A/N: Hey, mina-san! I hate to say this, but don't get too excited about the super-fast update. Most likely this will never happen again. I just happen to have written the prologue and first chapter over the weekend. Now that school is starting up again for the week updates will be slower. I'm bad at updating, so you'll have to forgive me. College keeps me super-busy being a Music Ed. major, so I'll do the best that I can. It doesn't help that I have a paper due at the end of the week. Ick. Anyway, that's that. So, I apologize now for the slowness that is to come. Reviews will help give me the incentive to write faster. It works better when I have people to please. - Thank you muchly and enjoy the story!
Warnings: Same as last time, this story contains yaoi, which means male/male relationships. Don't like, don't read.
Disclaimer: Not mine. sigh Man, I'm already tired of writing these...Oh well.
Rating: Still PG-13
Pairings: Still only Seto/Jou.
Thoughts
Dreams, Dread, and Puppies
Chapter 1
It was a frantic Seto Kaiba that arrived at school a few hours later. The dream refused to flea from his mind and he awoke a second time more shaken than the first. He all but inhaled breakfast, briefly explained to Mokuba what was wrong and raced toward the school. He frowned as he realized that he had to go to school to see his puppy seeing as he didn't know where he lived. Well, that would all change today.
The general populous of the school couldn't discern a frantic Seto Kaiba from an extremely pissed off Seto Kaiba so they all scrambled to get out of his way, which was fine by him. He stormed through the halls looking for any signs of his blonde-haired puppy or his friends.
After ten fruitless minutes of searching, he finally spotted a shock of tri-colored hair and headed straight for it. The boy was walking to the pup's other best friend in a brown coat.
"Yugi."
The boy turned to him and blinked his large amethyst eyes at him. "Oh, hi, Kaiba," he greeted cheerfully.
"Where's the mutt?" he demanded, getting straight to the point.
"I don't know, I haven't seen him yet this morning. He's probably not here yet. You know Jou, he's late more than he is on time," he said with a laugh.
Kaiba sighed and nodded–the kid had a point. He then walked away and into the classroom. He placed his books on his desk and rested his head on them. The puppy was fine. The dreams are pointless. He's gonna walk in any second with a big grin, talking to his friends, blush at the sight of him, and take his seat. That was the morning routine. No one breaks routine! Unless something's wrong...
The sound of laughter broke his thoughts as people started to enter the room. He looked and looked, but no puppy. He forced his heart to stay calm as every chair filled up save for the one on his left. Finally the teacher walked in and started talking, signaling the beginning of class while Kaiba fought down a full-blown panic attack. Seto Kaiba did not panic. But where was Katsuya!
Almost in answer to his silent question the door to the classroom opened to reveal a slightly out of breath Jounouchi. Kaiba almost fainted in relief to see his puppy alive and well and...looking thoroughly pissed off?
"Nice of you to join us, Jounouchi. Care to tell us where you've been?" the teacher sneered.
"You don't wanna know," Jou grumbled as he took his place next to Kaiba.
"What was that, Jounouchi? I didn't quite hear you."
"I said you don't wanna know!" Jou snapped, glaring at the teacher with glistening eyes.
Kaiba watched the interaction with interest and growing concern for his puppy. He had never seen his eyes glisten like that, almost with unshed tears. Also, very rarely did he ever get that angry. Only he had managed to get the pup that riled up, he thought proudly.
As the teacher opened his mouth to say more, Kaiba threw one of his better, more potent glares, shutting him up instantly. He'd be damned if he let this idiot of a teacher hurt his puppy more than he already had.
Jou noticed the teacher pale and snap his mouth shut. He turned his gaze to the one beside him, seeing the icy glare in place. For once it was used in his defense! He smiled in thanks when the other turned to him, a question in his eyes instead of ice. He mouthed the word 'later' to him and got out his books.
Later, indeed.
It was lunch when Kaiba finally had time to talk to his puppy alone. However, as luck would have it, it was then they got separated. Shoving his books none too gently in his locker, he let out a growl and slammed the door shut. He was about to head toward the lunch room to search when a commotion in the courtyard caught his attention.
"Stupid punks." He moved to walk away but a familiar voice crying out in pain stopped him. Yugi. Instead of continuing toward the lunch room, he turned and made his way to the gathering crowd, knowing that whenever Yugi was in trouble his pup wasn't far away.
"Why isn't he fighting back?" he heard a student ask.
Another student answered. "He never fights back. Jou's always there to fight for him, even though he looks pretty beat up already."
Kaiba narrowed his eyes at that remark and stood behind them, trying to see what was happening. "What's going on?" he demanded sharply.
"K-Kaiba!" the first student stuttered, looking up with fearful eyes.
"Well?" he snapped impatiently, looking to the other. When they did nothing but gawk at him, he tossed them aside and started trying to make his way toward the middle of the gathering. He strained his ears for anything that might tell him what was happening.
"Don't touch him, Kaito," he heard Jou growl. Kaito, huh? So that's who's causing all the trouble. Watch yourself, puppy.
"Jou, get out of here, he'll hurt you!" a younger-sounding voice pleaded. He recognized Yugi's voice again. Of course Jou's fighting for Yugi. He'd do anything to protect him. Would he do the same for... Kaiba shook his head. This was the wrong time for such thoughts.
"I can take him, Yug. Honda, get him outta here."
"Be careful, Jou," he heard Honda reply.
A moment later Kaiba saw two people headed his way. He heard Yugi call to him.
"Kaiba! Oh, thank Ra you're here. Jou's in trouble and it's all my fault. You've gotta help him, please!" Kaiba looked down as a teary Yugi confirmed his fears.
"Yugi, why are you asking Kaiba for help. Why would he help Jou?" Honda asked, throwing a glare in Kaiba's direction.
Yugi looked into Kaiba's eyes knowingly. "I know he will. Please, Kaiba. He needs you," he added in a broken whisper.
Like he needed a plea from the runt, he already knew his puppy was in trouble. Without a word he turned and continued walking. How much time had he wasted listening to Yugi plead with him? What had happened to his puppy? Was he hurt? Did he win? What–
"Don't you ever go near my friends again. You got that, Kaito?" he heard Jou say dangerously. Boy, was he the wrong guy to piss off!
Kaiba let out a breath of relief. His puppy had won. Finally he pushed his way to the middle just to see Jou walk away behind the building. He followed quickly, wondering why he chose to go off by himself instead of checking on Yugi. His questions was answered when he heard Jou let out a sound of pain and saw him start to collapse.
Eyes widening, Kaiba rushed forward to catch Jou around the waist, holding him close to his body. He noticed Jou's eyes were shut, as if bracing himself for impact with the unforgiving ground.
Jou opened his eyes as he felt himself collide with something soft and warm instead of hard and cold. He looked up into piercing blue eyes. Immediately, he relaxed.
"Seto," he breathed in relief.
Seto found himself supporting more of his puppy's weight a he sagged against him, although it wasn't enough for his liking. He shouldn't be that easy to hold. "Katsuya?" he ventured worriedly.
Jou took a deep breath and balanced himself on his feet enough to turn around and bury his head in Seto's chest. He wrapped his arms loosely around his waist and breathed a shaky sigh. That turned out to be a mistake.
Seto was mildly surprised when Jou turned into him, but he became alarmed when Jou's hand suddenly clutched the back of his shirt with one hand while the other came around to clutch his own chest after taking a deep breath. He once again found himself supporting almost all of Jou's weight as his puppy's knees buckled beneath him.
Gently, Seto lowered them both to the ground and placed Jou in his lap. "Katsuya?" he asked again, placing a gentle hand on his face. "Puppy, open your eyes."
Jou shook his head slightly. "You don't want me to do that," he said softly.
This served to further alarm the CEO. "Yes, I do," he said in a surprisingly calm and steady voice. He peered into Jou's face as he slowly blinked his eyes open. He gasped slightly as two crystalline tears fell from eyes clouded over with pain. Quickly regaining control over himself, Seto kissed the tears away, leaving one last warm kiss on Jou's forehead. Never in the years that he's known him has Katsuya ever cried. Whoever hurt him was going to pay dearly, Seto vowed silently, holding his injured puppy to him.
Jou closed his eyes and rested his head against Seto's chest. He quietly reveled in the feeling of Seto's arms around him, knowing, at least for a short time, he was protected. He began to sigh in contentment, but a pain shooting through his chest stopped him.
Seto looked down as Jou's breath hitched and he let out a small whimper.
"Breathing...bad idea..."
"Where are you hurt?" Seto asked quietly.
"Too many places," Jou replied with a slight grin, easing Seto's apprehension a bit.
"Puppy..."
"My chest...hurts when I breathe too deep."
Seto frowned and maneuvered him so he supported him with one arm, leaving the other free to investigate. "I'm going to lift up your shirt, so hold still."
A look of horror crossed Jou's face. "No! Don't–ah!" He broke off, clutching his chest again, hiding his face in the crook of Seto's neck.
He kissed the top of his head. "I have to." What was he hiding?
Jou stayed his hand with a strangled, "Wait!" Seto looked at him expectantly. "Not here. Please."
Seto nodded, assuring him with another light kiss on his hair. "All right, pup, but I'm taking you home." He sighed in exasperation as Jou shook his head. "What will you let me do?"
"Stay with me?"
"I wasn't planning on leaving you. I'm going to take you back to my house and call a doctor, all right?"
Jou nodded and let Seto help him to his feet. He fell against the taller boy as his head swam and felt the arm around his waist tighten. He blinked to clear his vision, gradually standing on his own. It took him a moment to realize Seto was talking to someone over his cell phone and was just hanging up.
"Driver," he explained shortly. "Let's get you home, puppy."
"Can I check on Yugi first?"
Seto made the mistake of looking down into pleading eyes. "He's fine; I saw him," he tried lamely.
"He'll panic if I just disappear."
The CEO sighed. "You've been spending way too much time with Mokuba... Fine. We'll go hunt him down."
Jou smiled. "You make him sound like some small game animal."
"He is small," Seto teased, leading Jou back out into the courtyard.
Jou opened his mouth to retort but two cries of his name cut him off. He turned to see Yugi and Honda run up to him.
Seto watched in slight horror as Yugi immediately latched onto his puppy in a giant hug. He stood ready to catch him again should he fall, reputation be damned. He all but gaped at the pup when all he did was wince. But even that was gone when Yugi looked back up at him. He silently applauded his puppy's acting skills. He would do anything to protect his friends, especially Yugi.
It took everything Jou had not to collapse as Yugi hugged him. He knew Honda saw the flash of pain he was unable to suppress, but as long as Yugi didn't, he didn't care. If Yugi thought he got hurt because of him, he would never forgive himself.
"Are you all right, Jou?" Yugi asked worriedly, looking him over. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"Nothin' I can't handle. Don't worry about it, Yug, I'm fine." Despite Jou's reassurances, he watched in dismay as Yugi's eyes filled up with tears. "Yugi..."
"But you did get hurt, Jou, I know you did!" Yugi cried, tears slipping down his face. "I'm so sorry, Jou, it's all my fault."
"Yugi, don't you even think that, you hear me?" Jou knelt down, wincing again, glad Yugi wasn't looking at him for the moment. "Yug, look at me. Do l look mad? Do I look like I blame you for any of this?"
Yugi looked at him and shook his head. "No," he whispered.
Jou placed his hands on Yugi's shoulders. "Do I look like I wold do this again in a heartbeat if it meant protectin' you?"
"Yes. But you shouldn't have to, Jou!"
"Hey, we're friends, Yug, and that's what friends do. Don't make me go get Anzu over here to give us that speech again." That earned him a watery chuckle. "Do you remember when I was under Marik's control and I was forced to duel you?" He felt Seto stiffen behind him, clearly uncomfortable with the memory of his pup in danger.
"Of course. That was horrible!"
"Tell me about it. You risked your life to save me, Yugi. You taught me what it means to be a friend. I mean, come on, I haven't torn off his big lug's head yet." Jou reached behind him to thwack Seto's leg.
"Watch it, mutt." He looked down to see Jou grinning back at him. He then made a show of rolling his eyes and turning away, hoping no one could see the corners of his mouth trying to curve into a smile.
Yugi, however, saw this and giggled, then threw his arms around Jou's neck. "Thanks, Jou."
"No problem, Yug." Jou returned the embrace, proud of himself for his pain-free voice. "Listen, I'm gonna go, all right?"
Yugi pulled back. "But you said you were all right! Jou..."
"I am! It's more for his sake than mine," he mumbled conspiringly, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.
Yugi giggled again at his best friend's antics and stepped back.
Seto rolled his eyes and placed his arms under Jou's elbows, lifting him easily to his feet. "Come on, pup, let's get you fixed."
"Hey! You make it sound like you're gonna neuter me!"
"Feel better, Jou. We'll see you tomorrow. Oh, don't worry, I'll tell the office what happened."
"Thanks, Yug. Honda, watch him, okay?"
"Sure thing, man." Honda placed his hand on Jou's arm briefly before watching the two supposed enemies walk off together. "There somethin' I'm missin', Yugi?"
Yugi shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. Ask Jou tomorrow. We have to get to class, lunch is almost over."
Honda nodded absently and followed Yugi back into the school. I missed somethin' big...
A/N: Me again! First of all, I know that I'm spelling Yugi with only one "u" even though I'm using the Japanese names. I think Yuugi looks too weird... Let's see...what else? Oh, I also know that I switched from "Kaiba" to "Seto" a little way through. I got tired of calling him Kaiba, so as soon as Jou started calling him Seto, so did I. Does it make sense? It does in my head...but that's not saying much. - I think that's it. If I messed anything up, please let me know. I like to be as real as possible. Thanks a bunch! Please review!
