Disclaimer and Authoress' Notes: First and foremost, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh so I don't want to have any lawsuits on my hands. Secondly, this story will be rated R for a reason so if you're young or do not know what yaoi is, do yourself the favor and stay far away.
Summary: Sold into slavery when he was four and separated from his only family when he was ten, Katsuya Jounouchi has given up. However, deep within his new master's castle, he may find a reason to live again. Seto/Jounouchi, Seto/Yuugi, and Jounouchi/Yuugi. Yaoi and Shonen-ai.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The boy say alone in the corner, knees hugged close to his chest, dirty blonde hair falling softly over mahogany eyes. His breathing was shallow as his eyes stared blankly ahead of him. His left arm was bleeding, but he didn't do anything about it. In fact, the young man barely seemed to notice as a thin steady stream of blood coursed its way down his arm, dripping onto the cold stone floor. Footsteps could be heard outside in the hall and the boy glanced briefly towards the door. A key turned in the lock and the metal of the door could be heard scraping against the floor. "Get up, ya worthless animal," Johannes growled. The boy didn't respond. "I sa'id get up," Johannes snarled, punctuating the words with a kick to the boy's side as he dragged him to his feet. "My god, boy, can't ya even keep yerself clean?" He roughly wiped away the blood on the slave's arm, causing him to wince sharply. "I sware, I'll take any price they'll offer me for ya."
Johannes dragged the slave out of his prison, muttering fierce curses under his breath. The boy blinked as he was dragged outside, the fierce sun bearing down harshly on the bare skin of his upper body. He looked down at his feet as prospective buyers walked past, listening to others trying to sell their unwanted slaves. Another day just like the rest ever since Johannes found out he was "defective." None of his owners cared to mention his defect whenever they sold him. They were always too eager to be rid of him to worry about what his new masters would think. Once the coin exchanged hands, he was no longer the former master's concern.
Someone stopped before them but the boy still didn't look up. It was only his concern if the man decided to buy him. He knew he wouldn't. The slave trade was running very dry and only the extremely wealthy could afford to buy new slaves. "You there, how much for this slave?"
Johannes eyes gleamed as he approached the man; you could see him counting the money already. "That slave there is extremely strong and very healthy," Johannes said, licking his lips. "However, I'll let ya have him for whatever price yer willing to give, m'lord."
The man looked skeptical, studying the boy to make sure he was telling the truth. "I'm not sure." The man placed his hand under the boy's chin, lifting his eyes to his. The boy stared blankly back at him, not even blinking. The man pushed him aside, making a sound of disgust. "This worm is already broken. I wanted something a bit more challenging," he stated, walking away.
As soon as the man was out of sight, Johannes dealt a swift kick to the slave's side. He grunted, falling to his knees and clenching his side as an intense fiery pain engulfed his gut. He coughed, a few specks of blood spattering the back of his hand. "Next time show a little more life," Johannes snarled, pulling the boy back up to his feet. "It's bad enough that yer defective, but do you have to be so god damn hard to sell? Worthless slime."
There were a few minutes where no one even walked past them while the slave slowly regained his breath. He was the only one Johannes had to sell at the moment; in fact he was the only slave Johannes had ever been forced to sell. Of course, that only served to fuel the slave master's anger towards him. "Lady coming!"
The call came from their left, further up along the slave dealers. "Ya hear that? Stay on yer best behavior," Johannes growled, elbowing the boy harshly. The slave jerked; however, that small movement was the only response he made. "If ya even know how."
A woman perusing the slave market was a rare sight. This type of woman, however, was not one of the ones who did emerge every once in a while. She had ebony hair that rested slightly below her shoulders, eyes that were as blue as the sky on a clear day, and light brown skin that gave her an exotic look. The dress she wore was made of a very fine material that was slightly off-white, and she was adorned with valuable jewelry that glittered in the faint light. The slave lifted his eyes as the woman walked past. She stopped, staring back into his eyes, and after a moment's hesitation the boy averted his eyes to the ground. "Excuse me, m'lady, but may I interest ya in buying this slave?" Johannes asked, breaking the heavy silence that seemed to have descended upon the area.
"Perhaps," the woman responded, not taking her eyes off the slave. "My husband lost a worker a few days past and I was planning on surprising him with a replacement." The boy's eyes flickered briefly to meet hers. "He seems strong enough," she stated thoughtfully.
"He certainly is," Johannes agreed, nodding vigorously. For a moment it seemed the woman was going to change her mind about the whole situation. Desperate to sell Johannes blurted out, "Perhaps m'lady would be int'rested in seeing his other endowments?"
The boy's eyes widened at the remark and his breathing quickened. He shut his eyes, awaiting her answer and dreading what it might be. The woman shook her head, chuckling softly. "No, thank you." She finally looked at Johannes and the boy breathed a soft sigh of relief. "I'll give you five silver marks for him."
"Five silver marks! I paid two full gold crowns for this boy!"
The woman shrugged, as if to imply his former price made no difference to her. "That was your own choice. I'll give you one silver crown for him but I'm afraid that is my final offer."
The boy didn't notice as Johannes and the woman stared stubbornly at each other, both determined to receive their price. It was the first offer that was made to Johannes and quite possibly it was going to be the highest one he was going to receive. Sighing, Johannes eventually conceded. "Yer robbing me blind, m'lady. But ye may have him."
"I knew you would see it my way," the woman said, handing over the silver crown. Johannes dutifully put it in his purse before handing her the boy's chains and key. "Come along, boy. You won't have to withstand his stench any longer."
The boy looked up briefly as she began walking, leading him along behind her. He stared at her feet as they walked, not noticing the world around them. Slaves stared longingly after them, greatly envious of the boy. Life was always better for a useful slave than it was for one that was on sale. For the boy's part, he would have traded places any one of them without a single complaint. The woman led them to the outskirts of town, where a black carriage drawn by two large black Clydesdales awaited them. The driver helped the young woman inside, and she gestured for the slave to join her. The inside of the carriage was lined with red velvet and the slave warily sat down across from her. They started with a jolt, knocking the slave back against the seat. The woman laughed lightly, her eyes shining. "It takes some getting used to, I know. My name is Lady Isis Kaiba. Who are you?"
The slave shifted uncomfortably, the thought rising as to how she could have asked Johannes that little piece of information. "Jounouchi," he replied tersely. The sound of his voice was hoarse and odd to him. It had been so long since he had the desire to speak.
"Jounouchi?" Lady Kaiba asked, leaning back. "Do you not have a first name?"
For a moment, Jounouchi just looked at her, eyes blank. She sighed, thinking she wasn't going to get an answer and turned her head to look out the window. "Katsuya," he whispered softly, a name he hadn't heard in a very long time.
She looked quickly at him, a smile forming on her lips. "Well, Katsuya, it's nice to meet you."
Now it was his turn to stare blankly out the window as they went along. It made no difference to him where they were going; he had had so many different masters he supposed he knew what they were all like. They were all the same to slaves anyway. There was no difference in the beatings they gave you. What they didn't realize was that the slaves were different, yet the masters expected the same from all of them. He knew his new master wouldn't be any different from Johannes or even from his first master for that matter.
The grass was getting sparser and they were headed into a hilly terrain with various rocks sticking up out of the ground. As the sun set, they were rapidly approaching a massive castle that was erected on top of a hill; a castle that more resembled a fortress with its formidable walls. Jounouchi glanced only briefly at his new prison. Most would have stood in awe at its wonder; he, however, was not affected by it. The carriage stopped and the driver came around back to help Isis out. She glanced reassuringly at Jounouchi before she took the driver's offered hand and lightly stepped out. He followed her after a moment, wincing as his bare feet came in contact with the cold ground. "We will have to supply with clothes that are more suitable for out weather," Isis told him as the driver helped wrap her into a white fur cloak. "Come, my husband will be most anxious to meet you."
Jounouchi followed her without even a questioning thought. The cold ground numbed his feet so that he no longer felt any pain. They went inside the fortress where they were instantly flanked by two guards bearing numerous weapons. Isis handed her key over to the one who kept his eyes on Jounouchi, fingering the hilt of his dagger. Not noticing, Jounouchi continued to stare straight ahead. He followed his new mistress, giving nothing a passing thought.
"I see my darling wife has returned to me." The voice that spoke was harsh, deep, and cold. Nevertheless, Jounouchi lifted his eyes to see who the speaker was. Upon sight of the speaker, something inside of him stirred. If Isis eyes were the sky on a clear day, his were the color of the sky before the approaching storm. His outfit was made out of a very fine black silk, except for the cape, which was rich, blood red velvet. At his waist was a finely crafted sword with he wore with an ease that spoke of exquisite swordsmanship. Isis approached and kissed him, and his hand came up to cup her face. Jounouchi resumed looking at the ground as they continued their display of affection. "I hope your day was productive," he said when he finally pulled away from her.
Isis smiled at him, a gentle smile that she rarely gave to anyone else. "It certainly was. Seto, this is Jounouchi," she said, gesturing to the slave.
"Jounouchi, hmm?" Seto said, looking over the slave. His fierce eyes studied him and Jounouchi fought to remain staring at the floor. "Looks good." He turned his attention back to his wife. "Be a dear and make sure they put him with Yuugi."
"Yes, of course," she responded, eyes gleaming as she gave him another quick kiss. "Why would we put him anywhere else?"
Seto grinned as she walked over to Jounouchi. "Come along, now. I'm not the one who will be biting you."
Jounouchi chose not to think about her statement as he followed her out of the room. He did briefly wonder about the significance of being roomed with Yuugi, but his mind told him it wasn't important. Nothing was important. The guard escort stopped, opening the lock on the doors of his latest cell. The guard pushed the door open while the other one unlocked his chains. The thought to flee never once flirted with his mind. Isis lightly placed her hand between his shoulders, guiding him into the room. It was actually well-lit and had two beds, covered with white sheets, placed against opposite walls. "Yuugi, this is Jounouchi Katsuya. Take care of him." She patted him on the back before leaving the room, the door shutting and locking in place behind her.
Jounouchi took the opportunity to look at his new roommate. He was at least a head shorter than him, with tri-colored hair consisting of blonde bangs and maroon roots that ended in a much lighter shade of red. What struck most people about Yuugi were his eyes and Jounouchi was no exception. They were a beautiful shade of violet and they seemed to radiate innocence and happiness no matter what the situation. "Hi. I guess you're my newest roommate," he said cheerfully. Jounouchi didn't respond for he felt as if he couldn't speak. Yuugi looked at his arm, which was still raw from the earlier cut. "I suppose that's why Lady Kaiba wanted me to take care of you. Sit down," he said, lightly gesturing to the bed against the left wall.
Jounouchi sat down, watching as Yuugi pulled out a small medical kit. After pulling a few things out of it, Yuugi came over and kneeled before him. He poured some substance Jounouchi didn't recognize on a small scrap of cloth. "This may sting a bit," Yuugi warned as he poised the material over the wound. Jounouchi hissed and turned his head away as the cloth came in contact with his skin. Reflecting upon it, he realized he had experienced much worse. Gradually the pain subsides as Yuugi lifted the cloth. Jounouchi watched him as the smaller boy began wrapping the wound with a clean white strip of cloth. He was surprisingly gentle and very attentive to the task he was performing. "There," he said, standing up after he had finished. He raised his eyes to Jounouchi's bringing their faces a few mere inches apart. "That should keep it from getting infected," he whispered.
Jounouchi could feel the boy's warm breath on his lips. Gods, if only the kid knew how defective he was. "Yuugi, Lord Kaiba requires your presence," a guard said as he entered the room. They both jumped and looked towards the door, neither having heard the lock being turned.
"I'm coming," Yuugi said smiling. He turned back to Jounouchi. "I'll see you later, all right, Jounouchi-kun?" He nodded as Yuugi turned to leave. Once they were both gone and the door was locked back in place, he lay down, covering his eyes with his arm.
~ Right, remember, review if you wish me to continue. And yes, I did purposely leave out the Seto/Jounouchi in this chapter for that very purpose.