JN: ^_^ Hi hi!! I'm back again! ::gets tackled by Hikari Chang:: X_x Can't breathe… ::regains ability to breathe:: That's better!! ^_^ ::huggles Hikari Chang:: I'm glad you like it! ^_^ Here's another chapter!!

YJN: , Not again. This sucky story deserves to be-

JN: ::sprays YJN with a can of……something::

YJN: And then blow-ack! ::chokes:: I can't say anything derogatory…This fic actually isn't…no…won't say anything nice…can't be positive……DAMMIT!! This fic isn't so bad. ::clamps hand over mouth::

JN: ^_^!! I love you daisy-chan!! ^_^

YJN: ::glares daggers: You'll get yours, Daisy. Just wait.

JN: -_-' Stop with the empty threats already yami!

YJN: ::flips JN the bird::

JN: O_O!!! YAMI!!

YJN: Do you want me to say it too?

JN: -_-' No. Yami no Yuugi, disclaimer plz?

Yami: Hi Sukoshi Jigoku Neko does not own the song "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride, nor any of the characters, places, or things affiliated with the cartoon show "Yu-gi-oh". The only thing that she owns is this half-baked plot, and we're all sure that you don't want that……

JN: ;_; ::sobs:: You're so mean!

YJN: Well, it's true!! This fic-

JN: ::holds up spray bottle::

YJN: -_-' Nevermind. Just start typing…

Chapter 3: Concrete Angel

//

"Jounouchi? Where did you get that from?" Confused, Jou suddenly realized, his jacket had become unzipped carelessly, and the really sick looking bruise that was the newest addition to his collection was now in plain sight. Now, how was he going to get himself out of this one?……

//

"Uh…he he…um," Jou stumbled. He was screwed. There was no way that Kaiba was going to let this drop, and he couldn't tell him. If he did, his father could and would do worse; he was sure of it. If Jou told anyone, his father had threatened to find his sister, Serenity, and do things to her…Jou shuddered at the thought. Nope, definitely a better idea to lie low for this one. "It was in one of the fights I have with Honda. Yeah, he accidentally hit me really hard, and it bruised. Nothing much; it only happened this morning." It was sad really, how fast he could think up a believable lie. He had had lots of practice though; before he knocked up enough dignity to swipe Anzu's compact, he had to lie to his friends all of the time when they asked him about stray bruises that weren't hidden from plain sight.

She walks to school with the lunch he packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides he bruises with linen and lace

Seto seems to take this answer, though he does so rather, skeptically. Giving Jou and evaluating look, he turned his puppy around and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Pup, I know that's not true. Where did you get that bruise from?" Jou couldn't hold that frosty look for very long; much less lie straight to it. Looking away, he said quietly,

"I told you, it was Honda this mornin'. It's nothin'; it'll be gone in the morning." Gently, a hand raises up to Jou's chin, tenderly pulling it towards that magnetic, icy gaze. It was calm and, concerned; two things that Jou had never been looked at with before, except when Yuugi thought something was up.

He wanted to lie; he couldn't endanger Serenity. But, Seto wouldn't tell anyone, right? If he only told a half lie; he could trust Seto not to reveal the information, right? Well, here's hoping.

"A-alright. I-it wasn't Honda this morning. It, happened last night, at my house. Really, it's nothing; a dumb mistake I made." There. It was the truth; to an extent. The stupid mistake Jou made was, well, one, going home at all, and two, tripping on the rug in the hallway, which woke up his drunken father……

Seto looked at him for a second, and then said,

"What happened pup?" Jou was so busy trying to come up with something, that he didn't notice the use of the little "nickname" that Seto had bestowed upon him.

The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born

"I-it's nothing, really Seto; just an accident." said Jou. It was a lie, but what the hell? He'd done it a million times before; why not try it again? Nuzziling Jou's neck gently, Seto murmured,

"You are a stubborn pup, aren't you?" He then kissed the tender, bueish colored skin on Jou's neck, elicting a shiver from the blonde boy. Kissing Jou just below the jaw again, he pulled back and said,

"We should start the English assignment, pup." Walking back over to his brief case, he picked it up and motioned Jou to follow. Sighing, angry that he couldn't tell Seto what was really going on, he followed the CEO with a slight limp, the pain in his leg coming back with a vengeance; it didn't like being ignored, obviously.

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel


Sitting in the pleasantly warm library that was the location of most of their research information, Jou flipped through a book, looking through it for information on their topic, which was Greek and Roman Mythology and the difference between them. Skimming a paragraph on the story of Orpheus, eyelids drooped over tired amber eyes; he hadn't slept more than a scattered hour the night before because he had been up, waiting for his dad to get home to make sure that he passed out from alcohol overdose and wasn't sober enough to come and find our favorite pup. The warm temperature of the library and the boring research he was doing didn't make his struggle for consciousness any easier, and soon, he was off to dreamland……

Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late

Seto looked over at Jou to ask him if any of those books were helping, and he caught sight of the pup. His head was resting in his hand, and the other hand was at the corner of the page of the book he was looking at, as if he were about to turn the page. The warm air had caused a rosy tint to appear on his cheeks, and his eyes were closed gently; peacefully. It was, beautiful; perfect, if you wanted an understatement. But then, a frown crossed the gentle slope of his features, and he moved just slightly, head falling in slow motion off of his hand and landing on the curve of his elbow. A crease appeared on the blonde's brow as he muttered something unintelligible.

Seto stood and walked over, about to take the blonde and put him in a bed so that he could actually get a decent catnap, when he heard what the pup was saying. Something along the lines of, "No. Please. I-I've been good. I swear it. Don't-ahhhh!" Quiet whimpering followed, and as he bent down to shake the blonde away, he noticed a slight glisten running down Jou's cheeks……

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

~Jou's Dream~

An eight year old Jounouchi sat, playing with some blocks in the middle of the living room, his sister sitting next to him in her little walker, cooing at him, like all babies tend to. He was trying to ignore the argument that was going on between his parents in the other room; it would pass soon, and he wouldn't see his mother or father for a long time. They usually went into their bedroom, for what he had no idea, but it seemed to make them like each other a lot better. This time though, his mother came running in, picking up Serenity from her walker and taking the eight year old by the hand, brown hair flying madly from it's normal braid as she screamed,

"Go to hell you bastard! I'm filing for a goddamn divorce, and don't you dare try to stop me!" and with that, pulled Jou along behind her to the door. Apparently, this was not what his father decided he wanted to happen as he yelled,

"Like hell you're going anywhere, you fucking ungrateful slut!" And with that, he grabbed onto little Jou's hand as his mother stepped out the door. Turning, rage burning in her amber gold eyes, she screamed,

"Let him go you fucking prick before I report you for fucking child abuse, you dumb shit!" Letting go of Jou's hand for a spilt second, she slapped her husband, drawing blood with three of her finely manicured nails. Cursing, he let go of Jou, holding his now bleeding face. Taking this as her cue, she hurriedly pulled Jou along, getting into the back of their cherry red Ford Taurus, putting Serenity into her car seat. Jou followed behind her, not really knowing what was going on, but feeling the need to follow his sister wherever she was taken. His mother was about to put him in the car, but his father, apparently recovering from the scratch to the face, pulled his mother back by the hair and to the ground, readying to kick the shit out of her. Little Jou, realizing that this would not end well, took the initiative and kicked his father in the back of his bad knee, causing him to howl and fall to the ground, cursing up a storm. His mother recovered and stood as well as she could, crawling to the car, telling Jou to be quick and get in. Again, his father had different ideals as he pulled Jou away from his mother and dragged him back, hitting him hard for kicking him.

"Jouno!!" His mother screamed from the car. His father sneered coldly, challenging her; daring her to come and get her only son. She knew that if she got back out of the car, she wouldn't be getting back in; he was too strong for her to take. She did the only thing she could. Putting the car in reverse, she yelled,

"I'll be back you bastard!! Jouno-I'll come back for you! I promise baby!!" and she drove off. Jou struggled to his feet, yelling,

"Mommy!! Serenity!! Don't leave me!!" He wasn't fast enough however, because his father caught up to him and dragged him back into the house, kicking and screaming the whole way. That was the first time he was ever beaten by his father, and it was certainly not the last. Blamed for everything that ever went wrong around his house, it was also not the first or last time he was raped. It was however, the last day an eight year old had possession of his innocence……

(End Dream)


A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot

Eyes blinked open, tears obscuring his vision slightly, and the first thing he saw were the concerned eyes of his greatest enemy and his most desired love. He clung onto Seto with no hope of letting go; he cried the tears he hadn't shed in almost 7 years. He cried from the pain, the hurt, the loss, the suffering, the threats, the punishments, the blame……everything that he had put up a smile for; every time he smiled instead of breaking down. And Seto was there. Somehow, that just made it that much more bearable for the shattered blonde……


Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

TBC……

JN: I'm sorry!! I didn't realize it had been two months since I had updated!! I've had this chapter half written for at least a month, and I just never finished it!!

YJN: -_-' moron…

JN: Well, you could have reminded me!! :P

YJN: Go to hell. Why would I remind you to write this piece of cr-

JN: ::holds up spray bottle::

YJN: -_-' You'll so get yours daisy.

JN: No she won't, unless hers is a huge box of pocky!! ::hands daisy-chan the treat:: You're my best friend!! ^_^!!

YJN: I'll kill you. I mean it. I'll kill you.

JN: ::rolls eyes and sprays YJN with spray bottle::

YJN: ::gags::

JN: ^_^!! R 'n' R plz!! ^_^!!