warnings: profanity

2. Swooning

It took a while to get everything squared away at headquarters, part of which time Mikage spent talking—or, rather, stammering—to Jack.

Kaz sat at a desk, filling out paperwork and thinking over the situation. He felt lucky that Jack considered him a friend. He'd been a fan long before they'd tangled up during his undercover investigation. Actually fighting by his side against the Diablos had been a dream. In some ways, he felt as though he was as bad as any of Jack's fangirls because didn't he want Jack's attention too? Jack had offered his friendship, but their worlds were so far apart; how close could they ever really be? And now he felt compelled to chastise him for taking matters into his own hands again when he was just trying to help … he didn't think Jack would take kindly to that.

Kaz sighed as his gaze drifted over toward Jack and Mikage. They made a beautiful couple. Maybe she was right to keep on hoping after all?

Jack returned his gaze and said, "Are you done with that? You really need medical attention. I'm taking you to the hospital. After all, it's my fault you were injured."

"I'm sure Ushio would be more than happy to take him," said Mikage.

"No, I'm going to do it," said Jack. "Besides, he wants to tell me off."

"Kazama!" Mikage chastised.

"He has a valid reason," Jack said. "Let's get going before you bleed to death."

"It's not serious or I would have left already," Kaz said.

"You're going to have to double with me," said Jack as they entered the garage.

"Whatever for?"

"In case they anesthetize you or something."

"That's ridiculous."

"I don't care. What if you end up with your arm in a sling or something? You might not be able to ride back. I'm taking you. Sorry about the squeeze, though."

Kaz looked at the Wheel of Fortune. He'd always been a little curious about what it would be like to ride it, sure … but close to Jack? For some reason the thought made him all kinds of nervous.

"Well?" said Jack. "Just climb aboard and sit behind me. You first."

Kaz hoped he wasn't blushing as he sat on the D-wheel. There was room there, but unlike most bikes, there was no way to spill off the back. He'd be pressed up against Jack … He leaned back against the seat and tried not to think of anything as Jack's white-clad posterior settled between his thighs. This just felt too strange.

"Don't try to hold onto the Wheel of Fortune, hold onto me," said Jack. "We'll balance better that way, trust me."

"This is embarrassing," Kaz griped, complying reluctantly. He closed his eyes tightly and hugged Jack's narrow waist. He tried to concentrate on the thought that the hospital wasn't far away and tried not to notice that Jack's abs and back were packed with lean, hard muscle.

Jack was just another guy, so he wasn't sure why he was so nervous about this. It had to be because he had such an intimidatingly perfect body. Touching it just felt weird, somehow.

"It'll only be a few minutes of this," Jack promised as he pressed back so that he could get room enough to drive.

Several minutes later, Jack said, "We're here." When Kaz didn't immediately let go, he became concerned that he'd accidentally crushed him somehow and peeled Kaz' hands from around his waist before standing.

"Huh? Oh, are we here already?" said Kaz in a slightly dazed voice.

"Yeah, what's wrong with you? Lose too much blood?" Jack reached down and gripped Kaz by his arms right below the shoulder and lifted him off the bike. "Here," he said, wrapping a supporting arm around his shoulders, "I'll help you in."

"No, it's fine, Jack," Kaz said, blushing. "I just kind of spaced out on the way in." He didn't want to admit he tried to blank out during the ride because the situation made him so uncomfortable.

"All the more reason."

Jack all but carried Kaz into the emergency area and requested that they expedite things considering that he was an officer and had delayed coming for assistance.

Of course, when the admitting nurse saw that Jack Atlas had brought Kaz in, that didn't hurt.

It wasn't too long before Kaz was waiting in an ER bay and, somehow, Jack was there with him. "How did you get in?" asked Kaz. "You're not even a relative."

"I usually get my way and I don't want to sit out in the waiting room. I'd rather wait in here with you."

"You do tend to do what you want to, don't you?"

"Yeah, about that … This is the second time I got you hurt while I was trying to help someone out. I'm really sorry about that."

"Jack … I don't care about that. What I'm concerned about is that you rush into those situations alone with no concern …" Suddenly Kaz couldn't remember what he was going to say as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He reached out for Jack and tried again. "Uh, Jack …"

"Kaz, are you …" But Kaz didn't catch the rest.

The setting sun painted the west in a blaze of reds, yellows, and violets. The vivid violet reminded Kaz of Jack Atlas' eyes, actually. It was so unusual, the way it blended into the dark blue of impending dusk that he had a hard time keeping his eyes on the road.

He was cruising on patrol along the ocean. Suddenly, he heard a beep from his console and the following: "Disabled D-wheel reported off Strand Highway, KM 17."

Kaz hit the comm button and said "542 responding, out."

KM 17, he thought. If it was off the highway at KM 17, it needed to take a long exit down to the beach, because the highway was suspended way above the ground at that location. Sure enough, there was no vehicle on the shoulder at KM 17, so he pulled down the long ramp.

His second surprise came when he caught sight of the D-wheel propped next to a large rocky outcrop, a specific custom monowheel model. "Jack?"

Sure enough, the man was leaning against the large machine. "Kaz, is that you? That is you! I was hoping that you would be the one to come to my rescue."

"Me? Why me?" Kaz said, confused. And rescue? He never expected Jack to choose that word. "Never mind. What's the issue? Do you need me to call for assistance?" Of course Jack would have already called, right? Unless his comm was out, that is.

"No, I'm fine. In fact, the Wheel of Fortune is fine, too."

"Jack, I don't understand." Kaz looked at him seriously now, the setting sun infusing Jack's blond hair with fire. "I got a distress call."

"I am in distress, Kaz," Jack said quietly, taking a step toward him.

"You … what?"

"I've missed you." Jack took another step forward, inducing Kaz to take another step backward. He was further pushed off-balance when he discovered that he'd backed into the stony outcrop. He looked back toward Jack only to find that he had taken another step forward and was now leaning over him.

The sky was burning, and somehow, it seemed to have gotten into Kaz, catching him on fire. Even Jack's eyes seemed to have turned red with reflections of the sun's incendiary departure.

Kaz lifted his heel to take a step sideways, but Jack suddenly put his hand on Kaz' cheek, stroking it gently, freezing him mid-stride. Kaz groaned softly. What the hell is he doing!

"Don't leave; I need to see you," Jack murmured.

"Jack," Kaz protested weakly, "I'm on duty."

"You can take a break, can't you?" Jack bent nearer. Those eyes …

Those eyes weren't—they were really red! "You're not Jack!" he exclaimed, trying to jerk away, but the impostor pushed him back, pinning him against the outcrop.

"Oh, I think I'll do in a pinch," he said maliciously. Kaz pushed hard with both hands against the machine's chest, but he kept pressing forward. He relentlessly pushed forward until his hips were crushing Kaz'.

This is a turn for the worse! Kaz thought, in horror. If it were anyone else! But this … thing looked so much like the person he so admired. His worst fear was that he might respond to this automaton and that, worse, Jack might find out somehow.

"Oh, come on, Officer, why not have a little fun?" the faux Jack said, grabbing a handful of hair and jerking Kaz' head painfully forward. "I'm just like him. Hell, I'm an improvement!"

"Ahh!" Kaz cried out in pain. It felt like he was being scalped. He relaxed a little, hoping to ease the pressure—and that he still had some hair to save.

"That's more like it," faux Jack approved, then forcefully kissed him.

All the strength drained from Kaz' body. How could a machine kiss like this? he wondered, surrendering despite himself.

The effigy pulled back, laughing quietly, and said, "Remember, I was designed to be a better version of the original. Sure you don't want to take advantage of this opportunity?" He ran a hand down Kaz' side and purred, "See? Your body's responding."

Kaz jerked back, as though snapped out of hypnosis, and gave the machine a sudden push. Jack's imitation must have been surprised because this time, Kaz was able to break free. He stumbled sideways a few steps and ran into something hard and unyielding.

Whirling about, he saw it was Jack—the real Jack, his violet eyes gleaming, sparking red highlights in the dying light. He wore his duel disk on his forearm. Emotions roiled through Kaz' body. He didn't want Jack—the real Jack—to see him like this. He was ashamed and angry with himself—that he could have responded to the touch of this counterfeit. Could they still be friends after this?

"What is this?" he asked weakly. "I thought this impostor had been destroyed."

Jack's face was painfully impassive. "Apparently not," he said. Determination grew in his demeanor as he drew a card from his deck and placed it in face-up attack position. "Red Demon's Dragon," he said, "remove this fake!"

With one ball of fire, the dragon burned the faux Jack away, leaving him looking at Kaz with almost expressionless eyes.

That was the worst.

And when his heart sunk to the bottom, Kaz awoke, disoriented and wondering, Shit, all this was just a dream? "Jack …?" he mumbled, opening his eyes, the mixture of guilt, anger, and shame lingering in his consciousness.

A hand laid upon his wrist. "No, Kaz. It's Ushio."

Kaz blinked several times, focusing his eyes. The weird aura of the dream dissipated as confusion set in. "What happened? Where's Jack?" He'd been in the ER, and then … what had happened?

"You passed out in the ER. Jack isn't here."

"He's not here? You didn't let him go on his own did you?"

"It's not like it was my decision! By the time I got here, he had already left! From what I hear, he pushed some poor random doctor in with you and stormed out."

"Shit, I have to find him!" His dream momentarily forgotten, Kaz began to sit up.

"Wait, don't get up," Ushio insisted, holding him down by his shoulders.

"You don't understand! He's gone after that guy—" Kaz began to struggle a little, but he was pinned down.

"Hold it a minute. Let me get your doctor and we can see if you can be released."

"I don't want to wait! He could get himself into real trouble."

"Look, Kaz, just because Jack is doing something stupid doesn't mean you have to. Let me send a patrol down to that area."

"But—this is an emergency!"

"Calm down. He's already been out there for hours now. Are a few more minutes going to make any difference?"

"Fine," he said. He didn't want to waste time arguing. "Is my cell around here?"

Ushio unlocked a drawer, saying, "This is where they put your personal stuff." He handed Kaz the key along with the phone. "Here you go."

"Thanks, and tell the doc it's an emergency. I'll send the patrol."

"Whatever. I'll get the ball rolling while you make your call." Ushio handed him the little device and left the room grumbling something about "friends" and "more trouble than he's worth."

Kaz thought it over quickly and decided against sending out the patrol after all. If Jack hadn't found the guy, there would be no reason to haul him in. Instead, called Jack, frowning when voicemail answered. He'd have to try the second option, then.

He quickly located the number he wanted and punched it in. "Kaz?" asked a surprised voice at the other end.

"Uh, Yusei, sorry to bother you like this, but it's important. It's about Jack."

"Go ahead." There was no surprise in the reply. If he weren't worried, Kaz might have laughed. Did Yusei expect Jack to get into trouble?

"I got involved in this, uh, situation last night—he was breaking up a cheating ring and I happened to be there to pick up the call and got dinged up during the cleanup. In a nutshell, he walked out when I was asleep and I think he's going after the guy who nicked me up."

"That figures. So he's been gone for a while?"

"Yeah, and I haven't been able to reach him. Plus I'll be tied up here for a little while longer waiting to be discharged."

"I see." Kaz heard a chuckle at the other end. "Well, I was wondering what happened because he's staying at my place while he's here and he was gone all night. Good thing I've already planned on keeping my schedule light and flexible just in case something came up. I'll meet up with you and we can go find him."

"Good."

Kaz quickly related the details to Yusei, finishing up just in time for the doctor to arrive. "Are you ready to get out of here?" he asked.

"More than ready," he agreed.

He dressed quickly. Ushio showed up with a wheelchair, which made Kaz laugh, but it was hospital regulations. He did need the ride from Ushio, though. Damn Jack making him leave his D-wheel at the station! As they were leaving, Yusei called to tell him that Jack hadn't answered his cell. He was more anxious than ever to find Jack.

Kaz met Yusei in front of the bar on Market Street where he'd found Jack the previous night.

"I'm sure that Jack will turn up as usual," Yusei said. "Do you want to split up? We can cover more ground that way."

"Yes, but first let's look around this place and see if we turn up any leads. If we get something, it might be more efficient to follow up together."

"Sounds good."

It was still morning and the bar was closed tight and no one had shown up to prep for opening yet, so they would have to wait to ask whether anyone had seen Jack. The two went around the back and there it was, the Wheel of Fortune, parked discreetly in the corner.

Kaz walked over and held the handlebar, thinking. "This would have been the first place he'd have gone," he said.

"Which means that he either ran into trouble right off or he got a line on that guy and followed up on foot—which he wouldn't do unless it was nearby, or—"

"Or he ran into trouble," Kaz finished. "Let's hope it's the first one."

"Well, it's around ten, and this bar serves lunch, so someone should be coming soon to start the prep work or they won't be ready. What say we stick around a little and question him? If we don't get anything or there's a number of leads to investigate, we can split up after."

"Sounds like a plan."

Jack awoke on hard concrete. He groaned and brought up a hand to rub his head—or tried to, that is. Not only did he have a splitting headache, he couldn't even massage his temples because his hands were bound behind his back. He wished that he could rifle his pockets to see if he'd had the foresight to stash a pack of aspirin, even though he already knew that he hadn't.

He looked around. There wasn't much light, but he could see well enough to tell that he was in some sort of dark basement or hole of some type. He tried to put his feet under himself to stand, but realized that they were also bound—and his legs were aching like a bitch. Had he been thrown down the stairs or something? He felt terrible—even worse because he didn't remember exactly how he got here.

What exactly had happened last night? He remembered that his friend Kazama was hurt—that was partly his fault, too—and that he had hurried out to get that last guy, the guy responsible for hurting Kaz, and then … then what? He remembered getting on his D-wheel to go back to that bar, but he couldn't really remember getting there.

And he couldn't remember how he got here at all.

Author's notes ...

Well, at least there are a few of us who appreciate justiceshipping, but still, the traffic is slow-ish. Whether this is because it's unusual or unpopular, I don't know. Nevertheless, we won't let that deter us, will we? I really appreciate the reviews, follows and favorites I've already received for this effort, especially the outpouring of enthusiasm for a story that features justiceshipping as the main pairing. :) Thanks ever-so, animerival, for complimenting my characterization so sweetly, I do try! And MrMyshka, thanks for noticing, I especially wanted to highlight some of the aspects of Kazama's character that I thought really stood out in the anime, more about that further down.

I do hope that the preview didn't feel like a bait-and-switch, what with it pointing to a dream sequence, and the faux Jack to boot! But I hope its appearance in his subconscious should give some insight into what is going on with him. ;) (Yes, I know, yet another dream sequence, but (in my defense) I only put them in when I feel there's a point to them, so ... anyway, yeah.)

A character note about Kazama: I feel that the main qualities that are brought out in the anime for Kazama are helpfulness, loyalty, and a kind of sunny optimism. Anyway, that's my impression. It's hard to draw a fully-rounded (supporting) character in three or four episodes. So the hardest part of this is filling in the gaps, which I have to do with my imagination. I do hope that you'll find it adequate and not jarring! Feel free to let me know how I do. :) As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! ;)

Gosh, it was hard to find a good preview. All the action-y parts weren't suitably-written, so I'll have to tease a convo snippet. Hope it'll do:

"Yusei, it's useless to dwell on things like that, isn't it? After all, didn't things work out all right?"

"Yes, I guess. We're friends again, but" he shrugged, "somehow it's not the same." He stared at Kaz hard. "You know, I envy you a little," he said.

Kaz stared back. Envy? He'd just been feeling that way toward Yusei a couple of minutes ago. "Why? What do you mean?"

Yusei and Kaz team up while Jack formulates an escape plan.