Title: The Twelve Days of Christmas (03)

Author: Kun II Kya

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Twelve days, twelve chances to prove his love.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is copyright 1996 Kazuki Takahashi and Konami. No infringement or disrespect is intended by discussion on these pages of characters created by the copyright holder.

--/--

"On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree."

--/--

Oh yes, Honda Hiroto was indeed very pissed. His mind was in various states of disarray as he tried to prod his brain to work faster. What was he trying to accomplish by working his miniscule brain to the brink of exhaustion, you ask? Well, it's very simple.

Honda Hiroto was jealous.

Jealous of the wealth that a certain blue eyed CEO had, jealous of the fact that he, Honda, barely earned enough money each day to buy junk food, and jealous that the boy in which he was smitten with was very much in love with Seto Kaiba, who, obviously, returned his feelings.

Oh, yes, Honda Hiroto wasn't a very happy camper.

With a wave of his hand, he sent a flurry of messily drawn plans and dulled pencils to the floor sloppily. He plopped down on his bed, which he just been cleared of all the trash yesterday. Hell, it was too much work to configure up a plan that would outshine Kaiba's efforts.

Who the fuck has enough money or even guts to go up to Seto Kaiba and tell him to lay off the male he was pursuing? No one, that's who – not even Honda, who always kept up the façade of being fearless around Jounouchi.

Honda sighed again and slapped his arms into a pile on his desk before laying his head down. God, his temper was getting short and his imagination was slowly withering. Just like dead roses.

A low growl was heard through the room as the mere word roses reminded him of the presents Kaiba had given Jounouchi the other day. Wooden roses. Heh, what stupid baka would go through the trouble of carving one hundred wooden roses in one night? Hell, Honda wouldn't ever do it, even at bayonet point.

"Kaiba is such a lovesick fool," he snapped to no one in particular, eyes narrowing dangerously. It would be wise not to provoke him today. "And he will pay."

Sounds of glass shattering could be heard throughout the whole house, although Mr. and Mrs. Honda were wise not to question their son.

Or his ever diminishing sanity.

--/--

"Oh, yes, it's very annoying," Anzu chirped into the phone, eyes narrowing. "I mean, that idiot Jounouchi is receiving presents before Christmas and none of the boys have sent me any. But what girl would be persistent enough to try and chase after Jounouchi no yarou?"

A very familiar female voice was on the other line.

"Maybe it's a cheap girl," Miho replied, juggling a fingernail polish brush with one hand. The sparkly blue paint was dripping steadily onto her satin sheets and accumulating in a large pile there. "She hasn't bought him anything good, just stuff that she's made herself. Anyone can find a large slab of black rock on the ground and pass it off as obsidian. We don't even know if the rubies are real."

Anzu's reply was in a more cheerful tone, like her light and airy self.

"That's reasonable. But what I'm really mad about is the fact that Honda's so jealous of whoever's sending the presents. Jounouchi's all chipper about it and Honda's just watching them." A sigh bubbled forth from her lips as she stared down at her perfectly manicured fingernails. She had spent a ridiculously large amount of money on those. "Why did I have to fall for a gay one?"

"S'okay," Miho assured the brunette in a low murmur. "Not your fault. Although sometimes I do wonder what's going on in that head of yours."

Anzu rolled her eyes heavenwards, but did not comment. She wanted to know that Miho would say next.

"Just act sexy and Honda will be noticing you instantly. I mean, there's a slight chance that he isn't gay, just bi. I'll send you a spare uniform of mine and some designer makeup if you want."

"Kami-sama, thanks!" Anzu relied gratefully, squealing in happiness. "When will I be able to receive them?"

A chuckle was heard on the other line.

"I'm not God, Anzu. I'm just Miho. But they'll be there in two days."

"Fuck off, Miho."

--/--

"Niisama? What's with all the watercolors?"

Seto blinked from behind the huge pile of watercolor boxes in his hand and shrugged carelessly. He certainly didn't want his little brother to know about how hard he was working just to gain the attention of a simpleton that he was known for hating. How embarrassing would that be?

"Painting," Seto replied absently, rummaging through his pockets for the keys to his study. The pile of watercolors was swaying dangerously in the breeze the air vents were producing. They looked like they could tip over any second now.

"Oh," Mokuba sighed, and then turned back to his video game. Kami-sama, why was that level so hard to get past? Stupid Bramble Scramble.

Seto seemed satisfied with Mokuba's vague answer and crooned triumphantly as he pulled his keys. The silver instruments that were used to unlock doors glinted almost proudly in the fluorescent rays.

"See you tomorrow," Seto muttered faintly before disappearing into his study for the third time this week.

Oh, god, when was this going to end?

--/--

"Eh?" The raven haired Kaiba brother questioned, looking up from his controller only after pausing the game. His eyes were shining with excitement; he was already past the halfway point on the Bramble Scramble stage. Oh, how hard it was..!

An exasperated groan could be heard from behind the huge wooden door that concealed Seto's study from the rest of the mansion.

"Could you please bring me the frames?"

Mokuba blinked and shifted his head from side to side. Ahh, there they were – lying conveniently on the small coffee table were the frames that Seto had the staff order a few days ago. Mokuba got up from his stiff position, cracking his sore limps with a small pop, and picked them up. Whoa, they were the expensive kind!

Wonder what Seto was making that required so much work and time?

Mokuba tapped listlessly on the door of Seto's study, the frames dangling from one hand. His curiosity was thoroughly peaked and he couldn't wait to see what had taken up most of Seto's time.

Oh, well. You know what they say; "Curiosity killed the cat."

This time, Mokuba was lucky and wasn't killed. But to say that he had a hard time keeping his jaw off the floor was like saying climbing Mount Everest was just a simple challenge.

Tired cerulean eyes sparkled to life with amusement as they regarded Mokuba's shocked expression. Seto rubbed his hand on one paint smudged sleeve and grabbed the frames from Mokuba without saying a word. He couldn't exactly make a comment without causing paint to slip into his mouth.

But truth be told, Seto's appearance wasn't what shocked poor Mokuba so much. The youngest Kaiba was astonished at the person portrayed in Seto's paintings. The raven haired youth rolled his eyes heavenwards.

"Kami-sama!"

--/--

The excited twittering of the other students was heard as they slipped into the classroom, single filed. That soon disappeared and replaced with exclamations of surprise as they spotted the three beautifully wrapped presents on Katsuya's desk, stacked into a next row, one beside the other. They sported the same outer wrapping paper, although from the six of the box, it was clear that they were different gifts than the ones presented yesterday.

"Open it!" Honda insisted, the disgust in his tone carefully concealed.

"Yeah!" Anzu contributed, just for the sake of agreeing with the object of her affections.

It was, however, spotted when she realized that it had no effect on the overly jealous brunette.

Katsuya slid smoothly down the aisle, his hands stuffed carelessly into his pockets. One hand was fingering the small stature of the obsidian Red Eyes Black Dragon he had received on the very first day. Talk about starting off with a bang. Everyone held their breaths as the blonde's agile fingers wrapped around the ribbon the tied all three presents together.

Gasps burst simultaneously forth from the students' lips as they saw what was inside.

Flat, 8 by 10 portraits of Katsuya were what surprised them so much. They had obviously expected something grander than the previous day, since that was what the pattern seemed to be. Anzu scoffed pettily.

But to Katsuya, it was as magnificent and beautiful as the other presents he had received. The blonde didn't give a flying rat's ass about how expensive an item was; he just cared about how much feeling was put into it. Hell, he'd rather have a dozen truthful handmade cards than all of the riches in the world.

Three large watercolor pictures lay on Katsuya's desk, practically screaming hard work and fierce passion. The artist was obviously a very experienced one, using the blend of hot and cool colors to make the finished product shine radiantly in any kind of light. The object of all three paintings was Jounouchi Katsuya himself.

Katsuya loved it.

--/--

"Grr," Honda growled furiously, kicking at an empty can of beer lying innocently on the sidewalk. Fucking anonymous senders and their fancy gifts.

He noticed the way Katsuya's eyes shone with happiness and contentment as they regarded the three portraits he just received. He saw the way Katsuya wouldn't dare touch the pictures, only the copper strips that made up the intricate frame.

And he fucking hated it.

Damn Seto Kaiba to hell and back.

to be continued