A Real Duelist

[Natto]

Title: A Real Duelist

Author: Natto

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh

Rating: PG

Word Count: 4,065

Explanation of Fandom: For those who don't know, Yu-Gi-Oh is a show about children's card games. It's crazy and wonderful and ridiculous. This story takes place during the Battle City arc, while the main characters are abroad a blimp, waiting to participate in the final round of a card game tournement.

Summary: Jounouchi comes down with a cold while preparing for the Battle City finals. Yugi tries to convince him to take some time off, but his attempts don't work out in his favor.

A/N: Oh man, guys, it's been forever since I've posted anything here. This is my very first Yu-Gi-Oh fic, and I'm so happy I was able to write it. I'm not even a huge fan of Jounouchi, but somehow writing him sick was a lot of fun. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

~`~`~

On his first morning aboard the KaibaCorp blimp, Jounouchi Katsuya wakes up with a terrible cold. He hadn't been expecting this. Jounouchi doesn't often get sick, and when he does it's hardly more than a sniffle. This is more than a sniffle. This is a constant free fall of mucus thick as mud, a nose so stopped up he can feel it in his eye sockets, a throat so sore he can scarcely swallow, a hellish headache, and a constant cacophony of coughing and sneezing. He had gone to bed feeling fine. A bit nervous about the upcoming duels perhaps, but he certainly hadn't felt sick. Now, it's all he can do just to drag himself out of bed.

He does drag himself out of bed. Jounouchi isn't the type to back down, not when there's duels to be won. He has to prepare himself thoroughly, because he could be called upon to duel at any time. He has no time to spend lazing in bed, no matter how disgusting he might feel. And so, Jonouchi gathers up his deck, his duel disk, and a massive wad snotty toilet paper, and seeks out Yugi for a practice duel.

Their first moment of eye contact is awkward. It's obvious that Yugi knows he's sick, and the way he's furrowing his brow implies great worry. Jounouchi doesn't want to make him worry, especially not when Yugi also needs to do his best in the finals. Maybe he shouldn't have barged into Yugi's tiny bedroom at all. Here he is with mucus filtering through the toilet paper and dripping down his fingers like melting icicles, here he is getting ready to have a sneezing fit that will spray germs all over poor Yugi's room. He shouldn't be here. It wasn't fair of him to come.

Jounouchi spins around on the eroded heel of his boots, but before he can march away, he's stopped dead by the buzzing-bee feeling in his nose. He flares his nostrils, covers his face with his hands. “Heahh...heAHHHCHOO! HACHOO! Ehkchh! Hahchh...” The first two sneezes snap his torso forward, but the last two are quiet enough to keep him still. He blows his nose on the battered clump of toilet paper, sniffs, then blows his nose into the pulpy mess again.

Yugi hands him a clean tissue. “Thank you,” says Jounouchi, annoyed by how scratchy and congested his voice sounds. “Think I'm getting a cold,” he says, burying his irritated nose into the soft, off-white tissue. He tries to drain his sinuses, but only succeeds in hurting his ears. He's so stuffed up that his teeth ache, and it's hard to breathe without his mouth swinging open like a gate. Jounouchi doesn't think he's getting a cold, he's got one.

Yugi is saying something, but trumpeting into the tissue causes Jounouchi to miss half of it. After coughing harshly into a half-closed fist, he asks his friend to repeat himself. “You sound awful,” he says, peering up at him with wide eyes. “I hope it isn't anything to too serious. We should ask Kaiba if we can postpone your duel until you're feeling better.”

“No way,” Jounouchi says with a snort. “I wouldn't be a real duelist if I ran away like that. The only way I'd postpone anything is if I we...werechoo! Echoo!” He swipes at his nose with his index finger, then tries to blow the thing again. “S'cuse me, sorry. Anyway, I'm not dying or anything. It's just a little baby cold. No biggie.”

Yugi frowns, and hands him another tissue from the blue box on his cramped, plastic desk. He says, “you still shouldn't take it lightly. Even a minor cold will make it harder to concentrate on your duel. One time, I almost lost because my stomach hurt from eating too much ice cream. You need to be in tip top shape, or you won't be able to do your best. A real duelist takes these things into account when he's coming up with his strategy...” Yugi trails off, waiting for Jounouchi to finish blowing his nose. This takes about two minutes, but Yugi still can't continue, because the tissue has triggered yet another sneezing fit.

“HAHCHOO! HAAH...hehh...HAHHCHOO! Hepchh! Hihchh! Choo!” Jounouchi groans, then tries once more to drain his nose. Each sneezing fit leaves him stuffier than before, and so he's finding it impossible to stem the tide of snot. He can't sniffle, he can only keep the ragged tissue pressed against his nose. After coughing and then sneezing again, Jounouchi assures Yugi that he won't be distracted. When Yugi doesn't seem convinced, Jounouchi balls his fists and demands a duel. “I'm not gonna let something so stupid stop me from winning,” he croaks. “We're gonna duel, and I'm gonna kick your ass.”

“Fine,” Yugi says with a sigh. “We'll duel. I could use the practice, anyway. The room's too small to use our duel discs, so we'll just have to play tabletop style. Is that okay?”

Of course it is. Jounouchi is ready to go no matter what the conditions. It doesn't matter to him that he's so stuffed up it's making his eyes water, and it doesn't matter to him that Yugi has repeatedly proved himself superior duelist, so why should it matter if they're playing using a format he hasn't bothered with in months? He'll find some way to win, or if not he'll at least take a good chunk out of Yugi's life points. “If you start feeling too sick we'll call it quits, okay?” says Yugi. “You really ought to be in bed, not dueling me. You've already practiced enough, but if you don't get better then you won't be able to duel.”

Jounouchi ignores him, and instead focuses on shuffling his deck. It takes some prodding to get Yugi to do the same, but finally he begins to split the cards. Once they're satisfied with their efforts, Yugi leads them over to his bed and says that they'll sit there to play the game. “Take the tissue box with you if you think you need it,” Yugi says. Though he'll certainly need it, this irks Jounouchi. He wishes Yugi would focus on their impending battle, and not on Jounouchi's health. Out of spite, he almost leaves the box on the desk, but when the inside of his nose begins to burn again, he snatches it up and sets it on the bed. Not ten seconds after he sets it down, he's obliged to rip out a tissue in which to bury yet another sneezing fit. His nose explodes several times in rapid succession, and by the end he's nearly shrieking his sneezes. The tissue is damp and tattered, and he needs another one to mop up the mess.

“If I could just stop sneezing for ten seconds, this would be much easier,” he grumbles. “Do you want to go first, or should I?”

“How about I get you some tea first?” Yugi asks, hopping off of the bed. His socks cause him to skid slightly on the uncarpeted floor, and Jounouchi grabs his arm to keep him steady.

“No, thanks,” he grunts. “Could we just get on with it? I'm not pathetic Yugi, I don't need all this help from you. Let's just due...echoo!” Nose to tissue once again. This is getting embarrassing. Yugi looks like a mother sitting vigil over her dying child. It's absurd to care this much about a cold. “I'll go first,” he says. “I set one card face down. There, I'm done. Your turn.” Yugi blinks, then says he'll take his turn once he's made some tea.

“It's not that I think you're pathetic,” he says, sliding his feet into a pair of fuzzy black slippers. “It's just that I think you'll be able to focus better if you feel better, and you'll feel better if you have something warm to drink. If we're going to duel, I want us to be as evenly matched as possible. That's why I want to make you a cup of tea.”

Jounouchi shrugs, too busy coughing to argue. When he puts it like that it isn't nearly so demeaning. Taking the shrug as permission, Yugi darts out of the room. Five minutes later he returns with a steaming purple mug of what he says is Jasmine tea. “I wasn't sure what you liked, so I chose my favorite. Well, my favorite out of what they had, anyway. My real favorite is Darjeeling, but I guess I shouldn't expect there to be any foreign teas.”

“Doesn't matter,” says Jounouchi, after taking a scalding sip. “It just tastes like water to me, my taste buds are shot from this cold. Thanks though, I appreciate it. You really don't need to do anything else for me. Let's get on with the duel.” Though he says this, he's forced once more to attend to his nose. The steam floating out of his tea does help to loosen his congestion, but it also makes his sinuses burn. He knows another fit is coming, so he places his tea on the floor. His breath hitches and his nose itches, but nothing comes of it. He rubs his nose with the palm of his hand, snorts and sighs in hopes of coaxing the sneezing fit out. Yugi asks him what's wrong, and he tells him that he needs to sneeze but it isn't working, that his face feels like it's on fire. Within seconds Yugi's fingers are dancing underneath his quivering nostrils, and he's asking if this helps. It makes him shudder, makes him shiver, and finally, it makes him sneeze. Jounouchi throws his head back and roars, “HYAHHHCHH! AHCKHOO! HYAACHOO! EHPCHH!” He blinks, realizing he's just misted his friend with his snot. “Oh, Jesus, Yugi, I'm sorry. I'm really so...hyachh! Hachoo! Hekchoo! Hachhoo! Fuck. I'm sorry. Really sorry.”

“It's alright,” Yugi says, passing him yet another tissue. Jounouchi accepts it gratefully, emptying his nose into its thin folds. Instantly, his nose fills up again, more desperately clogged than before. He feels the need to sneeze again, and so he pinches his itchy nose closed. More than anything, he wants to pretend this never happened and resume their duel, but Yugi isn't making any move toward doing so. This isn't surprising. Who on earth would want to duel with a guy who just sneezed all over them?

“I should probably get out of your hair,” Jounouchi says. “I shouldn't have come in the first place. If I end up getting you sick, feel free to kick my ass. I'll just go practice by myse...ehhch!” He sniffles hard, his ears aching with the effort. “You're right that this is really distracting. I guess I just have to get used to it, huh? No way Kaiba is going to let me postpone my duel. If I ask, he'll probably just throw me out of the tournament.”

Yugi stares at his hands, seemingly unsure of what to say. After a moment he digs through his backpack for a bottle of hand sanitizer, and squirts some onto his palm. “He can't kick you out just for asking,” Yugi says. “How about we call it a night for now, and if you're still feeling sick in the morning, we'll go ask him together? No offense, but he might be a little more willing to listen to me than to you.”

After wasting a few minutes coughing, Jounouchi finally gives in. Yugi hands him the entire box of tissues, and his rapidly cooling mug of tea. “Let me know if there I can do to help you out,” he says. His sunny smile nearly makes up for his humiliating offer, and though it hurts Jounouchi's pride, he promises his friend that he'll be sure to ask for help if he needs it.

~`~`~

Jounouchi had trouble getting to sleep the night before—whenever he'd begin to drift off, his mouth would shut, and his mind would press the panic button, thinking that his body could not breathe. Sleep had come in fits and starts, and he only managed about four hours in total. At seven in the morning he's wide awake, sneezing endlessly into his blankets. Sometimes they ricochet out of his nose in rapid succession, six or seven at a time; other times they stay stuck for several minutes, forcing him to screw up his face in anticipation. In the course of an hour he sneezes well over one hundred times. This forces him to use up every single tissue Yugi gave to him, and soon he's back to draining his leaky nose into fistfuls of toilet paper. Around eight o'clock, the sneezes start to taper off, and he begins to feel as though getting up and interacting with other humans might be possible. He drags himself out of bed, and begins to gather up the clothes he'll wear that day. There is a chance that he will duel today, and he wants to look his best, but he can't summon the energy to think too hard on it. After all, looking his best isn't possible with such a terrible cold. Jounouchi slouches into a blue tee-shirt and a pair of jeans, then fills the pockets of his jeans with toilet paper. He tries running a comb through his mass of blonde hair, but it's hopelessly tangled, and he does not have the will to fight with it. He slinks out of his bedroom, hoping that no one will think to comment on his illness.

Of course, it's commented on almost immediately. Jounouchi had been curiously free of intruders the night before, and even his sister had apparently slept somewhere else. He hadn't been feeling well enough to notice their absence, but once Shizuka sidles up to him with concern branded on her face, he notices. “Ah, Shizuka, where did you stay last night?” he asks, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was worried about you. Did you stay with Anzu? Or Mai? Please tell me you didn't stay with Honda.”

“Yugi-san told me that you were sick,” she says. “I wanted to come in and see if you needed help, but Yugi-san said it would be better just to let you sleep. I stayed with Anzu-san and Honda-san and Otogi-san in the common room. Yugi-san said I could stay with him, but Honda-san said I should leave Yugi alone so he could prepare for his duel.” Of course Honda had said that. Anything to trick Shizuka into sleeping in the same room as him! Yugi was trustworthy, Yugi wouldn't lay a hand on her, but Honda! Oh, Jounouchi was going to have to kick his ass. “Oniichan, are you feeling really bad?” Shizuka asks, her hands clasped behind her back. “Is there anything that I can do to help you?”

“Don't spend the night with Honda,” he grunts. “I don't trust that bastard, and stressing over what he might do to you is not going to help me get better. So, if you want to help, stay away from him.”

“Oh, but Honda-san is such a gentleman,” says Shizuka, her hands now clasped near her neckline. “It was his idea that Anzu-san and I should sleep on one end of the room and that he and Otogi-san should sleep on the other end. He wouldn't do anything inappropriate, so there's no need to be worried.”

Jounouchi means to respond to this, but his words are quickly erased with a coughing fit. Shizuka gingerly rubs his back, and he thanks her once his sore, convulsing throat allows him to. “Yesterday, Yugi-san said that he wanted to talk to you once you were awake,” she says. “I think he was expecting you to stay asleep until noon or so, so I'm not sure if he's even awake right now, but, you know, just so you know.”

As he digs the toilet paper out of his pockets, he thanks his sister once again. He blows his sore nose, then tells Shizuka that she should probably not be spending time with him just now. “I'm okay, but this is one hell of a cold, and I wouldn't want you catching it. So, why don't you go on and...annnnhh....nnggchhoo! Choo! Ugh, sorry about that. Go hang out with Anzu, or um...do you have homework? Anyway, go keep yourself busy. And not with Honda.” He blows his nose again, then turns away from her. This is for her own good, and he doesn't want to see the hurt look on her face when he leaves her.

~`~`~

He decides to see if Yugi's woken up yet. By this point it's nearly nine o'clock, and unlike Jounouchi, Yugi is usually an early riser, so there's a good chance he's been up for a while. Jounouchi pounds on his door, and when he doesn't get an answer he barges in himself. “Oi, Yugi,” he croaks, walking into the room. He notices that his friend is still huddled in bed. A hand, and the tips of his tricolored hair are poking out of his blue blankets, and scattered around his pillow are a collection of used tissues. Unless Yugi collected Jounouchi's tissues and was leaving them for some kind of mystical snot fairy, then this means that Yugi has also come down with a cold. Jounouchi turns to leave, not wanting to disturb his sick friend, but he's already woken him up. Yugi tosses his blankets aside, and immediately grabs for a tissue. He snorts thickly into it, sneezes three times, and blows his nose again. Sniffling, he gives Jounouchi an unenthusiastic wave. “Hello,” he says, in a voice as raspy and congested as Jounouchi's own. “Are you feeling any better this morning?”

“Not really man, but how about you? I got you sick, that sucks. I'm really sorry.” Jounouchi stares at his sneakers, embarrassed. This wouldn't have happened if Jounouchi hadn't been so insistent about pursuing that practice duel. If he'd just stayed in his room and kept his germs to himself, Yugi would be feeling just fine.

Yugi assures him that it's okay. “So far, it's just my nose. I don't feel sick or anything, I'm just stuffed up and feeling like I have to sneeze all the time. Still, it'll be enough to distract me if I have to duel, so I'm going to ask Kaiba if both of us can take our turns near the end of the tournament. Do you want to come...wiihhhhpkhoo! Ickchh! Hippch! Chhi!” Yugi blows his nose again, one nostril at a time. “Oh wow, my sinuses feel like lead,” he says, sniffling after nearly every word. “I definitely can't duel like this. Not unless I absolutely had to. The other me says he can't remember ever having a cold, so he's a little overwhelmed and I don't think he could do it either. Hipchh!”

He had been prepared to argue about it again, but now that Yugi's sick too, he can't bring himself to. Jounouchi agrees to accompany him to Kaiba's room. It takes a little while for Yugi to get dressed, but soon they're walking out the door. Even the short walk across the battle ship is enough to exhaust Jounouchi, and Yugi seems to be dragging his feet as well, in contrast to what he says about not actually feeling sick. Finally, they arrive at Kaiba's front door. Yugi knocks on the door while Jounouchi busies himself with blowing his nose. Mokuba answers the door. He plants his hands on his hips and snaps angrily that his brother doesn't want to be disturbed. “We just want to ask a quick question,” rasps Yugi. His voice sounds even worse than Jounouchi thinks his own does, and Yugi can't have been sick for more than a couple of hours. He must be lying about his symptoms—his voice is so hoarse it can't possibly be all in his nose. He's got to have a sore throat at the least.

Mokuba rolls his eyes, then says he'll ask his brother if he's got the time. He disappears into the spacious room, and mumbles something that Jounouchi can't make out through his blocked ears. Whatever he said, it's working out in their favor, because Kaiba comes striding up to them, his face as motionless as stone. He doesn't look at Jounouchi, and instead peers down at Yugi. “What is it?” he asks. “Make it quick, because I haven't got much time, and neither do you.”

“Well, it seems that Jounouchi and I have both come down with colds, and I was wondering if we could perhaps postpone our duels until the end of the competition, so that we'll have some time to recover.” This sentence embarrasses Jounouchi terribly, and for a split second he wants to punch Yugi in the back of the head. His words are calm and reasoned, but Jounouchi still feels he's being infantilized. A real man could easily tough out a cold. A real duelist wouldn't be distracted by a headache or a sore throat or a stuffy, drippy nose.

Instead of voicing these thoughts, he begins sniffling rapidly to stave off yet another sneezing fit. His face is burning with it, his chest is heaving with it, and even pinching his nose closed can do nothing to stop it. Jounouchi explodes with a violent, “HAHCHOO!” and continues sneezing for a good two minutes after that. When he finally stops, his nose still itches furiously, as if another fit will start any second. He honks into a handful of toilet paper, then shoves the snotty mess back into the pockets of his jeans. “Yeah,” he says. “What Yugi said. Think you could help us out...ohhAHHCHOO! HAPSHOO! HYAKKCHOO! APCHOO!”

Kaiba raises a well-groomed eyebrow, then asks Yugi if he thinks he'll be seriously impaired by his illness. “The duel schedule is meant to be random,” he says. “Scheduling you for a specific time would mean eliminating that element of surprise, which would give the competition a different character than the one I intended. Are you really so ill that you don't think you can duel?”

He hasn't directed a single word at Jounouchi, or even given him a passing glance. Mokuba is clinging to Kaiba's jacket, and staring out at them like a scared mouse. Yugi grins sheepishly and says, “well, I'm not dying or anything, but Duel Monsters is a strategic game, and it's hard for me to think clearly when my head is all stuffed up. I also don't want to distract my opponent.” When he finishes speaking he takes out a tissue and folds it into a neat square, and then buries his red-winged nose in its folds.

Kaiba shoos Mokuba to the back of the room, saying he shouldn't be breathing infected air. After that, he crosses his arms, and stares directly at Yugi. “Fine,” he says. “I'm not exactly pleased with this, but it seems unlikely that you caught a cold out of spite. Your duel will be postponed until the end. As for your friend, he'll duel whenever the lottery machine says he will. He's bound to lose anyway, so there's no point in making special provisions.” Before either of them can protest, the door slams in their face.

“That bastard!” yells Jounouchi, slamming his right fist into his left hand. “What the hell does he mean, I'm bound to lose? I'm not bound to do anything except kick his bony ass! I'll show that asshole, I'll...AYYAAACHHOO! HAPSCHOO! HAKCHOO!” His tirade is stopped dead by his sneezing fit, and he hasn't got the energy to keep it up after that. Yugi gives his shoulder a comforting pat, and mutters platitudes until Jounouchi can coax his nose to calm down. After trumpeting loudly into a torn-up tissue, he says, “whatever. Screw Kaiba, screw this cold, I'm gonna beat whoever I duel, no matter what.”

“Okay,” says Yugi. “Just don't overwork yourself.”

[coldcure08]

Wonderful start! Can't wait to see where you take this story!

[Natto]

@ Lorea08 -- Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! I actually had no plans of continuing, this was meant to be a one-shot...but, are there any ways you could see it going if I did continue? I'm quite curious.

[curliecatlover]

I love yugioh!!! And I love this story

They better not sneeze on kaiba, wouldn't want him to get sick

[Natto]

@ Da Kitty Ninja - Thank you! Yeah, I've become really fond of Yu-Gi-Oh recently. Couldn't resist writing fic of it! And...really, really, you DON'T want Kaiba to get sick? Are you sure about that?

[curliecatlover]

Hehe joke of course I want him sick ..... and in my bed

who said that?!

[coldcure08]

LOL Personally I want to see Kaiba get sick... The stoic, arrogant ___hole as a sniffling sneezing, dripping feverish mess would be wonderful. If Jounouchi did platonic care-taking that would be lovely as well. And by some fluke Jounouchi ended up winning because of a sneeze I would die laughing...

[Natto]

Hmm...maybe I could write some some more after all. XD; It wasn't my intention, but your suggestions sound awfully tempting. No promises, but I'll see what I can do.

[coldcure08]

My Heroine!

[Ker0kero]

Well done! Usually YuGiOh fanfics aren't as good as I usually think, but I loved it...can't wait for another post.

[SneezyLaura]

That was great! I loved it. <3

Please let Kaiba come down with a cold, that would be awesome.

I'm also rooting for Anzu or Shizuka getting a cold - oh hell, everybody getting a cold would be just fine with me.

[dove]

Aaah Natto, I missed your fic so much. As always, excellent work! And I agree with everyone else - I can easily see this continuing. <333

[Natto]

@Ker0kero - Thank you so much for your comment! Yeah, Yu-Gi-Oh tends to attract younger people who are often less experienced with writing. I used to write Yu-Gi-Oh fic when I was about twelve, now I'm writing it again...I'm not perfect, but I'm a good deal better than I was ten years ago. And I've seen very little Yu-Gi-Oh fic of this...genre. DM and GX are my obsessions just now, so I'll probably be posting more as time goes on.

@ Rei - Thanks for the comments, and thanks for the suggestions! This is probably going to be much longer than originally intended, so I'll definitely keep those things in mind. Kaiba, at least, gets sick in this chapter.

@ dove - Ahh, thank you for commenting! I'd been hoping to hear from you about this. I'm glad you liked it. <3

Okay, A Real Duelist is back by popular demand. XD; I didn't plan on continuing, but there are too many awesome posibilities to explore to just let this story go. Thanks for the encouragement, guys, and I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter, wherein Kaiba becomes ill. Oh, there are allergies here, too. Because I'm mean.

Part Two

Jounouchi wakes up to the blaring whine of the loudspeaker. Still half-sunken in sleep, he cannot immediately tell where the noise is coming from. Thinking it's his alarm clock, he feels around for the snooze button. His groping hand connects with an empty box of tissues, which doesn't shut the sound off. He buries his aching head underneath his pillow, hoping to drown out the noise and fall asleep again, but it doesn't work. He's wide awake, and the announcement is clear as a bell.

“...selection of contestants will be postponed until further notice. Mokuba-sama has taken ill, and as a result Kaiba-sama will be unable to to oversee the duels. Please use the extra time to prepare your strategies.”

“Ohh, shiiiiit,” moans Jounouchi, beating the pillow with his forehead. Mokuba could be a bit of a brat, but Jounouchi hadn't wanted to infect the kid. He'd have been okay with it if it were Kaiba, the bastard deserved to be taken down a peg or two, but he hates the thought of Mokuba going through this rotten cold. It's been two days and he's still feeling pretty awful. He'd spent the previous day staring at his cards and trying to force his cotton-wrapped brain to come up with some kind of strategy, but he hadn't thought of anything except throwing filthy tissues at his opponent and hoping they'd be disgusted enough to screw up. He certainly has enough used tissues—the gray plastic garbage can next to his bed is nearly full. He hasn't seen Yugi since their confrontation with Kaiba, and from what he hears the guy spent all of yesterday in bed. Yugi being sick already made him feel guilty enough, he sure as hell didn't need a child on his conscience as well.

He peels himself out of bed, and slithers into the same sloppy outfit he'd worn yesterday. He'd used up the three travel packs of tissues that Anzu had given him the day before, and so he's going to have to seek out more. At this point, his nose is too sore for toilet paper to be an option. The problem is that he can't expect anyone to actually have any tissues. It isn't the sort of thing that you take with you unless you're expecting to need it, and most people don't need tissues often enough to pack them unless they've got allergies or a cold. No one had been sick upon entering the blimp, and there were no allergies that he was aware of. And if anybody did have these problems, they probably wouldn't be able to spare any tissues. Jounouchi still didn't get why Yugi had happened to have that box of tissues with him in the first place. And it wasn't just a box! Yugi had given Jounouchi the whole thing, but he'd clearly been using tissues after he'd left. That meant he'd really come prepared. How the heck could he have known that they'd need them?

He decides to go bother Yugi about it. If he's got any more tissues stashed away in his room, Jounouchi needs to know about it, because he feels like he's been punched in the face with this cold. This morning is an improvement over the morning before in that he didn't wake up and sneeze for an hour, but he's still ridiculously drippy and congested. If he doesn't get a tissue soon, he's going to have a face coated in snot.

Before he knocks on Yugi's door he does start sneezing. They're violent, spine-snapping things that catapult him into a coughing fit as soon as they're done. Midway through coughing, he's struck with the desperate need to sneeze again. His whole face feels like its on fire, but he has to hold it back until he can force himself to stop coughing. Eventually, the sneezing fit takes over. “HAKCHOO! APPCHOO! HYAAAAHH...hheeehhh...HACHH! ACKHOO! CHH....CHOO! Oh my god...” Jounouchi groans, rubbing his still-itchy nose. After trying in vain to snort up a strand of shiny mucus dangling from his right nostril, Jounouchi wipes it on the back of his hand. “Yugi?” he calls. “Are you awake? Can I come in?”

After a minute, Yugi opens the door. His hand is closed around his mouth to muffle his coughs, and it's some time before he can actually answer. Finally, in a voice like the creaking hinges of a door, he greets Jounouchi. Jounouchi waves, then takes Yugi by the shoulder and steers him over to his bed. He's as pale as skim milk, as shaky as a leaf. He shouldn't be standing when he looks so sick and weak. “You got a fever?” Jounouchi asks, putting a hand on his friend's sweaty forehead. “You're warm. No wonder you look like you're about to pass out. Good thing you got Kaiba to postpone your duel, huh?”

Yugi sniffles his agreement, then pulls a tissue out of a nearly-empty box and blows his nose. Without asking, Jounouchi takes one too. After honking loudly into the tissue and totally failing to alleviate his stuffy nose, he asks Yugi why he brought all these tissues in the first place. “Oh,” says Yugi. “Well, it was because of Kaiba.”

“Kaiba? What the heck's he got to do with it? What, did he have some kind of packing requirement I didn't know about?”

“No, it's just that Kaiba has terrible allergies, and a few days before we left, I overheard him complaining to Mokuba that he couldn't get his doctor to prescribe as much medication as he needed for the trip. So, I thought I'd bring some tissues, in case he needed them.” Yugi pauses to cough, then covers his lap with rumpled blankets. “There was a sale, and I sort of went overboard. But, Kaiba didn't want them. When I offered, he said it was very kind, but next time I probably shouldn't be so ki...kchh! Hipchhiw! Kchh! Ugh...” Sniffling, Yugi empties his nose into a previously used tissue. “It's a good thing, I guess, since you and are really going to need these...ickhchoo!”

Jounouchi clears his throat, trying to rid himself of the sharp stinging he feels each time he swallows. “Yeah...hey, did you hear that Mokuba got sick, too?” Yugi hasn't, and his wide eyes grow even wider. “Sucks, doesn't it? I wouldn't have cared if it were Kaiba, he's a freakin' asshole, but Mokuba's okay. Not exactly loving the idea that it's spreading so rapidly, either. I mean, what if Shizuka ends up getting sick?”

“Then Honda will probably kill you,” laughs Yugi, after blowing his nose once again. “That's awful though, we should go and see if he's okay.”

“That's probably n-not...not a...a...AHCKCHOO!! HAPSCHOO!! HYASSHOO! CHOO! Chh...” He pauses, temporarily deprived of speech by the overwhelming congestion. Each breath is like sucking concrete through a straw, and his attempts at blowing his nose only make his ears pop. He still needs to sneeze, but he doesn't want to, because sneezing hurts and doesn't help to clear his nose at all. Pinching his nose closed does nothing to stop the fit, and he sneezes six more times before he can relax. Well, not relax exactly, but try again to drain his sinuses. This takes ten tissues, all wrecked with thick yellow slugs of mucus, and when he's finished he's still stupidly congested, and his head aches like he's been pounding it against brick wall. By this point, he's completely forgotten what he intended to say, but Yugi is taking his arm and leading him out of the room.

“We're going to check on Mokuba,” he says. At the moment, Jounouchi can't think clearly enough to disagree.

~`~`~

They arrive at Kaiba's room. Yugi knocks on the door with shaking hands, then stops mid-knock for a coughing fit. He doesn't have to knock for long though, because the door opens almost immediately. Standing in the doorway is Mokuba, looking healthy but puzzled. Jounouchi and Yugi are also confused. “Um...” says Jounouchi, scratching the back of his head. “It's cool that the announcement was wrong and all, but...weren't you supposed to be sick?”

“I am sick!” cries Mokuba. He gives a series of obviously fake coughs, then places a hand on his forehead. “I have a fever, really, it's just, I don't look like I'm sick. Not everyone looks like Death kicked them in the face when they catch something.” He crosses his arms and glares straight at Yugi. Despite their five year age difference, they're close to the same size, but Jounouchi is far taller than both of them. Mokuba does not try to stare him down. Jounouchi rolls his eyes, while Yugi nervously waves his hands.

Strained, barking coughs filter in from the back of the room. After blowing his nose in hopes of facilitating speech, Jounouchi calls out in that direction. “Kaiba?” he asks. “That you?” More coughing, followed by a ferocious sneeze. One of the Kaiba brothers is sick, but it clearly isn't Mokuba. Jounouchi feels a lot better about himself now, and he tries not to snicker at Kaiba's misfortune. Clearly, he's embarrassed about it, or else he wouldn't have pinned the disease on his brother. “Oh, Kaiba, you sound terrible,” Jounouchi purrs. “Did you happen to catch my cold? Well, I'm real sorry about that, but I didn't realize that big stupid jerks could get sick. Well, you learn something new every day...hapschoo!”

“You haven't got a leg to stand on Jounouchi, you're obviously sick too,” says Kaiba as he slowly makes his way toward the front of the room. He looks as wretched as he sounds. His nose is chapped and fire-truck red, and his eyes are ringed with thick, black smudges, watering, and webbed with pale red veins. In his hand is a well-used handkerchief, white, and monogrammed with a blue KaibaCorp logo. When he sniffles, which he does nearly every other second, it sounds like the sucking of a sink drain.

“Yeah, well, at least I own up to it instead of locking up my younger sibling and making them pretend to be sick.” Jounouchi pauses to cough, then rubs his throat and says, “I can't believe you're postponing the whole tournament just because you caught a cold. Wouldn't it make more sense to just duel at the end of it, like Yugi?”

“If I weren't supervising the whole thing, then maybe that would ma...make...huhchoo! Hckchoo! Uchhh....” His red nose disappears into his handkerchief, and he keeps it pressed to his face once he's finished blowing. As a result, his voice is even more muffled than it had been before. “I have to oversee everything, you idiot. All you have to do is play through one or two duels. You don't have to stand out in the dueling ring freezing your ass out every single time a couple of morons want to play a card game. You don't have to manage a full staff of workers. You don't have to answer to every single complaint that anybody on this blimp might have.” He stops to cough harshly into the handkerchief, then clears his throat and asks them to leave. “The sooner you leave me alone, the sooner I'll be well enough to continue the competition.”

Though Kaiba's decision is logical, it also reeks of cowardice, and Jounouchi wants to stick around and mock him for it. He glances at Yugi, silently pleading to be allowed to stay. Yugi shakes his head, and gestures toward the doorway. Jounouchi plods toward it with a sigh, waving weakly at Kaiba. “Get well soon, jerkward,” he mumbles. He's about to step out of the room when he sees Mai Kujaku, who is stopped mid-stride from entering the room.

Mai's make-up heavy face was twisted into a sneer, but it softens for a brief second, then immediately hardens again. She pushes past Jounouchi, and shakes a fist in Kaiba's direction. “What's this I hear about you delaying the competition?” she yells. “I don't care what your reasons are, some of us have lives to get back to! You can't just hold us indefinitely captive on a blimp until you decide to leave your precious baby brother's side. This isn't all about you, you know!” Her twitchy eyes sweep toward Mokuba, who immediately falls into his fake-coughing routine. “You know, Mokuba looks just fine. Actually, Kaiba, it seems like you're the one who's sick. Using your little brother to lie for you, that's impressive.”

Kaiba doesn't respond. Just now, he's busied with a stupendous sneezing fit which snaps his torso forward so fast he nearly falls on his face. He sprays the legs of his pants with spit and mucus, and drops his filthy handkerchief. It takes a moment of stumbling and staggering while still in the grips of his fit to pick it up again, and once he finally does, another massive sneeze causes him to drop it once again. Mokuba steps in, and leads his brother toward a nearby computer chair. He digs through one of the metal desk drawers, and produces another handkerchief, identical to the last one save for being clean. He holds it to his brother's nose, and rubs his back with his free hand. “Mai-san,” says Mokuba. “You might want to come back after you've washed off all that perfume. His allergies get really bad when he's sick, so I don't think he'll be able to talk to you until you've done that.”

Perfume? Jounouchi hadn't been able to tell. Under normal circumstances, what Mai Kujaku smelled like (and sounded like, and looked like, and felt like, and tasted like...) would have been of great interest to him, but just now he can't smell a thing. Wanting at least a brief whiff of whatever she'd chosen to adorn herself with, Jounouchi blasts into a crumpled tissue, hoping to clear his congestion well enough to breathe her in. Trying nets him a bloody nose. He takes the cleanest, least torn-up tissue he can find, and plugs up the flow. Oh, Mai must find this so attractive.

Mai whips around after glaring angrily at Kaiba. Facing the doorway, she says that she thinks Kaiba utterly pathetic. “I shouldn't have wasted my time on your tournament. You obviously don't think it's important, so why should your judgment of me as a duelist mean anything? I hope you get pneumonia. Goodbye.” At that, she storms off. Yugi sighs, and mutters something about how she could have been a little more sympathetic.

After drenching his handkerchief in snot and suffering a lengthy coughing fit, Kaiba finally speaks. “Why should she be sympathetic?” he asks, raising an eyebrow at Yugi. “She's absolutely right. I don't care about the tournament, and I don't care about her skills as a duelist.” He stops, sniffles deeply, and scratches the bridge of his nose. “I care about defeating you, Yugi. We won't have a valuable duel if we're both sick. I don't care about wasting blimp fuel, and I don't care about wasting anyone's time except mine. Mai should be angry, but you know what? I don't really care about that, either.”

“Yeah, but...hppch! Hikchhuu! Ugh...hippchh!” Yugi swipes at his nose, then blows it softly into a neatly folded tissue. “Well, I guess as long as you're not offended, it doesn't matter. I guess we should head back to our rooms, unless there's anything we can do to help out here...?” He looks at Kaiba expectantly, and Jounouchi can't help but roll his eyes. Kaiba doesn't need any more help than the two of them do, and if he does need help he has servants to provide it. There's no reason to bother. Still, Yugi stares at Kaiba, waiting for instructions. Mokuba shrugs at them, apparently confused as to why they're still hanging around.

Kaiba gives him nothing. Instead of speaking, he's thrown into yet another sneezing fit. Watching him makes Jounouchi's own nose itch. He doesn't want to start sneezing with his nose still dripping blood, so he pinches it closed and looks away from Kaiba. He can't help hearing him, though. The fit grows increasingly louder, and it doesn't seem like it's about to end. When he finally speaks, his voice is like a trickle of mud. “Thank you, but I don't...hhhh...need anything...huuhhhchhoo! Huppchh! Ackhoo! I appreciate your offer, but...hhhh...hhhh...hhhupppCHOO! It's totally unnecessary. You should...hhhchhoo! Chhuuh! Just go. Oh, fuck me.” Jounouchi hears Kaiba's useless attempt to blow his nose, and for a moment he feels some sort of sympathy for him. Having allergies on top of this lousy cold has got to suck.

They go at Kaiba's command, and stumble into the hallway. Abruptly, Yugi sinks to the ground, his sweaty forehead pressed against his shaking knees. “Yugi?” asks Jounouchi, crouching down beside him. “You okay, man? Hey, Yugi? You wanna think about getting up now? Yugi?”

TBC...

[curliecatlover]

EEEEEEEEEEEEE fangirl scream * runs and jumps on kaiba giggling like crazy*

And allergies... I might just die!!!!!

Tbc? Uh yes please!!!!!!

[murphy dee]

Reading this made me so nostalgic for Yu-gi-oh! I used to be crazy about that show years back. I actually had to look up who Jonouchi was, and then felt a little ashamed that I only knew him as "Joey Wheeler."

This is my absolute favorite line:

Eventually, the sneezing fit takes over. “HAKCHOO! APPCHOO! HYAAAAHH...hheeehhh...HACHH! ACKHOO! CHH....CHOO! Oh my god...”

I looooove the talking afterwards, whether it's just a moan after the sneeze or a comment on how bad it was, or anything like that, I LOVE IT.

And you let Seto Kaiba join in the fun!! He was always my favorite on the show, and I adore when those arrogant jerk characters are sick. I especially loved how Kaiba kept trying to speak even though he was being overcome with a sneezing fit.

[coldcure08]

Wonderful, Stupendous, Perfect.

I absolutely loved how you portrayed Kaiba! I am so happy!!! As always I can't wait to see where you take this story! (^^^) I hope Yugi will be okay, aside from still be ill, of course.

[SneezyLaura]

Awesome chapter!

I loved Kaiba being to embarrassed to admit he's the one who caught a cold. xD And yay - sneezy!Kaiba.

I really adore Yugi and Jou - they are really sweet best friends.

[LeapYearKisses]

Wow... I'm getting so nostalgic for Yu-Gi-Oh now. XD I love that you made Kaiba get sick, too. And of course he would blame Mokuba! You have an excellent grasp of their personalities. And you have such good lines, too. This one "Yugi looks like a mother sitting vigil over her dying child." snagged me right from the beginning!

But now poor Yugi! I hope he's all right!

[facet]

.

[Natto]

@ Da kitty ninja - Thanks, glad you liked it! I couldn't really resist forcing allergies upon the poor guy, too. *pets him*

@ Murphy D. - I watched YGO a bit when I was a kid, too, but I was one of those hardcore anime fan kids who had to know the Japanese names. Now I'm actually watching the series in Japanese, so sometimes I forget what the dub names are. I love "talking afterwards" too, it implies that the sneezing actually had some kind of effect on them, which is pretty important for the overall impact. I don't have that happen every time, but I do try to weave it in. Heh, Kaiba isn't really my favorite type of character, but he's the sort that I can't really resist tormenting. XD; Anyway, thanks for the lovely comment. Really appreciate it.

@ Lorea08 - This is all your fault, you know! I wouldn't still be writing this if not for you! XD; Thanks for pushing me along, I'm really having a good time with it. Anyway I'm really glad you're liking it so far. Thanks for your comment!

@ Rei - Their friendship is so over the top sometimes. But it can be pretty cute at times, too. And yeah, I definitely see Kaiba as the type who doesn't like to admit to being ill. He's too bad-ass for such nonsense, after all. Thanks for the comment!

@ LeapYearKisses - Thank you! I'm about midway through the series, ad I'm watching an episode or so a day, so it's pretty easy for me to remember what they're like. Still, I'm thrilled to hear you think I'm getting them right, and that my actual writing style is working for you too.

@ facet - Thank you! Yeah, I like the idea of the big tough proud guy being wrecked by a cold. It's rather sexy. And hmm, that part didn't really stick out to me, but if that's something you like, I'll see if I can incorporate a similar idea in future chapters.

Oh my gosh guys, thank you so much for all the lovely comments! I'm so glad you're all enjoying it so much, and it's so nice of you to take the time to tell me what in particular you enjoyed. Anyway, here's Part Three. I should explain a few things before moving on--I'm starting to develop something of a plot, so things might be confusing for those who aren't so familiar with canon. There are a few things you'll need to know before moving on.

1. "Yami" is the ancient Egyptian spirit who shares a body with Yugi. His name isn't really Yami. Yugi usually refers to him as "mou hitori no boku" or "the other me" but since this is from Jounouchi's POV, that won't work. In canon, Jounouchi calls Yami "Yugi" as well, but he differentiates between both of them. It's harder to depict that in text, so I borrowed the fandom convention of calling him "Yami" for the purposes of this story.

2. Marik is the "bad guy" of the current arc. His motives are fairly vague, and our narrator Jounouchi isn't really aware of them. The guy known as Marik in the narration is NOT actually Marik. His name is actually Rishid, and he's Marik's brother. Marik is referred to here as "Namu" which is the fake name he's using, and what Jounouchi knows him as at the time. I'm telling you this because if you watch the series, you know this from the beginning.

You're probably bored to tears by now, so on with the show! Here's Part Three of A Real Duelist!

~`~`~

Part Three

Out in the hallway, something changes in Yugi's demeanor. Though still hunched by disease, he stands somewhat taller than he had, and his face loses its usual softness. Jounouchi has seen him make the switch to his other self many times, but it's always a little unnerving, especially when it isn't for dueling purposes. Yami takes a ragged breath, and stands up, using Jounouchi's left arm as leverage. “Sorry,” he says. “Yugi's going to take a break. He shouldn't be the only one dealing with this illness.”

“Yugi said that you can't remember ever having a cold, though,” says Jounouchi, keeping his arm outstretched in case Yami needs something to grab onto. “This is a pretty bad one, so it doesn't exactly make for a good practice run. You should wait until you guys catch something a little less hardcore...HACHH!” The tissue that had been lodged up his nose shoots out, and lands on the floor. He thinks about picking it up to throw away later, but the idea of bending over makes his head ache, so he leaves it. He sniffles violently, and digs around in his pocket for another tissue. Finding nothing usable, he makes due with wiping his nose on the back of his hand. “You sure you're going to be okay?” he asks Yami. “Have you had any illnesses that you can remember?”

“Not really. I must have been sick at some point during my previous life, but I can't remember anything about it. Yugi had food poisoning once, and that was wretched, but I don't think he's caught a cold in all the time I've been with him.” Yami wrinkles his nose, then taps the tip of it. His brow is wrinkled in confusion. “I can't breathe through my nose,” he says, sniffling every syllable or so. “Is that a cold symptom? It's quite...ihhh....quite...hhh...hhh...unpleasa...ahhh....ihh...unpleasant...” At this point Yami pinches his nose closed in an attempt to stave off his fit. A drip of mucus slips down the crevices between his fingers, and he snorts violently in defiance of his itchy nose. He then sneezes harshly, his hands flying away from his face. “HIPCHH! Tttchh! Hppchh! Hipcchh! Hikchh! Ihhh...ehhh...hhhhh....CHHH! Hhhchh!” Yami sniffles repeatedly, and rubs furiously at his nose, but during the whole trip back to his room, he doesn't make a single attempt to blow it. Jounouchi wonders if he knows to do it. He doesn't know how much attention Yami pays to Yugi's daily existence, and it seems unlikely that he'd take note of something so mundane, especially if Yugi hasn't actually had any colds since he solved the Millenium puzzle. He's going to have a hell of a time if he doesn't figure this out soon, so Jounouchi follows him to his room.

“You're going to want to use a tissue,” he says, extracting one from a box on Yugi's bed. “Do you know how to do this, or do you need me to show you?”

Yami flops onto the bed, and burrows underneath the crumpled blue blankets. He shakes his head, then winces as if the movement hurts him. Sniffling, he says that he doesn't know how, but that Yugi is explaining it to him, and he thinks he'll be able to manage. “I don't think you should touch my face,” he says. “My nose is so itchy, I'll probably just start sneezing again if you do. I definitely don't want to do that...hate sneezing.” He snatches a tissue from the box on Yugi's dresser, then holds it to his nose, mouth gaping open like a hooked fish. His breathing is ragged, and it seems that he's about to have another fit. Jounouchi feels bad for him, but there's nothing much he can do. Exhausted, he lies down next to Yami on the bed. Yami sneezes explosively, then groans. “How does Yugi stand this? How do you stand this? I feel awful. I'm tired, I can barely breathe, my head is killing me, and I feel like I'm constantly needing to...hhnnn...snee...hhppchh! Sneeze. Hppchh! Kch! Chh!” After finishing, Yami snuffles wetly into the tissue, then tosses it aside. “How long do you think this is likely to last? When Yugi and I had food poisoning, it was only for two days, but Yugi tells me that colds last longer than that. Is that true?”

“Yeah, unfortunately,” says Jounouchi, scrubbing at the rim of his irritated nostril. “It varies, but most people get colds for like a week. I had one that only lasted three days, but I had another one that hung around for like two weeks, so I don't really know what to expect with this one. But hey, Yami, if you're really feeling lousy, you might want to get some sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up, I promise.”

“Marik won't be sleeping,” says Yami. Jounouchi has to blow his nose before answering him, but it's a valid point, one which he hadn't considered since he got this awful cold. One of the reasons that they're here is to defeat Marik. Jounouchi isn't entirely sure what the man means to accomplish, but he won't forgive him for controlling his body and forcing him to nearly kill his best friend. It wouldn't matter if Marik's goal were to raise money for orphans, he still wants to stop him at whatever he tries. They're going to have to beat him in a duel, no matter how sick they might be feeling. Marik is probably preparing his strategy as they speak. Yami's right, now is no time to be taking a nap.

After sneezing several times into the crook of his elbow, Jounouchi tells Yami that they'd better get practicing. Yugi won't like it, and neither of them are going to have much fun, but they're going to have to. Marik is capable of hurting them badly, so they must be prepared.

~`~`~

It seems that Kaiba has been thinking the same thing. Three hours later, they see him arching his back against the doorway, Mokuba trotting behind him with his arms wrapped around a box of tissues. Kaiba is wearing a face mask, which, like his handkerchiefs, bears the KaibaCorp logo. His eyes are bloodshot, and his voice is a crackly congested squeak. He says, “Yugi, I have an idea that I'd like to run by you. You'll probably think I'm a monster, but it's more likely to work if you'll cooperate, so hear me out...huhchh! Excuse me. That's going to keep happening, so please ignore it.” He lifts the face mask, plucks a tissue from the box in Mokuba's hands, and silently empties his nose. Face mask in place again, he continues. “I want you to assist me in spreading this cold to Marik. He needs to be defeated, we both know that. We won't actually be dueling him until we're well again. Unfortunately, that gives him plenty of time to prepare. We can't do that as effectively as he can right now. What I want to do is level the playing field.”

Though Marik deserves a world of pain for what he's done, Jounouchi still bristles at the idea. If Yami had thought of it, he might have accepted it. It's disgusting and underhanded and mean, but he knows that Yami means well, and that he wouldn't even suggest it unless Yugi agreed. Kaiba's motives are questionable. It's hard to follow this line of thought, his itchy nose is distracting him terribly. He tries to raise an objection, but he's stopped by a sneezing fit. His nose runs like a spigot when he's finished, and he sniffs it up his throat feels coated in it. He realizes that Yami is talking, so he tries his best to listen in.

“...disgusting. Unfortunately, you have a point. What's your plan?” Yami stands up when he says this, and crosses his arms. He's shivering, and for a moment Jounouchi wants to order him back to bed and wrap him up in a blanket, but he stays quiet. He does not stand up, himself.

“We need to spend time with him, but we don't have any logical reason to do so. We're obviously enemies, and we're obviously harboring germs. My idea involves Namu. I've seen him talking to Marik a number of times. I think he's befriended him, or maybe he's a part of his plan, I have no idea and I'm not interested.” Kaiba stops to clear his throat, and pluck another tissue from the box for future use. “Namu seems willing to socialize. I am generally antisocial, so any overtures on my part would be insincere. You and your idiot friend can't seem to go ten minutes without waxing poetic about the power of friendship. The two of you will socialize with Namu, and make sure he catches your cold. Hopefully, he'll then pass it on to Marik. Can you do that?”

The idea sounds awful. Jounouchi doesn't want to drag himself out to the common room and try to make nice with that girly-looking weirdo. He's had a bad feeling about Namu since they first met, and he isn't in the mood to deal with those suspicions. Besides, Namu hasn't actually done anything wrong that Jounouchi knows about, so using him to get to Marik just seems mean. Yami seems to be agreeing to it, however. “It'll be unfortunate for Namu, but we're not talking about spreading the plague. Defeating Marik is our priority, we need to do whatever we can to achieve that.”

“I knew you'd see it my way,” says Kaiba. He sniffles deeply, then pushes his mask down and blows his nose, this time a little louder than before. The attempt to clear his nose seems to trigger a fit, because suddenly he flings his torso forward, exploding into a fit. “HUHHHHCHHOO! UHCHHH! HUSHHOOO! Oh for the love of...Mokuba, just give me the box.” After snatching the tissue box out of his brother's hands, Kaiba blows his nose harshly onto a handful of new tissues. This doesn't seem to accomplish much, because his nose is still twitching in anticipation of a sneeze. None come, and he blows his nose again. His breath hitches, his eyes squeeze shut, and his nostrils tremble, but he does not sneeze. Jounouchi doesn't laugh, but part of him wants to. Kaiba deserves this discomfort for the bullshit plan he's proposed.

Yami turns to Jounouchi, and places a hand on his shoulder. “Are you on board with this?” he asks. “I can understand if you have reservations, I have them myself. But this is important. We cannot allow Marik to defeat us in the tournament. If he wins, he'll kill us all. Will you help me?”

“What does Yugi think?” asks Jounouchi, glancing over at Kaiba, who is still struggling to sneeze. It's a distracting display, and right now, he needs to be distracted. He knows that Yugi won't be okay with purposely infecting Namu, and he also knows that they'll have to do it anyway. He isn't looking forward to the arguments and hurt feelings that are likely to result from this.

“He doesn't like it,” says Yami. “He's protesting the idea as we speak. He says that he's sure there's a way to give it to Marik without involving Namu. There might be, but that would mean direct contact with Marik, something I'm not willing to risk. Not after he almost got us all killed. We're going to have to use Namu.” Yami pauses, then dabs at his nose with a tissue. “You haven't told me what you think, Jounouchi.”

He promises to do it, but his words are drowned out by Kaiba's massive, blaring sneezes. After finishing a fit of twelve, he blows his nose, then spins on his heel and stomps out the door, Mokuba trotting behind him. His face mask, which fell off during the fit, lies sodden and crumpled on the floor. Jounouchi gets up and kicks it toward the garbage can in the corner, then tells Yami once again that he's in.

~`~`~

It's a little while before they're able to make any progress in their plan. They can't just barge into Namu's room without a valid reason to do so, and it's a little while before he makes an appearance in the common room. Yami and Jounouchi end up spending most of the day camped out in the second common room, splitting what remains of the tissues and tossing the used ones into a miniature trashcan. At Yugi's suggestion, they are also sharing a pot of tea. Neither of them are particularly inclined to speak to the other. Jounouchi sometimes feels awkward around Yami, because he forgets that he and Yugi aren't the same person, slips up, and speaks to Yami as if he's his friend. He does consider Yami a friend as well, but they aren't as close. The discrepancy makes things confusing, and right now he doesn't feel like navigating a social minefield. Right now, he hardly feels like doing anything at all. He's plastered to the couch they've perched on, and it's an effort to do anything other than blow his nose. Which he keeps doing, despite the fact that each blow leaves his sinuses achier and itchier than before. He wants Namu to show up so that they can get this over with. Yami seems equally impatient, drumming his fingers on the arm of the couch, sighing audibly in between his sniffling.

Finally, Namu arrives. His thin, golden hair is annoying clean, and his smile is annoyingly bland. It's obvious that he has yet to succumb to the virus winding its way around the blimp—his nose isn't red or scaly, he isn't coughing or sniffling, and he seems to be in a pleasant mood. Well, Yami and Jounouchi are about to ruin that.

TBC...

[LeapYearKisses]

Oh, this show... Reading your fic is making me realize all over again that solving world problems with children's card games is absolutely ridiculous. XD

I love how you write Kaiba's sneezes! I love the fact that he has a KaibaCorp face mask. Pfft. And all that sneezing-while-talking... Oh man! This was excellent to wake up to this morning. For some reason I also loved how easily Kaiba declares his anti-socialness. It just made me laugh.

Yami's suffering is amusing. It's strange to imagine someone who can't ever remember having a cold before. Luckily, your depiction of his emotions seems very believable.

Can't wait for the next part! Will Namu succumb? I willing to bet the answer is yes... XD

[curliecatlover]

oh. my. god! this is my favorite chapter yet! YAMI AND KABIA SICK!!!!

i might have to lie down....

[murphy dee]

I agree - my favorite chapter yet!! Poor Yami. But you wrote him so well, and I adored how naive he was about being sick. Sneezing must be quite a trip if one has never experienced it before!

[ichixshiro14]

Ooh how underhanded and brilliant! Love the idea, I hope you continue

[Natto]

Okay y'all, the next chapter is closing in on being done. I've got one scene left and a little editing, so you should see it in the next few days. I thought that I should repsond to comments beforehand, though. I'm so happy this is getting such a good response!

@ LeapYearKisses - It's really, really ridiculous. I love the show, but sometimes it's hard to take it seriously when so much hinges on card games! I feel like it made a little more sense in GX that that would be the case than it did in DM, but I'm biased toward GX in general. Either way, I'm trying to stay true to the series and um...have card games determine things where they would in canon.

Thanks! I'm trying to have some variation with different character's sneezes, which is...difficult. Jounouchi has my "this is how I write sneezing" sneeze, and the others all have variations based on what I think they'd sound like. XD; I'm not sure I got it all right, so it's nice to hear that Kaiba's is working for you. And yeah, he's um...quite blunt about his failings in canon, which is strange for someone so arrogant. It's kind of contradictory, but it makes him more interesting? As for Yami, his situation isn't one that can be realistically depicted in most situations, but hey, it makes sense here, I think? I'm glad you thought it worked.

Oh, what do you think? XD;; They're in a small, enclosed space, the virus has already proven itself quite contagious, and how hot is Namu? Honestly? How sexy is he? How could I not?

Thanks for your comment! Sorry I rambled so much in my reply.

@ Da kitty ninja - The best thing about colds is that they're contagious. The best thing about small, enclosed spaces like blimps, is that if there's anything going around, there's not much chance of escaping it. Anyway, glad you're liking it so much! <3 Your comments make me happy. Thank you!

@ Murphy D. - Well, I imagine he has sneezed before in recent memory, but he probably hasn't paid all that much attention to it since it likely hasn't been excessive or connected with anything in particular. Having a full-on cold without being accustomed to such things would be pretty rough though. Poor thing is managing to tough it out pretty well, I'd say. XD; And thank you very much, I'm glad you think it came across well.

@ sneezelover14 - Yes, quite underhanded! I love me a little intentional infection, so as soon as I realized "OH WAIT THAT MAKES SENSE!!" I jumped at the chance. Also, Marik is scorchingly hot, so I can't really resist dragging him into this too. I'm glad you like the story. Thanks for your comment!