"Wow, this is great," I said through a mouthful of food. Since I was at Kaiba's, I expected to be having something really fancy to eat, like lobster or filet mignon. To my surprise, though, we were chowing down on burgers. But let me tell you, this is no fast food burger. The meat's perfectly cooked, thick and juicy. The tomato is ripe, and the cheese practically melts in my mouth.

"I know, right?" Mokuba answered me in the same fashion. Kaiba scoffed.

"Am I the only one here with manners?"

The kid wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Oops, sorry Seto."

I shrugged. "I never learned 'em as a kid."

Kaiba began rattling off things:

"Don't talk with food in your mouth. Chew with your mouth closed. Don't slurp your soup. Always put your napkin in your lap, especially if it's cloth. Always eat salad with-"

"Ok, ok, I get it," I interrupted him. 'S not like I was going to remember any of it, anyway.

"Is there a special way I have to hold my glass?" I asked, sarcastically, taking a gulp of water.

"Pinkie finger on the bottom of the cup," he answered. "So it doesn't clang against the table."

I stared at him blankly. "You're makin' that up."

"Yes, because I make jokes so often." Well, he did have a point there.

I shook my head in disbelief. "Yeah, well you have fun with your pinkie finger." A man came around and started collecting our empty plates, and I wondered what I should do now. Hang out in my room, I suppose. Just as I was faced with this dilemma, a solution appeared.

"Hey Jou, wanna go play video games with me?"

"You mean study for your math test?" Kaiba interjected. His brother groaned.

"Setoooo…"

"You've put it off long enough, Mokuba. Unless you want to fail and have your Playstation taken away –"

"Fine, fine. I'm going." The kid said in defeat. I don't think I've ever sympathized with another person more in my life than at that moment.

"You still want me to come?" I offered. It wasn't like I had anything better to do, and maybe we could still play some games afterwards.

"Sure!" He grinned. "You can help me with the stuff I don't know."

Across the table, I heard Kaiba laugh. "I wouldn't get your hopes up, Mokuba. Jounochi isn't exactly known for being the smartest person out there."

Gritting my teeth in frustration, I said "Whatever, Kaiba. If you're so smart then, why don't you help him?"

"I have work to finish," he said. "I'll be in my office."

He walked upstairs without any other form of farewell, and I huffed in frustration. He couldn't leave me alone for an entire day, could he? But still, did that mean he was leaving?

"Does he mean his office at work?" I inquired.

"Nah," Mokuba replied. "That would be a pain. He has an office here, down the hall from your room."

I nodded, following the kid upstairs to his bedroom. "That seems like all the rooms you'd need right there. What's in the rest of this place?"

Mokuba shrugged. "More guest rooms, meeting rooms, dining rooms, more bathrooms, a den. We have a movie theater and an arcade, too, but they really only get used when I have friends over."

I whistled, impressed. I knew the place was huge, but a movie theater?

Going into Mokuba's room, we sat down at his desk and he rummaged around in a drawer before pulling out a mathbook and a notebook. I didn't really look forward to doing math, but c'mon, how hard could it be?

"I have trouble with these," Mokuba pointed to a group of problems. "I'm okay with the regular ones, but when they throw the fraction in there, it throws me off."

Fractions. Right.

Looks like this might not be so easy after all.

It was four o'clock. We had spent an hour doing homework and an hour studying, and my brain was fried. I'd forgotten all the useless stuff you learn in middle school. I had told Mokuba that, and said maybe he should wait for his brother to help him, but I guess he never realized how bad I was at this stuff because he gave me a confused look and said I was doing fine.

Now the homework was put away, but the kid said we should stay in his room, since Kaiba was still working. Sitting there, he suddenly turned towards me.

"How are you feeling Jou? From last night?"

I blinked. Oh, right I had almost forgotten the reason I was here in the first place.

"I'm fine. I had a headache this morning, but it's gone now."

Mokuba smiled at me. "That's great."

He was such a nice kid, I felt embarrassed he had seen me like that. Hopefully he didn't think that's how I was all the time.

"Hey, I'm sorry you had to see that," I told him. "It doesn't happen often. Actually, I hardly ever drink, but…last night was hard on me." The details of which I wouldn't go into now – or ever, with him. Mokuba was a smart kid, but still a kid.

He nodded, not asking any question. "It's okay, Jou. I understand. I'm just glad we found you."

I thought of what Kaiba had told me this morning; that Mokuba had been the one who wanted to pick me up off the streets. I had almost forgotten that Mokuba himself had said that it had been Kaiba who wanted to.

"Oh! Mokuba, is what you told me this morning true? It was Kaiba's idea?"

"Well, I saw you," he answered. "But Seto told the driver to stop, and he went out into to the rain and pulled you into the limo. We were on the way to an important meeting of his, but big brother made the driver turn around and take you to the house first."

I blinked; so it was true. "Huh. I never expected Kaiba to do something like that."

"Yeah…" Mokuba hugged his knees. "He'd kill me if he found out I said this, but I think Seto likes you. All of you guys, I mean. It seems like he wants to be part of your group, but he doesn't want to ruin his reputation or something, so he just gets mad at you instead." He shrugged. "That's what I think, anyway." Suddenly, he got a determined look on his face and stared me straight in the eyes. "But you can't tell him I said that. Don't even bring the topic up, okay?"

"Nah, I won't say anything to him. If you haven't noticed, Kaiba and I can hardly have a civil conversation, let alone a heart to heart." I snickered, just thinking about it. To be honest, I don't really know if I believed the kids theory. I mean, I guess it kinda makes sense, but it's just too weird. Kaiba normally goes out of his way to ignore or harass us.

Changing the subject, I said "But thanks again, Mokuba. Who knows where I'd be if you guys hadn't picked me up." My stomach knotted up when I realized I might be dead.

"No problem Jou, that's what friends are for." He paused. "Or enemies."

I let out a short laugh. "You got that right, kid."

Mokuba smiled shyly. "But Seto was really nice today. You guys got along a lot better than you normally do."

"Don't get used to it," I told him. "He just feels bad for me. I guess even Kaiba knows not to kick someone while they're down."

"Yeah, I guess so. But I think it depends on the situation. My brother can be a pretty big ass to the people he works with."

I blinked. "Well, so much for having to watch my language in front of you."

The boy giggled. "Seto's the only one who's touchy about that. I don't know why, I hear him curse all the time, and he just doesn't realize it."

I smiled, actually knowing what Seto Kaiba felt like for once in my life. "He's just watchin' out for his little brother."

Pouting, Mokuba said "He just needs to realize I'm not a little kid anymore."

I sighed. "He probably just doesn't want to accept that you're growing up. Believe me, I know the feeling." I can never believe how old Serenity has gotten, especially since I don't get to see her every day. I still remember when we used to go down to the beach together…that seems like such a long time ago now.

"That's just how big brothers are," I continued.

Mokuba's pout was gone, a smile replacing it. "Yeah. Seto can act like a big jerk sometimes, but I know he really cares about me."

I put my hand on his head. The kid really could be cute sometimes. "Of course he does. So, you still up for those video games?"

His smile broadened into a grin. "Yeah! What do you wanna play?"

I shrugged. "What do you have?"

Mokuba let out a small giggle, and pulled a box out from under his bed. "These are all my games. I have about fifty," he said. "Mostly shooters, but I also have a lot of fighting games and a couple horror. Seto doesn't like me playing those as much, though. Oh, and I also have all of the GTA games, and other sports ones, although I don't play those as often."

Man, it might take me all night just to decide what game to play! Seeing this many games was pretty exciting. I had never personally owned a gaming system, but Honda and Yugi did, and I always went to their houses to play them.

"This is awesome!" I commented. "Why don't we start with a shooter, then? You can pick which one."

A confident smirk appeared on his face, making him look more like his older brother. "Fine, but don't expect me to go easy on you!"

Two hours later, we had played at least one game from almost every genre Mokuba had, and there was one thing I had learned: The kid was good. In my defense, it wasn't like I had a system at home to play on, so he had alot more practice than me. It was starting to get frustrating, too – we were on the final round of Mortal Combat, and Mokuba managed to get the final hit on me. "Dammit!" I yelled.

Just as Kaiba walked through the door. "Jounochi, what did I say about watching your language in front of my brother?"

I rolled my eyes. "Please, moneybags, if you really don't think –"

"Sorry, Seto," Mokuba cut in. "Anyway, what's up?"

He threw me a glance before turning back to his brother.

"It's time for dinner."

Awesome! I was starting to get hungry, too. As if to remind me, my stomach made the loudest noise I'd ever heard.

Mokuba laughed, but Kaiba's face showed no sign of amusement. "This must be pretty exciting for you, Jounochi. After all, you won't be eating off the streets today."

As soon as it had come out of his mouth, Mokuba looked at him in shock. I was a little surprised, too – I mean, that's nothing Kaiba wouldn't normally say, but c'mon! What a low life. I could feel my temperature rising in anger. Who the hell made that kind of comment right after my house burns down?!

I stood up from the floor, making sure my face showed no emotion. This was low, even for him. "Nice one, asshole. I'm sure your brother thinks you're really cool for makin' fun of me like that. Go suck one." With that, I brushed past him, never meeting his eyes. I won't lie, a comment like that hurt. I made my way to my room, walking quickly and locking the door behind me once I arrived. Maybe I was acting like a kid, but c'mon! Normally, Kaiba's comments wouldn't have this sort of effect on me – sure, I'd threaten to beat his sorry ass, but to make a comment like that right after my goddamn house burned down…he really was the worst. And here I thought he wasn't such a bad guy, after all. So much for Mokuba's theory of him wanting to be friends.

I laid down on my bed, throwing my arm over my face. Screw him. I didn't ask to be taken here, he was the one who invited me. I could leave, right now. Go stay with Yugi or Honda until Social Services came for me. Too bad it wasn't exactly a short walk back to town, or else I would. Who needs Kaiba, anyway….

I found myself waking up, still in my clothes. I guess I musta dozed off. Huh, how long had it been since I came in here? Groggily, I checked the digital clock next to me. It was seven, making my nap about an hour long. I was a still hungry as hell, but dinner would be done by now, and I doubt Kaiba saved me any of his special ass rich guy food. That was fine with me, it's not as if I'd never gone hungry before.

…Then again, Kaiba was probably holed up in his office again, and Mokuba was probably in his room, too. No harm in checking the fridge. Might as well take what I can get while I still can.

Climbing off my bed, I peeked out the door. There was a light coming under Mokuba's door, and another one from Kaiba's room. Content, I slipped out the door and down the stairs, making sure to be as quiet as possible. The last thing I needed was Kaiba coming down here calling me a theif of somethin'. Looking around, I didn't see any of the staff, either. Guess they all went home for the day.

The kitchen had a door to get in, like you see in restaurants. Scoffing, I walked through and quickly found the massive fridge. I didn't expect there to be leftovers, it wasn't like Kaiba to eat something twice. Damn bastard. Opening the fridge, it looked like I was right – there were only fresh ingredients. Luckily, I had been cooking for myself for years. And he had shrimp! Now, this was really starting to look good. I'm glad the damn rich boy didn't want to give me any of his food, it probably would've been some fancy ass meal, like snails or something. Either that, or he woulda given me something bad. But now, I get shrimp! I love shrimp, but it was always too expensive for us to get.

In no time, I had noodles boiling on the stove and the sauce being made. I'd cook the shrimp later, since it got done faster. Man, I couldn't wait to eat this! As I turned around to grab an onion out of the fridge, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I wheeled back to the door, to see Kaiba standing in the doorway. He was smug as ever, with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the doorframe. Scowling, I turned back to the stove. "What the hell do you want?"

Even though I wasn't looking at him, I could feel the look he was giving me. I gritted my teeth, furiously chopping away.

"This is my house, mutt. That question would be more appropriate to ask yourself."

I ignored him, knowing that f I answered, all hell would break loose. A minute went by before he spoke again, his voice considerably softer this time. "I could smell it from my room. I didn't know you could cook."

"Of course I can," I snapped. "After all, I wouldn't want to eat street food my whole life." It was quiet again for a while. I added the shrimp and sauce to the noodles and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet while it finished cooking. It smelled damn good, too, and I was practically slobbering as I poured the finished lo mein into the bowl. Kaiba was blocking the only entrance out of the room, though. I walked right up to him, looking him in the eyes. "Move, Kaiba."

Surprisingly, he actually did what I said, and stepped aside for me. I marched right over to the table and sat down, slurping away. Even though I was mad at moneybags, who was standing against the wall watching me eat, a small smile appeared on my face. I should give myself a pat on the back, this was damn good. But the fact that he was just standing there watching me eat was starting to tick me off. "Is there something you want?" I asked, through mouthful of food.

He didn't answer, so I kept eating. Screw it, if he wanted to be a weirdo he could.

"Don't think you're getting any of this," I added, after a couple of minutes.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Like I would eat something like that. While lo mein isn't the worst, I still don't like to eat it very often."

I had finished my bowl, and didn't really fell like sitting down here with moneybags staring at me any longer, so I stood up and went back into the kitchen to put the rest away. Probably the first time Kaiba's has left over food in his fridge.

I really thought he was done with me, but when I turned around to go back upstairs, he was standing in front of me.

"Jounochi, wait."

"Why should I, bastard?"

"I wanted to apologize." His voice was calm, like it was the most normal thing in the world. I was shocked – I don't think in all the time I've known him, Kaiba's ever apologized for anything. Especially not to me. I couldn't help but to look up at him in surprise. "What I said was unnecessary," he continued. "I wasn't thinking about the current situation. At any other time, you would have just reacted like you always do – making pointless threats and talking big. You've been handling the whole situation so well that honestly, I forgot about it. I just wanted to let you know that I didn't mean for my words to hurt you like that."

I didn't know what to think. Seto Kaiba, apologizing to me. Not only that, but it sounded sincere, to boot. I decided to just say what was on my mind. "I didn't think you were capable of saying something like that, Kaiba. I'm impressed. And…" I hesitated. The guy was definitely a bastard, and I was definitely mad at him…but the fact that he tried to do something about it meant a lot, regardless.

"I appreciate it," I continued. "That means a lot, coming from a rich prick like you."

I realized then that today was Saturday. I had to go back to school in two days. The whole thing seemed kind of unthinkable, considering everything I had gone through.

"How are you handling it?" Kaiba asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I mean, for someone who's father just died, you don't seem that beat up about it."

I scoffed. "You're not really one for subtlety, are ya?"

"I don't need to be." His reply was quick. "I know you can handle it. You might be an idiot, Jounochi, but you're by no means weak."

"Hn. Well…thanks, I think." I sighed. "I'm not thinking about it much, to be honest." If only Kaiba knew everything I had to deal with, he'd be amazed at how happy I am all the time. This wasn't any different from what I'd been doing my whole life.

"I mean, it's not like the guy was the best father ever. I never wanted him dead, though."

Kaiba seemed to be thinking about something, and it took him a minute before he finally said "Jounochi…weren't you wondering who changed you into those pajamas last night?"

Wait, what? Where was this coming from all of a sudden? "Are you saying you did it, Kaiba? You don't have a thing for me, do you?" I was joking, of course, but I really don't get what Kaiba's point was. "I guess one of the butlers did it, what's your point?" I asked.

Kaiba looked at me again, like he was trying to figure out if I was being serious or not. What was the big deal? It's not like I care if another guy sees me in my….underwear….

Then, I realized what Kaiba meant. Of course, it had been so obvious! I had been so distracted by everything else that I hadn't even thought about it. God, I'm an idiot. I became even more conscious of the cuts and bruises that littered my body.

My face turned serious, and I met Kaiba's eyes. "You know."

He didn't affirm or deny the accusation. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"What good would that have done?" I snapped. "He was my father, I couldn't really do anything about it."

His voice rose in volume now. "You could have gone to the police! You could have gone to Yugi's!"

"Don't try to act like you know me, Kaiba." My voice was a low hiss. "You don't know anything about my life, and you of all people shouldn't be trying to help me now. Don't act like we're friends."

"You're one to talk about hypocrisy," he growled. "All you and your friends talk about is friendship, and then when I try to help you, you block me out."

"What have you done to deserve it?!" I yelled. "Nothing! You've treated me like crap since the day I met you. This is the only decent thing you've done for anyone except Mokuba in your entire life! We've given you plenty of chances, Kaiba, and you just choose not to take them!"

"It's not like you would have accepted me even if I had tried!" He was yelling too now, something the calm and collected Kaiba rarely did. "Even if I had tried, and you would have accepted me, I'd never really be the same! You'd always look at me different, because I am different. There's no point in trying to be friends with you, because it would only lead to more discomfort!"

That shut me up. I stared at him for a long time, trying to figure out if he meant it or not. It turned out Seto Kaiba was more complicated than I thought. Maybe Mokuba's theory really wasn't that far off.

"That's your problem," I said. "Not mine."

With that, I brushed past him, and went to bed.

This was a pretty dramatic chapter, huh? What do you guys think? Next chapter, I think I'm going to write it from Kaiba's POV, so look out for that! I hope you liked it - review if you did!