Play Your Part, Seto

Chapter 1

I Wish I Didn't Know You

The month after the class 12-A play was much more uneventful than the one that had preceded it. The only event of note had been the transfer of Sakubara Misa. There had been some rumours that the girl had actually been expelled, which had spread like wildfire once the school noticed that Misa's classmates did not seem to miss the girl at all. Other than that there had not been much of anything interesting; even the excitement the girls had gotten out of the two new homosexual couples had faded away within two weeks.

That last notion was something Katsuya was grateful for. He was not very fond of having people gossiping about his private life, especially now that his private life included a boyfriend with a tendency to cuddle while in public. Well, not as much in public as during lunch hour in the school cafeteria. Outside of school Seto kept his hands to himself, which gave Katsuya a chance to catch an occasional breather.

Since it was common knowledge that Katsuya was in a relationship with Kaiba Seto, the blond had been very surprised the day he found an envelope in his locker on top of his sneakers. It had been a plain white envelope without any sender but the bright red heart sticker on the front had told the teen what he had been holding exactly: a love letter.

The letter had held the usual message: I've watched you for a long time and have a huge crush on you, blah blah blah. Meet me after school behind the sports supply storage, signed by a 'secret admirer'. There had not been anything out of place about the note and, not wanting to leave the girl waiting there for the whole afternoon, Katsuya had decided to go to the meeting even if it was only to tell the girl he was not interested and quite happy in his current relationship.

Even though Katsuya and Seto had been planning on going to the movies immediately after school, Katsuya had told his boyfriend to go wait for him by the car that would drive them downtown. Seto had not been too happy about being ordered around but had let it slide, telling Katsuya to just reject the girl and get it over with. When Katsuya arrived at the scene of the meeting, he immediately saw the girl's back and noted that she was surprisingly tall, almost his size, and had very wide shoulders for a girl. Katsuya really hoped that she would not be too upset with him because he was certain that a hit from the girl would hurt.

"Um…hello?" Katsuya started a bit uncertainly. "I got your note." He lifted the letter in question.

"I was worried you wouldn't come", the raven-haired girl spoke and Katsuya noticed that the voice was familiar. He simply could not place it on a face. It was surprising, since Katsuya normally had a perfect memory when it came to people. The only explanation would have been that the girl was not in his class, even though Katsuya rarely dealt with girls from other classes. He just wished that the girl would turn around.

"But then again, you've never been able to just leave a lady to her own devices", the girl said and Katsuya immediately noticed the degrading tone of voice. "This time, however, it would have been wiser to stay away." Then the girl turned and Katsuya's brown eyes met vaguely familiar ice blue ones. Then the blond gasped when he remembered just where he had seen those eyes before.

"Akemi!" Katsuya exclaimed, his tone surprised. It quickly turned into one of hostility, however, as the blond growled out: "What are you doing here, wearing the Domino High uniform no less." The girl was not a student in the school, of that Katsuya was certain. Kurowa Akemi did not have the grades to get into Domino High School. Last time Katsuya had heard from the girl she had entered Rintama High School together with the rest of her 'kind'. And Rintama High was positioned on the other side of Domino City.

"Why, I came here to give you my love letter of course", the girl cooed with pretended gentleness in her tone. "You've always been able to make me blush."

With anger, yes. Akemi felt noting for Katsuya, other than intense hatred. Of that Katsuya was certain. The blond actually had a long-standing suspicion that the girl preferred other girls, truth be told. She certainly had not been interested in guys during the many years Katsuya had known her.

"Don't give me that crap, Akemi", Katsuya snarled at the female. "I thought I made it clear that I was done with you guys when I left. You have no business here."

"You're the one talking crap here, Katsuya", Akemi sneered at the blond. "You of all people should know that no one leaves Hirutani and is done with us with that."

Now the blond was starting to understand. So, they had decided to finally come after him after three years. Sure took them long enough…

"Why didn't Hirutani come here himself?" Katsuya asked and allowed a smirk to come across his face. "Is he still too much of a coward to fight his own battles?" The blond scoffed at the girl. "The least he could have done is to send me a better opponent than you."

For some reason Akemi did not lose her temper at the words like Katsuya had expected her to. Instead, she smiled that wicked crooked smirk that was typical of her and spoke: "But, Katsuya, I'm merely a decoy."

The next thing Katsuya knew he had been smacked against the storehouse wall with a hulking body pressing him into the stone surface. His eyes met with a familiar hazel pair and the blond felt his blood boil with equally familiar rage. This person had always had that effect on the blond.

"Hirutani", Katsuya snarled and the bigger male. It was all the identification the other needed. Katsuya had always despised Hirutani, who had been the leader of the gang in which the blond had spent his early teen years. The hulking wannabe gangster bleached his hair constantly in order to look intimidating and foreign. To Katsuya, the effect had only made the other seem like an idiot. That notion was further brought on by the fact that Hirutani was actually older than Katsuya despite getting out of middle school together with the blond. The fact was that Hirutani had been held back a year at least once. But that did not really make Hirutani a harmless person. On the contrary, Hirutani was a twisted person with narcistic tendencies along with a sadistic streak. Not to mention the male had the physical strength and influence towards others to cause serious damage.

"So, Katsuya", Hirutani drawled in a falsely sweet tone of voice. "How has life been treating you since you left without as much as a word?" When Katsuya gave no indication to answer, the other's face twisted into a sneer and Hirutani yanked Katsuya away from the wall once before slamming him back against it, all the while bellowing: "Don't you dare ignore me!" The thug's expression smoothened then. "Then again, you don't really need to answer. I already know all about it." Once again Katsuya was slammed against the wall, this time more brutally than the two previous times combined. The blond actually released a pained groan, which Hirutani did not notice as he raved: "They say you're that Kaiba's bitch now! I did not shape you up to bend over to some rich bastard!"

"You don't control me, Hirutani!" Katsuya yelled back, knowing exactly how much his words would enrage the other. "When it comes to me, you've never been in control!" Katsuya knew that Hirutani had a need for control, that had always been the male's weakness. He thought he was so much better and more powerful than anyone else when in reality he was nothing but a loser. A violent and bloodthirsty loser, but a loser nonetheless.

The next impact against the stonewall had Katsuya seeing stars and by the time the blond recovered, Hirutani's voice was in his ear, speaking: "You know, I was just going to beat you into a bloody pulp and then stab you a couple of times and be satisfied with that. But now you have me curious…" The taller male pulled back and looked down at Katsuya with glee that promised agony. "You've always been awfully pretty, Katsuya, exotic. I wonder…"

There were not many things those words could mean, and Katsuya's fears were confirmed when a large hand was pushed beneath the his shirt, the rough hand feeling very similar to another memory, one that was now rising into Katsuya's mind as a sudden cold feeling caused the blond to shiver.

"Katsuya…" Hirutani mumbled, his voice softer than Katsuya had ever heard it before. "I don't usually go for used stuff but you are worth an exception." Katsuya's horrified eyes stared as the brunet licked his lips. "Especially if you're good enough for a someone like Kaiba."

'No…' Katsuya thought desperately as he felt his insides get squeezed by the sudden coldness that was taking over his body. 'Don't touch me. Don't touch me…'

"Don't worry", Hirutani uttered when he noticed Katsuya's clear reluctance. "I'll return you to your boyfriend in the end." The bleached male snickered as he leaned down to lick Katsuya's neck. At the same time his hand rose higher up the blond's chest and rubbed at one of his nipples. "He doesn't mind sharing, does he?" Hirutani then pinched the nipple he had been caressing, forcing Katsuya to release a whimper that sounded suspiciously like a sob. "Well, if he does, then we will just have to keep this between us, hmm?"

Lifting his hands to Hirutani's chest to attempt to push the larger body off of him, Katsuya started to wiggle his body as he tried to get away from the larger body looming over him. His hands were grabbed by Hirutani's free hand one by one as the large teen removed his other hand from Katsuya's chest and pulled it back from underneath the blond's shirt. Katsuya had enough time to close his eyes in preparation before the slap came, smacking his head to the side.

"Don't even try to resist me, Katsuya", Hirutani growled in a dangerous tone of voice. "You will only end up hurt if you do." That said Hirutani grabbed Katsuya's crotch through his school pants and that time Katsuya was sure he released a sob. Hirutani's hot breath came across the blond's cheeks and Katsuya shuddered as a wave of nausea washed over him. The blond thought that he was going to puke and when black spots started to invade his vision, he was certain that he was going to faint.

As Hirutani's hand wandered in places Katsuya definitely did not want it to, Katsuya wished more than anything to simply be able to feel nothing instead of the growing disgust that clenched at his stomach. Katsuya thought desperately that Seto had not rushed to his rescue yet, like he had done before. Certainly the brunet should have gotten tired of waiting by then…

That was when Katsuya froze in his thoughts. What the hell was he doing waiting for Seto to come and rescue him? He could take Hirutani on, he always had been. Now if only his mind could stay clear for him to do so.

"Yo, bastard! Let the kid go!" a voice called suddenly and Hirutani's hand retreated from Katsuya's body. In the next instant the blond was able to slam his forehead against his captor's nose. Warm blood smeared across his face when Hirutani retreated with a pained howl, giving Katsuya enough room to kneel him in the stomach and as the thug doubled over Katsuya brought his leg up and then brought it down on the other's back, sending him falling on his face onto the grassy ground.

There was the sound of fleeing footsteps, which Katsuya knew to be caused by Akemi, and the blond turned his gaze to the other side, where the person that had called was standing. And he froze.

The new arrival was a young man with navy blue eyes and incredibly tan skin and he was a good five inches taller than Katsuya, though not nearly as tall as the probably unconscious Hirutani. The male looked to be around Katsuya's age and was dressed in a pale violet muscle shirt and light brown cargo pants. His hair was a platinum blond, one Katsuya guessed to be natural, and it stuck in every direction much like Yugi's and Otomya's did.

Katsuya had never seen the person before, but he had heard the talk and was almost certain of his suspicion. Then the male started to speak with a slight Kansai area dialect: "Ya alright there, kiddo?"

"I'm fine. Thanks", Katsuya answered, feeling a bit distrusting towards the other. "I haven't seen you around here before. Who are you exactly?"

"The name's Takuya", the new arrival spoke with an air of confidence. "Takuya Marik."

Yup, that was exactly the name Katsuya had been expecting to hear. Now he needed to find out what the other was doing in Domino. According to Katsuya's knowledge, Takuya went to school in Osaka. It was a long way from Domino and it was the middle of a school week.

"I take it you're a student in this school?" Takuya questioned and Katsuya nodded his head mutely. Takuya glanced down at Hirutani's definitely out cold form and then asked: "What ever are ya doin' gettin' involved with blokes like Hirutani?"

"I don't even know him really", Katsuya replied with a shrug. It appeared that his display was convincing, since the other let it slide in favour of saying: "I'm actually lookin' for someone. He's a student here too. Ever heard of a Otomya Yami?"

"No", Katsuya replied blankly, hoping that he sounded genuine. "I can't say I've heard of him."

"Oh, too bad", Takuya said in a lazy tone. "Take care then." He turned to leave and Katsuya called after him: "Bye."

"Good bye, Jounouchi Katsuya", Takuya replied without looking back. The other disappeared around a corner and Katsuya felt a shiver run down his spine. Just how had the other known his name? Had he known he had been bluffing too?

Katsuya's thoughts were broken off by a groan from Hirutani's crumbled form and the blond served a satisfying kick to the other's head, sending the jerk back to unconsciousness. He considered calling the police on the other male and wondered if they could get there in time. In the end he decided to make his way back to Seto, to either borrow the brunet's cell phone (his own currently lied forgotten underneath his bed) or, if Seto's driver was still also a bodyguard, to have the brunet sick his employee on Hirutani.

&

It was with reluctance that Katsuya replayed the entire event to Seto once Hirutani had been restrained. The blond would have preferred to just brush the whole thing aside and forget it, but he knew that his boyfriend would not settle for that. So, in the end Katsuya ended up telling Seto everything and got a tight, protective embrace out of it.

"We need to call Otomya", Katsuya spoke out when the two were snuggled together in the backseat of the car. There was a shift from Seto, followed by the brunet questioning: "Just because some random guy was asking for him? It was probably a relative of sorts. Yami is originally from Osaka after all."

"I know who that guy was, and he's not related to Otomya", Katsuya insisted sternly. "Call him."

"Not until you explain this all to me", Seto insisted in an annoyed tone. "I won't let you just brush me off like this. Just who is this Takuya Marik?"

"A nutcase", Katsuya answered and thought back to when he had encountered the name. "I don't usually believe the rumours that go around, since they tend to grow over their original boundaries, but this one I know to be true. It was on the news and everything." The blond started fiddling the bottom of Seto's jacket. "Takuya killed his father when he was eleven. It was in self-defence, the guy was an abusive bastard, but it messed Takuya up for life. He's a very known face in the right scene, that is, he's a celebrity in the gang circles."

"And you think he's after Yami?" came Seto's query, to which Katsuya nodded and the brunet spoke: "Why would he come after Yami?"

"The same reason Hirutani and Akemi came after me", Katsuya replied, his eyes focused on the car seat in front of him. "My guess is that Otomya dumped his gang before coming here to Domino. I bet his hiding out, trying to start over."

The body Katsuya was pressed up against moved and the blond knew Seto was shaking his head in denial even before the brunet started to speak: "But there's no proof that-"

"His name is proof enough", Katsuya interrupted the other. He finally removed himself from his beloved's arms to look Seto straight in the eye as he continued: "You know I know this stuff. There really was someone named Otomya Yami in one of the gangs in Osaka. It's called the 'Golden Eye' gang and it's the same one Takuya is in."

Seto was looking at Katsuya incredulously, and then said: "And you helped this guy get together with your friend?"

"I didn't make the connection then!" Katsuya exclaimed in his defence. "I mean, what are the odds of the Otomya Yami coming to Domino? I only realized it when that Takuya asked about him."

"Figures…" Seto mumbled with a teasing smirk, ruffling Katsuya's hair. "Fine, I'll give him a call and warn him."

"You'd better", Katsuya muttered before glancing out of the window. He would hate to think of the things Takuya was capable of, and he did not want Otomya to go through any of it.

To be continued…