Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Title: Unarmed and Extremely Dangerous: 2-5: Demands and Deals
Characters: Seto, Otogi
Word Count: chapter: 4,362||story: 8,706
Genre: Friendship, Drama, Humor||Rated: PG-13
Feedback: All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Summary: Caught up in a bank robbery, Seto and Otogi must deal with the robbers. Their only weapons are a deck of cards and a handful of dice. Luckily, that's all they're going to need.

Soft little whispers on the edge of his hearing, that's what they were. Little noises, not so loud that he could understand them, but he could hear them nevertheless. They weren't as far away from him as they thought they were. He thought they were afraid of letting him out of their sight.

They should be. Kaiba Seto smiled at the very thought. It wasn't the kind of smile that would warm anyone's heart. If anything, hearts stopped beating at the sight of it. That was just as it should be. No one tried to keep him prisoner, much less attempt to get any money from him without properly earning it, and got away with it. He'd taught more than one person that and he had no objections to doing so yet again.

He remained where he was, stiff and unmoving, completely emotionless to the outward eye. Despite having taken one of the more comfortable seats in the lobby, his briefcase on the glass table in front of him, he appeared completely involved in whatever thoughts would occupy a powerful CEO while being held hostage.

That wasn't untrue, of course. What few watching could guess were the nature of those thoughts, which involved how to escape and drop these idiots into the hands of proper justice. He wouldn't have been offended if it turned out that he had to kill them instead. It most certainly wouldn't be the first time he'd taken someone else's life. These fools deserved it more than most people who lost their lives in his research and development team did.

Otogi, stretched out on the couch to his left, looked every bit as annoyed as Kaiba himself was about this. Perhaps more, since he'd been 'betrayed' by a pair of pretty girls. At least Kaiba thought they were conventionally pretty. None of the windows broke when the girls glanced at them and that was as far as he judged such matters. In some ways that might have been unfortunate. A broken window could be useful on more than one level. Escape, weaponry, distractions...

Kaiba turned his mind away from such fantasies and back to his work. Six of them. One of me. One more if Otogi is more useful than he is decorative.Those weren't the best odds to deal with, but he had a lot of experience in situations like this. It was workable. All of this would delay his plans with Mokuba for the afternoon but he could still handle everything. He'd already pushed those plans back once to accommodate Otogi. Changing them much farther was unacceptable.

Apparently bored, Otogi pulled out a set of his ever-present dice and tossed them into the air, catching them with careless ease before he met Kaiba's eyes. "How do we get out of this?"

At least he wasn't stupid enough to think they couldn't. Kaiba approved of that. And he wasn't idiotic enough to just start swinging madly at them, like some people he could name would have done. He just might be more useful than decorative.Kaiba wouldn't have thought that a day earlier. Though if it were actually true remained unproven.

"There are ways." He kept his voice low enough that their captors couldn't hear him and turned his briefcase toward him. Just as he'd told them, it required a fingerprint scan and a retinal scan before it opened up. Inside was something many people would've given their souls to own in this situation: a laptop. Otogi let one coal-black eyebrow slide upward at the sight of it.

"What do you intend to do with that?" Just as Kaiba had, he pitched his voice low enough so only Kaiba could hear him, his attention flicking upward now and then to where the robbers stood. Keeping an eye on them was another mark in his favor. They might have allowed him to keep the briefcase, but he doubted they were so stupid they wouldn't watch him if he started to use what was in it.

In mere moments, Kaiba's hands flew across the keyboard with practiced skill. Not everyone could get a wireless internet connection in this bank. Kaiba wasn't everyone. He didn't bother answering; what he intended would be obvious soon enough.

Otogi kept back a growl as the other worked; if there was someone more annoying as a fellow hostage, he didn't want to know who it was. For now, though, there wasn't much else he could do other than watch their supposed captors and keep at least some of his attention on Kaiba. Neither of those were the most stimulating activities he could think of, but it beat staring at the other hostages as they murmured among themselves. The girls didn't even want to talk to him at the moment. He didn't think he blamed them all that much. He wouldn't have wanted to talk to him either if he'd done what they had.

"Do you hear me?" The leader's voice rose higher, yelling into one of the bank's telephones, and Otogi turned his attention there. "We've got Kaiba Seto and Otogi Ryuuji in here, and if you want to see either of them breathing and walking upright ever again, you'll give us the money we want. If we have to start shooting people to prove we're serious, we'll do it."

Otogi rolled his eyes; so far as he could tell, these guys had watched far too many movies about robbing a bank and didn't know the first thing about how to do it themselves. Not to mention that their ransom demand needed a lotof work. Style, that was what they needed. Not that he would give them advice. Let the idiots bumble through on their own. Everyone learned best by experience.

The leader stalked over to the two of them, cordless phone in hand, red-faced and furious. Otogi looked forward to this. "The chief out there wants some evidence that I've really got you two. So speak up."

Kaiba didn't so much as lift his head, intent on whatever it was he was doing. Otogi leaned backward and slipped his best grin on. I can't wait to see his face when I tell him. "Just exactly who are you trying to get the ransom from?"

"You've got parents, don't you? You're one of those stuck up rich boys, right?" The leader snapped, holding the phone out again. "So say something so they know we've got you!"

They need more practice than I thought. Otogi tilted his head back a touch farther, his gaze more on the ceiling than on the robber or the phone. And incidentally (or perhaps not so much), keeping the robber's attention away from Kaiba and what he was doing. "No, I don't."

From the corner of one eye he could see the leader's jaw drop. Otogi stifled a smirk. Every bit as good as he'd anticipated. "You're kidding me." The words came out in a mix of a growl and raw astonishment. Otogi wasn't sure what else to call it, not that he was that intent on identifying it.

"Not a bit. My mother died when I was five and my father died a few years ago." His fingers twitched just a bit, trying not to think too much about the last. He and his father had reconciled to some extent before it happened, but there were still several memories Otogi preferred not to think about. "So, if you want to arrange my ransom, the person you need to talk to is me. There isn't anyone else who could pay it. I wouldn't advise trying to take my credit cards, either. I can have those cut off in nothing flat."

Funny, he'd never actually heard someone's teeth grind before. He flicked a brief moment of attention toward Kaiba, long enough to see the other still hard at work on whatever he was doing. More time to kill, any way that he could. He glanced back toward the robber and continued. "But I hope you're not holding your breath waiting for me to give you anything. Not going to happen."

"And why not?" The robber hissed, leaning over him, close enough for Otogi to smell his breath. Well, at least one 'bad guy' believes in personal hygiene. I've seen a few that don't. Otogi still didn't move, even as the other stared down at him from far too close. "Don't you want to get out of here in one piece?"

Otogi shrugged. "Of course I do. I'm just not going to pay you for what I can get for free." There was innuendo in there somewhere but he decided he'd rather not dig too deep and find it. Some things even he didn't care to think about.

"I think you'll change your mind sooner or later. If you don't have a family, that means no one is going to care what we do to you." The leader declared, trying to look menacing as he dug a finger into Otogi's ribs. Otogi compared it to expressions he'd seen in the past and judged it a four. No, three and a half. Four would require taking the mask off. He yawned and cast his eyes upward once again, saying nothing else.

He almost wondered if the robber would attempt to hit him when the finger in the ribs didn't get any response. Instead, the frustrated man whirled toward Kaiba, tension sharp and strong in his shoulders. "Never mind. I'll deal with you later. Hey! You! Kaiba! Pay attention! Someone's talking to you!"

The CEO slowly looked up, his ice-blue eyes narrowed. "This had better be important." Every word displayed his contempt for this entire situation.

For a moment Otogi wondered if the robber leader would put a bullet through Kaiba's laptop, or more importantly, through Kaiba himself. Instead, the other adjusted the grip on his gun and held the phone out. "Tell the chief you're here. You've got a brother, I know, he'll pay to get you back." A dark triumphant smirk twisted his lips, the expression partially hidden by the mask. "At least, you'd better hope that he will."

Otogi didn't know Kaiba well enough to read the tightening around his eyes, but he didn't have to in order to understand what came next. Kaiba snatched the phone and spoke clearly. "This is Kaiba Seto. Inform my brother that our standard policy is in effect: we don't pay anything." Without another word he shoved the phone back toward the other and returned to his work.

The robber leader stared at him and shook his head. "You rich people are idiots. You'll change your mind about this, sooner or later."

"And you want to be rich, which is why you're doing this." Otogi drawled, shifting his position in an attempt to get more comfortable. The couch wasn't uncomfortable, but it also wasn't as big or as plush as the one in his apartment. Given his options, it was better than nothing at all but he just couldn't lay there unmoving. The robber shot him a filthy look before he turned back to Kaiba.

"What do you think you're doing with that thing?" Not waiting for an answer, and in Otogi's opinion risking his life even more than he already had, he pulled the laptop around and stared at it in suspicion. "What is all of this?"

Kaiba reached over to pull the laptop back toward him, contempt flavoring his words. "Profit and loss margins over the last six months for KaibaCorp, centering on our Asian market, specifically the sale and rental of Duel Disks. If I can't leave, I can at least get some work done."

The robber glared at Kaiba as if he wished he were able to strike the duelist CEO dead with the look. When Kaiba failed to drop down dead, the robber stalked off back to his companions, filling the air around him with language that had a few people turning various shades of red. Otogi tried hard not to laugh, biting the inside of his cheek as hard as he could. Some things you just couldn't pay for.

As soon as the two of them were alone, or as alone as they could get at the moment, Otogi caught Kaiba's eye, letting one finely crafted eyebrow lift up in a silent question.

Kaiba's reply was to shift the laptop around just enough so the other could see it. Otogi wasn't surprised to see exactly what Kaiba'd said was there (and KaibaCorp was doing very well, too). What did surprise him was when Kaiba reached over to touch a few keys and an entirely different view appeared on the screen.

Blueprints for the bank? He wasn't sure if he wanted to know how Kaiba acquired those. Nor was he sure how they could help at the moment, but he doubted Kaiba had them just for the fun of it.

"What are you planning?" He kept his voice low; no one else needed to hear these plans, especially the people they planned against. A quick look showed that the girls were looking toward him but they weren't close enough to see or hear anything. That was all to the good; they didn't need to get involved in this anymore than necessary.

Kaiba touched the screen at a certain point and Otogi leaned over to figure out where that was. "There are service hallways that we can access from here." Another quick look up showed Kaiba's attention on an area behind one of the potted plants. "Once in there, we can get them to follow us. We can separate and take them out one or two at a time."

Otogi's lips curved up at that. "I like how you think." He toyed with one of the dice in his hands. These little toys could be deadly weapons in the right hands: such as his. More than one person had learned that the hard way.

Kaiba turned his laptop back to him, fingers flying over the keys once again. "Find a way for us to get into those service corridors without being seen. I have something to do first."

That got Otogi's eyes rolling. "Sure, leave me with the fun job."

Mokuba closed his eyes, stretched backward, and pushed the stack of books away. Yet another assignment finally completed. Maybe now I can take a little break. Seto refused to let him work himself to death, but he did like getting a certain amount of work done before he rested. He sauntered over to his private refrigerator and pulled out a soda before heading over to flop on the couch in front of his television.

Wonder when big brother's coming home. Strictly speaking, he should've been there already. He'd better not have forgotten we're going to KaibaLand tonight. Seto promised he'd be home early so they could enjoy the rest of the day there together. I think he said he had something to do at the bank first, though.

But even with that, his brother should've been home by now. Something must've come up. Mokuba glanced at his laptop, wondering if he should send an e-mail or even call Seto to see what was going on.

In a few minutes, he decided. It wasn't as if Seto were hours and hours late and even if he was, Seto was an adult. He could be late without Mokuba freaking out about it. It wasn't even as if it were the first time this happened. Still, Seto did normally call and let him know if something delayed him.

Until he knew if something really had delayed his brother that could be worse than a traffic jam, there wasn't much he could do, Mokuba told him. For now, he turned on the television and started clicking through the channels. Who writes some of this? He made a face at three or four of the programs, wondering if he should get Seto to hire some real writers to make television shows. Too much romance, not enough places and people blowing up.

Just as he was about to set the remote control down and find something more interesting to do, his cell phone rang. Mokuba checked out the number; not one that he knew offhand. A faint frown between his eyebrows, he clicked it on.

"Kaiba Mokuba here." If this was a wrong number, he knew several interesting ways to track whoever it was down and make their life miserable for at least an hour or two.

"Sir, I'm from the Domino Police Department." The voice wasn't one he recognized either, but whoever it was sounded stressed. "I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but it appears your brother, Kaiba Seto, has been taken hostage by a gang of bank robbers."

Mokuba's lips thinned before he smiled. "Did my brother send me any messages?" He reached for his laptop with his other hand, going through the necessary requirements to check his e-mail. Anything from Seto was always directed to a special folder and he wasn't surprised to find one there waiting for him.

"Yes, he did. He identified himself and said to tell you that your standard policy was in effect." The officer on the other end couldn't have been more confused. Mokuba only smiled more.

"Thank you, officer. Is this on the news yet?" He was surprised he hadn't seen it; a Kaiba being taken hostage, especially Seto, was great news.

"Yes, sir. Will you be coming down to the site?" If Mokuba read him right, the officer really did not want that to happen.

"No, I don't think so. I wouldn't want to get in your way. Just keep me updated." The only true part of that was that he wasn't going to down there. He didn't need to, not when he could keep himself updated as fast or faster as the cops themselves could.

He made a few polite farewells to the officer, then hung up and read his e-mail. It said effectively what he'd expected from hearing what was going on.

Mokuba, some idiots are robbing the bank. We might have to reschedule KaibaLand for the weekend, but I'm certain I'll be home in time for dinner. Have an extra plate set; I'm probably going to bring Otogi Ryuuji with me. We had some plans that this interrupted and I'll need to re-work them with him.

Mokuba spared enough time to contact the kitchen staff and let them know there would be a guest for dinner, then flipped through the channels until he found the right one. Another story played at the moment, so he took the opportunity to pop some popcorn. Wait, I can't do this by myself. Not enough fun!

He snatched up the phone and dialed in one of the few numbers he knew by heart. "Jounouchi? Did you hear about what's going on at the bank?"

"Which bank?" Mokuba couldn't see Jounouchi but the tone of his voice said the older man rolled his eyes. "There are a lot of them in Domino."

"The main branch of Domino Bank, of course. Some idiots are trying to rob it." He held back for a moment, knowing Jounouchi was going to love this. "Big Brother's there. They've 'taken him hostage'."

One heartbeat. Another. A third. Then raucous, almost hysterical laughter burst from the phone. It took almost five minutes before Jounouchi was in any condition to answer. "They're covering this on the news, right? What channel?"

"KBC, of course." As if any other would beat them to it. KBC would cease to exist if that happened. Seto would see to it himself. "Big brother said he'd be home for dinner. Oh, and Otogi's there too."

This time silence met his words and Mokuba wished he could talk Seto into getting him one of those video cell phones. Maybe for his birthday, if he talked hard enough.

"Otogi and Kaiba. Together in this." Jounouchi's laugh wasn't quite as hysterical as before, but Mokuba detected an edge of amusement all the same. "I give them another hour before they're out of there."

Mokuba leaned back on the couch and picked a piece of popcorn from the bowl. "I say two. I think they're going to want to play a little."

"It's a bet." Jounouchi was quiet for another couple of seconds. "I think we should get Yuugi and Honda in on this too. They're going to want to know."

Mokuba snorted; just those two? Oh, no, no, no. "Call anyone you know! Call everyone you know. I think we can get a nice pool going here." Not that he would bet money; when you had more than virtually all of everyone you knew combined, that ceased to matter. But entertaining items such as promises for duels (usually what Yuugi would wager) were always good currency. When it came to Jounouchi, he usually offered to work for whoever it was he bet against. Mokuba had a few ideas on how to use some free labor.

"I'll get right on it." Jounouchi hung up and Mokuba relaxed against the soft couch cushions.

I think the only real question is, are these idiots going to leave the bank with their pride intact or is Big Brother going to rip that away from them too? In all truth, he knew what the answer to that was anyway. No one with any sense tried to take money from Kaiba Seto.

The phone rang again and he recognized Yuugi's number before answering.

"What's this I hear about your brother and Otogi in a bank robbery?"

"This is our fault." Endo Miku murmured to her best friend. "If you hadn't said anything, then Otogi-sama wouldn't be in trouble right now."

Maruyama Sayori groaned, letting her head thump against the wall behind her. "Miku, you've said that three times already. It's not going to change anything."

Miku glared at her before staring up at the ceiling herself. She didn't want to say she was scared, even though she was. We were just supposed to put this in my account and go home. Mom's going to ground us both. Sure, it wasn't really their fault, but she was certain of the grounding to come anyway.

They had to do something. Somehow. The only problem there was Miku had no idea of what she could do.

"So one of them doesn't have anyone who'll pay us for him and the other one's too much of a tight-ass to even think about sharing a little bit of his wealth." Oshiro rubbed his forehead, ignoring the mask over his face, and wondered why he'd bothered to do this in the first place.

"It's not that bad, boss." Abe, who'd recognized the two money-making hostages in the first place, tried to reassure him. "The Kaibas are damned close from everything I've heard. His brother'll cough up the money sooner or later. That'll make up for the other one too."

Oshiro shook his head, leaning against a wall, and glanced over to where the two special hostages sat close together. He didn't even know to know what they were talking about. Probably more profit and loss and whatever else it was rich idiots talked about.

"We need to start working on getting out of here. With them, if we have to." There was no reason not to take the two rich boys with them and plenty of reasons to do it. Staying holed up in here for too long would be an idiot's game. Someone would snap and shoot someone and he had no intentions of being either the shooter or the shootee.

I didn't count on there being hostages. The plan had been simple. Go in, hold up everyone, get at least two bags of money per person along with whatever valuables the people in line had, and then get out before the cops even got there. Now they had a chance for money like he hadn't dreamed of in his life and in exchange they had to figure out how to get it out of two rich idiots and get by half the police in Domino City, not to mention any other morons who would want to hold them up with a duel or something. More and more people seemed to think playing a card game could solve all their problems. He knew what would solve his: money. Lots and lots of money.

"Is there any way we can get to the van?" He jerked his head toward the door, though he suspected he already knew the answer. There were enough cops out there to make it worth one's life to even try.

Miyake, in charge of driving since the van belonged to him, shook his head, his expression as muffled as everyone else's behind his red mask. "Too many police out there and I think they've already pegged the van as being ours anyway."

Oshiro banged his head against the wall. I am not going to screw this up. I am going to get out of here with the money. Hostages were preferred but optional in the end, so long as the money came along. Cutting his losses and leaving them behind had an appeal to it, but the siren song of more money refused to fade away.

Hostages... The thought wandered through his mind and a slow smile began to twist his lips. Perhaps they weren't as useless as he'd thought. Perhaps there wasa way for him to get out of this, with all the money he could ever want for himself.

"Abe, you said Kaiba's loaded, right?" He glanced toward his second, wanting to make certain that this could work out the way he wanted it to.

The other nodded, glancing over to the hostage area again. Ito and Hara guarded half of them, while Nakajima kept an eye on the door in case the cops tried to get funny at the last second. "Why do you ask?"

"Do you think with all of that money, he might possibly have a helicopter at his disposal?"

And from the way Abe smiled, the same idea now occurred to him.

To Be Continued