Chapter 54

With Yami

Yami woke up at about 5 am and he felt absolutely exhausted, like he hadn't managed to sleep a wink despite the fact he'd gone to bed at a decent hour. His sleep had been plagued by nightmare after nightmare and he'd been awake more than he'd slept it felt like.

Yami sat up and saw that Atemu was sitting up in his own bed, his back resting against the headboard and his eyes had been locked on Yami. Yami frowned, "Did you sleep at all last night Atè?" Yami asked as he stretched.

Atemu shook his head, "No. I didn't. I was keeping an eye on you. You tossed and turned an awful lot last night. I could tell you were having nightmares again. If you had decided that you needed me I wanted to be awake since I know that you wouldn't wake me up." Atemu said softly.

Yami sighed, "Atè, that's sweet. Really, it is. But you should have gone to sleep. You have a big day today with the trial. You needed to be well rested." Yami said.

Atemu just shrugged, "Personally, if I was given the opportunity to make the decision all over again I would have chosen to stay up all over again. If you need me I will be here for you Yami. That is a promise." Atemu said firmly.

Yami nodded, "And that's great Atè and I appreciate that. Trust me I do. But, I don't want you being there for me to negatively impact you." Yami said.

Atemu shook his head, "I assure you Yami. Me having a few sleepless nights is nothing compared to what you are dealing with right now. I can deal with not sleeping. You are more important." Atemu said.

Yami sighed, "Look Atemu, can we please just drop it? I don't want to talk about it." Yami said.

Atemu nodded, "And I respect that Yami. Really, I do. I just..." Atemu trailed off with a sigh, "I wish you'd talk to me." Atemu said.

Yami gave Atemu a pointed look, "I am talking to you Atemu. I talk to you more than I talk to anyone else." Yami said.

Atemu sighed once more, "You know what I mean Yami. Its not good for you to keep this bottled up inside. That bastard hurt you. And yes Yami, I know full well that it is my fault that he was even able to get to you. If I hadn't have left my phone here you wouldn't have been out looking for me. That is on me and I will have to live with that. But, please, it will help you to address what happened if you talk to me about it. You know I won't judge you." Atemu said.

Yami frowned, "Why would you judge me for it?" Yami muttered before he shook his head, "Honestly, Atemu it doesn't matter. What happened happened. That's that, its done. It's in the past and I would really like to try and move past it." Yami said.

Atemu frowned as he sat up straighter in bed, "You and I both know that no matter how much you would love to do exactly that it isn't that simple. Just like I also know Akunadin is a sadistic monster and until someone decides to put that sicko in a six foot deep hole he won't stop coming after you, Yami. He's going to keep hurting you. You know it. And I know it. And I hate that I can't always be around to protect you. I hate that you are in danger." Atemu said.

Yami sighed, "I'm fine Ate. As fine as I'm going to be for a while. Now, I know that you don't like it but I need to get up and start getting ready for school Atemu." Yami said.

Atemu's frown deepened, "And I really don't want you to go. Why can't you just stay home? I'd feel better if you did since I'm not going to be at school to protect you. What if something happens to you while I'm stuck in court?" Atemu said.

Yami sighed, "Yes, Atemu. I understand your concerns. Really I do. But I need to go to school. I've missed more than enough school already and unlike you I don't have an excuse not to go." Yami said.

Atemu sighed, "But Yami..."

"And if anything were to happen, which it won't. Kaiba will be there, he can keep an eye on me while you can't." Yami argued.

Atemu shook his head, "Aren't you and Kaiba fighting right now?" Atemu said.

Yami shrugged, "Sort of. But that doesn't matter, if something happens I'll get him." Yami said.

Atemu gave Yami a pointed look, "Do you promise?" Atemu asked.

Yami nodded, walking up to his twin and resting his hand on Atemu's shoulder reassuringly, "Yes, Atemu. I promise that if anything happens to me at school while you are not there I will get Kaiba." Yami said firmly.

Atemu sighed, "Alright. Fine. You win Yami." Atemu muttered.

Yami chuckled, even though the laugh was a bit forced, "Atemu, deep down you had to have known that there was no chance you would have been the one winning that argument." Yami said.

Atemu nodded, "Yes, I may have known that but that doesn't mean that a large part of me wasn't hoping that I'd be able to convince you not to go." Atemu said.

Yami nodded before he wrapped his arms around his brother's shoulders hugging him, "And it means a lot to me that you care about me as much as you do Atè. Seriously." Yami whispered.

Atemu carefully wrapped his arms around Yami in return. "Of course I care about you Yami. You're the closest person in the world to me and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. You know that." Atemu said.

Yami nodded, "Yes, I do know that Atemu. Trust me, I do." Yami whispered before he carefully slipped out of his brother's embrace and went and collected his school uniform from the closet and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. Atemu followed him into the bathroom and locked the door behind him before he took at seat on the toilet.

"Relax. I'm not going to shower with you Yami. But I figured at least you would feel a little bit better knowing that someone was in here to watch over you." Atemu said.

Yami smiled at Atemu before he climbed into the shower and turned on the water. He was truly lucky that he had someone like Atemu in his life, if it wasn't for Atemu he would have been dead a long time ago. Then again, on days like today Yami had a harder time than he would have cared to admit reminding himself why the fact he was still alive was a good thing.

Yami forced himself to push that particular thought out of his mind and focused on getting himself showered. The worst thing about this whole thing was he felt like he was back to lying to his brother. But, at the same time Yami also knew that if Atemu was aware of what would be happening while he was at court then his brother would point blank refuse to go. Which would lead to all kinds of problems for Atemu that it was just better if Atemu avoided.

Once Yami had finished showering he climbed out of the shower and Atemu handed him a towel which Yami gratefully accepted before he began to towel himself off and tugged on his underwear and walked up to the sink and brushed his teeth. The key to getting this whole thing to work as Akunadin had planned was that Yami needed to go through all the normal motions of getting ready for school. If Yami didn't follow his daily routine exactly Atemu would know that something was up. And based on how closely Atemu was watching him already Atemu clearly was worried that something was up and he would jump on any sign that he was right.

Yami headed back into his and Atemu's bedroom, with Atemu following right behind him and he watched at Yami got dressed in his school uniform before he picked up his backpack, shuffling through the different folders, checking to make sure that he had all of his assignments. Not that it would really matter since he wasn't actually going to school. But if he had been Yami would have wanted to make absolutely sure that he had everything he needed.

Once Yami was satisfied he had everything he needed he slung his bag over his shoulder before he and Atemu made their way down to the dining room to eat breakfast. Yami took his seat at his normal spot with Atemu plopping down somewhat ungraceful in the seat beside him, still dressed in a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt.

One of the servants came over and placed a plate of pancakes with a side of two strips of bacon and a scrambled egg in front of Yami and Atemu before departing once more, leaving the boys to their breakfast. They were about halfway through their meal when Aknamkanon came into the dining room and took his normal seat at the table.

"Good morning." Aknamkanon greeted as the servant appeared carrying Aknamkanon's morning cup of coffee and his morning paper, "Thank you Giles." Aknamkanon said as he accepted the paper.

"Morning." Yami muttered softly whereas Atemu merely grunted from his spot beside Yami.

Aknamkanon smiled as he glanced at Yami, "I'm glad to see that you made the decision to go to school today Yami. I'm proud of you." Aknamkanon said.

Yami smiled, although it was harder than Yami would have liked to admit to force the smile onto his face. That was the first time Aknamkanon had ever said he was proud of him and the worse thing was he was proud of him over a lie. Yami actually wasn't going to school and if Akunadin hadn't set up this meeting Yami would have locked himself in his bedroom for the entire day instead. For some reason that thought sickened Yami.

"I don't think Yami should be going to school. I think he should stay home." Atemu grumbled from his spot beside Yami while he harshly speared a forkful of scrambled eggs.

Aknamkanon sighed, "And I am glad that your brother isn't giving into you pressuring him, Atemu. It's a good thing that Yami is demonstrating some independence. Not to mention that he is choosing to place an importance on his studies. Like I said, I am quite proud of him." Aknamkanon said.

Atemu's frown deepened, as he shot Aknamkanon a dark glare, "And what if something happens to him while I'm not there? Have you never thought of that." Atemu growled.

Aknamkanon sighed once more, "Your brother will be perfectly safe at school. And Atemu, please for the love of god, could we not have your attitude today. I was at the hospital almost all night, I hardly got any sleep at all. The last thing I need is to deal with you on top of everything else." Aknamkanon said.

Atemu quirked a brow, "Oh and what are you going to do? Beat me again?" Atemu growled.

Yami shot Atemu a funny look before his eyes drifted slowly back over towards Aknamkanon. What the hell is Atemu talking about? Aknamkanon wouldn't beat him...would he? Yami thought.

Aknamkanon sighed, "And you know full well that I didn't beat you Atemu. You fully deserved the belting you got for your behavior. Now, drop it and let me enjoy my breakfast in peace." Aknamkanon said.

Atemu frowned, "I did not deserve to be held down by the butler while you belted me for something that happened by accident." Atemu growled.

"And I told you that you needed to stop automatically reacting in a violent way to every situation. Its why we are going to court this morning, because you got into a fight." Aknamkanon said.

"I was attacked and I defended myself. What would you honestly do, expect me to just stand there and let myself get beaten? Sorry, I don't do that. Not since I was a little kid where I used to get beaten by my biological parents. I don't put up with that and I won't." Atemu growled.

Yami lightly rested his hand on Atemu's shoulder, giving his brother a funny look. Was he really so caught up in his own mind that he somehow missed this mess going on between his brother and their foster father?

Yami finished his breakfast before he rose to his feet. Atemu got up as well, still sending Aknamkanon a dark glare. "I can ride to school with you if you want." Atemu offered.

Yami smiled and just shook his head, "No, Ate. You don't need to do that. You need to start getting yourself ready for court. I'll be fine." Yami said softly. He was lying and Yami knew it which was why he ended up fiddling with his backpack instead of looking his brother square in the eye when he finished his statement.

Atemu gave Yami a pointed look, "Seriously, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Its a fifteen minute ride to school and then I am brought back here. I still will have well over an hour to change into the suit that I need to wear and leave for court." Atemu said.

Yami shook his head. To be perfectly honest he would love nothing more than to have Atemu ride with him to school. Then again, he also would really prefer to stay in his room with the door locked and pretend that everything was fine. Sadly neither of them were options. "No, Ate. Really. I'll be just fine." Yami said.

Atemu quirked a brow, "Why don't you want me to ride with you?" Atemu asked. And if Yami was perfectly honest that was more than a fair question for Atemu to ask. The truth, that he wasn't going to school was actually going to be brought to see that monster, wouldn't fly.

"Master Yami, are you ready to leave?" Hasan asked, interrupting the conversation between the two brothers.

Atemu frowned at the driver, "Why don't you go wait in the car and mind your own fucking business. School doesn't start for another 45 minutes. There is no rush." Atemu growled.

Hasan nodded, "Yes. Of course sir. I'll be in the car when you are ready to leave." Hasan replied.

Yami nodded. Atemu continued to frown as he watched Hasan head back out to the car which was idling out front. "You were saying Yami?" Atemu prompted once his gaze drifted back onto his brother.

Yami was quiet for several moments while he tried to come up with an excuse that would be able to convince Atemu to drop the matter because to be perfectly honest the more his brother pushed the matter the harder it was getting for Yami to continue to, figuratively speaking, put one foot in front of the other.

Yami sighed. Other than the truth there was really only one possible excuse he could give. "To be honest Ate, I'm afraid." Yami said.

"Afraid? Yami you really don't have to go to school if you don't want to. I get it, believe me I get it. No one else might but I do." Atemu said.

Yami shook his head as he clenched a fist at his side. Damn it Atemu I am trying to do this for you! I will NOT risk that bastard hurting you. One of the few good things in my life. The one person who has always been there for me no matter what. If me doing this protects you than damn it all to hell I will do this. Yami growled within his mind. "Look Atemu, am I terrified about going to school without you? Yes. I'm not going to lie. I am. But, I need to do this. And I know that if you ride with me in the car then I might not have the courage to get out of that car and go in by myself. And who knows...I still might not and the driver might end up just bringing me right back here. But, at least I am going to try." Yami said.

Atemu sighed but he did slowly nod. "Fine. If its that important to you Yami, then I will drop the matter. But I want you to know that if you don't have the courage to go to school by yourself I won't think any less of you for it." Atemu said.

Yami nodded. "Thank you Ate. But I will do it. You are brave all the time. Just this once I want to be the one who is brave." Yami said.

Atemu gave a small smile before he gently pulled his brother into a hug, "In my opinion Yami, you are one of the bravest people I have ever met. You are also without a doubt the strongest. I love you." Atemu whispered in his brother's ear.

Yami couldn't help but smile as he wrapped his arms around Atemu in return. "I love you too Ate." Yami whispered. How Yami managed to find the strength to let go of Atemu and head out to the car Yami didn't know, but yet he did manage it.

"I'll have my phone on vibrate while I'm in court. If you need anything text me and let me know. I'll call you at lunch. Or if we're able to be done by then maybe I'll come by and join you for the rest of the day." Atemu said.

Yami smiled even though he knew that Atemu's plan would be very bad. But there was absolutely nothing that he would be able to say to dissuade Atemu from doing exactly that. Yami would just have to hope that court would be held up and he would normally be in 'class' when Atemu was finally able to be free.

"Right. And don't think I missed that whole conversation at breakfast. You need to tell me what that was even about." Yami said.

Atemu chuckled, although Yami could clearly tell the sound was a forced one. "Don't worry. I will." Atemu vowed.

Yami nodded once more before he made his way out the door and climbed into the back of the idling town car and pulled the door closed behind him. Hasan pulled away as soon as the door was closed and Yami drew his knees up to his chest as he tried to fight down the panic attack that was threatening to over take him.

This was worse than anything he'd ever done before. Every other time that monster had started it. That monster had come to Yami, whether it was coming into the bathroom while he was taking a shower or grabbing him off the street.

But not this time. This time Yami was willingly going to him. Does this mean that it isn't even going to be rape this time? Does this imply that I want that monster to hurt me? Yami thought to himself as he felt tears gather in the corners of his eyes as his breathing continued to quicken.

Oh god what had he gotten himself into.

Think of Atemu. Remember you are doing this for Atemu. Yami tried to remind himself as he tried to force himself to calm down.

Problem was it really wasn't helping. All that kept flashing through his mind were terrible memories of his previous encounters. The pain. The humiliation. The disgust. The fear.

I don't want to do this. I want to go back home and hide. Yami thought to himself as tears began to freely stream down his face. Gods above he was such a coward.

After what seemed like an eternity although in reality was probably less than 20 minutes Yami felt the town car slow to a stop and out the window he was able to make out the ominous view of Akunadin's hotel room.

Hasan put the car in park before he came around and opened the door for Yami. "We have arrived sir." Hasan said.

But Yami couldn't move. He couldn't. He was completely frozen with his arms wrapped around his knees, a trembling, shaking mess.

"Sir?" Hasan prompted.

Yami shook his head, "No. I don't want to do this. I want to go back home." Yami whispered, tears falling more steadily as those words slipped from his lips. God he was such a terrible brother. Endangering Atemu like this.

Hasan sighed before he pulled out his cellphone and dialed Yami guessed Akunadin. "Mr. Kesir sir, we're out back however Master Yami doesn't want to get out of the car. He has asked that I take him back home." Hasan said.

There was brief pause, no doubt Akunadin giving Hasan instructions. Hasan sighed, "Very well sir. I will do as you have asked." Hasan said before he terminated the call and put his phone back into his breast pocket and reached into the car and attempted to grab a hold of Yami.

The action seemed to spur Yami to life as he tried to scramble away from Hasan's hands, "No. I said no!" Yami growled as he slid to the other side of the car, his hands fumbling with the handle as Hasan continued to climb further into the vehicle attempting to grab a hold of him.

"Mr. Kesir has said that I am to escort you upstairs." Hasan replied flatly as Yami managed to get the other door to open and managed to climb out the other door. Panic giving strength to his limbs.

"I SAID NO!" Yami shouted as he ran across the parking lot.

Hasan not that far behind him. Yami ran like his life depended on it. He had to get away. He just had to.

Yami was three quarters of the way across the parking lot when Hasan finally grabbed a hold of him. "NO!" Yami shouted as he failed as much as he could. "DON'T TOUCH ME! LET ME GO!" Yami growled.

"You know I can't do that young master." Hasan replied as he turned and struggled to carry the flailing teen back towards the doors.

"PUT ME DOWN! SOMEONE HELP!" Yami shouted at the top of his lungs before Hasan shifted so that his hand was covering Yami's mouth, muffling any further shouts. Yami bit down harshly on Hasan's hand, tasting copper as he drew blood.

"Shit!" Hasan cursed as Yami bit down on his hand, yanking his hand away from Yami's mouth.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!" Yami shouted.

Hasan continued to struggle as Yami continued to fight for his freedom before finally much to Yami's horror the much larger man managed to get him in through the private entrance to the hotel where Hasan jabbed the up button with his elbow.

The elevator dinged before sliding open and Hasan stepped inside before he elbowed the button for the 54th floor.

And as the elevator began to climb up to the top floor Yami's struggles came to a stop as tears just streamed down his face. After several long minutes the elevator dinged open and Hasan carried Yami out and over to the one door on the floor, which he kicked lightly against with his foot.

Akunadin opened the door moments later dressed only in a bathrobe. "Thank you Hasan. Bring the boy inside and put him on the bed. I'll be able to take it from here. You can come and pick him back up around 5." Akunadin said.

"Yes Mr. Kesir." Hasan replied as he carried the sobbing boy into the room and deposited him on the bed before he quickly left.

Akunadin turned his gaze onto the sobbing teen on the bed, giving him a lustful smile. "Now, now Whore. Enough with the tears. We only have so little time. And so much to do." Akunadin purred as he unfastened his robe.

With Kaiba

Kaiba glanced up briefly from his morning cup of coffee as he watched Mokuba finish wolfing down his breakfast, the chef this morning had made Mokuba a heaping helping of pancakes and had even gone the extra mile to shape those pancakes into the shapes of his favorite capsule monster characters.

Kaiba took another sip of his coffee as he felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket. Kaiba quickly slipped the phone out already mentally preparing to shout at whatever incompetent asshole was calling him already with a problem.

"Kaiba." Kaiba barked.

"Well, good morning to you to." Atemu replied gruffly from the other line.

Kaiba frowned as he clenched and unclenched his fist a couple of times before he rose from his seat at the table and headed into the other room. There was no reason Mokuba needed to hear him getting into an argument on the phone. "What the hell do you want Sennen?" Kaiba growled.

"I just wanted to make sure that you would keep an eye on Yami for me today." Atemu said.

Kaiba's from deepened. "And why the hell would you ask me to do that? Isn't it true that he's normally glued to your hip?" Kaiba snapped back. And yes, Kaiba knew full well that he was being more than a little bit bitter but he was human and having to actually play second fiddle to Yami's brother was getting harder and harder for Kaiba to do. Hopefully their date this weekend would allow them to actually get their relationship back on track. And that Atemu wouldn't find a way to muck that up too.

Atemu sighed, "I won't be at school today because I'm going to be stuck in court. I tried to convince Yami to stay home but he refused. He left for school a few minutes ago. And since I won't be there to keep an eye on him I'm going to trust that you can watch him for me. Or is that something that you won't do?" Atemu asked.

Kaiba ground his teeth together briefly at the jab. "I assure you Sennen that I am more than capable of taking care of Yami. I will probably be able to do a better job than you ever could if you stopped fucking him long enough for him to see that." Kaiba snapped back.

"Kaiba now is not the time for your pathetic jabs. You can hate me all you want, to tell you the fucking truth I could care less. As long as you look out for Yami and keep him safe until I am able to be there that will have to be good enough. If everything goes smoothly with court I should be at school by lunch. That means you only have to look out for him for three class periods." Atemu said.

"Something I can do easily Sennen." Kaiba replied briskly.

"Good, then hang up the fucking phone already and get to school." Atemu ordered.

"I am not your underling that you get to boss around Sennen. I will be leaving for school shortly but first I have to finish making sure my own sibling is ready for school before I rush off to babysit yours. Honestly if you were this antsy about Yami being unsupervised then you should have gone with him and waited until I arrived this morning. Its not my fault you made a poor choice and I will not neglect my younger brother because your incompetent." Kaiba snapped back before he hung up the phone. He glared at his cellphone for a few moments before he shoved his phone back his pocket and headed back into the dining room where Mokuba was cutting into a pancake shaped like the Capsule Monster Head Sucker, what looked a bit like a cross between a tyrannosaurus rex skull with demon horns.

"Everything okay Seto?" Mokuba asked as Kaiba resumed his seat at the table.

Kaiba nodded, "Yes Moki, everything is just fine. Are you almost done with your breakfast?" Kaiba asked.

"Yup. Sure am. It was delicious Seto." Mokuba declared before he shoved a large chunk of pancake into his mouth.

"Good." Kaiba replied before he finished off his own cup of coffee before setting his mug aside. "Do you have everything you need for school?" Kaiba asked.

Mokuba nodded, "Yup. Sure do Seto." Mokuba said.

Kaiba smiled as he rose to his feet and lightly ruffled his younger sibling's hair. "That's good Mokuba. And good luck on your math test this afternoon. You'll do just fine." Kaiba said.

Mokuba grinned before he speared another bite of his pancake. "If you think I will Seto then its impossible for me not to. Your a math genuis. Waaaaay smarter than my teacher." Mokuba said.

Kaiba just chuckled, "Yes, well try not to rub my genius in your teacher's face especially if you don't score as high as you would like. Be good and I will see you when I get home tonight." Kaiba said.

"Okay Seto. Have a good day. Love you." Mokuba called out.

"Love you too Moki." Kaiba replied before he picked up his briefcase and headed out the door before climbing into the back of his limo. He pulled out his phone and began to read through a handful of his work emails as Isono drove him to school, making note that his three o'clock board meeting was being rescheduled for 330 as well as reading over the final report from the claims adjuster regarding the warehouse fire.

"We have arrived sir." Isono said as the car pulled to a stop.

Kaiba sighed as he pocketed his cellphone and climbed out of the car and headed onto the school grounds, his eyes scanning the crowd of students looking for Yami. Kaiba frowned when he didn't immediately spot him. Yami's appearance was unique enough that pinpointing him in a crowd wasn't particularly difficult to do.

Kaiba just rolled his eyes in slight annoyance before he made his way into the building. Apparently he was going to be spending his down time before school playing a game of hide and go seek with his moody boyfriend. That was just how he wanted to spend his morning.

Kaiba peeked into their homeroom classroom first but there were only a couple of students whose names he had never bothered to even learn hanging out near the back of the room watching something on one of the kids cellphones while Mr. Takahashi was writing on the blackboard up front.

So no Yami.

Kaiba sighed before he headed down the hall, next place to check would have to be the library since that was one of the places Yami tended to hang out for some reason. Thankfully the library was almost completely empty at this time of morning, with only two or three students doing some last minute homework on the schools computers. Kaiba briskly made his way through the library taking the time to glance down each of the aisles in case Yami had found some nook to hide away in. But still, no luck.

Kaiba groaned in frustration before he left the library and pushed open the door to the abandoned music room, startling a couple of teenage lovers who were apparently deciding to make out with one another before classes started.

Kaiba harshly slammed the door closed once more before he turned and made his way up to the roof. That was the last place that he could really think of where Yami might possibly be, although he did make a point to poke his head into the art room on his way past. There were a few students in their working on various projects but Yami was not among them.

Kaiba walked up onto the room where there were a handful of students loitering. But again, there was no sign of Yami.

Kaiba yanked his phone of out of pocket and immediately dialed Yami's number as he fumed. Atemu had to call him and make this big deal about him keeping an eye on Yami and Yami wasn't even here in the first place.

The phone rang and rang and rang.

"Pick up god damn it." Kaiba growled.

"You have reached 224-224-2440 please leave a message after the beep."

"Yami, this is Kaiba. Atemu told me to keep an eye on you because he wasn't here to babysit you. I rushed to school this morning and you aren't anywhere to be found. So call me back when you get this." Kaiba growled before he hung up the phone.

Was this all one big fucking game to the Sennen boys? Did they just enjoy ordering him around. And think that he was just someone for them to use for their amusement. Because to be perfectly honest he was really starting to get tired of all this crap. Stuff like this was exactly why he had never really bothered to make any friends before. When you let people get close to you they tend to take advantage of you.

He made his way back off the roof and headed back down towards his homeroom. The first bell would be ringing in about ten or so minutes. If Yami was really at school like Atemu had claimed he was then he would be turning up shortly.

What had more than likely happened was that Yami intended to come to school. But when he had gotten here he had probably chickened out. And the asshole that Atemu was he hadn't bothered to call Kaiba back and let him know about the change in plans.

But regardless, if Yami wasn't in homeroom he would send Atemu a text message before first period started just to let him know on the off chance Yami hadn't headed right back home. It was a slim chance true, but Kaiba wasn't going to completely dismiss it as a possibility. Akunadin was in town after all.

With Otogi

Otogi's eyes scanned the courtyard hoping to catch a glimpse of his girlfriend. He may not be an expert quite yet in regards to having sex. Although, in his humble opinion the sex he and Mana had yesterday had been absolutely FUCKING AMAZING. But, that wonderful fact aside Otogi figured that it might be a good idea for the pair of them to touch base again, just to make sure there weren't any misunderstandings.

The smile slipped from Otogi's face when he remembered Mana's brother telling him that Mana had been crying when she got home yesterday. Before he had been in no uncertain terms to get off their property and to not come back. Matters certainly were not helped by the fact that Mana would not reply to any of his texts and she hadn't answered any of his calls.

Was that normal behavior after having sex with someone? Again, Otogi was no expert. Honda would probably know but Otogi would rather not resort to asking Honda for advice on what to do or expect after finally having sex.

Otogi grinned as he finally spotted Mana slowly making her way onto the school grounds. He quickly jogged over to join her.

"Hey!" He greeted as he rested his hand lightly on her shoulder. Mana jumped at the unexpected contact. She glanced up at him briefly before her gaze drifted back down again.

"What do you want Otogi?" Mana asked, her tone flat.

"Just wanted to make sure everything was good. You know, after yesterday." Otogi said.

Mana frowned, "You mean after whatever happened yesterday? You mean after that?" Mana growled.

Otogi frowned before he lightly grasped Mana's arm, tugging her over to the relatively secluded area by the side of the building, "What exactly is wrong Mana?" Otogi asked. He honestly saw nothing wrong with what had happened yesterday. It had been amazing. Better than he could have possibly dreamed. He honestly did not understand why Mana was upset about it.

"You mean other than the fact that I don't even REMEMBER what happened? You don't think that has anything to do with why I might be upset Otogi?" Mana hissed, as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Otogi's frown deepened, "You honestly don't remember? Shit, I'm sorry Mana. I didn't realize you didn't remember what happened. I mean it was fantastic." Otogi said.

"Then tell me why I don't remember what happened and you do Otogi? The last thing I remember was watching Netflix with you down in the basement. And then I am waking up in your bedroom naked with a killer headache and aching down there. And then you tell me that we had sex. Something that I know I DID NOT WANT! So please tell me Otogi, tell me what the hell happened because I would really like to know." Mana snapped.

Otogi sighed, "Maybe you were more drunk then I thought." Otogi muttered.

"Drunk? What do you mean drunk? I didn't drink anything alcoholic. I've never drank anything with alcohol in it. So why would you think I was drunk?" Mana asked.

Otogi sighed once more, "Well, you see Mana...that isn't necessarily true." Otogi said.

Mana's eyes narrowed as she jabbed Otogi in the chest, "Damn it Otogi. What. Did. You. Do?!" Mana growled.

"I slipped some of my dad's vodka into your drink." Otogi admitted.

"You did what? Are you saying you raped me Otogi?" Mana shouted.

Otogi's eyes widened as he started at Mana in shock. Where the hell did that come from? "No, of course I didn't rape you Mana. Where the hell would you get a crazy idea like that?" Otogi snapped back.

"Then what else would you call slipping me alcohol without my knowledge to get me intoxicated so that I would sleep with you? I was incapable of consenting to sex. That means that you raped me Otogi!" Mana growled.

"I did not rape you Mana. You wanted it. You were into it. You were participating. You were telling me to go faster. Harder." Otogi spluttered.

"And I was also drunk. I didn't know what you were even doing to me." Mana snapped back.

Otogi frowned, "Look, if you regret what happened yesterday or how it happened. I'm sorry...we can always try ag..."

Otogi was cut off by Mana's hand connecting harshly with the side of Otogi's face. "I never want to see you again Otogi. And as it is I have half a mind to call the police and report what you did." Mana said.

Otogi's eyes widened in shock as his hand reached up and lightly brushed his stinging cheek, "Look, Mana. Can we just talk about this? Clearly there is a misunderstanding. I would never hurt you. I like you. A lot." Otogi said.

Mana shook her head as she took a few steps away from Otogi, "And I don't even know you. Because the sweet boy that I work with that I enjoyed talking to and hanging out with. The one who helped me do the track walk. HE never would have done that to me. Stay away from me Otogi." Mana growled before she turned and darted into the school just as the warning bell rang.

Otogi just started after Mana in pure disbelief as his mind tried to answer one simple question. How the hell did that all go so wrong?

With Atemu

Atemu sighed as he got dressed in the stiff suit that Amara had picked out for him the night before. In all honesty Atemu would really prefer not to go to this stupid hearing at all. If he'd had his way he'd have just plead guilty and taken the community service and been done with it. But no, his foster father and Mai had decided to go through the entire court proceedings.

"Atemu, are you coming?" Aknamkanon called from downstairs.

Atemu sighed once more before he grabbed his cellphone and slipped it into his pocket. Hopefully this whole thing would be over with relatively quickly and not turn into a big mess. He and Joey had gotten into a fist fight in town, which Joey had started. Atemu had given as good as he got and Yugi had tried to break the fight up. It was really that simple. The whole thing should be done in, what ten minutes?

"Atemu! Come on, its time to head out." Aknamkanon called yet again.

Atemu rolled his eyes before he marched out of the room and headed down the stairs, "I'm coming. Hold your horses." Atemu growled.

Aknamkanon sighed, "I thought you were going to lose the attitude today." Aknamkanon said.

Atemu shrugged, "Well, what are you doing wasting time here. Come on lets move it. As you said we have to be going. Right now apparently. God forbid we show up only twenty minutes early." Atemu muttered sarcastically.

Aknamkanon narrowed his eyes as he glared at Atemu, "Why I..."Aknamkanon began before Amara stepped forward and rested a hand lightly on Aknamakanon's arm.

"Everyone is stressed right now dear. Atemu is just dealing with that stress in his own way. Once this court case has been resolved everything will be back to normal." Amara said softly.

Aknamkanon shot Atemu another dark look before he turned and made his way out to the waiting town car. "Of course. Now, come on. We don't want to be late and I'd like to be able to have a few quick words with Johnson before the proceedings get underway." Aknamkanon said.

Amara turned her attention back onto Atemu where she placed a light, Atemu supposed it was supposed to be a comforting hand on his shoulder, which Atemu quickly shrugged off before he marched after Aknamkanon out the door. "Don't touch me." Atemu hissed.

"Right. Sorry dear. I just wanted to let you know that everything will be okay. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." Amara said softly. Atemu didn't even pause to acknowledge that she had spoken to him before he climbed into the back of the car with his foster father and Amara climbing in a short ways behind him.

"Mai is going to be meeting us at the court house." Aknamkanon stated.

Atemu just shrugged. To be perfectly honest he was still mad that Mai was attending court in the first place instead of watching Yami for the day like he had wanted her to. But as was often the case no one listened to him. And Atemu swore if something happened to Yami because of this then he would never forgive any of them.

The ride down to the courthouse was silent and Atemu starred moodily out the window. Yami should be in homeroom right now. He really hoped Takahashi still wasn't going to give Yami grief about the detention Atemu STILL hadn't served. And to be perfectly honest he had no intention of serving it either.

It didn't take long before they had reached the courthouse and Atemu quickly scrambled out of the car. Mai was standing waiting for them out front. She was wearing a purple suit and appeared to be doing her best to appear very business like. She made a beeline straight for Atemu as soon as she locked eyes with him.

"Atemu, I've been trying to get a hold of you since you hung up on me last night." Mai said.

Atemu nodded, glaring moodily at his shoes. "And I told you that I had said everything I needed to say. Hence why I was ignoring you." Atemu growled.

"Look, hun I get that you're worried about your brother. But Yami isn't the only one that I am looking out for. I am looking out for you as well." Mai said softly.

Atemu clenched his fists tightly as he glared at Mai, "And as you can no doubt fucking see I am apparently drowning in unwanted support Mai. All I really wanted. No, all I NEEDED was for someone to watch over Yami while I am tied up at the stupid fucking court case that I could care less about." Atemu growled.

Mai sighed, "Hun, look your brother is perfectly safe at..."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! JUST LIKE I DON'T FUCKING KNOW THAT MAI!" Atemu shouted before stopped to take a few calming breaths, out of the corner of his eye he could see Yugi arriving with his grandfather in tow. The pair were walking up with Joey and the guidance counselor from school that Atemu didn't even know his name.

"For once I would just like it if someone would listen to me. But, no. No one ever listens to either of us. No wonder Yami doesn't bother talking. No one listens to you even if you fucking scream it in their faces. So what's the fucking point?" Atemu muttered.

Mai frowned as she crouched down slightly so that she was now standing more eye level with Atemu and lightly rested a hand on his shoulder, "Atemu, what is it that you're trying to tell..."Mai before before Atemu harshly shoved Mai away from him.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! I HAVE FUCKING HAD IT WITH PEOPLE TOUCHING ME!" Atemu shouted.

Mai nodded, holding up her hands in apparent surrender as she looked at Atemu, "Okay. I won't touch you. Now, what is it that you are trying to tell me. What is it that I've missed Atemu?" Mai asked.

"Is everything alright over here?" Yugi asked as he came jogging up to come to a stop beside Atemu, his amethyst eyes shining with concern.

"No, nothing is alright. But as usual that doesn't fucking matter!" Atemu growled.

"Atemu, I'm here and I'm trying to listen. I'm not a mind reader. Clearly I overlooked something that is obvious to you. Tell me what I missed and I swear that I will listen." Mai said.

"Atemu! Mai! We're going to be heading inside." Aknamkanon called out.

Mai straightened up, "You guys go on ahead. Atemu and I need to talk. We'll meet you inside." Mai said.

Aknamkanon gave Mai a pointed look, "Are you sure?" Aknamkanon asked.

Mai nodded, "Positive. There is something serious going on right now and I need to know what it is. Like I said, we will see you guys inside." Mai said.

"Yugi, come on." Grandpa Motou beckoned.

Yugi glanced back over at Atemu, "Are you going to be okay? Or do you want me to stay with you?" Yugi asked.

"Atemu will be fine. He's going to tell me what he's been apparently trying to tell me and then we will be joining the rest of you inside." Mai said.

Atemu nodded, "Go on Yugi. Go with your grandfather." Atemu said.

Yugi nodded, "Okay. If you're sure. I'll see you inside." Yugi replied before he turned and walked over to his grandfather, Joey and the guidance counselor.

Mai gave Atemu a pointed look, "The floor is now yours Atemu. You talk and I'll listen." Mai said.