alrighttt, chatper two! not that much different from chapter one tbh :x sorry that the chapters seem so short! haha, they seem bigger when i'm writing em, trust me! w

anyway. jou finds out that shizuka's going to the zoo, and naturally she wants him to go with her. the only problem is: seto's going... and we all know how their relationship is. will he agree to go, or will he just sulk and push his sister even further way from him?

please review, subscribe, whatever! i appreciate all of it! thank you!

Chapter Two - Lets Go To The Zoo!

"Good morning, Jounouchi!" Shizuka greeted her brother as he groggily clambered down the stairs, managing to trip on the overhanging hem of his jeans as he did so. "I see you're up bright and early. I would have cooked you breakfast, but I—"
"It's alright, Shizuka." He reassured the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I don't expect you to be my servant, y'know!" Jou laughed, before smiling down at his younger sibling. She returned his smile, before quietly disappearing off into the living room. Jounouchi sighed, a frown tugging at the corner of his lips. Why was she always so keen to leave? Did she really not want to be here? Was she better off without him? With these paranoid assumptions fogging up his train of thought, he didn't even notice Shizuka coming back.

"Um... Jou?" she questioned, tugging at her brother's arm impatiently. "Are you... okay?" Jounouchi quickly nodded in response, taking his sister's hand from his shoulder and holding it in his own.
"Do you want to do something today?" Jounouchi asked suddenly, smiling reassuringly at his sister. Shizuka seemed really rather taken a-back, tilting her head to the side in an almost puppy-like way: a trait she had inherited from none other than Jounouchi. He couldn't help but smile at the family resemblance. "Yeah, just you and me. I mean, you're only here for a week! I missed you, lil sis, it'd be nice to actually, y'know, spend some time with you." He watched as his sister's face immediately lit up at the thought, her own amber eyes seeming to reflect happiness. She was a beautiful girl, and sometimes Jou couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't blessed with good looks like her! Jou was about to continue, when Shizuka's smile slowly faded into a forlorn frown. "Shizuka... What... what's wrong?" the blonde questioned, suddenly concerned. Maybe she really didn't want to spend time with him? She was better off without him.
"No! No, it's nothing like that," she quickly comforted, picking up on his distress. "Nothing like that at all. Jounouchi, I'd love to spend time with you," she frowned, gaze casting downwards. "But... I've... kind of made plans already for today..."
"Made... plans? With who?"
"Well..." she paused, nibbling anxiously on her bottom lip in that particular way of hers.
"Shizuka, who?"
"Mokuba..." There was a long silence, silence so thick that it was almost deafening. Shizuka could feel the immediate hate radiating from her older brother. No, not for the boy who she had already arranged to meet, of course not. He was a decent boy, only a year or two younger that Shizuka so Jounouchi wasn't really that concerned about his sister's welfare... but it was Mokuba's brother: Seto Kaiba. The big headed, rude, arrogant, and more-over rich CEO that Jounouchi had the displeasure of attending school with. 5 days a week was bad enough – he couldn't imagine (and probably couldn't handle) anymore. "I'm... supposed to be going with him to the zoo," she frowned, playing with her thumbs to cause any distraction for herself. "and Seto's supposed to be coming... too..."
"You can't go, I won't let you. I'm not letting you be around him."
"Jounouchi!" she bleated, once more attaching herself to her brother's sleeve. "Why not? C'mon, don't be like this. Just because you don't like Seto doesn't mean I don't like him. And besides, he's a nice person, he really is. Can't you remember what he did for me all that time ago?" Jounouchi frowned at what his sister had to say, uncurling his fists slightly.

She was right. Seto Kaiba had helped her. Not only her, but helped Jounouchi, and his whole family – but it wasn't out of some little whim of his to actually help someone without it benefiting himself. Of course it wasn't, the cold-hearted sixteen year would never indulge himself in something so selfless. There was a price, but Jounouchi was more than willing to pay it for his sister to have her sight back. He saw the pain his little sister had gone through: the months of agony and depression that followed as the disease slowly ate away at her eyesight, deeming her legally blind. Jounouchi had nowhere near enough money to pay for the operation: but Seto did. He was a hideous person, perhaps not on the outside but most certainly on the inside, but Jounouchi did owe him a lifetime of debt, and it killed the boy whenever he thought back to it.

"Brother... why don't you come with us?" She suggested naively, those large amber eyes of her meeting with her brother's, the two golden tones reflecting off each other.
"Shizuka, you know I can't – in fact, you know I won't." The stubborn blonde replied, crossing his arms over his chest in a tight X.
"But why not? You wanted to spend time with me, right?" Shizuka smiled, stepping back from her brother and putting on her trademark puppy eyes. "It's a perfect opportunity! You like Mokuba, don't you? And I don't think that Seto would even realise, he was only coming to keep an eye on us in case something happened. He'll just be reading a book or something while we look at the animals!" She was convincing, he had to admit. Jounouchi raised an eyebrow sceptically at her, challenging her to go on. He almost resented her for the strange power she seemed to have over him, her calm words and rationally cut right through him. They were total opposites, and that's why they needed each other so much.
"I wanted to spend time with you – not Kaiba. I get to see him every day at school, Shizuka. I don't want to see him when I'm not required." He pointed out all matter-of-factly, before being shot down by one of his sister's glares.
"Seto," she corrected, disliking the fact that he always seemed to refer to the CEO by his last name. "and Mokuba are both very nice people, Jou. Why can't you see that?"
"Oh, I believe you about Mokuba... just not about Kaiba. Shizuka, trust me: you don't know what he's like. He's manipulative, rude, cocky, egotistic—"
"Are you coming or not, big brother?"
"Well I guess I have to now, don't I?!"