Haha, it's about time I updated this. Might note quickly that even though the Thief/Psycho/Angst/Death lovesquare are the main ships, I'd say that Diceshipping is going to be another main one in this. Ohhh... you'll see. ;3
I've got exam season lately so updates are a bit slower but I'm feeling fiarly confident that when I get spare time, it'll be dedicated to writing! As I said with my newest fic, I'll be having an update cycle where it goes 'Bloody Brilliant', 'Breaking These Chains', 'A Bad Case of Hopeless' and back to the beginning. As I do enjoy writing all three, I think I could pull that cycle off, haha.
Anyway, this chapter contains fail!Malik, observant!Otogi and notdoinganythingwhenheprobablyshould!Bakura! Enjoy!
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Chapter Six: The Challenge
Bakura's POV
"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!"
That was Otogi giving his introduction at the front of the classroom. The way things work out can be so cruel. He just had to be placed in our form class. Of course it had to happen like this. Malik's expression was somewhat comical though. He looked set to kill. Yes, Malik. Go get him.
The rest of the guys in my form class leapt into discussion immediately and I was just thankful that the empty seat in the classroom was nowhere near Malik or I. Honda was the first to actually speak out.
"Oh! You're the Ryuuji Otogi for sure! My girlfriend is a fan of yours!" he zigzagged in between desks to get to the front with a piece of paper and pen. "She'd definitely want your autograph!"
Another student put his hand up. "Mine too!"
Jounouchi turned to me as other guys in the class were raving over girlfriends and female relatives who would want his autograph. "Should I bother getting his autograph for my sister? I have no idea whether she'd be a fan of his or not." I rolled my eyes and told him that I don't give a shit for Otogi and his autograph. "Gee, don't need to get so snarky!"
"Then ask someone who cares next time..." I sighed. The teacher finally got all the students to calm down and said that they could get to know Otogi some other time. Hopefully that means Otogi won't have a chance to talk to Malik or I. Speaking of Malik, he said Yugi and Ryou wanted him for some plan that involves matchmaking Yami and Kaiba.
Yami was my roommate last year and I don't remember him mentioning anything about Kaiba. Then again, maybe Yugi is the only person he'd tell. But oh my, Yugi's gone and told Ryou and Malik. Wonder how Yami would feel about that. In a way, I want to ask Yami about this but chances are; he wouldn't know that Ryou and Malik also know and asking Yami could lead to them and Yugi getting in trouble. It would be sort of amusing but at the same time, the outcome probably wouldn't be amusing enough for satisfaction.
"Okay! It's around about time for the student president's assembly, so let's go!" the teacher announced. Oh blast, first one for the term. We all had to line up and Otogi sided up behind Malik and I. I could tell he was going to talk to us but luckily, Jounouchi and Honda got to him first and began rambling on at him about some stuff. It was amusing to see Otogi get irritated by this but still manage to keep up the act.
So we began walking towards the hall where the assemblies are always held. Malik was about to tell me something when the teacher told us to line up with shortest at the front and tallest at the back. So we got separated. Malik ended up being the shortest in our class and was stuck at the front. I thought he'd be annoyed about this but he smirked instead. Ah, maybe it's helping with his plan. Yami ended up being the third shortest. I was closer to the back. Jounouchi, Honda, Otogi and two other guys were taller than me. Luckily, Jounouchi and one of the two guys were between Otogi and I. There was no way I was going to talk to him.
---
Ah, we're in the assembly hall now. All in our class lines, of course. I grinned in amusement when I noticed Mariku was pretty far up his line compared to Malik with his own most likely due to his shit load of big hair. Ryou wasn't anywhere to be seen. Oh yeah, he's on the council now. Perhaps I ought to pay my brother a little more attention.
Oh, the teachers have all gone to the back now. That tends to happen with these assemblies. The more responsible students of the school take charge. We behave fairly decently for a guys-only boarding school, I just realised.
Ryou stepped up onto the stage, which explained where he was. Oh yeah, the vice-president always starts assemblies – wait, Ryou's the vice-president? I never thought he'd have the confidence for that. Nor has he ever mentioned it to me. Student council, sure but... Gee, I wonder if having Mariku as your roommate can turn you from a shrinking violet and into the mother-freaking student vice-president in just over a year.
"Would everyone please be quiet as our student president comes up to the stage?" I suddenly heard Mariku cracking up laughing after Ryou made this statement. Once I realised why he was laughing, I snickered a bit too. Yami seemed a bit annoyed judging from the looks he shot Mariku and me.
Seto made his way down the empty pathway in amongst the class lines. He was striding in such a way as if he knew his power. Bleah, his ego needs a kick if you ask me. I don't really get what Yami could possibly see in such a guy.
He got up on-stage and a smirk plastered itself on his face. "Good morning Domino Boarding School students! There have been events that have already been under some serious planning! Here today, I shall tell you what you can expect in the upcoming weeks! Usually, we'd just send in our school track team to compete in the athletics tournament! However, I am someone who wants the very best – even if it means sending in those who didn't opt to join the track team! I want all of you to compete in a couple of weeks in the Domino Athletics Day where we shall find the very best athletes to send to the tournament! I want this year's team to bring back nothing but gold medals and trophies!"
The school cheered at this. I could see some groaning at the thought of competing in anything. Meh, I guess the day will be spent with Mariku and I pranking everyone, Malik going all gooey over Ryou and Otogi hanging around looking pretty. Of course, each of us would do like one event just to say we participated.
"Fucking hell! Do all of us have to compete?!"
Oh boy, Malik's shooting his mouth off again. Wait a second... I think I remember now...
"Then don't forget about me and Mariku!"
Malik continued twirling strands of hair around his fingers with a grin. "I won't, I won't. By the way, I should probably tell you the plan. That way, you won't stop me."
"Ooh, do tell," I responded, feigning a look of interest. Meh, I doubt I'd bother trying to stop the likes of Malik from doing anything. Not wanting to face that temper of his.
"Well, Ryou-kun and Yugi came up with the plan so don't say anything about it being lame! But they were rambling about how Yami has a sense of honour and will defend those are important to him no matter the circumstances! So they told me to throw a tantrum at Kaiba – they reckon Yami wouldn't approve of me making an attack on him..."
I chuckled. "So Yami's going to play the hero? Fuck, that is definitely a plan thought up by Ryou and Yugi."
Malik glared. "Don't mock their ideas of what makes a brilliant plan."
"You're just saying that because Ryou helped think it up."
"So?"
"So you wouldn't be saying that if Yugi came up with it."
"Hell, I wouldn't be bothering helping if it was only Yugi that requested my help."
"Go figure."
So now Malik is going to make a dick out of himself by going ahead with this plan. Do Ryou and Yugi seriously think that Yami's going to swoop in, kick Malik's butt and have Seto swoon over Yami's heroics? Actually, just the thought of Seto swooning over anyone is a scary thought all on its own.
"Yes," Seto responded rather curtly. "Though I suppose you're going to snap at me about it because you think you're unfit and won't be any good."
Malik stamped his foot on the ground; I could see students backing away from him. I glanced at the back of the hall and the teachers looked pretty unwilling to do anything. Guess all the teachers fear Malik's temper. Bloody hell, the school becomes useless when it comes to the prospect of facing Malik. Whatever, I already agreed to stay out of things. I snuck a glance at Otogi who was only shaking his head in amusement. Eh.
"I'm not unfit, stupid!" Malik snapped. "I just think it's dumb that you're making everyone compete when the track team will just win everything anyways!"
"I'm content with that," Seto replied, "I just want Domino Boarding School to be the best school while I lead it." Gee, that's so very Seto. All about the winning, not particularly caring for the methods of getting there.
Ryou looked like he was going to say something but then he didn't. Perhaps he remembered the plan. Man, when's Yami's going to say anything? I can totally see Malik doing some kind of blatant thing to drag Yami into the situ-
"It's all about winning with you! I wonder how anyone can deal with you! Hey Yami-baka, got any ideas?" I think that was when Otogi started chuckling in the background, while Mariku seemed to be incredibly fascinated by Malik's bizarre behaviour. If Malik hadn't told me the plan last night, I'd probably be just as confused as everyone else.
But gee, what a retarded way to drag Yami into all of this.
"I suppose focusing solely on the winning aspect is a bit... uh... what's the word..."
"You're not supposed to be agreeing with me!!" Malik growled, while I slapped my forehead with my hand. Idiot, you have no idea where you're going with this, do you? I'm pretty sure the way it was supposed to happen was a bit too unrealistic considering the people involved.
"Then what am I supposed to be doing?"
"Defending Kaiba's honour, duh! I'm going to kick him straight in the balls; you have to do something about it!"
...Malik, you're freaking hopeless.
Yami probably raised an eyebrow at this – I can't really tell from where I'm standing. "Defending Kaiba's honour? I'm pretty sure he can sort himself out."
Those words took a while to register in Malik's brain. "...Dwah?" So much for making an attack on Seto with Yami rushing in to save the day. Forget the stupid plan itself, that had poor execution. Seto seemed pretty bemused by what was happening. So I suppose apart from wasting the entire school's time, Malik did get the idea of 'Yami being there for Seto' in Seto's head. Seto's pretty likely to question Yami about Malik's outburst too.
Ryou quickly scooted over to Seto's side and asked if he could have a moment of talking on the microphone. "Um... Malik-kun... Would you like to go and get a drink of water?" Ah, my brother is a smart boy.
Malik of course, was pretty quick to go with something that Ryou said. He dashed out of the hall with a rather indescribable expression. Is it just me or is Malik horrible with executing his plans? Like, the concept has some merit but Malik should never be allowed to carry them out. He needs to have someone who can actually execute plans properly. Like Mariku or me.
"Back to what I was saying..." Seto quickly switched things so people were paying attention to him rather than be puzzled over Malik and his odd ways. I clearly have to make Malik my apprentice in being a bitch. Or something. "The athletics day will be in a couple of weeks so train hard! There's a lot you can get from being able to compete in the tournament! Also, start finding your own ways to acquire lots of money because you don't want to be broke for the school cultural festival coming up later this term! Classes will be competing against one another for the best stalls – not to mention with many students from our sister school Domino Girls Boarding School attending, there'll be the Guys Auction! I personally don't get the point of that myself but there are also prizes for the class whose chosen representative gets the highest bid!"
The students all cheered again. Even though most of us weren't keen to get auctioned off, that auction was always popular with girls, not to mention nothing tempts idiots like the students of the school quite like the concept of prizes! My class has a freaking male model so I guess our class is set to win that auction. Something I'm totally fine with. I like prizes too after all.
"Also," Seto continued, "Start sorting out your class president! It can't be anyone who is already in the student council but otherwise, anyone can go for it!"
"Cool! I will!" Mariku called out. Fuck, all the first years must think that the second year students are all a bunch of messed up people. Still amazed at how the teachers don't do anything when either Mariku or Malik interrupt assembly. They didn't snap at Yami either considering how he was responding to Malik. But if anyone else called out, they'd get a telling off in an instant.
It really shows the sort of power the Ishtar twins have over the school.
"You do that," Seto replied, rolling his eyes. I think Mariku makes an obligatory interruption every assembly. Mostly spouting out useless shit but it's amusing all the same. The thought of Mariku being class president is kinda funny. Class presidents always make the final decision on what their class stalls for the cultural festival. Wonder what kind of crap Mariku would put his class through. "One last thing! Observe your fellow students! Every eight weeks, we'll award a student who has shown to be a great achiever whether it be in academics or sporting achievements! With that, I dismiss you all! Make me and this school proud!"
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We had English as the first class for the day. The English teacher basically told us to read some random shit from our textbooks and then answer the questions for the activity that goes with it. Malik was still as a statue for the entire lesson with his head to the window. I guess English is his thinky-thought lesson. Nobody seemed willing to question him about earlier. Yugi seemed to be attempting to console him but it was pretty clear that Malik was ignoring him. Eh, Yugi doesn't really know how to approach Malik properly.
"So Bakura... Do you have any ideas on why my dear Malik was acting like a turd?"
Mariku lightens up my day as usual with his bluntness.
"Ryou and Yugi wanted Malik to have a tantrum with the idea that Yami would stop him and impress Kaiba in doing so," I explained as simply as possible.
"That's a Ryou-Yugi team effort, I can tell."
"Malik needed to consider how exactly he was going to attack Kaiba. Then Yami could've actually played hero or whatever," I replied, spinning my pen around in my fingers. "Wonder if Malik even thought about whether the plan would actually work or not."
Otogi prodded my shoulder from behind. Oh yeah, fack. He's in my English class. I barely noticed. "Malik-san was chosen by Ryou-kun and Yugi-kun to be the villain, did you notice? Isn't that rather interesting?"
Mariku grinned. "Trust you to spot things like that!"
I rolled my eyes. "Malik's no villain himself though. He just has a screwed-up personality."
"Last time I checked, good guys don't have screwed-up personalities!" Otogi replied with an obviously faked smile.
"Good guys don't create fake personalities either," I snapped, "I can see right through you." Mariku's interest in the conversation seemed to increase. I could tell by the look in his eyes. Otogi raised an eyebrow.
"What fake personality? I don't like to fake anything," he replied with his usual whimsical tone. Of course, I already know that that tone of his is fake. No use pretending I don't know. He saw my expression and understood. "You're observant, huh? I like observant people. It's more challenging to mess with someone who is not so easily fooled."
"Yeah, that's what I like about Bakura!" Mariku chimed in with a grin. I returned the grin. Hey, who doesn't like being told their good points?
"Why do you seem to buddy up with Malik-san? You're often keeping an eye on him like a watchful guardian, hmmm?" Otogi raised an eyebrow at me, his irritating all-knowing smile attacking my nerves.
I sighed. "Someone has to stop him from screwing up."
Mariku chuckled. "Where were you at the student president assembly then?"
"You're his brother and you didn't do anything either," I growled. Damn, these two are having a go at me, I can tell. Their expressions say it all.
"Dude, I was too busy wanting to crack up while watching it all unfold!" Mariku laughed. I glanced over at Malik, who was shooting us all death glares. Knew I could feel some evil force looking my way. Or perhaps that was Otogi and Mariku. Perhaps all three are conspiring against me. Ugh. Best not to tell them the real reason why I didn't interfere and all. "Hey Otogi, you are right though. Bakura takes care of my Malik and all! Too bad Malik's pining for my Ryou and all!"
Oh... Speaking of which... I guess it's best to confirm things before I get in too deep or something. "Oi Mariku... What is your relationship with my brother anyway?"
"Hm? Oh, he's my fuck buddy."
"You better be kidding or I'm going to throttle you!"
Otogi leaned forwards, his face getting closer to mine. Ick, back off. "Bakura-kuuuun," he began with a cutesy tone that sickened me, "I don't feel like you hang out with Malik-san because of the reason you stated. Actually, you're only doing it for your own benefit, right?" He shifted his eyes in Mariku's direction then shifted them back to me. Oh, I think I know what he's getting at. Wait, this asshole can tell? Holy fuck, he's probably going to tell Mariku the moment I'm out of his sight! "I think you can do so much better, Bakura-kun."
He winked at me and leaned back on his chair again. Mariku's expression was odd. I couldn't really tell whether he understood what was going on or not. Hopefully, he has no clue in hell.
I scowled at Otogi. "What's your definition of 'better'?"
The male model had a glint in his eyes as he placed his finger on my bottom line. I shuddered. Bloody hell. "Well, there's Ryuuji Otogi-"
A tanned hand slapped Otogi's arm away. The two of us looked up and realised that Malik had stormed on over here. Yeah, he looks pretty set to kill. "Bakura's my slave dog! Go find your own! Honda's available!"
The thought of Otogi enslaving Honda seems sorta odd. Yet fitting, in a way. Isn't Honda's so-called girlfriend a fan of Otogi's? How would the girlfriend feel if her boyfriend got enslaved by her idol? Screw that, it's probably one of the best fantasies for a fangirl.
"Aaaaaandddd," Malik continued, "my slave kicks far more arse than your slave does! I'm going to show that stupid Seto Kaiba that a non-track team member can do better than someone who is on the track team! I'm going to get myself into that stupid athletics tournament! You hear that, Bakura?" He averted his attention to me. "We're going to train as much as we possibly can until the athletics day! So long as you beat Honda in everything, then you'll have fulfilled your purpose!"
"I could never make Honda-kun my slave!" Otogi gasped. "That would be a horrible thing for me to do!"
"You're a horrible thing for anyone to do," Malik shot back, "Got a point?"
"Why are we pitting Honda-kun and Bakura-kun against each other anyway?"
"You have a point for once! Right! It'll be Team Malik against Team Otogi-baka!" Malik declared. Ugh, does Malik have a thing for making pointless challenges? Does he want to prove to Seto Kaiba that he has got what it takes to win or does he want to beat Otogi in something or both? Wait, he's including me in Team Malik, isn't he? Fuck, Honda's on the track team for those throwing events like discus, isn't he? If I'm supposed to be up against Honda, do I have to do strength events? How can he expect a skinny dude like me to defeat Honda in a muscle-strength event? Malik's seriously got no clue.
"Malik! Go back to your seat!" the teacher snapped. Malik returned to his seat without protest – that seemed to surprise the teacher, I noted – and simply faced forwards with a devious stare.
He remained like that for the rest of the lesson and pretty much the rest of the day too.
---
At interval and lunchtime, he disappeared altogether and left me with people continuously asking me what's up with Malik. Why does everyone think that I somehow know? Yeah, I know what's with the outburst but I'm no good at reading his behaviour. Though I suppose I ought to be checking on Malik myself. Wouldn't want Mariku firing off at me again or something. No, I'm just making excuses. I just genuinely want to check on him.
Classes have finished for the day and I'm thinking that Malik ought to be in our room doing the essay we've been assigned but of course, turns out he wasn't there. So I was searching about the dormitory block, trying to figure out where I could find him.
Wait... I'm an idiot! He said he'd be training whenever possible! So he must be out on the field training! Why couldn't I have figured that one out sooner? Sheesh.
"Oh! Bakura!" I glanced up and saw Yami walking up the stairs approaching me. "Are you looking for Malik?" I nodded with a frown and explained that he'd run off somewhere. "He went to the field. He's been running laps, practising long jump and high jump, timing himself... everything. If he's trying to get himself into that athletics tournament, I think he can accomplish that."
I grinned. "Well, at least he isn't messing around like this morning."
"Mm..." Yami bit his lip for a moment and his eyes looked to the ground. "When he said that I was supposed to be defending Kaiba, I think I knew what he meant. I get the feeling my twin told some people but there's something he doesn't know... Oh wait, you don't know, do you?" His cheeks went pink and I understood what he was talking about. But I think I'll just pretend I haven't a clue what he's talking about. "Well, you were my roommate last year so I think I can trust you... So the truth is... Me and Kaiba are alrea-"
"Bakura-kuuuun!" an annoyingly familiar voice called my name. I looked up to see Otogi rushing down the staircase. Yami was surprisingly quick to flee – probably a smart decision at that too. When Otogi caught up to me, he noticed my glare. Goddamn him! Yami was going to tell me something really major! Or at least I think he was! He won't ever tell me with the likes of him around! "Ooh, did I interrupt an important conversation?"
"As of a matter of fact... yes..." I growled through gritted teeth. Otogi giggled at this. "Yeah yeah, you know... You don't have to always act like that."
"Like whaaaat?" he asked, putting his arm around me. Fuck, this guy doesn't give a shit for my personal space. He noticed my expression again and sighed. "I know you're not fooled, it's just fun keeping it up when it results with you pulling that scary face of yours! You could give Malik a run for his money!"
"Oh really..?" I rolled my eyes.
"Absolutely!" he nodded. "Say, it is Mariku you like, right?"
"No," I quickly replied. Otogi sighed.
"Deny it all you want, but I know you want to be close to Mariku. Are you even sure yourself what you want from a guy like him?" I shrugged at this question. Otogi decided to continue with his rambling. "You don't know the full Mariku so you can't say you like him entirely or anything. There's plenty you don't know. In fact, I'd be careful about getting close to him if I were you. Or you end up like me or Malik. Knowing your type... I'd say you'd be a Malik. That is, if you get caught in too deep. I wonder about Ryou... He's pretty deluded himself – I've met him so I can say that for certain."
I shoved Otogi away from me and glowered. "What are you getting at?"
Otogi shrugged his shoulders and went back to his whimsical tone as he proceeded to walk down the stairs. "Oh gee, I wonder what I'm getting at..." he responded with a giggle. Oh, for fuck's sake. I may as well try to get some information out of this guy. Considering he was mentioning Mariku here. He grinned when he noticed me following him. "Ah, you are indeed curious. I guess you do feel something from my words... But I meant what I said earlier – you can do so much better than Mariku."
We got off the staircase and started pacing down the hallway, passing dormitory rooms as we went. "You sound like you know something! Quit wasting time and tell me what's going on!"
The dark-haired model stopped in his tracks. He didn't turn to face me; he was content with looking ahead. "I know things you wouldn't have even considered. I'm incredibly observant, you see. Even if I explained everything to you, you wouldn't get it. For now, recognise where you currently stand. Right now, someone is expecting a lot from you and you're not fulfilling their expectations."
I raised an eyebrow. "You're really full of yourself."
"Gee... I wonder who will win... Team Malik or Team Otogi... I wonder..."
For fuck's sake, I am not getting anywhere with this guy. He's toying with me, I know it. I can see why this guy gets on Malik's nerves. "I wonder..." I mimicked Otogi's voice, "I wonder when Otogi-baka will stop being such a fake bastard!"
Otogi turned around; his emerald eyes shining brighter than ever. He took some steps forward and the next thing I knew, he had me pinned to the wall. "What would you do if I showed you my true self? Would you stop your idolisation or your manipulating?" I could feel his breath touching my face; it had a cool, minty scent. Shit... Anybody who sees us is going to... "Would we be on par? Would you even... fall for me?" His grip on my arms is too tight. I can barely move... What's he saying?
I heard someone drop some clothes. We both looked up and Otogi immediately loosened his grip. Did I see this coming or what? Someone was going to walk in on the situation and get completely the wrong idea.
It's just that the one person who had to walk in on us happened to be Malik Ishtar.
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Oh yes, Malik did indeed walk in the two! You'll have to see what he does about it next chapter though! Also, I decided to make Malik rather athletic in this fic. Come on, he has that midriff and all, I'm sure he's quite athletic. Plus determination and guts, yeeeeaaaahhh! Actually, Mariku would probably be a good athlete too, I just don't think he's very interested in the concept of running laps around tracks, haha. XD Poor Bakura, Malik's going to make him do the events he's useless at in a vain attempt to be all, "MY SLAVE IS BETTERU THAN YOUR SLAVE EVEN THOUGH YOUR SLAVE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HE'S YOUR SLAVE." Poor Honda, haha. XDD
Er anyway, I ramble. Next chapter: Malik ain't in a good mood but it only fuels his determination! Bakura better step up his game too or face a very dissatisfied Ishtar or two. And Otogi makes quite the interesting discovery! And the sports day arrives!
Adios!
Mel-Girl.
PS. Try finding Toradora soundtrack stuffs. And finding the OP/ED TV size versions on YT. 8D The other day, I watched it and my mind replaced the characters with characters from this fic and it amused me. XD