Soooo sorry! It's been a million years, it seems. :'( Thanks for those who continue to stick with me!

Part 4

"I hope you and Yugi are ready for this presentation today, Mr. Kaiba."

Seto looked away from his teacher's gaze uneasily. "I actually came to talk to you about that."

She looked at him through her glasses suspiciously. "I made it very clear that I was not giving extensions on this particular project, Seto, if that's what you're going to ask for."

Seto shook his head quickly. "No, that isn't it." He swallowed. "Could I speak with you in the hallway, please?"

She swept her gaze across the classroom, taking in the sight of the chattering students, who were paying no attention to Seto at all. "Is it very important?"

"Extremely important."

She sighed and stood up, looking irritated as she led Seto out of the room. "Is everything all right, Mr. Kaiba?"

Seto shook his head. "I'm afraid neither Yugi nor I will be able to make it to school today."

"You certainly look healthy to me. May I ask why the two of you won't be able to make it?"

"Personal matters." Seto couldn't meet her eyes. "Sorry."

"Both of you, on the same day? Sounds terribly convenient to me."

"I brought our project," Seto said shortly. "I'm sorry we won't be able to make the presentation today. But here is the written part and our Bristol board."

His teacher's eyes widened as he handed her the report and the visual aid Yugi had put together. "Oh. Well. Thank you."

"I brought a copy of our presentation outline as well. Here you go."

When she looked at Seto again, there was no suspicion in her eyes. Instead, Seto saw concern. "Is everything okay, Seto?"

Seto nodded. "I'm sorry. I have to go. I hope to be back at school tomorrow." He turned and walked away quickly.

"Did someone call the attendance line for you and Yugi, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Yes," Kaiba said, without looking back. "I'll see you soon." Even from down the hallway, he could hear her sigh.

We don't want to hurt the kid, Kaiba.

We just want money.

Seto shook his head as he walked out of the school into the bright sunshine. He couldn't get the phone call from last night out of his mind. When his teacher had said, "Did someone call the...," his heart had skipped a beat. Oh God how does show know? He had never felt such relief as when she said "attendance line."

He walked down the sidewalk toward the parking lot, where the car was parked. He glanced back at the school unintentionally, and saw that he was standing in front of his own classroom's window, though closer to the road than the school. A blond-haired classmate was standing before the glass, and though Kaiba couldn't see the expression on his face, he could see that Joey Wheeler was staring right at him. He looked away and walked more quickly.

"Seto?"

Seto jerked awake at the sound of Mokuba's voice. "Hmm? What? Are you okay?

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mokuba's voice sounded small. "You don't usually sleep during the day, and you were twitching a lot. Are you okay?"

Seto glanced at the clock and realized that it had only been two hours since he'd left the school. "I wasn't sleeping for very long. And it wasn't a very restful sleep." He ignored Mokuba's question. Looking back at the clock, logic kicked into place. "School isn't over yet. Why are you home?"

Mokuba sat on the edge of Seto's bed. "I wasn't feeling well."

"Mokuba, you look fine."

His little brother stated down into his lap and twisted his fingers. "I'm worried."

"Yeah, of course you are. That's okay, but it's not an excuse—"

"Do you think Yugi is okay?"

Seto closed his eyes, unsure of how to answer. "I sure hope so. But they don't really have a reason to hurt him. I'm paying them the money."

Mokuba nodded. "I'm sorry, Seto."

"What are you apologizing for? It's not your fault?"

Mokuba didn't answer, but stared sadly at the wall. After a moment, he spoke again.

"I mean, how okay do you think he is? Do you think they tied him up? Do you think he's cold? Or hungry? Do you think he's really sca—"

"Mokuba, I don't know!" Seto jumped up. "I don't want to think about it, okay?"

"But what if it were me?"

Seto clenched his fists at the thought. "It isn't you, so why—"

"It's just – why isn't it me?"

Seto glared at his little brother. "Why the hell would you even say something like that?"

"Well, doesn't that make more sense? Why would they take a guy you don't even like? I mean, I'm your brother, I—"

"This is the stupidest conversation I've ever had," Seto interrupted. Mokuba turned his face away, but not before Seto saw the tears in his eyes. "Mokuba. I don't care what their reasoning was for choosing to kidnap Yugi. I just care that they didn't kidnap you. I'm not happy that Yugi is in trouble right now, but I'd rather see him in that situation then ever let them put you through something like that. I'll do my part to rescue Yugi, but my most important duty is to protect you. You're safe, and that's all that matters." He drew his brother into a hug. "Stop thinking about what Yugi's going through and about if it were you. It's not you. That's what matters."

Mokuba nodded. "Okay, big brother," he said softly.

"And if you come home from school again tomorrow for no reason, I'll take away your PS3. Got it?"

"Seto—"

"End of discussion."

"Okay." Mokuba nodded. "What did you do today though? Did you talk to the k—"

"No." Seto shook his head.

"You look sad," his little brother said quietly.

"I..." Now Seto stared at the wall, remembering. "I went to talk to my teacher. But before that..." His voice trailed off.

"Yeah?"

"I went to see Yugi's grandfather."

We get to see Kaiba and poor Solomon react in the next chapter...and maybe a certain blond-haired classmate will show up?