22: Temporary Ceasefire
"I already resigned," Kaiba blinked, then shook his head in disbelief.
While he was glad not to be behind bars like Gozaburo and Noa, he never imagined the Chairman would pull him aside and try to convince him to fight in the rescheduled match. Judging by the disapproval radiating from Baker, she wasn't enthused by the idea either.
"You can't!" Mashita screeched at the top of his lungs. "You need to defeat Iori Sei and Reiji!"
Baker tried to cajole him. "Chairman, that may not be the best idea. It would not reflect well on PPSE or the tournament if we allow him to continue to compete. He almost did irreparable damage to the company by colluding with Kaiba Gozaburo!"
"It's okay, Baker-chan. Kaiba-kun didn't mean to harm the company. You didn't actually turn any confidential information over, did you?" Mashita turned large puppy dog eyes from his executive assistant to Kaiba.
He cringed, but shook his head. Baker had immediately recovered the drive of partial files from Noa, and Kaiba had handed over his remaining copy after she demanded them.
"See?" Mashita whined. "He has to fight tomorrow. Reiji cannot win this tournament!"
Kaiba just liberated himself from the clutches of one master; he wasn't going to be a puppet in Mashita's game either. "No, I still refuse. I don't know what personal vendetta you have against Iori Sei and Reiji, but I want no part in it," he growled.
Under the table, Jounouchi laced his fingers with Kaiba's and squeezed gently.
"Wha— what— what do you mean?" Mashita stuttered.
"We know you've been gunning for them since the start of the tournament. Man up and take responsibility for your actions!" Jounouchi snapped. It appeared he was finally fed up with his boss' pathetic simpering.
He brushed a thumb across the inside of Jounouchi's wrist, hoping the touch would calm his sudden ire.
Baker stepped toward the table and clenched her fists. "You can't talk to the Chairman like that. You are a PPSE employee, Jounouchi-san, remember your place."
Jounouchi shot her a dirty look before declaring, "Fine, I quit then."
"Jounouchi—" Kaiba started, creasing his brow in concern.
"Shut it, Seto. I know what I'm doing."
Kaiba wasn't half as confident about that as Jounouchi seemed.
Jounouchi returned his attention to his former bosses, giving them each the evil eye. "Now that neither of us are PPSE employees anymore, you can't keep us here and you can't force us to do anything."
Mashita sweated profusely. "But— but— but—"
"Fine," Baker said, brimming with authority, and pushed her glasses up the length of her nose. "Security will escort you off the premises and you will vacate your rooms in the player village within the hour. We will be conducting a more extensive investigation of both your conducts once the tournament is over."
Kaiba pushed his seat back and stood. He defiantly met her cold, calculating stare. "I have nothing to hide. You know where to find me."
Without letting go of Jounouchi's hand, Kaiba led them straight for the exit. As the door closed behind them, he heard Baker say, "Don't worry, Chairman. We can still use Meijin Kawaguchi the Third."
-x-x-x-
The entire experience felt surreal, like Jounouchi was dreaming. Working for PPSE had been his dream job after meeting Allan. Now he'd tossed it aside without a second thought.
Baker's security goons followed them back to the hotel and stood guard as they packed their belongings. Jounouchi half-expected them to demand the PPSE uniform off his back. If they did, he would have stripped down and returned it with more than a bit of self-satisfaction. His hackles rose when the goons confiscated Kaiba's laptop, but he stopped short of kicking up a fuss when Kaiba shook his head. Jounouchi clutched the Legilis' case to his chest and fought down the possessiveness bubbling up.
In the end, he relinquished both the Gunpla and its remaining spare parts. They were PPSE's property, and Jounouchi would build something even better for his fighter.
One of the burly security men tailed them all the way to the parking lot where Kaiba's car, a dark blue sedan, waited. They stowed their combined luggage in the trunk, one duffel bag and one rolling suitcase, without exchanging words. Inside the vehicle, Jounouchi finally dared to reach over and brush his fingertips against Kaiba's cheek. The touch was brief, but it seemed enough because Kaiba gave a weary not-quite-a-smirk, but also not-quite-a-smile.
They drove in silence with the windows down and the summer breeze running through their hair. Racing across the bay, Jounouchi watched the stadium fade into the distance through the rear-view mirror. There was no reason to feel sad about the departure; he'd be back one way or another. Yet something sharp pricked his heart. Unexpectedly, his eyes met Kaiba's blue gaze in the mirror and the words he wanted to say curled in his throat and died a slow death.
I love you too. Jounouchi tried calm his racing heartbeat. He told himself not to think too hard about it. Kaiba was probably woozy from the pain Gozaburo had inflicted on him. Jounouchi shouldn't dwell on it.
The part of Shizuoka currently zipping past was more developed than Jounouchi's neighborhood. A number of newer apartment buildings lined the main street alongside trendy shops and restaurants. It wasn't necessarily upscale, but it was meant to attract younger working people in their 20s and 30s to the area. After a few blocks, they pulled into an underground garage beneath a sleek-looking building and straight into a vacant parking spot by the elevator.
Kaiba didn't bother to retrieve their bags from the trunk and headed straight for the elevator. Jounouchi scrambled to follow, relieved when Kaiba held the door up for him. He picked at the hem of his uniform jacket as they ascended to the eighth floor. Several doors from the elevator, Kaiba stopped and rummaged for his keys. The nameplate besides the door was blank.
As he inserted the key into the knob, Kaiba cleared his throat and spoke for what felt like the first time in hours. "I can take you home if you'd rather."
Not trusting his voice, Jounouchi shook his head. He wasn't ready to leave Kaiba right now.
Kaiba pushed the door open and sidestepped to allow Jounouchi to enter first. Knowing how rare a courteous Kaiba was, Jounouchi stepped inside the apartment without needing to be told twice. It was larger than his place, but only by a small margin. The living room, on the other hand, seemed a lot bigger because Kaiba didn't have clutter overtaking the space. The furnishing, though tasteful, was sparse and impersonal. Jounouchi winced when the door closed with a loud snick behind him.
Turning to Kaiba, he mumbled, "It's nice." Then he cringed at how asinine he sounded.
"I thought you'd have more to say considering how you were pestering me last week," Kaiba diverted his gaze and smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles in the Meijin's overcoat. Then glancing toward the exposed kitchen, he asked hesitantly, "Uh, do you want something— anything?"
Jounouchi cracked a smile, moved by Kaiba's sudden display of awkwardness. "You don't usually have people over, do you?"
"Other than Yuugi, no. Never mind. Make yourself comfortable, I'll get some tea."
Jounouchi took a seat on the couch and listened as Kaiba rummaged around in the kitchen. He was tempted to turn on the TV for some noise, but the rudeness prompted him to reconsider. Someone's phone began to ring. Jounouchi didn't recognize the ringtone, so he knew it wasn't his. He rotated around to watch Kaiba regard his cellphone with an expression of dread.
"Do you mind if I take this?" Kaiba asked, although it sounded more like a statement than a question.
Jounouchi shrugged. This was Kaiba's home; he could hardly dictate what Kaiba chose to do or not do.
"Nii-sama!" A cheerful male voice filled the apartment.
Kaiba's gloom instantly morphed into excitement, causing Jounouchi's heart to skip a beat. Jounouchi rose and moved toward the kitchen area. He reasoned that Kaiba would shoo him away if he wanted his privacy.
"Why are you calling from Rebecca's number? Are you in some sort of trouble?" Kaiba hefted the phone up to better frame himself in the video call.
"Don't worry, we're all safe at Julian's. His granddad's house is huge! I think it's even bigger than the Kaiba mansion back home!"
Doing his best to keep himself out of the shot, Jounouchi tried to catch a glimpse of Kaiba's little brother. As the media tended to steer clear of the two younger Kaiba brothers, the only photo Jounouchi had found of Kaiba Mokuba dated almost six years ago. It was an uncomfortable family photo of the Kaiba family attending a formal event, where the then-eight-year-old Mokuba half-hid behind a stiff-looking Kaiba. The teenager gushing on the video was a blessed far-cry from that timid boy. Seeing him safe and boisterous like this lifted a weight that Jounouchi never noticed before from his shoulders.
Kaiba's lips curled up in his version of a fond smile— something that Jounouchi had seen directed at himself recently. "I'm relieved to hear you're safe, Mokuba. Don't make trouble for the Mackenzies in the meanwhile. I'll do my best to bring you back to Japan as soon as possible."
He tried to angle himself for a better view, but shrunk back when he saw wisps of his blond hair creep in from the edge of the video. Kaiba glanced sideways at him and then rolled his eyes. Jounouchi squawked as Kaiba grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the camera's view. When he tried to wiggle away, Kaiba tightened his vice grip and drew Jounouchi closer until they stood side-by-side. They were close enough for their shoulders to brush against each other, but not so close that it might imply something more intimate. On second thought, Jounouchi was less sure about that second part given Mokuba's poleaxed expression. He waved weakly and mutely at the screen with his free hand. Kaiba held the other one outside of the frame.
"Who is he?" Mokuba demanded.
"This is Jounouchi."
Kaiba caressed the back of his hand, and Jounouchi shivered from both the sensation and the sound of his name on Kaiba's lips.
"Oh, you're Nii-sama's builder!" Mokuba exclaimed as a sunny smile broke over his features. Damn, was this kid really related to Kaiba? He was so damn cheerful. "Nice to meet you, Jounouchi. I hope we get the chance to meet after I come home. I want to thank you in person for helping my brother all this time."
Jounouchi cast his eyes down at his shoes. Oops, he forgot to take those off. "It's my pleasure," he gritted through his uncooperative mouth.
Turning his attention back to Kaiba, Mokuba gnawed on his bottom lip. "Are you okay though, Nii-sama? I saw videos of what Father did to you. Did he really do all those things?"
"Mokuba, he may be our father, but Gozaburo was not a good man," Kaiba sighed, but the muscles through Kaiba's entire arm tensed.
"I'm not a little kid. I already knew that." Mokuba snapped before he caught himself. "Don't worry, I'm on your side."
"Thank you, little brother."
Kaiba and Mokuba chatted for another few minutes. Jounouchi would have let them have their privacy, but Kaiba refused to release him no matter how he tried to tug his hand away. He awkwardly counted the streaks in the wooden floor and waited for the conversation to end. Finally, the two brothers bid each other farewell and promised to call again tomorrow.
But before Mokuba hung up, he looked directly at Jounouchi one more time. "Jounouchi," Still no honorific of any sort, but Mokuba was Kaiba's brother. "Thank you again for protecting Nii-sama from Father. You should have hit him a few more times though."
Jounouchi laughed as the call ended abruptly. "Oh my god, he's really your kid brother!"
Kaiba shot him an annoyed glare. "Was there ever any doubt?"
"No, I guess not. You really love him." Feeling strained and stretched, Jounouchi's smile faltered on his lips. He did his best to buoy it.
"I do."
After several moments of meeting Kaiba's gaze, Jounouchi broke eye contact with his heart pounding in his ears. When the fuck did he get this shy? He wasn't a teenager anymore. But Kaiba was a whole different kind of beast. He was nothing like anyone Jounouchi had dated or fooled around with. Kaiba was... Kaiba.
"Jounouchi."
Fucking Kaiba using his name like a command, and fuck if Jounouchi didn't snap to attention like a well-trained dog. Kaiba tilted his chin up and frowned. Jounouchi's emotions were such a tangled mess that he didn't know what he felt, much less what Kaiba apparently saw.
"Regardless of the circumstances, I meant what I said earlier," Kaiba said, suddenly looking uncomfortable.
After a day full of adrenaline, he was finally crashing. Shit, Kaiba looked twice as run down. Confused, Jounouchi blinked blearily in response. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
Kaiba's mouth thinned with disapproval. "Why are you so stupid?"
"Hey! You don't have to be an asshole about it. I'm not a fucking mind-reader. You can't expect me—" Jounouchi stung from hurt and rejection. God, Kaiba sometimes really pissed him off with that hot-cold attitude of his. He would have moved away if Kaiba hadn't captured his wrist with one hand and his chin with the other. He'd probably punch him lightly for good measure.
"You're important to me," Kaiba growled, cutting off the rest of his tirade. "As important as Mokuba."
His brain came to a screeching halt. Mokuba, Kaiba's little brother whom they just established he loved— Jounouchi was on par with Mokuba, who Kaiba loved. That meant that Kaiba loved him too, which was exactly what he said earlier. His thoughts continued to run in circles around that one idea.
"Fuck," he muttered, feeling his face grow warm.
"There we go."
Jounouchi sucked in a large breath of air in preparation to further berate Kaiba for his infuriating ways. But as soon as he opened his mouth to yell, Kaiba's tongue wormed its way past his teeth to stroke Jounouchi's tongue. He moaned under the onslaught of sensation, grabbing fistfuls of the Meijin overcoat to pull the other man closer. Damn, Kaiba kept improving every time they kissed. At this rate, Jounouchi was going to become putty in his hands. Whatever. Jounouchi was done with thinking. He melted into Kaiba's kisses, returning each one with equal passion.
"Will you stay the night?" Kaiba asked, eyes bright and lips skimming over Jounouchi's cheek.
He shivered and snuck a hand under Kaiba's coat. "Like you could get rid of me."
Kaiba seemed pleased by the idea.
-x-x-x-
Less than twenty-four hours after their ejection, Kaiba and Jounouchi walked the familiar halls of the PPSE stadium again. Kaiba almost thought security might materialize out of thin air and eject them as soon as they set foot on the property. Of course, they didn't. They were less likely to draw attention in their "civvies," as Jounouchi jokingly called their out-of-work attire earlier.
"I wonder what Mashita promised Yuuki-san to get him to agree," Jounouchi wondered out loud.
"I'd hazard to guess nothing. Yuuki wants to battle Iori and Sei."
But it was a wonder that PPSE managed to reschedule the final match so soon. They were probably desperate for something new to distract the media from yesterday's fiasco. Speculation was running rampant, but Kaiba resisted reading too much into it.
When they entered the fighter's observation room, the only other occupants were Luang Dallara and Rainer Cziommer. Dallara nodded politely in acknowledgement, while Cziommer avoided meeting his gaze. That was fine by Kaiba. He wasn't here to socialize. Jounouchi wanted to watch the battle in person, and they would leave afterwards.
Iori and Reiji emerged first from one side of the arena. The tiny amount of guilt inside Kaiba eased when he saw their confident strides and excited faces. They were probably more eager than before to battle Yuuki after learning he was actually the third Meijin. Kaiba would have other opportunities to battle them by earning his own way through.
"We now begin the final match of the Gunpla Battle Championship World Tournament," the announcer spoke as a lone figure stepped out into the arena's bright lighting.
"What the hell is with the costume change?" Jounouchi asked incredulously.
In addition to the usual Meijin outfit, a long red scarf was wrapped around Yuuki's neck, flying like a war banner as he approached the battle system. His sunglasses' lens was similarly tinted red, and it sported added bits that wrapped around his cheeks and over his forehead. With a robotic mannerism, Yuuki set a new Gunpla with a macabre black and red color scheme on the console.
Something was off. Judging by all the confused expressions and gaping mouths, most people in the audience sensed it on some level. For Kaiba, the empty spot behind Yuuki Tatsuya, where Allan Adams should stand, was the clincher.