Princess Strawberry: Sorry ofr the late update, but I was busy. In case you are wondering about Yami Strawberry about why she couldn't update, she has been lazing around the house eating all of my snacks. Arrrgh...and I thought yamis don't eat!

Yugi: A word of advice for you, authoress. NEVER LET YAMIS EAT CHOCOLATE. I swear, they get so high it is not funny!

Princess Strawberry: O.O Oh no! Yami Strawberry ate ALL of my sweets! *begins to wail and goes find revenge on Yami Strawberry*

Yami: Oops, I'd better hide too. I helped Yami Strawberry dispose of those yummy food. -^.^-

Yugi: ^.^;;; Um...why don't you read this chapter first? Since both of our yamis are getting away from the revengeful authoress, I will do the disclaimer. Princess Strawberry does not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any characters she uses in here. She does not own Cinderella - from Disney - either. If you had read the previous chapters before this, you should have became familiar with our warnings. Anyways, there will be Ryou/Bakura fluff AFTER this chapter - you know, when Ryou goes to the ball and meets the prince..

~*~ "Speaking"

'Thinking'

*Scene Change: ________________*

((Us interrupting you for a few seconds)) ~*~

Everyone knows the characters and their roles? Great! Let's get this chapter on the road.

Cinderella in Yu-Gi-Oh! Style!

Chapter 2

The day of the ball dawned warm and sunny. Ryou woke up feeling extremely surprised. His stepmother hadn't shouted her head off like the days before. Ryou had often wondered why her lungs haven't burst yet. Especially if that yell can echo around the house extremely loudly. He stole a glance at his small clock that stood on his bed stand. ((Me: You know that little table that's beside your bed that is usually used for putting small essential stuff on? Yeah, that's the one.))

'No wonder,' Ryou thought, felling slightly depressed. 'It is only five after seven. No duh it is so quiet, she desn't scream until seven-thirty.'

"Well, if there's still twenty-five minutes until my duties start, why don't I start on my dress?" Ryou reasoned with himself outloud. "That's a good way to pass time." And with that said, he thumbed through the design book again, and eliminating the ones he thought were bad in the process. He finally decided on one not a second too late, because the all too familiar yell of his stepmother echoed in the house once more. Ryou wondered if any of their neighbours hear that anyday. Then again, maybe that's why a new neighbour comes to take the place of an old neighbour every two weeks. He silently giggled to himself as he settled his book on his already-made bed. ((Yugi: Okay, do boys giggle? o____O I know I sometimes do so...))

"RYOU! GET YOUR LAZY BUTT TO THE KITCHEN AND HURRY UP! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY, YOU KNOW! THE PRINCE'S BALL IS TONIGHT!"

Ryou's giggle somehow made its way back to the silent corner, and his lips switched to a frown, bringing on a different attitude, personality, and the whole point of view. Honestly, Ryou should stand up for himself. He sighed. No use doing that now. His stepmother and stepsisters had already got used to bullying him, that no matter what he does, they just either punish him further or ignore his pleas completely. He made his way to the kitchen and prepared breakfast, sneaking a few pieces as he did so. He carried it to his stepsisters' room without any difficulty, then proceeded to the room of doom - his stepmother's. ((Yugi: Hey, cool! "room" and "doom" rhymes!)) He gulped, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door to gain entry.

"Ah, Ryou. I see you have finally arrived with my first demand of the day. Give me another minute to finish your list of chores." Téa tapped her quill on the clipboard that laid on her lap, bottom lip sticking out. "There, you can stop at four fifteen to help us get ready for the ball. You are dismissed now."

Ryou bowed his head as he walked backwards to exit the room. Once outside, Ryou quickly looked at his list. His jaw dropped in shock. There were tonnes and tonnes of things to do, wash, and clean! He sighed again. There is NO WAY he can fix up his dress now! He walked to the closet and took out a cloth and a bucket. First thing on the list.

Window washing.

*Scene Change: At the Palace*

"Bakura! You are a prince, for god's sake! Behave yourself! The ball is tonight and you will need to be ready!" King Seto pleaded in a very exasperated manner.

"Who ever said I even want to attend this!?" Bakura growled.

The palace was turning into a mess. Servants and maids were running around the castle walls to put up the decorations for tonight. The big night. Some who were "unlucky" enough were assigned to help Prince Bakura design his costume. You know what I mean? The assigned helpers were only getting measuring tape and some pins when he jumped up from the stool he was standing on and stormed out of the room. The King and the Queen had to literally drag him back and use ropes to secure him to the spot. Bakura put up quite a struggle, but surrendered in the end. Fifteen people against one. Not a good ratio.

'I have seen _almost_ everybody_ in the city. Why must Mother and Father always insist on doing this? It's not like anything is going to impress me.' Bakura thought bitterly as measuring tapes were being taped on to his arms and legs, clothes billowing out as they were pinned down at the exact locations. 'This is going to be a _long_ night.'

But Prince Bakura was not the only one who was suffering from fitting into clothes. Back at Ryou's attic, the birds and mice were scampering around, looking for materials for their kind friend's dress pattern in the little room. Surprisingly, they found everything they needed just in there.

"Wow," a mouse remarked, who went by the name Yugi. "I never realized Ryou had so much stuff in his room until now!"

"You think this is a lot?" Yami, yet another mouse, shot back. "Wait until you see his stepsisters' rooms! I mean, seriously. They have so much stuff in there it's not funny! I heard Ryou complaining when he was getting ready for bed one night." His fellow friends rolled their eyes at his last statement. "What?"

"Well, no duh!" a bird chirped up. "'He was getting ready for bed.' Doesn't that ring a bell in that thick skull of yours? Ryou doesn't sleep until night. So adding 'one night' to your statement is really...really..."

"'Really' what?" Yami glared.

"Really garbagey." They all sniggered except one mouse. Yugi.

((Me: Yes, I know "garbagey" is not a real word, but I am using it to replace useless.

Yugi: How come you are back? Aren't you supposed to be getting revenge?

Me: I just came back to explain something. Is that a crime?

Yugi: v.v;; No. But you just found a word that is more sensible than "garbagey".

Me: What?

Yugi *slaps forehead in frustration* I can't believe that I am going to say this to you, but I have to. YOU ARE SO DENSE! You said the other word, "useless", and that can replace your made-up word! Sheesh!!! *mutters to himself* And I can't believe I got bribed into typing this up! .

Me: *thinks for a while* Oh. ~Silence~ Well, gotta go now! I still have to find those two.))

"It's okay Yami," Yugi murmured softly. "Just ignore them, and the joke won't be as funny. They will abandon it soon enough. Watch."

So it was true. They stopped jestering around and continued to work, as if nothing has happened. Yugi started forward, but an arm that protruded from behind prevented him from walking no more than three steps.

"Wait a minute, Yugi," Yami spoke softly. "I would like to talk you for a minute." Yami truly adored and loved his friend dearly. The said subject was looking at him curiously, his head cocked to one side, his eyes wide with a spark of interest tinkering in the beautiful violet shade. And this shade was very unusual in this part of the country. Same with the hue in Yami's eyes. Yami looked at him fondly. He absolutely loved that look. So cute. He knows that Yugi would stick by him no matter what, and he to him. Yami had found this little one in a deserted alley, all beaten up and soaked with rain. He had carried him "home" and taken care of his wounds. The only problem was that he had forgotten to pay the rent the Mouse Chief of their mice village, so they were kicked out. They had been wandering on the streets for nearly a month before Ryou took them in. During the whole time, Yami had grown rather attached to Yugi, and new emotions erupted from his heart. He knew it was love. He didn't dare tell Yugi, for fear of rejection and for hurting the innocent soul. Little did he know that Yugi was going through the same thing.

"What did you want to tell me, Yami?" Yugi inquired quietly.

Yami blinked at the soft voice, snapping back to reality. "Oh, um..." he fidgeted slightly, a pink streak was now pasted on his brown fur. This was going to be much harder than he thought. 'Okay, Yami. Take a deep breath and start off slow. Don't startle him.' He did as his mind requested and felt a little braver.

"Well, Yugi...ever since I've met you,..er, I have grown rather fond of you." Okay, that was a good start. Just keep it nice and steady now.

Yugi blinked. He hadn't quite understood what Yami meant, but something inside him jolted, telling him it has something to do with his unspeakable love to Yami. "Oh?"

Yami continued, glad that the response wasn't harsh. "Anyways, it is really hard for me to say this, but I have to get it off my chest some time." He took a deep breath, then blurted out, "Iloveyou."

Yugi squealed with joy - not too loudly though - and hugged Yami _hard_. He was right all along! Yami did love him after all!

"Yugi?" Yami's hesitant voice reached his ears. "Do you love me too?"

"Love you!?" Yugi cried. "There's no word in this world that can express my feelings. I am just so glad that we both feel the same. Let's go finish the dress for Ryou now, ne?"

Yami nodded. By the time the dress was done, Ryou was walking up the stairs after helping his step-family.

~ To be Continued ~

Authoress' Notes:

Yugi & Yami: *celebrating* Yes!!!!!!!!!! You know how long we begged for Princess Strawberry to give us this!? And she actually did it! It's a miracle!!! Well...not really.

Yami Strawberry: *screams while running by* You are a traitor, Yami Motou!

Yami: *cringes* Hey, it's not my fault you discovered the sugar first! So you are the one who is supposed to be responsible!

Princess Strawberry: Come back here, you!!!! *continues chasing Yami Strawberry with fire scythe in hand*

Yugi: How did you get out of Princess Strawberry's wrath?

Yami: I simply told her that Yami Strawberry bribed me into taking the sweets. And she just went after her now, I guess...

Yugi: -^__^- You've learned how to be me! Anyways, let us apologize again for the late update. Read and review now!