At least the last chapter was pretty good. This is one of my favorites... well sorta. The shadow game was kinda disappointing to be honest, but the idea was cool. Generally, I prefer the shadow game in the season 0 version. That one was a lot more exciting. Anyways, I decided to make this like the manga version with a little twist to it.
One more thing, I don't know if Japan allows alcohol for medical reasons or underage drinking (and I mean under 2 1), but it is used in the US for medical purposes. Review please!
Atem was in his room watching TV that was next to the door. He was sitting on the bed upright with crutches next to the bed post and a bottle of beer on his table stand. Bandages were covering from his waist to his hips. The hit from the iron plate was still healing up and was taking a long time to do so. Atem was just thankful he wasn't at the hospital anymore. Those pain relief pills were messing with his appetite, so much that he couldn't eat more than a serving of soup.
The pains were still there, but they were getting better. Atem didn't even have to take as many pills anymore. The pains were minimum. Though, they still bothered him. Yugi kept Atem company through most of his recovery. In reality, both of them were recovering since they shared a body. Yugi appeared next to Atem with a small smile.
"I sense some pain coming back," Yugi said.
"I'm fine, Yugi. The doctors say that I'll recover in no time," Atem declared with pride in his eyes. Yugi eyed the bottle of beer on the table stand. Atem sighed as Yugi took off his brother's top and showed his bare chest and the bandages before laying him down. "Yugi, this is really unnecessary. I'm fine."
"Atem, you drink when you're in pain!" Yugi glared with demand in his eyes. He placed his two hands on the bandages and a glow appeared from the puzzle. Atem felt a sensation at the very places that were hurting. Yugi then laid next to Atem and played with his blond bangs. "There's nothing wrong with me looking out for you, my sweet brother."
"Besides the fact that it's annoying?" Atem glared. "I told you, I'm fine! If I wasn't, I'd still be at that hospital with Tea giving out chocolates."
Yugi blushed at the thought, then said, "don't be so prideful." His hand was placed on the bandages and slowly traced it down to the hip bone. Yugi's head was leaning on Atem's shoulder. "Atem, you need another drink?"
"Please," Atem said before Yugi got the bottle of beer and put it to Atem's lips while lifting up the head. Because Yugi numbed the pain from Atem's ribs and hip, his body was also numb. "This is why I don't let you nurse me. I feel like I'm paralyzed."
"That's too damn bad," Yugi smirked after placing the bottle back. He carefully laid Atem's head on the pillow of his bed. His body gently laid on Atem with Yugi's arms around his upper waist underneath the arms. "I'm the only one who can do this without you throwing a tantrum. Of coarse, you threw one in the past when we first met."
Atem sighed deeply while staring at the ceiling. He hated having to stay in bed and do nothing, because of his fractured bones. On the positive side, Yugi couldn't snuggle as much since that would only make the pains worse. Yugi did hold Atem close, especially when his bones were numb, because of the puzzle. Yugi's warm spirited body brought a comforting feeling inside Atem. He could easily pass out in a deep sleep with Yugi as Atem's blanket.
"Atem! How are you feeling?" Solomon asked before opening the door.
"Fine," Atem assured.
Uka entered as well and spotted the beer bottle. She sighed, then glared, "you know I hate it when you drink that stuff."
"I'm not drinking it to get drunk you know," Atem pointed out. "The doctor said a little alcohol should ease some of my pains."
"I know, it's just..." Uka said before showing a saddened face. "I don't wanna lose you again."
"Mom, I'm not 13 anymore," Atem declared. "I'm a kid with fractured bones. Besides, during that time, I drank whiskey and rum, not beer."
Uka rolled her eyes and a small chuckle escaped from her. She walked to her son and kissed his forehead. Atem smiled while Uka sat on the bed next to her son. The mother's hand laid on Atem's gentle face.
"I love you, sweety," Uka said.
"I love you too, Mom," Atem replied before a yawn escaped his lips. Yugi's warm hug was making him sleepy, VERY SLEEPY.
"I'll let you rest," Uka said before exiting out the room along with Solomon.
Atem slept for a good few hours. After waking up from his nap, he started moving around to regain his strength so his bones would heal up. Atem moved around with his crutches while deciding to visit with his friends. He happened to meet with Joey and Tristan when they were going to visit their friend at the shop. Atem smiled.
"Hey, how're you guys?" Atem asked.
"Good. How you feeling?" Tristan asked, looking at the crutches.
"Better. You need anything?"
Tristan curled his lips into his mouth and stared at the ground with his hands in his pockets. Joey looked at Tristan, than Atem who cocked his eyebrows.
"Tristan has... a problem we think you can help him with," Joey said.
"I'll see what I can do. What do ya need?" Atem asked.
"Tristan is love sick. You know that girl Miho?" Joey asked as Atem nodded. "He's madly in love with her and needs help to show her his love."
Atem showed a chuckling smile before asking, "and you need my help to find you the perfect present for your darling hot chick?"
"Please, I need something that can win Miho's heart!" Tristan begged, then smiled lovingly. "My darling Miho. How I long to kiss your soft hand."
'And I thought your crush was bad,' Atem smirked toward Yugi. The teen with the crutches answered, "very well. I'll help you out, but it'll cost ya."
"How much?" Tristan asked.
"Non, I was just messing with ya," Atem smirked before pointing his head toward the shop since he couldn't use his fingers or hands. They were on the crutches.
The three teenagers entered inside the shop and Atem scanned at a curtain shelf. As soon as he saw something, he smiled, and then laid one crutch down to grab it with his right hand. Tristan came from behind Atem before he gave his friend a blank puzzle.
"A blank puzzle?" Tristan questioned.
"Yep. When I was five, I gave Serenity one of these. You just message your love toward your girlfriend and break the pieces. She has to solve it in order to read the message. Very romantic," Atem winked.
"Serenity? Who's she?" Tristan asked.
"My sister," Joey replied.
"You have a sister?"
"I'll pay for that. It's only twenty bucks," Atem offered.
"Thank you a bunch," Tristan thanked. "But what should I write? I want it to show my feelings with burning passion."
"What is this, Gone With the Wind?" Atem asked sarcastically. "Just write how you feel. You don't need to be fancy."
"But I want to," Tristan whined before staring at Atem. "You dated three girls at once. You can write my feelings down!"
"They weren't my girlfriends, they were my sex partners!" Atem corrected. "Besides that, you write it down. A girl likes it when the very man that loves her writes the note down!"
"Please?"
"Fine," Atem sighed. "What do you want me to write down? I don't exactly have a mind reading ability."
"Just write down 'Dear Miho, Your more beautiful than any girl I know. I want to show my love for you. Love Tristan.'"
"And yet you want me to write for you? I get the feeling that you have major issues," Atem glared before taking the puzzle and moving upstairs with his crutches. Of coarse, he needed help to climb up the steps.
Atem wrote the letter on the blank puzzle. He was glad he had something to do other than sitting on the bed and drinking beer. Yugi peered over his brother and saw the letter. He smiled while watching Atem's handwriting.
"How 'bout you put a heart instead of 'love'?" Yugi suggested.
"As long as it makes loverboy happy," Atem thought. "Tristan really needs to work on his romantic skills. It's no wonder Joey is having him turn to me."
"I hope he wins Miho's heart."
"So do I, especially with that bitch of a teacher," Atem said after drawing a heart by Tristan's name.
"You mean Mrs. Chouno?" Yugi asked. "The one who wears more makeup than Tea's grandma?"
Atem chuckled at that comment and replied, "that's the one. She also has a reputation for expelling 15 students in a month. We call her the 'Expelling Witch.'"
"Wow, she sounds mean."
"She's a bitch ass. If she expells me or any of my friends, I promised to flip her off. I'm telling ya Yugi, she's a whore and a slut for brains. More teachers in this school are more blinded by her beauty than a drunkard at a bar."
"That bad huh? Why don't cha change classes?"
"Because I need English III in order to graduate."
"Sucks."
"It does."
Atem was able to finish the letter on the puzzle before heading for bed. The next morning, he took the puzzle and gave it to Tristan to place it in Miho's desk. The three friends sat in their seats to wait for the other students to come in so class would start. Mrs. Chouno stepped into the class with her fake smile. Judging by the amount of makeup she had, Atem had a bad feeling Mrs. Chouno was in a BAD mood.
'Oh shit,' Atem said inside his head. 'I hope Mrs. Chouno doesn't start...'
"Before we open our textbooks, I'd like for you all to empty your desks and bags and put all your items on your desk. We'll be having an inspection today," Mrs. Chouno announced.
'SHIT! She's really in her bad mood,' Atem gasped before emptying his bag and desk, which only contained two text books, math tools, utensils, a project from science class, and two beer cans.
"Atem, you know alcohol is not..." Mrs. Chouno said before Atem revealed a doctor's note. It showed that Atem was to have a curtain amount of alcohol for his injuries. "I'll have the nurse do an alcohol test to make sure you have the amount required."
"Already did. It says 0.08%. Do you want me to do another check?" Atem asked in a glare.
"Very well. Just know I have my eye on you," Mrs. Chouno warned. Atem had to hold himself back from flipping his teacher off who was being a pain, if not the fractured bones.
"Lucky," Joey spat quietly. He had three books, a project for science, and his lunch. He normally brought games, but left them in his locker due to Mrs. Chouno's reputation for expelling students.
Mrs. Chouno spotted Miho's desk with the puzzle box wrapped in a gift wrapping. Atem gasped in his mind. He totally forgot about Tristan's present to Miho. The inspection would end up worse than the teenage boy could imagine. Even Yugi was shaking in fear. Tristan was trembling while staring at the package on Miho's desk. The poor girl was scared silly and staring at the present given to her.
"What this?" Mrs. Chouno asked while snatching the present from Miho's desk.
"I... I don't know. I found it in my desk. I have no idea how it got there," Miho confessed. The teacher ripped the wrappings and found the present underneath it.
"Ah, a puzzle? Looks like a gift from a romantic lover. You all know that any PDA is against school policy and romantic gifts are only the start of them."
Atem glared deeply at the teacher as she poured the pieces of the puzzle all over her desk. The teacher placed each piece in place to read the letter that was written. Atem was turning red and his face was boiling in anger. This teacher was not only humiliating Tristan and Miho, but using this to expell a student for her own amusement. Atem was so angry, his desk was shaking.
"Hm," The teacher read. "'Dear Miho, Your more beautiful than any girl I know. I want to show my love for you.' Romantic, very romantic." The students laughed and giggled. The only students that didn't were Atem, Joey, Tristan, Miho, and Tea who was shocked by all means. Mrs. Chouno smirked, "Now the one who wrote this, if he will kindly step over here, I will be more tolerant!"
Everyone stood silent. Tristan was shaking in fear and Miho showed a tear rolling down her cheek. Atem couldn't take this anymore. He limply stepped from his desk before Tristan got the chance. Everyone gasped including Tea.
"I wrote that!" Atem said. There was a pause for a few seconds. "It was a prank."
"I was involved in this as well!" Joey announced as everyone started making chatters.
"No!" Tristan shouted. "This was no prank. I really am in love with Miho. I just wanted to show my heart and passion. Atem and Joey are just trying to protect me."
Miho stared at the three, mostly at Atem and Joey. The girl then brought her attention back to the teacher who smiled wickedly.
"The three of you? You can't possibly be involved in this. There's only one way to find the real culprit," Mrs. Chouno said before taking the four remaining puzzle pieces of the puzzle and started placing them one by one. "One."
"Bitch," a voice was heard. The teacher's head shot up and looked straight into Atem's deep furious eyes.
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Chouno asked in surprise.
"Mrs. Chouno. You maybe gorgeous on the outside, but I know your true form. Ever since the day I came to this class, I've always seen the true face you hide behind your makeup," Atem admitted in an angered tone. "Your expelling reputation, your tantics to find out who's hiding what, whatever the case maybe. You can expell anyone around here just by finding a reason to. Take my beer cans for an example. You want an excuse to expell me just for your amusement. As hot as you maybe, I know what's behind that makeup." With that. Everyone started seeing shapes on Mrs. Chouno's face that were like connected puzzle pieces. Atem was so angry at this point, he did not notice this. "You're nothing but an ugly whore. I see you at Marriage Interviews. Your beauty is only a mask to the real thing. I have a list of the things to call you: slut, whore, piece of shit. You can take that, Mrs. Chouno..." Atem then stuck up his middle finger to everyone's shock. "and kiss my ass." After that, the puzzle pieces of Mrs. Chouno's makeup fell off and there, under the makeup, was a wrinkly face with brown marks on her face.
Atem then gasped. He stared at his puzzle and wondered, 'did I do that?' Everyone burst out laughing and mocking at the ugly faced teacher. The teacher was so humiliated, she shunned herself out of the classroom and ran down the halls. Atem stared into space with pure shock written on his face. Everyone else cheered with joy in their hearts. The teacher was gone and nobody was getting expelled.
Atem was crowded by the group of students who congratulated him on flipping the teacher off and standing up to her like that. Everyone was impressed at Atem's speech. Atem nodded and smiled in response. Although, that would be nothing compared to the response he got from Miho and Tea.
Miho walked up to Atem as soon as the crowd deceased. The girl was shy and calm. A smile appeared from her lips.
"That was really brave of you for what you did for your friend," Miho complimented. "I know that wasn't a prank and that you were just trying to protect your friend. To me, that was more impressive then that speech."
"Thank you," Atem nodded. "I think you should talk to Tristan whether you like him or not."
"I will."
Miho left and went to Tristan. He ended up getting rejected, but was glad that he wasn't expelled. Miho took the love note rather well. She thought it was rather sweet. Tristan blushed at that compliment.
Tea came to Atem with a small smile and said, "that was really brave you. What you did."
"I'm always there for my friends, Tea," Atem glared.
"I know, but... not many people are brave enough to do what you did for Tristan," Tea said. She stared at Miho who was talking with her girlfriends. She faced Atem and said, "I was wrong. That day when I found out about Yugi and said he'd be better off without you. I was wrong. He's lucky to have someone like you. You maybe an ass sometimes, but you're the bravest person I know. Maybe in time we can learn to be friends."
"Maybe," Atem smirked. "We'll see."
Since Mrs. Chouno left the class, all her students decided to use this time to take a break. Some of the students were rather in the cafeteria, helping out in some other classes, studying for other classes, in the bathroom, or talking in the halls. Atem patted Tea on the shoulder and told her to meet inside the broom closet. When they were inside, Atem sighed deeply.
"I've been thinking. I'll give you and Yugi a romantic time THIS ONCE," Atem decided. Tea's cheeks blushed red. "Just a kiss on the cheek. Any father than that and I'll have both your heads cut off."
Atem changed to Yugi who seemed excited. Since the whole class time was temporarily canceled, Atem gave Yugi just this time to be romantic with Tea without anybody noticing. Atem disappeared into his Soul Room to give Yugi privacy.
Yugi sat on a box inside the broom closet. Tea sat by Yugi's side and held the boy's hand.
"I think you already are considered a friend to brother," Yugi said with a smile.
"Maybe," Tea shrugged while rolling her eyes. "But I meant every word and you know what? Atem's lucky to have you. He needs someone who can love him for who he is."
"Yeah," Yugi agreed. "Atem also needs to work on those dark powers. He didn't purposely give the teacher a timeout."
"Oh?"
"It's hard for him to control the magic. Atem made a guy paralyzed without even knowing it. If he works at it, I know Atem will become very powerful."
"I bet!"
"Tea."
"Hm," Tea replied before feeling Yugi's soft lips against her cheek that made a soft kiss.
Yugi whispered in the girl's ear, "I love you."
Tea blushed cherry red before holding Yugi in a gentle hug replying, "I love you too, Yugi. Even if you are inside the body of a jackass."
Yugi snorted at that comment while rolling his eyes. Tea and Yugi spent all the time of the hour together before Atem took Yugi's place. With that, Atem moved with his crutches to his next class along with his other two friends. Neither of them were expelled and Mrs. Chouno quite her job. Those words she heard from Atem Moto would forever torture the teacher's living soul.
