Rough sketch I doodled in the corner of a piece of paper full of storyboards and dialogue scripts.

I dunno if Seto will actually make it into HoM, but this scene kept reappearing in my mind, and they say the best cure for writer's block is to write. **shrug** So here it is.

---

Seto Kaiba was not a man known for his tolerance... and that was a massive understatement. She felt amusement rolling off the man walking behind her and mentally scowled in frustration.

The poor bugger wouldn't know what hit him... insisting on seeing Seto Kaiba without an appointment. Your funeral, she shrugged, then winced. Maybe mine too.

Heads turned as they passed, office workers looking up curiously at the two as they walked down the hall. Stopping in front of an expensive looking door, the secretary raised her hand and paused.

"Want me to do it?" the visitor asked, a small grin on his handsome face. "You don't have to be accountable."

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.

The CEO's voice was cordially pleasant as he spoke to an associate, noticably different from the brisk tones he often used in his own territory. "Shì... Shì... Bù gandang. Xiè xie nín, Wáng-xiansheng... Zà ijiàn."

Beep went the phone as he cut the conversation. Setting the phone back on the cradle, the young CEO pinned his gaze back on the nervous secretary. "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.

"S-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 the police!"

Now the eyebrow rose fractionally higher.

Shinjin Teinei nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand fell on her shoulder. " I'll take it from here," the police man 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."

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

"Don't call me that," Seto said coldly, folding his reading glasses and placing it in its case. "That was 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. "I can't 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.