Slam dunk
*********
Warnings/notes : AU, Yami/Yugi, Seto/Joey, Otogi/Honda and possibly slight Bakura/Ryou, oocness.
Disclaimer : I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.
written at 29th february 2004, by Misura
Thanks to the people who reviewed the eighth chapter :
To Leaf Zelindor : ^^; Maybe you should feel sorry for Joey too ... Thank you! :)
To Seto-Kaiba's-fan : Hmm, you're not the only one. ~.^
To Sugar-Kat : Say 'please'? ~.^ Thank you!
To Icy Flame : *is glomped* ^_^; Thank you! I enjoyed to write it, even if it was kind of sad ...
To Yugi-obsessed : Don't worry, he'll cheer up soon. Is one week soon? :)
To Strega : That's putting it mildly. ^^; Then again, he's not the only one, ne?
To s.h.i.r.o.i.k.e.t.s.u.e.k.i : Love is blind, you know. ~.^ Thank you! I did my best. ^_^
To Kaira-chan : ^^; You see cuteness in a lot of things. Glad to hear you liked the chapter! To be fair, Seto's attitude nearly makes my head explode. I think I'll have to let Joey do something about it soon ... ^_^
To Cold Hearted IceQueen : Thank you! I hope you'll like this chapter too. :)
To Kiawna : This chapter and the next are all Yami/Yugi's, hope you'll enjoy! Thank you! :) Oh, and please don't whack Seto too hard. Unless you want a mad puppy chasing after you ...
To invisible-eyes : I'm afraid Seto and Joey will struggle on for a while, before seeing the light. Ryou, Bakura and Honda *will* make an appearance ... soonish? Thank you very much! ^_^
To Star Light Shadow : The next chapters will be a bit lacking in that department, so I'm glad you liked it. Thank you! :)
To Sarah Harvey : Poor Kaiba? What about Joey? ^^; Yami and Yugi will star in the next two chapters, hope you'll like them. Thank you! :)
To Alana : Thanks for the enthusiastic encouragement! :)
To Anonymous : Thank you, I'll do my best. :)
To hAdOwCat : Yami and Yugi *should* get some meaningful interaction the coming two chapters. Thank you very much! ^_^
To Kitty Neko : Say 'please'? ~.^
To Anime Crazed : Read and find out! (Well, not this chapter but ... ). Thank you! ^_^
To youko-moon : Seto does have problems, doesn't he? Thank you!
Seto : It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you.
Joey : *glomps Seto* Even if you're paranoid, I still love you. ^_^ I'll make you see the light!
To A. Hailan : Joey ... I have the feeling his character's constantly trying to get away from me. He's definitely too cheerful to be true, but his mask is holding so far. I'm not sure for how much longer, but I'm sure your wish will be granted at some point. ^^; Otogi having a crush on Joey? Who knows? He sure doesn't seem to have one on Honda! (Which you'll find out three chapters from now, if all goes well. ^^;). Thank you very much! ^_^
To DarkShadowFlame : Well, Joey does have a tendency to be slightly ... overwhelming. Paired with Seto's liking for control and order, they're not the easiest of couples. Glad you like their struggles though! Thank you very much. ^_^
To nekomoongirl : ^^; And poor Joey too. Thank you, I did my best. :)
To UnknownDarkMystery : Erhm, no. Just Ryou, who also was that subject that Grandfather thought might be interesting to Yugi. (See? I kept my promise ... kind of. ^^;). Thank you! :)
To Crystal Blaize : Longer? Sorry, can't promise that. But I do aim for weekly updates ... Thank you! :)
To Suppis Tenshi : Ryou, Bakura and Honda are coming up, I promise. But I have planned in some Yami/Yugi first so ... Thank you very much! ^_^
To The Chaotic Ones : Can an ice-cube get burnt? Thank you! :)
To Ril : I will, thank you! : )
To DerangedButMagic : Thank you, I'll do my best. : )
**********
When Yugi arrived home, he found his grandfather waiting for him, looking ready to depart.
"Is something wrong?" Yugi asked, slightly alarmed. Then another possibility occured to him. "Have Mom and Dad come back unexpectedly for a surprise-visit?"
His grandfather blinked, shaking his head. "No, to both of your questions. I promised to pick up young Ryou, remember? He arrives at the airport this evening."
Yugi stared at him blankly. "Ryou?"
"Yes, Ryou." His grandfather sighed exasperatedly. "The grandson of my friend and former colleague whom I told you about yesterday."
Yugi flushed guiltily. "Oh. I guess I missed that. Sorry, grandfather."
The old man chuckled, fondly ruffling Yugi's hair. "That's okay, Yugi. I know you've got a lot on your mind with your new school and friends. Though I do hope you'll find some spare time to show Ryou around a bit. From what I remember, he's a rather shy boy. He could use a friend."
"Sure!" Yugi promised eagerly. "And I'm sure Joey and Anzu'd be more than happy to give him a tour as well. They're much more familiar with everything than I am."
His grandfather smiled. "That's good to hear, Yugi." He rose. "I'd better be leaving now then. I'll probably be back by ten, but you don't need to stay up for me. There's dinner in the microwave."
Yugi nodded. "Will Ryou be staying with us? Can I prepare a room for him?" He was still feeling a bit guilty about not having paid more attention last night. Besides, he didn't have much homework to do and without his grandfather around to play games with or talk to, there wouldn't be much to do.
"There'll be no need for that. His father has rented an apartment for him near school. I've been told it's not too big or luxurious, but Ryou apparently declared he'd like to have some privacy and rather not 'bother' anyone." Yugi's grandfather snorted. "Ah well, it's his choice I suppose."
Yugi tried to imagine living on his own, without anyone to take care of him, without anyone to come home to ... It seemed dreadfully lonely. He couldn't picture anyone being happy living like that.
On the other hand, it was logical that Ryou didn't agree to stay with people he hadn't met for ages right away. In time though, Yugi was sure he'd be able to convince the other boy. It'd be nice to have someone else to keep him company aside from Grandfather, someone more his own age.
****
At eight o'clock, Yugi was finished with his homework for the next two days and getting a bit bored. There still were some puzzles he hadn't solved yet lying on the shelves over his desk, but merely *looking* at them was enough to give him a headache.
Yugi decided he wanted something easy to entertain him. Something that wouldn't require him to do a lot of thinking, but that would still be able to keep his mind occupied.
Something like ... basketball? Joey had told him there would be try-outs for the team soon and Yugi had solemnly promised to participate in them, even if he didn't share Joey's trust in his talents. Unless he wanted to appear a complete fool though, he ought to do some practicing.
While Yugi didn't own a ball of his own, both Joey and Anzu had assured him there nearly always was someone to be found at the basketball-court who was willing to play *and* in possession of a ball he or she was willing to share.
'After all,' Otogi had remarked jokingly, 'you new ones aren't the only ones who need to shape up for the try-outs. We older and more experienced players also want to hone our skills to make sure we look better than you.'
The more he thought about it, the more the idea to go to the basketball-court appealed to Yugi. It would be nice to see Otogi, Anzu or Joey again, even if he had seen them in school today already. And he *had* given his word to do some training after all.
The only thing that bothered him a little was that there was no way to let his grandfather know where he was, except for leaving a note. What if Grandfather called with some urgent message while he wasn't at home? Would Grandfather even approve of him going out all alone this late in the evening?
*****
Yami boredly watched the ball drop through the basket for what seemed to be the hundredth time that evening. His dark mood had chased away all other people who had been at the court when he'd arrived, leaving him alone with nobody to take his annoyance out on.
It might have been different if Joey had been there, or even Otogi, who had his rare moments of intelligence and empathy. Unfortunately for Yami though, it seemed both of his 'friends' (Joey's term, not his) were too busy with other things.
And so he was stuck with what had to be the worst of company : himself.
Yami sighed. He hadn't attempted to copy Yugi's shot again. He told himself it was because it would be pointless, because the two of them simply had different techniques and that he couldn't expect to be able to do something simply because Yugi could.
Retrieving the ball, he noticed a small figure hovering near the entrance of the court as if afraid to enter. He had sensed someone watching him before, but he had assumed it was just one of the regular players, who would depart and leave him alone if he would ignore them long enough. Apparently he had been wrong.
Driven by a slightly sadistic desire to see Yugi proven not to be so good at all, Yami threw the ball in his direction, fully expecting the boy to be taken by surprise and fail to catch it. Instead though, Yugi caught the ball perfectly, sending Yami a shy, hesitant smile as if asking for a confirmation of his having succeeded.
Yami scowled at him, refusing to give his opponent -for that was what Yugi was now- that kind of satisfaction. He already regretted having given Yugi the opportunity to humiliate him yet again.
"Are you going to play, or do you want us to keep staring at each other for the rest of the night?" Yami inquired, suppressing a slight rush of guilt at seeing Yugi flinch. Perhaps he should try to keep his temper in check a little, even if it *was* Yugi who had caused it.
Yugi made no verbal reply, tossing the ball back. Or rather *trying* to throw the ball back to Yami. Apparently Joey's 'natural talent' had underestimated the force required to span the distance between him and Yami, causing the ball to fall short, rolling to a halt at Yami's feet.
The bright blush that colored Yugi's cheeks smothered any sarcastic remarks that Yami might have made otherwise.
"I'm s-sorry."
~tbc~