Imagine one of the companies Kaiba works with gifts him with two vouchers for a 3-night stay at a fancy onsen resort/ryokan. It was obviously intended for himself and a significant other, but seeing as he doesn't have one-- and Mokuba has been bugging him to take a vacation-- he finally decided to take his little brother along instead.
And who just so happens to be working there? Well, Jounouchi of course! Some friend-of-a-friend's uncle needed additional workers for the winter season, so he took the gig hoping the experience in hospitality will help him get other jobs down the line.
Jounouchi is learning how to do a bit of everything while he works there, so Seto and/or Mokuba run into him often. However, he never talks to them-- at most he'll nod or wave, then go back to his task. He's normally such a chatterbox, so to see him be so quiet feels a bit odd... especially when Seto goes out of his way to pester on purpose to get a rise out of the blond (to no avail.)
He does get a small victory when Jounouchi and another, more senior employee swing by to drop off extra blankets to their suite. The senior employee explains Jounouchi is still in training, and ask that he pay him no mind. However Seto presses, demanding to see the fruits of this training-- let the young man practice speaking to his guest! How else is he to learn, after all? He is rewarded with a red-faced and fidgety Jounouchi quietly bidding him a pleasant stay. The delivery is far from ideal, but Seto can forgive that when taking into consideration just how cute Jounouchi look when referring to him with higher honorifics than usual. It only makes him want to tease the blond more...
Later in a rare moment alone, Kaiba notices some bruising on Katsuya's arm, but the blond won't elaborate on them. Instead he urges Seto to keep it to himself, as he only has 3 more weeks until the season ends. It pisses Kaiba off to see the mutt so downtrodden and unlike himself.
Turns out the matron is mad that her husband (the owner) hired this random, untrained, uncouth fool during a busy time. She would have preferred an employee who was already well-versed in hospitality, instead they were saddled with deadweight for the season. It was her decision to instruct Jounouchi to never speak to guests, since his accent/mannerisms were deemed unfit to represent the onsen. He's been bearing the brunt of her frustrations, and everyone else on staff is either in agreement with her or too afraid to speak up when it happens.
But Jounouchi has endured-- because regardless of his mistreatment, he's gained a lot of valuable experience. By not complaining and working hard, he is hoping to get a good recommendation out of all this... but when he asks the owner, it sounds like his wife got to him after all. While he doesn't exactly tell Jounouchi he won't ever write a letter, he doesn't exactly affirm he will either, even implying that he could try asking after another season.
Jounouchi finally breaks his stupid self-inflicted silence to complain about the situation to the Kaiba brothers. Not that he expects the CEO will care or anything, it's mainly because they are familiar faces in this crummy countryside town so far away from all his other friends... at least Mokuba voices sympathy.
They end up hanging out late into the night, chatting about the various things happening in their lives-- duelist gossip, Kaiba Land expansions, up-and-coming tech. All the while Seto works quietly off a laptop in the corner of the room, barely contributing to the conversation (or even acknowledging them at all.)
'Yeesh,' Jounouchi thinks to himself, 'he leaves soon and he's already getting a head start on work? Guess some people don't know how to relax, even in a place like this.'
The next day, Jounouchi is called into the owner's office as he's clocking in. He fully expects he's being fired for annoying guests after hours or something.
'Aw hell. I'll have to see if I can exchange my train ticket home to something sooner...'
But it turns out, that's not the case. Quite the opposite, in fact. The owner enthusiastically welcomes him in and asks he takes a seat. He begins to ask Jounouchi what sort of experience he was looking to highlight in his recommendation letter, which totally throws the blond for a loop.
"Hold on," he says, "I thought you weren't too keen on writing a recommendation at this time..?"
The owner wrings his hands nervously, "Yes, well, that was before I knew you and Kaiba-sama were such close friends."
'Ah. Is he just worried about getting a bad reputation with rich boys like Kaiba...?'
Jounouchi has half a mind to correct the man-- since when were he and Kaiba considered friends??-- but that thought flies out the window once he learns the real reason for the heel turn.
Seto Kaiba literally bought out the freakin' onsen.
Last. Night.
Jounouchi reels, 'What the hell??! Just how rich is this guy?? What's more, why'd he go and do a thing like that?? It couldn't have just been cuz of what I had said..!??'
He accepts the recommendation letter as calmly as possible, then marches over to the suite where the Kaibas were staying.
"What's the big idea, Kaiba??" He turns to the younger brother, "Mokuba, did you know anything about this??"
Mokuba chuckles, "Nope, that was all Seto!"
"Don't overexert your brain, mutt. This wasn't about you." Says the elder brother, "Kaiba Corps has been exploring hospitality acquisitions. I simply saw an opportunity and I took it."
Mokuba snorts, but doesn't contradict him.
"Yeah, but... the letter..!"
"What about it?"
"You basically bullied the guy into giving me a recommendation!" says Jounouchi, "Maybe it makes no difference to you, but I prefer to earn my recognition, not twist someone's arm for it!"
"You weren't being fairly evaluated, and you know it." Seto huffs.
"Cheap praise is worth less than the paper it's printed on. I can't use this fake crap."
"Fine. Forget that fool's letter. As overseer of this acquisition, I'll write you a new one."
"On what merits? In case you forgot, you haven't exactly been my employer for very long."
"True, though I do know of your character." Suddenly Seto's mouth quirks up into a teasing smirk, "Guess it's a good thing Mokuba and I are still here for another night. You have one full day to impress me with the skills you've learned while working here-- based on that experience, I'll write you an honest evaluation."
Jounouchi mulls it over for a moment.
"Tch. Fine. You're on."
(Cue Kaiba coercing Jounouchi to participate in all the typical onsen activities-- from the hot springs, saunas, massage, restaurants, etc.-- under the guise of being "personally guided" through all the amenities the onsen has to offer. Plus throw in some time to tease Jounouchi as he does maintenance work like cleaning in the morning and at night. The matron can do nothing but seethe silently lmao.)
no one talks about how draining it is when your mood is constantly switching between "its okay, i don't care. l'll be okay" and "I don't know how much more I can take"
You are allowed to send antagonizing anons about my muse
(i was gonna put this on my rp blog last night, but i decided to make it a post on here so anyone else who likes antagonistic anons can reblog it as well without borking my notifs)
people are allowed to send anons about what goes on on my blog and the circle of blogs that interact with me, this includes trying to get under my muses skin or tell them the hard truths about what is happening, or even about their fellow friends and enemies!
berate them for putting up with something dumb, point out flaws in someone's story, mention how something they believe is not the truth, do it, have fun!
just be sure that the antagonistic anon you sent is directed at the muse, not the mun, and make sure to read the rules of the blog you wish to send anons to, some antagonizing might be seen as godmodding and will go unanswered or blocked.
romaincrisis
pixelskylines
gummygunk
turnnoffyourmind
stormborns
discoholicmusic
gracieabrams
theartofmadeline
yousharknotpass
prguitarman
origamiaround
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
