Sweet Revenge

Summary: After Joey's girlfriend, Carla dumps him for Seto; Joey stumbles across Ryou being mugged and learns that he's a girl! Seto can't stand Carla, but finds Ryou interesting. How does Mai fit into all of this?

Pairings: Seto/Ryou, Hinted; Joey/Mai

Disclaimer: I don't own the Anime Yu-Gi-Oh! or any character associated. I do own Carla Whitmore. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not based on anyone else's character design, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

Warnings: Female!Ryou. The use and introduction of a female Original Character. Any fans of OCs and OC pairings should leave now. Anti-OC pairings and blatant bashing of my own character. I created her; I can do what I want with her. And I plan to. A bit of character bashing on the OC's behalf and a few swear words, but nothing over the top. Set after Yami is sent to the afterlife, so no Yamis in the story. And Seto goes to school.

AN: Hello again. Sorry for not updating this sooner, but I went away for the Easter weekend and I am currently going through some health issues, so bare with me here. Ah, well, not much really happens in this chapter, I guess. Just a few friendship moments with Ryou and a confrontation with Carla. And yes, she's as annoying as ever.

Thanking; CleverPhoenix, The Flea, Tearless, Kanberry, the-caffeine-junkiie-reviewer, Obradyroxmysox, DaAmazingMeepers, SilverMoonKitty, gnarley-, foxxy nine-tails, TsuKaza, bbena, becky, HienFan, AleCat1230, TimeAndRhythmDoesIndeedSleep, KnightxXxWitch and Dreamcreator for reviewing the last chapter. Much love to you all.

Comments, suggestions and rants of epic proportions are always welcomed.

Chapter 21:

Ryou did not know how more she could handle, her days were now destined to leave her frazzled and exhausted, it seemed. Secrets were no longer kept secrets, the people in her life helping with that considerably, unwittingly and purposely. She had tried hard, so very hard to keep her feelings for Seto to herself, just like her secret of her real gender and why she was hiding it in the first place.

But it seemed fate had other plans for her, revealing her two major secrets through a series of unfortunate events, creating a domino effect where, at first, one person knew, and then two. And then three. And then everyone knew!

She must admit, however, that her friends knowing that she was really a young woman dressing as a male was a relief on her part. She didn't have to make excuses not to go with them to the beach or pool anymore, didn't have to wear those thick bandages around her chest all the time either. It was quite liberating. And now that her gender was common knowledge amongst her friends she didn't have to spend any more awkward moments explaining to them of her actions.

Now, instead, it seemed that she had to explain something else as equally baffling to them; her growing feelings for Seto.

Apparently, to Joey at least, it seemed her feelings for Seto were far more incomprehensible then her hiding her gender.

However, that wasn't what concerned Ryou the most; it was Mokuba's regard to her that left her feeling simultaneously baffled, relieved and a tiny bit uneasy. He knew of her crush on his older brother and, thankfully, was supportive of her. But maybe he was a little too supportive and now was boisterously trying to play matchmaker.

Despite what those hideous romance novels and movies claim, matchmaking attempts usually never go to plan. Honestly, she didn't know what Mokuba had planned but she knew it wasn't something as cliché as shoving them in a closet or forcing them to play Truth or Dare.

Heck, the fact that Mokuba suggested that she become Seto's personal assistant pretty much confirmed that. And as if to prove that further, she once again made dinner for him and his brother, Seto, only to have Mokuba skip out half way through to speak with Mr. Fuji again, leaving her and Seto alone in her apartment.

Not that she minded spending time with Seto, but she was pretty sure she was blushing whenever he looked at her. It was all Mokuba's fault, of course, telling his brother in a teasing and mischievous tone that she loved him left her stumbling for words. Whether or not Seto believed him she wasn't sure, but there was this small sense of amusement in his gaze from time to time.

Of course, that only made her blush harder.

It also didn't help that her mind decided to be a nuisance and remind her over and over again of what happened between them just the other afternoon. She could have sworn he was going to...kiss her had Mokuba not walked in when he did. But she soon pushed those thoughts aside quickly, telling herself that he was suffering from a severe migraine and probably didn't realize what he was doing as he looked surprised when he pulled away.

Still, besides all that, she enjoyed spending the afternoon speaking with him. She always knew he was intelligent, but she must admit she was a bit awestricken when he talked about Kaiba Corp to her. The determination, drive and passion he had toward his business was utterly amazing, especially for someone who was still technically a teenager.

However impressed she was of what he had achieved, she also held a sense of concern for him. With his multi-billion dollar business also came the hardships of constant headaches; older businessmen underestimating him because of his age, women of any age throwing themselves at him because of his money and the pressures of keeping his Corporation out of the wrong hands must be exhausting for him.

So, Ryou made up her mind. Never minding Mokuba's matchmaking attempts, she was going to try and help Seto one way or another. She may not be able to help him with his company as she only had a very limited knowledge on running a business, but she will be able to help ward away those harpies, as both Seto and Mokuba liked to call them.

She wasn't sure how she was going to do that just let, maybe follow Mokuba's example of cutting off all their potential paths to Seto. She'll no doubt gain some enemies by doing that, but Seto didn't deserve such annoyances, didn't need such distractions. If the only thing she could do was make sure he had at least one decent meal a day and keep those harpies away from him, then fine.

Something was better than nothing, after all.

With an inaudible sigh, Ryou swatted a rogue strand of hair from her eyes as she trailed along with the rest of her friends as they made their way to school at the start of another week. She was, of course, wearing the male equivalent of the school uniform as Joey walked beside her, as usual these days, arguing about something with Tristan, while Yugi tried to play peacemaker between them, Tea shaking her head in utter exasperation at the sight. It was just a typical morning, Ryou trying her best not to let the days prior affect her too much.

The last week had been hectic and she had hoped that maybe this week would be more...what's the word she was looking for? Peaceful? Yeah, that's probably it, but after yesterday's conversation with Mokuba and the word 'matchmaking', all her hopes were dashed.

Turning to enter the school grounds, Ryou felt Joey shift uncomfortable at her side and she immediately knew something was bothering. "Something wrong, Joey?" she asked her friend, even though she was somewhat suspicious of why he was fidgeting.

"Just a quick word before ya go in?" Joey requested somewhat uneasily before turning to the others and ushering them to go ahead with a wave of his hand. And, surprisingly, they did so without dispute, none of them asking what he wished to talk to her about. Sure, they appeared curious, the three of them blinking at them in silent confusion, but they relented nonetheless.

That confirmed her suspicions. After what happened at the cafe yesterday with Mokuba asking her whether or not she liked Seto, Joey wasn't able to completely voice his opinion. He was probably about to go all protective of her.

"Is there something the matter?" Ryou asked as she tilted her head to the side in question once the two of them were alone.

"Um, well, about yesterday," Joey started to say, sounding a little bit uncomfortable. He even looked uncomfortable as he fidgeted where he stood in front of her, his hand scratching the back of his neck. "I was wondering if it was true."

It was Ryou's turn to look uncomfortable as she fiddled with the strap of her school bag. "That I have a crush on Seto?"

"...Yeah."

With a sigh, Ryou nodded her head slowly; there was no point in denying it, her secrets always had a way of coming out eventually anyway.

"Yes, I do," she admitted before she snapped her head up and gave Joey this mildly desperate look. "But please, before you say anything, don't ask me why. He isn't a bad person, Joey. You don't know him like I do."

Joey was silent for a moment, contemplating something with a very tale-telling twitch in his eye before he spoke up again. It was clear that he was struggling not to fall into a full-fledged big brother mode on her. "So, the two of you have been spending time together?"

A bit of colour graced Ryou's cheeks and she nodded, unable to hide a wince as she took a timid step back. "Yes, we have."

"What?!" Finally, Joey erupted into protective mode. She had subconsciously been waiting for his outburst, but even so she wasn't able to hide yet another wince. "I knew he was going to start something funny! Who does he think he is?! He thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants just because he's rich? That jerk! I tell ya, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"

"Joey, please calm down," Ryou pleaded with the ranting blonde softly. "Nothing happened, we just talked."

"That's how it always starts!" he ranted.

Ryou grabbed onto his arm when he appeared ready to turn around and march off with the sole purpose of hunting Seto down and interrogating him. "Nothing happened," she stressed before turning her doe eyes up at him. "Don't you trust me, Joey?"

"I trust you! I just don't trust him!"

"I'm not asking you to trust him, I just want you to trust me," Ryou said as she forced Joey to turn around and look at her. "Joey, listen, I know you're not friends with Seto and I know the two of you don't get along, but believe me when I say Seto is nice to me. I can't explain why I had fallen for him, or when it happened; I just have. It just happened."

Pressing her lips together, Ryou allowed a moment to let her words sink in before continuing, her grip on his arm tightening a fraction more.

"Don't make me chose between the two of you, please," Ryou once again pleaded with him. "Can't I have you both in my life?"

Joey immediately sobered up as he continued to stare at her for a moment before he suddenly ran his hand roughly through his hair. "Aw man, don't look at me like that, Rei," he said before taking in a deep breath through his nose and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry, but I can't help myself. You're like a sister to me, ok?"

"I know," Ryou said as she nodded. "And you're like a brother."

"I know I can't tell you who you should like and who you shouldn't. If you say Kaiba is really a nice person, then I believe you," Joey admitted to her as he moved to place his other hand on her shoulder, leaning forward just a little so they were eyelevel. "I just, I mean, we just don't want you getting hurt by this. This whole relationship thing is hard, ya know?"

"Joey..." Ryou said, truly touched by her words and smiled softly as her, her eyes taking on a warm, gentle gaze. He was obviously still annoyed with how Carla used and dumped him, so he was fearful that the same may happen to her.

She was so lucky to have him as her 'brother'.

"Thank you for your concern, really, it means a lot to me," Ryou told him as she suddenly moved forward and gave Joey a quick hug to show that she really was appreciative of his thoughtfulness of her before pulling away and giving him this reassuring smile. "But I'll be ok, I promise. No one will force me into doing something I don't want to do ever again."

Joey immediately caught onto the secret meaning of her words, knowing that she was referring to the Spirit of the Ring and how he used to control her, placing her in situations she held no desire to be in. Every one of her friends knew of the pain she had to endure while in the Spirit's possession, but that was over now, all in the past where it belonged. It was actually because of the Ring that she found the strength to move on with life. She was stronger than she thought herself possible and knew if she survived being a host to a sadistic ancient spirit, then she could get through anything in life.

Sure, life wasn't easy, especially now that Mokuba was playing matchmaker and that she had become Carla's unintentional rival for Seto's affections, but she would make it through somehow. She just knew it.

"Ok," Joey finally relented as a small smile of his own slipped onto his lips. "But if he hurts ya, I want to know about it immediately."

Ryou gave a light laugh and nodded her head, still smiling softly. It's nice to have protective friends. "Sure."

She and Joey then looked at each other for a moment before the two of them shared another laugh. They then turned to walk toward their friends, who were still lingering together in a group just outside the school entrance. Tea immediately asked if everything was alright, no doubt seeing the sight of her begging Joey not to go anywhere.

"Everything's fine," Ryou answered as she and Joey shared a look, Tea, Yugi and Tristan accepting her reply with a nod or a smile.

Maybe today won't be so bad.

"You know, only sluts wear skirts," an annoyingly familiar voice sneered wittingly as she strolled passed, flicking a red-tipped ringlet over her shoulder as she did so. She was once again not wearing the school uniform like it was expected of everyone who went to this school. She wore the boy's jacket over a pair of black shorts and knee-high laced up boots.

Ryou and everyone else immediately winced at the voice, Ryou frowning deeply while Tea all but bristled as it was obvious that witty statement was directed at her. Carla held a great distaste for skirts and dresses as she saw them as girly and being too girly meant you were desperate for guys' attention, which meant you were so full of yourself and jealous of her natural beauty.

Yes, she had in fact said something similar to that, in a way that involved a lot of hair-flicking and bosom bouncing.

Of course Carla just happened to make an appearance when she was least wanted and in the most nonsensical and arrogantly irritating way possible.

And here Ryou thought today wouldn't be so bad. How silly of her.

"Every girl is wearing a skirt!" Tea immediately bristled and threw out an arm to indicate toward the rest of the student body, all the girls wearing their uniform without complaint. "It's a part of our uniform, you twit! A uniform you should be wearing as well!"

Carla snorted harshly at her words, turning to look at her as if she was some kind of an annoying irritant to her. "I'm not wearing that gaudy thing," she retorted quite conceitedly, obviously thinking herself so special that she was above the regulated standards of uniform policy.

If Seto, the richest man in Japan couldn't get away with not wearing the uniform, why would Carla here be an exception?

"Which is why you keep getting suspended!" Tea pointed out clearly.

But Carla only snorted once again, rolling her eyes in contempt as she folded her arms under her bust. "Like I care."

"Aw, man," Joey grumbled irritably as he and Tristan shared a look that spoke volumes about their distaste for her. "Why don't you just get over ya-self already?"

"Still stinging over our break-up, Wheeler?" Carla sneered haughtily at him. "Why don't you go running to that slut; she's trying to get to Seto, ya know? Looks like someone's using you again, doesn't it?"

"You really need to stop insulting Rei, you know?" Tea quipped back tersely. "It makes you sounds jealous."

"How dare you?!"

Ryou tried to tune Carla's voice out. She really wasn't in the mood to have a confrontation so early in the morning, especially with someone she grew to hate more and more each day. She would never like to admit that she out right hated someone, but really, what else could she feel toward the insufferable woman?

Seto-san? Ryou thought to herself. You possess amazing self-control for not killing her already.

Was it wrong to wish that the Spirit of the Ring was still here so he could send Carla to the Shadow Realm, hence solving everyone's problems?

"Let's go, Tea, guys," she said as she grabbed Tea's wrist in her hand and began to lead her inside school grounds. "She obviously won't listen to logic."

"Humph, whatever you say, Snow White," Carla sniffed at her, pointing her nose into the air. She was obviously still stinging from their confrontation yesterday and gave Ryou the feeling that she won't forgive her anytime soon. "I don't appreciate your attempts to stop me from gaining Seto's affections."

Ryou immediately paused in her movements, willing herself not to visibly bristle upon hearing those words. She pressed her lips into a thin line and turned around the face her, ignoring Tea's puzzled expression for the time being.

"And I don't appreciate your attempts at using his brother as some sort of a tool to get to him," Ryou said firmly and quite sternly as well, a frown marring her usually gentle face.

"I don't see the problem," Carla snapped back at her with scowl flittering across her face. "The brat would have liked me and would insist that I would be perfect for Seto. It's only logic, right?"

Ryou really did bristle this time, her blood pressure rising considerably. Carla just pretty much admitted that she was only trying to use Mokuba to get to Seto, almost sounding proud that she thought of it. To Ryou, that was worse than the act itself as it proved that she was so conceited, so vain that she actually thought she could get away with it.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Ryou could feel a headache starting to form already. She was truly beginning to understand Seto's hatred, utterly loathing for the female before her. It was like Carla was trying to be the most irrational and annoying woman she had ever met.

"Funny you should talk about logic," Tea interjected with a light sneer. She wasn't certain what was really going on, but she heard enough to know that Carla was advancing considerably in her attempts to get to Seto. And she didn't like it either. "If only your brain was as big as your ego, then you might realize that Seto is just not interested in you."

Carla abruptly snapped her attention to Tea with an appalled expression on her face. She appeared genuinely disgusted that Tea would say such vile things to her. A sneer stained her lips and she looked ready to hand back a scathing retort, only to surprisingly pull back and instead gave Tea this pitying look.

"You obviously have no idea who you're talking to, do you?" Carla questioned. Truly, she was dealing with an idiot. "But what do you expect from one of Joey's friends, hmm?"

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?!" Joey demanded loudly, clearly beyond annoyed now as Tristan had to hold him back, Yugi explaining to him that she's not worth getting angry over.

Tea twitched at her words while Ryou drew in a sharp breath through her nose. Was Carla doing this on purpose, just to see how far she could get under their skin? Surely, she had to be as it was hard to fathom that anyone could be this self-righteous and egotistical.

"It seems that you're really easy to get along with once people learn to worship you, am I right?" Ryou couldn't help but come back with, unable to stop the words from passing her lips.

Carla, however, simply laughed at her words and flicked another ringlet over her shoulder. "Exactly! Seto should be kissing the ground I walk on if he wasn't such an arsehole."

Ryou blinked in astonishment and remained silent for a brief moment, her friends and Tea next to her doing the same. Carla sounded...serious.

"I was joking," Ryou said slowly.

"Is she for real?" Tea whispered her question to her.

Ryou didn't know how to reply to that and luckily she didn't have to as the bell signalling the start of classes rang out, giving her and the others the perfect excuse to get away from Carla. Really, Ryou had never been so thankful to hear that alarm.

"That's the bell," she said as she tugged on Tea's wrist again. "Let's go, we don't want to be late for class."

"What a group of fucking nerds," Carla sniggered as she lingered behind at the front gate, in no hurry to get anywhere. "Only losers go to class on time."

"And only brainless fools would throw away their education!" Tea yelled back in response as Ryou kept a firm hold on her wrist, now literally dragging her away and inside the building, their three male friends following with bitter expressions on their faces.

"She's baiting you, Tea," she said. "Let it go."

"I can't!" Tea said loudly in frustration, her eyes ablaze with anger. "She's so...argh!"

"I know," Ryou said with understanding and sympathy, suddenly feeling quite tired and worn out from the altercation. "No wonder Seto is suffering from mindless headaches. But, what can I do to help get rid of that?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing," Ryou said as she gave Tea a small smile. "Let's just go to class and try to forget about this, ok?"

Thankfully, school went pretty uneventful after that. Seto didn't turn up for class, but Ryou already knew that he wouldn't as her had informed her casually last night that he had a business appointment he needed to attend to and would be more than likely too utterly annoyed to come to class. It was probably a good thing that he didn't turn up as Carla was here as well, although it's not entirely sure why she bothered anymore. She just hung around, making an appearance every once and a while to make a sniping comment, only to sulk away whenever Tea challenged her insults with a scathing retort.

Even Ryou herself wasn't free from her, Carla increasing her efforts to get under her skin, apparently. She really didn't like confrontations and would do just about anything to avoid her, but Carla just would not take a hint so she was forced to counter her comments with ones of her own, surprising her friends considerably with her sharp tongue.

Of course, Joey immediately accused Seto of 'corrupting' her, but Ryou was quick to remind him that it was Carla that was making her act unwillingly out of character.

That girl could make a respected nun want to commit homicide.

Throughout the day, Ryou had felt eyes watching the back of her head, protective gazes by not one person, but probably two or three. Ryou knew for certain that one of those gazes belonged to none other than Joey. He looked at her the same way as he did with his younger sister, Serenity. They were both delicate, gentle and kind, someone who needed protection, namely, his protection.

And the thought of someone as gruff and hardass as Seto dating his little sister infuriated him!

"That bastard better treat her right, or I'll pound his ass!" Joey exclaimed suddenly, seemingly oblivious to the crowds around him and the fact that he was still in the middle of a lesson. He was standing with one foot on his seat, the other planted in the middle of his school desk. His face was screwed up into a dangerously angry look as he shook his fist in front of him, his eyes ablaze with determination.

Across on the other side of the room, his three constant companions were staring at him with expressions of shock and disbelief on their faces, quickly followed by exasperation and slight confusion.

"Er, Joey?" Yugi tried to gain his attention, a sense of concern mixed with embarrassment for his friends shimmering in his eyes.

"What are you on about, bro?" Tristan asked as he blinked slowly at him.

Tea simply turned away and lifted her hand to shield him away from her sight, her eyebrow giving a light twitch. "Honestly, you can be so embarrassing sometimes," she murmured.

Ryou just laughed nervously at his reaction, pretty sure she knew what he was thinking about. Now that he knew she had feelings for Seto (thank you very much, Mokuba) he would no doubt increase his protectiveness for her.

She then felt guilty when he got detention for his little interruption.

However, as she moved outside with her friends as school ended, Ryou realized that her afternoon had only just begun and made her question why didn't she find a way to get herself in detention. Looking up at the front gates she spotted a black limo parked there, waiting. And on the roof of that limo sat a certain black-haired male, looking all like a mischievous Imp as he wave to her to come closer.

"Hey, Ryou!"

Not only was Mokuba there, but also a certain other woman. Leaning against the car, looking as beautiful and bubbly as ever was Mai, who also waved her over, looking just a little too enthusiastic about what was going on.

"Hurry up, Ryou!" Mai called out. "We haven't any time to waste, we're going shopping!"

Next to her, Joey twitched slightly as Ryou sighed, resigning herself to her fate as she bid a (reluctant) farewell to her friends (who gave her blatant looks of sympathy) and apprehensively crossed the school yard, heading to the limo while ignoring the look and whispers by those around her.

Oh, now let the fun officially begin...