Pride and Soul
- Chapter2
The Eternal Blush
Disclaimer-
I do not own Yu-Gi-Ou! in any way, shape, or form. Please do not sue unless you want my debt.
A cobalt ribbon was clenched between Kira�s teeth as her hands hastily fastened the buttons to her short-sleeved blouse. She could hear the front door slam as Kunihiko headed for work with Kaede�s pathetic sob countering it. Shiro had crawled into her bedroom with his tail between his legs when their fighting had started. Not even the dog could stand their endless bickering. Shiro peered with interest from her mattress as she attempted to tie the ribbon beneath her collar and hop into her knee socks simultaneously. As gravity would have it, Kira plunged to the ground, but not before her pleated mini-skirt flashed Shiro her panties. His liquid brown eyes danced with laughter as she grudgingly picked herself off the floor, face burning scarlet. �Pervert,� she poked her tongue out at him. He licked his chops. Kira pressed her ear against the door. Only when she was satisfied that her mother�s wails came from her bedroom did she dare sneak into the kitchen. She truly hated hearing her cry, especially knowing the most likely cause was Kira�s own stupid problems, but she would not go to her. Approaching an upset Kaede could be a synonym for the word �suicide.� Besides, she was going to be late at her first day at a new school. She caught her arm in the fridge when trying to grab her meager breakfast of an apple, and somehow managed to tangle her hair in her attach� case. By the time she fought her way out the door, she had tripped over her shoelace and scratched her own face. It was going to be �one of those days,� wasn�t it? Amazingly enough, she wasn�t running as late as she�d originally thought, and made it past Domino High School�s iron gates long before they closed. Hordes of students in their summer uniforms oozed to podium where the opening assembly was scheduled to start. The number of students who walked in groups dismayed Kira. She focused on the novel she fished out of her black attach�, rather than her loneliness. In fact, she was so absorbed in the book that she barely felt the bump as she ran smack dab into a muscular torso. The impact sent them both plummeting to the concrete. Kira was helplessly pinned beneath a brown-haired boy. His ears were his most prominent feature, and they made her wonder if anybody had ever called him �Dumbo� in his youth. Despite that, he was an astonishingly sexy creature, with a lithe frame and handsome face. Ashamedly, she found herself aroused, enjoying the feel of her breasts against his hard chest. His icy blue eyes burned into her cerulean ones. She braced herself for a barrage of insults. Instead, he carefully looked her over, his expression softening gradually. Finally, he peeled himself off her, gathering his belongings as he stood with boneless grace. The boy glared at the audience their earlier position had attracted, and the crowd scurried off with a yelp. His glare fixated on her as she collected her things, �hmph.� Kira brushed her dirtied uniform, trying not to look at the boy. Her gaze lingered on her novel, and she realized that the marks on the cover (where Shiro had gotten a hold of it) where missing. �W�wait!� she called as he began to saunter off. �I think this is yours.� The stranger glared down at the book she held out to him, then at his own. They were identical. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking as he replied, �what are you talking about?� �That one that you�re holding, it�s mine,� her checks were turning pink as she stumbled over her own words. �See? There are bite marks from my dog on it.� �Hmph,� he repeated as they swapped novels. Somehow, she was unable to remove her eyes, or her blush, as he sauntered off. Kira was eventually assigned to Class B, where she sat in her in the far corner of the cramped classroom. Her feet ached from the insanely long opening ceremony, but the rest of her couldn�t keep still. She drummed her pen against her desk, nervously glancing about as her classmates poured inside. A group that cluttered a few feet before her drew the bulk of her attention, and she studied their faces. The loudest was a tall, muscular boy. The way his golden hair fell over his amber eyes reminded her of a shaggy puppy. His much taller shadow was a male with mud-colored eyes and hair (which must�ve taken hours to style- the way his bangs stood upward defied gravity for crying out loud). They both wore rugged t-shirts that defined them as rebels. An appropriately dressed teen stood beside them. His dark hair and secretive emerald eyes, combined with the subtle movements of his dancer�s frame, made him seem more like a cat than a boy. There was a lone girl with them. She was dressed identically to Kira, with the same azure eyes, but her hair was chopped to her chin and had a hue of the earth. The all out winner, take-the-cake, and slap-him-with-a-trophy strangest boy she�d ever seen was peculiarly short with wide amethyst eyes. His crimson hair stuck out in triangles in half the compass the directions, with blonde bangs twisting down the sides of his face. He, too, wore a �rebel� t-shirt that contrasted to his sunny disposition. �This is weird, isn�t it? All of us in the same class?� the girl was saying. �Well,� shrugged the cat-boy, �I might have had something to do with that.� The blonde�s shadow laughed, �Did you bribe the school board, Otogi?� �So many kids who decide to ditch school come to my shop that the truancy officers� ratings are way, way up.� He chuckled, �they can�t afford to make me un-happy. Not when they know where the bad kids are flocking.� �I�m confused!� the blonde called, �so why don�t they just shut you down?� �Because then they would have to find the new, too-cool teen hangout. Isn�t that right, Otogi-kun?� peeped the kindergarten punk. �Otogi� was laughing again, �sou da! It�s amazing how complex these things can be.� �Boys�� Kira whirled to her side where the girl had slunk into the neighboring desk. �I guarantee you they�ll start to talk about porn the minute they think I can�t hear them.� As if on que, the blonde boy began to brag the latest hentai manga he�d stolen from the bookstore. The girl giggled, �see? They�re so predictable.� Kira giggled too, and louder when the boys� eyes drifted over to the girl to make sure she wasn�t within hearing distance. �I�m Mazaki Anzu,� she introduced herself. �Ryuushou Kira,� thankfully, she didn�t trip over her words. She was far too shy for her own good. �Nice to meet you.� �Nice to meet you, too, Kira-chan.� Anzu then leaned into her ear, �but I have to ask you something.� �What�s that?� �I saw Kaiba-kun walking with his nose in a book this morning, and he ran over somebody. Was that you?� ��Kaiba?� �Oh you know. A really tall boy with big ears and brown hair.� �Oh!� Kira�s face grew red hot. �Y�yeah.� So the boy she'd toppled under this morning name was Kaiba? From what Anzu told her, it sounded like they both had been too concerned about the same book that they had walked into each other at the same time. No wonder he had fell on top of her, and not the other way around. �What happened?� Anzu asked excitedly. She re-told the story as best she could, but left out how wet she�d gotten when Kaiba laid on top of her. �That�s amazing,� she breathed. �You came out without a scratch.� ��Huh?� Not only was Anzu�s statement confusing, but also she noticed that the boys from earlier had pooled around her desk. They had listened in on her embarrassing story. �It�s just that Kaiba-kun�. he�s so�proud,� Anzu struggled to find the right the words. The punk came to the rescue; �he has �issues� with his ego.� �He�s an ass,� corrected the blonde. �Narcissist,� added Otogi. �Child-abuser,� the brunette�s face was as red as a cherry when they all turned to stare at him. �Okay, I made that up!� Then he grumbled, �He�s still a prick, though.� Everyone (besides Kira) shrugged in agreement. �I�m Mutou Yuugi,� greeted the punk. �I�m afraid I didn�t catch your name, though.� �It�s Ryuushou Kira,� she grinned. The blonde and the brunette�s names were Jounouchi Katsuya and Honda Hiruto, respectfully. Otogi�s first name turned out to be Ryuuji. It seemed the awkward situation earlier had awarded her with some potential friends. Still, she couldn�t shake the uneasy feelings she got every time they insulted this �Kaiba.� �Speaking of Kaiba,� piped Anzu. �I saw him leaving before the assembly started. I wonder where he went?� This was greeted by a fit of laughter from the guys. When she asked them what was so funny, Jounouchi howled: �He went to the bathroom to splash cold water down his pants!� �Kira-chan gave him a hard-on!� Otogi wiped tears from his eyes. All Kira could do was sit, frozen in shock, with a plump strawberry face. She was beginning to wonder if she kept a permanent blush. They were probably only speculating what Kaiba had been doing in the bathroom. Still, the very idea of her turning Kaiba on was as uncomfortable as it was exciting. She remembered the feel of him against her, and how hot it'd made her. Did it really do the same to him? Suddenly, their homeroom teacher sauntered into the room. He carried a clipboard, gruff voice directing the students to their respective desks. To Kira�s delight, she was seated .0 next to the window, with Anzu to her side. The guys� somehow all managed to get front row seats. Maybe they deserved their rebel t-shirts. Just as the teacher took his place behind his desk, the doors slid open. They revealed the principal, late student in tow. The two adults conversed quietly, occasionally shifting their eyes on the student. Kira dropped the pencil she�d been tapping on the desk as she recognized him. It was Kaiba. Once again, she was blushing. Kira reached down to pick it up, and listened to her classmates whisper. In the commotion, she heard his first name: Seto, as well as some other juicy gossip. Apparently he was CEO of some gaming industry, and he had little brother with an age gap between them of five years. Kira knew better than to believe everything she heard, but they were the most legitimately sounding stories. Somehow, she doubted he was banging with one of the Emperor�s consorts, or that he ate the children who came to his theme park for dinner. Seto glared down at them, generating a similar effect he had in the school yard. If the student�s had been dogs, their tails would be between their legs. Kira found herself aroused again as she looked upon him. There was something so very attractive about the way he commanded respect from others. Even the adults were wary around him. Kira took note of the curves of his ass as the teacher placed him diagonally behind her. She was glad he didn�t sit where she could see him all the time. There was no way she could concentrate on her lessons if Seto was there to draw her attention. During their first break, she found herself huddled with the other students around Jounouchi and Yuugi. Kira could barely contain her excitement as she watched them play Duel Monsters. To Kira, DM was passion and life. Observing a duel was certainly better than pondering over the too sexy Seto, currently flipping the pages of the novel that partly caused their fiasco that morning. �I�ve been playing as long as I can remember,� Kira explained to Anzu. �There�s something about Duel Monsters that�s just so�addicting.� �You sound just like the guys,� she wasn�t sure if Anzu was insulting her, but then the brunette added. �I think I understand what you mean, though.� �Have you ever played in a tournament?� Otogi was asking. It took Kira a moment to answer, ��no. I�etto�I don�t know. I�ve dueled a lot of people informally, and that was so much fun. I don�t want such a serious duel to take the fun away.� Well, that was part of it. The other truth was that her �medical condition� kept her from participating in tournaments. Her sensations always came so often during them that it would be impossible for her to compete. She occasionally wondered if the pain was somehow connected to Duel Monsters, but dismissed the idea just as quickly. There was no way her biggest obstacle in life had anything do with her greatest joy. �I once felt the same way,� Yuugi commented after deducting a thousand life points from Jounouchi with the Black Magician. �But I found that just because the duels are formal in tournaments doesn�t mean they aren�t fun. I mean, some of my greatest memories come from tournaments.� �Says the World Champion,� Kira gently reminded him of the title he boasted earlier that day. Well, actually, Honda boasted it for him. �Hey, don�t forget a finalist in Battle City and 2nd place Duelist Kingdom duelist: Jounouchi Katsuya.� Jounouchi didn�t bother to mask the arrogance in his voice. �Formal duels are the best! You get to use your full potential against the strongest opponents! Not that dueling with you isn�t fun, Yuugi,� he promptly added. �Don�t worry about it, Jounouchi-kun. It�s your turn, anyway.� Then Yuugi turned to Kira. �If you want, we can duel later. I always like dueling new friends.� The morning chaos had left her more than a little out-of-sorts. She didn't have her Duel Monsters cards with her, as she normally would. Kira�s shoulders drooped in disappointment, �I left my deck on my nightstand.� �Next time, then.� She nodded. Wait a minute�did he just call her his �friend?� A thin layer of pink brushed on her pale checks. To Be Continued
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