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“Akiraaaaa I don’t wanna go to your stupid hangout thing with the creepy Mutou!” Morgana whined, trying to slip out of the bag. Akira frowned, poking the side of the bag. “OW! Watch it!”
“Chill out man, I have a plan. Listen, all you gotta do is let him hold you, and I’ll buy you sushi. Deal?” Morgana froze, one eye peering up at him distrustfully. “The good shit, not the konbini stuff,” Akira added, trying to sweeten the pot. Morgana settled down, casually licking a paw.
“Well, so long as you pay me....” he muttered, acting like he wasn’t throwing a fit not even thirty seconds earlier. Akira shook his head, shouldering the bag. He was meeting the Spirit at the game shop, since Morgana technically wasn’t allowed in LeBlanc. Luckily, none of Mutou’s family was allergic to cats, so as long as Morgana stayed in the bag until they got upstairs, everything should be fine.
--
Everything was not fine, in fact it was very far from fine. When he arrived, Mutou-ojisan had waved him through as normal, but neither Mutou was anywhere to be found. Akira ended up outside Mutou’s door, waiting for an answer to his polite knock and growing more worried as time went on. Mutou should’ve been there, they’d arranged this beforehand. Then, a thought struck him. What if Mutou didn’t want to let the Spirit out? That could complicate things.....
Luckily for Akira’s peace of mind, Mutou came down the hall not much later, towelling off his dripping hair. “Oh, Kurusu! Sorry about that, Yuugi forgot to shower last night, so I woke up with gel in my hair again,” the Spirit explained, draping the towel over his head. Akira blinked, startled that the Spirit’s eyes were still red, even fresh out of the shower.
“Do you wear your contacts in the shower?” he blurted, instead of anything you know polite. Yami no Yuugi blinked, mouthing ‘contacts?’ to himself before it clicked.
“Oh, my eyes? No, they’re just like this. Mine, at least. Yuugi’s are brown, but he wears purple contacts. Mine are just naturally red,” he explained. Akira nodded, still a bit confused, but he traipsed around in humanity’s subconscious for a living, he really couldn’t judge.
“AKIRA! We doing this thing or what?! I want sushi!” Morgana yowled suddenly, causing both Akira and the Spirit to jump.
“W-Was that a cat?” Yami no Yuugi asked, some unidentifiable emotion shining in his eyes. Akira nodded, unzipping his bag and carefully pulling Morgana out. Yami no Yuugi gasped, hands flying to his mouth. “Oh my gosh! He’s so cute!” he whispered.
“Wanna hold him?” Akira asked, offering the Morgana-bundle. Yami no Yuugi looked up sharply, wonder and suspicion warring on his face. “It’s okay, I’ll show you how to hold him. He won’t mind, right Morgana?” Akira said, shooting a warning glare at the not-cat.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. If he squishes me too hard though, you’re getting double,” Morgana warned. Akira struggled not to react to that, but he could already hear his wallet sobbing.
He stepped closer to Yami no Yuugi, cradling Morgana carefully. “See how I’m holding him? You want to support his butt with one arm, and hold his back like this with your other arm.” Yami no Yuugi nodded, studying them intently. “Do you want to get your glasses first?” Akira asked. Yami no Yuugi shook his head, biting his lip.
“No, it’s okay. I can see well enough,” he said. “Can I try.....?” he asked, reaching his arms out. Akira nodded, carefully transferring Morgana between them. Yami no Yuugi held Morgana exactly like Akira had shown him, tongue poking out a little bit in concentration. Like this, he didn’t seem so scary. He just seemed like a normal, if slightly intense, teenager. “Like this?” he asked. Akira looked it over, nodding in approval.
“Akira tell him to scratch behind my ears,” Morgana ordered. Akira suppressed a chuckle, relaying the message. Yami no Yuugi looked a bit panicked for a second, before sinking to the floor right in the middle of the hallway, situating Morgana on his lap. He gently scratched behind Morgana’s ears, gasping in delight when he started purring loudly. “Ah yeah, that’s the spot......”
Swords Rank UP! Rank VII: You can now calm Shadows after a failed negotiation, reducing enemy ATK damage on the next turn.
