Just a little one-shot I had in mind a while, and I wanted to take a break from Ishizu's POV. Dedicated to the awesome Zergarikiaka ♥

---

Of course Ryuu was winging this. He had no idea how this would go, but he was determined to make it fun. After he had "acquired" his "disguise" from his sleeping patient, he ate a few mushrooms, just for the extra boost to his obnoxiousness they would provide.

Ishizu was going to be so mad! He laughed to himself, trying to sniff out the lanky stag. Ryuu had only met Seto once, and he could immediately tell he wasn't comfortable with the dragon's attitude. Well, might as well get him used to it, eh? And in all seriousness, Ryuu wanted to get to know him better and needed an excuse to get within "whiskering" distance, but he knew this would be difficult without somehow distracting the antisocial grump.

Suddenly the wind shifted, and Ryuu caught his scent. He was familiar with it, what with Ishizu being in his company much of the time.

Clad in Ishizu's hood, Necklace, and a pelt similar to hers thanks to some forest magic, Ryuu shifted his course from the birch toward the pond, a sly but somewhat inebriated grin upon his muzzle.



Seto Kaiba was sitting under one of the willow trees on the pond's shore. He stared intently at the Koi gliding just under the surface, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Where was Mokuba? Why did he run off so much? Or had he gotten kidnapped again? No answers to be had, his expression only became more frustrated. In all honestly, the red-stag-formerly-human hated this place. He was a staunch realist, believing everything could be explained. On the other hand, only a fool would deny the reality of the magic of this place, however oxymoronic that may be. It certainly helped his mentality once he and his brother had been reunited, but all the frustration and anxiety came right back whenever Mokuba decided to pull another disappearing act.

However, there was another who had noticed his suffering, despite his attempts to hide it. When all the others made efforts to avoid him, having not exactly given them the easiest of times in their previous lives, there was one who sought him. No matter if he was rude and cold-shouldered, this one would remain, undaunted, as she had always been. He hated that she could see his suffering, and he hated even more that she seemed to sympathize with him. He absolutely despised sympathy. He would almost have rather she be smug and taunting him for being proved wrong. Had this been any other place, any other circumstance, he would have sent her off from the beginning. But, in spite of all these thoughts of contempt, he found himself slowly letting his guard down. Soon, the day would come when he would actually offer her a gesture of comfort, no matter how awkward and clumsy.

He was growing soft.

Seto shook his mind back to the present, managing to peel his eyes from the water. His ears reflexively perked toward the sound of someone approaching. The steps were confident, of someone who didn't want to hide.

Of someone who had business with him.

When he turned his head to look at the incoming form, he instantly knew this was going to be a pain.

--

"And let the game begin!"

Ryuu sat himself close enough to the red stag to just brush up against his fur, making his skin twitch a couple times. Seto's gaze tried to bore into him, shooting out all kinds of offended vibes. Ryuu casually avoided eye contact for now.

"What's up, Kaiba?" He put a bored expression on his face, purposefully scratching at the dirt with his hoof.

Seto looked at him with contempt, snorting in annoyance. "Is this some kind of game?" What was this idiot trying to pull? Seto looked at him a moment longer, thinking, before he he decided to play along. He never backed down from a challenge. He decided to take on an equally casual approach, despite his wanting to demand why in the world Ryuu was dressed in Ishizu's clothes.

"Not much... You're Ryuu, right?"

And the bait had been taken. Ryuu made eye contact with Seto, giving a playful but friendly smile but said nothing.

Seto, ever vigilant, was actually reading Ryuu with all the effort he could, trying to figure him out, but he gave a nod of acknowledgement. He could be ambiguous too.

But he had underestimated this kid's guts.

Before Seto had time to react, Ryuu pounced on him, pinning the stag on his side to the ground. The dragon then proceeded to probe him with those whiskers. Once Seto had recovered from the initial shock, he shoved Ryuu off of him, getting to his feet in a fury.

"The hell do you think you're doing?!" He lowered his antlers at Ryuu threateningly.

Ryuu made an overly-offended expression. "What...? Seto... I thought you wanted this." His voice imitated all the little emphases and tones of the one he was dressed as.

Ah, so this was his game! Seto chuckled darkly, still with his antlers lowered. Another moment of thinking passed before he recomposed himself completely. He never backed down from a challenge.

Fortunately, he wouldn't have to swallow all that much pride. He and Ishizu had secretly been playing these types of games of willpower when he was in his better moods. And he hadn't lost a single one.

--

"Marik? Hey, Marik."

Ryou's gentle voice slowly roused the oryx, his eyes opening to see a puzzled look upon the timid buck's face.

"Nngh? What is it, Ry? Marik yawned, blinking the sleepiness away.

"I just saw Ryuu walk by... Dressed in Ishizu's clothes!" He spoke as if he hadn't almost believed what he saw.

Marik let out an exasperated sigh. He could believe it. In fact, why was he not surprised? "As if she doesn't get enough hell from me." He chuckled a bit then. He did find it pretty amusing, though, seeing his sister get mad at Ryuu. As long as it wasn't Marik getting the bad end of her fury, all was well in the world.

"But what do you think he's doing?" Ryou was entirely sincere.

"Hmph, off to pester someone no doubt." Marik wasn't always the quickest thinker, but today, he had a gut feeling about Ryuu's intentions. "I think this will be worth seeing." He grinned mischievously.

Ryou wasn't comfortable with the idea of spying, as Marik was implying, but his curiosity was too great. Marik had rubbed off on him. "Ok then, let's go!"

Ryuu had been heading towards the pond. "Oh, please, let him be bothering who I think he's bothering!" He never liked Kaiba, that pompous, selfish, friendless jerk. Sure, Marik wasn't exactly a nice guy, but at least he had friends to speak of. He especially found it irritating that his sister was enamored with the guy, even if she couldn't see that much. Marik wouldn't hesitate to rip Kaiba a new one if anything happened.

Marik's hunch had been correct. There they were. Even from the bridge, Marik could see that Ryuu made a fantastic Ishizu imitation, his expression making all those little nuances and quirks. It made him grin to no end.

"Um, Marik? Is he doing what I think he's doing?"

Marik laughed out loud. "Which one? Ryuu or Kaiba?" Because just as Ryou had begun asking his question, Kaiba advanced on Ryuu... and began flirting him! This was too good! "Ishizu would be jealous!" He snorted in laughter.

"Oh, my..."

A loud crack of antlers colliding indicated the charade had ended, the shreds of Ishizu's hood flying into the air.

"Kick his ass, Ryuu!"

--

"Hmph. Pathetic." Seto looked down on his defeated opponent, knocked out by his own carelessness. He had charged at Seto, but the red stag had leaped just in time to escape and for Ryuu to hit his head directly on a tree.

He reached down, unhooking the cinch of Ishizu's necklace with his teeth. He figured he might as well go return it to her. He could arrange to get her a new hood, thanks to connections he had made recently. He would have to remember to do that later.

He looked back down at Ryuu, who was no beginning to stir. "That's what happens when you underestimate me. I recommend not trying to pull any stupid stunts like that again, or I'll go at you with everything I have." With that, he began to walk away.

"Heh, I can see why she likes you."

Seto glanced back a moment. "Whatever." He was tempted add something about not seeing why Ishizu liked Ryuu, but he didn't think it worth the time. Besides... Ryuu did mend her after she had been stupid enough to attack Bakura, not that he would have done differently in her shoes.

Ryuu chuckled as Seto walked off. He was thoroughly satisfied with his mission. He promised himself amusedly that he would listen to Ishizu from now on.

Seto walked toward Marik and Ryou on the bridge. As he passed by Marik, a tense stare was exchanged between oryx and hart. Marik gave him a warning glare, seeing that Seto had the Necklace, so he must have been going to seek out Ishizu. Seto returned the glare, daring the oryx to try something.

"Unless you want to end up like your friend, stay out of my way. Then again, I'd be glad to hand out another beating."

Marik snorted, tossing his head threateningly. Ryou shifted nervously, not wanting this to escalate any further, though it did rub him the wrong way to hear Seto speak this way to Marik.

"Tch. You got lucky. Let's go, Ryou. He's not worth our time." With another lingering glare, Marik walked off, tail twitching in irritation. Ryou was right behind him, chancing a glance back at Seto, who had already continued on his way.

Seto found her in the tall grasses of the place known as the Blue Bowl, her small frame easily hidden in the thick brush. She had been injured by her brother. Or her brother's "dark side", as she had called it. He didn't understand it, so he often didn't bother to differentiate between the supposedly separate entities. Just another reason he didn't like Marik. Why Ishizu insisted on having faith in her brother, he would never know.

He sat down gently beside her sleeping form, simply looking at her a moment. Unlike most who slept, a look of peace was not upon her face. It was a sad and tired expression. He had spent enough time with her by now to witness her chronic nightmares, but he never asked about them. He wasn't one to be nosy. He wondered if he looked like that when he slept, too.

"Hey." His tone was an awkward mix of demanding and greeting.

Ishizu's eyes fluttered open, and she took a deep breath as she lifted her head to look at him. She looked disoriented a moment, then she saw that Seto had her Necklace.

She sighed, smiling. "I told him not to underestimate you."

Seto smiled smugly. He wouldn't deny he enjoyed her boost to his ego, something she didn't often hesitate to do now that their own rivalry was mostly behind them. "Heh, I suppose he knows now. Why are you friends with so many thieves anyway?"

Ishizu smiled in that amused way he was familiar with, but she didn't reply. "Thank you for bringing my Necklace."

"Hmph, can't say your hood was so lucky to have survived."

"It's alright. It was ruined anyway."

A silence passed. The breeze rustled through the canopy and undergrowth, birds sang. They sat there listening, caught up in their own thoughts.

"I suppose you'll need help putting this back on, not having any hands."

"Oh... Um, yes. Thank you."

Of course it wouldn't be as simple as that. After many failed attempts, plenty of them involving violating personal space, the only way they managed to get the Necklace on was to have Ishizu lie on her side on the Necklace, wrapping it around her neck to let gravity hold it in place, and finally, Seto cinching it with his teeth and tongue, his nose firmly pressing against the back of her neck. Awkward, to say the least.

Fortunately, Seto was an expert on not letting things bother him. This only added to his amusement, seeing Ishizu all flustered and embarrassed, perhaps even more so because Seto seemed to not have been phased. He pretended not to notice.

They sat in silence for a long time. Seto's mind wandered again. He still wasn't entirely sure why Ryuu had dressed in Ishizu's clothes, but he knew the dragon had been eccentric from the start. He also thought about Mokuba. He hoped he was okay, not sure how his younger brother had taken the transformation into a deer and being warped to this place. Seto really needed to get a baby sitter for him so he wouldn't go gray worrying about him.

His mind was reeled back in by a contented sigh and a shift in weight. Ishizu had fallen asleep and ever so gently leaned on his shoulder. But that wasn't what had surprised him. It was her face. She slept in peace, her expression content, and he, Seto Kaiba, was responsible. Another boost to his already inflated ego.

"Heh, I can see why she likes you."

Making sure no one was watching, he draped his head over Ishizu's back, letting a contented smile come over his own face before falling asleep.