Author's Notes: Yay! Thank you, Llyxius and girliegirl! Okay, this being based on my own experiences, I'll tell you that this is how I came by my cat, Tiger Suit. Except that I had to sneak into her 'owners' house and practically steal her. (They had an apartment by then). Yeah, I felt really commando, LoL. I had the permission of the landlord, though, so now Tiger Suit's all mine! Her teeth have grown in, her whiskers are back, she's spayed, her coat's glossy and soft.... And she thinks she's spoiled rotten.
Secondly, since this is a YuGiOh-ification of part of my life, I'm not going to have Yugi become an addict. Don't want anyone getting ideas about me *wink* (As if they wouldn't already from some of the other stuff I've posted and taken down...) So if you want me to write an angsty one dealing with that, I'd be more than happy to, just let me know if you're really that interested. I mean, I just require one review when it's posted, or else it gets taken down. (Or if I feel it hits too close to home).
The clock on the microwave read 1:30 when Yami came out of his bedroom to sit at the breakfast table and stare at his kitten. "That cat is following me."
Yugi looked up from reading the back of his cereal box. "She's probably hungry."
The dark spirit glanced at him, then back at the little orange tabby suspiciously. "No. I think not. All she did last night was eat. When she finished off her cat food she started going through my garbage."
"I told you, you need to keep your room clean," the mortal boy said, smiling at the thought that he was echoing his grandfather's words. And to a 5,000 year old guardian spirit, no less!
"When she ate everything that resembled food and went so far as to sample my dirty clothes, she finally came and slept on the bed." Yami said this wearily, causing Yugi to look up at him again.
"Well...that's good."
Yami's eye twitched, spasming from lack of sleep. "She slept with all four feet on my chest. She kept kneading her claws into me all night. I look like a sodding pincushion!"
Yugi chuckled. "You remember my cat, Snickers? When she had kittens, they used to do that to her. I think it was to help get more milk while they were nursing."
Yami's apprehensive glare towards the cat intensified. Yugi sighed, "Well, what I mean is, she's attached to you. She sees you as her mother. That's a good thing!"
"I suppose that depends on the perspective, Yugi."
The small teen knew there was no way he could convince Yami that this was probably normal for kittens who came from situations like those she had just come from. He opted for a change of subject. "Have you decided on a name for her?"
"Of course I have," Yami said, sounding indignant underneath the gentle tones he always reserved for Yugi. "I have named her Hershe."
"Hershey?" Yugi asked, cocking his head to the side. "Like the chocolate bars?"
"No, Her She. Because she is female and it was the best I could think of at 4 in the morning." The tabby kitten sat on the floor near Yami and meowed.
The former Pharaoh could not ignore the respect for cats he had been raised with, and slowly reached down and scooped Hershe up. She half meowed, half purred enthusiastically and Yami could swear she was smiling. Then she turned towards the table and stretched a delicate paw to its scuffed surface until Yami obligingly set her down on it.
"Yami!" Yugi cried, scooping his bowl off the table as the kitten ran towards it.
"Oh," Yami's eyes glittered with rarely seen mischief. "I guess she is hungry after all."
Yugi laughed, then sat up quickly as he remembered what he had been wanting to tell Yami all morning. "Nippl--uhm, my friend said that the ASPCA came to her house earlier. She told them what they needed to know, so those kids should be facing some fines or jail time soon."
Yami's eyes narrowed. His expression became a strange mix of affection for Hershe and hatred for her abusers when the kitten hopped onto his shoulder and purred loudly in his ear. "Good."
Two Weeks Later:
"Jeez, Yami, think ya got enough cat treats?" Joey poked around Yami's shopping cart. "What's this...a feather on a stick...?"
Yami snatched the item in question out of Joey's hands. "It's a cat toy. It represents a dead bird; it is intended to teach her to hunt."
Tea frowned. "Uhm...are you sure you should be teaching her that, Yami? Don't you think Yugi's grandfather will be upset if his finches get eaten?"
"No," Yami said, carefully browsing through the aisle of cat collars. "Why would she eat them?"
Tea paled. Joey tilted his head to the side in confusion before asking, "Then why would you want her to kill 'em?"
"Because if I remember correctly, the palace cats in Egypt brought in plenty of food for the chefs. With all of Hershe's energy, I expect there will be less money spent on groceries and therefore more money spent on Duel Monsters." Yami tossed aside a bright pink collar in favor of a thin, black leather band...very much like the one he was wearing.
Tea smiled thinly and took it away from him, handing him a more practical blue, nylon collar. "Uh, Yami....that's just...uhm...gross."
"Need I ask your opinion on raising a kitten?" Yami studied the product. "I was doing so long before you were born, Tea."
"Sure, if your memory ever kicks in," Joey said. "And things have changed since then anyway. We have *pants* now."
Yami glared fiercely at him, snatched up a dark purple collar and stalked off to the cash register.
Tea stared after the uncharacteristically moody spirit. "Joey, since when did he wear a backpack?"
"I dunno, but I think he got it after he bought that cat." In fact, now that the two noticed it, the backpack was just the right size to fit a little cat and maybe a baby blanket for comfort. And if they stared hard enough, they could see that it was moving.
Tea slapped her hand to her forehead; Joey's mouth dropped. "He didn't!"
"Mr. Rzeznik is going to *kill* him if he finds out there's a-" Tea was cut off by Joey's hand covering her mouth.
"Shhhh! Ya wanna get him in trouble?!"
"Yrylngmo!"
"Yeah, I *know* I'm yelling, too! C'mon, we gotta distract the manager." Joey and Tea ran off to the dangerous-looking Mr. Rzeznik. "Heya! Uh...ya wanna hear a song?"
"Yami, you can't take her to the movies," Yugi said.
"Why not?"
"Well, because some people don't like cats."
Yami shrugged off this explanation. "Some people are criminals, but I don't discriminate against them."
"Yes, you do! Remember?"
"I don't throw them out of movie theaters."
The boy was as undaunted as the former Pharaoh. "But criminals don't meow or wander around during the movie."
"Neither will Hershe. And if she does, well, she's small enough that at least she won't block the screen." Yami arranged the soft blue baby blanket in his backpack with a finality that, ordinarily, Yugi would have accepted as the end of their debate.
But ordinarily, a movie didn't hang in the balance. Desperate times called for desperate measures...and a large dose of 'Puppy Dog Eyes'. "Please, Yami? Please don't get me thrown out of the theater forever."
The Pharaoh wavered and finally caved. "...All right."
Yugi hugged him. "Thank you!" Just then, their ride came and Yami slowly followed the boy outside.
Looking back, he saw Hershe looking at him through the window, little front paws up against the glass, her bright orange eyes wet with tears.... (Had he been in any other situation, he would have known that the 'wet with tears' business was ludicrous. Cats don't cry. But, such was Hershe's hold over him that he completely forgot about Yugi's fears of being banned for life from the only theater in Domino.)
Quietly he slipped the kitten under his jacket, zipped it up, and gave the excuse that he was sneaking in gummy worms for the group.
A/N: I could think of more ridiculous things that have happened to me *cough* Who, me? Nah... But, it's late and tomorrow's SOLSTICE!! Happy day! So I'm going to sleep.