I present to you another chapter of SETO. This one includes some new-familiar characters and more Seto action. This was actually a long time in coming, but it took me a while to get it to the point where I liked it.

See first chapter for rating, genre, etc please. I'm lazy and don't want to retype it out.

Yugioh and its characters don't belong to me. If it did, this would be the second movie.

Chapter #2-Here's Your Book

It wasn`t so much waking from a deep sleep as opening his eyes and finding himself back in reality, away from twisted dreams with dark shadows and haunting voices that played with his head.

Atem groaned and stared up at the ceiling of the hospital room. He felt... Fuzzy. Weak and fuzzy. It took a minute for him to remember why he was even there on the bed in the starkly white room. The last thing he remembered about the confrontation was hearing Anzu`s gun go off, and then staring right up into familiar blue eyes.

Remembering Seto made his head hurt even more. "Seto..."

"You`re awake!"

Atem turned his head slightly and saw Anzu bolt from her seat by the open window and almost crash into the side of his bed in her haste to reach him. "Oh Atem," she whispered, "I`m so sorry! I thought I had him, but instead I got you and-"

"How long have I been out?" Atem cut across her, voice hoarse and weary. He tried not to look into her bloodshot eyes. "You've been waiting for me to wake up all this time?"

"Only a few hours. It`s about five in the morning now, and we got here about midnight." Anzu gingerly touched Atem`s hand. "How do you feel?"

"Like crap. Wait- where's Yugi?" Atem struggled to sit up. A shooting pain in his heavily bandaged shoulder made him slump back against the pillows, but his eyes were wide and glassy with worry.

"He`s going to be fine. Jonouchi and Honda actually took him down to get something to eat and they`ll be back in a minute. The knife didn`t hit any major artery or anything, so he just needs to take it easy with that arm for a week or so," Anzu soothed.

Atem blinked languidly and stifled a yawn. "So... he`s alright..."

Anzu noticed that he was falling back to sleep and added, "He`s just worried about you now, but I`ll tell him that you woke up and that you seem to be doing better. Just... just try to rest up, please Atem? We were really scared for you."

"Hnn... I'm too tired to even argue that," Atem murmured.

Anzu watched him close his eyes and fought back tears again. She couldn`t stand seeing a weakened Atem. No one could. But his word hadn`t gone unnoticed, and suddenly this Seto Kaiba was a person of interest.

Pegasus J. Crawford was not a man to be outshined by anyone else. As entertainment mogul to the public, and secretly a leading figure of the Ghouls, his reputation for concieving some outlandish ideas wasn't exactly secret to anyone. Seto had known the man personally for years, but the new statue in front of his mansion was a jawdropper- an all time low.

"Croquet, your boss has lost his mind," said Seto with a grim expression. He surveyed the ten foot Funny Rabbit staring down at him with that insane grin and inwardly shivered. The man needed help.

The loyal servant seemed to think the same, as he shuddered. "Master Pegasus expects you in his private study and does not take lightly to tardiness. If you would follow me inside," he instructed. Croquet avoided looking anywhere near the nightmare-inducing rabbit and Seto did well to follow his example.

The interior of the stately mansion was completly unlike the cartoon character guarding it. All tasteful decor with European grace, rich colors, and a dignified air. Seto glanced at himself in a mirror he passed and realized that he really didn't fit in. Marik had gotten his revenge by hiding the one suit he bothered to own and every single jacket to boot. What had he left? The purple trenchcoat with the gold studs. So in a rare moment of defeat, Seto wore it in public. Isis has assured him that it wasn't that bad and if Pegasus had any comments on it he should mention the old cranberry leisure suit. Seto had kissed her twice for that and smacked Marik when her back was turned.

"Through here," said Croquet. He gestured for Seto to enter a door to his left and reached for the handle once Seto stepped inside. "Master Pegasus will be with you in a moment. Please make yourself comfortable while I announce that you have arrived."

Left alone, Seto walked slowly up to the handsomely carved oak desk. The study was huge and very nicely furnished. Well, minus the bookshelf filled with comics. That was mildly disturbing. And

there, behind the desk, framed by two floor to ceiling windows, was a portrait of Cecelia Crawford. Seto had only met her once, and that had been only weeks before her death. The beautiful woman had been Pegasus' life if Seto remembered correctly.

"I'm assuming that you would have found that statue outside amusing," Seto told the painting tonelessly, "After all, you did marry the man who commisioned it to be built."

"Talking to inanimate objects again Kaiba-boy? People will think that you have gone mad," chuckled a voice behind him.

"Too bad that's already happened." Seto turned to face Pegasus as the man entered the room. Pegasus noticed that there was no bitterness in Seto's voice, not like there used to be when someone mentioned the 'incident' or its side effects. He was only being matter of fact.

Pegasus adjusted the collar of his thankfully decent suit. "So nice to see you again, it`s been far too long hasn`t it? I simply love your trenchcoat by the way." He smiled slightly. "Would I have the pleasure of knowing who you feel like today? I'd like to get my names right."

"Funny. Could you just cut to the chase already? I don't feel like wasting time with idle chit-chat. Isis mentioned that this was urgent, and I myself don't have all day to play games with you."

"Ah, dear Isis. Your lovely companion. I'm so glad that she is doing well, and she may have told me that you are the same." Seto's eyes narrowed and Pegasus decided to stop teasing. "Please sit." He settled in his cushy leather office chair behind the desk and his smiled widened when Seto sat across from him without another word.

"Why did you ask for me?" Demanded Seto just as Pegasus opened his mouth to speak.

"Bussiness as usual," laughed Pegasus, "Just as well, this really is very important, Kaiba-boy, and I need your undivided attention. Tell me- are you familiar with the new exhibit at Domino Museum?"

"I'm walking out in roughly thirty seconds if you don't get on with it."

"Answer my question and I can continue," commanded Pegasus lightly. His guest sighed.

"Yes," admitted Seto grudgingly, "I've been to see it. The exhibit of written works, right?"

"Correct! All of the pieces on display belong to the museum, but a colleague of ours mentioned that a private piece was put on display at the last minute. I, unfortunaetly, did not notice it, but your job would involve said piece. Shall I continue?"

"It would be wasting both of our time if you didn't. I'm not in the mood to just walk out when this might be actually interesting."

"I do so love talking with you. Such interesting conversations we have had. Of course I shall 'get on with it'," Pegasus said cheerfully before sobering up and telling Seto everything he needed to know.

'Listen up Kaiba-boy, because I can not stress how important this is. You remember our old friend Dartz, correct? He`s just returned from an excursion to London and contacted me with a little proposition.'

'Yeah, Bakura mentioned he was back in town.'

"I`ll stick around the neighborhood and wait for your call," said 'Bandit' Keith Howard as he just made it through a yellow light. The luxurious Mercedes SUV stood out amidst the traffic of downtown Domino.

"Like you`re supposed to."

Keith smirked back at Seto, sunglasses glinting in the sunlight.

' A mutual contact of his has offered a trade for something we can not possibly refuse. After considering your sensational abilities we have an offer to make you. I sincerely hope that you accept.'

Seto`s nails dug into his uppper legs through the material of his cargo pants, just below the two holsters strapped across his hips. He`d actually scared Keith when he`d been picked up back at the bar, having been given an hour to prepare. The other Ghoul had never seen him in a shirt that revealed even the current two inches of midriff. It was a sight only seen when Seto was on a mission.

Blue eyes flicked briefly out of the window. "Stop up ahead. The building is the second one over. I`ll walk it."

Keith shrugged and pulled over immediately to a series of car horns.

'I know that asking you on such short notice isn`t entirely courteous, but I imagine that you will find the payout rather... enticing.'

'Really? How enticing?'

"Good luck man," called Keith as Seto vaulted from the back seat and slammed the door shut.

People passing by began giving him brief stares as the black vehicle pulled away from the curb with screeching tires. Seto supposed that it wasn`t the empty holsters so much as the red and gold swordsheath strapped crosswise to the back of his usual half jacket. He ignored them all and strode purposefully towards the towering office building.

'You will be rewarded with a sum of ten thousand should you recover an object in the care of a certain accountant. He leaves Domino this evening at eight, and the target should be in his office. Our driver will give you the adress and the number of the office with the safe.'

'...Keep talking.'

The heels of his kneehigh black combat boots clicked slightly on the tiled floors when he entered the lobby. The place reminded Seto of the public foyer of Industrial Illusions, Pegasus' company, minus the collection of cartoon character statues that were meant to dwell in his nightmares. A cursory sweep of the obvious places revealed no cameras visible, something that might have set off a warning bell for anyone else.

No one at the reception desk even glanced up at him. Seto wasn`t headed in their direction though, but for the service hallway tucked away behind a tacky fake plant. He ducked inside and rolled his eyes at the security camera trained on the door he`d just used. Typical.

It took all of two seconds for him to throw caution to the wind and pull one of his handguns out of where he`d hidden them in his jacket. The suppressor on the gun made the gunshot quieter, but not by much. He had to move fast when they realized that he`d shot the camera. Just like he was used to. Seto pulled the suppressor off and pocketed it before placing both of the guns in the holsters where they belonged. He was gone by the time security reached the corridor.

'Deliver the object to it`s soon-to-be owner and collect the information she has- the locations of several key figures of numerous gangs we have had dealings with. Return to me and you will be rewarded. Not too difficult, eh Kaiba-boy?'

'It doesn't sound all that bad compared to some of the jobs either of you have sent me on before. But then again, nothing is ever that easy. Especially not when you say it so casually.'

'So you will accept? I promise to pay in full for your services.'

Seto dashed up the stairwell as fast as he could. Twenty stories was no big deal. He couldn`t have risked the elevator if they were already looking. He thanked the gods that the building was large enough to buy him some time.

'These freaks always go for the highest office possible,' he thought sourly as he passed another marked door. 'Larger than life, egoistic-'

He very nearly missed the door marked with a black '20' and had to double back whe nhe reached twenty one. Exiting the stairwell left him in a bright hallway lined with identical white doors. Private offices. He was in the right place after all.

'Tell your driver to meet me at my place in an hour. Except to see me again by tonight with your precious little list.'

No one rushed out to apprehend him as he jogged down the length of carpeted hallway. That made him uneasy, but only for a moment. Seto read every plaque as he passed it and found himself getting steadily closer. Sure enough, it was halfway down on his left side. He placed a hand on the doorknob and listened intently for any noises inside. He could hear voices behind the door to his back, but nothing inside the targeted area.

"Guess no one lied when I was told they took a late lunch," muttered Seto when he entered. It was just a little reception area, the few chairs and desk completly deserted. The accountant was obviously small time to have such a small office for business. How he managed to get his hands on a piece of interest to a museum was beyond Seto, but he wasn't there to ask questions. He guessed between the two other doors across the room and chose the right.

It was a storage cupboard.

The actual office was possibly two times the size of the waiting area. And there were filing cabinets and bookcases lining the walls. Just no safe. There wasn't even a picture to have cheesily hidden it behind. Seto walked around to the other side of the desk and gingerly opened one of the top drawers. Pens, stapler, and assorted office junk. Not even a weird key for a hiding place or anything. He did a quick search of the other drawers while he was at it. Seto rifled through papers in search of the only reason he was there. Finally, in the bottom drawer on the right side, he had some luck.

It was carefully stored in a manila envelope, not sealed or anything. Seto peeked inside and saw a weathered book that was thick enough to account for the weight in his hands. A small slip of paper that he fished out from the bottom was marked 'Domino Museum to Mister C. Crump'.

"Jackpot," Seto murmured. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed the number of his ride out.

"Y'ello?"

"I've got it," announced Seto. He closed the drawer with his foot and tucked the envelope under his arm. "Meet me behind the building in five minutes."

"Knew you could do it. Sure, I'll meet you there. It's what I'm paid for ya know."

Seto was about to exit the room when he stopped dead. There were voices outside, and he could hear a gun clicking. The guards that had been so convienently absent on his way up were out in the reception area. Seto cursed inwardly and backed up a few paces. Shooting the security camera had sped up their arrival."Change of plans. Meet me there in two minutes with the engine on and the door open. I've got company."

"Last time this happened you jumped out a window."

"Last time it was four stories. Just get the hell down there and wait." Seto snapped the phone shut angrily and put the small device in his pocket again. 'So much for easy.'

The door- which he had wisely closed when he entered- banged open just as he pulled out his sword. He found himself staring down the barrels of two guns before he could do much else. The two men weren't your average security. If the suits were any indication. Seto swore under his breath and took another step back when he realized that he'd overlooked the possibility of 'Mr. Crump' hiring private guards if the book was that valuable.

"Don't move," ordered one of the guards, "We have strict orders to shoot anyone if they disobey. Please hand over the package and you may be let off easy."

"Come on Mr Kaiba, hand it over," said the other.

Seto's mind blanked out for a minute. "What did you just call me?" He took another step back, thrown off his guard. He'd never seen either before in his life, they had no reason to even guess. So how did they know his name? Hell, he hadn't publicly used the name in years.

"Surprised?" The bulkier of the two saw emotion flit across Seto's face and chuckled. "Mr Crump got a tip that the only person stupid enough to try and steal from him would know the name Kaiba."

"I'm sure a lot of people do," said Seto through gritted teeth, "Wasn't Kaiba the last name of some corporate powerhouse? KaibaCorp?"

"Don't pretend that it's not personal. So come on, you have to tell your name to the police anyway, why not let us in on it," smirked the bulky talker. The second took a few steps forward and held out a hand, presumably for Seto to hand over his prize.

"Like hell," he muttered darkly.

Seto made to move forward and give the book to him, and when the man reached forward just a bit more he struck. The sword just managed to graze his hand but it was enough to startle him into dropping the gun to clutch the small wound. The other shot at Seto a moment later when he realized what had happened, but Seto was already moving.

He was a quick thinker. Intelligent, quick witted, and one variable adjective- Isis would say occasionally reckless, Bakura and Marik fearless. Last minute escape insincts kicked in and drove him to dash for the windows. He felt a few other shots pass dangerously close to him. By the time the guards recovered their wits enough to get their aim close enough he was jumping.

Shattered glass flew around him as Seto leapt clear through the pane with an arm shielding his face. He could hear more gunshots as he angeldived close to the building and down at an alarming pace- for anyone else. People on the street began to scream. Seto smiled slightly and figured that floor five was a good place as any to reenter with a bang. He twisted his body just enough to change the angle of his dive. He'd made sure with his jump to be within arm's reach of the building for just this sort of maneuver. Seto reached out and grabbed one of the slightly protruding ledges between the floors and swung his legs down in a perfect arc. In the span on barely ten seconds from the initial jump, he crashed feetfirst through his second window.

The sheer adrenaline rush of the moment was beyond perfect. The part of Seto's mind, the part that had been broken by the past and pieced together for whatever he had to call a future, registered only the raw emotion and not the biting glass shards flying around him like diamonds. He laughed almost maniacly as he rolled across the floor of some hall. There were actually a few workers not far from where he landed and their shrieks of surprise were music to his ears.

Seto dashed in the direction of the familair stairwell with the electric buzz still coursing through his veins. He could hear shouting from above, but it was faint enough to be only a minor concern. No, his long legs would carry him faster than the men would be able to catch their wits. There were times were he loved being him to the point of narcissum.

"Out of my way," he snapped at two passing young women by the door onto the stairwell. One looked ready to give him a piece of her mind, but dodged out of the way with her startled companion. Apparently she saw the guns and sword and let common sense take over. Seto mentally congratulated her.

"I see him!" Roared someone up the stairs as Seto dashed down with skipped steps and sharp turns. The book in the envelope was clutched protectively to his chest. He was almost on the second to last landing when one of the two idiots tried to shoot at him. One bounced off of the railing closest to Seto and echoed horribly in the confined space.

Just as Seto tore across the last clear space for the door he felt something rip jsut above his shoulder. There was no time to assess the damage, but when he started his sprint through the service hall after narrowly avoiding bowling an elderly janitor over he felt something warm trickling down his back. He felt litle more than a twinge at the moment.

"Perfect," he snarled to himself, "Just friggin' perfect." He didn't much like the prospect of another scar to mar his skin. And Isis' reaction... It made him inwardly shudder even as he bolted past the occasional frightened worker.

He could feel the vibrations of his phone in his pocket. Keith was no doubt trying to figure out why Seto had overstepped the five minute mark. It didn't seem as long to Seto, but the rush of before still held strong. He didn't bother answering, and it still rung when he reached the emergency exit.

The two guards had barely swung the last sharp corner when Seto slammed the heavy metal door with his uninjured shoulder and he flew onto the loading dock. The sight of the familair Mercedes with Keith hanging out of the window, phone to his ear, was faintly relieving. Seto didn't have to say anything, Keith simply saw him and the engine came to life with a roar. This time Seto was on the passenger side of the vehicle and he jumped into the front seat without hesitation.

"Who the heck is cha-"

"Drive," snapped Seto as he slammed the door shut behind him.

Keith practically floored the pedal to escape the alley. Seto stared out the back window in anticipation for when the two guards finally made it out. It wasn't until Keith nearly made it to end of the alley and onto the busy street that the two were just barely visible on the loading dock. But then the vehicle sharply merged with traffic and they vanished around the corner.

"Thank god for blacked out license plates, eh?" Joked Keith after a few awkward minutes where he focused on weaving his way onto a lesser used road leading away from the office building and Seto on listening intently for signs of pursuit. "Relax, man. You did good."

Seto twisted himself back to face the front and slumped back against his seat. He rolled his shoulder experimentally, somewhat pleased that it was only a minor, dull ache from the near impact. Barely bleeding any more as a bonus. "There wasn't any normal security," said Seto, "Just a couple of private guards hired by the accountant. Like he knew someone would show up."

"You gave 'em the slip," dismissed Keith nonchalantly, "They don't know who you are, just that you totally got 'em fired. Chill out. Anyway, what's in the envelope? Better be worth the time."

Seto sighed , not mentioning that they did know who he was, and slid the book half out of the envelope for Keith to see before sealing it again. "A book. I recognize it from a museum exhibit where Rishid works. Supposedly dates back to seventeenth century England. Worth almost as much as this car, if Pegasus was right."

Keith whistled. " I'm kinda ticked that it was just a measly book, but that price tag changes my mind. Wonder what it's about."

"Poetry, supposedly."

"You're kiddin' me," said Keith flatly, changing lanes in the middle of an intersection, "You just risked life and limb for poetry?"

"I'm not. Almost two hundred pages of handwritten poetry and illustrations. Absolutely priceless to the right collector." Seto placed it across his lap. "The recipient has two other volumes like it and wants a complete set. Even went so far as to use some less than legal means to get it. I guess our Mr Crump here got it off of the black market to start with."

"Got what was coming to him then? I like the sound of that," cackled Keith, "So did ol' Pegsy say what we'd get out of it? Aside from my chauffering fees and your 'undisclosed' payout that is. We're not the cheapest people he could've called, so it's gotta be something he really wants bad enough to go to the extra trouble."

Seto shrugged and closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. " Names and locations. Of people the Ghouls are keeping an eye on. I'm not sure how many or what specifically he wants them for, but it doesn't take a genius to see that it'll be important."

"Guess I'll just have to wait for him to explain it all."

"He won't," muttered Seto, "He'll keep it to himself until he gets bored."

"Sure about that?" Chuckled Keith at the conviction in Seto's voice.

Seto gave him a pointed look. "We're still talking about Pegasus J. Crawford, right? Eccentric, unpredictable, manipulative bussinessman and Ghoul?"

"Yeah, guess you're right. Someday he'll turn a new leaf and do something nobody expected, like make sense with his little speeches or stop it with all the Funny Rabbit crap."

"I'll sooner die of cardiac arrest."

Jonouchi and Honda argued a few minutes before Honda grudgingly pulled out his wallet and paid the cab driver what they owed for the ride across Domino. It felt considerably lighter when he pocketed it again and glowered at Jonouchi as the cab drove off. "You need to get a decent paying job, because that's a lot you owe me now. Why are we even out here?"

Jonouchi shrugged. "This is where my sources told us to go. So here we are."

The docks of Domino City weren't exactly where Honda had expected to end up, but there they were, six o'clock and the sun was beginning to set. Totally where he wanted to be on a Friday night. The two had left Anzu and Yugi at the hospital while Atem slept and headed off on what Jonouchi called recon. "Maybe your 'sources' need to get their heads checked.," muttered Honda.

Naturally, Jonouchi didn't hear him. "We're lookin' for warehouse 23. Should be on the right side. Or was it left...?"

Honda groaned and started trailing after his friend grudgingly. "We should've stayed for when Atem woke up."

"He's totally out of it," dismissed Jonouchi, "And I don't think I could sit still for that long. I wanna find out who this Seto Kaiba is and how he could know Atem."

"You're kidding." Honda stared at his old friend in disbelief. Now he knew why Jonouchi had been so quiet at the hospital, something that only happened when he was scheming or stuffing his face. Not that the eating thing was at all quiet. "I really shouldn't have come along. Or let you come here! Those 'sources' shouldn't be letting you commit suicide like this."

"There's eighteen here, nineteen on that side," Jonouchi continued without hearing Honda.

Honda reached forward and spun Jonouchi around, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Are you out of your mind?" He shouted. "Listen to me!"

"Get a grip man," began Jonouchi.

"No, you get a grip! This Seto Kaiba guy is not someone you mess around with, dude, didn't you see him go at it with Atem? He couldn't land a hit, you couldn't even try to hit him, and he totally wasn't afraid of Anzu actually managing to shoot him. The guy is past our level by a long shot. Waaay out of it."

"A creep with a sword and some fancy moves doesn't scare me," scoffed Jonouchi, "He just got lucky."

"He didn't just have a sword you idiot. Under that coat I saw a gun. He's not some small time Ghoul, Jonouchi, he's pro. Don't you get it at all? There's no way I''m gonna let you get involved with someone that could kill you and not lose any sleep over it." Honda shook his friend for added emphasis.

"Chill out." Jonouchi shrugged off his friend and started walking again as a slight breeze ruffled his hair and coat. "And for the record, I'm not gonna go after him on my own. Nice knowin' you think I'm a total idiot."

"You can't lie to me," snapped Honda.

"I'm not. All I want is the dirt on this guy in case I see him again," shrugged Jonouchi, "Nothing too bad about that. But that white-haired freak is another story. He actually got Yugi, so I got rights to him."

"Jonouchi. You said we were here to get some info on Seto Kaiba. I hate the other one too, but I wanna get back to the hospital soon."

"Well that's good, 'cause I only found someone who could tell anything about this Kaiba," grinned Jonouchi, "Told me to come here to meet someone who knew more about him, actually, but I'm not complaining. It's a start. So let's-" He stopped dead and blinked. "Do you hear something?"

Honda sighed and pulled Jonouchi into a headlock. "No I don't hear the voices in your head," he said through gritted teeth.

"Shut up! And it's not voices, it's a... car engine?" Jonouchi listened hard. "Yeah, man, don't you hear it?"

That's when Honda began to hear it too, the sound of an engine not all that far away. "Geez, you were right."

"Think we should get out of sight before comes? No telling what it is or if they're gonna like us being here," suggested Jonouchi sheepishly, "Just an idea."

"Yeah, I gotta agree with you there," said Honda as the sound came closer.

Jonouchi dashed for warehouse 23 with Honda on his heels. There was a service entrance on the side of the building and they tumbled inside just as a black Mercedes screeched around the corner. They thought it was just a joyrider or something that would just keep going, but they were wrong. A minute later they saw the sleek black vehicle brake right where they had been standing. Two peeped out of the door and only saw the front part of the hood from their angle but they could hear very faint voices from within. A moment later two doors seperately opened and were shut again. The one on the driver's side was slammed with slightly more force than the other, Honda noted distantly. He feared that they had the misfortune of having chosen the entrance of the building and was all ready to either fight or take flight. The people who owned the Mercedes however, seemed to know about a different entrance. Their was the clicking of heels on the pavement until another door opened and there was silence.

After a moment, Honda poked his out off the cracked door. "I think they're inside here now. C'mon Jonouchi, let's just get the heck out of here and forget about this whole-"

"This way," called the blonde, already heading through a second door leading deeper into the warehouse. He left Honda standing in the service room on his own. There was a moment of silence where Honda was too stunned to move. Then he scrambled after Jonouchi with the intentions of wringing his neck and dragging him back across town. He caught a flash of movement on top of a ladder and pulled himself up as quietly as possible. At the top, he nearly tumbled into a crouched Jonouchi.

"Quiet," hissed Jonouchi when Honda opened his mouth to tell him off, "Someone's comin' in here and I don't think it's to look at a few crates."

Both looked out through the railing of the round the room walkway and at first glance saw only crates of who knows what stacked to one half of the room. Jonouchi was definetly right about lack of interest in crates. A folding card table with two chairs had been set up in the center of the unoccupied space, and one of the chairs was occupied by a young man with a shock of white hair, flanked by two nasty lookinng behemoths in suits. Totally at odds with the boyish one's cream cardigan.

"And our drivers are..." Jonouchi glanced briefly to two other people entering the dim warehouse. One was a rugged-looking man wearing a bandanna that looked like the American flag– Jonouchi made a mental note to find one of those- and dark sunglasses. But the other...

"Seto Kaiba," deadpanned Honda, "We're in the same room as the guy that almost got Atem killed. Jonouchi, I hate you."

The first thing that Seto noticed about Ryo Bakura was that he was almost too young to be a supposed museum curator. Too young for such a position, too innocent to deal with gangs, too well dressed for the current setting, too unlikethe person that Seto had been expecting to meet in a closed warehouse over stolen goods. Not to mention that he shared a last name with a certain bi-polar theif. That was just creepy.

It wasn't exactly love at first sight, to put it bluntly.

Ryo didn't seem to feel the same. He smiled brightly at Seto as he and Keith approached his little table. The suits-for-hire by him only glowered when Keith cheekily waved at them.

Seto got straight to business. "Here's your damn book," he said without preamble, holding out the envelope in front of the boy.

"Marvelous," he whispered with shining eyes. Just like a kid, thought Seto. Ryo reached out and inched the book out almost reverently. "Beautiful, undamaged, original binding. It's a masterpiece," he said dreamily.

Seto gave him only a minute to examine his new addition to a no doubt vast library. He wasn't a killjoy by any means, but business was business. "You owe the Ghouls something in return," he reminded dully, "A list. Just give it to me and the transaction will be done." His eyes flicked briefly to the upper walkway when he thought he saw some movement. Seto dismissed it as nothing.

"Wouldn't you like to sit down for a moment?" Asked Ryo pleasantly. "I can't offer you any refreshment, but conversation I can."

"Look kid," began Seto sharply, "We're here to do business, not to-"

Keith drove an elbow into his side and grinned down at Seto when the startled man voiced a very uncharacteristic yelp, amused to see the much leaner of the two clutched his side and glared up at him. "C'mon, you've been on your feet all day, might as well sit down for a minute. Not like I'm gonna leave you without a ride out here," chuckled Keith.

Seto stared at him before hissing under his breath, "Are you insane?"

"Keep the contacts happy for more business," whispered Keith in response, "If anyone can do it, you can." He shoved Seto forward lightly, who after staggering for a step smoothed out to an even walk and took the seat across from Ryo. The young British man smiled brightly across the table.

Seto sat with a rigidly straight back and clenched fists on the flimsy wooden table. He was not pleased with this at all. He wanted to get the list, hand it over to Pegasus, and maybe get an hour of sleep before he headed down to help at the bar for the night. Simple enough, right? The last thing he needed was a chat with the British brat while his grunting guards watched on.

"I've heard about you before, Seto," said Ryo cheerfully, "Apparently you're the best that the Ghouls have to offer. I'm honored that my proposed trade merited your participation, much less that you accepted the job offer."

"If it pays well it's worth doing," muttered Seto.

"Surely you aren't just in it for the payouts? There must be something that attracts you to a job in the first place," remarked Ryo, "Only the truly intelligent know that money is never just the case."

Smart kid. Grudgingly, Seto decided to humor him. "There might be more to it, yeah."

"Do share." Ryo leaned forward eagerly. He took one look at Seto's sour expression before hastily pulling out an envelope similar to the one holding his new book. "Answer me and I'll give this to you, and you are free to leave if you wish. I'm a Ghoul, too, as you probably already know."

True, Seto had seen the glinting eearcuff through the white hair, and he believed that if you couldn't trust one of your team members you couldn't trust anybody. And that envelope held his prize, something he couldn't ignore no matter how much initial dislike he had for the one waving it in his face. He decided to humor the boy just this once. "I look for the impossible," he stated simply.

"The... impossible?" Ryo blinked in confusion, even Keith leaning in to hear more.

"Not just the impossible, actually," elaborated Seto, "Things no one else in their right mind would do. Thrills, danger, something to give a shot of adrenaline to course through your veins. I refuse to sit on the sidelines when I can be doing something, feeling that plummeting feeling of the drop or the slipstream of the bullets. I'll do it if there's a real challenge to it or the promise of something interesting shaking things up a bit. See kid? You're right, not everyone's looking for some fast cash, though it doesn't hurt."

"Total adrenaline junkie," breathed Keith, pleased with the new information.

"I must admit, you've certainly won me over more," chuckled Ryo nervously, "I admire people like you, I truly do. You and I are so unlike one another it isn't even funny." As an afterthought, he slid the envelope across the table, which Seto took without his eyes leaving Ryo's.

"The transaction is completed. Pleasure working with you," said Seto formally. He stood abruptly and swiftly began to walk away, jerking his head to indicate that Keith should go ahead and start the car.

"I have merely one more thing to ask," called Ryo.

Seto clenched his teeth in frustration and halted. "What?" He demanded without turning around.

"You are familiar with a Mr Solomon Mutou, correct?"

The gears in Seto's mind ground to a slow stop. Why? Why did that name have to keep popping up? He slowly turned around to look at Ryo again. "What did you say?"

"Solomon Muto," repeated Ryo, "It was mentioned to me once that you two had a history together, and I have never found much information on the man myself. Only that he was a great Duelist that is treated with utmost respect by the younger generation. I would like to learn more about him and I was hoping you could enlighten me on your relationship. Are you still in contact with one another?"

"Haven't spoken with him in almost fifteen years," said Seto bitterly, "As for our history, it's personal. All you need to know is that he and I were pretty close back in the day. Until his darling grandsons made my life miserable, that is."

"Grandsons?" Ryo gasped. "Oh, you must mean-"

"I think about as highly of the Mutuo family as I do of my stepfather," interrupted Seto harshly.

"Who is your stepfather?" Asked Ryo automatically. One look at the expression in Seto's eyes made him instantly rethink. "Scratch that, what are your feelings for him?" Seto smirked darkly, blue eyes hardened to shards of ice.

"I despise him."

And with that, Seto turned his back on the young man and stalked out to where Keith was waiting, not bothering to look back at all.

And so ends another exciting chapter of SETO. Read, review, comment please.