Author's Notes: I decided to put the Yami x Yugi stuff before the Seto x Jou goodness, so you will have to wait for it for three chapters in stead of just two. Sorry for the inconvenience.

From Dusk 'Till Dawn

Chapter 25

Torment

After spending the whole day just lying on his bed without eating Jou came to the conclusion that Kaiba was not going to come to him. Not that he had been waiting for the brunet or anything. He had simply wondered if the CEO would have had at least something to say to him. But it was becoming quite apparent that Kaiba had nothing to say to Jou.

A frustrated groan escaped from the blond as he ran a hand through his hair in agitation. How was it that he would waste a great deal of time thinking of things to say to Kaiba and still he always ended up getting mad at the brunet and saying the opposite of what he had planned? Except that the opposite of hate would have been love and Jou would never say to Kaiba anything about love, and most certainly not about loving the egocentric brunet. Because he did not love the CEO. He simply happened to really unhate the guy.

Lying around in his room, not moping, was not getting Jou anywhere. That much was clear. This was why he decided to get himself something to eat.

Jou was quite used to feeling hungry for long periods of time so the only sign of him almost starving himself was the growl that came from his stomach every now and then. The blond had decided to have a large and filling snack since he could. But when he arrived in the kitchen he froze.

Brown eyes met with a pair of blue ones briefly, both males not having expected to run into the other there. The memory from late that same morning came back and Jou frowned, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the other occupant of the room. A perfect, slim eyebrow rose as the taller teen questioned: "Is something the matter?"

That was all the encouragement Jou needed so he yelled: "You're the one who sent me to that bastard's office! I got humiliated completely because of that!" Jou looked around the room for a weapon. "It's all your fault!" Jou's tirade was cut off by a strong hand gripping the wrist of the hand that had been reaching for a greasy pan lying in a nearby sink. Jou was now forced to meet Hakuba's steady gaze.

"What are you talking about?" the Brit questioned. "What happened?"

Forcing himself to take a deep, calming breath Jou spoke: "I thought that he liked me. He left me this little note I found when I woke up. But then he came back and made fun of me." Jou shook his head angrily. "He clearly knows how I feel and is turning it into a big joke for his own amusement."

An incredulous look passed over Hakuba's face, which only managed to make Jou feel even more distraught as he exclaimed: "I admit it! I, Jounouchi Katsuya, want to be with Kaiba Seto even though he treats me like shit!" Hakuba's grip on Jou's wrist loosened and the darker blond yanked his arm free. He grabbed the front of Hakuba's shirt, not at all noticing the torn shape it was in, and gave the taller blond a rough shake.

"Why?" Jou bellowed at the top of his lungs. In such a frantic state he only noticed Hakuba move after the side of his face was cupped in a comforting and brotherly gesture as Hakuba spoke quietly: "I'm sorry."

Jou let out an exhausted and defeated sigh, his rage suddenly leaving him, before muttering: "It's not your fault Kaiba's the way he is. I wanted to blame you but I can't. Not really."

There was a sigh from Hakuba as well as the Brit spoke: "He shouldn't have reacted that way. All the clues indicated that he was attracted to you." He shook his head in remorse. "Why is it that every time I deal with other people I make miscalculations?"

A slight smile broke on Jou's face as the shorter blond said: "You can't 'calculate' people or know for sure what they'll do next. Kaiba's living proof of that rule. I think that's one of the reasons I like him so much." He frowned suddenly. "Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you were trying to set us up?" He glared at Hakuba, the taller teen soon giving in in front of the furious look and nodding his head. "Why?"

Silence followed Jou's question, stretching out until Jou was certain that Hakuba did not have an answer. Just as Jou was about to give up the taller teen spoke: "Because Kaiba Katsuya has a nice ring to it."

Feeling his cheeks heat up at the implication Jou covered his embarrassment by grunting out: "So does Kuroba Saguru." The indignant look that came to Hakuba's face at the comment was absolutely priceless, bringing a wide grin on Jou's face.

"Are you implying that I would be the so-called girl in the relationship?" Hakuba huffed as he squared his shoulders, taking full advantage of the height difference between him and Jou. But Jou was not impressed. He simply looked Hakuba up and down in a calculative manner, knowing full well what his answer was going to be but wanting to annoy Hakuba some more. Once finished with his apparent observation he said in all seriousness: "Yes."

That was when Jou actually paid attention to the way Hakuba looked at the moment. His usually tidy blond hair was a dishevelled mess and the sleeves of his shirt had been torn off, not to mention his pant legs were covered in dust and grime. The shorter blond would have been very worried about his friend's appearance if he had not noticed the bruise on the Brit's neck, the deep red shade effectively jumping out of the pale skin the fairer boy had.

"I take it you had your date with Kuroba today?" Jou asked with a playful smirk. "And I see that he was a bit forward with you." He could not keep himself from taking a playful jab at the usually so proper man.

Hakuba blushed bright red before replying: "I assure you that I would be in a much more presentable state if my so-called friends had not butted in when they were not wanted." Jou lifted a curious eyebrow, urging Hakuba to go on. "They apparently thought I was in some sort of trouble and that I was in dire need of rescuing. Koizumi tried to shock Kaito." Kaito winced at a painful memory. "I sort of jumped in the way."

"Wow", Jou mumbled, actually impressed. "What happened then?" The story was really starting to interest him.

"A fight broke out", Hakuba explained curtly. "Your friend Yugi managed to put a stop to it and now we are negotiating the possibilities of cooperation. It seems we are all on the same side." Something akin to a grin came to Hakuba's face but it disappeared suddenly. "I should have listened to Kaito in the first place. If I had not been so closed-minded things would have probably already been settled."

"It's no use worrying about 'what if's", Jou said as he finally decided to do something about his aching stomach. He dug through the fridge as he spoke again: "You said that Yugi put a stop to the fight. I don't mean to sound like I don't have faith in him or something but how did he manage that?"

"With his powers", Hakuba replied simply, his tone of voice clearly indicating that he was not planning to elaborate.

"How's that possible?" Jou questioned as he peered at the taller blond briefly. "Yugi told me that the only thing he could do was create light."

"Apparently Yugi-kun wasn't aware of the true extent of his powers", Hakuba said as he walked into Jou's line of vision and leaned against a wall. "Most people are like that."

"Really now", Jou mumbled, slightly distracted, as he started piling items on a counter. "Are you?"

"I really can't say", Hakuba replied as he observed Jou's actions. "There could be countless things and abilities I'm not aware of but it might just as well be that I have access to all of my capabilities." Both blonds were quiet until the fridge door was closed. "Want me to read you?"

Surprised by both the suddenness and odd nature of the question Jou turned his widened eyes to look at Hakuba. The other blond did not seem to be bothered by the reaction as he started to speak: "When you were first brought in I did a quick reading of your powers and recognized your energy signature. I am able to do more than just that, however." Hakuba offered Jou his hand. "If you let me."

Jou eyed the offered hand, very tempted to actually accept the Brit's offer. He had always wanted to know what he was and Kaiba had not been willing to tell him. A wide grin spread on his face as he uttered: "Sure, why not?" and grabbed the pale hand in a loose grip.

Brown eyes did not leave Hakuba's face as the blue eyes became halfway covered by heavy lids when the taller blond concentrated. That was when Jou saw it; the deep sapphire of Hakuba's eyes flashed momentarily, gaining a ghostly green sheen. With a startled yelp Jou pulled his hand back and stared at Hakuba when the other teen opened his eyes fully, their color back to blue.

"What's the matter Jou-kun?" Hakuba questioned and Jou quickly exclaimed: "Your eyes just glowed! Really freaky-like!"

"Freaky-like isn't a word", Hakuba grumbled. He then gave Jou a stern look. "Do you want to know what I found out or not?"

Even though Jou very well noticed that Hakuba did not even tryto explain the glow to him he simply nodded his head and said: "Of course."

"You hold capabilities that are similar to an animorpher but also skills that those who control elements possess", Hakuba began, going straight into textbook mode. "You are able to create fire and heat and you can also change your appearance. The strange thing is that what you change into isn't any existing animal. The transformation allows you to choose which level you want the change to be on. A full transformation gives you additional appendages, such as wings, and a hard armor that seems to be formed of scales. In addition to that your muscle mass increases." At the last part Jou thought back to Kaiba's well-toned chest from the previous night and blushed. Hakuba did not seem to notice as he went on again: "It's really hard to say without reference but I am fairly certain that you are a very rare NA."

"So you can't really give me any securer info?" Jou questioned, unable to keep his disappointment from showing in his tone of voice. Hakuba looked apologetic as he spoke: "I got an image of a dragon...if that's of any use to you."

"A dragon, huh?" Jou said as he turned back to the food items he had gathered, starting to sort through them. "Sweet." The darker blond grinned widely and, as Jou worked to prepare his snack, Hakuba walked off.

&&&&&&&

Any possible on-lookers would have been thoroughly startled by the sight Saguru displayed as he stormed through the corridors, his goal clear in his mind as he immediately took all the right turns to find his employers office. As he passed through the empty hallways he went through the conversation he had had with Jou immediately after the shorter blond had arrived into the kitchen. Saguru was skilled in reading other people but he would not have needed to be in order to realize that Jou had been really bothered by Kaiba's actions. He still was, even though he had been acting like himself again before Saguru left.

Saguru felt his insides turn into a knot when he thought back on the completely hopeless look Jou had been wearing on his face during the time he had struggled to release his emotional pain through physical methods. Saguru knew that he needed to fix the mess he had helped create and hopefully he would not screw things up any more than they already had been. That should not be much of a possibility if he simply bit Kaiba's head off, beat some sense into it, and screwed it back tight enough for the brunet to finally see things clearly.

&&&&&&&

When Hakuba arrived into Seto's office, the CEO immediately knew that something was wrong. For one, Hakuba never entered a room without knocking. And two, the blond's first action upon entering the room was to shout out: "I can't believe you!" Yup, that would pretty much do it.

"I really can't see what it is that I could possibly have done", Seto drawled, hoping that Hakuba would calm down after seeing him contain his posture. That did not seem to be the case, however, as Hakuba merely exclaimed. "I handed him to you on a silver platter and you still managed to ruin everything!" The blond ran a hand through his hair. "Just because you got cold feet."

"I fear nothing!" Seto hissed, facing his companion with an angry glared. "Don't you dare claim otherwise."

"What you are or aren't is irrelevant", Hakuba snapped, cutting Seto off before the brunet could continue. "You're going to loose him. You're going to lose him once his friends make him choose between you and them."

"Friends?" Seto questioned. "What friends are you talking about?" He did not like where this conversation was going. Not one bit.

Hakuba took a deep breath, finally hesitating for the first time since he had stormed inside. He met Seto's gaze head on as he replied: "The Dragons."

&&&&&&&

Things were not looking well, this much was apparent as Seto stormed down the corridors towards Jou's room. He would not lose the blond, not to a vampire and especially not to The Dragons.

"Now remember, Kaiba-san", Hakuba's voice came from beside the brunet. "Try not to make him feel emprisoned. You have to let go in order to gain his trust. Otherwise he will want to get away from you to simply avoid being suffocated."

"Not suffocated", Seto repeated, finally accepting the fact that Hakuba would be giving him advice through the rest of this experience and that it would be in the CEO's best interest to take advantage of that advice. It was the smartest move to make, really, since Hakuba was the only one who would not laugh at his face when a possible setback occurred. It had something to do with Jou having been good advice to the Brit but the blond walking beside Seto would not give any details on the matter. Seto figured he was better off not knowing, since he was not in any way interested in the Brit's private life.

"Alright, then", Seto said as he stopped outside Jou's room. "Here I go." He glanced to Hakuba. "Any last piece of advice?"

"Just one", Hakuba said curtly. "At least try to be polite."

Seto huffed at the piece of advice. What use would that be to him? Turning his back to the blond Seto ran his key card through the slot next to the door to open the lock. He ignored Hakuba's mutter of: "You could at least knock..." and pushed the door open. Really, now, how hard could it possibly be to seduce someone like Jou? Seto was perfection on two feet. This should be a piece of cake. Then why the heck did his hands shake so much that he had to cross his arms to hide it?

Standing in the middle of the room, looking completely controlled, Seto's gaze immediately went to Jou. The blond stared at him blankly, the wide-eyed look on his face giving Seto an impression of a curious puppy. Seto walked over to the blond and noticed a smudge of mayonnaise on the corner of the blond's mouth. Jou had just been eating when Seto had barged in.

"What?" Jou snapped heatedly at Seto, his expression grave. Suddenly Seto lacked all inspiration as to what he should say to the blond. Struck with sudden inspiration Seto leaned down and licked Jou's chin slowly, the taste of the mayonnaise mingling with Jou's own taste. Seto leaned back to see the dumbfounded look on Jou's face once more and smiled fondly at the blond.

"You're cute, puppy. You know that?" Seto muttered as he touched the side of Jou's face briefly with his fingertips. And then he suddenly found himself being forcefully pushed back. The brunet barely managed to regain his balance and shot Jou a look that was a mix of shock and anger.

"What was that for?" Seto asked but was cut off by Jou's enraged yell: "You son of a bitch!" The blond stood up and began pushing Seto some more. "Out out out! Get out NOW!"

"No, I won't!" Seto snapped heatedly back as he dug his heels to the carpet. "We need to talk and we are doing so now!"

"I don't want to talk to you, you bastard!" Jou shouted out in response, his face bright red by now as he whirled around and stomped to the other side of the room. Seto knew he would have to say something to calm the other down fast but with his less than sufficient experience about dealing with other people he did not come up with anything that would not make the blond even angrier. As soon as Seto came to the conclusion that for once he did not have a solution a book whirled right past his head.

"What the hell?" the brunet exclaimed as turned his head just in time to see Jou grab the table lamp and throw it in his general direction. Seto dodged the throw easily but still flinched when the lamp crashed on the floor. The CEO turned to look at Jou again, only to see the other teen grab a vase.

"Put that thing down!" Seto yelled at Jou, full well knowing that he was more likely to encourage the blond to keep throwing everything within reach at him than to get the puppy to stop. This assumption was proved correct when the vase came flying towards him and the brunet actually had to jump out of the way, barely avoiding getting hit. Seto was about to yell at Jou some more when he saw the next object the blond got his hands on. Whirling around with speed he had not known he possessed Seto rushed out of the room, arriving in the safety of the hallway just when a wooden chair slammed at the doorframe. The door was also slammed shut soon afterwards, followed by a rather muffled shout of: "And stay out!"

Seto, in his haste to get out of the way of Jou's wrath, was unable to regain his balance when the door was slammed shut right behind him and fell on the floor right outside the door. After tumbling rather ungracefully to the floor, various different insults about infuriating blonds going through his head, the brunet glance up only to come face to face with one of the so-called infuriating blonds. He met Hakuba's steady gaze with an emotionless one of his own, the two men staring at each other for a short while.

The pensive look the blond was regarding Seto with was actually appreciated as the CEO climbed up to his feet without any laughter as background music.

"It didn't go quite well, I presume?" Hakuba spoke finally and Seto could not resist snorting before he replied with his voice dripping sarcasm: "Oh, on the contrary. We're actually planning on holding our wedding in a couple of weeks..." The CEO glared at the Wyvern in front of him. "Of course it didn't go well! He tried to kill me!" Seto's voice lowered down to more tolerable levels as he finished: "Unless you managed to miss that bit."

Hakuba did not seem to be fazed by Seto's violent reaction. The Brit simply shrugged his shoulders before commenting: "You're the one who mistreated him at first. If you hadn't driven him away he wouldn't be hurt now."

Seto was actually seething with anger at Hakuba's words but he did not let it show, mostly because he knew better than well that the blond was right. That still did not stop his from trying to glare the other into submission, though. He was the king of this fortress and he was not about to let Hakuba act like he knew everything better than him. Even if the Brit was the only one who could help Seto with his 'puppy problem'.

The glaring contest took quite the while. After Hakuba had seen the clear challenge written on Seto's posture he had also dished out his best expression. Seto believed that this was going to take a while.

The two were actually quite similar in outward appearance. They were both pale and tall in stature. They both also had piercing blue eyes of the exact same shade. But that was where the similarities ended. Seto's hair was dark brown and straight whereas Hakuba's was golden blond and tended to curl. Their blue eyes could hide so much but see almost everything as well, but when Hakuba's own burned with righteous fire Seto's own were cold with decisive ice. So alike, and yet they were not similar at all.

Somehow Seto's thoughts drifted to Jou. The blond was the same as him. Both of their powers came from the same source and they had both been denied acceptance because of them. And yet, even though Seto had been hardened by these experiences and given up on ever finding companionship, Jou was trusting and passionate. The blond seemed to be filled with faith, even if the other seemed undeserving. Jou even held faith in Seto, even if the brunet had done nothing to deserve it.

"So, what now?" the CEO questioned, not about to throw in the towel just yet.

"He has gotten to went out his anger", Hakuba commented in an analytic manner. Next we wait and then you will try again later."

Seto was feeling sceptical of this bit of advice. He was certain that the only difference waiting would make would be for Jou to be able to attack him full force again. Personally he would have preferred to face the blond again immediately while Jou was still likely to tire out before he managed to maul Seto with a chair. Strange thing, really. Jou had such a temper when he got into the mood but other than that the blond was beyond sweet, a lovely angel.

"I'm going to try again", Seto suddenly spoke, his voice firm. This got him an agreeing smile from Hakuba as the Brit spoke: "Excellent." Then he waved his hand dismissively and spoke in a manner than Seto had not heard many people use with him before: "But not today. Jou probably isn't finished with venting out steam yet." Hakuba actually sounded companionable and emphatic as he said this.

"Right", Seto agreed somewhat hurriedly. He had come to the conclusion that the only way to get past the ammunition Jou bestowed upon him was to fry the projectiles with his powers. But that would most likely lead to Jou using his own powers as well, and Seto did not fancy getting hit with a fireball.

To be continued...

Ending Notes: I have solved the 'male fanservice' problem. In two chapters this story is going to have a naked Jou for the joy of fangirls everywhere.

FDD Vocabulary:

NA Naturally enhanced: means abilities have been gained from birth

Kaito Kuroba
Skills: a magician, illusions
Eyes: dark violet
Hair: brown

Saguru Hakuba
Skills: sixth sense, fast movements
Eyes: bright blue
Hair: golden blond

Aoko Nakamori
Skills: strenght
Eyes: blue
Hair: mousy

Akako Koizumi
Skills: a witch
Eyes: red
Hair: dark red

Keiko
Skills: white cat animorpher, healing
Eyes: hazel
Hair: pale blond