Thank you guys!: Bright Eyes Illusionist, vyeralyn, AnimaniAshley, Lazu, Hiei Dragon Girl, and SkyNakama27. Thanks for your reviews! They make me happy. XD

Vyeralyn, you're the first person to write that they recognize the story this is based of off. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

And thank you Lazu as well for all your comments! I love knowing what you guys think about the little things in the story.

Chapter 14

Life sucked.

That was Yuugi's new philosophy. That, and school should always start after twelve. Seriously, who functions properly at such ungodly hours? Today was not a good day. 1st period hadn't even started and she was ready to go home.

Yuugi tossed her bag onto the desk, then grumbled when it slipped off and landed upside down. She had half a mind to kick for its sass.

"You're in quite the mood I see." Said Jounouchi, sliding into the seat beside her. Yuugi grimaced.

"I'm just tired." She said, yawning. "Why are you so happy this morning?"

"Can't I be happy for no reason?" said Jou.

"No. It's sickening."

"Wow. Grouch."

"Bite me."

Her mood got better as the day wore on. Thankfully her backpack learned it's lesson and listened to her commands for the next few classes. It was between classes that she came unglued due to a certain friend of hers.

"Honda." Said Yuugi, her mood good at this point. "Let's finish our project for Macbeth after school today. Have you started on the outline?"

"N-no. I haven't." Said Honda, not looking her in the eye. He was determinedly looking at a spot at least a foot above her. Though this was becoming the norm for their interactions, for some reason, this time it annoyed her.

"Hey, I'm down here." Said Yuugi, poking Honda in the stomach. The boy yelped, dropping his notebook on the floor.

"Don't do that Yuugi." Said Honda, pickup up his stuff.

"Why?" said Yuugi, still annoyed. "Give me a good reason why you can't look me in the eye."

"You just poked a ticklish spot is all." Said Honda, still not looking at her. His head was bowed, an arm crossed in front of his body and hugging the notebook to his chest.

Something in Yuugi just… snapped.

This was ridiculous. Yuugi was not used to the timid and docile Honda. He was usually as loud as Jou, the two feeding off of each other's energy. But now he was reserved, more timid around her. It was starting to drive her nuts. Where was the ridiculous smart aleck friend she was used to?

"Gosh, I'm getting so sick of this." Said Yuugi, stomping her foot in anger. "Why the hell can't you just look at me like you used to?"

Honda's face snapped up, no doubt surprised at her outburst. "That's… I'm trying Yuugi I really am but-"

"But what?" said Yuugi, not caring that people were starting to stare. "Go ahead and say it."

"Things are different now." Said Honda, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm still adjusting to what I can and can't do. I can't get what happened at your house out of my head. I'm trying to determine where the line is for interacting."

"What line?" said Yuugi. "Why can't you just treat me the same as you always have?"

"You're a girl now." Said Honda, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm sorry, but I can't treat you the same. It wouldn't be right."

Yuugi took a step back, hurt flashing hot inside her of. It was replaced a second later with rage.

"Fine then."

She turned and stormed off, determined to get away before she started yelling at Honda for his stupidity. Why did her gender change anything? Why couldn't her friend treat her like he always had? Just because she was a girl didn't mean anything had really changed.

She was done being the patient one. She was done being the mature one in this situation.

Yuugi let out a frustrated yell, prompting a nearby teacher to scold her for causing such a racket.

She arrived at her next class, art appreciation, and sat quickly in her seat. She folded her arms across her chest, scowling at anything that dared be happy. She was in no mood to talk, which was why she was glad to see Anzu talking to another friend when she took the seat beside Yuugi, who continued to mope silently. It didn't last long though. Her friend finished her conversation and commented on Yuugi's obviously foul mood, which she just shrugged off, telling her she'd be fine. Class started soon after and they weren't able to talk.

As the lesson progressed, Yuugi's frustration slowly deflated, at least for the most part. Occasionally it would flare from some question or fact from the class. (We have to do what for a paper? How many pages do you want it to be? Gosh, we are not in college. We are high schoolers!) By the end, most of her frustration was gone and she just felt drained from the sustained effort of being angry.

"Yuugi, you ok?" asked Anzu the second the bell rang.

"I'm fine." Said Yuugi with a sigh. "I'm just sick of being treated like a girl."

Anzu gave her a strange look. "What do you mean by that?"

Yuugi paused. She didn't like talking 'bad' about her friends behind their backs. If she had a problem she preferred to talk to them directly rather than complain to her friends. But in this case, she had just blown up in Honda's face. Perhaps Anzu would have some good insight on what she should do.

"Have you noticed that since I've emerged, everyone has been treating me differently?" said Yuugi. "I just had a fight with Honda because he doesn't look me in the eye when he talks to me. I know he's scared of girls but gosh! I don't even qualify as one. Why does it change anything?"

"I'll admit, I have seen a change." Said Anzu slowly. "Honda is definitely the most obvious, that's for sure. Has anyone else been treating you differently?"

"There have been some instances." Said Yuugi bitterly. "And not just in our group. People play nicer against me in PE and are politer in general. Sometimes I'm helped with things they would have ignored before, like collecting homework or opening doors for me. Then there's the opposite side of the spectrum. I've noticed some guys leering at me and trying to peak under my skirt when I walk down the stairs. It's like I'm expected to either be made of glass or an object for their perverted fantasies."

"With the perverts, I can see why you'd be annoyed by them." Said Anzu. "But what's wrong with being treated with respect? Why would that bother you?"

"Because that's not how they treated me before!" said Yuugi with exasperation. As a guy, Yuugi had been taught to treat girls with special care. Chivalry was not dead in Yuugi's book. At least, when she had been a man it had been a thing. Now, it felt so odd to be on the receiving end of it. Mostly she just felt pathetic when others did things for her. Forget Honda not looking at her, it was insulting to be treated with such delicate care. She still had her pride as a strong independent person.

"It's like I'm weak." Said Yuugi bitterly. "I can't stand it. I hate being treated like a girl."

"I'm sorry Yuugi." Said Anzu, giving Yuugi a kind pat on the shoulder. "Rather than thinking that they're seeing you as weak, realize that they're being respectful. Would you rather that they treated you like before and rough housed with you?"

Yuugi's honest answer was a resounding yes! But she realized that Anzu couldn't understand her. Anzu had always been a female, loved and respected by everyone around her. She had a great personality. She was charming, genuine and humble. She seemed to thrive on the special attention she received as a popular girl, taking it in her stride when people were extra nice to her. While the attention and care looked good on Anzu, it made Yuugi sick to think that others would pamper her in the same way.

"You're not weak Yuugi." Said Anzu, breaking her train of thought. "And the way people treat you doesn't mean they see you as weak either. It's inevitable that people will treat you differently than before. There are just too many universal differences between the way men and women are viewed."

"But I don't want to be treated any differently." Said Yuugi, feeling like a broken record.

"Yuugi," Said Anzu placing a hand to her own heart. She looked at Yuugi in earnest now, her eyes shining with genuine concern. "I'm sorry that you're upset about this, but no matter what happens, I won't treat you any differently. I can promise you that! Well, except that I will one day convince you to put on makeup. I don't think it counts since I was trying to do that before you were a girl. But I will definitely do my best to see you for who you are rather than your gender."

Yuugi gave a small smile. Perhaps if she hadn't been in a bad mood all day the declaration would have immediately soothed all her fears. But at the moment, her views on life were more sardonic. After Anzu made her promise, Yuugi's immediate thought was that she would break it one day. After all, there were some things that could never be now that Yuugi was a girl.

Then Yuugi was hit with an idea. A bad, manipulative idea to test Anzu's declaration. She went with it, acting before she could stop herself and realize what she was doing. Before she could realize how horrible it was of her to put her friend on the spot after she made that promise out of care and love to help Yuugi feel better.

"Does that mean if I asked you out on a date, you would give me the same answer you would have given me if I were a boy?"

Random thought question: So to fellow girls out there, who do you agree more with when it comes to chivalry? Do you think like Yuugi, or do you think like Anzu? Do you think it's sweet and respectful, or do you feel like you're being viewed like you're the weaker sex? I know my answer. What's yours?