Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Curse ❯ Yomiko Segawa ( Chapter 2 )

Title: The Curse

Chapter: 2/?

Author: Madyamisam

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: S/J

Beta:

Disclaimer: Do I ~look~ like a manga artist who owns the rights to a bishi infested Japanese comic/cartoon? Well? I do? O__O Well I'm not! I don't own anything.

Summary: Jounouchi Katsuya comes to work, under a new name, as a caretaker for rich billionaire Seto Kaiba only to find out a sinister plot around the house of his new employer.

---

“Hmm, this has never happened before,” Menashi commented casually, examining the shattered lock as Jou swept up the splinters with the dustpan and brush.

“Did you hear anything strange last night?” He asked gathering larger bits of wood, as the thoughts of his horrifying nightmare were still fresh in his mind.

“No, but I think I can explain the broken lock. Because of the size of this mansion, new employees tend to feel quite intimidated on their first day and a few of our regular staff take it upon themselves to exploit that by playing practical jokes. Of course one particular individual tends to take it a little too far sometimes and this just happens to be one of them.” Menashi scowled pocketing the broken lock with a frustrated sigh. He graced the blond with a small smile. “Don't worry, I'll have a firm word with that prankster. I swear if he weren't such a diligent worker, I'd have asked Kaiba-sama to fire him on the spot. That was the reason why I suggested you to lock your door at night, at least for the first week or so. The door will be fixed by tonight. In the meantime you should get on with your work then get ready for school”

“So… you really didn't hear anything last night?”

“Not a thing. Why?”

“Nothing, just my imagination I guess,” Jounouchi said as he finished picking up the last few pieces of wood off the floor,”

“Careful now, you'll get a splinter that way,” the butler scowled at Jounouchi. It seemed that Menashi had started warming up to him in spite of his strictness the night before. As the older man strolled away, Jou stared at his callous and ruined fingers and noticed a single piece of timber that had been embedded into a scarred forefinger. Without even a flinch he plucked it out of the hardened skin before sweeping the last of the wood from the floor.

---

“Hi you're the newbie, Joey from America aren't you? Name's Matsuki Kenta,” jibed the young chef when Jounouchi jogged into the kitchen to finish off his chores before he would have to leave for school. Kenta reminded Jou a lot like of a young stocky brunet called Honda that used to hang around him all the time when he was still in middle school. Honda was an honest kid with a good background, loving parents and an elder sister however; the brunet had obviously chosen the wrong person to look up to as a friend and role model. Jou had tried hard to shake the brunet from following him around like a sheep and although Jou regretted having pushed the boy away, the last thing he wanted was for Honda to tarnish that perfect life by doing something he'd regret if he hung around Jou for too long. “You look a little bit pale there, I told Shota not to play anymore of his pranks, he really goes too far sometimes.”

“I was sort of warned by Menashi about it yesterday,” Jou answered downing a glass of water and checking his bag.

“Yeah but still, the guy went too far this time, I'll give him a good thrashing for ya. Why don't I rustle up some tamagoyaki (1) and rice for breakfast ne?”

“No thanks, just bring out Kaiba's breakfast so I can lay it out. I need to go to school,”

“School? That's a bit early,”

“Not really, it'll take thirty to forty minutes for me to walk there,”

“Oh come on, I'm sure Kaiba-sama will give you ride as well,” the blond's eyebrows were furrowed with confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Didn't you know you're attending the same high school he is?” Kenta chortled at the confused look on the blond's face. “Don't worry, I'm sure Kaiba-sama will give you a ride to school with him if you asked nicely. Now why don't you sit down and have some breakfast.”

“I'm fine, is Kaiba's meal ready yet? ” Jou said irritably.

“Nearly done, just the miso soup left.” Kenta assured as he turned back to work. The two were silent for a moment as the man waited for the soup to cook. “Although, having said that, between you and me what's your first impression about our boss?” the chef asked as he prepared the meal and whispered to the teen.

“Annoying,” Jou replied leaning against the wall impatiently waiting for Kenta to finish cooking. The chef chuckled.

“Well, let's hope that's all he is,” he mused stirring the soup “I heard some strange rumour about him and how he managed to be the boss of this huge company at such a young age. Apparently, the former master of this household Kaiba Gozaboro was really interested in a lot of weird shit.”

“What kind of weird shit?” Jou scoffed as he waited impatiently for the food.

“You know, weird. Black magic, voodoo whatever you call it,” the chef gesticulated, some of the soup the ladle he was using spilled as he explained.

“So?”

“So… one day Seto, our current master managed to somehow take over by acquiring 51% of the shares for his father's company making him the new CEO. Right afterwards, old man Kaiba kicked the bucket. Suffered a major heart attack from the shock.” Kenta suddenly looked grave as he watched the soup simmer slightly. “But they say just before he died, he had put a curse on his traitorous son and something weird happens to Kaiba-sama every single night,” Jou pushed himself off the wall as he listened intently, feeling his breath hitch as the chef continued his story.

“What happens?” he asked. Kenta stared grimly at the young teen before cracking a grin on his face.

“He turns into a werewolf and mauls someone to death,” he chortled as Jou rolled his eyes leaning back against the wall. “Just kidding with ya Wheeler-san.” Kenta smiled heartily as he laid out two bowls of rice, miso soup and two plates of grilled fish onto a silver tray. Jou wondered why there was a meal for two people but easily balanced the huge tray in one hand and headed towards the dining table. He was met with surprise when a young boy of twelve smiled up at him brightly from his red velvet chair. Kaiba was sitting a little further along the huge table completely ignoring the blond coming into the room. The newspaper in his hand rustled as he turned the page and he pushed the small pair of reading glasses higher up the bridge of his nose. He paused briefly for the cup of black coffee by his side and sipped on it before setting it down again. Jou approached slowly as he set the meal down before the two of them.

“You're the new caretaker aren't you?” the child asked putting his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands.

“Take your elbows off the table, Mokuba,” Seto chastised rustling the newspaper in his hands again. Mokuba pouted as he sat back in his chair.

“Yeah, I am,” Jou replied timidly, as he laid Kaiba's food down whilst the younger boy tucked into his breakfast.

“No need to get nervous Jounouchi-kun. The Yakuza aren't going to come near you while you're under Nii-sama's protection. You're safe here even though Nii-sama was being mean to you yesterday,” The brunet merely rolled his eyes to the comment as the only indication that he was actually listening to the conversation.

“Nii-sa-… so… you're brothers?” Mokuba nodded enthusiastically as his chopstick cut into the fillet of fish on his plate. “Nii-sama's the youngest CEO of the world's most technologically advanced gaming company, so he makes a lot of enemies and the Yakuza are one of them.”

“I see,” Jounouchi said. Silence followed as Jounouchi stood by as two brothers ate.

“Haven't you got something else to do?” Kaiba spoke up for the first time. The reading glasses he had on rested on the folded up newspaper.

“Um… I was wondering, I heard we were going to same school right?”

“Unfortunately,” Seto retorted.

“I was wondering if it was ok if I can hitch a ride for today, I don't know the area outside the mansion very well after all,”

“Sure you-“ Mokuba chirped but was cut off by his elder brother.

“Since when have you ever seen a servant ride in the same mode of transport with his master?” the brunet scoffed an arrogant smirk appearing on his face. “I recall I was only required to offer a safe house for you to hide from the Yakuza. I don't remember being asked to baby-sit you,” The blond remained silent feeling conscious of the disgust and revulsion from the other teen. Although humiliated and angry, the blond resigned to the fact of his situation. `It's not unexpected after all I am… dirty…' he thought miserably.

“In that case, unless there's anything else you need I take my leave now. I'll be late for school otherwise,” the blond hurried away, unaware of the surprised look on the brunet's face or his younger brother scowling at him. Jounouchi quickly got directions from Menashi before he headed on his way. The walk however did some good as he breathed the crisp clean air of the quiet neighbourhood. He had been halfway there when he noticed a limo drive past towards the direction to the school. Luckily, he had made it just as the school bell rang.

---

“Class we have a new transfer student, he's name is Joey Wheeler and his from America but he's spent a lot of time in Japan so his Japanese is excellent. Please make him feel welcome,” Makitori Hanso said warmly as he welcomed the young blond into his class.

“Yo,” was all Jounouchi said waving his hand casually adding a slight bow in his greeting. The blond teen wondered why Detective Segawa insisted on giving him a foreign identity. Although he was half and half, his mother being an American and his father Japanese, Jounouchi had never set foot on American soil before. He was met with many friendly smiles and a number of the female members of the class giggling.

“He's so cute,” he heard one of them whisper. He caught sight of a number of strange looking people including two pairs of twins. The first two seemed normal enough with the exception of the long white hair and that one of them had a strange glint in his eye that looked as if he was about to come and bite him at any moment. The other pair however, looked even more outrageous, both their hairstyles were spiked up in red, yellow and black. Katsuya wondered why such a hairstyle was even allowed. The elder of the twins appeared to look older than he actually was whilst his brother appeared to be more like a Mokuba's age with huge eyes that encompassed two thirds of his face. There had been one person in the entire class, thankfully to whom he was familiar with, even though the blond was not particularly fond of said person. Kaiba sat right at the back of the room, arms folded and not a single hair out of place. The brunet glared at him as Makitori-sensei directed him to his seat. Jou tried to ignore the other's icy stare, staring ahead as Makitori-sensei explained the logistics of trigonometric identities. Willing himself to relax he tried to concentrate on the lesson in spite of his urge to start doodling all over his new notepad. He jumped in his seat when he felt someone prod him in the waist.

“Hi my names Yugi,” the younger of the tri colour headed twins whispered, a friendly smile on his face as he held out his hand in a handshake. “Nice to meet you,” Jou took the offered hand and received an enthusiastic shrug. “Want to hang out with me and my friends during lunch?” the other asked.

“Uh…”

“Motou-san, Wheeler-san please pay attention,” the teacher scowled. The small boy winced as he stared at the board again and Jounouchi was left to contemplate whether he should take up on Yugi's offer or not. It was not long before Yugi was distracted again, this time by the vibrating cell phone in his pocket. Hiding it from view, he clicked to check the text message he had just received. Smiling, his thumb flew over the keys on his mobile as he relayed his own message back to the sender. Katsuya could just hear the vibrating sound of another phone going off and he turned to find Kaiba answering it. The blond's heart fell as he realised whom one of Yugi's `friends' were. No doubt, the brunet was going to try to warn his friend to stay away from him but on the other hand it just made things a little easier for Jou to reject the younger boy should he ask about lunch again.

The lessons dragged on but Jounouchi tried his best to absorb as much as he could. He was already a couple of months behind everyone else in the school and it took his mind off his current situation for the time being. Eventually, it was lunchtime and Jounouchi decided to head for the library since he had neither an obento (2) nor any money to buy something to eat. Not that he felt particularly hungry lately. He hesitated when he saw that tri colour headed midget hanging around with his brother, the other pair of twins and Kaiba. Jounouchi tried to keep his distance away and hoped that he wouldn't be seen however, Yugi quickly spotted him as he tried to sneak out of the door.

“Wheeler-kun!” Yugi chirped jogging towards him. “Come on, come have lunch with us. I'd like to introduce you to my friends Yami, Ryou, Bakura and Seto,” the smaller boy tugged the blond towards the group. Kaiba was leaning against one of the lockers, his arms still folded looking a little annoyed. Yugi's twin who was next to him however had a small smile graced on his lips whilst exchanging defiant glares with the brunet.

“Um…”

“Hey you, what's America like?” the strange psychotic albino twin asked. Jou remained silent as the Yugi pulled him into the group before drawing himself close to his twin. “What's the matter? You a mute or something?”

“Kura',” his twin berated. “Ignore him Wheeler-san, Bakura tends to be quite rough around new people but he's wonderful once you get to know him, my names Ryou by the way,” Yugi pulled his twin away from the lockers and hugged the other's waist.

“This is my boyfriend Yami and that guy brooding over there by the lockers is Seto,”

“Nice to meet you,” the teen called Yami said shaking the blond's hand. Jounouchi shook hands with the guy awkwardly.

“I could have sworn that you two were brothers,” he commented.

“You're not the first to think that, it's the same with Ryou and Bakura, everyone thinks they're twins, although they're nothing like, so don't worry, “

“Well we better hurry, else there's gonna be a long line at the cafeteria.” Yugi chirped as he literally bounced down the hallway followed quickly by his boyfriend. Ryou and Bakura followed which only left the blond and Kaiba trailing behind.

“Why did you leave so soon this morning? I wasn't finished talking to you,” Kaiba said as they walked together towards the cafeteria.

“I was going to be late on my first day in school,” Jou scowled, his temper flared in defiance. He reigned in on his anger looking away from the taller teen. “Look, if you have a problem with me hanging around with your friends, I'll go ok?” Seto glared at the younger teen and was about to throw another insult towards him when Yugi interrupted him.

“Oh how rude, I forgot to ask you what kind of food you like.” The small hyperactive teen grinned and everyone turned their attention on the blond again.

“I…”

“Wheeler-san!” Makitori called jogging towards him. “There's someone that would like to meet you, would you care to come with me to the principal's office?” For the first time in his life, Katsuya was grateful to be called into the principal's office and he eagerly jumped at the chance to get away from Kaiba for a few hours.

“Sure,” he said as he followed the teacher. Yugi groaned and pouted as he watched the blond leave.

“Maybe next time?” Jounouchi said allowing a small smile to grace his lips. The disappointed teen grinned again in response.

“Ok, that's a promise though ne?” he asked. Jou merely nodded as he followed Makitori down the corridor trying to hide his eagerness to get away from the group. It left him wondering who wanted to meet him all of a sudden and on his first day in school. When he entered, the office, he sighed as he recognised a familiar and friendlier face.

“Hi!” Detective Yomiko Segawa hollered, flicking her curly black hair, which was normally tied up in a ponytail. She uncrossed her legs and pushed she herself off the sofa, an affectionate grin graced her lips as she ruffled the blond teen's golden hair. “How about I treat you out to lunch?”

---

“Eat up, your going a bit too far trying to pull off the walking dead look there,” Yomiko ordered as the waitress placed a large plate of steak and chips in front of the blond. “How's school?”

“It's my first day, can't really say yet,” Jounouchi replied nibbling on a chip. “What's been happening over in Tokyo?”

“Well, we were trailing a potential witness to testify against a drug dealer we caught but unfortunately we lost him. He got gunned down trying to make a run for it to New York with stolen drug money he made off of the Yakuza. They don't take kindly to swindlers.” Yomiko explained as she started cutting the chicken breast.

“What's the man's name?” The detective paused in mid-chew of her meal. She swallowed awkwardly and took a sip of her glass of water.

“Jounouchi Daisuke,” she replied solemnly. Katsuya settled his knife and fork on the plate as he contemplated his father's death.

“I guess you came to ask for me to testify instead since my dad's out of the picture?”

”No,” Yomiko replied flicking her curls behind her back. “We already have enough evidence to convict those bastards, it's just the problem of finding them `is all. I just came to tell you about him because I figured you'd want me to and also to check how you were doing,” The blond made no response.

“I'm fine,”

“The hell you are,” the woman hissed. “Do you think I'm blind and stupid or something. Do you think I don't know that you've been wandering around like a zombie the past two weeks?” Katsuya leaned back against chair unconsciously grabbing his shoulder as he looked away from the woman. “Why aren't you cooperating with the therapists like I told you to?”

“I don't need nor want to talk to a shrink ok?”

“Why not? I told you this guy's good and if any body could help you he could-“

“I don't even remember what happened!” Katsuya snarled forcing the woman. He hesitated casting a nervous glance at the other customers before he continued. “So forgive me for being a little sceptical for thinking that just sitting down and having a chat with Mr Freud is not going to get me anywhere but a trip to the psych ward.”

“That's not going to happen. They can find ways to try to help process the incident for better coping strategies.“

“But I don't want to remember.” Jou rasped. When he realised he was getting hysterical, he took a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves. “I just…” The blond teen couldn't finish as he sat back pushing his barely touched meal aside hoping not to throw up the little morsels that he managed to eat.

“I know it's hard sweetie but they say it's better to remember in order to cope better with life. It'll be rough but the therapist will take it slow and steady with you. I promise you that this is for the best,” After a few moments, Jounouchi nodded reluctantly. Yomiko smiled sadly. The detective pushed the plate of food back towards the blond teen who hesitantly took the unused fork on his side of the table and started eating again. “I worry about you. I've been doing that since the day you were born and especially after your mom lost custody of you. She's my best friend and I promised her ever since this crap with Daisuke started to look out for you” She chuckled bitterly. “I know, I did a shit job of that but I'll be damned to Hell a million times over if I let that happen again. I don't want to see you coming into that police station fucked up from head to toe and dragging a dead body behind you and I'm sure as hell not gonna deliver my friend's son in a body bag either”

“What's gonna happen once I'm out of protective custody? Will she… take me in?” Katsuya asked, a small slither of hope evident in his voice.

“She's already working on the paper work to get you your citizenship in the States. Once we're sure that the Yakuza aren't after you anymore, you'll be living with her and your sister in America” Yomiko replied, feeling elated when she saw a small smile appear on the blond's face. “In the meantime though, work hard in your studies, and don't go out of the Kaiba mansion.” Yomiko worried her lips as another thought concerned her. “Speaking about Kaiba,”

“You never told me he was a kid.”

“Oh yeah,” Yomiko commented. “I'm used to talking to his right hand man, Hanajima Shota. Kaiba himself, has never actually spoken a word with me. What do you make of him?”

“He's an arrogant bastard… and kinda creepy.” Jounouchi said as he prodded the cold steak on his plate. He looked up from his meal noticing that the detective looked apprehensive from his statement. ”You?”

“He's a smart guy, I suppose. Seems like your average disassociating teenager. Bratty, egotistical, spoilt and yet… at the same time he seems odd to me. Objectively speaking, he is the best option when it comes to Yakuza. He's one of the few people that they tend to steer clear from.”

“Why is that?” Yomiko sighed as another migraine started

“Well… it was another incident a couple of years ago involving Kaiba when he first took over the company after his father died from a heart attack. He doesn't get angry very easily but everyone quickly found out two things that really pissed him off.” Yomiko explained as she went through each point. “The first is his company, no surprises there, he'd been wrestling control for it with his father for years. The second, is his brother, he loves the kid to death. Mess around with either of those two things and you are inviting yourself to the Devil's tea party.” The detective took a sip of coffee before she continued. “Naturally, the Yakuza being Yakuza decided to fuck with them both,” Jounouchi leaned back against his chair, the steak on his plate completely abandoned. “When we finally got a lead on the group that had kidnapped Mokuba and corner them. Guess what we found?”

“Corpses?” Yomiko's face became grim. Her lips were taut as if she tried not to throw up.

“Corpses stuffed to bursting point with bugs.” The blond throws instinctively grabbing his wrist where the maggot had burrowed itself under his skin.

“Bugs?” he rasped as flashes of a dark and small space came to mind followed by the sound of tiny writhing bodies squirming near his ears, nose and mouth. Yomiko's words never reached his ears as he became lost in his own little world. `Don't worry, these little things are here to keep you company,' the words of his tormentor, Hiwatari Usaki echoed as the lid to the coffin shut off the light and horrific images of the psychotic shadowy being in his dream alternated between the cruel glint of the notorious drug lord.

“-ders, maggots, snakes. Anything you can think of that's creepy or crawly it's in there. It looked like something out of Silence of the Lambs.” Yomiko looked up when the boy didn't seem to be listening. “Katsuya?” the blond snapped from his dazed state. “Are you alright?”

“Um… yeah…” he said looking at his watch. “I think I should be going back to school. Lunchtime is nearly over, I'm gonna miss my class if we don't go now.”

“Kat-chan. I can believe that Kaiba will be reliable in keeping you away from the Yakuza but… I want you to try and not get too involved with him, understand?”

“I won't,” Katsuya answered earnestly. He had made a point to himself that he would steer clear of the brunet as much as he was able to anyway. Yomiko smiled and asked for the check.

----

They never spoke much on the way back to Domino High. The detective sighed as the teen got out of the car. “Thanks for lunch,” Yomiko reached over and place a kiss on the boy's forehead.

“Take care of yourself sweetie,” she whispered. “I won't let anything like that happen to you again,” Jou nodded as she drove off. He jogged back into the school building and noticed the students starting to get ready to finish up their lunch. Aware that he still had a few minutes left before his next class started, he made a detour towards the library, if anything to at least avoid Kaiba. Browsing the library, his fingers glided across the many titles as he searched for something to occupy him for a few minutes. Jou never really liked to read much but lately, being able to escape into a fictional fantasy seemed to appeal to him a lot these days. He sat in a corner and began to leaf through the book. So engrossed in the fictional world of a young dragon tamer travelling across a vast desert, he never noticed the blue-eyed teen standing nearby.

(1) Rolled omelette, usually served with soy sauce

(2) A Japanese boxed lunch, can be home-made, bought in a shop or ordered in a restaurant