By the time he had gotten to his seat, Jou had become sure that the oncoming stares had literally bore a hole into the back of his head. Paranoid, he stroked his hair lightly…yes…it was all there. No holes. Nervously, he dragged his hand from his head and held it on his lap, averting his eyes away from the people in the court room. Taking a deep breath, he watched the judge walk in. As the man took his seat at the front, Jou stood up, his head still bowed. The sound was dull, it was simply passing by the blond's ears, incoherent and unrecognisable. Feeling a nudge, Jou looked over at Mokuba dazed, before sitting down, his heart racing again.

'Katsuya Jounouchi, please take to the stand.' A voice bellowed across the room and Jou followed a suited man to a box the judge. It was elevated which allowed everyone to see the terror on his face. The normally loud and busy blond was silent, terrified and unknowing of the days that lay ahead. He sat down slowly, the judge looking at him,

'Katsuya Jounouchi, you are brought here under the accusation of first degree murder upon Seto Kaiba on the 7th October, 2010. How do you plead?' The statement was short, and Jou could feel his heart smashing violently against his sternum, his lungs burning with anxiety and his mouth dry with panic. His eyes flailed around the room in wasted efforts for comfort, until a pale figure accumulated in the crowd, smiling softly at Jou. The blond exhaled, gave a meek smile back before nodding.

'Not guilty.' He swallowed hard as he said it, the words causing a shuffle about the room, whispers rising from the lowered heads. Was it that much of a shock? Had these people turned up to hear him lie before the court and plead guilty to a crime he hadn't committed? He pushed his spine backwards into the chair, his nails digging into his flesh.

'Very well.' The judge had a strong, steady voice and it was not in the least bit comforting. Through yellow bangs, Jou sought comfort in the brunet before him, sat in the stalls, giving the most support he possibly could. His headache levelling, Jou smiled inwardly, he was not alone. 'Prosecutor may now take the floor.' Jou watched as a tall, thin man stood up. He had thin rimmed glasses on the edge of his nose and a black pressed suit. His cheek bones stuck through his flesh making his lips fall into a sort-of pout, an expression of a person who had spent a lifetime sucking on lemons. Nervously, Jou watched as a security guard walked up to him, holding a book.

'Raise your right hand, Mr Jounouchi.' The blond did so. 'Do you swear by almighty God that the evidence you shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.' Jou took a long breath.

'I swear by almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.' The man nodded and walked away, the thin lawyer walking towards him, glaring into his eyes.

'Mr Jounouchi,' he began to walk away, 'Where we're you on the night of October 7th 2010 between the hours of 7pm and 1am?'

'I was at work.'

'In what profession?'

'I am a taxi driver.'

'Under what corporation?'

'Kelly Cabs.'

'How long have you been employed there?'

'4 months.'

'Can anyone vouch that you we're working that night?'

'Kelly.' The thin man nodded.

'How many routes did you drive that night?'

'I'm not sure.'

'Approximately?' Jou paused, rolling his eyes back in thought,

'Maybe 8 or 9.'

'Any that were distinctive?'

'Only one.'

'Passenger name?'

'Takahashi.'

'On route to?'

'Kaiba Corp.' there was a silence in the room, an uneasy sense of movement and restrain. Jou took a deep breath.

'Where did you collect Mr Takahashi?' Jou thought back…how was he supposed to remember? He bit his lip. There was something distinctive on that street…it had shops. It was close to a nicer part of town, more distinguished than the downtown area. He bit his lip. Yes, yes, that was it!

'Erm, Baker Street.' He nodded to himself in self confirmation, 'Baker Street, Domino.' The lawyer nodded to himself, pacing back toward the blond.

'Had you met this man before?'

'No.'

'Did you meet him again?'

'Yes.'

'On which dates?'

'About a week after. I'm unsure of the date.' The lawyer nodded, smiling to himself. Jou looked back to Kaiba who gave a half smile, filling Jou with a strange warmth that he thought he would never feel again. You're doing fine. He mouthed the words to the blond who instantly relaxed.

'Mr Jounouchi, how long had you known Mr Kaiba?'

'5 years.'

'How did you meet?'

'He was in my classes at school.'

'What was your relationship?'

'Classmates.'

'Did you get on with Seto Kaiba?'

'I did not.' Jou swallowed hard. He knew that was the prosecutors main evidence against him, his biggest fall down.

'In the 5 years that you had known Seto Kaiba, had you ever verbally or physically attacked him?' Jou sighed…this was a question he didn't want to answer.

'Yes.' He looked away, ashamed.

'We're these focussed attacks on Mr Kaiba?'

'Yes.' Jou could feel the eyes upon him again, Mokuba's eyes went wide, the prosecuting lawyer was digging at Jou, ruining the little confidence that the blond had gained.

'What was the intent of these attacks, Mr Jounouchi?'

'Defense…' He looked over at Kaiba, his eyes full of sorrow, 'And malice towards Mr Kaiba.'

'How many malicious attacks were made over the 5 year period?'

'I don't know.'

'Approximately?'

'One a day. No less than 3 a week.' There was a slight gasp which caused Jou to wipe his eye. He was getting nervous and the questions were not making him look good. To be fair, that wasn't their intention. He took a long breath before taking a sip of the water before him. His hand shook violently as he raised the cup to his mouth, every nerve in his body trembling. The judge watched as the blond shook before rolling his eyes.

'We will have a fifteen minuet interval. Thank you, court dismissed.' Everyone rose slowly, glancing at the blond as the left. The lawyer took to his desk and began to look through papers and Mokuba rushed over.

'You're doing fine, Jou, honestly.' Mokuba smiled, hugging him.

'I don't feel so good.' Jou shook his head. Taking a long breath he smiled weakly at the younger Kaiba, 'I'm going to the toilets.' He walked off slowly, before reaching the cubical and falling into one of the stalls, closing the door behind him. Falling to his knees he gripped the bowl as he coughed, vomiting the contents of his empty stomach into the toilet. He continued to shake, raising a hand to his head. He took another deep breath, his mind spinning uncontrollably. Sweaty palms gripping the green cubical walls, he raised himself up and pushed the lid down, sitting on top of the toilet, his knees drawn in. He proceeded to place his forehead on his knees, rocking backwards and forwards slightly.

A bang was heard, followed by the muffled click of heels on the tiled floor.

'That kid is done for.' A voice whispered as a zip was unfastened.

'I must admit, I was surprised at how easy it was.' There was a muffled laugh, 'It seems anything is possible with money.' The laugh echoed again before a flushing was heard and the taps ran. Through the water, Jou couldn't make out the rest of the conversation, but he knew, from the little he had caught, he was done for. Once the door slammed again, he rose from his seat, hands flat against the stall. He unclipped the door and looked into the empty bathroom. He closed his eyes before walking to the sink and splashing his face a few times with icy water. He needed to get a grip. He couldn't let them get to him. Any of them. Sighing, he turned slowly and exited back to the court room…

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Hey

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sorry it's been a while, I've been so busy and I have so much work left to do! I've had a lot of Manga and I've been ill and working and doing Uni stuff so I've gotten behind. So far behind I thought that I'd never write again. I've recently been saved by the fact I just booked a Disney holiday for just me and Antony, so I'm very excited. Broke, but excited. It'll be our first 'real' holiday together so I can't wait. Even though we've been to Holland and are going to Spain, we're leaving Europe and no one will be there to look after us…haha *sweat drop*

Anyway, I hope you really enjoy this update, it's took me ages to sit down and get it done, so let me know what you think.

Please

R&R

Much love

AB

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