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safaat-keruth.livejournal.comI don't like deadlines. xD So I present to you... Part 5.
*~*~*~*~*
The late autumn air was bitingly cold, whipping Jounouchi’s hair into his face as he unlocked the gate to Kaiba’s mansion. His fingers were freezing, fumbling at the metal clasp behind the bar before he managed to unhinge it, but the discomfort of the temperature was not something that he wished to admit even to himself.
He had chosen, after all, to wear only gym shorts and a t-shirt to the ‘job interview’ of sorts—although that had been more to spite Kaiba than anything else. There was nothing Jounouchi hated more than arrogance and overconfidence, and Kaiba had both in quantities that would dwarf an iceberg.
Two men met him at the door to the mansion, ushering him through the door in utter silence. Jounouchi realized with some surprise that they were probably regarding him thoughtfully behind black sunglasses, and that he’d beaten up one of their companions a few days ago.
Is this Kaiba’s ‘test,’ then? Stick me in a gym with twenty of them and see how long it takes for me to collapse?
The steady thud of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Jounouchi looked up to see Kaiba enter the atrium, dressed in the same impeccable white suit as he had worn the last time they’d spoken face-to-face and looking every bit as polished as he had been then.
It was quite unhealthy, Jounouchi mused, for someone to look that awake at six o’clock in the morning, when the sun was still rising on the horizon and casting long, orange-tinted shadows onto the marble staircase.
Kaiba raised his eyebrows. “You’re on time.”
Jounouchi scowled back, crossing his arms. “What, were you expecting me to be late?”
“Yes,” Kaiba said flatly, before turning on his heel and heading to the left, obviously expecting Jounouchi to follow.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Jounouchi muttered, glaring at the other’s head.
Kaiba didn’t look back. “Don’t think I’m doing this out of assurance in your reliability, Jounouchi. This is a matter of whether you can keep me alive, not whether I think you’re punctual.”
#
The room in front of him was full of computers, their monitors displaying varying windows of code and grid-wrapped diagrams. Kaiba gestured for him to put on a bulky set of VR goggles. “I have some new hardware that hasn’t been tested yet,” the CEO informed him, “and I might as well use this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.” He paused before adding, “Of course… reveal any of this to the general public, and you’ll be sent to jail or worse.”
Jounouchi rolled his eyes but did as he was instructed, blinking them in surprise once the goggles were on as he found himself standing in a street he knew all too well.
It was the street on which he lived.
Kaiba stood behind him, watching impassively as a group of men burst out of the door to his apartment building, one dragging a flurry of auburn hair and pale pink with him—
Shizuka.
“You’re Kaiba Seto’s bodyguard, aren’t you?” the man holding Shizuka yelled at Jounouchi, not waiting for an answer before he yanked a gun out of his pocket and pressed it to the girl’s temple. “You will step aside and let us shoot him, or else your precious sister dies!”
“Shizuka,” Jounouchi said, his voice barely above a whisper, turning from her to Kaiba, who was still staring at him thoughtfully. Days ago, he would have protected his sister no matter what he had to give up for that, but now—now it was Kaiba, and Jounouchi wasn’t sure what significance that had for him, but he didn’t want to choose between them.
“Well?” the man demanded, yanking Shizuka’s head backwards and causing her to whimper in fright. “I’ll give you three more seconds to decide—three!”
Shizuka or Kaiba? Shizuka, of course I should choose Shizuka…
“Two!”
But it’s either her or Kaiba—
“One!”
There was a loud bang that rattled Jounouchi’s ears, and Shizuka screamed and collapsed to the ground, red blooming across her face.
The goggles were yanked off Jounouchi’s head, and he fell to his knees in horror before realizing, as the room of computers swam back into his vision, that the scene had not been real. “Asshole,” he gasped, staring up at Kaiba with renewed hatred.
“Didn’t I warn you?”
Jounouchi ignored him. “What was that for?”
Kaiba shrugged, as composed as ever. “To test your limits.”
“You made me think that my sister was going to die—and how did you manage to find out what she looked like anyway?”
“I have my ways.”
“Cold-hearted—”
“That was the first part of the test,” Kaiba interrupted smoothly. “And it told me that you’re not willing to sacrifice family for your job. But,” he said before Jounouchi could comment, “you might be willing to sacrifice that for… something else.”
Jounouchi snorted. “Like what?”
Kaiba’s expression was blank. “Me.”
*~*~*~*~*
I'm sorry if that seemed terribly forced. lloydoholic, good luck! (And I have no idea how to make the little person icon appear in front of the link...)
*~*~*~*~*
The late autumn air was bitingly cold, whipping Jounouchi’s hair into his face as he unlocked the gate to Kaiba’s mansion. His fingers were freezing, fumbling at the metal clasp behind the bar before he managed to unhinge it, but the discomfort of the temperature was not something that he wished to admit even to himself.
He had chosen, after all, to wear only gym shorts and a t-shirt to the ‘job interview’ of sorts—although that had been more to spite Kaiba than anything else. There was nothing Jounouchi hated more than arrogance and overconfidence, and Kaiba had both in quantities that would dwarf an iceberg.
Two men met him at the door to the mansion, ushering him through the door in utter silence. Jounouchi realized with some surprise that they were probably regarding him thoughtfully behind black sunglasses, and that he’d beaten up one of their companions a few days ago.
Is this Kaiba’s ‘test,’ then? Stick me in a gym with twenty of them and see how long it takes for me to collapse?
The steady thud of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Jounouchi looked up to see Kaiba enter the atrium, dressed in the same impeccable white suit as he had worn the last time they’d spoken face-to-face and looking every bit as polished as he had been then.
It was quite unhealthy, Jounouchi mused, for someone to look that awake at six o’clock in the morning, when the sun was still rising on the horizon and casting long, orange-tinted shadows onto the marble staircase.
Kaiba raised his eyebrows. “You’re on time.”
Jounouchi scowled back, crossing his arms. “What, were you expecting me to be late?”
“Yes,” Kaiba said flatly, before turning on his heel and heading to the left, obviously expecting Jounouchi to follow.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Jounouchi muttered, glaring at the other’s head.
Kaiba didn’t look back. “Don’t think I’m doing this out of assurance in your reliability, Jounouchi. This is a matter of whether you can keep me alive, not whether I think you’re punctual.”
#
The room in front of him was full of computers, their monitors displaying varying windows of code and grid-wrapped diagrams. Kaiba gestured for him to put on a bulky set of VR goggles. “I have some new hardware that hasn’t been tested yet,” the CEO informed him, “and I might as well use this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.” He paused before adding, “Of course… reveal any of this to the general public, and you’ll be sent to jail or worse.”
Jounouchi rolled his eyes but did as he was instructed, blinking them in surprise once the goggles were on as he found himself standing in a street he knew all too well.
It was the street on which he lived.
Kaiba stood behind him, watching impassively as a group of men burst out of the door to his apartment building, one dragging a flurry of auburn hair and pale pink with him—
Shizuka.
“You’re Kaiba Seto’s bodyguard, aren’t you?” the man holding Shizuka yelled at Jounouchi, not waiting for an answer before he yanked a gun out of his pocket and pressed it to the girl’s temple. “You will step aside and let us shoot him, or else your precious sister dies!”
“Shizuka,” Jounouchi said, his voice barely above a whisper, turning from her to Kaiba, who was still staring at him thoughtfully. Days ago, he would have protected his sister no matter what he had to give up for that, but now—now it was Kaiba, and Jounouchi wasn’t sure what significance that had for him, but he didn’t want to choose between them.
“Well?” the man demanded, yanking Shizuka’s head backwards and causing her to whimper in fright. “I’ll give you three more seconds to decide—three!”
Shizuka or Kaiba? Shizuka, of course I should choose Shizuka…
“Two!”
But it’s either her or Kaiba—
“One!”
There was a loud bang that rattled Jounouchi’s ears, and Shizuka screamed and collapsed to the ground, red blooming across her face.
The goggles were yanked off Jounouchi’s head, and he fell to his knees in horror before realizing, as the room of computers swam back into his vision, that the scene had not been real. “Asshole,” he gasped, staring up at Kaiba with renewed hatred.
“Didn’t I warn you?”
Jounouchi ignored him. “What was that for?”
Kaiba shrugged, as composed as ever. “To test your limits.”
“You made me think that my sister was going to die—and how did you manage to find out what she looked like anyway?”
“I have my ways.”
“Cold-hearted—”
“That was the first part of the test,” Kaiba interrupted smoothly. “And it told me that you’re not willing to sacrifice family for your job. But,” he said before Jounouchi could comment, “you might be willing to sacrifice that for… something else.”
Jounouchi snorted. “Like what?”
Kaiba’s expression was blank. “Me.”
*~*~*~*~*
I'm sorry if that seemed terribly forced. lloydoholic, good luck! (And I have no idea how to make the little person icon appear in front of the link...)
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