Mirror in Mirror

.

.

.

Write by Joanther

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. Those characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

Fandom: Yugioh

Rating: T

Genres: Friendship, Romance

Pairing: Kaiba/Jounouchi

Beta Reader: roseofnoonvale (Thank you so much for helping me) :)

Summary:

Joey Wheeler ran away from his abusive father in America and wanted to start a new life at Domino, Japan. He never expected that he would meet and become a roommate with someone who look like him named Jounouchi Katsuya.

Warning: AUish part from Joey, OOCness.

A/N: I have this idea for quite long time ago but didn't know how to develop it. It keeps bugging me and screaming for release, so I guess I should write out what I could think of. If you have any ideas you want for this fanfic, please feel free to suggest. I might use it. ;)

-o0o-

Chapter 1

Joey always felt strange everytime he looked up at the tall buildings in Domino City. He has seen it from the internet when he was still in Brooklyn, New York, while finding the way to get out of his hellhole of a life. His life sucked. He used to have a normal family like everyone else, with a cute little sister, but everything was ruined when he was ten. His parent divorced, his mother left and took his sister away from him. He never saw her again. His father was the worse. He started drinking after his wife left him, and was kicked out of his job because he was absented too often. Even so, without the job, it did not stop him from drinking the alcohol, but instead he drank more than before. And he didn't just get drunk and pass out; he grew violent with everything around him. Unfortunately, Joey was one of the nearest things around him so he became his punching bag. It kept happening throughout Joey's childhood; the memory made him want to get out of there as soon as possible. He planned on leaving one day when he woke up from being beaten, and couldn't recognize that the passed out, drunk man who was sleeping on the floor with several bottles of beer around him was his father anymore. At that time Joey was only twelve.

Joey went to find a job after that day. He lied to everyone he had worked for, telling him that he was fourteen, the minimum age requirement to work. At first, he worked for a cash-pay job that didn't need his social security number to see his real identification and started saving his money. He also searched for a place that he thought would be safe for him in the future, and his final choice was Domino, Japan. It was far away from here, so if his father wanted to find him, he couldn't find out where was he was. However, the people there spoke a different language, so Joey had to secretly learn Japanese. He didn't want anybody, especially his father, to find out his plan, so he always stayed silent and kept letting himself get beaten by the drunken man. He also played dumb in front of everyone he met, but it made him feel like he was a real idiot sometimes.

But all of it didn't matter anymore. Here he was, after saving enough money and having enough conditions to run away. He hasn't relaxed at all during the flight, and feared that his father was here somewhere, and would force him to come back with him. But maybe he has worrying too much. His father obviously was still passed out in their rotten apartment, too unconscious to know his son had left. Joey wouldn't care for him anymore. He told himself that his father could take care of everything alone and didn't need him, anyway. He just hoped that his father wouldn't call the department for lost children to find him since he was still underage. However, it's not like they would expect him to be living as far away as somewhere like Domino. He just hoped that his life could step in to a new, better page.

And that how he ended up at here, Domino City. A city that he has hoped he would come to one day when he was child. He had secretly done all of the papers to move here legally, even though he had to fake his father's signature many times to complete them all. It didn't matter since he has taken care all of the bills since he was child, and had to fake his father's presence many time because his father never sobered up enough to acknowledge anything. He just cared that he had enough beer to drink and had a real life punching bag to release his stress out on. But now without Joey around, he would lack all of this. Joey didn't want to think what his father would do if he didn't have either of them anymore.

With his age being seventeen, Joey knew he would have to attend school here to continue his education. Before he had told himself that he would study to the best of his ability to find a good job after he graduated so that he never ended up like his father. He received the acceptation of Domino High School, that he would start his new school at the beginning of next week. However the thing he cared the most right now was... a place to live permanently at in Domino.

Joey went to a company that helped people to find houses to rent and after an hour of research, they gave him an address that would be his new house. That was an apartment, and he would share his place with someone, since the price of sharing a room was cheaper than living alone. Joey didn't need too much private space for himself; he just hoped that the person he would be living with was not an ass or annoying.

He had trouble finding the apartment for a few hours, but finally reached his destination. The apartment seemed not too big and new, but it was still better than his rotten apartment at Brooklyn. This apartment was close to Domino High School, as he requested at the company. He smiled and continued searching for the right door. When he found it, he took a deep breath and rang the bell.

Joey only waited a few seconds before he heard a voice spoke in Japanese "I'm coming!" through the door and the door opened. But as he saw the one who appeared behind the door, his eyes went wide in shock. The other's hazel eyes were having the same expression. The two boys stared at each other awhile minute before their mouth could move.

"You..."

The twos spoke in unison, then the word sank in as they continued to stare at each other. Joey was the one who recovered from the shock first and closed his eyes, then opened it slowly and smiled at the look-alike blond.

"Hi, I'm Joey Wheeler. I was told t' come here for a rent house. Are ya Jounouchi Katsuya?" he asked slowly with his new Japanese, since he never practiced how to speak it properly before. He just hoped the look-alike blond would understand him.

"Ah yes... It's me," Jounouchi blinked once in surprise. "I just received a call that I have a new roommate today. So, it's you?"

So he understood what Joey has said. Joey sighed in relief, and kept on smiling. "So... can I go inside and take a look? I'm a bit tired from a lon' flight from America to here."

"Ah uhm... Sure," Jounouchi nodded, still eyeing Joey with uncertainty, but let him get in. The American teen's eyes shined as he looked around the room. This apartment was better than he could expect, and aside from the fact that he had a roommate that look exactly like him, everything seemed to be a good beginning to him.

Joey heard a sound from behind and turned around, he noticed the look-alike blond was handing a cup of water to him with a smile on his face. He took it with small mumble "thanks", hoping the other could hear him. Jounouchi then sat down on the couch in the living room, still smiling. Joey could tell right away that Jounouchi was a good person.

"Thanks—again," Joey said sheepishly as he placed the empty cup on the table and sat down next to Jounouchi. The blonde next to him seemed relax, his hazel eyes showing warmth and welcoming.

"Ah... I think it'll sound stupid... but you noticed too, didn't you? That... we seem look like each other." Jounouchi stuttered. "It's a lie if I say I'm not surprise," Joey nodded at Jounouchi's word. He was thinking the same thing too.

"I think so too... I never thought that someday I would bump into someone who looks exactly like me," Joey admitted. He had feeling that Jounouchi was just like him in looks, but in personality as well.

Jounouchi laughed slightly, his voice lower than Joey. "Hey, time to get to know each other," He said jokingly after the laugh. "Where do you come from and how did you end up at this stinking place?"

"I- came from America-" Joey said, felt more used to Jounouchi's presence. In the past he never made friend with anybody because he always thought of leaving. He went to school and worked all the time, so he never had free time to spend with anyone. Nobody wanted to be friends with him anyway, because they said he looked like a dangerous person. (He accidently overheard them, not that they said it in his face.) Sure he had learned how to fight since where he lived wasn't the safest place but... "Ran away from my pop, ya know."

"Why?" Jounouchi asked automatically, but then stopped. He too felt Joey was similar to him, but it seemed the American teen was more complicated than he thought.

"He was an abusive drunker. Couldn't stand him 'nymore," Joey answered casually.

But then he heard Jounouchi laughing. Curiously, he looked straight at the Japanese blond and saw he was still laughing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you... but my father was once a drunkard too. However, he wasn't strong enough to abuse me even if he wanted to. I was used to be his punching-bag when I was a child after my parent divorced and he became a drunkard and a gambler. But when I went to middle school, I became a gangster and could handle my father's attack easily."

Joey's eye widened at Jounouchi. Not just they were having the same look, same personality but same circumstance too? "Then... where is ya father now?" He asked.

"You could say it's a miracle." Jounouchi smiled. "He stopped drinking a few months ago and found a new job. But that job is at Hokkaido, so he had to move away. I didn't move in with him, but stay back here. I have friends and didn't want to leave them, you know. Even so, I have to work two jobs to pay the bills. With us living together now, I think I could relax a little bit."

Joey blinked in awe. Well, at least there were something different between Jounouchi and him, but it seemed like Jounouchi had a better life than him. He wasn't being abused by his father as much as Joey, and now his father stopped drinking and could focus on a job. Jounouchi even had friends, the thing Joey never had once in his life. That made him feels a little bit... jealous.

"You're cool." Joey said quietly. "I wish my pop could be like that."

"I hope so too," Jounouchi told him. "Are you tired? It seems like you don't have too much things with you. I think you should rest, and then we can go out to buy the stuff that you need. Ah... hey, how old are you?"

"I'm seventeen and will be atten' at Domino High School next week. What's school are ya studyin' at?"

"I'm in Domino High School and seventeen too," Jounouchi grinned. "My friends will be surprise when they see you. Can't wait for that." With that he stood up. "Come here. I show you your bedroom."

Joey stood up, and followed Jounouchi. He smiled when he saw the bedroom that he would be staying in here in his new life. Everything seemed perfect; he had a new house, a decent bedroom and a roommate that was clearly a good person. A wonderful start for a person like him. Domino was really the place he was searching for. With that thought, he allowed his body to drop on the bed and closed his eyes, truly relaxed for the first time since he came here.

.

.

.

TBC