Stinging Beauty

Heh, sorry,’bout that one folks, I put the wrong file up. Part two of Jou’s story, I hope, you like!

Oh, btw ~* means flashback.

Ja ne!^^

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

10. To the dust

~* He only gawked.

And Honda stared back, pain, disbelief, fear and suspicion in those chestnut eyes.

“Ano, Katsuya, ya know this guy?” bellowed Hirutani, and the blond nodded.

“Hai. He-he’s in m’ class, right next t’ me. Dunno what he’s doin’ here, but he sure ain’t ‘n no gang. ”

His boss frowned.

“Then what’s he doin’ here ‘n our turf? Sure doesn’t live ‘round here either, I’d know that. ”

Hiroto, who meanwhile had been released by the other thugs and was busy brushing himself off, croaked:

“I-I only came to bring Katsuya his homework and remind him of the project we got for school. ”

“Project?” echoed the collective gang. Except for Jou, who couldn’t help the guilty feeling growing inside.

The brunet boy nodded.

“Hai, it makes up about half of our exams, and I know, Katsuya can’t afford to fail this one, so I came to help him. ”

An eerie silence rested on the group, then Hirutani chortled:

“Y’-y’ came all th’ way to m’ side ‘f th’ town, just t’ stop Katsuya from failin’ class?”

Honda nodded, a sincere expression on his childish features.

And then Hirutani threw his head back and roared in laughter, soon joined by his fellows. Giving Katsuya a pat on the back, which nearly sent the blond tumbling to the floor, he guffawed:

“Damn, I can’t b’lieve folks like y’ act’lly exist! Y’ took all this trouble ‘n y’, jus’ t’ keep Katsu-chan from failin’? Ara, that’s one good frien’ y’ g’t there, Katsuya!”

A shy, hopeful smile grew on Jounouchi’s face, as he locked eyes with Honda.

“Hai. The best. ”~*

He smiled at the memory, sad as it was.

“From that day on, we were friends. Inseparable. Honda helped m’ polish up m’ grades, and soon we were transferred to Domino High. I stopped hanging around Hirutani more and more and, finally, he just-tossed me out. I can still move about his turf unscathed, but I don’t belong to them anymore. Guess, I never really did- not that it matters to me. ”

A wry grin crossed Jou’s face.

“Y’ know, what’s the funniest thing? Despite all the stuff I did, I managed to get through the whole thing with my ass intact. ”

He chuckled.

“Can y’ believe that? I’m still a virgin!”

He paused, a shadow flickering past his features.

“Well, was, actually. “

The CEO’s heart clenched and, letting one hand caress Jou’s cheek, he rasped:

“And you just- gave it to me? In order to..even up the score, you gave me the most precious thing you had?”

Puzzled, Jou’s eyes flew from the azure depths above him to the gentle hand and back again. And widened in surprise at the sadness they met.

“And I didn’t even appreciate it. I-I just took it, and crushed it in the dirt, never once bothering how much it- I hurt you. ”

Frowning, Jou replied:

“Well, I suppose it served me right, considering what I did to you-“

“That’s not the same! I wasn’t a virgin anymore, then!” spat the CEO harshly.

And froze in horror, when he realized what he had just let slip past his lips.

Strangely enough, Jou didn’t seem surprised. Instead, a soft, understanding smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“I know. Gozaburo, right?”

Slanted blue eyes glared at him in silent accusation.

“Who-how-?”

This time, the smirk displayed the slightest smugness.

“Hey, I’m a pro, remember? Sides, I guessed as much already the first night. ”

Slightly calmed, Seto lay down next to Jou, elegant hands pushing silky brown bangs from his eyes.

“This is our last night. ”

“Hai. ” Seto frowned.

“Jou, I..I don’t want it to end. Not yet. ” Jou sighed.

“Supposed as much. ”

They lay next to each other in comfortable silence, until Jou broke the quiet.

“So, how do we take it from here?”

Shaking his head, the brunet confessed:

“I have no idea, I only know, I don’t want to let go of it-you-yet. ”

Blindly reaching out, he grasped the blond’s hand in his own, idly playing with those fingers.

“I guess, I need more. More time, and more of this. More of you. ”

Jou shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Fine by me. ”

He gave a dirty grin.

“I know, one just can’t get enough of me, ne?”

All of a sudden, Seto was on top of him, Jou’s face clasped between two long-limbed hands.

Blue eyes traced every single line of his features, as if trying to burn them into his memory.

“You have no idea how right you are. ”

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Hehehee, Seto’s getting..touchy- or does he?^^