A/N: Fandom LJ--Updated the downloads section, although artworks for Beautiful have yet to be posted.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA--I have returned! Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Wolfie-chan (my friend whose AIM recently died…), Chibi-the-small, and iloveatem. /hugs/
Beautiful
Chapter Two - Unbearable Silence
On the radio: "I Wasn't Prepared" by Eisley
-:i:-
"It's fatigue."
"What?"
Rising from her position on her chair, the nurse looked half-heartedly at Kaiba. To say she had been surprised when the brunet had barged into the her office carrying an unconscious Jounouchi in his arms was an understatement, but upon his serious demand for immediate care, she had switched on her professional mask instantly, disregarding her personal thoughts in order to care for a patient.
After several minutes of diagnosis, she was pleased to discover that it wasn't as serious as she had suspected, although that level of fatigue was highly uncommon for a high school student. Returning her attention to the present, the nurse noticed Kaiba was still angrily awaiting a more detailed explanation. Never in her life would she have guessed she'd witness such a scene as earlier, but that still didn't excuse Kaiba's continuously rude behavior. She sighed and pushed her glasses back in place.
"It's really nothing, Kaiba-kun," she said, completely ignoring the slight twitch of his body at her use of honorifics, "Jounouchi-kun is just suffering from an extreme case of fatigue. Nothing serious, so you may go now."
Kaiba scrutinized the nurse from his standing position, still disbelieving what she told him. He knew it was possible to pass out from fatigue, but what didn't settle well with him was that it was Jounouchi whom it had happened to. Wasn't he usually cheery, full of energy and always ready to tackle anything? To him, it appeared as a very unlikely thing, and that was leading him to experience several different emotions he didn't want to associate with Jounouchi.
"Kaiba-kun?"
Coolly, Kaiba glanced at the nurse out of the corner of his eyes. "What?"
"You may go now." she replied exasperatedly, not even flinching at his harsh tone.
Turning swiftly away from the woman, Kaiba moved to where Jounouchi lay, unconscious and probably totally unaware of what he had went through for him. "I'm staying." he snarled upon reaching the bedside. The nurse shook her head and walked to the office's entrance; She'd had enough of his attitude.
"Kaiba-kun, I'll be leaving now to take care of some things." she announced. Kaiba nodded indifferently. "Don't bother my patient too much. He needs his rest." With those last words, she was gone, leaving Kaiba alone with Jounouchi. Somehow, it had just become more uncomfortable than before now that there was no longer anyone to have a conversation with.
"Stupid bonkotsu," he muttered, glaring down at the blonde lying on the bed, "You just had to faint on me."
Despite what he just said, Kaiba was relieved he had been the one to find Jounouchi, though he'd never admit it. Anger dissipating, the brunet sat down on the bed, careful not to disturb and wake the other. There he was, sitting on the bed Jounouchi currently resided in, watching over him, and he had absolutely no idea why he was even doing it, not to mention he was sacrificing his lunch time to be there. Speaking of lunch time, Mokuba was going to be mad at him if he ever found out he skipped lunch as well.
Hence, he made a mental note to return home early from work to have a big dinner with Mokuba. It had been a while since he'd last had dinner with his brother.
There was still the matter of Jounouchi though.
Cursing under his breath, Kaiba stared down at Jounouchi's unmoving figure. The room seemed so empty--eerie almost--and there was not a sound except for the quiet breathing from the both of them. All of that he was too aware of, and Jounouchi, who was oblivious to his displeasures, continued to sleep. Something inside Kaiba made him want to shake the blonde awake; This was not how it was to be when they were around each other. Unable to bear the thick silence any longer, his arm reached for Jounouchi's head.
'How strange.' Kaiba thought, missing exactly what that meant.
He paused, stopping just a small distance away from those soft looking strands of yellow. He wanted to touch them; They were so close within his grasp. Only a little further and he could have them in his hand…
"Kaiba-kun?"
Tensing, Kaiba warily turned to see the intruder. The nurse, upon seeing his cold expression, shrugged and sat down on her chair. How he had missed her entrance, he didn't know, but he was rather grateful for her sudden appearance. It hadn't happened, but he had almost done something that he would have… Have what?
"Lunch is over," the nurse stated. Kaiba stood up smoothly, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred and walked toward the door, stopping when the nurse once again called out to him.
"Kaiba-kun…"
"What?"
"About Jounouchi-kun…" she began, but bit back the rest. "No, never mind. I'm sorry. It's nothing."
Even though he knew the nurse wanted to reveal something important, the pained expression on her face caused him conflicting emotions, resulting in an inner battle. Did he want to know? A part of him did, yes, but the other part wanted nothing more to do with Jounouchi, and since the nurse chose to retain what she was going to say, she had decided for him. Feeling the need to get away from there as soon as possible, Kaiba headed off, but he couldn't help but throw one last look at Jounouchi.
With Kaiba gone, the nurse went to the blonde's side, reaching up to do what Kaiba had wanted to do but couldn't. She stroked those soft yellow strands softly and soothingly, mesmerized by their quiet and simple beauty.
"Jounouchi, what are you doing to yourself?" she asked him. No response came, of course; She hadn't expected one.
Something wasn't right. His mind was fuzzy, his body frozen stiff and he had no idea where he was. What's more, he couldn't remember anything at all--not what had happened nor how he ended here. Where was 'here' exactly? As far as he could see, it was just a foggy landscape, bare and without another person in sight.
"Are you sure he's alright?" a voice echoed.
That voice. Jounouchi recognized that voice, but he couldn't place who that voice belonged to. Even so, it had sounded really close by, so he glared down at his legs and ordered them to move. However, he received no compliance and only resistance, so he clenched his eyes shut and willed himself to move. At last, he could finally feel his legs working.
An arm shot out and grabbed his shoulder, preventing him form moving any further.
"Who…" Jounouchi wondered, but drifted off when he was greeted with piercing blue. The same arm that had halted his movements snaked itself around his waist, dragging him closer to the unknown person into an embrace. "Who…" he asked again, but couldn't ask further when a finger traced along his cheekbone, making him shiver at how cold it felt against his skin.
"No…"
"No?" Another voice he recognized entered his mind. "You don't like this?" Even with his vision blurred, Jounouchi could sense the other person was smirking at him.
"Who are you?"
Silence met his ears, and Jounouchi felt disappointed when the unknown person's grip on him loosened a little. Why did he feel like he knew this person?
"He'll be fine, Yuugi-kun. It's just fatigue."
'Yuugi!' Jounouchi thought, impulsively pushing himself away from the stranger's hold. All around him, the fog started to clear as the sensation of falling rushed toward him. The last thing he felt before slipping back into reality was a tender caress traveling along his hair.
"Jounouchi-kun, you're awake!"
Jounouchi blinked a couple of times and yawned widely as he attempted to forget about the dream, then observed his surroundings, recognizing the familiar surroundings of the nurse's office right away; It wasn't the first time he'd been there. Beside him stood Yuugi, a worried expression etched on the poor boy's face. Smiling, Jounouchi gave him a small wave as a greeting.
"Yuugi, what are you doing here?"
Yuugi frowned, his forehead wrinkling even more in worry and irritation.
Knowing that he had fainted or something and all too aware that he had given Yuugi quite the scare, he knew that he shouldn't have played it off as something perfectly normal, but it was habit. He didn't know how else to do it.
Another thing wore on his mind: Who had carried him to the nurse's office? For sure, someone must have; He had been on the stairs after all, and he did recall a flicker of blue and brown before he lost awareness. Could it have been Yuugi? No, it couldn't have been Yuugi since it would have been too hard for him to have carried him all alone.
"How did I get here?" Jounouchi questioned, hoping that Yuugi would know something.
Sighing, Yuugi sat down on the bed. "I don't know. Kaiba-kun came back at the end of lunch and told me you were here, so I came here right after class ended."
"Kaiba?"
"Yeah, but he didn't give me any details." Yuugi said, understanding what Jounouchi wanted. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Class is over?"
"Yeah…"
Detecting that Yuugi was still more than a bit upset, Jounouchi pulled him into a one arm hug and mussed his hair some. "Well, in that case, we're free to go home." he declared happily. Yuugi struggled slightly and managed to escape from the blonde's hug, snapping his head up to glare at his friend.
"I was really worried about you, Jounouchi-kun!" he yelled.
Jounouchi smiled gently. "I know."
"Jounouchi-kun…"
"I'm sorry I worried you, Yuugi." Shaking his head, Yuugi bitterly smiled and looked down at his hands.
"It's okay, Jounouchi-kun."
Off to the side of the room, the nurse was quietly watching the exchange and decided it was a good time to interrupt. She cleared her throat rather noisily, reminding the two of her presence, and walked over to where they were to place a calming hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said, "But you have to go now, Yuugi-kun."
Yuugi got off the bed, not wanting to anger the kind nurse, and readied to leave. "I'll call you later, okay, Jounouchi-kun?"
Nodding in agreement, Jounouchi flashed him a thumbs up before he completely exited the room. Now Jounouchi only had the nurse to deal with. In all honesty, Jounouchi adored the nurse--she had always treated his wounds with such care--but at the moment, he didn't want to face her, knowing all too well that he was in for a lecture or something similar.
"Jounouchi." Cringing visibly at the nurse's use of a cold tone with him, Jounouchi tried to mentally prepare for the worst. "I understand you have your reasons, but you shouldn't push yourself so hard." she continued.
"I know." he said.
"Furthermore, it's not good to be so tired at such a young age."
"I know."
"You're only seventeen."
"I know."
"You shouldn't have to--"
"I KNOW!" Jounouchi shouted.
"If you know, then why!?" the nurse screamed back.
Jounouchi glared at one of the room's walls and fisted the sheets beneath his hands. "Because."
Defeated and tired, the nurse decided to let it go, slumping back wearily onto her chair. She turned away from him, no longer willing to look him in the eyes. "You may go now, Jounouchi-kun." she whispered as she pretending to be busy with some paperwork. Fighting down the urge to console the nurse, Jounouchi hurriedly jumped out of the bed, grabbed his uniform blazer and raced for the door. Having someone care for him, especially someone who wasn't a friend or family member, had always made him feel an inexplicable sadness.
Now, all that was left to do was to go home.
As Jounouchi strolled down the halls, he noticed that the sun was setting outside. Had Yuugi stayed that late with him? Not only that, his father was probably worried sick about him. Now more determined to hurry home, he quickened his pace, which caused him to nearly miss the shout coming from the other end of the hall.
"Jounouchi-kun!" It was Mizuki-sensei. Slowing down so that she could catch up to him, Jounouchi had to wonder why today of all days, the school's staff chose to talk to him more than what was the norm. When she had finally caught up to Jounouchi, Mizuki-sensei had to rest a little. Unbeknownst to her student, she had been trailing him for quite some time, but he had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear her the first few times.
"Jounouchi-kun," she started, huffing every once in a while, "I wanted to… talk to you. About your… future."
The blonde's eyes widened in surprise. Did she know?
"What about my future?"
"Well, university for one…"
Laughing loudly and awkwardly, Jounouchi rubbed the back of his neck. "Mizuki-sensei, you know that someone like me could never get into a university." he muttered quietly.
"That's not true! You can!" With how fierce and earnest of a look she was throwing at him, Jounouchi almost believed her words.
"No, I can't."
"Jounouchi--"
"Sorry, but I have to go. Tou-san's probably worried." Jounouchi didn't bother to wait for a reply and left, leaving behind a bewildered and concerned teacher.
Once outside the school building, he let out a breath of relief. Of all the things Mizuki-sensei wanted to talk to him about, he hadn't expected it to be about university. It made him wonder. Did she know? Thinking it over carefully, he concluded that there was no way she could have known, considering that not even Yuugi knew. 'Besides,' he thought, 'It's pointless.'
"What's wrong, nii-sama?"
Kaiba looked away from his plate of food and up at his little brother, whose face wore a small worried expression. "Nothing's wrong." he answered calmly.
Mokuba distractedly picked at his food, pondering over the somewhat automatic respond. Ever since his brother had arrived home--surprisingly early too--he had been acting strange, seemingly dazed and out of it, almost as if something important was occupying his mind. In spite of his brother promising to tell him if there was anything wrong, he couldn't help but suspect that maybe his brother still kept some secrets from time to time.
"You haven't touched your food at all, nii-sama." Mokuba pointed out.
Sighing, Kaiba placed his fork down. Mokuba was right; He hadn't touched his food at all. "I'm sorry," he said, "I just don't feel hungry."
No longer in the mood to eat, Mokuba pushed his plate away and crossed his arms, all the while openly staring at his elder brother. "This isn't like you, nii-sama. You usually don't skip meals…"
Kaiba stood up, getting ready to leave the dinner table as a maid rushed over to clear his plate while another worked on Mokuba's. "Don't worry about me, Mokuba. There's just a little something on my mind."
"Care to share?" Mokuba offered.
"No, not now."
Throwing his hands up in frustration, Mokuba left the dining room to do some homework, but not before giving him brother one last question. "Nii-sama, you know you can tell me anything, right?"
"Yes, Mokuba."
"Good." Mokuba left with a click of the door. Kaiba, alone in the dining room as his maids carried on with clearing up the dining table, saw that there was no point for him to remain there. He retreated to his study, wanting to get some more work done and while he was at it, resume with his new dueling technology. That is, if he could stop thinking about Jounouchi.
More specifically, what had happened in the nurse's office. Despite how hard he tried to just ignore and forget it, he couldn't stop mulling over about his reaction to seeing Jounouchi lie there on that sick bed. More than that, he had wanted to touch him in an intimate way, something he wasn't sure was a good thing or not. No, of course it wasn't a good thing.
Flipping his laptop open, Kaiba settled down on his chair and waited for it to load. Yet, as he finished typing his password in, he couldn't manage to force himself to start working. All that his mind seemed keen on focusing on was Jounouchi, and that was bothering him to no end. He never could understand why he wasted so much time for and with the dumb blonde of a duelist, but he did and that was what was even more disconcerting than the events earlier today.
Now, he couldn't even work. Whatever it was that was making him like this, it had to stop, and soon, for he discovered that the longer Jounouchi stayed within his thoughts, the more agreeable with it he was becoming. Narrowing his eyes in vexation, Kaiba pushed himself off his chair and started pacing around the room, clearly looking for some form of distraction. It was only Jounouchi, so why couldn't he get him out of his head?
Kaiba closed his eyes and stopped in the middle of the room. If Jounouchi wasn't going to leave his mind then he would just have to clear it. Like so, he blocked out every thought by imagining a clear, empty image in his head, which appeared to be almost like a plain sheet of paper. He carried on like that for a few minutes, but as he delved deeper into the blankness of his mentality, colors started to appear as a result of that, until all that he saw was a pale yellow that had completely washed over everything.
It was a yellow that so closely resembled…
"Jounouchi."
His eyes snapped open, heart racing at Jounouchi's sudden--no, gradual--invasion on his thoughts. He realized then that no work was going to get done, despite his best attempts, so he prepared for bed, succumbing to the thoughts of Jounouchi of which there was no escape.
How was he to face him now?
Finishing up the last equation, Jounouchi rolled over onto his back and away from the completed homework. Unfortunately, it was only 9 PM at the latest, and had nothing else to do but to await impending boredom. He could always speculate where his father was, seeing as he still wasn't home at this late hour. Normally, the man would be at home drinking or sleeping, though sometimes he would go out for drinks but rarely. However, today he was nowhere in sight and Jounouchi was sure his father hadn't hinted at any outings last night.
On the other hand, his father could take care of himself so he needn't fret about it. He could always organize his duel deck, something that he hadn't done for a long time, but that wasn't very appealing at the moment.
Ever since the Other Yuugi had departed for the afterlife, everyone became busy with other things once school started again. The only person Jounouchi really talked to was Yuugi, but he could tell that he was still more or less upset over the Other Yuugi's leaving still, so he left it at that. Anzu was busy preparing for dance school in America and Honda was looking for a job, since he had no plans to enter university after high school.
'University…' Jounouchi thought miserably, but pushed it aside.
As for him, he wasn't really doing anything. Although he had already earned enough money to pay for the bills and school expenses, working had become sort of a habit for him that when school started again, he continued to work without really needing it. His excuse for it was that there was still the possibility of running out of money, and since he was given special permission from the school to work(1), why not take advantage of it. But the truth was he wanted something very much.
So, without even realizing it, he had started working to save money for that something he couldn't even attain. It was a stupid dream, he knew, but he couldn't help it; It was the one thing he truly wanted.
Jounouchi turned onto his side, gazing out his open window. Money was a huge enough issue already, so trying to save was pointless. Besides, it was probably not even enough money, so he didn't understand why he bothered. If only he was rich like Kaiba…
"Kami-sama(2), not again!" he shouted aloud, jumping up on his bed to raise his fists at his ceiling. Jounouchi had enough things to deal with, and he didn't mind those daily problems, but with Kaiba's never ending assault on his thoughts, he had had it. Picking up a pillow, Jounouchi tossed it against the wall and sat back down, crossing his arms while glaring out at the city lights.
A part of him actually enjoyed how Kaiba kept residing within his mind, though. He liked constants, since he always had to deal with unexpected things as they came and went. Constants were a pleasant and relaxing change, knowing that they'd never change and would always "be there" for him. In a way, he actually liked Kaiba.
"Like…?" Jounouchi's eyes widened. "No… That can't be it."
His heartbeat quickened. "Not that kind of like… No."
"Katsuya?"
Jumping a little at the voice, Jounouchi scurried off his bed and ran for the front door to greet his father, who stood there dressed in a suit, sober, clean and completely unlike what he was expecting.
"Tou-san?" He asked incredulously.
The elder smiled at his son and gestured for him to come over, which Jounouchi did, albeit a bit confusedly. "I've got a job now, Katsuya." His father said.
"J-job!?" Jounouchi screeched, earning a soft chuckle from his father.
"Yes."
Suddenly, he was pulled into a hug, his father holding him tightly, making it seem like he feared he was going to disappear on him any second. "I'm so sorry, Katsya. So sorry…"
Jounouchi didn't know what to do. What was happening? Was he dreaming again?
"Jounouchi-kun!"
He felt dazed. It hadn't been a dream, but his mind still hadn't really processed it.
"Yeah, Yuugi?" he asked, focusing his attention back to the duel.
"It's your turn."
Laughing sheepishly, Jounouchi laid down a monster card in defense mode. Luckily, it was just a fun game and not a tournament or competition one so he could just play for fun. He kind of missed playing Duel Monsters since it had been such a long time. That morning, Yuugi had came up to him and suggested they play Duel Monsters 'to get their minds off things'. Sometimes, Yuugi was just too observant for his own good, but Jounouchi was thankful that his friend still cared.
"So, how are you, Yuugi?" he asked.
"I'm getting better. What about you, Jounouchi-kun?"
"Me?" Jounouchi asked in a mock dramatic way, his voice raised just a pitch higher. "What in the world are you talking about? I'm always good."
Yuugi laughed, placing a monster card in attack mode.
"Sorry I didn't call you yesterday," he said.
"No problem, Yuugi." Jounouchi said in his normal voice, grinning as his life points hit zero. "Well, looks like you won again, Game King."
"Don't call me that, Jounouchi-kun."
"Oh. Sorry…"
Jounouchi looked sadly at his friend, realizing his mistake. No matter how much he wanted to help Yuugi, he couldn't, because it was something he didn't understand. He wished that there was some way to cheer Yuugi up--who would have known that the Other Yuugi's departure would have such an impact. You'd think that it would have been Anzu who would be suffering like that, but it wasn't.
Shifting his gaze away from the now quiet Yuugi, Jounouchi's eyes wandered the classroom, until they finally landed on a lone figure in the back, Kaiba, who sensed at once that someone was watching him. Kaiba looked away from his book to meet soft brown eyes. Jounouchi flinched upon catching the other's attention.
Like.
He wanted to say something to Kaiba, but couldn't find the right words.
Not wanting to think what that meant, Jounouchi looked away and stood up from his seat. Kaiba was giving him a strange look, too, like he wanted to talk to him but couldn't, and that was just too weird.
"Jounouchi-kun?"
He needed to get away before those eyes pulled him into doing something that would change their relationship, completely discounting the fact that their relationship had already changed from the moment he accepted his infatuation for Kaiba.
Like.
'What a strange word,' he thought bemusedly.
"I'm going to go freshen up a little, okay?"
"Okay…" Noticing the troubled look, Jounouchi patted Yuugi on the back.
"Don't worry! I just need to clear my head a little. It's nothing like yesterday!"
Yuugi nodded and let him go. Relieved that Yuugi wasn't going to push, he ran away from the classroom and straight for the boys' restroom, exhaling sharply upon arriving there. Jounouchi mentally thanked Kami-sama that there was no else in the restroom with him, allowing him to have it all to himself. Picking the nearest sink, Jounouchi twisted its knob and watched as water rushed out of its faucet. While the water flowed, he cupped his hands to catch some in order to splash his face with it.
"Mmm… much better." Jounouchi smiled at himself in the mirror, but frowned when a shadow passed by.
"Talking to yourself, bonkotsu?"
'GAH!' came his mental yell of something of a mix between surprise and anger.
"Kaiba," he snarled, quickly spinning around to glare at the other. "You…" Jounouchi stared.
He wanted to say, yell or scream something at the brunet but why couldn't he? Why did he stop like that? Why was Kaiba also staring at him without saying a word?
The atmosphere surrounding them felt strange, suffocating almost. Jounouchi's insides twisted as his body's temperature rose and his breathing quickened.
'What's wrong with me?' he wondered.
Kaiba wasn't faring that well either. When he had seen Jounouchi's face as a reflection in the mirror, nothing seemed wrong, but when the blonde turned around and directed those eyes at him, he felt lost. Not really--it was more that the vulnerable, defensive look Jounouchi often bared around him had taken on a different meaning of sorts for him, and he was itching to do something.
"K-Kaiba…" Jounouchi wanted to say something--anything. "I…"
But it was so hard, and Kaiba wasn't saying anything, just staring at him unblinkingly as his hands twitched, appearing as if they ached to do something. The blonde wondered if Kaiba wanted to hit him, cringing when those hands rose as if to do what he thought they would. However, those hands never touched him. Instead, they remained floating in the air, their owner unsure of what he was trying to do.
Had he actually wanted to embrace Jounouchi?
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Kaiba simply left without even saying a word. He just left.
Jounouchi collapsed to the floor and clutched his shirt tightly in his fists.
"What was that?" he asked himself.
Dropping down into his seat, Jounouchi waited for the crowd to disperse. They were so noisy, and he had stopped trying to eavesdrop on their conversations, which were boring anyway. During some time ago, their voices had mingled into a dull and annoying hum, and that was all he could hear. Wishing that they'd leave already, Jounouchi kicked the table in front of him. School had already ended, so why were they still there?
Out of the blue, he felt eyes on him. He faced toward the front of the class, and there stood Kaiba, holding his metal briefcase as usual, but he was giving him such an intense gaze that Jounouchi wanted to look away. Behind him, the noise faded to nothing as Kaiba continued to stare at him. Kaiba had been staring at him so many times today since the restroom incident, and Jounouchi couldn't help but question if there was something wrong with his face.
After what seemed like hours, Kaiba broke eye contact and went on his way. Sighing in relief, Jounouchi returned to wishing that everyone else would leave already. The noise level had also returned with Kaiba's departure, and once again he found himself listening to a dull hum. There was no way he'd be able to face Mizuki-sensei with all those people around, especially since it was only a short time before the club she was in charge of arrived at the classroom.
Finally, at long last, the last person in the classroom was out, and Jounouchi sprinted to action, running up to the front of the room in a matter of seconds. "Mizuki-sensei!" He called.
"Ah, Jounouchi-kun," she said with some surprise, "What are you still doing here? You're not one to stay behind after class." (3)
"Um… Well… About yesterday…"
Mizuki-sensei's eyes lit up, understanding exactly what Jounouchi wanted to talk about. "You've considered it?" she asked with a smile.
"Yeah…"
"And…?"
"I really want to attend university, Mizuki-sensei. Please tell me what I have to do."
"That's great. I'll help you all I can."
Jounouchi gulped, swallowing down the lump that had formed. "Thank you," he said, voice laced heavily with a combination of sorrow and happiness. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Jounouchi-kun."
"Thank you."
Jounouchi was skipping happily down the stairs. He did it. No, he was going to do it. He was going to try for university. His dream was on the way to becoming true, and there was nothing else in the world he'd rather experience than the joy he was currently feeling. He couldn't wait until he told Yuugi, which reminded him that his friend was still waiting for him at the school entrance. Yuugi had apparently wanted to cheer him up, due of his lack of enthusiasm over the past week, so he had invited Jounouchi to go to the arcade with him.
Making up his mind to greet Yuugi with the biggest smile ever to make up for the past week, he raced down the last few steps and straight out the front doors of the school building only to ram smack into someone, sending him flying backwards toward the ground. 'What luck,' he thought bitterly.
But before he could hit the ground, two hands came flying toward his shoulders, pulling him up and right into a warm chest.
'Mmm… smells nice,' he thought absentmindedly, losing himself in the sensation. It almost felt like the embrace he had gotten in his dream, only much, much better. He was about to enjoy the hold more when a voice brought him back to reality.
"Must I always save you from your klutzy self, bonkotsu?"
Throwing himself as far away from the one holding him as possible, Jounouchi snarled out, "Kaiba!"
"Nice to see you too." Kaiba smirked.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at Kaiba Corp or something?" Jounouchi interrogated accusingly.
"Why, I'm here to save your sorry ass since you always seem so inclined to fall all over the place(4)," mocked the brunet.
"Kaiba--"
Gasping as Kaiba roughly pulled him closer so that their faces were mere centimeters apart, he couldn't help but blush bright red at their now extremely close proximity.
Like.
"Be careful when you're walking, bonkotsu. I won't always be around to save you." With that said, Kaiba released him, sending him tottering a few steps back. Jounouchi glared at him defiantly.
"I don't need your help," he gritted out, clenching his fists in anger.
"So it might seem."
Jounouchi blinked, his anger completely gone, and stared perplexedly at Kaiba, contemplating what the brunet had meant by that.
Kaiba noticed the look and stared right back, eyes boring into the blonde. "What?" he asked, almost affectionate with worry, though it was probably more on Jounouchi's stupidity than his well being. Jounouchi's heartbeat quickened at the sight of Kaiba's serious expression. Had Kaiba always looked so handsome?
Like.
'Say something--anything!' Jounouchi screamed at himself.
"Nothing. It's nothing."
Snorting at the blonde's reply, Kaiba grabbed his briefcase from the ground and walked down the school steps toward the entrance, and what his words meant came rushing at Jounouchi. He finally understood it. Kaiba had been the one who saved him yesterday, and he was the one from his dream. As this unearthing weighed down inside Jounouchi's mind, Kaiba kept walking away, never once looking back. At this, an unfathomable desire to say something arose even more.
Like.
But what could he say?
"Nothing at all…"
To Be Continued…
(1) Japanese students attending high school and below are not allowed to work, but Jounouchi is given special permission to work so that he could pay for his school fees. (It's also why Anzu was so upset when Yuugi and Katsu-chan found out about her working, afraid that they'd tell the school on her, though I do believe it was different in the English dub?)
(2) Kami-sama: "God"
(3) Mizuki-sensei is also their homeroom teacher, so I would assume she uses that room for club activities. Remember, Japanese students only stay in one room, unless it's a class that requires certain facilities (like gym or lab).
(4) Kaiba is not only referring to what happened "yesterday" and right then, but also during the Doma arc, when he caught Jounouchi before he slid off Honda's back.
Next time…
Chapter Three: Breakthrough
A/N: I lied about Kaiba's dueling technology. I'm rethinking what I want it to be so it'll be introduced in the next chapter. Har har. Those of you who read my one-shot "Sand Castles" good news! I will definitely be drawing a comic version of one of the scenes (it's a secret), so look forward to that!
People who want to view my art and/or wish to learn about Japanese schools, but don't have an LJ, e-mail me and we'll work something out.
Phew, is it just me or was this chapter longer than the first? Reviews are much appreciated! Updates will be slower now that I'm about to start university. I gotta pack and stuff! Sorry guys!
Eh, this chapter was okay. The next chapter will be better. :)