Disclaimer: Maybe you've got it figured it out by now that I don't own Yugioh.
"Anzu! Anzu, where are you?" ANZU!"
Atemu tried to scream through the sudden blizzard, but found he had no voice left. The snow blinded him as he groped about, desperately trying to find Anzu. His right hand hit something. It was thin and cold, metal... a railing? He gripped it, his left hand searching through the ooze of white in front of him. "ANZU!"
"Atemu!" Her voice was small, a little off to his left. He flailed his arm out until their hands met and pulled her close to him.
"Are you all right?" he asked in her ear, voice husky from yelling.
"Yes! Do you have any idea where we are?"
He coughed. "Certainly not the drug store!" They had been sent to the store for milk by Sogoroku.
"Are we on a doorstep?"
He felt around him. Steps. One... two... three... flat surface... door.
"Yes!"
"Knock on the door! If the people are nice they'll let us in!"
Atemu nodded, rapping on the door. A minute later a woman, mid-thirties by the looks of it, with soft olive eyes and chestnut hair, opened the door.
"My Kami! Come in, come in! What were you doing out there?" she exclaimed as the two managed to get inside the house, Atemu supporting an exhausted Anzu.
Atemu was unable to speak for coughing, so Anzu answered the woman's question. "His grandfather sent us out for milk, and then the blizzard just came out of nowhere."
"Well, you can't go back out in this weather. The two of you can stay here until the storm stops, we've plenty of room."
"Oh, thank you! Um... where exactly is 'here?'"
"Takanaka Orphanage, founded in 1865 by Sir Takanaka of Domino, Japan. Come on. You can stay in the dorms, since there're plenty of extra beds."
"Thank you," Atemu whispered, rubbing his throat with a shaking hand.
"Are you all right, um... we haven't introduced ourselves."
"Atemu. Atemu Mutou. And this is Anzu Mazaki."
"I'm Fran. And are you all right, Atemu? If your skin was pale, your lips would be blue. Are you from around here?" Fran asked, leading the two up a wooden staircase.
"It's just a cold. And I'm from Egypt."
"Cool! You know, I've got a cousin who's an Egyptologist. Know much about the ancient Egyptian culture?" she inquired. Stopping at a linen closet, she handed Atemu a pair of blue pajamas and Anzu a pair of pink ones.
"Quite a bit," he answered, and Anzu laughed.
"Okay, you two come with me to call your guardians, to let them know you're not dead and all that."
When they had contacted Sogoroku Mutou and Mrs. Mazaki, Fran led them up a second set of stairs, coming to a door with a sign reading 'Teen Boys.' Fran knocked on the door.
"Boys, can I come in?"
"Yup!" came a chorus of voices from inside the room.
"Guys, this is Atemu Mutou and Anzu Mazaki. They'll be spending the night with us, until this blizzard passes. They got caught in it." She shivered at the thought.
"Sure," a few of them replied, and Fran showed Atemu to a bed in the corner of the medium-sized room. "Okay, this is your bed for the night. The guys can show you around, the bathroom and whatnot. Goodnight, boys!"
"Goodnight, Fran!" they echoed as Fran shut the door, rolling her eyes.
"A bunch of jokers, all of them. Now to the teen girls' dorm, this way. There's only three of them, so it's the attic room. They get the warmest, they love it. Fourth floor all to themselves." They walked down the long hall and began to ascend a set of many, many steps.
"That friend of yours, Atemu, how old is he?"
"We're both seventeen."
"Bit of a husky voice for a seventeen-year-old, hasn't he?"
"I guess. But it makes up for his height."
Fran smiled. "He's mighty cute though. Is he your boyfriend?"
"What? No!" Anzu exclaimed, blushing furiously.
"Oh. I just thought he might be, the way he was holding you when you came in and all that."
Anzu's blush deepened as she thought of how strong his arms had been around her waist. "No, he's just a friend."
"Uh-huh. Well, here we are." They had arrived at a wooden door at the top of the steps, and Fran knocked on it.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure!"
Fran gave the girls the same introduction speech she'd given the boys, and left.
Back in the 'Teen Boys' room, Atemu was being given the brief of the entire dorm by the ten boys that lived there.
"And so that's the bathroom, and the showers are that way-"
"And now we're back to the dorm!"
"Thanks," Atemu said, sitting on his bed in the blue pajamas, having changed as they passed the bathroom. He set his neatly folded jeans, shirt, and coat on the floor beside the bed.
"Okay, so now you know the dorm, and all that's left is to introduce you to all of us. This is Aiko and Kaemon, Maro, Masakazu, Hoshi, Goro, Akira, Haru, Jiro, and I'm Keiji," said a tall boy with moon-pale skin and black hair.
"Are you seriously Atemu Mutou?"
"What else would he be? An impersonator? A stalker? Do you think he's just gonna go and stalk the King of Games, to try and find out his EXACT hairstyle? No, that IS the King of games."
"I'm glad I don't come off as a stalker. That's always good to know."
"You bet it is."
Atemu smiled. "Thanks for showing me around."
"No problem. It's our existence." They all laughed.
"So you met Fran?"
Atemu nodded, coughing. "She's nice."
"Oh yeah. But watch out for Etsu. She's really mean."
"I'll bear that in mind."
"Boys, lights out!" a cranky voice called from the door. Maro made a face and flipped the light switch on the wall, calling, "Okay, Etsu!" He slipped into bed, as did the other boys, and one by one they fell asleep.
Atemu couldn't sleep. He coughed into his pillow, rubbing his chest with an icy hand. "Ow..." he muttered, cursing colds and everything about them. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Keiji, the tall boy who'd introduced everyone earlier. He seemed to be like a dorm leader of sorts; everyone followed what he said and did.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Atemu asked.
"No. I've been up. You don't need to try to cough quietly, you know. Everything here is shared."
Atemu quirked an eyebrow, giving the boy, who was about the same age as he, a quizzical look.
"Listen, you'll find stuff here that you won't find much of elsewhere. Here in this dorm, everything is shared. Your joy is ours, your problems are ours. People don't live in vacuums, you know, so there's no reason to act like it."
"But I don't want to wake anyone."
"You won't. Just don't try to stay quiet. We don't care, and that's gotta hurt your chest after a while. Just cough."
"I don't want to wake-"
But Keiji interrupted him. "Sorry dude, but this is for your own good." He slapped Atemu hard on the back, and the Egyptian couldn't stop the huge wave of hacking that came over him. When he was finally able to stop, he looked up to Keiji.
"Better?"
Atemu nodded, coughing again. Keiji's eyebrows knitted together.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Yes," Atemu choked out between coughs. Keiji looked doubtful.
"You don't look okay."
"I'm fine."
"No you're not." He pressed a hand to Atemu's forehead. "Have you felt your forehead lately?"
"I don't generally feel my forehead. It doesn't work if you do it to yourself."
"Well, you're burning up. Hold on." He walked over to one of the beds, shaking the shoulders of the boy who lay in it.
"Masakazu."
"Hmm? Keiji? What is it?"
"You're the science genius. Get over here." He led Masakazu over to Atemu's bed. "Is he sick?"
"Well, what do you think he has?"
"I dunno. Bad cold, cough, flu... something like that. But if we can, we should try to get him better by morning. You know how Etsu treats people when they're sick."
"Do I ever. Well, let's see. First check for fever, feel his chest and see if his breathing crackles, um... yeah, do that first."
"You. I don't know this stuff like you do."
"Okay then." He knelt next to Atemu. "Okay, sit up." Atemu obeyed him, too tired to argue.
Masakazu put a hand to Atemu's forehead, as Keiji had. "Oh yeah. That's a fever." He put a hand on Atemu's back. "Breathe deeply." Atemu tried, but ended up coughing.
Masakazu sat next to Atemu, putting a hand over his chest as Atemu continued to try to breathe deeply.
"It feels like you're really sick, but I can't tell what with. I'd really have to feel just your chest. Do you mind?" he asked.
Atemu shook his head, undoing a few of the buttons of his pajama top. He coughed and turned away slightly from Masakazu, who looked to be about fourteen, short and rather skinny with a relatively light voice. Masakazu placed his hand on Atemu's chest for a brief minute.
"Whoa. Yeah, I don't think that's just a cold. If it is, it's a really bad one. Have you been feeling dizzy or nauseous or anything like that?"
Atemu nodded, closing his eyes in nausea as if on cue.
Keiji spoke up, "We've gotta get him better. If Etsu gets her hands on him..."
"What does Etsu do?" Atemu asked weakly, not really wanting to know the answer.
"She says that kids have no right getting sick 'when they're so young and strong,' and makes you do a ton of work. Once Jiro had a flu so bad he couldn't even walk, and Etsu made him do double chores for being slower than usual."
"Isn't that illegal?"
"Nope. Keiji, get the thermometer from the bathroom cabinet and Haru's flashlight." Keiji did so, returning a few minutes later. Masakazu flipped on the light, sticking the thermometer under Atemu's tongue. He waited for a few minutes, watching a glow-in-the-dark alarm clock by another boy's bed, then reached over and removed the instrument from the teen Game King's mouth.
"Holy cow." He turned to Atemu. "You're between a hundred and a hundred and fifty pounds, right?" Atemu nodded. "Keiji, get two of those fever tablets from the bathroom, and a little paper cup of water. No, two."
Keiji again did as he was told, and again returned shortly. "Here."
Masakazu handed one of the cups of water and the two medicine tablets to Atemu.
"Swallow them with the water, then finish the cup, and the other one. It'll help your fever." Atemu followed the boy's instructions, downing the pills and water. He groaned as his stomach disagreed painfully with its uninvited guests, and his head spun.
"Keiji, get another two cups of water. We need to get that fever down. Otherwise he'll really be in for it tomorrow, once Etsu comes in to wake us up. Judging by the way that snow's falling, he and Anzu won't be out of here by tomorrow, or the next day probably, because the plows always do this side of the city last." Keiji nodded, getting the water.
"Sorry, but you're going to have to drink it all."
"Thanks so much for your help."
"No problem. It's how we do things. Your problems are my problems."
"And vice versa," Atemu added, coughing. Masakazu smiled, thumping the shorter boy's back.
"How old are you, exactly?"
"Seventeen. I don't look it, I know."
"Yes you do. Proportionally, not comparatively. And you definitely sound it."
"You really are a science genius, aren't you?"
"That's what I'm typecast as by everyone here. But really, they're only joking. We're tighter than that."
Atemu smiled. "It's like being typecast as just a Game King, and nothing else."
"I'd imagine that would be even harder."
"It depends, really. Like with you, people are amazed by any talent that sticks out. To me, it's not extraordinary at all, and I'm sure it's the same way with you. It's natural."
Masakazu nodded. "Definitely- Oh, here's Keiji. Drink up," he said, handing Atemu one of the paper cups.
Atemu smiled wryly, downing the water in five gulps. Then coughed. And coughed. And coughed. He couldn't stop. Footsteps could be heard in the hall outside the dormitory.
"Shit," Masakazu cussed, rushing back to his bed on the other side of the room. Keiji quickly hid the water cups and thermometer and jumped into his bed, which was next to Atemu's.
"Just pretend you woke up and happened to be coughing," he whispered to Atemu as the dorm door opened and a stout woman with a head full of white hair entered.
"Who's that?" she demanded.
"Sorry ma'am," Atemu apologized, cheeks flushed in fear. "I woke up and had to cough. It won't happen again."
She eyed him suspiciously. "All right. It's just your first offense;, so I'll let you go. By the way, you won't get out of here tomorrow, so you'll follow the routine of all the other children here. Meet me in the hall outside tomorrow, so I can find you a uniform of the right size."
Atemu nodded, coughing again.
"No more of that coughing. Goodnight." She left, and when they were sure she couldn't hear them, Masakazu and Keiji came back out.
"That was too close for comfort," Masakazu commented. Keiji nodded vigorously.
"Be careful."
"I'm sorry. I couldn't control it."
"That's okay. Here, finish your water."
Atemu did so. Suddenly he gasped, clutching his chest.
"Uh oh. Don't cough now. She'll hear it, and we'll all be dead."
Atemu clapped a hand over his mouth and pinched his nose, trying desperately not to cough. Keiji grabbed the pillow off his bed and set it on top of Atemu's, then pushed Atemu's face into them. Just in time, too. Atemu hacked for nearly two minutes until it finally ceased. His face was red as he sat back up, his head spinning from lack of air.
"Well, I think we've got a clear diagnosis by now."
"That didn't help."
"Just saying..."
"I know. But he needs to not make any noise. We can't get caught. Etsu sleeps too light."
Masakazu nodded. "Actually, our best bet might be for him to sleep. He might wheeze in his sleep from a stuffed nose, but Etsu couldn't hear that from her room. Atemu, can you try to fall asleep?"
The past Pharaoh nodded, handing Keiji his pillow back. Keiji flipped it over and got back into bed, as did Masakazu.
Next Morning:
Anzu woke bright and early, long before Fran came in to wake the teen girls. Hitomi, Kaede and Akako groaned as the young woman woke them up.
"All right girls! Be dressed in fifteen minutes and then down to breakfast!"
"Okay Fran."
"Sure, Fran."
"Yup!"
"Anzu, come with me. You'll be here for a few days by the looks of it, and you need a uniform. You and Atemu will follow the orphanage schedule."
"Okay," Anzu said, slipping her feet into a pair of pink slippers borrowed from Kaede and following Fran out the attic door.
"Did you see how much snow we got dumped with?" Fran asked excitedly. "I love snow. I'm like a kid when it comes to snow. I go sledding with all the little ones, and have snowball fights, and all that. Live while you can, I say!"
Anzu smiled. "Definitely."
"So your friend is the King of Games? Seriously? I thought the name was a coincidence."
"Nope. That's Atemu Mutou, in the flesh."
"Wow. Lucky girl you are."
"But it doesn't change our relationship any. I knew him before he became the Game King."
"That's good. It must make for a really strong friendship, eh?"
"Oh yes," Anzu replied. They entered a small room, two beds pushed in two corners and desks in the two others. Etsu and Atemu were already in there, Etsu taking Atemu's measurements for a uniform.
"Hello, Anzu."
"Hey."
"Okay, come this way," Fran instructed Anzu. They entered a second small room off to the side of the first, closet doors along all the walls. Fran grabbed a black pleated skirt from one and a white blouse from another, absentmindedly asking, "What shoe size are you?"
"Eight."
"Here," she said, handing the clothes and shoes to Anzu, along with a pair of black tights. "Try these on." She turned away while Anzu tried the clothes on.
"How do they fit?"
"The shoes, tights and skirt are fine, but the shirt is really big."
Fran turned back around. "You're too skinny for your own good, d'you know that? Here." She handed Anzu a smaller, identical white blouse, and Anzu tried it on.
"It fits."
"Okay, good. So I'll take this shirt, and you go put your pajamas upstairs. Then come down to the dining hall."
"Okay," she agreed, gathering her pajamas and slippers and leaving for the attic. Atemu exited the other room at the same time.
"Anzu... you look nice." His cheeks reddened and he coughed hoarsely, turning away from her. His attire was much like Anzu's, black pants and a white shirt with black shoes.
"Are you okay?"
"No, not really. But don't let Etsu figure that out."
"What's wrong?"
"I was up coughing all night with a fever that two of the other boys helped me get down, so Etsu won't notice, but my chest still hurts a lot."
"Ouch."
"Literally." They had made their way to the door to the 'Teen Boys' room.
"Will you wait for me?" Anzu asked.
"Sure," he replied, disappearing into the dorm. A few minutes later, Anzu descended the attic stairs, coming to stand next to Atemu, who was waiting for her.
"Do you know where the dining hall is?" Anzu asked.
"The first floor. Etsu told me." He held her hand as they walked down to the first floor. Anzu's cheeks burned, though he didn't notice it.
"Atemu! Anzu!" They turned to see Etsu walking briskly towards them.
"Yes, Etsu?" Atemu asked. Anzu gripped his hand tighter out of fear.
"Do be aware that that is not allowed," she snapped. They each looked down at themselves, trying to find something wrong with themselves that Etsu could possibly find offensive. Atemu checked himself over. Shirt tucked in, pants not low, shoes tied... Anzu did the same thing. Skirt not flipped up, hair neat, tights without runs, blouse tucked in... Each looked back up at her in confusion.
"What's wrong, ma'am?" Anzu asked politely, though inside she was shaking in fear of this strange woman. Atemu calmed her by sliding a few of his fingers lightly over hers.
"That! What you're doing! Your hands! Any obvious flirting, relationships, and hand-holding are not allowed!"
They looked down at their subconsciously intertwined fingers and pulled away from each other quickly, each blushing furiously.
"You may be some sort of couple outside these walls, but here that is strictly prohibited. Is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am," they muttered as one.
"Good. Now go to breakfast," she ordered. They obeyed without a second thought, instinctively reaching for each other's hands. Atemu looked down and whispered, "We can't do that."
"Huh? Oh! I didn't even realize-"
"Just try to stay on her good side. Her bad side is pretty nasty."
"You know?"
He shivered. "Yes, unfortunately."
"Are you cold?" She thought it was really rather cozy inside.
"Yes." He rubbed his arms with icy hands, only causing him to shiver more as they entered the dining hall and stepped into the line for the morning's meal, oatmeal.
"Atemu!" Atemu turned to see Keiji running toward him, joining him and Anzu. "You're Anzu Mazaki, correct?"
"Yup. Pleased to meet you..."
"Keiji." He stuck out a hand, Anzu shaking it. "Hi." He turned to Atemu. "Are you feeling better?"
"Truthfully?"
"Of course."
"A little, but eating..."
"Try to eat. Etsu will notice if you don't. Don't ask me how."
Atemu nodded, sneezing.
"Oh no. Try not to. Etsu will give a kid detention after daily class if they sneeze, because they're 'spreading germs where they're not needed.'"
Atemu gulped, sniffling hard and fighting a strong urge to sneeze again. Keiji slipped him a tissue.
"Here. It helps to always keep them on you, so Etsu can never find you out."
"Thanks," Atemu said stuffily.
"No problem." The three came to the head of the line, taking bowls of steaming oatmeal from the women running the line.
"Come on. We teenagers get the circular table." He led them to said circular table, and the three took seats next to each other. Masakazu soon joined them.
"Hey Keiji. Hey Atemu. Hey... Anzu? Sorry, I'm not good with names."
Anzu smiled and nodded as Keiji commented, "Yeah, science is more his thing."
Masakazu rolled his eyes. "So, is Anzu your girlfriend?"
Atemu choked on a bite of oatmeal, cursing his cheeks for reddening. "No! Why do you ask?"
"You had your arm around her waist in the lunch line, and neither of you seemed to notice it. By the way, that's not allowed, so watch out."
Anzu and Atemu looked at each other, Anzu's cheeks mirroring Atemu's deep scarlet flush. Both Keiji and Masakazu smirked, and Masakazu quirked an eyebrow.
"What?" Atemu asked, the heat in his face dying down.
"Nothing. I'll tell you later. Maybe."
Atemu just sent him a puzzled look, attempting to swallow his oatmeal but choking, chest shaking with coughs. Keiji swore under his breath, looking from side to side to make sure no one except for them had seen. He knocked Atemu's spoon to the floor, nudging the shorter teen and whispering, "Get your spoon." Atemu took the hint and dove under the table, not coming back up until he was through coughing.
"Thanks," he mumbled.
"Don't mention it. But hurry and eat. There's not much time left. Classes start in five minutes."
"Ugh. I'm not hungry."
"You have to eat," warned Masakazu, "and drink plenty of water."
Atemu groaned, but followed the younger's instructions. In a few minutes the children were dismissed to separate classrooms depending on age.
After lessons, which proved to be simple for Atemu and only slightly challenging for Anzu, Fran burst into the teen classroom.
"Classes are over! Who wants to go sledding?" Etsu looked deeply disturbed as the entire class whooped in joy and followed Fran and the rest of the children outside.
"Fran?" Atemu asked, catching up with her.
"What is it, hun?"
"Is there a way not to sled and not have Etsu notice?"
"You still feeling crummy?"
"Yes."
"Just stand off to the side and mingle with the crowd, and if she comes out she won't notice. Here." She handed him a black coat and a black pair of gloves, and gave Anzu a more feminine version of the same thing.
"Your coats are still wet from getting caught in that blizzard yesterday, I'm sure, and these are our uniform coats."
"Thanks," Anzu said lightly and Atemu huskily, each shrugging into their coat and gloves.
"You sound horrible."
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize, just don't get caught by Etsu. She means well, but sometimes she can be ... excessively strict.
Atemu sneezed again, shivering. Anzu nearly hugged him, but stopped herself just in time. He seemed to notice this as well, and blushed bright ruby.
"Well, come on. Everyone else is outside." She led them to a huge hill in back of the orphanage, where the children and teens sledded tirelessly. Atemu felt exhausted just watching it.
"Ugh..." he muttered under his breath.
"Come on!" someone called to Fran, a small boy of about four years old.
"All right! Let's go!"
Atemu found a place to sit against the wall of the building as Anzu rushed off to sled with Akako, Hitomi and Kaede. Something flared within him as he watched her and Hitomi speed down the hill. A smile played about his lips, he seeing her hair whip up behind her in deep chocolate tresses, bright royal eyes dancing with the wind. She and Hitomi crashed at the bottom and she spun around to get back up, snow glittering in her hair and all over her body as the three girls climbed back up the hill. She had such a pretty figure...
Atemu shook his head. "No. No. I can't. I don't."
"Don't what?"
"Have romantic feelings for Anzu. I don't!" he answered the voice firmly. He realized what he'd done, and whipped around to see the speaker.
It was Anzu.
