Chapter 4

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The nightmares continued like that for the next week. Adding mortification to the mix, Mokuba had rushed into his room twice—waking Seto each time almost instantly as the bedroom door slammed open and into the wall.

He'd never had nightmares like that, even when his mother died. Or, at least, he didn't think so. He'd have recalled something, young as he was back then.

The "Jounouchi" nightmares, as he referred to them in his head repeatedly in Kaiba Corp business meetings, stayed with him. Each horrible, graphic detail lingered. And, for the first time in his life, he felt almost haunted.

The meeting room's long, black table carved with sloping edges in a retro-modern style was littered with copies of the meeting minutes, scribbled on yellow notepads, a wide assortment of PDAs, and dirty coffee cups. Somebody had brought doughnuts and there were three artificially flavored strawberry ones left. Seto gathered his papers up with a nod to the room. "Then, let's get on that. And, Nakajima?"

A conservative-looking, middle aged Japanese man from his security department raised his head. There was something of his past Japanese Army career that would be forever reflected in his eyes. A good trait as far as the CEO was concerned.

"Good job out there in front of the hospital last week. I didn't want the press to cause me trouble."

There was a very low bow in response to that. It was no secret to Seto that Nakajima had felt a crushing blow to Jounouchi being shot at the tournament. This was an important event for the company and the victim was his boss' classmate. And, for awhile, rumor at Kaiba Corp was that he would be replaced with his assistant, Matsushita Fumi—a beautiful and somewhat ruthless micromanager who modeled her hair and makeup after American movie stars. With the exceptions of Kaiba Seto and her immediate boss, she spoke informally with an edge that promised pain should she not be obeyed or kept in the loop regarding every single detail that was within her sphere of influence.

When Matsushita Fumi got to work each day, she approached it as though everyone in the world was stupid and needed her guidance—by charming them into submission or simply crushing them. That was how she got this far.

Nakajima Nagare, a straight shooter, didn't like her and always would. The feeling was mutual, though, because he had the job she wanted so badly.

The room had cleared out fairly quickly—the smokers, Fumi being one of them, and the caffeine addicted making their way toward the vending machines. Seto picked up his cup of half-cooled dark roasted coffee and took a sip as he made his way out. "I'll be going to the hospital again all week," he said over his shoulder at Nakajima. "Make sure that he's well guarded. If the press sneaks in, I'll have someone's hide for it."

"Yes sir." Nakajima gave nod.


Jounouchi had been shot at the tournament the week before summer vacation. Now, they were a week into it—which made things, for the short-term, easier. Instead of working full days, the young CEO spent half of his time at the hospital along with Jou's father.

At first Yugi and Anzu thought it was strange. Unlike the rest of their friends who had part-time jobs that took up most of their time because of set schedules, Seto had intentionally made his schedule flexible to be at the hospital. Later, Yugi and Anzu just came to accept it as a bizarre "norm" and decided, among themselves, that Seto was trying to either make a friend or to ease his guilty conscience. Anzu's vote was "both."

Dully, Seto sat in the chair as he watched Yugi and Anzu leave to go home and get a bite of dinner. He'd suggested that they come back in the morning because Jou wouldn't wake up until then. It was even easier to get rid of "The Old Man," as Seto thought of Jounouchi Katashi-san. They'd sit in relative silence for about ten to fifteen minutes with the news on TV filling the foreground. Then, Seto would bring up the subject of taking another smoking break followed by a limo ride back to the hotel. From their short conversations, he'd gotten the drift that the elder Jounouchi was developing a slight crush on one of the nurses. He seemed to know when it was her break time, too. And the young CEO knew how to take advantage of that.

The body in the bed tossed and turned. Blue eyes watched.

Jounouchi had small bouts of wakefulness throughout the day now. It was true that he slept fitfully most of the time. But, for some reason, Seto's presence helped. Just being in the room allowed the blond to relax and fall into a deep sleep. He even snored a few times—much to the amusement of the visitors in the room. But, it was Yugi who noticed it first and had a quiet word with Seto in the hallway—asking him to visit everyday, if he could, until Jounouchi got better.

Ordinarily, the CEO would have instantly said "no" to any wimpy request from Yugi. But, realizing the truth behind the words, he gave a begrudging "fine," which made his soul lighten.

Sitting beside Jounouchi, who no longer needed the mask over his face, Seto seemed to have resigned something within himself. It was as though he'd given up something, let go of it, for the greater good. And, where Jounouchi was concerned, he wasn't sure what that was, however…

Honey colored eyes cracked open. "Kai…ba?"

Seto turned slowly and leaned in. "Something?" He tried to force his voice into sounding normally.

"Oh…you're here…and…" He glanced around the room. The last rays of sunset were streaming through the blinds and the room was darkening. He quirked a tired grin. "Thanks."

"You didn't answer my question," Seto returned.

"Yeah… I know." A faint, boyish grin. "Nothing, but thanks."

"You sure?" Kaiba said with an edge of concern as he took his seat again next to the bed. "You're not just trying to play tough guy, huh?"

"I'm a tough mutt," Jou whispered back.

"Mutt?" He raised a delicate eyebrow. That was the name he always used for Jou when they argued at school. The fights would often start with name calling. Now, those memories held some regret, too.

"Yeah…" A slight smirk followed. "Mutt… After all, you named me." Jou chuckled until he realized that he was the only one who thought it was funny.

"Stop it," Seto sighed. "You've always hated that name."

"Yeah…but, it's okay now…somehow."

Jounouchi looked into Seto's face and suddenly got the same images over and over again. They were disjointed, pictures and feelings locked together. They were important and just beyond his grasp. If he tried hard enough, he could get dream images of a white yukata with gold dragonflies embroidered, cherry blossoms falling onto him, and a bridge. Voices. His. Kaiba's. Tones, but no words. Everything else was shrouded in mist and, all too soon, faded away.

Jou cringed, coming back to himself after he shifted in bed and caused his stitches to hurt like hell. He breathed, forcing the throbbing pain to fade. He wondered how long his mind been drifting. It was no good to dwell on it, though. But, the thought lingered no matter how hard Jounouchi tried.

Then, he felt it again. The hand in his and slightly concerned blue eyes searching his face. "Are you okay?"

"I-I just moved wrong," he explained, "been in this bed for awhile now."

With a slight blush, Jounouchi laced their fingers and closed his eyes, too embarrassed to see his reaction. Holding hands? Them? Yes, he was taking a risk, but the feeling was so natural. Plus, the fact that he'd gotten accustomed to Seto's concerned looks—motivated from guilt, he guessed—but, it felt good not to fight. In fact, this was the longest conversation that they'd had since the incident. And, oddly, it was the longest one they'd ever had without insults or arguing.

Jou squeezed their hands a little. He wondered if Seto would allow this for very long. Surely…not, he sighed to himself as he started to drift off again.

The pain was down to a dull throb now. He could ignore it if he really tried. And he did try.

Jou waited for the hand to withdraw. Some part of his consciousness lingered, hanging on the edge of sleep until he, finally, slipped away.

But, the hand held firm and anchored him to this world.

After all, that was Seto's job.


They were talking in the room. Jounouchi could hear them and remained still, his eyes closed.

"Well, I think it's a good thing for my son to hang out with you." There was the stench of cigarette smoke. It sprawled out its fingers and began to taint the clean, antiseptic room with an unpleasant staleness.

Dad.

"Hey, it's not just the guys. I care about him, too. He's been such a good friend to me."

Anzu.

"I agree, we really have been lucky. We've had so many adventures together, huh?"

Yugi.

"Well, friendship aside, school resumes soon and we'll need to arrange for his homework to be sent from school so that he can keep up."

K-Kaiba…?

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room for whatever reason, Jou couldn't discern it but he could feel it. Mostly, it was radiating from Kaiba and a part, a quiet little part of himself, wanted to appease him—as though that were necessary. It felt so odd because he was used to fighting with Kaiba, not making him happy.

"Well, I'll be needin' to go back to work in a few days or I'll lose my job. So, I was wondering if someone could drop by the house and see my kiddo…You know…" The voice turned in Kaiba's direction. "Visit with him."

The young CEO sighed openly and his footsteps sounded in the direction of where Jou knew his father to be or where Jou guessed he was standing. "I doubt…sincerely…that he would be able to care for himself in your home," Seto said coldly over some comment that came from Yugi's mouth that was nothing more than "babble" in Seto's opinion. "Therefore, I will have him room at the mansion with me and my younger brother, Mokuba. The staff can manage day to day tasks, and I will send you text messages on his progress."

"Really Kaiba-kun?" Anzu said, fairly impressed at the generosity.

"I just said it, didn't I?" Kaiba growled.

"How wonderful! I'll feel so much better knowing you'll be looking after him," Jounouchi-san said. There was a falsely cheerful tone that made Jou feel awkward to the point of sick.

"So, now, I can have the limo drive all three of you to whatever destination you need." He turned to Yugi. "You said you were going to lunch anyway."

"Oh, that's right," he agreed.

Seto sat down as three sets of feet made it to the door and through it.

Seto settled in the chair which was surprisingly comfortable. Well, either that or his butt was getting used to it.

"They're gone now, Jounouchi. So, you can quit pretending to be asleep."

Honey colored eyes opened slowly. He didn't bother to stretch or fake a yawn.

"So…uh…" He laughed sheepishly with a hand behind his head. "I guess…you're …kind of stuck with me."

Blue eyes narrowed at the words "stuck with."

Misunderstanding it all, Jou added, "I'll do whatever the doctors say, get better, and disappear as quickly as I can."

Blue eyes narrowed at him even more.

"No…you'll do as I say…"

He leaned in and Jounouchi swallowed hard.

They were so close. Too close.

Jou could barely breathe the words, "Uh….okay?"

"Good. That's what I want to hear."


Putting Jounouchi's father on the airplane was one of the greatest pleasures he'd had in a long time. The limo driver had texted him ten minutes ago with the good news. Now, all he had to do was get rid of the Geek Squad and he'd be very happy.

Seto was still working half days at the office and, now that school was back in session, evenings with Jounouchi—tutoring him. The Geek Squad had a nasty habit of showing up just when Jou was getting it in math or was focused on a historical topic that was sure to be tested on later. It took all of his effort to keep from yelling at Yugi, Honda, Anzu, and, sometimes, other "little friends" from school who, he suspected, was more interested in him than the poor patient in the bed. Still, he couldn't prove it beyond the shadow of a doubt, so he simply tolerated it with gritted teeth.

And, each time, Jou would flash him a slight "Aw, come on… Ya can put up with them for fifteen minutes, right?" look which took the wind out of his sails.

Seto would lean back in the chair, huff something that sounded like a recognition that they were there, and open his laptop to drown out the "Buddy! Hi! How ya doing tonight?" and other, far too cheerful, words assaulting him.

Usually, Anzu would sit on the corner of Jou's bed and remark, "He's looking much better."

She did it again and Seto raised an eyebrow at Anzu. It was crude for a single girl to sit on a guy's bed—even if he was in the hospital. She was being far too familiar. And it pissed him off.

Then, Yugi joined her.

Now, Seto's blood boiled and he wanted to pitch the whole lot of them unceremoniously out the door.

"Kaiba's tutoring me again," Jou said happily. He pointed to the tray stand where his snacks, sent over by Mokuba, were usually kept. Now, however, it had a small stack of text books and papers. "He doesn't have to," he added diplomatically and noted with a smile that it seemed to stroke the young CEO's ego, "but, I'm grateful."

"Oh, well," Yugi said with a wide grin, turning his head left and right to see the two young men where were now getting along famously, "we won't keep you."

That seemed to cause a smirk to crawl up on Kaiba's face and, this time, even Anzu noticed it.

"Why is…?" she began only to have a small hand on her shoulder and Yugi interrupting with, "Gotta go." He grabbed Jounouchi's hand and gave it a squeeze. "See ya later."

Jounouchi's honey colored eyes brightened. "Yeah, Yug… Thanks for coming by to see me."

When they got to the door, Yugi turned and asked, "Oh, yes… When are they letting you go out of here."

"Ordinarily, I'd have to stay for, at least, another three weeks. But…"

Seto sighed impatiently and then interrupted with, "I promised his father I'd look after him. So, he'll be coming back to the mansion with me and a select hospital staff on call twenty four hours a day."

"Wow!" a chunky, brunette girl said, peeking behind Anzu. Seto recognized her as one of his own "fan girls" and rolled his eyes openly at the way she kept staring at him with adoration. Not once did she say a kind word to Jounouchi. If she had been smart, she never would have come in the first place. "Does that mean we can come visit at the Kaiba Mansion?" The hint for an invitation was follow-ed up with a giggle.

Jou glanced at Kaiba and noted his great annoyance. Exactly what was eating him, he didn't know. "I'll leave that up to him. I'll only be a guest."

Kaiba closed his laptop with a crisp snap. "They're your…friends." He said the last word with distaste. "I'll be at work anyway. So, it doesn't matter."

The fangirl frowned a bit at that news.

"You're a good guy, Kaiba," Jou said under his breath to where only Seto could hear clearly. Then, to the others he said, "So, please visit me, huh?"

And the room laughed with Kaiba scowling as he put his laptop under his chair. He was surrounded by mostly well-meaning idiots. But they were idiots just the same.


The reporter looked up at the camera, dripping with excitement. This was a good story and she'd milk it for all it was worth. They'd probably run the video again at ten.

"Tanaka Yuuta …has escaped from jail right from under the noses of The Domino Police this afternoon." She paused for dramatic effect until the director in the booth grumped at her to continue on with the story. She gave a slight wink at him.

"Tanaka, who was taken into police custody two and a half weeks ago, and still stands accused of shooting duelist Jounouchi Katsuya at a tournament in Domino City recently, slipped away from a holding area for prisoners and into what was supposed to be a locked room behind a courtroom. According to sources, a court officer spotted him and, thinking he was a lawyer in a three piece suit, allowed him to leave the premises."

She pulled a black strand of her glossy hair behind her ear.

"We will be keeping you up to date as this story unfolds… Once again, let's show you the footage we have of Jounouchi Katsuya's shooting at…"

"Off," Seto growled as he aimed the TV remote at the television. It had been lying next to Jounouchi's hand the whole time but the young man didn't seem to notice—his eyes riveted on the first few moments of footage with the small images of himself and Tanaka on the screen, the opponent raising a gun and, then, the TV went blank.

It was as though all of the life had drained from the frail young man. "Thanks…Kaiba," he said absently.

Seto opened his fingers and allowed the remote to hit the bed. "No problem," he grumbled as he sat down in the chair that was quickly becoming "his chair" in the room.

Jounouchi turned to him. "I appreciate it…really."

There was a far away look in his eyes that Seto hated. He knew that it would happen someday, but now was not the time for Jou to get a front row seat of his own shooting. This was the time for him to heal, not worry about his shooter escaping.

"You're safe and I'm with you. So, nothing can happen."

Jou shook his head, bloody images filling his mind. "You can't make that promise and I won't hold you to it."

A dark shadow passed over Seto's face. "Are you telling me that I'm not capable of protecting one single…Mutt?"

Jou smiled at that attempt to start an argument—just like the old days. He's trying to distract me by arguing. So, I must really be getting better, huh?

The smile grew slightly wider and more apologetic. "I can't make you responsible for me. I'll be fine."

"Of course…you will," Seto agreed in a bored tone, trying to hide his impatience with Jou as he opened his laptop up to see if he'd gotten any e-mails from Kaiba Corp. "…Because I'll be supervising you."

"Wha-?" Honey colored eyes took on a shocked appearance. "I'm not someone you can just 'supervise' because you want to. I don't work for you."

"I gave your father my word that I would look after you," Seto said while clicking the icon that would let him into his e-mail. "So, that's what I intend to do." He pulled out a pair of reading glasses from his breast pocket and Jou blinked at that in surprise.

He needs glasses? He doesn't wear them at school.

"I consider it an oral contract with your father. Thus, I intend to honor it." Blue eyes scanned the title of the first message and he deleted it without opening it. "I hate spam," he murmured, clicking the mouse. Then, he glanced at the bizarre stare Jou was still giving him—eyes riveted on his reading glasses. "And, for the record, I wear contacts to school because these things," he took off the glasses, "make me look like a geek."

"Not a geek…" Jou denied with a shake of his head.

There was a slightly curled smile coming from the young CEO. "Then, what, pray tell, would I be? To you, at least?"

Jou folded his arms and looked away, a blush forming. "I haven't decided yet."


Author's note: This kind of prisoner escape actually happened in New York City recently.