Defrost

Author's Note: This one goes out to all of us who still Puppyship (who remember YGO & like K x J). As always, suggestions/feedback always welcome.

Chapter 1: Last Day of Summer

The last day of summer is always like a fleeting dream. An ephemeral memory that lingers somewhere in the back of your mind, but when you try to touch it, it is gone. That day... the sun shines so brightly in your mind that it is blinding, and every photograph that your eye has taken of those precious moments appears polarized when you try to access them.

A blonde youth with messy hair that falls in front of his face runs down the street, a brunette girl at his heels. Six figures making their way down the staircase leading to the water. A boy, overdressed for the beach, with white locks of white hair wincing as a volleyball flies toward him. A shorter boy than the rest, sitting down constructing a sandcastle. Another of him collecting shells down by the tide line. A brown haired boy, his hair meeting at a single spike in the top, grinning and eating a hotdog in front of a vendor by the beachside. A crab scuttling across the sand. The sunset is a golden orange disc lowering below the horizon line, casting a warm red glow across the sky.

All these images once formed a narrative, but that narrative seems impenetrable now, inaccessible from the mere accumulation of these candid vignettes.

-

The two figures fell sat at the shore-side, the soft rush of water lapping up against their bare toes.

"It's going to be hard on both of you, won't it?" She inquired.

"It'll be harder on him." He replied, not wanting to show any weakness, not allowing an admission of the truth to slip out. He daren't admit that he, too, would be hurt. What bit of dignity he still held onto, he clung to it like a man stranded in the ocean barely holding onto some bits of broken wood to keep afloat.

"You'll still see each other, right?" She said solemnly, trying to lighten things up.

"Yeah. Guess so." He sighed, and crooked his elbows upward and back, leaning his head on his hands. His shadow slept dutifully ahead of him, stretched out along the ground and into the water.

"He's your best friend…" She frowned, the glow of the sunset creating a golden halo atop her head and shoulders. As she turned to face him, the warmth cascaded across her face highlighting her eyes and nose. "It's important, you know, a special treasure. It's not something you should let slip away."

"Anzu… no more friendship speeches right now." He groaned, standing up and dusting some sand off of his swimming trunks. "I just want to try to enjoy the moment." He brushed some hairs out of his own face.

He turned and stepped away, about to walk back to where the others sat on the beach.

"Wait." She said suddenly. He stopped, the darkness covering his face as he was turned away from the dying sun.

"What is it?" He asked,

"Do you think this is hard for you? You know… it's hard on me too. Yugi's also my friend!" She said, choking on tears. Attempting to regain composure, she spoke again. "Though we'll be going together, I'm not sure how much I'll see of you either. Different departments require different classes. Please try to make an effort to see me outside of class." She said solemnly.

The blonde boy's face tilted, turning toward the sinking ball of fire in the sky. The glow licked across his cheek as though it were a blacksmith's flame tempering iron. Individual strands of Jounouchi's blonde hair lit up golden like flaxen stems of wheat at the peak of day.

"I'll make an effort, Anzu! I promise ya!" He grinned a broad smile, his teeth catching flecks of sunlight.

"Come on, then. Let's go and enjoy this last day that we all have together." She motioned back to where the others sat.

"Okay!" He said walking away.

"Hey!" She exclaimed.

"Eh?" He turned to look at her quizzically.

"You know you could be more of a gentleman and help me up, rather than just leave me here." She sighed. "Nevermind." She shook her head as she got to her feet.

Jounouchi just looked at her and started laughing, in no time she was laughing along with him as the two walked back to where the rest of their friends were relaxing and watching the sun go down.

-

It felt like only yesterday that they were still in high school together.

One morning, Anzu was the first person the honey-eyed youth saw when he got to Domino High.

"Morning Jounouchi!" Anzu waved, her brown hair swishing softly in the wind.

"Hey Anzu, how's it going?" He asked.

"I'm great, Jou… just a bit nervous." She said.

"Ah… nervous?" He inquired.

"You know… about the audition tomorrow." The brunette explained.

"Oh! That! How could I forget! Didja want us to come to cheerlead?" The blonde boy laughed heartily.

"It'd be nice if you guys came, but I don't think you'll be allowed inside." She said, biting her lower lip gently.

"Dancing is a big deal to you, huh, Anzu? But I thought you were planning to go to school in New York for it." Jou mentioned.

"Yes!" Her eyes glinted. "But to achieve my dream of being accepted to New York's finest dancing schools, I think it's safer for me to do a year here." The brunette girl exclaimed with a fire in her voice.

"Uh… so what you mean is… it's too expensive." He chuckled.

"Yeah." She sighed. "Airfare plus rent and then the additional cost of the schools makes it unaffordable this year… but I'm I hoping that if I do well enough at Domino University's program, I can get a scholarship that could help pay for some of that." She grinned.

"Well good job!" He gave her a thumbs up.

"Don't you know what you want to do?" She asked.

"Eat!" He grinned.

"As always." She rolled her eyes.

-

"Do I know what I want to do?" The blonde boy asked himself, his friend's voice echoing in his ears.

His father, who was in the other room and had been screaming at the television set in a drunken stupor, was now passed out. The blaring music and voices of some late night show were the only things he could hear in the background. Aside from his own heart beating, that was. He wasn't sure when he became aware that his temple was throbbing, but it started getting to him.

"Do I know what I want to do?" He asked himself again, as he peeled off his t-shirt. In his mirror, each ripple and curve of his skin was highlighted by the dim glow of his desk lamp.

"It's like I thought high school would just go on forever." He sighed, collapsing onto his bed. "I never figured it'd end- and now there's only a year left." He shook his head, his hair falling to the sides of his face and closed his eyes.

-

The three boys sat together in the lobby.

"I sure hope Anzu will do okay…" Yugi pouted.

"Hey, Yug, I'm sure Anzu will do just fine." The blonde said confidently.

"Yeah, plus you got to see her in that cute little outfit." Honda laughed.

"Erm… yeah." Yugi fidgeted nervously, blushing.

A couple of girls walked down the hallway giggling and gossiping with each other.

"Wow. What a bunch of babes." Honda whispered to Jounouchi, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Jounouchi said, lost in thought. Anzu was so passionate about auditioning to be a dancer, and even Yugi was so passionate about winning at puzzles and challenging games requiring strategy. On the other hand, what did Jounouchi have to show for himself? Anzu's words rang in his head. What did he want to do? What would he become?

The blonde youth looked over at his shorter friend. Yugi was deep in concentration himself. It would be hard for the smaller boy too, if Anzu went away to New York in a year. Yet at the same time, they all wanted her dreams to come true.

Yugi's gaze became fixed on the door to the audition hall.

"Anzu…" the smaller boy said to himself quietly.

But Jou had his own decisions to worry about right now as well as those of his friend's.

-

The bell rang and students left the classroom for their lunch break. Almost everyone had left except three friends.

"So Yug, have you figured out what you're going to do about university next year?" The blonde asked the boy with multi-coloured hair.

"Ah… University." Yugi looked a little dismayed at that thought.

"I applied to Domino University!" Jou said, pumping his fist in the air.

"Eh...?" The younger boy looked up at him quite surprised.

"Is something the matter?" Jounouchi quirked a brow.

"You don't actually think you're going to get in do you?" Honda piped in from behind.

"Hey! Shutup!" Jou said, swatting his brunette friend.

"No… that's nice, Jou. Good luck!" Yugi said, smiling weakly at Jounouchi, as though he were concealing something.

"Yug… is there something wrong with what I said?" The blonde paused, ruffling his own hair a bit as he scratched his head.

"N-no… I'm happy for you, Jou. It's… it's just… My grandpa is getting older and he's been ill this year, and we don't really have that much money. Plus, my grades aren't really any better than yours. So I think I'm gong to have to stay and run my grandpa's game shop- at least for a year. University is too expensive, and it was hard enough to get out of debt from Duelist Kingdom, you know." Yugi explained, lowering his head.

"Well that's okay, Yug. Maybe in a year or two you can come to university along with the rest of us. Besides, we'll still see each other, right?" The blonde asked, perhaps asking himself more than anything.

"Right…" The shorter boy said, not sounding so terribly sure of himself.

"Would you morons keep it down?" A harsh voice came from the back of the classroom. Jounouchi wheeled around to see who it was.

"Kaiba!" Yugi and Jounouchi said simultaneously.

The brown haired boy sat in the back of the class, his purple cloak billowing around his desk like a seated vulture's wings. He perched, bird-like, his beady eyes looking up, over his laptop at the others.

"Some people are trying to work here. Some people are trying to be productive while you fools sit here shouting at each other at the top of your lungs. Class doesn't start for another thirty minutes, so why don't you go out and play on the jungle gym like the first graders that you are?" He sneered.

"We weren't shoutin'! We were havin' a civilised conversation!" Jounouchi said defensively. At this, the brunette chuckled heartily. The blonde clenched his fist, and grit his teeth together.

"Mutt, do you think you stand a chance of getting into Domino University? You're a failure in school and a failure at life. I'd be surprised if your marks were even higher than a pass." He scowled.

"Th-they are higher!" The blonde boy began blushing.

"Your face tells me otherwise, mutt." Kaiba replied smugly.

"Kaiba, don't make fun of him!" Yugi pouted.

"Hnn. It's not like your marks are any better, Yugi. Why don't you go run your father's rundown excuse for a game shop, since you obviously can't handle school and Duel Monsters at the same time." The brunette scoffed.

"Why don't you just shut-up Kaiba? You think you're so great- what've you got to show for it?" The blonde glared at the object of his hatred.

"Oh, let's see, straight A's, a multimillion dollar corporation with a theme park under my family name, a mansion, my own system of duel disks, and more money than you could ever imagine." Kaiba boasted, standing up tall.

"But friends… you don't have any friends. You don't have anyone other than Mokuba who really cares about you. You don't have a girlfriend or any close companions. You live a lonely life of orderin' people around at work and orderin' people around in your house." Jounouchi shouted passionately.

"It's true, Kaiba, you live a life where everyone is your subordinate, and no one is your equal… but isn't it lonesome?" Yugi said, a hint of pity in his voice. As he spoke Kaiba packed up his laptop and stalked over to the blonde.

Kaiba grabbed the blonde by the scruff of his neck, and lifted him off the ground, then he pressed his face close up against the struggling boy's and scowled. In a low, solemn voice he spoke.

"Don't tell me what my life is like. You don't know me." He said, Yugi and Honda were shouting at the brunette to let their friend go, but at that moment, the blonde and the brunette seemed trapped in their own little world, as though they were playing some fierce shadow game of their own.

In a flash, Kaiba had let the other boy go, and the blonde dropped back down onto his feet. He stood there, his eyes wide, his mouth and body unmoving… silent. His other friends were asking him if he was okay, but he couldn't hear them.

Kaiba's footsteps vanished out the doorway, and they weighed heavy on his heart. After a minute or two, Jounouchi finally snapped out of it.

"Fucking Kaiba." He muttered under his breath.

"Are you alright, Jounouchi?" Honda asked as Yugi's face peered up at the blonde.

"Yeah." The blonde coughed. "I… I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He said, not sounding too sure of himself.

"Ah… are you sure about that, Jou?" Yugi asked unblinkingly.

"Yeah of course." He scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "Kaiba's just jealous 'cause I said he can't get a girlfriend. He'd probably hafta settle for a mail-order bride." He chuckled.

"Jou! That's not too nice." Yugi frowned.

"Hah. It's probably true." Honda quipped.

"Hey guys!" An albino boy popped his head into the classroom. "Anzu and I were looking all over for you… we thought you'd be in the lunchroom by now." He said, confusion tainting his voice.

"Oh… food!" Jounouchi ran so quickly that it was as though he was standing in the middle of the class one second, then at the door the next. Yugi and Honda just blinked in surprise.

"Boy, that guy sure does love his food." Honda sighed.

"Come on Honda-kun. If we hurry maybe we can get outside in time to catch a few games of Duel Monsters with someone!" Yugi grinned.

"I'm not sure what keeps you interested" Jou said, as his companions followed him out the door, "after all, you win every time anyway."

"That's just because you suck." Honda laughed running off.

"Hey! He doesn't only play against me y'know!" the blonde shouted angrily, chasing after his friend angrily.

-

"I got in!" A voice screamed in the distance.

"Huh?" Yugi turned around to look in the direction of the sound as loud panting and footsteps flew through the nearby classroom doorway.

"Jounouchi-kun?" Anzu stared blankly.

"I got in!" the blonde youth screamed.

"To university?" Anzu inquired.

"What? Jounouchi? No way." Honda looked dumbfounded.

"Hey! You're no rocket scientist yourself!" The blonde boy snapped at his brown haired friend. The honey-eyed boy brandished an envelope from his pocket that was a bit scrunched up. He scrambled to unwrinkle it, then basically tore the contents out of the envelope.

"Look!" He shouted excitedly. "Domino University accepted me!"

"Are your marks really good enough for that?" Honda gawked.

"I got all my teachers to pity-pass me!" The blonde boy grinned. The others sighed.

"Congratulations, Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi said, smiling up at his friend.

The door swung open.

"Anzu, when do you find out if you got accepted?" The blonde boy asked excitedly.

"Well it might take a little longer considering I had to audition and everything." She said thinking for a moment.

Jou plonked down at his seat backwards, facing the others as he stuffed the envelope and letter back in his pocket. As his friends chatted, he tossed a wrapped up ball of paper on his desk over his shoulder.

The ball of paper flew back over his shoulder a moment later, whizzing past with intense speed. It hit the wall and bounced harmlessly to the ground. Jounouchi turned around to see a brunette youth with a purple trench coat that seemed to float around him. His arm was still outstretched from when he had deflected the paper ball.

"Kaiba!" the blonde gasped. The others had stopped talking, and the air was thick with a miasma of silence. All eyes were on the two boys.

"Mongrel…" Kaiba glowered, his eyes narrowing and his voice growing raspier.

"It wasn't his fault, Kaiba! He wasn't even looking when he threw that." Anzu was the first to point out.

"That makes no difference to me." The cerulean-eyed youth snapped back at her.

"Why not? It wasn't intentional, so you should forget about it." She replied haughtily.

"Shut-up, I won't tolerate this sort of insolence." Kaiba sneered.

"Kaiba, will ya quit bein' such a jerk? Don't you have any kind of manners; don't talk to a girl like that!" Jounouchi snapped, closing the distance between them.

"A fine one you are to chastise me on my etiquette." The brunette glared, leaning down till his face was quite close to the other boy's.

"Chasawhatie on your who?" The blonde boggled. Kaiba sighed.

"Right, I forgot, I'm talking to a mutt, I should reduce my sentences to monosyllabic commands." The darker haired boy muttered, the contempt seeping through his vicious voice. "For those who speak the language of stupid, she is a weak-minded woman, and you're in no position to criticize."

"Weak-minded! She's going to Domino University next year!" The blonde argued

"Give it up, Katsuya, we all know she's applied to be a dancer. That takes mighty brains, doesn't it?" The dark haired boy snorted, obviously amused with himself.

"You know what, Kaiba-" The blonde started, raising a fist.

"No, I don't know. Why don't you tell me, dog? Or maybe you should save yourself the embarrassment, before you go running off like a puppy with its tail between its legs." The brunette belittled the blonde.

"Shut-up! You think you're so fancy with all your big words that nobody understands-" The blonde said furiously.

"No, that's just you, Jou." Anzu cut in pointedly.

"You're not helping, Anzu!" The blonde sighed, and then turned back to the boy who was inches from his face and continued. "But really, you're just a coward. You hide behind all this money and formal mumbo jumbo because you are afraid to have people be on the same level as you. You're afraid that if you stop talkin' down to people for once in your life that you might actually realize you get along with them and enjoy it. You purposely stick yourself in these sichiations-"

"Sit-U-ations" Anzu interrupted again.

"Sit-U-ations." Jounouchi repeated, glaring at her briefly out of the corner of his eye, then returning to look at the brunette. "And in the end you're stuck without any real friends or equals… 'cause you've convinced yourself that to have equals is a bad thing, and you hafta crush them. But truthfully, it's a normal part of growing up and living to have friends. Without them, you're some kinda freak." The blonde spoke animatedly.

"Wrong, mutt. Dead, wrong. Equals, friends, whatever you call them, they take advantage of you, they let you down, and then, when you're in the worst of situations, they kick you when you're down and leave you for dead. Equality is a breeding ground for abuse and contempt. It's only through subordination and making people realize their place, that order can be established. As for you, you're a low-life mongrel, and I am your master. Quit your whining and go scrounge on the floor for fallen food… if you're lucky I'll give you some table scraps." The brunette mocked him.

"You're fucking dead, Kaiba!" The blonde said, his eyes flickering, and his clenched fist flew toward the brunette. The blue-eyed youth deflected the punch with his metal briefcase. Jou fell backward, sprawled out over a chair, nursing his wounded fist and whimpering like a small wounded animal. Kaiba huffed, and strode past the other boy, taking his seat near the back of the classroom.

Honda, Yugi, and Anzu just looked at each other before rushing over to the friend's aid.

-

The last light of the sun was vanishing from the sky now.

"Is summer really over? Highschool, gone too?" Jounouchi asked himself as he walked home after saying goodbye to his friends. It was only yesterday they had been playing Duel Monsters at lunch or failing tests together. It was only yesterday that they went shopping or to some museum, or on another grand quest or competition. That was all over now. They were being divided, split up. Who knew when he'd see Yugi or Honda or even Anzu. Sure, Anzu and he both went to school together, but it wasn't as though they'd be taking the same classes…

-

The blonde laid awake in bed that night thinking.

"What will school be like? How am I ever going to pay off the loans I took out? Am I going to make new friends- should I? How will I manage to do well in classes… or even pass them?" He groaned to himself quietly. Each question seeming more legitimate and more important than the last.

His bed felt stiff, and his pillow, lumpy. He tried to rearrange it to no avail.

He flicked off his desk lamp and began drifting off to sleep, while a million more questions ran through his head and trickled into a dark haze.