Obligatory "I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH" statement! :)

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Next one is not far off, I had a productive day ;)

~Jehbel


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"Alright, alright, settle down please." The teacher's voice echoed feebly across the noisy classroom, barely heard over the chatter and gossip of the students, the clatter and screech of chairs being pulled out and shifted. Ryou sat quietly at his desk, scribbling idly on his notepad, trying and failing to ignore the cheerful merriment of his classmates as they interacted with one another; everyone, except of course, for him.

He had always been alone, ostracized, ignored. He didn't know why, or what he'd done to deserve it, and sometimes he was still struck with the incredulousness of being 'that kid'- there was one in every school, really, but when it became you, when it was no longer an abstract thought but real and happening to you… well, that was a different matter, wasn't it? It was lonely and sad and Ryou hated his schooling life. His one glimmer of hope, his ray of sunshine in the dreary existence of his education, was that he was not actively bullied. Sure, the other kids steered clear of him, and he was always chosen last for group activities and sports, but they did not pick on him. They were friendly, if standoffish. He had never been pranked, or bullied, or physically harmed; instead, he drifted through the school as insubstantially as smoke.

Actually, bullying might be better, he thought. At least then he'd know they could see him, occasionally thought of him, even if it was hateful thoughts.

Ryou sighed softly.

Smack. A ball of paper struck his desk, rolling rapidly to tumble over the edge. Ryou startled slightly, his hand snapping out to catch the missile before it could strike the floor. Straightening, he turned to see a young man with floppy brown hair approaching his desk, grinning widely. "Good catch my man! Do you mind?" He held out a long slender hand.

Ryou bounced the paper gently in his palm before shrugging and tossing it back to the other student, who gave him a lazy salute in thanks before ambling away. Well, that was the most exciting thing to happen to me all day, Ryou thought, resting his chin in his palm and watching as the young man returned to his friends, flicking the ball of paper from one to another with the casual ease and dexterity of youth. He envied them their happiness and surety; for now, in this moment, they were the top dogs, the popular favourites, and their lives would always be untouchable and perfect. Ryou wondered if it was a comforting feeling or if they too experienced the pressure and woes of growing up, if they felt the need to always perform and present to others' expectations.

Finally, the teacher had the classroom under some semblance of control. "Right," she huffed, pushing a sweaty lock of hair from her forehead; Ryou had a feeling she wouldn't last too long, this new teacher- she had all the signs already of somebody who was not cut out for the trying task of controlling children. "Class, our next project will be an oral presentation-" Several less mature students sniggered loudly at this- "and you will be broken into groups of three. I will choose the groups, and no arguments on this!" Several students were already groaning comically, the comedians in the class clutching at each other dramatically and wailing about being inseparable. Ryou didn't really mind; it meant that he would be given a group and not chosen by his peers, so he didn't have to go through the indignity of being chosen last, alongside the girl who always had head lice.

Noise again erupted amongst the class as the teacher reeled off names for the groups, as students high-fived with glee or loudly protested in good humour as they found out their groupmate's names. "Next group, will be… Maya, Ryou and Cole." Ryou looked up as his name was called, across to where Maya sat. She was a very nice girl with long wavy hair in the most unusual mint-green colour, which although odd, was apparently natural. Ryou quite liked Maya; she was always friendly toward him and occasionally smiled or said hello when they passed in the halls. She was one of the few people in his school who seemed to acknowledge him as a person. Ryou gave her a tentative smile, which she sweetly returned, before standing up to gather his belongings. Moving silently through the excitable groups of students, Ryou approached Maya's desk. The girl favoured him with another smile before moving her books and pencils to the side.

"Heya there, group mate!" she gestured for Ryou to put his books down on the edge of her desk in the space she had just made, and the white-haired teen pulled up a chair to sit near her.

"Hello, Maya. How have you been? Did you have a nice weekend?" Ryou blushed slightly at his awkward small talk; he hated that he was so unsure around others.

"Oh yes, I had a lovely weekend! I went to visit my gran, and we did some baking. Oh! Here-" Maya leaned to the side suddenly, plunging a hand into her backpack. Moments later she emerged triumphant, holding a small Tupperware container. "Would you like a cookie? To be honest I'm sick to death of them, I've been eating them all day!" Maya gave a tinkling laugh and peeled back the lid to reveal several fat cookies nestled in the container. A delicious smell wafted out and Ryou gulped a little.

"They smell great, Maya. Are you sure it's ok…?" his hand hovered just outside the box, hesitant to take a cookie.

Maya grinned. "Go right ahead. I have another whole batch at home to get through still."

Ryou smiled in reply. "Don't mind if I do, then. Thank you." Maya merely shrugged a little in response as Ryou removed a cookie and nibbled on the edge. It tasted as good as it smelled. "These are fantastic! Where did your gran get the recip-"

"Now, now, where's my cookie? You getting started on the bribery already? I like the way you think!" the voice interrupted Ryou mid-question and both he and Maya looked up at the newcomer; it was the same boy from earlier who had thrown the paper ball, wandering over with nonchalance. "Heya, it's my paper man!" He gave Ryou a toothy grin and a small wave, before turning to Maya. "Well, as the only girl, you must be Maya. I'm Cole, and, so, process of elimination, you're Ryou, huh?" Ryou flushed a little at Cole's easy manner, jealous of the other teen's innate confidence and cheerfulness. Nodding shyly, Ryou continued to chew on his cookie as Cole pulled up a chair and engaged Maya in conversation. Well, at least he's friendly. And I like Maya, so hopefully this group won't be too bad to work with, he thought to himself, watching as Cole laughed confidently at something Maya had said. He felt a small surge of hope build in his gut. Maybe they'll even become my friends! He thought with faint excitement. Absentmindedly he began to scribble in his notepad again, barely paying attention to what he was drawing as he eavesdropped on his teammates' conversation. He wished he could join in, but wasn't sure exactly how to do so.

Suddenly, the white-haired teen was startled from his reverie by Maya's voice, close to his ear. "Oh! That's an interesting design; what is it?" Following her gaze, Ryou looked down at his notepad where he had been absentmindedly scribbling. He hadn't been paying attention and expected to see some nonsensical scribble sprawled across his page.

Instead, he was staring at an eerily lifelike depiction of the golden ring.

Ryou stared, transfixed, his scalp feeling like someone had poured icy jelly over it, the shiver continuing down his spine. The ring was drawn with perfect proportion, the line work precise and detailed. It almost appeared to jump off the page. The spikes all hung in perfect symmetry, so realistic he wanted to touch them to make sure they weren't actually lying there on his page. The ring was solid and perfect, appearing to gleam with light, the eye in the middle staring directly at the dumbfounded Ryou. Oddly, in the spaces between the ring itself and the triangle section in the middle, Ryou had scribbled multiple eyes glaring out, their fury and hunger evident even in the basic strokes of ink he had used.

The white haired teen could only gape. "I…. I…" the eyes seemed almost alive, their collective gaze sinking into Ryou's mind, stalling his thoughts and pinning him in place. Faintly, he was aware of his ears beginning to ring.

Suddenly, Maya reached across to tug the notepad toward her, breaking the spell it seemed to have thrown over Ryou. "This is very good. What is it? Is this a real thing?" Ryou blinked a few times, bringing himself back to the present. Inexplicably, he had felt a momentary rush of rage as Maya pulled the book away from his gaze.

"Uh, y-yes. It's a necklace my father bought for me, in Egypt. I only got it a couple of days ago." Maya raised her eyebrows with keen interest, running her fingers along the lines of the drawing, tracing them slightly. "The real ring is made of gold."

"Well, you've drawn it very well. Do you wear it?" Her red-brown eyes flicked to Ryou's chest.

Ryou shook his head. "No, I have it hanging on my wall in my room. I… I don't think I'd suit wearing something that nice." He flushed slightly at the embarrassing confession.

Maya flicked a glance at Ryou and smiled faintly. "Well, I think you should wear it. If it's anything like this necklace you've drawn here, I think you'll look really cute wearing it." Her cheeks pinked at this, but she remained gazing at Ryou with a shy smile. "Will you wear it one day, so I can see?" she cocked her head to the side prettily.

Ryou almost stopped breathing, his face shifting from pale white to deep red faster than a stop light. He wasn't sure what to say. Did she just call me cute? He felt utterly ridiculous, but he couldn't speak. Instead, looking down at his book with a flaming face, he merely nodded in reply to Maya's question. Behind her, Cole sniggered slightly.

"Great! I can't wait to see it! Oh… Ryou-" the white haired teen glanced up at Maya, who suddenly wore a slightly concerned expression. In that moment, he realised, she was beautiful.

"… Ryou, your nose is bleeding."