Slam dunk
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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 8th may 2004, by Misura
Thanks to the people who reviewed the sixteenth chapter :
To ChibiSerenity3 : That -would- seem to be the most logical and easy way to make everyone happy, wouldn't it? -winks- Not that I'm going to spoil the plot or something … thank you! -smiles-
To Ril : Maybe Ryou won't have to tell Honda anything … -grins- Thank you! -smiles-
To Amonae : How could I keep Bakuura out of this, while including Ryou? That just wouldn't work. -winks- Thank you! -smiles-
To FungiFungusRayne : -sweatdrops- Uhm, I guess that settles it then. Thank you! -smiles-
To Sei Kou Ki : -Of course- Bakura is nice to Ryou! -grins and winks- Maybe a little too nice … Thank you! -smiles-
To Kaira-chan : Miscommunication is just one of my favorite plot-tools I think. -grins- You'll catch another glimpse of Yami and Yugi's moment together in Yami's reflections this chapter, though they're kind of vague and fuzzy. Thank you very much! -smiles-
To Sarasusasamiga : Grandpa … you're right. Though of course, he might simply not want to freak out Yugi by freaking out himself. -coughs- Thank you! -smiles-
To FREAK014 : We're all guilty of something, aren't we? Thank you! -smiles-
To Seto-Kaiba's-Fan : Well, it's not really Ryou's fault, is it? Thank you! -smiles-
To Authoress formally knownas Liz : I agree about Yami. -winks- And thank you! -smiles-
To hAdOwCat : The future plot of this fic is for me to write, and for you to find out. -winks- Or something like that, hopefully. Thank you! -smiles-
To Joey baby : Seto and Joey are in this chapter. Good news? Thank you!
To Sarah Harvey : I -am- not very nice to some characters, am I? I'll make it up to them though, once I'm done being sadistic. -winks- Thank you! -smiles-
To Leaf Zelindor : I'd really prefer Otogi and Honda out of the closet. Pretty please? -winks- Thank you! -smiles-
To Animefighter6 : Thank you, I'll do my best.
To Crystal Blaize : There's more Bakura/Ryou this chapter -and- a Seto/Joey-scene, of sorts. Is that worth the candy? -puppy-eyes- Thank you! -smiles-
To Koyuki : I would, indeed, advise you not to try and act like Bakura. -grins- Bakura got the card when Ryou dropped it on his way back home, as mentioned in chapter … something. And yes, everything works out in the end. That's the joy of fanfiction. -winks- Thank you very much! -smiles-
To Snow Angel : Well, I wouldn't call Bakura 'small', really. -winks- Thank you! -smiles-
To Killian : Thank you! I enjoyed to write it too.
To Amarin Rose : Ryou reacts ooc, of course. -coughs- Thank you!
To Dyth : Thank you! Though 'ooc' is one of the warnings, I do try to evade it as much as possible, so pointers would be welcome. -smiles-
To twinklefaerie : Only Ryou's adorable? -coughs- Thank you!
To Anime Crazed : The answers to your questions are major spoilers so … read and find out (eventually), I guess. -winks- Thank you! -smiles-
To Suppis Tenshi : Ryou letting Bakura 'ravish' him? What an interesting idea. -winks and grins- Not getting into Bakura's head for the moment, I'm afraid. Though his actions may speak louder than words … thank you very much! -smiles-
To DarkShadowFlame : I see you've discovered the big plot underlying this whole story (which is that most of the characters are kind of insane). -coughs- Thank you very much! -smiles-
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Ryou wondered why he wasn't running to the phone to call the police and have them remove this ... stranger who had just sauntered into his apartment like he owned it. Instead, he was meekly sitting on the couch, while ... Bakura inspected the living-room, making some disparaging comments about the posters hanging on the wall.
"I can't say I'm impressed by your good taste," Bakura concluded, nestling himself into Ryou's favorite chair. "But it'll do nicely for the moment. I've seen worse. At least it's Egyptian."
Catching himself before he either thanked Bakura for that small praise, or snapped that this was -his- home and that he'd decorate it the way -he- wanted to, Ryou limited his response to a non-commital shrug and 'hm'.
"A bit on the shy side, aren't you?" Bakura peered at him like he was some alien species on display, there for Bakura to study. "That's okay, I don't mind."
Ryou'd bet he didn't. If he'd been a little more sure of himself, he'd been yelling at Bakura to get out, right now, and don't dare come back here ever again. Or at least calling for help.
"It's kind of cute." All right, that was it. Ryou was officially freaked out by the way Bakura was staring at him. Half a room suddenly didn't seem like that much of a distance to put between him and this ... weird guy.
Ryou's eyes felt rather heavy suddenly, and he found himself yawning. Woohoo. That was really going to make an impression on Bakura. A clear way to state his displeasure at Bakura's invasion of his property. What was -wrong- with him?
"You're right; it -is- rather late already, isn't it? Time to go to bed. Especially for a young thing like you." What was wrong with -Bakura- for that matter? He couldn't possibly think Ryou'd just let him get away with this, could he? And what was he doing, acting like he was that much older than Ryou?
"It'll be a bright new day tomorrow," Bakura declared, rising.
Tomorrow ... there was something he had to remember about that day, aside from the fact that it was a Saturday and that he didn't have to rise early to go to school. What was it again? Ah yes.
"Honda Hiroto's coming tomorrow," Ryou said. All right, so he kind of squeaked it. Still, it was an accomplishment to take pride in.
Bakura froze. The expression on his face wasn't exactly what Ryou'd call 'friendly'. Or 'sane'.
"Who?"
Ryou swallowed. "My -real- new house-mate." He lifted his head, defiantly, gaze firmly fixed on a point just left of Bakura's head.
"Oh, him." Bakura made a dismissive gesture. "I'll tell him he's not welcome anymore."
Ryou opened his mouth.
"Or, if you insist, we'll discuss things in the morning. You're tired," Bakura added, as some sort of explanation. "Unable to think too clearly."
That last was absolutely true, as proven by his putting up with Bakura's continued presence. Ryou nodded, suppressing another yawn as he stumbled towards his bed-room.
He thought he heard Bakura laughing softly behind him. He wasn't sure though, and he wasn't going to look back. He needed to sleep.
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Lying on his bed, Yami stared up at the ceiling of his room.
Seeing purple eyes that sparkled with silent laughter.
Hearing a soft voice, calling his name in a slightly breathless tone.
Feeling shy fingers darting over his hands, shyly, cautiously.
Since closing his eyes hadn't helped to get rid of these unwanted memories, he was now trying the 'gaze at nothing and empty your mind'-method. That didn't seem to work either.
Which was just plain ridiculous.
Sure, he'd enjoyed playing basket-ball with Yugi more than he'd expected. But that was no reason to feel this ... unsettled.
He'd practiced with Joey dozens of times, yet he'd never felt anything like -this-. He'd definitely never gotten any weird, vague dreams about Joey.
Maybe he ought to stay away from Yugi for a while, try to examine his feelings.
Or would it be better to spend -more- time with Yugi, to get rid of the newness of being around the boy? Yami was sure it was nothing beyond that; the sensation of having a new person to play against. A new, reasonably talented and skilled person, Yami amended magnanimously.
With a sigh, he checked his alarm-clock again.
Nearly midnight. A good thing it was weekend tomorrow.
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0:04
Probably not the most suitable of times to call someone over the phone.
If Joey'd even be still awake, he'd likely not be too overjoyed to hear from him.
If. Seto considered the chance of such a thing rather small.
Still, he -was- making the call, like he'd promised himself he would. Not his fault if Joey didn't answer. He had made the effort, at least.
0:06
No one had answered the phone yet. Predictably. He should give up now, satisfied in the knowledge that he'd -tried-. Even if 'giving up' was not an expression in his dictionary.
That much he and Joey had in common; neither of them was someone to give up. Once they'd decided to get something, they went after it with everything they had.
No second thoughts. No hesitations. No doubts.
Except, of course, that Joey appeared to -have- changed his mind. About wanting Seto.
"Hello?"
Not good. Someone - he thought it was Joey - had just picked up the phone.
"Would the moron who called this number at ... in the middle of the night please tell me who he is so that I can curse his name before I go back to bed?"
Yes, that definitely sounded like Joey.
"Good ... morning. Mutt."
Way to go. Insulting Joey when he already sounded grumpy and annoyed was sure to be a great way to start up a conversation about whether or not their relationship might evolve to some phase beyond the stalker/stalked one.
-tbc-
A/N : I will not be able to get on-line from Thurseday this week to the 16th of August, so the next update will be a while. Sorry if that bothers anyone.