QoH: ok, before you lot start roasting me over an open fire, id like to say that ive been away at Job Corps so this was the first real opportunity that i had to come back here and write (theres also the fact that, despite my many attempts, my disks will NOT work with their pcs!) therefore, this is gonna be a marathon to see how much i can get done in a few days before my pass is up (im gonna try and transfer my stuff to still other disks once i get back there () wish me luck). only really sucky thing about it is that i miss ygo while im there… did buy the movie tho! heehee! oh, and must mention the fact that the last ep before i moved was where Yami decided he was gonna be a complete FOOL for a while… ive sooo gotta hurt da boy now () YUGIS GONE!!!!!!! WAAAAHHHH!!!!!! AND THEY HAD RERUNS THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!! AGGHHHH!!!!!!! I WANNA KNOW WHATS HAPPENED!!!!!!!!

Anhksenpaaten: The story, hikari…?

QoH: ack! XD right! and btw, ive searched high and low for the MR spirits real name and cant find it ANYWHERE! anybody know? otherwise im just gonna cave and make up something of my own ()

Chapter 24: Reluctant Recruitment

As Mai's convertible did its best to look like an entrant in the Indy 500 toward Kaiba's mansion, they were still trying to convince a certain big brother that what they were about to do was the about the only option they had. He didn't try and stop them, of course, on the off chance that this crazy plan actually worked. Who knows? Stranger things than Seto Kaiba agreeing to help someone out of the goodness of his heart had happened before, right? Yeah… Joey thought irritably while he slouched with arms crossed in the backseat, having given up his usual shotgun to Yugi (who had, naturally, protested and said he'd be perfectly fine in the back, but had gotten the front anyway due to his condition), like crop circles, UFOs and Bigfoot. And about as likely as all dat, too.

And despite his multiple attempts to ignore the elbow that insisted upon intruding on his musings, he felt a particularly rough jolt in the ribs and the blonde shot a disgruntled glance off to his right, "D'ya think ya could stop dat? Dis is exactly why I hate sittin' in da middle."

"For one thing, you remember the last time I sat in the middle?" Carsick memories of years past made Tristan wince before he successfully locked them away again and focusing on more important things, "Secondly, I've been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes."

" Well, couldn't ya have done it in a more humane way?" he muttered and massaged his bruised side, scrunching down in the seat even further, "'Sides, I thought I made it clear da last time dat I don't feel like talkin'."

DJ smiled wryly from the other end and gestured out the window at the ornate front entrance to an expansive and, of course, outrageously expensive compound, "I think what he was trying to do was tell you that we were getting close. You don't want to sit in the car the whole time, do you?"

"Why not?" Joey wondered moodily and turned his narrowed gaze to the cold, black windows of the CEO's so-called "home." Kinda like 'im, if ya ask me. I still don't get why dey all think he's gonna help. "It's not like my bein' dere will win any points with him. He hates my guts as much as I hate his."

Yugi, who'd been quiet the entire trip, turned around with only a minimal amount of difficulty and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, I've got a feeling that he'll see things our way, if only just this once."

Mai came back and hopped in the driver's seat after having flirted shamelessly with the uniformed guard to gain their entrance, "Now or never, guys. We are all going up there, aren't we?"

Joey scowled, knowing they were right, and finally threw his arms up in defeat, "Fine, I give up. Let's go gate-crash Rich Boy." He got a couple slaps on the back for his trouble.

Mai gave a half-sympathetic, half-exasperated laugh as she revved the engine and headed for the front door, "You know, if this idea does work, you two are going to have to find a way to cooperate."

"Please, don't remind me…" her boyfriend looked rather ill for a moment, causing the rest to laugh hysterically with the exception of his tri-hair-colored best friend, who simply studied him in silence. Yugi knew full well why Joey resented Kaiba, since he'd confided as much in him after that first duel between the two back in Duelist Kingdom (a/n: no, this is NOT canon, but it makes sense in my opinion () we all know what these three guys think of each other). Seto Kaiba, who probably had everything one person could wish for, still felt it necessary to act like… a wretch, for lack of a word that didn't wander into the realm of swearing. Joey, on the other hand, had grown up with practically nothing (and still had nothing of any real material value beyond his deck) and managed to continue muddling through with a cheery outlook. As they arrived at the foot of the steps, he got out and came around the car to open the car door with a grim expression on his face, "This is the fastest way to find her… you know that, right?"

He's not lookin' forward t' dis, either. The hesitant former-bully simply blinked at the realization as he stared out at Kaiba's archrival with still more respect. Guess I oughta suck it up and go too, then. "Yeah. You're right, as always, Yug…" He shook his head and sighed, climbing out to join the rest. Yet, despite his friends' encouragement, as they climbed toward the gigantic door, he still felt like he was heading for his execution at the hands of the boy billionaire. Wait a sec… Joey snickered to himself while Kaiba in a Batman suit did acrobatic crime-fighting in his head. For some reason, he wasn't quite so nervous now. That's your next blockbuster, right there.

xxxx

Mokuba burst into the private office with an unusual amount of exuberance, "Seto! You'll never guess who's outside!" He bounced from foot to foot in front of the desk, black mane bouncing wildly.

The perpetually raised ice wall cracked just slightly, like it always did while in his little brother's company. He tapped a few keys, turning his attention from the laptop's screen and its six-way video conference call. Watching his sibling when he was like this was one of his favorite pastimes, despite what others might think. Of course, if anyone else (say… that unreasonably spunky Tea Gardner, for instance) were to do it in his presence, they would find themselves forcibly removed from the country. As it was, Kaiba merely leaned back in his chair with a brow inched up a bit in mild curiosity, "What are you talking about, Mokuba? The guards would have told me if we had visitors."

"I dunno how they got up here, but they're here anyway," the child shrugged as if the fact were of no importance whatsoever. When his big brother showed no signs of budging, Mokuba went about attempting to tug him out from behind the desk, "Come on, Seto! It's real important!"

If it'll make him happy… Heaving an internal sigh, the teen tycoon stood and allowed himself to be led from his sanctuary and down to the front hall. When he saw just who awaited their arrival, he instantly made a mental note to fire whoever was on duty out there for not following protocol and refusing this particular bunch entry, and even worse, failing to notify him so he could tell them to go away.

Yugi detached from the group and approached the two, looking decidedly worse for the wear with his healing raccoon eyes and various other injuries. A fleeting wisp of concern streaked across Kaiba's brain before he could slam down the barriers again. Still, he couldn't seem to resist asking in that ever-cool tone, "And what happened to you?"

"That's a… very long story that I'd rather not get into right now." The uncharacteristically evasive "King Of Games" (the CEO restrained his instinct to obsess about this) danced around the subject in clumsy fashion, complete with an uncomfortable gaze that skipped away from his own piercing one. He then shook his head and redirected his attention in short order, the familiar gleam back in his eyes, "We need your help." With that, Yugi launched into what was obviously a summary of recent events and Kaiba promptly lost what little interest he'd had once "Egypt" was mentioned. While still technically listening, he let his distaste for the subject show by a smirk of contempt and a bored study of the high ceiling, spotting a collection of cobwebs over the door with his keen eyesight along the way. He'd have to get onto housekeeping about that. Why must they always come to me with this garbage? One would think they'd have learned their lesson by now.

Noting the fact that he was paying almost zero attention, Mokuba gave a yank to his big brother's indigo trench coat and looked up with a reproachful, impatient expression, "Seto…" Did he detect a bit of a whine there?

The mutt, who'd been remarkably quiet up until now, burst out from beside the door, "Are ya gonna help us, or not? Either way, we gotta get goin'."

Kaiba tossed the wanna-be duelist a scornful glance before turning back toward the staircase, "By all means, go. Far be it for me to stand in the way of such important business." He'd barely taken a step, however, when he heard pounding feet coming up fast behind him. Ducking just a little to miss the tackle-headlock he could've heard coming a mile away, he rammed an elbow into the aggressive blonde's abdomen. He looked over his shoulder and had to give the boy credit; he'd understood the layer beneath his "parting words" and was still standing, though barely, after one of his roughest one-shot techniques. So, the puppy can learn, after all.

"What is it…" Wheeler coughed and held his stomach with a little bit of ironic amusement in his strained face as his friends rushed to him, all talking at once, "with me and elbows today…"

Blonde and lavender flashed up to Kaiba next, this time in a frontal assault. Mai evidently didn't take very kindly to her little boyfriend getting hurt, a fact that made him want to laugh. That is, until she grabbed him by the shirtfront and lashed out with scathing sarcasm, "Please forgive us if we interrupted your ruling of the world, Oh Mighty One, but where do you get off thinking that you and your little fantasy palace are the only things that matter?"

He peeled her fingers off his clothing with deceptive calm and stepped away, taking his brother's vaguely reluctant hand. Knowing how much of a toll this was putting on the younger Kaiba, torn between his fierce loyalty and natural eagerness to help, Seto wanted to get him out of there as quickly as possible. "I will not have you corrupting Mokuba's mind with all that mumbo-jumbo any more than you already have. You can see yourselves out."

"Look, pal…" Wheeler's voice didn't sound antagonistic now, just resigned, and this made Kaiba face them once again to seek the cause of it. Supported on both sides by Taylor and some other guy he didn't recognize, the stark vulnerability in the teenager's face was a bit unsettling, but not near so much as his next phrase, "I'm a big bro, same as you. All I want is my sister back, even if dat means getting' ya t' help us."

Rarely was Seto Kaiba moved to do anything outside his realm of interest, especially when it had the least bit to do with this lot and their ridiculous beliefs, but that plea… hard as he fought against it, he somehow felt it was his duty to oblige. If Wheeler could put that massive pride of his on the shelf for the moment and ask for help from someone he despised, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to match the gesture. He bent down and whispered to Mokuba, "I need to take care of a few things, but I'll be right back."

Huge blue eyes sparkled as he grinned up at his favorite person, responding in a similar voice, "I knew you'd come around, big brother. When do we leave?"

A shiver of apprehension slipped down his spine like ice water and he frowned at the sensation before taking the boy by the shoulders seriously, "Whatever Bakura may be, sane is not one of them. I don't know what he's after, but I won't have you put in danger." Here it comes.

"Seto!" Mokuba's voice rose a little in protest, but he checked it before their anxious audience could hear and gave a carefree smile, "We're not even mentioned in that letter. Why would he pose any threat to us?"

"I don't care." Kaiba replied sternly, well aware this was a tactic to get him to let down his ever-present defenses, "You won't be going anywhere near him, do you understand?" Then, he allowed a tiny smile to peek out, "Besides, who else can I trust to run Kaiba-Corp for me?"

It was an old, shameless bribe, and both knew it. All the same, his brother's entire expression lit up like a New Year's fireworks finale as he glomped his hero, "Okay!"

Yugi came up beside them in that annoyingly cat-like way of his (Kaiba hated surprises) and looked between them with a calm smile, discreetly ignoring the startled jump he'd elicited from the pair at his sudden appearance. "I take that to mean you'll come?" The confidence in his voice made the young businessman's eye twitch. He'd wanted the kid to squirm like the rest while awaiting his decision, not act like he'd known what was coming the whole time!

Lifting his eyes to the ceiling with a long-suffering sigh, he stood up and addressed the group as a whole in his patented Ice-Prince tone, "I suppose it does, but don't think this will happen again. I despise playing the part of 'chauffeur' and, as such, won't hesitate to toss any one of you out of my jet if you decide to start acting like your usual imbecilic selves." Glancing around at the dismayed bunch, he noted one who seemed to find the warning amusing: the dark foreigner who'd helped to keep Wheeler on his feet before. Interesting. "And who might you be?"

The stranger flashed an easy smile that contrasted a bit oddly with his brooding looks and introduced himself, "Daniel Rodriguez, better known as DJ. I've heard a lot about you, Seto Kaiba, and you're exactly as described."

"Right," he was swiftly getting a headache and didn't feel like asking where this "Rodriguez" had gotten his information. "So, why were you laughing before? I wasn't joking."

"I know," he answered with that same grin and shrugged, "That's why it's so funny."

"You realize that I meant while the plane is in flight, don't you?" The migraine was approaching with the speed of a bullet train now.

"Yep."

This is going to be a very long trip.

QoH: hee my first time for taking on Kaiba-boys char, and im havin so much fun messin with his head… lol whatcha think of him? i tried very hard to put myself in his shoes, hence the char-bashin of Yugi and Joey XD hope it was worth the exceedingly long wait… i WILL have more up very shortly, or i'll shoot myself in the foot, k? ()