+Wait, doesn't the description say Atem x OC?

~Indeed it does.

+Then what is this?

~Well... I lied.

Nah jk jk. As I stated in the first chapter this is going to be a long ride, so many many things will happen before we get to see our main couple come together. I am a fan of attraction and chemistry at first sight but love? No man, that needs buildup (AND DRAMA!). Fans of the excessively long list of existing Yu-Gi-Oh ships brace yourselves because I am going to cram as many as I can in here for your and my enjoyment, even that one which I do not need to mention because it is everyone's favorite 7u7

-que evil laughter-

Honestly the weirdest part about it all was how okay she felt with it after staring at her appearance in the mirror for up to 5 whole minutes.

Pink wasn't really her color, it did nothing for her darker skin shade, but the jacket did have a nice cut and it went marvelously with the pleated skirt and bow combo. It was cute, or kawaii as the word in Japanese felt more emphatic. It wasn't really her style, too girly and too stiff but still she was impressed by how well it fit.

Some part of her had almost expected the uniform to look like a costume on her but to anyone who looked she appeared like any other highschooler, foreign and a bit eccentric in her choice of accessories, but unremarkable beyond that. Normal.

Was this how it felt to let go of the past and start anew? Could it really be so easy, feel so natural? Optimism was such a good precursor for disaster. Nonetheless she promised her reflection that she would give it her best shot and left her room to join Arthur for a quick breakfast before taking off for her first day at school.

Tesem wasn't really as nervous as she might have been if she were able to recall any memory of disastrous past experiences and socially awkward situations that could make her wary of the concept of being 'the new girl' who was joining the class mid-semester. As things stood she simply beared the mild apprehension proper for someone experiencing something new for the first time.

The knowledge that she wouldn't be entirely alone during the following adjustment period drove most of the anxiety from her heart and filled it with excitement instead. Such a favorable circumstance was yet another thing to be grateful to Arthur for, his insistence on that first dinner and her subsequent outings with the Muto kid and his pals ensuring that she didn't initiate her life in Japan as a total social cripple.

"Good morning Anzu."

"Morning Tesem-chan."

The brunette beamed at her, cheerful and friendly as ever. Her positivity was contagious.

The walk to Domino Highschool was short and pleasant. They crossed a rather quiet part of town filled with homes and businesses owned by older people. An ideal place to shape the future citizens of the city, safe and devoid of corruption, the brunette merrily announced.

Tesem grinned. Surely there were less healthy businesses tucked in somewhere hidden from plain sight, the sort that readily preyed on the inexperienced and experimental youth. Japan couldn't be that different from the USA, she'd be sure to keep an eye for such dangers now that she had people whose welfare mattered to her.

Unbeknownst to her, someone had already taken matters into his own hands, flushing out said dangers and punishing the wicked with the aid of magical means.

At the gate they were met by Honda, Yugi and after a little while Jonouchi who came in at such speed and wearing such a messy bed-head none of them had to ask to know that he had overslept.

On their way to class she mentally congratulated herself for not letting her eyes land on the golden pyramid hanging from Yugi's neck even once. She was painfully aware of its existence, her senses betraying her as they fixated on every soft thump the item made against the boy's chest and every time it caught the sunlight when they passed a window. As much as her mind insisted in obsessing over the thing she refused to acknowledge it.

The secrets of that ancient artefact and the question of whether or not it was related to her own past lingered but upon reflecting for days after the night of their unfinished game she decided to lay her own curiosity to rest in order to focus on this new chapter of her life. The truths she hoped to eventually unveil could wait, or perhaps they would choose to surface on their own. Who knew? The fact that the boy had started to grow on her frighteningly quickly aided greatly in the making of this decision.

That little part of her brain that seemed to be out of her control nagged at her in a wordless manner for taking such a course of action, its agitation underlying her own emotions. Tesem could also ignore that, Dr. Hegazy had suggested it and thus the girl raised barriers within her own head.

At the door of the homeroom Anzu and Tesem stopped. Much to her dismay it was customary for teachers to introduce the new students to the whole class on their first day. Guess she would learn what new toys on display felt like.

When their teacher appeared she got a friendly reminder about Japanese suffixes (she had been very close to calling the man -senpai instead of sensei-) by Anzu before she went to join their friends inside leaving her to receive a small formal greeting from the glass-wearing, gray-haired Japanese teacher.

When the homeroom period ended Tanaka-sensei ushered her in and the parade started. Whispers broke out, silence was called, she said her piece and from amongst the outstanding students a tutor was picked for her. She had been so certain it would be Anzu that she couldn't stifle her gasp when the name 'Muto Yugi' was called.

They looked at each-other, he appeared uncertain. She sighed and then offered a reassuring smile. A truce was in order. Whoever that second-personality, spirit, demon, fairy or whatever he who had possessed Yugi the night they met was, she could ignore him and admit that the Muto boy was a rather ok guy on his own. More than ok really. Tesem could stop prodding for answers if Yugi's darker counterpart did the same.

"You can go to your seat now. Anzu-san was kind enough to save you a desk."

Within 30 minutes or so Tesem was convinced that public school wasn't as exciting and infinitely better than being homeschooled as she had first thought. During her lessons back in the USA she could at least make regular exchanges with her tutors, converse and enjoy live feedback on any subject that picked her interest. This in comparison was just… boring.

An endless ramble only broken up by the scratchy sound of the chalk on the blackboard failed miserably to capture her attention which was pretty unfortunate since this was the class she desperately needed to focus on in order to improve her Japanese. Her communication skills weren't so terrible but having to ask for certain translations twice or thrice per conversation wasn't really ideal.

She sighed and put her head down to soldier through it, mechanically scribbling away everything that was being said to try and make sense of it later.

Their lunch break didn't seem to come fast enough as she endured another introduction by the Ethics teacher and proceeded to continue writing the lessons in the same notebook as before. Was that the way good students took notes? No. Did she care? Hell no.

When they finally had a break she basically melted in her seat, her exasperation undisguised as she craned her neck back until she was looking at the desk behind her, Anzu's. The brunette couldn't help but chuckle at the disgruntled expression in the egyptian girl's face.

"Not really what you expected, huh?"

"I honestly thought it would be more exciting than watching grass grow, but apparently I was wrong."

"Well I could have told you that." Jonouchi added as he noisily dragged a chair to sit at Anzu's left, action which Yugi mimicked but instead taking the spot to the girl's right. Honda was content to perch himself at the edge of a nearby unoccupied desk with a well-practiced cool kid vibe.

Several students had vacated the room to mingle with friends from other years or to purchase their food at the cafeteria but many others lingered, either enjoying their bento boxes in silence or just gawking at the new girl who as expected caused quite a stir like new gossip often did amongst teenagers.

Tesem pointedly ignored the stares hoping her disinterest would dissuade anyone who felt the need to come forth and make her suffer through another series of introductions. She had already warmed up to her little crew but in all honesty she wasn't really enthusiastic about broadening her social circle at the moment. She didn't exactly mind the attention but as an amnesiac she just knew that sooner or later there would be questions that she wouldn't be able to answer and she didn't really care for the awkward silences and incomplete-explanations that would surely follow if it came to that. Yugi and the others had been really respectful by never asking more than she shared openly, likely having been briefed in the peculiarity of her condition by her legal guardian before they even met. A nosey stranger would just make her snap.

"What did ya'll bring to eat?" Asked Honda, the deadly spike on his head tipping as he rummaged through his backpack to fish out his food.

Several colorful bento boxes were placed and opened on top of Anzu's desk, displaying a nice array of goodies they were content to share with each-other. Tesem spun her seat around and added her own contribution to the feast, her face slightly flush from the emotions she couldn't quite contain. She felt all warm and fuzzy and ready to say corny things to her first true group of friends but she knew that if she allowed herself to do so she would beat herself over it for weeks to come so she simply ate, smiled and enjoyed their moment while it lasted.

"-uhm, excuse me, Tesem-chan?"

She had to remind herself to soften her disposition as she turned to look at two boys and a girl, classmates, the brave ones who came to present themselves first. Their names and faces were pieces of information that she would try to remember for the future but inevitably forgot in the end.

They started a conversation mostly carried by them and their many questions about her country and her reasons to be in Japan. She gave swift answers that held enough details to be somewhat satisfactory but never enough to lead on to another question, still they found ways to continue the interrogation despite her lack of cooperation. These guys would make excellent police investigators. She thought bitterly.

Sensing her silent annoyance Yugi —bless his heart— tried to intervene and shift the conversation to more manageable subjects such as her opinion of Domino and their school but his plan backfired when the girl in the group noticed the great resemblance between their golden accessories.

"Oh my gosh, your necklace is so pretty. Is it real gold? Did you get it where Yugi-kun got his?"

So much for trying to avoid the subject. With that single sentence both of them were reminded of the unpleasant uncertainty that hung between them, at times overlooked but always hindering their attempts at building trust in their fledgling friendship.

"Well-" The gamer boy started, his head racing a mile per hour to find a way to shift the subject. Tesem beat him to it.

"Oh, I commissioned this to resemble Yugi's puzzle. Before coming here I was a big fan of the King of Games. I kind of always wanted to learn to play DM as good as him... Imagine my surprise when I learned that his grandpa and my guardian knew each other." She lightly interrupted, tossing the lie with such ease that it flew right past everyone's head... except for Yugi who was paying too much attention to miss it. His lips thinned as he pressed them together but he made no comment, turning away as if suddenly lost in thought.

Satisfied with the result of her diversion, Tesem didn't really notice, she was still focused on their classmates who eagerly lapped up the story, loving the Kdrama-esque possibilities such a scenario brought to their minds. The boys did seem a little bit disappointed by this as from her words they assumed that she already had a significant interest in the Muto boy which lessened their own chances at ever dating their new classmate.

The most daring of the two had to go ahead and tie the noose around her neck in his attempt to know for sure. "So.. you like Yugi-kun?"

Now that had everyone paying attention and made two startled teens blush a condemning shade of pink.

"I- uh, I mean. We haven't really known each other for more than a week..." She stumbled over the words, suddenly mindful that the answer wasn't clear cut even to herself. They had only met a handful of times since her arrival and despite having hit it off relatively well it was safe to say that they had barely just passed the acquaintance zone and were only starting to consider each other a friend. She definitely thought the boy was attractive, was that what they meant? She also enjoyed his company quite a bit, more so than that of the others, even if his dearest treasure did cause her unease… And she wouldn't really mind kissing him if the opportunity presented itself- Why on earth had her thoughts gone there? And why couldn't she stop her blood from rushing to her cheeks and ears when thinking about the possibility?

To hell with it. When had she ever chosen not to be blunt for others' sake? "But- yeah. I guess you could say that I like him." Too bad she didn't realize in time how unusual such a level of sincerity was in their society. An admission like that wasn't as small and inconsequential as she would have hoped, at least not in the ears of those who were listening. To say you 'like' a guy in Japan appeared to be a synonym of wanting to marry said guy.

'Ooooos' and 'damns' filled the classroom as boys had their hopes of dating the hot foreign chick crushed and girls celebrated after satisfying their weird fetish for romance. She fucked up, big time.

Tesem opened her mouth but nothing came out. What could she say to salvage the situation? She couldn't even bring herself to look at Yugi, afraid that she had just dented their relationship for good.

Gods be blessed. Just at the right moment the teacher of their next class came storming in, forcing everyone to scramble to their seats to avoid getting chided by their elderly Japanese History instructor, effectively interrupting the influx of endless questions that would have surely come otherwise.

Suddenly she wasn't that mad about the silence enforced upon the students. No-one could even whisper about her sudden admission so for the next couple of hours she could pretend that she hadn't done something so foolish and impulsive.

Tesem had half a mind to make a run for it once the bell rang, a coward's choice but appealing nonetheless. She knew the way back home well enough, but just when the loud alarm announced the end of another day of class a short but solid wall of lean muscle and boyish allure blocked her escape route. She gave the evil eye to the golden inverted pyramid before she turned up, her expression controlled even as her insides were in total turmoil.

"Tesem-chan. Do you mind if we walk home together?"

She paled, someone squealed in the background and like a pack of wolves protecting their young, Anzu, Honda and Jonouchi began to usher the tactless witnesses out before they too left. Only Katsuya stayed long enough to give his best friend an unsubtle nudge with the elbow and the caramel girl a knowing wink that chilled her to the bone.

With all prying eyes gone Yugi released a breath he seemed to have been holding and let his purposeful stance deflate into a more casual and less foreboding one. He scratched his chin, a nervous habit, one she just then decided was quite endearing in its vulnerability. "I just want to talk, nothing weird or..." He trailed off.

He must have noticed her disquiet even if Tesem was certain that her face remained a perfect mask of impassivity. As troubling as she found his perceptiveness she couldn't help but relax in appreciation for his concern and promptly nodded in acceptance.

"Alright, let's go."

.oOoOoOo.

For a long while they walked slowly and in silence, stalling to the point where she started to wonder if they would get to talk at all before they made it to the street where they would inevitably need to part ways in order to get to their respective homes.

She eyed the boy several times and every one of them she was rendered speechless upon seeing him looking pensive and perhaps a little sad. Dread nipped at her at the possibility of having offended or displeased him in some way. Her throat tightened as she imagined a scenario where he put an end to their interactions for good. The notion drowned her in a terrible loneliness, she couldn't have interrupted the silence even if she wanted to then.

"Tesem-chan. Why did you lie?" It looked like Yugi had been gathering his courage. He sounded decidedly uncomfortable while voicing the question, clearly not being a confrontational person by any means. He was definitely lightyears apart from that other persona she had played Senet against. He didn't even sound mad, just confused and mildly troubled.

She folded her arms, and looked ahead sternly. That had taken her by surprise and her fears of losing his friendship were instantly dissolved by a wave of mistrust. "I don't like people sticking their nose in my business." There was a double implication in that statement and Yugi couldn't help but flinch. Her chest constricted and she inwardly regretted the bite in her words but she couldn't help it, becoming defensive whenever she felt uncertain had become a bit of a bad habit for her.

"But they just wanted to know you better. Anything you don't want to talk about you can always say so."

"Why does it matter to you Yugi? Were you also hoping to find out... Is that it?" She halted and so did he. They weren't far from where their paths diverged but now she was kinda ticked off and wouldn't let things go until they cleared the matter.

"No, it isn't like that." His hand lifted to press against his artefact and she eyed the gesture warily. It almost looked like he was placating the thing. "It just threw me off how easy you…" lied. He stopped himself from finishing the sentence just in time, aware that it sounded too much like an accusation. "I would like us to trust each other. I know Professor Hopkins didn't tell us everything about how you came to be under his care and I can tell that there are many things about your past you don't feel comfortable sharing but lying to people that mean well just isn't-"

"Don't you dare lecture me about honesty." She cut him off, shaking her head and clenching her fists to contain some of the frustration that threatened to slip out and make things worse. "You may not tell false tales but failing to say the whole truth on purpose is also lying."

He was a little stunned by that. She had just confirmed that she knew of his greatest secret and the possible implications stated by his other self echoed in his mind. Suspicion filtered through the link he shared with the inhabitant of the puzzle but he blocked the interference, refusing to divert from his more diplomatic approach.

Her words did ring somewhat true but the comparison still felt unfair. "It's not- I just haven't shared things that I am still figuring out. I didn't want to worry anyone for nothing."

"By your logic they deserve to know. They would surely want to help. Gods, of course they would, having a head-mate isn't exactly normal Yugi." She bit her tongue then, stopping before continuing a rant that sounded too much like her therapist's words.

It wasn't just the flicker of hurt she caught in those beautiful amethyst eyes but also the word that something that was clearly not her own mental voice hissed at the back of her mind.

Hypocrite.

It all dawned on her at once, how unjust she was being and how undeserving he was of this ridiculous lecture. If she hadn't been so damn stubborn she would have come down in tears just by the force of the disappointment in herself.

He had every right to be mad but instead he was worried. People didn't like liars and she had just been so casual about it that of course anyone who noticed would start to distrust her every word. How did she expect him to understand her struggle if she was so adamant in sharing nothing?

"Yugi-kun I am so sorry." She hesitated, unsure that she had the right to reach for him so instead she leaned back against the stone railing that framed the sidewalk and let every ounce of hostility leech from her frame. "I shouldn't get this worked up or take it out on you, it is just… I am afraid of being asked questions that I don't have the answer for." The unadulterated truth hung from the tip of her tongue, the whole tale about her first tragic memories, her many theories about the relationship between her choker and the sennen puzzle and even the existence of that other presence which had accompanied her thoughts from the very beginning. All those locked-away fears and the weakness she had tried so hard to conceal...She should have let it all out then and there but in the end she made the stupid decision to abstain, exchanging one revelation for another.

If anyone were to call her a coward then she wouldn't find it in herself to object.

"And not everything I told them was a lie. I do like you." It came as a sudden realization that perhaps that part was something that had troubled him too, for entirely different reasons.

Confessing like that was a mistake for sure. It wasn't the right moment given the situation they had just dealt with and if things were put in perspective it may have been a little opportunistic on her part- Hell someone definitely thought it was… but the words were honest and they picked new meaning as she said them.

Yugi Muto, a bright young boy with a heart full of kindness, was a light whose pull was impossible to escape for creatures that had endured so much darkness like herself. Tesem wasn't infatuated and it was much too soon to tell if what she felt for him was more than just a silly crush but like so many people had said throughout history. Fortune favours the bold... Or YOLO, the less than poetic modern rendition of the same message.

Just the way his face lit up like a red christmas light made it so, so worth it. His speechlessness however started to get worrying after a minute of just staring at each-other. Ice to amethyst and amethyst to ice.

"I don't mean it like we should start going out tomorrow or anything like that. We really just met and I am a mess when it comes to dating protocols and what is considered proper..." She started rambling and her hands waved wildly in the air as she gesticulated, a clear sign that she was out of her depth and panicking. "...But I guess that you deserved to know that at least that was truthful."

A pregnant pause and finally he smiled sweetly at her making Tesem struggle to remember how to breathe.

"Don't worry I understand. I like you too Tesem-chan." He stepped closer and settled next to her, thighs and shoulders brushing. A subtle kind of affection but definitively daring for the usually shy boy. "I'd very much like for us to get to know each other better, at your own time." He didn't push it, it already looked like she was struggling with this level of trust and emotional openness. He wouldn't want to risk scaring her away, not now that he was also questioning how this whole ordeal truly made him feel.

Sometimes it was hard to have real time input about every single thought and instantaneous insight on the emotions of another, it made it hard to know for certain what belonged to who sometimes.

"Yeah, that sounds nice." Her smile then was only half-hearted because of how drained she felt after the rollercoaster of emotions she had put both of them through. She leaned into him though, letting his warmth seep in to drive the chill of the afternoon breeze away.

A glance at the vibrant red and orange horizon confirmed that it was much later than what could be considered a reasonable hour to show up after school. Both his grandpa and Arthur must be worried sick, unless their friends had chosen to inform them of the weird happenings of the day… which was by itself a more mortifying scenario.

"We should go." She said and he agreed with a hum. The rest of the journey they spent in comfortable silence, neither keen on saying anything else with the big pile of thought material they already had to mull over for the remaining hours of the day.

When they came to where their paths diverged they said their goodbyes and parted, neither brave enough to offer more than a hug and a second glance as they walked away.

Tesem reached her home and found that Arthur hadn't arrived yet, something not quite un-expected as the man was really fond of late shifts when the workload proved compelling enough.

She was grateful for the silence as she dined alone and then sat down to work on her homework, all the while thinking about basically everything but what she was doing at the moment.

It was beyond her what strange force of nature had compelled her to act in such a reckless way— during her first day of class no less. First impressions mattered and she had already acted poorly the first time she met Yugi Muto, now she had made the beginning of their school-life together weird too… And what the hell did 'like' even mean in their context?

The girl whose earliest memories were of a painful recovery at an unfamiliar hospital and who had never shed a tear or complained about it spent the rest of the evening sulking.

That was more like it for life as a teenager. Hormonal angst and social insecurity. Had she been aware that Normalcy would feel like that she would have taken her chances hunting down the rogue bands of tomb robbers for answers back in Egypt.

.oOoOoOo.

The clouded sky spat and rumbled like an angry beast. Within seconds the soft plip-plip of a few water droplets broke into a downright shower.

The morning had looked bleak with that grey overcast sky that seemed to mimic her mood from the night before but the sudden downpour actually brought joy to Tesem's heart. The dwellers of the desert could never be bothered by climate like that, it was coded into their genes to see life and hope in any seasonal storm.

"Well I don't think you will be having class today, not with this weather." Arthur Hopkins interrupted her reverie as he came to join her side by the doorframe, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. Despite the overhang above the entrance the violent winds carried in a cold spray of tiny droplets from the open door, making the aged man shiver and shake his head. "Anyone would catch a cold out there."

"It is just water, a lot of it." She shot him a gentle smile before closing the door. "I am sure the Headmaster is more concerned about hundreths of students dripping all over his floor, not so much our health."

The man chuckled, very used to the girl's own brand of cynical humor by now. "Also likely." He turned around to settle back down at the table, quite content to enjoy a slow morning now that he was sure his work would call any minute to postpone the day's scheduled activities due to the storm. Water and antiquities didn't mingle well after all.

"Shame, I do enjoy the rain." Running and laughing until she was soaking wet, barefoot across the mudded sand.

The phone rang breaking the spell. Somewhat dazed Tesem walked over to pick it up, half-expecting the almost sickly sweet voice of Arthur's secretary on the other line. "Moshi moshi."

"Morning, Tesem-chan"

"Anzu?"

"Hey. Classes got cancelled so the guys wanted to meet at Kame Game to check out the new DM stock and whatnot. Would you like to join us?"

Oh Gods. She had never been there but she knew the shop was actually the front of Yugi's home. Could she really bear to be there after all the happenings from yesterday? It felt like it was too soon.

"I don't really know how to get there…"

"Not a problem, I know the address. I can call a cab for you."

She nearly jumped off her skin as Professor Hopkins interjected, having moved closer to lean against the kitchen counter just a few steps away from the phone. For an elderly man he had surprisingly good hearing and a very silent way of walking. Tesem didn't have the heart to refuse now so she sighed in defeat.

"Ok, I'll be there in a few."

She hung the phone and turned to her legal guardian, making a face. It hadn't taken long for him to figure out that something was off when he arrived last night and with all the patience and perseverance of someone who had lived many years and raised several children he coaxed the truth from her with relative ease. As much as she wanted to she just couldn't bring herself to be mad about his meddling.

"You are a sly old man." She grumbled.

"Indeed I am, one that won't let you mope around and avoid the inevitable. You go and sort things out. Have some fun." Screw her lips for curling up at that. She wanted to pout, not smile, but his amused grin was too contagious. "I'll arrange your ride. If you hurry you can change out of your uniform before leaving."

She looked down at her school getup and shook her head. "No, I'll rather stay and keep you company with my complaints. Besides I am sure everyone will also be in their uniforms. I have a feeling that they rarely wear anything else, even outside school."

Have you ever felt like an insinuation from others or even yourself can snowball your confusing feelings into something much greater too quickly and too suddenly to handle? Well Tesem now knows how that feels.

Also, someone is deeply concerned... or jealous. Who knows?