Sorry for the long delay! I've been very busy with school work and other things. .
Here's chapter two!
I'll try to update more frequently. I've been losing ideas when I get them. :c
Everything was silent.
Nothing had been the same anymore ever since Yami left to the afterlife.
Even silence fell upon the group of friends; Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda had all grown so apart. Yuugi was the one who especially felt excluded.
It was another lonely day. Jounouchi sat on top of one of the desks in the classroom, gazing around. Where was Anzu and Honda? More importantly… Where was Yuugi?
With a sigh, the blonde let his legs dangle and swing off of the desk. Maybe he could cheer Yuugi up today… Maybe he could get Honda and Anzu together, and they could all go out somewhere like they always used to do. The thought made Jounouchi perk up a bit. Ironically, Anzu and Honda walked in together. They chatted quietly to themselves.
"Hey, guys!" Jounouchi waved over to where he was, so the two could join.
"Jounouchi!" Anzu and Honda exclaimed in unison as they walked over to their friend who was smiling like an idiot.
"Guys… I think we should do somethin' to cheer up Yug' today. You know how he's been… down since Yami left? I miss seein' our buddy smile…"
The three lowered their heads in thought. What could they do to cheer Yuugi up today? Jounouchi began to suspect something…
Yuugi still wasn't here yet.
Looking up, Jounouchi gazed at the clock located right above the door. 7:35 A.M. Homeroom would start any minute now. "Speaking of Yug', where…"
Anzu quickly cupped a hand over the blonde's mouth when a familiar, short figure entered the room.
Yuugi.
Sympathy flooded into the eyes of the three friends. Yuugi looked as terrible as ever. With the usual goofy grin, Jounouchi gave Anzu a slight look and moved her hand, and stood to walk over to his little buddy. "Hey, pal! We were wonderin' if you wanna -"
Yuugi looked up with a look that could say a thousand words. Jounouchi placed his hands on the shorter boy's shoulders. He was sick of seeing Yuugi so ill and upset every single day, and it was time to change that and get the boy to talk. "Yuugi, listen ta' me... You need to snap out of it. We can't bring Yami back. I know ya' miss him, we all do, but-"
The blonde was cut off by a few sobs. Amethyst eyes glittered up at him, brimming with tears, a few drops of liquid finding their way down. Honda came up behind Jounouchi and tugged on his arm, pulling the male away from their now crying and sobbing friend.
"Way to go!" Honda hissed. Anzu ran over and pulled Yuugi close as the boy buried his face in his hands.
Guilt flooded the eyes of Jounouchi. "Y-Yug', I didn't mean-"
"It's okay, Jounouchi," Anzu was the one who spoke up, rubbing Yuugi's back soothingly and letting him cry into her chest, "we know you didn't mean it. It was an accident. We know Yuugi's sensitive to the topic…"
"RIght…" With a sigh, Jounouchi turned to Yuugi and kneeled down in front of him when he muttered an apology to Anzu, and then he turned away to face the blonde.
"Yug'... Forgive me… I didn't mean to make you cry, bud…" Jounouchi took Yuugi's arm with one of his hands and pulled him closer, making eye contact. Not wanting to be rude and just turn away, Yuugi met the eyes of his friend. That's when Jounouchi noticed how miserable Yuugi actually was, and he tried not to react negatively.
"I forgive you… Jounouchi-kun…" Yuugi spoke. That was a first. Something wasn't right… Yuugi's voice rasped and cracked. Concern joined in alongside the sympathy and guilt in the blonde's eyes.
Straightening up, Jounouchi smiled warmly to help brighten up the mood. "Hey, Yug', it's alright. Just remember that Yami's watching over you. Everything will be okay."
"You don't know how it feels…" Yuugi sniffled and closed his eyes. "I loved him."
Jounouchi's eyes brightened. "Do ya' know how hard it was to watch my sister being taken away from me? When Mom and Dad separated… Mom took Serenity, and I had to stay with Dad-"
"You actually got to see your sister again…"
Jounouchi paused. How was he to counter that? Another pang of sympathy stabbed at his heart. "Sorry, Yug'..."
A long silence fell over the group. Everyone took their seats. Homeroom was about to start.
The class seemed rather silent today, surprisingly. Homeroom was usually a very chatty class.
The teacher entered the classroom soon after and called everyone to attention. It took a few tries, it finally managed to calm everyone down. Yuugi was the only one who had his head on his desk, but the teacher was excused from scolding him since Solomon had explained what was wrong.
"Class," the teacher began, speaking in a loud and clear voice, "I am happy to say that we have a new student joining us today."
Everybody perked up. Everyone besides Yuugi and his friends, at least. Questions filled the room.
"Is it a boy?"
"Is it a girl?"
"What do they look like?"
"What's their name?"
"When will they be here?"
"QUIET!"
The room fell silent almost immediately.
Gesturing to the door, a smile crossed the teacher's face. The door opened slowly.
Spikey black and crimson hair was visible first. Yuugi's friends gasped when the person walked in.
"Class, this is Yami Sennen."
Yuugi tensed, lifting his head slowly as tears streamed down his cheeks. All the attention was now on Yuugi as the male in charge turned his head. "Mutou? Something wrong?"
The new student eyed his look alike and raised an eyebrow. "Yami, man?! Is that really you?!" Jounouchi was the one who rose and blurted, but the new male looked like he had no idea who the blonde was. Anzu and Honda stood as well, but Yuugi just sat at his desk and cried. "Yami, Yami…"
"Do you know them?" The teacher blinked and looked over at Yami who shook his head.
"I'm afraid not, Sensei."
"Dude!" Jounouchi looked aggravated, believing hard that this was his friend. "It's Jounouchi, Yuugi, Anzu, and Honda! You remember us, don't you?!" He glanced at Yuugi, who was having a panic attack in his seat.
Everyone's eyes were on the shaking and panting boy. Yuugi and this 'Yami' resembled each other… the only differences were that Yami had crimson tips while Yuugi had purple, crimson versus amethyst in eye color, and Yami's eyes were sharper than Yuugi's.
"Is… Is he alright?" It was Yami who now spoke, concern obvious in his red irises. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Yami…?" Yuugi lifted his head. "Is that really you?"
Yami froze. Who was this kid and how did he know his name?
"How do you know me?" Yami said, completely confused. Yuugi looked devastated and laid his head down. Maybe he could try again later. Now was not the time.
Yuugi didn't seem to be paying attention in class, but rather had his eyes on Yami. Every so often Yami glanced over at Yuugi with concerned eyes. What was wrong with this kid? He looked so… pale and miserable. Was he sick, perhaps? It sure looked like it.
The first class seemed to go fast. Yami jotted down notes and jumped when the bell rang. It was louder than his old school's bell. That would be something that he'd have to get used to.
His eyes immediately landed on Yuugi, who seemed to have drifted off in class. Poor kid… Yami thought. Suddenly, he had an idea. Soon enough, he found himself in front of the boy's desk. Yuugi lifted his head and looked up with dull eyes. It hit Yami almost immediately when he realized how much of a resemblance they actually shared.
After a short pause, Yami blinked.
"Hi."
Yuugi blinked his lavender eyes as he gazed around. Yami looked saddened by this and sighed, shaking his head.
"I was talking to you, kid…"
"Me?" Yami noticed the boy's voice was at a higher pitch than his own. He gave a nod.
"Hey… Uh… Are you alright? You looked so upset earlier when the teacher said my name..." Speaking lamely, he felt a little awkward.
Yuugi's eyes flooded over with tears. "S-Sorry… You didn't do anything. It's nothing important." He stood up and gathered his books, but Yami had a disbelieving look.
"It's obviously important if you're crying about it."
The shorter boy blinked at the sudden change of attitude. "I'll… I'll tell you later." Yuugi ran off when Yami called out for him. "W-wait!"
It was too late.
Yami gathered his own things and exited the classroom, lost in this thoughts.
A few periods passed, but the downside of it was that he had no classes with Yuugi or his friends. It was lunch time, though. Maybe Yuugi was in his lunch period.
It didn't take too long to find him. Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu, and Yuugi all sat together at the same table. Jounouchi was the first one to notice Yami.
"Hey, Yami! Over here!"
Smiling, Yami happily made his way over to their lunch table Everyone seemed so quiet when Yuugi lifted his head. Yami's attention was mainly on the smaller boy; the look the kid gave him was so upsetting.
"Hi, guys." Yami grinned and took a seat next to Yuugi who put his head back down. The crimson-eyed teen gazed down at him with concerned eyes. He didn't notice that the others were looking at him. Lifting his head, Yami looked the eyes on him and mouthed something to the three. Jounouchi shook his head and stood, motioning Yami over and leading the slightly shorter boy away from the table.
"Hey, it was nothing you did," Jounouchi started with a stern look, "Yug' lost someone very close to him last month… We all did."
Surprise shot through Yami like a bullet as Jounouchi continued. "Well… He isn't takin' it as well as us three are. Yuugi was the one closest to him." He stopped short, but Yami gave a pleading look.
"Go on..." His curiosity was growing by the second. He wanted to know what was wrong with Yuugi.
Jounouchi looked distraught as he took in a breath. "Yuugi was always the kind of kid who would like ta' play alone. Back then I would always bully him because he wasn't actin' like a man. Honda and I," he gestured over to the brunette who sat next to Anzu, "would always bully him and pick on him for that reason. One day… He came ta school with this puzzle box. I didn't know what it actually was… I tricked him into giving it to me so I could take a piece and throw it off somewhere so he couldn't complete it." He laughed slightly, but it was obviously not enthusiastic.
Yami frowned when Jounouchi stopped. "Continue."
"Little did I know it was the Millennium Puzzle… Something that came from Egypt." He shrugged. "Yug' could explain it better, but it had some kind of ancient Egyptian spirit inside of it. He was a pharaoh. When Yuugi solved it, that spirit inhabited his body, or somethin' along those lines. Yuugi and that guy shared a close bond. We all called him Yami, ironically. His real name was Atem, and he looks exactly like you."
"Exactly… like me?" Yami blinked and pointed at himself. He was finding it hard to believe that this ancient spirit had a nickname that was his actual name, not to mention that Atem looked exactly like himself. Jounouchi nodded. "You're like a mirror image. That's why Yuugi broke down, because we thought you were him."
"I… I am sorry about your friend." Yami bowed his head.
"Don't worry about it… I understand that Yuugi's hurt and all, but I think it's time he got over it…"
Yami raised an eyebrow. "It's not easy to get over losing someone close to you."
Jounouchi just shook his head and lead Yami back to the table. Yuugi had drifted off again with his head down on the table, and Anzu was rubbing his back. Honda sat across from the two. Jounouchi and Yami made their way back to the table with unreadable expressions when a silence fell over the group. All eyes were on Yuugi.
"Hey, Yami…"
Yami's attention was taken when Jounouchi called his name. The blonde leaned over and whispered in his ear in case Yuugi woke up. "We were going to take Yuugi out somewhere later to cheer him up… Would you like to come with us?" Yami's eyes brightened. "Of course."
Yuugi was just beginning to stir when Jounouchi and Yami finished talking. Coincidentally, the bell rang.
"What class do you have next, Yami?" Anzu asked. "All four of us have math."
Yami looked into his folder to check his schedule and, sure enough, he had the same class as the others.
"I have that, too," he said, smiling. Jounouchi nodded and gave a thumbs up.
"Sweet! Let's go, then!" Jounouchi jumped up from the lunch table and slammed his palms down on the surface, scaring everyone half to death.
"Easy, Jounouchi!" Anzu cried. Yuugi jumped up as Anzu continued rubbing his back. "Careful…"
"Heh, sorry…" The blonde rubbed the back of his head. "We should get going to class."
Math class was just the same, though the group was casting glances at Yami. Yami would occasionally glance back, but he was more focused on getting caught up with the work since he was a new student. Yuugi was dozing off in his desk.
The teacher snapped at Yuugi a few times for nodding off, but Anzu requested talking to her about the problem that the tri-colored teen was facing at the moment. Understanding, the teacher nodded and went back to teaching her lesson. Anzu volunteered to take extra notes for Yuugi.
Jounouchi passed notes with Honda during class. Not exactly being an A student, he usually just goofed off and did not care about what work was to be done. It was the same with Honda.
But the teacher wasn't stupid. Turning her head sharply, she glared at her two students. "Katsuya, would you care to read what is on that note that you have in your hand?" The class giggled. 'Nice going,' Honda mouthed to the blonde, who scowled with a red face.
"No, Sensei," he stated nonchalantly. The teacher raised an eyebrow and walked over, snatching the note. She read it aloud. The notes were very perverted, and the class broke into fits of laughter. Well, everyone but Yami, Yuugi, Anzu, and the two troublemakers was cracking up. "You are to see me after class, you two." Sensei pointed to Honda and Jounouchi. They both lowered their head and replied in unison: "Understood, Sensei…"
The bell rang, and everyone was almost out the door when they collected their books. Yami glanced to the rest, but his attention was more so on Yuugi than anyone else. Jounouchi and Honda were collecting their books to go talk to the teacher.
Yuugi silently collected what he had brought with him, which wasn't much. As he took everything in hand, he began to walk to the front to exit. Poor footing tripped him.
"Yuugi!" Anzu gasped, seeing him falling, and tried to run for his rescue. The others did the same, but it was too late. Yuugi's head collided with the desk and made a large thud, a faint cracking sound perhaps, followed by a large cry from the little boy. He fell to the ground and, not long after, was unconscious.
Anzu dropped to her knees in front of him and turned him over. "Yuu-" she started, but looked horrified.
"C-call 911! Call 911!"
The others hurried over and had the same reaction as Anzu.
Yuugi was bleeding all over his head, and it was oozing out fast. Jounouchi was quick to take out his cell phone and speak to 911 (or more yelling into the phone.) The teacher was a great help by getting the nurse to help control the bleeding - at least until the paramedics came - and helped her. Yami watched with immense terror. Had it been so bad that the boy could now barely walk?
An ambulance soon arrived and medical staff piled into the building. The attention of many students were caught by this, and questions flooded the hallways. They burst into the math classroom and checked Yuugi's vital signs. His pulse was beginning to fade. Quickly, they put Yuugi onto a stretcher and hurried him out of the exit that lead from the room to outside, so nobody had to see the boy in such a state. The teacher and nurse let the group of friends go with them, including Yami.
They all piled into the hospital car as it took off.
Hahaha! Cliffhanger! :D
Now to come up with ideas. Chapter three shouldn't take as long, I promise.
Until next time!
~ Little Yugi-kun
