Chapter 23: Afternoon Agitation

Despite Yami successfully delaying them further, Kaiba had still somehow managed to get them to school before the lunch break actually started. It was frustrating to him that he couldn't bring himself to feel annoyed by Yami's behavior, but it was impossible to pretend that he hadn't enjoyed their midmorning diversions, especially after they realized that they didn't have to worry about Mokuba hearing them as they…no, Kaiba would not allow that thought to finish. Then again, he hadn't had much luck in stopping Yami at that time either, but he did his best to ignore it as he made his way into the school building. He had at least had the foresight to drop Yami off about a block away so avoid raising suspicions in the event they were spotted.

It was easier to blend in since the classes had just dismissed for lunch, the halls flooding with countless noisy students who all seemed to have something to say. He quickly became aware of just how many girls were wondering where their Pharaoh-sama was and Kaiba couldn't help but feel smug about it, considerably amused by the whole thing. It was a short-lived feeling since he heard an annoying voice call out, "Kaiba!"

Kaiba surprised them both by sounding somewhat civil as he turned around and asked, "What?"

Jounouchi closed the distance between them as Kaiba stood with an aloof annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to maintain a bored appearance. It wasn't that he particularly had anywhere else he needed to be at the moment, but there were countless other things that he could be doing instead of wasting his time with Jounouchi. After hesitating for a moment, Jounouchi finally said, "I want to talk with you."

"Oh?" Kaiba asked in a tone that immediately had Jounouchi bristling in response. It was evident in Jounouchi's uneasy demeanor what he wished to discuss, so Kaiba gestured for the other to follow him; he had no desire for their conversation to be broadcast in the hallway. Entering the first empty classroom he saw, he waited until Jounouchi had closed the door before continuing. "Make it quick."

"About yesterday—"

Leaning against one of the desks, Kaiba interjected, "Come to apologize?" It was interesting to witness just how quickly Jounouchi began seething in indignation; Kaiba didn't even have to try. He had no desire to have this conversation – or any with Jounouchi, for that matter – but he had a feeling that it was inevitable. It was better to get it over with as soon as possible, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was going to cooperate so easily.

"Apologize?! Why in the hell would I—wait, no," Jounouchi started, pausing just long enough to try and calm himself, "I want to know why."

"Why you should apologize?"

"No!" Jounouchi exclaimed angrily, clenching his hand into a tight fist at his side. He had resolved to hold his temper in check so that he could get answers, but Kaiba wasn't helping any. "I want to know why you—why the two of you were—"

Interrupting once again, Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the other as he said, "You've taken a rather unhealthy interest in our personal life, mutt." Wait, did I just say, "our," instead of, "my?" Kaiba wondered, cursing himself silently. When the hell did that happen? It was an unsettling feeling and Kaiba did his best to ignore it for the time being.

If Jounouchi noticed the slip up, he failed to react to it. "He's my friend, damn it!"

"And that excuses you?" Kaiba asked with a haughty laugh. It was tempting to mention last night in context of that so-called friendship, but it would mean revealing the truth. The assumption that Yami sometimes lost his corporeal form because of the Millennium Puzzle still could prove useful to Kaiba since it would mean that Yami could return to his house without raising any suspicions or resulting in any interference from the Yuugi-tachi. The instant Kaiba realized what he had just considered, his internal reaction was harsh as he berated himself, Shit, I did not just fucking think that! This Kaiba Seto did not just fucking think that! It was even worse once he realized that he actually might have meant it.

Oblivious to the fact that Kaiba was currently distracted by what was transpiring in his mind, Jounouchi finally said, "No, it's just…"

"It's just…?" Kaiba prompted when Jounouchi trailed off into silence and looked away.

Taking a deep breath, Jounouchi forced himself to ask, "Why Yami?"

Grateful for the distraction from his own problematic realizations, Kaiba told him, "I'm under no obligation to answer you."

"Damn it, Kaiba!"

His patience was quickly running out, although he was inclined to believe that his current irritation was more a result of his own thoughts and not Jounouchi's pathetic attempt at an interrogation. "What?"

In his anger, Jounouchi came even closer to Kaiba as he said, "I'm being serious, bastard!"

"So am I," Kaiba warned him icily, glaring at Jounouchi in an attempt to further convey that.

He was momentarily taken aback before he threatened, "If I find out that you're using him, I swear to God, Kaiba, I'll—"

Jounouchi's attempt at trying to intimidate him was laughable, but Kaiba restrained himself to looking arrogant as he asked, "Using him for what?" The coloring of Jounouchi's cheeks was all of the answer Kaiba needed and he smirked smugly in response. "Do you honestly think he's the type to allow himself to be used?"

"No, but—"

"Then stay the hell out of it," Kaiba snapped, "and stop wasting my time."

"Why won't you answer my question?" Jounouchi demanded, his voice getting progressively louder.

"Did you honestly expect me to?" Kaiba asked with a derisive laugh.

Jounouchi knew that it was futile, but he tersely repeated his earlier question, "Why Yami?"

"Instead of…?"

Blinking in confusion, Jounouchi couldn't quite piece together what Kaiba was implying. "Instead of…?"

"Instead of who? Yuugi? Some woman? You?" Kaiba asked sarcastically. "Ridiculous!"

Jounouchi found the thought revolting and he couldn't bring himself to address Kaiba's latter suggestion. Instead, he felt the need to defend his best friend as he exclaimed, "Leave Yuugi out of this, damn it!"

Turning things against Jounouchi, Kaiba said, "You seem awfully concerned about him."

"Because he's my friend!"

"Is that your answer to everything?" When that failed to get a response, Kaiba taunted, "Or is there some other reason?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"He's all yours, mutt. I have absolutely no inter—"

It didn't come as much of a surprise to Kaiba that he was interrupted when Jounouchi angrily grabbed the front of his uniform and he continued to stare in an unimpressed manner at the fuming teen. Barely controlling his rage, Jounouchi yelled, "Bastard! Just shut up! Shut the hell up!"

"Makes it a little difficult to answer your question that way, doesn't it?"

"You were never going to answer it anyway, were you?" Jounouchi accused him as he continued to glare at Kaiba.

"You're just now figuring that out? You really are an idiot – not that I needed further evidence to confirm that."

Tightening his grip on Kaiba's uniform, Jounouchi was strongly resisting the urge to punch him. "Damn it, Kaiba! All I want to know is if you're serious about Yami or not!"

"And if I said, 'yes,' what the fuck would you do then, mutt?" Kaiba challenged him in a threatening tone.

"Bastard, I fucking knew—wait, what? What do you mean by, 'if,' asshole?" Jounouchi demanded as he preemptively pulled one of his hands back into a fist.

It was a valid question and one that Kaiba couldn't answer even if he had wanted to – which he didn't. He was spared by the sound of the door opening loudly as Yami entered the room and exclaimed, "Jounouchi-kun!"

Making no move to free himself, Kaiba simply shifted his gaze toward Yami as he sarcastically asked, "Worried?"

Yami had honestly been expecting the situation to be reversed and he continued to stare at the pair as he tried to figure out what had happened. Jounouchi finally let go of Kaiba as he frantically waved his hands in front of himself as he tried to explain, "Y-Yami, this—this isn't what it looks like!"

"Funny, I thought it looked like you were going to make a pathetic and unwise attempt at hitting me," Kaiba said with a harsh laugh as he straightened the wrinkles in his uniform. Without a second glance at Jounouchi, Kaiba began making his way to the exit, pausing in front of Yami long enough to softly say, "Your turn," with a smirk that earned him a questioning look.

Just before Kaiba got to the door, Jounouchi demanded, "Kaiba! What did you mean?"

"Figure it out yourself, mutt," Kaiba told him, before turning slightly and adding smugly, "or does it require another demonstration?" Not bothering to wait for an answer, Kaiba started laughing as he left, leaving two very confused people behind him.

Kaiba knew that he should be satisfied with what he considered a victory, and yet something was wrong. Frowning as he continued toward his classroom, Kaiba tried to isolate what exactly was detracting from his enjoyment of trouncing the mutt, but he didn't like his conclusion in the least. The thoughts that had inadvertently been addressed during his conversation with Jounouchi were contributing to his displeasure, but the question he himself had posed was bothering him more than anything else.

It could easily be taken as a rhetorical question, but that didn't sit well with Kaiba. Without being aware of it, at some point he had grudgingly accepted Yami's claim that it wasn't a game, but Kaiba had still failed to come up with an appropriate label for whatever the situation was supposed to be classified as. If it wasn't a game, then what else could it possibly be? But more importantly—what exactly had he meant by, "if," anyway?

Entering the classroom and sitting at his desk, Kaiba had a sinking feeling that even if he didn't want to think about it, his mind wouldn't give him much choice in the matter.

A/N: For someone who is supposedly so busy, Kaiba seemingly has a lot of time on his hands. Imagine that. XD

Jounouchi has practically been a whipping boy for comedic purposes, so I suppose this is my way of addressing his more serious side. He cares deeply for his friends and if I must give in to all of the dog associations—loyalty would fit in nicely, as would the willingness to defend those close to him. This is his attempt at that, but unfortunately for him, his temper combined with Kaiba's just make things more complicated than they need to be. Even though he knew that it was futile, much like the way he challenges Kaiba after his defeat at Alcatraz, even if you go into it knowing that, there still is a point, a reason to continue despite that. If that makes any sense…

Even though this one is short, I thought it was an important thing to include – mostly for all of those sidebar comments in Kaiba's mind that startle him. And as we all know, the boy can be obsessive when it comes to certain things. XD But I really could see him thinking, "Oh, if you only knew the real reason why your, 'Pharaoh-sama,' was late today…" Followed by mental maniacal laughter, of course. Actually, that's just fun to say: mental maniacal laughter…It's not that he would want everyone to know, but he would be smug as hell about it—for a short time, anyway.

Thanks again for all of the comments! It's been fun seeing where you guys think I'm heading with this. XD

NEXT CHAPTER: Lies That May Be True

When Kaiba finds some answers, what will it mean for Yami?

Title is likely to change. I've been struggling to pin this chapter down since before I even left Japan, but hopefully everyone will think it's worth it. If nothing else, I'm sure the length will make up for this one, haha. I'll be taking some allowances with time, mostly because if I write out every day of their two weeks, this thing will never get done.

Sadly, I don't think that I will be able to post it this Sunday. I have a friend coming down for an extend visit (YGO marathon and new fic ideas abound) and the odds that I'll be satisfied enough with it to post it on Friday afternoon are slim. It will probably go up this Tuesday or Wednesday instead, so I appreciate your continued patience and all of your kind comments!