It started to rain as Jonouchi Katsuya walked home. Not a heavy rain, but a drizzle heavy enough to make sure he was sufficiently wet by the time he made it back to the apartment he shared with is father. His dad would not be pleased, and he could be ensured another beating tonight as his dad did not like messes.

Jonouchi sighed, resigning himself to the inevitable. He knew he should probably get help with his dad, but he didn't want to bother anybody with his problems, besides, he was slowly learning how to cover up the bruises more so that they could pass as simply bad, blotchy skin. That at least explained the bottles of foundation and cover-up make-up he had hidden in his sock drawer, in case anyone was wondering.

So as he trudged home in the downpour that had evolved from that drizzle, it was a miracle that the little white envelope that had hastily been tucked into the pocket of his satchel sometime shortly before lunch, and that very strangely resembled the one sticking out of Seto Kaiba's pocket that morning only got a few speckles of water on it during the whole thirty minutes it was exposed to the rain.

---

Shaking himself off in the hallway before he unlocked the door to his small apartment, Jonouchi fished around for the key in his satchel pocket and, alas, missed the small white envelope that also inhabited the space.

Entering the modest living room/kitchen, Jonouchi stepped over the broken bottles littering the floor and felt his heart plummet at the sight of his father passed out in his chair. Tucking a blanket around his cataleptic father, Jonouchi headed over to the run-down refrigerator and pushed aside all the beer and vodka bottles before he found his lovely stash of Popsicles. Pulling the wrapper off of a cherry one (his favourite), he finally made his way into his room where he locked the door and dumped his satchel and wet coat in their usual spot in the corner. It was freezing – though that might have had something to do with the fact he was severely damp and eating a Popsicle.

He flopped on his bed laying on his back, and sighed again as he blinked up at the pictures of movie stars and singers he had cut out from magazines and pasted on his ceiling. There were pictures of his friends, a couple group shots and one with himself and Honda when they were little. Some pictures of his sister, and his mom, and some little mementos like ticket stubs and old DuelMonsters cards were also up there. It was like his own little scrapbook on his ceiling.

He smiled as he sucked on his Popsicle, and closed his eyes, just enjoying the peace before the red dye #40 dripped onto his collar forcing him to sit up. Swearing loudly, he figured it was time he got to work. Jonouchi stripped down, and dried himself off with an old towel left here from that morning's shower, and then put on a fresh change of clothes. Hanging the wet ones up in the miniscule bathroom, he went back to his bedroom and opened his satchel. The pocket had been left open from when he had looked for the key, and the white envelope tumbled out facedown onto the floor.

Jonouchi picked it up curiously, and turned it over so as to see the front. On the front, in perfect, tiny handwriting, was his name.

Jonouchi K.

Odd, Jonouchi thought, where had this envelope come from? He had no idea, of course, that it had been placed in his satchel pocket shortly before lunch, and that it was indeed the very same envelope that Seto Kaiba had had in his pocket that morning.

He flipped to the other side, slipped his thumb under one corner of the flap and broke the seal of glue. Inside was a sheet of white paper.

Pulling it out and unfolding it, Jonouchi started to read the letter inside …

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LSL: I apologize this was so long in coming, but my compy has been down so... and never fear, you will learn the contents of the letter soon enough!