Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

A/N: Sorry about the confusion last time, I'll try to make things clearer.

Entry 7

What did they think they were doing?! Three weeks! THREE WEEKS!! And they.....

Okay, maybe the real question here is 'how long did I expect them to wait for?' Perhaps this makes more sense than I made myself believe it to be. Ssss, this water stings, better turn down the hot tap. These things don't have a perfectly set time limit, at least not in Japan I don't think, and it was their choice, not mine. It could have been worse, much worse. They could have made the three weeks a 'today,' or a 'two days' or any other amount of time below three weeks. Ouch, where's the cotton swabs? But that was looking at the bright side. Three weeks compared to like what, one and a half years? Is a bit more staggering, and a negative kind of staggering at that. Oooh ah ah cold, cold, maybe I should've waited for this ice pack to melt a little before I used it.

They didn't expect this and neither did I for that matter, but it really put some raw information into my head. And not only raw stuff in my head but raw sores all over and raw feelings as well. Okay, so I sound like a girl talking about 'feelings' but mine took a hard hit which I'm still stumbling from. Oh good, there's a couple of band-aids left. The source of this shiner on my face and the dozens other lining my body was a kid supposedly in my grade. To be honest, the physical injuries are not what's bothering me the most but the realization that I'm weak is. And trust me, hearing it is entirely different from finding out for yourself. Where's the rubbing alcohol?

It originally began as sofu's idea but later, omaasan caught onto it as well. Things were pretty quiet for the three weeks I've been staying in their home and I began to grow on them quite well. The thought of school barely even crossed my mind as I had never set foot in one for the last one and a half years. I dropped out while I was still in elementary school (hmm, what grade was it?) but occasionally went back depending on whose family fostered me.

I wonder if gauze is really necessary for this. All well, there's plenty here.

Obviously the first few thoughts that dropped in my head were the same as anyone else's. They were the usual 'will I make any friends?' 'will I be able to catch up or even follow what the others are doing?' 'how am I supposed to behave in a Japanese school?' and of course: 'what the heck am I doing going to school? I haven't been there for the longest time. Are these people insane?' But I soon realised they were serious when they handed me a backpack and some notebooks. I reluctantly accepted them.

Ack, I hate having to use iodine.

I know what happened wasn't entirely my fault; at least I'd like to think it wasn't, but I have to keep this from sofu and omaasan to stay out of more trouble. They are actually very good people who have good intentions and I don't want to scare or disappoint them. So what does this mean for me? Well I guess it means that I need to learn how to get blood stains out of my uniform, patch up ripped part of my clothes, cover up my injuries, make up good excuses for the ones I can't cover up and most of all, be very careful with everything I do. Too bad I was a little late with omaasan.

I'm not exactly in the mood to recall this but it would make more sense if I did. My thoughts are just everywhere right now and it feels like there's a big hole in my stomach. I need something warm to eat.

I started off on I guess what people would say is the right foot. Sort of. It was unusual to stand in front of an entire classroom to be introduced but it didn't bother me. What did bother me was the fact that some of the taller (most likely older) students in the back were giving me nasty, dirty looks in which I tried hard to ignore. My seat was right beside a person named Miho who was pretty nice except for the fact that she gave me slightly odd glances from time to time when she thought I wasn't looking. Yeah, she 'thought' I wasn't looking but I'm not that dense.

The teacher seemed to have received a long and serious conversation from Julie as well as an overweight file full of documents about me because he half-heartedly excused me from doing any worked that day and allowed me to sit and watch. It was a nice gesture, I guess. Caused some snickers from Miho though.

My guess is that the students in this class must really like the teacher because his lessons seem very short giving them time in the remaining duration of the class to do what they wanted. There was the usual small talk from a group of giggling girls in one of the corners with a pile of "Seventeen" magazines in their possession, the occasional paper airplane cutting through the air by a random person, a couple of guys comparing their latest video games and the loner sitting in the back 'pretending' not to notice anyone.

And.... a card game?

They were a small group of people, no more than five, and they seemed to be engrossed in a sort of trading card game. Upon closer inspection (I was very subtle in getting close to them) it was a card game that I've seen before. A long time ago I used to practice playing the game myself but it just wore off on me. Interested as they were, they weren't too good at it, newbies perhaps, but enjoyed the game for having someone to play with. I could have showed them some stuff but.........eh.........too shy. That and the fact that this classroom radiated as sense of isolation toward the new guy so I just watched.

Truth be told, I couldn't help but notice the 'loner' in the back of the class. He didn't look like the loner type; in fact, my first impression of him was that he was the 'popular one' with no real need for friends but flunkies and followers who exist to praise his very existence (later found out how close to the truth I really was O.O). Seto Kaiba was indeed the loner type but not because no one else liked him, it was because he liked no one else. His disapproving 'hmphs' and occasional scowls hollered "I'm too good for all of you so don't even get within two metres of my space." Judging by the way he handled his laptop I could've sworn I heard a "and if you so much as graze my personal computer than you'd be lucky to go home crippled." Hey, I'm just looking at him here, how am I supposed to know whether that was an exaggeration or not.

Hmmm, where have I seen that logo?

But I digress, the day went by with none of the students saying anything to me or even acknowledging that I was there (no big deal, right?). Who would have thought the real trouble I got from school came after I left the school. Oh the horrible irony.

I didn't mind my time in school very much actually. The people were civil, the bathrooms were clean and I got through the day without embarrassing myself in any way. And so, I walked home, minding my own business when I was stopped by a big, bulky student. I didn't know it at first, but he was to be the one to put the finishing touches on my wonderfully perfect day of school.

"New kid."

"Huh? Y-yeah, that's me."

"Where you going?"

"Home, why?"

"Hey, I don't like your attitude there, abazureon'na."

"Abazureon'na?"

"What'd you just call me, shiseiji?"

"Umm......shiseiji?"

"You got quite a lethal mouth there kid, don't you know who you're talking to?"

"What? What did I say?"

"Don't pretend to be a baka with me, freak!"

"A baka? What's a....."

I didn't know what happened then but whatever thin string that held his anger back snap that instant and I was faced with a red-faced, heaving bully looming over me. In a flash, he grabbed me by the collar, shoving me against the brick wall against a building where I got the wind knocked out of me. I felt my airway slowly closing as he gradually tightened his iron- grip around my neck and forced me harder into the wall. I tried to resist from gagging at the foul odour of his sour, cigarette mixed with decaying teeth breath as he pressed his forehead onto mine and death-glared me straight into the eyes.

"You got some nerve, SOME NERVE, no one NO ONE has ever dared to say that stuff to me without having stupid in the brain."

"I-I....../cough, cough/."

"Ooh, what's the matter? Baby don't got more pretty words for me no more?"

"/cough, cough, wheeze, wheeze/"

"Aww, am I hurting you?"

"/cough, cough, nod, nod/"

"C'mon now, speak up, can't hear you."

"/hack, hack, grunt, grunt/"

"You know, it isn't too polite to be making rude noises at people'"

"/hack/ P-p-pllleeehsse sthoooop."

"What was that? Oh, you want me to stooooop?"

"/nod, nod/"

"Well what if I don't want to, what if I don't like to?"

"/hack, wheeze, hack, wheeze/ P-p-plllheeeese....?"

"Well, I don't know, but hey, I got a better idea, meh don't think you'd like it though, all well."

And with that, he pulled his hand away from my throat and replaced it with a forceful shove onto the damp pavement. My vision blurred for a moment as I sucked in a gulp of precious, sweet air. When my eyes cleared, his hand had wrapped itself around my throat once more and he was sitting on my legs, pinning me to the ground. The enormous weight if him nearly snapped my legs in half but the immediate, sharp pain of a blow to the stomach made me forget all about it. It took me a while to register the repeated blows to my gut were from his huge fists because my head was painfully throbbing from the lack of air going into my body.

He used me as a punching bag, a rag doll and a soccer ball for awhile until I passed out entirely. I didn't know what time it was when I finally came to but it was still light out so I figured that it hadn't been more than a few hours. I was greeted with the deep urge to throw up when my eyes finally snapped open but the red, glutinous substance I regurgitated wasn't vomit, no, it was blood. All those punches to the stomach must have damaged my stomach somehow and forced blood out. Such a bitter, coppery taste I had long forgotten. I lean against the wall to let the dizziness and throbbing pain throughout my body settle down before I stumbled home slowly.

Upon entering my bedroom, I quickly tore off my ripped and stained clothes, donned on pyjamas and plopped on my bed exhausted. There was nothing to care about anymore. I could just leave that for when I woke up. At that moment, all I knew was that I was tired, very tired and needed sleep. The rest would come later. Mm, nice soft, clean bed. So tired, so tired.....

I woke up feeling about 40% better than I did before. My stomach had settled down and the throbbing pain had lessoned a little. It was time to patch up my wounds and hide the fact that this ever happened to my foster parents. Only one problem: omaasan was standing over my bed with my damaged uniform in her hands and a very worried expression on her face. What to do now.

"W-what happened to you today?"

"Oh no, please don't tell anyone, especially not sofu."

"I asked you what happened."

"I-it was an accident, all an accident, I promised it won't happen again."

"Tell me."

"I-uh fell down the school stairs when, uh a guy sort of bumped into me. Hehe, those stairs, they're pretty big. Gotta watch my step next time."

She squatted down in front of me with a light mist in her eyes and held up the clothes as if I was nearsighted or something. What a guilt trip. She spoke with the quietest of whispers.

"Please, just tell me what happened to you."

"Omaasan....."

"Please....."

"I......he... it....oh omaasan."

And that did it. Hot tears burst from my eyes as omaasan grabbed me around the shoulders and hugged me close to he chest. No words came out as the sobs came endlessly into her shoulders and the ones that did were incomprehensibly chopped up drabble.

"Just let it out dear, I'm here for you."

She must have understood because she didn't force the words out of me like I thought she would've. All she did was hold me in her arms like a mother would have and rocked back and forth rubbing firm but gentle circles on my back. I couldn't help but cling onto her tightly. It felt so....right to be held like this and I wanted to keep this feeling for as long as possible. I was safe. And warm. And content.

The flow of sobs and tears finally lessoned and I was finally able to speak again although my voice was muffled by her sweater in my face. I still needed that though.

"I-it was a bully."

"A bully?"

"Yes."

"Are you ready to tell me what happened now?"

"Yeah. I was just walking home when this guy came up to me and started to cause trouble. I tried to avoid it as much as I could but he said some things I didn't even understand. After that, he became really angry with me for some reason and began to beat me up really hard. I eventually blacked out and when I woke up, I found all these sores on my body and came home. I was really tired after that and took a nap, then, then I woke up and, and saw......you here."

"My poor chibi no tenshi. Are you alright? Do you need a doctor?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"We'll see what we can do about this later but right now I want you to be careful and stay away from him as much as possible alright?"

"I will, for sure, but please don't tell sofu."

"Well....."

"I don't want him to worry too much about this."

"Okay then but if anything else like this happens I will tell him."

"Okay."

"Tell me, what could you have possibly said to that person to enrage him so?"

"I uh, I don't know something about 'abazureon'na' and 'shiseiji' and 'baka' but I didn't really....."

"You what?!"

She quickly pulled away from me and placed her hands firmly on my shoulders holding me right in front of her face. Her look changed from compassion to shock in a snap of a finger as well as her tone. What could those simple words possibly mean?

"Yeah, but....."

"But nothing, that was rude and uncalled for. Where did you learn language like that?"

"Huh?"

"You know you shouldn't be saying those things to people."

"Say what things?"

"We don't use that kind of profanity in this house or anywhere else, understand?"

"But I don't even know what......."

"Perhaps you need to spend a little bit of time in your room. You may come out when called for."

"No, wait."

"Either that or put some soap in your mouth."

And with that, omaasan stands up, takes my clothes with her and.......

"But I don't........!!!!"

Slam

".......understand."

Is out the door. There goes my only source of comfort, out the door like everyone else with little regard for what I have to say but only what they think I said. Predictable, as usual but this time, more disappointing and painful than ever. I really thought she cared, enough at least to let me squeak in one little tiny word in before she stormed off in a huff.

As for me, I just sat there in a blinking shock. My poor chibi no tenshi.

Okay so that was it. Just to clue in on what happened. Most of the injuries can be covered up by clothing and they're starting to heal anyways so I don't need to worry about a full body suit or anything of that sort. These purple-green-blue finger marks are going to take a long time to heal, if they do at all. As for now....

...I'll just sleep it off. The worries can worry about themselves when I wake up.

End Entry


abazureon'na = bitch (for females but I just put that in)

shiseiji = bastard

baka = idiot/stupid

A/N: Sorry about the tenses, and the language by the "bully" I'm aware they don't speak that way in Japan.

Replies:

TCGgirl124: Glad you like it. Weird no? Yeah, I guess the problem with the asterisks happen with everyone because mine doesn't show up when I want them to either. It probably has something to do with the quick edit section newly installed by ff.net. It's a small setback but the feature is still very helpful. Thanks for the review.

Fushicho Hime: Thanks for liking this. But yeah, hehe now he's in worst a shape than he was before. I like to make this weird because many of the other ff.net stories follow their own styles and I'm just making up one of my own. And also, some of them have pretty much repetitive themes so I just want to get off the main road. Thanks for the review.

Dark Magician Girl / Hikaru: Yeah, he's weird. But then again, he's a confused and sad little boy who was just moved halfway around the world. I admit, the last chapter was confusing but I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible. Thanks you for the review.

Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan: Glad it helps but it doesn't really mean that I'll actually be naming everyone he meets just to make it easier for me to twist around with. Meh, this is supposed to be serious but sometimes a bit of humour gets dropped in that I just can't help but add. It's just him. Anyways, thanks for the review.

Yugi and Mai: Sorry bout that, anyways, the point is that this has very tiny bits of AU in it which means that Yugi COULD be from another country like the other two. This is to keep the options open for all three of them. And no, I don't watch Nickelodeon but I've heard of it. Why do you ask? So the movie thing is true? That's good news. Thanks for the review.

inuyasha0001: /breathing out sigh of relief/ well I found out that Inuyasha is still on the air but it's on in the dead of night when I'm too tired to stay up and wait for. Something like 1 or 2 in the morning. But the shows are still repeats, which still sucks. Thanks for the review.

verdragon: Hey, glad you like it. I'm trying to make my stories different in different styles just to avoid copying other people and their stories. The AUness is basically making it easier for me to keep this person in the dark because certain things only happen to each of the hikaris separately. Thanks for the review.

Amber Eyes: Glad you like it. You're actually one of the few people who gave a definite guess. Others are changing their minds a lot which I guess is a good sign for me since I don't exactly want anyone to get it right away. Thanks for the review!