I'm sorry for being bad! I know it's been forever...Thank you for your reviews, and for putting up with me though my chaotic schedule.

This is a short little chapter, and I hope it pleases. I apologize in advance if I get facts mixed up - I didn't really do a lot of research, so please bare with me. Arigato, and enjoy!


"King of the Jungle"

It was no great hidden mystery in the Kaiba household that Shadow-chan liked animals. Big or small, from no-legged to eight, he loved them all – every single creature that so much as breathed under the burning sun and changing moon. He could tell you all the useless facts you would ever want – or not want – to hear, whether or not you asked him to, and he would tell you with such bright, big-eyed enthusiasm that you would have no heart to ask him to stop, even if it had been two straight hours and you really had to go to the bathroom.

There were two exceptions to Shadow's affections, those being cockroaches and mosquitoes, but that is both completely understandable and beside the point.

If you were to walk into Shadow's bedroom, you would instantly be able to guess that he was an animal-fanatic. Every tiny inch of his biggest wall was dedicated to Kingdom Animalia. There were posters, magazine clippings, and random hand-drawn pictures pasted together in a giant college. On his bed no less than eight stuffed animals were lined up neatly against the headboard. Animals covered his comforter, pillowcases, curtains, and various accessories. Seto had a while ago affectionately named his room "the zoo."

Shadow had always had a soft spot for animals, but the real craze started about six months ago during a little family trip. It had been Yugi's idea to visit the zoo and Marineworld, and it ended up being a trip that Seto constantly regretted agreeing to, especially every time Shadow came up and asked him – with puppy-dog eyes and all – if he could possibly, please, Seto-ojichan¸ have just one pet – just one…

That was the real problem. Seto was fine with the animals the boy had in his head, but a real, live one – in his house no less –

The horror.

It didn't matter what the boy said, Seto knew that an animal would cause only problems in this house. Heck, there was enough mayhem already to rival a small country. Voluntarily allowing a pet would be committing literal suicide. So his answer was a firm and emphatic (and rather frightened) "no!"

But Shadow was never one to give up easily.

Xxx

Felines had always been the boy's favorite among favorites. More likely than not, it had something to do with his unusual heritage. Unfortunately for Seto, cats also happened to be Mokuba's and Bakura's favorites as well. So when Shadow came and asked for a kitten, he was forced to turn down not just one but three. Eight, actually, if you added Yugi, Joey, Marik, Malik, and Ryou, all of whom had been over when the request was made and had backed Shadow passionately. Shadow had probably timed it just for that reason, too, being the natural-born strategist that he was.

But no. He could do without litter boxes and crazy cat toys, thank you very much.

He should have known there was no way that little gang was going to take it lying down.

Xxx

He knew something was up the moment he opened the door that evening. There was just some instinctive, uncanny feeling in his gut – some surprise was waiting just around the corner, and there was a 99 percent chance that it was going to be unpleasant.

"Shadow-chan?" he called cautiously, drawing his body slowly over the threshold, prepared to turn and bolt at any moment. "Bakura? Mokuba? Anyone home?"

"I'm here, Ojichan!" Shadow's voice replied happily from the kitchen. A moment later, the boy appeared, holding a package of raw meat in his hands.

That's odd, Seto thought to himself dumbly, feeling mystified and perplexed. Why the meat –

A shape bounced out of the kitchen after Shadow, and a started butting against the child's leg.

Seto actually felt like fainting.

"Is…what is…" he asked weakly, for lack of anything better to say.

"His name is Sahara Storm. He followed me home. Can I keep him?"

The Bengal tiger cub at his side looked up at Seto and growled, and the man could have sworn it smiled.

Xxx

"You got him a tiger?" a very dismayed and pissed off CEO hissed at his little brother, slamming the door behind him in a fierce display of anger. "Damn it, Mokuba! What were you thinking?"

Mokuba blinked up serenely at him, knowing he had the man wrapped completely around his little finger like a child's toy. He knew every trick, every button in the book for dealing with Seto Kaiba, and he was not afraid to use them. The game was already his, and he knew it.

He leaned casually against his desk, stuffed his hands in his pockets, brushed his bangs out of his eyes, and, having thus completed the picture of perfect innocence, peered up at his brother said calmly, "I didn't get it for him. Bakura took him to the park today, and it just followed them home."

"Yes, I heard about that," Seto growled, having just had the most frustrating conversation of his life with a too-smug Bakura down the hall. "You actually expect me to believe there was just conveniently a man with a tiger cub sitting by the most remote trail of the park carrying all the equipment the thing needed?"

"It's a 'he,' Nii-sama, not a 'thing,'" Mokuba replied, completely unruffled. "As for the man – perhaps he just happened to have a spare tiger that he rescued from an illegal underground trade. And maybe the tiger needed a good home until it's old enough to go to a zoo. I don't know. It's not like I paid him to be there. I don't quite know why you're yelling at me."

"If it wasn't you, then what it this loan you took out of the bank for?"

"Ryou, Marik, and Yugi all needed some money for personal reasons."

"I'm going to kill the lot of you."

Xxx

"Are you angry, Ojichan?" Shadow asked timidly, coming to crawl up beside him on the couch before reaching down and picking up Sahara Storm from the floor and cuddling him in his lap. The cub growled softly with pleasure, batting playfully at the hand tickling his tummy.

Seto glanced at the boy, holding an armful of wriggling tiger, before sighing deeply and wondering how Shadow thought anyone could actually remain angry at a big-eyed, soft-voiced seven-year-old holding a baby animal. "You know we can't keep him forever, 'Chibi-chan," he murmured. "He's going to grow big. He's going to need a home where he has room to run and play."

"I know," Shadow nodded, amiably letting the cub nuzzle at his neck. "But I want to help him grow until then."

"It's going to take work. It's going to take patience."

"And it's going to take love," Shadow finished for him. "But I really think I can do it, Ojichan. And I know I'll always have help."

The man shook his head at the boy's innocent confidence. He had lost the battle. He had lost it the moment Shadow had set eyes on that little tiger. What could he do but play along and hope for the best? "Well, it can't hurt to give it a try. Just make sure he doesn't cause too much damage around here."

Shadow grinned with utmost satisfaction, before reaching over to deposit his tiger in Seto's lap, announcing that he had to go to the bathroom real quick. Left alone with the tiger cub, Seto wondered what exactly he was supposed to do with the ball of fluff shedding all over him. Only quick reflexes saved him as he caught the kitten before it managed to jump off his lap.

Lifting it in front of his face, he stated wryly, "Sahara Storm is a strange name."

The cub only yawned at him, showing a row of perfect little teeth and a long pink tongue. Seto wrinkled his nose. "You stink," he informed the cat, putting it on his lap again. It sniffed curiously at his shirt and face, before sticking its nose straight between his legs, arousing a hasty curse as Seto jerked backwards. The tiger blinked up at him with wide brown eyes at were eerily similar to Shadow's puppy-eyes.

Grabbing a pillow to protect himself from another unexpected tiger-attack, Seto cautiously let it back down again. And to his surprise, the cub started rubbing against his chest with a rumbling purr, before curling up and almost immediately falling asleep.

"I still don't like you," Seto scowled, though, for some reason, his hand started petting the soft tiger-fur as though it had a mind of its own. He wondered absently why it was taking Shadow so long to go to the bathroom.

Xxx

"I told you he would agree," Bakura whispered to the child in his arms, standing hidden in tall shadows cast by the wall he leaned against, from where he could plainly see Kaiba and his new friend. Shadow smiled, tucking his head under his father's chin. "You're wicked, Otou-sama," he grinned, remembering something Ryou-oniichan had once said.

"Hai," Bakura agreed shamelessly. "Though you're not exactly as innocent as you seem."

Shadow's grin widened slightly, turning rather subtly into a childish smirk.

XxxxX

General Tiger Facts (taken from the notebook of Shadow Okita Sagara:)

The first 6-8 weeks, cubs are dependent on their mother's milk.

Eight weeks (about 2 months) after birth, the cubs will starting joining their mother in hunting. At the age of six months, the mother will usually break the legs or somehow maim the prey so the cubs can learn to kill.

Tigers have fully developed canines by 16 months, but they start making kills at 18 months.

Cubs are raised by their mother, and stay with her for about 2 years. During this time, they will learn to hunt. They will also acquire other behavioral traits such as grooming, sharpening their claws, etc.

Tigers can fend for themselves after one and a half years.


Facts actually taken from http://pudang. tripod .com

Reviews are good. They have the potential to shorten the waiting period for the next chapter by several months. I'll try to get out another chapter before the summer is over...wish me luck :D