Small Favors

There was sound. A distant vibration. Food? No, no reason bother hoping for anything. No good in that. Jou needed to resign himself to his future. For Seto. It sounded like a revelation now.

He had allowed his mind to wander, disjointed, on basic concepts. He was hungry again. He was thirsty. Despite all the sleep he had gotten, he was tired. It was not goleepleep. His body ached. Jou did not bother to struggle or scream. For one thing, being bound and gagged, what little of that he could do wouldn’t be effective. But more importantly, it would defeat his purpose. Him being here meant Seto was out there, free. Gone. Saved. He could not believe what Toyoshima said; that was Toyoshima’s game. Jou had lost all track of time, but he was sure Seto and Mokuba must be beyond Toyoshima’s reach by now. That was all Jou would allow himself to think of the situation. He did not want to dwell on Seto, on why he was sacrificing himself for a former rival. A friend. A . . . no, he didn’t need to wish Seto here. It was a contest of wills, right? Just like before. Jou wouldn’t give in to any weakness. Just like with. . . . Jou thought about the floor again. Cold. No! No good. Pain. Yes, that was safe. He thought about his stiff muscles, his throbbing head. Pounding, pounding. Just like footsteps. They were footsteps. The sound.

Someone was coming. The door opened, and in came the footsteps. In rolled something big, heavy. A smaller door creaked, and Jou grabgrabbed by the shoulders and shoved onto a cold, metal floor. A voice trying to be hard demanded that he get on his knees, and he was yanked into position. The little door closed, and was locked. The lighting around Jou changed. The heavy something rolled again, and Jou rolled with it. The big door closed.

Must be time for Toyoshima to play with his new toy, Jou thought venomously. No, that would not do at all. Survival went by different rules now, right? He was going to endure anything they put him through, and he was going to get his dinner. He did not need to struggle or make things any harder on himself, because he was stronger than Toyoshima and his sick cronies. It was just a test to see how much he could take. Jou just hoped he could remember all this when it really counted.

*~*~*

Seto sat among the other businessmen, waiting. They had been moved to a rather small, dimly lit room. In full light, it must have been decorated in bright red, but Seto guessed it was never used except for what Toyoshima had called “after-dinner entertainment.” As it was, the colors of the room were faded to a dull red that reminded Seto of drying blood.

Against one wall were four fine, old, wooden armoires, with a large gap between the second and third. Plush, burgundy chairs had been arranged in a semi-circle facing these armoires, with end tables to the right of each chair to hold drinks and ashtrays.. The room was so small that the middle chair was nearly touching the wall behind it. Still, there was space enough for whatever Toyoshima might want brought before them. Seto had an ill feeling that he knew what was coming. The men around him were barely bothering to hide their perverted grins, figuring that if Seto was not already in on the game, he soon would be.

MinuMinutes later, a door on the left side of the room opened, and a cart carrying a large, covered box was rolled into the room. Two of Toyoshima’s bodyguards, present where ever he went, lifted the box and placed it in front of the space between the armoires. Something within the box made a noise, a human noise. The cart was rolled out again, and Toyoshima stood up.

“Gentlemen, I believe you are in for a real treat tonight. To begin with, I have recently acquired a fresh, male specimen in full health. Energetic, aesthetically pleasing, and entirely new to our, eh, business.”

Seto’s heart felt like lead. No. Oh, no. Of course, this was what he had expected, was it not? He quickly glanced around the room. Armed bodyguards stood in every corner. There was no chance to grab Jou and run for it. Then again, he had expected that, too. His plan had been to talk to Toyoshima in private and try to make a sort of trade. He hadn’t had a chance yet. It would be just like Toyoshima to force Seto into humiliating himself in front of his peers. “To begin with,” Toyoshima had said. Seto realized that he would probably have a part to play tonight as well.

Toyoshima grabbed the top of the cloth covering the box and yanked it off, revealing that it was, in fact, a cage. Jou was in the middle of it, on his knees, legs spread, hands behind him, and blindfolded. Seto shot up.

“Mr. Toyoshima, please--” he began, but Toyoshima shook his head and motioned Seto back into his seat.

“Now, now, Kaiba, hadn’t you better wait and see what else I have planned? Young people, always in a rush,” Toyoshima chuckled apologetically. He nodded towards guard stationed by the door, who opened it. Once again, the cart was rolled in, this time carrying a large, metal chair into whicdarkdark-haired boy was strapped. Mokuba. The chair was set to the left of the cage. Now Seto could see the wires crawling over the chair and its occupant, and the remote now in the guard’s hands.

The man pushed a button, and Mokuba jolted awake. He looked into the faces of the men, and his eyes rested on Seto. The boy let out a strange cry. With dread, Seto realized why. He was trying to call Seto’s name, but his tongue had been removed. This time Seto could not move. He sat frozen in pure shock.

“You see what rewards patience can bring, Kaiba? Well, gentlemen, shall we begin?”