Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ To Love the Enemy ❯ Chapter 10: Questions ( Chapter 11 )

A week passes by and I finally get this chapter up! Sorry it took long people, you know me and college. I have a Music midterm coming up, a Geography test, and a Japanese midterm as well. Since I don't have Geography today (equals a whole lot of time) and my work study is almost finished, more updating will be coming! I feel happy!

***Chinmoku No Senshi will come Friday. Couldn't get it updated today though***

~Now to the reviews.

Kai Knox/Kiami Kaiba: If you're going to critique everything you feel is wrong with the story without giving some feedback on how the story is going, then you need to stop reviewing. You have a way of reviewing and I have my way of saying adios. Moving on…

Vendred13: Thanks for the support and reviews! A plushie for you too!

Neo_elite: Thanks for your support too. I won't give this story up, not by a long shot! Here's a Kaiba plushie for you! Oh and its not like I don't like geography, its just so bloody hard!

Jieli: Yeah…heh. Glad you like the plushie! I have a truckload of them! Here's a Serenity plushie and a Kaiba plushie for you! I just like writing manipulative Kaiba. I just see him that way. You can say I have some angst in me too.

Inspiration Writer: It's actually Otogi or Ootogi. That's Duke in Japanese so its Ootogi Ryuji or Otogi Ryuji. Duke Devlin is in this fic.

Cherry Red Head: I know I just like writing him that way! Don't worry, Daisy, me and the crew are alright!

Neith: For now…*tries to revive Leona who fainted with a thud*

Cherry Arrow: Okay…but I'm still upset concerning you…

To everyone else and new reviewers: thanks for reviewing! For that everyone can have plushies! Pick whatever one you like! Now to Chapter 10! Psychological again, but only a tiny bit…also it's not as long but not short either. Longer chapters are coming!

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To Love the Enemy

Chapter 10: Questions

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Jounouchi Residence, 2:30pm

Domino City, Japan

"Aww dammit!" Honda exclaimed angrily as his fighter Ken Masters fell victim to a perfectly timed and executed Shin Shoryuken by Jounouchi's character Ryu, thus granting him a victory and a finest K.O as well [1]. The two were playing Capcom vs. SNK 2 for the Playstation 2 console. The apartment was quiet and Honda as well as Jounouchi were the only two there, playing videogames for the time being while they talked about their wives and guesses on what they were going to wear at the dinner. It would seem that even Mai and Diana were secretive about what they were wearing as well.

The apartment was large and complex with a large entertainment system-a place Jounouchi enjoyed calling a man's inner sanctuary to relax. A large television set was on a round, equally black stand, Jounouchi and Honda sitting on a medium cream colored sofa. The rest of the room had a solid oak bookcase filled with books, for Shizuka because she had plenty of work to study. Jounouchi hardly understood much of what the books contained but always argued it wasn't because he was an idiot while Diana and Shizuka teased him about it most of the time. The floor was a polished brown color and the area looked like a real study room with Shizuka's desk at the far left corner. It was only the videogame system that spoiled the effect a bit.

The men had come back from shopping, after complaining that this would certainly reduce them from being real men. Some women giggled as they walked in groups, seeing the two immensely handsome men and some were checking them out as well. Honda and Jounouchi only smiled in return and prayed that the love of their lives weren't watching them secretly. They went to the saloon and learned that Mai and Diana had gone to lunch and weren't coming back in a while. Rather than wait, Jounouchi came up with an idea for him and Honda to head to the apartment and play some videogames. Every once in a while the two would hold small Capcom vs. SNK 2 contests to determine who was the best. Yami came along most of the time and usually succeeded in beating both of them at the same time. Jounouchi and Honda exclaimed that Yami would be cheating because he always ended up using Athena or Kim as a team or Ryu and Athena as a team. Yami only claimed that the characters were intriguing and after all he was the king of games.

Anzu would laugh lightly whenever Yami taunted the two men playfully.

Jounouchi smirked, satisfied with his victory as the screen changed, setting everything up for the next match-Iori Yagami vs. Ryo Yahazaki.

"Grr…you got off lucky Jou! I could have blocked that…there is no way you could have caught me with that!" Honda exclaimed.

"Ya shouldn't have jumped…" Jounouchi taunted Honda, causing Honda to grimace ad grit his teeth in determination.

"You just got off lucky, it was bare luck," he insisted through clenched teeth. Honda and Jounouchi always had a competition when it came to playing the game, however it was friendly competition. The competition only became heated whenever Yami showed up or whenever Yami Bakura showed up, because he usually ended up creaming the both of them with Iori and Vice.

Jounouchi grinned at his accomplishment.

"Not exactly, ya see, you jumped an' I jus' capitalized. I told ya tha' ya gotta be careful when I got ma Ryu on da field…"

"This isn't duel monsters!" Honda exclaimed.

"Could be tha same thing," Jounouchi countered with another smirk. Honda rolled his eyes again and turned away, looking at the screen.

"Now, it's on!" he replied. "That's…it!"

"Bring it on tough guy," Jounouchi taunted then.

The two began playing again; pressing buttons like crazy but knew of the moves they were pulling off. Suddenly, the thought of seeing Shizuka and the woman seemingly hesitant to tell him about the job she had recently obtained came back in Jounouchi's mind. He didn't know why-he was supposed to enjoy playing videogames with Honda; however the conversation didn't want to leave his mind.

"It…it was weird," Jounouchi said then, thinking about the way his sister was acting. It sounded like she was hiding a secret and Jounouchi didn't like when secrets were kept from him. He didn't like it at all. Shizuka had never hidden anything from him before and it was rather ridiculous that he would think she was hiding a secret now, but the idea didn't leave his mind.

Honda raised an eyebrow, wondering what Jounouchi could possibly be talking about.

"Weird…Jou, what are you talking about?" he asked in reply.

Jounouchi simply shook his head and just set the game on pause, just before Iori was able to smash Ryo with an uppercut.

"Hey!" Honda exclaimed and then sighed, putting the controller down and so did Jounouchi. "Jou…what's up? Could you just explain why you just paused the game when I was about to whip your hide? What gives?"

"It was just weird the way she acted Honda…I can' stop thinkin' about it," Jounouchi replied. "She looked freaked out or something…Shizuka would have been really excited about the job…I mean she's been lookin' for a job for wha' seems ta be forever. She didn' sound all too excited. I don' know why. I just think that…well it does sound silly an' all because she's ma sista' but…"

"You think she's lying about the job?" Honda offered then. "Jou…why would she do that? This is Shizuka we're talking about."

"I don' know Honda, tha' damn thing was jus' buggin' me."

"She wouldn't do something like that Jou and you know it."

"I jus' think…she got this job from…"

"Kaiba Corporations?" Honda finished for him. "Jou you told her to stay away from there and especially that jerk Kaiba…"

"Yeah but…"

"Shizuka listens to you, right? There's no way she would work there Jou. She doesn't know Kaiba too well but we do and you warned her to stay away from there."

"Yeah, Shizuka listens to me. An' I did told her to stay away from there. I don' want Kaiba checkin' her out or tryin' ta work his little manipulative tricks on her. Shizuka is still innocent an' I don't want no one takin' advantage of her, especially not tha' jerk tha' refuses ta change for once in his damn life."

"So why would you have any reason to suspect anything?"

"So I must be actin' like those paranoid wacko people…right?"

Honda sighed.

"No Jou. I just think Shizuka will tell you about the job when she gets home. She had to get to the school, remember?"

"Yeah but she sounded all secretive about it Honda. I just wanna know why she was keepin' it such a secret…I mean she didn' even sound excited about it…like I was."

"Oh so did you jump around the street like an idiot and shouted 'ma sista's got a job'?" Honda mused jokingly and Jounouchi simply looked at him, pushing him then.

"Real cute Honda," he replied, smirking then at Honda's joke.

"But seriously Jou, why didn't you say anything to her before she went back to the apartment?"

"Because it sounded like she was in a hurry so I let her go then."

"Exactly, she was probably in a hurry."

"Maybe but it was just funny the way she spoke about tha job. A law firm? Law isn' even her major an' she said she wanted a part-time job tha' went with her major."

"Jou…can we PLEASE get back to the game?" Honda asked with another sigh. "Right now I need to get some revenge with Iori and look, it seems like I was about to capitalize."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes and smirked, grabbing his controller and so did Honda.

"Not in a lifetime Honda, ma Ryo is gonna beat ya up!"

"Bring it on tough guy!"

Jounouchi narrowed his eyes in pretended manner.

Gladly…

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2:40pm

Shizuka stared blankly at the tall, handsome man that was Ootogi Ryuji. She didn't know it was Ootogi because he had looked much different from the last time she remembered. His usual, long wild and spiked black hair was slicked backwards and pulled up into a high ponytail, samurai style. His complexion was a little more tanned than usual and his dark eyes were wide with shock, seeing Shizuka and how much more beautiful she had become from since he had seen her and developed a huge crush on her.

He had developed an array of muscles and was well in shape, wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and a navy blue tie. He looked so professional and poised with his black/golden yellow briefcase in hand and the dark, golden trimmed shades he had been wearing that Shizuka would not have recognized him if he didn't come over.

"Ootogi…?" she managed to say, causing Ootogi to smirk playfully and give a small bow then.

"The one and only," he replied, and his voice had gotten deeper and sexy-like to the pointed Shizuka blushed lightly [2]. She had her share of two immensely attractive men so far-Kaiba Seto and now Ootogi Ryuji. Thinking about Kaiba Seto sent a shiver down her spine and Shizuka quickly dismissed the name out of her mind.

It was indeed a curse to mention the name, at least to her.

Shizuka was still too shocked to realize it was him as she stiffly got up, Ootogi coming over closely and gave her a hug and a respective kiss on the cheek as well. Ootogi eventually let go of Shizuka then, still looking at her with his dark eyes.

"How are you?" Shizuka asked, nervously pulling a string of golden blond hair behind her ear then. After Battle City, Ootogi had left and moved to the United States, New York City to promote his Dice Monsters Game. So far, with the usual postcards sent to everyone, Ootogi sounded as though he was doing rather well at this point. He had changed a lot since Yami had beaten him fairly at his own game and now he was considered a friend among the group.

Ootogi shrugged as if implying everything was alright and it wasn't such a big deal.

"I'm fine, arigatoo gozaimasu," he replied, as the two then sat down next to each other. He looked around the train and eventually looked at Shizuka. Shizuka blushed lightly again.

"I didn't know you were coming back to Domino City," Shizuka said, wondering why Ootogi would be here now.

Ootogi nodded then.

"I came here to see Kaiba…that's if he doesn't decide to be a jerk when I do meet up with him," Ootogi replied.

Hearing the name sent a shiver down Shizuka's spine, accompanied by a soft laughing voice that belonged to the same person Ootogi had mentioned. Shizuka froze and tried to shake the voice out of her mind then. Ootogi noticed her changed attitude.

"Are you alright Shizuka?" he asked gently.

Shizuka quickly nodded however the laughing wouldn't leave her mind.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I'm just tired. Why would want to see him?"

"Business," Ootogi replied. "That's all it really is."

"Do the others know that you're visiting?"

"You mean like Honda, Jou, Anzu, Yuugi and the others? I didn't see them yet…I just came in from last night and everything. It was really late though."

Shizuka nodded.

"So, how are things with you anyway?" Ootogi continued.

"Things are okay," Shizuka began but the voice only laughed louder in her mind.

You're lying…

She knew everything wasn't alright, however she did not want to reveal this to Ootogi.

"I'm trying to get through college and everything…and so are the others…"

"Me too," Ootogi said, as though understanding Shizuka's position. "Hai, Odibwa College is hard, the toughest college in Domino City. But you'll make it, I'm sure about that."

"Yeah…" Shizuka replied, becoming immediately quiet as she thought about Ootogi's words.

Ootogi frowned.

He could sense something was wrong. Shizuka was unusually quiet and he wasn't sure why, despite her attempts to hide it.

"Shizuka, are you sure you're alright?" he asked again. "You know, I can tell something's wrong with someone and they hide it…"

"Look, I'm fine, I don't know what you're talking about," Shizuka said, almost sharply but the voice came back again.

You're lying…nothing is fine…you try to hide it but it's visible, isn't it?

Shizuka angrily shook off the voice and then said to Ootogi; "I'm just tired, that's all."

Ootogi nodded.

"If you say so…I just noticed…"

"Ootogi, really I'm fine," Shizuka interrupted, giving the young man a warm smile, however that smile was hiding the uneasiness she was feeling now about the voices in her head and the images as well that weren't there but she saw them. But she would try to make everything fine. Ootogi was back in Japan and she shouldn't act this way. She wouldn't allow these strange things that suddenly started happening to her mess with her mind. She would have to find some way to avoid Kaiba at work that was all.

Little did she realize that avoiding was futile.

"I'm…sorry," Shizuka then said. "You're back in Japan and I'm acting so stupid right now…"

"I just…well never mind. Anything new that's going on?" Ootogi inquired.

Shizuka smiled.

"Well…we're having a dinner tonight and it would be really nice if you came. I'll tell Jou I ran into you and you're here in Japan."

Ootogi smiled at that.

"Guess I'll see about that…what time and where it's being held?"

"8:00pm…I can't really remember the name of that restaurant…it would be a good idea that you came by the apartment…remember the apartment you helped Jou pick out? You remember where it is?"

"Yeah, I remembered. I should give you my cell number right now."

Ootogi reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a white card with black writing, handing it to Shizuka. Shizuka took it then.

"My business card," Ootogi replied then.

Finally the train stopped, the train conductor announcing the stop. It was the stop Shizuka originally used to get to the school and also where Kaiba Corporations would be found if someone walked out of the train station. Shizuka and Ootogi got up from their seats then, eventually getting off the train the minute the train doors opened.

"I'll drop by the apartment when I'm done with everything," Ootogi said with a smile then.

Shizuka nodded.

"You…you do know about him…right?" she asked.

Ootogi nodded, knowing who she was talking about.

"He hasn't changed…why would we even expect that?" he asked quietly then. "I can handle it…thanks for asking. I'll see you later."

Then Ootogi leaned over and kissed Shizuka on the cheek yet again, eventually leaving the train station.

Shizuka felt the area where he had kissed and quickly shook her head. Jounouchi had told her that Ootogi had a girlfriend back in the United States. However Shizuka could still tell he may have still had small feelings for her.

She then left the opposite stairwell to exit the train station. The stairwell Ootogi had taken led to Kaiba Corporations.

As far as Shizuka knew, she wanted to avoid the building until tomorrow.

Until tomorrow…

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[1] I am a Capcom vs. SNK 2 nutcase. I play that game so much that my uncle threatens to sell the game. Had to put it in this chapter.

[2] Don't get any ideas. This is still a Seto/Shizuka fanfic. Alright? Okay. ^^