Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Half Full or Half Empty? ❯ Ryou reveals all ( Chapter 3 )

Hey everyone, third chapter up, obviously ^_^. Enjoy!

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The following morning, I woke up and glanced at the time - five minutes earlier than I would usually get up; so I made a dash for the bathroom. There was always a mad race between my mother and I for who got to the shower first, but this time it was different. I grabbed my school uniform and stopped quickly at the linen cupboard for a towel, and began sprinting down the hall toward the bathroom. Out the corner of my eye I saw a slim figure dash down the dark hallway coming in my direction, and before I knew it, I collided into him.

"Bwaaah!!" I cried, hitting the ground hard with a thud, being somewhat squashed on my back.

"Woah!" Ryou landed on top of me on his stomach with force and hit the ground with his chin.

I looked up at him and we both burst out into an uncontainable fit of giggles. "W-what in the name of God are you doing up this early?!" I shrieked through gasps of air and laughter.

Ryou's stomach was jerking up and down like a yoyo from laughing so hard as he lay on me. "I-I'm so sorry, really, I didn't see you coming!" he cried, and managed to pick himself up. He gave me a hand to my feet also. I noticed, as he hauled me up from the floor, that he was rather strong, and now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, that he had a rather nice body too… he was standing in only a pair of dark red silk boxers with his school uniform tucked under his arm.

"Uh, you go on and have a shower. I can wait." I said, taking my eyes off him quickly and heading back to my room. Suddenly I realized how embarrassing it was for both of us to have seen each other in our pyjamas, let alone collide into each other in the dark. It was lucky that we didn't smack heads, although I felt like smacking my own against the wall.

"Alright, I won't be long." And with that said, he disappeared into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

Before long, we had all showered and dressed and were finishing off our breakfast which consisted of peanut butter on toast along with a glass of orange and mango juice. My mother was a legend at making all sorts of meals.

"Alright you two, have a good day at school, and Ryou, don't be afraid. Shika will look after you." My mom said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before we left. I looked at her weirdly before she did the same to me, hoping to dear god that she wasn't coming onto him.

"Bye Mom." Before she could say any more I grabbed Ryou by the wrist and skipped out the door with him.

Ryou giggled. "Your mom sure is friendly."

I rolled my eyes. "Puh-lease don't let her do that again! She'll get obsessed with you… or something freaky…" I was sure that Ryou could tell I was embarrassed. "Oh, by the way, we'll probably be meeting up two of my friends on the way to school, one of which is literally crazy. Her name is Anzu, please ignore her, she's boy crazy. She'll probably try and come onto you, or flirt with you; one or the other. The other one, Yugi, is really short with weird hair, but he's a real nice guy. I'm sure you'll get along well together."

Ryou nodded, and grinned at the Anzu part of the sentence. "Is Anzu pretty?" he asked.

My stomach lurched; what did he just ask?! "Hah… well, I'm not really the one to tell." I replied, a little pissed. I tried to pick up pace so that hopefully we'd miss Anzu on the way to school, but to no avail.

"Hey!!!! Shika!!! Wait uuuppp!" she yelled up the street to me. She had obviously just walked out of her own street and seen us. I cringed.

"Hey… Anzu…" I replied, a little hastily.

"Hey! This must be Ryou! Gosh, I've heard so much about you!" she cried, flinging her arms around him, in a "friendly" hug. I rolled my eyes and slumped my shoulders, how pathetic. I glanced at Ryou, who looked a little taken aback, but he smiled nonetheless. Even I hadn't hugged him when I first met him.

"Yeah, yeah, you can do that later. Let's get going or we'll be late." I said as I pried Anzu off Ryou and hiffed her to the other side of the pavement so that I was walking between the two of them.

Up ahead, I spotted Yugi idling around outside the game shop for us, as he did every school morning around this time. His violet orbs lit up as he saw us walking toward him.

"Hey guys!" he cried.

"Hey Yugi," I sighed, relieved to see him.

"Nice to meet you, Yugi. I'm Ryou." Ryou said, introducing himself and sticking a hand out for him to shake.

"Ah, you too, Ryou! I see you've already met Anzu…"

"Uh, yeah. They've met." I said, giving Yugi a defined look. He picked up what I was trying to say almost straight away.

Before long, we arrived at school, and met up with Jou and Honda in the lockerbays. They were leaning against their lockers, perving on some of the girls in the cheerleading team. Jou and Honda both played football.

"Ehhh… so this is the famous Ryou, huh?" Jou asked, moving from his leaning position.

"Uh, I suppose you could say that."

"Nice to meetcha. I'm Jou."

"Nice to meet you Jou."

"And I'm Honda."

"Great, well, I should probably go to the principal to get my subjects sorted out. I guess I'll see you guys at lunchtime?"

"You betcha." Jou replied.

"Alright, I'll take you to the principal, Ryou." I said.

"Okay, bye guys!" Ryou said before we started walking.

"Hah, would you look at that? A new runt to laugh at." Kaiba muttered as we passed him.

"That's Seto Kaiba, ignore him, too, he's a jerk."

"Right… I can't stand bullies." Ryou replied.

"Neither."

"Your friends seem like cool people, though." Ryou commented.

"They are most of the time, except for Anzu. She's cool and all but she just annoys me with her talk about guys all the time. It's probably because she's on the cheerleading team this year; she's so used to gossiping about who's the hottest football player and who's not. She never used to be like that."

"I'm sure she means well."

"Well, whatever you do, don't get involved with her, please! I'd die if she came over every day after school."

Ryou laughed. "I don't think she's my type anyway, Shika."

Thank God… "Good, well, here's the principal's office. I'll just wait outside until you're done."

"Okay." Ryou walked into the principal's office and shut the door behind him, giving me a good rear view (not to be perverted). His hair was soooo cool, it fell almost halfway down his back. Before long, Ryou returned outside holding a piece of paper, which I guessed was his school timetable.

"Uh, I've got art first… where do I go for it?"

"Let's have a look at your timetable…" I scanned my eyes over his classes, he was in most of mine, which was good.

"Come on, you're in my art class. Let's go."

Through the day, Ryou had many girls come up to him asking him where he was from and all sorts of other questions. He seemed to be the newest heart-throb on the block. I had already heard some of the popular girls talking about him at lunch, and how cute they thought he was.

"Oh my God, Shika! Ryou is sooooooooooo hot!!" Anzu said as we were touching up our hair in the girls' bathroom at school just after last period. Ryou was waiting for me outside.

"I know, Anzu. But please don't scare him alright. He's in a strange country with strange people and a strange language with strange school rules, the last thing he needs is a crazy girl like you breathing down his neck 24/7."

Anzu whined. "Oh, but he's soooo sweet! Shikaaaa!"

"I mean it Anzu, Ryou is off limits!" with that said, I quietly walked out of the girls' bathroom and joined Ryou to be on our way home.

As we made our way through the corridors, Yami passed by me and said hi. I nearly keeled over laughing when I noticed the expression on Ryou's face. It was priceless.

"W-was that, Y-Yugi?" he asked.

"No, that's Yami. He's a part of Yugi… it's sorta a long story. He's got his own body but lives inside Yugi's Millennium Puzzle…"

"He's the owner of another Millennium Item?!" Ryou cried.

"Uh… yeah, why?"

Ryou unbuttoned his shirt and put a hand down, pulling out a shiny gold garment, with the same Millennium eye symbol on it as Yugi's puzzle. It was the Millennium Ring, but I had no idea that Ryou was the owner!

"No way! You're the one with the Millennium Ring?!" I cried.

Ryou put a finger up to my lips, indicating that my voice was too loud. "Yes, my father brought it back to England for me on a trip to Egypt. I've got a Yami of my own too! I didn't know if I should have told you or not… I didn't know that you knew about the Millennium Items…" Ryou said quietly as we made our way out onto the pavement.

"I know all about them! Malik is the owner of the Millennium Rod!" I cried. "Let's go find him!"

With that said, I grabbed Ryou by the hand and missioned it down the road in the opposite direction to where Malik was walking alone. "Hey! Malik!!! Wait up!!"

The platinum haired Egyptian halted and turned to look over his shoulder at the sound of his name. "Hey you guys… what's the rush?"

"THIS is the rush!" I cried, ripping the Millennium Ring out of Ryou's shirt, being careful not to strangle him.

Malik studied the Millennium Ring with wide lavender eyes. "No way!" he cried.

"Are you the owner of the Millennium Rod, Malik?" Ryou asked, tucking the Ring back into his shirt.

"Well, yes I am. Here, take a look." He took his bag off and dug around in it and pulled out the shiny Millennium Rod that I so admired. Sure Yugi's puzzle was cool too but this one had sharp daggers on the side ^_^.

"It really is the Millennium Rod… I can't believe it!" Ryou cried, running his hands down the cold, smooth gold.

"Do you have a darker half?" Malik asked.

"Y-yes, I do."

"So do I, do you think they've met in their past lives before?"

"Only one way to find out I suppose… let's go somewhere else so we can bring them out." Ryou said. Malik picked up his Rod and his bag and we rushed off to a nearby alleyway.

"Let's introduce them in their spirit forms so they don't try anything on Shika, she might get freaked out." Malik said.

I fidgeted uncomfortably. The first time I had met Malik's yami, Marik, he had totally freaked me out. However Yugi's Yami, Yami, is a good friend. Who knows what Ryou's Yami would be like?! Both Malik and Ryou fingered their Millennium Items, and Marik was the first to appear. I looked at Ryou, and a faint Millennium eye symbol shined upon his forehead, just before his yami appeared in a translucent spirit form beside him.

"Wow! Another yami!" I squealed. Ryou's yami sure was a sight for sore eyes, even if he wasn't flesh and blood.

"Uh, haha, Shika, this is my Yami, Bakura." Ryou said, introducing us. I waved a shy hello. He reached out to shake my hand, and as I went to grip it, his hand slipped right through mine.

"EEeee…" I said, a little spooked.

"I'm sorry, I forgot I was in my spirit form. I'm Bakura, nice to meet you… Shika." His voice had an eerie edge to it. It was similar to that of Ryou's but deeper, and somewhat… evil…

"Long time no see, tomb robber." Marik said, leaning on Malik's shoulder with one leg crossed in front of the other.

"Marik? Marik!" Bakura got up and flung his arms around the other yami, signifying that they both obviously knew each other.

"Bakura was a tomb robber in the past life?!" I whispered to Ryou.

"Yes… I know it might sound evil, but he's not so bad now. I just don't want him to know about Yugi's yami, alright?" he said.

"Sure, I won't tell a soul." I felt like smacking myself for the subconscious pun that I just used.

"Well, sorry to bust your bubbles guys, but I really gotta run. Marik, you can help me with my history homework." Malik said, breaking up the two rejoicing Yamis.

"Alright then, see ya Malik." I said.

"See you both tomorrow." Malik said. He gave me one of his `damn I want you' looks before he left. He used to do that to me all the time… we spent a lot of time together, but we weren't `together' officially, just fooling around. He never gave me those looks anymore, and I wondered why he did just then. What made it worse is that Ryou happened to notice.

"What was with that look that Malik gave you?" he asked as Bakura disappeared into the Ring again and we began walking.

"Oh… it's nothing. Don't worry about it." I said as I studied the ground and scuffed my feet against the rough pavement.

"Go on… you can tell me!" Ryou said with a little cheekiness to his tone.

I rolled my eyes, knowing that he'd eventually find out sooner or later. "Alright… me and Malik used to… uh, we usedtosleeptogether." I said quickly, hoping that he understood.

"Sorry? You used to what?"

"Guh… we used to… you know." I said, too embarrassed to finish off my sentence.

"OH, right… sorry."

"It's okay. You would have found out sooner or later anyway."

"I suppose so. But I really don't blame Malik for still liking you."

"What? He doesn't still like me… does he?"

"It seemed that way from the look he gave you."

I swallowed. I didn't like talking about Malik in this form. We had had some great times together last summer, and talking about him made my heart ache. I guess I still sort of liked him, but not nearly as much as I used to. He's a friend now, and it would stay that way. I looked across at Ryou, who looked as if he wanted to sink into a hole in the floor. He must have picked up that Malik was a touchy subject in my life.

"Sorry." He said quietly.

"Don't mention it, it was a long time ago now." I said, trying to sound cheerful. Ryou smiled briefly at me. "By the way…" I started, with slight curiosity. "Why do you not blame Malik for liking me, hmm?" I asked, completely ready to see Ryou's face burn up.

"Errm, no reason." Ryou replied, lying through his teeth.

Pie in the sky… I thought to myself. Finally we reached home, and dusk was approaching hastily. The exotic spices of Turkish cooking came from the kitchen as I heard my mother singing a familiar tune - a song that my father used to sing to my mother when they were happy… so happy…

My happy thoughts soon turned to hatred as I thought of what my father did to us all those years ago. That bastard. I hope he rots in Hell. I distorted my face and stomped through the house to my room, flopping down on my bed and hiffing my bag across the room with all the force that I could summon.

"Oh, hi honey… sorry I didn't hear you come in…" my mother said, realizing that I had heard the song that she was singing.

"Is she okay?" I heard Ryou ask my mom.

"I hope so… you might want to go and talk to her."

I heard light footsteps come down the hall and Ryou knocked on the door. "Are you okay, Shika?"

"Fine. Come in."

Ryou came in timidly, putting his bag down gently on the floor. "What's wrong?" he asked, sitting down on the bed.

I rolled over onto my stomach and heaved a stressed sigh into my pillow. "Everything." I moaned.

"Is about the song that Afet was singing before?"

Note to self: Ryou is a mind reader. I thought. "How did you know?" I asked, sitting up.

He shrugged. "I just know these things. Now tell me what's wrong."

"It's just that… the song that my mom was singing is a song that my dad used to sing to her when they were together. They were so happy back then…"

"Why are you angry then?"

"Because my father is a self-righteous bastard!" I cried, near to tears.

Ryou's eyes widened. "H-how come? What did he do, Shika?"

"He cheated, he lied, he stole, he drank, he smoked, he did drugs… the works." I said, trembling.

"Oh… no, Shika that's terrible. I'm awfully sorry." Ryou said, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"What's worse is that he used to bring home whores and introduce them all to me and Rai. My mother knew, she just didn't want to say anything. That's when she finally cracked. The stress of what dad was doing to her drove her to drink and smoke, she then became an alcoholic. This went on for several years, and when I turned thirteen, my mom went into rehab for six months. My dad had moved back to Turkey before then, though."

"What happened to you while your mom was in rehab?" Ryou asked, rubbing my back.

"I was sent to Turkey, me and Rai. We lived with our Dad for six months. It was Hell." I sniffled, and leaned in closer to Ryou's embrace. Never before had I opened up about this to anyone, but it felt good to let it all loose.

"It's okay… sshh… how about we go and hang out in my room for a while?" Ryou suggested.

I nodded and quickly wiped away my tears. "Okay, just let me get changed and I'll be up there in a minute."

"Alright. I'll go and turn on the heater." Ryou left the room and I pulled out a pair of flared jeans and a pink Hello Kitty tank top and slipped into it. Checking the hallways before I left my room, I made my way up the stairs quickly, avoiding mom at all costs. When I got inside Ryou's bedroom, he was sitting on his bed in a cross-legged position, peering down at something.

"Hey, come and take a seat. I thought I might show you something…" he said, looking up and motioning me over.

"What's this?" I asked, sitting down next to Ryou and peering over his shoulder.

"It's my photo album… I got it out because I thought it might cheer you up."

"Aw, geeze, thanks Ryou."

"See, here's me and my dad when I was a little boy." He said, giggling at a photo of his Dad holding him up in the air.

"Oh, you were gorgeous… who took the photo?"

"My mother… but she's gone now. She died not long after that photo was taken."

"Oh, I'm so sorry…"

Ryou sighed. "Here's a photo of her." He said, turning the page in his album.

"Oh, Ryou she's beautiful!" I cried, looking closer. Ryou's mother had long silvery-white hair and ebony eyes. She was what you would imagine to be an angel. "You must miss her…"

"I pray for her every night before bed."

"She lives in you, Ryou… She lives in here…" I near whispered, touching his chest where his heart seemed to be beating simultaneously.

He looked at me and grasped my hand on his chest. "I know." He said, so softly I almost didn't hear him. Our eyes seemed to be welded together, hardly moving from each other. My heart rate suddenly increased and I felt my cheeks heat up; I knew I was blushing feverishly. He started to blush too, and then he looked away and smiled, slightly embarrassed.

For the rest of the night, Ryou and I stayed up in his room and watched TV, laughed, cried (with laughter) played duel monster cards and laughed some more. At about ten thirty we both started falling asleep next to each other on the couch, so I made myself go downstairs to my own room.

"Well, have a good sleep, Ryou." As I stood at his doorway in front of him, I noticed that our fingers were entwined.

"You too, Shika. I'm glad you're feeling better." Ryou said, his eyes sparkling in the light.

"Yeah me too. Thanks for… you know, talking to me about it."

"Any time. Sweet dreams now." Ryou took his hands out of mine and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, stroking the back of my straight, silky wine-red hair. My face was pressed up against his chest, as he was quite a few inches taller than me. I felt his heart beating right through me; it was a comforting sound, not to mention his warm hug…

Finally we let go and said our goodnights. I dragged myself down the stairs and climbed into my own bed, my tummy tingling and my head in a sleepy, dreamy daze.

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