Warnings for this chapter: Mentions of adult activities and some swearing. Apart from that, enjoy!


Chapter 16

Facing Prejudice.

Hitting the pause button on their machines, they studied the number of steps climbed, the distance, watts and calories burned, displayed on the screens of the steppers.

Katsu could not understand how the heck he could have beaten her so comprehensively!

He gave her a lopsided smile. "Looks like I get my kiss." He never imagined she would be able to beat him anyway and had considered it a foregone conclusion. She could play hard to get all she liked, Seto kaiba always got what he wanted in the end.

He jumped off the machine and held his hand out to her, but she slapped his hand away.

"You want to kiss here?!" Her insides felt a bit weak at the thought. But as much as she would like to kiss him, she could not submit to her own desires for Jonouchi's sake. "The gym is not exactly the..."

Her excuse was cut short when he playfully put his arms around her waist and attempted to lift her off the stepper. She let out a little squeak of surprise and held onto the hand rails as tightly as she could. "What are you doing?! I can get off this thing by myself!"

He let go of her and stepped back. "What's wrong with you woman? I know I have a reputation for ruthlessness, but I'm not a fucking rapist!"

Katsu could see that he was getting a little irritated with her constantly pushing him away and realised she had two choices: kiss him! Or, tell him that she did not fancy him and that she was dumping him.

The latter was something she had initially planned to do after their first date. She had wanted to reel him in, watch him flap on the end of her line, and then dump and humiliate him. But now... ? She did not know if she could make herself do that to him.

It dawned on her that she was the one who had been caught, and she even found herself wanting him! The dilemma facing her made her want to scream.

Would kissing him be that bad? If this was a shadow spell, then maybe Jonouchi would not remember anything from his time as a woman anyway. She could only hope.

Nervously, she shimmied closer and looked up into his eyes. "This is my first proper kiss! That's why I'm nervous."

He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "Don't worry. I won't eat you. Place your hands on my shoulders and close your eyes," he instructed.

Her knees were almost knocking together as she scrunched her eyes up and pursed her lips.

But the kiss never came.

Instead, the door to the gym banged open and Mokuba's noisy voice called out. "Hey! Seto! Are you in here?" He came bounding over, oblivious to what was about to happen.

Seto quickly let go of her and turned to face his younger brother with an irritated expression. "Great timing Mokuba!"

"Oh! You're both in here! What were you doing holding her? Is she ill?" Why was his big brother glaring at him? "Oh...!"

Realising he may have disturbed something, a blush crept across his face and he grinned at them sheepishly. "Anzu's on the phone." He held the phone out. "She's asking for Katsu."

Seto scowled and snatched the phone from Mokuba. "How did you get this number?" He snapped tersely.

Anzu was not intimidated by his tone and responded briskly. "You gave it to Yugi, remember?! I have been trying to ring Katsu's phone but she's not answering."

"I thought I told Yugi not to give this number to anyone!" He snarled, in a tone that reminded Katsu of the Seto Kaiba she had always been more familiar with. Had she seriously been about to kiss him?

Her hackles immediately rose and she plucked the phone out of his hand before he could make any more cutting remarks or cut the call off. "Hey! Don't talk to Anzu like that! She's a friend." She gave him a annoyed look and turned her back on him as she spoke. "Hello Anzu!"

Taking a deep breath, Seto folded his arms and glared at her in annoyance. However, he did not do or say anything about the way Katsu had just admonished him.

Mokuba stood and gawked at his brother in surprise. Had Seto just let her get the better of him? He could not remember the last time Seto allowed someone else to have the final word and it made Mokobu feel uneasy, maybe even a little threatened. Would she be after his brother's money next? Seto had always told Mokuba to be wary of letting his guard down and to choose his friends carefully. Seto had also told him that it was never wise to spend money on a woman because they were all gold diggers.

Was it possible that Seto could be throwing his own advice out of the window because he was falling in love?

The strange way his younger brother was looking at him, made the usually ice cool Seto flinch slightly. "Is something wrong Mokuba?"

"No! I.. It's just.." If Seto was in love, would that mean he would spend even less time with Mokuba than he already did? "Will we be having breakfast together this morning? I was hoping we could do something fun together today."

"Sorry! I will be breakfasting with Katsu and then I have to take her home before going into the office."

"But Seto...!" Mokuba looked at the ground with a sulky pout. "I thought things were changing since Pegasus' Island, but..." He knew how to sulk and get his own way. So, he put on the best display he could muster, and with a loud sniff hung his head, turned and shuffled out.

"Mokuba!" Seto snapped, rather more sternly than he had intended. His tone made Katsu intervene. How many times had she and her friends seen Seto Kaiba treat Mokuba with disdain? Sure, the kid had been a horrible little brat when they first encountered him. But who could blame him when his big brother was so cold and emotionally retarded! The poor kid had only challenged Yugi and subsequently poisoned Jonouchi, in order to gain the attention of Seto and impress him.

But it had all backfired. Instead of praise, his actions had actually angered Seto. And when he had failed to beat Yugi, Kaiba had punished the poor kid rather severely.

The turning point in Mokuba's life had been when Yugi had shown him some kindness and saved him from the terrifying ordeal his older brother had inflicted on him for losing to the Capsule Monsters game to Yugi.

And yet, somehow, through it all, Mokuba still loved Seto more than anything else in the world.

Katsu wondered what the relationship between the two brothers might be like today, had Yugi not 'mind crushed' Seto that day!

"Hey! Why don't the three of us have breakfast together?" She suggested.

Mokuba immediately stopped snivelling and turned around, grinning. "Yeah! Cool! I will ask Mitsuki to make pancakes."

"With tons of chocolate sauce!" Katsu called out.

Mokuba gave her the thumbs up and ran off to tell the staff to start preparing breakfast.

Seto rolled his eyes. Thanks to Katsu, he had been rescued from the awkward situation of having to appease Mokuba. As much as he tried, he could never get this parenting thing right.

He turned to Katsu, who was looking a bit too pleased with herself. "What did the Mazaki girl want?"

"Oh! She was just checking on me. Making sure I survived the night, and to remind me we're all meeting up at ten. I told her I would come home first."

Seto huffed. "She probably thinks I'm the sort of monster who would force myself on you," he growled.

Katsu sensed that he was slightly offended at the idea that Yugi's friends still thought so lowly of him. It seemed that the frosty CEO did care what people thought of him, after all!

::::::::::::

By the time they had finished breakfast, Mokuba had cheered up no end. He had decided that he liked Katsu. She reminded him an awful lot of Jonouchi, but without the tendency to wind his big brother up. The genes for certain family traits must run strong, but thankfully not the irritating ones. And Katsu did not strike him as the sort of girl who would try to get her hands on their business or steal their fortune.

"I should be getting home so I can change my clothes," Katsu told them. "Not sure I wanna hang out in the bowling alley wearing this!" They trio laughed at the idea of her bowling in her dress.

"I will call my driver and we can drop you off on my way to the office," Seto offered.

"Can I come with you Seto?" Mokuba asked, expectantly. "Only, I don't want to hang out here all on my own."

Seto frowned. He had a video call to make and more tests to perform on the duel simulator system. Mokuba was supposed to have music lessons on a Saturday morning, but his tutor was away on holiday this week (he made a mental note to fire her) and Seto did not have any computer programming for Mokuba to do at the moment, so the boy would just be in the way.

"Why don't you hang out with us today Mokuba?" Katsu suggested. It was not until after she had asked that she realised the possible consequences should one of them slip up and call her Jonouchi in front of Mokuba. But she was now so relaxed in her female skin, that she was starting to forget that she had ever been any different.

Luckily, Mokuba declined. "Thanks for the offer Katsu, but nah... it's alright. You guys don't really want me tagging along." To be honest, as much as he liked Yugi and Anzu, he did not really feel comfortable socialising with them as friends. They were much older than him and he shared Seto's opinion of Jonouchi and could not see himself being friendly with him. He also did not really like Honda or Bakura all that much.

Besides, he wanted to go to the office with his brother today. He had an idea that would impress him.

"Please...Seto?" He whined. "I won't get in the way! I have some upgrades I want to do to the security system software, to prevent guys like Pegasus hacking us again. I will go and show the guys in IT how to implement the changes and leave you to do your own work." He looked at his big brother expectantly.

Seto knew that his younger brother was learning fast and was a far better computer programmer than he was at that age, so he agreed. He might even have time to show Mokuba how to operate the new duel server, so that he could be more involved with it's future development. "Okay... Just don't get under my feet," he sighed.

::::::::::::

When Katsu arrived home, Anzu and Yugi were there waiting for her. Both looked anxious. Were they still concerned about her dating Seto?

She wanted to tell them to stop being so over protective and to let her make her own choices about who she dated. But she knew that would just start an argument. They were over protective because they thought that inside, she was still Jonouchi.

She was trying her best to see it from their point of view, but needed to get it across to them that she was not Jonouchi; she was a person in her own right. She had thoughts and feelings all of her own that were nothing to do with Jonouchi.

In fact, she was actually starting to wish she could stay as Katsu for the rest of her life. It was unfair that in a couple of weeks, Jonouchi would be back; brash, hot headed and vulgar as ever, while she would be dead and gone.

Why was Yugi was looking at her so suspiciously? It was a funny look on him, but he looked like he wanted to punch someone! "What's wrong Yuge?" She tried to sound friendly and casual, but it came out way more defensive than she had wanted.

Yugi's eyebrows knotted accusingly. "Are you sure that Kaiba didn't try anything?" He demanded, over protectively.

Katsu looked at him with surprise. Maybe Anzu had not told him that she had slept in the spare room. "Relax Yugi! I slept in the same room as I did when Mokuba poisoned me! Remember that?" To lighten the situation, she laughed. Her friend was behaving more like a jealous boyfriend than her best friend!

"Of course I remember," Yugi scowled. "They tried to kill us! Have you any feelings for what Jonouchi is suffering?"

"Yugi?!" Anzu intervened by putting her arm around his shoulder. "Of course she understands, don't you Katsu?" Was Anzu accusing her too?!

"Will the pair of you just relax?! Kaiba's not like that any more. No one tried to poison me! And Kaiba can actually be real nice when he wants. He even picked me a flower in the garden last night."

"He did what?!" Yugi looked like he might grab her and shake her, as if it might help her come to her senses.

"You're not in love with him, are you?!" Anzu asked, sounding very suspicious.

Katsu's facial muscles twitched. "I... I'm not Jonouchi, right? I'm not the same personality as him. I'm ME! And I'm cool with that!" She felt saddened by the devastated looks on their faces.

"But... what about Jonouchi? You're still in there, right?" said Yugi, shakily. With each day that Katsu was here, a little bit more of Jonouchi seemed to disappear. Soon there would be nothing of him left. It was Yugi's worst fear come true and he wanted his best friend back, now! "You can't just pretend you're not Jonouchi!" He snapped.

Katsu was fast losing her patience with him. "Look! I'm gonna go and change, and when I come back, I want the pair of you to accept me for who I am!" She stomped past them and went up to her room.

Slamming the door, she struggled out of her dress and flopped down on the bed. She let out a muffled cry of frustration into her pillow. Why couldn't they just see that she was not Jonouchi, and accept her for who she was?

Downstairs, Yugi was mortified that Jonouchi was seemingly losing the battle to stay on control. He looked to Anzu for some comfort and support. "We have to do something to help Jonouchi to stay in control," he begged.

But while Anzu was worried, she was not at all surprised by what was happening.

Over the last two and a bit weeks, she had watched Jonouchi's personality change; from the typical teenage boy into the typical teenage girl. She felt caught in the middle of an impossible situation: for as much as she missed the old Jonouchi, she was also very good friends with Katsu. In fact, as a female, she had more in common with Katsu than she did with Jonouchi. "I'm sorry Yugi, but I don't think we should do anything to interfere. We might make things even worse."

Yugi was mortified. "How can we make things any worse?!" He gestured with his arms in frustration. "Jonouchi is losing to his female self! We have to stop Katsu from burying him so deeply in the darkness that his own soul might never be able to return!"

Anzu gasped at the revelation that he might be lost for ever. If his soul did disappear, then how much was she to blame for helping Katsu? "I'm sorry Yugi! What if it's my fault? I thought I was helping when I showed her how to be female."

Yugi took her hand and gave her a pitiful smile, "I'm not blaming you Anzu. You are doing a great job of looking after Katsu. But we are dealing with dark magic. Even the other Me doesn't know what is happening to Jonouchi's soul. What if things can't be entirely reversed?"

"You mean, like genetic changes?"

"I was thinking more psychological than physical, but I cannot be sure if the physical changes my damage him as well. The type of Shadow Magic Bakura uses is unpredictable. The other Me thinks that Jonouchi has been trying to stay in control, but has been forcefully sealed away. We think that Katsu is who Jonouchi would have been if he had been born as a girl." He frowned at the thought.

Anzu looked a little shaken at the idea that if Jonouchi had been born female, this was who he would be. "Does Jonouchi know what's going on?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But the other Me is worried that he knows what is going on but can't do anything about it."

Anzu bit on her bottom lip and frowned. "Poor Jonouchi," she shuddered. "What if he can sense everything that's happening when Katsu is with Kaiba?"

Yugi's posture stiffened. "But nothing has happened with Kaiba, has it?" He eyed Anzu suspiciously. "Unless..."

"Don't look at me like that Yugi! I know as much as you do! But I do believe her when she says that nothing is going to happen with him."

Upstairs in her room, Katsu had pulled herself together and managed to sling on a pair of leggings and a blouse. She hastily ran a brush through her hair and then decided to face her two friends and apologise for snapping at them. She wanted them to be her friends, not alienate herself from them.

She trotted downstairs in her bare feet and paused in the hallway when she heard her name mentioned. They were talking about her. She could hear Anzu speaking.

"So, do we just accept that she's telling the truth and hope that Jonouchi doesn't have any idea that she's still seeing him? What if... you know... Kaiba wants more?" She grimaced and pulled an unsavoury face.

The look on Yugi's face was one of horror. The very idea that his best friend would have sex with, of all people, Seto Kaiba, was almost too much for him to stomach.

But, Katsu was not Jonouchi, and if she liked Kaiba that much and wanted to keep seeing him, there was not much he could do about it, apart from tell kaiba who Katsu really was – and he would never do that!

He tried to choose his words carefully. "I know that Katsu has different needs than Jonouchi, and I don't want to stop her enjoying what little time she has to enjoy her life, but my main concern is Jonouchi. He is my best friend and I can't let her do... that stuff.. especially not with Kaiba."

Katsu could not help feel sad as she listened. Yugi was right when he said that she might not have much longer to live. Hadn't Bakura said that the spell would last for a month? If that was true, then she only had around ten more days to live! She also understood his concerns about Jonouchi. But he could at least show a little more respect towards her and trust in her judgement! Of course she wasn't about to go and have sex with Kaiba!

A small tear rolled down her cheek. To be given life in such strange and cruel circumstances, only to then have it snatched away again when you were just starting to like your new life was unimaginably painful and sad.

She found herself wishing that there was a way for her to stay and live separately from Jonouchi, in her own body. She knew her 'other Self' would never approve of her dating Seto, but at least she could continue seeing him without worrying that she was still part of Jonouchi.

But if Yami Bakura and the other Yugi could not have their own bodies, then there was probably no chance for her either. She had to accept that this was Jonouchi's life, not hers. But she also intended to do everything in her power to cherish what she had been given, and to make the most of her time here.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the room. Both Yugi and Anzu instantly stopped talking and looked at her sympathetically.

"It's okay. I don't need sympathy, but I do need you to treat me like a real person and not just some imposter who has replaced your best friend and is now fucking up his life. Because it's not like that at all!"

Unsure of how much Katsu had heard, Yugi fidgeted awkwardly. "I'm sorry, we didn't mean it like that! We just..." he trailed off and looked to Anzu for a better excuse.

Anzu stepped forward and took Katsu's hand. "We just don't want you to make a mistake and do something with Kaiba that you will regret. Remember, whatever happens between the two of you, Jonouchi will have to live with. You know how he and Kaiba feel about each other and it could make things awkward between all of us if you do become... too involved." Hoping that she did not sound like a parent lecturing a child, she smiled kindly.

"Go on, say it! Sex! You think I'm gonna have sex with him, don't you?"

Both of them went bright red. "N.. No! We..." Yugi began to make his excuse but Anzu silenced him with her honest answer.

"Yes, we do. That's why we're worried. I really like you Katsu; you have become my best female friend. Which is why I have to be honest: Kaiba is no good for you."

Katsu rolled her eyes at her. "Look! I know where you're coming from, and I'm glad we've become close friends. But I'm not stupid over Kaiba!" She tapped the side of her head. "I still have Jonouchi's memories in here! I remember every little detail of Death-T and Duelist Kingdom, so I know what a jerk he can be! But I have seen a different side of him. He can actually be quite sweet."

"Sweet!" Anzu nearly spat her teeth out.

"That's not a word I would use to describe Kaiba," Yugi frowned. Even after the 'mind crush' he had still remained an obstinate, self centred, cruel bastard. Yami Yugi materialised next to him.

"Yugi! Is that still how you view Kaiba?" He asked, full of concern that Yugi was still holding onto his anger from the past.

Yugi jumped. "Other Me! You weren't meant to hear that!" He had not intended for private thoughts to leak from his soul room.

His friends both gave him a confused look. "Is something wrong Yugi?" Anzu enquired.

Yugi waved his hand in front of his face out of embarrassment. "Just talking to the other Me. He thinks Kaiba is a self centred jerk!" To deflect the issue, he smirked cheekily at Yami Yugi.

Yami Yugi pretended to look angry. "Why you...! Do not blame your own thoughts on me Aibou. Just you wait! I will have my revenge."

Yugi's face turned to a pout. Uh-oh! Had he just upset his other Self?

Anzu and Katsu both chuckled. "You're not arguing with your other Self are you Yugi?" Anzu grinned.

"Erm... not exactly," Yugi scratched his head. "More... debate, with a hint of..."

"Well, as long as you're not bitching over me!" Katsu raised an intrigued eyebrow.

Both Yugi's squawked in response.

"Bitching?!"

"Bitching?!"

Yami Yugi folded his arms irritably. "We do not bitch!" He growled out, with a sinister expression.

"It's okay Other Me. Katsu was only teasing us... I think," he smirked.

"Yeah, it's okay Other Yugi!" Katsu looked around. "Where is he? Can you see him Yugi?"

Yugi nodded that he could. "He's right here," he pointed just above his right shoulder. "He's trying to look tall by hovering about three feet off the ground." He grinned sheepishly at his alter ego, who pouted and floated down so that he appeared to be standing next to Yugi.

"I'm still taller than you Aibou," he winked, causing Yugi to straighten his terrible posture and make them both the same height.

At the mention of the other Yugi standing right next to Yugi, Anzu shuffled a little closer to him, unaware that her body overlapped with the spirit's.

Yami Yugi looked slightly embarrassed by his body overlaying hers and moved so that she was actually sandwiched between himself and Yugi. He looked across at Yugi and winked. "Fancy a threesome Aibou?"

Yugi almost jumped in the air as he shrieked. "Whaaa! Other Me! No! Don't say things like that!"

"Told you I would get my revenge," he snickered, vanishing inside the Puzzle.

Both Anzu and Katsu were staring open mouthed at Yugi, for his outburst, wondering why his face was scarlet.

"What did he just say Yugi?" Anzu asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, come on Yugi? We're dying to know," Katsu added.

Yugi's jaw flapped. There was no way he could repeat what his other Self had just said. It was far too rude. "Erm... He said that.. that Anzu just stepped on his feet."

"What?!" Anzu jumped back. "Oops! Sorry!" She looked around. "Where is he?"

Thankful that he had managed to wriggle out of an embarrassing situation, Yugi laughed. "It's... okay.. Anzu," he said, between giggles, "he's gone back into the Puzzle for now."

The three friends all laughed. Katsu put an arm around each of them. Even though she knew how much Jonouchi meant to them, they were doing their best to overcome their prejudice and accept who she was.

They could probably be forgiven for having concerns over her and Kaiba, but they did need to learn to trust her more.

However, they were still amazing friends and she would cherish every moment she had left with them. She just wished that they would be a little more understanding about her taste in men!

"You guys are the best, ya know that...?" She hesitated a moment, and was just about to say the word 'but' when Anzu suddenly gasped at what time it was.

"We should get going! We're late. Honda and Mai will be waiting for us."

Katsu checked the time. Thanks to their discussion, they were running late and Katsu had not been able to finish saying everything that she wanted to say.


I don't know how my readers feel, but I felt sorry for both Katsu and Jonouchi while writing this!

Please let me know your thoughts.