*14* Seto *14*
Driving wasn't an easy task with a gunshot wound but I had to ignore it for the time being. The mutt was beside me wearing a mask that was a mixture of disapproval and betrayal. He was making me regret my decision to use a kiss as a test of my own sanity. He hadn't spoken much after and normally I would relish the silence but instead I felt guilty.
"So you are just going to pout this whole time and not say a word to me, is that it?" He uncrossed his arms and glanced over at me. "Well, this is a real treat." I said, how could admit that I missed his dumb ramblings? I couldn't. "I suppose, while you aren't speaking to me, I could give you a complement without you getting too excited."
Jou shook his head and looked out the window; we were driving out of the warehouse district toward one of my hidden bases just outside the city. It would take a few hours as it was on the other end of the city and we had to drive around rather than through because I couldn't risk anyone spotting me.
"You did a great job getting us this car, full tank of gas, we'll need it. I suppose your skills as a former gang member has paid off for you." I said and held back my smile when his eyes widened a fraction. I had won, I was an expert on micro expressions and I could tell that he was warming up again. I guess all dogs need a treat once in a while.
"Hot wiring a car is hardly a skill I should be proud of." Jou said. "My gang affiliations are what got us into this mess in the first place. Now, leave me alone and drive." He spat.
"You aren't going to stop this behavior unless I apologize, are you?"
"Pft. Like you would ever do that." Jou said.
"I am sorry, Jounouchi." I said, adding his name just to ruffle his feathers. "I really couldn't go around believing in the supernatural without some sort of test and it was the only way I could truly be sure. I should have taken your feelings into account but…"
"Okay, god, please stop." He said. "You are freaking me out. I forgive you for the kiss." He said. "But I am still mad at you for leaving the warehouse before healing a bit more."
"I don't have the luxury of resting; every moment we waste is giving them more time to gain more control of my company."
"All you care about is Kaiba corps." he said the name as if he were saying the name of an infectious disease.
"Without Kaiba corps I don't have the resources to fix any of this." The blow to my company was something I couldn't live with. I'd worked too hard and lost so much for the place to let that happen.
"Whatever." Jou said, "It isn't like I can stop you anyway." And just like that he went back to pouting. I had to admit that the way his lip poked out was slightly adorable. The feel of that lip against mine was flooding back to me and the car started shaking.
"Hey! You are drifting into the other lane!" I jerked the car back into my lane just as a truck flew past us. "What the hell?"
"It's this damn gunshot wound." I lied, taking the lesser of two embarrassing options by admitting to my pain.
"Let me drive." He offered.
"Oh, that will go over well, a car that drives itself across town, no one will notice that at all." I said sarcastically.
"Well then we need to pull over and rest. There's a motel over there."
"Excuse me? You expect me to sleep in a bug infested hole in the wall?" I hadn't ever set foot in a hotel that didn't have five stars let alone a hotel that started with an m.
"You spent the night in a condemned gang warehouse." He said. "This is a step up."
"Not much of a step." I said, but I decided it would be better to get a little rest before arriving at our destination because once I got there it would be nonstop work. I pulled off the road and parked in front of a blue door and got out to head to the front office.
When I pulled open the door I was greeted by a cloud of smoke and the stench of stale cigarettes. My nose crinkled against the smell but I pressed forward. "I need a room for the night." I said to the pudgy man behind the counter. He glanced up at me and the cigarette nearly fell out of his mouth, it stuck to his bottom lip.
"are you…"
"I get that a lot." I said simply and his face dropped while he reached behind the counter to grab an old book. He slammed it down on the counter and flipped to a half filled page and started writing.
"Room 34." He said and handed me a key.
"Thank you." I said and calmly walked back out and was glad for the limited technology of the motel because if the Americans were smart they would be looking for me just in case.
"I can't believe you just walked right in there without a disguise." Jou said as soon as I was close enough for him to become tangible again.
"He wondered for a brief moment but he believed me when I said I get that I look like Seto Kaiba a lot." I said. "it's all about perception, he'd think that a man like me would never show up at place like this and so he wanted to believe me."
"You dissect everyone, don't you?" Jou asked, I was taken aback by his comment because when I thought about it, it was true. "Don't you ever enjoy someone's company?"
"I enjoy having Mokuba around." I said.
"That doesn't count." Jou said, "Like a true friend, someone you can be quiet with and not have it feel awkward, someone you like to have a round because having them near makes you feel relaxed."
"I can't relax around anyone, letting my guard down would only give them the chance they need to take me down, not that it would be an easy thing to do in the first place." We walked to the end of the motel and I opened the door and entered with Jou. Once the door was closed he plopped on the bed like an adolescent child.
"You let your guard down around me, your greatest rival." He gave me that cheese smile of his.
"You are hardly good enough to even be my rival and you can't really bring me down because you are dead." I said.
"details." Jou waved me off and rolled over to mess with a small box next to the bed. "oh, check this out." He pressed a button on the left and the bed started to shake. "it vibrates!" he said, his voice coming out in waves as the bed shook the breath from him.
"Am I supposed to be impressed? This place just gets worse." I said.
"Hey, at least there aren't any bed bugs."
"Excuse me?" my skin began to tingle and I felt dirty. "We're leaving."
"Hey." Jou said before turning the bed off. "Don't worry, this place is fine. Trust me. Besides where would we go?"
I let out a sigh and cautiously sat on the edge of the bed. "How did we get here?" I asked myself.
"I stole a car and we drove…" he said.
"No," he was so stupid, "I mean, how did we go from being at school to this moment, where I've been shot and I am helping you to vanish from this plane of existence?"
"I have no idea." Jou sighed and the weight of him moving to sit next to me was more proof that he was real. "I guess, and if you tell anyone I told you this I will kill you, as far as partners go I am glad it was you."
"oh?" I was amused, "even over your friend, Yugi?"
"well I know Yugi would be a great help but he would've probably ended up coming to you anyway. Plus, I don't think he'd like it if I left him for the afterlife just like…" he trailed off and I knew what he was about to say. After that day in Egypt, Yugi had never been quite the same.
"I guess you are right. I for one will be glad to be rid of you." I said, but he and I both knew it was a lie. I had grown rather fond of the mutt in this short time. Perhaps it was my guilt over being the reason he was in the hallway with Yoshi or that he was growing on me like a fungus that had no cure, I wasn't sure but I knew deep down that I would miss him once he was inevitably sent beyond.
"Me too, you are such a stick in the mud, I can't wait to get there and see all the celebrities I miss." He looked up at the ceiling and lost himself in fantasy.
"You sure it's not going to be something different, lonely, like floating through space with no one to talk to?"
"See, there you go, making this all depressing and shit. Yugi was right, we have to cheer you up." He said and I gave him a look of anger and surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh… oops."
"What? What are they plotting?"
"Well they may have mentioned that they wanted to go out with you somewhere." I glared. "Karaoke"
"Idiots. As if I would ever waste my time at a Karaoke bar."
"Why not? You not good enough to beat them?" He was trying to get at my competitive side, well it would fail.
"I don't need to go to know that I am the best at Karaoke." I said,
"hmm." He sat back and began to tap his fingers on his chin.
"What?"
"You know, if you go then I can too without losing energy." He said and a I paused.
"So you are using your situation to get me to do what you want?" I was irritated now but it was kept at bay by the fact that Jou wanted to spend some time with them before he left for good.
"Maybe. But I do think it would be good for you too. Give them a chance." He said.
I rolled my eyes. "When is it?"
"Well they sort of want to surprise you with it."
"Of course they do." I let out a sigh and fell back against the mattress. Suddenly I was very aware of how heavy my body was. "I'll think about it." I said before drifting off to sleep.