365 Days of Starshipping (Part 1)

Pharaoh the Cat

5/24/19

To Judai's surprise, the notoriously lazy cat actually ran up to him when he came into view, mewling happily and licking his hand when he picked him up and starting scratching him behind the ear.

"Did'ya miss me that much?" Judai grinned, reaching out to the feline with a little bit of shadow magic to check him over for anything unusual and being met with only a couple changes.

Professor Daitokuji's soul being gone save for some lasting remnants was the most obvious one, though.

"Did he finally move on?" he mumbled, getting a slight shake of the head from Pharaoh, "No? What happened then?"

Pharaoh just meowed at him more, pushing his head further into his hand and begging for more pets, which Judai laughed at but obliged anyway.

"So this is the cat?" Crow asked, the three following him finally catching up as they turned around the corner of the apartment building. This earned Pharaoh's attention, turning his head to look at the newcomers while Crow continued on to whistle at him, "Damn, that's one fat cat. He must be one happy kitty."

"Yeah, he somehow managed to always be spoiled rotten, even when he was travelling with me all over the place," Judai agreed, turning Pharaoh around in his arms to face them, "Anyway, this is Pharaoh. He can sort-of understand you - it depends on what you're talking about, and sometimes he'll deign to answer any yes or no questions you ask him."

"Smart cat," Yusei stated, coming close enough to pet Pharaoh, which Judai could tell immediately put him on the cat's good side because Pharaoh didn't try to scratch him or anything. Seeing this, Judai gestured for Yusei to take Pharaoh, giving him an encouraging smile when Yusei gave him a hesitant look; soon enough Yusei was holding Pharaoh close to his chest and having a field day petting him.

It was so adorable Judai felt like he was going to die from the cuteness. Yusei's eyes were lit up in a mixture of curiousness and amazement, and Pharaoh was back to being a spoiled fluff-ball that was bathing in the attention being given to him.

"You're lucky this apartment allows pets," Jack said, eyeing the cat as it practically went limp in Yusei's arms when Crow finally walked over and started petting Pharaoh too, "Now, I have a question. How the hell is that thing alive?"

"Magic," Judai shrugged, though he relented and explained a bit more when he got exasperated stares from all of them, "Okay okay, it's seriously partially magic - his exposure to people that played around with it made him slightly magical. It's part of why he's so smart, but the other is that he's been harboring my old professor's soul for so long that he ages slower. He doesn't have it anymore apparently, but I can feel the energy it left behind - Pharaoh's got a few years ahead of him still. Oh, he can also see duel spirits, if that wasn't obvious."

"...I don't think I wanna know about the whole soul thing, but what I'm getting from this is that you have a magic cat as a pet," Crow concluded, raising an eyebrow down at the cat under his hand before shrugging and continuing to pet him, "Good enough explanation for me. Make him a corner in the living room, magic cats are cool." He suddenly paused, giving Pharaoh a look before asking him, "You're not gonna chase after my Blackwings, are ya?"

Pharaoh stared back at him for a few seconds before shaking his head again, getting a grin from Crow. Jack looked just about done with everything upon seeing the interaction, huffing slightly and muttering something about magic under his breath.

"Wow, Pharaoh really likes you two," Judai noted, tilting his head in slight confusion, "I don't think I've ever seen him this way with people that are basically strangers to him." It was... odd. Maybe it had something to do with duel energy?

Or... oh, that made a bit more sense.

You guys think he can sense that Yusei's a King of Games? Judai asked mentally.

"Ooooh, I see where you're going with this," Yubel grinned, nodding approvingly in the back of his mind, "The title is magic, and Pharaoh can sense magic really well. It wouldn't be surprising if the damn cat was attracted to people with high concentrations of magic."

"...That explains why the stupid thing would practically latch onto me whenever I took over," Haou said. Judai was greatly amused by the annoyance that welled up from him as Haou remembered those times - Pharaoh wouldn't leave his side, would absolutely refuse to get back in the bag, and would actually climb up his leg if he was ignored. Very, very unusual behavior for the lazy cat.

Either way, Jack broke the moment by turning on his heel, saying, "Okay, we got the cat, let's go back. I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving and there's no way I'm letting the food go cold."

Everyone perked up at the reminder, immediately following after him.

To Judai's amusement, Yusei not-so-secretly snuck Pharaoh scraps under the table - there's no way Yusei wasn't one of Pharaoh's favorite people now.