Story: Puppies and Dragons Don't Mix
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.
Warning: Yaoi (boyxboy). May contain lime and/or lemon.
Pairings: Jou/Kaiba Possibly: Yami/Yugi Ryou/Bakura Otogi/Honda
Summary: Jou finds out that Kaiba is slowly destroying himself and desperately needs help. But why should he care? He's his worst enemy...right?
Symbols: "Talking" 'Thinking' -Scene Change- Chapter Start & End
Chapter 11: Project of the damned
The clock rested silently by his side, incandescent numbers showing that it was three in the morning. Normally, Jou would be fast asleep right now, snoring happily away and enjoying the last moments of his weekend. But rest was not coming to him tonight.
Sighing, Jou threw off the covers and sat at the edge of the bed, head in hands, fingers knitted in his hair. When did things become so complicated? When did the hatred turn? When?
He stood up and went to his window, moonlight streaming in from behind the thin curtains. Parting them and letting the silver luminosity wash over him, Jou began to recount in his mind the details of when he last ran into Kaiba.
Why didn't he get up? Why did he just stay there? Why did he have that feeling that he was finally complete? That the missing piece to his life had been fitted in when he was lying amongst the tender blades of grass with his long time rival, his cinnamon scent filling his senses? Why?
He should be able to dismiss the incident with the wave of his hand and the snort of derision like usual. He shouldn't be standing here, conscious and alert, reminiscing about his enemy. He should be out cold jumbled in a nest of bed sheets, dreaming about food. Why was this happening?
Jou looked up into the snowy glow of the moon, thinking of how icy and distant it was. 'Kind of like him…' He shut the drapes with a swish of cloth and turned away.
'Tomorrow will be better. The sun will come up and I'll go back to my friends and forget all about stupid Kaiba. I won't have to be with him anymore and will go out of my way to avoid him. He is nothing to me.'
With that thought branded into his mind, Jou fell back upon the pillows, determined to get some sleep. When he finally began slipping away from reality, he couldn't help but feeling an intense sense of sorrow tugging at his heart, but refused to connect it with its origins. He hated Kaiba and he didn't have to ever interact with him again once he was with his friends. He would be joyful again.
Then why was he not feeling as happy about that thought as he should?
-Morning-
With the morning passing by in one big blur, Jou almost forgot the reasons that he was incredibly tired and sad that morning. But once he entered the school gates and turned to see a familiar mop of russet brown hair ducking into a classroom, it all came rushing back to him.
He now sat in his first period, the teacher rattling on and on, struggling to stay awake and a frown plastered to his face. He was dipping in and out of the ocean of slumber, eyelids becoming increasingly heavier with each passing moment. 'Damn you Kaiba.'
A loud, sharp noise jerked him out of his comatose state and Jou looked up to see that the teacher has snapped her pointer in two.
"Now class, will you listen to me?" An evil sort of smile was stapled onto her mouth, causing many students to exchange uneasy glances with on another. 'What is wrong with her?'
"Mister Jonouchi! Please define a closure. Specifically as an essay term." She chose an easy target, one who was obviously not paying much consideration to her. "Now would me nice time, Jonouchi."
"Uh…I…um…"
"Wrong answer. I'm afraid that you'll be spending detention with me if you continue to ignore this class." She turned back to the board, leaving a fuming Jou to sulk. 'Bitch.'
"Well class, our time is almost up but I want you to leave here with a better understanding that if you…" Her voice faded once again and Jou, eyes glazed over, stared fuzzily at the board. Man was he tired.
-Lunch-
Jou sat, nearly nodding off in his uneaten lunch, while his friends worriedly gaped at him. Jou never ever did this.
"Jou?" Asked Yugi tentatively, prodding him gently on the shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Hmmm?" He groaned as he looked at Yugi, who was now even more concerned. "Um, what'd you say?"
"Jou, I asked if you're alright. You've been really quiet and not paying much attention in class. Are you sick or something?"
He focused on Yugi for a moment, whose brow was furrowed and was tugging at his bangs, a habit that he did when he was anxious. Yami gently pried his fingers loose of the limp piece of hair and set his hand on the table.
"Um, no Yugi, I'm not sick. Just exhausted from the cleaning I did the previous day."
Jou looked down at his unharmed food, which would have normally been in his stomach right now, and felt his appetite diminish further.
"Well…okay."
Yugi, slightly hurt that Jou wasn't sharing whatever was on his mind with him, turned back to eating. The silence engulfed the normally raucous group, but since Otogi and Honda weren't talking anymore and Jou was acting weird, no one broke it.
Jou mulled over his thoughts again, dreading the next period.
'Kaiba will be there. He will come over and berate me like usual, but it won't be the same. At least not for me.'
He so buried in his thoughts that he didn't notice the bell ring and Yugi shook him, depressed even further now.
-Last period-
Jou drug his feet into his "favorite" class and took his seat. The CEO still wasn't here and he felt hope swell up in him. Maybe he was absent.
Anzu came skipping by, taking her usual seat next to Yami and Yugi while Ryou and Bakura settled themselves behind him. Maybe, just maybe…
Most of the class had settled themselves in their chairs and were pulling out folders and such, Jou exclaiming brightly that he was feeling better and making Yugi smile. The bell would ring any moment now…
"BAM!"
The door flew open and revealing a very pissed off Kaiba standing menacingly in the entrance.
'Oh fuck.'
Jou moaned inwardly and felt his spirits sink to the floor. Why? WHY?
Kaiba strode down between the rows and slid into his seat just when the bell rang, but not before fixing Jou with an arctic, sapphire glare.
Jou returned it, feeling all the confusion turn into anger and grit his teeth. Why couldn't he just go and die somewhere?
"I see you haven't been chasing anymore cars, Mutt. Good job." Kaiba sneered as he pulled out his supplies.
"Shove it up your ass, Kaiba. I'm not in the mood."
Kaiba only smirked, sending Jou into a near fury.
"Good afternoon class!" Came an abnormally chipper greeting from his teacher, interrupting conversations and fights. "Today we will be starting a project. It seems as if the board of directors has finally listened to my requests of how important it is for children to get along well and they have issued a mandatory friendship assignment!"
Only one person squealed amongst the groans of protest. Anzu.
"Well I'm glad at least one person sees how this might be a great opportunity for you to make new friends. I have chosen and paired up people who are in definite need of the power of friendship."
Anzu was in tears of happiness but Jou began to have a minor panic attack. 'Oh no. Please no!'
"Our first pair will be Otogi and Honda. I've noticed you have been drifting apart from each other and this may resolve it."
Otogi looked horrified and Honda let his head hit the desk.
"Second pair will be Ryou and Anzu. Part of the same posse, but you still need to get to know each other."
Bakura threw a nasty glare at the teacher while Ryou eyed a now fuming Anzu. She had wanted to be paired with Yami.
"Third pair will be Bakura and Yami. I've noticed you haven't become the greatest of friends."
Yami tightened his grip around the puzzle while Bakura became rather agitated.
"Fourth pair will be Yugi and Bunzo. I hope you learn to work together."
Bunzo was the class bully and was cracking his knuckles while Yugi gulped.
"Fifth pair will be Kaiba and Jonouchi-"
"NO!"
Both Jou and Kaiba jumped out of their seats at the same time.
"I can't work with that thing!"
"How low can you go, pairing me with an imbecile like him?"
"BOTH OF YOU!" The teacher interrupted, face flushed. "I am the teacher and you will obey me! Now sit down!"
They remained unmoving, irate and infuriated while the teacher bloated to a frightening size.
"NOW!"
Both reluctantly sat back down, though Kaiba looked to kill.
"Anyways, in order in avoid an incident like that again, I will leave the list up here and go outside. By the time I get back you better be sitting by your partner or you will pay. No bribery or threats will get you out of this one Kaiba. I couldn't change the pairs even if I wanted too."
She left while the class ambled around, murmuring quietly and finding their seats.
Jou pitched his crap onto the desk next to Kaiba, heartbeat pulsing in his ears.
'Fucking bitch of a teacher. I HATE HER GUTS!'
He plopped himself down, scooting as far away as he could from Kaiba, and faced the opposite direction. He could literally hear Kaiba grinding his teeth when the teacher floated back in and situated herself at the class's front.
"Alright then. It looks like everyone has found his or her seats and I can begin handing out the rules, goals and assignments that go along with this project."
She handed the papers around and Jou read it with growing dread. 'No fucking way.'
Friendship Project
Rules:
Rule number one: All assignments that will be handed out by the teacher throughout the month will be completed without any skirmishes between the partners.
Rule number two: One partner, preferably the one better off financially, will have the other partner spend the entire month at their house. Supplies will be gathered after school today.
Rule number three: If fighting or any other disagreements occur, the over all grade will be deducted accordingly and the partners will spend detention together.
Rule number four: Lunch must be spent together with the partner as well as any other school activities.
Rule number five: This counts as a major part of your grade so if you disobey the teacher or anybody else; you will be jeopardizing your school report and may lose certain privileges.
Goals:
To have assigned partners become better friends.
To create a better learning environment.
To solve certain problems with your relationship with your partner.
To complete the project without any major fights.
To become a better person.
First assignment:
This will be your first night staying at your partner's house and all you need to do is get to know each other. Watch a movie or play a game. All that matters is that you begin to get comfortable in each other's presence, for you will be spending a lot of time together. Write a one-page paper on what you and your partner did. Must relate to each other.
Jou sat there, hands gripping the paper so tightly that creases were beginning to form at the edges.
'This is going to be one long fucking month.'
End of Chapter 11
Author's notes: I'm incredibly sorry that this took so long to get out but a series of events prevented me from updating. Stupid family. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I spent a whole damn night writing it and falling asleep in science the next day. See how much I am devoted to this? Lmao. It's 'cause I got nothing else to do. :P So, READ AND REVIEW! What a week…