They never expected him to swing that way.

Well, maybe that was wrong. The ladies, perhaps, never really expected him to swing that way. The ladies that wanted him, that is – and there were quite a few, even when he was 'taken'. An objective look at Ryuuji Otogi told a different story.

He had green eyes.

Not just washed-out green, or blue-green, or even hazel-green. Green. Real, vivid, stand-out green. Green that danced all the time, so that even if his face was frowning, his eyes were still smiling. They weren't easily resisted, those eyes.

And he smirked.

Lots of guys did, of course – it was their way of telling the world they were the boos. The thing was, Otogi didn't tell the world. He showed the world. His smirk was one way, and his walk, the way he held his head, the way he carried himself, was another. It just so happened that the smirk was what seemed to be immediately noticeable. It attracted people to him. People like waitresses in small cafe's. They scuttled up, pen and paper in hand. "What can I get you, sir?" There was something that made them want to call him 'sir' despite his age. "Coffee", he would reply easily."Tall, black." And then, as if a second thought, "Oh, and nachos. With that nice sauce-stuff you have here." The waitresses would write it all down, speechless before managing to stutter, "Mild, medium or hot?" And then Otogi would give his trademark smirk. "Hot", he would say. He didn't wink – that would have been too much. But he may as well have. The waitresses would flush, and two minutes later Otogi would get his meal – faster than any other customer could get it in all the time the cafe had been open.

His outfit spoke volumes.

Leather boots – the finest, of course. Black pants. Stylish but not over the top. A black T-shirt. A flame-red vest, sleeveless; his skin was tan enough to carry it off. Eyes kohl-rimmed, dramatic, an element of mystery that the girls fell for, every time. Coal-black hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. And one die hanging from a pierced ear, just to top everything off. It wasn't really so unusual – no tattoos, no other piercings other than his ear, no overly-decorated clothing. But it stood out nonetheless, because the combination worked. With the confidence more then bordering on arrogance, how could it not?

Plus he was smart. Not in the typical, get-good-grades type of smart, either. More like the genius-with-attitude kind. He got A's if he could be bothered, and B's if he couldn't. He was the Game King. Not the King of Games, since Yugi was fair and square – he didn't dispute that. But Otogi was the Game King, since he could win a multitude of games, and win them with a style. He had already invented his own popular game, and was a master at any other kind, from quirky mind games to intricate board games that could last for days on end. The chess masters were all too scared to play him.

So when Ryuuji Otogi started dating Hiroto Honda, of all people, there was talk.

There would have been talk anyway, of course. There had to be. Ryuuji Otogi was... hot. There was no other word to describe him. His date was... not. He was not ugly, by any means. Nor was he wimpy, or picked on, or any of the other things that were sure to make a guy avoided. But he was not hot in the way that Ryuuji Otogi was, and he certainly did not seem to share any of Otogi's interests, or even have much in common at all.

He was quiet, for a start.

It wasn't that Otogi was particularly noisy, it was just that he tended to stick out wherever he was. Honda, on the other hand, was the type to blend in. He stood at the back, looking on but not really contributing that much unless it was to make some comment or other about best friend Jounouchi Katsuya and his eating habits. His clothing was completely and utterly normal. Nothing flashy, or rich-coloured. Black shoes, back pants, a white shirt, brown coat. Neutral colours; colours that suited him without drawing attention. Brown eyes, brown hair. Nothing that made you look the way people seemed to do with Otogi.

He was nice, too.

Not in the really sickening nice-guy sort of way. Just in the sensible, solid, polite kind of way. The kind of nice that made people think he was a good guy who supported his friends and made a living without being an asshole. That kind of nice. Girls liked him because he wasn't always trying to look down their tops or up their skirts, and guys liked him because he wasn't in-your-face and didn't try to prove he was 'cool'. So he was popular enough, but not really seen other than another face in the crowd.

He was smart, in his own quiet way.

Not really bookish, but he read when he wanted to. Not a genius, but if he put some effort in he could usually get an A in whatever classes he chose. He was smart enough to know when to push forward and when to quit, and quick enough to catch on to just about anything if he set his mind to it.

He could hold his own in a scuffle.

That was put down to hanging out with Jounouchi Katsuya, known mostly for his flaring temper and days gone by hanging out in the streets with various gangs. People figured that anyone with a best friend like Jounouchi Katsuya had to be able to hold his own in a decent fist-fight to be able to keep Katsuya in line. Which was good, but not outstanding. Honda never offered to show his skills off, and people never asked, since they just knew by looking at him that he could knock them down, if necessary. But because he always kept his head while never actually backing down from anything, Honda's fists were rarely needed.

He was really a complete opposite to Ryuuji Otogi, if you took all this into consideration.

And if you didn't, you could always have just gone into the same cafe that Otogi went into. The waitresses would finish with Otogi and move onto Honda sitting on the next stool along. "Tea", he would say in even tones to the waitress with the enquiring look. "One sugar and milk, please. And I'll have the nachos as well, thanks." The waitresses would nod. "Mild, medium or hot?" they would ask. Honda would shrug his shoulders."Mild, please." It was certainly a study in comparison with them each sitting next to each other. But since most flushing waitresses didn't even take into the consideration the possibility that Otogi and Honda could have been on a date, it actually worked out quite well (had they known, the food might have taken a lot longer).

So when people eventually found out about the new couple, it didn't take very long for people to start asking the one question that came first above all the others.

"Why are you dating him? He's so... unlike you."

"Well..."

Otogi could've given a multitude of answers. Like he had a soft spot for brown eyes. Or that since he was tall, Honda made a good match. Or even the fact that they had argued together for so long about who would get to go out with Jounouchi Shizuka, they had decided they would take a break for a while and date each other instead, so as to carry on arguing together more conveniently.

But Otogi pretended to think while the ladies held their breath, wondering what the big secret was – what Hiroto Honda had that they did not.

"I like living life in the fast lane", Otogi finally explained, and the smirk made its way onto his face. They were confused, and he knew it.

"What do you mean?"

Otogi spotted nondescript brown hair in the crowd and knew that Honda was listening. He might even have been almost-smirking as well, already having heard this answer before.

"He rides a motorcycle."

Ryuuji Otogi always did take pleasure in being a heart-breaker.