Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Behind Blue Eyes: Seto's Story ❯ Day Two: Karaoke ( Chapter 8 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: kiokukaiba 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 08.14.2007 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 329 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 08.14.2007 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 329 | Status: Work In Progress
Behind Blue Eyes: Seto’s Story
- - -
Disclaimer: The original Behind Blue Eyes said: “Don’t own Yu-Gi-Oh. Oh, and I don’t know any of the songs listed here either. . .” But obviously, I meant to say that I didn’t own the songs. If I didn’t know them, would they be in the fic? Geez, I really need to start reading what I type.
- - -
Recap:
“Because you confuse the hell out of me.”
“It is you that confuses me.”
- - -
“How the hell do I confuse you?” I think he was trying to glare at me while clutching his notebook against his chest like a frightened child. My height was currently giving me an edge, as I was able to stare him down without much effort..
“I can never tell when you’re joking, or what you’re thinking, and it annoys me. Usually I can just look as someone and know exactly what they’re thinking.” It was true. Normally I can tell by tone of voice or facial expressions, but Jounouchi seems serious when he say he is joking. So it he truly joking, or is he just pretending to joke? Ugh! It shouldn’t be this confusing! I’m rarely ever confused!
“You some sort of psychic?” I glared at him, and he held up his hands, “I was kidding, chill out Seto.”
“Right. . . so you did a bit of internet browsing, hm?” Back to our original conversation. . .
“I did.”
“So then you have all you need to know?”
“Not at all. I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.” He seemed to straighten up, like he was trying to seem official or something.
I groaned with irritation, “If we’re going to do this again, do you at least have some coffee in here? I need some energy. . .”
“Did we buy some at the store yesterday?”
“. . .” God damn it. . .
“Then no.” I groaned again and he smiled, “I know of a great coffee shop nearby, though. You want to go? Oh yeah, and you have to pay; I’m flat broke.”
I scrunched up my face a bit, “I figured as much. But hey, if it’s for coffee, it’s worth it. I’d kill for some caffeine right about now.” Jounouchi scooted down the wall, as though joking that I would truly kill him. It was kind of funny. . . “Yeah, yeah, you’re funny. . . come on, let’s go.”
“I’m taking my notebook with me. I figure that a coffee shop is a great environment for us to discuss the project.”
“You just want me to kill you, don’t you?” A coffee shop. A fucking coffee shop. What kind of ‘great environment’ is that?
“Aw, come on! You want a good grade right? So cooperate!” He jogged down the hall and into his room. I wasn’t in such a hurry, and so took my time in following him. He had already pulled some sneakers on, and so I slipped into my black dress shoes. He gave me a funny look when I did. “Don’t those hurt your feet?”
“No. I wear them so much that they get broken in quickly and are just as comfortable as any casual shoe.” I shrugged my shoulders. I mean seriously, wouldn’t I look just odd in tennis shoes?
“You’re a rich punk, you know that?”
“Yeah.” I smirked. Yeah, I did know that, and I loved it.
“Alright then! Off to the coffee shop we go! They have the best coffee, and hot chocolate too! And they top it off with whipped cream! Delicious!” He shoved his hands up into the air to emphasize his word. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his childish stupidity.
“Whatever, freak.” I went back down the hallway, ready to leave already. I could hear him stumbling behind.
“Yeah, yeah, call me what you want.” He suddenly darted past me as though we were racing, “Come on, Seto! If we’re going to get there anytime soon, we have to get moving!” I was still going to have to get used to hearing my first name.
“Are we walking or something?”
“. . .”
“You really need a car.” Maybe if he got on my good side, I’d buy him one. Not out of the good of my heart, but for the possibility that I may be forced to partner up with him for some ungodly reason.
On the way down the stairwell of the apartment building, we passed an old woman on the floor just below Jounouchi’s. I wouldn’t have noticed her, with a grocery bag in her arms, had she not abruptly called out to my blond companion. Companion? Mine? What the hell? My blond, uh. . . the blond.
“Katsuya!” She waved an aged arm, “How are you, Katsuya?” She leaned to glance around him, her eyes catching sight of me, “Oh my! Who is this fine young man behind you? Oh, Katsuya! I always knew you’d catch a pretty one! You little hottie!” She laughed, lifting her bag and retreating into her apartment.
Okay. What the fuck? Did she think I was his boy-toy or something? No way in hell! And why would Jounouchi be on top! I knew how to screw! Well. . . I mean, I’ve never done it before, but. . . actually, forget I mentioned anything.
“Is she always like that?” My face was twisted in a rather unusual fasion.
“Yeah, pretty much. Typical woman, you know? Not giving a guy a chance to talk.” He led the way down the stairs and onto the sidewalk, thus beginning our journey.
The sun was glaring in the sky, being that it was about the hottest point of the day. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen, leaving no shade for us helpless fucks that have to fucking walk. Did I ever mention that I hated walking? There was a slight breeze, but it wasn’t enough to save me from that annoyingly-bright fireball in the sky. My hair was blowing all about my face. It was really getting on my nerves. . . and as if all of that wasn’t enough, Jounouchi was fucking staring again.
I glared down at him for a little while, expecting him to look away, but he only continued to study me like some science specimen, “You stare too much.”
“I wasn’t staring, I just happened to be looking at you when you glanced at me.”
“Hmm, that’s funny, because I happened to be ‘glancing’ at you for about thirty seconds, waiting for you to look away.” He turned away from me, defeated. “How far away is this place?” I was really tired of walking.
“About a mile.”
“I haven’t walked this far in. . . well, I don’t think that I ever have, actually.” I put my hand on my chin to think for a second and then shrugged. No, I suppose that I haven’t walked that far.
“Well, this is good exercise then. . . not that you need it or anything, but it does the heart some good.” What a stupid thing to say.
It was a long five minutes before we had reached the main shopping area. Shops of all sorts lined the street upon which we walked. . . none of which I cared enough to read the signs to. I never shopped in such a run-down area of town anyways.
“There it is!” He chirped in that annoying voice of his, bringing his pace to a light jog. Giving in, I jogged after him.
The bells on the door jingled as we entered the small building.
Heaven is the only word fit to describe such a place. The aroma invaded my nostrils, soothing me immediately. The sweet, sweet scent of coffee full of caffeine. What would I be without coffee? I’d be nothing! Coffee was always there for me on late nights when projects were due the following morning. Coffee is always there in the mornings when I wake up hating life. Ah yes, a beautiful liquid pick-me-up to give my life the little kick it needs to continue. The smell is so intoxicating!
“Ah, I’ve missed that smell.” I closed my eyes in bliss.
“Pick a seat, moneybags.” Pfeh, way to ruin my moment, mutt.
“Back to name-calling, are we?” I sat at the table farthest from everyone else in the building (not that there were very many people at all, and not that it was a very big building or anything), and folded my arms across my chest. “Alright then, mutt.”
“Oh, right, sorry Seto.”
“You ought to be.” I lifted my arm high in the air and snapped my fingers. Good service was so rare these days. Quickly, a young waiter came to our table-side, his head cocked to the side in slight confusion.
“Um, can I help you?”
“Give me the best coffee you serve, and make sure there’s a lot of caffeine in it.” Yes, caffeine! I did my best to hide the excitement that might seep through in my voice. The under-paid boy looked to Jou for his order.
“Well, I just want a hot chocolate; I’m not much of a coffee person.” He laughed one of those fake laughs.
“Coming right up, sir!” I was looking out the window by now, annoyed by the underling’s presence.
“Seto, that was kind of rude. . .”
“Look, Jounouchi, I’m not about to change my ways. I’ve always been like this. Wouldn’t it seem odd if I suddenly changed?” I leaned back in my chair, “I can just imagine what the tabloids would say about that.” We locked eyes, “I just hope that they don’t decide to take pictures of the two of us sitting here together.”
“You’re paranoid.”
“You’d be paranoid too if you had people watching your every move.” I glanced around the shop, “I sometimes wonder if even taking a shower is safe anymore.”
“I’d like to see those pictures.”
“What?”
“Nothing.̶ 1; The same guy returned with steaming cups in hand. He sat them on the table, and then had the balls to give us the fucking bill! Such shitty service!
I cleared my throat loudly, “Excuse me? Why are you giving us the bill? Did I say that I only wanted this? Who’s to say that I won’t order more? Do you expect me to dislike this coffee that much? Have you no confidence in the product you sell?”
“N-no sir, I-”
“No? So you’re not confident in it? I don’t think I want to drink it then.” Haha, I love messing with dumbasses.
“No sir! That’s not it at all! It’s my first day, sir, I’m just learning. . .”
“Give the kid a break Seto.” Pfeh, stupid puppy spoiling my fun.
“Fine.” I huffed, lifting the cup to my lips and sipping at it. Holy fucking shit was it good. Had I been a low-class kind of guy, I probably would have orgasmed right in my seat. . . but I’m nothing like that. It was good to have coffee in my system again. Then I realized that the stupid kid was still standing there, staring like a dope, “Did you still want something, kid?”
“Uh, n-no sir.” With that, he was gone. . . and he took the bill with him.
“You see Jounouchi? In order to get what you want, when you want, how you want, you have to use a bit of force.” I smirked, proud of my teaching skills.
“That’s mean, Kaiba. You shouldn’t be mean to people just to get what you want. And you wonder why people think you’re an asshole. . .”
“No, I don’t wonder at all. I know that I’m a complete asshole, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.” I tried to smirk again, but it wouldn’t come out right. Instead, I gazed into my coffee and tried to pretend Jounouchi wasn’t looking at me. No, I didn’t want to be the way I was, but I had to be. I couldn’t change, no matter what.
“Wouldn’t change it for the world, eh?” I could hear him flipping through that notebook of his. “Hey Kaiba?” Oh, my last name again.
“Hm?” I traced the edge of my cup with my index finger while propping my head up with my right arm. I glanced up at him, but he immediately turned his attention to whatever he had scribbled on his paper.
“Like I said earlier, I did some research on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Well, I have some questions about it.” I glanced wide-eyed around the shop. Geez! He was talking about it so casually in front of the general public! “It’s alright, Kaiba, I’ll talk quietly so that no one will hear.”
“Fine. . . but if I don’t want to answer something, I’m not answering it.”
“No secrets, remember?” He glared as though it would phase me or something.
“Hm. . . fine. Keep that in mind, Jounouchi.” I leaned back into the chair, cringing at the slight creak it let out, and clasped my hands together in my lap.
“Alright then. . .” There was a long pause, and then, “Saki raped you; yes or no.”
Woah, big topic right off. I shook against my will and instantly averted my eyes, trying my best to look disinterested, “Yes. . .”
“I thought so. . . Uh, moving on. What traumatic event caused you to get PTSD? I read that it could be things like abuse, war, rape. . .”
“Well I haven’t been to war.” Obviously.
“I know that.”
“Then obviously it’s the other two.” The dog wasn’t joking when he said he sucked at logic.
“Abuse?” He cocked his head to the side. Again there was a long pause, but I didn’t look up at his face to see what he was doing. “Your step father. . .”
“Sometimes.” Well, he came up with that on his own, I had to give him that.
“What?”
“Can I explain that at another time? I don’t trust you enough to talk about my step father, Katsuya Jounouchi.”
“But Kaiba-”
“Katsuya.” He quickly shut his mouth, and for that I was thankful. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, well, I won’t drop it next time. You need to talk about it, you know?” I sipped at his hot chocolate and I took the time to down a rather large swig of coffee. “It would make you feel better.”
“Make me feel better?” I glared dangerously at him, “You think that reawakening all of these old memories is going to make me feel better?” I practically shook with anger. He had begun to sink down into his chair, and then he fucking smiled! “Why the fuck are you smiling?! You think it’s funny, Jounouchi?!”
He stood up, trying to cover my mouth with his hands, “Kaiba, shh!” It was a whisper. No fucking way was I going to shut up! He was a fucking bastard! I tugged at his hands, but he grabbed me by the wrists and pressed my hands against the table while still covering my mouth with his other hand. Damn my small wrists! “You’re drawing unnecessary attention to us.” Oops. . . he was right. Everyone in the building was staring.
I glared but nodded. “Hey waiter, we’ll take our bill now.”
- - -
I paid the bill and strolled briskly out, staying as far ahead of the dumb blond as I could.
I took a look at my watch, “It’s after four already. . . I’m hungry.” I turned around on the sidewalk to find Jounouchi, “What’s for lunch?” Normally I wouldn’t ask him, but considering I had absolutely no idea what restaurants were nearby, I had to resort to asking.
“Whatever you want.”
“Don’t give me that shit!” I scrunched up my face in a glare, my hands jumping up to my hips, “As if you really want me to pick.”
“True, you’d probably pick some stiff-ass fancy place for us to eat at along with all of your other snobby people.”
“I would not!”
“Bullshit.” He mocked my pose to the best of his abilities. . . which wasn’t very good, “You know damn well that you would pick some high-dollar joint.”
“Oh yeah?” I absolutely despised losing an argument. I didn’t always eat at fancy restaurants! There were random occasions when I dared to take Mokuba to a McDonald’s or something.
“Yeah.” Thus, it was a challenge.
“Then let’s eat at. . .” I scanned the buildings, yearning after the nice sit-down places and cringing at the greasy dumps. “There!” I pointed confidently at a building that I wasn’t even sure was a restaurant. The structure of the place was interesting enough.
“The karaoke bar?”
Ah shit. “. . . um, yes. . .” I bit my lip regretfully.
“Alright then! The great Seto Kaiba has chosen the karaoke bar for lunch!”
“Well, it’s really more like dinner.”
“Dinner? It’s not even five o’clock yet! What time do you usually eat dinner?”
“I usually don’t eat dinner.” I scratched at the back of my head, venturing towards my hand-picked doom.
Yet again he was falling behind, probably staring at me like a freak, “Are you coming, Katsuya?”
“Coming!” He eventually caught up with me.
- - -
Getting in was simple, and when the manager realized who I was, he gave us the best seat in the house, without us having to wait in the line. I was used to such royal treatment, being the richest fellow in the city and all, but Jounouchi had stars in his eyes. He was absolutely ecstatic and. . . well, can I go so far as to say his childish antics were cute right about then? No? Okay, I won’t go that far, then.
There was some amateur on stage, and Jou and I spent the first ten minutes just making fun of the poor guy. Hey, at least he put his heart into sounding like a dying cat. It felt good to laugh as much as I was. The blond’s comments were just too funny to keep a straight face at. . . but again I found him staring.
“Jounouchi?” I glared, “You’re staring again.”
“I can’t help it.” I think he had one of those ‘open mouth, insert foot’ moments.
“Can’t help it?”
“Forget it. . . when are we going to get a waiter?” He shoved my arm down onto the table when he saw me raise my arm up to call over service with a snap, “That’s embarrassing!”
“What’s embarrassing is you yelling and drawing attention while holding your hands on top of mine. Faggot.”
For some reason, he looked really upset all of a sudden. “So you’re a homophobe now?” Hell, he even sounded pissed off.
“No, puppy, I’m not homophobic. I’m just teasing you.” I smiled. Anything to shut him up and change the mood back to the way it was. My technique worked out nicely.
A waiter approached us, taking our orders down with lightening speed. I ordered a salad while Katsuya, not at all to my surprised, ordered an artery-clogging burger. We ate mostly in silence, making occasional comments on how great or how shitty the current karaoke fool was. Some of the participants were clearly drunk off their ass and had to be removed from the stage before they dirtied it with the vomit that was soon to come.
It was beginning to get boring. So boring, in fact, that I found myself contemplating a rather strange idea, “Sing a song Jou.”
He was quiet for a moment, as though he hadn’t quite registered what I had said, “What? Me? Sing? Are you out of your mind?”
“Well, you seem to never want to shut up, so I just figured maybe you would want to sing in front of a bunch of people and be all popular and whatnot. . . but I guess that you just don’t have the balls to do it.” I smirked. There was no way he could resist a challenge. Much like myself, Katsuya Jounouchi absolutely hated to lose a challenge.
“I’m not a coward!” He looked up at the stage, “Fine, I’ll do it.” He marched up to the stage just as some ugly woman finished.
“All right!” He hollered into the microphone, catching the attention of more than half of the customers, “I’d like to sing ‘Sweetness’ by ‘Jimmy Eat World’.”
The music started up within a matter of seconds, and as soon as his voice filled the air, my heart skipped a beat. Here I was, thinking that I could make fun of him, and he sounded amazing. His voice could hit notes that I hadn’t thought he possible could. The lyrics flowed smoothly from him, his body moving naturally to the beat of the music. Jou seemed to fall into some sort of dream-like daze as he danced about the stage, microphone in his hand. It was a weird song, and the lyrics made no sense to me. . . but his voice ringing in my ears was good enough. A smile had come to my lips without me knowing, but it was no use hiding it; he was too far gone to notice.
The song came to a close, and the hypnotic mood of the room faded, the building erupting into a welcoming applause. Jounouchi grinned stupidly at the attention. He hopped from the stage, seeming to be in a sudden sense of urgency, and sat back in his seat, scooting uncomfortably close to me, “Hey Seto?”
“Hm?”
“It’s that guy.”
“What guy?” Before he could answer, the room was filled with the sounds of the next song, which I couldn’t remember the name to, but I recognized it as a favorite song of Mokuba’s. The singer mounted the stage by way of the stairs off to the side. I glanced at him, turned away, and glanced again. I wasn’t accustomed to double-takes, but I was sure that I had seen him somewhere before. I squinted my eyes and rubbed at them, trying to get a better look.
Then he began to sing, his voice burning into my ears and my mind. That voice, his voice. That deep tenor that used to make me melt. My eyes froze, locking onto him. That jet-black hair shining beautifully in the stage-light, those grey eyes focused only on me. Saki. My Saki. No, he wasn’t my Saki. Sake raped me. Saki. . .
I’m not a perfect person,
There’s many things I wish I didn’t do,
And I’ll continue learning,
I never meant to do those things to you. . .
It was to me. The song was to me. I think I dropped the fork that I had been holding, but that didn’t matter anymore. My appetite was gone. Jounouchi was gone, the dancing crowd was gone, the table and chairs were gone, the stage was gone. There was only me, Saki, and Saki’s voice, the voice that captivated me those few years ago, and still mesmerized me to this day.
Was this an apology song? The words, an apology? My Saki. . . he wanted me back. . . he wanted me still, just as I wanted him. . . he loved me. . . no, he couldn’t love me, not after what he had done to me. . . not after. . .
“Seto?”
Was that Jounouchi’s voice? “I’m just. . . I’m. . . I. . .” I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the one I had called my true love. The words were lost in my mouth, and so I left them that way.
Saki began the next verse with that heavenly voice of his. I couldn’t take my eyes away. I wanted to run, run as far away as fast as I could manage. . . but I couldn’t manage anything. I was completely helpless, my blue eyes trapped in his grey. Then he did the one thing I would have hoped for him to never do. Saki kneeled at the very front of the stage, right by where we sat. He was close enough that he reached out his free hand and cupped my chin. That hand, just as gentle and loving as I remembered. I wanted to cry or move or something. . . but no tears came and nothing happened.
I wanted to stay right there with him, but then I didn’t. I didn’t want Saki anymore, but then I did. My mind fought my heart, and my will fought my body.
I'm sorry that I hurt you,
It's something I must live with everyday,
And all the pain I put you through,
I wish that I could take it all away,
And be the one who catches all your tears,
That’s why I need you to-
“NO!!!” I stood from my feet, knocking back my chair. Saki’s voice ended abruptly and the music was soon cut off. The tears threatened to flow now that I was able to break his spell over me.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?!” It was Jounouchi, and he was pulling me against himself. I shook a bit, but I didn’t bother to hide weakness. This is what I really wanted. . . someone to hold me, someone to love me.
“The question is,” Came Saki’s powerful voice, “Who the fuck are you?”
“I w-want to go. . . please, Jounouchi.” I tugged at his shirt with my hands, my grip not nearly as strong as it usually was. I felt so pathetic, so weak, so much like a small child. . . and yet it really didn’t bother me. I wanted to leave, to escape this. Saki was here, right now. . . I wanted to run away.
“Of course, Seto.” Jounouchi led me over to pay the bill, which I did to the best of my abilities. I gave my ex-lover one final glance, hoping this to be the last. . . but it only upset me to think of it in such a manner.
We left in a rush, and Jounouchi pulled me off to the side once we were out. Apparently we had spent a couple hours in there, seeing as the sun had now set and our surroundings were cast in dark.
“Seto? Who was that?” He held me tightly, rubbing my folded arms to comfort me, “Please tell me.”
“Jounouchi, that. . .” I closed my eyes and opened them again, trying so hard not to cry.
“Seto, you can cry. I’m not going to make fun of you. I want you to trust me completely. Tell me; who is that man?” I believed him. His voice was so serious, his expression being only that of complete and total concern for me.
“That man is. . .” We locked eyes, and one single tear fell from my own, “That man is Saki.”
- - -
- - -
Disclaimer: The original Behind Blue Eyes said: “Don’t own Yu-Gi-Oh. Oh, and I don’t know any of the songs listed here either. . .” But obviously, I meant to say that I didn’t own the songs. If I didn’t know them, would they be in the fic? Geez, I really need to start reading what I type.
- - -
Recap:
“Because you confuse the hell out of me.”
“It is you that confuses me.”
- - -
“How the hell do I confuse you?” I think he was trying to glare at me while clutching his notebook against his chest like a frightened child. My height was currently giving me an edge, as I was able to stare him down without much effort..
“I can never tell when you’re joking, or what you’re thinking, and it annoys me. Usually I can just look as someone and know exactly what they’re thinking.” It was true. Normally I can tell by tone of voice or facial expressions, but Jounouchi seems serious when he say he is joking. So it he truly joking, or is he just pretending to joke? Ugh! It shouldn’t be this confusing! I’m rarely ever confused!
“You some sort of psychic?” I glared at him, and he held up his hands, “I was kidding, chill out Seto.”
“Right. . . so you did a bit of internet browsing, hm?” Back to our original conversation. . .
“I did.”
“So then you have all you need to know?”
“Not at all. I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.” He seemed to straighten up, like he was trying to seem official or something.
I groaned with irritation, “If we’re going to do this again, do you at least have some coffee in here? I need some energy. . .”
“Did we buy some at the store yesterday?”
“. . .” God damn it. . .
“Then no.” I groaned again and he smiled, “I know of a great coffee shop nearby, though. You want to go? Oh yeah, and you have to pay; I’m flat broke.”
I scrunched up my face a bit, “I figured as much. But hey, if it’s for coffee, it’s worth it. I’d kill for some caffeine right about now.” Jounouchi scooted down the wall, as though joking that I would truly kill him. It was kind of funny. . . “Yeah, yeah, you’re funny. . . come on, let’s go.”
“I’m taking my notebook with me. I figure that a coffee shop is a great environment for us to discuss the project.”
“You just want me to kill you, don’t you?” A coffee shop. A fucking coffee shop. What kind of ‘great environment’ is that?
“Aw, come on! You want a good grade right? So cooperate!” He jogged down the hall and into his room. I wasn’t in such a hurry, and so took my time in following him. He had already pulled some sneakers on, and so I slipped into my black dress shoes. He gave me a funny look when I did. “Don’t those hurt your feet?”
“No. I wear them so much that they get broken in quickly and are just as comfortable as any casual shoe.” I shrugged my shoulders. I mean seriously, wouldn’t I look just odd in tennis shoes?
“You’re a rich punk, you know that?”
“Yeah.” I smirked. Yeah, I did know that, and I loved it.
“Alright then! Off to the coffee shop we go! They have the best coffee, and hot chocolate too! And they top it off with whipped cream! Delicious!” He shoved his hands up into the air to emphasize his word. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his childish stupidity.
“Whatever, freak.” I went back down the hallway, ready to leave already. I could hear him stumbling behind.
“Yeah, yeah, call me what you want.” He suddenly darted past me as though we were racing, “Come on, Seto! If we’re going to get there anytime soon, we have to get moving!” I was still going to have to get used to hearing my first name.
“Are we walking or something?”
“. . .”
“You really need a car.” Maybe if he got on my good side, I’d buy him one. Not out of the good of my heart, but for the possibility that I may be forced to partner up with him for some ungodly reason.
On the way down the stairwell of the apartment building, we passed an old woman on the floor just below Jounouchi’s. I wouldn’t have noticed her, with a grocery bag in her arms, had she not abruptly called out to my blond companion. Companion? Mine? What the hell? My blond, uh. . . the blond.
“Katsuya!” She waved an aged arm, “How are you, Katsuya?” She leaned to glance around him, her eyes catching sight of me, “Oh my! Who is this fine young man behind you? Oh, Katsuya! I always knew you’d catch a pretty one! You little hottie!” She laughed, lifting her bag and retreating into her apartment.
Okay. What the fuck? Did she think I was his boy-toy or something? No way in hell! And why would Jounouchi be on top! I knew how to screw! Well. . . I mean, I’ve never done it before, but. . . actually, forget I mentioned anything.
“Is she always like that?” My face was twisted in a rather unusual fasion.
“Yeah, pretty much. Typical woman, you know? Not giving a guy a chance to talk.” He led the way down the stairs and onto the sidewalk, thus beginning our journey.
The sun was glaring in the sky, being that it was about the hottest point of the day. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen, leaving no shade for us helpless fucks that have to fucking walk. Did I ever mention that I hated walking? There was a slight breeze, but it wasn’t enough to save me from that annoyingly-bright fireball in the sky. My hair was blowing all about my face. It was really getting on my nerves. . . and as if all of that wasn’t enough, Jounouchi was fucking staring again.
I glared down at him for a little while, expecting him to look away, but he only continued to study me like some science specimen, “You stare too much.”
“I wasn’t staring, I just happened to be looking at you when you glanced at me.”
“Hmm, that’s funny, because I happened to be ‘glancing’ at you for about thirty seconds, waiting for you to look away.” He turned away from me, defeated. “How far away is this place?” I was really tired of walking.
“About a mile.”
“I haven’t walked this far in. . . well, I don’t think that I ever have, actually.” I put my hand on my chin to think for a second and then shrugged. No, I suppose that I haven’t walked that far.
“Well, this is good exercise then. . . not that you need it or anything, but it does the heart some good.” What a stupid thing to say.
It was a long five minutes before we had reached the main shopping area. Shops of all sorts lined the street upon which we walked. . . none of which I cared enough to read the signs to. I never shopped in such a run-down area of town anyways.
“There it is!” He chirped in that annoying voice of his, bringing his pace to a light jog. Giving in, I jogged after him.
The bells on the door jingled as we entered the small building.
Heaven is the only word fit to describe such a place. The aroma invaded my nostrils, soothing me immediately. The sweet, sweet scent of coffee full of caffeine. What would I be without coffee? I’d be nothing! Coffee was always there for me on late nights when projects were due the following morning. Coffee is always there in the mornings when I wake up hating life. Ah yes, a beautiful liquid pick-me-up to give my life the little kick it needs to continue. The smell is so intoxicating!
“Ah, I’ve missed that smell.” I closed my eyes in bliss.
“Pick a seat, moneybags.” Pfeh, way to ruin my moment, mutt.
“Back to name-calling, are we?” I sat at the table farthest from everyone else in the building (not that there were very many people at all, and not that it was a very big building or anything), and folded my arms across my chest. “Alright then, mutt.”
“Oh, right, sorry Seto.”
“You ought to be.” I lifted my arm high in the air and snapped my fingers. Good service was so rare these days. Quickly, a young waiter came to our table-side, his head cocked to the side in slight confusion.
“Um, can I help you?”
“Give me the best coffee you serve, and make sure there’s a lot of caffeine in it.” Yes, caffeine! I did my best to hide the excitement that might seep through in my voice. The under-paid boy looked to Jou for his order.
“Well, I just want a hot chocolate; I’m not much of a coffee person.” He laughed one of those fake laughs.
“Coming right up, sir!” I was looking out the window by now, annoyed by the underling’s presence.
“Seto, that was kind of rude. . .”
“Look, Jounouchi, I’m not about to change my ways. I’ve always been like this. Wouldn’t it seem odd if I suddenly changed?” I leaned back in my chair, “I can just imagine what the tabloids would say about that.” We locked eyes, “I just hope that they don’t decide to take pictures of the two of us sitting here together.”
“You’re paranoid.”
“You’d be paranoid too if you had people watching your every move.” I glanced around the shop, “I sometimes wonder if even taking a shower is safe anymore.”
“I’d like to see those pictures.”
“What?”
“Nothing.̶ 1; The same guy returned with steaming cups in hand. He sat them on the table, and then had the balls to give us the fucking bill! Such shitty service!
I cleared my throat loudly, “Excuse me? Why are you giving us the bill? Did I say that I only wanted this? Who’s to say that I won’t order more? Do you expect me to dislike this coffee that much? Have you no confidence in the product you sell?”
“N-no sir, I-”
“No? So you’re not confident in it? I don’t think I want to drink it then.” Haha, I love messing with dumbasses.
“No sir! That’s not it at all! It’s my first day, sir, I’m just learning. . .”
“Give the kid a break Seto.” Pfeh, stupid puppy spoiling my fun.
“Fine.” I huffed, lifting the cup to my lips and sipping at it. Holy fucking shit was it good. Had I been a low-class kind of guy, I probably would have orgasmed right in my seat. . . but I’m nothing like that. It was good to have coffee in my system again. Then I realized that the stupid kid was still standing there, staring like a dope, “Did you still want something, kid?”
“Uh, n-no sir.” With that, he was gone. . . and he took the bill with him.
“You see Jounouchi? In order to get what you want, when you want, how you want, you have to use a bit of force.” I smirked, proud of my teaching skills.
“That’s mean, Kaiba. You shouldn’t be mean to people just to get what you want. And you wonder why people think you’re an asshole. . .”
“No, I don’t wonder at all. I know that I’m a complete asshole, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.” I tried to smirk again, but it wouldn’t come out right. Instead, I gazed into my coffee and tried to pretend Jounouchi wasn’t looking at me. No, I didn’t want to be the way I was, but I had to be. I couldn’t change, no matter what.
“Wouldn’t change it for the world, eh?” I could hear him flipping through that notebook of his. “Hey Kaiba?” Oh, my last name again.
“Hm?” I traced the edge of my cup with my index finger while propping my head up with my right arm. I glanced up at him, but he immediately turned his attention to whatever he had scribbled on his paper.
“Like I said earlier, I did some research on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Well, I have some questions about it.” I glanced wide-eyed around the shop. Geez! He was talking about it so casually in front of the general public! “It’s alright, Kaiba, I’ll talk quietly so that no one will hear.”
“Fine. . . but if I don’t want to answer something, I’m not answering it.”
“No secrets, remember?” He glared as though it would phase me or something.
“Hm. . . fine. Keep that in mind, Jounouchi.” I leaned back into the chair, cringing at the slight creak it let out, and clasped my hands together in my lap.
“Alright then. . .” There was a long pause, and then, “Saki raped you; yes or no.”
Woah, big topic right off. I shook against my will and instantly averted my eyes, trying my best to look disinterested, “Yes. . .”
“I thought so. . . Uh, moving on. What traumatic event caused you to get PTSD? I read that it could be things like abuse, war, rape. . .”
“Well I haven’t been to war.” Obviously.
“I know that.”
“Then obviously it’s the other two.” The dog wasn’t joking when he said he sucked at logic.
“Abuse?” He cocked his head to the side. Again there was a long pause, but I didn’t look up at his face to see what he was doing. “Your step father. . .”
“Sometimes.” Well, he came up with that on his own, I had to give him that.
“What?”
“Can I explain that at another time? I don’t trust you enough to talk about my step father, Katsuya Jounouchi.”
“But Kaiba-”
“Katsuya.” He quickly shut his mouth, and for that I was thankful. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, well, I won’t drop it next time. You need to talk about it, you know?” I sipped at his hot chocolate and I took the time to down a rather large swig of coffee. “It would make you feel better.”
“Make me feel better?” I glared dangerously at him, “You think that reawakening all of these old memories is going to make me feel better?” I practically shook with anger. He had begun to sink down into his chair, and then he fucking smiled! “Why the fuck are you smiling?! You think it’s funny, Jounouchi?!”
He stood up, trying to cover my mouth with his hands, “Kaiba, shh!” It was a whisper. No fucking way was I going to shut up! He was a fucking bastard! I tugged at his hands, but he grabbed me by the wrists and pressed my hands against the table while still covering my mouth with his other hand. Damn my small wrists! “You’re drawing unnecessary attention to us.” Oops. . . he was right. Everyone in the building was staring.
I glared but nodded. “Hey waiter, we’ll take our bill now.”
- - -
I paid the bill and strolled briskly out, staying as far ahead of the dumb blond as I could.
I took a look at my watch, “It’s after four already. . . I’m hungry.” I turned around on the sidewalk to find Jounouchi, “What’s for lunch?” Normally I wouldn’t ask him, but considering I had absolutely no idea what restaurants were nearby, I had to resort to asking.
“Whatever you want.”
“Don’t give me that shit!” I scrunched up my face in a glare, my hands jumping up to my hips, “As if you really want me to pick.”
“True, you’d probably pick some stiff-ass fancy place for us to eat at along with all of your other snobby people.”
“I would not!”
“Bullshit.” He mocked my pose to the best of his abilities. . . which wasn’t very good, “You know damn well that you would pick some high-dollar joint.”
“Oh yeah?” I absolutely despised losing an argument. I didn’t always eat at fancy restaurants! There were random occasions when I dared to take Mokuba to a McDonald’s or something.
“Yeah.” Thus, it was a challenge.
“Then let’s eat at. . .” I scanned the buildings, yearning after the nice sit-down places and cringing at the greasy dumps. “There!” I pointed confidently at a building that I wasn’t even sure was a restaurant. The structure of the place was interesting enough.
“The karaoke bar?”
Ah shit. “. . . um, yes. . .” I bit my lip regretfully.
“Alright then! The great Seto Kaiba has chosen the karaoke bar for lunch!”
“Well, it’s really more like dinner.”
“Dinner? It’s not even five o’clock yet! What time do you usually eat dinner?”
“I usually don’t eat dinner.” I scratched at the back of my head, venturing towards my hand-picked doom.
Yet again he was falling behind, probably staring at me like a freak, “Are you coming, Katsuya?”
“Coming!” He eventually caught up with me.
- - -
Getting in was simple, and when the manager realized who I was, he gave us the best seat in the house, without us having to wait in the line. I was used to such royal treatment, being the richest fellow in the city and all, but Jounouchi had stars in his eyes. He was absolutely ecstatic and. . . well, can I go so far as to say his childish antics were cute right about then? No? Okay, I won’t go that far, then.
There was some amateur on stage, and Jou and I spent the first ten minutes just making fun of the poor guy. Hey, at least he put his heart into sounding like a dying cat. It felt good to laugh as much as I was. The blond’s comments were just too funny to keep a straight face at. . . but again I found him staring.
“Jounouchi?” I glared, “You’re staring again.”
“I can’t help it.” I think he had one of those ‘open mouth, insert foot’ moments.
“Can’t help it?”
“Forget it. . . when are we going to get a waiter?” He shoved my arm down onto the table when he saw me raise my arm up to call over service with a snap, “That’s embarrassing!”
“What’s embarrassing is you yelling and drawing attention while holding your hands on top of mine. Faggot.”
For some reason, he looked really upset all of a sudden. “So you’re a homophobe now?” Hell, he even sounded pissed off.
“No, puppy, I’m not homophobic. I’m just teasing you.” I smiled. Anything to shut him up and change the mood back to the way it was. My technique worked out nicely.
A waiter approached us, taking our orders down with lightening speed. I ordered a salad while Katsuya, not at all to my surprised, ordered an artery-clogging burger. We ate mostly in silence, making occasional comments on how great or how shitty the current karaoke fool was. Some of the participants were clearly drunk off their ass and had to be removed from the stage before they dirtied it with the vomit that was soon to come.
It was beginning to get boring. So boring, in fact, that I found myself contemplating a rather strange idea, “Sing a song Jou.”
He was quiet for a moment, as though he hadn’t quite registered what I had said, “What? Me? Sing? Are you out of your mind?”
“Well, you seem to never want to shut up, so I just figured maybe you would want to sing in front of a bunch of people and be all popular and whatnot. . . but I guess that you just don’t have the balls to do it.” I smirked. There was no way he could resist a challenge. Much like myself, Katsuya Jounouchi absolutely hated to lose a challenge.
“I’m not a coward!” He looked up at the stage, “Fine, I’ll do it.” He marched up to the stage just as some ugly woman finished.
“All right!” He hollered into the microphone, catching the attention of more than half of the customers, “I’d like to sing ‘Sweetness’ by ‘Jimmy Eat World’.”
The music started up within a matter of seconds, and as soon as his voice filled the air, my heart skipped a beat. Here I was, thinking that I could make fun of him, and he sounded amazing. His voice could hit notes that I hadn’t thought he possible could. The lyrics flowed smoothly from him, his body moving naturally to the beat of the music. Jou seemed to fall into some sort of dream-like daze as he danced about the stage, microphone in his hand. It was a weird song, and the lyrics made no sense to me. . . but his voice ringing in my ears was good enough. A smile had come to my lips without me knowing, but it was no use hiding it; he was too far gone to notice.
The song came to a close, and the hypnotic mood of the room faded, the building erupting into a welcoming applause. Jounouchi grinned stupidly at the attention. He hopped from the stage, seeming to be in a sudden sense of urgency, and sat back in his seat, scooting uncomfortably close to me, “Hey Seto?”
“Hm?”
“It’s that guy.”
“What guy?” Before he could answer, the room was filled with the sounds of the next song, which I couldn’t remember the name to, but I recognized it as a favorite song of Mokuba’s. The singer mounted the stage by way of the stairs off to the side. I glanced at him, turned away, and glanced again. I wasn’t accustomed to double-takes, but I was sure that I had seen him somewhere before. I squinted my eyes and rubbed at them, trying to get a better look.
Then he began to sing, his voice burning into my ears and my mind. That voice, his voice. That deep tenor that used to make me melt. My eyes froze, locking onto him. That jet-black hair shining beautifully in the stage-light, those grey eyes focused only on me. Saki. My Saki. No, he wasn’t my Saki. Sake raped me. Saki. . .
I’m not a perfect person,
There’s many things I wish I didn’t do,
And I’ll continue learning,
I never meant to do those things to you. . .
It was to me. The song was to me. I think I dropped the fork that I had been holding, but that didn’t matter anymore. My appetite was gone. Jounouchi was gone, the dancing crowd was gone, the table and chairs were gone, the stage was gone. There was only me, Saki, and Saki’s voice, the voice that captivated me those few years ago, and still mesmerized me to this day.
Was this an apology song? The words, an apology? My Saki. . . he wanted me back. . . he wanted me still, just as I wanted him. . . he loved me. . . no, he couldn’t love me, not after what he had done to me. . . not after. . .
“Seto?”
Was that Jounouchi’s voice? “I’m just. . . I’m. . . I. . .” I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the one I had called my true love. The words were lost in my mouth, and so I left them that way.
Saki began the next verse with that heavenly voice of his. I couldn’t take my eyes away. I wanted to run, run as far away as fast as I could manage. . . but I couldn’t manage anything. I was completely helpless, my blue eyes trapped in his grey. Then he did the one thing I would have hoped for him to never do. Saki kneeled at the very front of the stage, right by where we sat. He was close enough that he reached out his free hand and cupped my chin. That hand, just as gentle and loving as I remembered. I wanted to cry or move or something. . . but no tears came and nothing happened.
I wanted to stay right there with him, but then I didn’t. I didn’t want Saki anymore, but then I did. My mind fought my heart, and my will fought my body.
I'm sorry that I hurt you,
It's something I must live with everyday,
And all the pain I put you through,
I wish that I could take it all away,
And be the one who catches all your tears,
That’s why I need you to-
“NO!!!” I stood from my feet, knocking back my chair. Saki’s voice ended abruptly and the music was soon cut off. The tears threatened to flow now that I was able to break his spell over me.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?!” It was Jounouchi, and he was pulling me against himself. I shook a bit, but I didn’t bother to hide weakness. This is what I really wanted. . . someone to hold me, someone to love me.
“The question is,” Came Saki’s powerful voice, “Who the fuck are you?”
“I w-want to go. . . please, Jounouchi.” I tugged at his shirt with my hands, my grip not nearly as strong as it usually was. I felt so pathetic, so weak, so much like a small child. . . and yet it really didn’t bother me. I wanted to leave, to escape this. Saki was here, right now. . . I wanted to run away.
“Of course, Seto.” Jounouchi led me over to pay the bill, which I did to the best of my abilities. I gave my ex-lover one final glance, hoping this to be the last. . . but it only upset me to think of it in such a manner.
We left in a rush, and Jounouchi pulled me off to the side once we were out. Apparently we had spent a couple hours in there, seeing as the sun had now set and our surroundings were cast in dark.
“Seto? Who was that?” He held me tightly, rubbing my folded arms to comfort me, “Please tell me.”
“Jounouchi, that. . .” I closed my eyes and opened them again, trying so hard not to cry.
“Seto, you can cry. I’m not going to make fun of you. I want you to trust me completely. Tell me; who is that man?” I believed him. His voice was so serious, his expression being only that of complete and total concern for me.
“That man is. . .” We locked eyes, and one single tear fell from my own, “That man is Saki.”
- - -