Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
What could possibly happen, now that the canon storyline is over? Plenty, I assure you!
A few days later, winter break ended, so everyone went back to school. The teacher cleared his throat and announced, "Class, we have three transfer students today, who just came from Egypt: Ishtar Marik, Mutou Atem and Bakura Akefia."
Once Yami had won the Shadow Game inside his Millennium Puzzle and destroyed Zorc, he'd made the decision to stay in the present. With that choice, he and Bakura had changed to their real forms, which had ticked Bakura off. With Kaiba's help, the pair had gained a past, both becoming the cousin of their other half, and (what had made the tomb robber even angrier) had been enrolled in school. They had the knowledge that Yugi and Ryo had so far in school, so they wouldn't fall behind. Marik was attending school on Ishizu's orders, so he could be close to Ryo if needed.
So each wore a school uniform, although Bakura and Marik wore long jackets, which made the teacher wary as he continued, "Atem-san is Yugi-kun's cousin, and Akefia-san is Ryo-kun's. All three of them know Japanese very well, so don't be afraid to talk to them like you would anyone else here. Be helpful, because this is their first day here."
"Sure!" the class chorused.
At lunch, Atem, Bakura and Marik disappeared, which made the students which weren't in the know confused.
"Where did the three new guys go?"
Ryo and Yugi shrugged, even though they knew where the three Egyptians had gone, they weren't telling. They had their own problems to deal with, as did Kaiba and Jonouchi.
An international broadcast had aired of the Battle City Tournament, especially of the finals. Everyone had gained worldwide stardom, so there was the press, fans and duelists from around the globe demanding that there be another tournament, so everyone could duel against the famous duelists of Battle City.
Ryo didn't want all this publicity on herself, but that was because Bakura had dueled in the finals. If this World Tournament went through, she was positive she'd be tracked down and killed. It made her anxious, so she could hardly concentrate on the duel she was playing against Jonouchi.
Marik reappeared a few minutes later and grumbled, "Your dark halves are no fun. They told me to be a 'good boy' and come duel with you guys. Why do you think I bought this jacket? Do you think I want to be thought as a 'good boy'?!"
Kaiba groaned as he lifted his head from the cradle of his arms. "Shut up, Ishtar. I was sleeping just now."
"What's got your panties in a twist, Kaiba? I thought you'd be dueling with everyone else."
"I'm sponsoring the first location of the World Tournament, so I've had very little sleep."
"Geez, I didn't know the planning was already underway."
"They want it to start this coming summer, so I'm working nonstop."
"Why come to school at all if you're working the rest of the day?"
"It's the only place I can relax."
The exhausted teenager closed his eyes again to regain some more rest.
/Poor Seto-kun, with Fuyuki and Akio's schedule on top of this, he's getting no sleep at all. I want to help somehow.\
/I can hear you, you know,\\ Bakura reminded her.
/Sorry!\
Before she broke contact, she caught a brief glimpse of a picture in a book on the school roof. She tensed at the thought that her dark half was looking at…nudie magazines…during lunch. It was against school rules to bring such things to school, let alone look at them anywhere on school property. Yet she'd felt how laid back Bakura had been, and he wasn't trying to bicker with Atem. Were they trying to get over their differences and be friends? She sure hoped so, but what were they going to do when they came back down and there was an inspection of their bags? They'd get suspended for sure, unless the principal put them on parole for not knowing the school standards, being foreign students.
"Hey Ryo-kun!" Jonouchi shouted.
She jumped and her eyes focused. "Yes, Jonouchi-kun?"
"Do you care that I'm trampling you in this duel? Quit getting lost in thought and talking to Bakura! Concentrate or this victory won't be satisfying!"
She chuckled nervously and nodded. "Sure, Jonouchi-kun. Let's see…"
In only five turns more, she won. Jonouchi slumped over in his seat. "How did you do that?"
"Did you think that it was Bakura's deck he was using in the finals of Battle City?"
"You're scary…"
She smiled and picked up her cards. "I think I need to update my deck if this tournament is going to range around the world. The tactics I used in Battle City won't work, since I'm sure that there are people who've built decks to break mine. Right, Yugi-kun?"
Yugi nodded. "We'll all have to, if we're going to duel and win." He glanced over at Kaiba and sighed. "I hope Kaiba will be alright. He looks really run down, and only with lunch period to sleep through, he's not going to catch up before the tournament."
/Poor, poor Seto-kun. I want to help him.\
/You worry too much. The Pharaoh and I are coming down, I'm getting sick of being chummy with him.\\
/Are you two…reading porn…?\
/It's actually quite good. Wanna see?\\
Her face turned bright red. /NO! You're not supposed to bring stuff like that on school property! If you're caught—\
/I didn't bring it, the Pharaoh did. Said he borrowed it from Jonouchi.\\
/Jonouchi-kun…? I hope Yugi-kun doesn't look at stuff like that…\
/I won't make you look at it, since naked women wouldn't affect you like it does us guys, but don't be surprised if Yugi was the one who introduced it to the Pharaoh.\\
/I'll never look at any teenage boy the same again…they're all perverts…\
Yugi nodded as Ryo's eyes cleared. "Atem's coming down now, since I gave him a watch so he wouldn't be late. Bakura's with him."
A couple minutes later, Bakura came in, followed by Atem, both considerably more relaxed than before. The tomb robber plunked down in the chair next to Ryo and leered at her. Atem sat next to him, a frown of disapproval on his face.
"What's got your intestines in a knot, Pharaoh?"
"I shouldn't have loaned you that book."
"Too late. I'll give it back only when I'm done."
"I won't be surprised if we have inspection during class and it's found."
"If I'm questioned about it, I'll make sure that the person who bought it and let you borrow it will be blamed."
"If you scar Ryo-kun with that—"
"I already promised I wouldn't, so don't scold me. You're not my mother, Pharaoh."
While Atem sputtered indignantly, a group of girls came over, giggling. The one in the center asked, "Bakura-san, can we sit with you?"
Ryo and Bakura both pointed to themselves, then each other. "Who do you mean? Me, or him?" the pale one asked.
The girls looked at each other and grinned. "Both."
So the pair ended up with a girl on each side, Ryo playing a game with Yugi while Bakura watched. Ryo focused on the duel while her other half was bored again, staring off into space.
"Bakura-san, how long have you known your cousin?"
/Kill me now. I hate teenage girls.\\
/Just deal with it, Bakura. They mean no harm.\
/Only because you don't care!\\
/If you don't like them, ignore them like you are now, because you can't kill them or send them to the Shadow Realm.\
/Such restrictions infuriates me.\\
"Ba-ku-ra-saaaaan," the girl insisted as she shook his shoulder.
Ryo winced as Bakura's anger spiked and the white-haired Egyptian turned to the girl. "If you don't stop annoying me, your luck will change drastically, girl."
Instead of scaring her away, she squealed in delight. "You can tell fortunes, Bakura-san?!"
Ryo laughed silently as all the girls gathered around the thief now, desperate to have their fortunes told. /You just dug a deeper hole for yourself, Bakura. Japanese girls love fortunes and horoscopes.\
/You're not like that.\\
/I'm not the normal Japanese girl, am I?\
/This is true. Can I send them to the Shadow Realm now?\\
/Nope! You have your own fan club! I had to go through this when I first came to school, too!\
Bakura groaned and Ryo felt his murderous rage build until the tension was broken when Atem pointed out, "Here I thought you'd like girls hanging off you, Bakura."
Things fell eerily silent for a second until the bell rang.
After school, Ryo ran after Kaiba and called, "Kaiba-san! Wait!"
Kaiba turned to her. "What is it? I have things to do."
"I have something important—"
"If you have something to tell me, tell me at my house," he interrupted, pulling her down the sidewalk into his limo by the front of her jacket. She kept up and when she sat down, she complained, "Be careful, you almost popped the buttons off my jacket."
He crossed his arms and slumped back into his seat. She instantly forgot about herself as he put his head in his hands.
"Seto-kun, you need rest, badly."
"I don't have time."
"Even the CEO of Kaiba Corporation needs a day off every once in a while. At this rate, you'll kill yourself."
"Between the twins and planning the grand beginning of the World Tournament, I don't have time to sleep."
"…So our wedding is put on hold as well?"
He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm afraid it is."
"Am I not important enough for your busy schedule?"
His eyes snapped open. "That's a trap and you know it!"
"I'm sorry, but I want to help you and when I do, I feel lonely when I'm turned down."
/Do you need myself in convincing the right people?\\
/No, but I think Mokuba can. He's wanted his brother to relax for years.\
/I needed to blow off some steam.\\
/Rope Marik in. He ought to help you.\
/Why not? Thanks, Ryo.\\
/You're welcome.\
When her eyes cleared, she found Kaiba was kissing her passionately. Had she missed something when she was talking to Bakura? She relaxed and put her arms around his neck, closing her eyes as she rubbed his back. She smiled when he parted from her and gave her an amorous glare. "Don't you think that I don't love you. That's what that sentence told me. I love you because you complete me and calm me more than anyone else could. You've given me two beautiful children and more love than I deserve. I know you want to help, but right now, you could trigger being found out and I don't want you to die."
She struggled not to cry, afraid Bakura would berate her for it later, when Kaiba kissed her again. The tears fell without stopping, and as he pulled away, he murmured, "You never have to be afraid to cry in front of me. Whatever Bakura told you, it isn't right that a girl should have to keep in all those emotions, no matter the circumstance."
She smiled through her tears, and he held her close as they got out of the car. She wiped her tears and Mokuba ran up to them. "Nii-sama! Ryo-kun! You arrived at a good time! Akio and Fuyuki are having a nap and won't wake up for another hour! Can we play some games?"
Kaiba shook his head. Mokuba's face fell and Ryo patted the fourteen-year-old's back. "Don't worry, I'll play with you, Mokuba-kun. Come on, let's leave your brother alone to work while the babies are sleeping."
Mokuba pursed his lips, but he nodded. They played DDR and Mokuba got tired of that after a bit, so they sat and played checkers.
"Sometimes I think that ever since those babies were born, Nii-sama's forgotten all about me. They take up all his time, and he won't let me help take care of them. I can tell he's getting more and more run down with each passing day, and sometime soon, unless he gets a break, he's gonna end up in the hospital, or worse, die. I don't know what to do to reach him." He looked at his hands, then up at Ryo. "Can you help me?"
Ryo smiled. "I was waiting for you to ask. I have a plan and you can't tell Kaiba-san about it, okay?"
The black-haired boy nodded and leaned in as the girl whispered her idea to him.
What could possibly be cooked up by those two? Any guesses?
Please review!