Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
I wish everyone a Happy New Year, for those I didn't get to!
Alrighty, I hope everyone likes this new chapter!
The next day Ryo got up and found her lips were chapped from all the kissing. She grimaced and used a lip balm to soothe them. It had no smell or taste, so it wouldn't bother anyone if they were to get close to her (a.k.a. Kaiba). She got out her gel and put her hair in its usual spikes, brushed her teeth and checked her uniform before getting her breakfast. She breathed before setting out for school.
She got into class early and finished her toast, only for Kaiba's voice to mock, "You didn't have time eat at home? That's disgusting to look at, crumbs all over."
She winced when he smacked the back of her head and threw a damp paper towel on her head. She wiped it up and muttered, "Are you going to bully me again today?"
"You didn't keep the end of the deal, so yes, I am," he confirmed. "At least I didn't make you lick your desk clean."
She made a face of disgust and sighed. "I'm tired, can't you give me a break for today?"
"Do real bullies?" he asked pointedly and turned to walk to his seat.
She pouted and murmured in English, "I really hate this. What am I, his toy?"
Later that day, when she could've been playing games with her newfound friends, Kaiba had her pinned to the floor of the bathroom and was using glue on her hair. She whimpered and knew struggling was pointless, he had the advantage of being a boy and a larger frame, not even mentioning he was on top of her. Her hair wasn't going to be the same after this, in fact, she was sure she'd have to get it all chopped off because he was using glue and once that dried, it was impossible to wash out.
He got off her and she stood up to see the damage.
Her top spikes had been transformed into kitty ears, and a tail was twisted at the back. She put her head in her hands and fought back tears. "You're so cruel, Kaiba-san…"
He chuckled and patted her shoulder in false friendliness. "Look on the bright side, I could've used glue throughout your hair and you would've had to buzz it off." He bent down and whispered in her ear, "You have to have some left to grab when I kiss you."
Her face reddened as he left, and seconds later, Honda and Jonouchi ran in, Yugi on their heels.
"Bakura-kun!"
Jonouchi saw her hair and bit back a snigger before he yelled, "Where's Kaiba?! I said I'd pound him if he got near you again!"
"I'll hold him and you punch!" Honda tacked on.
Yugi then asked timidly, "Is that just hair gel?"
Ryo shook her head. "It's glue."
The short boy nodded. "Is it dry?"
"Yes. I'll have to go to a salon like this and have it cut."
"You should go now, before anyone sees you in class."
"Yugi-kun, do you think that I could do that? I'll wait until class is back in session, then run. I can't stay here any longer than that."
"What if a teacher catches you?"
"I'm sure my hair ought to speak for itself."
When Ryo stepped into the salon, a woman instantly saw his hair and gasped. "You poor dear! Is that glue?"
She nodded gloomily. "Just get on with it, so it's quick and painless."
"No, it won't be quick! I'm sorry if I have to yank a lot, but this may take a while!"
Ryo blinked in confusion as she was laid in a chair that customers were put in to wash their hair. "Aren't you going to just cut it off?"
"Heavens, no! Beautiful hair such as yours shouldn't be cut! This is a tried-and-true method! Now don't move!"
The hairdresser poured something onto Ryo's hair that made her wrinkle her nose. "Is that rubbing alcohol?"
"Yes, this is the quickest way to remove these huge areas! This will soften the glue and then I'll gently brush it out, but it will be hard to make sure I get it all, because your hair is white…"
"It's okay, as long as you get it out!"
"Of course."
Right on time, Kaiba came up to the school roof, expecting Ryo to not show again because she was hiding. He looked around and saw not a soul, only for Ryo's voice to call from behind, "Up here, Kaiba-san!"
He whirled around to see her sitting atop the ledge above the door. He crossed his arms and smirked. "You are a brave soul, coming up here when you're hair's been cut short."
She shook her head. "I went to the hair salon and the lady fixed it up without having to cut even a strand. Now I know the secret to glue removal."
He snorted. "Perhaps you're smarter than I thought. I was sure you'd cut it at home with scissors."
"No, only boys do that."
"Come down, so I can show you what I called you up here for."
She swung her legs back onto the top of the edge and stood, going to the back and climbing down the ladder, then she walked around to him, as he raised an eyebrow. She raised hers back. "Did you think I was going to jump down? For an unathletic person like me, jumping off anything high would cause me to land wrong and injure myself."
He chuckled. "No wonder you're such a wimp."
"I prefer to call it 'pacifism'."
He poked her in the chest. "You're. A. Gutless. Wimp."
Her back hit the fence and she opened her mouth to protest, only for him to put a finger against it. "Someone was listening just now. We'd better move or else the principal will get involved, and I'm sure you don't want that."
He grabbed her wrist, dragged her down the several flights of stairs to the ground floor and they were out the gates by the time the door to the roof reopened. The student and principal walked out and the older man shouted, "Kaiba Seto, where are you? You're in big trouble, young man!"
Kaiba didn't heed the call as they ran towards Downtown Domino, only for a limo to pull up beside them. The driver jumped out and opened the back door.
"Is everything prepared?"
"Yes, Kaiba-sama."
"Excellent." He nodded to Ryo. "Get in."
She warily eyed the limo and he nudged her. She gave up and stepped in, eyes wide at how luxurious it was. Was this how Kaiba rode to school every day? What was he going to do to her, wherever they were going?
As she fretted, he watched her. With the spiky hair and jacket buttoned and fastened all the way up, he really couldn't tell she was a girl. He also wondered something, which he'd ask when they were alone.
"Would you like a drink?"
"You have drinks in the car?"
"Of course. What would you like?"
"Melon soda please."
"Out of all the drinks you could pick, why melon soda?"
"I like it."
He dug through the small fridge and tossed the can to her. She held it and looked up at him. He gestured for her to open it, and she held it away from herself.
"What're you—" he started.
POP. GUUUUUSSSSSHHHHH!
Soda sprayed everywhere, especially all over him. The look on his face had Ryo shaking, she was holding in her laughter so hard. At the same time, she was shocked he hadn't leaned away when she'd opened it. He was shocked still, and it made her amusement skyrocket, until she popped like the soda can.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Your face! Your face!"
"Why you little—"
They ended up on the floor, Kaiba having Ryo in a headlock.
"You. Sprayed. Soda. All. Over. Me!"
"I didn't do it on purpose! I always open canned soda that way!"
The fight ended suddenly when the driver announced, "Kaiba-sama, we've arrived."
The instant the door opened, Kaiba dragged Ryo out by the arm, still soaked and sticky all over his front. The butler blinked in surprise at his master's appearance, with a boy from his school trailing behind him, but didn't breathe a word about it as he bowed. "Welcome home, Kaiba-sama."
"There's a mess in the backseat of the limousine, have it perfectly clean by morning."
"May I ask what it consists of?"
"A spilled soda."
"Is it dyed?"
"No."
"Very well. A cleaning crew will have it done within the hour."
"I expect not a single sticky spot when I ride in it tomorrow."
"It will be as you wish, Kaiba-sama."
The brown-haired teen rushed through the large double doors of his mansion (Ryo had hardly a second to gawk at it), through the foyer, up the grand staircase, down the left side of the enormous hallway to the end bedroom, turned the doorknob and was inside with the door closed and locked behind them. He flicked on the light and she blinked at how it matched the rest of the house: three times as large as her apartment, a king-sized bed in the center of the far wall, a wardrobe opposite it, large drapes covering another wall, and a door leading to what had to be a bathroom. She was gaping, she was sure, but she couldn't help it. Not even her dad's bedroom had compared to this. It was the room of a very rich man…
Her thoughts squealed to a halt. She was inside a bedroom, alone, with a person of the opposite sex.
…
WHAT WAS SHE DOING IN HERE?!
She ran for the door, but the doorknob wouldn't turn.
"Try all you like, we're locked in here for the night."
She whirled, only to see he was in the process of unbuttoning his white dress shirt, his jacket already on the floor. She shrank against the door and he frowned.
"Do you think I'm taking off my clothes to mortify you? Don't be so stupid, I'm not that petty."
The shirt dropped to the floor, and Ryo covered her eyes.
There was a clinking of metal on metal as he undid his belt, then unzipped his fly. His pants dropped to the floor and he stepped out of them, heading towards the unopened door.
Ryo peeked through her fingers, only to see a flash of dark blue silk before she covered up again.
It seemed that Seto Kaiba was the boxers type.
"There's a box on the bed. I want you in that before I'm done showering, unless you want to do it the hard way."
The door opened, then closed, and her hands dropped. She noticed (for the first time) there was a black box lying on the covers of the bed. She walked over to it, lifting the lid. She blanched.
"Kaiba Seto, what are you thinking?"
Steeling herself for the worst, she put the outfit on.
Ten minutes later, Kaiba came out of the bathroom in a bathrobe, toweling his hair dry, when he saw Ryo crouched in front of the bed, head buried in her knees. The outfit he'd selected was on her, but her hair was still spiked, which ruined the effect.
"What's wrong? The outfit too revealing?"
She nodded. He snorted. "If this embarrasses you, just remember I've seen you naked."
Her form tensed as she recalled how he'd discovered she was a girl.
"You should rinse that gel out of your hair—"
She ran to the bathroom, the door shut before he could finish his sentence. She rinsed the gel out of her hair, then used a blow dryer to make sure her hair wasn't damp when she came back out. She shivered as she gathered courage. She had to do this, or else he'd expose her secret and… She didn't even want to think about it.
With that in mind, Ryo came back out.
She saw Kaiba reading a book on his bed, his bathrobe pooled around his hips, and her cheeks flushed. She forced her eyes to his face as he closed the book and stood, coming over to her. She felt his eyes travel over her body, which was accentuated by a dark blue bunny outfit.
"It looks even better from the front. Before we begin, I have to ask you a question."
She nodded. "Whatever I can answer."
"How did you change your voice? The pitch is too different for it to be natural."
"I have a collar around my neck that I wear under my jacket. It lowers the pitch of my voice so I can pass as a boy. I doubt with my normal voice people would be fooled."
"That's clever. I would've guessed it eventually, but this is easier than wasting my time when more important things need my attention, such as this."
He tilted her chin up and their lips met.
If you think this is going too fast, you have to remember, some people will do anything under the pressure of blackmail. And this is Kaiba during the first series of the manga, he was that manipulative. Poor Ryo didn't have any chance or choice against such a billionaire genius.
Next chapter...well, things are going to turn in a different direction when something unexpected occurs between Kaiba and Ryo.
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