Fixation

Chapter 2

The following three weeks passed in an uncomfortably fast blur for Jou. Aside from school and trying to find a new job, he had met with the Nakamuras again on Monday, confirmed that Kaiba Corp’s litigation fund would definitely cover the surgery, and then tried to be good-natured about Sakura’s insistence that he join them for dinner. Despite the obvious pity in Sakura’s eyes when she looked at him, Jou couldn’t help but like them both. Nakamura was quiet, unassuming, and unfailingly honest, even when Jou didn’t want him to be. He had all of the social tact of a two year old who blurts out embarrassing facts about his parents in public, never noticing the harm done or the strange looks sent his way. His wife could act like the demure homemaker as well as any woman in Japan, but underneath the quiet, professional exterior, she was loud, opinionated, and had enough tact to know when to keep quiet and when to viciously bite someone’s head off.

She had insisted, in a sweet voice that Jou knew meant sheer hell if he refused, that they needed to hire Jou to take care of their house and yard since she was too busy with Kaiba Corp to deal with being a homemaker. Sakura even discussed his homework with him, and for the first time ever, Jou was able to understand some of the material without having to struggle through a textbook he could hardly read.

Unfortunately, the things the Nakamuras told him about Kaiba made every day at school a creepy power struggle and guessing game. He found himself watching the brunette out of the corner of his eye, keeping an eye on his body language and even listening to the pace of his typing as he taped away on his laptop keyboard.

Jou began to pick up a pattern in the pace of Kaiba’s tapping. During study hall, when Jou sat two rows up and to the left of Kaiba, he was board and tired, so he tended to stretch and try to relax. When he reached his arms high over his head, Kaiba’s typing slowed down. Jou began experimenting, rolling his head from side to side while he stretched made the tapping slow down again. Just for laughs, he turned a contented sigh into a low, sleepy moan. The tapping stopped instantly.

Jou wanted to shout, to laugh, to jump up and down and announce that he had figured Kaiba out, but through sheer strength of will he managed to stay in his seat. He was glad Kaiba couldn’t see more than his back, though, because he knew there was nothing he could do about the grin that had plastered itself to his face. Of all the people in school, Seto Kaiba was actually paying attention to him.

When he got to his next class, he realized he had to think about why Kaiba watching him made him happy. It had been Nakamura’s comments that did it, Jou knew. Jou realized he wasn’t quite straight when, at fifteen, he noticed that his best friend Honda looked hot sitting astride his new motorcycle. But he had never thought about Kaiba like that. Now, though, thinking that Kaiba could actually be paying attention to a low class nobody like him made him giddy.
Jou knew better than to start acting like a school girl with a crush, though. He was probably reading too much into something that was a complete coincidence, and the most likely outcome was that he was going to end up getting more offended and hurt the next time Kaiba took a swing at him. Just because he could distract Kaiba with a moan didn’t mean that Kaiba was going to start treating him like he was a human being. Still, he might experiment a bit more the next time Kaiba decided to pick on him.

After the last bell rang, Jou hurried to his locker and filled up his backpack. He was going to the arcade with Yugi, Anzu, and Honda, then going to the Nakamura’s to trim the juniper trees Sakura kept complaining about. He hurried to Yugi’s locker where he found Yugi and his other friends gathering their things. Anzu and Honda were on the other side of the hall.

“Hey, Jou!” Yugi beamed at him.

“Hi, guys,” said Jou, draping an arm over the smaller boy’s shoulders, pulling his away from his locker towards their friends. “How’d everybody’s last classes go?”

Anzu grinned. “Me and Yugi’s went okay,” she glanced sideways at Honda, “But Honda’s still upset over that history test this morning.”

Honda had a sour look on his face. “I have every right to be upset! I think my decent grades this year just went down the toilet, if you want to know. I couldn’t get through that book for history no matter what I did! And that essay test was totally unfair! Every other test this year has been multiple choice! There is no chance we are ever going to need to know Plato in real life!”

“You could have signed up for a current events class instead,” Anzu told him.

“Yeah, remind me not to follow Yugi’s class schedule when we get to college, I never want to have to study anything that dull again. At least I know I can count on Jou to be with me on this!”

Jou shrugged. “Actually, I feel pretty good about that test. And, you know, after thinking about the material, I can see where it would have more applications than just ancient history.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Honda kicked the linoleum at his feet. “You actually read the book.”

“Most of it,” Jou lied. He hadn’t bothered reading the book at all, but thanks to his new boss’s wife, he felt he had a pretty decent grasp of the subject anyway. Having Jou to take care of the yard apparently freed Sakura up to focus on cooking, which she had never learned how to do, in the evenings. So, while she tried to figure out how to cook something other than rice, she talked about Plato’s Republic from memory. She had quoted entire sections from memory while he listened. It was nice to be able to think about the book without the headache that came from squinting at the text.

“I have to agree with Honda, Jou,” Yugi said softly. “I read it, but it’s definitely something I’m never going to use again. I mean, I get the idea, there’s got to be an upper class, a middle class, and a lower class, but beyond that, it seemed like a waste of time to me too.”

Jou had brought up the same point with Sakura, and she had laughed at him. “You know, Yug’, I think it was more of an analogy about the makeup of individuals than it was about government, ta be honest. Not really parts of a city at all, but just parts of who we are as people—parts of the soul that we’ve got to keep in balance to be happy. You know, our basic hunger and physical needs to keep us going, our courage and spirit so that we protect ourselves, and reason to rule over both of the others so we don’t go around doing stupid stuff like stealing food or having mass orgies or anything.”

“Didn’t the Greeks have mass orgies?”

“I don’t know, I wasn’t there,” Jou laughed, ruffling Yugi’s hair. “Come on, are we going to the arcade or what?”

Yugi shuffled his feet, still looking confused. His normally pale skin had gotten a few shades whiter. “It wasn’t about society at all? Not about economic class?”

“Not at all. I mean, Plato talked about dividing his republic up, but it was divided up based on what a kid’s talents were, not how much money their families had. Each kid was assigned to a caste based on which element of their soul was strongest, since that caste was where they’d be happiest. It wasn’t a competitive thing or a social thing. And the whole point was to make everyone happy, not just the guys on top.”

“Oh no,” Yugi’s head dropped all the way down to his chest.

“Oh, come on Yug’! I didn’t mean to make you doubt how you did on that test! Come on, let’s go play! There’s supposed to be one of the new miniature versions of the holographic duel system on display at the arcade, I want to go check it out.”

“You mean the duel disk Kaiba’s supposed to release soon?”

“Yeah.”

Yugi’s eyes lit up again. “I can’t wait to see that! Let’s go!”

The day at the arcade should have been perfect. Jou actually made money for games and a burger, Ygui’s good mood was just as infectious as always, and, thanks to the ibuprofen Doctor Nakamura gave him, Jou made it through the entire day without being in a lot of pain. His black eye was gone, and the headaches that always came towards the end of the school day were hardly noticeable. Even Honda cheered up a little bit as he kicked Jou’s ass in a game of pool.

His ribs should have been healed, but the previous weekend he’d made the mistake of refusing to give his dad money for beer. Doctor Nakamura had re-taped his chest while Jou sat at the doctor’s kitchen table, sampling Sakura’s failed attempt at chocolate chip cookies. They had blackmailed him into spending a few nights in their guest room, and Nakamura made Jou wear a bulky back brace until Thursday. He’d only agreed to let Jou take it off when Jou promised that he wouldn’t be exerting himself or going anywhere near his old man. To keep that promise, Jou was looking forward to spending the weekend wandering between his friends houses and helping Sakura brainstorm landscaping ideas.

Then the atmosphere in the arcade chilled noticeably. Around them the laughter quieted down, whispering started, and a few people filed out of the arcade. Glancing around, Jou noticed a very uncomfortable Mokuba trying to slip out of a circle of body guards, each one shaped like a professional wrestler and wearing matching, charcoal suits.

“Gods, you’d think Kaiba would let his brother have a little breathing room…” Honda muttered.

“Yeah. The poor kid’s never going to be able to make friends if he’s surrounded by an army of body guards everywhere he goes,” said Yugi.

Jou nodded. “Hey, Mokuba! They’ve got one of your brother’s holographic chess games, you want to play?”

Mokuba’s eyes lit up brightly. “Jounouchi! Yugi! Hi guys! I’d love to play. Do you know how to play chess?”

Jou waved his hand. “I’m no good at it, but I know the rules. How about the winner plays Yugi, then you can both teach me how to play better?”

“Sounds great!” Yugi jumped up from the racing game he’d just maxed out the high score on.

Five games of chess later, the back of Jou’s head felt like someone was to pry his skull open with a crowbar. He hadn’t won a single game, but he was learning a lot and having fun cheering both of his friends on. He wasn’t about to sacrifice one of the few chances he’d have to hang out with everyone just because of a bit of pain.

To everyone’s surprise, Mokuba and Yugi seemed evenly matched, even when Yugi shifted into his game-mode and let the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle take over. The change almost always signaled victory in whatever game Yugi was playing, but Mokuba was never one to go down without a fight. With a mischievous smile that reminded Jou of his older brother’s trademark smirk, Mokuba typed in his last command and moved one of the little horse pieces towards Yugi’s king.
The words “Check Mate” flashed across the display in neon blue.

“Well done Mokuba!” said the other Yugi, his voice far deeper than Yugi’s. He clasped Mokuba’s hand, sincerely congratulating him.

“Thanks! That was a great game! Can we play again?”

“Sure,” the other Yugi nodded once. The gesture lacked the innocent enthusiasm Jou was used to seeing in the smaller boy. The sixth game started on a more serious note.

The shift between the two personalities sometimes worried Jou. He had read a bit about multiple personality disorder, and he had noticed the change often enough that he assumed that was the only possibility, but he never said anything because he didn’t want to bring up whatever trauma had caused his friend to break from reality and construct this other side of himself. Jou was constantly baffled by how different the two sides of Yugi’s personality were. Everything that Jou loved about Yugi—his optimism, his joy, the evil little smile that snuck up on him whenever he saw chocolate—was all gone when the other Yugi was in control.

He often felt like he was cheering on a stranger.

Jou knew that his friend was aware of the change, and he spoke about the things that happened when he was the other Yugi. He just had to trust that Yugi would explain it all eventually, and in the mean time Jou was content to wait and just be there for his friend. Mokuba had gotten a serious look on his face when Yugi changed, so Jou guessed that even the younger boy recognized what was happening.

“I fail to see why you’re bothering to pay attention,” an icy voice said from right behind him. “This game has a few more rules than checkers, you know.”

“Nice to see you too, Kaiba,” replied Jou, not bothered to turn away from the game.

Jou heard the taller boy take a deep breath. Kaiba stepped forward and stood beside Jou with his arms folded across his chest. “Would you like me to explain each move to you, Mutt?”

Jou kept his face straight and bit back the retort that came so automatically after the last few years of trading insults with the brunette.

“Ah…” Jou heard the laughter in Kaiba’s voice. “I see… The mongrel is trying to actually learn how to play chess! Well, that explains why you can’t think of a response. With your limited mental capacity, I bet even a relatively simple game is overwhelming.”

Ignoring the insult and carefully controlled mocking tone in Kaiba’s voice, Jou noticed that the other boy actually sounded angry and frustrated underneath the cold bravado.

He really was going to try to be polite, to hold his tongue and not say anything. But some habits die hard. “Actually, I was just awed by the fact that your eleven year old little brother just managed to defeat Yugi, while you have never managed it once…”

“I’ve never played chess against Yugi!” Kaiba snapped. “From the looks of it, he doesn’t have much of an aptitude for the game, so I wouldn’t want to waste my time. Who do you think taught Mokuba how to play, Mutt?”

Kaiba sounded so defensive that it took everything Jou had not to laugh. Laughing right now would probably get him shoved into the holographic display table, and it would definitely ruin a fun opportunity to make Kaiba squirm. Of course, he was probably going to get his ass kicked for what he was planning, but he was going to do it anyway.

Jou pulled his hands out of his pocket, reached his arms high over his head in a languid stretch, cracked his neck with a moan, and slipped closer to Kaiba as he relaxed his arms again. He heard Kaiba’s breath catch. He leaned up on his toes, stopping when his mouth was just a centimeter away from Kaiba’s ear, and whispered, “Just keep telling yourself that, Kaiba.” When the other boy didn’t move, Jou inched closer so his lips ghosted over the shell of Kaiba’s ear. “I’m sure Mokuba can help you beat Yugi eventually...” When Kaiba didn’t immediately explode, Jou leaned just a fraction of an inch closer and took a deep breath, almost liking his lips at the scent of cologne and cinnamon that radiated from the other boy. He let his tongue dart out just far enough to skim the skin in front of Kiaba’s ear. “Damn, you taste as good as you smell.”

Jou didn’t have the nerve to push the other boy any more. He was going to have to make a run for it to get out of the arcade as it was.

He met the other Yugi’s eyes, mouthed a quick apology, then bolted for the door. He took off towards the school, running as fast as he could and not daring to look back. He wove in and out of the downtown crowd, jumped over a kid’s skateboard, and narrowly dodged through four lanes of slow moving traffic. He was about to duck into an alley that led to the back of the school track field when his shirt caught on something solid and he was yanked backwards.

Kaiba, his suit jacket open and a furious look on his face, held Jou by the collar of his school uniform and half dragged, half carried him into the alley.

Kaiba slammed Jou up against the brick wall, grabbing both of his wrists and pinning Jou’s body with his legs. “Bad dog, bad!” Kaiba snapped. He shifted Jou’s hands above his head and held both of Jou’s wrists in an iron grip. “Someone needs to teach you a lesson about respecting people’s personal space.”

“Look who’s talking,” Jou glanced down meaningfully. Kaiba sneered and pressed Jou tighter against the wall. His chest ached, but at the moment he was so flooded with adrenaline that he didn’t care. Jou couldn’t keep his eyes from widening in panic as he realized that the wallet he always noticed pressing into his legs when Kaiba pinned him down was a bit too large to be a wallet.

Kaiba smirked and grabbed Jou’s throat with his free hand, forcing his eyes up but not squeezing hard enough to hurt him. Jou already had a headache from watching Yugi and Mokuba play chess, so trying to focus on those blue eyes just an inch away from him was almost as painful as his cracked ribs. He had to shut his eyes to try to block out some of the pain. The feel of the other boy’s breath against his lips was overwhelming, demanding his attention in spite of the pain. Something in the back of his head told him he should be struggling, he should be trying to escape, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

A chuckle came from the other boy’s throat. “You pulled that little stunt back there on purpose, didn’t you, Mutt?” The hand on his throat slipped down to his collar bone, slipping beneath the collar of Jou’s shirt and caressing his skin. “You’re just begging to be taught a lesson, aren’t you?”

“Kaiba, I was just fooling around,” Jou coughed.

“Hu,” Kaiba chuckled again. “Interesting choice of words…” The hand on his neck ghosted over his chest, slipped under the hem of his shirt, and grabbed his hip with strong, pinching fingers. Those fingers trailed over Jou’s waistband and traced the outline of Jou’s rapidly growing erection. Kaiba began to stroke him through his jeans.

“Moan for me,” Kaiba whispered. Jou could feel Kaiba’s breath on his lips with each word.

“Mr. Kaiba, sir,” an out of breath voice sounded from the entrance to the alley.

“Fuck,” Kaiba hissed.

“Sir, you’ve got to be at that fund raiser in forty minutes.”

The hand on Jou’s cock withdrew. Jou felt Kaiba’s weight shift back and opened his eyes just in time to see Kaiba draw his fist back. Jou actually heard a crack as Kaiba drove his fist in his chest. Kaiba dropped him and turned away.
Jou wasn’t sure what it was that made him so weak. Maybe it was the stabbing pain, the way the blow drove all of the breath out of his lungs, or the hormones and racing heart beat from the other’s touch, but Jou collapsed into a pathetic heap at Kaiba’s feet.

“If you can’t learn to mind your manners, I’ll have to get you a shock collar.”
Jou gasped, his lungs refusing to function.

“I told your brother to finish his game, Mr. Kaiba,” Roland said quickly. “He is still at the video arcade with the car.”

“Fine.” Kaiba strode away, his suit jacket flaring around him as he walked.

Instead of following, Roland pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call. When Jou tried to struggle to his feet, Roland gently pushed him back down and arranged him in a sitting position, leaning against the wall. “Don’t move, I’ll have someone come give you a ride home.”

“Fuck off,” Jou coughed.

“Just stay put.” And then Roland was gone.

Jou managed to fall over, straightening out his body to try to take the edge off of the sharp, stabbing pain that forced him to keep each breath shallow. He felt like he had to cough, but when he gave in to the urge, the pain was strong enough overwhelm him. The world around the edges of his vision began to fade away until all he could see was a single cracked brick in the wall about eight feet above him. He should have been afraid, he should have been panicked about losing his sight entirely, but for a brief moment, he didn’t feel anything at all.