Close Confinement

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh in any way, shape, or form. I also do not own The Pretender or MacGyver series from television. I am just a fan fiction writer who is having fun with a few of the characters. So, don’t sue me. You would only get a few dollars because I am a poor young adult struggling to make ends meet.

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Normal P.O.V.

“What?” Seto reared back at the sound in Jou’s voice. Jou’s shaking had stopped very suddenly, and the glare that was facing him could have rivaled his own and won easily. It left him mentally gasping. Even glaring like that he’s stunning.

“What do you actually know about me, Kaiba? Nothing.” Jou sat down across the car from the still slouched over brunet, still scowling.

Silence reigned in the elevator. Seto sighed as he finally pushed himself back into a seated position. “You’re right.”

“Huh?”

Again a pensive look crossed Seto’s face. He looked at the blond. “Aren’t you tired of it all, Jou? The fighting? What do we really have between us anymore? Duel Monsters started going out after my last tournament, although some people still play from time to time. There is no real reason for a rivalry between us, even though we do still duel against each other. What is it, Jou? Haven’t you wondered? Yugi and Yami have tried for years for us to just get along.” I don’t want to fight you anymore. But, will I ever get a chance to love you?

Jou openly stared at Seto. There was a small emotion in his eyes that he could not identify. He smiled softly. Maybe… “You mean…like start over, or something?”

“Not really, just get to know each other more. We don’t know how long we are going to be in here. Luckily these elevators were designed for air flow. We would either run out of air, or fry to death, if they weren’t.”

“So you mean, just tell each other things about ourselves.” Jou was actually warming up to the idea. I would get closer to Seto. I already know we are going to be in here all day.

“Yes.”

“Ok. Sure.” Jou smiled. It was a genuine smile that no one had seen for a long while. It brightened his face. Seto’s heart gave a strange twist at the sight. “Um…could you start first?” I need to know how honest he is.

Seto found himself returning the smile. He’s so beautiful. I wonder if he realizes that. “All right.”
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According to Jou’s watch, they had been stuck in the elevator for over four hours. Jou had moved to sit closer to Seto. He had laughed at some of Seto’s stories concerning a rambunctious Mokuba. We’re comfortable. We really should have done this earlier. He doesn’t seem so bad now that I know more about…this him. His past has made him harsh and distrustful again. He doesn’t know that I saw every memory he just mentioned as if I was really there.

“That’s really all of it, Jou. The rest of it you already know.”

“Thank you.” Jou gave a soft smile that Seto returned.

“Jou…will you tell me everything?” He shifted slightly.

Jou sat quietly. Maybe it would be good to get all of it off my chest. Seto sort of knows what I went through this time.

Seto moved closer. They were sitting side by side. With a sigh, Jou set his head back onto Seto’s shoulder, like he had seen many times in his dreams. Seto gave a start, but settled into the position. Seto didn’t recognize it, but felt a strange yearning in his chest.

“Do you promise not to tell? I’ve covered my tracks, Kaiba. If any of this leaks…Yugi doesn‘t even know any of this. You can not tell. If you do, it could backlash on both Mokuba and you. Believe me; they would not worry one second about taking you down. With a few key strokes they could make you the poorest person in the world.”

“They would have to be damn good, Jou. The security I have set up for my systems could take hours to hack. The system would activate and change by the time they were part way into it. It cycles every half an hour shutting any hacker out from the program. They would have to start all over again.”

“You think so? I got into it in less than ten minutes before the program cycled.” Jou smirked.

“What?!” Seto jerked away to stare at Jou.

“Anyone that knows you can get through your firewalls.” He laughed before suddenly turning sober. “Have you ever seen the television show called The Pretender. ” He started slowly.

“No.” Seto sent Jou a quizzical look as Jou replaced his head on Seto’s shoulder. The familiarity of the action gave him strength to continue his story.

“It’s about a man running from an organization searching for him, while he helps people in some sort of trouble along the way. You see, they took him away from his parents after it was discovered he was a genius. They used him while he was younger. They used his innocent ideas and twisted them into weapons, or whatever else.”

Seto turned his head to stare down at the top of Jou’s. “Go on. What does this have to do with you?”

Jou turned his head up to look at him in the eyes. With a serious voice Seto had never heard the blond use before, he continued his story. “I am like him. I was taken away from my birth parents after it was discovered I was beyond normal human brain function. My IQ is off all known charts. I’m an American by birth, but they brought me to Japan. My birth name is Joey Wheeler.

One day I overheard a conversation while playing in an area where I shouldn’t have been. Even back then I liked to break the rules. They were going to use my drawing of a simple toy to create a new type of missile launcher. Can you imagine my eight year old shock? I was horrified.

So, I broke out and ran. But, I left them a present. I was only eight, but I could code computer programs like they were some kind of game. I destroyed all of their computer files by attaching a virus to the password. With one key stroke, they brought themselves down. It sent a signal to the FBI, revealing all their secrets and schemes. But, I know they fled before the Feds arrived because I still had to run. I was nearly caught several times. I had no idea where to go. I speak Japanese, Mandarin, English, Russian, and Spanish fluently, so I knew I could leave the country if needed.

I ended up in Domino. I was so exhausted one night; I fell asleep sitting up in the park. A police officer found me there. He took me to the local station. It was there I found out my birth parents were dead. They died in a car accident where the brakes failed. Yeah, right. I know they were killed to keep them quiet.

Luckily, I was able to convince the police officer that I wanted something to drink. While he was out of the room, I hacked their database. I changed my name to Shindo Katsuya. Through the police, I was finally able to hide. But, here is where things go screwy.

They were taking me to a care center. On the way there, some drunken moron struck the vehicle I was in, killing the police officer. I was in intensive care for two months in a coma. When I woke up, I couldn’t remember who I was. They told me the very information I had created. So, they placed me into foster care.

I was adopted by the Jounouchi family. Soon afterwards, Shizuka was adopted. We were just a normal family. I couldn’t remember who I really was, but I somehow knew not to let anyone know I was really smart. So, I acted like an idiot.

From there, you know everything. My parents divorced. Shizuka was taken by my foster mother. I was stuck with my adoptive father. I joined a gang and nearly got myself thrown in jail. I met Honda and later Yugi. I thought he was too weak, so I tried to toughen him up a little. After he stood up for us, I decided that he may be small, but he had a strong heart. I’m very glad he did what he did because I don’t know where I would be now without Yugi.

He taught me Duel Monsters. He thought I caught onto it really quickly. Once I was tuned to something I did it well and efficiently, which everyone thought was odd. I met you. There was Pegasus and Duelist Kingdom. Yugi gave me the prize money to get Shizuka the operation she needed for her eyes. Then, there was Battle City. This is where my personal hell broke loose all over again.

I was exposed. My face was everywhere because of Duel Monsters. They recognized me. But, with so much press around, they couldn’t grab me. They decided to wait. They cornered me one night while I was walking home from Yugi’s. I didn’t know who they were. They kept calling me Joey. One guy tried to club me over the head. Another tried to tazer me. I broke a few of their limbs, I think.

I was able to get away from them because of my street fighting abilities. They haven’t tried again recently. Not since I pulled a MacGyver and blew two of them up into little pieces last year. They did threaten to harm Yugi, but they learned quickly it was impossible to get to him. Yami took one of them out in a way they couldn’t explain. He took an express flight to the Shadow Realm.

You may not believe that Marik took over my mind, but he did. While under his control, all of my lost memories started coming back. My headaches are a sign that I am going to have another, what I affectionately call a memory attack. I’ve been watching my back and everyone else’s since. I think they may have finally given up getting me back under their thumb. If I suddenly disappeared, too many people would wonder.”

Seto’s eyes were widening by the second. This is almost too hard to believe, but why would he make something like this up? Wait…Joey Wheeler. I remember that name! I heard Gozaburo talking about some pet project named ‘Wheeler’ before I took over the company and rebuilt it. He said something about losing a brilliant mind that had thought up wonderful new opportunities for his military program. Was this it? It must be! “You were Gozaburo’s project.”