Ok, people who want me to write longer chapters, I'm sorry! I can't do it! Well, actually, you have a choice: either I update less frequently, but with longer chapters, or I update every couple of days with a short chapter. Which would you prefer? By the way, I'm dropping songfic format (just cuz the plot's developing away from the song now). I think Ryou and Bakura will be together in the end, just they might…experiment…with other people. I'm not sure – this story really writes itself, so I don't know how it'll end up.
… is Ryou talking through the mindlink.
{…} is Bakura talking through the mindlink.
Italics are regular thoughts (if they show up; I'm not sure if they will, I might be saving this in the wrong format)
I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! (But I wish I did)
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"The inverse of this function, when multiplied by the original function, results in…" Ryou yawned, barely listening as his math teacher droned on. It had been almost two weeks since his attempted suicide. There had been the usual buzz of rumors when he came back to school, but he kept his head down and people soon lost interest. He didn't really care anyway; nothing mattered, so long as Bakura cared about him. He smiled and called to Bakura through their mindlink.
Bakura? A reply came swiftly. {Yes, little one?} Ryou grinned; even though it was silly, hearing Bakura call him "little one" always made him feel warm, loved. Nothing. He could sense Bakura's amusement and faint irritation, but he couldn't help it. Ever since he had gotten out of the hospital, he had been doing this, just to reassure himself that his yami was still there. {Of course I'm still here, little one. Now pay attention; the teacher's asking you something.} Ryou snapped back to attention.
"Multiply that by 3.5, and what do you get, Ryou?" His teacher, a tall, severe woman, looked at him expectantly.
"Um…could you repeat that?" Ryou cringed inwardly as she glared at him, then repeated the problem.
"Take the inverse of f(x) = 3x + 21, then multiply it by 3.5."
Ryou thought frantically, trying to figure the problem out in his head. Let's see, inverse of f(x) = 3x + 21 would be…er…x-21 over 3, times 3.5…um…
{3.5x over 3, minus 24.5} Ryou brightened, hearing his yami's thought.
"3.5x over 3, minus 24.5" he answered. The teacher nodded and moved on.
Thanks, Bakura. he thought, heaving a sigh of relief. {No problem, hikari. Now pay attention.}
Ryou focused on the teacher, who was now lecturing on properties of inverse functions. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Yugi watching him. Ryou blushed slightly; he had been avoiding his old friends ever since Duelist Kingdom, first because he was unsure of how they would treat him, then because he had been too caught up in Bakura to remember them. Now, Yugi smiled shyly at him and waved slightly with the tips of his fingers, mouthing the words, "Meet me after class." Ryou nodded. I'll have to talk to them sometime, I guess. Might as well get it over with. I should apologize for Bakura's behavior at Duelist Kingdom, anyways. Through the mindlink he shared, he heard a slight growl. Well, you weren't exactly nice to them he chided. There was a miffed silence from the older boy, who chose not to answer.
The bell rang, and everybody started to get up. "Hold on, class. Your assignment tonight will be on page 326, numbers 1 through 85, all." The class groaned, copying down the homework. Ryou picked up his books and shuffled out of the classroom behind the other students. Once in the hallway, he looked around for Yugi; their eyes met, and Yugi rolled his in annoyance – both boys were caught in the crush of students rushing to their next class, unable to break away from the crowd.
"Hey, I'll meet you in the cafeteria, ok?" Yugi called, struggling to make his voice heard over the clamor of students talking and chattering.
"Sure!" Ryou answered, as he was swept away down the hall.
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Further on down the hall, Bakura had gotten out of the main stream of students and was walking at a more leisurely pace now, waiting for his hikari to catch up. {Little one, are you coming to lunch or not?} he thought, impatiently watching the students coming through the double doors towards the cafeteria. I'm coming! Hold on! A few moments later, Ryou came through the door, slightly out of breath and disheveled. His face lit up as he saw Bakura.
"Hey! There are way too many people in this school," he said, falling in beside the older boy. "Is it ok if we eat with Yugi today?"
Bakura grunted. "Whatever." Seeing Ryou's somewhat hurt expression, he added, "Sure, little one. If it makes you happy."
"Great! Let's go, then, there they are!" He grabbed Bakura's hand and dragged the somewhat reluctant teen over to the table where Yugi, Yami, Tea, Tristan, and Joey were sitting. Yugi looked up, smiling.
"Ryou, Bakura, pull up a seat! Good to see you guys!" Unfortunately, Joey and Yami's reactions weren't quite as cordial. Joey stood up fast, face turning a dark red.
"Forget it, Yuug. I'm not sitting with that jerk," he spat, glaring at Bakura. Yami folded his arms and glowered.
"And I refuse to eat with that underhanded tomb robber," he stated, voice cold.
Bakura picked up his tray. "Fine. I'd rather not eat with you fools anyways." He glanced at Ryou. "Have fun, little one. I'll see you after school." He started walking away, towards the courtyard. Ryou jumped out of his seat.
"Bakura! Wait!" He turned to Yugi and blurted, "Sorry, Yugi, I gotta go." Then he grabbed his tray and chased after Bakura. Yugi looked at his friends reproachfully.
"Thanks a lot, guys." With that, he left the cafeteria too.
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Well, that turned out a bit nicer than I planned; guess the angsty stuff will have to wait until later chapters. Sorry, angst fans; but don't worry, somebody will get hurt soon. (Hmm…wonder if I should pull Yugi in on this?) That chapter was a little weird. Review please!