*11* Jounouchi *11*

After Kaiba was shot in the leg he wasn't looking too good. He swam for a good mile before the pain consumed him and he passed out. Luckily I am solid when he is around so it was easy for me to grab hold of him. As my arms wrapped around him I was taken aback by how thin yet muscular he was. But then again, it was no surprise since he did just swim a mile with a bullet in his leg.

I dragged him out of the water when we were a safe distance away. I knew this district very well from my gang days, and I had no choice, so I brought Kaiba to one of my old hideouts. I managed to sling his arm over my shoulder and drag him to safety. I helped him to a couch in the corner. I placed him on the couch and started looking at his wound. The blood was still pouring out fast and the bullet hadn't gone through.

I looked around the small hideout and smiled, luckily this was one we went to when we needed to get patched up after a police raid. We were lucky because after the gang disbanded the cops set out to find every last hideout. I guess they didn't find this one. I left Kaiba's side and hurried to get a medical kit. I found one and returned to him. I had never killed anyone, that was true, but I did help my fellow gang members with bullet wounds before.

I took the scissors from the kit and cut open the bottom of Kaiba's slacks before rolling them up. I looked at his pale face. I was hard to look at his face in this weakened state because it was so unlike what I was used to seeing from this man. I looked away and focused on getting the bullet out of his leg. It took some time but I finally removed the bullet and Kaiba let out a scream of pain.

I looked at him for a second but this time his face was filled with relief. Good. I bandaged him up tightly and was going to cover him with old blanket before I noticed his blue lips. I had to get him out of those wet clothes. I left him again to search the rooms we used to stay in but no one had left any clothes behind.

I glanced down at what I was wearing, my favorite hoodie, I wondered. I started to tug at my hoodie and it came off. I smiled. Awesome. It wasn't much but it would have to do until his clothes dried. I headed back to him and hovered over his form. His face was at piece now that the bleeding had stopped.

I lightly traced my fingers over his eyebrows and over his cheeks. His mouth opened slightly and before I knew it my fingers were tracing his soft lips. I swallowed hard. What was I doing? I pulled my hand away and carefully pulled off his wet shirt. The smell of him surrounded me when I pulled his shirt over his head.

I tried to ignore it but it was a cool and refreshing scent, like the ocean at night. I shook off my weird feelings and ignored his toned chest as I pulled my hoodie over his head. The back of my fingers brushed over his soft chest and I looked at his perfect face again.

"Get it together, this is Seto Kaiba." I said to myself and once Kaiba was out of his wet clothes I got up to hang them to dry.

I watched him sleep for several hours, wearing my hoodie and wrapped up in a blanket he looked innocent and helpless. I knew Kaiba better than that and he was anything but. But that got me thinking, had Kaiba ever had the chance to be innocent? Maybe there was more to him than met the eye.

I sat back and pondered that for a moment until Kaiba opened his eyes and groaned softly for coffee.

"Fresh out of coffee." I said and Seto sat up with a start. "Whoa, calm down."

"What's going on? Where are we? What did you do with my clothes?"

"You forgot the when and why." I teased, "Anyway, relax. You were shot so I brought you to an old hideout of mine and got the bullet out of you. Your clothes are drying; if you would have stayed in them then you could have gotten sick."

"Wh… oh, right." Seto said, "Uh, thanks…"

"I'm sorry, what?" I couldn't believe my ears.

"I'm not saying it again."

"Okay then could you at least admit that I am real? After all if I wasn't then how did you get here? No one knows about this place."

"Fine." He said. "I suppose it isn't outside the range of possibilities that you could be real."

"Eh, I'll take it." I said.

"So, if my clothes are done then we need to leave."

"I don't think so." I said. "You are not leaving in that condition. You'll stay here and rest. I will get us food and I will get you fresh clothes."

"How will you do that if I stay here?" he asked. "You can't touch anything if I am too far from you. Don't think I haven't noticed that."

"You're right." My shoulders slumped.

"You really are an idiot." He said but it didn't make me mad, no, it felt playful. "I will have Roland bring us a few things."

"You can't do that. You don't know who you can trust."

"Roland would give his life for me."

"Maybe so but if someone is watching him then we don't know. As far as they know you could be dead. We need to lie low until we can figure out what's going on."

"I know what's going on." He said. "They want to find my stepfather's old creations and use them to attack the American government."

"Heavy." I said.

"Yeah… oh no. Mokuba!" he said suddenly, "what will happen to him?"

"I can go check on him for you." I offered, I couldn't pick up things but I could watch people. But then how could I protect Mokuba if something was wrong?

"Why would you do that?"

"What?" I asked. "I'll do anything for my friends." I said.

"Mokuba is your friend, that's true."

"No." I paused, "Well, yes, he is but so are you." I said and before he could say anything else I was at the door. "I'll be back soon. If I am not then I probably lost energy so I'll be back tomorrow. Don't leave." I said and left.

I hurried through the door, my face was red and my heart was pounding more than it ever had when I was alive. I was shaken from my thoughts when Kaiba's shirt, which was hanging on a fence post to dry, flew away. It was the only shirt he had. I ran after it and when I grabbed it I noticed a newspaper stuck to it. I pulled the paper off and paused.

I looked back toward where I left Kaiba, I was well out of the range where I could touch things and yet here I was, holding a newspaper. I looked at Kaiba's shirt in my other hand and smiled before I pulled it on. I headed out to find Mokuba and now I could protect him if I had to.

I returned to the hideout a few hours later, I didn't feel weak at all and I think it was partly because of Kaiba's shirt. I opened the door and found Kaiba on the couch reading a comic book. "What are you doing?"

"This garbage is hardly entertaining." He said.

"Is that why you are on volume seven?" I teased and crossed the room to place the groceries and clothes on the table next to him.

"How do you have those things?" Kaiba asked

"Magic." I said. "It seems that your shirt gave me enough power to carry things."

"Did you find Mokuba? Is he okay?" Kaiba asked

"He's fine. After you went missing Roland arranged for Mokuba to "study abroad"." I said.

"Oh, good. It was a safety measure I put in place in case something happened to me. It's weird that he acted so fast though."

"Not really. I was listening in on him and he said that something was up because he knows you so well."

"I told you he has my back."

"I know, but you can't be too careful. What these guys want is World War Three shit." I said. "We have to stop them."

"I know that, first of all, the Kaiba name will be hurt if this happens. I don't want my company to kill or hurt anyone ever again." He said and I thrust an instant lunch at him. "What is this?"

"It's good." I said and pulled the clear wrapper off of mine before stuffing my face. "Being with you makes me hungry." I glanced up at him and he was eyeing his lunch like it was foreign. "What are you doing?" I asked

"I can't eat this." He said. "What's in it?"

"You really are a drama queen." I said. "It might not be what you are used to but it's good. Try it." I said. "And anyway it's all we've got."

I watched as Kaiba finally pulled the plastic off of his instant lunch. He picked up his chopsticks and sighed before taking a bite. I smiled at the small twitch to Kaiba's features. He must have been hungry because he started stuffing is face.

"I suppose, for common food, it is passable." He said and continued eating. "What is it about me that gives you the ability to be tangible?" he asked suddenly.

"I have no idea. It doesn't make any sense to me but you play the hand you are dealt." I shrugged and cleaned up a bit after I finished eating.

"Well, I won't be able to help with the Yoshi thing until I can get back into my office," he said, "I need to figure out how to deal with the Americans."

"We'll do that first then. It's not like I don't have time." I said. To be honest I was enjoying my time with rich boy. It was starting to make me feel sad to know that I would have to say goodbye to him.

"True. Besides, you being a ghost might come in handy." He sat back, sinking into the couch. I watched him for a moment and moved to knell in front of him, he looked at me with questioning eyes and I reached for the covers. I pushed the covers up a bit to reveal his leg.

"How is your leg?" I asked

"I won't be running any marathons anytime soon but it feels alright." he said and took a sharp breath when I started to undo his bandages.

"I'll change the bandages then." I said.

"You did that pretty well by the way." He said softly

"Yeah, I was always better at patching up my gang than I was at putting bullets in the rival gang."

After I had changed his bandages I persuaded him to take a few painkillers and waited for him to fall asleep before trying to leave the room. As I stood up I felt a hand grab my wrist. "Don't leave me." I looked back at Kaiba and froze but he was fast asleep. "I don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to leave." I said and sat down next to him.