Disclaimer: Nope. Not even a nibble of Yu-Gi-Oh is mine. Since everyone seems more interested in this, I'm updating it. Anyway, enjoy.

"The rent is too dang high."

Jimmy McMillan

Chapter 3

Fruitlessness, and Bad Economies

Teanawaited quietly, watching the others as they trailed by, looking around when no more seemed to come. "Whoever's next," called the shopkeeper, eyes picking her out in the crowd, appraising the brown hood over her head. She squeezed between a young man and an older woman, biting her lips, and let her eyes scan the shelves.

"Twenty-five pomegranates…five loaves of bread…a few bags of pistachio nuts…" she recited, looking at each object and pausing between each so that he could get the item in question. "Bandaging cloth, some liniment with it...do you have any meat available?"

"I have a stock of chickens, miss. They're a little pricy, though." He had assumed, due to the dirty cloak perhaps, that her finances were limited. She smiled, opened the pouch at her belt, and counted out several pieces of gold, shiny and new.

"Will this cover everything?" He stared at her.

"Miss, that's…worth more than all my wares."

"That's fine. Here," she said, handing it over and picking up the sack he'd prepared for her. "I'll just get a couple of chickens with this."

"Would you like me to kill them for you?"

"If you'd be so kind."

About ten minutes later, Teana was easily carrying the food and medication Kisara had sent her out for out of the market. The sunlight was weak behind the clouds, and dusk was rushing in like smoke, so the dark covering was enough to protect her from it.

The food in the bag smelled good. She smiled a little ruefully before ducking into an alleyway to wait for the sun to set fully. An old man – sitting several paces into the dark - missing one foot looked up at her through cataract – covered eyes, lifting a beggar's bowl in a supplicating manner. Looking at his skinny hands, she felt pity move her powerfully. She tugged out a loaf of bread and a pomegranate, along with a lump of gold, putting it in his shocked hands. "Don't worry about it," she murmured, embarrassed and oddly hurt by his toothless thanks.

About an hour and many miles of cool wind found her back at the canyon, dipping into its crags. The distant bottom glimmered black and gold with sand in the dark, and she lit down on the edge before hopping into the wide crack that served as an entrance, beating her wings to reach Kisara's home.

She crawled in through the window, feet making a soft smacking sound as they hit the ground, bare skin on rock. Straightening, she put the bag down as she stretched her arms and back.

"Hello Teana. How was town?"

"Tense. They've heard about the raid on Egypt, and a lot of people were out getting supplies in case of an attack. I got what you wanted, though." Teana blinked at the sound of a heartbeat; when you didn't hear one very often – or rather, one that wasn't about to stop – it was rather a treat to listen to. She picked up the bag, carrying it to the only other room in Kisara's home.

"Thank you, Teana. I think this wound might fester if we leave it open," Kisara said, and Teana finally caught sight of her glowing hair as she poked her head into the room, heartbeat growing louder as she drew nearer. "Our heathen brethren never bother to cleanse their mouths between feeding, and the old blood from their fangs might have gotten into his wound…"

Behind her, gritting his teeth in pain, was the boy from last night.

She paused a moment, looking at him. The source of his pain was the wine that Kisara had put on his wound, the marks on his wrist red and sore. Kisara was sitting on the side of her bed, and he was sitting with his back to the pillow, flexing his fingers into a fist when she touched the wound. "When did he last eat?" she asked finally, feeling like shrinking as turned his eyes to her, impassive.

"I don't know. Nor do I know what food he likes. That is why I requested the variety I did. Could you get the bandages out for me?"

Teana looked at her, a little confused, before she opened the bag and pulled out a roll of clean cloth. "If he's hungry, I don't think he'll care. Why'd you bring him up here?"

It made sense now. Kisara had sent her to get bandages for the young man's wound. Teana had been surprised at the request to buy food; it wasn't as if they had any use for it. The humans were fed well enough already in the cells, but leaving him there would have been an immediate death sentence. And since this was technically against protocol, they couldn't ask for food from the sentries without telling them they were keeping a human in Kisara's quarters unauthorized…

Kisara took it and slit a long piece off with her claws. "Hecate, Leucosia, and Teleia are on a scouting venture. Orders from Bakura. They won't be back for a few weeks, so I thought that we could keep him up here rather than have someone…"

"Suck him dry?"

"For lack of better terms. Could you get a loaf of bread out? I have a little water for him; the wine is bitter. Good for a wound, but I hear the taste is awful." She nudged the cup of water, claws clinking.

Teana obeyed, first getting the liniment out. "Put some of that on the wound, it's supposed to relieve pain."

Kisara's hands were cool and gentle on the wound as she applied the liquid to the marks. It appeared to do its job – his body grew less stiff, his expression less stony. The cloth wound around his arm five times before Kisara bound it with deft fingers. Teana held the bread out to him, but he looked at it with open suspicion.

"He doesn't trust me. Maybe if you gave it to him?" Teana muttered, sulky guilt biting at her as she tried to hand it to Kisara. So he did blame her for what had happened – at least a little, at any rate.

"He doesn't trust me any more than he does you. I had quite a time getting him to sit down for me to clean the wound. Perhaps if you ate a bit to show its harmlessness?"

Teana gave her a weird look, taking a bit off the edge. "It wouldn't hurt me even if it did have poison. Unless I let it rot in my stomach."

"He doesn't know that."

Teana popped the small piece into her mouth, shrugging, aware he was watching carefully. The bread had no taste – ordinary food felt dry and ashen in their mouths, giving them no sustenance. It was distinctly awkward to chew anything, being what she was. They survived on blood, a liquid diet, one that called for nothing solid other than muscle and flesh to bite through.

It didn't really matter if he accepted the bread or not, just as much as it didn't matter whether or not the wound got infected. 'Either way, he's going to die. Either way, we're just prolonging his misery.'

Teana swallowed, mouth dry, and she handed him the bread. This time, he accepted the loaf, and she looked to Kisara.

"Would you mind telling me why we're doing this? It's not like we can help him. Once the others come back, there'll be no point. They'll all drink, and he'll die." She couldn't help but watch him while he ate, observing the motion of chewing, noting the speed with which he devoured the bread. He'd been ravenous.

No point in any of it, really. He was going to die, a slow, agonizing, excruciating death. Leucosia would be sure to take her time on him, possibly taking days to finish him off; sucking the blood from his throat, pausing only to kiss him with rabid, scarlet teeth…they were really very cruel to prolong his existence for such a horrible experience…

"It's not up to you or me to condemn it as pointless, Teana. I'm surprised at you." Kisara sounded surprisingly angry, and the youth looked at her, hearing her voice rise. "I suppose you think it was pointless of you to want to help him even when you couldn't? Do you think you should have simply disregarded it all?"

It would hurt less. She could go on, helping some and forgetting what she was too inadequate to do. Accept her limitations; keep going through this false immortality with less guilt about what she couldn't prevent…

"It…might make living…a little easier," Teana admitted. Kisara's expression had flowed from testy to thunderous.

"Easier? Easier! Becoming a monstrosity would be easier, but I don't think you want to be a demon!" Kisara snapped, eyes brilliant and gleaming. "Why don't you finish him off right now if you think helping him is pointless? Rather than let Leucosia have him, you should devour him instead! It would be quicker and less painful, far more humane!"

Teana's eyes were wide and her ears slid back, laying flat like a frightened dog's. "No…I couldn't…"

"Why not? If it is all pointless, then in the end, you would be much kinder to him for it. Kill him now, if there is only pain for him to come, and avoiding pain is all we are supposed to do!" Kisara's fury stunned her, and her words cut into her heart. "I understand," she continued, lowering her voice, "more than you think. I understand your fruitlessness, your lack of power. I understand that you want to change what is happening and what will happen. You are young and idealistic, but you seem to think that if you cannot change something completely, doing anything at all is a waste. You are wrong, Teana. Aiding a boy who may very well die soon is never a mistake, just as it was not a mistake that I aided you when you became what you now are. It changed nothing, other than easing your fear and loneliness. And unfortunately, that is sometimes all that we can do, and that is all that is expected." Kisara's voice had grown steadily quieter and gentler, and now she turned to give the young man the cup of water she had. He took it, looking at her.

"He does not understand. He does not know. We will help him all we can, and continue when he is gone. That is all we can do." This time, Teana could feel the sorrow crackle off Kisara's back, voice serene. "This is the only form of atonement we have, Teana. Whether it will be worthless in the end or not, I cannot say. But if we can help him, even if it is only helping him die with more dignity, then it is worth whatever pain we must endure. Doing what is kind and right in spite of our hurt and fear and loss is the only thing that separates us from the monsters. And I refuse to be a monster."

"Atem? Did you go out?"

He blinked at Yuugi's voice, pulling his mind out of the slow circle it seemed to be in, whirling without understanding. The bell had just stopped its delicate ringing, and the blinds were still, echoing with the pattering rain. His fingers shook as they turned the lock, the metal smooth and slick to his wet, numb hands. Atem stepped away from the door, clutching the counter, staring through print-stained glass at the games, trying to pull his mind away from Anzu's frightening face.

"Atem? Is something wrong?" Yuugi's voice was nearer, but Atem was still surprised when Yuugi poked his head into the room. "I heard the bell, are you-?"

Yuugi's mouth was still as his eyes flickered over his brother's face. "Atem, what's wrong!"

'I just got attacked by a gang, and there's an undead creature outside,' his brain said fuzzily. The world seemed to blur, and Yuugi and the Game Shop all seemed to melt together like a horribly inked comic page with watery paints. "I…I don't feel very good," he managed to say, mouth awkward. His knees turned to liquid, and his hands were empty as he sat down on the tiled floor.

"Grandpa! GRANDPA! Something's wrong with Atem!" Yuugi's voice sounded tinny and far away, but in the dark, muddled mass that was his vision, Atem saw him moving and felt his arms around him, encircling him like the rings of a planet. What a strange thing to compare a hug to. "Can you breathe? Is anything numb?"

"I…I can breathe…"

Strange creatures. Vampires. Knives, punks, death threats. He'd skirted death and then met vampires. No way, no, that was…nuts…

Atem closed his eyes, and felt himself leaning over, onto Yuugi. His brother's breaths were long, slow, deep, ruffling across his face and hair, warming his eyelids and forehead. "Don't worry. It's okay. Grandpa's coming."

Atem nodded. "What's wrong? Do you know?" Yuugi was purposely keeping his voice slow and low, gentle and dependable. Atem felt his Yuugi rubbing his shoulders carefully, predictably, attempting to provide him with some sense of stability and pattern.

"I think it's…just a panic attack…I'll be okay." The blazing blue eyes and taste of Hirutani's mangled hand in his mouth suddenly exploded into his throat, and he whispered, "I might need to throw up."

Yuugi did not move from his spot, but said, "That's okay. It's okay. You're okay." He continued the mantra, and the nausea faded into unease.

Atem heard Grandpa's heavy footsteps, shockingly fast. "What's wrong? What is it?" There was not fear in his voice, but a clipped rapidity, as if the words would not come fast enough.

"Slow down, Grandpa. Atem thinks it's an anxiety attack." Was that really Yuugi, calm and sounding so very calculated? "Sit down for a minute, let Atem calm down." He heard Grandpa's weight moving, but not to a chair.

"I'm calling the emergency number. I-"

"No. I'm-I'm all right. Just…give me a minute." The blood, the delinquents, the adrenaline wearing off, leeching wearily out of his muscles, had left him sagging in Yuugi's arms, but his vision was gradually returning. He could see Yuugi's face now, very pale but very calm. His wet jacket had grown comfortably warm against Yuugi.

"Can you see?"

"Yes. You've gone white." Yuugi smiled, face cracking.

"Can you feel your hands? Left side?"

"Yes." He felt Yuugi squeeze his arm gently.

"Main spellcaster of your deck, attack and defense points?"

"Black Magician, twenty-five hundred attack, twenty-one hundred defense," Atem responded automatically.

Yuugi scrutinized his face. "If you can remember that, you're either fine or a nerd. Or both. Preferably both." Atem smiled, blinking.

"I'm all right. Help me up?"

Yuugi wound his arms tightly around his brother, and pulled him to his feet, Grandpa watching from behind the counter, beside the phone, checking motion for sudden weakness. "What happened? You've got blood on your face!"

"I do?" Atem felt the remnants of Hirutani's blood drying around his mouth, and the cut felt sore and wet. "Oh. I-I fell outside. I stepped outside because I…thought I saw something, and I fell off the steps leading up to the door," he continued, lying with surprising ease. Yuugi did not need to know the details, and neither did Grandpa, what with his pacemaker and advanced age. "I guess it surprised me. Maybe that made me freak out."

He'd snapped the truth in two, but Grandpa put one hand to his old heart, presumably in relief. "Maybe. I'm just glad you're all right. When Yuugi yelled, I was afraid you were having a seizure!" He let out a vague, weak laugh, more like a cough than anything.

"I'm sorry. I'm all right." He knew he wasn't, but they didn't need to know that. Grandpa had bought the story, and anything was preferable to explaining the insane truth.

They'd think him insane. He…he needed to think.

Grandpa looked at his face. "That's a nasty cut. Let's get that cleaned up, as soon as you're confident you can move." Atem nodded, getting to his feet, trying to ignore the thought of monsters in the back of his head. Perhaps it had all been a hallucination? Idiotic though it was to consider, could he have possibly imagined it all?

Yuugi was looking at the cut that was not a figment of Atem's imagination. "You got that cut from a fall?" he asked quietly, eyes looking oddly focused and skeptical.

"I guess so. Where else could it have come from?" Lying to Yuugi so blatantly did not sit well with his conscience.

"What about the blood around your mouth?"

Atem touched it with a finger, considering. "Maybe I cut my lip or bit my tongue. It feels all right now." He avoided Yuugi's gaze and pulled off his jacket. "I'll just go clean it off in the bathroom."

Grandpa seemed unsure. "I still think I should call the doctor. It isn't like you to have a spell like that."

Atem shook his head, not wanting to think about any of it. Thinking about it drew him dangerously close to Hirutani and Anzu. "I'm just tired and hungry. Let me get cleaned up, then we can eat something. Maybe I haven't eaten enough today," he added truthfully. Lunch had been hours ago, and he had eaten very little, rushing to finish an assignment, as Yuugi had observed.

"That could definitely cause it," Grandpa agreed, and Atem was relieved to see that Yuugi was nodding. "In fact, I'll bet that was it. Or a contributing factor, at least. Well…go clean up. Yuugi, will you wait outside the door for him? I've got to take the noodles off the stove; holler if anything seems amiss." With a long, worried look – a tired one that was reminiscent of their mother, oddly enough - Grandpa vanished into the house, and Atem followed after him, into the bathroom, Yuugi following in silence.

'All right…vampires. Vampires are real. They're real, and there are at least two of them. And one of them broke a guy's wrist…and she looks like a stalker.'

He lifted the fork to his mouth, burning himself on the salty, boiling concoction.

'I've lost my mind. I know Grandpa Takahashi on Mom's side lost it toward the end, I probably inherited something. I hope it skipped Yuugi.'

Other than the blood around his mouth, it could all have been imaginary. Or a very convoluted, skillful trick. Why would anyone do that? He didn't know, but believing it all to be true would be taking a step he just didn't want to take. One he couldn't take yet. Even being a lunatic might be preferable, maybe.

Yuugi and Grandpa were watching him like hawks, as if they were afraid he'd keel over dead if they blinked. The noodles had very little taste, so it was really hard to pretend he was interested in his dinner rather than his "sudden spell". But they were filling, and he was hungry, so it was better than not eating at all.

"So, Atem," Grandpa said suddenly, "what all have you eaten today? You mentioned you hadn't had much."

"Oh." His heart slowed, relieved. "I skipped breakfast because we were late getting up. And I had to finish Ms. Chono's assignment from yesterday over lunch, so I didn't eat much."

"Ms. Chono? Is she the one you had detention for?"

Atem lowered his head a little, reminiscent of a growling dog. "Yeah, she's the one."

Grandpa said nothing else for a moment. Then, he spoke again, in undertone. "Your mother is getting home late today, boys – the office got busy all of a sudden. So she doesn't know about the detention, and I don't see any reason to enlighten her, do you?"

Atem looked up, gratitude obvious. "Thank you, Grandpa."

Their mother placed an intense amount of importance on schoolwork and education, and while this had rubbed off fairly well on Yuugi, it had had little effect on Atem. It wasn't that he wasn't intelligent – he couldn't be further from stupid – and he could work very hard if he honestly cared.

Which he didn't.

Perhaps if he didn't loathe Ms. Chono so very much, his school life would be much better. But while his grades were adequate, they weren't outstanding, and he was suspicious of Ms. Chono grading his assignments unfairly. But even more than that, he simply didn't put the time into school that he knew he probably should. Yuugi's grades were better, but he didn't have Ms. Chono yet, and he was the younger son – responsibility to achieve fell largely to Atem, who had always had aptitude and confidence.

Detention would have infuriated their mother, no matter what the reason. Atem had not meant disrespect when he'd come to Jonouchi's defense in the classroom, but it had inevitably ended badly for him, as things had a tendency to in the class. He was extremely glad that his Grandpa understood – their mother would disapprove heavily of either of her sons "having anything to do with delinquents like that Jonouchi boy."

It wasn't that their mother was overbearing or strict, really; she was under a lot of pressure at her job, an office assistant at a law firm in the city. She had enough schooling to do more, perhaps paralegal work, but unfortunately the economy was in a rough patch, and she was having a massively hard time finding another job. Another reason she wanted her sons to succeed in their education, and another reason it was so troublesome that the shop – their other source of income – might be going under.

Atem and Yuugi were not permitted part-time jobs due to schooling, and it was questionable as to who would honestly hire them at sixteen and fifteen, respectively.

Broodingly, Atem put the fork aside and drank what broth was left, head still whirling with the strange possible realization that something of the occult existed. Why didn't more people know? Did vampires hide themselves? Did sunlight really hurt them? The gang attack had been so sudden, and the rescue even more so – he couldn't accept the fact that he'd honestly met a pair of creatures that belonged in the X Files television series.

Gangs and job problems, bad economies and vampires. They honestly did not go together, but here they were in his head, and his alone.

"Atem? You okay?" Yuugi was looking at him, his food untouched.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"What about?" Atem shrugged, wishing his brain had an 'off' switch, to stop the incessant flow of thoughts.

"School, mostly." He took a drink of soda, the generic grocery store brand, rather than the big company names. It was cheaper, and the taste was basically the same.

Grandpa was chewing on his lip thoughtfully. "You know, after that spell today, I wouldn't mind if you stayed home tomorrow. Just in case, you know. I can explain to your mother what happened, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind either."

The offer was extremely tempting. A day away from Domino Freaking High sounded really good, and Atem nearly said yes.

It occurred to him, though, that if he stayed home tomorrow, he'd be basically alone for most of the day, other than Grandpa, who trotted about doing chores and errands. And if he were alone at all during the day…

…What if Anzu showed up, if she was even real? If he wasn't totally losing his mind. She'd looked strange out in the rain, eyes obsessive and calculating. The thought was scary, whether he was willing to admit it or not. He didn't think she'd come after him necessarily – heck, he didn't know, they'd only met for three terrifying minutes, what was he thinking? – but at school there would be more people and more witnesses if she did happen to be a lunatic. A vampiric lunatic. She might go after his family – but Grandpa would be at the grocery most of the day, and around their few customers at the shop, so there wasn't too much to worry about there…and he didn't think the other girl, Kisara, would let her hurt Grandpa at any rate.

Hopefully she would just come after him and leave his family alone. Hopefully she had been some kind of prankster or hallucination. A bittersweet thought.

"I think I'm all right; I'll just go to school tomorrow. If it happens again they'll just call the nurse down," he said unwillingly, hopes settling back into a dreary view of the next day.

"If you think so," Grandpa said, taking his empty bowl and turning to the sink of their tiny kitchen, made warm and dumpy by brown, red, and yellow patterns on the walls and floor. Yuugi was still looking at Atem. Suddenly, he pushed his bowl toward him, slowly, so as not to spill the broth.

"I'm full. Would you finish it? It tastes bad reheated in the microwave." Yuugi's fork was dry, and Atem hadn't seen him take a bite during the entire meal.

"Yuugi, you eat it. I'm fine. Really," he added, pushing the bowl back. "I'm going to bed, anyway. You should finish it."

"But-"

"Finish it, Yuugi." His tone was serious as he got up, chair knocking against the floor. "Thanks for dinner, Grandpa," he said, and Grandpa smiled. Atem bade them goodnight, hugging Grandpa and then Yuugi – though he hugged Yuugi longer than he normally would have – and went to the stairs in the living room, to the room he and Yuugi shared.

It was dark and quiet, and the rain rattling and shaking on the window was the only sound that prevented absolute silence. Atem turned to the dresser – they wore basically the same style and size, so one sufficed – and pulled out his pair of pajamas, black in comparison to Yuugi's blue and yellow star set. He took the hem of his shirt and pulled it off over his head, pulling his hair uncomfortably in the process, and raking against the cut he'd so recently cleaned. He pulled on his pajama shirt and buttoned it, cursing when he found his fingers shaking at the memory of the knife's smooth motion against his face.

He changed his pants quickly, wanting to close the blinds to the window for some, irrational reason. It wasn't really that he worried anyone would look in – it was raining and the room was on the second floor – but he felt awkwardly exposed with the window's blinds up. Why he didn't just go ahead and close them, he didn't know. Even so, every few moments, he glanced at the empty window, unease lifting the hairs on the back of his neck. Nothing.

Finished changing, he picked up his clothing, slipping off his house shoes and putting them beside his bed. But as he straightened, Atem felt something strange and cold in his spine, eerie and soft like wind. He turned his head to the window again…but nothing. Nothing at all.

Maybe…it had all been a trick of his mind? Maybe the cleaning chemicals from the school he'd used had made him hallucinate? It sounded stupid, even to him, but vampires? Really? Bloodsucking, undead, wing-sprouting woman vampires? It was ludicrous. Even if they had been real people, the whole thing was probably a hoax, to scare the gullible. There was a television show where all people did was terrify people and record their reactions. It was kind of a sick idea, really. Sure, tarantulas on the floor or something were okay, but women with unholy powers and fangs and some kind of disturbing obsession in their eyes?

He sat down on his bed, hands on his knees. It seemed cold and lonely in the room. Atem couldn't bring himself to glance at the window again, too unsure of what he'd do if he saw something there.

000

Two days went by. During them, Atem fought to keep himself from appearing paranoid as he barely slept, listening at night for anything out of the ordinary. Yuugi and Grandpa watched him, and when his mother was around, she watched him too. He wavered between believing this madness and not.

Sometimes, when he was sitting in class, staring at the dry erase board and listening to Chono blather – sorry, lecture – he was almost sure that it hadn't happened. He preferred to think it was a trick, because that meant he was less nuts, but if it had been a hallucination that was okay too. Maybe he'd walked too close to the kids setting fire to their fix and inhaled a little. Or chemicals. Whatever.

And then there were times he was sure something was following him. In the middle of the night, when he was asleep, he felt something cool on his face and heard foreign phrases. Once, he stirred and opened his eyes, still dull with sleep, only to see Anzu looking at him with her blue eyes dark and her fingers gentle in his hair.

For three seconds he'd shut his eyes in befuddled sleep. Then, he'd woken up with electric surprise, terror rushing into him. But perhaps that had been a hallucination too, for she was gone and the room was quiet.

But the window had been open a crack, as if someone had tried to close it in a hurry. He didn't sleep for the rest of the night, watching Yuugi from his own bed across the room as he turned peacefully in sleep.

The feeling of being stared at was powerful right now. Waiting for the bus to pull up to the back of the school building, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Atem felt like something was boring into the back of his head. Yuugi was fiddling with a Rubik's cube, blissfully unaware of his brother's nervous glances toward the building, looming above them as they left.

Domino High was built a little like its name. The central building was high and rectangular, its east and west wings extending like horizontal dominoes, a bland tan lined with blue. The back of the building looked like the front, only shadows were playing over the pavement and buses, painting everything in blues and darker oranges. He listened as the students around him copied and talked, catching only half of what his ears took in.

"So Chono did file the papers? Do you really think Hanasaki will be expelled for a comic book? I mean, they've got English in them; he could've been using them to get accustomed to English language for all that witch knows!"

"Ugh, I've got a ticket to Sozoji's stinking karaoke night concert. The guy wouldn't take no for an answer…"

"Did you hear about Hirutani's gang? Busted! Somebody on the bus say he was admitted to the hospital with a broken wrist!"

Atem's heart palpitated, and he glanced in the direction of the speaker. A couple of underclassmen with dark hair and oversized glasses. "Yeah, I hear he got kicked in the nuts too. Like, hard. Like, they don't think he'll be able to father kids hard."

"Yee-owch. I guess that's a good thing though; who needs mini-jerkwads running around? But they said he's lost it. One guy told me he's been ranting and raving in the hospital about girls with blue eyes and sharp teeth."

"I heard about that. Guess the drugs and stuff finally got to him."

"Mind's a terrible thing to fry."

Atem's stomach was cold, even as the boys started discussing some recent television show; could he still lie to himself, and tell himself it hadn't happened? Could he still say he didn't believe something was going on?

"Atem? You look sick. Are you okay?" Yuugi's nose was two inches from his, and he twitched.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay…just kind of cold," he said. The sound of a bus roaring quietly over pavement made everyone look, stepping back onto the walkway around the school. The bus screeched and hissed, doors sliding open as the vehicle stopped. Yuugi's eyes were fixed on him as they boarded, Atem doing his best not to look around too much.

"Are you sure? You look like…I don't know…you're freaking out or something," Yuugi said in undertone. They migrated toward the back of the bus, pressed in by the rest of the students. Since Sozoji always blared his music and took up most of the back seat, it was a simpler matter just to stand and hang on to the handles attached to the ceiling. After about a minute of shifting, finding places and situating, the bus lurched, pulling forward.

"I'm okay. I just – never mind." Yuugi's eyes on him were making him uncomfortable, and Atem simply stared straight ahead.

What should he do? Should he tell his brother about the strange things he thought were going on? Or ignore things long enough and hope they went away? Which would be safer?

There were too many things they had to worry about. From failing grades to suckish economies, life was becoming that little niche between a rock and a hard places, and his family didn't need to hear about his mental problems. Or…vampire ones. Er, unless they were real. And then…maybe? Ugh…

Atem pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on. Yuugi noted it before looking out the window, pressing his side gently against his brother's. It was a warm, pleasant feeling in that bundle of strangers.

Especially the person to the left behind him. Their hand bumped against his once, and it was freezing. Atem fidgeted, pulling his hand away. It was easy to fall into people in the crowded bus.

But that person tapped his left shoulder, and he looked back without thinking. His throat was suddenly obstructed by his swollen, leaping heart. He didn't even notice that their hand was pressed carefully to his back when the bus went over a sewer grate in the road, keeping him still as the floor swayed beneath them.

Anzu's eyes were blue and strange as ever, fixed on him. "I'd like to talk to you alone after we get off the bus."