Chapter Text
Karen graciously let everyone go to their cabins before starting the tour. She must have seen the student’s lack of umbrellas and rain ponchos, assuming they’d have enough sense to pack rain essentials.
Jounouchi seemingly did not have that level of sense, electing not to change out of his classic green jacket.
“You’d think that they’d reschedule the tour with this sorta rain,” Jounouchi commented.
“You would think,” Kaiba slipped on his jacket, “that the students would know how to pack for inclement weather.”
This earned him a glare. “Not everyone can afford nice things, moneybags. Ever thought of that?”
“The thought occurred to me, yes. However,” he straightened his collar, “it’s not hard to get a job.”
Jounouchi stared at him like he’d gone mad. “What sort of shitty logic is that? ‘Oh, get a job,’ says the man whose whole worth was handed to him on a silver platter.”
Kaiba spun to glare at him. “You don’t know the sacrifices I’ve had to give to get where I am today. I’m not going to stand here and let some lazy lowlife lecture me on-”
Jounouchi’s fist connected with his jaw, which Kaiba countered with a shove that sent the other back. Kaiba braced for a second blow that never came.
“You don’t know what I’ve been through, Kaiba,” Jounouchi said, baking towards the door, “I’ve worked my ass off tryin’ to keep myself and my old man afloat. You know how hard it is to get a job with my background?” He sighed. “Nevermind, it’s worthless tryin’ to make you understand.”
Kaiba clenched his fists, but the insults died on his tongue as Jounouchi slammed the door. He stood for a minute in stunned silence.
Maybe he was being too harsh. He knew that the mutt had a job, but he always assumed that money went to Duel Monsters and other games like that. What if Jounouchi wasn’t just the carefree mutt Kaiba viewed him as?
It wasn’t like Kaiba even cared about what the other thought. They weren’t friends, not even close. After years of Kaiba’s torment and bullying, he was surprised that Jounouchi didn’t immediately request to join another cabin. He certainly wasn’t complaining, as much as he hated the blond before, his feelings changed as he saw how selfless and compassionate he was. Kaiba knew he didn’t deserve friendship, given their history, but not being enemies was a good start.
And here Kaiba was, ruining his chances by falling into old habits.
Noticing the tour was about to start, he shouldered his bag, grabbed his extra jacket, and made his way to the dining hall.
When he got to the hall, he immediately noticed that Jounouchi wasn’t there. Of course, anyone in their right mind would avoid any sort of activity like this, but it was uncharacteristic for Jounouchi to abandon his geek brigade.
Kaiba awkwardly made his way to Yugi and the group, not wanting to stand alone and not seeing a more appealing group
“Hey Kaiba,” Yugi greeted, “did Jou fall asleep?”
“No.” Kaiba’s eyes searched the room. “I thought he would’ve been here by now.”
Honda sighed. “What did you do to him, Kaiba?”
Kaiba was about to defend himself when Yugi jumped in. “Honda, you’re jumping to conclusions. You don’t know what happened.” He looked up at Kaiba. “Although, your jaw looks horrible. What happened?”
Kaiba cursed his pale complexion. “You should stop putting your nose in other people’s business. It’s rude.”
Yugi narrowed his eyes. “Okay, you’re avoiding the question. Where’s Jou?”
“How am I supposed to know? I’m not a dogsitter,” sensing Honda’s anger, Kaiba continued, “he ran off somewhere. We had a disagreement and he left.”
Honda still looked mad but his fists unclenched. “Why didn’t you chase after him? You don’t know what he can get into.”
“I don’t have the time to chase after immature punks who can’t handle a simple conversation. If Jounouchi wants to run off and be alone, who am I to stop him?”
Before anyone could argue further, Karen spoke up from the center. “Alrighty, friends! You’re going to pair up with your cabin-mate and finish this scavenger hunt!” She ignored the groans of disappointment and continued. “You each have different lists, and we’ll share what we’ve learned when we get back! We’ll meet back at the activity hall in two hours, at 4 o’clock. Happy searching!”
Honda shot Kaiba one last glare before everyone gathered their list of items. Obviously, nobody had taken any sort of attendance, making them overlook Jounouchi’s absence along with any other campers that had better things to do than walk around in the rain. Kaiba did not bring this to anyone’s attention. He could certainly fill out the sheet himself, or at least lie convincingly enough to make the counselors happy.
The students filtered out of the hall in pairs, save for Kaiba, and split off into different directions. Kaiba headed to the paths in the woods, hoping to find the “abandoned treehouse” that was supposedly there.
It took him ten minutes of walking to reach the treehouse, which was not really abandoned by the looks of it. There were signs that the rotted wood had been replaced, and the ropes to climb up were not threadbare. There was also a figure sitting in the corner.
Jounouchi was sitting on the floor, knees drawn to his chest and head resting on the wall behind him. His eyes were closed, listening to whatever was playing through his earbuds. Kaiba was able to get all the way into the treehouse before the blond noticed him.
“Get out, moneybags. I’m not in the mood.”
“We’re doing a scavenger hunt. I’m simply following instructions.”
“Well I’m not on the list, so get outta here.”
“The treehouse on the list, mutt,” Kaiba said, “I’m surprised I found you this quickly.”
“Well, congrats, you crossed it off.” Jounouchi shivered slightly. “Now get goin’.”
Kaiba sat on the opposite side of the treehouse. The room was smaller than he thought; if he stretched his legs, he could have touched the other boy. “The scavenger hunt is meant to be done with a partner. Seeing as I have just found mine, it doesn’t make sense to just leave.”
“I didn’t realize you needed the help of a lowlife like myself, Kaiba.”
Kaiba looked down. “I shouldn’t have called you that.”
“Is that an apology I hear?”
“It’s the closest you’ll get.” Kaiba stood up. He pulled out his extra jacket and threw it at Jounouchi. “Put that on. I’m not looking after a sick dog when we get back to the cabin.”
Jounouchi reluctantly put on the warm jacket. “Okay, moneybags, I’ll forgive ya just this once. What’s next on the list?”
The two climbed out of the treehouse and onto the soggy ground below.