"Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Today we'll discuss the difference between…"
Yami sighed and placed his head in his hands. The day had just begun and he was already bored. Jounouchi, his best friend that was sitting next to him, was playing with his blond bangs. Apparently, Yami was not the only one who couldn't stand maths. Yami looked at his teacher who was giving him death glares from the corner of his eyes. Yami kept himself from yawning and just glared back, folding his arms over his chest. He looked out of the window and concentrated on the dark clouds that were forming in the distance.
Yami was a sixteen year old Domino High student. His parents were very rich, however he was everything but spoiled. Yami was actually very nice and charming, only if you were nice to him, too, mind you. Domino High was one of the most boring schools in the country, nothing exciting would happen, but everyone was perfectly fine with it. Most students were good and honest, crime hardly showed its ugly face in this part of the country.
Yami narrowed his eyes when the clouds darkened and it started raining. They had predicted a clear blue sky, so why was it raining? More people seemed to notice and the teacher was not getting that much attention, anymore. He cleared his throat and some students groaned or mumbled something under their breath, returning their attention to their teacher.
Jounouchi tapped Yami's shoulder and Yami leaned toward him so he could hear him.
"What's up with the weather? Aren't we supposed to see the sun?" Yami frowned and nodded, he was just as confused as his best friend was. Although he knew that Jou was clearly bored and needed some distraction, he could not help but think that the sudden change of the weather was more important than his math teacher.
"I know," he whispered softly. "Really weird." Yami leaned back and saw Jounouchi nodding in agreement. They sat there for another thirty minutes before Yami started moving his legs rapidly. Jounouchi snickered and elbowed him in his side. This caused Yami to jump up from his seat, the sudden movement made the teacher look at them with a raised eyebrow. Yami pretended he didn't feel the boring eyes of his teacher and looked at Jounouchi, lightly shaking his head to ask what he wanted without using words.
"Full bladder?" he whispered teasingly. Yami nodded, swallowing away a big lump that had formed in his throat. Maybe he should not have drunk that bottle of water before class. The rain was not exactly helping him, either. The small droplets that teasingly ran over the window and the small dripping noises it made when it hit the ceiling were starting to annoy him. He shut his eyes closed and raised his right hand weakly, both of his legs were shaking now.
"Yes?" The teacher folded his arms over his chest and looked at Yami, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor. Yami gave him a nervous smile. He prayed that the teacher would forgive his previous actions and let him go. He was quite sure that the sight would not be very pretty if he could not leave the classroom in the next two minutes.
"Sir, can I please go to the bathroom?" The teacher sighed loudly and shook his head. Yami's eyes widened, he was going to explode any minute now. "Fine, go. You kids really need to learn to go to the bathroom before class." Yami stood up and muttered a small thanks when he ran past the teacher. He got some weird looks from the other students, but he did not care. He sprinted to the hallway and headed for the nearest restrooms.
When Yami had done his business and flushed, he put his hand on the door and pushed it open. He started washing his hands, a small sigh escaping his lips. That small incident was rather embarrassing, he was absolutely sure that people were going to whisper things behind his back. He was about to turn the tap off, but froze on the spot when his eyes met his own reflection in the mirror.
A crying boy that looked almost looked identical to him was staring at him through the mirror. He did not say a word, he merely stared at Yami, tears streaming down his unnaturally pale cheeks. His eyes were red and irritated from the tears and had almost lost their light. Yami looked more closely and saw that the boy was wearing a black tuxedo, ripped at some places. There was a large bleeding cut across the left side of his chest, like someone had stabbed his heart. The red liquid was dripping on the grey floor and Yami could not help but stare at the large wound. His eyes widened even more when he saw that this boy was…
Transparent.
Yami did not move an inch, afraid the boy was going away if he turned around. He was not exactly hoping for something to happen, the boy could be his imagination, or maybe it was some kind of sick joke. The cold water was running over his hands, but he barely noticed it. The boy's lips parted and a soft echoing voice came from them, it felt like a soft breeze that was whispering something in his ears.
"Atemu, is that really you?" Yami was sure that his heart stopped beating for a second when he heard that voice. The light voice crept over him like a ghost, it was young and fragile, almost pleading. The boy looked at him without saying another word, probably waiting for an answer.
Atemu...? Yami wanted to help the boy, he sounded so desperate. He finally turned around and let out a soft sigh. There was nothing there except for the white wall. He looked at the floor, but the blood was gone, too. He finally turned off the water and dried off his hands. Was he imagining things? Then again, he must have had a huge imagination to hear that pleading voice. Yami shook his head and pinched the little bit of skin around his wrist.
"Ow!" He clamped his hand over his mouth. His skin turned red and he mentally hit himself. He was overreacting, at least he was sure he was not dreaming or anything. Yami looked at his reflection and noticed that he had gone rather pale himself. Yami rubbed the now irritated skin on his wrist and walked back to the classroom. On his way back, he kept turned his head in several directions, half expecting the boy to appear again, but he was left with nothing but the deafening silence of his school.
"Jounouchi-kun, have you ever heard of the name Atemu?" Jounouchi looked at him, raising an eyebrow. They were sitting at one of the tables in the corner of the school cafeteria. Yami had not touched his food, yet, he was too busy thinking about that boy he had seen a couple of hours ago. He had to be sure that he was not imagining things, he was not sure if his friend could help him with this, but he could always give it a shot.
This boy had to be a ghost, that was for sure. Yami could see right through him, the white wall behind the boy had been clearly visible. And someone had stabbed him in the chest, so he had to be dead. At least he was sure that this boy was dead, but the fact that he was still bleeding left a couple of question marks in his head. And calling him Atemu... Yami had never heard of that name before, he did not know anyone with that name, even his parents had never mentioned the name before.
"Atemu?" Yami nodded eagerly. Jounouchi thought for another moment, lowering his head while he played with his food. Yami waited patiently, he knew the other always took his time to think over things. He finally raised his head after a good twenty seconds and spoke, "According to the rumors, Atemu was a Domino High student. He was the perfect kid. You know, popular, nice to everyone, good grades, his parents loved him, every girl fell in love with him..." Yami had raised his eyebrow after the first three words and blinked dryly.
Jounouchi looked at him and shrugged. "Don't look at me like that, bud, that's what I heard. Atemu isn't alive, anyway. He died fifty years ago." Yami drummed his slim fingers on the table and placed his head in his other hand. Fifty years ago? Why was this boy confusing him with Atemu in the first place?
Yami had not told Jounouchi about the boy he saw in the bathroom. He wouldn't believe him, anyway, even though they were best friends. Yami almost laughed at himself at the thought. He almost couldn't believe it himself; a dead crying boy, wearing a tuxedo, confusing him with someone else?
"What do you think happened to him, Jounouchi-kun?" Said person looked at him with a mouth full of food. He chewed for a moment and then swallowed. He put his fork down and placed his head in his hand, mirroring Yami's actions, looking at him with a small playful grin.
"Do I look like a history book to you, Yami?" Yami chuckled in response and shoved Jounouchi lightly with his foot. His friend merely grinned and continued eating. Yami stood up, totally forgetting about his lunch and walked down the hallway. This school was huge and Yami was lucky he still had twenty minutes to find what he was looking for. Even though he was not entire sure what he was looking for. He passed a few windows that only showed him the heavy rain and thunder that was still ongoing. Yami sighed at the sight. He only had two classes left and he could tell that the rain was not going to stop anytime soon. He regretted walking to school that morning instead of taking the buss.
"Stupid rain," Yami muttered grumpily, still looking out of the window. He glared daggers at the dark grey clouds, as if that was going to stop the heavy rain from falling. His eyes fell on his reflection in the window and his eyes widened. The boy was standing next to him again, looking at him with tears in his eyes. Yami stopped walking and kept looking at the boy. The blood ran over his black tuxedo and was dripping on the floor, just like it had been dropping on the restroom's floor. It created a small pool of pure crimson liquid, it was almost impossible to look away.
"Atemu?" Yami's eyes softened immediately at hearing that same name again. It had to be an important name, he had to find out who this person was so he could help the other. He shook his head and kept himself from turning, he did not want to take that risk again, he had to talk to him.
"No, my name is Yami," he whispered, his voice almost being overpowered by the pouring rain. The boy's eyes lost their light completely and looked at the ground. He placed his hand over the gaping wound and started fading away. "N-no! Wait!" But it was too late. The boy had already left and Yami groaned. "Damn it!" Yami looked away and put his hands in his pockets. He kicked the wall with the side of his shoe and continued walking down the hallway.
He had missed his chance and was sure he was not going to see the boy that easily again. Now that he knew Yami was not the one he was looking for, he would probably leave him alone. There were so many questions popping into Yami's head that they were giving him a headache. He shook his head and rubbed his temples, trying to get rid of the annoying headache that was already worsening.
"A ghost boy who wanders around the school, calling me Atemu? You need to sleep more, Yami." He kept mumbling things to himself until he bumped into someone. Yami looked up and his eyes dropped at that very moment. His math teacher, Mr. Katsuki, was standing in front him with spilled coffee over his white shirt. His dark eyes flickered dangerously, he looked at Yami with a sympathetic look.
"My apologies, sir," Yami said absently. Though, from the inside, he could help but notice the small shred of happiness that was forming, he had never liked this teacher, anyway. Mr Katsuki had pulled out a small napkin out of his pocket and was carefully dabbing it on the brown stain on his white shirt. Yami could only watch, he was about to turn on his heel so he could return to the cafeteria, but stopped when his teacher opened his mouth.
"It's quite all right. Whom were you talking to? I don't see anyone around here. And you know that cellphones are not allowed." Yami shifted his weight onto his other foot and blinked. Mr. Katsuki flashed him a small smile that Yami did not trust, at all.
"I was talking to you, sir," Yami retorted dryly. Mr. Katsuki sighed and rolled his eyes at his student's remark.
"You were talking to someone when you were walking down the hallway. I could hear you cursing all the way down here," he said, his smile turning into a sneer. Yami's nose turned red and he cleared his throat awkwardly. He prayed that he was not in trouble because of this, cursing was strictly prohibited.
"It was nothing, sir. I bumped into the wall and the words kind of slipped out of my mouth. Again, I'm sorry, it won't happen again." Yami tried to walk away again, but his teacher stopped him by placing a large hand on his shoulder. The hand squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, something a teacher had never done to him before.
"Yami, it's okay. Talking to teachers is not a crime. If something's on your mind you know you can always talk to me." Yami looked at him over his shoulder and saw Mr. Katsuki smiling at him. This time, it felt like a real smile. Yami looked at the ground and thought for a moment. Maybe he knew something about Atemu. Yami knew Mr. Katsuki had not worked here for that long, but maybe he had heard about him. He looked back at him and gave his teacher a hopeful smile.
"Do you know anything about a student named Atemu, sir?" Mr. Katsuki frowned at him. Yami waited while he tried to escape from his teacher's grip that had grown into a rather painful grip instead of the gentle one it had been a couple of seconds ago. His nails were digging into Yami's skin and he winced when he felt the tips of the sharp nails poking at his flesh under his school uniform. Did Atemu do something that had upset him? Maybe Atemu was not that wonderful person Jou had told him about, and those rumors were only just rumors.
"I do, Yami," Mr. Katsuki suddenly said, stopping Yami's train of thoughts. The burning feeling in his shoulder had increased, Mr. Katsuki had truly dug his nails into Yami's skin, he could feel the small wounds. "I do." Yami raised an eyebrow, chewing the inside of his cheek.
"Yes?" Mr. Katsuki's eyes went from left to right as he was making sure that they were alone. The tip of his tongue darted out and licked his dry lips nervously. He was still holding the half empty cup of coffee in his hand, it was shaking lightly, the brown liquid had already cooled off, there was no steam coming from the cup, anymore.
"How did you—?" But Yami interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. He had rather not tell his teacher about that boy that he saw, he would probably receive weird looks.
"That's not important. Please, I want to know everything about this student," Yami said quickly. He had totally forgotten he was talking to a teacher, his tone was a bit forceful, he had never talked to a teacher like this before. Mr. Katsuki led Yami to one of his classrooms, he stayed silent during the small walk and his eyes avoid Yami's. Once they entered the classroom, Mr. Katsuki showed Yami the wall with a lot of pictures hanging on it. The grip on Yami's shoulder finally loosened and Yami tried to rub away the pain, he could not help but sigh in content, that had really hurt. Mr. Katsuki's fingers went upwards, looking at the pictures and Yami watched him carefully. His fingers finally stopped at the top picture and he looked at Yami.
"Take a look at this picture, Yami," he said. Yami nodded and stood on the tip of his toes to look at the picture. According to the picture, this was the class of 1960 and Yami's eyes widened when he saw the person in the front row. It was as if he was looking at a tanned version of himself. He could easily see the resemblance, the crazy hairstyle, his structure, even their smile. However, instead of blood red eyes, Atemu had violet colored eyes. "That's Atemu." Yami looked back, his face had dropped and his entire posture had changed dramatically. Well, now he knew why that boy was confusing him with Atemu.
"Please, tell me—" But Yami was interrupted by the shrill school bell, he let out a groan. Lunch break was over and he still had to get his bag that he had left in the cafeteria. His teacher looked at him and ran a hand through his already greying hair.
"Maybe later, Yami. I have to get to class now," he said. Yami bowed respectfully and watched him leave. He cursed that stupid bell in his mind. Jounouchi had always wanted to attack the school bell with a hammer, and that plan was started to sound rather appealing to him. He noticed that he had been standing there for a full minute, thinking of ways to crush that bell, so he quickly started running so he would not be late for his next class. He reached his classroom, panting softly in the doorway, he made it. Everyone was still chatting happily, some girls were sitting on their desks, talking to their friends and laughing at each other's jokes. Jounouchi walked over to him and handed him his bag.
"There you are, Yami. I thought you had drowned in the bathroom, or something!" Yami chuckled nervously and gave him a thankful smile, taking the bag.
"I'm alright, Jounouchi-kun. Thanks for bringing my bag." Jounouchi put his arm around Yami's neck and brought him close, pressing their cheeks together teasingly.
"What would you do without me, eh?" Yami smiled and tried to get Jounouchi off of him.
Author's note: Revised.
Oh right, one more thing: Sadly, I am not Kazuki Takahashi, nope. Nopedy nopedy no.