Everything Goes Up In Smoke!
His hands clutched the wheel with intense grip, making the skin around his fingers turn from a pale white to a rosy red. Sweat travelled down from his forehead to his cheek, dripping down inside the crook of his neck and finding a resting place there. His breathing was uneven; making it hard for the much needed oxygen to find its way to the places that needed it most. The bags under his eyes were a dark blackish-blue; much too dark to belong to a man of his age. Seto Kaiba was stressed out to say the least, and all he wanted to do was to walk through the doors of his house and find comfort in his office... like he always did straight after work. Unfortunately for him, work hours were never consistent. Sometimes he'd find himself not even having to leave his sanctuary at all; while other days he found himself returning just a measly couple of hours before he departed the previous day. All this work was taking a toll on him, and he knew he could not maintain this obscene lifestyle forever. He has enough money to survive, heck; he has enough money to run a small country. But it just was not good enough for Seto Kaiba. His business was the only thing he could really take pride in. Kaiba Corp was his entire identity- his life. If he lost that then he would be nothing of any importance... no one would know who he was or what he stood for. Sometimes Kaiba thought that it would be better that way- if he hadn't continued his late father's business so his life wouldn't be so consumed with work or worries about what others perceived him to be. If you ask anybody in his town of Domino or even in Japan if you knew who Seto Kaiba was, a good chunk of the people would know him to be a successful business man who was not the sociable type at all. A man who was good at what he does but does not seem to have a soft spot in his body... no matter how long and hard one looked. The only soft spot he did have was for his little brother, Mokuba. But even Mokuba had his limits. Mokuba moved out and lived with his best friend all the way in Canada... he said that he needed to have a stress free life... without Kaiba in it. Mokuba was tired of waiting for his big brother to come home, waiting for his big brother to take him out to dinner and go to the arcade... waiting for his big brother to BE a big brother. But with all that was going on in Kaiba's life, he couldn't deliver any of those things. This is why Kaiba offered to pay for all his living arrangements and was happy that at least his brother could be content with life. And if it took not being with him then so be it. Mokuba deserved to have a carefree life and he didn't want to stand in his way.
Kaiba made the final turn onto the long driveway that led to his giant mansion. He really did not have the need to have such an obscenely large house, but it helped his image of a big and powerful young man. He parked his Mercedes in his four car garage and shut off the engine. He took a deep breath and gathered his briefcase.
"Finally..." he thought as he opened the door and stepped outside. He shut it with mass force behind him and walked up the steps through the garage and into his home. He walked down his massive hallway and through the large oak doors of his office... doors that were unnecessarily so big. He threw his briefcase on the large black leather sofa beside his desk and sat in his big swivel office chair. He threw his head in hands and sighed. He rubbed his sore eyes that burned from the constant light from his computer screen. Even now Kaiba thought that he needed to alter his life around. Kaiba opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a zip lock bag filled to the top with dark green, crystal-filled marijuana... the kind you have to pay top dollar to get. He pulled out a metal grinder and put some of the weed inside. As he was grinding it up, his mind trailed off back to his life. He pictured his life without his business... he would be a no body. He would have no reason to wake up every morning and live. Other people have friends, family, work, hobbies, and other normal things that keep them going. People who live on the streets have more to live for and are quite possibly happier. Kaiba has only been truly happy one time in his life... when the business just started to become multimillion and he and Mokuba did so many things together. They went to fairs, carnivals, movies, and dinners. But the tabloids got a hold of photos of him and his brother having a good time and Kaiba thought he would never have the image of a tough, cold, business man if the world knew he was actually a normal human being with feeling and emotion. It didn't make sense to Kaiba why he ruined the happiest time of his life to be miserable... and he knew exactly what the consequences would be but acted surprised when they came.
Kaiba pulled out a pack of rolling papers and started rolling himself a large joint. He smoked a lot of weed ever since Mokuba ran off. He enjoyed it very much because it temporarily distracted him from his shattered life that he was living every day. It even made him laugh occasionally and even despite the fact he didn't share the laugh with any other living thing (besides all the plants he had in the house and maybe insects that might have been around), it was a laugh nonetheless. And Kaiba would take what he could get for the slightest chance of being remotely happy... because the way he looked at it... this is the best it's ever going to get.
"Hey, you wanna chill, Yug?" Jounouchi asked, trying not to hide any sign of being desperate in his voice.
"Sorry Jou! I have to study for my exams! They are next week!" Yugi said.
"Ahh come on buddy! You are always doing something these days! I haven't seen you in almost a month!"
"I know, I know. But really, I can't screw this up! Grandpa spent a lot of money for my university tuition and it would be really devastating if I didn't get really good marks to bring home. I'm sorry... maybe next week, okay?"
"Yeh, yeh. Alright. I'll call ya later."
Jou hung up his cordless phone and tossed it off his bed. He hadn't seen any of his friends in a few weeks. They were always doing SOMETHING whether it was school or work or family. Jou only worked one day a week at a dry cleaner. He would go in and hang up massive piles of clothes all day... earning him 100 bucks. For him, it was good enough. He didn't have many expenses... all he needed was a couple beers once in a while, a couple joints, and some food to eat. His dad even pays for most of his food anyways, so he was content with his financial situation at the moment. Jou didn't do much after high school; he hadn't had the marks or the will to pursue anything. His sister was so far away and he didn't see his dad much. He really didn't have any hobbies or anything and found himself taking long walks or just staying in his room watching TV all day. He really started to become depressed lately, seeing as he didn't see much of his friends anymore and his life was wasting away with every day that passed. Jou sighed and threw himself on his bed.
"What the hell should I do today?" he said aloud, talking to no one in particular. He really wished he had the drive to offer something to the world. Maybe he should take out a student loan and go to college... but he knew it would be the same story as high school. Doing minimal work and not going to class. He knew he would be wasting his own money and time. College kids didn't party as much as they used too anymore, so Jou knew he would be extremely bored. Jou sighed again, a heavier sigh then the last. He was stuck with what he was forever (so it seemed), the tough guy from New York that can fight anybody and likes talking shit. He was known to be that way ever since he could remember. And there was no turning back now; that's who he was. That's what everyone perceived him to be. He turned over to his night stand and sparked a pre rolled joint that he had sitting there... there were always pre rolled joints in reach for Jou, after all, he did have a side job. He dealt to a few people around Domino... not to make any money but just to smoke for free. He loved smoking joints, bongs, pipes, whatever. He smoked so much because it temporarily distracted him from his shattered life that he was living every day. He needed some sort of relief and distraction. Plus, he loved to watch silly cartoons while he was high. It made him laugh like crazy... even though no one was sharing that laugh with him; save maybe from his goldfish named Zuna. Jou inhaled the sweet taste of high grade weed and kept it in for as long as he could. He exhaled with a bit of a cough and smiled a small smile. He knew that this was the best he was going to get for a while and he wasn't sure if he was okay with that.