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 15: Lunch hysteria
Jou lay in the foreign bedroom, unable to sleep, and watched the ceiling. After Kaiba and him had gotten back, they wrote the paper with little conversation. The brunette seemed to have thought that he had been too open and refused to say anything more than two words and a heavy silence had been draped upon them. Jou found himself wishing that they could have at least been insulting each other, anything but uncomfortable dead quiet. When Kaiba had left, he had given a clipped goodnight and told him to choose whatever room.
The mansion reminded him of Kaiba himself. Empty, cold, and locked up. The drafts that blew through the house made him shiver and he had piled all the blankets on top of him to keep warm.
But he was different when he was playing that song. Jou thought of how he suddenly looked so young and fresh. It was as if he had gone back in time. Then, when it was all over, the mask had slipped back on as if nothing had happened.
'Why do you hide yourself?' Jou mused, remembering how Kaiba's eyes had changed the most. 'Why do you hide that from everyone?'
Extreme exhaustion smothered him out of nowhere and he felt his eyes slide shut. 'Thinking of Kaiba is tiring. Much less trying to figure him out.'
-Next day-
He woke to food smells. Springing out of bed with energy he didn't know he could have this early in the morning, Jou bounded downstairs to the source. His nose led the way and he slid into the giant kitchen. A busy petite cook, her hands doing seven different things, was cooking the most delicious breakfast he'd even seen.
Wiping the drool off his face, he was getting ready to pounce on the plates that were lying on the counter when something flew at his face. A broom. He felt it rush past and the wind tickled his ear.
"Get out! Get out!" The cook seethed, aiming at his head again. He ducked and stumbled back. "Get out of my kitchen!"
Backed up against a door, she swung again and he had no choice but to go through it. He fell on the floor; sharp jabs of pain shooting up his spine, and dumbly gaped at the cook that loomed over him. She slammed the door shut with such force that it rattled the windowpanes and he sat there in numb shock until a voice startled him.
"I see you have met my cook." Kaiba's cool tone sliced through the morning air while Mokuba giggled. Brushing himself off, Jou stood up and faced them, glowing pink.
"What was that thing? A monster?" He rubbed his sore ass, grimacing in pain.
"We don't know, but she sure is one hell of a cook." Mokuba gave a cheeky grin across from the long stretch table. "Maybe you'd better go get ready. Food will be done soon."
"Yeah, okay." He grumbled. What a way to wake up. As he stomped up the stairs, he could hear Mokuba's laughs emitting from the dining room.
'Dumbass.' He scowled darkly. 'What were you thinking?'
He found his room, thanking himself that he had stayed in the easiest place to find, and shut the door. Walking into the bathroom, he glanced into the mirror and didn't enjoy what he saw.
A mop of tangled hair, swirls and eddies, peaks and twists, was piled atop his head. He squinted at his face, swollen and hot with sleep, and stuck his cherry red tongue out at it. 'What a sight.'
His mouth tasted like he had been eating his foot and he used a liberal amount of toothpaste to eradicate the tang, before washing his face. The drowsiness was shocked away with the frigid water and soap, and he blinked fully at his reflection.
He had taken a shower last night so no worries there. After dressing, washing, and another round of teeth brushing, he was halfway down the stairs before realizing that he had taken longer to get ready than normal. A little voice in his head that he couldn't quite squash in time suggested, 'You're trying to impress Kaiba.'
"Nonsense." He said aloud, denial evident in his tone. "I hate him."
"Hate who?"
Jou froze and felt the uncontrollable shivers of shock in his chest before turning around. He soon regretted it.
"K…Kaiba!" The sinking feeling of dread washed over him. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Hn." Kaiba just ignored him and glided past. "Be sure to eat your breakfast, mutt. I don't want to waste food."
"Fine. Be that way." Jou growled as he stomped in the other direction. Why did he even bother with trying to talk to the ice-cold prick? It was a waste of time.
He padded to the kitchen, ate his food with sort of a heated verve, and grabbed his backpack and shoes that were by the door. First day of school that he actually had to come into contact with Kaiba without insulting him.
He groaned at the thought and slipped his shoes the rest of the way on, stomping to make them fit. 'Damn I need to get some new shoes. These are almost too small.' He thought and he felt his toes becoming numb.
"Would you mind not tramping all over my floors? I don't need scuff marks all over the place." A silky voice hissed behind him making a familiar resentment swell in his chest.
"Kaiba." He growled softly as he turned to meet his deadpan expression. "I don't need you breathing down my neck 24/7."
Ignoring Jou's request completely, Kaiba leaned dangerously close to his face and narrowed his eyes. "This is my house, you dumb mutt. Remember that."
Kaiba's frosted eyes remained locked on his until the chime of a distant clock broke him off. He turned carelessly away. "We are leaving now."
Jou stood there, anger seeming to seep through his pores, until Mokuba came rushing down the stairs and pushed him along. "Come on Jou, you don't want to be late."
"Alright, alright. Hang on a sec, will ya?" He yelped as Mokuba nearly shoved him onto the floor. "I can walk on my own."
Mokuba just grinned that innocent grin and bounced after his brother.
-In the car-
Jou sat in the car, staring at his feet as it rolled smoothly across the paved road. An uneasy hush had filled the car after they had dropped off the talkative, yet enjoyable Mokuba off at school and Jou felt the strongest urge to break it. But what the hell would he say? Hey Kaiba, how's work? Life going well? Even in his head it sounded idiotic.
He glanced up and the human iceberg next to him who was calmly staring out the window, his delicate hands resting on his lap. So unusual. Shouldn't he be furiously typing at his laptop or insulting someone on the phone? Or shouldn't he be at least reading some confidential manila folder with his face twisted in disgust?
Kaiba, becoming aware of his stare, turned towards him, a blank expression on his face. "What?" His voice lacked bite, lacked…Kaiba.
Jou quickly averted his gaze and continued to stare at his feet. "Nothing."
Kaiba gazed at Jou for a moment longer before turning back to the window and the busy life that flew by in a rush of colors. 'What was that dumb mutt looking at me for just then? What was that look for?'
Letting the thought drop, he continued to watch life rush by from behind the cool pane of glass until the car glided to a stop at the entrance to the school.
Climbing out, Kaiba was unexpectedly hit with a rush of dizziness and grasped the car door to hold himself up. 'That's right. I couldn't sleep and didn't eat this morning.' He thought as his vision returned. Luckily, his short episode went unnoticed to the outside world and people. Almost.
"Kaiba."
He turned to see Jou glaring at him and felt the strong urge to look away. But instead, he answered in his usual flat icy tone. "What?"
"You didn't eat, did you?" Jou's gaze sharpened and Kaiba, though unaffected on the surface, felt a storm of emotions rise from within. "And after all that has happened."
"What does it matter to you?" Kaiba met the defiant stare with his own, his breath becoming slightly uneven. He has always enjoyed these confrontations.
"It doesn't matter to me at all!" Jou flushed at the words, his anger and embarrassment evident. "But what about Mokuba?"
'Mokuba…' The gloom that engulfed Kaiba's emotions was shown on his blank expression for a fleeting second before reverting back. He had to remain cool and let Jou be the one to make a fool of himself. It has to be him who loses it.
But Jou saw the mask cracking, even if it was just for a moment, and pressed on. "Don't be so selfish and think about the one person who cares about you. You're lucky to have that." He carefully watched Kaiba's eyes for his reaction. For something in those seas of cobalt. Anything.
"Mutt. Do not concern yourself with my personal matters just because you are living with me." Kaiba sharply twisted out of the lock of gazes and strode towards the school, an escape clearly apparent to Jou who knew he had won.
-Lunch-
Pulling his sliding book bag further up his shoulder, Jou ambled out of his class and looked amongst the ocean of people for his friends. And Kaiba…
'Ugh. I officially lost my appetite as of now.' He thought as he pushed through the crowded hallway while keeping an eye out. 'I doubt if he'll show up though.'
He suddenly lost his balance and slammed face first into a rather solid chest. Looking up, he was met with two beady black eyes and a bloated face. Bunzo.
"Get outta my way, loser." Came the deep, dense voice of Bunzo as Jou shoved away disgustedly. "I'm not your friend."
"Don't worry. I don't think of you as in the same species of me, much less my friend." Jou retorted, brushing away imaginary debris of his coat. "Where's Yugi?"
"Right here." The meek voice was heard from behind the oversized beast and Jou craned his neck over to see a rather nervous Yugi dwarfed by the sheer mass of Bunzo.
"Heya Yugi. I was just looking for you." He roughly knocked Bunzo aside and grinned at his best friend. "Where is the rest of the gang?"
"I dunno. I was trying to look for them. But…" Yugi looked up at Bunzo who was currently throttling an unfortunate freshman who had happened to walk by. "But he kinda drags me around."
"Don't worry. Let's go and hopefully the gorilla will follow." Pulling Yugi along, Jou was looking back at Bunzo when he slammed straight into someone else. Someone way worse than any Bunzo.
"Mutt. Watch where you're going."
"Kaiba." He growled at Kaiba who was watching him with cold eyes. "What do you want?"
"Well, regrettably, we are working together and, also a tragedy, our teacher is checking the lunch room to see if we are with our partners." He didn't look too happy about divulging that information. "She might as well have shut down my corporation."
Jou opened his mouth to sneer back when a familiar voice cut him off. "Jonouchi! Aibou!"
"Yami!" Yugi yelled to the pharaoh as he came over with Bakura, Ryou, Anzu, Otogi and Honda by his side. Jou distinctly heard Kaiba groan but ignored him and greeted everyone with his usual self.
"Hey guys." He beamed happily, his predicament of having to willingly converse with Kaiba slightly brightened. He noticed that Otogi and Honda were still behaving unusual and that Anzu still was slightly pissed and Bakura was more possessive than normal of Ryou. But they were still his friends.
Yugi looked like the circus had come and clung to Yami like a cat. Bunzo would have a hard time getting to him now.
"I heard that our teacher is actually checking to see if we sit by each other at lunch." Ryou said, trying to remove a certain person off his arm.
"Yeah. Crazy huh?" He replied, trying not to think too much about it. "I feel like we are in prison."
Otogi suggested that they better get moving or risk their grades and the group began making their way towards the huge double doors to the lunch room, Bunzo trailing behind. Jou felt a grip on his arm and stopped, turning around. He was met with Kaiba's arctic expression and knew what was coming.
"Mutt, I'm not going with them." He said in pure disgust, eyes narrowing at their retreating backs. His grip tightened. "Neither are you."
"Well, sadly, that's not up to you to decide." Jou replied, pulling out of Kaiba's grasp and stepping away. "I really don't care about this whole project thing, but I know for a fact that you won't be able to handle a bad grade. So unless you want a F, follow me."
As he went to catch up to his friends, he could feel Kaiba behind him, sullenly following him, and he knew that he'd pay later. 'Oh well. Small victory for me.' They finally caught up, Jou easily melting into the conversation and Kaiba silently next to him.
When they pushed through the doors, they saw pure chaos. It was packed with people, all crammed against each other, the food line never-ending. Jou was shoved involuntarily into Kaiba, his breath hitching as he felt himself up against the CEO's chest. Roughly pushing away, Jou tried to stay with his friends, but they were lost among the crowd and he felt the constricting feeling of so many things around him closing in.
"Kaiba!" Jou yelled over his shoulder to the brunette, who was knocking several teens out of the way, clearly uncomfortable with all the activity. He looked up at him when he called but didn't say anything. "Let's get the hell out of here!"
To his complete surprise, Kaiba reached forward and yanked Jou through the river of people that had separated them, dragging him through endless mob of students, and bursting out the back doors where the outdoor lunch area was. The calmness was welcoming and Jou sat down on one of the benches, catching his breath.
"Thanks for getting me out of there. I wasn't sure you had heard me." Jou sorta kinda mumbled into his hands, his heavy panting making it hard to talk. Plus, he hated thanking Kaiba for anything. "I guess we'll tell that damn teacher that it was way too full in there to even breathe, much less find her and eat."
His hunger was unbearable and he felt himself wishing he had at least eaten something. He rested his head in his hands, trying to forget about it, until something was thrown into his lap. Looking down he saw the wrapped bundle of…
"A sandwich?"
"Mokuba has picked up the habit of stuffing food into my jackets every morning." Jou looked up at a rather bored Kaiba. "I normally throw it away but I didn't want you whining about your hunger if we missed lunch, so I kept it."
Jou tore open in a savage way, thanking Kaiba quickly, and was about to bite into it until he thought better.
Kaiba watched Jou in bemusement as he tore it into half and in slight shock when he held it out a half to him. "Here. Eat it."
"What?"
"Eat it. Mokuba made it for you and you need to start eating." Jou said firmly, still holding it out to him.
"No. I'm not eating."
"Come one. It's only a half a sandwich. You should probably eat more."
"No."
"Fine then. If you don't eat it, I'll tell the teacher that I wasn't present at lunch because I couldn't find you and you were avoiding me."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
Snatching the sandwich away from a rather smug Jou, Kaiba stared at the food as if it contained poison before taking a bite. Not used to eating very often he wanted to spit it back out. But instead he stubbornly chewed and swallowed the bite, trying to keep his exterior void of any emotion.
He looked up at Jou, who motioned for him to keep eating, then after a particularly nasty scowl, ate the rest as fast as he could manage. He felt slightly nauseated afterwards but kept it to himself.
"There, that wasn't so bad was it?" Jou smirked at Kaiba before wolfing down the rest of the sandwich. He stood up, brushed off the crumbs, and stretched before turning back to Kaiba. "Well, what should we do now?"
"Find that teacher. We've had our break from that madness of the cafeteria." He smoothly rose from the bench and went back to the doors, realizing, resentfully, how much energy he had gained from that one meal. Pushing open the double doors, he knocked over several unlucky students who happened to be leaning up against it. Ignoring their cries of distress, he tugged Jou through the horde once again, now bigger than before, and went straight to the back where the teacher's lounge was.
"Kaiba! Are you sure that this is okay?" Jou shouted over the roar of the blather of people even though he was less than two feet away from him. "I mean, will they let us in there?"
"It doesn't matter whether they will or not!" With that, Kaiba burst open the door, upsetting several administrators who had been enjoying the empty tranquility of the room.
"What do you think you're doing here?" A rather tall man said in a disgusted voice. "Get out!"
"Shut up and tell me where Mrs. Saito (1), my history teacher, is." Kaiba spat rather resentfully at the man, making the towering adult redden in fury.
"She's outside in that hell, trying to control her students along with the rest of the last period teachers. Damn project is making them go crazy." He came over to them, his anger seeming to grow with every word. "Now get out before I expel-"
Slamming the door shut, Kaiba looked down at Jou, his expression neutral. "This project was given to the whole school?"
"I guess so." Jou turned to look at the swarm of individuals that had infested the cafeteria. "What else could explain this mess?"
"Hn." Kaiba was in deep thought. 'Why would they do something as stupid as this friendship project? It was making the school fall apart and they weren't dumb enough to do that. Why would they do this?'
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice on the speakers, recognizable even over the noise. "Be quiet please. I need to make an announcement."
When nobody listened, Mrs. Saito gave up on the polite tactic and screamed. "SHUT UP!"
Dead silence.
"Alright, that's better." She sighed up on the mike, giving the crowd a small smile. "I know this is one big mess in here and that you probably haven't even seen your teacher, much less checked in with them. So, I have proposed to the staff and they agreed heartily, that tomorrow instead of coming here for lunch, you all report to your last period to eat."
The groans of protest only made her smile more. "Now I know that seems a bit unfair but unfortunately, you cannot seem to organize yourselves on your own so I'm afraid that we have to do this."
She wasn't apologetic about this at all, just enjoying it. "Of course you won't be expected to stay in there. After buying your lunch in the first ten minutes, you will go to your last period class where the teacher will assign an area for you to stay with a supervisor. If they report that you have strayed from the area, fought with your partner, left your partner, or have done anything else out of conduct, you will be punished."
The room was filled with mouths open in shock but Mrs. Saito just continued on like nothing she was saying was out of the ordinary. "That is all I have to say. Today's lunch period is already over but perhaps you did not hear the bell. Head to class everyone."
The chatter started up once again as the mass moved through the doors and into the hallways. Jou, however, remained frozen in shock until Kaiba shook him out of his stunned state and pushed him along.
Wailing all the way to class, Jou caused many odd looks to be thrown his way, but Kaiba, in rare consideration, did not shut him up.
End of Chapter 15
Explanations: (1) If I gave her a name already, please inform me. I reread all my chapters to make sure but I might have missed something.
Author's notes: Another late chapter. Sorry to all who have waited so long. It was extremely hard to write and I really wanted to make it longer for you. So hard. I kept wanting to end the chapter at three pages because it took me a month to write just that. Arrgh! Anyways, my computer is going away soon, maybe today, and I'm trying to convince my mother to buy me another one. I only have about 140 so I can't buy one of my own. So sad. Thank you for my reviews. Very nice and kept me from ending the chapter at three pages. I don't know if this will be up to your standards but I hope you like it. Thanks for reading and drop in a review when you have the time. See ya.