Chapter 14

Rebooting was something Katsuya's brain was inept at, it seemed. To his credit, the incongruity of the thing that was happening at this very moment was enough to cause a major disruption in the order of things. Somehow, the planets had aligned and a cosmic shitstorm had broken out and poured down radioactive particles of nonsensical stuff upon them. Corrupted pixie dust and all. The answer 42 had become 69 and sent the human world spinning. There was no other explanation.

Never in the nine worlds and hundreds of dimensions that layered this universe, would Seto Kaiba, of all hung-up Kaibas, touch another human being willingly. Never, ever. This was a staple in the way that pompous jerk acted around people, as predictable as the Earth revolving around the sun. Though right now, it seemed the Earth derailed from its orbit and drifted off into the void. As his braincells registered they were lacking oxygen by the second, Katsuya was forced to come to terms with the strangest new truth. It became a matter of survival.

Seto Kaiba was kissing him. Kissing. Him. Him. Kissing. Their mouths were locked together, hot and soft and much too real, their chests crushed against each other so that he could feel the other's heartbeat as if it was his own. His waist was gripped by long fingers, so harshly that they would leave bruises. His nose was also pinched, which blocked his airways. There was absolutely zero romance in the gesture, if Kaiba knew the word at all, but that was beside the point. It felt like a first kiss from an overstressed teen, or some twisted foreplay performed by a perverted Dom from a bad erotic chick movie. Either way, Katsuya hated it. The bastard was literally suffocating him. The sudden proximity was too much, the heat creeping up his neck was too much, everything was too much.

He needed to breathe soon. Badly.

Unfortunately, his boss was clinging to him, refusing to let go. His mouth was demanding, crushing his face as if to make a hole in it like a wrecking ball into a brick wall. Unrelenting. Katsuya's efforts to try and push him away were fruitless. He was hard-pressed against the CEO, as if the latter tried to fuse them together by sheer force.

He could not breathe. Panic invaded his mind.

Survival instincts kicked in. For all his training could not outweigh a matter of life and death, and his seasoned reflexes took over.

Kaiba's strength was surprising, given the man's lean frame, but no dude could resist a nasty strike in the loins. The blonde's knee jerked up, effectively hitting its target with desperate force. His assaulter gasped in pain and broke from him, giving him enough space to shove him back and jump away, taking large gulps of much needed air into his burning lungs.

Now that he was free, the rookie wiped his mouth and glared at his boss, who was doubled over. Both were out of breath, though not for the same reasons.

Hot rage coursed through Katsuya. He could bear with the brunet's prissy attitude. He could handle a bunch of greasy investors and hungry sharks. He could even let biting remarks fly high over his head. But this. This harassment - this sexual assault -, he would not accept it. He would die before he let a fucking freak humiliate him like that, big salary be damned. The whys and what the fucks did not even matter. It was a question of basic respect.

His reason out the window, a dam broke in him. All his frustrations, his trials, his stress, his fury snapped from their restraints, pouring out like destructive rapids and flowing through him. In a swift movement, he concentrated all his raging emotions in his fist and administered a violent straight that landed right in the centre of that perfect face with a satisfying crack.

The CEO toppled back and fell hard on his arse, clutching his bleeding nose in shocked astonishment. He had suspected his employee to react violently, but this exceeded anything he might have thought of. Pain radiated from his groin, and his face felt ablaze. His head throbbed with a vicious migraine pulsating behind his eyes. His whole body hurt like hell.

His eyes searched for the blonde and managed to focus on his tensed form. Jonouchi's golden brown orbs flashed with ferocious anger, and his lips curled up in an animalistic snarl.

"Ye try somethin' like t'is again, an' I'll make sure ta thrust ye filthy hands so far up ye rich ass dat ya'll can scratch yer throat wit'em!"

Seto almost failed to understand. For a fleeting second, he thought he had heard wrong. It was the first time since his hiring that the former yankee spoke that horribly to him, the grammar and pronunciation so terrible it grated his ears, and yet it sounded like victory. Right now and here, the mutt appeared so real, so normal, so himself. Although his brain told him he had been kneed and punched by an employee while at work - unacceptable -, the nagging feeling quieted down somewhat. The real Jonouchi was here, he was real.

Every other reasoning the elder Kaiba might have had after that realization got muted. The fact that he was right, that he had won over the blonde at last, wiped them away. He had no reason to, but he felt smug, elated even.

Life had come back to normal.

Across from him, the blonde was fuming. His lack of response unsettled him, and he could not help the ear-splitting grin that curved his lips despite his jammed face.

With no reason at all, a chuckle bubbled in his throat, which turned into an uncontrollable laugh.

He won and it felt empowering. He welcomed the renewed sense of normalcy.

Just then, the double door of the lab opened. An army of security agents, Isono in lead, swarmed the enclosed space and took the scene in. The rookie got grabbed by two men in black and dragged away without much resistance, too dazed and drained by his outburst to fight any more.

"Director Kaiba," Isono called, "what happened? All you alright?"

Seto ceased laughing, but his smirk remained as he sustained his subordinate's gaze with confidence.

"I have never been better. However, I think I have to pay the infirmary a visit."

He gestured to his broken nose with a lazy wave of his free hand. Isono's brows furrowed.

"Has he hurt you on purpose, sir?"

The CEO's smirk turned grim.

"Yes and no. Don't worry about this, this is merely a mishap I intend to correct soon."

"Director Kaiba?"

Seto stood up abruptly, ignoring the faint wave of dizziness that assaulted him, and headed out without turning back. His employee hurried after him, worry painted all over him.

"Director Kaiba, sir-"

"Do not tell Mokuba about it," the CEO ordered.

After a pause, he added, "Have someone clean this mess. I want Super Jonouchi's deck and persona analysed and unglitched by the end of the day. And when the mutt is calm again, bring him to my office."

He then proceeded to erase his henchman's presence from his mind as he went to the infirmary, alone. The last thing he needed was a flock of employees flipping out at the sight of his blood.

Jonouchi would pay for that. In the meantime, though, the sweet taste of victory infused Seto with a pleasing buzz. Things were normal again.