Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Love Signs ❯ Beginning ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi, and is being used in this fanfiction for fan purposes only. All situations, opinions and characters not belonging to Kazuki Takahashi are the intellectual property of Alecto Perdita.

Jounouchi Katsuya threw his keys down on the table with a loud clang. The apartment was dark so he guessed his parents and sister weren't home yet. Jounouchi smiled as he thought about the last year. His parents had been in separation for years. When they had met again after Shizuka's operation, a bit of the old spark between them had resurfaced. His father had been inspired to clean himself up. Jounouchi had the feeling his father had used Jounouchi's time spent with Shizuka as an excuse to be with his mother. Jounouchi hadn't minded.

While it could not be said that there were no potholes in the road, his parents' relationship only progressively got better. The experience had been especially hard on his father. His father had taken to the bottle after his mother left. Oh, and contrary to popular belief, his father had never hit him, not once. It had been hard on his father and withdrawal, in particular, had been a killer. His father would also never be able to touch another glass of alcohol for the rest of his life in fear of a relapse. This was also troublesome for his mother, who was a chef.

The four of them had spent more time together, almost as if they had been a family again. When his father actually held a job for over two months, he rented a three-bedroom apartment in a better part of town and asked his mother and sister to move in with them again. His father was, surprisingly, a computer network security consultant; though Jounouchi was convinced it was just a professional name for hackers. And much to both his dismay and joy, his father was currently in the employment of Kaiba Corporations. The joy part being that Kaiba paid his employees extremely well.

"Tou-san? Okaa-san?"

He received no reply. He walked into the living room. He stared at the sight before him for a few seconds before diverting his gaze in mild disgust. "Geeze, I'd like to keep my lunch down, Tou-san, Okaa-san. Get a room the two of you."

Jounouchi Tanaka and Jounouchi Michi pulled away from each other. A light flush stained his mother's cheeks and Jounouchi had to admit it was quite befitting of her. He should have been used to this already. His parents had been extremely affectionate with one another ever since they got back together.

"How was school today, son?" Tanaka's gaze never left Michi and he continued to caress the back of her hand.

Jounouchi threw his hands over his eyes. "I'm going to my room, I can't take this lovey dovey stuff any longer."

He ran out of the room before his mother could throw that pillow from the couch at him. On the way to his room, the one furthest down the hallway, he knocked on Shizuka's bedroom door. "Shizuka? You home?"

He received no response once again. His sister had probably fallen asleep. She had been up all night talking to her boyfriend. Jounouchi almost growled at the thought. He did not like the thought of his little sister dating anyone, no matter at what age.

He twisted the doorknob and entered the room. He stared at the occupants of the room and they stared back at him. He snarled. He marched over to his sister's side and yanked the boy, whose lips were poised over his sister's, to his feet.

Shizuka smiled in a guilty manner. "Welcome home, Onii-chan..."

"Hey, Jounouchi." Honda Hiroto tried to grin at the pissed off Jounouchi but failed miserably. "You're home early."

Just when Jounouchi was about to beat the shit out of his so-called best friend, he smelled something strange in the air. It was the smell of something burning… He threw down Honda and rushed to the kitchen, screaming, "Okaa-san! Whatever you're cooking is burning!"

Fifteen minutes, a fire extinguished, and the near possibility of a three-alarm fire later, Jounouchi had his family seated in the living room. Oh, and Honda as well. Jounouchi paced back and forth across the carpeting, alternating glares between different occupants of the room.

"That was so dumb. You could have burned down the whole freaking building. Even I know better than to leave something in the over for that long. You're a cook for god's sake, Okaa-san!"

Michi opened her mouth to say something and Jounouchi cut her off. "And I don't want to hear about your distractions."

Michi shut her mouth again.

"And another thing, what kind of parents are you?! You don't even notice your daughter coming home with her boyfriend. Who knows what they could have been doing if I hadn't come in?"

"Honda-kun is your best friend! How could you say that? He would never do something like that." Shizuka protested.

"He's a guy and guys only want one thing."

"You're a guy too." Honda pointed out. He didn't seem particularly worried with Jounouchi's tirade.

Jounouchi's scowl deepened. "Shut up. I'm not done yet."

"You need to get laid, Onii-chan."

Jounouchi nearly had a heart attack hearing that sentence from his baby sister. Jounouchi had never looked so scandalized, or "god-damn-fucking-hilarious" as Honda would later insist, in his entire life.

Jounouchi arrived at the classroom almost fifteen minutes before the first bell would ring. It was a record for him. He had driven to school so he was still running on a sort of natural high. He technically wasn't supposed to drive and he didn't even have a permit yet but his father had insisted that he learn. His father had then taken the car to work.

He glanced around the room. Few people came to school at this time. Mazaki Anzu, Nosaki Miho, and another girl he couldn't remember the name of were huddled together in a corner. They burst into a fit of giggles before returning to whatever they were perusing.

Anzu gestured for him to join her. He was weary though. A group of giggling girls was rarely a good thing. "Jounouchi, come look at this."

Jounouchi deposited his book bag on his desk before joining them in the back of the room. He hoped it wasn't another magazine with pictures of celebrities for them to gush over. "What, Anzu?"

"What sign are you?"

Jounouchi blinked. "I'm flattered and all, Anzu, but aren't you dating Yugi?" He threw her one of his "dashing-handsome" grins.

She slapped him over the head. "Don't even joke about that." She suddenly blushed at the impromptu remainder of her first date with Yugi that Friday night. "Just tell us what sign you are."

Jounouchi ran a hand through his hair. "Aquarius, why?"

The girls immediately turned their backs to him and he listened to the rustling of pages. They were quiet for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. Jounouchi frowned. He didn't like being laughed at for any reason. "Do I want to know?"

Anzu turned to face him and showed him the book they have been studying so religiously. It was entitled Love on a Rotten Day. She cleared her throat and began reading. "Aquarius. Romantic style: possessed. Erogenous zone: shins and ankles wrapped in thin, silver chains attached to a diamond naval stud. Sexual quirk: irritating habit of jumping in and out of bed to adjust the video camera. Hmm...kinky." Anzu winked.

His face would have been called aloof if it hadn't been that damn spot of pink that stained his cheeks. "Your mothers would be appalled by what you're reading."

"I must say that it's a very enlightening picture of you, make inu."

The hairs on the back of Jounouchi's neck rose. Why hadn't he noticed the presence of the taller body towering over him? He fought to keep the blush that had already been on his cheek under control.

"Good morning, Kaiba-kun." Anzu smiled sweetly at the new arrival.

Kaiba Seto at least nodded in acknowledgement of Anzu's greeting. That was rare enough as it was. Jounouchi fought to keep his posture rigid. He would not give the other boy any indication of the effects his close presence had on Jounouchi. He refused to turn around and face Kaiba either. Things were hard enough with just his back facing the other boy.

"I always had the feeling you had a penchant for kink. Who knew you liked to be dominated too?"

Jounouchi clenched his feet. He would not turn around. He would not give Kaiba the satisfaction. He would not make things harder for himself than they already were.

"Nothing to say, inu?"

Jounouchi could feel Kaiba's breath tickling his neck and ear. He barely concealed the shiver that ran down his spine. Kaiba was too close for comfort. He feared he would just lose control and turn around and kiss the life out of the tall brown-haired boy.

"Hmm…admirable restraint today."

And then the overwhelming presence of Kaiba was gone, moving to somewhere across the room.

The girls exchanged "looks" with each other. It was then that Jounouchi remembered these were the three biggest yaoi fangirls in the school. They had also been the first ones he came out of the closet too after they caught him staring at Otogi, though that was old news now. They were too damn perceptive for his good.

The last girl of the group, Kawaba Midori, had the guts to shout across the room to Kaiba. "What's your astrological sign, Kaiba-kun?"

Kaiba looked up from the book he had started to read upon settling in his seat. He shot an annoyed glare at Midori but she appeared unfazed. Few people could do that. It was almost admirable. Kaiba appeared to consider whether to answer or not. "Scorpio." He finally said before turning away.

Jounouchi released the breath he didn't know he had been holding until then. Anzu grabbed the lapel of his jacket and pulled him into their circle. They frantically flipped through the book until they found the section for Scorpio, the section labeled "Scoring." They shoved the book toward him and he accepted it reluctantly.

Apparently it was a section meant to score the compatibility of different signs. There, he found Aquarius next to the label of "The Dark Horse."

Jounouchi stared at them strangely. "The dark horse?"

The three of them shushed him before not so subtly glancing back at Kaiba. Midori leaned in closely and smiled slyly. "It means it's a relationship worth investigating." She winked at him.

Jounouchi stuttered for a few moments. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

"Don't deny it, Jounouchi." Anzu had one of her "evil-diabolical-plan" glint in her eyes. She was always goddamn scary when she was like that. "You know exactly what we're talking about. Need any help?"

Jounouchi slammed the book down on the desk. "I think you guys are the one that need help. Maybe you should read the section on Gemini, Anzu. I think you'll find that section interesting. Yugi's not as innocent as he looks."

He then walked away from the beet red Anzu and the other two that were laughing hysterically at her expense. Jounouchi would have sworn Kaiba was watching him out of the corner of his eyes. Worth investigating, ne? He recalled that his sister also had a copy of this book somewhere. Maybe he'd borrow it when he got home.

"Sounds suspiciously like someone I know."

Kaiba looked up from his typing to glance at his little brother sprawled across the carpeted floor of his office. He turned his attention back to the computer screen. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Maybe I should repeat the last sentence again. 'Rotten Scorpios are obsessed, stealthy-'"

Kaiba cut the teen off. "I heard you the first time."

Kaiba Mokuba rose to his feet and made his way over to his desk. Mokuba had grown the last two years and had entered the, much dreaded by Kaiba, teenage years. His raven black hair was still long and he now tied it up in a ponytail. The brothers had gotten into numerous arguments about Mokuba's hair and finally reached the compromise that it would not go pass the shoulder blades.

Kaiba was glad for one thing. His brother was a normal teenage with a healthy, overactive social life. Kaiba had to wonder many times if kids had grown that quickly when he was younger. His brother also had one too many unsuccessful attempts at wooing one Rebecca Hopkins whenever she came to Japan to visit her "darling." Kaiba had the opinion that Kaibas should always succeed at whatever they tried, even if it was as frivolous as trying to win a girl's heart.

"Don't tell me that the book doesn't have you down to a nutshell."

"I thought you would have a higher opinion of me, Mokuba. I'm hurt." Kaiba also found that he very much liked to banter with his now older sibling.

"Maybe when I was ten. I'm a teenager now, Nii-sama. I'm supposed to be all cynical and pessimistic about human nature. And I'm supposed to hate the older brother who grounds me and keeps me from going out with my friends." Mokuba sat down on top of his worktable and leaned back to glance at what he was working on.

Kaiba didn't look up from the spreadsheet onscreen. "I do neither of those things. You haven't been grounded since you were eight. Now leave me alone. I have to 'replenish my ego at others' expenses,' as you so gently put it."

Mokuba placed the book he had been reading out of down on the desk. Kaiba snuck a peek at the titled: Born on a Rotten Day. He remembered that many of his female classmates had been carrying this book and a similar book around lately. If he recalled it correctly, Mazaki and her groupies had one or the other that day they started snickering at him. Not to mention, his glare seemed to have lost its potency on them.

"You always work." Mokuba whined, sounding reminiscent of when he was younger and wanted to spend time with Kaiba. "Don't you ever get a break?"

Kaiba merely grunted in reply.

"You need to get laid, Nii-sama."

Kaiba's fingers came to a sudden halt as the silence invaded the room. He glared at his younger brother. "What happened to my innocent little brother?" He demanded.

Mokuba smirked. "Oh, him? He grew up, learned that the world wasn't all just sugar and spice, realized that his older brother was a demented jerk no matter how nice he was as a sibling, and discovered the wonders of girls, cable TV, and hentai." When Kaiba pinned a look of death on him, Mokuba quickly corrected himself. "Of course, I was just kidding about the last part, though Jounouchi and Honda do have quite a collection. Oh, and Anzu's really into yaoi. You would have no idea just by looking at her."

Kaiba turned back to the screen. "I forbid you from ever seeing them again."

Mokuba laughed. "You just proved my earlier point!"

Jounouchi's feet were dragging as he entered the school. It was only two months before their graduation from high school and the senior class was thinking of anything and everything except for schoolwork. It was very disheartening to see all your friends find love all around you.

His parents were finally living "happily-ever-after." Both Yugi and his other self were involved with Anzu. Jounouchi would have thought that jealousy would be involved in that equation somewhere but it was not. It really wasn't bigamy since Yugi and his other self were the same person. It had something to do with a time paradox which they had been caught in the other Bakura's memory world. He just got a headache each time someone tried to explain it to him. [1]

Honda was all too happily dating his sister. Otogi had just hooked up with Miho of all people. No one expected this to last very long. Otogi went through more girlfriends and boyfriends in a month than most people in a lifetime. Miho didn't seem like the type that settled down either. Yet their flippant attitudes strangely complemented each other. Even Bakura had an ongoing long distance relationship going with Malik, and Isis and Rishid were due to get married in August. And here he was, lusting after the most unattainable man in all of Domino, if not Japan.

Life just wasn't fair.

Jounouchi sighed as he stared at the closed door that led to his classroom. He stood there for a few more moment, lost in his thoughts. Laughter drifted from beyond the door. He reached slowly for the handle to slide open the door. As he rested his hand on the handle, another pale hand covered his own. Jounouchi jumped back in surprise and connected with a very solid body.

He let out a yelp and the hands steadied him. Jounouchi froze. As sad as it sounded, he knew those hands. He had spent too long sparring with them. Those hands fell away from his arms and Jounouchi felt a sudden loss.

"Move, inu. I don't have all day."

Jounouchi twirled around and prepared for the first fight of yet another day. His heart nearly stopped at the sight before him. Kaiba's hair was tousled and wet from what must have been a recent shower. The top few buttons of his uniform were unbuttoned to reveal a pale slim throat. Jounouchi became all too conscious of who was standing before him. He licked his lips. Kaiba must have noticed he was staring because he reached up and buttoned his collar.

Jounouchi slapped on an apathetic expression. "You look like something the cat just dragged in."

Kaiba glared at him and ran a hand through his hair. Jounouchi watched in fascination as rivulets of water down the side of his face before vanished into his collar. "You're one to talk."

When Jounouchi gave Kaiba a blank look of not understanding, Kaiba reached across the distance. Jounouchi almost broke into a sweat when Kaiba brushed the pad of his digits over the area under his eyes. "You have bags the size of a yen coin."

Jounouchi smacked Kaiba's hand way for the sake of normalcy. "I haven't been sleeping well lately, okay?"

"The inu can't sleep without his master?" He sneered.

Kaiba had given him a wide opening. His mind screamed at him to take it and run with it. Jounouchi closed the distance between them and laid a hand on Kaiba's shoulder. Before Kaiba could stop him, he threaded his fingers through those wet locks, with heavy lidden eyes filled with desire, Jounouchi flanked up at the taller boy. "Are you offering, Kaiba? I might just take you up on it."

The little color in Kaiba's face drained away. His mouth flapped open and close without a sound. No matter how serious Jounouchi was about what he said, he found Kaiba's shock was priceless and hilarious. He tried desperately to smother his laughter but peals of it still eluded his restraint. An angry red flush swept across Kaiba's pallid features.

A yelp barely left his lips when Kaiba yanked Jounouchi's hand off his shoulder and twisted it back. "I will kill you the next time you try to pull a play like that."

Jounouchi stared up at Kaiba, studying the fine features closely. The red flush from before had vanished without a trace. The expression was closed off to him again. Even now when he was angry, Kaiba's face was blank. He felt the stone wall for cracks but found none. He would have to bring it down with a sledge hammer.

Kaiba applied more pressure. "Do you understand?"

Jounouchi nodded. His wrist was beginning to hurt like hell. Blank stare meant Kaiba had something to hide. Kaiba released his hand and pushed past Jounouchi. Jounouchi managed to brush his hand against Kaiba's. The other boy stopped for a second before sliding open the door and slamming it behind him.

Jounouchi smiled as he into the classroom. He had a goal now. He would seduce Kaiba Seto before these last two months were up. Perhaps Kaiba had also felt that same electric thrill.

Seducing Kaiba Seto was a task easier said than done- much easier said than done. Jounouchi would have sworn the young man had ice water flowing through his veins had it not been for the intense stares he sometimes caught Kaiba in the midst of. Over the last week or so, Jounouchi had been dropping subtle and not-so-subtle hints.

His friends had instantly noticed the change in his behavior toward Kaiba. Yugi had simply told him to be careful and Honda avoided the subject as whole. Anzu had taken too much interest in his "love life." Bakura offered an ear for listening and Otogi simply kept smirking at him.

As the year moved to warmer weather, gym classes moved outdoors for swimming, track, and soccer. While most guys were ogling girls in their bloomers [2], Jounouchi was thanking whatever deity there was that the school had forced Kaiba to take gym this last year. Kaiba had always found an excuse to skip gym but the school required him to take it this year if he wanted to graduate.

It was a lovely Friday afternoon, bright, sunny, birds singing, the whole load. Their class had retreated into the locker room to change for the first swim gym of the season. By yet another stroke of luck courtesy of the close proximity of their last names, Jounouchi's locker was only a few feet away from Kaiba's. Locker rooms were always noisy but this was particularly true for males. Groups of boys wandered into locker room in groups, laughing and talking. Jounouchi was already waiting at his locker for his prey.

Jounouchi turned the dial of his lock carefully… 1…19…31… He fidgeted. Where was Kaiba? Most of his classmate had already gone out to the pool. He slipped out of his sneakers and placed them in the locker. If Kaiba wasn't going to come, then Jounouchi wasn't going to wait for him. He stuffed his uniform jacket into the locker. He pulled the t-shirt he was wearing underneath. With Honda and Otogi together in a swimming class, there was bound to be a water fight or someone pulled into the pool. No point in getting the shirt he would have to wear all day wet. He pulled on another t-shirt from his locker and then began to work on his pants.

His spare change jingled in his pockets when he shoved his pants in his locker. The locker room was empty now except for him. He was the last one. He sighed. Jounouchi had wanted to see Kaiba in nothing but swim trunks. He found himself obsessed with the CEO in various states of undress since seeing that pale neck. He fished into the locker for his navy blue trunks. He froze at the sound of approaching footsteps. They stopped just a few feet away from him.

"What are you doing here?"

Jounouchi smothered the grin that threatened to break across the surface of his face. "Just changing." He replied in a nonchalant manner. He peeked at Kaiba out the corner of his eyes. Kaiba was dressed in his impeccable uniform as usual. Kaiba was also staring at his black silk boxers.

"Find something interesting?"

Kaiba's gaze flew up to meet Jounouchi's gaze, though it seemed to Jounouchi that Kaiba had to fight to keep from letting his gaze drift downwards. Jounouchi was staring into a blank wall again.

Jounouchi continued. "You should change too, Kaiba. Hakasei-sensei's going to be mad." He reached down and began to pull his boxers down ever so slowly.

Kaiba turned away from Jounouchi abruptly and marched away. Jounouchi waited, only to hear the door to the locker room slam. Kaiba never showed up for gym that day and Jounouchi never got to see Kaiba in swim trunks. Kaiba came in with a medical excuse the next day. Looks like Kaiba wouldn't have to take gym this last year too...

Jounouchi sighed. Kaiba had been avoiding him all week. At least this proved he had rattled the brunette's cage somewhat… His steady progress had come to a sudden halt. He had no idea what to do or where to go from here.

Honda leaned against Jounouchi's desk while chewing on an apple. "Shouldn't you be mooning after Kaiba right now?" Honda had finally found away to deal with Jounouchi's pursuit, by teasing him.

"I don't moon, Honda. Besides, I can't find him anyways."

"You definitely got his attention. Why don't you back off a bit? Give him a cooling period."

Honda threw his hands in the air. "You're the one hanging all over him and you don't even notice when he's staring a hole through your head in class."

Jounouchi gave Honda a semi-blank look and sighed. He rested his head on his folded arms. "I don't know."

"Look at this way, back off a bit to give the guy some time to think. I know he's not as anal retentive as he used to be but that still doesn't mean he's not like a cold fish. Hell, I'd be pretty shocked if you started hitting on me."

Jounouchi looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Anal retentive? Pretty big vocabulary for you, Honda."

"Shizuka-chan, okay?" Honda threw a glare at his best friend.

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "I don't even think you're using it in the right way."

Jounouchi watched as Honda shoved aside his annoyance for old time's sake. Honda bent over and slung an arm around Jounouchi's shoulder. "So what do you say about Otogi's party this Friday?"

Jounouchi made a face. Otogi was throwing a huge party in honor of Miho's birthday. Of course, it was a free admission party, meaning half of the school would be there. Miho hadn't minded. She thrived in that type of social setting. "I don't know."

Honda nudged him. "Come on, it'll be fun. We're almost done with school, we should be able to have some fun. Yugi, Anzu, and Shizuka-chan are already going. It wouldn't be the same without you,"

"Even better," Jounouchi snorted. "I get to be a third wheel to you guys. No thanks."

"Ah, come on. I'm sure you can find a date if you wanted to. You might even be able to meet someone at the party." It was then that Jounouchi finally noticed Honda had been gesturing toward Kaiba with very subtle turns of his head.

Jounouchi wondered when Kaiba had entered the room. Probably not long before Honda had started talking about Otogi's party. Honda was really a good friend. Glancing at Kaiba out of the corner of his eyes, Jounouchi would have thought the other boy was unfazed by their conversation. If only the book Kaiba had so hastily pulled out of his bag and pretended to be so engrossed in wasn't upside down.

Jounouchi turned back to his friend. Honda's eyes gleamed with mischief and an expression that said "you-owe-me-big-time." A board grin crept across Jounouchi's lips. "Sure, sounds like fun."

Honda straightened up and slapped Jounouchi's back. "It's a date then."

Kaiba actually appeared to have winced at Honda's choice of word.

*To Be Continued in the Next Part*

[1] I have this theory about Yami and Yugi being really the same exact soul. The reason there are two of these same souls is because of a time paradox and displacement from the time-space continuum. I won't elaborate on it here since it's not essential to this story.

[2] Some of the gym uniform for Japanese school girls are extremely revealing as high schoolers. The best example would be Kagome's gym uniform from the Inuyasha manga.

The books mentioned, Born on a Rotten Day and Love on a Rotten Day, are written by Hazel Dixon-Cooper. All quotes from inbetween the scenes were taken from either book.

This fic is dedicated to Bunny! Not only did she buy the books that inspired this fic, she also beta'ed for me!

As you notice, I like to try out different family situations for characters in different fic. Here, I actually had Jounouchi's parents get back together. Reasoning? Wanted to put Jounouchi in an environment where he was surrounded by people so in love with each other. Plus, I don't really think this has ever been done before.

I will have the second half up by tomorrow. I wanted to post at least the first half today. So sorry if I can't finish it today.

All reviews are appreciated. *chocolate given as prop* Thank you ahead of time.