A/N: Ok, no idea why I'm doing this. To me this is probably one of the most...strange things I've posted. I'm almost disgusted with myself. But...whatever.You won't enjoy it, and if you do... you're more morbid then I am! The style is a bit different from my usual- mostly because there isn't much dialogue and there really isn't a trace of humour.

Disc: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or the characters.

Kick.

Kick.

Kick.

Crunch.

Young Jounouchi stepped on the can he had been kicking down the street, finally becoming bored with the game. He booted the flatted tin can onto the road and watched a car run over it. He blinked when he felt something on his leg, and cringed when it caused him pain. He looked down at his feet, and clawing at his pant legs was a solid coloured dark grey cat. It had short hair, and yellow-green eyes. It was really handsome looking! Jounouchi hesitated to pet it, but the cat seemed to encourage him to do so, so he did. He smiled at the cat, and rubbed its tummy.

"I've got to go home now, good bye." The boy rose to his full height and began to walk away. The cat had different plans in mind, and seemed to insist it be right beneath his feet. "Aw, kitty! I can't bring you home! My old man would NEVER let my have a pet. Not even a little one." Unfortunately for the young boy he couldn't deny the purring and meowing creature, so he picked it up and took it home with him.

"Katsuya...What is that?" His father asked, looking at the young 10 year old.

"My kitty." The boy replied. "May I please, please keep it?" he begged. At first the senior Jounouchi's reflexive answer was "no", but the kid seemed kind of attached to it already, and he was feeling compassionate (had he been a little more sober or a little more drunk, he'd have thrown the cat outside) he decided he would permit the child to keep it.

"I'm gonna name you...Spades." Jounouchi said as he made a box in his closet the cat could sleep in. He went outside and found a plastic bin and filled it with gravel and dirt to make a litter box for the cat. He placed it in the far corner of his bedroom. "Are you hungry, Spades?" Jounouchi pet it, and then took a plastic dish from the cupboard and put a bit of milk in it. Then he decided to make a tuna sandwich, and gave half the fish to the cat.

Things were wonderful for the first few weeks. Spades was the only friend the little boy had and the cat seemed to be his kind of animal. He watched it get into viscous fights with other big alley cats. His cat always won, but had a few injuries here and there. One time, Jounouchi came home from school and found his cat lying on the fire escape in front of his window.

"Come on in Spades." He called out to it. The cat meowed, almost as if it were in the most miserable mood ever, and slowly stood. Jounouchi realized its back leg was broken and its ear was a bit ripped. He bit his lip and carefully helped the animal inside and placed it in its basket. When he asked his dad to take it to the vet, his father said no.

"I can't afford it, and neither can you. YOU should have thought of this before you decided to get a pet. It'll heal." The man shrugged and took another drag from his cigarette. He noticed his son was still standing there expectantly, so he swatted him upside the head. "What are y'lookin' at me for? Get outta here."

Jounouchi hoped his father was right about the leg healing. But after a few weeks, it seemed the cat would have a permanent limp. Jounouchi only started to let it outside again when he was sure Spades could walk well enough to climb down the fire escape stairs.

That's when Spades disappeared.

Jounouchi was so upset for days after that, feeling extremely guilty. He looked all over the immediate area around his apartment and he drew pictures of Spades and posted MISSING posters on the phone poles on his street.

At the end of the week he woke up to the sound of the most horrible and miserable sound outside his window. Frightened, he went to the window and opened it. He heard it again, and realized it was a cat meowing.

"Spades!" he cried, excited to see his pet again. "I thought you left me forever!" He went to pick the cat up but had a bad vibe, and pulled his hand back. He took a flashlight from his desk and pointed the light at the grey feline. He gasped when he saw his cat in the light. Its fur was matted with blood, its left eye was bloody, his right ear was ripped up, patches of fur had been ripped out and there was a huge gnash from his jaw line to the back of his neck that was extremely deep and bloody. Jounouchi fought the urge to cry, but he knew he couldn't leave the animal out there. He ran to the closet and got Spade's box and set it outside. He waited for the cat to limp into it, and then he placed it back in the closet. He put some water in its bowl and some food, and then shut the door. He didn't want Spades to move around. He wanted him to relax and stay still so he could heal.

All night the cat moaned like it was in the most excruciating pain. Jounouchi didn't sleep at all.

The next morning, he checked on the cat. It had drunk half of the water and a bit of the food, which Jounouchi had drenched in milk so the animal wouldn't have to chew it. The cat tried to advance on him and Jounouchi became afraid. He was afraid it was rabid, or it would bleed on him... He was just frightened of the mutilated cat. Under closer observation he noticed that the cat's tail was barely attached, and would have to be amputated. It was bleeding like it was a fresh wound despite the fact that it was at least 7 hours old. The smell of the animal hit the blonde's nose and he almost puked. He then noticed the cut on Spades neck was worse then he thought. Whatever attacked his cat took half of its bottom jaw with it! The jaw was absolutely angled on the left side.

Jounouchi put the litter box in the closet so that the cat didn't have to go far to go to the bathroom and shut the door again- after giving it fresh water and milk drenched food.

"Tousan, my cat needs to go to the vet!" Jounouchi cried to his father, later that day. "He's in a really bad way. He- he might need to get put down!"

"Like I care about your stupid cat. I'm NOT wasting money on it." And that's all the man would say on the subject. Later that night Jounouchi checked on it again, and gave it more fresh food and water.

"I'm sorry Spades, I'm trying to help you the best that I can! But I don't know what to do and Tousan won't help me!" Jounouchi wiped a tear from his cheek and shut the door. "This is my fault... I never should have let you outside with a limp. I never do anything right." He crawled into bed and tried to sleep.

Again, Spades made that horribly miserable meow that seemed to plead that someone put it out of its misery. Jounouchi cried all night, wishing it would just stop. He covered his ears and almost screamed. It never stopped meowing! He determined he would have to get his dad to shoot the cat. It was suffering to badly to be allowed to live.

Jounouchi eventually fell asleep, but his dreams were filled with Spade's meow and his attempts to put the cat down.

"I will NOT shoot your cat. Do your own dirty work."

"I CAN'T shoot it!" The boy frowned.

"Drown it." He shrugged.

"Please, you have to look at it! Please Tousan? Please look at my cat!"

"No! Piss off!" The man shoved the boy to the floor. "Just stick it in a bag and drown it!"

Another night of pure torturous meowing. Jounouchi couldn't handle it any more. He couldn't sleep, and when he did, it was riddled with horrific images of his cat, and the meow still pierced through his subconscious into his dreams. He woke up screaming that night, and heard the cat still meowing. He was beginning to feel like the situation was out of his hands now. He stared at the door and begged the cat to stop, but it seemed to wail in an even more miserable manner- if that was possible. He resolved he WOULD drown it. He would do it right now. There was just nothing else he could do.

He jumped out of bed and filled the bathtub. Returning to his bedroom, he flung open the closet door, holding a pillow case in his hand. The cat sadly looked up at him, as if knowing what he was planning.

"I can't take it anymore! Spades, I'm sorry! I'm going crazy from this!" He cried. "You won't get better! You just won't get better!" He collapsed to his knees, and bawled. The cat slowly limped out of the box and sat in the middle of the floor. Jounouchi stopped crying long enough to realize something important. If Spades needed to be put down, he would have died already, right? It had been a few days since Jounouchi had found the cat, and there was no telling how long it had been like this. Also, the fact that it continued to eat was a positive sign. The animal was determined to live. Jounouchi wiped his eyes and nodded. Spades wasn't going to die he just needed more time to heal! The boy sat on his bed for the rest of the night and watched the mangled animal limp around the room, paying no mind to the blood that was being left on the floor from the still bleeding tail.

When it was time to go to school, Jounouchi convinced Spades to return to his box, and gave him more food and water. The next few nights continued to be as terrible for the boy though. The cat still moaned, but it was becoming weaker sounding. Jounouchi took this as a sign that it was in less pain. He hadn't noticed though that the cat wasn't eating any of the food that was laid out for it.

A few nights later Jounouchi was lying in bed. He couldn't sleep, but not because Spades waling was keeping him awake. It was the opposite; he stopped meowing not long ago. Jounouchi wondered if this was a normal thing so he decided to go and see his pet. Why had it stopped meowing? He slowly opened the door, and gasped, falling back onto his bottom.

The cat was lying in the basket, which had become quite bloody, eyes open and lifeless. Jounouchi cried, and ran to his father's bed room.

"Tousan, Tousan! My cat! My cat!" The man didn't reply, but violently kicked the boy onto the floor and then tossed him out of his room, shutting the door behind him.

Jounouchi slowly went back to his room, frightened. What was he going to do? Why did it die? He wished he had been more knowledgeable on these sorts of things. His downfall was not being aware that bleeding non-stop would kill the cat, and it was surprising it lived as long as it had. Also, it was ridiculous for him to think the cat could ever survive properly with half a jaw. It couldn't eat anymore, it could only drink, but even that hurt too much due to the large gash on its neck. If someone had have helped the child, the cat could have been spared many days of pure miserable pain.

Jounouchi hid under his covers, afraid of the dead cat in the closet. Even though he had shut the door he swore he could hear it meowing, and swore he could hear rustling in there. He cried himself to sleep, and dreamed his cat (as mutilated as ever) was sitting at the foot of his bed, staring at him and meowing the most angry and hateful meow imaginable.

The next morning Jounouchi took the cat in its box, and went to the field near his apartment with a shovel. He dug a deep hole and put some dried leaves and sticks in it. He then put the box in. He tried not to cry as he dropped the match in the hole, and watched the cat burn. He felt guilty. Why couldn't he look after it better? Why did he have to die? Poor Spades. He thought he heard a screech come from the fire, and he covered his ears. It was loud and terrifying, like a demon.

It was noon before there was nothing but ashes left and he buried them. He didn't bother going to the last few hours of class. He instead went to the park and sat on the swings until nightfall.

He came home that night, and saw his father passed out on the floor. He stepped over him and stood in front of his bedroom door. Ten minutes passed while he stood in front of his door, trying to make himself go in. Eventually he entered and crawled into bed, but his eyes never left the closet. He didn't sleep that night, and he didn't sleep the next night either.

It was weeks before Jounouchi ever returned to a somewhat normal sleep pattern; but it was months before he slept without the reoccurring nightmare that his dead cat was sitting on his bed, staring at him with hate filled eyes.

END

You finished this? I'm impressed. Please don't tell me I'm sick. I don't wanna know. But I would much like feedback for this. Negative or positive.