I had originally intended for this to be included in the first chapter, but I got tired of writing last night and didn't want a first chapter that was ten pages, so I decided to split it up. Anyways, here's the next part of the story, which gets past the introductions and into the meat of the situation. Hope you all enjoy Jou's misfortune as much as I do~
Oh, and I forgot the disclaimer for the first chapter. I (obviously) don't own YuGiOh or the title Midnight Secretary, although I have only read the first chapter of the manga of the same name, so I have no idea if the two stories will end up going in a similar direction or not.
He had cursed out his boss on the first day.
That was always the start to any promising career; getting hit in the face with a door and then flipping off the bastard behind it, only to find out that he was the one signing your paycheck. Needless to say, poor Jou spent the rest of the day at his desk, getting accustomed to the work and worrying himself half to death. Getting fired after finally finding a job would suck, and he knew that if word got out about his little episode, he wouldn't be able to find work at anywhere paying more than a McDonalds for at least the next ten years.
Luckily, Kaiba said nothing after returning to his office, and while Jou did stand up to apologize, he quickly sat down once more when he saw the look on the other's face. Mocking, arrogant, almost like he was expecting said apology just so that he could shoot it down and spit in the receptionist's face. Like he was going to get the chance. Jou quickly picked up the phone (ignoring the fact that it hadn't actually rung) to cover his tracks, giving the other an irritated look, as if he were too busy to deal with a stuck-up boss.
Kaiba, being the instigating bully that he was, didn't let it go. Instead he chuckled, a cold and annoying sound that would make even the calmest man in the world grind his teeth.
"When you're done answering non-existent phone-calls and playing secretary, I expect you to actually do some work and confirm all of these appointments for me. Make sure you're done before lunch, or I'll dock your pay." He said simply, setting a stack of papers nearly a foot high on Jou's desk, giving him another cruel smirk before he opened the door.
The poor blond's jaw dropped. The pages were sectioned into halves, single-spaced in size-six font and double-sided, with lists and lists of phone-numbers and dates that extended not only into the next few months, but even a few that took place next year. Crap, what the hell did Kaiba think he was? Some kind of machine? Lunch was in less than two hours, he didn't have time to go through all of these!
"What the hell?! That's impossible, you bastard!" He snapped, although the door slammed shut half-way through his sentence, and Jou was left clenching his fists, grinding his teeth so hard that he figured his molars would be sand within five minutes.
Damn, now he knew why he had gotten this job so easily. Kaiba Seto was the boss from hell. No, hell was putting it too lightly. He was the boss that had been expelled from hell, once manning the deepest, darkest torture chambers, but was kicked out for being too much of a smug, cruel asshole and making Satan himself look like a fluffy kitten. Yeah, that worked.
Ok, so maybe he was exaggerating a little bit, but still! How he expected him to even get started on this was way beyond him, and it was only after moping around for another five minutes that he realized he was wasting time he could have (and should have) been using working. Muttering something under his breath about stupid rich bitches, he reached across the stack of papers and picked up the phone to dial the first number.
***
The sun was setting. Lunchtime had long-since come and passed, and Jounouchi was still working on confirming appointments. He had made a dent, covering up until May of the next year, but the list went on until October, and most of the other workers were already starting to head home.
Glancing at the digital clock on the wall behind him, the young secretary let out a mournful sigh. 5:30. At this rate, he'd be here until at least seven o'clock, and would have to kiss any plans he had for the evening behind. He probably could just leave what was left of the stack of papers behind and head home for the evening, but Jou didn't dare. Giving up and going home now would be like waving a white flag, and like hell he was going to give that bastard Kaiba the pleasure of beating him. No, he was going to finish this, even if it killed him.
Speaking of Kaiba, it seemed that the CEO was also still working, as the blond secretary hadn't seen him come out of the office since returning after having his lunch, (which Jou had been forced to skip, and was reminded of now as his stomach growled on perfect cue) although quite a few visitors had stopped in and out over the course of the day. Quite a few of them were women, and while they were obviously classy, Jou just saw them as lovestruck, gold-digging whores.
True, he didn't know the /exact/ reason why they'd come (Mokuba had told him earlier to ignore the women and let them in, so he didn't ask too many questions) but he could tell from the little snippets of conversations that he caught when the door opened and closed that they all just wanted to get into Mr. CEO's pants. Sickeningly sweet voices cooed words of endearment, dripping disgusting honey as the girls pouted about not wanting to leave so soon. More than once Jou caught himself rolling his eyes or forcing back a gag, particularly when one of the braver sluts leaned in for a good-bye kiss.
Most men would have been jealous to see something like this, but Jounouchi Katsuya was not most men. As cheesy as it sounded, he was the type who believed in love over sex, and was still waiting for that perfect girl to come and profess her love to him, after which they would get married, maybe have one or two kids and own a roomy minivan that would sit in the driveway of a quaint little house, in front of which there would be a white picket fence. The chances of that actually happening were slim to none, and slim was waiting at the bus-stop to catch the next greyhound leaving town, but still, a guy could hope, couldn't he? While on that subject, it would be nice if she was a brunette. A nice, cute girl with silky brown hair, pretty blue eyes…
Kind of like Kaiba, only without all of the jackassness. Or the maleness. Or the… Wait, was he comparing his dream-girl to his bastard of a boss? No, no, no, no, no, no… Just. Just no! No way in hell! He wanted a wife that was nice and sweet, not an arrogant, smug, irritating little bitch who always looked down on others like they were crap, or scum, or… something.
There was a slight thump as the head of messy blond hair hit the wooden desk. Geez, he had been at the office too long… He was already starting to let Kaiba intrude into his thoughts and fantasies, and that was the one place he /refused/ to let the guy deface. He could make a fool out of him at work, drive him like a slave until his jaw hurt from smiling too much, hell, he could even hit him with a door and not even bother to apologize but he was not allowed to take over his thoughts. That was where the line was drawn, and nobody, rich CEO or otherwise, was allowed to cross it.
"Slacking off already? I guess that means you're done?" The tone was snide, and Jounouchi didn't even have to look to know who it was. He still turned his head anyways, catching a glimpse of the brunette, dressed in his coat with a few folders tucked under his arm. Looked like he was going home for the night. Puh.
Jou quickly straightened himself out, setting the papers in front of him as he picked up the phone once more, shooting the other a hard glare.
"Nah, just takin' a quick break. I'll be done in about twenty minutes though, /sir/, so don't worry your precious, rich little ass about my work." He said the comment in a sugary tone, forcing a smile, although he couldn't pull off the smug, superior look that Kaiba always seemed to give him. Instead he felt more like a defiant child or puppy. God, this sucked.
Kaiba's left eyebrow rose, and muttered a slight hmph as he turned away, a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten a better reaction. He didn't let it get to him, though, and still glanced back over his shoulder once he reached the elevator.
"Be grateful I gave you the rest of the day to work on that, when I told you to have it done by lunch. Most employers aren't kind enough to take in strays, so I don't like it when my dogs ignore the rules and do things at their own pace. If it happens again, I'll fire you."
Luckily the elevator doors closed just as Jounouchi muttered a string of petty insults, flipping him the bird even though he couldn't see it through the door. But the rude, snooty comments also 'inspired' him, and soon enough he had the phone in his hand once more, dialing numbers and confirming dates as fast as he could.
He had said twenty minutes, even though he doubted he could have finished in such a short amount of time, but now he was determined to stick to it. Like hell he was going to let Kaiba intimidate him. He wasn't a stray, he was more than capable of doing this low-end job, and he was going to prove it. And then, once he did, he was going to shove that proof in little Mr. CEO's face.
***
6:30. Even going as fast as he could, almost wearing his finger-pads down by dialing so many numbers and leaving his jaw numb from talking in a fake-happy business tone, it had still taken him an hour to finish. That little fact pissed Jou off more than anything else, because it felt like he had let Kaiba win by not sticking to his estimate. He had not wanted to let him win.
Still, he had at least gotten the work done, and that was more than enough to satisfy his mind and put him at ease. He'd managed to get through his first day without crashing or strangling his boss, and that had to be some kind of victory. Might as well celebrate. He could feel his stomach grumbling and churning, and decided that dinner was in order. Of course, money was still tight even now that he had a steady job, so he couldn't afford to go to a particularly nice restaurant, but anything that wasn't convenience-store food was considered 'special-occasion' to him.
So, sticking his hand into his pocket and pulling out his wallet to check his change, he started towards the nearest fast-food joint to get himself something quick, cheap and easy. As he headed out of the parking-lot, however, something over by the side of the office building, sandwiched in the alleyway between one skyscraper and the next, caught his eye. Speaking of quick, cheap and easy…
It was Kaiba, only he wasn't alone. No, instead he was in the middle of snorging a rather attractive blond, who had her arms around his neck and, by her body language, was begging for more as he aggressively kissed her neck. Jou recognized the woman as one of the whores who had stopped by earlier in the day, remembering that she had been one of the bold ones, stealing a goodbye kiss after whining for almost ten minutes about how lonely she would be without him for the rest of the day. More like how lonely she would be without his money…
Kaiba must have known that – he didn't strike Jou as the kind to be manipulated easily – but he certainly didn't seem to mind too much from this angle. The blond was immediately thankful that the sun had set and that the streets were covered in a semi-dark haze, allowing him to watch without being seen. Even though he wasn't exactly what one would call new to the dating scene, and had definitely kissed and fooled around with girls before, he couldn't help but feel a flush of pink come to his cheeks as he watched Kaiba practically devour the girl's face. He was kissing her aggressively, his hands traveling up and down her body, first squeezing her large (and probably fake) breasts, then down to her tight little ass, underneath the short little skirt and in between her legs…
Damn, this was getting to be R-rated. Jou didn't know why he was even sticking around, why he was /watching/ this instead of leaving Kaiba alone to his slut and getting his dinner. The girl was attractive, yeah, but it wasn't his taste, so that couldn't have been it… But holy cripes, Kaiba was like a beast the way he was ravaging her. His eyes were closed as he quickly unbuttoned her shirt, exposing a white lacy bra and smooth, tanned skin. His tongue quickly moved down to the crook between her neck and her shoulder, his lips wrapping around the skin as he expertly sucked.
Leaving a hickey in such an obvious spot, Kaiba sure was bold. Jou felt his face darken in shade as he continued to watch, moving a little closer while still making sure to stay hidden in the shadows. The last thing he wanted was for his boss to know he was watching him get it on in an alleyway. Oh yeah, that would make life at work real easy.
"Anngg…" The woman suddenly let out a cry, and Jou realized that something was off. Sure, she didn't seem to be in pain, but she started squirming around suddenly, acting uncomfortable. At first Jou just chocked it up to Kaiba having bad technique, but then her struggles died down, her body relaxing as her head lolled to the side. That was when he realized what was really happening. Kaiba wasn't giving her a hickey. He was… he actually had his teeth embedded in her neck, drawing blood.
Holy crap.
Those were the first words that came to mind, and Jou immediately froze. Was he watching what he thought he was watching? So Kaiba wasn't just a jackass, but he was a monster too? Oh geez, this was too much. It didn't make any sense. He'd seen him go out in daylight, he knew that there was a window in his office… But then, he'd read a few books where vampires – which was what he assumed he was watching – could do that.
What the hell was he thinking? There was no way that something like that actually existed. No way.
But if that was so, what was he looking at?
Jou's breath caught in his throat as he tried to think things over. So the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world was a vampire. Yeah, like anybody would believe that. The only way he'd possibly be able to convince anybody was if he had proof, and he doubted Kaiba would leave a dead body with teeth-marks in it for him to find and bring to the police.
Other than that, what could he do? Maybe a picture…
That was it, a picture! He could take a picture! He had his cell-phone on him, and he quietly, carefully reached into his pocket to pull it out. He thanked god that he had turned the volume off earlier in the day after Kaiba complained about hearing it ring, and silently flipped it open. There was no zoom function, and the light was crappy, but he figured he could at least get one or two good shots. But in order to do that, he'd have to move closer, and now that he knew what he was dealing with, he was reluctant to do so.
But getting closer was his only chance, so he held his breath and slowly maneuvered his way towards the mouth of the alley, praying that the bad light would keep him hidden, and that Kaiba would be too distracted to notice him. Once he was close enough, pressed up against the steel wall of the building, he turned to look inside.
The CEO seemed to be almost finished his snack, so it was now or never. Positioning the camera the best he could, Jou snapped a picture, then another, then another. He peeked past the wall and into the alley, and was met with a sight he hoped he wouldn't see.
Kaiba was looking directly at him, their eyes locked for a split second before the predator pulled his still-bloody mouth away from his victim's neck. Jou didn't need anybody to tell him what to do next. Terrified, he bolted. He knew that the chances of outrunning a monster were slim to none, but he had to try. He sprinted like he'd never done before, surely beating some kind of record as he shot down the street. Every second he was expecting someone to grab him from behind, pull him into an alleyway and drain the life out of him, but it never came. After making it four or five blocks, he finally slowed down, giving himself a chance to catch his breath before he walked the rest of the way home.
Digging in his pocket for his keys to open the door, he glanced back at the cell-phone and inspected the pictures. They'd turned out surprisingly well, and despite the stories Kaiba definitely did show up on film. That was at least one good thing.
Tired, out of breath and still jumpy, Jounouchi let out a sigh of relief once he had gotten inside and locked the door behind him, glancing towards the kitchen table. He was surprised to see a place set for him, homemade food dished out on his plate. At first he thought that Kaiba had gotten home before him and was toying with him somehow, but then he recognized the sloppy handiwork.
Shizuka. She must have come over while he was at work, expecting him earlier and making dinner for him to celebrate the first day of his new job. Even though her eyesight was going and she had to struggle to make out the recipes, she still tried her best to cook, clean, and do everything she could to make her big brother happy.
Thinking of that caused Jou to feel a pang of guilt deep in his chest. Shizuka. That was right, all of this was for her. She was the reason why he needed to stick with this job, get things right. He needed to repay her somehow; he needed to make her proud. He needed the money so that he could get her the surgery to save her eyes, even if that meant facing Kaiba again.
Wait a minute… facing Kaiba again. A cruel, sick idea started to form in the back of Jou's mind, and he quickly pulled out his phone once more, inspecting the photos.
Kaiba Seto was one of the richest men in the world, owning and running Kaiba Corp. Surely a few hundred thousand dollars would be nothing to him. Jou knew his secret, and he had proof. For such a rotten guy, wouldn't it be doing him a favour to have his money go towards something good and pure? Jou was sure that Shizuka wouldn't agree with his methods, but she desperately needed this surgery, and waiting longer would only lessen the chance of success.
Rather than earning the money through his job, this way would be much quicker and more effective. All he needed to do was offer his wonderful boss a little… Deal. Pay for the operation, or have those photos leaked onto the internet.
He was already fairly sure he knew which one the CEO would choose.
Ugh, I'm not nearly as happy with this as the last one. I tend to be really repetitive in my writing, and I feel this chapter got hit by that hard. X.x My characterization isn't the best either, I feel like I'm making Seto to be too much of a jerk. I haven't seen YuGiOh in more than two years, so I'm a little rusty, but believe me, I am trying!
I also didn't get quite as much into this chapter as I had hoped. So the meat comes next time, which will probably be released in a few days, if not tomorrow. Depends if I have insomnia or not. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed~