Author's Notes: In this chapter's original version I had Katsuya call Anzu 'oneesama' as a joke. However, I decided that the comment would be more amusing when translated to English. So, yeah, the bit with Katsuya calling Anzu 'honourable older sister' isn't as odd as it might appear. It's the literal translation of the word 'oneesama'. Now that I have finished ranting, enjoy the first chapter of the second part of the Play Your Part –series.

Play Your Part, Yugi

Chapter 1

Casting

Katsuya was not really a bad student. According to the statistics he was average. He would probably be above average if he ever bothered to study, which the blond never seemed to have any motivation for. This was an after-effect of having been unable to do anything when his family fell apart. After that Katsuya had not really deemed anything to really be worth his time.

Still, Katsuya's current predicament had nothing to do with test results or any possible angst, teenage or other, that he might have been going through. No, he was simply running late from school, on the first day of all days, and simply because he had forgotten to reset his alarm clock. Throughout the summer Katsuya had been getting up at nine o'clock for work but school started at eight exactly. Fortunately Osamu had caught on and woken his son up. Katsuya probably broke any and all records for quick dressing up before he grabbed the toast covered with honey that his father had been courteous enough to make for him and dashed out the door with a 'bye' that was very muffled by the toast that was hanging from his mouth.

It was with actually some minutes to spare that Katsuya appeared at the classroom door, panting heavily and his clothes in disarray. Well, he had been aiming to getting dressed up quickly, not neatly.

"Morning!" Katsuya exclaimed as an overall greeting because the blond really had no reason not to wish a good morning to all of his classmates. There were some mumbled replies and some stayed silent, having no idea if they had been addressed or not despite having known Katsuya the whole of the previous school year. The actual, proper greeting came from Honda, who came up to him and slapped him on the back before commenting: "Good job on being somewhere on time for once."

The second, and last, reply came from Mazaki Anzu, who instantly cheered and rushed to him, exclaiming a bright: "Morning, Jou-kun!" that certainly left everyone wondering how something like this came to be. The brunette smiled brightly at Katsuya before she saw the state Katsuya was in and instantly began to frown in a manner that brought Katsuya's thoughts back to summer when the girl had been fixing his apron day after time and time after time. With a disapproving huff the girl began to scold Katsuya: "Honestly, Jou-kun, have you no sense of appearance? Come here and let me fix your jacket." Without waiting for Katsuya to reply Anzu had reached out and started to straighten Katsuya's school jacket, actually going as far as attempting to close the buttons of the blue thing. The press comes on the word 'attempting', because as much as Katsuya appreciated the gesture of having a feminine figure care for him for the first time in a long while, the blond still deeply opposed to looking like one of the nerds. He had a reputation to uphold.

The ending result of the minimal scuffle that took place between the two classmates had Katsuya with his jacket still open, thank goodness, and with Anzu pouting. Katsuya was grinning at the girl cheekily as he spoke out playfully: "That'll be enough, honourable older sister."

Anzu actually landed a smack on his arm for that one, but it did not really matter. Anzu hit like a girl.

Suddenly Katsuya felt a shiver run up his spine. It was very close to the feeling he got whenever his father's eyes were glued to his back, except that this look did not carry a feeling of threat along with it. Katsuya quickly turned his head to the side and his eyes instantly fell on a student sitting in the very back of the classroom. Unreadable blue eyes locked with his own brown ones and another shiver rushed through Katsuya's body. Katsuya turned his face away but still felt Seto stare at his head, causing his cheeks to heat up as he wondered what the brunet could possibly be thinking about.

Any further thoughts that Katsuya might have had were cut off by the teacher's arrival and he quickly hurried to his seat, along with any other students who had been loitering around in the classroom.

Immediately a series of whispers broke out. Someone had walked into the classroom along with the teacher. The young boy had deeply tanned skin and sharp eyes that were a strange color of reddish purple. The teenager also had a wild mane of dark hair that shone partially crimson. The hair was bright golden at the front and Katsuya had a faint feeling that he had seen hair like this before somewhere.

A startled gasp came from the row of desks left from Katsuya and the blond turned his head to look at a small boy with hair that stood up in every possible angle. Mutou Yugi was the boy's name, and now Katsuya knew whom the newcomer looked like. The new student looked very much like Mutou, but only because of his hair. Otherwise the boy standing mutely next to the teacher seemed to be Yugi's opposite. The square eyes were nothing like Yugi's round ones and the tall and dark frame was a big contrast to Yugi's pale and small one.

"Alright, class, today we have a new student joining our group", the teacher, Sawa Himiko, spoke in a cheerful tone of voice that rivalled Anzu's on a good morning. The woman turned to the boy standing next to her and spoke out: "How about you introduce yourself."

'What does she think this is? Second grade?' Katsuya thought with aggravation as the tan boy at the front of the class turned around with an awkward look on his face and started to write down his name in neat kanji.

'Otomya Yami", it read on the class blackboard and the boy who had written it turned back to the class and bowed slightly.

"My name is Otomya Yami", the boy said and then there were various coos, sighs and exclamations from the female population of the class. The girl sitting in front of Katsuya leaned over to whisper to her friend in a voice that Katsuya clearly heard: "That name suits him so well. He's all dark and mysterious."

"I'll say", the other girl replied with a bubbly giggle that made Katsuya want to bash his head against his desk. In the meantime Sawa-sensei had told Otomya where he could sit and the teen in question made his way down the rows of desks, sitting down in the free spot positioned two desks behind Katsuya's own. This was a slight put-down for the blond, since he had been raising hopes of pelting the chick-magnet with some spit balls. Even though Katsuya was not as much of a troublemaker as he had been in middle school, that did not mean that he was completely well behaved. And besides, the class did not need some 'new kid' to steal the attention of all the girls. Honda would surely agree with him on this.

The rest of the class proceeded just like all other classes that they had had during the previous school year. It was broken only every now and then by some whispers uttered by some girls, usually accompanied by some poorly concealed giggles. Katsuya could very well guess what they were taking about, or rather whom they were talking about.

As frustrating it was that this Otomya had everyone's attention, Katsuya would not let it ruin his day. After all, this was not anything that he had not seen before whenever girls swooned over Seto. A small grin spread on the blond's lips. Try as they might, none of those girls would ever get Seto to kiss them. A snicker came out from Katsuya's mouth unbidden and at that instant he felt eyes on him again. He quickly glanced at the teacher to see if he was in trouble but noticed that the woman had her back to him as she wrote some course goals on the board. With the teacher ruled out there were not many possible options left, and somehow Katsuya just knew that it was Seto who was staring at him.

For the second time that day, Katsuya blushed.

&&&&&&&

After the lesson was over Katsuya hurried out of class, feeling like he was the prey in a nature document, hunted by a carnivorous beast. Seto definitely fit in to the role of a predator perfectly with his silent intensity that had Katsuya almost crawling up walls to get away from its range.

It seemed that Katsuya was not fast enough to get away from the unknown threat of Seto's unreadable gazes. The blond did not get as far as halfway down the first hallway when he was grabbed from behind and whirled around so that his back was slammed against the wall that was now behind him. The impact was not painful, making it clear that the person holding Katsuya down did not want to harm him, merely make sure he stayed put.

"Katsuya", Seto started softly but sternly. The tone of voice captured Katsuya's attention more effectively than any words the brunet could have spoken. A slight feeling of heat crawled up Katsuya's neck but did not reach his face. He had noticed that Seto had used his first name and he was not sure what to think about that. He got defensive.

"That's Jounouchi, Kaiba", Katsuya snapped at the brunet standing in front of him. As he stared intently into deep blue eyes, he saw how they momentarily widened before they narrowed in a displeased glared. Katsuya's eyes shifted lower to Seto's pale lips when the brunet opened his mouth and started to speak: "I see that there is one very important matter that I need to inform you of…" The taller teen's voice had become dangerously low as he leaned closer to Katsuya's face, his hands keeping an unbreakable grip on the blond's arms.

An odd feeling surged in Katsuya's stomach and the blond felt himself grow cold even with Seto's body heat so close. Taking a deep, shivering breath, Katsuya grit his teeth and attempted to struggle against the hold Seto had on him.

"Damn it, Kaiba", Katsuya hissed heatedly as he glared at the brunet. "Let me go."

Slowly, the hands gripping Katsuya's arms loosened their hold. Katsuya saw a contemplative look on Seto's face before the brunet released him completely and backed away a step. It was a very short step but Katsuya decided it was enough.

"I still want to talk to you", Seto insisted and Katsuya released a sigh before grumbling: "I'm really in no mood for this, Kaiba."

The defiant look on Seto's face was expected, as was his snarled response: "But last summer-"

"Should be forgotten", Katsuya cut the brunet off. He sighed again as he turned his eyes away from Seto's own, knowing that he would not be able to look the brunet into the eye when he lied. "I was merely playing a role, Kaiba. I assure you that you have nothing to worry about, I'm not going to be bringing it up anywhere so neither should you." Finally certain that he would not falter and blurt out his true feelings on the matter, Katsuya turned his face to Seto once more and finished: "Just leave me alone, Kaiba."

The look on Seto's face was one of anger. The emotion was strong on the brunet's face and Katsuya had half-expected the next action the taller teen initiated. Seto's hand shot out and gripped Katsuya's upper arm. The blond was too slow to avoid being caught and was once more faced with Seto's blue eyes; this time the sight was accompanied by an angry furrowing of the thin eyebrows.

"I've had enough of you acting like you are the one calling the shots here", Seto uttered in an angered tone. Katsuya scowled right back at the brunet and for the longest time the two attempted to stare each other down.

"Excuse me", a timid voice spoke out suddenly and both Seto and Katsuya blinked in surprise simultaneously when they realized the words were directed at them. Both of their heads turned to the direction the voice had come from and Katsuya instantly recognized the small boy standing right next to them, Mutou Yugi. The two taller teens had not noticed the shorter one come right next to them; they had been too focused on each other.

"Um…I'm sorry but the principal requested Jounouchi-kun's presence in his office", Mutou spoke out timidly, his voice barely audible. The bowed deeply in apology before continuing: "He told Jounouchi-kun to come see him as soon as possible."

"Honestly…" Seto growled lowly, directing his eyes back to Katsuya. "Can't you stay out of trouble for one single day? What on earth did you do?"

"None of your business", Katsuya shot at the brunet. The truth was that Katsuya had no idea what the principal wanted with him either. Katsuya had not been in school long enough to have done anything punishable and even if he had, the blond would know what it was what he had done. Katsuya knew the rules of the school very well, mostly because he had been spending the two previous years of high school breaking those rules.

"Sorry, Kaiba, we'll have to move our talk to some later time", Katsuya said to Seto with an apologetic smile that was clearly face. Seto also noticed this, if the way the brunet pressed his mouth into a thin line was any indication. Katsuya dared to give the taller teen a rogue grin and add: "Not that I think we even had something to talk about in the first place." That said the blond turned to Mutou. "Let's go then."

"R-right", the small boy gasped out and turned away to start walking down the corridor towards the stairs. Katsuya followed after him, not sparing Seto another glance.

"So, what does the principal want with me?" Katsuya spoke out when he and Mutou were out of Seto's hearing range. The blond grew even more curious when the short boy blushed a deep red and kept his eyes focused on the floor, like he was afraid that Katsuya would beat him up if he told the truth. When he noticed that Katsuya suddenly became fully aware of just who he was walking up the stairs with: Mutou Yugi. Mutou was the one boy in their school who everyone knew without having to be popular at all. The reason for this was that Mutou was known as Bully-Magnet Mutou. Not a day went by without one punk or another amusing themselves by bullying the small boy. Heck, even the more sinister girls in their schools went out on the small boy.

"I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything that acquires punishment yet", Katsuya continued and attempted to give his voice a non-threatening edge to get Mutou to talk to him. "And I don't think the principal is able to carry a grudge from the previous year and wait past the vacation to punish me for anything I might have done at the end of last year."

If possible, the deep flush on Mutou's cheeks became even darker. The boy's voice was incredibly soft, even softer than it had been when he had interrupted Katsuya and Seto's argument, as he started to speak: "The reason is that the principal doesn't want to see you, not really."

The unexpected words had Katsuya pausing in his steps as he blinked and stared at Mutou. The shorter teen also stopped walking and glanced quickly at Katsuya's face before lowering his gaze again. After a moment Katsuya gave up trying to comprehend the situation and decided to simply ask for answers.

"Then why did you say he wanted to see me?" Katsuya questioned from the boy standing in front of him. "What was the point in claiming otherwise?" The blond was later on glad that he had been so curious that he had completely forgotten to get angry about being lied to. If he had snapped at Mutou then the small boy would have probably run off and avoided Katsuya for weeks in fear of a beating the blond would never be low enough to give.

"Ah…Well, you see", Mutou started while he lifted his gaze to shyly meet Katsuya's own. "You looked like you didn't want to be in Kaiba-kun's company. I could see that you were being stopped from leaving, so I…" Mutou smiled in an embarrassed manner as he scratched the side of his head. "It was the only plausible interruption I could come up with, the only one neither of you would argue against."

Katsuya blinked at the short boy and then grinned widely. A series of chuckles escaped from his mouth, turning into full, blown laughter as he smacked his hand against his forehead in disbelief. Finally, after forcing his laughter to subside, Katsuya flashed Mutou a brilliant smile before saying: "You know what, Mutou? I think this might be the start of a beautiful friendship." He reached out and landed his hand on Mutou's shoulder and saw how the smaller boy seemed to bask in the non-violent contact. Their gazes met once more and Katsuya finished: "You're my hero, Mutou. You can count on me returning the favour ten-fold."

"That isn't necessary, Jounouchi-kun", Mutou insisted gently. "Just being friends is enough payback for me."

"You seem to completely misunderstand the meaning of friendship, Mutou", Katsuya spoke out, determined to get his point across to the shorter teen. "People are friends because they like each other, not because they owe one another something." Katsuya smiled gently at the star-haired boy. "And I think I could really like you, Mutou."

Mutou's previous embarrassed blush was then back as the teen muttered: "In that case there is no need to call me 'Mutou', Jounouchi-kun. I would prefer you called me Yugi."

"That can be arranged", Katsuya agreed instantly, nodding his head for emphasis. Yugi smiled at him then, looking a lot braver than he had five minutes ago, before replying: "Thank you, Jounouchi-kun."

"No no no", Katsuya spoke sternly as he allowed his arm to slip around Yugi's shoulder in a brotherly fashion. "Thank you, Yugi." After all, it was not every day that someone did something to help Katsuya without having known him for a long time. Perhaps, the blond thought, he could learn something from his new friend.

To be continued…

Ending Notes: There, PYPY has now started off. The purpose of this first chapter was to introduce most of the cast I will be using in this fanfic. There is also going to be an additional character joining in into the fun later on but I will let you guys speculate who that might be. I hope this story will be liked like the previous part and I will try to hold on to a somewhat humorous approach.