Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Lost and Found	By : lostintheheartland Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 9748 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or anything else nor do I make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Title: Lost And Found – Episode 1

Author: Maggiemay

Muses and Betas: Jazzy, mofaf1, Lady Laran

Disclaimer: Don't own YGO or any of it's Characters. Do own my OC's and the work contained within this work.

Summary: Life after the Pharoah left looked bright. Looks can be deceiving. Jounouchi is a cop who finds missing people. He's found everyone he's ever searched for – except one. This is the second episode in the ongoing 'Lost and Found' saga.

Rating: M for Mature just to be safe.

Size: 16 Pages and 8967 words.

***

Jounouchi Katsuya maintained his calm demeanor as he shook his ex-captain's hand. Inside he was a mass of elation, anger, surprise and hope. The elation was because his ex-employers had signed the consulting contract with only a token attempt at negotiation. The attempt had been squashed by his legal counsel, best friend, and business partner, Honda Hiroto. Anger was due to the fact that as a consultant working only on cases approved by Chief Kochi and his ex-captain, he would just work two hundred forty hours per year and his retaining fee - not counting the steep cost of expenses - was over twice his annual salary for working seventy plus hours a week. The hope was for his fledgling business, barely two weeks old. With the contract signed and a monthly income guaranteed, Jou knew he would have a comfortable cushion for at least a year. Lastly, he was surprised at how quickly the contract had been signed. From what he'd observed in the past, consulting contracts took weeks, if not months, to get approval. This had gone through in two days.

His partner was equally calm, showing none of the emotions that he felt. If he and Honda hadn't discussed how important this contract was to them, he wouldn't have known how relieved and happy Honda was. The tall, muscular brunet seemed to be completely unmoved as he picked up the contract. His pleasant voice was brisk, without inflection when Honda said "I'll make copies."

"Not necessary. I'll have one of the admins here make them." The Chief offered. "There is an issue that needs to be discussed."

Jou was even more surprised at that. Administrative assistants were a luxury that were hoarded like Midas hoarded gold. Sending one to make copies was almost unheard of. Menial tasks such as that were usually delegated to interns and other low-level lackeys.

"Thank you." Honda nodded as the other man pressed a button to call the admin. "What issue?" When the trim, spit-and-polish female officer bustled in, he handed her the contract. "Five copies please." He requested politely.

The chief added his own request to the admin. "Yes, and please make the transfer I discussed with you earlier. Bring the receipt when you return."

When the woman was gone, Kochi pulled out a folder, balancing it between his hands. "The contract goes into effect the day you receive the first installment of the retainer."  Jou's ears perked up at the opening. It was something they all knew but by using it now, it had to mean that something was going on that the chief felt they needed the reminder for.

"Yes. When did you plan on making the first installment?" Honda inquired. The terms of the contract only stated within thirty days of signing. Because of the uncertain nature of police bureaucracy and their habit of paying bills at the last possible moment, there had been no specific date of payment for the first monthly transfer. All other payments would be due thirty days from the previous.

"It is being electronically transferred now. The receipt will be given to you with your copies." The Chief laid down the folder, carefully aligning it with the edge of the table. He seemed intent on lining up the edges perfectly.  Jounouchi recognized it as a stalling tactic and wondered exactly what was going on to make the man so uneasy.

The chief, once the ends were lined up perfectly lifted his head and met Honda's waiting look. "According to the contract, when called for consultation your company must contact this office within eight hours and work on the case must begin within twenty-four hours."

"Yes. Once the payment is confirmed." Honda nodded, still maintained a polite facade.  Jou had to hand it to his old friend. The Honda he used to know would have snapped by now. Well maybe not snapped, but definitely would have been holding on to his patience by a thread.

"Good. I trust you don't mind discussing a case that requires consultation while we wait for the receipt?" Honda shook his head and started to answer only to be overridden by Jounouchi. He had been listening for the opening, and there it was. There was a case that needed immediate attention. This was his area, not Honda's. Why the guy couldn't have just come out with it right away was anyone's guess but now that they knew it was a job, Jou would take over. Contracts and legal issues were Honda's deal. Jounouchi did the finding.

He gave a small chuckle. "No, we don't mind. We can talk about it but until we see the receipt, we won't do more than talk." Just because he didn't do the legal stuff didn't mean he was going to let the chief push him around. He didn't like the man at all.

"Of course we do understand."  Kochi gave him a cool glare. It was obvious by his attitude that he was still smarting from Jounouchi walking out on a particular special assignment - finding the missing brother of Kaiba Seto.  Jou's leaving had ended his career as a police officer and caused Commissioner General Daichi to be quietly removed from office due to his incompetence.  Kaiba Seto had a long reach, and Daichi had taken the full brunt of his anger.

Chief Kochi would have normally stepped into the vacant spot, but Kaiba had a powerful political influence in the city and Chief Kochi was never considered due to his own failure in handling the Kaiba case.  Kochi had reached as high as he ever would in their world, and he knew it.  Kaiba Seto was a bad enemy to make.

Jou couldn't find it in his heart to feel guilty about it. Chief Kochi was out of touch and ineffective as a leader; more concerned with politics and social climbing than solving crimes or supporting the men who solved crimes.  "We have a sensitive case that requires discretion, something guaranteed by your contract, and your special skill set. Officer Watanabe has been on site all morning and hasn't been able to find any leads."

Jou's eyes narrowed slightly. It had to be political, a way to curry favor that had been lost. That would be the only reason Kochi would push through the contract. He hated this kind of case. He wasn't a lackey any more so he decided to be blunt. Screw political correctness. "Discretion and instant action so I'm sure the family has political ties and is rich." When the chief gave him a hard look, Jou knew he was right.

"Who is it, and what can you tell me about the situation?" He didn't address Kochi. The man was an obvious desk jockey bureaucrat and completely useless when it came to practicality and getting the job done. He spoke to Captain Miyahara. The man didn't let him down. "Matsudaira Nobunori called Chief Kochi at three this morning. His son has been missing since midnight last night. He was last seen in his father's study."

"Matsudaira..." Jou whistled. "Old noble family. Son is the heir, I guess. Rich too from what I remember of the Matsudaira Corporation. Privately owned, old-style weapons, traditional silk and tea exporters. One of the top in the world. They support several political candidates for the conservative party. No wonder you want discretion and instant service. Who saw the son last last?"

"His father. He sent the boy into the study to read some of the family history. About midnight, the boy wanted to get a drink and his father sent him back and went to get it for him. The boy was gone when he got back."

"How old is the boy?" Age was crucial. A young boy could have wandered off for adventure or been taken by a child molester. A teen was more likely to run away. An adult was a completely different process.

"Seventeen."

A teen. One at the most volatile age. The best part about it was that rich teens usually were found quickly either at a friend's house or at some party. Sometimes they hid out because they wrecked the car or broke something valuable. "You went to assess the scene?" When Captain Miyahara nodded, Jou asked "Anything else missing?"

"Nothing has been reported." Jou picked up an odd constraint there. The captain didn't say it, but his tone said that even though nothing had been reported missing, something might be.

"I understand." He did get what the Captain said and what he hadn't said. Jounouchi knew from experience that just because something wasn't reported missing didn't mean it wasn't gone. When dealing with old family honor and valuable artifacts, people were very secretive. The more people had to lose the more they guarded their secrets, even if it meant losing the things they were guarding. "Any other family?"

"The boy's mother, who has not been interviewed yet because of her health, a few distant, elderly aunts and uncles. None that live in."

Before Jou could ask another question, the admin was back. She handed the stack of contracts to Honda and a single sheet of paper to the Chief. After a quick check, he handed the paper to Honda. The lawyer scanned it, nodded once and placed it, the original, and four copies of the contract in his expensive leather briefcase. He handed one to Chief Kochi. "Alright, Lost and Found People Finders are on the case." He took out a small notebook and made a quick note, sat back and gestured to Jounouchi to continue.

"Anything else you need to tell me Captain?"

"No." He hesitated a second. "Yes. It's good to work with you again, Jounouchi."

That gave Jou a small burst of warmth. His captain was a nice man and scrupulously fair. He didn't hold any obvious grudge because of the Kaiba fiasco. "Good to work with you again too, Captain." Pleasantries and warm fuzzy feelings aside it was time to get to work.  "If that's all, I'll get the address and we can be on our way." He shot Chief Kochi a cool look. "Please note that we contacted you in person immediately and are starting now. You are allocated twenty hours a month. Time starts now. I will send you an accounting of that time weekly." He took the post-it note with its hastily scribbled address from his ex-captain and tucked it into his pocket. "Let's go, Honda."

Honda's long legs were stretched to the max to keep up with Jou as he practically ran from the building. When they were safely in the car, the blond apologized for his rush. "Sorry man but with only twenty hours, we gotta hurry. That ain't much time."

Honda nodded his understanding. "I get it, Jou. Let's go."

Jounouchi glanced at the address and sighed. "Break out the map, will ya? No clue where this is." He handed his partner the post-it note.

Honda gave him a wry look. "If you would have your GPS turned on, you wouldn't need a map." Despite his words, he fished around under the seat for the dog-eared booklet Jou had stashed there.

"Nah, like I told ya before. All th' electronics in this car are rigged ta Kaiba Corp computers. It'll cost more than th' car is worth ta have them setup for different systems. Kaiba sure as hell won’t have them turned back on." It was best not to mention that Kaiba Seto probably wouldn't turn them on for any price. Even if the billionaire jerk was so inclined, a part of Jou was loathe to break that link. As long as they were setup for Kaiba's system, they were kind of tied. For some reason, he didn't want to examine why that was important. "Besides, the book shows more detail." That was a lie, but Honda didn't know that and Jou wasn't going to enlighten him.

"Got it. Turn left at the light." Thankfully, Honda accepted that explanation.

"Hmmm... Old town. Should have known." He shifted and merged into traffic. "Great job with the contract." It wasn't just a change of topic, Jou was truly impressed by his friend's skills.

"Thanks." Honda gave him a small smile. "I was nervous as hell, but we did it. We are set, at least for a year. Longer if they decide to renew. If our reputation grows in that sector, we could be looking at more contracts."

"Yeah, but I don't want ta be just their lapdog. I want ta make sure we get other clients too." Jou decided to open a subject that had been buzzing in his brain for a few days.  "So I've been thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself. Save your brain for finding people." Honda joked. "About what?"

"We have to think of a way to get our name out there. I thought that once we found that movie star we would be set. But... " Jou shifted gears and maneuvered around a traffic snarl before he continued.  "Discretion. That is going to be the watchword of our business. The studio didn't want anyone to know their golden boy had been taken by his dealer. That meant no publicity for us."

"It makes sense though. The clients who want us to find their missing people aren't going to the police for a reason. Part of that has to be that cops talk." It wasn't the only reason people came to them, but it was the main one. Discretion was as vital as the missing person in some cases.

"I know. I was a cop, remember? It isn't that cops have loose lips, Honda. Cops use the media to generate tips, manipulate suspects, and for obscuring facts. Some do talk when they should shut the hell up, but most use the media as a tool."

"Yeah I get that. I just can't figure a legal way around the 'discretion' part of our business. Word of mouth will do no good if nobody's talking about us."

"We need a marketing expert or something. Not that we can afford one, but I just thought I'd throw it out there. If we get another mega-rich client, we might want to hire a consultant or maybe trade for services." Jou shrugged and shelved the discussion for a time when it was more than a 'what if' scenario. He had another question to ask. He had admired Honda's cool facade at the meeting, but now that they were in the car and Honda was relaxed he could tell just how wound up his friend had been. "So are ya gonna tell me why ya were like a cricket on a hot brick in there today?"

"I did not fidget or jump around. You did." Honda glowered at him, then shrugged and answered his question.   "Never got over my dislike of cops, I guess. Too much time with 'Tani."

Jou knew that was pure bull but decided to let it slide, just as he'd let the other evasions and half-truths of the last few weeks slide. When Honda was ready, he would spill about what had happened in the States to send him home in a state of complete meltdown. The bags under his red, swollen eyes and pale skin had told their own story of pain and sleeplessness without Honda ever saying a word.

Jou decided he would simply watch and wait until Honda was ready to talk. He knew from experience that sometimes a wound had to sit and fester a while before it was ready to be lanced and healed. Something had his old friend jumpier than a frog, and pain was almost visible in the air around him. He wouldn't push for answers, instead he'd act as a touchstone supporting his best friend.

"Yeah. Ya know most of the guys are in prison now?" He elaborated on what he knew of their old gang friends ashe drove through the thinning traffic. He followed Honda's instructions without incident and arrived at the towering gates of what he could see was a huge, stately home.

"Nice place." Honda commented, a small thread of unease in his voice. He knew Jou didn't buy his explanations and was uncomfortable with the deception. He was grateful that his friend hadn't pushed, but he was nowhere near ready to discuss the past several months. It was too fresh, the pain still too sharp.

"Yeah, if you like Edo Period stuff." Jou agreed. Personally, he liked things with a modern edge. He nodded to the officer standing by the gate. "That's Watanabe." Jou slid out of the car and led the way to greet his old squadmate. After brief introductions, Jou nodded. "Lead the way. You know how I work. When I get on site, just stand back and let me get a feel. I'll report anything I find."

"Of course. Jounouchi, may I say that I'm glad to see you again. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye the day you left." The man hesitated, waiting for the gate to open.

That was a small surprise. He guessed that manners in dealing with a consultant had been drilled into Watanabe. "Nice to see you again. Sorry about how fast I left." Jou said it automatically. He hadn't formed any specific bond with Watanabe, fully aware that the man considered him a freak. Watanabe had said it often enough within his hearing that Jounouchi had actually become immune to the man's remarks.

"Did he ever catch up with you?" The officer asked out of the blue as he led them up a rustic stone path to the main house.

A tall, slim young woman dressed in a western maid's uniform complete with ruffled skirt and starched white apron answered the door. Her dark hair, pulled up in a plain bun, was decorated by a frilly mob cap. Somehow Jou doubted her outfit was an otaku fashion expression. She truly was the maid. Her head was lowered in the appropriately servile manner, and her hands folded tidily in her apron. Her whole demeanor said 'servant.' "He? Who?"

"Don't know his name. He looked familiar, but..." The officer shrugged. "He didn't introduce himself, just called himself 'the rich prick' and said he would find you. Did he?" They followed the maid down the hall, turning right.

That explained the courteous greeting. Watanabe was curious. He didn't mind answering the question simply because it made Jou want to chuckle at the mental image.  Kaiba had been so desperate he had chased him to the squadroom.

"Took him a few days, but that's all I needed. The car I drove up in was a tip from that job." Seeing the envy bloom, Jou didn't bother to hide his satisfaction. "Not bad for a freak." He couldn't resist taunting the man. He might be immune to the comments now but while he'd been developing that immunity, the words had caused him pain.

While color surged in the man's face, Jou cleared his throat and announced to the officers still examining the scene. "Okay, clear out guys. I need to see the scene without all of you here."

The other officers glanced up at him. Most recognized him immediately and, being familiar with his work style, picked up their things and filed out of the room. Very aware of his limited time, he said "Honda go talk to the maid. There was something about her that seemed off. Nobody looks that put together when there is a crisis in the house. Family get snarly and staff get frazzled. I think she might know something. See where she was last night and if she knows where the kid might be."

"Right, the maid." An odd note in Honda's voice caught at Jou for a second, but he wrote it off as nerves. It was his first interview alone, and a guy had a right to be nervous. Interviewing a witness wasn't hard and being a lawyer Honda had trained to gather evidence for trials and court. Jou was confident in his partner's abilities even if Honda himself wasn't.

Jou ignored his partner leaving and turned to the study. He mentally filtered out the additions the police had made andfocused on what it had been like when a seventeen year old boy went missing.

Old... it was the first thing that hit him. The age of everything. The carpet, the furniture, even the lighting, which was oil candles and braziers.  Not a few years or decades but centuries old. The air was heavy with age and responsibility. It pressed down on him like a smothering blanket, weighting his every breath. He could almost hear the voices long silent, whispering down through the years.

Jou couldn't imagine what it must have felt like to a seventeen year old boy. He filed the impression away and evaluated the room, looking for any sign of struggle no matter how slight and found nothing. No carpet fray, no smudges on the wood floor, no overturned furniture or broken glass marred the ancient perfection of the room. Nothing was out of place at first glance.

However, the more Jou looked, the more something seemed off, out of proportion. He couldn't quite bring it into focus but his eyes kept returning to an antique wooden stand.  It was polished to a high gloss, the flat surface showed no smudges or so much as a speck of dust, but to the trained eye there was something missing. The balance of the room was skewed by the emptiness of that stand.

In addition to the strange missing something, there was a complete absence of personal items. No pictures or any kind of bric-a-brac that would normally be found in a study to show the owner's personality. No reminders of family or work. The room could easily have been from a museum or other public display. Frowning thoughtfully, he left the room. It was time to interview the master of the house. He never spoke to witnesses until he evaluated the scene of the disappearance. He wanted to see how the story he was told matched the physical evidence without any kind of prejudice. People lied frequently, but evidence rarely did unless it was tampered with.

Officer Watanabe led him to the great room and made the introductions. Matsudaira Nobunori was a man in his early forties, with hair going gray and an attractive face that expressed his hauteur and impatience without him saying a word.He was dressed in a dark gray, traditional kimono the likes of which Jou had only seen in movies and cultural displays. It was obvious the man clung to old ways of wealth and privilege.

Jou was polite in his greeting, but to the point. "Sir, what is missing from the study? There is a display area that is empty when it is obvious that the entire room was designed around that one piece."

"There is nothing missing from the room except my son." Matsudaira Nobunori denied flatly.

Jou knew in his gut the older man was lying. There was nothing in his face or voice to confirm it, but Jou's gut was never wrong. "Sir, if something is missing then it's likely that whoever took the item also took your son. What is missing?"

"As I said, nothing is missing." The man wouldn't budge from his lie. His expression was filled with cold pride and denial.

Jou wanted to snarl at the man, but he could see by the iron set of his features that Matsudaira would not tell him the truth. Bluntly, he gave his opinion. "Have it your way. You are not helping to find your son by protecting your pride, but you have to decide what is most important. Tell me about your son. What is he like? What are his interests?"

"I cannot answer those questions. Because of his delicate health my son has lived abroad since he was very young. He has only returned in the last few weeks. He is of the same fragile constitution as my wife and has been staying in his room. He has only come out a few times, mostly at night as his pain makes him restless. I have been teaching him our family history when he feels up to the task."

"I see. What is his full name? And what is his medical condition? If it requires medication he will need treatment."

"He was named after one of our ancestors. Matsudaira Hirotada." His face went blank for a moment before falling back into proud lines. "He is prone to intraventricular hemorrhage."

Jou knew hemorrhage meant bleeding, and intraventricular didn't sound good. It sounded like something in the heart. A teen with a heart problem could be at serious risk. He would have find out what it was to assess the risk factors to the boy and any special medical treatment he may need. "I see. I may need the name of his doctor, but not yet. What does he look like?"

"He is one hundred seventy nine centimeters and sixty-two kilograms. His hair black, long and straight. He usually wears it in an unshaven chonmage. My son prefers traditional clothes although he did mention that he found denim trousers easier to move around in." The man smiled slightly, austerity gave way to a hint of fondness. "Hirotada is young and sometimes likes to wear clothing more suited to modern young people."

That little tidbit made Jou breathe a little bit easier. If the kid liked jeans then wearing a sumo style ponytail might help him stand out a bit. "You said he'd been living abroad for his health. Where?" The blond did not want to see the caring on the other man's face. It made him think of another man, equally proud and reserved, who had shown him vulnerability.

"He has recently returned from Yomi." The man stated calmly as he folded his hands into the sleeves of his gray kimono.

That made Jou freeze in shock. "Y.. Excuse me, did you say Yomi?" The shadow lands of the dead? No way he heard that right. His experience with Kaiba and the freaky pyramid were playing with his head. It wasn't the first time in the last few weeks.  First the guy reminds him of Seto, and then he starts hearing references to death. His brain was really messed up.

The man blinked and shook his head. "Of course not. I said Yosu. We have friends in South Korea. He has been staying with them. We visit when we can."

"Would he run away to return to Yosu?" Always possible, but why come to Japan if he wanted to be in Yosu? "Did you send for him?"

"No, he was anxious to be with his family and requested to come home. He has missed us greatly." The man rose from his mat and nodded regally. "I have business to attend. I will contact my friends in Yosu and apprise them of the situation. I expect results very soon. Thank you, and good day." With a swish of his heavy silk kimono, the man was gone.

Jounouchi looked around for his partner, a strange itch in his brain urging him to find the man. The maid was nowhere to be seen, in fact the whole house seemed deserted, which was strange when he considered that there had been several police officers roaming around just a few hours earlier.

Using his nose and the rumblings of his stomach as a guide, he found the kitchen. With an ingratiating smile, he asked the elderly woman chopping vegetables if she could tell him where everyone was.

She gave him a flat look that marked him an untrustworthy outsider but answered politely. "The police have gone back to town for their meal. The master has gone to his meeting. The mistress is in the garden saying prayers at the shrine. The man who arrived with you has gone to speak to the maid. She is off today and is probably in town shopping, but he insisted I give him her direction." She continued cutting at a brisk pace.

"I will go in the garden and wait for your mistress to finish her prayers. I need to speak to her about her son, maybe get a photograph."

The old woman's hands faltered. "I... If you must. She is very fragile, and this upset has caused more pain." She resumed her task but without her former vigor. "It has never gone this far before. She is strong except in this one area. Please go kindly with her." She abruptly scooped all the vegetables in a pot and hurried away. Where she was going, when the stove was less than five feet away was anyone's guess.

Jounouchi wandered around the huge house for a few moments before he found a doorway leading out to the garden. It was beautiful, fragrant and green. Flowers were budding with a few unfurling their petals in the early sun. If he didn't have someone to find, he would have sat and enjoyed the peace of the garden. Instead he looked around for a clue to where the boy's mother could be. In just a moment, he spotted a winding trail that disappeared around a grove of trees. Rising over the trees at the bend of the trail was a thin wisp of smoke.

Someone, probably the mother, was burning something, most likely incense at the shrine. Walking slowly, Jou moved to the path that the lady of the house would most likely return on. When she didn't appear right away he sat on a large decorative boulder and waited.

He was determined not to interrupt her prayers for any reason. But as time wore on, ten minutes to a half an hour, half an hour to forty-five minutes, and she still did not appear, Jou decided to go down the path and see if he was right about who and what was causing that curl of smoke.

He wasn't exactly sure what he expected of the lady of the Matsudaira house, perhaps someone as rigidly traditional as her husband, a delicate flower more suited to a bygone age. Or perhaps a weeping hysteric, dependent on drugs as his own wife had been. Somewhere in between? What he did not expect was a trim, smartly dressed woman in a modern business suit, needle thin heels, and severe hairstyle standing next to a shrine speaking rapidly in hushed tones on a cell phone. Incense burned in front of the shrine, but it was obvious that the woman was not in prayer.

He must have made some sound because she glanced up sharply and frowned when she saw him. With an imperious lift of her hand that sent a dart of recognition through him, she signalled him to wait. Thankfully she finished speakingquickly and closed her phone before he could examine who she reminded him of so painfully. "Ma'am, I'm Jounouchi Katsuya with Lost and Found. I'm consulting on the disappearance of..."

She nodded brusquely and cut him off. "This isn't a good time for this nonsense. My company is under threat from an international consortium. I don't have time to pander to my husband in this. Please finish it quickly."

"As fast as humanly possible ma'am." Jou blinked at her coldness. "Do you think the disappearance has anything to do with the business threat?"

"Not at all. My rivals wouldn't bother themselves with this kind of thing." She dismissed the idea immediately.

"All right." He frowned slightly. "Ma'am I hate to bother you when you are so busy, but do you have a photograph of your son?"

"A photograph?" She walked to the incense burner and carefully smothered the embers. "None were ever taken. He wasn't with us long enough."

He hesitated for a moment then asked the question uppermost in his mind. "Ma'am, you are obviously a strong, powerful woman. Why does everyone here refer to you as fragile? It is not what I see."

"My family is stuck in the past. When I came here as a bride I was raised to be a fragile flower, cared for by a masterful gardener. When that gardener failed, I had the choice of withering away or growing into a flower that blooms in adversity. Now I am the gardener." She smiled and shook her head. "I used to yearn to be an ornamental bloom, clinging to a strong pillar. I have since learned to enjoy my own strength. I am now the pillar, but the people here choose to see me as I was, as they think I should be, not as I am." Very real yearning broke through the business-like facade. "I am still a woman, and I love my home and family. I do what I must to protect them." The look was replaced immediately by the high-powered mask when her phone rang again. "Excuse me please, I must take this." She turned, walked away and answered her phone.

Jou knelt at the shrine and offered a prayer for the dead. He felt his breath leave him slightly when he read the inscription. A quick glance showed the woman walking away, still talking on the phone. He took out his own phone and after a quick number search, called to verify what he suspected then placed a second call to his med student sister, Shizuka..

Matsudaira Nobunori stood just inside the door Jounouchi had exited from. Somehow, he was not surprised to see the man. "Sir, could you show me to the room your son used?"

"Of course." The regal man nodded and turned gracefully to lead the way.

Jounouchi examined every inch of the room under the watchful eye of the master of the house. He honestly didn't expect to find any evidence of Matsudaira Hirotada, and he didn't. Silk kimonos were stored on poles, some looked like they hadn't been touched in decades while others appeared freshly laundered and hung. He was surprised to find evidence of someone else. A thin, flexible, leather strip with a single strand of long black hair rested on the floor of the closet. It was exactly like the ties used to form a chonmage. "Sir, is this your son's?" He didn't touch it. Evidence needed to be left for the police.

Pride beamed from the man. "Yes. I believe I mentioned he prefers to wear traditional clothing and hairstyle since returning."

"It must look very dignified. When did you say he returned again?"

"Two weeks ago. I knew he was due to arrive so I waited up for him. When he came to the study, I greeted him as any father would. He was so eager to learn our history, so interested in the honor bestowed on our family. I was sorry that I had loaned our collection to the museum. He was downcast as well. He'd come home to see the honor that was his birthright only to find it gone." The older man's face fell into melancholy. "He was so distraught; he took to his bed again, only coming out a few times at night, never joining me for meals."

"Did you check on him?"

"Of course. I didn't see him though. He is susceptible to infection so his personal servant kept me informed."

"Personal servant?" That caught Jou's attention.

"Yes, a young lady who dresses as a western maid. I do not know her name."

That made Jou choke on his own spit. "I see. She was here earlier."

"Yes, she led you to me." He smiled slightly. "A haafu like you, but her eyes are a very pretty malachite."

"Do you know where she is now?"

"I do not keep track of servants." His chin went up at that. Jou had forgotten how stiff and formal the man could be. Of course a servant was beneath his notice.

"No, no. I didn't mean to imply that you did." He lifted his hands in a soothing motion. "I simply wondered if you had seen her since then."

"Why would I?" The hauteur was back in spades. Jou had truly offended the man's noble pride.

"No reason. Passing in the hall or something. Sir, are you sure there is nothing missing from the study?" Jou tried again to get him to open up. He needed to know what was missing.

"Nothing is missing. I've already told you that." The man was unshakable.

"I see. The items you loaned to the museum, were they returned? Did your son see them? Or the maid?"

"The maid would have no reason to look upon them. They were returned yesterday, and yes of course my son saw them last night. I personally escorted him. He was viewing them when he disappeared.  I had gone to make his favorite tea - a rare Da Hong Pao blend that he requested specifically- and when I returned he was gone. The outside doors to my study were wide open, and the breeze was quite cold. "

"But the items... What are they?"

"The collection is safe, and none of your concern. Please find my son. I have nothing further to say to you." With all the dignity of a king leaving the royal audience chamber, he rose and sedately walked away.

Jou closed his eyes and let his head drop forward in defeat. It would figure, his first consulting job for the his ex-employer and it turned out to be a whack job. He had to find Honda and get back to the station. Captain Miyahara needed to know what was going on. He walked down to the gate to get the car. Damned if he would walk around searching for Honda when he had a hot car.

He didn't have far to look. Honda was sitting in the passenger side of the car dozing. "Yo!" He called as he opened the driver's side door.

The muscular brunet jumped slightly and turned to face him. "Ah hey Jou." He mumbled uneasily.

"Let me guess. You couldn't find the maid who let us in earlier." Jou slid into the driver's seat and cranked the engine.

"Ah... n.. I mean, yeah! She just seemed to vanish. Hey how did you know?" Honda sounded genuinely surprised. Sometimes he seemed to forget that Jou was a cop, trained in ferreting out information.

"I don't think the maid worked here." Jou sighed. "I couldn't get a feel for the missing person. This is the first time I've never been able to get a feel for a lost one. Even if they're dead, I can pick up traces, see where they've been, see what they saw. This time I couldn't feel the son. There was no echo of his presence, no clues to him, nothing. It was like he didn't exist." Jou started his explanation. This was going to be hard to follow if he didn't start it off right.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this part." Honda mumbled.  "Something bad happened, didn't it? The kid is dead."

"Yeah, he is, but he wasn't murdered. He was never here." When Honda would have exploded with questions, Jou held up his hand. "Wait, let me tell you what I found and how I found it. It'll be easier to understand. After examining the study and talking to the father, I went to the shrine to speak to the mother. She was different than expected. She isn't delicate or fragile. If anything, she is strong and determined. It was obvious she wasn't worried about her missing child and considered this whole episode a nuisance. However, when I mentioned her son, her pain was familiar to me. I checked the shrine. There wasn't a date or anything but I... Something gave me a tingle. I called the ward records office. They had only one son. He died seventeen years ago. The cause of death is listed as complications of premature birth. The boy only lived a few days." Deftly, he threaded through traffic. "That fits with what the father told me his son's medical condition is. I called my sister to ask about the condition. Intraventricular hemorrhage is bleeding inside the brain that is common for premature babies. The recorded weight of their baby is nine hundred eighty grams. The baby was probably born at about thirty weeks. The father has never accepted his son's death and retreated into his own world. The wife and household staff seem to support that world."

"Shit!" Honda swore violently. "So we wasted our time?"

"Yeah and no. There is no missing son." Jou nodded as he pulled into a parking spot. "There is a thief who knew about the son and about the old man's delusions. The thief and his partner made off with museum quality heirlooms."

"Oh hell." Honda moaned and dropped his face in his hands. "How low can he get? To take advantage of that kind of loss is the lowest." He sat up and slid out of the car, following Jounouchi's lead when the blond exited the car.

"I've seen lower." Jou assured him. “I agree with you though; I think it's kinda slimy." He turned to the officer on duty. "Could you tell Captain Miyahara that we need to see him? It's regarding the Matsudaira case and very urgent."

The captain and chief were waiting for them when they were shown into the same room as before. Jou didn't bother with a greeting. "There is no missing son. The son died when he was just a few days old." He stated baldly, without preamble or any kind of lead in.

"Don't be ridiculous." Kochi snapped. "If you can't find him or his direction say so. We..."

"I already did but feel free to check with the ward office. They have only had one child and that child is dead, his ashes held in a shrine in their garden."

"Why would he report such a thing? There has to be a mistake." Kochi continued to protest, but his conviction had weakened in the face of Jounouchi's unassailable facts.

"Depends on what you mean by mistake. If you mean the mistake of letting that man go for years without treatment, then I agree with you. Definitely a mistake. Not only because it left him in a state of total confusion, stopping him from living a normal life, but because it allowed for what I believe happened to take place. One or two people broke in to steal their valuables. They were loaned to a museum at the time so the thief hung out, hiding during the day, coming out at night to visit with the old man. He is the only person to see the thief or thieves, He actually confused the thief with the dead son and his servant. The thief realized it and took advantage. Now the old man is grieving for the loss of his son - again. The valuables are gone. The only clue to the thief I found is a leather band with long black hair at the bottom of a wardrobe. I suggest you get your men out there to comb for more evidence." Jou's face grew hard. "Try to get that man to walk in the real world long enough to give you a description of the thief and admit that something was stolen. He repeatedly denied anything was missing. He may believe the son took them to protect them, or there may be some other fantasy going on. For all we know, the thief told him something that fed his fantasy."

"That's incredible." Captain Miyahara said softly. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be with nobody talking. I think they are protecting the old man from his madness. Talk to the wife and verify. See if she can shed light on what might have been stolen." He stood and motioned for Honda to stand as well. "I'll send you a written report sometime tomorrow before close of day."

"Wait, aren't you going to look for the missing items?" Chief Kochi demanded harshly.

"Check my contract. I'm a people finder, not a stolen antiques finder. There is no missing person, except the thief, and I don't think you can actually classify him as missing as I'm sure he never belonged there to begin with." With a wave, he led Honda out the door, closing it on the sounds of Kochi's sputters.

Jou glanced over at Honda as he started the car. "So yeah, it's after lunch time and I'm starved. What ya think?"

"Huh?" His best friend looked at him like he'd grown two heads. "Oh food. Sure, whatever you want. I'm not hungry. I just want to get back to the apartment."

"Well we got ramen there so I guess I won't waste away. I thought we were gonna look for office space now that we got guaranteed income." He maneuvered to their apartment.

"Oh yeah. Well let's look online and in the paper. Then we'll start fresh first thing tomorrow."

Weariness made Honda's voice sound sad. At least, Jou hoped it was weariness and not genuine sadness. Jou gave his friend a concerned look. "Honda ya can tell me if yer sick or somethin'. It won't matter, I promise."

"I'm not sick or anything." Honda sighed and admitted. "I had a bad breakup about six months ago, and I'm not over it yet. Being back here brings back memories is all. It'll get better."

"Ah man! I didn't know anything about it. Who is she? Where is she? What happened?" It explained so much. He parked the car in its slot and after Honda slid out, locked it and engaged the alarm.

Once inside the apartment, Jou picked up the thread. "So answer my questions. I'm dyin' of curiosity here."

Honda avoided his gaze. "I don't want to talk about it right now. It's too painful."

"Okay." Jou gave his friend a quick squeeze on the shoulder. "I'm here if ya need ta talk."

"Thanks. Maybe someday, but not right now." Honda grinned at him when Jou's stomach rumbled. "Let's order pizza. You really do need to eat."

"Yeah man, that's what I was sayin'." Jou grinned and hit speed dial two for his favorite pizza place. They would have pizza in twenty minutes once the order was placed. When he turned to ask Honda if he wanted salad with it, all he saw was Honda's bedroom door closing silently. Heart aching for his friend, he finished his order and hung up.

Seventeen minutes later he answered the door and almost fell over in shock. Bright green eyes, inky black hair, and a cocky grin that made him want to punch the wearer made him gasp in recognition. "Otogi Ryuuji."

"Hey, Jounouchi! I was in the neighborhood and stopped by." The smile stayed in place as the tall, slim man scooted around him. "I ran into your pizza guy so if you want to eat you have to let me in."

"Holy shit! Of course, man! Come on in. I ain't seen ya in years. I like the new do. That ponytail made ya look like a chick."

Otogi set the pizza on the table and ran his hand over his closely cut hair. "I'm going to grow it back out. I don't like it this short." He gave Jou a thorough once over. "Speaking of new looks, I love the contacts. Never seen contacts that look green and gold, but it looks great, really natural."

Jou shrugged and turned away, not bothering to explain that the green in his eyes was natural, not contacts. The green had faded after the first few days but as the moon phase progressed the green had returned, growing stronger with each day. With the return of the color, the urge to see Kaiba had grown as well. He hadn't planned on seeing the man ever again. After thinking about it as Matashi had suggested, Jou actually saw the sense in Seto's actions. No matter how much sense it made, he couldn't deny the strange pull from deep inside.

He was growing worried that the tug was some kind of premonition. Like a warning, saying that he would be inside the pyramid from hell on the night of the full moon, no matter how much his sensible side fought it. He didn't want to be involved with that freaky shit, and as much as he wanted to hash things out with Yugi, he wanted to avoid Kaiba and the pyramid from hell even more. Yugi had changed, he wasn't the same sweet man who had been Jounouchi's best friend. Jou didn't like what he'd seen of the changes and didn't want to see more of the new Yugi. He would stick to his precious memories of the person Yugi had been before death. After years of searching for answers he knew what had happened to his friend and he would accept it. Kaiba hadn't murdered him, Yugi had chosen death. Jou was inclined to let the ghosts lie in their graves.

"So how did ya find me anyway? I just moved here." Jou asked as he opened the box and took a deep breath of delicious pizza scent. Gesturing with one hand, he offered to share while he picked up his own slice with the other.

"I saw you guys driving past and followed you. Saw you turn into the parking garage and was reading the name tags on the call buttons when the pizza delivery man came up with a pizza for Jounouchi. Viola, here I am."

"Must be fate." Jou grinned through a mouthful of pizza. "So whatcha doin' now? I saw that Black Crown got bought out a couple years ago."

"I've been doing independent marketing consulting." Color touched Otogi's pale cheeks. "It's not working out. The market is glutted, and I... I'm between jobs at the moment."

"Oh." Jou chewed reflexively for a moment. "Where ya stayin'?"

"At a capsule downtown." The once multi-millionaire admitted as more color tinted his cheeks.

"Hmmm, it really has ta be fate. See, Honda an' me are settin' up a new business. Lost and Found, People Finders. An' we're okay right now but we was just sayin' we needed someone who does marketing. Honda is doin' th' legal stuff, and I'm th' finder. So what ya say? Wanna come stay with us an' build a business?"

"Stay with you?" Otogi coughed. "I couldn't. There's no room... Is there?"  He may have demurred, but hope shaded the question.

"Well it's a two bedroom apartment, but th' bigger bedroom will hold two twin beds so I don't see why not. I'll have ta add ya to th' lease, but th' place has a four person occupancy so it's not a problem. We can flip for who shares okay?"

"What about Honda? Shouldn't you ask him first?"

"Nah, he'll be cool with it. Yer our friend." Jou grinned winningly, completely oblivious to the pizza stuck between his teeth.

Otogi winced slightly at the sight of masticated pizza crust but nodded. "If you're sure Honda won't mind then I would love to work with you guys. It'll be like old times."

"Yeah!" Jou pumped his fist in the air in a show of enthusiasm he hadn't felt in a long time. "Th' three musketeers ride again."

Otogi didn't bother to point out they had never actually been the three musketeers. He just smiled and took another slice of pizza.

** Here ends episode 1 (pilot is episode 0) of Lost and Found. Stay tuned for our next exciting episode where you'll hear Kaiba Seto say "I think it's too big..."
- 1
- 2
- 3
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Lost and Found