Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ This Is Now and That Was Before ❯ A Couple of Words had Changed Our Sound ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Warnings: a bit of cursing, slight angst, the let's-humiliate-Jou chapter!, slight bit of humor

Full Story Summary: Cursed to wander the four corners of the earth, trapped eternally in an endless circle of incarnations in which he remembers all that is past. It all sprang from one forbidden taste of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and now Jounouchi Katsuya must find redemption and grace in the unlikeliest of places -- a single, tainted human.

Many Thanks Go Out To: Blue Lagoon Loon (And that something is correct, yo! ^.^), Lady Geuna (Jou gladly accepts your luck. He'll need it, after the hell I'm gonna put him through.), Youko Duet (*bows* Thank you! I love that song, too), Demonic Angel, Hyatt Insomnia, and The 7th Toraphim (Er... O.o God? No, I don't think so. ^.^;), for all the pretty reviews! *huggles them all*

And, since I stupidly forgot to mention it in the last two chapters, none of the songs I have used/will use belong to me, as someone else created them. ;_;

Oh, and gomen for the short nature of this particular chapter; it's just how it wrote itself. Expect the next chapter to be about this same length, then hopefully chapter four will be about twice as long.

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The first traces of false dawn were just peeking in on Seto through the open window as the brown-haired teen was replacing the cloth on his unwelcome guest's forehead. All throughout the night before, the blond had tossed and turned fitfully, never once wakening, yet drifting dangerously close to doing so several times before being dragged back down into the deep and treacherous waters of his unconsciousness.

It had been a chilly night, and, compounded with the blond's raging fever, the cold had worked to keep the strange youth shivering the whole night, until Seto had had to literally bury his so-called 'guest' underneath all the blankets he could locate in the house. Which, unfortunately, wasn't much. In fact, the blue-eyes youth had even given up his own blanket, frantic that Mokuba would blame him if the boy died in the night, and now Seto sat, body chill, in the cool morning air.

The sheets were totally soiled, he noted with a sneer of disgust at the blond's lax form. The boy had had enough dirt on him to refill the desert, and all of it had rubbed off onto the stark white cloth; which Seto had just cleaned yesterday, and which, now, he'd need to clean again today. He glared, but set another wet cloth on the boy's forehead when he noticed the last was dry-- only for the material to be thrown off when the blond rolled over in his sleep.

Seto growled under his breath and stood up to retrieve the cloth and place it forcefully back where it was supposed to stay, on the boy's forehead, fighting off what was left of the fever after it had broken late last night-- when he heard a low moan, and found himself looking into the most startling pair of amber-flecked eyes....

Although the twisted remnants of his dreams-- no, more accurate to call them nightmares; nightmares of the unforgiving past-- his nightmares clawed at him, trying to pull him down into the waiting darkness once again, a clean slate for them to feed upon, he could feel himself floating upwards, a lightness that was somehow new and rewarding.

Jou felt himself drift away, away from watching himself and the child-turned-demon, away from that tempting scene and those haunting words. Away from the wounds that had never healed in the first place....

As he fell; floated; fell upwards, he found himself becoming more and more aware of slight pains all down his limbs, then of those points gradually growing bigger, intensifying. A dull throbbing exploded in his temple, and something unbearably cold was placed against his brow, and all the while he was so hot...

He groaned feebly, feeling bile rise up in throat as the sluggishness in his limbs finally registered in his brain, and so did the heaviness that was causing the feeling.

So. Someone had saved him from the harsh desert sands, after all. He supposed he should be grateful to whomever was so kindhearted enough to do such a thing, but all he could feel at the moment was despair and listlessness.

Jou was surprised when he felt the dipping of the bed next to him, as if someone was leaning in for a close look at him, as if he were some kind of freak to gawk at, and slowly slipped his tired eyes open, glaring daggers at whoever had the absolute audacity to--

Amber clashed violently with shocking blue, and for an instant Jou found another, younger pair of blue eyes, set in a childlike face, superimposed over these.

Caught off of his guard, the blond found himself instinctively pushing backwards towards the rather unyielding bed, away from this strange person who was way too close for comfort. He stifled the gasp that the sudden movement caused as his muscles and wounds cried out in protest, and instead settled for conveying all of his pain through a heated glare directed at the boy who was in his face.

The instant those blue eyes retreated, Jou scrambled backwards as far as he could go, feeling the coolness of the wall as his back came in contact with the smooth surface, pulling the sheets with him to pool around his waist. "Who--?" he gasped out, lightheaded. The blond grimaced at the taste and feel of gritty sand in his mouth, reaching up to wipe it on the back of his hand in disgust.

The boy perched on a small stool in front of him smirked, those cool eyes glittering at him in the morning light. "So the mutt is finally awake. I didn't know if you'd last the night."

Jou scowled at the impromptu nickname, feeling his face heat up. "Shut up!"

A lone chestnut eyebrow raised. "...So you've a temper as well. Typical mongrel."

The blond was silent, though his honey eyes told another story altogether. This is the guy who saved me? This asshole? What kinda drug was he on?

When, after a moment, the brown-haired youth had made no attempt to start up another conversation to fill the void of silence, Jou snorted in disgust and flopped himself back down in the bed, turning his face away from his host and towards the blank wall. I don't care what this guy did, cause I don't like him. He's unnerving with those eyes of his, and a downright jerk otherwise.

Pulling the sheets closer to himself for warmth, Jou distantly heard the boy stand behind him and leave the room without another word, feet almost silent on the stone floor, and the thin blond heaved a small sigh of relief when those footsteps echoed away, tension easing out of him in that breath. He was left with little time to himself, however, for less than a few moments later, his ears perked up at the pitter-patter of running feet coming closer to the room.

The footsteps stopped right behind him, pausing. Then...

"You're awake!"

Jou found himself involuntarily jumping, startled at the proximity of the rather childish voice speaking right in his ear. Someone else was here...? The blonde rolled his eyes and turned over to face this newest acquaintance. Nothin' fer it, I s'ppose.

A pair of inquisitive emerald eyes stared back at him less than an inch away, and this time Jou couldn't suppress a slight yelp. The child-- barely more than a boy, really-- didn't seem to notice his surprise, just smiled broadly at him from underneath an unruly mop of longish ebony hair.

"Hi! I'm Mokuba! Are you alright?"

Jou smiled. "Yeah, kid, 'm..." he coughed violently, a handful of sand falling out of his hair as the violent motion wracked his body, "...fine." The statement was punctuated by a sharp sneeze, and Mokuba's leaf-green eyes narrowed marginally, making him look remarkably like the older youth Jou had found so annoying, the blond thought wryly.

"Are you sure? You don't look so good."

"Yeah, fine, fine." He waved the kid off. "Nothin' ta worry 'bout, kid. But... ah... thanks fer... ya know...."

Mokuba's accommodating grin, if possible, grew wider. "Oh, it was no big deal, we couldn't just leave you out there. And it was mostly Seto's doing, anyway."

Seto? Jou wondered, one eyebrow twitching slightly, That bastard? He filed the information away for future reference-- not that he could have easily forgotten it, anyway, given the circumstances.

"So, are you hungry?" Mokuba asked, lips pursed in thought. "Or thirsty? I'm sure you are, after sleeping for so long and almost dying. What would you like? And... hey, what's your name, anyway?"

The blond couldn't resist the urge to yawn, but that only reintroduced his headache to his tired mind-- rather explosively, I might add. He winced. "Katsuya Jounouchi. Nice ta meetcha, painkillers would be nice."

"Here." The black-haired child reached over and picked up a small clay vial from the short table next to the bed, depositing the jar into Jou's outstretched hand. "This should help a little, 'till Seto can make some specifically for headaches."

He twisted the top off of the vial and gratefully poured the whole of its contents in to his waiting mouth-- only to retch, eyes watering. "What the hell is dis stuff?"

Mokuba blinked up at him, slightly puzzled by his reaction. "Herbal medicine, of course," he said simply.

Jou reached over and set the bottle carefully back down on the end table, forcing himself to swallow despite his watering eyes, his face scrunching up at the horrible flavor that assaulted his tongue. "...It tastes like donkey shit."

"Well, it works."

The blond swallowed fitfully again, trying to get the overbearing taste out of his mouth. It wasn't exactly successful. "If ya say so, kid."

"He does."

Jou blinked at the utterly cold and unfriendly voice, turning to see the older of the two boys staring at him with those cold, dark eyes from the doorway.

"I made it myself."

The blond sneered, ruffled that he'd been caught off guard by this annoying prick a second time, and wondering how long the blue-eyed youth had been standing there. "So dat's why it's so revoltin'." If he had been expecting to get a rise out of the boy, however, he was sorely disappointed, as Seto didn't even blink to show he'd heard the blond's jibe.

"Mokuba, could you make something to eat?"

"Sure thing, big brother!" the boy chirped, then turned to give Jou one of his querying glances. "Would you like some, too?"

The mere thought of food at that particular moment sent Jou's stomach in a rather violent upheaval, but he nodded minutely, not wanting to disappoint the boy. Mokuba smiled and rushed out of the room, and but a few moments later Jou could hear the faint clatter of pots and pans from what he assumed was the kitchen.

The distinct feeling of being stared at brought him back to his surroundings, as well as adding a chill that crawled up his spine. He turned to glare at Seto, who had moved to stand at the foot of the bed and was still smirking at him in amusement, and the blond found himself almost unconsciously tightening the sheets around his body. This guy gave him the creeps. "I don't enjoy bein' stared at like 'm an animal, ya know."

"...'Katsuya'?"

Jou scowled and twitched uncomfortably, not liking the uncontrollable flush that started across the bridge of his nose. "So? It's the name my mom gave me." The first one, anyway. "If ya don't like it so much, use 'Jou', prissy boy."

"Alright... mutt." Ignoring the blond's protesting growl, Seto calmly picked up one end of the sheet that was currently wrapped around Jou. "Get up."

"...What?"

"Get. Up," the brown-haired youth accented the second word with a sharp tug on the soiled sheets.

"Hey--!" With a jarring thunk, the amber-eyed youth found himself on the hard stone floor, minus the protecting sheets and plus another bruise or two on his rear end. "Why, you--"

Seto snickered triumphantly, eyes glittering with malicious mischievousness, and Jou blinked, surprised. What's so...?

It was only then that he became aware of something that, up until now, hadn't been of much importance to him at the time.

He was completely naked.

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Nozomi: *giggles uncontrollably*

Jou: *glare* You're impossible, ya know that?

Nozomi: Yep! ^.^

Threnody: You know this really didn't explain anything, right?

Nozomi: Yep to that, too. ^.^; Sorry, but this is kind of an intermediate chapter. We'll have more angst, more clashing of wills between Jou and Seto, more Mokuba-cheerfulness, then finally more angst/drama-stuff, again in the next chappie.

'Till then, read and review, minna-saaaan! Reviews are my inspiration, and they push me to write faster for you guys, yo!

BTW: Let me know if anyone seems too OOC, and I'll try and tone it down, since I want this to be realistic, not an 'oh-you're-cute-lets-have-sex-I-love-you' type of fic. Don't worry, though, there will be plenty of Seto/Jou-ness, as I can't deprive the bishounen for too long, now can I? ^.^ALso, please point out any spelling or grammatical errors.

*pokes readers* Would anyone like the other Yuugiou characters in this fic, besides in just flashbacks (minus Malik, since I already have a plan for him)? Let me know, and, if you do, exactly who you'd like. ^.^

And, last but not least, does anyone have any good Seto/Jou, Yami/Yugi, or Bakura/Ryou pics and/or doujinshi? Links to them? Or perhaps just the pictures? *puppydogeyes* I hardly have any, compared to my other fandom's pictures!

Comments of any kind appreciated! Click that 'Go' button! Even three words will do!