Hey everyone! So sorry this took a while, after I got through the first three sections, the story DID NOT want to be written. Hehe. But some interesting things are coming u[, just you wait! :) It's not too long, but not too short either, hopefully you'll like it. Did I mention that this first part with Yugi and Yami happens to be one of my all-time favorite scenes so far? Just a teaser. ;)
With a quick wave and a hello to his Grandpa, Yugi dashed up the stairs and into his room, throwing the door closed behind him.
"Yami!" He shouted, hands rolled into fists at his side. He turned to his left where the Pharaoh stood waiting with his arms folded, leaning against his desk. "Why did you do that?" He questioned, and suddenly his anger was gone, replaced by a sad, disappointment-filled tone. He sunk onto the bed and look at his Yami questioningly.
"I—" Yami tried to offer some explanation, but Yugi interrupted, standing and pacing around the room absentmindedly.
"She almost found out!" He snapped.
"I doubt she would guess you share a body with and ancient Pharoah." Yami said sarcastically.
"But she knew something was up. And she had every right to! It's not very often you run into a living breathing Jekyl and Hyde prodigy." Yami smiled to himself; Yugi certainly was upset about this. Mai must be some girl for him to go this bonkers about a little slip like that. Yami nodded. Yes, Mai was worth going nuts like this for. He'd never seen Yugi so quick with words! Poor boy, he had it bad. Yami shook his head with a click of his tongue.
"This girl is important to me, Yami." Yugi said, turning more sincere. "I don't want things to go wrong, especially now. Oh, who am I fooling?" He plopped on the bed once more. "Mai would never think of me in that way. She—she probably…she probably wanted to laugh when I held her hand." He leaned back. "I probably didn't even do that right!"
Yami sat down on the bed next to Yugi.
"Now, I haven't had much experience with women for, oh, several centuries…but I doubt they've changed much. Yugi, I don't think she's that far out of your grasp. In fact, from today's experiences, I think she may even like you." Yugi raised a disbelieving brow. "I even think she does like you!" Yugi rolled his eyes.
"She probably wonders if I even know what a girl is. She probably thinks of me as just a kid." He shook his head. "I probably act just like one."
"I think she does!" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "She acts just the same as this servant girl did. She was in charge of my laundering. She was in love with me. Unfortunately she was much, much too far below me." He sighed. "Unfortunately. She had this hair the color of ebony and as soft as—"
"I believe we were talking of my situation, several centuries after yours." Yami shook off his trance of remembrance and looked at Yugi. "What do I do, Yami?"
The Pharaoh grinned.
Mai sat up in her bed with a jolt.
Why didn't he kiss me? She questioned worriedly. Maybe he doesn't like me after all. Maybe he only held my hand to comfort me. Maybe—
She lied back down.
Or maybe, Mai Valentine, he thought you would smack him. With a frustrated sigh she rolled over on her side, her hands clutching her pillow. No guy, no guy ever, had shook her up this bad. Not even that guy Derek Heartenmine. And she had even gotten dreamy over the dumbest thing in the world: how their names rhymed and how cute her name would look as Mai Heartenmine. Now that she pondered that, she realized how stupid Mai Heartenmine would sound. She shook her head and slammed a pillow over it.
Before she could stop herself though, she was contemplating her name if she were to ever marry Yugi.
Mai Motou.
It almost sounded like one continuous word.
Mai Motou, she repeated in her mind. Hey, at least it wouldn't sound as cheesy as Mai Valentine. And with that thought she drifted into a nightmarish sleep filled with haunted houses, doors that pushed back, Yugi murdering her in a painting, and those eyes when he had grabbed her from that devil-like creature. Those eyes that weren't cold or warm, the ones that let you know they had seen far more than you would ever see in your lifetime.
Yugi adjusted the straps on his backpack and sighed. It was a blustery day filled with thunder and heavy rain that hit him like ice. Kids ran down the streets towards buses and schools, and Yugi sighed again. He walked his usual pace, neither slowing nor speeding, for he was not in the mood to dash about crazily just because of the rain.
No matter how annoyingly cold and dreary it was.
Usually he didn't walk all the way to school alone, he usually met up with Joey pretty quick, but Joey had some project or something before school, so Yugi, poor boy, was forced to walk to Domino alone.
A ritzy sports car was approaching from behind, and he jumped out of the way—and conveniently into some bushes—before dirty water sprayed the sidewalk. Picking leaves out of his hair, he wondered which was worse. However, he had gotten a bit wet nevertheless.
"The best of both worlds." He muttered to himself, standing up and brushing pine-chip mulch off his clothes. The car stopped short, it's nail polish red exterior glistening perfectly with dew-like drops as if it had just finished filming a car commercial.
The door opened with a barely-there click, and Kaiba and his gravity-defying coat emerged from its Italian leather interior that was supple as Yugi's pajama's as home. If Yugi was the cursing kind, he would have cursed his bad luck. However he wasn't, and cheerfully greeted "Mr. Kaiba" with a friendly smile. No one could tell however, save his Yami, whether he mentally cursed or not.
"Hey there, Motou." Kaiba said, leaving a hand on the door. "Need a lift?" He questioned good-naturedly. The two had come to a truce in their past, and just agreed to be slightly annoyed at each other when appropriate.
"Uh," He looked around, then decided he would indeed like a ride. "sure, Kaiba." He grinned. "Thanks!"
"Well then what are you doing standing there and grinning like a posterboy for mattel?" Yugi smiled to himself and shook his head, jogging over to the other side of the car. Stepping inside, it seemed the size of a conversion van.
A three seater bench was behind them, with plenty of leg room, and their own chairs were large enough for Yugi to swim in. Behind the bench of seating behind themselves, was a TV screen or computer like panel which was swirling colors like a dance, and Yugi blinked, lower lip drooping a bit.
Kaiba chuckled and shifted the car into drive. The music played 3DoorsDown's "Loser" softly, almost in the background, and Kaiba tapped his fingers lightly against the steering wheel, singing under his breath.
Yugi leaned back against the seat and let out a breath, gazing at Kaiba, the rear-view mirror ornament—blue eyes white dragon air freshener's—then back at Kaiba. He let out another breath.
"So, uh," He glanced around. "specialty?" He asked, darting his eyes to the air freshener's. Kaiba smirked, but not the unpleasant smirk that made you shift in your seat.
"I can get you some, if you want." He said, not glancing for a moment from the road. "Dark Magician." He corrected when Yugi looked a little puzzled. "But then again you don't have a car." It didn't sound like a taunt, he didn't mean it tauntingly, but it still bit Yugi.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Having a car was one of the many things Yugi had thought about lately. He had been considering the many reasons Mai wouldn't like him, wouldn't go for him, and not having a car was one of the abounding things that were on his list. Well, if he had a list, which he did.
"Well, here we are." Kaiba announced, turning into the parking lot and slipping his car in-between a Honda and a Suzuki. The car stopped and they stepped out, and a polite little, beep, ding, ding told them to shut the door.
"Catch you later, Motou." Kaiba announced, slinging his briefcase under his arm and nodding a goodbye. Yugi sighed and looked at Domino High. It didn't look inviting, it didn't look exciting, it didn't even look bearable. He put his hands in his pockets and sighed again. Today could very well be a bad day at school. He never found out though.
Yugi Motou didn't go to school.
He slung his backpack over one shoulder and walked away, down the street, and into a day full of whatever someone who skips school for the day does…he wouldn't know. He'd never skipped a day of school without a reason. Dentist, doctor, problems concerning the shadow realm or duel monsters, sure. But skip a day just because you didn't feel like going? Nope, never done it. So what would he do with his day?
Each teacher who taught a class Yugi Motou attended did roll. They scanned the room at Motou, Yugi, when he didn't squeak out "present!" cheerfully as usual. They scanned again. They looked at their noted excuses memo pad and didn't see his name for May 25th, no mention of a doctor appointment, a note that he wouldn't be present for whatever. "Yugi Motou?" They would prod again, and no one would even cough.
They would in disbelief blink, bite their lip, or furrow their brows for a moment, then continue roll, wondering why such a good student, an organized, responsible student, wouldn't be present, without any explanation at all. There was a secretary that would take calls from parents or relatives saying they were sick, and they never forgot to tell the teachers…they would shake their head and call out the next name.
Joey, Téa, Tristan, and Bakura met at lunch and had nothing to say after they discussed that Yugi was missing. They poked at food, undid wrappers, and chewed thoughtfully, all contemplating where he could be.
"Yugi isn't the kind to skip." Said Téa, biting into a burger. "I don't think he's missed a day in his life!" She looked at Joey over her cheeseburger appraisingly. "Unlike some other people." She muttered.
"I'm gettin better, ain't I?" Bakura shook his head at the two of them, sipping noisily out of his straw. "I haven't missed in like, well, a week. And dat's pretty good!" Bakura chuckled.
"For you, yes, Joey, that's very good." He smiled good-naturedly.
"Yeah, so 'dere." He stuck his tongue out at Téa, and she rolled her eyes.
Yugi realized, quite soon, that there wasn't much for a 'good boy' to do during school hours. He had lunch, walked in the park, took in a matinee, but ultimately he was bored, wandering the streets alone. At least the day had brightened up, the sun now shone almost blindingly.
Eventually he found himself on a ritzy shopping street, empty fast food cup of soda in his hands. They all looked quite boring to him, that is, until a blonde with low waisted jeans and a red t-shirt with "Doll" written on the front in glitzy silver walked out of "Shichanni's", a red and white striped bag hanging off one wrist.
"Mai!" He called, raising an arm in a wave. She slipped her sunglasses down a bit and peered around over them. She caught him, raised a brow, and then smiled, pushing the sunglasses back into place, casually strolling over to him.
"Hi, Mai." He greeted cheerfully. She looked him over.
"What brings you here, Yugi?" She said saunteringly. "I don't remember you ever being a frequent to this part of town." She smiled. "But Equestrian Dr. is a bit of a shopping district, and I don't remember you being keen on fashion shopping either." She grinned, then looked at her watch.
"School's not out for another twenty minutes." She said in way of a question. "Is it true? Yugi Motou skipping?" She laughed her usual saucy laugh. "Why, I never would have believed it. Oh," She looked at her watch again and shook it. "is my watch broken again?"
"No," He laughed nervously. "I skipped today." She raised a brow. Not that he could see it over her huge tortoiseshell sunglasses, but he could certainly sense it. "Just didn't feel like going." She raised it higher. This time, her brow peeked over the top.
"Are you serious?" She questioned, and he nodded ever so slightly. "So what have you been up to?"
"Oh, noth—" He stopped himself. He didn't want to sound like a loser. He tried to rack his brain for something Joey would say—no, Tristan. Yes, Tristan would be a better bet now. "Oh, just hanging around." He drawled casually. It didn't sound like him, or something he would say, but that was the point anyway.
"So what have you been doing?" He countered. She glanced back at the stores casually.
"Just shopping. Didn't find anything too interesting today though. Summer's already under way, so there isn't a new season for lines to come out for yet." They began walking down the street, neither really noticing, talking casually.
Half an hour later, Yugi brought up the subject of game conventions and trades that were coming up.
"So, next week there's a big fair up north. About a three hour drive. Do you want to come?" She adjusted her bag from her wrist to her hand.
"That certainly sounds interesting. Sure, I'll come—"
"Hey, Yug!" They looked ahead of them to where Joey, Téa, and Bakura were walking towards them. "Where ya' been all day?" Joey questioned. "You weren't at school or nothin'."
"Did you cut?" Téa blurted. "I mean, we didn't think you would—"
"Yeah, I did. I just wasn't—"
"Are you sick?" She asked quickly.
"No, I—"
"Is this an interrogation?" Bakura asked, chuckling. "Poor Yugi." He smiled. "We were just worried."
"Well, Yugi, I guess I better be going." She smiled at him. "So, I'll hear from you about the game fair?" She questioned, walking backwards slowly, peering over the top of her glasses.
"Yeah, I'll give you a call." She gave a little wave, which he returned, and she disappeared around the corner.
All this, Téa watched, fuming inwardly.