Story: Puppies and Dragons Don't Mix
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.
Warning: Yaoi (boyxboy). May contain lime and/or lemon.
Pairings: Jou/Kaiba Possibly: Yami/Yugi Ryou/Bakura Otogi/Honda
Summary: Jou finds out that Kaiba is slowly destroying himself and desperately needs help. But why should he care? He's his worst enemy...right?
Symbols: "Talking" 'Thinking' -Scene Change- Chapter Start & End
Chapter 8: Shaken locks
Jou reached over and slammed his alarm clock, shattering its cheap, plastic cover to pieces. 'Why does it go off on Saturdays and not when I really need it?' He groaned inwardly and rolled out of bed, shuddering as his feet hit the cold floor. Padding towards the kitchen, Jou smiled happily; sleep wearing off and looking forward to an actual breakfast. Maybe he could even head to Yugi's later.
Yawning, he lit the stove and was rummaging around in the fridge for some eggs when he heard the door shaking. Snapping up and nearly smacking his head against the fridge, Jou thoughts raced. 'Father isn't supposed to be home. He always is at the bar and whorehouse on the weekends, screwing around with his cronies. It can't be him; my weekend is ruined if it is. Why is he here?'
Grabbing the broom out of the corner, Jou crept to the chipped, wooden door and raised his weapon above his head. He was not going to let them in; free to do what they pleased on the only time he had relief from school. He had had a bad week and he wanted the weekend to make up for it. No fucking way he was going to let his father ruin it, since he had already ruined his life in general.
The person, whoever it was, was sure having a hard time unfastening the locks. The doorknob kept rattling and he could hear muted voices from the other side. Pressing his ear to the battered wood, Jou could barely make out two or three people whispering franticly. Young voices. He stepped back; a grin now plastered to his face, and unlocked the door.
Three guys fell heavily onto the stained carpet that covered the hall, shouting in surprise. Jou loomed over them, laughing as they sat up, hair mussed and groaning.
The shortest one, Yami, who was always so cool and composed, scrambled to his feet looking down at Otogi with contempt, who currently was trying to shove Honda off of him. "Pick locks my ass. We should have brought that slime, Bakura, who did this for a living."
Otogi, moaning and clutching his bruised head, grumbled. "It's not my fault Jonouchi lives like a New Yorker. He has so many damn locks."
"That's because I don't exactly live in the best neighborhood around and I need to keep the intruders out." Jou cut in, feigning annoyance. It seemed as if they has forgotten that it was his house they tried to break into.
That appeared to be the case, for Otogi's eyes widened and he stammered horribly, eyeing the broom that hung in forgotten in Jou's hands. "O...oh Jou! Sorry about waking you, we just…um…yeah."
Honda stood up, patting Otogi's shoulder and speaking in a rather laid-back tone. "It's cool. Jou won't get pissed."
He turned to him, whose facade of being angry was slipping. "We came to pick you up but didn't want to wake you. So we thought we'd let ourselves in."
"Well, you pulled that one off." Jou said voice laced with sarcasm, his face splitting into a smile. "I was already awake anyways but I don't see how I could sleep through all the racket you were making."
"This baka here boasted to us that he could pick any lock and was a pro at breaking in. It seems as if he was wrong." Yami scowled, dusting imaginary dirt off his coat.
"I would have gotten it eventually. But I couldn't work with you jeering suggestions and breathing down my neck!" Otogi said, obviously offended.
"HA! I bet you couldn't break even into a simple peasants house. They don't even have doors!"
"Why you…"
"Guys! Please!" Honda interrupted the heated argument, rolling his eyes. "You're being stupid."
"HEY!"
"HEY!"
Otogi and Yami both rounded on Honda and thus began a three-way dispute.
Jou shook his head at the bickering teens and moved onward to more important things, like eggs.
-Later-
Jou entered his living room, dressed, showered and ready to go.
Otogi and Yami, who were still quarreling over the lock issue, remained by the doorway, faces flushed. Honda had given up trying to break it up and was sitting on Jou's soiled couch, watching T.V.
Slightly astonished that the argument has gone on this long, Jou thought aloud. "Are they ever going to stop?"
"Nah. Otogi's too proud and Yami still hasn't gotten over what he did to you when we first met him" Honda answered, switching off the tube and stretching. "It will probably go on all day if we don't stop them."
He came around the couch, stopping next to Jou and sighed. "Well, how do you suggest we break it up?"
Jou, who had been pondering this, smirked and grabbed Honda's arm, pulling him forward. "You push Otogi and I'll deal with Yami. All we have to do is get them out the door and down the stairs, right?"
"H…hai." Honda answered uncertainly, watching with discontent as the fight elevated before them. "On the count of three. One…two…three!"
Jou snatched Yami around the waist and threw him unceremoniously out the door while Honda shoved Otogi as hard as he could. They landed ungracefully on their asses in the middle of the hall, more stunned than injured. Jou, taking advantage of the momentary shock, hauled Yami up and dragged him down the stairs, hoping that Honda would follow suit.
"Sorry, Yami." Jou said apologetically, seeing the hurt look upon his face. "You guys would have never stopped and I want to go see Yugi."
Yami nodded, having understood, and smiled, removing his arm from Jou's grasp. "Ah, that is quite alright, Jonouchi, I deserved that. I seemed to have lost all logic for a moment there."
On good terms again, Jou and Yami chatted lightly as they headed out the door of the grimy apartment building and onto the street, a feathery breeze whispering though the trees.
It was only then that Jou noticed that Honda was not behind him. "Uh, where do you think Otogi and Honda ran off too?" Jou inquired, leaning against lamppost.
Yami frowned thoughtfully and gazed up at the cracked windows of the apartment. "Didn't he help with Otogi? Maybe they didn't fare as well as us."
He walked to the door again, going to go check, when Honda came hurling out of it, nearly killing Yami in the process. He landed on the sidewalk, wheezing and lurched to his feet. "Uh…hi guys. Sorry…that um…took so long and that I ran into you Yami. Tripped on the stairs."
Honda laughed, sounding strained, his face tinged pink. Jou gaped at him, before getting his act together. "Where's Otogi? What happened with you guys?"
Honda's face turned a hue of strawberry, his eyes widening and nearly toppled over. "Otogi…he's…uh…he's…RIGHT THERE!"
Jou jumped at Honda's outburst and jerked his head instinctively towards the door, seeing Otogi stepping out, his eyes shyly averted downward. What was going on?
Jou looked from one to another, the gears in his brain working overtime. "What is wrong with you two?"
"NOTHING!" They both yelled simultaneously, cheeks coloring when they realized they had and Jou and Yami gawked at them, confused as hungry babies in a topless bar. What…why…?
Jou suddenly didn't want to know what had happened in the short period of time they had been alone and assumed it was something that could be worked out later. Motioning to Yami that they should drop it, Jou turned to Otgoi and asked, "How did you get here?"
Otogi looked bewildered, as if had been removed from reality, and it took several seconds for him to process the question. "We…we…came by my…um…"
Yami looked incredulously at him, before finishing the sentence. "Otogi drove us here in his car."
He pointed to it parked by the curb, its teal paint gleaming in the pale sunlight, and began walking to it. "We should get going, Jonouchi, and you too Honda and Otogi, if you can manage to scrape you minds together."
They did, Otogi hopping in the driver's seat, uneasily glancing behind him as Honda climbed in, before starting the car. Jou slid into the passenger's seat, making a mental note to never leave Otogi and Honda unsupervised again, and leaned his head back, letting the gusts of wind carry all his worries away as they sped down the road.
End of Chapter 8Author's notes: Sorry. This is what I call a filler chapter. It had to be done but there was little to none action. Sorry. I hope the next one will be better and have Kaiba in it. WAH! I miss him…a lot…is that sad? Ahem, moving on. Thank you SOOOOOOO much for those lovely reviews. It's what keeps this story going. XD I love each and every one of them. It is hard to believe that I'm almost to the 100 mark and it's my first one! YAY! Only you peoples could make me lose my dignity like that. ;) Anywhoo, READ AND REVIEW PRETTY PLEASE! You guys are really awesome, but I must…not…let…my…head…swell X3. Otherwise I'll spew out more boring chapters like this. Ciao!