A/N: its been months I know but I was trying to figure out how far this thing was going to go, ya know plot development and what-not. And I think I may have finally figured it out. I promise the next chapter won't take more than three months to update.
Again so sorry for not updating!
Shout outs:
Dancing elf: Glad you liked it ;)
Nma5: yes, hopefully Seto and Jou will fall for each other. Although Jou is going to put up one heck of a fight first and some other factors could get in the way. But true love will prevail... You know, hopefully.
Smells-Like-Mary: Sooo stoked you thought it was hot! Lemons always make me a little nervous. Yes the awkwardness between Jou and Kaiba will be fierce, but with Kaiba being the badass teenage CEO he is it hopefully won't last too long. I hope you like what I did with Seto in this chapter.
Roxasinumiku: Caught redhanded, or rather ass handed (oh lord I'm terrible at puns!) Anyway I'm so happy you liked it.
CRRC: you are most welcome. Again sorry for not updating after so long, I hope this chapter makes up for it.
TheCatsMeow8562: Yes! They loved it! *High fives self* I promise to try and update sooner this time but in the meantime I hope you like this chapter.
Usual apologies: I am so sorry if I manage to murder the latin language in this. Seriously I'm so sorry if I made a mistake
Disclaimer: see previous chapters
Isono has been working for the Kaiba's for years, no longer than two months after Gozaboro's death when Seto took over Kaiba corp.
In those years the older man had seen many things. Other than the Kaiba's themselves Isono is the one person that knows all the Kaiba's secrets. All of them private and dangerous knowledge if the they were to land in the hands of the wrong person, but none of them as startling as what he witnessed when he went to pick up the teenage CEO the day before.
When Kaiba walked through the school's entrance Isono had to do a double take and even removed his glasses to make sure he was seeing what he really thought he was seeing.
Seto Kaiba carrying Katsuya Jounouchi.
Bridal style.
And from the looks of the CEO, he was doing it completely of his own free will.
Naturally Isono managed to compose himself.
There could be a number of reasons why Kaiba was carrying Jounouchi like that and maybe even a few more for why he was giving him a ride home.
There was no reason however that Isono could possibly think of, for why Kaiba practically molested the blonde in the back of the limo. Isono had to fight off the urge to slam down on the breaks when he saw Seto devour Jou's mouth while his hands slipped under the blonds clothes.
It was absolutely mind blowing.
As far as he knew Kaiba hated Jounouchi and the blonde felt the same way about him didn't he?
However as Isono stole a glance back at the two through the limosine's security monitor in the dashboard he realised that his knowledge might be just a bit outdated.
It was almost surreal, watching them.
Something about it just looked completely right, like they belonged together as unbelievable as it sounds.
And Kaiba looked...
Happy.
The older man doesn't think he's ever seen his employer smile as many times as he did in the small space of time that he was with the blonde.
Not to mention Kaiba's insanely good mood after they'd dropped Jounouchi off. Of course his expression held a slight tinge of concern.
They never went inside but it's clear from the out side that Jounouchi's living conditions were outrageous. Isono often thought back to his own broken home before he started living on the streets and he found himself sympathising with the blond. Although he couldn't imagine why Jou lived in such horrible conditions, especially with the prize money he won in Deulist Kingdom.
But now, as he walked up the stairs of the run down building flipping through the file he managed to pull together at Kaiba's request, he realised that he didn't even know the half of it.
Kaita Jounouchi.
It all seemed quite normal for someone who was clearly an alcoholic.
But what really had Isono worried was the single police report of a domestic disturbance.
He'd found the complaint in the back of Amaya Koizumi's file, she'd apparently called emergency services about three years ago to report it. However once police arrived to the scene they only found a teenage boy around the age of fourteen years old. The boy acknowledged that his father had been drinking and did make some noise, but insisted that it doesn't happen often and that his father was already asleep.
The authorities left the scene but made a note to comment on the poor living and physical condition they found the boy in and made a request for child protection services to be notified.
Obviously they never did.
Isono almost sighed as he walked up the last few steps and walked to the door at the end of the hall.
He's been tracking down leads all day long after his trip to the archives at the police station, deciding to leave his visit with miss Koizumi for last. The file that Isono held was already thick enough and would probably suffice for any information that Kaiba needed on the Jounouchi's.
But Isono couldn't shake that feeling that there was something else. Something important that Seto Kaiba absolutely needed to know about Katsuya, something that had to do with the woman that lived behind the door of the apartment he stood right in front of.
Apartment 236, right next door to 237 where Jounouchi lived.
But Isono wasn't there to speak with mr. Jounouchi.
The older man rapped on the door and waited until he heard shuffling and a soft click when the door opened as far as the silver chain on the frame would allow and Isono saw brown eyes staring at him through a black curtain of hair.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
The girl said in a soft voice that spoke of fear, however the fierce defiance in her eyes betrayed her and Isono knew it was all just an act. It was the same kind of defiance that burned in Katsuya's eyes and Isono briefly wondered if the two were close.
"Amaya Koizumi?"
"Yes."
"Did you call in a domestic disturbance against your neighbours on, March fifteenth three years ago."
The girls eyes narrowed, "Yes."
"I'd like to ask you a few questions about the incident and about your neighbour, mr. Jounouchi."
"You never told me who you were." Her voice suddenly dropped an octave and she glared, Amaya's real age was evident and Isono realised that he was touching on a very sensitive subject.
Isono held her gaze, "I work for the Kaiba corporation, my employer has developed certain interest's in Katsuya. Therefore I am here to do a bit of research to insure his interests safety."
"Kaiba corporation, as in Seto Kaiba?"
"Yes."
The girl stared at him for a moment before she closed the door. Isono could hear the chain on the door clatter until it opened again this time much wider and Amaya stood aside.
"Come in."
Isono stepped inside and found her apartment to be in a much better condition than the hallway that lead to it.
There were two brown couch in the middle of what looked like the living room with a small television set up against the blue walls and a small coffee table in between. There was a small kitchen area to the left overlooking the living room that was clean and well kept while white curtains hung over the window on one wall without hindering any sunlight from shining through.
The door closed behind him and Isono looked back to see the girl standing at her full height, which almost matched his own. The girl wore a white shirt with a black vest and dark jeans, she had her arms folded over her chest while her eyes watched him closely.
"You can sit down, do you want anything to drink?"
"No thank you." Isono said as he sat on the couch and watched as she walked over to the kitchen.
"Suit yourself."
Amaya came back seconds later with a can of soda in her hand, she popped the lid as she sank down into the couch on the opposite side, "What's this about anyway, another tournament?"
"No. Like I said before my employer has developed certain interests in Katsuya Jounouchi, I'm simply here to get some more information on his history, behaviour and home life."
Isono explained calmly while Amaya seemed to tense considerably when he said home life.
The girl paused as her eyes locked onto his eyes even through the black frame of Isono's glasses, "What kind of interests? From what I hear Katsuya hates Kaiba's guts and the feelings apparently mutual. So what could he possibly see in Katsuya that doesn't have something to do with a dueling tournament?"
Isono noticed the girl practically dissecting him with her eyes as a fierce edge of a protective spark lit up whenever she said Jounouchi's first name. She obviously cared for the boy and wouldn't likely reveal any information to someone that Jounouchi considered to be an enemy. Hell, she looks ready to throw him out right now.
This might be harder than he thought.
"I'm sorry to say that it's not my place to divulge any information on mr. Kaiba's activities."
"Yeah, well it's not my place to divulge anything on Katsuya's private life either." Amaya said shortly as she set her can of soda down and stood up abruptly, folding her arms across her chest. "Now since there's nothing either of us can divulge, I think it would be best if you got the hell out of my apartment."
Her tempers quick like Jounouchi's too. With those brown eyes they could practically be related.
"As you wish, but before I go I must ask you about the police report filed three years ago."
The girl shifted a bit but didn't look away, "What about it?"
"It says that you reported a domestic disturbance coming from mr. Jounouchi's apartment, which is next door correct?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell me what-"
"I heard some noise and called the cops, they got here, Katsuya told them that everything was fine, they left." Amaya interrupted as she kept Isono in a level stare not even blinking once, "End of story."
Isono almost gave a smile of appreciation.
The girls features betrayed nothing of her emotions.
Other than the obvious anger she displayed, there was nothing in her face that told that she might be lying or withholding information. She would actually be a perfect addition to the Kaiba corp staff.
Unfortunately once again her eyes gave her away.
An undercurrent of sadness and concern burned in the girls brown eyes and Isono knew she knew more than she was telling, but alas Amaya didn't seem to be in the sharing mood.
The older man took a silent breath as he took the file he'd placed beside him and briefly flipped through the pages, earning a look of annoyance from the girl.
"Why aren't you gone yet?"
One of the lessons he's learnt from the Kaiba's in the many years that he's worked for them, is that sometimes when you want something, you have to give something first.
The same thing applies to gaining information.
You have to tell give the informant something, anything that will put their minds at ease and at least lessen the breach of trusts they think their committing by giving out any vital information that they have.
But see the trick is, not telling too much.
You're the one trying to get information from the source after all, not the other way around.
"Last night, mr. Kaiba had me escort mr. Jounouchi home after school but upon arriving, Jounouchi seemed to display some disturbing behavior. As a result mr. Kaiba had me do a bit of research on Jounouchi, to try and find out what his reason for behaving in that way could be." Isono explained while he continued to flip through the pages and Amaya watched him closely, "So far I've come with the conclusion that Kaita Jounouchi has a strong if not severe addiction to alcohol, am I correct?"
Amaya took a moment before she answered, "Yes."
Isono gave a nod, "And it's because of this that their living in the current living conditions, no offence."
"Whatever." The girl said shortly as her feet began to shuffle a bit and Isono continued.
"All reasons for concern, however I can't shake the feeling that something more is going on between Jounouchi and his father."
"Something like what?"
"I'm not sure, but mr. Kaiba noticed this himself last night and he's shown great concern for Jounouchi."
"Mr. Kaiba showed great concern?" Amaya gave a scoff, "From what Katsuya tells me the only concern Kaiba has with him is deciding on whether to call him a street rat or a mutt."
Isono almost smiled at that.
Last night Kaiba had come up with a new nickname for Jounouchi.
Apparently the word puppy is much more preferable to mutt or street rat.
The older man quickly composed himself as he could feel Amaya's eyes boring into him, so he cleared his throat and spoke.
"I assure you, mr. Kaiba's intentions toward Jounouchi are not what they were before."
"And exactly what are Kaiba's intentions for Katsuya now?"
"It's not my place to say."
"Its not my place to say anything either."
She really isn't going to make this easy is she?
Isono took a deep breath and looked up at the girl, knowing that he was taking an incredibly huge leap of faith in trusting this girl with any kind of information.
But that feeling was burning in him again.
The one he always felt when he was so close to accomplishing a goal that the Kaiba's had set before him, he could almost taste it.
Somehow he knew that the knowledge this girl had, would far outshine any of the information he's spent the whole day trying to get a hold of.
She genuinely seemed to care for Jounouchi so maybe it would be safe to reveal a little more information and if the girl ended up using this knowledge to somehow use against Kaiba corp, well...
Let's just say Isono would have her taken care of before that became a problem.
The older man reached into the far back of the file he was holding and pulled out the black tablet he'd been keeping there as he gathered information.
Amaya watched closely as the man's fingers moved over the touch screen until he got to a file labled limousine footage.
"I think this will explain some of mr. Kaiba's intentions towards Jounouchi and his concern for him as well." Isono moved up on the couch and looked up at the girl who gave him a calculating stare before she went to sit down beside him making sure to leave at least half a foot of distance between them as she leaned over a bit, brushing her long black hair behind her ear so it wouldn't obstruct her view.
Isono stretched is arm out a bit and held the large screen in front of her before he hit play.
The alderman's lips twitched up slightly and he resisted the urge to smile as he watched Amaya's eyebrows furrow in confusion for a moment, before her jaw fell open and her eyes practically fell from their sockets. The raven hurriedly grabbed the touch screen device and held it up to her face, seeming to try to find some kind of a logical explanation for what she was looking at but failing completely.
"Ka-Katsuya...?"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Six hours of school have never been so long.
Kaiba almost sighed in relief when the last bell for the day rang and the students around him quickly stood from their seats and hurried to leave the torturous confinement they referred to as school.
But none left faster than Katsuya Jounouchi.
The blonde practically flew from his seat the moment that bell rang, hastily grabbing his school supplies not even giving a second thought to the tatty pencil or the scattered pages he'd left on his desk in his hurried escape.
Normally Kaiba would be quite ecstatic to know that the blonde mutt was in some kind of panicked discomfort that was obviously caused by his presence, but not today.
Today Jounouchi's hurried efforts to get as far away from him as humanly possible were a painful reminder of the days earlier events.
Good Lord, the world must have gone mad!
How could this much crazy shit happen to him all in one day?!
First his laptop shows up at school, then something weird happens between him and the mutt in the hall ways, right before it almost happened again in the principle's office, then that moron principle looses it then that psychotic freak Bakura locks him in a room with the mutt then he ends up almost fucking the mu-
Seto paused as he glared at his silver suitcase, trying to will away the memories he's sure were going to traumatise him for the rest of his life as he swiftly rose from his seat and left the now empty classroom.
What on earth had come over him?!
To almost have sex, with Jounouchi in the boys locker room?!
Kaiba couldn't imagine what he was thinking.
Well...
O.K that's a lie.
Seto definitely remembers what he was thinking.
He was thinking how gorgeous Jounouchi's golden blonde hair looked as the harsh lighting in the locker room somehow made him look angelic, pure and so innocent. While the blonde's warm amber eyes gleamed beautifully as they stared up at him, taking on the appearance of whiskey gold making Seto feel drunk in lust from the boy's wide eyed gaze. And then of course there was that perfect blush on Jounouchi's tanned skin, which only seemed to get darker when Seto touched him.
It was an incredibly breathtaking picture and Kaiba couldn't help letting himself get lost in it, until the blonde took the final step wrapping his arms around Seto's neck and drawing him in for a deep kiss.
That moment Seto felt something inside of himself slip loose and the next thing he knew, he had Katsuya pinned against the bathroom wall as he continued to rut into him. The CEO had lost himself completely as a dark possessive urge took hold of him and he was suddenly filled with the need to lock Katsuya away and never let anyone else have him.
Kaiba paused by the door of the empty classroom and his eyes slid shut as he thought back to feeling of having Katsuya pressed against the wall while he prepared him, all while the blonde moaned and called his name.
Seto let out a low groan and his eyes instantly snapped open at the sound, quickly bringing him back down from his little fantasy.
Thank God the class is already empty.
And since when did he start referring to the dog as Katsuya?!
Kaiba took a deep breath as he tried to rid himself of all of those insane little thoughts.
It was all just a fluke, it had to be.
He couldn't possibly have any kind of interest in Jounouchi whatsoever, maybe his teenage hormones are just finally catching up to him it couldn't possibly mean anything more than that.
The brunette reached for the door but paused when he remembered what mr. Namikaze had accused them of that very morning.
For all his stupidity, Namikaze wasn't one to lie.
Make stupid decisions, yes.
Think like a simpleton, of course.
But a liar was one thing he wasn't, Seto could tell.
So how on earth had he come up with the conclusion that he and Kat-...
He and the mutt actually had sex.
Now regardless of the strange and disturbing events that had transpired that day, Seto still couldn't see where the principle could possibly come up with such a theory.
And for him to have reacted so strongly as well.
Something must have convinced the man that this insane idea was true.
'Believe it or not we do have proof, mr. Kaiba. So your confession isn't necessary'
Dammit!
Seto almost growled as he stalked down the hall way. Namikaze said he had proof of what he said had happened, but Kaiba was so enraged during the whole thing that he'd completely forgotten to ask to see this so called evidence.
If he had he would've been able to point it out as a fake and he wouldn't be stuck with Jounouchi in detention for the passed two months.
The teenage CEO resisted the urge to face palm at that.
Really detention for something he didn't even do?
He has a company to run he doesn't have time to pay the price for a non-existent crime. He wasn't even at school last night he was...
Kaiba was...
And that's when it hit him.
He doesn't know what he did last night, because he doesn't remember.
There were hours of time missing from his memories going from the moment he'd stepped out of Namikaze's office to the moment he woke up in bed that morning. He couldn't remember a thing.
The brunette stopped right in front of the schools main entrance and his eyebrows furrowed in thought.
He really can't remember a damn thing.
Hell for all he knows he really did sleep with Kat- the mutt yesterday, which obviously couldn't possibly be true but Kaiba's just throwing the worst case scenario out there for the sake of being thorough.
Mokuba's strange behaviour from that morning came back to him and Seto's frown deepened.
Did his little brother know something he didn't?
And if so why couldn't he remember and why did Mokie seem so disappointed that he couldn't remember either.
The brunette pushed all of these thoughts aside and schooled his features into neutrality as he stepped through the exit doors, there would be plenty of time to muel over all these thoughts later. Right now he has to get to his four o'clock meeting and deal with those imbeciles who dare call themselves software designers.
Kaiba kept a level gaze straight ahead and found his limo waiting for him outside the schools main gate, while Isono stood beside the car. Seto almost sighed at the familiar situation in an other wise completely foreign day. The CEO gave his employee a brief nod of acknowledgement while the man gave a bow of respect as he opened the back door, Kaiba got inside and Isono shut the door behind him before getting into the drivers seat and starting the car.
Seto finally let out a heavy sigh as he let the plush leather interior cradle his stressed form when a thick file sitting on the seat beside him caught his attention.
The partition had been lowered and Isono could see his young master's arched brown as he glanced at the file, before he spoke.
"The file you requested master Kaiba."
Seto looked up at the drivers end of the car and almost frowned, "The file I requested?"
"Yes, the one you requested last night prior to our return to the Kaiba mansion."
Kaiba sat up at that when it suddenly dawned on him that if anyone knew where he had been or what he was doing in those hours of total amnesia, it would be Isono.
"Last night." Kaiba started as he reached for the file trying to prompt his employee into telling him what happened without actually asking.
The older man glanced at him through the rear-view mirror but still answered, "Yes sir, after we took mr. Jounouchi home. You asked me to compile a file on him and his father."
He what?!
"I did what?!" Kaiba couldn't help but shout as he glared at the man but Isono remained calm, although he did manage to look a little bit confused if that subtle twist of his lips that only Kaiba has ever noticed was anything to go by.
The older man pulled over to the side of the road so he could give this conversation his full attention, because it obviously required it.
Didn't Kaiba remember?
"Sir don't you remember? We took Jounouchi home as per your request last night."
"What? Why would I-"
"Master Kaiba with all due respect," Isono interrupted quickly, a feat only he could ever do without incurring the wrath of the teenage CEO. "If you don't believe me I suggest that you check the surveillance footage taken in the passenger seat of the limousine last night. It is on the tablet which I've placed with mr. Jounouchi's file."
Seto scowled up at the man, before quickly grabbing the tablet and letting his fingers glide across the manipulated screen.
Has the world gone insane.
First Namikaze now Isono too?! What the hell is-
Kaiba stopped his raging thoughts short as he found the video file and immediately pressed play.
He watched himself as he apprearantly carried another body into car and slid it onto the seat, Seto's eyes narrowed down at the image when the distinct glow of blonde hair caught his attention. The image was so disturbing he immediately pressed stop.
Dear God, Isono was right.
Not that his right hand man has ever been wrong before it's just that well...
He was really hoping for a first time this time.
Still incredibly uncomfortable with the idea that his entire black out was most likely spent with the person he hates the most Seto cleared his voice before he spoke.
"What else happened last night?"
Isono arched an eyebrow at the teen but as always answered what he was asked, "We took Jounouchi home, he showed some odd behaviour and you asked me to compile a file."
"And then?"
"And then we went back to the mansion sir."
Kaiba gave a stiff nod before looking back down at the file on his lap, "Exactly what kind of odd behaviour did Jounouchi display?"
"Well master Kaiba, when you suggested that Jounouchi spend the night at the mansion sir." Kaiba's eyes widened for a moment and he resisted the urge to give another outburst.
He did what?!
"His reaction was captured on the surveillance footage, but Jounouchi displayed some anxious and somewhat panicked behaviour when you suggested having his father moved to the mansion as well."
Woah woah woah wait...
WHAT?!
He tried to move an entire pack of hounds into HIS house, what the hell?!
Was he drunk? He must have been drunk but Seto never drinks if he can help it.
Did someone drug him?
It wouldn't be the first time that one of those rabid fangirls from school tried to pull a move like that, but why didn't Kaiba catch them, he's usually so vigillent when it comes to such things.
But why would someone drug him into spending time with the mutt? Was Jounouchi the one to drugged him?
Kaiba almost scoffed at that thought, like the second rate street mutt was capable of drugging someone.
"Master Kaiba."
Isono suddenly asked drawing the brunette from his thoughts compelling him to straighten his back and take a deep breath.
"Did anything else happen after that?"
"No sir, we went to the mansion and you retired to your room." Kaiba gave a nod as he took the file on his lap and moved to set it back down where he'd found it before when Isono stopped him short.
"Sir, you're going to read that aren't you?"
Seto arched a brow at his employee, "Why should I?"
"Master Kaiba," the older man stopped himself short seeming to think through his words. "I think it's important that you read it sir."
"And why's that?"
"There are things concerning mr. Jounouchi's life I strongly feel you should be aware of." Isono explained with a slight urgency in his voice that had Kaiba blinking in surprise. "His well-being is at great stake sir. There are things you need to know if you continue with your relationship."
"Relationship." Seto repeated as he glanced up from the man up ahead and the tablet on his lap, while a feeling of dread slowly began to rise up in his chest.
What the hell happened last night?
"Sir?"
"Fine I'll have a look at it later," Kaiba said dismissively which seemed to put the older man somewhat at ease. "Get me to Kaiba Corp, there's only ten minutes left before I meet with the second division's software designers."
Isono gave a quick nod and the car pulled out of it's temporary parking spot.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The entirety of the meeting was spent with Kaiba practically ignoring the idiots in front of him that babbled on about increasing the virtual simulations in the newest designs in the duel disks by using an obscure technology they'd recently discovered, somehow neglecting the fact that this new technology would lower the duel disks efficiency by at least sixty percent due to its prone nature to overheat and malfunction.
So much for graduating with top honours in IT and computer design.
Really sometimes he wonders why he puts up with all these glorified idiots.
Alas, Kaiba wasn't listening to his subordinates clearly flawed plans. Kaiba was staring at the brown file folder and black tablet that sat on a coffee table on the other side of the room, covered by his white trench coat and hidden from view by the white couch it sat in front of.
Seto almost began to grind his teeth as his eyes stayed fixed on the file.
The damn thing was practically glaring at him.
"Mister Kaiba sir." Kaiba glanced up at the three hopeful and fearful faces staring back at him before his eyes strayed right back to where they were before.
"Your design is rejected, get out."
The three in front of the desk looked like they had just been bitch slapped clear across the face and one of the younger women in the front with curly red hair and large green eyes suddenly spoke much to the others surprise.
"But sir invisa-tech-"
"Invisa-tech is flawed. Any kind of technology it's combined with end up suffering under the massive amounts of data overload that invisa-tech forces on it, resulting in overheating, malfunction and eventual explosion." Seto ground out without even looking at them, "Using it the way you geniuses have proposed would most definitely have duel disks exploding on the arms of children everywhere. Unless your intention was mass manslaughter I'd say you didn't do your research."
Three pairs of eyes widened and the redhead sent an accusing glare at the raven haired man behind her who looked like he was two seconds away from shitting himself.
"Sir we-"
"Leave my office now and have your things cleared from your desks within the hour." Kaiba looked up at the three and sent them an ice-cold glare, "Failure is one thing, but incompetence that carries the potential to put lives at risk is another. Get out."
The three stood there in complete shock for a moment until the redhead in the front moved and they all scurried out of the office as quickly as they could.
Kaiba almost rolled his eyes at the fools and leaned back in his chair, to stare at the ceiling for a moment taking in the blissful silence when that nagging in the back of his mind urging him to look at Jounouchi's file hit him at a surge. Especially since he was alone with nothing to distract him.
Damn Isono and his convincing ways.
The brunette smoothly slid his chair back as he stood from his chair and walked over to the couch that stood on the other side of the room. Grabbing his coat and slinging it over the back of the seat, Kaiba gave the file one more look before taking the tablet in his hands and searching for the video he'd abruptly stopped watching earlier.
Seto knew his desire to know what he did the night before outweighed any interest he had in Jounouchi's life, so he decided to force himself through the footage first. Just so he could get an idea of why everything seemed to have been turned on it's head.
The CEO took a deep breath as he leaned back into his seat and pressed play, until a scene more shocking than anything he has ever seen in his entire life appeared o the screen.
And he's been forced to endure dinner with Pegasus.
It started off as it had earlier, with him helping Jounouchi into the car before he slid in himself. When the door closed behind him and he practically jumped the blonde beside him. Kaiba could hear Isono's clearly shocked and uncomfortable voice asking where they were going, right before Jounouchi's breathless voice moaned out an address while Seto's hands slid all over and under the blonde's clothes until his mouth began to swallow the blonde's face whole.
Seto watched in complete horror as Jounouchi groaned and moaned out his first name.
Complete horror, because much to Seto's horror he found that he liked the way that the blonde said his name. The sound sparked a tinge of arousal that Kaiba wasn't familiar with and definitely left him a little disturbed. Another thing that had Seto shocked beyond compare was how he kept moving back to one particular spot on the blonde's neck seeming to suck and bruise his skin as much as he could and Kaiba's eyes widened in shock as he remembered the hickey he'd seen on the mutt's neck that morning at school.
Sweet Jesus...
He's the one that did that?
Kaiba paused when he realised that the idea that Jounouchi bore his mark didn't sicken him as much as it should have, it actually made him feel quite content if not a little upset that he'd only managed to leave one mark.
But hey, he's always been possessive so that discovery wasn't all that surprising.
What was surprising however, was what he'd deemed appropriate to call Jounouchi.
It wasn't mutt or jap-trash or street rat any more.
Oh no.
Seto, in his moment of undeniable insanity, had deemed it appropriate to refer to the blonde cur as...
His puppy.
Really?
Puppy?
I mean sure Jounouchi has always been a mutt, but for Seto to call him not a puppy but his puppy? Of course Jounouchi is ill-tempered, easily provoked, dim, loyal, protective of his friends, actually quite cute with those big bright brown eyes and that adorable tilt of his head head whenever he's trying to figure out one of Kaiba's more complicated insults did make him look quite puppy like-
Kaiba immediately shook his head from the very odd direction where his thoughts were headed and he brought his focus back to the video. It dawned on Kaiba that he seemed to be somewhat... happier, which was odd to see when he himself wasn't really sure he was capable of the emotion.
Sure there's Mokuba and he's always made Seto happy, but this... What he was seeing at that moment was a different kind of happy, one that he wasn't sure what to make of but still one that filled him with an odd sense of longing.
The video continued in much of the same way, with Kaiba taking advantage of Jounouchi while the blonde ran his fingers through his hair and kissed the sides of Seto's neck and face. It was different from how it was between them in the locker room.
In there, there was an urgent and somewhat rushed need to claim and be claimed but that's not how it looked in the video. If Kaiba was being honest with himself he'd admit that he seemed to almost be worshipping Jounouchi, committing every curve and bend of the blonde's body to memory and somehow Seto knew that even after his blackout he'd still be able to remember every inch of his skin.
The car suddenly stopped and Isono announced their arrival, Jounouchi tried to leave and Kaiba tried to keep him in the car. Seto heard for himself how he'd asked Jounouchi to stay the night and said that he could have his father picked up later because he wouldn't have his boyfriend living in-
Seto's eyes went wide.
His boyfriend?
Kaiba only had a second to process that thought when Jounouchi's outburst caught his attention and the CEO's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Isono was right, there was definitely something off about Katsu-I mean-the mutt.
The video played out with them making it to the Kaiba mansion and Seto stared at the brown file on the coffee table.
He had planned to just ignore it after finding out what he'd gotten up to the night before, but now-
The brunette quickly grabbed the file and started leafing through it.
There was some old information concerning Katsu-I mean-the mutt running in a gang. That much Seto's already aware of, what caught him off guard was the information he read on Jounouchi's family.
Six years ago Jounouchi's mother divorced her husband and took their daughter with her, leaving the blonde alone with his father. Somewhat sad but not too concerning until Kaiba read of Kaita Jounouchi's multiple arrests and obvious alcohol abuse. The man hasn't been able to keep a steady job in years.
Seto had glared in disgust at the image of a building which was supposedly where Jounouchi lived, really even an animal wouldn't be fit to living in such a place and briefly Seto realised exactly why he'd tried to move Kats-
Sigh.
The mutt in with him.
It was during his glaring contest with the building's picture that Seto had noticed a note that Isono had made at the top of the page, prompting him to listen to the recording of a conversation Isono had with a miss Koizumi. Seto grabbed the tablet and quickly found the recording. He hit play and raised the volume before setting it down on the coffee table while he continued to flip through Jounouchi's file.
"Look I'm really not comfortable doing this, are you sure it'll help Katsuya?"
Seto arched a brow at the tone of clear concern he could hear in the woman's tone, according to her parole file she wasn't related to Jounouchi in any way so why was she worried.
"I promise no one other than mister Kaiba will hear any of what you're about to discuss with me." Isono's voice reassured and the woman took a deep breath before she spoke.
"What do you need to know?"
"Anything you've observed would be helpful, Jounouchi's behavior and his relationship with his father especially."
"O.K." The woman took another deep breath and Seto turned the page briefly scanning through miss Koizumi's arrest record.
Just one.
Murder in the first degree.
"I-I don't really know much about Katsuya and his dad before I moved in here, and I'd just gotten outta jail so I kinda avoided them the first few months. Its a dangerous neighbourhood and I didn't want to get caught out by my neighbours." The woman gave a sigh. "Then about four months into this I heard some weird noises, there were always weird noises coming from that apartment but it was always just cursing and shouting things falling on the floor and breaking. That's not exactly weird for a building like this so I'd just shrug it off, make sure my door and all the windows were locked."
"But that time, there was screaming just horrible screaming like someone was in pain and then it got sorta quiet but you could still hear noises like someone was trying to move but they couldn't, grunts you know. But I stayed quiet till I heard a door in the hallway slam and I went over to the door to look. This guy was swaying and cursing under his breath while he walked, but the door to the apartment next door was open and I waited till he was gone, ya know till I couldn't hear him anymore and then I left my apartment to go look."
"You went investigate."
"Fuck you make it sound like I was some kind of cop," the woman scoffed and Kaiba couldn't help but give a snort. "No, I just went to go check and see if everything's O.K. I knew that guy had a kid so I just wanted to make sure he wasn't hurt or anything."
"You like children?"
There was a long pause before the woman spoke, "You saw my file right."
"Yes."
"I just wanted to make sure the kid wasn't hurt. So I go inside, the entire thing looked like a fucking sty. Like, beer cans and bottles everywhere the walls were all stained and the wall paper was peeling off, there were stains on the carpets and the furniture looked all worn and torn. I didn't get why it looked like that cause I could always hear someone cleaning, the floor being sweeped or scrubbed, dishes being washed that sorta thing. But when I walked in there it looked like it hadn't been cleaned for weeks. So I walk around try to see if anyone's there when I hear this groan coming from a closed door. I open it a bit just to see who's inside and I all I see is blonde hair that's just covered in blood."
Seto looked up at that and stared as a deep sense of dread began to fill him but for completely different reasons this time.
"I go in, find Katsuya on the floor just covered in bloody cuts and bruises. The kid could barely move and his eyes were glazed over. It was... It was horrible, that's the closest to dead I've ever seen anyone. His eyes just stared through me, like I wasn't even there. I panicked picked Katsuya up and took him to the hospital, the nurses all asked me what happened but I lied and told them I didn't know, when Katsuya came around he lied and said that he'd gotten into a fight with some old gang he used to run with. They believed him, police took a report, he just had some surface wounds apparently and his shock was the reason for him looking so close to dead so they released him the next day."
"He tried to go back to his Dad but I made him stay with me for a couple of days, made sure he ate and watched him when I wasn't working at the bar. Eventually he told me about his dad, said he got this way after mom left. Started boozing, staying out late, fighting. He said it wasn't too bad till about a year before his dad came home cursing and slurring. At first he'd just throw things at Katsuya and call him names, then he started dragging him around the house by his hair and eventually he started beating him. It's been exactly the same for the passed four years."
Seto's blood ran cold.
Four years?
Jounouchi's been abused by his father for four years? Seto couldn't believe it. The blonde always seemed to happy and carefree, he never showed any kind of signs of being abused. And even if he had, Yugi and the rest of the geek squad should have noticed shouldn't they? That meat head Honda's supposed to have known Jounouchi the longest isn't he, how is it that he didn't know. Or was it that they did know but didn't do anything about it.
Kaiba was suddenly brought back to all those fights he's had with the blonde and he remembered the cuts and bruises he'd notice on his skin. But he'd always just put it off to Jounouchi's bad temper getting him into fights.
Have those scars been from his own father all this time?
"Why didn't you notify the police?"
"He made me promise not to, said his dad isn't that way all the time. He said that the old man is always sorry for what he did when he came around start promising to get better. You know the usual crap, it'd last a couple of days and then the screaming would pick up again. You know that police report from three years ago... That happened two days after Katsuya went back home, I heard voices and screaming and I called the cops. The kid managed to brush it off since his old man passed out halfway through this time."
"Why didn't Katsuya ask for help?"
The woman gave a humourless laugh, "Have you met Katsuya Jounouchi? He never asks for help, he's too proud for that. He even tried to get a job a couple of times but there aren't a lot of places in Domino willing to hire an underage ex-gang member. His dad brings in some money from which ever job he's working from time to time but that never lasts. I used to force some cash on him back in those days and he'd hate me a little more every time I did it. But I stopped about a year ago when mr. Jounouchi found it and boozed it away, it's happen every time so I stopped giving it, started making Katsuya have breakfast and dinner with me fixed his clothes when they got ripped up and let him do his homework here. I saw blood in his history book this one time and I made sure that'd be the last. 'Course Katsuya's kinda lazy about it when I'm not around."
"Does he live with you?"
"No," the woman gave a heavy sigh, "Katsuya's a great kid you know, a really great kid. He's real bright even if he doesn't always use his head and he's got such a big heart. That big heart is the reason he keeps going back to his sorry excuse for a father. He's holding out some hope that one day he'll get it right and turn himself around, he's always saying 'all the Jounouchi men have is each other' so he can't leave his dad or betray him. I get that, I get that he wants to stick with his dad but Katsuya deserves to be happy he shouldn't be living the way he is."
"Why is he living this way? Jounouchi's prize money from Duelist kingdom should have been more than enough for him to move to a proper home and find his father some help for his addiction."
"You mean you don't know?"
"Know what?"
"How is it that you don't have that in that little file of yours, as far as I know all his friends know he wasn't exactly keeping it a secret."
"What?"
Seto turned the page and got to a picture of a girl with long auburn curls and bright blue eyes.
"Katsuya used the money from duelist kingdom to pay for his sisters surgery. She was slowly going blind and her mom couldn't afford the bill so Jou entered the tournament so he could pay it for her. Even gave Shizuka the rest of the prize money so she and that ungrateful witch they call a mother wouldn't struggle."
"That's incredibly kind of him."
"That's Katsuya."
"Can I ask you why you referred to Jounouchi's mother as a witch?"
The woman gave a snort, "Because the bitch knows, she came here after Katsuya helped pay for the surgery. I don't know what she was doing here but I saw her. She came in right in the middle of her ex-husband's rampages and she did absolutely nothing just walked out while he was raving like a maniac, left her son alone with that. I swear to God if I see her again, my parole will be cut short."
Amaya took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice, "Katsuya deserves better, I can only do so much because he won't let me do anything more. I want him to be happy, so if you can help him in anyway. Then this was totally worth it."
The recording ended and Seto sat there completely still as he processed all this information and for the first time in years the CEO wasn't sure where to move on from here.
Quite frankly regardless of whatever insanity has been going on between him and the blonde, Jounouchi's life really isn't any of his business.
He and Jounouchi aren't friends, in any shape or form so really what does any of this have to do with him. From what he heard on the recording Jounouchi didn't want any help anyway, so the chances of him accepting Seto's help for any reason whatsoever were little to none.
On the other hand what the blonde was going through was terrible, no human being should have to suffer through that and Seto felt a surge of outrage on the blonde's behalf for him having to go through all that.
So what should Seto do?
Should he do anything at all?
Again it isn't any of his business, but...
What if he made it his business?
"Mr. Kaiba ,sir."
The brunette looked up to find his assistant standing at the door with her gaze to the floor as she spoke.
"The contractors from Helia technologies are here to see you."
Seto took a deep breath and carefully put the file and tablet back the way he'd left it and stood up to go sit behind his desk.
"Send them through."
The rest of the day went on pretty much the same as that afternoon, Seto would pretend to listened to whatever moronic idea he was presented with and he'd tell them how moronic their idea's were, firing those he deemed incompetent and ignorant and kicking out those that didn't work for him in the first place.
In all honesty he was operating on autopilot.
His mind kept circling around Jounouchi and exactly what he was supposed to do with the information he'd been given.
Go about his life pretending like he doesn't know anything or give in and basically force his help on his once hated mortal enemy.
Needless to say that by the time he got back to the Kaiba mansion, Seto was mentally exhausted.
Which is how he failed to see a short running mass of black hair heading straight towards him at an incredible speed, before he was knocked onto his back while a beaming Mokuba practically bounced on his chest.
"Seto I'm sooo happy for you! You know I was a little worried there for a second cause you didn't say anything about it this morning and you looked like you'd forgotten but then I came home from school and the maids were getting his room ready! I can't wait till he gets here! When's he coming, is he coming later or-"
"Mokuba." Seto said calmly as he cut in through his little brother's excited rambling, "What are you talking about?"
"What do you mean what am I talking about?" The boy gave him and incredulous look, "I'm talking about Jou of course. His room looks so cool, I can't believe the maids got all of that done in one day, but I guess that's Esmerelda huh. Hey, how come my room doesn't have a secret passage way like the one that leads from Jou's room to your- on second thoughts I don't need to know that-"
Kaiba just stared back at his brother as he pushed himself up on his arms, "Jou? As in Jounouchi, Jou?"
"Yeah who else would I be talking about?" Mokuba rolled his stormy grey eyes when they went back to Kaiba and he noticed the strange look on his brother's face, instantly prompting him to move forward and wrap his arms around him in a hug.
"Nii-sama you don't have to worry about my approval, I already love Jou and knowing that you two are...dating and he'll be living here makes me just as happy as I'm sure he'll make you happy." Mokuba paused and gave a slight grimace, "O.K so maybe he won't be making me as happy as he'll be making you but it's close enough right?"
The CEO just stared blankly at his brother when the boy hopped off his lap and gave him a grin when his eyes suddenly lit up, "Oh we'll have to tell the chef to make something great for Jou's first night here, do you know what kind of food he likes, you know what I'll just tell the chef to make Jou something special."
The raven haired boy ran down the foyer into the hall, giving a brief skid as he headed straight for the kitchen and for once Seto was too shocked to tell him not to run in the house.
What just happened?
After a few more moments of just sitting there wondering how his day could possibly get any more confusing Seto got up and went straight up the stairs to the fourth floor where his and Mokuba's rooms were when he saw a procession of maids going in and out of a room that stood on the left hand side of the hall way.
Seto slowly made his way over and saw Esmerelda his head of staff giving directions and shouting profanities whenever someone seemed to do something wrong.
Kaiba had met her about a year after Gozaburo's death on his trip to the states. The woman had been put through hell by her previous employers who had promised to take her over the mexican border so she could work in the states and find herself a better life.
Unfortunately the better life they had planned for her consisted of starvation, physical emotional and sexual abuse as well as forced labour. And yet somehow through all of that she managed to keep up a strong fighting spirit, never backing down from anyone who even dares challenge her, not even Kaiba.
She actually kindoff reminds him of Kats-the mutt.
Kaiba had taken her back with him to Japan and the woman has been leading his personal staff ever since.
"Ah! Seto, you're back." Esmerelda rushed over to take the teenage CEO's arm and walked him over to the door of the room while the rest of the staff worked tirelessly around them.
Seto had to fight to stop his eyes from going wide at the new decor of the room.
The theme was red and black.
Beautiful black and red silk sheets covered the mattress on the dark mahogany four poster bed. Lighter red sheets hung over the sides of the bed, curtains that could be pulled shut if desired. The were two mahogany dressers to one side of the room while two black porcelain lamps covered in gold enscriptures and black shades sat on either side of the bed on the bedside tables. A mahogany desk and chair already piled with books and stationary. A long dark brown chez lounge sat before the fireplace where a black shag carpet lay.
The final masterpiece was the mural just above the fire place of a large red-eyes black dragon. Roaring fiercely as the actual red ruby eyes gleamed in the light of the room. It was dark and the colours were somewhat overwhelming but Esmerelda had somehow managed to make it look quite breathtaking.
"Muy romantico no?" The woman asked as she flipped her curly black hair over her shoulder and her blue green eyes sparkled in the light. "Isono told me the one who holds your heart won third place in Duelist kingdom and I found out that this was his card of choice. Oooh isn't it wonderful, the blue eyes white dragon and his red eyes black dragon. Polar opposites chosen by the gods to be together."
Seto just stared at the room while the woman prattled on, "Esmeralda, what is going on here?"
"What are you, Seto don't you remember? When you got home last night you asked me to prepare a room for-" The woman frowned, when some sort of light went off in her head and she smiled. "Oh of course, you're simply overwhelmed, that is understandable. After all very few are fortunate enough to be graced by my genius."
Seto gaped, "I did what-"
"I saw a picture of him as well, ai muy muy bella. That blonde hair and those brown eyes, you must have a hard time keeping your hands away from him yes?" The woman said cheekily as she smiled up at him, "So when is your beloved moving in, is he only coming tomorrow? Mokuba will be so disappointed, but its best not to rush things lest you scare him away no?"
"I-"
"Ey! Quid futuo?!" Esmerelda suddenly screamed as she glared at a maid across the room and stomped over. Leaving Seto alone to once again try to sort out his turmulous thoughts, not that he was in a better state before but he'd at least managed to figure some things out.
Although as Seto really took in his surroundings he realised that this was very like him.
Seto's never been very patient, he tries but the reality is that when he wants something he does everything in his power to get it now and keep it for as long as possible. Which is what he was trying to do with Katsu-the mutt for some reason.
Having Isono do research on him so he knew everything he needed to know about the blonde to make sure he could handle anything that was thrown his way.
Getting Esmerelda to ready a room for him so when the blonde arrives everything is already prepared for his stay.
All of those were very Seto Kaiba moves.
But what Seto couldn't figure out was why?
He's never had that kind of interest in the blonde, he hated Jounouchi and Jounouchi hated him right back. So what on earth could propel him to not only practically molest the blonde in the back of his limo but have him moved into his home as well.
He was attracted to Jounouchi that much Seto has given up on trying to deny, the locker room incident and what he saw in the surveillance video proved that but what else did he feel towards the mutt other than unbridled hatred.
Seto has always held a level of respect for Jounouchi, although he'd rather die than admit that out loud.
The blonde was one of the few people with the guts to stand up to him and that didn't go running after him like the ground turned to gold at his mere touch. Jounouchi made sure to tell Seto exactly what he thought of him, every chance he got, using a very wide variety of insults and curse words.
Jounouchi was the underdog with an unlimited amount of fight in him and Seto sort of admired that.
And now, with the information he's learnt about Jounouchi's home life Seto found himself feeling... Protective over the blonde somewhat possessive but the CEO wasn't exactly sure why.
Kaiba gave a sigh as he watched a silver clothing rack wheel into the room before the maid's began to fold some of the clothes and put them in the dressers while the rest was hung up in the closet.
He was really serious about moving Jounouchi in his house wasn't he?
Alright so he's attracted to Jounouchi, we're passed that.
He actually does feel something other than anger and hatred towards the boy. That has been begrudgingly accepted too.
Now the only question left for Kaiba to decide exactly what to do with all this information.
It's clear to the CEO that Jounouchi remembers just as much about what happened the night before as he did that morning, so it's probably safe to say that the blonde had no interest in him whatsoever regardless of the thing in the locker room.
So what was he supposed to do now?
Go on with his life and pretend like nothing happened?
Or confront Jounouchi, try to figure out exactly what it is he's feeling and help the blonde out of the hell hole he called a home?
Of course Jounouchi would fight him the entire way on that second one but Seto almost felt himself look forward to it.
With this thought Seto left the room to try and get some work done before bed, had dinner as he endured Mokuba's insistent queries as to exactly when Jounouchi would be moving in and suffered an entire night full of dreams surrounding the blonde.
Some were disturbingly good dreams that featured him and Jounouchi finishing what they'd started in at school and others were of him walking into some shabby little apartment to find the blonde laying lifeless and battered in a pool of his own blood.
By the time he'd made it to school Seto's mind was far gone from the calm it had started to resemble the night before.
Because Jounouchi's life really is none of his business, the blonde hates him he'd never allow Seto to help him. And Seto has every right to just turn around and walk away.
So what does he do?
Kaiba was suddenly ripped from his thoughts after being harshly bumped into and he looked up to find himself standing in the middle of the crowded school hallway.
"Watch it rich boy! Some of us are walkin' here." Seto looked back and found the blonde scowling at him as he reached down to grab his history books before fixing the CEO in a glare. "Why don't you just crawl back into whatever hole you slithered out from under and stay out of the way!"
Seto was about to give a cleverly laid out reply when something caught his attention under the heavy blonde bangs that fell over Jounouchi's face.
The brunette's eyebrows furrowed for a second before he moved, grabbing Jounouchi's arm to hold him still as he brushed back the bangs that fell over his forehead.
"What the- let me go asshole!"
There was a wound on the blonde's forehead, obviously quite deep if the bloodstain leaking through the gauze and bandage stuck to his forehead was anything to go by. Seto noticed with shock how there seemed to be light bruises scattered on the blonde's face which would undoubtedly get darker as the hours went and he was brought back to Isono's conversation with Amaya.
Jou kept growling while Seto's eyes narrowed into a vicious glare as anger began to pulse through his veins. The blonde blinked in surprise when a low growl erupted from Seto's throat, causing those big brown eyes to look so incredibly innocent in that moment.
As Kaiba's anger increased with every bruise he saw, the answer to his previous question suddenly became perfectly clear.
"Kaiba what're you-"
Jou was cut off when Kaiba suddenly pulled him forward and glared, "We are leaving. Now."
Jou blinked, "What?"
Unfortunately the blonde got no reply as he was suddenly dragged along behind a fuming CEO.
The mut- no
Katsuya might not want his help, but Katsuya's damn sure gonna get it!
Whether he likes it or not.
Meanwhile in the realm of the gods:
"C'mon Aba, please talk to me."
Habibah pleaded to the slave who had locked himself in her bedchamber.
Of course she was more than capable of forcing the door open but she didn't think it would be very wise to do so. The purple haired girl gave a sigh as she leaned her head against the large marble door letting her fingers brush against the cool smooth surface when a voice suddenly spoke behind it.
"That was cruel."
Habibah sighed again, "I know that."
"Completely unnecessary."
"We both know that isn't true, I did what was needed. Seto wouldn't have taken that leap without a strong enough push and Katsuya-"
"Suffered."
"Went through a necessary event." Habibah said clearly as she raked a hand through her hair. "Lady Hathor taught me that sometimes in life, there are great life changing events that lead to something bigger, what happened to Katsuya is one of those things."
"You forced it."
"Because it needed to be forced, if I had let time take it's coarse it would have happened at a later stage and Katsuya wouldn't be able to get the help that Kaiba can give him now. If I hadn't forced it, I would have had no control over it later and it would have gone too far." Habibah said with finality before her voice softened. "I stopped him before he went too far and I made sure that Katsuya wasn't hurt too badly, I know that's little comfort but this needed to happen."
The girl waited when there was no answer from the door and she spoke again. "I know you're upset because what happened to Katsuya happened to you, and no one stopped it in time. But I still believe there was a reason for that as well."
"And what could that possibly be?"
"For you to be here with me."
The girl stood in front of the door for a few more moments before it slowly creaked open and her slave stood on the other side. Habibah stepped forward pushing the door open a little more so she could wrap her arms around him in a hug. Aba's arms went around her and he held on tight while she spoke.
"I know things look bad now, but it always gets darker before the light."
A/N: alrighty, so the next chapter will mostly be in Jou's point of view.
Amaya Koizumi's story revealed.
What did Habibah force?
And Seto Kaiba takes action! No matter how much Jounouchi tries to fight him.
Please review.
