oos: Hey, everyone. The teachers have started cramming all assignments in at the last minute; it's been horrible, so please excuse the late factor on this chapter. School ends on June 20 (T_T) (SO FAR AWAY! ). Then, chapters will be posted abnormally quickly! ^_^

Man-Eater Bug is Defeated

Bakura woke to a strange sensation. His face felt wet and every now and then- the yami bolted upright in bed with a startled shout.

Baka, who had been sitting on his chest, tumbled off with a protesting yip. Bakura touched a finger to his face and immediately removed it. *Stupid dog must have been licking my face to wake me up,* he thought wryly, walking to the bathroom.

He closed the door behind him and started humming as he got out a fresh towel in anticipation of a nice, hot shower.

Bakura twisted the tap to 'ON' and then to 'HOT'. The water grew warm in seconds, so the yami shed his boxers and stepped inside. He sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying the refreshing feeling of hot water pounding onto his back like a massage.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. *What was I thinking?* he asked himself incredulously. *Leaving that mutt out there by herself is like signing my own death warrant. I didn't even block off any rooms.....* Bakura quickly finished up and almost literally jumped out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist (Aithril: 0_o!!!!!!) and threw open the door.

Practically at his feet lay one of Ryou's blue slippers. Next to it lay a roll of toilet paper, mostly unrolled. Bakura followed it down the hallway, through the kitchen, and into the den. The last square had teeth marks in it the size of a puppy's.

*Gee, I wonder which mongrel it could be,* Bakura thought sarcastically.

Next to the toilet paper was a chewed up Man-Eater Bug card. The yami stood in silence for a minute, mouth dropped open in shock. Then he dropped to the floor and reverently picked up the Duel Monster Card.

"That b*tch will pay....." he hissed slowly.

He began to hunt meticulously through the apartment.

**1 Hour Later**

"Oh, Baka!" called Bakura angrily, but he had a hint of worry in his voice. "Where are you?!?"

No replying yips.

"If you come out now like a good doggy, I promise not to banish you to the shadow realm." He offered. It had worked with Joey before.

But there was still no answer from Baka.

"Baka!" he yelled, frustrated. Bakura started to step forward and nearly tripped over something. He growled and turned around to see what would have dared stop the Mighty Bakura from continuing his Important Search.

It was a laundry basket full of clean clothes that Ryou had left for Bakura because he didn't know how to work the washer or dryer.

On top of the clothes lay Baka. She was stretched out, ears flopped to the side and snoring happily.

The clothes weren't clean anymore.

"Wake up, you stupid dog!" Bakura yelled, lightly kicking the laundry basket. For some reason, he didn't really want to hurt her.

Baka's brown eyes slowly opened and it took a second before she registered who had interrupted her snooze.

She jumped guiltily out of the laundry basket and started to crawl away.

"Oh, no you don't." said Bakura, planting his foot firmly in her path. The puppy dared to look up at him with sad eyes before lowering her head once more and whining.

"Sorry, Baka, but apologies don't work on me!" Bakura said cheerfully, trying to ignore the thing nagging at his heart.

Baka didn't seem to get this because she continued whining and even nuzzled his foot once.

The yami was beginning to get annoyed. "Fine damnit!" he huffed. "I forgive you!" The dog was still crying.

"Apology accepted?"

More whines.

"That's ok?"

A short bark.

"You're a good dog?"

At this, Baka stopped and straightened up. Her tail began to wag.

"Yeah, that's great. Glad we're even now," Bakura said sourly. "I'm going to get dressed. I'll only be gone for a minute, so BE GOOD!"

Baka jumped up on the couch and sat down while her master backed suspiciously into the hallway.

*What mischief could she get into in five minutes?* he reassured himself..........

oos: Gah! Now that I've been writing this, I'm gonna miss the bus! CYA LATER! ^_^