Hey guys.

Holy crap.

"I'm supposed to be doing homework, but as you can probably tell, that aint going so flash. I get distracted easily, gimme a break-I would much rather type out a nasty-albeit frightfully sexy-Seto Kaiba than write a biology report. So there goes schoolwork. Bubye!"

You know what's shocking? That above authors note was what I typed when I first started this chapter. What's shocking is that I have now finished school, so in all likeliness I did in fact stop doing this to complete that goddamn biology report. How bizarre. And even more so is that I finished year 12 almost 6 months ago, and I started this story almost 2 years ago. And in those two years, I have only managed to spit out 8 meaningless little chapters, while the world went on without it.

Sigh

I've grown up a bit now. I have a job, a nightlife, a mental institute wanting me to return to claim 2 years of bad food and sedatives after I ran away from an excursion to the museum…my day pass was running out anyway, I figured "hey, why not jus skip the boring lecture and jump straight to the freedom bit?", so here I am now. Months after my last update and ready to provide more sinfulness in the matter of Seto and Jounouchi. HOORAY!

Seto'swhiterose…please for the love of God, please let you be reading this right now. I miss you. I miss this. I miss our bizarre little connection, as insignificant as it is with all the dramas of the world. I miss writing about Jounouchi and Seto, and Alice and Mokie and Charles and Liam…I miss screwing around with my school friends and most of all I have missed this…this…this expression, this self explanation that can only be defined as the narcissistic ramblings of an idiot.

And if that's what I am, then so be it.

"Fuck it. Fuck it all to hell. Fuck it all three ways to Sunday." I don't care. I'm insane, and I think I'm gonna goddamn enjoy it.

Welcome, my friends, to my realm of chaos. Enter if you dare. And please, leave behind your soul. You won't be needing it now. Muwahahahahahaa.

Uhhhhh.

Excuse me, but I've lost my mind. Have you seen it? Oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose…you will let me know if u find my mind, wont you?!

Here we go…

Oh, btw. The day that I left it on last chapter was Tuesday, and it still is Tuesday-Liam's about to go knocking on Kaiba's door. Also, the little flashback is also Tuesday, (though very early on Tuesday morning) and will explain why Kaiba was so pissed off last chapter, which was still Tuesday morning, just later on and AFTER this flashback happened very early Tuesday morning…thus why he's so pissed.

yeah, that made sense.

I'm sorry for all the jumping, I'm sure it made more sense in my head. Anyway, its Tuesday…have I mentioned that?


Jounouchi's Prerogative

Chapter 9


Liam followed the Head Night Maid through the halls of the mansion, a furiously determined look on his face. Alice glanced back at him once or twice, as if to check if he was still willing to go pick a fight with her employer. When he did nothing but stare back at her and nod slightly, Alice would sigh and keep walking, shaking her head dispiritedly, causing her russet hair to shake softly.

Through the tall windows came the bright light of morning, the sun rising slowly in the clear sky. The rays of morning light cast patterns on the floor and walls of the halls, and Liam felt himself squint every time he passed from shadow to light. Impatiently, he checked his watch, wondering why there wasn't anyone around. Alice's slight steps pattered in front of him, and his heavy boots clunked against the floor, echoing softly in the deserted corridors. It was 7:18 am, yet still the house seemed dead and quiet.

'Was Kaiba really in that bad of a mood?' He wondered vaguely, feeling a slight knot of panic clench at his gut. 'Is everyone in this house afraid to show that they even exist in his presence? I can almost smell their fear…I wonder why he's so malicious, today of all days. Shouldn't he be glad at the prospect of being rid of Jou?'

Certainly, Kaiba seemed to have become progressively more and more vicious since Jou had arrived at the mansion. There seemed to be history between the two young men; that much was obvious, but Liam was intensely curious as to why the blonde was having such a negative affect on the Master of the house. Fear breeds hatred and aggression, Liam knew this, but what Seto had recently been displaying seemed close to confused and ill-directed anxiety and angst; something that a brooding young teen like Seto Kaiba seemed to have in bucket loads.

The problem was, Jou seemed the type of person to rebel against a controlling hand, and Seto was indeed that kind of person in his own right; if they knew each other, Liam could almost guarantee that Seto would be domineering and Jounouchi would rebelliously fight back. So if Seto was angry at the very presence of the young blonde, then-at the height of his health-Jou would reciprocate with his own special brand of aggression. What's more, Jou most likely wasn't the type of person to back down either, so a confrontation between the brunette and the blonde could last for quite a considerable length of time.

'So they have a past history together and they both have shown negative emotions towards each other, though Kaiba's is more dramatic because…well…that's the way he is sometimes. Theatrical.' Liam shook his head, pushing aside the nervous feeling of apprehension and instead focusing on the frantic whirring of his mind.

'If that's the case, I don't doubt that those two have a lot more in common than I imagined, though Jounouchi seems to have himself under slightly more control with his aggression and stubbornness.' The doctor laughed to himself quietly, feeling the lump in his throat shift. 'Except with Jou…his control snaps when he's around Kaiba. How ironic. They're both as bad as each other.'

Wiping the smirk from his face, the doctor's mind turned to more pressing matters-his impending doom to name one such predicament. With the shadowed hallways and the ominous silence, Liam felt like he was walking into the den of a ferocious and hostile beast; indeed, Kaiba was as dangerous as any exotic animal at the height of his rage. And Liam, for all his integrity and intelligence, couldn't for the life of him understand why he was allowing himself to walk into this obviously grave confrontation.

Looking at his watch and taking note that it was currently 7:40 in the morning, Liam heard Charles' words of warning run through his head, and the Doctor wondered vaguely if perhaps he was being a bit drastic.

"If there's anything I can say to you that might help, it's this: Watch out for the Master. Stay out of his way, if you possibly can. It will save you a good deal of grief."

There was wisdom behind the old man's words-he had worked for the billionaire for most of his life, as had his father and his father both worked for Seto's stepfather. The wizened man was Seto Kaiba's most trusted and high-ranking manservant, and nobody (besides family) knew Seto Kaiba better. So why did Liam feel this burning desire to confront this man about his involvement with his patient? He didn't really know, but what he did know was that what Alice had told him wasn't the only side to the story.

The answers to his questions could be provided by only one person now and the doctor would get them, even if it meant walking into the den of a dragon. Liam steeled his nerve and clenched his fists. 'So be it.'


Seto Kaiba had awoken that morning-with a convulsive gasp, hands knotted in silk sheets and sharp breaths coming in short pants-to the confronting and insistent mental images of a certain young blonde individual, naked and sweating, calling out his name in pleasure. Shivering and sheeted in a layer of sweat, the erotic dream flashed before Seto's eyes, refusing to fade into nothingness as his consciousness returned to him.

Lithe body, twisted in carnal pleasure as thin hands gripped at the blue silken sheets of Seto's bed…blonde hair falling over scarlet cheeks as powerful thrusts push him back and forward against the cerulean silk pillow…loud gasps and moans escaping from the kiss-swollen, open lips, Seto's name blurred with the groans of ecstasy…

'Gods!' Seto, shaking, forced his hands to unclench themselves and blinked rapidly, wiping the sweat from his brow a moment later and sighing in relief as the gratuitous mental flashes faded away into nothingness.

Slowly, the clear and sharp colours of his room came dimly back into focus, and Seto felt his heart slowly return to an acceptable-though still alleviated-state. The curtains drawn and the light switched off, the only traces of light came from his alarm clock, which boldly told him with neon numbers that it was an obscene 3:30 in the morning.

"Goddammit…"

The young CEO took a few moments of deep breathing before realising why he felt light-headed; his lower body burned with hot-blooded awareness. Apparently, all of his blood was currently in his crotch, where an arousal more shameful than the one that had burned the night before had surfaced in reply to his fantasy.

Growling irritably, Seto slid out from between his bed sheets and strode over to the shower, determined to deal with his new problem the same way he had the last time. Not giving any thought to why he felt so twisted inside, Seto once again turned on the shower and stepped inside, again gasping loudly in shock as icy water hit his burning, tortured skin.

However, after five minutes of standing in the cold shower and staring indifferently at the wall, his predicament had not subsided. Looking down and grimacing at the situation he found himself in, Seto finally resigned himself to his last option. Sweeping dripping brown tresses out his face, Seto heaved a heavy sigh and altered the faucets, turning them until the water changed to an acceptably warm stream. One hand on the wall and the other slowly moving to wrap firmly around his manhood, Seto let loose a gasp as his body reacted to the heated palm around himself.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Seto allowed his hand to move in the way that his instincts told him felt good. Though ashamed of this weakness that he considered himself above doing, more than anything Seto was downright frustrated at the very reason why he had to bring himself to masturbate in the shower in the first place.

Flashes of his dream swam through his mind, followed by glimpses of Jou's face as he saw it day by day. Slowly these were replaced with the words and mental images relating to Jou's illness and his abuse that he had heard so often, repeated to him again and again especially in the past few days.

Seto's rather dramatic mind began imagining Jou's body with all his bruises and scars, and an abrasive growl slipped from between his lips; Seto found a strange sensation as anger welled inside him. What was strange was that it was not directed at Jounouchi, but rather at the scenario Seto found himself in, having to deal with the blonde and coming to the moral dilemma of what he could-or should-do to help Jounouchi.

'Damn you, Jounouchi!' The young man thought spitefully, the anger surging in him starting to be drowned out by the pleasure as the poison of lust began to run amok with his body. 'What are you doing to me?'


Reaching up a tentative hand and realising with a start that he was uncontrollably shaking, Liam knocked a few times on the heavy mahogany door of Seto's office and, while waiting for an answer, turned his head to see the Head Maid turn around the corner and disappear.

Without saying a word, she had pecked him on the cheek, squeezed his hand and then bowed, silently taking her leave and not meeting Liam's gaze. It had taken the doctor a few minutes to secure his grip on reality before he had knocked. He wanted his wits about him now that he was facing the one and only Seto Kaiba.

When there was no sound in reply to his request to enter, he once again banged on the door, a little more insistently this time, and stepped forward in time to hear a sharp sigh from inside the room.

"Come in." Though muffled, impatience was clear in the clipped tones, and Liam straightened his clothes impulsively, swallowing awkwardly.

'Ok, here goes.' Steeling his nerves, Liam pushed the heavy door open and walked inside, closing his only escape route behind him a few moments later.

The curtains of Seto's office were partially drawn, allowing only a slight glow of morning sunshine to light the room. Dark and foreboding, the large office desk that was placed directly in front of the door cast eerie shadows across the floor. Clearing his throat, Liam waited for a sign of movement from the large office chair that he presumed the Master of the House was seated in. Not being able to see where everything was in the gloom, including his boss, Liam felt his eyes widen in the darkness, trying to pick up movement or glimpses of the furniture.

After a few moments, there was a creak of the high backed chair, and Seto Kaiba leaned forwards out of the darkness. Arms folded unforgivingly across his chest, slivers of shadow hid most of his face, except for the unmistakable scowl that twisted his features. He fixed Liam with a glare and then reached over, tapping the touch-lamp on his desk and illuminating the room with soft light. Immediately his entire office was thrown into sharp relief, and Liam took the opportunity to bow.

Seto, whose face remained impassive, sat back in his chair once again and unfolded his arms. "What is it, Doctor? Did you examine the patient?"

Liam stood up straight from the bow and nodded his head, bringing his eyes to meet Kaiba's. "Yes sir, I did."

"And what is your analysis?"

Taking a deep breath, Liam exhaled and let a stern expression sweep over his face. "The pneumonia has lessened; he seems to be responding to the medication, though not as well as I had hoped. His ankle is healing well, but walking on it for long periods of time is not recommended for another week. Crutches may be in order. Physically, his exhaustion has only marginally decreased, mainly because of his illness, and bed rest is still advised for another few days."

At this point, the doctor haltered and looked downwards, realising a moment later that showing a weakness like uncertainty might not have been the smartest thing to do around the young CEO. Indeed, Kaiba picked up on it immediately. Frowning, he leant forwards and forced Liam to meet his gaze.

"But there is something else, isn't there, Walker?" he asked sternly, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Yes sir, there is…" Liam felt his stomach clench and decided that now was the one chance he was going to get to say what he felt needed to be said. "Master Jounouchi may have the beginnings of bronchitis, and a severe case at that. When I examined him this morning, his lungs and throat showed signs of congestion and the presence of liquids typical with the bronchial infection."

Seto nodded and stood up, walking forward and stopping to stand in front of the doctor, implying that his time in Kaiba's presence was waning. Liam looked up and was startled to see that Seto looked far more tired than usual, lines etched in his forehead from frowning and a resigned kind of dullness in his eyes. His mind seemed elsewhere, as though something had happened recently that was occupying his attention.

Feeling some of his fighting spirit return to him, Liam wondered if maybe Kaiba was thinking about what had happened between him and Jounouchi the day before, and also the impending prospect that the boy wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon.

Clearing his throat, Liam continued. "However, Jounouchi's condition when I last saw to him was in no way similar to what it is now. He was healing quite nicely, but something seems to have happened in the past few days that has interrupted his healing process."

Seto cocked his head and frowned harshly at the doctor. "What are you implying, Doctor?"

"Has anything happened in the past few days that may give a reason as to why more stress has been placed on the boy's physical and mental state?"

Seto's brain finally caught up with him and he studied the disapproving expression of the doctor. He scowled. "I believe you already know that answer, don't you?" he snapped shortly. "If it will amuse you, yes, the damned fool got out of bed and tried to leave just before midday yesterday. Anything else?"

Ignoring the lowered and threatening tones of his employer, Liam ploughed on. "And why did he get out of bed, Sir?"

Taking a menacing step forward, Seto hissed threateningly. "Watch your tone, Doctor. You would do well to remember where you are and who you are with before you show audacity; Alice may think it's cute, but I am not amused."

He spat the last sentence, almost disgusted by the mentioning of a sinfully innocent word like 'cute'. Liam suppressed a frown and cleared any emotions from his face. "My apologies, Master Kaiba." He said silkily, allowing an insincere smile to curl his lips. "I must be mistaken, then."

Kaiba once again narrowed his eyes suspiciously, eyeing the doctor with mingled curiosity and anger. "About what?"

"I was informed that the reason why young Master Jounouchi left his bed and tried to return home had something to do with you, but perhaps that is untrue."

"Something to do with me." Seto repeated, irritated. "Be precise Walker, I have realised you know more than just that useless fact. Don't play games with me, or I will make you pay for it."

Smiling to himself and not doubting the subtle threat in his boss's words, Liam took a breath and met Kaiba's gaze with one of fierce determination. "Apparently, you went to his room and started a fight. Now forgive me, but that does sound like you, through and through."

Seeing Kaiba open his mouth to speak, Liam cut him off and put his hands on his hips. "I know you don't like the boy, but I would have thought that you would want him to get well faster so that he could leave. Instead, you bait him into losing his temper and place stress on his body and mind, which-if you haven't noticed-hasn't helped his condition one bit. So which is it, Kaiba? Do want the boy to stay or to leave? Do you like him, or dislike him?"

Seto stood there for a few moments, mouth slightly open, shocked at how brash this old fool was, but more importantly, how much like an idiot the old fool had just made him sound like.

While Kaiba seemed to process what he had just said, Liam watched anxiously for any violent change in the other man's expression, biting his lip and wondering if perhaps he had gone too far; indeed, Kaiba seemed lost for words, though Liam couldn't determine if it was out of anger or something else. With a dawning realisation, Liam stepped forward slightly and studied Kaiba's tired face.

"You don't know, do you?"

Feeling his brain jerk back into gear, Kaiba growled, incensed at the truth behind the doctors words. He did want Jou to leave, but it was also true that he hadn't helped himself by driving the boy to attempt something stupid like escaping. He didn't know.

Now Seto was left with the dawning realisation that he was a hypocritical idiot, and that he now was unsure of what he actually wanted concerning Jounouchi. Did he want the boy to leave, or did he want him to stay? If he wanted him to leave, wouldn't he not sabotage the boy's health and instead do everything within in his power to ensure that nothing interrupted his healing process?

And yet, that was exactly what he had done.

Seto had been so fixated on seeing what Jou's inflictions were that he had completely misjudged what his actual presence could do to the boy; instead he had snuck in while he was asleep so that he wouldn't notice anything, and had then proceeded to substantially annoy the young blonde when he had woken up without even trying to.

The consequent events had apparently had an affect on Jou's health, which was effectively the very epitome of karma, as much as Seto didn't believe in that nonsense. So now Seto had an insolent doctor standing in his office, telling him exactly what his brain had been frantically processing since his dream that morning, though a slight more rudely than Seto had expected.

Seto sighed and turned his back to the doctor, rubbing his temples. "How long must Jounouchi stay for, Liam? And give me a goddamm straight answer."

Liam, expecting a vicious display of temper, frowned and contemplated a suitable reply. "It really is hard to say. I'll start him on medication for the bronchitis immediately; since it's been identified before it takes a severe hold, there is a slight chance that the medication will prevent the worst of the infection to even develop. If that's the case, then once his pneumonia completely clears up, which could take another two or three days, he should be fine to leave. Of course he will have to go slowly and come to me for weekly checkups for the next month or so just so I can monitor his health, but that's standard procedure, as I'm sure you know."

Seto strode back to his desk and sat down, placing his head in his hands. "Yes, I'm aware of your protocols, Doctor. Give me an approximate day."

Liam, whose adrenaline was still running through his system, smirked. "If no one encourages him to over exert himself, then perhaps I will clear him to leave on Sunday. That's only 4 days away; do you think you can manage?"

Immediately, he knew he had gone too far. Almost in slow motion, Seto lifted his head out of his hands and fixed Liam with the most poisonous, hateful glare that the doctor had ever seen. Right then and there, Liam felt a little part of him die, his heart returning to a lump in his throat once more. If he was indeed in the den of a ferocious beast, up till now Seto had been resigned, docile even. Right up until now, when Liam had done the most stupid thing possible; he'd poked the sleeping dragon, and now indeed Kaiba looked ready to tear him apart.

Tapping the lamp, Seto folded his arms once more and fixed a cold and unforgiving glare at the doctor. Seto's office was once again thrown into shadow and gloom, though his outline could still be seen from behind his desk. Shadows flickered over the brunettes face, hiding most of his expression except for his scowl and his narrowed eyes. Though it may have been Liam's imagination, Seto's blue orbs seemed to glow menacingly in the dark, piercingly staring at him as though daring him to speak again.

Frozen to the spot and certain that at any moment the teen was going to spring ninja-like from his chair and strangle him without a seconds warning, Liam merely felt the blood drain from his face and his heart hammer in his ears.

"Leave."

Jumping at the venomous tones, Liam bowed, even though he doubted the Master of the House could see, and positively fled from the office, leaving Seto alone with his thoughts.

Leaning against the wall of the hallway once the door had shut behind him and trying to calm his heart, Liam had the fleeting impression that it had actually gone rather well, considering that it was Seto Kaiba he had gone to pick a fight with. Walking out with his job was a miracle in its own right, but Liam couldn't help but feel a slimmer of concern for what exactly was up with the business man.

He had seemed distracted, albeit tired, and hadn't reacted in a particularly aggressive manner until Liam had overstepped the boundary. Thinking back on what he had actually said, the doctor almost felt his knees give way. 'I actually said that, I said that to Seto Kaiba…and I'm still alive! I can't believe I said that, what was I thinking? Was I thinking?!'

Taking a look at his watch and noticing that it was now 8:47am, he heaved himself to his feet and hurried down the corridor, his heart still beating a mile a minute and his hands unconsciously shaking once more. As he turned down a few more hallways and down a flight of stairs, he straightened his uniform, his feet unconsciously picking a path to the kitchens where undoubtedly Alice would be. Stopping outside of the kitchen door, he straightened his tie compulsively and ran a hand through his hair, feeling that the sooner this mess got cleared up the better.

Liam sighed, and then knocked politely on the door, forcing a smile when a young maid allowed him passage. Stepping into the warm kitchen, the doctor felt a wave of pity for his patient. 'God help Jounouchi, if he has to deal with that man whenever he's like that.'


Having been persuaded to sit down and have a cup of coffee while he waited for Alice to finish lecturing a day-maid, Liam then spent the next half hour having a rather awkward conversation with the portly woman. It appeared that Mokuba had come in earlier that morning and, en route to stealing a mug of hot chocolate, continued his habit of asking Alice how Jounouchi was doing, innocently curious as to why the doctor had gone to speak to his big brother after Jou's evaluation.

How Mokuba could keep up with the affairs of the house without actually knowing what was really going on was a mystery to the staff, but nonetheless, it broke Alice's heart to have to tell Mokuba the white lie that she didn't know what was going on with their houseguest.

Mokuba had merely pouted and grabbed his hot chocolate before bounding out of the kitchen and started running noisily up to his bedroom, apologising loudly when he spilt a little of his drink on the marble floor that one of the maids was polishing a smudge off of. Laughing loudly, the young Kaiba disappeared promptly afterwards, leaving the maid to forlornly look at her recently cleaned floor which was now covered in hot chocolate.

Alice was distressed, mostly because her motherly disposition was starting to give her a bit of grief now that what was happening between Seto and Jou was affecting Mokuba as well. And so, when she had finished berating the maid a little more strictly than perhaps was necessary, she sent all of the staff out of the kitchen and sat, defeated, across from Liam with a grumpy expression on her face. They had then proceeded to share small talk, Liam sharing details about what had happened in the office and Alice expressing her deepest fears and worries and then apologising for even mentioning them. Eventually, they lapsed into a comfortable silence while the doctor finished his coffee.

At about 9:30am, Liam excused himself and left the kitchen, intending to check on his patient and perhaps begin administering the medication for the bronchitis. Reaching Room 12, he heard coughing and wheezing from inside and immediately let himself in.


Jou woke that morning to an excruciating headache and a tight and painfully restricting feeling in his chest. The inability to breathe properly had proven too much for him to handle in his sleep, and the young blonde had woken to a coughing fit as his body cried out for more oxygen. Rolling over and trying his best to breathe as deeply as possible, the fit lasted for a few more moments until he moved onto his back and found that the position seemed to open his airways a little better.

Frustrated and groggy, Jou swallowed loudly and winced, his throat grating like sandpaper from the exertion of the fit. Listening to the gurgle coming from his own throat, Jou lay in the darkness of his room and silently cursed whatever bad luck he seemed to have stalking him lately.

Memories from the night before returned to him, as well as the curious feeling that someone had carried him up here. Only remembering the confrontation with Kaiba and the driving need to leave, Jou was unsure of what had taken place in the blanks of his mind where memories of what happened after he left his room should have been.

Trying to distract himself from the disconcerting fact that his memory was incomplete, he took a few moments to take notice of what his body was trying to tell him. Feeling his pulse throb in his ankle, Jou wiggled his toes and was glad to see that it didn't hurt as much as it had earlier.

Letting out a sigh that once again escalated to a wheeze and then to a full blown cough, Jou was far too busy trying to breathe to notice the door of his room open, or hear the shuffling footsteps as someone entered. However Jou did notice when that person sat down on the edge of his bed and he turned, hand over his mouth, to meet the gaze of his visitor, not at all surprised to see that it was Doctor Walker. He tried to smile in hello, but it turned out to be more of a grimace as the urge to cough started to strengthen once more.

"Hello Jou." Liam said gently, smiling in greeting. He nodded towards the door. "I'm sorry I didn't knock, but I heard you coughing and I think I may be able to help."

Jou just nodded, glad that the older male seemed to be well prepared. He was sick of feeling ill, and he hoped that this time what the Doctor could give him would either knock him out completely or cure him of his illness and his bad luck. Jou snorted at that.

'Wishful thinking.' He thought derisively, but was nevertheless pleased when Liam started to shuffle around in his bag, which Jou had just noticed he had left on the stool next to his bed. 'Please let him have something that will help.' Jou silently wished, stifling another cough and rolling completely around to face the doctor.

A few minutes later, the doctor found what he was looking for and gave Jou a few pills to swallow, as well as handing him the glass of water that sat on his bedside table. With the pills downed and the water completely drunk, Liam then pulled out a bottle of what appeared to be a kind of liquid medicine, something that Jou thought looked similar to the cough medicine sitting in the bathroom cabinet back at home. Measuring out a few capfuls, Liam poured the amount he wanted Jou to take into the glass that had held the water, and handed it back to the blonde.

Giving the bottle a curious glance but unable to read the technical writing on the label, Jou instead took the offered glass and sniffed its contents. 'It smells alright.' Jou grimaced, then remembering an age old rule with medicine. 'Just because it smells and looks alright doesn't mean it tastes alright…it probably tastes horrible. Great.'

With a pointed look from the doctor, Jou raised it to his lips and took a large gulp, immediately shuddering as the offensive taste of the medicine hit his tastebuds with full force. Even though his instincts told him to spit it all out and throw the glass and the remaining of its contents at the wall, Jou instead tipped his head back and swallowed the rest of the horrible tasting medicine, eyes squeezed shut and mouth burning with the disgusting flavour. Gulping, Jou handed back the glass and then shook his head, golden locks flapping, trying to rid himself of the taste.

Liam merely smiled at the boy's reaction and reached for a pitcher of water that had been standing next to the glass, pouring Jou a new glass of water that the blonde eagerly gulped down, desperate for relief. Taking the glass back, Liam placed it back on the table and sat silently at the edge of Jou's bed, biting his lip. Jounouchi, too busy still fussing over the bad taste in his mouth, didn't notice the thoughtful expression on the doctor's face until he looked up to see he was still there.

'Why's he just sitt'n there?' Jou asked himself, curious as to why the doctor seemed to be hesitantly pensive.

After a moment, the doctor ran a hand through his hair and smiled slightly. "I went to go and see Kaiba after I visited you this morning." He informed the blonde, his smile dropping slightly. Jou raised an eyebrow and suppressed a hacking cough long enough to speak.

"Why?"

"Well, because I needed to tell him what I had discovered in my evaluation." Liam scratched his chin and then fixed Jou with an almost pitying look. "And now I'll tell you exactly what I told him, since you're awake."

Jou propped up his pillow and sat back, giving himself a few moments with his eyes closed while his head spun with the movement. "And, what did u find out?"

"Well, your pneumonia is starting to clear up, though you still should stay in bed and get rest anyway. Your ankle is healing well, but it will still be difficult to walk on for a month or so, so I recommend crutches."

A large smile spread over Liam's face at that point and Jou had to grin in response. "What?"

Liam chuckled. "I'm sure you won't take my advice, of course. So long as you strap it well for support, I'm sure you could manage walking on it for school. Do you have any friends who can drive, so you don't have to walk home?"

"Yeah, it's no problem." Jou lied, looking at the doctor without a shred of guilt.

Liam pursed his lips but didn't pursue it any further. He continued, "What I noticed, more than anything, was that you seem to be showing early warning signs of bronchitis."

Jou's eyes widened and he cursed under his breath, coughing slightly, but Liam merely waved a hand and tilted his head reassuringly. "Luckily for you, I've already started you on the medication, so we should be able to catch this before it gets severe. Really, all you need is peace and quiet, as well as a lot of bed rest and some good, healthy food. Which is exactly what you get here, for the most part."

Jou tilted his head in agreement, not wanting to nod for risk of a wave of nausea. Frowning after a moment, he looked up at the doctor, displeasure on his face. "Wait-a lot of bed rest? For how long?"

"A few days at the most, but you'll have to take care of yourself a little better than you have been for then next few months or so anyway to stop the pneumonia, fatigue or bronchitis from flaring up again." Liam shrugged. "Its normal procedure, it's not like it will do you any harm."

"A few days?"

Liam knew what the boy was getting at-he didn't want to stay at the mansion longer than what was necessary, but Liam didn't want to tell him that his grand escape may have to wait for another 4 days. When he didn't answer, Jou grumbled loudly, getting the point.

"When can I leave?"

"Sunday."

Jou's eyes widened and he whined in exasperation. "Sunday?! I have to stay here another four days with Kaiba breathing down my neck?! Great!"

Liam raised his hands. "Hey, it's not my fault. That's my professional opinion, and you're going to have to get used to it the same way that Kaiba is going to have to. And I can assure you, he was quite disapproving."

Jou sighed and cleared his throat, disgusted by the phlegm gathering in his airways. "Just say it the way it is. Kaiba wasn't 'disapproving', he was pissed as hell. So what else is knew?!"

Liam chuckled again, getting quite fond of the direct and straightforward way the teen spoke. It was no wonder Seto and Jou could fight so easily. "You're quite right; he is rather temperamental isn't he?"

"More like an overbearing, arrogant jackass with anger management issues, if ya ask me." Jou muttered, more to himself than to the doctor, who smiled in agreement all the same.

"Well, perhaps that's true too, but I'm not sure that anyone besides you could get away with saying that and walk away still having themselves and their lives intact." Liam said kindly, his eyes twinkling as Jou frowned, mystified as to what the doctor was alluding to.

'Anyone but me? Why would Kaiba tolerate shit from me better than from anyone else?' Jou thought to himself, confused. 'Coz he likes to take the time to play mind games with me, that's why. Coz he likes to piss me off, and I like to do the same.' He immediately answered himself, but it left him feeling even more puzzled than before. 'That's right, isn't it? He lets me piss him off coz then he has an excuse to go after me in revenge, right?'

Liam smiled as Jou's honey eyes turned pensive, and he thought it would be a good time for him to depart. Clearing his throat, Liam grasped Jou's attention and stood up, his medical bag firmly in his grip. Jou blinked and remembered that he had company, looking up and noticing that the doctor was taking his leave. He smiled in thanks and Liam bowed before turning and walking silently out of the door.

Hearing the click as it shut behind the doctor, Jou rolled onto his side and was surprised to see that it didn't give him the same painful twist in his chest as it had before, and he also felt his breathing ease a lot faster. Staring at the darkness and waiting for sleep to claim him again, Jou couldn't help but wonder what Liam had meant when he had said that Seto treated Jou differently than he did other people.

'Kaiba treats me differently than other people he doesn't like…does that mean that he hates me more or less than other people? God he's so hard to understand, it's like trying to mind-read a schizophrenic! His personality switches with his mood swings almost as often as I fall asleep in school.' Jou chuckled tiredly to himself, feeling his eyelids grow heavy. 'Heh, that's a funny idea. Kaiba's nuts. I have a psycho who likes to annoy me just for the hell of it. Great.'

With one last grin, Jou snuggled into his pillow, and in the absence of his usual headache, drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


Teehee. Well, that's another chapter down. And guess what? I've already started the next one. So yeah, this story is baaaaack and up and running baby, yeah! I'm in a much better mood than at the start of this chapter, so ignore that bizarre assed AN at the start, lol.

Hey hey guys, seeya next time! And review me; I wanna get lots of rewards for being good and not forgetting this story. blinks hopefully anyone got any Pocky spare?!? I loooove that stuff…for those of you who live in south Australia like me, go to rundle mall in the city centre-Shin Tokyo sells Pocky!!! LOTS OF IT! squeal

Ja Ne!!

YaoiFanLady 2 xox