Happy New Year, guys! I now present to you the most G-rated fic I have ever written. Sex? Nope. Violence? Nega- wait. Just little bit. Curse words? Um, like, one. It's still pretty clean, though! I hope you enjoy it!

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Emancipation

"Hey Kaiba, I need to talk to you."

Seto Kaiba turned around, sure that his ears were deceiving him. But sure enough, there was Katsuya Jounouchi, ambling down the empty hallway towards him in that irritating, careless gait. Kaiba was just about to go to the computer lab to get some work done before school started, and he did not appreciate the interruption. There was very little he appreciated this early in the morning.

"What are you doing here?" Kaiba made a show of checking his watch. "Do you even know what time it is? Did you fall asleep at school or something?"

"Yeah, I know what time it is and no, I did not fall asleep at school," Kaiba could see the effort to reign in the annoyance showing clearly on the blond's face, which amused him slightly. "I wanted to catch you early, before class. I need to talk to you about something, Kaiba," Jou repeated reluctantly.

"Need? The word 'need' and my name should never fall from that third-rate mouth of yours in the same sentence. If you don't want me to put my briefcase down and knock all your teeth out, you should stop talking and get the hell out of my face." That came out a little more aggressively than he intended, and Kaiba made a quick mental note to get some caffeine in his system before classes started because he really shouldn't snap at any more teachers. He turned around to find somewhere else to set up shop for the morning, already putting the pathetic blond out of his mind to make room for all the documents he was about to review.

"Please, Kaiba, it's important!"

"Oh, pardon me, I didn't realise it was important," Kaiba mockingly threw over his shoulder, while steadily moving in the opposite direction. He honestly should have given the other boy the dressing-down he deserved, but it was way too early to fight with idiots about God knows what. And then he felt a shove, right in the middle of his back, causing him to stumble and drop his suitcase. There was, of course, no ignoring that. Anger instantly flared up within him and Kaiba immediately spun around and grabbed Jou by the lapels, jerking him roughly. Jou made no move to retaliate, save grabbing Kaiba's forearms in a steely grip.

"I really don't wanna fight, but this is the only thing that you understand, apparently. Now that I got your attention, I just need five minutes to-"

Kaiba kneed him swiftly in the stomach and was smugly satisfied to hear Jou's pained cry. Jou doubled over, clutching his midsection, coughing and gasping, but Kaiba wasn't finished yet. He still had Jou by the lapels, and he yanked up, bringing Jou's face into striking range. He drew his arm back, and Jou at least had the wherewithal to put a hand up to his face for protection.

"Kaiba, please! You are the last person on earth I wanna ask but I don't know anyone else who…"

Maybe it was Jounouchi's plaintive tone, those underlying chords of desperation that called to him, or maybe it was the fact that he wasn't fighting back at all that did it, but Kaiba stopped his fist before it connected with Jou's earnest yet distressed face. What was he going to say? Just what would make him risk bodily harm like this? He lifted his eyebrow expectantly, arching it just so.

"Who what?" he snapped impatiently.

Jou lowered his hands, took a deep, steadying breath and looked Kaiba dead in the eye.

"I wanna be legally emancipated."

The answer was so unexpected, Kaiba inadvertently released him. He asked the next question before he could censor himself.

"And just why would you come to me?"

"You're the last person on earth I'd wanna ask…."

"You said that already."

"…but you're also the only person I know who's actually been emancipated. Just talking to a lawyer'll cost a fortune."

"And you thought I would do it for free?" The thought made him laugh, derisively so. The mutt could probably barely afford his own candy budget, far less Seto Kaiba's hourly rate.

His hearty laugh, however, was met by silence. Jou's face was a transparent mask of revelation, one emotion chasing after another, anger, humiliation, regret and finally exasperation.

"Come on, just point me in the right direction!"

Kaiba pointed straight ahead at a spot behind Jou's head. "The nearest exit is that way." Jou's growl of frustration also amused Kaiba, but the mutt really should have seen that one coming, it was too easy. Child's play. A waste of his time. He remembered he had more important things to do and decided to end this little Teen Drama episode. He reached behind him and picked up his briefcase.

"Look, I doubt I could help you anyway, so you're wasting your time, not to mention mine."

"How am I wasting my time?"

"Well, I wasn't technically emancipated, for starters."

"What do you mean?"

By God but he was slow. Kaiba spelled it out nice and clearly for Jou, hoping that Jou would get it and finally leave him alone so he could get some work done. He didn't have time to properly beat the crap out of him this morning.

"In case you hadn't noticed, my situation was a little different. If you recall, my adoptive father threw himself out of a window after I executed a brutally hostile corporate take-over, so I'm not entirely sure that's a proper precedent for…whatever's going on with you." He made it clear from both his disdainful tone and expression that he neither wanted to know nor cared about Jou's plight, whatever it may be.

"Okay, but even so, they didn't just let a sixteen-year-old run a multi-million dollar corporation on his own, did they?"

"Billion, actually, and yes, I believe that's exactly what 'they' did."

"What, with no red tape? None at all!" Jou's eyes looked like they were about to pop out from sheer force of incredulity. Kaiba just regarded him calmly, boredom stamped on his face.

"Please. I am literally begging here. Just tell me what to do," came the final soft plea, and Kaiba was finding it hard to come up with a reply. He certainly had no desire to get involved in someone else's domestic affairs, especially not this loser's. He couldn't care less if his parents wouldn't let him stay out past his curfew, or have jellybeans for dinner, or whatever juvenile issues prompted your average, hormonal teenager to seek legal intervention these days.

Above all, however, he was genuinely surprised that the dog would even think to ask him about something so...intimate. But, then again, he was incredibly stupid and naïve and that would only take you so far in the world. It was only a matter of time before he put his misguided trust in the wrong person. Maybe he should help teach the dog a life lesson about keeping your weaknesses to yourself. Kaiba would be doing him a favour, really, just not the one he expected.

"I'll tell you what," he started slowly, "why don't you meet me here after school and we can talk about it some more." He had no intention at all of meeting anyone anywhere, but he was taking some perverse pleasure in manipulating this pathetic excuse for a duellist. There was nothing wrong with a little entertainment before breakfast, was there? But he was unprepared for the slight twinge he felt (of what, he really couldn't say) on seeing the unabashed relief shining in those brown eyes.

"I'd appreciate it." Jou's voice sounded rough, and he cleared his throat self-consciously.

"Right," Kaiba said, immediately spinning on his heel and quickly widening the distance between them. But when he rounded the corner, he could still see those soft brown eyes looking up at him. He also heard the squeak of shoes scraping the floor, the unmistakeable sound of Jou sinking to the ground. He didn't hit him that hard, did he? He would have to watch his temper; it was going to get him in trouble. With whom, he couldn't imagine, but still. It was best to not draw attention to himself like that. It was really quite unbecoming.

By the day's end, Kaiba had all but forgotten that morning's confrontation and when the last period ended, he made a beeline for the outside, his mind already at Kaibacorp. He had almost made it to his chauffeured car when he heard his name being shouted from across the courtyard. An out of breath Jou ran towards him, his clearly empty bookbag dangling precariously from one shoulder. Kaiba swore in his head, but as always, didn't let his irritation show. He knew that his default expression was always somehow both blank and supercilious, a quirk he had perfected in his childhood, and which he thought was the shining foundation of his charming personality.

"Hey, I thought you were going to talk to me today," Jou wheezed as soon as he got near enough for Kaiba to hear him.

"Something came up."

"Oh, okay. Well..." Jou paused to try and catch his breath, "When can we-"

"How about tomorrow morning?" Kaiba interrupted. "I really have to go."

"Alright, I guess I'll just – " Kaiba didn't hear the rest of Jou's guess, quickly climbing into the car and slamming the door in the mutt's face mid-sentence. He didn't plan on giving the idiot another thought, but just then he had an unsettling bout of indigestion that twisted up his insides, and he spent the rest of the ride wondering if heartburn was contagious, because he knew for a fact that Jou had had pizza, donuts and ice cream for lunch, and while it hadn't seemed to bother the human garbage disposal much, the smell alone had made Kaiba yearn to pop two antacids to quell the nausea roiling in his stomach. He was fine when he got to his office, however, and for the second time that day, forgot all about Jou and his broken promises.

Over the next two days, Kaiba promised to meet Jou on the school roof, in the home economics room, in the theatre and once for variety, on the tennis court, only to give Jou increasingly outrageous excuses. He was sure that the blond would say something when Kaiba told him that he had to fly to Hawaii for an emergency hydrationoscopy procedure, but apparently Jou was as dumb as Kaiba gave him credit for. Sometimes he felt that funny feeling in his stomach again, though, and he made a mental note to consult the Kaiba physician.

Kaiba hadn't anticipated expending so much energy in his little prank, but, like most endeavours he undertook, it had begun to take on a sick and twisted life of its own. On the third day of Kaiba's war on Jou's dignity, Kaiba found himself still in school well after the last bell had rung. Kaiba didn't usually stay late, but he had lost track of time hiding from Jou in the library. This time he had promised to meet Jou in the gym before his after-school detention, which he had received for not doing two weeks' worth of homework and "sassing" the math teacher too much, which had made Kaiba chuckle. On the inside, of course. Naturally, he had kept as far away from the gym as physically possible, which had somehow landed him in the library.

He packed up his laptop and barrelled through the library doors; he could probably swing a late conference call to New York if he made it to Kaibacorp within half an hour. The thought vanished, however, upon seeing Honda leaning against the wall outside the library, instantly recognisable because of that ridiculous hair, somewhat reminiscent of a rhinoceros horn, or some kind of beak. Perhaps the beak of a great, lumbering pre-historic bird, Kaiba thought idly. He wondered how long this was going to take; it was obvious from the way Honda immediately tensed that he had been waiting for Kaiba.

"I just cannot get rid of you people. What the hell is it now?"

"You know exactly what the hell it is."

The anger clearly showing through on Honda's face led Kaiba to believe it had something to do with the fact that he was having some fun with the little-duellist-that-could. He rolled his eyes in mock exasperation.

"He's sending his cronies to get me to talk to him now?"

"He has no idea I'm here," Honda replied quietly.

"So you've taken it upon yourself to be his knight in shining armour and slay the mean old dragon. How noble of you."

"He missed his doctor's appointment yesterday cuz he was waiting for you."

Kaiba almost scoffed aloud. If Honda thought that that reproachful expression was going to conjure up some shame from the depths of Kaiba's soul, he clearly overestimated Kaiba's range of emotions.

"Doctor's appointment? He didn't look sick to me."

"Yeah, well. If he stubs his toe, he'll whine about it for days, but when his father cracks two ribs, he won't say a damned thing. Funny kinda guy, isn't he?"

Kaiba remembered Jou crumpling to the floor after he'd kneed him in the gut. For the life of him, Kaiba could not think of anything to say but felt that if he pondered too long on a reply the pointy-haired one would get the wrong idea. So, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Hilarious."

Honda looked at him in disgust and pushed away from the wall, moving to stand closer. Kaiba couldn't tell if that was supposed to intimidate him or not; he had seen more impressive tactics from squirrels in the park. He raised an arrogant eyebrow and took another stab at an appropriate response.

"If he's really got cracked ribs, he shouldn't be in school. He should be in a hospital somewhere."

"It happened a couple of weeks ago. The doc already checked him out, but Jou taped his chest too tight and there was some kind of infection or something. He's been-"

"Spare me the sob story," Kaiba muttered, but his interjection was noticeably lacking in venom. Honda just looked at him.

"If you're not gonna help him, just say so, alright? Stop stringing him along like this, it's honestly low. Do you even know what he feels like, coming to you, asking you for help? The same bastard that calls him monkey and second-rate and loser dog on a daily basis? Come on, Kaiba, even you're not that cold."

Kaiba itched to say yes, he really was that cold, but finding out the reason for the mutt's desire for emancipation had peaked his interest.

"So, it's his father? He's…abusive?" he asked, almost abstractedly, noting Honda's clenching fists.

"Abusive, alcoholic, gambling addict, take your pick."

Kaiba said nothing while he digested that information, mutely observing Honda's increasingly restless fidgeting.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Honda said, dragging his hands through his hair and down his face, in what Kaiba assumed was frustration. "Just cut it out. Please. On top of everything else, Jou doesn't need your shit, too."

Once again, Kaiba was not sure exactly what to say to that, and out of confusion more than anything else, he slowly turned around and and walked away.

"I'm dead serious, Kaiba! Just leave him alone!" Honda's voice echoed behind him as he wandered away. He turned the corner, his mind more on what had just transpired than where he was going.

Kaiba didn't really understand what made Rhino Boy confront him like that. He knew what the King of Games and his pals were like, he had heard their nauseating friendship speeches a few times too many. He thought he understood the concept of friendship well enough. Friends were people who constantly talked to each other about inconsequential nonsense and ran around offering unsolicited advice and trying to fix everyone else's so-called problems that really had nothing to do with them. But just the thought of going out of his way to help anyone else left him perturbed. He would do anything for his brother, of course, always had and always would. But there was no one else he cared for like that, no one he talked to like that, and absolutely no one had ever been delusional enough to ask him for help.

Until now.

He felt a quiver in his guts again and sighed. Stupid stomach. The whole situation was making him uncharacteristically queasy. Only, it wasn't indigestion, was it? It slowly dawned on him that he had been trying to convince himself he had food poisoning or something equally ridiculous to avoid the truth. It was guilt, those little twinges he had been feeling deep in his guts all along. It had been so long, he had almost forgotten what it felt like.

He stopped in his tracks and took a good look around. Lost in thought, he has subconsciously taken a path leading to his classroom, which was now right down the hall. He looked at the classroom door, and examined his options. He could totally turn around right now and forget about everything that had happened, forget his promises, forget the sad look on Jou's face that made him uncomfortable in ways he didn't fully comprehend, forget the unwelcome expansion of his emotional repertoire. Except, maybe he couldn't.

He made up his mind. He would go to the dog. He would tell him what he wanted to know. He would not break his annoying little face in. He would approach this situation as he would a business meeting. A dictation of terms, a delivery of cold, emotionless facts and finally, a cordial yet decisive farewell. He would speak to Jou as if he were talking to a business associate, nothing more, nothing less. Just this once, he would try to do what was colloquially known as 'the right thing.' He strode the ten feet to the classroom and peered through the little glass pane. He could see Jou drawing something that looked like a vampire hamburger with wings across the front of his Math book, which did not surprise him in the least. He took a deep breath and reached for the door.

Jou's head snapped up as soon as he heard the classroom door slide open, and if Kaiba had feelings – in the traditional sense of the word, that is – they may have been hurt by the utter disgust plastered on the mutt's face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jou asked angrily. He seemed downright revolted at the sight of Kaiba, and Kaiba could not blame him. Jou had had a while to stew about the fact that Kaiba had been yanking him around for his own amusement and could not be too happy about it. Kaiba got straight to the point.

"I am going to tell you all I know. I talk. You listen. That's it."

Kaiba couldn't say that the look of open mistrust on Jou's face was undeserved, but he still bristled at the cold reception of his rare attempt to help. He took the chair from the desk in front of Jou's and turned it around so that they faced each other when he sat, organising his thoughts as he moved. Now that he had decided to go through with this, he was going to make it as brief as possible.

"First, you'll need to show proof that you have a sustainable source of income, and preferably an initial lump sum to get you started," Kaiba began as soon as he seated himself.

"No problem, I got like five jobs. And I been saving up, so…"

A dark look from Kaiba quickly silenced Jou.

"You'll also need to indicate an intended place of residence."

"Yeah, I figured. Might be a bit of a problem, though. I found a place but-" Jou was interrupted by Kaiba's hand in his face.

"Do. Not. Care," Kaiba enunciated clearly, causing Jou to quickly clamp his lips shut. "Do not make me regret this."

"Right. What else?"

"You'll have to show a commitment to your education. The courts tend not to approve cases where the minor intends to drop out of school completely."

"So I gotta finish school."

"I'm afraid so, yes."

"Great," Jou deadpanned. It was clear he would have preferred to ditch Domino High for the world of fast food and retail employment. For a split second Kaiba wondered what school life would be like without the little blond loser running around making trouble for himself, but he pushed the strangely irritating thought out of his head and continued.

"It would also help if there was any adult who would vouch for you, someone who could testify as to your strength of character, confidence in your ability to support yourself, etcetera, etcetera."

"No problem," Jou said quickly. He seemed to have that base covered. "Anything else?"

"Just one more thing. I'm sure you know that even if you meet all the requirements, if it can't be proven that your current guardian is…unfit…then you are likely to remain in his care."

"Yeah, trust me, no worries on that score," Jou said ruefully. He shifted in his seat and Kaiba thought he saw Jou wince imperceptibly, but maybe he imagined it.

"If you contact Social Services, they will appoint you a case worker and an attorney, as well as carry out all the necessary assessments."

Jou nodded distractedly, clearly processing all the information Kaiba had given him. He then said nothing for a few moments, and simply looked at Kaiba.

"What?" Kaiba asked, more harshly than he intended, uncomfortable under Jou's gaze.

"I thought you said you couldn't help me."

"It was on my to-do list," Kaiba admitted reluctantly, after another excruciatingly awkward pause. "But Gozaburo did me the favour of killing himself, so I never had to go through the proper channels."

He instantly recognised the look on Jou's face; it was the look that people gave him when he said something particularly callous. He resisted the urge to scowl; he hated feeling like he needed to explain himself or his behaviour to anyone. Usually, he would say something even more cruel to make the other person squirm – which somehow made him feel better – but he had already resolved to get out of there as fast as decorum allowed, and antagonising Jou would just take up way too much time.

"Look, all I did was tell you what you wanted to know. What you do from here on out is your responsibility."

"Yeah, I know," Jou said, and Kaiba should have gotten up and left it at that. Studying Jou's face, however, Kaiba saw an immense hopefulness there that he felt it was his duty to extinguish. Life, he had learned at an early age, never went the way you expected it to. The less blind optimism you had, the better it was for all involved when things went down the metaphorical toilet. Jou seemed to be forgetting that there was significant risk involved. Kaiba decided to burst Jou's bubble with extreme prejudice.

"This might not necessarily work out in your favour, you know."

"What do you mean?" The slight furrow in Jou's brow gave Kaiba all the encouragement he needed.

"I mean, if they do decide that your guardian is neglectful or…" Kaiba's gaze drifted to Jou's midsection, "whatever, and they also find that in their opinion you are not able to take care of yourself, you will be made a ward of the state - provided, of course, that there is no other relative who can assume responsibility for you."

"No," Jou said quickly, "there's no one else."

Kaiba remembered something about a mother and a sister in a different prefecture, but if the idiot wasn't going to bring it up, he sure as hell wasn't either.

"Well, if you do become a ward of the state, that means orphanages, foster care. Take it from me, 'not pleasant' is an understatement." He didn't mean to sound so bitter. Jou, for his part, made no overtly noticeable reaction to Kaiba's personal commentary, save for a slight dip of his head. Kaiba modulated his tone, but still added, "You really want to have your case together prior to going before the judge, or they will place you in a court-mandated state facility."

"I won't let that happen."

The sheer determination Kaiba saw etched on Jou's face made him believe it wholeheartedly too, if just for a moment. He knew he was breaking the contract he made with himself, but he still asked the question that was on his mind.

"Do not mistake my question for actual concern one way or another, but, if things are so bad, why don't you just move in with the midgets, or the one with the beak hair or even the friendship girl. I'm sure they would…" here, Kaiba choked on the words a little, "...love to have you," he finished lamely.

"I just don't want to be a burden on anyone else."

"Fair enough. But you'll graduate soon. Why go through all this trouble? What's the rush?"

"The rush?" Jou shrugged, and it seemed for a moment that he wouldn't answer, but he eventually squared his shoulders and looked Kaiba dead in the eye. With an intent expression he said, "I wanna be responsible for myself, make my own decisions. If I do good, it's all me. If I mess up, it's on me. I just…I hate getting pushed around and I wanna take control for once. I want to live my own life, my way, you know?"

And Kaiba knew it was a trick of the mind, but as Jou spoke, he saw himself, the young, hungry boy he had once been facing him, saying all those things. He saw the fire in his own ice-blue eyes, that unwavering desire for independence and the power to control his own life, to protect himself and his brother. He knew what it was like living under the roof of a man who was supposed to love and nurture but who only hurt, wishing more than anything to be free of him once and for all. Suddenly, he realised that somehow, he was more like Jou than he ever knew, than he ever wanted to admit. He understood. He understood better than anyone else.

"I believe I do know."

His voice was hoarse, and he would have cleared his throat, but he had nothing else to say. He felt the walls closing in on him, the air getting thin, and all he could focus on were those brown eyes drilling into his. He was feeling so many things he hadn't felt in years, emotions that he had long put behind him and even, somehow, dare he say it, burgeoning respect for this little pissant. He really needed to get out of that room.

"Alright. This has been my good deed for the century," he said, breaking eye-contact and pushing his chair back. "If you ever bring up this little chat again, I swear I am going to make life a living hell for you." He quickly made his way to the door, ready to get the hell out of there.

"Hey, Kaiba."

The force of Jou's voice stopped him in his tracks. Kaiba turned around to face Jou one more time, and looking at Jou's face, which was as open as it always was, Kaiba could see the emotion plainly on that suntanned canvas. Among other things there, the greatest was gratitude, which Kaiba was loath to observe. 'Please do not let him thank me,' he thought fervently. He knew that those simple words would forever change the dynamic between them, and then who was he going to heckle within an inch of their life, stomp the crap out of, or belittle on a daily basis? He braced himself when he saw Jou's lips move.

"You're a real jerk, you know that?"

Kaiba flashed a dazzlingly crooked smile before he could help himself.

"I tell myself that every day," he smirked, before striding out of the classroom and down the hall. Again, he felt something unrecognisable spreading through his chest, but this time it was warm and tingly. 'So this is what normal people feel like,' he mused. He allowed himself another tiny smile. He had gone out of his way to help someone for the first – and last time, he reminded himself – and it didn't feel half bad. But, as quickly as all that warmth had flooded him, Kaiba returned to his senses. He'd had a taste of kindness, and a taste was all he could afford himself. He took a deep breath and focused all his energy back on his work. He had missed his chance with New York, but maybe it wasn't too late to try with London. He saw his car waiting for him through the doors as he approached, and wondered how long it would take to get to Kaibacorp, taking traffic into account, of course.

But for the first time in ages, as he stepped outside and squinted up into the sky, he actually noticed the sun shining, the birds singing, how clean the air smelt. And for the first time in ages, he just knew that everything would work out fine. No, it definitely wasn't too late.

Not too late at all.

Again, different than I normally write, but I quite like it all the same. As always, I want you to tell me what you think! Please leave a review!