Cursed Gold
Chapter Three
xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word"
xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
All disclaimers and
warnings are posted in chapter one.
Dedications: My sole beta
reader for this chapter Eternal SailorM and my other regular beta Kleptomaniac
Can Opener. Also the kitties Aya and Biscuit for keeping me company while I
type and Marika for keeping up with the entire
Archive: DarkMagick.net if
ESM wants it; The Asylum; MediaMiner.org; Katsuko's
Obsession. All others please ask.
I can only assume
that I fell asleep sometime after we cleaned up the dinner dishes. I remember
goofing off with Ryou while we finished up and opening my history book to
study, but I don't recall lying down on the couch. One minute I was staring at
my book and the lights were on; the next I was curled up on my side with my head
in someone's lap, and that someone was petting me.
Before I could even open my
eyes, I heard Ryou's voice: "Niisan? When'd you
get back?" It came from the other side of the room, which meant that
Bakura was the twin on the couch with me.
"About
an hour ago."
He kept his voice at a level just above a whisper; I assumed he thought I was
still asleep. I also picked up a faint tone of anger, but it wasn't directed
towards anyone present. Deciding that discretion was probably a good idea, I
continued to feign sleep.
"Why are you still
up?" Ryou asked, his voice coming closer. "It's after
"Thinking,"
Dorobou replied.
"About...?"
A heavy sigh
accompanied by fingers lightly scratching the back of my head.
'research' tonight on Kitty."
"Niisan--"
"I thought we had it
rough." Dorobou fell silent for a moment, still
petting my hair lightly. I could hear Ryou settle on the floor close by, yet
still kept my eyes shut.
"How long?" he
asked after a minute or so.
"Ten months.
Broken home, stuck with a father who could almost
give Oyaji a run for his money for eight months." I nearly flinched at how
coldly that was recited. I knew my life sucked, but it sounded so much worse to
hear the 'highlights' spoken in that toneless manner.
Either I
my discomfort as he chose that moment to rest one hand on my arm. "At his
home..." he began hesitantly, "it isn't physical?"
I guess Dorobou
must have shaken his head before speaking: "Verbal. Although when I was
there it looked like Jounouchi-kitty spends a lot of time ducking flying
objects."
"So the bags by the
door are Jounouchi-kun's things."
"Yeah.
his pard." I nearly gave myself away;
my pard-mates were okay Weres.
"You didn't hurt
anyone, did you?" Ryou asked, unconsciously stroking my arm. It was kinda
nice--the contact, I mean. The Bakuras weren't family
but they weren't hesitant to be near me.
"Nope,"
Mitsaki
happened to her in a little while.
"Is it bad?"
"Remember the
nodded, because Bakura continued almost immediately: "This
And the Master of Domino isn't happy with this Hirutani
but won't do anything because Kitty is being 'held down.' Unless I'm way off,
I'd say they're afraid."
Ryou sounded about as
confused by that as I felt. "Afraid? Of what?"
"His
potential."
"Oh."
The twins fell silent for a
long time, both unconsciously petting me as they gathered their thoughts. After
what felt like forever, Dorobou finally spoke:
"You need to go to bed, brat. It's almost one and you've got classes in
the morning."
"I know." A
pause, then, "I'll get Jounouchi-kun's homework, too."
Dorobou
the room. After a moment I heard a door close and lock, then silence again.
"Why the
their shit?" He didn't speak too
loudly, but the tone indicated that he knew damn well I hadn't been asleep for
a while. I suppose he'd be a pretty bad thief if he wasn't observant, but
"Legally, I'm
stuck," I replied quietly, opening my eyes just enough to see that the
only light in the room was from the streetlights outside. "Otherwise I'd
be in Osaka with Kaasan and Shizuka. Is it, well, wrong to hate your
father?"
"Not if he deserves
your hatred," came the instantaneous reply. I
think it was right about then that I realized Dorobou
and I had at least one thing in common--and if you wanna know, Yami, you'll
have to take it up with him. I don't tell his secrets, and he doesn't tell
mine.
I didn't reply, and he
wasn't waiting for an answer. "Ryou won't let you go back there,"
head of yours, you won't go back to them, either."
"Ain't
that easy."
"For you, Kitty, it
just might be."
I wondered what
settled back more heavily on the couch at that moment. "
"Go back to sleep,"
Dorobou replied, once more petting my hair lightly.
"We'll talk in the morning."
Normally I'd have argued
that I wasn't tired, but I had
fallen asleep fairly early in the evening and the couch was comfortable. The
fact that I felt safer in the Bakura's apartment than I had anywhere else for a
long time was a factor, too, I'll readily admit that.
So, rather than speak up, I opted to purr softly in reply and let my eyes fall
shut once more.
Did anyone figure out
before the reveal that Jounouchi's been talking to Yami this whole time? If so,
cyber cookies for you! If not, don't worry about it; I was purposely being
vague.
That's a wrap for chapter
three. stay tuned for chapter four ^_^