Summary: Something's preying on people's souls and Jounouchi Katsuya intends to find out what, even if he has to recruit a stony-faced CEO to do it.

Notes: Yep, this is an HoM sidestory, but it can stand on its own... of course it doesn't hurt if you know the main storyline. XD People who've been paying attention to my deviantart account already know about this fic.

Disclaimer: If wishes were horses, Kaibaland would only be a short ride away... or something like that.

History of Magic: Cloak and Dagger
By Lizeth Hallington
lizethDOTdeviantartDOTcom

Chapter 1 - Hollow

"Another one?"

"Yeah, they're dropping like flies."

"Damned idiots, whatever the hell they're doing."

Not far away, a blonde man grit his teeth, lips curling in disgust.

"Leaving a mess for us to clean up..." the first continued, tossing his cup in the trash, oblivious to the rising ire of their eavesdropper.

Condescending, arrogant bastards! Straightening, the blonde took a step forward and-

"Jounouchi!"

-froze.

Katsuya Jounouchi, now 22-years-old, glared at the two conversing men before turning his back. Running a hand through his hair out of reflex, he answered tiredly.

"Yeah, chief?"

"Your partner's looking for you. I suggest you back her up," the older man said blandly.

Putting his best daredevil expression, Jounouchi opened his mouth to protest.

"Now, Jounouchi," ordered Captain Genritsu Mamoru, better known to the officers in the 9th division DCPD as 'Chief'. The man, though balding and in his late forties, still cut a very imposing figure.

"But-"

"Questioning my authority again?" the elder man asked, frowning, but not entirely serious.

"'Course not, sir." Jou grinned.

Sighing, the Chief gazed at the other two officers by the water cooler, now alerted to their presence, before looking back at the blonde.

"Straighten up, son, you're slipping."

Jou's grin melted off his face as lips pressed into a line. Years had taught him to erase his accent and his bearing, but he still had a tendency to slip back into "street punk" mode when he was tired or stressed... and currently he was both.

"...It's not your case, Jou," his superior said lowly, a hint of warning in his voice.

"Sir-"

"Drop it," the man ordered, shaking his head, and moved on.

Brown eyes dark, Jou tossed his own styrofoam cup in the trash.

That's just it: I can't.

- Kaiba Corp, 4:27 p.m. -

Shinjin Mimori had a pretty decent job. She was secretary to one of the riches men in the world, she was well paid and healthy... but at the moment she dearly wished she'd taken her late mother's advice and chosen some safer line of work...

...Aerial stunts, maybe.

At twenty-two, Seto Kaiba was not a man known for his tolerance and that was a massive understatement. Though normally cool and collected, he was frozen fury when provoked. If Seto Kaiba said he was not to be disturbed, he was not to be disturbed.

...And here she was, about to break that rule.

Heads turned as she passed, office workers looking up curiously at the man she reluctantly lead down the hall. Mimori took a deep, calming breath, aware of the amusement rolling off the man walking behind her. The poor bugger wouldn't know what hit him, insisting on seeing Kaiba-sama without an appointment.

Your funeral, she shrugged, then winced. Maybe mine too.

Stopping in front of an expensive looking door, the secretary raised her hand and paused, still hesitant.

"...Want me to do it?" the visitor asked, a small grin on his handsome face.

She bristled. The nerve of the man! "No thank you, I'm perfectly capable of knocking on doors!"

The man chuckled, raising his hands in defence. "Easy, easy. No offence meant."

Frowning and steeling her nerves, the secretary knocked.

"Kaiba-sama?" she asked quietly, peeking her head through the door.

Ice blue eyes instantly targeted in on her, flashing in annoyance. The woman tried not to cringe visibly.

"Excuse me, sir-"

Seto cut her off immediately with a raised hand, and turned his back to her, returning to the conversation he was holding over the phone. (fanart: lizeth. deviant art. com /art/Really-rough-adult-Seto-sketch-4531604)

The CEO's voice was cordially pleasant as he spoke to an associate, noticeably different from the brisk tones he often used in his own territory. After several moments the young CEO pinned his gaze back on the nervous secretary and set the phone back on the cradle.

"So, to what do I honor this visit to, Shinjin-san?" he asked, knitting his fingers together in front of him.

"E... uh..." the secretary winced, suddenly at a loss for words. "T-there's someone to see you sir."

An eyebrow slowly arched up. "I wasn't aware that I had any appointments at this time."

"Y-you don't sir," she squeaked.

"Then how could there possibly be someone to see me?" he replied flatly.

"Sir..."

"Show him out, Shinjin-san. I'm not meeting with him."

"But- but sir..."

Seto frowned and exhaled in annoyance. "Problem?"

"S-sir!" the woman breathed. "It's a policeman!"

Now the eyebrow rose fractionally higher.

Mimori nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand fell on her shoulder.

"I'll take it from here," the policeman said kindly, stepping into the office.

The secretary looked from one man to the other.

Seto sat, impassive as ever, staring at his visitor with a small frown.

The blonde police officer never lost his easy grin.

"Dismissed, Shinjin-san," Seto snapped, breaking his silent war with the other man.

"Hai, Kaiba-sama," the secretary said, and all but fled out of the room.

Seto leaned back in his chair as the door closed, a disgruntled expression settling over his normally impassive face as he regarded the officer. "Thank you so much for jump-starting the rumour mill. As if there wasn't enough speculation about me already."

"Yep, that's me. Grade-A pain in the butt."

Seto twitched. "And what, may I ask, brings the K9 squad to my doorstep?"

The officer snorted. "God Kaiba, you need new insults."

"But this one works so well," Seto said dryly.

"Asshole," Jounouchi grinned, leaning against the door.

"I have work to do, mutt."

"And we have some serious shit going down," Jou's eyes turned grim as he lowered his voice. "High Priest."

"Don't call me that," Seto said coldly, folding his reading glasses and placing it in its case. "That was more than a lifetime ago."

"Have you heard about what's going out there?" Jou said, sweeping an arm up.

"I hear a lot of things," Seto said. "Anything in particular?"

Jou's lips thinned. "Fine. I'll stop wasting your time. C'mon," he ordered, grabbing the trench coat by the door.

"What?"

"It's better if you see it yourself."

Seto glared coldly. "You expect me to just-"

"Kaiba!" Jou hissed, "I wouldn't have come if I wasn't at the end of my leash! ...And shut up, that's just a figure of speech," the blonde growled before the CEO could open his mouth to comment. "Yugi's out somewhere in England, Bakura-kun went AWOL ages ago and Malik's in Egypt... not like I'd ever ask him for help anyway."

Seto stared calculatingly at the blonde. That list of names had one common thread... they were all Millennium Item holders.

"I don't have an Item, idiot."

"I know that," Jou growled. "That's not it. Would you get off your high horse and move?"

Seto studied the blonde a moment longer. Jounouchi looked stressed, as if he'd been forced to pull all-nighters a few times too often. He hair had been cut short and he'd even lost his Osaka accent... barely recognizable as the teen he used to see hovering protectively around a certain vertically-challenged King of Games.

The CEO tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose and pressed the intercom. "Shinjin-san, hold all my calls."

"What? Sir?" she replied, startled, but Seto had already cut the connection. Blue eyes met brown.

"I'm driving," Seto stated dryly, digging out his keys.

"A homeless shelter?" Seto asked, arching an eyebrow as he pulled into the driveway.

"Yeah," Jou agreed, stepping out of the car, a fairly low-key Toyota.

The unlikely pair climbed up the stairs, the blonde pausing only for a instant to greet a plump woman by the door.

"Any change?"

"None," the woman sighed.

Jou grinned his trademark grin, nudging the woman. "Daijoubou, Seiko-san. You'll see."

"Aa..." the woman smiled waveringly.

Seto watched the exchange silently. "Jounouchi?" he asked lowly.

"This way," Jou beckoned, moving towards to back. "These people were found separately at random intervals. They have nothing in common other than the fact that they're all homeless. The police are passing it off a some kind of cult action."

"But you don't think so?" Seto asked tonelessly.

"I've been exposed to a few things the guys at the department haven't seen," he replied, opening a door.

The room was dim, the drapes having been closed. The air was stale. Beds were lined up in two rows with headboards pressed against the wall. About a dozen of them were occupied by still, shadowed shapes.

Seto hands curled unconsciously into fists.

This feeling...

Slowly, he walked up to the first bed as Jou moved to the bedside of a young boy who was staring catatonically up at the ceiling.

"These people..." Seto hissed, his icy facade cracking for the briefest instant. "They're all-"

"Soulless as hell," Jou finished grimly.

TBC

End Notes: Whheee~! It's Officer Jounouchi to the rescue! ;)

Y'know, I think Yugi's actually older than Seto? Granted, I don't know what year they were born, so I can't be sure, but Yugi's b-day is in June and Seto's is in October. Jou's older than both of 'em. He's a January baby.

And while we're on the subject of ages, twitches apparently Pegasus was only 24 during the whole Duelist Kingdom thing. He's the same age as Mai.

Going to work on the main story now. Laterz!