SGL: Sorry it took so long for me to get this out, I was on an end-of-
summer visit to relatives and the only computer there would've croaked and
died if I tried to type anything longer than a page on it...
Ryou #5: Lazy...
SGL: Quiet!
Mokuba: Cool, I get to be here...She doesn't own YuGiOh
~*~*~*~
Otogi lay back on his couch, not even paying attention to the tell-tale crunching sound of a chip bag underneath him. The TV was on some infomercial, and the house was dark. He didn't care. He hadn't eaten anything remotely nutritious in 4 days. He didn't care. He hadn't bathed or brushed his teeth or combed his hair or even changed his clothes in 4 days. He didn't care...
Well, the neighbor's cat did...
Anyway, it was four days ago that he'd lost the duel to Jou, and now, he couldn't see Shizuka. Or else Jou might tell her parents that he'd done something...something he'd NEVER do to ANYONE, especially Shizuka.
BEE-EEP-BEE-EEP-BEE-EEP
The phone was ringing, again, and Ryuuji was seriously considering not picking up and allowing the caller to think he was dead.
BEE-EEP-BEE-EEP-BEE-EEP
Grumbling about persistency, Otogi finally sat up and reached for the phone at his feet.
"Hello?"
"Ryuuji? Ryuuji, are you alive?"
"No."
"It's me, Ryou. Otogi, you haven't been to school. We're all getting worried. Especially Shizuka, she says you haven't been returning her calls."
"I haven't..."
"Look, you-you've got to get out of the house, Ryuuji." Ryou sounded worried. "I'll meet you in the park in thirty minutes. We'll be alone...I just need to talk to you."
"I haven't showered in days."
"Oh...well, then, put on some deodorant at least..."
~*~Half an Hour Later~*~
Otogi sat on the rusty swing set in the park, rocking slowly back and forth. He shivered a little when the breeze blew through his open jacket. The brightly colored fall leaves circled down to the ground and Otogi could smell the cold, clean air.
He's been waiting for only a few minutes, when Ryou finally came running up.
"Otogi!" He waved. Panting a little, Ryou sat down on the swing next to Ryuuji, and began to swing high. "I thought I'd missed you."
"So, why is it that you wanted to see me so bad?" Otogi said, swinging a little higher to match Ryou.
"I was worried, and so was everyone else."
"You mean everyone else on our side of the fight."
"Sort of..." Ryou sighed. "Deep down, they're still all your friends, still friends with each other..."
"Is that why Yugi kicked the soccer ball into Jou's groin the other day in gym class?"
"Tough love..."
Otogi found himself chucking at that. How odd, it was the first sign of positive emotion he'd shown in days.
"Look," Ryou said. "I know about the duel." No answer from Otogi. "And I know that you can't just give up."
Otogi had stopped smiling. "If you know about the duel, then you know that if I speak to her again..."
"Jou wouldn't do that...not if he didn't find out." Ryou had a slightly mischievous smile on his face.
"Jou would do that, and I know he'd be able to find out somehow." Ryuuji insisted stubbornly.
"Why are you giving up?" Ryou stopped swinging. "You're no that type of person."
Otogi suddenly remembered the last time he was fed that line...Furi...
"How do you know that I'm not?"
Ryou said quietly. "I just do..." After a pause he continued. "Or maybe you're just afraid...afraid of being with her."
"Why should I be afraid?!" Ryuuji jumped off his swing. "I've been with girls before! And more intimately than I've been with Shizuka!" His face flushed a little when he said this.
Ryou started swinging again. "Not with girls that you've fallen in love with..."
Otogi froze. "What did you say?"
"You heard me. And I can tell..." Ryou paused again. "Everyone can see it. It's just the way you look at her."
Otogi remembered this all too well, and didn't like the way it'd turned out the last time. So, he did the only thing he could think of.
He ran.
He ran home, leaving a slightly smiling Ryou behind, swinging high into the air.
~*~At the Katsuya Residence~*~
Shizuka picked up the phone to call Otogi again. Why was he ignoring her?
When she held it to her ear, she found that the line was being used by Jou who was talking to Seto.
"Hey, why don't you just take her to dinner?" Jou seemed to be pleading.
'Her? Does Jou mean me?' Shizuka wondered.
"I filled my end of the bargain!" Seto hissed.
"But Shizuka seems so upset right now..."
"Maybe that's not my damned business."
"Well, if you'd kept a good watch on your dates, none of this would've happened." Jou insisted.
"And if you'd be less overprotective of your sister, and let her date Otogi, this wouldn't have started in the first place."
"Hey, it's not my fault that you impregnated Isis."
Shizuka gasped and tried to cover it with her hand. The guys didn't notice.
"Look, you were never to mention that again!"
"Kaiba, people are gonna notice sooner or later."
"Yeah, well by taking Shizuka to the Convention, I've assured it to be later."
"WHAT?!" Shizuka screeched into mouth of the phone.
She didn't need the thump sound coming from downstairs to know that both of the guys had fallen over.
"KATSUYA JOUNOUCHI, WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?!"
"Sh-Shizuka, what are you doing listening in-" Jou stammered
"BE QUIET, YOU OVERBEARING BASTARD!"
"Shizuka," Seto began somewhat nervously. "I'm really sorry, I never meant to-"
"It's okay Seto; Jou was the one who dragged you into this. But if you would please hang up so that I could have a word with my brother?" She strained out.
"Okay, I hope it all works out."
"Thank you, Seto. You'll make a great father...congratulations!"
"Uh, thanks." Seto hung up.
"Shizuka, come on, I was just trying to protect you." Jou said.
There was no answer, but a few seconds later, a 'THWACK' sound was heard in Shizuka's receiver.
~*~*~*~
Shizuka sat on the steps of the school, waiting to see if Ryuuji would finally come into school. Her brother had driven her up early, because she'd asked for it and considering the knot on his forehead, he was afraid of her wrath...
Finally, a sulky looking Otogi came up the street, books on his back as he fumbled with his head band.
"Ryuuji!" She cried out and waved.
He snapped his head up and froze. Neither of them moved, just stared straight ahead. Ryuuji slowly tied up his bandana and walked up to her.
She opened her mouth to say something, but he didn't stop. He walked right past her.
Her jaw hung open as he walked into school without even looking back.
Her heart broke right then, because she'd wanted to tell him something that she'd realized while she was beating Jou over the head with the living room lamp...
She was in love with Ryuuji.
~*~Ryou's Voice Over~*~
So, things have officially gone from bad to worse. He snubbed her. He SNUBBED her. I told him to try and see her and instead, he snubs her. God, what an idiot...Now everyone's mad at everyone. Especially Shizuka...mad at her brother...mad at her friends...mad at Ryuuji...
Now, I have another plan, but before everyone jumps on me about my plans, this one WILL work. I'm going to Jou's tonight to do a history project, and when I'm there, I'll just slip a note into Shizuka's room. A note from 'Otogi'...
~*~*~*~
It was a rainy, dark afternoon when Shizuka stepped into her room after school and stripped off her damp school clothes. She went over to her closet and pulled on a tank top and a large grey Domino High sweatshirt. Then, she flopped onto her bed with a slight crinkling sound.
Sitting up, she pulled a piece of paper out from under her. It was a note.
'Dear Shizuka,
I'm sorry about the other day, I just-I can't explain it in a letter, please come to my place today whenever you can, so that we can talk.
Sincerely,
Ryuuji'
Shizuka reread the note and crinkled it into a ball in her hands. It fell to the floor as she dashed out the door and into the storm.
~*~At the Hospital~*~
"Ryuuji?"
"Yes, Furi?" Otogi grasped her hand. "Do you need anything? Are you comfortable?
"No...and I feel like shit, but no."
Otogi was taken aback by her language. She'd never cursed in front of him.
"Look, I know you've grown up, my little Ryuuji, because I know how you feel about that girl."
Otogi looked away; he didn't want to think about her.
Furi smiled and said in a sing-song way. "When you're in love, everyone can tell..."
"I don't want to be in love with her. I mean, it seems like the world is against us..."
"And THAT is when you must fight the hardest for love...when everyone is telling you to change the way you feel, which is damned near impossible."
Otogi smiled. Furi always seemed to make him feel better, one way or another.
"Y'know, Furi, I get it, you can stop swearing..."
"I'll stop when you've told her."
"Told her what?"
"Told her you love her..." Otogi froze. Sure, he felt that way, but he wasn't going to say it.
"I can't do that, not after I ignored her like that..."
"I have found that love blossoms in hateful environments...the angrier she is, the more she'll love you."
Otogi smiled again, but Furi, being a smart old lady, knew that he probably wasn't going to tell her without an incentive. Squaring her jaw, she reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a little leather pouch.
"Give me your hand." She said quietly. Ryuuji held out his hand and she tipped the bag until something small and warm fell out of it.
Ryuuji gasped when he realized what it was.
"Ryuuji, this is my old wedding ring. I was saving it for you in my will, but I think you need it more right now."
"Wha-what? A ring? You want me to-"
"No, no, oh no..." She said. "Just give it to her when you tell her you love her. Jewelry is definitely the way to a girl's heart." She winked.
Just then a static-encrusted voice resounded from the P.A. system.
"Visiting hours are over. Will all visitors please leave the rooms?"
Otogi dropped the ring in his pocket. "I'll come back tomorrow. Then you can finish telling me about this husband of yours..."
He pecked her on the forehead and set off out the door.
He stepped out of the hospital doors and upon hitting the wall of rain, raised his green umbrella to the sky.
He lived pretty far from the hospital, so he walked over to the corner of the street, where there was a stop for a bus that ran by his street. While he stood there, he couldn't help but bring out the ring and examine it more closely.
It was a thin silver band, carved intricately with tiny flowers, etched in with what he could only assume to be emerald. The flowers seemed to glow while he turned it this way and that.
He tucked it back into his pocket as the bus decided to narrowly miss splashing him with a large pile of mud.
~*~*~*~
Otogi stepped off of the bus, not bothering to put up his umbrella as his place was only a few houses away. But as his door came into view, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Shizuka was sitting on his doorstep. She must've been frozen, because she was drenched in rain and wearing only a soaked sweatshirt for warmth. Plus, he noticed she wasn't wearing long pants, but a short skirt. A VERY short skirt...
She stood up when she saw him and they just stared at each other for a moment. Otogi saw that she was wearing huge unlaced rain boots, meaning she must've gone to his house in a hurry to have run up in Jou's shoes.
She stepped forward. "Otogi, I..."
She never got to finish. She fell forward, and Otogi caught her. She'd passed out cold.
~*~*~*~
SGL: Whoa...choppy...but LONG...
Isis: So I'm pregnant...with HIS child?
SGL: Sorry, but it's the plot...
Seto: Yep, that must mean we had quite a fun night...
Isis: Sure, whatever, we WILL be getting married and stuff, right?
Seto: O.O
Ryou #5: Lazy...
SGL: Quiet!
Mokuba: Cool, I get to be here...She doesn't own YuGiOh
~*~*~*~
Otogi lay back on his couch, not even paying attention to the tell-tale crunching sound of a chip bag underneath him. The TV was on some infomercial, and the house was dark. He didn't care. He hadn't eaten anything remotely nutritious in 4 days. He didn't care. He hadn't bathed or brushed his teeth or combed his hair or even changed his clothes in 4 days. He didn't care...
Well, the neighbor's cat did...
Anyway, it was four days ago that he'd lost the duel to Jou, and now, he couldn't see Shizuka. Or else Jou might tell her parents that he'd done something...something he'd NEVER do to ANYONE, especially Shizuka.
BEE-EEP-BEE-EEP-BEE-EEP
The phone was ringing, again, and Ryuuji was seriously considering not picking up and allowing the caller to think he was dead.
BEE-EEP-BEE-EEP-BEE-EEP
Grumbling about persistency, Otogi finally sat up and reached for the phone at his feet.
"Hello?"
"Ryuuji? Ryuuji, are you alive?"
"No."
"It's me, Ryou. Otogi, you haven't been to school. We're all getting worried. Especially Shizuka, she says you haven't been returning her calls."
"I haven't..."
"Look, you-you've got to get out of the house, Ryuuji." Ryou sounded worried. "I'll meet you in the park in thirty minutes. We'll be alone...I just need to talk to you."
"I haven't showered in days."
"Oh...well, then, put on some deodorant at least..."
~*~Half an Hour Later~*~
Otogi sat on the rusty swing set in the park, rocking slowly back and forth. He shivered a little when the breeze blew through his open jacket. The brightly colored fall leaves circled down to the ground and Otogi could smell the cold, clean air.
He's been waiting for only a few minutes, when Ryou finally came running up.
"Otogi!" He waved. Panting a little, Ryou sat down on the swing next to Ryuuji, and began to swing high. "I thought I'd missed you."
"So, why is it that you wanted to see me so bad?" Otogi said, swinging a little higher to match Ryou.
"I was worried, and so was everyone else."
"You mean everyone else on our side of the fight."
"Sort of..." Ryou sighed. "Deep down, they're still all your friends, still friends with each other..."
"Is that why Yugi kicked the soccer ball into Jou's groin the other day in gym class?"
"Tough love..."
Otogi found himself chucking at that. How odd, it was the first sign of positive emotion he'd shown in days.
"Look," Ryou said. "I know about the duel." No answer from Otogi. "And I know that you can't just give up."
Otogi had stopped smiling. "If you know about the duel, then you know that if I speak to her again..."
"Jou wouldn't do that...not if he didn't find out." Ryou had a slightly mischievous smile on his face.
"Jou would do that, and I know he'd be able to find out somehow." Ryuuji insisted stubbornly.
"Why are you giving up?" Ryou stopped swinging. "You're no that type of person."
Otogi suddenly remembered the last time he was fed that line...Furi...
"How do you know that I'm not?"
Ryou said quietly. "I just do..." After a pause he continued. "Or maybe you're just afraid...afraid of being with her."
"Why should I be afraid?!" Ryuuji jumped off his swing. "I've been with girls before! And more intimately than I've been with Shizuka!" His face flushed a little when he said this.
Ryou started swinging again. "Not with girls that you've fallen in love with..."
Otogi froze. "What did you say?"
"You heard me. And I can tell..." Ryou paused again. "Everyone can see it. It's just the way you look at her."
Otogi remembered this all too well, and didn't like the way it'd turned out the last time. So, he did the only thing he could think of.
He ran.
He ran home, leaving a slightly smiling Ryou behind, swinging high into the air.
~*~At the Katsuya Residence~*~
Shizuka picked up the phone to call Otogi again. Why was he ignoring her?
When she held it to her ear, she found that the line was being used by Jou who was talking to Seto.
"Hey, why don't you just take her to dinner?" Jou seemed to be pleading.
'Her? Does Jou mean me?' Shizuka wondered.
"I filled my end of the bargain!" Seto hissed.
"But Shizuka seems so upset right now..."
"Maybe that's not my damned business."
"Well, if you'd kept a good watch on your dates, none of this would've happened." Jou insisted.
"And if you'd be less overprotective of your sister, and let her date Otogi, this wouldn't have started in the first place."
"Hey, it's not my fault that you impregnated Isis."
Shizuka gasped and tried to cover it with her hand. The guys didn't notice.
"Look, you were never to mention that again!"
"Kaiba, people are gonna notice sooner or later."
"Yeah, well by taking Shizuka to the Convention, I've assured it to be later."
"WHAT?!" Shizuka screeched into mouth of the phone.
She didn't need the thump sound coming from downstairs to know that both of the guys had fallen over.
"KATSUYA JOUNOUCHI, WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?!"
"Sh-Shizuka, what are you doing listening in-" Jou stammered
"BE QUIET, YOU OVERBEARING BASTARD!"
"Shizuka," Seto began somewhat nervously. "I'm really sorry, I never meant to-"
"It's okay Seto; Jou was the one who dragged you into this. But if you would please hang up so that I could have a word with my brother?" She strained out.
"Okay, I hope it all works out."
"Thank you, Seto. You'll make a great father...congratulations!"
"Uh, thanks." Seto hung up.
"Shizuka, come on, I was just trying to protect you." Jou said.
There was no answer, but a few seconds later, a 'THWACK' sound was heard in Shizuka's receiver.
~*~*~*~
Shizuka sat on the steps of the school, waiting to see if Ryuuji would finally come into school. Her brother had driven her up early, because she'd asked for it and considering the knot on his forehead, he was afraid of her wrath...
Finally, a sulky looking Otogi came up the street, books on his back as he fumbled with his head band.
"Ryuuji!" She cried out and waved.
He snapped his head up and froze. Neither of them moved, just stared straight ahead. Ryuuji slowly tied up his bandana and walked up to her.
She opened her mouth to say something, but he didn't stop. He walked right past her.
Her jaw hung open as he walked into school without even looking back.
Her heart broke right then, because she'd wanted to tell him something that she'd realized while she was beating Jou over the head with the living room lamp...
She was in love with Ryuuji.
~*~Ryou's Voice Over~*~
So, things have officially gone from bad to worse. He snubbed her. He SNUBBED her. I told him to try and see her and instead, he snubs her. God, what an idiot...Now everyone's mad at everyone. Especially Shizuka...mad at her brother...mad at her friends...mad at Ryuuji...
Now, I have another plan, but before everyone jumps on me about my plans, this one WILL work. I'm going to Jou's tonight to do a history project, and when I'm there, I'll just slip a note into Shizuka's room. A note from 'Otogi'...
~*~*~*~
It was a rainy, dark afternoon when Shizuka stepped into her room after school and stripped off her damp school clothes. She went over to her closet and pulled on a tank top and a large grey Domino High sweatshirt. Then, she flopped onto her bed with a slight crinkling sound.
Sitting up, she pulled a piece of paper out from under her. It was a note.
'Dear Shizuka,
I'm sorry about the other day, I just-I can't explain it in a letter, please come to my place today whenever you can, so that we can talk.
Sincerely,
Ryuuji'
Shizuka reread the note and crinkled it into a ball in her hands. It fell to the floor as she dashed out the door and into the storm.
~*~At the Hospital~*~
"Ryuuji?"
"Yes, Furi?" Otogi grasped her hand. "Do you need anything? Are you comfortable?
"No...and I feel like shit, but no."
Otogi was taken aback by her language. She'd never cursed in front of him.
"Look, I know you've grown up, my little Ryuuji, because I know how you feel about that girl."
Otogi looked away; he didn't want to think about her.
Furi smiled and said in a sing-song way. "When you're in love, everyone can tell..."
"I don't want to be in love with her. I mean, it seems like the world is against us..."
"And THAT is when you must fight the hardest for love...when everyone is telling you to change the way you feel, which is damned near impossible."
Otogi smiled. Furi always seemed to make him feel better, one way or another.
"Y'know, Furi, I get it, you can stop swearing..."
"I'll stop when you've told her."
"Told her what?"
"Told her you love her..." Otogi froze. Sure, he felt that way, but he wasn't going to say it.
"I can't do that, not after I ignored her like that..."
"I have found that love blossoms in hateful environments...the angrier she is, the more she'll love you."
Otogi smiled again, but Furi, being a smart old lady, knew that he probably wasn't going to tell her without an incentive. Squaring her jaw, she reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a little leather pouch.
"Give me your hand." She said quietly. Ryuuji held out his hand and she tipped the bag until something small and warm fell out of it.
Ryuuji gasped when he realized what it was.
"Ryuuji, this is my old wedding ring. I was saving it for you in my will, but I think you need it more right now."
"Wha-what? A ring? You want me to-"
"No, no, oh no..." She said. "Just give it to her when you tell her you love her. Jewelry is definitely the way to a girl's heart." She winked.
Just then a static-encrusted voice resounded from the P.A. system.
"Visiting hours are over. Will all visitors please leave the rooms?"
Otogi dropped the ring in his pocket. "I'll come back tomorrow. Then you can finish telling me about this husband of yours..."
He pecked her on the forehead and set off out the door.
He stepped out of the hospital doors and upon hitting the wall of rain, raised his green umbrella to the sky.
He lived pretty far from the hospital, so he walked over to the corner of the street, where there was a stop for a bus that ran by his street. While he stood there, he couldn't help but bring out the ring and examine it more closely.
It was a thin silver band, carved intricately with tiny flowers, etched in with what he could only assume to be emerald. The flowers seemed to glow while he turned it this way and that.
He tucked it back into his pocket as the bus decided to narrowly miss splashing him with a large pile of mud.
~*~*~*~
Otogi stepped off of the bus, not bothering to put up his umbrella as his place was only a few houses away. But as his door came into view, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Shizuka was sitting on his doorstep. She must've been frozen, because she was drenched in rain and wearing only a soaked sweatshirt for warmth. Plus, he noticed she wasn't wearing long pants, but a short skirt. A VERY short skirt...
She stood up when she saw him and they just stared at each other for a moment. Otogi saw that she was wearing huge unlaced rain boots, meaning she must've gone to his house in a hurry to have run up in Jou's shoes.
She stepped forward. "Otogi, I..."
She never got to finish. She fell forward, and Otogi caught her. She'd passed out cold.
~*~*~*~
SGL: Whoa...choppy...but LONG...
Isis: So I'm pregnant...with HIS child?
SGL: Sorry, but it's the plot...
Seto: Yep, that must mean we had quite a fun night...
Isis: Sure, whatever, we WILL be getting married and stuff, right?
Seto: O.O