I haven't forgotten about this; I've been busy with courses and other projects.

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Ally of Justice Kaibaman 2: Red vs Ra

Chapter Five

A happy bunny, Joey was not. He'd spent the majority of the night searching the city for Hirutani; in fact, he checked some places two or three times and he couldn't fathom how one person could be so difficult to find when they had nowhere to go.

"Maybe Tristan knows something..." he wondered, blocking out the rabble from the design team. "He called Seto to warn me...he must know something." The CEO had explained that Tristan had phoned him earlier in the day, and that he had left the blonde a message warning him to be careful.

He should check his messages more often, but he wasn't used to having a cell phone.

"Hey, Joe." Finger snapped in front of him and the honey eyes focused again. "You with me?"

Joey shifted his eyes from the hand in front of him to the tall brown haired, blue-eyed figure next to him. He smiled. "Sorry Chris."

He chuckled. "It's alright. What has you thinking so hard?"

The blonde rubbed his temples and yawned. "You didn't hear about my daring rescue yesterday?"

"Word is getting around." Chris grinned. "Had enough of Kaiba yet?"

"Keep dreaming, buddy." Joey stuck his tongue out. "Anyway, the guy I floored was a...old acquaintance from Middle School."

"I see..." Chris' brow furrowed and another grin spread onto his face. "Hey, this new bar opens tonight, want to go?" Joey raised a brow at him. "Just as friends! Seriously."

"Loved to, but..." He had patrol with Seto. How had they managed this double life with such seamless effort for so long? How were they not crashing out at their desks? How had Joey not fallen asleep on his bike? "I'm helping Seto with a ton of paperwork."

Chris' brow rose. "Doesn't Mokuba do that?"

"Yeah." The blonde scratched the back of his head with a nervous laugh. "I'm filing it."

"You work too hard." The taller of the two smiled. "Next time, maybe? If the place is any good."

Somehow, Joey managed a genuine smile. "Yeah, maybe."

-Spinning Mokuba Head Scene Change!-

The bike weaved effortlessly through the traffic and the engine purred. Joey had noticed an odd sound when he had taken it for a test drive before lunch – probably caused by the accident – but the technicians were quick to fix it. This test drive was actually a quick patrol of the city; he wanted to test the holographs realism to scare muggers and thieves away; however, if he should happen to spot Hirutani in the process, there was nothing to stop him finishing what he started the day before.

The city was quiet though; he and Seto were a strong presence and petty criminals rarely bothered to cause trouble anymore – not unless they were really desperate – and Hirutani seemed avid to stay hidden. Up ahead, Joey spotted a familiar vehicle around the corner at the lights, just as his lane was gearing to move again; he needed the attention of the driver, but he was stuck behind a huge 4x4.

What better time to test the holograms.

The duel disk functioned as long as the bike was running; the duel mode allowed two riders to battle it out safely. Joey pulled a monster from his deck and slapped it to the disk. With a flicker, Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared with a roar.

"Stop that car, buddy," Joey ordered and the Dragon flew ahead of the bike and turned to hover in front of the vehicle, which had to skid to a stop. Tristan stepped out and Joey waved as he approached, flicking the front of the visor up. "Need to talk to you."

"Are you crazy? You could've caused an accident!" Tristan roared.

"Someone's cranky," the blonde noted.

"You would be too in my line of work; trust me on that," he growled. "What is it?"

"Where's Hirutani hiding?"

Tristan ran a hand over his tired eyes. "What makes you think I'd know?"

"C'mon Tristan, you have to know!"

A honk behind them startled the pair.

"HOLD YOUR HORSES!" the brunette sighed. "I don't, but if I get a clue you'll be the first to know. Now get out of here; talking to you is bad for my image."

"One more thing?"

Tristan's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Can Seto and I have a Batman type signal? Y'know...Blue-Eyes and Red-Eyes overlapping?" He curled his hands into claws and crossed his wrists. "Like this?"

Tristan knew he was grinning under the helmet. "Yeah, because the Mayor will give me a budget for that. Get out of here!"

-Spinning Mokuba Head Scene Change!-

Chris wished Joey was with him as he stood in line for the club; not because he had a crush on him, but because he hadn't seen much of the blonde since Kaiba Corp. began the D-Wheeler project. The pair were good friends, it didn't seem to bother his boss either, and he wished Joey didn't work so hard.

"Maybe next time," he hoped, but didn't see it happening. The bouncer on the door stamped his hand and let him in; the walls shook in time with the music and bodies filled the main bar area. Chris eased his way between them and leaned casually against the bar to order a drink; he tapped his foot to the beat of a song and looked around as he waited when someone brushed up against him. When he turned his head, his blue eyes met green.

"My apologies." He smiled. "It's crowded in here."

"It's alright." Chris grinned and watched the barman set his drink down. "Drink?"

"No thank you."

The brunette shrugged and paid for his drink while studying the newcomer out of the corner of his eye in the dim light; he had black hair tied into a ponytail and something hanging from one ear. Chris took a quick swig of his drink and held out his hand. "I'm Chris."

A slender hand entered his and grasped it firmly. "Duke."

The bar lights brightened the room for a split second and blue eyes widened. "Duke Devlin? Holy crap, my boss will kill me for saying this...but...I loved Dungeon Dice Monsters!" He felt his cheeks redden. "I couldn't get the hang of Duel Monsters, but...wow; I can't believe I'm talking to you." He took another long swig of his drink.

"Who is your boss?"

"Seto Kaiba," he blurted out. "You were in the paper yesterday with him, you two had dinner and-"

Duke ran his fingers through Chris' hair. "So, you know Joey?"

Chris swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, he's my friend. I tried to get him here tonight but...but he's busy with company stuff," he babbled.

Duke's arm snaked around his neck and he pressed his body against the brunette's. "That's a shame," he said and then brought his lips close to Chris' ear. "There are some private rooms in the back." He drew back and winked.

The brunette's head suddenly felt a little hazy, which was strange because his drink wasn't very strong, and, somehow, he found himself nodding and being led by the hand through the crowds. Duke approached a row of doors and tried each one until it opened to a brightly lit space with a large booth next to a round table.

"This will do." He smiled seductively at the brunette and tugged him inside; he pressed him against the door and locked it with one swift movement of his slender fingers. "Nowhere to run now."

"I...I um..." Chris flushed.

Duke chuckled and strolled over to the booth with a sway in his hips; Chris watched him for a second and slowly followed, watching as the dark haired boy sat on the edge of the booth with a smirk. The brunette stood in front of him, wondering if he should make the first move when Duke grabbed his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. Chris had to brace himself on the booth and table but soon eased Duke back to lie on the seats; his head felt fuzzy again and he tried to figure out what was causing it when Duke brushed their tongues together and distracted him.

Duke slowly pulled back from the kiss and a gold mist passed between their lips; he lay limp across the seat and Chris hung his head for a moment, one knee resting on the edge of the seat. He lifted his head and smiled.

"That was easier than I thought." He looked down at the sleeping Duke and ran a thumb across his cheek. "You were a useful host; I shall reward you by not killing you." He stood straight and made his way to the door, unlocked it and closed it behind him as he left.