DV: Hey guys. I'm sorry this took me so long; I really struggled with that chapter of the Winter Ruby. But this story is in for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Wattys so once the voting book comes out, please go and vote for it! Also, I just want to say that I'm so sorry for any American readers. This is a terrifying time for everyone and my heart goes out to you guys. I really hope this ends better than we're hoping. I own nothing, enjoy the story!
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
Reviews:
Ern Estine 13624: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it!
SweetAnimeLover: Glad you're enjoying it, and they are idiots, aren't they?
Weiver (Guest): Yeah, she was just trying to help, and in doing so, she justified endangering everyone. And sorry about that; I'll put in another one somewhere for you.
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
Malik paused, his hands stilling. The loose tile in the hall outside his room chunked back into place as Malik's father passed over it – probably on his way to his room.
Malik let out a breath and turned back to the two figures in his hand. One of the girls had a mother who often went above ground to try and convert the heathens, and she sometimes brought her daughter back gifts.
Fortunately for Malik, she wasn't a big fan of the heathen toys. She preferred scrolls. So she often pawned them off on him for a read of some of the scrolls Malik's dad gave him.
Malik smiled softly as he ran a finger through the doll's hair. He couldn't quite see its clothes, so they looked like nothing more than a ball of paper, but its hair was soft.
"Hi," he mumbled, turning it to face the other doll. "I'm Mehi. What's your name? I'm Sanaa. Nice to meet you, Mehi."
He didn't really know what he was doing, but he enjoyed it. In the dark, he could almost pretend that Mehi looked like him – dark skin, blonde hair, lavender eyes, but still a girl.
He liked that thought.
Before he could continue, the door to his closet was wrenched open and he was dragged out. He yelped, clinging to the dolls.
"What have I told you about playing with those things?" His father snarled, pulling Malik to his feet. He grabbed the dolls, but Malik held on to them. "Malik! Autrukh!"
Malik hesitated, and then released one of the dolls – Sanaa. It gave him enough time to throw Mehi into the back of his closet.
The doll landed among last week's robes, cloaked from sight.
His father scowled at the doll in his hand – the scuffle was enough to make it seem like there was only one. "I warned you about this," he hissed. "I warned you that it wasn't right – that it wasn't normal." He grabbed Malik's shoulder.
Malik winced, and tried to pull away. "'Ana asf! 'Ana asf!" He yelled.
"You will be," his father promised, dragging him out of the room. "First the leader's son, and now this. It's about time your ritual was brought forward a little more."
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
No one spoke. Yugi – generally the first to arrive – was late. Everyone just stared at each other or the floor. Mai opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it.
Seto's laptop was firmly closed, and though it was sitting on his lap, he made no move to open it.
Finally, Yugi walked through the door and into the underground cavern. His eyes blazed, though he shut the door with nothing more than a soft click.
He sat in his usual chair, situated slightly further into the circle than most others. He was silent for a minute, his arms folded as his eyes flickered between Mai, Akefia, Heru, Atem, and Heba.
He looked at Mai again before speaking. "I want to know what exactly was going through your mind when you decided to disobey my orders and pull a stunt like that on your own." Though his voice was quiet, it was by no means any less angry than it would have been if he was yelling.
Mai took a breath before meeting and holding his gaze. "We wanted to show you that the costumes were a good idea."
"Well you failed." Yugi narrowed his eyes. "It wasn't a good idea." He looked at Miho. "That's not your fault, Miho. In other circumstances, it may have been. But not in these."
Miho looked down and nodded.
Mai scowled at him. "Who are you to say that it wasn't a good idea?"
Yugi's eyes narrowed into a glare as he looked back at her. "I'm the Artist; the one who started this operation and made it possible for us to have hope of getting out."
"Yeah?" Mai raised an eyebrow. "Well maybe you've been the Artist for so long that new ideas are falling on deaf ears. You can't take any advice from any of us!" She matched his glare. "Just because we're new to this doesn't mean that our ideas are bad." Yugi let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh – like the suggestion of them being competent was funny. "What?"
The laugh was gone, and his glare was back. "Do I have to list out every way that it could have and did go wrong?" Mai didn't reply. "Because I can and I will." He sat forward in his chair and began pulling up a finger for every reason. "It could have compromised our entire mission; we would have had mimics, us being blamed for the mimics, mimics being arrested in our place, people could have identified you by your body structure and costume, it would have made it so, so easy for there to be a mole because of that, someone could have been grabbed and forced to give up all of the Draughtsmen because of the identifiable costumes, it would have made it harder to stay secret and get out, more sections would hear about us and try to find us out for the ransom on our heads, and most of all Zygor is dead."
Finally, Mai flinched and looked away. "That wasn't our fault."
"Wasn't your fault?" Yugi stood up. "Wasn't your fault? Who was leading the team?" He looked around. "Heba? Heru?" Heba looked down and Heru just closed his eyes. "Atem wouldn't have. He's smart enough to know that if he was identified, our help inside the police station would be gone. Akefia wasn't leading – he was in the back of most pictures that were taken of you. Zygor? Zygor is dead. That leaves you."
Mai stood up. She was taller, but the anger in Yugi's eyes seemed to make him tower over her. "He should have taken care of himself."
"The job of the leaders is to take care of everyone on your team." Yugi glanced around. "Two section seventeeners are dead now. Both because they were helping us."
"Well if Zygor was my fault, then Ushio was yours," Mai snapped.
"He was." Yugi looked back at her. "And I'm making peace with that. But at least I can take responsibility for it." He sighed. "The costumes will need to be disposed of. Heru, can you take care of that?"
Heru nodded. "Yeah. I'll manage it."
Yugi looked at Miho. "I'm sorry, Miho. I know how much work you put into those costumes."
Miho shook her head. "'S'kay," she mumbled.
Yugi turned back to the others, not looking at anyone in particular. "Who was part of this idea?"
Miho was the first to raise her hand. Slowly, everyone followed until Yami, Bakura, Ryou, Seto, Jounouchi, Mana, Shizuka, Marik, Malik, and Sid were the only ones with their hands down.
Yugi breathed out through his nose. "I see." He folded his arms. "There are reasons that I do things. You have jeopardised everything we've been working towards by doing this. Freedom. Getting home to our families – and friends." He shook his head. "Or do you guys not want to get out?"
"Of course we do," Bonz muttered.
"Then start acting like it." Yugi's glare returned. "This isn't a game. Miho lost her finger. Ushio is dead. Zygor is dead. No one here is indestructible. They want us to stay here, and they're going to do everything in their power to make sure that we do so we can't come back and get everyone else out too. Even if there's only a few of us. But we need to try and make sure that there's more." His glare darkened. "You all have one chance. One chance. If anything like this happens again – ever – you will be kicked from the Draughtsmen."
"You need us." Mai frowned at him.
"Yeah?" Yugi looked up at her. "Try me. I managed just fine on my own for months." He turned and walked towards the door. "There won't be any mission this week. Meeting adjourned."
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
"Bakura?"
It was whispered, but Bakura heard. His eyes widened and he glanced at Ryou. The other was shaking, badly. "Ryou." He sat up in his bed. "How did you- How did you get out of your cube and in here? How are you talking?"
Ryou shifted from one foot to the other. "I-I-" His voice cracked and he let out a shuddering breath. He shook his head and began signing. I'm sorry. My voice isn't very strong. I haven't spoken much since we got here.
"Don't strain it." Bakura shifted so there was more room on the bed. "Sit down."
Ryou obliged, looking down. Sorry.
"What for?" Bakura shook his head.
Ryou raised his hands, then dropped them. He shrugged. "I didn't mean to make it seem like I couldn't talk," he mumbled. "Because I-I can."
"I can see that." Bakura shook his head. "I thought you were mute."
"I am. Sort of." Ryou fidgeted with his sleeves. "I'm selectively mute."
"So you can't speak in certain situations?" Ryou nodded. Bakura shifted so he was sitting up more. "Why speak now then?"
Ryou's fidgeting grew jerkier. "I'm scared." He whispered it. "I don't- I don't want anyone else to die."
Bakura sighed and wrapped his arms around Ryou. "Yugi won't let anyone else die," he mumbled.
Ryou turned, hiding his face in Bakura's shoulder. "Ushio and Zygor shouldn't have died," he mumbled. "Yugi promised he wouldn't let anyone die, and he did. He can't protect everyone."
Bakura's arms tightened around him. "No," he agreed, "but he'll do his best."
Ryou shook his head. "Sometimes his best isn't good enough. I-I love him, and he's my friend, b-but-"
"You don't want to risk anyone else dying." Bakura reached up, running his fingers through Ryou's hair. "I know."
Ryou took a breath. Bakura felt something wet drip onto his shoulder. "S-Sometimes, I just wish we-we all believed that there wasn't anything else," he forced out. "Th-that the world was d-dead. T-That way, ma-maybe someone e-else would be doing this an-and we wouldn't need to-to watch our friends-" He cut himself off with a choked sob. "I-I'm s-sorry-y..."
"Don't be." Bakura kissed the top of his head. "I know what you mean. It hurts." He swallowed. "But it's like with my family." Ryou sniffed, and fell silent. Bakura hadn't mentioned his family much before. "I had to find a way to move on from them." He smiled. "I know that's kind of like saying, 'Don't be homeless. Just buy a house and live in it'. But we do need to move on. We can't let this hold us back."
Ryou shook his head. "People are dying."
"People are always dying." Bakura pulled back enough to cup Ryou's face. "If we don't do this, more people will die here. You want to go home, don't you?"
Ryou looked away and shrugged. "I don't really have one. My dad mightn't even know I'm gone."
"You've been gone eight years, Ry."
Ryou shrugged. "I lived with a woman – I can't remember her name – but she... she wasn't well. For all I know, she could think I'm still there and be telling my dad how I'm getting on at school every month when he calls. He mightn't have even been back to Japan."
Bakura shook his head. "People don't just go missing for eight years without someone noticing, Ryou. He's probably looking for you."
"Maybe." Ryou closed his eyes.
"And even if you don't want to go home, how many people here do?" Bakura pointed out. Ryou shrugged. "We need to get them out. You know we do."
"I know." Ryou swallowed. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He raised his hands. But why us? Why do we have to be the ones to save everyone and watch our friends die?
"We won't watch any more friends die." Bakura took his hand. "Trust me."
Ryou had to swallow twice before speaking again. His voice sounded strained. "You can't promise that."
"I just did." Bakura cupped his cheek again with his free hand. He traced the discoloured skin under Ryou's eyes with his thumb. "Come on. You need sleep." Ryou hesitated. "You can stay here for the night if you want."
Ryou nodded. O-K, he spelled. He couldn't talk. He shifted until he was under the blanket with Bakura, nestled between his boyfriend's arm and the pillow.
Bakura kissed the top of his head. "Thanks," he murmured. He didn't specify what for. Talking to him. Talking. Staying with him.
Ryou smiled softly. "You're welcome," he whispered, before closing his eyes and signing, Now sleep, against Bakura's chest.
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
Malik adjusted his grip on his bag as he watched her.
Akiza wore the girls' uniform like all of the other girls and Marik did. Her hair was tied up like the other girls'. She had a red bag with a rose and a dragon on it – it looked handmade.
She looked like a girl. She was a girl.
Malik swallowed. So why did he feel awkward? He had plenty of girl friends. Or friends who were girls.
Anzu. Mana. Shizuka. Mai. Miho.
He paused. Surely he had more female friends? Anzu, Mana, Shizuka, Mai, Miho. Nope. That was it.
Okay, he didn't have plenty, but he had a few. He sighed and shook his head. This was pointless.
"Delta!"
Akiza paused and turned to face him as he ran up to her. "Hey." She took her bag off her left shoulder and placed it on her right shoulder. "What is it?"
Malik shrugged. "I just... wanted to talk to you a bit."
Akiza sighed. "Look, we have perfectly good internet. If you don't get it, look it up. I'm not here to be your informant on trans stuff."
"No; I'm not asking you to be." Malik paused. "Well, I am. Sort of. Not definitions and stuff, just-" He fumbled with his hands for a moment, trying to express what he was trying to say.
Akiza just raised an eyebrow. "Just...?"
Malik swallowed. "How did you know?"
Akiza sighed. "Look, I don't feel like going into this with you. I've literally talked to you twice."
"Please." Malik shook his head. "I-"
He didn't know how to explain it. He just wanted to know what it felt like to not feel comfortable in one's body? Or maybe what it felt like to feel comfortable in it?
Akiza watched him for a moment. "Fine. Walk with me. I'm not going to slow down, and if you can't keep up, your loss."
She turned on her heel and began walking towards the school again. Malik followed, struggling a little to match her pace.
"What is it you want to know?"
Malik shrugged. "How did you know?" He repeated.
"That's a broad enough question. Can you be more specific?"
Malik shrugged again. "How..." He paused. "No, not really. I'm sorry."
Akiza sighed. "I want you to know that I'm not a poster child. This is my experience, and no one else's. This is not what every trans person goes through." Malik nodded in understanding. "I hated wearing boy's clothes. I hated the toys. I hated the pronouns. I went through a while of thinking I was gender fluid, probably because I didn't want to have to tell my parents. Plus there were occasional days that I was okay with being addressed as a boy. But that didn't last." She shifted her bag back onto her left shoulder. "I was taken here before I could tell them. I introduced myself as female – just to try it out – and it felt great. So I kept doing it. I asked my leader to refer to me as a girl after a few months. And she did. Most of the people in my section did too." She shrugged. "That's it really. I felt off in my body, I tried to figure out what it was, I tried something, and it happened to work."
"It was that easy?" Malik frowned.
Akiza laughed. "Hun, it wasn't easy in the slightest. You have no idea what it's like." She glanced at him. "Or do you?"
Malik shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted, quietly.
"Ah." Akiza nodded. "Right. Well, if you're questioning your gender-" He flinched. "-I advise telling someone you trust. That's what I did. My friend, Crabs. He's here, in section twenty. I was lucky – I knew him as a child and told him, and he helped me even after we came here." She raised an eyebrow. "Do you have someone you can trust?"
"I think so," Malik agreed. "No, I do. I just..." He swallowed. "Family stuff."
Akiza nodded. "That's hard." She glanced up, and Malik followed her gaze. Marik was walking towards them. "He won't mind. I know you're scared but..." She shrugged. "You can trust him." She smiled and walked faster. "Good luck."
Malik fell behind, and waited for Marik to reach him. Akiza didn't wait, and walked into the school.
Marik smiled, but there was a concerned look in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
Malik swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just-" He swallowed again. His mouth was inexplicably dry. "Can-Can I talk to you... about something later?"
"Of course." Marik nodded, looking more worried now. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Malik nodded. "Yeah, I just..." He looked away. "I just need to talk to you. Later. Not here- maybe before- before you go to work."
That was still a sensitive subject. They hadn't properly talked it out yet.
Marik nodded and took Malik's hand. "That's fine." He squeezed softly. "You know I'm here to talk to whenever you need."
"Yeah," Malik whispered. "I know. It's just..."
"Hard?" Marik guessed. Malik nodded. "Whatever it is, it won't matter to me. You'll always be Malik, no matter what happened."
Malik couldn't suppress the feeling of a stone dropping into his gut. He didn't want to always be Malik. "I know," he mumbled, pushing the thought away. "I'm just... I just need to figure stuff out. And I need a bit of help."
Marik nodded and smiled. "Whatever it is, I'll do my best to help you through it."
Malik shakily returned the smile. "Thanks." He just wished that he could believe him.
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
Vivian was examining her nails, eyes narrowed as she tried to pull off a cuticle without ruining them.
Cathy was holding up a piece of string with one hand and batting it with the other.
Chazz was doodling on his hand with a biro – random pictures of ravens and other symbols of darkness.
Valon was on his phone – one of the benefits of being part of the ATRA was they had their phones back, even in their cells.
Rally was shaking. Staring at the ground, hands gripping the armrests of the chair they were sitting on.
Cathy was the first to notice. She abandoned the string and sat up in her chair properly. "Are you okay, Scooter?"
Rally's leg began jerking up and down in an awkward tapping motion. "No."
"What's wrong?" She tilted her head. One of the fake cat ears she always wore lolled to the side.
"What's wrong?" Rally looked over at her. "How about the fact that someone's dead because of us?"
With Cathy's soft voice, no one had paid much attention. But with Rally shouting, even Valon put down his phone.
"That kid dying wasn't our fault." Chazz glanced at his hand again. "He was careless enough to leave a can with his prints on it, and Sphinx just happened to find it."
"You can't be serious." Rally shook their head. "What are they actually doing wrong?"
"Vandalism," Valon listed, "beginning a revolution, violent idealism-"
"What violence?" Rally turned on him next. "You're just spouting what the ICU is telling everyone!"
"They've already said that they'll do anything to get what they want," Vivian yawned. Out of everyone, she had seemed the least bothered by Zygor's death – she was the one who had slipped the poison into his usual bowl of porridge with Nutella while on kitchen duty.
"And what have they done?" Rally pressed. "Sprayed things on buildings. Anything else?" Vivian glanced at them. "See? Nothing!"
"Scooter, they want to leave." Chazz closed his eyes. "That's dangerous enough as it is."
"Why?" Rally pressed. "Why would it be dangerous?"
"The world is dying. Fuck it, it's dead already," Valon snapped. "They want us to go out there. We're safe here."
"We're trapped here," Rally corrected. "Who's to say the world is dead?"
"We are."
Rally froze and looked up as Zorc entered the room. Their face morphed back into a scowl. "Well maybe I don't trust what you say very much."
"Careful, Scooter," Zorc warned. "You've already got three months here for impersonating the Artist. Don't make it any longer."
Rally shook their head and stood up. "I don't care how long you make my sentence. It's better than this." They walked towards the door. "Sayonara, mother-"
Zorc wrapped a wire around their neck and pulled. Rally gagged, staggering backwards.
Chazz scowled. "Let him go. He's just a kid."
"I'll let him go," Zorc promised, "once he makes it clear that he's staying." He pulled tighter.
Rally scratched at their neck, squeezing their eyes closed. They tried to lean back to lessen the pressure, but Zorc only pulled harder.
"Well?" He asked. "Zip didn't last much longer than this. I doubt you will either. If you're going to be good and stay, just nod your head and I'll let go."
Rally gagged again, clawing at the wire, trying to pick it out of their neck.
Zorc bared his teeth. "Nod," he hissed.
After a few more seconds, Rally nodded. Zorc released them and they dropped to their knees, gasping for breath.
Zorc sneered down at them. "Remember your place, you little brat," he hissed. "I gave you this job. I own you." He turned and left the meeting room.
Vivian hummed. "I take that as a 'you have no mission this week, good job'." She stood up and walked outside.
The guard waiting handcuffed her and led her away.
Chazz stood and crouched next to Rally as Cathy and Valon left. "You okay, kid?"
It took Rally a few moments before they could speak. Even then, they winced as though it pained them, and their voice sounded rough. "Yeah. And I use they pronouns."
Chazz rolled his eyes and messed up Rally's hair. "You're crazy."
He missed Rally's tiny grin as he left the room.
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
"Inconceivable!"
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
Jounouchi paused the film as Seto's typing washed out the sound again. "Blue, put down the laptop and come watch this trash with me."
"It's not trash." Seto didn't look up from the computer. "It's a fantastic and classical love story with everything anyone could want except gay characters."
"You're telling me that big guy and the sword guy aren't gay?" Jounouchi quirked an eyebrow.
Seto paused. "Not canonically anyway."
Jounouchi snorted. "Shit, I'm betting you've read fanfiction on this and everything. Dork."
Seto rolled his eyes. "Just because I have a ship doesn't mean that I read fanfiction." He went back to typing. "It just means that they're cute."
Jounouchi grinned. "Who'd a' thunk it. Blue's a fanboy."
"Shut up."
"Fanboy."
"Shut up."
"I wonder how Mana would react if I told her you read fanfiction."
"I don't read fanfiction!" Seto shot him a scowl. "It's just a good movie with a gay ship. That's it."
Jounouchi smirked. "And if I checked your browser history?"
"Good luck." Seto's smirk matched his. "I'd be impressed if you could navigate through it with your computer knowledge. I have it set in code, and ninety percent of it is research for my company, or communication with investors."
Jounouchi snorted. "You so read fanfiction. There's no way you'd be that smug about having that much security if you didn't."
Seto rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You have no proof anyway."
"I'll get it."
"Just go back to watching the film."
Jounouchi frowned but nodded. A few moments later, he could hear Seto's keys clicking again. He huffed and turned to him. "Turn off the damn computer and watch this trash with me."
"We just had a conversation about how it's not trash." Seto didn't take his eyes off the screen.
Jounouchi's frown deepened. "Which started from me telling you to turn that off." Seto sighed. "Come on; you said you'd only be on it for a few minutes."
"Yes, well this is taking a little longer than intended." Seto pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Then just put it aside for now."
"Katsuya, please." Seto shot him a look. "This is important. Very important."
Jounouchi bit the inside of his cheek. Seto didn't use his first name often. "What are you doing anyway?"
"Sending an email." Seto turned back to the computer. "I was hoping one of my associates would be able to help."
Jounouchi shifted to look at the computer. "I didn't know we could send emails."
"We can't." Seto continued typing. "I occasionally bypass the system to secure deals, so I'm trying to do so again. I just hope it'll work."
Jounouchi glanced over the text. "But this is gibberish."
Seto shook his head. "First word of every line."
Jounouchi glanced over them twice.
In trouble. Please respond if you understand this. Same format. Be subtle.
Jounouchi shook his head. "Why not do this before now?"
Seto shrugged, checking over the email for errors. "I had always assumed that my associates were part of another ICU facility – maybe in another country. But since the Draughtsmen came into being..." He shrugged. "I've been questioning it more. It doesn't make sense."
Jounouchi nodded in agreement. "You think it'll work?"
Seto sighed and pressed the send button. He was silent as he watched the page load, sending to each of the forty emails he had attached the document to. One of them had to respond.
Finally, when all of the emails were sent, he wiped the browser history. "I hope so, Kat."
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
"I can't believe you guys did that," Yami grumbled. "I still have glitter everywhere!"
Bakura was still cackling. "Worth it! So bloody worth it!"
Yami huffed and ruffled his hair. A storm of glitter spilled out. "I swear, if I get a sanction for this-"
"Relax, Griffin; we'll step forward if you do." Malik was grinning.
Yami shook his head. More glitter sprinkled out. "I'm never taking the blame for you guys again. That was insane! How did you even get that much glitter anyway?"
"You see-" Bakura began only to be cut off by Yami.
"You know what? Forget it. I don't want to know." Yami ruffled his hair again, and another storm of glitter emerged. "I swear, you two have more glitter than any girl in the world."
"Why thank you." Bakura grinned and skipped in front of Yami, bowing while walking backwards.
"That wasn't a compliment." Yami glared at him and shook his head.
Glitter showered out onto Bakura, who shrieked and jumped back. "I'm allergic to that shit! Abuse! Abuse!"
"Your fault." Yami shrugged, grinning as Bakura tried to wipe the glitter off his uniform. He glanced over at Malik, who was fidgeting with the strap of his bag. "You okay, Phoenix?"
"Hm?" Malik glanced up at him. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"You sure?" Yami frowned.
Malik nodded. "Yeah. Fine. Just thinking."
Bakura snorted. "Call an ambulance. You don't think."
Malik shot him a glare. "Yes I do."
"What about?" Yami cut in before Bakura could bite back.
Malik shrugged. "I don't know. Just stuff." He dug his nails into the strap. "Would you guys ever want to be girls?"
"Please," Bakura scoffed. "Griffin's already sensitive. Imagine what he'd be like on a period."
"You're one to talk." Yami shoved him before turning back to Malik. "Why do you ask."
Leave it to Yami to avoid an argument and stay on topic. Malik shrugged. "Dunno. Just wondering."
"Why?" Bakura smirked. "Thinking of dressing up like Giraffe does so you can be lesbians?"
"Shut the fuck up," Malik snapped.
Bakura rolled his eyes. "I'm joking, jeez. Don't take it so seriously."
"Yeah, well it wasn't funny." Malik folded his arms.
"It was a little." Bakura scowled.
Yami rolled his eyes. "Necro, leave him alone." He glanced at Malik again. "Why do you ask though?"
"No reason." Malik shook his head. He glanced up. "I think that's Giraffe. I'm gonna go catch up with him. Bye."
He didn't wait for a response. He didn't even know if it was Marik. He just wanted to get away from them.
He should have known it was a bad idea.
Fortunately, the blonde in the girls' uniform did turn out to be Marik. That would have been an awkward conversation.
Hi! You don't know me but I'm avoiding my friends so please pretend to be my boyfriend! Yeah. That would have gone down well.
"Hey," Marik greeted with a grin as Malik caught up to him. His grin faded when he saw Malik's face. "You okay?"
"Yeah." Malik ran a hand through his hair. "M'fine."
"You don't look it." Marik frowned and glanced back. Bakura and Yami were still walking together, the former scowling and complaining while the latter just nodded. "Did that idiot say something that bothered you?"
"Maybe. I don't know." Malik gripped the underside of one of his arms. "I just wanted to talk to you for a bit."
Marik nodded. "Is this about... what you started to mention earlier?" He asked, keeping his voice soft. Malik nodded. Marik took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Whatever it is, it won't change anything between us. You know that, right?"
"But I want it to." Malik swallowed. "I don't want things to stay the same."
Marik tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"M- Giraffe, I..." Malik squeezed his eyes closed and stopped walking.
"Phoenix?" Marik stopped with him. Bakura and Yami overtook them, the latter shooting them a concerned look, but not stopping. "Phoenix, what's wrong?"
Malik shook his head again, biting his lower lip. He curled in on himself. "I-"
"Be brave, little lion. I know you can do this."
Malik took a shaky breath and looked up at Marik. "I... I think..." He swallowed. "I think... I think..."
"You think...?" Marik prompted, placing a hand on Malik's shoulder.
"I think..." Malik closed his eyes again. He couldn't look. "That I might... m-might be a-a..." He took a deep breath. He was going to do it. He opened his eyes. "I think that I might be a... a girl."
Marik's eyes widened for a moment. "Phoenix," he said slowly, "I'm just going to ask you this once. I trust that you wouldn't joke about this-"
"I wouldn't," Malik whispered.
"-but this is serious and you know it is. I need to know that you're serious." Marik held his gaze. "Are you?"
Malik swallowed and nodded. He didn't realise he was shaking until Marik wrapped his arms around him. "Thanks for trusting me," Marik murmured as Malik hid his face in his shoulder. He hated showing strong emotions in public – aside from anger.
"I'm sorry," Malik whispered.
Marik shook his head, his arms tightening around him. "No, don't be," he murmured. "You should never apologise for being you, Mal. You accept me for me, and I accept you for you." Malik hesitantly nodded. Marik turned his head and gently kissed the top of Malik's cheek. "Come on. Let's go back to one of our cubes so we can talk. Okay?"
Malik sighed and pulled away. "Okay."
Marik took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Do you want me to use female pronouns for you?" He asked.
Malik hesitated. "I don't... I don't know if I am a girl..." Marik's hand tightened around Malik's. "I just..."
"Maybe if I just do it while we're together?" Marik suggested. "When no one else is around? That way you can see how it feels without being worried."
Malik nodded. "Yeah. I-I think I'd like that. If you don't mind. Sorry."
Marik had never heard Malik apologise that many times in that short a time period. "It's okay." He smiled softly, and glanced around to make sure that they were alone. With Bakura and Yami having already passed them after the trio being in detention, they were the only ones on the road to sector seventeen. "Have you thought of a name yet?"
Malik swallowed. "I... I think so... My-my mom had a sister she was going to name me after if I was a girl, so... I guess..."
"You can always change it later if it doesn't fit right," Marik assured her.
Malik glanced at him. "Really? You don't mind?"
Marik shook his head. "I don't. And it's not about what I mind. It's about what makes you feel safe, and comfortable in your own body. Okay?" Malik nodded. "So what was the name?"
A small smile etched onto her face. "Mehi."
"Alright then, Mehi." Marik squeezed her hand again. "Will we go to my cube? I have some leftover curry from yesterday, and I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
Her smile grew. "Sounds good."
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
Yugi scowled and flipped three pages ahead. Maybe if they took the passage to the meeting cave, and took one of the smaller passages. That should get them to the main sector area.
But they didn't know those passages well. They could get lost.
Maybe an expedition team? But they didn't have time.
He huffed and flicked back three pages, running a hand through his hair. His blonde bangs were sticking up from the amount of times he had done the same action over an hour, almost like Yami's.
He had to sort that quote out quickly. He had to stage a quick comeback – something to ensure safety and show that they weren't scared of this Anti-Terrorist Republican Army thing that Zorc was setting up.
He had to. They were scared, but if he didn't, Zorc would slaughter them. Slaughter.
He could find out the other five from the pictures if he put enough work in. Yugi had to deter him from doing that. Quickly.
But how?
"Yugi." Yami placed a mug of tea on the table beside Yugi. He mumbled a quick thanks without looking up. "Yugi."
"Hm?" Yugi flipped a page. Maybe he could delay it a little and use a different quote? No. No, that was fear talking. He had to get it done.
Yami pulled the notebook away from him. Yugi quickly released the page so that it wouldn't tear. "Yugi!"
"What?" Yugi snapped, looking up at him. Then his gaze softened. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I-"
"I know; you're under a lot of stress." Yami nodded. "I get that." He shook his head and closed the notebook. "But that, under no circumstances, means that you shouldn't take a break to eat."
Yugi sighed and shook his head. "Yami, I don't have time." His collar was burning hotter than usual when he said someone's real name. Maybe he had been wrong? It didn't die down, but got worse?
Or maybe they were turning it up on purpose. Maybe they had noticed the amount of people whispering real names under their breath, and had upped the heat to defer it.
Or was it just that he wasn't focused? Most of the time he could block out the pain, because he focused on ignoring it. Now he just wanted to get that quote sorted.
Yami shook his head. "You need to make time before you work yourself into an early grave." He tucked the notebook into the inside pocket on his jacket. "I'll give it back – after you have at least a two hour break."
"Yami-"
"I'll take you to the cinema," Yami offered. "It'll distract you. We're both off tonight so I know you have time, and than you can go back to working on the next quote with a fresh mind and it'll be easier." He grinned. "Who knows? Maybe you'll even find the perfect quote in the film."
Yugi sighed and shook his head again. "You're unbelievable." He ran a hand through his hair. "I can't take a break."
"You can and you will." Yami folded his arms. "Cinema. Come on. The Hawk-Eye movie from sector two is in; we can watch that." Still, Yugi hesitated. "He's sassy." Pause. "And deaf." He chewed his lip. "And probably gay for Bruce-"
"Fine." Yugi was grinning. "Fine, I'll go to the cinema with you."
"Great." Yami smiled and picked up Yugi's coat. "My treat."
Yugi quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?" He smiled. "Are you insinuating a date, my dear Yami?"
Yami's face blazed. "What?" He shook his head. "No- No, of cou-course not. No, why would you think that?"
Yugi's smile dipped slightly. "Oh." He shook his head. "No reason. I just..." He glanced up at Yami. "Why?"
"Why what?" Yami was desperately willing the blush to die down.
"Why isn't it a date?" Yugi tilted his head.
"I..." Yami swallowed. "You see..." He scratched the back of his head. "Uh..."
Yugi pushed his chair back and stood up. He walked around the table to Yami, silently, and watched his blush darken for a moment before speaking. "Do you want to make it a date?" He sounded hopeful, despite his almost coy smirk. It seemed forced – like a mask to hide his nervous. "My treat."
Yami hesitated. Then, he slowly nodded. "Okay. Yeah, that sounds- that sounds great. I mean, good. Yeah. I'd lo- like that." He gave a slight grin. "But it's my treat. You can treat next time."
"Next time?" Yugi grinned, his eyebrows arching into his hairline. Definitely not forced this time. "You're confident." Yami's face burned again and he began stuttering out apologies, but Yugi laughed. "Don't worry; I was only teasing. I'm an asshole like that." He grinned. "Yeah. Next time I'll get it." He took his coat from Yami. "Come on. We only have two hours, and I intend on watching the gay, sassy, deaf Hawk-Eye film. Hopefully it'll be better than the Marvel interpretation."
Yami snorted, his blush slowly dying. "It'd better be. Those tickets are a hundred Zira each – if it's not-"
"If it's not we can rant about it later," Yugi assured him.
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
Atem glanced through the computer data. "It just doesn't seem to be matching." Because he took Yugi's hair and switched up the sequence.
Aster glared at the screen as Atem turned it to him. "That's impossible. How is not one person in the entire ICU matching this hair?"
"Maybe it was one of the leaders," Zane suggested, leaning against the wall. "We only have the other residents on file."
"None of the leaders are part of the Draughtsmen." Aster turned his glare to Zane.
"I never said they were." Zane wasn't glaring, but his narrow gaze was cold. "That hair isn't necessarily from the Artist, or any of the Draughtsmen. It was found at the icuMall. It could have easily been there since morning. It being near the sensor means nothing."
"Nothing?" Aster hissed. "Of course it means something. Why would anyone be in that alley aside from to get back to a sector at night?"
"The countless assaults that are generally ignored by higher ranking officers which can't all be covered because of the lack of people willing to look into them," Atem muttered under his breath.
"Did you say something?" Aster's glare was back on him.
He heard Atem. He had to have. He was right next to him.
Atem didn't look away from the screen. "Not a word."
"Yeah. That's what I thought." Aster looked at the screen. "Run it again."
Atem obliged. Nothing came up, but each time it was run, more random searches of people with similarly coloured hair, or the same hair density came up.
He knew it was only a matter of time before the physical quality matched up to Yugi.
"Nothing," Aster hissed, shaking his head. "That doesn't make sense."
"Firebird, we've been at this all morning," Zane commented. "I recommend a break. We can come back in ten minutes and try a search on a different computer. Maybe the hard drive is fried."
Atem was lucky Aster knew so little about computers. If the hard drive was fried, there would be a lot more wrong with the computer than just the tracking software.
Aster scowled. "No. Break will be in here." He turned to the door. "Run another search while I'm gone. I'll be back with coffee."
Atem huffed once the door closed. "He's fucking impossible to work with."
"Yeah." Zane folded his arms. "One day, he'll be working for you."
Atem snorted. "Not while all this Artist bullshit is on sector seventeen." He didn't mention that he had no intention of being Aster's boss – that would mean sticking around long enough for that to happen.
He wanted out by summer. Easter. Fuck it, Christmas if they could manage it.
Zane hummed, not looking away from him. Atem cleared his throat and ran another search, just as the door swung open.
Atem tensed and stood. Five people; all in masks and uniform with the letters 'A.T.R.A' emblazoned on the front pocket. "You're not authorised to be back here," he called as they approached.
One of them dropped a piece of paper on the desk. "Actually, we are on orders of Zorc, seventeen."
Atem snatched up the paper and scanned through it.
Anti-Terrorist Republican Army... hereby have permission... ICUPD... evidence into their possession for further examination... everything to do with the Artist... any attempts to prevent this will end in arrest.
Atem ground his teeth together as two dove into the evidence locker. The hair was one of the first things to emerge. "Hey! That's an ongoing investigation in the ICUPD."
"Not anymore." Aster was back. With no coffee. "Look at it this way; less work for us, and maybe their hard drive won't be fried." His eyes glinted.
"But-" Zane's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Arrest. If he was arrested, he would lose his job. The Draughtsmen would lose their man in the ICUPD. He fell silent.
Aster was grinning – Atem wanted to punch that grin off his face so, so badly. Zane's hand on his shoulder tightened.
"Yeah." Aster's grin grew when Atem sat down again. "That's what I thought."
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
Yugi's head was in his hands. "Everything?" He clarified. "They took everything?"
"Everything," Atem confirmed. "Even closed evidence like the can that-that Zygor left behind."
Mai gritted her teeth and looked down. Yugi ignored her. "How much time do we have?"
Atem shook his head. "It's hard to say," he admitted. "I screwed up your DNA codes on the mainframe, but if it's stripped back enough, they'll be able to find out it's you."
"Is a hair that good a piece of evidence?" Bakura muttered. Though he was making a valid point, he sounded subdued. "It could have been from anyone."
"I pointed that out at the station. Zane backed me." Atem shook his head. "Everyone else was certain that it was a breakthrough."
"Zane?" Yugi looked up with a frown.
Atem nodded. "He's another officer. He joined around the same time as me; we were-" Akefia cleared his throat. "It's not important. The point is that they seem to think it's substantial evidence. And if they do, then they're going to do everything they can to find out who the hair belongs to."
Yugi pursed his lips. "Is there any way to replace the hair?"
"So you want to pin the blame on someone else?" Mai glared at him.
Yugi shot her an icy glance. "No. I was wondering if we could see about finding any hair in Zygor's cube. It hasn't been cleared out yet. If we can sneak in and grab the hair, maybe Atem could replace it. He had black hair, and you said that the hair was completely black."
Atem nodded. "We were lucky that the top wasn't purple." Yugi nodded in agreement. "But I can't replace it."
"What?" Akefia was scowling. "Why not? Don't tell me you're beginning to get cold feet."
"Not in the slightest." Atem matched his scowl.
"Guys..." Heba waved his arms between them. "Please. There's a time and a place for your fighting. Now is not the time or the place."
Atem looked away from Akefia. "The ATRA took possession of it. They don't work in the ICUPD – they work in some secret lab place with Zorc."
"And you can't figure out where that is?" Akefia scoffed.
"No. I can't." Atem tried not to look at him.
"Well then what's the point of you being our inside man?" Akefia shook his head. "We can't even rely on you when we need you."
"Akefia, Atem, that's enough." Yugi bridged his fingers, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Atem has been and continues to be a very valuable asset where he is in the ICUPD, Akefia. We can't expect him to do the impossible."
Atem resisted the urge to stick out his tongue. Akefia made a face at him and then looked away.
"What if," Seto spoke, slowly, typing at the same time, "someone pretends to join the ATRA. Zorc said anyone was welcome to join, right?"
Yugi glanced around the room. "He's right."
Heba shook his head. "You can't expect someone to do that. That's a potential suicide!"
"I know." Yugi closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm not going to ask them to. If anyone wants to, they can. But no one should feel obligated to."
Heru shifted in his seat. After a moment of silence, he gingerly raised his hand, unsure of the action. "I'll do it."
Yugi and Akefia glanced at him. "Are you sure?" Yugi asked.
"No, he's not." Akefia scowled at Heru. "No way are you doing this."
"There's no way I'm not doing this." Heru ignored the scowl. He knew Akefia was just worried. "I've been in the zoo and to the prison before. If Zorc's prison visit a few days ago was anything to go by, that's where he's getting his members. I have the background. He's probably offering some sort of money or valuable item to them as a reward – I haven't got a well-paying job, so I have motive."
Yugi nodded slowly. "It should work," he agreed, "but are you sure?"
Heru met his gaze. "Positive. I'll talk to Zorc tomorrow."
"Okay." Yugi nodded again. "If everyone knows there places for the mission in two days, we can-" Seto's laptop dinged. Yugi's eyes widened. "Turn off that internet! I told you-"
"Not to connect to the ICU internet. I didn't. I set up my own portable hotspot." Seto was typing faster. "I had to stay in connection. It takes work to hack the servers to send an email."
"Email?" Anzu frowned. "Who to? Another ICU facility?"
"That's who I thought I was communicating with," Seto agreed, "at first. But after everything that's been going on..." He shook his head. "I had to try. I sent a coded email asking for help to everyone in my contacts list."
"And?" Yugi leaned forward in his seat.
"I just got a response." Seto was grinning. Actually grinning.
"Read what it says, asshole," Marik snapped.
"Email received," Seto read. "What sort of trouble are you in? Can we track your location?"
Yugi was almost frozen with shock. Everyone was looking between him and Seto.
"Yugi?" Yami murmured.
A slow grin spread across Yugi's face. "This is our way out."
-DISPOSABLEVILLAIN-
DV: I'm sorry I keep doing this with the cliffhangers. But hey, Puzzleshipping is finally here! Yay! Thanks to fitzyfoop for beta reading this. Please check out her story 'Charlie Gallagher and the Mead of Poetry', vote, and review! See you next time, Killer Queens!
Beta note: Elliot literally just told me he's doing a Christmas One-Shot, so you can rely on me to harass it out of him.