A/N: Hello everyone! I can't believe it, my first one-shot! As for my other story...That will be finished up by next week. Sorry! I hope everyone enjoys this. It's actually based on an experience of my own. By the way, I use quite a bit of first names, because I feel that she would refer to them as such. Hope no one minds. But, just for some disclaimers and such, I do not own YuGiOh, and never will, unfortunately.

Please enjoy!

...

I Could Only Hope

It wasn't that I didn't like dancing. In fact, I loved it. It was just that no one ever gave me the chance. Including myself.

I guess that's why Ryuji was surprised when I asked him to take me to a club. His bright green eyes stared at me as if I had asked him to amputate my foot. Then that coy smile overtook his features, thinking it to be joke. When he realized it wasn't, he agreed with, "Okay, but you won't like it." I hated that he acted as if he knew everything about me.

But, that was how we ended up here. The outside had been nothing but a building with a lizard painted on the side, but inside seemed amazing. There were three rooms. The first two were interesting: A bar area and a stage area with a large enough space to fit the entire Kaiba Corp blimp. Maybe Kaiba's head would fit in the room too. Maybe.

The last room was my favorite: It had a thick railing that surrounded the dance floor (so people could put their drinks down), a decent size DJ booth, and had Egyptian designs everywhere. Mock mummies were standing on either side of the DJ like guards. Hieroglyphics covered the walls, making me feel like I was inside a tomb. A tomb that had strobe lights and a fog machine.

I tucked a stray auburn bang behind my ear. It was sort of odd having my hair up like I did. Ryuji had insisted that I dress how he wanted me to if we were to go out. My hair had been tied up into a bun that seemed to spike every which way with the strands that refused to obey. My slender frame had a tight, black corset-styled top that had thin lacy straps that held it up. It was matched by my short black skirt. Red ribbons went in every which way around it. If it hadn't been for Ryuji, I would have never been able to figure it out. I fought him on the shoes, refusing to wear heels when I danced. He allowed me a pair of black flats.

I felt like an odd duck. Everyone else was wearing comfortable clothing, like shorts and T-shirts. Here I looked like some odd gothic Lolita. He had even put a black choker on me, to finish the look. My hazel eyes rolled over to the man I had been with for two years.

I figured out a reason he thought I would not like to go out dancing. He had gone to the bar to get water and had left me to stand behind the railing to watch everyone else dance. When I looked, he was surrounded by girls, none of which he denied to spend time with. I knew that he always was like this. Every time he came home after being ravished by girls, he would just sit and play video games, ignoring me. I remembered a time when I was his only conquest.

Katsuya always hated that I had decided to live with Ryuji. I wanted to end it so badly, but every time I tried, I chickened out. I couldn't hurt him that way. He said I meant everything to him. He just didn't act it. "Hey babe, sorry for the wait." He came back, with water for me.

"I want to dance." I said, looking at the crowd. Everyone was jumping to the beat of the song. It made it feel like the whole club was shaking with excitement.

Ryuji rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not really feeling this song, Shizuka." He shrugged, listening for a moment. "Maybe the next one."

A part of me knew that was not going to happen. Ryuji liked more metal music, and I had never seen him dance before. This was all popular music that was for just outright dancing. But, I allowed us to wait. The next song came on. "Is this one good?" I asked, my voice patient as ever.

He shook his head. "No…Not feeling this one either…" Ryuji took a sip of his drink. "Plus I'm tired too. I only came out for you." It would have sounded sweet to anyone else, but I knew he was making this into my fault. Anytime he said he was tired from working and I had asked us to go somewhere, it was my fault that he did not get enough sleep, get his work done, etc.

"Then can I go dance by myself?"

He stared at me with those sharp green eyes that made me shrink back. The last time I had danced by myself was at my birthday. He had gone to the restroom and a song came on. I started to move, feeling wonderful. Eyes were on me, but I barely noticed. Until he came back. He accused me of putting on some sort of show for people. I cried that night. He never forgave me.

I tried to distract him from the question by putting myself in front of him, wiggling a little. His only response was to put his hand on my waist. Song by song passed, and the little movements I had done were far from satisfactory. Finally, there was a song I couldn't resist. It was a mixed version of a song I had grown to love in the hospital. I turned around and smiled brightly. "Come on…Please dance with me to this one?" I begged.

His green eyes rolled over me. "Why?" He asked, seeming very disinterested.

My mouth felt dry. Dancing was the whole reason we came here tonight, and he was asking…why. "Because…I love this song." My voice betrayed a little of my sadness.

"I just really don't feel like dancing to it."

"Then please let me…"

As his stare lightened just the slightest, like he would give in to my request, the song was over. My eyes dropped and I felt like crying. I turned back around, placing myself in front of him. My back leaned against his chest, uncomforted by the hand that rested on my hip once more. I shut my eyes tightly, before opening them once again. I still hated the dark under my own lids.

That's when I saw them.

Across the room from me, there was another couple. The girl was gorgeous: She had short brown hair and the body of a real dancer. She wore a white skirt that moved just right with her hips and a light blue top that helped her curves dance on and on. Her partner was a man with spiky multicolored hair, deep crimson eyes, and strong arms that both held and released the woman who danced with him. The girl's cerulean eyes locked onto me. A small smile was exchanged.

Her eyes moved to inspect my date, who seemed detached. As she danced, she leaned over to whisper something into her lover's ear. A swift nod was her response before she began to move her hips in time with the music against him. His hands gripped at her hips, sensually dancing in rhythm with her.

I batted my eyes. Were they challenging me…To a dancing duel? Oh, I hoped so.

I pressed into Ryuji, almost mimicking the other girl's movements. It felt good to actually dance, even if it was only in the space of a few inches. When the other girl slid down, I gave a good shimmy. I felt alive, I felt incredibly, I felt…stopped. Ryuji was leaning over my shoulder looking at me. "What are you doing?"

A blush overcame my cheeks. "Dancing." I muttered.

"Some weird dance."

Tears were trying to force themselves out against my will. It was all I was allowed to do. I felt like a bird in a tiny cage, watching a free swan fly with her partner. Envy almost overcame me, but misery was the first thing that ate at my heart. I wanted to in her place so badly. Not so much with the man (no matter how handsome he was), but just to have someone want to hold me like he did to her. Love me like he loved her. I placed my hands down, knocking over my water in the process Red raced across my face.

"Ugh. So clumsy." He tried to make it sound like he was teasing me, but all it did was hurt. "I'll go get you another one." He inspected his glass. "Looks like I could use one too."

I was alone again. I wanted to run away and get as far as I could. But of course, we had taken his car. I wondered what had happened to the part of me that was strong enough to handle this. I was being pushed too much. My hazel eyes stared at the spilled water.

"Hey…You okay?"

I barely heard his voice over the booming music in the room. My head lifted to meet with violet colored eyes and multicolored hair. I gave a small gasp, thinking that the girl's dance partner had come over to talk to me, but when I looked over this boy's shoulder, I saw the pair dancing happily on the main floor. My eyes returned to him before I gently looked away. "Yeah, I'm alright." The softness seemed to give away the lie.

"Do you want to dance?"

My attention snapped to him. He was offering me his hand politely. Every part of me knew I should say no. I was here with Ryuji. I warily wandered my sights to the mentioned man. Once again, he was surrounded by girls. At least he wasn't dancing with them. The boy continued to stare at me, and I figured he would not stop until I said something. "I would…But I don't even know your name."

A smile stretching from cheek to cheek broke out on his face. "Right. My name is Yugi Mutou." He inched the hand closer to me. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place from where. Silence between us was broken when I realized how rude I had been.

"Shizuka Kawai." I said, taking his hand. It was nice and soft, but the grip was firm. He led me down one of the entrance ways to the dance floor. I was surprised when he took me to the two that I had been staring at from across the room. They finished the song together before even realizing that we were there.

"Hikari…I didn't know you knew this girl." The man spoke, looking to me. He had seen me with Ryuji and seemed amused that he was not there with me.

"I just met her." He explained as he took my other hand when the next song started up.

"Kono mama mou sukoshi…" The loudspeakers blared out a remix of a popular song.

"I'm Anzu." The blue eyed girl introduced, her shoulders moving with the music. Just to see her was as if I was visualizing each note of the melody that played. "This is my fiancé, Atemu." She looked lovingly to him as he nodded to me.

I studied the minimal differences between the two men. "Why do you look so alike?" I asked.

Yugi and Atemu looked at each other and gave a small laugh. "You could say we're brothers." Yugi finally gave out. I raised an eyebrow, but he was well underway of letting me actually dance. My hips swayed, my arms were free to move, and if I started to get too far away from him, he would dance with me to bring me back towards the center of the dance floor. My whole body felt alive. I ripped the hair tie from my locks, letting them flow around me. I even took to singing along with the song, grateful that it was so loud that no one could hear me.

Yugi held onto me as I spun out, and then twirled back in towards his arms. When the song ended, I found myself incredibly close to him. We were both panting, having the time of our lives. Now, here I was, only a centimeter away from his parted lips with my own. His amethyst eyes looked down at me with sweetness. My cheeks were already flush from our dance. I adverted my eyes. "Yugi…why did you ask me to dance?" I asked timidly.

He seemed surprised by my question, but not enough to let me go by any means. "Because—"

"Hey. That's my girl."

I could tell when Ryuji was mad. I had never heard his voice quite like this before. Standing just a few feet from us was my boyfriend. He was seething with anger and I felt myself shrink. "We were just dancing." Anzu came to my defense.

Ryuji shot her a deadly glare. "I wasn't talking to you." He turned his attention back to me as he stomped forward and grabbed me by the wrist. He was rough; the grip he had on me actually hurt. "We're leaving." He spoke with authority. He started to drag me away, my frail frame unwilling to follow.

"Ryuji…stop…you're hurting me."

"We'll talk about this in the car." He wouldn't listen to me, despite the minor scene we were making.

Well, if he didn't care about appearances right now, then neither did I.

"Let go!" I yelled, ripping my hand away from him. I took a quick glance at my wrist, seeing the small black and purple markings where his fingers had been. I stood my ground, narrowing my hazel eyes.

"What is the matter with—" He began, astonished by my reaction.

My chest was heaving. I was so angry, I almost couldn't see straight. I had to focus. It had to end, now. "Ryuji, I've put up with everything." I started, composing myself. "I've put up with the long hours, lack of attention, the girls, the games, everything." I stuck my thumb towards my chest. "I just want to dance and be free to do what I want. I don't want to have to ask permission anymore." I could feel people staring at us. I felt the need to shrink away, but I couldn't let myself. "I'm not your girl anymore, Ryuji Otogi." I turned away from him.

I hadn't realized that the DJ had actually silenced the music until the crowd around us burst into an uproarious cheer. I looked around at the other people who had been dancing were now congratulating me. I heard only bits and pieces. "Way to go!" One said. "You're amazing!" Spoke another.

I felt that it still wasn't done. I turned back to him, seeing the shocked look on his face. I also saw the girls he had been hanging out with. "By the way, he's all yours!" I called to them. They all squealed and took him by the hands, pulling him out of my sight. He could be someone else's problem now.

I pushed my way through the crowd that formed around me to find Yugi again. I expected him to have left or even brush me off, knowing I had just broken up with my boyfriend. But, there he was, standing beside Anzu and Atemu, all three smiling at me. "Sorry about that." I apologized to them with a bow of my head.

Yugi placed a finger under my chin to raise it up. "Nothing to be sorry for." The DJ had started up the music again, and he took me into his arms. We were dancing—no, flying, across the floor. I was laughing again. The weight on my chest finally gone.

There was another twirl, and I was once again close to him. A small giggle escaped my lips as I peered up at his soft features. "So…Why did you ask me to dance again?"

He leaned in, making it so our lips just barely brushed as he spoke. "Because you looked like you wanted to dance." His violet eyes held onto my hazel. His breath was intoxicating to the point…I went the final distance between our bodies. His taste filled my mouth as I hungrily enjoyed the feeling of having someone want me for me.

As we danced, Anzu and Atemu moved their bodies together closely, but the man seemed to be perplexed about what I had said. "Why is she sorry for dumping a useless bag of dirt?"

"Atemu! You shouldn't say bad things about a person's ex." Anzu scolded, poking him in the ribs. "They might get back together!"

Atemu looked at the two and shook his head. "No...I don't think they will." He chuckled, leaning in for a kiss of his own.

Once needing air, we pulled apart reluctantly. My eyes fluttered a little, cheeks ablaze with only slightly innocent flames. A small chuckle escaped in my breath. "Were you thinking that might happen?"

"I only hoped."

...

So, just some extra notes: Yugi is actually friends with Jonouchi, but has never met Shizuka. Hopefully, I won't be possessed to write that awkward story of explaining the relationship to them. xD Anywho, I hope everyone liked it. I'll be working on other stuff soon.

Please review!