Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Author: Higuchimon
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V
Story Title: She Didn't Know
Characters: Sayaka, Ruri||Pairing: Sayaka x Ruri/Ruri x Sayaka
Word Count: 783||Chapters: 1/1
Genre: Friendship, Romance||Rated: G
Challenge: Diversity Writing Challenge, section B11, write a fic between 750-850 words; Dice Gods Challenge, random relationship (Sayaka x Ruri); Pairing Diversity, #48, crush; Advent 2015, #13, post something new; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #24, 783 words
Notes: This takes place before the invasion of the XYZ dimension.
Summary: Sayaka hasn't ever felt anything for anyone like she does for Ruri. If only she knew what it was she felt in the first place...

She didn't know.

She didn't know why every time she saw Ruri, a sweet warmth filled her chest, coupled with a soft explosion of pain. Sometimes she didn't want to see the older girl, just because of that strange mix. Sometimes she couldn't wait to see her again, for that exact same feeling.

Sayaka didn't know what to call it. Sometimes she heard people talking about other people they liked and it sounded like that, but she didn't know and she didn't want to take a chance and be wrong.

Besides, this was Ruri, who would never hurt her, and would only smile at her and whatever she had to say, it wouldn't, couldn't, be what Sayaka wanted to hear and she trembled at the memory of those brilliant eyes and the fragrance of her amazing hair and the way Ruri's eyes sharpened when she fought an opponent.

Seeing Ruri duel made Sayaka happy in more ways than she could imagine. She was always strong, even when she didn't win. So long as everyone was happy with the duel, winning wasn't that important. So Ruri said and so Sayaka believed, because it was right.

Sayaka wanted to say things to her. To ask if they could go somewhere or do something but always Ruri came first, asking if she wanted to go have a duel or watch a duel or go for an ice cream, and Sayaka could never turn her down.

She even started to do her chores and homework early, so that she could spend her spare time with Ruri.

Sometimes she caught her mother watching her with a slightly worried look on her face but Sayaka didn't want to ask why. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to know.

Besides, spending time with Ruri was a lot more fun than anything else she could do, so whatever worried her mother couldn't be a real problem. At least not one that Ruri had anything to do with.

Probably her mother just worried about her growing up. She'd caught a few fragments of conversation between her parents on that subject and didn't really know what to do about it. If she even could.

Her parents liked Ruri. Sayaka knew that much; they'd met her during a trip to school and there were few people who didn't like Ruri once they met her. That at least gave Sayaka hope that whatever bothered them wasn't Ruri's fault either.

Sayaka tried not to worry about any of it very much, especially not once she worked her way through understanding that she didn't really know anything that she could do about it. She didn't understand that deliciously warm and fuzzy feeling whenever she saw Ruri. That was at the core of it all. So she didn't try to understand it. She just let herself enjoy it. She worked to have all the time that she could spare from school and doing things at home so she could go spend time with Ruri.

And it worried other people, somehow. Not in a way that she thought they were upset by it, though she couldn't really be sure. But they worried, all the same.

She wanted to ask Ruri about it, but until she could figure out just what it was that she felt in the first place, what that soul-filling warmth was, then she didn't even know where to begin.

The idea of placing any stress on Ruri at all revolted her too. Whatever this was, she could handle it without bothering Ruri.

Until then, she and Ruri enjoyed their time together. Getting ice cream or soft drinks together, having duels or watching them, and on one beautiful full moon night, watching silver dust the grass in one of Heartland's more remote parks, the wind ruffling the leaves on nearby trees and tossing Ruri's hair into Sayaka's face.

Sayaka offered to help her brush the tangles out and the feel of Ruri's hair against her fingers made silk or satin seem rougher than stone.

If only her hair could be this fine…

If only she could be as amazing for Ruri as Ruri was for her.

If only she knew this bright and glorious sensation within her that only got stronger every day. If she knew what it was – and a tiny part of her began to suspect – then perhaps she could tell Ruri and they could… do something. What, Sayaka didn't know.

So she settled for a pleasant string of somewhat confusing and always wonderful days with Ruri, until the skies burned and Ruri wasn't there anymore, and memories of pleasure became nothing more than that.

Would she ever see Ruri again?

She didn't know.

The End

Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.