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 27th april 2004, by Misura
Thanks to the people who reviewed the fifteenth chapter :
To Koyuki : -grins- Thank you very much for your witty comments. I hope Seto'll follow your advise. –winks-
To FungiFungusRayne : You're right: I wouldn't like you to kill Seto. Bu-ut how about I punish him by letting Joey kiss him again? -winks-
To ChibiSerenity3 : Sorry ff.net wasn't cooperating. –sweatdrops- Not that -I- can do much about it … thank you! -smiles-
To Ril : Yugi and … Ryou? -looks pensive- They -are- very cute, aren't they? … Thank you!
To Anime-Ali : Ah, I see. -smiles- I updated in six days this time, since I was late last week. -winks- Thank you!
To FREAK014 : 'Some' emotional problems? They have -loads- of emotional problems. -smiles guiltily- Thank you!
To Kiawna : Because … he's Kaiba? -sweatdrops- Thank you!
To Kaira-chan : I decided to give Yami and Yugi some privacy, so you'll only see the ending of the practice, with Yugi coming home all bouncy and happy. -grins- And Honda called Otogi 'pretty', you know. That's not really an insult. -winks- Thank you very much!
To Crystal Blaize : Hmm, I like your thought. But I guess I'll have to wait and see if the muses agree … Thank you!
To Amarin Rose : Denial is one of the big emotions I associate with Kaiba. -coughs- As to Otogi … read and find out! -smiles-
To Snow Angel : -grins- I think there's plenty of fics in which Joey leaves Seto and Seto wins him back. Or commits suicide. -winces- Thank you!
To Sarasusasamiga : Joey and Anzu's training -is- working, but also there's the fact that, in Yugi's interpretation, Yami has sought him out, politely waiting for Yugi to notice him, rather than walking up to him and demanding his attention. I think that might give Yugi a boost of confidence. Honda … well, I think that Otogi'd be rather expressive in showing his displeasure at Honda's presence. Though I picture Otogi as being more than capable of subtlety, I also think of him as being rather comfortable with showing his emotions. Of course, Honda's reading of Otogi's moods thus far has probably been limited to negative ones. Honda -thinks- he can read Otogi most of the time. He -has- met Joey, but only in passing, as one of Otogi's friends (not the best of circumstances, in other words). Thank you very much!
To Leaf Zelindor : -smiles- You are absolutely right about Seto. Thank you!
To hAdOwCat : Otogi can be weird sometimes, don't worry. Even -I- don't get him half the time. Thank you!
To Animefighter6 : They're getting there, I promise. Eventually. -winks- Thank you!
To Anonymous : -smiles and blushes- Thank you! I'll do my best.
To Suppis Tenshi : Hmm, Seto giving Joey a taste of his own medicine … it'd actually fit his character I think. In the abstract, anyway. Thank you very much! -smiles-
----------
Otogi liked to think of himself as unbiased and, in general, more inclined to befriend people than to alienate or make fun of them. He might have been annoyed by Honda being more or less forced onto him as a roommate (well, 'apartment-mate' might be a more proper term), and wish for the boy's uncle to drop dead at least once a day, but that didn't mean he hadn't given Honda a second look-over the next day. And the day after that.
The problem was that the result was always the same: Honda was a rather dull kind of person, who responded to Otogi's overtures with either oblivion (possibly faked, though Otogi wasn't entirely sure of that) or outright rejection.
Honda quite simply didn't -want- to become friends with Otogi. He didn't appreciate Otogi inquiring to his preferences in food, didn't take Otogi's working-hours into account on the evenings when it was his turn to cook, didn't stand up for Otogi against his uncle (which, implicitly, meant he had chosen his tyrannical relative's side against Otogi) ...
Otogi marveled at the fact he still hadn't gotten kicked out of the apartment, in favor of his employer's 'dear nephew'. Probably because they wanted to keep someone around to do the work ...
All right, so maybe he sounded a little bitter.
It was just that he absolutely loathed passive people; people who just stood by and watched life passing by without undertaking any sort of action to change it. And Honda was about the epitome of 'passive'.
No matter what Otogi said or did, whether he was being all sugary and sweet, or an absolute jerk, Honda remained silent, carrying on with whatever he had been doing at the moment Otogi tried to make contact, not showing the least spark of attention.
Until this evening.
"And what great and astounding talents would -you- have, aside from looking pretty and being a complete pest?"
Maybe he should stop laughing, but really, wasn't it ironic how, apparently, he -had- been getting to Honda all this time, without him even noticing he'd been successful?
Actually, now that he got to think about it, it was kind of pathetic. Otogi sighed, sobering up rather abruptly, facing a very confused-looking Honda.
He probably ought to give some sort of explanation, assure the poor guy Otogi hadn't been laughing -at- him. Though a confused Honda was a funny sight. And he wasn't exactly eager to launch into an analysis of his own behavior these past weeks.
So ... since he didn't feel like going on the defense ...
"You really think I'm pretty?" Otogi purred, briefly considering if he ought to bat his eyelashes, but discarding the idea, since it'd make him look girlish. Plus, it might be overdoing things.
If a confused Honda had been 'funny', an embarrassed Honda was 'hilarious'. Otogi sternly told himself he couldn't laugh. It'd completely ruin his offense.
"Well ... I ... that is ... you ... "
Honda was probably wondering if Otogi knew his last four crushes had all been male, if it was possible that Otogi was hitting on him, and, if he was, what -he- ought to do.
Otogi could have told him his uncle had informed him about his preferences. The man had apparently been somewhat concerned about Otogi for once, firmly telling him Otogi was under no obligation to sleep with his nephew, should Honda show any interest in him and that, if Honda bugged him, he should say something about it.
"Yes?" Otogi asked, his voice dripping honey. He was beginning to amuse himself, crushing the little voice that said that maybe he ought to be a bit friendlier, all things considered.
"I'mmovingouttomorrowsoIgottapack."
Otogi blinked, staring at the door that had been pulled shut behind Honda, wondering if he'd translated that string of syllables correctly.
"I'm moving out tomorrow, so I got to pack."
"He -can't- move out just when I've found out he isn't as dull as I thought!" Otogi protested to nobody in particular. "He -can't-."
-----
"Yugi? Are you all right?" Yugi blinked owlishly at his grandfather, the worried expression on his face and the question sinking in only slowly.
"S-sure. I'm fine." He smiled, to stress his point. His grandfather looked unconvinced, reaching out to lay a hand on his forehead.
"You seem a little flushed, like you've caught a fever or something. Maybe you should dress a little warmer. Or stay home tomorrow, just to make sure - "
"I'm perfectly all right, grandfather, really!" Yugi interrupted him. Overly polite Yugi, who always offered to help him in the household and was so civil that the old man sometimes despaired of his grandson ever having any fun.
"I played basketball with Yami!" Yugi flapped out next.
Yami ... not a name he'd heard too often before. "I thought you said you didn't like him very much, because he acted as if he was better than the rest of the world and treated Joey unkindly." The last thing would weigh far heavier with Yugi than any slight he himself might have received.
"Well, yes, but that was then." Yugi stared at his feet, apparently suddenly embarrassed about his enthusiasm. His grandfather sighed, wishing he'd been a little more quick to catch on to Yugi's mood.
"I'm glad to hear he turned out to be nicer than he seemed to be at first sight," he tried to amend.
Yugi looked up, his eyes regaining their sparkle. "He - " Then his shoulders slumped again, while he averted his gaze. "I think he's pretty. But still not very nice."
His grandfather smiled. "As long as you can still see his less pretty side, I don't see any reason for you to let your head hang down like you have anything to be ashamed of. Remember: people can change. More importantly, -you- can change people too. Maybe Yami has a reason for not being nice. Yet if you want to, perhaps you can give him a reason to become friendlier, convince him to a different attitude towards the world."
"Yes." Yugi breathed the word.
-----
Ryou gazed around the room he'd furnitured to serve as Honda's in satisfaction. At first, he'd been afraid he wouldn't be able to move anything as big as a table or bed on his own, and that he'd have to wait for Honda to ask his help. Apparently, he'd either underestimated his own strength, or overestimated the weight of the furniture.
The sound of the doorbell's ringing summoned him to the hall, waking slowly, wondering who would be visiting him this late in the evening. Very few people knew he lived here, after all, and fewer still lived near enough to drop by.
It might be Yugi, or his kind grandfather, though Ryou had no idea why either of them would come to his house without first making sure he'd be home. In theory, it could be Honda, who'd taken his leave of his room-mate a bit earlier. Or one of the neighbors, curious to see who was living in the apartment next to theirs ...
Ryou sent up a quick prayer to any deity who might be listening that it wouldn't be the last. It wasn't that he disliked meeting new people, truly, but ... he didn't enjoy having his rooms and belongings inspected as if he was some sort of new species people wanted to discover more about. He prefered getting to know people in a neutral environment first.
He opened the door, determinedly teling himself he was being foolish to fret this much. In all likeliness it was just ...
"Good evening ... Ryou, isn't it?"
He'd never seen the young man in front of him before today. Never. He was sure he'd remember someone like that, with long white hair (like his own), brown eyes (a bit darker than his own, but still rather much alike) and a pale skin (too, like his).
So why did he feel like he knew him? And, more importantly, why was the other acting like he knew Ryou?
"Nice apartment."
They weren't in the hallway anymore, though Ryou couldn't remember inviting the stranger in, or walking to the living-room. He felt dizzy, like the world was moving too fast for him to keep up with.
"Who ... " Great. His voice didn't even work properly anymore. -That-'d make a good first impression. Not that he was sure why he'd want to make one.
"Who I am?" A friendly hand was resting on his arm, guiding him to sit down on the couch. "You may call me ... Bakura. I'm your new house-mate."
A little white card was waved in front of his face. Ryou recognized it as the one he'd meant to post at the supermarket.
-tbc-