Slam dunk
e-l-e-v-e-n
[Edit : Due to ff.net eating my asterisks as well as some of my emoticons, this chapter's lay-out is a bit weird, sorry.]
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 9th march 2004, by Misura
Thanks to the people who reviewed the tenth chapter :
To Somnia Lustre : Thank you! Ryou and Joey ended up both in this chapter, so I hope you'll enjoy it! :)
To kamehameha : Fluff is coming ... after the angst.-slightly guilty- Thank you! :)
To Ril : I managed to update within one week again. Is that soon enough? -hopeful- Thank you! :)
To RaineKitsune : Sorry for your prayers not having been granted and thank you! :)
To Strega : I'll do my best, thank you! -big smile-
To Kaira-chan : Ooops. --;;;; 'Sure to be good'? Well ... I wouldn't say that. -slightly guilty- Thank you very much! -big smile-
To Kiawna : It starts tiny ... but it'll grow in time. Thank you! :)
To leaf zelindor : Aww, don't you think they can cheer each other up? Thank you! :)
To Sarasusamiga : Honda's hair ... hmm, you're right. It -is- remarkable. Though maybe not so much if you're used to Yami and Yugi? -coughs- I hadn't really thought about it when I wrote that scene. Thank you very much!
To UnknownDarkMystery : Sorry, a bit too early for that. We hardly met Ryou and Bakura hasn't even been -mentioned- yet so ... thank you! :)
To Crystal Blaize : Erhm. -coughs- Seto isn't in this chapter. But his eyes are, does that count too? -slightly guilty- Sorry, I'll try to have him make an appearance again soon. Thank you! :)
To Star Light Shadow : Aww, but I like the way Yami looks! He just needs to adapt his behavior a little, that's all. Thank you! :)
To Sarah Harvey : I try to update every Monday. Thank you! :)
To hAdOwCat : Yes, there will be a tad little bit Bakura/Ryou, probably. I just can't help myself. -slightly guilty- Thank you! :)
To A. Hailan : I bet Otogi finds being stuck with Honda a lot less funny for the moment, but ... glad to hear you liked it. Thank you very much!
To FREAK014 : I promised, didn't I? Thank you! :)
To Kitty Neko : I did my best. Thank you! :)
To quantuminferno : Uhm, well, kind of. It's not exactly 'love at first sight' I'm afraid. -slightly guilty- Thank you! :)
To shallow tears : Thank you, I did my best. :)
To Anime Crazed : I'm afraid you'll simply have to wait and see how Yugi and Yami's relationship develops. -winks- Thank you! :)
To Seto-Kaiba's-fan : Only your third? Can I ask what your first and second are then? I'm somewhat curious. -winks- Thank you! :)
To FungiFungusRayne : [Kitty Neko asked me to say 'hi' to you for her(?).] Aww, don't poke fun at poor Otogi! Thank you! :)
To Uoyr's lover : Hmm, how does one-third of each sound? -winks- Thank you very much! :)
To Kairi-San : A basketball manga? Translated and all? Could you tell me the author? -slightly embarrassed- Thank you! :)
To Suppis Tenshi : You'll meet Ryou in this chapter. And Bakura ... maybe. -winks- Thank you very much! -big smile-
To nekomoongirl : ; So do I, if truth be told. Thank you! : )
- - - - -
Honda stared at the floor, feeling rather awkward. If he had known that his uncle's offer of 'a nice place to live for a while' had actually meant 'an apartment which you'll share with someone who is too dependent on me to protest', he'd never have accepted it.
The green-eyed boy - Honda realized his uncle hadn't even bothered to introduce them - didn't appear too pleased with him. Normally, Honda would have taken serious offense at the looks that were sent in his direction, but under the present circumstances he felt that he hardly had the right. Which made him feel even more awkward.
He was used to simple problems, with simple solutions. If anyone insulted you, you beat them up to make sure they'd be a bit more respectful next time. Easy. And, in Honda's opinion, justified as well. Some people just didn't seem to get that they -weren't- better than everyone else. They were -asking- for it.
" -gi." Honda blinked, discovering he had let his mind wander so far that he hadn't caught all of the other boy's words. Great. Now he'd probably make an even worse impression.
"Sorry, what did you say?" 'Sorry' wasn't a word he used very often. He doubted if his new roommate would place the proper value on it though.
- -
Otogi frowned. He had decided to prove himself magnanimous and be the first to break the silence, reasoning that it was at least possible that his unexpected 'guest' hadn't known aforehand of his uncle's intentions, that maybe he had been promised a nice place to live and had only found out about that 'nice place' actually belonging to someone else later.
Now though, it seemed the nephew was just some spoilt brat, who considered it beneath him to pay attention to other people and thought that saying 'sorry' meant he was forgiven. Definitely not the kind of person Otogi wanted to deal with this late at night.
"I said : 'My name is Otogi and you can sleep on the couch this night'. We can decide which room would serve best for a second bedroom tomorrow ... or rather : this evening." Tough luck if Mister Nephew-of-the-boss wanted a bed. Otogi wasn't going to let him use his and there was no spare one for guests either, courtesy of uncle dear, who had been opposed to Otogi asking any 'noisy friends' over.
"Oh, sure. Thanks. I'm Honda Hiroto." For a moment, Honda looked as if he was going to shake Otogi's hand, but Otogi gave him a curt nod before exiting the room, back to his beloved project.
"Hmph. At least he said 'thanks'," Otogi muttered. "Maybe there's hope for him yet."
In the living room, Honda stared at the door that had fallen shut behind Otogi, hoping his involuntary new roommate would be a bit more civil by day.
"Though he's pretty nice to look at." Honda grinned. "A lot nicer than any of those boyfriends my sister used to bring home with her. Now, if only I can convince him I'm not too bad ... and if he's not straight, of course." He gazed around, searching for any clues, finding none.
"Ah well, time enough to investigate later." Suppressing a yawn, Honda managed to turn the couch into something he could sleep on, glad that he had thought of bringing his own blankets.
- - - - -
He had kissed him.
He, Joey Wheeler, had kissed Seto Kaiba.
It didn't feel as good as he'd thought it would.
In his imagination, he had always been able to melt the last bits of the icy wall that Kaiba - yes, he ought to call Seto 'Kaiba' again now - by the fire of his kiss.
One kiss, and Kaiba would admit that his cold act had been nothing more than that : an act. Perhaps even a test, to see if Joey was sincere. It was part of the reason why he had never tried to kiss the person he was sure that he loved before.
Now he had kissed Kaiba, but nothing had happened. Nothing at all. He had thought that the ball had been some sort of sign.
He had been wrong.
Kaiba didn't love him and never would.
He hadn't been the least bit affected by the kiss, hadn't responded to it, hadn't enjoyed it, hadn't -wanted- it the way Joey had wanted it.
Kaiba probably hated him at the moment. And Joey couldn't say he blamed him.
"Man, do I know how to make a mess of things!"
Joey sighed, his gaze falling on the basketball, still lying in the bag in which Kaiba had returned it.
Maybe Yami was right after all, in practically living for a sport. At least sports had fixed rules.
In spite of his intentions though, he dreamt of Kaiba again that night. A pair of blue eyes seemed to stare at him disappointedly, reprimanding him for having so little faith and perserverance.
- - - - -
Ryou gracelessly dropped down on the couch, feeling utterly drained. The old man who had been a colleague of his grandfather's had been quite kind in offering to give him a lift to his apartment, but he had also been rather talkative. Normally, Ryou would probably have enjoyed his company but after his five-hour flight, the only thing he wanted to do was sleep.
Sighing, he stared at his suitcases. Ryou knew he ought to make a start with unpacking them, considering tomorrow was a school-day and one he didn't intend to miss. He lacked the energy though.
Maybe he would just limit himself to the one that contained the most essential things, like clothing, and save the rest for later. That would suffice his needs -and- allow him to go to rest without feeling as if he was being lazy and weak.
The only bad thing about that excellent idea was that he'd have to get up from the couch to execute it. While he was just in the process of getting really comfortable and relaxed ...
- -
A pair of dark-brown eyes stared through the window, taking in the sight of the sleeping boy on the couch with a mixture of amusement and disdain. For the briefest of moments they flickered to the door, through which their owner might enter to cover the somewhat unexpected new inhabitant of the apartment with some sort of blanket, to spare him a cold awakening.
The idea was discarded quickly. After all, what problem of his would it be if some foolish boy had been too exhausted to make it to his bed? Maybe he'd learn something from the experience.
Maybe ... but probably not. With a soft snort, the watcher turned away, walking down the street without loking back, the pale moonlight reflected by his long white hair.
tbc