Chapter 07: Instincts

When Yami came home and saw no trace of Kaiba, he was surprised at how disappointed he felt that he was gone. Obviously Yami wanted Kaiba to return to normal, but he had been enjoying the company. Even if Kaiba was in an altered form, Yami still enjoyed spending time around him.

Thus it was a relief of sorts to see Kaiba emerge from the closet, even if he looked annoyed. "What's wrong?" Yami asked as he crouched down to Kaiba's level. When he got a pointed look, Yami had to laugh. "You want to shower, don't you?"

Kaiba perked up considerably, his tail waving in appreciation of the idea. Unable to deny Kaiba anything, Yami relented, "Okay, okay. You're rather spoiled, you know that? Or is it that you're just used to always getting your way?"

Meowing at the latter, Kaiba was confused when Yami softly continued, "Must be nice."

There was almost a melancholic note in his tone, but that couldn't be right. However, as quickly as Kaiba noticed it, the mood was gone as Yami brightly asked, "Ready?"

Trotting beside Yami, Kaiba once again waited for the water to get hot before entering the spray. He shocked himself when he caught himself hoping that Yami would bathe him again; he knew that he had enjoyed the experience, but that was a bit much. It made him pace under the water, unaware that he was drawing Yami's attention.

Misunderstanding the reason for Kaiba's pacing, Yami reassured him, "I'm going as fast as I can. I'm almost done."

It made Kaiba stop his pacing and sit, flicking his tail and sending water everywhere in a cascade. Finally Yami sat down next to him, nudging Kaiba closer to wash him.

As Yami worked the shampoo into Kaiba's fur, Yami told him, "It's not all bad, you know."

If Kaiba could have rolled his eyes, he would have. What good is there in this? Kaiba wondered, failing to see where his rival was going with the thought.

Fluffing up Kaiba's mane, Yami said with a grin, "You kind of look like a baby Blue Eyes White Dragon," before laughing.

It was a bizarre upside and Kaiba could see why Yami was amused by the thought. Under different circumstances, Kaiba probably would have been offended that anyone would dare to compare such a tiny kitten to the symbols of his pride, but he'd let it slide this once. Of course, that might have had something to do with the way Yami's fingers were working him. Why did it have to feel so damn good?

"I hope you weren't too bored," Yami continued talking as he rinsed Kaiba's fur off with water. "I figured you'd sleep for most of it."

That was exactly what Kaiba had done, much as it galled him. But he found it strange that Yami would apologize for such a thing.

"Somehow I think you'd find cat toys insulting," Yami commented with a laugh. "Although I'd love to see what you would do with catnip."

Kaiba hoped that Yami didn't try to experiment on him like that. He was relieved when Yami continued, "That just seems cruel, though. Taking away what little power you have."

As Yami continued speaking, Kaiba found himself intrigued that Yami was able to carry on a conversation by himself for so long. Even more unusual was his urge to answer back to Yami sometimes. He had never really talked to Yami before, just exchanged banter over duels or heated exchanges after a match. He had never really heard Yami laugh so freely and he refused to admit that he found the sound pleasing to the ear. If he did, he'd just blame it on the cat part of him.

All too soon the shower was over in Kaiba's opinion and he was once again swaddled tightly in a towel as Yami carried him down the hall. He still objected to the treatment, but he knew that the hairdryer was soon to follow and he'd put up with it for that.

They had almost made it back to the room when they were stopped by Yuugi's voice calling out, "Yami, what are you doing?"

"I just took an early shower," Yami calmly replied over his shoulder, tightening his hold on the towel Kaiba was in still.

Kaiba was trying to remain calm, knowing that logically even if Yuugi saw him, he wouldn't be able to identify him. Still, he found himself retreating further back into the comforts of the towel to try and hide out of instinct. It was positively embarrassing behavior, but there was no helping it when he was trapped in kitten form.

"Everything okay?" Yuugi asked, concerned by the strange actions.

Smiling reassuringly at Yuugi, Yami said, "Everything's fine," before going into his room and shutting the door. "Close call, huh?"

Softly meowing his agreement, Kaiba felt relieved as they sat down on the bed. He wanted to fidget as they quietly sat together, but he resisted the urge. What Kaiba had not expected was for Yuugi to knock twice and then immediately open the door as he called out, "Oh yeah, one more thing—"

Yuugi's sentence stopped when he saws Yami holding a tiny white kitten in a towel. "Yami, what…?" Yuugi asked in shock as he approached them.

"Surprise," Yami weakly said, not having planned out how best to introduce the kitten to his relatives.

"Why do you have a kitten?" Yuugi wanted to know as he sat down on Yami's bed to look closer at the kitten. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear the kitten was glaring at him.

"I'm watching him for a friend temporarily" Yami explained, figuring it was close enough to the truth.

"What's his name?" Yuugi asked as he reached out to pet the still damp kitten.

"Ah, best not," Yami warned as he subtly moved Kaiba out of the way. "He doesn't like being touched."

"Really?" Yuugi asked in surprise. "That's strange. Is he feral?"

"No, just picky about who can and can't touch him," Yami explained with a wry grin.

"Whose cat is it?" Yuugi wanted to know.

"Isis'," Yami lied, figuring it was better than admitting it was Kaiba.

"Why would Isis have you watch her cat?" Yuugi wondered, finding it strange.

"Cats were important back in ancient Egypt," Yami said by way of explanation, hoping his aibou would leave it at that.

Furrowing his brow as he tried to understand, Yuugi sounded uncertain as he questioned, "So she's trying to remind you of that?"

"I think so," Yami said with a shrug. "I'm not really sure."

"Have you told Jii-chan yet?" Yuugi asked.

"No," Yami sheepishly answered, feeling bad about it. "I haven't figured out a good way of telling him yet."

"I don't think he'll mind," Yuugi reassured Yami. "Although he may want to pet him."

Kaiba growled at the idea and was startled into silence when Yami pet him reassuringly to quiet him. It made him try to nip at Yami's hand and the former pharaoh's voice was reprimanding as he reminded Kaiba, "What did I say about biting?"

Flattening his ears in annoyance, Kaiba continued grumbling about his treatment. Yami had to hide his grin at the cuteness of a sulking Kaiba. "I think he's tired of being wet," Yami said with a laugh, trying to excuse the behavior in a realistic way.

"I'm surprised he let you bathe him at all," Yuugi commented, "since cats hate water."

"Yeah," Yami agreed, relieved when Yuugi stood up as if he were going to leave.

"What's his name, anyway?" Yuugi asked again.

Saying the first name he could think of, Yami said, "It translates to 'Dragon,' from Arabic."

"What a silly name for such a tiny kitten," Yuugi commented with a laugh, causing Kaiba to growl as menacingly as his little body allowed. "Maybe he'll grow into it someday."

Yami didn't say anything further as Yuugi left his room. He exhaled in relief when they were left alone together. "Was it just me or was that stressful for some reason?" Yami asked Kaiba with a laugh as he got up to put on his clothes. He then came back to the bed and unwrapped the towel to rub down the kitten, causing his fur to stick up straight.

Getting the comb and hairdryer, Yami began brushing out Kaiba, who promptly began to purr despite his resistance. He kept trying to stop, which only made Yami laugh harder. "I'm not going to hold it against you for acting like a kitten," Yami told him as he waved the dryer back and forth. "It's not embarrassing or anything."

Kaiba strongly disagreed, but still he continued to purr as he rolled onto his back and stretched with a yawn. "It must feel good, huh?" Yami asked as he continued brushing Kaiba.

Kaiba's tail fluttered in irritation, but he gave no other indication of an answer. Instead he watched Yami carefully and tried to figure out why he seemed so peaceful carrying out his current task. One of Yami's long bangs slipped from behind his ear and dangled down in front of Kaiba when the former pharaoh shifted positions. Without warning, Kaiba's body reacted by pawing at it playfully. He was mortified when Yami chuckled in response and even more so when his body continued playing with the strand of hair.

He finally got back in control of his reflexes and stopped, causing Yami to comment, "I don't mind, you know."

The problem was that Kaiba did. Immensely. It's why he was surprised when Yami continued, "You probably hate it, though. Not being able to stop those kitty instincts."

Kaiba hesitantly nodded in understanding and Yami smiled down at him kindly as a result. "I won't hold it against you," Yami promised. "It's not like I'm going to bring it up when you return to normal."

It was reassuring to hear, but Kaiba still didn't want to be any more of a cat then he had to be.

All too soon Yami announced, "All done," and shut off the hairdryer. Unable to resist, Yami pet the length of Kaiba's body. "So soft…"

Kaiba allowed it for a moment before he edged away from the touch; it was too comforting to be allowed.

"Yes, yes, I know I'm being bad," Yami sighed as he kept his hands to himself. "I just can't help it when you're like this."

Giving Yami a side eye at the comment, Kaiba huffed in indignation. It caused Yami to elaborate, "I'm not trying to disrespect you, Kaiba. I just want to help you get back to normal."

It was reassuring to hear that they had the same goal. He's probably tired of taking care of me, Kaiba reasoned, although Yami's actions said otherwise.

He watched with curiosity when Yami got up and was relieved to see him clean out his litter box, horrifying as it was for him to have to accept. Still, it was better than the gross alternative. Yami continued freshening up his food and water, which was enough to get Kaiba to jump down off the bed and wander over to his dishes to partake.

"Seems you did learn some new tricks while I was gone," Yami teased as Kaiba proudly walked over to him.

Yami left him to his food and went over to his desk to take out his homework when he noticed the wrinkled papers on his desk. "What happened here?" Yami asked as he straightened out the paper.

Flattening his ears and hunkering down, Kaiba tried not to feel guilty for what he had done. Yami grinned at Kaiba's reactions and shrugged it off with a casual, "Oh well, they're not important."

It relieved some of Kaiba's guilt, but the feeling still nagged at him slightly. He hated feeling that way. Why should he feel bad?

Yami sat down at his desk and started to do his homework, which was boring to Kaiba no matter what form he had. It had always been tedious regurgitation for Kaiba, but he had dutifully done it when necessary.

Finishing eating, Kaiba walked over to Yami and was annoyed when he was ignored. It wasn't that Kaiba required constant attention, but after being bored all day, he had hoped Yami's return would mean for something ore interesting.

Approaching Yami, Kaiba debated what to do. He was curious about what Yami was working on so intently and there was only way to find out that he could think of at the moment.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Kaiba jumped up onto Yami's lap, then up to his desk. "Yes?" Yami asked with a laugh as he once against resisted the urge to touch Kaiba.

Walking to the side of Yami's paper, Kaiba saw that he was working on English. He noticed question four was wrong, so he tapped it and meowed twice, looking expectantly at Yami.

"What's wrong with it?" Yami asked as he reexamined his answer.

Flicking his tail in irritation at not being able to properly answer, Kaiba had to wait for Yami to realize, "Oh, it's this one," as he changed his answer after reading it out loud. "Thanks!"

Kaiba was unprepared for the head scratch he received or the way he instinctually leaned into it. He was once again humiliated by the reaction, but Yami stopped before he could do anything about it.

Kaiba continued to watch as Yami worked on his homework and eventually his kitten instincts kicked in again and he pounced on the moving pencil before he could stop himself. It made Yami laugh as Kaiba attacked the moving object and bit at it. It was just too hard to stop himself from acting out on those built in instincts, but Kaiba finally got control of himself and jumped off the desk to skulk away to the bed where he wouldn't embarrass himself anymore.

Kaiba once again crawled up the sheets with his claws, causing Yami to comment, "Still haven't managed to master that, have you?"

Kaiba growled in irritation, but it didn't faze Yami in the least. "You know, you growl just as much now as you did when you're a human. And I'm going to need new sheets after this," Yami joked, confusing Kaiba as to why he didn't sound upset about it.

Kaiba continued to watch from afar as Yami finished his homework, although eventually his eyes began to grow heavier. Trying to stave off sleep, Kaiba forced himself to get up and pace the length of the bed.

It drew Yami's attention once he finished his homework and he walked over to his bed. "What's wrong now?" Yami wondered as he sat down by his pillow.

When Kaiba continued pacing, Yami acted before he could convince himself not to. Reaching out and taking hold of Kaiba, Yami hugged him close while petting him with a free hand. Kaiba fussed at the treatment, causing Yami to shush him. "Relax," Yami told him with a laugh. "How is this any different than when you're in a towel?"

Kaiba continued struggling, but Yami refused to let him go. "Listen to me, Kaiba," Yami told him, trying to get his attention. "You're going to figure this out and you're going to return to normal. But in the meantime, you need to learn to relax a little. And don't be afraid to rely on me, okay? I'm here to help you."

Against his wishes, Kaiba's body calmed under Yami's ministrations. It ceased fighting and gave in to the persuasive petting. Still needing to show resistance on some level, Kaiba growled at Yami.

"I know you're frustrated and I can't even imagine how hard this is for you, but you've got to learn to trust me a little," Yami continued, "because like it or not, it looks like we have to work together on this. There's a reason Isis called me specifically to take care of you and I doubt it was solely to irritate you."

The point was valid and made Kaiba quit growling. Maybe Yami was a clue to what he was supposed to be solving. Why hadn't he thought of that?

Still petting Kaiba's soft fur, Yami continued musing, "It probably has something to do with ancient Egypt, knowing her and your refusal to accept anything about it."

Kaiba didn't like how Yami's voice sounded so sad or the troubled look that haunted his eyes. It left him with a weird feeling that he didn't like in the least. However, he wasn't given long to dwell on it as Yami kept talking, "But that would make more sense if she turned you into an Egyptian Mau—or maybe that's too on the nose? Still, it seems weird that she turned you into a Blue Eyes White Kitten. Unless that's the form your soul naturally takes? Wouldn't that be interesting?"

When Kaiba failed to respond, it encouraged Yami to continue, "You're sort of like a cat, so it makes sense in a weird way. You're both regal, aloof, only wanting attention when it suits you. Although I suspect cats sleep way more than you do."

Meowing once in agreement, it made Yami grin in response. "Besides, it could always be worse. She could have turned you into a puppy. Somehow I doubt you'd like that very much since you're always carrying on about loser dogs."

The thought was horrifying to Kaiba, thinking about Yami having to walk him on a leash in public to take care of his business. As if picking up on his thoughts, Yami commented, "Suddenly it's not so bad to be a cat, yeah? Although I bet you would have made a cute bunny."

The idea was a ridiculous one and Kaiba started fidgeting in Yami's hold again. He had become far too complacent in Yami's grasps.

Letting him go, Yami was pleased when all Kaiba did was sit in front of him and stare; it was better than sulking off to hide. Yami evenly met Kaiba's gaze as he pointed out, "Even as a kitten you have an ice cold glare."

It pleased Kaiba to hear and he tucked his tail in appreciation of the comment. He wasn't surprised when Yami returned to the previous topic, "We'll get this figured out, Kaiba."

Hesitating slightly before meowing in agreement, Kaiba ducked his head when Yami reached out to pet his head again. "I will miss being able to do this," Yami teased as he pet Kaiba anyway. "You'd probably kill me if I ever dared to do anything like this when you're a person."

Why would he bother when I'm human? Kaiba wondered, finding it strange. Growling a warning as he swatted at Yami, it simply made the former pharaoh laugh.

"Yeah, yeah," Yami said with a fondness in his voice that confused Kaiba. And why did it make him feel so warm?


A/N: A nice extra long chapter this time! There's just so much cuteness in this story…

NEXT CHAPTER:

Yami exclaimed, "Hey! Stop that," but there was laughter in his voice.

Not much to add here, so I'll simply say the next chapter will go up on Sunday, August 3rd. I look forward to your reviews in the interim! Thank you so much for being so generous with your thoughts on this story!