R.J: Hey everybody, I decided to be merciful and update.
Bakura: Dear Ra, what are we in for now?
Kaiba: Don't talk to her like that.
R.J: WE aren't in for anything, you however....
Bakura: No way are you sticking me in that room with that...that kid again!
Ryou: Huh?
R.J: Nothing, nothing involving pink bunny rabbits and a six year old sugar high kid named Tammy.
Yugi: I'm afraid to ask.
R.J: Alright, who wants to do the disclaimer thing?
Kaiba: Haven't people already gotten the message after 5 chapters?
R.J: Hmmm...good point.
**************************************************************************** **
The sun hadn't even begun to shine yet. Most people were still asleep, or at the very least 20 minutes from waking up, but one girl, one who wasn't used to her school being close to home was already up and atom....and walking to school.
"Oooh, curse me and my internal alarm clock!" Ayane thought to herself.
Before, her school was a 30-50 minute drive from home so she usually woke up early, how was she supposed to know Domino High was a 10 minute walk?
She walked into the campus. As expected it was almost empty. Wondering the grounds, she carefully inspected them. From the large gates there was a cemented path leading to the buildings, the rest of the ground, however, was grass. Trees were growing on the sides, huge ones, and here or there, there were some stone benches.
Wondering around a bit more, she thought she heard voices coming from somewhere behind the main building. She carefully peeked and saw a bunch of cheerleaders practicing.
She watched them, her eyes widening a bit now and then, when they did a stunt or two. Ayane watched for about 15 minutes until she finally started to get bored since they were practicing the same routine over and over again. She retreated back to the main grounds and sat on one of the benches, might as well review the lessons, she thought.
A few people started to arrive, but the campus was still fairly deserted. From the corner of her ear, she could hear a cheerleader saying that the practice was over. She could hear footsteps coming out from the back. It then occurred to her that the cheerleader's voice sounded familiar, but she didn't give it a second thought.
Soon though, she heard footsteps coming near her, towards her even.
"Hey you." A voice said.
"Hmm?" Ayane said, looking up from her notebook, she saw a cheerleader with glossy lips, glossy hair and a uniform, which's skirt was one size too small.
"You're the new girl right?" She said as if Ayane was the one wasting her time.
"That's right, and you're?" Ayane said, unfazed, even though she could see other cheerleaders backing away with a scared look on their faces.
"I'm Andrea, the head cheerleader here, listen, I want you to stay away from Kaiba, he's mine. Understand that?" She said, her voice menacing, her eyes narrowing.
It was then Ayane realized where she had heard the voice before, the voice of one of those girls who Kaiba had been hiding in the closet from.
"Oh, so you're one of those girls chasing after him!" She said sarcastically.
"Do you know who I am?! Listen here, I've been watching you, you stay away from him you little rat, or I'll make you're life a living hell." She said.
Ayane raised her eye brow. She did not like this girl at all. She sighed and stood up, putting her book down.
"Well first of all, I think I already made it clear that I knew who you are, and as for little? Well if I'm a "little" rat I'd hate to think what you are." She said, looking the cheerleader from head to toe. It was true; Ayane was taller than her, even if she was already wearing platform sneakers.
Andrea fumed. "You better just stay out of my way...or I'll have to push you, and you'll regret you ever set foot near him."
"Well, that's going to be a bit hard since he is MY seatmate, and he IS my Lab partner." Ayane smirked, two could play at this game, and she didn't want anyone to ruin her day, especially since it hadn't even begun yet.
The girl's eye twitched. She was about to push Ayane (so childish really) when Ayane grabbed her hand.
"Listen, for all I care, you can have him, I promise I won't be in your way, just don't go blaming me when he acts like you and you're little fan club is an accident waiting to happen and tries to run." She said mockingly. This girl was very agitating.
Andrea fumed again. Usually she could force anyone to do anything she wanted, she didn't expect a new student to be able to stand up to her. She turned on her heel and stomped off, mumbling something under her breath.
Ayane just shook her head. She continued to read her notes. After a while, she checked her watch, it was 20 minutes to the first bell. She had noticed that many students had already arrived. Soon, Tea, Yugi, Joey and Tristan were heading towards her.
"Hey Ayane!" Tea greeted.
"Hey, you came here earlier than us, what time you get here?" Tristan asked putting his bag down on the grass.
"Uhhm, I don't know 7 o' clock or 6:30 I guess." She said as the rest was sitting down.
"What?! How come you're so early, I'm not even awake by that time?!" Joey exclaimed.
"A..haha, well, my school used to be a 40 minute drive, I still have to get used to this school being so near I guess." She said, laughing and scratching her head.
"Wow, that's tough, well did anything interesting happen?" Yugi asked.
"Well, some mean girl tried to lash out at me, I don't call that interesting though."
"Which one?" Tea asked, concerned.
"Some girl named Andrea." Ayane said, not really caring, to her friends though it seemed like a big deal.
"Andrea? As in Andrea the cheerleader?" Joey asked?
"Yeah, what's the big deal?"
"You-You're still alive! I didn't think anyone could survive with sanity after an encounter with Andrea Ms. Mean herself." Joey said.
"Well, that doesn't matter now, you actually told her off, didn't think it was possible." Tristan said.
The group continued to talk, soon Ryou joined them. The air around was happy and pleasant. Yugi whined about how everyone had left him yesterday with a banana split a soda and some other food, only pretend of course. They all laughed. Then the bell rang.
"Uggh, off to the torture chambers." Joey said, Tristan nodded in agreement.
Off they went.
**************************************************************************** ******
In class Joey and Tristan sat beside each other. Groaning as their Algebra teacher walked in. Meanwhile, in the room across theirs, Tea sat and thought about her up and coming "date" with Yugi. The room a few doors away from hers, Yugi was sitting, still troubled about the "him or Yami" ordeal, and meanwhile in the UPL rooms everyone was still getting seated. The teacher was always late since they're classroom was one floor higher, and therefore required extra stair climbing.
"Hi Kaiba." Ayane said as she took her seat. Her voice was happy and her eyes were smiling.
Kaiba on the other hand was the exact opposite. He gave an inaudible greeting and left it at that. He didn't say anything until he heard Ayane give a small disappointed "oh." (the long kind, not the short kind) He looked up from his desk and looked at her.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked, his tone a bit different but still cold and uncaring.
"I must've left my Algebra book at home." She said, looking through her book.
"Left your homework eh?" He smirked; he knew this girl wasn't perfect.
"No, I have it....it's just that I usually review my homework, and I sort of can't do that without my book." She said.
Kaiba raised his eyebrow then looked away, his hand feeling the lining of his bag, fingers somehow wondering to his algebra book.
**************************************************************************** *******
"Lets get to the cafeteria, I'm really hungry!" Joey said as his stomach rumbled. The past two periods were filled with lectures of some sort and he didn't bother to try and understand.
"Honestly do you ever think of anything else?" Tea asked.
"Of course I do! Like.....uh....uh..." Joey trailed off.
Yugi approached the three coming from behind them, he had just been dismissed from his class.
"Hey guys.....what's Joey doing?" He asked, wondering why his normally care free friend was now in deep thought.
"Pondering on the mysteries of life." Tristan said, letting out a loud laugh.
"Oh c'mon you guys." Tea said, " I know! Why don't we take a visit to the UPL rooms and get Bakura and Ayane?"
"Hey, great idea, I've been wanting to see what goes up in there." Joey said, putting his arms behind his head.
The four headed up to the fourth floor where the UPL rooms were located. Once and a while, they would see juniors giving them strange looks, wondering what "normal" sophomores were doing on "their" floor.
**************************************************************************** ********
When the bell rang for recess, everyone stood up. Ayane started to return her notebooks to her bag when she heard Kaiba call her.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Here." Kaiba said, handing her his Algebra book.
"Huh?"
"You want it or not?" He said, getting impatient. For once he was being nice, why did she have to test it?
"Uhm.....thank you." She said after a few moments of silence. She didn't know what else to say.
Kaiba smiled to himself. He saw some people staring. Damn this, he thought to himself.
"I figured you'd need it more than I do, you probably won't get anything right." Kaiba smirked.(Arrogant, aint he?) He brushed past her and out the door.
Ayane shook her head. "Whatever." She sighed. Lately she'd been thinking more and more about Kaiba. She wanted to know why he was always mean to everybody; she wanted to see if he really could care about someone.
Ryou headed over to Ayane's place. He wanted to see what had happened. When he was near enough, he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hi Ryou!" Ayane said, her smile as fascinating as always.
"Hey.....um, what's up with Kaiba? What happened?" Ryou asked, casting a glance at Kaiba's retreating figure.
"Oh, he just wanted to let me borrow something." She said.
**************************************************************************** ********
"Over here guys!" Tea said as she waved her hand up in the air to get Bakura and Ayane's attention.
"Hi guys, what are you guys doing up here?" Ryou asked. "We just wanted to see the infamous UPL rooms." Tea said. The group talked for a while, then they noticed two were missing.
"Hey, where's Tristan and Joey?" Bakura aked, looking around.
The remaining four looked around. They found Tristan and Joey peeking inside one of the classrooms. Both were staring, jaws dropped, as if they were in awe.
"Guys? Are you guys okay?" Ayane asked, heading over to them and looking at what they were looking at.
The rest followed. What were Joey and Tristan staring at?
"Look Joey, that's what they learn up here." Tristan said pointing.
"Are they even meant to be learnt? I think teachers use them to brainwash students." Joey said.
Ayane and Bakura looked at what they were talking about. It was just a plain old blackboard. There were some Math notes and problems left un-erased but it was pretty normal.
"Um, guys, it's just a board." Tea said.
"Look at it Tea! X+B(a)=Y(4)+1/2(6)? What are you guys learning here?"
"Um, they're called Variables." Ayane said.
**************************************************************************** *******
In the cafeteria, they were all finally eating after Ryou and Ayane finished explaining how Variables worked. Who knew Joey could get so annoying when he was curious about something? Ayane was checking her math homework when Yugi suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, here you go Ayane, you left your math book on the bench earlier." Yugi said, giving her the thick book.
"Thanks, I thought I'd left it at home." Ayane said. She took the book from Yugi.
"Wait, then whose book are you using?" Tristan asked.
"Kaiba's."
"What?!" Joey spit out some juice.
"What? He let me borrow it."
"You're kidding right?" "No."
"But-it's just..."
"Hey, who knew? The guy has a heart after all." Tristan said.
"Well actually, he only gave it to me because he thought I needed it more than he did and since he was so smart and all......" Ayane said, she was smiling though.
"Figures, I guess you could expect that." Joey said.
Everyone continued to talk inside the noisy cafeteria. The six of them didn't think anyone would be listening in to their conversation. Although from one table away, Andrea heard everything. A look of pure anger playing on her face.
*************************************************************************** ****
Back in the upper level classrooms, students were once again working their pants off with some sort of worksheet their teacher had given them. All of them were having a fairly easy time answering it, except that there were about a million and six questions and they were only given 35 minutes to get it all done.
After a while, Ayane put her pen down. Thank God, she was finally finished. She checked her watch, there was still about 15 minutes left of the period. The teacher had said they could go to their next class early if they finished early. She wrote her time and the date on the sheet and passed it to the teacher, who then gave her permission to go.
In the halls, she saw Kaiba leaning on a wall, going through his deck of cards. She hadn't noticed how early he finished the test. She walked over to him.
"Hey, um, thanks for the book." She said, returning the math book.
Kaiba turned to her and put his deck down. He took the book and put it in his bag, his eyes never leaving her. She noticed this, smiled and looked at him.
"What? Do I have anything on my face?"
"No.....don't expect me to let you borrow the book again." He said, looking away from her.
"Oh don't worry. I'll return the favor, I promise." She smiled putting her hand to her heart. "Well, I guess we better get to the classroom."
Both entered their next classroom that was still empty because their whole class was still trying to finish the test in the other room. They took their seats beside each other, after a while, Ayane spoke.
"Hey, Kaiba?"
"What is it?" He asked, annoyed that someone would disturb him while he was "customizing" his deck.
"I was wondering, why don't we start on our research for the science report? I mean, well, you could show me where the library is......and.....you knows, maybe-"
"Ask someone else for directions, I'm too busy." He said coldly.
"Please? You just have to show me where the library is.....I don't want to get lost again." She said, giving a small laugh while letting her hair fall down from her ear as she looked to the side.
Kaiba looked at her. He sighed inwardly, rolling his eyes. She looked so pretty when she did that. He wished he could tell her that, but of course he had his pride, and he still thought she was "just another girl", well part of him anyway.
"Fine, I have nothing better to do." He smirked.
"Thank you Kaiba! You're the best." She smiled, hugging him real tight.
"You're---choking-me." He said.
"Oh....sorry." She said.
Eventually one by one, students started to pour into the classroom. Most were talking about the test and how brutal it was. They all took their seats, one by one. When the teacher walked in, she was holding a bunch of very familiar looking papers. The whole class grimaced as they saw that the papers were tests once more.
**************************************************************************** *****
"I supposed this is student bashing day?" Ryou joked as they were heading to the cafeteria. Everyone in the UPL rooms was talking about the tests all of the teachers were giving them.
"What are the tests for anyway?" Ayane asked.
"Oh, well you can get booted out of the UPL rooms any time; they give these tests to see if you can still keep up, you know."
"Do they have to give it all in one day?"
"Yeah....."
When they got to the cafeteria, most people were already eating. They spotted the gang and headed over.
"Whoa, both of you look like the life force got sucked out of you." Joey said.
"What happened?" Tea asked.
"Test, million and six questions, 35 minutes, all subjects." Ryou said, plopping down on one of the chairs.
"Oh, it's testing days for you already?" Yugi asked.
"No, this is just something the school gives, you know, make sure we're really supposed to be in the UPL rooms." Ryou said.
"And we have them for the rest of the day." Ayane smiled, taking her seat.
A low and long sigh was heard from Ryou, who had just buried his head between his arms. His hand poking on his spaghetti with a fork.
"I wanna go to sleep." He whined.
"Was it that bad?" Tristan asked.
"Oh it's not THAT bad, it's just THAT much." Ayane said, spreading her arms wide.
Everyone laughed. As always they talked. They traded dueling strategies and checked each others decks. All except Ryou who was still poking on his spaghetti.
(What's wrong Abiou?)
(Hmm?)
(You seem a bit down.)
(Oh it's nothing, I just didn't get any sleep last night, and the tests didn't help.)
(I noticed, why were you up last night anyway?)
(I couldn't get to sleep, that's all.)
(Oh, well I suggest you stop poking your food.)
(Huh? Why?)
(You just squirted some of the red sauce on your food onto your friend)
Ryou looked up. He saw one of the meatballs had splattered a bit of sauce right on Ayane's face. He hung his mouth open. Ayane was just blinking, Trstan and Joey were on the verge of laughing, and Tea and Yugi were in shock.
"I'm so sorry Ayane,ugh, I don't know what came over me." Ryou continued to apologize.
"Hey it's alright." Ayane said, wiping it all off. "I think I might have to go to the washroom though."
"Oh, I'll come." Tea said, standing up from her seat.
Both girls walked away from the table. Ryou was a nervous wreck. Tristan and Joey had stopped laughing and were comforting their white haired friend.
"C'mon Bakura, don't act like a baby!"
**************************************************************************** ****
"You sure you're alright? That sauce was pretty hot." Tea asked, concerned while Ayane was washing her face.
"Yeah I am. The sauce wasn't that hot. Is my face still red?"
"No, you have a bit on your hair though." Tea said.
Just then they heard the door of the bathroom open, and who should come in but Andrea herself. She looked at the two like they were lower life forms and crossed her arms.
"Well, if it isn't the new girl, and Ms. Friendship makes the world go round." She said haughtily.
"Hello Andrea." Tea said, trying to keep her composure, honestly even she couldn't like this girl.
"So what are we up to know? Trying on food for hair accessories?" Andrea said, looking at the sauce on Ayane's hair.
"No, we had a little accident with today's lunch." Ayane simply said, getting the sauce off.
"Aww, didn't Mommy and Daddy teach you how to eat with a spoon?" Andrea asked mockingly.
"Didn't Mommy or Daddy teach you some decency? I mean, seeing that you walk around in a uniform one size too small." Ayane said, once again being irritated by this cheerleader.
Andrea gave both of them a "losers" look and bumped past them intentionally to get to one of the sinks. She took out some of her make up and started to put it on her face.
"By the way, I've been watching you, if you get any closer to Kaiba-"
"I know, you'll make my life a living hell, get another catch phrase will you cause that ones getting old." Ayane said, heading over to Tea who looked astounded that someone could talk back to Andrea.
"Stay away from him you snake." She said.
"Come on, I think we better go." Tea said.
The two girls left the bathroom, instantly they burst into chatter.
"Can you believe her?"
"I know, but don't worry, she looks down on everyone, well except Kaiba, she thinks he's an Adonis or something."
"Yeah, I've noticed."
"Hey Ayane, I want to talk to you about something."
"Yeah....what's up?"
"Well, what Andrea said there, you aren't getting, well....you know, attached to Kaiba are you?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, do you like him?"
At this Ayane blushed a little, something people who knew her very well know she didn't do very often. She looked up a bit and gave a thoughtful smile. Tea eyed her closely.
"Hmmm, well I don't know, I guess he is kind of.....well you know."
Tea gave a grin. "Wow are you sure? I mean this is the most anti-social person in the school."
"Haha, well I don't know, there's something in him, but I don't know, I mean he's my seatmate it's most probably nothing." She said.
"Hmm, I guess so, you know, you should get to know more people, I know a few guys who like you." Tea teased.
Ayane raised an eyebrow. "Ahhh, maybe not, I don't want to hurt anybody." She said. "I know what you mean, well let's get back to the guys." Tea said.
"Oh, Tea?"
"Hmm?"
"Let's not tell anyone about the conversation we just had."
"Sure, don't worry I know how to keep a secret."
"Thanks."
**************************************************************************** *****
After lunch, everyone was heading back to their respective rooms. Tea, off to Literature, Yugi off to computer, Joey and Tristan off to Gym, and Ryou and Ayane off to...
"More tests." Ayane said, as she and Ryou climbed up the stairs.
Ryou just nodded. He was still silent ever since Tea and Ayane came back from the washroom. Inside he was continually cursing himself. Bakura had told him to stop it since he was getting annoyed and since he was supposed to be the one cursing since he was the Yami.
(For the last time Ryou, stop it!)
(What?)
(Stop cursing your forsaken life, it's getting on my nerves.)
(Sorry Bakura, it's just-)
(I know, I know, you are an idiot and you were so stupid to spill sauce on your friend, Ryou she said it was alright.)
(But Bakura...)
(What?)
(Well, I like her and I don't want her to think I'm a, you know, a clutz.)
(Clutz? What do you want her to think? You're super man?)
(Well no....maybe a bit more like you, a bit more brave and....)
(Say no more Ryou.)
With that, Ryou felt a familiar sensation. In a flash he found himself in the soul room, Bakura had taken his place. Ryou panicked. (Bakura! I have a lot of tests, I need to take them!)
(I'll switch back, hey you said you wanted this.)
With that, Bakura closed the mind link.
"Ryou, are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine." Bakura said, facing Ayane.
"Are you sure? You look a bit different." Ayane said.
"No, really I'm fine." Just then, Andrea bumped into Ayane on purpose. She was coming down from the stairs.
"Watch it." Andrea hissed.
"Hey you, better apologize to my friend here or else." Bakura glared at Andrea.
"Oh, you, the british boy, or else what?"
"Trust me, you wouldn't want to know." Bakura said menacingly. He stared at her with a frightening look till Andrea backed away quite scared.
After she was gone, Bakura began to laugh quietly. He then looked at Ayane.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, wow, I didn't know you were so brave Ryou." Ayane smiled with an admiring look in her eyes.
(You take it from here Hikari)
Another familiar sensation and Ryou was back to his body. He stirred a bit and Ayane looked at him strangely. Then she laughed a little.
"C'mon Ryou, we'll be late."
"Uh huh.." Ryou said.
**************************************************************************** ***
In class, Ayane sat in her proper seat. She saw Kaiba was holding something; it looked like a gift box.
"Who's it from?" Ayane asked, peeking over his shoulder.
"Tcht, some idiot." He said, as he took the card attached to it. The card turned out to be a picture of Andrea, behind she had wrote, "Just to remind you of what you're missing Kaiba-kun."
"Oh, I know her; she's the head of your fan club." Ayane said.
Kaiba raised his eyebrow. "I didn't ask for a fan club." He said coldly.
"Yeah, well, might as well open her gift."
"We're not allowed to eat in class."
"Huh?"
"Her and her league of stalkers always give the same heart-shaped chocolates, they taste off."
Ayane laughed. Kaiba looked at her and handed her the gift box.
"Here, I don't need it."
"Oh, I can't do that, know that I'm you're lab partner, Andrea's after my head."
Kaiba looked at her. He took the box back just as the teacher came in with a bunch of papers. Ayane lifted her gaze from him and to the front where the teacher was babbling out instructions for the test.
**************************************************************************** *******
In the classroom, Yugi had just finished reading the chapter assigned to the class. He closed his book and stared outside the window right beside his desk. He saw a taller version of himself being reflected on the glass.
(What's troubling you Yugi?)
(What are you talking about?)
(I know something troubles you.)
(Nothing, please believe me Yami.)
(Yugi, it hurts me to know you're keeping something from me)
(And it hurts to know you don't trust me)
(Would you just tell me already?)
(Well, uhm J-joey was asked out by this girl, b-but he's afraiod the girl really likes uh....Tristan) (Are you sure?)
(Y-yeah. What should I-I mean Joey do?)
(I think the Joey should just ask the girl.)
(Oh thanks.)
Yugi opened his book pretending to read, pondering on what Yami had said. He just couldn't tell Yami the truth. He had taken care to always close his mindlink whenever he was thinking about the subject so Yami wouldn't know.
**************************************************************************** ******
When the bell for dismissal rang, everyone went out of the classroom, thanking God that the day was over. Ayane walked outside where Kaiba was waiting for her.
"I haven't got all day girl, let's go." He said icily, heading down the stairs.
Ayane followed behind him as he went through halls and down and up stairs until they reached the building with the computer rooms. She sped up a bit until she was walking beside him. From the corner of his eye, he saw this.
When they got to the doors of the library, Ayane smiled.
"Thanks Kaiba, you don't have to go in with me, thanks for showing the way." She said, she was about to push the doors open, when Kaiba held her shoulder.
"What is it?"
"I guess I'd better go too, this is MY report too, better make sure you don't mess it up." Kaiba said, his tone a bit warmer than usual.
"Uh..thanks." Ayane said.
The library was empty except for the librarians. When the two had found a suitable table, they began to work. Before Ayane went of to find a book Kaiba held her shoulder again.
"Kaiba, do you have a fascination with grabbing my shoulder?" She said tilting her head and smiling.
Kaiba glared at her. "I just wanted to say, don't be afraid of that cheerleader, she might now how to dance, but after that she's nothing but air." He said.
Ayane smiled. Kaiba gave a small smile that for once wasn't a smirk. She looked at the hand that was still on her shoulder.
"Thanks Kaiba, didn't know you cared that much," She said, she then skipped off to the book shelf, but not before receiving a mild glare form Kaiba. She didn't hear his reply though.
"Maybe, I do..."
**************************************************************************** ****** R.J: Hehehehe, anyway thanks to you guys for reading.
Ryou: Please leave a review.
Bakura: And none of those mean ones or this girl will be fuming.
R.J: Don't know what you're talking bout.
Kaiba: Yeah, don't be so mean to her.
Bakura: Fine let's try this, all you readers, review or you'll have to deal with me.
R.J: I think some of the reviewers would like that.
Kaiba: Well, where's Yami?
R.J: Uhm ,still in the room.....
Yugi: O.o
Bakura: Dear Ra, what are we in for now?
Kaiba: Don't talk to her like that.
R.J: WE aren't in for anything, you however....
Bakura: No way are you sticking me in that room with that...that kid again!
Ryou: Huh?
R.J: Nothing, nothing involving pink bunny rabbits and a six year old sugar high kid named Tammy.
Yugi: I'm afraid to ask.
R.J: Alright, who wants to do the disclaimer thing?
Kaiba: Haven't people already gotten the message after 5 chapters?
R.J: Hmmm...good point.
**************************************************************************** **
The sun hadn't even begun to shine yet. Most people were still asleep, or at the very least 20 minutes from waking up, but one girl, one who wasn't used to her school being close to home was already up and atom....and walking to school.
"Oooh, curse me and my internal alarm clock!" Ayane thought to herself.
Before, her school was a 30-50 minute drive from home so she usually woke up early, how was she supposed to know Domino High was a 10 minute walk?
She walked into the campus. As expected it was almost empty. Wondering the grounds, she carefully inspected them. From the large gates there was a cemented path leading to the buildings, the rest of the ground, however, was grass. Trees were growing on the sides, huge ones, and here or there, there were some stone benches.
Wondering around a bit more, she thought she heard voices coming from somewhere behind the main building. She carefully peeked and saw a bunch of cheerleaders practicing.
She watched them, her eyes widening a bit now and then, when they did a stunt or two. Ayane watched for about 15 minutes until she finally started to get bored since they were practicing the same routine over and over again. She retreated back to the main grounds and sat on one of the benches, might as well review the lessons, she thought.
A few people started to arrive, but the campus was still fairly deserted. From the corner of her ear, she could hear a cheerleader saying that the practice was over. She could hear footsteps coming out from the back. It then occurred to her that the cheerleader's voice sounded familiar, but she didn't give it a second thought.
Soon though, she heard footsteps coming near her, towards her even.
"Hey you." A voice said.
"Hmm?" Ayane said, looking up from her notebook, she saw a cheerleader with glossy lips, glossy hair and a uniform, which's skirt was one size too small.
"You're the new girl right?" She said as if Ayane was the one wasting her time.
"That's right, and you're?" Ayane said, unfazed, even though she could see other cheerleaders backing away with a scared look on their faces.
"I'm Andrea, the head cheerleader here, listen, I want you to stay away from Kaiba, he's mine. Understand that?" She said, her voice menacing, her eyes narrowing.
It was then Ayane realized where she had heard the voice before, the voice of one of those girls who Kaiba had been hiding in the closet from.
"Oh, so you're one of those girls chasing after him!" She said sarcastically.
"Do you know who I am?! Listen here, I've been watching you, you stay away from him you little rat, or I'll make you're life a living hell." She said.
Ayane raised her eye brow. She did not like this girl at all. She sighed and stood up, putting her book down.
"Well first of all, I think I already made it clear that I knew who you are, and as for little? Well if I'm a "little" rat I'd hate to think what you are." She said, looking the cheerleader from head to toe. It was true; Ayane was taller than her, even if she was already wearing platform sneakers.
Andrea fumed. "You better just stay out of my way...or I'll have to push you, and you'll regret you ever set foot near him."
"Well, that's going to be a bit hard since he is MY seatmate, and he IS my Lab partner." Ayane smirked, two could play at this game, and she didn't want anyone to ruin her day, especially since it hadn't even begun yet.
The girl's eye twitched. She was about to push Ayane (so childish really) when Ayane grabbed her hand.
"Listen, for all I care, you can have him, I promise I won't be in your way, just don't go blaming me when he acts like you and you're little fan club is an accident waiting to happen and tries to run." She said mockingly. This girl was very agitating.
Andrea fumed again. Usually she could force anyone to do anything she wanted, she didn't expect a new student to be able to stand up to her. She turned on her heel and stomped off, mumbling something under her breath.
Ayane just shook her head. She continued to read her notes. After a while, she checked her watch, it was 20 minutes to the first bell. She had noticed that many students had already arrived. Soon, Tea, Yugi, Joey and Tristan were heading towards her.
"Hey Ayane!" Tea greeted.
"Hey, you came here earlier than us, what time you get here?" Tristan asked putting his bag down on the grass.
"Uhhm, I don't know 7 o' clock or 6:30 I guess." She said as the rest was sitting down.
"What?! How come you're so early, I'm not even awake by that time?!" Joey exclaimed.
"A..haha, well, my school used to be a 40 minute drive, I still have to get used to this school being so near I guess." She said, laughing and scratching her head.
"Wow, that's tough, well did anything interesting happen?" Yugi asked.
"Well, some mean girl tried to lash out at me, I don't call that interesting though."
"Which one?" Tea asked, concerned.
"Some girl named Andrea." Ayane said, not really caring, to her friends though it seemed like a big deal.
"Andrea? As in Andrea the cheerleader?" Joey asked?
"Yeah, what's the big deal?"
"You-You're still alive! I didn't think anyone could survive with sanity after an encounter with Andrea Ms. Mean herself." Joey said.
"Well, that doesn't matter now, you actually told her off, didn't think it was possible." Tristan said.
The group continued to talk, soon Ryou joined them. The air around was happy and pleasant. Yugi whined about how everyone had left him yesterday with a banana split a soda and some other food, only pretend of course. They all laughed. Then the bell rang.
"Uggh, off to the torture chambers." Joey said, Tristan nodded in agreement.
Off they went.
**************************************************************************** ******
In class Joey and Tristan sat beside each other. Groaning as their Algebra teacher walked in. Meanwhile, in the room across theirs, Tea sat and thought about her up and coming "date" with Yugi. The room a few doors away from hers, Yugi was sitting, still troubled about the "him or Yami" ordeal, and meanwhile in the UPL rooms everyone was still getting seated. The teacher was always late since they're classroom was one floor higher, and therefore required extra stair climbing.
"Hi Kaiba." Ayane said as she took her seat. Her voice was happy and her eyes were smiling.
Kaiba on the other hand was the exact opposite. He gave an inaudible greeting and left it at that. He didn't say anything until he heard Ayane give a small disappointed "oh." (the long kind, not the short kind) He looked up from his desk and looked at her.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked, his tone a bit different but still cold and uncaring.
"I must've left my Algebra book at home." She said, looking through her book.
"Left your homework eh?" He smirked; he knew this girl wasn't perfect.
"No, I have it....it's just that I usually review my homework, and I sort of can't do that without my book." She said.
Kaiba raised his eyebrow then looked away, his hand feeling the lining of his bag, fingers somehow wondering to his algebra book.
**************************************************************************** *******
"Lets get to the cafeteria, I'm really hungry!" Joey said as his stomach rumbled. The past two periods were filled with lectures of some sort and he didn't bother to try and understand.
"Honestly do you ever think of anything else?" Tea asked.
"Of course I do! Like.....uh....uh..." Joey trailed off.
Yugi approached the three coming from behind them, he had just been dismissed from his class.
"Hey guys.....what's Joey doing?" He asked, wondering why his normally care free friend was now in deep thought.
"Pondering on the mysteries of life." Tristan said, letting out a loud laugh.
"Oh c'mon you guys." Tea said, " I know! Why don't we take a visit to the UPL rooms and get Bakura and Ayane?"
"Hey, great idea, I've been wanting to see what goes up in there." Joey said, putting his arms behind his head.
The four headed up to the fourth floor where the UPL rooms were located. Once and a while, they would see juniors giving them strange looks, wondering what "normal" sophomores were doing on "their" floor.
**************************************************************************** ********
When the bell rang for recess, everyone stood up. Ayane started to return her notebooks to her bag when she heard Kaiba call her.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Here." Kaiba said, handing her his Algebra book.
"Huh?"
"You want it or not?" He said, getting impatient. For once he was being nice, why did she have to test it?
"Uhm.....thank you." She said after a few moments of silence. She didn't know what else to say.
Kaiba smiled to himself. He saw some people staring. Damn this, he thought to himself.
"I figured you'd need it more than I do, you probably won't get anything right." Kaiba smirked.(Arrogant, aint he?) He brushed past her and out the door.
Ayane shook her head. "Whatever." She sighed. Lately she'd been thinking more and more about Kaiba. She wanted to know why he was always mean to everybody; she wanted to see if he really could care about someone.
Ryou headed over to Ayane's place. He wanted to see what had happened. When he was near enough, he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hi Ryou!" Ayane said, her smile as fascinating as always.
"Hey.....um, what's up with Kaiba? What happened?" Ryou asked, casting a glance at Kaiba's retreating figure.
"Oh, he just wanted to let me borrow something." She said.
**************************************************************************** ********
"Over here guys!" Tea said as she waved her hand up in the air to get Bakura and Ayane's attention.
"Hi guys, what are you guys doing up here?" Ryou asked. "We just wanted to see the infamous UPL rooms." Tea said. The group talked for a while, then they noticed two were missing.
"Hey, where's Tristan and Joey?" Bakura aked, looking around.
The remaining four looked around. They found Tristan and Joey peeking inside one of the classrooms. Both were staring, jaws dropped, as if they were in awe.
"Guys? Are you guys okay?" Ayane asked, heading over to them and looking at what they were looking at.
The rest followed. What were Joey and Tristan staring at?
"Look Joey, that's what they learn up here." Tristan said pointing.
"Are they even meant to be learnt? I think teachers use them to brainwash students." Joey said.
Ayane and Bakura looked at what they were talking about. It was just a plain old blackboard. There were some Math notes and problems left un-erased but it was pretty normal.
"Um, guys, it's just a board." Tea said.
"Look at it Tea! X+B(a)=Y(4)+1/2(6)? What are you guys learning here?"
"Um, they're called Variables." Ayane said.
**************************************************************************** *******
In the cafeteria, they were all finally eating after Ryou and Ayane finished explaining how Variables worked. Who knew Joey could get so annoying when he was curious about something? Ayane was checking her math homework when Yugi suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, here you go Ayane, you left your math book on the bench earlier." Yugi said, giving her the thick book.
"Thanks, I thought I'd left it at home." Ayane said. She took the book from Yugi.
"Wait, then whose book are you using?" Tristan asked.
"Kaiba's."
"What?!" Joey spit out some juice.
"What? He let me borrow it."
"You're kidding right?" "No."
"But-it's just..."
"Hey, who knew? The guy has a heart after all." Tristan said.
"Well actually, he only gave it to me because he thought I needed it more than he did and since he was so smart and all......" Ayane said, she was smiling though.
"Figures, I guess you could expect that." Joey said.
Everyone continued to talk inside the noisy cafeteria. The six of them didn't think anyone would be listening in to their conversation. Although from one table away, Andrea heard everything. A look of pure anger playing on her face.
*************************************************************************** ****
Back in the upper level classrooms, students were once again working their pants off with some sort of worksheet their teacher had given them. All of them were having a fairly easy time answering it, except that there were about a million and six questions and they were only given 35 minutes to get it all done.
After a while, Ayane put her pen down. Thank God, she was finally finished. She checked her watch, there was still about 15 minutes left of the period. The teacher had said they could go to their next class early if they finished early. She wrote her time and the date on the sheet and passed it to the teacher, who then gave her permission to go.
In the halls, she saw Kaiba leaning on a wall, going through his deck of cards. She hadn't noticed how early he finished the test. She walked over to him.
"Hey, um, thanks for the book." She said, returning the math book.
Kaiba turned to her and put his deck down. He took the book and put it in his bag, his eyes never leaving her. She noticed this, smiled and looked at him.
"What? Do I have anything on my face?"
"No.....don't expect me to let you borrow the book again." He said, looking away from her.
"Oh don't worry. I'll return the favor, I promise." She smiled putting her hand to her heart. "Well, I guess we better get to the classroom."
Both entered their next classroom that was still empty because their whole class was still trying to finish the test in the other room. They took their seats beside each other, after a while, Ayane spoke.
"Hey, Kaiba?"
"What is it?" He asked, annoyed that someone would disturb him while he was "customizing" his deck.
"I was wondering, why don't we start on our research for the science report? I mean, well, you could show me where the library is......and.....you knows, maybe-"
"Ask someone else for directions, I'm too busy." He said coldly.
"Please? You just have to show me where the library is.....I don't want to get lost again." She said, giving a small laugh while letting her hair fall down from her ear as she looked to the side.
Kaiba looked at her. He sighed inwardly, rolling his eyes. She looked so pretty when she did that. He wished he could tell her that, but of course he had his pride, and he still thought she was "just another girl", well part of him anyway.
"Fine, I have nothing better to do." He smirked.
"Thank you Kaiba! You're the best." She smiled, hugging him real tight.
"You're---choking-me." He said.
"Oh....sorry." She said.
Eventually one by one, students started to pour into the classroom. Most were talking about the test and how brutal it was. They all took their seats, one by one. When the teacher walked in, she was holding a bunch of very familiar looking papers. The whole class grimaced as they saw that the papers were tests once more.
**************************************************************************** *****
"I supposed this is student bashing day?" Ryou joked as they were heading to the cafeteria. Everyone in the UPL rooms was talking about the tests all of the teachers were giving them.
"What are the tests for anyway?" Ayane asked.
"Oh, well you can get booted out of the UPL rooms any time; they give these tests to see if you can still keep up, you know."
"Do they have to give it all in one day?"
"Yeah....."
When they got to the cafeteria, most people were already eating. They spotted the gang and headed over.
"Whoa, both of you look like the life force got sucked out of you." Joey said.
"What happened?" Tea asked.
"Test, million and six questions, 35 minutes, all subjects." Ryou said, plopping down on one of the chairs.
"Oh, it's testing days for you already?" Yugi asked.
"No, this is just something the school gives, you know, make sure we're really supposed to be in the UPL rooms." Ryou said.
"And we have them for the rest of the day." Ayane smiled, taking her seat.
A low and long sigh was heard from Ryou, who had just buried his head between his arms. His hand poking on his spaghetti with a fork.
"I wanna go to sleep." He whined.
"Was it that bad?" Tristan asked.
"Oh it's not THAT bad, it's just THAT much." Ayane said, spreading her arms wide.
Everyone laughed. As always they talked. They traded dueling strategies and checked each others decks. All except Ryou who was still poking on his spaghetti.
(What's wrong Abiou?)
(Hmm?)
(You seem a bit down.)
(Oh it's nothing, I just didn't get any sleep last night, and the tests didn't help.)
(I noticed, why were you up last night anyway?)
(I couldn't get to sleep, that's all.)
(Oh, well I suggest you stop poking your food.)
(Huh? Why?)
(You just squirted some of the red sauce on your food onto your friend)
Ryou looked up. He saw one of the meatballs had splattered a bit of sauce right on Ayane's face. He hung his mouth open. Ayane was just blinking, Trstan and Joey were on the verge of laughing, and Tea and Yugi were in shock.
"I'm so sorry Ayane,ugh, I don't know what came over me." Ryou continued to apologize.
"Hey it's alright." Ayane said, wiping it all off. "I think I might have to go to the washroom though."
"Oh, I'll come." Tea said, standing up from her seat.
Both girls walked away from the table. Ryou was a nervous wreck. Tristan and Joey had stopped laughing and were comforting their white haired friend.
"C'mon Bakura, don't act like a baby!"
**************************************************************************** ****
"You sure you're alright? That sauce was pretty hot." Tea asked, concerned while Ayane was washing her face.
"Yeah I am. The sauce wasn't that hot. Is my face still red?"
"No, you have a bit on your hair though." Tea said.
Just then they heard the door of the bathroom open, and who should come in but Andrea herself. She looked at the two like they were lower life forms and crossed her arms.
"Well, if it isn't the new girl, and Ms. Friendship makes the world go round." She said haughtily.
"Hello Andrea." Tea said, trying to keep her composure, honestly even she couldn't like this girl.
"So what are we up to know? Trying on food for hair accessories?" Andrea said, looking at the sauce on Ayane's hair.
"No, we had a little accident with today's lunch." Ayane simply said, getting the sauce off.
"Aww, didn't Mommy and Daddy teach you how to eat with a spoon?" Andrea asked mockingly.
"Didn't Mommy or Daddy teach you some decency? I mean, seeing that you walk around in a uniform one size too small." Ayane said, once again being irritated by this cheerleader.
Andrea gave both of them a "losers" look and bumped past them intentionally to get to one of the sinks. She took out some of her make up and started to put it on her face.
"By the way, I've been watching you, if you get any closer to Kaiba-"
"I know, you'll make my life a living hell, get another catch phrase will you cause that ones getting old." Ayane said, heading over to Tea who looked astounded that someone could talk back to Andrea.
"Stay away from him you snake." She said.
"Come on, I think we better go." Tea said.
The two girls left the bathroom, instantly they burst into chatter.
"Can you believe her?"
"I know, but don't worry, she looks down on everyone, well except Kaiba, she thinks he's an Adonis or something."
"Yeah, I've noticed."
"Hey Ayane, I want to talk to you about something."
"Yeah....what's up?"
"Well, what Andrea said there, you aren't getting, well....you know, attached to Kaiba are you?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, do you like him?"
At this Ayane blushed a little, something people who knew her very well know she didn't do very often. She looked up a bit and gave a thoughtful smile. Tea eyed her closely.
"Hmmm, well I don't know, I guess he is kind of.....well you know."
Tea gave a grin. "Wow are you sure? I mean this is the most anti-social person in the school."
"Haha, well I don't know, there's something in him, but I don't know, I mean he's my seatmate it's most probably nothing." She said.
"Hmm, I guess so, you know, you should get to know more people, I know a few guys who like you." Tea teased.
Ayane raised an eyebrow. "Ahhh, maybe not, I don't want to hurt anybody." She said. "I know what you mean, well let's get back to the guys." Tea said.
"Oh, Tea?"
"Hmm?"
"Let's not tell anyone about the conversation we just had."
"Sure, don't worry I know how to keep a secret."
"Thanks."
**************************************************************************** *****
After lunch, everyone was heading back to their respective rooms. Tea, off to Literature, Yugi off to computer, Joey and Tristan off to Gym, and Ryou and Ayane off to...
"More tests." Ayane said, as she and Ryou climbed up the stairs.
Ryou just nodded. He was still silent ever since Tea and Ayane came back from the washroom. Inside he was continually cursing himself. Bakura had told him to stop it since he was getting annoyed and since he was supposed to be the one cursing since he was the Yami.
(For the last time Ryou, stop it!)
(What?)
(Stop cursing your forsaken life, it's getting on my nerves.)
(Sorry Bakura, it's just-)
(I know, I know, you are an idiot and you were so stupid to spill sauce on your friend, Ryou she said it was alright.)
(But Bakura...)
(What?)
(Well, I like her and I don't want her to think I'm a, you know, a clutz.)
(Clutz? What do you want her to think? You're super man?)
(Well no....maybe a bit more like you, a bit more brave and....)
(Say no more Ryou.)
With that, Ryou felt a familiar sensation. In a flash he found himself in the soul room, Bakura had taken his place. Ryou panicked. (Bakura! I have a lot of tests, I need to take them!)
(I'll switch back, hey you said you wanted this.)
With that, Bakura closed the mind link.
"Ryou, are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine." Bakura said, facing Ayane.
"Are you sure? You look a bit different." Ayane said.
"No, really I'm fine." Just then, Andrea bumped into Ayane on purpose. She was coming down from the stairs.
"Watch it." Andrea hissed.
"Hey you, better apologize to my friend here or else." Bakura glared at Andrea.
"Oh, you, the british boy, or else what?"
"Trust me, you wouldn't want to know." Bakura said menacingly. He stared at her with a frightening look till Andrea backed away quite scared.
After she was gone, Bakura began to laugh quietly. He then looked at Ayane.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, wow, I didn't know you were so brave Ryou." Ayane smiled with an admiring look in her eyes.
(You take it from here Hikari)
Another familiar sensation and Ryou was back to his body. He stirred a bit and Ayane looked at him strangely. Then she laughed a little.
"C'mon Ryou, we'll be late."
"Uh huh.." Ryou said.
**************************************************************************** ***
In class, Ayane sat in her proper seat. She saw Kaiba was holding something; it looked like a gift box.
"Who's it from?" Ayane asked, peeking over his shoulder.
"Tcht, some idiot." He said, as he took the card attached to it. The card turned out to be a picture of Andrea, behind she had wrote, "Just to remind you of what you're missing Kaiba-kun."
"Oh, I know her; she's the head of your fan club." Ayane said.
Kaiba raised his eyebrow. "I didn't ask for a fan club." He said coldly.
"Yeah, well, might as well open her gift."
"We're not allowed to eat in class."
"Huh?"
"Her and her league of stalkers always give the same heart-shaped chocolates, they taste off."
Ayane laughed. Kaiba looked at her and handed her the gift box.
"Here, I don't need it."
"Oh, I can't do that, know that I'm you're lab partner, Andrea's after my head."
Kaiba looked at her. He took the box back just as the teacher came in with a bunch of papers. Ayane lifted her gaze from him and to the front where the teacher was babbling out instructions for the test.
**************************************************************************** *******
In the classroom, Yugi had just finished reading the chapter assigned to the class. He closed his book and stared outside the window right beside his desk. He saw a taller version of himself being reflected on the glass.
(What's troubling you Yugi?)
(What are you talking about?)
(I know something troubles you.)
(Nothing, please believe me Yami.)
(Yugi, it hurts me to know you're keeping something from me)
(And it hurts to know you don't trust me)
(Would you just tell me already?)
(Well, uhm J-joey was asked out by this girl, b-but he's afraiod the girl really likes uh....Tristan) (Are you sure?)
(Y-yeah. What should I-I mean Joey do?)
(I think the Joey should just ask the girl.)
(Oh thanks.)
Yugi opened his book pretending to read, pondering on what Yami had said. He just couldn't tell Yami the truth. He had taken care to always close his mindlink whenever he was thinking about the subject so Yami wouldn't know.
**************************************************************************** ******
When the bell for dismissal rang, everyone went out of the classroom, thanking God that the day was over. Ayane walked outside where Kaiba was waiting for her.
"I haven't got all day girl, let's go." He said icily, heading down the stairs.
Ayane followed behind him as he went through halls and down and up stairs until they reached the building with the computer rooms. She sped up a bit until she was walking beside him. From the corner of his eye, he saw this.
When they got to the doors of the library, Ayane smiled.
"Thanks Kaiba, you don't have to go in with me, thanks for showing the way." She said, she was about to push the doors open, when Kaiba held her shoulder.
"What is it?"
"I guess I'd better go too, this is MY report too, better make sure you don't mess it up." Kaiba said, his tone a bit warmer than usual.
"Uh..thanks." Ayane said.
The library was empty except for the librarians. When the two had found a suitable table, they began to work. Before Ayane went of to find a book Kaiba held her shoulder again.
"Kaiba, do you have a fascination with grabbing my shoulder?" She said tilting her head and smiling.
Kaiba glared at her. "I just wanted to say, don't be afraid of that cheerleader, she might now how to dance, but after that she's nothing but air." He said.
Ayane smiled. Kaiba gave a small smile that for once wasn't a smirk. She looked at the hand that was still on her shoulder.
"Thanks Kaiba, didn't know you cared that much," She said, she then skipped off to the book shelf, but not before receiving a mild glare form Kaiba. She didn't hear his reply though.
"Maybe, I do..."
**************************************************************************** ****** R.J: Hehehehe, anyway thanks to you guys for reading.
Ryou: Please leave a review.
Bakura: And none of those mean ones or this girl will be fuming.
R.J: Don't know what you're talking bout.
Kaiba: Yeah, don't be so mean to her.
Bakura: Fine let's try this, all you readers, review or you'll have to deal with me.
R.J: I think some of the reviewers would like that.
Kaiba: Well, where's Yami?
R.J: Uhm ,still in the room.....
Yugi: O.o