Part 3

[shirohime777.livejournal.com]

A/N: I’m so sorry guys. IRL things have just eaten me alive. I churned this out at the last moment, OTL I hope it’s alright. I-It's short.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Slim, pale, muscled, and bruised, the man in the make-shift ring barely resembled the Jounouchi he’d known in high school. With that stupid blond hair, he could have been any of the thousands of delinquents that frequented such low-class surroundings. True, the occasional wealthy patron did sneak in, eager to throw his money away for the thrill of watching two idiots beating each other senseless.

Needless to say, Kaiba did not approve of this idiocy that passed for entertainment. Hmph. Sport, they called it. It was as barbaric as the gladiator battles of the Roman Empire. Nonetheless he’d found himself there, accompanied by one of his American contacts. Kaiba himself had never been here, but he’d been informed that this was, at least, the place known for quality fights, with some attempt at regulation. This was probably because it was Yakuza-run, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. As long as he remained unnoticed, nothing would happen that might compromise him or his company.

He’d been discrete, barely watching the fight and attempting to steer the American billionaire away from anyone he might insult, when a new man stepped into the ring. For a few moments, his attention was focused on the people in the crowd, but a loud echoing smack made him turn his head, just in time to see a lean body lunging forward with surprising grace.

Suddenly, for a moment, he understood the fascination. Little sparks of excitement coursed though his veins as the other man took hit after hit, trying desperately to stay on his feet, sweat flying through the air. It was only after the last hit landed with a sickening crunch that he realized that 1) the winner was Jounouchi, albeit a little older, and 2) the man lying sprawled on the floor with a broken jaw was his own bodyguard. His eyes narrowed as he saw suspicious men on the sidelines exchange glances. To think he’d put his trust in that man, when Jounouchi of all people had beaten him in a fair fight. The crowd roared suddenly and Jounouchi collapsed. Hmph, perhaps he wasn’t as tough as he thought.

The few sentences they’d exchanged once he regained consciousness convinced him that Jounouchi hadn’t changed at all. Still as rough as ever, though Kaiba’d had the pleasure of seeing him growing more vulnerable as the morphine began to kick in. He was businesslike, cool. It wasn’t often that he had an impulse and it was even more rare for him to give in to it. Maybe he could find some use for this battered and weakened freak from his childhood. (Hmph, childhood, the word made him laugh.) Despite the offer, he knew that Jounouchi would be all but useless for a good few months. Why hire a bodyguard who wasn’t in top physical condition? A bodyguard had to be intelligent as well, a qualification that the loser did not have. No… there was no real reason for him to make the offer. Maybe it would prove amusing, having Jounouchi at his beck and call, taking a hit for him if it came down to it. Pleasant, perhaps, to hold the threat of revealing his part-time job to his little friends, if he still had them.

He mused over it for a while during his ride home. Analyzing his own emotions and reactions tended to yield some results, but this time, it wasn’t working. This could only lead to one of two conclusions. Either he was acting irrationally due to stress or some other event that interfered with brain function, or there was something he wasn’t admitting to himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*
Up next is yukiko_angel . Good luck. And how I wish I'd incorporated the mocking colleague cheeky_duckie mentioned but I forgot. :/