Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
How was everyone's Christmas? I had fun and I hope you all enjoyed the prologue of my story! Here's chapter one for your viewing pleasure!
Oh, on a side note, when it's bold, they're speaking in a foreign language.
When Ryo woke, he found the afternoon sun seeping through his blinds (the apartment faced the west). He grunted as he brought his arm to his face, seeing the watch read a quarter to eight. He sat up and stretched before looking out the window.
"Why is it…?" he asked in English and glanced at his watch again. "Oh. I forgot to set my watch nine hours later. I'll do it now."
The watch beeped as he reset the numbers to the proper time, so it read a quarter to seventeen hundred hours. He sighed and got up, folding his futon and blanket, before mumbling, "I was so tired I didn't even notice I was sleeping on the floor. I ought to be stiff for a while until I get my bed set up."
Once the futon and blanket were back in the closet, he took out a pocketknife, opening the taped boxes and unpacking them. He organized, assembled, cleaned and reorganized until his apartment was neat and tidy. He looked at his new clock on the wall and noticed he hadn't eaten and it was already time for bed, even if it still felt early for him.
"I have to get up early for school, so I might as well start getting used to the new time zone." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Jet lag, here we come."
He cooked himself dinner and put his uniform to wash, to get out the wrinkles. He walked around in a t-shirt and boxers as he did this, then ate his dinner when it was finished, even though it felt weird to have dinner when he'd just woken up. He drew a bath and took his clothes off, revealing a bra under his shirt and a pair of panties beneath his boxers.
"They just keep getting bigger…" she despaired, cupping her breasts before lifting a large pendant that hung over them. "You came with me too, even if I left you home. I don't like how bulky and old you are, I prefer smaller, prettier pieces of modern jewelry, even if Dad said you're three thousand years old and worth a fortune. No matter where I leave you, you always come back to hang around my neck, even if it's for a single outing." She sighed. "I'll put you down for a few minutes, so please don't come back on while I shower."
At that she took off the Millennium Ring and her undergarments. She stepped into the shower and checked the temperature of the water before taking the shower head out of its cradle and running it over her body to wet it. She picked up the shampoo bottle, squirted some into her palm and began lathering her now-flat hair. She closed her eyes as suds began running down her forehead. "Kisara, I blame you for instilling the habit of showering every night ever since you got back from college in America… At least it's normal to do so around here."
The doorbell rang as she reached for the shower head again, but she shook her head as she mumbled, "I'm in no position to answer the door, so go away and come back tomorrow afternoon when I get back from school."
She rinsed her hair and then took the bar of soap to wash her body. She'd just started to wash her back when the door to the bathroom opened and a man's voice called, "Bakura—"
She spun around and her blue eyes grew huge as she realized that she was faced with a boy around her age and he'd seen her naked body. She froze in mortification as his cheeks slowly turned red before he murmured, "Bakura…san?"
Her face turned whiter than it already was as she turned back around and asked in a tightly-controlled voice, "Would you please wait outside until I finish? It won't be more than fifteen minutes, I promise."
"Of course. My apologies for walking in on you. You didn't answer the door, so I let myself in."
"Just please…close the door."
She heard the door close and began her washing again, this time at a faster pace than before, so she wouldn't keep her guest waiting. She rinsed herself off and stepped out of the shower stall onto the rug that traveled between it and the bathtub. She stepped into the scented water and sank gratefully inside, closing her eyes as she relaxed, letting herself get lost in the calm thoughts, until the image of her male peer staring at her naked body. Her face paled again before she forced herself to take a breath into her mouth before letting it out through her nose.
"Ryo, you're going to be fine. It's not like it's the end of the world…but what if he goes to the school you're enrolled in? It's an all-boys' school, right? Domino High School? If he tells everyone, you're over your head in trouble. You'll be expelled before you go through the first day."
She groaned and put her head in her hands. "You're doomed, that's all there is to it." She gazed at the surface of the water. "I was looking forward to making some new friends, since I've lost so many…" A miserable expression came to her face as she stood up. Her body trembled as tears gathered in her eyes. "I just hoped…"
She dried herself off, put on her pajamas, and as she dried her hair, which was still flat (she gelled her hair to make it spike up like a boy's), she stepped out of the bathroom and deposited her dirty clothes into the basket by the door. She then turned to face the boy, who was sitting on her small couch like he owned the place. He looked up at her entrance and didn't even stand as she sat down on a chair and looked up at him.
"How did you get into my apartment? I thought I had the only key," she questioned as he looked her up and down, as she did the same, seeing he was a good few inches taller than her, shaggy brown hair, deep blue eyes, and was wearing a button-up shirt, slacks and dress shoes under a trench coat.
"I'm the owner of these apartments, so I always check up on my tenants on their first day," he replied with a smirk.
Her eyes widened. "Then you're Kaiba-san?"
"Yes."
Her stomach clenched. He could throw her out because she gave falsified information about her gender. She'd worked so hard to get an apartment within walking distance of school, but if he wished, she'd be back at square one for housing, and not many would want a teenager living alone in their apartment complex.
"I hear you're from England, and that you transferred schools so you could have a fresh start. Care to tell me why you had to?"
She shook her head. "It's very painful Kaiba-san, I'm sorry."
He gave a shrug and continued, "I expect to have your record spotless and your apartment equally pristine. If your grade point average drops more than half a point, I'll kick you to the curb. I won't have some loser living in my apartments. Am I clear, Bakura-san?"
She thought about her past schools and was determined to turn over a new leaf here. "Crystal, Kaiba-san."
He stood and turned to go, so she did as well. A question bothered her, so she asked, "Are you attending Domino High School?"
He turned his head towards her, smirked and left without answering. She fell to her knees as she assessed her predicament.
"What should I do? He's found out my secret and if he lets it out, I'll have to transfer schools again. I hope he doesn't…"
"GOOD MORNING! GOOD MORNING! IT'S TIME TO GET RIGHT UP AND SAY, 'GOOD MORNING! GOOD MORNING, TO YOU!' "
Ryo shot up in bed, eyes half-open as she heard Kisara's voice. "I'm up, Kisara! I'm up! Huh?"
She found her alarm clock was where her sister's voice came from. She pushed the button down and sighed. "That scared me." She got up and began to get ready for school, mumbling, "I'd wondered why she was so cheerful as she packed my alarm clock."
She cooked herself some toast and ate it, before shouldering her backpack and walking to school. She sighed, tired as nothing else because she'd had to wake up extra early to fashion her hair into even spikes, especially the two layers she was known for. She walked into the school building and to the classroom she was supposed to enter. A teacher opened the door and introduced, "This is Bakura Ryo, the newest member of our class. He's transferred from England, so he may have some trouble with our language at first, so please, be—"
"That marshmallow-haired homo?" a familiar voice interrupted. "He speaks Japanese like a native, so don't give him any special treatment."
Ryo's eyes zeroed on Kaiba for a second before the girls (Ryo had noticed that and had breathed an inward sigh of relief) murmured amongst themselves at the revelation, which made her shudder inside.
"Homo?"
"Bakura likes boys?"
"It makes sense, with how much of a looker he is."
"Oh man, and here I thought I could get him to be interested in me."
"How does Kaiba know him already?"
"Is he really fluent in Japanese?"
"Class!" the teacher shouted. "This gossip isn't allowed during my classes! Kaiba, retract that comment immediately or you'll have detention!"
Kaiba smirked and asked, "Why? The newest student needs to know his place in this school, and that's below me, not the hottest commodity."
"Kaiba Seto, even with your perfect grades, I will not stand for this bullying! Detention for a week!"
"Heh, as if you could stop me from avoiding this and clearing my record."
He crossed his arms and grinned, the teacher flushed with fury, but he turned to Ryo and smiled. "The spot by Jonouchi is free, please sit so I can continue class."
Ryo silently did so, embarrassed beyond comprehension that she could get picked as a target by Kaiba, who was the CEO of KaibaCorp and the most powerful gamer in Japan, and he'd called her a "homo" of all things! As in "homosexual" or "gay"! She liked boys and wasn't planning on flirting with anyone! She wanted a peaceful, quiet high school life, but this was the pits!
At lunch, Jonouchi glared at Kaiba and growled, "Don't listen to Kaiba's lies, he's a complete jerk, but I've never seen him go after anyone like this before. He's always been 'above' normal bullying."
Ryo nodded, but still was wary. "Thank you, Jonouchi-san."
"By the way," Honda put in. "Do you have a history with Kaiba? He only goes after people if he wants something or has a grudge against."
Ryo shrugged, even though she thought it had something to do with her two secrets. Why bully her when he could just blackmail her? There was nothing she could do against him as long as he held the information that she was a girl over her head.
Anzu scoffed, "I hate guys like him, who think they have all the power, so they pick on others so they can feel even more powerful. You've just arrived and he's picking on you. How low can you get?"
Yugi nodded. "I don't know what his problem is, but I'd watch out, Bakura-san. I've dealt with Kaiba-kun before, and he's very persistent when he wants to be, so if he thinks you're someone to pick on, he'll continue until you're no longer an appealing target."
She gave a small frown in despair, but then noticed the strange pendant on Yugi's necklace. "Yugi…that pendant…"
"Oh, this?" The spiky-haired boy lifted it so Ryo could see it better. "This is my Millennium Puzzle."
"May I see it?"
"Sure."
Ryo held it in her hands, before she felt a stabbing pain in her heart. She winced, only for someone to snatch something from around her neck. Her eyes widened as she spotted Kaiba holding her Millennium Ring. She leapt up and reached for it.
"Kaiba-san, please give it back!"
He put a hand on her forehead as he looked at it, Yugi and his friends staring at it in shock.
"Bakura has one of those pendants too?!" Jonouchi exclaimed.
"Cool your jets Bakura-chan," Kaiba mocked as he held the girl off. "I'm just looking at it." He inspected it and then dropped it back over her head. "Don't twist your panties in a knot, Marshmallow-homo."
"Hey! No one calls my friend that, Kaiba!" Jonouchi snapped, leaping up.
Yugi held him back. "Jonouchi-kun, calm down!"
"He just insulted our friend, Yugi!" Honda protested, already on his feet. "You're gonna let him get away with that?!"
"You know I don't like fighting!"
Kaiba snorted. "You should be thankful Yugi's here to protect you." He turned back to Ryo. "You're the same gutless kid as he is, except people know he's a boy." He hooked his fingers over the top of her jacket collar. "It would take such a small effort to scar you for life, but I still think there's a better use for you."
"What do you want?" she asked, fearful he'd have her do something awful.
"Come with me. I'll tell you without the audience of morons."
"MORONS?!" Jonouchi exploded. "WHY I OUGHTA—"
"No, Jonouchi-kun!" Yugi protested.
"I'm gonna pound that jerk to the ground the next time I see him!"
Ryo followed Kaiba to the boys' bathroom, where he shut them in the handicapped stall. He sat down while the disguised girl stood. She looked towards the stall door before snapping her attention back to him when he ridiculed, "Are you such a coward that you're afraid of me, Bakura-chan?"
"Why are you bullying me when I've done nothing to incur your wrath?"
"Let's just say I have vital information about you that you don't want exposed, and in return for my silence, you must do anything I ask."
"Why?" Ryo returned, backing up into the door, even if Kaiba had made no move towards her. "What use am I to you?"
"Hypothetically, take this scenario: I want the experience of having a…companion…without anyone finding out. Your disguise, for whatever reason you've donned it, is perfect for this."
Ryo opened her mouth to protest, when he pointed to her.
"I have one condition: we are not to fall in love. If you fall in love with me, then you'll become my personal slave for the rest of your life, even if I marry and have children so I can pass on my company to them. Do you agree to this? You know the consequences better than I if I were to expose you."
The blue-eyed girl squirmed at the thought of her identity being blown and being in danger again… She held her chest and was about to answer when a voice that was not her own purred, /I could get rid of him for you, just like every other time, my mistress.\\
/Not again! It got me into this mess, and I just moved here!\
/Just a simple stab between the ribs with your pocketknife, it would be over without pain.\\
/This is Kaiba Seto we're talking about! With his influence, we could be safe from trouble if we're tracked here!\
/Fine, but if he puts your life in jeopardy, I won't hesitate to dispose of him.\\
"I accept your terms, Kaiba-san."
He smirked and stood, strolling over to her. "Well then, this will be a demonstration of good faith."
He grabbed her by the front of the jacket and their lips collided in a fashion that had her face turning red. His eyes were halfway closed while hers were wide open. He pulled away and murmured, voice breathy, "I hope you enjoyed that, because there'll be more where that came from."
He opened the stall door, and Ryo fell on her back, biting back a wince. He looked down at the white-haired teen and stated, "Also, if you want me to not bully you, come to the roof at precisely seventeen-thirty hours every day."
"For what?" she asked, only for him to ignore her. She got up and walked back to the classroom, not sure what was going to happen next.
Yugi and the others gave Ryo concerned looks as she came back. When she sat down, Jonouchi asked, "What did he do to you, Bakura-san? And don't downplay it! If he's forcing you to do anything you don't want to, Honda and I will pound him for you!"
Ryo shook her head. "Nothing."
Yugi then changed the subject after a shocked silence. "Bakura-san, is that necklace you had on like my Millennium Puzzle?"
The voice in her head perked up. /The Millennium Puzzle?! I've found it at last!\\
"Yes it is. It's called the Millennium Ring."
/Don't tell him our secrets!\\
/It's not like he wouldn't find out sooner or later when you decide to engage him in some sort of battle.\
/Someday I'll kill you.\\
/Until then, there isn't much you can do to me, so I guess we'll have to live with each other.\
The Ring Spirit fell silent, as Yugi asked, "Bakura-san, what're your hobbies?"
"I like to play games," she answered with a smile. "My favorite is a game called 'Monster World'."
"That sounds cool! Can we come over and play?"
"Sure."
/This ought to be entertaining.\\
/Don't you do anything!\
/You can't stop me, my mistress.\\
At nineteen hundred hours, Ryo jerked her head up when her doorbell buzzed. The Millennium Ring was silent for once as she went to the door. She jumped when a pounding came from the other side and swallowed, unsure now.
"BAKURA RYO, OPEN THIS DOOR OR I'LL BREAK IT DOWN!" Kaiba's voice shouted, and she relaxed only slightly, after all, he sounded very mad, no, furious.
As soon as the door was unlocked, he pushed the door open and barged in, shutting and locking it behind him. She began to retreat in fear, only for him to follow and trap her between his arms on either side of her head as her back hit a wall. He leaned down so he was in her face and snarled, "I waited for a. Whole. Hour. Where did you go?!"
Her face paled as she remembered what she'd promised. With all the mess that Dark Bakura had caused with her friends, her brush with death and the newfound silence in her head, she'd quite forgotten her "date" with Kaiba. He looked like he wanted to beat her to a pulp.
"It wasn't my fault, I promise! I was forced to come home early today!"
"For what?! It had better be good!"
If she told the truth, he'd be even more incensed, but if she lied (she was a terrible liar) he'd sniff it out and be past incensed. Either way, she wasn't going to make the situation any better for herself.
She lowered her eyes and mumbled, "I played a game."
He grabbed her by the front of the shirt and lifted her up so she was face-to-face with him, her feet off the ground. "You disobeyed my order to play a game?!"
She nodded feebly and he popped, throwing her to the floor and landing on top of her, which made her tense up with terror. He wasn't thinking of…that…was he?!
He crashed his lips onto hers so hard she tasted blood. She flinched as he pushed hard, and realized something with the action.
Kaiba didn't know how to kiss. He'd probably never kissed someone in his life, so he thought it was like this: lips tight closed, just fierce contact. She had to get him to calm down, or else she couldn't teach him (what little she knew herself).
She brought her arms up to circle around his shoulders, her palms soothing away the tension in his shoulders and back. After a moment, he began to relax and she softened her lips, coaxing him to do the same. He followed her lead and the experience became more pleasant. She closed her eyes as she held him close, even as he pulled away.
"What did you do?"
She opened her eyes. "Kissing isn't supposed to be hard and unyielding, like you were. You have to soften, or else you're merely hitting your lips on mine. That's what I learned from my mom."
"Let's have more lessons on this, since after you caused me to soften, it felt better."
She nodded and he came back down.
If you guys are confused by this, ask! I have answers! Well, if it doesn't pertain to spoilers!
Please review!