Early Seasons of Yu-gi-oh be like: Rules? Where we're going, we don't need rules.
3
Amelia tied the baby blue bow to her uniform and sighed. She had been somewhat right; the pink did slightly clash with her hair, but she still managed to pull it off. The uniform was tight around her shoulders due to her build being a bit thicker than the normal Japanese schoolgirl. She didn't know if that made her happy or not. She was going to settle on ambivalence. Yes, that was a good word for what she was feeling. She patted her back and smiled happily to herself. That was a good job on her end. Kuriboh grabbing onto her hair and gently pulling it grabbed her attention. She looked around for a clock and made a face.
She was going to be late! She grabbed her school bag, the nice leather strap cool against her hand as she pulled it onto her shoulder, and made sure everything was in it. She had her books, notebooks, sketchbook, pencil pouch, coloured pencils, tortillon, and erasers. She caught herself when she started to space out, she still needed her socks. The knee-highs went on and she quickly went down the stairs, watching her step so she wouldn't slip. Suzuki was sitting on the couch, a magazine in her hand. Amelia gave a quick rundown of what she had planned to do after school as she pulled on her shoes. She got a distracted sound in response and Amelia frowned down at her feet before heading out for the day. Kuriboh tried to cheer her up and the soft purring in her ear did help a little bit. Even as she stopped at the grocer and picked up breakfast and lunch. A cheap bento with rice and sushi had been her choice. For breakfast, an onigiri with salmon in the middle. She got three of those with a boss coffee. She didn't eat at the bus station; she didn't see any trash receptacles anywhere. She frowned in slight thought at that before scratching the back of her head in thought.
"G-Good morning," A soft voice greeted, and she perked up and plastered on a smile to whoever greeted her.
Bakura- Ryou that is- was giving her a soft smile as he nervously messed with the strap of his own book bag. He had some bruising on his face and didn't want to meet her eyes. Her smile turned genuine at him and he seemed to relax. She was good at that, disarming people.
"Good morning, Bakura-kun," She said, and his face turned a bright red.
His skin was somewhat pale, and she wondered if that was because he refused to go outside preferring to play tabletop games or he just didn't tan. He could have European genetics and she'd never know. That might have some possibility of being true. No one really knew about his mother, or his father really. She wasn't going to be the one to ask, it would be rude.
"Do you go to Domino High as well?" she quietly asked.
"I'm in the process of transferring in," He answered, "at least it seems like I'll know someone there."
"I agree, I meet another student that goes there yesterday he seemed nice," She said before chuckling, "he lives in a game shop, I might have to challenge him to monopoly one of these days."
"Ah, the friendship ruiner," Ryou nodded in understanding.
He could joke around when comfortable and Amelia was living for it. Did she just make a friend with the host for the main antagonist? She was pretty sure she did. As soon as she spoke about games he started to lead in the conversation, he even got onigiri out of her when she heard his stomach growl. Amelia had no qualms with sharing her food, too used to her friends forgetting to eat during marathon sessions of games and anime. He promised he'd eat it before class started and she got a little worried but stopped herself from saying anything. They were new friends; she couldn't badger him like she did the rest of her friends. She had known most of them from childhood.
"Is the bus always this crowded?" She asked Ryou as they both stayed at the front of the bus, grasping onto the overhead railing.
"There's a Domino student that rides in the back," A male answered, and she looked over to see another Domino student, "I'd avoid him at all costs, he bullies people into attending Karaoke sessions."
She shared a look with Ryou and he slightly shrugged. Amelia couldn't fault him for that. Souzouji was something else and she didn't want to bother the white-haired teen with him. She was jostled from behind and pushed into her new friend. He stumbled slightly, but easily regained his balance, her quiet apologising seemed to amuse him, and surprise him. He was starting to take note that she apologised a lot, even if something wasn't her fault. She didn't mean to bump into him but was apologising like she had hurt him. He wondered what happened.
"Attention, we are now stopping at Domino High School," an announcement sounded overhead and Amelia looked up.
"I guess this is my stop," She quietly said as the bus slowed down, "see you around, Bakura-kun…wait why don't I give you, my number? Call if you ever need anything or want to hang out."
She quickly pulled a pen out of her bag and wrote her number on his hand. He seemed taken aback by the action and stared at the black numbers as she got off with the other students from her school. He looked up and caught her smile and wink before the doors closed. Ah, he just made a friend. Mia, that's what she liked to be called. He smiled softly as he thought about his new friend.
"It's against school rules to dye one's hair," An old woman informed Amelia as soon as she saw the red hair.
"This is my natural colour," Amelia stated as she tried to ignore Kuriboh, it was messing with the copy machine, "may I please have my timetables or classroom number?"
"Class One-B," the old woman huffed as the machine behind her let out a beep before shutting down, "I'll write a note to the homeroom teacher, Chono-Sensei, so she knows that your hair is in regulation."
"Thank you," Amelia quietly thanked as a note was handed to her.
She found her shoe locker and changed into the indoor shoes before heading up the stairs to find her class. She was told to wait outside, so she ate one of her onigiri. She didn't even touch her coffee since that was for her lunch. Her eyes moved side to side as she watched Kuriboh fly back and forth. They were messing with people's hair and bags. One girl let out a yelp as her hair was pulled over her face. It was quite humorous watching people become confused because of something they couldn't see.
"Crawford-chan, please come in so I can introduce you to the class," a woman with blonde hair said.
Amelia walked in after swallowing the last of her food and found herself nervous. So many eyes were on her. She saw a familiar head of hair and her shoulders relaxed slightly. She simply bowed when the teacher said her name, she wished the other student's luck with saying her name. Amelia was aware that most of them bullied Yugi, so she had no problem being petty.
"Please sit next to Mutou-kun," Chono sighed.
Amelia hurried to her seat next to Yugi and gave the shorter teen a smile before sitting down. She didn't even last an hour into the lecture before she spaced out. She stared at her pencil and wondered if she could get it stuck in the ceiling. With enough force, she probably could. Maybe a pencil launcher? Did she even know how to make one? No. But she could learn. She spaced out the entire time, even as the bell rang for lunch, or rather recess.
"Hey, new girl," a male voice snapped her out of her pondering, and she watched as Kuriboh came back into the room, it was carrying some pencils, "want to play basketball?"
"Oh, no thank you," She said, "I was going to take lunch with Mutou-kun, we both like games and I was hoping he'd have a good recommendation."
"Is that so," the boy muttered as he spun the ball on the tip of his finger.
Yugi looked between the two and he could see the rising discomfort on Amelia's face before the other boy left. She sighed in relief before turning to him with a slight smile. He flushed at the sight of it, it made the corners of her eyes crinkle. It was a nice smile.
"I hope you don't mind," She quietly said, "I should've okayed it with you first before signing you up for quality time with a space case."
"Space case?" Yugi questioned.
"I, ah, have a bad case of spacing out," She admitted, "I just get bored easily. I think I spent the entire class time trying to figure out how much force it would take to stab a pencil into the ceiling."
"Most likely not a lot." Yugi commented as he eyed the ceiling panels, he then shyly turned to her, "Are you sure you want to spend lunch with me?"
"Why wouldn't I?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion, "I haven't seen or heard anything that'd paint you as a bad guy, if anything you seem really nice."
Yugi faltered for a few seconds before preening a bit under the compliment. He didn't get those a lot, so he enjoyed them when he could. Amelia had a feeling that was the case. She scooted her desk closer, and he gave her a bright smile. Her mind questioned if it was possible to weaponise a smile, but for once she didn't delve into her thoughts to calculate it. Yugi made quick work of delving into different types of games and recommended her a few of them. She was able to share the rest of her onigiri with him and some of her lunch, seeing as he forgot to bring his own.
Yugi was surprised that she was listening to him with so much attention. Amelia, or Mia as she asked to be called, had said she was a space case. Yet, the intensity in how she listened was contradictory to her words. Boredom didn't suit her, and anxiety made her spacing out worse. He quickly changed the topic to a new game he had heard rumours about. Duel Monsters, it was popular in North America, but he hadn't seen anything for it in Japan though his Grandfather had a card from his days as an archaeologist.
"Pegasus Crawford said he's going to try and move the game to other countries," Yugi stated before it hit him, "are…are you related to Pegasus, Mia-Chan?"
"I'm his adopted daughter," She admitted with a strange expression on her face, "please don't tell anyone, Mutou-kun, I like being able to talk to people without fear of falsehoods."
"Of course, we're friends," He stated, and she owlishly blinked at him before a bright smile appeared on her face.
Lunch ended and another teacher came in. Yugi got to see first-hand what it was like to completely zone out. He'd never been able to do such a thing, his grades were a bit more important to his mother and he didn't want to upset her. Amelia looked to the side and her eyes continued to move as though she was watching something, a fond glint in her eyes. Amelia was weird, but a nice weird. He smiled to himself at the idea of making a new friend. They even rode the same bus!
"Mutou-kun, this is Bakura Ryou," Amelia introduced her two new friends with a smile, "Bakura-kun this is Mutou Yugi."
"It's nice to meet you," Ryou softly said.
"Likewise," Yugi responded with a smile.
The topic turned to games and soon Ryou and Yugi had overcome their initial shyness. Amelia watched fondly and gave her input at the right points. She was more worried that Kuriboh would continue their reign of terror on the unsuspecting masses. It was impressive how much chaos such a little creature could cause. She'd have to count the pencils stolen at home; she didn't want to confuse her new friends. The irony of her easily making friends with boys wasn't lost on her, that was just how it went. Amelia had to wonder if it was the reason why she'd never been on a date with one. She once heard a rumour that she swung for the same team, which wasn't untrue. She found both genders, and those who were unspecified, attractive but she had a leaning towards men.
"Mia-chan, is everything okay?" Yugi asked and she finally noticed that the conversation had quieted down.
"Yeah, sorry to space out on you two like that," She apologised, "I swear it's not intentional."
"It's fine," Ryou said, and she relaxed a bit.
"Were you thinking of putting pencils in the ceiling again?" Yugi questioned, and the innocent tone caused her to crack a slight grin.
"I'm telling you, a pencil cannon would work wonders," She teased and Ryou shook his head in disbelief as a small smile appeared on his face.
"You're incorrigible," He joked.
"I try," She gave a slight bow before the crowd on the bus shifted and she stumbled before regaining her footing, "God themselves cannot take me down."
Yugi pursed his lips at that and tried not to laugh. Ryou had no such qualms and openly chuckled at the obvious joke. Amelia turned to him with a happy glint in her eyes, joyful at the fact she got them to at least smile. The bus stopped at their stop and she was sent crashing to the floor.
"Darn my hubris," She sighed from the floor.
She quickly got up and dusted off her skirt as they followed the traffic of people off. It somehow ended with them at the game shop, Yugi's Grandfather looking at them in confusion. One female student from Domino High that wasn't Anzu, and a male student from a school whose uniform he couldn't place. They were laughing about something; the lone female had an embarrassed flush to her cheeks.
"Maybe I shouldn't challenge deities until I know for sure I can punch one in the face," She stated, and he watched as his grandson gained a thoughtful expression.
"Would it be before or after the pencil cannon?" Yugi questioned.
"Most likely after," Ryou answered with a slight smile.
"True, I can only get stronger from there," Amelia nodded.
Sugoroku Mutou was floored by the strange new friends that Yugi had gained. Yet, the large grin on his grandson's face made him relax as they were introduced. Bakura Ryou had become a bit shy as he was introduced, and Crawford Amelia had smiled and requested to be called Mia. He knew her last name very well due to the gaming magazines he was subscribed to. He waved them in and smiled as Yugi quickly brought them into the house. His mother greeted them and Yugi blushed at the smile on her face.
"Okaa-San, these are my new friends Bakura Ryou and Crawford Amelia." Yugi quickly introduced the two.
"It's nice to meet you two," The matriarch of the Mutou household said.
"Likewise," Ryou and Amelia were in sync.
Yugi quickly herded his friends up the stairs and into his room. It was clean inside, with a sock sticking out from under his bed. The two boys sat on the bed while Amelia took the desk chair, their conversation about games was struck up again and it soon developed into a debate. No one was winning, but they all seemed to be having fun. Even when they had to split up, Amelia needed to do some grocery shopping and her homework and Ryou needed to do the same.
Amelia yawned as she walked through the grocery store and looked at the different items on sale. She was a well-known bargain shopper when it came to grocery items. She walked out an hour later with a slight grin on her face, happy with her purchase. Suzuki didn't say anything when she walked in and put the food away, she just continued to read her magazine. Amelia made a slight face, but Kuriboh distracted her and started motioning upstairs. Right, she needed to see its haul. She was also terrified at what she might find.
Amelia blinked at the sheer number of pencils that Kuriboh had stolen. She had already counted fifty and there was still a big pile left to count. How did no one notice that many pencils being stolen? She…she didn't want to know. She sighed and placed them on her desk and resumed counting. She stopped at one point and looked at Kuriboh, who was a bit confused by her sudden stop.
"He hasn't finished the puzzle yet," She muttered as her eyes widened at the implication of such a thing, "that means things are still being put together."
Kuriboh didn't know what she meant by that but watched as she went back to counting. It was her little watcher as the days began to bleed into one another. Her habit of getting up early and making food for everyone had been relearned. She rode the bus with her friends and gave Ryou his lunch for the day seeing as he lived on his own. She played games with Yugi during lunch, and then she went home. It was the same thing day in and day out. Kuriboh knew that its summoner had a job to do but didn't know what it was. Amelia would find out in due time, and it worried about her when she did.
"They play a lot of basketball here," Amelia muttered one day as she moved her desk closer to Yugi's as was their custom.
"It's popular because a lot of boys use the game to peek up girls' skirts," Yugi explained a slight blush on his face, he couldn't seem to meet her eyes.
"So, you prepared to completely annihilate me in pop-up pirate?" She questioned and that caused him to sheepishly smile.
"I think you might be close to winning a game," He offered, and she chuckled.
"Not against you," Her expression was one of good humour, "you are quite literally the best game player I've met, it's nice."
He smiled and they began their game of pop-up pirate, ignoring one of their male classmates as they were asked to ply basketball. Yugi didn't play because of his smaller stature and Amelia didn't because she honestly didn't care much for the sport. She was quite sad that there was no rowing but understood why. It wasn't like her home state of Massachusetts where the school she went to had a rowing team. The less said about the fact that it was a private school the better. She never did understand why her parents pushed her into that school. She was brought out of her thoughts by a sudden win on her end.
"See, you won," Yugi smiled, and she owlishly blinked before smiling back.
"So, it seems. I wonder what that'll entail for the rest of my week," She teased as she collected the small pirate figure.
He hummed in response as she placed the figure on his desk. The game was put away and out came lunch, and a very familiar box. Amelia looked at it for a few seconds and froze when she felt something brush up against her hands. It was both warm, and cold. The bracelet on her wrist warmed up in response and she slowly began to piece things together. Did Mahad want her to protect the Pharaoh since he was unable to? She could do that for him. She didn't mind one bit, oddly enough. It felt like the right thing to do.
"Did you make your lunch?" Yugi asked as he saw the obento.
"Yeah, I found a cookbook with several recipes inside," She answered, "I might be a bit biased since I enjoy my cooking, but it's pretty good."
He gave her puppy-dog eyes and she chuckled as she motioned for him to take some. He thanked her with a quick "itadakimasu" and grabbed one of the pieces of pan-fried chicken with some chopsticks. She had been working on her cooking, she wanted to be able to make things other than coffee and confectioneries. Her job at the café had been to make the coffee and candy, she both did and didn't miss it. It was a toss-up in her mind.
"It's really good, Mia-chan," Yugi informed her with a bright smile.
"Thank you." She said, her face growing hot.
Amelia wondered how long it had been since someone had complimented her like that. Ryou usually said thank you and said it was good, but she never knew if he was just being nice. Bakura said the same thing when he took over his host to be his kleptomaniac self, so she was double confused. It was hard to tell when both were being somewhat genuine. Yugi wasn't like that, he was sweet but if it were bad, he'd let her know. It was odd just how well he knew her.
"Hey, can you keep a secret?" Yugi quietly asked.
"Of course," Amelia nodded; her eyes didn't even stray towards Kuriboh.
The small monster was discreetly taking one of the taiyaki from the obento. Finding the taiyaki pan had been incredibly degrading. She didn't get much of the "gaijin" hate while in school, just the odd glare or whisper occasionally, but the further into town she went the worse it got. The salesperson had tried speaking broken English to her, which was nice at first but soon became insulting once she showed she could speak the language. She did get the pan, so she supposed it was all right.
"What is something you can see, but haven't seen yet?" Yugi asked, snapping her focus back to him.
"A…puzzle?" She answered, she felt dumb for phrasing it in such a way but relaxed when he nodded with a smile.
"Correct!" He stated and he gently opened the lid to the box.
There, in all its broken glory sat the millennium puzzle. Light glinted off the revealed gold pieces and Yugi smiled to himself at the amazement on Amelia's face. He thought she'd be impressed by it. They both blinked when the lid fell out of his grasp and back onto the box. He chuckled at the clumsy action before gasping quietly when the box was swiped off the desk.
"What the hell?" Amelia asked as she glared up at one of the few natural blondes in Domino High.
Jounouchi Katsuya, Amelia knew he'd end up being a nice guy, but his personality was pretty lousy so far. He seemed to deem those with some semblance of kindness as weaker than himself. It was such a strange habit, but she knew why he was the way he was. His father, the alcoholic who treated him like trash. She turned her glare towards Honda Hiroto. Another bully who ended up having a heart of gold.
"Give it back!" Yugi cried as he got up from his seat, Amelia quickly following.
"This must be pretty important to you," Honda said as he smirked, "you're putting up quite a fuss."
"Or it could be that he doesn't want his belongings stolen," Amelia stated as she moved to take the box back, only to have it held above her head.
She paused for a few seconds as it registered that she couldn't easily reach it anymore. Jounouchi watched as she made a strange face before jabbing her fingers into Honda's side. The box was tossed his way and he easily caught it. She turned to him with serious green eyes and he inwardly smirked.
"Well, since you're acting like a girl about this box it must be pretty valuable," Jounouchi stated.
Amelia inwardly cursed. Did the movement of the puzzle bother the spirit of the pharaoh or was he good in that department? So far, she was doing a terrible job in protecting the spirit. She couldn't help but think Mahad would've done a far better job. She just didn't have the attention span or magic powers to be of use. All she had was the prospect of running a multi-million-dollar company in the future. That is if she isn't sent back to her world. She hadn't even thought of that possibility. Would she even be allowed to stay? She could only hope that she was.
"Give it back, please!" Yugi yelled to Jounouchi.
"I'm just trying to teach you how to be a man," Jounouchi stated, "look I'll give you the box back if you come at me with all your might."
"But I hate fighting," Yugi stated.
"Jeez, so loud but there are no guts behind it," Jounouchi complained.
"Just give the box back," Amelia sighed and Yugi gave a nod of agreement.
"Not a chance," Honda smirked.
"I wonder what's inside?" Jounouchi muttered as he lifted the box lid.
Amelia frowned as he quickly stole a piece and claimed Yugi was boring. She stepped forward and grabbed the box in midair when he tossed it to Honda again. Yugi cheered at the sight as a familiar brunette came in and glared at the two boys.
"Seriously?" Mazaki Anzu huffed as the box was returned to Yugi, "The two of you are so dumb for picking on people weaker than you! Now scram!"
"You noisy woman!" Honda cursed as he and Jounouchi scrambled out the door at her glare.
"Jerks," Amelia muttered before turning to Anzu, "thank you, for the assist."
"No problem, it would've been wrong to just sit there and let it continue," Anzu said as she smiled at them.
"Want to join us for lunch, Anzu-Chan?" Yugi asked his childhood friend.
"Sure," Anzu nodded.
She pulled up a chair just as Yugi and Amelia returned to their seats. She took note of the red head's distracted state, seemingly watching g something that wasn't there. Whatever it was, she seemed amused. Anzu blinked and looked down at the golden box, curious as to what was inside.
"Hey, what's inside this box anyway?" Anzu questioned Yugi.
"I'll let you see it, but you have to keep it secret," Yugi said and Anzu nodded her understanding.
Yugi lifted the lid and Amelia blinked as the icy/hot sensation happened again. This time, it travelled up her arms and through her chest. She didn't know what it was but judging from Kuriboh's expression it was something to worry about. She had a hunch that it had something to do with the shadow magic surrounding the millennium items. But why didn't she get this sensation around Pegasus?
"It's pretty," Anzu said as she picked a piece up.
"It seems like a difficult puzzle, Mutou-kun," Amelia commented as she did the same.
The minute the gold piece was in her hand it became warm. She felt like she had just grabbed someone's shoulder. It was such an odd sensation, but not a bad one. She looked over at her short friend, who was explaining the puzzle to Anzu, and her expression became slightly saddened. She couldn't help but try to make a silent bargain to the spirit inside the puzzle. Protect Yugi and I'll protect you. It was the best she could do. She'd gladly put herself in harm's way if it meant helping the others. Even if it wasn't what she was supposed to do.
"I've been at this puzzle for eight years," Yugi informed them as the two girls placed the pieces back into the box, "sometimes it gets me down."
"Keep at it Yugi, you'll get that wish," Anzu winked at him and Amelia smiled.
"If anyone can do it, you can," Amelia agreed.
"Yeah, I'll keep at it!" Yugi exclaimed with a grin.
"What is your wish?" Anzu asked.
"I can't tell, it's an absolute secret," Yugi winked.
Anzu sighed in amusement as she reached over to her desk and grabbed her lunch. She kept her attention on the conversation and made a strange face. How did Yugi get pulled into the construction of a pencil cannon? Why was Amelia thinking about making one? How'd she even know how to do that? She had so many questions but didn't think about asking. It was unlikely that she'd get a straight answer out of the American transfer student.
"Have you seen the new arcade that opened up downtown?" Yugi asked.
"No, I tend to stick to the residential area I live in," Amelia quietly admitted, "I've had some…interesting experiences downtown."
Anzu could read between the lines, even as Yugi gave his new friend a confused look. There was a culture downtown of disliking foreigners, it was such a strong dislike that tourists were usually informed about the possibility of getting hurt. Amelia hadn't been hurt but told rude things. It was like they didn't think she could understand them. She had been slowly, but surely, learning Japanese so if the spell that Mahad used on her wore off she'd be safe. It was a very difficult language, but she supposed that was because it was so different to English, and English was one of the hardest languages.
"Well, there's a Dance Dance Revolution machine," Anzu said, "maybe it'll be worth a stop one of these days."
"Ah, I don't think we could win against you," Yugi stated, and Amelia chuckled quietly.
"I'm game, I haven't been beaten in DDR in a while," Amelia said, choosing her words carefully.
DDR was one of the games she used to play to help with her coordination. She had gotten pretty good at it and had continued to play it when she went to the arcade with her friends. Anzu looked ready for the possible dance-off between them, and she was simply happy that it was friendly. The bell rang just as they were about to talk about the other games in the arcade. Anzu and Amelia returned to their spots and Yugi put the puzzle away.
Kuriboh flew around the spikey-haired boy's head and gently pulled at the strands. Amelia watched with a strange fondness. It was better than Kuriboh causing as much chaos as it possibly could. She didn't know where she could possibly put more pencils, she had hundreds and not just wooden pencils either. There was a whole mountain of mechanical pencils in her possession. She'd never be able to bring someone over to her house, not while she had all of them.
"You didn't pay attention to the lecture, huh?" Yugi teased Amelia as they started to head to the bus station.
"Ha-ha, was I thought obvious?" Amelia asked with a slight smile on her face.
"A little," He answered, and his eyes widened as he began to panic, "not that it's a bad thing."
Amelia didn't get to say anything as they were stopped by an older student. She craned her neck to look up into his eyes and narrowed her own. She got the worst vibe from him, and that was without the need to know his story. Ushio bothered her, and she wasn't afraid of letting it show on her face.
"I'm Ushio from the morals committee," Ushio stated, "I'd like to ask you some questions about the bullying you've faced."
"I haven't experienced such a thing," Yugi denied, and Amelia bit the inside of her cheek to stop from saying anything.
"It's for the good of the school, please tell me," Ushio pushed, "I plan on investigating the situation."
"It's true though, I haven't experienced bullying," Yugi stated before reaching for Amelia's hand, "please, excuse us."
Amelia felt the heel of her shoe drag a bit as he pulled on her. He had more strength than she thought he did. His hand was tense and so were his shoulders. That told her that he also got a bad feeling from Ushio. Was it because of the puzzle? Did its powers materialize at such an early stage, without it being in a complete state? It sounded possible, but she didn't know enough about the millennium items to say for sure. Her lack of knowledge was an annoyance.
"Please consider me your bodyguard!" Ushio shouted before they turned a corner.
"He's weird," Yugi muttered.
"He really is," Amelia agreed.
Yugi looked back at her with a smile before his face turned a bright red. He dropped her hand quickly and she blinked. Did he not realise that he had grabbed her hand? It was oddly adorable. They quietly waited for the bus and he heard a quiet yawn from her. She looked tired, even as she brought a hand up to rub at her eyes.
"Hey, Bakura-kun," She greeted their white-haired friend as they got on the bus, securing their spots at the front.
"Good afternoon," Ryou greeted back.
They quickly delved into conversations about games as Ryou handed over the empty obento-box. It went into Amelia's book bag and she flinched slightly when she heard the gossiping behind her. She couldn't help but find life easier to go through when she was stuck in her thoughts. Thoughts allowed her to travel to new places, or think of new things to create. Did she want to draw a new piece? All she had to do was get stuck in her thoughts and allow her pencil to guide her hand. It made life simpler, and it was easier to block out the negativity from others around her.
"Mia-Chan, is everything all right?" Yugi asked and she gave him a small smile in response.
"It's all good," She said before grabbing onto the overhead railing when the bus lurched to a stop.
Ryou ended up stumbling into her and she steadied him. The bus seemed to be one of the few places where they couldn't keep their balance. He was thankful that he had friends that didn't mind helping when one of them stumbled. Their stop came up and they all headed their own ways for the day. Amelia was required to call into her adopted father every so often and Ryou had a project he needed to finish.
"Kuriboh, what's wrong?" Amelia asked the duel monster.
It let out a soft whine before burying itself in her hair. Something had upset it, but watching how Kuriboh was trying to make her smile it was from how people talked about her. She brought a hand up and gently patted its head. She couldn't change how people talked about her, but she was thankful for the support. Her hair was continuously being played with by the duel monster and it made her rethink cutting it. It had been far too long since someone had played with it. She had always enjoyed the feeling. She opened the door to her house and noted that Suzuki was asleep on the couch, the tv on. She grabbed the home phone and headed up to her room.
"Oh, hello, my dear," Pegasus answered, and she felt a slight smile on her face, "how is school going?"
"It's going well," She said, and he hummed his acknowledgement.
He asked how she was doing after that and listened when she talked. It was odd that someone who barely knew her would take a few minutes out of his time to listen to her day. Her own parents couldn't do that, too focused on her older and little brothers. She was the only girl out of her siblings, and the least likely to cause trouble. That information was at the forefront of her mind as Pegasus started to tell her about the company and his newest ideas for cards, he even requested that she send in a few images to have turned into cards. She paused at that before agreeing to do so. Black Magician Girl was going to have her debut early. Their call ended with him telling her to continue with raising her grades and doing her best. She pulled out an 18x24 piece of paper and started to sketch the Black Magician Girl. She wasn't about to let Mana be left out of all the fun. She could carry around the two magicians just so they were a part of what was going on.
Kuriboh ended up waking her up the next morning. She wiped at her cheek and saw pigment on her fingers. She had fallen asleep on her drawing, but it hadn't ruined it. Black Magician Girl cheekily grinned up at her from the paper and she smiled back. Amelia let out a yawn before getting up and getting ready for the day. If she was right, then it would be the day where Ushio decided to attack Jounouchi and Honda. All to try and exploit Yugi for money. She tied the ribbon for her school uniform and let out another yawn, but stopped when she heard a giggle. Amelia spun on her heel and looked around in confusion. Her eyes stopped on the drawing on her desk and a part of her wondered if it had been her drawing. The Black Magician Girl had changed poses and looked to be studying her clothing. Her style was different compared to the manga, but it would have to do until Pegasus got a hold of her design.
"You're going to get me in trouble," Amelia muttered fondly before making a face, "and now I'm talking to drawings, what a day."
Kuriboh gently pinched her cheek and she chuckled. Duel Monsters were very real, but she couldn't be seen talking to them without getting in trouble. Amelia sighed and made a mental note to draw up a few more of the monsters before sending them to Pegasus. Magician of Black Chaos would be the next one, and perhaps the Silent Magician as well. She already had Black Magician, but the addition of more dark attributed spellcasters would be nice for her deck. Should she also draw Rainbow Dark Dragon? She would need to add seven monsters of different names to her deck to be able to summon it, she needed to be able to banish them. A special summons that was annoying, but had caused her to win multiple times in tournaments. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon never stood a chance against it. 4000 against 3000, it was a no brainer.
"If I take your master with me, will you behave?" Amelia quietly asked Black Magician Girl.
She got a salute and she sighed as she pulled out the Black Magician from her desk and showed the blonde card. She returned to her original pose and Amelia sighed as she headed out for the day. She could always carry the card in her breast pocket, but that felt like a strange thing to do. Maybe she should do what the Kaiba brothers do and just have the cards around her neck. No, that was even stranger.
"Your student drives a hard bargain," She informed the Black Magician, she didn't even know if he interacted with his card.
"Crawford-Sama," Suzuki greeted as the teen entered the kitchen, "I shall be out for a few days, do not go anywhere by yourself."
"I understand," Amelia nodded before she placed the card in her bag and started to work on breakfast and lunch.
Suzuki gave her a sharp look and she ignored it. It was sad that Pegasus of all people gave her more leeway than her bodyguard. She flinched slightly when her bracelet warmed up. It continued until it was close to burning her, but she couldn't just take it off without an explanation. She waited until Suzuki had left the house before removing it and rubbing at her wrist. The skin was red and obviously irritated, but not burned. She'd yell at Black Magician, but maybe he wasn't completely Mahad. She didn't know, and she wasn't about to yell at someone that might've had nothing to do with the sudden warmth of her bracelet. Her bag falling to the ground from its spot on the counter had her worried. She sighed and picked it up before removing the card from it.
"You have my attention," She informed it, "and my slight annoyance, but we'll ignore that for now."
Black Magician moved to where it was sending her a raised brow, so she sent one back. Kuriboh let out a sound to inform her that the rice was done, and she moved to make her food, taking the card with her. Was he mad that she had left him in the bag? Because he was going to have to get used to it, she couldn't just walk around with a card in her hand. She looked at Kuriboh and wondered if it could. It didn't seem like anyone had noticed a bunch of flying pencils.
"What do you suggest I do?" She asked, "I can't really carry a card in my hand all day without gaining some strange looks, and standing out is the worst thing I could do right now."
Kuriboh shrugged and she made a face before putting the bento's into her bag. She would just have to relegate the Black Magician to an outside pouch of her bag. He should be able to hear what's going on around her if she did that. His card was slipped into one of the smaller pouched in her bag and she quickly headed out. She wasn't about to be late to meet her friends. Yugi and Ryou both noticed the hurried expression on her face, and gave her concerned looks but said nothing. She was oddly private when she wanted to be.
"You have blue on your face, Mia-Chan," Yugi informed her.
She made a strange noise as she tried to get the pigment off her face. It was stubborn and refused to be removed. Amelia let out a quiet huff as Kuriboh laughed at her predicament. She knew using good coloured pencils was a bad move. The pigment was always great, but if she fell asleep while using them it always ended up staining her skin. Maybe they were just expensive, and not of good quality. That could be her problem, she made a mental note to do more research on brands. She wasn't about to drop $200 on Faber-Castell. Actually, that would be better than the brand she was currently using. Her art would most likely look smoother with the softer coloured pencil.
"What were you doing?" Ryou quietly asked.
"Drawing," She answered, "I was asked to create a few pieces and send them in by my father."
It felt strange calling Pegasus that, but it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She loved her dad, but she was aware that he was like her mother with how she was viewed. The unproblematic child that had all the stress and expectation placed on it. "You're so mature for your age." She's been told that so many times growing up, and at first, she thought it was a compliment until she started getting insulted for liking "childish" things. When card games were played by her brothers and that was fine, but the moment she did it was seen as childish and for boys. It was the same when she joined the rowing team, they thought she couldn't make it due to being a girl. She showed them by taking first in all competitions. Her mind couldn't help but pose the question. Would Pegasus have been proud of her accomplishments? He had taken some joy in hearing about her schooling, and he hadn't faked it. Even if he had, it was more than she was used to.
"He seems interesting," Ryou commented, and she gave a sheepish laugh.
"That's one way of putting it," She said as she handed over his lunch, "he was curious about how my schooling is going, it was weird."
"That's not weird," Yugi said with a small smile, "that's normal, Jiji usually asks me how mines going as well."
Ryou and Amelia shared a look when Yugi looked away to watch the crowd of students. Ryou knew what she meant by weird, his father didn't check in on him at all. He distracted himself by placing the bento in his bag and moved his only female friend to the side when the crowd pushed forward to get away from Souzouji. She didn't seem too bothered by his help and gave him a thankful look. He waved her off when their stop came up. It would only be for another month or so until he was fully transferred. At least he had friends waiting for him.
"I need to drop some papers off at the office during lunch, sorry," Amelia apologised to Yugi.
"Don't worry about it, we can always meet up after school and I can play against you with video games," Yugi teased, and she let out a quiet laugh.
Her sense of humour was so simplistic but Yugi enjoyed that. He could tell terrible jokes and still get a laugh out of her. Her cheeks always turned a light pink when she laughed, and her eyes closed a little. She would go from a blank look to a happy expression within seconds when she laughed. He sat through their classes with a tiny smile, proud of his accomplishment in getting her to smile. He never noticed that she had been paying attention in class, and struggling with it.
Amelia was so bored. It was information she already knew. She had gone into college for a degree in Engineering but ended up switching her major to art. She wanted to do something she enjoyed, not what her parents enjoyed. The argument that had followed her decision had been close to soul-crushing. The only person who had been supportive of her was her Grandad, and he had several things to say about her parents. He always supported her, and she wondered if that's why it bothered her that Pegasus did the same. She didn't know. Even when the recess bell rang, and she gave Yugi a salute before grabbing the documents that the school had requested.
She technically had work papers due to her status as heir, and the school didn't allow jobs. It was a stupid rule, but at the same time, she somewhat understood it. No, that would be a lie. She didn't understand it at all. She handed in the papers with a polite smile and frowned when she remembered something. Ushio, right the extortion. She took off in a sprint and headed outside. Kuriboh followed behind her a frown on its face. She turned a corner and saw a horrific sight.
"Well, that's enough for now," Ushio said as he sent a kick to a bloody Yugi's gut, "remember to bring the 200,000 yen tomorrow, or else you'll know true pain."
Amelia clenched her fists and quietly ran up to him and decked him in the face. It would be the only hit she got in, and she was okay with that. The look of genuine surprise on his face as his nose let out a sickening crack was worth it. He beat her friend to a bloody pulp; she broke his nose. It was the best she could do.
"Mia-Chan?" Yugi moaned in pain.
"How dare you hurt my friend, Ushio!" Amelia hissed and Ushio glared at her.
"I was expecting a fee to be paid, I would think you of all people would know what that means," Ushio stated.
"A fee is only paid when a proper service has agreed upon," Amelia stated her small knowledge of business rearing its head, "Yugi declined your offer of bodyguard and as such, no fee is required."
Ushio's glare turned deadly, and he picked her up by the front of her blazer. Amelia stiffened slightly but glared at him with as much venom as she could muster. She was afraid, but her Grandfather raised a girl that wouldn't back down. She refused to back down. A fist embedded itself into her face and she grunted in pain. She returned the favour by kicking him in the chest, if he were dumb enough to pick her up, she'd use it to her full advantage. Her hit may be strong, but her kicks were stronger. No one really looked at her closely, they didn't see the muscle mass she had, and it worked in her favour. Ushio looked at her as though he was finally figuring it out.
"Heh, you're stronger than you look," He commented before lowering his voice and leaning down, "but, you can't take down a whole group of people."
Ushio gave her a once over and she felt her skin crawl. She didn't turn her back to him until she was sure he wouldn't come back and try anything. She rushed to Yugi's side and gently moved his head to see the damage done to his face. He seemed surprised by the gentle handling.
"Sorry, Mutou-kun," She quietly apologised, "let's get you three to the nurse's office."
Amelia turned to see Jounouchi struggling to his feet and she tensed in the preparation of a fight. He shook his head as he helped Honda to his feet. Amelia didn't even help Yugi to his feet, she simply picked him up. She wasn't that much taller than him, but she'd shoot up like a weed in a year or so. She went from being five foot four to five foot nine. It had scared people when she had come back for her last year of high school and was no longer a squirt. The added height did help in rowing.
"Seriously?" Jounouchi asked as Yugi turned a bright red from being carried.
"What?" Amelia asked in confusion, "No offence to Yugi-Kun, but this was faster."
"M-Mia-Chan," Yugi muttered, and she tilted her head in confusion.
"You really don't look that strong at first glance," Jounouchi muttered.
She rolled her eyes slightly and opened the school doors. Jounouchi limped in with Honda hanging from his shoulder. The nurse seemed surprised to see the taller boys, but not Yugi. She took control and bandaged them all up. Jounouchi and Amelia were told to return to class first, seeing as they weren't in too bad of shape.
"Why'd you stick up for Yugi?" Jounouchi asked.
"He's my friend," Amelia answered as they started up the stairs, "I'd jump in danger for any of them."
"I see," Jounouchi muttered, "can I ask for your help?"
"You…you want my help?" She asked, blinking in confusion.
"Your good friends with him and you actually listen," He said, and she frowned, "you'd know one of the best ways to apologise to him."
"Why? You already know the answer to what the best way to apologise would be," She stated, and he blinked, "I noticed that you took a piece of his puzzle, I just thought you'd return it before now."
That was a white lie, but Jounouchi didn't need to know that. He frowned and scratched the back of his head. Kuriboh was hanging onto Amelia's shoulder and rubbing its fur against her face. She was fighting to urge to comfort the worried monster. If it wasn't for the fact that she'd end up in a psych ward, then she would totally do so.
"Mind showing me where he lives?" Jounouchi asked.
"I'll help you find the piece," She added, "but I want you to apologise to him in person after telling his grandpa about Ushio."
"What?" Jounouchi asked as the final bell rang, "Why do you want that?"
"Because it would mean a lot to Yugi-kun," She said, "he's like me in that way, a genuine apology that's to my face is better than hearing it through the grapevine."
Jounouchi relented and they grabbed their things. Amelia pulled out the Nokia 6110 and frowned. She and Ryou had these early cell phones, but there wasn't a texting feature. on most of them. Her's had it, but she wasn't sure about Ryou. She took in a deep breath and sent a short message to him.
No bus today. Helping after school. Yugi will be on the bus, rough day. Sorry, don't worry about the bento box. I can always get it from you tomorrow.
She sent that message and hoped he got it. She'd feel horrible if he didn't. The phone was slipped into her school bag as Jounouchi got his and motioned for her to follow him. He stopped outside next to the school pool and she sent him a dirty look.
"You threw it into the pool?" She questioned.
"I know, I know," He grumbled as he motioned for her to hold onto his bag.
She did so and held it to her chest without thinking. Kuriboh took that as an invitation to sit on top of it so she could place her chin on its head. She was happy for the opportunity to give some comfort to the spirit. It seemed rattled by what happened. She gathered it hadn't known what Yugi had gone through before becoming one of his monsters. Her bag hit her thigh and she sent it a slightly annoyed look. Black Magician could be just as bad as his student and he didn't even know it. She took a seat on the ground and leaned up against the chain-link fence. She brought the card out and sent it an annoyed look.
"Normal people don't talk to cards, you'll have to give me some leeway," She informed it in a quiet tone.
Black Magician simply crossed his arms across his chest, and she ran a hand through her hair before placing him in her breast pocket. He was up enough that he could see what she was seeing, but not obvious enough to be noticed. She wouldn't wear him when Chono went on an expelling spree. That would get her in too much trouble.
"Found it!" Jounouchi cheered as he pulled himself from the pool and pushed his soaked hair away from his bruised face.
"Great, let's get to the bus station," She said as she got up from the ground, she noticed his expression and sighed, "would you rather walk?"
He nodded and an embarrassed blush appeared on his face. She bit the inside of her cheek before smiling. She knew what to say to make it less awkward or make it more. It was hard to tell how he'd take her words.
"Leg day is important, one must never skip it," She said with a nod, "good thing you remembered, Jounouchi-kun."
"Yeah…" He agreed, trailing off in confusion.
Jounouchi followed behind the shorter teen and watched as she ignored the whispers about her. Foreigner. Why is she here? This isn't her home. Her eyes were glazed over, and his mind slowly worked out why she always seemed to let her mind wander. His sister did it when things were too much for her. Amelia did it because she pushed away so much negativity. She preferred to live in her head, because no one could bother her there.
"They're wrong," Jounouchi informed her, and her attention snapped to him.
"Who is?" She questioned.
"The people who say you can't live here," He answered.
"Oh," She said.
Amelia didn't really understand how they were wrong. They were right. Japan wasn't her home, but America wasn't her home either. Duellist Kingdom was more her home than any country. At least there she had some sort of parental unit that cared about her. No, she wouldn't be swayed by Pegasus. That had to be one of his tactics. He wanted her trust, and she wasn't about to give it to him.
"So, any hobbies?" Jounouchi asked, he wanted to fill in the awkward silence.
"I draw and play games," She answered before tilting her head in thought, "I also like to go canoeing or rather I enjoy the sport rowing."
"Rowing? Ah, I know which one you're talking about," He stated, "no wonder you kick so hard."
"How do you know how hard I kick?" She questioned, her right brow twitching in disbelief.
"Ushio's grunt of pain wasn't just from a broken nose," He shrugged, "it almost sounded like you bruised a rib."
"As I said, leg day is important," She stated without thinking.
Amelia had never been a violent person, but she wasn't really a pushover. Sure, she could be one to her friends but never to someone she didn't know. She knew her worth and refused to let anyone challenge it. Kuriboh gained her attention when it hovered above a baby cradle, a confused expression coming from it. Ah, she supposed the duel monster never really interacted with babies. The small child reached up towards the monster and her mind went quiet for a few seconds. Babies could see the duel spirits. Huh, that was cool.
"Man, he lives far away from the school," Jounouchi muttered.
"We both do," Amelia stated a slight laugh coming from her, "we live a few minutes away from one another."
"Huh? Wait you live in that nice neighbourhood?" He questioned with a strange expression.
"With someone that dislikes me," She nodded, "we'll get there pretty late, I'd feel bad sending you home still soaking."
"I don't need charity," Jounouchi said, his body tense.
"Charity?" She asked, "I didn't see you as charity, just a fellow classmate that needs a place to stay for the night."
He gave her a sceptical look. He didn't know if he should trust those words or not. Amelia was a wild card and not one that he knew much about. She happily chatted with Yugi but wasn't afraid to stand up to him when he was being an ass. Yet, here she was showing him that same kindness she typically showed Yugi. It was baffling.
"Here's where he lives," Amelia stated as she looked up at the Kame Game shop.
"He lives above a game shop?" Jounouchi muttered in thought as he looked at the colourful storefront.
"Yeah," Amelia nodded as she walked inside.
"Ah, Mia-chan, welcome," Mutou Sugoroku greeted his grandsons' friend, "are you looking for a new game?"
"Not today, Mutou-san," Amelia smiled before turning to Jounouchi, "he's here to apologise to Yugi-kun."
Jounouchi fidgeted under the gaze of the old man before noting the same kindness that Yugi had. His nerves turned to guilt as Sugoroku invited them inside. He hung back, as did Amelia, while Jounouchi went into Yugi's room. They were there for moral support, and just in case Jounouchi turned violent.
"So, who decided to beat up my grandson?" Sugoroku asked Amelia.
"A boy named Ushio, he's a jerk who's trying to extort money through his moral's club," She answered, "he expects two hundred thousand yen, but he's not getting it."
"Mia-chan, why do you say that?" Sugoroku asked.
"Because Yugi-kun is my friend, and I refuse to let someone push him around like that," She said in a tone that sounded as though it was obvious, "he doesn't deserve it."
Sugoroku smiled at that as they heard a happy shout from Yugi and a startled one from Jounouchi. The blonde came out with a blush on his face and shot Amelia a look. She chuckled quietly and wished Sugoroku a nice night before leaving. He wasn't worried about his grandson, not after one of his friends informed him that she'd always have his back.
"I didn't even know he could move that fast," Jounouchi stated, and Amelia let out a snort, "Hey, you've never had someone that came up to your waist almost tackle you before."
"You never know," She defended, and he grinned at that before noticing a white-haired teen standing outside of her home.
"Who's that?" Jounouchi asked.
"Bakura Ryou," She answered, "He rides the bus with Yugi-kun and me, he's a good friend as well."
"Ah, Mia-chan," Ryou greeted with a tiny smile before narrowing his eyes slightly at Jounouchi, "I'm sorry for seeing you so late, but I wanted to make sure you got the bento box back."
"Thank you, Bakura-kun," She said as he handed over the red box, "come on in, I wouldn't feel right having you walk home in the dark."
Oh, so Jounouchi really wasn't a charity case. She gave a place to stay for her friends. She opened the door and the two boys walked in. Ryou found the home to be a bit cold in personality, but the colours suited his female friend. Jounouchi thought it was missing life. It was the soulless representation of what a home looked like. It wasn't until they went into the kitchen where they found where most of the soul in the house was. Places where Amelia spent time in had touches of a lived-in appearance. Small things like a kettle shaped like a shiba or salt and pepper shakers in cat shapes. She liked cute things, and it was made obvious by some of the potholders. They were shown to the guest rooms, and Jounouchi had a towel thrown at his head by the redhead.
"Oi!" He complained.
She grinned at his complaint and went back to the kitchen. She opened up one of her cookbooks and slowly flipped through it. She had ingredients for a small dinner, and for lunch the next day. She'd have to do grocery shopping at the end of the week to restock her supplies. She heard soft footsteps and looked up to see Ryou standing in the doorway. He looked like he was feeling awkward about being in her home.
"Do you know how to cook?" She asked him and he blinked before shaking his head, "don't worry about it, just take a seat at the counter and watch and learn."
He relaxed a bit at that, and she pulled out the ingredients she needed and placed a kettle on the stove. It wouldn't take too long to make katsudon. She looked at the recipe and squinted slightly to read the smaller letters. Her eyesight wasn't even that bad, the letters were that small.
Ryou watched as Amelia moved around the kitchen with the air of someone who knew what they were doing. Well, until she splattered her hand with oil and simply stared at it with a dry look. She didn't stop cooking, which worried him. She hummed a greeting to Jounouchi as he sat down at the counter as well. The two boys were unsure of one another, but slowly began to talk about games of all things. Jounouchi figured it was a safe topic when around two of the three nerds, and he was using that term fondly.
Dinner was a quiet affair and they all turned in for the night. Amelia found herself staring up at the ceiling while Kuriboh slept on her chest. She had this feeling that something was happening. Her bracelet was warm, and she gathered that it had something to do with the pharaoh. He had to be using shadow magic against Ushio. It didn't end up with the boy dead, so she wasn't too worried. It was when the pharaoh went after the criminal in Burger World that she was going to worry. She needed to figure out a way to keep everyone safe, even though she knew it would be impossible. When the spirit Bakura started his shenanigans then she wouldn't be able to stop him. She couldn't go against the white-haired teen, but should could help Atem in anyway she could.
She just didn't know what she could do to help, it bothered her more than she'd like to admit.