Last chapter for 2022! I look forward to seeing you in 2023! I unfortunately don't have an exact date of return, but I am shooting for sometime in January, early February at the latest. We'll see how long it takes for things to slow back down after the holiday rush. I have yet to not return around my estimated return dates, and I don't plan to start doing so in the new year.

Marik groaned at the begging and pleading he was being forced to endure. Bakura had refused to allow him to head back to the house on his own knowing that Ra was in the area. Marik didn't mind being accompanied by Bakura, as he still got along with his former partner-in-crime. It was who decided to follow that bothered him. Imhotep was still dead-set on trying to get Bakura to show him how to perfect his transformations, and had forcefully brought Yugi along with him. Now the four of them were in Kat's living area, with Imhotep trying with all his might to convince Bakura to give up his secrets.

"Aw, c'mon! I told you what you wanted to know!" Imhotep whined.

"And I told you I would consider it. I'm still considering it. Keep pestering me, though, and I'll just tell you to fuck off," Bakura stated in annoyance.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just teach me? You already know Shae will probably make you do it anyway."

Bakura scowled. "Wow, you sure think you can just get whatever you want, don't you?"

Imhotep scoffed. "Trust me, I don't just 'get whatever I want'."

Marik was beyond relieved when the front door opened and Kat walked through.

"Habibty, am I glad to see….you…?"

Marik was beyond puzzled when Kat walked past him as if he weren't even there and headed straight upstairs to her room and shut the door. He looked towards Atem and Malik who entered just after.

"Bad meeting?" he questioned.

"You could say that," Atem replied, staring at the closed door upstairs. "I assume you were with her when she left this morning?"

Marik nodded. "Yeah. She drove me to school."

"So you were witness to anything said to her this morning, correct?"

Marik looked puzzled. "Yeah…why?"

Atem finally brought his gaze down and looked over at the teen that was still pouting over by Bakura. "Did you tell your mother that you hated her?"

Imhotep appeared to think. "Um…not lately…"

Atem scowled in disappointment. "So you're saying that you do make it a habit of telling her that?"

"Only when I get really upset," Imhotep said dismissively.

"Do you even think before you say something like that?" Atem asked in a chastising manner.

Imhotep cowed slightly, finally realizing that he was being scolded. "She knows I don't mean it…" he replied, looking down and away.

"Maybe she does, but that doesn't stop the words from lingering in her mind. You claim to have seen all my memories, yet you appear to have learned nothing from the mistakes I've made."

Imhotep's head and shoulders fell low. "She wanted a picture and I was an ass about it…" he admitted dejectedly.

"Don't you think perhaps you should apologize?"

Imhotep lifted his head, curling his nose in annoyance while still looking away. "I suppose…" He trudged past everyone and up the stairs, then opened the door. He peeked his head in the room, looking around, then walked over to the railing and looked down. "She's not in there," he said while shrugging in confusion.

"On top of the armoire," Malik and Bakura said in unison.

"What?" Imhotep asked, appearing beyond puzzled.

Bakura sighed and rolled his eyes. "She turns into a cat. Cat's like to hide in high places. The armoire is the highest spot in the room."

Imhotep still appeared confused.

Bakura groaned, then marched upstairs and into the room, returning a few seconds later holding a dejected looking feline in his hands. "Like we said, on top of the armoire."

He held the feline out with both hands so that it faced the moody teen. "Well…anything you want to say to her?"

Imhotep scowled. "I'm not apologizing to a cat."

Bakura turned the feline so that it faced him. "You seriously let him treat you like this? If that was the Royal Fuck-face, you would have bitch-slapped him back into his first host."

The feline remained sullen and despondent.

"Really? Nothing?"

The feline squeaked out the tiniest of meows.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you I don't speak 'kitty'?"

Still nothing.

Bakura glared suspiciously at the cat in his hands. "This isn't just about the picture thing, is it?"

The feline finally glanced up, then clawed her way out of his hands and up his arm, resting in a curled up ball on his shoulder.

Bakura glanced over the railing edge. "What else happened today?"

"She went after Kaiba. She somehow convinced herself that he was Set," Atem replied.

Bakura's eyes widened slightly. "Oh…" He turned his head towards the feline perched on his shoulder for a brief second, then over to Imhotep. "You and Yugi head back to the Game Shop. Get rid of the attitude, then I'll teach you how to make a complete transformation."

Imhotep pouted for a moment while groaning in irritation. He then huffed and went back downstairs, grabbed his school bag, placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder, then teleported away.

Bakura glanced back down at Atem. "Let me talk to her."

Atem nodded, then watched as Bakura walked into the bedroom and shut the door. He turned to Marik and Malik, holding up his phone. "Since it will probably be a while, can one of you two order dinner with this? It was sheer luck that I figured it out earlier."

Malik jerked the tie loose from around his neck. "How about we just go out? Give me a few minutes to change out of this crap and I'll drive you."

"I think it looks good," Marik commented with a smirk. "Makes you look older."

Malik clenched his jaw while taking in a deep breath. "You enjoy testing my patience, don't you?"

"Kind of," Marik replied with a grin.

Bakura removed the feline from its perch on his shoulder and placed it on the bed.

"Okay, out with it. What the fuck is going on with you? And don't try to feed me that 'It's nothing, I'm fine' bullshit," he demanded.

The feline shifted and formed into the tiny elemental. Kat sat with her feet hanging over the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor.

"I don't know," she said quietly. "Everything was going great this morning, then…"

"Then the brat spoiled it."

"I know he doesn't do it on purpose, but…"

"But you don't reprimand him for it either," Bakura chided.

Kat looked even more dejected.

"No, I don't. He already resented me for making him stay within the confines of the palace. I didn't want to add to that resentment."

"So you just let him become a self-entitled brat?"

Kat scowled and raised her head. "Like you or Mal did any better?!"

Bakura brought his head back, giving her a glared warning. "Do you really want to go that route?"

Kat clenched her jaw and looked away. "Sorry," she said bitterly.

"It's not just the brat, is it? What else happened? Something set you off. I can't see you going after Kaiba just because you were a little mopey."

Kat kept her gaze averted and remained silent for several moments.

"Imhotep's actions this morning left me upset. I tried to brush it off like I normally do, but Atem could sense that something was bothering me. I broke down, and he comforted me."

"And…?"

Kat lowered her head. "Marik will hate me. He'll leave."

Bakura looked at her in exasperated concern. "Please tell me you didn't…"

"No…but my offer was heavily implied…"

Bakura closed his eyes and rolled his head back. "Kat…" he groaned in exasperation.

"I made it worse…"

Bakura's eyes popped open and he quickly brought his head forward. "Worse? How could you make it worse?!"

"I told him no one would have to know…"

"And nothing happened?!"

"He didn't take advantage of the situation."

"That was awfully noble of him," Bakura said satirically. "You seriously offered yourself to him and he said 'no'?"

Kat nodded slightly.

"Wow. I can't decide if he's actually not as much as an asshole as I thought, or if he's just plain stupid."

Kat raised her head up and scowled. "This isn't a joke!"

"And I'm not joking. He had the perfect opportunity to steal you back, and yet he didn't. Why is that?"

Kat lowered her gaze again. "I-...I don't know…"

Bakura sat beside her, wrapping an arm around as she leaned into him.

"It was easy to move on when he wasn't around and all I was able to focus on were the last words he spoke to me," Kat said quietly. "But with him here and when we are alone…"

Bakura gave her a curious glance. "You still love him? After everything he's put you through?"

Kat nodded slightly. "...yes…and no. It's not so much him…but more of everything we used to be…"

"Makes sense." He looked down at her. They sat in silence for a few long moments before he spoke up again. "Hey, I have an idea, that is if you'll entertain it."

Kat looked up and gave him a puzzled glance. "An idea? About what?"

"The Tomb Keeper. Let me talk to him. I'll explain the situation and blame it on the approaching lunar event."

Kat looked at him boredly. "While I'm certain the full moon is partially to blame, it's not entirely the reason either. I'm not going to lie."

Bakura smirked his usual devious smirk. "But you aren't lying. I am." he stated while gently tapping a finger on the tip of her nose.

"No."

Bakura lowered himself to the floor and transfigured, then rested his muzzle across her lap and looked up with big eyes.

"That's cheating," Kat said with a small chuckle.

His fluffy tail began to wag back and forth.

"The answer is still 'no'."

His tail stopped moving and he let out a small whimper.

Kat rolled her eyes. "You need to go out on a murder spree or something. It's pretty sad when you get excited about lying to my boyfriend on my behalf."

Bakura's ears perked momentarily at the words 'murder spree'. They quickly fell as he slowly backed away from Kat while cowering with his tail between his legs.

It was Kat's turn to be exasperated. "Oh shit. Kura, what did YOU do?"

Bakura transfigured back and sat cross-legged on the floor across from her, his head still low. "Can I stay here for a few nights? Until…um…I find a new place to stay?"

"Kura! I'm the fuck-up! Not you! Seriously! What did you do?!"

"I bit my neighbor…" he squeaked, his head cowed as low as it could go while he looked up through his bangs.

"Please tell me no one saw the transfiguration…" she said while placing a hand over her face.

"Uhhh…soooo…funny story…"

Kat brought her hand down and scowled. "I should make you share a room with Atem as punishment. You're my fucking Leuitenent. I'm the one responsible when shit like this happens!"

Bakura straightened up and scowled back. "You know I won't let you take the rap for my fuck-up."

"I know, but that doesn't change the fact that we still have to go through all the bullshit."

"Listen, when you first promoted me to be your Lieutenant, I promised you I wouldn't make you pay for anything I did. I'll take care of it."

Kat stared at him with a knitted brow and lips pursed. "I should still make you share a room with Atem."

Bakura's scowl intensified. "I would rather wake up next to Hephaestus again."

"I thought you wanted a place to stay?" she mocked.

"I'd rather take my chances in the park like I did last night."

"You slept in the park?"

"Yup. Spent all night just howling at the moon." He threw his head back and mocked a howl.

Kat failed in her attempt at hiding her amusement and chuckled.

"Fine. We'll figure out the sleeping arrangement somehow. But…" she gave him a warning glare. "You leave my conversation with Marik to me."

"Deal. Oh, and one more thing."

Kat rolled her eyes. "What?"

"Promise you won't overreact?"

"Just spit it out already."

"I think-…I think I saw Set last night."

Can I do an evil laugh as leave with you with this cliffhanger?

Imhotep's lack of 'looking' is about as typical teenager as I can make him (along with the whole 'Imma play dumb so I don't gotta actually go look because I don't wanna'). And if anyone says teenagers don't do that...yeeeaaahhh...I have two of them. They BOTH do it. Their friends do it. Hell, I know I did it when I was that age. Anyone that says they don't, either is a teenager themselves and is denying it, or they never had teenagers in their house.

Enjoy the rest of 2022! Hope to see you back here in 2023!