Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Behind Blue Eyes ❯ Day Two: Karaoke! ( Chapter 8 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: kiokukaiba 
The two boys go out for an odd night when they run into a man that seems to put Seto into a trance.
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 07.02.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 599 | Status: Work In Progress
The two boys go out for an odd night when they run into a man that seems to put Seto into a trance.
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 07.02.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 599 | Status: Work In Progress
Behind Blue Eyes
- - -
“How the hell do I confuse you?” I furrowed my brows, clutching my notebook against my chest as he stared down upon me at that slight angle that stood for the difference in our height.
“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.”
“You some sort of psychic?” I joked and he just glared at me, “I was kidding, chill out Seto.”
“Right. . . so you did a bit of internet browsing, hm?”
“I did.”
“So then you have all you need to know?” He cocked his left brow at me, that thin, brown line leaping to hide beneath his bangs.
“Not at all. I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.” I stood as straight as I could. I guess that I was trying to look intimidating or something. . . I’m weird like that sometimes.
Seto let out a most enticing groan, “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?”
“. . .”
“Then no.” He groaned again and I smiled, “I know of a great coffee shop nearby though. You want to go?” Seto scrunched his face up in a strange form of thought before I added, “Oh yeah, and you have to pay; I’m flat broke.”
“I figured as much. But hey, if it’s for coffee, it’s worth it. I’d kill for some caffeine right about now.” He glanced at me as he said this, and so I scooted down the wall and away from him in a joking manner. “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?”
“Aw, come on! You want a good grade right? So cooperate!” I jogged down the hall, notebook tucked under my left arm, and snatched up my sneakers, pulling them on with ease. Seto appeared within my room soon after, slipping on his fine, black dress shoes that he was so accustomed to wearing. “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.” He shrugged his shoulders as he explained.
“You’re a rich punk, you know that?”
“Yeah.” He smirked that usual smirk at me, the tense air that had been lingering for the past few hours now seeming to lift off of us for at least this moment.
“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!” I shoved my hands up into the air to emphasize my words and he tilted his head at me before laughing slightly.
“Whatever, freak.” He turned to head back the way we came, and I followed close behind, my eyes daring to dart from the back of his head to his ass in rapid movements.
“Yeah, yeah, call me what you want.” I took off passed him like a child racing his next-door neighbor, “Come on, Seto! If we’re going to get there anytime soon, we have to get moving!”
“Are we walking or something?”
“. . .”
“You really need a car.”
On the way down the stairwell of the apartment building, we passed the elderly woman that lived on the floor below mine. She had apparently just returned from the grocery, seeing as she held a single paper bag in her arms, which she promptly put on the ground by her feet as Seto and I came down.
“Katsuya!” She waved an aged arm at me, and I felt obligated to greet her, “How are you, Katsuya?” Before I could answer, she peered around me and her eyes opened wide, “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.
“Is she always like that?” Seto had a look on his face that could only be described as disturbed.
“Yeah, pretty much. Typical woman, you know? Not giving a guy a chance to talk.” I swiftly moved passed him again, making my way down the final stairs and toward the sidewalk to begin our trip to the nearest coffee shop, which I hoped would be rather empty so as to give us some privacy.
The sun shone brightly in the sky, being that it was about the hottest point of the day right now. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen, making for a perfect display of the numerous colors around us. A gently breeze kept us cool, the air lifting the little amount of hair we had and tossing it about in a playful manner. Seto was beautiful that way. His brown locks flew freely around his face, occasionally crossing his gorgeous blue eyes, making the brilliant color stand out even better.
He glared down at me, “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.” I turned my face forward, finding nothing to reply with. “How far away is this place?” What? Seto was actually changing the subject without taunting me? Woah. . .
“About a mile.”
“I haven’t walked this far in. . . well, I don’t think that I ever have, actually.” He put his hand on his chin to think for a second and then shrugged, his face never turning to catch me staring once again.
“Well, this is good exercise then. . . not that you need it or anything, but it does the heart some good.” I smiled, but didn’t turn towards him, and I wondered what kind of reaction he may have had. I suppose that it really doesn’t matter though.
It was a short five minutes before we had reached the main shopping area. Shops of all sorts lined the street upon which we walked. There was an ice cream parlor, a grocery store, about five different clothing stores for all kinds of ages and sexes, restaurants, knick-knack shops, a karaoke bar. . . and finally, the coffee shop. “There it is!” I chirped, bringing my pace to a light jog. I could hear the light clicking of Seto’s heeled (only slightly) dress shoes as he chased me down.
I slowed as I entered the shop. The strong scent of coffee flooded my nostrils as I breathed in heavily to catch my breath. The bells on the door jingled as Seto let it fall shut behind him.
“Ah, I’ve missed that smell.” Seto closed his eyes, allowing the smells to fill him.
“Pick a seat, moneybags.”
“Back to name-calling, are we?” He 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 his arms across his chest. “Alright then, mutt.”
He had a point. Seto had been calling me by my last name, while I had called him by one of the many G-rated nicknames that I had for him. I say ‘G-rated’ because there were plenty of names I called him behind his back that no child should be hearing, “Oh, right, sorry Seto.”
“You ought to be.” Seto lifted his arm into the air and snapped his fingers. . . a very pompous move to make. 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.” He ordered this with a flat, unemotional tone while never once making eye contact with the waiter. The boy, after appearing to think about which coffee was best, then turned to me. He looked at me, expecting the same treatment, and said nothing.
“Well, I just want a hot chocolate; I’m not much of a coffee person.” I laughed light-heartedly and he smiled a bit.”
“Coming right up, sir!” He glanced at Seto, who was currently looking out the glass front of the building, before going back behind the shops desk.
“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?” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, “I can just imagine what the tabloids would say about that.” Seto’s sapphire eyes locked with my brown 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.” He glanced around the coffee shop as though to prove his point, “I sometimes wonder if even taking a shower is safe anymore.”
“I’d like to see those pictures.”
“What?”
“Nothing.̶ 1; Before Seto had the chance to pester me, the same boy returned to our table, steaming cups in hand. He sat them upon the table, along with the bill and nearly turned to leave our side, until Seto cleared his 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.”
“No sir! That’s not it at all! It’s my first day, sir, I’m just learning. . .”
“Give the kid a break Seto.” I tried to give the boy my most apologetic expression while I attempted to shut the spoiled CEO up.
“Fine.” He huffed, lifting his cup to his lips (his soft, luscious lips) and sipping at it. The boy and I were apparently both watching to see whether he liked it or not, but his face and eyes gave absolutely nothing away. “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.” He smirked, obviously proud of himself when clearly I was not.
“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.” He smirked again, but it wasn’t the same. It was a quick one that looked as though it had taken some sort of effort. His eyes had turned downward to gaze into his coffee, very uncharacteristic of him.
“Wouldn’t change it for the world, eh?” I flipped open my notebook, thumbing through the pages that were already occupied by various notes. Notes! That’s it! I turned back a few pages, stopping at the internet information, “Hey Kaiba?”
“Hm?” His index finger traced around the edge of his cup while he propped his head up with his right arm. Those precious sapphire gems glanced up at me; I returned my eyes to my writing before he was able to draw me in with those perfect pools of blue.
“Like I said earlier, I did some research on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Well, I have some questions about it.” Seto’s eyes opened wide as he glanced all about the shop, “It’s alright, Kaiba, I’ll talk quietly so that no one will hear.” I tried my best to reassure him; there really wasn’t a need for him to panic.
“Fine. . . but if I don’t want to answer something, I’m not answering it.”
“No secrets, remember?” I gave him my best glare, but it didn’t phase the great Seto Kaiba at all.
“Hm. . . fine. Keep that in mind, Jounouchi.” Seto leaned back into his chair, cringing at the slight creak it let out, and clasped his slender hands together in his lap.
“Alright then. . .” I eyed the questions carefully, trying to recall all that I had concluded on my own so that I could confirm these things. “Saki raped you; yes or no.”
He visibly shook and averted his eyes, trying his best to look disinterested, “Yes. . .”
“I thought so. . .” He glared at me, “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.”
“I know that.”
“Then obviously it’s the other two.”
“Abuse?” I cocked my head to the side. Saki had raped him, but who had abused him? Wait. . . his step father. . . he had told me in the very beginning that he hated his step father, and that the man was the reason that Seto was the way he was! “Your step father. . .”
“Sometimes.”
“What?”
“Can I explain that at another time. I don’t trust you enough to talk about my step father, Katsuya Jounouchi.” He was serious. Not glaring, not looking bitchy at all. . . he looked distant and. . . depressed? Maybe. Not to mention that he said my full name. People usually only do that when they’re pissed at you.
“But Kaiba-”
“Katsuya.” I shut my mouth quickly, deciding that perhaps it was best to discuss this at another time, in a more private environment. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, well, I won’t drop it next time. You need to talk about it, you know?” I sipped at my hot chocolate and he took the time to take a rather large swig of his coffee. “It would make you feel better?”
“Make me feel better?” His eyes flashed with a frightening light, “You think that reawakening all of these old memories is going to make me feel better?” He shook with anger, making me sink down into my seat. Seto could be kind of scary when he wanted to be. . . but then again, he also looked kind of like a fussy little kid. . . so cute. I smiled by mistake, “Why the fuck are you smiling?!” I could feel the stares of everyone in the building, “You think it’s funny, Jounouchi?!”
I stood up, trying to cover his mouth with my hands, “Kaiba, shh!” It was a whisper, but I tried to sound as stern as possible. His hands flew up to tug at my own, but I quickly grabbed both by the wrists and pressed them down against the table, successfully stopping his defense with one hand and covering his mouth with the other, “You’re drawing unnecessary attention to us.”
Seto glared but nodded. “Hey waiter,” He glared at the edgy young boy, “We’ll take our bill now.”
- - -
Kaiba paid the bill quickly, making sure to walk ahead of me so as to not look like we were dating or something. . . he seemed very bent out of shape.
The gorgeous brunette glanced at his watch, “It’s after four already. . . I’m hungry.” He turned around on the sidewalk, looking into my eyes with no emotion on his face whatsoever, “What’s for lunch?” Though the question was rather strange of him to ask, his posture and expression were typical of him. It almost seemed as though her was trying to break the ice.
“Whatever you want.”
“Don’t give me that shit!” His face scrunched up to fit in with his glare as his hands jumped to his hips, “As if you really want me to pick.”
“True,” I decided to play along and piss him off a bit. I missed being a complete asshole towards him, “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.” I mocked his pose as best I could, “You know damn well that you would pick some high-dollar joint.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes were barely slits now, his frustration obvious in the way his brows knit together. Seto Kaiba absolutely hated losing an argument.
“Yeah.” I challenged.
“Then let’s eat at. . .” His eyes scanned the various restaurants and food joints that dotted the busy street. I could see his eyes lingering over the nicer places, while he cringed at the burger stands. “There!” His arm flew from his side to point confidently in the direction just behind me and past the coffee shop we had just left.
“The karaoke bar?”
“. . . um, yes. . .” He bit his lip in thought, or maybe in regret. . . probably the latter.
“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.” Seto scratched at the back of his head, moving towards our next destination.
I watched him move away from me, noting how absolutely thin he was. I always noticed that. . . but even so, he was still so beautiful. Gah, to think that I was saying that about a guy. Then again, that really wasn’t such a rare thing these days, and who could resist such a beauty?
“Are you coming, Katsuya?”
Katsuya. . . “Coming!” I ran up to join him.
- - -
Getting in was simple, and when the manager realized who Seto was, he gave us the best seat in the house, without us having to wait in the line! It’d be nice to have him around for concerts and whatnot.
There was some amateur on stage, and Seto 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. Plus, it was nice making Seto laugh. . . he had beautiful teeth and beautiful lips and beautiful eyes and-
“Jounouchi?” I snapped out of my daze and he glared, “You’re staring again.”
“I can’t help it.” I really needed to work on that thinking before I speak thing.
“Can’t help it?”
“Forget it. . . when are we going to get a waiter?” I slammed his hand down onto the table as I saw his arm raise up to call over service just as he had done a moment ago, “That’s embarrassing!”
“What’s embarrassing is you yelling and drawing attention while holding your hands on top of mine. Faggot.”
Something hurt in my chest. . . badly. Was it that word? Why the fuck would that hurt me? “So you’re a homophobe now?” My anger must have been quite apparent in my voice.
“No, puppy, I’m not homophobic. I’m just teasing you.” He smiled slightly. . . and my world spun with happiness. He was just so pretty.
A waiter approached us, taking our orders down with lightening speed. Seto, not at all to my surprise, just ordered a salad while I ordered the most greasy burger that the place offered. 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.
“Sing a song Jou.” Jou now? Did someone slip him drugs or something? Wait a minute. . .
“What? Me? Sing? Are you out of your mind?” My eyebrows were at two completely different altitudes by now.
“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.” He smirked, fingers expertly fondling the handle of his fork when he knew I was watching.
“I’m not a coward!” I looked up at the stage. . . it wasn’t that I had stage fright, it was just that I knew I sucked ass at singing. . . but maybe this was destiny. Maybe I was destined to sing Seto a song that would show him, indirectly, how I felt about him! Ah yes, fairytale material right there! “Fine, I’ll do it.” Without so much as a single thought (there I go, not thinking again), I marched up onto the stage just as a girl had finished up.
“All right!” I hollered into the microphone, catching the attention of more than half of the customers, “I’d like to sing ‘Sweetness’ by ‘Jimmy Eat World’.” I blushed. Okay, so it really wouldn’t be a confession. . . but it was the only song that I could perform decently. The music started up quickly and I searched through all of me to remember the words. My voice was smooth and strong, the words flowing through me naturally, though I believe that I switched up a few of them as I began to fall into a sort of daze. I wasn’t the greatest thing in the world, but I certainly didn’t suck ass. Seto’s eyes caught mine midway, holding my gaze for much of the remainder of the song, and though the magnificent blue of his eyes was enough to keep me staring, it was his slight smile the lured me in.
The building erupted into a welcoming applause and I blushed and grinned stupidly in thanks. That’s when I spotted him. It was that guy from the mens clothing store at the mall the other day. The same guy. . . however this time, he looked pissed, and rather frightening at that. He looked at Seto briefly before turning his face toward me and glaring dangerously. I felt a sudden urge to protect my precious brunette, and so I sat quickly and scooted my chair a tad bit closer to him, “Hey Seto?”
“Hm?”
“It’s that guy.”
“What guy?” I wasn’t able to answer, as the room was soon filled with the beautiful sounds of the next song, which I quickly recognized as ‘The Reason’ by ‘Hoobastank’. The guy, although creepy, had a wonderful tenor voice that seemed to ring through the building. It was almost as enticing as Seto’s. . . almost.
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. . .
He was very good, no doubt about it. Seto even seemed mesmerized. . . no, he seemed to be completely lost in his own head. I had never, in all my time of knowing him, seen his eyes so big. His bottom lip quivered ever-so slightly and he had dropped his fork back down into the bowl as the mysterious man went into the chorus.
“Seto?”
“I’m just. . . I’m. . . I. . .” He never once looked away from that man. . . however, as that guy began the next verse, he kneeled at the very front of the stage, right by where we sat, and looked Seto dead in the eyes, reaching his free hand out to cup his chin. I about dropped dead at that very moment.
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!!!” Seto stood from his seat at a record pace, knocking the chair several feet away. The music was stopped shortly after that man had ceased singing due to Seto’s abrupt interruption. Tears brimmed Kaiba’s eyes, and I could see that he wasn’t in one of his little fits this time. This was for real, and I had never even imagined the tough Seto Kaiba crying. Whoever this fuck was, he was upsetting my angel, and there was no fucking way in hell that I was going to let him get away with that.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?!” I pulled Seto towards me, and he did nothing to fight it. I could feel him shaking lightly in my arms, his eyes looked dead and empty now.
“The question is,” that asshole began, “Who the fuck are you?”
“I w-want to go. . . please, Jounouchi.” His thin hands grasped helplessly at my shirt, and I felt the need to protect him even more.
“Of course, Seto.” I gave the man one final glare. . . I wanted to spit in his face, but somehow I doubted that it would go over well. The room fell to silence as Seto paid the bill with unsteady hands. Seto turned back to look at his offender once more before we left, but just seeing that guys face again seemed to upset him even more. We left in a rush, and I pulled him off to the side once we were out. Apparently we had spent about two hours in there, seeing as the sun had now set and our surroundings were dark and secretive.
“Seto? Who was that?” I held him as tightly as he would allow, rubbing his folded arms to try and comfort him as best I could, “Please tell me.”
“Jounouchi, that. . .” His eyes clenched shut, but when they opened again, I could see those tears threatening to fall over his lashes to streak his porcelain skin.
“Seto, you can cry. I’m not going to make fun of you. I want you to trust me completely.” I wanted to cry. I felt this strong pain tugging at my chest just from looking at him. His little mask had finally crumbled, left as a pile of nothing back in that bar. “Tell me; who is that man?”
“That man is. . .” His eyes met mine, and I watched a lone tear fall silently down his left cheek. “That man is Saki.”
- - -
- - -
“How the hell do I confuse you?” I furrowed my brows, clutching my notebook against my chest as he stared down upon me at that slight angle that stood for the difference in our height.
“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.”
“You some sort of psychic?” I joked and he just glared at me, “I was kidding, chill out Seto.”
“Right. . . so you did a bit of internet browsing, hm?”
“I did.”
“So then you have all you need to know?” He cocked his left brow at me, that thin, brown line leaping to hide beneath his bangs.
“Not at all. I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.” I stood as straight as I could. I guess that I was trying to look intimidating or something. . . I’m weird like that sometimes.
Seto let out a most enticing groan, “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?”
“. . .”
“Then no.” He groaned again and I smiled, “I know of a great coffee shop nearby though. You want to go?” Seto scrunched his face up in a strange form of thought before I added, “Oh yeah, and you have to pay; I’m flat broke.”
“I figured as much. But hey, if it’s for coffee, it’s worth it. I’d kill for some caffeine right about now.” He glanced at me as he said this, and so I scooted down the wall and away from him in a joking manner. “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?”
“Aw, come on! You want a good grade right? So cooperate!” I jogged down the hall, notebook tucked under my left arm, and snatched up my sneakers, pulling them on with ease. Seto appeared within my room soon after, slipping on his fine, black dress shoes that he was so accustomed to wearing. “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.” He shrugged his shoulders as he explained.
“You’re a rich punk, you know that?”
“Yeah.” He smirked that usual smirk at me, the tense air that had been lingering for the past few hours now seeming to lift off of us for at least this moment.
“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!” I shoved my hands up into the air to emphasize my words and he tilted his head at me before laughing slightly.
“Whatever, freak.” He turned to head back the way we came, and I followed close behind, my eyes daring to dart from the back of his head to his ass in rapid movements.
“Yeah, yeah, call me what you want.” I took off passed him like a child racing his next-door neighbor, “Come on, Seto! If we’re going to get there anytime soon, we have to get moving!”
“Are we walking or something?”
“. . .”
“You really need a car.”
On the way down the stairwell of the apartment building, we passed the elderly woman that lived on the floor below mine. She had apparently just returned from the grocery, seeing as she held a single paper bag in her arms, which she promptly put on the ground by her feet as Seto and I came down.
“Katsuya!” She waved an aged arm at me, and I felt obligated to greet her, “How are you, Katsuya?” Before I could answer, she peered around me and her eyes opened wide, “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.
“Is she always like that?” Seto had a look on his face that could only be described as disturbed.
“Yeah, pretty much. Typical woman, you know? Not giving a guy a chance to talk.” I swiftly moved passed him again, making my way down the final stairs and toward the sidewalk to begin our trip to the nearest coffee shop, which I hoped would be rather empty so as to give us some privacy.
The sun shone brightly in the sky, being that it was about the hottest point of the day right now. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen, making for a perfect display of the numerous colors around us. A gently breeze kept us cool, the air lifting the little amount of hair we had and tossing it about in a playful manner. Seto was beautiful that way. His brown locks flew freely around his face, occasionally crossing his gorgeous blue eyes, making the brilliant color stand out even better.
He glared down at me, “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.” I turned my face forward, finding nothing to reply with. “How far away is this place?” What? Seto was actually changing the subject without taunting me? Woah. . .
“About a mile.”
“I haven’t walked this far in. . . well, I don’t think that I ever have, actually.” He put his hand on his chin to think for a second and then shrugged, his face never turning to catch me staring once again.
“Well, this is good exercise then. . . not that you need it or anything, but it does the heart some good.” I smiled, but didn’t turn towards him, and I wondered what kind of reaction he may have had. I suppose that it really doesn’t matter though.
It was a short five minutes before we had reached the main shopping area. Shops of all sorts lined the street upon which we walked. There was an ice cream parlor, a grocery store, about five different clothing stores for all kinds of ages and sexes, restaurants, knick-knack shops, a karaoke bar. . . and finally, the coffee shop. “There it is!” I chirped, bringing my pace to a light jog. I could hear the light clicking of Seto’s heeled (only slightly) dress shoes as he chased me down.
I slowed as I entered the shop. The strong scent of coffee flooded my nostrils as I breathed in heavily to catch my breath. The bells on the door jingled as Seto let it fall shut behind him.
“Ah, I’ve missed that smell.” Seto closed his eyes, allowing the smells to fill him.
“Pick a seat, moneybags.”
“Back to name-calling, are we?” He 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 his arms across his chest. “Alright then, mutt.”
He had a point. Seto had been calling me by my last name, while I had called him by one of the many G-rated nicknames that I had for him. I say ‘G-rated’ because there were plenty of names I called him behind his back that no child should be hearing, “Oh, right, sorry Seto.”
“You ought to be.” Seto lifted his arm into the air and snapped his fingers. . . a very pompous move to make. 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.” He ordered this with a flat, unemotional tone while never once making eye contact with the waiter. The boy, after appearing to think about which coffee was best, then turned to me. He looked at me, expecting the same treatment, and said nothing.
“Well, I just want a hot chocolate; I’m not much of a coffee person.” I laughed light-heartedly and he smiled a bit.”
“Coming right up, sir!” He glanced at Seto, who was currently looking out the glass front of the building, before going back behind the shops desk.
“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?” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, “I can just imagine what the tabloids would say about that.” Seto’s sapphire eyes locked with my brown 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.” He glanced around the coffee shop as though to prove his point, “I sometimes wonder if even taking a shower is safe anymore.”
“I’d like to see those pictures.”
“What?”
“Nothing.̶ 1; Before Seto had the chance to pester me, the same boy returned to our table, steaming cups in hand. He sat them upon the table, along with the bill and nearly turned to leave our side, until Seto cleared his 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.”
“No sir! That’s not it at all! It’s my first day, sir, I’m just learning. . .”
“Give the kid a break Seto.” I tried to give the boy my most apologetic expression while I attempted to shut the spoiled CEO up.
“Fine.” He huffed, lifting his cup to his lips (his soft, luscious lips) and sipping at it. The boy and I were apparently both watching to see whether he liked it or not, but his face and eyes gave absolutely nothing away. “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.” He smirked, obviously proud of himself when clearly I was not.
“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.” He smirked again, but it wasn’t the same. It was a quick one that looked as though it had taken some sort of effort. His eyes had turned downward to gaze into his coffee, very uncharacteristic of him.
“Wouldn’t change it for the world, eh?” I flipped open my notebook, thumbing through the pages that were already occupied by various notes. Notes! That’s it! I turned back a few pages, stopping at the internet information, “Hey Kaiba?”
“Hm?” His index finger traced around the edge of his cup while he propped his head up with his right arm. Those precious sapphire gems glanced up at me; I returned my eyes to my writing before he was able to draw me in with those perfect pools of blue.
“Like I said earlier, I did some research on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Well, I have some questions about it.” Seto’s eyes opened wide as he glanced all about the shop, “It’s alright, Kaiba, I’ll talk quietly so that no one will hear.” I tried my best to reassure him; there really wasn’t a need for him to panic.
“Fine. . . but if I don’t want to answer something, I’m not answering it.”
“No secrets, remember?” I gave him my best glare, but it didn’t phase the great Seto Kaiba at all.
“Hm. . . fine. Keep that in mind, Jounouchi.” Seto leaned back into his chair, cringing at the slight creak it let out, and clasped his slender hands together in his lap.
“Alright then. . .” I eyed the questions carefully, trying to recall all that I had concluded on my own so that I could confirm these things. “Saki raped you; yes or no.”
He visibly shook and averted his eyes, trying his best to look disinterested, “Yes. . .”
“I thought so. . .” He glared at me, “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.”
“I know that.”
“Then obviously it’s the other two.”
“Abuse?” I cocked my head to the side. Saki had raped him, but who had abused him? Wait. . . his step father. . . he had told me in the very beginning that he hated his step father, and that the man was the reason that Seto was the way he was! “Your step father. . .”
“Sometimes.”
“What?”
“Can I explain that at another time. I don’t trust you enough to talk about my step father, Katsuya Jounouchi.” He was serious. Not glaring, not looking bitchy at all. . . he looked distant and. . . depressed? Maybe. Not to mention that he said my full name. People usually only do that when they’re pissed at you.
“But Kaiba-”
“Katsuya.” I shut my mouth quickly, deciding that perhaps it was best to discuss this at another time, in a more private environment. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, well, I won’t drop it next time. You need to talk about it, you know?” I sipped at my hot chocolate and he took the time to take a rather large swig of his coffee. “It would make you feel better?”
“Make me feel better?” His eyes flashed with a frightening light, “You think that reawakening all of these old memories is going to make me feel better?” He shook with anger, making me sink down into my seat. Seto could be kind of scary when he wanted to be. . . but then again, he also looked kind of like a fussy little kid. . . so cute. I smiled by mistake, “Why the fuck are you smiling?!” I could feel the stares of everyone in the building, “You think it’s funny, Jounouchi?!”
I stood up, trying to cover his mouth with my hands, “Kaiba, shh!” It was a whisper, but I tried to sound as stern as possible. His hands flew up to tug at my own, but I quickly grabbed both by the wrists and pressed them down against the table, successfully stopping his defense with one hand and covering his mouth with the other, “You’re drawing unnecessary attention to us.”
Seto glared but nodded. “Hey waiter,” He glared at the edgy young boy, “We’ll take our bill now.”
- - -
Kaiba paid the bill quickly, making sure to walk ahead of me so as to not look like we were dating or something. . . he seemed very bent out of shape.
The gorgeous brunette glanced at his watch, “It’s after four already. . . I’m hungry.” He turned around on the sidewalk, looking into my eyes with no emotion on his face whatsoever, “What’s for lunch?” Though the question was rather strange of him to ask, his posture and expression were typical of him. It almost seemed as though her was trying to break the ice.
“Whatever you want.”
“Don’t give me that shit!” His face scrunched up to fit in with his glare as his hands jumped to his hips, “As if you really want me to pick.”
“True,” I decided to play along and piss him off a bit. I missed being a complete asshole towards him, “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.” I mocked his pose as best I could, “You know damn well that you would pick some high-dollar joint.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes were barely slits now, his frustration obvious in the way his brows knit together. Seto Kaiba absolutely hated losing an argument.
“Yeah.” I challenged.
“Then let’s eat at. . .” His eyes scanned the various restaurants and food joints that dotted the busy street. I could see his eyes lingering over the nicer places, while he cringed at the burger stands. “There!” His arm flew from his side to point confidently in the direction just behind me and past the coffee shop we had just left.
“The karaoke bar?”
“. . . um, yes. . .” He bit his lip in thought, or maybe in regret. . . probably the latter.
“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.” Seto scratched at the back of his head, moving towards our next destination.
I watched him move away from me, noting how absolutely thin he was. I always noticed that. . . but even so, he was still so beautiful. Gah, to think that I was saying that about a guy. Then again, that really wasn’t such a rare thing these days, and who could resist such a beauty?
“Are you coming, Katsuya?”
Katsuya. . . “Coming!” I ran up to join him.
- - -
Getting in was simple, and when the manager realized who Seto was, he gave us the best seat in the house, without us having to wait in the line! It’d be nice to have him around for concerts and whatnot.
There was some amateur on stage, and Seto 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. Plus, it was nice making Seto laugh. . . he had beautiful teeth and beautiful lips and beautiful eyes and-
“Jounouchi?” I snapped out of my daze and he glared, “You’re staring again.”
“I can’t help it.” I really needed to work on that thinking before I speak thing.
“Can’t help it?”
“Forget it. . . when are we going to get a waiter?” I slammed his hand down onto the table as I saw his arm raise up to call over service just as he had done a moment ago, “That’s embarrassing!”
“What’s embarrassing is you yelling and drawing attention while holding your hands on top of mine. Faggot.”
Something hurt in my chest. . . badly. Was it that word? Why the fuck would that hurt me? “So you’re a homophobe now?” My anger must have been quite apparent in my voice.
“No, puppy, I’m not homophobic. I’m just teasing you.” He smiled slightly. . . and my world spun with happiness. He was just so pretty.
A waiter approached us, taking our orders down with lightening speed. Seto, not at all to my surprise, just ordered a salad while I ordered the most greasy burger that the place offered. 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.
“Sing a song Jou.” Jou now? Did someone slip him drugs or something? Wait a minute. . .
“What? Me? Sing? Are you out of your mind?” My eyebrows were at two completely different altitudes by now.
“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.” He smirked, fingers expertly fondling the handle of his fork when he knew I was watching.
“I’m not a coward!” I looked up at the stage. . . it wasn’t that I had stage fright, it was just that I knew I sucked ass at singing. . . but maybe this was destiny. Maybe I was destined to sing Seto a song that would show him, indirectly, how I felt about him! Ah yes, fairytale material right there! “Fine, I’ll do it.” Without so much as a single thought (there I go, not thinking again), I marched up onto the stage just as a girl had finished up.
“All right!” I hollered into the microphone, catching the attention of more than half of the customers, “I’d like to sing ‘Sweetness’ by ‘Jimmy Eat World’.” I blushed. Okay, so it really wouldn’t be a confession. . . but it was the only song that I could perform decently. The music started up quickly and I searched through all of me to remember the words. My voice was smooth and strong, the words flowing through me naturally, though I believe that I switched up a few of them as I began to fall into a sort of daze. I wasn’t the greatest thing in the world, but I certainly didn’t suck ass. Seto’s eyes caught mine midway, holding my gaze for much of the remainder of the song, and though the magnificent blue of his eyes was enough to keep me staring, it was his slight smile the lured me in.
The building erupted into a welcoming applause and I blushed and grinned stupidly in thanks. That’s when I spotted him. It was that guy from the mens clothing store at the mall the other day. The same guy. . . however this time, he looked pissed, and rather frightening at that. He looked at Seto briefly before turning his face toward me and glaring dangerously. I felt a sudden urge to protect my precious brunette, and so I sat quickly and scooted my chair a tad bit closer to him, “Hey Seto?”
“Hm?”
“It’s that guy.”
“What guy?” I wasn’t able to answer, as the room was soon filled with the beautiful sounds of the next song, which I quickly recognized as ‘The Reason’ by ‘Hoobastank’. The guy, although creepy, had a wonderful tenor voice that seemed to ring through the building. It was almost as enticing as Seto’s. . . almost.
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. . .
He was very good, no doubt about it. Seto even seemed mesmerized. . . no, he seemed to be completely lost in his own head. I had never, in all my time of knowing him, seen his eyes so big. His bottom lip quivered ever-so slightly and he had dropped his fork back down into the bowl as the mysterious man went into the chorus.
“Seto?”
“I’m just. . . I’m. . . I. . .” He never once looked away from that man. . . however, as that guy began the next verse, he kneeled at the very front of the stage, right by where we sat, and looked Seto dead in the eyes, reaching his free hand out to cup his chin. I about dropped dead at that very moment.
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!!!” Seto stood from his seat at a record pace, knocking the chair several feet away. The music was stopped shortly after that man had ceased singing due to Seto’s abrupt interruption. Tears brimmed Kaiba’s eyes, and I could see that he wasn’t in one of his little fits this time. This was for real, and I had never even imagined the tough Seto Kaiba crying. Whoever this fuck was, he was upsetting my angel, and there was no fucking way in hell that I was going to let him get away with that.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?!” I pulled Seto towards me, and he did nothing to fight it. I could feel him shaking lightly in my arms, his eyes looked dead and empty now.
“The question is,” that asshole began, “Who the fuck are you?”
“I w-want to go. . . please, Jounouchi.” His thin hands grasped helplessly at my shirt, and I felt the need to protect him even more.
“Of course, Seto.” I gave the man one final glare. . . I wanted to spit in his face, but somehow I doubted that it would go over well. The room fell to silence as Seto paid the bill with unsteady hands. Seto turned back to look at his offender once more before we left, but just seeing that guys face again seemed to upset him even more. We left in a rush, and I pulled him off to the side once we were out. Apparently we had spent about two hours in there, seeing as the sun had now set and our surroundings were dark and secretive.
“Seto? Who was that?” I held him as tightly as he would allow, rubbing his folded arms to try and comfort him as best I could, “Please tell me.”
“Jounouchi, that. . .” His eyes clenched shut, but when they opened again, I could see those tears threatening to fall over his lashes to streak his porcelain skin.
“Seto, you can cry. I’m not going to make fun of you. I want you to trust me completely.” I wanted to cry. I felt this strong pain tugging at my chest just from looking at him. His little mask had finally crumbled, left as a pile of nothing back in that bar. “Tell me; who is that man?”
“That man is. . .” His eyes met mine, and I watched a lone tear fall silently down his left cheek. “That man is Saki.”
- - -