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Bounty Hunter	By : DarkTemptations Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2760 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Title: Bounty Hunter 4/8

Author: Dark Temptations

Beta: Vash is my Angel

Rating: NC17 *looks innocent*

Summary: Jou is a cat burglar who only steals to get money for his sister's operation...and Seto is a bounty hunter out to get him....

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Dark Temptations Presents

Bounty Hunter

Chapter 4

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Jou stared at Kaiba as if he'd suddenly turned into one of his beloved Blue Eyes White Dragons. "Ya gotta be kiddin' me! You're a bounty hunter? No way! That's as unbelievable as..."

"As you being The Cat?" Kaiba interjected smoothly, smirking as Jounouchi's colour heightened.

"Yeah... well... I ain't the boss of a big corporation. Why would ya go chasin' after what's small change to ya?" Jou shook his head. "I know ya love money and power an' all but... a bounty hunter?"

Kaiba frowned. "It has nothing to do with either money or power. As you say, it is indeed merely 'small change'.

"So, why do it then?" For once, there was no anger, sarcasm, or irritation in Jou's voice. Just curiosity.

"I do not need to explain myself to *you*." Kaiba gave Jounouchi his patented 'cold sapphire glare #12'. The one that left his business competitors shaking with fear as their blood all but froze in their veins.

Jou shrugged off the glare as if it were nothing. "You'll get nothin' out of me until ya do. Ya *did* have some questions for me, right?"

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "You will answer me or..."

"Or else you'll call the cops and then you'll never get the answers ya want." Jou smirked. "The way I figure it, Kaiba, ya must want those answers pretty bad if you're willin' to miss a chance to see me in trouble. Least ya can do is tell me a few things too. I'll answer your questions, if ya answer mine."

"You already agreed to the bargain and now you're trying to change the terms of our agreement?" Kaiba scowled.

Jou shook his head, wincing as the small motion apparently caused him pain. "Ow. Gotta remember to stop doin' that until those painkillers kick in." He frowned at Kaiba. "I said I'd answer ya if ya answered my question, but ya didn't. Not really. If you were after me 'cause of a bounty on me, ya wouldn't be willin' to just let me go. I'm not buyin' it Kaiba. There's gotta be more to it. So since ya ain't playin' straight wit' me..."

"Enough! I see where this is heading." Kaiba glared at Jounouchi for a second before his anger faded and he sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it... you do have a point. Very well. We will trade information. However, if I *ever* see anything I say to you printed in any gossip magazine or newspaper..."

Jou frowned. "I wouldn't do that, Kaiba."

Kaiba arched an eyebrow at the blonde teen. "I would not have believed you to be a cat burglar either."

Brown eyes locked with sapphire eyes, only the barest flinch betraying the fact that the shot had hit its target and stung. "So why are you a bounty hunter?"

With a heavy sigh and an irritated glare at Jounouchi, Kaiba began to tell his story.

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"Several years ago, one of my employees embezzled a large sum of money from my company and fled. After a week with no results from 'official' channels, I grew impatient and began my own search. Within a day, he was in police custody and all of the money had been returned." A smug smirk curved Kaiba's lips briefly.

"My recovery of the thief and the money did not go unnoticed. A few days later, I was contacted by a man who ran a private agency dedicated to bounty hunting. I told him I wasn't interested, but that wasn't entirely true."

Kaiba sighed softly; not wanting to admit the truth and yet feeling oddly compelled to do so. "For some time, I had been... somewhat dissatisfied with my life. Kaiba Corp. was keeping me occupied, however there was no real challenge in the day-to-day running of it. But my search for the embezzler had been surprisingly... enjoyable. After a week of contemplation... and mind-numbing boredom... I agreed to be a bounty hunter, on a case-by-case basis."

He gave Jou another smug smirk. "I was extremely successful. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that I was the best."

Jou frowned. "Was?"

Kaiba inwardly cursed at having allowed the word to slip out. At the same time though, he was somewhat surprised that Jounouchi had noticed it. Apparently, the blonde teen was more perceptive than he had thought. "Yes. I retired over a year ago." He scowled as Jounouchi began to open his mouth. "Before you ask, as much as I enjoyed the challenge, I disliked the man that I was working with. He had... or has, I should say... a tendency to treat me as if I were a favourite pet." Kaiba's eyes blazed as he spat out the word.

Jou winced. "He sounds like a real jerk. I don't get it though. If you're retired, how come ya came after me?" He eyed Kaiba with a confused frown.

"He's persistent. He refuses to believe that I am no longer interested in working with him. Every now and then, he contacts me with something he believes will entice me back into the business." For once, Kaiba's sneer of contempt was not directed at Jounouchi. "He contacted me last week to tell me about a job. He wanted me to catch The Cat."

"So ya took the job? Just like that? I don't believe it." Jou glared at Kaiba. "There's gotta be more to it."

Kaiba was again more than a little surprised by Jounouchi's perception, but he was careful not to show that surprise. Instead, he merely nodded. "Yes. There is. I turned him down. But then you caught my interest when you broke into my home, here, a few nights later." He watched the blonde's reaction very closely. He wasn't disappointed.

"When I wha'?" Joey stared at Kaiba, his brown eyes wide and shocked, his mouth gaping and his body tense. Then he glared daggers at the brunette. "I never did anythin' like that! This is the first time I've ever been here!"

Kaiba nodded, looking grim. "That's what I thought. *Someone* broke into my home and stole a priceless Ming vase, leaving a white card with a red cat's pawprint in it's place."

Jou frowned. "That's my card but I swear to ya Kaiba, I didn't do it!"

"I believe you. As much as it pains me to admit it." Kaiba scowled. "I thought at the time that it was an unusual coincidence for me to refuse to go after you and then have my house burgled by you only a few nights later. I don't believe in coincidences." He arched an eyebrow at Jounouchi, waiting to see if he understood his meaning.

"Ya think the guy ya used to work with did it?" Jou shook his head. "But... why? Why would he want ya to catch me so bad?"

Kaiba hadn't heard Jounouchi sound so scared before. It struck him harder than he cared to admit. "I don't think it was *you* he was after. I think he was just using you to try to get me to work with him again." He refused to believe that he had said it to try to ease Jounouchi's fears. It was the truth. No more, no less.

"Then I guess he succeeded... Ya found me." Jou sighed heavily and looked suddenly very tired. "So... what now? Ya gonna hand me over to him or somethin'?"

Kaiba's eyes locked with Jounouchi's, the twin sapphires alight with an inner fire. "I am not working with him. He forgot one small detail. I don't need him. I never have. I reported to him because it suited me to keep him involved. But now that I am retired, I could not care less about him. He has no idea that I have found you, and I have no wish to tell him. I am more than happy for you to go on living your life of crime. As soon as I get the answers to my questions, you will be free to go."

Jou stared at Kaiba. "I... Thanks. I think. I still don't get what's so important for ya to know that you'd track me down and all but..." He looked away and sighed. "Go ahead, Kaiba. Ask your questions."

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"I found you by following the trail of money from Mirokuri Ichibana to a bank account held in your name. That was rather foolish of you, by the way. To use your own name for an account receiving the proceeds from your... hobby." Kaiba frowned at Jounouchi. "However, that was not the only thing about it that caught my interest."

"No?" Jou tried not to fidget as he stared down at the bed.

"No. What really interested me was the fact that, although you had all that money in your bank account, you had not touched a single cent of it." Kaiba's sapphire eyes regarded Jounouchi intently. "Why is that?"

"Because... it's not for me." Jou sighed heavily. "It's for my little sister."

Kaiba frowned. "I wasn't aware you had a sibling." He searched his mind, his frown deepening. "No, I don't recall hearing any mention of her."

"That's because I don't talk about her much." Jou closed his eyes and leaned back against the headboard. "Too painful. My parents divorced years ago. My dad took me and my mother took Shizuka, my sister. I haven't seen her since. But then... a few months back, she called me up. She... She has a problem with her eyes. She needs an operation real soon if she's to keep her sight. But... the operation's expensive and my mother doesn't have that kind of money. So... I said I'd help out. I almost have it. Tonight... would have been my last job."

Kaiba sat completely still, stunned by what he had just heard. With an effort, he shook off his brief moment of sentiment. "So that's your answer? That pathetic sob story? I suppose you expect me to take pity on you and offer you money. Is that it?"

Jou's eyes snapped open and he turned to Kaiba, fury blazing in his eyes and turning them darker than normal. "Screw you, Kaiba! I don't need your pity and I sure as Hell don't need your stinkin' money! Just let me go and we'll pretend this never happened." He started to move towards the other side of the bed, but paused. "Or was there somethin' else ya wanted to ask me?" Jou didn't look at Kaiba.

Kaiba found himself on the verge of saying yes, even though Jounouchi's answer to his first question had covered every other question he'd intended to ask as well. For some reason though, he found himself wanting to keep the blonde boy there. It was unreasonable. It was illogical. It was all too true. "No. I'll have my driver take you home."

Jou stood up, still not looking at Kaiba. "Don't do me any favours. I'll walk." He took one step and swayed slightly.

Kaiba scowled and surged to his feet. He stormed around the bed and moved between Jounouchi and the door. "Don't be stupid. You can't possibly walk home in that condition. You'd most likely end up collapsing again. I said my driver will drive you and that is final!"

Jou scowled at him but then swayed again. He sank back down onto the bed and sighed. "I guess I don't have a choice. I'm kinda surprised you're so concerned." He eyed Kaiba warily.

"Me? Concerned about you? Don't be ridiculous. I merely wish to ensure that you are off my property as soon as possible, rather than having you collapse again before you even get to the front gate." Kaiba sneered at Jounouchi, ignoring the twinge he felt as the lie fell smoothly from his lips. He wasn't sure why, but the thought of the blonde teen collapsing on his way home made him determined to ensure that he arrived home safely.

A flash of emotion flickered through Jou's eyes. This time, Kaiba was certain he recognised it. Pain. Of course, it was probably from the headache Jounouchi was sure to have. Surely it couldn't be a reaction to his words. He'd said far harsher things to the blonde teen in the past. Although... thinking back, Kaiba thought he remembered seeing that flash of pain a few times before tonight, too. Before he could even begin to puzzle that out though, Jou had stood up and was again heading slowly for the door.

"I thought I told you..." Kaiba glared at him.

Jou frowned at him. "I thought ya wanted to get rid of me? Make up ya mind, will ya?"

Kaiba almost winced. "Yes. I do. But I meant for you to wait here until... Oh never mind, you can wait downstairs while I call my driver." He moved to Jounouchi's side and hesitated a brief moment before slipping an arm around the shorter boy's waist.

"Wha' the...? Kaiba! Wha' do ya think you're doin'?" Jou tried to move away, colour rising into his cheeks, but Kaiba merely held him more firmly.

"I'm helping you downstairs, you idiot. Now stop struggling! You're only going to end up hurting yourself." Kaiba stared straight ahead, refusing to look at Jounouchi just as he refused to acknowledge the blush darkening his cheeks as well.

Jou went still, then hesitantly slipped his arm around Kaiba's shoulders. "Um... thanks."

Kaiba shook his head. "Never mention it again. Now get moving. The sooner you're downstairs, the sooner you can get out of my sight."

Glancing at Jounouchi, Kaiba felt an unexpected twinge of regret as he noticed the flash of pain reappear in the other teen's eyes.

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Kaiba watched the black sedan until it was out of sight, then closed the door with a soft sigh. He wasn't sure why, but he'd been tempted to go with Jounouchi. He'd satisfied himself with helping Jounouchi into the car, then instructing his driver to help the blonde boy to the door of his apartment. Still, the fact that he'd done that was enough to alarm him in itself.

"What is happening to me? Since when have I given a damn about him?" Scowling, Kaiba strode off to his computer room. He had work to do. Important work that had nothing to do with a certain blonde teenager, and definitely nothing to do with the way Jounouchi had leaned on him for support as they made their way down the stairs, or the feel of his warm body pressed close against Kaiba's side.

Maybe later, he'd allow himself to remember it. First, he had a Ming vase to track down.

tbc
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Bounty Hunter