[A/N]: I think this may be the longest chapter I've ever posted. That's something worthy of a celebration, isn't it?!
Yes, yes it is!
Again, thank you to all who are following this story!
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Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, nor any of its characters!
Jonouchi had been right, the interior of Kaiba's home only served to boost his feeling of insignificance. Everything inside looked new, state of the art; if Jonouchi broke anything, he was certain that he could never pay Kaiba back. He would be forced into servitude for the rest of his natural born life just to compensate for the value.
The foyer was large, expansive, and separated off into three different sections. Two hallways were to either side and a large staircase was located many, many feet behind Kaiba. It looked as though Kaiba had gone and stolen the house from someone in the very distant future.
Everything was shiny, save for the plants that were peppered throughout the lobby, probably (if Jonouchi had to guess) to make it look more habitable and less like a metallic. His reflection could be seen in the polished floor. If he wasn't already envious before, he certainly was now.
Kaiba had made his way across the foyer before Jonouchi realized he was falling behind, and quickly he sprinted to catch up, following the brunette down a hallway, both walking in silence.
Being there made him feel somewhat excited, like a child in a candy store.
The pair continued to walk on in silence down the corridor, of which seemed to go on and over forever, window after window passing by; it felt to Jonouchi like they were walking on the spot, destined to go nowhere, and despite Jonouchi's desire to pipe up and strike a conversation with Kaiba, he thought better of it. He was sure that Kaiba would start the conversation first once he was ready to do so.
After what felt like an eternity to Jonouchi, Kaiba paused at a large steely door equipped with a key-panel just off to the side. A few swift taps on the keys and an audible click could be heard, signifying that the door had been unlocked.
It became clear to Jonouchi once he had stepped inside that this room was none other than Kaiba's personal office. A desk with a large and fancy computer lay centered toward the back of the room, a large abstract painting hanging on the wall behind it. Shelves upon shelves of what looked like books, records and files were laid about on either side of the room, labeled and all. Everything looked neat and orderly, not a thing out of place.
Jonouchi found it impressive. He had known that whilst partaking in school Kaiba managed to successfully run his own business, the Kaiba Corporation, though he had never taken the time to consider what running a business and balancing schoolwork would take from a person.
It made Jonouchi wonder how Kaiba even managed to balance his company and schoolwork.
Perhaps he had someone he paid to do it? He certainly had the expenses to do such a thing. Though, after further thought on the matter, Jonouchi felt that it wasn't in Kaiba's nature to pawn his work off on others.
To him it seemed that Kaiba prided himself on his work and efforts. He was far too cocky and proud to allow someone else do his work for him. Kaiba would probably find the idea to be insulting.
In the meanwhile, Kaiba had taken his seat at his desk, his gaze fixed intently on the pondering blonde in the center of the room.
It was not but a moment later that Jonouchi heard the distinctive sound of Kaiba clearing his throat, almost expectantly. Yet again Jonouchi's musings were torn from beneath him by Kaiba.
Kaiba seemed to have a habit of doing that.
"Huh?" Jonouchi looked at Kaiba with a dumbfounded expression, of which did not seem to impress Kaiba much, the usual scowl on his face expanding a tad bit.
Kaiba let forth a sigh, his cold blue eyes boring into Jonouchi, "I had expected you to tell me your issue, unless you concocted the idea purely as an excuse to come here. It wouldn't surprise me, really…" He leaned forward on his desk and laced his fingers together.
Jonouchi scoffed and waved his hand at the brunette for emphasis, "What makes ya think I'd go and do that? Don't flatter yourself, Kaiba!"
Half the reason Jonouchi was here was to see Kaiba, admittedly, but that was nothing the brunette needed to know for himself. Jonouchi wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing it. That aside, he truly did need help with their project. He folded his arms across his chest, looking at Kaiba with a stern stare—though it was nothing in comparison to Kaiba's.
"I came here about the project, remember?" He straightened himself up and puffed out his chest in an attempt to appear assertive of the matter. Though, all this moving around only made him more aware of his cold, damp clothes, of which were clinging and sticking to his arms, legs, chest and back. His assertive stance may have had an inkling of discomfort as well, something that was sure to sabotage how Kaiba saw this attitude.
Kaiba stared at Jonouchi evenly, seemingly indifferent of Jonouchi's attempted confidence. His demeanour remained the same as it had been, unchanging like Jonouchi had half hoped it might. Instead Kaiba drew back the corner of his mouth and sneered, a look at sent a shiver of uneasiness through Jonouchi.
It was foolish of Jonouchi to think that he could away Kaiba in any way, and though knew this to be true, he figured the attempt was still worth it.
"And what about the project brought you here?" Kaiba asked flatly, despite the mildly agitated and displeased expression painted on his face. Jonouchi was sure that with a face like that Kaiba could manage to put more venom than he had in his words.
Jonouchi's assertive stance deflated ever so slightly, leaving him to feel more like a bug under a microscope than he had previously, "I wanted to know if ya had any books I could use for reference, ya know? I went to the library and it wasn't really helpful…"
This wasn't a total lie; in fact Jonouchi felt confidence in saying it wasn't at all. Sure, he could have gone to the library tomorrow or any day after that, but it was true that the library hadn't been of any help at all. Not to mention the librarian was anything but friendly.
Kaiba leaned back in his chair, his fingers still laced together, "Libraries have vast resources of books; I don't know how you would have failed to find anything of use there."
Jonouchi scoffed and raised his shoulders in a lethargic shrug, "The damn witch of a librarian wouldn't give me a library card, okay? I didn't have time to argue with her. I kinda assumed that you might've gotten books that I could borrow. It'd be fine if I used your books, right? We're project partners and all."
It was then that the pair heard the office door creak.
Both Jonouchi's and Kaiba's attention immediately snapped to the door, the former alarmed and the latter looking rather expectant.
A mop of unkempt raven hair could be seen, along with one inquisitive eye, peering in just past the door.
Kaiba relinquished a sigh and got up from his seat, maneuvering around his desk to make way for the door and the peeping child.
"What is it, Mokuba?" he asked as he reached for the door to pry it open.
Jonouchi turned to face Kaiba and the child, watching the pair in silence.
It was apparent that they were related; they shared similar features, one might call them family traits. It was obvious that Mokuba was considerably younger, and for that matter much shorter as well.
Jonouchi noted that Mokuba was wearing pajamas that looked to be much too big for him; they sagged and floated on his tiny body.
Mokuba gave Jonouchi a wary look before turning back to Kaiba, "I was just going to say good-night before I went upstairs. I couldn't find you anywhere so I guessed you were here."
Kaiba, completely ignorant of Jonouchi's presence at this point, knelt down and adjusted Mokuba's extremely large pajamas. "You don't need anything before bed?"
Jonouchi found it kind of endearing; it was sweet to watch, and he couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face.
Mokuba shook his head with a smile, "Nope, nothing!"
Kaiba nodded and tousled Mokuba's hair as he rose to stand, "Alright, if you're certain, good-night, Mokuba."
"Good-night!" Mokuba waved and turned to leave the room, though not before casting another wary glance in Jonouchi's direction.
Jonouchi merely smiled at the boy, remaining still and quiet otherwise.
Once the kid had left the room, Jonouchi turned his gaze to Kaiba and grinned, "Cute kid brother you've got there."
Kaiba glanced over his shoulder at Jonouchi and snorted, turning his attention away as he closed the office door.
Jonouchi translated this as some form of wordless thanks.
"I guess everyone in your family's got good looks," Jonouchi joked, though he had to admit that Mokuba was an adorable kid; he wouldn't be surprised if Mokuba grew up to be handsome like his brother.
Kaiba turned to face Jonouchi and stared him down, another unimpressed expression settled onto his face.
Finally after a minute of staring one another down, Kaiba scoffed and moved across the room towards the bookshelf, "Somehow I wouldn't put it past you to say something along those lines…"
Jonouchi chuckled and watched Kaiba carefully scan the shelves until he pinpointed the location he'd been after and began carefully pulling books, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kaiba had set at least two books on the desk, though he seemed to pause and stare into the bookshelf thoughtfully before finally procuring a third, "I say this based on your drunken performance of the other day. After that occurred I can't be bothered to feel surprised by anything you say or do anymore."
Jonouchi blinked, a little surprised that Kaiba had brought such a subject forward. He would have felt embarrassed if not for the fact that Kaiba had been the one to initiate the kiss they had shared.
Though, admittedly he was a little embarrassed nonetheless.
"Hey, hey! Should I say the same about you?" Jonouchi jabbed at Kaiba verbally.
Kaiba turned to look at Jonouchi with a quizzical brow, staring the blonde down, "Why should you say the same about me? There's nothing to say."
Jonouchi sauntered over to Kaiba and leaned into his face, smirking like a fool, "I'll point out that you kissed me, remember?"
He felt a little smug pointing this out, like he had inadvertently defeated Kaiba with one powerful punch.
It felt kind of good.
Though Kaiba didn't quite react in the way that Jonouchi had assumed he would. He didn't become angry, nor did he glare at Jonouchi. Instead he scoffed and smirked, overbearing smirk, "I told you not to let that get to your head, didn't I?"
Jonouchi paused for a moment, though he didn't allow this to shake his composure, not so soon, "It hasn't gone to my head, but you did it!" He paused a second time, another triumphant smirk spreading across his face. "Ya even called me cute."
Kaiba snorted derisively at Jonouchi and picked up the three books he had stacked on the desk previously, proceeding to shove them into Jonouchi's chest, "The word certainly doesn't suit you now."
The books hit Jonouchi with some force; he grunted, and luckily was able to catch them in his arms and keep them from falling to the floor.
"As of the moment you're more likely to be told that you're obnoxious," Kaiba sneered, now gesturing towards the office door, "You have what you came for, so if you'd kindly take your leave it would be appreciated."
Jonouchi, unable to help himself, secured another smirk and leaned in closer to the brunette, eyes half-lidded, "And if I came for another kiss? What would you say?"
Kaiba gave Jonouchi a harsh look and scowled, "You're overstaying your welcome."
Jonouchi could see that he had ruffled Kaiba's feathers, though he couldn't exactly say he felt bad about doing it. The expression on the brunette's face was worth it; he looked somewhere between irritated and uncomfortable.
Jonouchi feigned a sigh and pouted, "Alright, alright… maybe next time, huh? I got one serious question though, Kaiba."
Kaiba's expression fell slightly, his eyes narrowing into a mild glare, a hint that he was expecting something just as foolish as previous statements had been.
Jonouchi smiled a little dopily, "No, seriously, I promise. I was gonna say that it's raining pretty bad outside and I didn't want to get the books wet, so..." He paused to inhale through his nose, "Could you give me a lift home?"
He wasn't sure why, but asking this was like a challenge.
Kaiba had said he'd overstayed his welcome, right? Maybe that included making him walk home in the rain, struggling to keep the books from getting wet lest he have to spend hours drying each individual page of each book.
Kaiba snorted, a bit of surprise on his face, though it didn't stay for long before being overshadowed by his former scowl, "Sure…"
It was the first time that Jonouchi had ever ridden in a limousine.
It suited Kaiba, definitely. A spacious home only meant that he should have an equally spacious automobile. It smelled distinctly of leather and if Jonouchi had felt the desire to, he could've lied down and gone to sleep.
He made it home, books safe and dry and set to work on the project.
It would also be the first time that Jonouchi ever started a project this early, and the first time that he ever put a real amount of effort into it too.
Kaiba saw him as a hopeless and lazy project partner, incapable of pulling through—though why would he blame Kaiba for that? It's not as though he had ever worked hard on any former projects. His grades were minimal.
But after today, he felt that he had something to prove.