Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! trademark is the copyright of Kazuki Takahashi, GUMI of INTERNET Co.,Ltd, and Panda Hero of hachi.
Theme #6:
Killer Liner
Inspired by GUMI's Panda Hero
Yuugi glanced at Honda's table. How many absences does that make? First Kaiba, then Bakura, then Honda, among many others…at first, he wasn't worried, but now, one of his tight circle was involved.
"Have any of you heard from Honda?" he asked Jounouchi and Anzu.
"Not a thing," Jounouchi replied, "so I was thinking we could drop by his place."
"After school?" said Anzu.
"During lunch," sniggered Jounouchi. "And I don't care about going back! They should be giving excuses to Duel Monster competitors, anyway!"
"It doesn't work like that," said Yuugi. "Education is still important."
"And you really want to leave Honda and me alone?" teased Anzu.
"I never said that," Jounouchi grumbled in defeat.
They found Honda snoring on the couch.
"If he weren't thin, I'd say he looks like a panda," Jounouchi remarked.
"He's in really bad condition," said Yuugi. "Leaving the door unlocked, too…"
"Guys, come look at this!" Anzu called to them from the next room.
They looked through the arch—there Kaiba lay on the bed, a syringe fallen from his hand. Anzu picked it up.
"I think we stumbled upon…a crime scene."
Someone had been found responsible, of course—Ms. Chono. It wasn't uncommon for her to create schemes, but the school could not tolerate her opium distribution, and was finally driven out.
She used the permanent records for most of her targets—some she'd done out of vengeance, Honda being one of them. In line with her sadism, she loved how her victims suffered from the addiction—more so from Kaiba, who was the school's epitome of power and prestige.
The recovery was slow. For reasons only Yuugi and his other self can comprehend, Bakura had taken on a completely different personality after consumption. Like Yami Bakura, most of the students had grown addicted to the drug, and who better than Kaiba to have discovered Chono's stock after she unwillingly abandoned it. With the morality left in him (or rather his reputation at stake), he refused to become a dealer and instead relocated the supply from the school and where his schoolmates and their associates began an underground market.
To Honda's distress (further influenced by Shizuka's knowledge of the situation), his friends prevented him from tagging along.
"Hey, look on the bright side," said Jounouchi, "we're skipping school as long as the market stands!"
"No one said we should do that!" argued Yuugi.
"Do you really want to get involved in all of that chaos, Yuugi?" asked Anzu. "The school's cooperating with the government to stop the black market as quick as they can! We won't even have classes!"
"Come one, just one more dose!" drawled Honda, staggering beside Jounouchi—they'd found another syringe of the dope on him.
"No can do, Honda!" said Jounouchi. "At this rate, Shizuka's gonna prefer Otogi over you!"
"Oh, yeah…gotta…pull myself together…for…" his voice grew softer, and he collapsed, his body finally exhausted from the effects of his recent dosage.
Jounouchi frowned at Yuugi and Anzu "False hero, dope. Kills more than saves. Help me take this guy to the hospital."