Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Sweet Revenge ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Sweet Revenge
Summary: After Joey’s girlfriend, Carla dumps him for Seto; Joey stumbles across Ryou being mugged and learns that he’s a girl! Seto can’t stand Carla, but finds Ryou interesting. How does Mai fit into all of this?
Pairings: Seto/Ryou, Hinted; Joey/Mai
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Anime Yu-Gi-Oh! or any character associated. I do own Carla Whitmore. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not based on anyone else’s character design, again if any likeness, it’s purely coincidental.
Warnings: Female!Ryou. The use and introduction of a female Original Character. Any fans of OCs and OC pairings should leave now. Anti-OC pairings and blatant bashing of my own character. I created her; I can do what I want with her. And I plan to. A bit of character bashing on the OC’s behalf and a few swear words, but nothing over the top. Set after Yami is sent to the afterlife, so no Yamis in the story. And Seto goes to school.
AN: Hello again everyone. Yep, another update from me. In this chapter, you can expect some Seto/Ryou interaction, finally ^^ And most definitely in the next chapter!
Thank you so very much RyousGirl567 for reviewing the last chapter. And thanks for being so patient with me ^^
Comments and suggestions are always greatly appreciated. So are recommendations for other fics and stories. I hope you hear from you again soon ^^
-
Chapter 7:
“Hey guys!” Yugi greeted enthusiastically with his arm waving in the air as Joey and Ryou stepped through the school gates, Ryou smiling politely and Joey flashing their short friend a bright smile.
“Hey Yuge!” Joey replied as he walked over and wrapped an arm around Yugi’s neck to playfully run his knuckles against his scalp, both of them laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world.
“Wow, Joey!” Tristan said as he gave a mock impressed whistle before he too wrapped a friendly arm around Ryou’s neck this time. “Ever since you’ve started walking Ryou to school, you’ve been early for once! He’s tainting you!”
Ryou managed to stifle a giggle with her hand as Joey took a moment to glare indignantly at his friend, a semi-pout on his lips as he defiantly brushing Tristan away from her, still semi-protective of her it seemed. Joey was well known around the school for his ability to arrive in the classroom mere seconds before the final bell rang and plonk himself into his seat, appearing as though he had been sitting and waiting for hours.
“Yeah, yeah,” Joey muttered as he waved a dismissive hand at him.
No matter what mood she was in, being in the company of these four good friends always made her feel better and she quickly forgot about her minor injuries until she realized the ever motherly Tea was looking at her with a searching gaze, her blue eyes shimmering with a sense of concern.
Ryou felt her stomach do a somersault. She should have known that Tea would immediately see her injuries; she’s always been like that. She cares greatly for her friends and is always worrying herself sick with thoughts of their wellbeing. Ryou greatly admired Tea for not only her understanding approach, but her ability to be emotionally strong when needed, not letting her obvious feelings for Yugi get in the way of her better judgement.
“Hey, are you alright, Ryou?” Tea asked delicately. “You’re covered in bandages.”
A light blush flittered across Ryou’s cheeks and she curled a strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. “Oh, ah...” she stuttered, unsure of what to say.
Beside her, Joey fell uncharacteristically sombre as well. “...It’s a long story,” he said, to which the others all looked at him in surprise.
“We have time before class starts,” Yugi said gently, his own expression creasing with concern with a hint of guilt when he didn’t realize Ryou’s subtle injuries at first glance.
Running a hand through his messy hair, Joey stole a glance with Ryou, who slowly nodded her head in agreement. She didn’t wish for Joey to hide anything from his friends, they were so close after all.
“Joey...” a familiar irritating voice suddenly snarled, causing Ryou and the others to snap their attention to the voice, Yugi and co wincing in silent disapproval at Carla’s entrance, Ryou blushing lightly and taking a step back when she remembered their brief meeting last night and Joey practically seething at her.
“What ya want?” he asked harshly, once again earning him looks of surprise from his friends behind him as he took a couple of steps forward, planting himself in front of Ryou.
Gritting her teeth in anger at her reception, Carla practically stalked over to him, her eyes a fiery green from anger. As she approached her ex-boyfriend, ready to abuse the hell out of him for moving on so quickly, she momentarily paused in her movements to openly glare at his scrawny white haired friend, who seemed to be trying to hide behind him.
Or was Joey purposely standing in front of him?
Eyeing the white hair suspiciously, Carla could not help but note that it was the shame shade as the slut that was dressed in only a towel at Joey’s apartment last night. Ryou was the only person in this whole sticking school that had hair that was as white as fresh snow, and yet everyone knew that no matter how girly Ryou looked, he was a guy. Well, he had to be as he was as flat as a board and skinny as a stick. No proper female worth her salt had a figure like that.
Maybe this guy had a little tart for a sister or something. Oh, who gives a shit? Joey cheated on her and getting revenge on the brainless blonde was far too important to be swept to the side.
First thing first, confront Joey in front of a huge crowd and demand to know who that bitch was so she can make her life a living hell! She so deserved it, anyway.
That was sure to gain Seto’s attention, making him realize how ruthlessly beautiful and talented she was, and how perfect they were for each other.
“So,” Carla said as she casually flicked a strand of black and red hair over her shoulder. “Where’s that white haired hussy of yours?”
Joey instantly bristled, his face creasing into an expression that was a mixture of indignant and anger. “Rei is not a hussy!” he practically seethed at her again.
Ryou inwardly winced at the insult and found herself take another step to hide further behind Joey. She was the only person in school with this colour hair and with the nickname Rei as well, if Carla looked hard enough and thought long enough, she would figure it out on her own.
But then again, Carla appeared too deeply involved with her own appearance and self-loving to study anyone else’s too closely.
“So, Rei’s her name, is it?” Carla asked with the corner of her lips twitching into a sneer. “She’s not a hussy, huh? Well, what else do you call a slut who walks around your apartment half naked?”
Joey felt his blood begin to boil. He saw Ryou the same way he saw his sister, Serenity. He cared deeply for them both and was probably overly protective of them. Anyway, couldn’t he help a friend that was the opposite gender and not do it because he had secret romantic feelings for her?
Why do people immediately assume that when a guy and a girl talk or interact with each other that they would make a cute couple? Some students at this school even asked if there was something between him and Tea, which made the two of them feel sick to the stomachs.
For heaven’s sake, they are just friends! Guys and girls can be just friends, you know!
Besides, how dare Carla immediately label Ryou as a hussy and a slut; Ryou did nothing wrong, only been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ryou was one of the sweetest and politest people he has ever met and to have Carla make her out to be this home wreaker just made him see red. Honestly, insulting one of his friends, especially one who was too shy to stand up for herself, was like waving a red flag at a bull.
“One that had to use my shower because she was assaulted, that’s who!” Joey immediately explained to her, his hands curling into tight fists by his side. “She is a good friend of mine who needed help, so I helped her. Is that a crime?”
Carla found herself physically reeling back in surprise at his blunt response before grimacing slightly when she realized that a few of their spectators were murmuring amongst themselves about how nice and gentlemanly Joey could be.
“And who the hell do you think you are calling Rei such names?” Joey suddenly asked, his anger not subsiding for a moment. “You’re the one who shamelessly uses other people to get what she wants!”
Carla’s eyes suddenly flashed dangerously and she took a threatening step forward. “Listen here, dickwad, I did you a favour going out with you. You’ll never, ever experience dating someone as hot as me ever again.”
Ryou once again found herself grimacing at the arrogance surrounding Carla. Did she not see hurting other people to get ahead was not something that should be admired?
“Is that a promise?” Joey immediately snapped at her, the two of them glaring so hatefully at each other that it made the small group of students that had formed around them shiver from a sense of discomfort.
Suddenly, their fellow students began to disperse and a tall, well defined figure of a certain young CEO appeared into view.
“Well, this is an interesting start of the day,” Seto muttered mirthlessly as he confronted the group, a look of annoyance in his gaze when he spied that very same obnoxious female from last night. “This is not something we need to hear first thing in the morning, especially from someone loud and incessantly obnoxious. I suggest you move on.”
Joey found himself wincing at the small description, realizing that it was probably directed at him as Seto often referred to him as being too loud, while Carla looked oddly smug. She turned her attention toward Seto and fluttered her eyes at him in the most flirtiest of ways.
“You tell him, Seto,” she practically purred at him, walking over to him and gave Joey this infuriatingly smug look.
However, Ryou wore this thoughtful expression on her face as she gazed at Seto, noting his expression and body language, knowing that deep inside, Seto wasn’t talking about Joey, he was...
“I was talking to you,” Seto sneered as he took a step to the side and walked around Carla, who in turn was left looking flustered and inwardly livid by his treatment of her.
“What?” Carla managed to splutter, her face taking on an alarming shade of red either from embarrassment or anger at being publicly ditched by Seto.
“You’re an irritating little street rat, aren’t you?” Seto said with a cool iciness in his voice, his eyes glaring hard at the busty raven and red haired female. “Do you enjoy making a complete and utter fool out of yourself? You seem to do it so regularly.”
Carla found herself wincing from the stinging venom in Seto’s words before she pressed her lips painfully tight into a thin line. This was not turning out the way she planned in her head last night. She had planned on confronting Joey at the school gates where she was to accuse him of being a jerk and a cheater, demanding that he explain who that white-haired bitch at his apartment was. During their confrontation, everyone at school would overhear and in turn, give Joey the cold shoulder, all the while giving her their support.
And then, when Seto learnt the truth, he would feel unbelievably guilty for the way he treated her last night and beg for forgiveness by being sweet and caring. She, of course, would forgive him because she was a sweet girl with a heart of gold, despite her outwardly tough appearance.
But then, Joey had to ruin it by being claiming he was just helping that slut and then Seto had to have the gall to call her annoying!
Carla refused to be the one to lose this confrontation, but by the way her fellow classmates are speaking to each other while sending pointed looks in her direction forced Carla to realize, albeit reluctantly, that she lost this fight.
No matter, she’s not anywhere beaten. She’ll make Joey and this Rei girl pay, by getting Seto’s attention one way or another.
Ok, time for plan B.
“This isn’t over,” Carla hissed at the group before spinning on her heel and walking back out through the school gates, her head held high, confident in knowing that next time they meet, she will be the victor.
Both Joey and Ryou stood stock still until Carla was officially out of sight before the two of them sighed loudly with relief, their postures relaxing considerably.
“You have five minutes before class,” Seto suddenly said, his icy blue eyes lingering for a fraction of a moment on Ryou, who blushed lightly under his gaze. “Should you even be at school?” he asked coolly.
“Ah, well,” Ryou found herself stuttering again, Seto’s intimating presence always made her heart beat faster in her chest. She wasn’t sure if it’s because she admired the slightly older teen or the fact that she had a kinda of a minor crush on him, but whenever he focused his attention on her, even for a moment, made her feel a sense of importance.
“Hn,” Seto murmured as he narrowed his eyes slightly into a critical gaze before abruptly turning away and walked with confidence to the entrance of the school, his strides strong and powerful.
Before Ryou could stop herself, she hurried after him. “Seto-san, wait!”
Surprisingly, Seto did stop in his movements and turned to face her, an eyebrow arching upwards in a questioning look.
“I, ah, thank you for interrupting the fight just then,” she said as she bowed her head slightly in politeness, her white hair casting a veiling over her shoulders. She then straightened her posture and titled her head to the side in a questioning expression. “Do you know about Carla and Joey?”
“That they are no longer dating?” Seto asked before he nodded his head sharply, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes while his facial expression stayed ever motionless. “Yeah, I know. The brainless fool thought I had some interest in her.”
“And you don’t?”
This time, Seto snorted, literally scoffing at the idea. “What do you think?”
Before she could stop herself, she smiled. “Just checking,” she said brightly, a sense of relief in her voice.
“I’ll ask again; should you be at school?” Seto said, turning to give her his full, undivided attention.
Ryou felt her cheeks heat up, yet she smile softly at the underlying of concern in his voice. It’s actually quite amazing to realize that she might be worthy enough for Seto’s concern.
“I’m fine,” she replied softly as she began to play with her hair, a habit of hers she has when she’s nervous yet excited about something. “They are only minor injuries and I feel that if I stayed home, I would only dwell on what happened.”
However, her response only made Seto’s frown deepen. “Pushing such matter aside won’t help,” he said in a stern tone.
“I know,” Ryou murmured as she appeared flustered, once again lifting her hand to curl a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
But then, Seto’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist with a surprisingly gentle grip, stopping her from finishing that movement. Her flush deepened and she gazed up at him through the snow-white tresses of her bangs, her big doe eyes blinking slowly in confusion, yet her heart skipping a beat at Seto’s surprisingly warm hand.
“Seto-san?”
“Stop that,” Seto lightly ordered, his large hand easily wrapping completely around Ryou’s slender wrist. “You’re bleeding.”
Again, Ryou blinked slowly before turning her gaze down at her hand, noting that there was indeed a bit of blood on her fingertips. Her eyes immediately widen in alarm and she wondered where this blood was coming from.
As suddenly as Seto grabbed her wrist, he released it and placed his hand in his pocket only to pull out a clear tissue and pressing it against Ryou’s cheek bone. “You better get that cleaned up before it gets infected,” he said, once again in a lightly ordering tone.
Lifting her hand, Ryou pressed it against the tissue on her cheek, her fingers brushing against his, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest at the contact. Despite her cheek lightly starting to sting, she could not help but feel a sense of hope in her chest when she sensed the emotion of concern in not only his voice, but eyes as well.
“Ah, thank you,” she whispered, her eyes never leaving Seto’s gaze.
Seto nodded sharply and abruptly pulled his hand away, appearing as if he just realized what he was doing. “Be more careful next time,” he berated before he turned back around and hastily made his way toward the school entrance.
Ryou found herself watching him until he was completely out of sight, her hand pressed against her cheek and a warm smile on his lips before turning back to her friends, all of which are still deeply in a thick haze of confusion.
She smiled weakly at them. “Joey and I will give you the short version after school, ok?”
“Ok.”
Summary: After Joey’s girlfriend, Carla dumps him for Seto; Joey stumbles across Ryou being mugged and learns that he’s a girl! Seto can’t stand Carla, but finds Ryou interesting. How does Mai fit into all of this?
Pairings: Seto/Ryou, Hinted; Joey/Mai
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Anime Yu-Gi-Oh! or any character associated. I do own Carla Whitmore. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not based on anyone else’s character design, again if any likeness, it’s purely coincidental.
Warnings: Female!Ryou. The use and introduction of a female Original Character. Any fans of OCs and OC pairings should leave now. Anti-OC pairings and blatant bashing of my own character. I created her; I can do what I want with her. And I plan to. A bit of character bashing on the OC’s behalf and a few swear words, but nothing over the top. Set after Yami is sent to the afterlife, so no Yamis in the story. And Seto goes to school.
AN: Hello again everyone. Yep, another update from me. In this chapter, you can expect some Seto/Ryou interaction, finally ^^ And most definitely in the next chapter!
Thank you so very much RyousGirl567 for reviewing the last chapter. And thanks for being so patient with me ^^
Comments and suggestions are always greatly appreciated. So are recommendations for other fics and stories. I hope you hear from you again soon ^^
-
Chapter 7:
“Hey guys!” Yugi greeted enthusiastically with his arm waving in the air as Joey and Ryou stepped through the school gates, Ryou smiling politely and Joey flashing their short friend a bright smile.
“Hey Yuge!” Joey replied as he walked over and wrapped an arm around Yugi’s neck to playfully run his knuckles against his scalp, both of them laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world.
“Wow, Joey!” Tristan said as he gave a mock impressed whistle before he too wrapped a friendly arm around Ryou’s neck this time. “Ever since you’ve started walking Ryou to school, you’ve been early for once! He’s tainting you!”
Ryou managed to stifle a giggle with her hand as Joey took a moment to glare indignantly at his friend, a semi-pout on his lips as he defiantly brushing Tristan away from her, still semi-protective of her it seemed. Joey was well known around the school for his ability to arrive in the classroom mere seconds before the final bell rang and plonk himself into his seat, appearing as though he had been sitting and waiting for hours.
“Yeah, yeah,” Joey muttered as he waved a dismissive hand at him.
No matter what mood she was in, being in the company of these four good friends always made her feel better and she quickly forgot about her minor injuries until she realized the ever motherly Tea was looking at her with a searching gaze, her blue eyes shimmering with a sense of concern.
Ryou felt her stomach do a somersault. She should have known that Tea would immediately see her injuries; she’s always been like that. She cares greatly for her friends and is always worrying herself sick with thoughts of their wellbeing. Ryou greatly admired Tea for not only her understanding approach, but her ability to be emotionally strong when needed, not letting her obvious feelings for Yugi get in the way of her better judgement.
“Hey, are you alright, Ryou?” Tea asked delicately. “You’re covered in bandages.”
A light blush flittered across Ryou’s cheeks and she curled a strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. “Oh, ah...” she stuttered, unsure of what to say.
Beside her, Joey fell uncharacteristically sombre as well. “...It’s a long story,” he said, to which the others all looked at him in surprise.
“We have time before class starts,” Yugi said gently, his own expression creasing with concern with a hint of guilt when he didn’t realize Ryou’s subtle injuries at first glance.
Running a hand through his messy hair, Joey stole a glance with Ryou, who slowly nodded her head in agreement. She didn’t wish for Joey to hide anything from his friends, they were so close after all.
“Joey...” a familiar irritating voice suddenly snarled, causing Ryou and the others to snap their attention to the voice, Yugi and co wincing in silent disapproval at Carla’s entrance, Ryou blushing lightly and taking a step back when she remembered their brief meeting last night and Joey practically seething at her.
“What ya want?” he asked harshly, once again earning him looks of surprise from his friends behind him as he took a couple of steps forward, planting himself in front of Ryou.
Gritting her teeth in anger at her reception, Carla practically stalked over to him, her eyes a fiery green from anger. As she approached her ex-boyfriend, ready to abuse the hell out of him for moving on so quickly, she momentarily paused in her movements to openly glare at his scrawny white haired friend, who seemed to be trying to hide behind him.
Or was Joey purposely standing in front of him?
Eyeing the white hair suspiciously, Carla could not help but note that it was the shame shade as the slut that was dressed in only a towel at Joey’s apartment last night. Ryou was the only person in this whole sticking school that had hair that was as white as fresh snow, and yet everyone knew that no matter how girly Ryou looked, he was a guy. Well, he had to be as he was as flat as a board and skinny as a stick. No proper female worth her salt had a figure like that.
Maybe this guy had a little tart for a sister or something. Oh, who gives a shit? Joey cheated on her and getting revenge on the brainless blonde was far too important to be swept to the side.
First thing first, confront Joey in front of a huge crowd and demand to know who that bitch was so she can make her life a living hell! She so deserved it, anyway.
That was sure to gain Seto’s attention, making him realize how ruthlessly beautiful and talented she was, and how perfect they were for each other.
“So,” Carla said as she casually flicked a strand of black and red hair over her shoulder. “Where’s that white haired hussy of yours?”
Joey instantly bristled, his face creasing into an expression that was a mixture of indignant and anger. “Rei is not a hussy!” he practically seethed at her again.
Ryou inwardly winced at the insult and found herself take another step to hide further behind Joey. She was the only person in school with this colour hair and with the nickname Rei as well, if Carla looked hard enough and thought long enough, she would figure it out on her own.
But then again, Carla appeared too deeply involved with her own appearance and self-loving to study anyone else’s too closely.
“So, Rei’s her name, is it?” Carla asked with the corner of her lips twitching into a sneer. “She’s not a hussy, huh? Well, what else do you call a slut who walks around your apartment half naked?”
Joey felt his blood begin to boil. He saw Ryou the same way he saw his sister, Serenity. He cared deeply for them both and was probably overly protective of them. Anyway, couldn’t he help a friend that was the opposite gender and not do it because he had secret romantic feelings for her?
Why do people immediately assume that when a guy and a girl talk or interact with each other that they would make a cute couple? Some students at this school even asked if there was something between him and Tea, which made the two of them feel sick to the stomachs.
For heaven’s sake, they are just friends! Guys and girls can be just friends, you know!
Besides, how dare Carla immediately label Ryou as a hussy and a slut; Ryou did nothing wrong, only been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ryou was one of the sweetest and politest people he has ever met and to have Carla make her out to be this home wreaker just made him see red. Honestly, insulting one of his friends, especially one who was too shy to stand up for herself, was like waving a red flag at a bull.
“One that had to use my shower because she was assaulted, that’s who!” Joey immediately explained to her, his hands curling into tight fists by his side. “She is a good friend of mine who needed help, so I helped her. Is that a crime?”
Carla found herself physically reeling back in surprise at his blunt response before grimacing slightly when she realized that a few of their spectators were murmuring amongst themselves about how nice and gentlemanly Joey could be.
“And who the hell do you think you are calling Rei such names?” Joey suddenly asked, his anger not subsiding for a moment. “You’re the one who shamelessly uses other people to get what she wants!”
Carla’s eyes suddenly flashed dangerously and she took a threatening step forward. “Listen here, dickwad, I did you a favour going out with you. You’ll never, ever experience dating someone as hot as me ever again.”
Ryou once again found herself grimacing at the arrogance surrounding Carla. Did she not see hurting other people to get ahead was not something that should be admired?
“Is that a promise?” Joey immediately snapped at her, the two of them glaring so hatefully at each other that it made the small group of students that had formed around them shiver from a sense of discomfort.
Suddenly, their fellow students began to disperse and a tall, well defined figure of a certain young CEO appeared into view.
“Well, this is an interesting start of the day,” Seto muttered mirthlessly as he confronted the group, a look of annoyance in his gaze when he spied that very same obnoxious female from last night. “This is not something we need to hear first thing in the morning, especially from someone loud and incessantly obnoxious. I suggest you move on.”
Joey found himself wincing at the small description, realizing that it was probably directed at him as Seto often referred to him as being too loud, while Carla looked oddly smug. She turned her attention toward Seto and fluttered her eyes at him in the most flirtiest of ways.
“You tell him, Seto,” she practically purred at him, walking over to him and gave Joey this infuriatingly smug look.
However, Ryou wore this thoughtful expression on her face as she gazed at Seto, noting his expression and body language, knowing that deep inside, Seto wasn’t talking about Joey, he was...
“I was talking to you,” Seto sneered as he took a step to the side and walked around Carla, who in turn was left looking flustered and inwardly livid by his treatment of her.
“What?” Carla managed to splutter, her face taking on an alarming shade of red either from embarrassment or anger at being publicly ditched by Seto.
“You’re an irritating little street rat, aren’t you?” Seto said with a cool iciness in his voice, his eyes glaring hard at the busty raven and red haired female. “Do you enjoy making a complete and utter fool out of yourself? You seem to do it so regularly.”
Carla found herself wincing from the stinging venom in Seto’s words before she pressed her lips painfully tight into a thin line. This was not turning out the way she planned in her head last night. She had planned on confronting Joey at the school gates where she was to accuse him of being a jerk and a cheater, demanding that he explain who that white-haired bitch at his apartment was. During their confrontation, everyone at school would overhear and in turn, give Joey the cold shoulder, all the while giving her their support.
And then, when Seto learnt the truth, he would feel unbelievably guilty for the way he treated her last night and beg for forgiveness by being sweet and caring. She, of course, would forgive him because she was a sweet girl with a heart of gold, despite her outwardly tough appearance.
But then, Joey had to ruin it by being claiming he was just helping that slut and then Seto had to have the gall to call her annoying!
Carla refused to be the one to lose this confrontation, but by the way her fellow classmates are speaking to each other while sending pointed looks in her direction forced Carla to realize, albeit reluctantly, that she lost this fight.
No matter, she’s not anywhere beaten. She’ll make Joey and this Rei girl pay, by getting Seto’s attention one way or another.
Ok, time for plan B.
“This isn’t over,” Carla hissed at the group before spinning on her heel and walking back out through the school gates, her head held high, confident in knowing that next time they meet, she will be the victor.
Both Joey and Ryou stood stock still until Carla was officially out of sight before the two of them sighed loudly with relief, their postures relaxing considerably.
“You have five minutes before class,” Seto suddenly said, his icy blue eyes lingering for a fraction of a moment on Ryou, who blushed lightly under his gaze. “Should you even be at school?” he asked coolly.
“Ah, well,” Ryou found herself stuttering again, Seto’s intimating presence always made her heart beat faster in her chest. She wasn’t sure if it’s because she admired the slightly older teen or the fact that she had a kinda of a minor crush on him, but whenever he focused his attention on her, even for a moment, made her feel a sense of importance.
“Hn,” Seto murmured as he narrowed his eyes slightly into a critical gaze before abruptly turning away and walked with confidence to the entrance of the school, his strides strong and powerful.
Before Ryou could stop herself, she hurried after him. “Seto-san, wait!”
Surprisingly, Seto did stop in his movements and turned to face her, an eyebrow arching upwards in a questioning look.
“I, ah, thank you for interrupting the fight just then,” she said as she bowed her head slightly in politeness, her white hair casting a veiling over her shoulders. She then straightened her posture and titled her head to the side in a questioning expression. “Do you know about Carla and Joey?”
“That they are no longer dating?” Seto asked before he nodded his head sharply, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes while his facial expression stayed ever motionless. “Yeah, I know. The brainless fool thought I had some interest in her.”
“And you don’t?”
This time, Seto snorted, literally scoffing at the idea. “What do you think?”
Before she could stop herself, she smiled. “Just checking,” she said brightly, a sense of relief in her voice.
“I’ll ask again; should you be at school?” Seto said, turning to give her his full, undivided attention.
Ryou felt her cheeks heat up, yet she smile softly at the underlying of concern in his voice. It’s actually quite amazing to realize that she might be worthy enough for Seto’s concern.
“I’m fine,” she replied softly as she began to play with her hair, a habit of hers she has when she’s nervous yet excited about something. “They are only minor injuries and I feel that if I stayed home, I would only dwell on what happened.”
However, her response only made Seto’s frown deepen. “Pushing such matter aside won’t help,” he said in a stern tone.
“I know,” Ryou murmured as she appeared flustered, once again lifting her hand to curl a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
But then, Seto’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist with a surprisingly gentle grip, stopping her from finishing that movement. Her flush deepened and she gazed up at him through the snow-white tresses of her bangs, her big doe eyes blinking slowly in confusion, yet her heart skipping a beat at Seto’s surprisingly warm hand.
“Seto-san?”
“Stop that,” Seto lightly ordered, his large hand easily wrapping completely around Ryou’s slender wrist. “You’re bleeding.”
Again, Ryou blinked slowly before turning her gaze down at her hand, noting that there was indeed a bit of blood on her fingertips. Her eyes immediately widen in alarm and she wondered where this blood was coming from.
As suddenly as Seto grabbed her wrist, he released it and placed his hand in his pocket only to pull out a clear tissue and pressing it against Ryou’s cheek bone. “You better get that cleaned up before it gets infected,” he said, once again in a lightly ordering tone.
Lifting her hand, Ryou pressed it against the tissue on her cheek, her fingers brushing against his, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest at the contact. Despite her cheek lightly starting to sting, she could not help but feel a sense of hope in her chest when she sensed the emotion of concern in not only his voice, but eyes as well.
“Ah, thank you,” she whispered, her eyes never leaving Seto’s gaze.
Seto nodded sharply and abruptly pulled his hand away, appearing as if he just realized what he was doing. “Be more careful next time,” he berated before he turned back around and hastily made his way toward the school entrance.
Ryou found herself watching him until he was completely out of sight, her hand pressed against her cheek and a warm smile on his lips before turning back to her friends, all of which are still deeply in a thick haze of confusion.
She smiled weakly at them. “Joey and I will give you the short version after school, ok?”
“Ok.”