Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Room For Rent ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

Room for Rent

Chapter Twelve

Ryou looked up at him. The CEO's breath hitched as Ryou opened his mouth to answer... Did Ryou really need that much air for a simple, one-word answer?

"No. How… how dare you, Seto Kaiba? I… I HATE YOU! WHY DON'T YOU JUST GET OUT OF MY LIFE?!"

"Nani?" Seto asked, but Ryou had already pushed past him. Ryou ran, tears streaming down his face. Seto stared helplessly at his feet, cursing violently.

"Hey," a voice said.

"What do you want?" Seto asked angrily.

"I was just going to say… for being a genius, you certainly are stupid." Seto watched as the blonde walked down the hall and away.

"Stupid puppy!" he called, but his heart wasn't in it; he sank to his knees and his shoulders shook, but he wouldn't cry.

*~*

Bakura leaned against his car, glaring angrily at his watch. Where was Ryou? Ryou was never late, and it was completely out of character for him to be so. "Gah," he said, plopping down on the car hood.

He stared lazily into the distance, not really focused on anything. Before he knew it, Ryou was standing in front of him. He was huffing, apparently from having sprinted the whole way here. Bangs covered the boy's face and his voice shook as he spoke.

"Sorry I'm late. Let's go home now, O.K." Ryou immediately climbed in the car, face turned to the window.

Bakura took the wheel, wondering at Ryou's strange behavior. Then, he had a brilliant idea (dun dun dun!). He flicked the play button on his CD player; Don't Stay by Linkin Park exploded to life. About halfway through the song, Ryou hadn't said anything about his loud music, although he was making some strange noises.

Angrily, Bakura turned the music off. There really didn't seem to be any point in listening to it if Ryou didn't complain about it. Ryou's strange noises sounded clearer after that; it was like he was sobbing.

"Ryou? Daijoubo ka?"

"I'm fine," he replied through his tears.

Bakura pulled over to the side of the road and put the car in park. "Ryou, I know that something's not right… look, you can talk to me anytime… you know that, ne?" Bakura gave Ryou the best uncertain smile he could muster.

"Just drive," Ryou muttered angrily, covering his eyes with his hands.

"Fine, have it your way," Bakura sniffed, in bad humor. They rode back to Ryou's house in silence. Upon arrival, Ryou hopped out of the car and ran to his room before Bakura was even parked properly. Baku-chan sighed heavily. All this emotional crap was really cramping his style. Oh, well. If it was for Ryou, it had to be worth it, right?

"Pfft. I think I'll order some take-out," Bakura muttered, pressing three on the speed dial. The delivery man was soon at the front door, boxes of takeout in his arms.

He passed the boxes to Bakura. "Where's my money?"

"Take the money and begone, fiend!" Bakura yelled, giving the delivery boy the evil eye.

"Whatever, fruitcake," the boy said, trotting away from the door.

Bakura shoveled some of the noodles and veggies onto the fine china (AKA double-thickness paper plates) and trudged upstairs to Ryou's room. He knocked on the door.

"Go away," came the soft reply.

Bakura tried the door; it was locked, of course, but that wouldn't stop him. "I shall prevail," he whispered to himself, sitting the plate on the floor and tugging a hairpin from his pocket. About ten seconds later, the door had slid open with a `click' and Bakura was stepping over the threshold of Ryou's room.

Bakura seated himself beside Ryou, placing the Chinese on Ryou's bedside table. "Hey," he said softly, poking Ryou's back. "I got you some vegetable lo mein. You know, for if you get hungry."

Ryou rolled over to face Bakura. "You're being so nice, Baku-chan," he uttered quietly, rubbing his red-rimmed eyes. "I-I'm sorry if I'm being mean… I've had a really bad day… really bad…" Ryou suddenly burst into tears, instinctively burying his face in Bakura's shirt.

"It'll be all right, Ryou-chan," Bakura said gently, wrapping his arms around the younger boy.

"But… but Seto said… he said he loved me…"

Bakura's breath hitched as he asked, "Do you love him?"

Ryou shook his head. "No… not after what he did… he dumped me on our anniversary…"

Bakura let out the breath he'd been holding. "Then what's wrong? It seems that's the end of the issue…"

"But Seto doesn't have anyone… I feel sorry for him… it makes me feel guilty to know that he loves me and I don't love him…"

Bakura sighed. "You don't have an obligation to him, chibi tenshi."

"Then who do I have an obligation to?"

"Me, of course! You have to stay with me forever… because if you don't, I'll surely die of the tuberculosis!"

Ryou smiled up at him. "Thanks, Baku-chan… I really appreciate it."

"Anytime, Ryou-chan."

Silence stretched across them for a few moments. "You planning on letting go anytime soon?" Ryou asked.

"No," Bakura said, pulling Ryou into his lap in response.

"Eep!" Ryou squeaked. " `Kura…?"

"What is it, Ryou-chan?" Bakura asked, grinning.

"What are you doing?" he asked, voice even higher than normal.

"Holding you. Is it a crime?" Bakura asked.

"I don't suppose so…"

"…I'll stop if it makes you uncomfortable…"

"No, it's not that," Ryou said softly. "It's just that I'm not used to being held…"

"Awww…"

"But now I'm a fermata!"

"Err…right. Here, have a baby carrot!"

"Dun wike baby cawwots," Ryou said through a mouthful of food that had suddenly appeared in his mouth. He swallowed. "Here, have some noodles!" Ryou picked up the entire plate and dumped it on Bakura's head.

"Oh no. You've done it this time, Ryou-chan. Now you must be punished! …if only I had brought the chocolate sauce up here…"

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just kidding," Bakura said, pulling a mass of noodles out of his hair. "I think I'll go take a shower now."

Ryou giggled. "Baku-chan?"

"Eh?"

"…Dai-daisuki yo!"

"I know, Ryou-chan. And I'll even come back up here when I'm done."

Ryou gasped.

"Of course I can read your mind, silly. We're soul mates. You have me to look forward to when you get old."

"Oh, joy."

*~*

Seto, meanwhile, was wallowing in his gigantic puddle of self-loathing and angsty-ness… as usual.

"Get over it, moneybags."

He chose to ignore that remark, and continued with his pity party.

"It's your own fault, you know. No point in feeling sorry for yourself; you obviously wanted it to turn out this way."

"NO I DIDN'T! I love Ryou and I've regretted every day that I let him go!"

At this, Jounouchi laughed. "You didn't let him go; you kicked him out of your life. And now you want him back, but he's gone. Hahaha… it's good to see you're finally getting your just desserts, moneybags…"

"One more word-," Seto murmured dangerously, hands going for the blonde's neck.

"Hahaha. You can't hurt a fly and you certainly can't hurt me. Loser."

Seto, realizing that maybe three-twentieths of Jou's words made logical sense, let him go. "Baka inu," Seto growled.

Jounouchi sniggered. "Look who's the dog now…"

AN: A fermata is used in music. It looks like a bird's eye and is used to hold notes longer than their value… they're usually used at the end of the song, or a phrase, or something like that… mou. That and my chorus teacher is a crazy man…

And I hope you're all glad that Seto isn't getting Ryou-chan! Of course, you didn't really affect the plot too much, but you can still feel happy about it. Jeez.

Chibi tenshi- tiny angel

Daijoubo ka?- are you O.K.? (I think… pfft.)

Baka inu- stupid dog

Mou!