Oh hey, I got around to updating. Sorry it was slower and I'm uber sorry for not replying enough to reviews so from this chapter forth, I'll respond to all the reviews I can! School life is hardcore busy but at the end of this week, it'll be holidays for me again! That means some more updates for starters, which should be fun. I finished the Toradora anime and considering this anime inspired this fic, I'll say I've been pretty damn inspired. So the way things will be coming together shall be fun - and the main five will all get spotlight, yay! X3

I noticed a theme throughout Toradora was that a lot of the characters aren't very upfront and able to be themselves and there's a lot of fronts. It's pretty damn convenient too as I think Malik, Bakura, Mariku, Ryou and Otogi are all not very honest types so watching each come out of their shell in thsi fic shall be fun to write - I've specially got plenty of plans for Mariku, mwahaha. 3

Anyways, enjoy the chapter! XD

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Chapter Five: Damn the Ishtar's

Bakura's POV

There was something about the morning events that really showed a different side of Malik. Being rejected and now finding out that Ryuuji Otogi is transferring to our school that brought out a negative side of Malik's personality. I thought he'd be irritated and snappy for the rest of the day but I found that instead, he just wouldn't talk to anyone. Even when Mariku and I tried to crack jokes in an attempt to cheer him up – Mariku knows some really brilliant jokes I'll admit but I reckon I had the best ones – but our attempts were in vain.

Or more, Malik wasn't in the joking mood and just cast his eyes towards the ground, ignoring our roars of laughter. I almost forgot that Malik was even around. Almost.

Regardless of Malik's pessimistic mood, I managed to have a decent day. I tried to get a discussion going but after a while, I decided to just leave him. Sure, I could say all I want but he wanted to be left alone and I was more than happy to leave him alone. Also Mariku said that everything's probably finally sunk in and he needs some time to deal with that. He said that Malik has dealt with a lot of things in life by himself so I thought, 'Okay, let him angst for the day.'

Later on back at the dormitory room, he finally regained his voice – Malik, I mean – and he had a good ramble at me. Didn't listen to a single thing he said because I tuned out by reading a book on purpose. But then he snatched the book off me and I reluctantly began to listen to him once more.

"And so Mariku told me that he and I have been given permission to meet Otogi-baka for lunch on the weekend and that if I want, I can take someone along. He was thinking of dragging Touzoku-kun to meet him too but considering what's happened, he said he'll not invite Touzoku-kun and so if I want, I can drag someone along!"

"So who are you thinking of dragging along?" He glared at me as if I asked the dumbest question in the world with the most obvious answer ever. Oh, I see. "What if I don't want to come?"

"What if I hit you into next week?"

"Next week means I can't come then. If you hit me there, that is."

"Idiot."

"I was kinda thinking that the idiot here is you."

"You're one of the few who can put up with me! I'm going to be a bitch to Otogi-baka as always so you may as well come watch."

"Or while you be a bitch to this Ryuuji Otogi person, I could sneak off somewhere with Mariku?"

"I swear you're like a cat in heat." Malik reached out and grabbed strands of my hair, which stuck out wildly. "See, these are like cat ears. Shall I start calling you Kitty?"

I rolled my eyes and swatted his hands away. "Fine, fine. I'll go. What's the deal with him anyway?"

Malik snorted, falling back onto his mattress. "Oh, he seems charming at first but... I don't know."

Charming? Well, according to Mariku, Ryuuji Otogi is a male model and that he'll seduce everyone. Maybe that's what's bothering Malik. Perhaps he thinks that this model guy will make a move on Ryou. Like I'd let him. Malik forgets that I actually do give a damn for my brother and do have plenty of say as to who my brother dates. Speaking of which, am I actually okay with the fact Malik has a thing for my brother? Or more, is it really just that because Malik will hate on me if I don't approve, therefore I must approve?

Hn.

I can kind of see the character that is Ryuuji Otogi in my mind. Has the looks, has the charm, lack of brains due to that male model factor and I'm being stereotypical but he leads a life many guys would envy. Well, I don't care so much about the model aspect but I bet this guy is rich and gets a lot of things he wants in life with ease. Plus Mariku says he's friends with him so Otogi must have a dark side. A common character archetype I've seen in my novels is the two-faced type who seems decent at first but then you realise that underneath the looks and the flattery and everything there is an ugly demon of a person.

Malik would definitely dislike a person like that. Seeing as he's quite upfront about being a frustrated teen, guys like Otogi who lead an easy life with everything served to them on a silver platter would be rather irritating. Of course, Mariku probably looks at it and thinks, 'Sweet! He can buy me awesome stuff!' That's probably why they're friends.

"In any case, sure. I'll meet him," I told my flaxen blonde roommate, who was currently staring at the ceiling.

"I'll let you find out what he's like for yourself. There are many different opinions of the guy so yours may differ greatly from mine," Malik replied with a yawn. "Think of it as a test, I suppose."

"A test?"

"I hope you pass it with flying colours because I'd be a very disappointed slave master if you didn't."

"What you mean is: if I agree with your opinion, then I pass?"

"...If you think that's what it takes, then sure."

I groaned. Malik's being too vague. Far too vague. I guess he can't be bothered describing someone he doesn't like. Personally, I think Ryuuji Otogi is a decent person – I mean, Mariku thinks he's okay and Malik, well... he doesn't seem to like many people so chances are that Ryuuji Otogi rubbed him the wrong way once and Malik decided to hold a grudge. That's probably it.

Right?

---

We rode in the car in silence. One of the staff was taking us and explained how Ryuuji Otogi requested some company for the weekend while he waits for the dormitory room to be rearranged so he could move into the same room as Mariku and Ryou. Malik was looking grouchy and I was the only person who gave a damn that we lasted our first week back at school. Mariku was fast asleep and leaned against me while he snored loudly, something I didn't really mind.

The car drove out of the countryside and away from Domino Boarding School and got more into Domino City. It pulled up beside an expensive looking cafe and a limousine was waiting there too.

"Ishtar Mariku, wake up! As for everyone else, we've arrived at our destination," the driver announced. Mariku's eyes flew right open and he began talking right away. Geez, light sleeper, methinks.

"Now Bakura and Malik, you have to be on your best behaviour to make up for Otogi and I being likely to ignore the rules. So Malik, that means no smashing up the restaurant, mkay?" Mariku instructed us while Malik rolled his eyes, grumbling something that I didn't quite hear. The driver raised an eyebrow and then said they'll be sitting in the restaurant too but at a different table and that we're very lucky to be let out of school.

I swung my bag over my shoulders and remembered how Ryou rammed all these magazines into it whilst he insisted that I take them along. Flicking through, I realised they were magazines that Otogi modelled for. I also wanted to ask Ryou why he had a ton of men's fashion magazines. And I wanted to know why even though he had those magazines, his idea of fashion still sucks.

So Ryuuji Otogi... I don't know what to think. Girls would definitely be dazzled by a guy like him. I like his emerald eyes. They seemed to be his most notable feature. But yeah, with his long black hair in a ponytail, his lean figure and whatnot, he definitely looks like a model. And now I'm about to meet him. Hn, can't say I've ever met anyone famous before. Speaking of which, how famous is he anyway?

We all stepped out of the car and Mariku let out an "Oh!" noise and he dashed straight into the restaurant with Malik and I trailing behind him. Inside, I could immediately tell by the layout that it was an all-you-can-eat buffet style restaurant that mostly went for Asian style meals.

"Stop ogling the restaurant and look," Malik hissed, tugging on my sleeve. Mariku came back to us with a teenager that was taller than all three of us at his side. Immediately I knew that it was Ryuuji Otogi. Looking around the restaurant, I could see many females looking at him with adoration in their eyes. In a way, I felt myself going red at the fact that Ryuuji Otogi was standing before me.

I guess it's the effect known as being dazzled.

"Otogi, while you've been fucking around the country, I made some buddies! The kid I've mentioned to you – Ryou – yeah, he couldn't be here today so I brought his twin instead! And I brought the favourite of the family too, who'd forget Malik?" Mariku said with a cheerful tone. Otogi made eye contact with me and smiled. Then he turned to Malik and gave him a quick hug. Malik looked like he wanted to die right then and there.

"It's great to see you looking well, Malik-san. And um," Otogi averted his eyes back to me; "you're not Ryou-kun? Oh my, Mariku-kun has shown me school photos and well, if he didn't tell me you weren't Ryou-kun, I certainly would've called you by that! You look so similar. So um, Touzoku-kun?"

"The name's Bakura Touzoku," I introduced myself. Hm, Otogi seems decent so far. Doesn't seem to have much of a backbone.

"Wow, I always seem to meet so many twins! If Ryou-kun did manage to come along, then I would've been seeing double the amount of double! Bakura-kun and Ryou-kun do look very alike compared to Malik-san and Mariku-kun!"

Malik pretended to stumble and 'accidentally' bashed right into Otogi, sending the raven-haired model to the ground. "Sorry, dumbarses tend to have that affect on me. Can we get a table?" Mariku chuckled at this while I was the only one to bother helping Otogi up.

"Ah, thanks Bakura-kun!" Otogi wisely chose to ignore Malik's comments. Mariku dragged us to a table and it was seated so I was beside Malik and Mariku was next to Otogi. We were served some tea to begin with. "I'm sorry, Bakura-kun. You went to the trouble of telling me your name but I never properly introduced myself. My name is-"

"Ryuuji Otogi," I finished for him, pulling out a magazine from my bag, which had him on the cover. "Ryou handed me a ton of magazines like these when he heard I was going to meet you."

Ryou told me it was a necessity to find a moment where I can grab out the magazines and make it seem like I was in the know. Eh, I don't really give a crap for magazines or modern trends or well known celebrities and stuff like that. Ryou likes to pretend that he's in the know when he actually isn't. It was pretty entertaining when he tried to show off his newfound knowledge on Utada Hikaru to my old roommate Yami who drank in everything he said, even though the facts Ryou told him... Well, Yugi then told me later that he got all the facts wrong. Yami doesn't pay attention to celebrities either so it wasn't like he could tell whether what Ryou was saying was true or not.

"Oh!" Otogi took the magazine from me and I could tell he was admiring how he looked. "Damn, if the whole school knows I'm a male model, then I'm screwed. They're all going to think I'm some kind of girly man." Actually, even without that model factor, you just look like a girly man.

"You're friends with Mariku so nobody will bother you, I'm sure," I assured him, taking the opportunity to shoot Mariku a grin to which he responded to with a smirk.

"That's good, that's good! I knew that being friends with Mariku-kun was a blessing in disguise!" Otogi said, clapping his hands together. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Malik rolling his eyes. Otogi stood up and clasped one of my hands with his own. "Hey, let's go serve ourselves some food!" He saw me go red and let go of my hands with a blush. "Ah, aren't you ready? Hey Malik-san and Mariku-kun, shall we all go up?"

"I'd rather rot in Hell," Malik replied with a flat tone. Well, that's lovely to know, Malik.

"I'll stay with my beloved bro, you two feel free to go up!" Mariku jerked his head towards his brother, his words indicating that Otogi and I should go and get our food. I guess he's going to chat to Malik privately.

So I followed Otogi to the huge tables with food laid out with plates and cutlery on one end. He examined the selection and I swore I could hear him grumbling over the selection. I decided to ignore this and choose out my own food. Naturally, I went straight for the meat and found some good beef stir fry along with spring rolls and ramen. It didn't take long before I had filled up two plates full of food as well as having the bowl of ramen.

"Mariku-kun told me how Ryou-kun is always proper with his diet but Bakura-kun seems to like having as much food as possible," Otogi said with an observant tone.

I grinned. "Meat is great!"

"Mariku-kun and Malik-san don't eat meat so I suppose you have enough meat for the both of them?"

"I guess so!"

"By the way, I know Ryou-kun and Mariku-kun are roommates so does that mean you and Malik-san are...?"

"Roommates? Yeah. Don't know him all that well though except that um... he's bad tempered and has a crush on..." I stopped there, realising that I was just about to tell something that I bet Malik wouldn't want Otogi to know.

"I know he likes Ryou-kun. I don't mind that at all. Malik-san is quite hostile towards me because Mariku-kun told me some secrets that I don't think Malik-san wanted me to know. He said I had no right to know stuff like that. I don't know, I think I say things that annoy him too but it's not my intention to irritate him, ya know?"

When I took that all in, I shook my head. "Don't worry; I think a lot of people annoy him without intending to!"

"Oh, don't you know it!" he chuckled, as he served himself a bowl of rice, nothing more. Gee, live a little. Must be one of those models who are picky over their diet. Whatever. "But yes, Mariku-kun, Malik-san and I have known each other for a while. Mariku-kun and I are occasionally partners in crime."

I grinned widely. "Under the model act, you're a freak of nature like Mariku?"

"Freak of nature..?"

"Yeah, in a good way, I mean!" I wasn't sure if there was such thing as being a freak of nature in a good way but who cares! If Otogi's been a partner in crime with Mariku, that means he must've gotten up to real interesting activities! I expect awesome stories out of this guy. "So what's the worst that you've done?"

He thought about it for a moment. I could tell. Otogi was contemplating the situation, wondering how he should respond. Guess it is one of those questions where you have to think about it for a bit.

"Not telling ya!" he eventually responded with a wink. Before I could reply, he made a dash back to our table and sat down. As I had served myself more food, I had to be slower and take more care when I went back to the table. Sitting back down, I saw that Malik was still in a sulky mood while Mariku had that look of 'I tried, failed, what can ya do?' when I locked eyes with him. Geez.

"Hey you two, getting food?" Both of them shook their heads. Freaking hell, does nobody give a shit apart from me that we're at a freaking all-you-can-eat style restaurant with food a trillion times better than what's served at school? Whatever, I'm not letting this opportunity go to waste.

"So Otogi," I talked between mouthfuls, "what led you to our school?"

"Circumstances," he said simply. I stared at him in the hopes of receiving a more elaborate answer. Malik told me not to bother. Otogi saw my disappointment and grinned. "Sorry, Bakura-kun but there are some things you don't share on the very first encounter, don't you think?"

Oh, I don't know. On the day that I first became acquainted with Malik, he read my diary, trashed the room, and expected me to help with matchmaking and many more. But Otogi had a valid point. Being a model and all, he'd probably have to be very secretive about his personal life. I guess we all have things we don't really want to share. It's like Malik said, "My hardships are my hardships. Your hardships are your hardships. I'll tell you mine if I feel like it and same goes for you."

Those are words I can agree to.

The four of us kept chatting for another oh, it must've been ten minutes. Mariku kept making jokes and Otogi would laugh and insist that the crazier of the Ishtar twins shouldn't be saying the things he was. Malik kept silent and I decided to crack some jokes myself, which were well-received. Other people at the restaurant kept giving us weird looks but I honestly didn't give a shit for them.

Then Mariku decided to go and get himself some food and excused himself from the table. My plates were empty and Otogi let me eat his rice that he barely had a mouthful of so I felt the need to go and grab more food as well. I turned to Malik and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Oi, I'm going to get more food. You okay with being left with Otogi?"

"Don't care." He said that with a look that told me he obviously minded. I decided that regardless of what he answered, I would go and follow Mariku anyway. So I did.

When I reached the tables with the huge trays and pots of food, Mariku pulled me aside. He yanked me to a place where we could easily observe Otogi and Malik from without either one spotting us. I quizzed him on what was happening and Mariku simply flashed me a grin and asked what I thought of Otogi.

What do I think of him? I don't know. "He seems... decent, I suppose. I didn't think someone like him would be your friend... But I guess you guys have all known each other for years."

"He seems quite innocent yet secretive to you, doesn't he? Everyone thinks he's all innocent and charming and stuff but that's what makes him all the more fun..." Eh, yeah I can see how people get that impression of him. But the last bit of what Mariku said is obviously of significance. He yanked me closer to him. "Watch! Listen! Prepare to be shocked!"

I watched. I listened. I waited for something to happen. Otogi was staring at Malik, who looked down at the table instead.

Then Otogi began to speak. "So are you still a wreck?" Malik didn't answer. I raised an eyebrow. That didn't seem like something Otogi would ask. "Well, I've been doing great! I have many fans already and modelling gets me good money. As for you, you're probably still pining over things that will never happen. Hey Malik, that roommate of yours is weird. What's with the white hair? Old man hair colour never came in fashion. But man, he's a gay boy for sure – did you see the way he looked at me? I swear you're always going to be left alone, aren't you?"

...What? Did I look at Otogi funny? What the hell? I wanted to march right up to Otogi and ask what his deal was but those words alone told me everything. Mariku pinched my cheek and made me face him.

"As you can see... Otogi can be quite the bitch underneath that innocence. Think of the charming bastard personality type, he's kinda like that. He knows how to fake in so many ways that even I'm not sure what his deal is sometimes," Mariku explained, "That's why..." he paused and the two of us looked back over at Otogi and Malik. Otogi was still saying things and Malik was doing his best to ignore him. "That's why I find Otogi interesting."

"I prefer your bastard behaviour to Otogi's bastard behaviour though."

"That's because he insulted you."

"True. Do you think white hair is really old man-ish?"

"Not really. Depends how you pull it off, I guess. Ryou has the same hair colour as you so I doubt you guys bleached it cuz that's not a Ryou-like thing to do but... I guess it suits you fine."

I was really hoping he'd make some cracky comment like how my hair makes me look like a sex god and then begin to run his fingers through my hair. Or more, I expected him to do that. Maybe now's not the right time.

"Malik seems like he's seen through Otogi long ago," I commented.

"He has," Mariku answered with a low voice. "I always felt the two understood something about each other that I can't ever grasp. He thinks Otogi should be more honest too."

"Even though he acts like that?"

"Otogi's... an odd character. I think he just acts that way because of being in the model industry – being all innocent for the people hiring and then bitch about other models later or whatever but I don't mind that he's this way because it's fun."

Wait, you're basically admitting that Otogi isn't honest with you either and yet he's your childhood friend! Shouldn't that mean you and Malik should know what he's really like the best? Still, gotta wonder how long Malik's going to last with Otogi bitching at him. The two of us turned back to listen in on Otogi and Malik's conversation.

"...Hm... I'm really curious to meet that Bakura person's twin – he's my roommate and I'm hoping to be good friends with him and I've heard things about him from Mariku! Say, what terms are you on with uh... Ryou, was it?" Otogi asked with a devious grin.

"None of your business," Malik spoke at last in a low tone with harsh inflections. Otogi was taken aback but wasn't going to stop speaking either.

"Have you confessed to him?"

"None of your business."

"Did he reject you?"

"None of your business." Malik seemed to be getting more irritated.

"Is that why you're grumpy?"

"None of your business!"

"Can't take that he doesn't share your feelings?"

He didn't say anything. He didn't yell at him like I thought he would. No, Malik stood up, drew back a fist and punched him directly in the face. Otogi went back and his chair gave way. He fell to the floor and other guests in the restaurant gasped. Malik stormed out of the restaurant while Mariku chuckled. What the hell Mariku?

Otogi then started yelling out that his nose was bleeding and also over how Malik punched him. Quite frankly Otogi, with the way you were acting, should you even be surprised? You said you say things that tend to rub Malik the wrong way accidentally but I don't think that's the case. Mariku told me to follow Malik while he sorted out Otogi. Wait, I don't want to – ugh, fine. I agreed to go.

So I rushed outside and saw Malik pacing up and down the block, kicking pebbles furiously. He acknowledged my appearance with a nod and I waited for him to sort himself out. I can see why he'd hate Otogi, I guess. It feels like everything happened so quickly.

Like, I met Otogi and he seemed decent, Malik wasn't keen, Mariku was amused... Then I got to chat one-on-one briefly with him and again, he seemed decent. Then the next thing I know Otogi fires off all those comments to Malik and Mariku claims that not many people know Otogi's true character or something along those lines.

What fucking annoying sources to have to base an opinion of the guy from.

"What the fuck is this?"

Malik looked up and glanced at me. He raised an eyebrow. Oh, I just spoke.

I decided to continue.

"It would be much easier if people could just be themselves!" I began to pace up and down alongside Malik. "There are times when being deceitful is fun but there are times when it's just a pain."

"Then go hang out with Mariku and fap to him!" Malik snapped, grabbing my sleeve.

"Fap?!" I scoffed. "Who the hell do you think I am?"

"Fapura Touzoku."

"Fapura!? Well, you're Malik Faptar!"

"Faptar?! Holy shit!"

"Yeah, you heard me, Faptar."

We stood there for a while, mocking each other like crazy. But seriously? Fapura? And I don't want to go and fap to Mariku! What the hell is that supposed to mean anyway?! We kept throwing insults at each other and occasionally I'd be glancing back into the restaurant to see what was going on.

It seems that Mariku is helping Otogi out with his bloody nose that he got from Malik punching him. I kept looking back in and wondering what the expression on Mariku's face meant. He seemed genuinely concerned somehow. I didn't want him to have that expression. Even though Otogi got hurt, I didn't want Mariku of all people sorting it out.

"You keep looking inside," Malik commented, causing me to stop staring into the restaurant and averting my eyes back to him. "Don't worry about how Mariku and Otogi-baka get along. They get along fine, yes and Mariku claims Otogi is his fuck buddy often but he also claims that Ryou-kun is his future husband but he's just screwing around. Otogi-baka however... I wouldn't trust him at all!"

I groaned. "Is Otogi a flirt or something?"

Malik pouted at me. "He doesn't need to be – with his faked innocence, practically everyone loves him and he barely needs to put much effort into it. Even you got charmed, stupid Fapura!" he snapped; I rolled my eyes at this. We did a round of "Did not"-"Did too"s before he continued, "But I know well enough but Otogi has a habit of getting into troubled waters when it isn't his business. I know it's because he's..." He stopped and considered whether to finish his sentence or not. He sighed. Guess not. "Well, the fact that he could be anything from innocent model to bitchy model to friggin' annoying model – just that alone is going to be a pain!"

Before I could respond, Mariku stepped out of the restaurant and told us weakly that we'll have to get going. Apparently the workers don't want Malik going back inside in case of him causing more trouble for Otogi. So we all got into the car and drove back to our school. Malik spent the whole trip glaring out the window, refusing to talk to either of us.

So Mariku decided to chat to me.

"So... that didn't go down the way I thought it would," he said. I raised an eyebrow.

"Did you want it go down the way you thought it would?" I asked to which he responded with a grin and nothing more. We left it at that. I felt a bit annoyed that that was it. Why wasn't Mariku a little more open to chatting? Malik's silent as ever... Geez, this is irritating me. "Why are you Faptar's so silent anyway?"

Both Ishtar twins stared at me for a second, each with very different expressions. Malik had that look of 'don't talk to me' and Mariku was trying to work out what I'd just said. Then he let out a roar of laughter.

"That's brilliant!" he exclaimed.

The driver sighed. "Get your head out of the gutter, Touzoku."

Mariku jabbed my arm. "Oi, I want to think up stuff like that! Stick my head in your gutter!." I burst out laughing and he took a while to realise what he just implied with his words. Then we both cracked up and behaved like that for the remainder of the journey.

Malik was astonishingly good at ignoring us.

-

When we returned, we had to go back and Malik kept away from me. Big deal, Mariku decided to hang out with me for most of the day. It was pretty brilliant; he told me some of his craziest stories and I told some of mine. For once I felt it, that I am psychotic. Or more, I always knew it but for someone who was off the rails to acknowledge it too just works in my favour.

Perhaps I don't need Malik after all. Yeah, that's right. I don't need his help. I can do without him.

It was shower time and sadly the school isn't keen on putting up enough separators so whenever we go and take a shower, we're stuck seeing each other bare all. For the overly fruity, this isn't a bad thing but I just find it sad. Many men in this world look horrible naked. Thank god some acknowledge this by showering in underwear, even though it isn't very efficient for cleaning.

"Ahaha! Bakura's a naked showerer!" Mariku announced as he got under the blast of shower water next to me.

"Our school's damn cheap."

"I love how when I hop in the shower, everyone looks straight at my cr-"

"Not everyone, Faptar," I cut him off with a sigh. He simply chuckled. We both stood there, wetting our hair and massaging shampoo within it. It was sorta weird seeing Mariku's spikey hair flop down, wet and dripping from the shower. He resembled Malik slightly, with his expression showing his concentration on getting clean. "I thought you were the type to mess around in showers," I commented eventually.

Mariku smirked at me. "I sure hope this discussion leads to something delicious." He shook his head. "Uh, whenever faced with the subject of cleaning myself, uh... an incident taught me to clean well. Malik's the same actually. We just shower well." He bit his lip and averted his eyes back and forth between me and the bottle of conditioner he was gripping tightly in his hand. "I'm... talking normally?"

I nodded. "You are. It's weird."

He went quiet as he switched to conditioning his hair. I was almost done with my shower but I decided to hang around just for Mariku, even though I figured with the speed he was going at, we'd go over the time limit. Oh yeah, showers are supposed to be ten minutes. Of course, this school is guys' only and not everyone showers frequently. I heard at this girls' boarding school that's fairly close to ours has even shorter showers because practically everyone showers every day.

"...Speaking of Malik... I've been meaning to talk to you about him..." I raised an eyebrow and told him to continue. Mariku glared at me. "I thought you knew how to talk Malik down. That's why I sent you to go sort him out! It's all very well to muck around with me – I know, heaps of people can't resist some time with me but I thought you weren't an idiot."

...What? Mariku's strange, I don't get the point he's making at all. I'm Malik's roommate yes, but aren't there other people that could go sort him out? Aren't there? ...No, there isn't, is there?

"Is he seriously out of it? That pussy," I groaned, switching off the shower and wrapping up in a towel. Mariku rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to make Otogi's words true? Ever since that confession to Ryou... I just know things aren't right! He's at a loss and just a little before that, he was acting like he had more purpose and I know that it was triggered from meeting you. You don't have to cradle him to sleep or whatever but at least kick him out of that state."

"Wait, but-"

Mariku took a step out of the shoulder, not caring that he was dripping all over the floor and is letting the shower water run and go to waste. His hand shot out and clutched my shoulder tightly. "Don't be a bitch. Do it," he said with a threatening tone. Shit, why can't you sort out your brother yourself? Why does it have to be me? Sheesh. "Malik doesn't have many friends, let alone people that have a decent understanding of him. He wouldn't want me anywhere near him. Now for fuck's sake, go and bitchslap my brother and let me remain the only guy in the showers man enough to show their-"

"I got it!" I snapped. I grabbed all my belongings and stormed out of the showers section of the dormitory building to go back to my room. When I entered it, Malik was sitting on my bed, reading one of my books. He looked up and went bright red.

"Bloody hell, most people get dressed back in the showers section after taking a shower," he grumbled before returning to the book. I muttered over how he didn't ask permission to read that book but he ignored me, so I decided to throw some clothes one. Once I was finished, he slammed the book shut and chucked it across the room. "Ryou-kun and Yugi approached me today. I learned some interesting things. You know how the student president is Seto Kaiba?"

It is? Huh, a second year for president. Usually, they're third years. At this rate, the next president will be some first year midget. What is this school coming to, geez. I nodded a yes regardless.

"Well," Malik continued, "I found out something ultra shocking. Yugi told a secret he said he never thought he'd end up telling! Yami has some feelings for Kaiba! It's weird and I totally don't understand why anyone would like that Stupid-Egotistical-Totally-Obtuse Kaiba guy but whatever."

"Stupid-Egotistical-Totally-Obtuse... The initials from that are Seto. Huh," I commented on Malik's weird insult. But weird, I was Yami's roommate last year and even I didn't know that. He must be secretive as hell. Oh wait, we're talking Yami here. Yeah, he's mysterious as hell when he wants to be.

"One afternoon I was bored and decided to see what letters in people's names stood for," he explained and he twirled a lock of blonde hair with his fingers as he spoke. "But you weren't special enough to receive one but it probably stands for Bitch-And-Kura-Under-Ryou's Arse..." I won't even comment on that one, but the last three letters were cleverly thought up, I'll admit, for someone doing this off the top of their head. "Anyways, it turns out that Ryou-kun's been invited to join the student council and so Yugi ended up approaching him about this. And Ryou-kun came up with an idea that would require my help."

"Is that so?" I asked with a yawn. He reached to the bedside table, grabbed another book and chucked it at my head then told me to take more interest in the conversation. No, Malik, I'm just feeling irritated that Mariku kicked me out of the showers to come and pep talk you and now you're gossiping about stupid romance drama that I really do not give a crap for.

"If I help Ryou-kun and Yugi, then that'll put me in Ryou-kun's good books again! While I don't understand why Yami and Kaiba would work as a couple, who cares?" I threw the book back at his face.

"Then don't forget about me and Mariku!" I replied, even though those weren't the words I truly wanted to say. Would it have seemed odd to ask Malik if he's trying to sidetrack me from how he's really feeling at the moment? I've never cared about being by myself but I think Malik actually fears being left alone. Would that theory make sense?

I can only imagine how things will be when Otogi actually attends our school.

"Hello everyone! My name is Ryuuji Otogi. I've taken a break from modelling to study here at Domino Boarding School. I hope we can all get along."

I'm sure that's exactly what he'll say, with a fake grin plastered on his face. Everyone will like him and see him as someone who can do no wrong. Everyone except me, Mariku and Malik. Only Malik is likely to take action.

And then the world will plunge into sheer hell.

Or something of the sort.

Possibly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Would you stick your head in Bakura's gutter? *runs*

Anyway, yup, we're about to get some Prideshipping into the fic, yay! What plan has Ryou thought up that would require Malik? Finally going to introduce more regular characters aka the Muto twins and Seto Kaiba. The fact that Ryou's on the student council will be significant so keep it in mind especially for future chapters, yay. There'll be background on Ryou and the student council gig eventually too. XD

Next chapter will have Otogi finally arrive at the school and it looks like someone may be out to foil Ryou's plan! And Bakura always thought he'd be seme! And Malik makes an unexpected decision!

Hopefully my updates will start appearing more quickly again too!

Review or whatever? XDD

Adios!

Mel-Girl.