Chapter 7

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Four days had passed without getting much information on Tanaka or his whereabouts. How the man could stay hidden this well in Domino without help seemed more and more unlikely. And that didn't sit well with the young CEO. True, he had his mansion under armed guard and state of the art security cameras. But, he had to also make it appear to the outside world that he had not stepped up security at all. Nakajima Nagare had given him that advice and it seemed good. It also worked well, and gave ample warning, when the TV reporters came knocking on the front gate asking all kinds of questions as to the reason why Jounouchi Katsuya was recovering in his home and not somewhere else.

"How did they find out about that?" Seto demanded of Nakajima over a steaming cup of extra dark coffee in his office. Nakajima stood his ground with Seto as he always did, never backing away. But, the frown settling into his face seemed more than legitimate—saying that it wasn't just a "Seto Kaiba" problem but a "Kaiba-Nakajima" issue that needed to be settled.

"I'll go back to my contacts at the police and see if there's anything they've come up with."

Seto glanced up at him from his desk. "Just the police…?"

The question hung in the air for a moment.

"We do have friends in low places…but I leave that sort of thing up to Matsushita and her subordinate du jour Matsuto Li." He placed his hands behind his back and clasped them, very pleased with the slight jab.

The two shared knowing smirks. It wasn't beauty but her underworld contacts which made Matsushita Fumi valuable to Kaiba Corp. But, the very thing that made her useful was also a liability. What she didn't know was that she's reached to top of her career at Kaiba Corp and Seto didn't have any intentions of letting her climb any higher. If he had to create a lateral position in Vancouver with no power or authority, he'd do it. The woman really liked the color of his money. So, the CEO didn't think she would cause much of a fuss when the time came to move her.

Kaiba Seto now sat at his desk and was typing another memo until his Blackberry chimed. He picked up his phone and examined the text message.

BORED.

Seto fought down his amusement. So, Mutt finally started playing with the mobile phone he bought him.

DEAL WITH IT.

There was a brief delay before SO MEAN! appeared followed by HELP ME! BOB THE PINK KOI FISH IS TEACHING ME MANNERS & I'M ACTUALLY PAYING ATTENTION!

Now, Seto was struggling to hold back a grin.

MAYBE, YOU'LL LEARN SOMETHING FROM THE KID'S CHANNEL. I SUGGEST ANIMAL PLANET NEXT, MUTT

A brief pause and Seto was tapping his foot, waiting.

WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME?

Seto blinked at that message. "Home" was something he thought about occasionally. His mansion was, technically, his home with Mokuba. But, the place felt better, calmer, and warmer with a certain blond haired "mutt" who, just from his bedroom alone, seemed to make the place worth coming back to. In fact, even today, he was looking forward to simply packing up his things and returning.

"Knock Knock," sang Matsushita Fumi at the door. She had dyed her hair with red highlights near her face and she was wearing a navy and white "power suit" (as she liked to think of it) cut with a pencil skirt with a thin, red tie tucked into her black leather belt. Matsushita slinked into the office with a file folder in one hand and her iPhone in the other. "You know, I really should have called before I came over…but your secretary was probably taking a break…like she is right now." She was now next to Seto's desk. "I know what you're thinking…the same as me…" Matsushita leaned lower, near Seto's face. "Good secretaries are hard to find. I know what that's like. I've been through five of them this year."

Seto raised an eyebrow at that and folded his arms across his chest. "Which brings to mind a new idea…" His blue eyes met her brown ones. "Maybe, I should go through all of the directors' files and see who has the largest employee turnover rates. Firing people or having them leave after only a month or two can be draining on a company's finances in terms of training and work hours wasted."

Her smile flickered at that. "Well, yes, Kaiba-sama. We should look into that at a future date. But, of course, with tax season upon us, we might have to think of budgetary issues in the near future."

Seto's eyes narrowed slightly. Oh, you're good at distractions…almost as good as me. But, not quite.

Seto's phone chirped again. Another text message.

He picked up the phone while moving his chair to the side so he would have more privacy. He could feel brown eyes straining to see what had been sent.

WOOF! WOOF! LUNCHTIME SOON AND MUTT WANTS A MILKBONE. DON'T MAKE ME EAT APPLESAUCE ALL ON MY OWN. CAN YOU EAT WITH US SO I'LL HAVE REAL FOOD?

"Appetite's back, huh?" Seto's face almost smirked until he noticed, with distain, that Matsushita Fumi had perched her heart-shaped rump on the edge of his desk, her legs crossed seductively. She was so close to him, now, that he could smell her strong, American perfume and the pencil skirt was riding up on her thigh. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Kaiba-sama?" She leaned forward, eyes sweeping Seto's handsome face. True, he was younger than she was, but that was just fine. His money more than made up for it, and she knew a few tricks that any young man would enjoy no matter where they were together—as long as it was alone.

"I have a lunch date," Seto said standing up abruptly. The chair rolled back as he powered down his laptop.

"B-But…but…" She checked her watch with eyes large and disbelieving. "It's only 10:21!" Didn't businessmen take late lunches?

"Must go," he went on as he reached the door and gestured for her to exit out of it. There was something about her today—more flirtatious than usual—and he didn't feel right about leaving her where she was, next to his locked desk. Did she know that Nakajima Nagare had been in to see him? Probably. Did she want to know what was said? Most likely. Would he take advantage of that?

Oh, yes.

"By the way," Seto stated evenly as she passed through the threshold, "did Nakajima explain to you about that request for you …to meet up with your…friends?" Yes, he'd phrase it like that.

She swung her hips seductively as she turned back to face him. Seto could tell she didn't like it but that she'd do it anyway.

Friends in low places…

"Actually, they're friends of my older brother's from long…long ago." She tucked a reddish strand of hair behind her ear, trying to look demure. "But, of course, I'd do anything for you…Kaiba-sama." She practically purred his name and Seto flatly ignored it. He glanced down at his Blackberry instead.

Chime.

Chime.

"From someone…special?" she hinted with a touch of envy reaching her eyes. Seto saw it and smiled thinly.

"V-e-r-y," the young CEO said like rich velvet and made his way for his private elevator, passing by his secretary's desk with a curt "I'll be back around one. Let no one into my office…as usual."

The middle aged secretary humphed an "okay" with a "corner-of-the-eye" glare towards the sexy slut-ette who had managed to sneak by when she was taking a well-deserved bathroom break. After all, secretaries have bladders, too!

Matsushita Fumi didn't look embarrassed, as the secretary had hoped she would, but frustrated—which was all the better. Matsushita turned on her red, five inch stiletto heel and clomped off. She needed some caffeine and would get some in the cafeteria on the first floor in whatever form she could find.

"Do you know how hard it is to tie bandages on a patient who is busy texting?" Kudo complained with emphasis in his tone. All of the squirming and wiggling was one thing but Jou was working the keys and only raising his arms high enough to help get the job done when prodded at least three times.

"Oh…uh…sorry." He placed a hand behind his blond head.

"So?" Kudo asked, cutting another piece of medical tape while calculating where to put it.

"So, uh…?" Jou was lost.

"So, is he coming for lunch or not?" Kudo stood back to admire his work, his well toned muscular arms flexing and hands on his hips.

Chime.

Chime.

Chime.

Jou almost dropped the phone, juggling it for a moment until he steadied himself and read the words ON MY WAY; WILL PUT LAPTOP IN HOME OFFICE & JOIN YOU.

"He's coming!" Jou cheered and Kudo smiled at that enthusiasm. He remembered when his wife, back then—the mysterious and sexy half Japanese-half Korean girl at the Mr. Doughnuts shop, had said "yes" to going out to the movies with him. If Kudo remembered right, he did a little victory dance in front of all the other customers at the store. It was so embarrassing that she almost called off the date.

"Fine, then," Kudo said, "I'll tell the cook. And we'll switch the menu to onion soup, sourdough bread, and mild cheese."

Jou nodded and watched Kudo leave. For a moment, just a moment, he admired his nurse's well-built form and then looked down at himself in comparison. Actually, there was no comparison. Kudo was older, true, but he must also work out. He had strong biceps which stood out and, Jou could guess, a toned six pack, too. Jounouchi wondered, briefly, if anyone would be attracted to his own slightly narrowed shoulders and lithe body. It wasn't your typical Japanese form, being taller and with longer draping arms.

But, anyway…

Images of Seto flashed through his mind like still photographs. Kaiba Seto could have anyone he wanted. He was sexy to the extreme with perfect skin and a brainy nature. He had a mansion, more money than anyone could spend in a lifetime, and had traveled to foreign countries—speaking the native languages with ease.

Jou thought about himself. The most he'd done was travel with Yugi and the gang (and borrowed money from Anzu to do it. In fact, he would probably be paying Anzu back until the day he died.) Then, his mind flashed to the tournament. He almost died that day. Blood. Cards sprayed and soaked in red. It had just been one bullet, but that one had almost been enough. There had been complications, too, in the hospital. But the doctors and staff seemed to deemphasize it when speaking to him—as though they'd traumatize him more by telling the whole truth.

Jounouchi hated lies—whether they were told outright or by omission.

But, now that he thought about it, maybe he was doing that very thing. No matter how many times he smiled or changed the direction of a conversation to avoid painful topics, Jou knew that he was feeling different. It wasn't just physical.

The image came back to him. He could see the scene, the smile Tanaka had given Kaiba, the gun raised, and the ending result.

You can't outrun a bullet.

Jounouchi tussled his own hair in frustration. And, now, just look at me. I've got scars from what that bum did to me. And scars from the doctors trying to save me.

His honey colored eyes welled with tears.

I'll never look the same with my shirt off. I'm…ugly…now. He made a fist tightly, head dropped. Some part of me wants to go back to normal…to the way it was before all this happened and the stupid tournament. When I was stronger. I'm safe now, maybe, but that doesn't mean that I feel okay…not like before.

Why can't I be like I was before?

He shook his head miserably. He'd been trying to push away these depressing thoughts. But they always came to him when he was alone.

The image of the CEO came back.

What I want is…and I can't believe I'm thinking this…I want Kaiba. Right now, I want him. And, I know… we've changed, the two of us.

He stood from the bed, easing himself up gently. Those bandages were a tad snug and he was still really, really sore.

"I don't think it's out of pity," Jou said to himself. "Kaibas don't feel pity…not even Mokuba."

He made his way to the door, a hand on his slightly aching back. He'd been in that bed too long.

"But if this…whatever it is that's happening between us…stays... Then, I want to get stronger, better. I want to pull my own weight and do as much as I can on my own to show that I don't need protection forever. I need to stand on my own two feet."

Lethargically, Jounouchi lumbered down the hall in search of Seto's office. It would be a nice surprise to find him already there and waiting for a certain CEO—a step towards "normal," a step towards "healthy." Proof that he could make it around the house on his own.

It's impossible to move forward if you're chained to the past. I refuse to let Tanaka have that power. He will not chain me to a painful past.

He chuckled lightly to himself at the thought.

I want a happy future…with someone…someday.

The house was much larger on the inside than Jounouchi had remembered. Though, the few times he had been in the place, he had been so defensive about the "Great Kaiba Seto" that he hadn't paid much attention other than how much everything cost and the grand expense put into the place not to mention all of the servants in formal black and white uniforms. What had been missing from the whole scene, he decided, was the presence of a Golden Lab by the name of "Catherine" or some such over the top name. Didn't all rich people have fancy dogs with fancy names?

Then, he remembered his own name, "Mutt."

"Poor Kaiba," Jou sighed, peeking into a room that seemed to be a music room with a baby grand piano dominating, "his only dog is a mutt."

Servants, seemingly far too busy for words, slipped past before pajama-clad Jou could ask for directions. Maybe, he'd run into his nurse. That would make things much easier.

On a hunch, Jounouchi took another hallway and kept going.

"You know, it would be great to have a map…or a place to sit." He stumbled across French doors half covered by fancy lace sheers. He unlocked them and gave them a soft push. "I'm really getting… Oh, wow! A pool!"

Obviously, he had made it to the back of the house where a pool, three times the size of the one at school, beckoned him to walk forward. The sun was shining high in the sky and the ripples on the water winked at him brightly.

He shaded his eyes, wishing for sunglasses. "How great is this?!"

It felt so good to have the breeze on his face and the warmth of "outside" after being cooped up indoors for so long. There was something sensual about it, too—a ribbon-like breeze followed by the radiating heat.

"But I'm still a little tired," Jou commented as he took a lounge chair by the pool. His body fit the gently curving chair perfectly and he draped an arm across his eyes. The light was a tad bright now.

Yes, too bright.

He shut his eyes, only for a moment—or, so, he told himself.

"Just what the doctor ordered," he sighed happily, "…a chance to sit in the sun. But, in a minute, I gotta go find that loud mouth's office." He quirked a grin. "Won't Kaiba be surprised ta see me?"

A face peered in.

"Oh, look what I see…" Tanaka Yuuta, in a delivery uniform, stood on his toes as he pressed his face between the iron bars of the fence. "It's just as the note said…he really is staying here." Tanaka's voice grew lower and more venomous with each word. Now, the man regretted not putting more than one bullet into the "loser" who had caused his god so much trouble. What he couldn't figure out was why Jounouchi Katsuya was staying at the Kaiba Mansion, sunning himself by the pool. And how did he manage to recover so quickly, anyway?

It made him seethe.

Another few days. That's all he had to do. Tanaka patted his chest where he'd stashed all he needed for his "visit" in a few days. The map was the most helpful of all and, after staying another night in the local homeless shelter, he quickly made his way to the place where he'd been left this uniform and pizza to deliver. Of course, he was really supposed to case the house. But, he figured, it wasn't a bad cover to be handed and, later, he could eat the pizza after picking off the green peppers.

But, now, with Jounouchi Katsuya so close, the temptation to strike was so tempting. All he would have to do was…

"Oi! What you doing there?" shouted a voice from behind and Tanaka froze. It was one of Kaiba's men in black with dark sunglasses.

"Where, the hell, is the entrance to this place?" Tanaka fussed, tugging the cap over his eyes.

"Eh?" the man said and then spoke into his Motorola Smartphone "C-5 checking in, I've got a live one here trying to deliver what appears to be an extra large pizza."

"Hell, yeah," Tanaka fumed, "and all I got was the crummy address… Ya know, this pizza's already paid for. I could have just taken off with it and nobody'd know except the idiot who didn't give me more than a name."

"And that would be?" the man said, somewhat disbelieving.

"For Katsuya Jounouchi from…" Okay, he had to think quickly. Then, he remembered hanging around an electronics store in one of the shopping centers. "A gift from FM Radio 79.9, The Eagle."

"Oh, those idiot reporters from earlier," the muscle man cursed and knocked the pizza box out of Tanaka's hands, spinning it onto the ground. A little dust cloud rose up. "We told them to go away and we had no comment. You hear me?"

The pizza box was still on the ground and, now, covered in dirt. Tanaka simply stared at it with hands on his hips. "Well, this is the address. And I did my part by showing up and trying to deliver it." He gestured to the food.

"Yeah," the man gruffed.

Tanaka held his hand out. "That pizza was paid for, but I still didn't get any tip."

The man in black's face melted into a scowl. "Get outta here, ya bum! Go!"

Tanaka stormed off. He threw "Idiot! See if we ever deliver here again!" over his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," the tall Japanese man retorted, "go kiss my ass."

"Where is he?!" Seto demanded hotly to an empty room. The bed had been freshly made by a passing servant who had even gone so far as to put a dark chocolate on the pillow—which Jou always treasured—but there was no sign of the blond anywhere. The bathroom door was open ajar, too.

Nothing.

Kudo came bustling behind Seto with a tray and two steaming bowls of soup, bread, cheese and butter. He stopped abruptly when he overheard Seto, put two and two together, and realized that his patient had disappeared without his knowledge. "Kaiba-sama, I told him that I was stepping out to get the meal. I have no idea where he could have—" But that was all that he could get out before Seto went power walking past him with a look of pure fury.

"Mutt's gone AWOL and I'm going to have his ass on a platter if this turns out to be a bigger deal than it already is!"

Kudo put the tray down on the nightstand and scratched his head a little, confused but still a bit worried nonetheless. "Okay, now that sentence made no sense to me at all."

Seto stormed through the halls, getting startled looks from the servants. Most had the common sense to disappear into rooms that "needed their attentions right this minute." Others did their best to carry on with their assigned tasks with heads down.

Seto came across his head butler and asked curtly, "Have you seen him?" which was all that was necessary. The only "him" of importance besides Mokuba, who would be at school until 3:45, was their "guest," Jounouchi. The well dressed butler shook his grey head "no" and explained that he'd been supervising the rooms at the front of the house so far.

"Then, he must have wandered off to the back," Seto deduced and made his way in that direction with a feeling of something akin to "annoyance" mixed with "dread." His heart was thumping hard. He didn't like not knowing where Jounouchi was. He hated himself for over reacting but couldn't make his body obey him. It was acting totally on instinct—the same way it always did when Mokuba was in trouble.

"Damn it! This is Mutt, we're talking about," Seto cursed to himself. "Why am I like this? When I don't need…?" He stomped through another room. "But DAMN IT!" He wanted to rip his hair out in frustration. He was furious with Jounouchi, with the situation, and himself. But nothing would be better…would be okay…until Jou was found. That part he did understand. And that part, at the very least, he accepted.

Yes, the situation would be rectified at once if he had anything to say about it. And he did.

He passed by the windows looking out upon the pool and…he stopped.

"So, that's where he is," Seto spat angrily and made his way to the ornate doors leading to the Olympic sized pool.

The flood of emotions returned: Relief. Irritation. Anger. Resentment. Relief again. Was it possible to want to hug and murder the same person at once?

"Damn it, Jounouchi!" Seto bellowed following a deep breath of air, making the blond jump painfully with a hand to his fresh bandages (and all undercover agents in the surrounding area found themselves scrambling for cover to escape a thoroughly pissed-off Kaiba).

"Wha-?" He blinked up with wide, honey eyes at Kaiba Seto looming over him, making a good sun break with the exception of the acid looking face peering down. Jou tried to recoil in the lounge chair. It was only natural.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Seto seethed. "I thought we were going to have lunch together. But, instead…instead…" He actually began pacing, still furious and trying to keep his thoughts together. "And…And, to make matters worse, of all places to end up, you decide to go outside." He gave in incredulous look. "Outside!" He gestured to the ornate scenery with finely sculpted shrubs. "Do you know how vulnerable you are out here in the open? That crazy Tanaka could be anywhere!"

Jou hung his head slightly. "I know…Y-You're right… But, it's just that... Well, your people keep a pretty good eye on me and I know that I'm safe here. You've got top notch security and all."

Somewhere inside the Kaiba Mansion, the staff members who were working the hidden bugs and microphones around the perimeter of the house gave each other a "thumbs up."

The security was state of the art. There was no debating that issue. Jou was right for once but it didn't set well with him. Jounouchi, by nature, was faithful, kind, and understanding. But, he could also be brash, impulsive, and self-sacrificing. On the other hand, Tanaka was clever, a planner, and had that hideously disconcerting "fan girl glow." From living with Gozaburo, Seto knew full well that criminally insane people had the will and tenacity to get results if they so desired. And Tanaka seemed determined to rid Domino of a certain blond duelist.

"Inside," Kaiba growled, offering a hand to the blond who, in turn, gladly took it. Once up, though, he let go of the hand—uncomfortable at the thought that someone might see them. Sure, they'd held hands several times. But, what if Kaiba wanted his privacy from the servants?

"Sorry," Jou said as he entered the house. He really needed to think of a better apology than that.

Something was up.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "What now?" he huffed, feeling his heartbeat returning to normal. "Was I really so mean to you this time?" He ran a hand through his hair. The wind had kicked it in his face with the last gust.

The blond still seemed sullen.

"We were all very concerned about your sudden disappearance." Maybe, he was now only justifying his anger—maybe. And why he suddenly felt compelled to make "nice-nice" when he had no real practice at it, he couldn't even begin to understand.

"Well, it's…um…" Jou rubbed his nose distractedly.

Seto huffed a sigh. "You can't fool me, Jounouchi. You look just like you always do when you lose to me at Duel Monsters."

Okay, that one earned him a nasty look. And, admittedly, he deserved it.

"Well?" Seto stopped in his tracks, eyebrow arched.

"You're going to think it's stupid."

"Try me."

Jounouchi shrugged awkwardly. "Before I fell asleep by the pool…what I was really trying to do was to find your office so that I could meet you there." In a sarcastic tone, he said, "But I screwed that up…big surprise."

Seto folded his arms and cocked his chestnut head to the side. "Do you know where my home office is?"

"No." He shook his head.

"Did you bother to ask any of the servants?"

"Um…well…"

Seto sighed again. "I'll take that as a 'no' as well."

Jounouchi really did look defeated and the color was starting to drain out of him. He's been on his feet too long… even with that nap in the sun. "Then, we'll go there when you're feeling better. For now, though, we have a lunch waiting for us in your room." He took Jou's hand, much to the blond's surprise, and shifted it around himself—in essence, draping Jounouchi's long arm over his shoulders. Then, he grabbed the blond's wrist, keeping the arm in place. Jou felt his face flush when Seto's free hand settled on his thin, pajama-clad hip.

"Time to go back."

"Kaiba…I…uh…" He could feel his face flush at the large hand's warm contact and Seto noticed the change with a bit of concern.

"If you feel like you're going to faint, hold onto me first," he instructed. "I'll carry you back to your room like a bride, if need be."

At that, Jou's jaw dropped. "I can't believe you just said that!" he hissed lowly. The blond glanced around nervously for the servants. But they were alone.

"Well, I did." There was the trademark Kaiba smirk which said, "And I'm not taking it back, either."

The blond straightened his shoulders, taking up the challenge. "Show the way. We're eating lunch together and I am not…AM NOT…going to faint like a wuss."

Seto smirked to himself, showing the twisting path to the front of the house. The casual hand at Jou's hip stayed in place and the blond had to fight with himself to ignore it.

"Well, you'd be out cold, you see..." the CEO went on, thinking out loud. "I could do anything that I want with you."

"W-WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Jou's face flushed as morally bent pictures from a doujinshi that he'd bought last month—called "Weekend at Bernita's—popped in his mind. True, it had an all girl cast, but still!

"I could use you as a door stop, a coat rack, bathroom rug…"

"WHAT?!" That wasn't sexy at all! Not even remotely hentai.

"Need I repeat myself?" Pearly white teeth flashed at him.

"Hell, no! Let's go eat something." He stomped off like a truck driver with the CEO in tow.

"Not that way, Jounouchi. Take a left from here."

"Humph!"

"What was that? I don't speak 'caveman'."

"I said 'humph' and I meant 'humph'…ya know! Everybody understands that!"

Sometimes, Jou was a joy to tease.