To Whom It May Concern

by Siier

AU Yami is the new teacher at Yugis’ school & is noticing something strange about the teenager. What happens when he tries to dig for the truth? Will it all be worth it in the end?

To Whom It May Concern...

Yu Gi Oh

Siier

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Chapter One

Illusion

-

I know it's hard to tell,

How mixed up you feel.

Hoping what you need,

Is behind every door.

The feeling sometimes,

Wishing you were someone else,

Feeling as though,

You never belong.

-

Dry cracked hands shielded his face from the outside world. Sitting here, alone, cold, beaten and bruised in the unused garden shed at the back of the school; it was the only time he ever let emotions show. No tears streaked his face, not for a long time had that happened; but the self pity, the loneliness; the depression... It wrapped around the deadly still boy like a web of velvet, its threads holding him in place, escape was futile and struggling only strengthened its hold on the seventeen year old.

A broken breath erupted from the boy, followed by a wince as am arm retreated from his face to wrap tightly around his torso, where a deep and sharp, familiar pain emitted due to the breath. Biting deeply on his bottom lip to hold in the grunts of pain, Yugi slowly started to rise from the crouched position that he'd been sitting in for the past ten minutes or so. This torment had become a part of every day life to the teenager, although it never uses to be this way. Once upon a time; Yugi had friends, people who protected him, cared for him and loved him.

That was almost two years ago though; as they grew older, there views changed; there interests ran a different path and true personalities were finally shown. One thing that never changed though was the bullies. Ever since he started High school, Yugi had been turned into a punching bag; it was alright when the teenager had friends, real friends. But now; with no one to protect him; he simply let it be, concluded that this was what he was destined for. It was a depressing thought; but when he'd lost everything, everyone he cared for, what was there to look forward to? Who was he going to call for help?

His back hunched, he kept himself upright by leaning heavily on a shelf half cluttered with small hand-sized gardening tools, his breathing came in sharp painful pants, the metallic copper taste of blood was all his taste buds detected, making Yugi feel slightly dizzy and nauseous. Off in the distance; the dull shrill of a bell ringing could be heard. The warning bell, telling all students that they had five minutes to get to their class or face the rathe of the teacher.

Yugi had gained a reputation with his teachers due to his tardiness; but the boy had always shown up to his classes; head down as he ignored the glare of annoyance from the teacher and the snigger from his class mates. And today was going to be no different. His back pack; a dull blue bag lay in the corner of the small shed, the contents thrown about as the bullies had searched for the lunch money they knew it hid in the depths of said bag. More groans and grunts followed as the small for his age boy reached over and picked knelt beside the fallen bag. One arm still holding his stomach carefully; he rummaged through the books, clothes and stationary before withdrawing a small pack with a first aid cross upon it. Taking off his jacket and blood stained top he fearfully glanced down at his bruised and battered mid section.

Like many times before; he skilfully wrapped a bandage around his ribs; where it hurt the most. THe pressures of the cotton relieved the pain slightly as he was sure he had a few bruised ribs in conclusion of being kicked while lying on the ground; receiving the torment that he didn't deserve. A couple of pain killer slowly subsided the remaining pain as he got to work; cleaning the cuts and placing small butterfly clips on the ones which continued to bleed. The bruising; not much could be done about it, only wait it out. The bullies; they had become more cautious throughout the years; never bruising the boys face, nothing more than a slit lip was ever risked (the metallic taste of blood ran from his tongue; which he had bitten down upon in attempts to force back the cry of pain).

His uniform, consisting of a pair of baggy navy blue pants, simple collared white shirt, and the same navy blue as the pants coloured jacket and a simple blue and white tie was supporting multiple rips, dried blood caked into the fabric of the jacket, turning the blue a near black shade. There wasn't much he could do about it, so painfully he pulled on the red and white shirt, followed by the jacket. Eyes dull he shakily ran a hand through the short spikes of his unusual hair style, glad upon inspecting his hand that it showed no blood. No longer did the innocent and naive boy support the full mane of multi-coloured now. The spikes had been trimmed over the years; still in the shape of a five point stars but had less of a childish look to them; more of a mature, changing attitude. He had let his blonde bangs grow, as they reached just below his jaw line; covering his forehead slightly as they hid the tops of his amethyst orbs.

Standing up, it took all the will power left within Yugi not to cry out as his body protested at the simple movement yet he refused to let a sound escape his mute mouth. He didn't want any of his teachers to become suspicious; even though he knew deep within that they probably had there conclusions to the state he was in and the reason for his late attendance. Yet none of them asked the teenager about it; they just cast him a concerned, sympathetic glance before returning to their work. Younger Yugi would of told a teacher about the bullies, his friends would be there supporting his; a friendly shoulder to lean on, to give him strength. But now- he was alone, no one was there for him and telling a teacher would just cause trouble. No longer was he a child who ran crying whenever someone picked on him, Yugi refused to show that he was weak; one day- he'd fight back. He'd win his own battle.

The sunlight blinded the boy as he tugged the stiff door to the garden shed open, the lush field greeted the boy, sun shining over head, birds singing, not a could in the sky. How comical; here he was, feeling the gloomiest weather, hurricanes, storms, thunder, lighting and yet; the sun was obvious to the boy. Almost taunting him. Silently, head down he made his way to one of the many blocks which joint together to create his Hell from home; High school.

English was his current class, and lucky for him it was on the bottom floor; which meant no stairs. Standing outside said class, Yugi took in a deep breath, slowly as to not hurt his already injured body before turning the handle and entering the silent room. He could feel all eyes upon him, although he paid them no heed as he refused to raise his head and meet the stares from his cruel class mates. A strange voice startled the boy slightly; for up until this point, his teacher had been a plump half blind, half deaf woman, way into her years- yet the voice; it was rough, strict and almost cold.

Keeping his head down he peered through the curtains of his fringe as a tall man stood before him; his posture told the younger that he was in change, and didn't like the interruption. Narrow almost blood red eyes slanted at the cowering boy, waiting for an explanation, the strain of the jaw line only added to that point. Long hair, dyed basically the same colours as Yugis was tied back into a pony tail at the back of his head while his facial expression remained stoic.

"Sorry I'm late," Yugi mumbled, barely above a whisper. Normally he would just sit at the back of the class before having to give an explanation; but this stranger, didn't seem to have any intention of moving without an explanation. Sniggers sounded quietly throughout the class room, yet Yugi remained emotionless. The stranger shot a warning glare at the crowd of seated students, silencing them immediately.

"Why were you late? Do you have a note?"

Yugi shook his head slightly in response, normally if you're late to school or had a meeting a note would be given to you by the office, yet the teenager had never felt the need to get one; until now that is. "I just... lost track of time." His voice remained in the low tone, which just seemed to annoy the stranger more.

"Not acceptable!" Yugi couldn't help but raise his head slightly, mouth slightly parted in confusion. Who was this person!? "Detention, after school today. Understood?"

He couldn't do anything short of nod; the sniggering grew louder. "What's your name boy?"

"Yugi..."

"Speak up!"

"Yugi." It had been awhile since the teenager had raised his voice to a tone above that of a whisper (excluding when he was crying out in pain, that way) and the sound of his croaked and broken voice scared the boy slightly as he lowered his head to the down cast state it was only minutes earlier. His lips pressed tightly together.

"Alright, Yugi. I will see you in this class room immediately after school. No expectations. Understood?" Before waiting for an answer he added sternly; "take your seat."

Immediately Yugi followed the orders, something he had done all his life- without a word of protest and claimed his usual back seat, in the corner with a clear view out the high window. No one dared to sit next to the reject for they had all taken seats either on the other side of the room, or at the front of the class. But that didn't bother the boy; actually he preferred it that way.

Ribs protesting slightly as he sat down he couldn't help but wince slightly and take a short intake of breath, feeling the strangers eyes on him he tried to hide the pain as best as he could, as per usual.

"That that everyone is here," piercing eyes glared at the boy who sat away from everyone, head down as he focused on his desk, "let's begin.

My name is Mr. Yami Atemu; you should address me as Mr. Atemu, not Mr, you or Teacher. You previous teacher fell down the stairs at her home last night, and I am her replacement until she returns. I will not tolerate bad behaviours, lateness, smart attitudes and laziness as many of your teachers do. Don't disrespect me and I will have no reason to give you a detention. Any questions?" No one raised their hand. "Good, now as I understand its silent reading as you have an internal exam due in three days based on a book of your choice. Start now."

The sound of books and paper being withdrawal was all that was audible in the large class room, before silence followed, the turning of pages the only sound at certain intervals. Yamis crimson eyes scanned the class, searching for any student or dared to act out of line. Narrowed eyes skimmed to the back of the class to where Yugi sat, book open on his desk as blonde fringe sheltering his eyes. Elbow resting casually on the desk, hand posed next to the page ready to turn it, the other hand wrapped gently around his abdomen.

He didn't really want to take this job, but after being recommended by a fellow friend, and History teacher at this school; the principle had rang his cell phone, practically begging the twenty-four year old to replace the absent teacher until she's well enough to come back. And needing the money, Yami decided to just accept the job; it wasn't a life time, or even a year commitment, just casual- which sealed the deal quickly. Yugi- to Yami seemed almost confused when given a detention; and upon calling the boys name out in the roster and his class mates informing him that Yugi was always late; it seemed unacceptable to Yami that tardiness was so over looked. Thus; without giving him a warning, an immediate punishment was rewarded.

Yugi, feeling eyes on him raised amethyst eyes from the words on the paper, glancing quickly to see who was staring at him. He spotted Mr. Atemu just blankly staring through the thin curtain of his fringe; his eyes retreated back down to the book almost immediately in confusion and fear. He didn't like this new teacher. Most teacher just let him be, didn't bother him and he didn't bother them. But Mr. Atemu, he was just creepy, nosey and unnerving.

He saw the boy look up at him then look down, like a scared mouse. An eye brow raised in confusion: this boy was confusing the teacher. He seemed so timid, so scared. And all his class mates seemed to stay far away from the short boy, like he was a plague or something. Also sniggering when he was given the detention. What did he do to get such a reputation? He didn't seem that different, quiet- but many of the students kept to themselves, but they still weren't shunned upon. Yami shrugged slightly, he was only here for a few months at the most, and he wasn't going to get involved. Just cover the classes and keep to himself, make sure he was doing his job right and nothing goes wrong. With that conclusion, the younger teacher bowed his head and re-read over the notes that were left for him, explain gin the work the students needed to do over the week.

The rest of the day passed slowly for Yami as he had no more classes, but after giving Yugi the detention he needed to stick around until the end of the day. Sitting on the lush couches in the staff room, a hot cut of black coffee warmed his tanned hands. It was coming to the end of autumn, and the weather had dropped considerable. Frost had began to appear early in the morning and multiple times Yami had to pour hot water over the windows in his car before being able to leave his house.

"Why so glum, Yami? You have a job, now you can stop complaining that you never have enough money." A thin laughter followed the snide remark, pulling the man in question out of the little dream he was having. Behind him still an old college friend Bakkura, his long light, almost white hair was tied into a loose pony tail at the nape of his neck, differing to the usual out-there hair style he would normally be supporting. He was dressed in casual jeans and a loose button up top, much like Yami.

The younger of the two couldn't help but smile upon seeing his friend, who moved from his spot and started making himself a hot drink. "How's you're first day going, pal? I thought your last class was after lunch... What are you still doing here?"

Yami groaned in response, taking a sip of the steaming drink before continuing; "This school is filled with little brats who have no respect. None at all. It's like visiting a zoo for Gods' sake!"

The older could only laugh, stirring the tea slightly before walking over and sitting down next to Yami and placing the tea on the small coffee table in front of the two teachers. "That's probably because they don't have any strict teachers... like yourself. I'm sure within a week you'll have all your students cleaning your shoes on command. You never answered why you're still here, by the way."

He could only breath out a short laugh, even though Bakkura was probably right. He wasn't exactly the nicest teacher, and he knew that- but how else are you suppose to get the students to listen or do their work. "Gave a kid detention. He was ten minutes late to class."

"Wow, you've only been here for not even four hours and you're already handing out detentions."

"He seemed almost surprised that I actually gave him one. As far I could tell, from the other student's comments when I read his name out and the sniggering when he walked through the door, I figured that it's a normal thing for him, and I decided to put a stop to it, it's not a good habit to get into."

Bakkura snorted lightly, "Like you're one to talk. I remember it use to take THREE alarm clocks to get you awake; let alone out of bed. What's the boys name anyway?"

"Yugi Motou, or something like that."

"Short guy, about seventeen. Long fringe, quiet; keeps to himself?" The pale haired teacher asked after a few moments.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums him up."

"I know him. I swear there's something going on, something just doesn't seem right with that boy. I've never seen him with anyone, everyone seems to avoid him as much as they can. He seems like a nice boy though; from what I can tell from seeing him around and what his other teachers say."

"God, Bakkura. You're actually concerned about one of the students? You've gone soft." Yami followed the statement with a short laugh, earning a glare from the man in question.

"Very much, smart ass."

Yami shrugged at the name, leaning back and stretching his arms behind his head, groaning as he did so. "Even if there's something going on, I'm not getting involved. I'm only here for a couple of months, and if something was bothering him, he should tell a teacher. I'm just here to do my job and make sure there's no trouble- it's what I'm being paid for."

That pretty much ended the convocation; as both men voided off the topic of the strange boy and caught up, talking about lost time, sipping their hot drinks.

For Yugi; the last two classes zoomed by without doubts, much to the boy's annoyance, like all his classes, he kept to himself. Didn't bother anyone and no one bothered him. The last bell rang, so gathering his books into his bag Yugi rushed out of the class room after all the other students, and raced towards the block where his English room sat. Mr. Atemu sounded scary, so the last thing he wanted to do was show up late for detention.

So caught up in getting to his destination on time, he didn't notice a leg being suck out in his path until it was too late. His bruised body hit the solid ground with a thud, his bag just adding extra weight onto his back as he could feel the pressure upon his ribs. Biting on his lower lip was the only way he could suppress the groan that was etching up through his throat. A loud laugh sounded behind him, a laugh he heard daily whenever pain was being absorbed onto his body. Without looking back he picked himself up, ignoring the protest and continued his way, head down as he could feel the small crowd that had gathered to watch the boy fall watch his retreating back, laughter following him.

"Just on time."

Yugi looked up after entering the class room, Mr. Atemu sat at the desk, and his face expressionless as the younger breathed heavily, leaning on the door for support. The extra fall was not what he needed, especially since he hadn't taken care of his previous injuries properly. "Take your seat at the front desk, I want to you write out 'I WILL NOT BE LATE' a hundred times on refill before you're allowed to go home. Do not talk."

Nothing could be said as he walked over to the front desk and sat down, lowering his back slowly and pulling out a pile of refill and a pen before writing out the desired sentence, one arm still holding his stomach, as he slowed his breathing down, making sure not to take too many deep breaths as they just annoyed his ribs more. A cut on his stomach, just beside his belly button which he had quickly placed a butterfly clip on; he could feel it staring to pull slightly. The fall would of jumped the clip slightly, making it loose it's place slightly. He focused as much of his attention on the writing; but couldn't help but feel the warm flow as a thin line of blood started leaking out of the cut slowly, only to be soaked into his jacket as he held it more firmer.

Yami, thinking back on what Bakkura had told him watched the boy as he worked. He seemed on the edge, fidgeting every so often, and a hand continued to rest on his stomach, which stroked the teacher as odd. He wasn't worried, no- that wasn't a part of his personality. More confused than anything.

The minutes ticked by slowly, and just before quarter to five, Yugi placed his pen down on the desk lightly, ripping off the sheets which held his scrawny writing. His hand throbbed at the pain, put it was ignored as the prospect of getting home and behind able to relax gave the boy motivation to get out of school. Yami- who had taken to marking some papers looked up as the sound of pen to paper stopped and watched Yugi pack up his tools and pull his bag back over his shoulder. Before removing his hand which was holding his stomach to put the other strap over his second shoulder so it sat neatly on his back before placing the hand back where it had been moments before. The bleeding had stopped, but the pain remained.

Yami didn't miss the small stain of blood which contrasted against the pale skin of the boy's hand. Something just wasn't right, but before he could even ask the boy a question he was standing at his desk, his head remained facing the floor as he placed the pieces of paper on the desk, mumbling a quiet finished and asking if he could go home now.

"Did you learn your lesson?" Yami asked, his tone returning to that of a teacher, he would think more on what he had just seen, for all he knew a red pen could of started leaking in his bag and that was where the red had come from. Yugi nodded his head in response. "Are you okay?"

That got the boys attention as he raised his head slightly, showing dull orbs, brows crunched in confusion. He could feel fear bubbling inside of him. What did this teacher know? Again, he responded with a cautious nod.

"You may go, don't be late tomorrow though."

Yugi exited after confirming that he won't, leaving Yami there to think over what had just happened in the time span of no more than five minutes. Indeed the boy had written out what was requested. Picking up the papers, he couldn't help but squint slightly as he attempted to read the messy hand writing, if he didn't know exactly what was written; it would be been impossible to read. The papers were filed at the back of his file to be disposed off at a later date. He couldn't do anything about the Yugi problem, so with a sigh he gathered his work and exited the class room; making a mental note to ask Bakkura in the morning what else he knew about the strange teenager and try and figure out what was going on… Not that he was worried, more confused. And Yami- well he doesn't and never will like not knowing what's going on.