Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Sweet Revenge ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: DefiantVixen 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.26.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 393 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.26.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 393 | Status: Completed
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: Sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I got distracted with my Bleach fic I’m working on. It’s Fem!Ukitake if anyone is interested ^^
No Carla again in this chapter, however she will be in the next one. And so will Mai ^^ I’m not saying anything else; you’ll just have to wait and see. But you’ll like it, I promise.
Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated and welcomed. Thank you in advance ^^
-
Chapter 10:
Hiding a chuckle behind her slender pale hand, Ryou watched with a sense of fondness shimmering in her eyes as Joey practically devoured all of Gramps’ famous caramel cookies, he and Tristan seemingly entering a silent contest to see who can eat the most.
They certainly love their food, those two.
She spared a quick glance to her other two companions. Yugi was watching the two eat, he more than willing to show his amusement while Tea looked as though she wanted to berate them for not showing any sort of manners. But, being the intelligent girl she is, she knew better than to get in between a guy and his food.
Joey almost bit her hand last time she tried.
Picking up the glass of milk next to a small saucer with three cookies on it, a plate that Tea managed to steal for her as she would had received none otherwise. Her four friends always managed to get her a small plate of whatever they were eating at the time; they worry about her health as they think she’s a little too thin for someone of her height.
Pressing the glass to her lips and taking a slip, Ryou thought about her caring friends, all of them, even Mai, Mokuba and Duke, who was currently in America. Even Seto, she considered as a friend; a friend she had a minor crush on, but still a friend.
She was grateful for her friends’ concern for her, but surely, they would have more pressing matters to think about, right?
“Hey, Ryou,” Tristan said through a mouthful of cookies before swallowing thickly when Tea shot him a look of disgust and focused his attention upon her. “Is there something going on between you and Kaiba?”
Ryou was grateful that she wasn’t taking a sip at the time of the question as she ripped the glass away from her lips to look at Tristan with blatant shock. Did he really just ask if there was something going on between her and Seto? Why would he ask such a thing? Did he see Seto carrying her or...
“What?” she stuttered as she tried so hard to will away that familiar heating sensation that threatened to spread across her nose and cheeks. “What do you mean?”
“He does seem awfully interested in you,” Yugi added in as he nodded his head slowly in agreement before tapping his cheek in thought. “I’ve never seen him take an interest in anyone before.”
“There’s nothing interesting about me,” Ryou quickly insisted as she inwardly wondered why everyone seemed intent on leaving her utterly frazzled with their implying questions. First Mrs Mayhue and now her friends? If there was anything going on between her and Seto, it’ll be one-sided for certain. Seto would have better things to think about then her, right?
Although, he did take on those guys that attacked her at school today. And he did ask her to tell him if they bother her again. And he did seem concerned about whether she should have been at school today.
But Seto was just being nice, in his own way. She knows he can be nice, she’s seen him treat Mokuba gently all the time.
He’s definitely not interested in her, right?
“I mean, I’m definitely not the most interesting person here,” she trailed off.
A look of amusement appeared on Tristan’s expression, as if finding Ryou’s frazzled expression somewhat funny. “But you’re quiet and as they say, you have to look out for the quiet ones, right?” he joked.
Ryou fidgeted in her seat while Joey, sitting across from her looked uncomfortable. “Er...”
“The two of you do seem to be getting pretty close,” Tea added after a moment of silence, a thoughtful expression on her delicate features.
Joey immediately bristled from the implications and stood up from his seat, his face twisted into a half annoyed, half protective expression. “Yeah, well, he better not get too close!”
Soft bouts of laughter rippled through the group from Joey outburst, his body posture tensed as he comically shook his fist in front of him.
“There’s that overly protective brother syndrome again,” Tea said as she laughed into her hand. It was no secret to anyone in this room that Joey was a tad bit protective of Ryou. Ryou was timid and shy, prone to getting into scapes with others without any provocation, while Joey was loud and confident, ready to face anyone in a physical battle when he knew someone was being wronged in some way.
“You’re treating Ryou the same way as you treat Serenity, Joey,” Yugi couldn’t help but point out, his friendly, cheerful smile not faltering from his lips.
“Yeah, well,” Joey muttered as he loosened his posture and rubbed the back of his head almost bashfully. “I see Ryou like a sister.”
Ryou immediately stiffened in her seat at the slip-up as the room momentarily fell into silence. She had a feeling that Joey wouldn’t be able to keep up her facade of being male for very long. But bless him, he did try.
“Er, don't you mean brother?” Tea said after a moment, her brow creasing into mild look of disapproval.
The urge to bury her face into her hands was almost too much for Ryou to withstand. “Oh God...”
Joey promptly stiffened at Tea’s question. “Er, of course!”
“You really shouldn’t pick on Ryou because of his appearance,” Tea immediately scolded him, literally waving a disapproving finger at him before her expression turned slightly annoyed and pouted lightly. “Even though he has much nicer hair than most girls at school...”
“Hey, I’m just joking!” Joey immediately protested to his friends.
Ryou felt guilty for the way Tea was scowling at Joey. It wasn’t his fault as he was right; he did see her as a sister and not as a brother. Well, now would be the best time for her to reveal her secret, right?
Yeah, this time she can take a bit of control over her unveiling, not like when Joey or Mai found out.
“No, it’s alright, Joey,” Ryou said gently as she gained everyone’s attention. She never liked being the centre of attention, but she had to do this for Joey. “You can tell them.”
Joey looked surprised for a moment before his expression softened into a look of uncertainly and guilt. “But Rei-”
“I don’t want you to hide anything from your friends because of me,” Ryou gently interrupted as she peered up at him through her snow coloured tresses with gratitude shimmering within her chocolate brown eyes. “I’ve caused you enough trouble.”
Tristan glanced back and forth between then, his brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you guys talking about?” he finally asked.
Yugi quickly recalled the incident at the school gate this morning where Ryou promised to tell them everything after school. “Is there something wrong?” he asked with concerned edging into his voice.
Drawing in a deep breath, Ryou silently rose to her feet so she could address her friends more clearly. She could do this; she had a bit of control over this right now. “Joey was right when he called me sister.”
Tea tilted her head to the side in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Ok, it’s now or never.
“I’m a girl.”
A deathly thick silence of blatant shock fell over the group; Ryou waited with baited breath for their reactions while Joey continued to look guilty and uneasy. The stillness in the room was so thick Ryou thought she might suffocate on it.
Finally, Yugi seemed to find his voice again. “What?”
Taking in another deep breath to try to slow down her rapidly beating heart, Ryou swallowed thickly as she readied herself to explain things further. Despite everything they’ve been through, her revealing a deep secret like hiding her gender must be very foreign for them to understand.
“I’m really a girl in gender,” she said slowly so they had time to comprehend what she was saying. “I’ve been disguising myself as a guy ever since I received the ring, which was...five years ago now?”
Tristan blinked slowly at her words, his expression oddly blank. “You’ve been disguising yourself as a guy for five years?”
“But why?” Yugi finally asked with a small sense of anger in his voice. It caused her to wince at first, but then she recognized the concern in his gentle eyes and she came to the realization that he was angry at the possibility that she was forced into it.
A flicker of realization appeared in Yugi’s eyes. “It was the spirit of the ring, wasn’t it?” he asked slowly.
Ryou felt a sense of relief that Yugi was able to pick up on the small hint that her cross-dressing was not a decision she made on her own. “Yes, he was...annoyed to learn he had to share a body with a girl.”
An uncharacteristic look of anger appeared on Yugi’s face as he pressed his lips into a thin line of frustration. “So, he made you pretend to be a boy?”
Ryou nodded mutely as she sunk back down into her seat, suddenly feeling very tired and drained. It’s been a very long day for her. “Yeah.”
“He’s also the reason why you couldn’t say anything sooner?” Tea asked softly as she leaned across and took Ryou’s hand in hers, sympathy, not pity, coming off of her slender frame in waves. Her bright blue eyes were shimmering gently with a sense of sadness that she had to go through so much torment without them knowing.
“Yeah...” Ryou whispered as she gave them a small smile as she squeezed Tea’s hand back, grateful that her friends seemed to understand her situation and internally ecstatic that they didn’t seem to hate her for hiding from them for so long.
“How did Joey know before us?” Tea question, but directing her gaze to her blonde haired friend.
Joey sighed and sat down as well, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms over his chest. A flicker of annoyance appeared in his gaze as he thought about the circumstances to him finding out the truth. “I found out yesterday. Carla dragged me off before I could walk Rei home and she was attacked near my apartment.”
Yugi’s bright eyes immediately widen in disbelief and concern, snapping his attention to the newly outed white haired female and subconsciously scooted closer to her. “What? Are you alright, Ryou?”
“That’s why you’re hurt,” Tea said as she bit back a gasp, however her motherly concern was too strong for her to hold back and she promptly scolded her. “I can’t believe you went to school today!”
Again, Ryou was reminded of her foolishness and bowed her head guiltily. “I thought I was well enough to go. Sorry for causing so much trouble.”
Tristan sat silently for a moment, his mind processing the abundant amount of information before turning to look at his best friend beside him. “You found out when you helped her, right?”
“That’s right,” Joey said with a nod. “She was terrified so I took her home with me to my place just to make sure she was ok, ya know?”
Nods of approval radiated around the room and Ryou found herself breathing a sigh of relief at how easily her friends seemed to accept her explanation without prodding further. But now that she really thought about it; her secretly being a girl wasn’t that outrageous. It seemed that the whole ordeal with the Ancient Egyptian shadow games forced them to become a little more accepting of things.
Tea suddenly reeled her head back in realization and turned her full attention at Ryou once again, her mind remembering the argument this very morning. “Wait, you’re the girl Carla was talking about, right?”
Ah, yes, the white-haired hussy called Rei.
Ryou immediately blushed scarlet while Joey bristled in his seat. She had almost forgotten about Carla’s not so nice retelling of events. She made it sound so wrong, her being in Joey’s apartment after he practically saved her.
“I guess,” Ryou said as she winced. “I had a shower and forgot my clothes, but when I stepped out to get them, Joey and Carla were fighting. She saw me, thought the worse and ran off.”
Tea sighed deeply with exasperation and rolled her eyes before turning to give Joey a slightly pained look. “What were you and Carla fighting about this time?”
If at all possible, Joey’s facial expression darkened at the thought of his ex-girlfriend. “We broke up. She was using me to try and gain Kaiba’s attention.”
Again, a stunned silence fell over the group, but sounds of disgust soon followed, Tea being the most prominent. She never liked Carla from the moment she met her, but tried to put up with her for Joey’s sake.
“What?!” Tea said, outraged that her friend was used so blatantly. “That...that...argh! I can’t believe her!”
Tristan leaned back in his seat as well to wrap an arm around Joey’s shoulders to give him a sense of comfort and sympathy. “Are you alright, bro?”
“Yeah, I’m over it,” Joey said as he waved a dismissive hand in the air, but welcomed his friend’s comfort nonetheless. “Rei and Mai convinced me that she did me a favour.”
Tea stopped her inward seething and hatred when she heard her fellow female’s name. “Mai knows about Ryou as well?”
The mention of the female blonde peaked Yugi’s interest, wondering how she would have taken to the news. “How did she take it?”
Ryou couldn’t help but chuckle into her hand as a smile slipped across Joey’s lips. They both recall Mai’s reaction to her true gender really well, as she was utterly enthusiastic, almost revealed to see that Ryou was actually a girl.
That Mai, she has a great personality, doesn’t she?
“Really well,” Joey said as he chuckled, no doubt the image of her practically crash tackling a frazzled and confused Ryou appearing in his mind. “She threatened to take Ryou shopping for clothes.”
The tension that had subconsciously thickened the room slowly began to fade and a light ring of laughter followed. “Typical Mai,” Tea giggled.
“Sorry for hiding this from you for so long,” Ryou said as the chuckling died down. “I wanted to tell you, but-”
However, Yugi immediately cut her off, giving her a warm smile as he said, “It’s ok, we know you didn't have a choice.”
Ryou could say nothing to that and simply smiled at the shorter teen, her deep eyes shimmering with gratitude. Oh, how she could hug the life out of all her friends right now.
“Ryou!”
Everyone literally jumped in their seat at the sound of the familiar voice as it rang through their ears. A moment later the door to the lounge room where they were situated opened and in bounced Mai in her usual beautiful and perky glory.
“There you are!” She said as she walked up behind the coach and gave Ryou a hug from behind, causing Ryou to make a squeaking noise of surprise and to fall back in shock, her arms flailing about in the air. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I can’t believe you went to school in your condition. What were you thinking?”
Once again, for the umpteenth time today, Ryou was left frazzled when Mai finally loosened her grip and moved to sit down on the coach near her. “Oh, hello Mai,” she said as the blonde-haired woman smiled at her.
“Hey, Mai,” Joey greeted as well, the smile on his lips growing warmer at Mai’s sudden appearance. “Don’t worry; Ryou is having tomorrow off from school.”
“Really?” Mai said as she looked hopeful and turned her attention to Ryou. She then beamed brightly and clapped her hands in front of her when Ryou nodded her head once. “Great! That means we can go shopping!”
Ryou tried to look a little bit enthusiastic for her friend, but in reality she was dreading tomorrow. She hated clothes shopping...very little seemed to fit her scrawny frame. And going shopping with someone as beautiful as Mai? There was no way she could compete with her.
Oh well, it’ll give her something to do as well as make Mai happy.
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: Sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I got distracted with my Bleach fic I’m working on. It’s Fem!Ukitake if anyone is interested ^^
No Carla again in this chapter, however she will be in the next one. And so will Mai ^^ I’m not saying anything else; you’ll just have to wait and see. But you’ll like it, I promise.
Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated and welcomed. Thank you in advance ^^
-
Chapter 10:
Hiding a chuckle behind her slender pale hand, Ryou watched with a sense of fondness shimmering in her eyes as Joey practically devoured all of Gramps’ famous caramel cookies, he and Tristan seemingly entering a silent contest to see who can eat the most.
They certainly love their food, those two.
She spared a quick glance to her other two companions. Yugi was watching the two eat, he more than willing to show his amusement while Tea looked as though she wanted to berate them for not showing any sort of manners. But, being the intelligent girl she is, she knew better than to get in between a guy and his food.
Joey almost bit her hand last time she tried.
Picking up the glass of milk next to a small saucer with three cookies on it, a plate that Tea managed to steal for her as she would had received none otherwise. Her four friends always managed to get her a small plate of whatever they were eating at the time; they worry about her health as they think she’s a little too thin for someone of her height.
Pressing the glass to her lips and taking a slip, Ryou thought about her caring friends, all of them, even Mai, Mokuba and Duke, who was currently in America. Even Seto, she considered as a friend; a friend she had a minor crush on, but still a friend.
She was grateful for her friends’ concern for her, but surely, they would have more pressing matters to think about, right?
“Hey, Ryou,” Tristan said through a mouthful of cookies before swallowing thickly when Tea shot him a look of disgust and focused his attention upon her. “Is there something going on between you and Kaiba?”
Ryou was grateful that she wasn’t taking a sip at the time of the question as she ripped the glass away from her lips to look at Tristan with blatant shock. Did he really just ask if there was something going on between her and Seto? Why would he ask such a thing? Did he see Seto carrying her or...
“What?” she stuttered as she tried so hard to will away that familiar heating sensation that threatened to spread across her nose and cheeks. “What do you mean?”
“He does seem awfully interested in you,” Yugi added in as he nodded his head slowly in agreement before tapping his cheek in thought. “I’ve never seen him take an interest in anyone before.”
“There’s nothing interesting about me,” Ryou quickly insisted as she inwardly wondered why everyone seemed intent on leaving her utterly frazzled with their implying questions. First Mrs Mayhue and now her friends? If there was anything going on between her and Seto, it’ll be one-sided for certain. Seto would have better things to think about then her, right?
Although, he did take on those guys that attacked her at school today. And he did ask her to tell him if they bother her again. And he did seem concerned about whether she should have been at school today.
But Seto was just being nice, in his own way. She knows he can be nice, she’s seen him treat Mokuba gently all the time.
He’s definitely not interested in her, right?
“I mean, I’m definitely not the most interesting person here,” she trailed off.
A look of amusement appeared on Tristan’s expression, as if finding Ryou’s frazzled expression somewhat funny. “But you’re quiet and as they say, you have to look out for the quiet ones, right?” he joked.
Ryou fidgeted in her seat while Joey, sitting across from her looked uncomfortable. “Er...”
“The two of you do seem to be getting pretty close,” Tea added after a moment of silence, a thoughtful expression on her delicate features.
Joey immediately bristled from the implications and stood up from his seat, his face twisted into a half annoyed, half protective expression. “Yeah, well, he better not get too close!”
Soft bouts of laughter rippled through the group from Joey outburst, his body posture tensed as he comically shook his fist in front of him.
“There’s that overly protective brother syndrome again,” Tea said as she laughed into her hand. It was no secret to anyone in this room that Joey was a tad bit protective of Ryou. Ryou was timid and shy, prone to getting into scapes with others without any provocation, while Joey was loud and confident, ready to face anyone in a physical battle when he knew someone was being wronged in some way.
“You’re treating Ryou the same way as you treat Serenity, Joey,” Yugi couldn’t help but point out, his friendly, cheerful smile not faltering from his lips.
“Yeah, well,” Joey muttered as he loosened his posture and rubbed the back of his head almost bashfully. “I see Ryou like a sister.”
Ryou immediately stiffened in her seat at the slip-up as the room momentarily fell into silence. She had a feeling that Joey wouldn’t be able to keep up her facade of being male for very long. But bless him, he did try.
“Er, don't you mean brother?” Tea said after a moment, her brow creasing into mild look of disapproval.
The urge to bury her face into her hands was almost too much for Ryou to withstand. “Oh God...”
Joey promptly stiffened at Tea’s question. “Er, of course!”
“You really shouldn’t pick on Ryou because of his appearance,” Tea immediately scolded him, literally waving a disapproving finger at him before her expression turned slightly annoyed and pouted lightly. “Even though he has much nicer hair than most girls at school...”
“Hey, I’m just joking!” Joey immediately protested to his friends.
Ryou felt guilty for the way Tea was scowling at Joey. It wasn’t his fault as he was right; he did see her as a sister and not as a brother. Well, now would be the best time for her to reveal her secret, right?
Yeah, this time she can take a bit of control over her unveiling, not like when Joey or Mai found out.
“No, it’s alright, Joey,” Ryou said gently as she gained everyone’s attention. She never liked being the centre of attention, but she had to do this for Joey. “You can tell them.”
Joey looked surprised for a moment before his expression softened into a look of uncertainly and guilt. “But Rei-”
“I don’t want you to hide anything from your friends because of me,” Ryou gently interrupted as she peered up at him through her snow coloured tresses with gratitude shimmering within her chocolate brown eyes. “I’ve caused you enough trouble.”
Tristan glanced back and forth between then, his brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you guys talking about?” he finally asked.
Yugi quickly recalled the incident at the school gate this morning where Ryou promised to tell them everything after school. “Is there something wrong?” he asked with concerned edging into his voice.
Drawing in a deep breath, Ryou silently rose to her feet so she could address her friends more clearly. She could do this; she had a bit of control over this right now. “Joey was right when he called me sister.”
Tea tilted her head to the side in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Ok, it’s now or never.
“I’m a girl.”
A deathly thick silence of blatant shock fell over the group; Ryou waited with baited breath for their reactions while Joey continued to look guilty and uneasy. The stillness in the room was so thick Ryou thought she might suffocate on it.
Finally, Yugi seemed to find his voice again. “What?”
Taking in another deep breath to try to slow down her rapidly beating heart, Ryou swallowed thickly as she readied herself to explain things further. Despite everything they’ve been through, her revealing a deep secret like hiding her gender must be very foreign for them to understand.
“I’m really a girl in gender,” she said slowly so they had time to comprehend what she was saying. “I’ve been disguising myself as a guy ever since I received the ring, which was...five years ago now?”
Tristan blinked slowly at her words, his expression oddly blank. “You’ve been disguising yourself as a guy for five years?”
“But why?” Yugi finally asked with a small sense of anger in his voice. It caused her to wince at first, but then she recognized the concern in his gentle eyes and she came to the realization that he was angry at the possibility that she was forced into it.
A flicker of realization appeared in Yugi’s eyes. “It was the spirit of the ring, wasn’t it?” he asked slowly.
Ryou felt a sense of relief that Yugi was able to pick up on the small hint that her cross-dressing was not a decision she made on her own. “Yes, he was...annoyed to learn he had to share a body with a girl.”
An uncharacteristic look of anger appeared on Yugi’s face as he pressed his lips into a thin line of frustration. “So, he made you pretend to be a boy?”
Ryou nodded mutely as she sunk back down into her seat, suddenly feeling very tired and drained. It’s been a very long day for her. “Yeah.”
“He’s also the reason why you couldn’t say anything sooner?” Tea asked softly as she leaned across and took Ryou’s hand in hers, sympathy, not pity, coming off of her slender frame in waves. Her bright blue eyes were shimmering gently with a sense of sadness that she had to go through so much torment without them knowing.
“Yeah...” Ryou whispered as she gave them a small smile as she squeezed Tea’s hand back, grateful that her friends seemed to understand her situation and internally ecstatic that they didn’t seem to hate her for hiding from them for so long.
“How did Joey know before us?” Tea question, but directing her gaze to her blonde haired friend.
Joey sighed and sat down as well, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms over his chest. A flicker of annoyance appeared in his gaze as he thought about the circumstances to him finding out the truth. “I found out yesterday. Carla dragged me off before I could walk Rei home and she was attacked near my apartment.”
Yugi’s bright eyes immediately widen in disbelief and concern, snapping his attention to the newly outed white haired female and subconsciously scooted closer to her. “What? Are you alright, Ryou?”
“That’s why you’re hurt,” Tea said as she bit back a gasp, however her motherly concern was too strong for her to hold back and she promptly scolded her. “I can’t believe you went to school today!”
Again, Ryou was reminded of her foolishness and bowed her head guiltily. “I thought I was well enough to go. Sorry for causing so much trouble.”
Tristan sat silently for a moment, his mind processing the abundant amount of information before turning to look at his best friend beside him. “You found out when you helped her, right?”
“That’s right,” Joey said with a nod. “She was terrified so I took her home with me to my place just to make sure she was ok, ya know?”
Nods of approval radiated around the room and Ryou found herself breathing a sigh of relief at how easily her friends seemed to accept her explanation without prodding further. But now that she really thought about it; her secretly being a girl wasn’t that outrageous. It seemed that the whole ordeal with the Ancient Egyptian shadow games forced them to become a little more accepting of things.
Tea suddenly reeled her head back in realization and turned her full attention at Ryou once again, her mind remembering the argument this very morning. “Wait, you’re the girl Carla was talking about, right?”
Ah, yes, the white-haired hussy called Rei.
Ryou immediately blushed scarlet while Joey bristled in his seat. She had almost forgotten about Carla’s not so nice retelling of events. She made it sound so wrong, her being in Joey’s apartment after he practically saved her.
“I guess,” Ryou said as she winced. “I had a shower and forgot my clothes, but when I stepped out to get them, Joey and Carla were fighting. She saw me, thought the worse and ran off.”
Tea sighed deeply with exasperation and rolled her eyes before turning to give Joey a slightly pained look. “What were you and Carla fighting about this time?”
If at all possible, Joey’s facial expression darkened at the thought of his ex-girlfriend. “We broke up. She was using me to try and gain Kaiba’s attention.”
Again, a stunned silence fell over the group, but sounds of disgust soon followed, Tea being the most prominent. She never liked Carla from the moment she met her, but tried to put up with her for Joey’s sake.
“What?!” Tea said, outraged that her friend was used so blatantly. “That...that...argh! I can’t believe her!”
Tristan leaned back in his seat as well to wrap an arm around Joey’s shoulders to give him a sense of comfort and sympathy. “Are you alright, bro?”
“Yeah, I’m over it,” Joey said as he waved a dismissive hand in the air, but welcomed his friend’s comfort nonetheless. “Rei and Mai convinced me that she did me a favour.”
Tea stopped her inward seething and hatred when she heard her fellow female’s name. “Mai knows about Ryou as well?”
The mention of the female blonde peaked Yugi’s interest, wondering how she would have taken to the news. “How did she take it?”
Ryou couldn’t help but chuckle into her hand as a smile slipped across Joey’s lips. They both recall Mai’s reaction to her true gender really well, as she was utterly enthusiastic, almost revealed to see that Ryou was actually a girl.
That Mai, she has a great personality, doesn’t she?
“Really well,” Joey said as he chuckled, no doubt the image of her practically crash tackling a frazzled and confused Ryou appearing in his mind. “She threatened to take Ryou shopping for clothes.”
The tension that had subconsciously thickened the room slowly began to fade and a light ring of laughter followed. “Typical Mai,” Tea giggled.
“Sorry for hiding this from you for so long,” Ryou said as the chuckling died down. “I wanted to tell you, but-”
However, Yugi immediately cut her off, giving her a warm smile as he said, “It’s ok, we know you didn't have a choice.”
Ryou could say nothing to that and simply smiled at the shorter teen, her deep eyes shimmering with gratitude. Oh, how she could hug the life out of all her friends right now.
“Ryou!”
Everyone literally jumped in their seat at the sound of the familiar voice as it rang through their ears. A moment later the door to the lounge room where they were situated opened and in bounced Mai in her usual beautiful and perky glory.
“There you are!” She said as she walked up behind the coach and gave Ryou a hug from behind, causing Ryou to make a squeaking noise of surprise and to fall back in shock, her arms flailing about in the air. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I can’t believe you went to school in your condition. What were you thinking?”
Once again, for the umpteenth time today, Ryou was left frazzled when Mai finally loosened her grip and moved to sit down on the coach near her. “Oh, hello Mai,” she said as the blonde-haired woman smiled at her.
“Hey, Mai,” Joey greeted as well, the smile on his lips growing warmer at Mai’s sudden appearance. “Don’t worry; Ryou is having tomorrow off from school.”
“Really?” Mai said as she looked hopeful and turned her attention to Ryou. She then beamed brightly and clapped her hands in front of her when Ryou nodded her head once. “Great! That means we can go shopping!”
Ryou tried to look a little bit enthusiastic for her friend, but in reality she was dreading tomorrow. She hated clothes shopping...very little seemed to fit her scrawny frame. And going shopping with someone as beautiful as Mai? There was no way she could compete with her.
Oh well, it’ll give her something to do as well as make Mai happy.