Disclaimer: I've no idea why we keep repeating it...
Nanaki: because it's fun!
Nanashi: er... go ahead then...
Nanaki: Everything doesn't belong to Nana-chan... me, or Ya-kun!
Yasuo: why would I wanna own 'em? a pack of guys being owned by me... think of the scandel...
Nanaki: (giggles) or think of the money you can make, renting them out!
Yasuo: (eyes widen, then grins) hey yeah!
Yasuo & Nanaki: (start scheming of a way to get the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters to be theirs)
Nanashi: (anime sweatdrops) er... okay then
Warnings: shounen-ai, and mild sappiness, I think... also mild language, courtesy of Kaiba...
Tristan opened the frontdoor, stepping aside, allowing Blankey to dart into the house first. She was bounding towards the kitchen, while Tristan was taking off his shoes, still carefully holding his new find.
"Tristan, that you?" a woman's voice called.
"Yeah, mom..." he called back. Tristan then blinked, and cringed slightly; he had to look down at the kitten, apologetically. Someone yelling while you were sleeping wasn't pleasant.
Kaiba opened his eyes, lazily. Then opening his mouth, he released a large yawn. He needed to stretch, but that would require Tristan letting him go. Blinking a bit, the 'kitten' looked around. Hm, nice house, actually. Cozy, warm, cheerful.
Then Kaiba was carried into the kitchen, Blankey already sitting by the table, tail thumping away. She was happy to be home, apparently. Kaiba was vaguely aware that Tristan wasn't willing to put him down anytime soon. The brunette had easily managed to take off his coat, while still holding Kaiba close.
"How does Blankey keep getting out...?" Tristan asked his mother, glaring mildly at his dog.
Kaiba tilted his head slightly. So this was Mrs. Taylor. She was a pretty woman, with warm gold-grey eyes, and a friendly smile. Kaiba watched her, so that's who Tristan got his unique eye-color from. But clearly he never got his height from his mother, since he was almost a foot taller than her.
"I don't know... but I'm glad you found her... I told you to start locking the gate..." she was saying, while shaking her head, in mock annoyance.
"What? I did..." Tristan shrugged. "Not my fault I have an abnormally smart dog..."
Blankey barked, as if acknowledging the compliment.
"Oh yeah... by the way... look what I found..." Tristan said, holding Kaiba up for Mrs. Taylor to see.
She blinked, turning back to her son. Her eyes landing on a small red kitten in Tristan's hands. "Oh... he's adorable...!" she gushed, with a smile.
Tristan smiled. His mother was an animal-lover, more than him, actually.
Kaiba bristled at the so-called compliment. "Adorable? I am anything but adorable!" he thought, in annoyance.
Tristan blinked, at the tension in the kitten. He chuckled, "I think you offended him..." he said, amused. Then he gently stroked his hand down Kaiba's back.
The CEO-turned-kitten anime sweatdropped, then felt all annoyances melt away again. And he couldn't help but relax at Tristan's warm hand running down his back, over and over. Now if he were human this would be pretty kinky...
The tell-tale heat in his face told Kaiba that he was blushing again; He shook his head, quickly. He wasn't human at the moment. "Don't even try to think like that," he told himself, firmly.
"What happened? Why does his fur look like that?" Mrs. Taylor asked, referring to the clumpy rusty-red fur that was matted in some points, yet smoothed down. The poor thing was also rather grubby, covered with some dust.
"Blankey kinda found him, so..." Tristan answered, with a small grin.
"Hm, makes sense, I guess... you should clean him... if you found him on the streets, you have to clean him, remember?"
Tristan blinked, then he sighed, "yes, ma'am..." He smiled wryly at Kaiba, "guess you're getting a bath, little guy."
"What?..!" Kaiba thought in alarm.
Tristan started carrying Kaiba upstairs, to a bathroom. Once in the bathroom, Kaiba was placed on the floor, and Tristan closed the door, in case the kitten decided to make a run for it. The brunette looked around a bit, brow furrowed in thought.
"Now, how to do this...?" he looked down at Kaiba. "Blankey gets baths in the yard... you, I'm not sure of..."
"Well, skip the bath then..." Kaiba thought, unknowingly backing up into a corner. He was really dreading the thought of water. Courtesy of his new body, most likely. Then he was picked up by Tristan again.
"Well, you're small enough to fit in the sink..." he commented.
"Oh no..." Kaiba thought, nervously. After putting the plug in the drain, Tristan started filling the sink with warm water, constantly checking the temperature. Didn't want to burn the little guy.
"Well, at least he's courteous," Kaiba thought. He gulped, watching the water.
"Alright, that'll do..." Tristan murmured, shutting off the water. Then he held up Kaiba, smiling faintly. "Don't make me regret this, please? I bathed a cat before, and it wasn't pretty..."
"Then don't put me in there!" Kaiba thought, his tail curling under him, as Tristan held him over the water, carefully.
Tristan sighed, slightly. "Go easy on me..." Then he slowly lowered Kaiba towards the water.
"Okay, just don't think about it..." Kaiba was telling himself. "You're not a cat... you're a human, in the body of a cat... water can't hurt you... water can't hurt you... water can't hurt you... water can't hurt..." His lower body suddenly felt very, very soaked! "I'm lying...! YES, IT CAN!"
Without thinking, Kaiba released a sharp yowl, and started squirming and struggling. Then he clawed his way to Tristan's chest, said claws digging into the brunette's shirt, and maybe some skin.
"Hey!" Tristan protested, then fell back in surprise, hitting the side of a shelf. Resulting in a THUMP, and a CRASH, as a clay vase hit the floor.
Tristan cringed at the CRASH. Slowly opening one eye, the brunette glanced to where the sound came from. Then he anime sweatdropped, while staring at the pile of shattered clay. His older sister was gonna kill him. She made that vase in 10th grade.
Running footsteps sounded outside, then there was knocking on the door. "Tristan? Tristan, are you okay?" his mother asked, quickly.
Tristan sat up, still staring at the broken pieces of clay. Then he sighed, and started getting to his feet. Once he noticed the kitten's trembling, he gently held Kaiba to his chest, "hey... relax... it's okay..." he told him, softly. He used his thumb to stroke under the kitten's ear, soothingly.
"Tristan?" Mrs. Taylor peered in.
Tristan blinked, and glanced at her, "yeah, I'm alright..."
She sighed, probably with relief. "What happened...?" she asked. Her eyebrow quirked at the bathroom's... disarray. A shelf was knocked down, and a vase from her daughter was broken. Now what could have caused it?
"He panicked..." Tristan smiled weakly.
"Oh," she looked at the kitten,confused.
Not that Tristan could blame her. Someone falling, and two things breaking in less than 3 seconds, didn't seem like something that was just caused by a kitten panicking. But that's what happened. "I know what to do..." Tristan reassured his mother. "Don't worry about it..."
Mrs. Taylor pursed her lips, then nodded. "Alright, then... I have to finish dinner." Once she closed the door again, she was gone.
Tristan almost wanted to laugh, but the small pain in his back from hitting the shelf was preventing that. And the claws digging in his chest weren't helping. There had to be a better way to go about bathing the kitten.
And personally, Kaiba was feeling like an idiot. But the thought of water, being in it, scared the hell out of him.
Sitting on the side of the tub, Tristan grabbed a facecloth. While dipping the cloth in the warm water, he sat Kaiba on his lap. Then Tristan gently stroked Kaiba's head with the damp cloth, carefully holding Kaiba in place, by leaving his hand on his mid-section.
Kaiba cringed, noticing that Tristan wasn't wringing all the water out. He was getting just as soaked as he would, if he were in the sink. Still cringing as water ran down his head, almost into his eyes, Kaiba could only mew pathetically.
"Relax... it's just water..." Tristan said, softly. He smiled faintly, "you can scratch me, if it'll make you feel any better..." he offered.
Unsheathing his newly mastered claws, Kaiba dug them into Tristan's hand. The brunette hissed quietly in pain. It seemed that claws hurt more than teeth. Then he chuckled, ruefully.
"Right... I knew I'd regret saying that..."
This went on for a while, Tristan still being patient and gentle with Kaiba. While the CEO-turned-kitten remained tense in the brunette's lap, his claws still digging in the back of Tristan's hand. And water running down his furry, lithe body, as well as Tristan's arms and legs.
Tristan pondered using shampoo or something to get the dog slobber out of the kitten's fur. But with the discomfort and tension, the brunette didn't have the heart to make the kitten go through anymore.
"... Hm, alright, that's as clean as you're gonna get... if we keep doing it this way..." Tristan said, simply. Wringing out the cloth with one hand, Tristan stood up, cradling the damp kitten to his chest, ignoring the fact that his shirt was getting just as damp as his pants. He felt like laughing, since the kitten clinging to him, claws firmly in place. It was cute, but he couldn't dry the kitten like this.
Tristan carefully pried the kitten's claws out of his shirt, and slightly held him away, causing Kaiba to start shivering.
And Kaiba was not happy at the moment.He was cold and wet now! He quickly shook off the water, splashing Tristan in the process.
Tristan anime sweatdropped, getting water on his face.
Kaiba smirked, inwardly.
Eyebrow cocked, Tristan licked his lips. "Uh... right... I guess I had that coming, after putting you through that..." he said, slowly. Kaiba nodded.
Which Tristan smiled at. Then he grabbed a towel, and wrapped up Kaiba, as he carried the kitten out of the bathroom to his room.
Once Tristan sat on his bed, Kaiba was in his lap again. Then Tristan started drying him off. Starting with his head, working his way down Kaiba's body. Kaiba stared up at Tristan, finding that the brunette really was easy on the eyes. Good with his hands, too.
Kaiba anime sweatdropped, still wondering how he managed to have such thoughts go through his head.
Tristan smiled, lightly ruffling the kitten's head with the towel, causing Kaiba to glare up at him. Kaiba was then sat on the floor. "That's as dry as I can get you... the rest is up to you," the brunette told him.
Kaiba stepped away a bit, and started to shake the water off somemore. Not as bad as before, but Kaiba still felt soaked. He shook off his hind legs, then sat down, and started licking his forepaws.
Then he froze, anime sweatdropping. Alright, he was getting way too used to this body.
Then the phone rang. Tristan didn't bother getting up. He rested his chin in his hand, while watching the kitten. For some reason, he really liked watching him. He was cute. The way he tried to look so defiant, yet seemed a little dependant, too.
"Tristan, phone!" Mrs. Taylor called.
Tristan looked up, then got to his feet. "Alright..." he glanced at the blue-eyed kitten, "stay here, okay?" Then he anime sweatdropped, as the kitten almost glared at him.
As if saying, "how dare you tell me what to do!"
Tristan blinked, then shrugged, and walked out the room, closing the door a bit.
oooXXXooo
Picking up the phone, that was laying beside the cradle, Tristan brought it to his ear. "Yeah?"
"Tristan... have you seen Seto around?" a boy's voice asked, worriedly.
"Huh...? Mokuba...? Uh, no, I haven't... not since school..." answered Tristan, lightly plucking at his damp shirt. Yeah, he'd better change before dinner...
"He said he'd be home an hour ago... I'm getting worried..." Mokuba blurted, sounding a little near tears.
Tristan furrowed his brow. Mokuba near hysterics. Not a good thing. "Uh, I'm sure it's nothing, Mokuba... probably just work..." he said.
"What if it isn't?" Mokuba cried. "Tristan, what if big brother's in trouble?..!"
Tristan smiled slightly. 12 years old, and the kid was already a mother hen. "I don't think you need to worry about Kaiba, Mokuba..." Tristan assured the younger Kaiba. "Your brother, he's one of the strongest people I know..."
Mokuba took a shaky breath. "Yeah? You think he's alright? Like, what if someone's trying to kidnap him, or something..!"
"... Then I'd pity the kidnappers," replied Tristan, sincerely.
Mokuba laughed a bit. "Yeah, Seto would probably tear them apart, huh?"
"Most likely..." Tristan agreed, with a smile. Then he frowned slightly, getting a thought, "what about you, Mokuba? You okay?" he asked. He couldn't help but be concerned for the kid's well-being. Big brother complex, perhaps.
"Huh?" Mokuba sounded confused.
"You're not by yourself, are you?"
"Uh-uh... Neil and Willy are here... and Clara's here, too..."
Tristan anime sweatdropped, "uh... and they are?"
"Neil and Willy are my bodyguards... Clara's the housekeeper..."
"They take care of you when Kaiba's not around?"
"Uh-huh... Neil and Willy are the best... and Clara's so nice..."
Tristan smiled, "alright... as long as you're okay, Mokuba..."
"I'm fine... it's Seto I'm worried about..." Mokuba said, firmly. "You should be, too."
Vaguely confused by the last statement, Tristan shook his head slightly. "Uh, he's probably fine..." he reassured him.
"Yeah, I guess... well, if you do see him, beat him up for me... I don't like when he makes me worry about him..." Mokuba muttered, no longer sounding upset. Moreover annoyed.
Tristan blinked, then laughed slightly. "Can't beat him up, Mokuba... it'll ruin his looks... imagine how many people'll hate me..."
"I guess... yeah, I don't think you can take Seto, anyways."
Tristan anime sweatdropped, again. "Hey, now that's a low blow..." he said, feigning irritation.
Mokuba laughed. "Sorry... I gotta go, bye, Tristan... thanks for cheering me up..." then he hung up.
Tristan smiled, as he sat the phone back in its cradle. Hm, so Kaiba wasn't around. Well, what Tristan said was true. He thought Kaiba could take care of himself. So why worry?
Then with a shrug to himself, Tristan turned to head back upstairs to get the kitten. It was nearly time for dinner, and he had to assume the kitten would be hungry. Kittens couldn't take care of themselves, after all.
Nanaki: (giggles) I am loving this!
Yasuo: (blinks, then shrugs) ... eh...
Nanashi: (blinks, then glares at Yasuo) Yasuo!
Nanaki: (growls, and whips out a steel mallet) DIE, YOU! (lunges at Ya-kun)
Yasuo: ACK! (runs for his dear life)
Nanashi: (anime sweatdrops) er, thank you, Nanaki...
Nanaki: no problem, Nana-chan! (glares at Ya-kun somemore) COME BACK HERE!
Yasuo: AUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! IT WAS A JOKE, I SWEAR!