AbhorsenSabriel87: Hello fan fic readers! Just as a little note to you... you all are some seriously freaky people!
Hiei: Well, you're the one who writes these scary fics.
Sabriel: Shut up! I was depressed!
Hiei: Ruining the mood...
Sabriel: Shit. Oh well. Before I totally kill the mood, Hiei, say the disclaimer.
Hiei: --mutters something about him doing it every time-- AbhorsenSabriel87 does not own any Yu Yu Hakusho characters, nor any Yu-Gi-Oh! ones, so don't sue her 'cuz all you'll get is a bunch of crap stories.
Sabriel: --fwaps Hiei-- On with the story...

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    As the sky grew dark over the bustling city, Jounouchi wandered the streets aimlessly, not wanting to go home in case his father was still conscious. Over the past year, his father had grown, if possible, even more violent towards the seventeen year-old. Worst of it was, Jou could never stop him. He was always plagued by the fear he'd had for the past seven years... and the memory of his father before it all happened. Now all the ex-gangster could do was make sure to stay away from home as long as he could without arousing suspicion... among other things...
    When he actually stopped to survey his surroundings, none of the street names were familiar, and neither were any of the buildings. 'Damn,' he thought. 'Must've gotten lost somewhere. If I can find a spot where I can see Kaiba's lame tower, I can get out of Creepsville.' He walked out to the center of the deserted and slowly darkening street and looked around for the Tower, but he couldn't see it anywhere. "How can something that obnoxiously big just up and disappear?" he muttered under his breath, although no one was around to hear him even if he shouted the words.
    No one really knew it, but Jou wasn't exactly as "mentally incompetent" as people thought. He just acted that way because half the time, he was half drunk anyway, and the other half of the time, he just wanted to be left alone to his thoughts. Personally, he was glad he didn't have someone like Yami living inside him like Yuugi did: someone who could read your thoughts and either do your best to comfort you... or, in Ryou's case, use them to hurt you. Nope, he was perfectly content, and relieved, that no one could read his thoughts without him voicing them first. As a matter of fact, one of these little facts relating to his competency was that he could, if he so wished, get straight A's in all of his classes. But, he decided not to, considering it would bring not only unwanted attention from the wrong people, but dispel his only valid, and believable, reason for Yuugi and Honda to tutor him in their spare time every week...
    Jou shook his head, blonde hair swishing quietly behind him as he attempted to gather his thoughts, and started walking towards the sunset. If he didn't make it to the center of town, he'd reach the docks or the beach, so either way was a win-win situation for him... now all he needed to do was figure out where he could possibly be. 'Judging by the silence,' he thought to himself, 'this place must've been deserted for a while.' He drew up a mental map of Domino in his mind, details from his own experiences filling in the cracks. 'The only deserted areas are in the east, southeast, and northwest sides of the city. The only other place in town is that tiny condemned area on the lower west side about three miles from the docks.' He raised his head to sniff the air slightly, and the soft, calming scent of seawater reached his petite nose. 'Lower west,' he concluded, continuing on the path he previously created. 'May as well go to the beach for a nice sunset before I head... back to the apartment.' Never, even in his own mind, had Jounouchi ever called his apartment "home". Far too much pain and far more bad memories lurked in every corner of his mind about the place, and "home" was not exactly the term he would look for to create an autobiography with. A better suited term, perhaps, would be "prison", "torture room", or even closer... Hell.
    The sound of glass shattering nearby snapped Jou out of his daze and he whirled around to see who'd done it. Seeing no one, he thought it'd been his imagination, but then he heard the sound repeat, reverberating in and out of the abandoned buildings. Curious, and somewhat in the mood for a fight, Jou followed the noises as they lead him to the old warehouses by the piers. As quiet as a mouse, Jou snuck up to the partially open door and peeked inside to see three guys, all obviously older than him by at least five years, sitting around on the boxes and drinking beers... well, two of them were, at least. One of them, a young man with crimson-tipped brunette hair cut at all sorts of lengths and gray eyes as hard and cold at frosty steel, was gulping down every beer tossed to him and throwing the bottles against the warehouse walls in every direction. His frame was tall, but he was broad-shouldered and more heavily muscled than Jou, giving him the air of someone you really would not want to piss off.
    The other dark haired boy was much like his standing (and obviously drunken and enraged) companion, easily topping six feet and built like a tank, though his hair was tied back in a dragon's tail that reached his shoulders casually and was as black as midnight, while his eyes were a calm, medium blue, like the pure color you would find in a crayon box. He was slouching lazily and unashamedly next to the third man who, unlike his friends, was only about Jou's height and very wiry, with small and delicately framed glassed that hid his violet, and unfogged, eyes. His hair was only a shade or two lighter, as well, and cut in a slant from the nape of his neck down his jaw line. Also, unlike his companions, his features were far more feminine, as if the boy belonged on a TV set, not in a gang.
    "How the hell are we going to get that bastard back for what he did to us?!" the brunette shouted, his words slurring slightly from the six-pack he'd just finished off. "We don't have a plan, and even if we did, it'd be completely hopeless!"
    "Chill Aaron," the raven-haired man replied, his voice having a trace of some European nationality. "You forgot who exactly we have to help us. Right Mavrek?" The dark haired boy cast his calm gray gaze on the skinny boy next to him and smiled softly. "So, do you have a plan?" The other closed his eyes thoughtfully and nodded. "Aye," he replied, a definite Scotch accent on his tongue. "That ah do. But we need some 'elp for dis fight, and we need some'un whose got a bit of a grudge against our little friend."
    "That shouldn't be too hard," Aaron replied, smirking maliciously and downing another beer. "Nearly everyone in the city has a grudge of some sort against the Kaiba bastards." Jou started slightly. Kaiba? And Mokuba? That's who these guys were after? But why? "Especially you, right Julian?" The darker smirked slightly and closed his eyes somewhat as if remembering something humorous from his childhood. "Yep," he muttered, sipping his beer lightly. "His step-dad wasn't the only father who went nuts because of him." He turned again to Mavrek, who, in turn, was simply watching Aaron as he snatched up yet another beer. "So, what's the plan?"
    "Simple," Mavrek replied. "We kill 'em ahs slowly and painfully ahs possible. My idea is ta light their bloody mansion on fire and listen ta their screams as dey burn alive." He sipped a beer slowly, as if it were an elegant wine instead. "Thaht outta give us some sweet revenge, now shouldn't it?" Aaron laughed, a malicious cackle more or less, and turned his now glittering eyes to the Scotsman. "Brilliant," he stated. "Sheer brilliance. When do we execute the plan... and our little victims?"
    "Tonight." A jolt shocked Jou's system as he heard this. No matter what Kaiba had ever done to him in terms of teasing or taunting ever justified him a fiery death in his own house, unable to help his only living relative who gave a damn about him. Jou stood up and started to run off in the direction of Kaiba's mansion, but managed to miss a crowbar that had been carelessly left out by its owner and tripped over it, sending him crashing into a pile of boxes. Shouts of confusion and anger came from inside and Jou knew he'd been caught, but instead of running like a normal person would, Jou simply picked himself out of the pile and stood there as the three came out to face him. "Hey!" Aaron shouted at him. "Who the Hell are you?"
    "No'un ya need to worry your drunk ass over," Jou replied, smirking slightly. "All you need to worry about from me is the fact that I can run faster down to the police station than you can to Kaiba's place to trash it, and turn you guys in before you even git yer asses half-way there."
    "Ain't gonna happen, high schooler!" Aaron yelled. "You think you can take on all three of us at once?" Jou smirked again and almost laughed as he saw the drunk's face redden even more with rage. "The only one of you three I need to worry at all 'bout it you," he said as he pointed at Julian. His gaze transferred back to Aaron as his smile grew even more taunting. "You're so drunk you prob'ly couldn't 'it a brick wall if it was a foot from your face, and your little bud here's so skimpy, I'd prob'ly knock 'im flat wit' one punch."
    "We'll see about that," Julian said quietly, smiling that little secretive smile that obviously meant that he knew something Jou didn't. "You want to test your theory, little man?"
    "As a matter o' fact, I do. Got a problem wit' that?"
    "None what so ever. Aaron, will you do the honors?" The brunette cracked his knuckles and took up a boxing stance. "Sure," he said. "As a matter of fact, I'll take this punk out easy by myself." Jou's eyes narrowed back to his glare from when he was a gang leader as he stepped into the familiar boxing stance. "Doubt it, ass wipe," he said calmly. "You couldn't hit me if your life depended on it."
    "We'll see about that!" Almost instantly, the brunette began his assault on Jounouchi, his punches and kicks just barely blocked each time. 'Damn!' Jou thought. 'He's one of the ones who gets stronger when he's out of it!' Jou blocked another one of the oncoming punches and sidestepped a predictable second just far enough to throw the other fighter off balance. As the big lug's weight and center shifted, Jou started to get a punch in on his jaw, but jumped out of the way when the lanky Scotsman pulled a switchblade and began attacking for his unprotected back. The killing blow was avoided, but Mavrek easily changed direction and swung sideways, cutting deeply into the blonde's left forearm. The teen stepped backward and began to block assaults from both the attackers and dodge the switchblade's deadly strokes. Twice the blade managed to cut him, once on the back and once on his left thigh, but both times had left both opponents wide open and Jou dealt out twice as much damage as was given to him. Soon, after many hits from the surprisingly agile teen, the two began to tire and Jou sped up, hoping to knock at least one of them out, but then a kick came from nowhere and plowed into Jou's unprotected stomach, leaving him stunned just long enough for a second kick to his mid section that sent him flying back into the boxes that had betrayed his presence earlier. Apparently, the third fighter had joined in and shocked him with the first kick, and the skinny Mavrek had applied the second. But Jou stood up, not even close to being beaten, and dived right back into the fighting. Soon, the area around him was a whirling mass of punches and kicks, many landing on him, but at least twice as many blocked and successfully countered.
    Soon, the three had tired themselves out, having too much alcohol in their system and making them sloppy. Jou, with a new found energy he never knew he had, easily continued beating the crap out of them until the three lay unconscious at his feet. "Feh," he muttered at their unconscious and beaten forms. "You guys talk tough, but you ain't nothing compared to my ol' man. Stay away from the Kaiba bros, or so help me God I'll kill you next time." With that, Jou walked away from the scene, limping each time he stepped down on his left leg. 'Damn,' he thought bitterly. 'Those punks worked me over good. The switchblade was a bit of a cheap and nasty surprise, but I'm pretty sure those three won't be doing any fighting for a while... at least, not until those broken bones mend.' Smirking slightly, Jou headed towards the hospital to get treated for his latest injuries.
    As he rounded one of the corners, now back in the familiarity of downtown Domino, someone bumped harshly into him. The dark figure just kept on walking as Jou whipped around angrily. "Hey jerk, what's the big idea?" he shouted at the stranger. "No common courtesy?"
    "Not for a mutt like you." The familiar voice registered in his mind and Jou started, but easily recovered. "Oh, so it's big bad Kaiba out walkin' 'round like he owns the whole damn town," Jou snarled, now almost wishing he hadn't stopped those three from burning Kaiba's place... almost. "What brings you out 'ere at dis time o' night, rich-boy?"
    "None of your concern, mutt-face," Kaiba replied coldly. Jou's restraint snapped as his anger flared and he shouted, "Okay! That's it Kaiba! Tonight, you're going down, my way!" Jou stepped back into the familiar boxing stance and waited for the brunette to turn around before striking at his face. The brunette easily dodged each of Jou's attempts to hit him until he finally kicked Jou's already wounded stomach and, while the blonde doubled over in pain, elbowed him between the shoulder blades, knocking him to the ground face first, as well as knocking the wind out of him. Kaiba set his intense cobalt glare on the back of the blonde's head as he twisted Jou's right arm behind his back and held him there for a minute, half enjoying the fact that he had Jou in such a venerable position. Kaiba tweaked the other's arm a bit and grinned malevolently at Jou.
    "You're attempts at fighting are almost as bad as your attempts to duel, Jounouchi," he hissed in the blonde's ear. "Try beating me when you learn a couple new tricks, mutt." He dropped Jou's arm and started walking away, not looking back even when Jou rose again. Had he, he would have seen an angry, but also pained and sorrowful look on the young blonde's face as he turned and walked the opposite direction.
    Mutt. That little word rang so loudly in Jou's ears as he continued towards the hospital. 'Why does he call me that,' Jou asked himself bitterly as he fought back tears of resentment and sorrow to no avail. Suddenly, Jou felt very weak and sick, and didn't have time to stick his arms out before his knees collapsed underneath him, sending his battered body falling into the empty street with a soft fhwump. His head hit the ground hard, causing his ears to ring and his temples to pound, and chills and shivers engulfed his body while he also felt like he was going to spew the entire contents of his gut into the street. 'Damnit,' he thought weakly, coughing up blood as he failed miserably to return to his feet. 'Those bastards at the pier must've hit me so many times they ruptured something. I have to get to the hospital... Or do I?... Wouldn't it be better to die than go back?...' His eyes went out of focus as he felt thin, but strong arms lift him into a sitting position, vaguely hearing Kaiba's familiar voice say his name over and over. Jou smiled lightly as his shaking got more violent and he felt as if the only warmth in his body came from Kaiba's arms around his shoulders.
    "Just leave me here to die, Seto," he whispered hoarsely. "I don't want to live anymore anyway. Just leave me here and let me die..." Tears formed in Jou's eyes again, and this time, he couldn't hold them back, so they flowed, hot and thick down his cheeks. "I don't want to go back... Please Seto?..." And with that, Jou felt all of his strength leave him as the air rushed out of his lungs and darkness engulfed him, blinding all his senses and leaving only cold, pain and despair in his mind.

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    When Seto didn't hear Jounouchi try to make a snappy comeback, he'd thought that the idiot had finally just given up. 'Too bad,' he thought vaguely. 'That spirit, if not his intelligence, makes him all the more interesting to be around...' His train of thought stopped as he heard the sound of a body falling to the ground and something hard hitting the asphalt. He whipped around to see Jounouchi struggling to get up, but was unsuccessful almost instantly, coughing hoarsely as his weakened arms failed him. Seto ran over to the other teen's side and saw that Jou wasn't just coughing; he was coughing up blood. Seto, worry and panic on his features and thoughts of the same nature racing through his mind, lifted the wounded blonde into a sitting position, clutching him tightly, as if that would keep him holding on to life.
    "Jounouchi!" he half-shouted, panic and concern in his voice. "Jounouchi, stay with me! Jounouchi!" A small smile twitched at the corners of the blonde's mouth as his shaking grew more violent, and he whispered to him, almost too soft to hear, "Just leave me to die, Seto."
    Stunned was the only way to put it. Not only had the boy he'd picked on for the past year or so called him by his first name, but the boy to have the most astonishing will to live Seto had ever known had just told him to leave him to die. Before Kaiba could overcome his shock, Jou whispered something else; "I don't want to live anymore anyway. Just leave me here and let me die..." Even as tears flowed down Jou's rapidly paling cheeks, Seto could only sit in shock, holding Jou upright. "I don't want to go back..." the blonde continued. "Please Seto..." Jou suddenly went limp in his arms with a soft sigh and Kaiba was snapped back in control.
    "Jounouchi?" he said, half-questioning as he shook the boy in his arms. "Jounouchi, wake up! You can't die! What about Yuugi? What will he do once you're gone?" Getting no response, Seto checked the teen's pulse: irregular and slowly weakening. Without thinking, Seto scooped Jou easily into his arms, surprised that he could look so tough, yet weigh so little, and ran for the hospital four blocks away. 'Hold on, you idiot,' he thought angrily, but fearful. 'I won't have your death on my conscience, too.'

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Sabriel: There's chapter two. Now go away!
Hiei: That's no way to get reviews.
Sabriel: O.O YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU ACTUALLY WANT ME TO GET REVIEWS ON THIS CREEPY AND SERIOUSLY DEPRESSING FIC!?!?!?!?!?
Hiei: No. I'm just saying you shouldn't treat you reviewers like that since this is your most popular story since Introducing My Little Brother.
Sabriel:........ So?
Hiei: --sighs-- Just give thanks to your loyal readers and let's be done with it.
Sabriel: Fine... --grumbles-- Thank you readers. Now good night!
Hiei: --fwaps her-- Individually, baka ningen.
Sabriel: Whatever, baka youkai... --mutters darkly under breath, rubs back of head--

Kakarots-Frying-Pan - Yuugi just knows that Jou's past is really bad and that his nightmares are about his dad abusing him. Anyway, thanks for the review.

Bronwen - Ooo-kay. Well then, here you go, now you know.

evilgoddess1990 - See above.
Hiei: You are so damn lazy when you're depressed.
Sabriel: Your point?

Flame Swordswoman - Well this abuse fic will probably continue for a while if you guys keep pestering me with reviews, so, yeah.

DaughterofDeath - I just did.

drkinnocence - There you go drkhikari-chan.

YAMIGIRL3 - You confuse me a bit too, but oh well. Ask your yami if she knows my yami. Her name's Isabella.

Michelle - Uh, thanks. Don't any of you know how to do constructive critisizm though?
Hiei: Nope. After all, they are just ningens.
Sabriel: --fwaps him-- See ya people.
Hiei: Read and review.
Sabriel: Ignore Hiei's last comment.