Why hello there. Welcome to this particular story. I do so hope you enjoy it.
She noticed that he didn't look well during third period, and it's been bugging her ever since. Not that she's worried sick (hah) about it, as she and Kaiba aren't exactly best of friends, but it strikes her as a bad idea to come to school with a disease, and Kaiba doesn't strike her as someone who does stupid things. Crappy things and pointless things, sometimes, but not stupid things. Well, she doesn't really know, but anyway he looks like hell and she's a bit concerned. Throughout the whole morning he's been slumped in his chair with his face in his fist when he's usually sitting up straight, coughing and sniffing when he's usually quietly paying attention. Now it's lunch period and he's not eating anything, still slumped instead of straight-backed, looking down at the book he's reading where it rests on the table instead of holding it up to his face like he normally does.
She didn't actually observe anyone else being distracted by him, but she certainly was, and if it's bad enough to distract other people during class than it should be bad enough to keep him out of school. Not to mention he might make everyone around him sick, or make himself more sick, or who knows what. But back to her other point, it's not like she doesn't understand that it can be difficult to pay attention in class even without someone distracting you, but he's distracting her from the conversation she was having. And that means it's really obvious. Although, the topic of said conversation has turned to Honda's dog, which is not something she's particularly fascinated by.
"I just don't get why she was only barking at me, is all, and I don't think it's unfair of me to be pissed about that," Jounouchi whines, sitting reversed in his chair and crumpling and uncrumpling an empty chip bag.
"You can't be mad at a dog for barking. That's totally pointless. You're just upset because you're scared of dogs," Honda argues.
"It doesn't matter! I'm just asking why only me. So? Why only me?"
"I dunno, I guess she smells something bad on you. Dogs react to bad people because of the way they smell."
"I'm not a bad person!"
"Calm down. It might just mean you have an angry neighbour who hates everyone. It might just mean you smell bad. To a dog. Take it as a compliment, dogs like the smell of shit."
"So if they don't like the way you smell, that probably means you smell just fine to another human," Yugi chimes in. He seems to be paying slightly more attention to the conversation than Anzu is, but this is mostly Jounouchi and Honda's discussion. Bakura is here too, but he hasn't said anything at all either, and seems to be so completely spaced out that he doesn't even know anyone is talking. Honda grins at Yugis concurrence and makes a mocking face at Jounouchi, which is responded to by another stupid face. Anzu, though sitting right next to this (now defunct) conversation, has not been listening. And because they aren't really talking any more, she sees nothing wrong with sharing her observation.
"Does Kaiba look sick to you?" she asks her friends.
"Iunno," Jounouchi says before he has turned around to look. Everyone else is now looking at Kaiba, including Bakura, who she hadn't thought had heard her question. Kaiba, as per usual, seems to be paying complete and utter attention to whatever the hell enormous book he's got with him today. That is, it seems that way, until upon further inspection they notice that his fists are not just supporting his head, they're also digging into his eyes. With no reason to believe he can read through his hands, they all come to conclusions similar to this: that Kaiba is for some reason not even pretending to act like he's rapt in his studies, which is something that literally never happens. Slightly less obvious is the pocket sized package of tissues he has open on the other side of the desk and the liquid mucus pooling above his lip.
"Wow, he doesn't look well at all," Yugi says, frowning.
"Dude looks like crap," Honda agrees.
"He always looks like that," Jounouchi says, still not looking.
"I wonder why he's in school today?" Anzu says aloud what she's been thinking since 9 o'clock that morning.
Jounouchi grunts and folds his arms. "Why do you care? Kaiba's a douche, who gives a shit if he's sick or healthy or alive or dead or whatever."
"Not to mention, as a multi-millionaire, he doesn't need to be a student. Why is he ever here?" Honda wonders.
"You sound so philosophical." Anzu rolls her eyes, annoyed. "His status as a member of society isn't relevant right now. I'm asking a pretty simple question."
"Regardless of why he's here, he probably shouldn't be," says Bakura, broken from his reverie of some thing or other. "He doesn't look well enough to go to school, to me."
"Maybe you should ask him?" Yugi suggests, eyes wider than usual with concern. Anzu thinks this is a good idea, and leads as many of her friends as will go with her (which ends up being all of them, despite Jounouchi's claims that he doesn't care and isn't going) to Kaiba's desk. Kaiba doesn't see any of them immediately but he knows they are there, he can sense them standing over his shoulder. Besides that he heard them talking from the back of the room, and though he didn't hear exactly what they were discussing he knows it was about him. He sighs, lifts his head out of his fists, and turns around to greet his visitors.
"What."
Anzu smiles brightly and waves. "Hi, Kaiba. We noticed you don't look so good today. You sick?"
Kaiba wipes his face with a tissue. "Yes. And?"
"Well, we were wondering if it's a good idea for you to be in class if you've got something."
"It's just a cold."
"Yes, but–"
"Are you aware that I don't care about you?"
"…yes."
"Then why do you care about me? I don't pay undue attention to your problems. Leave me alone."
"Listen, asshole, she's asking because she's concerned about you. Quit being a prick," Jounouchi butts in, increasingly pissed off by every word Kaiba says.
"Jounouchi, I care even less about what you have to say than anyone else here. That includes Bakura, and I've never exchanged a word with him," Kaiba says. His voice, usually strong and imposing, today is nasal and throaty. His sarcasm is ineffectual where it's usually biting and insulting. Jounouchi is barely provoked, and Yugi doesn't even have to interrupt him to get the next word in.
"We just wanted to know if you weren't so sick that being in school was a good idea, that's all. I mean, we know you have a lot of work to do, and doing too much is probably going to make you sicker. It might be why you're sick in the first place. So, yeah."
Kaiba sighs, sighs again, and yawns. "It's none of your concern," he says, rubbing his eye with the hand he was just yawning in.
"You should feel lucky anyone at all cares about you, considering you're such a jackass," Jounouchi sneers, unable to resist an opportunity to insult him.
"…I've told you before I don't want you or anyone else caring about me. I'm not your friend. You're not my friends. Go away."
"Okay, we'll leave," Yugi says before Jounouchi can think of a comeback. "We're not telling you what to do or anything. We just wanted to know if you're okay."
"I'm fine," Kaiba says. He wipes his nose again even though there's nothing there to wipe away. "And don't think the fact that I answered you means I like you. I hate you."
"We get the idea, geez." Anzu rolls her eyes for at least the fourth time that day, and leads the way back to their desks.
"Is it just me or is he being ruder than usual?" Anzu asks once everyone's seated themselves at their desks again.
"I don't think so. He's always like that," says Honda.
"Yeah, well, he'll usually at least pretend he's neutral about you for more than two sentences."
"He's sick right now, he probably has less patience than normal," says Yugi.
"Why do any of you care? He's an asshole and we hate him! Just forget about it," Jounouchi yells.
"I don't hate him."
"Neither do I."
"I don't like him, but I don't hate him."
"Didn't he help us out at Duelist Kingdom a few times?"
"He's a complete jerk off! Ugh, whatever, class is gonna start in like a minute," Jounouchi says, looking at the clock on the wall. And sure enough, in half a minute their teacher walks in and starts lecturing them about some subject. Anzu doesn't listen, as she's too distracted by Kaiba to be able to pay attention.
Well, there you are. Thoughts, feelings, comments? Why certainly, feel free.