What is it with the characters completely ignoring the outlines I wrote for this and going off to do their own thing? This whole chapter sprung from one tiny little thing I wanted to happen and moved in a whole new direction entirely. Oh well.

By the way, I cannot believe the stupidity of some people. I just read an article where a house burglar got himself caught because he found a bottle of vodka and decided to help himself to it. He was practically drunk when the police found him. At least the people who owned the house avoided getting all their money stolen.

Disclaimers: I own nothing but the plot bunny bouncing around in my head. Oh, and Halima, Yami's mother. And the spirit guy.

Warnings: Cussing.

Chapter 5: At the Kaiba Mansion

Kaiba sighed as he pulled off his tie and flung it in a random direction, not caring where it landed. His maids could find it and take care of it later. Right now, he was too tired to care about the state of his room. Between idiotic employees who managed to butcher even the simplest things to now having the friendship posse living in his mansion . . . he just wanted to sleep the rest of the few hours he had left before it was time to go back into work. But his tired eyes refused to close.

Kaiba sighed again, before freezing at the sound of his door scraping the carpet softly before scraping again; indicting someone had just opened and closed his door. His hand instinctively curled around the handgun he kept under the pillow.

He knew it couldn't be the household staff; they have all been with him for a long time and knew not to disturb him so late at night, or rather, so early in the morning. And it couldn't be Yugi's little gang. He had found them all passed out in the entertainment room earlier in his search for Mokuba.

There was a light scrape next to his bed, before someone pulled at his bed sheets. Kaiba whipped the gun out from under his pillow and aimed it towards the sound, only to blink. The soft moonlight filtering in through his window gave him just enough light to see twin crimson orbs looking curiously up at him. There was a pull of the bed sheets again as the chibi tried to clamber up onto his bed.

After several tries of slipping and falling, he managed to crawl onto the top of Kaiba's large King sized bed decked out in a deep blue comforter embroidered with silver Chinese styled dragons. Yami cocked his head curiously at the gun in Kaiba's hand and poked it, moving his head from side to side as he examined it. Kaiba hastily put the gun away into a drawer and locked it, in case the chibi got too curious and tried to pull the trigger.

Deep pools of ruby followed his movements before Yami crawled forward and settled himself against Kaiba's side. The chibi started crooning something in his native tongue. Familiar words that struck a chord deep within the brunette, but he dared not try to reach for it. It was bad enough that he unexplainably understood Ancient Egyptian. He didn't need to start unexplainably remembering a "past life" as High Priest or whatever Yugi had said he was.

He had admitted to Yugi being the King of Games and he had admitted that the Shadow Realm and the yamis existed. There was no way he was going to start accepting that he was some incarnation of a high priest named Seth that happened to be Yami's cousin and took over the throne after Yami sealed his soul in the puzzle. No, magic was the limit for him.

Sanguine eyes blinked up at him, as though they understood what was going through Kaiba's head. Sitting up, the chibi pressed his lips to the elder male's forehead in a chaste kiss. "Sedjer, dep taneen," Yami whispered. (1)

Kaiba's eyes closed involuntarily, and the brunette found himself drifting deep within peaceful dreams, unhindered by nightmares for once in his life since he became a Kaiba. Yami smiled happily at his slumbering dragon and curled back up against his side and joined Kaiba in his sleep.

Several hours later, Kaiba woke up to his alarm feeling refreshed and well rested. Small fingers dug into his shirt as he reached over to turn off his alarm, and Kaiba blinked as he looked down at the chibi sleeping beside him, a frown marring his otherwise peaceful face. Carefully, not to wake the slumbering chibi, he pried his fingers from his shirt and slipped out of the bed to shower and get ready.

He adjusted his tie after he dressed, and grabbed his briefcase. He cast a look at Yami who had shifted and was curled up in the warm indention on the bed where he had been sleeping. Kaiba smiled softly and left the room for work, not noticing the humanoid figure that glared at him from the corner.

Crimson eyes opened as the bedroom door closed and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. His dragon was no longer in the room, but the bed was still warm, so he must have just left. Yawning, he crawled to the side of the bed and slipped off to the blue carpeted floor below. The colors of blue and silver seemed to be a major theme in the room, along with dragons, but that was to be expected.

Yami bounced towards the door and stood on his toes as he stretched out his fingers for the doorknob. The digits barely brushed the silver knob, and the chibi stamped his feet in annoyance. He muttered something in Ancient Egyptian as he drew patterns in the air with his fingers. Golden hieroglyphs formed where his fingers traced, hovering in midair. The knob turned and the door swung open.

Proudly, the chibi skipped out the room and glanced around the large hallway, searching for a sign of his dragon. There was a flare of white and he turned towards it. He saw the end of a white trench coat as whipped around the corner and ran after it, giggling. By the time he had turned the corner, the trench coat was already curling out of sight.

No matter how fast he ran, he could never catch up with his dragon. He continued following him down the unfamiliar hallways, up long staircases, and through large rooms that led to more hallways and rooms. His dragon never slowed, and no matter how hard the small royal tried, he never saw anything but the ends of his dragon's white trench coat.

Yami stepped through another room and stopped. It was a dead end, and his dragon was nowhere to be seen. There wasn't anything to be seen here. The room was completely empty and full of dust and cobwebs, like nothing had set foot in here since the mansion was first built. The chibi sneezed, before he froze, looking up at the ghostly hands reaching for him.

It was his haunter, and he seemed more solid than usual, more humanoid. He was still blurry, but the outline of features could be seen. A pair of faint, colorless eyes could be seen on his face. The hands seemed more solid than the rest of him.

The small royal backed away from those hands as they came closer; hovering to his cheeks as though they would cup them. Yami felt the cold touch of the ghostly hands on his face before the necklace grew warm around his neck and the apparition leapt back, as though he had been burned.

A large spike of hatred and anger flared up, making Yami flinch. His necklace grew hotter, burning his skin. Violet flames swirled around him, soft musical notes drifting softly around him. A phoenix flew from the flames and circled protectively around Yami.

The spirit's aura grew more with the sight of the phoenix. It stepped forward, a dark green flame dancing around it. With a loud shriek, the phoenix dove at the specter. The chibi whirled for the door, only for it to slam in his face. He whimpered as he reached for the door knob, wobbling and barely brushing it.

"Kuri."

Yami looked up as a ball of brown fluff with bright green eyes popped into existence beside him. Kuriboh flew up and tugged at the door knob as Yami looked back. The phoenix was gone, and the spirit was coming back. The chibi made a desperate leap for the door knob.

"Yami?" a familiar voice called, and the chibi yelped as the door burst open and he crashed to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, but Kuriboh and the spirit had vanished.

"There you are!"

Yami found himself being scooped up into Anzu's arms as the female scolded him and carried him away from the nightmarish room. The chibi relaxed once it was out of sight and laid his head on the brunette's shoulder. A second later, he had drifted off to sleep.

Anzu yawned as the alarm clock went off and looked around the spacious guest room Mokuba had given her. That was just one of the perks of staying at the Kaiba Mansion: she didn't have to share sleeping space with anyone else. Kaiba had an entire wing of his Mansion devoted to guest rooms. There were at twenty rooms fully stocked and ready receive guests.

It had all the amenities a person would need, which included alarm clocks, fresh towels, soap, toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, a house phone, TVs with over a thousand channels, a state-of-the-art computer complete with internet, and last but not least . . . room service.

Anzu had unplugged the phones in Honda and Jou's room so they couldn't call the kitchens demanding snacks at odd hours of the night and wake the staff up.

Mokuba had assured her that it was fine. The Kaibas had two separate staffs, one that worked during daylight hours and one that worked during the night, but she didn't want to infringe on Kaiba's home too much. He had allowed them to stay, but if they went overboard too much . . . Anzu was afraid of what methods he would use to kick them out.

She got out of bed and changed out of her pajamas, then left the room to wake the others up. Ryou was already awake, and sipping a hot cup of tea at the breakfast table tucked in the corner of his room. The British-born teen smiled cheerfully at her and waved his teaspoon in greeting.

Anzu had to whack Honda with a pillow a few times to wake him up, but after a minute or two of hitting him, she succeeded. Anzu didn't bother trying to prod Jou awake. She simply got the rinsing cup from his bathroom, filled it with ice cold water, and dumped it over his head.

Anzu felt a little bad about getting water all over the pillows, but it had the desired effect. Jou yelped and leapt out of bed. The blonde growled at her, but she simply threw him a towel and shoved him in the bathroom with a set of his clothes before leaving the room and going next door where Yugi and Yami were.

Flicking on the lights, she went over to draw back the curtains and turned to wake the twins up. Yugi lay within the tangle of blankets, holding on to a small pillow like a teddy bear. Anzu smiled at the sight, before it fell from her face. Yami was gone.

"Guys!"

She ran out of the room and was met with three curious stares as the boys leaned out of their rooms. "Yami's gone! We have to find him!" she yelled, before running down the hall and opening doors frantically. The others groaned and ran off to search the rest of the mansion. Ryou was sensible enough to stop and inform the staff about the missing chibi, and had the staff members searching for Yami as well.

Anzu continued running through the halls, opening doors and peering in, calling for Yami before going to the next door. She lost track of how much time she had been searching, and suspected she must have strayed farther into the mansion than anyone else, because she no longer crossed paths with anyone. She was getting rather frustrated at the numerous amounts of rooms she found. Who needed so many rooms anyways?

"Yami?" she called again, looking around the dusty corridors. There was a loud yelp and a door burst open and Yami crashed to the ground. "There you are!" Anzu scooped the dirty chibi up into her arms and started scolding him. She headed back the way she had come, not noticing the way Yami laid his head on her shoulder and drifted off to sleep.

Half an hour later, the gang was seated around a rather fancy dining table as breakfast was served to them. Jou's eyes widened with glee as he eyed the various dishes, most of them foreign. Honda was across from him, wearing the same exact expression. Anzu merely rolled her eyes and filled two plates with food, one for herself and the other for Yugi.

Ryou was across from her, doing the same thing for Yami. The British born teen had finally managed to get Yami to use his fork instead of picking things up with his fingers. As an insubstantial spirit with no need to eat, Anzu supposed that it made sense that he had no experience using eating utensils. Even on the little "date" Yugi had forced Yami on with her, he had eaten a hamburger, which only required hands to eat. From what she knew of Ancient Egypt, there hadn't been much silverware there either, except for the knives used to cut the meat.

Jii-chan was at one of the table with the ancient tomes from Yugi's room spread out around him, nursing a mug of coffee. He was adamant that none of the food came close to the old books. Although no one but Ryou, Yami, and Yugi could see him, Bakura hovered next to the old man, eyes scanning a tome, and turning the pages with the help of magic. The teens fidgeted nervously each time a page turned by itself, even after Ryou explained it was Bakura. Jii-chan took no mind of the page turning, except to lay a hand on the tome when one of Kaiba's staff wandered into the room.

They were searching for any clues to the curse that had been cast on Yami and Yugi. Ryou had told Jii-chan that they might not find the curse, but the old man had waved it aside. He reasoned that they could find which tome it came from even if it was gone by looking for a blank space or page where it had been written somewhere among the pages.

After breakfast, Anzu and Honda settled in the entertainment room with Yugi, watching him assemble the puzzles they had found in a cabinet there. Ryou was still in the dining room, so Bakura could help Jii-chan find the right tome, as the tomb robber couldn't go past fifteen feet from his host. Yami had wandered off to explore and Jou had followed him to make sure he didn't get into anything he shouldn't or accidently get lost.

The day passed slowly for the gang. Kaiba was at work, and Mokuba had gone with him to continue testing the new games. Anzu kept a close eye on Honda and Jou, making sure they didn't do anything to get them kicked out; either on accident or on purpose to tick the CEO off. But despite the fact that they had no other place to go, she would be glad when they left.

The mansion was giving her the creeps. For one, there were a lot of locked doors, and even entire wings were blocked off. All of Kaiba's staff refused to answer why, and even had some security guards start patrolling the hallways to make sure no one strayed near. Other than that bit of hostilely, the servants were kind and hospitable. Anything she wanted, they would go get it for her. Anzu had threatened Jou and Honda to make sure they didn't start abusing this power. In any case, she was unused on being waited on like this and it made her jittery.

The servants were everywhere, and she suspected Kaiba had instructed them to keep a close on his guests. Although she did wonder why Kaiba was so generous with the accommodations. All she expected was being given a room and meals. Not being waited on by his staff that came at her every beck and call.

"YAMI!" Jou's shout brought Anzu back into the present in time to find the blonde chasing a giggling chibi into the room. Unfortunately, Jou's foot got caught up in a corner of a rug, making him trip. His fall sent him sliding against the polished wooden floor and slamming into an elegant white pedestal. The priceless china vase tottered precariously on its stand before tipping forward over the edge towards an unsuspecting Jou who was just getting up.

A crimson glow shimmered around the vase before it could reach his head and it hovered in the air. Anzu's eyes near bugled out of her skull when Kaiba's butler walked by and set the vase back on the stand and delivered a tray of freshly baked cookies and crème puffs to Ryou without a second glance. Jou frowned confusedly at the expression on Anzu's face, unaware of what had just transpired as he climbed to his feet.

The butler gave them a formal Japanese bow and smiled slightly at Yami as he patted his head on the way out. That was another thing that baffled Anzu. While they treated the gang with polite respect, they seemed to almost dote on Yami. The maids would smile at him as they passed him, and some gave him cookies and other sweets. The men patted his head affectionately just like the butler had just done.

And just now, the butler didn't even seem to notice the magic Yami had just used, or if he had, didn't care in the slightest. Just what was going on? And what was with Kaiba's staff, acting that way around Yami? She got the feeling that the tomb robber knew something the way he had been laughing earlier before Ryou had pushed him back into his soul room, or wherever they went when they weren't in control.

Anzu wanted to ask the tomb robber, but she was afraid he would either laugh and insult her, or be rude and not answer at all. Nobody else seemed to notice the staff's odd behavior. But then again, Honda and Jou weren't exactly the brightest of their group, and they were boys on top of that. They would ignore anything in favor of food, especially Jounochi.

Yami was dozing by the time lunchtime came rolling around, and Anzu decided to leave him where he was, peacefully dreaming away on the couch in Kaiba's massive living room. Or maybe it was the parlor? Anzu couldn't keep track of what the rooms were called as there were so many.

Almost an hour later, when the gang wandered back up from the dining room, Yami was nowhere to be found. The group groaned and set out to find him again. They searched fruitlessly for hours, but no one had seen him, and Yami had vanished into the intricate maze known as the Kaiba mansion. Anzu was ready to scream in frustration when a door opened and a dust covered Yami tottered out.

Yami didn't answer them when they questioned him where he's been all this time. Anzu quit the questioning when a maid offered to give Yami a bath and get him fresh clothes. She carried him to the adjoining bathroom of the room he shared with Yugi and gave him a bath herself. She was reluctant to let a stranger give either Yugi or Yami a bath, even if they were Kaiba's hand-picked staff. The whole time, Yami stared at her with unblinking crimson orbs.

Halfway through getting him dressed, she had grab Yami who had suddenly jumped from the bed and tried to bolt for the door. She barely to finish putting his shirt on when he broke her grip and ran giggling out the door. Afraid that he would disappear again, she followed the runaway chibi.

She was surprised to find him in the entrance hall latched onto Kaiba's leg as Mokuba stood there laughing. The pair had obviously just walked in the door, although Anzu was astonished the stoic man was home before midnight. He seemed the type to stay late at work and live off of coffee only.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow at the chibi, before reaching down and prying him loose just as Isono came in the door with his things. Before Yami could reattach himself, Kaiba's faithful bodyguard plopped a stuffed toy into Yami's arms. Anzu stared at the blue eyes white dragon toy in Yami's arms before slowly turning to gape at Kaiba with a look of disbelief on her face.

The CEO ignored her and headed towards the dining room with Mokuba at his heels, where the smell of dinner was drifting through the halls. With a start, Anzu realized it was dinnertime. She went to pick up Yami, only to find that Yami had already trailed off after Kaiba, hugging his new toy to him. After a moment, she came back to her senses and hurried after them.

Dinner was awkward. Kaiba sat at one end of the table, Mokuba opposite of him, and eating in silence. The gang sat on the other end of the table, looking at each other and wondering if talking was aloud at the dinner table here in the Kaiba mansion.

Yami pouted the entire time in Jou's lap. The blonde had taken away his stuffed dragon, although he had set it in the empty chair next to him, but didn't seem happy to see it. The other reason was because Jou refused to let him off his lap, to prevent him from trying to climb up in Kaiba's lap like he nearly did when dinner started.

None of them could stop taking peeks at Kaiba as he ate. Like Anzu, they had all imagined the guy living off the occasional meal and being sustained by coffee alone. Plus, he was at home, and it was barely past seven o'clock. Kaiba had always seemed a workaholic to them. The man who went to work early in the morning and stayed there until two o'clock in the morning before coming home and sleeping a few hours before going right back to work.

Kaiba didn't notice them, or if he did, he was completely ignoring them. Mokuba looked comfortable with the silence, and didn't seek to start any conversation or even look at the gang. He seemed absorbed in his food. Anzu couldn't tell if it was a farce or he was actually interested in what he was eating. But then again, he was a Kaiba, so of course it would be hard to tell.

Finally, Kaiba rose from the table and left the room, and Jou wrapped his arm around Yami who was trying to chase after the brunette. Jou seemed irked by Yami's fascination with the arrogant CEO. Yami glared up at him, before wriggling loose enough to lean over and grab the stuffed dragon. He locked his arms around it and the look he gave Jou just dared him to try to take it again.

In the back of Ryou's mind, a certain spirit of a tomb robber was torn between laughing at Yami's childish defiance and whacking the blonde mutt over the head for his stupidity. He could not believe how dense these people were. He was starting doubt they'd get it even if it slapped them in the face and danced naked on the table wearing a tea cozy. (2)

Over an hour after dinner, a mischievous chibi left a certain blonde running down a hallway screaming like a little girl, lost in an illusion of a large chocolate covered donut attempting to eat him. Kaiba's staff stared after the blonde racing past them, yelling something about: "IT'S GOING TO EAT ME!" and wondering if they should call the mental institution.

Meanwhile, a happy little royal was on his toes as he reached for the silver door knob of a door, his stuffed dragon hanging in one hand. There was a swirl of shadows and Kuriboh popped into existence beside him. He flew up and wrapped his claws around the silver knob. It turned with a faint click and Yami ran inside.

The walls were plain white, and the room was devoid of any furniture other than the large oak desk in the back of the room complete with a large leather armchair. Two large Palladian windows loomed behind the desk, its cream colored cascade curtains tied back to let the fading sunlight in. Filing cabinets stood in one corner of the room while a lonely potted plant sat in the other.

Yami ignored all this in favor of the room's occupant, which sat in the leather chair clacking away at his computer, a blue coffee mug sitting beside the machine. Yami climbed under the desk as Kuriboh went poof into the shadows. Kaiba gave a start when he clambered up into his lap and curled up there, hugging the stuffed Duel Monster to him. When he showed no signs of moving, or doing anyone other cuddle the toy in his lap, Kaiba went back to work.

A few hours later, Kaiba saved his work and shut down his computer before glancing down at the chibi in his lap. Yami's cheek rested against his lower stomach as he dozed peacefully, still holding on to the stuffed dragon possessively. Kaiba brushed his fingers gently across the soft cheek, making Yami mewl slightly in his sleep and shift closer to the touch.

Kaiba chuckled, and stood, holding Yami carefully in his arms and left the office. The servants he passed smiled at the sight of the chibi in his arms with the dragon. Kaiba set Yami on the plum purple bed sheets next to Yugi and left the room, completely ignoring the presence of the tomb robber as he left the room, although he could feel the thief grinning at him all the way down the hall.

Somewhere in the Kaiba mansion, a grandfather clock chimed eleven. A door opened softly and a small crimson eyed child wandered out and disappeared unnoticed into the dark mazelike hallways of the silent mansion.

This chapter was an odd one, and all sorts of things I didn't plan happened. Like the staff . . . and Kuriboh popping up. But then again, it makes sense that he did when Yami was in trouble. Kuriboh is Yami's Ka monster, which fits because he's more of a protector than anything else.

Personally, I've always thought the whole idea of Kaiba living solely on coffee a dumb idea. With Kaiba's physique and health, it doesn't seem plausible to me. Neither does working until two in the morning. Yes, I agree with the fact that Kaiba's a workaholic, but he is more than just a CEO. He's a big brother. The reason he is so obsessed with the company is make sure that Mokuba never goes wanting. That includes making sure he spends time with him. I think Kaiba would take care of himself because Mokuba would want him to, and if he gets sick and weak from living on coffee only, he wouldn't be able to maintain his image or keep up with his work. Plus he's too tall to not have gotten the proper nutrition in his teenage years.

(1) "Sedjer, dep taneen" translates to "Sleep, my dragon." Remember, in this fic Yami can do Egyptian magic too.

(2) I once read a fic, called The TeaCosy by Ireina Kurotsuki, where Yami and Yugi were arguing over what a tea cozy was until Bakura came in the room naked with a tea cozy on his head. It just randomly popped up into my head when I was writing this part so I wrote it in.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and review please!