Jounouchi Katsuya's head snapped to the side.  The blow had come a lot harder than he had expected.  His stupid drunken father swayed on his feet.  Jounouchi gritted his teeth as he pushed his father out of the way of the on-coming knife.  He spun around and knocked the blade out of the attacker's hand.  It went spinning into the air and he was the one to catch it.  Their assailant froze when he felt the cold blade against the hollow of his throat.  

It was near midnight, in the bad part of Domino City known as the badlands, on a cold winter’s night... Their heavy breaths created trails of steam in the frosty air.  Wisps of capricious spirits...  The shabby apartment windows with their cracked windows and pungent scent loomed over them.  How Jounouchi wished he was in bed already instead of freezing out here.

"Go rob someone else, punk.  Next time I see you in this neighborhood, I'm not holding back." The hot breath against his ear caused the assailant’s blood to run cold.

Jounouchi pulled away.  The would-be robber nodded mutely and swallowed.  He just ran as fast as he could.  Jounouchi turned back to his father.  The man was sitting on the ground of the alley like a lost little puppy.  Jounouchi sighed and he hauled his father to his feet.  Jounouchi Tanaka stumbled and his son lent his weight to the other man to lean on.

Jounouchi grunted under Tanaka's weight.  "Next time warn me before you decide to take a midnight stroll.  It's dangerous at this time of the night.  Better yet, call me from whatever bar you're at and I'll come pick you up.  I've told you before not to walk home alone after 10:30.  Haven't I told you that before?"

Tanaka hung his head in shame.  He had once again for gotten his son's instructions in his state of drunkenness.  "Gomen, Katsuya.  You had to come to get me when you have school tomorrow."

Jounouchi sighed.  "Don't worry about it, Tou-san.  Let's just go home."

Though I didn’t know it then,
I needed the kind of solace
you get at depressing movies
if they’re good;

The apartment the father and son shared was small with only one bedroom, a tiny living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom.  Tanaka usually occupied the bedroom in his hours home.  Jounouchi slept on a futon in the living room and when he was too tired, the couch.  The cup of tea sitting on the table had gone cold a long time ago.

Jounouchi helped his father into the bed and left the room.  He came back a few moments later with a couple of aspirin and a glass of water.  He handed the items to Tanaka.  His father took the pills and water like an obedient child.

"Lie down." Jounouchi ordered.  Tanaka did as he was told.  Jounouchi pulled the sheets up and tucked his father in.  "And what did I tell you about drinking on Thursday nights?  You have the early shift at work on Friday mornings.  We can't afford for you to lose this job."

Tanaka whimpered.  "Gomen, Katsuya.  I forgot again."

"You always forget." Anger flashed briefly through Jounouchi's eyes.

Tanaka grabbed onto his son's arm.  "Do you hate Tou-san?"

Jounouchi's gaze softened.  "No, Tou-san.  I could never hate you.  I may get annoyed with you, angry with you but I would never hate you."

"You swear?" Tanaka asked weakly.

It occurred to Jounouchi how much his father resembled a child sometimes.  Tanaka depended on his son more than anything.  When Jounouchi had vanished those two days a while back, Tanaka became excessively violent [1].  He had even been arrested by the police for starting a brawl at a bar.  "I swear on my life, Tou-san."

Tanaka closed his eyes and settled back.  "Good..."

Jounouchi ran a hand through his father's balding hair.  "Oyasumi."

all those others
just like you.

Jounouchi yawned as he stepped into the classroom.  He was early today, a drastic change from his usual ten-minutes-late-and-get-detention routine.  He hadn't been able to sleep after he got his father into the bed.  

Something flew into his side and nearly knocked him over.  Jounouchi twirled around and saw no one.  That must mean...  He looked down.

Mutou Yugi was tiny for a high student.  At 15, he only stood a mere five feet, including that outrageous hairstyle of his.  Yugi bowed several times to Jounouchi in quick succession, muttering some inaudible apologies.  A slight expression of fear crossed the smaller teenager’s face.  Jounouchi reeled in the power.

Jounouchi glared down at the smaller boy.  "Watch where you're going, Mutou."

"Go-gomen na-nasai, Jounou-nouchi-kun..." Yugi was known to stutter when he was nervous.  Jounouchi just found it very annoying.  Yugi bent down to pick up all the cards he had dropped when he collided with Jounouchi.

Jounouchi sighed.  He bent down and helped Yugi to gather his cards.  He flipped over one of the cards and stared at the picture.  It read: Baby Dragon.

"Jounouchi-kun?" Yugi watched him with those wide violet eyes.  Any trace of his previous fear was gone.  He poked at the mask Jounouchi wore and felt something underneath.

Jounouchi shoved the card into Yugi's hand and stood.  "Just be careful next time."

Yugi bowed again.  "Hai...  A-a-arigatou, Jou-jounouchi-kun..."

Jounouchi snorted and turned away.  Yugi rushed past him to his seat in the back of the classroom.  Jounouchi sat down at his own seat not that far away.  He could feel the acrid glare of Kaiba Seto burn through him.

Kaiba Seto was Yugi's best friend and together they made the most unlikely duo in the whole school.  While Yugi was the shortest student in the whole school, Seto was, no doubt, the tallest.  He stood at a towering six feet one.  Jounouchi snorted.  He was also one of the most arrogant and pig-headed students in the school.  The only person Seto seemed to respect remotely was Yugi.

Since it was only the three of them that morning, Jounouchi could hear every word of their conversation.  Not that he really cared or anything but it wasn't like he had anything better to do.  

"Did you run into bullies again, Yugi?" Seto asked.  A fierce protectiveness flashed through his steel blue eyes.

Yugi gave Seto a weak smile.  "It's nothing, Kaiba-kun.  Want to duel?" Seto was one of the few people that Yugi didn't stutter around.

Seto sighed.  There was no use in talking to Yugi when he was like this.  "Fine, let's."

Jounouchi had heard briefly about this card game that Yugi and Seto were so avid about.  In fact, it was Seto's pet project at Kaiba Corporations.  Though the rumor was, Kaiba Noa was looking to cut funding to all of Seto's pet project.  Anyway, the game was called Duel Monsters.  Some American named Pegasus J. Crawford, who was said to be a bit touched in the head, had created it.

His curiosity got the better of him.  He got up from his seat and wandered over to the pair.  He furrowed his brows as he tried to follow the game and its rules.  It involved a lot of strategy from the looks of things.  It wasn’t one of Jounouchi’s strong points either.  He preferred to shoot first and not ask questions at all.  

"What do you want, mutt?"

Jounouchi glared at Seto.  Still as arrogant as ever.

Yugi looked up at him, eagerness shining in his eyes.  "Do you want to learn how to play, Jounouchi-kun?"

Jounouchi couldn’t understand Yugi’s sudden change of disposition towards him.  It was hard to imagine someone capable of being so ridiculously capricious.  It would have been the better judgment of Yugi to ignore one of the school’s most infamous gangsters.  "Eh..."

Seto snorted.  "The mutt doesn’t have the capacity to even understand the rules."

Jounouchi clenched his fist and suppressed the urge to hit his classmate.  Better yet, castrate the bastard and feel him his own testicles.  Jounouchi’s mind chuckled at the sadistic yet pleasant thought.

Yugi scowled.  "Don’t say that, Kaiba-kun.  Well, Jounouchi-kun?"

Jounouchi turned away. "I don’t give a fuck.  Have fun with your childish games." He could feel Yugi’s spirit plummet even with his back turned.  He knew that if Seto could, the boy would have killed him right then and there.

In Orlando,
biding time, I watched peacocks
among people in a wooded reserve,

"Noa-sama is waiting for you in his office, Seto-sama."

Seto nodded his head in the briefest indication of acknowledgment to his brother’s secretary.  He pushed open the double doors and strode into the oval shaped office as if he owned it. It was rightfully his as far as Seto was concerned.  

Kaiba Noa was facing the window at first.  His form lost behind a mass of expensive Italian leather.  

"What do you want, Noa?  I have better things to be doing than talk with you."

The chair swung around.  Kaiba Noa was twenty-six and president of one of the most wealthy arms-weapons producer in the world.  He was every bit of the man his father, Kaiba Gozaburo, was.  But he had something his father hadn’t, charm, and that proved to make him all the more dangerous than the deceased Kaiba.  Noa has a car accident when he was ten and suffered severe head trauma as a result.  He was never quite the same afterwards.

Noa grinned at his younger adopted brother with that same deranged smile he used all those years.  "Now is that any way to talk to your brother, Seto."

Seto hated the way Noa said his name.  It never failed to make his skin crawl.  Not that it really mattered.  He hated everything possible about Kaiba Noa.  That awful green hair...  That goddamn sweet facade...  And that annoying white suit...  What he hated the most was seeing himself in the older man.  Their resemblance to each other was uncanny especially since they had no real blood relations.

"Wouldn’t you say, Mokuba?"

Kaiba Mokuba looked up from his book in surprise.  A curtain of raven black hair fell over the meek yet haunted violet-gray eyes.  "Hai, Noa-nii-sama." He refused to look at Seto.  

Noa gestured to the seat before his desk.  "Make yourself comfortable, Seto.  I wish to discuss with you your progress in your holographic projection model."

Seto remained standing.  He glared at the older man coldly.  "The projection model has been finished for years.  I invented it when I was thirteen.  Tou-san was going to market it."

Noa gripped his chin in a thoughtful gesture.  "Oh yes, a stroke of genius on your part Seto, I must admit.  It was such a pity that Chichiue died so soon afterwards."

A disgusted expression swept across Seto’s face.  Everyone knew that had been foul play on Noa’s part.  Kaiba Gozaburo was about to pass over his own flesh and blood, and bequeath everything to Seto, then, the old man died unexpectedly.  It didn’t take a genius to figure out what really happened.  But with Mokuba giving the perfect alibi, Noa was acquitted of all possible charges.  

He glanced at his little brother out of the corner of his eyes.  The younger boy was trying his very best to keep his attention on his book and not on Seto.  He never understood why Mokuba was content to spend all his time with Noa when it obviously wasn’t what he wanted.  Not doubt Noa was using underhanded methods again. Seto and Noa had battled for control of the company but Noa won in the end, after Mokuba had given his 2% to Noa.  Although Seto was hurt by his brother’s betrayal, he had learned to accept that his brother didn’t really need him anymore.

"And why have you taken such an interest in my Solid Vision technology now?"

Noa made a small sound of approval.  "Solid Vision, what a appropriate name.  You see, a certain client has gotten wind of your glorious invention and would like to purchase it, if you would give instructions to modify it.  Their governments have high hopes for the performance of your system on the battlef-"

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"No, you heard me.  I’m not selling my system to some war-mongrel country to be used in someone else’s stupid war."

"You don't have much say in that matter, now do you?  Would you dare oppose me?" Noa’s eyes flashed with anger.

"As a matter of fact, I do, your Royal Highness of the entire world.  I will not sell Solid Vision for the purpose of war." Seto clenched his fist tightly.

Noa jumped to his feet and slammed his fist into the table.  Mokuba winced at the thump.  "If you don’t step down now, Seto, I’m cutting funding to all your projects.  What good is your system going to be used for some child’s game?"

Seto turned his back.  "I refuse.  I will not compromise.  Cut all my funding if you like.  It’s not like I would give a damn."

Noa narrowed his eyes dangerously.  "You have no choice, Seto.  This is not a decision for you to make.  And here I thought I would have the decency to at least tell you first."

"I'll kill you if you dare to do such a thing, Noa!  You have no right!" His entire body was shaking in rage.  He grabbed the handle and yanked the door open.  It slammed behind him with a force that made the secretary jump.

There was the sound of breaking glass from behind the closed doors and a whimper of fear followed...

then drove further inland past cattle
to where my friend lived.

Impulse was the driving force in Jounouchi’s life.  There was no doubt in his mind about how reckless and careless he could be and chose to be.  He chose to entertain most his of flightily whims simply because it meant he could lose control.  But because of his impetuous nature, he often found himself in fights he didn’t necessary have to take part in.  More often than not, he initiated them as well.  It was a thrilling feeling though.  There was nothing better than throwing all caution to the wind and just acting and just being.  No drug could ever have such an effect on him.

He grunted as his back was slammed against the wall.  He glared at his opponent.  It was that punk from a few nights ago; the one who had tried to rob his father, except he had backup this time.  He glanced at the person they had tried to rob this time.  He couldn’t see the other’s person’s face as he circled around his opponent.  

"You..." Jounouchi’s foe hissed.

Jounouchi couldn’t resist the smirk that slipped over his features.  "I told you I never wanted to see your face in this neighborhood again.  I warned you already."

His opponent laughed.  "Am I supposed to be afraid of you?  You’re just a nobody."

"The name’s Jounouchi.  I’m sure you heard of me."

A flicker of recognition and fear flashed through the other’s eyes.

"Nice to meet you."

Jounouchi lunged forward.  His opponent dodged and caught him in the jaw.  Jounouchi’s tongue darted out to taste the coppery blood from his busted lips.  He caught the punk by the collar and flipped him, hurling his weight down much like a wrestler. His foe rolled away and hopped right back to his feet.  Jounouchi cracked his neck.  He hadn’t had a good fight in a while.  

The fight, if you could even call it one, lasted less than ten minutes, much to Jounouchi’s disappointment.  His opponent, knowing he had been defeated, fled and abandoned his partner as well.  Jounouchi turned to the person that had almost gotten himself robbed.  To his surprise, the other's assailant was lying unconscious on the ground and looked thoroughly beaten.  To his even greater surprise, the would-be victim was none other than Seto.

Seto gazed at Jounouchi impassively.  Jounouchi was still pumped on adrenaline and he was quickly becoming annoyed with Seto’s blank stare.  "What the hell are you doing here, Kaiba?  You almost got your rich ass robbed."

Seto snorted.  "I’m touched by your concern but I can take care of myself.  I just needed to relieve my frustrations."

"By picking fights with gang members in the badlands?  You’re one crazy bastard." Jounouchi shook his head.

"And what are you doing here, mutt?  Going through the garbage?" Seto raised a mocking eyebrow.

"Fuck you, Kaiba.  You’re in my territory now.  And I was just itching for a good fight." Jounouchi looked away in disgust.  "If I knew I was helping you, I would’ve left this alone."

Seto stepped closer to Jounouchi.  "And who asked you for help?  I know Aikido.  I can take care of street punks like you easily."

Jounouchi laughed.  "You sound so damn naïve.  This is the street, a lot of these punks carry guns these days.  As amusing as it would be to see your Kaiba guts splattered over the sidewalk, I don’t need the police on my ass."

"And you, Jounouchi?  Do you carry a gun and take others’ lives?"

Jounouchi shook his head furiously.  "Hell no!  Guns are cheap.  Honda and me may be two of the most known in the badlands but we’re not murderers.  We’re just trying to survive."

Seto brushed a finger against the scar on Jounouchi’s arm.  He had never noticed all the scars on the other boy’s body.  Jounouchi always wore some kind of high collar jacket over his ragged T-shirt.  Now that he thought about it, Jounouchi wore t-shirts all year round.  "You get into a lot of fights, don’t you?"

Snow fluttered down from the sky.  Jounouchi pulled away from Seto and grabbed the jacket he had discarded during the fight.  He chose to ignore Seto’s earlier action, no matter how out of character it seemed.  "Of course," he couldn’t keep the smug tone out of his voice.  "There’s all kinds of idiots out there who think they can take on the ‘two man gang’ of the badlands."

Jounouchi was proud of his scars.  He bore them like a soldier would of old battle scars.  He could tell you in exactly which fight he had acquired each scar.  His street life distressed his father though, so he was forced to hide the evidence as bast as he could.  "Next time you feel like beating the crap out of worthless shit, try the West Side.  At least they don’t carry guns."

Seto scowled.  "I didn’t ask for your advice."

"Consider it free." Jounouchi tossed Seto a devilish grin.  "These streets aren’t the best places to be.  I should know."

"So the mutt’s not just all bark, he has some bite." Seto grabbed Jounouchi’s arm and suddenly twisted it back.

Jounouchi hissed in pain.  "What the fuck, Kaiba?" He tried to unlock his arm to no avail.

Seto didn’t seem to mind Jounouchi’s pain.  "Have you ever hated someone so much that you just wanted to break all their limbs?" He twisted Jounouchi’s arm back even more.  "Better yet, cut off all their arms and legs and let them bleed to death.  Have you ever had that feeling?"

Jounouchi slammed his foot down on the brunette’s foot but received no reaction.  "I think I’m starting to feel that feeling you’re talking about.  Has anyone ever told you’re one sadistic bastard?"

Seto chuckled and leaned in, resting his body against Jounouchi’s back.  "But would you kill me?" He received no answer.  "I thought so."

Seto released Jounouchi and Jounouchi stumbled on his feet.  Jounouchi twirled around and snarled.  

"I just wanted to know your answer." Seto walked out of the alley, newly fallen snow crunching under his shoes.

Jounouchi cradled his aching arm as he glared at Seto’s retreating back.  He pulled his jacket on.  He was starting to feel chilled.  He checked his watch.  A quarter to seven.  The streetlights to the side flickered on.  He shot one last glance down the alley.  "Crazy fucker." He muttered to himself as he left in the other direction.

I was glad the peacocks made awful sounds,

Seto stormed down the hallway of Domino General Hospital.  He had just gotten word that his brother had broken his arm after falling down a flight of stairs at home.  Nurses, doctors, and patients scurried out of his way.  Though he hadn't appeared so, he was scared out of his wits when he heard Mokuba was in the hospital.

He hated the hospital.  There was no doubt about it in his mind.  The ever lingering scent of anesthetic...  The impeccably clean and sterile environment...  And death...  Death hovered over the premises like a cloud of locust waiting to devour unsuspecting victims.  It was at the hospital that his mother had died after giving birth to his younger brother...  It was at the hospital that his father had taken his last breath with him by his father's side...

He scanned the walls for examination room 304.  He spotted it, never noticing the name over the number, and threw open the door.  It was a patient's room.  The room was littered with paintings, oil and watercolor.  A small bookcase stood against a wall. An easel was set up by the window.  A petite redhead was seated before the canvas with an oil palette in one hand and a brush in another.  

She stared at him with wide emerald eyes.  For the first time, he realized how true the old adage of 'the eyes are the window to the soul' was.  She set the palette down in her lap.  "May I help you?"

He tore his eyes away.  He glanced around the room once more.  "I must have the wrong room.  Excuse me." He turned and left.

She couldn't tear her eyes off the back of the blue-eyed stranger.  The door closed with a gentle firmness behind him.  She looked back to her canvas where she was doing an oil canvas of the yard her window overlooked.  She removed her canvas from the easel and placed an empty one in its place.  She dipped the brush in serene blue and began to paint again.

and I was glad-
after we jogged his circular path
through the orange groves-

Jounouchi bent over and pecked his sister on the cheek.  In his arms was an enormous bouquet of brilliant sunflowers.  He laid them before her.  He had spent his work’s paycheck on it but it was worth it.  Tou-san had yet to slack off in the last few weeks so he was fine.  He had always imagined sunflowers are overly bright happy faces.  Don’t ask him why.  It just reminded him.

Kawai Shizuka laughed.  It was a melodious sound.  It was rare to hear her laugh.  Only her brother would be silly enough to bring a bulky bunch of sunflowers to the hospital but she appreciated the gesture nevertheless.  She leapt up and tackled her brother in a tight hug.  Jounouchi laughed and returned her tight embrace.

The Jounouchis had separated when Shizuka was eight and Jounouchi was ten.  Kawai Michi, who reclaimed her maiden name upon divorce, had taken custody of Shizuka and left Jounouchi in the care of his "dead-beat" father.  It was only a year later that Shizuka was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease that would eventually lead to blindness and clinical depression.

She was known as the Mozart of painting for her young age.  After winning a local art contest, her painting was displayed in a local art gallery.  Some American art dealer had brought it up front for a value of $3000.  She rose to fame and fortune so fast that her head still spun.  But now she had a means of paying for the operation that could correct her eyesight.

"I missed you, Onii-chan."

"Me too, Shizuka."

She disentangled herself from her brother’s arms.  She pulled out one of the flowers and snapped the stem.  She tucked the blossom carefully behind her ear.  "How do I look?"

"Like the princess of the sun." Jounouchi swept the rest of the flowers up and laid them on the table.  A sudden flash of light dancing across a cerulean blue surface caught his eye.  He walked over to easel by the window and picked up the canvas.  "Who is this?"

She was pulled out of her pleasant little daydream.  "You mean in the painting?  I don’t know.  He just walked into my room by accident.  I think he was looking for someone else.  Do you know him?"

He placed the canvas down and stared at it for a few more seconds.  "No...  I don’t..."

She twirled a strand of auburn lock in her finger.  "He was so handsome though.  Blue really suits him."

He continued to stare at the unfinished portrait of Kaiba Seto.  "Yea...  I guess..."

that our polite, complete sentences
broke down into talk

Seto’s second visit to the hospital was for Mokuba’s check-up.  The doctor hovered over Mokuba, fussing over every detail.  Seto shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  Noa was leaning against the wall, acting like the dutiful guardian he was supposed to be.  The doctor stopped.  He stared at the large ugly red marks on Mokuba’s body.  He turned to them.

"Where are these from?"

Seto stared at the signs of faded scars and past wounds.  "Where...where did those come from?"

The doctor furrowed his brow.  "I can’t see how they missed this before...  These scars are old, years old." He prodded Mokuba’s abdomen.  Mokuba winced.  "But these bruises are new.  Where did you get these?"

Mokuba bit his lip.  He didn’t reply.

The doctor glanced at Seto out of the corner of his eyes.  "These are usually signs of child abuse..."

A drop of blood trailed down Mokuba's chin.  

"Did he do it?"

All eyes fell on Seto.

Seto jumped to his feet.  "How dare you even insinuate such a thing!  I would never do that to Mokuba!"

Noa placed a hand on Seto’s shoulder and pushed him back down to his seat.  "Now, now, Seto, there’s no need to get all defensive.  No one’s accusing you of anything but you must admit this is very suspicious."

Mokuba shook his head furiously.  His hair flying wildly through the air.  "No!  It wasn’t Nii-sama!  Nii-sama would never do anything to me!  I get these from bullies at school and I’m clumsy too!" Tears welled in his eyes.

Seto stared at Mokuba.  It had been a long time since he heard his little brother address him as ‘Nii-sama’.  "Mokuba..."

"Mokuba, you don’t have to protect him."

Mokuba stared at Noa in shock.  "How could you say that...?  No!  Nii-sama didn’t do anything.  I swear it!" He screamed fiercely.

The doctor glanced over at Noa.  "If you could step outside for a few seconds Seto-sama, I need to talk to Noa-sama."

Seto stormed out of the room.  He slammed the door loudly behind him.  How dare Noa try and use such a dirty trick to try and make him submit.  But then...how had Mokuba gotten those marks?  He balled his fist.  He would kill whoever did that to his brother.  He walked away.  He needed to get away right now.  He...didn’t like hospitals...  He found himself wandering through the halls, without any idea of what to do.  He found himself near that room, the one that he had accidentally gone into last week.

As he rounded a corner, he caught a glimpse of golden blond disappear around the next.  He blinked.  He thought that mop of blond looked familiar.  He shook his head and faced the door.  He raised his fist but stopped midway.  He stood there at the door, looking ridiculous in his position.

What was he doing here?

The door opened.  She smiled up at him.  "Would you like to come in?"

He nodded and she stepped aside.  The room had been the same as that day.  It had a light and airy feeling despite the darkness that seemed to loom over it.  It was a conflict that he saw reflected in her eyes.  She offered him a seat and she climbed back onto her bed.

He realized that she was just a mere child.  She was only about thirteen or fourteen at best.  A gamine and open face despite the secret thoughts she guarded within.  That chin...  He knew that stubbornly set chin from somewhere.

She smiled at him, like a little mischievous sprite.  "My name is Kawai Shizuka." She offered her hand.

He took it.  "Kaiba Seto."