#fuzz draws

Kaiba Seto - Ghost

A high schooler tragically slain by a local street gang after crossing their path one too many times. He had been in Jounouchi's class, though he didn't have any friends. Seto had a reputation of being a rich, snobby know-it-all who got special exemptions from the school to accommodate his schedule as the son of some big executive. It's because of said schedule that he had left school early that fateful day, and ran into the thugs who would ultimately take his life.

Before he had died, Seto cared about only one thing: securing a future for himself and his beloved little brother Mokuba. He had been in the process of a hostile takeover of his abusive father's company to ensure they would be able to live without him in their lives, though he never got to finish what he started.

Now as ghost, Seto wants vengeance-- he wants the criminals who cut his life short to pay, and he wants to ensure his brother is well-off without the influence of their abusive adoptive father. However, he quickly learned he is bound to the school grounds, thus unable to check up on his brother's wellbeing...

Jounouchi Katsuya - Human

A high schooler in way over his head. Troubles at home had him turning to the streets to vent his frustrations and seek camaraderie. Started hanging around a local gang and they've been asking him to do more and more petty crimes to prove his loyalty.

One day they ask him to ditch class, which he wasn't too keen on, but he does it anyways in the hope of gaining their approval. He soon discovered the guys were looking to rough up another kid at his school that day, which didn't sit right with Jounouchi. He left, not wanting to be involved-- but he didn't report it, either. Later he learned their target was Kaiba and the guys ended up taking things too far, killing the poor rich bastard. Jounouchi has felt awful about it ever since.

Three months after Kaiba was killed, and Jounouchi has been existing as a sort of anti-hero for the school. Other kids steer clear of him since he's still seen as rough around the edges, and he gets into enough fights that the teachers tend to loop him in with the delinquents, but he does his best to look out for others now-- even if it isn't always appreciated. It's this quality that catches Kaiba's attention...

First Meeting Possession

After another fight, Jounouchi goes to the old sports field bathroom to clean up. Most folks avoid the place due to the creepy atmosphere (it's rumored that was where Kaiba was killed) so it gives him a bit of privacy and a chance to clear his head. One minute he's splashing cool water on his face, the next he's looking in the mirror and into the eyes of someone standing behind him...

'Wait... Kaiba?? Is that really Kaiba?' Jounouchi thinks he's losing it for a moment. The longer he stares the less translucent the figure is-- sure enough, that's definitely what Kaiba looked like. 'But he's... he's supposed to be..??'

Slowly Kaiba reaches out towards Jounouchi's head, and his fingers appear to phase through his skull. "This will only be a moment." Jounouchi hears Kaiba say-- Kaiba's actual voice!?-- before everything goes black.

For Kaiba, the sensation of having a corporeal form which is not his own is jarring, to say the least. It takes him a moment to understand how to use his puppet's muscles, as well as remember to breathe. The energy he uses to overtake the blond is tremendous, more than anything he's ever tried, but it isn't too long before he has total, complete control of Jounouchi's body-- now it's time to test his theory.

He marches his puppet over to the boundary of the school grounds, a threshold he hasn't been able to cross since he died. One step over the line and... nothing happens. He takes another step. Then another. And then Seto keeps walking, down whatever street is closest-- he doesn't even care where he goes because it worked. All he had to do was possess the body of someone else, and he now has a means to leave!

While occupying Jou's body, he is confronted by a couple young delinquents affiliated with the gang the blonde used to be in/that killed him. Seto puts his puppet to good use and thrashes the underlings, who run off to tattle to the higher-ups. He's glad his hunch was right, as Jounouchi is plenty strong enough to get the job done.

Frustratingly, it seems Seto is the one who is not strong enough. The longer time he spends away from the school and the further he is from the boundary, the weaker he becomes. After the fight, he quickly heads back to the school and manages to make it over the line just in time before his grasp on Jounouchi's body falters.

When Jounouchi comes to he's out on the field, not in the bathroom as he had previously been. And he's super exhausted... did he just sleepwalk or something..??

The Proposition

Kaiba consults another spirit-- one much older and much more powerful than he is, who is attached to a former classmate named Ryou-- how is it the ancient spirit can come and go as he pleases? He isn't even originally from Japan...

The spirit explains Ryou carries a cursed object around, which the spirit is bound to. Anywhere the host of said object goes, the spirit goes.

However, he mentions knowing of another way to bind a spirit to a host-- one that does not require reliance upon an object, which can be easily lost or change hands over the years. The downside of course is that any spirit bound to a living host will not continue to exist for generations, as their soul will be directly tied to the lifespan of the mortal's body. Regardless, Kaiba wants to learn this method, as he has no intentions of seeking out another puppet-- he's wasted enough time as it is. The next day, the spirit possesses Ryou to bring a book to school which contains the appropriate spell.

Kaiba manages to corner Jounouchi when he's stuck on cleaning duties after school, scaring the daylights out of him. He proposes a deal: Jounouchi allows him to use his body, and in return Kaiba will use part of their time to forward him money from the off-shore accounts he had kept secret from his father.

Jounouchi refuses, still only half-convinced he isn't having some sort of psychotic break. He can't trust Kaiba at his word, they barely even knew each other when he was alive! Besides, why can't Kaiba pick literally anyone else? That Mutou dude in his class seems like a nice guy, he'd probably be willing to do him a favor...

But Kaiba basically threatens him, saying he'll just take over Jounouchi's body anyway (the blond doesn't have to know about his limitations.) Jounouchi, feeling the pressure, agrees to help under two conditions-- 1) Kaiba makes good on his promise to pay him, and 2) Kaiba possesses him during the midterms and finals to ensure he gets good grades.

Kaiba is pissed off by that bold request-- seriously? You want a ghost to take your exams so you can coast through school without a care in the world?!? But it's fine. He agrees-- only because, unbeknownst to Jounouchi, once the spell is cast he will be piloting his puppet permanently, and he never had any intention on fulfilling his deal from the start. The only thing that matters is reaching Mokuba.

The Ritual

Jounouchi sneaks back to school in the middle of the night, and together they start to go through with the ritual as it's written in the book. Again, he questions why they even need to do all this-- couldn't Kaiba just possess him like last time? But Kaiba waves it off, explaining this ritual will ensure he is powerful enough to accomplish both of their goals.

As the spell is cast, Kaiba can feel his soul slowly attach to his puppet, like a shadow being sewn to Jounouchi's body with thread. Soon after the ritual is complete-- finally!!

He takes Jounouchi's body over right away, intending to get to work on his plans that night... only to find the blond's incorporeal form floating right beside him.

What the hell?! Why is Jounouchi still here?! Kaiba thought he was basically trading places with the blond's soul... just what exactly was this spell supposed to do?!?

At least Seto isn't as fatigued when he takes his puppet off school grounds. He also doesn't automatically bounce back to the school once he exits Jounouchi's body-- better than nothing, he supposes.

The following day, Kaiba confronts the ancient spirit during Jounouchi's class. It's super distracting-- from the blond's POV, Kaiba's ghost (whom he can now see all the time) is yelling at nothing next to Ryou... is there another spirit in the room right now??? The conversation is one-sided, so Katsuya doesn't pick up on everything, but he does catch the fact Kaiba had intended to do more than just borrow his body for a few hours here and there... which royally ticks him off.

Kaiba is also not happy-- turns out the ancient spirit played a stupid trick on him. Not only is he now stuck to Jounouchi like glue, he's also got a ticking clock added into the equation. If he doesn't accomplish his goals sooner rather than later, Katsuya's body will die-- taking Seto's soul with it. This is because the ritual allows him to essentially borrow time from Jounouchi's lifespan, and if he sticks around too long the blond's life will be cut short as well. "Did you really think you could re-enter the mortal realm for free? There's always a price to be paid, boy, so be sure to make good use of your time-- for both your sakes."

Miscellaneous Notes

Atem can see Seto hanging around Jounouchi, and realizes the two are bound to each other, flagging it to Yugi. Armed with that knowledge, Yugi finds a moment to speak with Jounouchi when they're both alone in the locker room after gym-- asking bluntly if Jounouchi is aware that Kaiba's ghost has been hanging around him. Katsuya is shocked, thinking Yugi can see him too, but Yugi quickly explains that his own spirit buddy told him. Jounouchi is now seriously wondering what the hell is wrong with this school.

Atem can see Seto when they're outside their hosts' bodies. Likewise, Yugi and Katsuya can see each other's incorporeal forms while their bodies are being possessed. Basically if you're piloting the body you can't see other spirits, but if you're out of the body you can (the exception of course being that if you're bound to a spirit you can always see them.)

Seto likes that Atem has a twisted/angry side, like himself. He also enjoys playing games. Leave them alone for too long and they kind of want to watch the world burn-- Jou' and Yugi have to reign them in.

Unlike Yugi and Atem's relationship, Jou' doesn't call upon Seto-- Seto does what he wants. Jou would prefer Seto left him alone lmao. He's so salty about losing a part of his lifespan to this asshole.

The longer Seto has been bonded to Jou', the more powerful they become. Well, mainly Seto, especially while he's possessing Jou's body. Eventually he can do telekinetic stuff like manipulate physical objects or levitate Jou, even outside of school. He's envious of Atem's mind crushing ability, as it would come in handy when dealing with people who get in his way.

Eventually (since walking right up to his old house mansion didn't work) Seto tries to get Jou' closer to Mokuba by making him enter the upcoming KC duel tournament-- "Oi I just play DM for fun! I'm not a pro or anything!"-- since Mokuba seems to be carrying on Seto's vision for the game. Before entering, Kaiba uses his telekinesis to swipe Yugi's grandpa's BEWD in the hopes that using the card in the tournament will get his little brother's attention-- which it definitely does.

Though he loses to Atem/Yugi, Seto/Jou' successfully gets closer to Mokuba, who finds his split personality weird but chalks it up to being a kind of funny "Jounouchi" thing-- it's charming in it's own way. That side of him that comes out when he's really locked in reminds him of when his late brother would obliterate his DM opponents...

Thief King Bakura does go after Yugi for his puzzle/other Millennium Items that crop up every now and again, but Seto basically does his best to ignore him and his schemes unless Jou' specifically begs him to act to save people or he has to save their own ass. Of course he moment he steps out of his own lane and does something to fuck with Mokuba, Seto would be like "Jounouchi. We're going to kill Bakura."