…So, at least there wasn't a three month waiting period between chapters this time, am I right? *crickets chirp* Eheh, yeah, no one wants to hear excuses, got it.

Content warning(s): Drug/alcohol abuse, implied domestic abuse, violence (stay safe, my lovely readers!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Chapter start!

Submersion

By: The Half-Blood Guardian

Chapter 9: Drafted Part 1

"I'm off, Jii-chan!" Yuugi called out, waiting just long enough to hear his grandfather's responding farewell before slipping out the front door. He was greeted by a nippy breeze that had him tugging the front of his school jacket together and ducking his head a bit to shield his neck with the jacket's rather high collar. He looked up at the sky warily; those rain clouds looked heavy enough to burst.

He was suddenly very glad for public transportation, even though it was often noisy and overcrowded, as it meant he would soon be riding on a covered and heated city bus instead of walking all the way to school in such out of season temperatures with the threat of being drenched hanging over his head the whole time.

(Unknown to him, a certain spirit peeked out of his eyes and mentally scowled at the thunder clouds covering the sky in a heavy blanket of dark gray. He may have been a creature of darkness himself, but he rather liked sunny days. The sun had already risen; those clouds had no business continuing to make everything dark! That's what night was for. He silently grumbled at the injustice of it, wishing it were possible to somehow punish the pesky storm clouds like he did misbehaving humans.)

The bus made it to his stop just as it began to drizzle. Within a minute of boarding the rain was absolutely pouring down, but Yuugi had managed to escape all save a few drops. Unfortunately, his luck seemed to end there, as it had barely let up by the time the bus arrived, and Yuugi reluctantly left the shelter it provided, immediately booking it toward the school building.

He soon joined the throng of dripping students in the halls. His attempt at avoiding his fate had been in vain, and he shivered, just as drenched as everyone else.

He had noticed that, strangely, rather than being the freezing temperature it should have been, his Puzzle was actually quite warm. He didn't know why that was, and he couldn't really bring himself to care, so long as it was helping to thaw out his fingers. He smiled and cradled it fondly against him.

When he looked up from the Puzzle, one of the first things he noticed was that the familiar form of Chono-sensei was only a few strides away. He lifted his gaze up towards her eyes, taking in the changes in her appearance.

After the incident a couple weeks ago, she had taken to smothering her face with an inordinate amount of makeup and wearing clothing that covered nearly every inch of her body. She was constantly jumpy, and from what Yuugi had heard, hadn't so much as reprimanded a student since she'd run screaming from the classroom – a far cry from her former confident, arrogant, and excessively strict attitude. She was hardly even seen in the classrooms anymore, mostly assisting in the office and library, if the rumor mill were to be believed. Yuugi wasn't sure why she was still employed at the school, since she was technically still a teacher who just never showed up to teach, but he suspected her continued presence had something to do with the principal's apparent infatuation with her.

Almost as soon as he met her gaze, the woman stumbled back to land on the ground, the whites of her eyes visible around all sides of her irises and her pupils blown wide with all the primal fear of prey that had just come face to face with a predator. She scrambled to her feet with a cry of panic and pushed past students in her rush to get away.

Yuugi could only stare after her in shock.

(He was just distracted enough not to notice the wisp of amused gratification that curled faintly in his chest.)

Yuugi wrung out his limp, soggy hair and then shook his head to make it spread out more in its usual shape. It still drooped sadly, and without a comb it would turn into a big, frizzy, lopsided halo around his head when it dried, but at least now it would dry and he was no longer being weighed down by what felt like a gallon of rainwater.

He took off his wet jacket before he sat down, hanging it up alongside his bag on the hook. His exposed arms were pale and covered in goosebumps, and he rubbed his hands up and down them rigorously to generate heat.

Honda sat down across from him, taking his jacket off as well. However, instead of focusing on trying to warm himself up after that, the brunet continued fussing with his hair, wringing out the water to the best of his ability and attempting to mold it into the shape he preferred. The rain had washed out the gel in it, though, and the brown locks flopped back into his eyes every time he let go. Eventually he sighed and just decided to ken his hair back against his scalp, his expression miserable.

He met Yuugi's eyes. It took a moment, but soon the two were grinning at how ridiculous they both looked. The bell rang, and they looked to the classroom door, expecting to see Jounouchi dash through it at the last second. The doorway remained clear.

The new first-hour teacher was really lax and didn't usually come in until several minutes after class was technically supposed to start, so Yuugi was free to turn to his friend and ask him, "Um, Honda-kun? You didn't see Jounouchi-kun in the hall or something, did you? He's usually here by now, and…" he paused. He didn't like to assume anything about anyone based on stereotypes, but maybe Jounouchi had just decided to skip for the day. It did fit with his personality and rather lackadaisical views on school. Yuugi sighed. "Never mind, it's probably nothing."

"No, you're right, something's up," Honda said. "Believe it or not, Jounouchi hasn't ditched class a single day since we started high school." He hummed contemplatively, his face scrunching a little in thought. "You know what, I'm gonna stop by his place after school; I know where he lives."

Yuugi immediately perked up. "I'll come too!"

"Had a feeling you'd say that." Honda said, smirking. But something in his tone belied a sense of caution.

It stopped raining a few hours into the school day, though the clouds were still heavy and there was a light drizzle when Yuugi and Honda left the building. Thankfully, there was no flooding; just a few shallow puddles of rainwater here and there which splashed when the teens' sneakers disturbed them.

"Jounouchi-kun said you've known each other since the beginning of middle school, right?" Yuugi asked, his legs having to work to keep up with Honda's pace. The brunet wasn't really going that fast, but Yuugi was a lot shorter than him. He was mostly used to it by now, though; pretty much everyone had longer legs than he did.

"Yeah. Barely been to his place, though. Only once, actually…" Honda trailed off, and didn't speak again until they reached the base of an old brick structure. "This is the apartment complex," he said, gesturing. "If I remember right, his is the one on the third floor at the end."

When they arrived at the specified apartment, Honda knocked on the door. No one came to open it.

"Hello?" He said, knocking a second time. "Is anyone home?"

"Jounouchi-kun?" Yuugi called. Again, only silence answered them. Honda reached out and tested the knob. Yuugi gaped at him.

"Wait, what-"

"The door's unlocked," Honda said. Yuugi shook his head.

"Honda-kun, we shouldn't do this…" he whispered.

Honda released the knob and raised his hands. "It's okay, we're just gonna take a look." He said placatingly. Yuugi frowned, but relented. Honda slowly cracked the door open. He and Yuugi peeked inside.

Something hurtled toward them, and the two had just enough time to duck back behind the door before the object smashed into it, shattering. Yuugi yelped.

"Ya li'l brat! Where ya been da las' two days?" A slurred, booming voice shouted. The teens chanced another look inside the cramped living room, and caught sight of an overweight man sitting on a dilapidated couch in boxers, a stained, off-white T-shirt, and dirty boots. He had greasy, stringy hair and an unkempt beard, and his feet were propped up on a shabby tea table.

The air was thick with the stench of spoiled takeout, alcohol, and vomit, the carpet was stained in multiple places, and what had to be several dozen empty liquor bottles were strewn across every surface.

"Wai'…" the man blinked, finally noticing who was at the door. His confusion slowly transformed back into rage as he roared, "Who're you?! Get outta 'ere!"

"S-sorry! We didn't mean to disturb you!" Yuugi squeaked.

The man ignored him, blindly groping for another bottle, and Honda slammed the door shut just in time to avoid being hit by the second bottle to shatter against the other side. The man began swearing up a storm, and both teens booked it to the end of the hall, down the stairs and out of the building.

They stopped on the sidewalk, panting while their hearts pounded and minds raced from the encounter.

When he finally caught his breath, Yuugi looked at Honda and asked a question that'd been on his mind ever since opening the apartment door.

"Um, Honda-kun? Was that…?" He trailed off, not quite able to form the words.

Honda seemed to know what he meant, though. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose before replying, "Yeah. That's his dad. He's been like that forever. It's… why Jounouchi never invites friends over."

"Does he- I mean, has Jounouchi-kun tried getting help?" Yuugi asked.

"No." Honda answered, a tired, defeated sort of look crossing his face. "No, he hasn't, and trust me, I've tried getting him to tell someone about it, like the police or something, but he won't listen. Doesn't wanna 'rat out' his old man. That's what he called it, anyway. I told him the guy deserves to go to jail, but Jounouchi… for some reason, he just won't do anything to get that jerk in trouble. I don't know, I guess it's 'cause even with all his dad has done, Jounouchi still loves him."

Poor Jounouchi-kun. Now Yuugi understood why he'd never seen the blond take a day off from school, even when he came down with that bad cold a few weeks ago. Jounouchi had it so much worse than him. While Yuugi sometimes wished his mother was around more often, at least he almost never saw her when she did come home, bitter and drunk. Jounouchi-kun had to return from school every day to his drunken (and if that bottle to the door was any indication, violent) father.

Except…

"Jounouchi-kun wasn't at home." Yuugi thought aloud. "His dad said he'd been gone for two days."

Honda frowned, then nodded. "We have to find him."

Honda leaned against the brick wall outside a small convenience store, his breathing a bit fast. Yuugi panted loudly next to him, wiping a hand across his forehead and leaning against the same wall. Running after Honda when he was on a mission was like running a marathon for the short-legged teen.

"We've tried all his usual hangouts. It's like he's nowhere." The brunet sighed. Yuugi slid down the wall to sit on the sidewalk, far too tired and worried to care about the filth getting on the seat of his pants. At least the awning over the shop window had kept most of the rain away from the patch of concrete he was sitting on. Yuugi hugged his knees and rested his chin on them.

"Jounouchi-kun…" he murmured, eyes downcast. Honda looked at the sliver of sunset just barely shining through the cloud cover and glanced down at him in concern.

"You should go home before it gets dark, Yuugi."

Yuugi shook his head firmly. "I can't just-"

"Don't worry, I'll keep looking for him." Honda assured. "I'll find him. And even if I don't, I'm sure he'll turn up tomorrow."

"But-"

"Yuugi. Go home."

Yuugi was silent for a few seconds before his shoulders slumped and he released a sigh.

"…Okay." He murmured.

"Hey!"

Yuugi and Honda jumped at the loud voice, both looking towards its source. Across the road they could see a small, disused side street, more of an alley, really, and near the entrance was a group of teenagers and young adults, most of them wearing plain gray uniforms. In the middle of the group, they could just make out the form of someone in a blue Domino High School uniform sprawled on the ground.

"Step on my foot?" Said the same voice, which Yuugi and Honda could now see belonged to a teenager with a beanie, a pair of glasses, and an angry sneer. "Why don't you watch where you're goin'?"

"I-I'm sorry!" The teen on the ground stuttered fearfully.

"You're sorry, huh? Well then prove it! What'cha gonna give me to make me forget about this?"

"Those guys…" Honda murmured, and Yuugi looked at him. "They're wearing Rintama's school uniform." The brunet's expression creased with anxiety. "Yuugi, I've heard about that place, and a lot of it's really bad. We better leave them alone."

Yuugi felt sorry for the guy being picked on, but reluctantly agreed with his friend. There was nothing either of them could do.

He would have turned away if, at that moment, the young man on the ground hadn't cried out in pain. Yuugi instinctively looked towards the sound just as one of the gang members started kicking their victim, stepping forward and revealing a second figure in blue that had previously been hidden from sight. Yuugi's eyes widened.

"Honda-kun! Look, it's him!" He said, grabbing the brunet's sleeve and tugging. "It's Jounouchi-kun!" And it was. The blond was standing in the circle with the rest of the uniformed group, watching with a detached expression as they beat the other Domino High student.

Honda whipped around. "What?!" He said, nearly shouting. "What's he doing with those Rintama lowlifes?"

The gang finally stopped, leaving a now bloodied and whimpering teen behind.

"C'mon, Jounouchi." Said one of the people in a gray uniform around the cigarette perched between his lips. He was among the largest in the group, and looked to be at least a few years older than Yuugi and his friends, probably in his final year of high school. Judging by the way the rest of the group parted to let him through, he was most likely their leader. "I'll take you back to our new place. It's called J'z. You'll like it." The older student started to lead Jounouchi away.

Yuugi gasped and dashed across the street towards the group.

"Jounouchi-kun!" He cried, barely hearing when Honda frantically called his name. A car braked hard and honked as he cut in front of it. His heart jolted at the close call, but he didn't let it slow him down. "Jounouchi-kun!"

The blond stopped, shoulders tensing, but didn't turn around. The rest of the group did, though, and were looking at the small teen in bemusement.

"Why'd you skip school, Jounouchi-kun? And why are you with people like them?" Honda caught up and stood anxiously next to him.

"'People like them?' Does he mean us?" The teenager with the beanie asked, raising an eyebrow at the blond. "You know that little twerp, Jounouchi?"

Jounouchi looked Yuugi in the eye for a moment, silent.

"Nah, Tsuwari. He's just some kid that goes to the same school as me."

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi made to get closer to his friend, but Honda was ready this time and held him back. The leader smirked and took the cigarette from his mouth, giving a single amused huff.

"Don't tell me you've started letting kids like that follow you around at Domino High." Once again, Jounouchi remained uncharacteristically quiet. The older teen laughed again, flicking his cigarette with his finger to remove the excess char from the tip. "You're too nice, Jounouchi. That place has made you soft. You should've come to Rintama with us from the start."

Honda narrowed his eyes. This guy sounded like he knew Jounouchi, and there was something familiar about him that the brunet couldn't quite place. He studied the guy's face and replayed his words in his head, and with an almost physical jolt, he suddenly realized why the gang's leader looked so familiar. The bags under his eyes, the slightly ashen skin tone, and the faint hollowing of his cheeks (no doubt obtained as a result of sampling drugs the gang dealt with) had changed his appearance enough that Honda hadn't immediately recognized him, but he knew that rough, condescending voice too well to avoid recognition for long.

Back when he'd first met Jounouchi in middle school, the blond had been hanging out with a group just like this one, led by the same guy: Hirutani. Honda had eventually been able to pry Jounouchi away from their less than healthy company, but it had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He'd really thought his friend had turned over a new leaf. So what was Jounouchi doing with Hirutani's gang again?

"Please come back with us, Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi said, slipping out of Honda's grip. The brunet barely noticed, too shocked by his realization.

"That kid's really starting ta get on my nerves…" Tsuwari grumbled. He looked to Hirutani in askance. "Jounouchi said he didn't know him." Hirutani huffed a laugh, making eye contact with Tsuwari and smirking. Tsuwari took it as a sign of permission.

Jounouchi didn't turn around.

"Jounou-"

Pain suddenly bloomed across Yuugi's jaw, and he stumbled back and fell to the ground.

"Clam it, ya whiny brat!" Tsuwari growled, hand still clenched into a fist from his punch.

Yuugi barely heard Honda call his name over the burst of disorienting static that covered his vision and the abrupt spike of furious indignation that appeared one moment and vanished the next.

"Who said you could talk ta Jounouchi?" Tsuwari asked, scowling. Shocked, Yuugi looked up at him and stuttered, but couldn't form any words. Tsuwari scoffed and leaned over him. "Next time I see your face I'll chop off that stupid hair of yours and shove it down ya throat!"

Honda ran forward and placed himself between his friend and Tsuwari. He may not be as good a fighter as Jounouchi, but he at least knew how to throw a decent punch.

"Back off! Yuugi didn't do anything to you!" He shouted, then turned and scowled at the motionless blond. "And you! What is wrong with you, Jounouchi?!" Again, Jounouchi said nothing.

Tsuwari snorted. "C'mon, man. Let's get outta here."

Hirutani clapped Jounouchi on the back and used his hand to lead him away. The rest of the gang followed.

"Hey, where are you going?" Honda snapped. "Jounouchi!"

The group disappeared from view around a corner, and the teen deflated, anger replaced with a feeling of helplessness. He glanced down at his one remaining friend.

"Let's go, Yuugi." Honda said quietly, reaching to help the smaller boy up. "Jounouchi… he's made his choice." Yuugi took his hand, eyes downcast.

"Jounouchi-kun…" he murmured.

To be continued…