-san= A pretty standard particle added to someone's name that basically implies respect; it can also be read as "Mr.", "Mrs.", etc.
Nani=What?
Onichan= big brother.
Also, just because it pisses me off when people pronounce Bakura's name wrong the emphasis goes on the "ba", not the "ku", and the "r" should be pronounced as "l". Also, the "u" should be pretty much overlooked, it is said very fast and is hard to hear. "Bakura" should be pronounced "BAH-kla". Okay. Got that off my chest. On with the fic.
~Cards~
Sleep did not come easily to Seto Kaiba...not in this place, anyway.
His eyes closed, but it didn't help at all. Memories, taking physical form in this dimension, swarmed around him like hundreds of bats...all bad memories.
A room with cold gray walls and no door. Only a small window from which to look out on what he was missing.
He could see nothing now. Darkness. Technically, he knew it was the back of the card on top of his. But it looked so...foreboding now.
Still, it was better than the memories.
Maybe it was Mokuba's card. A shaking, pale hand reached out to touch it, only to pull it back, stinging in pain after hitting some sort of force field.
It was always like this, inside the card. Seto had no idea how long it had been, with no way to count the hours. The only thing that kept him from killing himself was the thought of someday being out, and rescuing Mokuba.
"Onichan..." He could hear the boy's voice behind him. One of the memories was playing again. That's all it was, in the card...him and the memories.
"Onichan, I don't want to go..."
Seto remembered this one. Mokuba hadn't wanted to go to school, on his first day. This wasn't a bad memory...at least compared to the others. His trembling, thin form turned to watch.
The image playing in front of him was clear, a sharp contrast from the blurry forms swirling around it. Mokuba, his raven hair falling to his shoulders, watery eyes giving him that pleading look.
"I don't wanna...Onichan, I don't want to leave you."
A bitter smile found its way onto Seto's face. Such a sweet kid...
But the Seto in the memory wasn't so touched. He was yelling at the boy...
"Mokuba! Listen to me! Stop whining and go!"
Seto turned away, he couldn't watch anymore. He'd forgotten how it ended...with his brother in tears.
Similarly, his own cold face was covered with streaming tears, but by now he was numb to it.... couldn't feel it anymore.
Jounouchi Katsuya seemed to be watching him from the other side of the room. Another memory playing again. This one was startlingly clear, as though the boy was real. But in the dimension of the card, it was hard to discern reality from illusion. Sometimes he could look down at his own hand and not know if it were real or not.
He waited for "Jou" to start speaking...he seemed to be in awe; disbelieving.
Wait a minute.
This was no memory.
Jounouchi was actually there, in the room. But how could that be?
Even after this realization, Seto did not speak. The presence of something real in the room made it all the more surreal.
"Mokuba..." he heard himself say
"No....its, uh, Jounouchi. Sorry."
Despite how much he hated Seto, the blonde couldn't bring himself to be rude. Was this withering figure really what the top duelist had degenerated into?
A million questions ran through Jounouchi's head like a swarm of gnats that just wouldn't leave him alone. Why was he here? Was his soul captured within the card, too? Why was he in Seto's card, of all people?
The brown-haired young man staggered on his knees over to him, tears spilling out of his eyes.
"Oh God..."
And suddenly his lean arms were around Jounouchi's waist, hugging him tightly as he sobbed.
This is Seto Kaiba? How can that be?
he wondered, stunned by the awkwardness of the moment and unsure what to do, his face turning beet red."S-Seto.."
Appearing to come to his senses, Seto realized what he was doing and stood shakily, taking great pains in doing so.
"You'll have to excuse me. I'm afraid the effects of living in isolation have begun to take their toll on even my mind..." He trailed off, trying to act as though nothing had happened.
A hand extended to rest gently on Seto's shoulder, warm and reassuring.
"Its okay, Kaiba-san...anyone would act like that in this place."
But the other boy's shoulder jerked and he whirled around, eyes narrowing.
"Don't touch me, dog."
Jounouchi's temper immediately flared up.
"Hey! I was just trying to help you...you're the one who hugged me!"
"I was delusional. My mind kept telling me you were Mokuba."
"Whatever."
"Why did it have to be *you*? Why not someone respectable...Yugi maybe. I don't want some puppy whimpering at my heels for my only human contact..."
"Shut up! I'm not exactly thrilled to be stuck with you in this goddamned hellhole!"
"Don't talk to me about this place! You know nothing!"
Both fell silent.
"...I'm sorry, Kaiba-san."
"Good. You should be."
"God, shut the hell up! Do you have to be such a prick?"
"For you, anything," he drawled in a deeply bitter voice.
Jounouchi turned away, slamming the cold walls his fist and muttering under his breath.
"My sister..."
"What?"
"We're not so different, you and I. I'm fighting for my sister, you for your brother. Only difference really...you're an asshole and I'm not."
"You're a dumbass and I'm not."
Jounouchi stared at Seto for a long time, an unreadable expression on his face. The brown-haired boy stared back, holding the gaze, for the first time paying no attention to the endless jumble of noise that came from the memories.
"We miss you, Kaiba-san."
This statement caught him completely off guard. "N-nani?"
A soft, sad smile crossed the face of the blonde.
"Don't think no one cares you're gone. We miss you. We like you. Yugi fuckin' cried, for God's sake. It's a terrible thing, that you're imprisoned here, and we're doing everything we can to make sure you get out."
Seto smiled. He actually *smiled*.
"Just what I need...a loudmouth puppy dog to 'save' me from a place he may very well be trapped in."
"Would you cut it with the dog stuff already? It got real old real fast." Despite his tone of voice, Jounouchi was grinning.
"Not a chance. Your reaction is way too much fun."
"I wasn't aware you were capable of having fun."
The smile that could cut class widened. "I *am* a human being, you know."
Another silence followed, but this one wasn't quite so tense.
"How'd you get here, anyway?"
Jounouchi shrugged, his sapphire eyes closing. "I dunno. I fell asleep, and I was just here...pretty sure this ain't a dream, otherwise I'd be in my dog suit."
Seto paused. "Dog suit?" Does what I say really affect him that much?
The other boy laughed loudly, a sight that was rare for Seto to see, a sight that he welcomed with all but open arms. "Yeah...ever since our duel...I've been dreamin' about you."
He paused, realizing how that sounded, and immediately blushed bright crimson.
"Errrrr, not in a sexual way though...I mean, in the dream your standing over me, and I'm in, um, a dog suit, on my knees in front of you, and I'm, uh, ...whimpering, and you keep saying you're my master, and you've got this whip, and..." he decided to stop right there, his face a definite beet-red now, realizing just how bad he'd made it sound.
It was Seto's turn to laugh.
"You're a horny little basterd..."
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!!"
"Sure as hell sounds like it."
"Shut UP!"
"No way! This is priceless! You want to fuck me!"
"I do NOT!!"
"What, I'm not good enough for you now?"
"NO!...I mean, wait, your good enough for me, uh, that is, if I liked guys, and um, I don't wanna...errr...do it with you."
"You sure? By the way you're blushing you certainly look like it."
"Well, why are YOU so eager?"
Seto paused, trying to think of something to say to that.
"Oh, you didn't deny it that time..."
"...Maybe..."
Yet another awkward silence. Neither boy really knew what to say now.
Seto Kaiba closed his eyes. He's not so bad, really...maybe there's a reason he's here. Maybe, after being here so long, I need this...someone to....well, love me.
Even in his mind, the words sounded awkward, and he couldn't imagine saying in real life. But then again, he liked the idea.
Jounouchi, too, was lost in thought.
I cannot BELIEVE I just said that...really...how could I let it slip? I really am a dumbass...I really am a whimpering little dog, and I' m about as smart as one.
Seto's hand was now on Jounouchi's face, sliding softly down to his shin, tilting his head up to stare at the other boy, face to face. Seto's forefinger gently stroked the boy's cheek, and although his expression was still grim, his motions betrayed his true thoughts.
Jounouchi didn't know how to react to this. Fortunately, he didn't have to. Seto leaned forward a little, pulling the blonde's head towards his, and kissed him deeply on the lips.
Jounouchi's eyes widened, Seto's eyes closed.
After a few seconds, both boys pulled softly apart.
"You...you didn't have to do that for me..." the blonde stammered.
"Its okay. I wanted to."
"..."
"I want to do it again."
"...Fine by me."
Less hesitant this time, Seto wrapped his arms around Jounouchi's waist, pulling their bodies together. One arm moved up, to entwine his thin fingers in the other boy's thick blonde hair. Jou laid his arms across Seto's shoulders, and the two passionately kissed.
A few minutes passed, and Seto's lips moved to Jounouchi's neck, sucking furiously at the tender cords.
Both were overcome with emotion, though one was had a much easier time hiding it.
Sliding his hand under Jounouchi's shirt, Seto bit gently at his lover's tender neck, leaving a rather noticeable mark.
That was when the blonde woke up with a start.
Jounouchi Katsuya sat up, a little delirious for a few seconds, and hoping to the gods that it hadn't been a dream.
Seto Kaiba, a dimension away, sat down, his hands shaking. He was left with nothing; lonelier than before and trembling in a combination of fury and grief.
***
Yugi and the rest of the group walked solemnly towards the dining hall, each one in their pajamas. Anzu suddenly laughed loudly, covering her mouth with her hand.
The boys turned to stare at her as though she were crazy.
"Um, what's so funny, Anzu?" Yugi asked gently, as though she were mentally damaged.
"Jounouchi..." she answered, her laughter fading, although by seeing her face one could tell she was still amused.
"Hey! I'm not the only one who looks weird in the morning! Shut up!" the aforementioned boy barked in response, his anger rising sharply.
"No, its not how you look...its just...is that a *hickey*?"
"Eh?" The blonde glanced down at his neck...sure enough, there was a slight purple bruise there.
"Err..." he lifted a hand to cover it, but the damage was done.
Everyone else looked suspiciously at Honda, except Honda himself, who instead looked fairly confused, and Bakura, who was too busy trying not to laugh.
"What're you looking at me for?"
"Nothin'..." Yugi answered, looking away.
"You're not implyin'..."
"Well, you DO spend a lot of time together..."
"I WOULD NEVER!"
"Yeah, he wouldn't!" Bakura chimed in, glaring in passionate jealousy. "There's no way Honda likes Jou!"
Jounouchi was silent. It couldn't be.... but there was evidence, in plain sight.
Despite all, it made him happy.
"So, who was it?" Anzu asked excitedly.
"No way I'm telling."
"It couldn't be... You wouldn't, Honda..." Bakura protested, a pleading look in his eyes.
"I SAID I DIDN'T!"
"Was it Mai, then?" Yugi wondered.
"Hell no..."
Jounouchi wasn't really concentrating on the conversation, though. His mind was on his Kaiba-san, alone, in that card.
I promise I'll get you out, somehow...
If Seto could hear those words, it would be of infinite assurance, but he couldn't...he was isolated in the card, trying to sleep. But sleep didn't come easily to Seto Kaiba not in this place, anyway,
~fin~