*Ryou's POV*
I woke up the next morning and glanced around the room. It seemed quiet in the small house, especially with my yami still asleep in his soul room. Sitting up, I stretched, glad that it was Sunday and surprised I had been at the Kaiba mansion as long as I had.
How many wonderful Sundays had we spent together now? It seemed too good to be real. I smiled at the thought, feeling altogether too lucky. I could even bear the occasional visits to Jounouchi-kun's house, although I didn't particularly enjoy them. Sighing, I quickly dressed, and went downstairs, wondering if anyone was up.
I could hear Mokuba-kun's video games through his bedroom door, making me wonder if he ever slept. He was always up this early. And by this time Seto-sama would be…
I was right. Peeking my head around the door frame of his office, I saw him busy at his computer. I sighed, louder than I wanted to, because he turned in his chair, staring at me. I blinked at him.
"Gomen, I didn't mean to disturb you," I smiled nervously as he continued to give me a strange look. Had a put my clothes on backward or something? I turned a little red; those cerulean eyes staring into me made me uncomfortable.
"Ah…S-seto-sama…are you alright?" I saw him blink a few times, as if coming out of his thoughts, and turn away. He certainly seemed fidgety this morning.
"I'm fine, Ryou…" I frowned as I heard his voice falter. Perhaps he was ill? Shrugging, I turned to leave, but he cleared his throat and spoke up again.
"I thought we'd…go for a visit to Jounouchi's today…" I felt a wave of disappointment, but quickly pushed it away. I couldn't help but admit that I had wanted to spend the day with him, or at least some time…just with Seto-sama.
"Oh, hai!" I nodded as thought I understood, but I didn't really agree. I couldn't bring myself to refuse; I knew how much Seto-sama loved Jounouchi-kun…
*Seto's POV*
Wen I found myself at Jounouchi's once again, I was surprised to see Yugi there, of all people. I frowned as Jounouchi casually let us in, motioning to that same damn couch. Ryou chose his own corner of the couch as usual, not saying a word. I sat beside him, with Jounouchi on the other side, feeling sick when he turned on the television. It was the same routine every time I came to this damn house…why did I bother? I was closer to Ryou than I was to Jounouchi…
I looked over at Ryou, who had already busied himself with pouring attention on that cat…was it true that I was starting to believe in the power of the Sennen Items? He seemed so innocent now…that couldn't have been him last night. As my thoughts involuntarily took me back to what had happened, I felt a small pang of guilt deep within me. When I turned to look at Jounouchi, the guilt drained away when I saw Yugi on his lap…they were both watching television quite happily.
I endured many more hours of this, feeling like I was wasting my life away in trying to watch a television show I wasn't even interested in. I kept glancing towards Ryou; it was obvious that he was miserable too. I reached a hand over and quietly pet the purring neko in his lap.
Ryou looked up at me, blinking brown hues. "Mr. Chubbikins likes you," he commented as the cat made his way towards my lap.
"Who?" I raised an eyebrow at him. Jounouchi and Yugi looked towards him also; it was the first time Ryou had talked that whole time.
"Ah…" I watched as he turned red, looking away. I looked down at the heavy neko in my lap and understood. I flung back my head, letting my deep laughter ring out.
"Mr. Chubbikins?" I smiled over at the cowering Ryou, whose ears were scarlet. Jounouchi was laughing his head off and Yugi was making a sort of giggling noise.
"Hai…it's a nickname…" His muffled voice replied as he tried to bury himself in the pillows. "I know it's silly…"
"Iie, I'm not laughing at you, Ryou." Not caring what anyone thought, I took his chin and pulled him face gently towards me to get contact with his eyes. "I think it suits him well."
He blinked up at me, eyes glancing over at the duo beside me, who were exaggerating their laughter…I turned towards them and gave them an icy glare that quickly shut them up. For some reason Ryou is a threat the Jounouchi; consequently, he likes to pick on him whenever he can.
I stood up after Jounouchi made a rude remark. Glaring, I walked towards the door. "It's late," I said simply. Ryou followed faithfully behind me.
Jounouchi frowned, looking up at me. "We were just kidding, Seto! Lighten up!"
"Hn." I ignored his further protesting and walked out the door.
I practically stomped over to my motorcycle in my anger, getting it on it without a word. Ryou climbed on behind me, staring intently at he ground. I had learned that he blamed himself for a lot of things.
"Gome-"
"Iie." I frowned in the direction of Jounouchi's house as Ryou made a small noise of surprise. After a moment I turned and looked down at him.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry that I've put you through this." He blinked up at me curiously. It must've sounded strange coming from me.
"What do you mean? I'm fine." He played that innocent act, but it didn't fool me this time. I just frowned at him, but decided to ignore it.
"Well, I've been wanting to show you something. Would you mind coming along with me to Kaiba Corp?" I turned away from him, wondering what he would think of what I'd said.
"Ah, yosh!" I felt him wrap his arms around my stomach while I started the motorcycle. I felt a bit shocked by his actions, although he'd done it many times before. Of course he didn't mean anything by it, but I wasn't used to his touch.
We raced away from that horrible house, speeding past cars and making our way towards the large building that stood out in Domino City.
We arrived at Kaiba Land, right next to Kaiba Corp. I showed him in, ignoring the guards. I basically gave him a tour of the place as he stared around, amazed. I smiled in spite of myself, proud of my work. But this wasn't what I wanted to show him.
I took him to the back, pulling out my keys and unlocking the door to the workshop. I flipped on the lights, revealing my work area, where I invented new things for Duel Monsters. I watched his eyes get large, glancing around in silence at the many computers and different machines.
I walked up to one of the desks and picked up my newest success.
"As you know, I invent things for Duel Monsters…I invented the "Duel Disk" that you saw in my last duel with Yugi." He nodded silently, listening. "This is the upgraded version."
He walked closer, blinking at the equipment. "It's amazing…" I smirked, slipping it on his arm.
I pulled out my deck, slipping it into the appropriate slot as he looked at me in disbelief. He knew that I didn't trust just anyone with my deck.
"See, the five areas are for monster cards, and these slots are for magic cards." The metal shone brightly as I explained the system to him.
"It's really ingenious, Seto-sama…" He stared down at the Duel Disk on his arm. "When will people be able to use them?"
I frowned, thinking for a moment. "I suppose they'll be issued…whenever someone holds a tournament."
Ryou just smiled at me. "Why don't you hold a tournament?"
I looked down at the fluffy-haired boy, wanting to pet it like I did Mokuba's. He had a point… "Hmm, that's not a bad idea…"
We stood in silence for a moment as he toyed with my invention and I stared into space, thinking. A tournament…
Smiling, I pulled out my keys. "Alright, are you ready to go?" He nodded, smiling and slipping off the Duel Disk, placing it where it had been before. As I locked the door behind us, I began to regret losing his company so soon. I didn't really want to go back to the small house by the lake. Mokuba was fine by himself. And I had enjoyed spending time with Ryou…
I glanced over at him as we walked back to my motorcycle in silence. Maybe there was a way…
"Where do you like to go to eat?" I asked him rather sharply.
"Eh…nani?" He blinked up at me, looking confused.
"I'm asking where you would go if you wanted to get something to eat."
He looked away, unsure of himself. "Anou…there's a small restaurant not too far from here…" I didn't give him time to finish, jumping on the bike and pulling him on behind me.
"Just point me in the right direction." I started up the motorcycle.
Within minutes, we were there. I parked the motorcycle on the street, trying to avoid Ryou's questioning eyes.
Seeing that they knew who I was, we immediately got a table. The waiter's hurried bowing and nervousness annoyed me, but I said nothing.
"I'll just have coffee." I replied to his question, causing him to hurry away.
Ryou's eyes seemed to stare into me. I found no other excuse to avoid them, so I turned and stared back.
"I feel like I owe you for what you've done, coming with me to Jounouchi's and all."
"Nani?!" His eyes widened. "Oh, iie, I owe you! You've ne so much for me, and I'm really grateful!" I noticed the tone of seriousness, but I laughed it off. There was no way he could owe me for the pleasure of his company.
"Hm. Don't worry about it." He opened him mouth to speak, but the look on my face closed it again.
I sipped my coffee quietly, watching him eat the bowl of ramen he'd ordered. I was only too glad to be able to do this; it made me much happier than being with Jounouchi…
"So, Ryou, when do you think your father will be back from his business trip?"
He looked up. "I'm not sure…he could be gone for weeks, even months." He tried to say this lightly, but I could tell he got lonely all by himself like that.
There was an awkward silence. He looked away, but after a moment I spoke up. "Ryou…"
"Hm?"
"I want to learn more about you…" I tried to ignore the flush that came to his cheeks.
"Er, alright…what would you like to know?" I could tell he was a little uncomfortable.
"Well…you need explained to me about…your mother." I tried to say this a little softer, not wanting to upset him. He seemed a little sad when I mentioned it.
"You don't have to tell me." I tried to seem indifferent.
"No, it's alright." He took a deep breath, then looked up at me. "My mother died many years ago, when we were in England. All tou-san would tell me was that she had a very bad illness, but he always seemed sad after that. He didn't want to talk about her. I missed her terribly." He smiled softly, his eyes looking like they were in a daze, as if remembering good things. "Kaa-san was always nice to me. She had gentle hands, and she smelled nice."
I nodded, urging him to go on.
"Well, shortly after that, my little sister, Amane, died in car accident. She was very little…it was a long time ago, but I remember tou-san getting very upset. He resorted to drinking, and when I got a little older, we started getting into fights. That's when he started going on long business trips. He'd be gone for months at a time, just to get away from me and our house. Because he said I reminded him of kaa-san." He sighed, looking up from his daze and at me. His eyes were sad, but he managed to smile about it. I wasn't sure what to say.
"Even when we moved here, it didn't help. So I've always felt responsible for making him leave." He seemed to finish his story with these last words.
"I'm sorry…" I haven't felt pity for another person in a long time, but my heart went out to Ryou for some reason. I seemed to be able to relate to his story; having your parents gone all the time is a lot like them not being there at all.
"Don't be." He smiled gently. "I've never told that to anyone, but I'm glad I could tell you. I feel like I can trust you."
I quickly paid, smiling at how Ryou thanked me for everything. I couldn't help mulling over what he said on our way home. It seemed like Ryou, to blame himself for something like that.
We arrived home late in the afternoon. Mokuba was at the door, jumping up and down, exclaiming all the levels he'd beaten on his games. I smiled, pushing past him. Almost the minute we walked in, I heard the phone ring. Frowning, I walked over to it as Ryou stood patiently. Who could it be? They'd better not call me for a meeting…
"Moshi moshi?" I answered it myself.
"Hello! This is Ryou's father!" My heart skipped a beat. I immediately recognized the false happy voice, although I'd never heard this man's voice before.
"Ah, hai?" After everything I'd heard, I had to grit my teeth to remain polite, for Ryou's sake.
"Well, I'm back from my expedition in Egypt. You must be the friend Ryou-kun is staying with, right? He left a note here with the number."
"Expedition in Egypt, hm?" I looked towards Ryou, who understood. His eyes widened in fear; he was probably thinking the same thing I was. "Hai, Ryou's been staying with me. I'm a friend from school."
"That's great! Ryou-kun needs more friends; he doesn't get along with a lot of people, you know." He chuckled, but I didn't find it funny at all.
"I don't, actually." I frowned, not liking this.
"Well, ah, he just doesn't make friends easily. But I'm glad you've befriended him; that's really nice of you!" I didn't say anything.
"Anyway, I'm sure you'd had about enough of him, heh! Now that I'm back, Ryou-kun can come back home." There was a silence as my frown deepened.
"Iie, he hasn't been trouble at all. I've enjoyed his company." I watched Ryou cover his face with his hands.
"Uh…well, still, I miss Ryou. Would you mind bringing him home?"
((I'm so sorry. ;-; My Internet broke because of this big storm we had....but I had written to it...I updated the day I got it back! Please don't lose hope! u_u Review, please?))
I woke up the next morning and glanced around the room. It seemed quiet in the small house, especially with my yami still asleep in his soul room. Sitting up, I stretched, glad that it was Sunday and surprised I had been at the Kaiba mansion as long as I had.
How many wonderful Sundays had we spent together now? It seemed too good to be real. I smiled at the thought, feeling altogether too lucky. I could even bear the occasional visits to Jounouchi-kun's house, although I didn't particularly enjoy them. Sighing, I quickly dressed, and went downstairs, wondering if anyone was up.
I could hear Mokuba-kun's video games through his bedroom door, making me wonder if he ever slept. He was always up this early. And by this time Seto-sama would be…
I was right. Peeking my head around the door frame of his office, I saw him busy at his computer. I sighed, louder than I wanted to, because he turned in his chair, staring at me. I blinked at him.
"Gomen, I didn't mean to disturb you," I smiled nervously as he continued to give me a strange look. Had a put my clothes on backward or something? I turned a little red; those cerulean eyes staring into me made me uncomfortable.
"Ah…S-seto-sama…are you alright?" I saw him blink a few times, as if coming out of his thoughts, and turn away. He certainly seemed fidgety this morning.
"I'm fine, Ryou…" I frowned as I heard his voice falter. Perhaps he was ill? Shrugging, I turned to leave, but he cleared his throat and spoke up again.
"I thought we'd…go for a visit to Jounouchi's today…" I felt a wave of disappointment, but quickly pushed it away. I couldn't help but admit that I had wanted to spend the day with him, or at least some time…just with Seto-sama.
"Oh, hai!" I nodded as thought I understood, but I didn't really agree. I couldn't bring myself to refuse; I knew how much Seto-sama loved Jounouchi-kun…
*Seto's POV*
Wen I found myself at Jounouchi's once again, I was surprised to see Yugi there, of all people. I frowned as Jounouchi casually let us in, motioning to that same damn couch. Ryou chose his own corner of the couch as usual, not saying a word. I sat beside him, with Jounouchi on the other side, feeling sick when he turned on the television. It was the same routine every time I came to this damn house…why did I bother? I was closer to Ryou than I was to Jounouchi…
I looked over at Ryou, who had already busied himself with pouring attention on that cat…was it true that I was starting to believe in the power of the Sennen Items? He seemed so innocent now…that couldn't have been him last night. As my thoughts involuntarily took me back to what had happened, I felt a small pang of guilt deep within me. When I turned to look at Jounouchi, the guilt drained away when I saw Yugi on his lap…they were both watching television quite happily.
I endured many more hours of this, feeling like I was wasting my life away in trying to watch a television show I wasn't even interested in. I kept glancing towards Ryou; it was obvious that he was miserable too. I reached a hand over and quietly pet the purring neko in his lap.
Ryou looked up at me, blinking brown hues. "Mr. Chubbikins likes you," he commented as the cat made his way towards my lap.
"Who?" I raised an eyebrow at him. Jounouchi and Yugi looked towards him also; it was the first time Ryou had talked that whole time.
"Ah…" I watched as he turned red, looking away. I looked down at the heavy neko in my lap and understood. I flung back my head, letting my deep laughter ring out.
"Mr. Chubbikins?" I smiled over at the cowering Ryou, whose ears were scarlet. Jounouchi was laughing his head off and Yugi was making a sort of giggling noise.
"Hai…it's a nickname…" His muffled voice replied as he tried to bury himself in the pillows. "I know it's silly…"
"Iie, I'm not laughing at you, Ryou." Not caring what anyone thought, I took his chin and pulled him face gently towards me to get contact with his eyes. "I think it suits him well."
He blinked up at me, eyes glancing over at the duo beside me, who were exaggerating their laughter…I turned towards them and gave them an icy glare that quickly shut them up. For some reason Ryou is a threat the Jounouchi; consequently, he likes to pick on him whenever he can.
I stood up after Jounouchi made a rude remark. Glaring, I walked towards the door. "It's late," I said simply. Ryou followed faithfully behind me.
Jounouchi frowned, looking up at me. "We were just kidding, Seto! Lighten up!"
"Hn." I ignored his further protesting and walked out the door.
I practically stomped over to my motorcycle in my anger, getting it on it without a word. Ryou climbed on behind me, staring intently at he ground. I had learned that he blamed himself for a lot of things.
"Gome-"
"Iie." I frowned in the direction of Jounouchi's house as Ryou made a small noise of surprise. After a moment I turned and looked down at him.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry that I've put you through this." He blinked up at me curiously. It must've sounded strange coming from me.
"What do you mean? I'm fine." He played that innocent act, but it didn't fool me this time. I just frowned at him, but decided to ignore it.
"Well, I've been wanting to show you something. Would you mind coming along with me to Kaiba Corp?" I turned away from him, wondering what he would think of what I'd said.
"Ah, yosh!" I felt him wrap his arms around my stomach while I started the motorcycle. I felt a bit shocked by his actions, although he'd done it many times before. Of course he didn't mean anything by it, but I wasn't used to his touch.
We raced away from that horrible house, speeding past cars and making our way towards the large building that stood out in Domino City.
We arrived at Kaiba Land, right next to Kaiba Corp. I showed him in, ignoring the guards. I basically gave him a tour of the place as he stared around, amazed. I smiled in spite of myself, proud of my work. But this wasn't what I wanted to show him.
I took him to the back, pulling out my keys and unlocking the door to the workshop. I flipped on the lights, revealing my work area, where I invented new things for Duel Monsters. I watched his eyes get large, glancing around in silence at the many computers and different machines.
I walked up to one of the desks and picked up my newest success.
"As you know, I invent things for Duel Monsters…I invented the "Duel Disk" that you saw in my last duel with Yugi." He nodded silently, listening. "This is the upgraded version."
He walked closer, blinking at the equipment. "It's amazing…" I smirked, slipping it on his arm.
I pulled out my deck, slipping it into the appropriate slot as he looked at me in disbelief. He knew that I didn't trust just anyone with my deck.
"See, the five areas are for monster cards, and these slots are for magic cards." The metal shone brightly as I explained the system to him.
"It's really ingenious, Seto-sama…" He stared down at the Duel Disk on his arm. "When will people be able to use them?"
I frowned, thinking for a moment. "I suppose they'll be issued…whenever someone holds a tournament."
Ryou just smiled at me. "Why don't you hold a tournament?"
I looked down at the fluffy-haired boy, wanting to pet it like I did Mokuba's. He had a point… "Hmm, that's not a bad idea…"
We stood in silence for a moment as he toyed with my invention and I stared into space, thinking. A tournament…
Smiling, I pulled out my keys. "Alright, are you ready to go?" He nodded, smiling and slipping off the Duel Disk, placing it where it had been before. As I locked the door behind us, I began to regret losing his company so soon. I didn't really want to go back to the small house by the lake. Mokuba was fine by himself. And I had enjoyed spending time with Ryou…
I glanced over at him as we walked back to my motorcycle in silence. Maybe there was a way…
"Where do you like to go to eat?" I asked him rather sharply.
"Eh…nani?" He blinked up at me, looking confused.
"I'm asking where you would go if you wanted to get something to eat."
He looked away, unsure of himself. "Anou…there's a small restaurant not too far from here…" I didn't give him time to finish, jumping on the bike and pulling him on behind me.
"Just point me in the right direction." I started up the motorcycle.
Within minutes, we were there. I parked the motorcycle on the street, trying to avoid Ryou's questioning eyes.
Seeing that they knew who I was, we immediately got a table. The waiter's hurried bowing and nervousness annoyed me, but I said nothing.
"I'll just have coffee." I replied to his question, causing him to hurry away.
Ryou's eyes seemed to stare into me. I found no other excuse to avoid them, so I turned and stared back.
"I feel like I owe you for what you've done, coming with me to Jounouchi's and all."
"Nani?!" His eyes widened. "Oh, iie, I owe you! You've ne so much for me, and I'm really grateful!" I noticed the tone of seriousness, but I laughed it off. There was no way he could owe me for the pleasure of his company.
"Hm. Don't worry about it." He opened him mouth to speak, but the look on my face closed it again.
I sipped my coffee quietly, watching him eat the bowl of ramen he'd ordered. I was only too glad to be able to do this; it made me much happier than being with Jounouchi…
"So, Ryou, when do you think your father will be back from his business trip?"
He looked up. "I'm not sure…he could be gone for weeks, even months." He tried to say this lightly, but I could tell he got lonely all by himself like that.
There was an awkward silence. He looked away, but after a moment I spoke up. "Ryou…"
"Hm?"
"I want to learn more about you…" I tried to ignore the flush that came to his cheeks.
"Er, alright…what would you like to know?" I could tell he was a little uncomfortable.
"Well…you need explained to me about…your mother." I tried to say this a little softer, not wanting to upset him. He seemed a little sad when I mentioned it.
"You don't have to tell me." I tried to seem indifferent.
"No, it's alright." He took a deep breath, then looked up at me. "My mother died many years ago, when we were in England. All tou-san would tell me was that she had a very bad illness, but he always seemed sad after that. He didn't want to talk about her. I missed her terribly." He smiled softly, his eyes looking like they were in a daze, as if remembering good things. "Kaa-san was always nice to me. She had gentle hands, and she smelled nice."
I nodded, urging him to go on.
"Well, shortly after that, my little sister, Amane, died in car accident. She was very little…it was a long time ago, but I remember tou-san getting very upset. He resorted to drinking, and when I got a little older, we started getting into fights. That's when he started going on long business trips. He'd be gone for months at a time, just to get away from me and our house. Because he said I reminded him of kaa-san." He sighed, looking up from his daze and at me. His eyes were sad, but he managed to smile about it. I wasn't sure what to say.
"Even when we moved here, it didn't help. So I've always felt responsible for making him leave." He seemed to finish his story with these last words.
"I'm sorry…" I haven't felt pity for another person in a long time, but my heart went out to Ryou for some reason. I seemed to be able to relate to his story; having your parents gone all the time is a lot like them not being there at all.
"Don't be." He smiled gently. "I've never told that to anyone, but I'm glad I could tell you. I feel like I can trust you."
I quickly paid, smiling at how Ryou thanked me for everything. I couldn't help mulling over what he said on our way home. It seemed like Ryou, to blame himself for something like that.
We arrived home late in the afternoon. Mokuba was at the door, jumping up and down, exclaiming all the levels he'd beaten on his games. I smiled, pushing past him. Almost the minute we walked in, I heard the phone ring. Frowning, I walked over to it as Ryou stood patiently. Who could it be? They'd better not call me for a meeting…
"Moshi moshi?" I answered it myself.
"Hello! This is Ryou's father!" My heart skipped a beat. I immediately recognized the false happy voice, although I'd never heard this man's voice before.
"Ah, hai?" After everything I'd heard, I had to grit my teeth to remain polite, for Ryou's sake.
"Well, I'm back from my expedition in Egypt. You must be the friend Ryou-kun is staying with, right? He left a note here with the number."
"Expedition in Egypt, hm?" I looked towards Ryou, who understood. His eyes widened in fear; he was probably thinking the same thing I was. "Hai, Ryou's been staying with me. I'm a friend from school."
"That's great! Ryou-kun needs more friends; he doesn't get along with a lot of people, you know." He chuckled, but I didn't find it funny at all.
"I don't, actually." I frowned, not liking this.
"Well, ah, he just doesn't make friends easily. But I'm glad you've befriended him; that's really nice of you!" I didn't say anything.
"Anyway, I'm sure you'd had about enough of him, heh! Now that I'm back, Ryou-kun can come back home." There was a silence as my frown deepened.
"Iie, he hasn't been trouble at all. I've enjoyed his company." I watched Ryou cover his face with his hands.
"Uh…well, still, I miss Ryou. Would you mind bringing him home?"
((I'm so sorry. ;-; My Internet broke because of this big storm we had....but I had written to it...I updated the day I got it back! Please don't lose hope! u_u Review, please?))