Disclaimer: I don't own Yuugiou… sadly y,y
Ryu: Well, the happy ride is over. Things are gonna kind of start going bad the sad way here, but I'm not sure when they'll get real depressing like earlier chapters again. But right now, let's get moving with this one.
GreyLiliy: I thought Yami as funny as the Monster World fan too. I never even thought about the whole Yami/Kaiba win lose thing. It's just what felt right, gave me a way to pick on the ever-so-perfect-gamer (not bitter).
Lady-Silverkiss: Take my time? HA! This chapter's so freaking short in my notebook. I think everything just moves to quickly so I'll try to slow it down. Hope you joy it though.
Adva Atreyu: I know, fast chapter, sorry. I'm pretty sure they'll start getting longer again. Not with this chapter, but soon. And, like you guessed, things are gonna get pretty heavy again. You'll get to hear a bit more about the situation with Ryou's mother in the chapter so you can judge her afterwards. Am I really evil 9,9?
Capricious Purple Clarity: A new reviewer! I'm gonna cry. Than you so much for your kind words, I'm so happy you like it. I never realized how soap this fic was but you're right and I'm glad you like it. Not to give anything away but two of the over triangle people are gonna get pretty close (as if you can't guess which two) pretty soon. But I may make that even soapier. More drama! Anyway, I'm glad you like it and hope it holds you now that you're sucked in.
Ryu: Update on the DM trivia for the last chapter (10/17/05): so far no one's had trouble with the first 2 but no one's gotten the third. Also, I now the site only let's you post 1 review per chapter so you may figure it out after you've posted your review, meaning you've missed your shot. And I was also kind of misleading on the last one; it's not and actual Duel Monster, but a being created from fusing three Duel Monsters. So, to be fair, I've decided that if no one's gotten it by the time I'm done writing this chapter then I'll extend the deadline to the end of chapter 11 and drop a few more clues at the end of this chapter. And if someone gets it before then, they win. I'll guess we'll have to wait a see.
Right now, lets get to writing!
Chapter 10: Clouds of Gray
"Nani! You want what?" Bakura yelled into the phone.
"Of course I do, but you know perfectly well I'm not suited to raise a nine-year-old little girl. Me and Ryou-kun are having enough trouble on our own…"
"Fuck what he wants, I don't even know him…"
He clicked the phone off and hurled it across the room as hard as he could, smashing it against the wall.
"God damn it," he cursed as loudly as he could at seeing what he'd done.
"I'm sure you're warrantee will cover the phone otou-san," Ryou said, wanting to calm the man.
"Fuck the phone! How can she do this?"
"I know you're upset but just try to calm down and think of Amane-chan," Ryou said. "Do you really think she'd be happy over there? She'll have to make new friends, learn a new language, a new culture. It's not really the best age to move to such a different country. I think she'd be much happier staying in Japan."
"I know that, but not with us," Bakura said. "At least not until someone's found a cure for me; or something to make it not so bad at least."
"I know, but okaa-san's boyfriend doesn't want to wait."
"Who cares what that bastard wants? He should be thinking about Amane," Bakura roared.
"I know otou-san but there's nothing we can do," Ryou said, somewhat defeated. "We have to take Amane-chan in now or lose her."
Bakura paced furiously around the room, wanting to think of something he could do. He glanced over at Ryou, hoping he could find some form of inspiration in the boy, and was met with a mournful, thoughtful look. He sighed and his head fell into his hand.
"You're right, Ryou-kun," he said, rubbing his eyes with his palms, his voice laced with distaste and worry at this turn of events. "I don't like it, but we've got no choice. Go ahead and call your mother back; have her start drawing up the papers." He walked to the place where the phone had smashed, bent over, and began picking up the pieces. "I'm gonna go and see about getting another of these."
"Hang on," Ryou said, getting up from the couch and running to his dad. "If they give you trouble call Seto-kun at this number," he instructed, writing on his father's palm with a pen.
"Arigatou, Ryou-kun."
Ryou just smiled at his father before Bakura turned away, heading for his bedroom. Ryu listened as his father rummaged through his closet, most likely looking for his cell phone's box.
There was a sudden crash that made Ryou jump, followed by a curse of, "Damn it, what was it?"
"Your cell phone's box," Ryou called.
"I knew that," Bakura joked, though somewhat irritably.
Ryou just chuckled to himself until Bakura appeared from the room, stuffing the cords and pieces of his phone into the box he'd found.
"I'll be back," he said as he went out the front door, grumbling to himself while still fighting the dismantled device.
Ryou chuckled a bit more before turning solemn. Now that his father had left he had to confront the maternal half of his parents. He sighed as he took his own phone out and scrolled through the phone book till the name 'okaa-san' was highlighted and pressed talk.
The phone rang three times before the line connected, his mother's voice answering and sounding hurt.
"Moshi moshi, okaa-san…"
"Hai…"
"He's not here, but said he wanted you to start drawing up the papers…"
"Hai…"
"Well, I wouldn't say happy…"
"Of course he wants to, but…"
"I know she could but we both think I would be better if she stayed…"
"We're just worried but we'll deal it…"
"Hai…"
"All right then, I'll tell him to call you when he gets back…"
"Me too…"
"Ja ne."
Ryou hung up and let out a heavy sigh, only to have the phone begin to ring again. He glanced down, saw 'Yugi-kun calling…' and pressed talk again.
"Moshi moshi…"
"Hai, Yugi-kun, everything's okay…"
"It looks like she's gonna be coming to live with us…"
"We're not sure yet…"
"No, I think it's still on…"
Okay, talk to you later. Ja ne…"
He hung up after Yugi'd said his 'good-bye' and flopped, facedown, onto the couch. The sudden development with his sister had made Ryou tired and he could feel sleep closing in around him. Too bad for Ryou there was a knock at the door just then, forcing him to curse as he pulled himself up from the couch and trudged, tiredly, to the front door. He opened it and was surprised by the sight of a smiling Shizuka.
"Hi Ryou-san," she said cheerfully. "I didn't wake you did I?"
Ryou was quiet a moment. Shizuka was still wearing her school uniform, bringing painful memories of that day they'd met back to Ryou's mind. He shook his head to bring himself out of the stupor he'd fallen into and smiled at her.
"Hi, um… Shizuka-chan," he said stupidly. "Um… no, I wasn't sleeping, just… lying around is… um… all."
Shizuka giggled at the shy boy.
"Um… would you like to come in?" he asked.
"Okay," she replied, flushing a bit as she stepped into the house. "So… how have you been… Ryou-kun?" she asked awkwardly.
"Fine" Ryou replied. "Um… come sit down… I mean… would you like to?"
Shizuka smiled as sweet as she could in the awkward position. "Arigatou, Ryou-san."
He led her out of the foyer and into the living room where they sat down on the couch, each on opposite ends. They sat in silence for a while, neither knowing what to say. What could they say? After what had happened between them and Malik a month ago it was hard for the two of them to even sit in the same room together, let alone talk.
"So… how have you been?" Ryou asked awkwardly, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Fine… just fine…" Shizuka replied.
"Have you talked to your brother today?" Ryou asked.
"No, why?"
"Well, otou-san wants to have a party this weekend."
"Really, he wants to?" Shizuka was surprised to say the least that it was the older man that wanted to throw a party when he knew perfectly well he could forget about it. "What does he want to have one for?"
"To meet and get to know my friends," Ryou said. "You don't have to come if you don't want to… But everyone will be there. Jou-kun and Mai-chan, Yami-san and Yugi-kun, Ribbon-chan and Kaiba-kun, Malik-kun…"
"Malik-san will be there?" she interrupted eagerly.
"Hai… and maybe Mariku-kun… too…"
"If Malik-san is going to be there I'll definitely come!" Shizuka finally realized what she was saying and wished she'd just stayed quiet, seeing the pained look on Ryou's face. "Gomen nasai, Ryou-san."
"It's all right," Ryou replied with a weak smile. "Well, I guess that answers that question," he added offhandedly.
"Huh?"
"Do you still like Malik-kun?"
"Oh… I do," Shizuka replied sadly, looking down at the floor. "Do you… still feel the same about… me?"
"I'm not really sure," Ryou replied. "There's so many different conflicting parts all saying different things. One says I still love you. Another says I should let you go after Malik-kun. But then I think about what Malik-kun said and think maybe I love him too. And then there's the part that says I should forget it all together. It's all so confusing that I can't think about it much because it gives me a headache. Nothing really makes sense to me anymore." He stopped and took in a shuddered breathed, trying to hold threatening tears behind his eyes.
Shizuka moved closer when she saw him shudder, placing what she hoped would be a comforting hand over his.
Ryou looked up at her, his eyes shining with unshed tears, and smiled lightly. "Arigatou, Shizuka-chan."
"I'll be honest with you Ryou-san. I do have certain feelings for you, stronger than friendship. I felt it the day we bumped into each other. But those feelings just aren't love; not like I have for Malik-san."
"I understand, Shizuka-chan," Ryou said, trying to hold that sad smile on his face.
"I'm glad you do," she said warmly.
They sat in silence together for a while, each looking into the other's eyes, trying to find any kind of answers to the questions swelling I their hearts.
Shizuka let out a sad sigh when no answer could be found. "It's late, I should be going," she said.
"If you want to wait for otou-san to get home we could drive you," Ryou offered.
The thought of Ryou's father behind the wheel of a car frightened Shizuka slightly and she had to decline. "That's okay, I'll walk," she said.
Ryou chuckled a bit, knowing why she declined, as she got up from the couch and headed for the door. She'd had almost gotten out of the room when Ryou's voice caught her ear.
"S… Shizuka-chan…"
She stopped and looked back at him, a kind smile still on her face.
"Yes?"
Ryou flushed a bit at the thought of what he wanted to ask. "I… I know I have no right to ask but… Could you… kiss me?" he asked shakily, his face turning very red.
Shizuka's face turned the same shade almost instantly, her eyes becoming incredibly wide.
Ryou looked away from her, ashamed of himself. 'Why'd I ask that?' he thought angrily. 'I'm so stupid.'
After staring at the pale boy for a moment Shizuka saw the pained look on Ryou's face and knew. She hadn't realized or even thought about it before; but the way Ryou felt about her was the same as the way she felt about Malik. They were both, all three of them actually, in love with someone who loved another someone. And they were all trapped in the same circle, with the only way out being for one to get hurt.
Realizing this her expression softened and she crossed the room, back to standing over the sad boy. She bent down, pushed a fluffy handful of white hair out of the way, and placed a soft kiss on Ryou's forehead.
Ryou sat still, shocked, as the kiss happened. A single, sad, joyful tear passed his eye as Shizuka pulled back from him.
"Gomen nasai, Ryou-kun," she said, hoping the lose of formality wouldn't offend him. "I know that's probably not what you wanted…"
"No, it was nice," he said quickly.
Shizuka gave him another sweet smile. "You're welcome," she said, seeing the thanks in his eyes. "I need to get going though."
"Hai, I understand," Ryou said. "Will I see you at the party Saturday?"
"Of course," she said, adding a quick, "Ja ne," as she headed for the door.
"Ja," he whispered, giving a small wave as Shizuka disappeared from the house. He thought he should walk her out, but didn't feel he had the energy, nor the will, to get up from the couch.
He sighed, somewhat happily, when he heard the front door close and was able to lie back down, ready for sleep to claim him. But it just so happened that his phone rang as he was almost out.
He growled in frustration, ready to repeat his father's actions, but saw that it was 'Malik-kun calling…' and sat bolt upright; answering the call, suddenly awake and full of energy.
"Moshi moshi," he said excitedly.
"Yo, Ryou-kun," came Malik's cheerful reply from the other end. "How's it going?"
"Pretty good I guess," he replied happily. "How about you?"
'Why'd I get so happy all of a sudden?' he wondered.
"Good, good. I just wanted to let you know Mariku-kun decided to come to your dad's party."
"That's great," Ryou replied. "Shizuka-chan just stopped by and… said…" he said sadly, trying to think of how to say it, his happiness gone as quick as it had come.
"What did she say?" Malik asked fearfully.
"Oh, she said she was gonna come to the party," he replied.
"Is that all she said?" Malik asked, concern building in his voice. "You sound pretty down."
"She just… got really excited when I mentioned you would be there," Ryou replied hurtfully, tryingto hold back threatening tears.
"Does… that mean she still… likes me?"
Ryou drew in a single, ragged breath, not wanting to let his tears fall. "She does, Malik-kun," his voice would only whisper. "She told me herself."
"What about you Ryou-kun?" Malik pressed. "What do you feel for her?"
"I really don't know anymore," Ryou answered, feeling control over his tears slipping. "I don't know what to think anymore."
"Just know, I don't want to hurt you Ryou-kun," Malik assured him. "But I want you to know that I still love you, and I would do anything to see you happy."
Ryou's tears won over at last and pushed forward as he broke down crying into the phone, all his misery and confusion flowing with them.
"Malik-kun I'm so confused," he cried "I thought I loved Shizuka-chan… but now I'm starting to think I love you."
Malik gasped at the statement.
"I just don't know what to do," Ryou cried on. "My head feels like it's going to explode. Why do things have to be so hard for me? Why can't I have a normal life?"
"I know, Ryou-kun," Malik tried to soothe. "But everything's going to be okay."
"But nothing in my life makes sense anymore. So much is happening that shouldn't. I shouldn't be in such a weird love triangle. And Amane-chan… she shouldn't be here… not with otou-san like this."
"Amane-chan? Your sister?" Malik asked, shocked. "What's she got to do with this?"
"Okaa-san's moving to America with her boyfriend," Ryou explained sadly, his tears slowing. "But none of us think it's a good idea for Amane-chan to go. So she's going to move in with me and otou-san"
"Oh, I see," was Malik's sad reply.
"Gomen, gomen nasai Malik-kun. I shouldn't burden you with such things," Ryou said before hanging up the phone and tossing it aside.
He didn't bother to answer it when it started to ring. He only fell onto the couch, crying into the pillow before him. He covered is head after a while, wanting to block out the sound of the phone after Malik's third attempt to call. The fifth time was the last and Ryou was left alone to wallow in his sadness in piece and quiet. Quiet… he remembered how he'd craved it at one point. And now all was silent; all but the sound of rain falling on the roof, and a car pulling into the driveway.
Ryu: I did it. I finished chapter 10. I hop it wasn't too fast. I tried to slow it down from what it was in my notebook, I hope I did a good job. As you can see, the angst and pain is coming back.
Now, as promised, here's a little more help with my DM trivia. Since the first 2 were gotten pretty easily, I'll reveal them now.
1: Black Magician
2: Destructive Dragon Gondora
And the third? The first to name it will be the winner. As for clues, here's what you know so far:
"A person with skin like Ryou's hair; adorn with golden wings, armor, and a golden headdress. It was shrouded in light, almost as if it was creating the light."
As I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, it's not a Duel Monster, but a being created by fusing thee Duel Monsters. Also, it only appears once in the anime and that's it. It's not even in any flashbacks because after the episode with it there are only 5 episodes left (so if you know how many episodes are in the series then you'll know what episode it appears in). It's also very important to the Pharaoh's Memory Arc (so no, it's not Ruler of Heaven Shinato, but good guess Adva Atreyu). I hope that's enough info. Feel free to use any sources you have and hopefully we'll have a winner by the end of chappy 11. And if we don't get it by then… we'll have to see.
See you all in chappy 11!