DISCLAIMER - If I owned it, d'ya think I'd be writing FANfiction?!
Sorry in advance if Mai seems a bit OOC . . . but she always was when helping out another gal, so nyah! : P Can't blame me!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Mai carefully placed the china teacup in front of Ryou, and patiently (which was normally SO unlike her) took the seat on the opposite side of the coffee table.
Ryou, with all of her routine manners somehow carelessly swept aside, had propped her knees up on the leather sofa, and was still moving with that constant tremble. She had attempted to reach for the steaming tea, but found that her hands were shuddering too violently too be trusted with anything delicate. The swirling and dancing tendrils of steam were interesting enough.
After she had wept her entire heart away, she had confessed her story hoarsely to Mai, all the while apologizing for sounding so dumb, but Mai had listened obediently, waving them aside, with a deepening and concerned frown.
This whole friend thing . . . it was a new experience for her, but she tried to make the best of it. /She's been through so much./
Though the part about the Change of Heart still seemed a bit iffy from her perspective. Mai reasoned she didn't need any further explanation in spite of that disbelief; back at Battle City, she had never really believed in ~magic~, still didn't in fact and proud of it, for that was the preposterous kind of stuff out of a bad fantasy novel, or strange situation- quiz in a teen magazine! But, what she did accept were some of those strange phenomenons associated with that "shadow realm".
People randomly losing their minds . . . disappearing into shadow . . . too much and too many to be a coincidence, and lucky Mai was friends with the ones directly in with the illusionary secret. She had learned to willingly look the other way as far as that stuff was concerned, it was hard not to in that situation, but turning a blind eye seemed just what Mai always did anyway.
"Would you like to stay here?" she offered kindly.
Those over-large eyes rippled in honest gratitude, and the look of near disbelief for receiving such kindness.
"Thank you." She was calm enough now not to stutter, yet her voice only came out in a hoarse, almost-whisper from her throat carrying too many choking sobs.
Mai was already determined, already running mental plans through her head like an uncontrolled river. "You probably don't want anyone else to know you're Ryou, right?"
She nodded silently.
"Then you need another name!" She exclaimed to a startled companion, clapping her hands together and leaning forward with a smile. Oh, this was going to be so much fun . . .
Ryou stared at her for a moment, somewhat hesitating in any sense of enthusiasm. Eventually, she managed to form a small smile of her own, unable to dam any more of that fluttering and alien emotion the other girl was sporting at that moment.
"How about Ria?" she asked immediately, tilting her head "It's close enough to Ryou, you could get used to it easier."
She had to admit the unhesitating attitude calmed a little of her discomfort, so she bit her lip and humored her by twisting the name about her tongue, testing the feeling. It was alright . . . she supposed, but it just didn't seem to ~fit~ for some reason.
The pounding headache entrapped inside her skull urged her to just agree and be done with it. She really was about to comply, when a startlingly brilliant idea seemed to come to mind.
"Rei."
"Huh?" Mai had been naming off random titles, when the almost seemingly mute girl spoke up softly.
"Rei." She repeated "For a name I mean."
"Ray . . . "
"N-no, not quite as harsh sounding." Her eyes fluttered shut in minor, but relaxing contemplation. "Spelled 'ei'."
There was a silence between the two. Mai was staring at her with raised eyebrows, so she automatically mistook it for profound doubt.
"It's stupid, I know--" she said hurriedly.
"I like it." Stated Mai simply, interrupting the disclaimer. "It should work well."
She got up smoothly and stood over the confused girl with an unreadable expression, before picking up the now cold tea with a lax arm. Mai sniffed it and splattered it all over the other girl.
"You were pitying yourself, I hope you don't mind, but you needed it."
The girl was looking at her in disbelief, was this the same careless Mai the boy Ryou knew from before?
"All right then." Mai looked at her straight in the eye after it became appearant she wasn't going to respond. "Ryou is now dead, and a new and exciting gal has come to take his place."
"But he will always remain in our hearts." Rei whispered, feeling genuinely happy for the first time she could clearly remember.
/Ryou is dead now. I hope he never has to come back to hell./
~*~*~*~
"Boy am I glad that's over with." Mai sighed, as she led the cautious Rei up her staircase. "Never was a sentimental type . . . "
She offered nothing in response, not entirely sure what to make of the situation. Ryou had not been particularly close friends with Mai before, though what ~he~ had seen of her, certainly wasn't the same one offering ~her~ hospitality.
"Are you going to just stay silent all the time! I thought I told you to stop feeling sorry for yourself!"
Rei's head jolted up to her demand, and she feebly apologized; "Sorry--"
"You've been apologizing this entire time, you know." She pointed out.
Her lengthened bangs partially obscured her face as she turned her gaze downward, unsure of what to say in response.
"I-I'm so--" she hissed under her breath at the near-slip of impudence. Rei finally decided to just start it all fresh, still a newbie to a more lazy side of socializing. "Where did you get the idea to dump the tea on my head?"
"Oh, I saw this one thing in a joke shop once; 'wash away your sins'." She laughed "Of course, ~that~ isn't something that happens just by using some cheap soap! But I guess it's just the . . . assurance that counts, right?"
"I guess so."
Mai 'hmphed'. "We'll work on that. Anyway, washing away your troubles is kinda like starting a new life, so I figured it was worth a shot." Her blonde head poked inside the doorway at the end of the hall "Why don't you go ahead and take a shower, so I can lay something out for you to wear. I'm sure that stuff you're wearing now is awfully uncomfortable."
What Rei ~intended~ to say back, was entirely different than what came out.
"Why are you doing this?"
She clamped her hand over her mouth immediately, inwardly cursing her foolishness. Her footsteps stopped, just as Mai's form wavered in the doorway.
"Because . . . someone helped me . . . way back when." she stated quietly. Rei sensed that she was battling some inner demons of her own. She felt herself shrink back from the florescent bathroom illumination, just wanting to disappear.
"And besides, ~us~ gals have to stick together!" when she faced her again, she was grinning uncontrollably, with no trace of the tension that had recently passed. Mai motioned for her to enter.
"There are towels in the bottom cupboard, and when you're through, just head over there." She pointed to a door across the rosy hallway. "Take your time . . . and you should probably use the 'nioxin' for now, 'till we get a better fit for shampoo."
Rei knew she was only trying to make her feel more comfortable, but it didn't seem to help much for her never-resting nerves. And she was just so ridiculously confused . . .
Mai took her leave automatically, and proceeded back down the stairs, humming a tune.
Then she noticed her rather extended collection of shampoos.
/Geez Mai! ~Why~?/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
*wipes forhead* Yes, finally . . .
Guess what people; IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY! YIPPIDEE SKIPPIDEE!
I feel so ~old~. Scary, I'm really not.
But though you can't give me a present in the physical world, how 'bout a pretty review?! It'll be one of the best presents ever.
IN RESPONSE TO KAT:
I'm not cheating! Actually, I have no problems with writing a yaoi/shounen- ai story, it's just a major aspect of the plot. There probably will be yaoi incorporated eventually (it's kinda hard with all those bishies on one show), so patience my friend. (read chapter 4 again if you don't believe me!)
TO OTHERS:
I'm glad you thought the Bakura thing went well, I admit to having some doubts at first, but you guys like it so I'm happy! ^^ --see? HAPPY!
Oh yeah, and before I forget, I'd like to ask you all something:
I just watched a bit of "Love Hina", and LOVED it. The thing is, I'd like to do an AU based on it . . . possibly with YGO or FF7 characters. I already have some humorous ideas for who will play who, and I'm just curious to see if any of you would be interested in reading! If I did YGO, I'd have to change some of the guys into gals, but it would still work! Heh heh, I'll I'm saying is YAMI MALIK WITH DISTRUCTIVE TOYS! MWAHAHAHA-- *choke*
TELL ME IN A REVIEW PLEASE!!! Thank you so much!
(Thank you again. Happy birthday to me!)
Sorry in advance if Mai seems a bit OOC . . . but she always was when helping out another gal, so nyah! : P Can't blame me!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Mai carefully placed the china teacup in front of Ryou, and patiently (which was normally SO unlike her) took the seat on the opposite side of the coffee table.
Ryou, with all of her routine manners somehow carelessly swept aside, had propped her knees up on the leather sofa, and was still moving with that constant tremble. She had attempted to reach for the steaming tea, but found that her hands were shuddering too violently too be trusted with anything delicate. The swirling and dancing tendrils of steam were interesting enough.
After she had wept her entire heart away, she had confessed her story hoarsely to Mai, all the while apologizing for sounding so dumb, but Mai had listened obediently, waving them aside, with a deepening and concerned frown.
This whole friend thing . . . it was a new experience for her, but she tried to make the best of it. /She's been through so much./
Though the part about the Change of Heart still seemed a bit iffy from her perspective. Mai reasoned she didn't need any further explanation in spite of that disbelief; back at Battle City, she had never really believed in ~magic~, still didn't in fact and proud of it, for that was the preposterous kind of stuff out of a bad fantasy novel, or strange situation- quiz in a teen magazine! But, what she did accept were some of those strange phenomenons associated with that "shadow realm".
People randomly losing their minds . . . disappearing into shadow . . . too much and too many to be a coincidence, and lucky Mai was friends with the ones directly in with the illusionary secret. She had learned to willingly look the other way as far as that stuff was concerned, it was hard not to in that situation, but turning a blind eye seemed just what Mai always did anyway.
"Would you like to stay here?" she offered kindly.
Those over-large eyes rippled in honest gratitude, and the look of near disbelief for receiving such kindness.
"Thank you." She was calm enough now not to stutter, yet her voice only came out in a hoarse, almost-whisper from her throat carrying too many choking sobs.
Mai was already determined, already running mental plans through her head like an uncontrolled river. "You probably don't want anyone else to know you're Ryou, right?"
She nodded silently.
"Then you need another name!" She exclaimed to a startled companion, clapping her hands together and leaning forward with a smile. Oh, this was going to be so much fun . . .
Ryou stared at her for a moment, somewhat hesitating in any sense of enthusiasm. Eventually, she managed to form a small smile of her own, unable to dam any more of that fluttering and alien emotion the other girl was sporting at that moment.
"How about Ria?" she asked immediately, tilting her head "It's close enough to Ryou, you could get used to it easier."
She had to admit the unhesitating attitude calmed a little of her discomfort, so she bit her lip and humored her by twisting the name about her tongue, testing the feeling. It was alright . . . she supposed, but it just didn't seem to ~fit~ for some reason.
The pounding headache entrapped inside her skull urged her to just agree and be done with it. She really was about to comply, when a startlingly brilliant idea seemed to come to mind.
"Rei."
"Huh?" Mai had been naming off random titles, when the almost seemingly mute girl spoke up softly.
"Rei." She repeated "For a name I mean."
"Ray . . . "
"N-no, not quite as harsh sounding." Her eyes fluttered shut in minor, but relaxing contemplation. "Spelled 'ei'."
There was a silence between the two. Mai was staring at her with raised eyebrows, so she automatically mistook it for profound doubt.
"It's stupid, I know--" she said hurriedly.
"I like it." Stated Mai simply, interrupting the disclaimer. "It should work well."
She got up smoothly and stood over the confused girl with an unreadable expression, before picking up the now cold tea with a lax arm. Mai sniffed it and splattered it all over the other girl.
"You were pitying yourself, I hope you don't mind, but you needed it."
The girl was looking at her in disbelief, was this the same careless Mai the boy Ryou knew from before?
"All right then." Mai looked at her straight in the eye after it became appearant she wasn't going to respond. "Ryou is now dead, and a new and exciting gal has come to take his place."
"But he will always remain in our hearts." Rei whispered, feeling genuinely happy for the first time she could clearly remember.
/Ryou is dead now. I hope he never has to come back to hell./
~*~*~*~
"Boy am I glad that's over with." Mai sighed, as she led the cautious Rei up her staircase. "Never was a sentimental type . . . "
She offered nothing in response, not entirely sure what to make of the situation. Ryou had not been particularly close friends with Mai before, though what ~he~ had seen of her, certainly wasn't the same one offering ~her~ hospitality.
"Are you going to just stay silent all the time! I thought I told you to stop feeling sorry for yourself!"
Rei's head jolted up to her demand, and she feebly apologized; "Sorry--"
"You've been apologizing this entire time, you know." She pointed out.
Her lengthened bangs partially obscured her face as she turned her gaze downward, unsure of what to say in response.
"I-I'm so--" she hissed under her breath at the near-slip of impudence. Rei finally decided to just start it all fresh, still a newbie to a more lazy side of socializing. "Where did you get the idea to dump the tea on my head?"
"Oh, I saw this one thing in a joke shop once; 'wash away your sins'." She laughed "Of course, ~that~ isn't something that happens just by using some cheap soap! But I guess it's just the . . . assurance that counts, right?"
"I guess so."
Mai 'hmphed'. "We'll work on that. Anyway, washing away your troubles is kinda like starting a new life, so I figured it was worth a shot." Her blonde head poked inside the doorway at the end of the hall "Why don't you go ahead and take a shower, so I can lay something out for you to wear. I'm sure that stuff you're wearing now is awfully uncomfortable."
What Rei ~intended~ to say back, was entirely different than what came out.
"Why are you doing this?"
She clamped her hand over her mouth immediately, inwardly cursing her foolishness. Her footsteps stopped, just as Mai's form wavered in the doorway.
"Because . . . someone helped me . . . way back when." she stated quietly. Rei sensed that she was battling some inner demons of her own. She felt herself shrink back from the florescent bathroom illumination, just wanting to disappear.
"And besides, ~us~ gals have to stick together!" when she faced her again, she was grinning uncontrollably, with no trace of the tension that had recently passed. Mai motioned for her to enter.
"There are towels in the bottom cupboard, and when you're through, just head over there." She pointed to a door across the rosy hallway. "Take your time . . . and you should probably use the 'nioxin' for now, 'till we get a better fit for shampoo."
Rei knew she was only trying to make her feel more comfortable, but it didn't seem to help much for her never-resting nerves. And she was just so ridiculously confused . . .
Mai took her leave automatically, and proceeded back down the stairs, humming a tune.
Then she noticed her rather extended collection of shampoos.
/Geez Mai! ~Why~?/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
*wipes forhead* Yes, finally . . .
Guess what people; IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY! YIPPIDEE SKIPPIDEE!
I feel so ~old~. Scary, I'm really not.
But though you can't give me a present in the physical world, how 'bout a pretty review?! It'll be one of the best presents ever.
IN RESPONSE TO KAT:
I'm not cheating! Actually, I have no problems with writing a yaoi/shounen- ai story, it's just a major aspect of the plot. There probably will be yaoi incorporated eventually (it's kinda hard with all those bishies on one show), so patience my friend. (read chapter 4 again if you don't believe me!)
TO OTHERS:
I'm glad you thought the Bakura thing went well, I admit to having some doubts at first, but you guys like it so I'm happy! ^^ --see? HAPPY!
Oh yeah, and before I forget, I'd like to ask you all something:
I just watched a bit of "Love Hina", and LOVED it. The thing is, I'd like to do an AU based on it . . . possibly with YGO or FF7 characters. I already have some humorous ideas for who will play who, and I'm just curious to see if any of you would be interested in reading! If I did YGO, I'd have to change some of the guys into gals, but it would still work! Heh heh, I'll I'm saying is YAMI MALIK WITH DISTRUCTIVE TOYS! MWAHAHAHA-- *choke*
TELL ME IN A REVIEW PLEASE!!! Thank you so much!
(Thank you again. Happy birthday to me!)