.

"Wheeler."

"Yo?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Deal with that idiot."

A wide, sadistic grin rose on the blond's lips, and he walked over to Scooter like some breed of natural predator stalking its prey. "You wanna know who the fuck that is?" he asked. "Hm?"

Scooter tried one of his lip-puffing pouts.

Joey's fist cracked against that lip, and Scooter Rodriguez went sailing backward into Owen Gregor, and both of them dropped to the ground.

"Don't try that shit with me," Joey snapped. "Real men don't pout, you frickin' dork. 'Specially not if yer tryna act tough. Goddamn moron."

Hunter didn't react. None of them did.

They didn't dare.

"This is done," Seto said sharply. "You are leaving. Now."

"H-Hey," Hunter tried to speak, his voice barely there. "W-We didn't...we didn't..."

"I am the owner of this property," Seto cut him off, "and you are trespassing. Now leave."

Joey stepped toward the teen, and when the leader of The Boys didn't respond, he lifted a foot - almost casually - and snapped it against Hunter's chest, knocking him easily onto his backside.

"M-My father's a lawyer!" Hunter squawked. "You...you can't...!"

"My father was a drunk," Joey said flatly. "If you gotta point in there, might be nice if ya found it."

"You...you...!"

"Your father the lawyer," Seto said contemplatively, and Hunter stared at him, "will not be in this city for another two days. And your babysitter does not have the money to make bail. Now...leave my property."

And Hunter lost what was left of his confidence.

And he ran.


6.


"So...which one of you would care to explain this situation to me?" Seto asked, and his tone reminded Mokuba that he had good cause to be worried right now.

Connor blanched. "Uh...um...Mister Kaiba! I...I...it was me. I thought that...they were..."

He stopped trying to talk.

"You knew these boys, then."

"Well...I thought I did," came the sudden reply as Connor realized that simply accepting the blame wasn't going to be enough, that Seto expected an explanation. "They...they seemed...nice. I thought Will was..."

He still couldn't formulate a proper answer.

"Mokuba," Seto said sharply, and Mokuba flinched. The black-haired boy drew in a steadying breath, and looked up fearfully.

"Y-Yes...Niisama?"

"You had to know that these boys were worthless," Seto said. "I know that you have seen that Hunter idiot before. Why are you here?"

"Well...I...Connor wanted...me to meet...them," Mokuba said lamely.

"I thought they would like him!" Connor blurted out. "I thought...I thought that we...we'd all be friends..."

"And meeting them here did not strike either of you as odd?" Seto asked icily. "On private property, while—"

"But you own it!" Mokuba dared to protest.

"While construction is ongoing?" Seto snarled, and Mokuba went pale.

"Kids make mistakes, Kaiba," Joey put in. "Jus' wanted to hang wi' some buddies, is all. 'Course, buddies turned out t' be assholes, but how're they s'posed to know that 'til they try? Lay off."

Seto visibly, forcibly, calmed. But it did nothing for Mokuba's mood, for while he was thankful to Joey for intervening on their behalf, he still saw disappointment clearly written on Seto's face, and it cut.

Deep.

"I...I'm sorry, Niisama..."

"Ah...excuse me. Mister Kaiba...sir? If I may speak."


7.


Seto turned and watched, irritated, as a man approached him.

The man was tall, about six feet even, decently well-muscled and tanned from years of exposure to the sun. His hair was dark, cropped short, and a dark green handkerchief was folded and tied around his forehead.

Seto scowled at him. "And you are...?"

"My name is Brent Tuscadero, sir," the man said.

"And...what would you tell me, then, Brent Tuscadero?"

"Well," Tuscadero began, "that Hunter kid and his punk friends have been swiping my tools for a good two weeks now. Takes me forever to find them. And it's getting to the point where I'm gonna get the axe if it doesn't stop."

Seto's scowl deepened, and he crossed his arms impatiently. Mokuba knew that he was waiting for the point; he wasn't much for sympathy.

"So, uh," Tuscadero continued when he realized Seto was not going to respond, "today's my day off. I...didn't want to take it, but I'm not exactly too high on the boss's priority list right now, so...he wasn't much inclined to give me overtime. Uh...so I thought...well, I borrowed this—" here he lifted a digital camera he held in his left hand "—from my brother, and I put my drill up there. Thought I'd catch 'em in the act, right?"

Seto looked mildly interested now.

"Now, I...I don't wanna interfere with your business, sir, but...I thought maybe you should see this. Before you make any decisions."

He passed the camera to Seto, who flipped out the tiny monitor and began to play back the recording. He looked faintly interested, but also skeptical.

Joey leaned over to watch as well.


8.


By the time Seto handed back Tuscadero's camera, he was grinning. Joey was laughing. Seto glanced at Mokuba again, and now, instead of disappointment, he saw fierce pride; Seto's eyes shone, practically glowed, with it.

It was a switch so jarring that Mokuba didn't know how to react to it at first. But when Seto held his arm up and out from his side, a faint distance just enough to be sure that it was deliberate, Mokuba rushed over and threw his arms around his brother's waist, relief washing over him like warm water.

Seto ruffled his brother's hair. "I'm sorry, kid," he said softly. "I jumped to a false conclusion. Forgive me?" Mokuba's response wasn't quite a word, but it was sufficient. Seto smiled and pressed a hand against the boy's back. "Good job, little brother," he said.

"Guys did good," Joey put in, still chuckling. "Damn good."

"What would you have done," Seto asked after a moment, "if we had not shown? You would not have been able to handle them all."

"Prob'ly run," Mokuba mumbled, and Connor smiled, looking relieved. "Let 'em think we're chicken. Don' matter. I don't wanna lose any teeth over those clowns."

"Make 'em mad enough t' start swingin'," Joey said, "an' hang 'em out to dry? Hmmm...not too manly, but...y'know? I like it."

"But Niisama came to help," Mokuba said, almost to himself, smiling as he tightened his hold on his brother. He didn't say it, but they heard the added, "like I knew he would," as clearly as if he had.

"Of course," Seto said with another rare smile. "Can't have my vice-president accosted on my own property."

Joey laughed. "Not too good for PR, huh?"

"No."

Connor dared to widen his own smile. "...Thank you, Mister Kaiba, Joey," he said. "I...I thought we were toast. I'm really sorry about this...I thought...I thought that they..."

Seto held up a hand. "No need to explain. I should be apologizing. I did not allow you to explain your side of this situation. In fact...why don't I make it up to you? There is a fine restaurant nearby. What would you boys say to a late lunch?"

Mokuba gasped, looking up at his brother in shocked, new reverence. "Brisco's?" he cried.

"Of course," Seto said, chuckling.

"Oh! Oh! I want fajitas! Fajitas!"

The chuckle evolved to an actual laugh. "Fine, Mokuba. That's fine. You deserve it. Coming, then, Connor?"

Connor's smile faltered. "I...I'd love to," he said, "but...but I need to...to get home. Mom's gonna kill me."

Seto mulled this over. "Give me a moment," he said.

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched in a few keys, and waited. Placing it to his ear a few seconds later, he said, "Missus Brinkley. Good afternoon. Ah...yes, yes. He is with me, actually. I am sorry that I didn't inform you until now. I took the boys out to check on a project of mine. It's still under heavy construction. Ah...yes, of course. No, no, nothing like that. The reason I called, however, is...they were quite bored, here, and I thought I might take them to lunch. As compensation, you understand. Of course, of course...I fully understand. Five. Yes. It won't happen again. I assure you. Thank you. Goodbye, then, Missus Brinkley."

Seto slipped his phone back into his pocket. He glanced at Connor. "Be more careful from now on," he said. "You're getting me into trouble."

Connor half-smiled, half-flinched. "Y-Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Good answer. Now come on."

Mokuba gave his brother one last hug before stepping away, smiling up at him. "Thanks, Niisama!"

"Of course," Seto said again.

He took a small card—what looked like a business card—and a pen, scratching a note onto it and handing it to Tuscadero. "Give this to Richards," he said. "Your job shouldn't be in any danger, so long as you make up for lost time. If Hunter and his flunkies cause you any more trouble, call my personal assistant. The number is on the front of the card."

Tuscadero's grin was nearly as wide as Mokuba's. "Thank you, Mister Kaiba, sir! I will! Thank you!"

"You are welcome."

Seto turned to leave, and Mokuba trotted to keep up with him.

Joey sighed as he stepped past Tuscadero and watched Connor practically skip ahead of him, falling back as he had to laugh at the absurd, almost incredible circumstances of this day. He watched Seto, the man he had hated almost ever since he had met him, and shook his head.

Incredible.

Just...incredible.

"Learn somethin' new every day..." he muttered.


END


I said before that I was calling this first arc "The Matt Chronicles." I have since rescinded this name because it doesn't fit anymore. Matt won't be coming back for a while. That isn't to say you've all seen the last of him; but he won't be important again for quite some time. Instead, this arc's new name is "Lean on Your Pride." You may or may not recognize that as being from a song from the rock band Saliva, entitled "Famous Monsters," which I have long considered to be Seto's theme song.

And just to entice you all further...this isn't the end of Hunter and The Boys, either. We'll be running into them again, too.

Aren't you excited?