Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh isn't mine!

Last chapter was when the rest of the gang met the pharaoh, now what next?

Chapter 3: Just Desserts Served

Mitsuko, Yugi and Anzu walked to school and met up with Honda and Jonouchi at the entrance.

"Hey guys!" Yugi and Mitsuko greeted in unison.

"Hey Yugi, Mi-san!" Jonouchi returned, and Honda chimed, "Hey you three!"

"Do you know what a TV van is doing in front of school?" Anzu asked, nodding to said van.

"I'll go see," Mitsuko offered, Yugi following her automatically. She smiled at her twin and they looked in. "It's no use, the window's too dark!"

"That girl right there, she's the one I want," a voice said from the inside, unheard by the teenagers. "Small, pathetic-looking, she's perfect."

"You sure, boss?"

"Yeah. With those dorky braids and glasses to add to the mix, we won't find a better bully magnet."

Everyone in school was excited that there might be a potential idol there to visit, even the girls, who thought it was a handsome guy. They were talking during lunch and when Mitsuko headed towards the bathroom, an older student, a boy, came up to her.

"Hey, you're Mutou-chan from the freshman class, right?"

She nodded. "That's me."

"I got some insider's information and there is an idol here!"

Her eyes widened and she squealed, "Really?!"

"Yeah, and he wants to see you behind the school right now!"

Little did she know that Atem was paying very close attention to her emotions and when they spiked with excitement, he asked her mentally, /Mitsuko-sama, what's going on?\\

/I'm going to see a really hot and famous guy! He asked to meet me! I didn't think I was that cute that I stood out from all the other girls!\ she replied in the same manner and squealed. /This is a dream come true!\

/You should be careful, it might not be as it seems.\\

At the former pharaoh's wariness, she became wary as well. /What do you mean?\

Her attention was brought back to where she was when the nameless upperclassman announced, "We're here!"

She looked around and saw no one else. "Where is he?"

"Come here."

She leaned over and he whispered, "The truth is...this!"

He did a fierce uppercut to her chin, which made her drop onto her butt, her glasses flying off to the side. "Ow!" she yelped, holding her chin. "That hurt!" What's he doing?!

He grinned and walked over. "Well, you'd better get used to it, because there's more where that came from!"

He picked her up and socked her in the cheek, her head going fuzzy.

/Mitsuko-sama! Fight back!\\ Atem yelled in her head.

/I can't! I don't know how!\ she cried back, stumbling back to regain her footing.

/Run, then! I'm coming to help you!\\

She suffered a blow to her shoulder before she turned tail and ran blindly, not able to see where she was going. A voice she didn't recognize yelled, "Don't let her get away! We need more footage!"

The tiny teenage girl turned her head back a second to see the blurred forms of two men, one holding a video camera and the other pointing after her. What's going on?! Am I being beat up on purpose?!

A sharp pain at the back of her head knocked her down, and she got on hands and knees to get up and flee again, but a kick to her ribs made her cry out and fall back down on her stomach. She curled in a ball and let herself get kicked again and again, only to hear hurried footsteps and Atem's voice snarl, "What're you doing to her?!" with a heavy Egyptian accent.

The bully grunted as her protector drove a shoulder into his chest, as small as he was. She opened her eyes to see Atem was standing over her, his body in a stance she didn't recognize, and the other guy was on the ground, holding his chest. Even with a camera rolling, I can tell if that bully persists, Atem-ou won't hesitate to kill him. From the very first I knew he was protective, but I'll live, it isn't that bad. She stood with a whimper and the man standing next to the camera demanded, "Where did this kid come from?! He isn't wearing the school uniform!"

"I don't know!" the fake bully cried as he stood up. "I couldn't even understand what he said!"

"An exchange student who hasn't enrolled yet, perhaps?"

"I'm not getting closer, he looks like he'll kill me if I try again!"

"He can't do anything if he knows what's good for him! He'll get caught on camera and arrested for assault!"

"I don't think he'd care, sir! He probably doesn't know Japanese well enough to understand the threat!"

"Mitsuko-sama, you should get back inside. I'll deal with this," Atem told her, not taking his eyes off of the one who hurt her.

"You can't," she whimpered, holding her abused ribs. "They're recording this whole thing."

"What do you mean, 'recording'?"

I guess I'll have to refresh his memory on this modern technology. "Remember television?"

"The box with the moving pictures."

"Yeah. This is how they make the moving pictures."

"You mean we could be on the box because of this?"

"Yes. Please, we should both go."

"Why would someone harm you so it could be on the box?"

"I think it's because they want to do a special on bullying at this school."

Atem tilted his head. "This is all a lie? He's hurting you so he can be paid money?"

"From what I've heard."

"Well then, we'll leave for now and once no one is around, a Shadow Game will be in order."

Not one of those again. The last one scared me so much. She shivered as she moved with him to the nearest door and they entered, where they went to the nurse's office as the bell for the end of lunch rang. The nurse gasped at the bruises and asked, "What happened? A bully?"

Mitsuko nodded with a wince, having replaced her glasses, which were really dirty from the ordeal. "He got me good."

Atem hovered at her shoulder as she was bandaged and an ice pack strapped to her side to make sure the bruises on her side didn't swell up.

"There we go. I'll give you an excuse slip so the teacher doesn't give you a tardy."

"Thanks."

Atem followed her to her classroom and the teacher noticed her first.

"Mutou, you're late."

I gotta lie a little so this isn't made into a big mess. "I'm sorry, I needed to go to the nurse's office. I fell down some stairs."

"I see. Who's the boy with you?"

"Oh, he's a friend who's going to be transferring to this school soon."

"Until he's enrolled, I'm afraid he's trespassing. Please ask him to leave."

"Yes sir," Mitsuko answered with a bow before she turned to Atem. "I'll be okay now, you can go back to the Game Shop."

He nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Call me if there's more trouble."

He then left, all the girls murmuring amongst themselves about the handsome guy.

"Take your seat."

"Yes sir."

As she walked back to her seat, she heard the whispers of the girls she passed.

"Did you see who was behind Mutou-chan?"

"He was sooooo cute! I hope he transfers in soon!"

"His eyes were intense, like he could see right through you!"

"I wanna know his name!"

"What a hottie!"

Yugi, who sat next to her, asked in a low tone, "Why was Atem-san here? You didn't fall down some stairs, did you?"

She shook her head. "You know that TV van? I was lured to the back of the school and beat up so they could get some lifelike footage of someone being bullied. Atem-ou came to protect me and brought me to the nurse's office before here."

"What?!" he hissed, only for the teacher to snap, "MUTOU! You know the rules about talking during class! Go stand out in the hall, both of you!"

The twins flushed in shame as their classmates laughed at them, and both walked out into the hallway. Yugi turned to his sister and murmured, "Do you think they'll come back to do more?"

"I hope not. I don't think I could take much more when Atem-ou arrived." I want him to stay out of trouble, but he gets so mad when I get threatened that I don't know how to stop him. He'll be doing another Shadow Game for sure.

"Are you okay? You look really scared."

"Atem-ou is really scary when he's angry."

"I'm sure, he probably was feared for it three thousand years ago."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, he had to be if he wanted to be respected and for everyone to know he was displeased. I wonder if he's going to go after those people to deal with them."

"I hope he knows better than to do that..."

"He doesn't know that revenge is looked down upon in this day and age, and he was a pharaoh, so his morals and ours are very different, Mi-ne."

"I know, Yu-nii, but it's like he's possessed by a demon of fury whenever he gets like this. Even though he's only gotten this way twice since he woke...I don't know what to do to calm him down."

"Mi-ne..." Yugi began, then paused, scratching the back of his neck. "I've been watching you two and...um...I think he actually likes you, beyond his debt to you."

Her eyes widened. "He does?! I never noticed!"

"You told me he mistook you as a goddess at first, right? Maybe he saw straight into your soul and there's something he really likes."

She squirmed and looked at her shoes. "I'm not pretty at all..."

"You don't really try very hard."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't wear makeup, do your hair, wear the latest fashions, stuff like that. You also put your hair in braids and don't wear contacts—"

"I don't really like to wear them, Yu-nii, you know that."

"Yeah, but you'd look cuter if you did. You could jump from being a nerd to a pretty girl if you'd take care of yourself better."

She blushed and frowned, fidgeting. Is he trying to get me with Atem-ou? I know he likes Anzu, but for him to push me into Atem-ou's direction so I could hook up with him...I don't like it. "What if I caught someone else's eye before Atem-ou got the guts to tell me? What then?"

"I think he'd try his hardest to tell you before you went out with the guy. Who were you thinking of, anyway?"

She shook her head. "No one in particular, since I haven't found anyone at school yet to crush on."

"So...nobody? You don't even like Atem-san? You were checking him out when he first woke up."

"I don't know if I like the thought if having no choice in who I like. If I like him back, then it's good for the both of us, but I don't want people pushing me that way because he likes me."

"But Jii-chan says it's fated that you're going to be together!"

"All the more reason to not go with the flow."

Yugi sighed. "I don't know if you should, Mi-ne. It's not good to challenge fate. Fate has a way of pushing back."

She scowled. "Then it'll be a pushing contest."

The door slid open and the teacher called, "All right you two, come back in and take your seats."

"Yes sir!" they called back.

On the way home, Anzu ranted, "Why does it seem that the rest of us are out of the loop whenever you get in trouble? Mitsu got beaten up and she had to rely on Yami-san to come save her! How did he know she was in trouble anyway?"

Mitsuko shrugged. "Intuition?"

"There's no way he could know! I mean, unless you two have a psychic connection!"

"Why would we have something like that? We hardly know each other."

"He calls you 'Mitsuko-sama'! Unless he mistook that honorific as the normal one, he's using it on purpose! I'm your best friend, you can tell me what's going on!"

"You wouldn't believe me."

Just then, Atem came across their path. He turned his head towards Mitsuko and told her mentally, /It is done, Mitsuko-sama.\\

She looked up and asked fearfully, /What is?\

/I have avenged you, so have no fear of your experience appearing on the box with moving pictures.\\

/You did it by yourself? How did he understand you?\

/He understood that I wanted to play a game with him and the stakes were high. I've never lost a game, so you have no need to worry for my safety.\\

/These dangerous games aren't right! You might've been a pharaoh in the past, but now we don't have to do such things anymore!\

/I'm afraid you're wrong about that.\\

/Why?!\

/The reason I've been brought back to life is because the world is in danger.\\

/From what?\

/You need not worry about it right now.\\

/Hmph. Fine. I'm not gonna ask you about it again if that's how it's gonna be.\

She walked right past him, a displeased look on her face. He reached out and caught her arm. /You've told me that "ignorance is bliss". I'm trying to protect you from getting hurt because the Millennium Puzzle is only one of a set of seven. The other wielders may come after us because you have this one in your possession.\\

/I already told you that I'm a magnet for trouble, so why don't you just tell me these things so I'll be prepared when they come along instead of being surprised?\

/My first and foremost concern is to protect my future queen—\\

She threw off his hand and whirled around, her eyes in a hard glare. /Quit assuming that's what I'll be! What if I don't want to be your bride?! Why don't I have a choice in this?!\

/It's your fate, Mitsuko-sama.\\

/Fate isn't something we have to follow! It's something we make for ourselves! So if I choose to be your queen, it'll be because I've chosen to be on my own!\

/If you become my queen, I'll be able to help you achieve your dream.\\

Bribery?! He thinks he can bribe me so I'll accept this?! He has another one coming if he thinks I'm that naïve! "MY DREAM HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! YOU'RE JUST A SQUATTER IN JII-CHAN'S GAME SHOP, LEECHING OFF OF HIM BECAUSE YOU THINK 'FATE' HAS TIED US TOGETHER! LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING I'M SURE OF NOW: I'LL NEVER BE YOUR WIFE, SO GET OUT OF MY HEAD AND MY LIFE! I HATE YOU!"

She stomped off towards the Kame Game Shop, his shock clear through their link. She shut herself off from him by yanking the Millennium Puzzle off her neck. She threw it on the floor of her room as she slammed the door, tears coming to her eyes. She felt an overwhelming sadness come to her and shrieked, "I'M NOT SAD BECAUSE OF THIS! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Yet she fell face first into her pillow and began crying.

Yugi came home with Atem in a rush once the former pharaoh had felt his connection with Mitsuko disappear. They went up to her room and stopped when they heard her sobbing. Atem placed a hand on the other boy's arm and requested, "I'd like to have some time alone with your sister."

"Are you sure? She's really mad at you."

"I'll make sure she's in better spirits by this evening."

"Just don't make her hate you more."

"I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"You don't know my sister like I do, Atem-san."

With that Yugi went to his room to work on his homework. Atem walked into the room to find Mitsuko was on her bed, weeping as if she'd had her heart broken. He shut the door behind him so no one would disturb them, then walked to where the Millennium Puzzle lay. He picked it up and brought it over as he sat next to her on the bed.

"Mitsuko-sama."

In response, she shoved him off the bed. "Go away!"

Instinctively he landed in a crouch and stood where he'd been shoved. "Mitsuko-sama, I won't. Not until you explain why you said you hate me."

"BECAUSE I DO! GET OUT BEFORE I MAKE YOU!" she screamed into her pillow.

"You will not scream at me merely out of upset, Mitsuko-sama," he stated in an annoyed voice. "We will have a civil conversation whether you like it or not."

She shot out of bed, in his face and her finger stabbing his chest as he stared at her tear-streaked cheeks. "I. Said. GET OUT OR I'LL MAKE YOU! GET OUT, GET OUT, GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT GET OUT! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR HIDEOUS FACE AGAIN TONIGHT OR I'LL BREAK YOUR NOSE!"

With that she slammed the door in his face.

Yugi opened his and muttered, "I told you."

"I don't understand. I kept calm and merely stated I wanted to talk."

"Atem-san, you clearly don't get teenage girls."

"What do you mean?"

"I've had to live with Mi-ne all my life, so I have a close-up understanding of teenage girls, her in particular. If she's in one of her moods, she doesn't want to talk until she's cooled down. Next time you want to smooth things over, leave her alone until she comes to you, or if that doesn't happen, let me talk to her first. Being a twin has its advantages with upset siblings."

"She took off the Millennium Puzzle, how am I supposed to know when she's calmed down?"

"Like the rest of us do."

Yugi then went back into his room.

For the next week, Mitsuko refused to even look at Atem, after holing herself up in her room the entire night. She rushed out of her room to go to school, Atem at her heels as soon as she'd emerged.

"Mitsuko-sama—"

"Yu-nii, are you coming? I'm not going to wait another minute!" she called upstairs, looking through the pharaoh if that was possible. Oh, is there a person standing on the stairs? I don't see anything.

Yugi ran down and grinned. "You know you wouldn't leave without me. It's Atem-san's first day of school, after all, so we have to be on time."

"I never thought this day would come, both of us going to school at a decent time. Jii-chan, we're going now!"

Sugoroku called as they rushed out the door, "See you after school, you three!"

Yugi moved back so Atem could walk next to her, hoping beyond all hope that she would be in a forgiving mood, which was in vain.

"Mitsuko-sama, what have I done that's angered you to such a degree that you no longer acknowledge my presence? It's been a whole week, this has to stop."

It won't until you say sorry for trying to bribe me into marrying you, you jerk. No one bribes Mutou Mitsuko into doing anything important like marriage. I'm only fifteen and such a prospect won't cross my mind until I'm a college graduate and have a well-paying job. I don't care what it takes, even if I have to work after school in secret and save up my allowance until I'm twenty. "Yu-nii, did you hear something? It must've been the wind."

"Mi-ne, you're acting like a child," Yugi insisted, frowning. "You haven't done this since we were eight. Come on, be the bigger person and talk to Atem-san first. He doesn't even know what he's done to offend you!"

If he must know, I'm not saying it to him directly. "Well then, tell Atem-ou that he was being extremely rude, trying to bribe me into marrying him by dangling my dream in front of me like a piece of hooked bait."

Yugi turned to Atem and asked, "When did you do that?"

The pharaoh crossed his arms. "It wasn't a bribe, it was motivation. She's being very stubborn with becoming my queen and I merely added I could help her with her dream if she just conceded."

"Well...Atem-san, she's right. Besides, she's too young."

"Young? Fifteen is quite old for a young woman to be unmarried."

Mitsuko snorted. "Tell the pharaoh that things have changed in three thousand years. I'm not even considered an adult until I'm twenty, or even legal until I'm sixteen."

Atem raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean, 'legal'?"

Yugi scratched his head nervously. "She means if you were to..." He blushed darkly. "...do things together, before she's sixteen, it would be against the law."

" 'Do things together'? Your phraseology is very strange for something that embarrasses you this much. Tell me frankly what you mean, Yugi."

Yugi gave his twin puppy eyes. "Mi-ne, would you please explain? It's so embarrassing!"

Mitsuko growled and crossed her arms furiously as she kept walking. So the pharaoh thinks he's being funny by being naïve? Well, let him chew on this. "Tell Atem-ou that what we call 'doing things together' is his equivalent of 'lying together'."

Atem chuckled. "You're telling me you don't even marry until you're much older? Siamun told me my wife would be thirteen years of age, to get as many chances to have an heir possible, since it had been foretold I'd have a short reign."

A full-body shudder went through the twin teens in unison, Mitsuko clapping her hands her ears. "EWWWWWWW! GROSS! GROSSGROSSGROSSGROSS GROSSGROSSGROSSGROSS GROSS! WHAT KIND OF MARRIAGE IS THAT?! YOU, FIFTEEN, WHILE SHE WAS THIRTEEN?! OH, MY EARS!"

She hopped up and down, as if trying to shake the memory out through her ears. That was something I never wanted to picture in my brain! A thirteen-year-old having...doing...with him! I can't even imagine it when I'm twenty and he's the same age! I'm gonna puke from the vivid images that sends! WHERE'S MY BRAIN BLEACH?!

"What's so revolting about such things? It is how things were back then. A girl would marry as soon as she was able to have children. Also, I was nineteen when I ascended the throne. I'm not as young as I appear now."

"NINETEEN?!" the twins exclaimed.

I think...nope, I'm running the rest of the way to school so I can blow chunks in peace.

"Mi-ne! Mi-ne, slow down!"

Anzu checked on her as she rinsed her mouth out. "What upset your stomach? Did you eat something bad?"

Mitsuko shook her head, dabbing at her forehead then mouth. "No, Yami-san said something gross. You know, boys."

The older girl pulled a disgusted face. "Yeah. You think you need to go to the nurse?"

"No, class is about to start."

"Okay."

They walked to class and sat in their seats as the teacher came in. "Close call, Mazaki and Mutou. Now class, we have a new transfer student that you all last saw escorting Mutou here last week. Please come in."

Atem walked in and stood in front of the class, his confident stance making all the girls giggle in delight. He crossed his arms as the teacher wrote his name in kanji on the board, and everyone stared at how strange it looked.

"Damiri Atem. He's staying with the Mutou twins and their grandfather as an exchange student. Now, please sit in the open seat behind Mutou Mitsuko."

Anzu hissed to the twins, "You said his name was Yami!"

"Until we could understand him properly, that's what we called him," Yugi explained.

Atem sat behind Mitsuko and murmured in her ear, "You have my deepest apologies for my actions. I clearly treated you too lightly."

She relaxed and muttered back, "I forgive you." This time.

So, how was that? I thought them having a fight would be rather natural, since everyone does so every once in a while.

Please review!