A/N: Updates, updates, so many updates are needed. D: I'm terribly sorry about the lateness of this. And just so we're clear, all this shit's still going on in like, November still. *dies* This has been sitting around on my laptop for-freaking-ever. God, I'm so behind.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all of your love. *hearts*

Disclaimer: See previous.

Casey stumbled as she landed on solid ground. She took half a step, tripped, and face-planted on the tiles.

"Ow," she muttered, getting up on her knees and looking around. Seeing as the room was full of ovens, refrigerators, sinks, and a couple of Baby Dragons munching on leftovers, she assumed that she was in the kitchen.

"That looked like it hurt," someone said.

Casey scrambled to her feet, whipping her head around to see who was there. She spotted the course coordinator sitting on a counter, kicking her feet. She had her hair tied back, and it looked like someone had taken a paintbrush to her pair of frayed jeans.

(Seeing as the jeans were covered in smiley faces, and that they were all upside down, it had probably been the course coordinator.)

"I almost forgot I was supposed to meet you down here," Eggy said with a grin. "Then I got hungry and went to get a snack, and then I was all like, 'Oh, hey, I gotta go see a student!'" She raised the mug she had in her hands. "Plus I needed more tea."

Casey clutched her bellow detention slip nervously and bit her lip. "Uh…."

"Relax, I'm not gonna eat you or anything," Eggy said. She hopped off the counter and pointed to the table. "Sit."

Casey sat.

"Eggs?" Eggy asked, offering a plate.

Casey took the eggs hesitantly. "Why… um, why do we have eggs for every meal?"

Eggy took a brief break from buttering her toast. "Do you really need to ask that?"

"Sorry," Casey said, poking at the eggs. She took a bite. They weren't actually that bad.

Well, except for the fact that they were bellow.

Yeah, that was weird.

"Cool, right?" Eggy said, sitting down and dumping all her eggs in between two slices of toast and layering on ham and cheese. The ham was also bellow. Casey tried to avoid looking at it.

"See, I was like, 'Hey, green eggs and ham, right? Well, why not bellow eggs and ham?' And so I tried it, and it worked. Which is cool, because the last time I made any kind of food that wasn't the color it was supposed to be—intentionally, anyway—it was blue ramen noodles and I made them with lemonade. Only you couldn't really see the lemonade 'cause it was clear, so I added blue food dye." Eggy stopped so that she could take a large bite of her sandwich.

Casey blinked, startled by the sudden silence. "So… uh…."

Eggy waved a hand. "Gimme a minute. I have to do the important shit first. Why're you in detention?"

"I fell asleep in class," Casey said.

"Whose?"

"Alister's."

"Ha. He's a bitch," Eggy said. "I like him, though."

She pushed her plate aside and folded her arms. "'Kay, done grilling you."

"That was fast," Casey said, starting to rise from her seat. "So, can I—?"

"Ah, ah!" Eggy said, waving a finger. "Sit down, I'm not done with you."

Dammit, Casey thought. "What else do I have to do?"

"Well," Eggy said, looking at the clock, "it's about twelve-ten right now. I have to keep you for an hour, which means that we can sit here awkwardly or we can sit here awkwardly and have a conversation. Take your pick."

"Um. Conversation?"

"Good choice," Eggy said. She drummed her fingers on the table. "Okay, tell you what. I'll tell you something about me, you tell me something about you, and we'll see where that takes us."

"All right," Casey said. "Uh… I like to write?"

"Yeah, I'm assuming, since you're here," Eggy said. "'S cool, though. I like writing. What else d'you got?"

"Uh… "

"You know what, let's make this easier," Eggy said. "I'll start." She tapped her chin. "Hm. I like to paint. I have two cats. I play the piano and the trombone, I suck at math, aaaaand… I think Yu-Gi-Oh! is the dorkiest show ever, which is why I love it."

"You think it's dorky?" Casey said, feeling slightly offended on behalf of her favorite show.

"Well, sure," Eggy said. "I mean, come on. It's totally unrealistic, the plot is sketchy, and 4Kids made the whole thing worse." She grinned. "But that doesn't mean I don't love it. I love it because it's dorky. And hey, some of the characters can get pretty deep. It's all perspective, yanno?"

"I guess," Casey said.

"Hey, fun fact," Eggy said. "When I first watched it, I was like, ten. Then I found Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series and started watching that. It made me want to watch the original series again, except I just wanted to see my favorite characters, so I kind of skipped most of the card games and pretty much all of season four."

Casey nodded. She could relate to that. "I still haven't watched season four. It's the one no one likes."

Eggy looked at her reproachfully. "You should watch it. It's actually quite good. I ended up watching all of it in the end—and you know what? Some of the card games are even kind of riveting."

"Yeah, but… they're so long," Casey said.

"Eh, yeah, but once you actually pay attention to them, you'll be surprised at how much you start to care."

"Well," Casey started to say, but she was cut off by a giant yawn.

Eggy grinned. "Sorry 'bout the time, but it kind of fits. You know—scrambled eggs… at midnight?"

Casey looked at her blankly.

Eggy rolled her eyes. "It's my pen name."

"Ohhh," Casey said. "Where did that come from?"

"A book I read in middle school," Eggy said. "It kind of stuck. It was a pretty good read. Unremarkable, but the romance was actually really good, for being about a couple of teenagers."

"What's your real name?" Casey asked.

"Can't tell you that," Eggy said.

"But why not?"

A Kuriboh floated by, and Eggy stacked their plates on its head. It warbled at her, and she rubbed its side. "Thanks, bro."

The Kuriboh responded by tipping backwards and letting the plates fall into its open mouth.

"So cute," Eggy cooed.

The rest of the detention passed pretty unremarkably, given the circumstances. Eggy kept getting up to refill on tea, but for the most part, the conversation was pleasant.

At one point, Casey felt the need to ask, "Why are you doing this?"

"What, the tea thing? Because honestly, I can't really—"

"No, I mean… OYGOFU," Casey said awkwardly. "Why?"

"Something to do," Eggy said, shrugging. "Plus it was… kind of a challenge. And I like fixing things, especially writing shit." She grinned. "I don't look it, but I'm totally a nerd."

"You kind of look like a nerd," Casey pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Eggy said, looking at her jeans. "What can I say? I watch Yu-Gi-Oh! for Chrissakes."

"Then… I guess that makes me kind of a nerd, too." Casey had never classified herself as a nerd before. It felt kind of strange.

"Dude, you're at a fanfiction university. If that's not nerdy, I dunno what is."

Eggy looked at the clock again. "Hey, whaddaya know—it's twelve-fifty-nine!" She winked. "I like you, so I'm gonna let you out early."

"Gee, thanks," Casey said. She started to leave, then said, "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Can you… maybe do something about the Kuriboh problem?"

Eggy looked at her in surprise. "What problem?" A Kuriboh came and settled itself on her head. "I mean, they're kind of our mascot."

That explains it, Casey thought. "Well… they are kind of eating students."

'"Learning through pain' is the motto of all OFUs, and I'm not about to break the tradition," Eggy said.

Learning through pain?

Casey really wasn't surprised.

"Oh, one more thing," Eggy said.

"Yeah?"

"What's your name, anyway?"

Casey had the sudden urge to facepalm.

"How did it go?" Aurora asked as Casey shut the door behind her and went to flop on her bed.

"It was weird," Casey said. "The course coordinator is a loony."

"Like Yami Marik loony?"

"No," Casey said into her pillow. "Just kind of… spacey."

"Vhat happened after the game?" Aurora asked. "You vere out for a vhile."

"The nurse is Mana," Casey said. "I don't think she has any idea what she's doing."

"Remind me not to get sick, then," Aurora said.

"Did you just use sarcasm?"

Aurora looked suspicious. "It vas more like verbal irony."

"Oh, Aurora. I'm so proud of you," Casey sniffed.

"That's nice, I guess. Come help me with this Canon homework."

"Dammit!" Casey said. "I forgot all about the homework!" She looked at the clock. "One-fifteen. Urgh. I wonder what they do to you if you don't finish all your work."

"Probably have you fight to the death with a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon," Aurora said.

"… Maybe I can do half of it and they'll give me just one Blue Eyes."

"One Blue Eyes is still enough to tear out your spleen," Aurora said. "Or obliterate you in one blast."

Casey glared at her and pulled out her homework. "Fine, be a pessimist."

"I am a creature of the night," Aurora said dramatically. "I live in a state of constant depression."

"What's up with that, anyway?" Casey asked. "I thought you fell asleep as soon as the sun went down."

Aurora pointed to the pile of Styrofoam cups sitting at the foot of her bed. "Coffee."

"Coffee overrules your biology?"

"Apparently so."

"Nifty."

Three hours later, Casey was asleep, dreaming peacefully of a Kuriboh-free world, when a sudden shrieking alarm jerked her awake.

"Wuzzat?" she said groggily, bolting upright. She immediately covered her ears. "Ow, Jesus, what is that noise?"

"I don't know," Aurora said through the darkness. "Is there a fire?"

"All students and staff please report to the auditorium," Roland's voice said over the loudspeaker. "Repeat, all students and staff, please report to the auditorium."

Casey and Aurora stumbled out of their beds and out the door, trying not to bump into sleepy students who were just shuffling out, or any of those who were already rubbing their eyes and starting to talk anxiously.

"What's going on?" Leran said, catching up to them. She was dragging Luca behind her, who had her hands clamped over her ears and looked like she was about to start hyperventilating.

"We have no idea," Casey said, looking at Luca. "What's wrong with her?"

"Fear of loud noises," Leran said, shaking her head. "Come on, Luca, you're fine."

"Butbutbutbut—"

"Seriously. Chill."

They reached the auditorium and grabbed a couple of seats close to the main stage.

Eggy was standing on the stage in a pair of blue pajama pants and smiley-print fuzzy socks that did not match her grim face at all. She was having a whispered conference with Yami and Yugi, while Kaiba stood by and pretended that he wasn't listening.

"Hey, guys," Scar said, slipping into a chair. Angel followed closely, clutching her notebook tightly.

"Hi," Casey said, still watching the stage. "Do you have any idea what they're talking about?"

"Nope," Scar said. "But my guess is ninjas."

"… Ninjas?"

"Sure," Scar said. "It's always ninjas when stuff like this happens."

"Just what kind of book were you reading before you went to bed, Scar?"

"Actually, I was busy staring at a wall," Scar said. "Again with the mirrors."

Casey winced sympathetically.

"I wonder if we'll ever get the chance to sleep through an entire night again," Angel wrote.

"Good point," Casey said. "How do they expect us to keep up with all their work if stuff like this keeps happening?"

"I don't know," Leran said, "but I think we're about to find out the issue." She pointed to the stage, where Eggy was messing with the microphone. "Look."

"'Scuse me," Eggy said. "Can I have your attention, please?"

The auditorium got significantly quieter.

"Right. Students. Teachers." She looked around the room. "Something really bad has happened."

Eggy took a deep breath. "There's been a murder at OYGOFU."

Everyone started talking at once.

"Oh my god," Casey breathed. "Jesus, who was it?"

Eggy raised her hands. "Calm down—just… everyone, calm down, okay? The victim was a student named Kokoru Vincent."

Casey slapped her hand over her mouth.

"However," Eggy continued, "she's going to be just fine."

"Fine?" Rena shouted hysterically from a few rows down. "Fine? She's dead!"

"Thanks to advanced Kaiba Corp. technology," Eggy said, glancing at Kaiba, "we'll be able to revive her in a relatively quick manner. Until then, everyone needs to be on lookout. We have no idea whodunit, and the sooner we find out, the sooner we can convict whoever is responsible."

Rena sat down, breathing hard.

"Now," Eggy said, "here's what's going to happen. I need staff members patrolling the students' quarters at all times during the night. You can take shifts. Students, you can't leave the dorms after-hours. I know you couldn't do this before anyway, but now we're really enforcing it. This isn't a matter of Kuriboh attacks," she said, looking serious. "This is a matter of life or death."

The students took a minute to mull that over. Then Jonathan shouted, "How do we know you're not making this up?"

Some of the students started to mutter, but Eggy raised her hand again. "Girl Scout's honor?" she tried. "Look, that's kind of a stupid question. Anything and everything can happen at this university, and this is real. And we're playing better-safe-than-sorry here, so get back to bed, stay in bed, and keep your eyes open until we find the culprit. Good? Good. Dismissed."

As Eggy left the microphone, the students rose from their seats, talking anxiously and stealing glances at the staff members, who were standing together and seemed to be formulating a plan of action.

At least, that's what Casey hoped they were doing.

"You heard the course coordinator," Roland said into the mic. "Go back to bed."

Everyone filed out, and Casey ended up walking next to Eliza.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Do you think maybe it was one of the teachers? Like one of the villains or something?"

"Who knows?" Eliza said. "I wouldn't put it past some of them.

"And we have to go to class with them tomorrow," Casey realized with dawning horror.

"Well," Eliza said. "This blows like a cheap whore on a Friday night."

"… That's comforting."

"Tell me about it."

Breakfast the next morning was subdued, with everyone discussing the situation in secretive whispers. People kept stealing glances at Rena, who was staring at her oatmeal with an almost shocked look on her face.

"D'you think she'll be okay?" Casey whispered to Stephanie. "I mean, she is Kokoru's roommate."

"I thought they hated each other, though," Ebony said.

"Well, technically," Casey said, "but you can only hang around with someone for so long before you start to get along—or at least get used to the constant fighting." She paused. "Like puppyshipping."

"Oh," Ebony said. "Huh."

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be okay. Remember, Eggy said that they were going to revive Kokoru," Stephanie said. Being one of the oldest students at the university, she often tried to be the logical one. Being surrounded by fourteen-year-olds kind of left her no choice.

"I hope so," Ebony said, shivering a bit. "I would hate to think of what would happen if they couldn't bring her back."

"They've brought students back before," Casey pointed out. "Remember the Blue Eyes? It eats people all the time."

"I think this might be different," Stephanie said. "The Blue Eyes is kind of part of the school, or at least the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe. Whatever got Kokoru might not be, so the rules might be a little different."

"Gosh, I hope not," Casey said. "Then we'd all be screwed."

"How come?"

"Think about it—what if one of us is next? I didn't exactly sign up to die here."

"Neither did Kokoru," Stephanie said grimly.

They lapsed into silence, poking awkwardly at their breakfast.

Finally, Casey dropped her fork in frustration. "God, I wish it had been a ninja."

"Huh?"

Casey shook her head. "It would have been cool if it were a ninja. This is just damn depressing."

"Everything is better with ninjas," Ebony admitted.

"Maybe it was a ninja," Casey said. "He could have gotten into the school without anyone knowing because he has ninja powers."

"This conversation is getting kind of stupid," Stephanie said. "Let's talk about something else, okay?"

"Like puppies," Casey said.

"What?"

"It's a general rule," Casey said. "When things are getting awkward and you need a subject change? Puppies!"

"Puppyshipping?" Ebony said.

"Sure, we can go with that."

Stephanie looked over at the staff table. "I wonder what the teachers are even planning on doing. Are they just going to teach regular classes like everything is okay?"

"What else can they do?" Casey said. "I mean, the worst think we can do is, like, panic or something, right?"

"I guess," Stephanie said. "It just seems wrong, I guess. I mean… a student died. Doesn't that bother anyone?"

"Well, give them some credit," Ebony said. "Half of these guys save the world on a regular basis—they're probably used to it."

"Still," Stephanie said. "I feel like someone else should be doing something a little more… productive."

Casey looked at the two of them and leaned in closer, dropping her voice. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That these pancakes need more syrup?" Ebony said. "Because if so, then yes. Yes I am."

"I think we should do a little investigating of our own."

"… Well, okay. But can it wait until after breakfast?"

"… Sure."

"Thanks."

"We'll do it during lunch time. That way, we can't really get caught for doing anything wrong, since we won't be skipping class or anything."

"But can't we get in trouble for snooping?" Stephanie asked.

Casey grinned. "That's why we won't get caught."

"Gee, never heard that one before."

"Shut up and eat your pancakes."

"So," Seto Kaiba said, walking into the infirmary. "What am I wasting my technology on today?"

"Save it, Kaiba," Yami said. "A student was murdered last night—"

"Yeah, yeah, and you're playing hero, and I'm expected to help. As per usual."

"Kaiba," Yami said. "You can't honestly—"

"Can and will," Kaiba said. "Don't think that I'm automatically going to start caring just because I've been forced into working with you."

"Guys," Yugi said. "Come on. Don't do this right now. Settle your differences when we're not dealing with life or death situations, okay?"

"Sorry, Yugi."

"As much as I don't care," Kaiba said, "fine."

He walked over to where Kokoru's body was lying on a hospital bed. "When was she found?"

"Last night," Yugi said sadly. "In the library."

"What the hell was she doing there?"

"Looking up black magic," Yami said, rolling his eyes. "They will stop at nothing to impress their lust-objects."

"Can you save her, Kaiba?"

"Possibly," Kaiba said, "but it'll take a lot of work that you had better be damn grateful I'm doing." He pressed a button on the side of his collar. "Mokuba, get me my equipment. And then I want you to write me up a report on the girl's death. For the records."

"What are you having him do that for?" Yami said. "We already have it recorded."

"You think I want him sticking around here to watch his older brother resurrect a dead body? I don't."

"Wow, he really does care."

"Shut up."

"Okay," Casey said, standing in the hallway just outside of the cafeteria. "Everybody know what you're doing?"

Ebony, Stephanie, and Rena, who they had convinced to come with them, nodded.

"Great. Operation Whodunit? is a—"

"What'cha doing?"

Casey jumped and spun around. "Jesus H. Christ!" she shrieked, clutching her chest. "Dammit, Destiny, you almost gave me a freaking heart attack!"

Ebony groaned at the sight of her roommate. "Destiny, go… bother a Kuriboh or something. We're busy."

"Are you guys going exploring?" Destiny said. "Ooo, sounds like fun!"

"For your information," Rena said, crossing her arms over her fuzzy sweater, "we're going to find out who attacked Kokoru."

Ebony stomped down on Rena's foot. "Shut up!"

"Ow! Sorry, jeez!"

Destiny clapped her perfectly manicured hands. "Ooo," she said again. "A mystery! Like Clue, only with less fat old guys!"

"No, it's really not," Casey muttered.

Destiny blinked her big, crystal blue eyes and tossed her shiny blond hair. "Well, I just so happen to have connections with the staff."

"You do not," Stephanie said, rolling her eyes.

Destiny pouted her perfect lips. "Yes, I do! The Thief King is my husband."

"No, he is not—"

"And I can do anything I want, so there!"

"God," Casey said, gaping. "You're such a Mary-Sue."

Destiny twirled a highlighted strand of hair. (All natural, of course.) "What's that? Is it pretty?"

"Oooh yeah," Casey said, rolling her eyes. "Definitely."

"Well, good!" Destiny said, flouncing. "So, do you want my help?"

"Uh…"

"Er…"

"See, the thing is…"

"Look!" Ebony said, pointing randomly. "Something shiny!"

"Ooo, where?"

Ebony, Rena, Stephanie, and Casey took off running in the opposite direction.

Yugi Motou sighed to himself and left the infirmary, leaving Kaiba to do his work. He had kind of hoped that he wouldn't actually be caught up in anything that required him to help save someone while he was here.

So much for that.

At least there were no card games involved.

Yet.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the three students rounding the corner at breakneck speed.

At least, he didn't notice until they all barreled into him.

"Ouch," he said, sitting up and rubbing his head. "That's going to leave a mark."

"OhmygoshI'msosorry!" one of the girls said, yanking him to his feet. "We didn't see you!" She flapped her hands anxiously. "Oh my gosh, are you hurt? Did we break anything? Oh my gosh, did we just kill the King of Games?"

"Jesus, Rena, calm down," one of the other girls said. "He's obviously fine."

"Ahahah, yeah," Yugi said. "Yep, I'm okay. Really."

He frowned at them. "Wait, shouldn't you four be at lunch? What are you doing all the way over here?"

"Er…"

"She has a headache," one of them said, pointing to the girl in the furry sweater who had been freaking out a moment before. "We're taking her to the infirmary."

"Sorry," Yugi said apologetically, "but the infirmary's closed. Unless it's a real emergency, I'm afraid you're just going to have to—"

"Okay, she doesn't actually have a headache," one of the girls blurted out. "But, see, my roommate, she... I mean we…." She stopped. "We just want to see her, is all."

"And avenge her death," one of the girls piped up.

"Not helping, Ebony."

Yugi looked at them thoughtfully for a minute. "Well, I think that's very noble of you," he said.

"Just hear us out! We—wait, what?"

"I do," Yugi continued. "Wanting to help a friend? Trust me, I understand all about that."

"Then can we go?" Fuzzy-Sweater-Girl demanded.

"I'm sorry, girls," Yugi said. "But Kaiba's doing all that he can right now to bring your friend back. And I know that I'm not exactly the best person to tell you this," he said with a chuckle, "but I think that you guys should leave this one to the professionals. It's… a little over your heads."

The girls looked at each other. "Then…" one of them said, "when will we be allowed to see her?"

"I'm not sure," Yugi said. "I'll talk to Kaiba. In the meantime, I think you guys should go to lunch." He waved down the hall. "Come on, I'll go with you."

Stephanie, Casey, Rena, and Ebony fell behind him, feeling slightly disappointed. "Well, that failed," Casey muttered.

"Maybe we can try again tonight," Stephanie whispered, looking at Yugi.

"I don't think so, guys," Rena said softly. "Maybe he's right. Maybe we should leave this one to the guys that actually know what they're doing."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"I don't know," Rena said, "but our friendship will—"

"Here she goes," Ebony said, rolling her eyes.

"Down, girl," Casey said. "C'mon, let's put the soap-box away now."

"Meanies."

"Don't even go there, Ren."

In Introduction to Platonic Love, Atem was having a rather difficult time.

Why did they ask him to sub, of all people? He didn't know a thing about this stuff. He was a pharaoh, not a teacher, dammit.

"Um," he said. "Er…"

The students stared at him blankly. Except for the ones that were too busy drooling.

Yeah, he probably should have worn a shirt today.

"I'm Atem," he began. "Yami and Yugi are… a bit tied up at the moment, so—"

"How do you get your abs to do that?" one of the students interrupted.

"I'm sorry?"

The student grinned. "With all due respect, your highness? Yum."

"… We're just going to watch a video, okay?" Atem said. If he could figure out how to work the confounded television set, that was.

Seriously. Technology.

What the hell was up with that?

"You're supposed to put it in the DVD player. Not on top of it."

"… Do your homework, fanbrat."

"Okay," Kaiba said. "That's all I can do." He stepped back. "Face it, Motou: Kaiba Corp. technology was not designed with…" He gestured to the student. "With this in mind."

Yami sighed. "Are you sure there's not something else you can do?"

"Positive," Kaiba said, beginning to pack his equipment. "I'm done."

"What are we supposed to tell the students?" Yugi asked.

"Dammit, Yugi, how about that I can't, oh, I don't know, reanimate the dead?"

"Did someone say reanimate the dead?" Yami Bakura asked, poking his head through the door.

Yugi looked thoughtful.

Yami noticed and shook his head. "No, Yugi."

"Well, why not?"

"Maybe because he's evil incarnate?"

"Oh," Yami Bakura said. "I'm flattered, really."

"How do I put this gently?" Yami said. "How about, 'Piss off, Bakura?'"

"Please, Yami," Yugi said.

"Well—"

"I'll do it," Bakura said. "For a price."

"What do you want?" Yami said. "My Puzzle? My soul?"

"Fifty bucks," Bakura said. "And whatever's in the kid's wallet."

"… Deal."

"Yami!"

"What? You wanted his help, not me."

Bakura rolled up his sleeves. "Let's see what we're working with, then."