Chapter nine: unwelcome light

The first half of the day passed by in a blur. All Jounouchi really remembered were hundreds of looks filled with pity, a few dozen people going 'are you okay?' and 'do you want to talk about it?' and his friends, keeping their eyes on him longer than they normally did. Though Jounouchi normally didn't mind being the center of attention, he couldn't help but despising the people giving it to him now. He knew he shouldn't feel like that towards his friends, but he just couldn't help it at that moment.

"So how was your night at the shelter, Jou?" Yuugi asked. It was lunch, and though Jounouchi'd normally be stuffing pizza or fries down his throat, he didn't really feel like eating anything right now.

"I didn't exactly stay at a shelter," Jounouchi said. "I sort of got run over by Kaiba and ended up staying at his place. I'm going back there after school," he said this in a rather nonchalant manner.

His friends seemed rather dumbstruck at this statement. It was silent for a while, and then Yuugi finally said: "Well, I'm happy Kaiba's acting friendly." Jounouchi just smiled.

After that very awkward lunch, the rest of the day seemed to pass at an even more alarming rate, and before he knew it he was back in the limo on his way to Kaiba's mansion. It was just him and Jounouchi in the car. Kaiba had already gone to Kaiba Corp to work.

"How was your day, Jou?" Mokuba asked sweetly.

"It was okay," he just said, not in the mood for small talk.

The rest of the car ride was spent in a silence. Mokuba seemed happy enough just to stare out of the window, though. Maybe the little guy had more empathy than people give him credit for.

A soft breeze was blowing when Jounouchi crawled out of the limousine. It wasn't particularly a hot day, but the sun was shining and that was enough to make it a nice day. The spring blossoms were visible in the sky, as the breeze took them to places they'd never been before. Jounouchi smiled involuntarily as he made his way to the house. Mokuba just one step behind him, humming a cheerful song.

Jounouchi pushed open the door. A young woman came running towards him.

"You must be Mister Jounouchi!" she said sweetly, taking his jacket from him, "Master Kaiba told us you'd be staying over. My name is Ayami, if you need anything just ask."

"I, uh, thanks," Jounouchi said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Come on Jou, let's play some videogames!" Mokuba said happily.

"Now, master Mokuba, you know that master Kaiba doesn't like it when you don't do your homework straight after school," she said, still having that sweet smile on her face.

"Yeah but Ayami, he isn't here right now…" Mokuba tried.

The smile disappeared and she just looked at him in a stern manner.

"But I guess I'll just go do it anyway!" Mokuba said, he then bolted up the stairs.

"I'll go see how dinner's coming along," Ayami said and left.

For a moment Jounouchi just stood there, in the welcome hall, awkward and alone.

"Come on Jou! Let's go do homework," Mokuba was standing at the top of the stairs.

Jounouchi just laughed and followed him.

The next few hours was spent in Mokuba's bedroom. Jounouchi sat at his desk; books sprawled out in front of him, whereas Mokuba was just sitting on his bed.

The room was painted a bright blue, and had dark blue drapes. Duel Monster toys were on every shelf and clearly outnumbered the amount of books the boy had. A few posters adorned the walls, all of them Duel Monsters. The room was a typical twelve-year-old boy's room. It made Jounouchi wistfully nostalgic, even though he never had the luxury Mokuba has.

When Kaiba came home around 6PM they all had dinner together. A succulent roast with mashed potatoes, warm vegetables and a kind of mustard-y sauce. It was amazingly prepared and possibly some of the fanciest food that Jounouchi'd ever eaten.

After dinner Kaiba disappeared upstairs and Mokuba and Jounouchi retreated into the TV-room. A giant room featuring a giant TV and shelves filled with both movies and videogames.

Mokuba popped a game into his XBOX and the two boys started playing to their heart's content.

They'd been playing for an hour when the sound of a doorbell rang throughout the entire mansion. Jounouchi put down his controller and looked at Mokuba.

"Don't worry, Jou, Ayami will get the door," Mokuba said.

But a second later Ayami softly opened the door and peered in.

"There's a police officer at the door wishing to talk to you, Mister Jounouchi," she said softly.

Jou got up and followed Ayami to the huge oak front door.

The police officer standing there was no stranger to Jounouchi. He had come to see him in the hospital as well. What was his name again? Kisami? Kimari?

"Good day, Mister Jounouchi," he started, "It's detective Kimura, we met in the hospital, if you remember?"

Right, Kimura.

"Is it OK if I step inside for a moment?" he said, not waiting for an answer he stepped inside the income hall. He took a notepad from his vest pocket.

"Err, sir, I'm not sure if Master Kaiba approves of this," Ayami said timidly.

"It'll only take a second," Kimura said, "So Jounouchi, what were your exact whereabouts yesterday evening around 12 PM?"

"I was here," Jounouchi said, "Why? What happened?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here," Kimura said.

"I think you're wrong about that. What are you doing in my home?" An ice cold voice sounded behind Jounouchi.

Before Jounouchi could wonder how he had appeared so silently behind him, Kaiba strode past him, fixing his eyes on the detective.

"I'm here with regards to an investigation, Mister Kaiba, "I just need to ask a Mister Jounouchi a few questions."

"Go ahead," Kaiba said, stepping out of the way.

"Err, okay, can anyone verify that you were here yesterday?" Kimura said, obviously thrown off balance.

"I can," Kaiba said, before Jounouchi could even open his mouth to answer.

"Do you have any proof that he was actually here?" Kimura asked.

"Are you suggesting I'm a liar?" Kaiba said, coldness dripping from his voice.

"I said no such thing mister Kaiba. Why? Are you?" Kimura smirked.

Kaiba's gaze could turn a man to stone, it was a miracle Kimura didn't start cowering in the corner.

"Get out." Was all he said.

"Please mister Kaiba, I just require some proof," Kimura said, "I could have you arrested for obstructing police investigation."

"Let's see how long you'll keep your job if you do that," Kaiba said, he then pointed at the door, "Out."

Kimura just sighed, put away his notepad and stepped outside.

"I'll return tomorrow with a warrant," Kimura said.

"You do that," Kaiba retorted, slamming the door shut.

Jounouchi just stood there with his mouth open staring at Kaiba.

"That was a detective!" Jounouchi yelled, "You could have at least pretended to be nice."

"Then shouldn't he have done the same?" Kaiba asked heading back towards the staircase, "He has no business entering my house without my permission. Not to mention threatening to arrest me isn't exactly a 'nice thing'. Don't let them walk over you like that, Jounouchi. You're better than that."

Jounouchi just looked at him when he went back upstairs.

"What happened Jou?" Mokuba asked, standing in the doorway to the TV room.

"Nothing, don't worry Mokuba," Jounouchi flashed a quick smile and went back to playing videogames with him.

9 PM came around and Jounouchi was just sitting on the couch watching the news. It didn't say anything about the investigation concerning Jounouchi's dad. He suspected it was all kept on the hush-hush. Possibly because of the oddity of the case.

Kaiba entered the room and sat down next to Jounouchi on the couch. A steaming cup of coffee in his hands.

"Where's Mokuba?" Kaiba asked him.

"He left when the news came on," Jounouchi said smiling, "said he didn't really care about that. He's probably up in his room."

Kaiba just snorted and drank some of the black liquid.

"Hey Kaiba," Jounouchi said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I just wanted to thank you for standing up for me earlier."

Kaiba didn't say anything, just kept his eyes fixed on the TV screen. But Jounouchi could see the shadow of a smile playing on his lips.

Jounouchi also looked at the screen and pretended to be interested in the shenanigans of some politician the news was talking about. He felt at peace just sitting there in the dark, next to someone who didn't give him those sad smiles. Someone who would still act the same towards him. But was he acting the same? It'd been a while since he'd made another mutt remark…

Jounouchi was startled from his train of thoughts when out of the corner of his eye he saw a light had turned on suddenly. It came from the little building that used to be the servant's quarters. Kaiba had noticed it as well as he got up and walked towards the window, carefully peering out of it.

"Probably Mokuba," Kaiba said, "though he knows I don't like it when he goes out after dark."

"What's in the house that he'd need right now?" Jounouchi asked.

"We put a bunch of toys in there that we couldn't keep inside the mansion; there are a lot of Duel Monster cards there as well. Perhaps he wanted to look at them," Kaiba replied.

Jounouchi got up and stood next to Kaiba. The quarters were lit up scarcely, with the curtains closed. Nothing moved inside. A shiver ran across Jounouchi's spine the moment he stared at that building.

Kaiba sighed and picked up the telephone located next to the TV. He dialed a number and listened into the horn intensely.

Time moved past slowly yet no one picked up the phone on the other end. Kaiba hung up and sighed again.

"I just tried calling, but Mokuba's not picking up," Kaiba said.

Just then a shadow moved past the curtain.

Kaiba punched in the number again and listened into the horn once more. Jounouchi could hear the dial tone. Seconds went by slowly, but no one picked up. Then there was a soft click sound, followed by silence.

"Mokuba?" Kaiba said, unwavering.

But there was no reply whatsoever. The shadow moved past the window again.

"Mokuba this isn't funny, get your butt back to the mansion or you'll be grounded for months," Kaiba said, sternly. But there still wasn't a reply.

Jounouchi's hands started shaking. He knew who was in the house.

"Mokuba," Kaiba repeated, a bit louder.

The shadow now moving past the window more frequently. Almost as if he was taunting them.

"Mokuba I swear-"

"Swear what, big brother?" A voice rang out behind them. Kaiba turned around wide eyed, phone still in hand. Standing behind them was his little brother dressed in pajamas.

Kaiba immediately snapped back towards the window, watching at the servant's quarters. The shadow was standing still in front of the scarcely lit curtain. It was taunting them. Just then an inhuman scream ripped through the horn. Then a click and all was quiet.

Kaiba snarled and immediately called the emergency line.

After a short conversation with whoever was on the other side, and never once moving his eyes away from the shadow, he threw down the phone and left the room.

"Where are you going Kaiba?" Jounouchi asked, bounding after him, his eyes lingering only a little while on the shadow. Mokuba followed both of them, confusion visible in his eyes.

"If it's that detective he better get ready for an ass-kicking," Kaiba said opening a closet door and getting out a baseball bat.

"Wait, you think that Kimura guy is in there?" Jounouchi asked.

"Who else? Your ghost?" Kaiba permitted himself a slight smirk, but then quickly turned serious again as he opened the back door and stepped outside.

It was cool and the smell of rain wafted in the air.

"Kaiba shouldn't you wait until the cops are here at least?" Jounouchi pleaded, "This could be very dangerous!"

"What's even going on?" Mokuba shouted loudly, obviously very confused.

Kaiba turned around and pushed Mokuba back inside.

"You stay there," he said in a tone that would allow to 'buts' or 'maybes'. He then turned towards Jounouchi, his face only barely lit by the light streaming out of the mansion windows. "If I wait for the cops he'll be long gone."

He closed the back door and bounded into the darkness towards the small building. Mokuba was just standing at the window peering out. Jounouchi swore loudly and ran after Kaiba.

They got the house and Kaiba immediately reached out towards the doorknob. He jiggled it but the door refused to open. For a moment confusion entered Kaiba's gaze, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. He searched in his pockets and pulled out a key ring featuring a few keys. He searched for a while and then stuck a key in the lock. He turned it twice and the door opened. Jounouchi looked at the window before he followed Kaiba inside, but the shadow had gone.

Jounouchi could see the remnants of a kitchen, but most of the house had been transformed into a kid's paradise. There were a ton of toys, a huge TV and Duel Monster merchandise everywhere.

While Jounouchi had been admiring the room Kaiba was going from room to room opening doors and shouting threats. But nothing greeted them but eerie silence.

"He must have left right before we entered," Kaiba said, searching for an explanation.

He set down the bat and ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes kept looking around the room, as if he expected someone to still be there, hiding in the shadows.

As Jounouchi was about to suggest to leave and wait for the police, the door they had just entered through slammed shut. Kaiba quickly took up the bat again and frantically looked around the room. The little bit of light that was lighting the inside of the building suddenly gave in, and darkness engulfed the pair.

"Kaiba, where are you?" Jounouchi shouted, panicking.

"Still right next to you, idiot," Kaiba said.

Though normally Jounouchi would have told Kaiba to shut up, he could feel nothing but relief. He searched in the dark and finally found Kaiba's arm, he held on to it tightly.

"Sorry," Jounouchi said, "I'd just rather not lose you in the dark."

"Sorry for what?" Kaiba said, but he was no longer standing beside him, he sounded much further away, "Fuck, I can't find the light switch anywhere."

"But wait, if you're over there, then-"

But before Jounouchi could finish the sentence a hand gripped hold of his arm and started squeezing it tightly. Nails started digging in his skin and Jounouchi couldn't do anything but scream.

"What's wrong?" He heard Kaiba shout, but a hand covered Jounouchi's mouth and he couldn't answer anymore.

He heard Kaiba stumbling about the room and knocking over a few toys.

"Fuck I can't see anything," Kaiba said, "Where are you?"

Jounouchi tried his best to make sound in order to let Kaiba know his location, but fear had gripped his vocal cords and he couldn't get anything past his lips.

A stench of rotting decay filled his nose, and he could sense those wild eyes just peering into his. He could hear Kaiba stumbling about in the dark.

"Why don't you try screaming?" a voice entered his ears. It sounded gruff and dead. Not like how the man had sounded on the island at all.

Tears just leaked out of Jounouchi's eyes as fear immobilized him.

Outside the faint sound of sirens was heard, but they seemed worlds away.

Suddenly two hands gripped Jounouchi, releasing him from the dead man's grip. The arms wrapped themselves around Jounouchi. Not unkind, protecting him. Almost immediately the stench disappeared and the lights turned back on.

Kaiba had his arms wrapped around Jounouchi tightly, burying his face in Jounouchi's hair.

"Whu-" was all that left Jounouchi's mouth.

Kaiba quickly let him go, at a loss for words.

"I don't know why I did that," he said, "I just felt the urge to…"

Jounouchi wasn't sure what to say, he just turned around and looked at Kaiba. Voices were heard outside, and soon enough the door swung open revealing a few police officers.

"We had a report about a breaking and entering," one of them said to Kaiba.

Kaiba stayed silent for a moment and just looked at Jounouchi. Then he regained his composure and turned to the officer.

They walked back to the mansion a while later, not saying a word. An awkward atmosphere hung in the air.

Kaiba quickly went upstairs with Mokuba to put him to bed as the policemen searched the house in the garden. Jounouchi felt stunned as he looked at them moving through the house. Kaiba moved up silently behind him and stood next to him looking out the window.

Wordlessly he took Jounouchi's arm. It was badly bruised and imprints of fingernails were embedded in his skin. A bit of blood was drawn. Kaiba let his fingers run over them softly, confusion spread about his face. It was as if he had come to face with something he just couldn't believe, yet the evidence was right in front of him. A shiver ran down Jounouchi's spine, but this time it wasn't because he was afraid. Then it suddenly dawned on Kaiba what he was doing and he let go of Jounouchi's arm.

"How about some coffee?" He asked.

Jounouchi just nodded and followed him to the kitchen.

The police ended up finding nothing in the servant's quarters. The only thing they found were two initials scratched into the corner of a wall.

"J.K."

A.N: I know. It's been long. Don't kill me hahaha. I'm still working on this, don't worry.
I hope you guys like the chapter! I'll try to get a new one out as soon as possible.

Remember to review guys!

Have a nice day, wherever you are. :3