Muddleshipping (Honda x Seto x Otogi x Ryo x Shizuka)
(geez, pretty much every popular Shizuka shipping...AT THE SAME TIME. This should be fun. XD)
For a few moments, Hiroto Honda was walking on air, at the top of the world, feeling like the bee's knees, any other idioms to express utter joy – and then it had completely crashed.
It was a beautiful spring morning. The bus was a few minutes late, but that was okay, because he was sitting on the same bench as Shizuka Kawai. And not on opposite ends of the bench, but literally right next to her. Her soft red-brown hair was falling gently over her eyes as she looked down at the map of the nature park trails in the preserve they were headed to in just a few minutes, eyes sparkling. A light, beautiful breeze bounced past them, causing Shizuka's hair to blow against his nose. He almost sneezed.
He could NOT believe that she had asked him to come with her. Sure, it was probably only because Jonouchi really had to work today, but at least that Honda had been her second choice!
His good mood basically collapsed on itself at the sound of an all-too-familiar voice.
"Yo! Honda! Oh – and Shizuka-chan, too?"
Shizuka glanced up through her bangs, and Honda looked over his shoulder as Otogi sauntered down the sidewalk.
"Oh, good morning, Otogi-kun," Shizuka said, smiling. Seeing her smile directed at Otogi made Honda die a little inside.
With a flick of his bangs and an over the top flourish, Otogi came around the bench and bowed to Shizuka, taking one of her hands and kissing it.
"Good morning, beautiful flower," he said. "And how are you this beautiful spring morning?"
Shizuka sort of giggled, and slipped her hand from Otogi. It made Honda feel like throwing up. Or punching Otogi. Or both.
"I'm fine, thank you," she said. "And how are you?"
"Brilliant, now that I'm able to see you, little flower."
The bus rolled down to the station, and Honda perked up. Good, an excuse to get away from Otogi before he invited himself along!
"There's our bus," Honda said.
Shizuka glanced up.
"Oh...no, that's number eleven, Honda-kun," Shizuka said. She checked another pamphlet that had been sitting on her lap. "We need fourteen. I think it's coming in about another five minutes."
Honda's heart sank.
"Where are you headed to this fine morning?" Otogi asked.
"Oh, we're going to the Domino Nature Reserve," Shizuka said. "There's a spring flower walk all week."
"A flower among flowers," Otogi said with an unnecessarily poetic tone. "That would be a glorious sight to see."
"Can't you speak without adjectives?" Honda groaned.
The bus wheezed to a stop, and the doors slid open.
"Perhaps you could attract a wider range of students if you up the academic side of the school," someone was saying as they stepped off the bus.
"That means more teachers, more salaries to pay in an already shaky start," another sour voice replied.
The sun gleaming across white hair caught Honda's attention the most. Ryo looked up at the same time. A smile brightened his face.
"Oh, hello!" he said. "What a coincidence! What are you all doing here?"
Seto Kaiba stepped off the bus behind him, saw the group that was waiting, and glared up at the sky. He didn't leave though, which was probably progress for the stuck-up CEO.
"We're going to see the flowers in the Domino Nature Preserve," Shizuka said. "Oh, well, Honda-kun and I are. Otogi-kun just happened to be around."
"I might consider joining you," Otogi said. He was examining the pamphlet that Shizuka had been studying before. "The lilies look quite exquisite."
"Again with the adjectives," Honda said.
"What? Just because you have a vocabulary of just a few words doesn't mean I can exercise my talent of speech."
Honda stood up from the bench and snatched the pamphlet back from Otogi.
"Look, you can't just invite yourself along, okay? You should at least ask first!"
"The nature preserve isn't a private property," Otogi said, raising an eyebrow. "I can go there if I want to."
"But you are forcing yourself in our group!"
"Uh, guys? You're blocking the bus for the other people," Ryo said, but neither of the others was listening to him.
"You just don't want to share Shizuka with anyone! You're afraid someone's going to steal her!"
"Shizuka's not a thing! No one's going to steal her! Stop acting like a bastard!"
"You're the one who started this fight in the first place –"
Otogi tried to shove Honda, but Honda already had a firm stance, and Otogi ended up sending himself off balance. He tumbled back against Seto, who instinctively pushed him off of himself, sending Otogi forward again towards Honda as Ryo was moving forward, trying to herd his friends out of the way so that people could get off the bus –
There was a muddle of legs and limbs, a couple of muffled yelps, and when the chaos finally settled and Honda could see what was going on –
Shizuka appeared to have fallen to the ground – on top of Ryo. And their lips were touching.
There was a moment of frozen shock as both Shizuka's and Ryo's faces went red. Then Shizuka stumbled off of him, stood shakily, muttered a 'sorry', and then grabbed Honda's hand and pulled him onto the bus.
"Shi – Shizuka? Isn't this the wrong bus?"
Shizuka didn't answer, still gripping his hand and pulling him towards the back, where she slid into a window seat and stared out the window. Honda hesitated in the aisle. He looked up at the bus number: 14. Oh. The other one must have arrived during – whatever happened.
"Shizuka?"
Shizuka's face was still bright red, all the way to her ears. She wouldn't look away from the window.
"That wasn't your fault, you know."
She still didn't answer. Honda blew out. The bus was starting to move, so he slid into the seat beside her. He tried not to look at whatever they had left behind.
"No one is applying for Duel Academia," Seto grumbled. "Enrollment rate is low – people aren't seeing the need for professional duelists."
His fellow passenger, the young, white-haired boy called Ryo Bakura, looked thoughtful.
"No one is enrolling?"
"We've gotten five applications."
"Hm."
The bus bounced along. Ryo looked thoughtful. Seto glowered at the bus ceiling – he hated public transportation. The only reason he was here was because the limo had broken down, and Seto was going to be late for a meeting if he didn't use the damn bus. And of course, he had run into one of Yugi's friends – he couldn't get away from them. At least it was just Ryo Bakura, who was at least sensible and didn't go around trying to punch things or give pep talks when something went wrong.
"The problem is that people don't see the need," Ryo said. "But dueling has been a profitable profession for some years now...aren't businesses starting to use them to settle disputes?"
"Slowly. It's the endorsement paths that duelists are more likely to make money on."
"Try adding a business class or something, then," Ryo said.
The bus chugged to a slow stop at the corner, and both young men slipped into the aisle, waiting for the people in front of them to head out of the bus.
"Perhaps you could attract a wider range of students if you up the academic side of the school," Ryo said.
Seto had thought of that earlier – not every student that left the school had to be a professional duelist, after all. The Pro Leagues were very selective.
"That means more teachers, more salaries to pay in an already shaky start," he said.
Then he noticed the group that was waiting for them outside, and practically killed himself on the spot. He settled for clenching his fists and glaring at the sky instead.
"Oh, hello!" Ryo said brightly. "What a coincidence? What are you all doing here?"
Seto glared at the muddled group that was waiting at the bus stop: the discount Jonouchi, the dice guy (or girl? He was never quite sure), and...that girl. Jonouchi's sister.
"We're going to see the flowers in the Domino Nature Preserve," Jonouchi's sister said. Her eyes were bright when she mentioned the flowers. "Oh, well, Honda-kun and I are. Otogi-kun just happened to be around."
What the hell could be so interesting about looking at flowers? Seto had better things to do than watch the two monkey's fight over the dog's sister.
"I might consider joining you," Otogi said, examining a pamphlet. "The lilies look quite exquisite."
"Again with the adjectives," Honda groaned.
Seto decided to tune them out, although Ryo looked worried.
"I have to go," Seto said.
Ryo didn't seem to be listening, but Seto didn't care. He took a step away. Then, somehow, Otogi came careening into him. Instinctively, Seto pushed him away, and the boy fell into Honda and Ryo instead. Somehow, Ryo's foot had been on the hem of Seto's jacket, and Seto found himself stumbling forward, barely missing the tangle of limbs that was starting in front of him. For a second, his face was right in Shizuka's, and her bright eyes were wide with the shock of falling. And the next thing he knew, Shizuka was on the ground. On top of Ryo. With their lips touching.
Seto had to admit, the looks on Honda's and Otogi's faces were priceless. Their mouths were hanging open, their eyes wide, looking like a pair of fish. Seto had to smirk. They were all so obvious.
Shizuka, red as a tomato, leapt back to her feet.
"Our bus is here," she said, and she grabbed Honda's hand and dragged him into the just arrived bus.
After a short, awkward moment, in which Otogi stared after the bus, and then at Ryo, Ryo picked himself up. His face was even redder than Shizuka's, and his hands appeared to be shaking slightly.
"Well, um," he said. "I...I supposed I'll see you all around, later."
After another brief, flustered moment, he turned on his heel and started to walk quickly away. Otogi watched him go, still slack jawed. Seto definitely smirked this time. Otogi caught the expression.
"What?" he said suspiciously.
Seto shrugged. And he turned to walk away.
Those idiots won't even know it, he said. But Honda and Otogi don't stand a chance.
Otogi had been dreading a long, boring day, as his new co-workers had insisted he take a day off, and he was unsure of what to do with it. He tossed some dice around for awhile. He wandered up and down a few streets.
And then he saw Shizuka.
She looked even more beautiful than usual in the spring morning light, her hair draped over her eyes which moved across the pamphlet she was reading, a small, excited smile on her face. Otogi's happiness at seeing her was only slightly marred by the realization that Honda was there as well. He rolled his shoulders and slicked his bang back, even though it instantly fell back into place.
"Yo! Honda! Oh – and Shizuka-chan, too?" he called.
Shizuka glanced up, her hazel eyes glimmering in the morning light. Otogi grinned widely. She smiled back in that small, demure way of hers.
"Oh, good morning, Otogi-kun," Shizuka said. Honda's expression was less than welcoming. Otogi decided to ignore him, flicking his bangs as he came around the bench and took Shizuka's hand to give it a small kiss, like a gentlemen should.
"Good morning, beautiful flower," he said. "And how are you this beautiful spring morning?"
Shizuka sort of giggled, and slipped her hand from Otogi. Honda looked like he smelled something nasty.
"I'm fine, thank you," she said. "And how are you?"
"Brilliant, now that I'm able to see you, little flower."
A bus chugged down towards the station.
"There's our bus," Honda said.
I don't think so, Otogi said. Not getting rid of me that easily, Honda.
Shizuka glanced up.
"Oh...no, that's number eleven, Honda-kun," Shizuka said. She looked down at her watch. "We need fourteen. I think it's coming in about another five minutes."
Otogi had to stop himself from smirking at Honda. He was winning already.
"Where are you headed to this fine morning?" Otogi asked.
"Oh, we're going to the Domino Nature Reserve," Shizuka said. "There's a spring flower walk all week."
The image of Shizuka skipping around in a flower field made Otogi grin inwardly. He definitely had to be there for that – but how to invite himself...?
"A flower among flowers," Otogi said. "That would be a glorious sight to see."
"Can't you speak without adjectives?" Honda groaned.
Otogi rolled his eyes at Honda, prompting a small giggle from Shizuka.
The bus wheezed to a stop, and the doors slid open.
"Perhaps you could attract a wider range of students if you up the academic side of the school," someone was saying as they stepped off the bus.
"That means more teachers, more salaries to pay in an already shaky start," another sour voice replied.
Otogi thought he recognized the voices, and glanced back. Oh, Ryo, and Seto.
"Oh, hello!" Ryo said, brightening. "What a coincidence! What are you all doing here?"
"We're going to see the flowers in the Domino Nature Preserve," Shizuka said. She looked a bit redder, all of a sudden. Must be the sun. "Oh, well, Honda-kun and I are. Otogi-kun just happened to be around."
Otogi slid the nature reserve pamphlet from her lap and made a show of examining it.
"I might consider joining you," Otogi said. "The lilies look quite exquisite."
"Again with the adjectives," Honda said.
Now – now was the time to try and start something with Honda. Otogi felt a little bit bad, messing with him, because he did consider Honda something of a friend, but love was not something that could be easily shared.
"What? Just because you have a vocabulary of just a few words doesn't mean I can exercise my talent of speech."
Honda stood up from the bench and snatched the pamphlet back from Otogi. He was already mad. Otogi grinned at Honda, which seemed to make Honda madder.
"Look, you can't just invite yourself along, okay? You should at least ask first!"
"The nature preserve isn't a private property," Otogi said, raising an eyebrow. "I can go there if I want to."
"But you are forcing yourself in our group!"
"Uh, guys? You're blocking the bus for the other people," Ryo said, but neither of the others was listening to him.
Otogi flipped his hair, debating about how far he could go to get Honda riled.
"You just don't want to share Shizuka with anyone! You're afraid someone's going to steal her!"
"Shizuka's not a thing! No one's going to steal her! Stop acting like a bastard!"
"You're the one who started this fight in the first place –"
Honda looked like he was about to lunge forward – Otogi wasn't quite sure he wanted to go to real blows with a former street fighter. So he tried to make the first move by pushing Honda, hoping he would fall against the bench. But Honda's stance was like rock, and Otogi threw himself off balanced. He tumbled backwards, knocking into Seto, who pushed him back again. Otogi wheeled his arms as he stumbled towards Honda again, who was in a fighting stance with his fists up. And suddenly Ryo was somehow in between them, and Otogi thought he saw Shizuka hovering a little too close to the tangled boys, and he heard a grunt as Kaiba, too, was somehow dragged into the tumble –
There was a muddle of legs and limbs, a couple of muffled yelps, and when the chaos finally settled and Otogi found himself actually standing free, on both legs and not on the ground –
Shizuka appeared to have fallen – on top of Ryo. And their lips were touching.
Otogi's brain seemed to have shut off. He stared at them. The whole group did – even some people who had just gotten off the bus that had left were staring at them. Otogi wondered vaguely, at the back of his head, why Shizuka wasn't getting up right away. If he was in a situation like that...he'd want to get out of it as soon as it happened.
Both parties on the ground went bright red. One more beat passed. Then Shizuka shot to her feet, mumbled something like 'sorry', grabbed Honda's hand, and dragged him onto the next bus. Otogi stared at the bus, realizing that he had just missed his chance to tag along with Shizuka. Then he looked at Ryo.
The boy picked himself up, looking red and shaky.
"Well, um," he said. "I...I supposed I'll see you all around, later."
He hesitated. Then he walked away as quickly as possible. Otogi stared after him. It occurred to him suddenly that he ought to feel somewhat jealous. In that chaos, it could have easily have been him that Shizuka had ended on top of.
He caught sight of Seto's smirk.
"What?" Otogi said.
Seto just shrugged, as though he knew something Otogi didn't. Then the CEO turned around and walked away, leaving Otogi alone with his slowly turning thoughts...
Ryo was trying to think of some new ideas to help Seto's Duel Academia. He thought the idea was interesting himself, and he would hate to see it capsize.
"Perhaps you could attract a wider range of students if you up the academic side of the school," he said, stepping off the bus.
"That means more teachers, more salaries to pay in an already shaky start," Seto said.
That was true. Ryo tried to think some more. Then he noticed the people standing at the bus stop.
"Oh, hello!" he said, smiling. Otogi, Honda, and Shizuka all looked up. Shizuka's smile got a little wider. "What a coincidence! What are you all doing here?"
"We're going to the Domino Nature Preserve for the flower walk," Shizuka said, brightening. "Well, Honda-kun and I are. Otogi-kun just happened to be here."
Oh, the flower walk, Ryo thought. He had been thinking of looking at that himself sometime this week.
"That sounds great," he said. "I'm trying to grow roses myself...they're not doing too well."
"Oh, really? Did you check the drainage around your yard?"
"I tried; I guess I didn't completely understand what the book was saying –"
And then Otogi shoved Honda, but ended up falling backwards himself and tumbling into Seto. There were people trying to get on the bus behind them, and another bus starting to come behind that. Ryo stepped forward, brow furrowed.
"Guys, you are blocking the bus," Ryo said, but his friends didn't seem to be listening.
Otogi stumbled towards Honda again. Ryo was just a little too close to him and Seto, and dragged the CEO with him by accident as Otogi knocked into him.
"Guys!" Shizuka kept saying in that thin, whispery voice she used when she was frightened. "Guys, stop, please, what are you doing? Please, listen –"
"You guys, you're worrying Shizuka!" Ryo tried to say, but his words were lost as his leg somehow caught on the back of Honda's, and he went tumbling to the ground. His hand grabbed on something, anything, trying to right himself, and closed around something soft and fleshy –
There were lips against his. He was a little dizzy, and it took him a moment to clear his vision and see –
Shizuka. On top of him. Her lips touching his.
She's really light, Ryo thought, somewhere in the back of his frozen, shocked mind. And her lips are really soft...
His face warmed up as he realized those were not thoughts he should be thinking.
Shizuka hesitated a second longer. Then she scrambled to her feet, grabbed Honda's hand, and ran into the bus.
Ryo sat on the ground for another half a second, feeling shaky and dizzy. He looked up to see Otogi staring at him, open-mouthed. Ryo stood up shakily. He felt – a little guilty, somehow. Shizuka had been going somewhere with Honda. Somehow, he felt like this mess was his fault.
"Well, uh," he said. "I'll see you all around, later, I guess," he said.
He turned around, and tried not to think about Otogi's shocked face, Honda's irritation at Otogi for getting close to Shizuka, Seto's knowing smirk, and most especially, Shizuka's lips on his.
Shizuka liked sitting with Honda. He always made her feel very safe, like her brother was around. It was really too bad that Jonouchi couldn't have come along, but just Honda was fine too. She glanced through the pamphlet, her heart lightening as she looked at all the flower areas marked out by the map. She just had to see the roses, and the chrysanthemums!
"Yo! Honda! Oh – and Shizuka-chan, too?" he called.
Shizuka glanced up. Her mood dipped ever so slightly as she saw Otogi wandering down towards them, with his normal wide grin. She put on her best, polite smile, although she knew what was going to happen if Otogi stayed around Honda for too long.
"Oh, good morning, Otogi-kun," Shizuka said.
Otogi smiled and flicked his bangs – that was a little annoying – as he came around the bench and took her hand in his, lips brushing against her fingers. Shizuka tensed a little, but continued to smile.
"Good morning, beautiful flower," he said. "And how are you this beautiful spring morning?"
Shizuka giggled nervously, and extracted her hand from Otogi. Honda looked like he smelled something nasty. Shizuka wished she could be so straight-forward. But she kept smiling. Like a pretty, empty flower. Probably, that was all Otogi thought she was.
"I'm fine, thank you," she said. "And how are you?"
"Brilliant, now that I'm able to see you, little flower."
Shizuka wondered if her smile looked as forced as it felt. A bus chugged down towards the station.
"There's our bus," Honda said.
A weight lifted off Shizuka's shoulders – and then settled back down again.
"Oh...no, that's number eleven, Honda-kun," Shizuka said. She frowned, disappointed. Things would get bad quickly if Otogi didn't leave. "We need fourteen. I think it's coming in about another five minutes."
Otogi shot a smirk at Honda, which he probably thought that Shizuka didn't see. Shizuka folded her hands in her lap and tried to look resolutely at the bus.
"Where are you headed to this fine morning?" Otogi asked.
"Oh, we're going to the Domino Nature Reserve," Shizuka said. "There's a spring flower walk all week."
Suddenly, she thought she probably shouldn't have said that. She kicked herself inwardly – she should have said she and Honda were just headed back to her brother's apartment, otherwise, Otogi was likely to try and invite himself along...
"A flower among flowers," Otogi said. "That would be a glorious sight to see."
"Can't you speak without adjectives?" Honda groaned.
Otogi rolled his eyes at Honda. Shizuka had to giggle at Honda's comment. She wondered if Otogi was capable of talking without all of those grand words. To hide the fact that she was laughing at that, she looked straight at the bus and not at either of the boys.
So she saw Ryo first.
His bright, peridot green eyes met her hazel ones, and she tried so hard to keep the blush from her cheeks.
"Oh, hello!" Ryo said, smiling brightly. "What a coincidence! What are you all doing here?"
Seto appeared, coming off the bus as well. He glared at her for a second, then glanced between her and Ryo. His eyes went to the sky next, and Shizuka could feel her blush deepening. It had only been a month or two ago that she had admitted her crush on Seto Kaiba would never work out – but seeing him look at her, and then Ryo like he was noticing something – oh, no, brain, stop, now...
"We're going to see the flowers in the Domino Nature Preserve," Shizuka said "Oh, well, Honda-kun and I are. Otogi-kun just happened to be around," she added quickly.
"That sounds great. I've been trying to grow roses myself," Ryo said. "They're not doing too well, though."
"Oh, really? Did you check the drainage around your yard?" Shizuka asked. She perked up a little – she had tried to talk to Honda about types of flower gardening earlier, and he had definitely tried to keep up with her, but it was obvious he wasn't all that interested in flowers.
"I tried; I guess I didn't completely understand what the book was saying –"
Otogi shoved Honda, but fell back himself. Shizuka's heart dropped into her stomach. Oh no, oh no, oh no, she knew this would happen – now they were going to get into a fight, oh, those, those idiots, couldn't they keep their testosterone in check for two minutes?
Ryo stepped forward, trying to get between the shouting boys.
"Guys!" Shizuka said, her voice getting thin. "Guys, stop, please, what are you doing? Please, listen –"
She saw Ryo falling. Without thinking, she jumped forward, to reach for him, his hand closed around her forearm. She was falling, falling, falling – her face was right in Seto's for a minute, and she couldn't believe how close their faces were, and thought she saw something flicker in his blue eyes, and then –
Then her lips were on someone's. The first thing she thought was I've never kissed anyone before. The second was his lips are so soft.
Her third wasI am kissing Ryo Bakura.
They stared at each other, neither moving. Shizuka couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Her lips were still against his – they weren't really kissing. But she thought for a second, that if she decided to, she could turn it into a real kiss –
She flew to her feet before her brain could run away from her. She grabbed onto the first thing she could find – Honda's hand, and darted for the bus with a mumbled sorry.
"Shi – Shizuka!"
Shizuka didn't answer, trying to escape her own muddled brain. All these boys! What were all these boys doing around her! She needed to go places with girls!
She sat in the window seat farthest from the side of the doors, so she wouldn't have to look at Otogi's shocked face, or Ryo's red one, or the smirk on Seto's face that told her that he knew, even if no one else did, what had really just happened there.
"It wasn't your fault, you know?" Honda said.
Shizuka couldn't look at him. Because she knew what he felt, and she knew what she felt, and she knew that even though it had been an accident –
She would have wished for it to happen again.
A/N: A long, multiple POV one. I think it's kind of amusing...could be tedious though, I'm not sure. Next is Motorshipping (Honda x Jonouchi x Marik).
