ch10

warning

It is a few days later that Moonlace sighs in an empty room, listening to the sound of Helios roaring at his medics, how useless they are. What was the point of hiring them if they cannot do anything to assist his comatose council members. Winter blade and strike runner lay in their respective chambers with their minds locked up tight, nowhere to be found. despite every effort he extends, no one can wake them, not their shaman nor the oracle, no doctor even knows where to start.

She stands at the window, listening to him damn the very ground that the Pharoh walks on. She listens to the obscenities he streams as he mentions the 'kaiba boy'. He has plans, her eyes go wid7e when she realizes the punishment for what has happened. Fury and fear boil in her veins and a familiar pain overtakes her as her face becomes triangular, her spine conforming to a different shape. Her dress slides off her bizarre body, her long spidery hands with their bulbous knuckles press against the glass and silently shoves them forward. She takes her small dress in her wide flat hands with their yellowed claws and tosses it behind a potted plant before lumbering out the window and loping down the gardens into the inky black night.

In the kaiba estate Jounouchi walks up the stairs carrying a tray of freshly made tomato soup, and toasted french bread. Leans his shoulder against the door pushing it open, there in bed is Kaiba sitting up reading an application from one of thirty midwives in his clan applying for the position. He finds himself slightly disappointed in that thirty is a rather low number in consideration to the one hundred and ninety seven available. He watches the door open and smiles weakly at Jou who has once again made his dinner. Despite all his maids and cooks he doesn't eat anything Jounouchi didn't cook.

Jou sets the tray down beside the bed, and takes the pile of papers from Kaibas hands.

"babe this can wait a bit, you need to eat alright."

Kaiba just shifts in place and pushes his hair out of his face before allowing Jou to place the tray over his lap. Jounouchi smirks placing a kiss on kaibas cheek, his face tints a bit pink.

" you look good babe, your getting some color back."

Kaiba smirks sheepishly up taking a spoonful of his soup.

"yes..."

" did you check the scale?"

"yes."

" and?"

"three pounds so far."

"thats good, now eat."

"are you TRYING to make me fat?"

"yea."

A sudden tolling at the door diverts their attention. Jou sticks his head out the window and sees a bizarre shadow at the door. He turns to look at kaiba, who seems completely unpeturbed.

"I wonder who-"

"its moon lace"

"how can you-"

"just let her in, its the servants day off. She smells like panic."

Jou turns for the door and rushes through the hallways that he's learned to navigate into the open down the curling staircase across the foyer into the entry way where he slips across freshly waxed tile and slams into the door. He fumbles with the three deadbolts before yanking the heavy door open and finding himself staring directly up at 'moonlace' with her gray fur glowing reddish eyes and long misshapen body so obviously built for strength and maneuverability.

He steps to the side to let her in trying not to be rude by gawking at her hundreds of long needle sharp teeth. She steps in, ducking under the doorway as she walks past jou. She lopes into the foyer taking a blanket off from a recliner by the fireplace. Jou walks in to see the far more familiar face of moonlace as she wraps the blanket around her self.

" thank you Mr Jounouchi, you should close that door, where is Kaiba?"

"in bed, hes eating dinner..."

She dashes up the stairs as Jou glances outside and shuts the door turning all the deadbolts in place. He goes up the stairs after her surprised by her speed, in his head he tries to place what he saw on his weirdness scale. Looking back on his life and the bizarre adventure that is his friendship with yugi, this while odd, is not the freakiest thing he's come across. He mentally merits cat people as an eight out of ten.

Jounouchi strolls into the room as Moonlace speaks quickly to Kaiba. As soon as she spots Jou strolling in she motions for him to hurry in.

"as I was saying, what the pharoh did, has caused much unrest. Also adding to this is the news of your coupling... people of our clan are very much unsure of what to do with this situation. The penalty for choosing to mate with a human is... unfortunately death."

Jou sits and places his arm around kaibas shoulders, holding him close.

"however, we do not harm children for any given reason. So for the duration of your pregnancy you are safe... although I am not positive we should count on that. Helios... he is...ah. Well I will stall his judgment for as long as I am able to. Until then you need to pack up find somewhere safe to go, I will return to you when I am sure it is safe. You understand."

They both gawk at her in horror, kaibas eyes wide. He tries to speak, only to clamp his eyes shut as he locates his voice.

" you mean to tell me-"

She reaches forward to hold his hand in her own.

" I know, it isn't fair. I do and I truly am sorry, I wish so much that I could simply decide to leave you be. I am only part of the council, Helios can over rule me. I can stall him and I will -until then, I strongly suggest you ask that the pharoh stay near you until you may leave. Helio's is afraid of him, that is for now, fear never holds him back for long."

With that she turns to look out the open window, she rushes it and by the time she sets foot on the window sill she has become the strange creature that stood at the door a moment ago. She drops her cover and jumps out the window landing silently and melding into the night.

Jou walks over taking the blanket and folding it up before shutting the window and locking it tightly. Jou looks at the stack of papers on the bedside table, he picks up the top sheet and looks at it for a moment before crumpling it up and pitching it across the room. He turns to look at kaiba who is simply sitting with his eyes tightly shut, thinking.

" babe, you still need to eat."

"I've lost my appetite."

"fine, but feed them."

Jou places his hand on kaibas currently flat belly, rubbing in small circles. Kaiba slaps his hand away angrily, grudgingly he pitches to spoon of to the side and drinks the bloody red tomato soup. After placing the bowl down he watches Jou begin to pace the floor as he dials yugi's number on his outdated cell phone. He watches as Jou tries to get Sugoroku off the line to fetch his grandson, all the while munching on the piece of toast that was left on the tray. Almost half an hour of disgruntled small talk later he can hear Yugi on the line. After having finished his toast, kaiba finds himself unpleasantly thirsty.

Since Jou is busy on the phone trying to explain their predicament to Yugi who is letting Atem eavesdrop, kaiba pushes the tray off his lap and moves get out of bed. As he tosses the blanket off him and places his feet onto his plush carpet jou covers the mouthpiece of his phone and mouths.

'whats up?'

kaiba whispers, back.

"just getting a drink."

jou makes to shoo him back into bed.

"don't worry I'll get it."

suddenly agitated kaiba glowers at him.

" I'm not a cripple, I can get my own drink-"

"but-"

" I've been in bed all damn day, I want to walk around my OWN DAMN HOUSE!"

Jou can the distinct silence on the other side of the phone line. He fidgets slightly, wondering if mood swings are supposed to crop up this quick, or if kaibas just upset from their wonderful bit of news.

"fine but I'm going with you."

" what you think I'm going to fall down and break my hip?! What do-"

Jou lowers the phone and places his hands on kaibas shoulders.

" I'm nervous and paranoid and she said you where heart sick. And I don't want anything to happen cause I wasn't with you. Kay so don't get mad just humor me okay."

"fine."

Jou brings the phone back up to his ear to finish his conversation, his other hand twined in Kaibas as they walk at a rather lazy pace off to the distant kitchens.