Funnily enough I started sketching Amelia while listening to Missio's Don't forget to open your eyes. No wonder she's got a sad background. I need to update the cover art with a better picture soon. It's gonna bother me for a while.
6
Amelia let out a quiet mutter as she slept. Kuriboh had dragged her to bed at one point by the braid she'd started wearing. The Black Magician made a face as he looked at the Black Magician Girl who was looking at everything she could. The blonde happily looked at the different books, the tv, the art supplies, and the clothes. She was bouncing around like a regular ball of energy and he let out a sigh. No wonder his newest student had been tired, she had summoned two spirits with minimal training. He looked at said student and wondered if that made her worthy of a millennium item. He couldn't see her using the scales. She had the right temperament, but not the drive for justice that most wielders of that item had.
"Should we wake her up?" The Black Magician Girl asked.
"She doesn't have to be up for another three hours," He answered, and she gave a slight pout before nodding her understanding.
"She's adorable," She stated as she watched the newest apprentice snuggled into the blankets with a tiny smile on her face, "I can't wait to teach her some tricks."
"Will she be freezing guards?" He questioned with a teasing tone.
"It was one time," She huffed, "I got better with my magic."
If Amelia had been awake she would've been confused. Mana hadn't pulled the same trick that Mahad had. She shouldn't be able to speak through the Black Magician Girl. The fact that the two of the Pharaoh's closest friends had been able to communicate through their duel monster counterparts, their ka, was confusing. Kuriboh opened one of its eyes and shot them an annoyed look before snuggling into its summoner's arms. It was having a good dream about flowers and would like to go back to it without any interruptions.
"She has a ka of her own," The Black Magician Girl stated as she studied Amelia with a slight frown, "it's not as faint as those in this era."
"Its old magic staying alive through the means available to it," The Black Magician said as he crossed his arms across his chest, "she has no clue what the gods have in store for her."
The Black Magician Girl looked at him with a serious expression and he was slightly taken aback by it. It quickly changed as she went back to studying everything in sight. She accidentally knocked over a book and winced when Amelia sat up in bed with a bleary expression on her face. She stared at the personification of Mana for a few seconds before sighing. Well, she needed to start referring to them as their actual names, it was getting too confusing referring to them as their card names when it was obvious who it was. When they were summoned on the virtual field she'd refer to them as their card names, but as a magical summons, she'd use their true names.
"Is everything okay?" Amelia asked, her voice sleep-filled.
"Yup," Mana chirped, and Amelia gave her a dubious look before getting out of the bed.
Kuriboh let out a whine and was simply covered up with the blankets and tucked in. Mana was still curious, so she followed the teen around while Mahad sat down behind the desk and rubbed at his temples. Those two were going to cause a lot of trouble, he just knew it. He looked at his card and wondered if he should just go back in to avoid the headache he could feel on the horizon. He wanted to keep an eye on his student, the hostage situation was still fresh in his mind. She was lucky to have no scar, though he noticed she seemed skittish when it came to fire. It was normal, to come away with fear after trauma. He just didn't like the fact that it happened to his student.
"How do I turn it on?" Mana asked as she pointed at the toaster.
"Just push down on the tabs," Amelia answered as she demonstrated, "you put bread in there and it gets toasted for you, though I'm a fan of pan toasting it since it gives it a buttery taste."
Mana moved to the side in thought and gave her best puppy dog eyes to the teen. Amelia tried to ignore them, but Mana had perfected the eyes to an art form. She could ask for anything and it was likely that Amelia would end up doing it. A quiet sigh came from Amelia followed by the muttered words, 'I'll make you toast one of these days. Mana threw her arms around the teen's neck and a bright blush appeared on her face. Amelia was slowly getting used to physical contact.
"Hey, how come you don't act like a normal duel monster?" Amelia finally asked.
"You noticed, huh?" Mana questioned as she grew serious as Amelia turned the toaster off, "Well, your magic is similar to ours and when you summon our cards you help bring us forth. I'm Mana by the way."
"I already know who Black Magician is," Amelia quietly said, Mana's eyes caught sight of the bracelet on her wrist and a sad smile appeared on her face, "he's really nice."
"He can be really mean sometimes," Mana quietly laughed.
"I guess even the most patient person has their moments," Amelia muttered.
Mana put an arm around her shoulder and happily floated behind her while she grabbed what she needed. It was two coffees and a sweet tea. Oddly enough she grabbed a package of a round food that was light pink in colour, strawberry daifuku. Amelia wasn't so sure she should be giving Mana sweets. She didn't know what sugar was going to do to someone who didn't grow up with it. Well, that would be rude. The ancient Egyptians had honey from what she remembered. So, a less healthy sugar. Then again, she gave Mahad coffee. What was the worst that could happen with Mana?
She regretted thinking that an hour later as Mana continued to pop in and out of the room. Mahad sat next to her at her desk and gently shook her shoulder to get her attention back on the tome. He was having her create a basic shield spell. It kept fizzing in and out. She didn't know what she was doing wrong. She was glad for Mana because she knew that she wouldn't always have a quiet environment to use her magic. Yet, she was worried about the amount of energy the other girl was using.
"I…I didn't know sugar would do that to her," Amelia said, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine, try the spell again," Mahad said.
Amelia nodded and focused on forming a shield in front of her. She had chosen to try and recreate a large kite shield that would protect her completely, but all she could get was a small diamond. Mahad frowned and noted that she was so unused to the power she possessed. He could feel her emotions through it. That meant she didn't have a single mental defence. He listened to her emotions. Tranquillity, fear, worry, happiness, exhaustion, and sorrow. Sorrow and exhaustion were the strongest feelings she had. What caused her to feel such deep sadness? He let her finish her attempt before gently closing the tome. She needed to get ready for school, he was cutting their lesson short.
"May I accompany you to your classes today?" He asked and she blinked in confusion before nodding.
Mana let out a whoop and Amelia gave a light laugh. She hurried and changed into her uniform before going through her usual routine of making lunch. It was ginger pork onigirazu, with a side of potato salad. She would be the first person to admit that Japanese mayonnaise hit differently than the American variety. She smiled slightly as Mana stole a small bite of the food. Amelia had anticipated that and made a bit more than usual. She wrapped the lunches up and placed them in her book bag. She grabbed another can of coffee and added that as well before heading out of the house and to the bus station. Yugi was already there and he smiled as she came to a stop next to him.
"Did you get any sleep?" Yugi asked.
"Sleep is for the weak," Amelia joked, "it's how I'm planning my world domination."
"With no sleep?" He pressed.
"Yes. My plan is foolproof," She said, "I'll take over the world with no sleep and pencil cannons."
"Have you made one yet?"
She went silent at that question and he looked over to see a slight pout on her face. She wasn't really pouting at him, but the laughter coming from Mana. Mahad had a slight smile on his face as well. Those two knew that she didn't have the mindset for world domination, it was honestly too much work and she didn't care that much. She had forgotten that they were joining her for school that day.
"Morning, Yugi, Mia-Chan," Ryou greeted.
"Good morning, Bakura-kun," Yugi greeted.
"Good morning," Amelia said as she grabbed his lunch and handed it to him.
Mana and Mahad had tensed up at the sight of Ryou. Amelia could feel the tension as he started talking about a new dungeon scenario he created for his favourite game. Right, the ancient Egyptian Bakura had caused so much trouble. Amelia knew that was putting it lightly, extremely lightly. She hoped they left Ryou alone. Ryou was a kind person and didn't deserve the glare sent his way. Kuriboh landed on his head of fluffy white hair and the teen in question gained a confused look as he paused in the middle of his sentence.
"What's wrong, Bakura-kun?" Amelia asked, trying to ignore the need to smile at the happy duel monster.
"It felt like something had landed on my head," Ryou stated as he felt around in hair, "it must've been nothing."
Well, that informed her that Kuriboh could allow who it wanted to interact with it. She gave an understanding smile as they got on the bus. There was more room now that Souzouji was gone from the back. They were finally able to sit down and the three took seats in the back. Ryou sighed in relief. He still felt something on the top of his head. It was like his hair was being braided by something he couldn't see. It was such a strange sensation.
"Is Watanabe-San still giving you a hard time, Mia-chan?" Yugi asked and Amelia blinked in surprise before sighing.
"A little," She admitted, "she wasn't too happy that…Tou-san took my side on her argument."
Yugi brightened at those words and she chuckled quietly. Ryou gave a quiet sigh of relief, which meant she'd still be able to hang out with them on her own time. They got off on their stop and Jounouchi waved at them in a tired fashion. He had bandages on his face and a bruise forming on his left cheek.
"What did you do?" Amelia asked, slight concern lacing her voice.
"I got surprised on the street yesterday by some punks," Jounouchi explained as they all fell into step, "they quit after one round, but I'm kinda proud I was able to go up against four guys."
"Four?" Yugi questioned.
"It only lasted for one round!" Jounouchi stated.
"At least you were able to defend yourself against four people," Ryou commented with a light laugh.
"Yeah, but I swear my lucks been horrible lately," Jounouchi stated as he scratched the back of his head.
"Did you break any mirrors lately?" Amelia questioned.
"No," Jounouchi answered.
"Walk under a ladder?" Ryou tried.
"No, why are you two asking me these things?" Jounouchi asked, slightly freaked out.
"Well, they are common causes for bad luck," Amelia said, "in English speaking countries at least."
He gave them a dirty look and they held up their hands in unison. Jounouchi huffed before jumping back when something slammed into the ground in front of him. Amelia took one look at the fuse for a power line and turned to Jounouchi. She wondered what deity he made mad. Mana's slightly nervous laugh hit her ears and she spared the other girl a look. Mahad was looking at Jounouchi with contemplation and she wondered if someone had put a curse on him.
"Are you all right?!" A voice called overhead.
"We're okay!" Amelia called back.
There was a distinct sigh of relief and she shook her head. They were going to be late. They picked up the pace of their walking and ended up racing to get through the school gate before the PE teacher closed it. He'd been getting on their cases more often since Ryou had joined the school. If Amelia didn't know any better she'd say he was jealous of a teenager. Mahad and Mana took the opportunity of her changing shoes to study the first floor. She was slightly distracted by the spirits around her that kept going in and out of her field of vision.
"Hey," Anzu greeted as they finally entered the classroom, "you guys are usually on time, what happened?"
"Jounouchi's cursed with bad luck," Amelia stated and said blonde sent her a glare.
He wasn't aware of the puffed-up ball of fur flying around him. Mana sent him a glare as well, her cheeks slightly puffed out in anger. Amelia wondered how she found so many loyal friends. It was…nice. She gave an innocent smile in response to Jounouchi's glare.
"Funny that you say that," Anzu said, "apparently Kokurano-kun from class A has been telling everyone's future. He's pretty accurate according to the rumours."
"A high school psychic?" Jounouchi asked with a strange glint in his eyes.
"Kokurano-kun?" Amelia asked a slight frown on her face.
Right, the Fake psychic that had used chloroform on Anzu and tried to hurt Jounouchi and Yugi. With the addition of Ryou, she knew that he'd drag the white-haired teen into his shit. She ran a hand through her hair and felt a little agitated. She didn't care that people enjoyed psychics it was the fact that it got out of hand.
"I'm going to get my fortune told," Jounouchi stated before rushing to his seat as the teacher came in.
"Idiot," Amelia muttered as she took out one of her notebooks and a pencil.
It wasn't like she was going to run out of pencils anytime soon, so she had a different one for each day. Her favourite so far was a heavy-duty metallic mechanical pencil. She felt as though it had belonged to one of the students in the art club. Well, she knew that the student would be freaking out without the pencil, but she didn't know who it belonged to. So, she enjoyed it. A nice pencil like the one she was using was expensive, she could tell by the grip and the fact that the tip allowed her to tilt her pencil while writing and not cause the lead to break at the slightest increase of pressure. She liked the smooth writing.
Amelia got distracted by Mana leaning over Yugi to watch what he was writing, but she was quickly pulled back by a gentle tug on her ear. Mahad wasn't letting her space out, not during a lecture. She dutifully took notes, and he mentally counted the number of times her mind started to wander. Once he reached double digits he sighed. It was obvious that she wasn't doing it to be rude, but was just bored. He started to quietly tutor her in magic, and she paused in her writing to listen to him. A piece of chalk flew towards her and she easily caught it.
"Pay attention, Crawford," Chono said, a fake smile on her face.
"Of course, Chono-sensei," Amelia stated handing the chalk to someone in front of her so they could pass it back up to the teacher.
Chono grounded her teeth together for a few seconds and Amelia nervously twirled her pencil in her left hand. Mahad frowned at the woman and Mana stopped her studying of Yugi's writing and joined in on the frown. A slight grin appeared on Mana's face and Chono let out a slight yelp as she rolled her ankle and tumbled to the ground. Some of the boys in the class murmured and quickly moved to see if the teacher was okay while others quietly snickered at the case of cosmic karma. Amelia gave a soft smile of her own before quickly blanking her face as Chono got back up and continued her lesson like nothing had happened. That was the only interesting thing to happen the entire school day.
Jounouchi quickly stood up the moment the recess bell rang, and he grabbed his friends by the back of their uniforms. Amelia let out a strange sound as she was dragged alongside Yugi. She didn't want to go and see the false prophet. Mana skipped behind them with an amused grin on her face. Mahad was shaking his head as Anzu and Ryou followed. Jounouchi came to a stop inside the classroom and looked around at the crowd of students. It was mostly female, and for a second he felt embarrassed.
"Geez, we'll get your fortune told, Mia," Jounouchi said with a sigh.
He let out a sound of pain as she jabbed him in the side. There had been some heat behind her jab, and it was obvious he had angered her. Yugi let out an uneasy sound at the angered redhead and wisely stepped back. He watched as her anger disappeared out of nowhere and she settled for frowning at Jounouchi. He couldn't see the Kuriboh that had attached itself to her back and was happily chattering to her.
"Will you two be quiet!" A girl shrilly yelled, and Amelia turned her frown on her.
"Sorry," Yugi apologised for them.
"Kokurano-sama's concentration is extremely delicate!" The girl continued to yell, "You will ruin his predictions with your noise!"
"Then what are you doing?" Amelia asked, barely raising her voice from its usual volume.
"You…" The girl growled and Jounouchi was confused by the obvious dislike emanating from Amelia.
"Something wrong?" Jounouchi questioned.
"I don't think Kokuarno-san is the real deal," Amelia quietly informed him, "call me a doubting Thomas, but something about this whole thing bugs me."
Jounouchi didn't have time to think over the strange saying as Yugi tilted his head in thought. They listened to the happy whispers of girls who had their fortunes told. Long lives, a boyfriend soon, and a bountiful family. All the predictions were simple and ones that could be self-fulfilled. Yugi couldn't help but frown. He had to agree with Amelia, something was off about the whole situation. Anzu and Ryou came in and sighed at the sight of them frowning.
"I see! You will live an exceedingly long life," Kokurano predicted to a girl who was heavier set, "How wonderful!"
"I knew it!" The Girl said with a happy smile on her face, she moved away from the small set up and Amelia was given her first glimpse of him.
He had light brown hair that was a few shades from blonde, and it was obvious that it wasn't really his natural hair colour. She narrowed her eyes slightly as the two girls standing guard glared at her. She hadn't done anything to them, except point out their own hypocrisy. Kokurano was waiting for the next person to step up and motioned Amelia forward, only for her nose to crinkle. He wasn't sure what expression she was giving him. It would be disgust, Mahad could tell without the ability to read her emotions through her magic. Mana had to agree with her friend, she didn't trust the "psychic". A sudden rumbling went through the area and the lights rattled overhead.
"Oh, an earthquake," Amelia quietly said.
It stopped after a few seconds and Yugi looked up at the swinging fluorescent light. It was casting shadows over everyone's faces. He looked back to Kokurano who pulled something out of the large purple mantle he wore. It turned out to be a slip of paper that he dramatically held out to Jounouchi.
"A while ago you all thought that you'd come in here to get your fortune read," Kokurano announced, "however, I am no mere fortune teller I see clear visions of the future using my psychic ability!"
Mahad was the one to let out a strange sound that was both snort and cough. Amelia deadpanned at the "psychic" and Ryou gave a quiet sigh. He liked the idea of telling fortunes, but he didn't believe that the other teen was psychic. Mana snickered and held a hand to her mouth to block the sound, but there was a sharpness to her eyes that was impossible to miss.
"Read the paper, Jounouchi!" Kokurano ordered, he was putting his all into his performance.
"Today an Earthquake will come," Jounouchi read out loud.
Kokurano threw his hands up into the air and Amelia caught a rustling sound. It wasn't the normal swishing of fabric that she expected from the mantle, but the rustling of paper. There, she knew how to expose him but that would require her to step up and have her fortune "read". She didn't want to have her hand fondled by the creepy teen. A shudder of disgust went down her spine.
"Everyone! Applaud the great Kokurano-Sama!" A girl exclaimed and the room erupted in thunderous applause.
Amelia felt as though she had fallen into a subcategory on Reddit. It was a strange sensation and one that oddly annoyed her. She didn't need to think about Reddit. She needed to stay focused.
"I guess I'll give it a try," Amelia shrugged, a false tone of curiosity in her voice.
Yugi watched as she stepped up and Kokurano gave her a slimy smile. He frowned as a wave of sudden anger filled him, truthfully he had to agree with it. He didn't know where it came from, but the moment Kokurano grabbed onto her hand and started to rub the skin he saw her tense up. It was obvious that the other teen was oblivious to her dislike, but he wasn't about to point it out. His frown simply increased.
"What lovely, soft hands," Kokurano complimented.
Amelia felt like vomiting, her stomach was churning as all her senses told her to either run away or punch him in the face. She heard Mana yell out to punch him and get away, but then Mahad quietly chastised her for that idea. No, she wasn't wrong. Mana had the right idea, though she knew she couldn't go that route. Too many witnesses and not enough of a reason to hit him. She heard that rustling again and saw the edge of his mantle lift up, showing a few slips of paper underneath.
"I see it!" Kokurano cried as he finally released her hand, "A wonderful man will soon reveal himself to you and you'll give yourself over to him completely!"
"I doubt it," Amelia sighed, "I'm not that simple, or as big of a romantic as you seem to think I am. This entire thing is a scam."
"How dare you!" The girl who yelled earlier thundered.
"Did I stutter?" Amelia asked in a dangerously calm voice, "He's scamming you, it's quite obvious really. I didn't know that cloth sounded like paper when moved."
"I've also seen similar parlour tricks," Yugi piped up and Ryou nodded his agreement.
"Yes, you're thinking of the trick with paper hidden under clothing," Ryou stated.
"You could have any number of predictions under your clothing and pull the right one out for the proper occasion," Yugi explained and a few people around him muttered in thought.
Amelia moved back as Kokurano stood up and dramatically held his hands to the sky. Mana moved closer and pulled her back a little more by her blazer, Kuriboh moved forward to protect its summoner. It wasn't about to have another hostage situation.
"I see countless words falling upon you in the near future!" Kokurano growled at Yugi.
Yugi was surprised when Amelia and Anzu herded their boys out of the room and back to their class. Mahad and Mana sent the false psychic a glare each and Mana even did the "I'm watching you" hand motions before hurrying after them. It was getting obvious that the continuous summons was starting to wear Amelia down as she quietly told the others to keep walking. Mana and Mahad shared a look. It was time to go back to their cards, she needed to be able to walk home without worrying about getting hurt because she didn't have enough energy to keep an eye on her surroundings.
"Break the summons," Mahad quietly told Amelia, "you need to conserve your energy."
"Don't worry about us, Mia!" Mana chirped, "You can summon us any time!"
Amelia felt a little guilty as she slowly stopped her magic from giving them a presence in the normal plane. Mana cheerfully waved and Mahad smiled slightly before they returned to their cards at her house. She hadn't thought to bring them with her. She opened her bento and she saw Ryou's eyes light up at the sight of what she had made. Yugi had a distracted expression on his face and she tilted her head and she moved to fend her lunch off from Jounouchi.
"What's wrong?" Amelia asked.
"He's bothered by what the false psychic said," Jounouchi stated, "what did he mean by countless words?"
"Who knows," Anzu said as Amelia and Ryou quieted down to eat their lunch, "all I know is that he got famous when he predicted that a fellow classmates house would burn down, and then did. The students in the hospital now."
"I still don't believe in his predictions," Yugi said with a slight smile.
"Good," Anzu smiled before snitching some of Amelia's food.
"Should I start making everyone lunch?" Amelia asked in amusement.
"Yes!" Jounouchi cheered as Yugi shook his head in disbelief.
"How about I make us all lunch on Fridays?" Amelia bartered, "I think I own a large Obento, so I can bring plenty of food for all of us."
It was a plan. Amelia would make a picnic every Friday and they'd all eat on the roof to avoid the other students. Ryou handed over the empty Obento box to Amelia and she placed it in her bag alongside her own. Classes went on like normal. Ryou and Jounouchi had to leave early so Anzu offered to hang out with Yugi and Amelia. They could window shop on their way to the Kame Game Shop. Anzu left for a few seconds to give some paperwork to a teacher, her duty as class representative sometimes annoyed her.
"Hey, someone left a book here," Yugi stated and he picked it up, he opened it and saw that it was going to be overdue, "oh no, it'll be overdue if it isn't turned in today."
"I can wait here while you return it," Amelia softly said, "I'll let Anzu know when she comes back if you aren't finished."
"Thank you, Mia-Chan!" Yugi grinned before rushing off.
Amelia let out a soft laugh before sitting on top of her desk. Kuriboh landed on her lap and held out its small claws, quietly asking for a hug. Amelia happily complied and hugged the small monster, enjoying the purring coming from it. She released it when she heard the door open. She knew it wasn't Anzu or Yugi, so she narrowed her eyes slightly but kept a calm expression on her face.
"Crawford-San, who are you waiting for?" Kokurano asked.
"Yugi-Kun went to do something, he'll be back soon," Amelia said, "and Anzu-chan had to drop off some papers, she's expected back soon as well."
He seemed pleased by that information and she frowned. Right, he had chloroform. She hoped that he hadn't attacked Anzu. Attacking any of her friends would be a sufficient way to get back at her for calling him out as the fraud he was. She felt nervous and took a deep breath, calming her nerves.
"That wonderful person is coming instead," Kokurano stated and she let out a laugh.
"You don't mean yourself, do you?" Amelia questioned, she knew it was mean but honestly he almost killed someone.
Hurting his ego wasn't a bad punishment for almost burning someone alive. Ah, she was a hypocrite. Yami had just burned someone alive and yet she was all right with him. She didn't have time to ponder that as something covered her mouth. She was anticipating that move and brought the heel of her palm down on his face. He cursed and stepped back as he held his now broken nose. She had to wonder why she kept breaking people's noses. First Ushio and now Kokurano. Maybe it was a sign. She narrowed she'd eyes as she wiped at the liquid on her face. She could catch the sweet smell of it and winced. She inhaled some without meaning to, but chloroform didn't work as fast as people seem to think it did. She'd have to breathe in the chemical for five minutes straight for it to knock her out completely. A sniff as she wiped it from her face wasn't enough to even make her drowsy.
"You do know that it takes five minutes of breathing in chloroform to knock someone out, right?" She questioned as she moved away from him, still wiping at the sweet smell that kept invading her senses.
"How are you able to resist my power?!" Kokurano yelled at her.
"Because Mia isn't as gullible as you think," Yami's voice stated and she turned towards to doorway to see him standing there with his arms crossed, an angered expression on his face, "it took me a while to understand what you meant by countless words."
"Was it a bookshelf?" Amelia asked and he gave a curt nod and she turned to Kokurano with a blank expression, "I feel totally justified breaking your nose."
"My predictions are never wrong!" Kokurano was sticking with his tune and even stomped his foot in emphasis.
"Right," Yami muttered before smirking, "let's play a game."
"A game?!" Kokurano yelled in confusion.
"Yes," Yami nodded as he picked up the fallen bottle of chloroform and narrowed his eyes at it, "if you defeat me I will acknowledge your psychic ability before the whole school."
"What kind of game?" Kokurano asked as his eyes focused on the bottle.
"We'll play using this bottle of chloroform you seem so fond of," Yami stated as he turned to Amelia, "we'll take turns pulling sheets of paper from under it, whoever makes it fall to the ground loses."
"You need paper?" Amelia asked and he nodded, "Right, people always ask the artist friend for paper, I swear."
She pulled out some thick paper and thin paper. He chose the thin paper as it gave a better grip, and allowed him. Ore control. She paused for a few seconds, as though she was going to say something, but helped set up the game instead. He was surprised by her help but welcomed it. She was able to set up the paper in a manner where some were thicker than the others and it gave it more depth. He waved his hand and she stood back and went to sit on the top of her desk, Kuriboh following her. It was glaring at Kokurano, and Yami agreed with it.
"I see you grovelling on the floor while apologising," Kokurano informed him and Yami stopped himself from rolling his eyes.
"Oh really?" He questioned, "Let's decide who goes first."
He was tossed a coin by Amelia and he flipped it. A one yen coin meant that the tree side up was heads, so he called it. He caught the coin and placed it on top of his hand. He showed that it was tree side up, and he went first. He grabbed the edge of a thin piece of paper and swiftly pulled it out from under the bottle. The bottle wobbled but stayed on the desk.
"Your turn," He told Kokurano.
Kokurano chose a thick piece of paper and pulled it out from under the bottle, it brought it even closer to the edge and Yami narrowed his eyes. He ignored Kokurano's jab at him and looked at the pieces of paper. Another thin one was his choice, he yanked it. The bottle wobbled all the way to the edge but stayed on the desk. He knew then that he had won. There was no conceivable way that Kokurano could pull another piece of paper without toppling the bottle over. He turned his attention towards the redhead and noted the intensity in which she watched the shadow game. She blinked before meeting his eyes. A soft smile appeared on her face before she was distracted by Kuriboh.
"What will you do now?" Yami asked Kokurano as he watched the teen panic, "Will you use your psychic ability to float the bottle up?"
"Of course!" Kokurano snapped at him.
He moved close to the bottle and glared at it while humming. Soon his eyes closed as he grasped a piece of paper. Yami smirked slightly before letting it drop when Kokurano turned to him with a smug grin. He pointed up in the air at nothing.
"See! My power is making it float!" Kokurano crowed.
"That is merely a delusion," Yami stated, "but if you believe that then pull the paper."
"Delusion, he says," Kokurano mocked as he pulled the paper.
A cloud of chloroform appeared and Yami stepped back from the sweet-smelling gas. It soon faded and he saw the multitude of predictions hidden under the mantle. He didn't feel any guilt as he smirked. He moved towards the back of the classroom where Amelia was sitting and noted the way that Kuriboh cheered at the comeuppance of the other teen. Amelia gave a fond sigh before gently patting the monsters head.
"Nice win," She complimented.
"Seeing him get his comeuppance is gratifying," Yami said, "but it doesn't have anything on your smile."
He watched as she froze at his words. Her cheeks turned a light pink before darkening to a deep scarlet. She hid her face in Kuriboh's fur and questioned why he would say such a thing? Was this the Manga version of Yami? Well, she couldn't really say such a thing anymore, but he wasn't as socially awkward as she previously thought. Her heart thumped in her chest from the sudden compliment. Ack, that childhood crush reared its head and she burrowed her face even deeper into Kuriboh's fur. It made the monster happy as it chirped a greeting to Yami.
"Mia?" Yami questioned, "Did I say something wrong?"
She let out a squeak in response and cursed her inability to take a genuine compliment from other people. She didn't need to be crushing on anyone! She jumped when hands covered hers and Kuriboh was gently pulled away from her face. Yami had raised a brow and she refused to look anywhere near him. She was mentally panicking. She'd think of Mahad, but that would only make it worse. She inwardly cursed when she did. Yami's deep chuckle brought her out of her mental state of panic. She hadn't really noticed that his voice was a slight mix of the Japanese voice actor and English voice actor. Yami's was the pleasant baritone she grew up with, while Yugi's voice was lighter. It was strange, but she enjoyed it.
"Let's get you home," Yami said as he picked up his host's bag.
"Right," She nodded as she grabbed her own, "I wonder what happened to Anzu-chan."
Her phone went off in her bag and she dug it out. Apparently, Anzu had a cell as well. She looked at the quick text and got her answer. Her job had called her in, someone else had called in sick. It was a good thing she took her book bag with her when she went to give the teacher those papers.
"She has work," Amelia said and she felt her body relax a bit, "I was worried that Kokurano-San had gotten to her."
"You give him too much credit," Yami stated and she laughed a little.
"Yeah, I probably do," She agreed, "how did you know I was in trouble?"
He looked to the side. Amelia's eyes widened slightly, she hadn't really seen him embarrassed before. His cheeks had taken on a pink hue and he refused to answer. Her own heated up as a response and she mentally berated herself. They changed shoes and began to walk to the bus station. He manoeuvred around the modern era with some ease, she guessed that Yugi's knowledge of the world around him was shared with the spirit. They sat in the back of the bus and he watched as the city passed by them. His first real bus ride.
"What do you even do while Yugi-kun's in control of his body?" She quietly asked as the bus came to a stop at their stop.
"Sleep," He answered.
Amelia nodded her understanding and slowly began to walk to her house. He followed. She wondered what he was doing until it hit her. He was walking her home. She gave a soft smile of gratitude when she stopped outside her door and he gave a curt nod before walking off. Suzuki sent her a discreet glare when she entered the house and she ignored it as she cleaned up the Obento boxes before retiring for the night.
The next day was better, and news of Kokurano had spread quickly. Her only issue was the fact that they were having a school festival already. Events seemed to move quickly compared to what she was used to. She sighed quietly and laid her forehead against the cool wood of her desk. She could hear the discussion around her about what stand they'd do. Hanasaki suggested a comedy manga dojo which had been met with strange looks from several students but Anzu had put it on the chalkboard. It wasn't any worse than Jounouchi's suggestion of a "high school girl cabaret". He had a desk thrown at him for that, and an angry Kuriboh taking residence in his hair for an hour, causing his head to feel heavy and uncomfortably warm. The class decided on Yugi's idea of a carnival game. Ryou had suggested the games target practice and hit the bottles.
"Hey, are you all right Mia?" Jounouchi asked as the girl in question got up from her chair to help gather the prizes for their carnival game.
"Hm? Yeah, I'm just tired," Amelia stated with a tired smile, "I didn't sleep well last night."
Jounouchi gave her a dubious look before quietly saying something to Ryou. The white-haired teen joined her in gathering the prizes. He blushed slightly as his fangirls glared at the redhead. She simply shrugged in response and soon they were walking to a local hundred yen store.
"What kept you up, Mia-Chan?" Ryou asked and she tilted her head in thought.
"Just a strange dream," She answered as she looked at the different stuffed toys on display, "I was running through an old forest that was outside my childhood home, the strange thing is I don't think I ever went inside it."
"Why not?" He asked, genuinely curious.
"It…It always felt dangerous," She admitted as she grabbed a few smaller prizes for kids who didn't like stuffed toys, "I remember a story about a woman who got lost for all eternity due to fairies."
"Fairies, huh," He quietly commented, "is your family Irish?"
"Yes, my grandad moved to the states after his time in the Irish army," She answered, "I grew up with stories like that, he always warned me to be wary of forests and mushroom circles."
He smiled at the obvious happiness that came from her speaking about the older man. Her parents had failed her, but he hadn't. She picked up a bag filled with a variety of bouncy balls and added them to the basket hanging from her forearm. He grabbed a thing of stuffed toys and added them. They had been given forty thousand yen for the prizes, but they weren't too worried about spending their own money for them. They finished their task and grabbed the empty milk bottles on their way back.
"Hey, you guys were quick!" Anzu stated in a happy voice as she looked at the bags they carried.
"It was no problem, right, Bakura-kun?" Amelia asked with a soft smile.
"Right," Ryou confirmed with the smallest of blushes.
"Mia-Chan, would you mind giving Yugi a hand with the paper mache Bluebeard head?" Anzu asked with a smile.
"Not at all, where do you want us to put the prizes first?" Amelia questioned.
"We'll take them into the classroom so they stay clean until the day of the festival," Hanasaki stated as he stepped up with another male classmate.
Amelia nodded and handed the boy the bags she carried before giving Ryou a smile and heading off to help Yugi. He was meticulously working on the Bluebeard head and she blinked at the amount of work he had gotten done already. It looked good, he was doing a wonderful job. She stopped behind him and watched as he carefully layered paper after paper on it.
"It looks good, Yugi-kun," Amelia complimented and he jumped.
She blinked at his surprised look before sending him an apologetic one. The small bleeding of crimson into his eyes caused her some worry. Yami had felt that spike of sudden surprise from Yugi and had started to react. Could he see her from the puzzle? She had no reason to believe he couldn't. It was something she would have to ask next time they crossed paths.
"Thank you, Mia-Chan," Yugi said as he let out a quiet sigh of relief, "you startled me."
"I'm sorry, It wasn't my intention to do so," Amelia apologised, "Anzu-Chan sent me over to be of assistance, but I don't think you need my help."
"Could you hand me the wet paper when I need it?" Yugi requested and she nodded, sitting on her knees and handing him a piece of the wet paper.
They quietly worked together. The sound of nails being hammered into wood came from nearby and Amelia snuck a quick peek. Jounouchi was building the barrel and she was impressed. It looked just like the one from the game. Jounouchi noticed that she had started watching him and gave her a grin before returning to hammering in the nails. Amelia shook her head and handed Yugi another piece of paper.
"There I finished the head!" Yugi stated and Amelia grinned at that.
"Nicely done," Anzu complimented before looking over at Jounouchi, "I'm surprised that the barrel looks so good."
"I've been putting together model kits in my garage for years," Jounouchi stated as he hammered another nail in.
"I guess everyone has a redeemable trait," Anzu teased and he stuck his tongue out in response.
"Who's playing Bluebeard?" Amelia asked before an argument could break out, "Can anyone fit in there?"
Jounouchi proceeded to demonstrate that anyone could in fact fit in the barrel. He grinned at her deadpan and got comfortable. He had outdone himself once again. Amelia wondered if he was always so impulsive. It was such a Jounouchi trait.
"I can't wait to see who it is, I can laugh my ass off," Jounouchi chuckled.
"It's you, Jounouchi," Anzu stated with a smile and he let out a loud sound of protest, "You seem to be the perfect size for the barrel."
"I think the head fits too!" Yugi exclaimed, much to Jounouchi's chagrin.
"Someones stolen our spot." A deep voice said and everyone paused in their actions.
"No one has stolen a spot," Anzu stated as she stepped up as representative, "we won this spot fair and square in the raffle."
"You're joking! Every year for the past three years this has been Class D's spot!" The teen stated and Amelia narrowed her eyes.
Inogashira Gorou. He wasn't the worst person, mostly temperamental and cocky. From what she heard around school he was somewhat pleasant to talk to, but his serious demeanour kept people away. It was the first time that information of his actions was contradictory to his usual personality. She bit the inside of her cheek and went to stand next to Anzu.
"Well, I guess it's time for a change," Amelia stated and Gorou's eyes narrowed dangerously, "if this spot was so important then you should've talked to a teacher ahead of time and reserved it citing the tradition. You've lost the spot fair and square due to your own inaction."
"You are really mouthy," Gorou ground out and she stood her ground, "I'm not about to allow this carnival game trash to stay up in our spot. Tear it down!"
"Right!" A chorus surprised class B and Anzu's eyes widened in horror as the iron plate crashed into the side of their booth.
"Knock it off!" Jounouchi yelled from his spot in the barrel, he moved to get out of it but his foot got stuck.
"Shut it, trash!"Gorou growled punching Jounouchi in the face.
He seemed surprised when a punch landed square in his nose. Amelia held her hand in slight pain from the strength behind her punch, and the density of his face. She was three for three with broken noses and a part of her mused that it was turning into a habit. Fury was evident in her face and several of her classmates backed up in surprise. No one had really seen her that angry before. Anzu held up a worried hand to her mouth and contemplated pulling the girl back. Gorou held a hand to his nose and wiped some of the blood from his face. He narrowed his eyes dangerously at her and picked her up by the front of her blazer. She kicked him in the chest as a way to get free. He didn't say anything but threw her towards the barrel where Jounouchi was. Jounouchi gave a slight grunt when something landed on him.
"I'm going to kick the shit out of him," He heard Amelia hiss in English, he didn't fully understand what she said but he caught some words he knew.
It helped that her fury was nearly palpable at that point. Kuriboh mirrored its owner's fury and slammed into Gorou's chest, forcing him back a few steps much to his own confusion and sight pain. Jounouchi finally extracted himself from the barrel and helped Amelia stand. She accepted his hand and he pulled her up to her feet. She wobbled a bit before gaining her balance and marching back up to the third year. He followed, but they were both deterred when Yugi got hurt. He was completely knocked unconscious, the iron plate had rammed against his chest. They rushed him to the nurse's office. Jounouchi and Ryou had to leave, and the two girls understood. Anzu needed to leave as well, but she wouldn't go until Yugi woke up.
"I'm sorry," Amelia's apology surprised her, "I might've made him angrier than he had been."
"I…it's all right," Anzu said as she sat down in the chair next to her, "you had a point, he should've reserved the spot if it was so important."
"I shouldn't have punched him, that might've been what set him off completely," Amelia said.
"Why did you?" Anzu questioned in confusion.
"He hurt my friends," Amelia said it like it was so simple, "I will always stand up for my friends, even if I end up hurt In the end."
Anzu blinked for a few seconds and looked at the bandaged knuckles of her friend. There was an ice pack being lightly pressed against the bruised bones, and her expression fell into fondness. She had loyal friends, and so did Yugi. She had been joking about Jounouchi having one redeemable trait. He was just as loyal to his friends as Amelia was, and she knew that Ryou was as well. They were a strange group, but one that always had the others back.
"This is going to be your first school festival, right?" Anzu asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, we had a multicultural day at my old school but nothing like this," Amelia said as her expression lightened just a bit, "I'm excited for it, and I should probably take pictures for my dad."
Amelia was slowly relaxing into the habit of calling Pegasus dad. It was becoming easier the more she did it, and it didn't feel as wrong as it had before. She flexed her fingers and lightly winced as pain shot through her arm. That punch had bruised the bones on her non-dominant hand. She guessed being left-handed came in handy for once. Having to use desks made for right-handed people caused her more grief than she'd like to admit. It was one of the few reasons why she had learned to write with the opposite hand. Kuriboh flew into her face and she blinked as her cheek was rubbed against by the soft fur. Kuriboh was starting to become more protective and she didn't mind it. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and enjoyed the monster presence.
"Ah, Yugi," Anzu said and Amelia opened her eyes to see said teen waking up, "are you feeling all right?"
"I feel like I got hit by a lot of metal," Yugi said as he sleepily looked around, "where am I?"
"The nurse's office," Anzu answered, "We all brought you as fast as we could."
"The Nurse said you didn't need to go to the hospital, but you were hit by a large plate of iron," Amelia added, "I'd be careful moving around for a few weeks."
"What about the carnival game?" Yugi asked as Anzu got up and gathered her things, a false smile was plastered on her face.
"It'll just have to wait till next year," Anzu answered.
Yugi slowly sat up and was helped by Amelia. He gave the redhead a thankful look and she sat back down. She started icing her hand again, and the cold made her forget how horrible she felt. She didn't like the fact that one person had ruined their booth.
"Of course not! We'll get the spot back somehow," Yugi stated.
"Yeah…we'll get it back," Anzu softly said, "everyone will help."
She turned around in preparation to leave and brought a hand up to wipe at a tear. Yugi's expression fell completely and it got even worse when he saw that Amelia looked just as upset, and furious. Anzu left with a small wave, which he returned with one of his own. The door closed behind her and he fell back onto the pillow, his eyes closing. His world went black and he started to dream.
"Amelia, what happened to your hand?"
Amelia blinked at the sudden use of her name and she turned to see that Yami had switched with Yugi. His eyes were narrowed dangerously and focused on her bandaged knuckles. She wasn't expecting him to notice something like her self inflicted injury.
"I broke someone's nose, turns out his face was denser than I anticipated," She blurted out and Kuriboh let out a sound of agreement, "you rammed into him, are you okay Kuriboh."
She got a salute and nod. She sighed in relief, happy to know that the monster was all right. A hand picked up her injured one and studied it. Yami seemed unhappy to see that she was injured and her cheeks warmed up before she quickly stopped her train of thought. She needed to say something.
"If you are going to game him, I want to be your stand-in," She stated, "and it's not without a reason, Yugi-Kun's body isn't physically strong enough to go up against Gorou. I'd have a better chance in a game if you ended up doing a physical one."
He seemed conflicted for a second before nodding. He got out of the bed and she wordlessly followed him. She wasn't surprised when he borrowed her cell and called Gorou back to the school. She let out a quiet yawn as they waited for the right time. Everything was prepared, the plate was heated up and a tube of gunpowder was frozen into a block of ice shaped like a puck. She nervously ran her uninjured hand over the bruised knuckles and tried to calm herself down. If she had no chance of beating Gorou, Yami would've declined her request to be a stand-in.
"Nervous?" Yami questioned.
"A little, I've never put my life on the line like this before," She admitted, "but I won't allow him to get away with what he did."
"Have you always been so loyal?" He asked.
"Yes," She answered, "sometimes it gets me into more trouble than I should be."
He hummed at that and she stood up straight when she saw Gorou approaching. She took up her spot at the grill and winced at the heat coming from it. Her heart sped up as she saw flames crawling over the sides. She had to remind herself that she could win, she didn't have to be afraid of the fire. It couldn't hurt her when the plate was on top of it.
"You two have guts calling me out here in the middle of the night," Gorou stated, "did you have a question about the festival?"
"You trespassed on our classes territory," Yami informed him and Gorou narrowed his eyes at him, "you became our opponent."
"You must be joking," Gorou said, "you were just a crybaby earlier."
"Then perhaps you are the one without courage," Amelia stated and he looked at her with anger, "otherwise you'd have no problem playing a game against little old me."
"Heh, what kind of game?" Gorou asked, taking her bait.
"A shadow game," Yami answered, setting the magic in place.
"Shadow?" Gorou muttered, "I hate stooping so low as to accept a challenge from those weaker than me, but you have my attention. How do we play this game?"
"You'll be facing off against Amelia," Yami stated as he smirked, "everything has been prepared, the iron plate is already preheated over a hundred degrees Celsius."
Gorou took his spot across from Amelia and noted the way she defiantly stood up straight. She certainly had more guts than most of the boys in her class. This game would be perfect revenge for his broken nose. He Inwardly smirked, yes he would make her pay. She simply smirked at him with a false bravado she was borrowing from Yami. She didn't know if she could truly win.
"You two will be using this lump of ice as a puck and in the middle of it is a tube of gunpowder," Yami explained, "if the gunpowder touches the plate it will ignite, I like to call this game iron plate ice hockey."
"We'll use these for rackets," Amelia stated as she tossed the third year a metal spatula.
"The winner of this game will decide who's class gets the spot and there will be no objections," Yami continued, "you must accept the outcome of the game."
Yami tossed the ice onto the iron plate and it slid towards Gorou. His eyes followed the makeshift puck as Gorou easily hit it with the spatula. In a game of pure strength, he would've been at a disadvantage with his host's current physical strength. Amelia, on the other hand, was able to return each hit with a powerful one of her own. Her face held an expression of pure concentration as she kept an eye on the puck. He had a feeling she'd win the game.
"When it comes to using these spatulas I'm in a league all of my own," Gorou informed Amelia as he slammed his spatula into the puck and sent it sailing over towards her.
"When it comes to using my arms I'm in one of my own!" She stated as she slammed it back at him, "try rowing a boat competitively and then talk to me about strength."
Gorou sneered at that as Yami gained a surprised expression. His host hadn't known that about her, but it did make sense as to why she had muscle mass where she did. He was pulled from his musing as the puck grew smaller and smaller. Amelia narrowed her eyes at the sight of it, she'd have to end the game and soon. She held her spatula out and let the puck bounce off the edge of it, creating cracks that would explode the moment Gorou hit it.
"Have you given up?" Gorou sneered and she simply shook her head.
He went to hit the ice, and it shattered upon impact. Yami moved forward and pulled her away from the Iron plate as a fiery cloud of smoke exploded around Gorou. She was sweating and breathing heavily but there was a slightly proud air about her. She looked at him for a few seconds before raising a brow.
"You have a habit of lighting people on fire, did you know that?" She asked.
"And you have one of breaking noses," He countered.
"I'm aware," She muttered as he turned to face the burned Gorou.
"As per the agreement my class will use the spot," He stated, "for now on be aware that when you trespass on another's heart there is always a likelihood of being burned."
Yami didn't give the older teen a chance to respond as he pulled Amelia to the school gate by her hand. She stared at him for a few seconds before sighing. Should she call him out for his cheesy speech? She thought against it as Kuriboh celebrated above them by letting out high pitched squeaks. Yami looked up at the small monster and smiled slightly. It was strange seeing him smile at a time when a smirk was a permanent feature on his face.
"Thank you for letting me face him," Amelia softly thanked.
"You did well," He complimented and she smiled.
Kuriboh took its chance to push them closer together, much to their confusion. They frowned up at the happy monster and wondered what that was about. Amelia narrowed her eyes when Yami looked forward as he walked her home. Was Kuriboh hinting at something? Did…Did Kuriboh somehow get into a fandom mentality of shipping? That was terrifying if it did. It's actions made it obvious who it preferred. Her cheeks bloomed into a bright red and she quickly looked away before Yami noticed any of her strange behaviour. That childhood crush was doing a terrible job at going away. If anything it seemed to be coming back with a vengeance. She shook those thoughts from her head as he dropped her off at home and quietly headed up to her room. The next day, the spot was theirs.
On the day of the festival, she fidgeted with a camera in her hands. Her hair was pulled into a low ponytail with a blue ribbon. Her uniform was clean and she found herself wishing she could wear her civilian clothing instead. She didn't have to man the booth, and neither did Ryou so they decided to enjoy the festival together. Kuriboh had let out a disappointed sound and she chuckled quietly, it wasn't like the Pharaoh could walk around without being noticed. She wondered if it had learned the fandom mentality from her grumblings about which anime characters she wanted to get together. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were one of her favourite couples, and the fact that it was cannon had always made her happy.
"Good Morning, Mia-Chan," Ryou greeted with a half-awake smile.
"You were up late again, weren't you?" She quietly teased.
He simply laughed in response and they headed into the school grounds to enjoy their time at the festival. They made sure to stop at the carnival game booth where Amelia had taken some pictures of her friends, including one of Jounouchi being launched into the air. Yugi laughed quietly at the sight before looking away.
"Everything going smoothly?" Amelia quietly asked Anzu as Ryou tried his hand at the game.
"Yes, I don't know how you and Yugi did it, but thank you," Anzu said and Amelia paused for a few seconds before nodding with a tiny smile, "Do you want to take a group photo with the guys? Jounouchi gets a short break in a few seconds."
"Sure."
Jounouchi grouched a little bit as he rubbed a sore spot on his hip. Ryou had been able to defeat the game within seconds, much to his chagrin. He was just glad that Yugi was in charge of handing out the prizes. He was pulled into a group photo by the other three of their morning crew and Anzu took a quick photo. He had taken the time to sling an arm around Amelia's shoulders and she let out a quiet laugh in response. It was strange, but he understood her need to photograph a happy moment. He waved her off when she and Ryou left the booth to grab something to eat before delving further into the festival. He caught sight of Yugi's slightly jealous and confused look and snickered to himself. He knew that Ryou wasn't completely into Amelia, if anything she was just pretty to him and that was it, but Yugi was a bit more obvious when it came to his feelings. He'd have to see who won a date with their American friend.
"The taiyaki here is sweeter than when I make it," Amelia quietly commented as she and Ryou sat on a bench and ate a snack, "I think I'll revamp my recipe."
"I think yours is better," He stated and she gave him a bashful smile in response.
They finished their food and walked around, they even went into the haunted house. Amelia had a habit of cracking jokes and their group ended up laughing through the entire thing, obviously having a good time despite some of the surprise scares. Ryou found that the festival was mainly food items, with some traditional games as well. They both tried their hands at Shateki. She held the fake rifle with the hands of someone unused to it. He picked his up with relative ease, having spent quite a bit of time on this game to get his sister a stuffed prize.
"Begin," The girl from class three C announced.
He hit a small white bear and it topped backwards. He won a prize and he watched as Amelia lucked into one as well. She looked at the little Kuriboh keychain and smiled at it. The real deal happily cheered at the representation before burrowing in her hair. Ryou blinked when her hair moved without a breeze and she turned to him and tilted her head. He didn't know how to bring up the odd occurrence. Instead, he pointed towards a masks booth and they both got one. She had a white foxes mask while he had a black one. They smiled at one another as they took pictures of everything. He found that her camera was simple to use and he had been able to get a good picture of her while she won an arm-wrestling contest with a third year.
"That was fun," Amelia softly said before she gave a small yawn.
The gang all shared amused grins at the fact that she had exhausted herself like a little kid. She brought a hand up to her face and rubbed at her eyes. She left them early, and they waved as she headed home first. She looked down at her camera and smiled. She couldn't wait to develop the pictures.