Strength of Dragons-
Chapter3
Realization
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any other thingamajigs I may be interfering with. However, if I did own Yu-Gi-Oh, I would give Kisara and Seto plenty of steamy love scenes!
Disclaimer-
Groaning, Kira with more kinks in her back and neck than she could ever remember having. Her head ached slightly, and her mouth tasted like something had died on her tongue. Otherwise, she was only a little groggy where she should�ve been hung over. As she blinked her eyes open, she recognized the carpet of her bedroom, and hazily remembered having crashed there rather than exert the effort needed to climb unto her bed. Other memories flashed before her: The ones where she had tried to seduce Seto over the phone and gotten angry with him for simply telling her to drink water to prevent a hangover. What had been worse was ambling back into the living room, where her friends were ablaze with jokes and laughter over her sultry conversation. Wishing that the roar of painful reminiscences echoing in the back of her mind to vanish, she hid her head beneath the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon plushy that had become her pillow. Not only did she make a complete fool out of herself, but also she wasted her chance to make amends for confession to Seto. What was even worse was behaving like that in front of her love. Would he even listen if she tried to talk to him again? �Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid�� she repeated as she banged her head against the plushy. The doorbell rung once, and then three times consecutively an impatient moment later. Kira groaned again as she stumbled to the foyer, where Ryou was already greeting the guest for her. All of their other friends were crashed on varying pieces of furniture, limbs strung out awkwardly. The few awakened by the doorbell moaned in pain. Silently, she thanked Seto for his advice. If it hadn�t been for all that water, she�d probably be whimpering with the others. �Oh, Kira-chan!� Ryou beckoned. �This is Kujaku Mai. She came here to duel Yuugi-kun.� Kira glanced to the woman who was slamming the front door behind her. Her thick blonde hair twisted past her shoulders, manicured nails lugging a canvas bag over her shoulder. She was immediately envious of the blonde�s protruding breasts, but then she realized that she would appear a lot bigger if she wore slinky tops like the one the woman was wearing. �Nice to meet you,� Kira greeted politely. �Kira-chan?� Mai pondered for a second before she recognized the silver-haired girl. �You must be Ryuushou Kira! Ryou was just telling me about you.� �He was?� Kira tried to calculate the time it had taken her to stagger down the stairs. Had it really been long enough for Ryou to chitchat about her? �So is it true then?� �What�s true?� �Are really Kaiba�s girlfriend?� �Y...Yes,� Kira was a bit taken back by the question. It had been quite a while since someone had asked her that. Besides, she wasn�t sure what was between Seto and her anymore. �Wow, I�m impressed. I didn�t think any girl could put up with him long enough to date him.� Ryou saved her before she had to answer, �I don�t think Yuugi-kun can duel right now. He�s a little� preoccupied.� �I can see that,� Mai smiled, as she looked past Ryou�s shoulder to where Yuugi was sprawled over the sofa. �You guys had a party last night?� �Something like that.� �And you even had time to spend the night? Kira�s parents must really be laid back to stay away this long.� Kira gasped while Ryou paled. Frantically, they glanced to each other: they had completely forgotten that the Ryuushou�s would be returning home that afternoon! Mai sighed, �You kids have no clue how to have fun and still get away with it.� Then she cleared her throat, �Bakura Ryou, if memory serves me, you have one killer hang-over remedy recipe, correct?� �Hai!� �Then you and Kira get your asses to the kitchen and whip up a truckload! I�ll get these bums to start cleaning.� �Yes ma�am!� The pair cried unanimously. Moments later they were piling the ingredients for the remedy unto the counter. In the background, they could hear Honda complaining about the noise, and Mai screaming at his hung-over ass. �I really like Mai-san,� Kira giggled as she glanced to Ryou. He had his back turned to her as he dug through the freezer. �She�s just so together, don�t you think?� �Not a bit like you, eh?� The silver-haired girl gasped as she recognized that distinctively deeper tone, and the coldness in the liquid brown eyes that settled on her as he turned around. Phantom pain shrouded her as she reached to her throat, where she could feel his freezing hands wrapping about her like a vice. Yami Bakura�s upper-lip twisted into an evil smirk, �Scared? Of me? I�m touched. But you don�t have to look at me that way, my dear. You aren�t my problem anymore.� �Wha�What are� you doing here?� Kira fought to keep her voice and posture cool. �You make me sick,� Yami Bakura spat. �You sit and pout around all day just �cause your boyfriend is in some foreign country. You�re ignorant to others� suffering, just �cause you are just so caught up in feeling sorry for yourself.� Hot rushes of tears were caught in Kira�s throat, where she fought to keep them. At first, she only considered screaming for the other Yuugi to come and rescue her from the spirit�s cruel assault of words. She knew he would help her, even miserable as he was. But then, another thought crossed her mind. She recalled the way she had moped around, waiting for Seto to call. True, she�d only allowed Anzu to be caught up in her pity party once. Still, if she didn�t do something about it, she would only sulk until she left for America, and make her friends� lives as desolate as hers. That was assuming they�d stick around her that long. No one wanted to be around someone who only pitied themselves all the time, and she most certainly did not like it herself. Still, it was hard to ask her to simply put on a smiling face, and pretend it was all right that she and her love were oceans apart. �You can be depressed all you want,� Yami Bakura shrugged. �But suck up in front of my host. I�m tired of him worrying about you and your stuck-up boyfriend.� ��Bakura-kun�Bakura-kun was worried about me?� The two of them still hung around together, even though his alter ego had once been so adamant about killing her. But they weren�t all that close, either. �Fuck yes. He worries about you, he worries about the dancing ditz, he worries about that moron and his little sister, he worries about the brunette man with the bad hair, and he worries and about the tiny pharaoh and his host. He even worries about the kid in the apartment two floors down. It gets fucking annoying.� Kira shook her head,� but you�you hate me don�t you? Why are you doing this?� �I�m doing this for Ryou. And as for me hating you, well,� he shrugged. �I hate just about everything.� �Oh�� �Don�t misunderstand, little girl. The light you try to protect will vanish one day soon. Darkness is the only thing there is.� �You know I don�t agree with that,� Kira wasn�t really sure where her words were coming from. Maybe they were the words of the White Dragon, or maybe it was the sound of her believes: her own inner-strength. �People all have a light shining within them. The ones who succumb to the darkness only have to find their light again.� �Hmph,� Yami Bakura snorted. Suddenly, the hardness of his features vanished and Ryou was standing before her. �Kira-chan, where do you keep the blender?� Startled by the sudden change of personality, Kira shook her head before answering. �It�s in the cupboards. Don�t worry Bakura-kun, I�ll get it.� �Thanks.� �Won�t this be a little loud for everyone�s hang-overs?� she asked as he lugged the heavy appliance. �Maybe a little, but it should teach them a thing or two about over-indulgence, don�t you think?� �I guess so,� Kira laughed nervously. She chatted with Ryou with an absent mind, while the rest of her concentrated on Yami Bakura�s mysterious appearance, and the advice he had bestowed her. There were some decisions about her very life that needed to be made� �Moron,� Mai slapped Jounouchi�s sandy blonde head as she came upon the guest bed he had collapsed upon. �I come back to Domino and the only thing you do is get your ass wasted. Whatever happened to diligently awaiting my return?� �That loud, annoying voice,� Jounouchi grunted. �Is that you, Mai?� �Who are you calling loud and annoying?!� she smacked him even harder. �Ouch,� He rubbed his wound. �Is this how you greet your one true love? No wonder you�re twenty something and single.� �My WHAT?! You surely think highly of yourself, Jounouchi Katsuya! I�m here to duel with Yuugi, not to date you!� �Weren�t you just saying that you expected me to be �diligently awaiting your return� or some shit?� Mai snorted and turned her back to him. She stared out the nearby window, arms crossed over her chest. Jounouchi muttered a few curses as he sat, rubbing his forehead as he silently swore to never drink again. �You�ll be chugging kegs by the end of tomorrow,� Mai sighed. �So don�t bother with the �good little boy� crap. It�s just not like you.� �How did you�� he was about to say �how did you know what I was thinking?� but thought better of it. She probably knew him better than he could imagine. Instead, he smiled, �I�m glad you came back, Mai.� �Moron,� she attempted to sound flustered, but failed miserably. �You honestly thought you�d never see me again? I don�t let anyone off that easily.� �You can talk tough all ya want, but I know you missed me.� �You�re right I did,� then she stomped over, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him on the ground, followed by hitting him with a mop. �Now get cleaning, you can�t get that sweet girl who lives here in trouble.� Jounouchi held the handle with a death grip while repeating, �is this how you greet your one true love? No wonder you�re twenty something and single.� Yuugi seemed barely conscious when Kira handed him Ryou�s �amazing� hangover remedy, which was really a slushy with pain relievers grinded in. She asked him why he was suffering, when Mou Hitori no Yuugi had all the fun before. It seemed to take all of his effort to put his garbage bag aside and down the modified slushy, �me �n my other self made a deal. I put up with this hangover, and he can�t use the karaoke excuse no more.� �Karaoke excuse?� Kira puzzled, �oh! You mean the time he sang �Vanilla,� right?� �Uh-huh. He used it as an excuse to get what he wants all this time.� Kira giggled, �You shouldn�t have let him get away with it. He looked like he really enjoyed himself when he sang it last night.� �Mou Hitori no Yuugi sang karaoke last night?� Anzu piped from the bathroom she was mopping. �I should think you�d remember that of all things,� Kira giggled again as she answered. �You seemed to really enjoy it, too.� Ryou sent Kira an amused glance as he offered to take Yuugi�s glass. They made a silent agreement not to inform Yuugi and Anzu of their previous �excursions.� After all, neither of them could explain the story more humorously than the pictures Ryou had taken with Anzu�s camera. �I miss Seto,� Kira silently decided. �But I can�t let his absence ruin my life. Seto wouldn�t want it that way.� And as for her love confession, well�maybe they could pretend like it never happened. It took a lot of nerve to swallow a new batch of tears, but she felt immediately better after doing so. �At least I still have him, even if our relationship is screwed up right now,� she reminded herself. �He�s still there for me, and I don�t know what I would do if he wasn�t.� To Be Continued.
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