A play written by Joey Wheeler and Seto Kaiba
ACT I, SCENE I
The curtain rises to show the small studio apartment of Jounouchi Yamagi.
Jounouchi Yamagi is a boy with unruly blonde hair sits in a chair. He wears an old, baggy t-shirt and ripped jeans. Jounouchi is about eighteen or so, tall, and lank, with deep hazel eyes. He's holding something small in his hands, looking down at it. He's slouched forwards, looking sad. He blinks a couple of times, as if to blink the tears away.
He's sitting next to a messy desk. Papers cover it, and a stack of books (including classics such as Austin's 'Pride and Prejudice' and Dickens' 'Tale of Two Cities') are off to one side.
There is a small window where some light shafts down (it is July). Off in the corner is a small sink, stove, and fridge. There is another door across from it. A bed lies near the desk. It is unmade. There is a small wooden dresser next to that, with a reading lamp on it. One of the drawers of the dresser is open, revealing old clothes, similar to the one that he's wearing at the moment.
On one of the wall is a stretched canvas, waiting to be painted. There are bottles of different paints nearby it, with a wooden box. A few brushed lay out. There is a painted plastic cup filled with water on top of the box.
On the other side of the room there are various paintings lying propped on the wall; some framed and others not. Some are landscapes, others of people or animals. All are masterfully made.
JOUNOUCHI quietly: I miss ya, Ma… all dat's left is your favorite pin…
He has a thick Brooklyn accent.
KATSUYA'S VOICE sneering: It's called a brooch, you mediocre half-wit.
A door slams. A boy, who looks eighteen or so, comes in, his black cape whirling around him. He has brown hair and icy sapphire blue eyes. He's very tall and skinny, but not starving, like the blonde. He's wearing new clothes – in addition to his black cape, he is wearing a black turtleneck and black pants. There is an obvious contrast between the two – the blonde is ragged, poor, and worn, while the brunette is rich, clean, and obviously higher in society. He speaks with a deep, sophisticated voice. His name is Katsuya Yamagi, and he is Jounouchi's half brother. Their father was a rich, successful businessman, owner and CEO of the company Yamagi Enterprises. He had married Katsuya's mother, who had died ten years after Katsuya's birth. Jounouchi's mother was a maid in the Yamagi household, whom Katsuya's father had had an affair with. When he found her pregnant, he fired her and denounced Jounouchi. Since then, Katsuya and Jounouchi had very little to do with each other.
Jounouchi's mother had taken up painting, and made money off of that and several different jobs. Insisting that Jounouchi finish college too, Jounouchi had just finished high school, when his mother suddenly got ill. Because they could not afford proper treatment, she died. Now, just weeks after his mother's death and after he finished high school, the eighteen year old is forced to hold several jobs to survive.
Meanwhile, Katsuya had taken over his father's company after he died, six years after his mother's death, when he was sixteen (the same age as Jounouchi) Jounouchi's mother was still alive. But Katsuya ignored Jounouchi and his mother, leaving them to fend for themselves for the next two years.
KATSUYA continuing: I cannot believe you treasure that pathetic thing. Your mother was just as useless as you are.
Jounouchi jumps up and glares at Katsuya.JOUNOUCHI trying to control his temper, through gritted teeth: What brings ya ta town, bro?
KATSUYA rolling eyes: I was hoping that your mother's death would have had more of an effect of you. I guess not, little brother. I suppose I must be the one to discipline you.
He spits the words 'little brother' out, as if it is a disgusting swear word.
JOUNOUCHI trying to stay cool: Is dat a threat?
KATSUYA sneering: Ooh, good job genius. Yes, that is a threat, an imminent one, for that matter. It will hang over you until you show some respect to your superiors.
JOUNOUCHI balling fists: Well dere aren't any dat I know of.
Katsuya runs to Jounouchi and holds him up against the wall, slightly choking him. Jounouchi tries not to make a sound.
KATSUYA softly, threatening: I told you to show some respect, mutt. I expect more from you.
He throws Jounouchi to the floor. He rubs his neck, while glaring up at Katsuya.
KATSUYA looking down with a look of contempt: And this is the response I get after all these years?
He tosses his hair slightly and walks out of the room, slamming the door.
For a few moments, Jounouchi stays down, in slight shock. He massages his throat some more, stands up, and drinks some water.JOUNOUCHI in a deep, sophisticated voice, not unlike Katsuya's, his thick accent gone: It's really a shame that we never got along. He would have been a valuable ally. But I guess it really doesn't matter now. We never saw each other as who we really were. I only act uneducated because it is what everyone expects. I don't think he could take the shock.
He takes his mother's rose brooch and pins it to the front of a worn jacket lying on a chair.
JOUNOUCHI sadly, as if he's lost something: I don't get him at all. I've seen him with other people – he'll act like he does with me, a cold, heartless jerk. But then there are the few people who make him expose some of his true self.
He turns his head to the side. The light from his small window catches his golden locks.
JOUNOUCHI softly: Katsuya… I wish you and I could get along…
The stage darkens, and shows Katsuya in a large room: his office at his house. Large windows serve as one wall, overlooking a city. A large wooden desk sits towards the windows. Katsuya is sitting at his desk. On it sits a computer monitor, with the keyboard pushed to one side. There are several neat stacks of paper in front of it. Farther down the room there are several bookcases on either side of the room. There are also many plants. A door faces across the desk, on the farthest end of the room.
Katsuya picks up a pen and continues to write into what appears to be his diary.
KATSUYA'S VOICE OVER from the diary: I really wonder about Jounouchi sometimes. He never seems to be the person he appears to be. One moment he's an uneducated dog, the next an intellectual. Why does he hide his true self away from everyone, even me? Well, then again, I suppose I don't deserve to see his true self. I've never treated him well. What am I supposed to do? I was brought up this way, and if I show my true colors, he might die from the shock. Honestly, I'm not as mean as I make-out to be. Some people know that. I actually wish that Jounouchi knew that too.