Title: Guard Dog Re-Edit chapter 3
Author: Icka! M. Chif
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 7903
Author's Note: Part 3 of the re-edits was giving me a hard time. Then I realised why. It was too big. So it's been divided in half and suddenly the flow works better. ^___^ As always, please Please PLEASE point out any errors that you may find.
Summary: To say that Kaiba Seto was annoyed would be a vast understatement.

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To say that Kaiba Seto was annoyed would be a vast understatement.

He was -livid-.

After taking Kaiba Corporation from Gozaburou and then later wrestling it from the Big Five, Industrial Illusions and Dooma, he had performed many many through background checks, searches and examinations of Kaiba Corporation, it's subsidiary companies and dummy corporations. He thought he had dug up the last of the military related projects and destroyed them all years ago.

But no, like a bad trap card that popped up at the most inconvenient time, another one had been discovered.

It was a good thing that Gozaburou was already dead, twice over, or Kaiba would have gleefully taken care of the bastard. Again.

This one was a Research and Development site, nothing was completely authorised to be produced unless checked with the head of Kaiba Corporation. Research was not due to be completed for several years, meaning he wouldn't have even learned of it's existence until farther down the road. -If the facility hadn't been discovered during an audit of a sub-company far down the subsidiary chain when someone realised that no one in that branch of Kaiba Corporation made small cutesy plush animals.

Animals were about the only thing that the cover did have in common. Mokuba and Jounouchi hung close to him, even as they stood straight and tall in anger and pride. Their eyes both hard and soft in outrage and sympathy as they looked at the creatures in the cages. They had stopped to pet some of the friendlier ones at the front of the building --he'd have to remind the Mutt to wash his hands before they got home, he was quite sure the blond now smelled of the Golden Retriever he'd petted-- but the farther in they got, the more they subtly clung to each other.

Seto had been informed that the company was experimenting with something that had been shelved decades ago by a different company, some sort of mysterious splicer formula called 'MixMaster' in the hopes of recreating it and fixing some of the flaws.

End result: War beasts. Juggernauts. Hideous creatures designed to be released onto the battlefield, sowing terror and destruction wherever they were seen.

That was something Seto was not going to allow to come to fruition. Not after seeing the grotesque results. Some of the resulting mangled creatures were poorly suited for life, such as the frog with wings. Other concoctions were simply terrifying. Nothing should ever be crossed with either a piranha or a badger. The resulting misshapen creatures were ill tempered to say the least.

It made his chest ache and his stomach roll to look upon the creatures. The nightmares his brother and the guard dog were going to have was not something he cared to think too deeply about at the moment.

The labs themselves were sterile and clean, up to date on the safety codes that seemed to be blatantly ignored when it came to the animals themselves.

Seto was not impressed.

"Regular little shop of horrors around here." Jounouchi muttered under his breath to Mokuba. Mokuba gave a soft chuckle, some of the tenseness in his expression fading at the humour, but he continued to press close to their taller forms, recoiling at the horrors.

Their gracious hosts seemed to pick up on their attitudes, scurrying around like mice, soft muttering sounds in the background while they strolled through the rooms. When the cats were away, he supposed.

"What's that thing do?" Mokuba questioned, motioning towards a large complicated device, that looked more like an instrument of torture more than anything else, a large vicious looking nozzle-like contraption on the front.

"Nothing, after we dismantle it." Seto growled.

Mokuba nodded in accord. The puppy didn't say anything, but there was a stubborn set to his jaw that Seto thought was in agreement.

Seto dismissed it from his mind, continuing walking through the laboratories, mentally preparing lists, things that would need to be taken care of to close this facility down. Therefore he was totally unprepared to be abruptly shoved into the wall. "Look out!"

His perception of everything seemed to slow down as the Mutt grabbed his brother, interposing himself between Mokuba and the machine they had just commented on. Clear translucent liquid, tossed from the direction of the machine impacted against the back of the blond's head, a smaller second glob striking Jounouchi in the lower back.

For a second, he thought it was water, or something mixed with water to make it somewhat thicker in consistency. A random attack, nothing to get pushed into a wall over.

Then the Mutt's eyes rolled to the back of his head as the blond pitched backwards, knees obviously collapsing under him. Seto reached out, an arm cradling the back of Jounouchi's head, quickly interposing himself between the blond and the floor. The impact of the dead weight pushed him into a half crouch, still supporting the blond's head and torso.

"JOUNOUCHI!!!" Mokuba shrieked, his face white, giving stark contrast to the dark hair and grey eyes wide in horror.

"He's fine." He spared a breath to assure his brother, using his free hand to check Jounouchi's pulse at the neck. The pulse was there, fast, but stable. The Mutt seemed to whimper in response, face pinched in a grimace of pain. Dammit. The machine dripped another glob of goo, dropping to the floor in front of the machine. "Turn that thing off NOW!!" Seto roared. "And get a Medic in here!!!"

Mokuba shook off his horror, running to the large machine and tearing what appeared to be the power cords out of the wall, causing the whine of machinery to fade. The shouts and footsteps of people running to see what the commotion was about echoed in the room instead, filling it with general chaos.

Seto's jaw twitched as he glared, stoically ignoring the tingling feeling in his arm where the blond's head rested.


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Jounouchi woke up with his head aching, throbbing to the beat of his heart. His mouth wasn't much better, feeling as if he'd been licking someone's disgusting carpet for the past three hours. Dry, fuzzy and not at all unlike something died there.

Damn. He hated hangovers.

And his ass hurt. This is why he didn't drink, not since that one time with Honda and the spiked fruit punch. For something that -looked- like water, vodka sure did pack a mean punch. Nasty hangover too. He swore he'd learned his lesson that time and hadn't touched anything even resembling alcoholic since then. He sure as hell didn't want to end up like his father, drinking his sorrows away at any opportunity.

Not to mention he really hated the whole 'What the Hell Did I Do Last Night?!' feeling.

With a groan, he opened his eyes, then pinched them shut as the grey blur drove a spike of pain into his head. With a grimace, he moved a hand to cover his eyes. Or attempted to do so. He couldn't move his arms.

Panic caused him to raise his head and open his eyes despite the jabbing pain in his skull. He was in some sort of hospital bed, straps holding him down, arms tied to the sides.

WHAT THE HELL?!

"Oh, good." As if summoned, Kaiba appeared by the side of his bed, looming over him, his demeanour colder than ice. "You're finally awake."

"Kai..." Jounouchi attempted to growl back, but his throat was too dry to form the word properly. His demand to be released was similarly mangled.

"The restraints are for your own protection." Ol' Blue Eyes was furious, that much was clear. "You were writhing so much they were afraid you were going to hurt yourself. You took out several orderlies before they got you strapped down."

Go him, only he didn't know what the heck would lead him to do something like that.

Kaiba leaned over him, hands pressing against the pillows on either side of Jounouchi's head, arms pinning his head so he couldn't look away from Blue Eye's suddenly looming face. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" The businessman's voice was soft, but cold. Colder than a penguin's belly in Antarctica.

It didn't fool Jounouchi in the slightest. Even with all his mental processors not quite working right, he knew when the elder Kaiba was beyond furious. He just wasn't used to seeing it directed at -him-.

"Urm..." His mouth moved, but no words formed. He wished he knew. Really he did. Cause right now he got the feeling he was -real- low on the food chain. And he had a very good feeling about which particular Dragon was at the top of the food chain.

"You purposely put yourself in the path of danger." Kaiba growled, his face close enough that Jounouchi could feel the Ol' Blue Eyes's breath on his face. Someone had been drinking coffee lately. At least it wasn't hour old lunch. "If you had not taken the time to push me out of the way, you could have gotten both yourself and Mokuba to saftey!"

"Dat's m'JOB!" He snapped back, the words ripping roughly from his throat. They'd had this conversation before. "M'your freakin' Guard Dog, Kaiba! Ya hired me ta guard Mokuba and protectin' Mokuba means watchin' o'er you too!!"

Something flickered in Kaiba's face, he looked almost surprised for a second, pleased, then the scowl returned. "So he -can- talk."

"Shove it, Kaiba." Jounouchi snarled. It was an effort to enunciate his words, it felt like his tongue was too big for his mouth. "I can still take ya down."

He could too. He'd just eat dirt several times in the process.

"Whatever." Ol' Blue Eyes dismissed it. "What is the last thing you remember?"

Jounouchi shrugged, trying to wrestle his wrists out of the bindings that held him down. Man, he hated not being able to move. "Tourin' some freaky house o' horrors wit' you and Mokuba."

Freaky house of horrors... blank in memory... waking up in hospital... tied to the bed... in a definitely non-kinky fashion...

Something was not right in the world of Jounouchi Katsuya.

"Mokuba?" He glanced around, trying to peer around the wall that was Kaiba. "He okay?"

"He's fine." Kaiba deadpanned. "What else do you remember?"

"And nothin'." He glared at Kaiba. "What's goin' on? I feel fine." Okay, maybe not fine, but definitely nothing that would require enforced bed rest. Colours weren't quite as bright, his butt still hurt, the room stank of chemicals and other things he didn't want to think about and Kaiba looked like someone had just done something unmentionable to one of his precious Blue Eyes White Dragon cards.

Kaiba straightened, releasing him from the looming imprisonment, pointedly not answering his question. "The doctors will be with you shortly."

Doctors? "Kaiba-?"

Ol' Blue Eyes stepped back, his face as expressionless as a stone statue. Jounouchi felt his temper melt away as cold fear replaced it, his heart nearly stopping in his chest. Something really bad had happened... Something so bad it had -scared- Kaiba.

Kaiba didn't get scared.

Jounouchi was now officially approaching shit-faced panicked.

"Get some rest and don't worry about anything." Kaiba informed him, -ordered- him. "I'm taking care of everything."

"Kaiba?" There was a bit of a pleading tone in his voice, but he dismissed it as worry.

"And in the future," Kaiba's tone was so cold Jounouchi was vaguely surprised that the air wasn't littered in icicles. "Consider that your orders are to get -yourself- out of the path of danger as well as Mokuba and/or myself." With that lovely parting shot, the businessman turned and walked out of the room without a backwards glance.

"Kaiba!" Jounouchi howled after him. Damn him, leaving before saying anything useful. And he was still tied to the bed.

Which majorly sucked.

And he still didn't know what the hell had happened!!!


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Mokuba shifted his weight from foot to foot as he peered inside the open door. Jounouchi lay on the bed, his eyes closed as if he were either asleep or dead. Except he wasn't dead because Mokuba could hear the repetitive beep of the machines that were monitoring the blond's status.

He wasn't afraid to go in exactly, but he kind of was. It was his fault Jounouchi had ended up like this. If he'd been paying more attention instead of acting like a coward, he wouldn't have tripped over the cord and Jounouchi wouldn't have been hit by those flying blobs.

Then Jounouchi shifted slightly, turning his head towards the door. "I can hear someone out dere." The blond called. His voice was rougher than normal and it sounded like he was having some trouble speaking. "If you're not a nurse or a doctor, yer welcome ta come in."

Mokuba swallowed, then stepped in. "Hey, Jounouchi."

"Mokuba!" Jounouchi grinned, shifting to sit up, looking happy to see him. "C'mon in!"

"I... thanks." He shuffled in, looking down at his feet as he approached the bed. "How are you doing?"

"Like I've been felt up by a room fulla hookers." Jounouchi commented. "And none of dem friendly. You?"

"I'm... okay." Been better, been worse. He wasn't the one in the hospital, surrounded by doctors all trying to figure out what happened.

"But none of that stuff got on ya, right?" Jounouchi said, his voice serious and concerned.

Mokuba nodded, his gaze working it's way up from the floor to the railings. There were leather restraints attached, hanging loose. It looked like someone had pulled a number on them. "Yeah. Not so much as a drop."

"Good." Jounouchi breathed a sigh of obvious relief. "Was worried about dat. Yer brother was in here, while back. Shouted lots. Real pissed. Said ya were okay, wasn't sure."

"He wasn't angry at you." Mokuba said, his gaze travelling across the blankets, a sterile looking blue-grey. The fabric outlined Jounouchi's legs, which seemed normal enough through the material. "'Niisama was mad because you scared him and he's not used to that."

"Didn't mean ta." Jounouchi muttered, scratching the back of his head. Mokuba quickly shook his head.

"It's not that. 'Niisama's not used to having people close to him." Because Jounouchi was 'Niisama's friend, whether 'Niisama admitted it or not. And 'Niisama wasn't used to having friends, much less those precious people getting hurt.

The fact that Jounouchi had gotten hurt while protecting both of them... that just twisted the knife a little bit more. The sudden realisation that someone's pain other than either himself or Mokuba's actually mattered scared 'Niisama a lot more than he was ready to admit. He wasn't used to having people close.

It was a positive sign. Sort of.

"This is my fault." Mokuba said softly, his fingers curling into a fists, the nails biting into the palms of his hands.

"Naw." Jounouchi waved it off. "Y'just tripped. No biggie."

"No." Mokuba ground out. "It was my fault that you were there at all."

"Y'wouldn't leave yer brother ta go dere alone." Jounouchi protested, sounding slightly puzzled. Where 'Niisama went, Mokuba went. And where Mokuba went, Jounouchi watched over. "No fault dere."

"You don't understand!" Mokuba snapped. "I didn't hire you to protect me! I hired you because... because..." He trailed off, his throat closing over the words.

Jounouchi was quiet, but he could feel the curious confusion radiating from the blond. Mokuba took a breath and started over. "I'm not going to be here all the time. I'm in High School now, in a few years I'm going to be in college, and probably travelling and going abroad. I'm Vice President of Kaiba Corporation, after all." Which meant that he had responsibilities that he needed to take care of. Some of which he didn't have right now because he was still in school, but would in a few years.

And as Vice President, it didn't make sense for both of them to always be in the same tower when he could be more useful travelling to their other headquarters.

"But when I'm away, 'Niisama's going to need someone. Someone to make sure he eats and takes breaks. Get him out of the Tower occasionally and remind him he's human. He's going to need a friend." He glanced down at the foot of the bed, afraid to look at Jounouchi's reaction. "Which is why I got you. Yeah, you fight with 'Niisama a lot, but he needs that occasionally. You royally piss him off sometimes, but it's an honest emotion. And you've never backed down from him. So I figured this way you could both get used to each other. Yeah, I can use someone as my private guard, but I can behave and just have the Kaiba Corporation Security."

He didn't -need- Jounouchi as his body guard. It was easier, and turned out to be a lot more fun than he'd anticipated, but he could make do if he needed to.

"So. Um. Anyway." He tugged on a lose strand of hair until it hurt, the twinge of pain helping to keep his mind clear. "If you don't want to work for me... for us anymore, I can totally understand that. False pretences and stuff. We'll make sure that you're comfortably set up, you won't have to see us again if that's what you want. Especially after all this."

Jounouchi was silent for a while, and he could feel the blond's gaze on him. Mokuba tried not to wince. It was probably kind of mean of him, to hurt Jounouchi like this, and then say 'Oh yeah, by the way, I lied when hired you, I really want you to be my brother's friend, even though you dislike each other's guts passionately'.

Hah. Such a lovely plan. Really. Because of that, Jounouchi had followed him into that place. Then Mokuba had tripped over the cord and Jounouchi had ended up like this.

"Idiots." Jounouchi finally muttered darkly. Mokuba jerked his head up, looking at Jounouchi's knees again.

"Huh?"

"M'surrounded by idiots." Jounouchi said, louder this time. Mokuba blinked and glanced up at Jounouchi's face. The blond was thin, looking both ill and exhausted with shadows under his eyes. However, his brown eyes were still vibrant, full of life. "M'not leavin', not unless ya want me to. M'not the smartest, nor the bravest or the most honourable or whatever else. But m'loyal ta my friends. S'all I've ever had ta offer and damned if m'gonna stop now."

"I... you..." Mokuba trailed off, his gaze dropping down again. "... Thank you." Either Jounouchi really was the world's biggest idiot, or they had really lucked out in the friendship department.

"Welcome." Jounouchi reached out and patted Mokuba's hand. Mokuba swallowed, noticing how Jounouchi's wrist bones stood out against the golden skin. Jounouchi seemed to pick up on his awkwardness and retracted his hand.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Mokuba asked, trying to cover up the unease. "Or I can get you?"

"I could use Yuugi right about now." Jounouchi said, leaning back against the stark white pillows, sounding weary.

"I can call him for you, if you'd like." Mokuba offered. "A driver can pick him up and he can be here in less than an hour."

"Nah." Jounouchi looked at his hand, flexing his long fingers. "Don't wanna scare him just yet. He's just good ta hug, y'know? Everyone here's so..."

Cold. Clinical. Detached. The doctors were still trying to understand what had happened and why, which meant long days of tests for Jounouchi. The goop had created twenty-three other new hybrids, all under the size of a pinky nail, but only two other than Jounouchi were still living. The rest had died in a manner of minutes or hours.

Mokuba forced himself to look up, to look at what changes he had brought to his bodyguard. The first thing that came to mind was that Jounouchi was so thin. His collarbones poked out of dip of the v-shaped collar of the shirt he was wearing. Jounouchi's face was still the same, just thin and worn, like he'd noticed earlier. The jawline seemed slightly different as well.

The ears were the biggest changes. Instead of the pink scalloped shaped ears that he'd had previously, there were triangular fuzzy flaps of skin that hung down on either side of the blond's head, starting just above where the ear canal had been. A layer of blond hair... or fur was starting to grow in, on top of them, but for the moment it was rather obvious and slightly disturbing to look at.

"I've got a tail too." Jounouchi commented, one of the triangular ears twitching in Mokuba's direction. "It looks like a rat's right now, but the docs say the fur'll grow in quick. Look less weird."

"I'm sorry." Mokuba said quietly.

Jounouchi shrugged. "Dat's life. I ain't dead. Dat's a start. I'll survive."

The blond was a survivor. 'Niisama and Mokuba were still debating if it was luck or pure stubborn-minded stupidity. "I know." Mokuba agreed. Jounouchi gave him a small grin in return.

"...I'm not Yuugi." Mokuba offered hesitantly, getting accustomed to Jounouchi's new appearance. "But... if you need..."

Jounouchi looked at him for a minute, then nodded, holding his hands out. Mokuba leaned forward, awkwardly wrapping his arms around Jounouchi's too skinny torso, hoping he wasn't hurting the blond. When Jounouchi's arms whet around him, holding him tightly, he figured he was doing okay.

"Danks." Jounouchi whispered, his voice low and rough again, like he was having trouble talking again. Mokuba smiled, remembering how Yuugi and Jounouchi seemed to hang off of each other most of the time, thriving off of the casual contact. Being probed like a fascinating new medical specimen was probably wearing the blond out more than anything else.

"Scoot over." Mokuba ordered, pulling back. Jounouchi hesitated for a moment, then moved over slightly, shifting under the blankets. Mokuba rolled onto the bed, grabbing the television remote and stretching out. It was a bit of a tight fit, the bed really was only designed for one, but they managed. "Catch any good daytime soaps?" He inquired as Jounouchi re-arranged the pillows behind them.

"Yer kiddin' me, right?" Jounouchi gave him a disbelieving look as he slouched down. Mokuba grinned in return, flipping through the channels as Jounouchi practically curled around him. He finally settled on one of the business channels, catching up on the current events around the world. Jounouchi made a few half-hearted growls at some of the news, his body slowly falling lax. A few commercial breaks later, the blond was out cold, snoring softly in his sleep, one arm wrapped around Mokuba.

Mokuba smiled, settling down to watch over his protector.

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Jounouchi looked away from the mirror in disgust. It hadn't changed since the last time he'd looked into it.

He had dog ears.

And a tail. Which is why his butt had been hurting in the hospital. It was a lot more comfortable sleeping on his side or his stomach than his back due to the sudden extension of his tailbone. He looked like one of those creatures from the horror films he hated so much. He was having a hard time looking at himself in the mirror.

Egyptian Gods he could deal with. Virtual Reality that wasn't so Virtual, he could deal with. Real Dragons and Monsters coming to life he could deal with. Himself turning into a monster took a little more work.

He sighed.

Jounouchi hadn't seen Kaiba since the ass-reaming in the hospital, but he'd been assured that he didn't need to worry about the hospital bills --he'd had a private room and doctor-- or about his job. He'd always have a job, or at least a steady paycheque from Kaiba Corporation. Kaiba Corporation looked after their own. Or if he wanted to have some sort of surgery to remove and try to correct the 'damage', it would be covered.

Only the fact remained that his DNA had been permanently altered. He could go back to looking like a human, but he'd never be fully human again. The scientists at the lab they'd been touring, once they'd gotten over the shock, had been quite thrilled, ecstatic even, over how well he survived the process, with most of his mental capabilities in check. Evidently there'd been some worry over his getting hit on the back of the head with the goop if he'd wake up a vegetable.

But the major changes in his head had been a decrease in sight, colours weren't as bright as they had been, things were more grey-tinged, but the increase in hearing and smell made up for that. He'd been informed that those might continue to shift in the future, as his body continued to adjust to the changes.

There was also a bit more of a craving for red meat, but that really didn't bother him. He was usually a bit more of a carnivore anyway.

No, what was bothering him currently was that it had been a week since he had been let out of the hospital and he was still moping over this. He was Jounouchi Katsuya, dammit, and he wasn't a quitter. He didn't hide away in his room like someone who had given up. He hadn't given up in learning Duel Monsters and he'd never given up in a duel.

Jounouchi Katsuya didn't back down from a challenge.

And that's what this was.

He rose, stretching muscles that were stiff from staying in one position too long and began to hunt for some clothes to wear. Or at least something he could poke a hole into for the tail.

It was time to stop sulking and go out and grab the Dragon by the tail.

...or however that saying went.


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Seto was woken up out of a fairly light sleep by something heavy impacting on his bed, making the mattress jump and shake. "RISE AND SHINE BLUE EYES!!!" An ecstatic voice bellowed.

He opened his eyes in time to see a pillow fly towards his head. Without a second thought, he rolled off the bed, rising to meet his attacker. Dammit, how had someone gotten in with out his or the Mu... Jounouchi's knowledge?

Jounouchi was standing on the bed, dressed in sweatpants, grinning like a bastard, one hip shot out cockily and a pillow in hand. He knew it, the doctors had lied, the blond was clearly insane. Being altered had obviously fried the last of his few remaining brain cells.

"You've been neglecting your training." Jounouchi sing-sang, waving the pillow lazily. "Which means I've been neglecting my training."

The pillow went flying through the air, towards his face again. Seto dodged, grabbing the flying fabric. He got a twisted grin, almost a snarl --were the blond's teeth sharper? It sure looked like it-- in return, Jounouchi grabbing a second pillow and wielding it like a weapon. "Let's spar."

With a Kamikaze yell, Jounouchi came flying at him, pillow raised high above his head. Seto dodged to the side, spinning and thwacking the blond with the pillow he was holding.

"Have you lost your mental capacities?" He demanded as Jounouchi landed in a crouch, attempting to turn it into a sweep-kick that got tangled in the blankets that had fallen to the floor when Seto had rolled off. The blond had nearly -died- a few weeks ago, now this.

"Nah. No more than usual." The cheerful voice was normal sounding, scarily so. "C'mon, what are y'waiting for? You've got the advantage, I'm the one with the weird counterweight on my butt."

That almost made sense. "Very well." He agreed, swinging his own pillow down on the blond's head. Jounouchi laughed, finally freeing his leg from the blankets and rolling away and avoiding the strike.

"About time." The blond grinned, a friendly one this time. He looked good, better than the strange warped skeleton in the hospital bed. Very good. "My balance is shot ta hell. How else am I supposed ta correct it if all ya do is stand there and stare?"

He was not staring. Much. He used the distraction to toss his pillow at Jounouchi and dive across the bed for one of the other ones.

"Oh, yeah!!" Jounouchi cheered, chasing after him. "It's on now!"



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Mokuba staggered down the hall to see what all the commotion was in 'Niisama's bedroom that had woken him up. It sounded like there was some sort of fight going on, with all the shouts, thumps and thwacks echoing from there. Covering a yawn, he opened the door and peeked in.

Jounouchi and 'Niisama were in the middle what appeared to be a pillow fight. If you counted Jounouchi falling on his ass a lot and 'Niisama laughing at him.

He smiled, feeling a lot more energetic suddenly. Oh, good. They'd made up. About time things went back to normal.

Jounouchi swung a pillow at 'Niisama's feet, causing 'Niisama to jump and Jounouchi to over extend and fall on his face. "Oi." Mokuba stepped inside. "Need a hand?"

They both threw pillows at him, striking him in the head and chest, blocking his view. They slowly fell down, revealing 'Niisama and Jounouchi's snarky grins. "Okay." Mokuba picked up one of the fallen pillows. "You're -both- dead now."

Jounouchi cackled and threw another pillow at him.


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"Okay, so what we gotta do is figure out how to camouflage your ears and tail." Mokuba said thoughtfully, placing a top hat on Jounouchi's head. "-Since you decided not to try for the surgery."

"Yeah." The hat hung crookedly over one eye, so the blond pushed it back on his head with a bit of a glazed look. Hurricane Mokuba was striking again. "They can't move the ear canal back down to a normal human's anyway. Better have them working and all instead of strange lumpy bits of flesh that'll make me look even more like a freak."

"Like you were ever normal." Mokuba teased with a grin that Jounouchi returned.

The blond gave Mokuba an affectionate swat, messing up the spiky hair. "Look who's talkin'."

"Heh." The smaller boy smoothed down his long hair, still grinning. "Okay, so I'm thinking hats... They'll cover your head and ears."

"Just not one of those things that Ryuuzaki wears." He shot back. "I'm not havin' anyone compare me ta him, not no way, not no how."

"No problem." Mokuba switched the top hat for a baseball cap and stepped back for a moment. "Uh, no. Definitely not."

"What?"

"Too much hair. Makes you look..." The younger boy waved a hand. "Preppy."

The hat was off Jounouchi's head and tossed across the room before either of them could blink.

"Maybe a cowboy hat." Mokuba mused as if the interlude had never happened. "Could always get a chauffeur's cap."

"Yeah, right. Just gimme one of those, a bunch of leather and a riding crop." Jounouchi snickered. "Not."

The dark-haired boy paused, a contemplative look on his face. Jounouchi blanched. "No. No, no and no. Do NOT be going there, Mokuba." He scolded. "You're -supposed- to be an innocent kid."

Mokuba shrugged, changing the subject. "Okay, so the ears are taken care of. Now about that tail..."

"I know, I know." Jounouchi gave him a rueful grin. "No more short jackets anymore." At least not ones that showed off his butt anymore.

"Too bad you're not a girl. We could stick you in a skirt!"

"No."

"Damn."

"I take back every single thing I've ever said about your brother's wardrobe being strange."

"...Spoilsport." Mokuba stuck his tongue out at him. Jounouchi ignored it. Mokuba was the one who was in charge of his brother's eclectic wardrobe. The ones with the flares and the studs and the buckles everywhere. Speaking of which....

"Have you noticed that your brother's been wearing that black arm bracer a lot lately?" Even when they were sparring or sleeping, the elder Kaiba wouldn't uncover his left forearm. It was making Jounouchi curious.

"Hmm." Mokuba agreed helpfully, his head still buried in the closet of clothing.

No help from that quarter then. Back to the original subject. "I'm not borrowin' his clothes either."

"Don't think that'd work well for you..." Mokuba walked around Jounouchi, walking over the bed Jounouchi was sitting on in the process. "You wear a lot of denim, but that doesn't work with the top hat. Maybe a pirate theme?"

"Just so long as it ain't a fancy tux coat or somethin'."

Mokuba's eyes lit up. "Hey, now that's an idea... you need something fancier anyway. We never did get around to shopping."

"No."

"Then we're back to leather."

"Ugh..."


+++
+++


"Yo, Mokuba!" Jounouchi grinned as he discovered his wayward charge's whereabouts. Mokuba was hiding in the last place Jounouchi had thought to find the sneaky little brat, in Mokuba's bedroom. "Whatcha up to?"

"Hey, Jounouchi." The dark tousled head didn't look away from his computer monitor, nor did the sound of the keyboard stop its momentum. "Programming."

"Yeah?" He leaned over Mokuba's shoulder to see the screen. Not that much of the jumble of lines and numbers made sense to him. "Programming what?"

"Anyone ever tell you that you're a nosy bastard?" The younger boy commented offhandedly.

"Frequently." Jounouchi swatted the backside of Mokuba's head. He was being obstinate. "Now give."

Mokuba shot him a glare before returning his attention to the screen. "I'm bringing Noa back to life."

"That's cool." He responded automatically. Then it hit him. Noa. Freakish virtual green-haired kid who tried to kill them all and take their bodies. Definite grudge against Kaiba Seto. "Wait! Whoa, back up. NOA?!"

"Yup."

"As in 'Tried To Kill Everyone In The Virtual World' Noa'?!"

"Yeah."

He just stared for a moment. "Does your brother know?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Duh. Got his permission to do so a long time ago."

"Oh." He couldn't quite think of anything to say to that. "Um. Good."

Silence descended, except for the tak of keys being pressed as Mokuba coded.

"Mokuba?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask why?"

"Cause he's my brother." Mokuba's answer was level. "He didn't deserve what Gozaburou did to him, isolating him like that. And us Kaiba have to stick together."

"He did try to kill us." Jounouchi had to point out.

"-And saved us in return." The younger Kaiba retorted. The stubborn look faded, replaced by one of mischievous glee. "Just think, though. He'd make a great Game Master for an interactive virtual game."

Mokuba had a point... "Be able to interact with people that way too." That seemed to be at the root of it, the isolation driving the young virtual kid insane.

"Exactly." The brat sounded way too pleased about the prospect. Jounouchi eyed him warily. He kind of understood where Mokuba was coming from, even as it worried him. Noa had shared Mokuba's body for a while too, if anyone knew what was going on in the green haired kid's brain, it'd be Mokuba.

And the duels had been pretty good too, even if he'd been distracted by worrying about Shizuka at the time.

Speaking of Shizuka, he should e-mail her, let her know he was fine. Same thing with Mai... If he went too long without contacting his 'older sister', she had a nasty habit of showing up to make sure everything was all right. After that bit with the Oricalcous cards and the Dragons, they were all a bit jumpy when someone disappeared off the radar.

At least Mai had taken to his working for Kaiba fairly well, although her comments had been on the... creative side to say the least.

"Aaaah!!!" Mokuba's yelp of terror snapped him out of his thoughts. "Tail, Jounouchi!!! TAIL!!!"

"Wha?" He glanced back, realising that his tail had been waving back and forth, smacking into things and toppling cd cases over. "Eep! Sorry!" He grabbed the wayward tail, wrapping it around one leg, wishing for not the first time that it was a little bit more flexible.

Mokuba was shooting him a dirty look. "You're a hazard to my room."

"Sorry."

The smaller boy just pointed out the door. "Until you learn to control that tail."

Right. Damn thing had a mind of it's own. Not like he could control it. But Mokuba was insanely protective of his computers, so he could understand the restriction. "Later."

"Later." Mokuba's voice was still irritated, but tempered with amusement. They'd probably get a laugh over this later.

In the meantime, he had to go find something else to entertain himself...



+++
+++



Seto found the blond sitting in the living room, concentrating on the chessboard there. It was an incongruous scene, the bodyguard in a tee-shirt, the habitual scruffy denim jacket and jeans, with tuxedo-like tail coat and a top hat that had made its appearance several days ago perched on his head. The tail was still visible, sticking out of the back of the chair. Every so often, Jounouchi would move a piece, -correctly, Seto noted, then stare at the board some more.

He cleared his throat, bringing Jounouchi's attention towards him. "I didn't know you could play."

To his mild amazement, the tail wagged slightly, as if in greeting. "Just a bit." The blond smiled weakly. Seto wasn't entirely surprised; this was the first time they'd talked since the pillow fight last week, aside from sparring. "Yuugi's 'Jiichan taught me a while back, so we could play something other than Duel Monsters when no one was around. If you're lookin' for Mokuba, he's in his room programming stuff. I'm under strict orders to stay out of there until I learn how to control the tail."

"Ah." That would explain the exile. "Care for a game?" He offered. It had been a while since he'd played. And even then it had just been Mokuba.

Jounouchi shook his head, blond hair flying. "It'd be no contest. You're a World-class player. I'm just a beginner." A crooked grin softened the refusal. "But if you want to play something more my speed, like poker, I wouldn't say no."

"I'd wipe out your paycheque." The comment was more automatic defense than any real insult. It gave him time to think as he took the seat across the board. Poker, game of luck. Matched the other dueller's playing style.

It also triggered a recollection of something... he'd heard of it, just in passing. But it would be interesting to try. "Very well, you're on." His hands moved, automatically straightening the chessboard out, then putting away the black pieces. He had some time to kill and it would be an interesting experiment. "There should be a deck of playing cards and a rack of poker chips in the cupboard over on that wall there if you'd be so kind as to fetch them."

The blond gave him a confused look, but quickly rose and got the requested gaming pieces before resuming his seat. "So what are we doing?"

Seto smiled. "Playing to our strengths."



+++
+++



Mokuba walked in on them a little bit later, Jounouchi with a handful of cards and a pile of chips next to him, 'Niisama contemplating his next move on the chessboard. He watched them silently for a moment, puzzling over their actions before speaking up. "What are you doing?"

Jounouchi grinned at him, tail happily thumping against the chair. "He's playing chess. I'm playing poker."

"Oh." The dark haired boy blinked. "Who's winning?"

'Niisama pointed. "Him currently. He just took out my queen with a straight flush."

Jounouchi snorted. "I'd be a lot farther ahead if your bishop hadn't taken out my two pair a couple of turns back."

"Nature of the game." 'Niisama dismissed it, finally moving a pawn.

Mokuba nodded and decided that was the time to back away slowly. He was beginning to think that bringing the two of them together into the same vicinity had wrought something evil.

On the other hand, it was nice to see 'Niisama relax for a change...


+++
+++


The chimes above the door rang, echoing throughout the Kame Game Shop. "Yo." A friendly voice called.

"JOUNOUCHI-KUN!" Forgoing the usual greeting, Yuugi launched himself at his blond friend. Once again, he hadn't seen Jounouchi for well over a month and a half, although this time the blond had kept in regular contact through e-mail and phone calls. But it wasn't the same as having a living breathing Jounouchi around.

To his surprise however, Jounouchi flinched slightly as Yuugi's arms wrapped around the blond's waist, hesitating a second before returning the hug.

He opened his mouth to question if everything was okay when Honda and Otogi came running out of the back room where they had been drinking tea and talking. The two spiky haired boys tackled Jounouchi, thumping him on the back, stealing his santa hat and patting the top of his head.

Jounouchi laughed, wrestling them back before grabbing the santa hat back and shoving it on his head. One of Yuugi's eyebrows rose slightly. Jounouchi never wore hats.

"New look?" Otogi chortled, straightening the lapels of the flared dress coat that somewhat went with the floppy red hat. Jounouchi had his usual tee-shirt, jeans and sneakers on underneath, making for a motley outfit.

Yet for someone who worked for Kaiba, it made a certain amount of sense... At least it wasn't leather and buckles.

"Is that a dog collar?" Honda pressed, poking Jounouchi's neck. Yuugi's eyes went wide as he realised that yes, that was a dog collar around his friend's neck. With the Kaiba Corporation logo hanging from it.

Okay, -some- leather and buckles...

"It's a communicator." Jounouchi muttered as he mock-shoved the pointy haired boy off of him as Yuugi's eyebrows continued their upwards rise. Jounouchi had mentioned that he'd gotten a communicator, but he'd neglected to mention what form it was in, just that it had been accompanied by some small teasing on Kaiba's part. "And shaddup, I don't want to hear any jokes about it."

"Probably got enough of them from Kaiba when he wrestled it on you." Otogi leered playfully. "So what is your relationship with him now, Jounouchi? Rumours say you're never seen far away from Kaiba these days. He finally claim you as his pet?"

"Come off it." Jounouchi growled. "I work as a bodyguard for both him and his brother. How am I supposed ta do that if I'm not right there? Which means-" He haughtily tugged on the lapels the jacket. "-I have to dress better than -some- slobs I know."

This earned the laughter Jounouchi had probably been hoping to provoke from Otogi and Honda, but Yuugi frowned thoughtfully. Jounouchi had stated earlier that he was working for -Mokuba-, not Kaiba as well.

Something was not adding up here.

Their louder friends dragged Jounouchi into the back room to catch up, Yuugi trailing behind, watching with thoughtful eyes. Jounouchi was animated, cheerfully talking up a storm and keeping the conversation going. But he hung back a little as well, not jumping into the mock-wrestling matches with his usual abandon. He was also straying away from any friendly contact.

Alarm bells went off in Yuugi's head.

Honda and Otogi didn't seem to notice however, grinning and joking like they always did. Talk shifted around those that weren't present, Anzu who had just gotten a role in "Jewel of the Sage" in New York, not the lead, Black Magician Girl, but she was working on it. Bakura had moved to Egypt with Malik, Rishid and Isis to put his archaeology background to use to protect and record the remains of Malik's home.

Otogi talked about the latest games he was developing, inviting them to help with the beta testing. Honda was debating entering the police academy, see about being a sharp shooter. Jounouchi shared stories about various pranks he and Mokuba had played on the elder Kaiba, such as the incident with the French Maid Uniform.

But he never said anything too close, too personal. Nothing about what was actually going on.

Time passed quickly, too quickly really, and Otogi and Honda excused themselves, joking about how unlike some, they had jobs to do. Yuugi smiled sadly and waved them good-bye.

Jounouchi rose to do the same and Yuugi quickly placed himself between his blond friend and the door. His Other Self had been very good at teaching him intimidation tactics. And if need be, he could swing a mean frying pan.

The blond noticed, giving him a weak half smile. "What's up, Yuugi?" The casual attitude didn't fool him in the least, they'd been friends for way too long for that.

"Jounouchi-kun...."

Jounouchi's face fell as he eased himself back down on to his perch on the arm of a chair, looking like he was bracing himself to get scolded.

"Jounouchi-kun..." Yuugi sighed and started again. "Do I need to make some phone calls to hide the body?"

That got a startled reaction. "Huh? What?"

"Kaiba-kun." Yuugi smiled. "Do I need to make some phone calls to bury his body?"

Jounouchi laughed. It had a harsh sound to it that Yuugi wondered if Jounouchi was aware of, almost like a sob. It faded, replaced by a rueful grin as the blond fiddled with the leather collar around his neck. "No. He hasn't done anything deservin' of that."

"Not even the tail?"

For a moment, he almost wished he had a camera for the expression on Jounouchi's face. Disbelief, shock, horror, amazement. It faded into something tentative as Jounouchi reached up and took off the santa hat.

At first, it wasn't obvious that anything was different with Jounouchi's hair, other than the fact that it was long enough on the sides to hide his ears. Then his hair appeared to move slightly. With a grateful groan, Jounouchi reached up and ferociously scratched at his head, ruffling the hair up.

Two furry ears perked up from the mess of blond hair. "That's much better." Jounouchi muttered to himself, smoothing his hair back. "They were starting to cramp up from being pressed down so long."

"Oh, Jounouchi-kun..." Yuugi reached forward, tentatively reaching a hand up, his fingertips just brushing floppy triangular shaped ears. They moved, twitching slightly as they rotated from side to side. The flared coat moved, the tail thumping a friendly staccato against the chair. "Why did you hide this from m- us? Is this why you haven't stopped by in a while?"

"Yeah." The ears folded back, like a dog that had been scolded. Yuugi smiled, partly in relief. That was what had worried him the most, Jounouchi was an extremely expressive person and the lack thereof was like suddenly finding the sky was pink with plaid stripes. "Guess I shoulda known better, huh?"

"You could have told me." That hurt slightly. But he could understand it. A little bit. Like not knowing how to tell your friends that there were two of you inside of you, one who had no problems hurting people to win, or to protect him. "You're my friend, Jounouchi Katsuya. I won't turn you away. I told you. Your problems are my problems."

Jounouchi reached out, pulling him into a hug. Yuugi gratefully returned it, wrapping his arms around Jounouchi's warm bulk, almost completely engulfed by his dearest friend. "I'm sorry." Jounouchi whispered. "I was just..."

Afraid. Terrified. Scared. Worried. About them. About how they would react.

"I know." Yuugi whispered back. He also remembered how it felt when his Other Self had left, like nothing would ever be the same again. It never was the same again, it would never be the same again, but it did get better. Jounouchi had been there for him during that and now it was his turn to return the favour.

Jounouchi released him after a moment, his eyes bright. "Thanks, Yuugi."

"Any time." Yuugi smiled, reaching up to ruffle Jounouchi's hair, like Jounouchi usually did to him.

The blond smiled back, then rubbed his face, removing any traces of weakness. "How could you tell?" Jounouchi asked, his tough bravado returning.

"You kept your back to us." Yuugi explained. "But the tail was visible occasionally from the front. Especially when it wagged."

"Er, yeah." The tail thumped again. "It's kinda got a mind of it's own. But it's uncomfortable to strap it to a leg." He turned red at the comment.

Yuugi snickered. "Maybe... if you'd like... we won't tell the others just yet-?" He offered. Jounouchi was getting teased enough about being Kaiba's Dog, he didn't need their friends' cheerful comments about being Kaiba's DOG.

"Um... yeah." Jounouchi looked grateful, tail thumping against the chair again. He probably wasn't used to his new shape enough to handle that kind of teasing. "Thanks, Yuugi."

"You're welcome." Yuugi smiled faintly, leaning into Jounouchi's touch as the blond reached for him.

After all, that was what best friends were for.

+++

To be continued...