Pain
By: Farawr
(Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the show or manga)
Prologue
Jou grumbled to him-self as he walked past a trash can in an alley that he often used to make it back to his apartment. Once again he had lost his job, and this time it wasn't even his fault. He took the letter that his boss had given him and threw it into the trash can before kicking it. A loud yelp caused Jou to jump back away from the small metal can and look around to see if someone was around him that heard that sound as well.
A sound caught Jou's attention again and he looked back at the can that he had just kicked only to see a large dog slide out of behind the can. He grimaced at the look of the forsaken animal, its skin stuck to its bones, dirty and most likely covered in fleas it looked like it was dying. He looked around to see if someone was watching the dog but nobody was even outside.
The dog looked up a Jou and was watching him carefully, its deep brown eyes wary. Jou noticed the collar around his neck; the leather strap looked almost a part of the dog's skin. Jou grimaced and looked around again before kneeling down, he held his hand out.
The dog snarled at him and almost bit his hand if Jou hadn't pulled it back at the last second. He glared at the dog, it needed help but it was willing to hurt him before he was going to get to the animal. He sighed and stood up… he didn't have time to deal with the stubborn thing, he had other things to other than getting his hand bit off by a angry animal.
The dog made a noise again when Jou began to walk away and he looked back at the sad creature. It was obvious that it was in need of help but maybe of all the people that saw it nobody wanted to help the mutt. Nobody cared for it enough to even leave food out for it. He sighed and walked back to the dog and sat down on the wet, dirty ground across from it.
"Are you hungry?" Jou asked. The dog didn't make another sound; it just watched him and laid its head down on its paws not bothering to fix the position it was in after it slid out of behind the trash can. "I am…. I haven't eaten since last night, I had to rush to work only to find out that I lost my job because the old bastard was too selfish to tell me that he hired another person and that I wouldn't be getting paid for the work I did."
Jou shifted the bag on his shoulder and pulled out the small sandwich that he made before leaving his apartment. The dogs eyes locked on to the food, Jou looked at the food then at the dog and then smiled. "So you are hungry." He held out the sandwich and watched the dog sniff the air in the direction of the food.
"Come get it." Jou challenged the animal, and as if it understood him the dog slid itself towards the food and sniffed it again. Jou held it out so that the animal could reach it and watched as the dog pulled it with its teeth, which made Jou cringe at the color of them. This animal not only was starved but looking at its teeth it was not wanted anymore.
Jou sat back and watched the animal eat the sandwich. A clap of thunder made Jou look up at the sky. Angry dark clouds rolled in slowly, Jou sighed again and looked back at the animal.
"That is interesting…" A cold sneer caught Jou off guard. He looked at the alley way entrance, there standing under an umbrella was the worlds coldest CEO. "Looks like you found the world's most unwanted animal…almost like yourself. That's perfect; the world's most unwanted Mutts."
Jou glared at the man that stood before them; of course Seto Kaiba would be around, when would the man ever miss the chance to pick on something so helpless or something he thinks is below him? "Go away Kaiba." Jou growled. The dog lifted his head and looked at the man that was talking to the nice one.
"How did you find such a retched thing?" Seto asked as he walked towards the pair. He looked down at the dirty animal, "Disgusting, why hasn't the pound picked this one up? He's going to die anyway."
Jou stood up and faced the CEO, he held up his fists in a defensive pose. "Go away Kaiba, there is nothing for you to pick on here." Jou said. Seto laughed at him and shifted his umbrella. A loud thunderclap made him look up at the sky and shake his head. Pulling his umbrella off his shoulder he closed it and threw it at the blond.
"It's going to start pouring, better get home Mutt." Seto said before he walked out of the alley and back up the street right when it began to start raining. Jou looked up at the sky before he looked down at the dog that was pushing himself back against the building behind the trash can. He opened the umbrella and walked over to the unloved animal.
"It's gonna to be cold to night." Jou said as he sat down next to the dog holding the umbrella over it. The dog watched as Jou pulled his legs closer to him as the cold wind picked up, the rain started to soak the man's jacket and hair.
The dog whined and pushed away from the umbrella and watched as the man moved it over him again. The wind was beginning to get to the dog as well and it began to shake as the rain cut relentlessly underneath the umbrella. Another clap of thunder made Jou start again and he looked back at the dog that was no longer moving.
Panic began to take hold of Jou, what if the dog was dead? He moved towards it and put his hand carefully in front of the dog's muzzle. The small puffs of air made Jou calm down when he realized that it was still alive. Closing the umbrella and tucking it under his arm he bent over and carefully picked up the dog. It was so light that Jou could almost hold it with one arm; he looked around one last time before he walked out of the alley with the forsaken thing.