Amane didn't waste much time in heading to Malik's house, though a baby with claws wasn't an easy thing to carry. She nudged the doorbell with her elbow and waited.
Malik answered the door, rubbing at his eyes. He blinked at Amane for a few moments before grinning tiredly. "Hey, Amane," he greeted, stifling a short yawn.
"Hey, Scooby!" She balanced Sharik on her hip. "Ready to go kick trash?"
"Oh yeah," he said, holding back a laugh - he still couldn't get over that nickname. "I'm definitely ready."
She beamed at him. "Could you do me a favor and carry the kid some of the way? Stitches...hurting...and she's not helping, y'know?"
"...er, yeah," he replied, awkwardly holding his arms out for Sharik. "Still healing up, huh?"
"Yeah," she grimaced, holding the cat-eared baby out to him. "I think I'll never do that again. Ever."
Malik hefted the small catgirl up into his arms, idly shaking his head. "...I am so glad I'm not a woman."
"You would be one damn fine dame, though," she said, winking at him and rubbing lightly at her abdomen.
He started walking down the driveway, trying to hold back a shudder. "Ow. You hit a repressed memory."
She laughed, following him. "Well, c'mon, I didn't get pictures of that. Unfair."
"Good, because then you wouldn't let me live it down. It's not fun being a guy one minute and then looking down and finding that you have boobs." Malik paused at the end of the driveway, looking around. "So which way's this Ghost dude's house?"
"Boobs are pretty," she said idly, and then looked around and pointed. "He's that-away."
He nodded, heading off in the direction she'd pointed in. "They are not. All they did was get in the way. It was like I'd just duct-taped two balloons to my chest, or something."
She looked down. "They are. And they're so much bigger when you have a kid." She scowled at them, then shook her head and caught up to him.
"... That makes me very very glad that Ryou didn't sprout any when he was pregnant, because that would've just been weird." He paused, thinking a little. "Or maybe that doesn't count since it was the aliens..."
She shuddered. "That would've been. Poor kid never would've gotten over it either." She paused at the corner. Graveyard...aha! "There it is!"
Malik blinked, then smirked, moving Sharik over to his hip. "Well. That wasn't very far to go..."
Sharik latched her claws into his shirt for a better hold. Amane laughed coldly. "Sort of makes it easier, I guess."
He flinched slightly, but said nothing - he was rather used to being clawed, with three cats at home. "Easier for us. It'll just make it worse for him, though."
She laughed, the sound not exactly friendly, and opened the gate for him. "After you."
He eyed Amane for a moment before heading on. "That sounded really damn creepy, you know that?"
She grinned darkly at him and followed. "Sorry, Scooby. I'm just not in a great mood."
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not either?"
"It does," she said, almost cheerfully. "It's good to be able to share that way, y'know?" She paused on the porch, smile fading. "Do you want me to take Sharik?"
Malik nodded, passing the kid off to Amane again. "It's easier to smack people around when you've got the use of both of your hands."
She laughed and nodded, setting her daughter against her shoulder. "After you, then."
"Alrighty." He raised a fist, pounding on the door. "Hey, you in there! Open up!"
Ghost turned down the volume on the video he was watching, and went to the door, staring at the two. "Don't have to yell... Do I know you? You're both hot..."
Amane blinked, and then looked him over, shifting the baby to her other arm. "I'm Bakura Amane. This is Malik Ishtar."
Malik grinned, though the cracking of his knuckles probably stood out more than said grin. "Hi."
Ghost blinked. "Oh... is that the cat-thing Mokuba freaks out about? It isn't as ugly as he said it would be..." He just blinked at Malik.
"Mokuba's kind of a pussy," she said neutrally. "I think Malik wanted to talk to you before you see her, though."
"Yeah. Just a few little words," Malik said, leaning down close to Ghost. "Few days ago, you had a little party which ended up sending someone to the hospital, am I right?"
"He's a jerk, but he's brilliant..." Ghost said flippantly, looking waaaay up at Malik to see what he wanted. Ghost swallowed and nodded. "Yeah... I'm glad he's okay."
"If you want to call it that," Amane said, a cold lilt in the words. "Want to let us in or do you want to do this on the porch? I mean, you are still going to pay for that willingly, right?"
Ghost nodded. "You can come in..." He stepped away and left the door open, keeping his arms at his sides.
Malik stepped into the house, starting to twitch a little. "Thankfully, Ryou is okay, yes. But would you mind explaining to us why the hell he ended up in the hospital in the first place?" His expression had turned from a smug grin to an angry scowl.
Ghost just looked up at him for a minute, then shrugged. "Does the answer really matter? I mean... I said you can take it out on me already."
Amane shut the door behind them, glanced at the baby, and left it unlocked. It'd make it easier for Malik to get out with her later on. That done, she turned back. "It matters because I want to know how badly I need to hurt you."
Malik tapped his foot impatiently, glaring down at him. "Yes, and I would like to know what possessed you to drug my boyfriend in the first place."
"I didn't know that people could freak out on acid." He glanced at Malik. "I thought that Ryuu and he and I could have a threesome..."
Amane pursed her lips and stepped back. "After you, Malik."
"..." Malik, being absolutely dumbfounded - or furious - just simply gaped at Ghost, twitching a bit. "...I don't think I heard you clearly. Would you mind repeating that?"
"Give him details, too," she suggested.
Ghost looked at her oddly. "You know... I had this video that I was playing with 3 guys having sex that I always wanted to try... I didn't know they'd both flip out..."
She frowned. "Where'd the drugs come into it?"
Ghost frowned. "RyuuKoi is kinda weird about the sexual stuff... I thought it would help him relax and have fun..."
Malik, in the meantime, had wandered over to the other end of the room, trying to keep his distance so he wouldn't be tempted to rip Ghost's eyeballs out of their sockets.
Amane, sore from jarring her stitches on the way over, settled on the couch and watched him. "Ok, and then what happened? How'd you get him to take it? He doesn't even drink."
"Uh... I put it in the punch. Why all the questions?" This made him a lot more nervous than if they'd just come in swinging.
She glanced at Malik, then back at Ghost. "We just like the truth. So, when did you figure something was wrong?"
"And because Ryou remembers jack shit about what happened that night, and he's pretty damn tired of having holes in his memory," Malik answered, stalking back over to him. "So basically, you slipped him a mickey with the intent to fuck him, which somehow resulted in him bashing his head open and getting sent to the hospital?"
"Oh." Ghost waited expectantly to be hit so he could stop answering questions. "I can't say what went wrong. I don't want anyone in trouble."
Amane just smiled, seeming pleased with that answer. "This isn't trouble?"
Ghost shrugged. "I don't care if you hurt me," he said simply. "He freaked out, so I hit him, okay? Now just do your worst."
Malik had to take a deep breath to keep from just throttling him right then and there. However, his anger got the better of him, and he grabbed Ghost by the collar, lifting him up and slamming him against the wall. "...I don't think Ryou would appreciate it if I hurt you, so I'm going to let you off with a warning," he growled, voice dangerously low. "If you ever even think about drugging him, fucking him, or hurting him again, I will personally see to it that you do not make it to whatever afterlife awaits you. I will make sure that your soul gets torn apart by Ammit. Do I make myself clear?"
Amane smiled, keeping Sharik carefully turned away--not that she thought the baby would remember this but better safe than sorry--and waited.
Ghost whimpered... Damn that hurt his head! Was that what it felt like to Ryou getting hit? That sucked... "I'm giving the drugs back to Mokuba. I'm done with the acid, period."
"Good." Malik let go of Ghost's shirt, letting the other boy drop down to the floor. He turned on his heel and stormed back over to the other side of the room, angrily glaring at the wall.
"I'm glad your life's turned around a bit," Amane said idly. "But Ryou's isn't. Are you still going to let me play with you?"
Malik looked over at Amane, still looking pissed off, but his voice was surprisingly level. "Want me to take Sharik so you can mess with him a bit?"
"I told you, already. I won't fight. You can do whatever you feel will make me hurt as bad as Ryou is right now."
She smiled almost kindly at Ghost and stood up, turning to Malik. "Yeah...I don't want her to get dirty. Oh! But, first, he wanted to see her." She turned back to Ghost. "You did wash your hands and all, right? That's...what the nurses said to do with her."
"Uh... I probably should, then..." Ghost blushed. Jeez, he had porn running in the background! Why would she think his hands were clean?
Amane nodded, waiting patiently. "Scrub under your nails," she said, and then made a face. "Oh my god I didn't just say that...I'm turning into my mother."
Ghost did, and returned, still blushing, and held his hands out for the cat-thing.
Amane slowly handed her over. Sharik, for her part, wasn't picky about who held her (good thing considering how easily she was handed off by her mother) and just looked up at Ghost, ears flicking a little.
"Oooh... she's adorable. I expected something weird, from what Mokuba said..." He scratched behind her ears and rocked her.
Malik silently kept his eye on Ghost as he took Sharik, watching for any suspicious movements. Maybe he was being paranoid, but whatever.
"You really can't trust what Mokuba says," Amane answered, leaning against the doorframe. "He doesn't know about much besides pants."
"Yeah, he's kinda mean. He was mean even when I said I was going to give his drugs back..." Ghost reluctantly handed Sharik back.
She took the baby, whose claws snagged a little on Ghost's shirt, and then looked back at Malik. "It's kinda late to give them back anyway, don'tcha think?"
"Yeah. Just a little bit late," Malik agreed, walking back over to them.
"Well, I have a lot left, actually..."
Amane gave Malik a grateful smile and offered the kitten!baby. "...How much is a lot?"
Ghost thought for a minute. "I think I have like, 60 hits of acid left..."
Malik gently took Sharik in his arms and walked back to the other side of the room again, balancing her on his hip. "Even if you do give them back, the damage has already been done."
"Yeah, I know. I just don't want it anymore. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my whole life." And that was a statement, considering he didn't get scared too easily.
She folded her arms over her chest, watching him for a moment. "How scared was my brother?"
"Really scared... Well, for the time that he was awake... Something about shadows and Zorc..."
"What did he do when he was scared?"
Malik's anger flared up again at that, and he took several deep breaths, using all of his willpower to keep from tightening his hold on Sharik. However, he remained silent, though if looks could kill, Ghost would've been little more than a grease spot on the floor at that moment.
"He hid behind the plants... I tried to tell him it wasn't real, but he wouldn't listen... I did everything I could to calm him down, but then I had to deal with Ryuu too..." He really wished Ryou hadn't been hurt.
Her tone dropped a little, barely more than a hiss. "Why did you hit him, then? If he was scared out of his mind, hiding...."
"I..." Crap. Ghost didn't have a good answer for that, because he wasn't going to tell them that Ryuuzaki had done it.
Amane prowled closer to him. She was only barely as tall as he was, and it was odd to be looking someone in the eyes at eye level. "Tell me. Now."
Ghost swallowed and looked away. "All I can say is that I hurt him and noone else did, okay?" Oh, thank god Ryuuzaki wasn't home...
"You hurt him when he was fucking scared shitless. There is absolutely no reason to do that." Malik was twitching again, but he stood his ground.
"You don't seem like an unreasonable asshole," she said thoughtfully. "So tell me. What was the reason?"
"I... It was an accident. It still shouldn't have happened, but it was an accident..." Ghost was fumbling for some kind of explanation, lost.
She leaned closer, hands flexing as if they longed for something to touch. "That's not what you told me earlier."
"I don't know what to say!" Ghost broke down and yelled. "I.. He... They... He... He didn't mean to, and they kept freaking out, and I couldn't stop it!"
She slapped him, hand open, her nails--not as sharp as her daughter's--dragging on his cheek. "Did that help?"
Ghost whimpered, but kept his hands at his sides, even though he could feel blood dripping down his face. "I would have stopped it if I could have..." He was shaking.
Malik watched the scene, not even batting an eyelash at it. "You could've just not started it in the first place."
"If I'd known what would have happened to them, I wouldn't have..."
"Drugs fuck people up, asshole. How could you not have known that something would happen?"
"I don't have a lot of experience with them... and the couple of times I tried it, it just made me see pretty things... I didn't know that some people see bad things on it... How could I have known that?"
Amane sighed and tied her hair away from her face. "I've been dead thirteen years...I didn't know when I first came back. But you know what I did know was wrong? Drugging someone to get sex."
"Drugging someone who is very much taken to get sex," Malik added.
Ghost shrugged. "It was just supposed to be fun, not end up with someone hurt and someone else flipping out about it..."
She gave him a bright smile. "Well now you've got three people flipping out about it! Get something to tie your hands together. Now."
"Um... okay..." Odd request. It kinda made Ghost think naughty thoughts again, and he blushed, but went to the other roop to get some leather straps from the corner of his bed. He handed them to her silently.
Amane examined them, walking back over to Malik. "Do you want to, er, stay here or take Sharik home and come back, or just take her and stay there?"
"...I'll just take her home, I think. I need to go see Ryou, anyway. And go blow off some steam. Not in that order," Malik answered, hefting Sharik up in his arms.
She nodded. "Don't tell Atemu where I am, if you see him. And...thanks."
Ghost just watched curiously, and couldn't help but grin a little. "Going to do something perverse to me that he shouldn't see?" Oooh, fun...
She glanced over her shoulder, a small grin. "I don't want anyone but Malik to know where I am, if the police ask."
Malik grinned at Amane, walking to the door. "Won't tell him. Do let me know all of the juicy details, though."
"Of course," she promised, her smile warm for him. "See you later."
"Yeah, see you. I'll give Ryou a hug for you," Malik said, and with that, he was out the door.
She turned back to Ghost, rubbing the leather between her fingers thoughtfully. "I need a shirt, and sweat pants," she said.
"Uh... Okay... I don't have sweat pants, but I have a shirt and I might have a pair of jeans..." He didn't wear sweats. That would be utterly un-goth...
"Oh, whatever fits," she said lightly. "Did you want to be out here or somewhere else? Without carpet, I mean."
"Will there be bloodstains? That'd be pretty on my carpet," Ghost said, cocking his head and looking at it. He shrugged and went to get some clothes, though he was really really scrawny and she had curves... Maybe they'd be really tight on her... Nice.
Amane slipped around the corner, away from the windows, and waited till he got back with clothes to start stripping her clothes off and changing.
Ghost just watched and stared... Damn! It was like something out of the movies! And she was hot, too! He could feel his heart pounding... Even if she hurt him, it was gonna be fun...
She turned back to him, oblivious to that--she didn't mind being stared at and minded even less being naked around people. "Where to? Pick a room."
"Up to you, really... Just as long as it isn't Ryuuzaki's room..."
A cold smile. "Which room is that?"
"He'd be weird about his trio-sama stuff getting messed up... Plus... Uh. Nevermind. The one with pictures of Atemu and Seto and Jounouchi..."
She blinked. ...Well no, she really couldn't do this with pictures of her boyfriend on the walls. Not that he needed to know that. "Pick a room or we go in there."
Ghost eep'd. "You wouldn't do that! You can't hurt my RyuuKoi like that!" Just the suggestion had him panicking.
Amane smiled. "Then you'd better choose soon."
Ghost just stared at her. She wouldn't! RyuuKoi would never come back! He was speechless. He half-gestured at the room they were standing in.
"Good," she hissed, finishing changing clothing. "Now hold out your hands. Or do you care if they're in front or back?"
"In front," Ghost said softly, holding them out. Maybe then he could at least cop a feel... He knew he should be scared, but she was just a cute little girl...
She stepped closer, tying his wrists tight together. "You know, it's probably a good thing no one I've cared about has been willing to do this. That would just make this weird."
"That sucks... I would be willing to do anything you wanted..." Ghost said softly, watching her.
"Anything?" she asked, pausing and looking at him, her eyes curious.
Ghost nodded. "Definitely... I like to experiment..."
She lifted her chin thoughtfully. "...Build a time machine. Go back to last week, and keep yourself the fuck away from my brother." A smile as she cinched the ties and secured him to the sofa.
Ghost frowned. "I would if I could... Ryou didn't deserve what happened..." He tested the ties and found them secure.
She kneeled beside him. "No, he didn't. But he doesn't deserve a lot of what happens to him." Her eyes hardened. "And no one ever payed for what they do for him, not since I died. But that's changed."
"Well, it's good that he has you, then..." Ghost paused, looking confused. "Died? But you're here, now... So Mokuba was right about you taking over bodies?"
She nodded, smiling. "I'm ashes." She looked around curiously. "Do you like fire or ice?"
"Fire!" Ghost chirped. He knew the answer to this one. "Fire is the only truly clean thing in the world..."
She blinked at that. Huh, he was right. She stood up and began rummaging through things. "Got any matches? A lighter?"
"On top of the t.v.," Ghost said, nodding at a granit dragon incence burner. "What are you going to do?"
"Practice spelling," she said lightly, snatching the lighter. "Do you have a dictionary?"
"Just the one on my computer..." Ghost shivered. Fireplay? Oh god, he could just melt right then and save her the trouble... He'd always wanted a hot girl to sit on him and play with fire... And she was doing it for free!
"Hm." That'd complicate things. "Then you throw out words for me." She grinned and sat carefully--stitches, ow--on him and pushed his shirt up. "Now go. First word."
"What do you mean first word?"
"Pretend you're a dictionary," she said simply. "Let's see, you started with 'what'...so I'd spell that. Get it?"