Notes before starting to read:

Yami versions don't exist in this fanfic, as the Millennium Items don't exist. So the Yugi shown in this fic is Yami Yugi, but I'll refer to him simply as Yugi. The Bakura in here is Ryou, and Marik is also his hikari version.

Enjoy the fic!

Episode 01: Just the beginning

It was already late, and Yugi was only making some time on the streets. Next day a new school year would begin. Thinking about it gave him headaches. His feet leaded him instinctively towards his high school. He raised his gaze, thinking that the building wasn't too different from a pile of junk put together. The old and dirty metal inscription still let him read "Prism Domino School". He sighed, putting his hands inside the pockets of his leather pants. Why did he bother in going to class another year? To his eyes, all of that was nothing more than a waste of time.

When he heard some voices behind him, he turned around, watching a guy his age, well dressed, being followed by two men walking towards a limousine. "A rich kid" he thought, with a sarcastic smirk on his lips. His eyes met for a brief moment, and he could never forget the image of that boy: brown hair, shining blue eyes… There was no doubt, he was Seto Kaiba, that man that was succeeding with his father's company. Yugi outstretched his arms lazily. There was no point in comparing himself to that kind of people.

Morning came very soon. Yugi got into his class without caring about the busy corridors. His class was, once again, a mess. Lots of the students were sitting on the tables, talking loudly. You could see some things being thrown all around the classroom, flying notebooks and everything. Yugi walked in and sat at the end of the desks, trying not to get mixed with all that people. He wasn't surprised by their behavior. It was the Prism Domino School, after all. The school below the Holo Domino School.

In that city, they had started a new education system. Students were given the chance to start having classes on the top school of the place, as long as their marks fitted on the standards. But if your grades began to drop or your behavior was bad-mannered, you ended up getting kicked out of the school, just to end in some worse studying center. And that was just what Prism Domino School was. It was the worst high school of them all, standing the last at the top of grades. Most of their students finished giving up with the flow and started being rude like his classroom was, really bad students with no respect for anyone, often ending up as bullies and being into heavy fights. He was there just because his grades were really bad. Well, and maybe also because of his non-caring, stubborn, prideful and selfish behavior, that made everyone around not wanting to approach him. He didn't give a fuck about it anyways.

The teacher entered the class, slamming the door hard behind her. The students continued what they were doing, as if her presence didn't mean a thing in there. Yugi was crossing his arms behind his head, legs resting folded up the table. He looked at the blonde, long-haired teacher as she walked towards her desk.

-Welcome to this new school year at Prism Domino School. As you heard from the principal in his speech from just now, we hope we can make of you good students to have you regain your decent behavior and grades. -She said.

Most of the classroom wasn't paying any attention to her, but not having anything better to do at the moment, Yugi listened to her words.

-I'm Kujaku Mai, and I'll be your homeroom teacher this year. -She introduced herself.

And then the lesson went on, Mai trying to have the situation under control, but still not gathering the attention of everyone. It was a hard task, but maybe if she was stubborn enough she would end up making some progress. As the bell rang, she left the classroom, and many of the students also did.

Yugi prepared to get up and leave, but some students approached him. He had recognized them as a group of friends who were sitting also far from the rest of the class, and actually paying some attention to the teacher. They were three boys: one had blond, messy hair and brown eyes, and seemed to be the worst-mannered of them three; the guy standing at the middle had brown hair, standing up with hair sprayer, and also dark eyes; the third one had black hair, tied up on a ponytail, and green eyes.

-Hey! We noticed you and we were quite surprised to see someone like you here… -Said the guy with the brown hair. He pointed at the students that were still in the classroom- After all, we expected everyone here to be like them.

Yugi nodded, not caring too much about their explanations.

-Yeah so? -He said.

-We thought you could join us. Being alone here and having a different behavior will catch up the attention of bullies and… -The brown-haired was too concerned about him, although they didn't know each other. Yugi thought it was in his personality- Well, just so you can have some people in here. It's a kinda depressing mood here. I'm Honda.

-Yeah, just know we're around here. The name's Jonouchi. -Said the blond one, pointing a finger at himself.

-I'm Ryuuji. I hope we can make the school year any less depressing to you. -Said the guy with the black hair, with a light smile on his lips.

-I don't really care about bullies and all. -Replied Yugi- It's not like they're gonna be able to lay a hand on me. But I guess it won't hurt to be with some guys in here.

A smirk appeared in his lips, and the group of guys was slightly surprised at his arrogant way of talking. But they didn't care about it much.

-The name? -Honda smiled back.

-Yugi. -He said, getting up from his seat.

They all left the classroom together and walked around the city, the group of boys talking and trying to drag Yugi into the conversation.

-What about going to drink something together? -Offered Jonouchi.

-Yeah, I have nothing to do now anyways. -Said Ryuuji.

They all went to a close cafeteria and asked for their drinks. Honda and Jonouchi asked for some alcoholic ones, while Yugi was satisfied with coffee and Ryuuji with a fruit juice.

-Isn't it a bit early to be drinking that? -Pointed out Yugi, looking at the two guys.

-It's never too early for them. -Ryuuji laughed a bit and then started drinking.

-Yeah! This thing's too good! -Said Jonouchi, his mood lighten up.

They all started talking, and Yugi found it comfortable to be around them. They were fun and not the common kind of people of his school. He could feel he was going to enjoy hanging out with them.

The other well-known high school in the citywas the Holo Domino School. Of course, it was known for a complete different reason than the Prism one. Holo was full of intelligent students with high goals in their lives, putting all their effort to achieve them. No one could slack off there, but they were rewarded enough. Studying there was just a matter of getting used to it, to most of the student's points of view. It's main building shone next to the Prism one. Students were all well-dressed with their clean uniforms, and were well polite and calm.

As the bell rang, everyone got up to give a short bow to the homeroom teacher. In Seto Kaiba's class, that would be Pegasus, a well-known man for his achievements out of the school, being rich and participating in aids for the poor ones. He was a great model for the class to follow.

Anzu approached Shizuka, with a smile on her face.

-It's so good we both managed to continue studying here! -She said.

-Yes! -Shizuka nodded- I'm sad for my brother… this year he didn't make it through.

-Yeah, I heard he was being transferred to the Prism School… He should pay more attention to his grades, and if he had stayed out of fights… -Anzu finished her sentence with a sigh.

Shizuka's look fell to the ground, feeling bad for her brother. She would love to have him by her side, studying together to try and change their family situation. But it seemed that Jonouchi had chose the wrong path, even though that wouldn't make Shizuka's trust for him fade away.

-Well, let's do our best, Shizuka. Hopefully, Jonouchi will put some effort in and come back to this high school next year. -Anzu put a hand over her shoulder to try to comfort her.

-Yes, I hope so. -Shizuka smiled lightly.

In the same classroom, a boy with white-haired, long hair was exiting the room, ready to leave. Just when he started walking, he ran onto another boy, who wasn't paying attention when walking. He had dark skin, purple eyes and blond light hair, reaching his shoulders. Bakura blinked a few times.

-Oh, I'm sorry! -Said the other boy, stopping- Are you hurt or something?

-Ah, no… -Bakura said, smiling at his concern.

-Sorry, I seemed to be lost… -The other boy apologized again and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed- Wouldn't you know by any chance were the principal's office is?

-Yes, I do. I'll guide you. -Said Bakura, not having any rush.

Since it wasn't the first year there for him, he knew the place around quite well. The other boy sighed in relief.

-Thank you! -He said- My name's Marik, nice to meet you.

-I'm Bakura. It's nice to meet you too, Marik. -Said the white-haired boy, starting to walk.

Marik followed him, looking around them.

-This place is so big… -He said to himself.

-The first year is kind of difficult, but you'll get used to it. -Bakura said- What's your classroom?

-Actually, I was going to see the principal for that… I got transferred, I'm from another country and today it was my flight… It arrived late so I missed the introduction speech. -Explained Marik.

-Oh, must be a hard first day. -Bakura looked at him, slightly worried.

-Yes, but it's alright now. –Marik smiled, showing that everything was okay.

Bakura smiled back and stopped before the principal's office.

-Well, here we are. Take care, Marik. –He said, before leaving.

-Thank you, Bakura. –Replied Marik, and then he turned around to knock the door.

Kaiba exited the limousine, parked before the Kaiba Corporation building. He saw a group of boys walking that way, a blond one talking loudly. He recognized one of them. He saw him yesterday night. The group stopped when they were close to Kaiba. Yugi's eyes met with his, both remaining silent.

-Yugi? –Jonouchi said, blinking. Then he looked at Kaiba- He's… the boss of Kaiba Corp, right?

Ryuuji sighed and put on a sad smile.

-A Holo student. –He added.

-Yeah, whatever. –Jonouchi looked away.

Kaiba looked away, understanding that they were students from Prism School. Not that he wanted to have anything to do with them.

-I can't waste my time. –He said, walking towards the building.

A pissed-off Jonouchi was going to start yelling at him, but Yugi spoke quickly:

-You shouldn't underestimate people just because of their grades.

He also didn't want to be around that guy, but he couldn't let him go away with it. Their different situations made them collide, disliking each other at first sight. Kaiba looked at him briefly before saying:

-Losers don't get to decide who I underestimate.

He then continued walking, without looking back.

-What?! This guy's such a jerk! –Jonouchi shouted, being unable to hold his words back anymore.

-Yeah. But having a clean uniform must mean the world to him. I hate Holo students. –Said Honda, frowning.

Yugi rolled his eyes in agreement and they all began to walk again, though Yugi couldn't stop thinking about how he was going to prove that Kaiba boy wrong. His pride wouldn't allow him to take it his way without having a say in that. Not that he cared about him, but he wasn't going to let anyone make a fool out of him. After a bit, they all said goodbye and started walking to their homes.

And so their first day of class ended. Jonouchi arrived home, sighing and taking his shoes off. He walked upstairs to get into his room, leaving his schoolbag on the floor and throwing himself onto the bed, closing his eyes. Then, without having a moment to rest, his mobile phone vibrated on his trousers pocket. He picked it up and answered the call that was showing on the screen.

-Hello, Shizuka. –He said.

-Hello, brother. –Shizuka replied- How are you? Is everything fine?

Jonouchi smirked sarcastically when he heard the last question.

-Well, it's better than what I thought. The class is a mess, yeah, but I managed to get some new friends.

-Oh, that's great. How are they? –She asked.

-Nothing like the rest of the students. They're cool people. I think I can fit in with them. –Jonouchi smiled lightly.

-I'm glad to know it. I was worried, you know… -Shizuka's voice lowered a bit.

-Yeah, but you don't have to. I'll do fine. What about you?

-Everything's good.

-Thought so. –Jonouchi raised his eyebrows, not surprised- Shizuka, think we could hang out soon?

He wanted to see his sister, since during the holidays he didn't get a chance to.

-I could bring my friends too, so you can meet them. –He added.

-I'll try to. I will ask Anzu to come, too. I'll make some excuse up for mom. –Shizuka answered.

-Alright, thank you. –Jonouchi smiled.

They arranged a day and a place, and Jonouchi started to feel better, knowing that he would be able to see his dear sister soon. After talking with her some more, he let himself fall to the bed again and fell sleep a few minutes after that.