The Crow and The Cat

Chapter 10

Today was the second Friday of the month, the day marking the beginning of a week long meeting of the local home-owned businesses. It was held in Tokyo, only four hours away from Domino and was held by a company that supports small business

"I'll be heading out now, Yuugi. Make sure Jounouchi takes his medicine and the animals are fed." Sugoroku said, hugging his grand son and planting a soft kiss on his forehead. Yuugi giggled. Of course Jii-chan, I'll take good care of everything!"

Both Muto's laughed for a moment before the older male left.

"I-is he gone, Yuugi?"

Jounouchi had been watching from the kitchen, his golden head with it's floppy ears poking out shyly. Yuugi giggled lightly.

"Yes, Jounouchi-kun, Jii-chan is off for his plane."

The blonde smiled and came out from his hiding place, Atem following behind.

"Ah! Faraon-san, Good morning."

Atem nodded with a smile before moving around Jounouchi to face the smaller teen.

"Yes, good morning to you as well, Aibou."

The air in the room went stale and Atem stiffened. Maybe his new name for his little friend was a bit... too familiar? They had only met a few days, if not a week ago.

"I'm sorry, little one, was it pretentious of me to call you that?"

Yuugi giggled.

"Not at all, Faraon-san, you surprised me is all."

"Please, call me Atem." Replied Atem with a smile. Yuugi smiled back and then... something growled.

"Sorry to interrupt your little love-fest, but can I get something to eat?"

Both star-heads turned, a blush on their faces.

"J-Jounouchi-kun! It wasn't-!"

The blonde shrugged, smirking to himself before moving towards the kitchen... and running into something rather solid. One of the blonde ears twitched, Yuugi noticed, as he inhaled.

"K-Kaiba..."

The tall brunette looked down at the half-puppy blonde and, with face emotionless, pushed him away roughly. Jounouchi stumbled backward a few steps before tripping over a rug and falling to his rump, effectively crushing his newly acquired tail. He yelped.

"What was that for!?"

Kaiba observed him for a moment, still standing in the kitchen doorway. An ear, atop his chocolate locks, twitched and a cat tail swished behind his tall frame. He was half cat again. All three others waited for an answer, but none came as Seto merely walked back upstairs without a word. Jounouchi, apparently over his initial pain and shock, looked after him with an unreadable expression on his face before rising and going after the cat-boy.

"Kaiba...?"

The brunette looked up from his cup of coffee to see Jounouchi standing in the doorway. His expression was not angry or upset, simply... confused and... pained.

"What is it, Mutt?" He replied, the pet-name simply slipping from his lips without his consent. The blonde came inside the room, his room to be exact, and closed the door. This made Seto suspicious.

"What's wrong?" He asked again, setting his mug on the desk next to the char he was sitting in. Katsuya made his way to the bed and sat down, pulling his legs up to sit indian style.

"Kaiba... do you know who someone named Jono is?"

Seto's blood ran cold. How had Katsuya found out about one of Egypt's biggest secrets? The look of shock that had settled on his face now turned to slight worry;

"Why?"

The blonde cringed at the harsh tone he had used, but answered none the less.

"Well, lately I've been dreaming of being a... slave or something...and I was serving someone who looked like... well you, ya bastard, and then... I die. But the entire time, everyone is callin' me this 'Jono' person!"

Kaiba leaned back in his chair. There was no way, after his reaction, that he could make Jounouchi think they were only nightmares... but to think that he's been dreaming of a past life... He shook his head. There was no way to make an idiot like him...- or was there?

"Katsuya, do you believe in past lives?" He asked. Surprisingly, the blonde nodded, his ears perking slightly at Kaiba's willingness to explain.

"Good, because I'm going to tell you the truth."

"Back when Egypt was an empire, there was a Pharaoh and his era that were erased from the public history. This Pharaoh, and his Priest, were both owners of many slaves. This was, as you most likely know, part of the culture back then. Of the many slaves, there was a favorite of both the Pharaoh and his Priest. The names of these slaves were, more so than the rest of the era, wiped out completely. Of course, there was evidence on the sarcophagus of the Pharaoh listing the name of his favored slave and in the burial site of the Priest, the name of his as well. We know that the Priest's slaves name was Jono, and his origin was in Egypt."

As Kaiba paused to let this information soak in, Jounouchi opened his eyes. What Seto was saying was matching his dreams story. The brunette continued;

"As strange as it may seem, but you- we- are the last descendants of that era. I am the only descendant of the Priest, Set, and it seems my suspicion is correct in assuming that you are the descendant of the slave, Jono. As well as my cousin and your little friend; Atem is the last child of the great Pharaoh, and your friend, Yuugi his slaves last child."

The blonde nodded, as confusing as it was, it made some sense.

"Then what about the past lives?"

"In truth, as you've seen, all four of us look alike to that of our great ancestors. Both me and Atem think this is because we are the reincarnation of them."

Jounouchi nodded, and stood up to leave. His head was hurting now, and he didn't think it was because of the story.

"Mutt?"

Katsuya wobbled.

"Katsuya?"

Everything went black, and all Jounouchi knew was he landed on something soft and warm, and for once in his life, he felt safe.

About an hour had gone by after Atem and Yuugi watched Jounouchi go after Kaiba. Of course, the first few minutes they awaited shouting, which never came. Although this was suspicious, neither of them cared enough to go check why the now accustomed fighting was not occurring.

"Atemu-san, would you like something to eat?" asked Yuugi politely. Atem smiled.

"If you wouldn't mind, Aibou. I would love some breakfast."

Yuugi smiled back and headed for the kitchen. The sound of a fridge opening and the clinking of dishes before a light voice called out;

"Atemu-san, I'm sorry, but could you go and ask the other two if they would like some breakfast as well?"

Atem pouted, unbeknownst to Yuugi of course, he had been looking forward to a calm meal with his little one.

"Yes, of course, Little one." He replied easily, starting toward the stairs.

"Thank you, Atemu-san!"

A smile graced the young Egyptian man's face as he climbed the stairs to the bedrooms.

Jounouchi's room was located right in front of the stairs, and Atem was surprised to find that it was closed. Quietly, he crept up and opened it with the upmost caution; Inside, upon the floor, Atem found both the blonde and the brunette asleep curled around each other. Seto's tail was curled around Jounouchi's left thigh and the golden puppy's tail was lazily wagging back and forth in a contented way. The pair's ears were also perked up in a happy position. Quietly, Atem shut the door and started back for the stairs when he felt something begin to grow out of his back. Wings. That wasn't good...

"Aibou?" He called.

There was no answer.

"Yuugi?!"

Still nothing... Shit.