You've got the wrong manga artist! I don't own Yu-gi-oh. Any belief to the contrary is flattering but untrue.
First I must apologize for my tardiness. A bout of writers' block and real life got in the way. And I admit, this was a difficult chapter to write, for it dredged up some unpleasant memories of my own. Warnings: angst, shounen ai (S/J, H/Ryuuji, B/R, Y/YY, M/M others), profanity, reference to child abuse.
Clarifications: both Yugi's parents are dead in this fic. Also all decks the characters use will be their Battle City ones, well sans the ante monsters except for a few special cases (I haven't decided about the Battle City rules yet). Chapter 179 is referenced here, and will be the focus of an upcoming fic. Thanks Jenniyah!
Purge
Knock, knock.
The summons to the door was answered with a loud thump, the clatter of objects falling, and a stream of curses that would make even a hardened sailor blush. However, that did not change the fact that there was someone at the door, and that someone had to answer it, namely Jounouchi.
Just as soon as he untangled himself from the blankets that were attempting to choke the life out of him…easy…right?
The blankets seemed to have the opposite opinion on the matter.
Finally freed and decidedly rumpled, Jounouchi stormed towards the apartment door. As he passed a cracked mirror (caused by an errant beer bottle during one of his father's more violent drunken fits), he raked one hand through his hair, trying to get the unruly mass into some semblance of normality. My god I look awful. The skin under his eyes had turned blue-black and the rest of it had acquired a grayish undertone. He yawned, and blinked blearily. Why did the person have to be calling now? If it was a salesman, or another blasted religious person pushing pamphlets at him; what control over his temper he had managed to keep over the last few days was going to rapidly disappear.
Bang! Bang!
"I'm coming. I'm coming!" he whined and clutched his head. Whoever it was was going to wake up the dead. And Jounouchi doubted Katsuya was a morning person…err, spirit.
However, when he yanked open the door, he sighed in relief. Staring at him quizzically was Yugi's grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou.
The old man looked Jounouchi up and down several times, and then finally dryly asked "Have I come at a bad time?"
He blinked, and looked down himself.
"Erg!"
He was clad only in a simple white tank top, and dark blue boxer shorts with white stenciled rabbits. Nothing else.
"Come in," he yelled as he made a dash for his room, thankful it had been only Yugi's grandfather at the door. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have heard the end of it. Hopefully the subject of him and his boxers wouldn't come up at the Mutou dinner table tonight.
"Pants, pants, where are those pants…"
Finally locating a pair of jeans that looked reasonably clean, Jounouchi yanked them on, and on further consideration replaced his white tank top for a black one. Feeling slightly less embarrassed, he trudged out to meet his guest. Said guest was already helping himself to coffee freshly brewed from the coffee maker. Jounouchi's stomach growled slightly…the beast hadn't been fed recently and was now making its displeasure known. Quiet you…I'll take care of the food problem in a minute. Making an inconspicuous beeline for the fridge, he called out to Sugoroku, "So what brings you by Gramps?"
"Oh just checking up on you….you've had so much happen to you lately, it's impossible not to worry."
You don't know the half of it Gramps. Jounouchi inwardly sighed as he searched the fridge for the rice balls he'd made the night before. Outwardly however he pasted on a grin that he'd perfected over the years when he'd not wanted anybody to have a clue what was going on in his head. "I'm fine, just fine."
"Bullshit." The elderly man said evenly, while reaching for the coffee he set aside. "I can see through that mask you put on. You're falling apart, the physical signs are obvious. Check a mirror; you'll see what I mean."
"No need. I already have." Jounouchi chuckled bitterly. "All I really want to do right now is sleep. I'm so tired…" He began to nibble on the rice ball, and thoughtfully studied Sugoroku. I don't remember the last time I slept well.
"How's your father?"
"Not good," he admitted. "The alcohol had eaten at his mind and his health till there'd been virtually nothing left. He's really just a shell now." Jounouchi said quietly. "They told me that the detox went badly. He went into shock and was seizuring a couple times. He still hallucinates sometimes. But the worst thing is the damage the booze did to his liver and kidneys. They're shot. I don't think he's coming out of that institution. He's gone now, if not physically, at least mentally."
Sugoroku looked at a loss for words. But what could he say, Jounouchi mused. Nothing he could say would make the reality of the situation go away. Words couldn't replace the man he lost.
"Ya know, when I was a kid, real young, you wouldn't believe the type of man he was. Energetic as hell, he'd always be doing something, getting into the thick of things. God, some of the pranks he used to pull on the cops…damn we thought he was going to be thrown away for good. But they never caught him. I thought he was invincible."
Jounouchi snorted. "I was wrong."
"Then the arguments started. Mom wanted to get a job, she felt trapped in the apartment. Dad was against it, he thought she should stay and take care of the home. After all, he said, even though I don't believe it, it's what a woman should do. Also, I don't know, something had gone bad; maybe Dad had gone too far in a joke or at work. They continued to fight and Mom acted more and more like she was locked in a cage. She used to pace back and forth, back and forth, gnashing her teeth and snarling at anyone who got close. As for Dad, he began to shut himself off, growing more and more cold. Think he was afraid of losing her. But the more he tightened his control over the household, the more she slipped away and became wild, like sand tricking through his fingers."
Jounouchi stopped and took a deep breath, ignoring the stricken wide-eyed look he was receiving.
"And then time ran out."
"Nobody knows how it happened. The apartment building just, whoosh, went up in flames. Nobody was hurt, God no, but nearly everything was destroyed. Mom was shrieking, and Dad was watching our home go up in flames, a funny expression on his face. He stank, literally stank, Gramps. Oh no, I didn't know what it was then, but that smell would become familiar, oh yes, very familiar as time went by; that, and flying beer bottles, glazed eyes, violent fits, and mornings after. The papers were soon signed up and Shizuka and I were torn apart and here I am." Jounouchi's voice became a whisper. "Here I am."
Jounouchi traced a finger across the scarred surface of the tabletop, "I miss him. Now all of them are gone."
"Jounouchi…" Sugoroku faltered and tried again, "Jou…there's nothing you could have done. He chose his own path in life…"
"I know," Jounouchi spat out bitterly, "But I can't help thinking that if I'd done something different, hid his beer or something, I could have saved him…" Could have saved them from being murdered. There's blood on my hands… "I should have done something."
"And what would you have accomplished?" the old man asked quietly.
"Nothing. Probably nothing."
And one by one, the rain of tears began to fall until it became a torrent. Sugoroku took Jounouchi's hand and held it like he would do for a grandchild, for Jounouchi was a grandson, not by blood but by spirit. He held it and waited. Waited for Jounouchi to finally let out the pain.
Yugi sighed behind the counter of the Game Shop. It was a slow day, make that very slow as only a few teenagers had dropped in to browse through the new cards that the store was featuring. Honestly he was getting bored. What he wouldn't do for a little excitement right about now. But nooooo, Grandpa had to go run an errand for something (he wouldn't say what it was) and had forced Yugi to play shop keeper while he was gone. To make matters worse, Yami was brooding in his soul room and wouldn't come out. The only explanation he would give was that he was trying to figure out why the portal to the Shadow Realm was opened two days ago. But Yugi knew better. Yami was sulking because he didn't get to hand Yami Bakura's ass back to him yet again. Yugi sighed for his nth time that day. Sometimes the Game King could get so temperamental.
The soft tinkling of chimes drew his attention to the door and he quickly pasted on his best please-buy-something-anything-from-me grin. The grin quickly became a lot more genuine when he realized who it was.
Honda.
"Hi Honda," Yugi greeted politely, "Come to give me a little company?"
Honda blinked, "You're here on your own?"
Yugi laughed lightly, "Yeah, Grandpa had to run an errand. Don't know what it was, but he was pretty closed mouth about it. He's been gone a while too; I wonder what he's up to."
"Must be important, whatever it was…" His voice turned shy, "Hey Yugi…"
"Yes…" Yugi stared at Honda and was surprised to see the other boy on the verge of bolting. He looked embarrassed, maybe even…frightened? And very hopeful. What's eating him? Last time I saw him like this, he was drooling over…The pieces suddenly clicked into place, and Yugi slowly smirked.
"So Honda, who's the lucky girl?"
Honda quietly coughed while turning an interesting shade of red, "It's not a girl…"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard."
Blink. Blink. "You're gay?!"
"NO!" a bit quieter, "I'm bi."
Brain overload. Commence shut down. Restart.
"Oh…okay then, who's the lucky guy?"
"Ryuuji…" Sigh, blush. The corners of Honda's lips turned upward into a lovesick smile and the air around him seemed to sparkle. Yugi silently groaned. He's doing it again, that scary schoolgirl thing. I swear, every time…
But before the weepy violins could start playing, Honda made tracks towards the back of the shop where the puzzles were kept and began frantically searching…for…something anyway. Yugi felt his stomach sink. This felt…familiar.
"Yugi, do you have any of those blank puzzles left?"
Definitely familiar.
"Yeah, one…Oh no, are you thinking…?"
"Yeah Yugi," Honda grinned, "It'll work this time. Ryuuji will love this. I mean he loves games and this will be so romantic." A cold sweat began to run down Yugi's back. Whenever Honda and romance mixed, disaster almost always followed.
"I hope it doesn't backfire this time…" Ms. Chono nearly expelled Jounouchi, myself and you when you sent Miho that love note written on the puzzle. If Yami hadn't interfered, well the Wicked Witch of Expel would have claimed three more victims. Mr. Romance seems to have forgotten that however…
"Trust me Yugi. Didn't your Grandfather say he hooked your Grandma with this baby? If it worked for him, it'll work for me." Yugi considered, after all, puzzles did tend to bring together people in his experience, in more ways than one…
"Well, at least Ms. Chono is good and gone. I hope you have better luck this time."
"Yeah. Say, Yugi…"
"No. This time write the love letter by yourself."
Sugoroku cursed to himself. Lugging around dead weight wasn't as easy as it had been during his prime. In those days he usually hauled three or four bodies back from whatever tavern they'd been frequenting to the hotel de jour. And after all I did for them; the bastards shot me in the back. But his treasure hunting days (or tomb robbing days as the Egyptian natives would say) had long since passed, leaving only a puzzle bequeathed to his grandson and a scar marring his shoulder blades as the only mementoes left of that time. Strange days they were too. He had discovered while there he had quite the talent for reading hieroglyphics, though he had never run across the language before in his life.
But fortunately for Jounouchi, Sugoroku still remembered a thing or two about carrying taller and heavier people about without breaking his back. Well, more like dragged than carried but in the end the results were all that mattered…right?
"God, I have to go to the gym."
Hoisting the boy onto the bed proved to be a more difficult task. Jounouchi was slim, yes, but that was deceptive considering that all of his body was finely toned muscle. In other words, way heavier than he looked. But at last the job was finished and Sugoroku leaned back and groaned. He had knocked his back out of joint again.
But that was not the only thing to consider.
While lifting him onto the bed, Jounouchi's shirt had twisted and ridden up on his torso, revealing things that only confirmed Sugoroku's suspicions on a variety of matters. Scars littered the chest and back: some fresh judging by the fiery pink color they had, others white and thin, ancient, hinting at a lifetime of pain. So he actually did…What Jounouchi had hinted at was true then. But why didn't he fight back? It was difficult to say… Jounouchi was strong, Sugoroku knew this, and he also had the reputation of being a great fighter, able to take on opponents stronger, heavier, and taller then he was and still come on top. He could hold his own most likely against his father. Most likely it was family loyalty; Jounouchi might have seen the shadow of the man he used to be in the drunken wreck that replaced his father and had been unable to strike back when the alcohol brought with it the fits of violence. And Jounouchi's father was the last shred of family that Jounouchi himself possessed.
Sugoroku could certainly understand the desire to hold onto any remaining family, abusive or not. Being alone was soul shredding, devastating. He had certainly experienced enough pain after losing his son and daughter in law, he could emphasize with what Jounouchi was feeling right now.
But to confront him about it…he didn't know if that was the best course of action at this point. It could stir up things neither of them was willing…or able, to handle.
Sighing he put his hands in his pockets and felt one of the reasons why he had come. Pulling the three cards out of his pocket, he smiled. He had selected them as a house warming present and he knew his former student would be greatly cheered to find them when he woke. Speaking of which…he checked Jounouchi over quickly. Just asleep, no coma.
One couldn't be too careful.
Quietly he placed Psycho Shocker, Swords of Revealing Light, and Monster Reborn next to Jounouchi's deck on the bedside table. Then he slipped out of the apartment, but not before one last thought crossed his mind.
I wonder, when did Jounouchi get into wearing Egyptian jewelry anyway?
Yugi watched as his Grandpa quietly shut the back door behind him. The old man's face was subdued and it seemed like he was carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders. Worst of all his violet eyes had lost the sparkle that defined the man. They were dull, empty.
Soulless…
Yugi shuddered. He'd hoped to never see his grandfather's eyes like that again.
He was pulled into a shuddering embrace. Yugi tensed, something was seriously wrong. His grandpa was holding him as he if he would disappear into thin air if he'd let go.
"Grandpa," Yugi carefully began, "are you alright? Did something…happen?"
A heavy sigh, "Yes. I found out something I didn't want to." Something was filling those eyes now. Sorrow? Guilt? Yugi wasn't sure exactly what the emotion was.
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"No…I'd rather not." There was such quiet authority in his voice that Yugi didn't even think of asking again. He felt confused. His grandfather was not one to keep things bottled up inside.
"Could you make dinner Yugi?" Sugoroku said softly.
Yugi quietly nodded and padded into the kitchen to do as his grandfather requested. He didn't see Sugoroku collapse behind him into a chair and bury his head in his hands.
Seto sighed as he leaned back into the comforting fabric of the couch and placed his copy of 'The Economist' on the table. It was raining out, the sound of raindrops hitting the mansion's tiled roof softly filling the living room where Mokuba and himself were currently residing. Mokuba was curled up on the floor, nose buried in a book. Every so often he'd crinkle his nose as he read certain passages from it.
"I can't read." The blond guardsman says respectfully and a bit bashfully, head bowed in proper submissiveness to me, as befits someone of lower rank to someone of status. He holds a sheet of papyrus with hieroglyphics scrawled upon it. I can read them easily, though I do not know how. They tell how to summon shadows, a game of some sort.
How can anyone summon games of shadows? More to the point, why would anyone want to?
The room around us crackles with hidden power, like raw electricity. And not only has the room done this. Power arcs in unseen waves off the kneeling guard in front of me, and, I can sense, off me as well. Though my energies are controlled and focused and his are not.
"Rise" I say.
He does so.
Jounouchi.
I sniff. He smells of blood. It is not surprising; his clothes have little splotches of it drying upon it.
He has been in a fight.
"Captain…I see you have been busy today…" I enquire. I do want to know where the blood came from.
"Riot, my lord; among the slaves. My men and I had to deal with it."
The way he said 'deal with it' makes me shiver. I know that tone too well from my dealings in business. However there is something in that posture that speaks of regret. Jounouchi is not happy with what he had to do. And if I had done what he had done in this deranged fantasy, I don't think I would be either.
"I see."
This is one fucked up dream. Here we are, discussing the mass slaughter of people, and neither of us seems to care. Well, Jounouchi cares, but he's trying not to, trying to see the people he killed as cattle, not people, and not really succeeding and I just…I don't want to know how many there were…the slight queasiness in my stomach gets worse as I try to give these people faces.
It slowly dawns on me that the person speaking with my voice and whose eyes I'm seeing through isn't me.
And this isn't Jounouchi. Jounouchi doesn't have red eyes.
What's going on?
Seto blinked as thunder crashed outside, snapping out of the light trance like state he had fallen into. Again, it's happening again. Spots danced at the edge of his vision. Why is this happening? Have I been working too hard? Running a company, attending school, and raising a younger brother was extremely time consuming. Time to himself was rare.
Tomorrow is Sunday, perhaps…
Perhaps he would test out his new duel disk system. Dueling, even if was for the sake of furthering his company's success, was freeing in ways nothing else he had experienced could match. He paused and smiled predatorily. Yes, he hadn't had a good match in a while and he ached for a challenge. His new automated dueling robot should be up to the task.
But I don't really want to duel against a machine. True, with the settings at maximum, it would be a challenge, but what's the fun in that?
What was truly required for the duel to be interesting was a human element. A machine didn't show emotions, didn't have emotions, and seeing them run across an opposing duelist's face during the game, seeing the dawn of realization of their chances of winning against him, was just as sweet as the actual mental challenge needed to win. Course there was only a few duelists that could even come close to his caliber of skill, and only one…
He clenched his fist. One day he would crush Yugi Mutou for that first duel. Crush him completely, totally. And next time he would do it fairly, no ledges, so the boy could give no excuse for his failure.
Pride and honor demanded no less.
He winced then. Thoughts of Yugi invariably lead to thoughts of Jounouchi Katsuya. The blonde would not get out of his head. He was there everywhere he went; in the office, his car on the way to work or school, school of course, his house…even in his bedroom, at times, he could sense his presence …And now he was having freaky visions that involved someone who looked an awful lot like Jounouchi.
Jounouchi Katsuya was haunting him. It was driving him up the wall.
What was he to him anyway?
The mutt, trash duelist, pup, and loser, all the names that he had given him, came to him at first. At Duelist Kingdom, after how badly Jounouchi lost, he hadn't even been worth considering as a worthy opponent. Certainly, if Seto had ever decided to hold a tournament of his own, Katsuya wouldn't even have been on the list of invitees. But then he had done some checking on the Duelist Kingdom tournament, about how Jounouchi had dueled. Certainly, yes, even though he had won, his first duels were awful, Jounouchi only scraping by the skin of his teeth. But he had also seen tremendous jumps in skill level between duels, as the records had shown. The Jounouchi who had dueled both Bandit Keith and Yugi, based on the duels themselves, would be considered a legitimate threat, not to himself, but to most experienced and highly skilled duelists. That and based on the time frame from which he had learned the game and trained under Sugoroku Mutou to the present, made Jounouchi seem a lot more impressive.
Certainly with more experience, he could become a real presence in the dueling world. Not enough to beat him though.
As a person he certainly was likable, Seto supposed. Friendly, loyal, compassionate, dependable, and forgiving. He was even opening up to him of all people. Though, he supposed, it was simply him showing his gratitude for him staying with him at the hospital (why had he done that again?). Their natures were very different.
And their backgrounds were very similar. Yin and Yang. Black and white dragons.
And now the mutt was growing quieter, withdrawing from social contact. Seto had seen major personality swings from Jounouchi's usual behavior, and now he knew, just knew, that it wasn't caused by that blasted coma. But what was the cause, he didn't know.
In any matter, Seto knew, he had to exorcise Jounouchi from his mind.
Perhaps another duel was in order. Dueling styles were just as dependant on personality as they were on skill. Seeing exactly how much Jounouchi had changed as well as defeating him once again, would hopefully drive the blond from his consideration. He would kill many birds with one stone here. And maybe then the visions would stop.
He had invited Jounouchi to Kaiba Corp. yesterday and he hadn't really given a definitive answer. It was time to force the issue.
Alowl, you want a confrontation between Yami and Katsuya, huh? It's coming, trust me on this; it will be well worth the wait. ~grins secretively~ Jou-pup, I'll try to have some links to concept artwork of Y. Katsuya (and others) in the next few chapters for you and anyone else who wants it. I know Katsuya loves the compliments. I haven't been able to get him to quit preening after you said that. Taito-Kisses you needn't worry, Jou's tough, he'll get through. 'Sides he will have help. ~winkwinknudgenudge~ Kakarots-Frying-Pan I'm sooooooo happy you like them ~tackleglomp~ I endeavor to continue! And yes it was a sad chapter. There'll be a few more like that ~bites her tongue to keep from spoiling the entire thing~ in this looking to be monstrously large story. At least for me anyway. Lady Geuna, it is Malik, you're right. Though he isn't a priest, but the Pharaoh's Grand Vizier (whose rank is on par with the High Priest's)! Thank god, I've actually seen him in action now…He'll be coming in later. And yes, I'm glad you think he's creepy. I was aiming for that, for an unnerving quality. Thank you! Blue Lagoon Loon, he is rather feisty, isn't he? I don't feel too bad about what I did to Jou's dad myself, considering what was implied in the manga about him made me want to strangle him. Chiron thanks for the email (sorry I lost your address so I'll answer here). Oh you're sharp. Kudos to you for noticing the difference between Jou's and Seto's visions and what it actually means. And yes that door I kept talking about in the first chapters will be explained.
