Stinging Beauty

Whoa, what a chappie! It’s almost a story all by itself! Nah, not really, but still take your time reading it.

Hope, this will make up for the mean cliffie from before. Added another OC, don’t use without permission, please, 'kay?

Oh, and I put in another song, I don’t own anything, it’s Roxette again- yeah, I know, we already had one of those. Your point being?

Ja ne!^^

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15. The fire settling

The next day, Jou didn’t show up for school.

He neither did the second day, but on the third, he came to class, sporting a fading black eye, several bruises on his arms and face and the slightest of limps.

His friends shot up from their seats, crowding around him, firing questions as to how it came to happen, when the bell rang.

Everybody scurried to their respective desk, narrowly before the teacher entered.

“Ohayou gozaimasu*, minna-sa-kami, Jounouchi, what happened to you? Why are you all beat up? And where have you been those past two days?” asked sensei.

“Home”, replied the blond with a slight drawl, seeing as his busted lips refused to form the words properly, “I g’t mugged th’ day b’fore yesterd’y, when I r’turn’d fr’m work.”

He handed the teacher the excuse written and signed by his father, and she nodded.

“Yes, well, tell you what, I’ll give you a slip for P.E., so you can rest a little. How does that sound?”

A grateful smile washed over Jou’s bruised face.

“Hai, ‘rigato gozaim’su, sensei. ”

Next morning, Jou was missing again, as well as the day after that.

Come the third evening, a heavy rainstorm claimed the city and its surroundings, drenching Domino City entirely.

It was about eight thirty in the evening, when Seto was shaken from working on his laptop by the sound of the doorbell.

Cursing under his breath, he raced down the hall, seeing as the last servant had left ten minutes prior.

‘Probably forgot her purse, again’ he thought, as he threw open the door and-

“Jou?”

Completely soaked, his left arm in a sling, clothes dishelved, his face swollen and freckled with bruises.

There were several cuts and burn marks on his arms, as well as a fading scar just above his collarbone.

“Jou?” whispered Kaiba anew, horrified at the slightly shorter teen’s attire.

Several moments, various emotions flitted across Jou’s features, warring for control, but then his face turned expressionless, as he stated:

“They booked him in. ”

Seto frowned.

“Arrested him? Whom?”

“My..father. ”

Leaning against the door frame, Seto fixed his gaze on the pouring rain, before asking:

“What did they arrest him for? Shop-lifting?”

Again, expressions raced over Jou’s face like the clouds across the sky.

“Damage of private property, sexual harassment, child abuse and attempted murder. ”

Kaiba jerked up, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Nani? Murder? Whom did he try to kill?”

Locking eyes, Jou pulled his shirt up, displaying his heavily bandaged torso and abdomen, as he replied:

“Me. ”

I started my life when you knocked on the door

Found something inside I didn't dare to ignore

Now I do believe in flowers on the moon

I'll swim beside the golden tide

Seto was too shocked, to even gasp.

Instead, he shakily let his fingers trail the cloth, circling a dark brown spot, where one of the wounds had obviously seeped through, then hushed:

“Why..why did you come here? Of all the places, why mine?”

Jou shrugged, then winced.

“Honda’s outta town, Otogi is not the most..responsible or compassionate person I know, and Yuugi surely couldn’t handle it. ”

The CEO frowned.

“What about Mazaki?”

Jou gave him a look that screamed ‘please tell me, that was a very bad joke’.

“Would you go to Anzu, if you were in my place?”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Kaiba couldn’t help but smirk.

“Which still leaves Ryou. Did you-“

“Went to his place? I did,” Jou sighed, “but they weren’t home. So, you’re my last option. ”

Seto nodded in understanding, before he queried:

“Speaking of which, why didn’t you return home? I mean, now that your father is in prison, you would be rather save…”

The brunet trailed off, when he saw Jou staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

“Hell-oo, hell-oooo, anybody home up there? My house is a bloody crime scene, and the investigation’s not yet over, so I can’t even get my stuff! Anymore of those brilliant ideas, tensai+?!?”

The CEO nodded.

“Yes. Ohairi kudasai.° ”

You crashed by the gate

Captured my fate

Salvation

My eyes couldn't see

I hardly breathed

I was diving so deep

Salvation

The fire in the large chimney crackled and popped cozily, as he snuggled deeper into the thick blanket.

Freshly showered, bandaged and dressed into one of Seto’s very own pajamas, Jou felt much more alive than the past three days.

Carefully nipping from the hot tea Seto had brought him, he tried to sort out his thoughts.

The CEO wanted answers, and Jou didn’t even know how to form the questions.

“So. Sexual harassment, ne?”

Jou nodded.

“Hai, he tried to get sweet on our social worker-“

One long-fingered hand halted him.

“Matte, matte, come again? Social worker?” queried Seto.

Jou sighed.

“Let’s start at the beginning, ne?”

I'm down in the study holding on to my luck

Will you still love me when I call you up?

I gave you my body, the power over me

Come on, bring out the best in me



~*

His body trembled with exhaustion, as he came home.

Obviously, his father had been asking around, by whom he had spent the nights and, having received no answer because no one, except of Honda, who was gone, knew, he had vented out his anger on Jou.

He couldn’t go to school looking like the proverbial punching bag, but he still went to work.

His employers hadn’t been too pleased, but knew better than to talk him out of it.

Today he had returned to school, had given the made-up excuse from his father, then proceeded to the construction place.

All he wanted now, was a hot shower, and then a couple hours of undisturbed-

“-be like that, I’m sure, we could get along just fine, ne?”

“Jounouchi-san, I will not ask you again to remove your hands from me! I thought, I made it pretty clear, that- Katsuya?”

The blond cocked a brow at the scene unfolding before him: his father had his arms wrapped around Fukuda-san, who tried to push off the bulky man.

However, she stopped her actions, when she caught a good look at Jou.

“Kami, Katsuya, you-your face…”

Fukuda-san caught herself, then turned her heated gaze on the blond’s father, who released her immediately.

“Would you care to explain this to me, Jounouchi-san? How come your son is still out at this hour of the night and shows all signs of physical abuse?”

Jou blinked, then muttered:

“Uhhm, actually, I was working. I-“

The social worker whipped her head around, pinning down the blond with her glare.

“You work? Until now? Where?” Jou flinched.

“The-the Matsuoka building?”

He had never seen a look of such barely controlled rage. Straightening herself, Fukuda-san hissed calmly:

“I see. Well, Jounouchi-san, you will be hearing from me and, rest assured, you will not like it. ”

The door slammed closed behind her.*

Seto couldn’t move.

The detached, impassionate tone of Jou’s voice had him frozen to the spot.

He could very well imagine how the blond felt. After all, he had been in the same situation before.

Jou inspected his fingernails, before continuing:

“Fukuda-san visited me this morning, short before I was released. Said, she called the police because my father came to her house and threw in her windows, then took down part of the fence. When she saw the blood on his shirt, she had an ambulance come check on me. ”

Jou put down the cup, then stared unseeing into the fire.

“She dropped me at my house, which was swarming with police. Offered even to take me to her place, but I refused, said, I’d crash by a friend of mine, till they were gone. ”

Tired, golden eyes came to rest on Seto.

“I never hoped it to be you. ”

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Ughh, I tried to break it up in half. I really did, it didn’t work. Reading it in two parts was too confusing, so I left it whole.

* You’re an anime fan, you’re supposed to know at least that! Good morning

+ Jap: genius

° Jap: Come in/Enter, please(yup, Seto’s being extremely respectful here, or else he would say ‘haite kudasai’)