[A/N]: Another chapter down the chute and ready to be read! \o/
I'm piling up more and more ideas for this fanfic, which excites me... oh yes. I like having plans for future chapters, I do, I do.
Thanks to everyone who's been keeping watch on this fanfic! It helps, it really does.
I'd love reviews, thoughts, comments. Be sure to keep that in mind!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, nor any of its characters.
Lady Luck, thou art heartless.
Truly.
It was quarter after 7 o'clock by the time Jonouchi had managed to reach the home of Seto Kaiba. The amount of time he spent getting to Kaiba's house would not have been a problem if it had not begun to rain on his way there.
As a result, Jonouchi was drenched, soaked to the bone. His clothes clung to him uncomfortably and his hair stuck to his face.
He felt as though he were part of a movie.
Well, it can't get any worse.
These fabled words were the last thing to go through Jonouchi's mind as he treaded the streets. Not but a few minutes later did the first rain drop hit the pavement, and then it poured.
Relentlessly.
His being saturated did little to improve his mood, and so after approaching the mansion's iron gates five minutes were spent arguing his case to the man on the other side of intercom.
Said man seemed perfectly content to leave Jonouchi locked outside of said gates.
If Jonouchi hadn't been certain there would be a few unpleasant guard dogs awaiting him, ready to tear out his throat, he would have opted to simply climb the damn thing.
However, before he had any time to seriously consider such an intrusive thing, the man on the intercom relinquished and the gates of Kaiba's guarded abode were opened, granting him access to the enormous walkway that lead to the front door of the oversized home.
It was a sight to behold; this place was like nothing Jonouchi had ever seen before, and it struck a chord of envy within him.
The entire setup was spacious: the yard, walkway and home itself.
Decorating the yard were various plants. Bushes and beds of well-kept flowers bordered the walkway, leading all the way up to the staircase at the front of the stupendous mansion. The mansion even had foliage clung to it; cascades of ivy had climbed the walls.
A few fairly large trees dotted the landscape, each being large enough to sit beneath comfortably in the shade it would most certainly provide.
The mansion itself was enormous, a definite display of money and power.
Jonouchi could not help but feel insignificant amidst the scenery.
No wonder Kaiba was so haughty and full of himself. Hell, if Jonouchi owned a home like this, he might be too.
If Jonouchi had to be honest, this place intimidated him. If he didn't already feel insignificant in comparison to Kaiba, then seeing his spacious home definitely served to imbed that feeling of insignificance into him.
And this was only the outside. The interior of Kaiba's home still awaited Jonouchi, and he was sure that it would only triple his feeling of a lowly status.
Jonouchi climbed the front steps and raised a hand to press the doorbell. It did not take long before a finely dressed man answered the door; he wore a black suit, neatly tailored to fit. Said man was older, the hair at his temples having greyed with age, though the rest of his hair was a faded brown.
He looked at Jonouchi with an air of disdain, the corner of his lip slightly curled.
Jonouchi stared the man in the eye and stood up straight, at least attempting to appear confident.
"I'm here to see Seto Kaiba. I have business with him," Jonouchi said, trying to as sound 'matter-of-fact' as he could.
He was reward with a simple stare and derisive snort from the man at the door.
This did little to improve Jonouchi's mood. After his poor time management, the librarian, the rain and begging his way past the front gates, he did not think he could take much more; and arguing his way inside Kaiba's house would be the last and final straw.
Jonouchi stared back at the man at threshold, casually moving to fold his arms in an attempt to look stern, "You gonna let me in or what?"
Before the well-dressed man had time to formulate an answer, Jonouchi heard an all too familiar voice—it was mildly uplifting considering the circumstance.
"What are you doing? Who's at the door?" Kaiba barked as he marched his way to the door, the well-dressed man moving aside almost instantly.
As soon as the well-dressed man had moved, Jonouchi raised a hand and waved with a slight, albeit probably dopey, grin on his face. After all he had been through today, seeing Kaiba coming to his rescue was a major improvement.
Kaiba stopped a few feet from the door, eyes locking with Jonouchi's. He immediately sneered and shot a look at the well-dressed servant to his left, "You did not inform me of this visitor…"
The tone Kaiba used suggested that he was less than impressed.
The well-dressed man turned toward Kaiba and bowed his head apologetically, "I apologize Mr. Kaiba; I was about to call for you."
Kaiba waved a dismissive hand at the servant, indicating that he was no longer needed at the sight. The well-dressed man's lip curled back slightly, yet again, showing his displeasure with the situation, though he said nothing in return; he just watched Kaiba, defeated.
"Next time do it swiftly. I don't have the time to wait for you to play your foolish mind-games with arriving guests."
It made Jonouchi feel better watching the well-dressed man bow deeply and turn to skulk away into an unknown part of the mansion, knocked down a few pegs. He got less than what he deserved anyway.
So far his visit to Kaiba's home had felt rather successful. He was at the front door, out of the rain for the most part, Kaiba had rescued him from the uncouth servant, and he got to witness said servant be put in his place.
Better that guy than him.
"Why are you here?"
The sound of Kaiba's stern voice pulled Jonouchi back to reality. He looked at the brunette and gave a shy grin, rubbing a hand through his damp hair, "Project stuff, you know?"
Kaiba snorted, an eyebrow arching, "You have questions, I assume?"
He didn't seem very pleased with the idea, but Jonouchi felt comfort in seeing that Kaiba didn't look any surlier than he usually did.
Jonouchi nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I do. Are you going to keep me out here? It's cold and I'm already soaked to the bone, ya know." He was pulling at strings, but he had at least some hope that Kaiba might show some hospitality, even if it wasn't likely to last long.
Kaiba's expression hardened and he folded his arms, back straightened, almost as though he were looking down upon Jonouchi, "I should have known you would have difficulties this early in the project," he paused, his eyes boring into Jonouchi with fierce intensity.
Jonouchi fidgeted slightly, not letting his gaze move from Kaiba's. "It's your grade riding on this, too. Are you gonna let me in or not?" He continued to stare back at Kaiba, still focused on the brunette's cold blue eyes.
Admittedly, he was kind of admiring them. It was difficult not to; he didn't get to see them this closely all too often, and like hell if he wasn't going to take advantage of this rare chance—even if he had gotten to see them up-close recently.
But they were strangely attractive.
They were a severe set of eyes, fierce enough to stop a prowling lion from pouncing. Icy blue orbs that seemed to pierce the soul of everyone and everything Kaiba looked at. It kind of gave Jonouchi a bit of a thrill, staring into them.
A grunt could be heard from Kaiba, pulling Jonouchi back to the cusp of reality yet again, and his lovely eyes flared with mild irritation. "Unfortunately," he muttered, only just loud enough for it to be audible to Jonouchi.
And with that Kaiba relented and stepped aside, opening space in the threshold and granting Jonouchi entry into him home—which was something that Jonouchi never dreamed of happening.
A successful visit so far, indeed. The moment Kaiba stepped aside, Jonouchi's heart swelled a little, a mix of pride and delight.
With an extra spring in his step, Jonouchi gladly entered Seto Kaiba's home.