Poles Apart - Part 2 >_
Oh well... here is the second part of Poles Apart.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Pairing: Seto x Jou
Rating: Really hard R for bad languare and some M/M sexual situation
It was dark. It was cold. It was windy…and it was freaking spooky! Jounouchi pulled the borrowed coat tighter around his neck and wished that the owner of the coat were actually with him. Kaiba’s long thick coat may be warm and smell amazing, like the man, but the mean-assed son of a bitch it was not. Jou whined and looked at the looming dark mansion with dread; he SOOOOO did not want to go in there.
From what he’d heard, the Shimizu mansion had been built from materials taken from the original Osaka castle of Japan and by the look of it, Jou was sure the design was very similar as well. He gulped as he inched closer…there weren’t any lights coming from any of the windows on the five-story building. There didn’t seem to be anyone home, yet he knew that Mokuba had come here. He could also see the red convertible that belonged to Sissy wedged between a demonic looking tree and a shrub.
So why hadn’t any of them been considerate enough to turn on some freaking lights?
Huddling behind the flipped up collar of Kaiba’s coat -- and loving every whiff of it - Jou inched closer to the gloomy structure. Before he had gone very far, he stumbled on and nearly fell into a pond of sorts. It laid ominously between him and the mansion. He blinked distastefully the dark mucky water rippling in the strong wind. Dead leaves were strewn all around the pond and on the surface of the grimy water. Jou took a sniff and wrinkled his nose, praying fervently that whatever died in there would stay in there!
With a shudder, Jou shuffled back on the path that he’d strayed from and reluctantly moved towards the house…if one could call it that. A sudden splash from the pond behind him made him yelp and set him off on a mad dash towards the mansion. At this point, he decided that the demon in the house was surely better than the one in the stinky pond. At least there were places he could hide there…not to mention Mokuba was probably there…or was Mokuba in the pond…?
He froze in his tracks, chills shooting up and down his spine making the hair at the back of his neck rise uncontrollably. His heart thumped violently in his chest and he actually pressed his hands over it to keep it from bursting out. His skin crawled and he shivered again violently. I wanna go home!! He wailed silently.
Idiot! Stupid dog! He could hear Kaiba’s jeers at his fear. The man was as thick as a brick when it came to the supernatural forces. What he wouldn’t give to have Kaiba next to him right now, ridiculing him…he’d like to see any demon stand up to Kaiba’s insults and unique social skills.
With a very large and loud gulp, Jou decided to take a peek at the pond again…just to make sure Mokuba hadn’t fallen in and wasn’t laying unconscious somewhere around there. Slowly he turned and…
...his heart stopped. Well at least he didn’t have to worry about it jumping out of his chest…
Next to the pond stood a tall shadow with it’s long cape flapping ominously in the wind. Its red eyes glowed with pure evil as it grinned a wicked fanged grin. The rest of the monster was obscured in darkness…hell, ALL of the friggin’ monster was completely enshrouded in darkness so Jou wasn’t sure how he could see any details…and when the monster reached it’s clawed hands toward him, Katsuya Jounouchi screamed and fell in a dead faint.
---- ---- ----
From somewhere in the bowels of the mansion, Mokuba heard a blood-curdling wail and shuddered. He hoped that SOMEONE would come to get him soon; he was beginning to regret coming here all by himself. He sighed and crept along the wall of the main corridor again. He had to find Sissy and put a stop to whatever malevolent plan she had for his brother. Whatever it was she had awoken sounded like pure evil and he wasn’t going to let it have Seto.
---- ---- ----
Jounouchi was cold and his head hurt. He groaned and rolled to the side as he rubbed at the bump in the back of his head. What the fuck…? He opened his eyes slowly and blinked hazily up at the dark face looming over him.
GAH!!
The evil monster by the pond! Jou opened his mouth to scream again but this time a hand clamped over it roughly and he was pulled by the back of the neck towards the fiend. He blinked in surprise when he was nose to nose with it, then his eyes widened in recognition and relief.
“Shut the hell up, you moron!” That furious hissing was unmistakable…
Kaiba!
He was so relieved that he threw his arms around Kaiba’s neck and tried to hug him. “Mmmfpmff…!!” He had forgotten that Kaiba’s hand was still clamped over his mouth and the tighter he wound his arms around Kaiba, the more his head was forced back by said hand.
“Idiot!” Kaiba scolded and pried his hand free only to be attacked more energetically by the overly enthusiastic blond.
“Sticks and stones, my friend, sticks and stones.” Jounouchi mumbled between the kisses he was raining on Kaiba’s face. Before tonight, Jou would NEVER have dreamt of doing such things but now…
The brunet growled halfheartedly before pushing Jou off him. “Freaking idiot,” Kaiba mumbled and got to his feet, pulling the smaller teen up with him. “What the hell are you doing here?” He asked with a frown. "Are you following me?"
“No, I was following Mokuba.”
A steely grip on his shoulders had Jounouchi hissing in pain and he knocked Kaiba’s hands away with an indignant protest.
“What did you say?” Kaiba took a hold of his lapel and nearly lifted the blond off his feet.
“I followed Mokuba. He came here.” Jou squeaked and tugged at the coat.
Kaiba ignored Jounouchi’s effort to free himself and turned to growl at the mansion. “Mokuba.”
He abruptly let go of Jou and stalked purposefully towards the house. After realizing he was going to be left alone, Jou eeped and sprinted after the tall brunet. There was no way he was moving from Kaiba’s side. Did the man feel no fear?
As he caught up with Kaiba, he glanced sideways at the taller man and swallowed. No, there was no fear there but there was plenty of fury… Jounouchi suddenly felt very sorry for the evil that chose to cross Seto Kaiba’s path. It clearly wasn’t going to come out on top of THIS argument.
“If you didn’t know Mokuba was here, why…what are you doing here?” Jou asked when they finally stopped. Kaiba didn’t answer but glared icily in front of him and Jou followed his gaze to the enormous entrance door. It was a thick wooden double-door at least ten feet across and about the same measurement in height. The strange carvings on it were hideous at best and depicted a battle scene of some kind…many figures lay dead, pierced with various objects, decapitated or about to die. Many more charged on foot and on horseback at a castle that looked eerily like the one they were standing in front off now...
“Um…Kaiba…?” Jounouchi scooted closer to the taller man and glomped onto his arm. He swore he could hear the cries of the men that were on the carving…
Kaiba frowned at the scene on the door and grunted as he tried to free his arm. “Get off me!”
“Ah-ah! No way, Jose!” Jou clung tighter and if he could, would have climbed into the front of Kaiba’s shirt. “I figure if I get you pissed enough, no evil in this world will stand a chance. So get REAL pissed, okay?”
“That shouldn’t be hard with you here.” Kaiba said and yanked hard on his arm. “GET OFF, mutt!”
Jou lost his balance as the arm was jerked free and he crashed into the door. It opened with a loud shriek of protest and Jou yelped in fright. He floundered pathetically as he tried to maintain his balance and run away at the same time.
A strong hand grabbed his forearm and hauled him upright. Jou crashed into a hard chest and clung on tightly.
“Why are you so spineless?” Kaiba sneered into his ear. “It’s a goddamn squeaky hinge! Old houses have squeaky hinges! Now get your fucking act together.” Kaiba finished with a hard shove and Jou found himself staggering into the main hall. Even in the darkness, Jou knew by the feel of the floor that it was solid wood, no carpeting here. Without light he couldn’t see much and he blinked repeatedly to get his eyes to adjust to the gloom. He wrinkled his nose and nearly gagged. It smelled worst than the pond…at least THAT was out in fresh air. This place reeked of something VERY LARGE rotting.
Loud thumping on the wooden floor signaled Kaiba’s entrance as the man marched moodily in and looked around as if he was challenging whatever it was to come out and duel with him. Hah! Freaking monsters don’t duel, you asshole! Let see how you do against some sinister evil thingie from another dimension!
On second thought, didn’t he want Kaiba to do well? Who would stand between him and a certain horrific death if Kaiba weren’t?
Okay, he was messed up big time. This whole fucking place, not to mention an evening with the champion of all fuck-ups - Kaiba, was seriously screwing him up. He wanted to go home, damn it! Who the hell had told him to come here? No one! And since Kaiba was here to rescue his little brother, surely he could go home? He wasn’t needed here…right? Right? Hey…where’s Kaiba? He looked around but the hall was empty.
Yikes! While he had been arguing with himself, Kaiba had left him! That insensitive son of a bitch had actually left him! Dull thuds could be heard from his right and Jou guessed that Kaiba had gone that way…well he REALLY hoped it was Kaiba because if it wasn’t, there was going to be a whole lot of screaming coming up.
He tiptoed as quickly as he could after Kaiba and soon caught sight of the man sliding open a couple of paper panels like those normally found in old style Japanese houses. From down the corridor, Jou suddenly realized that both walls of the corridors were lined similarly. He slid one open on the opposite side and was met with a gale of freezing wind that had him gasping in shock. The smell of the icky pond assaulted his senses and he grimaced at the dark water, just a few feet a way. He hastily closed the panels and made a note to self to NOT open anything else.
He turned to see Kaiba staring at him.
“What?” He asked defensive. “How was I supposed to know it led outside?”
Kaiba’s glare did not change “What are you doing here?”
Jou moved to stand next to the taller man and shrugged. “I was worried about Mokuba. He thought Sissy was trying to suck the life out of you and I guess he came here to try to stop her.”
Kaiba gave him a look that clearly said ‘You freaking moronic idiot, what have you been smoking?’
“Really!” Jounouchi insisted earnestly.
Kaiba sighed and gripped the hair at the back of Jou’s head. He yanked the blonde’s head back and stared into Jou’s eyes. “I meant why are you here…NOW? I can get Mokuba out on my own. I don’t need you.”
Despite the physical pain of having his hair yanked so close to the bump in the back of his head, the emotional pain at hearing Kaiba say that he was useless was even worse. So what else was new? Kaiba was being Kaiba. Did he expect the man to turn mushy-mushy just because they had almost fucked? Guess not…but it would have been nice…
“Yeah, well…maybe I LIKE being here!” Jou said through gritted teeth and struggled against the hold but the grip in his hair only tightened. He winced and gasped in pain.
Kaiba stared at him strangely for what seemed like hours…but was probably more like seconds…then loosened his hold on Jou’s hair but didn’t release it.
Jounouchi was shocked to say the least when the pressure at the back of his head increased as Kaiba pulled him forward and his mouth was engulfed in a rough kiss. Was there anything about Kaiba that wasn’t forceful?
Before he could properly respond, Kaiba pulled away and gazed down at him again. In the darkness, Jou couldn’t see the expression on Kaiba face but he was willing to bet big bucks that if Mokuba weren’t in potential danger, the brunet would probably take him right there in the hallway.
“Come on,” Kaiba said as he took a hold of Jou’s wrist and pulled the shorter man along.
Jounouchi couldn’t help the idiotic grin that spread across his face as he allowed Kaiba to tow him down the hallway. It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love or anything, but coming from Seto Kaiba, it was definitely something.
Kaiba strode confidently through the darkened corridor looking left and right as he went. Jou was not as haughty, experiences with many horror movies had taught him that one would do well to show respect when dealing with spirits. Kaiba apparently, had never been exposed to the concept of respect of any kind, let alone for the dead.
“Er…should we just barge in here like this? I mean we could be tripping all kinds of alarm and…stuff.” Jou said, looking behind him nervously.
“I won’t sneak around like a common thief. They have things that belong to me and I’m taking them back.” Kaiba’s grip on his wrist tightened and Jounouchi wiggled it slightly to relieve the pressure.
“What do you mean? Why ARE you here? You mean Sissy? You came…to take Sissy back?” Jou didn’t like the way his heart sank at the thought that Kaiba would come here just to drag Sissy back to his house… Kaiba didn’t know about Mokuba until he’d met Jou so what else could it be?
Kaiba stopped and jerked Jou to face him. “You think I came here for a stupid woman?”
“Um…yeah. But isn’t that stupid woman supposed to get you Milay International?”
“My, but Mokuba’s been busy, hasn’t he?” Kaiba leaned down close and his nose nearly touched Jou’s. “No, that woman is supposed to get me the mole that’s been stealing my designs and copying my programs.”
“A mole.” Jounouchi looked blankly at the brunet. “Is that…like a spy?”
Kaiba chuckled and nodded. “Stupid dog.”
Jou growled at the insult but didn’t address it. “You mean, you were lettin’ her get all over you so you could find the spy? How did you even know there was one? How is SHE involved?”
Kaiba snorted then started down the corridor again. “Milay’s been after my designs for months. When I found out about the mole, I increased security and nothing else was taken. That’s when they came up with the idea of having me marry their daughter. Imbeciles! ” Kaiba stopped abruptly as he came to a turn that led to a set of staircases. To Jounouchi’s horror, the stairs led both ways: up and down. Both ways were dark but dank cold air was coming from the cellar. Jou DID NOT want to go to the cellar!
The blond glomped onto Kaiba’s arm and if he could have, he would’ve crawled down the front of the man’s shirt. “We’re NOT splitting up.” He said stubbornly. Bad things happened to people in horror movies when they split up.
Kaiba smirked down at him. “I didn’t know we were together.” He tugged at his arm halfheartedly then sighed. “Fine, little dog, hang on with your tail between your legs. I really didn’t expect much from you anyway.”
That hurt. Jounouchi didn’t know why but it did. Not the dog of course, that was pretty normal stuff, but the fact that Kaiba didn’t think he could count on Jounouchi to stand beside him. That didn’t feel good at all.
Their decision was made for them when they heard footsteps coming from the floor above them. Kaiba pulled Jounouchi to the side and they stood with their backs pressed against the wall. The stairways were now just around the corner and they couldn’t see who was coming down the steps. Jou fought down the urge to peek around the corner; as curious as he was, he was also scared. Who knew what was creeping slowly towards them? It could be one of the unfortunate samurai who had died defending the castle, or even older, from when the castle was originally a temple. Any number of dead monks could be roaming the hallway, seeking vengeance against those who had burnt down the temple. Jou shuddered at the vivid images in his mind and was startled nearly out of his skin when Kaiba brushed his thumb across Jou’s wrist in a near caress. He glanced sideways at the tall brunet in surprise; he had completely forgotten that Kaiba still held his wrist.
Kaiba gave his wrist a reassuring squeeze and Jou found himself smiling from ear to ear despite the footsteps that were getting closer. He turned back to the hallway leading to the stairs and saw a beam of light on the floor. Flashlight. Ghosts didn’t use flashlights!
In his elation, Jou pulled free from Kaiba and jumped in front of the figure coming down the corridor.
“HA! Gotcha!” He yelled and waved his arms about wildly.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!” The figure screamed and bonked him in the head with the flashlight. Repeatedly.
Two things saved Jounouchi; his thick skull and Kaiba, who had step up behind him and took a hold of the arm holding the makeshift bat.
“Mokuba, stop it!”
Mokuba? Jou lowered his raised arms and blinked at the panting young man in front of him. Mokuba!
“AAAHHHHH!!” It was Jounouchi this time that yelled and attacked the youth. He grabbed Mokuba by the front of his coat and shook the bejeebers out of him. “What the hell were you doing, scaring the shit out of me like that?”
“Se-e-e-t-t-o-o-o…” Mokuba called out to his brother who surprisingly stood there with his arms crossed and leaning one shoulder lazily against the wall. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to separate his would be lover from his brother at all.
Eventually Jounouchi let Mokuba off the hook and he pulled the younger boy against him in a fierce hug. “Do shit like that again and I’m throwing you in that pond outside.”
“Sorry.” Mokuba had the grace to look properly mortified; he ducked his head and shuffled his feet in place. “I thought I could catch her doing evil things.”
“Did you?” Kaiba asked calmly.
Mokuba shook his head. “I couldn’t even find her. I don’t know where she is. Her car is here but…” He looked around the deserted corridor and shrugged. “I don’t even know how she could stay here. This place is not habitable at all.”
Kaiba stared at his little brother for a long moment before pushing off the wall and coming to stand right in front of the boy. He ruffled Mokuba’s hair affectionately and Jou couldn’t help the lump that formed in his throat. That was probably the single sweetest scene he’d EVER witnessed.
“What am I going to do with you?” Kaiba asked tiredly as he gazed down at Mokuba.
Jounouchi changed his mind. THIS was the sweetest scene ever! The softening of Kaiba’s expression and the gentleness in his voice was so different from what any of them had seen from the man. THIS was Seto before he became Kaiba.
Jounouchi suddenly felt like he was intruding on something very rare and precious but he couldn’t tear his eyes from Kaiba. He wanted to be a part of this if only for a moment…maybe he could burn the image in his mind and he’d have this memory forever…
“HELLOO!”
Jou jerked back to the present to find the two Kaiba brothers staring at him strangely. Then Mokuba laughed and shook his head.
“You’re so funny, Jounouchi-kun. Spaced out again?”
Jou colored and frowned fiercely in his embarrassment. Being caught staring was one thing but being caught drooling was something else. “I was thinking!”
“Right.”
“I was!”
“What were you thinking of? You sure looked dreamy.” Mokuba batted his eyes as he teased Jou.
“I did NOT look dreamy, you little twerp!”
“Did too.”
“Did NOT!”
“Did too!”
“ENOUGH!” Kaiba barked and moved between them. He rubbed the bridge of his nose irritably and growled. “I don’t have time for your senseless bickering! YOU.” He pointed to Jou. “Take Mokuba home and make sure he stays there. And YOU.” This time he put a hand on top of Mokuba’s head. “You better be in bed when I get back home. Is that clear?”
“But ni-sama, what are YOU going to do?” Mokuba looked up worriedly at his brother.
“Like I told this mongrel here, I’m going to take back what belongs to me,” Kaiba said softly, his eyes glinting dangerously.
“We can help you,” Mokuba said eagerly. “You shouldn’t stay here alone. It’s not safe...I heard someone screaming.”
“That was this idiot here.” Kaiba cocked his head in Jou’s direction. “I never knew a grown man could scream that high.”
“Hey! It was your fault for looking like a demon and sneaking up on me!”
Mokuba started giggling but Kaiba cut him off. “Whom did YOU come with?” Kaiba’s voice held a hint of amusement, though he tried to look stern as he peered at this brother.
Mokuba smiled sheepishly and sneaked a sideways glance at Jounouchi. “No one…but that’s different. I knew you guys would come looking for me, that’s why I left the note. I just didn’t think it would take you THIS long.” He blinked innocently from the brunet to the blond. “What were you guys doing anyway?”
Damn, that kid! Jou reddened as he looked quickly at Kaiba to see the brunet’s reaction. Kaiba was looking right at him.
Jounouchi’s face flamed even more when the corner of Kaiba’s lips lifted and the brunet asked, “Well? Do YOU want to tell him?”
“Nothin’ to tell.” Jou grumbled, looking away hastily. From the corner of his eye, he caught a dim light coming around a corner at the far end of the corridor. Someone else was coming towards them.
“SHH! Look!” He whispered and pointed to the flickering light that was getting brighter. Shadows danced along the wall with every advancing movement, but no footsteps could be heard.
As the light turned the corner, they saw a figure holding an old fashioned lantern, the kind that was encased in the round paper thingie and hung on a stick. The man was wearing something straight out of the woodwork at the entrance door…he looked very much like a samurai of old, complete with the two swords in his belt. Jou shuddered violently and realized he wasn’t the only one doing so when Mokuba raced behind Kaiba and clung on to his brother tightly. Hell, he wasn’t about to be left standing unguarded. He dove behind the taller man as well and grabbed on to his other arm.
At this point, even Kaiba wasn’t unaffected. The man didn’t shake him off like he normally would, but just stood there staring at the advancing figure. Jounouchi wasn’t sure how Kaiba could seem so cool at a time like this but he sure as hell thanked all the gods for it.
“Ni-samaaa…” Mokuba’s voice was a mere whisper. The silence that echoed all round them amplified it one hundredfold. Jou clutched Kaiba harder…he was in total agreement with the unspoken fear in Mokuba’s voice.
Kaiba did not budge. If anything, his scowl deepened at the approaching stranger. “Where is Sissy Milay?”
Jou cringed and Mokuba whimpered. Kaiba did have that annoying habit of getting rudely to the point, didn’t he? Apparently no one had ever bothered to tell Kaiba that one did not make demands of ghosts. One usually ran the other way.
The figure stopped and the lantern was lowered so that they could see the stranger’s face. It was that of a young man, slightly older than them, obviously oriental and with his head shaved in the funny traditional topknot hairdo Jou had seen in old samurai movies. The blond gulped audibly and earned an irritated elbow-in-the-ribs from Kaiba.
“Where is Sissy Milay?” Kaiba asked again, none too pleasantly.
The man said nothing but studied them for a few nerve-wrecking seconds before stepping to the side a bit and motioning for them to follow. Kaiba didn’t look happy and even though that was the normal look for the brunet, Jou figured that this was an even unhappier look. Kaiba grunted in agreement but found himself unable to move; Mokuba and Jounouchi stubbornly held both arms back.
“Are you freaking nuts?” Jou whispered fiercely. “He’s a…” The blond turned to give the silent man a fearful look before turning back to the soon-to-be-devoured-by-evil Kaiba. “He’s a ghost!”
On the other side of Kaiba, Mokuba tugged on his brother’s arm and nodded vigorously in agreement. “Don’t, ni-sama!”
Kaiba snorted in exasperation and shook the two young men on his arms hard. “Let go! This is stupid! He knows where she is and I’m not spending all night searching around this godforsaken place!”
“That’s right! God forsook it and so should we. Let’s get out of here!” Jounouchi urged, bouncing agitatedly on the balls of his feet.
“Then go! Didn’t I tell you to take Mokuba home? GO!” Kaiba pushed hard in his anger and Jou found himself smashing into the wall while Mokuba landed on his butt. “Go home.” He told them both and walked toward the stranger who was by now staring at them as if THEY were the ghosts.
“Ni-sama!” Mokuba called but Kaiba didn’t look back. He waved over his shoulders as he followed the strange samurai looking man. Jounouchi went to help the younger boy up and watched Kaiba worriedly as Mokuba dusted the seat of his pants. “C’mon, Jounouchi-kun, let’s follow him.” Mokuba tugged on Jou’s wrist and literally dragged the older boy along.
“Wait! Are you nuts? He said to go home. Let’s get the hell out of here.” Jou protested all the way down the hall.
“No! He may need our help.”
They rounded the corner that the samurai had come from and they saw Kaiba and the man going up another staircase. Jou looked puzzlingly at the way they had come. There was a staircase back there too.
“Look, I don’t know anything scarier than your brother so I’m pretty sure he’ll be okay. I’m freezing. Let’s go.”
Mokuba kept following the duo but managed to turn around and smirk at him. “How come? You got Seto’s coat on; I don’t think you should be cold at all. Or do you prefer the owner?”
Jou colored at the question but tugged the collar around him tighter as he walked next to the younger boy. “Shut up, you little brat. You planned it all along, didn’t you? Why, I oughta…”
“What?” Mokuba challenged. “You don’t like my brother? He doesn’t like you?” He paused during the climb up the steps and turned to look at Jou. “You know that both of you are too stubborn to admit you like each other. I did you a favor. Admit it!”
“Like…me? Your brother likes me?” His heart did the pitter-patter thing and he couldn’t hold back the silly grin again.
Mokuba groaned. “Jounouchi-kun! Can we talk about this later? We’ll lose them!” Mokuba didn’t wait for his reply but started to rush after his brother again.
It must have been at least four flights of stairs and by the time they were at the top, Jou was panting like he had run a marathon. To their right, they could just make out the dim light of the lantern and Mokuba started toward it. Damn, but they were flying!
They turned another corner and found the samurai standing by himself in the middle of the corridor. He was facing one of the opened rooms and the faint light from inside the room, combined with his lantern, made him look even more surreal than he already had.
The two boys came to a halt a few feet away but he did not turn to look at them.
“Where’s my brother?” Mokuba asked.
The samurai turned then and Jou thought he saw the man smile. The man pointed inside then turned his attention back to the room again.
Mokuba and Jou looked at each other, and then looked at the room, then shrugged and walked in.
The room, like every other in this place was bare except for several boxes and Sissy Milay huddling and whimpering in one corner next to another man whom Jou recognized as one of Kaiba’s programmers. Kaiba was rummaging through the contents of two briefcases as well as typing things into a laptop that was sitting on a crate.
“They meet here to do evil things.”
Jou and Mokuba jumped three feet into the air, and then into each other’s arms when the samurai guy suddenly spoke behind them.
They turned to him and found that he had followed them into the room and was frowning on the couple.
“Wh--who are you?” Jou managed between chattering teeth.
The man turned his gaze to Jou and gave him a sad smile. “I’m the…caretaker of this house. My name is Hideyori.”
Jou remembered his manners enough to not tell the man that his caretaking needed work; the place was a total wreck. Jou sighed in relief. Hideyori seemed human enough now that he’d talked. But what was with the costume?
Mokuba gave the man his thanks and rushed to his brother. Jou sighed again, this time with a certain amount of contentment. They were going home soon.
“Er…what happened to them?” Jou asked the man next to him.
Hideyori chuckled deep in his throat and the sound made Jou’s hair stood on ends. “They think this house is haunted. Silly people.”
Jou rubbed his arms vigorously, trying to bring warmth to them. “Yeah…silly people,” he mumbled. No need to tell the caretaker that he’d thought the same.
Kaiba and Mokuba snapped the briefcases shut and Kaiba smashed the laptop down next to the shivering pair.
Sissy looked up and grabbed Kaiba’s leg. “He made me, I swear!”
“Bitch! It was YOUR idea!” The man next to her screamed but took one look and Hideyori and he went back to cowering again.
“Disgusting worms.” Kaiba sneered contemptuously at the pair and shook her off his leg in disgust.
“Dude…you can’t just leave her…”
“Fool! Do you think I’m going down for this? Never!”
Jou turned toward the shrill voice and saw Sissy Milay pointing a gun at Kaiba’s retreating back. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the sight and without thinking, he threw himself at her. Vaguely he heard shouts from Mokuba and Hideyori, then a loud bang. Hot searing pain shot through his arm but Jou ignored it and grabbed the gun from Sissy. The girl kicked and screamed obscenities at him and didn’t stop screeching until Kaiba knocked her senseless with the briefcase. Damn, that’s harsh.
Jounouchi collapsed next to Sissy’s still body and winced at the pain. Shit, oh shit, but that hurt. Mokuba was crying openly now and knelt next to Jou as he tried to get the coat off the blond. Jou stared numbly at Kaiba who stood behind his brother with Hideyori. The brunet looked angry yet lost at the same time. It was as if he wasn’t sure which one he should feel.
Jou gritted his teeth as Mokuba pulled off the coat. A white handkerchief appeared between Mokuba and Jou and they looked up to see…KAIBA?
Kaiba frowned at their surprised look then dropped the handkerchief. “I don’t want him bleeding all over MY coat!” He said gruffly.
Mokuba picked up the piece of cloth with a small smile then wound it tightly around Jounouchi’s arm. “We still have to take him to the hospital and get the police to take care of those two.”
Kaiba pulled out his cell phone and made some calls. Jou really wasn’t paying attention, he was getting lightheaded and the wound on his arm throbbed painfully.
When Mokuba was done, he helped Jou to his feet and the blond leaned on him heavily. Funny how you got shot in the arm but your legs were the things that didn’t want to work. Jounouchi was surprised out of his mind…again… when Kaiba gently moved Mokuba to the side and picked Jounouchi up. He put Jou over his shoulders in a fireman’s hold and started towards the door again.
Mokuba turned to the ever-calm Hideyori and smiled his thanks. “Er…I think the police will be here soon. Do you think you can keep them here until then? We have to go to the hospital.”
Hideyori bowed and said, “Of course.”
Mokuba turned to look at the unconscious woman and the trembling man one last time, and then with a last wave to Hideyori, ran out the room after his brother.
“This is hardly comfortable, I think I’d feel better if I walk,” Jou grumbled and he was jostled along.
“You’re too damn slow, you think I have all night to waste on a useless dog?”
“You just wanted an excuse to get your hands on my ass!”
“I don’t need an excuse. Your ass is mine.”
“In your dreams, asshole.” Jou crossed his arms over Kaiba’s back and leaned on it. “You left me for more important things, remember?”
Kaiba was silent for a few seconds and Jou thought that the he had gone too far and that Kaiba was angry, but when Kaiba spoke, he was more thoughtful than annoyed. “Everything has its time. It doesn’t mean that one thing is more important than the other.”
Jou waited for more elaboration but apparently that was it.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Kaiba growled as they walked out the front door but he did not reply.
“Hey! What are you trying to say, Kaiba?”
Silence. Kaiba took the keys out of his coat pocket and opened the car door then practically tossed Jou in.
“Hey! I’m injured here!”
“Your mouth is running on normal, so you couldn’t be all that injured.” He pushed Mokuba in the backseat and got into the driver seat.
“Then can we not go to the doctor?” Jou hated hospitals…
“No, you may need shots to prevent infection.”
“Awww…you care.” Jounouchi leaned back in his seat and smiled at Kaiba. Today wasn’t all that bad after all, shots or no shots.
“I…” Kaiba frowned and thought for a moment before saying, “I don’t like to owe anyone anything. That is all.”
Jounouchi sighed and turned to look at Mokuba in the back seat. The boy had the biggest grin Jou had ever seen. Apparently, Mokuba didn’t believe him either. Jou grinned back at the younger boy then turned back in his seat.
“Right.” Was all he said as they drove on.
It may take him a while but he’d get Kaiba to open up. He could not expect a miracle in one night but from what he had seen, there was definitely more than hope for Seto Kaiba. There was going to be a bright and beautiful future…Jou was going to make sure of it.
Next morning…
Jou groaned as the ache in his arm throbbed almost unbearably. He moaned in protest when the bed shifted next to him and opened his eyes blearily to voice his complaint. He blinked several times to make sure he was not hallucinating and then he brought his good hand up to rub vigorously at his eyes.
No, he was not seeing things, Seto Kaiba was lying next to him, under the covers…the same covers too, he noted, and his upper body was bare. Jou eeped and scooted back in bed and would have ended up on the floor if Kaiba hadn’t had his arm around his waist.
What the…?
“Gods, it took you long enough,” Kaiba murmured and pulled Jou closer to him.
When he met with bare skin, Jou gasped in shock. They were both naked.
Jou tried to remember what had happened the night before, after the doctor had given him series of shots; his mind was foggy to say the least… Surely they didn’t…not if he couldn’t remember! He wanted to remember, damn it!
Kaiba pushed up on one elbow and leaned over the blond possessively. “What?” Kaiba asked seeing his facial expressions. “Waking up next to me isn’t all that bad, is it?”
“No! Not at all…it’s just…” Jou frowned. How the hell was he supposed to ask Kaiba? It would be SO like the man to get upset if Jou couldn’t remember their lovemaking.
“It’s just what?” Kaiba nuzzled his neck and Jou almost forgot his questions.
“Er…it’s just…well…how was last night for you?” Yeah, that was good. He just wanted to know if Kaiba had liked it. Yeah! He patted himself on the back.
Kaiba moved back slightly to look down on him, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Oh-oh…
“How was it for you?” Kaiba countered as he peered closely into Jou’s eyes.
Shit!
“You don’t remember, DO you?” Kaiba’s eyes narrowed some more. Oh, boy…
“Er…don’t forget that I’m hurt!” Jou swore his voice squeaked.
“Stupid, useless dog,” Kaiba murmured as he brushed Jou’s hair from his forehead. “You don’t remember because nothing happened. You passed out when we got home.”
“Oh.” That was a relief… then something occurred to him. “What about Milay International? I mean, now you won’t get to own it.”
Kaiba stared down at him then shrugged. “I can get it another way. I don’t need that worthless woman.”
“I see. Um…you know, when you said that…one thing is not more important than the other…well…” Jou cleared his throat nervously. “Wh--what are we, I mean, are we…that is…” Holy shit! How difficult was it to ask if Kaiba feel anything for him at all besides irritation?
Kaiba didn’t answer but leaned down and kissed him hard. It wasn’t romantic and it wasn’t erotic…more like ‘shut the fuck up’ kinda kiss but Jou can go with that…for now.
He kissed back and soon it changed to a more heated exchange. When they broke the kiss, he looked up at Kaiba again and his heart beat a little faster. What was it about the man? He was rude, mean, clueless, brilliant, psychotic, egotistic, kind, loving, gentle, gorgeous… Jou shook himself mentally, he could go on and on about Kaiba and he wouldn’t be any closer to his answer. Kaiba was Kaiba. But Kaiba was letting him in…maybe they have a chance after all.
A loud knocking came and before they could say anything, Mokuba opened the door and ran in. He jumped on the bed and waved a newspaper at them.
“Good morning! How are you Jounouchi-kun?” He asked as he settled on the other side of the bed next to his brother. “You will NOT believe what I found out this morning!”
He dropped the newspaper on Kaiba’s lap and pointed to the front page. Jou didn’t have time to be embarrassed or to wonder about what Mokuba thought of him being in the same bed as his brother. The front page of the paper had a picture of the Shimizu mansion and one of the police taking Sissy and her accomplice into custody.
“We knew they were going to do that,” Jou said, a little confused.
“Agh! Read this paragraph.” He pointed to the second to the last paragraph.
“It’s too early, Mokuba! Why don’t you just tell us.” Jou collapsed back on his pillow and burrowed a little closer to Kaiba.
“Okay fine! You remember Hideyori? Well, according to the police, there was no Hideyori.”
“What do you mean? We all saw him.” Jou’s hair along his arms started to rise again.
“Yes, and so did Sissy and Guido. But the police said that there was no caretaker, no Hideyori. The place had never had a caretaker. The owner confirmed that as well…” Mokuba’s voice trailed off and he too snuggled closer to his brother. “But there was a Hideyori Toyotomi who lived and died at the Osaka Castle in the seventeenth century and we know that the Shimizu mansion was built from the remains of the castle…”
“AGH!! I told you! I told you!” Jou ducked under the covers. “I knew he was a ghost!” His voice was muffled by the blanket but it was loud enough for them to hear.
Kaiba rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket off him in irritation. “That is history. Don’t you think a lot of people know about him? Anyone could impersonate him just to get kicks out of idiots like you two!”
“But ni-sama…” Mokuba protested but Kaiba shoved the papers at him and pushed him off the bed.
“Go play. Jounouchi and I are not done in here.”
“JOUNOUCHI?!” Both Jou and Mokuba said at the same time. Did Kaiba just use his name?
“OUT!” Kaiba said sternly to his brother and Mokuba complied grinning from ear to ear.
Mokuba closed the door behind him and leaned happily against it, sighing happily. After a few minutes, he heard moaning sounds and clasped a hand to his mouth as he turned beet red and ran off to his games.
It seemed like Kaiba had found a reason to live for himself after all.
Gosh! Moving these stories is harder than I thought! I lost the original files long ago and copying from websites is a PAIN!
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Pairing: Seto x Jou
Rating: Really hard R for bad languare and some M/M sexual situation
It was dark. It was cold. It was windy…and it was freaking spooky! Jounouchi pulled the borrowed coat tighter around his neck and wished that the owner of the coat were actually with him. Kaiba’s long thick coat may be warm and smell amazing, like the man, but the mean-assed son of a bitch it was not. Jou whined and looked at the looming dark mansion with dread; he SOOOOO did not want to go in there.
From what he’d heard, the Shimizu mansion had been built from materials taken from the original Osaka castle of Japan and by the look of it, Jou was sure the design was very similar as well. He gulped as he inched closer…there weren’t any lights coming from any of the windows on the five-story building. There didn’t seem to be anyone home, yet he knew that Mokuba had come here. He could also see the red convertible that belonged to Sissy wedged between a demonic looking tree and a shrub.
So why hadn’t any of them been considerate enough to turn on some freaking lights?
Huddling behind the flipped up collar of Kaiba’s coat -- and loving every whiff of it - Jou inched closer to the gloomy structure. Before he had gone very far, he stumbled on and nearly fell into a pond of sorts. It laid ominously between him and the mansion. He blinked distastefully the dark mucky water rippling in the strong wind. Dead leaves were strewn all around the pond and on the surface of the grimy water. Jou took a sniff and wrinkled his nose, praying fervently that whatever died in there would stay in there!
With a shudder, Jou shuffled back on the path that he’d strayed from and reluctantly moved towards the house…if one could call it that. A sudden splash from the pond behind him made him yelp and set him off on a mad dash towards the mansion. At this point, he decided that the demon in the house was surely better than the one in the stinky pond. At least there were places he could hide there…not to mention Mokuba was probably there…or was Mokuba in the pond…?
He froze in his tracks, chills shooting up and down his spine making the hair at the back of his neck rise uncontrollably. His heart thumped violently in his chest and he actually pressed his hands over it to keep it from bursting out. His skin crawled and he shivered again violently. I wanna go home!! He wailed silently.
Idiot! Stupid dog! He could hear Kaiba’s jeers at his fear. The man was as thick as a brick when it came to the supernatural forces. What he wouldn’t give to have Kaiba next to him right now, ridiculing him…he’d like to see any demon stand up to Kaiba’s insults and unique social skills.
With a very large and loud gulp, Jou decided to take a peek at the pond again…just to make sure Mokuba hadn’t fallen in and wasn’t laying unconscious somewhere around there. Slowly he turned and…
...his heart stopped. Well at least he didn’t have to worry about it jumping out of his chest…
Next to the pond stood a tall shadow with it’s long cape flapping ominously in the wind. Its red eyes glowed with pure evil as it grinned a wicked fanged grin. The rest of the monster was obscured in darkness…hell, ALL of the friggin’ monster was completely enshrouded in darkness so Jou wasn’t sure how he could see any details…and when the monster reached it’s clawed hands toward him, Katsuya Jounouchi screamed and fell in a dead faint.
---- ---- ----
From somewhere in the bowels of the mansion, Mokuba heard a blood-curdling wail and shuddered. He hoped that SOMEONE would come to get him soon; he was beginning to regret coming here all by himself. He sighed and crept along the wall of the main corridor again. He had to find Sissy and put a stop to whatever malevolent plan she had for his brother. Whatever it was she had awoken sounded like pure evil and he wasn’t going to let it have Seto.
---- ---- ----
Jounouchi was cold and his head hurt. He groaned and rolled to the side as he rubbed at the bump in the back of his head. What the fuck…? He opened his eyes slowly and blinked hazily up at the dark face looming over him.
GAH!!
The evil monster by the pond! Jou opened his mouth to scream again but this time a hand clamped over it roughly and he was pulled by the back of the neck towards the fiend. He blinked in surprise when he was nose to nose with it, then his eyes widened in recognition and relief.
“Shut the hell up, you moron!” That furious hissing was unmistakable…
Kaiba!
He was so relieved that he threw his arms around Kaiba’s neck and tried to hug him. “Mmmfpmff…!!” He had forgotten that Kaiba’s hand was still clamped over his mouth and the tighter he wound his arms around Kaiba, the more his head was forced back by said hand.
“Idiot!” Kaiba scolded and pried his hand free only to be attacked more energetically by the overly enthusiastic blond.
“Sticks and stones, my friend, sticks and stones.” Jounouchi mumbled between the kisses he was raining on Kaiba’s face. Before tonight, Jou would NEVER have dreamt of doing such things but now…
The brunet growled halfheartedly before pushing Jou off him. “Freaking idiot,” Kaiba mumbled and got to his feet, pulling the smaller teen up with him. “What the hell are you doing here?” He asked with a frown. "Are you following me?"
“No, I was following Mokuba.”
A steely grip on his shoulders had Jounouchi hissing in pain and he knocked Kaiba’s hands away with an indignant protest.
“What did you say?” Kaiba took a hold of his lapel and nearly lifted the blond off his feet.
“I followed Mokuba. He came here.” Jou squeaked and tugged at the coat.
Kaiba ignored Jounouchi’s effort to free himself and turned to growl at the mansion. “Mokuba.”
He abruptly let go of Jou and stalked purposefully towards the house. After realizing he was going to be left alone, Jou eeped and sprinted after the tall brunet. There was no way he was moving from Kaiba’s side. Did the man feel no fear?
As he caught up with Kaiba, he glanced sideways at the taller man and swallowed. No, there was no fear there but there was plenty of fury… Jounouchi suddenly felt very sorry for the evil that chose to cross Seto Kaiba’s path. It clearly wasn’t going to come out on top of THIS argument.
“If you didn’t know Mokuba was here, why…what are you doing here?” Jou asked when they finally stopped. Kaiba didn’t answer but glared icily in front of him and Jou followed his gaze to the enormous entrance door. It was a thick wooden double-door at least ten feet across and about the same measurement in height. The strange carvings on it were hideous at best and depicted a battle scene of some kind…many figures lay dead, pierced with various objects, decapitated or about to die. Many more charged on foot and on horseback at a castle that looked eerily like the one they were standing in front off now...
“Um…Kaiba…?” Jounouchi scooted closer to the taller man and glomped onto his arm. He swore he could hear the cries of the men that were on the carving…
Kaiba frowned at the scene on the door and grunted as he tried to free his arm. “Get off me!”
“Ah-ah! No way, Jose!” Jou clung tighter and if he could, would have climbed into the front of Kaiba’s shirt. “I figure if I get you pissed enough, no evil in this world will stand a chance. So get REAL pissed, okay?”
“That shouldn’t be hard with you here.” Kaiba said and yanked hard on his arm. “GET OFF, mutt!”
Jou lost his balance as the arm was jerked free and he crashed into the door. It opened with a loud shriek of protest and Jou yelped in fright. He floundered pathetically as he tried to maintain his balance and run away at the same time.
A strong hand grabbed his forearm and hauled him upright. Jou crashed into a hard chest and clung on tightly.
“Why are you so spineless?” Kaiba sneered into his ear. “It’s a goddamn squeaky hinge! Old houses have squeaky hinges! Now get your fucking act together.” Kaiba finished with a hard shove and Jou found himself staggering into the main hall. Even in the darkness, Jou knew by the feel of the floor that it was solid wood, no carpeting here. Without light he couldn’t see much and he blinked repeatedly to get his eyes to adjust to the gloom. He wrinkled his nose and nearly gagged. It smelled worst than the pond…at least THAT was out in fresh air. This place reeked of something VERY LARGE rotting.
Loud thumping on the wooden floor signaled Kaiba’s entrance as the man marched moodily in and looked around as if he was challenging whatever it was to come out and duel with him. Hah! Freaking monsters don’t duel, you asshole! Let see how you do against some sinister evil thingie from another dimension!
On second thought, didn’t he want Kaiba to do well? Who would stand between him and a certain horrific death if Kaiba weren’t?
Okay, he was messed up big time. This whole fucking place, not to mention an evening with the champion of all fuck-ups - Kaiba, was seriously screwing him up. He wanted to go home, damn it! Who the hell had told him to come here? No one! And since Kaiba was here to rescue his little brother, surely he could go home? He wasn’t needed here…right? Right? Hey…where’s Kaiba? He looked around but the hall was empty.
Yikes! While he had been arguing with himself, Kaiba had left him! That insensitive son of a bitch had actually left him! Dull thuds could be heard from his right and Jou guessed that Kaiba had gone that way…well he REALLY hoped it was Kaiba because if it wasn’t, there was going to be a whole lot of screaming coming up.
He tiptoed as quickly as he could after Kaiba and soon caught sight of the man sliding open a couple of paper panels like those normally found in old style Japanese houses. From down the corridor, Jou suddenly realized that both walls of the corridors were lined similarly. He slid one open on the opposite side and was met with a gale of freezing wind that had him gasping in shock. The smell of the icky pond assaulted his senses and he grimaced at the dark water, just a few feet a way. He hastily closed the panels and made a note to self to NOT open anything else.
He turned to see Kaiba staring at him.
“What?” He asked defensive. “How was I supposed to know it led outside?”
Kaiba’s glare did not change “What are you doing here?”
Jou moved to stand next to the taller man and shrugged. “I was worried about Mokuba. He thought Sissy was trying to suck the life out of you and I guess he came here to try to stop her.”
Kaiba gave him a look that clearly said ‘You freaking moronic idiot, what have you been smoking?’
“Really!” Jounouchi insisted earnestly.
Kaiba sighed and gripped the hair at the back of Jou’s head. He yanked the blonde’s head back and stared into Jou’s eyes. “I meant why are you here…NOW? I can get Mokuba out on my own. I don’t need you.”
Despite the physical pain of having his hair yanked so close to the bump in the back of his head, the emotional pain at hearing Kaiba say that he was useless was even worse. So what else was new? Kaiba was being Kaiba. Did he expect the man to turn mushy-mushy just because they had almost fucked? Guess not…but it would have been nice…
“Yeah, well…maybe I LIKE being here!” Jou said through gritted teeth and struggled against the hold but the grip in his hair only tightened. He winced and gasped in pain.
Kaiba stared at him strangely for what seemed like hours…but was probably more like seconds…then loosened his hold on Jou’s hair but didn’t release it.
Jounouchi was shocked to say the least when the pressure at the back of his head increased as Kaiba pulled him forward and his mouth was engulfed in a rough kiss. Was there anything about Kaiba that wasn’t forceful?
Before he could properly respond, Kaiba pulled away and gazed down at him again. In the darkness, Jou couldn’t see the expression on Kaiba face but he was willing to bet big bucks that if Mokuba weren’t in potential danger, the brunet would probably take him right there in the hallway.
“Come on,” Kaiba said as he took a hold of Jou’s wrist and pulled the shorter man along.
Jounouchi couldn’t help the idiotic grin that spread across his face as he allowed Kaiba to tow him down the hallway. It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love or anything, but coming from Seto Kaiba, it was definitely something.
Kaiba strode confidently through the darkened corridor looking left and right as he went. Jou was not as haughty, experiences with many horror movies had taught him that one would do well to show respect when dealing with spirits. Kaiba apparently, had never been exposed to the concept of respect of any kind, let alone for the dead.
“Er…should we just barge in here like this? I mean we could be tripping all kinds of alarm and…stuff.” Jou said, looking behind him nervously.
“I won’t sneak around like a common thief. They have things that belong to me and I’m taking them back.” Kaiba’s grip on his wrist tightened and Jounouchi wiggled it slightly to relieve the pressure.
“What do you mean? Why ARE you here? You mean Sissy? You came…to take Sissy back?” Jou didn’t like the way his heart sank at the thought that Kaiba would come here just to drag Sissy back to his house… Kaiba didn’t know about Mokuba until he’d met Jou so what else could it be?
Kaiba stopped and jerked Jou to face him. “You think I came here for a stupid woman?”
“Um…yeah. But isn’t that stupid woman supposed to get you Milay International?”
“My, but Mokuba’s been busy, hasn’t he?” Kaiba leaned down close and his nose nearly touched Jou’s. “No, that woman is supposed to get me the mole that’s been stealing my designs and copying my programs.”
“A mole.” Jounouchi looked blankly at the brunet. “Is that…like a spy?”
Kaiba chuckled and nodded. “Stupid dog.”
Jou growled at the insult but didn’t address it. “You mean, you were lettin’ her get all over you so you could find the spy? How did you even know there was one? How is SHE involved?”
Kaiba snorted then started down the corridor again. “Milay’s been after my designs for months. When I found out about the mole, I increased security and nothing else was taken. That’s when they came up with the idea of having me marry their daughter. Imbeciles! ” Kaiba stopped abruptly as he came to a turn that led to a set of staircases. To Jounouchi’s horror, the stairs led both ways: up and down. Both ways were dark but dank cold air was coming from the cellar. Jou DID NOT want to go to the cellar!
The blond glomped onto Kaiba’s arm and if he could have, he would’ve crawled down the front of the man’s shirt. “We’re NOT splitting up.” He said stubbornly. Bad things happened to people in horror movies when they split up.
Kaiba smirked down at him. “I didn’t know we were together.” He tugged at his arm halfheartedly then sighed. “Fine, little dog, hang on with your tail between your legs. I really didn’t expect much from you anyway.”
That hurt. Jounouchi didn’t know why but it did. Not the dog of course, that was pretty normal stuff, but the fact that Kaiba didn’t think he could count on Jounouchi to stand beside him. That didn’t feel good at all.
Their decision was made for them when they heard footsteps coming from the floor above them. Kaiba pulled Jounouchi to the side and they stood with their backs pressed against the wall. The stairways were now just around the corner and they couldn’t see who was coming down the steps. Jou fought down the urge to peek around the corner; as curious as he was, he was also scared. Who knew what was creeping slowly towards them? It could be one of the unfortunate samurai who had died defending the castle, or even older, from when the castle was originally a temple. Any number of dead monks could be roaming the hallway, seeking vengeance against those who had burnt down the temple. Jou shuddered at the vivid images in his mind and was startled nearly out of his skin when Kaiba brushed his thumb across Jou’s wrist in a near caress. He glanced sideways at the tall brunet in surprise; he had completely forgotten that Kaiba still held his wrist.
Kaiba gave his wrist a reassuring squeeze and Jou found himself smiling from ear to ear despite the footsteps that were getting closer. He turned back to the hallway leading to the stairs and saw a beam of light on the floor. Flashlight. Ghosts didn’t use flashlights!
In his elation, Jou pulled free from Kaiba and jumped in front of the figure coming down the corridor.
“HA! Gotcha!” He yelled and waved his arms about wildly.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!” The figure screamed and bonked him in the head with the flashlight. Repeatedly.
Two things saved Jounouchi; his thick skull and Kaiba, who had step up behind him and took a hold of the arm holding the makeshift bat.
“Mokuba, stop it!”
Mokuba? Jou lowered his raised arms and blinked at the panting young man in front of him. Mokuba!
“AAAHHHHH!!” It was Jounouchi this time that yelled and attacked the youth. He grabbed Mokuba by the front of his coat and shook the bejeebers out of him. “What the hell were you doing, scaring the shit out of me like that?”
“Se-e-e-t-t-o-o-o…” Mokuba called out to his brother who surprisingly stood there with his arms crossed and leaning one shoulder lazily against the wall. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to separate his would be lover from his brother at all.
Eventually Jounouchi let Mokuba off the hook and he pulled the younger boy against him in a fierce hug. “Do shit like that again and I’m throwing you in that pond outside.”
“Sorry.” Mokuba had the grace to look properly mortified; he ducked his head and shuffled his feet in place. “I thought I could catch her doing evil things.”
“Did you?” Kaiba asked calmly.
Mokuba shook his head. “I couldn’t even find her. I don’t know where she is. Her car is here but…” He looked around the deserted corridor and shrugged. “I don’t even know how she could stay here. This place is not habitable at all.”
Kaiba stared at his little brother for a long moment before pushing off the wall and coming to stand right in front of the boy. He ruffled Mokuba’s hair affectionately and Jou couldn’t help the lump that formed in his throat. That was probably the single sweetest scene he’d EVER witnessed.
“What am I going to do with you?” Kaiba asked tiredly as he gazed down at Mokuba.
Jounouchi changed his mind. THIS was the sweetest scene ever! The softening of Kaiba’s expression and the gentleness in his voice was so different from what any of them had seen from the man. THIS was Seto before he became Kaiba.
Jounouchi suddenly felt like he was intruding on something very rare and precious but he couldn’t tear his eyes from Kaiba. He wanted to be a part of this if only for a moment…maybe he could burn the image in his mind and he’d have this memory forever…
“HELLOO!”
Jou jerked back to the present to find the two Kaiba brothers staring at him strangely. Then Mokuba laughed and shook his head.
“You’re so funny, Jounouchi-kun. Spaced out again?”
Jou colored and frowned fiercely in his embarrassment. Being caught staring was one thing but being caught drooling was something else. “I was thinking!”
“Right.”
“I was!”
“What were you thinking of? You sure looked dreamy.” Mokuba batted his eyes as he teased Jou.
“I did NOT look dreamy, you little twerp!”
“Did too.”
“Did NOT!”
“Did too!”
“ENOUGH!” Kaiba barked and moved between them. He rubbed the bridge of his nose irritably and growled. “I don’t have time for your senseless bickering! YOU.” He pointed to Jou. “Take Mokuba home and make sure he stays there. And YOU.” This time he put a hand on top of Mokuba’s head. “You better be in bed when I get back home. Is that clear?”
“But ni-sama, what are YOU going to do?” Mokuba looked up worriedly at his brother.
“Like I told this mongrel here, I’m going to take back what belongs to me,” Kaiba said softly, his eyes glinting dangerously.
“We can help you,” Mokuba said eagerly. “You shouldn’t stay here alone. It’s not safe...I heard someone screaming.”
“That was this idiot here.” Kaiba cocked his head in Jou’s direction. “I never knew a grown man could scream that high.”
“Hey! It was your fault for looking like a demon and sneaking up on me!”
Mokuba started giggling but Kaiba cut him off. “Whom did YOU come with?” Kaiba’s voice held a hint of amusement, though he tried to look stern as he peered at this brother.
Mokuba smiled sheepishly and sneaked a sideways glance at Jounouchi. “No one…but that’s different. I knew you guys would come looking for me, that’s why I left the note. I just didn’t think it would take you THIS long.” He blinked innocently from the brunet to the blond. “What were you guys doing anyway?”
Damn, that kid! Jou reddened as he looked quickly at Kaiba to see the brunet’s reaction. Kaiba was looking right at him.
Jounouchi’s face flamed even more when the corner of Kaiba’s lips lifted and the brunet asked, “Well? Do YOU want to tell him?”
“Nothin’ to tell.” Jou grumbled, looking away hastily. From the corner of his eye, he caught a dim light coming around a corner at the far end of the corridor. Someone else was coming towards them.
“SHH! Look!” He whispered and pointed to the flickering light that was getting brighter. Shadows danced along the wall with every advancing movement, but no footsteps could be heard.
As the light turned the corner, they saw a figure holding an old fashioned lantern, the kind that was encased in the round paper thingie and hung on a stick. The man was wearing something straight out of the woodwork at the entrance door…he looked very much like a samurai of old, complete with the two swords in his belt. Jou shuddered violently and realized he wasn’t the only one doing so when Mokuba raced behind Kaiba and clung on to his brother tightly. Hell, he wasn’t about to be left standing unguarded. He dove behind the taller man as well and grabbed on to his other arm.
At this point, even Kaiba wasn’t unaffected. The man didn’t shake him off like he normally would, but just stood there staring at the advancing figure. Jounouchi wasn’t sure how Kaiba could seem so cool at a time like this but he sure as hell thanked all the gods for it.
“Ni-samaaa…” Mokuba’s voice was a mere whisper. The silence that echoed all round them amplified it one hundredfold. Jou clutched Kaiba harder…he was in total agreement with the unspoken fear in Mokuba’s voice.
Kaiba did not budge. If anything, his scowl deepened at the approaching stranger. “Where is Sissy Milay?”
Jou cringed and Mokuba whimpered. Kaiba did have that annoying habit of getting rudely to the point, didn’t he? Apparently no one had ever bothered to tell Kaiba that one did not make demands of ghosts. One usually ran the other way.
The figure stopped and the lantern was lowered so that they could see the stranger’s face. It was that of a young man, slightly older than them, obviously oriental and with his head shaved in the funny traditional topknot hairdo Jou had seen in old samurai movies. The blond gulped audibly and earned an irritated elbow-in-the-ribs from Kaiba.
“Where is Sissy Milay?” Kaiba asked again, none too pleasantly.
The man said nothing but studied them for a few nerve-wrecking seconds before stepping to the side a bit and motioning for them to follow. Kaiba didn’t look happy and even though that was the normal look for the brunet, Jou figured that this was an even unhappier look. Kaiba grunted in agreement but found himself unable to move; Mokuba and Jounouchi stubbornly held both arms back.
“Are you freaking nuts?” Jou whispered fiercely. “He’s a…” The blond turned to give the silent man a fearful look before turning back to the soon-to-be-devoured-by-evil Kaiba. “He’s a ghost!”
On the other side of Kaiba, Mokuba tugged on his brother’s arm and nodded vigorously in agreement. “Don’t, ni-sama!”
Kaiba snorted in exasperation and shook the two young men on his arms hard. “Let go! This is stupid! He knows where she is and I’m not spending all night searching around this godforsaken place!”
“That’s right! God forsook it and so should we. Let’s get out of here!” Jounouchi urged, bouncing agitatedly on the balls of his feet.
“Then go! Didn’t I tell you to take Mokuba home? GO!” Kaiba pushed hard in his anger and Jou found himself smashing into the wall while Mokuba landed on his butt. “Go home.” He told them both and walked toward the stranger who was by now staring at them as if THEY were the ghosts.
“Ni-sama!” Mokuba called but Kaiba didn’t look back. He waved over his shoulders as he followed the strange samurai looking man. Jounouchi went to help the younger boy up and watched Kaiba worriedly as Mokuba dusted the seat of his pants. “C’mon, Jounouchi-kun, let’s follow him.” Mokuba tugged on Jou’s wrist and literally dragged the older boy along.
“Wait! Are you nuts? He said to go home. Let’s get the hell out of here.” Jou protested all the way down the hall.
“No! He may need our help.”
They rounded the corner that the samurai had come from and they saw Kaiba and the man going up another staircase. Jou looked puzzlingly at the way they had come. There was a staircase back there too.
“Look, I don’t know anything scarier than your brother so I’m pretty sure he’ll be okay. I’m freezing. Let’s go.”
Mokuba kept following the duo but managed to turn around and smirk at him. “How come? You got Seto’s coat on; I don’t think you should be cold at all. Or do you prefer the owner?”
Jou colored at the question but tugged the collar around him tighter as he walked next to the younger boy. “Shut up, you little brat. You planned it all along, didn’t you? Why, I oughta…”
“What?” Mokuba challenged. “You don’t like my brother? He doesn’t like you?” He paused during the climb up the steps and turned to look at Jou. “You know that both of you are too stubborn to admit you like each other. I did you a favor. Admit it!”
“Like…me? Your brother likes me?” His heart did the pitter-patter thing and he couldn’t hold back the silly grin again.
Mokuba groaned. “Jounouchi-kun! Can we talk about this later? We’ll lose them!” Mokuba didn’t wait for his reply but started to rush after his brother again.
It must have been at least four flights of stairs and by the time they were at the top, Jou was panting like he had run a marathon. To their right, they could just make out the dim light of the lantern and Mokuba started toward it. Damn, but they were flying!
They turned another corner and found the samurai standing by himself in the middle of the corridor. He was facing one of the opened rooms and the faint light from inside the room, combined with his lantern, made him look even more surreal than he already had.
The two boys came to a halt a few feet away but he did not turn to look at them.
“Where’s my brother?” Mokuba asked.
The samurai turned then and Jou thought he saw the man smile. The man pointed inside then turned his attention back to the room again.
Mokuba and Jou looked at each other, and then looked at the room, then shrugged and walked in.
The room, like every other in this place was bare except for several boxes and Sissy Milay huddling and whimpering in one corner next to another man whom Jou recognized as one of Kaiba’s programmers. Kaiba was rummaging through the contents of two briefcases as well as typing things into a laptop that was sitting on a crate.
“They meet here to do evil things.”
Jou and Mokuba jumped three feet into the air, and then into each other’s arms when the samurai guy suddenly spoke behind them.
They turned to him and found that he had followed them into the room and was frowning on the couple.
“Wh--who are you?” Jou managed between chattering teeth.
The man turned his gaze to Jou and gave him a sad smile. “I’m the…caretaker of this house. My name is Hideyori.”
Jou remembered his manners enough to not tell the man that his caretaking needed work; the place was a total wreck. Jou sighed in relief. Hideyori seemed human enough now that he’d talked. But what was with the costume?
Mokuba gave the man his thanks and rushed to his brother. Jou sighed again, this time with a certain amount of contentment. They were going home soon.
“Er…what happened to them?” Jou asked the man next to him.
Hideyori chuckled deep in his throat and the sound made Jou’s hair stood on ends. “They think this house is haunted. Silly people.”
Jou rubbed his arms vigorously, trying to bring warmth to them. “Yeah…silly people,” he mumbled. No need to tell the caretaker that he’d thought the same.
Kaiba and Mokuba snapped the briefcases shut and Kaiba smashed the laptop down next to the shivering pair.
Sissy looked up and grabbed Kaiba’s leg. “He made me, I swear!”
“Bitch! It was YOUR idea!” The man next to her screamed but took one look and Hideyori and he went back to cowering again.
“Disgusting worms.” Kaiba sneered contemptuously at the pair and shook her off his leg in disgust.
“Dude…you can’t just leave her…”
“Fool! Do you think I’m going down for this? Never!”
Jou turned toward the shrill voice and saw Sissy Milay pointing a gun at Kaiba’s retreating back. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the sight and without thinking, he threw himself at her. Vaguely he heard shouts from Mokuba and Hideyori, then a loud bang. Hot searing pain shot through his arm but Jou ignored it and grabbed the gun from Sissy. The girl kicked and screamed obscenities at him and didn’t stop screeching until Kaiba knocked her senseless with the briefcase. Damn, that’s harsh.
Jounouchi collapsed next to Sissy’s still body and winced at the pain. Shit, oh shit, but that hurt. Mokuba was crying openly now and knelt next to Jou as he tried to get the coat off the blond. Jou stared numbly at Kaiba who stood behind his brother with Hideyori. The brunet looked angry yet lost at the same time. It was as if he wasn’t sure which one he should feel.
Jou gritted his teeth as Mokuba pulled off the coat. A white handkerchief appeared between Mokuba and Jou and they looked up to see…KAIBA?
Kaiba frowned at their surprised look then dropped the handkerchief. “I don’t want him bleeding all over MY coat!” He said gruffly.
Mokuba picked up the piece of cloth with a small smile then wound it tightly around Jounouchi’s arm. “We still have to take him to the hospital and get the police to take care of those two.”
Kaiba pulled out his cell phone and made some calls. Jou really wasn’t paying attention, he was getting lightheaded and the wound on his arm throbbed painfully.
When Mokuba was done, he helped Jou to his feet and the blond leaned on him heavily. Funny how you got shot in the arm but your legs were the things that didn’t want to work. Jounouchi was surprised out of his mind…again… when Kaiba gently moved Mokuba to the side and picked Jounouchi up. He put Jou over his shoulders in a fireman’s hold and started towards the door again.
Mokuba turned to the ever-calm Hideyori and smiled his thanks. “Er…I think the police will be here soon. Do you think you can keep them here until then? We have to go to the hospital.”
Hideyori bowed and said, “Of course.”
Mokuba turned to look at the unconscious woman and the trembling man one last time, and then with a last wave to Hideyori, ran out the room after his brother.
“This is hardly comfortable, I think I’d feel better if I walk,” Jou grumbled and he was jostled along.
“You’re too damn slow, you think I have all night to waste on a useless dog?”
“You just wanted an excuse to get your hands on my ass!”
“I don’t need an excuse. Your ass is mine.”
“In your dreams, asshole.” Jou crossed his arms over Kaiba’s back and leaned on it. “You left me for more important things, remember?”
Kaiba was silent for a few seconds and Jou thought that the he had gone too far and that Kaiba was angry, but when Kaiba spoke, he was more thoughtful than annoyed. “Everything has its time. It doesn’t mean that one thing is more important than the other.”
Jou waited for more elaboration but apparently that was it.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Kaiba growled as they walked out the front door but he did not reply.
“Hey! What are you trying to say, Kaiba?”
Silence. Kaiba took the keys out of his coat pocket and opened the car door then practically tossed Jou in.
“Hey! I’m injured here!”
“Your mouth is running on normal, so you couldn’t be all that injured.” He pushed Mokuba in the backseat and got into the driver seat.
“Then can we not go to the doctor?” Jou hated hospitals…
“No, you may need shots to prevent infection.”
“Awww…you care.” Jounouchi leaned back in his seat and smiled at Kaiba. Today wasn’t all that bad after all, shots or no shots.
“I…” Kaiba frowned and thought for a moment before saying, “I don’t like to owe anyone anything. That is all.”
Jounouchi sighed and turned to look at Mokuba in the back seat. The boy had the biggest grin Jou had ever seen. Apparently, Mokuba didn’t believe him either. Jou grinned back at the younger boy then turned back in his seat.
“Right.” Was all he said as they drove on.
It may take him a while but he’d get Kaiba to open up. He could not expect a miracle in one night but from what he had seen, there was definitely more than hope for Seto Kaiba. There was going to be a bright and beautiful future…Jou was going to make sure of it.
Next morning…
Jou groaned as the ache in his arm throbbed almost unbearably. He moaned in protest when the bed shifted next to him and opened his eyes blearily to voice his complaint. He blinked several times to make sure he was not hallucinating and then he brought his good hand up to rub vigorously at his eyes.
No, he was not seeing things, Seto Kaiba was lying next to him, under the covers…the same covers too, he noted, and his upper body was bare. Jou eeped and scooted back in bed and would have ended up on the floor if Kaiba hadn’t had his arm around his waist.
What the…?
“Gods, it took you long enough,” Kaiba murmured and pulled Jou closer to him.
When he met with bare skin, Jou gasped in shock. They were both naked.
Jou tried to remember what had happened the night before, after the doctor had given him series of shots; his mind was foggy to say the least… Surely they didn’t…not if he couldn’t remember! He wanted to remember, damn it!
Kaiba pushed up on one elbow and leaned over the blond possessively. “What?” Kaiba asked seeing his facial expressions. “Waking up next to me isn’t all that bad, is it?”
“No! Not at all…it’s just…” Jou frowned. How the hell was he supposed to ask Kaiba? It would be SO like the man to get upset if Jou couldn’t remember their lovemaking.
“It’s just what?” Kaiba nuzzled his neck and Jou almost forgot his questions.
“Er…it’s just…well…how was last night for you?” Yeah, that was good. He just wanted to know if Kaiba had liked it. Yeah! He patted himself on the back.
Kaiba moved back slightly to look down on him, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Oh-oh…
“How was it for you?” Kaiba countered as he peered closely into Jou’s eyes.
Shit!
“You don’t remember, DO you?” Kaiba’s eyes narrowed some more. Oh, boy…
“Er…don’t forget that I’m hurt!” Jou swore his voice squeaked.
“Stupid, useless dog,” Kaiba murmured as he brushed Jou’s hair from his forehead. “You don’t remember because nothing happened. You passed out when we got home.”
“Oh.” That was a relief… then something occurred to him. “What about Milay International? I mean, now you won’t get to own it.”
Kaiba stared down at him then shrugged. “I can get it another way. I don’t need that worthless woman.”
“I see. Um…you know, when you said that…one thing is not more important than the other…well…” Jou cleared his throat nervously. “Wh--what are we, I mean, are we…that is…” Holy shit! How difficult was it to ask if Kaiba feel anything for him at all besides irritation?
Kaiba didn’t answer but leaned down and kissed him hard. It wasn’t romantic and it wasn’t erotic…more like ‘shut the fuck up’ kinda kiss but Jou can go with that…for now.
He kissed back and soon it changed to a more heated exchange. When they broke the kiss, he looked up at Kaiba again and his heart beat a little faster. What was it about the man? He was rude, mean, clueless, brilliant, psychotic, egotistic, kind, loving, gentle, gorgeous… Jou shook himself mentally, he could go on and on about Kaiba and he wouldn’t be any closer to his answer. Kaiba was Kaiba. But Kaiba was letting him in…maybe they have a chance after all.
A loud knocking came and before they could say anything, Mokuba opened the door and ran in. He jumped on the bed and waved a newspaper at them.
“Good morning! How are you Jounouchi-kun?” He asked as he settled on the other side of the bed next to his brother. “You will NOT believe what I found out this morning!”
He dropped the newspaper on Kaiba’s lap and pointed to the front page. Jou didn’t have time to be embarrassed or to wonder about what Mokuba thought of him being in the same bed as his brother. The front page of the paper had a picture of the Shimizu mansion and one of the police taking Sissy and her accomplice into custody.
“We knew they were going to do that,” Jou said, a little confused.
“Agh! Read this paragraph.” He pointed to the second to the last paragraph.
“It’s too early, Mokuba! Why don’t you just tell us.” Jou collapsed back on his pillow and burrowed a little closer to Kaiba.
“Okay fine! You remember Hideyori? Well, according to the police, there was no Hideyori.”
“What do you mean? We all saw him.” Jou’s hair along his arms started to rise again.
“Yes, and so did Sissy and Guido. But the police said that there was no caretaker, no Hideyori. The place had never had a caretaker. The owner confirmed that as well…” Mokuba’s voice trailed off and he too snuggled closer to his brother. “But there was a Hideyori Toyotomi who lived and died at the Osaka Castle in the seventeenth century and we know that the Shimizu mansion was built from the remains of the castle…”
“AGH!! I told you! I told you!” Jou ducked under the covers. “I knew he was a ghost!” His voice was muffled by the blanket but it was loud enough for them to hear.
Kaiba rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket off him in irritation. “That is history. Don’t you think a lot of people know about him? Anyone could impersonate him just to get kicks out of idiots like you two!”
“But ni-sama…” Mokuba protested but Kaiba shoved the papers at him and pushed him off the bed.
“Go play. Jounouchi and I are not done in here.”
“JOUNOUCHI?!” Both Jou and Mokuba said at the same time. Did Kaiba just use his name?
“OUT!” Kaiba said sternly to his brother and Mokuba complied grinning from ear to ear.
Mokuba closed the door behind him and leaned happily against it, sighing happily. After a few minutes, he heard moaning sounds and clasped a hand to his mouth as he turned beet red and ran off to his games.
It seemed like Kaiba had found a reason to live for himself after all.
Gosh! Moving these stories is harder than I thought! I lost the original files long ago and copying from websites is a PAIN!