14Author's Note: In my first YGO fan fic, I enjoy bustin' Kaiba's chops. Then I read someone else's fan fic, where Kaiba was secretly suicidal. I thought, OMGosh! How could I be unkind to someone sooooo sad? So this time, I thought I'd do one where Seto was human, not ice-cold cyber-man.
'Anyways, this is gonna start out as a song fic, but since it's a short song, it may not stay that way very long.
No, the song is not Funny Bunny's Hey! Kaiba, Hey! Kaiba, Hey! Kaiba The song is "I'm Ready to Take a Chance" (by Barry Manilow)
*silent thoughts* ##lyrics##
Chapter 1: A Secret Passion
##You remind me I live in a shell##
Lyra was pulling books out of her locker, preparing for her next class when HE came up to his locker, right next to hers. She tried keeping her breathing steady and throwing a net over all the butterflies in her stomach. She would just DIE if HE ever found out about her crush on him. She sighed. *Not that he'd ever notice. He's so preoccupied and withdrawn...with everyone, not just me.* Lyra slammed her locker shut and turned to walk away...
"Lyra, you dropped this."
Lyra looked back over her shoulder. HE stood there with a bored look on his face, holding out a piece of paper. *HE knows my name?* She glanced down at it. It was the pastel she had done of 'Kanan the Sword Mistress.' "Oh, thanks!" She snatched the paper from him.
As she was carefully placing it inside a folder, he asked, "Did you do that?" Without looking at him, she nodded. "It's very good."
She looked up at him, surprised to hear his praise...HE was rude, sarcastic, and impatient with everyone about 99.999% of the time. To hide her blush, she quickly turned to move down the hall towards her class. "Thanks for saying so. It's for my little brother. Gotta run, bye!"
Lyra's adoptive parents had move to Domino two years ago. She took one look at his glacier eyes, and it was l-u-v at first sight. In all that time, she'd only had two classes with him: homeroom and history. Their paths seldom crossed because they had different interests. He was a computer genius who chose technical classes. He owned a large company, so he had a lot of duties and responsibilities that dominated his time and his thoughts. Her artistic nature found its outlet in music, art, and drama classes. Lyra played the clarinet in the band, and the piano in the school orchestra; she sang in several choral groups, and found parts in many of the school plays. Sometimes she did artwork for school dances and banquets. Although she would never have thought it herself, she was well- known and well-liked at Domino High.
Seto Kaiba watched Lyra leave. *Like everyone else, she doesn't like me very much. Every time I come near her, she takes off like a scalded cat. She's so popular, talented and cute...why would she have anything to do with a hermit like me?* His mind went back to the first time he saw her...
It was early in the morning, well before school started. The halls were empty and quiet. Seto had been heading for his homeroom, planning to use the extra time to read through some long, boring reports, when he heard "Hungarian Dance #5 in C Minor (Brahms)" being played on the piano. Classical music was Seto's one secret passion, so he let himself be guided to the practice rooms, where Lyra sat, eyes closed, as she let her fingers glide over the keyboard. She hit a wrong note, and her face scrunched in a grimace. He smiled. Without opening her eyes, she slowly repositioned her fingers and started again. Seto quietly walked down the hall, to the first open door he found, and sat down at one of the desks, listening to Lyra as he read his work.
Every morning for two semesters, Seto had arrived early, just so he could listen to Lyra as she played. He never spoke to her, but her music spoke to him. All the other students at Domino High would have been amazed to know that THE Seto Kaiba of Kaiba Corp. had attended every recital, chorale, and play where Lyra performed-incognito, of course, because he didn't want anyone to know. Especially Lyra.
End chapter 1
Author's note: you think this Seto Kaiba is too soft, say so, and I'll stop now. Please review. Thanks.v.(- a wise old owl!