Karmas Punishment
chapter two
It works in mysterious ways
A little boy with bright eyes and dark hair sits in the lobby on a stiff backed chair with a hard cushion. His knees curl over the edge where his feet sway in an imaginary breeze, he doesn't like these people. The ones tucked away in the other room trying to figure out what to do with him. He doesn't know how he got here, he just fell out of some weird cylinder with elevator doors- as if he walked into a bad movie. He pursed his lip and saw the silhouette of the other boy, with his outrageous hair and strange eyes.
He doesn't like that boy, he keeps acting like they know each other, how ridiculous- as if anyone could just forget that hair. He cant rightly say he's concerned that his parents are worried because he's entirely positive that haven't even noticed him missing- if they did chances are they don't care. So he doesn't really want to go home, at all.
He would just walk away, but its raining outside.
That doesn't stop whoever it is letting the doors hiss open, he walks in and shakes his shaggy blonde hair dry. He wears a blue jacket pulled shut and faded jeans, in his had is what looks like brief case. After a bizarre minute of air drying his bright hair, he looks around the room and spots the him sitting in the chair. The blond man looks bewildered for a moment,so he walks over and crouches down in front of him.
"hi there, I didn't know kids where allowed in here. How did you get in?"
"I don't know, I fell I guess."
The blond makes a face of further confusion.
" well, whats your name?"
"whats yours?"
"I'm Jounouchi Kastuya, will you tell me yours now?"
"... Ishitaka Seto"
"taka- that's cute."
Setos small round cheeks flush red, he crosses his small arms over his chest.
"is not."
Jounouchi just chuckles, Seto glares sharply at him.
" what are you doing here anyway?"
He raises up kaibas school bag.
" someone left this in class today, I'm here to give it back."
Seto rolls his eyes at the words, then turns to look at the room full of people all trying to decide what to do with him.
"the people are in there. They said everyone else went home."
Jounouchi reaches out and ruffles Setos hair.
"thanks taka"
"hmm..."
Seto just grumbles as he smooths his hair back down, he wants to correct Jounouchi's usage of his name but finds he isn't actually offended.
Jou walks down the hallway calmly trying to stop the million thoughts flooding his head, he grips the door handle firmly and wrenches it open. The room at large quickly quiets, mokuba stares in shock at Jou.
" Jou? What are you doing here?"
He tosses the bag onto the conference table and stares hard at Mokuba.
"he rushed out and left his bag...so you gonna tell me what happened.. why he's ..."
He trails of but points with his chin out the window to the little boy patiently waiting on the chair in the lobby. Mokubas eye flood and spillover, he begins trying to talk through his hiccuping sobs.
"it was – a test for – the new console. A reality simulator but then I don't know wh- what happened something exploded! And it opened up and he fell out and he WAS TINY!"
Jou stares, not really surprised, he should be... but given his other adventures this really isn't that bad.
"and?"
"he doesn't know were brothers-i think he doesn't like me. I don't know how to fix it! And we have to figure out where to put him until we do fix it. But I said he could come to my house and he just looked like I insulted him!"
" so, you just need somewhere for him to hang out until you figure this out?"
"yea, we don't want him nosing around and finding how bad this is."
Jou stares out the window at Seto who is beginning to look rather sleepy. His large blue eyes watering when he yawns.
"I'll take him."
Mokuba blinks not sure he heard correctly.
"what?"
"lemme help out, I'll watch him."
"whyyy?"
Jou reaches out and grips the top of mokubas head, turning his gaze to fall on Seto who is struggling to keep his eyes open.
"how could I say no? He may grow up to be an asshole but look, hes a cute kid. You had to get that from someone."
The rest of the people in the room stare at mokuba waiting for his verdict, he looks at Jou knowing full well he's strong enough to go through with it.
"okay"
Jou steps out and finds seto asleep slouched back against the chair arms hanging off the edges of the stiff chair. He walks over and scoops him up, blue eyes flutter open for a moment before falling shut again.
In the morning Seto wakes up, his mind in its usual morning funk, up til he realizes, the ceiling in unfamiliar. It has old paint, that has faded and become a semi dark crème color, the fan in the middle is still and only slightly dusty. Nervously he shifts in place, and feels deeply worn fabric brush over his skin, its soft thick and cozy. A faded red color with black stitch marks here and there where tears have been sutured. The pillow is partly flattened in places, a mismatched pillow case, sort of red but very clearly not the same as the blanket.
The floor isn't tile or a hard gray carpet. Its an earthy brown, vacuumed clean and fluffy. He eyes the lines in the carpet where the vacuum had trekked across. A small closet is open to the left of the bed, in hangs two blue school uniforms, faded in the knees the hem and the elbows. Beside those are a couple white t shirts a blue jacket a green denim coat and a lumpy backpack tossed in at the bottom. On the wall over a small writing desk are a few pictures taped to the wall, the desk itself is made from cheap wood and the chair that sits with it appears to go to a dining set.
Seto decides whoever lives here probably isn't a bad person, the room feels warm and lived in. Not like his home, people exist in it- but they don't live there. pushing the blanket back he slips out of the strangers bed. He realizes that while his shoes are gone, he's still in his clothes. He sighs with relief, it would have been very awkward to think some one had changed his clothes while he slept. His bare feet touch the carpet, he scrunches his toes in the foreign material, deciding he likes it.
He tugs the blanket back in place smoothing out the wrinkles and walks over to the door, pausing in place he hears a strange sound. And smell... something is sizzling, his stomach grumbles forcing hims to quietly open the door and peek out. That man! The blond one, what was his name? He steps out a bit further, the rest of the apartment... house.. thing is just like the room. All filled with warm earthy color's, and various signs of life. He walks across the smaller than hes accustomed to living room and finds a small rounded rectangle table with a tan table cloth pressed against the wall opposite the open kitchen.
He didn't know people had kitchen without doors, its a small kitchen. The man standing in front of the stove could probably open his arms and touch both walls. However the man cooking what smells like bacon, he shifts in place grabbing a second pan and jerking it so the pancake flips and lands back in. as much as he enjoys watching the man, he supposes he should make himself known.
"um good morning?"
Jounouchi flips the pancake onto a plate and smiles over to Seto who stand in front of the dining table looking confused.
"hey- you're up! I was just just gonna go get you."
He pokes a few strips of bacon with a fork and plops them onto the plate, he then reaches out of the kitchen and sets it on the table.
"eat up, I gotta take you shopping in a bit okay."
Seto goes to the table and seats himself, curiously he looks at the plate. Jou places a fork and knife next to it along with a small knock off bottle of syrup. He smiles at Seto who just looks at him nervously.
"um, why am I here?"
Jou pretends to pout.
"am I that bad a cook?"
"?"
Seto blinks and flushes red, not sure how he insulted the seemingly polite man. He wedges his hands between his knees and puts his head down as he struggle to apologize.
" I- didn't mean to-"
A heavy hand ruffles his hair, he looks up at Jous wide goofy grin. He returns to the kitchen all of three feet away and pours a spoonful of batter in the pan.
" don't flip out Taka, I'm just messin with you"
Seto fidgets, very much unaccustomed to Jounouchi's playful behavior. It would appear although the man is not legitimately upset.
" I do not mean to be rude, but I do not know you... so why am I here with you?"
Jou jerks the pan and flips the cake drawing Setos gaze for a moment.
"they said you didn't want to go home with mokie and they couldn't figure out what to do with you, you need be somewhere. So since your so cute n all I offered to let you stay with me!"
Seto feels his face turn warm, he doesn't quite understand why it keeps happening but he keeps making it happen.
"thank you then..."
Jou plops one cake onto another plate and pours another spoonful of batter. He just smiles at the boy who asks.
"...no one... else would...accommodate me?"
He jerks the pan flipping the cake and looks at seto, this time slightly concerned.
" most of the people that work there aren't used to kids at all taka. Its hard work being there, long hours no time to have a family or anything. They wouldn't know what to do with you taka, its cause they're weird not you."
He plops the second cake onto his plate and joins Seto at the very small table. Seto looks across the table and gives a weak smile, he looks at Jou.
"my name is seto... please."
"you don't like when I call you taka? I think its cute."
" Ishitaka is my surname, I would prefer not to be so formal with you since I will be staying with you until further notice."
" Seto it is then alright."
Picking up his fork and knife he cuts his pancake and almost takes a bite.
"you don't want no syrup?"
"I'm not allowed to have sugary things."
"bah! Forget that!"
Jou reaches over and pours a spiral of syrup onto seto's plate of pancakes and bacon.
" hurry or we'll miss the bus"
With a forkful of sticky pancake Seto looks at Jounouchi curiously.
"bus?"