Kaiba jerked awake, shivering from the cold. He glanced around frantically, realizing with a shock that he was naked and lying in a stairwell.
The plaques on the doors looked familiar.
Wincing, Kaiba slowly got to his feet and dusted himself off, hating how dirty he was.
What the hell had possessed him to run around in public…naked? Well, he wasn't in a holding cell, so that was a good start.
He froze when he saw his own KC logo at the bottom right of the plaque. He blinked rapidly, wondering if he was dreaming or if someone was playing a prank on him.
Confusion blanketed him fully and Kaiba gently eased the door open, looking left and right for any sign of people. There was no one. It seemed it was still early…or late. Kaiba wasn't sure. He had lost all semblance of time.
Gritting his teeth, Kaiba raced towards the elevators and hastily slapped his palm against the reader, getting antsier and antsier the longer the car to arrive. When the doors finally opened, he threw himself inside and hugged the corner, hoping no one would see him.
The goal was to get upstairs and get dressed first, appear composed, and then figure out what the hell was happening.
If the prankster was watching him, he would not show any signs of breaking.
Determined, Kaiba dashed out of the elevator on the top floor and locked himself safely in his office. Racking his brain frantically for the last thing he could remember, Kaiba stepped into the shower and hastily got clean.
After dragging his fingernails along his skin, black dirt gathered beneath them, and Kaiba growled, disgusted. What the hell….?
Scrubbing himself furiously, Kaiba recalled getting into the limousine after leaving for work, with the spotted cat in the seat beside him. Was that yesterday? Or had that been several hours ago?
Why was he back here at the office if he had just left?
Frustrated, Kaiba stepped out of the shower and dried off, not bothering to check his reflection in the mirror. He needed clothes on his body, now.
He slipped a spare suit out of the closet and absently threw the necktie around his neck, not bothering to tie it. His mind was fixated on checking the security cameras.
That would answer all his questions.
Striding to his desk, Kaiba sat down and stared blankly at the bare surface.
Where…the fuck…was his laptop?
He would ask Isono.
Slipping his hand into his pocket, Kaiba frowned when his fingers met the edge of fabric.
Damn it. He didn't have his phone either!
A thin sliver of fear trickled through him as he frantically yanked out every drawer and searched them, looking for his phone.
Maybe I left it at home, Kaiba thought nervously, picking up the desk phone.
He was beginning to feel very disoriented.
Rising to his feet, he walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows behind his desk to gaze out over the city, noting that the sun was barely rising. So, he was on time for work, but, where was everyone?
He looked directly down into the street and saw a clusters of police cars all with their lights flashing, surrounding the building completely, and Kaiba's blood ran cold.
People were held off on the sidewalks with red caution tape, and neat rows of men were taking orders from a head officer wearing a purple armband. Animal control…?
And red tape? Red meant casualties. Had someone died on the sidewalk?
Now thoroughly frightened, Kaiba turned around to snatch up the desk phone, his fingers flying over the keypad as he tapped in Isono's number.
The manservant answered immediately after the first ring, sounding extremely worried.
"Master Kaiba! You didn't go to the office, did you? It's dangerous! Come back, please, let the authorities take care of it!"
"Why is it dangerous?" Kaiba asked emptily, dreading the answer.
"There is a wild animal loose on the streets in the city!" Isono breathed, clearly trying to keep himself composed. "It mauled several people downtown! Police called the house saying it broke through the glass doors of your office building and is now somewhere inside. Where are you, Master Kaiba? Come back this instant. You should be in bed, not—"
Kaiba hung up the phone slowly, his ears humming with a strange sound.
Was…he the "wild animal" they were referring to?
No fucking way.
But that would logically explain why he'd woken up naked and dirty in the stairwell with the lapse of memory.
He lowered his head, staring down at the blank surface of his desk, his mind racing with questions. There was no proof of the wild animal inside unless the authorities got ahold of his camera feeds, and for that, they would need a warrant.
Folding his arms tightly, Kaiba listened intently to the activity happening outside. It seemed they were getting ready to storm the building.
"…. This entire block will remain closed until we find it! Apprehend the animal on sight. If it attacks, do not hesitate to fire your tranquilizer gun. Natsuhara-san will take Group C around the back. Keep your keycards around your necks. Mr. Kaiba's right-hand man has given us access to the entire building and each key will be accounted for when you return..."
Forcing himself to remain composed, Kaiba propped his feet up on his desk and tucked his arms behind his head, feigning sleep. He would wait here and insist everyone leave, because deep down, he knew there was no wild animal inside the office.
No one was here, aside from himself
After several long minutes, he could hear the rapid thundering of footsteps growing closer and closer, until finally, he heard the stairwell door slam, followed by the sounds of many pairs of heavy boots.
"This is it. Top floor, no animal in sight," a man said quietly through his radio, and Kaiba grit his teeth, keeping his eyes closed. "Swipe the key, Hoga-san. This is Mr. Kaiba's office."
There was a soft click and Kaiba braced himself, steadily listening to the shocked gasps echoing around the room.
"M-Mr. Kaiba…!"
Kaiba covered his mouth, faking a yawn before he lazily cracked an eye open, surveying the scene slowly. Five men in protective gear stood in loose formation in the middle of his office, glancing around in confusion while they lowered their dart guns.
"What the hell?" Kaiba narrowed his eyes and stood angrily, clenching his fists as his side. "Who the hell are you? Who authorized you to come in here?"
"We—uh, have permission to find the animal, sir," the man at the front said nervously, his voice muffled by his face mask. "Have you heard a disturbance? Were you here all night?"
"Yes I was, and no I didn't," Kaiba answered stiffly, keeping the annoyed look on his face. "If you've made it all the way up here, I'm guessing you found nothing."
There was an awkward silence as several men nodded, and Kaiba's chest tightened with anxiety, but he hid it well.
"Do you have proof that the animal is inside my building?" Kaiba demanded, stepping out from behind his desk to confront the leader. "How do you know it didn't come in and run right back out?"
"Someone saw it come in!" A man answered from the bathroom, and the leader paled slightly, reaching for the radio hooked to his shoulder. "O-One moment, Mr. Kaiba. Let me ask…"
Kaiba rolled his eyes and leaned against the edge of his desk, watching the man confer with the police on the ground, noticing that his forehead was beaded with sweat.
The stench of their body odor was slightly sour, and Kaiba wrinkled his nose in disgust.
The radio beeped and an answer came quickly. "Eye-witnesses says she ran away after seeing the animal break through the doors. Is there really no sign of the animal in the building?"
"We've gone bottom to top. No signs of dirt or fur…sir," the leader answered stiffly. "Mr. Kaiba is here. He was asleep at his desk, says he didn't hear anything."
There was another long, awkward pause while everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for a command from the radio.
"…Come back down. It must've run out and is still somewhere in the city."
All five men bowed hastily in unison, mumbling apologies while they filed out of Kaiba's office, and Kaiba watched them go, his heart pounding thickly in his chest.
"Wait!" he called, and the man at the end turned to give him an apologetic look.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"
"What animal was it?" Kaiba asked, feeling himself sweat. "A deer?"
"No, even stranger than that," the man said shakily. "People are saying it was a wolf."
"A wolf?" Kaiba was unable to hide his surprise, and the man nodded, bowing again, keeping his dart gun at his side while backing out of the room quietly.
Rooted to the spot with mild shock, Kaiba waited until he heard all the footsteps exit the building before he picked up his phone to call for a car.
He needed to get home immediately to investigate this on his own.
Yami landed gracefully atop a streetlamp alongside a couple other birds, and he ignored them, waiting for the back door of the bar to open.
He didn't have to wait long. The bartender propped the door open and leaned against it, lighting a cigarette.
Yami took this chance to soar down from above and fly right through the door, managing to wrap his claws around the armrest of the ratty office chair inside the back room.
"Hey! Fuck you, crow!" the bartender cried, racing in after him and waving his arms wildly. "Get out of there before you shit on someth—oh…vampire. Which one are you?"
Yami gave the bartender a steely look, flexing his wings arrogantly.
It's Yami, he answered steadily with a strong thought. I'm sure you heard. What did the animal look like?
"Word sure travels fast," the man said gruffly, flicking ash away from his fingers. "Several beasts have already showed up here, eager to prove their innocence. Is there a meeting? Why do you all have to do it here?"
Shut up and let me ride on your shoulder, Yami replied shortly, kicking off the armrest and landing gently on the bartender's outstretched arm. He inched his way up the man's shoulder while he walked into the bar, and Yami clicked his beak irritably when he saw several familiar faces sitting together at a table.
The tension in the room was palpable.
A vampire with stark white hair and his pack of devoted followers were glowering at the trio of werewolves sitting resolutely at the bar, each with their arms crossed, their beady eyes narrowed with hostility.
"Where is your beloved leader? Are you pups lost, or did Mommy Gaius abandon you?" The white-haired vampire spat, also giving Yami a quick glare. "Nice of you to join us in bird form, Child-feeder."
Yami didn't dignify the insult with a response and he felt the bartender shift uncomfortably.
"He's not our leader. He just calls himself that," a blond werewolf replied angrily, rolling up the sleeves of his high school blazer, looking ready to fight. "And we're not stupid enough to feed on convenience store attendants at 4AM. I got better stuff ta' do, like sleep."
"Are you sure about that?" The white-haired vampire goaded, giving the blond a clawed middle finger salute. "How long have you and your friends been in high school? Ten years? And you still can't graduate?"
The vampires at the table roared with laughter and the blond was turning beet red.
Yami rolled his eyes tiredly. Fighting amongst each other was not the solution but it seemed to happen every time a human was hurt.
"Alright, I'mma kill him!" The blond declared, launching himself off the barstool while his two friends held him back by the arms.
"Joey, stop…that's what he wants!" his black-haired friend cried, fighting against a flailing arm that slipped out of his grasp. "Tristan, are you even holding him?"
"I am, Duke!" The other werewolf insisted nervously, giving the vampires an apprehensive glare while hanging onto Joey with all his might. "We didn't attack the store attendants, and we can prove it… Joey, stop squirming!"
The vampires laughed again while Joey kicked and squirmed against the strength of his friends.
"Lemme at him, Tristan, lemme go!" The blond cried, and his friend clung on tighter.
"No! We can't fight them all and win…" Tristan panted, his grip slipping off Joey's arm. "C'mon dude, lay off."
Yami sighed and shook his head. The white-haired vampire, Bakura, was extremely alpha, which seemed to rub everyone the wrong way.
More vampires filed silently into the bar and took a seat, looking haggard and annoyed.
"Where are the rest of your friends?" The bartender asked, addressing the blond werewolf while he slowly wiped a glass for the lack of something to do with his hands.
"They're not our friends," the black-haired werewolf answered stiffly, adjusting the red bandanna on his forehead. "Gaius took two newly-turned runts out of the country on a 'training' vacation, so it couldn't have been them."
"Well that's all of us," Bakura rasped, slamming his fist down on the table and counting heads while sweeping his gaze around the dark bar. "All vampires living in the city of Domino are now present, and none of us are stupid enough to break the peace treaty."
Yami nodded. As much as he hated being spoken for, he agreed with Bakura.
"Your kind always fail to show up to these emergency check-ins," the white-haired vampire continued venomously, directing his hostility towards the three werewolves, and Yami could feel dissent crackling in the air.
"Yeah, but we did nothin' wrong," Joey hissed through clenched teeth, his hair standing on end. "So we're leaving. C'mon guys. We're gonna go check on the people in the hospital and make sure they're not sprouting fur. That way you'll really know who bit them."
He dragged his two friends out the door and Yami watched them leave, feeling the tension in the air rising. If it wasn't the werewolves, did that mean it was a vampire?
There was a long silence before a man wearing a purple shirt in Bakura's group spoke up.
"Eyewitness said the wolf was either red or light brown," he said, eyeing the room with suspicion. "Who here has sable-colored fur? We know it wasn't any of the dogs that were just here, so it must be one of us."
"Or…it was someone passing by," the bartender added unhelpfully, setting the glass down with a clink. "Anyone care for a drink?"
Several people rolled their eyes and got up to leave.
Yami stared at each and every single person, taking note of their hair color.
Everyone from Bakura's clan was either blond or had black hair.
Everyone leaving also had naturally black hair.
"You're sable-colored, aren't you, Yami?" A woman with sleek black hair from Bakura's group spoke up softly, and Yami tensed.
"He's a sable-colored cat, Ishizu," Bakura said idly, twirling his long white hair between his fingertips with a yawn. "I've seen his wolf form and it's nothing special. Black fur all around. We're leaving."
The loud scraping of chairs broke the tense silence and Yami decided he was leaving too. If Mokuba was awake, he was probably looking for him.
"This is going to cause some issues," the bartender muttered, walking through the flaps of the kitchen doors and opening the back entrance for Yami. "We're all going to be on edge until we find out who it was."
I'll do my own investigating, Yami said, giving the bartender a quick nod. Stay sharp, Smelly.
"I hate that name," Smelly muttered, shooing Yami off of his shoulder with a careless wave.
Yami kicked off the man's shoulder and rose easily into the air, nearly blinded by the rising sun, so he dipped back down low, keeping close to the trees and the shade their branches provided.
Thankfully, the Kaiba property wasn't too far from the bar, and Yami landed gently on a thick branch inside the garden walls. Hopping down to the ground, he ducked behind the tree and shut his eyes, transforming back into a cat.
His talons elongated into five pointed claws, and he bent forwards, feeling his haunches appear steadily beneath the feathers. It was considerably less painful to change from one animal to another. Yami's teeth ached as they came sprouting back, and his hearing increased tenfold.
He could hear the rumble of a car's engine and Mokuba's voice whining at Isono.
"…But why? You promised! It's just one movie! Please? Please please please let me watch it in the downtown theater with everyone else, please please?"
Shaking himself all over, Yami reached a hind leg up to scratch at his ear, pleased that his mobility had returned, but now his stomach was beginning to grumble slightly.
All the transforming was getting tiresome.
Hopefully he wouldn't need to do that again for a while.
Dashing into the house, Yami bounded over the patio door and into the kitchen, mewing loudly, hoping Mokuba could hear him, because the child was now having a full-blown fight with the manservant.
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S GONNA GO INSIDE A THEATER AND BITE PEOPLE! IT'S AN ANIMAL!"
"Young master, if you shout at me one more time—"
"What're you gonna do? Ground me? Lock me inside this house forever because that's my whole life anyway?" Mokuba raged, clenching his fists at his sides and storming down the steps. "I HATE YOU, ISONO!"
Yami slinked through the kitchen and froze when he saw a pair of feet rushing straight at him. He was scooped up so fast, his stomach churned.
"Yami! There you are!" Mokuba cried, burning his nose into the cat's fur and biting back tears of frustration. "You can protect me, can't you? Did you just go outside?"
"Young master," Isono approached Mokuba from behind, and Mokuba spun around, holding the cat up high and glaring at him.
"Yami will protect me," the child insisted. "He knows when something is wrong. He protected Seto, which means he can protect me."
I've gone from 'monster' to 'protector', Yami thought mildly, growing dizzy from the rough handling. He gave Isono an apprehensive meow, and the manservant folded his arms, glaring at him.
"And of course, the owner is nowhere to be seen," Isono said shrewdly, feeling exhaustion weigh heavily on his shoulders. "Master Kaiba invites him in, and he walks out without a trace. Mokuba, did you see the spiky-haired foreigner leave?"
"Nope," Mokuba said vehemently, shaking his head. "I'm not telling you anything until you let me go to the movies!"
"The answer is still no," Isono said firmly, and Mokuba stamped his foot furiously.
"Fine! Then I'll ask Seto. He'll say yes," Mokuba snapped, tucking the cat under his arm and storming up the steps into his older brother's room.
Yami shut his eyes, growing dizzier by the minute. Finally, he was set down on the ground and he wobbled dangerously on all fours, seeing Mokuba march up to Kaiba's desk and huff.
"Leave me alone kid, I'm busy," Kaiba said stiffly, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the backspace key while he searched intently for footage of the wild animal in his stairwell feeds.
"Isono won't let me go to the movies because he said the lion or the bear is gonna break into the theater and I'll get trampled in a panic," Mokuba recited, crossing his arms across his chest. "Please, Seto? I wanted to see a movie in theaters, like outside, not in the downstairs theater."
"I heard it was a wolf," Kaiba replied unhelpfully. "I'm trying to find footage of it, so get lost for a bit. I'll see what I can do about convincing him, okay?"
Yami pricked his ears up. Footage? That was a great way to see who it was!
"Uuuhgggg! I hate you too!" Mokuba groaned dramatically and stomped out of the room, slamming Seto's door loudly behind him to show his intense dissatisfaction.
Yami jumped at the loud noise and winced, letting out a meow in protest.
That kid was manipulative and explosive.
Kaiba peeked over the edge of his laptop, eyeing the cat. "You. Don't bother me either," and he leaned back to continue clicking through the footage.
Yami bristled at this, and he padded forward slowly, circling Kaiba's calves and purring excitedly. He wanted to be in Kaiba's lap so he could see the footage.
Standing up on his hind legs, he tried to jump up, but to his dismay, he was pushed off or kicked away every time.
Disgruntled and annoyed, Yami let out a furious yowl, pawing at Kaiba's pant legs.
That seemed to annoy Kaiba even further. Yami found himself picked up by the scruff of his neck and deposited in the hallway. The door slammed in his face and Yami sat down on the floor, stunned.
Such cold behavior from Seto and Mokuba! Were they even human?
Meowing angrily, Yami scratched at the door, throwing his shoulder against it, trying to make it known that he wanted back inside.
Instead of Kaiba, the manservant came rushing up the stairs and picked him up gently, petting him on the head with a soft hand.
"There, there, you're hungry," Isono grumbled, walking back down the stairs slowly. "The whole house knows you've been neglected. Stop crying."
Furious, Yami let himself be carried back down into the kitchen while a bowl of fresh milk was slid under his nose. God…dammit!
Upstairs, Kaiba finally managed to find the timeframe where the supposed wolf had broken in, and he held his breath, watching and waiting.
There was a long pause. Nothing happened on the screen.
He skipped a few minutes ahead and saw a grey blur zip through the front doors of his building and run straight through the glass, ripping through it like it was merely paper.
A cold chill ran down Kaiba's spine as he followed the blur through the building, seeing the wolf stand up on its hind legs to open the door leading into the stairwell.
Hastily switching cameras, Kaiba watched with rising incredulity as the wolf laid down and tucked its head over its tail, seemingly satisfied and tired.
He stared at its sleeping form for five minutes, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. He took this opportunity to observe the wolf, noting that it had light brown fur, and its fluffy tail was streaked with a hint of black at the end.
It definitely looked like a wild animal.
Skipping ahead, Kaiba watched as the wolf didn't move.
Ten minutes passed, then fifteen, then thirty.
Frowning, Kaiba continued skipping until he saw movement. His eyes were playing tricks on him, because it seemed like the wolf's tail was shrinking into its body, slowly but surely, and its brown fur was disappearing. Pale skin was appearing underneath the fur, and Kaiba sat in rigid horror as he saw himself slowly appear in the screen when the wolf's face melted away.
He was staring at himself, curled up in fetal position at the foot of the stairs with his arm tucked under his head, unconscious and completely naked.
Rewinding the tape, Kaiba watched it again, just to make sure he wasn't going crazy.
He saw fur magically reappear out of his skin and a fully formed adult wolf was shown sleeping lazily with its tail under his chin.
He clicked forward and watched the fur fall away from his skin while his paws turned into hands, and once again, he was sleeping peacefully in human form at the bottom of the stairs.
I-Impossible. What the actual…fuck!
Was that happening just because he drank a black cat's blood? No fucking way, right?
Stunned, Kaiba sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. This completely explained why he couldn't remember anything.
There had to be a way to control this.
First, he had to get rid of the evidence, because this wolf had mauled several people.
Shit.
That was his fault.
Consumed by a sudden rush of guilt, Kaiba opened his eyes and hastily searched for the hospital where the victims were being held. He would donate a sizable amount to them as an apology, and visit them in person.
Slamming his laptop shut, Kaiba stood and grabbed his coat, his stomach curling with hunger. No time to eat. He had to fix this shit, whatever it was.
He could eat after he took care of the people at the hospital.
Yami heard Kaiba exit his room, so he dashed to the front door, eager to follow.
Kaiba felt the cat tagging close at his heels and he glanced down, seeing a pair of angular amethyst eyes glowing hopefully at him. Yami took this chance to force his way into the CEO's consciousness and sent him a command.
Take me along! Yami insisted, circling Kaiba's feet while flicking his tail.
Rolling his eyes, Kaiba bent down and picked up the cat, tucking him under his arm and hurrying into the backseat of the waiting limousine.
"Master Kaiba, please come back!" Isono shouted, chasing after the car which was already rolling through the spiked black gates.
Yami peered out the window curiously, giving the manservant a cheery wave with his paw, and he swore he saw steam coming out of the man's ears. Settling down beside Kaiba's leg, Yami purred happily, enjoying the slender fingers stroking his forehead.
Life with this human was quite amusing. There was never a dull moment.
The car pulled to a gentle stop at the curb in front of the hospital doors and Kaiba was thankful no press was present.
Snatching the cat up roughly, he strode in through the front doors, not caring how ridiculous he looked bringing an animal inside.
He was stopped by a nurse wearing a mask, and he pointed at the cat with his brow furrowed.
"Please leave all pets outside," he said hurriedly with a stiff bow.
Yami craned his neck, attempting to make eye contact with the man to persuade him with hypnosis. If the man could just look at him for two seconds….
"This cat stays with me at all times," Kaiba said evenly, wondering why he was suddenly so attached to the cat. "I'm here to see the mauling victims."
The nurse stood up straighter, his eyes wide with surprise, "Th-They're not ready to be seen, Mr. Kaiba."
Kaiba glared heatedly at the man, gripping the cat tighter under his arm. "Are they conscious?"
"Well, y-yes, but its family only for now," the nurse replied anxiously, beginning to sweat. "Are you related to any of the victims?"
"No," Kaiba said bluntly, still gazing intently into the man's brown eyes. "Show me to their fucking rooms. I'm here to pay for their treatment."
Yami blinked, surprised, and the man seemed to mirror his response.
"How very generous of you, Mr. Kaiba!" The man said genially, taking a nervous step back while his fingertips whitened over the edges of his clipboard. "Come with me."
Mildly amazed by Kaiba's sway, Yami squirmed excitedly in Kaiba's grip as he was carried through several hallways, up an elevator, and down another narrow hall.
Several people in wheelchairs stared at him as he passed, and Yami nonchalantly stared right back. The scent of blood and cleaning agent stung his nose, and Yami tried his best not to breathe too deeply.
Kaiba grit his teeth, hating how the entire floor smelled like flowery detergent. What the hell was in the soap everyone was using?
"Here is one of the victims," the nurse said robotically, slipping out a chart from the sleeve by the door. "Her name is Anzu Mazaki and she's a student at Domino High. She was working the counter at Yellow Mart when the animal burst in and attacked her."
"Got it," Kaiba growled, feeling another rush of guilt as he glanced at her chart, hating how they were close in age. "Wait out here until I'm done. No one comes in until I've finished speaking with her."
"Yes sir," the nurse bowed, his eyes strangely glassy, and he moved to sit down on a nearby bench.
Kaiba leaned the door open quietly and slipped inside, hearing the cat meow in his arms, and he hissed at it to be quiet.
Anzu was staring blankly at the TV when she saw the door open, and Seto Kaiba entered her hospital room, carrying a spotted cat in his arms. She pressed a hand to her mouth, suppressing a startled gasp, wondering if she was hallucinating.
Yami stared at the girl and purred loudly, noticing her eyelashes fluttering extremely fast.
"Wh—You're not allowed in here," Anzu said, her ears burning as she sat stiffly in the bed.
"Hear me out," Kaiba said tensely, pulling up a chair and sitting at her bedside. To his dismay, she leaned away and wrinkled her nose, glaring at him.
"I don't know you. What do you want?" She asked coldly, and Kaiba sat silently for a moment, staring at her blanket-covered legs. He hadn't properly thought this through. He was being unusually impulsive today for some reason…
"Hey, I'm talking to you, don't ignore me," Anzu said slowly, staring at the cat with suspicion. "They let you bring in a cat? As a comfort animal? You really are as weird as they say."
Kaiba drew in a slow breath and made direct eye contact, taking in her pretty almond eyes and the neat bobbed haircut which framed her face nicely.
"Tell me what happened," he said evenly. Yami squirmed uneasily in Kaiba's arms, eyeing her blanket-covered feet and at the dozens of tubes running out from underneath it. They were hooked up to another machine that was making a strange humming sound, and he had a nasty feeling all her wounds were below the waist.
"Why should I tell you anything?" Anzu asked haughtily, folding her arms defiantly across her chest, and Kaiba stared blatantly at the bandages covering her entire arm.
"Because…I'll help cover surgery expenses, should you need any," Kaiba said heatedly. The cat let out a sad meow, and he ignored it. "Tell me, and I'll help you."
"Yeah, but why?" Anzu felt her cheeks heat up strangely and she looked away nervously, hating how Kaiba's looks were affecting her. The CEO was extremely handsome up close and his aura was unnerving.
"Fine, you don't want my help," Kaiba said angrily. "I'll leave. Shoulder the bill yourself." Then he leaned back into the chair and crossed his legs tightly, waiting for her to speak.
Anzu clasped her hands together tightly atop her lap, her chest tight with uncertainty as they sat in silence for several minutes, with nothing but the beeping of her heart monitor ringing in their ears.
I guess he's feeling generous, Anzu thought nervously, biting back furious tears as she nodded and took a deep breath, speaking in a rush.
"I finished my shift and was walking to the door when the animal just came rushing in. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground, and it's jaws were clamped around my leg, and I was b-being dragged…."
Anzu gripped the sheets tightly, her voice breaking with emotion.
Kaiba said nothing, his heart beating loudly in his throat as he waited for her to continue.
"I was dragged," Anzu repeated, gathering enough strength to speak through gritted teeth. "…and I got a concussion from hitting my head against the door as it pulled me out onto the sidewalk…and it kept….ch-chewing on my leg. I fainted from the shock and blood loss. I…I'll never be able to dance again. That's what they told me."
Yami blinked rapidly, his heart sinking with sympathy as he watched the girl lower her head and begin to cry softly.
He meowed sympathetically, hoping it would make her feel better.
Kaiba glanced down at the cat, growing cold and numb all over. He had ruined this girl's future.
"Want to hold him?" Kaiba asked hollowly, already moving to place the cat into her lap, and she nodded tearfully, reaching forward and gathering Yami up in her arms, hugging him tightly to her chest.
Yami winced when her grip nearly crushed the air out of his lungs, but he didn't mind. He licked her hand gently and purred, hoping she would stop crying. He sniffed her tentatively, making sure she didn't smell like the makings of a werewolf, and to his relief, she smelled wonderfully flowery and fresh, like a warm cup of tea on a sunny spring day.
"Can you walk?" Kaiba asked quietly, dreading the answer.
"Yes," Anzu said shakily, sounding very unsure of it herself. "They said I could, after some physical therapy. My…leg, it shattered in…four places. I didn't lose a limb, so I'm thankful for that."
Horrified, Kaiba remained silent and he lowered his gaze, staring at the ground, his mind racing with a mixture of fear, guilt, and confusion. Holy fucking shit.
"Don't pity me, Seto Kaiba," Anzu said, struggling to compose herself. "I'm not your charity case."
Kaiba snapped his head up and glared furiously at her. "I'm not doing this for publicity. I actually want to fucking help. You don't have to be such a bitch about it."
Her mouth fell open and Yami hissed angrily at Kaiba, baring his fangs.
"Oh my god, you're rude and weird," Anzu declared, bending forward to scratch Yami energetically behind the ear with her unbandaged hand. "Kitty thinks so too, right kitty?"
Kaiba sat back in the chair and stared listlessly at her, watching her coo over the cat while her cheeks were still damp with tears. His stomach twisted strangely, and he ignored it.
"And if you really want to help, you should visit my store manager," Anzu added. "I heard he got it worse than I did. I still have my face and upper body."
The air left Kaiba's lungs in a sudden whoosh! when he heard this, and he grew lightheaded.
Yami froze with dread, and after a moment, Kaiba lifted him out of Anzu's arms.
"I'll do that now," Kaiba said stiffly, turning to leave. "Tell the hospital to bill me. I'll take your info from your chart."
"You're invading my privacy, but I guess that's fine because you're rich," Anzu said sassily, and Kaiba felt a smile tugging at the corners of lips. This girl had fire in her eyes and a strong will to live, which made him feel marginally better about her predicament.
He would come back often and make sure she was recovering well.
Stepping out of the room, Kaiba let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding, and he nodded at the nurse who was still sitting on the bench beside the door.
"I'm ready to see the other patient who was attacked," Kaiba said coldly, mentally preparing himself for the worst.
The nurse stood silently and led the way down the hall.
Bobbing up and down in Kaiba's arms with every step, Yami kneaded Kaiba's tie anxiously.
He wasn't sure his heart could take any more.
He'd always heard about mauling victims but had never seen one up close, and the normality of the Anzu's personality terrified him.
She was a pretty girl who had a real future, but one freak incident had left her nearly crippled.
Yami felt a rush of gratitude towards the CEO.
Seto Kaiba was a good human indeed, coming all the way out here to help the victims with their medical expenses.
He clung tightly onto Kaiba's chest while they stepped into an elevator and rode up in silence.
The doors opened and Kaiba felt an eerie chill in the air as he followed the nurse past several closed doors and glass windows. This hallway was different from the one they had just been in. Anzu's hall had the hustle and bustle of life, with people learning to walk using assistance and nurses rushing back and forth between them.
Here, it was just silence.
A couple of families were huddled together in groups with sullen, gray faces, their shoulders hanging from exhaustion and their eyes puffy from lack of sleep.
Kaiba swallowed thinly, fearing the worst when the nurse stopped at a closed door and led them to the nearby viewing window, pointing inside with a shaking finger.
"That is Mr. Tanaka," he said hollowly. "He ran out to chase the wolf away from the girl's body using a broom and was attacked head-on. He's awake but in critical condition."
Yami gaped at the series of tubes hooked up to the man's bedside. His entire body was covered with the sheet, but any inch that was exposed had been bandaged. There was even an oxygen mask wrapped around his bruised face, and it seemed like a machine was helping him breathe.
Horrified, Yami dug his claws into Kaiba's dress shirt, managing to hear a stray thought from the CEO.
How the fuck do I stop this from happening again? Kaiba stood frozen in place, trying to process the scene before him. This man was nearly dead. This was…his fault entirely.
You can't stop it from happening, Yami replied sadly, flicking his ears back and forth when he thought he heard a noise.
Kaiba tightened his grip on the cat and didn't reply. The cat clearly didn't understand what he meant. He needed to find a way to control the violent wolf he was apparently turning into, and that thought was terrifying.
A group of odd visitors approached the glass and stood stiffly together in silence, and Kaiba edged aside, feeling the air suddenly grow cold.
Yami cursed silently to himself when he saw Bakura and his gang of vampires hover by the glass, also observing the human, and he sent Kaiba a frantic thought.
Let's leave, now! Yami cried, waving his tail anxiously, but it was too late. Bakura had sniffed him out and was leering at him out of the corner of his eye.
"Nice…pet," Bakura grinned, advancing steadily on Kaiba, and Kaiba stood his ground, giving the white-haired man an appraising stare. He was quite handsome in an eerie way, with almond eyes that seemed slightly too large, skin that seemed a little too pale, and a gleaming smile.
"Back off," Kaiba said firmly, his irritation rising. He hated being approached by strangers, and he hated having his space invaded.
"Not until you tell me where you got that pretty kitty," Bakura said softly, holding a hand up to wave tauntingly at Yami.
There was tense silence before a man wearing purple from Bakura's group spoke up.
"At least he's not in a coma. This is not the handiwork of anyone we know."
"Shut up, Marik," Bakura hissed, not taking his eyes off of Yami, who stared angrily back at Bakura.
Yami looked away haughtily but not before he caught a message from Bakura.
"I see you've found yourself a Host."
Kaiba heard this too, and his blood ran cold when the spotted cat in his arms responded with equal hostility.
"Fuck off, you white-haired leech," Yami growled, baring his teeth.
Accepting that he had gone insane, Kaiba held the cat gently in his arms while he turned to walk away, feeling his back burn from the multiple stares coming from the strangers.
Yami fumed privately, feeling Kaiba wrap his arms tighter around his body as they hurried out of the hospital unnoticed. The limousine was waiting curbside, and Kaiba quickly ducked into the backseat, losing his balance slightly when the car lurched forward unexpectedly.
Tense with guilt and confusion, Kaiba sat very still and let the cat's warmth seep into his own body.
Everything was going to be fine. He was Seto Fucking Kaiba.
Nothing ever got in his way if he could help it.
Author's note:
eek I hope that wasn't too heavy. Kaiba wakes up nekkid and then realizes a terrible truth.
Yami attends a bar meeting with other vampires and then goes on a mini adventure to the hospital with Kaiba to visit the mauling victims.
