Chapter 10: Late Night Thoughts
Watching Yami sleep, Kaiba couldn't help but think of him and the past few days they had spent together. Yami had been nothing but kind to him and it felt like something that Kaiba would have to make up for once he returned to human form. He didn't like being indebted to anyone, especially not a rival. Although he hadn't really seen Yami as his rival while trapped as a kitten—but that wasn't to say that he had thought of him as a friend, either. No, Kaiba Seto did not need friends. But if he had to have a friend, he could do worse than Yami. He was loyal, kind, and willing to do anything to help out a friend—including taking care of them when they were a kitten, apparently.
Sure, he knew that Yami considered him a friend, although he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. It wasn't like Kaiba had actively encouraged it, but Yami still thought it all the same. But he was just weird like that, Kaiba decided. Either that, or he liked the abuse, which was a disturbing thought in and of itself.
But first and foremost, Kaiba saw Yami as his number one rival. No one had ever challenged him so completely before and Kaiba doubted that there would ever be anyone else who would do so. He had never wanted to defeat someone so badly, never wanted to fight them all the time, never wanted to dominate someone's attention so much. It was disconcerting, the level of attention that Kaiba paid to Yami. Never before had a single person mattered so much to him who wasn't Mokuba. It wasn't that he cared what Yami thought of him, so long as he acknowledged him as a worthy rival and challenger. It was a position that Kaiba didn't want anyone else to hold and especially not that loser dog, Jounouchi. No, Kaiba wanted to occupy a different level in Yami's life and he would fight as hard as it took to do so.
Yet Kaiba's mind was drawn back to their time during Duelist Kingdom, when they had walked the city streets together and battled together on the same side of the platform. For a time they had been partners and there was no one else that Kaiba would ever trust to do so, save for his brother of course. But that was different; Yami was different and always had been.
Of course things had changed once Yami got his own body. Kaiba had never spent as much time with him as he had during Battle City, but there had been moments. And it wasn't that Kaiba looked forward to those moments, but he didn't dread them, either. It wasn't arduous to be around Yami for extended periods of time, whereas if he had to spend so much as a minute with Jounouchi, he was downright murderous. Everything about the mutt rubbed him the wrong way, whereas Kaiba could actually tolerate being in Yami's presence.
That had changed even more now that he was trapped in a kitten body. It hadn't been hard to be alone around Yami, although it helped that he wasn't really expected to talk. Kaiba was generally a man of few words and he was glad that all that was required of him was an occasional meow or growl to communicate. Although as a cat, his body language gave him away a lot more than when he was a human. It was irritating and also somewhat useful all at the same time.
However, Kaiba didn't find it painful to be in Yami's presence as a kitten. Yami had treated him with dignity for the most part and while Kaiba could do with less petting, he had to admit that it felt good, which was annoying. Sometimes he ached to feel Yami's fingers on his fur and that was a disconcerting feeling that he didn't know what to do about it. Thus, it was just easier not to think about. Otherwise he might do something foolish like wake Yami up and try to convince him to take another shower.
Kaiba begrudgingly had to admit that Yami was more than just a mere rival, but what did that make him? Kaiba wasn't so sure. Perhaps friend was the closest word to what Yami was for him, much as it galled him to admit. That didn't mean that Kaiba would start treating him any differently once he regained his human form, of course. Well, maybe slightly, because Kaiba owed him at least that much. He could do civility without problem. But he just couldn't picture them hanging out after he got off of work like normal friends did. Although it might be fun to get in a duel here and there when the opportunity permitted. Yami did say that they were going to duel once Kaiba got his body back, something that he was very much looking forward to—especially since his life as a cat had been boring so far. It would feel great to have that adrenaline rush of dueling after so long of being trapped in a kitten's body.
He supposed he could even picture them having dinner after a battle together. They could debrief or talk future battles or something along those lines. As long as it didn't turn into that ancient Egyptian bullshit, Kaiba imagined that dinner wouldn't be too painful of an affair with Yami. So maybe he could make an exception and hang out with Yami from time to time, provided his rival behaved himself.
He felt like he had learned a lot about Yami over the course of the past few days, but in some ways, he had become even more of a mystery. The rapid fire shifts in Yami's emotions would never cease to confuse Kaiba. How his rival could go from fine one minute to melancholic the next to being completely at ease was a total puzzle to Kaiba and one that he wasn't sure he felt like solving. Sometimes it was okay to leave things as they were and Kaiba felt like that was one of those things.
Yami stirred in his sleep and drew Kaiba's attention back to him. He looked so at ease while he slept and Kaiba couldn't resist the urge to paw at one of the blonde bangs that was near him on the pillow. It didn't wake up Yami, for which Kaiba was grateful as he made himself stop toying with the hair. The longer he stayed in cat form, the harder it was becoming to control his kitten instincts. It worried Kaiba, but there was nothing he could do about it in his present state.
Without warning Yami's hand came up to rest against his stomach and Kaiba sighed heavily as he was reflexively petted through sleep. It seemed Yami just couldn't get enough of him, not even when he was asleep. Kaiba supposed he could understand since he was pretty sure that if the circumstances were reversed, even he wouldn't be able to resist petting such soft fur. His brother had been right; he was surprisingly soft when it came to such things, but Kaiba couldn't help but feel a kinship to abandoned cats due to his own past.
He knew he was lucky that it had been Yami that had taken him in with his unfortunate circumstance. It really could have been much worse and he wouldn't have put it past Isis to do such a terrible thing as put him out on the street or give him to Jounouchi instead. He still couldn't help but wonder why she had chosen Yami to protect him, though. Was she trying to get him to see the other side of his rival and appreciate him more? It seemed like something she would do. After all, being forced to acknowledge his rival as something more was a big step for Kaiba and one that he wouldn't have voluntarily taken by any means.
Or was she expecting him to come to terms with the ancient Egyptian nonsense? He refused to accept that he had been a priest in a past life with a connection to Yami; it was just too far-fetched to believe. And yet there was something that tugged at his very soul that tried to convince him that there was an element of truth to the tales about the past. It was disconcerting and made Kaiba terribly uncomfortable to think about it.
Pushing the thoughts from him mind, Kaiba returned his attention to Yami, whose hand had stilled in its lazy sleep petting. Kaiba supposed he should be grateful for Yami treating him as well as he had and he wondered what he could possibly do to make it up to him in the future. But that too was a thought for later as Kaiba's eyes grew heavier with sleep and his thoughts started to become fuzzy.
A/N: I know it's a bit of a slow chapter, but there's a reason for it…
NEXT CHAPTER:
The problem was, Kaiba didn't know what he intended to do.
The next update will go up on Sunday, August 24th and trust me, it is one that you do NOT want to miss. It's a very important chapter, so please look forward to it! Until then, I shall enjoy hearing your thoughts through your wonderful reviews.
