Thank you all for your kind reviews. This will be the start of Kaiba's recovery and the start of Jounouchi's relationship with him. So again if you do not like Yaoi (maleXmale) please do not continue this story.

Warnings: Mentions of rape and MaleXMale relationship

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Chapter Four

Jounouchi stared at the brunet a few seats in front of him. This was the only time he was grateful that he sat behind him. Normally the CEO would have his laptop out and would be working on it while the teacher lectured. Sometimes the teacher would get annoyed and randomly ask him questions to which he would always answer correctly, proving that not only was he listening, but he was too smart for school. It had been nearly three weeks since they saved him from the virtual world. He expected that Kaiba would eventually show for school, knowing that he would have to choose new board members to replace the Big 5 and get his company back up and running first. He had expected Kaiba to walk in like he normally did with his head up in the air and an attitude around him that screamed not to mess with him.

Now, Kaiba sat there without his laptop even on the desk and staring out the window. Something was clearly wrong. The blond could see dark circles under his eyes and his clothes seemed looser. Was this because of the game or because it was difficult to replace the Big 5 and fix his company? He wanted to speak to Kaiba, but he knew that he would never speak of personal matters at school. The first thing he had to do was call Mokuba. If Mokuba said he was overworked, he would leave him be, but that didn't seem the case. Kaiba had been running that company for several years and never showed any signs of fatigue.

Jounouchi glanced back at Yugi who frowned and shrugged. He, too, had noticed that change in Kaiba. Actually, he wonder who didn't. Kaiba was always a creature of habit and to change dramatically would draw attention from anyone. "What did they do to you?" Jounouchi thought. He hated to admit it, but he missed the old Kaiba. The Kaiba that was untouchable and desirable at the same time. The blond shook his head. "What was that? Desirable? Oh, who am I kidding?" He sighed and leant his chin against his propped hand. "No one could hear my thoughts. I can admit to myself that he's gorgeous with a challenging personality that makes him more attractive. I wouldn't even give him a chance before Yugi banished his darkness, but now that he isn't trying to kill us, he seems…" Jounouchi gripped his hair and hid his blushing face. No, he won't think like that right now.

First things first. He needs to find out what happened to change Kaiba again. He blinked. Why did he have to do it? Yugi was clearly concerned. He could ask Kaiba. "You know he's too nice to push Kaiba and wouldn't want to get involve in a confrontation. I can survive anything Kaiba throws at me including punches. Why would I do that for him? Besides liking him and not wanting to see him suffer. Maybe if he's grateful to me for helping him, he would consider a date? Yeah, right, Mr. Asexual would not date anyone, especially not someone of the same sex. That would definitely horrible for his public imagine not to mention the consequences of it. He just got over someone trying to kill him. I don't want to be the one responsible for putting him back in that situation." Jounouchi jumped as someone placed their hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Yugi and breathed slowly.

"School has been over for a few minutes. He's gone already."

The blond looked around to make sure that their other friends weren't close. He hated hiding things from them, but the less people knowing the better. "Do you think it's because of whatever the Big 5 did to him?"

"That would be my guess."

"What are my chances of talking to him?"

"I would say slim to none here."

"Do you still have Mokuba's number?"

"I do. Come with me to the game shop, and I'll give it to you. I'll even distract the others while you call him."

"Thanks, Yugi, you're a great friend."

The two friends joined the others and walked back to Yugi's house. They talked randomly, but Jounouchi had nothing to add. He was trying to plan the right questions in order to get Mokuba to tell him about Kaiba. He knew Mokuba would protect his brother before he would give him any information. As they entered the game shop, Yugi's grandfather smiled at them. "I have some new cards for you guys to look at," he said.

Normally that would catch Jounouchi's attention, but his mind was elsewhere. "Let's see," Honda said, glancing into glass case.

Yugi nodded to the blond. "His number is on my desk. I was thinking about calling him." He nodded and disappeared upstairs to Yugi's room. He knew his friend had his own phone and would prefer if no one listened to his conversation.

Taking the piece of paper off the desk, he walked over to the bed with the phone. The phone only rang twice before Mokuba answered it. "Mokuba, it's Jounouchi."

"Jounouchi? Is there something wrong?"

The blond could hear the noise dying down before a door shut. "Truthfully, I'm worried about your brother." Silence was all he heard. "Can I ask you some questions? You don't have to answer, but I want to help him if I can."

"What do you need to know?"

"Is Kaiba still having trouble with his company?"

"No, almost two weeks ago he hired all new people to replace the ones that moved up to be members of his board. He even fired more people that were still loyal to Gozaburo. Everything has been running smoothly for a week. That's why he decided to go back to school. Why do you ask?"

"I'll explain at the end. I have a few more questions. Has he been sleeping?"

Mokuba frowned and looked around his room debating on telling Jounouchi the truth. The blond never seemed to want to hurt him. "I hear him awake in the middle of the night. Sometimes when he is sleeping he wakes up screaming. I don't think he's sleeping much."

"What about eating? Do you see him eat?"

"No, but the only time we ever shared a meal was breakfast. Lately he's been drinking coffee and saying he's not hungry."

The blond felt his body shaking. His own painful memories were starting to surface. "Two more questions, I promise. Do you know if he takes a shower a lot and spends a long time in it?"

"I'm not sure. The day when we escape the virtual reality, he came home and took a long shower. After that, I don't know. He has a private bathroom, and I don't usually hear it."

Jounouchi bit his lip. It can't be. How could they do that in a virtual reality? "Have you noticed any changes like in his clothes, his personality? Does he shy away from touches? Does he lock himself up in a room refusing to let anyone in? Does he not do something he normally always did?"

A sob escaped Mokuba's lips. "He always tucked me in and kissed me good night. He hasn't done that since the game. I thought it was because of stress, but now I'm not sure. Jounouchi, you're scaring me. What is wrong with my brother?"

"I'm not sure, Mokuba. I hope it's not what I fear, but I need to talk to him. Is he home?"

"No. He always goes to the office right after school. Most of the time he leaves by eight so he can come home and check on me."

"You hang in there. I'll talk to him. In the meantime, if he vanishes or changes his routine, call Yugi's house. He knows how to reach me. Try not to worry and don't tell him anything about this."

"Okay," Mokuba sobbed. He hung up the phone and let it fall to the ground. He knew something was wrong with his brother. Hearing that Jounouchi also noticed scared him and maked everything too real. What if Jounouchi couldn't reach his brother in time? Would something happen like right before Duelist Kingdom. Would he vanish again?

The blond placed the phone on the bed and wrapped his arms around himself. He let his own grief surface. The memories were terrible and to know that something similar might have happened to Kaiba didn't help calm him. He stared at the wooden floor, attempting to keep the memories buried, but it was becoming more and more difficult. He jumped when he felt someone touch his shoulder. Head shooting up, he stared at the worried eyes of his best friend. "Yugi," he breathed, calming his heartrate. Yugi knew what happened only because he was the one that found him, and he promised not to tell anyone.

"Are your memories returning?"

"This whole thing with Kaiba. I don't even know if he had a similar experience, but he's doing things like I did. What do I do Yugi? I don't want to remember, but he's alone and doesn't have anyone to help him like you did for me."

Yugi wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him into his chest. "Are you sure that happened?"

"No, but he's not eating or sleeping. He was trapped in various situations several times and only changed for the better. But this time was clearly different. I have to talk to him. I could never forgive myself if something happened to him."

"You're a great person, Jounouchi-kun. I'll be here for you any time or day. I'll tell the others that you aren't feeling well. Sneak out the back."

"Thanks, Yugi, for everything."

Jounouchi rose, relieved that his legs stopped shaking. He went down the back stairwell and out the door. He felt guilty for lying to his other friends, but he didn't want anyone to know. It was difficult to think about telling Kaiba, but he knew he had to if the brunet was in fact raped in the game. He felt his stomach flip, and he nearly vomited. He hadn't thought of that word in so long. "Be strong," he told himself, walking to Kaiba Corp.

The blond got there just as the sun was setting. He was surprised to see that the lobby was empty except for a few people. The woman with black hair and pink highlights looked at him. She noticed that he had the same uniform as her boss. "Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if I could see Kaiba Seto," he said being more polite than normal.

"I'm sorry, but he's not seeing anyone today. Does this have to do with his school?"

He blinked. "Yes. I'm Jounouchi Katsuya. I have something from our teacher to give him," he lied.

"Have a seat, and I'll see if he could spare a moment."

The blond nervously sat on one of the comfortable chairs. He was having trouble keeping everything under control. He didn't know how to approach the topic without being blunt. "Oh gods that didn't work with me. I almost killed Yugi for saying it," he thought, completely sure that Kaiba would indeed kill him.

The kind woman motioned him over. She handed him a badge. "Keep that on your shirt and take the first elevator over there labeled top floors."

Shocked that Kaiba was willing to see him, Jounouchi nodded and walked over to the elevator. He wondered if Kaiba could see him in all the cameras. The elevator ride was quick and the doors opened into a large lobby. Seats filled the walls and a large desk sat directly outside of the double wooden doors. The carpet was a light blue color. The woman typing frantically behind the desk looked up at the blond. "He had requested that you bring it to him personally. You may go in."

He nodded, not thinking that Kaiba would have said to leave whatever he had with the secretary. He knocked first before pushing one of the doors opened. Kaiba's office was not what he expected. It was barren except for the desk he sat at and a table along the large glass windows. No pictures hung on the walls and the carpet was the same blue as the lobby. The brunet looked up from the computer, wearing a white suit with a blue tie. "Sensei said she gave me all the work I missed. Did she forget something?"

Jounouchi couldn't believe that he was being respectable. "No," he said, walking towards the desk. "I needed an excuse that would get you to let me see you."

Kaiba glared at him. "As you can see, I'm very busy. If this is not school related, get out."

"Wait, can we talk for a moment?"

The CEO stood and slammed his hands against the desk. "I said I'm busy. Get out." The noise brought two black suited guards into his room. "Remove him and don't let him back in."

"Wait a second, Kaiba. Kaiba!" he shouted as the doors shut. "Hang on. I need to talk to him." The two guards ignore him and pushed him into the waiting elevator. They kept pushing until he was out of the building. Jounouchi sighed and glanced back at the building before deciding concede for the night. He could try again the next day.

Every day after, he would wait outside of Kaiba Corp. to speak to Kaiba, but the CEO would ignore him until he got into the limousine and then his guards would threaten him until he left the vicinity. He was starting to get tired of doing the same thing. Vowing that this was his last time, he stood on the other side of the street and waited for the limousine to come to the front doors. The limousine came earlier than normal. Jounouchi thought that Kaiba was going to a meeting and debated on attempting to talk to him, but he changed his mind when he saw Kaiba. His hair wasn't styled like normal and looked more like he just woke up. He stumbled a little when he opened the door and started falling. The blond quickly moved across the street and managed to reach him before his driver. He pulled the brunet into his arms before he could collapse on the ground. "Kaiba!" he shouted, but he didn't respond. He looked up at the dark haired driver. "Where was he going?"

"His home. You're Jounouchi-san? I've seen you trying to talk to him before. He won't listen to us. I'll take you back to the mansion. Do you think you can convince him to rest and maybe eat something?"

"I'll try. I don't know if he'll listen to me."

"Anything you can do will be helpful."

Jounouchi placed his one arm under Kaiba's long legs and held him close to his chest. With the help of Kaiba's driver, he got the brunet into the limousine. During the trip, he looked over at the CEO. He could clearly see the dark circles and his ribs below the thin shirt. He didn't like what he saw and prayed to all the gods that Kaiba would talk to him, and that he would find the right words.

When they arrived at the mansion, again the driver helped him with the unconscious man. Mokuba came into the foyer and looked at the two. "What happened?"

"He collapsed outside the office. Mokuba, can you call Yugi and maybe stay the night with him. Don't worry about him tonight. I'll take care of him."

The younger Kaiba stared at his brother. He didn't want to leave his brother's side, but if Jounouchi needed to be alone with him, then he would do as he said. He trusted him. "I'll show you to his room and then the kitchen."

The two walked upstairs and down the long hallway until they reach the last door. The room was large and had a king sized bed in the middle of the room. He had several large dressers and a desk that sat in front of the window. He placed the taller man on the bed before following Mokuba downstairs to the kitchen. He stopped to get two bottles of water before watching Mokuba get into the limousine. Jounouchi wanted to make sure no one was around to prevent the CEO from talking to him. He returned to the bedroom and took Kaiba's shoes and socks off before moving him until he was fully under the covers. He sat at the desk, looking at the garden below and going over different ways to address the situation. He knew that he could always rely on telling Kaiba what happened to him. He didn't want to relive that time, but then maybe Kaiba would open up if he knew someone else experience something similar.

It was well after the sun was completely down before Kaiba stirred. He looked around, noticing that he was in his bed. "What?" he mumbled.

"You collapsed outside of your office." Kaiba jerked up, instantly regretting it. He placed his hand on his forehead, feeling lightheaded. Jounouchi walked over to him. "Easy. Lie back down. I brought you some water. We can think about getting something in your stomach later."

"Why are you here?"

"I caught you before you could hit the ground. We need to talk."

The brunet sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds. "What is there to talk about?"

"What Witty Phantom did to you in the game."

Kaiba turned his head to the side. "There's nothing to talk about."

Jounouchi sat on the bed and stared at the floor below him. "I'm going to assume the worse unless you tell me differently."

"I told you. Nothing happened more than I can handle."

"I know that's a lie. You are clearly showing signs that you can't handle it. I'm going to assume that it was more than someone beating on you."

"Don't assume anything."

The blond sighed continued to stare at the floor. "You are doing the same thing I did after Hirutani and his gang…" he stopped, hating that he couldn't pushed that word out. "They beat and raped me," his shaky voice finally said. Silence filled the room. He wasn't even sure if Kaiba was still awake. He was afraid to turn and look. Kaiba stared at the blond for a few minutes. He didn't know what to think. Jounouchi went through a similar experienced and was obviously trying to help him. He lied there for a few minutes before making a decision.

Suddenly fingers wrapped around Jounouchi's folded hands. He didn't even remember hearing Kaiba move. "It's hard to admit. Yours was real and mine was in an imaginary world."

Jounouchi finally turned towards him and looked at Kaiba's tear-filled eyes. He was obviously trying not to cry. "It was still real. You still experienced it mentally. If I tell you my story will you tell me yours?"

The brunet pulled on his arm until they were both under the covers. "We don't have to talk about it at all."

"It's better if you talk about it. I found that out after I told Yugi what happened. It became easier, and I didn't feel like I was drowning. He was perfect for it. He didn't treat me differently and didn't tell anyone. I'll be that person for you. I know what you are probably thinking and what you are probably planning."

The brunet sighed and turned away from the blond. He didn't know if he would have the courage to tell his story if he faced the blond. He felt a hand fall on his shoulder. He brought the hand over his shoulder and cradled it against his chest, showing Jounouchi that it was okay to touch him. "I thought that in a virtual world it could never happen unless you experienced it once before in the real world. That should have been the only way for a person to know what something felt like. I knew what it felt like to take a beating. Gozaburo made sure I knew that pain. When Witty started with the abuse, I felt it but could tolerate it. The Big 5 would have known that. They knew how Gozaburo trained me."

Jounouchi snuggled closer to the brunet. He could feel how stiff Kaiba's back was becoming. "Witty described for me the pain I would experience in detail before he started. I tried to block it from my mind, but nothing I tried stopped me from remembering his words. And, even though he was not touching me physically, I still felt the same. I don't know why it's bothering me. I have no reason to think about it. My physical body is fine. It never happened except in the depths of my mind. It makes me angry that it still affects me. It never happened! Why? Why can't I move on?" Tears fell down his cheeks. He hadn't allowed himself to cry since the first night.

The blond flipped him around and pulled him close to his chest, allowing him to cry. He felt his body shake. Now he understood what was really bothering the brunet. He waited patiently for the tears to slow. "I'm going to tell you something, and I hope you would find some way to believe me. It doesn't matter whether you were physically raped or mentally raped. It is still damaging to anyone. You and I are not different. Your mind remembers the pain of it even though you no longer have the physical pain. I still remember the pain. I still have trouble. I want to help you, Kaiba. Please let me help you."

The CEO looked up at the blond. "Why? Why would you? I've been nothing but awful to you."

"I knew that someone just doesn't turn evil without a reason."

"I should have been stronger."

"You are strong enough."

"If I was strong enough I could admit something I've been hiding."

Jounouchi smiled softly and kissed the top of your head. "You don't have to say it yet."

"If I don't, I never will." The blond pulled him closer, wrapping him completely in his warmth, patiently waiting. "I never completely hated you. I was denying the true feelings. I…" he paused again. It was harder than taking the company from Gozaburo.

Jounouchi tilted his chin up and gently brushed his lips across Kaiba's. "I do too."

The CEO smiled. He didn't have to say anything for the blond to know. "Will you take the nightmares away?"

"Will you start calling me a dog afterwards?" Jounouchi teased.

"No, but I wouldn't mind a lover to help protect my weaknesses from being seen."

The blond sighed. "You shouldn't hid your weaknesses but I understand. I know as a CEO you can't show them or else you wouldn't be taken seriously. I'll make you a deal. Promise me that once you are ready and your company is running smoothly that you will reveal to at least our friends that we are together."

"Will you move in afterwards?"

The blond blinked. That was an odd question, and he feared that Kaiba was starting to cling to him instead of taking this as a real relationship. He wanted him to be healed, but he didn't want the brunet to become dependent. "I should be with my father until graduation."

"What about a job?"

"Again no. The boss's lover should not work in the same company. The favoritism would be too much. I'll find my own job."

"You're right. Maybe that is moving too quickly. Let's start over."

"No, we should just change the question. Kaiba, will you join me for dinner Saturday night?"

"Only if you don't call me that when we're alone."

"Okay, Seto. Shall we get you something to eat? It will help that lightheadedness you felt earlier."

"No. I'm warm and comfortable."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "You're going to be a pain." He got up, letting the cool air in. The brunet shivered and tried to bury himself into the covers. "I don't think so." He pulled the blankets completely off the bed and held his hand out to Kaiba. "Please?"

"You had to do the puppy eyes!"

Jounouchi chuckled. "Ah, another weakness. I think I'll keep ahold of that one."

"Don't you dare, Katsuya." His lower lip quivered. "Oh gods, fine! Let's go find something to eat." The blond chuckled and helped his new lover out of the bed. He knew the relationship would be rocky, but he wasn't getting involved with Kaiba for something easy. First things first, he had to heal Kaiba both physically and mentally and he wouldn't give up on it.

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One more chapter to go. I should have it uploaded by tomorrow. It will be a shorter chapter. Thank you all for reading please review.

Angel Dove