--Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH!! Blah blah not my characters blaggity blaggity yackity smackity and a heap of crap. We all know…--

Sometimes I wonder how domino city can be so divided. Walking into a different part of town can feel like I'm walking through a different planet. Of course I naturally belong to the "Rich" section of the city being the successful CEO of my own company, but strolling through the rougher areas reminds me I wasn't always as wealthy as I am now. It forces me to acknowledge I once lived in a place as filthy and dangerous as the one I'm walking through now. It soothes my ego down considerably; And I don't like it.

As the sun sets lazily over the graffiti covered buildings, I quicken my pace. I'm not all that eager to be caught walking in this part of town here with my two thousand dollar laptop strapped to my shoulder. I don't care if I lived like this at any point of my life, it's making me feel extremely out of place and even a bit creeped out. The clicking of my shoes hitting the chipped pavement echoes off of the empty street and I pull my jacket around me tighter. It's freezing out.

Maybe I don't have to be afraid of getting gang beaten anyways; no one in their right mind would be out walking right now. Except me, I never did claim to be in the right mind though.

"It's freaking cold out."

I mutter to no one in particular, holding back a long line of swear words that threaten to spill from my mind. I tuck my chin in my scarf and walk even faster, almost running. The wind stings my eyes, and tears well up in them in protest of the cold, making it so I can't see.

Just as I'm starting a light sprint, I hit a solid object and get knocked back a bit. My eyes widen in surprise, and I wipe my eyes quickly in order to see what exactly I ran into. The only thing visable in the long road ahead of me and the shadow of the dead trees lining it.

"Kaiba!?"

A familiar voice yells behind me, sounding agitated. This startles me significantly, and I tense up before turning around slowly. Standing there with his fists half cocked, is Joey Wheeler. He's clad in a thin white t shirt, ripped jeans, and a black eye. I shiver just at the thought of having no jacket in this weather and tug mine tighter around myself.

"Why the hell did ya run into me ya bastard?"

He demands, feisty regardless of his beat down appearance. I take a deep, dramatic breath and meet his bruised eyes with my own blue ones.

"I didn't run into you mutt, you were in my way."

He seems to think about this for a minute, then snarls at me in defense of himself.

"Is that whatcha think happened ya rich prick?"

I decide this conversation is boring me considerably and scan his pathetic outfit once more before my curiosity gets the best out of me.

"Why are you out in the cold at night wearing that. And why do you have a bruised face?"

I ask in a monotone, faking uninterest. His expression quickly turns from angry to embarrassed. He flips his shaggy blond bangs out of his face and you would think the ground is the most interesting thing he's ever seen, because he stares intently at it and not me.

"Eh…my dad and me got in a fight again. So I left without grabbin' a jacket."

I step towards him and run my slender finger gently over a particularly nasty cut across his cheek, eliciting a small shiver from the smaller boy in front of me. It feels like it was done with something sharper than fingernails, probably a blade or piece of glass. Joey sits there for a moment with my hand on his face before shoving it away violently. He then looks up at me with his face portraying anger once again

"Why do ya even care moneybags?"

I mull over what I just heard and try hard not to feel bad for him. It's bad enough he has to live in this shitty part of town, but he also has a loser dad. I knew Joey had a bad home life, but I didn't remember it being this bad.

I really don't want to let my emotions get the best of me, and they usually don't but for some reason they're acting up right now. No Kaiba, you can't start feeling bad now. It may be wheeler, but he's human and I feel obligated to help him.

"I don't care Wheeler. Do you need a place to stay?"

His facial features twist into one of confusion and he looks skeptical.

"…What did ya say?"

I sigh, quickly growing more annoyed with the wounded boy in front of me.

"I'm shouldn't have to explain It twice mutt. It's cold out and I don't want to wait. Do you need a place for the night or not? If you die of hypothermia then I won't have anyone to make fun of."

Joey ponders this for a moment before slumping over in defeat and fiddling with his fingers.

"….Fine. But this does not make us friends moneybags."

I spit at the cracked pavement and roll my eyes.

"I don't plan on it."

The cold bites my hand as I withdraw it from my pocket to grab my blackberry and punch in my limo drivers number.

"Hello? Yes, I'm going to need the limo to pick us up immediately from Queensan St. N, step on it."

He meets my eyes briefly and the corners of his lips turn upward in a kind of smile.

"Uh…thanks Kaiba."

I glare back at him and then turn my gaze towards the quickly darkening sky

"It's nothing Joey."

His eye brows furrow in confusion and he chews thoughtfully on his bottom lip. I wonder what has him so confused, he's been making that face a lot lately.

"Did you just call me… Joey?"

I take a second to think about this then start walking forward without him, getting some sort of satisfaction as he trots behind me to keep up.

"Now why would I call you that mutt?"