Ribbonshipping (Miho x Honda x Otogi)
Looking at her did things to his stomach that he didn't understand. It was like something was doing cartwheels in his chest – it was a weird, ticklish feeling that brought heat to his cheeks.
Get over yourself, Honda thought angrily to himself.
He ducked his eyes to his desk, pretending that he was listening to his friends laugh and chat about who knows what. It was better than staring across the room at her.
But inevitably, his eyes drifted up from the table to where Miho Nohsaka, aka Ribbon-chan, was sitting with her friends. She was laughing about something, her shoulders shaking as one hand came up to her mouth. More heat rushed to his face, and he was glad that his friends weren't looking at him at the moment. She was just...so pretty. Her lavender hair pulled back with a silky yellow ribbon, her violet eyes sparkling with laughter...
No, no, no, she already turned you down. There's no point in thinking about her anymore! Come on, Hiroto, don't be creepy!
He looked pointedly away from her to respond to something Jonouchi was saying. That response turned into the pair of them trying to headlock each other, and for a moment, Honda could forget about the closeness of his crush.
Then girlish squeals brought his and his friends attention over to the group anyway. Honda groaned softly. Ryuji Otogi was sauntering over to them, flipping his overly styled black ponytail over his shoulder and winking his too green eyes at the girls. Nearly all of Miho's friends were blushing so hard they looked like they were going to faint.
"Morning, ladies," Otogi said.
"H-hey, Otogi-kun," one girl giggled.
"How are you today?"
Otogi smiled and took the girl's hands in his own.
"I'm just wonderful – how could I not be when I'm looking at such pretty faces?"
The girl whose hands he was holding went so red that she looked like she had a fever. When he let go and went to talk to another girl, the first girl swooned into her chair. He continued to spread his charm around, playing with girl's hair, talking sweet nothings, and stealing the occasional hair accessory, after which he would pretend to infuse it with 'the power of love' before giving it back to the happily flushing girls. It was kind of sickening.
"Geez," Jonouchi said. "What a flirt. He hasn't learned, has he?"
"It's just how he is," Yugi said with a laugh.
Honda rolled his eyes. He started to turn away, but then, Otogi was standing in front of Miho's desk, placing a hand flat on the table beside hers. Miho looked up. She had been writing something down instead of looking at Otogi while her friends swooned, and Honda couldn't help but feel a bit of triumph at the fact. At least she wasn't swayed by his flirtatiousness...but wait, why did he care? She had turned him down; it shouldn't bother him if she chose someone else. Right?
"Hey, Nohsaka-san, wasn't it?" Otogi said with a smile. "What are you working on there?"
"Hm? Oh, just some homework. I didn't do it last night, and English is starting as soon as sensei gets here."
With a mischievous smile, Otogi tugged the paper out from under Miho's hands.
"Oh, what pretty handwriting," he said. "It matches you perfectly, my dear."
Miho smiled politely and took her paper back from him.
"Thank you, Otogi-kun."
Honda couldn't help but grin as she looked away from him. Otogi looked a little miffed; he seemed confused about Miho's lack of attention for him.
That's because Miho's too good for you.
Then he frowned.
Well, she's too good for me, too.
Otogi didn't seem willing to give up, though. He seemed to take a steadying breath, and then turned up the charm.
"Nohsaka-san, what a pretty ribbon," he said. "Do you always wear that? It really brings out your eyes."
Miho didn't even look up from her page.
"Thank you, Otogi-kun."
Anzu nodded approvingly.
"At least someone's rational in this room," Anzu said. "I was starting to get worried for my fellow females."
Otogi looked a little annoyed now, but the spark vanished quickly. Ha, Honda thought. Not every girl was going to fall for that poser. With a flip of his ponytail, he pretended to reach out to steal Miho's ribbon.
"You know, I think the only thing that's missing right now is 'the power of love,'" he said. "Should I power it up for you?"
His fingers closed on the ribbon. Miho's head snapped up, eyes wide. Instantly, Honda was on his feet, his chair clattering to the ground.
The room went silent. Everyone froze at the sound of the chair. Honda's friends stared at him, slack-jawed. Otogi's mouth hung slightly open, frozen in his position of stealing the ribbon. All of the girls that had been fawning over Otogi looked nervously at Honda, like he was going to start throwing punches.
And Miho's violet eyes found Honda's, questioning and a little surprised.
Before anyone could recover, Honda spoke.
"Hey," he said. "Why don't you focus your 'power of love' efforts on the girls that actually enjoy it. Instead of messing with something important to someone that doesn't want to be bothered?"
Miho blinked. She looked about to say something, a question on her lips. Then her mouth closed. Otogi raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, is Honda jealous?" he said. "Well, don't be shy. Why don't you spill your feelings?"
Honda just glared levelly at Otogi. He had nothing more to say. Miho glanced between them for a moment.
Then she stood up with a start.
"I'm going to use the bathroom," she said to her friends, acting like Otogi wasn't there.
She walked gracefully to the door. Her delicate fingers fixed the ribbon in her hair, which had become slightly crooked in Otogi's attempted theft. She paused at the door. For a moment, Honda thought she might look back.
But then she vanished into the hallway. Honda didn't look at Otogi's glowering eyes. He didn't listen to the girls' whispers, or respond to his friends' questions.
He just righted his chair, and sat back down.
Otogi should have known better. That ribbon was worth more to Miho than he could have possibly guessed. The first time Honda had ever seen Miho Nohsaka, he had heard her talking about it. It might have been the reason why he fell in love with her in the first place. Because someone with a love that strong, that persisting...that was a beautiful thing...
"My father gave me this ribbon. He told me I looked pretty...grown-up...with it. That was...two weeks before he died...and I've never taken it off since."
A/N: Aw, poor Miho-chan. I like working with the manga Miho. There's so much space for interpretation. And Otogi is such a flirt. It's kind of obnoxious. Next is...crap. Rhythmshipping (Mei x Kyuu x Yami no Yugi x Jonouchi). You've got to be kidding me...
