Warning: Weirdness (??) and Oocness...Nothing to say...
Disclaimer: I do NOT own MeteoGarden or YGO...So dun try to sue me coz you will NEVER get something valuable from me~But I do own Yami's dad, Panseru and Seto's mom, Nayami. They are my...OCs...I know that some dun like it, but what else I can do...I need them for the fic....
Big thx to my beta-reader and co-writer, Infinity and Loon! And to those who reviewed this fic^____^ Special thx to Ozark for being the 100th reviewer! So...this chappy is dedicated to her! Thank you very much^^
I hope you are gonna like it...*ish ready to get kicked*
To Nekocin : Ooopsci, I typed the wrong name*sweatdrop* Sorry about that>>;; Well, I know that movie was based on a manga but I never read it before^^;; I know the manga's English name is Meteor Garden, like the movie's title(if my memory was right...) And you guys are lucky coz I didn't watch the movie 'til the end, so that's one of the reasons why the fic doesn't resemble to the movie...Hahahahaha.....|||| I was planning on writing the fic's plot like Meteor Garden but it seemed to turn out into something else*sweatdrop* But I'm happy coz I really dun like to copy someone else's ideas.>>;; It's like plagiat and I hate that. Anyways, I hope you are gonna like this chappy too^^
AND NOPE, I'M NOT DEAD YET
"..........." Speaking
'..........' Thinking
Flashback
:: Crossing Over ::
+ Chapter Twelve +
Bakura could be scary when he was mad.
That was what the pup had thought the moment when Jou saw his face.
Okay, maybe Bakura didn't look scary, but he felt...creepy and all. And he knew this was all from his smiling friend.
"Euh...Hi 'Kura, how are you?" Jou asked nervously, trying to break the unusual atmosphere.
"Good, very good." Bakura smiled. Not the warm one, mind you. The one that would send chills to your bone.
Jou shivered, as he felt his friend's anger. "Euh...You okay?"
"Do I look fine to you?" Bakura folded his arms, "You didn't even tell me that you got kicked out from your apartment!"
"Euh....I'm...sorry?" Jou sweatdropped, he forgot to tell Bakura! Well, maybe he didn't, but Jou didn't want to make his white-haired friend worried about him.
"Sorry isn't going to repair anything. But I guess I'll have to accept it." The long-haired teen sighed after seeing Jou's face; the blond looked like a kicked puppy now. It wasn't that Bakura was the bad guy or something. "Anyways, where do you live now?"
"Can't tell." Jou shook his head, "It's a secret."
"Please Jou? I'm really worried about you!" Bakura pleased, as he tried to imitate the puppy eyes on the TV show.
"I...can't...You're probably going to kill me." Jou closed his eyes tiredly, feeling guilty for letting his friend down.
"Come on, Jou. Why can't you tell me about it?" Bakura looked at him worriedly, "Don't tell me that you live in the street?"
"Euh...No." Jou shook his head; he really didn't want to tell him about it.
"Then, where....?" Bakura frowned; he didn't like being the one who knew nothing.
"Somewhere..." Jou smiled innocently.
"Just where is this...._somewhere_?" Bakura asked curiously; why didn't Jou want to tell him?
"Well....you know...somewhere?" Jou smiled innocently, hoping that Bakura would buy it. Too bad that he wasn't a good actor at all.
Bakura sighed. Well, if Jou wanted to play guessing games with him, he was going to play alone.
"Are you staying at Yami's place?" He He inquired, thinking that would be one of the possibilities.
"Naah...I was mad at him, remember?" Jou forced a smile; Bakura would never guess who this Mr. Nice Guy was.
"Then...Don't tell me that you're staying with Mai?" He chuckled at the idea, wondering what would happen if those two were living under the same roof. Everyone knew that Jou couldn't stand Mai, and neither could Mai. Jou worked for Mai because he needed money and the blonde girl kept him since she needed a good baker. He was sure that both of them liked each other, but didn't want to accept the reality. Well, at least that they didn't try to kill each other, and that was a good sign.
"Who wants to stay with HER?!" Jou looked at his friend like he was crazy or something, "That witch is annoying and selfish. You know that I hate her!"
"I heard it, Jou." Mai glared, coming into the kitchen. "I know perfectly that I'm not a witch, thank you very much." She glared at the blond, who was laughing nervously.
"Hello, Mai! What brings you here?" Jou smiled anxiously, scratching his hair uneasily. He didn't know that Mai was here today! The violent-eyed lady came to shop often, but not everyday as she had other things to take care of. The shop may not be big. However, it could be hard if you have a family to watch over at the same time.
"What brings me here? There is someone who wants to see you at the back." Mai pointed at the backdoor, "I don't know who is he, but he looks kind of familiar." Mai added, "By the way, I think Frederic needs some help out here. Bakura, could you give him a hand?"
"Sure, Miss Mai. I would like to." Bakura smiled, "We'll talk about this later. Okay, Jou?"
"Fine." Jou nodded, before heading out the kitchen, searching for the mysterious man.
***************************************
"I should ask Mai what he looks like." Jou sighed heavily, running his hand though his messy hair. He had searched everywhere; every possible place and he still didn't find anyone. Did Mai just trick him or something?
"I presume that you are Jounouchi Katsuya. Am I right?" An unfamiliar voice broke in without warning. "My son has been talking about you a lot."
Jou turned to see the new arrival, finding himself staring at a pair of familiar red eyes. The eyes were narrow and slanted, with an intense gaze, and were set under a spiky hairdo that was nearly identical to Yami's. Tall enough to tower over Jou by several inches, the man was nearly 6'0", and had a deep tan, his well-proportioned frame showing that he was rather muscular and powerfully built.
"And who you might be?" Jou asked curiously; that man looked like Yami...
"My name is Panseru Motou. Please to meet you." The middle-aged man smiled, holding his hand out.
"Nice to meet you too." Jou smiled back, shaking the hand. The brown-eyed teen didn't expect to meet him this early. But since Yami wasn't under his control anymore, so the blond didn't need to be scared of him. But what was Yami's dad doing here? Jou was sure that this wasn't any ordinary talk at all.
"So, what can I do for you?" The sandy-haired teen inquired calmly, still keeping his smile. If he wanted to know what was it, he should ask it straightly, right?
"You can do me a favor." Panseru told him. "Staying away from my son."
"May I know why do I have to?" Jou asked as politely as he could, not happy about the requirement that the spiky-haired man had given. Yami had nothing to do with him now, so why couldn't the man just leave his friend alone?
"I don't want you hanging around my son, you filthy beggar. That's all you need to know." Panseru informed him, scowling.
"Just because I'm not as rich as you doesn't mean that I can't be with Yami." Jou glared back. What was wrong with all those rich people?
"Even if you were as rich as we were, you'd still never hold a candle to Yami." The man retorted.
"What do you mean by that?!" Jou snarled. Okay, scratch what he had said, what was wrong with HIM anyway?
"We're talking about YOUR faults, not mine." Panseru reminded him coldly. "I mean you shouldn't even try, do you understand me?"
"I do. But you don't have any single right to force Yami to do whatever you want. Neither order others to do whatever you think it's good or not." Jou replied, glaring at him.
"What do YOU know?" The man asked him spitefully. "Don't meddle in the affairs of your superiors." He glared back.
"Everyone is equal, so you are not superior to any of us." Jou said calmly. "And I won't change my mind about being friend with Yami."
"Trust me, scum, you're not equal to me, or Yami. You're not going to be friends with him anymore, either." Panseru said confidently.
"And why is that?"
"Because you aren't a person to them." The man sneered. "You're just an object. A _prize_."
"A...prize?" Jou looked at him, eyes wide. What was he up to?
"That's right." Panseru smirked. "He's going to win you. Just like a stuffed animal from a carnival. Like I said, stay away from my son." That damned Kaiba boy could have this piece of trash, for all he cared.
"I don't trust you." Jou looked at him unbelievingly, "Is this another trick that you have came up again?"
"It's not a trick, kid. This is the real deal. He only sees you as a prize, right now. Like a trophy. If he and that damnable Kaiba hadn't started this whole business, I wouldn't even need to be here, but no...." Panseru cursed to himself.
"What....business...?" He was unsure of it, didn't want to believe it. Yami would never do that, so did Seto...Right?
"Nothing business related, of course." Panseru snorted. "Just a friendly wager. Over who can win YOU. Winner takes all, you and the loser's company." The man snapped sharply.
Jou was completely shocked of what he had heard from the man. Was this really a truth? Or just another trick that Panseru had thought up? But the red-eyed man looked like he wasn't lying. Then why? Why those two did that? He wasn't some kind of toy that they could play with. Just because he wasn't rich didn't mean that people could play with his emotions like that!
"You remember that, scum, and stay away from Yami. I'll be watching." Panseru told the shocked teen, and strode off to the door.
So that was why they were nicer than before? And say that Jou had been fooled by them, almost believing that they really cared about him. What kind of idiot was he?
***************************************
Nayami Kaiba walked down the hall casually, high heels clicking on the floor as she went. She was wearing matching dark green heels and a business suit with a leaf and vine pattern embroidered on the edges, only with a slitted skirt as well. She had wavy brown hair that came down to her shoulders, and cold blue eyes like her son's. She was just taking off a pair of spectacles with small round lenses and sticking them in her pocket; she only used them when she was reading.
She wasn't watching where she was going as something, or rather someone ran into her, making both of them fall off on the floor.
"Oi...That hurts...." A moan came from the fallen boy, who was rubbing his head.
"Watch where you are going, boy." Nayami glared, "My clothes get dirty because of you."
"What?" Jou exclaimed, "I merely touched your clothes!"
"You're the one who ran into me, runt." Nayami snapped.
"What's the problem with you rich people? I didn't run into you on purpose!" Jou snarled back, looking furious. He was already in the bad mood because of Yami's dad, and now this?
"Our problem is people like you." Nayami stood up, brushing herself off.
"Sure sure, I'm sorry about it." Jou rolled his eyes, "Geeez, you acted like that rich pig, are you two related or something?"
"What rich pig are you talking about?" Her eyes narrowed.
"Seto Kaiba, that arrogant CEO of Kaiba Corporation." Jou replied, "He's such a jerk sometimes."
Nayami's hand flicked out to slap him across the face. "Don't talk about my SON like that, you filthy scum!"
"Ouch! What a violent woman are you!" Jou rubbed his cheek, which already turned into red. "Wait a minute...He's your....SON?!" Jou looked at her incredibly; no wonder they looked so alike.
Nayami scowled at him. "Yes, you rude pig, he's my son. Do you have a problem with that?"
"I don't have a problem with that, Mrs. Kaiba."Jou paused, "But I think you should teach him how to become friendlier with people."
She sighed, straightening her skirt. "I know.... and I apologize about that. It's my entire fault."
"Why is that?" Jou asked curiously. He thought that Seto was born like that.
"He used to be friendly with people." Nayami told him simply. A maid had told her about the boy that lived with him; this blond must be Jou. And Jou had a right to know, didn't he?
"Really?" Jou raised an eyebrow; that was kind of unbelievable...
"Really." Nayami agreed. "Believe me, I should know."
"Then...What happened to him...? If he's nice, why was he acting so bastard with everyone?" Jou didn't know why he wanted to know about it, but curiosity could kill a cat, right?
"Take a seat?" Nayami suggested, leading him into the living room, and sitting down on the couch. "Like I said, it's my fault he's this way. I didn't mean it to go this far...."
Jou didn't say a thing as he found a comfortable place to sit, listening to what Nayami would tell him.
"He used to be such a nice boy." Nayami began, her features softening with a smile, and her cerulean eyes sparkling a little. "Sweet and polite, full of laughter....he always had a smile." The pleasure of reminiscing faded a little. "That was until he was about 9 years old."
Jou gasped in shock, "He...laughed?" Well, who would know that the Heartless Seto Kaiba was human before? But it wasn't impossible; he did see Seto laughed once...Only once...
"Yes. All the time." Nayami sighed. "Over all the little things. He loved life, and all the simple pleasures it had." She combed a hand through her long brown hair. "By the time he turned 9, I knew I wasn't going to have another child. He was going to inherit Kaiba Corp. And I knew that the business world would crush my baby." She bit her lip, eyes falling down to her hands, tightly clasped in her lap. "I couldn't let that happen. So.... I did it before the world could."
Jou say nothing as he felt pity for the brunette, felt sorry for her. He didn't know that was what happened to him...
"I pushed my little boy into the world before he was ready for it." She looked calm, but if you were good at reading people's faces, you could see she was practically crying. "I tore away his innocence, his happiness.... everything that made him who he was. I tried to make him strong. I didn't know what looked like weakness was really his own sort of strength...."
Nayami took a deep breath, looking at Jou. "And after I did that, I showed him how to push everything away, how to put up a mask around himself. I thought if people couldn't get through his armor to hurt him, couldn't know him enough to use him.... then he'd be fine." She shook her head. "All I really taught him how to do was to hate the world and himself... and me, most of all...."
"Nice talk, woman. Now tell me, what are _you_ doing here?" A cold voice came behind them, breaking in the conversation.
"Seto Kaiba! Watch your manners!" Nayami turned back, glaring. "My reason of being here is none of your business."
"Oh...Then what do you want me to call you, my dearest _mother_?" Seto smirked, stressing the last word on purpose. "And where were you, dog?"
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm NOT a dog." Jou sighed tiredly, not in the mood to fight with him. "And I was working, Kaiba. I still need money to get my apartment, you know?"
"Why will you need that?" Seto raised an eyebrow, folding his arms.
"Didn't you say that you only let me live with you until I find a place to live?" Jou looked at him curiously, blinking.
"You can stay as long as you want, Jou. I won't mind at all." Nayami smiled, patting the blond's shoulder assuredly.
"Listen woman, this is MY mansion, not yours." Seto glared at her, "Do not TRY to decide for me."
"I don't think you mind about it either, Seto." Nayami snickered, "I think you prefer this Jou boy to stay with you, forever."
"I don't think it's your place to say what I think, woman." Seto replied calmly, looking at her with emotionless eyes.
"Fine! I understand." Nayami shook her head, "But that doesn't mean that I'll leave here." She added, before heading back to her room. She didn't want to have another fight with her own son; it hurt her every time she did that. Couldn't she have a normal talk with the brunet, even though it was only one time? Nayami hoped that Jou would help her to get back what she had destroyed, what she had been missing. Hoping that one day Seto would call her mother for once.
"Is this the way you talk with your own mother, Kaiba?" Jou looked at him incredibly; looked like Seto really didn't like his mom after all.
"None of your business, mutt." Seto narrowed his eyes, "She deserves it."
"But she's your mother..." Jou stopped in the middle of his sentence after receiving one of the CEO's famous death glares. "Okay! Okay! I got it!" The blond raised his hands in defeat, sighing.
"You better." Seto snorted.
There was a moment of silence as neither of the boys knew what to say. Jou wasn't sure whether or not to be mad at Seto now. Sure, he felt pity for the brunet, but he was considered as an object to _him_! He couldn't tell why he wanted to be important in Seto's eyes, didn't know why he cared about it. The rich teen was feeling alone; he could sense that. And Jou wanted to help him, in any way he could.
~oOoOo~
This chappy is weird...I can sense it...*sigh*
The last part is the worst part I have ever written-______-;;
Hope you are gonna enjoy it...
I hate Writer's block, I dun even know how I'm going to do with the next chappy...
This one ish already....hard enough...I was running out of ideas when I wrote it.
And writing it during midnight isn't helping too...
Disclaimer: I do NOT own MeteoGarden or YGO...So dun try to sue me coz you will NEVER get something valuable from me~But I do own Yami's dad, Panseru and Seto's mom, Nayami. They are my...OCs...I know that some dun like it, but what else I can do...I need them for the fic....
Big thx to my beta-reader and co-writer, Infinity and Loon! And to those who reviewed this fic^____^ Special thx to Ozark for being the 100th reviewer! So...this chappy is dedicated to her! Thank you very much^^
I hope you are gonna like it...*ish ready to get kicked*
To Nekocin : Ooopsci, I typed the wrong name*sweatdrop* Sorry about that>>;; Well, I know that movie was based on a manga but I never read it before^^;; I know the manga's English name is Meteor Garden, like the movie's title(if my memory was right...) And you guys are lucky coz I didn't watch the movie 'til the end, so that's one of the reasons why the fic doesn't resemble to the movie...Hahahahaha.....|||| I was planning on writing the fic's plot like Meteor Garden but it seemed to turn out into something else*sweatdrop* But I'm happy coz I really dun like to copy someone else's ideas.>>;; It's like plagiat and I hate that. Anyways, I hope you are gonna like this chappy too^^
AND NOPE, I'M NOT DEAD YET
"..........." Speaking
'..........' Thinking
Flashback
Bakura could be scary when he was mad.
That was what the pup had thought the moment when Jou saw his face.
Okay, maybe Bakura didn't look scary, but he felt...creepy and all. And he knew this was all from his smiling friend.
"Euh...Hi 'Kura, how are you?" Jou asked nervously, trying to break the unusual atmosphere.
"Good, very good." Bakura smiled. Not the warm one, mind you. The one that would send chills to your bone.
Jou shivered, as he felt his friend's anger. "Euh...You okay?"
"Do I look fine to you?" Bakura folded his arms, "You didn't even tell me that you got kicked out from your apartment!"
"Euh....I'm...sorry?" Jou sweatdropped, he forgot to tell Bakura! Well, maybe he didn't, but Jou didn't want to make his white-haired friend worried about him.
"Sorry isn't going to repair anything. But I guess I'll have to accept it." The long-haired teen sighed after seeing Jou's face; the blond looked like a kicked puppy now. It wasn't that Bakura was the bad guy or something. "Anyways, where do you live now?"
"Can't tell." Jou shook his head, "It's a secret."
"Please Jou? I'm really worried about you!" Bakura pleased, as he tried to imitate the puppy eyes on the TV show.
"I...can't...You're probably going to kill me." Jou closed his eyes tiredly, feeling guilty for letting his friend down.
"Come on, Jou. Why can't you tell me about it?" Bakura looked at him worriedly, "Don't tell me that you live in the street?"
"Euh...No." Jou shook his head; he really didn't want to tell him about it.
"Then, where....?" Bakura frowned; he didn't like being the one who knew nothing.
"Somewhere..." Jou smiled innocently.
"Just where is this...._somewhere_?" Bakura asked curiously; why didn't Jou want to tell him?
"Well....you know...somewhere?" Jou smiled innocently, hoping that Bakura would buy it. Too bad that he wasn't a good actor at all.
Bakura sighed. Well, if Jou wanted to play guessing games with him, he was going to play alone.
"Are you staying at Yami's place?" He He inquired, thinking that would be one of the possibilities.
"Naah...I was mad at him, remember?" Jou forced a smile; Bakura would never guess who this Mr. Nice Guy was.
"Then...Don't tell me that you're staying with Mai?" He chuckled at the idea, wondering what would happen if those two were living under the same roof. Everyone knew that Jou couldn't stand Mai, and neither could Mai. Jou worked for Mai because he needed money and the blonde girl kept him since she needed a good baker. He was sure that both of them liked each other, but didn't want to accept the reality. Well, at least that they didn't try to kill each other, and that was a good sign.
"Who wants to stay with HER?!" Jou looked at his friend like he was crazy or something, "That witch is annoying and selfish. You know that I hate her!"
"I heard it, Jou." Mai glared, coming into the kitchen. "I know perfectly that I'm not a witch, thank you very much." She glared at the blond, who was laughing nervously.
"Hello, Mai! What brings you here?" Jou smiled anxiously, scratching his hair uneasily. He didn't know that Mai was here today! The violent-eyed lady came to shop often, but not everyday as she had other things to take care of. The shop may not be big. However, it could be hard if you have a family to watch over at the same time.
"What brings me here? There is someone who wants to see you at the back." Mai pointed at the backdoor, "I don't know who is he, but he looks kind of familiar." Mai added, "By the way, I think Frederic needs some help out here. Bakura, could you give him a hand?"
"Sure, Miss Mai. I would like to." Bakura smiled, "We'll talk about this later. Okay, Jou?"
"Fine." Jou nodded, before heading out the kitchen, searching for the mysterious man.
***************************************
"I should ask Mai what he looks like." Jou sighed heavily, running his hand though his messy hair. He had searched everywhere; every possible place and he still didn't find anyone. Did Mai just trick him or something?
"I presume that you are Jounouchi Katsuya. Am I right?" An unfamiliar voice broke in without warning. "My son has been talking about you a lot."
Jou turned to see the new arrival, finding himself staring at a pair of familiar red eyes. The eyes were narrow and slanted, with an intense gaze, and were set under a spiky hairdo that was nearly identical to Yami's. Tall enough to tower over Jou by several inches, the man was nearly 6'0", and had a deep tan, his well-proportioned frame showing that he was rather muscular and powerfully built.
"And who you might be?" Jou asked curiously; that man looked like Yami...
"My name is Panseru Motou. Please to meet you." The middle-aged man smiled, holding his hand out.
"Nice to meet you too." Jou smiled back, shaking the hand. The brown-eyed teen didn't expect to meet him this early. But since Yami wasn't under his control anymore, so the blond didn't need to be scared of him. But what was Yami's dad doing here? Jou was sure that this wasn't any ordinary talk at all.
"So, what can I do for you?" The sandy-haired teen inquired calmly, still keeping his smile. If he wanted to know what was it, he should ask it straightly, right?
"You can do me a favor." Panseru told him. "Staying away from my son."
"May I know why do I have to?" Jou asked as politely as he could, not happy about the requirement that the spiky-haired man had given. Yami had nothing to do with him now, so why couldn't the man just leave his friend alone?
"I don't want you hanging around my son, you filthy beggar. That's all you need to know." Panseru informed him, scowling.
"Just because I'm not as rich as you doesn't mean that I can't be with Yami." Jou glared back. What was wrong with all those rich people?
"Even if you were as rich as we were, you'd still never hold a candle to Yami." The man retorted.
"What do you mean by that?!" Jou snarled. Okay, scratch what he had said, what was wrong with HIM anyway?
"We're talking about YOUR faults, not mine." Panseru reminded him coldly. "I mean you shouldn't even try, do you understand me?"
"I do. But you don't have any single right to force Yami to do whatever you want. Neither order others to do whatever you think it's good or not." Jou replied, glaring at him.
"What do YOU know?" The man asked him spitefully. "Don't meddle in the affairs of your superiors." He glared back.
"Everyone is equal, so you are not superior to any of us." Jou said calmly. "And I won't change my mind about being friend with Yami."
"Trust me, scum, you're not equal to me, or Yami. You're not going to be friends with him anymore, either." Panseru said confidently.
"And why is that?"
"Because you aren't a person to them." The man sneered. "You're just an object. A _prize_."
"A...prize?" Jou looked at him, eyes wide. What was he up to?
"That's right." Panseru smirked. "He's going to win you. Just like a stuffed animal from a carnival. Like I said, stay away from my son." That damned Kaiba boy could have this piece of trash, for all he cared.
"I don't trust you." Jou looked at him unbelievingly, "Is this another trick that you have came up again?"
"It's not a trick, kid. This is the real deal. He only sees you as a prize, right now. Like a trophy. If he and that damnable Kaiba hadn't started this whole business, I wouldn't even need to be here, but no...." Panseru cursed to himself.
"What....business...?" He was unsure of it, didn't want to believe it. Yami would never do that, so did Seto...Right?
"Nothing business related, of course." Panseru snorted. "Just a friendly wager. Over who can win YOU. Winner takes all, you and the loser's company." The man snapped sharply.
Jou was completely shocked of what he had heard from the man. Was this really a truth? Or just another trick that Panseru had thought up? But the red-eyed man looked like he wasn't lying. Then why? Why those two did that? He wasn't some kind of toy that they could play with. Just because he wasn't rich didn't mean that people could play with his emotions like that!
"You remember that, scum, and stay away from Yami. I'll be watching." Panseru told the shocked teen, and strode off to the door.
So that was why they were nicer than before? And say that Jou had been fooled by them, almost believing that they really cared about him. What kind of idiot was he?
***************************************
Nayami Kaiba walked down the hall casually, high heels clicking on the floor as she went. She was wearing matching dark green heels and a business suit with a leaf and vine pattern embroidered on the edges, only with a slitted skirt as well. She had wavy brown hair that came down to her shoulders, and cold blue eyes like her son's. She was just taking off a pair of spectacles with small round lenses and sticking them in her pocket; she only used them when she was reading.
She wasn't watching where she was going as something, or rather someone ran into her, making both of them fall off on the floor.
"Oi...That hurts...." A moan came from the fallen boy, who was rubbing his head.
"Watch where you are going, boy." Nayami glared, "My clothes get dirty because of you."
"What?" Jou exclaimed, "I merely touched your clothes!"
"You're the one who ran into me, runt." Nayami snapped.
"What's the problem with you rich people? I didn't run into you on purpose!" Jou snarled back, looking furious. He was already in the bad mood because of Yami's dad, and now this?
"Our problem is people like you." Nayami stood up, brushing herself off.
"Sure sure, I'm sorry about it." Jou rolled his eyes, "Geeez, you acted like that rich pig, are you two related or something?"
"What rich pig are you talking about?" Her eyes narrowed.
"Seto Kaiba, that arrogant CEO of Kaiba Corporation." Jou replied, "He's such a jerk sometimes."
Nayami's hand flicked out to slap him across the face. "Don't talk about my SON like that, you filthy scum!"
"Ouch! What a violent woman are you!" Jou rubbed his cheek, which already turned into red. "Wait a minute...He's your....SON?!" Jou looked at her incredibly; no wonder they looked so alike.
Nayami scowled at him. "Yes, you rude pig, he's my son. Do you have a problem with that?"
"I don't have a problem with that, Mrs. Kaiba."Jou paused, "But I think you should teach him how to become friendlier with people."
She sighed, straightening her skirt. "I know.... and I apologize about that. It's my entire fault."
"Why is that?" Jou asked curiously. He thought that Seto was born like that.
"He used to be friendly with people." Nayami told him simply. A maid had told her about the boy that lived with him; this blond must be Jou. And Jou had a right to know, didn't he?
"Really?" Jou raised an eyebrow; that was kind of unbelievable...
"Really." Nayami agreed. "Believe me, I should know."
"Then...What happened to him...? If he's nice, why was he acting so bastard with everyone?" Jou didn't know why he wanted to know about it, but curiosity could kill a cat, right?
"Take a seat?" Nayami suggested, leading him into the living room, and sitting down on the couch. "Like I said, it's my fault he's this way. I didn't mean it to go this far...."
Jou didn't say a thing as he found a comfortable place to sit, listening to what Nayami would tell him.
"He used to be such a nice boy." Nayami began, her features softening with a smile, and her cerulean eyes sparkling a little. "Sweet and polite, full of laughter....he always had a smile." The pleasure of reminiscing faded a little. "That was until he was about 9 years old."
Jou gasped in shock, "He...laughed?" Well, who would know that the Heartless Seto Kaiba was human before? But it wasn't impossible; he did see Seto laughed once...Only once...
"Yes. All the time." Nayami sighed. "Over all the little things. He loved life, and all the simple pleasures it had." She combed a hand through her long brown hair. "By the time he turned 9, I knew I wasn't going to have another child. He was going to inherit Kaiba Corp. And I knew that the business world would crush my baby." She bit her lip, eyes falling down to her hands, tightly clasped in her lap. "I couldn't let that happen. So.... I did it before the world could."
Jou say nothing as he felt pity for the brunette, felt sorry for her. He didn't know that was what happened to him...
"I pushed my little boy into the world before he was ready for it." She looked calm, but if you were good at reading people's faces, you could see she was practically crying. "I tore away his innocence, his happiness.... everything that made him who he was. I tried to make him strong. I didn't know what looked like weakness was really his own sort of strength...."
Nayami took a deep breath, looking at Jou. "And after I did that, I showed him how to push everything away, how to put up a mask around himself. I thought if people couldn't get through his armor to hurt him, couldn't know him enough to use him.... then he'd be fine." She shook her head. "All I really taught him how to do was to hate the world and himself... and me, most of all...."
"Nice talk, woman. Now tell me, what are _you_ doing here?" A cold voice came behind them, breaking in the conversation.
"Seto Kaiba! Watch your manners!" Nayami turned back, glaring. "My reason of being here is none of your business."
"Oh...Then what do you want me to call you, my dearest _mother_?" Seto smirked, stressing the last word on purpose. "And where were you, dog?"
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm NOT a dog." Jou sighed tiredly, not in the mood to fight with him. "And I was working, Kaiba. I still need money to get my apartment, you know?"
"Why will you need that?" Seto raised an eyebrow, folding his arms.
"Didn't you say that you only let me live with you until I find a place to live?" Jou looked at him curiously, blinking.
"You can stay as long as you want, Jou. I won't mind at all." Nayami smiled, patting the blond's shoulder assuredly.
"Listen woman, this is MY mansion, not yours." Seto glared at her, "Do not TRY to decide for me."
"I don't think you mind about it either, Seto." Nayami snickered, "I think you prefer this Jou boy to stay with you, forever."
"I don't think it's your place to say what I think, woman." Seto replied calmly, looking at her with emotionless eyes.
"Fine! I understand." Nayami shook her head, "But that doesn't mean that I'll leave here." She added, before heading back to her room. She didn't want to have another fight with her own son; it hurt her every time she did that. Couldn't she have a normal talk with the brunet, even though it was only one time? Nayami hoped that Jou would help her to get back what she had destroyed, what she had been missing. Hoping that one day Seto would call her mother for once.
"Is this the way you talk with your own mother, Kaiba?" Jou looked at him incredibly; looked like Seto really didn't like his mom after all.
"None of your business, mutt." Seto narrowed his eyes, "She deserves it."
"But she's your mother..." Jou stopped in the middle of his sentence after receiving one of the CEO's famous death glares. "Okay! Okay! I got it!" The blond raised his hands in defeat, sighing.
"You better." Seto snorted.
There was a moment of silence as neither of the boys knew what to say. Jou wasn't sure whether or not to be mad at Seto now. Sure, he felt pity for the brunet, but he was considered as an object to _him_! He couldn't tell why he wanted to be important in Seto's eyes, didn't know why he cared about it. The rich teen was feeling alone; he could sense that. And Jou wanted to help him, in any way he could.
This chappy is weird...I can sense it...*sigh*
The last part is the worst part I have ever written-______-;;
Hope you are gonna enjoy it...
I hate Writer's block, I dun even know how I'm going to do with the next chappy...
This one ish already....hard enough...I was running out of ideas when I wrote it.
And writing it during midnight isn't helping too...