Obviously, Yu-Gi-Oh! is the property of its respective owner/s. Not me
Role Reversal
Chapter 6
Atemu felt nervous as he stood before the mirror, but it wasn't due to pounding fists at the door, sudden touches, or anything that reminded him of Duat. Yugi had taken care of him well. He had shown him nothing but kindness since his first day in the mortal realm.
This, in Atemu's opinion, was about to put an end to his streak of good intentions.
He was sending him to school.
The decision was rooted deeply in their gathering two months ago, right when Yugi announced that Atemu was staying as his son. Honda had brought about an issue regarding Atemu's papers, written proof that Atemu was under his custody. Since that day, everyone had worked together creating Atemu's legal identity.
While waiting for his papers, Atemu spent most of his time at home alone, sometimes with Yugi and Anzu. Yugi's daughter had been avoiding him like the plague. He almost never saw her except for dinner and breakfast. Yugi and Anzu had given him a proper tour of their house. They had saved the Game Shop and Yugi's old room—now filled with boxes of memorabilia— for last. They also took him shopping.
Whenever he was deep in slumber, his friends and family from Kemet would visit him and show him some fond memories. He could feel bonds awakening whenever he woke up.
With each new morning, Duat grew more distant and he could feel the burden in his heart lifting little by little. But he was still timid and unnaturally shy, and he was still frightened by anything that reminded him of Duat, but it wasn't as much as his first days with Yugi. It had diminished, and at the end of those two months Yugi had declared him fit for school.
"Mou Hitori No Boku! Enjeru! Breakfast!"
Adjusting his uniform one final time, he exited his room. 'Well, at least the uniforms are the same' He thought.
Just as he sat at the table, Enjeru entered the dining area. The moment they locked eyes, she looked away, grabbed a piece of toast, and headed for the door. Atemu looked down and sighed.
"If you're really sorry, then you should go back to whatever hole you crawled out of."
Yugi watched as Atemu nibbled on his toast. He had seen their short exchange, but he was far from surprised. Enjeru had been difficult when it came to Atemu since the day he arrived.
"What do you mean he's going to be my brother?" Enjeru shouted.
"Enjeru, Atemu's part of the family now. And I expect you to treat him as such."
"Why? He just showed up at our doorstep and you immediately take him in?"
"He's... He's all alone in this world, Enjeru. We're the only ones he has left."
"I haven't even met him before. Now you're asking me to just accept him! Don't I get a say in this?"
Yugi sighed. That talk hadn't ended well.
…
Enjeru stood seething by the door. Her parents had been focused on Atemu ever since he arrived on their doorstep.
"Enjeru"
Her father was standing by the stairs. "Morning" She greeted while avoiding his gaze.
"Enjeru." Yugi repeated as he approached her. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Please be nice to Atemu."
Enjeru had planned to glare at her father. Instead, she stared at him wide eyed. He had bags under his eyes and his expression was a mix of pleading and exhaustion. 'It's worse than the puppy dog look', she thought. Her lips formed a grim line before nodding.
"That's my girl." Yugi sighed in relief as he hugged her. "Take care of him."
"But I'm only gonna do this for you, Chichi" Enjeru stated when she pulled away.
…
The Homeroom of Freshmen Section B was in chaos. Sports day was in a week and the students were deciding amongst themselves as to who would represent their class in the games. Friends were clustered together, talking about who they thought would be the perfect representative while the class representative tried to maintain a semblance of order.
In one particular circle of friends...
"Anyway...I think you should choose badminton over swimming, Kyou. You have had more practice with badminton than swimming."
Shinzou laughed. "You're just saying that 'cause you don't want me on your team, Shia."
Shiawase Hiroto pouted and folded her arms. After giving Shinzou a hard shove, "Am not!" She countered.
"Then why do you want me to go for badminton instead of swimming? You know I love swimming."
"Well, for starters, you're a terrible swimmer" Enjeru pipped up.
Shinzou feigned being shocked. He pressed a hand dramatically over his chest, the other hand longingly reaching out for Enjeru. "How could you?"
Enjeru thumped him. "Face it, other than freestyle, you have no style in swimming."
Shia snorted and Shinzou let out a choked gasp, his hand over his chest as though his heart was ripped out. When he composed himself, he started looking around. "Hey, I thought that your brother was supposed to be with ya?"
Enjeru shrugged. She suddenly found her skirt interesting. "He's with Meirei-sensei" Enjeru said nonchalantly. "Probably assigning him a homeroom."
An uneasy silence fell over the trio...
"So..." Shiawase said, fingering the ends of her brown hair. "I heard he's your new brother." Her lips curled into a shy smile. From the corner of her eye, she saw Enjeru look away with a fleeting scowl.
"Yup." Enjeru said stiffly. She noted that Shiawase was still looking at her. "Out with it, Shia..."
Shia bit her lip excitedly. She grasped Enjeru's arm. "Is he good looking?"
Enjeru rolled her eyes. "Well—"
"Settle down everyone!"
Their class adviser had entered the room. The moment her presence was known, the class immediately fell into order. "We have a new student. He's from— "
"Oh no..." Enjeru quietly whined, clutching her temples. 'Please, Kami-sama. Don't let it be—"
"I would like all of you to meet Atemu Mutou"
"No..." Enjeru moaned, burying her face in her arms, as opposed to the explosion of feminine squeals all around her. She felt someone shaking her arm.
"Oh Jeru!" Shiawase's voice squeaked. "Your brother's so hot!"
'Please spare me...' Enjeru covered her ears and repeatedly slammed her head at her desk.
…
Taking out his shoes from the shoe locker and replacing them with his school slippers, Atemu let loose a sigh. His first day was alright, once he didn't count the many girls crowding around him and offering to give him a tour of the school. The teacher didn't pick one of those girls who offered. Who she picked made Atemu wish she had though.
Shinzou, Enjeru, and Atemu were walking down the hall, the former two a little bit ahead of the latter. They just finished o soji.* Now, Shinzou and Enjeru were showing the Pharaoh around.
"So... This is the biology lab right here. And that one over there is the English lab." Shinzou said, gesturing towards the rooms to his right. "This one over here—"
"Is the computer room..." Enjeru blurted out. "I think that's about all of it."
"I think so..." Shinzou agreed. He looked at his watch. It was only 4:00 pm. He turned to Enjeru with a smile. "Looks like we have time to meet up with Shia at the arcade"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Enjeru said excitedly as she tugged on Shinzou's arm. Shinzou just bit his lip, using his head to gesture towards Atemu. "Oh..."
"Um..." Shinzou felt lost. Enjeru looked down. Going to the arcade, just the three of them, every after class—when her two sports loving friends weren't practicing late into the night—had always been a tradition. They didn't want to break it.
Sensing that none were willing to break the silence,, Atemu smiled and said. "It's alright. I can go home by myself."
"Great!" Enjeru cheered, pulling Shinzou along. She stopped suddenly. "You know how to go home right?"
Atemu gave her a thumbs up.
'Good enough for me' Enjeru thought as she pulled Shinzou away, the latter mouthing an apology to Atemu.
After finally getting the last shoelace done, He straightened up and hit something.
Atemu's eyes widened. He was certain that the only thing behind him was another row of shoe lockers. However, those were around two meters away. He tried to calm himself down.
"You think you can just come here and woo my girl, punk?"
He felt something clamp over his mouth. A strange scent filled his nostrils, and then he lost himself...
…
Yugi was impatiently drumming his fingers on the table. Atemu and Enjeru's classes ended two hours ago. Where were they? Yugi was more worried about Atemu. Enjeru usually went to the arcade with her friends and would be home in a few minutes. Atemu, on the other hand, had nowhere to go, unless Enjeru invited him to tag along. He had no way of knowing because his end of the Link was blocked.
'Maybe he and Enjeru had a fight' He thought.
The door opened, and it brought about relief.
"Hey guys, I'm home!" Enjeru announced as she took off her shoes.
"Enjeru!" Yugi greeted brightly. However, his enthusiasm perished when he saw that she was alone. He leaned to the side in order to get a better view of whatever was behind her, some madly hopeful part of him thinking that Atemu was hiding there. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. "Where's Atemu?"
"He isn't home yet?" Enjeru asked. "He said he knows the way back."
Yugi's shoulders plummeted. "Sweetheart, please tell me you didn't let him go home by himself..."
Enjeru raised her hands defensively. "Chichi, he told me he knew how to go home. I believed him. After all, the bus stop is only across the street."
"I told you to take care of him."
"But Chichi, you know I always go to the arcade with Kyou and Shia whenever I have the chance. I rarely get to spend some time with them!"
Yugi buried his face in one hand. "Go to your room, Enjeru." He said sternly. He swept out of the living room, one hand grabbed a coat and the other dialed some numbers on his cell.
"But Chichi—"
"Now!" Yugi yelled, jamming a finger at the stairs. "Hello Jou." He said, pressing the phone into his ear. "Atemu's not home yet. Help me search for him."
1) o soji – 'cleaning of the school'. Happens at the end of an academic day wherein all students participate.
