Disclaimer:

Ryou: Hello, I will be doing the disclaimer this time. Yuemoon does not own Yu-Gi-Oh so please do not sue her because all that you will receive is a piece of paper and a pen. How was that Bakura?

Bakura: You could have been more forceful about it.

Ryou: But then no one would read the story if I wasn't polite.

Bakura: Ah fuck it, you suck at this anyway.

Ryou: *chibi crying face* Why are you always so mean to me!?

Bakura: Simple…you're easy that's why.

Ryou: What are you implying!?

Malik: He's implying that you are easy damnit! I'm so pissed!
Bakura: Malik is still fuming about what happened in the last chapter, that's all.

Malik: Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill…etc.
Ryou: -_-; and people say I have problems…

(A/N: Heh, okay, I know…Yugi saves Jounouchi from Malik, but PLEASE don't give me bad reviews for placing Jou into a mental institute! I just wanted to make this a little more…intense. Heh, anyways, this is what I really think happened after the duel. Mwahaha!)

Addicted To It

"I am a little worried."

Seto looked up from the book that he was reading and stared at Jounouchi. It was the next day, in the afternoon, and the two were lounging about in the backyard, relaxing.

"Worried? Worried about what love?"

"About Malik."

"Katsuya, don't you worry your pretty head about him. Malik is a total pushover and you and I both know it. He's nothing."

"I know, but you weren't controlled by him like I was."

Seto frowned slightly. It was true that he had never had such an experience with Malik before like Jou had. It was about two years ago when his Battle City was being held. Malik had seized control of Jou's mind, forcing him to duel against Yugi in order to win the Millennium Puzzle and Yugi's Egyptian God card. He was powerless to stop the duel under the conditions that Malik had set, and he could only watch as the two friends dueled each other. However, as fate would have it, Yugi was able to save Jou and keep his puzzle, but Jou's mind had been shattered. For the next year or so, Jou had lain in a ward where they tried to restore his mind. His friends came to visit him everyday, telling him of the outside world, trying and trying to get him to come around, but Jou receded inside himself. He didn't eat much, he never spoke, he refused to sleep and the only way he would sleep was when the doctors gave him sleeping pills or injections.

Seto remembered he had visited Jou sometimes in the ward.

The first time he had gone in there, he felt his insides threaten to come up. Jou was all skin and bone, his once cheery, shining amber eyes were now dull rocks of coal, sunken into his sockets. His skin was a pallid in color, his golden hair lank and clinging to his skull, yet Seto forced himself to sit next to the bed and talk to him.

"Jounouchi? It's me, Kaiba." There was no response to his statement. Seto frowned, already beginning to feel frustrated.

"There hasn't been a lot going on in my life, I mean, we just finished with Battle City…" There! Seto saw a glimmer in Jou's eye at the mention of the tournament. He felt hope rise in him.

"It was a lot to clean up, Battle City I mean, what with all that trouble and getting the rare cards, and then having to hand out Battle City prizes to the winners. I still have yours actually, your Battle City prize…"

"B-Battle C-City?" It was barely a whisper, but that whisper had come from Jou's lifeless mouth.

"Yes! Yes, Battle City," Seto said gently, "Do you remember it?" Jou looked into Seto's eyes, and then he shrieked. Seto fell backwards at the sound. It was the sound of a man in true pain. He felt Jou's skeletal like fingers clutch his wrist and then pulled him forward, Jou burying his face into Seto's chest.

"Yes! I remember it…Malik, gods please leave me alone Malik! I don't want to fight Yugi! I don't want to destroy my Red Eyes! Nooo! Leave Anzu alone, don't involve her in this! My sister! No, don't touch her you filthy bastard!  Please, leave them alone! Don't go after Seto, don't touch him!" His words broke off into whimpering sobs, clutching at his shirt. Seto held Jou tightly, yet gently, soothing him with his vocal vibrations through his chest.

"Shh…It's me Jou. It's me Seto. I am fine, no one was hurt, and we are all alright. Shh, that's right, calm down love."

"L-love? I love Seto Kaiba. He's such a nice guy, even though he acts like such a jerk. I know…I know that he is just lonely. I started to like him when he first came to our school and he stumbled upon the King's fountain. I've like him through the years, but then I knew, that I fell in love with Seto as we got older, but I knew he would never look my way because I don't think he likes guys. You…you won't tell anyone, will you? That I love Seto Kaiba, you won't tell anyone, right?"

"No, I won't tell anyone. Your secrets are mine Katsuya. I have to go, but I'll come back and visit you soon, I promise."

Seto left then, Jou's hand sliding out of his own as he walked out of the room. He felt shaken, disturbed, and happy all at the same time. Jou loved him and he always had. He returned again to visit Jou as often as he could, and always when he was sure that none of the others were there with him. After all, he still had a reputation to uphold, and he didn't need Yugi and his group to blab to the school. Every time he visited, Jou seemed to be getting better and better. His skin was beginning to get its color back, and his eyes weren't as sunken in as they once were. His orbs shown slightly and his hair became fuller and cleaner for that matter. The doctors told Seto that Jou was beginning to recover and he was seen in the training room everyday for about two hours working out and training. He smiled at this. It didn't surprise him one bit, after all, Jou had to get back out on the streets and reclaim his turf…

"Seto? Are you alright there lovely?"

Seto jerked his head up and gazed back at Jounouchi, smiling at him gently. He smiled easily, running his hand through his hair. He must have dosed off, thinking about the past.

"I'm just fine love," he replied. Jou tilted his head to the side, and then looked down at his watch.

"Shit! I have to go to the grocery store!" He jumped up from his seat and began to head to the garage, where his bike was resting peacefully. Seto got up and followed him.

"The store? But I can just get one of the…"

"Did you forget? Everyone is still away for the time being."

"Oh…oh yeah! I forgot about that." Jou laughed as he opened the garage door and wheeled the bike out, mounting it in a fluid motion.

"Do I get a kiss good-bye?" Seto grinned and kissed him, but suddenly he felt as if something was creeping up along his spine, heading towards Jou. He hugged Jou tighter, deepening the kiss before he reluctantly let go of him.

"Sweetie, I'm going to the store, I'll be back in an hour."

"I know that you will, just be careful, okay?" Jou looked at him, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, but he nodded his head.

"I will. See you later baby."

Seto stepped back as Jou kicked the engine into life, and he peeled out of the driveway with amazing speed. Seto wrapped his arms around himself, watching Jou until he disappeared around the corner of the street.

***

"Alright," Jou said to himself as he stepped out of the store with a paper bag in his arms, "Time to head back home. I hope that I didn't forget anything. I got the milk, eggs, fabric softener, some bread…hmmm. I think that was it."

Jou turned into the parking lot, heading towards his bike when he heard a step behind him. He shrugged it off; it was probably another customer or an employee heading towards their car. He took the key out of his pocket when he realized that the person behind him was joined by another pair of feet, and they were following him. Jou looked at his bike. There were no other cars nearby, or next to his bike. Jou placed the bag of food onto the seat of his bike and turned slowly to face the others.

Two big guys were staring down at him, grinning sadistically at Jou and cracking their knuckles. They were wearing black robes with golden chains holding the front together. Jou didn't like the way they were dressed, nor the way that they were looking at him.

"So what are a couple of Rare Hunters following me for? I ain't got any rare cards with me and Battle City has been over for a long time now, so what could you possibly want?" Jou asked, well aware of the fact that he was in trouble. He was stalling for time to think of a way out of this.

"Our master wishes to see you Katsuya Jounouchi," said the one on the right. Jou noted he had a nasty scar along his left eye, and the eye was blind. Jou narrowed his eyes. Okay, his blind spot is his left side, now what about the guy on the left? The guy on the right had an identical scar on his right eye, the right eye blind. Alright, so one is blind on the right, and the other is blind on the left, great. If there was a way to split myself into two people, then this might be easier, Jou thought to himself, bending slightly. Jou suddenly straightened and pointed at something behind them.

"Hey!? What's that thing right there!?"

The two morons turned their heads to see what he was pointing at. There was nothing there and when they turned back to Jou, he was already half way down the street running. Knowing he had no time to mount his bike and get it started, Jou immediately took to his feet and ran like hell.

"Oh man, I can't believe that they fell for the oldest trick in the book!" Jou said as he ran, "But why does everything always happen to me? All I wanted to do was get some food for the house and now I am being chased by some Rare Hunters! What the hell man!"

Jou looked behind him and saw that there was no one there. Still running, he didn't look where he was going and he ran right smack into one of his chasers, falling to the ground from the impact. Jou rubbed his neck and looked up at what he ran into.

"Ah fuck," he muttered, then fell back as the man took a swing at him. Jou flipped over, using his hands to push him up into a back flip. "I really wasn't in the mood for a fight today, but if you insist upon it." His fist collided with the man's jaw, knocking him backwards into the trash cans. Jou waited a beat before he was sure the man was down. He stood up, smirking.

"No one can take Katsuya Jounouchi against his will," he said confidently. He didn't see the other guy sneak up behind him and knock him out with a board.

"Wanna bet kid?"