The Others: The Second Year

Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh! Duel Monsters is owned by Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Gallop, Nihon Ad Systems, TV Tokyo and 4Kids Entertainment. All names were changed to the characters of this fandom in order to protect the real people involved in the following incidents.

Chapter 2: A Medical Miracle

"No, I won't do this! I-I refuse!"

I never thought I'd be happier to hear those words in my entire life. Atem was fighting against her marriage with Dartz and she was fighting venomously.

"How dare you question my judgment? I let you stay here, let you live close to the thrown, you little parasite and this is how you thank me?" Her father raged, standing up in a manor that would have seemed threatening if Atem wasn't standing as tall as she was. I could see her around the pole that I was hiding behind and I simply couldn't stop grinning.

She was fighting her father, finally standing up for herself and making a god damn choice for the first time since she bought me. And she'd started doing that ever since that night when we'd told each other what we really meant to each other. Now our accidental glances weren't that accidental and whenever our hands brushed they stayed a moment longer than would be considered friendly.

"I am not a parasite! I am my own person and I will not marry him! I am not a tool for you to use however you want, father," and with that Atem stormed out of the throne room. I secreted myself out after her and waited for the best moment to reveal my presence.

"I know you're there, Bakura. Come out of hiding," she sighed playfully.

"What? I thought I got everything covered this time," I dropped by spell. "How'd you figure it out?"

"I didn't. I just figured that you would be eavesdropping, so I decided to test my theory," Atem grinned at me as I started to pout.

"You're being mean again."

"I know," she laughed lightly and bumped me with her shoulder. I returned it, grinning manically.

I didn't know what we had exactly. We definitely weren't together in any romantic sort of the word. The last time that we'd touched each other intimately had been that night when we'd kissed. But now…now I didn't know what this was.

Some nights, I found myself testing the security around the palace walls. I noticed things like the shift changes in the guard's rotations and the spots that they didn't see because of the walls. I was preparing to run again, but this time I wasn't preparing to run alone.

Because I was looking for other things as well. I'd looked at maps and tried to find where the nearest cities were and where the forest could provide cover. I wanted to see where the best place to hide was.

I was looking to run with Atem, leave this poisonous place and just live. It didn't matter if her marriage wasn't called off – we'd still get out of here. This land, her father, and that bastard Dartz, were killing us both. We could be amazing together, but there was so much that stood in our way first.

I just needed to know if Atem wanted to run, too. I thought that she did. I hoped that she did. I really, really hoped.

Sunday, October 15th, 2017

I totally called dibs on the top bunk this year. In fact, I'd already staked out my claim on it, having moved back into Atlantis a few days ago. No one was here yet, but I'd divided my time between mock battles with Atem (and occasionally Kaiba the sadist) as well as familiarizing myself with all aspects of the Orichalcos that were known to the Resistance so far.

First off, the Orichalcos was a magical amplifier that forced magic through a person's body. On a Normal, it released their Limits, allowing Combat magic to flow through their veins and turned them into something called a Convert. There were also reports, which were sporadic at best, of them being able to preform actual spells, but those were usually followed up them getting their soul blasted into pieces. And once that happened, their bodies turned into the monstrous shambling creatures that were known as Gigas.

They were semi-immortal beings that were as tall as three grown men standing on each other's shoulders and stronger and more unstoppable than the Juggernaut. They had a chunk of the Orichalcos embedded into their foreheads and, unless you removed it, they could keep coming back from the dead, more powerful than they were before.

And if they weren't bad enough, people called Infected controlled Gigas'. They were essentially the Others version of a Convert, with the exception that they were ridiculously strong and able to preform incredible feats of magic. Atem had mentioned that if the Infected was powerful enough to begin with, sometimes they could gain access to the different Overpowers. And that was not a good thing. At all.

But we couldn't forget the stone itself: the Orichalcos. The little green glowy thing that was the most powerful drug on the entire planet. One touch was all it took to get hooked and the cravings were powerful enough to drive those attempting to become clean into a mad frenzy. Atem had spoken of someone that she'd seen once go through a series of fits. Apparently, the girl had thought that her insides were on fire.

"Kept saying that it smelled like roses," Atem had shuddered at the memory.

"Did she ever get any better?" I asked, shifting through some of the papers on her desk, looking for something that might be in English so I could understand it. I had no such luck.

"No," she said, shoulders tense and jaw clenched. I would get nothing more out of her about the mysterious addict from Atem's past.

The stones themselves could be destroyed if it was exposed to cold enough temperatures. Apparently, that's why during Thief King's life, the Armies of the Orichalcos were at a disadvantage. It was also why the stone had thrived in the Middle East. With the help coming from the former Ancient colony of Babylon being smack-dab in the middle of everything, Soul Steeler and his country of Egypt had stood little to no chance against the invading force that had already taken over so completely.

I hadn't unpacked my bag or my clothes. In fact, I didn't think that I was going to. I didn't know what I might need in my future adventures.

I started to hear the sounds of footsteps outside in the corridor and felt a slightly familiar yellow flame. I stuck my head out of the door to see if anyone I knew had shown up. I was now living in a room that was closer to the lift.

"Strings!" I grinned, grabbing the attention of one of my friends from last year. "Hey! How's it going?"

I thought-smelled ozone as his voice invaded my mind. Strings was incapable of speaking, so he used Enchantment to communicate. He raised a pierced eyebrow at me, "I hear you've been busy."

"Busy? What are you talking about?"

"They were calling you the Prom Crasher," he supplied. "Something about you blowing up a building because you were in love with your sister?"

Oh shit. If Strings had heard of that then I was sure that everyone else had, too.

"Uh, I can explain," in reality, I really couldn't. Strings didn't know about the Orichalcos, so I couldn't tell him what I knew.

"It's fine. I know you didn't do it," he rolled his eyes. "You may be weirdly close to your sister, but anyone who looks at you knows that you're crushing so hard on Atem."

"I'm not –" My jaw snapped shut as someone that I vaguely recognized from my classes last year hopped off of the lift. After the guy walked by (but not without throwing me an odd look), I hissed at Strings, "I'm not crushing on Atem."

Oh that was such a lie. I was so crushing on her.

"Right. And I'm Barnie the Dinosaur," he smirked. I tried to imagine Strings as a purple t-rex. Considering that the guy was a total goth, right down to the eyeliner and dog collar, it was a pretty humourous image. "Everyone knows, Bakura."

My face drained of what little colour I had left, "Everyone?"

"Yep. Absolutely everyone," String nodded. "You're really into the older women, huh? Atem's like the ultimate cougar."

My jaw flapped uselessly with no sound coming out at all. She was a what?

"Well, you're pretty blatant about it. You were always staring at her last year," he shrugged. "And…hello? Who's that?"

I felt a brown fire behind me and turned just in time to see Leon step out of the lift. He looked a little lost in his sweater vest and slacks, shuffling from one foot to the other.

"Hey, Leon. Over here!" I waved him over, "There's someone I want you to meet."

"Bakura, is that who I think it is?" Strings pointed at the elevator.

"Leon von Schroader, son of President Zigfried von Schroader? Yep. He's my new roommate," I said proudly as the kid quickly moved over to where I was standing. "Leon, this is Strings. Strings – Leon. Just warning you, Strings can't talk so he uses his mind…well, you'll get the point soon."

Leon just stared at the other guy with wide eyes. The kid had probably never seen someone like Strings before. He was one of a kind, after all.

"Hi," String raised a hand in greeting. Leon jumped at the touch of his mind.

"You'll get used to it eventually," I rolled my eyes. "Come on, this is us in here."

I lead him into our room. He clutched at his bag as if it was a lifeline.

"I know it's not much compared to the room you've got in the White House, but since Atlantis is the closest thing to home that I've ever had, it's pretty awesome," I shrugged.

Leon shut the door quietly, "That guy had more piercing than anyone I've seen in my entire life combined."

"You've never been to a public school before, have you?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Never."

"That explains a lot. Don't worry, Strings is actually pretty low key when it comes to things. You should meet my friend, Marik. He looks ordinary, but in reality, he's insane," I smirked.

"Great," he cringed, glancing around nervously.

"I don't bite, there's nothing to worry about. Relax or something," I really hoped that I wasn't this uptight when I first arrived. Of course, Marik's 'Shit, you're pale' comment bloke the ice rather nicely.

"Am I the youngest person here?" Leon blurted out. So that was what was making him nervous.

"Yeah. But it's not unheard of for someone your age to come to Atlantis. Strings started here when he was thirteen and he's a fourth year now," I told him.

"And you're what? Nineteen?"

"Eighteen," though that depended on who you were asking. I might be eighteen; I might be almost as old as Atem was herself.

"So, you've been through this, longer than I have," he sensed my confusion. "The…Ward, is that the right term? You've lived through it for a longer period of time?"

"Yeah."

"What did it do to you?"

I sighed, indicating for him to sit on one of the desk chairs. I pulled up mine and sat in front of him, "There's something you need to understand, Leon. It's an unwritten rule here at Atlantis, but you don't ask what the Ward did to people before they came here. They tell you when they're ready."

"Oh," he looked down in shame.

I smirked, "Lucky for you, though, I'm pretty much outted when it comes to my past, so I'm alright with you asking. Just be warned, because some people might not tell you."

"Is it…alright then? I mean, I'll tell you some of my life, but it's probably not something you want to hear. I'm pretty boring and –"

"You're replaced me so quickly, Bakura, and with a younger model, too. I thought we had something special," Marik slung himself dramatically against my doorframe.

I rolled my eyes, "Marik, you do realize that this is why your neighbour thought that we were a gay couple?"

"Yes, but he can go to hell," the guy blinked when he noticed just whom I was talking to. "Bakura, Leon von Schroader is in your room."

"Yes, he is."

"Any particular reason?"

"You know, I'm right here. You can just ask," Leon muttered.

"Alright. Why are you here?" Marik questioned him directly.

"Apparently, I'm an Other. A Death Touch, to be specific," he rung his hands together.

"A – a Death Touch? Did I hear him correctly?" Marik looked at me for confirmation, shocked at what that meant. I nodded. His jaw dropped, "You're mother died of typhus."

Leon nodded, but didn't make a sound. He looked very pale, his freckles standing out more than ever.

"I'm sorry…I didn't know. Uh, I'm Marik Ishtar," he tried to grin, but it seemed a bit forced.

"I know. We met once, when I was really young," I frowned at Leon's admission. When could they possibly have met before?

Marik couldn't remember it either, so the kid kept speaking, "I was five, I think. But I do remember you. It was at an auction and you were with, um, I think they were your brother and sister. You were selling your father's paintings."

Marik went rigid, like he'd just turned to stone. And I knew exactly why. Leon was speaking about the months just after his father carved open his back with a knife in the middle of the psychotic break.

"My mom used to collect his work. Khalid Ishtar was her favourite artist," he continued, seeming a bit excited but not realizing that Marik really didn't want to talk about his father at all. "We still have some of it hanging up in our old house and –"

"Leon," I stepped forward and hissed. "Stop talking. Now."

"But…?" He looked at me, confused. I shook my head.

"Marik and his father don't get along very well," I tried to keep it as vague as possible.

"Is that because of his internment in the mental hospital?"

"Leon. Stop," I put a hand on his shoulder. He jerked at the touch, nearly leaping out of his chair. I shook my head, "Remember what I just told you about not asking about people's pasts?"

"Oh," he looked down again.

"Can we talk? Outside," Marik said stiffly.

I nodded, promising Leon that I'd be back in a moment. I stepped outside.

"I don't like him," Marik said off the bat. I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off, "I'll deal with him, I just don't like him."

"Leon didn't know, alright. He's twelve years old and he just killed his mother, cut him a little slack. Remember what you were like when you were twelve?"

"Yeah, I was in therapy because of what Father did to me," he growled darkly.

"But he didn't know. He still doesn't know," I tried to reason with him.

Marik scoffed and turned around, pacing in the corridor, "I remember him now. His mother practically bought everything we were selling. But Leon was so young. How did he remember me?"

"Don't know, but it must have left an impression on him," I sighed. "Look, he's going to be hanging around for a while, so just try and get along."

"I still don't like him," he looked to the side.

"It's not like I'm going to stop hanging out with you. You're my best friend," I grinned.

He looked at me and sighed, "I know. I know." Then Marik pointed behind him, "Mai wants to talk to you before the end of the day."

"I'll see her in the cafeteria for lunch. You, too," I pointed at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get in there. He's probably wondering what's taking you so long," he shoved me towards the door.

"One more thing: on a scale of one to ten, how awkward was I when I first came here?"

Marik didn't even skip a beat answering, "About a fifty."

Then he was walking down the corridor to what I assumed was either his room or Mana's. I went back into my room and found a rather dejected Leon still sitting there.

"I don't think I'm going to like this place," he mumbled.

I frowned, "What makes you say that?"

"Considering my track record of liking schools, it's not looking good."

"Well, at least give it a try before you decide to hate it. Come on. There's food in the cafeteria and it's really good and I am starving," I grinned. "We'll see if we can find something that you like. And I want to introduce you to more of my friends."

"Will all of them have as many piercings as that guy from before?"

"If you thought Strings was odd," I snickered," I can't wait for you to meet Mai."

Poor Leon. The kid was going through some major culture shock, going from the lands of wealth and prosperity to the rest of the world. He was eager to learn, but sometimes forgot that just he wanted to know didn't mean that he should know.

He learned pretty quickly, though. And Marik and him managed to make up eventually.

Leon is a Death Touch, as I have already explained. Just as a reminder, a Death Touch's primary powers involved being able to transmit a disease or poison to another person via skin contact. This power is completely involuntary and they can't stop the fact that they will do this. However, they can learn to control exactly what they pass on, which is what Touzoku will be teaching Leon to do over the next year.

But there are some advantages to a Death Touch's curse. For one, they are essentially a medical miracle. The reason why they don't poison themselves when they touch themselves is because they are completely immune to any and all diseases or ailments that exist. That's the number one reason why Kaiba wanted Leon to come to Atlantis: not to stop an untrained Death Touch from walking around and not to have another super soldier on his side. No, nothing like that.

From a single vile of Leon's blood, you could extract the cure to any disease, from the common cold to cancer. On top of that, he is literally walking anti-venom.

So because Death Touch's are immune to disease, Leon had never gotten sick once in his life. Not only that, but any injury that he sustained could be healed in almost a single day. There was very little that can keep Leon down. From his blood, Kisara and Ishizu were able to invent something that could regenerate lost limbs and restore damaged brain cells. He saved so many lives and is continuing to do so, years after his death.

There are very few people who can boast that claim. Leon von Schroader is the only one that is under fourteen who can do so.

Okay, maybe now I could see why Marik and Mai thought that this was so hilarious when I was first subjected to it last year.

The thing is, Mai wasn't even trying to be somewhat seductive this time around (and if she wanted to, she definitely could). Leon's eyes just immediately bugged out when she sat down beside him, jaw dropping like he'd never seen a member of the female species before. But then again, Mai wasn't just some girl – she was Mai and she was in a class of her own.

"Hey," she leaned towards me. "Meet me in my room later. There's something I need to give you."

After lunch, I showed Leon around Atlantis, telling him where the classes were and where the nurse's office was located. He trailed around after me like a duckling, eyes darting around, taking in the sites. At one point, he pressed his nose up against the glass window and stared straight down at the people below.

"I've been on this street before. I looked up and saw this building, but I never knew what was going on inside," Leon spoke but his words were not addressed to anyone in particular. "Now I do and…so much has changed in the last few days."

"You remind me of my self. You took the news quite well, considering how much it must have messed with your head," I leaned against the glass beside him. "Don't tell anyone but…I threw up when first heard."

He looked at me owlishly, "No way."

"Yes way. I puked. It was rather disgusting."

"But you couldn't have. You're too cool to do that," Leon said those words like he meant them. I was lost for words. He stuttered, "I mean…"

"You…think I'm cool?"

"Well, yeah. Aren't you?"

I didn't know what to say. He thought I was cool? That was a complete first for me for someone to actually mean that.

"Not – not really," I admitted.

"I think you are. You were probably the coolest guy in your school before all of this magic stuff. I bet you had tones of girlfriends and…you are looking at me really weirdly," he commented.

"It's just, you're so off base with what really happened. I was the school loser. Barely anyone wanted anything to do with me," I told him. That was until, of course, I saved all their lives against an evil, gigantic monster that had tried to turn them all into road kill.

"That's not…that can't be possible," Leon frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because you're really cool," he said again.

I scoffed. He was probably just going through a phase. I'd be down to normal human levels in his eyes soon enough.

"Whatever. I still haven't shown you the Combat room. Its this way," I pointed him towards the far end of the corridor. Leon followed with childlike eagerness, always ready to learn something new, something exciting.

"Hey, I heard you wanted to talk to me?"

Mai let me into her room, "Yeah. Sit down."

I'd never been in one of the single rooms at Atlantis before. It was slightly smaller than the double room I'd had over the last few years and there wasn't much of a kitchen – just a mini fridge and sink. It was clear just who lived in here, from the Harpy Ladies band posters on the wall to the fact that she constantly kept the window blinds closed. Mai was a sniper and a member of the resistance. She was paranoid of being watched.

"What's up?" I didn't sit, merely standing in the middle of the room.

"Sit," she ordered once again, pointing to a chair as she went into her washroom. I was still standing when she came back. Mai frowned, "Any reason why you're ignoring what I'm saying?"

"Any reason why you're being so mysterious? And what's that?" I nodded to the canteen that was in her hand.

"Sit down, Bakura. Please," she sighed. I gave in and sat.

"There's something I need to give you," Mai's face was strangely drawn, eyes dark and skin pale. Her hands were trembling slightly.

"What's going on? Mai, what's in the thing?" I was starting to get a little worried.

She uncapped it and handed it to me, "Don't drink it, just take a whiff."

I did and immediately recognized what was inside, "Alcohol. That's…god, that's disgusting."

My stomach turned at the memory of the summer a few years ago that I decided to sneak a beer from the fridge and spent the next week lying in bed, thinking that I was dying.

"I take it you've tried some before," Mai smiled humourlessly. "I also assume that you know what it does to an Other."

"Wait? That was supposed to happen? The whole 'super hangover' thing?" I was shocked.

"Yes. I don't know why, but it does. And that's why I'm giving this to you," she handed me the canteen. I nearly dropped it on the floor.

"Why?"

"Others have an incredible weakness to alcohol. The amount you have in your hands is enough to kill you stone cold dead," Mai looked me dead in the eye when she told me that. I gawked.

"Then what the hell are you giving me this for?" I didn't even want to hold this thing in my hands, let alone keep it on me.

"Because it's a lot less conspicuous then a god damn cyanide pill, Bakura!" She yelled.

It took me a full second to realize what she said, "Cyanide pill? This is…that's…"

"This is our version of the suicide pill. It's cheap, it's effective, and it's most likely a regular Convert who doesn't know what's really going on won't take it from you if you're captured," Mai hissed. "I want you to promise me something, Bakura. If you ever get captured, I want you to drink that. You don't ever want to go through what the Orichalcos users will put you through if they get you."

I hesitated before asking, "Mai, have you ever been captured before?"

"Yes," she admitted. "Myself and an old partner of mine, Vivian Wong. It was over a year ago."

"What happened?"

Mai glared at me, "We were two pretty girls taken by a bunch of thugs. What do you think they tried to do?"

I blanched. No. No. I refused to believe – she couldn't have been. Mai couldn't have been…

"I want you to promise me that you will use that if you are ever captured, Bakura. I want you to promise me." She grabbed my hands, enclosing them around the canteen. And I found myself promising.

Whether I told her that I would do it to calm her down or whether I was actually promising, I didn't know.

"I never understood why she did it," she whispered, though I didn't think that she was talking to me. "Why she saved me from them? Damn it, Vivian. Why would you agree to it?"

I had no answers for her, though I honestly wished that I did. At the same time, I knew that I never would have the answer that Mai needed. But that didn't stop me from simply being there for her, as her friend – now and forever.

Hello!

I'd like to thank those that reviewed for the first chapter of The Others: The Second Year: Aqua girl 007, ilovemanicures, RacheleLovesRichtofen, Malik'sStalker, RiverTear980, zukofan2005, InsanityByDefintion, Akefia Bakura, and Dimensional Void.

So this is the end of what I call the introduction arc: when Bakura reunites with characters from the former book. Next chapter, things are going to start kicking into high gear and we're going to get some more knowledge about the Thousand Spell Book. As for Mai's past with Vivian, that will also be explained in chapter 3.

As for this next part of my author's note, if you've read the note in the first chapter of Resurrection (which, by the way, is finally up and I do suggest you check it out), you already know about this so you can skip ahead.

I've been thinking lately about the wiki sites that can be found on the internet. For those of you who don't know, wiki's are like wikipedia, but for a more specific topic. There's a bacon wiki, a Doctor Who wiki, a Star Wars wiki, a Yu-gi-oh wiki, and loads of others. Just google them and you'll find loads of examples.

So my question is: would you guys get some use out of a wiki for The Others? I'm going to create a pole for you to cast your vote and at the end of the month, I'm going to see what you guys think. I'm not going to promise one, even if the pole says that 'yes' to it (as I have no idea how easy or difficult it will be to maintain one, let alone if it will cost anything to set it up), but I will definitely try if that is the answer. So cast your vote, if only for the reason that I love to hear from you guys and like to hear your feedback.

Until next time, my lovelies,

AlcatrazOutpatient