Play Your Part, Yugi

Chapter 6

Yugi's Breakthrough

"How did you guys like the game yesterday?" Yugi questioned curiously when the group clustered around his and Jou's desks before their first class. "Would you like to play it again sometime next week?"

"It was a good game", Jou concluded and Honda nodded his head in agreement. Anzu, on the other hand, seemed a lot more excited as she spoke: "It was really exciting! A lot better than the older ones."

"I'm not sure if those kinds of games are really my thing", Jou continued when Anzu's cheers had quieted down. "It's rather too passive for my tastes."

"I have to agree with that", Honda said after Jou was finished speaking. The brunet then released a short laugh before adding: "Me and Jou are more used to games with a faster tempo. We've never really been the board-game playing type."

"It was still a fun experience", Jou hurried to finish, like he was trying to avoid hurting Yugi's feelings while also being honest. Yugi smiled widely at the kind gesture and replied: "I'm glad you guys liked it and thanks for the hint." The small boy winked at his friends playfully. "Next time I'll set up some videogames that we can play."

Further conversation was cut short by the arrival of their teacher. Everyone went down to sit behind their desks and the teacher begun a rather boring lecture about the structure of cells. Every now and then Yugi would notice movement in the corner of his eye, which indicated that Jou was fidgeting in his seat. Even though Yugi himself felt a need to be anywhere other than the classroom, he still found Jou's behaviour rather odd. Jou usually fell asleep in a boring class. The blond was clearly feeling uncomfortable and after class the reason behind this behaviour became apparent when the group was putting their books back in their bags.

"I've just about had it with Kaiba", Jou muttered with a displeased growl as he shook his bag in an annoyed manner. "He was staring at me during class again." The blond released a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "It looks like this is going to be a yet another day that I can't just be in peace."

"Is it really that hard to just ignore him?" Anzu questioned from the blond, who instantly responded with a grumbled: "Yes it is."

"Jou is jumpy", Honda commented instantly and ducked just in time to avoid the swing of Jou's fist that had been aimed for the brunet's head. Anzu instantly began to scold the blond of his behaviour and Yugi took this chance to glance at the brunet they had been talking about.

Right at that moment Kaiba was not staring at the group, but talking to the new student Otomya. The brunet was sitting at his desk while Yami leaned his hands on top of the desk and spoke quickly in what seemed to Yugi to be an excited manner. Yugi wondered what might have been the topic of conversation to have the crimson-eyed teen so interested in it.

Yugi turned back to his friends and when he noticed that everyone had their bags packed already, he spoke out: "Should we get going then?"

"Right away, Yugi", Anzu replied as she took her bag from its place on top of her desk. Honda already had his bag hanging from his shoulder but Jou was biting his lip as he eyed his bag that was still on his chair. He looked indecisive for a moment before speaking out: "I'll be staying behind for a moment."

"What? Why?" Honda immediately questioned and all answer Jou gave was glance to the direction of Kaiba's desk. Yugi immediately caught on and felt worried even as Anzu giggled and spoke in a cheery whisper: "Jou-kun is going to talk with Kaiba-kun."

"Why would he do that?" Honda said incredulously as he frowned at Jou. "What are you really up to?"

"I'm going to stay here and see if Kaiba approaches me", Jou answered sternly. "I'm tired of his constant staring. If he's so intent on talking to me then I'm going to give him a chance to talk." The blond cut any argument from Honda off with an angry glare and finally Yugi spoke out: "If you're sure that it's okay, then we aren't going to be stopping you."

"Thanks Yugi", Jou said with his usual happy smile back in place. "You guys go on ahead and I'll join you later."

"Okay", Yugi agreed and started to walk out of the room with Anzu right beside him and Honda following in a rather reluctant manner. The short boy had decided to lead the way all the way to the classroom where their next class was being held but he stopped short when he noticed the boy leaning against the wall opposite to the classroom door the trio had just walked through.

"It's Otomya-kun", came Anzu's unneeded comment. There was a light shove to Yugi's lower back and the short boy actually was not sure which one of his friends was behind it even as Anzu continued in an even more quiet tone of voice: "This is your chance, Yugi. Go talk to him." Yugi was shoved forward, towards Otomya, again and Honda's cheery voice reached Yugi's ears: "See you in the next class, Yugi!" And with that both Anzu and Honda walked away, leaving Yugi alone with Otomya.

"Hello there, Mutou-kun", the taller teen greeted Yugi instantly and Yugi felt his cheeks heat up as he hurried to reply: "H-hi, Otomya-kun." The small boy managed to gather enough courage to meet Otomya's gaze head on. "What do you think about the school so far?"

"It's been decent", Otomya answered offhandedly. "A lot better than my previous ones. The teachers know what they're doing and the students seem to be more mature." The crimson-eyed boy frowned. "Or then they're more childish. It depends on how you look at it, I suppose."

"I'm glad that you have managed to settle in", Yugi said sincerely. He thought back to before the previous class and then spoke out: "You seem to be getting along with Kaiba-kun rather well. It's completely different from gym class."

"He's interesting to hang out with", Yami confessed simply. "He's rather arrogant, though. It makes him difficult to deal with sometimes."

"The point in friendship is that you accept another person's faults along with his better qualities", Yugi said then, to which Yami replied with: "Seto's faults are rather difficult to deal with at times." The taller teen shrugged. "I guess his pride just gets on my nerves."

"It's probably because you are a prideful person yourself", Yugi commented, remembering the very same gym class he had mentioned a moment ago. "I guess neither of you really wants to give up in front of the other." Yugi looked expectantly at Yami when he was finished speaking, offering the taller boy a smile. Yami answered him with a grin and an amused reply: "I still put up with him, though. I guess we are friends then." Then the crimson-eyed teen winked at Yugi playfully, causing the shorter boy's cheeks to flare red. "You're pretty smart, Mutou-kun."

"T-thank you", Yugi managed to stutter. Yami was incredibly handsome all the time and he was beyond compare when things like smile and wink. Such small actions that Yugi saw almost daily from Honda and Jou had a completely different effect on the small boy when the tan teen in front of him was behind them.

Yugi tried desperately to come up with something intelligent to say. He wished that he could come up with anything witty that would earn him another one of Yami's smiles or, better yet, a laugh from the taller teen. Yugi worked his mind to the limit but felt that anything he thought of sounded corny or really stupid. Because of this it was a rather welcome distraction when suddenly the classroom door behind Yugi was banged open.

Turning around quickly Yugi saw Jou storm out of the room and down the corridor. The look on the blond's face had been absolutely furious. It had actually frightened Yugi for a moment and the short boy thought that he had mistaken someone else for his friend. Still, it was obvious that the angry, blond-haired boy was no other than Yugi's friend Jou, so Yugi did the only thing he saw fit.

"I have to go now", Yugi told Otomya quickly. "Sorry. Bye, Otomya-kun!" That said Yugi rushed off after Jou. "Jou! Wait up!" Yugi called after his friend and was unsure if he heard the shout from behind him: "Just call me Yami, Mutou-kun!"

Since Jou's legs were a lot longer than Yugi's, the short boy did not manage to catch up to his friend before the blond had stopped in front of the classroom where their next lesson would be held. Honda and Anzu were inside the classroom and Jou hesitated to go inside. When Yugi came up next to the blond he saw why.

Jou's face was completely red from clear anger. Yugi decided to play it safe and kept a distance to his friend as he silently fumed over one thing or another. Yugi was quite certain that Kaiba had done something to make Jou mad yet again and now Jou was giving himself time to calm down so that he would not explode at his friends.

After a short while Jou's face was closer to its normal color and Yugi saw it fit to speak out: "Hi Jou. How did things go with Kaiba?"

The blond actually jumped, clearly not having noticed Yugi before the small boy had spoken. Jou recovered rather quickly though as he looked at Yugi with rather fake calmness and replied in a strained tone of voice: "Things went right off the deep end."

"That bad then?" Yugi questioned in an apologetic tone before reaching out and grasping Jou's arm in a friendly manner. "Come on now, Jou. I'm sure that a few jokes with Honda is all you need to regain your smile."

"Let's try that, then", Jou agreed and allowed Yugi to lead him into the classroom. Unfortunately to the two boys, however, Anzu and Honda did not seem to be interested in jokes. As soon as the new arrivals reached the duo in the classroom Anzu questioned in a hushed tone of voice: "So, how did it go?"

"What did Kaiba want?" Honda added in instantly and Yugi noticed Jou become tense underneath his hand. The blond released a shivering breath before speaking out: "Kaiba was trying to get me to go out with him, like all the other times he has talked with me." The blond grew silent then, apparently not willing to continue.

"And?" Anzu pressed on when Jou's silence had continued for some time. The blond shot a brief glare at the girl before speaking icily: "He said some things and gave some threats that weren't really threatening in the least." Jou released a laugh that had sharp enough to cut through solid steel. "He actually thought I would fall for his stupid tactics. I proved him wrong." That last part was said with a proud grin that immediately worried Anzu.

"Please don't tell me you hit him", Anzu pleased, just like Yugi had expected. Jou glared at the brunette again before answering: "I didn't hit him. Just look when he comes into class; he's pretty face is completely intact."

"Did you just day Kaiba has a pretty face?" Honda questioned then, to which Jou snapped: "Yes I did. I may hate the guy but I'm not blind." As Honda fell silent then Yugi fought back a laugh at Jou's comeback. It was just like the blond to be so blunt and honest.

About fifteen minutes earlier…

After his friends left the classroom Katsuya moved his books around in his bag, trying to look like he was still in the middle of packing. The blond felt the sound of nearing steps and held his breath in order to hear Seto's approach more clearly. Because of that Katsuya knew exactly when the brunet was right behind him and gasped out breathlessly: "Kaiba."

"Katsuya", Seto replied. He did not move from his position behind Katsuya and the blond did not turn around to meet the brunet face to face. Still, Seto clearly moved closer since Katsuya could feel the warmth that radiated from the other's body on his back. Katsuya's breath caught in his throat because of the sudden closeness but the blond instantly calmed down when Seto reached out by his side to grasp one of his hands. Katsuya focused on the smooth skin of Seto's hand and suddenly he felt a lot calmer.

Seto's fingers caressed Katsuya's skin gently and the blond found his body reacting without his mind telling it to. Before Katsuya could stop himself he had leaned back, bringing his back against Seto's wide chest. The brunet's steady breathing brushed again the shell of Katsuya's ear occasionally and the blond was actually starting to enjoy the situation he was in.

The serene atmosphere was shattered cruelly, however, when Seto spoke out: "Go out with me."

Wrenching himself away from Seto's arms Katsuya whirled around to glare at the brunet with all his might. His voice was thick with venom as he shot a challenge at the brunet: "Why should I go out with you? Give me one good reason."

"If you don't go on a date with me, I'll go out with that Miho-girl from class B", Seto replied instantly with a threatening tone of voice. Katsuya looked at the brunet sceptically as he questioned: "And I would care about that why?"

"You're the possessive sort", Seto insisted. "I thought you would prefer not seeing me go out with others."

Katsuya grit his teeth together as his rage towards the brunet threatened to overflow. How dared Seto think that he could manipulate Katsuya in this way? Katsuya refused to be treated like a girl and neither would he agree to being treated like he was stupid. Seto could not treat him like he wished; Katsuya would not allow the brunet to hurt him by using him like that.

"It's not like we are a couple, Kaiba, so what business is it of mine?" Katsuya asked in an angry drawl. "Neither do I want to be with you." Katsuya shot the brunet a look of pure malice. "To be completely honest, Kaiba, no one would sincerely want to be with you if you played them like that."

"You actually have the guts to talk to me like that?" Seto snapped at Katsuya. The blond looked at the brunet's face and was satisfied to see s blush of anger on the usually pale cheeks. It seemed that Seto did actually have some real emotions in him, the blond noted as he gave the brunet a falsely sweet smile and replied: "Yes, yes I do." And with that Katsuya turned around and walked out of the classroom, leaving Seto behind to gape at his back in disbelief.

&&&&&&&

As Seto watched Katsuya walk out on him, the brunet could not help but think that things had most certainly not gone according to his plan. Katsuya's reaction had been nothing like how Seto had envisioned it when he had devised this plot. Sure, he had expected Katsuya to become angry with him but he had not expected the blond to speak so boldly to him. Not to mention Seto was now absolutely certain that going out with a girl like he had threatened would only serve to alienate Katsuya from him even further.

"Ah, here you are", Yami's voice spoke out suddenly and Seto glanced up to see the star-haired teen peeking in through the open doorway. "I ran into a really angry Jounouchi, so I guess you had a talk with him, then? Didn't really go according to plan, did it?"

"Just shut up", Seto growled before releasing a heavy sigh. "The jealousy card didn't work, so what? I'll come up with something else soon enough."

"It's good to know that you're staying optimistic", Yami commented with a wide grin, to which Seto cut in by saying: "I'm not optimistic, I'm realistic."

"A realist would have already concluded that they stood no chance with Jounouchi", Yami spoke out and Seto shoved the crimson-eyed boy aside as he left the classroom. Yami moved to follow the brunet so Seto spoke: "I'm a realist in the sense that I am aware of my abilities. And I know that my abilities are enough to melt Katsuya's heart to me." From the corner of his eyes Seto noticed Yami roll his eyes and added defensively: "It's simply taking a longer time than I thought it would."

"To put it lightly…" Yami muttered in an offhanded manner. "That's definitely more like optimism than realism."

"Why do you insist on annoying me so much?" Seto snapped at the star-haired teen, shooting the other an angered glare. "Why do I even lower myself to being in your company?"

"Because you had some kind of a plan to get Jounouchi to soften up", Yami answered before questioning in a curious tone of voice: "What was your plan this time anyway?"

"I attempted to take advantage of Katsuya's jealous nature", Seto replied and frowned then in displeasure. "It didn't really work out." The brunet smoothened his expression before continuing: "But I still have one brilliant plan up my sleeve."

"Great", Yami spoke in response. "Let's hear it then."

"Oh, I'm not going to reveal it to you yet", Seto insisted with a smug smirk at finally having the upper hand in an argument with Yami. "If other people know about it too soon, it's going to fail."

"Why didn't you just go with that plan first?" Yami questioned then. "I mean, it's probably the first plan you got so wouldn't that be the first one you use?"

"No", Seto spat out and shot his companion another glare. "What's the point in having multiple plans if you don't have one ultimate plan to assure your victory?" Even though Seto spoke those words, his mind had a different answer to the question. Seto did not want Yami to know about his grand plan because the star-haired teen also had an important part in it. And the thing was that if Yami knew of this part he would not act in the manner Seto had visualised and that would ruing everything for the brunet. He needed Yami to stay oblivious and not suspect anything.

"By the way, I talked with Mutou-kun today", Yami spoke out then and Seto glanced at the shorter teen again.

"Yeah, and?" the brunet grumbled impatiently. Yami glanced down at the floor and Seto almost faltered in his steps. Yami had blushed! Seto was absolutely certain that he had seen the other teen do it. So the conversation with Yugi had opened Yami's eyes to new possibilities then. Seto fought back a victorious smirk that would have definitely aroused Yami's suspicions. The current situation went along perfectly with Seto's plans. And to think, the brunet had not even had to do anything to cause this to happen.

To be continued…