(Maybe a part of him wants to be judged- proven right about himself. Maybe he’d beg.) (<- he’ll be disappointed on that front but oh well)

I also offer you: imploding about all this right after the wild gang chapter (or the yuujou gang equivalent :3)

Hopefully I’m making sense I keep dozing off as I’m typing

Jounouchi knows the look.

Mutou never gives it to him.

Mutou looks at him like he’s something worth keeping. Something bright. Something good.

But the other one—

The spirit behind those eyes.

The one that weighs hearts

That one sees everything.

Jounouchi feels it the moment Yami’s gaze lands on him.

Heavy. Measuring.

He wonders what the scale would say if it were placed over his chest.

How much rot would spill out.

How many mistakes.

How many times he chose the wrong thing, the easy thing, the violent thing.

How many nights he told himself he’d do better and woke up the same person anyway.

Unfit.

The word sits quietly in his bones.

He wonders if Yami can hear it there.

Wonders if the spirit looks at him and sees someone rancid. Someone heavy-hearted. Someone who drags down everyone who tries to keep him.

Maybe that’s why Jou doesn’t look away.

Maybe that’s why he holds the gaze.

Waiting.

Because if anyone is going to say it—

if anyone is going to finally confirm what he’s always suspected—

It would be a king who judges souls.

Jounouchi exhales slowly, something almost like relief creeping into his chest.

“Go ahead,” he mutters under his breath.

Maybe a part of him even hopes the words come out like a verdict.

Unworthy.

Not fit to stand beside him.

Because if Yami says it—

If the spirit that Mutou trusts most in the world says it—

Then at least Jounouchi will finally know he was right about himself all along.

And he can stop pretending.

The thought settles over him like quiet.

Like the stillness before a blade drops.

Jounouchi lets his gaze stay fixed on those red eyes, refusing to look away even as something uneasy curls low in his stomach. He’s seen that stare before — during games, during punishments, during the moments when the world seemed to bend around the king’s will.

The gaze that strips people down to what they are.

Measured.

Judged.

He wonders what it would look like if it were real.

Not just metaphor.

Not just the feeling of it pressing down on his chest.

But the actual ritual.

The stories talk about scales.

Ancient, perfect things made to measure truth.

Jounouchi can almost see them if he lets his mind drift far enough.

A vast, silent hall carved from stone older than memory. Torches burning low against painted walls. Gods carved into pillars, watching.

And at the center—

The scale.

One side empty.

Waiting.

On the other—

A feather.

Small. Perfect. Weightless.

Ma’at’s feather.

Truth.

Justice.

Everything a heart is supposed to be.

Jounouchi imagines standing there barefoot on cold stone, dust clinging to the bottoms of his feet. His hands empty. His chest bare.

The king sitting high above the scale.

Watching.

Waiting.

“Step forward,” the king would say.

And Jounouchi would.

Because what else is there to do?

The jackal-headed god would reach into his chest without hesitation. No ceremony. No apology.

Just a clean motion.

Heart in hand.

Still beating.

Jounouchi wonders how heavy it would feel.

Heavy with all the things he’s done wrong.

Heavy with anger and cheap fights and broken promises.

Heavy with the quiet certainty that he’s always just a little too much trouble to be worth keeping around.

The jackal would place it on the scale.

And for a moment—

Just a moment—

It would balance.

Jounouchi almost hopes for that part.

The brief illusion.

Before gravity takes hold.

Before the truth settles.

Before the heart drops.

Too heavy.

Too stained.

Too full of things it should never have carried.

The feather wouldn’t move.

It never would.

And the king would look down from his throne and see exactly what Jounouchi has always known.

Unfit.

The creature waiting beside the scale would stir then.

The devourer.

All teeth and hunger and inevitability.

Ammit.

Waiting patiently for the verdict.

Waiting for the heart that failed the measure.

Jounouchi exhales slowly, the breath leaving him in something dangerously close to relief.

Yeah.

That sounds about right.

Better to have it decided cleanly.

Better to have someone who can see the truth say it out loud.

So he lifts his chin just a little higher and meets the king’s gaze head on.

“Go ahead,” he murmurs again.

Because punishment—

Punishment would make sense.

Punishment means the scale worked.

Punishment means the king saw him clearly.

And if the devourer takes his heart afterward—

Well.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39311337

Here is my second entry for the FT Reverse Big Bang 2022 hosted by @ftguildevents . This story is accompanied by some amazing art by @pokeprism14 which you can see here:

My first attempt at flash fiction Friday by @cawolters! The prompt was: 

The key turns quietly in the lock.

Jounouchi pauses with his forehead against the cool wood of the door, breath fogging faintly in the night air. For a second he almost turns around again. It’s late—really late. The kind of late where Domino is quiet except for distant traffic and the occasional bark of a stray dog.

He shouldn’t be here.

But his knuckles are split open and his ribs hurt when he breathes, and the apartment he came from smells like cheap alcohol and anger, and—

The lock clicks.

He slips inside.

The game shop is dark, lit only by the thin orange glow from the streetlamp outside the window. Familiar shapes fill the room: glass display cases, stacked boxes of games, the counter where Sugoroku usually stands during the day. It smells faintly like old cardboard and incense.

Home.

Well.

Almost.

Jounouchi quietly shuts the door behind him and leans back against it for a moment, listening.

Nothing.

No footsteps upstairs. No creaking floorboards. No Grandpa Mutou grumbling about someone coming in at an ungodly hour.

Good.

He exhales slowly, shoulders sagging.

The adrenaline drains out of him all at once, leaving behind the dull throb of bruises he’d ignored during the walk over. He pushes himself off the door and heads for the tiny back sink he knows is there, moving carefully so the floor doesn’t creak too loudly.

The fluorescent light flickers when he flips the switch.

“C’mon,” he mutters. “Don’t be dramatic tonight.”

It hums to life.

The sight in the small mirror above the sink makes him wince.

Split lip. Swelling cheek. Blood dried along his jaw. His right eye is already starting to darken.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “You look great, Katsuya.”

He runs the tap and hisses when cold water hits his knuckles. Blood spirals down the drain. He grabs a handful of paper towels from beneath the counter and presses them against his lip, working carefully like he’s done this a hundred times before.

Because he has.

A few minutes pass in silence except for running water.

Then the building creaks softly above him.

Jounouchi freezes.

Not footsteps.

Just the old house settling.

Still, his eyes flick toward the ceiling where he knows the Mutou residence sits above the shop. Up there somewhere is Yugi’s room. Probably asleep. Probably curled under too many blankets with that ridiculous hair sticking out everywhere.

Jounouchi lets out a quiet breath.

He doesn’t go upstairs.

He never does.

Sugoroku gave him the key months ago after one too many late nights where Jounouchi had nowhere else to go. Anytime you need a safe place, the old man had said, pressing the key into his hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Jounouchi had laughed it off then.

But he uses it.

More than he’d ever admit.

Tonight he settles onto the floor beside the counter, back resting against the cabinet. The tiles are cold through his shirt, but the shop is quiet in that comforting way that feels… protected.

Like nothing bad can reach him here.

Upstairs the house shifts again.

Jounouchi glances at the ceiling.

Somewhere above him Yugi is sleeping, probably completely unaware that his idiot best friend is downstairs bleeding onto paper towels.

The thought makes something warm settle in Jounouchi’s chest.

He doesn’t need to see him.

Doesn’t need to talk.

Just knowing Yugi is there—breathing somewhere above him, safe and warm and existing in the same building—is enough to loosen the tight knot in his ribs.

Jounouchi closes his eyes.

The pain in his side pulses.

But it’s quieter now.

“Just for a bit,” he murmurs to nobody.

He slides down further against the cabinet, pulling his knees up slightly.

Outside, a car passes.

Upstairs, the house creaks softly.

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mutou Yuugi, Wishshipping Characters: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler, Mutou Yuugi, Mutou Sugoroku | Solomon Moto, Honda Hiroto | Tristan Taylor, Hirutani | Diesel Kane, Jounouchi Katsuya's Father | Joey Wheeler's Father Additional Tags: Character Study, Concussions, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Manipulation, Manipulation, Gang Violence, Gang AU, Underage Drinking, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, jounouchi and yugi friendship that is also a slow burn, jounouchi is an ass but he gets better, I will add tags as the fic develops Summary:

What if Jounouchi chose to follow Hirutani to Rintama? What if he never met Yugi at school? What if he never left the gang?

Here it is! My final thing for wishship week! As soon as I began, this was the ONLY prompt I could think about. This is definitely a new thing for me as this is my first attempt at a long fic! Also...not a lot of wish happening here. 

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mutou Yuugi, Wishshipping Characters: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler, Mutou Yuugi Additional Tags: Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, this is probably about a year or so ish after they graduated, Living Together, boyfriends being boyfriends, Flirting, coin flips, flirting via coin flips, Kissing, Competitive Flirting, consolation prizes earned Summary:

It starts with a simple decision at a convenience store and a coin toss to settle it. Somehow, that one flip turns into an all-day competition — complete with a consolation prize.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mutou Yuugi, Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner/Mutou Yuugi, Kinda - Relationship, sorta implied Characters: Mutou Yuugi, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler, Honda Hiroto | Tristan Taylor, Mutou Sugoroku | Solomon Moto, briefly present Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, First Kiss, Practice Kissing, Mutual Pining (but they don’t know it), Dorks in Love, Canon Divergence, early manga setting, season 0 vibes, Friends to Lovers-ish, fluff and tension, light humor, awkward teen romance, Confused boys Summary:

Yugi is nervous about his upcoming—maybe—date with Anzu. Jounouchi does what any good best friend would do: give advice. Very hands-on advice. Purely for practice, of course. …Right?

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mutou Yuugi Characters: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler, Mutou Yuugi Additional Tags: wishshipping - Freeform, Established Relationship, Whats in a name?, Post canon, Living Together, Soft Kisses, Fluff with a tiny touch of angst, I am doing my best out here, Tags Are Hard, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kinda Summary:

A name is just a name, or at least, that’s what Jounouchi tells himself. But when he realizes Yugi never calls him Katsuya, he can’t shake the feeling that it means something. And maybe, just maybe, hearing it from Yugi’s lips is the only thing that truly makes it his.