Youth of the Nation
By: Neko-chan
A/N: Yay! It's November 15th! *cheers and starts dancing around, handing out cake and presents to everyone in sight* ^_________^ *confetti* *confetti* *confetti*
Bakura: What's gotten into you?
Yami: Yeah, we've never seen you so excited before.
Well, duh. Today's my birthday, you bakas! *confetti* *confetti* Anyway, as MY birthday present to all of YOU, here's chapter eight! It's the "special" chapter, 'cause 1) IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! And 2) More (somewhat) kawaii-ness, cuteness, and fluffy-ness. Finally, 3) This will probably be the longest chapter so far, you get to read more school day fun, AND this chapter will make fun of Bakura all the way through!
Bakura: NANI?! Why the hell am _I_ being picked on for?! What about HIM?! *points accusingly to Yami Yuugi and glares*
Well...I can't. At least, not really. All you'd do is send me to the Shadow Realm. Yami could send me to the Shadow Realm, Mind Crush me, make me listen to Teá and Relena Darlian/Peacecraft---from Gundam Wing---rant about peace and friendship (Japanese Anzu is nice and cool, English dubbed Teá is NOT...and Relena is just plain annoying...), or lots of other things. He's more of a threat than you are, Baka-chan. *coughs* I mean, Baku-chan. ^_^
Bakura: *glares*
Disclaimer: I own Yu-Gi-Oh!!!! I really and truly do! *cackles manically* BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! I finally got my grubby little mitts on it. *men in white coats come and start dragging Neko-chan away* NANI?! IIIIIIIIIEEEEE!!! Let go of me, you bakas! Don't you realize that this is the great and wonderful owner of Yu-Gi-Oh! that you're dragging away?! Unhand me at once, you dolts! IIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!!!
WARNING: This story will and does contain YAOI and SHOUNEN-AI material. If you do not like to read yaoi or shounen-ai, then please leave. You have been warned. ^_^ This story's main pairing is Yami/Yuugi, though Bakura/Ryou is going to be a main pairing as well. What other pairings do I have in store? Just wait and see... ^_^
~*~Prelude: Candy Apple Red~*~
Yuugi sighed. The sun had fully risen about an hour ago and he knew that it was almost time to get dressed and ready for school. If they didn't start soon, then they would most definitely be late to their classes. And by the way that Bakura and Yami were going, they could _not_ afford to miss _any_ class time.
And so Yuugi flipped over onto his side with yet another sigh, finally facing his yami. The young Pharaoh had soon fallen into a dreamless slumber after the sun had fully arisen. He hardly moved at all. He frowned in his sleep and pushed his head away, baring his neck, as if trying to avoid some unseen danger. It was then that Yuugi noticed a large red mark on Yami's neck. He had never seen skin that red before. The only description that came to mind was 'candy apple red.'
He knew that he had slept with his face burrowed in Yami's neck. The temptation had been too great and he couldn't resist. But where had that red mark come from? In fact, it was in the same spot where his mouth had been. And it almost looked like a... Well, like a hickey.
'Oh. My. Kami.' Yuugi thought in horror as he looked closer at the red bruise. It _was_ a hickey!!! Yami hadn't left at _all_ last night---Yuugi would have heard it if he had. So the only person that could have given him that hickey was Yuugi himself. Staring wide-eyed at the hickey, the only thought that came to him was a _very_ un-Yuugi-like thought. 'Shit.'
Yami's eyelids fluttered and he opened his eyes slowly, sleep-bleary eyes looking down at his hikari with lazy content. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked with a yawn, tucking the smaller boy more firmly against him. It was then that Yami noticed Yuugi's shell-shocked eyes. Yami instantly became alert, his gaze sharp as he stared into Yuugi's violet eyes. "Aibou? What's wrong, Yuugi?"
The smaller boy blinked and shook his head, resting against Yami's chest for a moment to gather his thoughts. Finally, he answered. "Nothing is wrong, Yami. I just realized something. It shocked and scared me for a moment, but I'm better now. Don't worry about me, Yami. I'm perfectly fine." He frowned into his yami's chest. 'Like hell I'm fine. If Yami finds out about the hickey, then I'm dead for sure. I don't even know how it happened!!! Did I do it in my sleep??'
"Hey, Yami?" Yuugi began tentatively. Yami blinked and looked down at his hikari, giving Yuugi his full attention. He raised the 'Dignified Eyebrow' when it looked as if Yuugi wasn't going to continue. "Well, Yami, doesn't it look a bit chilly outside? I think that you should wear a turtleneck to school today. You can wear the black one and I'll wear the dark blue one, alright?"
The 'Dignified Eyebrow' rose higher, almost disappearing into Yami's hairline. "Yuugi," he began slowly. "You and I both know that the weatherman said that the lowest temperature today AND tonight was going to be 70 degrees. That's a little bit cold, but not cold enough for a turtleneck. A jacket, yes. A turtleneck, no. Silly aibou."
Yuugi's response to that? 'I am SO dead.'
Chapter Eight
Have you ever had one of THOSE days? You know, the type of day that starts out fine but quickly goes downhill? Yup, I'm talking about one of THOSE types of days. Those types of days just never seem to end, now do they? They always start out dreary, boring, dull, and excruciatingly slow. And they only seem to become slower as the day wears on. Of _course_ you know about THOSE types of days because you must have had one of THOSE days.
Bakura was having one of THOSE days. He had woken up hungry, found out that there were no more breakfast foods in the house, refused to eat a banana (it was the only thing left for him to eat), took a cold shower because the hot water heater was broken (the repair man was "coming that afternoon;" knowing repairmen, however, we all know that he's actually coming next week, ne?), AND...he had forgotten to grab a towel before he had gotten into the shower.
"Damn it," Bakura growled as he stuck his head out of the shower cubicle, hair dripping and plastered to his back and shoulders. "AIBOU!!! GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR AND GET ME A TOWEL!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "AND NOT SOME PATHETIC LITTLE TOWEL, EITHER. I WANT A NICE, BIG, FLUFFY ONE! GOT IT?!"
Ryou, who was at the dining room table eating his Apple Jacks and finishing his Calculus homework (Bakura hadn't even looked at his, let alone start it...), rolled his eyes and stayed where he was. He knew that it would make Bakura angry and he would be regretting it later, but Ryou was in a daredevil mood. He just didn't care.
He knew when Bakura realized that Ryou wasn't moving from his spot when another scream came from upstairs. "RYOU!!! GET ME MY DAMN TOWEL! NOW!!!!"
Ryou didn't move.
He knew that he was in trouble when a thud of feet came down the upstairs staircase, making their way down...and to _him_. Bakura paused in the doorway, looking at his hikari with a exasperated expression on his face. He was glad that Ryou was starting to stand up to people---he just didn't want Ryou to stand up to HIM.
His exasperated look quickly changed to one of annoyance and he made his way across the room, finally stopping in front of Bakura---wet, dripping, and naked.
Ryou tried his hardest to ignore his yami; but, in the end, he still couldn't resist the attraction that he felt pulling him ever so closer to Bakura. He raised an eyebrow, trying to look cool and collected, when he looked Bakura over from the tips of his toes to the top of his head.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Ryou asked, "Yes, Bakura?"
Bakura glared. "Didn't you hear me yelling at you, Ryou?! I didn't have a towel!!"
'And that's a bad thing...how?' Ryou thought to himself as he swallowed another lump in his throat. He blinked innocently and gave Bakura wide eyes. "Why, no, yami. I didn't hear you yell at me to get you a towel. Maybe you should try and be louder, Bakura."
Bakura raised an eyebrow and smirked, his slightly pointed canines evident and showing dangerously. 'Huh. Ryou's becoming a sneaky little bakayaro. I feel so proud.' The raised eyebrow lowered itself and his smirk deepened. "Alright, Ryou. I'll be sure to be louder next time," he said softly, looking his aibou up and down.
Ryou just continued to give him innocent eyes. Growling to himself under his breath, Bakura spun on his heel and started to leave the room, in search of the towel that he wanted. Before he left, Ryou called: "Bakura?" The darker spirit paused and looked over his shoulder. "Next time, you have to be REALLY loud because it's hard to hear you over the water. If you aren't loud, then I can't come and help you."
Bakura barked out a laugh and left the room, recognizing the jibe for what it was. But he didn't retaliate. Why should he? Ryou was only starting to do what Bakura had wanted him to do all along---and that was grow a backbone. Too bad that he was growing a backbone with his _yami._ But Ryou would soon regret _that._
Bakura smiled ferally.
Once again, it was homeroom class and everyone was waiting for the first bell to ring. People and friends were chatting amiably, others were rushing to get their homework done, and others were just sitting quietly, dueling with friends or reading a book. Yami and Bakura were sitting quietly---but they were NOT happy.
Ryou and Yuugi were sitting together, going over and double-checking last night's homework. Yami didn't join them because he didn't care whether he had done the problems right or not. He was only in school for Yuugi's sake. And that was all.
Bakura... Well, Bakura wasn't going over his homework with his aibou and his aibou's best friend because he, like Yami, didn't care what he got on his homework. And... And because he didn't actually _do_ any of his homework.
So that left a very bored Yami and Bakura.
Every so often the two would glance at each other, see who could shoot the dirtiest glare, and then mutter curses and insults in ancient Egyptian. Anyone who was listening to them would think that they were speaking gibberish. Finally, when Yami grew tired of his 'glaring contest' with Bakura, he would give a dignified little sniff and turn his attention to their last night's readings of Beowulf---which they had a test on within the next several periods.
Now that left Bakura with nothing to do. At least with his little glaring contest, he had to come up with more creative insults than Yami could. Now... Well, there was nothing to do. He wouldn't be caught _dead_ doing his homework and there was no one to (legally) terrorize. And, to top it all off, there weren't any Bunsen Burners in this classroom. There was nothing fun for him to do.
Turning his attention to his fellow students, Bakura watched as several of them took pieces of paper, rolled them into tiny little balls, put them in their mouths, and spit the balls at their friends or other students. And the students would either laugh, get angry, or launch some of those balls of their own. It looked interesting.
It looked...fun.
Smiling slightly, Bakura looked down at his own pieces of paper then stole a glance at the one person he despised above all others. And luckily that one person didn't seem to notice what he had in plan.
Carefully ripping a small corner to the paper away, Bakura tuck it in his mouth when no one else was looking. Making sure the piece of paper was VERY wet, he smiled evilly to himself and spit for all he was worth, launching it over in Yami Yuugi's general direction.
Blinking owlishly, Yami wiped away the wet thing that was sticking to his cheek. He blinked again. Was that a...? A snort caught his attention. A snicker, a cackle, and---a full-blown laugh.
"BAKURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
"Sit. Now. And don't ever move from that spot."
Bakura blinked at the elderly woman, looked at the stool she was pointing to, and raised an eyebrow. "Nani?" he asked, trying to be as polite as possible. The key was to NOT lose his temper. If he lost his temper, he would most definitely be kicked out of the school and never be able to protect Ryou so thoroughly except after school hours. And that would _not_ do.
"You heard me, young man. I want you to sit on that stool, right this very minute, and not _move_ from that stool EVER. Even if there is an emergency it would still be debatable on whether or not you should move."
"And why would that be?" Bakura asked slowly--- 'Must remember...keep my temper. Above all else, I have to keep my temper. Ryou will suffer the consequences if I don't. I have to.' He smiled nicely (and sanely, he hoped) at the old bat---or would she be a buzzard? She certainly looked like either. Could she be a bat-buzzard?
"You heard me, young man. You nearly destroyed my lab yesterday AND also endangered the lives of many of your classmates. As far as I'm concerned, YOU get to stay right HERE and do NOT MOVE until the very last second of the very last period of the very last day of the very last year. Understand?"
Bakura gritted his teeth---he could just hear them grind against each other. 'Calm... Must be calm. Must be calm for...Ryou's sake...' A tight smile. "Of course...ma'am."
Yami snickered and went over to his own station, randomly playing with the chemicals located there, making sure that Bakura could see that HE was able to play with the Bunsen Burners, yet BAKURA was NOT. And, of course, Bakura _did_ notice this little fact. He growled, partly to himself, and partly at Yami Yuugi and the Chemistry teacher. Both ignored him.
That is, until Yami poured in cyanide into the beaker, which was already intensely hot from the Bunsen Burner. 'What is that...smell?' Yami asked himself, sniffing the air and blinking in puzzlement.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
And the world erupted in flames.
"Yami?" Yuugi asked softly as the foursome walked down the hallway to their next period class. All four (not to mention the rest of the students that had been in the Chemistry classroom) were black, covered from head to toe in soot and ash. It was _not_ a pretty sight.
"Hai, aibou?" Yami replied brightly. Even though his leather was ruined (it didn't matter, anyway; he always had more), it was worth it. It wasn't until then that he realized WHY exactly Bakura liked playing with the Bunsen Burners. Too bad that he and Bakura were banished to the front office for their Chemistry period.
"Remind me to never EVER let you and Bakura near anything potentially dangerous ever again."
Yami blinked, looked over at Bakura, and shared a dark smirk with the spirit of the Sennen Ring. They didn't agree on many things, but they did often agree on _some_ things. And some of those things included: Chemistry (just the Bunsen Burners and chemical parts, anyway), American football, American ice hockey, and their aibous.
World Literature went by without TOO much trouble. There was the usual grumblings from Yami and Bakura for having to read something that was not only English, but OLD English as well. Needless to say, they failed the test with flying colors. (It didn't really help with the fact that they tried to copy off one another.)
Gym... Well, Gym was certainly an _interesting_ experience. After yesterday, everyone wanted at least one of the yamis on their team. Team One ended having both Yami and Bakura, but Team Two got stuck with Yuugi and Ryou. Once again, Yami and Bakura ended up being the running back and the quarter backs for their team.
"Okay, teams! Ready...set...GO!!!" Coach yelled at the top of his lungs, blowing the whistle as loud as he could. Both teams roared in response and surged forward, slamming into one another as hard as they were able to. And, just as suddenly, both teams stopped and blinked, looking around themselves with puzzled expressions. Where was the football?
Finally, the captain of Team One noticed that the football _wasn't_ on the field and was instead wrapped firmly in Yami's arms. "YAMI! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO THROW THE BALL TO BAKURA SO WE CAN GO AND GET IT AND KICK THE OTHER TEAM'S ASS!!!"
Yami frowned while Bakura sneered, muttering, "Stupid, stupid mortals..." under his breath.
Yami's frown darkened. "But..." he began. "Bakura and I do not want to play if our aibous are on the other team. We don't want them to get hurt. So no one plays until Bakura and I are assured that Yuugi and Ryou will come to no harm."
Neither team would agree on a course of action. So each team spent the rest of the class period yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. Well, that is until Bakura finally lost his temper and punched Team Two's captain in the face, knocking him unconscious. The rest of the class period after _that_ was spent in an all-out boxing and punching match. (Can you guess which team won?)
Amazingly, the rest of the day passed by without further mishap. Lunch went by quickly, Yuugi and Yami sharing the same lunch once again. Ryou had 'accidentally' forgotten to pack Bakura a lunch, so the spirit of the Sennen Ring snuck bits and pieces of Yuugi and Ryou's lunches when they weren't paying attention.
In Calculus, the two yamis failed yet another test (even though Yami actually STUDIED for this one...). No matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't see how a person could possibly combine math and literature and actually make it WORK. And, of course, there was that whole 'zero' and 'infinity' thing. (What WERE they, anyway?!)
Speech was easy for Yami---after all, as a Pharaoh, he regularly made speeches. Bakura spent half the time muttering under his breath, shooting dirty looks at the teacher, injecting curse words randomly into this speech, and raising his voice to the volume that the teacher wanted...and then trailed off to once again mutter under his breath.
Ancient History was the easiest for the two yamis. After all, they grew up in the ancient world and knew it like the back of their hands. But the teacher (and the book, for that matter) made so many mistakes that they couldn't help but interrupt and correct him...repeatedly. Over and over and over again. After interrupting Mitske-sensei for the fiftieth time, the teacher finally lost his patience with the two boys and sent them out of the room. (This was about the fifth time that it had happened in one day.)
And so they spent the rest of the day in the principal's office. Yami didn't mind because they only had period eight to finish and that was the one that he disliked even more than Calculus. It was...drama.
It wouldn't have been so bad if YAMI had been chosen as the Pharaoh. (As it was his natural right.) But...nooooo. Instead, a certain Tomb Robber no Baka was picked to be the Pharaoh. It was beyond humiliating! It was a disgrace! The worst part of it was...there was no way he could get out of it. He had tried to talk to Yuugi about it, but all his aibou did was smile broadly at him and tell him to just try and enjoy it. It was, after all, a whole new experience for him. He had a chance to be a Tomb Robber! Wasn't he happy?
To answer it bluntly: Hell, no. He was NOT happy.
And so the rest of the day passed slowly on by, Bakura and Yami sitting at opposite sides of the room, glaring at each other and muttering Egyptian curses at each other under their breaths. But ANYTHING would have been better than going to drama. Yes, even this. At least this way he still had his pride and honor intact.
"Stupid Tomb Robber."
"Dumber than a jackass Pharaoh."
"Parasite."
"Cossetted brat."
"Street urchin."
"Boot licker."
"Boot MAKER. Or, shouldn't it be---Boot thief?"
"Spoiled brat."
"Thief. Tomb desecrater. Low life! RAT!"
"Tyrant. Slave-whipper. Unimaginative coward! COCKAROACH!"
"BAKAYARO!"
"BAKAYARO NO _BAKA_!"
"Why, you little---"
At that time, a throat was cleared and Yami and Bakura looked up from their intense insult-throwing and glaring contest. And blushed just as suddenly. Yuugi and Ryou, who were in the doorway, laughed and shared a glance.
"We've come to pick you up to take you home," Yuugi told the two yamis, smiling broadly at how their faces reddened at being caught in the middle of their fight. And, to top it off, their hikaris had come to pick them up as if...as if... Well, as if they were no more than misbehaving children. At this thought, their faces reddened further.
"I'm ready to go home, aibou," Yami murmured quietly, standing up and walking as quickly out of the room as he was able to. Bakura followed suit without a word.
When Yuugi was sure that Yami and Bakura were out of hearing range, he turned to his friend with a huge grin. "Did you get it all on tape?" he asked wickedly.
"Are you kidding? Of course I did! I've been bringing a video camera to school every day ever since Bakura came. He hasn't _DONE_ anything yet, but that's because we've had finals the past two weeks and no real class time. So he hasn't had the _chance_ to do anything...until today and yesterday."
"I wonder what the yamis would do if they found out?" Yuugi mused aloud. Then, just as suddenly, he turned to Ryou with a positively evil expression on his face. "So. Blackmail, posting it on the internet, or both?"
There was a reason why a hikari shouldn't be around his yami for very long. Why?, you ask. Well, because of Ryou's answer. "Both," he told his friend. The two giggled a bit, but started in surprise when Bakura's scream of rage echoed down the hallway. "I guess he and Yami are at it again," Ryou said with a sigh.
With that, Ryou and Yuugi trottted down the hallway, terrified to see what they would find when they came to its end. Blood, gore, mangled bodies---they were expecting this and more. What they WEREN'T expecting was...
Chocolate pudding???
A/N: Yup! It's done! It's done! And it's so...LONG. Anyway, I know that I was supposed to post this on my birthday...BUT I had to work all weekend long. My stupid work didn't give me the weekend off! *kicks work* I hope you did like the story, though! In a couple of chapters, I'll finally be able to do my dance scene! *dances in happiness*
And... Takeru Yoshizuki drew me a picture for my birthday!! *TACKLE GLOMPS TAKERU* It is BEYOND kawaii and I love it to bits! *squeals happily* Go and see! Go and see! Go and see! *points to picture's address* Go and SEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Ultimate Kawaiiness: http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/yami_pheonix/niko.png
Also, many thanks to Yo Xi Wang with wishing me a happy birthday! *tackle glomps* Thank you so much! *_* And, once again, I'm sorry that I'm late with this chapter! But...if you take my bribe, you'll be seeing a new chapter every other day! *raises eyebrow and smiles all innocently* Ne? Ne? Ne???
Thank-yous:
Takeru Yoshizuki, Yo Xi Wang, loanshark, Asian Angel 12, violettegal345, Little Kaori solo Yuy-Maxwell, HikariChang, Neko Oni, Wanita, lily22, Tranquility Moon, Sage of Zelda 64, Promise, Rez, Demonic Angel, Tohru, and Itoshii-chan.
Translations:
bakayaro: bastard (And so: bakayaro no baka---stupid bastard)
