Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Pools of Glass ❯ Shattered Spirit ( Chapter 9 )

JG-chan: Chapter 9 done and finished! So…. Enjoy! ^_^

DugFinn: Aww thanks for the review, I totally appreciate it! UPDATE YOUR DAMN FIC!!! XD no pressure, of course *sweatdrop* ^_^;

Avvy: Thanks a bunch! *showers with beer and pocky*

Dark_Angel_2891: Yep, poor Jou. But don't worry, he'll get his satisfaction soon enough ^_^

Shattered Spirit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow, these are really good." Anzu stated, going over the portraits that Bell had drawn.

"And you had no idea?" Otogi asked.

"Not a clue," Jounouchi replied. "She never took art, so I didn't think she would have artistic talent. Guess I was wrong."

"You were wrong." A voice came from behind them. Everyone turned around to see Kaiba. "She always liked to draw. Portraits of people in particular."

"Nobody cares what you have to say, Kaiba." Honda retorted.

"It's alright Honda," Jou said. "Let's not fight about it."

Honda raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sure… sorry man."

"Uh…" Anzu said, feeling a little awkward. "I'm… gonna get to class. Might see you at recess, Jou?"

Jou nodded.

"Yeah, I'ma go with Anzu. Talk to you later, Jou." Honda said. Before Jou could reply, the two brunette teens had retreated to the corridors and were out of sight, leaving two silent teens standing alone in the hallway.

"Fuck this." Jou said.

"Fuck what?" Kaiba asked, confused somewhat.

"Everything." Jou sighed, and slid down one of the lockers onto the floor. "I can't cope… everything has been so fucked since the accident."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Get up, Jounouchi."

"What?"

"Get up. Stop wallowing in your own self-pity and put it behind you. These things happen, alright?"

Jou scowled at the boy towering above him and gingerly got to his feet. "I'm not wallowing, Kaiba. I'm grieving."

"You're not the only one." Kaiba mentioned quickly.

Jou just gave him his best death-glare which pathetically turned in to the `puppy-eyes' look before he broke into tears. "I gotta get outa here."

"Where are you going?" Kaiba called after the blonde youth stalking down the corridor, hunched over with his hands in his pockets.

"What do you care?" Jounouchi called back.

"…"

"Yeah, exactly." Stating his final words, Katsuya Kin* Jounouchi exited the main school block and headed for the gates, making his way off of the school grounds and back into the public.

Jou walked down the road, not quite knowing where he was going or why. The one chance that Kaiba had at being nice to him and Jou threw it right back in his face. Jou drowned in his anger and frustration, feeling helpless against this cruel world and the perturbing things that life threw at him.

Why did he hate Kaiba so much? What had he ever done to him? Throw stupid pathetic taunts and insults at him… ones that didn't mean shit. Of course Jounouchi, being the impulsive boy he is, had to lash out at him and overreact about the whole situation. Is there an answer? A solution to all this torment? Jounouchi wondered. You're kidding yourself Katsuya. Luck never has been on your side - chance maybe - but not luck.

After an hour of aimless wondering around the streets of Domino that he had become so familiar with over the years, Jou ended up back at his average-rated apartment. Inside his bedroom, Jou opened up his wardrobe only to find an old suitcase that had had no use over the past year, when Jou had moved in. He looked at it, brooding over his thoughts for a moment or two before coming to a final decision. I'm leaving.

* * * * * * * * * *

- 9 days later -

Jounouchi groaned to fight the haunting dreams that filled his sleep when he heard the shrill ringing of a phone. He sat up in bed and picked it up, baffled by the person on the other end.

[You have a call from a `Mr. Seto Kaiba', do you accept?]

"…uh, yeah I guess…"

The line then went through without another word. [Jounouchi?]

"Kaiba?"

[Where the fuck are you? You haven't been at school for over a week; everybody is worrying themselves senseless about you, bloody stupid fucking mongrel!]

Jou rubbed his eyes. "You must know where I am if you called here, Kaiba. What the fuck are you calling me for anyway? It's none of your God damned business!"

A sigh. [I'm not doing this for myself, mutt. I'm doing everyone else a favour. Why'd you run away?]

"Again, none of your fucking business!" The blonde shrieked. "Just… leave me alone, please. I need time to clear my head."

[Forget it. I'm coming to get you whether you like it or not.]

Jounouchi was flabbergasted for a second. "W-what?" But before Jounou could expect an answer, the line was cut off.

DAMN IT! NOW what am I going to do? Kaiba knows where I am, I don't even know what the fuck I'm doing here, and he's coming to GET me!!! Jounouchi panicked. I gotta get outa here before he gets here! Shit, shit, SHIT!

Jou flew out of bed and ran around collecting his shit from the motel room floor in over-drive mode. He had never been in such a hurry in his life. He had to keep moving. He knew he didn't have much money, but now that he was found out, he couldn't afford to make any more mistakes. He wasn't sure his flimsy escape plan was going to work, but he was a risk-taker, and this was a risk he was willing to take.

Having had his clothes and other essentials packed, Jou headed for the door of his cheap motel room, when, to his surprise, it flew open. One infuriated-looking Seto Kaiba stood in the doorway, clad in tight jeans, a loose, transparent long-sleeved white shirt with a white singlet on underneath that was clearly visible.

Jou froze. Fuck.

"Bet you weren't expecting me so soon, huh mutt?"

"…Kaiba…"

The young CEO walked in and closed the door behind him, advancing on the now-cowering blonde teen. With a surprisingly strong grip, Seto picked up the boy and threw him onto the bed. Jou looked up with large, frightened and angry honey eyes.

"We are not leaving this room until you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you." Kaiba threatened.

"Nothing is wrong, Kaiba! It's not even your problem! It's mine! Why the hell are you here, you queer bastard?!" Queer? Why the fuck did I just call him `queer'?

Kaiba raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I see someone woke up on the wrong side of the kennel this morning."

"Thanks to you." Jou muttered. "How did you get here so fast? No, no - how did you even know I was here in the first place?!"

"Kushimoto isn't a big place, Jounouchi. I figured you might come here - I remember you saying you liked it here."

"When was that?" Jou asked, puzzled.

"Don't you remember?"

* F * L * A * S * H * B * A * C * K *

Summer 2001…

"Come on Jou! Don't you wanna come swimming with us?" Honda yelled as he ran down to the beach with Anzu at his side.

"Yeah guys! I'll be there in a sec!" Jou yelled back, laughing as he had to run back to grab his towel. Doing so, he ran straight in to a brick wall, or rather, Kaiba, to be specific. "Ah, crap."

"Watch where you're going, puppy." The high-and-mighty CEO hissed before walking off to the beach with Mokuba at his side.

Jou, along with Honda, Shizuka, Anzu, Yuugi, Yami, Ryou and Bakura had been invited to spend a week with Mai at her summer holiday house in a small seaside village named Kushimoto, Kaiba and Mokuba included. The population was about 7,000… not a lot of residents.

Spending the afternoon in the warm mid-summer ocean water was pure heaven. Mokuba even persuaded the elder Kaiba sibling to join everyone in the water. Mai, however, stuck to sunbathing on the beach, naturally.

"Man, I would just love to live in this place! Or at least work here. It's such a change from the big city, hey guys?" Jounouchi had said.

"I agree." Anzu said while bobbing about on the surface, struggling to stay afloat.

"Yeah, we should come here every summer. Even if Mai doesn't invite us, it would be a great place to stay during the summer holidays." Honda said.

"Yeah," Ryou piped up. "I even saw a motel just down the road! I'm sure it wouldn't be too expensive…"

"Well that settles it then! Next Spring Break, we're here!" Jou cried enthusiastically before diving under the approaching waves.

"Yeah!" The others cried.

Kaiba remained silent in the background, watching, listening.

* * * *…End Flashback…* * * *

"You're too brainy for your own good, Kaiba." Jou retorted, admitting that Kaiba had been correct.

"It was a good guess I suppose." Kaiba replied, taking a seat next to Jou on the bed.

"I don't know why I ran away…" Jounouchi suddenly said.

Kaiba looked at him. "Sometimes the worst thing you could do sounds good at the time."

"What do you mean?" Jou asked, looking at the taller boy inquiringly.

"Well… you can't run away from your problems. In this case you did."

Jounouchi looked at his hands as he fumbled with his fingers. "I can't go back. Not now."

"Stop being so selfish!" Kaiba yelled.

"Like you're one to talk."

"Let me finish." Kaiba snapped. "All those brainless idiots that call themselves your friends are back in Domino worrying themselves sick. Your disappearance has even made me worry, and that's saying something."

"I'd say." Jou retorted. "You make me wonder, Kaiba."

"Why?" The blue-eyed brunet asked.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but, we've hated each other for as long as I can remember. Now all of a sudden you're coming after me when my life has turned to shit? What's wit dat?"

Kaiba sighed. "Let's not get into that. At least not right now."

Jou suddenly clicked. Or rather, clicked to what he thought was right. But it seemed that his curiosity got the better of him. "Kaiba, are you gay?"

Blue eyes widened. "WHAT?"

"Uh… nothing, sorry." Jou absently apologized.

"…I'm bi, not that it's any of your business."

Jounou suddenly felt a strange sensation in his gut. Oh hell no Katsuya, don't even THINK about it! Jou mentally gagged, both in frustration and disgust with himself as a dirty image of one very fine naked Kaiba slipped in and out of his mind like a passing train.

"Should we go? You've got a bit of explaining to do, mutt." Kaiba suggested with a small giggled.

Jou was still out of it, in his delectable trance that he didn't want to leave in a hurry. He lured his gaze over the CEO's face, stopping to examine the pink, fleshy, closed lips. The curves in those lips reminded Jou somewhat of Bell's lips…. He continued to look up into the cerulean lakes looking back at him. Jou giggled internally as he noticed the ridiculously long, girlie eyelashes that jutted out of Kaiba's eyelids; so thick and black and beautiful…. Come to think of it, Kaiba was beautiful all over. Pity he wasn't the same inside as he was out.

"Mutt?"

"Huh?" Jou snapped back to practicality.

"Got your shit? Or do you want me to leave you here? Wait - forget what I just said. Hurry up." Kaiba muttered as he stood up.

Jounouchi quickly followed suit and followed the taller boy out of the motel, checking out and paying as he went, and into the car park. Guessing within half a nanosecond that the black Lamborghini belonged to the wealthy young teen, Jou went to the passenger's side and hopped in.

* * * * * * * * * *

The ride back to the city was rather silent, besides the constant humming and revving of the rare sports car which they were travelling in. soon they came to the outskirts of Domino - the silhouette of the buildings against the night sky daunted upon Jou, only making him fear more of what was yet to come. To put it plainly, Jou wouldn't be the most popular person in Domino for what he did, and boy did he know it. He just hoped someone would be there to back him up, and he knew, more than likely, for some odd reason, that that person would be Seto Kaiba.

* * * * * * * * * *

*= Kin: A male Japanese name meaning "golden" thought it suited Jou well.

JG-chan: Okay do be warned this WILL turn into a Seto x Jou fic XD

Jou: You couldn't resist could you?

JG-chan: Nope ^_^

Jou: -_- why?

JG-chan: Come on… you KNOW you love each other ^_^

Jou: *grumbling* *muttering*

JG-chan: Heh heh… sucker XD

Kaiba: REVIEW OR I WILL PUT MY BLOODSUCKING TRENCHCOATS ON YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!

JG-chan: Uh… bloodsucking trench-coats, Kaiba?

Kaiba: *shrugs* I feel like being out of character today, is there a problem with that? *glares*

JG-chan: No but I got the feeling that you just jumped back INTO character…

Kaiba: >_>

JG-chan: Yep, I was right ^_^