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'Maybe, view on the highway isn't exactly lovely. I'm really tired, after our long night and being woken up at at 6:30 this morning,' Shizuka answered, nonchalantly. It was good that Yuugi was trying to steer her toward yes/no type questions, but first it wasn't a question she could answer. At the moment they were passing by fields, but only minutes before they passed through a town and she was fairly certain they'd be hitting a major city soon. Moreover, it might be suspicious to stick to heavily to the yes/no motif. She wasn't sure how to give a hint on direction quite yet, but the time frame should at least let them guess how long they'd been driving for, knowing they had generally been on the highway would offer an estimation of speed and therefore distance as well. Now she just need to figure out a way to communicate direction.

- - -

'Damn,' Seto muttered, 'we should be getting something from the GPS trace but nothing, she's on the phone, we can hear her. Something is blocking it though.'

Seto kept trying to get the GPS tracker to work while running a search for stolen and rented cars.

'Hmm,' Seto hadn't found any hits on a stolen vehicle, but he had found something peculiar. Not at a rental place local to Shizuka but one here at home. He knew this wouldn't go down well but he took his phone back from Yuugi and quickly said, 'keep her on the phone, we'll call back,' before ending the call.

Jounouchi looked absolutely furious and ready to hit him. 'You promised you were going to start trusting me, trust me, call Anzu please,' he instructed, handing him his phone with Anzu's number ready to dial. It might just be proving convenient to having allowed Jounouchi to add all his stupid friends details to his mobile. If he was going to be stuck in this situation much longer though he might just buy the guy his own phone.

((Pancake day is how the British celebrate Shrove Tuesday, haven't had enough interest to investigate into why pancakes. Also, pancakes here aren't like American pancakes they are more like French crepes. I call them crepes and say they are just calling them pancakes because of this long history of a French/English feud. smile I do prefer crepes to pancakes though. We also have tons of eggs and flour leftover now, so might be aiming to make some more soon.))

'Actually no, it's terrible and has been this whole ride. Directly ahead and not something I need so early in the day,' she answered brightly, as if she wasn't possibly being lead to her death.

- - -

'Hello?' Anzu answered, not entirely sure who was calling as the number wasn't listed in the girls contacts. There was a slight debate about not answering, but this could possibly be the call the game had been waiting for. It was adorable watching Shizuka and the rest of the gang think they were clever though.

((I have a terrible sense of direction so I apologise in advance if I cause any mass confusion at another point where I same something completely opposite to what I've already said smile

Well I'm not religious and the boyfriend is Atheist so I think we are okay to have mucho flour and eggs. Maybe that's why it was sent home with us, though I don't think almost any of my friends, even the religious ones, are necessarily strict about the 40 days of controlled eating. As far as I'm aware it's not bitterness toward the French, just before I unintentionally mis-educate America. It's just a joke that I'm running around saying. Today I had American pancakes, though store bought ones, just to feel I had a full covering.))

'Umm, not really, I guess just chatting helps. Did everyone sleep well?' Shizuka struggled to make conversation, she didn't want to end the call but she couldn't think of anything useful worth sharing that she would be allowed to share. Given the situation it was a strain to try and concentrate on idle chatter, it was stressful trying to control what she had to say. She glanced over at Anzu who had now answered her own mobile, she wondered what was going on.

- - -

'Well hello there,' Anzu chirped brightly, 'I did wonder how long it was going to take for you to figure it out. Granted, as you sound as confused and moronic as ever I'll assume little Seto figured it out and didn't give any details. Just like a Kaiba to be cryptic you know, hahaha!'

- - -

Seto cringed at the cold, hollow laughter that sounded nothing like the bright girl whose cheerful optimistic presence had always been a source of great irritation. He also was caught off guard by the fact that she was expecting the call, they were playing into a trap.

((Well from what I can tell pancakes date back to Ancient Greece (I did look a little), so the pancake is much older than France or England as they exit now or would have interacted then. So I can't get a sense of when 'pancakes' made their way over to those parts of Europe and/or North America and 'which' pancake the term was applied to first, or if French crepes existed before the term pancake. It's quite the convoluted puzzle and one I probably shouldn't let take priority over my research, even if it seems so much more interesting right now. Plus, if I found out the answer it would destroy that lovely little France vs England story that I do find to be the most interesting version of events right now. wink

Will respond to the message here as well, did not occur to me to add the term 'software' in my search for gimp. That would probably make a big difference. smile Next time I have a project or something that might benefit from a round through photoshop I will keep that in mind.))

'Hahahahaha! Really? You should worry less about Anzu and worry more about your sweet sister,' the spirit answered, laughing maniacally. Anzu turned and winked at Shizuka before continuing, 'yea it was adorable listening to her and Yuugi try to exchange clues, but don't worry, if you don't figure it out I'll tell you where we are going soon enough, wouldn't want to deprive you of the chance to say goodbye.'

After another bout of hysterical laughter Anzu ended the call. Turning to Shizuka, 'end it now.'

- - -

'Bye,' Shiuzka said meekly, hanging up the call before Yuugi could object. The shift in tone was frightening, and the look in the eyes of the girl she'd once considered a close friend confirmed only one thing, she wasn't surviving the day.

((Definitely let me know, I started with wiki pancakes but didn't have time to read even that in depth, just skimming the sections.

If I do ever use the software I will certainly let you know. Atm I could access Photoshop on campus if I ever needed it for anything, but I guess if I ever had a project that might need that where I'd want to work at home I'll know what my first point of call will be.))

Seto agreed with Futata and took his phone back to dial the authorities, before he could dial a text message popped up reading:

No police or she dies! Do not call back your brother or Jounouchi's friends or she dies! Do not answer any calls not from this number or she dies!

You will be given instructions in 5 minutes. Make sure that the two of you are alone at this time, if you aren't SHE DIES!

Bleakly he passed the phone to Jounouchi so he could see the message.

- - -

'Well it's been too long, call your brother back,' Honda demanded.

Seto thanked Futata and let her go on her way. He went to the side of the limo and asked his driver to please spend the afternoon at the shrine, another driver would be sent for him shortly and he'd have the rest of the day off.

Seto walked over to Jounouchi and hoovered awkwardly for a moment before finally placing an arm around his shoulder in an attempt to be comforting. 'Come on, let's get in the car. I've sent the driver away so we will be alone and will be ready to leave immediately once these directions arrive,' Seto said softly, attempting to steer Jounouchi toward the limo.

- - -

'Hey man, sorry, I wasn't saying he didn't. I was just worrying that now they weren't okay either, both phones suddenly going dead,' Honda replied irritated. Mokuba was acting like somehow this was his fault and he was just trying to check on his friend. He had a very bad feeling about this situation.

Seto tensed as his phone started to ring. Realising it was Mokuba he was consumed with a different sort of discomfort, knowing he'd have to leave his brother worrying a bit longer. Quickly ending the call he turned back to Jounouchi, who looked unnaturally pale and shaken sitting beside him on the bench seat.

'It's going to be fine,' he said determinedly, 'we are going to get your sister, we are going to save Anzu and we will send this damn spirit back to the pit it crawled out of.'

- - -

'Did he hang up?' Honda asked lightly, not wanting to offend Mokuba again.