Fairy-Tale
By: Neko-chan
A/N: Second part to “150 Miles.” I am… amazed… at the fact that so many
people enjoyed it. I know that the end
was depressing and so~ I hope you enjoy the ending to this part much more than
the first one. Ja! =^^=
WARNING: Shounen-ai ~ Honda/Otogi
DISCLAIMER: Me? Own Yuugiou? … Me? Own Evanescence and “Bring Me To Life”? Ha~ I wish. XD
* * *
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. She was loved by all who knew her and many
looked up to her, gazing upon her with wonder and awe in their eyes. She was intelligent and gorgeous, exceeding
expectations that she and others put upon her.
However, one day she fell in love with a handsome
prince. This prince was just as
intelligent and as beautiful as she was—and just as politically powerful, as
well. The beautiful princess harbored
her love, keeping it to herself and sharing it with no one. She never told anyone that she was in love
with her handsome prince.
And yet… her prince knew that she loved him. He had known all along, from the moment he had looked into her wickedly dancing green eyes. He had seen an emotion so alien and so strange—something that went beyond caring into adoration.
The prince was scared.
So, because of this, the prince abandoned the princess
the first chance he was given, leaving her alone with only her tears for
company. After a long while, the
princess eventually gathered up her things… and she left, never looking back on
what was and what could have been.
Later on, when the prince discovered that the princess
was gone and would never come back to him, he mourned.
After all, in the end… the prince had realized that he
was a foolish, foolish man—and he had lost something unbelievably important to
him. And that something would never
return. He had broken it beyond repair.
So the prince mourned, crying silent tears that only he
could see.
~ ~ ~
Do you believe in miracles?
Do you believe in fairy-tales?
Do you believe in wishes—things that could have been and
will be?
Do you believe in love?
Do you believe in true love?
Do you?
…
No.
Leading you down into my core
Where I’ve become so numb without a soul
The skyline of Tokyo rose before him, huge monolithic buildings stretching and reaching for the sky, each plying their trade far above the earth. Each hoping—trying—to make it to heaven. After all, it was only until you made it to heaven that you became immortal, forever young… and powerful.
The smog from the city lay like a poisonous blanket in the air, suffocating and killing those who had to breathe from it. It was heavy and almost solid, painting the skyline in yellows and browns. Surfaces that were supposed to glitter and shine were dull and oily, reflections wavering and distorted.
Ryuuji Otogi sat in his leather office chair, green eyes distant as he rolled a die across the desk, absently looking down every so often to see what he had managed to roll. Whether it was done subconsciously, or was a mean trick of fate, every die roll brought up the same number: One.
He frowned and flicked it again, nearly sending it flying over the edge of the desk. The die paused for a moment, spinning on one corner, before finally settling down and stopping fully.
One.
The frown deepened and a tanned hand reached forward to sweep the die completely off of the mahogany desk. It fell to the floor with a high-pitched ‘click!’ before clattering across the marble floor to lie, innocently, in the far corner. Otogi watched the die as it made its journey across his office, green eyes annoyed and somewhat distant.
“Otogi-sama? There is… someone… here to see you. He says that you won’t be expecting him but that he’s an old friend of yours. Shall I allow him in?”
The President of Shadow Dice, Inc. (so named in a hats-off tribute to Yuugi Mutou and his dark partner) blinked and looked down at his office intercom. For one earth-shattering moment, Otogi began to hope that the person visiting was the one that he loved. …the one that he had left far behind in Domino City when the green-eyed youth had been traded over for a company and a little brother. Eyes briefly widened and the President reached toward the intercom with trembling fingers.
“Please… allow him in,” was the reply. Though nervous and afraid, his voice was calm and composed. If anything, Kaiba had taught him that—the lesson of never revealing anything to your enemies… and your friends. Never show your emotions and your truest feelings. Never show that you care in any way. Ironically, it was the one lesson that Otogi took to heart.
“As you wish, Otogi-sama.”
The door unlocked with a soft ‘click’ and slowly swung open, allowing Otogi’s ‘visitor’ to enter with a small, careful smile. The black-haired boy stared at the newcomer, his emerald eyes wide with surprise. The visitor’s smile widened and he made his way across the marble flooring, plopping down in the leather chair opposite of Otogi with a casual grace that hadn’t been there the last time Otogi had seen him.
“Hello, Otogi. It’s been a while. A little over a year, in fact. So, how are you, buddy?”
Jade-green eyes opened and closed, wide in disbelief and shock, and all Otogi could do was gape.
And Hiroto Honda smirked. “Ne, Otogi, it looks as if you’ve seen a ghost. I’m not that scary, am I?”
Wake me up inside
Call my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run before I come undone
“Honda…? Wh-What are you doing here?”
Honda’s smile softened slightly, returning back to his usual ‘happy-go-lucky’ grin. “Like I said, Otogi, it’s been a while. Everyone’s been worried about you. We know that your new company has kicked off—I mean, just looking around the building could tell anyone that—but we’ve all missed you. So… I came to visit. And to deliver a message from Yuugi, Yami no Yuugi, Jyounouchi, Ryou, and Anzu. To quote: ‘You better come and visit within the next two months… or else.’ It’s funny…” Honda’s smile deepened, “…but Yami no Yuugi seems to have gotten even scarier. Especially when Yuugi’s involved. If I were you, I’d visit sometime soon—REALLY soon—before Yami no Yuugi would have to resort to a Yami no Duel.”
An elegant black eyebrow rose to Otogi’s hairline. “Honda, why are you really here?”
Honda leaned back in the chair, hands clasped and chin resting comfortably on top of them. He paused, expression serious, as he scrutinized the green-eyed boy across from him. As he did so, a memory came to Otogi:
Kaiba made a noncommittal noise and leaned forward,
resting his chin on his clasped hands as he, in turn, studied his green-eyed
lover. He paused for a moment longer
and then sighed, as if finally coming to a decision. “Did you know that before I made that call to you, Otogi, I had a
conference with my public relations and finance directors?”
The memory still hurt, though it had happened over a year ago. Even though nothing had appeared to be out of place or different, Otogi had known that something was very, very wrong from the first moment he had picked up the phone receiver and Kaiba’s cool voice had said: “I need to speak to you, Otogi. Privately. Please come to my office as soon as you can. It’s… important.”
…
“…it still hurts, doesn’t it?”
Otogi blinked and almost physically pulled himself away from the bleeding memory, eyes refocusing to stare incomprehensively at the brunette across from him. “What do you mean, Honda?” he asked, deftly managing to outright avoid answering the other’s question.
Honda unclasped his hands and rested them lightly on the armrests, an odd little smile playing about his lips. “Don’t be coy, Otogi,” he chided. “Besides Yuugi-tachi, you’re one of my closest friends. I know you—playing stupid won’t change the fact that I know that you’re exceptionally smart. You’ve done this act plenty of times before with other hot-shot corporation officials. I know that it’s just a game that you play to get other people to underestimate you.”
The green-eyed boy frowned slightly, eyeing Honda thoughtfully. “Since when have you gotten so observant, ‘buddy’?”
Honda’s grin returned and he shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve always watched people, Otogi. Everyone seems to overlook me just because I don’t play Duel Monsters. I’ve become part of the ‘crowd,’ cheering for the people—my friends—who do play. After a while, you begin to notice things about people. Patterns, characteristics, attitudes. I like watching other people—it’s interesting and I get to better understand them.”
Otogi snorted and his other eyebrow rose to join its counterpart. “You’re beginning to sound like some sort of psychologist, Honda.”
A laugh bubbled up from the brunette’s mouth, his eyes amused as he continued to scrutinize the green-eyed youth. “I am one, Otogi. I majored in Psychology when Yuugi-tachi attended Domino City University. I’m now one of best psychologists in the nation.” Honda’s laughter burst forth once again when he noticed the utterly shocked and floored expression that was locked upon Otogi’s face. “Surprising, isn’t it?”
“You… could say something like that,” was the green-eyed youth’s stunned reply.
Honda laughed once again, grinning broadly. “Jyou had the same reaction when I told him what I wanted to major in; he was so utterly shocked he choked on the fry he was eating. He nearly killed himself by suffocating. … In the beginning, most people thought that I wasn’t being serious and that I was just goofing off. No one really thought that I would be able to do it—but Yuugi and Jyou supported me all throughout the studying and the testing. They believed in me, you know.”
Otogi smiled softly and absently began to roll a pen across the office desk, emerald-green eyes sad and contemplative. “Yes, well, Yuugi and Jyou are like that. They’ll always support their friends, no matter what. I… I felt lost the first couple of months after coming to Tokyo, knowing that I wouldn’t have your guys’ support and friendship here.”
Click. Click. Click.
A pause and a slight push against the black pen with a tanned fingertip.
Click.
Click. Click.
Brown eyes were thoughtful, contemplative and just a little bit sad and nostalgic. “You do realize that we have missed you, Otogi, don’t you?” Those same eyes suddenly lost their nostalgic look and danced with wicked humor. “It’s been lonely in the group without your stuck-up and cocky attitude. After all, besides Kaiba, who else has ever called Jyou ‘make inu’? And not even Kaiba has managed to get Jyou into that puppy dog suit since the last time you blackmailed him into it.”
The black-haired youth shrugged nonchalantly. But, before he could comment, Honda suddenly stood up and gave him an appraising look. “Ne, Otogi—are you hungry? I haven’t managed to eat anything since early this morning. It’s a little bit after lunch time, so let’s go and snag ourselves something to eat.”
One of Otogi’s black eyebrows rose a tad bit higher than its partner. “Honda, I’m working. As in, I’m doing my job.”
“…so? You can finish working when we come back; you’ll have plenty of time to do so and lunch shouldn’t take that long, anyway. Let’s go, Otogi. I’m hungry!”
*
…
I rolled my dice again.
And, for some reason, I didn’t get snake eyes.
I rolled a seven.
Lucky seven.
Even my dice lie to me.
Damn you all.
…
*
“You finally have money to afford things, Honda. So why is it that when we could have had our pick of any restaurant to eat lunch at, you chose to eat at a diner that specializes in Ramen?”
Honda blinked innocently, a huge chunk of the noodles halfway into his mouth. He blinked again and slurped them up, grinning in amusement as he looked at the green-eyed young man that sat across from him. “Ramen is good for you, Otogi. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that?”
Otogi snorted and stabbed his own pair of chopsticks in Honda’s general direction. “You’re just a cheap bastard.”
The brunette snickered at that, not bothering to deny Otogi’s accusation. His grin broadened and he continued eating his Ramen. Halfway through his bowl, however, Honda finally spoke up. “Ne… It does feel different finally having money, though. Well, I mean—my family has always been okay money-wise, but it just feels so strange to have extra money to spend on whatever the hell I want.”
The President of Shadow Dice leaned forward, resting his chin in a cupped hand. “Honda, how the hell did you ever get into Psychology? I mean, yeah, you’ve always watched people. And yeah, every so often you piped up with a dumbass comment or two. But, for the most part, you were just overlooked or ignored. So… with that in mind, why’d you decide to become a psychologist? It doesn’t seem like… Well, it just doesn’t seem like you.”
Another grin was his answer. “I take it that you’re probably referring to the ‘so soft… like candy floss’ comment I made about Shizuka and her other ‘attributes’ when I was trapped in the robot monkey’s body, ne, Otogi?”
Otogi raised his eyebrow. “Yes.”
“Hmmm… I guess, as sad as it sounds, every teenage male should have the opportunity to be a lecherous pervert.” A smirk. “Personally, I think that it builds character.”
The green-eyed boy gave Honda a once-over and snorted derisively. “You would.”
Honda raised his own eyebrow at Otogi, his smirk deepening. “What I was going to say before I was interrupted was that every male should have the chance to be a lecherous pervert. And they should also have the opportunity to grow out of that stage of their personality. I did. And I think that I’m all the better for managing to finally ‘grow up.’ Don’t you agree, Otogi?” His smirk toned down, returning once again to a slight smile. Honda leaned forward and cupped his chin in his palm, mirroring Otogi’s position across from him.
Otogi stared at the brown-eyed boy, eyes softening.
There are no such things as miracles and wishes. If you wish upon a star, all you’ll get is
stardust. There isn’t any point in
wishing upon dust, no matter how magical it might seem. So why try?
…
I know that.
…but why do I feel like wishing just one more time, proving everyone wrong?
…why am I so willing to wish upon a falling star once again?
…
Why? Because
you’re gullible and still have a child’s faith in fairy tales.
…
-12:48 a.m.-
It was dark outside—the sun had set long, long ago. Otogi and Honda had watched it sink down into the horizon from Otogi’s balcony, idly sipping at sake. Neither had said anything; both were content with silence. Words weren’t worth interrupting the peacefulness that pervaded Otogi’s apartment, giving the two youths a restful calm that they hadn’t felt in weeks… or, in the President of Shadow Dice’s case, months.
Darkness seeped into the room, throwing corners into impenetrable shadows, and highlighting everything in shades of black, white, and misty gray. It was a night full of secrets. It was a night for wishing, for blending truth and lies, and telling little girls that fairy tales really did come true.
“Honda… why did you decide to become a psychologist?”
The brunette smiled down at Otogi. The duo was sprawled out on Otogi’s black leather couch, the green-eyed boy resting comfortably against Honda’s shoulder. “I became a psychologist because I wanted to find out why people do the things that they do. After all, Psychology is the systematic study of behavior and experience.”
“You sound like you’re quoting from a textbook, stupid.”
Honda chuckled. “I am, you asshole. My professor made us study the meaning of the word ‘psychology’ so many times that I’ll never be able to get that damn definition out of my head.” He paused and slowly ran his fingers through Otogi’s silky ponytail, black strands trailing and twining around his fingers like pieces of obsidian midnight. “More than just becoming a normal psychologist, though, I wanted to study people and their relationship with others. So I became a social psychologist. I study how one person influences others and is influenced by others.”
“I guess being ignored and overlooked isn’t always a bad thing, then. It taught you the skills that you needed to become what you wanted,” Otogi murmured sleepily, eyelids at half-mast. He sighed heavily and leaned more fully upon Honda, allowing his eyes to close the rest of the way.
“…I guess,” was Honda’s soft reply. He paused and then continued: “I did my paper on you, you know. I talked about how you have all these amazing qualities—you’re brilliant, you’re attractive, you’re charismatic, and you get along really well with other people. And yet the self-doubt that you hold within yourself eats away at you and makes you doubt yourself almost to the point of self-destruction. It has shattered your opinion of your own self-worth. It can also sometimes make you stupid. Your self-doubt makes you give up without ever putting up a fight.”
Otogi stiffened in his arms and slowly began to edge away from Honda, attempting to put distance between himself and the other. Before Otogi could edge away completely, Honda’s grasp on his ponytail tightened and, with a deceptively innocent tone of voice, said: “Kaiba gave me a letter to give to you, you know. He tracked me down before I left, shoved it in my hand, and said, ‘It’s for Otogi. Give it to him.’ I wanted to throw it away, just to spite him, but… I kept it. I wanted to give it to you.”
Honda reached into his coat’s pocket and brought out a small, folded sheet of paper. Otogi eyed it with misgiving, then finally accepted it reluctantly. He opened it slowly, dread settling in the bottom of his stomach. …and then blinked when he read the small line of words that were printed neatly in the middle of the page.
I am sorry, Otogi.
The black-haired young man stared at the paper, crease lines forming in the middle of his forehead as puzzlement overwhelmed him. He waited for several minutes, then finally opened his hand and allowed the sheet of paper to fall between his tanned fingers, settling to the carpeted ground with a soft rustle.
“Did you know that Kaiba once told me that you should never give your enemy or your friend a second chance? He told me that if a person disappointed you the first time, then that person would eventually disappoint you later on, as well. Kaiba told me that there was no point in giving out second chances.” Otogi’s expression turned thoughtful and he bit his lip, still eyeing the piece of paper in contemplation. “…he should have realized that I never forgot the lessons that he taught me. Especially the last one.”
…
“Rejection hurts, Otogi. We’d rather run away than face it. We’d rather run away than to admit the emotions that we have for others. That’s what makes us cowardly. Shizuka told me that after she read my thesis paper on you. Then she told me that we were through. Our relationship was over.”
Otogi started and looked up, staring at Honda with surprised eyes. “…why?”
The soft smile returned. “Shizuka called me a coward. She told me that I was running away from my emotions. Then she reached up and kissed my cheek before walking out the door and closing it after her. Before she was all the way gone, Shizuka turned around and looked at me. Then she said: ‘Sometimes, there are things worth fighting for. All you have to do is stand up and actually fight for them, Honda.’ I ignored her. But… I’m not, not anymore. I’ve begun to realize that she was right. There are some things that are worth fighting for.”
The green-eyed boy tilted his head in curiosity, eyeing Honda with an amused expression upon his face. “Oh? And what would be worth fighting for?”
“Love.”
Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me
I’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything
Without a thought without a voice without a soul
Don’t let me die here there must be something more
Bring me to life’
*
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess…
…
Shut up. I’m
going to make my own fairy tale and, this time, I’m going to be the one
to write the ending.
*
Honda gently tugged on Otogi’s ponytail, bringing the other youth closer to his body. Slowly leaning down, Honda softly pressed his lips against Otogi’s in a chaste kiss. Their eyes remained open, each falling into the other’s gaze until Honda pulled away, smiling slightly.
“I’m not running away anymore, Otogi. I know that Kaiba hurt you deeply—but I’m willing to wait. You’re not a coward, stupid. You’ll eventually face your emotions. And, when you do that, I’ll be waiting for you. Some things are worth waiting for. Some things are worth fighting for. You’re one of them.”
Otogi raised an eyebrow. “Hn. I’m not a coward, you asshole. And, besides that, I think I’ve just discovered something… wonderful.”
“What?”
“Fairy tale endings do come true. There are such things are happily-ever-after.” He reached up, twined his arms around Honda’s neck, and crushed their lips together in a scorching, soul-searing kiss. Honda eventually pulled away with a glazed expression on his face. Seeing this, Otogi smirked.
Honda paused for a moment, gaze clearing up enough for him to smirk down at the green-eyed President. “So… does this mean that we get to have sex tonight?”
…
“You sick bastard!!!”
…
‘How can you see into my eyes like open doors
Leading you down into my core
Where I’ve become so numb without a soul
My spirit sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home’
…
And they lived happily ever after…
…except when Otogi became annoyed with Honda and made the brunette sleep on the uncomfortable, lumpy, and springy couch. Though, those cases actually ended happily, too—many hours later and in Otogi’s bedroom, wrapped up in one another’s embrace. But that’s a story for another day.
~Owari~
.:End:.