It was nearly half-past ten, and Ryou Bakura was getting ready for bed. His three Egyptian roommates were playing some type of (normal) card game in the kitchen. But judging by the amount of yelling coming from Bakura and Malik, apparently Marik was having trouble understanding the rules. From the sounds of it, he kept trying to summon the King of Hearts.

*DING-DONG!*

Ryou put down his toothbrush and titled his head in confusion. 'Who on Earth would ring the doorbell at this hour- well, present company excluded.'

The slender duelist made his way to the front hall and opened the door cautiously. "Hello? Can I-"

*WHOOMPH!* The pale hikari promptly had the wind knocked out of him when something slammed into his chest.

"Ryou! Please, help me!" A younger voice cried desperately from somewhere near Ryou's chest.

"Eh?" Ryou looked down to see a wild mass of black hair. "Mokuba?!"

The younger Kaiba brother looked terrible. His eyes were red and puffy, and his lower lip kept trembling. He was also breathing heavily, as if he ran all the way to Ryou's house.

"It's ok Mokuba; calm down." The fair-skinned teen kindly guided the boy inside. "I'll help however I can, but you need to take a deep breath first."

The junior duelist nodded, his eyes still watery. He took a deep breath, and then blurted loudly: "He's gonna kill him!"

The British boy was stunned. The card-playing group also heard the yell. A second later Bakura and the blonde duo had poked their heads out into the living room.

Ryou madly motioned for the other three to get back into the kitchen- Mokuba didn't necessarily have the fondest memories of the Egyptian trio.

As soon as the others obeyed (meaning: as soon as Malik managed to drag the other two back to the game/kitchen table), Ryou suggested that Mokuba sit next to him on the couch. The hysterical pre-teen followed, but his breathing was still frantic.

"Ok, that's something that needs to be stopped, but first I have to know who you're talking about."

Mokuba struggled not to wail again. "My brother, Seto- he found Noah and now he's going to destroy him!"

"Noah?" Ryou blinked. "Noah Kaiba? But, wasn't he a computer program on the island Kaiba destroyed?"

Mokuba nodded grimly. "Lately Seto's been reducing KaibaCorp's expenses. He found the deed to an old building Gozaburo bought." The pre-teen shrugged. "It seemed like a regular business property, and Seto told me I could come with to the inspection. But then Seto had to take an emergency corporate call, and he let me go ahead to the site without him."

Ryou held back his questions as he listened patiently.

The dark-haired duelist went on. "So I went right away with the workmen- and when we got there it seemed totally normal. But then, we found that there was a hidden basement underneath! It turns out that Gozaburo had been using the building as a secret base to reverse-engineer the programs of other defense companies. He was stealing computer codes from different weapons manufacturers to design his own wares- and he used the run-down building to hide his work!"

Ryou nodded as he remembered what he'd heard about the previous CEO. He wasn't surprised.

Mokuba took a deep breath. "At first it looked like everything had been cleaned out- there was only some old furniture and stuff. But I was digging through a file cabinet when I found something strange. There was a small briefcase sitting in the back of a drawer. I opened it and found a series of complex files and folders. They were all designs for the digital program that housed Noah's consciousness... after the accident."

The older boy waited anxiously for Mokuba to continue- he had a feeling what was coming next.

"There was also an unmarked disk in an old case, so I took it home and ran it on my computer. And then, Noah popped up on the screen!"

Ryou's cocoa-colored eyes widened, but he didn't interrupt the distressed speaker.

"It really freaked me out, and thankfully Seto wasn't home, 'cuz I yelled! I have no idea why, but somehow this disk was created before the one we saw on the island- and it wasn't corrupted!"

The British teen was baffled- why would Noah's mind be saved on two separate, yet obviously unequal disks? It made no sense... if it was a backup disk, wouldn't it have been updated every time the original was 'improved'?

Ryou's musings were interrupted when the younger Kaiba continued his explanation.

"I talked with him for weeks- he was disturbed when I told him what had happened with the other disk, but I convinced him it wasn't his fault. All this 'Noah' wants is a new body; a way to breathe again. A life."

Having seen the way the yami's reacted after being brought back to life... Ryou somewhat understood.

"I was going to ask Seto if there was some way we could help him, but Noah was terrified that Seto would delete him. He kept begging me to keep him a secret. But I didn't listen!" Mokuba wailed. "I was really distracted tonight and I accidentally mentioned Noah's name while we were eating dinner. And then Seto forced me to explain everything, and now he's tearing the mansion apart looking for the disk!"

Mokuba literally got down on the floor and knelt in front of the other duelist. He clasped his hands together and gave him the 'super-mega-cute-chibi' look.

"Please, please, help me! If Seto finds that disk he'll destroy it! And if he then deletes everything on my computer, Noah will be gone forever!"

The white-haired boy tilted his head in confusion.

"I'll go with you back to the mansion, but I have to ask- why did you come to me? Surely Yugi and Jounouchi know more about Noah's situation-?"

Mokuba shook his head. "I tried calling them a bunch of times, but no one answered. Besides, Seto hates Jounouchi, and he still sees Yugi as his utmost rival." He gave the British-born duelist a determined stare. "You didn't meet the corrupted Noah, and you're more computer savvy. You're the best one to talk to Seto."

Ryou wasn't sure he followed the boy's logic, but he decided to help anyway.

"Ok, I'll help. I have an idea, but just so you know, you may have to make a compromise."

Mokuba nodded firmly. "Anything."

A pair of massive, metal gates swung open and shut as the pale teenager and the shorter pre-teen rushed up the drive. The two had just arrived at the Kaiba mansion- Mokuba had answered some of Ryou's questions on the way, but the story was still pretty straightforward.

The two duelists were already heading down the main hall when they heard a frantic voice calling out from somewhere behind them.

"Mokuba?!" A loud voice echoed down the hallway.

"Jounouchi?!" Ryou and Mokuba listened as a series of frantic footsteps echoed down the hall.

"Mokuba!" The figure finally made it around the corner into the hall, revealing the thin body of Jounouchi Katsuya.

The blonde was bent over, struggling to catch his breath. It looked as though he had run over right from his job- he was still wearing an auto shop uniform, and he was covered in grime.

"What's- going- on?" Jou wheezed. "You- ok?"

Ryou was confused. "Mokuba, I thought you said Jounouchi didn't answer his phone?"

"Sorry- on shift. Couldn't- answer."

There was a loud *bang!* as one of the many doors lining the corridor flew open. A very irate Seto Kaiba began marching down the hall towards the trio. His mood did not improve upon noticing the louder of the two 'visitors.'

"You filthy mutt! What the hell do you think you're doing here? I didn't invite a grimy dog to my mansion this evening!" Kaiba spat at the blonde.

Jounouchi held out his arms in surrender. "Whoa, whoa, rich boy! I come in peace!" He waved his hands back and forth. "Hold on a sec' and let's hold off the fightin' for now- Mokuba has a problem an' he needs help."

Kaiba glared at the slightly shorter teen. "And how, exactly, do you think you can help?"

Jounouchi was straining to remain civil. Kaiba's snarky tone wasn't helping.

"I'm thinkin' that Mokuba wouldn't have called me unless it was somethin' I could help with."

Jounouchi sat down on the richly carpeted floor and turned to the youngest boy. "So, what's up, munchkin? You need me to beat someone up?"

"Jounouchi!"

The Brooklyn native laughed and held up his hands. "I'm kidding, Ryou, kidding! ...So, do ya?"

Mokuba didn't smile, but his frown lessened a bit. Jounouchi took this as a good sign.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want," the laid-back duelist suggested, "just let me n' Ryou know what we can do to help."

"You can get off the carpet, for starters. You're spreading your filth everywhere." Kaiba glowered at the American duelist.

Jounouchi was starting to see red, but he forcibly turned his gaze to Ryou. "So what's goin'

on? Do you know why you're here?"

"Dog! Is your hearing going, or are you just badly trained?! I said, you're staining the carpet. Get up."

Everyone froze when Jou jumped up and whirled around to face the taller man. Mokuba stopped sniffling, and even Ryou was stunned into silence.

"Aw,shove it, Kaiba!" Jounouchi bellowed at the CEO. Everyone's eyes widened at the force behind the shout. True, Jou always tended to be pretty loud. But it wasn't his usual, 'irritated-but-half-serious' tone. This was something neither Ryou nor the two Kaiba's had heard before.

Both amber-brown eyes narrowed in dangerous revolt. "Here ya are worrying about your damn floor, while your little brother needs help! Why don'tcha try and forget about your stupid mansion and help us figure out what's upsetting him?!"

The other three blinked at the aggressive voice coming from their blonde friend. This wasn't 'Jou.' Nope, this was the abused, misguided street brawler who once ran as second-in-command of the city's worst underage gang. This was Jou's previous life. This was 'Jounouchi Katsuya'- the gangster.

Both Kaiba brothers were stunned at the blonde's sudden ferocity. Ryou was fighting between the part of his mind telling him to panic and the other part which told him this was just a very bizarre dream.

Jounouchi wasn't done. He sneered in distaste as he berated the older Kaiba.

"You can buy another d*mn carpet! But Mokuba has a problem an' I'm betting you can't jus' buy a solution! He needs you; his broth-er!" Jounouchi emphasized the last point by pushing his index finger stubbornly into the taller man's chest.

Kaiba glared at the personal attack, but only smacked Jou's hand away.

"I would suggest checking the facts before you start barking your head off, mutt. I already know the problem. And the solution."

The golden-haired teen just glared in dubiousness.

The smaller brother cried out. "But Seto!-"

"Mokuba!" The brilliant progeny snapped. "I already explained to you why this has to be done. Now enough with this empathy- you act like I'm killing a person, not an object."

"He IS a person!" Mokuba finally lost it (Ryou couldn't help thinking how the youngest boy was the last to lose his temper) and began screaming. "You're so cruel, Seto! You don't even know what makes a person, a person! You act more like a machine than he does!"

Kaiba's eyes widened at that last comment.

Mokuba shook his head. "If you destroy him- I-I'm never going to forgive you!" Tears were visibly running down his face as he ran from the room.

Ryou and Kaiba were both stupefied.

Jounouchi, however, did what he did best; and impulsively rushed off.

The black-haired kid was already half-way down the stairs to the main floor when Jou saw him.

"Hey! Shorty! Wait up! I ran all the way here- gimme a break!"

Mokuba finally stopped at the last step and sat down, his head hanging.

"T'anks." The Brooklyn duelist panted as he sat down.

Both boys were silent for a bit. Jounouchi finally caught his breath, but he waited for Mokuba to speak first.

"I don't get it..." Mokuba muttered quietly. "Why does he want to destroy him? Noah's not dangerous..."

Jou was still baffled, but he got the basic gist of the matter. At least now he knew who Mokuba meant.

"I think he's jus' worried. You're his lil' brother, right? And you know, you do tend to get into trouble. Like, alot." Mokuba frowned, but Jounouchi just gave a dopey grin. "Heck, how many times have you gone missin' now? I've seen women that put these leashes on their kids- like a harness, y'know? You're lucky your brother hasn't tried that."

Mokuba sighed. "No, Seto'd rather put a microchip in my butt or something."

Jounouchi had to laugh. "Hah! Can you imagine explaining tha' one to airport security?! 'Excuse me sir, but you keep setting off the detector- do you have any metal on you?' Man, that'd be priceless!"

Mokuba let out a faint snicker. "Or what if you went shopping at the mall and it set off the alarms?"

"Oh man- 'Attention shoppers, please ignore the alarms. There is a customer with a metal tracking device in his a-"

"As much as I enjoy your crude humor, I must warn you not to swear in front of my brother."

Kaiba glared down at the two from several steps above them. Ryou stood at the top of the staircase, watching uneasily. He could almost feel the tension between the rest of the group.

"Um, Kaiba? I know it's a bit odd, but would you mind if we at least listened to Mokuba? I'm afraid I'm still not sure what's going on..." Ryou knew he was stretching the truth a bit; but he figured Jounouchi needed to be filled in as well.

After a brief explanation (during which Seto graciously refrained from commenting), Jou seemed to agree with Mokuba and Ryou.

"I don' think you should get rid a' him either, Kaiba- I mean, the 'other' Noah did save us in the end, right?"

The towering duelist gave a huff and a look of incredulity. Unfortunately, his refusal to accept the inexplicable meant that Seto did not believe that the 'other' Noah had helped them escape Gozaburo's grasp.

But the blonde duelist refused to give up. "Well, then look at it this way, Moneybags. Either the thing really is alive with someone's mind, an' shouldn't have to die, or else it's a really weird, rare computer program that no one's ever seen." Jou shrugged for emphasis. "Either way, I don't see why you wanna destroy it."

The other man nodded slightly. "Hmph. Fair point." He reluctantly conceded that his rival was right. But his attitude remained firm. "Nevertheless, this is an advanced piece of military-derived programming that could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. I cannot just allow this disk to lie around in a random filing cabinet again."

Jounouchi put one hand on his chin. "Sooo... you're a businessman looking to unload some company product, right? Well, why dont'cha sell it to me?" He grinned in what was clearly an attempt at a winning smile.

Kaiba nearly lost it when he heard that response. He had to struggle not to burst out laughing while he replied. "I highly doubt that a mutt like you could afford to own a piece of high-level of KaibaCorp technology."

Jou frowned at the brunette's sneer, but didn't back down. "I know- but you don' pay for a car all at once, right?"

Seto just smirked. The blonde groaned. "Correction: Normal people don' pay for a car all a' once- they do it in 'stallments."

Kaiba looked thoughtful. "Sorry mutt, I don't do 'loans.' Not that you'd qualify." He mused calculatingly. "However, I think I may have a better solution."

The look on the CEO's face was devious, and Jounouchi swallowed nervously.

Kaiba pointed at the American-born duelist. "In exchange for the disk, you will become an employee of KaibaCorp."

"What?!" Jou yelped in shock. "You ain't serious, right?!"

Kaiba smirked. "I most certainly am. In fact, I've been looking for someone to fill a lower position in our personnel relations department."

There was a moment of silence as the louder teen mulled it over. "So, I'd be, like, a matchmaker?" Jou titled his head in confusion. "I'm not sure I'd be good at that..."

'Give me strength...' The older duelist facepalmed. "Personnel, not 'personal.' You would be working to help detect and ensure positive commitment and cooperation throughout the main office through daily inspections via physical and digital surveillance observation."

"...Eh?"

Mokuba finally chimed in. "You'd be spying on people in the building to make sure they're really working- and not slacking off or stealing!"

"Oh, got it." Jou scratched the back of his head. "Er, I really don't think I'm the one you'd want for a job like this- I don't know much about business stuff."

"Understatement of the century, mutt." Jounouchi glared at the brunette. "But this job actually requires the opposite- someone who can ignore the professional-facade atmosphere and can tell me openly who my employees are- who works the hardest, who is the least efficient, who might be stealing or even a spy, etc."

The blonde tilted his head, still not completely following.

The teenaged business mogul steadily elaborated. "It's more effective to use someone who hasn't already been influenced by office politics and relationships. Basically, I'm asking you to look at people you don't know so you can present to me information with the least biased opinion."

Jou seemed to mull it over. "Awright- so you want me to spy on workers and see if anything's off?"

Kaiba smirked again. There was an unusual expression in those blue eyes that made Jounouchi nervous. "Basically, yes. You'll learn more about the job tomorrow. Be at KaibaCorp at 8:50 AM. Give the receptionist your name and she'll send you up to my main office."

The blonde hesitated- he knew if he accepted that he would be under Kaiba's thumb, and that could be a nightmare. But then he noticed Mokuba's tear-stained face out of the corner of his eye, and he knew how much this meant to the kid. He turned to his biggest rival and nodded. Kaiba held out his hand, and they shook.

Jou struggled not to freak out as he pictured all the things that could go wrong.

'Aw, crap... what did I jus' agree to?'