Offershipping (Yugi x Otogi)
(makes a lot of references to Otogi's manga appearance. So if you haven't read the manga and don't understand what's going on, that's why.)
There was a reason Otogi wore eye liner. Jonouchi loved to poke fun at him for it – and he was only the first in a long line of people. But there was a reason for it.
Otogi couldn't sleep.
Every night, he lay staring at the dark ceiling, the room barely any lighter than the backs of his eyelids. He tried to relax himself. He really did. But no matter which way he turned, he couldn't even get his eyes to close on their own. He would stumble out of his room in the morning with dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. When he was in middle school, kids would laugh and call him a vampire. He started wearing eyeliner after that. It covered the circles. And being his normally flamboyant self didn't draw too much attention to the addition of eyeliner to his usual ensemble.
It worked to hide the circles. But he would have preferred that they weren't there at all.
Otogi threw his arm over his eyes. Light was beginning to filter through the shutters. It was finally the end of another long night with nothing more than sleep-deprived moments of unconsciousness. Another long night with his father's harsh voice echoing around in his mind, with the smell of smoke as the shop of his memory burned, and the horrible, horrible screams. A shudder ran down his spine. Just thinking of his father made him long to disappear into some other nightmare. His only consolation was that his father was far away, still in the hospital for his burns and mental scarring. Otogi didn't look forward to the day when his father might come home.
"You couldn't avenge me, so you no longer have any reason to live!"
Another shudder shot through Otogi. He rolled over onto his side and shut his eyes. Birdsong was starting to trickle through his closed window. He didn't want to listen to it. The last thing he wanted was morning. He just needed a night where he could sleep.
Tap, tap, tap.
Hm? What was that?
Tap, tap, tap.
Sounded like someone tapping on his door. But who would be here so early in the morning? He rolled over onto his other side to see the clock. 8:30 – okay, maybe it wasn't so early in the morning. Damn, he was missing school.
Tap, tap, tap.
He groaned.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he said.
With some effort, he managed to wrench himself from the bed. He couldn't believe how heavy his steps felt. Maybe he'd call in sick again today. He had already missed most of the first period.
He practically fell against the door.
"Who's there?" he said.
"Otogi-kun? It's Yugi."
Yugi? Why wasn't Yugi at school?
Otogi tried to wipe the sleep deprivation from his face. He was still in his pajamas, and he hadn't fixed his hair yet. The last thing he wanted was a visitor. Still, it was Yugi.
He pulled the door open. Sure enough, Yugi stood on the threshold. Worry wrinkled the shorter boy's brow.
"Hey," Otogi said. "What are you doing here?"
"You were late for school," Yugi said. "I was worried."
"Aren't you missing school right now?"
"You've been missing a lot of school, Otogi-kun. I wondered if something was wrong."
A headache was starting to grow in the back of Otogi's brain.
"I think I just have a cold," he lied.
Yugi frowned. He obviously wasn't convinced.
"I don't think you're having colds every couple of days," he said. "Are you all right?"
No, he definitely wasn't all right. But he didn't need to pile that on Yugi. Yugi always seemed so little and fragile. The last thing this kid needed was for Otogi to cause him any more trouble – he had done that enough with the whole Dungeon Dice Monsters thing.
"Really, I'm okay. You shouldn't be missing school for me," he said.
Yugi gave a great big exasperated sigh, and crossed his arm. Otogi was shocked at the sarcasm that spread across Yugi's voice.
"Oh, sure, I definitely shouldn't worry about my friends," Yugi said. "Right, I should just ignore them. Because that definitely makes everything better."
Otogi stared at him. Who knew Yugi could be such a smart ass? Yugi stared right back. Then his eyes lost their sarcastic edge.
"Otogi, we're friends," he said. "And I want to help you, if I can. At the very least, I can offer to listen to you, if something's wrong."
Otogi couldn't help but continue to stare. Yugi, with his arms still folded and his big, child-like purple eyes looking back at him, suddenly looked a little taller for some reason. He seemed to take up a little more space. And it wasn't the same vibe that Otogi got when Yugi was playing a game either – no, that felt like a different person entirely. This felt like Yugi. But different.
Otogi ran a hand across his face, trying to hide his smile.
"Geez," he said. "What did I do to deserve a friend like you?"
Yugi smiled.
A/N: Yeah...not really sure about that one. Next is Occultshipping (Yami no Bakura x Kotsuzaka/Bonz/Zombie Boy). It'll be a late Halloween special. :)
