Kaiba eased himself into the backseat of his limousine and let the cat settle in beside him.
It was so strange. This cat behaved almost like a dog, following him around everywhere, insisting on keeping him company.
Reaching down to pet the cat, he smiled when it yawned widely and flicked its tail contentedly at him.
He had to admit…this cat was kind of nice.
The car pulled away from the curb, and his phone buzzed in his pocket. Suppressing a tired groan, Kaiba slipped it out, seeing his secretary's number flashing across the screen.
"What?" He answered with a grimace, and he felt the cat nip at his fingers again.
"Mr. Kaiba, I'm getting calls from the head of marketing regarding a…nature reserve donation made in your name, and an amusement park grand opening? I'm going to have to clear out three days for you to attend this event!"
"Fuck," Kaiba growled, curling his fingers into his palm and feeling the cat hug his arm tightly. "Has it been cleared with the Board of Directors?"
"Yes, they're quite pleased with your donation," she said, sounding just as confused as he felt. "Although, I did get an earful. They said you should've consulted them before making such a visible move."
"I didn't make it, but that clearly doesn't matter," Kaiba breathed, thoroughly fed up with the Big 5's antics. "I'm guessing the Board wants me there."
"Yes, they're hosting it over the weekend, so you've got yourself a little holiday with Mokuba!" she chirped happily. "Check your email, I'll send you the travel itinerary."
Kaiba rolled his eyes and hung up.
Yami clung tightly onto Kaiba's arm and licked his lips dryly. A vacation! How exciting. He would have the entire house to himself for three days, free of the little terror known as Mokuba.
Kaiba stuck his phone back into his pocket and glanced down at the cat, talking to it as if it were human.
"They're trying to screw me over," he said robotically, patting the cat on its head. "I don't fucking know how, but I have a bad feeling about that damn island."
Yami bared his teeth playfully in response, nuzzling his head softly into the palm of Kaiba's hand.
I'll drain them of their blood if they lay a finger on you, he thought happily, rolling over onto his side and enjoying the long fingers raking up and down his stomach.
This type of petting always sent massive tingles running up and down his spine. Yami purred warmly and closed his eyes. Yes…this was very nice….
The car lurched to a stop, and the driver's voice floated through the cabin. "Arrived at home, Mr. Kaiba."
Kaiba snatched his briefcase up, and to his surprise, his door was yanked open by Mokuba, who looked beside himself with fury.
"I lost the cat, Seto!" he shouted, looking incensed. "It ran out when I—"
Mokuba's voice caught in his throat when he saw the spotted cat lying contentedly on its side by Seto's leg, and Seto's fingers were buried in its fur, mid-pet.
No way! The cat had somehow found Seto at his office.
Wait, it was totally possible because…the cat was a human.
"C'mere you…!" Mokuba lunged at the cat, and Yami yelped, leaping to his feet and dashing away frantically.
Dammit, dammit! The demonic child was relentless.
"Mokuba, what the fuck!" Kaiba cried, wincing in pain as the cat climbed his shoulders, and claws dug into his scalp while his younger brother threw himself across his lap, attempting to grab the cat.
"That cat is…Yami!" Mokuba breathed, eyeing the cat, which was clinging comically onto Seto's head. "Get off my brother, you monster."
Yami blinked, and his grip weakened slightly. Mokuba's words stung.
Monster?
He hadn't been called that word in…decades.
"Stop bullying the cat," Kaiba said tiredly, lifting the cat off his head and tucking it under his arm before stepping out of the limo. Mokuba stuck closely to his side, glaring venomously at Yami, who stuck his tongue out quickly.
"HE MADE A FACE AT ME!" Mokuba screeched, pointing angrily at Yami, and Yami did it again, sticking his tongue out quickly before lifting his paw to lick it slowly without breaking eye contact.
"Yes, animals can make faces," Kaiba said tiredly, walking up the front steps of the house and up the grand staircase, letting Isono lift the suitcase from his hand. "Isono, Mokuba and I got invited to a mandatory PR stunt. We'll be away this weekend, so stay here and take care of the animals."
"Let me come with you," Isono said steadily, following the older Kaiba into the room and noticing the cat's eyes gleaming strangely at him. "We can bring the dog…and the cat."
He watched the older Kaiba set the cat down and slip his jacket off. He hurried to help, and he draped the coat over his arm. Stepping backwards, he almost tripped over Mokuba, who came dashing up the stairs and lunging at the cat with his arms outstretched, his lips curled upwards in a snarl.
"You piece of shit, come here!" Mokuba shouted, chasing the cat under Kaiba's bed, and he dropped down on all fours, patting blindly for the cat's tail. He felt a sharp swipe from a paw, and he yanked his hand back angrily.
"Ow!"
Three claw marks were shining red with blood across the back of his hand, and his stomach curled with rage.
"Mokuba, what the hell are you doing?" Kaiba asked quietly, wondering why his brother was terrorizing the cat. "You really hate the cat that much? Come here, let's wash that wound—"
"The cat…is that weirdo friend of yours, Yami!" Mokuba cried, turning red in the face. "Nobody believes me, but I saw him, Seto! He turned into a cat, right under your bed! His clothes were still warm when I touched them!"
"…Because he just changed out of them?" Isono added unhelpfully, hoping to calm the young master down. "You've been reading too many fantasy comics, Mokuba. I saw Yami leave this morning."
"Did you really, or did you see a fake shadow of him leaving?" Mokuba shot back sarcastically, and Yami sat quietly under the bed in the dark, listening fearfully to this entire exchange.
This child was so incredibly smart, it was terrifying. Perhaps that was why the mild hypnosis wore off on him so quickly. Then the same could be said for the older Kaiba as well.
"Leave the cat alone," Kaiba said irritably. He stepped towards the bathroom, aching for a hot shower. "If you hate the cat that much, he stays in my room."
"Nope," Mokuba shook his head vehemently. "He's dangerous. Don't let him anywhere near you!"
Kaiba shook his head and closed the bathroom door, sighing.
Mokuba had an overactive imagination for a kid his age.
Isono gave Mokuba a small, sympathetic smile and bowed out of the room, leaving the door open behind him.
Mokuba glanced frantically between the open door and the closed bathroom door.
What the fuck! All the adults were ignoring him!
He peered under the bed again and saw a pair of amethyst eyes gleaming at him from the back.
Fine. If he couldn't catch this cat physically, he would have to trick it. It was a human after all.
"Truce," Mokuba said glumly, holding his hand out for a shake. "I'll be nice to you, but you have to tell me your secret when you're ready."
There was a long silence, and the cat didn't move from under the bed.
Sighing, Mokuba stood up and walked out of the room. He would show the cat that he was good on his word first. That was how deals were made.
Yami watched Mokuba's tiny legs exit the room, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Smart kid. It seemed Mokuba had decided to label him as "dangerous" and a "monster", whereas the other children before him called him a magical being, a fairy, or a spirit.
It unnerved Yami because Mokuba was right.
Inching out from under the bed, he paused mid-step when he saw the bathroom door swing open, and Kaiba appeared in the doorway, shirtless and wet.
Blinking rapidly, Yami stared shamelessly at the CEO's bare chest, taking in each wonderful, muscular curve and his shockingly pale skin. He was looking paler than usual.
Kaiba wobbled with each step, and his entire body ached strangely. Why was he so fucking tired?
Yami held his breath, watching as Kaiba stumbled towards a large walk-in closet and barely managed to pull on a set of pants. Was he imagining things or was the human unsteady?
Almost as if it was happening in slow motion, Yami watched Kaiba lean against the doorframe of the closet, close his eyes, and fall forwards to the floor.
Dashing forward frantically, Yami threw himself down flat to catch Kaiba's head before it hit the ground. A sharp pain struck his chest as Kaiba's weight nearly crushed the air out of his lungs in a sudden whoosh! and he let out a pained cry that echoed faintly around the room.
Struggling to extract himself from underneath Kaiba's unconscious body, Yami cried out loudly again, hoping Mokuba or the manservant would hear him. The human had fainted!
Mokuba heard the cat crying pitifully in the other room, and he threw his pencil down on his textbook triumphantly. Finally. Yami was ready to make a damn truce.
He dashed down the hallway and skidded to a halt at the door of Seto's room, his heart leaping into his throat, choking him terribly when he saw his older brother splayed out on the floor, shirtless and still wet from the shower with the cat pinned underneath his head where he had landed.
Yami had caught Seto's head when he'd fainted.
"Seto…?" Mokuba gasped, growing weak all over as he ran forward to cradle his older brother's head in his arms. "ISONO! CALL A DOCTOR!"
Yami inched out from underneath Kaiba's head and sat shakily beside Mokuba's leg, watching the child cry earnestly over his brother's unconscious body, and his stomach churned with terrible guilt.
This was his fault. Was it his fault?
Had he gone too far and feasted too frequently?
But it had only been twice…or was it thrice?
Footsteps came thundering up the stairs and through the hallway. Isono appeared in the doorway with a cellphone pressed to his ear, sweating and breathless. He kneeled beside the older Kaiba and pressed the back of his hand to his cheek, checking his temperature while he spoke rapidly into the phone over Mokuba's desperate sobs.
He pressed two fingers to Kaiba's neck, frantically searching for a pulse.
There was one, but it was very weak...and slow.
The doctor on the other end was asking pointless questions, being generally unhelpful.
"Did he eat today? Did he go to bed at a reasonable time? Was the bath too hot, perhaps? Bring a cold towel and—"
"This is an emergency," Isono hissed, resisting the urge to yell. "His pulse is weak. Call an ambulance or bring a whole team with you, I don't care how you do it, but you need to be here in five minutes." And he hung up furiously, reaching forward to console Mokuba quickly.
"Don't cry, young master. Come, let's move him to the bed. Step away now, come on…" he coaxed, pulling Mokuba away by the arm.
Mokuba hiccupped loudly and scooped the cat up in his arms, watching Isono gently roll Seto over on to his back and carry him to the bed.
Yami winced, feeling Mokuba give him a tight squeeze, and a sharp pain reverberated up his abdomen. It felt like he had a broken rib or two.
"I'll call the maids…cold water…air out the room…" Isono mumbled to himself, rushing away hastily and slipping his phone back into his pocket. "Mokuba, stay here and watch his condition. If he stops breathing, call for me…."
Mokuba nodded, his chest tight with fear. Yami's warmth was comforting, and he gave the cat a tight hug. Yami meowed in pain, but he was ignored.
"Shut up. I'm saying thanks for catching him," Mokuba said quietly, approaching the bed and staring fearfully at his brother's pale face. "He looks like he hasn't been eating well…"
Five agonizing minutes ticked by before the door finally burst open, and several people in white coats wearing face masks filed into the room, pulling machines and a gurney behind them.
Yami twisted his head around to watch, but Mokuba held him at such a bad angle in his arms, he could only see half of what was happening.
A man was talking rapidly to a nurse at his side, strapping a heart monitor to the side of Kaiba's bed, and his gloved hands were pressing down on Kaiba's stomach and chest.
"Is he okay?" Mokuba asked shrilly, standing on his tiptoes as more adults blocked his line of sight to the bed with their backs all turned to him. "Hey! Someone answer me!"
"Young master, come here," Isono said sternly, leading Mokuba out of the room, and he felt the child resist stubbornly.
"NO! I wanna stay in there with Seto!" Mokuba cried, feeling Yami slip dangerously low in his arms, and he felt claws dig into his shirt as Yami tried to hang on. "Isono! You gotta let me stay in there!"
"He's going to be fine," Isono answered robotically, leading Mokuba back into his room three doors down. "Let the doctors do their work and Seto will get better. It seems he hasn't been eating properly. He will be fine."
Yami tensed and ground his teeth, trying to stem his own guilt as Mokuba buried his face into the fur on his back to suppress heartbroken sobs.
Extremely uncomfortable, Yami let himself be held tightly until Mokuba's sobs grew fainter before they turned into quiet hiccups.
It was getting unbearably hot in Mokuba's arms. He struggled weakly, and finally, the child released him.
Landing on the floor, he gave Mokuba's leg a reassuring pat before he hopped up on the child's bed, meowing quietly.
Mokuba sat down glumly on the edge of his bed and laid down, feeling the cat climb up and sit down on his chest. Its weight was reassuring, and he felt a soft tongue lick his chin.
"Ew…" Mokuba said tiredly, throwing an arm over his swollen eyes, and he took a deep, shuddering breath. "…Don't kiss me…we're still enemies."
Yami bit back a smile and snuggled down atop Mokuba's chest, feeling the child's breathing get heavier and deeper. This was good. At least the child was calming down.
He closed his eyes and felt his stomach growl hungrily.
Annoyed, Yami opened his eyes and glanced at the still-healing scratch on the back of Mokuba's hand. He leaned forward to give it a tentative lick, his tongue sizzling with electricity every time he tasted blood.
Stop it! Yami reprimanded himself angrily. Resolving to find another meal alternative, Yami slowly got up off Mokuba's chest, making sure the child remained fast asleep when he leapt down to the ground.
He hurried out of the room, thinking he would take a bite out of the dog to satiate his bloodlust for now.
Pausing in the hallway, he saw the group of doctors still hovering around Kaiba's bedside, and he stuffed the twinge of guilt back down his chest as he hurried down the grand staircase.
Humans fainted all the time. This one wasn't his fault.
Making his way through the large house, Yami managed to enter the back garden through the dog door, and he peered around curiously, taking in the large expanse of grass, the tall trees, and the neatly paved path.
Everything looked different when he was a cat. Yami scanned the garden hungrily, seeing several birds chirping in the branches above his head. They were too tiny and would only be two or three gulps. He needed something bigger…that wasn't the family dog.
Slinking towards a large oak tree, Yami sat very still and waited, listening for the tell-tale scratch of claws on the trunk that would indicate a squirrel was nearby. After several long moments, Yami decided to lie down.
The sun was beginning to set quickly, so his strength was returning little by little.
He heard a soft clicking of teeth behind him, and he froze triumphantly, waiting for the clicking to get closer.
The rapid beating of the animal's heart was loud in his ears, and Yami held his breath, holding out for as long as possible before he spun around to attack with his claws outstretched and his fangs extended.
A blur of black and white zipped across his vision as he clung onto the furry animal with all his might, biting down tightly and enjoying the thick spurt of blood flooding into his mouth.
Sweet relief. Color was returning to his vision again, and his hearing sharpened wonderfully.
Taking several deep drafts, Yami could feel the animal weakening quickly, so he pulled his head back, pausing to breathe and to finally take a good look at what he had managed to catch.
To his utmost horror, it was another cat. And this one had a collar.
Extracting himself from the corpse, Yami cursed himself silently.
Well, the Kaiba family wouldn't take too kindly to a cat corpse on their front step…so he would have to hide or bury the body.
Swiping guiltily at the collar, Yami cut the thin leather strap off the dead cat's neck with his claws and flung it aside carelessly. It tinkled sadly when it hit the ground somewhere in the distance. Then, Yami clamped down on the cat's black tail, dragging its body behind the tree.
It was still bleeding from its neck.
The blood was shining enticingly up at him, and Yami couldn't resist.
He dipped his head down to lick it up, hating himself for enjoying the taste.
There had to be a more sustainable way to feed. Killing pets was not the solution.
Yami lowered his head and apologized to the cat's corpse before he wedged it behind the tree, underneath the fence. He would come back to drink the rest of its blood tomorrow and the day after. If he drained the cat until it turned into a husk, it would be easier to bury.
Padding back towards the house, Yami tingled all over with the warmth of being fully fed.
He slipped through the dog door and paused when he heard the doctors whispering two floors above.
"…It seems he was anemic…" the nurse's voice, sounding sympathetic.
"Yes, very strange. His results show that he was low in iron…which could be due to malnourishment or stress. Please make sure he takes the supplements…." The doctor sounded very concerned and a bit confused.
Isono's voice sounded shaken and grateful when he answered, "thank you, thank you so much, Doctor."
Yami froze, a terrible weight crushing his chest when he realized it was indeed his fault that Kaiba had fainted.
Anemic? Low in iron?
I am the monster residing in this house! Yami cried angrily to himself, pacing around in a circle before sitting back down again. Mokuba was right.
This was horrible, terrible.
He was a fool to believe he could ever be a force of good in any human's life.
At that moment, he vowed he would no longer feast on Kaiba's blood. He was the monster bringing death and bad luck to any humans who cared for him, so he couldn't stay.
First, he had to make amends with Mokuba, and tell the child the truth about himself. Second, he would apologize to Seto Kaiba when he woke up, and leave the mansion without a second look back.
Bounding up the stairs, Yami ran into Mokuba's room and sat breathlessly at the edge of his bed, waiting for the kid to wake up. He was at full strength now and would be for some time. Changing back as proof for the child was something he could afford to do.
Deciding to lie down, Yami curled up beside Mokuba's leg and listened to the sounds in the house. The doctors were leaving, and Isono was helping them out the door.
Closing his eyes softly, he drifted off into a light slumber, enjoying the warmth of a full stomach and the steady breathing coming from Mokuba beside him.
Kaiba slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the chandelier above his head.
He was parched.
His throat was terribly dry, so much that his lips were cracked, and his body ached all over.
Sitting up with effort, he glanced around the room, wondering why it was so dark. The last thing he could remember was….
Closing his eyes, Kaiba racked his brain, but could only remember leaving his office and getting into his limousine with the cat in his lap.
Opening his eyes again, he spotted a glass of water beside his bed, alongside a tray of vitamins, and a note with Isono's handwriting.
Desperate for relief, Kaiba snatched up the water and downed it in three gulps. Gasping for air, he set the glass down heavily and read the note.
"Master Kaiba, please don't frighten us like that again.
Call me the moment you see this. I will come tend to you.
Do NOT get out of bed.
The doctor says you are low in iron due to your poor eating habits, so please take these supplements."
Growling, Kaiba tossed the note aside and inched out of bed, lightheaded and dizzy.
He didn't need bedrest. He needed a goddamn sandwich because his stomach was grumbling very painfully.
I'll eat, dammit, Kaiba hissed to himself, walking unsteadily out the door and into the hallway.
He could hear snoring as he passed Mokuba's room, and he glanced inside briefly, pleased to see his little brother fast asleep with the spotted cat curled up beside him.
Leaning against the banister for support, Kaiba's knees almost buckled with every downward step. He had never been so fucking hungry before in his life. All he could think about was food and what he could put in his mouth to make the hunger stop.
Serves me right, Kaiba thought glumly, limping into the kitchen and catching a whiff of a wonderfully savory potato pie.
His mouth watered, and he yanked the refrigerator door open, scanning the shelves.
Strange. It smelled like Isono had left a prepped meal in there, but there was nothing other than rows of vegetables and fruits.
An apple gleamed enticingly red at him in the low lights, so he grabbed it and took a bite, promptly spitting it back out when tasted like old dust.
Frowning, Kaiba inspected the apple, slamming the refrigerator door behind himself, wondering if the apple had gone bad.
He took another bite and chewed slowly. It was still crisp, but tasted extremely bland, and the texture was horrible. It crumbled disgustingly across his tongue, so Kaiba spit it out again, aware that he was making a huge mess.
Tossing the apple in the trash, he circled the kitchen counter hungrily.
Every time he moved, he could smell that warm, sweetness…and it was coming from…outside.
Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the dog door, seeing a tiny, bloody pawprint on the floor. The cat had probably killed a bird and left it on the step. This was exactly why he hated cats.
Furious, he yanked the patio door open and glanced down, expecting a dead bird, but all he found was a thin trail of blood leading into the grass. It seemed to glow eerily in the low moonlight, and Kaiba glanced up, observing a thin crescent moon hidden behind a few cloudy wisps.
Odd.
It wasn't that bright out here, but he could see perfectly…almost as if it was daytime.
The delicious scent drifted under his nose again, and Kaiba focused sharply on the trail of blood, his mind humming with excitement. What the fuck smelled so damn good?
The scent was getting stronger the more he ventured out toward the back of the garden.
Stepping softly into the grass, he eyed the thin, red trail, following it behind a large tree, and shock rooted him to the spot when he discovered a perfectly intact corpse of a stray black cat, pitifully caught underneath the fence. It seemed to have suffocated and had scratched at everything, including itself, in an attempt to break free.
Bending down, Kaiba picked it up with both hands, startled to discover that the body was still warm.
It had recently died, within the hour.
Before he could fully stop himself or fully register what he was doing, Kaiba found his nose buried in the soft black fur of the cat's stomach, and a delectable liquid coated his tongue the moment he bit into the soft flesh. It had a very sweet flavor, almost too sweet, but Kaiba didn't mind, because he had daringly taken a tiny sip, and felt positively electrified.
His head rushed with ecstasy, and the strength came rushing back to his legs. His mind cleared, and he felt alive, awake—more awake than he'd ever been in the past few years.
It was this cat, and this cat's blood.
The realization was horrifying, and Kaiba tried to pull away but found that he could no longer stop. He fell to his knees, drinking hungrily, letting the warmth fill him up completely.
The body was getting lighter in his hands, and each sip was getting harder to take. Dismayed, Kaiba held the cat's corpse at an arm's length, gently rolling its furry body between his hands.
It was like toothpaste, right?
Squeeze correctly in the right direction and more will come out.
His fingers came away with wetness, and Kaiba narrowed his eyes, discovering that the cat had two puncture wounds on its neck. Someone or something had been here before him.
Feeling slightly territorial, Kaiba grit his teeth and bent the cat's neck to the side, seeing long claw marks trailing down its side.
A wild animal had attacked it.
Whatever. Not his problem. It was survival of the fittest.
Sinking his teeth down into the body again, Kaiba was annoyed to discover that he had sucked it dry.
Sitting back on his heels, Kaiba laid the corpse down in front of his knees, taking deep shuddering breaths. What the fuck was he doing? Had he completely lost it? Why was he out here drinking a dead cat's blood in the middle of the goddamn night?
Perhaps he really was sick. Isono was fucking right.
Fear clutched his chest, and Kaiba leapt to his feet, rushing back into the house at full speed. He found that he couldn't stop in time, and he ran shoulder first into the patio door, shattering the glass the moment he came into contact with it.
There was a deafening crash as the glass sprinkled down around his feet, and Kaiba lost his balance, falling forward onto his palms.
Mokuba and Yami jerked awake. Yami hopped off Mokuba's bed, watching the child race out of his room toward the source of the noise. It sounded like someone was trying to break in…!
Cursing, Kaiba slowly got to his feet and shivered. He could hear Mokuba thumping down the stairs, so he hastily brushed glass off his body and made sure there were no residual spots of blood or fur on his body.
"Seto!" Mokuba cried, skidding to a halt when he saw that the glass patio door had crumbled into a million pieces, leaving only the doorframe intact with Seto standing on the other side, looking dazed but otherwise very healthy.
Yami circled Mokuba's feet, observing the strange sight as well. It seemed the human was awake and furiously breaking things. Was this normal? Because the child didn't seem too surprised at the broken glass door.
"What's wrong, Seto?" Mokuba cried, wringing his hands tightly. "Are you okay? Are you mad?"
"No, kid, I'm…fine," Kaiba said calmly, kicking the shards of glass aside and stepping into the house. "We'll get thicker glass for these doors, okay? It was an accident."
Blinking incredulously, Yami watched the older Kaiba bend down and give his younger brother a tight hug.
"How much thicker?" Mokuba asked, his voice muffled against Seto's shoulder, enjoying the tight hug. "Miyu already broke it once before…maybe the door shouldn't be glass…."
The warm smell of coffee coupled with an unfamiliar scent flooded Mokuba's nose when Seto pulled away, and he glanced curiously up at his older brother.
"Are you feeling better, Seto? Did you take a shower? Your soap smells weird."
"I feel great," Kaiba answered wholeheartedly. That was the truth. He felt fucking fantastic.
Yami stood up on his hind legs and pawed at Kaiba's foot. He wanted to tell the older Kaiba he was sorry, but he was ignored.
"Go back to bed," Kaiba said gently, leading his brother up the stairs, feeling the cat tag closely at his heels. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
Mokuba nodded and let his older brother walk him to the bed and tuck him in. He felt a soft thump as the cat jumped up beside him, and Kaiba leaned away, giving the cat a careless pet on the head.
"I see you two made up," Kaiba said warmly. He stood up quickly and walked out of Mokuba's room.
Yami had half a mind to follow the older Kaiba, but Mokuba called for him to stay.
"Yami…don't leave," Mokuba commanded. He slipped his hand under his pillow and produced his phone, hastily texting Isono.
Yami sat down obediently at the foot of Mokuba's bed and tucked his head down atop his tail. Fine. He would keep the child company until the manservant came along.
Watching the child text Isono, he lifted his head up curiously, wondering where Mokuba's parents were.
It seemed the only adults he relied on were his older brother and the manservant.
Should he risk communicating with Mokuba or should he wait?
I'll wait, Yami thought to himself, lying his head down again and listening to the rapid footsteps of the manservant rushing through the house. He would observe further and then make his move.
Downstairs, Isono stared shell-shocked at the giant mess in the kitchen and patio area.
Bits of glass lay scattered everywhere, and dirty footprints were stamped all around the shiny floors. They were large footprints, so it seemed the older Kaiba had gone on a rampage inside and outside, for some reason or another.
Shaking with disbelief, Isono tapped on his phone to call the maids before he hastily made his way up the stairs. What was happening in this household? The older Kaiba did have a temper problem, but it was never this bad.
Rushing past Mokuba's open bedroom door, Isono barged into the older Kaiba's bedroom, surprised to find Kaiba dressed and sitting at his desk, looking generally healthy and very composed.
He was no longer deathly pale, and his hair was sporting a lively shine underneath the mellow chandelier lights.
"M-Master Kaiba," Isono bowed stiffly and swept his gaze around the room, noticing the vitamins had gone untouched. "Please, get back into bed. Doctor's orders."
"I feel fine," Kaiba answered amicably, tapping away at his laptop, not at all hiding the fact that he was looking up the health effects of animal blood. "I had to take a little nap. I'm fine. Now get out."
"The patio is a mess," Isono said firmly. "What was that about?"
"I was hungry, and I underestimated my own strength," Kaiba answered dully, wondering if consuming animal blood also somehow gave him super-agility. He had managed to break a triple-paned glass door by merely shouldering it.
"I'll make you something to eat," Isono whispered, dashing away and making sure to close the door behind him.
Of course the master was hungry. The doctors estimated he hadn't eaten a real meal in several days. Unacceptable.
He was failing as Kaiba's caretaker.
Kaiba watched Isono leave, and he aimed his gaze back at his computer screen, feeling exhilarated. Maybe he had stumbled across something new.
That nap had done wonders.
There was a strange gap of memory missing, but Kaiba shrugged it off.
He figured it was because he had slept so soundly, this was finally what it felt like to be completely at ease.
Rolling his shoulders back and flexing his fingers, he resolved to get some work done tonight so he could at least try to enjoy the trip to the island with Mokuba.
Author's note:
mokuba and yami are friends again….for now.
something strange is happening in kaiba's world….!
edited by: taedae
here's a link to a post with pics from my recent travel to japan!
(paste in you browser without the spaces and underscore;P)
( h_ttps:/ / ugli fish . tu m bl r dot com / post/189196188509/my-quick-stay-in-japan-ygo-spotting-post )
i have a lot of spare millennium item necklace toppers that are made from diecast metal! I went a little crazy buying them because i figured they'd make great gifts for xmas :P
PM me if you'd like one!
Hugs,
Ugli
