Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ If I Never Was ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Title: If I Never Was

 

Chapter: 2/3

 

Author: Madyamisam

 

Rating: PG-13

 

Wish maker: Seto

 

Beta: Daisey

 

Spoilers: References to characters from the Noah's Arc and KC Grand Prix saga.

 

Disclaimer: Madyamisam does not own Yu-Gi-Oh and she is very sad that she doesn't so don't be mean to her by going as far as putting a law suit on her for copyright infringement. For the character of Hatori I named him after Fruits Basket's Hatori Sohma but other than that the character is mine. ALL MINE!!!

 

Summary: What would life be like without any responsibilities? To be able to live freely from the restraints of your duties and become ordinary? What would life be like… if there never was, Seto Kaiba?

 

A/N: Since this is an AU, Seto and Jou are OOC but necessarily so because the wish had made it that way, :P so there.

 

---

 

The eight-year-old giggled as he ran into his bedroom, wondering what to do to hide himself. His glance shifted between the window and the gap underneath the bed. Knowing that he'd have to work to fit beneath the bed, he opted for the window, pulling it open and carefully stepping onto a ledge of the roof. Crawling on all fours, he waited for his father to find him, fighting to keep himself from sniggering as the man entered the room.

 

“Seto? Seto? Where are you?” Hearing the hint of panic in his father's voice, the boy shouted out to spare him any further anxiety.

 

“TOU-SAN! TOU-SAN, OUT HERE!” he shouted. Gasping, Hatori poked his paling face out of the window, all thoughts of work forgotten as his son waved happily back at him from the ledge.

 

“SETO, GET BACK HERE!” The man's eyes grew wide as his son crawled back along the flimsy looking ledge that hung precariously over the floor below. The instant the child was within arms length, he snatched him and pulled him back into the room.

 

“Tou-san finally found me, ne?” Seto giggled.

 

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, GOING OUT THROUGH THAT WINDOW!” Hatori bellowed. “YOU COULD HAVE BROKEN YOUR NECK IF YOU'D HAVE FALLEN OFF THAT ROOF! DO YOU HAVE ~ANY~ IDEA HOW DANGEROUS THAT WAS, OR HOW YOUR TOU-SAN FELT WHEN HE SAW YOU OUT THERE?” Seto trembled as his father's normally laid back eyes glared down at him with fury. It was the first time that Seto had seen him that angry and the outburst shocked him. His voice caught in his throat as his father shouted at him.

 

Aiko came in shortly after, hearing the commotion. “Ichigawa-san?” she whispered as Hatori brushed his hair back and glanced at the time on his watch. Seto stared down at the floor as tears threatened to fall down his face.

 

“Give me my keys,” he snapped. Miserably, Seto handed them over. “You are ~grounded~ young man. We'll discuss this when I get back home.” Hatori stormed out of the house whilst Aiko went to console the boy. Other than the near accident that morning, it seemed just like any other day.

 

---

 

Seto sighed, the sunlight that was hitting his face making him wince. He groaned as he tried to focus on the small clock next to his bedside. Blinking a few times, his eyes widened when he realised what time it was. “CRAP! I OVERSLEPT!” he yelped, leaping out of his bed and rushing to the room next door, which belonged to Mokuba. The door was flung backwards as the flustered brunet rushed in and shook his brother awake.

 

“Nii-san?” Mokuba burbled, still half asleep.

 

“Mokuba, get up! We're going to be late,” Seto hollered, hurrying out of the room to wake his father up next. Mokuba groaned as he merely flopped backwards and went back to sleep.

 

“Tou-san, wake up!” Seto called into the man's room. “Come on, or you're going to be late for work!”

 

“Guh?” the older man responded, his eyes still unfocused. “Wah?”

 

“Tou-san!” Seto shouted, pulling the man's arm towards the bathroom. All of a sudden the large house was a bustle of activity as Seto, who had already been dressed for school, cooked breakfast.

 

“Nii-san, where did you put my jeans?!” Mokuba cried, bouncing about and pulling his shirt down.

 

“In the wardrobe!” Seto turned to glare at Mokuba just as the boy bounded back to his room, the shirt he had pulled down to cover his front lifting up in the back and exposing his naked bum. The brunet gaped, his eyes widened with disbelief at the sight of his half naked brother, the shock nearly leaving him with a pan full of burnt eggs. Finally, things settled down when they ate breakfast. Mokuba and Hatori talked amiably about what they planned to do today whilst Seto absently picked at his meal; for once he did not have much of an appetite. It was strange, Seto knew he went through this daily routine every day yet it seemed off and out of place. He clearly remembered another life, one where he'd been cold and isolated yet at the same time rich and powerful. The memories of being the cold and calculating CEO of the Kaiba Corporation seemed ~so~ vivid and his head seemed to buzz with numbers. Something that detailed couldn't have been a dream like he had first thought. `Did my wish come true?' he wondered. `Is all ~this~ a dream?'

 

“NII-SAN!” Mokuba shouted, shocking Seto back into reality.

 

“Huh? What?”

 

“Is there something the matter?” Hatori looked concerned, his paper abandoned and neatly folded next to his cup of coffee. “You've hardly touched your food.”

 

“N-no, why?” Seto flushed as he shovelled his bacon into his mouth to cover up his earlier musings, and added a reassuring smile for good measure.

 

“Oooh… I know what's going on,” Mokuba said smugly, his eyes narrowing lecherously and making his elder brother shift awkwardly in his seat. Hatori raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze from one son to the other before he realised what his youngest son was thinking.

 

“Oooh…” Hatori repeated, his eyes narrowing just as lecherously as Mokuba's. Seto glared at the both of them and swallowed the rest of his breakfast before getting up.

 

“We better go before we're late for school,” he said indignantly. Hatori and Mokuba stared at the blue-eyed brunet questioningly before flashing identical, perverted smiles towards him.

 

“Aren't you going to tell us what you've been day dreaming about? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?” Hatori grinned as he waggled his eyebrows.

 

“Tou-san!” Seto scowled, the pink hue on his cheeks turning deep red as he rushed out the door, followed by a laughing Mokuba. The two brothers walked out of their home just as the house next door suddenly exploded with angry swearing and crashing glasses.

 

“Looks like our neighbours are at it again, huh Nii-san?” Mokuba mused as they continued walking to school. The family next door had moved in about six months ago, and every morning there was an argument within the household. It often died out quickly with a slam of a door, so the Ichigawas never went round to complain to them. But, at the same time, Mokuba and Seto never wanted anything to do with their neighbours. In fact, they had distanced themselves from them to the extent that they didn't even know the others' names. “I wonder what their problem is. Any normal couple that argued like that would have considered divorce ages ago.”

 

“That's none of our business, Mokuba. Now come on, or we'll be late”

 

“More like you don't want to disappoint Jounouchi-kun, do you, Nii-san?” Seto stopped dead in his tracks, frozen in place. “What's with the silence, Nii-san? Could it be that you really ~were~ day dreaming of doing the love-love with Katsuya-chan during breakfast?” Mokuba made mock kissing and puckering sounds and, all of a sudden, Seto feel sweat start to break out all over his face, his heart thumping so hard that it threatened to give out on him. Taking his silent answer as a yes, Mokuba jumped up and down relentlessly. “Ah ha, I was right! You naughty, naughty little man, you!”

 

“Mokuba!” Seto screamed, his whole body shaking with embarrassment. `What did he mean by all of that about Jounouchi? I can barely stand him. The annoying cackle, that stupid, messy… gorgeous beautiful golden hair, and those small sweet lips and… Wait a minute…' “I have no interest in a second rate duellist that can't even duel his way out of a paper bag!” he gasped, taking deep breaths.

 

Mokuba stepped back with surprise. “Did you have a lover's spat with him the other day? He only lost to Pegasus once in that exhibition match, and from what you told me, that one-eyed hippy cheated with some weird magic Besides, Jounouchi might not be as crazy about that stupid game as you and Yugi are, but he can still hold his own. Anyway, he's got a good career going already, so why should he be bothered with that stuff? I mean a rock star since the age of fourteen and still rising?” Mokuba commented, his eyes sparkling.

 

“What do you mean?” Seto cried, clutching his head as a migraine seemed to take over.

 

Mokuba raised an incredulous eyebrow and wondered if his brother had lost all traces of sanity. He sighed as he explained, “Duellist Kingdom, remember? You and Yugi got invited because you were joint champions in the local tournament. Jounouchi got a special invite because Pegasus was a major fan of REB-D. The man's almost as obsessed with Jou as you are.”

 

“Obsessed?” Seto raised an eyebrow as he tried to recollect his thoughts on that issue.

 

“Well except for the fact that Jou is not interested in that weird billionaire. He has his eyes on you after all. Are you stressed, or are you just high on something, Nii-san?”

 

“I vaguely remember my soul being sucked into a card,” Seto mused, trying to sort out the conflicting thoughts before it threatened to overload his brain.

 

Mokuba blinked a few times. “I understand you freaking out when Jou collapsed after that Duel Monsters exhibition match with Pegasus, but now you're just scaring me. Stop it.”

 

“Mokuba…”

 

“Keep away from me and go to school, you freak,” Mokuba laughed, shoving his brother away as he jogged towards the gates of his middle school. Controlling his giggles for a moment, he turned back to the taller teen. “And, try not to blush too hard when you see Jou, okay?”

 

Seto pouted, watching his brother disappear amidst the other middle school children before heading off to Domino High. “I do ~not~ blush,” he muttered to himself crossly despite the belying red hue on his cheeks. As he quickened his pace on his way to school, he cast his mind back to the alternate reality he remembered himself to be in. The horrific memory of seeing his father on the hospital bed terrified him and he didn't really want to think about it. It hadn't happened, after all. All he remembered of that day was that he had taken the foolish option of going out of the window in his game of hide and seek with his father. Hatori had been livid with him, but it was one of those old childhood experiences that would eventually end up being turned into an embarrassing story a father would tell his son's future wife… or in Seto's case husband. As for the subject of his sexual preferences, it had all really started when Jounouchi Katsuya, lead singer of the infamous REB-D rock band and his two year long crush, had come waltzing into both his classroom and his life as a new transfer student. Seto had heard that REB-D had begun as a small time local rock band from the violent and infamous Rintama middle school. Aware of the school's reputation, the brunet had never had the opportunity to listen to REB-D until his first day as a freshman in high school. Seto had heard that the band was moving to Domino High but had never thought much of it. However, the instant he saw Jou, he had been hopelessly attracted to the beautiful amber eyes and the long tousled blond mane of the other. But, it had been when he'd heard Jounouchi sing for the first time that his heart had been stolen by him. The brunet sighed as he thought of the many failed attempts to approach Jou to at least get a chance to talk to him without fan girls or boys or the singer's manager batting him out of the way. `God, I have more chance of surviving a climb up Mount Everest in my underpants than try to find some time alone with him'

 

“SETO-KUUNN!!!” Seto was brought out of his thoughts when a blur of red, yellow and black zoomed towards him, skidding to a halt by his side. Anzu followed in a light jog, stopping beside them.

 

“Good morning, Seto,” Anzu added, walking in time with them

 

“Morning Anzu, Yugi-kun,” he greeted as the smaller boy skipped in step with his long strides. The teenaged tyke had been really quiet when they had first met, and had often been bullied. Despite his turbulent childhood, he'd grown to be a bright and happy teenager, regardless of his stunted height and the fact that he was often mistaken for being in grade school. Seto, himself often praised for his intelligence and good looks, had eventually made a hesitant friendship with him through the other Yugi. Also known as Yami, the dark copy of the petite teen had appeared when Yugi had finally managed to piece together the strange, upside-down gold pyramid. To most others, the two friends seemed highly mismatched. However, what they didn't know was that Seto and Yugi shared a passion for something that no one else their age would understand: games. Cards, chess and puzzles were just a few of things they spent spare time doing, and recently their latest craze was the increasingly popular card game of Duel Monsters. Both were so passionate about the game that they participated in all of the various local tournaments in the Domino precinct. When they'd started, neither of them had really counted on their reputations being good enough for the largest tournament ever held, but they had been hugely surprised when they had both received invitations from Pegasus himself. What had made Seto's day complete had been the fact that the man had also specially invited the rising rock star and his biggest crush, Jounouchi Katsuya, to the tournament. Funnily enough, it was around that time that he'd finally managed to talk with Jounouchi for the first time since he had come into his life. Suddenly, his thoughts flashed back to that day two years ago.

 

---

 

“Well, here you go,” the old man produced the card from the decrepit box he held. Everyone gathered close and gasped at the picture of a white dragon with blue eyes, its huge neck curling around its body.

 

“It's called the Blue Eyes White Dragon. There are only four in the world, and I have one of them,” Sugoruku Motou exclaimed proudly, his aged eyes twinkling with amusement as he watched the young people gawk at his prized treasure.

 

“The legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon,” Seto whispered. It was always a monster that he felt was akin to him, but he knew that he'd never to be able to get one- especially since Sugoruku Motou wasn't about to let go of it at any time soon. “I wish I had one.” Sugoruku grinned when he heard the brunet's words.

 

“Well, unfortunately, you can't have ~this~ one, Se-chan,” The man chuckled when the brunet pouted.

 

“Don't tease him, Oji-chan; you know how much the Blue Eyes means to Seto,” Yugi scowled, patting Seto on the back to console him. “But then, I bet it doesn't mean as much as to him as a certain blond I know.” Yugi grinned as the brunet flushed.

 

Anzu chuckled as she gazed pityingly at the love struck boy. “Sometimes, I don't know whether you're the unluckiest brunet in this entire school or that you just easily get pushed over when the fans have at him.”

 

“Well, he ~is~ famous and readily available after all, I heard that he's single and bi, but I don't know how long he ~will~ be since his popularity is still on the rise. He's getting another deal on TV already,” Yugi mused.

 

“I haven't hung out with him much back in middle school, but I know he ~has~ got a thing for brunets with blue eyes. So, you and Anzu have the best shots- except Anzu has her eyes set on someone much shorter,” Honda added with a goofy grin only to be dealt a kick by a flushed Anzu.

 

“In other words, Seto, you should grow some balls and push past those ditzy girls before someone snatches up your boyfriend!” Anzu shouted. But, before she could further her ranting, the floor of the shop rumbled with a stampede of girls running past the door. The friends stared wide eyed as the screaming female mob chased one lone figure round and round the street.

 

“Where did he go!?!?” one of the girls screamed when they lost track of whoever they were screaming about.

 

“Over there!!!” another screamed and the stampede started all over again down another street. The bell of the shop rang with a tinkle, indicating a customer coming in just as the mob of girls began to clear away. Seto's eyes widened when he realized that the newcomer was none other than the person that they had just been talking about, and most likely the one that the screaming fan girls thought they were chasing. A relieved sigh escaped the customer's lips as he removed his cap, letting the jaggedly styled, fringe fall over his face and eyes. Jou's blond hair was tied into a tiny ponytail at the nape of his neck.

 

Jou blinked a few times when the group stared at him then grinned when he saw the brunet standing amongst the friends. “HIYA!!!” he yelled with an enthusiastic wave, much to the surprise of the group of friends. “Yugi-kun, ne? So this is the game shop you were talking about at lunch today?”

 

“You're from Yugi's class, eh? Can I help you?” Sugoruku asked still shell shocked from the screams of the fan girls.

 

“I hope so. I had to run around the block twice before it was safe to come in” Jou replied. Looking around the shop, he spotted the card in the old man's hand. “Wah! WAAAAHHH!!!” he bounced, barging through the group and staring at the card in Sugoruku's hand. “The Blue Eyes White Dragon. That's so cool! I can't believe you have one!”

 

“You play Duel monsters?” Yugi asked.

 

“Mmm… a little…” Jou chirped, his eyes sparkling like a child at Christmas- until the old man closed the small box on him.

 

“It's not for sale though…” Sugoruku said to the now pouting blond. “This card was given to me by a friend so-”

 

“And it's not worth giving up for money or any other card ne?” Jou grinned, suddenly happy again. “I understand Oji-san…no need to explain…” the old man blinked in surprise and then relaxed, glad that his first impressions of the boy were wrong. Jou straightened up, pointing towards the shop window. “What actually attracted me was that little game in your shop window, the computer pet one. Can I have that?”

 

“Isn't that a girl's game?” Honda asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Well of course it is. I'm getting it for my imouto,” Jou scowled. Abruptly, he went back to grinning. “Well Oji-san, can you part with it?”

 

The elder Motou smiled. “Oh ho, ho, of course I can…” the old man fetched it as Jou produced his wallet and dumped his cash on the table. It was at that point that Seto noticed Jou flinch and suddenly go pale. The blond clutched at his shirt briefly whilst the Yugi helped Sugoruku pack the toy into a bag.

 

“Jounouchi-kun?” Seto stammered. “Are you alright?” Jou sighed as he smiled at the brunet, making him blush.

 

“Mmm… I'm fine…” the blond replied taking the bag. “Thank you!”

 

“Come again,” Sugoruku exclaimed. Seto remained silent as his face lit up like a red beacon whilst his friends talked amicably with the blond. Anzu, seeing the opportunity, smiled and nudged the brown-headed boy with a sharp elbow.

 

“Jounouchi-kun!” Seto uttered, embarrassed when everyone fell silent to hear what he had to say. `Oh god… I wanted to talk to him alone but now I don't know what to say….' “Um…. Uh….” Seto spluttered. “If you play Duel Monsters as well…” By then, the brunet's face had become so red that his friends were starting to worry about the possibility of him fainting in front of the blond. “Let's play Duel Monsters together sometime?” Seto finally blurted out just as his friends were about to intervene.

 

Jou blinked a few times and then smiled, allowing a slight pink hue to appear on his own face. “Ok…” he replied.

 

---

 

Seto blushed at the memory. It had been the first time he had spoken to the blond and since then their friendship had slowly but steadily grown, despite the other things that had kept them busy during that time- the largest being the Duellist Kingdom Tournament held by the creator of Duel Monsters, Maximillion Pegasus. He and Yugi, who had been invited for being joint winners of the local tournament, had eagerly gone- Seto more so for the fact that Jou was going to be there. Surely enough, upon arriving at the boat, they had met up with the blond. It was during that time that Seto had the chance to get to know Jou personally, rather than gleaning his information by reading his biography from various magazines or listening to his songs. Of course, by that time, he'd collected them all. Things had started out like a perfect dream with Seto watching Jou perform, the blond's goofy sometimes childlike attitude disappearing as he'd broken out into song a lot like Yugi did when he started a duel monster's match.

 

Seto narrowed his eyes as he vented his hatred for the man. He had been shocked to see the long-haired man's mind reading capabilities of his opponent's cards at Duellist Kingdom. During the course of the tournament, the man had shown a growing interest in Yugi and, in particular, his Millennium Puzzle. Seto and Yugi had quickly figured out the reason however, and had battled their way through only to realise the extent of Pegasus's power when he had decided to use it on the singer in an exhibition match. Jou had caught on pretty quickly to Pegasus's abilities, and had decided to not look at his card until the last second. It had thrown the creator of the game off for a while- to the extent that Jou had been on the verge of winning- when Seto had suddenly noticed that the blond had started flinching again like he had in the shop. Taking advantage of the fact that the singer had been distracted with the sudden pain, Pegasus had picked off Jou's remaining life points.

 

“I really do like your music Kat-chan,” Pegasus had leered. “And, I think you've done well, for an amateur, to last in this game for so long but… right now I find I need the use of you in something a little less pleasant.” Suddenly, the man's left gold eye had started flashing. Watching in horror as the life had drained from Jou's beautiful, amber eyes, Seto had run as fast as he could towards the stadium. He'd gasped when, moments later, Jou's picture had appeared on a previously blank card that Pegasus had held up in his hand. Just as Seto had reached him, the blond's soulless body had collapsed into his arms. It was at that point that Pegasus had upped the stakes from the three million dollars that had been his original offer. Thankfully, Yugi had, with Yami's assistance, beaten the hippy billionaire, forcing him to return Jounouchi's soul. Since then, Seto had been extremely vigilant to any changes to Jou's health.

 

“Seto-kun?” the brunet was brought out of his musings by a sharp poke to his sides. He smiled as they entered the classroom. His first lesson today was history, and they were going to be given assignments that morning for projects. As usual, a lot of the girls and boys would be crowding around Jou's table, asking to be his partner for the assignment. Seto smiled when he saw the blond looking bemused as his potential project partners argued amongst themselves. `He's so cute sitting there,' he smiled. Jou was a loud person and often got himself in trouble with the tutors. But then again, his grades were pretty decent. Still, there was something about the blond that drew Seto in. `Whether it's this life or that weird alternate universe I dreamed about, he's still the same,' Suddenly, the brunet's heart sank. `But, I don't recall him hurting in that other world like he does right now. I hope he tells me what's wrong with him. He just laughs it off when I ask.'

 

“Right class, for this month's assignment, I've decided to pair you off in your projects.” there was a huge, disappointed groan from most of the group as they all stared forlornly at the blond sitting in the back. Jou cocked his head and, for some reason, it made everyone squeal about how cute he looked. The tutor rolled his eyes as he read down the list and, one by one, the students' faces fell until he came upon Seto's name.

 

“Ichigawa Seto, you'll be paired up with Jounouchi Katsuya”

 

“Eh?” Seto sat up in surprise much to his friends' amusement. He turned to see that Jou was sitting there waving happily at him. The pink hue appeared on his face and he went to wave back but faltered when the many murderous gazes of his fellow classmates landed on him.

 

“Everyone, face the front,” the older man snapped, using his authority to protect the brunet before he continued with the list. He was starting to regret putting his best pupil with the trouble magnet.

 

---

 

“Can we go to your place?” Jounouchi asked cutely as his hair flopped out when he pulled it out of his ponytail.

 

“S-sure….” Seto stuttered as they walked side by side. Jounouchi bounced alongside him. Seto's house was only half an hour's walk from school and, at the same time, he and Seto were able to pick up his brother Mokuba and Jounouchi talked enthusiastically whilst Seto remained silent throughout the journey. When they arrived, the younger boy decided to lock himself in his bedroom and allow Jou and Seto to start their project in the lounge. Seto took deep breaths as the ability to focus on work made conversation easier with the blond.

 

“Well, Jounouchi-kun, why don't we base the project on the Meji Period… its certainly the most talked about…” he blinked when he heard no answer and, looking up, he saw that Jou had curled onto one of the armchairs and had fallen asleep. Seto brushed the wayward locks from the blond's eyes and noted the heavy breathing- as if Jou had just run a marathon. He touched the blond's forehead and breathed a sigh of relief when there was no sign of a fever. `He must be really tired. Come to think of it, he does a lot of late night gigs as well as go to school.' Seto smiled, grabbing a blanket and cloaking Jounouchi with it. Jou woke up an hour later and it seemed to have done him some good for he was literally bouncing.

 

“Aah! That was a good nap!” Jou bounced as he plopped next to Seto and peeped over the brunet's shoulder, causing the taller teen to suddenly freeze up. “Ooooh… you're pretty tense ne?” Jou rubbed the other's shoulders, humming happily. Somehow, Seto was irked by this as the thoughts of his alternate memories resurfaced again. `Jou was lively but, not like this. It's like he's hiding something'

 

“Jounouchi? Can you tell me… why does your chest hurt sometimes?”

 

“Eh? Why are you asking me that?” Jou cocked his head, looking confused.

 

“You may be able to fool other people, but I've saw it too many times to not be concerned. What's the matter Jou?” The singer suddenly looked solemn as he rested his forearms on the small table.

 

“It does hurt pretty badly sometimes…” Jou replied. “My heart that is…”

 

A/N: Before anyone asks, yes I did base the rock star image on Ryuchi Sakuma from Gravitation. Originally, during editing Daisey noticed in my original draft that Jou's new personality was too similar to that of Sakuma. In other words, NEVER EVER LISTEN TO THE SOUNDTRACK FROM GRAVITATION WHILST YOU'RE WRITING A FIC!!! To be honest I never realised it until I read it again. My mind does so many strange things that it freaks me out. *whimpers* Oh and I figured since Seto is just your normal everyday boy genius. He's a lot less arrogant and kind of sweet and I believe would be more receptive in regards to human companionship (therefore made friends with Yugi-tachi). However, I made him a little too shy in my first draft but then again I'm Queen of OOCness anyway. lol Hope it doesn't show as much here. THANK YOU SO MUCH DAISEY *huggles*