[fic] YGO: Guard Dog Con't
May. 28th, 2006 05:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ickaimpOh, gods... was this a long chapter... Thank gods for head colds that quiet my brain enough to write. *head desk* *drinks more ginger tea*
Thanks to Bex for getting us unstuck, the Prats for bouncing stuff of off and Bex and Wren for being Grammer Whores. Much love to you! XD
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"You're late!" Mokuba scolded Yuugi as the spiky haired duellist ran up, wobbling slightly on his geta. The wooden sandals weren't that difficult to balance on, but it seemed like Yuugi's foot caught every stray stone on the street, tossing his balance off. He would have worn his usual boots or zori, straw sandals, with the dark purple summer kimono if Mokuba hadn't sent him express instructions along with the clothing for the Summer Festival.
"I'm not late!" Yuugi protested. "You're just early."
"We're the primary sponsors." Kaiba rumbled, his arms crossed as he watched people walk by with obvious disinterest. He wasn't dressed in any leather or black clothing for a change; he was wearing a pale grey kimono with a blue obi for the Festival, the colours similar to his favourite Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Of course we're early."
"Don't mind him." Jounouchi assured Yuugi, slinging an arm around Yuugi's shoulders. He was starting to sense a theme; Jounouchi's kimono was black, with a red obi. "He's just cranky that he couldn't find a Blue Eyes White Dragon balloon that wasn't the toon version."
Kaiba snorted. "Fucking Pegasus."
Yuugi privately thought that it had nothing to do with either Pegasus or Kaiba, but the fact that the toon version was a lot less detailed, therefore easier to reproduce in a balloon.
"You're wearing everything I sent you, right?" Mokuba asked, inspecting Yuugi much like a mother hen would worry over a chick. Which considering that Mokuba was about Yuugi's height, even with the geta, was rather amusing.
"Of course." He turned so Mokuba could see that the small silver device was attached to his light purple obi as he'd been instructed. If Kaiba was his Blue Eyes White Dragon and Jounouchi was his Red Eyes Black Dragon, then Yuugi was dressed as his Black Magician. Yuugi leaned forward to reveal the wire-thin head band with two strange little devices attached that were hidden in his hair. "That right?"
"We'll find out soon enough." Mokuba said cryptically, patting his head before turning towards the park the Summer Festival was being held at, marked by it's boundary of lanterns strung through the trees. It was warm out, even though it was approaching dusk, turning the buildings around them gold.
"He's been workin' on a big surprise." Jounouchi confided as he steered both Yuugi and Kaiba after the youngest Kaiba. Yuugi did a double take as he did so.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi hissed. "You... your ears!" He hadn't noticed because Jounouchi didn't hide his... abnormalities around either the Kaiba brothers or Yuugi, but they were currently in public and Jounouchi's ears weren't hidden.
And a quick glance behind showed that Jounouchi's tail wasn't hidden either, the light-weight summer kimono was cut to allow allow for the tail. Belated he realised that Jounouchi had been hiding behind Kaiba, ears pressed against his skull to camouflage them.
"I know." Jounouchi muttered. "But-"
A peal of laughter cut off Jounouchi's nervous mutterings. "What do you think?" Noa asked, spinning on his toes, the sleeves of his white kimono flaring out. The green sash almost matched Noa's hair.
"Noa-kun!" Yuugi grinned. "What are you doing out here?" Noa's Kimono was folded left over right, like a ghost or a corpse would wear.
"Same thing Jounouchi's doing." Mokuba grinned, looking pleased with himself. "Hiding in plain sight."
Noa being out in the real world instead of just inside of the computer was a shock in and of itself, but he also had a Kitsune's ears and tail. Mokuba also sported fake tail and ears, but his were the striped tail and grey rounded ears of the racoon-dog, Tanuki. The grey kimono Mokuba wore matched the ears, but the orange obi kept it from being too sombre an outfit.
"Just don't go chasing Yuugi, Jounouchi." Mokuba teased, grabbing Noa's hand. Noa's hand got more solid looking the closer it got to a small contraption that covered half of Mokuba's forearm, looking like a Duel Disk without the playing platform for the cards.
"Eh?" Yuugi glanced up, but wasn't able to see the top of his head.
"Tail, Yuugi." Jounouchi grinned.
Yuugi turned, catching a flicker of something as he did so. He did it again, realising that the device he had attached to his obi was projecting a cream-coloured long thin furry tail of its own, one that split half way into two pale slender tails that darkened towards the tips.
"Two-tailed cats are supposed to be magical." Noa explained softly. "Your ears match your tails. Like a Siamese."
"Ah." Yuugi smiled back. They truly were hiding Jounouchi's unusual characteristics in plain sight. "What about yours, Kaiba-kun?"
Kaiba's eyes momentarily glowed silver, his eyes reflecting the light like a cat's.
"Oh." Yuugi nodded. "Dragon. Good costume."
Kaiba looked highly pleased with himself. He had probably had won the costume debate with Mokuba, even if he had lost the clothing one.
"And you know the best part?" Mokuba bounced, his grin stretching from ear to ear. "Now I have someone to ditch Jounouchi with!!! C'mon Noa!"
The two younger teens dashed off through the crowds that were gathering, laughing happily.
"OI!" Jounouchi roared, chasing after his charges. "Who do ya think yer ditchin!?"
"Bai!" Yuugi waved, watching them go. It was nice to see Mokuba acting his age once in a while, instead of a miniature adult. It was even better that he had a friend he could hang out with too. Even Kaiba seemed amused by the change.
"They'll be playing Hide and Seek all night." Kaiba mused almost fondly. "This was Mokuba's pet project, so there is no doubt that he's already found the best hiding places."
"It's... impressive." Yuugi praised, looking around. The vendor's booths were already doing a brisk trade and people were already gathering, despite the fact that the Festival's entertainment didn't start for another hour.
"Not yet." Kaiba pointed up towards the sky. "But it will be."
Yuugi looked up at the twilight sky, then did a double take. There were vague shadows flying around above the festival. At least one Blue Eyes White Dragon... Lots of traditional monsters, with a few Duel Monsters thrown in. They became more visible as the sun went down, casting the sky into darkness.
"Solid Vision." Yuugi grinned. What was a Summer Festival without ghosts to give you the shivers? "Like Pom Poko." No wonder Mokuba was dressed as a Tanuki.
"What?" Kaiba looked at him, clearly confused.
"You've never seen Pom Poko?" Yuugi questioned. "It's an old film by Studio Gilbli. Tanuki? A Hundred Demon's March?"
Kaiba shook his head. "I never had much time for movies."
Correction. Kaiba never had much time to be a child and enjoy such things. "We'll have to correct that one of our movie nights." Especially since Kaiba was no longer hiding from them.
Kaiba shrugged, then changed the subject back to it's original topic. "The entire park is rigged with projectors." Kaiba explained, waving a hand around. "Except for items with projection devices, such as Noa and your ears and tail, they can't appear lower than a certain level. So everyone will be safe, even if something happens to the system."
This was something that could only happen in Domino City, Kaiba's city. Yuugi grinned. For all of Kaiba's gruff attitude, he was remarkably thoughtful. "I'm sure people will be talking about it for years."
"Or they'll want us to top it next year." Kaiba looked up at the sky. "I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon."
"I doubt that." He'd been dealing with Kaiba's Solid Vision for over five years now and the novelty hadn't worn off. It still gave him a private thrill, whenever he saw the monsters, -his- monsters appear before him.
Kaiba shrugged it off, a thoughtful frown on his face. Yuugi smiled to himself as he watched the people swirl around them. A few had just started to notice the monsters above them, but instead of reacting in horror, or screaming, they were watching with their mouths open in awe. A few people, most of them who had either decks or Duel Disks on their arm, noticed him and Kaiba walking together and stared at them instead, as if they were royalty.
It would have amused his Other Self.
He didn't get to spend much time alone in Kaiba's company. It wasn't that he was afraid of the larger duellist; it was just that there were usually Jounouchi or Mokuba with them as well, acting as a buffer with their cheerful banter. Privately, Yuugi thought that the other two were trying to protect them in their own way, probably to avoid any possible fights or duels.
"I hear you're playing a Toy, Silence and Shadows deck now." Kaiba commented casually, his version of small talk.
Yuugi smiled back. "Less Toys, more Silence and Shadows." He agreed. "Are you still playing a Dragon deck?"
"Of course." As if Kaiba would play anything else. The business man paused, then looked at Yuugi almost nervously. "...I'm not challenging you to a duel." He announced, as if to dismiss any ideas to the contrary. "At the moment."
-Definitely Mokuba's influence. "It's all right."
What would they duel over? Kaiba wasn't the kind to play for fun. The Duellist Champion title? He didn't need it. Kaiba could have it, he wasn't going to contest that claim. He hadn't wanted it to start with.
"Hn." Kaiba grunted. ""People call you 'The King of Games', you know."
Yuugi, Game. Oh, King. Yuugi-Oh, the King of Game. "I ask them not to." Yuugi smiled faintly. "I'm just Yuugi." Just 'Game', no King. He blinked, a stray thought hitting him. "... Is that why I'm a cat today?"
Kaiba looked confused "Cat?"
"Cats were worshipped as Gods in Ancient Egypt." Yuugi explained. "So was the Pharaoh."
He got a glare in return. "No."
Yuugi smiled back, privately laughing. Kaiba's glare didn't scare him, not when he actually knew the proud man. "You were a better Pharaoh than my Other Self was, you know."
"I..." What sounded like an angry retort was suddenly bit off. "What?"
"It's harder to re-build a city or a life, than it is to destroy one." His Other Self had defeated a monster, a Dark Evil, yes. Sacrificed his life and his memories for it.
But the battle had been brief, less than a day, while rebuilding what had been destroyed, homes and lives, would have taken Set's lifetime. Past that, even.
Kaiba looked away. "I thought I had been the High Priest in that mystical claptrap."
"You were our Cousin, our Protector and most importantly, our Friend. " Yuugi corrected. Even if Set had made Atemu nervous with his blatant hunger for power. "You ruled after my Other Self was sealed in the puzzle."
"-He- ruled." Kaiba corrected. "Not me. I am not him, just like you are not your Other Self."
Yuugi pondered this for a moment. "True..." He admitted. "But he is a part of me, just like your Other Self is a part of you. And there are some similarities between you and he. You're both better at creation than destruction."
Kaiba made an uncomfortable sound in the back of his throat, looking away and towards the Solid Vision creatures above them. Kaiba was used to thinking of himself as Dark, and twisted. But the Dark wouldn't be so drawn to him so much if it wasn't for his own bright inner Light.
They made a lap around the park in silence, watching the festival fill up with people. Yuugi was silently glad for Kaiba's company, if for nothing else than to cut a path through the crowd.
A music band started playing on a side stage, inviting people to dance. There was a tower set up in the middle, the large taiko drums set up on it for the more traditional dancing later.
"I have to go." Kaiba announced as they approached the main stage. "Opening ceremonies and that rot."
"That's fine." Yuugi assured him. "I'll be -oof-!"
"Gotcha!" Jounouchi said gleefully, arms loosely wrapped around Yuugi as he leaned on him, his skin and kimono damp. "Mokuba's already back stage, wanting to know where ya are, Kaiba."
Kaiba grunted in return, striding towards the stage as if to do battle. Jounouchi chuckled, a low amused sound. "He never changes." He mused, resting his chin on Yuugi's shoulder.
Yuugi swatted playfully at Jounouchi. "You smell like wet dog." He grumbled.
"Yup." Jounouchi agreed, putting more weight on him. "Running in geta is more work than it looks like. And Mokuba and Noa found water balloons at one of the vending stalls and decided I needed a cooling off. They got a couple of kids to help them out too."
"Figures." Yuugi laughed. Mokuba could sweet talk almost anyone in to almost anything. "Did you have fun?"
He didn't need to see to feel Jounouchi's grin.
The grin abruptly froze however, as Jounouchi's muscles suddenly tensed. And since quite a bit of Jounouchi was plastered against Yuugi's back, there was no way for him to miss it.
He looked around and spotted Honda walking with Otagi, the two of them glancing at Jounouchi suspiciously and making soft comments back and forth to each other. Yuugi smiled peacefully at them and waved. Otagi smiled weakly and waved back, then the two of them disappeared into the crowd again.
Jounouchi let out a breath he'd been holding, the air blowing past Yuugi's ear and making him shiver slightly. He patted one of Jounouchi's hands. "It's okay."
"It's not okay." Jounouchi said mournfully, resting his forehead where his chin had been previously, so that his face was hidden by his mass of hair. "Honda's been my closest bud for years. This -sucks-, Yuugi."
"I know." The problem was that Yuugi could see both of their sides. Jounouchi -couldn't- speak about a lot of his life to Honda, who didn't trust Kaiba with a three-metre pole. And he could understand Honda's feeling of betrayal upon realising that there were parts of Jounouchi's life he no longer had access to.
Silence fell as Kaiba walked on stage, Mokuba trailing behind. Kaiba didn't need anyone or anything to ask for silence, his presence was enough to do it.
... and he said he wasn't a Pharaoh. Hah.
"Watch this." Jounouchi straightened, moving to rest his head on top of Yuugi's, still not letting him go. Yuugi leaned back, letting Jounouchi take some of his slight weight. "Betcha he'll have the whole thing wrapped up in under ten minutes."
"No bet." Yuugi smiled happily. "Kaiba-kun -hates- public speaking."
"That's what makes him so good at it." Jounouchi snickered. "He doesn't do long winded speeches."
They were correct. Kaiba said everything that needed to be said, thanked everyone who needed to be thanked and introduced the person who would act as tonight's Hosts in about five minutes. He then turned and walked off the stage, leaving the Hosts to entertain the crowd.
"I thought this was Mokuba's project." Yuugi commented, slightly confused. He'd expected Mokuba to at least say -something-.
"It is." Jounouchi agreed, looking around. "But Kaiba's the figurehead of Kaiba Corp. And people don't seem to react well when they find out that everything was done by a fifteen-year old."
"Ah." Yuugi nodded. Kaiba was protecting his brother again, even as he helped Mokuba spread his wings a bit. "And it keeps Mokuba out of the spot light."
"Yup. Speaking of which, I think they ditched me again." Jounouchi patted the top of Yuugi's head. "Later, Yuugi!"
"Good Luck, Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi waved. Mokuba probably counted this as part of tonight's entertainment. Although he did hope that Jounouchi caught them at least once, otherwise Mokuba would never let Jounouchi hear the end of it.
He turned around and ran face first into Kaiba's chest. Kaiba caught his arm, steadying him. "Sorry." Yuugi blushed, rubbing his nose. Kaiba stared at him impassively, leaving Yuugi to wonder if Kaiba thought he was a big moron.
Finally Kaiba released him and turned to walk away. Yuugi debated for a moment, then followed the larger man. They walked in silence again. Yuugi looked up at the sky again. The sky was sufficiently dark that the monsters were clearly visible now, going on their ghostly business. No word about them had been made in Kaiba's short speech, leaving the people to wonder and marvel over their visitors.
Sometimes, things made more of an impact when underplayed.
"You said that we are not our Other Selves, although our Other Selves are a part of us." Kaiba commented, looking as if the words left a sour taste on his tongue. Although, if anyone was listening in, they'd be left confused by the talk of multiple personalities.
"Yes." Yuugi agreed.
"Then was your Other Self's leaving his choice or yours?"
Yuugi flinched, his hands curling into fists. For a moment he wished Jounouchi was there, with his warm presence. But this was part of the danger of hanging out with Kaiba as a friend. They both knew too much about the other, they both knew how to make it hurt. And Kaiba had far less compunctions about hurting others.
"Yes." Yuugi said tightly. Kaiba stopped and turned to look at him, his eyes silver from the contacts.
"That was an improper question." Kaiba said gravely. "Please ignore it."
"No. It's... " Yuugi shook his head, shrugging off Kaiba's minor apology. It wasn't -okay- exactly. But... "After everything, you have the right to ask, to know."
"Some things are harder than others." Kaiba waved it off. "Tell me when you are ready."
Yuugi laughed, squaring his shoulders and straightening to his small height. If Kaiba was saying something was too hard, it must have made the proud Kaiba really uncomfortable. "I'll never be ready, Kaiba-kun. But... It is all right." As long as it was Kaiba asking. Even Jounouchi hadn't asked, just accepted it once the decision had been made and supported Yuugi through the aftermath.
Kaiba nodded, staying silent as they started walking again.
"My Other Self wanted to go back... and he wanted to stay." Yuugi said softly, resting a hand on his stomach where the puzzle had been. It was a nervous habit, and one that Jounouchi had occasionally teased him about, saying it made him look like he was pregnant. "He was tired. He had his memories back, or at least his name, and this wasn't his time. So in the end, it was my decision. To choose to have him stay, or to let him pass on."
"To win or lose."
"I lost either way."
"Hm." Kaiba didn't comment on that.
"If I had won, what would have become of my Other Self?" Yuugi mused. "After I died, be it tomorrow or in sixty years, would he be stuck in the puzzle with no memories for another three thousand years? The other Sennen Items, what would happen to those? New hosts?"
Kaiba shivered slightly. "Pegasus."
"Exactly." Yuugi nodded. "Not duelling wasn't a choice either, we could both feel it. It was pulling both of us, we couldn't not go."
"I could feel it too." Kaiba admitted. Yuugi smiled slightly at him. Poor Kaiba. The businessman had no interest in magic or 'hocus pocus'. He was a man of science. Past lives didn't sit well in his view of the world.
"Sometimes you lose by winning." Yuugi shrugged. "And sometimes you win by losing."
"Hah." Kaiba dismissed it.
Yuugi smiled. Kaiba would understand that some day.
A body impacted around him, picking him off the ground. "Heya!" Jounouchi's cheerful voice echoed around him as he was abruptly set back down. "Have some mochi, it's really good."
The blond passed Yuugi some small soft round gooey pastries, practically bouncing as he did so. Yuugi took the offered treat. "What about you?"
"I had some." Jounouchi grinned, giving them a mock salute. "And if Mokuba and Noa ask, you haven't seen me."
"What's going on?" Kaiba growled.
Jounouchi pulled a small item out of his obi. "I got their wallet." He grinned as he quickly scrambled away.
Moments later, Mokuba and Noa dashed by, chasing after Jounouchi. "No Duelling!" Mokuba reminded them.
Kaiba crossed his arms, glaring at his little brother. Sometimes Yuugi wondered just who was supposed to be the elder one.
He passed a mochi to Kaiba, who took it. They ate and walked in silence, watching people. "Mokuba informs me that you can see... spirits." Kaiba finally commented uncomfortably.
"Yes."
"Can you see Noa?"
"Other than a hologram, you mean?" Yuugi nodded. "Yes."
Kaiba made a soft sound, like a cross between a grunt and a sigh.
"They're very happy." Yuugi added. "Noa-kun and Mokuba-kun."
"I know." Kaiba waved it off. "I just..."
"Worry." Noa had tried to kill them once after all.
"Yes."
Yuugi tilted his head to the side, offering Kaiba another mochi. He couldn't tell Kaiba not to worry, it was what Kaiba did as Mokuba's guardian. Kaiba took the pastry, eating it silently. "I don't think you have to be too concerned about Mokuba-kun's safety around Noa-kun." He finally said diplomatically. The fate of anyone who tried to get between Noa and Mokuba was another story entirely.
He was not, however, going to volunteer to turn Noa into a card. The green haired spirit was happy as he was and Mokuba didn't need a physical link to his other brother.
They paused, watching a small brown-haired boy play with a Winged Kuriboh. Everyone else obviously saw the bouncing winged creature as well, much to Yuugi's amusement. Hadn't Kaiba said that the Monsters wouldn't be able to be seen past a certain height above their heads?
"Hmn." Kaiba ate the second mochi. "Have you heard about the school?"
"The Duellist Yousei School you're starting?" Yuugi grinned. "Jounouchi-kun's raved about it a few times."
Kaiba made a muttered comment that basically translated to 'the mutt needs to learn to keep his yap shut' with 'muzzle' and various four-letter words mixed in.
"He knew I'd be thrilled about it." Yuugi soothed. "Just like you're excited about it."
Kaiba snorted. "If you're going to be doing..." He waved a hand around as if to somehow summon the words 'turning spirits no one can see into cards' without actually saying it.
"Right." Yuugi nodded.
"... then you should should probably see where they are going to go."
Yuugi grinned. "I'd like that." The boy's parents called him away, it was late, past the boy's bed time. 'Judai' said a reluctant farewell to his new friend, the Winged Kuriboh making a sad little noise as the boy ran off. The Winged Kuriboh floated over to Yuugi, resting in Yuugi's outstretched hands.
Kaiba smiled back, a slight tensing of his lips. "Great. We'll have to leave Mokuba and the guard dog behind however."
"... Oh?" Yuugi petted the Winged Kuriboh, the creature warm and soft to his touch. It purred, leaning against him.
Kaiba nodded. "I'm not letting him put more graffiti on the walls before the students get a chance to."
Yuugi laughed. "Sounds like Jounouchi-kun."
"Hm."
Yuugi placed one hand on the monster's head, the Kuriboh closing it's eyes and leaning towards him with a pleased sound. Yuugi closed his eyes, opening his other eye. A flash of power, and the Winged Kuriboh faded and morphed. He opened his eyes, looking at the card in his hand. He could hear an echo of the Kuriboh's cry.
"Not yet, little friend." He stuck the card in his kimono sleeve for safe keeping. "You'll see Judai-kun again."
Kaiba was looking at him with slightly wide eyes, awed, but not scared. Yuugi smiled back. "Perhaps... I can help a bit? From behind the scenes?" He offered hopefully.
Kaiba nodded, crossing his arms. "Perhaps."
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Seto woke up feeling like he was seven point three five centimetres to the left of his body.
His head hurt, his throat ached and over all... It was not a pleasant way to wake up.
"There's tea next to your head." Jounouchi's calm voice commented. "And some pain killers."
"Wha-?" He sat up, his throat too thick to actually get the words out. Jounouchi wasn't in his usual place on the bed, instead he was straddling the computer chair across the room. Strangely, the blond had a paper mask over his face.
"You've been runnin' a high temp most of the day." Jounouchi informed him. "We've been worried about cha. Mokuba called in sick to school today, he and Noa are takin' care of the company, taking care of business through e-mail, phone calls and video messaging."
Noa could change shape and his voice. With Mokuba's security clearance, they could do just that, fill in for him without anyone realising he wasn't there.
The thought was both disturbing and comforting.
Jounouchi stood up with a sigh and walked over to his night stand, picking up a steaming cup of something and handing it to Kaiba. "Drink."
Kaiba took the mug and obeyed, flinching when the drink scalded his tongue. But it did seem to ease some of the roughness in his throat. "What are you doing here?"
"Weren't you the one who said that a fool can't catch a cold?" Jounouchi smirked back.
"Ha." He took another sip of the drink, revelling in the almost painful heat. "So you were elected to watch over me?"
"No." Jounouchi shook his head, taking a seat on Seto's bed, his tail flopping against Seto's legs. "I threw them out and wouldn't let them call the docs."
"What?" Seto rested the mug on a leg. "Why?"
Jounouchi took the mug from his fingers. "Check out yer hand, then ask me that again."
He looked down. Right hand looked the same as it always did. Left hand...
Left hand looked like it belonged to a Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Oh." He croaked. The silver blue armour that had formerly been protecting his forearm now covered his hand, giving him claws, and extended the other way up past his elbow, turning back to skin around his shoulder area.
"It's gotten better." Jounouchi said helpfully. "It used to go up to your collar bones."
"Oh." He wasn't wearing a shirt either. It was kind of cold without one. "Can I have the mug back?"
Jounouchi gave him a quizzical look, then carefully handed the mug back. "Thank you." He said quietly, drinking some more. He couldn't feel the heat of the mug with his left hand, but it was warming his right.
"Uh. Yeah. Right." Jounouchi scratched the back of his head. "So anyway. When your arm started to change, it kinda tore through the sleeve and ruined the shirt. So I took the rest of the shirt off, in case you started getting spiky or something."
"Ah." Spikes were Red Eyes Black Dragon's department, not Blue Eyes White Dragon. The Blue Eyes was much more sleek in its design.
"Kaiba?"
"Hmm?"
"Go back to sleep." Jounouchi rested a hand on his shoulder, where the armour met skin. "I don't think you're tracking what I'm saying."
Seto stared at the hand on his shoulder. Other than Mokuba, no one touched him. Why did Jounouchi touch him? If he was sick, wasn't Jounouchi afraid of catching his cold too? If being sick did that to Seto's arm, what would it do to Jounouchi?
"Here." Jounouchi removed the hand and took some pills off the night stand. "It's only some fever reducer, I don't know what would react with our body chemistry. I gave you some earlier when you weren't completely awake."
"Okay." "Okay." He washed the tablets down with the tea, finishing off the mug. Jounouchi took the mug back, setting it down on the night stand again.
"Sleep." Jounouchi urged again, pushing him backwards. This time Seto didn't argue with him, letting the blond tuck him in as if he were a child and not a powerful businessman. "I'll still be here when you wake up."
"Okay." He agreed, already falling asleep. "Thank you... Katsuya."
A pause followed, Jounouchi's hands straightening the duvet around Seto's shoulders. "You're welcome... Seto."
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To be continued...
But first, I'm gonna go to bed and sleep fer a while... geh. *cradles box of tissues*
... we've actually had that last one in mind for a while, but today seemed like the day to write it. #^^#
Thanks to Bex for getting us unstuck, the Prats for bouncing stuff of off and Bex and Wren for being Grammer Whores. Much love to you! XD
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"You're late!" Mokuba scolded Yuugi as the spiky haired duellist ran up, wobbling slightly on his geta. The wooden sandals weren't that difficult to balance on, but it seemed like Yuugi's foot caught every stray stone on the street, tossing his balance off. He would have worn his usual boots or zori, straw sandals, with the dark purple summer kimono if Mokuba hadn't sent him express instructions along with the clothing for the Summer Festival.
"I'm not late!" Yuugi protested. "You're just early."
"We're the primary sponsors." Kaiba rumbled, his arms crossed as he watched people walk by with obvious disinterest. He wasn't dressed in any leather or black clothing for a change; he was wearing a pale grey kimono with a blue obi for the Festival, the colours similar to his favourite Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Of course we're early."
"Don't mind him." Jounouchi assured Yuugi, slinging an arm around Yuugi's shoulders. He was starting to sense a theme; Jounouchi's kimono was black, with a red obi. "He's just cranky that he couldn't find a Blue Eyes White Dragon balloon that wasn't the toon version."
Kaiba snorted. "Fucking Pegasus."
Yuugi privately thought that it had nothing to do with either Pegasus or Kaiba, but the fact that the toon version was a lot less detailed, therefore easier to reproduce in a balloon.
"You're wearing everything I sent you, right?" Mokuba asked, inspecting Yuugi much like a mother hen would worry over a chick. Which considering that Mokuba was about Yuugi's height, even with the geta, was rather amusing.
"Of course." He turned so Mokuba could see that the small silver device was attached to his light purple obi as he'd been instructed. If Kaiba was his Blue Eyes White Dragon and Jounouchi was his Red Eyes Black Dragon, then Yuugi was dressed as his Black Magician. Yuugi leaned forward to reveal the wire-thin head band with two strange little devices attached that were hidden in his hair. "That right?"
"We'll find out soon enough." Mokuba said cryptically, patting his head before turning towards the park the Summer Festival was being held at, marked by it's boundary of lanterns strung through the trees. It was warm out, even though it was approaching dusk, turning the buildings around them gold.
"He's been workin' on a big surprise." Jounouchi confided as he steered both Yuugi and Kaiba after the youngest Kaiba. Yuugi did a double take as he did so.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi hissed. "You... your ears!" He hadn't noticed because Jounouchi didn't hide his... abnormalities around either the Kaiba brothers or Yuugi, but they were currently in public and Jounouchi's ears weren't hidden.
And a quick glance behind showed that Jounouchi's tail wasn't hidden either, the light-weight summer kimono was cut to allow allow for the tail. Belated he realised that Jounouchi had been hiding behind Kaiba, ears pressed against his skull to camouflage them.
"I know." Jounouchi muttered. "But-"
A peal of laughter cut off Jounouchi's nervous mutterings. "What do you think?" Noa asked, spinning on his toes, the sleeves of his white kimono flaring out. The green sash almost matched Noa's hair.
"Noa-kun!" Yuugi grinned. "What are you doing out here?" Noa's Kimono was folded left over right, like a ghost or a corpse would wear.
"Same thing Jounouchi's doing." Mokuba grinned, looking pleased with himself. "Hiding in plain sight."
Noa being out in the real world instead of just inside of the computer was a shock in and of itself, but he also had a Kitsune's ears and tail. Mokuba also sported fake tail and ears, but his were the striped tail and grey rounded ears of the racoon-dog, Tanuki. The grey kimono Mokuba wore matched the ears, but the orange obi kept it from being too sombre an outfit.
"Just don't go chasing Yuugi, Jounouchi." Mokuba teased, grabbing Noa's hand. Noa's hand got more solid looking the closer it got to a small contraption that covered half of Mokuba's forearm, looking like a Duel Disk without the playing platform for the cards.
"Eh?" Yuugi glanced up, but wasn't able to see the top of his head.
"Tail, Yuugi." Jounouchi grinned.
Yuugi turned, catching a flicker of something as he did so. He did it again, realising that the device he had attached to his obi was projecting a cream-coloured long thin furry tail of its own, one that split half way into two pale slender tails that darkened towards the tips.
"Two-tailed cats are supposed to be magical." Noa explained softly. "Your ears match your tails. Like a Siamese."
"Ah." Yuugi smiled back. They truly were hiding Jounouchi's unusual characteristics in plain sight. "What about yours, Kaiba-kun?"
Kaiba's eyes momentarily glowed silver, his eyes reflecting the light like a cat's.
"Oh." Yuugi nodded. "Dragon. Good costume."
Kaiba looked highly pleased with himself. He had probably had won the costume debate with Mokuba, even if he had lost the clothing one.
"And you know the best part?" Mokuba bounced, his grin stretching from ear to ear. "Now I have someone to ditch Jounouchi with!!! C'mon Noa!"
The two younger teens dashed off through the crowds that were gathering, laughing happily.
"OI!" Jounouchi roared, chasing after his charges. "Who do ya think yer ditchin!?"
"Bai!" Yuugi waved, watching them go. It was nice to see Mokuba acting his age once in a while, instead of a miniature adult. It was even better that he had a friend he could hang out with too. Even Kaiba seemed amused by the change.
"They'll be playing Hide and Seek all night." Kaiba mused almost fondly. "This was Mokuba's pet project, so there is no doubt that he's already found the best hiding places."
"It's... impressive." Yuugi praised, looking around. The vendor's booths were already doing a brisk trade and people were already gathering, despite the fact that the Festival's entertainment didn't start for another hour.
"Not yet." Kaiba pointed up towards the sky. "But it will be."
Yuugi looked up at the twilight sky, then did a double take. There were vague shadows flying around above the festival. At least one Blue Eyes White Dragon... Lots of traditional monsters, with a few Duel Monsters thrown in. They became more visible as the sun went down, casting the sky into darkness.
"Solid Vision." Yuugi grinned. What was a Summer Festival without ghosts to give you the shivers? "Like Pom Poko." No wonder Mokuba was dressed as a Tanuki.
"What?" Kaiba looked at him, clearly confused.
"You've never seen Pom Poko?" Yuugi questioned. "It's an old film by Studio Gilbli. Tanuki? A Hundred Demon's March?"
Kaiba shook his head. "I never had much time for movies."
Correction. Kaiba never had much time to be a child and enjoy such things. "We'll have to correct that one of our movie nights." Especially since Kaiba was no longer hiding from them.
Kaiba shrugged, then changed the subject back to it's original topic. "The entire park is rigged with projectors." Kaiba explained, waving a hand around. "Except for items with projection devices, such as Noa and your ears and tail, they can't appear lower than a certain level. So everyone will be safe, even if something happens to the system."
This was something that could only happen in Domino City, Kaiba's city. Yuugi grinned. For all of Kaiba's gruff attitude, he was remarkably thoughtful. "I'm sure people will be talking about it for years."
"Or they'll want us to top it next year." Kaiba looked up at the sky. "I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon."
"I doubt that." He'd been dealing with Kaiba's Solid Vision for over five years now and the novelty hadn't worn off. It still gave him a private thrill, whenever he saw the monsters, -his- monsters appear before him.
Kaiba shrugged it off, a thoughtful frown on his face. Yuugi smiled to himself as he watched the people swirl around them. A few had just started to notice the monsters above them, but instead of reacting in horror, or screaming, they were watching with their mouths open in awe. A few people, most of them who had either decks or Duel Disks on their arm, noticed him and Kaiba walking together and stared at them instead, as if they were royalty.
It would have amused his Other Self.
He didn't get to spend much time alone in Kaiba's company. It wasn't that he was afraid of the larger duellist; it was just that there were usually Jounouchi or Mokuba with them as well, acting as a buffer with their cheerful banter. Privately, Yuugi thought that the other two were trying to protect them in their own way, probably to avoid any possible fights or duels.
"I hear you're playing a Toy, Silence and Shadows deck now." Kaiba commented casually, his version of small talk.
Yuugi smiled back. "Less Toys, more Silence and Shadows." He agreed. "Are you still playing a Dragon deck?"
"Of course." As if Kaiba would play anything else. The business man paused, then looked at Yuugi almost nervously. "...I'm not challenging you to a duel." He announced, as if to dismiss any ideas to the contrary. "At the moment."
-Definitely Mokuba's influence. "It's all right."
What would they duel over? Kaiba wasn't the kind to play for fun. The Duellist Champion title? He didn't need it. Kaiba could have it, he wasn't going to contest that claim. He hadn't wanted it to start with.
"Hn." Kaiba grunted. ""People call you 'The King of Games', you know."
Yuugi, Game. Oh, King. Yuugi-Oh, the King of Game. "I ask them not to." Yuugi smiled faintly. "I'm just Yuugi." Just 'Game', no King. He blinked, a stray thought hitting him. "... Is that why I'm a cat today?"
Kaiba looked confused "Cat?"
"Cats were worshipped as Gods in Ancient Egypt." Yuugi explained. "So was the Pharaoh."
He got a glare in return. "No."
Yuugi smiled back, privately laughing. Kaiba's glare didn't scare him, not when he actually knew the proud man. "You were a better Pharaoh than my Other Self was, you know."
"I..." What sounded like an angry retort was suddenly bit off. "What?"
"It's harder to re-build a city or a life, than it is to destroy one." His Other Self had defeated a monster, a Dark Evil, yes. Sacrificed his life and his memories for it.
But the battle had been brief, less than a day, while rebuilding what had been destroyed, homes and lives, would have taken Set's lifetime. Past that, even.
Kaiba looked away. "I thought I had been the High Priest in that mystical claptrap."
"You were our Cousin, our Protector and most importantly, our Friend. " Yuugi corrected. Even if Set had made Atemu nervous with his blatant hunger for power. "You ruled after my Other Self was sealed in the puzzle."
"-He- ruled." Kaiba corrected. "Not me. I am not him, just like you are not your Other Self."
Yuugi pondered this for a moment. "True..." He admitted. "But he is a part of me, just like your Other Self is a part of you. And there are some similarities between you and he. You're both better at creation than destruction."
Kaiba made an uncomfortable sound in the back of his throat, looking away and towards the Solid Vision creatures above them. Kaiba was used to thinking of himself as Dark, and twisted. But the Dark wouldn't be so drawn to him so much if it wasn't for his own bright inner Light.
They made a lap around the park in silence, watching the festival fill up with people. Yuugi was silently glad for Kaiba's company, if for nothing else than to cut a path through the crowd.
A music band started playing on a side stage, inviting people to dance. There was a tower set up in the middle, the large taiko drums set up on it for the more traditional dancing later.
"I have to go." Kaiba announced as they approached the main stage. "Opening ceremonies and that rot."
"That's fine." Yuugi assured him. "I'll be -oof-!"
"Gotcha!" Jounouchi said gleefully, arms loosely wrapped around Yuugi as he leaned on him, his skin and kimono damp. "Mokuba's already back stage, wanting to know where ya are, Kaiba."
Kaiba grunted in return, striding towards the stage as if to do battle. Jounouchi chuckled, a low amused sound. "He never changes." He mused, resting his chin on Yuugi's shoulder.
Yuugi swatted playfully at Jounouchi. "You smell like wet dog." He grumbled.
"Yup." Jounouchi agreed, putting more weight on him. "Running in geta is more work than it looks like. And Mokuba and Noa found water balloons at one of the vending stalls and decided I needed a cooling off. They got a couple of kids to help them out too."
"Figures." Yuugi laughed. Mokuba could sweet talk almost anyone in to almost anything. "Did you have fun?"
He didn't need to see to feel Jounouchi's grin.
The grin abruptly froze however, as Jounouchi's muscles suddenly tensed. And since quite a bit of Jounouchi was plastered against Yuugi's back, there was no way for him to miss it.
He looked around and spotted Honda walking with Otagi, the two of them glancing at Jounouchi suspiciously and making soft comments back and forth to each other. Yuugi smiled peacefully at them and waved. Otagi smiled weakly and waved back, then the two of them disappeared into the crowd again.
Jounouchi let out a breath he'd been holding, the air blowing past Yuugi's ear and making him shiver slightly. He patted one of Jounouchi's hands. "It's okay."
"It's not okay." Jounouchi said mournfully, resting his forehead where his chin had been previously, so that his face was hidden by his mass of hair. "Honda's been my closest bud for years. This -sucks-, Yuugi."
"I know." The problem was that Yuugi could see both of their sides. Jounouchi -couldn't- speak about a lot of his life to Honda, who didn't trust Kaiba with a three-metre pole. And he could understand Honda's feeling of betrayal upon realising that there were parts of Jounouchi's life he no longer had access to.
Silence fell as Kaiba walked on stage, Mokuba trailing behind. Kaiba didn't need anyone or anything to ask for silence, his presence was enough to do it.
... and he said he wasn't a Pharaoh. Hah.
"Watch this." Jounouchi straightened, moving to rest his head on top of Yuugi's, still not letting him go. Yuugi leaned back, letting Jounouchi take some of his slight weight. "Betcha he'll have the whole thing wrapped up in under ten minutes."
"No bet." Yuugi smiled happily. "Kaiba-kun -hates- public speaking."
"That's what makes him so good at it." Jounouchi snickered. "He doesn't do long winded speeches."
They were correct. Kaiba said everything that needed to be said, thanked everyone who needed to be thanked and introduced the person who would act as tonight's Hosts in about five minutes. He then turned and walked off the stage, leaving the Hosts to entertain the crowd.
"I thought this was Mokuba's project." Yuugi commented, slightly confused. He'd expected Mokuba to at least say -something-.
"It is." Jounouchi agreed, looking around. "But Kaiba's the figurehead of Kaiba Corp. And people don't seem to react well when they find out that everything was done by a fifteen-year old."
"Ah." Yuugi nodded. Kaiba was protecting his brother again, even as he helped Mokuba spread his wings a bit. "And it keeps Mokuba out of the spot light."
"Yup. Speaking of which, I think they ditched me again." Jounouchi patted the top of Yuugi's head. "Later, Yuugi!"
"Good Luck, Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi waved. Mokuba probably counted this as part of tonight's entertainment. Although he did hope that Jounouchi caught them at least once, otherwise Mokuba would never let Jounouchi hear the end of it.
He turned around and ran face first into Kaiba's chest. Kaiba caught his arm, steadying him. "Sorry." Yuugi blushed, rubbing his nose. Kaiba stared at him impassively, leaving Yuugi to wonder if Kaiba thought he was a big moron.
Finally Kaiba released him and turned to walk away. Yuugi debated for a moment, then followed the larger man. They walked in silence again. Yuugi looked up at the sky again. The sky was sufficiently dark that the monsters were clearly visible now, going on their ghostly business. No word about them had been made in Kaiba's short speech, leaving the people to wonder and marvel over their visitors.
Sometimes, things made more of an impact when underplayed.
"You said that we are not our Other Selves, although our Other Selves are a part of us." Kaiba commented, looking as if the words left a sour taste on his tongue. Although, if anyone was listening in, they'd be left confused by the talk of multiple personalities.
"Yes." Yuugi agreed.
"Then was your Other Self's leaving his choice or yours?"
Yuugi flinched, his hands curling into fists. For a moment he wished Jounouchi was there, with his warm presence. But this was part of the danger of hanging out with Kaiba as a friend. They both knew too much about the other, they both knew how to make it hurt. And Kaiba had far less compunctions about hurting others.
"Yes." Yuugi said tightly. Kaiba stopped and turned to look at him, his eyes silver from the contacts.
"That was an improper question." Kaiba said gravely. "Please ignore it."
"No. It's... " Yuugi shook his head, shrugging off Kaiba's minor apology. It wasn't -okay- exactly. But... "After everything, you have the right to ask, to know."
"Some things are harder than others." Kaiba waved it off. "Tell me when you are ready."
Yuugi laughed, squaring his shoulders and straightening to his small height. If Kaiba was saying something was too hard, it must have made the proud Kaiba really uncomfortable. "I'll never be ready, Kaiba-kun. But... It is all right." As long as it was Kaiba asking. Even Jounouchi hadn't asked, just accepted it once the decision had been made and supported Yuugi through the aftermath.
Kaiba nodded, staying silent as they started walking again.
"My Other Self wanted to go back... and he wanted to stay." Yuugi said softly, resting a hand on his stomach where the puzzle had been. It was a nervous habit, and one that Jounouchi had occasionally teased him about, saying it made him look like he was pregnant. "He was tired. He had his memories back, or at least his name, and this wasn't his time. So in the end, it was my decision. To choose to have him stay, or to let him pass on."
"To win or lose."
"I lost either way."
"Hm." Kaiba didn't comment on that.
"If I had won, what would have become of my Other Self?" Yuugi mused. "After I died, be it tomorrow or in sixty years, would he be stuck in the puzzle with no memories for another three thousand years? The other Sennen Items, what would happen to those? New hosts?"
Kaiba shivered slightly. "Pegasus."
"Exactly." Yuugi nodded. "Not duelling wasn't a choice either, we could both feel it. It was pulling both of us, we couldn't not go."
"I could feel it too." Kaiba admitted. Yuugi smiled slightly at him. Poor Kaiba. The businessman had no interest in magic or 'hocus pocus'. He was a man of science. Past lives didn't sit well in his view of the world.
"Sometimes you lose by winning." Yuugi shrugged. "And sometimes you win by losing."
"Hah." Kaiba dismissed it.
Yuugi smiled. Kaiba would understand that some day.
A body impacted around him, picking him off the ground. "Heya!" Jounouchi's cheerful voice echoed around him as he was abruptly set back down. "Have some mochi, it's really good."
The blond passed Yuugi some small soft round gooey pastries, practically bouncing as he did so. Yuugi took the offered treat. "What about you?"
"I had some." Jounouchi grinned, giving them a mock salute. "And if Mokuba and Noa ask, you haven't seen me."
"What's going on?" Kaiba growled.
Jounouchi pulled a small item out of his obi. "I got their wallet." He grinned as he quickly scrambled away.
Moments later, Mokuba and Noa dashed by, chasing after Jounouchi. "No Duelling!" Mokuba reminded them.
Kaiba crossed his arms, glaring at his little brother. Sometimes Yuugi wondered just who was supposed to be the elder one.
He passed a mochi to Kaiba, who took it. They ate and walked in silence, watching people. "Mokuba informs me that you can see... spirits." Kaiba finally commented uncomfortably.
"Yes."
"Can you see Noa?"
"Other than a hologram, you mean?" Yuugi nodded. "Yes."
Kaiba made a soft sound, like a cross between a grunt and a sigh.
"They're very happy." Yuugi added. "Noa-kun and Mokuba-kun."
"I know." Kaiba waved it off. "I just..."
"Worry." Noa had tried to kill them once after all.
"Yes."
Yuugi tilted his head to the side, offering Kaiba another mochi. He couldn't tell Kaiba not to worry, it was what Kaiba did as Mokuba's guardian. Kaiba took the pastry, eating it silently. "I don't think you have to be too concerned about Mokuba-kun's safety around Noa-kun." He finally said diplomatically. The fate of anyone who tried to get between Noa and Mokuba was another story entirely.
He was not, however, going to volunteer to turn Noa into a card. The green haired spirit was happy as he was and Mokuba didn't need a physical link to his other brother.
They paused, watching a small brown-haired boy play with a Winged Kuriboh. Everyone else obviously saw the bouncing winged creature as well, much to Yuugi's amusement. Hadn't Kaiba said that the Monsters wouldn't be able to be seen past a certain height above their heads?
"Hmn." Kaiba ate the second mochi. "Have you heard about the school?"
"The Duellist Yousei School you're starting?" Yuugi grinned. "Jounouchi-kun's raved about it a few times."
Kaiba made a muttered comment that basically translated to 'the mutt needs to learn to keep his yap shut' with 'muzzle' and various four-letter words mixed in.
"He knew I'd be thrilled about it." Yuugi soothed. "Just like you're excited about it."
Kaiba snorted. "If you're going to be doing..." He waved a hand around as if to somehow summon the words 'turning spirits no one can see into cards' without actually saying it.
"Right." Yuugi nodded.
"... then you should should probably see where they are going to go."
Yuugi grinned. "I'd like that." The boy's parents called him away, it was late, past the boy's bed time. 'Judai' said a reluctant farewell to his new friend, the Winged Kuriboh making a sad little noise as the boy ran off. The Winged Kuriboh floated over to Yuugi, resting in Yuugi's outstretched hands.
Kaiba smiled back, a slight tensing of his lips. "Great. We'll have to leave Mokuba and the guard dog behind however."
"... Oh?" Yuugi petted the Winged Kuriboh, the creature warm and soft to his touch. It purred, leaning against him.
Kaiba nodded. "I'm not letting him put more graffiti on the walls before the students get a chance to."
Yuugi laughed. "Sounds like Jounouchi-kun."
"Hm."
Yuugi placed one hand on the monster's head, the Kuriboh closing it's eyes and leaning towards him with a pleased sound. Yuugi closed his eyes, opening his other eye. A flash of power, and the Winged Kuriboh faded and morphed. He opened his eyes, looking at the card in his hand. He could hear an echo of the Kuriboh's cry.
"Not yet, little friend." He stuck the card in his kimono sleeve for safe keeping. "You'll see Judai-kun again."
Kaiba was looking at him with slightly wide eyes, awed, but not scared. Yuugi smiled back. "Perhaps... I can help a bit? From behind the scenes?" He offered hopefully.
Kaiba nodded, crossing his arms. "Perhaps."
+++
+++
Seto woke up feeling like he was seven point three five centimetres to the left of his body.
His head hurt, his throat ached and over all... It was not a pleasant way to wake up.
"There's tea next to your head." Jounouchi's calm voice commented. "And some pain killers."
"Wha-?" He sat up, his throat too thick to actually get the words out. Jounouchi wasn't in his usual place on the bed, instead he was straddling the computer chair across the room. Strangely, the blond had a paper mask over his face.
"You've been runnin' a high temp most of the day." Jounouchi informed him. "We've been worried about cha. Mokuba called in sick to school today, he and Noa are takin' care of the company, taking care of business through e-mail, phone calls and video messaging."
Noa could change shape and his voice. With Mokuba's security clearance, they could do just that, fill in for him without anyone realising he wasn't there.
The thought was both disturbing and comforting.
Jounouchi stood up with a sigh and walked over to his night stand, picking up a steaming cup of something and handing it to Kaiba. "Drink."
Kaiba took the mug and obeyed, flinching when the drink scalded his tongue. But it did seem to ease some of the roughness in his throat. "What are you doing here?"
"Weren't you the one who said that a fool can't catch a cold?" Jounouchi smirked back.
"Ha." He took another sip of the drink, revelling in the almost painful heat. "So you were elected to watch over me?"
"No." Jounouchi shook his head, taking a seat on Seto's bed, his tail flopping against Seto's legs. "I threw them out and wouldn't let them call the docs."
"What?" Seto rested the mug on a leg. "Why?"
Jounouchi took the mug from his fingers. "Check out yer hand, then ask me that again."
He looked down. Right hand looked the same as it always did. Left hand...
Left hand looked like it belonged to a Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Oh." He croaked. The silver blue armour that had formerly been protecting his forearm now covered his hand, giving him claws, and extended the other way up past his elbow, turning back to skin around his shoulder area.
"It's gotten better." Jounouchi said helpfully. "It used to go up to your collar bones."
"Oh." He wasn't wearing a shirt either. It was kind of cold without one. "Can I have the mug back?"
Jounouchi gave him a quizzical look, then carefully handed the mug back. "Thank you." He said quietly, drinking some more. He couldn't feel the heat of the mug with his left hand, but it was warming his right.
"Uh. Yeah. Right." Jounouchi scratched the back of his head. "So anyway. When your arm started to change, it kinda tore through the sleeve and ruined the shirt. So I took the rest of the shirt off, in case you started getting spiky or something."
"Ah." Spikes were Red Eyes Black Dragon's department, not Blue Eyes White Dragon. The Blue Eyes was much more sleek in its design.
"Kaiba?"
"Hmm?"
"Go back to sleep." Jounouchi rested a hand on his shoulder, where the armour met skin. "I don't think you're tracking what I'm saying."
Seto stared at the hand on his shoulder. Other than Mokuba, no one touched him. Why did Jounouchi touch him? If he was sick, wasn't Jounouchi afraid of catching his cold too? If being sick did that to Seto's arm, what would it do to Jounouchi?
"Here." Jounouchi removed the hand and took some pills off the night stand. "It's only some fever reducer, I don't know what would react with our body chemistry. I gave you some earlier when you weren't completely awake."
"Okay." "Okay." He washed the tablets down with the tea, finishing off the mug. Jounouchi took the mug back, setting it down on the night stand again.
"Sleep." Jounouchi urged again, pushing him backwards. This time Seto didn't argue with him, letting the blond tuck him in as if he were a child and not a powerful businessman. "I'll still be here when you wake up."
"Okay." He agreed, already falling asleep. "Thank you... Katsuya."
A pause followed, Jounouchi's hands straightening the duvet around Seto's shoulders. "You're welcome... Seto."
+++
+++
To be continued...
But first, I'm gonna go to bed and sleep fer a while... geh. *cradles box of tissues*
... we've actually had that last one in mind for a while, but today seemed like the day to write it. #^^#
