A/N: Well. Um. I don't really know what to say, this is just a thing that happened. As of writing this, I'm currently in Dallas, Texas to visit family, and not even making a slight attempt to adjust to gain of two hours due to time zones. My laptop says it's 12:40, so by god, it is 12:40! Besides, intense sleep deprivation is one of the only ways I can deal with this situation at this point. Some of my relatives are just unbearable. Well, most of them are, actually. But that's pretty off-subject. The point is, somewhere in my exhaustion-addled brain, this mess of a drabble just sort of escaped from whatever part of my mind has spawned the angst-ridden schlock that I write the other 80% of the time. I dunno, it was a nice change of pace.

No real warnings this time, either. It's just really silly. And as for pairings...I don't know. It could be none, it could be Kaichi, it could be Kaimiwa, it could be all three of them together at once, I just have no clue. Interpret it however you want.

Kai was a very serious person.

Aichi had known this ever since the day he had ran into him at Card Capital. He had seemed so different from the impression Aichi had gotten of him when they briefly met as kids. Then, he had almost seemed to be the embodiment of light itself, so cheerful and confident and kind that his existence alone was almost as much of an inspiration as what he had said to Aichi in the first place. The Kai he knew now was so far from the image that he had held of him for so long, that at times he thought that Kai had turned into a completely different person.

However, as time passed, Aichi began to see that the light he had associated with Kai was not smothered completely. Sometimes, he would catch Kai in the middle of some (mostly) playful banter with Miwa, and at other times he would overhear him teasing Kamui or giving Misaki advice on building her deck. It was the small things like these that made him realize Kai hadn't changed as much as he had seemed to. He was still kind, if only in his own unique way.

But he really is a serious person, Aichi mused as he watched Kai stare at the cards in his hand with a quiet intensity that, he thought, seemed kind of unnecessary for the casual match they were having. He placed a card onto the vanguard circle, which Aichi quickly recognized as his Ace Vanguard, Dragonic Overlord the End. Something struck Aichi as odd, though. For what he now realized had been quite a long time, Kai had been…quiet. Which is not to say that he isn't usually a very withdrawn person, but during cardfights he normally calls out his actions with an uncharacteristically bombastic tone – one that you would be hard-pressed to hear from him in any other situation. The fact that he was completely silent now, of all times, was…slightly disturbing.

"Hey Kai, everything alright over there?" Miwa, called with a tinge of worry in his usual relaxed lilt. He had been sitting next to Aichi the whole time, and had likely noticed his best friend's discomforting silence long before Aichi had. Not much makes it past Miwa, no matter how oblivious he may come across as being. His question was met with a strange shrug; it was more of a sharp jerk of Kai's shoulders than anything else.

"Kai…?" Aichi started. Kai's strange behavior was really starting to worry him now.

Kai took a deep breath, and waited a few seconds before he spoke, irritation plainly visible on his face. "I'm fi-"

He was interrupted mid-word as his voice cut off into a bizarre high-pitched squeak, and he immediately clamped his hand over his mouth to try to muffle it. Oh. Before Aichi could reply, Miwa burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding me?! This whole time, you haven't been talking because you've had the hiccups?!"

"It's not that funny…" Kai grumbled, and Aichi could swear he saw a faint blush on Kai's cheeks.

"Wow, are you really that embarrassed? I guess even you have a cute side-OW!"

Aichi looked over at Miwa in confusion, then back at Kai, who was glaring ferociously at Miwa. If looks could kill, he would be dead three times over. Kai must have stomped on his foot under the table in retaliation. Aichi couldn't stop himself from laughing, which made Kai's death-glare fade somewhat as he diverted his attention from Miwa to him.

"I-I'm sorry," Aichi stammered as he got ahold of himself, "But, what Miwa said is true. This side of you really is – w-well uh, never mind…" he muttered, feeling his face heat up. Kai's eyes widened in surprise and he looked away from Aichi, a blush that was painfully obvious this time coloring his normally pale face.

"Oh, so it's okay when he says it, then?" Miwa asked, trying for a joking tone but failing due to the pain he was still in. Just how hard did Kai hit him, anyway…? Aichi couldn't help but wonder.

Kai started to speak, but it only came out as another hiccup. His expression got his point across just as well, though. Shut up, Miwa.

"Hey, Kai!" Kamui's voice cut into the conversation between the three boys, from all the way on the other side of the store. "Eating a teaspoon of salt is supposed to cure hiccups, guaranteed!"

Kai buried his face in his hands and sighed. He'd be hearing about this for a long time.

Closing note: the whole eating salt thing is something my aunt told my mom once. Do not eat salt to cure hiccups. My aunt is terrible and full of lies.