A/N: Good almost-afternoon, everyone! How are you today? 'Tis a lovely day for a stroll in the park (unless you live in Antarctica; the conditions are probably not ideal for strolling). Ah, and now we're on to chapter four. What started as a little one-shot has indeed expanded into a fiction which will have I-don't-even-know-how-many chapters. : ) I just finished chapter five last night and will probably work on chapter six later today.
Thank you once again for the lovely reviews! : ) It really makes my day! Good motivation is indeed positive encouragement!
devotedtodreams: Fear not, faithful puppyshipper! Amarante is just a nice girl and nothing more. : ) She kind of feels sorry for Jou, I think. –sigh- Speaking of Jou, things only get worse for him from here – but once you hit rock bottom there's nowhere else to go, right? ; ) Oh, the 'ugly sap' comment sure cracked me up! lol! Now that is funny! : )
Kalinovskaja: I'm also excessively happy that I update on a regular basis! It means I get to hear from you guys almost every day! Woohoo! ; ) I think it's good to have good communication with your reviewers – after all, if it was the real world, and I was a bestselling author (I wish!), you guys would be like my editing people, right? Telling me how to improve things and such! Anyway, it's interesting how a few of you, like me, thought it was just another show like Pokémon. Boy, were we wrong! Because now here we are obsessing over Seto and Jou. ; ) Don't worry – I did enjoy my coffee! And I'm about to enjoy some banana bread as well!
ONIX-21: Ah, another one inquiring about Kaiba! ; ) Thanks for reviewing!
melodyz07: Hehe! I'm so excited for all of you wondering about Seto to read this chapter! : ) I think it may clear things up – or confuse you more! I was drawn to Yami, too! I was like... oh man. That is awesome. I'm glad you like my questions! I have another one for you guys at the end here! : ) Thanks for the review!
pennypigeon: Thanks a lot! : ) Here is the next chapter!
ReMeDy10: Awh, thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you like it! Woo!
N.M. Smith – Mr. Cackles: Keepin' you guessing, eh? Man, you totally just reminded me of how old Yu-Gi-Oh! actually is now! It's been like five years! Woooow! As I take a trip down memory lane! Haha! Oh, dear! It looks like I'm going to have to clear up this Kaiba question!
TheChazz: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you think that I'm keeping the characters in character! : )
Phew! Okay, so several of you have asked and/or seem confused about who rescued Jounouchi! ... Well, read ahead to find out! : ) Hopefully this chapter will clear that question up and give you some insight into the problem!
Thanks for all of the wonderful feedback! Now, here's another question: Who's your favourite Yu-Gi-Oh! character? Well, this one is easy for me! Jounouchi, hands down! He's loyal, sweet, and caring, and for me, this crosses out the bad traits (hot-headed, speaking before thinking, etc)! And he's a cutie, to boot! So, there you have it. I like other characters, too – Kaiba (of course), Ryou, and yes, I like Anzu. ; )
Anyway, thanks for all of the wonderful responses! Enjoy, and I will see you in the next chapter! : )
Chapter IV: Aggravation
Jounouchi awoke the next morning feeling sore and irritated; his mouth dry. It took him a moment before he remembered what had happened. "God," he groaned, stiffly sitting up. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and padded towards the bathroom, his arm slung heavily against his chest.
Looking into the mirror, he was displeased to notice that there were several scrapes on his face, probably from when he had hit the pavement.
That's right. He had hit the pavement and had definitely not fallen right into Seto Kaiba's arms. God, why would such a thought even cross his mind, even in the deranged, shocked state that he had been in? It just... it just didn't make any sense at all. Maybe Amarante was right – and that the Kaiba Corporation sign had caused some kind of deluded imagining. Come to think of it, he remembered opening his eyes once and looking into the face of a middle-aged man.
But... had he seen movement from the Kaiba Corporation building? He sighed, knowing that he had been too out of it to ever know.
What was he going to tell his friends when they saw him? He supposed he would just have to say it was a street fight, even though they thought that he was past that. Moaning in misery, he removed his arm from the sling and stripped off his clothes. Carefully, he wrapped the bandages in plastic and turned on the water.
Showering was going to be difficult and tedious, but it was an obstacle that he was willing to overcome.
Jounouchi arrived at school half an hour earlier than usual, despite the fact that he had difficulties making breakfast and brushing his teeth. The damn sling was annoying and his arm was in pain. They had given him painkillers right before he left, but he was too damn ignorant to take those. He would suffer.
He went to his quiet spot around the side of the building and leaned against the same wall he had leaned against yesterday. He sucked in a breath of fresh air as he watched the early morning rays of the sun shine over the school yard.
He knew that he was going to have to watch his back from now on. Well, at least for a while. Kyuuseishu did not make idle threats, and he did well to prove that last night. Man, he wished he had a cigarette right then. His nerves were a mess and he had a test to write in first period.
The blonde sighed softly to himself and slowly made his way back around the corner – only to crash into something solid. Unfortunately, his injured arm took most of the impact and this caused him to gasp and stumble backwards.
"Watch where you're going, baka!" Kaiba's cold voice pierced through his throbbing head.
How interesting that they should once again meet in the same place. Jounouchi was beginning to think that perhaps it was time for him to find a new 'quiet' spot. Maybe he could just go on the roof. And well, if Kaiba showed up there too, he might as well throw himself off the damned thing.
"Maybe you should watch where the fuck you're going for once, you stupid bastard!" Jounouchi snapped, cradling his arm as he glared at the brunette. Yep, he could really use a cigarette right about now.
"I really don't have to," Kaiba replied, eyeing Jounouchi. "What the hell happened to you?" He noticed the various cuts on the blonde's face and then the stitches in the side of his head. Then there was the arm, which
seemed to be a source of a lot of pain. His skin prickled slightly – it was like he already knew what had happened to him.
"None of your fucking stuck-up business!"
Kaiba's ice blue eyes met Jounouchi's amber ones. The CEO held the gaze for a moment and then broke it off. He shrugged, trying to seem like he didn't care, but damn; he was really curious. "Whatever, mutt. I have better things to do then inquire about your well-being." He went to walk past Jounouchi but the latter was blocking his way angrily.
"I'm sure you do, you selfish bastard." He threw his fist at Kaiba, and miracle of miracles, actually hit him this time – with his left arm, no less.
Kaiba felt the solid blow to his jaw and stumbled backward in surprise. He couldn't believe that he had actually been hit and was even more stunned to realize that his mouth was bleeding. "What the fuck?" he spat at Jounouchi.
Jounouchi just grinned smugly, shaking his head. For one of the first times, he had actually one-upped the corporate prick and had given him a taste of his own medicine. Too bad he was too busy relishing in his glory to notice that Kaiba had regained his composure and was coming at him rather quickly.
Kaiba knocked Jounouchi to the ground, landing on top of him heavily. He grabbed the blonde by the collar of his shirt and punched him in the face with as much force as he could muster without killing him. "I am not," he growled angrily, "a force to be reckoned with!" Still gripping Jounouchi's collar, he lifted him up slightly and slammed him back down.
"Get off of me!" Jounouchi gasped, still not believing that he was on the ground. His second fight in less than twelve hours – he vaguely wondered if that was a new record of some sort. Damn, Kaiba punched hard. He felt dizzy.
Kaiba was pissed. Mostly at himself for getting so pissed. It took a lot to shake his calm exterior, but when it happened – watch out. He stared down at the blonde and realized that he probably didn't need a beating, given his current state. As a matter of fact, Kaiba was starting to feel sorry for him – but that was before Jounouchi kicked out at his leg.
It hurt and Kaiba let him know by tightening his grip and slamming him down again. "Listen here, mutt – "
"No, you listen!" Jounouchi rasped out. He wasn't sure if he could even feel his body any more. "You leave me the hell alone!"
Kaiba pressed his weight down harder. He realized that he was straddling the blonde and that it looked very compromising, but he didn't really care. "You punched me first!"
"Because you can never keep your damn snide comments to yourself! What is your problem with me?" Jounouchi shouted, struggling beneath the brunette.
"My problem is that I'm so damn at – " Kaiba cut himself off. What had he almost said? My problem is that I'm so damn attracted to you. No, that couldn't be right. That was definitely not right. It was something that his scrambled brain decided to cook up to screw with him.
"What?" Jounouchi growled.
"My problem is that I'm so damn annoyed with you and your little group of friends!"
"We didn't do anything to you! We offered you friendship for fuck's sake, you fucking self-absorbed cold-hearted mother fucking son of a bitch!" Jounouchi barked. He felt blood trickle down his head and into his eye, and he realized that his stitches had come undone.
Kaiba noticed too, because he said softly, "You're bleeding."
"No fucking shit!" Jounouchi snarled. "Now get the fuck off of me!"
Kaiba got off of Jounouchi and stepped back a few paces, watching the blonde struggle to his feet.
He leaned against the wall, rasping and clasping at his arm. He was in damn near tears because of the pain shooting from every direction. "I hate you, Seto Kaiba," he growled, his left hand shaking. He couldn't recall ever being this angry in his life. He lowered his head, trying to stop the tears that had welled up from escaping. He blinked his eyes rapidly.
Kaiba stood there, arms clenched at his sides as he observed the shaking form of the blonde. Even for him, he was beginning to think that he had pushed things a little too far. "Jounouchi," he began softly, using his name for the first time, instead of some degrading insult.
"Get lost before I really fucking pound your ass!" he said, his voice shaking. "Go!" He tried to catch his breath. He stared at the ground and he realized that he must have started crying because there were several drops of moisture dotting the pavement.
Kaiba regarded him coldly, deciding not to continue with his previous thoughts. "I would suggest going to the nurse's office."
Then he walked away, leaving Jounouchi to try and gather his wits.
He could almost swear that he felt guilty. But maybe it was just guilt leftover from the night before. He had witnessed, from the window of his office building, a clearly injured person stumble around and pass out – and then he didn't do a damn thing about it.
