Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.
Author's Note: Slightly expanded Rishid/Shizuka drabble as requested by abby-sarajane. Takes place after the Battle City Finals on the trip back home in the helicopter (so many people conveniently overlook the fact that the blimp was destroyed). Very short, very introspective…and I don't know Rishid's character worth a fig. Read and review.
He couldn't stop, no matter how hard he tried. He just couldn't look away.
The space inside the Kaiba Corp. helicopter was cramped, barely fitting the group of people huddling inside, still desperately trying to come to terms with what had happened. Malik sat next to him, content and bitter at the same time, head against his sister's shoulder. He should have been watching him, he knew; looking after his charge, his reason for living.
However, his reasons had shifted a little, no longer so centered on just one jewel.
So pure, so innocent her gaze was, her skin smooth and untouched. Her smile and laughter was childish and open. She looked so free, hanging on her brother's arm as if no other existed in this world. Her brother was the entirety of her existence, as Malik had been his, and she seemed so at peace with herself and with the world around her that he could not help but feel a pang of envy, perhaps a touch of regret.
He knew he would never be able to run his fingers through her long hair, stroke her smooth skin, kiss those innocent lips. He didn't know where this desire came from, but all he had needed was one glance, one fleeting, absent touch, and he was lost. He desired nothing more than to protect her, to cherish her, to treat her like the goddess she was. Why did no one else see it, her internal light, her pure and unstained soul? His own was blackened by the deeds he had done for the sake of his adopted family, but maybe, just maybe, she would heal him, bring a small ray of light into the darkness that surrounded the Ishtar's.
Family. She had her family, her beloved onii-chan. The devotion with which she showered her brother with was astounding, the faith she held in him, the things she did for his sake. He had felt so moved by her concern for her brother that his eyes had begun watching her every step before he ever fought his duel. And that one, brief instant when she had brushed against him…
Rishid shivered.
She was loved and protected and sheltered…but in his mind, that wasn't enough. No one else could give her what he could, no one else saw her the way he did. Those two boys who fawned over her every moment they could steal her away from her brother didn't know what they were doing, the dangerous game they were playing. If her fragile body was held in one of their hands, they would likely break her without realizing they had done it.
His fists unconsciously clenched. They couldn't protect her properly, did not know how to handle something with such obvious fragility. They had likely been pampered their entire lives, handed everything they could ever need or desire. What did they know of sacrifice, of putting someone else's needs ahead of one's own? They don't know how to properly serve, how to cherish and worship and devote themselves utterly to someone.
So close…she was so close to him he could just take a few steps, stretch out his hand, and…
He relaxed against the wall, though only a little, guarded eyes glancing down at Malik's form. Soon they would return to Egypt, return to their underground home and try to start over, make a new spot for themselves in society. Return to Egypt…where an entire ocean would keep him from her.
Her gaze shifted, amber eyes meeting his own. Something flickered within their depths for the brief moment they were caught, and then she glanced away again. His breath caught and his heart ceased to beat for that one, insignificant second.
Yes, he was most definitely lost.
