Sorry this was late on , the library I was at yesterday had an unfortunate problem. was blocked.

Hey guys! Thanks so much for being interested in the story so far. More comments would be appreciated. Again, head on over to DA and check out Kafae-Latte if you like 3

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Yugioh, puzzleshipping would be canon.

Chapter 2:

The New Kid in Town

It was two weeks later before Yami would see him again. He had eventually stopped thinking about him, deciding it was best not to ask in case something bad did happen. He'd honestly rather not know about things like that.

Yami walked down the stairs again, forgoing the elevator in attempt to be on time. He'd gotten up early this morning to go and eat breakfast with Mai, so he needed to hurry up and get there or else he'd end up being late for school as well. He couldn't have that happening; Mrs. Cecelia was only so forgiving when it came to tardies, and he'd already gotten two this semester. He didn't want to be stuck cleaning the windows in the classroom or scrubbing the classroom floors after school.

He rounded the corner to the lunch room, his eyes eagerly scanning the crowd as he looked for his friend. Finally, Mai spotted him and started waving, and he was able to spot her in the sea of people. He smiled and walked briskly over to where she sat, pulling out the seat across from her at the two-person table they now shared.

"How did you sleep last night?" She asked. Yami snorted.

"Sleep is for the weak." He teased. Mai rolled her eyes and made a dismissive gesture, clearly telling him to go and get food. He smiled at her and grabbed his plate, walking off to do as she said and get the breakfast he was eager for.

He scanned the lines, letting the scent of warm food caress his senses as he tried to pick something out. He really wanted a cinnamon roll, but he knew he'd never eat all of the giant ones the hospital made in the morning and he didn't want his breakfast to be too expensive. He was hoping that after school today he could talk Mai into going with him to Starbucks on her break to get some real coffee, and the cinnamon roll would drain his finances.

Yami shrugged and picked up a Poptart instead, deciding that it would be better to save and knowing that most of the cinnamon roll would probably go to waste anyways. He picked it up off the line and walked over to the register, handing the woman his money before walking back to the table and plopping it down.

"So, how are you?" Mai asked. Yami opened up his Poptart before responding.

"I'm doing good." Yami signed back, smiling. "How about you?"

"I got a dog." She said, smiling broadly. Yami's jaw opened just a little bit. She'd wanted a dog for the past few years, and hadn't had the time or resources to have one. He guessed that she'd finally gotten sick of waiting and decided to make the time. "Do you want to help me name her?"

"Wait, slow down. How did you get the dog?" Yami asked. He wanted to hear the whole story before they started talking names.

"Well, you know how I was wanting to go back to school to get a higher degree so I could be a doctor instead of a nurse?" Mai asked. Yami nodded his head. "Well, I found out that I had to do some charity work to make my application look better." She announced. Yami nodded his head. He was getting the gist of where this was going.

She launched into a story about how she had started volunteering for the animal shelter and fell in love with a little mutt puppy that had soft brown eyes and a golden-white coat. Yami watched her tell the story with vague interest as she described the puppy vividly, and he was again impressed with her extensive vocabulary. He nodded his head to show her that he was still watching and comprehending, but his mind was a little floaty that morning.

When he stopped paying attention was when the doors opened to reveal a boy about his age, maybe a year or two younger. He had softly spiked hair with violet tips/ and pale white skin. He was wearing some leather pants and a shirt that fit is lithe form, and his eyes were closed. Someone was leading him over towards a table, and they had a firm hand on his shoulder. Not once in walking did he open his eyes.

"Mai, Mai," Yami signed excitedly, his eyes shifting back to her. She paused, (presumably mid-sentence, Yami hadn't been paying attention) and put down her hands, head tilting to the side. "Who is that patient?" He asked, gesturing towards Yuugi. If he wasn't mistaken, that was the young boy that he had seen in the emergency room a couple of weeks ago. He had some bandages on his head in around the same places, so it was plausible. It was hard to tell, though. It would be hard to recognize him with all the blood.

"Have you even been paying attention to my story?" Mai asked, pouting. "Really Yami, that's rude." She said, crossing her arms. Yami rolled his eyes and gestured frantically towards Yuugi.

"Okay, fine." Mai grumbled, turning around. She didn't sign it, but Yami could read her lips well enough to get that much. Her eyes widened as she assessed the small boy, her head tilting to the side just a bit as he picked up his fork and attempted to stab some carrots, growling as he missed. She turned back to Yami and raised an eyebrow. "The boy in the car crash who went blind?"

Yami shook his head back and forth before raising his hands to respond. "I saw him come in and he looked hurt bad. Were those his parents that died?" He asked. Mai's eyes flickered with emotion before she steeled herself again, shaking her head in confirmation. Yami's eyes flickered back to him and he frowned. He knew what it was like to lose a mother; he felt a little sorry for him. "Why are his eyes closed?"

"You really need to pay attention. I already told you, he went blind in the crash." She signed back. Yami shook his head, his eyes darting back to where he sit.

"So, how much longer is he going to be here?" He questioned. He wasn't sure why he felt so curious over the young boy, he just... Well, he couldn't explain it. Maybe it was because they looked alike? No, that couldn't be it.

They didn't really look alike. Not enough to justify this level of curiosity. Yami was three or four inches taller, his features more angular, his eyes were slanted and he had some muscle tone. The other boy was more petite, softer around the edges, he looked more approachable than Yami did. He wore a face made to beam up at someone. Really the only things that were the same about them was their fashion sense and the shape of their hair. The rest was night and day.

"Why do you want to know? We aren't getting a little crush now, are we?" Mai asked playfully, reaching out to nudge him. Yami felt his cheeks turn crimson at the mention and he shook his head no fiercely, clearing his throat a little without even realizing he was doing it. Mai chuckled at his reaction before giving in and telling him what was happening. "Well, he's blind. We can't trace back any kind of family other than his parents, and he said he didn't have any other family left. We can't put him in a foster home until he's at the very least learned braille and how to walk with a cane, and he's already sixteen. So essentially, right now, it's about your situation. He could be in here for quite awhile if nobody steps up as family." She signed.

"So he's going to start attending school with us?" He asked, intrigued now. If he was going to be a long term patient, then he was probably going to be in class with Yami. Maybe Yami could talk to him some.

"Yeah, today actually. They wanted to give him some more time to recover and get used to everything, but he insisted that he'd already adjusted. He's a tough kid." Mai said, looking over. "He wanted to start learning braille as soon as possible. The doctors still haven't let the nurses know why he went blind yet."

"That doesn't sound very promising. What's his name?" Yami asked. Mai turned to him with a mischievous smile.

"Why don't we go and find out?" She asked, winking. Yami was about to object when she got up out of her seat and turned towards Yuugi. She could no longer see his hands frantically insisting that it was okay and he would meet the newcomer later, and she trudged forward through the crowd towards where the young boy sat. Yami rose and quickly wove through the tables after her, seeing no other option. When Mai was determined to make something happen, it was going to happen one way or another.

Yami caught up right as she reached the young boy's table, and he was panting from the effort of weaving through the crowd. People parted like the red sea for Mai, while he had a bit of a less commanding presence. He preferred to stick to the shadows and subtlety was his middle name. People respected him, but only after he was forced to exert his power. People respected Mai instantaneously.

Yami watched Mai's mouth move, but he didn't focus on making out the words she was saying(not that he could make out much t this point even if he did try). He watched as the boy nodded his head and responded to her curtly. Mai turned to Yami and opened her mouth for a second before pausing and sheepishly lifting up her hands, almost forgetting for a moment that he couldn't understand her.

"What did you say to him?" Yami demanded. Mai rolled her eyes.

"Relax, I just told him that you were a deaf classmate of his and that you wanted to know his name. By the way, it's Yuugi, in case you're wondering." She said, shaking her head.

Yami paused. 'Yuugi'. It seemed fitting, light and sweet for somebody who looked light and sweet. "Yuugi? Isn't that Japanese for game?" He asked, faintly recalling hearing something like that once. He knew a little bit of Japanese thanks to the fact that his own name meant 'Darkness', something that could be fitting if someone did something foolish.

Yami was sweet and gentle and kind, but he wouldn't hesitate to change that if you did something that he didn't think was right. He'd had many rich or arrogant douche bags come in here to visit dead or dying family and be completely rude to the staff. The few times that had happened, he'd stood up for them, (admittedly making Rebecca a little uncomfortable translating what he said to the men) often ending up with the snooty person put in their place. Now there had been a couple of times where he'd taken them on in a game to prove their lack of intelligence, but he'd always prevailed in the end. Honestly, he had no clue how the games started, they just did. It seemed like games seemed to follow him wherever he went, and now it was happening again.

Of course, 'Game' had never been an actual person before.

Mai turned back to Yuugi and asked him the question, to which Yuugi nodded his head and turned towards the sound of her voice, smiling just the smallest bit. Yami waited eagerly for his answer.

"He said that it does stand for game, his grandfather was Japanese and owned a game shop, so they decided to name him after that." Mai clarified, waiting for an answer from Yami.

"That's neat. Tell him that I love to play games." Yami said. Mai nodded her head and turned to Yuugi again, almost accidentally signing his answer back. She growled in frustration and glared at Yami playfully, giving a dramatic sigh before she opened her mouth and started talking. Yami smiled at her blunder; Rebecca had had the same trouble with going back and forth when she first started translating too. Speaking of Rebecca...

She came stumbling into the breakfast area, her bag slung lazily over her shoulder as she scanned the crowd. She spotted Yami and he waved happily, starting to practically prance over to the group. She smiled broadly and grabbed a seat, sitting down at Yuugi's table and listening to Mai's translating. Actually, Yami hadn't noticed it before, but Mai was taking an awful long time just to translate what he had said...

"What is she saying?" Yami asked Rebecca. Rebecca smiled sheepishly.

"I figured you hadn't had a hand in getting her to say all this. She's ranting about how good you are at playing games. She's also professing how modest you are and not to listen if you try and tell him otherwise." Rebecca said, laughing a little. Yami blushed, burying his face in his hands a moment before lifting it up so he could sign again.

"Will you please tell him that she's over exaggerating?" Yami asked, shaking his head. He loved Mai to death, but sometimes she really needed to know when it was and wasn't okay to go on about a person. Yami got embarrassed easily when somebody talked about his skill.

Rebecca went ahead and cut in, presumably saying what he had insisted to the small boy. He shook his head, a smile appearing on his face as he responded to Rebecca.

"Well, he said that you sounded wonderful and he used to love games. You know what? Maybe you two could play something sometime, we do have those braille playing cards. It would be a good exercise for him once he starts learning, and you two could have fun together. Want me to run the idea past him?" Mai suggested, her eyes shining with mischief and happiness. Yami shook his head yes. He'd played go fish with a couple of the blind kids before, placing their hands delicately over the number that he wanted to ask if they had before they would shake their heads yes or no, mouthing the number that they wanted to ask him if he had. Again, Yami didn't know much lip reading, but he did know the numbers.

Mai turned to Yuugi and they spoke for a few minutes. Yuugi's smile grew wider as he heard what she said, and he wiggled in his seat a little in excitement. Yami fought against the urge to call it cute. He was a seventeen year old boy for crying out loud, nothing should make him want to go 'awww!' like he'd just gotten the urge to.

"He said that he'd love that. It'll probably take a few weeks for him to learn braille, but he'd actually been afraid that he'd never be able to play card games again after everything. It was one of the things that made him the most upset. He has to warn you that he may give you a run for your title though; apparently, he's one of the best gamers around." Mai said, before turning to Rebecca and saying something. Yuugi nodded his head in agreement and Yami felt a little left out of the loop, but he decided not to comment.

"Tell him that he's on. Nobody threatens my title and gets away with it." He teased. "Though he shouldn't know about my title anyways." He added, glaring at Mai for revealing that little tidbit. Mai laughed a little and shrugged as if to say, 'what-can-you-do?' before she turned and translated what Yami had said. Yuugi was smiling like a kid on Christmas morning.

"He said okay. I think you two had both better get to class before somebody gets his third tardy." Mai signed, looking at Yami with a eyebrow raised. Yami rolled his eyes and nodded his head.

"Okay, tell him I'll see him around. I have to go and grab my poptart, I didn't get to eat yet." Yami signed before turning back to the table and running to go and grab his food. He grabbed the package and turned on his heel, trying to weave in and out of the crowd in attempt to be on time. He was barely able to succeed in getting out alive; he almost got tripped three times and had to duck several times to avoid running into people's arms. He figured that Yuugi's assistant would give him an excuse to be late, so he didn't even check to see if he had gotten up yet.

Yami rounded a corner and threw open the door to the steps, taking a large bite of his chocolate poptart before he started up the stairs. He breathed through his nose so that he wouldn't choke, running as fast as he could to make it up the five flights of stairs in time. He passed a couple of cleaning ladies who just shook their heads, by now used to the routine of Yami tearing through hallways and staircases around this time every morning. He waved as he passed them by.

Finally he was on his proper floor, and he exploded into the classroom right as Cecelia was about to close the doors again. She shook her head for a moment before she just sighed and brought out a large textbook, slamming it down onto his desk. Yami smiled broadly as she flipped it open to the page containing his lesson for the day.

As soon as she was finished explaining through a mixture of writing things down and signing out what he should do, the door opened again. Her head snapped up and she smiled broadly. Yami turned just the slightest bit to see that Yuugi was standing in the doorway, followed by his own nurse. He felt the smallest smile creep up on his face too as Cecelia walked over to him and introduced herself.

He watched for only a moment longer before he shook his head, snapping himself out of it. He needed to concentrate on doing his work, not on what was going on around him. He turned back towards his homework and steeled himself to completing the problem set before him.

He got distracted a couple of times, but soon enough he was done with the worksheet. Having nothing to do but wait around for the teacher to come and give him his next assignment, he started to doodle on the side of his paper. That couldn't entertain him for long, though. Soon enough, he found his eyes shifting back to where Yuugi was sitting in the back of the room, his hands steadily running across a piece of paper as Cecelia spoke to him. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion as he moved, his mouth pursing in the slightest way. Yami caught himself staring and abruptly turned away, trying to focus on his own work.

He grabbed his pencil again, picking it up and staring down at the paper for a solid minute before he realized that he didn't have anything else to do for the moment. He let out a huff and let his head fall onto his desk lazily.

Why was he so fascinated with the new student? Was it because he was in the same position as himself now? Was it because he seemed to be kind? Was it because he wanted to have a friend his own age? No, none of those explanations took into consideration the pull he felt towards the other. He wanted to learn everything about him; and Yami had no clue why. It intrigued him to no end.

Of course, he'd heard of things like this happening, it had just never happened to him before. Some people would glance at a person and get the craving to know everything about them, like they needed to breathe, they needed to know. It was random and sometimes led to getting chewed out by some pretentious person who thought they were too good to talk to strangers, but sometimes it lead to truly heartwarming friendships and the possibility of a life long bond.

Yami wondered if Yuugi would push him away if he tried to get close. He didn't seem like the type to be rude or snappy, but... Well, even if he would start to open up, how could they talk? There was a huge communication barrier; Yami couldn't talk to Yuugi without a translator. He knew that no matter how close he felt to a person, he still wouldn't relay personal information through someone else. Well, maybe Mai, but that was because they were close enough for her to know most of his secrets anyways. A complete stranger though, (which is what everyone who could translate for them was right now would be to Yuugi) Yami couldn't expect Yuugi to speak through them.

So how could they get to know each other?

Yami pondered for a minute longer, his foot lightly tapping against the ground. He couldn't think of any way they could talk right now, but he was sure something would come to him eventually.

Just then, Yami felt a hand gently graze his shoulder as Mrs. Cecelia walked by him, stopping to look at his problem set so far and nod her head in encouragement. She then shut his math book and reached down behind her desk to grab his English, dragging it over and opening to a unit on speeches. Yami watched with vague interest as she described his project to him, letting him know what would be expected.

Yami had to write and perform a speech on any given topic, as long as there was a thesis and support for his opinion, he could write about whatever he wanted. He would have to give this at the end of the year, so he knew he had plenty of time. She explained that she just wanted him to get his outline done today, and then he was free to go and do whatever he pleased. Yami sat up a little straighter.

"What? Why?" He signed. Cecelia almost never let him out early, save special occasions.

"Honesty I don't have the time in the day to handle everyone right now. That's why I'm making you do the entire outline; it's more work than would typically be scheduled in an English day, and we'll pick up some extra microbiology tomorrow to make up for missing that, and you're ahead in AP gov. anyway. Plus, a little extra elective time couldn't hurt, could it?" She asked, winking. Yami nodded his head and thanked her, which she waved off and told him to have fun. He nodded his head.

It only took him half an hour to finish his outline. As soon as he was done he ran out of the classroom, taking a turn to go and find Mai. She should be working with Mokuba right now; maybe he would get lucky and the three of them would have enough time to play go fish.

He walked briskly through the hallways, his feet making little clopping sounds that he couldn't hear. He walked past a couple of rooms, smiling to himself as he thought. He walked along until he finally reached the room where Mokuba was settled and knocked softly on the door.

He waited for a moment, eagerly peering through the small glass window, before Mai appeared and opened it up. He figured that she had already called out, 'it's open!' before she had checked, but he didn't want to take the risk of walking in on something embarrassing for Mokuba. He knew that Mokuba would write it off, but some of those treatments they had done were pretty personal, and he wanted to make sure that Mokuba had his privacy.

Mai smiled a winning smile as she ushered Yami in, smacking his butt playfully as he walked by. He turned around and glared at her, blushing slightly.

"I'm a minor you know!" He signed snappily. She chuckled deeply and rolled her eyes.

"I've known you since you were twelve; believe me when I say you're a brother to me." She responded, giving a small wink. "Plus, I just can't resist."

"You're going to scar Mokuba." Yami signed, to which Mokuba huffed.

"I'm still fourteen years old." Mokuba signed. Yami smiled broadly.

"You're making progress." He commented. Mokuba beamed up at him.

"He's been practicing." Mai informed Yami.

Mokuba, after watching Yami and Mai interact for six months, had started to catch on already to many of the signs. Of course, it was a surprise to both of them when he jumped right into one of their conversations, commenting on how nice the weather had been and how happy he was to be on the road to recovery. They had both froze entirely, looking at Mokuba for a second before slowly turning towards each other and blinking, too shocked to react for a moment.

"How long have you been able to understand us?" Mai finally asked, breaking out of her trance first. Mokuba smiled broadly.

"I started being able to make out some sentences around two months ago. I don't know that much, but I want to learn." He said out loud, not knowing all of the signs to say it with his hands. Mai turned to Yami and quickly translated.

Ever since then, the three of them had talked time and time again. Mokuba would always speak as he signed, just to make sure that he was getting the words right, and Mai would correct him if he made a mistake. He had grown to be incredibly good since then, and he could say almost anything he needed to.

"So, Mai," Yami said, pausing for a moment, glancing at Mokuba, "Do you want to go and get coffee later? Off campus?" He offered. Mokuba perked up.

"If you do, will you bring me back a doughnut?" He asked excitedly. Yami chuckled and shook his head. He had a little extra money on him, he could afford a little bit of a splurge for his friend. Mokuba smiled broadly, the promise of the treat making him eager.

"Of course I want to hang out, Yami. The Starbucks across the street?" She offered. Yami shook his head, smiling.

"I need to go and get some filing done now so I'll have some money put back, but I'll meet you outside in three hours. That is when you're off tonight, right?" He clarified. He had came with the intentions to stay for a game of go fish, but he hadn't thought through the fact that it would be smarter to go ahead and get some more hours in. One advantage of living in the workplace; he got to choose when he worked.

"Of course, it's a Friday. I'll see you then." Mai said, waving him off. Yami left then, headed towards the office where he sorted and filed and found files for doctors who needed them.

Three hours later, Yami walked outside, feeling the cold air hit his face. He gave a shiver, wishing he had grabbed his jacket or worn his "School Uniform", (which was the nickname he had given to some of his more formal clothing) before stepping out. He rubbed his bare arms in the February weather, wishing for something to ease his shivering, until he finally spotted Mai standing over near the bus bench. He smiled a warm smile before he walked over to her, eager to go across the street.

He tapped her arm lightly to get her attention. "We should go now, I'm going to get frostbite."

"That's your own fault." Mai scolded, rolling her eyes. "You're the only person I know that's stupid enough not to wear a jacket in the middle of winter, a New York winter no less."

"Yeah yeah yeah, could we please just go to the coffee shop already? I'm gonna catch a major cold and you're gonna regret leaving me out here to suffer." He tried. Mai smiled just the smallest bit and turned on her heel, headed towards the coffee shop across the street.

They walked through the wooden doors, the wave of warmth going over their heads as they entered. Yami breathed out a sigh of relief as he warmed up, breathing in the rich scents of caramel and chocolate and coffee beans. He wished they had a candle that could smell exactly like this coffee shop, but it was impossible to mimic exactly. He breathed out again, letting the tension drain from his body and giving Mai a smile.

Most Starbucks were filled with pretentious white girls in Ugg boots trying to get pictures for Instagram, but this one was different. This one was filled with college kids studying and friendly workers and fifty year old people playing chess at a table in the back. (Yami had actually beaten them a couple of times). This coffee shop felt like a part of Yami's childhood.

Yami walked a couple of feet over to the nearest table and sat down, pulling out a chair for Mai to sit in next to him. She sat down and they waited for a moment until Mai offered to go up and get their coffee and Yami handed her the money to go. Mai grabbed it and set it down to clarify what he wanted, (a chocolate-covered strawberry frappe, and yes, he would kill her for telling anyone that he drank coffee that sounded so girly) before she ran off to the counter to order.

Yami gave a sigh, looking out the window at the passing people. There were so many, young and old, tourists and locals, a few of the faces just a little too familiar to deny that he'd probably seen them in passing before. He watched as the clouds outside began to gather, darkening just the slightest bit in color, swirling like they were dancing in the chaotic winds high above. He closed his eyes, missing the first of the flakes begin to slowly waltz down, but knowing all the same that they were there. Six months until his eighteenth birthday, six months until he would move out.

He could honestly say that he was going to miss the hospital more than anything, but he was also excited for gaining his own footing. He felt like he'd been dependent upon the hospital staff for too long, and he was eager to prove himself to the world. He wanted to be independent, make his own choices, and provide for himself. Maybe it was just his age, but he felt like the sooner he was out, the sooner that his life would start.

Then again, he was sad. The hospital staff was his family. Not only that, but he would have to move across the country to find a good college that taught exclusively deaf. Okay, so maybe not across the country, he hadn't looked into it yet, but still. He couldn't imagine that there would be one close enough for him to visit as often as he'd like. He'd be leaving behind the only home he ever knew, and he didn't even know what he wanted to be yet. Should he even be thinking about college?

Then again, there was a nice school a couple of blocks down from the hospital. It was a large university with cheap dorm rooms, and it had a wide array of income-based classes. Yami had read online that it was an incredibly prestigious establishment with a large percentage of graduation compared to other colleges, and that it was actually known for adapting to kids with special needs or that needed a little extra help in school. Yami's teachers would be told to face him directly while they said anything important, so that he would be insured to get all of the learning experience the other students had. Well, I mean, if he could read lips.

Yami gave a small frown. He had so many paths laid out before him, so many choices that he'd have to decide between, and six months really did not seen like enough time to get everything worked out. He gave a deep sigh and put his head in his hands, trying not to think about it for now. Contemplating life and realizing that you're on a downward spiral destined to fail and get things wrong a million times before you get things right was for laying awake in your bed at two o'clock in the morning.

His head popped up as he felt the nudge of a cold cup on his bare skin, and he saw Mai place his cup in front of him. He smiled the smallest smiles and thanked her before he picked it up and drew it to his lips, taking a sip and then chewing the little chunks of chocolate and ice before swallowing. Mai leaned forward to take a sip of her own drink, and a brief silence passed between them.

Finally, Mai set down her drink, her eyes sparkling with their usual mischief.

"So, the way you looked at the new boy today was pretty... interesting." She signed, raising her eyebrows. Yami paused, putting down his drink for a moment and trying to figure out what she was implying.

"What do you mean?" He finally asked, not seeing why she was acting like this. Mai let out a laugh before shaking her head and giving a sigh.

"I mean, you like him." She said, mischief glistening in her eyes. Yami just sat there for a moment.

"Of course I like him, he's never given me a reason not to." Yami said dismissively, missing the picture. Mai just raised her eyebrows higher.

It took Yami a moment to realize that she hadn't meant it like that. His face heated up slowly as he came to the realization, and he shook his head back and forth adamantly. "NO, NO, not like that!" He signed frantically. Mai threw her head back and let out an even louder laugh, (Yami assumed) drawing the attention of several other people in the small place. He sunk down into his chair and resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands again.

"You're lying through your teeth, you were interested. Honestly Yami, I was wondering why you were never staring at girls or ogling my boobs." Mai teased, fluffing up her chest. Yami's face got even darker at that and he shook his head no again.

"I never said I was gay! I'm not gay!" He said. Mai was still smiling as his argument died and he rested his elbows on the table in defeat, taking another sip of his coffee in the mean time.

Yami thought for a moment. Well... Was he gay? He'd never really had any attraction to anyone before, he was more focused on just living his life and getting through the day. When he tried to think about having a girlfriend or getting married, it had always seemed like a distant idea for the distant future, something to be thought about when he was older and ready for that kind of commitment. Could he see himself in a picket-fence house, a wife with dinner on the table, rug rats running all around?

Well, no, honestly. He never thought of himself as one for the traditional lifestyle anyways, but the idea of settling down and marrying a woman seemed ludicrous. He'd always just told himself that the want to have a girlfriend would come later in life, always given himself the excuse that he was waiting until it would be less drama, excuse after excuse for why he couldn't see himself with a pretty girl on his arm. He shook his head, chasing the thoughts away for now. Stupid Mai, he had enough to think about right now.

"Well, okay then. Maybe you're bi?" Mai questioned. Yami hesitated before shaking his head again. He'd think about this later. Mai knew though, he could tell that she had caught his slight hesitation when he said no. This subject wouldn't be dropped, and he honestly had no clue how to address it.

Didn't people who were gay just have some all-knowing sense that they were supposed to be different or something? Wasn't there something deep inside of them that would help them just feel that being with somebody of the same sex was right? Yami looked deep inside himself and all he saw was a big ball of swirling confusion and... Well, honestly, uncertainty. Ugh, why couldn't his life just be simple?

"I- Mai, I've never liked anyone before. Just because I looked at the new guy funny doesn't mean I want to kiss him." Yami defended. You just want to learn things about him and spend time with him for reasons that you literally can't explain to yourself. His own mind tagged on. He would have growled out loud if not for the fact that Mai would have then known of his raging internal battle.

"Okay." She relented, seeing that the conversation was making Yami uncomfortable, "If you ever feel like you need somebody to talk to about stuff though, you can come to me. I'm actually bisexual, so I could help you to figure stuff out. I know how hard it was for me." Mai admitted, reaching out to brush Yami's hand. There was sympathy in her eyes, and for once, Yami could tell that she was actually serious. He nodded his head and went back to take a large swig of his coffee, trying not to concentrate too hard on everything.

After the initial panic of "Oh god, am I?" was over, Yami felt it replaced by an odd form of curiosity. He'd been raised to accept himself for who he was no matter what, that things like this didn't really matter about a person, but that didn't mean he wasn't still wary of the idea. He had seen some of the cruelty the world had inflicted on people just for being different, so he was reluctant to accept something that big about himself. He thought; had he ever really looked at somebody else's body?

The answer he reached, after careful deliberation, was no. He hadn't. He'd been raised to respect the boundaries of others, and that included not looking at somebody or making them uncomfortable. So, he honestly had no clue what he preferred. Maybe he should start?

He peered out the street, not even thinking about starting with Mai. She was like a sister to him, not being attracted to her wouldn't prove anything. He looked, scanned, tried to find something that he was attracted to. He saw a woman with a pair of large breast implants walk by, (no thank you) quickly followed by a boy a couple years older than him, too buff and with floppy blonde hair (Yami did NOT want to be greeted by 'What's up, dude?') and bright blue eyes. He gave a small frown as he turned back towards his coffee again. Maybe he could just create a fictional person with all the attributes he liked?

Nope, he wasn't going to do that. He didn't even know what he liked besides soft skin and a nice personality. This was all so confusing for him, why did Mai have to bring this up?!

He thought next about physical touch. He hadn't been disgusted by a girl's touch, never. He hadn't been thrilled by it or overjoyed, but he certainly hadn't hated it. He had about the same indifference towards his male classmates, so there was really nothing to compare it with, though. He didn't hate it when girls kissed him, but there wasn't that spark everyone always talked about, and he didn't crave it at all. Not that he craved to kiss a boy, but, well...

Yami shook his head. He'd definitely have to find a way to run some experiments if he ever found his sexuality relevant. He shook his head and tried to focus on the conversation he was having with Mai, smiling like he'd been listening the entire time. She looked at him quizzically for a moment before she just continued on telling him about how hard she was trying to potty train her new puppy.

"I mean, I saw her in the shelter and it was love at first sight. The manager asked if I wanted to keep her and I told her yeah, but I couldn't afford the adoption fees right now because every penny I save was going towards college." (Mai already had a nursing degree, but eventually wanted to go fir a doctorate.) "She was actually nice enough to wave the adoption fees as long as I promised to give the poor little girl a nice, loving home, and now here we are! I love her so much Yami. Today she peed all over the carpet though, which is going to be a serious issue. Do you have any idea how to potty train a dog? I looked stuff up online, but I don't know how effective any of it is and honestly none of it's gonna work fast enough." Mai complained. "And don't think for a second I'm getting rid of her, she's precious."

"You could try using those puppy pads for now. If you see him start to go, pick him up and take him outside. Eventually he'll get to where he likes it better, and he'll start wanting to go outside. Hey, don't you think we should probably get that doughnut for Mokuba and go now? It looks like the snow is getting worse." Yami said, frowning as he glanced at his still uncovered arms. Mai rolled her eyes before hopping up.

"Okay, but next time wear a jacket. You're gonna get sick." She said, shaking her head. Yami smiled and got up from the table too, walking over to buy the doughnut for Mokuba before coming back and pushing out the doors, into the freezing cold weather that awaited.

He had a lot to think about tonight.