Disclaimer: Shouldn't we all be glad that I don't own Yu-gi-oh? And should I start recycling disclaimers? If I'm not already doing that…
Fairydust
Ryou: O_O What are you doing, PM?
PM *hiding behind Yue, who is stuck in a huge pile of stuffed seals (well, my stuffed seals are white and Yue has pale skin, white hair, white wings, and white robes… perfect hiding place!)* Hiding from various people… like Neko-chan and her scary frying pan! *bawls* Cause I'm going to have to start apologizing again… this is a short chapter, people! SORRY! But I just didn't have time… *cringe as she snuggles closer behind Yue… mmm* Please don't hit me…
Jyou: I personally have no problem with that…
PM *grabs Yami's mallet and chases after him screaming bloody murder*
Yami: Uh… well, since PM isn't here, this chapter takes place on Sunday morning/afternoon. *blinks at last chapter* My, everybody seems to be getting it on, huh? *grimaces and takes Yuki from the pile of stuffed seals… which Yue left long ago in order to find something more substantial to do… like get it on with Clow or Touya… (innocent smirk)*
PM *back from smacking Jyou*: Isn't that a good thing? ::^_^:: And no side lemon/lime stories… sorry, but right now, I'm not really in the mood. Maybe in a couple months… *ducks rotten veggies* Also, I just wanted to say this… the last chapter was NOT a calm-before-the-storm chapter! MWAHAHAHAHA! In fact, I'm not going to tell you which one it is in order to torment you endlessly! *insert more cackling…*
Ryou *knocks PM out* Much better.
ANYWHO, unfortunately Mariel wasn't able to get back to me for her beta-ing (new word! MWAHA!), so I apologize for any mistakes. But thanks to Shoshana VH Vared (:p does root beer make you hyper?), Wildwolf (I already told you!), ChaosEnd, Angel-Belle (Ironyyyyyy…), dilanda (*raises eyebrow* I hope you enjoy this chappy… it might not be enough though), Crystalline Maxwell (no lemon! Or I'll end up traumatizing you for life!), fani90 (-_-;;; I thought I did fine on my SATs, but my mom wants me to take them AGAIN!), Sarina Fannel (Seto *dressed like my envi sci teacher… complete with environmentally friendly tie* PM, I really do NOT appreciate this), *i n c o h e r e n t* (If you think the ideas were weird, imagine how I must have felt when I started writing it!), Indigo Tantarian (Yeah! I can break them up again! *ducks rotten veggies*), Shenya (Ryuuji: You're making PM's head swell…), tuulikki (^_^ But I enjoy your reviews!), Shamanic Guardian Lena (my friend loved that statement too… then she asked 'who wrote it?' and nearly keeled over when I told her that I did), Linxy, Nalan Li (*ducks* I can't hit Jyou but you can hit me?! And that wasn't a cliffhanger… it was… a… fitting ending! EEP! *ducks another whack*), rayemars (Holden Caulfield is the main character of Catcher in the Rye… ever read that? We had to read it for English… I didn't like it. Kid was SUCH a hypocrite), Bronze Eagle (Hmm… maybe I should pester you for translations then :P), Beholder of the Shadows (Who says Jyounouchi is going to find out? *Jyounouchi whacks PM with a book* Ouch…), Son Mist, KawaiiShinigami, Blind Falcon (I'm bad at leaving reviews too… :p But thanks for your review!) Aishiteru Tenshi (I actually wrote that ending for the chapter about two months back…), loanshark (homework! The bane of my existence!), DragonLUPINzero (You sound conspiciously like Neko-chan… *eyebrow twtich* You are all out to get me, aren't you?! AHHH! *runs out of the room screaming* Ryou: -_-;; No more popcorn for breakfast for her…), crystaldraygon98 (Yuki *glare*, Black Magician *GLARE*, Yami *squeals loudly and grabs the two of them, causing them both to twitch and collapse*), Neko-chan (:p love Patricia C. Wrede… I want the last book in her Dragons series. *sulks before exploding in big puppy eyes* Can't wait to see the Honda*Otogi in your fic… ^_^ Thank you thank you THANK YOU!), Amiasha (yes… I am missing your e-mail… *pout*), Saki (Good luck on your ACTs), and… blank? (They got to level 3 betwinxt this and the last chapter :p). And if I missed you… sorry! But FF.net has been a bit annoying and it didn't show me your review!
~ Shampoo and Gifts ~
Rank the following choices in the order of most likely to least when confronted with a hysterical warden who has just discovered (somehow!!) that you have had sex with the person you aren't even supposed to be in love with.
A. Tell the truth and pray that he will be gentle with you. Since that is unlikely, pray that he will not tell your otousan. Since that is also unlikely, pray that your death will be swift and relatively painless.
B. Feign astonishment/innocence at such a possibility. Be prepared to burst into hysterical tears and confess after several hours of painful questioning by a person who's calling should be a prosecutor.
C. Ignore the question until he pries the book out of your bloodless fingers and threatens to disembowel you, no longer needing you alive because he already knows the answer.
D. Run. Very quickly. And be prepared to die because you know he will catch you… there is simply no doubt about that.
E. All of the above.
I suppress the urge to run out of the room bawling as Jyounouchi-kun comes right up to my face and glares at me before asking me what must be the most horrible question in the entire universe.
"You're not a virgin anymore, are you?"
"Jyounouchi-kun!" My voice comes out at a horribly high-pitched squeak. I'm bright red and feel like crawling under the bed for the purpose of shriveling up into a raisin.
There's this loud pause before my entire world explodes in din, "YOU DID! OH MY GOD, YOU TWO DID IT! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! HOW ON EARTH DID YOU… YOU… I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! YOU AND THAT… THING!! I THOUGHT THE DATE THING WAS BAD ENOUGH, BUT THIS?! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING?!?!?!"
And so on and so forth.
I eventually started to get used to his hysterical screaming (just tell the whole world, will you Jyounouchi-kun?), which, of course, causes me to blank out as I remember every detail of last night and this morning, when I woke up to Seto's gentle breath on my face, which caused my hair to sway slightly. But I can still see his eyes, which have the same sparkle as they had last night when he pulled me into bed.
He smiled as I cuddled closer to him, enjoying the feeling of his arms around me. It felt rather disconcertingly like hugging a giant teddy bear, something that I had no problems with doing, while I reveled in the warmth from his body heat and the blankets that covered our conspicuously bare bodies.
We essentially stayed like that for a while before the door opened… and when the two of us twisted around to see who it was, a movement that caused the blanket to move a bit farther down our bodies, all we heard was a loud 'clunk!' and before we knew it, Seto's driver was sprawled on the ground, unconscious from brain overload, I would guess. [1]
Speaking of which, if Jyounouchi-kun doesn't stop his screaming, he'll be suffering from shock or deprivation of oxygen to his brain. But considering how he's starting to scream unintelligible gibberish, I'm starting to wonder if he has a brain to consider.
"Jyounouchi! What on earth are you screaming about?!" Anzu yells into the room, causing me to face fault. How could she not know? Jyounouchi-kun only screamed it loud enough for the entire country of Japan to know, including my father in Domino.
Oh crap.
Jyounouchi-kun whirls on Anzu, his face remarkably red as he points an accusing finger at me (who, in the mean time, is desperately trying to find a good hiding place and is wondering how long it would take to dig a hole to the other side of the earth), "He… he… and that… thing… they! ARGH!" Before we can blink, he's starting to scream again.
That is, until Yami-kun calmly walks in, gets out a roll of duct tape (I wonder where he could have hidden that… his clothes is skin-tight and it seemed to come out of nowhere!), and almost casually walks over to Jyounouchi-kun, pulls out a long strip (of course, it can't be heard over Jyounouchi-kun's hysterical screaming), and when Jyounouchi-kun pauses for a breath, simply places it on his mouth in a well-practiced manner that makes me wonder if Yami-kun is more sadistic than he lets on.
Probably.
"… arigatou?" I fair whimper. Jyounouchi-kun is still trying to scream something despite the duct tape, but Yami-kun just glares him down, pointing at a street lamp outside. This, of course, causes him to shut up very quickly, as the memories and scars from that fateful night have yet to disappear.
Before I can profusely thank Yami-kun again, a calm voice that makes me want to groan asks lazily, "You got it on with Kaiba Seto?"
We all turn around to find Otogi-kun and Honda-kun there, arms around each other and both their expressions rather amused. Frankly, I don't think either of them has the right to say anything, considering how long it took the two of them to progress past nervous stuttering whenever the opportunity came up. But I'm not going to say that. Instead, I try to send them psychic messages to shut up, which for the oddest reason, they don't seem to receive.
"Apparently so," Yami-kun replies calmly, not even blinking at his own words. While as I want to run into a corner and screech. I hear derisive laughter in the back of my mind…
And to think that I thought all your friends were unobservant! Insert some more taunting snickering. Except when it comes to these types of things, of course!
I'm guessing there's some type of implications behind his words, but I would rather not know what they are…
Honda-kun, Otogi-kun, and Anzu are starting to ask questions. It's like listening to a thunderstorm, and it reminds me a lot of when Jyounouchi-kun, Yuugi-kun, and Honda-kun found out about the deal with Seto. Although I guess… I guess it's not really a deal anymore, is it? I mean, it might be? Or it used to be?
The most common question seems to be why. Why this, why that, why anything. Why is that always the question? Why, why, why, why? Is it a question that can even be answered because you can answer it only to be countered with another 'why' until you keep running around in circles, trying to answer a question with no answer whatsoever.
Why did I choose to do this?
It wasn't lust. At least I hope it wasn't. I wanted it because I've developed this… feeling for him over the past couple days. I'm reluctant to say relationship because I still can't help but wonder what happens if he doesn't feel the same way? Sure, I know that he's said the words… and I really do think he means it… but that niggling little 'what if' still won't take a permanent leave of absence. I suppose that it's for the better, but I really could do without its nagging.
If you had ever asked me on Monday if I could ever possibly have imagined things turning out this way, I probably would have asked you to sit down and quickly leave to look up a conveniently placed mental institute. At this rate, I really should be getting myself committed. Actually, I'm beginning to think that every single person involved in this mess should be committed, but we'll probably overrun the hospital in a matter of days.
Everything is changing. It's amazing to see how a single event can change your life. Even if nothing comes out of this… and I seriously hope that is not the case… there's still so much that has been altered. I suppose that I'll always be a timid little mouse, but I think I'm starting to find the little fountain of confidence that I never looked deep enough to find.
People say that love makes the world go round, and I'm starting to believe it. If only because I get to experience it myself now. And I got to see first-hand how much one's emotions can cause you to do things that you've never dreamed of.
Like last night.
It's crazy, unexplainable, and in general, completely idiotic and insane, but that's life and I think I'm just going to enjoy what life has to offer me. Because we only have one chance (unless you believe in reincarnation but then you might come back as an ant, which isn't going to be too much fun if you ask me… or if you're like Yami-kun or Yami Bakura and get stuck in a gold trinket for several thousand years) at life, so we might as well make the most of it before the opportunity is gone forever.
~ * ~
Class finally went well. No annoying professors, no nosy classmates, no throwing textbooks at rude comments, and definitely no getting kidnapped on the way home. I've becoming so comfortable that I'm starting to get worried… ah, well, I'm sure that something will be happening soon enough that will cause my world to shatter to pieces. That's what usually happens anyway… and it happens quite a bit in stories…
Beyond a couple concerned 'are you all rights?', I have to say that it was highly satisfactory. Sensei was very sympathetic, although she wouldn't have cut me any slack if I hadn't been able to turn in my paper… luckily, we didn't have that problem because with Seto's editations, everything went smoothly.
Anyhow, I'm lying on my stomach humming softly as I ignore Jyounouchi-kun's soft growling and curses. It's not that easy to ignore him, even if I have some interesting manga sitting in front of me, but I am going to manage it! I will! Okay, so I'm lying to myself, but I'm getting easily distracted today.
Is this what love is going to be like? If it goes on any farther, my grades are going to be dropping before I can blink.
Basically, this is the situation I was in when Jyounouchi-kun suddenly awakens with a banshee scream and rushes out of the door before I can even blink.
"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE KAIBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! [2]"
It takes me approximately three seconds to jump off the bed (and it's pretty high off the ground…) and run after him, hoping that he doesn't kill Seto or vice versa.
I can't help but sweatdrop when I get out there. Jyounouchi-kun has Otogi-kun pinned to the opposite wall, and Otogi-kun has a smirk/what-drugs-has-this-guy-been-taking? expression. Jyounouchi-kun is so caught up in his screaming fit that he has yet to notice that he isn't pinning Seto, but a starting-to-get-very-pissed Otogi-kun.
Otogi-kun is only about a centimeter [3] taller than Jyounouchi-kun, but he could have been twenty meters taller as he starts to really glare at him. And of course, Jyounouchi-kun still hasn't noticed.
While Otogi-kun has the height and weight advantage over Jyounouchi-kun, Jyounouchi-kun is physically stronger from his past experiences. And if it comes down to it (and considering how Jyounouchi-kun still hasn't noticed that he's threatening to murder the wrong guy and Otogi-kun appears to be losing his temper quite quickly), I think that both of them are going to end up in the hospital with broken body parts.
Luckily (or unluckily, seeing who it is that breaks up the fight), it doesn't come down to that because next think we know, Honda-kun has dragged Jyounouchi-kun off Otogi-kun and is starting to bawl him out. Heh… now that they have finally gotten together, Honda-kun is starting to get very possessive. At least, that would explain why he's screaming at Jyounouchi-kun about bad hentai thoughts, even though we all know that Jyounouchi-kun and Mai-san are a definite item.
Otogi-kun, probably still sore about what has just happened, shakes his head as he approaches me. Yuugi-kun and Anzu are desperately trying to stop the fist fight, but from experience, it is most likely that the only people who will be hurt are the two (attempting, at least) peacemakers.
"Kaiba stopped by," he hands a now decidedly limp bouquet of flowers to me (at least they're not carnations), as well as a paper bag with a lot of tissue in it. Pink tissue paper. I can't tell if that is an accident or if Seto has a twisted sense of humor… or maybe somebody just hates me a lot. That would account for a lot, "He wanted me to give this to you."
"Why couldn't he do it by himself?" I ask, deciding to ignore the little voice screaming 'you IDIOT!'… and surprise, surprise, it isn't Yami Bakura! But that's a different story.
"Something about the 'make inu'…"
"I'm going to killlllllll him!!"
"Oh…" I squeak out. Of course, I cannot help but mentally applaud Seto for his decision… especially when we consider how Honda-kun and Yuugi-kun have finally managed to pin down Jyounouchi-kun, who is still ranting insanely.
And I thought I had problems…
I finally notice that Otogi-kun is watching me in anticipation, and I blush and stammer the first things that come into mind, "A… Arigatou Otogi-kun!"
Judging from his expression (somewhat disappointed) as I slam the door in his face, I don't quite think that was the reaction he wanted. Unfortunately, Otogi-kun has this little problem with being a bit nosy, although he's a lot more subtle about it then Jyounouchi-kun, who I'm going to pretend I don't know right now.
I'm not really a messy person, so I have to restrain my urge to just rip out the tissue paper and see what is in the bag. Love really does screw around with sanity, let me tell the world that right now. So instead of doing what I want to do, I do what I am supposed to do and carefully remove each layer, watching as they slip by at their own pace.
Certainly, I had no expectations for what it would be, but imagine my surprise when I finally remove all the layers to find the heart of the matter… and it's a bottle of shampoo.
I can't help but blink at it… it's not the 'it's the thought that counts' thing that's getting me… but… I think Seto knows more about me than I ever could have thought. The shampoo is a rather sparkly thing, although I have a feeling that the sparkles probably wash out with the water, and the bottle says that the gooey substance has a peach smell to it. And did I mention that it's called Fairydust?
Oh Kami-sama…
Maybe he found out that I dreamt about him being the nutcracker prince, and he wanted revenge. In which case, I should be grateful that he's not sending me a dress…
Working similarly to Greek and Roman myths of Cupid, fairydust was said to come off the wings of magical butterflies who were often mistaken for fairies because of their brightly colored wings that sparkled with the colors of the rainbow. However, instead of causing the chaos intended by Cupid's arrows, fairydust was used to force somebody to confess their truest desires to the person that they loved…
I blush as I remember what the tour guide at the museum said, as well as what my otousan said.
Wouldn't it be nice if these types of things really worked? Then we wouldn't have to worry so much about maybe's and possibly's.
Cradling the bottle of shampoo close to me, I continue to smile serenely at nothing at all.
Fairydust.
Is he trying to say something?
And if he is, why can't I figure it out? And why don't I care more? Why is it that I can sit here smiling at the wall, probably looking very stupid, and feeling very much like a lazy cat who is getting a sun bath? A feeling of familiar warmth that makes me want to purr. I'm terribly happy right now, I really am.
Maybe I'm just at that point where I'm going to pretend that everything will turn out fine, even though common sense says otherwise. Anyhow, it feels a lot better that way.
Besides, at times like this, when one is feeling drunk on fluffiness and bubbling happiness, who needs petty things such as logic?
~ * ~
"Rule number one… no drinking."
I sigh and nod, repeatedly reminding myself that if I do not listen to Jyounouchi-kun, he will do all in his power to keep me from going. And since he can do quite a bit (like call otousan), I will be best off listening to him, especially since about half his rules are most likely logical and the other half are completely ignorable (it's fun making up words!)… still, it's probably best if I don't tell him that.
"Number two… no drugs," Jyounouchi-kun glares at me, as if daring me to challenge him. In the background, Yuugi-tachi are doing their best to stifle their giggles… I'm three seconds away from asking Yami Bakura to unleash some well-deserved wrath on them.
I can't help but shoot them a pleading look, but they just shake their heads or put up their hands in 'surrender position'. I have a feeling that none of them want to deal with Jyounouchi-kun's insanity… the problem is that I don't want to either. Ouch. Maybe I can tune him out. Think happy thoughts… but then that just brings me back to some interesting events last night… and since I don't want to tempt the mind-reading abilities of Jyounouchi-kun, I better not.
"No excessive making out…"
I wonder how many rules I've tuned out by now? I think there goes another one, but the words just flew right by me. I should really tell Jyounouchi-kun that I have no intention on listening to him… yeah, and then let him stop me from going. Even though I would have welcomed that opportunity any time of the day before, I really want to see Seto… I wonder why he didn't come give me his gifts before? Maybe I'm becoming obsessive. Or something like that.
"And finally… no intimate activities that require taking off clothes!!" Jyounouchi-kun grabs me by the ear to scream those last words into my ear, causing me to wince from the intensity of his voice. I think he's just killed a couple hundred brain cells… and it's not like I had that many to spare in the first place!
"Now that's something I wouldn't mind seeing," Otogi-kun drawls, "Bakura-kun and Kaiba getting it on in the middle of a room of guests… that is certainly something you don't get to see every day."
Yuugi-kun and Honda-kun can't help but snicker at that, even as Jyounouchi-kun glares at Otogi-kun and Anzu gets a half disappointed, half 'please don't make me laugh here' expression on her face. She's also stopped breathing as she tries to control the emotions, and I'm surprised that she hasn't fallen down into convulsions yet.
After all, I'm still trying to figure out how I've managed to deal with this without indulging in my desire to run around screaming hysterically…
"I get it, Jyounouchi-kun…" I repeat robotically. Only the knowledge that he will get quite pissed if I don't do so is keeping me from tackling him… also the fact that I would probably get very beat up if I even tried, but who's counting?
"Are you sure?"
"Yessssssssss."
"I expect you to be responsible."
Excuse me while I go pound my head against a wall somewhere… HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!
"I know…" I fidget nervously, looking at the clock which is slowly counting down the number of seconds I have to endure this for, "… can I go now?"
He glares at me for a moment, as if gauging my oh-so-unreasonable request. And he finally does his own sighing and nodding, and I rush out of the door as quickly as possible.
Maybe I should be sympathetic to Jyounouchi-kun, as he no longer has Shizuka-chan to look after. I don't think he's doing this on purpose, but it's just a part of his brotherly-protection instincts. Or something like that… I never really dealt with it because after otousan gave me the Sennen Ring, I wasn't home around enough to experience a brotherly relationship with oniisan. And after the divorce… well, that just hit the nail on the head, didn't it?
It's been a while since I've had somebody looking after me. Yami Bakura could hardly be constituted as guardian-ship material unless you want to count preventing bodily harm, and otousan was never home enough to fill that gap. The others have helped but not as much as Jyounouchi-kun and recently Seto.
In a way, I owe him this much to listen to him. He's just doing his best, after all.
As I go down the stairs and reach outside, a window suddenly slams open, jerking me out of my thoughts. I look up in wonder and see Jyounouchi-kun glaring at me from our dorm room window. Yuugi-tachi is behind him, all of them shaking their heads and I can just picture their helpless expressions.
"You heard me Bakura! NO SEX!"
And with that, he slams the window shut.
My cheeks are bright red… I wonder how many people just heard that?! I somehow manage to make my way into the awaiting vehicle, doing my best to ignore the flush and the stares from people who were outside and watching…
Yes, I'm grateful to Jyounouchi-kun… but did he really have to bring that up in such a manner?! Couldn't he think of somewhat less painful ways of stating it? Just possibly? Maybe?
I sigh and watch as the scenery flashes by. There's no one here except the driver, who while occasionally looking in the mirror to make sure I haven't melted and slipped through the door as liquid, ignores me otherwise.
I should be used to loneliness… I mean, it's hard to imagine being lonely when you've got the spirit of an ancient tomb robber living with you twenty-four/seven, but Yami Bakura doesn't really make his presence known except when it suits him. Or maybe I've just gotten so used to being with the others… and especially Seto now… it just seems that this empty void is enough to swallow the car whole.
Perhaps I should be grateful for this silence. Because I know that as soon as I get to the party, I'm going to be surrounded by simply too many people.
But… at least Seto will be there.
Soft sigh.
I wonder if he likes the smell of peach?
Translations and Notes:
[1] The naked scene is for the people who asked for a lemon/lime/naked scene side story, which, incidentally enough… I'M NOT GOING TO WRITE! :P And the chauffeur going into horrible convulsions/death from freaking out is for all the people who voted for him as their favorite OC. :)
[2] Essentially… DIEEEEEE KAIBAAAAA!
[3] That is, according to the character guide book. Although I still FAIL to see how Yuugi can be 5 feet tall. Unless it's counting his hair? That would explain a lot…
Err, no witty dialogue here (Ryuuji: You've been taking drugs again, haven't you?), just some basic info before I finish off the chapter. Again, my apologies for it's shortness… okay, so it's not that short, but it's shorter than most of the previous chapters. But I haven't had as much time to write this week, and I got really sidetracked by my other in-progress fics whenever I did find the time. I also wanted to quickly remind you folks that this story is only updated once a week… ^^;; That's basically all I can manage these days because of a flood of homework… ick. Sorry, sorry… And I don't really like writing short chapters so that kinda gets rid of the cutting down thing… so… yeah. ^_^ Gomen?
Pikachumaniac