Disclaimer: Yugi-Oh doesn't belong to me.

Warning: Urrr…cursing? Okay bad cursing…

Rating: PG15

Chapter Seven: Confiding

Jounouchi opened a blurry eye and stared up at the ceiling of the living room. For a moment he just blinked, trying to get rid of the feeling of wanting to drift off to sleep again. What time was it? He rolled out of the couch and landed on all fours amongst a pile of uneaten popcorn and an upturned plastic bowl.

It was quiet in the house except for the TV that was now playing a rerun of some old American sitcom. No yelling, no cursing for breakfast to be made or bottles being thrown at him. It was like he'd died and gone to heaven.

Jounouchi grinned and pulled himself to his feet. Right then and there he planned to stay home and spend the rest of the day sleeping. His head felt pretty good, no more pain and his eyesight was still blurry but far better than the day before.

The optician had mentioned something about pressure making glaucoma worse… He couldn't remember the details really, he was far too thankful for the moment.

He strolled into the kitchen and dug out eggs and the rest of the bread. His main aim at the moment to eat as much as he could before his father came back. He calculated that the old man wouldn't be back for at least another four days – if past experiences served him right. Enough time to rest up and do Kaiba's job without worrying about time.

After that…

Well, he'd cross that bridge when he got there…

He poured ample amounts of soy sauce on his fried egg AN: ever tried it? Really nice, slopped it on toast and wolfed it down gratefully. He hadn't eaten a proper meal in days…

Full of egg and toast, Jounouchi wandered back to the couch and curled back up in it, gingerly feeling the bump on his head. It was going down and didn't throb anymore. Heaving a sigh of relief Jounouchi let himself doze off.


The next two days were the best Jounouchi had experienced in a long time. His father was nowhere to be found – the wife of one of his father's friends had called the house worriedly, asking him if he was all right. Apparently, he and Jounouchi's father had gone off on some trip – not telling her any details except that it would take another two weeks. Her name was Mrs. Takahashi, if he remembered correctly – he had a suspicion that her husband beat her. She was a very kind woman, when he was twelve she had brought him food when his father had disappeared for a month. She told him she would bring him some home-cooked food later that week. He hadn't refused.

So with his father out of the picture for a decent amount of time, Jounouchi was feeling pretty damn good. Even Kaiba's snaring comments couldn't get him down. The headaches had stopped completely and all he had now was just the bad eyesight. A touch worse that before he suspected but at least his eyeballs didn't feel like they wanted to fall out and roll away. The drops also seemed to help him and he gratefully applied it every night.

It was Thursday morning and Jounouchi was cheerfully pulling on a fresh shirt from the laundry when a soft tap on the front door startled him. He carefully tiptoed to the living room and peeked through the front window and breathed a sigh of relief. It was Mrs. Takahashi.

"Good morning, Mrs. Takahashi…" he said opening the door and giving her a broad grin. She gave a startled sound and smiled back at him hesitantly. She must have been a beautiful woman once but now deep stress and obvious beatings had left her a tired, haggard woman. Her deep black hair was graying at the edges and frizzed.

"G…good morning…" she said timidly and held up a large dish of something that smelt damn amazing. "I'm sorry if it's too early, but you weren't home yesterday evening…" she said sweetly.

Jounouchi grinned and gratefully took the plate. "Not early at all! I was just getting ready for school. Come inside! I've got some tea…somewhere…." He walked ahead and he heard her follow him and close the door softly. He set the plate on the counter and dug about in the cupboard for the kettle. No one in the house drank tea; it was more like a show piece. He filled it with water and set it on the stove.

Turning, he found Mrs. Takahashi sitting timidly at the counter, hands folded in her lap. Jounouchi couldn't help notice a big purple bruise that was slowly fading on her hand. She saw him looking and took her other hand to cover it.

"Thank you very much Mrs. Takahashi… food was sort of running low." He said grinning and pulling the foil off the plate. Oh daaaamn… French toast, sausage and eggs. He dug in happily.

"I know how…it is…" she said softly. "From when you were very little…" she smiled faintly. "I saw…you running out of the house the other night…" she continued and Jounouchi froze, fork midway to his mouth.

"Oh…" he mumbled, not offering an answer or explanation.

She saw his expression and did not say another word about it. "I'm sorry… I have to see my daughter to school. I'll be back later this evening with dinner, is that alright?" she stood up.

Jounouchi stood up as well, realizing he was being rude. She knew what it was like to be beaten – and even worse she couldn't run away like he did. She had to protect her daughter no doubt…

I wish my mother had done the same for me… he thought bitterly.

"I'm sorry… You're very kind…I'm just…" he began and tapered off. She glanced at him with an understanding gaze and placed her good hand on his.

"I understand…" she said softly and walked back to the front door and was gone before Jounouchi could remember his manners. He sat down heavily, feeling very strange all of a sudden. Behind him the kettle began to whistle.

It was Thursday night and Jounouchi was in a very good mood. Tomorrow would be his first paycheck since beginning to work for Kaiba.

So now, all he had to do was complete the night's work and then he could go home and get some more sleep and face tomorrow with enthusiasm. His mind flitted gleefully back to his paycheck…this was the first that he would use to pay down. He would get that doctor to operate on him… and work as many jobs as he could to pay back afterwards. With good eyesight he could do it, he could do anything he had to do.


"Are you LISTENING idiot?" Kaiba's voice ripped through his daydreams and Jounouchi turned quickly to face him.

"Yessir!" Jounouchi said feeling strangely better than he had in weeks.

"This is a new virtual reality game… you enter and play as a duel master. Collecting cards etc… collect the Blue Eyes and you win." Kaiba told him in brief.

"Always you and that Blue Eyes… damn freaky if you ask me…" Jounouchi said dryly walking around the game device nevertheless impressed.

Kaiba glowered at him but something inside of him made note that Jounouchi was making his wise-cracks again. Feeling better was he?

"So how do I play this thing?" Jounouchi asked.

"You won't play first – I will; you monitor the machines." Kaiba informed him and began slipping off his long coat to show the full black outfit he wore under it.

Jounouchi squinted jealously at Kaiba. Even in a blur, Kaiba's physique was perfect. He supposed a cushy life wasn't making this CEO a fat slob.

Kaiba threw his coat over a chair and turned to see Jounouchi staring directly at him. He raised a brow, if Jounouchi had been a girl he would have thought Jounouchi was checking him out. "What's the matter, mutt? See something you like? Didn't know you swung that way…"

"Wh…WHAT!" Jounouchi spluttered, his good mood evaporating "Take that BACK, Kaiba…!"

Kaiba crossed his arms, smirking. "Or what mutt…?" he asked.

Jounouchi attacked him so quickly Kaiba barely had time to protect his face from the flurry of punches Jounouchi was throwing at him. Even then… Kaiba got a really good punch to the gut and backed up winded.

"I don't care if you are my boss, Kaiba… you're going DOWN for that…!" Jounouchi snarled and threw himself at Kaiba again. But this time Kaiba was ready for him and sidestepped holding his arm out to catch Jounouchi in the neck. Jounouchi gave a strangled croak and flipped over backwards and landed heavily on his back.

Stars sprouted beautifully in his vision and Jounouchi blinked. But he didn't have much time to look at them, Kaiba's fist landed square in his gut and Jounouchi grunted in pain and brought his leg up to kick Kaiba in the back of his head.

Kaiba landed on all fours and Jounouchi took the opportunity to get up and tackle Kaiba to the ground.

They grappled in a deadlock for a few seconds, Jounouchi's street fighting skill making him a slippery opponent to hold down and Kaiba's superior physical strength making it virtually impossible to ram him into the ground.

"You think you're so damn hot…" Jounouchi snarled, his hands entwined in Kaiba's and trying to push his fingers back enough to break them.

"I don't need to think about it, stupid bitch…" Kaiba grunted back, crushing Jounouchi's hand in his own. "I KNOW I am!" With that he flipped Jounouchi over again and slammed him heavily into the floor against the virtual machine.

Jounouchi's head cracked into the side paneling tiles and suddenly he couldn't see again.

Fear, panic made him freeze. What could he do? Oh god…vision come back to me…. please.

But Kaiba wasn't paying attention to him anymore. His eyes were locked on the paneling Jounouchi's head had hit and knocked off. Inside was a mess of wires…wires that he had personally placed in there himself. Two of them were pulled out – the ones that controlled the flow of electricity to the machine. If Kaiba had put the helmet on and turned on the switch…

His eyes widened. A shock of electricity would have fried his brain right there; he'd be dead before he knew what had happened.

He blinked and looked down at Jounouchi who was just lying under him with an almost…terrified look on his face? The mutt had saved him…stupidly, blunderingly…but by starting the fight…

Jounouchi was breathing heavily, he had just seen a spark of colour. That was a good sign, a few seconds more and his vision would return. Just pretend he was winded…yeah, Kaiba wouldn't know… but why wasn't Kaiba trying to kill him?

"What the hell are you waiting for idiot!" Jounouchi snarled bravely. "Not going to hit me again? Lost your nerve?"

Kaiba frowned. His anger bubbling up again – this blasted… why was he looking at him like that! Jounouchi's eyes were blank, staring, Kaiba felt like they were staring through him, like he wasn't there.

"Idiot…" Kaiba growled and stood up, leaving Jounouchi on the ground and going around the machine to check if any of the other wires were unplugged. It was weird…they shouldn't have been pulled out. Something nagged at the back of his head. That week ago…when Jounouchi had been electrocuted by the Trap Wire card. He had checked those cards himself and somehow that card had popped up.

Coincidence…?

He was starting to think otherwise.

Jounouchi held on to the side of the machine and scrambled to his feet, holding on to it for support and some sort of sign that he was not floating in a pit of blackness.

Ah… another spark of colour.

Kaiba glanced at Jounouchi who was just standing there, holding on to virtual machine like an old person. He smirked; he must have smacked him up pretty well. His blood was still pumping from the fight and he walked back over to Jounouchi who gave no sign that he saw Kaiba in front of him.

Kaiba frowned, what was with this weird look!

"Change of plans, mutt…"

Jounouchi jumped like he had been stung and nearly fell back on the machine. "What?" he snapped. "Don't goddamn sneak up on me like that!" he snarled.

"Are you goddamn blind or something?" Kaiba snarled. "You've been watching me this whole time!"

And just like that Jounouchi's vision came back and he glared at Kaiba. "Don't talk shit, Kaiba…"

Kaiba punched the machine directly beside Jounouchi's head and towered over Jounouchi, their faces a mere two inches from each other. "You fight like a girl Jounouchi, but the fights OVER got that? The only reason why I haven't fired your ass right now is because you just saved my life."

Jounouchi bristled. "What bullshit are…what the hell are you talking about?" This close to Kaiba …was uncomfortable – the feeling of being trapped … and also because he could see Kaiba's face in just too much detail. Those eyes…

Kaiba leaned off. "Look…" he pointed at the machine. "It was plugged out…if your stupid head hadn't opened that panel I would never have seen it."

Jounouchi frowned down at it. "So…what?" he asked uncertainly.

"I'd have been electrocuted…idiot." Kaiba snapped.

Jounouchi stared down at it. Dawning horror…if they hadn't fought…?

He stared back at Kaiba and a slow grin growing on his face. "You so owe me a raise now…"


Jounouchi threw his bag down on his bed and slumped in his chair, pulling his schoolbook over to him. He'd come home four hours earlier. Kaiba had given him the evening off with the promise it would never happen again. Mrs. Takahashi had seen him come home early and brought him a huge dish of beef stew. He hoped one day that the girl he married could cook like she did.

He grinned; the week was really looking up. Kaiba had agreed to give him the raise. A whole 20, 000 Yen more! He started on the math problem with gusto. He'd go to the Optician on Saturday morning and pay down with his first paycheck - and get the guy to operate on him.

Yeah…he could do this.


Jounouchi stared at the mirror squinting at his eyes. He was worried, his eye drops had finished the day before and if it wasn't his imagination, he was sure that everything was a touch more blurry. He wondered if getting those glasses at the pharmacy would help him a bit.

He yawned and scratched the back of his head and neck. He supposed, buying some more of the drops wouldn't hurt…

There was a light knock on the front door and he took the steps two at a time to let Mrs. Takahashi in. She smiled at him sweetly at the door and held up a large stack of toast and Miso soup.

They talked in the kitchen; Mrs. Takahashi having a cup of the green tea Jounouchi had bought specially for her. He had finally told her that his father had beaten him that night. She in turn told him that her husband would beat her as well – just never in the face. She was thankful for that at least.

"Where are you every night?" she asked carefully. "I find myself worrying about you."

Jounouchi grinned around a piece of toast feeling warm and safe in her gaze. "I work a part time job… I have an…uh…operation to pay for."

She looked startled. "Operation?" she asked hesitantly. "Are you…"

He shrugged, enjoying the food. He felt he could trust Mrs. Takahashi for some reason. Probably because she fed him and showed him more love in three days than his father had ever done in all the seventeen years of his life. "I've got Glaucoma…I've got to pay for it – my dad won't help me, I know that. So I'm working for Kaiba Corp."

She took a shocked breath. "You…you're eyes? Oh god, dear…. He hasn't hit you in the head has he?"

He glanced up at her curiously. "Y… you know about… it?" he asked, voice low. She looked like a common housewife, he never thought she would…

She smiled proudly. "I'm a certified nurse, dear." Then her mood sobered. "Please tell me, has he hit you in the head?"

Jounouchi considered lying but then changed his mind. "I fell down the steps the night I ran out of the house." He touched his head where it had collided with the banister. "Hit it pretty hard…"

She gave a small cry of distress and stood up to examine his head. "It's a miracle you didn't go blind right there…" she whispered and sat back down. "You can't stay here with him…!"

Jounouchi frowned around his soup. "I have no where else to go…"

"Your mother…?" she asked.

"Doesn't care about me…" Jounouchi said coldly and bitterly. "Thank you for the breakfast Mrs. Takahashi…I've really got to get to school." He stood up and dumped his dishes in the sink.

"Of course…" she replied, standing sadly and following him out of the kitchen.


Jounouchi was in a bad mood all day. Mrs. Takahashi had reminded him about everything from his childhood. How his mother had chosen his sister instead of him to escape with. He felt like punching a wall when he thought about it – it hurt so much.

He stood moodily in the waiting area of Kaiba Corp. – Kaiba had left a message for him to wait for him. That there was a meeting and he would late.

So Jounouchi had nothing to do but wander the halls unsupervised. Mostly everyone knew his face by now and let him come and go as he pleased. He wandered by the labs and saw Riyushi-san tinkering away at something. Pleased to at least know SOMEONE in the place apart from Kaiba he walked over.

"Hey dude! How's it going?" he asked cheerfully and the other man jumped.

Riyushi-san coughed and wiped some sweat from his brow. He had apparently been fighting a piece of machinery that refused to budge. "Oh…Jounouchi…kun… How are you?"

Jounouchi grinned. "Fine I suppose, some interesting stuff I've been doing around here – too bad working with Kaiba is a pain in the ass."

Riyushi-san looked slightly irritated. "Many persons here would kill to work with Kaiba-san. We were all rather surprised you got the testing job over hundreds of other applicants."

"Huh? Woah! Seriously?" Jounouchi asked in genuine surprise. "I just thought it was some part time work…"

Kaiba had chosen him over others? Why?"

Riyushi-san pursed his lips. "It is not, I assure you."

Jounouchi rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Were you one of the applicants?" he asked gingerly, genuinely sorry to have taken the opportunity away from people who obviously liked Kaiba more and wanted to work with the man. Insane as that sounded.

Riyushi-san turned back to his work. "Yes… I was."

"Oh… I'm so…" Jounouchi began but heard an irritated voice over the intercom. "Jounouchi Katsuya, to the front office please." It was Kaiba's voice and Jounouchi made a run for the front of the building. Shit!


"You never told me other people wanted this job…" Jounouchi said casually as he strapped on a black body-suit.

"I never knew I was required to share any of this company's business with you…" Kaiba said coldly, also in a black body suit and slipping on a blue arm piece that looked like it had fallen off a mecha. He turned sharp eyes to Jounouchi. "Who told you that?"

"Nobody in particular…" Jounouchi replied, fiddling with a strap. He wasn't going to get Riyushi-san in trouble if he could help it. "So why'd you choose me?" Jounouchi asked curiously.

Kaiba clenched his fist to test the flexibility of the machine. "Believe it or not mutt, I trust you more than I do the members of this company. Too many people want to find out my secrets. You on the other hand are too dumb to particularly care."

Jounouchi's cheeks burned. "You're a real ass you know that, Kaiba?" he snapped back. "Giving a compliment and an insult at the same time… you should get a degree in it."

Kaiba smirked. "Shut up and lets get this done. You should be happy, today's payday."

Jounouchi's face beamed. "Hey! You're right! I completely forgot!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes and then glanced at Jounouchi's goofy, happy face. The boy was too damn straightforward – in everything.


Jounouchi grinning down at his paycheck as he pushed open the door of his house. 60, 000 yen! Wow! He'd never held so much money in his hand in his life. This was a damn good day! He would pay down for his operation! Man, at this point, nothing could ruin his mood…

The phone rang and he picked it up, sure it was Mrs. Takahashi. It was.

"Jounouchi!" she said in a hushed, terrified whisper.

He froze instinctively. "I'm…here…what's wrong?" he asked scared.

"Jounouchi, my husband came home two hours ago. Very drunk, oh god, I wanted to wait for you outside your house but my husband is watching me! He's inside…!"

Jounouchi swallowed to hard it hurt. "What? Who's…?"

"Your father!" she hissed in a terrified whisper. "I saw him go inside! He's inside the house! Jounouchi, run, get out now!"

Suddenly there was a yell on the other end and the phone hung up. "Mrs. Takash…!" Jounouchi asked terrified into the beeping and then suddenly heard a thump behind him. He turned, eyes wide and stared at his father who was standing at the door, bat in his hand.

"I kicked you out you, little shit…" he whispered, voice heavy with drink.

Oh god…oh god…

"I…was just stopping by to get my bag…" Jounouchi whispered his voice low and his body cold as ice. "I'll leave…I'll…"

His father moved with horrifying speed and snatched the check out of Jounouchi's hand. "What is this shit?" he asked darkly.

"Wh…what the HELL?" Jounouchi said startled. "No! I NEED that give it back!"

The…asshole was taking his operation money! No! NO !

"So, you got a job eh?" his father growled, eyes glinting like a hungry wolf.

Jounouchi squinted in sudden fear and swallowed hard. "N..No..I…"

"DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME BOY!" his father snarled and swung the bat at the lamp shattering it.

Jounouchi flinched and backed up against the dinning table.

"60, 000 Yen eh?" his father snarled, waving the paycheck around. "What're you doing eh?" He swung the bat again nearly hitting Jounouchi.

Jounouchi's rage was building but he had nowhere to run… his father was blocking the door. And he had a bat. He'd never been able to beat his father in a fight…the man was a monster. "NO! I'm working at his company…testing…"

"You told me you were doing extra lessons, you're a GODDAMN LIAR TOO!" his father roared and destroyed the only dining room chair. Jounouchi had by this point retreated to the couch looking for an exit route.

The backdoor?

He turned to get out and knew one second before the bat smashed into his back that he was too late.

Somewhere between the beating…when there was blood everywhere and the pain had built up to a scream in his head. Jounouchi thankfully passed out.

To be continued

Howdy folks! Sorry for the long months of waiting! Again, school ate my time what with Final year exams and such. Thank you for all the comments and I'm sorry for making you wait so long. I do intend to finish this story and AW as well. I'm just doing so very slowly with the little free time that I get.

Hopefully a new chapter in about a month or earlier.