Chapter Three: Domesticity
AN: Lalalalala… *evil laughter* Erhem… anyway, danke for the reviews… give me more and I might add in a little interactive section where the characters read the reviews themselves… mwahahaha…
Joey had stopped at a pet store on the way home to get Seto some new 'attire'. The very embarrassed former-billionaire was now sporting a blue collar that had a small golden tag that said 'Seto' on it… along with owner information and the like.
Gods, his 'owner' was Joey Wheeler! That made his blood boil, and it made him very self-conscious. He pitied dogs. Oh yes, he pitied them. Anyone but he would have gone insane if they got hit by lightning and found themselves turned into a dog. But no, a Kaiba never gave in, and a Kaiba always found an advantage. And currently it was to Seto Kaiba's advantage to play along with Joey's little charade as his 'master' until he could figure out a way to turn himself back into a normal human.
His thoughts turned dark as he pictured Mokuba all alone at the estate… his little brother had always said he felt a little lost when he wasn't around, and it was understandable… the place was huge. Seto himself sometimes got lost in it, even now. How would Mokuba deal with his absence? He shuddered to think of it. His brother was all that he had, and the image of Mokuba alone and scared battered Seto's mind with guilt.
Seto's train of thought grew even more gloomy as the night wore on. He slunk at Joey's heels, long ago having given up trying to dart away. Where would he go? He didn't allow dogs on his property when he was human. And he certainly didn't want to go begging to Yami and Yugi, even though he reasoned that Yami must have noticed something linking his 'disappearance' with his 'reappearance'. Bakura and Ryou? Bakura'd probably think him a delicacy and cook him on the spot.
Malik and Marik… he just didn't want to even THINK of going there.
He was pulled out of his contemplations when Joey stopped suddenly, causing Seto to walk right into him. They were standing in front of a ratty looking apartment building that had all sorts of nasty things that Seto really didn't want to think about plastered over the faded brick walls.
This is where the mutt lived? He almost felt sorry for Wheeler.
Joey was fumbling with keys, and eventually got the front door open, holding it for 'his' dog. Seto, curious, followed him. "Lucky they allow pets, huh Seto?" Joey said with a small grin.
Hearing something odd in the blond's voice, Seto looked up at his face. It wasn't normal. Well, at least, it wasn't the expressions Kaiba was used to seeing on the fiery teen's face. Joey's smile was strained, and his eyes were full of fear instead of happiness like they normally were. Seto was contemplating the reasons when Joey reached down to scratch his ears with trembling hands, more to comfort himself than to comfort the canine.
They walked up the stairs to the fourth floor, and Joey stopped at a door that read '4C' in faded and chipped gold lettering. He took out his keys again and pushed one into the lock. Before he turned it, he faced Seto and frowned. "Don't make any noise, 'kay? I don't want the old man hearin' me."
Realizing how ridiculous it was to talk to a dog, the blond turned around and slowly opened the door as quietly as he could. As soon as it was open, Seto's eyes started to water. Gods, but it stunk of alcohol in that apartment! Seto wondered how Joey could possibly deal with such a disgusting stench…
He was guided into the apartment by Joey's hand gripping his collar. The apartment was filthy. They walked down a narrow hallway, and at the end there were three doors. Around the middle of the hall and to the left was a living area, and Seto poked his head in curiously.
He saw a repulsive-looking grey couch that seemed to have vomit stains as a pattern, a ratty carpet that wasn't living up to its name, and a junky television set with a broken antenna. In the far end of the room was a table and a few chairs, along with an Ancient-looking refrigerator and microwave. The TV was on to a news channel, and the caster was talking annoyingly.
On the filthy couch was a large man with hair that could have been the color of gold like Joey's a long, long time ago. The man was unshaven and smelled, Seto noticed, and a large beer belly was readily apparent. Was this Joey's father…?
The elder Wheeler had an empty case that previously held beer bottles at his feet, and the missing objects were strewn about the room, one in the man's hand about half-full. The man was apparently asleep, judging by the monstrous noise coming from his open mouth. Seto looked up as he heard a soft sigh of relief.
Joey, his 'master', was rubbing the back of his neck as a small amount of tension left him. /Good… he's asleep. That means he can't do anythin' ta me,/ the blond thought, a hand absently straying to his ribs. Kaiba licked his teeth as he thought, but was pulled along through the apartment to the room on the far left. Joey opened it, and Seto found himself staring at a nearly bare and very small room.
It was, however, quite a lot neater than the rest of the house. /And it doesn't reek,/ Seto noticed approvingly, his sensitive new nose no longer in pain. The bed was small; too small for a growing teen like Joey, which was made evident as the blond flopped down onto it with a sigh, his legs hanging almost a foot off the bottom of the bed that was more of a cot.
Seto, always looking for an edge in everything, decided to try to get more information about what went on in this hellhole Joey seemed to think was his home. The billionaire-turned-dog padded out of the room as soon as he heard the blond on the bed start to snore softly. He explored the hallway he was in, finding that the middle doorway was to a dirty, grubby bathroom that looked as if it hadn't seen a good clean in years.
If he had still been human, he would have frowned. Sure, he didn't like Wheeler that much, but no human should be forced to live like this. Even Seto Kaiba wasn't heartless enough to wish an existence like this on someone, even his worst enemies… well, perhaps his worst enemies. It depended on how much he hated them.
The Dane wandered away from the inhumanly repulsive bathroom and went to the living room and watched Joey's father from just behind the wall. The man was sleeping still, but the beer bottle had fallen from his hand and the dark liquid stained the man's already filthy undershirt, the bottle having eventually landed at his feet after rolling down his stomach.
Seto cautiously moved closer to the slumbering man and nearly gagged as the stench hit him when he got close. He turned to leave and head back into Joey's room to think, and was unpleasantly surprised when a booted foot made harsh contact with his rear.
Yelping, Seto scooted forward and then turned to look at Mr. Wheeler. The man was giving him an ugly glare, his eyes cracked open slightly. "S'uuupid mutt… jus' like Jos'ph…" the man grumbled, kicking out at the 'dog' again. Seto backed out of the way of the leg and growled reflexively, baring his teeth.
At that, the man's eyes widened and then narrowed in rage. Not liking that very much, Kaiba retreated to the hallway, but still watched the man as he picked up the discarded beer bottle. Definitely smart enough to see what was coming, Seto took off down the hallway just as the bottle smashed against the wall at what would be his head's height.
Slipping into the room and nudging it shut with his nose, Seto trotted over to Joey. With a grunt, the billionaire dog lay down halfway under the mite-filled mattress that his temporary 'master' lay on, guarding the other teen although he didn't realize that was his intent.
/Bastard… throwing bottles at me, Seto Kaiba… I wonder what he's done to Joey…/
Seto's mind wandered back to when Gozaburo was still alive… when he had made Seto's life a living hell. It had just been in a nicer building than this one. Oh yes, Seto had plenty of scars, both physical and mental, as a result of his step-father. The man always wanted-no, needed perfection from everyone around him. His step-sons were no exception.
He wanted the best and only the best, and Gozaburo Kaiba felt that a man could beat the imperfections out of his people. Again, the boys had no immunity to the cruel theory. Seto had been the one that was beaten most of the time, though. He had always tried to make sure that Mokuba had stayed out of the way, and as a result Mokuba didn't have nearly as many wounds to show after Gozaburo… met his end.
Kaiba looked up at the bed again, the gears in his head still turning. Joey was still asleep; in fact he looked totally exhausted. Had he still had an expressive mouth, Seto would have frowned. /Stupid mutt. Can't protect himself from his father. I guess that means I have to do it,/ Kaiba thought.
Of course, that was just a result of Seto's twisted thinking. He was perceiving Joey as a helpless victim, which he was, and since Seto didn't really hate him, he couldn't let such things continue. After all, Seto had his honor to think of. He would never be able to live with himself if he had the chance to stop abuse and didn't take it… after all, how many times had he wished for someone to come to his aid every time Gozaburo decided to flay the skin from his back?
Completely disregarding his own rather alarming problem of being turned into a dog, Seto Kaiba sat down at the foot of the bed, careful not to jostle Joey, and started thinking up ways to get the blond out of this miserable excuse for an apartment.
AN: Aha, there! Now we get a bit more depressing, eh? *winks* Anyhoo, what will happen next? Will Kaiba's plans work? And what will happen to Joey?