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 5th april 2004, by Misura
Thanks to the people who reviewed the thirteenth chapter :
To Star Light Shadow : I'll try to update weekly again, though I can't promise anything. Except that there's a Yami/Yugi-moment planned in for next chapter. –grins- Thank you!
To Sarasusamiga : Thank you very much, both for the correction and for not yelling at me the lack of Yami. –smiles guiltily-
To Amarin Rose : Elvis was … almost right. –winks- Thank you!
To Anonymous : Thanks for guessing.
To Ril : Thanks for boosting Ryou's confidence by some praise! –smiles-
To Grammar Witch : Thank you very much! … The thought that you're reading this story's very reassuring. –grins-
To FungiFungusRayne : Hey, it's -your- favorite-list! –grins- Thank you!
To FREAK014 : Uhm … sorry for confusing you? –smiles guiltily-
To r-a-d-i-a-n-y : Thank you very much! (I replied to part of your review in a private entry in my lj, because it was rather long, so …). –smiles-
To DarkShadowFlame : It's Kura. Only, well, it isn't. Sorry. –smiles guiltily- Thank you very much!
To mangafan6 : Well, 'Ryo' reminds me of FAKE. And it can be spelled both ways, so I prefer 'Ryou'. Thank you!
To Suppis Tenshi : -beams- Thank you very much!
To Kiawna : Malik … I hope I'll manage to keep him out of this fic. Thank you! –smiles-
To Seto-Kaiba's-Fan : Thanks for guessing!
To Kamehameha : Lollipops … ? –gets her mind out of the gutter- Thank you! –smiles-
To Sarah Harvey : You say 'cliffhanger' like it's a bad thing … -winks-
To hAdOwCat : Yami/Yugi-moment coming up … next chapter. Sorry. Thank you! –smiles-
To Leaf Zelindor : -holds back her Kaiba-muse who doesn't like people petting 'his' puppy- Thank you!
To Joey Baby : I'm working on it, really. –smiles- Thank you!
To Icy Flame : Yours was the closest guess, aside from Amarin Rose, who guessed Elvis. –winks- Thank you very much!
To Kaira-chan : Love-triangles are -evil-! –shivers- And please don't encourage my Haga-muse. I don't like bugs. –winks- Thank you!
To invisible-eyes : Joey's savior is nearby, don't worry! Thank you! –smiles-
To Uoyr's lover : I don't like a depressed Joey either, so I'll do my best to cheer him up. Thank you! –smiles-
To Shinigami : A long time from now, not that far away and the Author only knows. –winks- Sorry.
To Amonae : I did, I did, please don't poke me! –winks- Thank you!
To Cairnsy : Backstories … well, at present I'm rather caught up in their present lives. I'll try work some of it in, but I'm not sure if it'll be anywhere nearly as much as you want. –smiles guiltily- Thank you very much! –beams-
---
Chapter disclaimer : Ryou's last name is taken from the anime 'Weiss Kreuz'.
----------
Honda had been living with Otogi for almost a full two weeks now, without gaining the slightest bit of friendliness from his involuntary roommate. At first, he had dismissed Otogi's coldness as the remnants of Honda's unexpected arrival and Otogi's obvious dislike for his uncle.
The man was family, so Honda couldn't exactly do what he wanted to do, which was leap to Otogi's defense and yell at his tormentor/employer to leave him alone. Thinking of Otogi as some damsel in distress, in need of a knight in shining armor to come to her rescue might be stretching his imagination a little bit too far, but still ... it might have won him some points with Otogi.
And, heck, his uncle deserved it too! Of course, Honda had only been here for a short period, yet if his observations were anything to go by, the man was shamelessly abusing the fact that he could kick Otogi out of his apartment if he wanted to. It were only small things, a more rational part of Honda noted. An extra thirty minutes of working. Borrowing some milk. Running an errand. Delivering a package. Posting a letter.
But a lot of small things took a big chunk out of Otogi's spare time. And coming home to Honda, who was the living reminder of another one of those 'small favors', it might make sense for Otogi to blow off some steam by snapping at him.
That still didn't mean Honda had to like it.
If only they could have met in different circumstances ... at present, Honda would estimate his chance at ever getting more than a friendly nod from Otogi only a little bit better than the odds at survival of a snowball in Hell.
Thus, he had resolved to go look for another place to stay. Without much hope, he had to admit. After all, who would agree to let a complete stranger stay under their roof?
"You're ... Honda Hiroto, aren't you?" the possible answer to Honda's problems asked uncertainly.
"Yup," Honda grinned friendly. "And you're Ryou Tsukiyono, the most recent addition to Domino High." The boy was a cute thing, really, with long white hair and soft brown eyes. Not his type, but definitely pretty. Honda'd be willing to bet Ryou'd have a girlfriend within three weeks. Or a boyfriend, possibly.
"Oh." Not the talkative kind. Honda could live with that. At least, he -hoped- Ryou simply wasn't much of a talker, rather than his silence being caused by an unwillingness to consider Honda's application.
"Can I - " Honda began, at the same moment Ryou started to ask something.
"Are you any good at cooking?" Ryou inquired, after Honda had gestured for him to finish his question.
"I'm a master chef!" Honda boasted, eager to make a good impression. Ryou eyed him a little bit dubious, so he added : "Well, maybe not a master, but I'm pretty good in the kitchen, yes."
Ryou smiled hesitantly, reaching out for the ad, before plucking it off the board in a determined gesture. "You sound exactly like the person I'm looking for."
Honda beamed. Ryou might not be 'his type', but he sure knew how to stroke a guy's ego, making him feel appreciated. A sensation Honda could use, after his time with Otogi. "Cool."
Ryou blushed. "When can I expect you?"
Honda thought for a moment. "Tomorrow morning?" He'd need some time to pack. Besides, it'd be polite to let Otogi know he was leaving.
Ryou nodded, accompanying Honda on his way to the exit of the supermarket, carelessly dropping the card on the floor. Too caught up in his good fortune to notice the white-haired person picking it up to study it curiously, before stuffing it in one of the pockets of his jacket.
-----
Yami assured himself he wasn't jealous.
Why would he care about Yugi spending so much of his time with Anzu? It was none of his business. He had only met the boy once and, well, he hadn't been too impressed.
Sure, Yugi had some talent. But it took much more than talent to be a good basketball-player. Joey and Otogi were talented too, yet Yami wouldn't consider them to be anywhere near -his- league. The same went for Anzu. They simply didn't have the attitude, the determination to -win-.
Yugi didn't have it either. He was too soft, too shy, too ... cute. Yami made a face.
" - and Otogi said I couldn't have done that to him if he hadn't wanted me to, but I'm not sure. What do you think I should do?"
A sudden silence brought Yami back to the present. His brains had simply shut out the sound of Joey's voice after a while; the blonde used way too many words to describe such a simple problem.
A problem that, Yami sourly mused, wasn't any of his business. He had no idea why Joey had come to -him-, of all people. They played basketball together, but beyond that ... what on earth gave Joey the right to come bug Yami with his relationship-trouble?
"Well?" Joey demanded. Yami swallowed the nonchalant 'I don't know' that rose to his lips. It would sound as if he ... didn't know. As if he actually cared and had tried to think of a solution, but had failed.
"What do -you- think you should do?" Yami asked. Answering questions with questions ... it might work. Glancing over at Yugi and Anzu, Yami noticed they were standing rather close together.
"If I knew that, would I be asking your opinion?" Joey riposted, eyeing him a bit stunned. Apparently he had expected Yami to point him in a distinct direction.
Yami shrugged. "I'd say this problem is entirely yours to solve." He wasn't complaining to Joey about the way Yugi and Anzu acted all close and cozy together, was he? Personal problems should be kept ... personal.
"Thanks a lot for the help." Joey was grinning. Grinning. Yami wondered why.
"I wasn't very helpful," he felt obliged to point out.
"No, but you listened to me. That's nice too. And you're right; my problem with Kaiba -is- something that I should work out on my own. Thanks."
As Joey walked away, still with that goofy grin on his face, Yami realized he had just admitted to himself that he was having a personal problem. With Yugi.
-----
"Kaiba, could I talk to you for a minute?"
Normally, Seto would have ignored such a request, especially when the person voicing it was female. For some unfathomable reason, over half of the girls of Domino High seemed to have decided that he was 'hot' (which Seto could have lived with and found amusing from time to time) and that he was desperately searching for a girlfriend (which Seto didn't find amusing at all).
Like Joey, they also believed that his coldness was just an act or, worse, something caused by a traumatic experience in a previous relationship. (Never mind the fact that he'd been living in Domino for all of his life and nobody had ever seen him with a girlfriend.) Seto counted himself lucky that they lacked the blonde's persistance and determination, since one obsessive stalker was grating on his nerves more than a little already.
Especially when that 'obsessive stalker' had been doing nothing and ignoring him recently. Which should have made Seto feel quite relieved and pleased, yet didn't. It didn't feel right to be ignored so thoroughly by Joey. That wasn't how it was supposed to be.
Combined with the fact that Seto had recognized the voice as belonging to Anzu Mazaki, rumored to make a 'cute couple' with that shy new student Yugi Mutoh, which considerably lowered the odds that she was here to squeal at Seto about wanting to be his 'one true love', that feeling made Seto decide to honor the request. After all, there always was at least a tiny chance she'd actually have something sensible to tell him.
Not dignifying the question with any verbal reply, Seto turned around to indicate he had at least -heard- that he had been spoken to. He slightly relaxed at seeing Mazaki was looking more annoyed and determined than swooning at having caught his attention.
Apparently it took her a few moments to realize that he was not going to say anything. Rather than being embarrased by it though, she appeared to grow more irritated. Good. Proving himself infinitely more intelligent than someone else in an argument tended to make Seto feel lots better. And, he was willing to admit, he could use some cheering up right now.
"It's about Joey." She eyed him expectantly. Seto shrugged.
"I don't have the least interest in that mutt." What he actually wanted to do was ask why on earth -Mazazki- thought he cared, but that might come out a little too defensive. Besides, Seto was pretty sure Mazaki was going to tell him anyway, whether he asked or not.
She frowned. "-Joey- does have an interest in -you-." She emphasized Joey's name, as if she didn't wish to argue with him about his calling Joey a 'mutt', yet at the same time did mind. She was, in other words, trying to be diplomatic. Interesting.
"That's not -my- problem." Well, Joey had -made- it his problem too, more or less, of course. Not that -that- was any business of Mazaki's.
"But you could help - " Mazaki began.
"This conversation is pointless," Seto interrupted her coolly, making a mental note to remember that he should simply stay away from people, period, even if they might make a normal, reasonably intelligent impression at first.
The world, Seto decided as he strode away, hearing Mazaki mutter something under her breath, was filled with idiots. Amongst them being one puppy.
-to be continued-