Thank you everyone who read and enjoyed this story! And a special thanks to those who have reviewed. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support! Seriously, thank you! I love stories that give you a different experience when you read them a second time so writing Kaiba in that way was my great attempt. I'm ecstatic to hear you guys are rereading this piece and that you are enjoying it just as much! Love you guys! As thanks I gave the story an extra polish and broke it into more manageable chunks to read. Enjoy!

Greetings! It's been a long time since I've written fanfiction. Recently I came across the Haikyuu! doujinshi Ichinichi Kareshi [One Day Boyfriend] by the circle Bubunhanten (Kazukirai) and thought 'this would make a wonderful Seto/Jou story'. In fact, I was determined, so with some re-imagining and quite a bit of embellishing, I wrote Go Out With Me. Please enjoy.

Go Out With Me
Jonouchi won't stop harassing Seto for a date. Seto wants Jonouchi out of his life.
It's the perfect condition for a contract.

He could tune out the teachers, he could ignore the students, but Jonouchi Katsuya was another matter entirely. It didn't help that the mutt was staring at him – again – for the fifth time since the teacher announced self-study. Most students become thrilled when they receive a free period, but not Seto. It just meant that instead of one voice to tune-out he now had to listen to all of his classmates chatter and their constant flitting about the classroom. Seto was painfully conscious of the irony in a classroom environment unfit for studying. Not that Seto was studying; he had a bunch of reports to review on behalf of KaibaCorp, and their importance far outranked school work.

Except, Seto wasn't reading his report; he was glaring at his laptop screen. The noise and motion of the classroom was nothing to the CEO of KaibaCorp, but against all odds it was the flee-ridden punk of Yugi's cheering squad whose stare Seto could just feel, and not ignore. Annoyed with himself, but even more annoyed with the mutt, Seto forced himself to concentrate on reading his report, which was important, or it was if Seto wanted to tear into the heads of the development team working on the Riding Duel system for their incompetence; which he did. But after rereading the same sentence for the third time he allowed himself to just stare at the screen.

Six times, that damn distracting mutt, six times now the flea-ridden mongrel had been looking at him. Seto was determined not to contemplate why the mutt was looking at him like that. Or why it bothered him. He had better things to do: if he could finish reviewing these reports before lunch he would be able to complete half the weeks school assignments in the afternoon, then take the last period off so he could be present at KaibaCorp to handle company complications, because there was always a handful of somethings that needed Seto's attention whenever he was finally able to arrive at his company's building.

Today, he had a meeting with one of his development teams. He was trying to get a new project off the ground, and to do that he needed competent staff to be ready to pander to his schedule. They knew what was expected of the project, but not what was expected of them. He needed something that would tip the playing of Duel Monsters even more towards KaibaCorp, and away from Industrial Illusions. Thinking of Industrial Illusions, Pegasus J. Crawford had been contracted to deliver their newly licensed card art to KaibaCorp's holographic team for an upcoming card release. The release for the Hidden Arsenal cards was now fast approaching and Seto had yet to receive any confirmation notices. Pegasus could be up to something, he'd have to look into it.

But business aside, Seto's main goal was to get home on time for a seven o'clock dinner with his little brother, Mokuba, and then stay with him until nine. Two hours, that was all the time Seto could spare to see his brother on a daily basis. Or tried his hardest to. It was time enough for a late dinner together, and time to talk and deal with any issues Mokuba might be facing. Sometimes Seto helped Mokkie with his school work, others they played games together, but since Seto spent so much of his day sitting down his brother often insisted they do laps in the pool or do swings in the batting cages. Then they'd retire to their rooms, Mokuba to finish his homework, play video games or read, and Seto so he could spend the rest of the night working from home. On a good night he was in bed by midnight, and a bad night perhaps half after two. Regardless, he was up again by six so he could shower and spend breakfast with his brother in the nook before they left for school.

This meant that if Seto wanted to be home on time to see Mokuba he'd have to get the school work out of the way, and to do that he had to be prepared for the work meeting scheduled for after-school hours, and to do that he had to read the damn report.

But the mutt.

Seto looked up and Jonouchi quickly looked away, as he had done the other four times their eyes had met today. Seto glanced at his report and noted he was only on page 87, which was not as far in as he would have liked. He stopped staring at the screen and stared a hole into the back of the mutt's head instead. It was ridiculous that the mutt was feigning to be studious now, even more so considering the rest of the class' behaviour.

A foul smelling and obscenely colourful envelope got dropped onto his desk by a couple of giggling girls on their way to the other side of the classroom. Seto sighed, picked up the envelop and ripped it in half, tearing through a fanciful heart sketch, then scrunched up the two pieces and threw them into the trash. He hadn't picked Domino High for the school's student quality, least of all as a possible dating pool.

Rather, the school had merely been the most convenient. It happened to run along the route from KaibaCorp to home. He needed to officially complete a senior high school degree (it didn't matter where), because he couldn't not have at least a secondary education, which was the base requirement for all employees of KaibaCorp. Having been brutally home-schooled by his adopted-father Kaiba Gozaburo, and previously having been enrolled in the public school system as a child, Seto saw no reason to attend a prestigious institution with all its bureaucratic bullshit and eccentric inhabitants. Not least of which because Seto had no use for post-secondary education: his job upon graduating was already secured. In fact, he already had it.

The Domino High board had been thrilled when Seto contacted them about attending. He had given a guarantee that he would maintain grades in the 90% range, boosting the school's academic record, if he could hand in all assignments once a week instead of daily in class, and that he be exempt from performing co-operative assignments (which would interfere with his work schedule), and exempt from the half-day morning classes on Saturday. They had agreed but only providing he kept up attendance and contributed a small annual donation for the trouble. It was small, or at least by Seto's standards, but by bringing money into the deal the teachers were cowed to respect him as an individual outside of the regular student position. It was understood that his participation in school extended only as far as completing school assignments, writing tests, and being present. Nothing else. It was a contract.

His brother had pointed out that he could exploit his time at Domino High by observing his fellow students, ie. his clientele, for their gaming interests, and talk to them or listen in on their conversations to their friends about KaibaCorp technology. But such low-level information gathering would hardly be a beneficial use of his time; his company already performed regular focus groups to determine public and clientele opinion. In short, Seto had no reason to mingle.

But he would give credit where it was due; there was one interesting student at Domino High and that was Mutou Yugi, whom Seto had discovered before the duelist had even become the King of Games. It was surprising that the shorty had the resolve to win at Duel Monsters at all, let alone be the formidable opponent Seto knew him to be. Unfortunately, playing games was the only time Yugi showed resolve in any form, making Motou Yugi uninteresting unless he had cards in his hands.

And then there was Yugi's entourage. An annoying bunch, perhaps even worse than the gold digging girls of this school, but of course Seto was biased in his opinion since, unlike the girls, Yugi's merry gang couldn't accept rejection. The mutt, for instance, never seemed to just leave Seto alone; whether it be challenging Seto to doomed duels, picking fights with him in the hallway, or doing something as innocuous as constantly staring at him in class.

Even with Seto being a fast reader he had only gotten halfway through page 88 when he was, again, aware that the mutt was looking at him. The more annoying thing was that such a small matter could actually prove distracting at all.

"What!?" Seto bit out, deliberately startling the mutt by talking to him while he had been looking at Seto and Seto had been staring at his unreadable laptop screen, and then lifting his gaze to glare directly at the surprised Jonouchi.

The mutt's nickname was apt, his IQ was on the same level as a dog's, but so was his loyalty and eagerness to please the people he cared about. Seto knew nothing of this himself; he tended to inspire the mutt to raise his hackles and bark out threats. Jonouchi panicked and did a quick glance around to see if Seto might have been talking to anyone else. Like Seto would. "N- nothing," he replied and fidgeted with his hands, while avoiding Seto's stare once more.

Now that was peculiar behavior. Seto had expected the mutt to say something stupid and confrontational; in fact he was prepared to bicker with the mutt for a few minutes just to get him to stop looking at him. But a meek mutt was something new.

"I don't have all day, mutt, spit it out." To illustrate his point he allowed himself to show his irritation by tapping on his desk. It would be impossible for the mutt to pretend he didn't have Seto's attention.

"No, um. I – ah. You know what, it's nothing. Nevermind."

Seto tapped louder. "You seem to have something on your mind. Well?"

The mutt grimaced then avoided Seto's gaze by staring at the chalkboard. "Oh, you noticed that, huh? Just, uh, gimme a minute."

"Mutt! Do I look like a person with a minute to spare? Either spit it out or stop staring at me." Seto ordered, more than annoyed.

That did it; Jonouchi made eye contact and as soon as he did something shifted in his eyes, it was the familiar spark of determination that Jonouchi wore like armor. The mutt was nothing if not predictable and he was ferocious when he felt backed into a corner (or, really, whenever Seto ordered him to do anything).

Good, he would ask Seto for something ridiculous like a duel or for Seto to join his goody-little-group for lunch. The sooner he asked, the sooner Seto could put him in his place, and the sooner the mutt could get indignant that Seto had refused him yet again and Seto could get back to reading over his report.

"Go out with me." Jonouchi said.

Seto's brain stopped. Everything stopped. It took him an entire second to comprehend what the mutt had said, to realize Jonouchi was no longer flopped over his desk and staring at him, but was in fact standing in front of Seto (when did that even happen?). The noise of the classroom rang in his ears and Seto was positive he didn't hear the mutt correctly. "What was that?"

"You heard me. Go out with me." The words were spoken like a challenge, but soft and serious and not in a manner that Seto had ever heard from the mutt before. Jonouchi wasn't breaking eye contact now, and he wasn't shy. Seto didn't like that Jonouchi was above him, looking down.

It was a joke; it had to be. No, even if it wasn't a joke Seto's answer would be the same. "No."

"Listen, Seto – "

Seto's eyes narrowed and he stood, pushing his desk away too quickly which stuttered horribly against the floor. "Who said you could say my name?" he hissed, trying not to draw attention.

"Kaiba, fine, jeese. Just… go out with me, yeah?" He looked hopeful and nervous and even bit his lip.

"Are you an idiot?" Seto asked in all seriousness. Jonouchi blinked at him. Why did Seto bother to ask when he knew the answer? "I've already said it, but if you need me to repeat it then I will. 'No'."

A quick glance around and Seto noted that some of their classmates had taken an interest in their conversation, most noticeably the giggling girls from earlier. Not that the mutt was paying attention to the class, he was still staring intently at Seto as if he was the only one there. "Would you just – just give it some thought? Get back to me in a day or two?"

Unbelievable. "I don't need 'a day or two,' you have my answer."

"Fine. Then at least think about it now before turning me down!" Jonouchi was getting as agitated as Seto felt.

"I don't need to; it's a 'no'." Seto repeated, for the third time.

"You took, like, a second!"

Seto scoffed at that. "I make more important decisions, in less time than that, on a daily basis."

"You're impossible," Jonouchi accused. "Fine, since you've got this all thought out, tell me why."

Seto glanced at the class; it seemed that at least half of them were now eavesdropping on this ridiculous conversation. There was no way Jonouchi's pathetic attempt at asking him out wouldn't be all over the school by the afternoon. It was Seto's fault, really, he shouldn't have taken the mutt's confession at face-value, but then again Seto didn't have many chances to react to being genuinely shocked in life.

"Well?" Jonouchi prodded.

There was too many reasons, and giving any would lengthen the discussion and feed the gossip mongers. "You are a waste of my time, I have work to do." Seto scooped his laptop into his suitcase and was out the door, although not fast enough to miss the class go up into an uproar, specifically the girls. Seto went straight to the library. It was quiet there and people knew to keep to themselves.

If he was lucky he could finish reading over the report, get his school work out of the way, take care of KaibaCorp business and get home in time to have dinner with his brother. He planned to surprise his brother with a rare upcoming day off from work this weekend. What he didn't have time for was thinking about the mutt's angle could be in making him go through that ridiculous charade. Or the mutt at all for that matter. He had his own life to worry about, and the mongrel would not be included amongst his concerns.

It was Friday morning and just like his peers Seto looked forward to Saturdays, though wherein his classmates wanted time to study or socialise, Seto just wanted a full day of work. For the students of Domino High Saturdays meant half/club days which Seto didn't have to participate in, instead he actually got to spend the day in his office, or travelling the city on whatever business he deemed relevant. Sometimes Seto checked on his labs, other times he visited his theme park, or he would test the technology his company was developing himself.

But the tomorrow Saturday was a mandatory day off, required by Domino law that like his employees he use at least the minimal amount of vacation days. He had assumed he would spend the day off with his brother, but surprisingly Mokuba had a school trip this weekend (that Seto had apparently signed off for weeks ago), so instead Seto planned to simply work from home. It was a disappointing start to the weekend, but in fairness, Seto shouldn't have assumed Mokuba would always be available at his convenience.

As Roland pulled up to Domino High Seto closed his laptop and immediately noticed that Jonouchi – the boy who couldn't get to school on time if they were having a grade-defining test – was leaning against the school gate. Seto would bet his bank account the boy wanted to continue his farce of a confession from yesterday. Seto did not. He had been firm, and frankly there was nothing to gain by humoring the mutt. Hell, that Seto had entertained the idea for even a second was outrageous.

One of the many things that Seto was adept at was ignoring people, be it reaching business partners, high school girls, Jonouchi Katsuya, or the rest of the world. Grabbing his briefcase and phone Seto stepped out of his car and didn't glance at the mutt. Instead he walked straight through the school gates. "Hi Kaiba!" The mutt chirped, following Seto on his heels, either blatantly overlooking the fact that Seto was ignoring him, or too dense to realise.

"Sure is nice weather today, eh?" Jonouchi asked.

"Did you bring a lunch? I don't usually see ya in the cafeteria." Jonouchi said, keeping pace with Seto when he didn't reply.

"I heard there's gonna be a test today, but you prob'bly didn't have to study. Well, I didn't really study either, but that's nothing new."

"Kaiba!" Jonouchi yanked Seto's arm, effectively stopping him, "I woke up early just so I could talk ta ya!" Like a puppy, starved for attention, Seto thought, and then Jonouchi circled around him and barked out, "The least you could do is listen!"

"I am listening. If you want me to reply then it's best to say something of substance."

The mutt growled at that. "Maybe I would, if you'd just let the conversation develop."

"Hn," Seto replied, having no such intention, and continued walking. The mutt dashed forward and blocked the school door with his body in an exaggerated motion.

"Fine! Then hear me out! About yesterday, I want a do-over."

"If you are asking me to go out with you, no matter what you say, my answer will still be no." Seto affirmed.

Jonouchi scowled at that and his eyes sparked with indignantly. "Dammit Kaiba, can't ya just be human and talk with me before being an ass!"

Having the mutt imply that Seto failed in his humanity rankled. "If I'm not human than what does that make you, mutt." Then he shoved the dog out of his way, careful to not be gentle about it.

"No, I didn't mean, I mean– Kaiba! Where are you going! Just hear me out!"

Seto already had said no, so the discussion was over. The mutt needed to move on and find someone else to moon over. There was no point in subjecting himself to the mutt's wiles, nor in wasting his time on something that had no probability of happening.

Seto usually enjoyed a quiet lunch in room 203: the geography room. The room, unsurprisingly, did not draw students to it, the most exciting things in the space were globes, maps, and tools of measurement, and Domino High did not sponsor a geography club. It was quiet and had become Seto's refuge during lunch; as always Seto needed to work, not entertain useless banter with fellow students who would (in all likelihood) end up working for him at KaibaCorp or as store employees somewhere else. Socialising really did have no merit towards Seto's goals.

The only time Seto had interrupted lunches was when girls decided to intrude with their confessions. To be blunt, if Seto was interested in a girl at Domino High he would ask her out, that these girls thought all Seto needed was to know of their affections to fall in love with them only further demonstrated how little they knew of him. It was insulting. They acted as if Seto was would be happy to have just any one fall in love with him, and superficially at that.

But as confessions were the only thing that lured other students to room 203 during lunch Seto headed to the eastern rooftop instead, which was often neglected. It was sad, but he would rather avoid the mutt rather than waste more time dealing with him. Besides which, just talking with the mutt in the morning had put Seto on edge, and he hated when his emotions affected his work.

It didn't take long before Seto was sorting through management problems which had wormed their way through corporate ranks to his level: which meant they now had to be addressed by Kaiba Seto himself, which meant his staff was so incompetent that they couldn't even successfully manage each other. It seemed everything would be frustrating today.

Yesterday's meeting had been the first for the research team and it consisted of employees new to KaibaCorp who either wrote the report and therefore knew some of what was in it, or who hadn't read the report at all. But Kaiba never wasted his time coming to briefing meetings and the teams needed to learn to prep their time, not expect him to walk them through the entirety of the project. This was not uncommon for a first meeting, especially when multiple departments were present, so Seto had to waste his time by signalling out and quizzing the members of his team until they were all on the same page with what the others were doing and were expected to do.

Often Seto took pleasure in humiliating his staff in this way, but after dealing with Jonouchi yesterday Seto hadn't been in the mood to deal with any more idiots. Instead of a meeting about introducing new ideas to the development of the Riding Duel system Seto had to waste time ensuring that his staff were up to date on the project. Thus, the meeting resulted in a lot of stammering, blushing, lowered eyes, and attempts to be invisible.

Seto didn't suffer fools, and so he was ruthless, he waited for his staff to finish their excuses and then explained how they had misinterpreted the technology, the research, their roles, or simply how idiotic it was for them to open their mouths at all. In contrast he rewarded those who could answer correctly with a curt nod and moving on, sparing them from his scrutiny. No one would dare come to another meeting uninformed again, and if they did Seto would fire them.

So it was with great annoyance when, halfway through his school lunch break, Jonouchi's shadow blocked the sun from Seto's laptop screen. It was the mutt's fault that Seto was working in natural light to begin with, in the damn heat of noon hour, and the screen glare had added a small amount of constant aggravation with the bonus of a small but building headache.

"Hey Kaiba, you don't usually eat up here." Jonouchi greeted, as if talking to each other was somehow normal.

Seto didn't look up, he wanted the mutt gone. "So? What does that tell you?"

"I thought about it, yesterday, about what went wrong." Jonouchi scuffed his shoe. "Maybe you didn't like that we were in the classroom, but hey, we're alone up here," and then with blunt enthusiasm and a bit of a blush, "perfect time for a confession, don'tcha think?"

Seto withheld a sigh. "I'd much prefer if you'd take the hint and stop asking."

"Ah," Jonouchi smiled at him, a little unsure, but still he approached and sat himself down next to Seto. "I've been tryin' ta figure out if ya just don't like me, or if you don't date anyone, or if it's because I'm a guy. Help me out here."

"It's because you irritate me."

The mutt tilted his head. "What does that mean?"

"It means you annoy me."

"Yeah, no I got that." Jonouchi's smile widened as if Seto had complimented him. "You annoy me too," he said affectionately, then leaned back and laid down with his head resting on folded arms. "But I still want to go out with you."

"Please. A fly would have more conviction than you."

Jonouchi stared up at the sky and didn't reply. Seto glanced at his laptop. Maybe if the mutt was quiet he could – "You know, the best part of eating on the roof is the sky. Do you ever take time out to enjoy it?" Jonouchi looked relaxed and comfortable. This would be the first time Seto had seen Jonouchi like that when it was just them. Actually, it was never 'just them'. What were they doing?

"I have better things to do." Seto packed his laptop into his briefcase and got up. "This conversation is over, so don't 'ask me out' again."

"Hey," Jonouchi got up with him. "Is being around me that terrible?"

Seto paused, as if to think about it, but he didn't have to. "I don't have time to waste with someone as worthless as you." Seto looked at the trash left over from his lunch, "throw that out when you go."

Sometimes interacting with the mutt was fun, other times exhausting. Today it fell into the latter category. They didn't take many classes together but he'd see Jonouchi again in Physical Education. PE wasn't just about having an able body, the class centered on both teaching and exercise. Pehr Ling's ideology, for example, used science and physiology to demonstrate the positive effects exercise has not just on the body, but also the mind. Such connectivity was why many offices encouraged workout sessions with their employees on the roofs of the buildings, to increase productivity.

Though Seto understood that fitness was important, he still hated having to participate with the class in the practical aspects of physical education; hence his refusal to participate in group activities such as baseball. His participation was unnecessary as the students were not being graded. However, individual evaluations, such as track, were still mandatory towards Seto's declaration of achieving 90% in all classes. And today was a track day.

Though with any luck it was possible that Seto was successful in dissuading the blond from making another attempt at asking him out. Worst case scenario the dog would bound over to him and make a spectacle of himself during class. Seto might have to punch him just to shut him up, or maybe he could 'accidentally' elbow him while they were running. Not an ideal strategy, they hadn't come to blows in weeks. Ah. Perhaps because the mutt had been working towards a confession?

"Hi Kaiba!" A small voice chirped as Seto performed the routine stretches out on the grass, as away from his classmates as he could manage.

"Yugi, have you finally agreed to have a duel with me?" Although Seto's time was scarce, he would always make time to duel Motou Yugi.

"Naw, you know I'm busy at the gameshop after school. That's not it." Yugi wasn't even pretending to do his exercises which meant this would be a short conversation.

Seto finished stretching his leg then stopped to stare at the Duel Monsters Champion. "Of course not. And you know it's the only thing I want to talk to you about."

"Yeah… say, Kaiba, maybe we could hang out sometime, get better acquainted. I play against my friends more often than those in tournaments."

"Not interested." Seto said, turning his body away from the Duel Champion while he continued his stretches. He only played to win, and wouldn't enjoy a game if Yugi didn't do the same. Or worse, if Motou expected him to play with his entire flea-ridden group of wanna-be duelists, in the name of 'fun'. It wasn't appealing, the mutt wasn't worth his time, but at least he could win against duelists on his own level (but with luck, not skill). It was the notion that Seto could be asked to play (or worse, instruct) Anzu to duel that annoyed Seto. She had only taken an interest in the game because Yugi enjoyed it, and Seto wanted no part in whatever their relationship was.

"Okay. Well, you know, I'm here if you want a friend." Yugi said, still hopeful, but there was something weak about Yugi when he wasn't dueling, not just a reflection of his small stature (which did him no favours) but in the way he held himself, and the things he chose to value. He was looking at Seto with bated breath, as if Seto was about to have an epiphany and join his crew of nobodies. And yet there were few people on the planet Seto respected more than Yugi. Of course that would change if Seto had the chance to beat him.

"I'm touched, really. But that's not necessary." Truly, Kaiba couldn't express how not necessary it was. He didn't have time for 'friends', and the notion of 'hanging out' with people seemed like a ridiculous waste of time, especially when he barely had enough time to spend with his brother. The only thing they had in common was Duel Monsters and Yugi had so far refused to play him unless there was an official tournament or dire circumstances. Or vague suggestions that if they were friends maybe they could play a friendly match. Seto wasn't interested.

Although Yugi didn't see it, it was unlikely they would ever be friends. Seto respected the runt, if needed to he would team up with Yugi (quite frankly, he would team up with no one else). But that wasn't the same as friendship. Seto acknowledged that the Duel Master's brain for strategy was one of the best; but his meek personality prevented that trait the ability to grow in the real world.

"What is it?" Seto asked, because Yugi hadn't gone away.

"It's just, Jou." Seto's eyes automatically flicked to the blond. He was moping against the pole-vaulting mat, not even pretending to do the laziest of stretches.

Seto looked back at Yugi. "Yeah. I see him. He's been hanging around me lately; you really should get a leash for him."

Yugi made a disapproving face at that. "I wish you'd stop putting him down all the time. He's a really good guy, I think if you two hung out you'd be able to see that too. I really think you should consider going out with him."

Seto narrowed his eyes. "I don't like being the topic of your merry group's gossip."

"No!" Yugi waved his arms in denial. "It's nothing like that. I was just concerned since Jou's energy is unusually low. You know, it's gotten around that he asked you out and he's been getting flack about it."

"Not surprisingly." Seto said.

"Well, so I was thinking, even if you said no it would be better to give Jou a definite answer."

Seto couldn't believe it. "What do you think I've been doing? I've said no countless times now, it's the mutt who's too stupid to get it."

Yugi glanced over to Jonouchi. "Oh." When he looked back at Kaiba he seemed more resolved. "He said you haven't given him a proper answer. Why not –"

Seto narrowed his eyes, "I thought you said you haven't been discussing me."

"Well, no with the group. I heard the rumors and asked Jou about it and he refused to tell me anything other than you wouldn't give him a proper answer."

"Well I have."

Yugi lapsed into silence and Seto thought the discussion was over.

"That doesn't make sense, he's still trying. He's a really good catch, why not give him a chance? Jou's loyal, he's always there for you if you need him, you know, he's great. I'm sure he'd make a great boyfriend."

Seto was well past the point where carrying on the conversation was of any benefit to him. "Yeah, for somebody else. A girl, perhaps."

"Kaiba – "

"Look, I don't know what you guys are playing at. The mutt has never said a kind thing about me. God knows that as a duelist he's plain pathetic. So there's no reason for me to believe, let alone humour, the mutt's feelings."

"Kaiba," Yugi had that determined spark in his eye, the optimistic one that implied a speech was coming that was supposed to be so awe-inspiring Seto would change his mind about a fundamental difference between them.

"Yugi, listen to me, my answer is simply no."

Yugi seemed to have a private debate in his head, his expression changed, then changed again, and then one more time. Honestly it was a bit disconcerting, but the runt was a strategic genius which meant he was afforded a couple irregularities. "But I still think you should give Jou a chance, you've only ever gone out of your way to shut him out."

"For good reason," Seto mumbled under his breath.

Yugi frowned, clearly not pleased by Seto's response. He looked over at Jonouchi and Seto did too, the mutt was still sitting depressed by the outdoor mats. But the answer was clear, or at least it was for Seto: Yugi can cheer his friend up and they can move on through the hurdles of life together. It was their problem, or Jonouchi's problem. They would just have to leave Seto out of it.

"I've never seen Jou so upset. You wouldn't have said something terrible to him, would you Kaiba?"

And now he was trying to guilt him. It wouldn't work. "Just the truth." Seto replied.

"Kaiba..." Yugi looked pensive, "It can't be helped if you don't return Jou's feelings or that you don't want to give him a chance, but you should let him down gently if you ever want to duel me again."

Seto couldn't believe it. "Is that a threat?"

Yugi clenched his fists. "I'm just asking you to be considerate of his feelings. I don't like to see my friends hurt and you could really hurt him, and sometimes you are a bit harsh. Can't you consider that it took him a lot of courage to ask you out and I'm sure he's given this his all. If it's not something you want then just, please, let him down in a way so that he can move on. Please."

"It's not my job to babysit the mutt's feelings. He can figure it out for himself." Seto's tone was absolute but Yugi looked ready to argue. "I can't believe neither of you can take no for an answer. If I was a girl this would be considered harassment."

Yugi grimaced. "Well, you aren't. So you better man up and give him an actual explanation and let him down the proper way, because I'm not dueling you until Jou has moved on. So don't make this any worse for him than it has to be!" Yugi stalked away to do his stretches with Honda.

Seto turned towards the mutt; he was still tucked up by the pole-vaulting mat, looking sad and pathetic. Well, let him mope. The sooner he got over his crush, or whatever it was, the sooner Seto's life could return to normal.

Besides, it was ridiculous for Yugi to suggest that it was somehow Seto's responsibility to cheer the mutt up; it was the mutt making things difficult for Seto.

As always it was a fast turn-around for Jonouchi's emotions. He had been quiet and mopey yesterday but was back to his cheerful self by this morning. Just last period the mutt was dragging his feet and ho-humming but now he was back to giving Seto less than subtle furtive glances; the ones that Seto had a hard time ignoring. Honestly, the mutt had just ended up where they had left off yesterday, before he had spouted all the bullcrap about wanting to date. Although now Seto knew the reason for the glances, he just didn't believe it at face value. There had to be more to it, and Seto didn't care to figure it out.

Class itself was uneventful, and Seto managed to respond to a series of e-mails and work out a programming kink for a KaibaLand haloprojection project, and he was ready to tackle whatever problems KaibaCorp would bring when he arrived at the office less than an hour from now. Still, Jonouchi kept looking at him, again, and it was still distracting; no less so because it was obvious he was working his nerve up to do something. Seto would prefer if the mutt would just go back to silently seething at him. It was the easiest relationship Seto thought they could have.

Of course there was Yugi's threat to consider. Or not consider. Seto had never been sympathetic of the feelings of those who had confessed to him before, and they were girls. Sure they ended up crying, but that was on them. They got over it. The mutt would too.

"Kaiba!" Jonouchi was at his desk the moment class finished. "I know you don't want to talk, but I really want to talk with you."

"What part of 'no' don't you understand? There's nothing to talk about." Seto said, truly exasperated now.

"Yeah, okay, I got it. You've said it and I heard you, 'no'. I just want to know why."

"I told you, because you annoy me." Seto replied, albeit flippantly.

"Kaiba, please?" The quiet desperation in the mutt's voice was pleasing. When Seto didn't give an immediate reply the mutt clapped his hands and bowed slightly with his eyes squinted shut to chant, "please, please, please."

This was definitely something new.

Seto glanced at the departing class and was delighted to know that some peers had seen Jonouchi behaving so subservient. And then Seto caught Yugi's eye and the Duel Monster Champion gave him an impatient hand gesture, like, 'this is it, don't mess it up.'

Seto looked back at the mutt; he was exactly as Seto had left him, half-bowed, and still whispering little pleases. Seto rolled his eyes. "Fine. You can talk to me on the way to my car. But that's it, you understand?"

Jonouchi's answering smile was aggravating. "Okay, let's do that."

Seto set a brisk pace which left the mutt trailing after him in a hurry. Jonouchi was having difficulty keeping up, even better, the halls were crowded and Seto could tell the dog couldn't stay by his side with all the people pushing past. It didn't take long to navigate through the halls and exit the building. "Hold up, Kaiba, we can't really talk like this."

"I can. As for you, time is ticking. Look, I can see my car."

The mutt dashed a few steps ahead. "Yeah but I thought we'd be walking not sprinting."

"My rules, my pace. And since you missed it, this was me giving you a chance to say whatever you've been stalking me about." They were almost across the front lawn already, and Seto's car was waiting by the curb.

"Stalking?! If I've been stalking you it's because you've been nothing but an ass."

"Time's up," Seto reached forward to open the car door but Jonouchi slapped his hand away and stood between him and the car.

"I'm not stalking you, but I will if you don't stop and have one fucking talk with me. I just want you to be honest because, dammit Kaiba! you've always told me exactly what you've thought of me! So just… just lay it on me!"

"Lay what on you? How you want me to believe you have feelings for me? I'm not buying it so fuck off!"

Seto pushed Jonouchi out of his way.

Jonouchi shoved Seto back, blocking the car door once more.

They both reached for the others jacket collar and pulled the other forward at the same time, the resulting banging heads was a shock that neither had expected.

"Fuck you, moneybags!"

"Back off, mutt!"

Jonouchi tried to grab at Seto again but Seto swatted his hand away, and smirked. This. He had missed this.

"Why would you even think I'd be making this shit up!" Jonouchi barked, still not moving from the door he was guarding.

"Who knows what goes on inside of a dog's brain. But keep your half-baked plans to yourself, because unlike you, I don't care."

That stopped the mutt short. "Wait, wait. You think I'm plotting something?" He peered at Seto through his unruly bangs. "What would I gain by making a fool outta myself and tellin' ya my feelings?"

Seto didn't bother to reply. He had already explained that the mutt didn't have coherent thoughts.

"So you don't believe me?" Jonouchi persisted.

"I don't take anything you say seriously, why would now be different?"

"Wait, is it because you don't like me, or that you don't think I mean it when I say I like you?" Jonouchi bit his lip. "'Cos, I like you, Kaiba."

Never in his life had he thought the mutt would say that and it took a second for Seto's head to wrap around the fact it had just happened. But it wasn't worth dwelling on, Seto blinked and the moment passed. "Our feelings don't match, so I'm telling you to back off and leave me alone."

Seto reached behind the mutt for the car door but Jonouchi grabbed his wrist. "Wait." He urged.

Annoyed Seto spat out, "What? What do you want now? This is starting to boarder on harassment." Seto ripped his wrist from Jonouchi's grasp, uncomfortable with the contact.

"It's just, I, um…" Jonouchi stammered, upset.

"Spit it out."Seto ordered.

"I…" Seto turned to glare at Jonouchi and was surprised to see the mutt look like he might cry.

Softer than he had intended Seto said, "What do you want, Jonouchi?"

Jonouchi had never been meek in his presence but he was staring at his shoes and his voice was aimed at the ground. Seto had thought he'd look up when he called the boy by his name, but he didn't. If anything he stared even harder at his shoes. "I just wanted you." Seto didn't reply. "And okay, so I'm not good enough to get that. But how could I mess this up so much? Is it because you hate me? I just thought that if there was a chance... Well."

"And if there isn't?"

"Then…" Jonouchi's shoes were well worn, and he was shifting his weight between his feet as if they were the most interesting thing to stare at. "Then I guess…. I just want to get over you?"

"Good, that makes the two of us. You do that."

"I want to," he pleaded, and finally looked up, "but I just can't."

This didn't amuse Seto in the slightest. "Try harder."

"What? You think I wanted to confess to you?! Well, I didn't! I wanted to ignore these feelings, and I just can't. I can't. I didn't know what else to do to get you to believe me other than tell you and put it out into the open. So I'm telling you I like you and you won't even talk to me!"

"What do you think we're doing right now? Talking. Just like you wanted. So let's try this again, what is it you want from me, mutt?"

Jonouchi's gaze snapped to attention, and Seto was relieved to see anger there instead of sadness. Seto unconsciously tensed his body, ready for a fight, or more accurately he was ready to block any futile attempts the mutt made to overtake him. Instead determined honey-brown eyes stared him down and declared. "I want us to go on a date."

Seto couldn't prevent the scoff, "Don't be ridiculous."

"Hey. You asked, so hear me out. I get that you don't like me. And that you don't give a flying fuck about the people who like you, any of us! But I'm different. I actually know you, your damn conceited prickly holier-than-thou self. And I still like you. So when I say I am a hundred percent certain that I'm not gonna be able to roll outta bed tomorrow and just not like you, you can take that as fact or harassment or however yur gonna frame it. So just do this one thing fer me and I'll leave you alone. I'll even promise."

"I don't take requests, mutt." Seto said, causing Jonouchi to growl. "Besides, how will a date with me make it easier for you?"

Jonouchi's cheeks seemed to tinge pink and the fight from earlier deflated some. "It's just, look; it was a long shot anyway. You'd have to be into guys. And you'd have to like me even a little. I get that it wasn't going to happen. Mostly. Sorta. But I want a memory. Just one. And then I'll move on and bury my feelings."

Honestly, how the dog's mind worked was a mystery. It sounded like a far-fetched solution to Seto. "That works things out for you rather nicely. But why should I? I see nothing that would benefit me from your ridiculous plan."

The mutt tapped his finger to his lips, obviously wracking his brain out to think. Tap. Tap. Tap. "Like I said, I'll leave you alone… or! One better, what if I swear to never talk to you again? Like, ever?"

Seto had to admit that was tempting. It would be like killing two dogs with one bone (an entertaining thought). But Seto's time was valuable and he didn't like to waste it in vain.

"Beg. Kneel before me and beg." Seto said it to push the blond, to see how someone like him – who was prideful for no reason – would react. In anger, it's always in anger. He would throw a punch, Seto was sure, because he didn't believe for a second that the mutt had feelings for him. This had to be an elaborate ruse, with the obvious angle to humiliate him. So how far would the mutt go? Would he humiliate himself? Saying please was easy, Seto wanted something more.

Jonouchi's body tensed, Seto watched as he clenched his jaw, swallowed audibly, stared off at Seto's shoulder with contempt. "You are the worst." Jonouchi said, as he dropped to his knees and put his hands and forehead on the ground. "The worst." He took a deep settling breath and then addressed the pavement that was an inch from his lips, "I beg you, please, okay? Please, Kaib', please go on a date with me…"

Seto's chest tightened. The mutt had to be lying, he couldn't possibly be sincere. Even if he was sincere, it didn't matter because this whole situation was ridiculous, nothing would come of it.

"And if I refuse?" Seto asked.

Jonouchi didn't respond right away, instead he kept his pose with his face to the ground, leaving Seto to wonder if the mutt had heard him. Then Jonouchi rolled over and stared at the sky. "You mean I'm down here for no reason… then thanks for nothing ya rotten bastard."

"I see." Seto stepped over Jounouchi and got into his car. The blond didn't grab at him, didn't even get up. Perhaps he had finally given up? Seto slammed the door and waited for the mutt to brush himself off and either leave or confront Seto again. He did neither. Seto didn't get it. What was the mutt up to? Was it really possible the mutt actually did have feelings for him?

What about the mutt's offer to leave Seto alone? Was that worth exploring? It was… tempting. Not only that but Seto would benefit for years on something that would cost him just one day. Of course, giving the mutt any chunk of his time was a monumental waste, but getting the mutt out of his life and away from him permanently was quite appealing. And Mokuba was away on his field trip…

Still, there was the risk that Jonouchi's proffered feelings really were leading to Seto being at the butt end of some ridiculous joke. Seto was the president of the world's largest gaming corporation; he couldn't afford to be involved in some cheap humiliation scheme.

It was entirely possible.

Seto grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen, and quickly scribbled out the following before he changed his mind.

I, Jonouchi Katsuya, hereby acknowledge that Kaiba Seto will spend one day with me, no one will be aware of this meeting, not my friends, and certainly not any paparazzi. I will not speak of this day to anyone, I will not talk about it to my friends, I will not get drunk and 'let slip' any details, I will not tell the press any details. I acknowledge that Kaiba Seto has the right to a private life, and that he runs a multi-billion dollar company, that if I discuss his life to others that I could jeopardise the earnings and jobs of his employees. I am aware that if I do break my word, that if people are so much as aware of us having met up, that I will pay him a fine of 80,000 and agree to publicly denounce such an encounter, if required. In return for a day with Kaiba Seto, I agree to stay out of his way, permanently. I will stop staring at him in class, I will not seek him out for fights, I will not challenge him to duel monsters, I will not seek employment at his company, I will remove myself from Kaiba Seto's life in so far that I do not jeopardise my own education or interests. In short, I agree to behave in his presence. I understand that he has only agreed to give me his time and that he is under no obligation to pay for anything. I do not expect Kaiba Seto to take me traveling, to buy me clothes, or to use his money for my benefit. I agree to meet Kaiba Seto at the Domino City Park by the fountain at 11 am, tomorrow; if I am late I forfeit the right to Kaiba Seto's time but I still agree to never interfere with him again. When the day ends, Kaiba Seto will be under no obligation to spend his time on me, no matter how inconsequential. X_ .

It was fast, it was cursory, and the language Seto had used was so dumbed down that the mutt would be able to understand and therefor obey. Seto opened his car door and Jonouchi, who hadn't bothered to get up, shifted just his eyes to Seto. "What? Gonna make me beg again?"

Seto dropped the paper above the dog. "Whazzit?" he said, bringing it up to his face, then reading the note furiously. Almost immediately Jonouchi was up and in Seto's face, and Seto stared him down, just waiting to see what the mutt would do. The pen in his hand got snatched, and the paper was thrust unto his face, and – AND THE MUTT USED SETO'S FOREHEAD TO SIGN. It happened in an instant, by the time Seto yanked the sheet away, Jonouchi was gloating with a smile. "If I knew it was this easy to get a date with the great Kaiba Seto, I woulda asked ya out ages ago." Seto spluttered. How dare the mutt – "See ya at 11, yeah? Of course, yeah. We have a contract!"

Jonouchi was doing a little dance as Seto reached for his door and slammed it shut. "Take me to the office!"

Gods. What had he done?