Hello all! So on the amazingly super special awesome poll I have had on my profile (and continue to have for the purpose of plot bunnies ^^) this has been in the lead for quite some time. Scorn me not for the fact that this idea has been winding in my mind since August. So, here comes some...

*drumroll*

SCREAMSHIPPING! (BakuraxShizuka) ALTERNATE-UNIVERSE ROMANCY CRAP PILES!

Everyone: WHOOOO~!

And to think: I actually got off my lazy, yaoi-watching ass to write this for you... You love me, don't you xD

NOW FOR THE FIC!


Chapter 1

"Onii-chan, stop worrying so much! It's just a little masquerade party at Mai's place, some friends, and nothing bad!" I whined slightly to my brother. He was never particularly understanding of me; he always had to be the heroic big brother that would save me from danger, regardless if it existed or not.

"Shizuka, my very problem with it is the fact that it's a party. Parties these days mean booze, and immature guys with obvious intentions. I just don't want you to get into that stuff at your age."

New weights were added to my shoulders. I definitely did notwant to be getting this talk.

"Nothing is going to happen, Katsuya! I'm 17, can't you trust me for once in your life?" I nearly screamed at him. He flinched back in surprise. I couldn't blame him: I never burst out like that. However, my point was finally passed across to him. He looked me dead in the eye for a moment before turning away.

"Just... don't do anything stupid. For me."

I nodded and smiled brightly.

"Don't worry, I won't."

He left my room and I floated back to my dresser where I was finishing my mask.


When I got to Mai's house, where the party was taking place, my emotions were running wild. At times I felt I could hardly breathe under my corset-tight dress. It was slightly Steampunk style, with the Victorian yet modern aire to it. It was mainly black with gold run-offs drifting down the dress. My shoes were similar in color to the dress, and I would have to say it made me look rather good, if I say so myself. The mask was my proudest achievement of all though: it was dark brown and rustic, with glitter streaming on the outsides. Simple, yet cute.

As I got to the door, the feeling of excitement would be the understatement of the millennium; I was ecstatic. I could hear the steady beat of the music's bassline pushing its way out of the home. I approached the front door with a spring in my step. Ringing the doorbell, I could hear that there were quite a few people inside. Mai- or at least I thought was Mai- opened the door and smiled. Mai was wearing a short, purple dress with white embroidery lining the sides and showed off her long, pale legs. She was also wearing a white lace shawl that covered her shoulders. Whether or not it fulfilled its function was a question still under debate. Her blonde hair was tied in a messy ponytail, curling beautifully at the end. Her mask was the most exquisite of all: it was a lovely shade of silver/grey with peacock feathers shooting out the side. The stems of said feathers outlined the eye-holes perfectly, adding a sense of mystery and appeal to her entire look.

"Shizuka-chan, I'm so glad you could make it! Come inside! ...This is Shizuka-chan, right?" I laughed amusedly and nodded. She pulled me in by my arms and closed the door. The music was even louder inside than it was outside! I could hardly hear what Mai was telling me, and often I had to ask her to repeat herself. Eventually she got fed up with the constant ring of the music, and turned it off abruptly. The action created a large number of "aw, come on!"'s and "damn, music's off!"'s in the crowd, but she silenced the masses with a glare that had the potential to kill a small child.

"Alright everyone! In spirit of the obscure traditions of masquerade parties, we're going to play a little game called "Seven Minutes in Heaven!"

There was a large applause from the seemingly countless people behind me. 'What is this game?' I thought to myself. 'I've never heard of it before...' Before long, I was pulled into a circle where everyone sat looking at each other nervously. I couldn't recognize anyone in the circle though. My attention snapped back to Mai as she started clapping her hands to focus everyone.

"Alright! Let's get this party started!" She placed an empty beer bottle in the middle of the circle and repositioned herself to where she was. I looked at her curiously.

"Can you explain to me what exactly this game is?" I muttered in her ear. She stared at me incredulously, her deep purple eyes wide under her mask.

"You mean to say that you've never played it before?" I nodded, completely embarrassed. 'Has everyone else done something like this? I feel like such a noob.' I mentally scolded myself. "Well then, we'll let you go first! Go on, spin the bottle!" she grinned. I wasn't sure whether to be scared or what. But I did what I was told and spun the bottle.

It spun.

And spun.

It started slowing down. Everyone tensed up slightly. When it finally stopped, it pointed at one of the boys across from me. Unsurprisingly, I couldn't recognize him, but damn, he was good looking. He was wearing a black trench coat, black skinny jeans and a red button-up shirt. I couldn't tell what color his hair was from my angle, it was covered up by the mask that covered his face. His mask was intricately designed as well; one half was a pure white with small blue sequins dotting the edges, and the other side was black and red angled blocks. He twitched and narrowed his eyes when he saw that the rim was pointed at him. Shrugging nonchalantly, he got up and started walking towards me. I squeaked inwardly and turned rapidly back to Mai.

"What do I do now? What's going on?"

Mai giggled and waved at me.

"Have fun in the closet."

The boy grabbed my upper arm and started pulling me towards a darkened room. His hand was deathly cold, despite the freakishly high temperature of the house, and his nails were digging into my skin slightly. I started panicking. I didn't know what to do! My body and brain separated slightly, and before I knew it, we were in the closet with the door closed. I could feel his eyes pounding into mine, even though neither of us could see well in the pitch-black of the room.

"Well," he grunted, "might as well get this over with." Before I had any chance to ponder on his implication, his lips crushed against mine. They were as cold as his hand! Gasping in shock, I jumped back, only to be recaptured by the boy. He pressed harder onto me, and I was now right against the wall. Every action he performed (flawlessly at that) my body responded almost against my will to match his.

My mind was going a mile a minute. 'Is this what the game is about? Is thiswhy they call it Seven Minutes in Heaven?' My thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of the boy's tongue dancing across my lips. I parted them slowly; apprehensive about what might happen, but so into the kiss that I hardly had any control over it anymore. His tongue found mine, and he darted his around almost teasingly. I finally got fed up with his little games and bit it sensually. He parted himself from me for a moment and chuckled.

"Heh, I see you're starting to warm up to this."

I giggled back at him.

"Can you really blame me? You kiss like a fucking god."

I could hear him smirk as he neared my face again.

"I would hate to stop the fun then." His hands trailed my arms, raising goosebumps and shivers wherever they wandered. One of his hands, likely his left from the angle, reached up to clasp my chin. Seeing as he had the height advantage, he pulled my face up and brought me back into his exhilarating kisses. Just as he started pressing his lips against mine, I heard the door open and light started streaming in. I squeaked shrilly, and jumped back. A chorus of wolf whistles and 'bow chika wow wow's set off and my face felt like it was on fire. I tried to regain my composure before 'gracefully' stumbling out of the closet.

I had to keep myself from laughing myself into a pit of despair at that point.

Heh, like that wasn't destined to happen anyway.


The rest of the night was interesting to say the least. I avoided eye contact with that boy, but he kept staring at me. Saying I was unnerved by it was the understatement of the century. I couldn't tell what color his eyes wee under his mask, but I could tell that they were a very dark shade.

In short, I still had absolutely no idea who he was.

By the end of the night (that being closer to the morning, but I digress) I still hadn't talked to that guy. Any time that I approached him and summoned my courage to speak, he would turn to me with an icy face. Naturally, I shrunk without confidence and backed away, trying to maintain my composure. He seemed like a very cold person at times, but there would be rare moments that I would look over and he would be smiling. And not a fake smile, but a sincere, unshielded expression.

Against my whole nature of being the small, fearful younger sister of the great Jounochi Katsuya, I felt a spark of rebellion against his legacy and felt myself drawn to him.

I approached him slowly, trying to be as subtle as possible, and tapped him gently on the shoulder. He swung his face towards me and his dark eyes bored into me.

"What is it?" he asked.

I took a deep breath before speaking.

"I-I just wanted to ask...if we could maybe meet up sometime... Without the masks, that is."

He was silent for a moment, staring at me just enough for me to feel awkward.

"I suppose we can." he muttered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper and a pen. After a couple of seconds, he handed me the sheet and smirked. When I looked down to read it, it read:

"Sexy and Mysterious Kissing God", and his phone number, presumably.

Of all of the jokes I've been a part of, I had to say that that was one of the funniest. I looked up to tell him my number, but by then, he had vanished.

"Well, isn't that just perfect?" I cursed silently as I started walking home.


A/N:

Riv: I think the story is coming along quite nicely so far.

Jounochi: NUUUUU! NEE-CHAN! NANDE?

Shizuka: GOMEN, ONII-CHAN! IT'S NOT MY FAULT; THIS CRAZY LADY IS CONTROLLING OUR LIVES! *points to Riv*

Riv: Hehe, and rightfully so :D Now, *thinks real hard and puts thinking face on ( looks something like this: (l=l) )* PUNKIE-CHAN! DISCLAIM!

Punkie-chan: I'm scared and disoriented! Where am I?

Everyone: Hell.

Riv: :D

Punkie: O.O' Umm, Riv doesn't own any of the characters in the above fic... and she-

Riv: *whispers in ear*

Punkie: WHAAAAA? I'M NOT SAYING THAT! WHY?

Riv: You have to.

Punkie: *sweatdrop* ... She apparently owns the rights to all of your souls, as she is in the process of taking over the world. All hail Riv...?

Riv: I...SHALL DESTROY BRITANNIA!

Bakura: ...Sure, just like you fired the nuclear warheads at your classmate for causing you severe emotional damage when you were 12.

Riv: I remember those days... *pulls out an axe* I think he's still around somewhere. I can probably work off some steam by chopping him up into tiny little bits... And everyone should totally review and vote on the poll! Because if you don't... *peers at axe*

Everyone: ... You...should probably review. And add to fave/watch list...