Heckin Inbox

[luckydragonsfoot]

pretend it's pretty shhh

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CONTINUATION OF THEIR MEETING THREAD...

[firstrateduelist]

Kaiba's already decided that he'll end up getting new sheets for his bed. He has no choice. Towels too, after what he ends up having to do

First, he attends to himself, because it would be stupid not to. Off comes the jacket, off comes the shirt and bracers, until the only thing he's wearing above the belt is the locket he'd never take off. His scratches are treated, but not bandaged. Stupid. No need.

Then his face is taken care of, and he has a drink.

Actually he has two.

Water, which he sucks down as if he's never hydrated in his life, because his throat is burning after three Burst Streams, despite one never really firing off completely.

Then, he raids the mini-fridge for a small bottle of actual whiskey, which is not his preferred libation of choice, and drinks that too. It burns all the way down, which is what he wants. It settles in his stomach like poison warmth, and gives him the will to do the rest of what he needs to. Liquid courage...? Hardly. He has that. This is to ease his pain from the fight, and make it easier to want to bother cleaning Jonouchi up. He fetches several towels, damp and dry, and uses them to wipe the blood from his opponent's face and neck.

...Halfway through, he decides yep, he's going to need another one of those whiskies. This is a terrible idea in a long list of terrible ideas, but he has another drink before he finally sits Jonouchi up and peels his upper clothing off. It's hard to see the bruising through all those fluffy feathers, but it's not hard to see the giant claw-shaped scar on Jonouchi's chest.

The scar shaped like Ra's claws, that he doesn't remember ever seeing happen.

The one Kaiba doesn't remember. And...something else, bisecting across it, which he can't explain either. He wants Jonoouchi to properly explain, but then, hadn't it been his fault that no explanation happened?

...No, it was still Jonouchi's fault. Surely.

Eventually, Kaiba does a sufficient job of cleaning the other up, and turns to himself, wiping away what blood he can see and then raiding the mini-fridge one more time, this time for a bottle of beer he doesn't intend to drink anyway--he uses it to ice his eye as he sits himself on the couch, his mind buzzing with the last things Jonouchi said to him.

He hopes that things weren't the same for Kaiba.

That they were friends now, a bond sealed in blood.

Ridiculous. Utterly stupid.

By the time the idiot wakes up, Kaiba's got his boots off to let his talons stretch, one leg crossed over the other as he reclined his head back and rested his eyes. His arms are also crossed, closed off posture as usual.

HEEEHEEHOOHOO

[luckydragonsfoot]

When Jonouchi does wake up, it's to an old, agonizingly numbing pain that seems to ring through him head to toe. It's been a long time since he woke up like this- staying at the Kaiba's means no more dodging bottles, and for that matter means that typically any 'fights' he's been getting in as of late were one of two things; either royally one-sided no matter the fact that it was either him on his own or him and honda against a team, or in the controlled environment that was the sparring room for staff.

Sure, he'd suffered many a beatdown there, but everyone there drew a line at a particular point because there wasn't exactly a good reason to throttle someone into a coma.

So, Jonouchi wakes up with a low, croaky groan that speaks of familiarity but also of...well, maybe not regret but the understanding that maybe he was a little stupid

"Mnnnhh....ugh....f'rgot th's part 'f gettin' c'mpletely thrashed..."

Everything hurts. Everything, even the things he doesn't think he can feel. Those absolutely hurt, even if he can't really feel them. Something occurs to him though, as he blears his eyes awake. It's not quite a sense of coldness- Hell runs at a hotter temperature for the most part, even if angels are greatly sensitive to the polar degrees the outdoors is blasting right now. But there's a gradual awareness that he does not have his winter coat (extremely bloody now whoops), nor his jacket (which he stubbornly kept on under it as it has his deck and wallet), nor his t-shirt-

"NYH-!"

Jonouchi jolts to full awareness and actually sits up, and while he regrets doing that, he pushes the emotion down long enough to immediately bring a hand toward his neck.

Toward a set of dog tags, dangling off a chain not unlike the way others would wear lockets. Provided they're there, he immediately relaxes with relief, albeit with a bit back 'Ow...'

...If they aren't, he's quicker to start looking around in panic though. Either way, his actions are telling.

[firstrateduelist]

Kaiba's better eye slowly opens, and he frowns at the sight of Jonouchi sitting up. How in the hell can he sit so soon after being hit so many times? Kaiba's starting to wonder if he really is getting too soft. Then again, he generally doesn't fistfight since the name of his game is cards.

Which makes it more annoying that he'd found himself goaded into punching the idiot so many times.

"Keep it down," he demanded, his voice still sharp but somewhat hoarse and with a tired quality to it. "You've already given me enough of a headache."

Admittedly, the two drinks were probably not heling with the headache at this point, but it's fine. It's his personal choice to have had two whiskies to deal with the rest of this "issue" and it's not as if he's a compulsive drinker. He's not even...strictly legal for it, but you tell a business collaborator that and see how they treat you if you don't put them in their place.

"I expected you to be out longer. Stubborn lout."

[luckydragonsfoot]

The answer makes itself clear very quickly. With a resounding, quiet groan, he crumples back down on the bed.

Jonouchi could sit up. But really, he really should not be sitting up, and the rest of his body is protesting.

Still- from where he is on the bed, he can at least answer. "...Kaiba?"

Alright, ask first. Then answer. "Nhh...hey, ain't m' first rodeo...y' should've seen how it was at Rintama, hehehe..."

There is a fragile edge to those words, an edge that says it isn't as funny as he's trying to make it. Middle School Jonouchi was a mess. Middle School Jonouchi shouldn't have made it to High School, frankly, and High School Jonouchi came damn close to delivering on Middle School Jonouchi's shitty promise in that regard. If it wasn't for Honda, and especially for Yugi, well...

He doesn't like to think of that, and the very ghost of a thought causes his smile to become a grimace as he tries to think through the pain.

"Nhg...gotta be able t'...crawl t' somewhere safe normally, y'know..?" he manages instead, muffling a groan and moving his hand from the dog tags to his head.

"Damn...who th' hell taught y' t' punch, Kaiba...I think y' almos' took m' head off, 'n tha' was after we'd already gone at it f'r a while..."

He's slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. There's a lot of red- something he bets pisses Kaiba off to hell and back, if he's anything like her in that regard. For now though, thinking too much hurts too much, so he'll ease up on trying to figure much out right now.

actually cw; child abuse

[firstrateduelist]

Kaiba listens, not like he has much of a choice. And yeah, he's just going to roll his eye at Jonouchi over his attitude. Seriously, the guy's a glutton for punishment, to the point that Kaiba wonders if he didn't take a wrong turn and end up in Heaven by accident. With all the street fighting, Kaiba would hazard to guess Jonouchi might fit in here better.

It's a miracle he has any braincells left to put up a fight, but clearly he'd managed to do alright. Kaiba's terribly aching jaw is testament to that.

"If you know me so well, then why don't you tell me who taught me how to punch?" he asks shrewishly.

Kaiba had been trained aggressively as a child, in many principles. Defending oneself was one of those principles, but even if it hadn't been...

...his adoptive father had taught him what it felt like to be struck, and how to strike, though that hadn't been meant as a lesson, had it? It'd been meant as a punishment.

Too bad for Gozaburo, he'd adopted a smart kid.

"Instead of getting into fights, you might consider keeping your mouth shut. The endless yapping is exhausting."

And the way Kaiba says it, it really does sound just a bit looser than his usual tone, whether he means it to or not. The emphasis is almost dragged out, tired and annoyed for sure.

After talking so much himself, he can't help but rub the side of his face, his jaw still really hurt, and his tongue was no better.

[luckydragonsfoot]

"Heh, who said it was jus' fights?" he says without thinking, and then just as quickly, because if he can just keep talking before anyone can linger on that, he keeps going.

(If Kaiba's going to be Kaiba after all, then it's probably better Kaiba never learn about what his dad, his blood related dad, has done- Mokuba might have the more obvious heart of the pair, but he knows damn well a hidden heart is still a heart, and he's not here to make Kaiba feel more awkward than he damn well is.)

(Mostly.)

"Hey, yer th' one who said I didn' know y' righ'..? An' technically, yer righ', so if y' ain't tellin' me then I can take a hint an' leave it, no biggie," the griffon decides with a feeble shrug. "Man though...yer room huh?"

With a somewhat stupid grin as he lifts his head up ('augh'), he manages a laugh. "Seems like we oughta trade rooms man, bet you'd love all th' white mine has 'upstairs'."

[firstrateduelist]

"Focus...just focus on one thing, would you? You're like a damned force of nature."

Kaiba really does have a headache, and Jonouchi is way too much to deal with right now. He wants to throw the beer bottle at the idiot and maybe nail him on the foot just to annoy him, because that wouldn't really hurt anymore than what they'd already done to each other.

But...he doesn't. Instead, he assesses the situation around him. If Jonouchi sits up again, he'll see Kaiba with no shirt, and while it's perfectly fine when the shoe's on the other foot, he has no intention of being bared like that. Even though his body was scales and segments now, there were still visible scratchlike marks that had nothing to do with the other's taloned feet.

"This room is serving a purpose. An unattractive, terribly decorated purpose, but a purpose nonetheless. Once I've gotten real estate to reopen a business, I have no intention of staying here--nngh!"

Fuck. His tongue. Ouch.

"You know...I ought to break your wrist," he adds conversationally. "The lack of stability would heavily impede you from hitting me like that ever again."

Haha say psyche Kaiba.

Say psyche...

...Kaiba?!?!

[luckydragonsfoot]

Jonouchi's response is a feeble 'thumbs up'- fortunate for Kaiba, at least from Kaiba's perspective, but it seems that Jonouchi is actually listening to some source of inner sense by remaining flat on his back.

As flat as one gets with a great set of wings, anyway.

"Heh, already plannin' on breakin' int' the market huh?" he jokes, trying to stay comfortable on the bed. "Gonna get th' duel disk goin' again? You should-"

Jonouchi doesn't finish that sentence, what with Kaiba having his moment about breaking wrists. He doesn't quite sit up, but he does huff, and try to at least spiritually give the dragon as dry a frown as possible.

"Hey, I ain't th' one who was abou' t' burst stream at m' face, what would you've done huh?"

[firstrateduelist]

"I wouldn't have anyone Burst Stream at my face, because I'm the only one like this here, first and foremost. Secondly, I would have kicked the offending party off of me. You didn't do so great a job because I'm heavier than you."

He explains it like he'd thought about this a great deal, but the truth is that the words just spill out before he can mentally vet them. Much like the next part.

"I'm going to make a Duel Disk one way or the other, if I can get enough parts to make one. And if everyone here finds a way not to be inappropriate on business inquiry posts!"

Seriously? He is NOT making pornbots!!

[luckydragonsfoot]

"I'd say 'alright, any other laser' then, but I can't really argue th' part abou' most people in Japan bein' shorter than y'." Booo hiss, also how the heck is Kaiba still 6'2'' come to think...

Wait.

He sits up. Yes it hurts, and he winces immediately, but the emotion is quickly covered with the surprise that made him sit up to begin with. "Business stuff? I mean I dunnk what t' tell y' there Kaiba, int'rnet's th' int'rnet." With an extremely casual shrug-

Followed by a wince, ow, he should stop moving-

He adds- "I mean, assumin' y' just posted on th' forum here or whatever."

He could've seen the pornbot accusations Without precog big guy,

"Heheee sounds great oth'r than that though..! What kinda stuff y' need t' get started, bet I could search around upstairs no problem for y'!"

[firstrateduelist]

As soon as Jonouchi sits up, Kaiba does the same, his wings flaring and his tail curling up off the ground in surprise. Even his accents glow brightly. He's glad his arms are crossed in front of his chest, but he still doesn't like being half-naked in front of Jonouchi. Rules for thee, but not for me, as it were.

"I posted and stated very clearly that serious offers were all that I was entertaining. I set the rules!"

Hey, is...is Kaiba throwing a tantrum about it? He sounds less put together than usual, doesn't he?

"Good luck getting anything useful, by the way, I had someone mention they had a game console that they weren't selling! What an incredible find!"

He snorts derisively, his one good eye flicking back and forth nervously, because while he's complaining, Jonouchi is sitting up, and no, no no no--

--Reflexively, his wings close around him, like he's some kind of bat hiding from something.

...????

[luckydragonsfoot]

"Yeah, not yer fault, like I said, int'rnets th' int'rnet. Fuckin' wild west out there, 's how it goes."

He's remarkably 'chill' about that.

"Anyway I was figurin' like...basic parts y'know? I mean y' designed th' thing, y'd know what went int' it; so I figured, if y' gotta work from scratch materials, tha's still somethin'. Like eh...wire metals, stuff like that."

Surprisingly logical! Unlike the way Kaiba is holding his wings now.

And unlike the way Jonouchi tilts his head in turn. He. Isn't saying anything but uh...hm.

Maybe Kaiba is more like 'Seto-chan' in other ways then..?

[firstrateduelist]

"I'd rather have something closer to the circuitry I want to use than say, a microwave," Kaiba argues, and his voice is muffled by the wings. Can dragons blush? Probably not in any way that would be visible normally, but when Kaiba finally manages to drop his wings to chest level, there's a distinct blue dusting to his snout.

"If you gather supplies, you will be compensated."

See? They're having a normal conversation. Kaiba's not covering himself up for any particular reason, and he can totally open his wings if he wanted to!

[luckydragonsfoot]

"HAH! Don' worry, I figured y' wouldn't get much outta a dishwasher!" Of course, right after he says that, he does pause. "Eh, unless it's one 'f them weird...smart appliances 'r whatever, I dunno that that really...counts though, probably jus' gonna rip out th' tablet bit..."

Smart what now-

Well anyway. "Heh! Hey, I'll take gettin' a duel disk outta it if that counts honestly!"

Totally normal! Absolutely normal! He won't push about the wings, he promises.

...

Bro it's Weird.

[firstrateduelist]

Kaiba isn't even touching the "smart appliances" thing with a ten foot pole. His mind's too slippery right now to latch onto the logic discrepancy, and all he's really thinking about

(aside from duel disks)

is getting a shirt on so that this loser doesn't catch sight of something he shouldn't. So...in a massive leap of logic, he moves to get to his feet. It works very well, and nothing at all goes wrong!

Just kidding, as soon as Kaiba pushes himself up off the couch, he staggers due to the combination of alcohol and his center of gravity being thrown off by the wings being curled in front of him like a blanket.

"Ghh!"

His tail whips viciously behind him, trying to counterbalance him, and regrettably, the wings also flare out to catch him involuntarily.

No. No! Don't even LOOK AT HIM, LOSER-DOG!!

Thankfully there's not much visible at this distance, other than the general shape of Kaiba's form, which doesn't betray much. Segments and scales, and a broad chest tapering into a thin waist, admittedly, but if Jonouchi was looking for something specific, he wouldn't find it.

[luckydragonsfoot]

Okay, maybe something else is going on. Maybe??? Kaiba doesn't really tend to uh, Stagger exactly, and the last time that kind of thing happened-

"...Hey, should you be walkin' around Kaiba..? I mean, y' got me harder but..."

And whoops there goes Kaiba, narrowly avoiding a fall by way of wings and tail....

Jonouchi sighs. "Mnhh, alrigh', I'm gettin' up man...nothin' t' be proud abou', you ought stay sittin' too, I'd bet...what were y' after anyway uh...."

He's gonna try guessing. Probably... "...Shirt righ'? Yeah, you're holdin' the wings weird, I'll toss y' a shirt hold on..."

Jonouchi that would entail searching his stuff-

[firstrateduelist]

"No! I can get it myself!" Kaiba snaps, getting his feet properly under him. His talons seem to spread further, digging into the carpet of the hotel room to keep him steady. "Nothing you did to me could've done that kinda damage."

Kinda? Kaiba doesn't talk like that. He also doesn't walk like that, really. Not with purposeful, but sloppy steps towards his dresser, tugging the first drawer open and yanking a button up shirt with zippered slits for his wings out. It's black, because of course it is. Excellent contrast for his white scales.

"I don't need your help," he mutters, claws fiddling with the zippers. "I don't need anyone's help."

Of course, if Jonouchi insists on getting close enough, aside from being snapped at physically instead of verbally, he might notice that Kaiba smells of alcohol.

Yikes.

[luckydragonsfoot]

"Alrigh', alrigh', we can say it ain't my doin', but look, I-"

And Jonouchi stops short, even as he walks over, because it just now occurred to him what the fuck this dude said.

"...Wait..."

He doesn't reach out. But he does sniff the air. Contrary to myth, birds have a pretty good sense of smell. REALLY good. Very precise, precise enough that the experiment 'proving' they lacked one only did so because go figure, birds don't like super rotting meat.

Jonouchi narrows his eyes.

"...A...Are you drunk?"

[firstrateduelist]

"Would you get back in the goddamn bed?"

Kaiba swings his tail in a wide arc, attempting to ward Jonouchi off and away from him. Seriously? He's going to ask that now? Even if he's not successful, he whirls on the other teen, suddenly not caring whether his scarred torso was visible or not. He doesn't care about the scratch-sized markings or the scattering of burns showing yet, because he's frustrated at Jonouchi's interference, no matter how Kaiba tries to give him chance after chance!

"You're lucky I didn't leave you on the street!" he all but hisses as he closes the distance between them aggressively. "You're lucky I cleaned you up! That's all you've ever had in your life, Jonouchi, is a handful of luck 'n a prayer, and you're still gonna try and push an advantage you don't even have?"

So what if he had a drink about it? This is Hell, and you're half-naked and he's half-naked and none of this is tolerable!

[luckydragonsfoot]

"NYH-!" While he doesn't quite go back to the bed, he does at least have to jump back from the tail because jeeze dude way to nearly blow him back to the ground-

He does, to his credit, stay put though. He doesn't come closer. Doesn't go back to bed either, but he doesn't come closer.

In fact Jonouchi just. Groans into his hands, honestly.

It's a lot easier to not respond to this kind of thing, when you deal with it on a day to day, but even easier when you tell yourself 'oh cool dude's intoxicated'. "Ohhhhh my fucking god you are, fucking of course..." he mutters through his hands, the sound muffled.

"Geeze Kaiba, alright, get yer shirt, I jus' thought y' had a fuckin' concussion 'r somethin' man..." With those words, he falls to sit back on the bed, looking far more tired about things than he is much anything else.

Unfortunately, none of these things help the fact that Kaiba has closed the distance between them, and is now not only half-naked in Jonouchi's face, but managed to position himself in such away that Jonouchi has a face full of chest.

"What th' hell are you so worried abou' me seein' anyway, 's just scales 'n stuff."

There's not a breasticle in sight bro

[firstrateduelist]

"I don't have a concussion!" he snaps.

(actually he does, but that is NOT the issue)

"I needed a distraction from two headaches. The actual headahce, and you!"

A statement he punctuates by poking Jonouchi firmly in the chest with one claw. And no, he has NOT noticed that he's giving Jonouchi an up close and personal acquaintance with his chest, because the way his neck's just a little longer than normal means he's curling his head down, glaring. Angry.

...Kaiba actually doesn't have many other settings than angry but whiskey bitch is apparently a new flavor of anger. The kind where he is actually ignoring the concept of personal space just to be overbearing.

also fun fact jonouchi this kaiba has more tits than your kaiba for NO GOOD REASON. They ain't breasts but they ain't small either.

[luckydragonsfoot]

Around the same moment that Kaiba says 'I don't have a concussion', Jonouchi realizes something very interesting.

Only one of Kaiba's eyes seems to think the lights are on. The other one SURE DILATED REAL BIG. It's enough to make a guy ignore the searing pain of being poked real hard in the chest, because WOW okay-

He's got a small checklist. List point one- he can't tell if lizards have boobs. It looks like a big chest, but like, in the way cool armor does it. Black Luster Soldier was a girl right? But Kaiba's a dragon, not someone wearing a set of armor.

Are dragons lizards actually? He should ask Kaiba later, when he's not drunk and also concussed.

List point two- Kaiba is drunk and also concussed! Honestly he might not even be that tipsy if he thinks more on it, the concussion might be the bigger issue here...

Point three, well, point three doesn't really exist, but lists should probably have more than two points on them right? Right. Yes.

"....Kaiba, I'm gonna try to like....not make this worse but. As a guy who c'n at least r'member how havin' a concussion went th' las' three times," Don't worry about it! "...I'm pretty sure lookin' at y' now that y' absolutely have a concussion."

Hm.

He looks down, tapping his chin. "................y'know, tha' probably means I have a concussion. Damn, tha's gonna suck..."

[firstrateduelist]

"I do not!" he argues, his lip curling in aggravation. He has never wanted to bite a man so badly, but that probably comes off as some sordid Hell-based courtship ritual and he's not going to do it and get lectured later! The angrier he gets, the more his head starts pounding, and the more his head pounds, the less coherent he becomes. "I don't care if you have a concussion either, glad if you do, 'cause i did it! On purpose! Because you're annoying and deserved it!"

Kaiba should probably move back, but his center of gravity is pretty poor right now. Poking Jounouchi's chest is satisfying though, so he does it again. Yeah, take that you asshole bird!

[luckydragonsfoot]

"Mnnhghhh c'mon Kaiba, th' brain damage ain't gonna care how hard yer in denial..."

He's worrieeeeeeed...and also, like. Kaiba is really close. So Close. "Plus if y' get any closer I'm gonna have t' think abou' how lucky I am y' don' have boobs, seriously..."

Jonouchi is absolutely equally concussed!

[firstrateduelist]

What. What the fuck?

What the fuck?!

This time it's not just a finger jabbing, it's a whole hand flattening against Jonouchi's chest, shoving him back onto the bed while Kaiba straightens up and backs away. It's a mistake, because the whiskey's gone to his head by now, and he sways visibly.

But he refuses to acknowledge it.

"Th' hell is your problem? This is no time to be thinking about something so asin...nnh, stupid!"

Why is Jonouchi making it weird? Had he really punched the guy that senseless?!

"It's probably expecting way too much but y-you ever thought of showin' some proper manners? Little bit of respect? Anything?!"