Jess: Hello everyone… ^^" I'm back for another chapter :D

Disclaimer: Hmm...I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh…surprised? I know right?

By the way, I apologize in advance about how much this chapter kinda skips around from one chara to the other…so um…bare with me? Okay? :3

AN:October 21...er...22,11: Whew. I finished editing. GO ME! I kinda bulled my way through this chapter...so I'm sure there's some mistakes still. Sorry. Well...Now I can finish up on that last chapter I suppose :)


He was stupid. He knew he was stupid. And he knew couldn't help that now.

"I shouldn't have runaway…"

"Running won't solve anything…"

"All you're doing is running from feelings…"

"You can't hide forever…"

Jounouchi bit his bottom lip and buried his face in his hands. People passing gave him odd looks. Seeing a seemingly depressed teenage boy sitting on a park bench in the rain was a bit odd. Yes…the blonde had escaped to the place this had all started. The familiar park bench that he had sat on only a few short months ago… His hands fell away from his face and stroked the paint peeled bench seat. The rain continued to pour and gave no sign of letting up anytime soon. Joey sighed and lay back. What was wrong with him…? Why was his heart beating so fast? The overcast clouds churned above him as the storm grew worse. The sky darkened as day passed on to night; the once crowd filled streets were now vacant and empty. Jounouchi shut his eyes with a sigh. How did things turn out to be like this…? Why had he been on top of his…his rival? Jou merely blushed at the thought. He shook his head, sending raindrops flying in every which direction.

"Why?" he thought angrily, "why? …And how…how did this…"

Jou sighed angrily and buried his face once more in his hands. He couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or angry. A crack of thunder from overhead made the blonde jump in surprise. He shook his head again with yet another sigh.

"How…can I face Kaiba again…after all that…running away…no explanation or anything…I…dammit…" the blonde cursed to himself. What if it was all a misunderstanding? …He really didn't want to give up talking to Kaiba… He'd grown to…enjoy…his rival's company. His rival…no…his…friend? Or was he something more…?

Jou didn't know anymore. These feelings were just too damn confusing.

"Well, look what the cat drug in. Little mutt gone stray again?"

"Can't the stray just go back to his cardboard box? Or his he forced to sleep in the rain?"

"Testing me? You think I wouldn't know how to work my own shower?"

"There are...others...who care about you, you know. While it might not satisfy you, it is there. And some, is better than none."

"Mutt."

"Stupid."

"Idiot!"

"…Jounouchi?"

The blonde felt his face grow hot as Kaiba's voice rang through his head. Something wasn't right…why was it every time he-

"No…" Jou said out loud by mistake. His face had turned over eight shades of red as he mulled over the thought.

"Feeling something more…for Kaiba?"

The more he thought about it…the more it seemed to make sense. The blonde shook his head violently.

"N-No! I can't…"

While on the outside, he denied it, the inside accepted it, with much anticipation. Deep down he known…he'd known for awhile now… It just took him that long to realize it. Being stubborn always had been his weak point...

Soundlessly, the blonde stood up, the rain still beating down on him. He glanced back down at the old bench one last time, and with a small smile, he made his way silently out of the park, intent on going home. He needed to sort himself out…and figure it out the best way to approach the brunette… Or else these simple things were going to be made difficult.

~o~

"Nii-sama are you sure? The storm… it's starting to get-"

"Quiet Mokuba. I've told you I'm going to find him. That's that." Kaiba snapped as he pulled his white trench coat on. Mokuba gave him a worried look.

"But Nii-sama! Jou-kun's fine on his own! You know that he is…why not just wait and-"

"No…Mokuba." Kaiba paused all movement and seemed to steer off into deep thought. Mokuba sighed for the twentieth time in the last four minutes and shook his head.

"You care a lot for Jounouchi-kun, don't you Nii-sama?"

Barely visible color flushed to the brunettes cheeks.

"…I'll be back as soon as I can, Mokuba."

That being said, the CEO rushed out the door, his heart set on finding his lost puppy.

~o~

Jou walked briskly down the alleyway that was used as a short cut to his apartment.

"Dammit…" The blonde cursed as the wind tossed his hair around his face. He held his hands up as a futile defense.

"I shoulda prepared more for this…" He muttered to himself. The chilly wind whipped through the alleyway, tossing papers and trash every which way (mostly at Jounouchi of course). The blonde trudged on, determined to make it back to the apartment. While the walk hadn't been that far, the Jou found himself more tired than usual. Nevertheless, he leaned against the alley wall in order to catch his breath and let his legs get a small rest. The blonde sneezed involuntarily and rubbed his cold nose on his jacket sleeve. This was going to be a longer walk than he had anticipated…

~o~

"Dammit, he's not here either…" Kaiba cursed as he looked upon the all too familiar park bench. Rain pelted against his black umbrella as the storm above raged on.

Kaiba cursed again. He didn't know where to look… He'd already tried the school, café's, the apartment (which was empty), and numerous other places the blonde might have wandered off to.

Another chilly breeze blew through, chilling Kaiba to the bone. Where ever Jounouchi was…Kaiba could only hope he was out of this weather. He decided he would try the apartment once more. He prayed the blonde was there.

~o~

He felt weak. He felt sickly. He felt the urge to sit. So he did.

Jou slumped weakly to the ground, his breathing increasing with every lungful of air. The air...it hurt to breath. He sneezed and sniffled again and hugged his jacket around him tighter as the chilly wind struck through him like a blade, and more rain pelted his face. He shivered involuntarily and blinked away the gathered raindrops on his eyelids. Or maybe those were tears…the blonde couldn't really tell anymore. The teen rubbed his goose bumped skin weakly as he stared up at the dark and cloudy sky. How much longer would this tempest last? How much longer would this go on? How much longer would Jou forced to be cold, in the dark, and alone…? How much longer until he could get his stormy emotions figured out…and just accept them for what they are…? How much longer would he have to wait…in order to get an answer to these questions…?

How long…until he achieved his rainbow?

If it weren't for feeling bad, Jou would have laughed sourly to himself. A guy like him didn't deserve that kind of happiness…

The wind shifted and the salvo of rain continued from another direction. Jou cursed and buried his face in his knees, which were brought up to his chest. He willed himself to find inner strength. He needed to get up and move...but his body wouldn't allow it. It was to weakened and sickly to move. His head and heart were pounding, and inside he was just an emotional wreck. Piece by piece he was slipping…falling…breaking… And he knew it… He just didn't know how to stop it. The blonde sneezed again, which was soon followed by a weak cough. He groaned and cursed at his stupidity. If he didn't feel like he was going to lose consciousness, he would have already been out of that stupid alleyway. The blonde found himself slipping in and out of a conscious state. Everything had seemed to slow down, every sound was magnified. Each rain drop seemed to pound against the ground. In the distance there were hurried footsteps…and…a voice. An almost scared voice... An almost scared voice…that was calling his name…

"Jounouchi!"

The blonde could barely roll his head up to look at the panting CEO.

"K-Kai…"

And then Jounouchi slipped away, and into a cataleptic state… leaving Kaiba to worry.

~o~

"Jounouchi? Jounouchi?" Kaiba yelled as he shook the unconscious blonde back and forth. Cursing, Kaiba felt Jou's forehead.

"You're blistering hot, you idiot… Why did you stay out in the damn rain for so long…?" Kaiba complained to himself. He folded his umbrella back up and hooked it onto his belt under the giant jacket he wore. Then, he lifted Jou's limp body with ease, and with a sigh, he said.

"Come on Jounouchi… Let's get you somewhere dry...…"

The storm continued out as Kaiba made his way back to the mansion (which wasn't very far), Jou half-slung over his shoulder. However, the more steps he took, the more the rain seemed to turn into a drizzle. It was as if as he calmed down, so did the storm. Kaiba shook the rain drops from his hair as he walked up the stairs to his mansion moments later. Mokuba greeted him at the door, as if he was waiting there the whole time.

"Nii-sa…" Mokuba began to say before laying eyes on Jou. "Jou-kun! I-is he alright, Nii-sama?"

Kaiba did a slight nod before carrying Jounouchi up the stairs.

"I'm taking him up to my room… He'll be staying there until he recovers,"

Mokuba nodded. "I'll go get a wash cloth or something!" The boy called out as he raced into the bathroom, trying his best to be helpful. Kaiba continued up to his room and laid Jou's unconscious body on the bed. His hand brushed some of the locks from the others face as the blonde continued to breath deeply and evenly.

"Jounouchi…you can be such an idiot…But I guess…that's why... I-"

"Nii-sama! I got the rag!" Mokuba interrupted as he ran into the room full speed, a cold wet rag in hand. A startled Kaiba looked at his brother and gave him a small smile.

"Yes…Thank you…Mokuba."


Jess: WHEW what a drag =A=" I think it was too rushed…dammit –bangs head- that means editing later...'cause once i reread this when I'm NOT dead tired...I'll hate myself...until i fix it.

OH! and everyone should go and vote on the poll featured on my profile! :D It'll help me decide which story I should post/write next!

anyway, thanks to all who're, ya know, still readin' and reviewin' :D This story only has 1 or 2 more chapters left! So please stick with me until then! Also, after this story is finished, I intend to work on some new ones. Please vote on my poll (on my profile) and make your choice on what I should write next :D

=_= sorry for the late update... this was scheduled to be out LAST saturday...but I got sick. I blame Jou. and..um..yeah, other stuff happened. nsjghjskbgskg... -.-