Written for Revolutionshipping Week 2016. There's also some slightly hinted polarshipping but it's not enough to justify tagging it, especially since Mai isn't even mentioned by name.
"So this is Domino High, huh?" Anzu said to herself, gazing at the building in front of her. It wasn't much to look at, squat, plain, and worn; Anzu couldn't help but compare it to the modern and clean look of her previous school. But there was no point in wishing she could be back there. She'd gotten expelled, after all, for breaking the school rule that students were not allowed to take after-school jobs. She thought it was a stupid rule – she needed that money, she was saving up for her future – but what could she do? It was the rule, the school refused to change it, and she had to face the consequences for it.
And so she had no choice but to start her final year of high school at Domino High. Inexpensive, a little run-down, supposedly haunted, and most importantly, a lot less restrictive on the students' extra-curricular lives. She could continue to hold her job without fear of expulsion.
She headed toward the entrance, pulling out her class and locker information as she went. It told her her locker number, but as Anzu studied the paper, she realized that it gave no indication of where that locker might be. She looked around, hoping for some sign or map to help her. Although she did not find a map, fortunately another student noticed her searching.
"You new?" he asked. Anzu nodded. "Need some help, then?"
"Yes, thank you. I don't know where my locker is…or any of my classes for that matter."
"Sure," the student said. "Let me see your schedule. My name is Honda, by the way. Honda Hiroto."
"I'm Mazaki Anzu…thank you for your help," she said, grateful that Honda was going out of his way to help her. This would make her first day a lot less stressful.
"148…yeah, I think I know where that is. Follow me," Honda said. He continued to look at the paper as they made their way down the hallways. "Oh, looks like we're in the same class."
"We are? Do you know what the teachers are like?"
"Most of them I haven't had before. Except for the math teacher. I had him for math last year, too, and he's always willing to help when you don't understand something. He'll even make time outside of class if you need it."
"He sounds like a really nice teacher. No teacher at my old school would ever have done something like that – if you didn't understand something, you just had to try to figure it out on your own."
"Yeah, Mutou-sensei's amazingly nice. Nicest guy on the planet, really. But don't mess with him. EVER."
"Why? Is he really strict?" Anzu asked. Honda stopped walking, and shook his head.
"No, far from it – he's very lenient on us. He comes off as a bit of a pushover, but he's not. But some kids have tried to take advantage of him anyway, and tried to intimidate him into giving them better grades and such. And that…didn't end well for them. This is your locker, by the way," Honda said, jerking a finger at the locker in between them. Anzu thanked him and opened the locker up.
"What did you mean by that?" she asked as she put her things inside the locker. "That things didn't end well? The way you said it…it almost sounded like he hurt them or something. I hardly intend on getting on my teachers' bad sides in the first place, but is it really alright to have a teacher that will do that?"
"No, he'd never hurt anyone. Like I said, nicest guy on the planet. But…" Honda lowered his voice. "Well…I'm sure you've heard the rumors about this school. About the kid who died on school grounds twenty years ago. Right?"
"Yeah, of course I have. But it's just a rumor – a ghost story people make up to scare each other with." Anzu hoped that Honda wasn't trying the old "scare-the-freshmen" routine on her. She wasn't a freshman, and she wasn't gullible. But he seemed very sincere…
"That's what I thought too, at first. I still don't know whether I believe it…but there's a few things that I do know that are true. The first is that there really was a kid who was killed on school grounds – and that kid was Mutou-sensei's twin brother. You can look it up for yourself if you like: news articles, old yearbooks, whatever. You'll find it, it's not made up. The second thing is that anyone who tried to seriously fuck with Mutou-sensei went completely insane or got really badly hurt. Those kids aren't made up either. Sure, it may not have been a ghost's curse – but it seems like too much of a coincidence, doesn't it? And third, there's this kid…he doesn't talk to anyone, and no one talks to him…and he looks a lot like Mutou-sensei. You'll probably see him at least once – you can make up your own mind whether he's really the ghost or not. Lots of people are convinced he is – my friend Jounouchi, for one."
Anzu was torn between angrily retorting that she wasn't childish enough to believe something like that, no matter how secretively and quietly it was said, and simply thanking Honda for his help and advice and going on her way. But before she could come to a decision, the two of them were interrupted by the arrival of another person.
"Oh? Who is this? I haven't seen you before…" the student said, staring intently at Anzu.
"I'm Mazaki Anzu. And who are you?" Anzu demanded, not liking how the other student was leering at her. She returned his gaze with a glare, distastefully eying his gaudy coat.
"You may call me Kokurano…the future holds much in store for you, Mazaki Anzu. Come to me if you wish to know more…for I am granted the power to see into the future with a clarity and understanding few possess. I can tell you this future if you…" Kokurano said, before Honda cut him off.
"Piss off, you hack! Come on, Mazaki, I'll show you where the classroom is," Honda said, turning and taking off down the hallway. Anzu quickly slammed the locker shut and followed him, leaving an affronted Kokurano behind.
"This place attracts all kinds, doesn't it?" Anzu asked. "What a weirdo!" She shuddered.
"That Kokurano is a creep," Honda agreed. "He thinks he's some great fortune teller, and talks like he holds the secrets of the universe. And he bothers all the girls, it's not just you."
"I'll be sure to avoid him, then," Anzu said.
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.
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Anzu stood in line, waiting to buy lunch. The morning classes had gone by quickly, the teachers mostly explaining the expectations and syllabus of their course. Still, it was nice to have a break. She'd had to answer to many curious stares, though fortunately none as creepy as Kokurano's. It was pretty unusual for a new student to turn up in the final year. She wasn't too keen on bringing up the fact that she'd been expelled, however; at least not until she got to know people and could trust they'd understand her reasons.
Anzu grimaced at the food as it was put on her tray. Compared to the food at her old school, it left a lot to be desired. Still, lunch was lunch. Now she needed to find a place to sit. She scanned the room, searching for a good spot. It seemed every table was full and then some. Except for a lone table in the back corner where a single student sat. Anzu frowned. Maybe he was saving those seats? He didn't appear to have any lunch in front of him, either. Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask. She made her way over there.
"Hello," Anzu greeted the boy, who was staring off in the distance. He jumped, startled, and stared at her as though she was some sort of space alien. Anzu felt uncertainty creep into her resolve, but she continued despite the strange look he was giving her. "Is anyone sitting here? May I join you?" The boy continued to stare at her as though she was from another planet. "Um…if you're saving these seats for someone, it's okay, I can go find somewhere else…"
"There's no one else."
"Sorry, what?"
"Those seats are open. I can leave if you want them," the boy said, starting to stand up cautiously.
"No, you don't have to leave! I didn't mean that. I was just asking if it was okay to sit here with you…" Anzu trailed off, confused by the boy's strange behavior. He continued to stare at her. Just what is up with this guy?
"You…don't mind sitting by me?" he asked, finally, lowering himself back down onto the seat.
"No…why would I?" Anzu asked. She sat down across from him. His face turned to complete shock, as though it was the most unexpected thing in the world.
"People don't usually want to be near me," he answered quietly. Now Anzu was surprised, and she started feeling very sorry for him. She couldn't imagine how badly the other students must treat him for him to say such a thing.
"I'm sorry…" Anzu said, not knowing how to respond to that. She decided that the least awkward thing would be to introduce herself. "My name is Anzu, what's yours?" Again, she received an astonished stare.
"My name is Atem," he said slowly, and studied Anzu's face, as though expecting some sort of reaction from her. When she didn't give one, he asked, "Are you new to Domino?"
"Well, not to the city, but to the school, yes," Anzu said, not wanting to explain much further than that.
"Ah…that would explain things, then," Atem said, almost to himself. Anzu wondered what he meant by that. He must be some sort of outcast that everyone wanted to avoid him so badly. She wondered what he could have possibly done – he didn't seem particularly aggressive to her. Her thoughts were distracted as she ate in silence. Eventually, she noticed that Atem did not have any lunch with him.
"Hey…do you have anything to eat? Do you want me to get you something?" Anzu asked, feeling sorry for him again. Maybe somebody had taken his lunch from him – wasn't that what stereotypical bullies did? She heard those types abounded at this school. But Atem only gave her that startled stare again, then shook his head.
"No…I don't need anything…"
"Are you sure? Did you already eat?"
He didn't answer. Anzu returned to her own food, occasionally glancing up at her companion, who still seemed very uncertain over the fact that she'd decided to sit down at his table. She tried again to make conversation.
"So, what class are you in? I'm in class B."
"…it's…complicated."
Anzu was about to ask him what he meant by that – why did he have to be so darn cryptic and sad about everything she asked him? – but she was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone from within her bag.
"Oops. I forgot to silence that earlier! I'm just glad it went off at lunch rather than in class…" Anzu said as she pulled things out of her purse in order to get to the phone to shut off the ringtone. "There we go. I better be more careful about that, yeah?" She looked up to see Atem looking with interest at something she had thrown onto the table in her rush to dig out her phone.
"Are those Duel Monster cards? Do you play?" he asked, his voice finally taking on a livelier tone than he'd used the entire time they'd spoken. He sounded genuinely interested.
"Oh…oh yeah, I play a bit. Just casually, I've never been into the competitive scene at all…"
"Do you want to play right now?" Atem asked eagerly. "I've got my deck with me," he continued, pulling it out from a holster on his belt. His expression turned sad again. "Sorry…what am I saying, of course you don't…"
"Of course I'll play against you!" Anzu said quickly. Poor guy, she thought, people must really be awful to him…
And so they played. Anzu made a valiant effort, but Atem defeated her easily. She didn't mind that much, though – it seemed to make him a lot happier, a lot less reserved. He'd even smiled a couple times! Well, more like smirked, but close enough, right? It seemed that with the game, he could leave behind whatever was troubling him and be himself.
"That was fun," Anzu said. "You're really good, do you play competitively?" she asked.
"I used to." Anzu was disappointed as he seemed to recede into that sad shell he had presented beforehand. He had been a lot more handsome when he was playing…
She fought down a blush at the thought, but the bell saved her from any further thoughts of that nature.
"Oh, shoot! I didn't know it was that late. I'll see you around!" Anzu said, quickly swiping her stuff into her bag and taking off in a rush.
Atem stared after her.
.
.
.
"I do not."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"You absolutely do."
Anzu sat down at her desk between the two arguing boys on either side of her. To her left sat Honda, who had helped her out earlier that day, and to her right was Jounouchi, Honda's best friend who he had immediately introduced to Anzu.
"What are you two arguing about?" she asked.
"Whether Jounouchi's got a thing for older women or not," Honda replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "He does."
"I don't! You're just assuming things!"
"Oh, so it's just a coincidence that every woman you've gotten a crush on is at least ten years older than you?"
"She's 24, not 27! And I do not have a crush on her."
"Suuure, you don't," Honda teased. "And that nurse, that wasn't a crush either, right?"
"You shut your mouth, asshole!"
"Getting defensive, are we?" Anzu asked, joining in on the teasing.
"Don't you start with me too, Mazaki!"
Their conversation was cut short as the teacher arrived at the classroom.
"Hi, everyone! You guys can keep talking, I have a few things I need to prepare before we begin!" he said cheerfully, clearly having no need for formalities. He started pulling papers out of his briefcase and putting them on his desk. A low chatter broke out again as soon as permission had been granted, and Anzu watched the teacher. He looked so much like Atem, even down to the wild hair - it was incredible. But his mannerisms were completely different – cheerful and animated, with wide, expressive eyes, where Atem had been reserved, distant, closed-off, and more than anything, sad. Anzu felt a sudden chill run down her back as she suddenly remembered something Honda had said to her earlier:
"there's this kid…he doesn't talk to anyone, and no one talks to him…and he looks a lot like Mutou-sensei."
Did that mean…that Atem was…?
"Okay, all set! Let's start off with introductions, and then I'll hand out and go over the syllabus."
Anzu stumbled over her introduction, still trying to work out just what it all meant. It was silly to suppose that Atem was a ghost, right? He'd sat at a table and held up cards. He had been sad, and a bit weird, and didn't eat lunch, but that didn't mean anything, right?
Introductions were finished, and Anzu's thoughts were interrupted by the syllabus placed on her desk. She forced herself to focus on that – it was real, far more important than a ghost story…
But midway through an explanation of the grading scale, the "ghost story" was brought back to the front of her mind, as Atem emerged through the chalkboard.
Screams broke out instantly. Next to Anzu, Jounouchi dived out of his desk and huddled on the floor behind her. Other students abandoned their desks as well, chairs scraping against the ground in a frantic attempt to get as far away from the ghost as possible. Anzu herself froze, trying to make sense of it all. The only people in the room who didn't appear to be completely terrified were Mutou-sensei, who was trying futilely to calm the room, and Atem himself.
Atem approached Anzu's desk, and Jounouchi gave a frightened squeak and threw himself behind Honda's desk instead. Anzu didn't move, uncertain why he was coming up to her. He held out his hand and opened his palm, revealing her deck of Duel Monsters cards.
"Here. You left this at the lunch table. I'm sure it's important to you, so I'm returning it," he said, still in that distant, sad voice.
"Oh…thank you, I guess I left in quite a hurry, didn't I?" Anzu said. She was surprised that her voice was even and didn't shake. She certainly felt shaken up. It was not every day that someone walked through a chalkboard, after all. Atem handed her the deck, and Anzu wondered how he could hold on to it while still passing through the walls. Then again, she wondered how a ghost could even exist in the first place.
"You made a friend!" Mutou-sensei interjected happily from where he was crouched down next to Jounouchi, having failed in convincing him to get up. "That's great!"
"No…that's not…Yuugi, it's not like that. I'm just returning something she left at lunch," Atem said, but Mutou-sensei was not convinced, and looked as though this was the best thing to have happened in a long time.
"You know you're welcome to come to my classes any time, especially if you want to talk to friends," he continued. He paused, his smile fading a little. "But could you please use the door next time? You startled the students…"
"Okay." His lip curled up slightly into a faint smirk, a flitter of himself that Anzu had seen when dueling against him. He then promptly walked through the classroom door – the closed classroom door – out into the hallway. Mutou-sensei bit his lip, and Anzu could see that he was trying very hard not to laugh.
"I apologize if my brother scared any of you guys," he said, straightening up. "He doesn't often disrupt class, but he could drop by any time. I guess I should have warned you." He smiled a little sheepishly. "I'll give you a moment to return to your seats, and then we can get back to the syllabus."
The rest of the class passed without incident, although the students were still on edge. Understandably so…for most, the ghost had been just a rumor. Now they had all had it confirmed in front of their eyes. And Jounouchi wasted no time in reminding Honda of this at the end of class as they prepared to head to gym.
"I told you! I told you the ghost was real!"
"Okay, okay! I believe you now."
"Can I speak with you a moment?" Mutou-sensei asked Anzu quietly.
"Huh? Sure…"
"I wanted to say thank you. Atem doesn't really get to talk to anyone except me, so I'm really happy that you were hanging out with him. Please…if it's not too much trouble, will you spend more time with him? He really needs someone besides his brother to talk to…I think he's very lonely."
"Oh…alright. Yeah, I can do that…" Anzu said, caught off guard. He really spoke of Atem as though he was a normal, living, kid who just didn't have any friends, instead of the ghost who haunted this school. But maybe it was better to do that. It was less frightening to think of him as a person than a ghost. Even if he was both.
"Thank you so much! Even just talking to you today – I could tell it made a difference in him."
Anzu mumbled that it was no problem, and walked off to gym class, wondering just what she had gotten herself into.
.
.
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Anzu had been lucky enough to avoid Kokurano the previous afternoon when removing her belongings from her locker. But she was not so lucky this morning. She wanted to punch whoever decided that their lockers would be in the same vicinity as each other's. At least they weren't in the same class together. THAT would have been absolutely intolerable. As it was, this was bad enough.
"Why do you not wish to know your future?"
"I'm just not interested. Go find someone else who likes that fortune telling stuff."
"It is NOT mere fortune telling! This is the true sight!"
"Yeah, okay…" It was too early for this. "I'm still not interested."
"It is perhaps not a convenient time to speak of such things. Let us meet at lunch, you will have plenty of time to have the secrets of the future revealed to you then," Kokurano said. Anzu wanted to bang her head into the locker. This guy was just NOT getting it. For all his supposed greatness with seeing the future, he sure had a hard time with the present.
"I have no intention of coming to you for fortune telling – or whatever you want to call it. I'm certainly not meeting you for lunch. Now goodbye," she said tersely, slamming her locker shut and walking off to class.
The rest of the morning passed uneventfully, as Anzu tried to focus on schoolwork as much as possible while ignoring the uncomfortable feeling that she was going to have to avoid Kokurano at lunch. She rushed out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang, hoping to beat the crowds and get out of the lunchroom before Kokurano saw her. She had no such luck, the line already forming as she approached. She felt her stomach twist uncomfortably as she saw Kokurano in the periphery of her vision, about 15 students behind her. She only hoped that that would give her enough time to avoid him.
Paying for her food and taking off as quickly as she could, Anzu made her way back towards the hallway, considering returning to the classroom. She stopped as she noticed Atem, sitting alone again. He was staring off in the other direction, and didn't appear to notice her. Anzu remembered what Mutou-sensei had asked her…it wasn't like she had to, exactly, but…she did feel bad for Atem. He really did seem lonely…
She walked over to the table and sat down next to him. He looked over at her in surprise.
"Anzu…?"
"Hi. Do you always hang out here?"
"Yes. I guess you could say I people-watch," he said distractedly. He frowned, as though considering his words. "Anzu…you don't have to bother with me. I know you're uncomfortable…with what I am. Everyone is. It doesn't upset me if you want to stay away from me. I know my brother got the wrong idea yesterday, but don't feel obligated to talk to me, or anything…"
"No, it's okay, really!" Anzu said. Atem still looked unconvinced. Anzu bit her lip. Just what could she say? It wasn't quite true to say that it didn't bother her that he was a ghost. In fact, in unnerved her more than a little – but she didn't want to say that. There was no way that he was really okay with everyone avoiding him. She felt sorry for him, but she didn't think he would react well to being told that, either. "I don't think…I don't think you should have to cut yourself off from everyone else. Everyone gets lonely. And even though you're dead, you're still a person. In that, you're no different from anyone else."
"It's fine. I'm not lonely."
"I don't believe that. But if that's not a good enough reason for you…in truth, I'm trying to avoid someone right now."
"Oh?" Atem raised an eyebrow. "This must be an incredibly unpleasant person if a ghost is preferable company."
"I don't know why you think that no one would want to be around you…Mutou-sensei seems to be very fond of you. But, yes, this guy is really a weirdo and a creep. I want nothing to do with him," Anzu admitted. Atem's face darkened.
"He doesn't really have a choice."
"What do you mean?"
"My brother…although he'll say that he came here because he wanted to stay with me, I know that the school begged him to come back. I know he's not here of his free choice – they guilt-tripped him, they may have even threatened him – although I have no proof. So he has to put up with me."
"Why would the school force him to come back?" Anzu asked. She hadn't gotten that impression from her teacher at all – he had seemed quite happy to be there, and quite welcoming to Atem. Atem shifted uncomfortably, but continued.
"Do you know how I died?" he asked.
"No." Out of the corner of her eye, Anzu saw Kokurano searching for her. She grimaced.
"Bullies were always targeting him…my brother, I mean. I don't know why – he was always so kind to everyone, I don't know why anyone would mistreat him – but they did, and so I went after them. After a while, they started to back down, because they knew I'd make them pay. But then…there was this gang, this really horrible group…and one day, they attacked my brother. They beat him up…badly. He had to be hospitalized, the wounds were so severe. And I…I was so angry. I wasn't thinking. I never thought that it was a trap planted for me. I had a reputation at that point, you see. And…they were waiting for me."
"I don't know how or why I continued to exist after they'd killed me. Perhaps my desire for revenge was so strong that it kept me here. But even after I'd punished them, I remained. I never knew why, and I still don't."
"But my brother…he stayed in the hospital for a while. He didn't come back to school, and it was so close to graduation at that point that they didn't make him retake the year. But I didn't know any of that. I assumed the worst. And so I was…those years without Yuugi, I was…wild. I was angry. I am not proud of what I was – the terror of this school. So much so that even now, students are afraid of me, with good reason. But it's nothing like the fear back then. Back then…" he pinched at his arm.
"The way I appear now is because I want to look like this…like how I would have appeared when I was alive. But back then, I didn't care to look like this. I don't think I even appeared human…"
"Did you…ever hurt anyone?" Anzu asked. Part of her didn't want to know the answer. But she was beginning to understand why people stayed away from him.
"The ones who murdered me, the ones who had hospitalized my brother – I did. And I did so quite publicly – a lot of people saw it. But after that…I frightened people, I intimidated them, I lashed out at them…but I never hurt them, I never broke them. Until my brother came back." He paused.
"Oh no," Anzu said. Kokurano had spotted her and was making his way over to the table.
"What is it?" Atem asked. Anzu didn't have time to answer him before Kokurano reached them.
"Your future awaits. Why do you run from it?" Kokurano addressed her, not even bothering with a greeting.
"I already told you I'm not interested in your fortune telling!" Anzu said. Kokurano was about to protest, probably again that she had called it fortune telling, but Atem interrupted.
"Who are you, and why are you bothering Anzu?" Atem demanded. Kokurano turned to him.
"I am Kokurano, the prophet of what is to come. I am endowed with the true sight, the accurate and predictive vision of the future! But none of that concerns you. The dead have no future," he finished disdainfully.
"If you're just going to come over here and be rude to my friend, you can leave right now," Anzu said, annoyed.
"It is the truth. There is no future with the dead. This pathetic ghost cannot help you on your path to your future. Only I can do that."
"No, better yet, we are leaving right now. Come on, Atem. There's no point in talking to a self-important fortune teller," Anzu said, grabbing her things. Atem followed along.
"He doesn't seem to be following us. I think you successfully told him off," he said mildly.
"I hope so. I just wish he'd leave me alone. And it was completely uncalled for for him to be rude to you like that!" Anzu shook her head. The nerve of that guy! "I guess I should just head back to the classroom now. Do you want to walk with me there?"
"Uh…" Atem blinked, surprised by the question. "Sure."
"You never really explained why the school forced your brother to come back," Anzu said as they walked.
"I was terrorizing the school," Atem said sadly. "They were talking even of shutting it down, but there was a lot of pressure from parents not to. They didn't believe I was real, and Domino is one of the cheapest schools. So they looked for another route – to get rid of me. They tried exorcists. Quacks, all of them. Most of them fled in terror. Then they decided to contact my family. I don't know if they thought it would help me make peace and move on, or just a way to keep me in line, but either way, Yuugi started teaching at the school."
"When I saw him, I immediately felt ashamed. I knew he would despise what I'd become. He had always disapproved when I had gone after the bullies, even though they'd hurt him. But he approached me, with the same kindness as always. That's just the way he is. He said he was happy to see me. But I didn't believe that, and I still don't. But…it did help me. I calmed down immensely."
"Except when someone gave him trouble," Atem said, scowling. "Even years later, people still targeted him, tried to take advantage of his kindness. I retaliated in the only way I felt was just. He doesn't like it, but I won't allow anyone to hurt him."
"It sounds like you really care for him…why do you think he doesn't for you?" Anzu asked. She wished she could comfort Atem, but she had no idea how. But she just couldn't make sense of why he thought Mutou-sensei didn't want to be around him. It seemed obvious to her that the brothers were very close.
"Why?" Atem echoed. He stopped as they came to the empty classroom. "Because it would be unreasonable to expect that he would. I am a burden on him. A burden that he tolerates, because he feels he has no choice. You don't care for a burden, you resent it, and try to make the most of the situation."
"Have you talked to him about this at all?" Anzu asked. "I don't know him very well, but I don't think Mutou-sensei feels that way."
"It would be pointless…he'd deny it to spare my feelings. He's completely self-sacrificing."
"I think…you've been rejected by everyone else for so long, you don't know how to deal with it when someone accepts you," Anzu said.
"No one accepts me, Anzu."
"See? That's exactly what I mean. You can't accept that your brother cares for you, just like you keep reacting with surprise that I would talk to you. You look at your past mistakes and even though you know better, you still think you're no different from back then, but you are! You're not the terror of this school."
"Yes, I am. You saw how everyone reacted when I appeared in class yesterday."
"That's because it was unexpected. Most people didn't react so strongly when you left – and you did it on purpose, then. You thought it was amusing."
"Well…" Atem said, and finally, a slight smile appeared on his face. "I suppose I did. If I'm going to scare people regardless, I might as well have some fun with it."
"If you are playful about it, I'm sure after a while, people would stop being scared," Anzu insisted. "Why don't you stick around in class? Mutou-sensei said he didn't mind, right? And it would help people get used to you."
"People won't stop being scared. It won't help."
"You don't know that. You've never even given it a try. How can you give up so easily?" Anzu demanded. "Try it. For a month – even just a week! Just try. Even if it doesn't work, it can't make anything worse, and at least you'll have tried. And it's not like you have anything else to be doing, right?"
"I…I suppose not…" Atem admitted, taken aback by Anzu's insistence. "Alright…I guess I can try sitting in on your class. At least for a little while."
"Good! Let's go in, then. Lunch will be over soon." Anzu turned, and opened the door to the classroom. As she started to enter, Atem spoke again.
"Anzu…thank you."
"Hmm? For what?"
"For trying to help me. For listening to me. And…for saying I was your friend."
"Oh…of course! I'm glad…I'm glad you confided in me," Anzu said, blushing slightly.
He followed her into the classroom, and hovered by her desk. He looked nervous, as though he was in a place he shouldn't be. Anzu hoped that he would relax a little, but she knew that once the other students arrived, things would become even more awkward. Oh, she hoped she was right about them getting used to him. She hoped this worked…
The door to the classroom opened again, and Jounouchi and Honda entered the room, arguing with each other again. Anzu saw Atem stiffen, but neither of the two immediately noticed him.
"I'm telling you, I know just the way you can win her over," Honda said.
"I'm not taking love advice from you! Anything you suggest would just make me look like a fool."
"But see, that's the idea, Jounouchi. She'll be won over by you being a fool."
"Asshole!" Jounouchi glared at Honda, who continued to laugh. Jounouchi looked up, and the color drained from his face as he noticed Atem.
"Gh…ghost! It's the ghost!" he stuttered, stumbling backwards. Honda stopped laughing, and he too, turned a little pale as he spotted Atem, but didn't react any further than that.
"Relax! It's okay!" Anzu said, trying to reassure Atem as much as Jounouchi and Honda, as he looked like he was more likely than even Jounouchi to take off in the other direction.
"O…Okay? How is it okay? He's standing right by you!" Jounouchi asked.
"This was a mistake," Atem said quietly. "I should go." He started to leave, but Anzu instinctually reached out her hand to stop him. She was surprised that her hand didn't just pass through his as she grabbed it. He looked back at her, uncertain. She knew he could pass through her easily if he wanted to, so she was grateful he was willing to listen to her.
"If you give up at the first setback, you'll never succeed. Don't go," Anzu said. She realized that she was still holding his hand. Blushing slightly, she released it. Atem frowned, but remained where he was. Anzu turned back to the other two.
"Atem is going to be sitting in on our classes for a little while. So that people can get used to his presence, and realize he's nothing to be afraid of," she informed them. Honda looked doubtful and suspicious, while Jounouchi looked like he might faint.
"Don't…don't curse me!" Jounouchi said.
"I don't intend on it," Atem said tersely. That didn't seem to reassure Jounouchi, however.
"You're blocking the door!" Another student shouted from behind Jounouchi. He was pushed aside as a group shoved their way into the classroom. They too, stopped cold as they saw Atem. Anzu could tell he was uncomfortable with everyone staring at him in fear, but he made no further attempt to flee. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room. No one knew what to say, until the silence was finally broken by the arrival of Mutou-sensei.
"Everyone, what's the hold-up? You aren't letting anyone in the classroom, could you please go to your seats?" he said kindly, obscured from Anzu's view by the pack of (much taller) students. They parted immediately, allowing Mutou-sensei to step through, but did not move towards their seats, or any closer to Atem and Anzu.
"Good afternoon, Yuugi," Atem said. Mutou-sensei turned to him, and his entire face lit up as he saw Atem standing next to Anzu.
"Atem! Are you attending my class now?" he said, with a wide smile.
"Yeah, I suppose. Don't think you can give me any homework, though," he said, trying to joke, but Anzu could hear the strain in his voice. The students were still staring at him.
"Well, we'll just have to see about that, won't we?" Mutou-sensei teased lightly. Noticing that no one had moved to their seats, he said, "Go on, take your seats everyone! Class is about to start!" No one moved, and his face fell. "Come on guys, my brother doesn't bite…"
Reluctantly, the class shuffled to their seats, cautiously watching Atem as though they feared he might strike them at any moment. Jounouchi was the last to return to his seat, and he sat on the very edge of it, as far away from Atem as he could get. Mutou-sensei appeared disappointed with the class's reaction, but began teaching as though nothing had happened.
It was an awkward class. None of the students spoke, not even when a question was posed. Atem held himself stiffly, not straying from Anzu's side. She could see the frightened glances people were giving him, and she started to doubt her earlier conviction. Maybe this would just make people avoid her, as well…
"They've just got to get used to you," she said as the class ended, and the students rushed to leave the classroom as soon as possible. "You've got to give it time." Atem looked unconvinced, and Anzu herself was no longer as sure as she had been. But she couldn't give up. "Please, just try again. Tomorrow…"
"Tomorrow won't be any different. But if you insist…"
"I do insist. It's the only way."
.
.
.
It took longer than Anzu had hoped, but gradually, there was a change. The fearful glances lessened, and the class took to mainly ignoring Atem. Not the best reaction, but still, it was something. A few times, students even spoke to him. Even Jounouchi (who no longer sat on the edge of his seat) talked to him a couple times. Most importantly, Atem appeared much more relaxed than he had been at first, and often teased and joked with his brother during class. He still rarely initiated a conversation with any of the students except Anzu, but it was a definite improvement! He'd also taken to greeting Anzu in the mornings and seeing her off in the evenings.
"He's lurking by your locker again," Atem said. "Do you want me to get your stuff out for you?"
"Ugh, what is his problem?! He just won't give up on this whole 'telling me my future' thing. And yes, if it's not any trouble…"
"It's never any trouble, Anzu. I can just reach through, after all." He glided away to go retrieve her things. He returned a little while later, with books in his arms and a frown on his face.
"Thanks," she said, taking the books from him. A thin notepad slid out from in between two of the books as she put them in her bag. She looked at it curiously, trying to determine what it was.
"He's up to something, Anzu. As soon as he saw me, he took off, smiling to himself. It's very suspicious, I'd keep an eye on him…" Atem said, looking back towards the lockers, as if to check to see if Kokurano had followed him.
"Hey, this is an attendance ledger! This should be in the classroom, how'd it get in my stuff?" Anzu said, not really listening to what Atem had been saying. "I'd better go return it as soon as possible. Can you meet me at the front with my stuff, please?" she asked Atem, then started running off without waiting for an answer.
"Anzu, wait!" Atem called, alarm in his voice, but Anzu didn't register it.
She pounded down the empty hallways, most students having already left for the day, as she looked around for the classroom that the ledger belonged in. She found it, threw open the door, and ran inside to put the ledger on the desk at the front. She didn't realize that she wasn't alone in that classroom until she heard the door slam shut. She turned around with a jump, and found to her dismay that Kokurano was standing in front of the door, blocking her exit. Too late, she registered what Atem had been trying to warn her about earlier.
"Now nothing can come between you and your future," he said, with that creepy, leering gaze.
"What the hell do you want?!" Anzu demanded. It was useless, she knew, because he always answered that question with some vague and meaningless statement about the future.
"I want to reveal your future, Mazaki Anzu. The time has long past come to tell you what I've seen – soon, you will surrender yourself to a wonderful man, you will swoon before him…"
"I've been telling you for months that I'm not interested in that kind of stuff! And you still won't listen, and now you trap me in a classroom? Let me out!" She charged towards him, hoping to push him aside and escape, but cried out in alarm as he grabbed her and attempted to push something into her face. She twisted out of his grip and stumbled backwards.
Kokurano had stopped, surprised that she had gotten away from him so easily, but recovered from his shock easily and began advancing toward her. Anzu noticed that he was holding a rag, that appeared to have been soaked in something. She had a feeling that she didn't want to know what it was, or have it anywhere near her face.
She continued backing up, trying to figure out a way to get around him, and soon found herself against the side of the classroom, as far as she could go.
"Your future is with me!" Kokurano hissed, closing the distance between them. "With my powers, no woman can resist me…not even with that worthless ghost entrancing you!"
"You…you're completely insane!" Anzu said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. "Powers – what a joke! You're just a creep! And Atem isn't 'entrancing' me." As Kokurano reached the other side of the desk Anzu was shrinking behind, she suddenly lurched forward, placing her hands on the desk, and using the momentum to swing herself over the top of it and over to the side.
She landed gracefully, and ran to the now accessible door. She pulled at the handle, a sense of horror overcoming her as she realized that it was locked and would not turn. Kokurano really had trapped her in here.
"That miserable ghost has some sway over you yet…he must, or else you'd give yourself to me, to your future," Kokurano said, approaching her once again. "Only the damned or cursed would court the dead. No one else would be so desperate to turn to one who has no future, who can only take yours away!"
"Atem hasn't cursed me, you creep! He's just a normal guy that died too young, he wouldn't do anything like that! And calling me desperate when you're the one that's locked me in a classroom – you're absurd, insane!" She bolted away from the door, running along the edges of the classroom. Adrenaline kept her moving, but she didn't know how long she could keep this up. Kokurano could easily wait until she tired herself out.
"Help! He's locked me in here! Someone!" Anzu shouted, pounding on the walls.
"It's useless. Your future with me will come to pass…no one can get in here," Kokurano said, only steps behind her now.
"Is that so?"
Both Anzu and Kokurano turned to see Atem floating through the wall. And he was angry.
No, not angry. He was livid, he was seething with rage. It was even visible – Atem's normally well-composed form was dissolving at the edges, wisping into the unnatural darkness that was gathering in the room. Even though she knew it was aimed at Kokurano, it still made Anzu shrink back from it.
"How dare you try to hurt Anzu!" Atem snarled. He flew at Kokurano, stopping just short as the latter flinched.
"You…you misunderstand! You can't interfere with the future, especially when you have none…" Kokurano said, trying to maintain control. Atem snatched the rag from Kokurano's hands, and inspected it. His face twisted with rage again.
"Chloroform?! You disgusting …"
Anzu had been right. She didn't want to know what the rag had been soaked in, and she definitely didn't want it anywhere near her face.
"…you abhorrent filth, you despicable vermin, you vile scum!" Atem shouted. Kokurano backed away, but Atem advanced towards him, his appearance warping. The appearance of a young man twisted into a ghoulish figure with glowing eyes, a hellish, inhuman mass that was decaying into shadows that seemed to choke the entire room in darkness…
The Terror of Domino High.
Now she knew why he was called that.
"To attempt such a low and unforgivable thing…I will make sure you suffer a terrible punishment for this…"
Even with the things that Atem himself had admitted to Anzu, even with all the stories and rumor she had heard, it was not until Kokurano began screaming as the shadows dove into his flesh did Anzu truly understand what Atem was capable of, why everyone feared and avoided him. It was one thing to hear a story, but another thing entirely to see it play out in front of her eyes.
"Atem…Atem, stop…" Anzu said weakly, trying to find her voice in the wake of all that had happened and was happening now. She had to stop this…or everyone would turn against him again. Every bit of progress would be undone, the fear fresh in everyone's mind – no longer a rumor, but fact…
"Stop it!" Anzu said, her voice stronger now, but Atem gave no indication of hearing her, still intent upon torturing Kokurano, whose screams were growing feeble. Anzu ran to Atem's side, trying to grab at him to get his attention, if not pull him away, but it was a futile effort. Her hands passed uselessly through his insubstantial form. "Atem, you have to stop! You can't…!" she cried desperately.
Still, Atem did not respond to her, continuing to furiously send wave after wave of shadows at Kokurano, who had fallen limp, still, and silent. Anzu didn't much care what happened to that creep, but this was going much too far. And if Atem had actually killed him…then his reputation would be irreparable.
"That's enough! Stop it!" Anzu shouted, throwing herself in front of Atem. She braced herself to get hit by those shadows – she didn't know what to expect, but she knew it wouldn't be pleasant – but if this was the only way to snap Atem out of it, then she had no choice.
But it seemed Atem was not as far gone as she had feared. He stopped his assault immediately, pulling the shadows back so that not a single one touched her. Anzu felt a sense of relief, but the feeling wilted as she saw the undiminished rage in his eyes.
"He tried to hurt you! Why are you trying to protect him?!" Atem demanded.
"I'm not trying to protect him! I'm trying to protect you!" Anzu answered. She was pretty sure she was actually crying now. "Atem…don't you know how people are going to react to this? Everyone is just starting to accept you, and if you do this, you'll throw all that away!"
"I will never be accepted! Even if people get used to me, it doesn't change anything – in the end, they'll always be frightened of me. It doesn't matter what I do, I'll always be terrifying, so why shouldn't I protect the ones I care about? It's the only thing I can do! I can't offer you happiness, I can't offer you affection, but I can keep you safe from harm as long as you are on school grounds, and drive those that would hurt you into hell! If I can't do that much, then what is the point of my lingering existence?"
"But isn't this enough?! He fell unconscious long ago, there's no point in attacking him further!"
Atem did not answer.
"You're wrong…" Anzu said. "You are being accepted – everyone's behavior around you has changed so much. And you've been so much happier, too…please, don't throw it all away! Don't let despair convince you that this is all you can be…please! I care about you too…I don't want to see you give up your own happiness…"
"Anzu…I'm sorry. You've been trying to help me from the moment we met, but I have nothing to give you in return…I'm just making things worse for you here…even as I try to protect you…" His form shifted, gradually changing back into the appearance that Anzu knew, as anger gave way to regret.
"It…it's okay," Anzu said, drawing in a shaky breath. It was over now. "Just…make things right."
"I'll undo the damage I did to his mind…" Atem said quietly. "But I think I'll leave him there for morning. So all can see what kind of a person he is…"
"That sounds good to me."
Atem walked over to Kokurano, and reached down, picking up the classroom key that had fallen out of the coat. He handed it to Anzu, and followed her out after picking up her things that he had brought with him. She traded him the key for her bag.
"You should probably return that to whoever it belongs to," she said.
"Yeah."
"Hey…are you going to be alright?"
"I'll be fine. I always spend the nights alone, there's never anyone else here."
"That's not what I meant."
"I'll be fine," he said again, but Anzu was not convinced.
"I know you feel badly about this," she started.
"Shouldn't I?"
"Well…you did go too far…but I don't want you to give up on what we've already accomplished. People really are much more comfortable with you now. As long as Kokurano doesn't need to be hospitalized, none of that should go away."
"I wouldn't blame anyone if it did. I lost control of myself again. People have good reason to be afraid of me. It's some miracle that you aren't."
"Because I know why you reacted the way you did, and I know that you're more than that. Because I care about you. That's reason enough, isn't it?"
"Thank you. I don't deserve it."
"Who decides what we 'deserve'? If we get so concerned with what's 'deserved' or not, then we'll never be happy."
They both were silent for the rest of the walk to the edge of the school grounds, to the point where Atem could not go any further.
"Are you going to be alright?" Anzu asked again, as she turned to say her goodbyes.
"I'll be fine, because I'll see you in the morning, won't I?" Atem said, with a rare, soft smile on his face.
"Y…yeah," Anzu said, her face heating up all of a sudden.
"Goodnight, Anzu."
"Goodnight, Atem," Anzu replied. She turned to leave, but then paused. "You know, we should talk Mutou-sensei into buying you a phone. That way we could keep in touch – it'd be helpful for rough moments like this, or for weekends, or for after I graduate…" She cut herself off as Atem's expression turned sad again.
"Yes…you'll have to leave eventually, won't you? Everyone does, except me. It's just a part of life…"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up…"
"No, it's fine."
"But we don't have to think about that now. There's still many months left before graduation."
"That's true," Atem said. He still looked sad.
"It'll be okay, Atem," Anzu said, unsure of how to reassure him. "Maybe someday, you'll find a way to leave too…"
"Maybe…" he said softly. "And I hope that if I do, I will be able to go and find you again."
"Me too…" Anzu said, blushing even more. "Ah, anyway, I should be getting home! It's late! I'll see you in the morning!" she said quickly.
"Goodnight," Atem said again. "See you in the morning."