A/N: For warnings, refer the first chapter.

Leave Out All The Rest

Chapter Two

Seto watched Yami from a distance and planned his moves. Nice and slow. He didn't want to rush things like all of the school's teachers did. Attack without planning…completely irresponsible and wrong when dealing with Yami's kind.

Seto planned. He always did. And that was how he planned on bringing Yami down and force him to obey. He watched and observed little things, that when Yami was alone, he always did something inside that notebook of his and that he was left-handed. He noticed that he often touched his left arm and stared off into space with a sad, dreamy look. He noticed that when he's not speaking to anyone to irritate whoever the poor soul is, he'd stay quiet and withdrawn away from the world, not even watching anyone.

However, towards the end of the third period of the next day to the Prefects' Investiture Ceremony, Seto noticed that Yami started watching someone with an evil grin on his face. That someone was Michael Abraham, some boy in their class.

Seto frowned and followed Yami around; he had to find out what Yami was up to. To his utter worry, he found him hanging around Téa Gardner, flirting with her and whispering something in her ear every once in a while. She seemed to be ignoring him and carrying on with her way, but every now and then, she'd stop, hiss something his way and go on once again.

And, as a result of Yami's actions, Seto also noticed that Michael Abraham was eyeing Yami with an if-looks-could-kill kind of look at the way he tailed Téa around like her shadow. Seto didn't blame him, Téa had confided to him in one of their conversations that she loved Michael to bits, and she's sure he does too, but he doesn't want to take a move.

Seto stepped forward when Yami touched Téa's shoulder and stopped her from walking, fearing that the crazy rascal was going to hit her or harm her in any way. He and Téa were friends, good friends to that, too. He would never allow any harm to befall her.

And Yami touching her, even looking at her for more than a millisecond, made him blister in anger.

But before he could reach both of them, Michael had beat him to it and grabbed Yami by the upper arm, and tore him away from Téa, slamming him into the wall. Seto watched in satisfaction as Yami winced in pain, while Michael hissed at him, "Listen, punk. If you ever so much as look at her again, the Medical Examiner would have to use your dental records to identify your body when I am done with it. Are we fucking clear on that?"

Téa was flushed bright red, but Seto noticed she was looking at Yami with worry. He stared in wonder as Michael ignored Yami totally and turned to Téa, asking her in concern, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you in any way? I swear I'll pound him into next week if he…"

"No, no, it's okay, I'm fine." She said quickly, placing a hand on his, tugging him away from Yami.

Michael treated Yami like he didn't exist at all and gently placed a hand on Téa's upper arm, wrapping the other arm around her shoulder to lead her out of the corridor they were currently standing in.

Michael never noticed Yami again, but Seto did.

And he frowned in confusion when he saw Yami grinning triumphantly as he watched Téa and Michael walk away from him.

Seto couldn't get his mind off Yami for the rest of the week. There was a temporary lie-low from the spiky-haired rascal, but Seto narrowed his eyes whenever he thought of that and he could bet his life that it was only the calm before the storm, as they said.

And true enough, a few days after the incident with Téa and Michael, people came running out of the cafeteria, girls eww-ing and screaming in horror and boys having disgust on their faces, barely keeping themselves from screaming as well.

Seto frowned and broke into a run and arrived in front of the cafeteria's doors just in time to see Yami turning around, a sly grin on his face. "What have you done?" Seto asked him coldly, blocking his escape route, the one he went on the moment he saw the ice-cold expression in Seto's eyes.

"Out of my way, Head-Boy!" Yami said with a bright, mischievous, self-satisfied smile, staring up in defiance into Seto's eyes.

"You are not going anywhere but the Principal's office in the near future," Seto said, once again blocking Yami's way when he tried to dodge him. "What have you done to the cafeteria?"

"I spread it around that there's rodent-infestation in it." Yami said with a huge grin, very pleased with himself.

"Come with me, you irritating little brat," Seto said with narrowed eyes, grabbing Yami's upper arm and dragging him away from the cafeteria, towards the stairs that led to Mr. James Paul's office.

The incident resulted in Yami suspension for three days.

Seto walked into school at the fourth day, wanting to see whether getting suspended affected Yami in any way. But to his irritation, Yami didn't even show up for school for about two more days, which were followed by the weekend. The irritating, little midget, Seto thought. As if he was showing everyone that he didn't give a shit about school, as if he was saying something like: "The break you've given me from school isn't enough so I'll give myself two more days off before the weekend." Seto was fuming in frustration.

On Monday, though, during the Physics class, after about ten minutes passed, the door banged open and Seto frowned when he saw Yami barge into the classroom. He didn't even acknowledge the teacher who glared at him. He just walked inside, ignoring the man as if he didn't exist. However, when the man sternly spoke, he stopped and looked over his shoulder, "Why are you late Yami?"

Seto's frown deepened when Yami narrowed his crimson eyes and hissed coldly, "I was getting my drugs from my dealer. Will you let me sit or do I make things easier for you and me and get out?" Everyone in Domino High knew that Yami was an addict because he never made it a secret, whenever a teacher asked, he'd say that he was getting his drugs from his dealer. Simple!

Seto often wondered why one of the teachers didn't just grab Yami by the arm and drag him over to the Principal's office to call the police and chuck him in jail for good for how he openly announced his addiction. But then again, most of the teachers weren't eviler than taking a few marks off the Continuous Assessment marks. And besides, everyone was sure Yami never gave his drugs to anyone else. He was an addict, but surprisingly, he didn't help others acquire drugs in any way except when he paid his dealer for his stuff.

Seto's thoughts were interrupted when the Physics teacher snapped, "If that's the attitude you're going to sport, you'll have to meet me after school for detention, Yami. Take your seat. I'll see you after school."

Seto watched Yami's expressions as he made an exasperated –and latently desperate and scared- face at the man and ignored him as he walked to the back of the class, where he slumped down noisily, taking his doodle-notebook (as Seto called it) out.

The rest of the day passed in moderate peace. Seto watched Yami from a distance and wondered why he looked so tired. It was most probably the drugs. Towards the end of the day, he saw Téa walking with Michael out of the Chemistry Lab, both of them holding hands. Seto watched them with puzzlement, wondering what finally made Michael move on and hook both of them up.

Téa obviously saw his looks, and grinned, mouthing, "Later," at him.

Seto did something very odd that day.

After the school day ended, instead of driving to his work's headquarters, he stayed behind, waiting for Yami to finish his detention. He didn't even know why he did that. But he later came to know that he did the right thing.

Because the moment he saw Yami come out of the Physics lab, uttering curses under his breath and dragging his bag in the same, disobedient-puppy manner, he had started moving out of his hiding place to speak to Yami and find out what the hell his problem was.

But he stopped and retreated back to his place when he saw Téa heading towards Yami, concern written all over her face.

He frowned in confusion and strained his ears to hear them talk.

Téa was saying, "What's wrong? Why did you miss more than the three days?"

Yami shrugged and Seto's mouth dropped open at seeing that the mischievousness was all gone, replaced by a harmless, kitten-like expression, as he answered, "Don't worry about it…"

"Shut up, I want to worry about it. After that stupid stunt that had you sent home for three days…what the hell were you thinking?"

"Well, you and Michael hooked-up, didn't you?" Yami replied and Seto's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, we did, and I am dying of happiness that we did but I didn't want you to get turned into minced beef just so I can hook up with Michael! Do you realize that he was a few seconds away from beating you senseless that day?"

Seto was getting more and more confused by the second.

"Téa, calm down, nothing happened; I'm okay, I'm glad you hooked-up, it was well worth the effort," Yami was replying to her, grinning widely. Seto watched his facial expressions and noticed for the first time the worn, tired expressions and the paleness that unnaturally overtook the tanned skin.

"Yami, what the hell?"

"Listen, I think I already messed things up badly at home with getting detention and getting late. I really have to go," Yami said, staring at his watch and adjusting his choker uncomfortably.

Téa watched him for a while, then nodded and said in a low voice that Seto barely caught, "Yami, please, be careful. I know it's hard, but please take care."

He nodded and walked away, his bag dragged behind him like a disobedient puppy.

Seto waited till he was sure that Yami was out of earshot then he moved out of his hiding place and spoke, startling Téa, making her gasp and place a hand on her heart, "We need to talk."

And he wrapped his hand around her wrist, dragging her to the gym…