Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ HOUNDS ❯ Mrs. Sophia Flan ( Chapter 2 )

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HOUNDS. Mrs. Sophia Flan.

~By Sweetdeily.


“You cannot get to the top by sitting on your bottom.
~Unknown proverb.”

~

Sophia Flan was sixty-nine going on five hundred. Most of her children had left her when they were old enough to support themselves and had never given her a second glance. She didn’t get Christmas presents or mother’s day gifts. Somewhere in all of the neglect and forgetting of her birthday, she had turned sour and mean. She was wizened and old, her arms were practically bone with loose flesh hanging from the joints. Her fingers were long and boney, comically oversized. She had a hunch in her back from overworking all her life, her eyesight was mostly hazy even with her glasses on and she was balding. Covered in liver spots and discolored patches of skin, she was old and it showed. Her teeth were all false, her ears were clogged and she smelt of cough-medicine. Mean spirited and easily grim, she never bought girl-scout cookies and frowned at her neighbors.

But she did have someone that she wasn’t terrible to.

Mrs. Flan was sitting on her balcony when the scratching at the glass door signaled the arrival of her favorite beau. She slid the glass door back with shaking limbs and cooed as the massive Labrador padded out to her with a little whine.

“What’s this boy? Back from taking the girls to the dance, eh? Come to talk to me?” She inquired, giving the big beast a good pat with her hand.

The dog sat down, shuffled its butt a little and then slid closer to her without standing. Mrs. Flan chucked and gently patted his golden head. “Have you brought your old wife anything today, Bruce?”

Bruce gave her a dopey doggy grin and rested his jaw on her armchair. Mrs. Flan stuck her fingers under his black collar and moved her fingers around, finding a small folded note.

“Oh, Bruce, you’re too kind to this old woman.” She said with a gasp, unfolding the fifty dollar bill.

The dog nudged her hand and, wiping away her tears, she gave him a gentle kiss and a good scratch behind the ears.

“What’cha got there, old bag?” A voice called from the above balcony.

Mrs. Flan looked up to see Benny Bonky. Bonky wasn’t his real family name, but it was the name that he signed all his papers with. The rumor mill said that his family had disowned him when his father died of cocaine overdose. Benny was a pimp and a generally nasty fellow, most of his whores were bottom-quality and addicted to the cocaine that he dealt on the side of his whoring business.

“Never you mind.” Mrs. Flan snapped at him, getting wearily to her feet. “C’mon Bruce, let’s get you some chow.”

Bruce got to his feet and wagged his tail, happy to follow the old woman inside.

“Hey, hey! Get back here you old bitch, I’m talking to you!” Benny yelled from his balcony, bloodshot eyes narrowing.

Mrs. Flan ignored the pimp and went back into her stuffy apartment. It was early autumn, and the outside world was cool and full of brown and yellow leaves falling from trees like glittering jewels into a molten gold ocean. But Mrs. Flan’s apartment was hot and stuffy, overflowing with the smell of old people and throat-lozengers.

Bruce hoped up on Sophia’s only, broken, brown couch and rolled over, presenting his belly for a scratching. His big russet eyes were closed and his beautifully soft paws curled around his chest. Bruce’s tongue lolled out of his mouth.

Mrs. Flan sat for a moment to give him a thorough pat and a scratch on the tummy, exclaiming how thin he was, and how stunning his equipment was. Bruce just squirmed and whined and grinned his dopy grin. He licked Sophia’s fingers and rolled into her lap. He was a beautiful dog, in his prime years, almost heavier than the old woman, and as docile as a rabbit. About as smart as one too, Bruce had a way of looking at humans when they tried to teach him tricks, it was a look of ‘uh-huh… sure.’ He was a stray, but Mrs. Flan had bought him a nice black collar and ever since someone had been putting money in his collar for her. Sophia didn’t know who, didn’t care who, but she appreciated it and loved the dog.

The old woman managed to roll the dog off her lap and went to the kitchen to get him something to eat. “What would Brucey-wousey like to eat?”

Brucey-wousey woofed gently and padded after her.

Mrs. Flan was just pouring the last of his kibble into a bowl when the pounding on her door started.

“Who’s there?” She hissed out loudly, giving Bruce a gentle pat and marching over to the door in her slippers. Bruce ignored her and shoved his head into the food. He was a dog of simple pleasures.

“Your fucking neighbor, old hag!” Benny Bonky called out.

Mrs. Flan frowned and walked up to her door. “What do you want, you terrible boy?”

“You got some cash off that dog, didn’t you? I reckon that’s my cash.”

“Oh yeah?” Mrs. Flan clutched the fifty-dollar bill to her chest. She needed the money to pay her long overdue rent-money. The old lady was up against the door, rapping her tiny fist against the wood.

“Yeah! So give it up, hag!” Benny slammed his fist against the door.

“It’s not your money at all, you thief! Bruce is a good dog; he brings me money to help with my rent! Now go away!” Mrs. Flan screeched.

Bruce had stopped eating and wagging his tail. With a droopy tail the dog trundled over to the door, weaving around Mrs. Flan’s legs like a pup.

“Right you old bitch!” And Benny Bonky started kicking the door in.

Bruce raised his hackles and growled at the door loudly.

Mrs. Flan screamed and backed up into the room.

The door burst open and Bruce was knocked against the wall with a yelping whimper. Benny charged into the room, a shiny semi-automatic Bersa pistol clutched in one hand.

Mrs. Flan was screaming louder now, long wails of fear tearing their way out of her throat.

“Shut up! Shut up and give me the goddamn money!”

“No! No! It’s my money! I need it!” Sophia sobbed.

Benny Bonky aimed the pistol at Mrs. Flan’s head, bloodshot eyes wild. ‘Give me the fucking money!”

Mrs. Flan shook her head and he shot her.

The apartment went eerily silent for a long moment, Benny’s ragged breathing broke through the sudden stillness and Bruce struggled to his feet, watching with his sad doggy eyes as Benny Bonky bent and snatched the fifty out of the old lady’s hands.

The pimp looked around, sweating, before he ran out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Bruce struggled to his feet, limping on one paw and hobbled over to Mrs. Flan.

Her old, grey eyes were wide with the last moment of shock that had been her life.

Bruce nudged the woman, whining.

She didn’t come back to life.

The dog barked, once, twice and then bowed his head and let out a mournful howl.

~

The human police had never impressed Jounouchi Katsuya with their skills at information gathering. The moment they found out he was a shifter, they got very aggressive and on edge. Every word he said was questioned and they kept giving him greasy looks. The blonde had a sour taste in his mouth the entire time they asked him if he’d heard anything. He was just glad that Yami was out visiting clients, because he certainly wouldn’t want to be a gay shifter on top of not being human AND Asian.

“So you heard a gunshot and called us right away?” The officer questioning him asked. Jounouchi hadn’t bothered asking for the man’s name. He would have probably put up a stink about telling some dirty shifter anything.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t go downstairs to find out if it was a gunshot, or some sort of accident?”

“No. I could hear Mrs. Flan screaming from the third floor. The gun went off. She stopped screaming. I assumed she’d been shot. And since Benny Bonky was yelling and high on crack since last night, I assumed that he’d shot her.” Jounouchi shrugged.

“So you saw nothing, you have no idea what-”

“I am a fucking lycanthrope you di- I heard the whole thing.” Jounouchi cut the man off savagely and had to fight not to insult him. He was not going to jail for calling a police-officer a dipshit. No matter how much of a dipshit the man was.

“Right. Well I’m sorry, but just because you heard it all, we can’t use you as a witness, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Do I have to call the HOUNDS for this shit?” Jounouchi bit savagely. “I’ve been nothing but helpful, even though you have no jurisdiction in this case and you’re giving me this shit.”

The man was frowning now. “Excuse me?”

Jounouchi shook his head moodily and pulled out his mobile. He hit nine-nine-one and followed the prompts to get a connection with the HOUNDS operator. “Hello. My name is Jounouchi Katsuya, I’m living at number five Downing Crescent. There’s been a murder in my apartment complex and the murderer is a lycanthrope.”

The woman on the other end introduced herself as Jenny and took down all his information. She assured him that a HOUNDS unit would be sent out and thanked him for the call.

The blonde snapped his phone closed and snatched his ID off the police officer with a grunt, slamming his door closed in the man’s face.

“Wai-” The mans words were cut off by the door.

“Fucking useless human cops.” The blonde grumbled. He limped into the longue-room and sat down, grabbing a pack of doggy-treats and biting down on one.

Jounouchi was a cop’s best friend. He was a clean street punk who knew all the faces and personalities on the street. Benny Bonky was a lycanthrope of little note, he made very little money and had never really impacted on the streets. He’d never won many fights as a wolf and even fewer as a man. His only talent was being pond-scum.

What puzzled Jounouchi was the fact that Benny Bonky had been able to afford a four-hundred-dollar gun. Sure, Benny had the cash for buying one, but he didn’t have the contacts or the means of getting it.

The blonde worried over this while he applied ice to his ankle and chewed on his snack.

There was a curt knock on his door fifteen minutes later and Jounouchi got up, limping over to the door to open it.

There was a moment of surprise for the blonde as the HOUNDS that stood on the other side of his door was the same alpha male brunette from the day before at the fight-house. The brunette didn’t seem to recognize him however and held out a hand. “Seto Kaiba. Hunter and Ordained User of the Necessary Discipline. Jounouchi Katsuya?”

The blonde nodded and shook the alpha’s hand. So he was Japanese like Jounouchi. This was a surpise.

“I have some questions, may I come in?”

“Uh, sure.” The blonde limped out of the doorway, and over to the couch. He was acutely aware of the shabbiness of his apartment in the presence of the HOUNDS. Jounouchi hurried cleared a space for the HOUNDS to sit, but the brunette remained standing. Probably worried about getting lice.

“The human police say you have not been very helpful.” Seto started.

Jounouchi shrugged. “They were being racist dickheads. This isn’t even their case to talk to witnesses about and this dipshit was giving me a hard time because I’m not human. I don’t talk to racist pigs.”

“Well you’re among your own kind now, so please answer my questions. What were you doing when you heard the gunshot?”

“I was up here, watchin’ TV when I heard Mrs. Flan, the old chick on the first floor, talking with the local stray, Bruce. Sometimes he brings her money- real nice dog. Anyway, Benny Bonky started yelling at them so they went inside. I imagine they must have been on the balcony. Mrs. Flan had her door rigged up with a doggy-door and everything for old Bruce. A few minutes passed so I figured everything was cool again. But then I could hear Benny going down the stairs, so I figured that something odd was up, on account of Benny isn’t usually out of here until late. He’s a pimp, works mostly human chicks- rumor says he was bitten when he was a kid- made him funny in the head.” Jounouchi paused.

Seto Kaiba nodded and jotted down some notes in a little notebook. The blonde glanced at the HOUNDS handwriting. It was neat and tiny.

Tugging at his shirt, Jounouchi continued. “I turned my TV off, cause I was worried about what Benny was doing- turns out I had reason to be. He starts yelling about money kicked the door into Mrs. Flan’s apartment. I called the cops then, but while I was talking to them he shot her.”

“Alright, more on the stray that was with her, why didn’t he shift and call the cops himself? This Bruce?”

Jounouchi chuckled. “No, no. Bruce is a Labrador. He isn’t a shifter. You’ll probably see him around the neighborhood as you drive through.”

The brunette frowned. “Damn. Alright. Tell me about this Benny Bonky.”

The blonde nodded but was halted by a knock on his door. He held up a hand and limped to the door, opening it.

Yami stumbled into the apartment with a dopy grin. “Jesus Christ. I leave for three hours and the place is crawling with police. Christ. I think Benny bonked his last rabbit.” The therianthrope groaned out, ignoring the HOUNDS, he went into the bedroom and closed the door.

Jounouchi found himself blushing. He’d hoped he wouldn’t be seen living with a weretiger. Yami was great, but he wasn’t a wolf.

“And he is?” The HOUNDS asked, not having moved.

“Uhh, my roommate. Yami Nagisawa.”

“I see. Alright. Tell me about Benny Bonky then.”

Jounouchi nodded. “He’s a small time pimp. He has about twelve girls that come and go. He doesn’t make much money off of them though, and he deals more in cocaine. He has two goons working for him, Jimmy and Burt. Burt’s all muscle no brain. He’s there to protect the chicks when they’re with a client. The muscle man so to speak. He’s a lycanthrope as well, big and dumb. They say his mother bit his neck a little too hard when he was a cub and it stopped the flow of blood to his brain. Then there’s Jimmy. I’m not sure what Jimmy is, a weasel is my bet- he’s a slimy thing. Into car theft and petty robbery. Jimmy thinks a quick-e-mart heist is a big accomplishment. Not terribly smart himself but he’s got connections. If anyone had the contacts to get Benny Bonky a gun- I’d bet it was Jimmy.”

“What makes you think the gun is significant?” Seto Kaiba asked.

Jounouchi grinned and pointed to the morning paper. “Just cause I’m a street dog doesn’t mean I can’t read. There’s a big fiasco on shifter-related arms-dealing right now. Benny Bonky doesn’t have the brains or the need to be carrying a four-hundred dollar gun. So how’d he get one? Jimmy found a cheap deal with a gang and Benny is just the greedy bastard willing to buy it.” Jounouchi was frowning. “The only problem is where the guns are coming from…”

“Leave that to us, kid. You’ve been most helpful, Jounouchi, isn’t it?” Seto closed his notebook.

The blonde nodded. “I always wanted to be a HOUNDS when I grew up.” He grinned. “So if I can be of any help, feel free. I know the streets- I can identify most of the criminals on it.”

Seto nodded and shook the blonde’s hand. “Your assistance is appreciated.”

And then he left.

Jounouchi closed the door and limped into the kitchen.

“I heard Bruce lost his mummy today.” Yami called from the bedroom.

“Yeah.”

“Must have been awful. Poor Bruce.”

“Yeah.”

“Want some KFC?”

“Yeah.”


~Tsuzuku…


Sweet notes: argg. Sun burn all over upper body- makes it very hard to write. Yay! I got the next chapter done!

Jou: Hmm, why do I feel like I was hiding something.

Seto: I don’t trust him… he’s shifty… too… ‘helpful’.

Yami: who? Jou?

Seto: Yeah. Damn… puppy….

Jou: *blinks, bursts into tears* Seto doesn’t love me!!!!!

Sweets: Awww, poor thing don’t worry! We’ll make him love you!

Jou: Yay!!!

Seto:… I’m not a sexfiend you know…

Yami: sureeee….

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