Disclaimer: ::lawyers lean in (think last disclaimer):: I, Ego-chan, ::lawyer lean even closer:: am claustrophobic! ::lawyers jump and back away:: Arigatou ::lawyers are waiting:: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh and no one is making any profit from this fic past personal gain in the ego's department.
Notes: Oh, I'm currently working on chapter six for "Die" and a few pages of "Plans." Find out more in my bio if you really want to know the status of all this.
Yes, I am well aware "Plans" hasn't been updated for three weeks. "Plans" is suffering from writer's block right now, but the good news is I just passed the one page line. That's the most improvement I've had there in two weeks.
Chapter Information: Yes, and this chapter has a dinner party. If you think dinner is in the afternoon (my aunt does), it is the evening in this fic. Who wants to call it a supper party anyway?
Oh, Mei-san wasn't fired.
This chapter was originally part of chapter two, but they didn't really fit together.
Thanks: R Amythest for Beta-reading. (And I just realised if I were the shorten her name to initials, It'd be RA. Oh, forgive my grammar great, benevolent RA! smirks)
(TeeDee: I don't know about the bird's personality. I know Ryuuji hates it, and that's about it. - I'm going to see if I can get cheesepuff to do me a favor since she's read so many of my fics. I can draw {sorta}, but I'm too lazy most of the time ::grin:: I have to be inspired. Now, thanks to you, I won't stop thinking about Ryou and the dove 'til it claims some paper.) [Sachi-chan: Ha, that was funny. Do my tidbits of information really surprise people? WAI! ::calms down:: Gomen for the "Plans" failure. I usually explain those things in my bio every week. ::blinks:: People read it too…. I still can't get over that.] (Elle-FaTe2x1: Yami no Matsuei? That is my favorite anime. Yu-Gi-Oh looks a bit boring next to it, since all it has is gaming repetitively. ::frowns:: But there where only thirteen episodes! ::pouts:: Well, at least I'm getting the manga I purchased translated by someone ::winces:: Money, I need money, I spend it all on manga!) [InSaNe KeYbLaDeR: Isn't it great to be learning new things?] (Windswift: Yes, my brother is a pigeon! In reality, some people way back in my family tree had the last name "Pigeon." Oddness…. - Soba is a type of noodle made from buckwheat. It's a food. - ::grins:: Oi, I was planning a Seto/Malik.) [Equaral: Everything you said is correct…except the "something drastic" happening between Ryuuji and Ryou. - I guessed you'd review this chapter. You 're so devoted! ::grin:: That's a very good thing.] (Ashuri chan: Jealously won't really come up till later, but I suppose there is tension going around.) [Renee the Rabid Squirrel: Yes, Ryou keeps the bird, and names it too {unlike the lobster}.] (bloodquartz: No, the dove is only here to annoy the Hell out of Ryuuji-kun. But, I think it really helps with the bonding issue. ::grins at whatever chapter she had Ryou begin falling for Ryuuji:: The dove is positive… in a ways.) [Hyatt Insomnia: Review "Plans!" ::grin:: - No, Ego has a fixation with animals. I'll give Ryou {or any other character} anything but a horse, since I don't really like horses. - How I make Ryuuji-kun in character, eh? Erm, RA would tell you I make it up as I go along, but she, uh, she doesn't know what she's talking about ::locks beta out and continues:: No, really, I have pictures of Otogi-san I look at. He's very expressive. You just pick up the egocentric vibe. But, he also proves a pretty nice guy later on. Manga and anime don't say much though….] (MarmaladeGirl: I don't think the dove dies…. - Did you know "Plans" fifteen hasn't exceeded a page yet? ::winces:: Writer's block hurts! - Yes, random pets tend to pop up a lot in my fics. I was thinking of a mouse for another plot bunny, which will get some light after "Plans." I was going to give Ryuuji a little mouse named Janken and Ryou a haircut! ::grins and holds up pen:: My magic pen for "Plans" is stuck in the couch.) [Shetan: Seto will be a bit rude, but hey, that's Seto for ya. - I feel I should rant about YnM now too. ::grin:: Terazuma; the pointy eared guy is Terazuma. He hates women and turns into a monster on contact with them. XD His partner, Wakaba, is female though. - The anime also left out different things in the manga and stuck to the Muraki plot and Tsuzuki's guilt. I still love it though; it's pretty, funny, and everything I expected. - Muraki might as well of raped Hisoka, since a single touch seems to send the poor guy off and out of it. - I loved Muraki's voice actor, but he often used words I didn't know… but I got subs and my cousin has the English {which I didn't really watch since I don't want to miss a single scene or line}. I find the English a bit disturbing as I keep recognizing voice actors from, like, Pokemon. It's not that weird in Japanese, though. But really, Tsuzuki was Yami no Yuugi {dubbed} and I freaked. Only my affection for Muraki's-san's voice kept me from spasing over his Japanese actor. - Don't worry, I obsess over Yami no Matsuei and confuse RA a lot. My brother watched it though {why?} so I can tell him stuff, but I think he was a bit disturbed by Muraki. Wonder why…. - That was long. I love YnM and am currently getting some manga translated {by my neighbor for five bucks a volume. That's fifty of I had all ::winces:: But I lost some of his YGO cards a while ago anyway}. It maybe be five bucks a track, though….] (ex-FAHgeek: Mei is also my neighbor's name, so I took it. I don't know if it's his last or first name anymore. Mei-san the character's other name is Tjiri though, not a ParaDox or Industrial Illusions affiliate. The author notes in the beginning of chapter one explained that.)
pouts I want a picture of a guy holding a bird, then I can draw Ryou there! ::frowns:: I need to meet more fan artists, you know, ask them to draw this stuff for me (nicely, I assure you, I'm polite most of the time). ::glares at trashcan full of "horrible" drawings:: I can draw Hato and I can draw Ryou… just not together! art supplies laugh at Ego
:::::::::::::::::
Or Die Trying
:::::::::::::::::
-Manners-
Ryuuji was waiting for Ryou to hurry up.
"C'mon, Bakura, it's valet parking, you're going to have to come out before I hand the keys over."
Uneasy, Ryou emerged from the back seat of Ryuuji's car, looking left and right like a terrified animal.
"Don't worry, no one's going to bite your head off," Ryuuji consoled, helping him out. He gave one of the men waiting the keys and turned back to Ryou, "Well, not literally, that is."
"I must look like a baka," Ryou muttered, straightening his blouse.
"You look like an exceptionally stunning baka, if you think that."
Ryou blushed again. He knew better than to say something self-derogative in Ryuuji's presence. The D-D-D inventor always turned the words into some complementing correction. His unpremeditated flirting was frighteningly believable. It was hard to keep negative thoughts around Ryuuji after you broadcast them.
Well, unless they where about dress.
"I don't know…."
Ryuuji sighed, "Mahout, the car has been parked. There's nowhere left to go but in."
"We could always go after—"
"Do you really want to walk that far, Bakura? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were scared," Ryuuji criticized lightly, knowing it was true. He added on a softer note, "Don't worry about those ego's inside. You don't have to stay long, just walk in, have a few people notice we came, and walk out, easy."
Ryou nodded hesitantly in agreement, following Ryuuji inside.
As soon as they cleared the doors, Ryuuji knew Ryou was, in he own quietly personal way, panicking. Everyone in the room was donned in overly extravagant apparel for such an occasion. Ryuuji admitted he had downplayed the expected seriousness of the dinner as to keep his invite from showing up better dressed than himself. But, the dice player was in his own autonomously casual outfit and wild hair, so Ryou had still managed to almost out-formal him. Indeed, though he obviously didn't think so, Ryou's keen to suit presentation would be much more appealing to the gentry than Ryuuji's tendency to act overly impertinent and not care.
"Otogi-san, over here!"
Ryuuji turned to the left to see Mei waving him over. He pulled at Ryou's sleeve, attempting to wake him from a slight distress. Quickly the boy attempted to compose himself the best he could and trailed behind Ryuuji to the other end of the room.
Standing by his seat was a short man Ryou didn't recognize. He seemed to know Ryuuji though and was smiling. There was something comic about the stubby figure. Maybe it was his pleasantly shiny eyes hidden behind a myriad of laugh lines, or his bushy, western mustache? Ryou couldn't decide except the man didn't look either haughty or disrespectful like many others in the room.
"I almost thought you weren't of a mind to show, Otogi-san. I was going to conduct business without you (fearing for my life at your reaction, I assure you) when lone behold, I'm saved as you walk right into the room. I should have known better, you and your tricks. I wouldn't be surprise if you'd been waiting outside the entire time!"
Ryou almost laughed out loud at the voice, the pleasant squeaking of the mouse-like man. It was almost hilarious there was someone like Mei in the lofty atmosphere.
"You know, in fact, I wasn't?" Ryuuji smirked, "Must be my impeccable timing."
The man laughed delightfully at this remark, his eyes disappearing in his widened smile. His portly form wobbled easily with this action. He reminded Ryou of some grinning Buddha, so round and small. It was amazing.
"I say, Otogi-san, you do keep your wit about you," he looked at Ryou, who was hovering timidly behind Ryuuji, "Who is this friend you've brought?"
Ryuuji turned to Ryou, sweeping him forward to greet the older man.
"This is Bakura Ryou. Bakura, this is Mei Tjiri."
Ryou blinked slightly in shock. "You're Mei?" he stammered.
"Ha, well I guess I am! Konban wa, Bakura-san."
Ryou was still not completely over his surprise. This is the business associate Otogi-kun is always complaining about, he thought while observing the man, how come he yells so often at him?
Ryuuji continued his discussion as if nothing had cut into the middle of it. Ryou wasn't surprised; Ryuuji didn't like to let things slide.
"What business were you talking about, Mei? Certainly nothing goes down without my consent that is crucial to the interests of my Dragon, Dice, and Dungeons marketing?"
Mei's face became somewhat irked at this inquire. Ryou sensed a slight tension between the two. Ryuuji knew perfectly well Mei had been planning to go talk with Kaiba Seto about the prospects of holding a certain competition.
"Well, you know Kaiba-sama is here and I thought why not propose the idea of using his—"
"No, I told you, Mei, we're not using Kaiba World," Ryuuji sighed, "Kaiba would never allow such a thing anyway."
"How would you know, Otogi-san?" Mei questioned. Ryou resigned to staying silent and listening.
"Look, I don't want him in this. It's my tournament, I decide," Ryuuji replied firmly.
"You aren't going to have a tournament if you don't choose a place to hold it." Mei added truthfully. Ryuuji frowned at the fact.
"Kaiba wouldn't agree, so there's no point in asking."
"No point in asking what? I have ears."
Ryou suppressed a yelp at the icy voice behind him as the unmistakable figure of Kaiba Seto approached. If there was anything to test Ryou's attempts at relaxation more, it was the daunting chief executive of Kaiba Corp.
Fortunately, Ryuuji wasn't exactly of the same attitude, looking up at the successful entrepreneur with a chillingly amused smirk.
"I'm aware of your ears. They're quite a charming touch to your otherwise gauche features, I should say."
At these words, Seto matched Ryuuji's astonishing ease with a look of tedious antipathy. He sized up the other carefully, taking in his outrageous dress, before smirking right back.
"You have no definition for what's gauche or not, idiot. Tell me, are you trying to remind the party exactly why no one likes you, or is that really your best outfit?"
Ryou winced at this, only listening. He hoped it wouldn't get ugly; he was too far from home to walk, much less run should something break out. Mei also sensed the strain, quickly butting into the chat.
"Kaiba-sama, how pleasant it is you're here! Otogi-san and I where just discussing something about you."
"You don't say, Mei-san?"
The short man nodded, grinning nervously, "Yes, see, Otogi-san is planning on a Dragon, Dice, and Dungeons tournament, only there's a bit of a hazy outline on where it is to be held."
Seto nodded slowly at this, "And you were wondering if I'd lease out Kaiba World, right?"
"Yes, we—"
"Iya, Mei, I'm not going to let my—"
"Sure you can use the site," Seto interrupted, "I'm rather one to support the local gaming media whether big or, in this instance, small."
Ryuuji's relaxed posture stiffened at this. He glared slightly at Seto who understood perfectly the insult he was laying. To have Kaiba Seto patronize him so much was something to deeply scar Ryuuji's personal dogma.
"Dragons, Dice, and Dungeons is not small, Kaiba," he growled. Seto smirked at this, pleased with his victory.
"Oh, we all have our opinions, Otogi, even if they are ill-informed," Seto replied, an almost singsong like chime in his rough tone. Ryou ventured to look up at him in stages out of the corner of his eye. Ryou felt sorry for Ryuuji, who was appearing quite stunned by the turn of events.
"This is wonderful, Otogi-san! We now have a location for the tournament," Mei announced, not fully accepting the enormity of Ryuuji's mental disaster.
Ryou knew it would be rude for Ryuuji to turn Seto down now. Ryuuji had some pride to understand that as well while he kept glaring. Again, the white-haired boy attempted to look up at Seto only to met two shrewd blue eyes directing their glaze right back. Sticking to his classical reaction, Ryou blushed and averted his vision, only to look again right at the almost emotionless expression and wondered if he had considered any such face being possible before that moment. Seto watched him, silently contemplating, while Ryou's angst threw out his manners and made him a nervous wreck.
"Your name's Bakura, isn't it?" Seto asked blankly. Ryou blushed again as he nodded and looked down, trying to hide behind Ryuuji again.
In response, the other glaring teen woke up from his frustrated plummet of reality, turning to Ryou.
"You alright?"
"Fine," Ryou answered, standing a bit straighter for affect, "I'm all right."
Ryuuji looked over at Seto, unsure. To calm him, Ryou smiled good-humoredly. "So, where's the food going to come from?" he asked with perfect mime of the Jounouchi mentality.
Ryuuji smirked at this optimistic enthusiasm. He had no idea how Ryou could do that, be worried and terrified one minute, and almost completely comfortable and content the next. The sarcastic teen envied this easiness at times. Nothing really seemed to ever put Ryou down for long. He seemed oblivious to anything wrong and never got into rough spots. It nearly was too good to even believe.
You had to stand back and admire it. Ryou had his behavior down. Ryuuji wasn't of a like mind, acting completely unstable most of the time. Hey, if the light was green, why wait any longer?
"Let's sit, shall we?" Mei suggested, waving to the empty seats nearby. Quietly Ryou took his offered chair. To Ryuuji's vexation, it happened to be next to Seto.
Ryuuji would have swapped out positions in a heartbeat, but everyone in the near group was getting settled. He could tell Ryou was going to silently panic again like when they came in. It was hard to remain comfortable in such pretentious company, especially for Ryou. Even the pale boy had his limits, no matter how polite he could be.
Ryuuji sighed, sitting on the opposite side of Ryou. Knowing him, the white haired boy was going to be nervous. In being nervous, he'd become clumsy. After showing off as a perfect oaf with dinnerware, he'd turn paranoid and take a mental vow of silence. For the rest of the evening Ryou would be too drown in shame to say one word. Then the next day he'd be quiet and avoid those who reminded him of his embarrassment, becoming very hard to talk to. Ryuuji knew this. Though Ryou eventually recovered, it took forever. He didn't want to spend the next week talking to hear himself speak. He'd have to keep Ryou from looking like an idiot to prevent this.
That would be difficult, granted, as Seto was right there and Ryou was very talented in blowing up mistakes.
Gruffly Ryuuji pulled up a chair and sat down next to Ryou, who was looking a bit uneasy.
"How's about we leave?" he inquired quietly to avoid Kaiba's interest. Ryou looked up, a slight frown crossing over his features.
"Now? How is that possible?"
"I could say you're ill and we'll be excused," Ryuuji suggested brightly.
"Lie? You can't be serious!" Ryou gasped. Ryuuji almost rolled his eyes. He'd forgotten just how moral Ryou's little world was.
"You don't feel good, right?" he asked. Ryou nodded slowly.
"Sorta," he finally admitted. It was true.
"Then it's okay! We're not lying, just bending the truth."
Ryou arched a brow at Ryuuji's absurd tenet, but realized it was hopeless to argue the point. As far as he cared, Otogi was histrionic for other people beside himself. Ryou's discomfort was being overly stressed. It wasn't as bad as Ryuuji was going to make it seem.
"Okay, get us out of here," Ryou consented. Ryuuji smiled thankfully at him before turning to Meii.
"Mei, this party is just terrific. I'm so sorry, demo, Bakura-kun isn't feeling too well. I'm going to have to take him to his apartment."
"Masaka! I suppose you do have to hurry off then," the man agreed, nodding exuberantly in his sympathy.
"Iku yo," Ryuuji began, standing and turning to Ryou. Seto looked up, naturally curious.
"Leaving so soon, Otogi-san? What's the matter, don't want to sit by me?" he sneered rudely.
"None of your business," Ryuuji growled.
"Well," Seto smirked, watching the two leave, "Don't enjoy yourselves too much."
As soon as they where out of the room, Ryuuji kicked a chair.
"Bakayaro," he hissed at the closed door. Ryou sighed slightly, as he knew perfectly well Kaiba couldn't hear.
"Bakatare," Ryou corrected, "If you're going to insult Kaiba-san behind his back, please hold in consideration your little company. If you insist on vulgar language, at least remember I don't want to hear the worst of it."
Ryuuji blinked slightly, before slowly cracking a grin.
"Gomennasai, I'll try," he answered, watching a slight look of relief cross Ryou's face, "Now lets go find the car."
Ryuuji and Ryou exited to the parking lot. Ryou waited on the driveway until Ryuuji drove up. Quickly, he slipped into the back seat, buckling the safety belt.
"So, Bakura, what are your feelings about pasta?"
"Nani?"
-----
"I swear this is much better than the over-perfected tofu representations of food they serve at those dinner events. They can keep their rich foods, give me a sloppy plate of spaghetti any day and I'm fed."
"I think you're right, Otogi-kun," Ryou agreed, stabbing a fork into his own dish. Like Ryuuji, he also had spaghetti, "Sure, it's sloppy, but Italians are geniuses."
"Exactly my thought," Ryuuji grinned, lifting his glass to Ryou and laughing. Ryou lifted his as well, with a smile.
"Kanpai!" they cheered. Ryou took another sip of his ice tea while Ryuuji knocked back his entire red wine. {A}
"I know you insist on it, but you shouldn't be drinking so much of that," Ryou warned, "Or any, actually. I don't want to drive."
"You don't have to," Ryuuji reminded him, "I can just call for a car."
"Not if you're passed out."
"Awe," Ryuuji crooned, "You want me to give you the number, don't you?"
"Now that you mentioned it, yes," Ryou answered as Ryuuji poured himself more drink. Ryou tried to scowl at his friend, but Ryuuji happened to posses a very contagious grin that always caught him off guard.
"Okay, it's four, two, nine…" Ryuuji began.
"Yes?" Ryou egged, leaning forward.
"Ehem, four, two, nine, sixty-eight—I'm not going to pass out."
Ryou frowned slightly at the gag as Ryuuji smirked at him.
"Itadakimasu!" Ryuuji announced for the second time, taking another bite of the Italian dish.
Ryou shook his head as Ryuuji slurped up his spaghetti with the grace of the most blatant Neanderthal. Tomato sauce and bits of noodle where haphazardly flung about the sitting.
"That's disgusting, Otogi-kun!" Ryou sighed in annoyance, passively brushing a clump of meat from his sleeve, "You have no manners."
"Gomennasai, Bakura-kun," he apologized, exaggerating the severity of his tone, "I'll behave."
With an unnecessarily flamboyant display of austerity, Ryuuji started cutting his noodles to more easily managed lengths. He was supposedly mimicking Ryou's actions at the start of the meal.
"There, you happy now, Mahout?" he asked. Ryou was too annoyed at Ryuuji's brazen attitude to say much. The nerve of that D-D-D inventor was shocking.
"You're such a baka…" Ryou muttered. Ryuuji almost didn't catch it.
"No, I'm just very trying." Ryuuji corrected.
"Heh, more like exasperating."
"I'd say maddening, Mahout."
"Maddeningly immature."
"And devilishly gorgeous to boot!"
"Otogi-kun!"
Ryuuji smirked, swallowing the last of his dinner. He quickly reached across the table, grabbing Ryou's breadstick and breaking it in half. "Domo arigatou," he thanked, taking a bite. Ryou choose to ignore this and continued eating.
"Will that be all this evening?" the waiter asked, coming up with a pen and paper from restaurant hyperspace. Ryou could have sworn the man pulled the supplies out of thin air. {B}
"I'm done," Ryou announced, dropping his fork. Ryuuji nodded.
"Yeah, that's all."
"I'll get the bill then."
Ryou watched the waiter walk away; thoughtfully chewing the bit of bread Ryuuji had left him. The dark haired teen opposite him was grinning.
"You're paying, right?"
Ryou frowned, his patience already being tested. Ryuuji laughed.
"Don't get in a tizzy, 'Kura. I'm just joking."
Ryou continued to silently chew his bread, deciding he wasn't going to comment. Ryuuji truly smiled at this. "Good to know at least one of us is serious, right, Bakura-kun?"
"Yeah, good—You have tomato sauce on your chin…mm, right there."
Lettered Notes:
{A}: Believe me, if you go to the right (well, wrong) places, you can get away with anything. ::looks around nervously:: Uh, not that I know personally or anything. [Otogi: You liar.] ::smacks Ryuuji-kun over the head:: U Don't listen to that, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Well, maybe he does, he was the one drinking in this chapter. Ryuuji-kun is just odd.
{B}: Hyperspace, yeah, Hyper- meaning over, above, beyond. Basically extra space in the universe discovered by restaurants and used to store waiters pens and my gas card. ::frown:: Those things don't just fall out of your bag, dammit! ::irrationally angry and employing elementary school logic::
{C}: [not in chapter] Instead of "Manners" for this chapter, I did consider "Annoying the Hell out of Ryou," but it was too long. ::sadistic grin:: I think this chapter will come in handy later (I haven't got every detail of this fic planned out exactly yet, but I know the ending).
Translations:
Note on Translations: Heh, I got nothing to say….
Konban wa – Good evening [to you]
Demo – But; however; though
Masaka – Never; I never; you don't say; well
Iku yo – [Lets] go
Bakayaro – (adj?, male) [You] fool; extremely stupid (an excessively masculine term for "bakatare")
Bakatare – (adj?) [You] fool; stupid (not as coarse as bakayaro)
Kanpai! – Cheers! (a toast)
Itadakimasu – Let's eat (rough translation, but that's basically it. You say it before you eat)
Next Chapter: Ryuuji's food purchase is taken away. Ryuuji is attacked before he can finish a question to Ryou. The birds, the birds! How do you stop them? "Uh, Bakura, aren't doves pigeons?"
Will they review? I don't know!
::grins foolishly:: Yeah, I know you guys will. You're all just awesome that way.
Please review. I'm making money baby-sitting right now and it's four kids who hate each other! The lady paying me is named Mary-Sue, and she has the attitude for it. I need something to feel better because the caffeine stopped helping and I've been reaching for something stronger.
::glares:: If I weren't getting paid, I'd break.
No reason, but I wonder what it's like to live in the suburbs?
::passes out::
Randomness: You know, I would be very thankful to anyone drawing a picture of Ryou with the dove. I know if I got one finished, I'd want to show everyone, and that isn't possible as my scanner is busted. ::glares at scanner:: Damn. I can't make computer graphics at all. ::pencils and pens laugh maliciously as they hold her captive:: I want all of you artistic reviewers to please come up with something. Onegai? I'll update "Plans".
-Ling no Yong-