Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Contrast: Blue ❯ Confliction and Affliction ( Chapter 7 )

CHAPTER SEVEN: Confliction and Affliction

Darkness.

That was the only thing Seto could make out, no matter how much effort he put into trying to make out his surroundings. All that there was around him was darkness. All that could be found was darkness.

He was confused and even felt a little disoriented. He shook his head in an attempt to get back in touch with "reality", but was rather frustrated when the same blackness remained.

+For someone who is swift in thought, you disappoint me. +

His eyes snapped open the moment he heard the childlike "voice". He looked around; where was it coming from?

+In here. I'm in here. +

Seto narrowed his eyes; though in thought rather than in frustration.

+You've finally figured it out, haven't you? +

"Yes," Seto stated flatly. "I do not appreciate hearing you inside my head. I have enough people who think I'm some kind of weirdo without you perpetuating that stereotype."

+That's not what I meant. +

Seto's shoulders slightly fell as an agitated sigh escaped from his lips. "Figured out…you mean figured out how I got here?" He took a moment to think over his previous situation. He folded his arms when he finally came upon the conclusion. "I passed out again."

+Honestly, you're like the drunkard at the liquor bar who doesn't know when he's had enough. +

Seto shook his head. "This really doesn't concern you. It was my choi-my _mistake_ to go out there and fight Jounouchi so soon after our last encounter."

+And because of your poor judgment, not to mention your impatience, you lost. +

Seto sneered. "I don't like those little factoids any more than you do. I'll be sure to take my victory back once I am ready."

+If you say so. There's more to life than just fighting, you know. +

"That may be, but it feels like the right thing to do right now."

+Even at the cost of your life? +

"Death doesn't scare me in the least."

+No; I suppose it doesn't. You never really held yourself in a high enough esteem, so I shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, as much as I would like to lecture you some more, you have to wake up now. +

"What?"

At that moment Seto's eyelids fluttered open. A moan escaped his lips as he shut them before opening them more quickly. He slowly sat up, putting his weight on his left hand as his right reached for his head, which slowly bobbed as a result of dizziness. Despite this state, Seto managed to take in the surroundings of the room. He looked down to see that he had been sleeping in a bed. He looked to his right to see a large window, which was covered by Venetian blinds, a modestly-sized television set with a remote control on top of it, and a coffee maker in the corner adjacent to the window. To his left he saw an open door that lead to a bathroom, and a closed mirrored door, which was likely to be a closet. A nightstand rested next to his bed; a lamp and a glass of ice water stood upon it. In front of him, he saw another closed door.

*Where the hell am I?* He shook his head again. *It looks like a bedroom…It's not mine; whose house is this? I don't even know _how_ I got here. It doesn't matter. I need to get going…I can't afford to be found out.*

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and immediately took notice that he was not only barefoot but that his right ankle, which he remembered was injured in the fight, was wrapped in a bandage. His eyes wandered a little further and he found that his briefcase and boots rested near the end of the bed. He tried to reach over for the boots but the weakness he suffered from the strain of fighting had kicked in once again, blurring his vision and thus causing him to fall off of the bed. He slowly lifted his head from the floor and tried to sit up, but he felt that same dreaded dizziness and fell once more.

He did not make another attempt. *It feels as though something is weighing me down, but I know that is not the case. I have never felt this badly after a fight before…did I really overdo it? Will I even be able to make a full recovery-*

"Well, well, sleeping beauty finally woke up."

Seto's eyes widened upon hearing that voice. *It can't be…*

He looked over to see a familiar pair of sneakers in front of him, and he slowly lifted his head to gaze directly at the face of Jounouchi. He instantly allowed his head to fall to the floor.

"Whoa; careful now!" Jounouchi exclaimed as he helped Seto sit up. "You took enough of a beating that you don't need to make it worse."

"Get your mangy hands off of me," Seto growled.

Jounouchi's smile faded. "Gee, no `thank you', huh? I try to be a nice guy, and you look like yer ready to kill me!"

"I don't need your help. I am capable of standing on my own."

"Yer the boss." Jounouchi released his hold on Seto, who promptly fell over and crashed onto the carpeted floor once again. Seto's face was momentarily twisted in pain and frustration as Jounouchi helped him sit up once more.

"There's nothing wrong with asking for a little help, you know," Jounouchi mused.

Seto slowly turned his head to glance at the dirty blond. "I hate owing people anything, especially `nice' gestures."

Jounouchi's smile returned. "Then I guess you'd be real mad at me if I told ya that I'm gonna be holdin' this `nice gesture' over on ya until it's finally repaid, huh?"

"If I weren't so weakened, I would give you your payback right here, right now."

"Ha! Well unfortunately for us both, we have to wait." Jounouchi glanced at the unoccupied bed. "So; what say we get you back into that big comfortable bed, huh?"

"I do not want to-OH!!" Before Seto really had the chance to fully object Jounouchi rapidly rose to his feet, his strong arms carrying Seto, and promptly tossed him onto the bed. The impact caused the flustered teen to slightly bounce on the mattress.

Jounouchi noted Seto's surprised expression, and smiled. "Wow; that's a funny look for you."

"You are not amusing."

Jounouchi sighed as he sat on the opposite side of the bed. "I'm just tryin' to make light before we get serious."

"Oh; so you are capable of being such? I had no idea."

"Are you _always_ the equivalent of ice water?"

"That would depend on the person."

"You mean you actually have a -gasp-human side to you?" *Must be related to that picture in the pendant…*

"It's a side you'll never see."

Jounouchi scratched the back of his head. "No, I guess not."

"By the way, just where am I?"

"Yer at my little safehouse. Actually, it belongs to this older chick named July, but she's one of them MILF types, and she's real nice, so it's cool."

Seto raised a brow at the dirty blond.

Jounouchi blushed as he looked away. "Ya know; I do have some questions to ask ya."

"I have nothing to tell you."

The dirty blond looked at Seto once again, the blush having disappeared from his face. "Aw, come on. Don't be like that. You said you hate repaying nice gestures and the like…so maybe a little Q `n' A would be doable?"

Seto glanced over at Jounouchi. "Very well, but under one condition."

"I promise I won't tell _anyone_."

Seto raised a brow. "Two conditions. The first you have already met." He paused. "At least, I would hope. The second, I need to know what time it is."

Jounouchi appeared puzzled for an instant as he checked his wristwatch. "It's about a quarter to eleven. Why??"

"SHIT!" Seto attempted to roll out of the bed, but he fell off once again. Jounouchi sprung to his feet and rushed to Seto's side.

"Jesus; yer gonna kill yerself if ya keep fallin' outta the bed like that!" Jounouchi scolded as he picked Seto up and gently laid him down onto the bed.

"I need my phone."

Jounouchi stared at Seto blankly. "Well, where is it?"

"It's…" Seto fell silent. "Oh, shit. It's…it's in the briefcase."

"So? I can just open it up for ya, and-"

"It's got a combination lock." Seto sighed. "And I am not going to disclose that combination to you."

"You really like being difficult, don't you?" Jounouchi scowled. "Well, there's a phone in the kitchen. Just tell me the number, and I can call the person and let them know what's happened with ya."

Seto gave Jounouchi an unamused glare. "Just hand me my briefcase."

"Don't see what's so bad `bout askin' me to do it…" Jounouchi muttered as he grabbed the large metallic case and laid it next to Seto. "Now what?"

"Face the handle and locks towards me."

"Say `please'."

Seto glowered at Jounouchi. "Please."

Jounouchi faced the topside of the briefcase towards Seto. "Now what?"

"I open it, that's what." Seto slowly sat up and leaned against the headrest for support. His lithe fingers instantly began working the combination lock on the briefcase, and within seconds of cracking the combination he snapped the pair of locks into the "unlocked" position and swung open the case. He removed a metallic blue cellular phone from the interior of the case.

"Just what is in there, anyway?" Jounouchi tried to look over to see what was contained within the case, but Seto abruptly slammed it shut before Jounouchi could catch even the slightest peek.

Seto began dialing. "I need you to stand over by the closet door and place your hands over your ears so you don't listen in."

"Geez; all this for a little phone call? What are you, somebody important?" Jounouchi inquired sarcastically as he stood in front of the mirrored door and placed his hands over his ears. He looked at Seto's reflection.

"Ya want for me to go `la la la' while I'm at it?"

Seto shook his head as he held the phone to his ear. "He doesn't need to be more boisterous than he already is…"

Jounouchi watched as Seto's expression drastically changed from an annoyed to a more concerned expression. He wished he could read lips as he really wanted to know what Seto was saying, but then Seto faced away from the reflection, preventing any chance of the dirty blond to actually do so. Jounouchi frowned. He really wanted to know who it was Seto was speaking to.

He then noticed as Seto faced the mirror again. He lowered the cell phone, indicating that his conversation was finished. Jounouchi uncovered his ears.

"You didn't try to listen in, did you? I had realized that you were perhaps considering reading my lips," Seto stated as he placed the phone next to the nightstand.

"No; I wasn't trying to listen in, and thanks for trustin' me," Jounouchi replied sarcastically as he sat down on the opposite side of the bed once again. "So, now that that's done with, can I ask my questions?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

Jounouchi cracked his knuckles. "All right…first question: why did you pass out?"

"Overexertion, plain and simple," Seto answered.

Jounouchi stared at Seto blankly. "That's it? Just over-ex-ertion?" He pronounced. "That answer just sounds too easy for me."

"Sometimes the simple answers are the most accurate," Seto countered.

"So why do you fight? You seem awfully prone to bein' that way."

"For your information, my stamina is above average. I had simply been so busy with schoolwork and…personal affairs that I didn't have the time to rest."

"Yeah, uh-huh. Right. So yer sayin' that sleepin' through Chono's class and insultin' her at every turn is hard work, huh?"

Seto looked away. "Sincere and non-rhetorical questions only, please."

Jounouchi scowled at the other boy before proceeding. "All right…what I want to know next is, why do ya seem to know me?"

Seto's gaze returned to Jounouchi. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? When ya transferred to Domino, ya singled me out and made it a point to make fun of me. Right before that, ya kicked my ass when ya had that wig goin' on."

Seto did not respond.

"It's a school night, ya know," Jounouchi reminded impatiently.

Seto took in a deep breath, and faced towards Jounouchi. "Jounouchi...the truth is…"

Jounouchi leaned in closer towards Seto.

"The truth is that I'm very tired, and therefore am going to sleep." He turned away from the dirty blond and rested his head on the pillow. Jounouchi frowned, grabbed Seto by his shoulders and forced him back around. Seto appeared to be absolutely dumbfounded by Jounouchi's reaction, but his face remained cold and unafraid, even as Jounouchi sat atop him.

"You are _not_ getting' out of this one so easily," Jounouchi snarled. "You were stalkin' me, weren't ya? You were followin' and watchin' me, and then decided to come outta hiding! And now that I'm thinkin' about it, with that whole boner thing? You doin' all this `cause you like me or somethin'? Are you so fucked up that you can't just ask me directly so ya had to stalk me first?"

Seto shut his eyes tightly as he slowly looked away from the dirty blond.

"Dammit, look at me and give me a straight answer!" Jounouchi shook Seto to force him to obey his demands. Seto did not seem to move.

"If ya don't tell me, I just might have to beat it outta ya!" Jounouchi threatened as he raised his fist. Upon hearing this, Seto's eyes instantly snapped open and his right hand struck Jounouchi in the chest with an open-palm strike, the impact sending the other teen out of the bed and crashing against the wall.

Jounouchi rubbed his back as he tried to recall what just happened, and looked up to see Seto still lying on the bed, his right arm extended out in front of him. The brunet was breathing heavily, and his azure eyes appeared to be burning with anger.

Jounouchi rose to his feet. "What the fuck was that for?"

Seto broke his gaze away from Jounouchi. "You threatened me."

"You weren't answerin' my questions, or even sayin' anything."

"That doesn't mean that you threaten someone with a beating just because they won't talk!"

"Well, they were pretty important questions! I had a right to know, and besides; you agreed to answer them!"

"Not with the way you worded them…" Seto's voice was shaking…

"What; should I talk to ya like a kid?" Jounouchi clenched his teeth as he sighed angrily. "Ya know; it's no wonder yer always by yerself…yer fuckin' crazy. Absolutely fuckin' crazy. One minute yer actin' all high and mighty and the next ya space out!"

Jounouchi was too busy grabbing his jacket to notice Seto hunching over, his sienna hair spilling over to obscure his face. Jounouchi glared at the brunet and his anger appeared to slightly subside.

"Shit. Asking ya anything was a big mistake. Ya wanna remain all mysterious that's fine by me…yer gonna be the one all alone and crazy anyway. I'll take care of the tab fer yer stay here…but seriously, look into getting yer head checked." Surprisingly, Jounouchi gently shut the door as he stormed out of the room.

Seto said nothing in response. His hands clutched the think blanket so tightly that his bony knuckles turned white.

"Come in."

Jounouchi entered the office of the safe house, his money in hand. The other occupant turned around away from the large windows to look at Jounouchi, her tanned face appearing more worried than the sultry expression that the dirty blond was used to seeing.

Jounouchi looked away. "So…I guess ya overheard it all, huh July?"

"Your voice carries," The woman mused.

Jounouchi crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. "Not sure what to say, really…"

"That's fine…perhaps I should say something," July replied as she snuffed her cigarette out in the crystal ashtray.

"Whatever you got to say, spill it. I gotta be at school tomorrow, so I can't stay too much longer."

The mature woman brushed away an errant strand of her fiery hair as she moistened her cherry lips.

"Katsuya, I've known you for almost as long as Mai has…she's worried about you, you know."

Jounouchi shut his eyes as he heaved a sigh. "So what else is new?"

"She explained your home life to me. She told me about how you practically raised yourself and about your past affiliation with the Rintama Crashers…"

"Just about everybody knows about all that, July."

"Katsuya…please. Just listen. What I'm trying to say is that Mai is worried that being in the underground is all that you're going to amount to. She's worried that you'll never truly aspire to be anything, or settle down with anyone."

"So basically, she just wants me to go steady with her?" Jounouchi frowned.

July shook her head. "You know as well as she does that a steady relationship between you two wouldn't work. She's a permanent part of the underground, just as much as I am. While it's true that I was the one that brought her into it, it was because she had no other place to go or anyone else to turn to." She smiled. "But that's irrelevant…what I'm getting at is that I agree with her. I think maybe you should start thinking about a more positive future for yourself, and maybe work on your self-esteem while you're at it."

"There's nothing wrong with my self-esteem…"

"You wouldn't have treated that boy the way you did if you felt better about yourself."

"What does yellin' at Hirano have to do with my self-esteem?"

July folded her arms and leaned against her desk. "I'm simply saying that if you were more confident and more optimistic, you'd perhaps stop trying to fight everyone, even when you don't intend to."

Jounouchi said nothing as July turned away to stare out of the window.

"It worries Mai as much as it worries me, Katsuya. Even if you're upset about this, at least think it over. And if you still think we're wrong, then that's your prerogative, and I promise that I won't bring it up ever again."

Jounouchi leaned away from the wall as he approached the desk and dropped the money onto its wooden surface.

"You have a good night, July. Be sure to take care of Hirano; make sure he don't get up until his foot's okay."

The mature woman closed her eyes as Jounouchi stepped out of her office.

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