Putting my LJ to good use...
Well, seeing as I really have nothing worth saying, I figured I start posting my fanfiction here as well. My experimental fanfic post shall be Chapter 1 of my most current fic, "Be Careful What Mutts Wish For". (And yes, before you ask, almost all my fics are Yu-Gi-Oh/Yuugiou based.)
So, without further ado...
Be Careful What Mutts Wish For
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. This fic is entirely of my own creation, please refrain from stealing from it! (Asking permission is a different story).
Summary: Joey is granted one wish that he believes is nothing more than a joke, but Seto Kaiba isn’t laughing when he finds himself in the body of a helpless kitten. Can he trust his canine enemy long enough to return to his former self? (Non-Yaoi)
Warnings: Nothing to warn you of as of yet…. That may change in future chapters. Probably not, though…
Notes:
‘Kitty speech’
“Normal speech”
/Hikari to Yami/
/Yami to Hikari/
~Thoughts~
(Random authoress remarks)
Seto: It’s about time you got off your tail and wrote something…
KT: Nyaha… Shut up.
Seto: I was hoping that just once you’d choose to torment someone other than myself.
KT: Ha! Not happening any time soon, my little muse! You’re just so versatile!
Seto: Why must I be so perfect?
KT: Nope, you’re not conceited or anything…
Chapter 1: Feline Foes
“Joey, don’t you think you’ve had more than enough hamburgers?” Tea Gardener asked in an irritated voice.
Joey grinned at Tea as he continued to shove the burgers into his mouth. “Nfft awt awll,” he answered with his mouth full. His friends blinked in confusion as they attempted to decipher what he had said. Swallowing the food quickly, he repeated himself in a more coherent manner. “Not at all, Tea. I’m just getting started!”
Yugi laughed at Joey’s comment. “Yea, Tea, it’s his birthday, let him eat all he wants.” Cheerfully, Yugi pushed another tray of hamburgers towards Joey and received a grateful smile in return.
Tea sighed, shaking her head. “This is turning out to be a very expensive birthday present,” she remarked. She gazed wistfully at her purse as if saying a final farewell to the small handful of twenties tucked away inside.
Tristan waved a scolding finger at Tea. “That’s what you get for not buying Joey a normal present from a store!”
“Yea,” Duke agreed with a smirk on his face, “you could have gotten a bunch of duel monsters cards instead. Everyone has to accept the consequences of their actions.”
“And what did you get him, Duke?” Tea asked acidly. Duke stared at her, blinking frequently as he tried to come up with an answer. Tristan chuckled to himself at Duke’s predicament but stopped as Tea shifted her gaze to him. “And what about you, Tristan?”
Tristan’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’ll pay for some of the burgers,” he mumbled, shooting Duke a ‘You better as hell pay too!’ look.
Yugi laughed softly at the playful arguing while hugging the box of decently rare cards he’d picked out for Joey. The blonde glared at his friends reproachfully. A sinister grin crept across his face. “Well,” he began thoughtfully, eyeing them, “if you’re all going to pay, I think I’ll just order a hundred more burgers.”
“What!” Tea Tristan and Duke yelped in surprise.
As the three began to stammer at the price of so many hamburgers, Joey started to laugh. “I’m kidding,” he reassured them, “I’m already full. No more burgers for me for a few hours.” The trio sighed in relief as they stood up and walked off to the counter to pay the bill.
Yugi held the box out to Joey with a small smile. “Here, Joey, you can open your present.”
“Thanks, Yug!” Joey said gleefully as he took the box.
Yugi laughed, scratching the back of his spiky hair. “Don’t thank me unless you like the gift.”
“Of course I’ll like it,” Joey reassured his short friend as he tore the wrapping away. Opening the small white box, he grinned at the pile of cards inside. He shuffled through the cards, noting that most of them were not easy to get a hold of. “Aw man! Thanks a lot, Yug! Now my deck’s going to be even better!”
“Grandpa and I thought they’d help out, so we hunted them down,” Yugi replied.
“Hey, what does this card do?” Joey asked, showing Yugi the last card in the pile. The card was titled ‘Cake and Candles’ with a picture of a red and white birthday cake, but there was no description below.
“Oh,” Yugi said, gazing at the card, “my grandpa said that’s a special card. You can’t use it in a duel though.”
“Then what’s it for?” Joey questioned, completely baffled by a seemingly useless card.
“Well, according to my Grandpa, you’re supposed to give that card to someone on their birthday and they can make a wish on it and the wish is supposed to come true.” He blushed slightly. “Sound’s kind of stupid, but I figured I’d give it to you anyways, even if it doesn’t work.”
Joey laughed, ruffling Yugi’s spiked hair. “I don’t care if it works or not, it’s still a cool card. I bet Kaiba doesn’t even have this card! Thanks again, Yug.”
“You guys ready to go?” Tea asked as she returned to the table with Duke and Tristan. Joey and Yugi nodded, sliding out of their seats. Together the five left the small restaurant to walk the busy streets of Domino City.
The group strolled at leisure through the city, talking animatedly about every topic under the sun from upcoming dueling tournaments to rabid squirrels. Joey was just finishing the story of the time he was five and had been chased for two miles by a vicious pigeon, when he spotted two familiar figures ahead at an ice cream cart.
“Aw, great,” Joey growled, glaring at the taller of the two.
Yugi followed Joey’s glare and smiled happily. “Hey, it’s Mokuba and Kaiba!”
“Come on, they haven’t noticed us yet, let’s go back the other way,” Joey persuaded, “I don’t feel like dealing with Kaiba today.”
As the five turned to leave in the opposite direction, they were halted by a cheerful, “Hey, guys!” Turning back, they saw Mokuba waving happily to them while Seto simply stood with his arms crossed and looking none too joyful.
“Hi, Mokuba,” Yugi greeted as he led his friends over to the two brothers, “hi, Kaiba.” Seto merely glanced at Yugi for a second in acknowledgement.
Joey scowled at Seto as he snapped at the tall teen, “The least you could do is respond, Kaiba!”
Seto glared menacingly at Joey, a small smirk on his face. Yugi and Mokuba’s heads dropped simultaneously as they realized another vicious argument was about to begin between the blonde and brunet. “I always thought guard dogs were purebreds, not mutts,” Seto remarked casually, a falsely thoughtful expression on his face.
“Ease up for once, Kaiba,” Tea commanded, glowering at the CEO, “I mean, come on, you could be somewhat decent to Joey on his birthday!”
Seto’s smirk widened at that tidbit of information. Tea had just opened a whole new subject to use as insults on Joey. “Hmm it’s the mutt’s birthday, is it? That makes you, what, 119 in dog years?” Joey bristled at the remark, his hatred for Kaiba growing deeper with each word he spoke, “Did you get a flea collar and chew toys as gifts? I presume your cake was made of dog food and biscuits; after all, chocolate kills dogs.” (Only a large dose of baker’s chocolate!)
“You’re more spiteful than a cat, Kaiba!” Tea shouted curling her hands into angry fists.
Seto looked at Tea with raised eyebrows. “You do realize I find it complimenting to be compared to a cat, right? Cats happen to be superior to dogs in every way.”
“Most people hate cats,” Tea responded.
“Most people are idiots,” Seto countered.
“You like cats, Kaiba?” Yugi asked in an attempt to start a pleasant conversation.
Seto glanced at Yugi, a deceivingly friendly smile on his face. “So, tell me, where is your cape, Captain Obvious?”
Mokuba shot Seto a warning glare as he tried to lessen the sting of his brother’s barbed words by telling Yugi in a sociable tone, “Yea, we’d have plenty of cats if I wasn’t allergic to them.”
Seto, automatically disapproving of Mokuba being friendly with Yugi and telling the midget decidedly classified information about the CEO’s likes and dislikes, turned his back on the group. He called to his little brother as he began to walk, “Let’s go Mokuba, we have better things to do than stand around all day talking with those losers.”
Mokuba shrugged apologetically before chasing after his brother.
“Damn that Kaiba,” Joey growled, clenching his fists, “he always knows how to get on my nerves. Always calling me mutt or stupid dog. What’s so great about cats anyways, huh? Dogs can kick a cat’s butt any day!”
Tristan shook his head, laughing to himself. “Wouldn’t it be great if Kaiba was a cat and he got chased by a bunch of dogs?”
Joey snickered at the thought. “Yea! I wish that would happen!” The five friends laughed together as they continued walking while unnoticed in Joey’s pocket, the Cake and Candles card glowed for a moment before dissolving silently. (Oooh, ominous!)
Seto retired to his bedroom early, not feeling like himself in the least. Mokuba watched worriedly as his brother walked in a dazed stupor to his room. The raven-haired boy knew there was nothing he could do to help. If Seto was feeling ill, the last thing he needed was a younger brother fretting over him when he’d recover quickly enough on his own.
Becoming bored without Seto to talk to, Mokuba went to bed early as well. He did not sleep well, constantly haunted by dreams of losing Seto. (Sniffle….)
The next morning, Seto woke up feeling like his old self; although, his room looked disturbingly larger than it should have been and the birds singing in the gardens were obnoxiously loud. As he tried to climb out of bed, he became entangled in the sheets and fell to the floor with a painful thud. It was there that he came nose to metal with his dueling disk, which, to his currently distorted vision, appeared to be as large as himself. A quick movement behind him caught Seto’s eye and when he turned to identify it, he found himself staring at a long luxurious white and silver tail. Moving to catch whatever animal had found its way into his room, Seto discovered the tail was following his every movement as if it were his own. Hissing in irritation, Seto swatted at the tail with, to his immense surprise, a large silvery paw.
In an uncharacteristic panic, he darted to the full-length mirror nearby. Where he thought he’d find his usual six foot one, brown haired, blue eyed reflection stood a six inch, white and gray furred, blue eyed kitten staring back at him in disbelief. Seto absentmindedly noted the breed of cat, a Balinese (Google search them, they’re so pretty!), the prince of cats and one of his personal favorites. But he wasn’t about to go over breeds of cats when there were more important things to think about. Like, where the hell was his reflection and why as there a cat in the mirror? (That last bit sounds so weird. There’s a cat in the mirror!)
Seto raised his right hand and, what he had hoped wouldn’t happen, the feline in the reflection raised its right paw. He jumped backwards, the cat copied him. He blinked; the cat blinked its icy blue eyes. Every move he made, the cat did with him. An eerie realization fell over him as he shook his head violently and was smacked by two pointed cat ears that he prayed didn’t belong to him.
“This is not happening,” he said aloud, but instead of English words he heard, “Meeew…”
Not wanting to believe his own eyes and ears, Seto hurried to his bedroom door, halting as he gazed up at the doorknob-never had he been forced to look up at a doorknob before. He frowned, if cats could frown that is. He may have been in a small feline body, but he still had his mind-at least, Seto hoped he hadn’t lost his mind and this was the result-and an oversized doorknob was no challenge. Leaping up with impossible ease, he used his weight to pull the handle down. The moment the door creaked open, Seto was out of the room and racing to Mokuba’s. Only after colliding with Mokuba’s bedroom door did Seto realize it was closed when typically Mokuba left the door open. And the round knob was impossible to open without opposable thumbs.
Seto clawed at the door as he called to his brother, “Mokuba! Open the door!” Although, all the sound he made was a pitiful, “Meow!”
Mokuba had been awoken by something hitting his door and was just climbing out of bed when the scratching and meowing started. When he opened the door, he found a small white kitten with a silver muzzle, paws, and tail, staring up at him. “Well, hi there, kitty!” the younger Kaiba greeted as cheerfully as possible despite his confusion. Mokuba glanced up and down the hallway, completely puzzled by the sudden appearance of a cat. When he looked back at the cat it appeared surprisingly depressed with its ears drooped and its head bowed.
Mokuba knelt down to get a better look at the cat. “What’s wrong, kitty? Are you sick?”
Seto shook his head in disbelief. This was no hallucination; he was truly stuck in the body of a cat. And he had no way of communicating with his own brother. (Where’s a kitty cell phone when you need one?)
Mokuba began to sneeze violently, startling Seto into leaping back. Worried that his brother was sick, Seto approached Mokuba, mewing softly. Mokuba waved his hand in a shooing motion at Seto as he wiped at his watering eyes. “No, kitty, I’m allergic to you, please don’t come into my room.”
Seto froze, stunned by the realization that he was causing Mokuba utter misery by being near him. Becoming fiercely determined to return to his former self immediately, Seto’s mind worked frantically to come up with a solution.
And the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. Yugi Mutou. The shrimp of a duelist always seemed to be somehow linked to seemingly impossible events. If anyone had answers, it was Yugi (Haha, Yugi’s short….). Seto raced downstairs as fast as his newly acquired four paws allowed him. He wasted a great deal of time trying to open the massive front doors and failing. Mokuba, having come downstairs in search of the peculiar cat, found him and let him out with a sad, “Bye, kitty. Sorry you got trapped in here!”
Glancing back once with regret for leaving Mokuba, Seto left in the direction he guessed Yugi’s game shop/home was.
Seto found out quickly that the streets of Domino were a completely different world when you couldn’t see over the heads of the ever moving crowds. Seto was quickly beginning to hate people who stepped on a cat’s tail and didn’t bother to apologize. He vowed to scratch the living hell out of the next person to do so. And, as if the Gods had a wicked sense of humor, someone stomped down heavily on his already injured tail at just that moment. Hissing in rage and pain, Seto turned with claws out to repay the favor.
“Whoa! Sorry, cat! Didn’t mean to step on you,” a familiar Brooklyn-accented voice said. Seto stared up in utter bewilderment at Joey Wheeler, who stood smiling apologetically at him. “Hey, cat, what are you doing out here?” Joey asked, gazing at Seto in wonder, “Aren’t you a little too small to be out on the streets? Did you get lost or something?”
‘As if I, Seto Kaiba, would get lost,’ Seto thought irritably, turning his nose up at Joey in a prideful, superior manner. He purposely ignored the fact that he was indeed lost.
“You’re probably hungry and lonely, huh?” Joey questioned, watching the haughty feline with interest. He reached out in an attempt to grab the cat, hoping to take it home until he could find the owner.
‘Stay away from me, mutt!’ Seto hissed in anger, dancing back out of Joey’s reach, and into the direct path of a speeding bicyclist. (THE END! ...Just kidding!)
The biker was quick enough to veer away from the cat, but Seto was still struck painfully by the man’s flailing foot. He was sent tumbling head over tail until he collided heavily with Joey’s shin. Seto hadn’t even regained his senses when Joey scooped him up in one hand, holding him firmly but gently. The blonde shouted a few choice words at the inconsiderate bicyclist-now upside down inside a trash can he’d ridden into-before walking off, struggling kitten in hand.
‘I’ll kill you for this, Wheeler…’ Seto vowed as he attempted to free himself from the strong grip.
“Welcome to my humble abode!” Joey announced as he shoved the apartment door open.
‘Humble indeed,’ Seto remarked to himself as he took a quick survey of the tiny apartment. He found himself finally freed when Joey set him down on the kitchen counter. During the entire trip to Joey’s home, Seto had scratched and bitten the mutt in hopes of being released, but only once had he successfully broken the skin on Joey’s hand. ‘Damn puny fangs and claws,’ Seto grumbled, watching the blonde wash his barely wounded hand.
Leaping down from the counter, Seto winced slightly. He was still sore from his accident with the bike, but nothing had been broken. Seto examined the apartment, uncomfortable in the extremely close quarters. The kitchen was directly linked to the tiny living room, decorated with meager furniture. Seto noted a miniscule hallway with three closed doors and presumed them to be two bedrooms and a bathroom. ‘This place is smaller than a doghouse,’ Seto muttered as he sniffed at a pile of old magazines.
“It ain’t as big as most places,” Joey said with a wry grin, “but it is home.” He stretched out a hand to pet Seto, only to have the cat slash at him and hiss. Joey brought his hand back quickly, peering at the kitten. “You’ve got a temper that could give Kaiba a run for his money. And he’s got the worst temper in the world and a lot of money!”
Seto flipped his ears back, narrowing his eyes at the blonde. ‘You’re going to regret insulting me when you think my back is turned.’ He hissed at Joey again for good measure.
Joey climbed to his feet and disappeared into the kitchen. Seto sat down, holding his head up in victory. ‘That’ll teach you to come near me, Wheeler.’
The blonde returned from the kitchen, one hand held behind his back. Seto eyed the hidden hand suspiciously as Joey approached again. This time, Joey brought his hand slowly to Seto, only to have it scratched at again; but this time, Seto received a reprimanding shot of icy water in his face from the squirt bottle behind Joey’s back. Seto stood in shock from the unforeseen attack, completely caught off guard.
Joey didn’t waste any time. When the cat froze, he snatched it up and began stroking behind its large gray ears. Before he knew it, Seto found himself purring with bliss, much against his wishes. He wanted so badly to claw Joey’s hands again, but he just didn’t have the will to; being scratched behind the ears felt far too good. ‘So this is why cats put up with their idiot owners…’ Seto remarked absently.
Joey continued to pet the kitten, grateful it had ceased its attacks. He grinned down at the feline. “See? Ain’t so bad, now is it? Those scratches of yours were pretty useless, but they were getting annoying and we’re gonna have to get along. We can’t be fighting the entire time I’m looking for your owner, after all.”
~He thinks I’m a pet!~ Seto thought with indignation. ‘And I have no way of showing the idiot otherwise,’ he mewed softly as his heart sank. Seto had seen the number of security latches on the door; there was no way he could get out with those in his way. He was trapped here until Joey found the owner that didn’t exist.
End of Chapter 1
KT: Nyahaha! Kitty, kitty!
Seto: …….
KT: Please send reviews! It’s been so long since I received any reviews!
Seto: You’re what the medical society calls a Review-aholic.
KT: Yay! More prescriptions!
((And no, I'm not remotely proud of any of my fics. ^_________^; )
So, without further ado...
Be Careful What Mutts Wish For
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. This fic is entirely of my own creation, please refrain from stealing from it! (Asking permission is a different story).
Summary: Joey is granted one wish that he believes is nothing more than a joke, but Seto Kaiba isn’t laughing when he finds himself in the body of a helpless kitten. Can he trust his canine enemy long enough to return to his former self? (Non-Yaoi)
Warnings: Nothing to warn you of as of yet…. That may change in future chapters. Probably not, though…
Notes:
‘Kitty speech’
“Normal speech”
/Hikari to Yami/
/Yami to Hikari/
~Thoughts~
(Random authoress remarks)
Seto: It’s about time you got off your tail and wrote something…
KT: Nyaha… Shut up.
Seto: I was hoping that just once you’d choose to torment someone other than myself.
KT: Ha! Not happening any time soon, my little muse! You’re just so versatile!
Seto: Why must I be so perfect?
KT: Nope, you’re not conceited or anything…
Chapter 1: Feline Foes
“Joey, don’t you think you’ve had more than enough hamburgers?” Tea Gardener asked in an irritated voice.
Joey grinned at Tea as he continued to shove the burgers into his mouth. “Nfft awt awll,” he answered with his mouth full. His friends blinked in confusion as they attempted to decipher what he had said. Swallowing the food quickly, he repeated himself in a more coherent manner. “Not at all, Tea. I’m just getting started!”
Yugi laughed at Joey’s comment. “Yea, Tea, it’s his birthday, let him eat all he wants.” Cheerfully, Yugi pushed another tray of hamburgers towards Joey and received a grateful smile in return.
Tea sighed, shaking her head. “This is turning out to be a very expensive birthday present,” she remarked. She gazed wistfully at her purse as if saying a final farewell to the small handful of twenties tucked away inside.
Tristan waved a scolding finger at Tea. “That’s what you get for not buying Joey a normal present from a store!”
“Yea,” Duke agreed with a smirk on his face, “you could have gotten a bunch of duel monsters cards instead. Everyone has to accept the consequences of their actions.”
“And what did you get him, Duke?” Tea asked acidly. Duke stared at her, blinking frequently as he tried to come up with an answer. Tristan chuckled to himself at Duke’s predicament but stopped as Tea shifted her gaze to him. “And what about you, Tristan?”
Tristan’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’ll pay for some of the burgers,” he mumbled, shooting Duke a ‘You better as hell pay too!’ look.
Yugi laughed softly at the playful arguing while hugging the box of decently rare cards he’d picked out for Joey. The blonde glared at his friends reproachfully. A sinister grin crept across his face. “Well,” he began thoughtfully, eyeing them, “if you’re all going to pay, I think I’ll just order a hundred more burgers.”
“What!” Tea Tristan and Duke yelped in surprise.
As the three began to stammer at the price of so many hamburgers, Joey started to laugh. “I’m kidding,” he reassured them, “I’m already full. No more burgers for me for a few hours.” The trio sighed in relief as they stood up and walked off to the counter to pay the bill.
Yugi held the box out to Joey with a small smile. “Here, Joey, you can open your present.”
“Thanks, Yug!” Joey said gleefully as he took the box.
Yugi laughed, scratching the back of his spiky hair. “Don’t thank me unless you like the gift.”
“Of course I’ll like it,” Joey reassured his short friend as he tore the wrapping away. Opening the small white box, he grinned at the pile of cards inside. He shuffled through the cards, noting that most of them were not easy to get a hold of. “Aw man! Thanks a lot, Yug! Now my deck’s going to be even better!”
“Grandpa and I thought they’d help out, so we hunted them down,” Yugi replied.
“Hey, what does this card do?” Joey asked, showing Yugi the last card in the pile. The card was titled ‘Cake and Candles’ with a picture of a red and white birthday cake, but there was no description below.
“Oh,” Yugi said, gazing at the card, “my grandpa said that’s a special card. You can’t use it in a duel though.”
“Then what’s it for?” Joey questioned, completely baffled by a seemingly useless card.
“Well, according to my Grandpa, you’re supposed to give that card to someone on their birthday and they can make a wish on it and the wish is supposed to come true.” He blushed slightly. “Sound’s kind of stupid, but I figured I’d give it to you anyways, even if it doesn’t work.”
Joey laughed, ruffling Yugi’s spiked hair. “I don’t care if it works or not, it’s still a cool card. I bet Kaiba doesn’t even have this card! Thanks again, Yug.”
“You guys ready to go?” Tea asked as she returned to the table with Duke and Tristan. Joey and Yugi nodded, sliding out of their seats. Together the five left the small restaurant to walk the busy streets of Domino City.
The group strolled at leisure through the city, talking animatedly about every topic under the sun from upcoming dueling tournaments to rabid squirrels. Joey was just finishing the story of the time he was five and had been chased for two miles by a vicious pigeon, when he spotted two familiar figures ahead at an ice cream cart.
“Aw, great,” Joey growled, glaring at the taller of the two.
Yugi followed Joey’s glare and smiled happily. “Hey, it’s Mokuba and Kaiba!”
“Come on, they haven’t noticed us yet, let’s go back the other way,” Joey persuaded, “I don’t feel like dealing with Kaiba today.”
As the five turned to leave in the opposite direction, they were halted by a cheerful, “Hey, guys!” Turning back, they saw Mokuba waving happily to them while Seto simply stood with his arms crossed and looking none too joyful.
“Hi, Mokuba,” Yugi greeted as he led his friends over to the two brothers, “hi, Kaiba.” Seto merely glanced at Yugi for a second in acknowledgement.
Joey scowled at Seto as he snapped at the tall teen, “The least you could do is respond, Kaiba!”
Seto glared menacingly at Joey, a small smirk on his face. Yugi and Mokuba’s heads dropped simultaneously as they realized another vicious argument was about to begin between the blonde and brunet. “I always thought guard dogs were purebreds, not mutts,” Seto remarked casually, a falsely thoughtful expression on his face.
“Ease up for once, Kaiba,” Tea commanded, glowering at the CEO, “I mean, come on, you could be somewhat decent to Joey on his birthday!”
Seto’s smirk widened at that tidbit of information. Tea had just opened a whole new subject to use as insults on Joey. “Hmm it’s the mutt’s birthday, is it? That makes you, what, 119 in dog years?” Joey bristled at the remark, his hatred for Kaiba growing deeper with each word he spoke, “Did you get a flea collar and chew toys as gifts? I presume your cake was made of dog food and biscuits; after all, chocolate kills dogs.” (Only a large dose of baker’s chocolate!)
“You’re more spiteful than a cat, Kaiba!” Tea shouted curling her hands into angry fists.
Seto looked at Tea with raised eyebrows. “You do realize I find it complimenting to be compared to a cat, right? Cats happen to be superior to dogs in every way.”
“Most people hate cats,” Tea responded.
“Most people are idiots,” Seto countered.
“You like cats, Kaiba?” Yugi asked in an attempt to start a pleasant conversation.
Seto glanced at Yugi, a deceivingly friendly smile on his face. “So, tell me, where is your cape, Captain Obvious?”
Mokuba shot Seto a warning glare as he tried to lessen the sting of his brother’s barbed words by telling Yugi in a sociable tone, “Yea, we’d have plenty of cats if I wasn’t allergic to them.”
Seto, automatically disapproving of Mokuba being friendly with Yugi and telling the midget decidedly classified information about the CEO’s likes and dislikes, turned his back on the group. He called to his little brother as he began to walk, “Let’s go Mokuba, we have better things to do than stand around all day talking with those losers.”
Mokuba shrugged apologetically before chasing after his brother.
“Damn that Kaiba,” Joey growled, clenching his fists, “he always knows how to get on my nerves. Always calling me mutt or stupid dog. What’s so great about cats anyways, huh? Dogs can kick a cat’s butt any day!”
Tristan shook his head, laughing to himself. “Wouldn’t it be great if Kaiba was a cat and he got chased by a bunch of dogs?”
Joey snickered at the thought. “Yea! I wish that would happen!” The five friends laughed together as they continued walking while unnoticed in Joey’s pocket, the Cake and Candles card glowed for a moment before dissolving silently. (Oooh, ominous!)
Seto retired to his bedroom early, not feeling like himself in the least. Mokuba watched worriedly as his brother walked in a dazed stupor to his room. The raven-haired boy knew there was nothing he could do to help. If Seto was feeling ill, the last thing he needed was a younger brother fretting over him when he’d recover quickly enough on his own.
Becoming bored without Seto to talk to, Mokuba went to bed early as well. He did not sleep well, constantly haunted by dreams of losing Seto. (Sniffle….)
The next morning, Seto woke up feeling like his old self; although, his room looked disturbingly larger than it should have been and the birds singing in the gardens were obnoxiously loud. As he tried to climb out of bed, he became entangled in the sheets and fell to the floor with a painful thud. It was there that he came nose to metal with his dueling disk, which, to his currently distorted vision, appeared to be as large as himself. A quick movement behind him caught Seto’s eye and when he turned to identify it, he found himself staring at a long luxurious white and silver tail. Moving to catch whatever animal had found its way into his room, Seto discovered the tail was following his every movement as if it were his own. Hissing in irritation, Seto swatted at the tail with, to his immense surprise, a large silvery paw.
In an uncharacteristic panic, he darted to the full-length mirror nearby. Where he thought he’d find his usual six foot one, brown haired, blue eyed reflection stood a six inch, white and gray furred, blue eyed kitten staring back at him in disbelief. Seto absentmindedly noted the breed of cat, a Balinese (Google search them, they’re so pretty!), the prince of cats and one of his personal favorites. But he wasn’t about to go over breeds of cats when there were more important things to think about. Like, where the hell was his reflection and why as there a cat in the mirror? (That last bit sounds so weird. There’s a cat in the mirror!)
Seto raised his right hand and, what he had hoped wouldn’t happen, the feline in the reflection raised its right paw. He jumped backwards, the cat copied him. He blinked; the cat blinked its icy blue eyes. Every move he made, the cat did with him. An eerie realization fell over him as he shook his head violently and was smacked by two pointed cat ears that he prayed didn’t belong to him.
“This is not happening,” he said aloud, but instead of English words he heard, “Meeew…”
Not wanting to believe his own eyes and ears, Seto hurried to his bedroom door, halting as he gazed up at the doorknob-never had he been forced to look up at a doorknob before. He frowned, if cats could frown that is. He may have been in a small feline body, but he still had his mind-at least, Seto hoped he hadn’t lost his mind and this was the result-and an oversized doorknob was no challenge. Leaping up with impossible ease, he used his weight to pull the handle down. The moment the door creaked open, Seto was out of the room and racing to Mokuba’s. Only after colliding with Mokuba’s bedroom door did Seto realize it was closed when typically Mokuba left the door open. And the round knob was impossible to open without opposable thumbs.
Seto clawed at the door as he called to his brother, “Mokuba! Open the door!” Although, all the sound he made was a pitiful, “Meow!”
Mokuba had been awoken by something hitting his door and was just climbing out of bed when the scratching and meowing started. When he opened the door, he found a small white kitten with a silver muzzle, paws, and tail, staring up at him. “Well, hi there, kitty!” the younger Kaiba greeted as cheerfully as possible despite his confusion. Mokuba glanced up and down the hallway, completely puzzled by the sudden appearance of a cat. When he looked back at the cat it appeared surprisingly depressed with its ears drooped and its head bowed.
Mokuba knelt down to get a better look at the cat. “What’s wrong, kitty? Are you sick?”
Seto shook his head in disbelief. This was no hallucination; he was truly stuck in the body of a cat. And he had no way of communicating with his own brother. (Where’s a kitty cell phone when you need one?)
Mokuba began to sneeze violently, startling Seto into leaping back. Worried that his brother was sick, Seto approached Mokuba, mewing softly. Mokuba waved his hand in a shooing motion at Seto as he wiped at his watering eyes. “No, kitty, I’m allergic to you, please don’t come into my room.”
Seto froze, stunned by the realization that he was causing Mokuba utter misery by being near him. Becoming fiercely determined to return to his former self immediately, Seto’s mind worked frantically to come up with a solution.
And the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. Yugi Mutou. The shrimp of a duelist always seemed to be somehow linked to seemingly impossible events. If anyone had answers, it was Yugi (Haha, Yugi’s short….). Seto raced downstairs as fast as his newly acquired four paws allowed him. He wasted a great deal of time trying to open the massive front doors and failing. Mokuba, having come downstairs in search of the peculiar cat, found him and let him out with a sad, “Bye, kitty. Sorry you got trapped in here!”
Glancing back once with regret for leaving Mokuba, Seto left in the direction he guessed Yugi’s game shop/home was.
Seto found out quickly that the streets of Domino were a completely different world when you couldn’t see over the heads of the ever moving crowds. Seto was quickly beginning to hate people who stepped on a cat’s tail and didn’t bother to apologize. He vowed to scratch the living hell out of the next person to do so. And, as if the Gods had a wicked sense of humor, someone stomped down heavily on his already injured tail at just that moment. Hissing in rage and pain, Seto turned with claws out to repay the favor.
“Whoa! Sorry, cat! Didn’t mean to step on you,” a familiar Brooklyn-accented voice said. Seto stared up in utter bewilderment at Joey Wheeler, who stood smiling apologetically at him. “Hey, cat, what are you doing out here?” Joey asked, gazing at Seto in wonder, “Aren’t you a little too small to be out on the streets? Did you get lost or something?”
‘As if I, Seto Kaiba, would get lost,’ Seto thought irritably, turning his nose up at Joey in a prideful, superior manner. He purposely ignored the fact that he was indeed lost.
“You’re probably hungry and lonely, huh?” Joey questioned, watching the haughty feline with interest. He reached out in an attempt to grab the cat, hoping to take it home until he could find the owner.
‘Stay away from me, mutt!’ Seto hissed in anger, dancing back out of Joey’s reach, and into the direct path of a speeding bicyclist. (THE END! ...Just kidding!)
The biker was quick enough to veer away from the cat, but Seto was still struck painfully by the man’s flailing foot. He was sent tumbling head over tail until he collided heavily with Joey’s shin. Seto hadn’t even regained his senses when Joey scooped him up in one hand, holding him firmly but gently. The blonde shouted a few choice words at the inconsiderate bicyclist-now upside down inside a trash can he’d ridden into-before walking off, struggling kitten in hand.
‘I’ll kill you for this, Wheeler…’ Seto vowed as he attempted to free himself from the strong grip.
“Welcome to my humble abode!” Joey announced as he shoved the apartment door open.
‘Humble indeed,’ Seto remarked to himself as he took a quick survey of the tiny apartment. He found himself finally freed when Joey set him down on the kitchen counter. During the entire trip to Joey’s home, Seto had scratched and bitten the mutt in hopes of being released, but only once had he successfully broken the skin on Joey’s hand. ‘Damn puny fangs and claws,’ Seto grumbled, watching the blonde wash his barely wounded hand.
Leaping down from the counter, Seto winced slightly. He was still sore from his accident with the bike, but nothing had been broken. Seto examined the apartment, uncomfortable in the extremely close quarters. The kitchen was directly linked to the tiny living room, decorated with meager furniture. Seto noted a miniscule hallway with three closed doors and presumed them to be two bedrooms and a bathroom. ‘This place is smaller than a doghouse,’ Seto muttered as he sniffed at a pile of old magazines.
“It ain’t as big as most places,” Joey said with a wry grin, “but it is home.” He stretched out a hand to pet Seto, only to have the cat slash at him and hiss. Joey brought his hand back quickly, peering at the kitten. “You’ve got a temper that could give Kaiba a run for his money. And he’s got the worst temper in the world and a lot of money!”
Seto flipped his ears back, narrowing his eyes at the blonde. ‘You’re going to regret insulting me when you think my back is turned.’ He hissed at Joey again for good measure.
Joey climbed to his feet and disappeared into the kitchen. Seto sat down, holding his head up in victory. ‘That’ll teach you to come near me, Wheeler.’
The blonde returned from the kitchen, one hand held behind his back. Seto eyed the hidden hand suspiciously as Joey approached again. This time, Joey brought his hand slowly to Seto, only to have it scratched at again; but this time, Seto received a reprimanding shot of icy water in his face from the squirt bottle behind Joey’s back. Seto stood in shock from the unforeseen attack, completely caught off guard.
Joey didn’t waste any time. When the cat froze, he snatched it up and began stroking behind its large gray ears. Before he knew it, Seto found himself purring with bliss, much against his wishes. He wanted so badly to claw Joey’s hands again, but he just didn’t have the will to; being scratched behind the ears felt far too good. ‘So this is why cats put up with their idiot owners…’ Seto remarked absently.
Joey continued to pet the kitten, grateful it had ceased its attacks. He grinned down at the feline. “See? Ain’t so bad, now is it? Those scratches of yours were pretty useless, but they were getting annoying and we’re gonna have to get along. We can’t be fighting the entire time I’m looking for your owner, after all.”
~He thinks I’m a pet!~ Seto thought with indignation. ‘And I have no way of showing the idiot otherwise,’ he mewed softly as his heart sank. Seto had seen the number of security latches on the door; there was no way he could get out with those in his way. He was trapped here until Joey found the owner that didn’t exist.
End of Chapter 1
KT: Nyahaha! Kitty, kitty!
Seto: …….
KT: Please send reviews! It’s been so long since I received any reviews!
Seto: You’re what the medical society calls a Review-aholic.
KT: Yay! More prescriptions!
((And no, I'm not remotely proud of any of my fics. ^_________^; )