The Secret
Inspiration: Secret by The Pierces
Got a secret, can you keep it?
Swear this one you'll save.
Better lock it in your pocket.
Taking this one to the grave.
He had asked him to meet on the rooftop after school. It was their usual rendezvous point for lunch or meetings, but this was different. Yuugi seemed to be more...tense. He didn't even ask Honda or Anzu to come along either. Just him.
Though it was strange, Jonouchi agreed and met him of the rooftop. For a while, Yuugi was silent and didn't meet his eyes.
Then it happened.
"Ah...Jonouchi? I need to tell you something, but you have to promise to not tell anyone else."
A blink followed by a cheeky grin.
"I promise, Yuug'!"
"Swear on your life?" he asked, gnawing on his lip.
"I swear on my life."
L-I-A-R
Why was everyone staring at him...?
They glanced over their shoulders to look at him. Then they suddenly turned to the nearest person and whisper something to them. Some faces would turn into shock, others would laugh, and the rest looked over at him before quickly looking away. Why?
It didn't take long for Yuugi to realize what they were whispering about.
A bully came up and clasped a hand on his shoulder. He tensed and tried to move, but the bully held tight. The people surrounding them froze in their gossip to watch what the bully would do. Were they hoping he'd beat him up? Probably. They always did…
"I heard you were fucked up, Yuugi," the bully stated. "But I didn't know you were this insane!"
Laughter broke out from the bystanders, but Yuugi didn't focus on them. He only focused on the bully and his words. Confusion was clearly written on his face, so the bully smirked and lent down to whisper something into Yuugi's ear.
…
A look of shock and fear crossed his face.
…
Now hurt.
…
…
Then his eyes were lit up with an emotion that no one had ever seen in Yuugi's eyes before.
That emotion was pure and unadulterated anger.
Jonouchi...
"We all know your dirty little secret. Did you think no one would know? We all now know you're fucking insane. Take some pills, you freak."
That fierce anger hadn't left Yuugi's eyes when he confronted his ex-best friend. The traitor was leaning against his locker oh so innocently. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world.
Not until he turned around and saw Yuugi anyways.
"You said you wouldn't tell anyone! You said you'd keep it a secret. You swore on your life," Yuugi hissed. "Why did you tell everyone?"
"I didn't mean for it to turn out like this..." the liar replied as he picked at his dirty fingernails. It was a sign of guilt and Yuugi knew it. Still, he was angry. No one was supposed to find out. No one.
"You swore you'd never tell. You swore."
Silence was the only reply he was given.
Yuugi turned on his heel and walked away.
"You have another person inside you?" Jonouchi gasped, surprise lighting up his eyes.
"K-kind of!" he replied. "He's...somehow existing inside of me. I don't know where he came from. I think he came from the Sennen Puzzle."
Jonouchi frowned softly and reached out hesitantly to run a finger across the edges of the Puzzle.
"That's just...strange, Yuug'. How does that even happen? You're not yankin' my chain, right?"
A frown crossed Yuugi's lips and he shook his head slowly. His gaze moved away from Jonouchi's eyes and started to gaze at the Puzzle instead. "No, I'm not, Jounouchi. I...I don't know how this happened. I just know it did. You... won't tell anyone, right?"
"I won't tell anyone. I promised on my life, right?" said the liar to the believer.
"Did you hear?"
"He takes a bunch of pills, man. I wouldn't trust him."
"He thinks there's another person inside of him?"
"That's insane!"
"He's insane!"
Whisper, whisper.
One hurtful word following another.
The Gossip Machines churn and sputter to spread this new piece of information. It infects the school and travels up to the point where the teachers apparently caught word of it. They wouldn't stop giving him weird looks and advising the school counselor.
Jonouchi hadn't spoken to him since that day.
Honda had become a ghost.
Anzu turned as elusive as she used to be before he solved the Puzzle.
Yuugi Mutou was alone once more.
Yet, he wasn't.
"Trust me."
Fingers danced along the edges of the Puzzle.
"Why should I?" asked one to the other. It was weird to be talking to himself, yet not.
"I can get revenge...payback."
A frown crossed his lips despite the fact it made his newly acquired bruises throb. "Jonouchi is our friend..."
That protest sounded weak even to him.
"Jonouchi betrayed us. Let me get our revenge. I can do it. I will make him wish he didn't swear on his life."
Silence followed, but they already knew what his reply would be.
Jounouchi,
Meet me on the roof after school. I want to talk to you.
- Yuugi
Jonouchi slipped the note into his pocket and decided that he would definitely take the chance to talk to his ex-buddy.
The teenager followed the note's demand and was on the roof exactly an hour after school. Seeing no sign of Yuugi, he decided to just sit by the fence and watch the sun slowly descend from the sky.
It was silent, but not for long. Jonouchi was broken out of his trance when the door suddenly slammed shut. He turned around to face the person and immediately froze.
"Yuugi…?"
"It's game time, Jonouchi."
If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said.
Because two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.