Loose Ends
Yu-Gi-Oh is not mine. It is the wonderful creation of Kazuki Takahashi.
He really was going to have to break the habit of jumping a foot in the air every time the doorbell rang. The Ring and its spirit were gone forever. He would never again have to worry about what the spirit had done while pretending to be him. It was probably just his elderly neighbor Mrs. Mitsuwa at the door, or maybe Yugi…
Unfortunately, the tall figure glaring daggers at him in the doorway wasn't Yugi or Mrs. Mitsuwa.
"Bakura."
"Kaiba?"
"I'd like my coat back, Bakura."
"Um… I'm sorry, wha-?"
"I'd like my coat back, now."
"Your-your coat?" (Dammit! What the hell had he supposedly done this time?)
Kaiba never seemed to have much patience at the best of times, and this was not shaping up to be the best of times.
"The brand new custom tailored Armani trench coat you stole from my office you moron! The same coat you had the unmitigated gall to be wearing when you kidnapped my brother and challenged me to a duel! A duel you fled from like the sneaking coward you are when I was about to inflict a crushing defeat on you!" The irate C.E.O. paused in his tirade to draw air into his lungs while shooting more daggers from his eyes. But before poor Bakura could utter a word in his defense, Kaiba snorted in a dragonesque manner and continued his verbal barrage.
"And the company credit card you also stole? The one you used to pay for your little trip to Egypt? I had that account closed, so don't plan on using it to finance any more excursions."
I'm dead. Bakura thought unhappily. I'm so dead! He truly hadn't known where the spirit had obtained that coat, with all that had been going on, it just hadn't seemed very important. And he had NEVER laid eyes on any credit card! He had only followed the spirits instructions and read off the account number when he bought the airline ticket over the phone. Not that Kaiba was going to believe any explanation he could provide…
"Kaiba I'm-I'm so sorry-" His attempt at explaining shriveled and died as Kaiba held up a hand in a STOP NOW gesture.
"Bakura, I'm not pressing charges, it has been made very clear to me that you were not in your…' right mind'. And I'm going to be charitable and assume you actually have a 'right mind'. Just get me my coat, I have things to do and would rather not waste any more time on this nonsense!"
Bakura needed no further urging. He opened the door to the hall closet. Sure enough, there was the dammed coat, along with- (Oh bloody hell! How had he NOT noticed what else was in there? Maybe, because it had been better for him not to notice?)
"Where are the cats?"
"Arrrgh!" How was he supposed to break the habit of starting at sudden noises when people kept sneaking up behind him?
The cats? Oh right, the cats! "They're with my neighbor… I think." (The spirit had been surprisingly fond of them in fact, he was the one who had gotten them from Yugi while pretending to BE Bakura. He would have made sure they were being cared for while the spirit and his "landlord" had been gone. Of that, Bakura was certain.)
Kaiba gave him a strange, almost alarmed look."You think they're with your neighbor? You don't know for sure?"
"They are there! In fact, when you rang the bell I thought she had come to bring them back-wait, how did you know I have cats?"
"Believe me I have very good reasons to keep tabs on every one of those little demons that that idiot Yugi let loose on the world. I strongly advise you to keep them away from your deck!" And with that cryptic comment, Kaiba took his coat and stormed out.
Bakura closed his eyes and took deep breaths until his heart stopped galloping around his rib cage. Then, he looked into the closet again, knowing it was past time to do some serious cleaning. First though, he needed to make some phone calls…
His friends were very understanding about the whole situation, and even brought take-out when they arrived shortly after Mrs. Mitsuwa stopped by to return the cats. It turned into an almost festive occasion as each item retrieved from the closet recalled the memories of their first adventure at Duelist Kingdom. There was Jonouchi's green jacket, and Honda's brown coat, and Anzu's fairy deck, and Yugi's sneakers, and a bottle of perfume that Jonouchi was certain Mai had used to scent her cards. They also found a knit cap and red bandanna that belonged to Mokuba. Bakura was grateful when Yugi volunteered to return those items to Kaiba Corp. he didn't think Kaiba would welcome a visit from him any time soon.
The end.
A/N Readers curious about the cats may want to read "Cards and Kittens", "Morning at the Motou's", and "Bubbles and Blue Eyes". These stories are all at my account.