This chapter is dedicated to Natoya, because she is the most epic duck I have ever met.
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five.
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"Would you go to the dance with me?"
Yami was really behind schedule. Two days had passed since he adjusted to the lifestyle with menacing "school" and he'd already memorized all of his textbooks. Despite the fact he was easily able to recite every single one of the lessons, never forgetting them and knowing each with ease as if each were a new card in his deck, it was apparently looked down upon. According to Jonouchi, anyway. Despite the fact all of his teachers were delighted when he was able to answer a question (and he himself was sure being polite and happy was still modern of this age), the blond deeply suggested not.
During gym, on the other hand, his skills tended to flop. Yami was able to jump walls, deal with swords, daggers, glaives, and had an archer's touch. He held a high power of endurance, handling one of his foes with grace and successfully made his enemy cry for mercy.
Well, he used to be.
Back then, he thought with a quiet groan as he placed the fourth band-aid on his skinned knee, frustration bubbling in the pit of his stomach because of it, he could do all of those things. This new body kept tripping and stumbling, and it hurt. Yami had yet to find a sport where he was not injured in one way or another because of his height or lack of physical prowess. Despite how great his tactics were, physics and simple geometry was his enemy if this body lacked muscles. It was like having the mind of an old man in a baby's body.
But at least the band-aids had Pikachus on them. An odd smile fell across his face and he pulled his sleeve up to look at the seven Pikachu bandaids adorning his arm. Aibou was currently going through a phase with Pokemon again, and he'd hoped using the merchandise band-aids would get them in the room together to talk.
After being unable to keep up with his plans for hockey, soccer, basket ball, lacrosse, football, golf, wrestling, high jumping, long jumping, dodgeball, volley ball, Ultimate Frisbee, hurdling, and baseball, it was concluded that the "Sennen kid" had little physical ability and was put on the bench next to Yugi. Who, unfortunately, was his replacement and did ten times better, having been used to the body he'd had for more than seventeen years compared to the one Yami had for less than two weeks.
Fortunately, each coach was astounded by his tactics and methods after spending time analyzing his short-lived teammates, now insisting that he became the new assistant so he could come up with great game plans. His ideas, apparently, were more strategic and advantageous than his light's.
Really though, that didn't mean he still didn't get bruises. He sighed at the fifth paper cut on his pinky finger and wrapped another band-aid over it. Bending it to test its abilities, Yami returned to his tallying. Two days, making a total of eight since he was sent to the mortal realm. Leaning over the counter, his fingers fell over his charmless gold lace. Frustration nipped his self confidence. Unfortunately during those eight days, he had little time to talk to Yugi.
The most that they talked, he thought as his mind drifted to autopilot and restocked the trading cards, would probably be during dinner when Yugi asked him to pass the mashed potatoes. But they were talking, he insisted stubbornly. Scratching his head, the once pharaoh looked at his handiwork, checking thrice just in case he put the girl trading cards in the proper place right next to the boy trading cards. Grandfather Sugoroku said there was no difference, but he was sure there was.
With a triumphant grin, Yami reached for the highest shelf after standing on a stool and pulled down both matching set of Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl with a large smile spread across his face. "Hello Mahado. Hi, Mana."
Neither replied, of course. Not that he minded. His face glowed with delight as he ravished the fact both his friends lived on somewhere in the world. In the back of his mind, he heard the familiar giggle of his best friend and pulled out a soft cloth to wash them. The game shop only had a few in stock because they were so popular with little kids. Proudly noting that fact, he leaned over, careful not to wrinkle the band-aid placed strategically on his forearm and cleaned Mahado's hat.
"How are you guys doing?" he continued. There was a pause, and he slowly removed the glaive from Dark Magician's grip to clean. From the corner of his eye, the appearance of baby blue beautifully sparkled, radiating with an aura only a spirit could cause.
"Pharaoh!"
"Yami," Yami corrected absentmindedly. He picked up the Dark Magician Girl's figurine, taking out her scepter in order to clean as well, and placed it evenly between her fingers. A smile spread across his face, he proceeded with polishing the two round cheeks of her face and noted the resemblance between figurine and the spirit hovering in front of him. The bracelet daintily glowed at his wrist and he thanked the fact he still had control his ba outside of the grasp of the Millennium Puzzle.
Dark Magician Girl's smile gleamed knowingly to the point that it reminded him of Suzuki and Sugoroku's. "Why?"
She asked it so innocently that no one would have ever guessed she was making fun of him. In a sisterly way, at least. He shrugged. Fortunately he knew her a lot better than that, even if the friendship was so long ago that his life back then was still just a foreign idea to him. "Because."
"Because Yugi's the one who came up with that nickname for you, huh?"
The figurine fell from his fingers and he cursed as it clumsily landed on his toe. He picked it up, unable to meet the gaze of his knowing best friend. He closed them, slowly getting up again and calming his psyche before redoing his method of polishing: head to toe. Or in this case, hat to toe. "What's your point?"
Best friends could be annoying. He felt a pang of drowsiness shoot through his mind and bit his lip. Again, he thought with a bit of irritation, this body lacked the endurance of Atemu or even Yami no Yugi, the other Yugi. He would have to be careful during his summoning, unfortunately. Mana placed an intangible hand over his shoulder and genuinely smiled.
"You know we all worship Yugi for all he's done for you, right?"
"It's only natural," Yami quietly insisted. He stopped shining for a moment, gently setting it down for a greatly-needed gulp of water and refused to look her in the eye.
"We know," she gently responded. From the corner of his eye, he watched as a giggle left her lips and she placed herself genuinely near the cash register. "Pharaoh—"
"Yami."
"Master," she retaliated, "we couldn't have asked for a better person to look over you."
"He wasn't the only one looking out for me," Yami drew casually. He tried best to nonchalantly shrug, but felt discomfort scraping his skin. Despite how casual it sounded coming from his mouth, it wasn't how he felt. Yugi was his everything. Plain and simple. "You and Mahado found me as well."
"But we're not the ones who named you Yami." He paused, taking that into consideration. Yami's gaze fell to the glass surface and he contemplated this statement. It was true. He would have felt comfortable with whatever name Mana or Mahado gave him because of how far their bond transcended, but Yugi was special. Pink fluttered across his cheeks as his essence brushed across that thought.
He'd manifested in Yugi for such a long time, labeled as the dark aura residing in the pure light. No name. Yami no Yugi—the Dark Yugi, but that was it. In order to get on a more intimate basis with their new friendship, Yugi had flipped that phrase, adopting the spirit as Yami, one of his friends and his other self. In his mind for the past…ten months and twenty-three days, 'Atemu' was obsolete. Dead. Just like he was. Or, used to be, anyway. Atemu was a time where Yugi didn't exist.
The pink of his skin meekly bloomed into a dark red. His fingers grew limp and he looked up and onward to the window of people going by in front of him. Unfortunately, that feeling wasn't mutual at the moment. Fumbling with the cloth, Yami grumbled something inaudible and released the power he had over Mana. She whispered a mischievous goodbye and vanished without a trace. The only presence of the Dark Magician Girl would have been the action figure in his hand.
He returned to the shelf where he picked up both figurines, reminding himself with a struggle that he only had twenty-three more days left in the mortal world. If Yami couldn't even keep track of Yugi for than two minutes, how in earth was he going to last a whole month? They may have hung out with the same friends, but Yami's conversations always leaned over to Jonouchi.
"Oh, hi Yami."
"Hello." Yami set them carefully in place and craned his neck. His sight was met with the cause of some of his problems (but he'd never rudely admit it) and the flash of a camera. He grunted, taken off guard and fell from the stool he'd been standing on. "Ah!"
"Yami!"
He collapsed to the ground, bottom first and groaned. That would have been another band-aid he would have to place later, wouldn't it? Rubbing his aching bottom with a bit of a pout, Yami collected his feet and frowned at both figurines that fell along with him. Why on earth hadn't anyone invented something to prevent these little devils from falling? He would have to polish them again!
"Are you alright?" Anzu appeared beside him, hand on his shoulder before she examined the rest of him.
"I'm fine." A sigh leaving his lips, he bent over and picked up the figurines before placing them near the cash register. A small smile played across his face and he turned around to the still-concerned teenager. "And how are you?"
"How are you?" She retorted with an eyebrow arched and reluctance teeming from her features. Anzu walked over to him, eyes falling to his nose and examined the Charmander band-aid he placed there. "The baseball hit your nose really hard."
"I miscalculated." Yami shrugged. He rubbed his nose and the caked blood above his lip. "I still caught it."
"You weren't wearing a baseball glove and the ball was going at least sixty-five miles an hour." She arched an eyebrow flatly and a better smile played across his lips. He missed the Anzu who would dote on Yugi for hours on end like a mother hen protecting her nest. Whether she was aware of how she could be or not, he knew she'd make a great mother one day.
Yami curled the hand he'd caught the ball in. He had caught it gracefully, but the impact had been great enough to cause the back of his hand to ram into his nose and have some bad results. It softly ached, but after putting ice on it for two hours, it only pained him when he stretched it. A frown played across his lips. How on earth was he supposed to play duel monsters if his hand was like this?
"The coach sent you home early. You were barely conscious." Anzu played both hands on her hips.
"What are you doing here?" Yami thought it best to change the subject and clean both figurines again.
"I'm here for Yugi—shouldn't you take a bath?" The discomfort could easily be identified in her voice. She whipped out a small cloth and began wiping away the blood from the once spirit's upper lip. "That's unhygienic."
"But…" Yami shifted, eyes falling to his band-aids. He shook his head. "I don't want them to fall off during a shower."
"You can put new ones on after you shower," Anzu insisted. She softly laughed and shook her head. "Yami, please? You know how uncomfortable Yugi can be with dirt."
If he wasn't the one playing in it. That being said, Yami slowly nodded in agreement, but was troubled. He'd used up two and a half boxes of band-aids as it was, and he doubted Yugi had the patience to let him use the rest. Then again, it wasn't his fault school was more dangerous than defeating an insane man at Duelist Kingdom.
"Oh, Anzu! There you…are…"
"Aibou." Yami turned around eagerly as he heard the other teenager speak. He perked happily, handkerchief aside and found himself horribly caught off guard. His mouth parted, taking in the sight of his light then closed, speechless.
"Oh, Yugi!" She gasped with delight, tearing away from mothering the once pharaoh and appeared in front of her boyfriend. "You look great!"
Yugi snapped out of his stupor and broke into a smile reserved only for his friends. Yami pulled out of his own daze, scrutinizing every possible part of Yugi, and found his cheeks glowing. He mentally slapped himself, reminded that he couldn't get so swept off his feet by this one boy.
He wore a tuxedo. Even Yami knew that was the formal wear of the modern day, and he wasn't one to complain. The blazer fit snugly across the petite teenager's chest. His pants were long and slimming (and anyone would have thanked the Gods that night that when Yugi grew, so did those pretty legs), ending as shiny shoes adorned his feet, and he struggled with the small bow under his collar. Sugoroku and Suzuki appeared near the banister just as Yugi made his way down to his girlfriend.
Anzu genuinely grinned, helping the bashful teenager with the bow before turning her gaze to both grandfather and mother. "He looks great."
"You're the one who picked out the tux…" Yugi blushed shyly, intertwining a hand with Anzu's and gestured to the camera. "Did you take a picture of the dress you wanted?"
"You and I are going out, remember? All of us are. Jonouchi and Honda will be here in a bit." Anzu comfortably rested her head into Yugi's hair, smile gracing her lips. Yami shifted uncomfortably at his position near the cash register, suddenly reminded of the fact Yugi was already taken.
"Why is aibou all dressed up?" Yami asked curiously.
All eyes turned to him, surprised and having had forgotten he was there. Anzu was the one to speak. She looked over to Yugi, confusion spread across her demeanor. "You didn't tell him?"
Yugi shrugged, smile suddenly fading. He looked to the ground, uninterested and nonchalant. "He's been asked out by just about every girl in the school. I figured that would be hint enough for him."
Every girl in school had been asking him to tutor them. Scratching his head, Yami thought best to feign his stupidity by polishing the figurines again and shrugged. It'd gotten so tiring that Jonouchi told him he could say no. He hadn't wanted to because they were nice and always telling him how sweet and handsome he was, but the other clearly stated that he was going to end up a slave to estrogen if he didn't refuse them.
Estrogen: any of several major female sex hormones produced primarily by the ovarian follicles of female mammals, capable of inducing estrus, developing and maintaining secondary female sex characteristics, and preparing the uterus for the reception of a fertilized egg: used, esp. in synthetic form, as a component of oral contraceptives, in certain cancer treatments, and in other therapies. Courtesy of the dictionary.
Yami paused, wondering how on earth someone could be slave to a female hormone, but had given up understanding everything everyone told him a long time ago. His fingers picked at the small book he bought on his way home from the infirmary. His Slang Book. Unless he understood teenagers and all of their hormones altogether, Yami was a lost cause who clearly needed to understand his surroundings.
"Yami," Suzuki said nicely. "There's a dance coming up at the school. The Prom, you see. It's a really big deal, and you should go."
"He'll have to find an escort now though. The dance is in two days and you'll need to hurry to get tickets." Anzu smiled and wrapped an arm happily around her beau.
"It's Atemu." Yugi's gaze lingered over Yami for quite a while. The pharaoh's innards tingled with glee. "He's got every guy jealous with how many girls come up to him."
"A lot of girls do seem to like me." Yami shrugged nonchalantly. "They think I'm really sweet and tell me how good-looking and funny I am even though I don't even say anything to them." But since the number of girls who asked him for help in every subject known to mankind averaged to about twenty-five girls a day so far, he was beginning to worry about the intelligence of each of the opposite sex. Anzu must have made really good scores, if most of the other girls had no idea what they were doing.
"Not all of the girls," Yugi said tensely. Yami watched from the corner of his eye as the quiet gesture of Yugi squeezing Anzu's hand protectively. He smiled gently and shrugged.
"Not all."
Grandpa returned this knowing glance, the same one held by Yami's best friend and Yugi's mother. "How do you think they look together, Yami?"
How did they look? Yami's eyes drifted back to the little boy who was considered his lookalike. Sweet, sugary violet-magenta eyes. Beautiful, milky skin and honey-fervent bangs that framed his face. Oreo crumbled hair messed in dangerous streaks. There was a word for it, something Jonouchi insisted on him saying to modernize him rather than just gorgeous or stunning. The equivalent to captivating. "Drop-dead sexy."
An air of silence quickly passed through them. Yami snapped out of his daze yet again, looking between all of them. Anzu placed a hand over her mouth, cheeks darkening to pink and Yugi squeezing her hand tightly. Grandpa and Suzuki remained unfazed, and he looked to all of them, confused.
"Yami," Sugoroku said casually. "You should really go with someone you know really well."
"The only other girl I really know well is Shizuka." Yami scratched his elbow, careful to find a spot that was not covered by a bandaid and shook his head. Honda and Otogi were still fighting over who could have her. "I will buy a tuxedo, though." Now that he knew what the girls were constantly asking him (he was vaguely aware of a student from his class coming up to him not too long ago and asking something about a dance), he supposed they would finally shut up if he said yes.
"Yami," Suzuki said in a tone that generally was not directed at Yami himself, but he knew Yugi to often recieve, "I don't want you going with any random girl. It's not fair to them, or you."
"But…" His eyes lay delicately on the gold bracelet on his wrist. How could he go enjoy something with someone he would have retrieved the moon for if that very person was already smitten with someone else? "The only other girl I know is Anzu."
"Anzu is going with me."
"Clearly," he bit back, and recoiled. Yugi's eyes widened, interest taken in the tone Yami had just used on him, but the once spirit refused to look him in the eye. Yami pressed a hand to his head, mumbling a quick apology and they were in another quick silence. Yugi muttered something about going to change and had the luxury of leaving. He softly yawned, eyes squeezing shut and forced himself awake. He'd summoned Dark Magician Girl too long; he would need to sleep soon.
"Yami?"
"Yes?" Yami politely looked up, eyes landing on the girl who'd taken his aibou's heart.
"Are you in love with me?"
"No, I'm not." He blinked, taking in the question again and looked at her curiously. Nervousness fluttered away from her features, replaced with something else, more analytical. Forcing a gentle smile, Yami paused for a moment, leaning over the counter to press a hand on her shoulder. The golden lace shined beautifully around his wrist and he quietly demanded that it kept its mouth shut. "I'm happy for you, you know."
Anzu only stared at him. Finally, she bit her lip, softly putting her hand over his and shaking her head. "Yami, I'm really not so—"
"Just tell me one thing," he interrupted, voice sounding chill and brusque. Glancing back to the banister where Sugoroku and Suzuki had vanished up the stairs, Yami looked back at her, suspicion grazing his features. "You certainly are not dating Yugi because of me right?"
"Of course not!" There was no hesitation in her voice. Instead, she was obviously offended, eyes lighting up and anger boiling because of that one simple notion. "Yugi means the world to me, he—"
"I know." Yugi was the one who taught him compassion and patience, after all. Putting a hand on his nose, Yami only smiled again, rubbing his bruised face. It pained him, to know that Yugi hadn't actually reacted when it came to how injured he'd gotten. But he supposed it made sense; after all, Yugi was on the opposing team and Yami wasn't an idiot. It was natural to get into the game.
Guilt surged through his chest. Yami felt his heart sink as he saw the contemplation linger across Anzu's face. Smiling slightly, he reminded himself, insisted, he was happy for them. As he rubbed the plastic hair of Dark Magician Girl, Yami knew convincing Yugi otherwise would have been dreadful.
The curtsy of his lips slowly ceased and he watched the figure, troubled. Yugi had had dreams and been in love with Anzu Mazaki ever since she decided to play Monopoly with him instead of Jenga like all of the other kids in the sixth grade.
He'd known immediately after watching his aibou and that longing gaze meant only for Anzu. Yugi's confidence was boosted when others like Rebecca grew in him. Rebecca the first person who loved Yugi and Yugi alone, unlike how both spirit and teenager knew their female friend could be stricken with doubt and hesitation. When Yugi finally gathered the courage to ask her out, Yami had no doubt they became a happy couple right off the bat.
He was proud, really, that Anzu forgot him enough and finally those feelings were completely mutual.
"So," Anzu said sweetly to break their silence, "you're going to the dance, right?"
"Quite possibly," Yami muttered steadily. He focused on polishing Dark Magician's sleeve and readjusted the cosplay stand on the top shelf behind him.
"You should," she continued, arms behind her back. 'I think Jonouchi and Honda are going girl hunting while we shop for tuxes."
"Girl hunting," Yami repeated. His stomach churned at the thought, sensible enough to put both words together and define that phrase. Shaking his head, Yami paled. He wasn't stupid, but it also wasn't a matter of finding girls as it was hiding from them. "This prom, Anzu. Is it a big deal?"
A wistful grin spread across her lips, delight teeming in her features and she eagerly nodded. "Oh, it's a very big deal. Every girl wishes to be queen and have the night of their life. It's a ball that only the seniors get to go to and—"
"Then," Yami shook his head slowly and ran a hand through his hair. "If it is so important to a girl and is as life-changing as you say, don't you think it'd be best to go with someone you've known dearly rather than some random person on the street?"
"Yes," agreed a wholehearted Anzu. She leaned into the other side of the counter and picked up a figurine. "But you're new. I wouldn't expect you to know everyone in our class—"
"Sen is the one with red hair. Renka and Risa are twins. Usage sits by the window and Tsume is single." Yami pulled the figurine out of her grasp and put them on the top shelf, this time careful of where he stood. When he returned, Anzu was staring, surprised. He scratched his elbow again, irritated by how sensitive his new body was. "They always ask me to help them with homework."
He shifted uncomfortably in his position and cast a glance to the floor. Come to think of it, Mari begged for his choker. She was so eccentric, calling him amazing and beautiful, that he felt aweful when saying "no" the first time. Now he regretted saying yes. His neck was cold.
"Yami."
"Yes--?"
"Atemu." Light thuds echoed down the stairs. Yami paused, perking as Yugi came back to view fully dressed in his black pants and shirt. The young teenager halted at the end of the banister, eyes examining quietly. Yami eyed him curiosly and watched as his partner burst into a casual dash to his girlfriend's side.
"Yugi?" Yami asked, confused.
"Yes, uh." Yugi turned his way, one hand wrapped around the oblivious Anzu's waist. "Can I have my deck back, please?"
"Your deck."
"Yes."
"I…I suppose." Yami's hand went to the deck holster strapped delicately around his hips. With hesitation, he pulled out the crisp deck of forty cards and set them on the counter. It was strange watching the load normally looped around his hips immediately light and awkward.
"Thanks." A pause drifted in the air before Yugi continued. "I'm—I'm sorry that I snapped at you."
"Oh." Yami's heart fluttered. His lips pulled into a precious, giddy grin as he looked to the sincere, magenta orbs that shimmered with guilt. "It's fine, aibou."
Clouds replaced the floor beneath the once pharaoh's feet as Yugi awkwardly smiled. He opened his mouth to speak; one hand wrapped securely and tightly around Anzu's fingers, but never got the chance to speak again. The door shot open, ringing in alert of a new customer and revealed both Honda and Jonouchi.
"Yo, Yami! Yugi!" A grin spread across the blond's face and he jumped over the register to wrap an arm around Yami. "So, so?"
"So, what?" Yami arched an eyebrow, confused, and put his polish rag back in the drawer in front of him.
"The girl that took you home!" Honda happily snickered and leaned over the counter, amusement tickling his lips. "Well, Pharaoh? Did you get the royal treatment?"
"She…she didn't bow." Yami frowned, head ducking as he recalled slipping in and out of consciousness as the nurse's assistant delightfully volunteered to take him home. At the time he had only irritably nodded, hoping someone would shut up log enough to realize he was falling to the floor. With a bloody nose that thankfully was only bruised instead of broken, someone had held his hand and pulled him across traffic in order to get home. As for the 'royal treatment', there was no possible way she could have known he was the pharaoh. That being said…
"No, buddy. Did you get laid?" Jonouchi gently shook him, eyebrow arched.
"You mean have sex with them." Yami smiled, proud of himself for knowing the definition for the very first time, then shook his head slowly. "No. She brought me home, and I suppose you could say Grandfather Sugoroku and Suzuki 'laid' me in bed."
They silenced. Yami looked between the both of them, then Yugi, who had wandered off with Anzu to another part of the store. Honda softly laughed. "Pharaoh, has anyone ever told you that you can be so…"
"So what?" He arched a curious eyebrow, frowning.
"Yami, buddy." A grin spread across Jonouchi's face and he latched onto the one spirit happily. "It's time to teach you the Art of Getting Some."
--
Lower your expectations. Look approachable. Read body language. Make eye contact and smile a lot. Share information about yourself. Give complete attention. Use body language to hint romantic intentions. Close the deal.
"Are you flirting with me?"
Jonouchi softly pressed a hand to his face, trying to make it as unnoticeable as possible as Yami put down the magazine he'd innocently bought teaching him conversational skills. The pharaoh had been doing so well when the girl first came up to him, smiling and blushing, because he was really just a natural. Proably somewhere in hierarchy-land, he'd been taught manners, always being polite and making eye contact. That being said, Yami was doing a fine job. So was the brunette hovering at their table, who was now blushing as red as the spaghetti sauce served by the store.
She stammered something, and he assumed Yami had taken the time to analyze her actions before initiating flirting. From the corner of his vision, Jonouchi watched Yami's eyebrows knit together, troubled. He sincerely apologized for embarrassing her, saying he would watch his words before she scuttled off. Which was fine, in Jonouchi's opinion. He obnoxiously dumped parmesan cheese all over his pasta and looked to Yami, who was troubled as he returned to the magazine desperately trying to figure out what he was doing wrong.
The girl was a hussy; way down the pyramid fit for the pharaoh. Too much makeup, big-ass boobs, and jiggly thighs.
"Flirting isn't something a book can just teach you, Yami." Jonouchi arched an eyebrow, a half-smile across his face as he gestured to Honda, who was grinning madly as he talked to the girl in the far corner of the restaurant.
Anzu nodded in agreement and she smiled pityingly. "Be yourself."
Yami looked up to her, defeated and shrugged. "I really doubt anyone other than aibou would take it well if I told them I was a three-thousand year old pharaoh."
It took all of his self control and Lady Luck to keep the fork from going down his throat. Jonouchi clutched it violently, gasping for air and resisted the urge to laugh at his friend's misfortune.
"I'm going to pay for the dinner." Yami stood up from his seat.
"Hey, that isn't fair." The blond frowned, shaking his head slowly.
In return, the pharaoh only pulled out his wallet and the two crumpled twenty-dollar bills that stuck out of one of the loose ends. Jonouchi didn't like the way it was the only green he could see in his friend's wallet. That came to a total of forty dollars and the receipt clearly stated $39.48.
"Yami," Anzu said, just as concerned as Jonouchi was. "That isn't all your money, is it?"
"This is my paycheck for the week." Yami nodded, picking up empty and dirty dishes to give to the swooning waitress. "Why?"
"You just found out about Prom. You'll need money for the ticket, too. And a tuxedo." She immediately began digging through her purse and Jonouchi rummaged his pocket for his grimy old wallet.
"Oh." Dark eyes widened before eyebrows wrinkled together, troubled.
"Hey, don't sweat it. We'll pay for it—"
"No." Yami shook his head furiously, backing away before they had the chance to offer him cash. "I just won't go. You all pitched in on Saturday in order for me to have something to eat and I will only refuse if you insist on paying again."
"Yami," Jonouchi said, but was too late. His old friend turned around, walking through the hustle and bustle of a busy Wednesday and was up to the cashier with the check in hand. He sighed, rolling his eyes before dipping his head back. "I worry about him."
"Same." Anzu agreed. "He's so…different now."
"Both Yugi and he are different. You would think after over ten months of being separated from each other, they'd be clinging onto each other for dear life." Jonouchi crossed his arms and greeted Honda as the brunet plopped into the chair next to Yami's. Yugi'd gone to the bathroom a little over a minute ago and had yet to come back.
Honda frowned. "Is this about Yami?"
"Always about Yami." Anzu smiled gently, worry in her tone. Jonouchi knew that was a clear sign he wasn't the only one noticing it, and Honda nodded in agreement. From the corner of his eye, he watched as the cashier struck up a conversation with Yami, most likely about duel monsters considering how the pharoah's eyes had lit up, and slumped in his seat.
"Back." Yugi plopped in his seat and smiled.
"Yami's paying for our meal." Jonouchi looked over the dark hedges of his best buddy's hair and smiled a little bit more as Yami grew comfortable with the girl, hands on his hips like they used to be as he struck a noble pose.
"He's doing what?" Honda arched an eyebrow, shoving a hand in his back pocket.
"He's not going to accept your money." Anzu shook her head. "He insisted on paying."
"Oh." Jonouchi's eyes darted from one lookalike to the other. Yugi's eyes fell to the ground and he rested a hand on his cheek, frown strewn across his lips.
"Something wrong?" Honda asked concernedly.
"Nothing," Yugi replied quickly. A bit too quickly. Looking back and forth between his three best friends and realizing they weren't going to take his lie, he sighed and slumped in his seat. "I just wish he'd stop trying to take care of me."
Take care of him? Arching a blond eyebrow, Jonouchi exchanged a look with two of his best friends that'd gone unnoticed by the shorter. He stretched his limbs, eyes returning to Yami, who had been drenched in a cup of coffee supposedly by accident. Anzu muttered something to Yugi in reassurance.
Really, Jonouchi thought warily. It wasn't as much of an ordeal of Yami needing to take care of Yugi as much as it was Yugi needing to take care of Yami.
--
"I'm so, so sorry! P-Please don't tell my boss!"
"No, it's fine." Yami wrinkled his nose to the scent of cold coffee and watched as the girl yanked on his shirt and desperately tried to clean it. Actually, it really wasn't. He wanted to gripe and yell, but it didn't seem proper with the image he'd been trying to create for himself. No longer did he want to be the pharaoh, and in order to project that new image, he wasn't allowed to demand the head of those around him. Yelling meant he had authority over others and certainly right now, he didn't.
The girl, Chika, was a major in physics for college. Yami had gotten overly excited to find another person who was as interested as he was in the subject, and somehow in the process of their talking, Chika had accidentally knocked over a cup of cold coffee and splashed it over his shirt. She squirmed terribly, but he only pulled away, reassuring smile spread across his face.
"It's fine," he repeated. "Thank you for your time." Turning around after grabbing his change, Yami pushed her phone number in the back of his wallet and contemplated whether or not it would have been a smart idea to get a phone. So many girls had given them their number, and he felt awful being unable to thank them. None knew he lacked a phone number, but that certain conversation never came up. But what was he supposed to do, really, when it came to flirting on the phone?
Yami pulled a lock of hair behind his ear, wrinkling his nose at the horrid scent of mocha coffee, and stopped. Had he been flirting with the girl in front of him? Lower expectations. The girl was very pretty—he didn't think there was a possibility of ever finding an ugly girl. She was approachable—he had to give her money. That was a reason why. Her body language was okay. They made eye contact and he had smiled a bit…they shared physics problems and she taught him witty sayings. But there wasn't any romantic intention behind it. Did spilling coffee on him close the deal?
Pressing a hand to his face, a groan left Yami's lips and he softly shook his head. Certainly not. Yawning, he shook his head and reminded himself if he didn't get to sleep soon, he would most likely collapse. Using his ba the way he did wasn't a good idea. A life-sized cutout caught his attention. Dark Magician Girl, Dark Magician, and many other duel monsters. It spoke of a new tournament coming up soon.
He frowned, staring at the image of Dark Magician Girl, who was about as tall as the real Mana. Why couldn't flirting be as easy as dueling? He paused at the thought and blinked. A warm smile came across his lips and he bent over, one hand on the hollow representation of his best friend.
"Mana? Would you go the dance with me?" His expectations weren't low, but she always used to greet him warmly. He looked into the adorably green, vacant eyes and smiled. The cardboard image didn't know a lot about him, but he knew a lot about it and the real Mana knew his biggest secret. Watching the flirtatious pose she put out next to Dark Magician, he knew his tactics would never be romantic, but it should have been enough to close the deal.
There wasn't an actual reply, but Yami could have cared less.
So it was set, he thought eagerly at his successful flirting tactics. Dark Magician Girl would be his date for this 'Prom.'
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Author's Note:
Oh gosh, it's getting so hard to still write Yami in character. xD He keeps going to extremes, and cracks me up, but I hope you guys can bare with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you enjoy the next one! C: Reviews would be nice!