Early the next morning, Joey was climbing out the window of his bedroom with Seto's backpack. Sure, he could try to just sneak downstairs and hope he was quiet enough, but he didn't want to take that risk, and the tree outside his window was as sturdy as he remembered it being.

Climbing down its branches wasn't as easy as he thought it should be, though. Brittle twigs snagged at his jacket and jeans, some he dislodged while others ripped off the tree to fall to the ground or tangle in his clothes. He kept climbing until he was low enough to just let go.

He landed with a heavy thud but stayed on his feet. He waited a moment to be sure of his balance before straightening up. He adjusted the backpack he was carrying and took off at a sprint towards the sidewalk, down to the street corner where a certain bright car waited for him.

"Morning, Joey!" Mai greeted him brightly. "How'd you sleep?"

Joey dropped himself into the passenger seat, backpack at his feet, and said, "Terribly."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Mai changed gear and pulled into the road.

"I don't think any of us slept well." Joey rubbed his tired eyes. "Ryou was up half the night with Mokuba. Once my mom was done chewin' me out, Duke and I made a plan. Gettin' our stories straight, y'know?"

"Mhm." Mai stopped at a red light and gave Joey's face a closer look. He was definitely exhausted.

"I'm gonna keep my mouth shut and let Duke do all the talking. I think he handles the pressure better. He was pretty calm talkin' to the cops yesterday."

"I could see that." Mai turned her gaze back to the road in time for the light to change.

"Besides, Duke and I were together for the whole thing. We saw all the same stuff, so one story is all they need." He shifted his foot so that the Rod inside the backpack was no longer squishing his toes. "On that subject, I uh… well, I said somethin' to you that I shouldn't've." He looked over at Mai's calm expression. "I told you that I knew Seto wanted to kill Noah. He said that to Duke and I on the elevator ride up to the office. But, I shouldn't a' told you that. You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"I didn't tell anyone, and I don't plan on it. Noah Kaiba was a first-class creep; he needed to be stopped by somebody, and the cops weren't gonna do it."

Joey actually laughed in relief. "I didn't realize you felt so strongly about him."

"Him kidnapping innocent children didn't earn him any points with me." Mai slowed as they came to an intersection so that she could turn. "Plus, I got this bad vibe from him."

"Bad vibe?"

"Yeah." She glanced at him briefly. "When he looked at me, I felt like I needed to put on a sweater, y'know? I'd never wanna be left alone with the guy."

"Oh." Joey thought about the way Noah had yanked Seto close, barely any space between them, a single predatory eye traveling over his face. "I get that. He did kinda seem like… there was nothin' he wouldn't do to get what he wanted."

"Exactly." Mai took another turn. "If you ask me, the world is a better place without him. Seto deserves a medal."

Joey's shoulders tensed.

"You don't know that he killed him," he said quietly. "He's probably gonna get arrested, though. When famous people die, they're always fast to find someone to blame."

"It's a shame. Sounds like he's been through more than enough."

"This isn't the way to the hospital," Joey interrupted.

"No, we're getting coffee first. The visiting hours don't start for over an hour." Mai spared him another glance. "I get that you're trying to get away from your parents and that's why you asked to meet so early, but I think we'll both need the caffeine to get through the day."

Joey didn't argue. Honestly, coffee sounded like a good idea to him too.

"And a change of scenery might be good for you. I have a feeling you're going to be at the hospital all day."

Joey opened his mouth to answer, but closed it without making a sound. She was right. When he got to the hospital, he didn't want to leave Seto's side for even a second.

They killed most of an hour at the cafe before going to the hospital. Once there, they asked one of the nurses on duty how Seto was doing. Joey didn't like the answer.

"What do you mean, you sedated him?" Joey asked angrily. Mai placed a hand on his arm, hoping it calmed him.

"Look, kid, I wasn't there when it happened," the tired nurse explained. "The notes just say that there was a struggle when he woke up and they sedated him so they could redo his stitches."

Joey huffed in annoyance. He wanted to say more, but he knew it wasn't the nurse's fault.

"You're free to ask him about it once visiting hours start in twenty-five minutes," she said, dismissing them both.

Mai pulled gently on his arm, leading Joey away to some empty seats. Joey put down his friend's backpack at his feet.

"Seto hates hospitals," Joey muttered. "No wonder he freaked out."

Mai moved her hand down his arm to hold his hand, and he squeezed it.

"Do you wanna talk, or do you just want to wait?" she asked quietly.

"Wait."

So that's what they did, for fifteen minutes until the whole Bakura family arrived with Mokuba. Joey hadn't spent much time with Ryou's mother before, but just a few minutes of watching her, and he could see her influence on Ryou. She was the source of his white hair, of his slight British accent, of his sweet smile. After getting the kids settled, Mrs. Bakura went to speak with one of the nurses on duty.

"My wife works at the children's hospital down the street. It's connected to this one, so she knows some of the nurses here," Kenji explained to Joey and Mai. "She's trying to find out more about Seto. Hopefully they have a sense of when he can be discharged."

"I'll get to see him today, right?" Joey asked anxiously.

"I'll make sure you do," Kenji promised. "Do you know if anybody else is planning on being here today?"

"Duke has work, so he'll swing by after his shift ends," Joey answered. That was one of the many details they'd sorted out while talking last night. "I told Yug that Seto probably wouldn't want a lot of visitors." Joey shifted his hold on Mai's hand. "He doesn't like lookin' weak in front of others, ya know?"

"I understand." Dr. Bakura offered Joey a sad smile before returning to his wife.

"I've got good news. Since there's only five more minutes before visiting hours start, they're willing to let you go in and see him now. I really think someone needs to talk to him before the police do." Miya Bakura's wide eyes shone brightly with concern, and her husband kissed his cheek.

"Thank you. I'll go talk to him. Watch the kids."

"Of course, dear."

Joey watched Dr. Bakura go down the hall with narrowed eyes, harboring a small resentment.

It didn't take long to find the room, thanks to his wife's instructions, but he hesitated for a second. Kenji took a deep breath and opened the door to Seto's small room. He stepped inside and Seto looked up at him. Kenji swallowed hard.

The side of Seto's neck was bruised dark purple in the clear shape of a hand. A small bandaid pressed to the other side of his neck. Imperfect skin showed on the upper arms he kept hidden in public, marked with small scars, faded by time. The neckline of the thin hospital gown was wide enough to expose one of the longer scars on his back, one that snaked up over the curve of his shoulder. Laying there in the wide hospital bed, he looked scrawnier than ever.

Kenji's eyes followed the length of his arm and widened when he saw that he was handcuffed to the railing of the bed, his arm tense and pulled in against his body as he tried to pull his hand through the cuff.

"Oh, Seto…" Kenji couldn't keep the pity from his voice.

"Where's Mokuba?" Seto demanded, still trying to tug his hand through the handcuff. "What's going on?"

"Seto, stop that. You're only going to hurt yourself." Kenji spoke firmly as he approached, then realized he was too late. Seto's wrist was already scraped red and raw from his escape attempts. Anymore, and he'd start to bleed, but he was still tugging. "Stop–"

"Where's Mokuba?" the teen repeated louder as Kenji reached the edge of his bed. His eyes were wider than usual. He was borderline panicked.

"Mokuba is outside in the waiting room. He's with my family. Joey's with him too. He's safe." Kenji grabbed Seto's arm to halt his attempts. "Seto, stop. What do you remember?"

The teen was still and considered him for a few moments.

"Noah took Mokuba," he said quietly. "We were on our way to get him back. What happened? Were we in an accident? Did Noah finally get arrested?"

"No. Noah Kaiba's dead." Kenji felt the tension leave Seto's arm and watched his face slowly transform. "You, Duke, and Joey went to the KaibaCorp building to confront him. You don't remember any of that?"

"No." He was starting to look dazed. "Why am I handcuffed?"

"Because you and Noah were alone together for the last several minutes before…" Kenji hesitated. He wished that he had more time to ease him into the truth, but he knew that the police would be here to question him any minute, and Seto needed to know. "You and Noah fell together out the window of the executive office. Noah hit the street, you landed on Joey's car. It's a miracle you survived at all. We think Seth had something to do with that."

As Seto processed that information, Kenji released his arm and carefully sat on the edge of the bed. The teen's face had gone pale, his gaze distant.

"It's not unusual that you can't remember what happened. It's normal, after head trauma." He was trying to comfort him. "You'll probably get your memory back within the next few days."

Seto didn't respond, didn't look at him. He didn't seem to hear him at all. Kenji waited, watching his blank expression for some sign of recognition.

"What floor are we on?" he asked suddenly.

"We're on the third floor," Kenji answered slowly, trying to guess why he would ask.

Seto shifted in bed, twisting as he tried to look over his shoulder at the window. The movement shifted the blanket, revealing more of his side and the bright red spot on his gown that was starting to grow. Kenji almost gasped in surprise.

"You're bleeding again. I'll get a nurse to–"

"Does the window open?"

"The window?" Kenji blinked, then understood. "No, these windows don't open." He reached for the button to summon a nurse. "Just lay back down while I call a nurse to fix your stitches—don't give me that look. Once you're taken care of, we'll talk more."

Seto had glared at him briefly in protest, but he seemed too tired, or perhaps too confused, to argue back. Kenji didn't miss the way the teenager cringed when the nurse tried to touch him, but it couldn't be helped. He left the room to stand in the hallway, giving him what privacy he could. The kid might not have much of that for a while.

Kenji was standing in the hallway, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed when the detective arrived. He looked at the man's face and was surprised to recognize him.

"Matsui," he greeted, a bit uncertainly.

"Bakura," the cop greeted in kind, equally hesitant.

"I know we talked about this last night, but I didn't realize you were assigned to this case." Matsui had been one of the phone calls made in the waiting room.

"The chief didn't pick a lead investigator until this morning." He tried to approach the door to Seto's room, but Kenji held out an arm to stop him.

"The nurse is fixing his stitches."

The detective backed off and leaned against the wall opposite him.

"I know this kid's not just your son's friend. He's also one of your charity cases, Kenji. It's been nearly half a year, but I do remember you asking me to run his name."

Kenji bit his lip. This was the friend that he had asked to check Seto's employment records back when he first met him. The friend that he knew he could trust—most of the time. He should've known that Matsui would recognize the name.

"If he's a charity case, as you say, then you know there's a reason for my involvement," the archaeologist answered carefully. Matsui was a friend, but he wouldn't break the rules for anybody. Kenji already knew they would be on opposite sides of this.

He also didn't care for him calling Seto, or any of the people he helped, a charity case.

"Did you find out what he did during those six months of unemployment?"

Not pulling any punches, just as expected.

"Even if I had found out," Kenji answered evenly. "I wouldn't tell you because it's not my place to say."

"Right." Matsui had expected that answer from him.

"Who's idea was it to handcuff him?"

"Handcuff?" The detective looked genuinely confused for a moment before annoyance set in. "Damn rookies. They were ordered to make sure he was restrained."

"Well someone didn't know about the hospital's medical restraints," Kenji retorted, just a hint of anger in his voice. "He's hurt himself fighting the cuffs thanks to a careless mistake."

That was an early mark in Seto's favor. Any mistake the police made during the investigation could be used against them later on, if it came to that, and Kenji was going to do everything he could to protect Seto. If that meant keeping a tally of faults against his friend, so be it.

"You're going to uncuff him as soon as we get in there. I give you my word, that boy isn't going anywhere."

Matsui chuckled.

"Ever the noble one, of course, but it's not like you to give orders."

"He doesn't trust easily," Kenji continued, ignoring the comment. "So don't expect much from him."

Before Matsui could respond, the door was opened and the nurse left the room.

"Shall we?"

They went inside together, Kenji going first. Seto still looked dazed, but at least he wasn't bleeding anymore, and the nurse had managed to wrap the wrist scraped up by the handcuffs.

"Seto, this is Detective Matsui." Kenji took the lead as he approached the bed, coming to a stop at Seto's side. "He's investigating Noah Kaiba's death."

Seto visibly tensed, pinning the detective with a suspicious glare.

"Hello, Seto. Like Bakura said, my name is Detective Matsui." He stepped forward and pulled a small key out of his pocket to unlock the handcuffs. "My apologies for the restraints," was the only explanation he gave as he pocketed the metal handcuffs. Seto cradled his injured wrist in his other hand, still looking suspicious. "As he said, I'm investigating Noah Kaiba's death. According to your friends, you were the last person with him before he died. Would you be able to walk me through what happened between the two of you?" He took a small notebook and pen out of his pocket, prepared to write down the details.

Seto eyed the man up and down before coldly announcing, "I'm not saying anything without a lawyer."

Off to a strong start, Kenji thought. He'd counted on Seto being smart about this, on him being prepared for an encounter with law enforcement ever since his activities had crossed into illegal territory for the first time.

Matsui looked at Kenji.

"This will be a lot easier for you if–"

"He doesn't remember what happened," Bakura interrupted. He hadn't liked where that sentence was going. "Temporary amnesia after head trauma is normal. Maybe if you talk to him tomorrow, he'll remember something."

He glanced back down at the teen and saw some of the stiffness leave his shoulders. Good. He hoped Seto understood that he was firmly in his corner.

Matsui pursed his lips, displeased with the interference, but determined to maintain civility.

"Then I'll return later to speak to you again," he said. "And, unfortunately, I have some bad news for you."

Kenji's breath caught in his throat. What was he talking about?

"Your little brother wasn't able to tell us anything about your father. We tracked him down to tell him what happened to you, but we discovered this morning that he passed away just last night. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Oh dear," Kenji murmured, covering his mouth with his hand. His mind was already turning to the consequences.

The detective watched the teen blink, his face unchanging.

"Did the bastard finally drink himself to death?"

Not the reaction he expected.

"Uh, yes, we found him in his apartment with a blood alcohol level of point five-two. Most people don't survive long enough for it to get that high."

Seto didn't respond, just stared at the officer with no discernible emotion. Nothing about this news was surprising or upsetting. He'd predicted this would happen. The only thing he didn't predict was the timing.

"Hm," and blue eyes flicked away, gazing at no one.

"Are you sure that you don't remember your encounter with Noah Kaiba?" Matsui asked tentatively.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Seto shot back, his whole body tensing up.

Kenji's eyes flicked to one of the monitors and watched his heart rate jump up.

"I think you're done here," Dr. Bakura said, giving Matsui a hard look. The detective shifted his weight, his gaze locked with Kenji's. The air was thick with tension.

"You'll call me the minute he remembers anything." He didn't phrase it as a question.

"Of course," Kenji answered, relieved that Seto let him answer the question.

"You have my number." Matsui nodded at Kenji before he turned and left.

Kenji sighed and dropped his hand to find Seto's, gently lifting it off the bed and trying to offer what comfort he could.

They stood in heavy silence for a few minutes.

"We're orphans now," Seto whispered, the words almost inaudible.

"Yes," Kenji sighed. That truth was undeniable. "But you don't need to worry about anything. My wife and I will take care of you both from now on."

"The… hospital bills…" Seto started weakly, but Kenji squeezed his hand.

"I don't want you thinking about those. We'll take care of it all. You should rest and focus on healing right now."

This didn't feel real to Seto. Everything felt hazy, like he was living in a dream.

"Mokuba..."

"Do you want to see him?" Kenji asked gently.

"Yes."

Kenji squeezed his hand again and gently set it down.

"Joey's here. Do you want to see him too?"

Seto took a deep breath. It wasn't hard to make up his mind.

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll send them back to see you."

The door clicked softly behind him as he left, and Seto released a sigh. Once he saw that Mokuba was alright, he needed to speak with Seth.

He needed to know what had happened.

02/03/2024: Due to a lack of interaction with this story, I will be slowing down my update schedule to once a month. I know that this series is very long, and long stories aren't everyone's taste. I'm so very grateful to anyone that's read this far and is still keeping up with it.

In order to keep myself from getting too discouraged or burned out, I'm slowing down. I have other projects that need my attention and usually get more attention when they get updated, so I will be working on those alongside this and the indie RPG dating sim "Songs of Thaiya: A Messenger's Tale," for which I am head writer.

I have so many plans for this series and I'm still excited to share the story, but for the sake of my own wellness, I'm slowing down and managing my expectations. Maybe if things change in the future, I'll pick up the pace again, we'll see, but for now, one new chapter every four weeks.