Well I'm back, and I guess I've tortured you guys enough. Here's the next
section. Not that it is going to solve everything. That would be too easy.
^^
Seto: Can't you just finish this and leave me alone?
Now, now Seto.... if you're not very nice to me, who knows who I'll pair you with next time. You think Jou is bad... *evil smirk*
Seto: O.o;;
Thought so... Now on to bigger and better things. My comments on my lovely reviewers! *glomps DSF* thank you!! It's soooo uber cool to be favorited! Hehehe, and you thought the last section had tension. I figured Ryou wasn't all chicken, and as you can see, he isn't! I'm so glad I could make you less annoyed Lonewolf! I too have found that when one is feeling bad all they need is a little shounen ai fluff to make it all better. I'm sorry that I keep dragging this out Lethe, but I promise, after (not this but) the next update you'll have to wait no more! Then... you shall know, one way or the other. Oh you think this is a cliffhanger IceMaiden? Hehehe, just wait. Dude! Sugar rocks! *hands out Pixi Stix to all her reviewers* sugar!!!! And I agree... eew... tomatoes. I would hope no one calls Ryou 'tomato face' SilverQueen. It's bad enough he doesn't even like tomatoes. Wooh! Cat face from Anime! It *must* be kawaii! But without giving anything away *cough*hint*cough* it's even cuter at the end. ~.^ Ryou is the best, Raven! He should have a fan club. And thanks for reviewing Dark Angel! You will now know what Seto 'says' as I continue with the next section (which is longer than usual for me. Have fun!)!
~Can Both Players Lose?~
'I think I have a crush on you.' Those eight words washed over Seto, and for a second he was confused as to why Ryou was blushing so much.
Then suddenly he felt the full impact of them hit him. His heart overflowed and broke in the space of less than a second. /It could be... no it can't! Damnit!/ Emotions tore through Seto, he was standing in a whirlwind, unable to control anything.
Always the one to hide his emotions, he stood up. "Excuse me," he said fighting back tears, and disappeared into the kitchen under the nervous gaze of Ryou.
Ryou just sat staring at the door for a few moments in shock. /He left...... oh gods, who was I kidding?!/ He pushed back from the table. It was a good thing he knew his way to the front door, or he may have ended up lost in the last place he wanted to be.
After letting himself out and closing the door behind him, Ryou felt so empty. /I won't cry... I knew it was hopeless... but did he have to leave?/ He knew he was on the verge of tears. /I never should have told him!/
Ryou had the sudden urge to be as far away from this place as he could. He broke into a run and headed for the only place he could think of: Duke's.
~*~
Seto hid himself in the den and fought to control his emotions. /Why Ryou? Why did you have to give me the opportunity to have what I want? Why did you have to make this harder for me?/
He stopped and glared at the chessboard, all laid out as they had left it after Seto had won. When his eyes fell on Ryou's king, lying on its side, he remembered their first game. He had toppled his own king, sacrificed it, because he knew he was going to lose.
He grabbed the fallen king and sat it up. Then he looked at his own king, and his hand moved to knock it over. He'd lost this game, he wouldn't let himself win. /Wait./ He pulled up short. /Why can't I win? I'm the only one stopping myself./
Seto stepped back and looked at the door. /Since when did I care about what people thought of me? Since when did I ever give up on what I wanted?/ Determined, Seto walked back to the dining room.
"Ryou, I-" Seto started, pushing open the doors to the room, but he stopped when all he saw was Rose.
She looked up, the forgotten dinner plates in her hands. "I'm sorry sir, but Ryou left."
Seto's stomach dropped to the floor. "When?" he forced out. /Not now... please don't do this to me Ryou.../
"Just a few moments after you sir," Rose said with a small curtsy, and left for the kitchen.
Seto stood in the doorway, staring at the table, not seeing anything. /I've ruined it. I was stupid and I left, so I ruined it.....Well then, I'll just have to fix it./ He stalked back into the den, determined to fix his stupid mistake. And *nothing* stopped Seto Kaiba when he was determined.
~*~
Ryou paused outside of the game shop and tried to catch his breath a bit before entering. Ignoring everyone, he walked straight to the back of the shop, looking for Duke. He found him talking to the cashier.
"Ryou! You'll never guess - What's wrong?" Duke grabbed Ryou's arm and pulled him up the stairs to the floor above the game shop, where he lived. "Ryou, talk to me," he pleaded after Ryou hadn't said anything.
"Did you tell Tristan?" Ryou asked in response, not noticing where they were.
"Yes, but that's not - oh my god...." Duke's eyes widened. "You actually told Kaiba?"
Ryou stared at the wall as he tried to stop his shaking. /Why Seto? The first time I get the nerve to do anything like this and you walked off..../
Duke finally grabbed Ryou's shoulders and shook him. "Ryou!"
Ryou was snapped back to reality, and he couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears made their way down his cheeks as he told Duke what happened. By the time he'd gotten to the end he was shaking so bad he thought his knees were going to give out.
Duke grabbed Ryou in a fierce hug. "You have got to be the braver out of the two of us. I would never have been able to even come *close* to telling Kaiba."
Ryou just buried his face in Duke's shoulder. All he wanted to do was hide from the world.
"You're going to school tomorrow." /That's it, he's psychic./
Ryou pulled back. "School? Are you insane? He'll be there!"
Duke just gave Ryou a determined look. "I won't allow you to let this pull you under. You can come away from this a stronger person."
"You can't make me," Ryou said sullenly.
"If you aren't at school by 7:15, I'm going to your place and dragging you to school. I don't care if you're still in your pajamas."
"Fine," Ryou sulked. "But don't expect me to talk to you."
Duke gave Ryou a small smile and another hug. "Deal."
~*~
Seto sat at the couch and stared at the blank piece of paper in front of him. Nothing in his life, especially running Kaiba Corp, had ever prepared him for writing a note like this. A note that, he felt, held the fate of his happiness.
He absentmindedly fiddled with the box sitting beside him. The piece of paper remained blank, and had been that way for a while already. He looked around the den, and tried to find comfort in the memories of the games. /What can I do to make him realize I respect his..... move..../ The pieces of the puzzle snapped together.
His blue eyes sparkled with the inner fire that only came from facing a challenge and beating it, as he began writing.
After a rough draft Seto made a few edits and wrote the final copy. He folded it up and placed it in the box with the gift. Now all he had to do was give it to Ryou.....
Nothing really to put here. Just the usual "review or I won't update" stuff. Oh, and the cool teaser stuff. Ahem. *corny announcer voice* What is on the note? Will Seto give Ryou the box? Will Ryou take it? What is in the box? *dramatic chord* Find out in the chilling conclusion of "Chess, anyone?" next time! Anyone care to hazard a guess?
Seto: Can't you just finish this and leave me alone?
Now, now Seto.... if you're not very nice to me, who knows who I'll pair you with next time. You think Jou is bad... *evil smirk*
Seto: O.o;;
Thought so... Now on to bigger and better things. My comments on my lovely reviewers! *glomps DSF* thank you!! It's soooo uber cool to be favorited! Hehehe, and you thought the last section had tension. I figured Ryou wasn't all chicken, and as you can see, he isn't! I'm so glad I could make you less annoyed Lonewolf! I too have found that when one is feeling bad all they need is a little shounen ai fluff to make it all better. I'm sorry that I keep dragging this out Lethe, but I promise, after (not this but) the next update you'll have to wait no more! Then... you shall know, one way or the other. Oh you think this is a cliffhanger IceMaiden? Hehehe, just wait. Dude! Sugar rocks! *hands out Pixi Stix to all her reviewers* sugar!!!! And I agree... eew... tomatoes. I would hope no one calls Ryou 'tomato face' SilverQueen. It's bad enough he doesn't even like tomatoes. Wooh! Cat face from Anime! It *must* be kawaii! But without giving anything away *cough*hint*cough* it's even cuter at the end. ~.^ Ryou is the best, Raven! He should have a fan club. And thanks for reviewing Dark Angel! You will now know what Seto 'says' as I continue with the next section (which is longer than usual for me. Have fun!)!
~Can Both Players Lose?~
'I think I have a crush on you.' Those eight words washed over Seto, and for a second he was confused as to why Ryou was blushing so much.
Then suddenly he felt the full impact of them hit him. His heart overflowed and broke in the space of less than a second. /It could be... no it can't! Damnit!/ Emotions tore through Seto, he was standing in a whirlwind, unable to control anything.
Always the one to hide his emotions, he stood up. "Excuse me," he said fighting back tears, and disappeared into the kitchen under the nervous gaze of Ryou.
Ryou just sat staring at the door for a few moments in shock. /He left...... oh gods, who was I kidding?!/ He pushed back from the table. It was a good thing he knew his way to the front door, or he may have ended up lost in the last place he wanted to be.
After letting himself out and closing the door behind him, Ryou felt so empty. /I won't cry... I knew it was hopeless... but did he have to leave?/ He knew he was on the verge of tears. /I never should have told him!/
Ryou had the sudden urge to be as far away from this place as he could. He broke into a run and headed for the only place he could think of: Duke's.
~*~
Seto hid himself in the den and fought to control his emotions. /Why Ryou? Why did you have to give me the opportunity to have what I want? Why did you have to make this harder for me?/
He stopped and glared at the chessboard, all laid out as they had left it after Seto had won. When his eyes fell on Ryou's king, lying on its side, he remembered their first game. He had toppled his own king, sacrificed it, because he knew he was going to lose.
He grabbed the fallen king and sat it up. Then he looked at his own king, and his hand moved to knock it over. He'd lost this game, he wouldn't let himself win. /Wait./ He pulled up short. /Why can't I win? I'm the only one stopping myself./
Seto stepped back and looked at the door. /Since when did I care about what people thought of me? Since when did I ever give up on what I wanted?/ Determined, Seto walked back to the dining room.
"Ryou, I-" Seto started, pushing open the doors to the room, but he stopped when all he saw was Rose.
She looked up, the forgotten dinner plates in her hands. "I'm sorry sir, but Ryou left."
Seto's stomach dropped to the floor. "When?" he forced out. /Not now... please don't do this to me Ryou.../
"Just a few moments after you sir," Rose said with a small curtsy, and left for the kitchen.
Seto stood in the doorway, staring at the table, not seeing anything. /I've ruined it. I was stupid and I left, so I ruined it.....Well then, I'll just have to fix it./ He stalked back into the den, determined to fix his stupid mistake. And *nothing* stopped Seto Kaiba when he was determined.
~*~
Ryou paused outside of the game shop and tried to catch his breath a bit before entering. Ignoring everyone, he walked straight to the back of the shop, looking for Duke. He found him talking to the cashier.
"Ryou! You'll never guess - What's wrong?" Duke grabbed Ryou's arm and pulled him up the stairs to the floor above the game shop, where he lived. "Ryou, talk to me," he pleaded after Ryou hadn't said anything.
"Did you tell Tristan?" Ryou asked in response, not noticing where they were.
"Yes, but that's not - oh my god...." Duke's eyes widened. "You actually told Kaiba?"
Ryou stared at the wall as he tried to stop his shaking. /Why Seto? The first time I get the nerve to do anything like this and you walked off..../
Duke finally grabbed Ryou's shoulders and shook him. "Ryou!"
Ryou was snapped back to reality, and he couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears made their way down his cheeks as he told Duke what happened. By the time he'd gotten to the end he was shaking so bad he thought his knees were going to give out.
Duke grabbed Ryou in a fierce hug. "You have got to be the braver out of the two of us. I would never have been able to even come *close* to telling Kaiba."
Ryou just buried his face in Duke's shoulder. All he wanted to do was hide from the world.
"You're going to school tomorrow." /That's it, he's psychic./
Ryou pulled back. "School? Are you insane? He'll be there!"
Duke just gave Ryou a determined look. "I won't allow you to let this pull you under. You can come away from this a stronger person."
"You can't make me," Ryou said sullenly.
"If you aren't at school by 7:15, I'm going to your place and dragging you to school. I don't care if you're still in your pajamas."
"Fine," Ryou sulked. "But don't expect me to talk to you."
Duke gave Ryou a small smile and another hug. "Deal."
~*~
Seto sat at the couch and stared at the blank piece of paper in front of him. Nothing in his life, especially running Kaiba Corp, had ever prepared him for writing a note like this. A note that, he felt, held the fate of his happiness.
He absentmindedly fiddled with the box sitting beside him. The piece of paper remained blank, and had been that way for a while already. He looked around the den, and tried to find comfort in the memories of the games. /What can I do to make him realize I respect his..... move..../ The pieces of the puzzle snapped together.
His blue eyes sparkled with the inner fire that only came from facing a challenge and beating it, as he began writing.
After a rough draft Seto made a few edits and wrote the final copy. He folded it up and placed it in the box with the gift. Now all he had to do was give it to Ryou.....
Nothing really to put here. Just the usual "review or I won't update" stuff. Oh, and the cool teaser stuff. Ahem. *corny announcer voice* What is on the note? Will Seto give Ryou the box? Will Ryou take it? What is in the box? *dramatic chord* Find out in the chilling conclusion of "Chess, anyone?" next time! Anyone care to hazard a guess?