22! - Happy Birthday
One year and six months after Yami's revival from his coma.
Steel Jaw, Red Fang, the Vampire of Domino, the Iron Glutton, the Butcher of Domino, the Red Eyed Ripper...These were all the names of one malevolent serial killer that would go down in history for his gruesome number of murders, killing four hundred victims in less than one month. There were no accomplices, no copy-cat murderers running around to help add to his list, no. It was all him, all one evil man. An evil man who not only slaughtered his victims in accordance to their own personal sins, but he also cannibalized them in a ritualistic tradition to conquer and humiliate them, even in death.
Heba, with no last name known or given with a number of various aliases to help disguise his identity, was one angry and sadistic young man who despised most of mankind. An illegal Egyptian immigrant, wreaking havoc all across Japan. Once he gave himself up to police, and willingly offered them all full details on his crimes, he was then renamed 'The Hand of Judgement'.
He committed mass genocide with his own bare hands, almost never using a weapon to kill any of his sinful victims. He only killed those who committed atrocities in their own miserable lives. All of his victims were never too young, as he valued the lives of the next generation. Anyone who was over the age of twenty-five, he'd killed relentlessly. He also had a mark or pattern, a common trope for a lot of serial killers. For example, if the victim was a murderer, he'd kill the victim with whatever weapon they used in their crime and rip off their hands. After mutilating them, he'd eat one of them and would dispose of the body. However, Heba only consumed parts of someone's body if he truly hated that particular victim. Regardless, he'd leave the lone disfigured arm out in the open in a public place for everyone to see, while leaving a note and a form of identification. The note would read their sin, such as, 'Murderer' in horrible hand writing. The note would then list whomever the person did wrong and all their other harmful deeds, before saying at the bottom 'Another demon has been eradicated from the earth' in perfect cursive.
He murdered killers, thieves, rapists, abusers, kidnappers, mobsters and whomever else who dared to turn to a life of crime. Heba was a very selective killer, as even though he killed only criminals, he still only killed people who were deliberately evil. In other words, if someone ended up killing someone by accident, say, a scenario of domestic violence that ended tragically due to unintentional lethal acts of self defense, he wouldn't look in their direction. But anyone who was an intentional monster, he'd destroy them. And if he truly hated the person, or truly hated the crime they committed more than anything else, he'd eat a part of their body as a way of eternally humiliating his victim.
In his own words, "I've been called a dog for how horrible I treat humans. So as a 'dog', I ate them and shat them right back out the next day. That way, they'll never get any rest in the afterlife because a part of them is still missing. If they find it, they'll realize that the rest of them is down in the sewers. Even in death, that's all they'll ever be: Dog shit."
After successfully killing more or less than four hundred human lives, he gave himself up to police once he found out how hot the authorities were on his trail. At one point, he just stopped hiding his tracks, as if he wanted to be found. Before he knew it, special law enforcement arrived at the hotel he hid out at, and arrested him after attempting to knock him unconscious. It didn't work, but he still complied. It didn't take long for him to confess everything he's ever done to interrogators and investigators. He even walked around with police escorting him to the courthouse saying, 'Yes! I did it, I did it all' without shame. He laughed out loud to reporters, stuck his tongue out whenever he was in front of the camera, put up the middle finger to anyone who insulted him with a condescending smile. Once, he spat on someone who was related to one of his victims.
No one except for jurors, the victims' families, law enforcement, a couple journalists and witnesses were allowed in that house that day.
Heba behaved well for the most part, until witnesses got to the stand to express just how evil the killer was. This is where his behavior derailed, and increasingly became rambunctious. He laughed during testimonies, he yawned obnoxiously whenever a witness tried to speak. He occasionally flipped off the judge, sometimes glaring at him for long periods of time. It took less than five hours, before Heba made an outburst. Just as a prosecutor tried to make a point about sentencing Heba to life in order to cease his murders, the killer burst out laughing.
The man with strange spiky hair and caramel skin laughed loudly in the courtroom, slapping his leg with his bound hands as he taunted them all. "Don't you get it you morons? I'm never gonna stop!" He hollered, standing up from his seat. He had handcuffs on his wrists, but he easily tore them apart. This shocked everyone in the room, yelling for nearby officers to rush and grab him before it was too late. Instantly, he snatched his own defense lawyer by the scruff of his neck and gripped his fingers on the side of his face. As he steadily breathed against the terrified man's neck, he continued to snicker. His mouth was way too close to his skin. Holding the man hostage, the upcoming policemen ceased their movements with guns aimed at him. The people of the jury were startled, wanting to leave immediately. "One move from anyone, and I gnaw off this asshole's neck like a fucking chew toy."
He was willing to murder his own lawyer just to prove his point. More advanced law enforcement were called in for backup, but he could hear from a few police officers in their walkie-talkies that they didn't want Heba to be shot. No, they all wanted him to go to prison and suffer accordingly.
"Oh stop it," The killer spat. "I won't kill him so long as you keep your distance, but you're all gonna hear what I have to say first!" He yelled so the room could echo his voice. "As I was saying," He slowly turned to the judge, who had a few guards standing by his side with guns aimed as well. He looked just as scared as everyone else. "I will never stop killing. I want you to send me to prison! I want you to try and send me to the chair! You'll have to kill me the second we walk in the building, because I will kill the first man who pisses me off. I mean, there's nothing but awful people in prison anyway! That's what I live for, to kill as many bad people as I can! I'm gonna go up to the thousands in kills once you take me there. The guards, even simple visitors won't be safe. Don't you understand? Hell, I might even bust out and cause a riot. Maybe even let out a couple prisoners just so they can terrorize Japan too. Then maybe I'll join in for the fun, and return to murder you all like the hedonist scum that you are!" He screamed.
The notorious criminal only known as 'Heba', was one of the angriest human beings in the world. Though, he couldn't even be considered as such. He was far from human, as he had inhumanely razor sharp teeth, amazing strength and speed that went beyond a human's capacity. Even his strangely bright red colored eyes seemed to be something straight from a horror novel. He wasn't safe to be around, he was someone who had to be put down. He couldn't be trusted to breathe, much less go to prison and serve a sentence. He continued to angrily scream and holler about everyone in the room, even confessing to another small portion of murders that he committed.
"You are all worthless pieces of shit that don't even deserve to live! All of you!" He tossed his lawyer to the ground, a demented smile no longer lingering on his face. "Are you fucking kidding me!? A trial? For me!? Someone who's clearly guilty? Seriously, I disemboweled your baby-killer wife right in front of you," He pointed to one of the jurors. A man who lost his wife to Heba's murderous intent. She had purposely murdered her own child since it was a product of rape.
Heba ripped her apart and left all ten of her fingers at the crime scene, the very things that helped strangle her child. A note saying: 'Child Murderer' was beside them.
"I killed your murderous-whore of a daughter," He pointed to an older woman alongside the terrified jury. An old feeble woman who lost her foolish daughter to this man. A daughter who killed one of her best friends and her boyfriend, after finding out that they slept together after she broke up with him. However, the woman was not faithful to her ex, which is why he broke it off with her. She was scorned and jealous, leading to murder.
Heba used the same butcher knife she used to murder them, and cut off her entire mouth and tongue to leave it at the crime scene. Symbolizing her infidelity that put her int his mess. A note saying: 'Killer-Whore' was beside it.
He then turned back to the very person he was glaring at the entire time, the judge. "I even murdered your perverted brother! You're just a judge who let a rapist get away with murder and sodomy, who turned out to be an accomplice and joined in on one of his kidnappings!" The wrinkled old white haired man was just as guilty as anyone else in this room. His own younger brother kidnapped and raped little boys, and he himself took part in one of them. He let his brother get away with it, despite jurors and prosecutes hollering at him to reconsider his baffling decision for him to walk away as an innocent man.
Heba bound and tied his brother up, shoved a wrench halfway up his rectum and bashed his skull in with the same tool. He cut off his genitalia, leaving it out in the open. A note was placed on top of it, saying: 'Child Rapist'. But it also read at the bottom, 'To this man's older brother, a judge, you are next.'
The killer continued. "The choice for death penalty should have been instant, there shouldn't even be a trial!" He pointed directly to the old judge. "Are you fucking slow you fat bastard!? Was me castrating that pedophile brother of yours not good enough for you? You all disgust me!" He slammed his fists on the defense's stand. "You're all putrid, vile! You all deserve the worst torture imaginable! You DEMONS!"
He panted as he took a breath from yelling so much.
He lowered his head as he did so, and unclenched his fists. He sucked in a deep breath, standing up straight while slowly lifting his head to the judge. "I'm guilty. That's it." He hissed. "Now take me away already. Either that, or make the order to have me killed right here and now. Do not give me any chances, or you will all regret it."
Not long after his outburst, Heba was escorted out of the courthouse in a straight jacket.
Yugi woke up with shrunken pupils.
He sharply inhaled, but didn't gasp like he thought he would. He didn't even abruptly sit up, he just kept laying there in bed, staring straight up at the ceiling. He was clutching his fingers on the comforter, trembling worse than usual. That dream, it was so real this time. He hadn't had a dream about Heba in so long. He could remember his red eyes, his skin, his endless height and broad body. He was such a strong man, and he was so tall. Sure he looked like Yugi from facial features but, that was about it. Heba was everything he wished he could be. Tall, handsome, strong, fearless. He didn't fear anything, he wasn't scared of anything. Not even death itself.
Still though, why did he have a dream about his trial? Heba told him word for word what happened that day, he even told him about some of his crimes. Heba was so angry, and he was very secretive about his motive to commit genocide. Well, genocide wasn't a good word for it. It was literally just senseless murder, Heba didn't care what race or gender he disposed of. The only type of person that was safe from him, was a kid or anyone else around his age. Ha, he remembered that he used to eat people in their own cell room. Whenever he got in a fight with another prisoner, he'd rip off a part of their body and eat it. Yugi was obviously disturbed by him doing so, so Heba always tried to wait until Yugi was asleep to eat his 'meal'. Heba always gave up his rations to Yugi whenever the doctors delivered them actual food.
That man sung him lullabies, told him stories, taught him valuable morals and lessons and even taught him how to create and carve a shiv out of objects that seemed useless. He taught him how to use his head, how to survive even with nothing. He taught him how to mentally defend himself from the horrors of this world, how to protect his mind from corrupting after witnessing the atrocities in that asylum. How to protect him from, people like Heba himself. He told Yugi to never let his enemy know just how effected he was, and to always keep some kind of barrier up to shield himself from traumatic experiences. If he had the mentality to become a monster and discard his own humanity, even if just for a quick second, he would always be safe. All he had to do, was control that side of himself.
That monster, he rarely came out. It was only thanks to Heba that he was created. He was the first one, the first person he ever shared his body with. He only came out, maybe twice in his life. Like the time he saw Gozaburo kill his father and escaped D75, and the time he saw some horrible man kill a cat right in front of his eyes. He didn't remember what he did to the man after that, things were blurry but he could only assume the monster killed him. Technically, he came out three times if Heba really did accidentally let him out during that threesome fiasco with his lovers.
Still, why?
Why that dream? Heba couldn't have forced it on him, he only messed with him about his relationship or his dreams to have a baby. No, that just happened all on it's own. Perhaps he was getting way too stressed lately. After all, his poor little sweet Angora kitty was still at the vets even after two months. Apparently after his whole flea situation, the doctors discovered a tumor in his tiny tummy during a quick checkup visit. The little guy had surgery and had to go through numerous tests to see if that damned tumor was cancerous or not. Thankfully it wasn't and the operation was successful, but the recovery from the operation was taking very long. It was as if the little guy was suffering from the physical trauma thanks to the surgery. Yugi was very angry, as he felt the vets were too impudent to care for his little one, and that he should have just asked Ishizu to do it. Joey was told that the doctors had to keep him for a while until he got fully better.
He was so worried, and so angry and stressed. Just when he got his job back, his kitty had to go and get even worse.
He slowly closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. God, life was so damn complicated. He gradually sat up and raised his hands from the blankets to rub his eyes with the back of his palms. He yawned lightly as his eyes watered a bit. Jesus, what time was it? It felt like he slept in, his internal clock felt off. Like he was supposed to wake up hours ago. He turned to the digital circular clock on the wall that was on the far right of their headboard, and saw that it was...Nine thirty!? Holy fucking shit, he was late! He and Yami were supposed to go into work together! He wasn't even dressed! Yugi practically fell off the bed as he scrambled from under the sheets to run to the large walk-in closet. Atem always had their work clothes ready for the next day, all he had to do was grab them and call Ishizu-
The bedroom door whipped open. "Yugi?"
"A-AH!" Yugi was so startled he tripped over his own feet and fell on his face. As he laid there on the floor, he huffed a lingering growl. That was Yami who just walked in, and he scared the living crap out of him.
"Shit," Yami cursed quietly as he quickly went to Yugi's side to help him up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He kept forgetting Yugi was a paranoiac, he couldn't do anything too sudden with him. Might give him an accidental heart attack. After he helped him stand back up while holding onto his torso so he could stay still, Yami looked at his forehead to see if he bruised it from falling so hard. "You alright?"
"I-I'm fine, just please try not to do that again. I almost pissed myself-Oh crap!" He exclaimed while gripping onto Yami's sleeves. "Yami-kun, why are you still here!? W-We have to go to work!" He cried while shaking his boyfriend back and forth. Yami just stood there with a blank expression as he stared back at him. With no reaction, Yugi frowned. "Don't just stand there, we have to go!"
"Yugi, did you forget already?" He asked calmly while blinking. "You're off work today and tomorrow, we both are. It's your birthday today."
His, birthday?
He hadn't celebrated his birthday since his father was still alive. He and Heba were the only ones he ever celebrated it with after he was taken in the asylum. Ever since then though, he forgot all about it. Shit, he sometimes forgot the date. But no, he still sort of remembered. It was June...June fourth. Yeah, that's right. June fourth. Joey once tried to celebrate it during their years of living together, but Yugi asked him not to do so since he personally didn't care for birthdays. Hell, he didn't ever care for his own. He wanted to go to work! He didn't care about this dumb holiday. He groaned and face palmed while letting Yami go. "Yami-kun, I don't care about that! I'm g-gonna go anyway," He started to move, until Yami swiftly seized his arms to yank him back against his body. The sudden movement along with how close they were, made Yugi warm up considerably. "Yami...?"
Once he closed his default purple eyes, he leaned closer to place a deep kiss onto Yugi's lips. With a blush, Yugi's protests instantly ceased as his body practically became jelly. The kiss nearly took his breath away, because he didn't expect it. Yami only kissed him this passionately whenever they were doing it, why was he being so loving to him now? Gently, the kiss quickly ended with Yami opening his eyes back to him. "Just get dressed, okay?" He asked softly. His tone wasn't emotionless as usual, he actually sounded very sweet. With his lips still tender, Yugi blushed. Now that he mentioned it, Yami was wearing nice clothes. Something he usual wore on a date, in fact.
The grey dress shirt, dark jeans and socks, he looked good. He was wearing that cologne Atem hated too, and he could tell he showered not too long ago. He dressed up for his birthday? Why? No one even told him anything, what were they dressing up for? After that kiss though, Yugi couldn't just say no. "I-I," He stammered. "Alright, I'll get dressed in something by myself. I won't need help. But why?"
"Doesn't matter. Just do it." He caressed the frame of Yugi's face, his thumb lightly rubbing against his soft cheek. "Atem already washed and ironed all the clothes, go ahead. I'll wait for you downstairs." After a small peck on the nose, Yami released his hold from him and turned to walk away out of the master bedroom. Once again alone, Yugi exhaled quietly.
He went back to the closet to fetch his clothes. He had slight trouble putting his black jeans on, but he was able to do it all by himself. He was getting better control of his nerves thanks to those numbing concoctions he kept making. Not to mention Atem was helping him train to thicken his muscle mass at least once a week. Not only was he getting a little bigger, but he was helping him get control of his body more and more. He could hold weights for a while without shaking, he could even hold books and silverware by himself now. He rarely ever needed help eating, and he was walking better. He was making great progress.
Smiling to himself, he slipped on a black dress shirt with it's sleeves rolled up. He pulled his socks on and made his way out of the closet. Before he limped out, he briefly glanced at the the very back of the walk-in closet. There were three sections to it, and one of them held all of Atem's clothes. But in the very back of his part of the closet, was a black box slipped underneath a shelf. His sword, the detachable one that Dartz gifted him all those years ago was in there. Both that and the dead man's wakazashi was inside. He looked away again, noting how the box was getting dusty. Atem hadn't touched his weapons in a very long time.
Eventually, Yugi was proceeding to go down the steps at a slow pace. He was able to do it by himself, but he had to be careful or else he'd trip and fall again. While securely holding onto the wall and the railing at the same time, he made a loud yawn. That was the one downside about sleeping in, you felt even more tired if you slept too much. Soon, he could smell a strong smell of sweetness all over the house. He realized his vision was growing darker, and he saw that the lights were off in the living room. Why? It was nearly pitch black in here. Even the curtains were closed to hide the sunlight. He narrowed his eyes while grimacing. This better not have been some kind of trap or something. He steadily made it to the last step, and once he did-
-He was given the surprise of his life.
The lights instantly brightened up the room, with several people screaming at him all at once.
"SURPRISE!"
Party poppers shot off, people jumped in the air with big smiles on their faces, confetti rained down everywhere. The loud popping, the screaming, the cheering, all the faces, saying the same thing at once...
...Yugi screamed in terror.
"AAHH!"
He was so shocked, he stumbled backwards and fell back onto the hard steps. The carpet covers on the stairs didn't help, it was still all very hard floor. He made a lengthy growl, extremely exasperated that he was jump scared once again. With a few shocked gasps, he heard some quick and heavy footsteps echoing in his direction across the floor. With clenched eyes and teeth, Yugi tried to sit up until he felt his chest throb. It was tightening a bit, that wasn't good. He started panting, and he could feel that he wouldn't be able to sit up on his own, so he just laid back down on the floor with a pained slash annoyed expression.
"Shit, shit, shit..!" He heard someone curse. "Damn Yug', I didn't know we'd get ya that bad!" That had to be Jounouchi. He could feel him grasp his arms and back, helping him sit up while someone else attempted to help him up off the steps. Yugi placed a hand over his chest, gripping his own shirt as he cautiously moved to stand up straight. "Are you okay? Speak to me buddy!"
Painfully, Yugi opened his eyes to see the crowd of people before him. In their living room, was Mana-chan, Kisara-chan, Wong-san, Ishizu-chan, Kaiba-kun, Mokuba, his two lovers and Jounouchi-kun. Atem and Yami he wasn't surprised, but why everyone else? Even Vivian and Seto were here, but again, why? He barely got to see Ms. Wong and he and Seto despised each other. With a confused expression, he just rose a brow while scanning everyone in the room. Yami was currently keeping Yugi close to him so he could lean on his body for support. Joey was digging through his beige jacket pockets with his back towards them before he found the emergency pill bottle he had stashed. He knew Yugi more than anybody, so he knew this might happen.
Wait...Did he hear something coming from his jacket?
Once he got the child-proof cap off, he popped a couple of capsules onto his palm before handing them over to Yugi. The hacker silently thanked his best friend before placing them in his mouth. Mana approached them with an opened water bottle, and Yami grabbed it before giving it to Yugi as well. Yugi took a few swigs of the water to help swallow the pills down. His boyfriend rubbed his back while holding him. "You alright? Should we call an ambulance?"
Yugi shook his head. "N-No, no..." He gave the water back to Mana while handing the pill bottle back to Joey. His breathing was becoming normal again, but he needed to sit down for a moment. Both Joey and Yami walked him to the sofa, letting him relax so he could collect himself. "I just need a moment," He mumbled. "And for the love of God," He growled. "STOP surprising me!" He shouted at everyone, making Joey and Yami flinch. "W-Why are all of you even here? I don't even know what's going on!" He exclaimed.
Joey scratched behind his head while sighing. "Sorry Yug', we were trying to do something nice for ya."
"It's a surprise party for your birthday, Yugi." Yami explained.
"Wait," The hacker paused. "It, i-it is?" His voice became softer once he realized this was all for him. His purple eyes could see a small assortment of presents beside the couch, the colorful confetti that spelled his name in plastic letters all over the floor. That's when he took a chance to look up, and see a banner on the wall saying 'Happy Birthday Yugi'. Bundles of balloons taped all around the room, smart phones in people's hands to record his reaction to the surprise.
Not to mention, everyone was dressed up. All the girls looked lovely. Kisara-chan was wearing a pretty white sun dress to compliment her hair color, with pretty light pink flowers on the ends. Vivian-san was wearing a dark red qipao that had a small opening in the front to reveal some cleavage, with white flowers decorated all over. Mana-chan wore a plain light blue sleeveless A-line dress. They all wore heels of some kind, which looked painful to walk in. Everyone else looked really nice too. Seto wore a navy blue vest with a white shirt underneath, along with white slacks. Mokuba wore the exact same thing just to match his big brother. Joey wore a beige jacket with gray jeans and a flannel. Atem wore nothing but black, like always. With his leather jacket, black shirt and pants.
Everyone all looked so nice, just for him. "This, this is all for me?"
Mana screwed the cap onto the water bottle. "Well, yeah. No one in D75 really celebrates their birthday, and since we saw how close yours was this month, we decided to throw something." She made a guilty expression. "Sorry for giving you a mini heart attack there, we were just trying to do something nice."
Mokuba, who stood beside Seto's long legs, sadly pouted and looked down at the floor. "It was all my idea, sorry Yugi..."
His little sad pouty face immediately crushed his heart. Yugi sighed heavily and placed a hand over his head. It was starting to hurt from all the commotion. "No, I'm s-sorry Mokie." He glanced at everyone else. "All of you, I should be apologizing. It's just, well, you can't really shock me like that. It's not just the heart attacks, you know. With my p-profession, I would have thought this was a home invasion or something. I didn't mean to act ungrateful." He smiled warmly. "I'm actually very flattered that all of you came just for me." His cheeks became red. "Makes me feel important. So thank you, all of you." He glanced over at Mokuba. "Especially you, Mokuba."
The boy eventually grinned back at him. "It was nothing! Well," He gave a sly look over at his oldest brother. "Some people were harder to invite than others, but let's not get into that right now."
Yugi chuckled at the preteen's sarcasm, as everyone began to grab a chair or a place to sit to watch him open his presents.
After opening his gifts from Vivian, Ishizu and Kisara, he was finally getting to everyone else. Apparently everyone else had a few shared presents. Kisara had walked over with a small gift box, and inside were a large collection of flash drives. He was very happy about this, as he would now have plenty of space to store his...Research. Yeah, research...Sure he already had a bunch, but they were all almost filled up to the brim with data. But now he wouldn't have to buy more. Next was Vivian who, with a flirty attitude, gave him a long but thin gift box that held a male kimono robe. It was all black except for the golden dragon designed on the back. It was very pretty and it looked very expensive, but he would look awesome if he wore this around the house at night.
Ishizu's was one of the best presents he got, because inside her small gift box was a document that gave him a special notice from the Superiors. Thanks to all the work and research Yugi and Seto were doing, it gave the facility a great advantage in technology and science, so they were giving both of them a promotion to high-ranking veterans. But they were also given the chance to an even bigger promotion. Ishizu already gave Seto the notice yesterday, but she decided it was best to give it to Yugi today as a gift. With this note, Yugi now had the chance to become the leading veteran of the entire facility. That position was right underneath the Boss, and he could also have command of future generation of children D75 would take in. He would have almost as much power as Ishizu, and would have more authority over the facility. Only the best of the best were given this opportunity, so he and Seto were very lucky. However, there could only be one, so they'd have to prove themselves to the Superiors sometime later on this year.
Yugi was excited about his promotion, and he and Seto silently eyed each other with a clashing sense of rivalry. They'd see who would come out on top soon enough. Next was Atem, who had a small gift for him as well. He didn't bother wrapping it in a present, so he just walked up to him with a kiss and a pair of small silver earrings. They were tiny like regular studs, but they were shaped like dragons. Atem admitted that Vivian may have given him some advice on what type of earrings he should buy. They were real silver, and they looked amazing. Thankfully Yugi already had his ears pierced before thanks to Joey some years ago, so he had no problem placing them in his ear for him. Yugi was giddy with glee that Atem got him such a present. Now they would match, sort of. He'd probably never take them off.
Finally, all that was left was Mana, Yami, Joey, Seto and Mokuba. They all had a combined present for Yugi. The fact that Seto had a hand in this at all, was a huge shocker, but he could only assume they all forced him to do something for him.
"Open ours now, Yugi!" Mokuba cheered while practically jumping up and down.
"Mokuba," Seto placed his hand on top of the child's head in order to halt his impatience. "Chill out."
Mokuba smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."
When Yugi looked over to the side of the couch, he saw that there were no presents left. What was the kid talking about? "W-Where is it?"
Joey smirked and scooted over to Yugi on the couch while opening up his jacket. "Here's one of 'em," As his jacket opened more, Yugi could see fur sticking out of one of his many deep pockets. Suddenly, a beautiful white Angora cat sprouted from within the garment and hopped right in front of Yugi on the cushions. It's fluffy white tail swished around, and he meowed at his old owner before licking one of his paws. His light blue eyes, those whiskers, that thick mane, that refined looking muzzle. There was no doubt about it, this was his kitty that was previously at the vet's.
With a large gasp, Yugi cried with joy. "My child..!" He squealed while scooping the animal in his arms, cuddling him close to his face as he nuzzled him. The cat purred automatically at the presence of it's true owner, pressing his wet nose on Yugi's cheek as a kiss. He was so happy to see him, he was near tears. His precious cat, Renju, was back in his arms once again. He could see that the bandages and patches on the cat's body were all gone, and his fur was returning. That meant that he was healing very well. "You're okay! I-I was so worried!"
Joey held up a finger. "Ah, but Renju isn't one of your surprises my friend,"
With a blink, Yugi placed the cat down in his lap. "He's n-not?" Renju took this time to get comfortable and lay down right between the man's legs, as his trail curled around his body.
Mana smiled brightly and shook her head. "Nope nope! In fact, there's more than one part to your surprise."
The dirty blonde fixed his jacket to shrug it back on his shoulders. "You see, we found out how Renju over here got fleas. Apparently this horn-dog went outside to get some tail, if you get what I mean." He was trying to stay PG for Mokuba's sake. "He hooked up with her, but she already had fleas so she basically gave him the clap." Almost everyone in the room laughed at that. "So this fool comes crawling back home itchin' and yappin', and I take him to the vet. Everything went well, they cleaned him all up. Of course, that's when the whole tumor thing came up, but you already know that went well too." Joey leaned back in the couch as he told the story of Yugi's hopelessly horny Angora. "Fast forward to around two months later, that's when some neighbors came to my door the other week. They're goin' on and on about how Renju here was hopping over their backyard to get it on with their cat who had fleas. And guess what they tell me?"
"What?" Yugi asked.
"That same cat that Renju messed around with got pregnant, and she was their cat. And not only that, but she gave birth to a whole litter of kittens a month ago. Thankfully they got her cleaned before she popped 'em out, so the kittens wouldn't be itchin' on their way out into the world."
Yugi slowly gasped. "Oh my God, really?"
"And not only that-" Joey was cut off by some tiny mewls. He chuckled to himself as he reached for one of the pockets inside his jacket again, and slipped out a white tiny baby kitten. "I told Seto once that I got pockets for days with this jacket. They're so deep, I could hide a newborn baby in here." The kitten was so small, it could fit in the palm of his hand. It was so precious, looking around curiously and sniffing anything that was nearby. "Anyway, the neighbors said that I could keep one of 'em since they can't keep 'em all. All the cats were boys except for her." He used two fingers to gently pet her head as she meowed. She had a pink nose and bright blue eyes just like her father. "Now of course, I know Renju and other boy cats don't behave very well when it comes to their kids, so I didn't think it was a good idea to keep her around."
Mana chimed in cheerfully while tilting her head. "That's when Kisara had the idea to ask Yami to keep the kitty here."
Yami, who was sitting on the arm of the couch with his legs crossed nodded in agreement. "I talked it over with Atem, and we decided that we could keep her if you wanted."
His other lover was sitting on the other side of the couch along with the others in some chairs. The Egyptian shrugged. "It was all Kisara's idea. She thought it was good for you to have something around the house to make you happy."
The white haired woman blushed at the mention of her credit and made a small wave at Yugi as a gesture. "Heheh."
Mokuba twiddled his fingers a bit. "Joey was telling me how you always wanted a baby," The mention of this caused Joey to panic. Mokuba wasn't supposed to say that out loud! "So he said that a kitten might be the next best thing."
While pushing his tongue in his cheek, Yugi craned his neck over at Joey. "So you read my diary?" He asked eerily.
Joey felt his voice box get stuck in his throat. "I...Uhh.." He was going to try and give an excuse, until a weak meow from their tiny friend interrupted him once again. She was so delicate, he couldn't even continue to try and talk his way out of this. He just smiled at her before looking over at Yugi. "Kill me later Yug', take her."
"T-Take her?" Yugi repeated. "Is," He glanced at Yami and Atem. "Is this really okay?"
They both nodded in unison without words.
He could really have her? But she would probably be a big responsibility. "B-But I can't, she'll need a lot of attention. And she's just a baby...I've taken in cats before but, I've never cared for a kitten. Not this small." He frowned at the small creature. Could he do this? "I-I'll be so busy, and-"
Atem cut him off with his deep voice. "Yugi," He said. "We wouldn't have said yes if we weren't able to care for her. We're doing this together, you won't be alone."
The Egyptian's little sister rushed to Yugi's side and grasped his shoulders. "And don't worry about any of that other stuff!" She exclaimed. "Joey and I already got her the necessary things you'll need to care for her. Then, Mokuba got some allowance from Seto to help buy some toys and a little bed for her."
So indirectly, Seto really did have a hand in this. Huh. But Mokuba helped buy things for her, and Mana and Joey got her food and other necessities she'll need as she grew up. Yugi could only assume Atem was basically volunteering to take care of the kitten most of the day, everyday until they got home from work. And again, wow, a baby kitten. He had never taken care of one this small before, she was so puny and weak. That just made her cuter than anything he'd ever seen before. Slowly, Joey placed her in his palms. She was trembling almost just as much as he would because of his disorder, she briefly glanced upwards at him before looking back around. She was probably confused about why and how she got here. She wasn't even as fluffy as her dad yet, so she didn't have that much fur.
This was as close to a baby as he would get, that much was very true. He could already feel himself love her, and he didn't even know why. Maybe it was because of how cute she was, or maybe it was because he just loved animals in general. Yes, he wanted her. He wanted to keep her. Renju would be fine with Joey, but she would be more safe here. Atem wouldn't let anything happen to her, he'd protect her. He was responsible enough to feed her and care for her appropriately. Yami would know better than to harm her during his little, anti-emotional black outs, otherwise Yugi would probably kill him. Yes, he'd probably kill him. Not a joke. Not even an exaggeration, he'd most definitely kill him in a very horrible way.
Anyway, as he gently took his fingers and rubbed under her chin, he lost his anxious expression. He smiled wide as she began to purr, sniffing his hand as he did so.
"Yugi," Kisara spoke in the background. "This will be a test for you, to see how well you behave around something much younger and weaker than you. I'm trusting you with her."
"O-Okay." He answered quietly. "I'll take her."
Later that day, Yugi was given more presents before his party was over. Ishizu gave him a specially-designed lab coat that wouldn't stain, and that wasn't white. Since Yugi was now a high ranking veteran in the science ward, he no longer had to wear a specific uniform. Meaning, he technically didn't have to wear a lab coat at all, he could wear whatever he wanted. But for the sake of looking like a scientist, Ishizu had a special one made for him. It was black, and had his brand name on the back in white. It also didn't shroud his body like an over-sized trench coat, it fit every curve and muscle of his torso and lower body, making it look more appealing to the public eye. With this, people would know just how important he was.
Not only that, but the kitten wasn't the only amazing present he got. Finally, Yami and Atem escorted Yugi to the basement, where his newly installed lab was. It looked otherworldly, that seemed even better than the lab he had at work. It looked almost like Ishizu's office, with monitors nearly everywhere and the other half of the room filled to the brim with books and chemistry tools. Flasks, barrels of chemicals, computer towers, organized wires and drives, long tables for experiments and tests. Neon-colored lights illuminating the room from within the machines like a rave party. There were even life-sized tubes hooked up against the walls filled with liquids. There was one tall and comfy looking computer chair in the middle of everything, begging for him to sit down and tap away on one of his now many computers.
He couldn't even gasp, that's how speechless he was. He just uttered, "Oh my God."
After having his jaw dropped for nearly ten minutes, he was taken back upstairs to the ground floor. Atem cooked Yugi's favorite for everyone along with an ice-cream cake and some smaller sweets, such as cupcakes, cookies and flan. They were all decorated with toppings, and the cake was topped with twenty-one small candles. Mostly everyone sung 'Happy Birthday', before letting him blow them out. Mokuba ran to Yugi and hugged his legs, his lovers kissed him on the cheek, and the others embraced him tightly. Of course, Seto just sat on the couch looking somewhere else while eating cake.
Eventually, everyone helped place the things needed for their new furry friend in the house. Her little bed, water dispenser, kitten food, milk and baby bottles. Before long after mingling and socializing, the party soon dispersed. Yugi said goodbye to Renju as Joey took him away out of the house. Nearly everyone congratulated him for his promotion and his birthday, and bid him farewell until they saw him the next time. Ishizu even whispered that she was very proud of him, and that his father would have been overjoyed to know his son was becoming just as powerful as he was when he was alive.
Now finally alone, Atem and Yami eyed each other as their third lover cuddled the kitten. Yugi didn't decide a name on the kitten yet but he knew something would come along soon. Before he knew it, the little kitten fell asleep in his hands. Yugi didn't know much about kittens, but he did know that they slept a lot. Just like a normal grown cat, they loved to slumber. He carried her to her bed carefully, able to place her down in the new pink fleece furniture without shaking too much. After doing so, he almost felt his eyes moisten. He finally had a child to take care of, kinda. He couldn't complain, he wanted this. His heart felt so warm, he could only assume that was his overwhelming happiness.
Then, he felt tugging on the waist of his pants. He was groped, rubbed and touched all over. Moist kisses lingering on his face and the back of his neck, with slight breathing against his skin. Quickly, his pants and top were being pulled off, and he could only gasp and moan at the feeling. Yami and Atem were relentless, somehow shoving him on the couch and wrestling him down. He was embraced and held closely, sweet and naughty nothings being whispered to him as he was dominated. Again, he smiled. Of course they'd try and give him some love on the day he wore his birthday-suit. Well soon enough, all three of them were in their birthday-suits, loving him as much as he could take. He moaned and screamed their names, before it all came to a strong climax. They didn't even make it to the bed, they did everything on the couch. Atem would have to clean it later.
As they cuddled together, Yugi had a permanent grin on his face. He had never felt this happy in a very long time.
Maybe he should appreciate the holidays a little more.
Of course they'd end things that way.
If only he could end the day with a love session that intense, without pain or violence. The white haired man, sitting on the edge of a roof top with an ear piece connected to a small headset, watched the tree lay on the couch together. He placed down his binoculars, crossing his legs with a scowl. That wasn't fair, why did they get to be happy? Why couldn't he have that? He just had some abusive older brother who liked to force himself on him and his younger brother everyday. Beat them, yell at them in drunken rage. He almost wished that idiot killed him instead of walking out on their deal, but that wasn't part of the plan anyway.
Oh well, perhaps he'd be able to do him off after this was all over. All he needed was a little more info, and a little more time. The man stood up and dusted off his suit while speaking into the headpiece.
"Yeah, they're asleep." He waited for a response before speaking again. "Well be careful, they're all pretty dangerous. That bloke with the anxiety, the one with the red eyes, and the one with the artificial eyes, they're all something straight out of a comic book." He scoffed. "Then again, so are we. Still, the one with the disorders is extremely dangerous for you, considering how well-known he is across the web under that aliases. He owns more than you think, and he's wary of his own work space. He trusts no one, and he'll catch anything even the slightest bit suspicious." The white haired man held up the binoculars back on his pale face. "'Trinity', is his name online. Oh yeah, he's got a lot of money. He keeps finding secret files in D75 too, 'wonder why." With a steady exhale, he squinted into the lenses. "Look, I'll give you as much as I can. Then I'll be able to capture them all, one by one. You get your money, and we get what we want." He blinked his dark brown eyes. "Yeah. Mmhm. Fine, we'll meet in five."
The connection ended, and he put the binoculars in his pocket.
If everything went well, he and his brothers could finally get what they want and be happy.
END - 22!
EDIT: I deleted all questions. I decided it's best that I don't give any clues at all, that isn't good writing in my opinion. The most I'll give to hints, are the bold and italicized (or even normal words that you might gleam passed) words in the chapters.
...
From here on out, things are gonna get a little more serious. And...weird.