Wherefore Art Thou, Puppy?

Chapter V

Jonouchi spent the next week recovering in the hospital. His days were long, boring, and filled with hours of watching ridiculous reality TV shows and kids' cartoons. Ironically, Kaiba's daily visits were the only break in his otherwise monotonous day.

"How are you feeling?" Kaiba asked.

"Fine."

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"No."

"What did you do all day?"

"Nothing."

"Are you going to answer me with anything besides a one-worder?"

Jonouchi snickered. "'One-worder' isn't a word, Kaiba."

Kaiba smirked. "That's better."

Silence filled the room, with the exception of the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor.

"What do you want, Kaiba?" Jonouchi asked tiredly.

"You said you'd be willing to give me another chance," Kaiba stated. "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Do you think we could start over? Just forget the past?"

"You're a hypocrite, Kaiba," Jonouchi snapped. "All you think about is the past. All you can focus on is destroying your own memories and experiences. But Yugi is right; the past is what makes us who we are. Pretending it never happened won't fix things. When I said I'd give you another chance, I meant we could turn over a new leaf. That's a lot different from burying the past and continuing on the same path deeply rooted in problems we won't acknowledge, and thus will never resolve. Instead, we should use our past as a tool by making the conscious effort to avoid our past mistakes."

A smile graced the C.E.O.'s face. "I'm still amazed that I thought you were a dumb mutt all this time."

Jonouchi grinned back. "Well, I guess appearances can be deceiving. I never thought you'd be willing to help out someone like me with my situation."

Kaiba's gaze faltered. "I couldn't not help. Even if you hated my guts, I couldn't turn a blind eye to what was happening to you. Not when I had a similar experience myself…and knowing that a little help would have made a huge difference."

Jou sat for a moment as he mulled over what Kaiba had told him. He stared at the brunet in disbelief. Kaiba had gone through a similar situation…?

Upon seeing Jonouchi's inquisitive expression, Kaiba answered the question the blonde had not asked. "That's right, Jonouchi…Gozaburo Kaiba abused me. Though his abuse was not the result of alcoholism. Gozaburo Kaiba was just plain crazy."

Jonouchi laughed, in spite of the seriousness of the situation. It certainly explained a lot. Kaiba seemed to understand, though, as he gave a wry smile.

"They were going to have your trial six months from now, but I pulled some strings…and they moved it up to next week," Kaiba remarked. "I had the doctors make records of your injuries and take photos, so that will help your case. You'll meet your lawyer two days from now so you can discuss how the case will be presented and what you're going to say. Your father isn't going to get away with this, Jonouchi." Blue eyes flashed with promise.

Jonouchi smiled at Kaiba. "Thanks, Kaiba. I really appreciate this."

I'm really sorry about how badly this fic is turning out. I've really lost inspiration for this, and I'm just trying to get it done the best I can at this point. I feel like this is a plot I've already seen a gazillion times, and I simply don't have any ideas on how to make it more interesting. But I thank you for your continued support. It means a lot.

I always thought that Jonouchi was smarter than he let on. Though it's out-of-character for him to speak so intelligently, I think, over the course of the manga, he starts to understand people a little better, especially after Yugi enters his life.

One chapter left.

And just for you SetoxJoey fans out there, I have a two-part fic called The Math that you might like at this URL (without the spaces):

www. fanfiction. net/ s/2026937/1/TheMath

Reviews are much appreciated!