Bringing Up Jou
Chapter 5
Rating: PG-13
Author: Moonchild DJ
E-Mail: moonchilddj@yahoo.com
URL: www.angelfire.com/anime4/animehime
Disclaimer: Yugioh and the characters therein do not belong to me. If they did, I would make sure my favorite pairing really WAS a pairing! ^_^ The story and its plotline belong to be, so please don't take.
Author's Notes: Hey, there, minna-chan! Moonchild DJ back with another chapter to "Bringing Up Jou". Gomen for the long wait, but it's hard writing for a chibi! ^_~ I'm glad you all enjoy it, I hope you like this chapter. As always, tell me what you think, I love hearing from you guys.
**********
Croquet blinked at his master in surprise at his orders. "S-stall them?! Me? But..Sir, isn't that Kemo's job?"
"Kemo's the grunt work, he can stall them at the door. But he doesn't have the brains to keep them from achieving their goal. You do. Stall them, get them lost, whatever. But don't let them get anywhere near the cursebox. I want to see how this plays out." Pegasus murmured as his sipped his wine in front of the tv-camera.
"Sir?"
Pegasus motioned to the tv. "Kaiba-boy and the little blond puppy. It's obvious that he has feelings for his rival. I want to see how this works out, see if anything changes as the the boy grows back into his normal age. So that means stalling those who wish to break the curse now. Do it however necessary. Get them lost, lock them in the wine cellar, I don't care. Just stop them."
Croquet bowed. "Yes sir, as you wish." He turned and left Pegasus, who smirked and raised his wineglass to the television.
"This ought to be fun to watch.."
********
Kemo glared at the small group of people at Pegasus' door before him. "And where do you think YOU'RE going?"
"Past you." Honda growled, eyeing Kemo. "We want in to see your boss."
"Tough. No one is allowed in until the tournament, brats, take it or leave it."
"How about neither!" Between Honda's fists, Yami's tricks and Anzu and Ryou's quick manuevering, they were able to get past the dim-witted guard, sending him taking a rather painful trip down the steps as Yami used his starchips to get the door open.
Yami smirked as he watched Kemo land at the bottom far below. "Let's go-- eh?"
Croquet stood at the doorway, bowing. "Welcome. Master Pegasus is expecting you. Please, come in."
Anzu swallowed as she followed with the others Pegasus' servant. "Guys, I don't know about this.." she hissed nervously.
"Yes, I agree..if Pegasus is expecting us, there's sure to be trouble." Ryou concurred, fingering his Millenium Ring nervously.
"We have no choice, if we are to save Jou." Yami pointed out curtly. "That matters the most here, doesn't it?"
"If you say soooooooooooo--!" Anzu shrieked as the floor fell out from under them, a cleverly-concealed booby trap.
Croquet smiled, breathing a small sigh of relief that the trap worked. "There..that should hold you for a while..thank the gods, the trap worked, I won't be in trouble with Master Pegasus!"
********
"Mmph..everyone okay?" Anzu groaned as she came to, glancing around the dimly-lit room. "What happened?"
"Looks like we walked right into a trap." Honda muttered. "Now what do we do?"
"Get out of here?" Ryou murmured, glancing around, not seeing a visible door. "...Or not.."
Yami sighed, switching back to Yugi. "This is SO going to delay us."
"Gee, you think?" Anzu muttered. Yugi sweatdropped.
"Kaiba had *really* better take care of Jou, then.."
"You mean without killing him?"
"Exactly."
"Is that possible?"
********
After another rousing game of tag--where Seto wondered where Jou got all that energy from--Seto collapsed to the ground, leaning back to look at the blue sky as he regained his air, Jou collapsing beside him in a fit of giggles, resting his head in Seto's lap trustingly.
"That was fun, S'to! I nearly beat ya, too!"
Seto blushed as he glanced down at the blond head, hearing the tones of the old Jou in that young voice. Not for the first time, more like the thousandth, he wished that Jou was back to normal. He wanted to tell him so badly that he'd been wrong about him, that he wasn't a pathetic puppy. He wanted to tell him everything--even that his feelings had changed towards him--he wanted to see how Jou would react to all that.
Sure, he'd be shocked, considering all their past rivalry, considering how much Seto had put him down..but would he take his hand of friendship, would he accept Seto's feelings, maybe even return them? It was hard to say. Their rivalry had gone on for so long, Seto had said so many hurtful things..but it was useless to think about it, since Jou was still a child. Still naive and curious and always getting into trouble--kind of like the old Jou--but with a hero-worship gleam in the dark eyes, he couldn't say anything. It was just too stupid..
"S'to? You awake in there?" Seto came back to reality when a light knocking on his head from little knuckles startled him, glancing up into the concerned brown gaze of Jou.
"Um..just fine, Jou. I'm okay."
" 'Kay." The little blond boy ceased his rapping and plopped down beside him, moving his position to copy that of Seto's, stretching out his little legs and crossing them at the ankles, leaning back on his elbows. Seto smiled. Even as a kid, Jou was still so kawaii.
"So where'd'ya go?"
Seto blinked, interrupted from his musing again. "Ne?"
"Where'd'ya go? You got awful quiet.."
"Oh..um...nowhere, Jou. Just thinking, that's all."
"Oh..you do that a lot, S'to."
Seto chuckled. "Yes, I guess I do. Did you have fun in our game?"
Jou's little blond head bobbed furiously, beaming at him. "Hai! It's always fun to play with you!"
Seto blushed and furiously stamped out any ecchi thoughts at those innocent words. 'He's just a kid, he's just a kid, he's just a kid' became a desperate mantra in his mind.
"Erm..so..there's another game we can play.." He drew his dueling deck out of his pocket, showing him the cards. "Do you know what these are?"
Jou's eyes lit up as he sat upright. "Hai! Duel Monsters!"
Seto blinked in surprise. "Now how did you know that?"
Jou grinned. "Mai-san showed me the other day."
"Mai? The other day?" True, Jou had stayed eight for longer than usual, but Mai..?
"When you were gone gathering firewood the other day, Mai-san came by and showed me Duel Monsters."
So..Mai was checking on them..he didn't know whether to be appreciative that Mai cared so much for Jou or jealous. He knew that Mai had a crush on the normal Jou, that much was obvious.
"So..do you know how to play?"
"Kinda.."
Ha, something that Mai hadn't shown him. Seto grinned, pleased that there was something he could do for Jou. He reached into his coat pocket, drawing out Jou's own dueling deck that he'd found stashed in Jou's coat pocket when he was still a chibi, and gave it to him.
"Here, I'll teach you."
Jou blinked down at the deck in his small hands. "S'to, how'd you get two decks?"
Whoops. Seto flushed. How would he describe that that deck was Jou's own, when the current duelist was only eight?
"Um..I, er..had it made for you. It's your very own deck."
Jou glanced up at him with a surprised, yet pleased look on his face. "Honto?!"
Seto nodded somewhat awkwardly. That was as close to the truth as he could get.
Jou beamed and glomped him. "Arigato!"
He smiled and patted the blond head fondly. "You're welcome. Now..I can teach you how to play, using my technology.." he pointed to the briefcase he still had, which contained the two dueling disks, remembering that he'd had his first duel with Jou on those. "..or the old-fashioned way, with just the cards."
Ever eager to learn, Jou piped up, "Both!"
Seto chuckled and nodded. "Both it is. Okay.." And he set about teaching Jou the game, as he'd once taught Mokuba. It struck him as odd, to be helping and teaching his once-rival Duel Monsters, but it felt..right, somehow, to do it.
"And the Heart of the Cards?" Jou questioned after he'd gone through the basics. Seto blinked.
"Did Mai tell you about that?" He didn't know that Mai believed in that theory that Yugi used, that he and the normal Jou had been taught by Yugi's grandfather.
Jou nodded. "She said that if you believe in the Heart of the Cards, if you wish for it hard enough, the card you need will come to your hand when you need it most."
Seto mulled Jou's words over. Well, it was true that his Blue Eyes White Dragon came to his rescue just at the right time when he needed it in duels..too bad the Heart of the Cards didn't apply to real life, he could sure use the old Jou..
"...That's true. It will happen. Whether it be luck or fate, it does happen.."
Jou bounced impatiently. "So can we duel, onegai?" Set laughed softly at the boy's impetuous nature. So much like the normal Jou..
"Okay, okay.."
After first dueling the old-fashioned way, Jou tugged at Seto's hand, giving him the famous puppy-dog eyes he was known for. "Can we do it the other way? Onegai?"
Erk..those eyes..why wasn't he able to resist those eyes?
"Alright, okay, gimme a minute.."
Seto got out the technology, setting up Jou's dueling disk first carefully on the tiny hand, adjusting the fit. "Now, remember, this is just for fun, no winners and losers here."
"Okay, S'to.." Jou replied softly, beaming happily at him. So much more different than the last time they dueled..he reached out and caressed the soft blond hair, giving a teasing tug that earned him a giggle. Seto smiled and set up his own disk, then stepped back.
"Ready?"
"Hai!"
"Then you go first."
" 'Kay, S'to!" The little fingers reached for his deck, playing his first card. "I play Flame Swordsman!"
The technology hummed in accordance with his draw, bringing to life Jou's favorite card. Seto smiled as Jou's eyes bugged in surprise, his mouth dropping at the larger-than-life warrior.
"Whoa.."
"I play Battle Ox in attack mode.." Just like the first duel..only this time he wasn't playing to crush Jou, merely keep him on his toes. This would be a fair game, one designed to make Jou think out his strategy.
Jou pouted as his Flame Swordsman was defeated, but kept playing, showing Seto that even as a kid, he had the skill and knowledge. He could even see the change in his moves that proved that Jou had learned a lot since the first duel, even if he couldn't remember it.
He was never more proud when Jou managed to think up a strategy to defeat him, even with the Blue Eyes on the field. He smiled as his life points dropped to zero, signalling the end of the duel. "Congratulations, Jou, you did it! You won!"
Jou blinked in surprise as the news registered to him, then beamed happily, rushing over to Seto and hugging him tightly around his waist. "I did it, S'to! I won a duel against you, and you're the best!"
"Now who told you that?" Seto smiled as he rested a hand on Jou's head gently.
"Mai-san. She said you were Duel Monsters champion."
"Well, not anymore. That title goes to you, Jou!" He picked the little boy up into his arms and hugged him tightly, smiling as Jou's arms wrapped around his neck and he planted an affectionate kiss on his cheek.
"You're the greatest, S'to."
Seto sighed softly, nuzzling his cheek against Jou's hair. If only it were the normal Jou saying that..he closed his eyes, hugging him tightly, only opening his eyes when Jou gave a faint whimper. "..Jou? What is it?"
"S..S'to..."
Seto nearly dropped the boy in surprise as the blond grew in his arms, doubling his height and weight, nearly making him fall over. "Jou?!"
When the boy pulled away slightly to look at him, Seto nearly did fall over. Jou had skipped a couple of years this time, he looked almost exactly the same as when this whole mess had started..which meant that he was holding a nearly-normal Jou in his arms. He was maybe..two years younger than his normal age--and as beautiful as ever.
The eyebrows furrowed, Jou blinking at him in confusion.
"Seto? What the..why am I in your arms like this?"
Seto paled. And going by the words--nearly had his memories back, too.
**********
~End Chapter 5~
Chapter 5
Rating: PG-13
Author: Moonchild DJ
E-Mail: moonchilddj@yahoo.com
URL: www.angelfire.com/anime4/animehime
Disclaimer: Yugioh and the characters therein do not belong to me. If they did, I would make sure my favorite pairing really WAS a pairing! ^_^ The story and its plotline belong to be, so please don't take.
Author's Notes: Hey, there, minna-chan! Moonchild DJ back with another chapter to "Bringing Up Jou". Gomen for the long wait, but it's hard writing for a chibi! ^_~ I'm glad you all enjoy it, I hope you like this chapter. As always, tell me what you think, I love hearing from you guys.
**********
Croquet blinked at his master in surprise at his orders. "S-stall them?! Me? But..Sir, isn't that Kemo's job?"
"Kemo's the grunt work, he can stall them at the door. But he doesn't have the brains to keep them from achieving their goal. You do. Stall them, get them lost, whatever. But don't let them get anywhere near the cursebox. I want to see how this plays out." Pegasus murmured as his sipped his wine in front of the tv-camera.
"Sir?"
Pegasus motioned to the tv. "Kaiba-boy and the little blond puppy. It's obvious that he has feelings for his rival. I want to see how this works out, see if anything changes as the the boy grows back into his normal age. So that means stalling those who wish to break the curse now. Do it however necessary. Get them lost, lock them in the wine cellar, I don't care. Just stop them."
Croquet bowed. "Yes sir, as you wish." He turned and left Pegasus, who smirked and raised his wineglass to the television.
"This ought to be fun to watch.."
********
Kemo glared at the small group of people at Pegasus' door before him. "And where do you think YOU'RE going?"
"Past you." Honda growled, eyeing Kemo. "We want in to see your boss."
"Tough. No one is allowed in until the tournament, brats, take it or leave it."
"How about neither!" Between Honda's fists, Yami's tricks and Anzu and Ryou's quick manuevering, they were able to get past the dim-witted guard, sending him taking a rather painful trip down the steps as Yami used his starchips to get the door open.
Yami smirked as he watched Kemo land at the bottom far below. "Let's go-- eh?"
Croquet stood at the doorway, bowing. "Welcome. Master Pegasus is expecting you. Please, come in."
Anzu swallowed as she followed with the others Pegasus' servant. "Guys, I don't know about this.." she hissed nervously.
"Yes, I agree..if Pegasus is expecting us, there's sure to be trouble." Ryou concurred, fingering his Millenium Ring nervously.
"We have no choice, if we are to save Jou." Yami pointed out curtly. "That matters the most here, doesn't it?"
"If you say soooooooooooo--!" Anzu shrieked as the floor fell out from under them, a cleverly-concealed booby trap.
Croquet smiled, breathing a small sigh of relief that the trap worked. "There..that should hold you for a while..thank the gods, the trap worked, I won't be in trouble with Master Pegasus!"
********
"Mmph..everyone okay?" Anzu groaned as she came to, glancing around the dimly-lit room. "What happened?"
"Looks like we walked right into a trap." Honda muttered. "Now what do we do?"
"Get out of here?" Ryou murmured, glancing around, not seeing a visible door. "...Or not.."
Yami sighed, switching back to Yugi. "This is SO going to delay us."
"Gee, you think?" Anzu muttered. Yugi sweatdropped.
"Kaiba had *really* better take care of Jou, then.."
"You mean without killing him?"
"Exactly."
"Is that possible?"
********
After another rousing game of tag--where Seto wondered where Jou got all that energy from--Seto collapsed to the ground, leaning back to look at the blue sky as he regained his air, Jou collapsing beside him in a fit of giggles, resting his head in Seto's lap trustingly.
"That was fun, S'to! I nearly beat ya, too!"
Seto blushed as he glanced down at the blond head, hearing the tones of the old Jou in that young voice. Not for the first time, more like the thousandth, he wished that Jou was back to normal. He wanted to tell him so badly that he'd been wrong about him, that he wasn't a pathetic puppy. He wanted to tell him everything--even that his feelings had changed towards him--he wanted to see how Jou would react to all that.
Sure, he'd be shocked, considering all their past rivalry, considering how much Seto had put him down..but would he take his hand of friendship, would he accept Seto's feelings, maybe even return them? It was hard to say. Their rivalry had gone on for so long, Seto had said so many hurtful things..but it was useless to think about it, since Jou was still a child. Still naive and curious and always getting into trouble--kind of like the old Jou--but with a hero-worship gleam in the dark eyes, he couldn't say anything. It was just too stupid..
"S'to? You awake in there?" Seto came back to reality when a light knocking on his head from little knuckles startled him, glancing up into the concerned brown gaze of Jou.
"Um..just fine, Jou. I'm okay."
" 'Kay." The little blond boy ceased his rapping and plopped down beside him, moving his position to copy that of Seto's, stretching out his little legs and crossing them at the ankles, leaning back on his elbows. Seto smiled. Even as a kid, Jou was still so kawaii.
"So where'd'ya go?"
Seto blinked, interrupted from his musing again. "Ne?"
"Where'd'ya go? You got awful quiet.."
"Oh..um...nowhere, Jou. Just thinking, that's all."
"Oh..you do that a lot, S'to."
Seto chuckled. "Yes, I guess I do. Did you have fun in our game?"
Jou's little blond head bobbed furiously, beaming at him. "Hai! It's always fun to play with you!"
Seto blushed and furiously stamped out any ecchi thoughts at those innocent words. 'He's just a kid, he's just a kid, he's just a kid' became a desperate mantra in his mind.
"Erm..so..there's another game we can play.." He drew his dueling deck out of his pocket, showing him the cards. "Do you know what these are?"
Jou's eyes lit up as he sat upright. "Hai! Duel Monsters!"
Seto blinked in surprise. "Now how did you know that?"
Jou grinned. "Mai-san showed me the other day."
"Mai? The other day?" True, Jou had stayed eight for longer than usual, but Mai..?
"When you were gone gathering firewood the other day, Mai-san came by and showed me Duel Monsters."
So..Mai was checking on them..he didn't know whether to be appreciative that Mai cared so much for Jou or jealous. He knew that Mai had a crush on the normal Jou, that much was obvious.
"So..do you know how to play?"
"Kinda.."
Ha, something that Mai hadn't shown him. Seto grinned, pleased that there was something he could do for Jou. He reached into his coat pocket, drawing out Jou's own dueling deck that he'd found stashed in Jou's coat pocket when he was still a chibi, and gave it to him.
"Here, I'll teach you."
Jou blinked down at the deck in his small hands. "S'to, how'd you get two decks?"
Whoops. Seto flushed. How would he describe that that deck was Jou's own, when the current duelist was only eight?
"Um..I, er..had it made for you. It's your very own deck."
Jou glanced up at him with a surprised, yet pleased look on his face. "Honto?!"
Seto nodded somewhat awkwardly. That was as close to the truth as he could get.
Jou beamed and glomped him. "Arigato!"
He smiled and patted the blond head fondly. "You're welcome. Now..I can teach you how to play, using my technology.." he pointed to the briefcase he still had, which contained the two dueling disks, remembering that he'd had his first duel with Jou on those. "..or the old-fashioned way, with just the cards."
Ever eager to learn, Jou piped up, "Both!"
Seto chuckled and nodded. "Both it is. Okay.." And he set about teaching Jou the game, as he'd once taught Mokuba. It struck him as odd, to be helping and teaching his once-rival Duel Monsters, but it felt..right, somehow, to do it.
"And the Heart of the Cards?" Jou questioned after he'd gone through the basics. Seto blinked.
"Did Mai tell you about that?" He didn't know that Mai believed in that theory that Yugi used, that he and the normal Jou had been taught by Yugi's grandfather.
Jou nodded. "She said that if you believe in the Heart of the Cards, if you wish for it hard enough, the card you need will come to your hand when you need it most."
Seto mulled Jou's words over. Well, it was true that his Blue Eyes White Dragon came to his rescue just at the right time when he needed it in duels..too bad the Heart of the Cards didn't apply to real life, he could sure use the old Jou..
"...That's true. It will happen. Whether it be luck or fate, it does happen.."
Jou bounced impatiently. "So can we duel, onegai?" Set laughed softly at the boy's impetuous nature. So much like the normal Jou..
"Okay, okay.."
After first dueling the old-fashioned way, Jou tugged at Seto's hand, giving him the famous puppy-dog eyes he was known for. "Can we do it the other way? Onegai?"
Erk..those eyes..why wasn't he able to resist those eyes?
"Alright, okay, gimme a minute.."
Seto got out the technology, setting up Jou's dueling disk first carefully on the tiny hand, adjusting the fit. "Now, remember, this is just for fun, no winners and losers here."
"Okay, S'to.." Jou replied softly, beaming happily at him. So much more different than the last time they dueled..he reached out and caressed the soft blond hair, giving a teasing tug that earned him a giggle. Seto smiled and set up his own disk, then stepped back.
"Ready?"
"Hai!"
"Then you go first."
" 'Kay, S'to!" The little fingers reached for his deck, playing his first card. "I play Flame Swordsman!"
The technology hummed in accordance with his draw, bringing to life Jou's favorite card. Seto smiled as Jou's eyes bugged in surprise, his mouth dropping at the larger-than-life warrior.
"Whoa.."
"I play Battle Ox in attack mode.." Just like the first duel..only this time he wasn't playing to crush Jou, merely keep him on his toes. This would be a fair game, one designed to make Jou think out his strategy.
Jou pouted as his Flame Swordsman was defeated, but kept playing, showing Seto that even as a kid, he had the skill and knowledge. He could even see the change in his moves that proved that Jou had learned a lot since the first duel, even if he couldn't remember it.
He was never more proud when Jou managed to think up a strategy to defeat him, even with the Blue Eyes on the field. He smiled as his life points dropped to zero, signalling the end of the duel. "Congratulations, Jou, you did it! You won!"
Jou blinked in surprise as the news registered to him, then beamed happily, rushing over to Seto and hugging him tightly around his waist. "I did it, S'to! I won a duel against you, and you're the best!"
"Now who told you that?" Seto smiled as he rested a hand on Jou's head gently.
"Mai-san. She said you were Duel Monsters champion."
"Well, not anymore. That title goes to you, Jou!" He picked the little boy up into his arms and hugged him tightly, smiling as Jou's arms wrapped around his neck and he planted an affectionate kiss on his cheek.
"You're the greatest, S'to."
Seto sighed softly, nuzzling his cheek against Jou's hair. If only it were the normal Jou saying that..he closed his eyes, hugging him tightly, only opening his eyes when Jou gave a faint whimper. "..Jou? What is it?"
"S..S'to..."
Seto nearly dropped the boy in surprise as the blond grew in his arms, doubling his height and weight, nearly making him fall over. "Jou?!"
When the boy pulled away slightly to look at him, Seto nearly did fall over. Jou had skipped a couple of years this time, he looked almost exactly the same as when this whole mess had started..which meant that he was holding a nearly-normal Jou in his arms. He was maybe..two years younger than his normal age--and as beautiful as ever.
The eyebrows furrowed, Jou blinking at him in confusion.
"Seto? What the..why am I in your arms like this?"
Seto paled. And going by the words--nearly had his memories back, too.
**********
~End Chapter 5~