Chapter Five: Mobile
~~Yugi's POV~~
"I'm afraid," Ryou whispered into the phone.
"Yeah?" I asked, yawning. "Ryou, it's three in the morning, what's wrong? Is your Yami beating you up or something?"
"No, it's much, much worse than that. He's been bouncing on my bed for the last hour, begging for a cat."
"A /what/?"
"Yugi, please, I need to talk to your Yami."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Since I knew perfectly well that he would eventually talk me into it, I gave up right away and went down the hall to fetch my Yami.
Yami is not a morning person. He never was, and never will be. Thus, he was not happy when I told him that Ryou was having problems with his Yami.
"I'm going to tear that tomb robber into tiny little pieces," Yami growled into the phone. I ran downstairs to pick up the extension.
"What's wrong with him?" Ryou asked.
"I don't know! He probably wants to conduct some kind of evil experiment on it."
"Oh, ew. I didn't think of that. Hey, he's gone."
"No, I'm here," Bakura said. "In the kitchen, fixing the cupboards."
"There's nothing wrong with our cupboards."
"Sure there is. The wallpaper stuff is pink in there. That's definitely wrong."
"What do you want a cat for?" Yami asked in an I'm-going-to-hurt-you-if-you- don't-answer-me sort of voice.
At the same time, Ryou said, "Leave our cupboards alone!"
"Well, hikari, I'd love to, but it's so disgusting I can't sleep. And as for you, pharaoh, I was going to train it to claw your eyes out, but for the time being, I just wanted it to keep me company and perhaps use the ceiling as a scratching post."
By now, I was hopelessly lost.
**Went back home again
This sucks, gotta pack up and leave again
Say goodbye to all my friends
Can't say when I'll be there again
It's time now to turn around
Turn my back on everything
Turn my back on everything**
"All right," I said before my friend, my Yami, and my...acquaintance could unleash the power of cursing on each other. "Ryou, pink is wrong, so I suggest you /do/ change the wallpaper...stuff...in your cupboards. Make it purple."
"Or blue," Yami added.
"Right. Yami, please don't kill Ryou's Yami, because I think a cat would be good for him. As for you, Bakura, uh...we can go shopping tomorrow."
"Tomorrow never comes," he said cryptically. "Anyway, if you're talking about yesterday's tomorrow, that's today, since it's past midnight."
Bewildered, I said the only thing that came to mind. "Yeah, okay."
"And quit calling me 'Bakura,'" he added. "If anything, you will address me as 'tomb thief.'"
"Grave robber," Yami muttered.
"Sure, that works, pharaoh. Okay, I'm going to go to sleep. We can go to the pet store at nine, which is when it opens!"
The phone clicked as he hung up, and we all tried to talk at once. After a frightening moment of not being able to understand what anyone was saying, including myself, I said loudly, "Calm down!"
For three seconds, all three of us were silent. Then Ryou said, "What's wrong with him?"
"Maybe he's finally changing for the better!"
"Yugi, I appreciate the optimism," Yami said, "but the grave robber will never change. End of story. He's got to have an ulterior motive."
**Everything's changing when I turn around
All out of my control
I'm a mobile
Everything's changing when I turn around
All out of my control
I'm a mobile**
After a few moments of listening to Ryou and Yami argue, I quietly hung up and stumbled up to bed.
The next morning at eight forty-five, our doorbell rang, startling me out of the deepest sleep I've ever experienced. By the time I was up and dressed, Yami had already answered the door and was holding Bakura's arm in a death grip.
"Let him go," I moaned, waving my hand at my Yami.
"But he wanted to..."
"I don't really care what he wanted to do. Let's just go buy the stupid cat."
Yami declined to join us, so I was alone with Bakura as we walked the five blocks to the pet store. By the third block, I was in a much better mood.
"So, where's Ryou?" I asked.
"He's still asleep. Gods, I can't wait. Can we run? Can we? Please?"
I almost stopped dead in my tracks, but thought better of it. "You just said please."
"Yeah, sure, why not? Now can we hurry up?"
"Why...do you want a cat?"
The tomb robber shrugged. "I like cats. Haven't had one in five thousand years."
At the time I was sure I was going insane. Things just got a whole lot weirder when we arrived at the pet store.
**Start back at this life
Stretch myself back into the vibe
I'm waking up to say I've tried
Instead of waking up to another TV Guide
It's time now to turn around
Turn and walk on this crazy ground
Oh oh**
I stood around in my state of confusion while Bakura ran eagerly from one cat to another. I wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for, but apparently he found it, because after twenty minutes of deliberation, he bought a kitten. I had nearly managed to fall asleep standing up, so the first time I met her, she scratched my arm and meowed loudly at me.
"Sorry 'bout that," Bakura said cheerfully, cuddling the little creature. I have to admit, she was adorable. She was dark brown, very nearly black, with the brightest green eyes I've ever seen.
"She's beautiful," I whispered, tentatively patting her head with my uninjured arm.
"I know," Bakura said. "Her name is Atenna, my own personal feminine version of Aten, the sun-god."
"I thought Ra was the sun-god of Egypt."
"Yeah, for awhile, but then one of the pharaohs introduced a new form of sun-worship with the god Aten."
I gently stroked Atenna's head. She used her little tiny paws to grab my finger and bite it, which didn't hurt as much as the scratch. Okay, so I thought she was cute. Okay, so the tomb robber has good taste. So sue me.
**Everything's changing when I turn around
All out of my control
I'm a mobile
Everything's changing out of what I know
Everywhere I go
I'm a mobile
I'm a mobile**
We walked back to my house, Bakura carrying Atenna on his shoulder, one hand protectively keeping her there.
"Um, Bakura?"
"Yeah?" he replied, concentrating mostly on extracting his finger from Atenna's grip.
"I was wondering...why do you want a cat?"
He shrugged, a motion that caused Atenna to pitch forward, landing on his waiting arm. "I like cats."
"But why now? Why wake Ryou up at three in the morning?"
"To torture him?"
I gave him the friendliest glare I could manage under the circumstances. "That's not true."
He glanced up, and for a moment, I could have sworn he actually was Ryou. Usually, it's easy to tell the difference, since Ryou is much more open and warm, and his Yami is so cold and aloof. But not then.
"You want the truth? The truth is...I lost something last night, and I needed someone to replace them. It."
We were silent for another block. Seeing my house coming up, I stopped walking.
"You know, Bakura, I'm your friend. You can talk to me."
He rolled his eyes. "When you find those Monopoly pieces, then I'll consider you an honorary friend, all right?"
"Hey, we were justified in hiding those. You scared the...you scared us."
"Uh huh..."
Atenna yowled, digging her miniature claws into his arm. He winced, gently lifting her off. I had never seen him like this before.
"You are so miserable," I informed him. "And it's so obvious." I smiled. I just couldn't help it. "Go home, Bakura. Play with your cat. And whatever you lost...I hope you find it again."
"I don't think so," he said softly. "See you later, Yugi."
"Yeah. Bye."
**Hanging from the ceiling
Life's a mobile
Spinning round with mixed feelings
Crazy and wild
Sometimes I wanna scream out loud**
The moment I stepped into my house, Yami grabbed me and dragged me inside, slamming the door.
"Is he following you?"
"God, Yami," I said, collapsing on the couch. "Don't do that."
He perched on the arm of the couch, staring at me. "How'd you get that scratch on your arm? Was it him?"
I glanced at the scratch, which I now noticed was bleeding rather profusely. "No, that was Atenna. The cat."
"Hmph." Yami went into the bathroom to get the gauze, while I grabbed some Kleenex and started wiping the blood off.
"I think you're too hard on him," I called, pressing the tissue closer to my arm, which stung and did very little to slow the bleeding.
Yami reappeared with adhesive bandages and some of that weird stuff that stings badly and supposedly cleans out the wound. "No way. Nothing is too hard on him."
"He's so sad," I said, biting my lip to keep from screaming as Yami applied the stinging liquid.
"Sad? He doesn't have feelings, hikari. Just forget about it."
"I can't," I murmured, completely ignoring anything further that my Yami did to my arm. I was still dead tired, so I managed to fall asleep despite the pain.
**Everything's changing
Everywhere I go
All out of my control
Everything's changing
Everywhere I go
Out of what I know
Yeah yeah yeah**
When I woke up, it was past noon and the only person present was myself. I found a note from Yami on the table - "We went to have lunch at that restaurant where Mai works. Come when you get up."
So I took a shower and went.
Ryou and his Yami were there. Ryou sported a nasty cut above one eye, apparently from Atenna, who was sleeping in Bakura's lap. Joey was being comforted by Tea.
"Mai broke up with me this morning," he said tearfully when I sat down.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Joey," I said, not really knowing what else to say. "Is she working today?"
"No," he said, sniffling and burying his head in Tea's shoulder.
"I'll go find her," I said sympathetically. "I'll talk to her. Maybe it was a mistake."
"No," Bakura said, his brown eyes fixed on Atenna.
We all stared at him. The "What?" that followed was unanimous.
"No, /I'll/ go talk to her," he said, getting up and leaving before anyone could say anything.
Ryou spoke first. "Excuse my language, but what the hell is wrong with him?"
"I don't know," I answered. "But he's changing. And it's probably for the better."
"Yeah," Yami snorted. "It's not like it could get worse."
**Everything's changing when I turn around
All out of my control
I'm a mobile
Everything's changing out of what I know
Everywhere I go
I'm a mobile
Everywhere I go
I'm a mobile**
~~Yugi's POV~~
"I'm afraid," Ryou whispered into the phone.
"Yeah?" I asked, yawning. "Ryou, it's three in the morning, what's wrong? Is your Yami beating you up or something?"
"No, it's much, much worse than that. He's been bouncing on my bed for the last hour, begging for a cat."
"A /what/?"
"Yugi, please, I need to talk to your Yami."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Since I knew perfectly well that he would eventually talk me into it, I gave up right away and went down the hall to fetch my Yami.
Yami is not a morning person. He never was, and never will be. Thus, he was not happy when I told him that Ryou was having problems with his Yami.
"I'm going to tear that tomb robber into tiny little pieces," Yami growled into the phone. I ran downstairs to pick up the extension.
"What's wrong with him?" Ryou asked.
"I don't know! He probably wants to conduct some kind of evil experiment on it."
"Oh, ew. I didn't think of that. Hey, he's gone."
"No, I'm here," Bakura said. "In the kitchen, fixing the cupboards."
"There's nothing wrong with our cupboards."
"Sure there is. The wallpaper stuff is pink in there. That's definitely wrong."
"What do you want a cat for?" Yami asked in an I'm-going-to-hurt-you-if-you- don't-answer-me sort of voice.
At the same time, Ryou said, "Leave our cupboards alone!"
"Well, hikari, I'd love to, but it's so disgusting I can't sleep. And as for you, pharaoh, I was going to train it to claw your eyes out, but for the time being, I just wanted it to keep me company and perhaps use the ceiling as a scratching post."
By now, I was hopelessly lost.
**Went back home again
This sucks, gotta pack up and leave again
Say goodbye to all my friends
Can't say when I'll be there again
It's time now to turn around
Turn my back on everything
Turn my back on everything**
"All right," I said before my friend, my Yami, and my...acquaintance could unleash the power of cursing on each other. "Ryou, pink is wrong, so I suggest you /do/ change the wallpaper...stuff...in your cupboards. Make it purple."
"Or blue," Yami added.
"Right. Yami, please don't kill Ryou's Yami, because I think a cat would be good for him. As for you, Bakura, uh...we can go shopping tomorrow."
"Tomorrow never comes," he said cryptically. "Anyway, if you're talking about yesterday's tomorrow, that's today, since it's past midnight."
Bewildered, I said the only thing that came to mind. "Yeah, okay."
"And quit calling me 'Bakura,'" he added. "If anything, you will address me as 'tomb thief.'"
"Grave robber," Yami muttered.
"Sure, that works, pharaoh. Okay, I'm going to go to sleep. We can go to the pet store at nine, which is when it opens!"
The phone clicked as he hung up, and we all tried to talk at once. After a frightening moment of not being able to understand what anyone was saying, including myself, I said loudly, "Calm down!"
For three seconds, all three of us were silent. Then Ryou said, "What's wrong with him?"
"Maybe he's finally changing for the better!"
"Yugi, I appreciate the optimism," Yami said, "but the grave robber will never change. End of story. He's got to have an ulterior motive."
**Everything's changing when I turn around
All out of my control
I'm a mobile
Everything's changing when I turn around
All out of my control
I'm a mobile**
After a few moments of listening to Ryou and Yami argue, I quietly hung up and stumbled up to bed.
The next morning at eight forty-five, our doorbell rang, startling me out of the deepest sleep I've ever experienced. By the time I was up and dressed, Yami had already answered the door and was holding Bakura's arm in a death grip.
"Let him go," I moaned, waving my hand at my Yami.
"But he wanted to..."
"I don't really care what he wanted to do. Let's just go buy the stupid cat."
Yami declined to join us, so I was alone with Bakura as we walked the five blocks to the pet store. By the third block, I was in a much better mood.
"So, where's Ryou?" I asked.
"He's still asleep. Gods, I can't wait. Can we run? Can we? Please?"
I almost stopped dead in my tracks, but thought better of it. "You just said please."
"Yeah, sure, why not? Now can we hurry up?"
"Why...do you want a cat?"
The tomb robber shrugged. "I like cats. Haven't had one in five thousand years."
At the time I was sure I was going insane. Things just got a whole lot weirder when we arrived at the pet store.
**Start back at this life
Stretch myself back into the vibe
I'm waking up to say I've tried
Instead of waking up to another TV Guide
It's time now to turn around
Turn and walk on this crazy ground
Oh oh**
I stood around in my state of confusion while Bakura ran eagerly from one cat to another. I wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for, but apparently he found it, because after twenty minutes of deliberation, he bought a kitten. I had nearly managed to fall asleep standing up, so the first time I met her, she scratched my arm and meowed loudly at me.
"Sorry 'bout that," Bakura said cheerfully, cuddling the little creature. I have to admit, she was adorable. She was dark brown, very nearly black, with the brightest green eyes I've ever seen.
"She's beautiful," I whispered, tentatively patting her head with my uninjured arm.
"I know," Bakura said. "Her name is Atenna, my own personal feminine version of Aten, the sun-god."
"I thought Ra was the sun-god of Egypt."
"Yeah, for awhile, but then one of the pharaohs introduced a new form of sun-worship with the god Aten."
I gently stroked Atenna's head. She used her little tiny paws to grab my finger and bite it, which didn't hurt as much as the scratch. Okay, so I thought she was cute. Okay, so the tomb robber has good taste. So sue me.
**Everything's changing when I turn around
All out of my control
I'm a mobile
Everything's changing out of what I know
Everywhere I go
I'm a mobile
I'm a mobile**
We walked back to my house, Bakura carrying Atenna on his shoulder, one hand protectively keeping her there.
"Um, Bakura?"
"Yeah?" he replied, concentrating mostly on extracting his finger from Atenna's grip.
"I was wondering...why do you want a cat?"
He shrugged, a motion that caused Atenna to pitch forward, landing on his waiting arm. "I like cats."
"But why now? Why wake Ryou up at three in the morning?"
"To torture him?"
I gave him the friendliest glare I could manage under the circumstances. "That's not true."
He glanced up, and for a moment, I could have sworn he actually was Ryou. Usually, it's easy to tell the difference, since Ryou is much more open and warm, and his Yami is so cold and aloof. But not then.
"You want the truth? The truth is...I lost something last night, and I needed someone to replace them. It."
We were silent for another block. Seeing my house coming up, I stopped walking.
"You know, Bakura, I'm your friend. You can talk to me."
He rolled his eyes. "When you find those Monopoly pieces, then I'll consider you an honorary friend, all right?"
"Hey, we were justified in hiding those. You scared the...you scared us."
"Uh huh..."
Atenna yowled, digging her miniature claws into his arm. He winced, gently lifting her off. I had never seen him like this before.
"You are so miserable," I informed him. "And it's so obvious." I smiled. I just couldn't help it. "Go home, Bakura. Play with your cat. And whatever you lost...I hope you find it again."
"I don't think so," he said softly. "See you later, Yugi."
"Yeah. Bye."
**Hanging from the ceiling
Life's a mobile
Spinning round with mixed feelings
Crazy and wild
Sometimes I wanna scream out loud**
The moment I stepped into my house, Yami grabbed me and dragged me inside, slamming the door.
"Is he following you?"
"God, Yami," I said, collapsing on the couch. "Don't do that."
He perched on the arm of the couch, staring at me. "How'd you get that scratch on your arm? Was it him?"
I glanced at the scratch, which I now noticed was bleeding rather profusely. "No, that was Atenna. The cat."
"Hmph." Yami went into the bathroom to get the gauze, while I grabbed some Kleenex and started wiping the blood off.
"I think you're too hard on him," I called, pressing the tissue closer to my arm, which stung and did very little to slow the bleeding.
Yami reappeared with adhesive bandages and some of that weird stuff that stings badly and supposedly cleans out the wound. "No way. Nothing is too hard on him."
"He's so sad," I said, biting my lip to keep from screaming as Yami applied the stinging liquid.
"Sad? He doesn't have feelings, hikari. Just forget about it."
"I can't," I murmured, completely ignoring anything further that my Yami did to my arm. I was still dead tired, so I managed to fall asleep despite the pain.
**Everything's changing
Everywhere I go
All out of my control
Everything's changing
Everywhere I go
Out of what I know
Yeah yeah yeah**
When I woke up, it was past noon and the only person present was myself. I found a note from Yami on the table - "We went to have lunch at that restaurant where Mai works. Come when you get up."
So I took a shower and went.
Ryou and his Yami were there. Ryou sported a nasty cut above one eye, apparently from Atenna, who was sleeping in Bakura's lap. Joey was being comforted by Tea.
"Mai broke up with me this morning," he said tearfully when I sat down.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Joey," I said, not really knowing what else to say. "Is she working today?"
"No," he said, sniffling and burying his head in Tea's shoulder.
"I'll go find her," I said sympathetically. "I'll talk to her. Maybe it was a mistake."
"No," Bakura said, his brown eyes fixed on Atenna.
We all stared at him. The "What?" that followed was unanimous.
"No, /I'll/ go talk to her," he said, getting up and leaving before anyone could say anything.
Ryou spoke first. "Excuse my language, but what the hell is wrong with him?"
"I don't know," I answered. "But he's changing. And it's probably for the better."
"Yeah," Yami snorted. "It's not like it could get worse."
**Everything's changing when I turn around
All out of my control
I'm a mobile
Everything's changing out of what I know
Everywhere I go
I'm a mobile
Everywhere I go
I'm a mobile**