Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or TBAA. I don't know why, but I don't.
Author's Notes: Hello everyone! Wow…everybody seems to like the kitty!! I didn't think people would really like it all that much…I guess there's a lot of kitty lovers out there! Thank you to all reviewed. Oh, and here's a little tidbit for you…I did a little word play with the name of the high school in this chapter…can anybody guess what I did? I'll let you know next chappie. A special thank you goes to my beta-reader, Hyatt Insomnia!
Warnings: Mild violence and language, so far.
To Steal, Kill, and DestroyChapter Nine: Don't Send Me Away
Joey rolled over in bed, stretching as the first rays of sunlight began to peek in through the curtains.
"Meowr!"
"Huh? Wha?" He pushed back the covers slightly and a little furry face looked up at him. "Hey, pal, what are ya doin' there?"
A knock came on his bedroom door, and his sister rushed in without waiting for him to answer. "Joey, I can't find…. oh, you found him!"
The blonde teen chuckled. "More like he found me. I woke up and he was in my bed."
Serenity sat down on the edge of the bed and began to pet the little cat. "What's the matter, Tiger? Don't you like the bed we bought you?"
"Guess he likes a real bed better."
They heard the doorbell ring. "Who the heck is that?"
"Maybe it's Yugi…aren't you supposed to get together with him today?"
"Yeah, but not this early!"
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Downstairs, Carla Wheeler, who was already dressed, answered the door. She was surprised to find Monique on the other side. "Hello, Mrs. Wheeler. I do hope I'm not disturbing you. I …felt that we got off on the wrong foot yesterday…. I know it's a bit early, but it was really bothering me."
"No, it's fine."
"May I come in?"
"Of course." She gestured for Monique to come in. She smiled and did so.
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Joey was getting dressed upstairs with Tiger quietly giving himself a bath on Joey's bed. "Looks like yer gettin' ready for the day, too, huh?" Suddenly the little cat stopped and jerked his head up. He could sense danger. He stared at the door to Joey's bedroom as if it would bite him. "Whatsa matter, pal?"
"Rowr!" Tiger suddenly jumped off the bed and scratched at the door impatiently. "Ya wanna get out?" Joey opened the door for him and he shot out. "Crazy cat," Joey murmured while shaking his head.
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Monique and Carla sat down on the couch in the living room. "Can I get you anything? Would you like some coffee?"
"I'm fine, thank you," responded the auburn-haired woman, "Actually, I've brought something over for you…I'm hoping it might be helpful to both you and your son." She pulled a brochure out from her purse and handed it to Carla. "This high school is quite famous for taking young people with…shall we say…problems…and turning them around into exceptional students. Most of their graduates have gone on to become quite successful, working at top jobs at Fortune 500 companies all over the world. I know some of the people that work in the admissions office there…and I'd be more than happy to put in a good word for Joseph."
Seemingly out of nowhere, Tiger sprang up on the couch and proceed to jump right on top of Monique's head, hissing and meowing. Carla was horrified. "NO, Tiger! Bad kitty!!" She reached out and grabbed the cat off of the other woman's head. Tiger hissed and bared his teeth at her. He tried to reach out with his paw to scratch her.
Monique jumped up off the couch. "Oh! That horrible beast!"
"I'm so sorry! We just got him last night…maybe he's just nervous."
"Or maybe it's got rabies. You ought to take it back and perhaps think about getting something less dangerous."
"Perhaps he was just startled…. he seemed so friendly around the kids yesterday…"
"Well, if I had children, I certainly wouldn't take the chance on exposing them to that thing." Tiger responded by hissing and meowing loudly.
"Tiger, hush!" Carla scolded.
Joey came bounding down the stairs. "Hey, whatsa matter wit' Tiger? I c'n hear 'im all the way upstairs."
"That beast attacked me!"
"What did ya do?"
"Thank goodness, your mother got it off of me."
"No, I mean what did ya do ta make 'im attack ya?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"What did ya do ta make 'im attack ya? I'm sure he wouldn't of attacked ya without a reason fer it."
"How dare you! You are one seriously disturbed young man!"
"What? Jus' 'cause I asked ya what ya did?" The blonde took Tiger from his mother. "C'mon, he's a harmless li'l cat! He ain't gonna hurt nobody."
Monique shook her head. "Such a violent young man…. he even likes violent animals."
"What? Tiger? Ya gotta be kiddin' me!"
"Looks like I brought you this just in time," Monique commented, picking up the brochure.
"What's that?"
"It's a brochure for Ediskard Boy's High School," his mother informed him, "According to Monique, it's supposed to be a very good school."
"But I like Domino High School! All my friends go there!"
Monique smiled evilly at him. "I see. And I supposed if all your friends jumped off of cliff, then you would, too?"
"This ain't yer business, lady! Stay outta it!"
"Tsk. Tsk," she turned to Carla, "Do you see what I mean? He has absolutely no respect for his elders. And he's so influenced by his friends…what if they decide to something really awful one night? Rob a convenience store, rape a young girl…and Joey will be with them! He'll go along with them just to fit in!"
"Hey! My friends ain't like that an' neither am I!"
"I'm sure Joseph and his friends wouldn't do anything like that…they all seem like such nice kids."
Monique shook her head sadly. "In front of you, they may act decent…but what about when you're not around? No mother wants to believe her son would do such things…but as we all know, these things do happen. At least just look through the brochure."
"Lemme see that!" Joey grabbed the brochure off the table and sat down next to his mother. He held Tiger, who would hiss at the offensive stranger every so often, with one hand in his lap and with the other he looked at the brochure. His face began to turn pale and his chocolate brown eyes widened in horror. "Mom…. this…this is a boardin' school! Y-you're not gonna send me away ta a boardin' school…are ya?"
"What's going on?" Serenity came down the stairs, having heard all the commotion. "What did you say about a boarding school, Joey?"
"Nothin'…"
Serenity took the brochure from her brother and began to look through it. Her face began to take on the same shocked look as her brother. "Please, mom," she begged, "Please don't send Joey away! We just became a family again!" A tear ran down her cheek.
"Now, now, no one's going anywhere," Mrs. Wheeler said soothingly, "Let me see that."
"Serenity, don't you want your brother to have the best education…the best chance in life that he can possibly get?" Monique interjected.
"Well, yes, but…"
"I can get just as good an education at Domino as I can at that fancy schamcy school o' yours!!"
"According to this brochure, Joey would have to live on the premises in order to attend this school."
"It's only for short period time," the auburn haired woman explained, "After all, High School goes by so fast…isn't that a small price to pay for such a wonderful investment in your son's future?" Tiger hissed again at the offensive woman.
"Mom, please…don't make Joey go there!" Serenity was ready to burst into tears. After all those years of separation, was her brother going to be taken away from her once again?
"I ain't goin' there…and ya can't make me! I'll live on the streets if I haveta!"
"Now, calm down, both of you! No one is going anywhere!" She handed the brochure back to Monique. "I'm sorry, Monique, but I have to agree with my daughter. We just became a family again, and I have no intention of sending my son away to school."
"Why don't you keep this…just in case you change your mind?" Monique tried to give the pamphlet back to Carla.
"I won't change my mind."
"Yeah, you tell her, Ma!" Joey cheered his mother on.
"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave now. You're upsetting both my children."
"Yeah, an' yer upsettin' Tiger, too! Get the hell outta here!"
"Do you see what I mean? He has absolutely no respect for his elders. I think you're making a huge mistake."
"Please leave," Carla said firmly.
"As you wish."
The doorbell ran as Monique got up to leave. Carla quickly went to answer it, hoping it wouldn't be any more unwelcome visitors. They seemed to be having more than their share lately. Much to her relief, she found herself looking at the ever-friendly face of Yugi Motou.
"Hi, Mrs. Wheeler! How are you doing today?"
"I'm fine, Yugi," she replied, relived to see the small teenager at her door. "Please come in."
"Thank you," Yugi said politely as he entered the Wheeler household.
Monique, who was just walking over to the door, spied Yugi…and his puzzle. "My, but that is a rather interesting pendant you have there. It's ancient Egyptian, isn't it?" She knelt down to take a closer look. "Ah, yes…the Millennium Puzzle."
Yugi was surprised. "Are you familiar with the Millennium items?"
"You might say that." She smiled then leaned in closer and whispered, "I'm also quite familiar with the Pharaoh whose spirit lives in the Puzzle as well." Yugi gasped and his eyes widened.
"Monique was jus' leavin'." Joey glared at the woman.
"Yes, well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Yugi." As Monique stood to get up, she whispered, "And you, too…. Yami." She then left.
"Joey! Who was that?"
"Ah, jus' some jerk who works fer Kaiba."
"Kaiba? What was she doing here?"
"Causin' trouble. Moneybags probably put 'er up ta it. She tried ta get my mom ta send me ta some fancy boardin' school."
Yugi looked up at his friend in alarm. "You're not going, are you?"
"No way!! Ya gotta be kiddin' me, Yug'! I'd rather have both my eyes poked out!!"
"Why'd she want you to go to boarding school, anyway?"
"I toldja, Moneybags Kaiba probably put 'er up ta it. He's probably laughin' his rich butt off somewhere. Anyway, lemme go upstairs an' get my deck, an' then we c'n go." He set his cat down on the ground. "In the meantime, ya c'n get acquainted wit' Tiger here."
Yugi knelt down. "Well, hi there li'l fella. How are you doing today?"
"Meow," Tiger replied, walking up to the spiky-haired teen. Yugi started to scratch the little cat's head. Tiger leaned into it, enjoying the attention.
"Meow!!" Suddenly Tiger ran from Yugi and darted underneath the couch. "Hey little fella! What's wrong?" Yugi went over to the couch and looked underneath. "C'mon out. I won't hurt you."
// I think I may have startled him, aibou. //
/ But how? /
// Animals seem to be able to sense certain things that humans cannot. //
/ Oh. So you think he sensed you being in the Puzzle. /
// Yes, I do. //
/ What about that lady? Do you think she sensed you, too? /
// That I do not know, aibou. However, I did sense some type of power emanating from her. I also felt like she was trying to block me….to keep me from sensing anything more about her. I have a very uneasy feeling about her, aibou. //
/ Well, it is kind of weird that she about the Millennium Puzzle...And you./
// It is indeed.//
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