Disclaimer: nope, anything mentioned in this, most likely isn't hers...

Warnings: shounen-ai, mild hentai... plus Kaiba and Tristan's little bit of cursing...

Nanashi: (blinks, then claps for Yasuo & Nanaki) very nicely done, you two...

Yasuo: (blinks)

Nanaki: (blushes)

Yasuo & Nanaki: (look at each other, then shrug and bow)

Nanashi: (snickers) ... by the way, names made up from the the top of my head...

Kaiba awoke slowly. He was in a very warm place. He opened his eyes, trying to remember where he was. He had one warm muscular arm surrounding him, and an equally warm hand resting on his body, resulting in the warm, safe place for the new 'kitten'. Kaiba yawned, then snuggled back into his warmth.

Wherever he was, he liked it.

The soft, rythmic breathing, a strong heartbeat. It all had a very relaxing effect...

"Tristan, time to get up!" a woman's voice called.

Kaiba opened his eyes again, as he lifted his head, confused. Tristan? He looked up, sure enough, there was Tristan Taylor who looked like he was sleeping for a moment.

Until he opened one golden-grey eye, hazily. Which shifted over to his desk, at the digital clock. 7:12am.

"Ugh... friday mornings..." the brunette groaned quietly, lightly nestling his head into his pillow. Then he looked at Kaiba, and smiled. "Hey, Akai..."

Kaiba blinked in confusion. Akai..? Oh yeah, that was his new name, or something. He yawned again, and laid back down, his head against Tristan's arm.

Tristan raised eyebrow. "Nice greeting..." he said, dryly.

"Tristan, are you up?" Mrs. Taylor called again.

Making sure to turn away from Kaiba, to avoid yelling in the kitten's ear, Tristan grimaced. "Yeah, I'm awake..." he called back, in mid-yawn.

"... 'Awake' and 'up' are two different things, Tristan...!"(1)

Tristan sighed, his mother used that line on him every morning, all his life. Then he sat up, as he proceeded to stretch.

With his source of heat gone, Kaiba shivered a bit, to his annoyance. He scowled, looking around for a moment, then moved to a much warmer spot. Like where Tristan just finished laying. Ah, that was better.

Tristan was then on his feet, glancing at the cat, who looked ready to fall back asleep. Lucky animal, he thought. Getting to sleep all day, without a care in the world.

Little did Tristan know, that was what Kaiba had always wanted.

With a small grin, he tossed the covers over 'Akai', then Tristan headed for the bathroom. A shower, and he'd be like any other morning person. Hopefully.

oooXXXooo

"This is nice..." Kaiba thought. He was curled up in a very warm, comfy place, feeling perfectly at ease in his new surroundings. Not needing to worry about anything. Then he scowled, if those idiots didn't get Mokuba to school on time...

Then he was distracted by a scent. A nice scent. Kaiba couldn't have been in a better place, warm, comfy. And a subtle scent. What it was, Kaiba wasn't sure... but he liked it. Soapy almost, and maybe a little like cedar... kinda sweet, spicy, but not flowery.

It was hard to describe.

Half an hour later, Tristan returned, with only a towel around his waist. Kaiba peeked his head out from under the covers. His eyes suddenly devouring the brunette's almost-bare muscular frame.

Tristan paused, noticing the kitten was really staring at him. And for some reason, it made him uncomfortable. So he walked up to his bed, and grabbed the covers, tossing them over the kitten again.

"Don't stare, little hentai."

"... Damn..." Kaiba thought. "And I'm not hentai!" Once he managed to get his head back out from under the covers, Tristan was half-dressed. But at least Kaiba got to enjoy the smooth muscled back the brunette had.

That is until Tristan pulled a shirt up and over his shoulders, and started buttoning it. Kaiba sighed inwardly, in reluctantly admitted disappointment.

Then Blankey peered in, and barked in greeting.

Kaiba glared at her, "what do you want, mutt...?" he thought, in irritation. The dog may have been friendly, but she stilled bugged the hell out of him.

"Hey, Blankey..." Tristan greeted simply, while patting the dog on the head. Glancing at the clock, Tristan grabbed his uniform jacket, and headed out the door, deciding a quick breakfast was in order.

Kaiba grimaced slightly, watching Tristan leave; being left alone with the mutt really didn't appeal to him. So he approached the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor. Seemed pretty far down, thanks to his new size. 'Akai' glanced at Blankey, who was watching him, almost curiously.

Willing himself to ignore the dog, Kaiba carefully leaned down, both paws clinging to the side of the bed, he managed to get a little closer to the floor. Finally, in a burst of impatience, Kaiba merely let go, and tumbled to the floor.

Sitting upright again, Kaiba shook his head quickly, still trying to ignore the dog. He looked around, thoughtfully. And brightened, very slightly; Tristan's backpack was sitting, open, on the floor. "He'll be back to get that," thought Kaiba. His books were already packed, ready to go.

Kaiba's ear twitched a bit, as he thought about his options.

One, stay at Tristan's house. In his room. Sleep, probably all day, and just take it easy?

Or two, jump in the backpack. Get to school. See if he would miss anything of great importance?

Kaiba slowly walked up to the backpack, still thinking. Alright, first off, why? Kaiba was pretty far ahead in all of his classes. All of his assignments were usually handed in well-before the due date.

Hunger should also be a factor. How could Kaiba know if anyone would even stay home? He stepped a little closer to the backpack, then paused, staring at it, his lip curling thoughtfully. That small compartment on the side looked about his size.

Cursing his sudden indecisiveness, Kaiba set his jaw in determination, and walked into the backpack. Into the small pocket to the side, curling up in an attempt to remain hidden, since Tristan would more than likely take him back out if he was found.

A minute later, Tristan returned, grabbing his backpack. Then he frowned slightly, looking around for Akai as he put a pen in his pocket, and lifted his backpack over his shoulder, against his back. He glanced down at Blankey, she was laying on the floor a little too calmly.

Tristan raised an eyebrow, questioningly, "Blankey...?"

"Tristan... you're gonna be late..." Mrs. Taylor called.

Watching his dog for a moment, and receiving nothing of suspicion, Tristan shrugged, deciding Akai only fell asleep under the covers again. So he turned, leaving his room, and headed for the frontdoor.

oooXXXooo

"Alright, class... I trust you all finished your essays?" Tristan's history teacher asked.

Half of the class fidgeted, uncomfortably. Tristan couldn't help but feel a little awkward. He felt that way everytime he would hand something in.

Alright, so he finished assignments. What was the big deal? Was he supposed to be like every other so-called tough guy, and just show up for class, sitting there, doing nothing? A few guys tried to make fun of him for it. They were new, thinking that if Tristan knew what he was doing in class, he didn't know how to use his fists.

Tristan quickly fixed that, proving them wrong.

"Mr. Taylor? Your essay?"

Tristan looked up at the teacher, his hand washeld out, waiting. With a sheepish grin, Tristan nodded, lifting his backpack, he opened it, then froze. Seeing a pair of familiar deep blue eyes staring up at him. And they blinked.

Tristan anime sweatdropped as he snapped his backpack closed again, hastily. Nervously, he glanced up at his teacher, with a small gulp. "Uh, sir... I don't feel so well... may I be excused?" he asked, with a weak grin.

The manraised an eyebrow, "uh..."

"Please? I think I feel nauseous..." Tristan tried, pulling his backpack closer to his chest.

"... Um, of course, Mr. Taylor... but can I have your essay?"

"Uhhh..." he swallowed, then shot a look at Joey Wheeler, silently pleading for his help.

The blonde teen blinked, then shrugged to himself. "Ohhhhhh! I don't feel so good!" Joey wailed dramatically, placing the back of his hand against his forehead. The action easily catching the teacher's attention. And for added effect, Joey fell out of his desk with a thud.

Tristan smiled with relief, as his teacher strided over to Joey's desk.

"Mr. Wheeler... I would thank you not act up in my class..." he was saying, sounding annoyed.

Tristan shot up to his feet, "still feeling sick... be right back..." he blurted, hugging the backpack close. Then he bolted for the door.

Yugi Muto, Tea Gardner, and Ryou Bakura stared at the door where Tristan eagerly ran out, then they looked at Joey, whom was sitting on the floor, taking his lecture. Slowly, the trio glanced at each other, confused.

oooXXXooo

Once arriving at the fire escape door, Tristan ran out onto the empty stairwell, leaning heavily against the door. Cringing slightly, he opened his backpack, "Akai..." he muttered, with a look of disapproval at the kitten.

Kaiba popped out of his small compartment, shaking his head. Then he looked up at Tristan, blankly.

"So, this is where you went..." Tristan said, with a sigh. Pets, definitely not allowed on the schoolgrounds. Yet here Tristan was, with a kitten in his backpack. And Tristan obviously couldn't take him home at the moment.

He already got in trouble twice this month. Three times being the maximum. And it was only the second week.

"Great," Tristan thought. "I can either get in trouble for carrying a kitten around school, or I can get in trouble for leaving the grounds, during school hours..." He furrowed his brow, as he thought on what to do...

Kaiba sighed inwardly. Tristan was obviously at a loss. "Let me stay... plain and simple... besides who'll notice me...?" he chided silently.

Tristan pursed his lips, watching Akai carefully. "You promise to stay out of sight?" he asked, gently tugging the kitten's ear. He couldn't help but smile as Akai pulled his ear free, then nodded.

... Nah, probably not intentionally, but it was cute... and assuring... nonetheless.

Nodding, Tristan knelt down and lifted Kaiba from his backpack, then pulled out his binder which he sat by his feet. He smiled, petting the kitten, before sitting him back in the main compartment of his bag. Kaiba stretched, now having more space to move. That little pocket obviously didn't have the legroom Kaiba would have liked. Still smiling, Tristan closed the backpack, and lifted it over his shoulder, while carrying his binder back to class.

oooXXXooo

Once the lunchbell rang, Tristan had again run out of the class and out of the building, not bothering to wait for Yugi and the others. But they did easily manage to catch up; they saw Tristan sitting under a tree, holding his backpack, peering inside. As they drew closer, Tristan anime sweatdropped, and closed the backpack hastily, holding it close.

Yugi quirked an eyebrow. Then he smiled sweetly, "so how are you feeling, Tristan?" he asked, sitting next to him.

Tristan forced a smile, "uh, fine... just fine..."

"You left class in a hurry... are you sure?" asked Ryou, sitting on the other side of the brunette.

Tristan rubbed the back of his neck, then he nodded quickly. "Couldn't be better," he assured them.

Tea sat in front of the three of them, her eyebrow raised. "You positive? You seem just a little jumpy..." she commented.

Tristan anime sweatdropped again, as he was now getting surrounded by his friends. Joey sat beside Tea, and he watched Tristan very steadily.

"Alright, buddy... what'd I get a ten minute lecture for?" the blonde demanded, with a frown.

Tristan swallowed somewhat nervously, then he sighed. "Okay okay, fine... just, no telling anyone, alright?" he said, eyeing all four of them, sternly. They all nodded.

With a defeated expression, Tristan opened his backpack. Then Kaiba popped out, shaking his head again. The group was silent, as they stared at the kitten.

"... Awwwww! How cute!" Tea suddenly gushed, then she snatched Kaiba from Tristan's backpack, and cuddled him. Kaiba anime sweatdropped, and began to struggle, which was soon beginning to appear useless. Finally, he settled for glaring up at the girl.

"I don't believe I gave you permission to hold me!" he thought, his ears folding back slightly in obvious annoyance.

Tristan laughed nervously, since Akai didn't seem to be the social type. So he reached over, taking Kaiba away from Tea's affectionate hold. "Tea, no offense... but can you tame it down a little? In case you forgot... no pets on the schoolgrounds..." he reminded her, holding Kaiba carefully.

"Well, why'd you bring her?" Tea asked.

Kaiba bristled, "her?"

Tristan almost wanted to laugh, feeling the kitten's tension. "It's a 'him'..." he corrected.

Leaning closer, Ryou gently scratched Kaiba's chin, smiling kindly. "He is adorable, though... when did you get him, Tristan?" he asked.

Kaiba blinked, then sighed to himself. It was obvious Tristan had a small habit of being protective of the weaker-types; So hurting Ryou wouldn't be smiled upon. Reluctantly, he decided accepting the affection did seem much easier than tiring himself out, trying to avoid it.

"Found him yesterday..." Tristan was saying.

Yugi smiled, petting Kaiba's head. "He's cute... what's his name?"

"Akai..." Tristan replied, with a shrug.

"Nice name..." Joey said, wryly. Kaiba couldn't help but glare at Joey at that.

"Well, I was thinking just 'Neko'... but that would be lacking in creativity," Tristan explained, with another shrug. Kaiba glanced up at him. Well, Tristan had a lot more patience than he gave him credit for.

"Just a bit..." Tea agreed, with a grin.

Ryou tilted his head, thoughtfully. "If you just found him... maybe he has an owner?"

"Probably... but he wasn't wearing a collar..." Tristan told him.

With a small inquisitive scowl, Joey crawled closer, staring hard at the kitten. Kaiba glared right back. Everyone anime sweatdropped at the staring contest between Tristan's kitten, and Joey.

Joey even began to growl, quietly. Which reminded Tristan of Blankey for a split-second. Not that Joey needed to know that. "I don't know what it is... but there's something about this furball that bugs me..." Joey suddenly said, through gritted teeth.

"Right back at you, mutt..." Kaiba thought, darkly.

That look... Joey was suddenly hit with a familiar feeling. He always got that look from one person. And one person only. Joey leaned back, pointing accusingly at the kitten. "That fleabag has Kaiba eyes..!" he declared.

Kaiba's eyes widened in shock, as did everyone else's.

"Whaat?" they all blurted. Yugi, Tea, and Ryou all leaned in, to get a closer look at the kitten's eyes.

Akai was obviously growing uncomfortable at so many people trying to get so close; so Tristan anime sweatdropped, and held Akai protectively from his friends' vaguely prying eyes. "You're kidding..." he scoffed at Joey.

"That's how Kaiba would always look at me..." Joey replied, with a shrug.

"Gimme a break, Joey... it's a kitten..." Tea said, with a snicker.

"Alright... maybe it's just paranoia..." muttered Joey.

Tristan furrowed his brow, getting a thought. "Speaking of Kaiba... anyone seen him? Mokuba was looking for him yesterday..."

Yugi blinked, "Mokuba called me yesterday... but I haven't seen him..."

Tea blinked, "I haven't gotten a call..." she said.

"Neither have I..." Ryou chimed in.

"Do either of you know where Kaiba is?" Tristan asked, with a small grin. Ryou shook his head.

"No..?" Tea answered, slowly.

"Maybe that's why..."

Tea folded her arms, grinning faintly, "it's kinda strange that Mokuba would only call you and Tristan, Yugi... why is that?"

Yugi scratched the side of his face thoughtfully. "Well, because we duel pretty often..."

"Okay... then why call Tristan?" Tea was practically smirking. She wanted to giggle at Tristan's clueless expression, but restrained herself. Tristan had blinked, while Ryou tilted his head in confusion, as Yugi shook his head, having no idea.

"Dunno," Yugi then told her, honestly.

"I don't get it..."said Joey.

"Why would Mokuba get the assumption that only Yugi and Tristan would know where Kaiba was?" Tea repeated. "Yugi, sure, because they duel together... but Tristan's the one we have to question..."

Kaiba anime sweatdropped, as he discovered what Tea was trying to get at. The conversation was fast becoming awkward. He was sitting right there, for Pete's sake!

"You didn't hear?" Tea said, almost sweetly at Yugi and Tristan's blank expression.

"Oh that..." Joey grinned, "you mean Kaiba's havin the hots for Tristan..?"

Kaiba felt himself begin to turn red, while Tristan anime sweatdropped.

"What?" he and Yugi asked, with wide eyes.

"... It-it's just a rumor, Joey..." said Ryou, with a quick shake of his head.

Tristan blinked, then glanced at Ryou. "What, I can't get people to have the hots for me?" he asked, in mock offense.

Ryou anime sweatdropped, "th-that wasn't what I meant..." he said, hastily. They were both suddenly interrupted as Joey started laughing hysterically.

As Ryou smiled weakly, Tristan watched Joey, completely deadpan. Then he pursed his lips, and handed Kaiba to Yugi.

"Hold him... thanks... Wheeler, suffer!" Tristan declared, pouncing on the blonde.

"ACK!" Joey yelped.

Yugi blinked, holding Kaiba, while Tea and Ryou anime sweatdropped, as Tristan and Joey started to fight, exchanging half-hearted blows. Kaiba anime sweatdropped, as well. Then he looked up at Yugi, questioningly.

Yugi laughed, "welcome to our little group, Akai..."

Tea smiled at Kaiba, "you get used to this whole thing... don't worry."

Ryou shook his head, "but it may take a while..."

oooXXXooo

Tristan sighed tiredly, as he made his way home, very slowly. Holding his kitten close.

Ugh, the days just got longer. At least, they seemed to, when it was a friday. Or maybe it just felt long, since it was a pretty eventful day. Someone asked to borrow Tristan's pen, which caused Akai to hiss for some odd reason, which nearly got Tristan in a lot of trouble. Thankfully, Tea started pretending to sneeze.

Then someone asked to borrow Tristan's science textbook for a second, and he complied. Getting it back was the rough part. The guy said thanks, and just tossed the book on Tristan's desk. On the backpack, while Tristan wasn't looking.

Akai released a sharp yowl of pain. And Tristan gaped at his bag in something resembling horror, while Yugi, Ryou, Tea, and Joey anime sweatdropped. Their teacher looked over at them, so they started pretending to cough, sneeze, or clear their throats.

It took all of Tristan's willpower not to punch the guy in the head. And some reasoning from Tea and Yugi contributed a little too. Even Ryou told Tristan to wait until after school. And to make matters worse, the guy that hurt Akai had friends to back him up. Joey, as weird as he thought it was, offered to help Tristan if he needed it.

Right, 3-to-1 odds.

They did fine.

Tristan was starting to think he was crazy for being so protective of a kitten. Hell, he wasn't even that protective of his dog.

The CEO-turned-kitten looked up at him, curiously. Tristan yawned, as he arrived at his house. Then he made his way to the frontdoor. Jamming his key in the lock, and twisting it, the door swung open.

With another yawn, Tristan shuffled in, sitting Kaiba on the floor. Then started to remove his shoes, while closing the door, locking it. No visitors, thanks. He started making his way to the livingroom, taking off his uniform jacket, and unbuttoning the cuffs of his sleeves.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, and started to follow, feeling a twinge of worry. Tristan really wasn't acting like himself. Not that he knew Tristan that well, but he didn't seem like himself at the moment.

Tristan turned and flopped on the sofa, stretching his long legs under the coffeetable, dropping his head back, sighing as he rubbed his sore knuckles. Punching just wasn't his thing, but during their strange brawl, they were in pretty close proximity, so Tristan had no choice.

Kaiba stared up at him, then walked up to Tristan's legs, and started clambering up on his legs to get a little closer to the tired brunette.

After a moment, Tristan lifted his head, looking at Akai, who was standing on his chest, watching him intently.

"... Fridays always seem the longest..." Tristan told the kitten, simply. "Especially after you fight someone..." he smiled tiredly, petting Akai.

"So... you're just tired?" Kaiba thought.

Then the phone rang. Tristan groaned with exasperation, dropping his head back. "I am not answering that...!" he vowed to himself.

The phone rang again.

"I'm ignoring it..."

And the phone rang, yet again.

"Can't hear you..!"

Kaiba scowled, glaring at the phone. It was pretty annoying. He aimed his glare at Tristan, since his stubborness was making the phone an annoyance. Jumping off Tristan's chest, Kaiba walked to the sidetable, and examined the phone.

Then he grinned inwardly; that would work just fine. Walking acoss the phone, Kaiba casually pressed his paw on 'Speaker'.

The phone stopped ringing. "Hello?" someone called.

Eyes sliding open, Tristan lazily turned to give his kitten a small glare, whom was trying to look innocent, as he sat beside the phone. Ignoring the fact that a kitten answered the phone, Tristan sighed, and crawled closer to the phone, grabbing Kaiba from the sidetable.

"Yeah?" he said wearily, while petting Akai.

Kaiba closed his eyes, and proceeded to purr softly. He was really getting to like this whole affection thing.

"Tristan?" the person on the phone asked.

"Yeah."

"Where are you?"

Tristan laughed slightly. "Where did you call?"

"... Hardy har har..."

"What's up?" Tristan asked, playing with Kaiba's ears. Which twitched a little, in some discomfort, but Kaiba didn't really care at the moment.

"Just curious if you took notes in history..."

Tristan sighed, "yeah."

"Can I borrow them?"

He rolled his eyes, "no."

"Oh c' mon..." he wheedled.

Tristan sat up, frowning faintly, still holding Kaiba. "It's not that hard to take notes... you just read what's on the board, and write down what's up there... and if it's during a lecture, just write what the teacher keeps repeating... seriously, how hard can it be?"

"Hey, sit next to Kiari, and tell me how well you can concentrate..." the person retorted.

Kiari...? A girl? Kaiba scowled at the phone. Maybe it was a mistake to answer...

"I can concentrate just fine..."

Kaiba blinked, then smirked faintly. Why was that relief to hear?

"Kiari is a stuck-up, conceited bitch..." Tristan went on, sounding annoyed. "Why do you like her anyways"

"... Because she's a hot stuck-up, conceited bitch..."

Tristan rolled his eyes again, reaching over, his finger poised over the 'Speaker' button. "Sorry, Derek... you're on your own..." he replied.

"What? Hey, c' mon, Tris'..."

"Sorry, pal... call it 'tough love'..." Tristan smirked slightly, then pressed the button, hanging up on Derek. Then he looked down at Akai, who was watching him, almost curiously.

"That was Derek..." Tristan informed the kitten. "Friend of the family, more or less..."

"... He sounds like a nuisance..." Kaiba thought, with a frown.

"He's an okay guy... just a pain in the neck... always expecting me to bail him out..." said Tristan, as he laid down on the sofa, and laying the kitten on his chest.

Kaiba yawned, curling up, Tristan's bodyheat making him drowsy again. "I have to admire that, Tristan..." Kaiba thought, with a small smirk. "I always thought you were a doormat... it's a nice surprise that you're not."

Tristan closed his eyes, lightly petting Kaiba. "Friday afternoon naps... there's nothing better, in my opinion..." he murmured.

Kaiba had to agree. This was nice, relaxing. Almost perfect.

(1) I've been told that by pretty much everyone, every morning... family and friends alike... O.o it was weird...

oooXXXooo

Nanaki: (dances around, then glomps Ya-kun) WHEEEEEEEEEE! I SO HAPPY!

Yasuo: ACK! (struggles) I said no glomping!

Nanashi: (blinks) uh... okay then, you guys... should I leave you alone?

Yasuo& Nanaki: (blinks... then glance at each other) uhh...

Yasuo: (pulls free, and runs) GET HER AWAY!

Nanaki: YA-KUN!

Nanashi: (snickers)