Silentshipping (Seto x Shizuka)

She didn't want to admit it, but she had always been scared of him.

Shizuka Kawai had wanted her brother to be the first thing she saw when she took off her bandages. She couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than seeing the face of someone she loved as her first sight in a long time.

But it didn't quite happen that way.

Instead, she found herself staring bleary eyed through stinging salt water, dragging the blurred form of her brother to the surface – and when she broke the surface of the water into the clean, cool air, it was not her brother's face that she saw – but the sharp, harsh blue eyes under a mop of brown hair that cut through her like knives.

That was the memory of Seto Kaiba that she had, and that was why she, for the most part, did everything in her power to avoid him on the blimp. She never, ever wanted to be faced with those eyes again.

It was a futile wish. It didn't take long for her to find herself face to face with the tall, icy-eyed Seto Kaiba once again. He glanced down at her with those harsh eyes, either disinterested or not remembering who she was, she wasn't sure which.

"Um, good evening," she said, ducking her head as she tried to walk past.

He didn't say anything, and his silence was somewhat unnerving. He still stood in the center of the hallway, and it was difficult to get past. Shizuka had no choice but to stand there and wait for him to move.

After too long of a moment, Kaiba spoke,

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" he said.

"What?"

"You. You keep looking at me like a deer in the headlights. Is there something wrong?"

"W-what? Oh, no, of course not...nothing's wrong..."

"Then stop looking at me like that," he cut her off.

Shizuka's hands tightened on the hem of her shirt.

"Well, then...you stop looking at me like I'm not allowed to breathe your air!" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What was that?"

"I said..." Shizuka said.

She took a deep breath.

"Stop looking at me like I'm not allowed to breathe your air!"

It came out a lot louder and harsher than she had intended, and she clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Never mind," she said, trying to skirt past him.

He stood still for a moment, but she didn't dare look at his eyes. Then he shifted slightly to the side, enough for her to slip past, and she half-ran down the hallway.

Seto Kaiba stalked down the hallways of the blimp, seething. What had just happened? One duel into the semi-finals, and there was a boy unconscious already. This was ridiculous. His only comfort was that this wasn't being broadcasted anywhere. Why was it that wherever Yugi played a card game, someone ended up dead or unconscious –

He paused, and suddenly realized that she was in the hallway. That short, slender, red-headed girl, staring at him with wide, doe-like brown eyes like she was a deer trapped in the headlights. Dammit, why was she here right now?

They stood staring at each other for a long, silent moment. Kaiba wasn't quite sure what to say. She kept staring at him like he was about to rip her throat out, or something. Who was she again? Jonouchi's sister, Shizuka, right? He could sort of see the resemblance, although she seemed a lot quieter than Jonouchi. That was a relief. But why did she keep looking at him like that? It was kind of unnerving.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" he said.

"What?" she said, looking just about scared out of her mind that he had talked to her.

"You. You keep looking at me like a deer in the headlights. Is there something wrong?"

"W-what? Oh, no, of course not...nothing's wrong..."

"Then stop looking at me like that," he cut her off. He felt suddenly really irritated.

Her hands tightened on the hem of her shirt.

"Well, then...you...stop …. breathe your air!" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Seto frowned.

"What was that?"

"I said..." Shizuka said.

She took a deep breath.

"Stop looking at me like I'm not allowed to breathe your air!"

It came out a lot louder and harsher than Seto had expected, and he stared, shocked, at her as she clapped her hands over her mouth. Where on earth had that come from? Who knew she had had that in her?

"Never mind," she said, trying to skirt past him.

He hesitated just a minute longer. Had he really been looking at her like that? Then he realized she was trying to get past, and he shifted enough to let her through. She scurried away down the hallway, and he glanced in her direction.

"Huh," he said softly.

And although he had plenty of other things on his mind at that point, it was that red-headed little sister of Jonouchi that weighed on his thoughts for the rest of the walk down the hallway.

A/N: They're...so cute...But it's hard to keep them in character and put them in a romantic situation. I can definitely see something growing here, but it's gonna take a while. :) Next is Sightshipping (Pegasus x Ishizu).