Edgrl16: And here is the next chapter of my amazing story!!!
Yami: It's only amazing to you, hikari
Edgrl16: *pout* Are you saying you don't like it?
Yami: *hug* Of course I like it, hikari
Edgrl16: *sniff* Thanks! Please enjoy!
"Pup, wake up."
Opening my eyes, I saw Kaiba looking at me and Joey from the doorway. "What?" I asked, sitting up.
"Get changed," Kaiba replied, turning for the stairs again. "I need you to come with me."
As he closed the door, I sighed and stood up, walking toward my closet. Stripping off the clothes I'd slept in, I pulled on a green T-shirt and a pair of black jeans, kissing Joey on the top of the head before I left him sleeping in my bed. Walking downstairs, I followed Kaiba to his limo, keeping quiet as we drove off down the street.
"Where are we going?" I finally asked, avoiding any eye contact with Kaiba.
"To your brother's foster home," Kaiba replied, lifting my chin to catch my eyes.
"B-But I can't go back there," I insisted, my hand playing aimlessly with the Sparkx band on my wrist. "I'll get arrested."
"They just said you couldn't touch or speak to him," Kaiba said, pulling something out of his pocket. "And I intend to make sure you do neither." He reached up to my neck and when he pulled back, I saw what he'd done.
"You've got to be kidding me," I thought, looking at the red leash in Kaiba's hand that was, no doubt, connected to my collar.
"I still need to teach my dog obedience," Kaiba said as the limo stopped in front of the O'Connell's house. "I've allowed you some freedom, but you still have a lot to learn. You are not to talk to anyone without my permission. Do you understand?"
"Yeah," I replied.
"Pup," Kaiba said.
"Yes, Seto," I tried.
"Try again," Kaiba smirked.
"Yes, master," I forced myself to say.
"We'll have to work on that," Kaiba thought, stepping out of the limo. He pulled on the leash slightly and I followed him out, walking up to the front door.
"Yes?" Wendy asked, opening the door. "Oh, Mr. Kaiba! What a pleasant surprise!" She noticed me and her gaze hardened, her smile turning into a scowl. "What are you doing here?"
"She has been forbidden to speak," Kaiba answered for me. "She knows the consequences if she does."
"Stupid rich brat," I thought, crossing my arms. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"So, Mr. Kaiba, why are you here?" Wendy asked as she led us to her living room. "Please, sit."
"Thank you," Kaiba said, sitting on one of the white chairs. "Pup, sit." Muttering curses under my breath when I saw Wendy's smirk, I sat on the floor between Kaiba's legs, leaning back against the chair.
"You've got her trained pretty well," Wendy complimented.
"Thank you, Mrs. O'Connell," Kaiba said, smiling at her.
"Please, call me Wendy," Wendy said, smiling back.
"Give me a break," I thought, rolling my eyes. "Could she be any more fake?"
"Wendy, I just have a few questions for you about Jay?" Kaiba said.
"Go ahead, Mr. Kaiba," Wendy replied.
"How long have you and your husband been his foster parents?"
"For 12 glorious years."
"And why, if you don't mind me asking, do you think his sister is incapable of taking care of him?"
"In my opinion, Miss Hitachiin is too busy to look after a boy of Jay's age. He's had to deal with his own mother dying and his friends dying or moving away. Miss Hitachiin would never be able to understand, going through only the hardship of her mother."
"Wendy, do you know why their father was put in prison?"
"I was told for child abuse. I assumed it was something none of the family knew."
"After abusing the child from his drunken state, their father never remembered anything. The one person who remembered was the child he abused time and time again. Now, only 3 people know, myself behind one of the 3."
I looked up at Kaiba, knowing where this was heading. "This isn't gonna be good," I thought, looking back up at Wendy.
"Do you know who the child that was abused is?"
"Yes."
"May I ask who?"
"The man's own daughter."
Wendy's gaze landed on me and her smile faded. "Her? I don't believe it."
"Pup, stand up," Kaiba ordered, standing behind me. "Turn around and take off your shirt." Reluctantly, I followed his orders, tossing my shirt on the chair. "Here." He held out his coat to me. "Keep this in front of your chest." Doing what he said, I breathed in deeply as Kaiba unwrapped the bandages from my chest, showing Wendy the full extent of the abuse my back had taken.
"Oh, my," Wendy said, bringing her hand up to her mouth.
"That's horrible. But how do I know those aren't just fake?"
"Because if you touch some of them, they still bleed, you idiot!!" I screamed at her in my head as Kaiba helped bandage me up again.
"I thought you'd say that," Kaiba said as I handed him back his coat and pulled my T-shirt over my head, "so I have proof that they're real." Tucking the leash in my pocket, Kaiba took Wendy's hand and led her to a wall.
"How is this going to prove anything?" Wendy asked as I looked at them in confusion.
"I paid the bail for their father," Kaiba explained. "And after this, he has promised to stay as far away from them as possible. I put him in a room filled with alcohol and brought him here to prove that Miss Hitachiin's scars are real."
"What?!" I thought as someone knocked on the door.
"Answer it, pup," Kaiba ordered.
"It's the last time," I told myself as I opened the door.
"Well, if it isn't my worthless excuse for a daughter," my dad slurred as he walked inside. He pulled his knife out from his back pocket and tripped me, never noticing that there were others in the room.
"Dad! What are you doing?!"
I turned my head and saw Jay standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Well, my son, it's about time you learned what I've been teaching your sister for 8 years," our dad said, walking toward Jay.
"I'm not letting Jay feel this," I thought, jumping up and running in front of Jay, my back to our dad as he slashed down with his knife. I gasped when it cut through both shirt and skin, joining the many others in its place.
"Run to your room and don't look back," I ordered, clenching my teeth tightly together as I got another cut.
Jay immediately obeyed and when I heard his door slam shut, I relaxed slightly before I got another cut. Before I could get any more, though, Kaiba intervened and grabbed my dad, throwing him out the front door, taking some bandages he'd brought with him from the limo before he closed the front door.
"Young lady, I could have you arrested for speaking to my son," Wendy threatened as Kaiba helped me back to the living room, gently laying me on my stomach as he started to bandage my cuts. "I ordered that you were never to speak to him, no matter the circumstance."
"If I remember correctly, she just saved his life," Kaiba said, sitting back in his chair when he finished with my back. "If she hadn't stepped in front of Jay, he'd probably have the same problem as his sister right about now."
"So, what was that little demonstration supposed to show me?"
"To prove that Miss Hitachiin's scars are legitimate and to prove that she can take care of her brother."
"You think just because she did that, I'll give him back?"
"No, but I will pay $5,000 to let him come live with his sister again."
"As long as I can still visit him."
"Come by later with Jay and we'll work something out. Let's go, pup."
"Wait," I said, turning toward the stairs again. "I've got to do something real quick." Pulling Jay's Kuriboh card out of my pocket, I ran my hand over it to summon Coo. "Coo, this card was left with me when I gave Jay back his deck," I said, placing the card on the duel monster's head. "Bring it back to him for me, please." The Kuriboh cooed its response and nuzzled against my cheek before it floated upstairs.
"So, you're the one who taught him that," Wendy said, glaring at me as she followed me and Kaiba outside.
"No, I'm the one who's helping him control it," I replied, pulling my Blue-Eyes card out of my deck. "We were born with it." Running my hand over the card, I grinned as a fully-grown Burst appeared behind me.
"Jay will not be doing that anymore," Wendy said as Burst helped me up onto his back.
"Good luck with that," I said, wincing slightly as I slid back a bit as Burst flapped his wings. "It's probably never gonna happen. He's really attached to Coo, the Kuriboh I sent him." And with that, Burst took off flying toward Kaiba's mansion, Kaiba following below us in his limo.