Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Joey	By : AlectoPerdita Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2971 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh and characters are the intellectual property of Takahashi Kazuki, and is being used in this fanfiction for fan purposes only. No money is made from this fan effort.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Joey
By Alecto Perdita
Track 10 - White Noise
Rating: PG-13
Posted: July 23, 2010
Warning(s): Shonen-ai, cheesy melodrama, & Kaijou
Email: alecto . perdita (at) gmail . com
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is the intellectual property of Takahashi Kazuki, and is being used in this fanfiction for fan purposes only. All situations, opinions and characters not belonging to Takahashi Kazuki are the intellectual property of Alecto Perdita.
Tracking Jounouchi had not been my original intention- that was the job of Yugi and his little gang. I had bigger fish to fry after all. But as I sat in the sport car in the lot of the car dealer, my Fang of Critias card began resonating with one of its brothers. I had winced as a sharp pain pierced my chest and I realized it was Jounouchi's Hermos calling out.
As Mokuba and I got closer to the Paradisu building in the distance, both the resonance and the pain became more and more insistent. The brakes squealed as I brought my new car to a sudden stop.
"What is it, Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked.
A pillar of green light pierced the night sky like a great lance.
"Something's wrong." I gripped the gear stick and wrenched it into first gear. My little brother jerked in the passenger seat as I swerved the car around to follow the light.
"Nii-sama, slow down!" Mokuba was clinging to the handle over his passenger side window.
As the light before us intensified, so did my pain and Jounouchi's presence sitting in the back of my mind began to fade. I floored the accelerator in response. The car barreled down the narrow alleyway, knocking over garbage cans left and right.
"Jounouchi!" A woman's scream broke through the night.
They came into the empty lot just as the Seal of Orichalcos closed in the lone figure of Jounouchi. Even in the end, Jounouchi only had eyes for her.
"Oh my god, Jounouchi!" My little brother was already halfway up the chain link fence before I could even climb out of the car. "What are you doing to him, Mai?"
I growled. It was Kujaku, it was always Kujaku. My blood boiled as I watched her kneel down to hold Jounouchi's prone body- the sign of the seal's magic still fading from her forehead. It took me three paces before I overtook my brother and cleared the fence. Curse Jounouchi and his need to play hero; he always had to save someone. And it was always Kujaku that led him into situations like this.
She looked up to at me with both tears and determination in her eyes. "Kaiba."
"You did this to him." I snarled. I didn't usually resort to physical violence, especially against a woman, but I was sorely tempted to in this case.
She ran a gentle hand through Jounouchi's blond hair. He almost looked like he was sleeping. "Yes, but I'm going to make everything right. I'll avenge Jounouchi and Valon," She looked to the other unconscious man that was propped up against the fence. "With this."
"Give me that! You're not worthy of that card."
I moved forward to take the Claw of Hermos card from her hand. She weaved under my arms, dropping Jounouchi suddenly. Cursing, I barely caught the other boy before he hit the ground. Jounouchi's head rolled limply to the side and he felt all too light and all too cold. Even a skeptic such as myself was forced to face the growing reality of magical and supernatural powers that had invaded my neat and orderly life; especially when handed the unconscious and unresponsive bodies of Amelda and Jounouchi. But one thing was crystal clear to me: Kujaku had willingly did this to Jounouchi, even after all the stupid stunts he pulled to save her during the Battle City finals.
"He's basically a vegetable." One of my doctors had said after examining Amelda.
I clenched my fist. I was going to do far worse to her than any Seal of Orichalcos could.
"Jounouchi, wake up." Mokuba was shaking the boy. "This isn't funny, now get up."
I eased my brother's hand off Jounouchi's shoulder. "It's no use, Mokuba. It's just like Amelda."
"Kaiba," She suddenly shouted over the roar of her motorcycle. "Just watch, I'll show you I'm a true Duelist as well."
I wanted to go after her. I wanted to show her how unworthy she was of Jounouchi's Hermos; how she didn't even deserve the honor of being defeated by it.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi and his friends had finally arrived.
Kujaku was already halfway down the block on her motorcycle. I looked to my brother. "Stay with Yugi."
"But Nii-sama-"
I hopped onto the yellow motorcycle that had been left behind. The keys were still in the ignition. The engines revved beneath me as I took down the street in pursuit of Kujaku into the night. Jounouchi would be safe with Yugi and my brother. I wasn't going to let Kujaku escape. I would be the one to defeat Dartz utterly and completely. No one was going to steal my revenge from me, least of all Kujaku Mai.
Because before I knew it, Jounouchi had become only second to Mokuba. Yet now, I was left wondering just how much distance was actually between the first and second place of my heart.
...
It took Jounouchi another two and a half days to get out of their new hotel. Sophie had been dead serious about working on script review. Yet after the first day in their new rooms, she finally began loosening up again. By the second day, he was able to convince her to let him out, lest he go insane with cabin fever. Donning his black wig again, he set out to accomplish what had been on his mind ever since the baby shower.
He looked down at the screen of his cellphone again and scrutinized the message he sent Mai an hour ago: Do you have time to meet now? I would like to talk.
So he was sitting on a bench in the park just a few blocks away from the Kaiba Corporation building downtown. He could see the skyscraper towering over the trees in the distance. In place of the children and teenagers that had abandoned the park in droves came the middle-aged salarymen and young adult couples.
He was about to dig in his pocket for his wallet when a pair of lace-up leather boots peeking out from under a light wool longcoat caught his attention.
Blowing the black bangs out of his eyes, he grinned up at the woman standing over him. "How did you know it was me?"
"It takes more than a bad wig to fool me, Jounouchi." She sat down on the bench once he scooted over. "I have to say, this is the first time I've been on the receiving end of a public breakup to minimize drama."
He felt awkward pointing it out. "Well, we were never together to begin with."
She sighed and tucked strands of long blond hair behind her ear. "I guess the only person I have to blame is myself for not sinking my claws into you when I had the chance. Who am I to think I could compete against Kaiba Seto?"
"This isn't a-"
"Contest, I know; as if Yugi hadn't already lectured me enough. But can I ask why?"
"I care deeply about you, but you were never there. Each time you just took off without so much as a goodbye. You never hung around long enough for us to get to know each other out of life-or-death situations. You never gave us a chance. I wanted you to stay after Battle City..." He had wanted her to stay and when she had driven off in her car that day, he felt the loss of another opportunity.
She stared down at her hands folded in her lap. "I couldn't stay."
"And you couldn't expect me to wait around."
"But Kaiba was there?"
Jounouchi chuckled to himself. "He never did anything with us happily, but yeah, he was still there. He was always there as long as we needed him and after a while, I think he started to let us do the same for him."
"Did I ever have a chance?" She asked.
"The others may not see it, but I do and you're a wonderful woman, Mai. If Kaiba wasn't part of the picture, it would probably be you in a heartbeat."
She gave him a cheeky smile. "I guess that answers the question of whether you're gay or bi."
He could only manage a weak smile. The exact labeling of his sexual preference was not an ordeal he was looking forward to. "You're taking this really well."
She slung an arm around his shoulder and he leaned into the hug. "I had suspicions it would turn out this way, but I wanted to let you know about my feelings regardless. Even I couldn't deny the fact he cared about you. You should have seen him after...you lost your soul after our duel."
Jounouchi gave a start. "Kaiba was there?"
"You were already gone when he arrived. I thought he was going to throttle me on the spot. I don't want to know what he might have done if those Orichalcos soldiers hadn't stopped him from following me..."
They lapsed into silence and the streetlights came to life as the last of the setting sun's rays vanished behind the horizon. He made no attempt to move Mai's arm, instead taking the time to revel how things might have turned out differently. He took a deep breath- the delicate fragrance of her perfume filling his nostrils. The feelings he once had for her might have been love- the young and reckless kind that found him at the barrel of a gun more time than not. But those feelings had faded and changed with time, just as they had...
"Our children would have been gorgeous." Mai teased with a sparkle in her eyes.
"Yeah..."
She moved away suddenly and stood. As she stretched, she announced, "I'm going back to Tokyo tonight."
He was surprised he no longer felt the loss that usually accompanied her departures; there was a sense of closure now. "Leaving so soon again?"
Mai turned to face him, the streetlight above casting a faint halo around her golden hair. "I was only in town for the opening of the store, my headquarters is back in Tokyo. I hung around this long because I wanted to see you. You'll be leaving for California soon, right? You can't blame me if I don't exactly want to stick around and watch you be all lovey-dovey with Kaiba."
Her pained smile still broke his heart.
"Mai..."
"It's okay, Jounouchi. I'll survive a little rejection, I'm much stronger than when we last met. I'll survive and we'll always have our memories." She began walking backwards- her heels clicking loudly against the cement sidewalk as she retreated.
"Goodbye, Mai."
"You have my number, don't be a complete stranger, Jounouchi." Mai blew him a kiss before turning and walking away.
Jounouchi did not stand or move away from the bench. He watched as her silhoutte moved further away and grew fainter until it was gone all together. He recalled what he was trying to do before Mai's arrival. The worn business card was the sole occupant of that particular pocket in his wallet. The colors had faded a bit over the last 11 years, but he could still read the number on it.
When he returned to his hotel room later that evening, his cellphone alerted him to the arrival of a new text message that read: I'm on my way home. Best of luck with Kaiba. Love, Mai.
Sophie came into the room with two steaming plates from room service as he continued to stare at the message. After placing the food down on the table of his suite, she came up and draped her arms over his shoulder asking, "So what are you smiling about?"
He snapped the lid of his phone closed before she could see the message. "I'm just happy an old friend has finally found her place in the world."
...
Malik Ishtar was generally not someone you wanted to owe favor(s) to. Yet Jounouchi was standing in the lobby of the Kaiba Corporation building, waiting for the Egyptian man to whom he would owe a huge favor to before the day was through. It was the first time Jounouchi had ever stepped into the headquarters of Kaiba's company, despite having known the man for more than a decade. In that instance, he regretted not just asking his sister for Kaiba's number instead.
With its high and clear ceilings and walls, the lobby was bathed in natural light and the sound was muffled as employees passed in and out. A large Blue Eyes White Dragon fountain stood at the center of the floor; the spouting water catching the sunlight in diamonds. Occasionally, someone would stop and stare openly at him- he had chosen to forgo his usual disguise today. Only the security guard at the front desk, who had called up to Malik's office for Jounouchi, has asked for his autograph so far.
"Jounouchi-san!" The security guard behind the desk called. Further behind the security desk, Malik was waiting with his arms folded across his chest. The guard handed him a badge stating he was a visitor. "Please stay with your escort at all times. At a certain access level, the system will flag you as an intruder if you stray too far from another tag with the appropriate security level. When that happens, the system will take the appropriate steps to eliminate all threats."
Malik burst into laughter at Jounouchi's incredulous expression. "He's kidding, Jounouchi, mostly. I'll make sure you get in and out in one piece."
He sputtered at the indignity. "How was I supposed to know? This is Kaiba we're talking about, I'm surprised he doesn't have drones patrolling the halls like in some sci-fi movie."
"Oh, that happens after business hours. Those are programmed to shoot on sight and ask questions later." Malik replied in the same deadpan.
This time, the security guard joined Malik in his laughter. With his face red from embarrassment, Jounouchi crossed his arms over his chest and snapped, "Are we going to go or not, Malik?"
The Egyptian waved to the guard as they headed toward the elevator. "See you later, Watanabe-san."
Jounouchi was still pouting when they got into the elevator. "Do you harass all of your visitors like that?"
Malik straightened his tie as he spoke- Jounouchi never imagined he would see the Egyptian dressed in such a neatly pressed lavender-colored suit. "Come on, Jounouchi. If it hadn't been you, you would have thought it was hilarious too. Some people seem to think we run a prison down here, but we are pretty strict about our security. We have a lot of expensive equipment and more than our fair share of disgruntled ex-employees and corporate competitors."
He reached down to fiddle with the badge now hanging off the lapel of his sport coat. "Don't I know it, it's Kaiba's own fault for pissing everyone off. He really needs to stop doing that. Last year, did he-"
Malik cut him off. "Yes, we don't like to talk about it, but Kaiba personally rearranged all the security protocol after the last incident. We were just lucky no one got hurt."
They spent the rest of the ride up to the 35th floor in silence. Truth be told, Malik was the one Jounouchi was most uncomfortable around of their former foes. But he could see that time and it long lauded healing properties had done much good for Malik and Bakura. As they stepped off the elevator, he decided to ask, "Malik, about you and Bakura?"
"What about Ryou and me?"
"How did the two of you get together?"
Malik chuckled to himself. "The spirit of Ryou's ring and I had a sort of camaraderie back in the old days of Battle City. So I was more than a little surprised at the quiet and serious man I found when I first came back to Japan six years ago, and he was not happy being mistaken for his darker half. Hilarity and misunderstandings ensued, and here we are today. You can ask Ryou for the extended version some day if you like."
"And working for Kaiba?"
"Hey, I will take Kaiba over my sister any day of the week. Isn't that right, Sachiko-san?" Malik directed his question toward the woman sitting behind a large reception desk.
Upon Malik's arrival, she immediately began typing frantically at her keyboard. "Ishtar-san, you had an appointment with Seto-sama? He's going to skin me alive if I messed up his calendar again!"
"Don't worry, we're just dropping by to give Kaiba a surprise visit. Is he alone in his office?"
"Well, yes but-"
"Does he have any meetings soon?"
"No, not until this afternoon, but-"
Malik gave Jounouchi a hard slap on the back of the shoulder, sending the blond stumbling forward. "There, you see, he's perfectly free. Just go right in. I'll harass him for the full details later myself."
Hearing the Egyptian's words, Sachiko looked as if she was about to hyperventilate or vomit or possibly do both at the same time. "Why is it that none of you ever make appointments to see Seto-sama? Every time either you or Rebecca-san or Yugi-san just barge into his office, do you know who he yells at afterward? I can't take this anymore. No one was ever this disrespectful to Mokuba-sama!"
"That's because he's the likable one." Malik pushed him harder in the direction of Kaiba's office door and hissed, "Go, don't worry about her. Just get in there, somehow you look worse off than her."
Jounouchi took a deep breath and charged into the office, only to find it completely empty. Had Kaiba seen him coming and made his escape beforehand? The flush of a toilet sounded through another door to the right and the CEO emerged while toweling his hands.
When the brunet didn't immediately take note of Jounouchi's presence and headed back to his desk, the blond cleared his throat loudly. "Nice office, from the way your secretary was acting I would have thought you had medieval torture devices in here."
Kaiba paused momentarily at the sound of his words before continuing back to his desk and slowly lowered himself into an admittedly comfy looking leather chair. "Be glad Sachiko didn't hear you, she insists she's an administrative assistant. Capable on the most part, if only a bit ineffectual at keeping intruders at bay." He was trying to glare at the aforementioned employee through the wall.
Jounouchi quickly crossed the length of the room to stand in front of the other man's desk. "Easy there, Malik decided to give me a tour of the place." He held up his shiny new visitor badge for emphasis.
"And that includes my personal office?"
Jounouchi gave a toothy grin, hoping it might put Kaiba at ease. "No one ever said Malik Ishtar wasn't thorough."
"What do you want, Jounouchi? I don't have time to..." Kaiba paused as if to consider his next choice of words. "Banter with you."
"Do you have time for dinner Friday night then? Or are you too busy with the doing big, bad CEO things?" He raised an eyebrow in question.
"I would have thought a movie star such as yourself could easily acquire better company for dinner; like one of a blond and female kind."
Jounouchi placed both hands down on Kaiba's desk, taking care not to wrinkle the documents spread over it's surface. "Mai's already gone back to Tokyo."
He might have believed this news had no effect on Kaiba if the other man's typing hadn't stopped for that instant. Jounouchi had always been good at reading body language if nothing else. A lick of chapped lips betrayed Kaiba's attempt to hide a sudden onslaught of anxiety, but the doubt and the tension in the air was gone.
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"How does Friday at seven sound then? I won't wait around if you're late." Kaiba punctuated the threat with a quick glare.
Excitement of the sort he hadn't felt since he was a teenager bubbled in his chest. He came to see Kaiba on an impulse, not even sure anything would result from his little visit. He could feel a stupid grin start to overtake his face. Jounouchi's leaned his weight further onto the table; his hands slipped forward and moved documents about much to Kaiba's displeasure. "You're serious? You're not pulling my leg, are ya?"
"I'm a man of my words," Kaiba's tone was even and somber. "I said we would talk about the possibility once you demonstrated a willingness to commit and you've done just that. I'll leave the choice in restaurant up to you, considering your appetite. Just make sure it's private."
Jounouchi bounced back on the ball of his feet, just barely suppressing the urge to do a small victory dance. "So, care to give me your number? So my people can call your people with the details."
"You should have it already. I haven't changed it since I first got it."
The worn business card Kaiba had given him in the wake of Battle City still sat in his wallet and was now burning a hole in his pocket with the reminder of his moments of weakness. During his first two years on his own, he would pull it out whenever he was a few months behind in rent and living mainly on 100 yen instant ramen. Even after following Sophie to Hong Kong and finally America, he would dig it out to remind himself he had a way home if she ever chose to abandon him. A lump formed in his throat, making his next words heavy and curt, "Why'd you never change it?"
And Kaiba himself admitted something in a rare moment of weakness: "I was afraid you might actually call one day."
...
Sophia was no policeman. She would have sooner died than be a pig, but even now she was forced to admit they may have their place in society. Her investigation, for all her lack of detective and forensics skills, had come to a standstill. This was made all the more troubling by the discovery of two more death threats hidden into the new linen placed in Katsuya's room in his absence. She didn't know how the sender had found them. They had somehow managed to keep their hotel move out of the press and public eye, but the death threats resumed the third day just as she was about to relax.
And then there was the letter for her... It was mailed internationally from Budapest with no return address and postmarked from last week; sent to a hotel room that no one should have foreseen her checking into. She hadn't figured out who had sent the letter until she opened it to reveal its message written in a neat flowing script:
Your borrowed time is almost up. Make the best of what you have left.
Her hands shook as she read over the content again for the 28th time, as if something would become clear if she just read it once more. Her fear over Katsuya's safety only compounded. Deep in her soul, this was a moment she always knew would come and had accepted it for its part in the bargain she made. But would she be able to keep Katsuya safe before her time ran out?
"You told me to bring him here." She muttered to herself in the desperate hope that the sender might hear her somehow. "I can't just leave him in danger now, please tell me what to do."
She received no miraculous response in return.
...
An unfortunate drawback of being part of a group both so small and tight-knit like theirs was that news of the good and bad variety spread through the grapevines at the speed of light. Having seen this sort of thing happen on multiple occasions, he thought it would be better for his little brother to hear the news from his mouth first. The rift of the last few weeks were still healing.
"Jounouchi and I are having dinner Friday evening." He figured that was blunt enough and his genius brother and equally intelligent girlfriend could piece the rest together themselves.
Two pairs of hands slowed over the dinner sitting in front of them. Mokuba and Rebecca looked quickly at each other before sighing impatiently in unison. "Finally!" They chorused together.
"So where are you guys going for your date?" Rebecca balanced her chopsticks delicately between her fingers.
He glared at her. "It's not a date, and he's still deciding on the restaurant."
"Oh god, have you ever been on a date? I've never seen you go out with anyone." A troubled expression came over Mokuba's face.
"Of course, I have. Why does everyone think I'm some sort of robot or machine." Kaiba snapped, causing Mokuba and Rebecca to exchange knowing glances again. "And don't say it. I don't need the smartass comments right now."
Realization dawned over both of their faces simultaneously, although Rebecca's expression carried hints of sadistic glee.
"You're nervous, Seto." She announced triumphantly.
"That's preposterous!"
No, his heart had not been racing like some demented schoolgirl's when Jounouchi had shown up in his office this afternoon. The little id inside his head had not done a little dance when the blond announced that Mai had left the picture. He hadn't asked Sachiko to reschedule his dinner meeting with the head of the Suzuki Electronics Group just to accept Jounouchi's invitation; and if she tells anyone that, she was going to have to worry about far worse than being fired.
Mokuba made a face. "I love you and all, Nii-sama, but I don't want to think about you and sex in the same sentence, much less with Jounouchi."
The look on Rebecca's face, on the other hand, suggested she might find the idea intriguing at a level Kaiba was not comfortable with.
"Good, now you know how I felt when I walked in on the two of you in the gazebo last year." He snapped in return and watched with satisfaction as the two young adults had the decency to look embarrassed.
The questions didn't stop even after he had retreated into his study after dinner. Kaiba didn't know who had told who what first, but the phone calls, text messages, and emails came pouring in. Anzu had been the first to call, followed by a text message from Yami (it turned out the former Pharaoh had picked up some modern technological know-how or Yugi had typed it up for him), then another phone call from Yugi himself, which was quickly followed by a smartass email from Malik, and finally an encouraging voicemail from Bakura after Kaiba finally gave up on answering the phone.
Just as he was about to get back into the flow of all the work he had neglected in the wake of Jounouchi's office visit, the phone on his desk gave a shrill ring. He glared at the name that came up on the caller ID before taking the cordless off its stand.
"I would have thought you would have been the first to call." He grumbled, no longer mad but just resigned to the fact nothing would be accomplished that night. "Either you or Shizuka."
Honda chuckled at the other end of the phone. "I was with Shizuka when Jounouchi first told her the news. You should have heard how loudly she squealed. Who else has tried to contact you so far?"
His cellphone began vibrating again and moved ever so slowly across an inch of his desktop as it did. "The question should be who hasn't yet. It's a wonder the lot of you can keep any secrets. All of you nitwits are acting liked we're in high school again."
"Come on, Kaiba. We were a lot better than this in high school! We were busy saving the world again for the fourth time! And you can't blame us for being happy for you or Jounouchi. What? It only took you guys like 15 years to get to this point?"
"Jesus Christ, we're just having dinner." Kaiba fought down the urge to start cursing at the other man. He scrolled through the five additional text messages he had received on his cellphone since he last checked. One was actually work-related; it was regarding an unexpected production delay of the latest Duel Disk model. Three of them were from Malik, each half joking and half serious about how to handle the press in case of premature discovery. The last was from the source of his troubles itself, Jounouchi.
I never would have thought Shizuka was such a gossip. Maybe I should have told her about this after the fact.
Kaiba sent a quick reply: It was probably Rebecca that told Anzu first.
"Hey, Kaiba, you still there?" Honda's voice suddenly brought him back down to earth. "So where are you guys going Friday night?"
"I don't know. I left it up to Jounouchi to decide."
"And who picks up the check in this case?"
Honda's question actually gave Kaiba pause. In a heterosexual relationship, it was generally expected for the man to pay for dinner. In his past relationships, he paid for dinner/lunch more times than not; while because he was considered stupidly rich sometimes. But Jounouchi and him were both men with a great amount of pride and stubborn to a fault. Kaiba couldn't help but smile to himself- it would be interesting at the very least. Maybe he could even make it into a little game...
"You said you were with Shizuka tonight." He thought it best to redirect Honda's attention elsewhere. "I take it she's at least talking to you again."
"We had dinner together tonight. It was..." Honda struggled to find the right word. "Nice... Shizuka and I are working things out on our end. You should do your best too, Kaiba."
Though Kaiba did not say it aloud, he was glad to see the two of them try and salvage their long-lasting relationship. It took a load off his chest to know Shizuka was happy.
"Honda, I'd like for you to do me a favor."
There was a long pause from the other end, probably due to Honda still processing the fact Kaiba was asking for help. "What is it?"
"Can you keep an eye on that reporter at your paper? She's been sniffing around a lot lately." The last thing either Jounouchi or he needed was extra media scrutiny.
He could hear Honda typing over the phone. "You mean Kimiko? Sure, she's always given you your fair share of trouble. I'll see if I can arrange for an assignment out of town and get her out of Domino for a few days."
"Good, I'll out myself to the press when I'm good and ready."
"Along with the quarterly earning announcement and the release date of the next Duel Disk system probably." Honda snorted.
Kaiba smirked as the timeline for the next few months unfurled in his head. "Would you expect anything less from me?"
...
Sophie called in a stylist Friday afternoon and Jounouchi had to sit there for almost two hours as the two women fussed over him. As the clock approached five, he stood abruptly and announced he was going to go back to his hotel room to get ready on his own. It took him another hour to decide what to wear and when Sophie came in at about 5:30, he was still deliberating between five different outfits. The majority of his clothing was still back in LA, he didn't know he had brought so much clothing with him regardless.
Together with Sophie, he decided on a burgundy-colored button-up shirt and a pair of freshly pressed black slacks that just came back from the cleaners.
"Where are you going tonight?" She asked.
He made sure he had taken care of all the arrangements for that night himself. He didn't want Sophie's help in this regard. "We're having dinner at Miyuki, I was able to snag a private room from them."
"Is he picking you up?"
No," he rolled his eyes. "We're going to meet down there. It'll seem less suspicious that way if someone does spot us."
"You've thought of everything, haven't you?"
"I sure as hell tried to." He fiddled nervously with the buttons on his shirt.
"You'll call if something happens?"
"Yes, mother. Seriously Sophie, it'll be fine. I promise I won't drink tonight. The worst that can happen is if Kaiba and I get into a brawl if he starts being his usual asshole self. It's not a matter of life and death."
They sat together in silence and watched TV until it was time for Jounouchi to go. She gave him a kiss on the cheek as he left- for good luck, she claimed. He ran a hand through his carefully styled blond hair as he crossed the lobby to catch the taxi cab waiting at the hotel's turnaround. The bellhop at the door led him over to the green vehicle sitting near the curb. As he slid into the backseat, the driver turned ever so slightly to ask, "Where are you going tonight, sir?"
"The Miyuki restaurant, do you know where that is?" He began to pull out his phone to retrieve the address if need be.
The driver nodded and turned up the dial of the radio. Pulling out of the driveway, a familiar tune came on over the radio. It was a song that he vaguely recalled from his youth and had life been like any of the TV shows he's acted in, this is where the montage of flashbacks would take place. His phone rang instead with Shizuka's assigned ringtone, bearing a message wishing him luck from his sister and Honda.
Jounouchi turned his attention to the passing city outside his window. So lost in the sight of his hometown waking up to the night, he almost didn't notice they were driving in the wrong direction.
"Hey," he leaned forward in his seat as he addressed the driver. "You're heading in the wrong direction. Miyuki is downtown by the park."
The driver said nothing and sped through the next yellow light just as it turned red. A loud honk from another car trailed behind them.
"Are you listening to me?" He pounded on the glass partition between the driver and himself. When greeted with only further silence, he reached for his cellphone to call Sophie. But a sharp turn into an abandoned alleyway sent the phone flying out of his hand and onto somewhere on the vehicle floor. The car came to a stop as Jounuochi frantically undid the shoulder seat-belt and began feeling around on the floor.
The highbeam headlights from a van that pulled in behind them flooded the vehicle with a rush of light, blinding Jounouchi momentarily. When his eyes finally began to adjust to the brightness, he could see the shape of his cab driver get out of the car as he pulled something over his head. Two more men wearing black ski masks over their faces got out of the parked van. Jounouchi's body tensed in anticipation of the upcoming fight.
The "driver" wrenched the door open, waving a four inch knife as he said, "Get out of the car and don't you dare struggle."
He did as he was told, watching carefully as the other two men continued to approach from the van. Jounouchi grabbed the hand holding the knife and twisted it back, causing the first attacker to scream in pain and drop the weapon. Letting go, he punched the man in the face and sent him staggering back. Behind him, he could hear the two other guys from the van run toward him. Jounouchi barely dodged one of the charging bodies. At least he had the sense they didn't have a gun, because they would have threatened him with it by now. He ducked under the last attacker's arm and raced toward the entrance of the alley; he was going to escape. Part of him wanted to stay and teach them a lesson- because Jounouchi Katsuya wasn't easily defeated by amateurs.
The van doors opened again before he could pass and yet another body slammed into him and held him against the brick wall of the adjacent building. This latest assailant wasn't wearing a mask like the others- his face just barely visible in the passing headlights from the cars on the main road just a hundred feet away. And Jounouchi knew that face...
"Didn't expect to see me again, did you, boy?" His father's eyes were bright and clear with a sobriety Jounouchi had never seen before.
His father's fist, still as hard and as heavy as ever, landed a blow across Jounouchi's face- knocking his head against the brick wall and sending his world plummeting into darkness.
...
Kaiba's watch reaffirmed what he already knew from the clock hanging on the wall of the private room Jounouchi had reserved: it was nearly eight. He picked up his phone and dialed the blond's number, only to have it go straight to voicemail for the fifth time. He didn't bother leaving a message this time.
...To Be Continued...
And we are down another chapter! As many of you thought, it does appear that Jounouchi's dad is up to no good. What that no good actually is will have to wait until the next chapter!
Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter! If you have a few moments, any comments would be much appreciated. They really do often help me overcome the initial inertia to start writing. See you all next week.
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