Feel
I think there will only be one more chapter after this. I might be able to dredge up two, but I doubt it.

FREE MEMBERSHIP! SETO/RYOU LIVEJOURNAL COMMUNITY! Web address on my bio. How can you dare resist!

Shadowwaker: Oh, I entirely mean to finish this story. It just won't be much longer. And the pronunciation thing just came from me sitting there and thinking, 'with Japanese pronunciation, how could someone learn to pronounce that?' It was also adapted from some of my speech therapy classes because, go figure, I used to have trouble speaking my own language.

Bijoukaiba: Really? There's a fanlisting opening? What's the URL? -Big Chibi eyes with tail wagging-

…this chapter is hard to write.

And I got to download Seikimatsu Darling OAV! Damn it, so happy.

Sorry this took so long. I was brain-dead most of the time, and in places with NO INTERNET. Or cell phone reception. It was a place where my mom, brother, and I were the only people who weren't Caucasian in the last place. But there were a couple of people around my brother and my ages there this year. Before, the only people near forty were my parents and everyone else would reminisce about the early 1900's. But there's a cute guy this year my age, so things look up a bit.

Ooh, watch out, Ryou says the word, 'crotch.' That might be a little too hardcore for some of you! (I'm being sarcastic)


Chapter 11

Elation


Saturday, May 14th

I swear I almost skipped to school that day, except that would require a large amount of energy, so I suppose that it was not too difficult to stop myself from doing that.

I really did not get much sleep last night, so I was mostly running off of adrenaline and energy drink. I would probably nap during lunch or something. That was usually more of a Jounouchi-kun thing to do, but hey, I would need sleep later. I knew that my brain would shrivel and die around that time.

What would I say to Kaiba-kun today? Perhaps the best would be just to greet him and wait for him to start a conversation. After all, he was the one who did not like to show emotion in public.

I sat at my desk and pulled out some book. I was not really reading it, but I had an odd urge just to stare at the pages in wait. It was a fun way to pass the time. A few random words jumped out at me, but nothing significant.

He came in later that morning. Yuugi-tachi had already pulled me into a conversation and once again noticed that I was extremely happy and almost as hyper as Monday. It still was not as bad as the coffee afternoon, though.

Kaiba-kun came in. I made eye contact with him and smiled, though my adrenaline-rushed heart was giving me enough energy to run up and hug him. I would not do that, though. That would be stupid and possibly suicidal.

"I have our report," he told me in passing.

I nodded. "Thank you, Kaiba-kun."

Not too long ago, I would have thought this abruptness as contempt or something of the sort. But now I just saw that that was how he was—it was his public face. He hid any of the real emotions of his that would ever attract people from the world. Perhaps I would talk to him later. That seemed much more appealing that napping.

I knew that I would take that back, later, though.


While Yuugi-tachi left the classroom later that day to buy lunch, I curled my arms under my head and thought about sleep. I rarely ate lunch at school, something that all of Yuugi-tachi told me was not good for my health. But I was almost never hungry at school, so meh. Yes, meh.

I felt a hand land on my head. "Bakura-kun," Kaiba-kun's voice made me lift my head, "I want to talk to you."

I sat up. His touch was making me blush. I probably looked incredibly stupid, but that was beside the point. "Yes, Kaiba-kun?" That was all I could muster as vocabulary. Who needs eloquence? Kaiba-kun had enough for the two of us, what with his multilingual abilities.

"Let's go somewhere a little more private." Ah, so he wanted to talk about that, rather than the essay. Then again, did I really expect him to talk about that?

"Sure," I stood and followed him out of the room. A few people watched as we passed, but not too many. After all, we were just two teenage guys walking off somewhere, a lot like all the other teenage guys walking off to achieve their own ends. Or so, that was what appearances said. I mean, this was Kaiba Seto.

We went outside of the building. The air was warming to summer temperatures already. I felt anticipation building up inside of me. Fear was coming as well. So many 'what ifs' were passing through my head; I did my best to ignore them. This was one of those moments when you knew that something major was about to change.

He led me behind the tennis courts, to a place secluded and shaded by trees. There were a couple of third years from the tennis club on the courts, but I doubted that they really noticed us.

I knew that it was time to face the truth of the situation.

"Bakura-kun," Kaiba-kun stopped and looked directly at me. I felt myself freeze up with anxiety and impatience. Would he just say it already, whatever it was, whether it was profession or denial? "Do you want to go somewhere tomorrow with me, as a date?"

At that moment, the hopeful part of me wanted to clap and smile giddily while the cynical side wanted to gape in disbelief. Instead, I blushed and stared at him. A part of me knew that he would ask this. Some weird, certain part of me that developed over the past few days that only decided now to really make itself known. But even though this part of me expected it, I still did not know how exactly to react.

The way he said it was so awkward. While his tone may have been his usual levelness, his words themselves seemed confused and uncertain. He was usually so articulate. He asked a question of me, rather than stated a desire, as he normally did.

"Yes," I nodded my head slowly, the blush that seemed always present burning at me. "I would like that."

With a quickness that I found akin to him and an intimacy that felt foreign, he embraced me. I was hardly able to comprehend this through the silent screaming of my mind. What it was screaming about, I was uncertain. But I did know that every time I inhaled, I could smell his intoxicating scent. This place, these arms felt safe. I wanted to feel his heart in sync with my own.

What the hell, we were all a little out of character. I should have been suspicious as to whether or not this was reality, but I wanted to take this for granted. This, if nothing else. I loved him.

Yeah, I wanted this.


We returned to the classroom together. Yuugi-tachi stared at us, Jounouchi-kun with half a sandwich hanging out of his mouth (in quite a dog-like way, but I'd never tell him that) and Yuugi-kun taking a sip from his drink. They just all stopped in mid-action and stared at us.

We offered no answers. I just went to sit at my desk and he sat at his. It was as if we just happened to enter the room at the same time.

I wondered where we were going to go tomorrow. Would it be just the two of us, or would Mokuba-kun come as well? If it was just us, how would he explain it to Mokuba-kun?

Never mind, Mokuba-kun would know and probably expect it.

I felt this utter fullness to me. I did not even know what to do with myself. I was anticipating tomorrow and staring off at the blackboard, I realized.

But over the past week or so, I was experiencing more and more of Kaiba-kun's personal intimacies. Little things that belonged to him, but he showed so few of: his conversation, his smile, his laugh, his kiss, his embrace—all of these things were of him.

Anzu-chan waited until the guys were done with their meals to approach me. They left to throw away trash and use the bathroom and she came to me with a bit of curiosity. I looked over at Kaiba-kun and he hardly seemed to notice, still reading his book.

"So, you and Kaiba-kun are going out, now?" She asked quietly with a hint of nonchalance in her voice, as if we were talking about the weather, but I could just feel the aforementioned curiosity seeping in there.

"What?"

"Oh, come on! We came back and the two of you were gone. You came back together. To me, at least, that means a couple. And," she tilted her head, "out of all the time that you have been in Domino, I think that today is the first time that I've actually seen you happy without the use of sugar or caffeine."

Was it true? Were we really going out? I mean, sure, he asked me on a date, and I accepted, but was it a date? It was, was it not? What were we now? Lovers? Boyfriends? We were some sort of couple. My eyes widened with this realization. We were a couple.

I had a boyfriend.

Or, at least, I think I did. Does going on a single date count us as a couple? Do you actually have to tell one another that you like each other?

What were the rules of dating, anyway?

I was going on a date, an actual date. That, if nothing else, was an undeniable truth.

I, Bakura Ryou, was going on a date, just the two of us, with Kaiba Seto.

Something about that statement absolutely elated me.

I had… this nervous feeling in my stomach. It was not nauseous nervous, but a hopeful nervous. It was a nice feeling to have, though it made me incredibly jittery at the same time. Was this how other people in love felt? I was so happy that no words justified it. All of the complexities of life just seemed to melt away when I remembered his face, though I had to exert control over myself to not look back at him.

I was becoming lovesick, in some way.

"I take your silence as a 'yes,'" she turned away with an air of triumph.

I blushed.

Yuugi-tachi came back and I made a note to myself to talk to Honda-kun later. He deserved to know what was going on.

My mind blanked as classes started back up. I couldn't concentrate. Maybe I could ask Anzu-chan for notes, since she would know exactly why I was so out of it. Or, maybe I could just ask my boyfriend.

I felt the edges of my mouth turn into a goofy smile that I hid in my arms on the desk. I had a boyfriend. Imagine that.

What would dating him be like? Would he be completely open with me, or would it be gradual? What kinds of things did he like to do? Where would we go?

See, these were the types of thoughts plaguing my mind, rather than whatever it was that the teacher was talking about. Who cared what she was saying?

I would just have to deal with whatever came.

Hey, if he asked me out, that meant that he was at least attracted to me, right?

Did that mean that he was gay, too?

What did it matter? He liked me! At least, I assumed he did, since he asked me out on a date.

Date. We were going to go on a date tomorrow! I couldn't wait!

Okay, think. Concentrate on the lecture. Date. Kaiba-kun. Yes! No! Notes. Must think. Notes. Ah, I want to leave! I want it to be tomorrow!

I eventually gave up on concentrating. I went through the rest of the day like that, including gym class, where I got hit by a soccer ball. I was too out of it to care, even when the guy apologized.

"Bakura-kun?" I blinked into reality and saw Honda-kun staring at me. The rest of Yuugi-tachi was hanging back. Honda-kun wanted to talk in private, probably to check up on me, since I did not seem to have talked to him since, well, Kyoto.

"Aa, Honda-kun," I blushed, "I'm really sorry for not talking to you. I mean, between the project and everything else… but I'm just making excuses for myself!" Stop freaking out! Calm…

"That's alright," Honda-kun was looking at me as if I was crazy. "I just wanted to make sure that you're alright after," he paused, "both Kyoto and that project. You know, make sure that Kaiba-kun didn't do anything else to you."

I started laughing and I could feel a big smile on my face. Honda-kun looked surprised, though I couldn't blame him. Ah, I felt so incredibly happy. "Sorry," I apologized again, "it's just that… I'm really happy right now. It's absurd, I shouldn't be laughing like this, but I just can't help it." I bit my lip to try to calm myself down. "The situation between Kaiba-kun and I is good. We made up, or, at least as much as anyone can 'make up' with Kaiba-kun." I started breathing a little deeper, my heart slowing to a normal pace and the redness of my face gained from laughing fading. "We're going out now."

Now he was staring at me with wide eyes.

"I know it seems odd, but after we made up, we just," what was the word, "connected, I guess. He makes me smile, laugh, even. Well, wait, I guess you knew that I liked him."

He shook his head in incredulity. "I'm just surprised. Did you profess to him?"

I shook my head. "No, he asked me out. We're going on a date tomorrow."

"And you're sure it's an actual date?"

"That's the word he used. It was a little awkward for both of us," I laughed a little more. Yeah, it was unnerving. "But for some reason, I'm just incredibly happy." And I didn't feel any fear about being happy, like I normally did. I didn't feel that anyone would steal this away. Kaiba-kun could protect me.

"That's good," he smiled in relief. "I was worried."

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

Were I a little more empathetic at the time, like I normally was, I would have noticed that he was still a little worried. But I got the feeling that he did not want to ruin my good mood by telling me to be careful.

But, of course, I could not see all of that at the time.

Honda-kun really was a good friend. He, like me, was one of the cheerleaders of the group. He was not a particularly strong duelist; in fact, I have never actually seen him duel. The only duel-notable part of me was Yami Bakura, whom I was told was good, though more than a little scary.

That wasn't why Kaiba-kun was interested in me, was it? The dueling skills that my former other half had? I would like to think that it was because he liked me, for my personality and everything else.

I could not duel to save my life, which, considering the types of adventures that this group usually was thrown in, it was not very reassuring.

I wanted to sit and talk with him some more. I was not as scared of the notion as I used to be, though it was still a little difficult for me to get the thought of initiating. I guess that it is true that you can act rather stupid around the person that you are in love with, especially when that love is in its first forms.


The phone rang that evening as I got out of the shower. I was ready to curse whoever it was as I ran out with nothing but a towel around my waist. My hair dripped all over the carpet as I ran. It did not occur to me that I could have just let them leave a message.

"Hello?" I asked a bit out of breath. I do not like running.

"Bakura-kun?" Kaiba-kun's voice came to greet me and I felt myself melt. His voice was warming. "It's Kaiba Seto."

"Un," I nodded, "I know."

"I wanted to know how two o'clock sounded for tomorrow. I can pick you up from your apartment."

"Anytime," I answered. "It doesn't conflict with your work?"

"I took off tomorrow."

"You won't get behind?"

"I think that this is worth it."

I blushed and my stomach churned. I was worth it? Since when? I felt so… I would normally say embarrassed, but that was not quite the word. I almost thought before that I was getting used to Kaiba-kun's random kind words, and yet, I was unprepared for that.

How could he make me feel like this?

He decided to interrupt the silence. "So, that's alright for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, two's great." I wanted to ask what we were going to do. I wanted to make conversation so that I would seem at least a little more interesting, but my mouth would not work.

"I will see you tomorrow, then."

"Yeah."

"Good bye."

"Bye." I hung up the phone painfully. Why could I not say anything after he admitted that? Ah, you idiot, Ryou.

It was then that I noticed that I was still in a towel, quite wet, and still dripping all over the floor.


Sunday, May 15th

I had never spent an hour trying to pick out clothes before. This was especially sad, because I did not have that much clothing to choose from. Most of what I had were shirts and pants that I wore with my school uniform. Oh, and there was that yukata. I also had the dorky sweater from Duelist Kingdom, the clothes from Battle City, and a long black jacket that I didn't remember buying.

I really was pathetic. That would have to change.

It was almost eleven o'clock in the morning when I picked up the phone, exasperated, and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Anzu-chan?" I asked, automatically wondering if I was making the right decision. "It's Bakura."

"Ah, Bakura-kun! What's up?"

"Ano," I really was an idiot, "I need some help."

"Hn, what do you need?"

Why was I doing this? "I need help picking out some clothes before one o'clock." An hour afterwards would give me enough time, would it not?

"Oh, why so quickly?" She sounded smug. I would never live this down.

I felt like grinding my teeth, but instead I growled lowly. "I have a date in a few hours," I mumbled.

"Oh, a date!" She sounded mock-surprised. I could imagine her grinning on the other side of the phone. It was probably that same smile that everyone gets when they tease me, since it is seemingly becoming a national pastime. This would be so much easier if she just agreed to it and did not draw it out like this. But then again, friends are supposed to tease each other, aren't they? I supposed that was how it worked. "Who are you going out with?"

"You know who." Why me?

"I know, but I want to hear you say it."

I sighed. "I'm going on a date with Kaiba-kun."

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" When I gave no verbal reply, she continued. "Anyway, I'm at the arcade right now, so I guess I could meet you at," she paused, "Suzumi's Outlet in ten minutes. Do you know where that is?"

"Yeah," I did. It would probably take me between ten and fifteen minutes to walk there.

"So, I'll meet you there. Bye, Bakura-kun!"

I hung the phone up. She sounded far too happy for her own good. What sort of fun could she find from shopping for clothes for me?

Never mind. I do not want that answer. The mind of the shounen ai fangirl was a scary thing.

So I got my wallet and keys and started walking, praying that this not be a disaster.


Suzumi's Outlet was a western clothing store. It was fairly large in size and pretty popular. It carried both girls' and boys' clothing from infant to adult.

I met Anzu-chan in front. She waved to me and as soon as she got her 'hello' out, she grabbed my arm and dragged me into the store. I yelped as she did, but she ignored this sign of unhappiness. There were small crowds of people, mostly in the women's section, but there were a few people wandering the men's section.

"Okay, for a color assessment," she stopped to look me over, "black goes with anything, of course. We may want to try a few darker tones, but then again, lights have always worked well with you. But then again, we have to remember that this is your first date, so you have to look good." She took her hands off of me and studied me in a way that reminded me of an artist studying a subject. "Let's start with darker jeans as a base. We can also grab some black pants to build on. What pant size are you?"

After I told her, I was left staring at she ran off and returned with the said items, as well as a couple of shirts. How she could possibly have translated my pants size into western sizes was beyond me. "Here, hold this to yourself," she handed me the black jeans and I held them at my waist, feeling more than a little foolish. I knew that people were politely glancing over at me often, rather than just staring, so I kept my head down.

Oh kami-sama, that date better be good.

She held a dark burgundy shirt up to me. "This is a maybe," she commented as she threw it into my arms. "I've decided that the greens are not your color, and we will pretend that browns do not exist. I wouldn't go for red, either, unless it was very dark. But I wouldn't recommend that at first." She once again left me, this time with all the clothing that she deemed 'maybe' in my arms as she went to return what she had.

What was I getting myself into? I had already asked myself this question many times, and would probably be asking myself more times.

Once again, she came back with clothing, though this time it included lighter denim. "Okay, Bakura-kun, we want to go to a dressing room. I decided that blues really were better for you than a lot of other colors." She led me over to the dressing rooms and pushed me in. "Try the new stuff, first," she smiled brightly while closing the door.

I dropped everything on the floor and began sorting it. The new stuff was on top of the pile. The only pants was a pair of lighter jeans, which to me looked a lot like my current pair, but I guess that I'd try them on.

"Anzu-chan? Are you sure that this is right?" I tugged up on the waist. Maybe the pants were defective. I mean, they barely came up my hip, and when I tried to pull them up, they hit very uncomfortably on my crotch.

"What's wrong with them?"

"T-the waist seems a little low."

"They're supposed to do that! Trust me!" That did not comfort me in the slightest. But I decided to continue dressing anyway.

I pulled on a dark green shirt, which confused me horribly, since Anzu-chan had just spoken against it. I then put the light denim jacket on. Guessing that I was done, I stepped out of the little cubicle that people called a dressing room. There was no mirror on the inside, so I had no idea what I looked like when Anzu-chan saw me.

"Didn't you say that you didn't like green?" I asked her, still a bit confused.

"Well, the blue is framing it, so it's okay." I had no idea what she was saying, but alright. "There's a mirror right there."

I turned to where she was pointing and saw myself. I was looking at myself with disbelief at what I saw. I guessed that I looked like me, but the clothing was bolder than what I was used to seeing in a mirror. I looked casual, like an actual teenager, and not someone trying to hide themselves among people. I mean, I did not look stunning, but I supposed that it was not bad. The shirt covered up the physical evidence that I swear that my pants were falling off.

"It's not bad. You can change the shirt if you want. I will repeat: do not choose bright red. It will make you look like an albino."

I shook my head. "The shirt's okay."

"Good, now try on the first pair of pants and shirt."

I walked a little stiffly back into the dressing room and redressed. I regretted having long hair, suddenly. It kept getting in the way! I started making unhappy noises at that fact.

"Bakura-kun? Are you alight?"

"Oh, yes! Just a little problem with my hair!"

"Ooh, yeah, that would be a problem."

I straightened out the clothes and took a deep breath before opening the door. I stepped out and Anzu-chan's eyes were on me again, analyzing. "That looks great! I just would wait to wear it for a later date."

I wondered what she meant when I looked in the mirror. The black pants were tight and I could see the contours of my body in them. They were as low as the other pants as well, though again, the dark burgundy shirt covered that.

"Oh, Bakura-kun, just a hint," she leaned in close and whispered, "the reason I mentioned not on the first date is because, well, you obviously can't wear anything under those pants."

What the hell?

I turned to her with a full blush and an indignant look. I couldn't say anything, though. I wouldn't trust myself to do so.

"What? They look good on you! I just wanted to warn you." She laughed nervously. "So! Change out of that and let's see the next outfit. The jeans, black shirt, and other jacket."

I mumbled to myself as I trudged back into the dressing room and got out of those clothes. As I was putting on the next, and thankfully, last set of clothes, I wondered what Kaiba-kun would have thought about that outfit. Would he have liked it? I blushed thinking about it.

The last outfit was a black turtleneck with the blue jeans and a gray-blue loose jacket over it. I thought the jacket was odd, because it seemed designed to hang limply off the shoulders and down the arms. She assessed and hurried me through the check-out line, since it was nearing twelve-thirty, and she assumed that I would want to eat something before the date. Luckily, I had enough money to pay for it. I ended up with all three outfits, somehow.

Anzu-chan and I said our goodbyes. The past couple of hours passed quickly, and I could not quite comprehend how exactly that happened. But I hurried home with bags in my arms, wondering how I could have let myself do that. It wasn't as painful as I thought it may have been, and I supposed that I got a few good outfits out of it, but still! Bakura Ryou and clothing shopping don't mix very well.

I threw the bags on the couch and stared at them for a couple of moments. Which would I wear today? Not the black pants. What was she thinking? I mean…

I pulled them out and looked them over. Westerners must have been crazy to wear this type of thing. What did people see in uncomfortably tight, low-set clothing?

Then again, that style would not look bad on Kaiba-kun. In fact, image coming to mind…

What are you thinking!

I quickly shoved the pants back into the bag and decided that I should probably take another shower, since it was hot outside and I had sweated. Yeah, a shower sounded good. Then lunch afterwards.

Shower. Good.

I wondered offhandedly why my hormones decided now, of all times, to become active.

After the shower, I made myself a sandwich, seeing as my mind was too far away to do much else. Plus, I was not too hungry.

While I ate, I rifled through the clothes again, setting the pants that were a current bane of my existence aside. It could join DDR, karaoke, and the English language.

Maybe the last outfit.

I quickly disposed of that thought. It was a little hot outside, and if I was to wear that, it would be in the evening. So, that left the first one. Granted, it had a jacket as well, but no turtleneck shirt. Denim wasn't too hot, was it?

Hm, Anzu-chan was right. It would look horrible on me without the jacket.

However, my sense of fashion was equal to naught, so my opinion hardly counted.

I got changed. The clothing felt a little odd on me. I pulled off the tags and looked myself over in a mirror. The clothes fit well, but it just felt a little weird to wear something that was not pale in color.

How much more time did I have? Ooh, fifteen minutes.

I started walking around the apartment nervously. He did not call while I was gone, did he? No, there were no messages on the answering machine.

I brushed my hair again. It was still a little damp, so I toweled it off for a second time and brushed again. Did it look alright? Same as usual.

The jeans still felt low.

Maybe I should wait out front. I mean, then Kaiba-kun would not have to get out of the car and come up to the door and call up for me. It would be a lot easier. Yeah, I'd do that.

I took one last look around the room before closing the door behind me and locking it. I felt a little self-conscious as I walked down the stairs and to the front, despite that no one was around.

Tension hit me like a wave as I stopped walking. This was it, my first date. It was with another guy; it was with Kaiba Seto, at that. I felt a nervous feeling wash over me. What if he ended up not liking me? What if he realized halfway through that this was a mistake? I hoped that he would like me…

I started pacing. So many different variations of scenarios ran through my head. The feeling was a lot like the one that I had when he first talked to me, back in Kyoto, starting the short conversation about Thoreau. I wanted to act in a way that he would not consider stupid then, and I felt like that now. It was as if I was walking on a thin thread, swaying from side to side, hoping to keep my balance and not fall.

How did he feel about me back then?

I really have been an idiot. How could he want to associate himself with me?

But I had already gone past the point of no return.

I nearly jumped as I saw his car pull into the parking lot. The car stopped in front of me and I opened the passenger door.

"Were you waiting long?" Kaiba-kun asked as I buckled my seatbelt.

I shook my head. "I just needed to walk a little. I guess that I was… a bit nervous." There was no hiding it, I was blushing and not feeling brave enough to look at his face. But looking out of the corner of my eye, I could see that he was wearing jeans, which I found a little out of character for the standard Kaiba-kun, but after I thought it out, perfectly normal for this Kaiba-kun.

Just have fun with this.

I tried to tell myself this, but I was scared.

"You look nice."

I felt the words freeze in my head and repeat. "You look nice." Did he just say that? Whether or not he said it to be nice, or if he actually meant it, I felt good.

"Thank you," I gained the courage to look him in the face. "S-so do you."

It was true. He was wearing very loose jeans with a belt to hold them up and a low-necked, long-sleeved black shirt. All he needed was a necklace or something and sunglasses and he'd look like his public personality's complete opposite. He already looked good enough to be a model.

At least, to me he did.

He noticed me looking and smirked. I looked away and stared out at the road as he started driving. But even with that embarrassment, I felt this tinge of elation in me. It seemed that I was actually gaining a bit of self-esteem or something close.

Did Kaiba-kun know that he could do this to me? He may as well of held my emotions in the palm of his hand. He could make me feel so lost and confused or so intensely, insanely happy that I could hardly believe that I was feeling.

Was it because of love?

How did I make him feel? Though I could pride myself on being able to read some of his emotions, I could not tell. Did he feel this same elation at the sight of me? Probably not; he was too cool to get so excited over someone like me.

He was like a pinnacle of perfection that people aspired to be.

I was a lost, lovesick teenage boy looking for some sort of magic from a person who no longer believed in miracles.

I was me.


I will admit that I took a few much-needed breaks from this fic, mostly to do something for my Prince of Tennis fandoms (TakaFuji and Yummi are so damn canon, I tell you…), which I have been neglecting horribly. Oh well, since I'm mostly stuck in a car or hotel room for some days, I can work.

This note is typed one hour and forty-six minutes before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes out. I want that book. Once I get it, all writing will be on hiatus until I finish it (by Sunday, definitely).

And this note is typed post-finishing:

So… so. I finished the 6th Harry Potter book. Very numb. Have to wait two or three more years for the next one. I finished it in twelve hours of reading, not including sleep.

Yay! I like baroque-period music! -happy sigh- Vivaldi, Pachelbel, Bach, Handel… happy, happy Chibi. And then mix in all my other music… Gravitation has good music. The FAKE OAV theme song is addictive as well. I feel like dancing. Come everyone, dance a happy dance with me!

I wanted to make this chapter longer, but that seemed like an excellent stopping place and made it so that I was done on time to post when I got back home.