Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ If only for one moment, I could be like you... ❯ A haircut and the 'store's ( Chapter 10 )

"Oh, he's a cutie!" Mai said smugly, as she inspected Ryou, before rolling her eyes at Jono. "Honestly, you put him in a kimono? What WERE you thinking?" She said, dragging Ryou off, leaving both Honda and Jono staring after her, and sighing in defeat. "She'll never change you know." Honda said softly. "We can always pray to god that she gets a life, and becomes less of a brat right?" Jono replied. "If only it COULD happen." Jono smiled at that. "Apparently it can, after all we have a merboy with us don't we? Nothing is impossible anymore."

Ryou stumbled along behind Mai, as she led him through the mall. "First stop is a salon, your hair looks awful, you definitely need a trim and some DEEP conditioning." Ryou only nodded dumbly, too preoccupied with trying to stay standing at the speed she was dragging him to ask what a `trim' was. He was glad though, when she stopped and pushed him into a salon. "Hi, my little friend here is in DESPERATE need of a trim and conditioning." She said shoving past to her workstation. "You're lucky I owe Jono, because normally I wouldn't do makeovers for free." Mai added, shoving Ryou into a chair and pulling a few bottles down. "Now, I'm just going to get your hair wet, so don't freak out." She said smiling. "So lean back and just be calm." Ryou blinked and nodded a little, leaning back until his neck rested on the edge of the salon sink. "Um...You s-seem to know me, but I don't think we've met." Ryou said softly as she wet down his hair. "Oh, I'm Mai, I'll be your makeover artist supreme!" She said with an almost bratish tone. "Jono asked me to help you fit into this great world known as Florida!" Ryou blinked and nodded, as Mai began working a lather of soap into his hair. "What's the stuff you're putting in my hair?" He said blinking confused. "Shampoo kiddo."

Ryou watched as small bits of his hair were trimmed away. "Um..." he whimpered. "Shh, I'm only taking off what isn't healthy, and layering it so that it wont get tangled as easily." Mai said, continuing to trim at Ryou's hair. She turned him after what seemed like forever and smiled. "Close your eyes kiddo, you need some bangs." Ryou blinked. "What is a `bangs'?" He asked, closing his eyes as Mai instructed. A few more snips were heard. Mai smiled and grabbed a mirror. "You can open your eyes." She said holding the mirror in front of Ryou.

Ryou opened his eyes and gasped. "Is that me?!" He squeaked blinking and blowing at his bangs with a new amusement. "Do you like it?" Mai said smiling as Ryou began toying with the lighter, healthier hair. Ryou nodded and grinned. "Oh thank you!" He said gently fingering a few strands of the now softer shinier hair.

~~~~~

Picking clothing was nothing for Mai, and Ryou soon found himself dressed in a pair of slightly loose jeans and a shirt that was a size too big that had Emily and her monsters on the front, with the phrase `Have YOU made monsters recently?' underneath. Ryou didn't care much for the shirt, because Jono said that it had monsters on it. Even Ryou knew what a monster was. "I really hope the monsters don't come OFF of the shirt...things are scary enough without monsters." Ryou mumbled, wandering around looking for something to do. Jono had told him to wait for them outside the store...but Mai had said that the mall was full of stores, and so Ryou had gladly begun wandering around that level of the mall, so he was waiting in front of ALL of the stores. Just to be sure he was in front of the right one when Jono came back, after all it was only nice to try and be as helpful as possible.

Ryou grumbled and sat on a bench to tug at the `shoes' Mai had bought him. Black high tops, and they were driving him insane! Ryou pulled with all his might, but only succeeded in making himself tired. The nuisance wouldn't relinquish its grip on his foot. "How can humans wear these little beasts?! LET GO OF MY FOOT!" Ryou yelled at the `shoes', receiving no response for his yelling. Sighing, Ryou decided to continue walking since the horrible `shoes' were obviously not letting go of his feet. He looked around quietly, as he walked, proud that he was getting so much better at staying balanced. Oh the stories he'd be able to tell his friends when he got back! To have walked with the humans alone would thrill them, but to have lived with them...worn their clothes, done things that humans do...they'd just die!

Seto grumbled and folded the small cell phone and checked a few papers he was carrying in a small folder. "I can't believe the incompetence of employees these days." He ranted softly to himself, making a mental note to fire whoever thought it was a GOOD idea to hire a teenage pot-head who had no sense of order whatsoever.

Ryou smiled brightly at the thought of the look on Yugi's face when he told him about all the things he'd found in Jono's apartment. Ryou, though he was getting better at walking, had not gotten better about walking around without paying attention and neither had the one who collided with him.

Ryou shook his head a bit, confused as to how he had went from walking to suddenly sitting on the floor. When he finally looked up at what he had run into he gasped. "O-oh! I'm s-sorry!" He stammered dumbly as Seto's gaze fell on him. Both boys merely sat on the floor staring at the other for what seemed like forever. Seto could hardly believe his eyes, the boy before him was...he was...simply the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on! His enchantingly snow white hair, those big brown doe eyes, and the flawless pale skin...even the way the smaller teen trembled slightly as he gazed at him. It was almost as if an angel had fallen straight from the sky and landed right into his lap, which MIGHT explain why he was sitting on the floor in the mall like a TOTAL imbecile. Seto grumbled and immediately got up, dusting his hunter green shirt and black pants off, as well as his signature jacket, which he had JUST had cleaned. Blast!

"Why don't you look where you are going you clumsy oaf!" Seto bellowed as Ryou struggled to stand properly again, making a second mental note to practice getting up. "I...I..." Ryou stammered, finally managing a wobbly standing position. He couldn't seem to pull his gaze away from the deep blue eyes, the eyes that reminded him of home. The eyes that filled him with a warm fuzzy feeling that left him feeling drunk, and feeling every inch of his body tingle with excitement...a feeling that at the same time filled his stomach a with dreading pit. The fact that the stranger was already talking in the `angry voice' and saying things he didn't really understand wasn't helping. "Well? Are you just going to stand there staring or are you going to apologize?!" Seto said coldly, although he was entranced with Ryou as much as the paler teen was with him.

Ryou swallowed hard and nodded dumbly. "S-s-sorry...I...um...I..." Ryou again stammered at Seto. Seto sighed and smiled at the smaller teen. "Well, what's your name then?" Ryou nodded. "Ryou." He said softly, tearing his gaze away from the hypnotic ice blue eyes to look at the floor. "Well Ryou, I'm Seto Kaiba..." He said taking a chance to fully take in Ryou's looks while he was watching the floor. "Why weren't you looking where you were going?" Ryou looked back up and shook his head. "I'm really really sorry! Oh please don't be mad, Jono told me to wait in front of the store and, and I was just thinking about home, cause I'm just visiting and IgotlostinmythoughtsandI'mREALLYsorry!" Ryou blurted, saying half of the statement too fast for Seto to really understand. Seto laughed, his cold demeanor melting at the sight of the poor teen before him squirming and looking utterly and pathetically sorry. "Well, I suppose it wasn't ALL your fault, I could have been looking where I was going a bit more closely." Seto said after a moment before Jono caught up. "RYOU! I told you to wait in front of the store!" Ryou jumped and turned around. "I am! Mai said that this place is all `store's and so I'm waiting in front of all of it." Seto looked at Ryou puzzled at the strangeness of his grammar, it was almost like he didn't understand the concept of a mall.

Ryou smiled brightly at Jono as he shook his head laughing at the merboy. "You doofus, I meant THAT store over there." Ryou blinked. "Oh...um...sorry. Look, I made a friend!" Ryou said happily gesturing to Seto. Jono glared though and shook his head. "You don't want to associate with HIS type..." Seto was glairing back. "As if filthy street mongrels have a place saying which types to associate with." Ryou blinked. "I...I don't understand..." he said softly, confused at the hostility between the two.

Marik peered out from a nearby store, he'd been following Ryou since they'd met and he was now officially amused. "He is FALLING for a human!" He chortled to himself. "This is rich, my new pet is falling for a human. I'll just have to take care of that before he gets TOO attached." Marik added, watching as the aggression level rose between Seto and Jono. This was absolutely something worth seeing. Hell, this was definitely his week! Finding a merboy, who was apparently looking for a mate and getting to watch the next best thing to wrestling! If only there was some popcorn. "Oh...wait...there's a Topsy's!" He said happily, walking unseen to buy some cinnamon popcorn to eat before any TRUE action started.