Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/10887903.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con,
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Yu-Gi-Oh!
  Relationship:
      Jounouchi_Katsuya_|_Joey_Wheeler/Kaiba_Seto
  Character:
      Jounouchi_Katsuya_|_Joey_Wheeler, Kaiba_Seto, Kaiba_Mokuba
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe, Yakuza, Curses, Rape/Non-con_Elements, Body_Horror,
      Psychological_Horror, Emotional_Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic_Stress
      Disorder_-_PTSD, Triggers, Many_of_them, Angst, Magical_Realism, Creepy,
      Bugs_&_Insects, Murder, Minor_Character_Death, Mystery, Survival_Horror,
      Other_Additional_Tags_to_Be_Added, I_hate_tags, They_spoil_everything
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-05-12 Updated: 2017-06-06 Chapters: 5/? Words: 14534
****** The Curse ******
by Madyamisam
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.
Notes
     This was first written for A Dragon's Lair Yahoo Group but I did not
     get around to finishing because it creeped me way too much to write
     it however I've decided to brave on and try to finish this. I'll be
     picking back up some other incomplete Yu-Gi-Oh stories I've written
     and posting them here but I'm too lazy to put any of my completed
     works on here at the moment (also I'm not sure they're of good enough
     quality as they were written years ago). If you are interested,
     please go to fanfiction.net or adultfanfiction.net for them and if
     you think they deserve to be on here on AO3 then let me know and I'll
     transfer them over onto this account as well.
***** Prologue *****
 
“Hold it right there! Drop the weapon!” the detective shouted at the stranger
dragging in the corpse of the infamous drug leader Hiwatari Usaki, a man whom
she had been chasing for three long years with no leads, into the police
station with one hand while holding a bloodied semi-automatic in the other. A
gruesome trail of crimson lay behind the young teen as he stumbled in with the
body. All the police officers trained their guns at the newcomer hiding their
disgust at the state of the boy.
 
“Detective Segawa?” the stranger croaked, raising his head to meet the other‘s
gaze. His eyes were blank and lifeless and his entire body was covered head to
toe in dirt as if he had been wallowing in the mud for several hours. Parts of
his face were swollen and the bleeding jagged cuts on his arms and temple
started to fester. Five ugly finger shaped bruises were splayed across the
teen’s wrist. Large spatters of fresh blood from his kill painted his face and
torso. The droplets dripped down from the tresses of his stained hair whilst
his back was covered in shards of glass. Recognition and horror met the woman’s
face as the blood soaked teen let go of the dead man’s tie. She further cringed
when her gaze went towards the dried up white stain on the boy’s pants that was
still visible in spite of the layers of dirt on top of it and she could just
about make out the wooden splinters painfully embedded underneath the nails of
the teen’s fingers. “Didn’t you get my messages?”
 
“I did just now,” the detective whispered as guilt and frustration welled
inside her. She glared at the young officer who had passed her the information
so flippantly. Her rage burned as she remembered how the man had passed it off
like it had been some kind of a joke to her, mimicking the teen’s cries in a
taunting manner. Aware of his superior’s fury, the said officer swallowed
nervously whilst attempting to look professional in spite of the evident
revulsion in his face and the shaking gun in his hands. “I went to find you as
soon as I heard, I swear.”
 
“You said you’d help me whenever I called. You said you’d be there for me.”
 
“Yes, I did.” Segawa whispered as tears filled her eyes. The boy had been like
a son to her for a long time. She loved his determination, his honesty and how
he took everything that life dealt him in his stride and it broke her heart to
see him so devastated and desperate.
 
“I did that. I called you. I called but y- you never came like you promised”
the conviction of betrayal was evident in the teen’s voice. Segawa abandoned
all protocol and walked slowly towards the trembling boy, her gun aiming
towards the boy’s shoulder in case he tried to use the semi-automatic.
 
“I know, I’m sorry I failed you,” the detective said as a single tear ran down
her face. “I know it’s a lot to ask but, please, will you trust me just one
more time?” She was met with silence as the young teen thought about her
request.
”I killed him.” The young man whispered casting his gaze towards the corpse.
Segawa could tell the shot that killed the drug lord had been an impulsive one
and at close range. Half of Hiwatari’s head was blown off leaving a gaping hole
where the man’s left eye should have been. The other side of the man’s was just
as gruesome as the muscles were contorted to a look of surprise whilst a blank
green eye stared up at the ceiling. The detective knew this was most definitely
an act of self-defence on the teen’s part.
 
“I have a pretty good idea why, the courts won’t hold you against that,”
 
“They won’t have to,” the teen whispered staring at the weapon in his hand
before slowly pressing the tip of the bloody barrel to his temple. The
detective’s heart stopped at what the boy was about to do.
 
“Katsuya please don’t!” Segawa cried out, using the boy’s given name out of
impulse. She lowered her own gun and pocketed into the holster on her left
side.  Jounouchi Katsuya stared numbly at the woman as he listened to her
reason, the tip of the weapon still pressed against head. “That bastard
deserved a lot worse than death. He has destroyed so many innocent lives,
killed so many people and has gotten away with it. Please Katsuya, don’t let
him win anymore. Don’t add yourself to that body count.”
 
“What can I do now though?” Jounouchi whispered, his hand trembling slightly as
tears escaped his eyes. Segawa heart ached for him as her mind wracked
desperately to prevent him from committing suicide.
 
“A lot, you can do so much more if you live.” The detective answered holding
out her hand. “Please, I beg you. I beg you to trust me one more time. Please
give me the gun and let me help you.” Segawa stared pleadingly at the teen, the
guilt, frustration and anguish evident in her eyes as she stared into blank and
lifeless brown ones. However, Jounouchi finally relented and slowly he removed
the gun away from his head and placed it in the woman’s hands. The instant, the
cold metal of the weapon touched her hand, relief swept over her and she smiled
placing a loving hand on the boy’s swollen cheek. The teen’s legs began to
buckle and he sunk to floor. Segawa instantly supported him trying not to cause
further injury to the boy. She allowed him to rest on his side to avoid the
glass being pushed further into his back whilst he used her lap as a pillow.
Segawa stroked the bloodstained hair tenderly and glared at the one of the
officers who came closer holding a pair of handcuffs.
 
“Fuck off!” she growled making her subordinates cringe and back away. “Somebody
call a God damn ambulance!”
 
 
 
***** Chapter 2 *****
“I understand that you still have school to attend to. You will need to get a
permit from the principal that you can work here. We have enough trouble
dealing with allegations of employing minors ‘legally’ as it is.” Menashi, the
butler, snapped as he bustled down the huge hallway, the echoes of his swank
and polished black shoes pounding on the marble floor
 
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Jounouchi muttered. The older man huffed at the
teen’s insolent tone but kept silent as he made a run down of all the other
duties that the blond had to do.
 
"Now listen carefully, Wheeler-san,” Menashi explained, when the teen stopped
to gawk at his surroundings. “Wheeler-san?”  When he heard no response from the
teen, he let out an impatient sigh. “Mr Wheeler?” The butler didn’t like having
to refer to people by their given name but it seemed it wasn’t the case for
Americans “Joey!” 
 
“Sorry,” Jounouchi replied, bowing apologetically. He was still getting grips
with the new name he was going to be serving under. The butler looked
surprised.  He received many foreigners into the household so he often had to
deal with the unfamiliarity of how they were addressed but it almost seemed
that the teen before him didn’t even recognise his own given name at times.
Even though the boy looked American with his flaxen hair and appeared to have a
rather brawly attitude, he seemed quite withdrawn and spoke without even a hint
of an accent.
 
“Well, perhaps it’s just the customs you’re not used to,” he commented, as he
continued the tour for the new live-in employee. Another thing that puzzled him
was that the blond seemed so distracted and irritable, as if Death himself was
following the boy, just waiting for him to slip up somewhere. “The hours are
odd here but it is only because it revolves around Kaiba-sama’s schedule.
During the weekdays, your morning duties will start at six am breakfast before
you go to school, then you will attend to duties for two hours for your evening
duties after school at seven pm. You will need to tidy the main dining room,
sitting and study and you will be required to serve Kaiba-sama’s meals sharply
on time. In the weekends you will be required to work through the day from
seven till six. In exchange, you will have house and board, which is located on
the first floor on the east wing, plus the evenings off on a Monday and Friday.
Did you get all that?”
 
“Uh huh, I mean… yes sir.” Menashi nodded approvingly, allowing a small smile
on his lips before turning sharply to the right. He pointed towards the door.
 
“You can clean this study for today,” the teen blinked as Menashi passed him a
duster, clicked his heels and walked away; when he stopped short. “One more
thing, during the late hours, don’t wonder around unless it’s absolutely
necessary and also always lock your door when you turn in for the night,”
Jounouchi swallowed at the implications. Whoever his employer was, this Kaiba
person was risking a lot in taking him in, especially with people like ‘them’.
 
“I see,” he said. Menashi wondered why the boy wasn’t even too curious about
the reason why, like most of the employees were when they first started.
Nevertheless, he decided to explain.
 
“Let’s just say nasty occurrences tend to happen here in the Kaiba household
during the twilight hours and I take the health and safety of the staff quite
seriously, so remember to do so alright?” Jounouchi nodded as he entered into
the study. It was a large room with huge pane windows letting the light of a
bright full moon illuminate the inside of the study. A mantle clock chimed
seven o’clock, breaking the deathly silence in the air. The interior was laden
with books, a large table with a leather chair and a sitting area by the
window. There, seated forlornly by the window was a young man possibly no older
than the blond was, staring out of the window. The blond teen raised an eyebrow
in confusion; he was expecting the place to be empty but then perhaps the
butler had arranged some help so he could get the job done quicker.
 
“Um, do you work here?” he asked hesitantly, to check. The young man, whose
deep blue eyes stared out in a dream like daze blinked and turned, clearly
surprised that another was present. The light from the moon made his dark brown
hair glisten whilst casting part of his face in shadow. His face looked pale,
bordering on sickly, belying the athletic physique in his stature. He was
wearing a navy blue trench coat an emerald green shirt and black pants
underneath. Jounouchi suddenly felt awkward when the brunet remained silent and
stared at him as if he was an animal in a zoo. “Hello? Do you speak Japanese?”
 
“Kaiba Seto, I’m the owner of this household,” snapped the brunet irritably,
turning his head back to the window. Jounouchi blinked, surprise written on his
face. He had expected Kaiba to be a lot older, at least in his late twenties,
but certainly not the same age as he is. “Why are you staring at me as if
you’ve got a half a brain?” Jounouchi snapped out of his stupor and his hot
temper flared almost instantly. He was about to retort with an insult but
decided to bite his tongue and stare at the floor instead. Jounouchi had
learned never to allow his own pride to get the best of him again, it had
gotten him in trouble enough times with the wrong kind of people and it would
be just plain ungrateful to the other teen who had offered to help protect his
wretched and dirty life.
 
“Sorry to disturb you Kaiba-san,” he said, grimacing inwardly at the use of the
honorific, but at least he would be able to stomach it better than what the
other servants usually called the brunet.
 
“Just get on with your cleaning and don’t disturb me while you’re at it”
Jounouchi nodded, saying nothing more as he started polishing the table and the
bookcase. The blond couldn’t remember when he began throwing occasional glances
at Kaiba sitting by the window as he worked, but he was well aware that said
brunet had stopped staring out the window ever since he came in. From the
glances he could see that the brunet’s attention was all on him, his blue eyes
gazing up and down the blond’s body. Jounouchi swallowed, as he rubbed harder
at the already clean mantelpiece clearly perturbed by the staring. He turned
his attention back onto Kaiba and was surprise when he noticed the tumult of
emotions that flashed in the blue sapphires, it was a small but intense moment
laced with fury, lust and longing. It was strange how the blond could tell when
the other’s face seemed to remain stoic. Katsuya gulped as the other teen
shifted off the window seat and sauntered closer to him. Trying not to be
unnerved by the young man fixated on him he turned to glare at the shiny
mahogany study desk that he was cleaning. He watched as a dark shadow crept up
the study desk. He spotted a paper knife sitting just within his reach of the
desk. Jounouchi could feel how uncomfortably close the other was, to the extent
that he could feel Kaiba’s breath upon his neck. He slowly turned and was
caught in the fervent, icy cobalt gaze.
 
“What is it Kaiba-san?” he whispered, as the other teen was merely inches away
from him. Katsuya tried to look down on the floor like he had done earlier only
to have the brunet catch his chin with a slender finger and lift it up forcing
the blond to stare into his eyes. Jou swallowed as his russet eyes became lost
in a deep sea of blue and he suddenly felt weak in the knees, as if his very
soul had been sucked right out of his body by those eyes. Held there by his
gaze, Kaiba let go of the blond’s chin and drew his mouth closer to other’s
sumptuous lips, till they were almost touching. Jounouchi could feel the heat
of the taller teen’s hand hover around his tanned cheek, barely centimetres
away from touching. As if he had jumped into a pool of cold water, Katsuya
backed away from the far too close brunet. An arrogant smirk appeared on
Kaiba’s face as he back away from the younger teen.
 
“You’re quite cocky Jounouchi Katsuya,” he commented. “Scared shitless… but
cocky… and certainly not as vulnerable as Detective Bitch said you were,”
 
“What?” The billionaire rolled his eyes, folding his arms out of impatience.
 
“Detective Segawa,” he drawled. “She told me all about you and your… past.”
Katsuya shifted unconsciously wrapping his arms around his body and right
shoulder. Kaiba smirked again clearly amused by the blond’s discomfort. “As I
said, you’re not as vulnerable as she said you’d be, in fact… I bet if I
actually went about touching you a moment ago, you wouldn’t hesitate in
stabbing me with that paper knife you have in your hand there, now would you?”
Jounouchi gasped as he suddenly found the paper knife he saw on the desk
gripped firmly in his hand. Realising what could have happened he hastily threw
the weapon back onto the desk.  Kaiba grinned as he sauntered towards the door.
“As much as I can understand your anxiety, I’m surprised that you fell for my
little act. My interest may well be that with men but I’m afraid pup, you’re
not my type.”
 
“Sorry,” he said, belying the anger and humiliation towards the brunet for
pulling a sick trick like he did.
 
“I can guarantee you that the people after you will have a lot of trouble
finding you here, let alone killing you, but in the mean time try to look like
that you’re actually working for me rather than some lost dog missing it’s
master’s leg.”  Kaiba chuckled sadistically before he sauntered out of the
room. Just as he left, Menashi had returned. The butler bowed low as he allowed
his employer to exit first before entering himself.
 
“I hope you haven’t bothered the young master whilst you were working,” the man
warned, as he checked the room. Jounouchi looked on miserably as the butler ran
a gloved hand across every surface for even a speck of dust. He wondered how
long he would have to stay here and be bossed around by these people. ‘But
then, what else can you do?’ the voice in his mind questioned almost tauntingly
at his predicament. Katsuya growled at the voice in his head and focused on the
prospect of a shower and bed. That is, if the nightmares he’d been having
lately would let up for once tonight. “Well done, it’s good to see that you’re
thorough on the work. Not a single speck of dust in sight. Go on up to your
room now, you’re done for the night,” Heaving a sigh of relief for the
reprieve, Jounouchi headed towards his designated room.
 
The room was one of the smaller ones in the mansion but it was still spacious
compared to the small apartment he used to share with his father, thankfully it
was also an en-suite so he wouldn’t really need to bother anyone with his
presence. He found it odd that a mere servant had such privileges but he wasn’t
complaining. Grabbing a towel, he stripped himself of his sweaty day clothes
and stepped into the shower. Almost instantly, he felt the comfort of the water
caress his body and sighed from the warm bliss of having the tension and dirt
washed away. He hesitated when his hand brushed against the marred skin on his
shoulder. Glancing behind him he noted with a morbid fascination, the pattern
of the scars across his entire back and the painful history that went with
them. Berating himself for thinking about the past again, Jounouchi soaked his
blonde locks root to tip before lathering it up with shampoo gently massaging
the silken tresses, relaxing into the heat of the water. So engrossed in his
thoughts, he barely felt the air in the room growing colder. As he rinsed the
lather away though, he felt a sudden and icy chill run up and down his spine.
Turning around he wiped the condensation from the clear polythene screen that
encapsulated the shower and peered around the room. The door was closed and the
open window was on the far side of the room, so any sudden breeze would have
instantly warmed up by the time it reached him. He gulped as the words of
Menashi came back to him. Perhaps the butler was just trying to scare him.
Plus, the cruel trick that Kaiba pulled was still fresh in his mind. He shook
his head and berated himself for his own gullibility. Nonetheless, he tried to
finish quickly, ignoring another cold chill down his spine and rushed out of
the shower into his room. Remembering the butler’s words, he locked the door to
his room and even closed the door entering the bathroom. Changing quickly into
his pyjamas he dove into the large bed and wrapped the covers around himself.
He closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep in spite of the seemingly loud
ticks of his bedside clock.
 
Another cold chill made him shiver and he peeked over the covers staring at the
closed door. His breath was heavy, as if he had just run a marathon, whilst his
senses sharpened and the rapid beating of his heart thumped loudly in his ears.
The light by his bedside was dim and had cast many shadows in the room.
Wrapping the covers tighter around him, Katsuya closed his eyes, if Menashi was
trying to scare him; he was successful on this night. He shuddered from the
unnatural cold that came over him. As the blond tried to calm his senses, he
became aware that his breathing was starting to become erratic. Taking a deep
breath in an attempt to stave off from the verge of a panic attack, he braved
another glance and opened his eyes again to scan the room. The air had indeed
gotten cold, as he saw wisps of his warm breath drift from his mouth and the
sounds of rubbing carapaces reached his ears. There was a loud slam against his
door, as if someone or something was trying to barge its way in to his room. As
the noises became more voracious, he felt his voice being constricted and his
breathing becoming erratic. Another bang on the door was heard, as his
irregular breaths turned into a strangled croak. A third slam and a blood red
handprint suddenly appeared on the far wall of the room. Katsuya’s eyes widened
as he was frozen on the spot, as if someone had grabbed him by the arms and
held him down while the feeling of gnarly fingers were wrapped tightly around
his throat. Another bloody handprint appeared on another side of the wall as
the sounds continued on. His bed shook slightly and the bangs on the door
became more violent. Whoever or whatever was behind it was getting more
frustrated. ‘Surely someone could hear that?’ Katsuya thought, when the last
ram on the door broke the lock. The door flung open, slammed on the wall then
rebounded shut again. A final bloody handprint was stamped on the other side of
the door then slid down; leaving a long trail that ran down towards the floor.
The rubbing carapaces turned into a frenzied scuttling of tiny bodies. Feeling
light headed from lack of oxygen; Jou could only look down upon his sheets, it
was littered with maggots, beetles, centipedes, spiders and other insects, as
if someone had dumped a bucketful onto his lap as a cruel prank. Beyond the
insects, there was a croak and dark shadow slowly emerged from the foot of the
bed. Trying to focus despite the restriction of oxygen, he saw clearly, a
defined body of black. It was a human figure, possibly with hair covering the
majority of the face. Two eyes appeared staring unblinking at him, large and
curious, almost like a child’s. The figure got onto the bed and crawled ever so
slowly towards him whilst the insects crushed under the figures weight, leaving
a trail of shell and pus-like insides. Drawing up close, the dark figure was
mere centimetres away from the blond, sniffing at him curiously. Jounouchi
tensed as he stared into the wide eyes that came with an unnatural colour of
blue. The blond tried to call for help one last time, which only resulted in a
strangled croak, as the constricting tightness around his neck didn’t leave
him. The figure sniffed inquisitively, at the blond’s neck and hair before
turning back to stare at the terrified amber eyes. The blue eyes widened as a
large and psychotic Cheshire cat grin appeared amidst the dark to accompany the
eyes, and the figure drew closer, allowing a black and slimy tongue run up and
along the blond’s cheek, whilst black hands stroked his long neck. 
 
“Don’t worry,” it said, grabbing a handful of maggots and sprinkling them on
Jou’s face. “These little things are here to keep you company, the ‘only’ thing
they feed on is dead and rotting flesh so, as you can see they won’t start
eating you yet and by the time they do, it wouldn’t matter to you anyway, now
would it?” the voice had been nothing more than a whisper but Jounouchi seemed
all too familiar with the threat to his life. Suddenly the figure was gone and
the space around Jou had shrunk, encompassing his body with only half a feet
surrounding him on all sides. A small light lit up and Jou realised where he
was, the maggots writhed and wriggled around him and he tried to keep them away
from crawling their way into his ears and nose. A whimper escaped his lips as
he watched his hands shake. A single maggot had managed to crawl its way up his
arm and Jou winced, as the ugly creature seemed to embed itself into the soft
tissue in his hand. His eyes widened as the white worm wriggled and squirmed
underneath his skin. The last thing he remembered was the sound of his
screaming, as he banged his fist against the wooden lid of his coffin until
finally he sat up smacking the wretched insects away from his face.
 
Jounouchi sat in his bed gasping constantly checking his bed for signs of the
insects, his face laden with sweat. He let out a big sigh as he flopped back
into a lying position on the bed, placing his face into his hands, willing away
the last vestiges of his nightmare. When his heart finally steadied, he felt
for his bedside clock on the table and squinted at the luminous hands. It was
only two o’clock in the morning, a good few hours before he needed to get up
for work however, he couldn’t go back to sleep, one nightmare a night is bad
enough as it was. Groaning, the blond got out of his bed and headed towards the
bathroom for another shower. It was going to be a long wait until five o’clock
and worse of all, it was going to be his first day in school. When he finally
waited out the agonizingly long three hours he got himself ready then went to
unlock his door to go out. His eyes widened when he noted the splinters of wood
and the broken lock.
 
 
***** Chapter 3 *****
“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 fried egg 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. 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 a lunchbox 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.
 
 
 
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Notes
     Trigger warnings for rape scene ahead. It ain't pretty or romantic
     and it made me grossed out writing it.
He was in a dark wet and putrid smelling place filled with images of shifting
shadows that hovered over him ominously.  “It’s nothing personal kid, your
daddy just associated himself with the wrong person and we need to make an
example of such people.” A quiet chiming of a bell was heard and a cluster of
hands violated every inch of skin. He felt pain, terror, sadness and
humiliation from the derisive laughter that surrounded him, but the worse thing
was the lecherous blue eyes that bore down on him. ”Just call it a lack of a
better judgement on his part for getting too friendly with our enemy.”
 
He wanted to scream but was quickly silenced by something thick and large that
reached to the back of his throat making him gag. The filthy hands pawed at all
the most sensitive parts of his body forcing him into sexual arousal in order
for his tormentors to mock him some more. His body felt like it would split
apart as another member plunged into the tight ring of muscle and a coppery
smell started to permeate the air as the other rutted into him like a wild
beast, the movements only made more fluid due to slipperiness of his own blood
coating his rapist’s cock. After what felt like eternity, the shadows seemed to
falter before emptying their load into his broken body. He felt himself vomit
out the sticky substance ejected from the wrinkled appendage that had
previously been savagely rammed down his throat. Then just as he thought it was
going to be over, the shadows shifted their positions for another round of hell
as the chiming bell suddenly became louder.
 
---
 
Jounouchi gasped when he woke up to the sound of the bell ending his last class
for the day. He dropped his head back onto his arms that he had previously used
as a cushion whilst willing his pounding heart to calm down from his most
recent nightmare. The images quickly started to fade from memory even though he
could feel himself panicking. Taking a few deep breaths learned from the few
sessions of therapy that he did attend, he slowly felt it fade. Jounouchi sat
up slowly brushing his invasive fringe back to rub at his aching temple.
Although it had been self-study period due to the teacher falling ill and most
of the students would just kick back and relax, Jounouchi hadn’t really meant
to fall asleep at school.
 
It had only been a few days since he had arrived at the Kaiba household and
though they seemed to drag on like years, it was for the most part peaceful.
The incident of the broken lock had never been resolved but since there hadn’t
been any further incident since that strange night, Jou never thought about it.
He would work, keeping himself to himself in the evenings then make sure he got
up early to get his morning duties done and leave for school without even
saying a word to either of the Kaiba brothers. He had planned to keep doing
this until the day he could go home.  
 
‘Home’ the thought of it was becoming more foreign to him every day and nothing
he did could relieve him of the oppressive numbness that had settled over him
the past week. Between his nightmares and the long empty hours of sleepless
nights, he wasn’t sure which felt worse. He knew he was tired but he was afraid
of the onslaught of terrifying images that haunted him every time he closed his
eyes. 
 
He noticed movement, a hand looking to grab for his arm and in a flash
Jounouchi reacted. He gasped, smacking the hand away before retreating back a
few steps to avoid his attacker only to be met with large and hurt amethyst
eyes in place of the lecherous blue of his tormentor. When he remembered where
he was again, Jounouchi immediately regretted his actions. Yugi looked up at
him dejectedly, nursing his hand. The small youth tried to hide his evident
hurt with a small awkward smile. His boyfriend on the other hand glared daggers
at the blond.
 
“'That', was uncalled for” Yami said in a low and controlled voice belying the
rage in his tone. He brought his lover in a protective embrace.
 
“We were just coming over to say ‘hi’ since we missed you at lunch again” Ryou
added with a frown on his face. His boyfriend merely gave a sadistic grin,
expecting a fight to break out between the angry Yami and the blond. Yami
stepped forward putting himself between Jounouchi and Yugi.
 
“Apologise” he growled. Yugi’s eyes widened when he sensed the threatening pose
and tugged gently on his boyfriend’s arm.
 
“I-it’s alright Yami, I probably just surprised him.” He reasoned hoping to
spare Jounouchi any trouble.
 
“Congratulations, you finally realised that not everyone wants to be your
friend especially when you keep pathetically encroaching their personal space”
All heads turned towards the last member of the group who was leaning casually
against a wall with his arms crossed. It had taken a few moments in Jounouchi’s
mind for it to register that Kaiba had just defended him in his own strange
way. He normally wanted to question it but the blond did not want to deal with
anybody right now.
 
“Kaiba” Yami growled at his rival but faltered when his partner started to look
teary-eyed.
 
“I-I’m sorry, was I really that pushy?” Yugi whimpered turning to Jounouchi.
Bakura scoffed and rolled his eyes much to Ryou’s chagrin.
 
“Of course not, love” Yami soothed rubbing his lover’s back then turning his
anger on the brunet. Recognising the signs of a major confrontation about to
unfold between the two rivals, Jounouchi intervened.
 
“Look, it’s my fault at the end of the day” he mumbled turning to Yugi. “I
shouldn’t have lashed out at you and I’m sorry.” The blond bowed low to the
smaller teen. Yugi gasped bowing in return repeatedly and flapping his arms
about in alarm. 
 
“No, no, no Ishouldbetheoneapologising. I-was-just-worried-because-you-didn’t-
seem-like-yourself-and-I-guess-I-was-only-assuming-that-since-we’ve-only-known-
you-for-a-few-days-to-tell-but-still-I….” Yugi then took a deep breath after
the tirade of words spilling from his mouth. “Are you sure you’re ok Wheeler-
kun? Did something bad happen to you?”
 
Jounouchi was taken aback from the small teen’s genuine concern about him.
Naive as he seemed, given in any other circumstances, he might’ve been best
friends with Yugi. The blond inwardly berated himself for worrying the smaller
teen then forced a smile of reassurance. “I’ll be alright. Thank you for your
concern. I’ve got to go now. See you on Monday.” He could tell Yugi wasn’t
convinced and made his exit as quick as possible.
 
“W-wait Wheeler-kun!” he heard the boy call which only made him walk faster.
 
He had already dashed out of the building pass the school gate and ran quite a
way down the street before finally slowing down. He sighed deeply brushing the
golden locks from his eyes before walking slowly towards the usual route to the
Kaiba mansion.
 
“You know he’s just going to end up following you around at school from now on,
pup?” Jou closed his eyes squeezing his temple in frustration at another
potential confrontation. He turned towards the billionaire teen who was sat in
his limo with the window down. The driver got out to open the door. “Get in,”
Jounouchi hesitated as he hadn’t spoken with Kaiba since his first day of
school. Today was Friday however and he was about to be working over the
weekend so whether he liked it or not, the blond would have to end up talking
to him again at some point. He stepped inside the leather interior and watched
dully at the scene passing by when the limo started moving again. “Want a
drink?” the teen billionaire offered gesturing at the small range of beverages.
The mundane cans of soda and children’s juice cartons looked out of place in
the luxury vehicle.
 
“Cream soda please,” he replied and the brunet handed him a can and a straw.
Jounouchi wasn’t sure what was with the change of heart with the brunet but
then again this was the first time he had properly spoken with Kaiba since he
first arrived and his impressions of him wasn’t good. The conversation with
Yomiko as well laid quite heavy on his mind and he had taken her advice to keep
contact with the brunet to a minimal. More silence fell between the two and the
blonde settled to staring back out of the window chewing on the straw he was
drinking from while staring at the scenery.   “What’s on your mind?”
 
“Nothing” Jounouchi replied automatically refusing to look at Kaiba. 
 
“Are you sure?”
 
“Yeah…”  Jounouchi didn’t need to look to know how intensely Kaiba was staring
at him or that the brunet was probably thinking of what he wanted to say to
him. The blond though also knew what he was going to say to try to coax a
reaction out of him.
 
“Yomiko told me about your old man.” Seto began. “I’d figured you to be a bit
more broken up about it.”
 
‘Bingo’ Jounouchi thought, praising himself for foreseeing where the
conversation was going.
 
 “He got what was coming to him. Anybody who messes with crime syndicates are
bound to get killed at some point, right?” Jounouchi was surprised however when
the brunet suddenly growled angrily at his offhand comment about his own
father.
 
“That’s not how it was like,” the other hissed, his eyes glared at him filled
with intense fury that Jounouchi had never seen. He flinched from the outburst
but noticed immediately, the odd look in Kaiba’s face. The brunet quickly
regained his composure and sat back, his expression unusually softer than
Jounouchi was used to seeing. Kaiba’s eyes widened slightly as if he had come
into a realisation. He let out a soft chuckle before the familiar mask of
mocking indifference returned. “You can’t seriously tell me that you believe
everything that woman has said. Do you?” Jounouchi would’ve normally wondered
about the sudden outburst of emotion but just presently couldn’t bring himself
to care enough about it.
 
“He did keep a lot of secrets from me”
 
“But you don’t believe it. Do you Mutt?”
 
Jounouchi didn’t answer for a long time opting to look out of the window again.
It would’ve been so much easier to just believe the story that Yomiko
described. The oppressive numbness he had been feeling all week intensified
into a huge wave. It was overwhelming and the world he passed by seemed to blur
before something wet escaped and ran down his cheek. He swiped it away and bit
his lip trying to stop anymore tears from spilling out.
 
 “No. He’s a moron with a stupid grin on his stupid, stupid face.  He’s a liar
and the worse dad in the world but he’d never get involved in stuff like that.
‘Fucking Yakuza ain’t got no honour’ he’d say.. ” Jounouchi paused for a
moment, half expecting the brunet to interject with some snide remark but Kaiba
remained silent. “They never even mentioned drugs when I was being held
captive.”
 
“Then it was for revenge.” It wasn’t exactly correct, Jounouchi thought but it
was close enough. His old man had not been a direct threat to the Yakuza but he
had gotten involved with someone that was and it seemed clear that the
interaction was enough to incite their wrath. Exhausted as he felt in body and
spirit, Jounouchi knew he had to investigate the matter. He needed to find out
who this person was. For some reason though the blonde found he was having
trouble thinking straight and his whole body felt really heavy as the
oppressive numbness he had been feeling was being washed away with something
worse. “With this knowledge what are you going to do? Will you tell the
detective?” the words from the brunet became lost in the tumult of thoughts as
Jounouchi struggled to keep calm from the surge of emotions that surfaced. He
felt his entire body shake as he felt tears run down his face. He went back to
wiping them away from his eyes with his sleeve trying to stop the wave of grief
wracking his being.
 
“I don’t know, I don’t know anymore.” At that moment everything broke down in
to heart wrenching sobs.  “I can’t… I can’t do this… not on my own” Jounouchi
whimpered as his grief resonated throughout his entire body. He didn’t care
anymore what anyone thought least of all the brunet in front of him. Had the
blonde been able to see through the film of tears that blurred his vision, he
would’ve noticed shock followed by concern on Kaiba’s face. Jounouchi wasn’t
even fully aware when the other sidled next to him and wrapped an arm around
him bringing him close in a tender embrace. He could hear and feel nothing but
his own wails of the loss of his father.
 
“Jounouchi Daisuke ‘was’ a good man,” it was the last thing Jounouchi heard
from the brunet before the exhaustion took over and everything faded away.
 
---
 
Mokuba was staring daggers at the half completed page of math equations in
front of him and cursed the person who came up with the concept of homework.
Eying his bag, which contained something that was far more interesting for a 13
year old, the younger Kaiba brother contemplated whether he should take a
break. All thought of games and homework however were dashed when his bodyguard
tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and grinned at the large limo pulling
up and shoved everything into his school bag before running out of the library
diving straight into the open door. The boy’s energetic grin turned into shock
and then dismay within ten seconds of seeing the pitiful sight in front of him.
Mokuba looked over to his brother who had his arms wrapped around Jounouchi’s
waist while the blonde’s head rested against his shoulder. With unusual
tenderness that only Mokuba had ever been privy to, the elder Kaiba wiped away
the tear-stained face then made a call on his phone.
 
“Yes Kaiba-sama?” came the overtly cheerful voice of Kaiba’s personal
secretary.
 
“Matsuri tell Shota to set up the holograph equipment for my 5 o’clock. I’ll be
conducting the meeting from home. He can send me any information regarding the
schematics.”
 
“Understood sir” the secretary replied. She had learnt very quickly and
efficiently not to question her employer’s reasoning and work ethic as it had
kept her in the job for years. Hanging up the brunet leaned his head against
the cushioned interior, the feelings of exhaustion starting to appear on his
face.
 
“Do you think we should tell him?” there were unshed tears in Mokuba’s eyes. “I
mean he does have a right to know.”
 
“I know that.” Seto snapped making his brother cringe. He immediately sent him
an apologetic look then sighed. “We just need to work up to it. Let’s just him
sleep for now though. I slipped him a sedative to help with the nightmares so
he’ll be out of it for a while.” The brunet twirled Jounouchi’s used straw in
between his fingers before placing it back into the can. The younger Kaiba’s
eyes widened then narrowed into a frown.
 
“If I didn’t know you better, I’d be actually disturbed here.” Mokuba turned
his attention to the sleeping blonde. “He does look a lot like Jounouchi oji-
san,” More tears formed in his eyes as his own grief filled his heart.
 
“They’re getting what’s coming to them Mokie,” Seto replied, cold blue eyes
flashed with a hint of maniacal madness. “I’ll make sure of it.”
 
***** Chapter 5 *****
Blurry visions of shadowed figures shuffled back and forth and he heard alarmed
voices all around him but he couldn’t comprehend anything being said in his
drug induced state.  He could smell the faint scent of cinnamon and felt
himself being lifted up and carried away. More voices were heard, most were
panic stricken but one stood out commanding the rest for silence then murmured
quietly to him in reassurance. He tried to focus but soon enough he succumbed
to his weariness and began to dream of the blue eyes that was staring down at
him. Familiar blue eyes that he thought he had seen a few years ago.
 
----
 
Jounouchi glared intensely at the wall as his call went straight to voicemail
relaying monotonously back to him that the irresponsible prick he had been
trying to contact was still not answering. Filled with a tumultuous rage and a
deep sense of dread that would result in him tearing apart the landline, Jou
slammed the receiver back down into the cradle for the sixteenth time that day
and went to rub his sleep deprived eyes.
 
“Where the hell is he?” he muttered under his breath unable to keep the
worrying thoughts circulating in his mind. Taking a deep breath and willing
back frustrated tears from falling, he picked up the receiver once more when he
heard a familiar rattle against his apartment door and the jingle of keys.
Holding his breath Jou watched intently as the door opened and his father
stepped into the room looking like he had just been to Hell and wrestled with
some of the residents there. Jounouchi Daisuke looked up with a frown and
blinked owlishly at his son before checking his cracked watch.
 
“Katsuya, you’re supposed to be in b-“ Daisuke was immediately silenced as he
felt the air knock out of him from the flying kick to his stomach by the
enraged 15 year old.
 
“YOU STUPID, MORONIC, IRRESPONSIBLE, ASS OF A FATHER! YOU JUST UP AND LEAVE FOR
THREE DAYS WITHOUT EVEN A WORD OR A TEXT? I ALMOST HAD TO CALL THE GOD DAMN
POLICE THIS TIME!” He felt his voice start to crack but it wouldn’t have
stopped his infuriated rant.  In fact, had it not been for the frightened
scrawny figures that were hanging back at the front door Jounouchi would do a
lot more than just kick his dad in the stomach and yell at him. The taller of
the two, just a couple of inches shorter than Jou himself, stared defiantly
with piercing blue eyes whilst using his lanky form to shield the tiny long
headed child. They were covered head to toe in dirt. Their clothes were torn
and grimy and Jou cringed slightly at the numerous cuts and bruises on the two
boys. Feeling more than a little awkward at his sudden outburst, Jou threw one
last glare at the whining man hugging his stomach then ruffled his own hair
nervously. He looked away from the two frightened boys and sighed. “It’s not
much but there’s some leftover food in the fridge over there. I’ll go heat up
some water and get some bandages. I’m sure you’ll both want to have a bath and
dress those cuts.” He flashed a warm smile at the surprised teen before
hurrying towards the small cupboard in the room he shared with his dad. Looking
over at the still prone man, Jounouchi clicked his tongue irritably and went to
grab the first aid kit and some clean towels. He wet a hand towel with some
warm water and tossed it over to the man to clean his face while he started
preparing the dressing. He opened a fresh bag of antiseptic wipes and cleaned
around the worst of the man’s gashes.
 
“Ow, ow, ow… be gentle there Katsu-chan. That really hurts.”
 
“Quit being a baby and man up will you?” Jou snapped. Despite his irritation he
cleaned a little more carefully around the wound to avoid it stinging further.
“…and stop calling me Katsu-chan. I’m not 4 years old.” Daisuke pouted but
there was humour and love in his eyes as he let his son wrap dressing around
his wounds.
 
“I’m sorry I worried you son,” Daisuke patted the blond head affectionately as
he said it making Jounouchi feel further awkward from his earlier outburst. Not
that it mattered to their neighbours. Many were night shift workers and
arguments were a constant feature in this particular apartment complex that
they lived in.
 
“Well, quit being an idiot and actually call every now and then so that I know
that you’re at least still alive. Honestly, who’s supposed to be the adult
here?” Daisuke chuckled at his son’s disgruntled tone grinning from ear to ear.
Jou rolled his eyes at the man who seemed oblivious of how irresponsible he
was. Some folks described Jounouchi Daisuke as eccentric but most of them
thought he was downright crazy and sadly, Jou’s mom had also thought this as
well. It was hardly surprising considering the strange things that his father
did. He knew Daisuke was not ‘normal’ or whatever the crazy society of today
defined normal anyway. Drawing strange symbols on the walls, buying huge bags
of salt and other weird things that looked like dried out bits of dead animal
that came straight out of a horror movie was not the everyday occurrence of a
typical family man.  The worse thing he did though was the strange chanting of
some unknown dead language almost every night and that was what eventually
ended the marriage. Despite the evident creepiness, Jou couldn’t bring himself
to leave his dad. He knew that in his heart that Jounouchi Daisuke was a good
man. As strange as Daisuke’s behaviour was, no one was hurt by his actions and
Jounouchi defended the man vehemently whenever people tried to pin perfectly
explainable situations on his father’s “witchcraft”.  What proved it though
were the few clients that came by the man’s door from time to time. The look of
adoration and gratitude in their eyes, of being saved from something that no
one ‘normal’ could ever hope to comprehend. Jou knew this much. Whether he
believed the supernatural forces that his father was involved in was another
thing up for debate but from the looks on the people, his father had helped
them and that was all Jou needed. He had hoped his mom could’ve thought the
same thing. Nevertheless, he still watched his mother and sister leave. He
hadn’t seen either of them for 5 years.
 
A moment of silence came into the room before Jou was finished and went to
prepare more dressing for the two guests when he became keenly aware of blue
eyes staring at him. The little one was busy shovelling food as if there were
no tomorrow but what struck Jounouchi cold were the otherworldly stare of the
mysterious teenager that his father had brought back home.  
 
“Katsuya, go to bed now,” the older man barked snapping Jou out of his reverie.
 
 
“Dad-“
 
“Now!” Daisuke growled. His voice was fierce and commanding yet Jou sensed a
touch of fear mixed in. The younger blond was confused by this but his father
flashed a reassuring smile while taking the first aid kit from his hands.
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle things here. You got school later don’t you?” It’s
Sunday. Jou wanted to point that out to the man but the haunted look on the
man’s face stopped him.
 
“Fine, whatever,” Jou grumbled shuffling away to his room. Even though he
worried, the tiredness of several sleepless nights had won over him.
 
---
 
His body felt heavy and ached all over making him wonder if he was ill.
Jounouchi lay on his back, his eyes still closed, trying to make sense of how
he had got here. Everything felt hazy and he struggled to remember what had
happened to him. Slowly, the memories started to trickle in. ‘Yakuza, Kaiba,
Yomiko, the shooting, the nightmares,’ Jounouchi mentally listed and felt
himself chuckle that perhaps everything was nothing but one crazy dream. His
dad was going to knock on his door looking sheepish because he had made another
huge mess in the kitchen in his vain attempt at cooking breakfast for his son.
Jounouchi sighed knowing he would have to get out of bed to help clean up and
make breakfast again as the food that his old man was preparing was probably
burnt to cinders. He would scowl and do a short rant whilst the elder Jounouchi
would be scratching the back of his head and apologising profusely before they
sat down to have breakfast. A short moment of silence later and the two would
start a conversation about random things.
 
Jou chuckled some more to himself and waited… and waited. He opened his eyes.
Tears started to form in them followed by the familiar lump in his throat when
he saw that he wasn’t in his room. A whimper escaped his lips then he sat up on
the huge bed and wrapped his arms around himself, despairing when his fingers
brushed against the rough surface of one of his numerous scars. More memories
flooded back ending with him remembering that he had broken down sobbing like a
small child in Kaiba’s limo before passing out. Biting his lip he glanced over
at the clock on his bedside table. 10:23am Sat. Sighing, Jounouchi got out of
bed and took his time to get ready for work. He was already hours late for his
shift so another half hour wasn’t going to make a difference. He did wonder
though why no one bothered to call him to get him up for his first weekend
shift.
---
The hallway was strangely quiet when he set foot out of his room and he let out
an involuntary shudder. A flash of red and a rancid smell filled his nostrils
making him flinch and stagger backwards and he grimaced at stepping into
something wet and sticky. Looking beneath him he gasped noticing the large
puddle of crimson. He closed his eyes and swallowed willing the nausea to go
away. The feeling of dread subsided and when he opened his eyes, there was just
blue carpet. Jou sighed noticing the slip of yellow paper stuck to his door.
‘Go to the dining room’. It said.
 
‘Where is everyone?’ was the question that pervaded his thoughts as he made his
way down the corridor that he had finally memorised. His room in the east wing
was the furthest from the dining hall and in his long trek through the winding
hallways he had yet to see any of the numerous maids that usually scurried
around everywhere. The mansion seemed completely abandoned. Although he tended
to avoid any social gathering and gossiping girls who tried to sneak in an
extra break or two, there was a slight comfort and a sense of normality knowing
that they were there. Right now, the emptiness was akin to standing on the edge
of a knife and he became increasingly more aware of the eerie surroundings. The
floor boards beneath him groaned and echoed into the emptiness and he felt like
the very walls seemed to close in on him. The very pattern on the wallpaper
made Jou think of soulless eyes watching his every move. Eventually, after
coming towards the huge set of double doors where the dining area was, he heard
the quiet sound of chopsticks scraping against bowls. The creak of unoiled
hinges in the door felt deafening when Jounouchi entered the dining area but
the Kaiba brothers seemed unfazed by what he felt was a rather cumbersome
entrance.
 
They were sitting at the huge table again with Mokuba gulping the last of a
bowl of miso soup while the elder was delicately dividing a piece of grilled
fish and nibbling on a bowl of rice. Both the brothers were dressed in casual
wear or in Kaiba’s case a black turtle neck and dark blue jeans minus belt
buckles and other flashy accessories. The scene was surreal in the domestic
nature of it. When Mokuba noticed him, he grinned and gestured towards the seat
next to him where a third readymade and perfectly cooked traditional Japanese
breakfast was laid out on the table. There was no one else around, so
presumably the third breakfast was for Katsuya specifically. He looked between
the two brothers, wondering if it was just a little prank in which he was going
to be yelled at by Menashi but even the stalwart butler was nowhere to be seen
and he was at least nearby usually.
 
“Don’t just stand there Jounouchi, your food is going to go cold,” Mokuba said
out loud. Katsuya snapped out of his reverie and particularly with the sudden
lack of formality this morning. One last scan around the room for other
servants and when he found none, Jounouchi slid into the chair. Mokuba smiled
before messily tear apart his omelette. Jounouchi turned his gaze over towards
the elder Kaiba who was also, for once eating albeit his own breakfast with the
precision of a doctor and his surgical knife. Aside from the bizarreness of
their surroundings and the fact that Jounouchi had been working/living with the
Kaiba’s for only a few days, it was surprisingly domestic.
 
“Where is everyone?” he asked moving his food around in a non-committal manner
despite the obvious nervousness he felt at the pit of his stomach.
 
“It’s the weekend. Nobody works at the mansion here. Well, except Seto and
Shota.” Mokuba grinned. “Technically, you’re contracted to be working as well
but, it’s not like we will need you to do much for us. Seto usually lets me
have a pizza and my favourite chocolate sundae.”
 
“What about security? Surely a huge place like this would need bodyguards?”
 
“Trust me, Shota is more than capable to handle personal security,” Mokuba
waved dismissively. “You don’t have to worry about keeping your name secret
around him like the other servants either.”  Then the boy’s eyes lit up with
eager anticipation. “Hey, want to play some games with me? We’ve got all the
consoles and all the latest titles.”
 
“Homework first,” Kaiba interjected, while taking a sip of his own miso soup.
 
“But big brother… it’s Saturday.”
 
“And the sooner you’ve done it, the sooner you’ll get to do what you want.
You’ve had most of the morning watching your cartoons.”
 
“You know you watch them too” Mokuba pouted but then a wide impish grin grew on
his face. “Ah… you’re trying to act the adult today because a certain someone
is actually sitting with us to enjoy this meal.” The elder Kaiba stared
impassively at his younger brother. Mokuba stared back defiantly, pouting his
lips when he found something slimy, sticky and smelly fly forward and smacked
to his forehead. Leaping up with indignant horror, he tried to brush the
offending piece of food out of his face.
 
“Gross! Who eats natto in this day and age, big brother, you weirdo!” Mokuba
squawked and flapped in the most undignified way that Jou could ever imagine as
the child tried to brush away with limited success the stringy strands that
trailed from the clump of fermented soybean while his older brother remained
impassive as if he had not just thrown food across the table. Within the pit of
Jounouchi’s stomach, something felt like it was bubbling to the surface, a
release of sorts and he heard a sound that he hadn’t in a long time, laughter.
If it wasn’t more surreal enough the laughter was coming from him. For a
moment, Jounouchi thought he had lost what remained of his sanity but the small
chuckle turned into belly aching chortles where he almost had trouble
breathing. He didn’t care from the odd looks the two Kaiba brothers were giving
him but the younger certainly looked pleased with himself as he joined in with
the laughter.
 
“Feeling better?” Kaiba asked after Jounouchi’s giggling reduced to gasps and
petering out to a satisfied sigh.
 
“Much…” he replied sheepishly.
 
“It wasn’t ‘that’ funny.” Kaiba added looking perplexed.
 
“No…” Jounouchi agreed, another giggle escaping his lips. Had he been looking,
he would’ve noticed the slight pink appear on the blue eyed teen’s cheeks. “But
I think I needed it…” he added.
 
----
 
The rather surreal domesticity continued on throughout the day, mostly with
Mokuba’s eternal brightness. They had spent the early afternoon catching up on
homework assignments which despite Mokuba’s complaining earlier, he did do
quickly and efficiently especially with guidance from his older brother.
Jounouchi sighed as he finished the last of his mathematics paper when Kaiba
looked over towards him.
 
“What?”  
 
“I will need to check your homework.  Since you’ve just recently transferred
and considering your background of being affiliated with a questionable group
in your last school, I’m guessing you might struggle with your studies here.
It’s also a requirement from Domino High; their policy dictates that they will
only allow you to have a job if you keep up with your grades. They also check
up on your employer, in other words me and ensure that I’m not giving you too
much work.” The blue eyed brunet explained as he took the papers and scanned
through them noting, with surprise that the formulas used were indeed correct.
Kaiba also checked his history and literature papers as well.  Jounouchi did
feel a little affronted by the obvious insinuation. Granted he did try to keep
up the stereotype of the of a delinquent, going as far as joining a gang back
in his middle school days and deliberately dumbing down his grades but he had
hoped that he was able to let that image go now that he had technically started
a new life. Being a kid in a broken household and having a crazy kook for a
father was more than enough of a reason to be bullied for, so Jounouchi had
made it a point to be more than a little vicious to garner respect from most of
the kids to steer clear and make his academics average enough so he didn’t
attract stronger bullies into making him do their assignments for them. That
was, at least until last year and his thoughts came full circle to those
specific memories that had surfaced when he woke up. He stared at the teen, in
particular the blue eyes that scanned each word on his papers and everything
seemed to click together. Jounouchi had only needed an opportunity to confront
business mogul about it. Kaiba hummed in what Jounouchi could only think as
impressed. “I never pegged you to be the type to be studious.”
 
The moment appeared and Jounouchi let out a tremulous breath. “I never pegged
you to be the type to be into the occult.” The illusion of domesticity
shattered instantly. The brunet froze and the semi-friendly mask was replaced
by the glacial coldness that Jounouchi had seen on the first day of his
arrival. The blonde swallowed as the look confirmed his suspicions. Kaiba
smirked and the blue eyes seemed to almost glow.
 
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