Till Death Do Us Part
Chapter 8: Jounouchi's Light
He cried out when his back hit the wall and his head rebounded with an audible crack. A meaty fist tightly clenched his shirt's collar and held him almost entirely off the ground, making it difficult to draw in air. Wheezing and choking, Katsuya clawed in vain at the fist that was strangling him while his free arm attempted to protect his stomach from the punches he knew were coming.
He knew exactly where they would land. He knew what size and colour the bruises would form and how many ribs would crack as a result.
"D-Dad. S-s-stop!"
"I'll kill ya! Tell me where ya hid m'beer or I'll kill ya!"
blink
Darkness returned and he was huddled on the floor, alone. The door next to where Kaiba had disappeared remained shut and impassable like it had been from the very start for Katsuya. Breathing hard, he brought a trembling hand up to his throat and let it rest there lightly. All of the hurt and terror he thought he'd left behind him once his father had sobered up for good had come rushing back during the hallucination. It felt so real, even though it had been an attack from years earlier, and he could still feel the bruise that had made it painful to eat for days afterwards.
blink
Hirutani stepped out of the shadows. In his left hand, he flipped a switchblade open and closed. Open and closed. Shnick. Shnick. Each snap of the blade frayed at Katsuya's nerves as he fought not to flinch or show fear. He struggled to stand and defend himself, but the rope that bound his wrists and ankles made it impossible to do so. The street thug, who, rumour had it, was endeavouring to claw his way higher in the ranks of the Yakuza no matter what it took, stepped close to Katsuya and leaned down over him with a gloating grin.
"Shouldn'ta got in my way. I woud'a let you join me, if you'da begged."
Katsuya spat curses against the gag in his mouth, but, for all the show of defiance, he knew he was as helpless as a puppy before his enemy. Hirutani calmly took Katsuya's chin between his thumb and fingers and forced it up, exposing the vulnerable column of flesh beneath.
"Should'a begged, pretty boy," the older gang member said with a remorseless snicker. "Should'a got on yer knees and sucked m'cock, but too late now."
He pressed the edge of the blade against Katsuya's throat.
blink
Katsuya gasped and scrambled partway across the tunnel before he realized his limbs were free. A quick check found his throat unharmed, although his trembling fingers traced over the thin, nearly invisible scar that Hirutani had put there years ago.
blink
The heavy chain dragged him down into the cold, darkening depths of the ocean. The salty water pressed in from all sides. All he could see were the air bubbles rising from his nose and mouth and all he could feel was the growing pressure that threatened to burst his inner ears.
Drowning. The word slipped through his mind but he pushed it away. It was a bad way to go, but as long as Yugi was safe and his own mind was free from the psychopath that had forced him to fight against his best friend, he was satisfied. Death wasn't something to be afraid of. It happened to everyone eventually, and Katsuya knew he should have died a hundred times over by now, and that the only reason he was alive at all was that he seemed to possess an extraordinary amount of luck. But even his luck would have to run out at some point.
The burning in his lungs increased and the edges of his vision began to fade to black.
blink
It took a second or two for Katsuya's brain to comprehend that he was in fact not sinking to the bottom of the ocean and to send signals to the rest of his body that it was okay to inhale. He did so, breathing in deeply, his lungs still aching. He dragged himself over to the door and leaned back against the rough, splintery wood. There was no need to try opening it again – he'd attempted to do so multiple times already, in between hallucinations, but no matter how hard he kicked at it or tugged on the handle, it would not budge.
When his eyes became painfully dry, he closed them and placed his hands over his shut lids to prevent himself from accidentally opening them again. As long as he didn't blink, he was safe – at least, he hoped so.
"Nn," he whimpered and rested his forehead on his raised knees. Although the idea of it would have sent him into a fit of mirth in the past, he honestly missed Kaiba's company. What he wouldn't give right now to hear the rich prick call him a mutt or loser, as long as it meant that Katsuya wasn't alone. He wondered if Kaiba was safe and with Mokuba and everyone else now. Pushing Kaiba through the door had been one of the most difficult decisions he'd ever had to make, especially since he had a feeling that if he'd explained that it wasn't open for him, Kaiba would've refused to go and leave him. But he never was good at being selfish.
Katsuya tried to laugh, but it came out sounding more like a broken sob. "It's not fair…"
But then again, when had life ever been fair to him. Just look at what memories he was being forced to re-experience every time he opened his eyes now. It was like his life was flashing before him, except all the good things, the happy parts, were missing.
"My life wasn't all pain and misery!" he shouted hoarsely into the silence. There had been a lot of that, granted, but not so much that he wanted leave everything behind so soon. He was still young and had a lot of hope for the future.
Eyes squeezed shut, he strained to remember the brighter memories – the shining ones that he always kept locked safely away in his heart except to bring out and cherish during the bad times.
Holding my baby sister in my arms for the first time.
Fighting alongside Honda, knowing he'd always have my back.
Being forgiven and accepted as a friend by Yugi.
Dueling and realizing that I finally found something I'm good at and enjoy.
Expanding my circle of friends to include Anzu, Otogi, Mai, Mokuba and even Kaiba.
My dad checking himself into rehab and sobering up.
And more. So many more. He sat there and carefully went through every one, focusing on every detail and every separate emotion. After some time, warmth began to return to his body. It took him awhile to notice as he'd been freezing for what felt like ages, but the faint heat spread from his chest until even his fingers and toes began to thaw. He submerged himself deeper and deeper into his memories, reliving all of the joy, victories, gratitude, and love, and blocking out the dark, painful bits. At one point, it felt as though his friends were there, whispering in his ear.
'Remember…? Hanging out at the arcade and burger joint after school…'
'Panty-tanking in the hallways until Anzu kicked our asses…'
'Winning your first duel… can you remember…?'
Loneliness and fear of the darkness were washed away by the memories.
"I remember," Katsuya whispered with a small, trembling smile. "Miss you. Don't want it to end. I wanna go home."
Something still held him back, though. Some part of him remained tied to the darkness.
"Help me, please. Help me to go home."
'Katsuya.'
Katsuya gasped and, for the first time since finding himself alone on this side of the door, felt his eyes well up with tears. He hadn't expected to hear that low, confident voice ever again. Kaiba. It was Kaiba talking to him and calling him by his first name. What did that mean? Katsuya shook his head, wishing he could open his eyes and look for the source of the voice, but he knew it would be pointless anyway. Kaiba had gone through the door and now there was nobody but Katsuya here.
'I am here, Katsuya. I'm still by your side.'
"N-no, liar. Liar, I said g-goodbye."
There was no answer. As the silence stretched, Jounouchi began to panic. "Kaiba? Kaiba! S-Seto! I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
'…the darkness? Whatever you did then, I want you to try it again.'
"Wh-what?" He didn't know what Kaiba was talking about. There was nothing he could do, he was trapped here. It was already too late, wasn't it? "I don't understand!"
'I'm right here. You're so close.'
"Where? Where are you Kaiba? Kaiba? Seto! Please!" Katsuya shouted and pressed the palms of his hands hard against his eyes to keep the tears of frustration from leaking out. It was no use. What was he supposed to do? He didn't know where to begin. Kaiba said he was "right here", but what did that even mean? It wasn't as though Kaiba was standing here and all Katsuya had to do was reach out his hand…
The breath caught in Katsuya's throat when a sudden thought niggled at his brain. What he had done when he had been trapped and dying in the dark, before Seto managed to pull him out…
With a silent prayer to whatever gods might be listening, Katsuya took a deep breath and extended his right arm, reaching out both physically and mentally. In his mind's eye he pictured Kaiba standing there in front of him with that maddening smirk that never failed to both attract and piss off Katsuya at the same time. He reached and reached, but it felt like the harder he tried to grab hold, the farther away Kaiba was.
"I c-can't… It's impossible."
"Giving up already, Mutt?" Kaiba's voice taunted him.
Katsuya bit his bottom lip and shook his head. No. He wasn't weak, he would show the rich bastard that he wasn't just some third-rate loser that ran when things got tough. Gathering up every last ounce of willpower, he mentally flung himself towards the waiting man.
The wood vanished from behind him and he was falling backwards into empty space. Wind whipped his clothing and hair but did nothing to slow his freefall. Katsuya hardly noticed, however, because he had finally closed the distance between Kaiba and himself. Kaiba's arms were around him and he was wrapped in the warmth and comforting scent of the tall man.
I found you! Please, don't ever leave me again! Promise you won't!
A/N: Sorry about the super shortness of this chapter (and perhaps the mushy ending line haha), but I didn't want to drag it on too much! There are two more chapters coming that I'm labeling as Epilogues since they're just a bit of extra focusing on recovery and strengthening the Kaiba x Jou relationship!