Further
Summary: After losing his sister unexpectedly, Jounochi finds himself mourning in the arms of his most hated enemy. When he returs to school, he deals with the awkwardness of being treated differently and worst of all, the change in his and Kaiba's relationship.
Warnings: This story will contain YAOI! If you're not a fan, I suggest you hit that little X on the top right of the page immediately! Main pairing will of course be Kaiba/Jounochi.
Other Warnings: Eeehhh... language, violence, sexual themes (later on and at times)... ummm... tragedy! Yeah... That's why this is a drama.

Oooh, yay... I'm writing again. It happens from time to time. It mostly comes from reading other fanfics though... I get hit with inspiration! Yippee!

Anyway, I'm gonna start off by saying that everytime I read a Kaiba/Jou fanfic, there are several ones that include certain themes... Like saaay... ooh! School project: Jou and Kaiba are paired together... dun dun dun... what will happen next?! Or... Uh-oh! We're trapped in an elevator and are about to die! I better admit how I REALLY feel about you... or my ultimate favorite: Jou's dad is a bastard! Kaiba finds out and gets over-protective of his little puppy! Awww...

As much as I love every one of these themes, I wanted to try something I hadn't read before. So we got this... Yay for diversity!!! (Not that there's anything wrong AT ALL with the above mentioned themes... like I said, I thoroughly enjoy those, too!)

But anyway... disclaimer!!! I don't own Yugioh! Cuz if I did... obviously.. everyone would be gay. xD Haha... anyway, here's le story!

oOoOoO

Life had been hard for Jounochi Katsuya ever since his parent's had gotten divorced at a sensitive point in his life, being only eleven years old. Back then he was young and innocent. He didn't understand what kind of a man his father was, didn't understand that his mother and sister were in grave danger just by living with his father. He didn't realize then that The Bottle was the cause of his father's anger, not poor little Katsuya and he didn't understand that his mother didn't want to abandon him; it was physically impossible to take custody of her son after she'd run off with Shizuka to live in New York.

After the divorce, Katsuya's father became more violent. Everything was Katsuya's fault. It was no surprise that Katsuya had "made friends" with the wrong crowd. He had joined a gang by the time he was in middle school and started doing what his father did best: drinking and beating younger kids around.

If it hadn't been for Hiroto Honda, Jou may have stayed in Hirutani's gang and become a worse man than his father, hard as that was to imagine. Being friends with Honda made Jounochi a little less rough around the edges… But it was Yugi Mouto who brought the childish Katsuya back out.

Despite all the twists and turns life had thrown at him, Jounochi had been able to put on a smile and joke off anything even through his darkest hours, and it was all thanks to the friends he cares so deeply for.

However…

Jounochi wasn't sure how he was ever going to smile again. Not now… now that…

The blonde tried to choke back a sob as he trudged slowly down the streets of Domino. He had known something was up when he'd gotten home earlier that evening to find his dad sober. It was the first time since a few years prior when his dad had gotten the job he wanted and had started dating someone new… but the girl had left him after a month and a half and his job had fallen through, thus causing the man to start drinking again.

His father knew drinking wouldn't make this go away. He knew he needed to be aware and sober for his son tonight.

And as much as Jounochi cried, the ground soaking up each and every little droplet that fell from his large soft brown eyes, he still couldn't bring himself to believe it, couldn't possibly comprehend it.

Shizuka couldn't really be gone… could she? He had spoken to her on the phone just yesterday! It just didn't make any sense!

Despite his father being calm and understanding, his expression just as remorseful and his tears just as abundant, (after all, despite the man's many flaws, he had loved his daughter just as much as any father could love their child,) despite that, Jounochi would not allow himself to cry in front of his father. He refused to display emotion around the man and that would never change.

After the man had sat Jounochi down to explain what happened, the boy had taken off without a single word. It would do no good for the boy to mourn with his father.

Jounochi pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. He so desperately wanted to dial his sister's number, to see if she would pick up, in case this was a really sick joke his father was playing on him.

But he couldn't. For fear of it ringing to voicemail or having his distraught mother answer, he just couldn't do it. Deep down inside, he knew calling Shizuka's number would only make matters worse.

After walking around blindly, aimlessly, Jounochi found himself in Domino City Park. He walked over to the bench overlooking a small playground, and crumbled down on top of the bench. His elbows on his knees and face buried in his soft tan hands, he hung his head and cried.

***

The mansion was dark. And quiet. And cold. Irritated, Seto Kaiba looked away from the ridiculously bright computer screen. The blueprints to his new Kaiba Land to be built in America in five years wasn't turning out the way he wanted it to. There was too much he wanted to have in Kaiba Land and not enough space. He'd make the building bigger, but he'd already purchased the land that Kaiba Land was to be built on. Making the building larger could not be possible and Kaiba didn't have the patience to shop around for a larger location, and the location he had picked was in the best area of New York for business. The area included a few ancient apartment complexes and a few small businesses that, quite frankly, weren't getting any business. Kaiba snorted. Either way, it was quite expensive buying the lot and damn it, he would make it worth his while. If only he could get the damn blueprints to work with it…

You have five years to figure it out, Mokuba's voice chimed in his head. "Yeah, yeah." Kaiba replied, pushing back his chair. He stood up with a yawn and a stretch, cracking his back as he did so. He decided taking his brother's advice might not be so bad for a change. Just take a walk or something and come back to it later. Kaiba had given him a look before snorting. As a result, Mokuba had stomped off angrily to play video games… or something. Kaiba wasn't so sure.

If there was one thing Mokuba couldn't stand, it was being ignored. Unfortunately for him, Kaiba was excellent at doing just that, especially while in the middle of a project. It wasn't like he did it on purpose. As a matter of fact, just about everything he did was practiced and robotic. He didn't even think about half the things he did anymore; he didn't need to.

Kaiba tapped his little brother's door gently with his knuckles before pushing open the cracked door so he could peer inside. Sure enough, as Kaiba suspected, his little brother was engrossed in a video game. Final Fantasy XIII looked like an enticing game, though Kaiba wasn't much of a fan for the series himself. The game itself had not yet been released but because Kaiba had very reliable connections, he had been able to wring a deal out of a few suits to get his hands on it… for Mokuba's birthday of course.

"Hey." Kaiba called softly so as not to startle the young boy. The game was automatically paused and Mokuba turned inquiring eyes upon his brother. He nodded in recognition, the remote still within his hands.

"Did you fix it?" He finally asked when his brother didn't say anything more.

Kaiba really didn't want to admit that he hadn't… He hated showing signs that he wasn't perfect. A moment of silence passed between the two before he answered. "No." Mokuba snorted. "Didn't think so."

Kaiba's sharp blue eyes narrowed into a soft glare. "You're still annoyed with me." It wasn't a question, it was an observation. Mokuba rolled his eyes at that before turning around and resuming his game. Kaiba sighed discontentedly. "The longer you stay angry, the greater the chance that you'll turn into a wrinkly old man." Kaiba said with a smirk. It was something that Mokuba used on him to get him to lighten up. "Before you're even twenty." He added jokingly. Mokuba rolled his eyes again at the screen, paused the game once again, and turned to face his brother.

"Seto, would a 'I'm sorry, little brother', kill you for once?"

Kaiba made a mental note not to ignore his brother again… at least not for a while. "I'm sorry, little brother." It sounded forced, but it was enough to make the kid smile.

"You really can be a jerk when you're busy doing Kaiba Corp stuff." Mokuba exclaimed with a shake of his head.

"Yeah I know, you've told me before." Kaiba's voice was flat. They'd had this conversation before. "I've decided to take your advice, you know." He added.

Mokuba looked perplexed. "How are you gonna do that?" He asked, clearly confused.

The brunette gave him an odd look. "Well first I'm going to throw my trench coat and shoes on… then I'm going to take my keys, walk outside and lock the door behind me. And then-"

"Oh, thatadvice!" Mokuba exclaimed with an embarrassed laugh.

"What did you think I meant?"

Mokuba waved his hand quickly at him. "Never mind, never mind. So you're going on a walk huh? I'm glad you're finally listening to me, Seto. I'm so proud of you."

Kaiba snorted. "Hmph. And while I'm on my walk, you're going to find a save point and go to bed."

"Aw, but Seto!"

"No buts. It's already 11 and you have school in the morning, do I make myself clear?" Kaiba crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"Yes, sir." Mokuba replied with a slight pout on his lips. He wasn't about to test the waters with his brother. After all, he'd been on the computer working all day. Kaiba's mood obviously wasn't that great, especially since he hadn't solved the problem he'd been working on yet.

"Good." Kaiba nodded with a satisfied look in his eyes. "Now hop to it."

"Never thought I'd see the day when you encouraged me to play video games…" Mokuba grumbled.

"What was that?" The brunette snapped testily.

"Nothing." The reply came hastily.

Kaiba grunted as he left the room. Before leaving the mansion, he made sure his cell phone was on him… he always kept it on him, just in case his brother needed him.

***

The night was calm and cool, as October nights tended to be. Kaiba tossed his head back gently to gaze up at the stars. He should've taken this walk sooner… it wasn't often that he got to do something that was at least somewhat relaxed. He relished in the calm, bathed in the silence of the night… that is, until he heard soft sobs in the distance.

Kaiba was slightly annoyed by the disturbance, but at the same time curious as to who was crying and why. For all he knew, someone could've been mugged in Domino's very own City Park… Kaiba wasn't much of an outstanding citizen but he did what he could here and there. He'd saved a little girl's kitten from being stuck in a tree one time. It had made the front pages of the news, in fact. For weeks after that, the fan girls at his school would not stop pointing and cooing at him. Kaiba had been in a very dark and dangerous mood that whole month during school… he wasn't very fond of unwanted attention.

It didn't help that Mokuba kept the newspaper clip somewhere in his bedroom. Every once in a while he would whip it out and use it as leverage against his brother. Kaiba was still determined to find it and burn the evidence… whenever he had a chance.

Kaiba paused in mid-step. On second thought, maybe he shouldn't even bother with the weeping fool… whomever it may be.

Even though the smile on that little girl's face had been a very gratifying reward… it still made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside thinking about it. Damn kids… he always had a weakness for them. Why did they have to be so cute?

Kaiba growled in frustration. Damn people, ruining his alone time, too. He walked purposefully towards the sound of the cries, his white trench coat fluttering behind him in the wind.

A mop of blonde hair could clearly be seen over the back of the bench. A very familiar mop of blonde hair… Kaiba slowly approached the person until he was standing directly in front of them. The brunette's eyes widened slightly. He was surprised to find that he knew the person sitting before him. It was none other than the mutt.

Kaiba could think of a number of Kaiba-ish things to say. But opted not to. Not tonight anyway. Jounochi hadn't noticed him quite yet and the CEO debated walking away. With an irritated sigh, he made himself comfy next to the blonde. "What's wrong?" He bit out. He was not a people person so to speak… and he was even less of a Jounochi-person.

Jounochi's sobs stopped abruptly, his body rigid. He appeared to be holding his breath as he tried to get his cries under control. Jounochi's head was swarming. What the hell is Kaiba doing here? As horrible as his day had been, Kaiba was the last person he'd want to witness his raw emotions hanging out there on his sleeves. What the hell was the bastard doing out here in the middle of the night anyway?

Kaiba's question registered in his mind. What's wrong? The boy's voice echoed in his mind. What's wrong? Shizuka… More tears ran down his cheeks. "Damn it." He grumbled, rubbing his eyes furiously. If he didn't think about, maybe he could get himself under control.

"It's not exactly safe to be out here this time of night." Kaiba chided, using the same stern tone he had used with Mokuba earlier that night.

Jounochi laughed bitterly. "Look who's talking." The blonde paused before adding, "I could say the same to you." The blonde sounded absolutely miserable. Kaiba frowned. He really didn't like seeing the mutt like this… in fact, it really irked him. He was so used to the goofy wide grin plastered on the boy's face; around his friends anyway. And then the fire in his eyes during a heated argument with the CEO. Now Kaiba was staring at the top of Jounochi's head, listening to the boy's gentle sobs.

This walk had been a horrible idea. Mokuba would pay for it later on, the brunette noted mentally.

"I can take care of myself." Kaiba finally responded.

Jounochi raised his head slowly, wiping a few more tears from his eyes. "What?" The blonde sniffled. "Are you saying I can't?" He sounded slightly irritated but mostly he looked exhausted. He didn't really want to argue with the CEO, but it seemed he was going to anyway, out of habit.

Kaiba didn't answer. The last thing the brunette wanted to do was upset the boy further. An uncomfortable silence fell between the two as Kaiba slouched backwards to glance up at the sky. He would definitely have to make the arcade smaller…

Jounochi rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Kaiba…" He drifted off, not sure how to word what he wanted to say.

Kaiba drifted away from the thoughts of his blueprints and back to reality. He raised an eyebrow at the blonde as he waited patiently for him to continue. "Yes?"

The blonde in question wiped a few more tears that were threatening to fall from his face. "What…" Jounochi swallowed. This was going to be really hard for him to say. More tears filled his eyes. "What would you do if you… lost Mokuba?"

"Lost him?" Kaiba repeated, staring blankly at the boy. At this, Jounochi burst back into tears as he burrowed his head back in his hands. His heart-wrenching cries made Kaiba want to give the poor boy a hug… and only Mokuba could ever get a reaction like that out of the cold brunette.

Could something have happened to the mutt's sister, that red-headed girl? Why else would the smaller boy ask about Mokuba like that?

"I-it's not fair… It's just not fair, Kaiba." Jounochi was done holding it all in. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing it all to go away. "Shizuka… she- she…" He choked on his own words, coughing.

Kaiba put an arm around the boy without even thinking about it, his cold pale fingers gently holding the boy's left shoulder. He hated seeing someone in so much pain, even someone as annoying as the blonde. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything."

And Jounochi didn't. Instead, he leaned in towards his supposed "hated enemy", seeking comfort in what he knew was the darkest hour of his life.

The two stayed like that for a while… Kaiba couldn't estimate how long exactly. Fifteen minutes, maybe half an hour? The silence (other than the sound of Jounochi crying) seemed to stretch off for eternity into the night. Kaiba's mind wandered with the silence, back to times he tried not to remember. Like when his father would lovingly tuck him into bed. Or days where his mother would push him and Mokuba on the swings.

Kaiba shifted uncomfortably. He remembered his father singing to him when he was sad or scared. It was a song he himself had sung to Mokuba after his own parent's had died. Thinking about it now, he was curious as to what the words were… It had been so long since he'd heard it that he was drawing a blank as to how it sounded.

He thought about the song hard, trying to draw a tune out of the memory. He began humming, trying to draw the song out. After a minute, something came back to him and he sang the words softly.

"The sun was born, so it shall die, so only shadows comfort me. I know in darkness, I will find you, giving up inside like me.

Each day shall end as it begins and though you're far away from me, I know in darkness, I will find you, giving up inside like me."

Kaiba stopped singing, the rest of the song unknown to him. It had been so long since he'd heard it… he didn't even know what it was called.

Jounochi had stopped crying for the moment. "What was that?" He asked, his voice a bit of a tremor.

Kaiba glanced at him. "Hell if I know." He answered with a shrug. "Something from the past. I can't exactly remember." It was as good an answer as Jounochi was gonna get, he supposed. Kaiba looked at his watch. It was nearing midnight at this point. If Mokuba wasn't already in bed, he was probably wondering why his brother hadn't returned yet. Although he better be in bed… Kaiba thought, sternly. He removed his arm that had still been around the boy, feeling a bit awkward about it now that the blonde had stopped crying. "Are you planning on being out here all night?" The brunette asked suddenly.

Jounochi frowned. "I don't know… I guess not." Although Jounochi really didn't want to go back home. Especially if his father had started drinking again.

"Because I don't intend on staying out here all night myself." Kaiba said, again talking to the boy as if he were talking to Mokuba. Stern and commanding, that was Seto Kaiba through and through.

"Yeah, what are ya getting at Kaiba?" Jounochi half-heartedly snapped.

"It's not safe being out here by yourself after midnight."

Jounochi sighed grumpily. "Look, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but just because I hang out with Yug' and all them doesn't mean I'm pussy-whipped or nothing. Which is what you seem to think." Jounochi stood with a huff. "Jus' cuz I can't kick your ass what with all the karate-judo stuff ya take, doesn't mean I can't defend myself on the streets from thugs and gang members. I've done it before."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow at the blonde. Maybe arguing had been the solution to distracting the blonde from his sadness all along. "Hn, whatever mutt." He snapped back. "I just don't want any fingers pointed at me if anything were to happen to you tonight. Since I'd be one of the last people to see you, assuming anything did happen." He said curtly.

"Man, Kaiba. You think too much sometimes."

Think… Think… It suddenly hit the CEO… he should replace the arcade with a virtual room! Why try to fit a bunch of random Duel Monsters arcade games in one gigantic room when he could have a much smaller room with a bunch of virtual reality booths meant for gaming?!

"'Ey, Kaiba? Are you still with me?" The shorter boy waved a small hand in the CEO's face frantically.

Kaiba snapped out of it immediately. Why the hell hadn't he thought of that before? Needless to say, the brunette was quite irritated with himself. He flashed a smirk at the blonde. "It's a rare day when you say something that actually gives me an idea… mutt." Kaiba said before turning. "You should go home and get some sleep. It's not far from here is it?"

"What's not?" Jounochi asked, tilting his head ever so slightly. Just like a mutt, Kaiba thought absently.

"The place you stay, you dolt." Kaiba replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh… yeah, it's not far from here." Although Jounochi doubted he'd be heading home anytime soon.

Kaiba again turned to walk away but stopped. As much as he wanted to forget he'd ever run into the blonde, he couldn't. There was something he needed to do first to put his conscience at ease. Mokuba would probably kill him anyway if he didn't. He turned back to the blond. "Jounochi." He called out as the blonde was walking away.

The boy in question turned, if anything shocked that Kaiba had used his name. "Eh?" Was the intelligent response that dropped from his mouth.

Kaiba almost had the urge to roll his eyes at himself for what he was about to say. But he'd feel guilty if he didn't do it. He didn't want to just leave the blonde; who had just lost a sibling… Jounochi's "Mokuba" so to speak. He swiftly and purposefully strode toward Jounochi. Startled, the blonde took a step back. What the hell was he doing now?

"Give me you phone." He commanded.

"What? Why?" Jounochi asked as he withdrew the device from his pocket. Before Jounochi had a chance to even consider handing it over, Kaiba snatched the phone from him. "Hey! You jerk, give that back!" It took less than a minute for Kaiba to finish what he was doing before the phone was retrieved by a flustered blonde. "I got personal stuff on that thing, yanno!" He said with a bit of a huff.

"Hn, like that concerns me at all. My number's in there now. If you need anything, you can call." He said flatly before turning away for the last time as he headed back the way he had come. He hoped Jounochi hadn't seen the blush on his face. He wasn't used to being so personal with anyone but Mokuba… but damn it, he had seen the blonde upset! How could he not be personal with him at this point?

Damn that kitten and that little girl to hell…

***

Jounochi stared blankly at the retreating CEO's back. After the brunette had made it back on to the street and out of the park, Jounochi brought the phone out and scrolled though his contacts. Sure enough, in his contacts under "Kaiba" he found a number. He guessed it was real. Vaguely he wondered how much he could sell the number for to some of the girls in his school.

Shaking that thought from his mind, with a mischievous grin he hit the "edit" button and changed Kaiba's name to "Moneybags".

Well, that had been uplifting while it lasted. Shizuka once again crossed his mind. Jounochi sighed sadly. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go home and get some rest…

With that final thought, he began walking down the same street Kaiba was on, walking in the opposite direction.

oOoOoO

Gosh, I hope that wasn't bad for a first chapter!!! How did ya'll like it? Meh, I know they were probably out of character a little bit... But Jounochi just lost Shizuka... and I don't think Kaiba is so heartless that he'd be an ass after learning something like that. I tried the best I could to do accurate reactions for them, though...

Anyway, as for Jounochi's sporadic crying? I was kind of like that after I lost someone VERY close to me. First time I'd ever lost someone I loved... I went through periods that whole night after I found out where I wouldn't be thinking about it and then the next minute... BAM! A memory would flutter by and the crying would start all over again. So after Jounochi's crying outburst, when he seemed calm again? Yeah, completely normal to me... cuz that was how I reacted.

But anyway, who cares about me? I felt kind of weird having Kaiba sing, but I thought the song kind of fit in... I don't like those song fics where the lyrics are posted all up and down throughout the story, so I just wanted it to be that one part. The song is called Further by VNV Nation. I thought it fit... And yes, the story is named after the song... When I came up with this story I had NO clue what I was gonna call it. So while driving from work, listening to my VNV Nation CD, this song came up and after listening to the lyrics I thought... huh... that's not such a bad idea after all. But yeah, Kaiba singing... I doubt it'll happen again. xD But I thought I made it work regardless... did I make it work? Please tell me I did!

I SO badly wanted to have this finished yesterday, but my darling baby-girl (who is almost five months old now) is teething and I couldn't get a moment's peace to write. Thankfully she's sleeping now (which means I'm LOSING sleep... but hey, it's worth it.)

I wish I had a brother who owned a multi-billion dollar corporation who could pull a few strings... I so badly can't wait for the release of Final Fantasy XIII. But it probably won't be til 2010... *sigh*

Random thought here, but last note, I swear: Have you ever wondered what kind of music the Yu-Gi-Oh characters listen to? Let's do a poll! I'll let ya know what I think they listen to in the next chapter. =3

Anyway, leave plenty of reviews!! They are a writer's encouragement to continue. If I don't get any, I'll think I suck and will therefore abandon this project! (Which would be sad...)

Constructive critism is very much so welcomed. Thank you!