Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ School Life ❯ Chapter 1

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DISCLAIMER : I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of it's characters... damn, why do I bother to write this? Nobody's reading it!

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WARNING : YAOI! THOUGH THERE'S ONLY SLIGHT SHOUNEN-AI IN THIS CHAPTER - MAINLY ABOUT INTRODUCING THE PLOT. SORRY TO DISAPPOINT YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE, IT'S NOT MY FAULT! CURSING, AS USUAL.

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CREDITS : OK, thanx so much bakurasgirl! ( though I didn't get her permission to write her name on here… XD )

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School Life - Chapter 1

Malik Ishtar eyed his new schoolbag with obvious distaste. Surely Isis didn't expect him to use it… That hideous thing was bright green in colour, together with yellow straps. Yellow straps. How the hell did the designer think up of such a gross item was still a complete mystery. The more Malik looked at it, the more revolting it seemed. And that uniform wasn't any better, either. At least it's dark blue…if it's pink or orange or something else, the teen would rather kill himself than wear it. Oops, correction. The one who should be killed was the one who came up with this… thing.

I'm going to look like a total dork in these, the Egyptian thought. He sighed in annoyance as another "Hurry up!" from Isis came to his ears from downstairs. He didn't even bothered to reply this time. After being in Japan for less than two months, how Isis convinced him to go to this Domino High School was still unknown. Malik didn't miss Egypt, though - he had absolutely nobody or anything there worth his worry or care. If it was not for his boredom and Isis's lousy museum here, he could never have come to this bloody country. Right now, he was regretting his decision. He should be. Japan sucks much more than he imagined.

He sighed. So much for a Millenium Rod holder. Being a Millenium item holder had made him a total loner ever since his childhood. Not that he thought himself to be special or unique or whatever, but in Egypt, it was public knowledge that a Millenium item holder meant disaster. Which also meant that stones were often thrown in his direction, unwanted yells directed at him, etc., etc. The grand result was that Malik became an outsider and an alien to the citizens of his neighbourhood. It was just like that: unavoidable fate which must be faced, whether you liked it or not. People don't care about that; they only care about getting rid of an unwanted pest. And Malik was that pest.

Malik smiled bitterly at the painful memories. It mattered lesser to him than before now, though. He was here in Japan; the hellish life there was all over. People there had got what they deserved. Placing his Millenium Rod securely in his pocket, Malik walked down to the kitchen, gulped down his breakfast and started the journey to his new school.

* * * * *

"Hey, people! Guess what I heard!"

Anzu rushed into the classroom breathlessly, her eyes gleaming in excitement. Almost immediately the cheerleader was surrounded, and the girl puffed out her chest proudly, pleased for the attention. Chattering students around her quietened when she opened her mouth to speak.

"I picked up that a new student's coming. Rumor is that he's Egyptian. And…" Anzu looked again at her eager-for-news audience and continued. "And he's incredibly hot."

Several girls squealed in excitement. The chattering started up again. It was rare for a new student to enter, since they were already in high school now. Plus, there's the fact that he's good-looking… The classroom became noisier in an instant, save only a small group of students at a secluded corner.

"Bitches." Joey Wheeler said, turning away in disgust from the girls to his friends.

"Yeah." His best friend, Yami, agreed beside him. The ex-pharoah was sharing a Coke with his light plus lover, Yugi. "Rely on Anzu the fat bitch, rumor spreader, gossip reporter and ear-splitting cheerleader for news."

"Don't be so rude!" Anzu, appearing suddenly from behind them, narrowing her eyes and looking bitchy as usual. She laid an arm on Ryou's shoulder and continued in what she thought was a seductive voice. "Right, Ryou?" Ryou moved away uncomfortably. Since Anzu had gotten over her crush for Yami, she was now going for Ryou instead, claiming that his white hair was cool.

A sudden hand lifted her up to the air, leaving her screaming at the top of her voice in front of yet another white-haired teen. Yami Ryou Bakura was yet another character that Anzu should avoid and be afraid of. In fact, all students were terrified of this guy, who was so unlike his hikari other than their appearance. He had an alarming bunch of records of fighting, stealing, and worse still, he had sent at least two teachers to the hospital during his first year in high school. It was a miracle that he was not expelled since Joey's lover, Seto Kaiba, had used his wealth to shut the principal up successfully. Bakura himself would have left, too, if not for Ryou.

"I believe that your tainted hand should not be touching my hikari, bitch." Bakura snarled, enjoying the look of pure fright on Anzu's face. His group of friends turned the other way, not bothering to disturb Bakura's entertainment, as they would a few months back. Right now, Anzu was getting what she deserved, and the group, not even Yugi or Ryou, had the heart to interfere.

"Let me go, you bastard!" Anzu yelled, kicking in vain at the dark spirit. "You jerk! Freak! Gay!"

A hard slap met her face, leaving a stinging mark of five fingers there. Bakura could stand anything other than people calling him gay. He was a gay, but saying it made him feel insulted. It was just a feeling he had. And Anzu got her reward for saying that right in front of his face.

The girl began to cry and whimper helplessly. Nobody offered to help her. Everybody knew better than to stand up against Bakura. In fact, for the sake of themselves, they had steered clear of the whole gang: Yami Yugi, Yami Ryou Bakura, Joey Wheeler and Seto Kaiba, though the CEO hardly ever came to school. Yugi and Ryou, the ex-punching bags of the school bullies, were also let alone, since they had the full protection of their yamis.

Finally, Bakura let Anzu down and returned to his seat to join his group of companions, which he never admitted as friends. "Hi."

"Finished your torturing?" Joey asked sarcastically.

"Sure." came the reply. "The pharoah is too chickened out to do it, so I decided to take up his job."

"Really?" answered Yami, not showing the slightest hint of anger. This was their usual morning argument. "Thank you so much, sucker. Next time I'll do it myself."

"Why not do it together?" suggested the tomb raider, raising an eyebrow at Yugi, and snickering. "Though I'm not sure if your gentle Yugi will allow it. Anti-violence, peacemaker Yugi. Plus a good sex mate, or so Yami told me."

"Yami!" Yugi looked at his dark half in shock surprise. Bakura laughed, followed by the rest of the group. Everybody knew that the white-haired teen was just joking.

"Stop it, Bakura!" Yami snapped.

"Yeah, shut up." agreed Ryou softly by his lover's side. Bakura turned to him. "I'm sure that neither one of us would like it if Yami did the same thing."

"Really?" Bakura said, as if challenging somebody to comment on their sex life. Then, seeing the look on Ryou's face, he added, "Whatever."

Changing the topic, Joey asked, "So what about this new kid?"

"Huh?" Yami responded. He had forgotten momentarily about this guy in his usual quarrel with Bakura. "Oh, that. Well, we would just have to wait for him to arrive, wouldn't we? Though I expect him to instantly hang around Anzu, begging to be her boyfriend. Like all other guys. Yuck."

Joey nodded in agreement. "Yeah." Soon the bell rang, signaling the class to begin. Everybody returned to their seats, awaiting the new kid to arrive.

* * * * *

"Okay, class, here's Malik. Malik Ishtar. He had just arrived from Egypt to Japan for a few weeks. I daresay that I can trust you to take care of him and introduce him around?" There were many 'oohs' and 'aahs' at the looks of Malik. He scowled.

"Sure, Miss Uruzaki." Anzu volunteered. Yami and Bakura snickered in unison at the 'eagerness' that the girl was showing. Sure, this Malik guy was pretty good-looking and was absolutely not the hang-around-Anzu-type of person that Yami had pictured him to be. Somehow, he seemed a little weird to both Yami and Bakura - as if there was a connection between them.

"Here, Malik, take a seat." the teacher told him kindly. "You can sit beside Anzu if you like. She's a model student - very good and hardworking. There are a lot of empty places here. Many people seem to think that business is more important than education" - this was obviously refering to Kaiba, who was absent. Joey felt immensely annoyed and muttered a curse below his breath - "or somebody else should just get out of the school." - this was to Bakura as the tomb raider shot a dirty look at the teacher and sweared to pay her back. "Now, dear, go take a seat. Anzu's place is beside there." She pointed her finger towards Anzu's seat.

"What?!" Malik exclaimed. He was uncomfortable already in this new environment - and to top it all off he had to sit with that ugly girl over there who obviously thought herself as somebody charming. Eww. The idea made him want to puke. "Sit with that fat-ass there? No thanks. I'd rather be in hell."

This comment was met with smirks from Yami's gang, glares from Anzu's and finally, surprise from the teacher. Trying to cover her shock and anger (Anzu was the teahcer's pet), she instead said, in a rather harsh voice, "Well, you sit where you like. And I would watch my mouth if I were you, Mr. Ishtar. I must say that the system of education here will differ very much from your school back in Egypt. Now take a seat; class is about to start now."

"Thanks for your warning, Mrs. Uru- what?"

"Uruzaki, for your information," answered the teacher in fury. "And it's Miss, not Mrs."

"Oh, sorry," replied Malik mockingly. "I thought that you are fifty something and it would be comical to still call you miss."

The anger on the teacher's face was so plain, Malik could practically see steam shooting up from her head (who wouldn't when she was actually only in her thirties?). He was enjoying this immensely. Rage caused the elder woman's voice to tremble as she nearly yelled, "GO TO YOUR SEAT, YOU NEW STUDENT! NOBODY EVER MAKE FUN OF ME AND GET AWAY WITH IT! NOW GO!"

"You sure are loud." Glancing around, he looked for a place. At the back of the class, he spotted one - beside a white-haired guy who was the only one looking friendly other than a tri-coloured haired boy at the other side.

"Can I sit here?" asked Malik as he reached there. Ryou was looking surprised as he nodded. Settling himself down, the Egyptian asked, "What are you looking so astonished for?"

"Well, I didn't expect you to ask," answered Ryou. He saw Bakura (who was sitting beside Yami and discussing something with him) shot him a look that he knew too well: don't get too near to him. Ryou grinned to himself. That was why he liked his dark half so much: he would always tend to be possessive. "Anyway, your first appearance back there must be quite shocking for the teacher."

Malik smirked. "One day, she'll be suffering a massive heart attack caused by her own students." The Egyptian scanned the classroom. It consisted mainly of the bitchy girls' group, bookworms' crowd and those rules-breaking, I-don't-care students. The third group was more to Malik's liking. They included another guy similar to this white-haired person he was talking to, a yellow-haired guy and two tri-coloured hair kids. One looked pretty soft, but the other was the exact opposite.

His Millenium Rod began to glow softly in his pocket as he laid his eyes on the other white-haired teen and the more independent-looking tri-coloured haired guy; only Malik himself could feel it. The puzzled Egyptian was now in a loss - what was this bizzare link he felt with them? And what's more, his Rod had never reacted so strangely before. Hmm. This was worth checking out.

"What's wrong?" Ryou's voice snapped Malik back to reality.

"Huh?" Malik woke up from his stupor. "Oh, nothing. Yeah, I forgot to ask. What's your name?"

"Ryou Bakura."

"Who's that guy alike you over there?" Malik probed further, hoping to know more about the unusual connection he had with that guy. "Your twin?"

"Nope. He's my…" Ryou was about to open his mouth to say 'boyfriend'. Then he closed it, wondering how Malik would react if he knew.

"What?"

"He's my boyfriend." Ryou finally figured out that there was nothing to hide, since sooner or later Anzu would blabber it to Malik. "Yami Ryou Bakura. That's his name."

"Oh." Malik's face totally betrayed his surprise. Not surprise of knowing that his soon-to-be friends were gay, but surprise that there were people whose sexual preference were exactly as same as himself. Only in Egypt, he kept this a secret, even from Isis. But now that Ryou had willingly and openly told him that he was homosexual… "I'm gay, too." Malik confessed.

"Really?" Ryou took this new piece of information with undeniable amazement. He could not think of what to say. At last, he just said lamely, "Guess you'll fit well in our group."

"Ryou Bakura, would you please kindly pay more attention to my class?" Ms. Uruzaki's voice abruptly ended their conversation. "Now, would you please tell me the answer for the question on the board."

Ryou squinted at the blackboard. The question made no sense to him: 3xy+ 8(ab)-56cos+9tan =? Bloody Maths.This's so stupid.

The teacher sneered. "I guess that you'll just have to stay back after school and write me 500 lines of 'I will not talk in class', Mr. Ryou Bakura. Hand it up to me by tomorrow."

Ryou groaned. Malik glared at the teacher, trying to control his rising anger. Back in his old school, he would have just used his Rod to threaten the teacher, since everybody there knew about his Millenium Item and it's fearsome powers. But not here. Here, Malik had not planned to let anybody know about it. He couldn't afford the consequences. He couldn't stand another day of being alone and isolated anymore.

The bell rang, indicating breaktime. Students filed neatly out of the class, and soon only a batch of students remained: Malik and Ryou's gang.

"Hi." Malik made his first attempt to be friends, though his real motive was just to know more about the Bakura guy and the other tri-coloured hair student.

"Hey there." Joey was the first to reply, followed by Yugi. Yami introduced himself only after being nudged by Yugi. Bakura followed soon after reluctantly. Both ex-pharoah and tomb raider were curious to know more about Malik and the connection they felt between themselves, though neither showed it.

"What's your name again?" Yugi asked, after all the introductions ended. "Sorry, I didn't listen to the teacher."

"Malik. Malik Ishtar."

"There's one thing for him to know if he's with us." Yami interrupted. "Or…"

"It's fine," Ryou cut in. "I already told him we're gay. All of us. And the weird thing is, he is, too. So that's one big problem solved."

"He is?" Yami and Bakura both said in surprise. The look on their faces were so similar to Ryou's previous reaction, Malik could not help but laugh. Yami narrowed his eyes. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Malik answered, shutting up. "I'm starving. Let's get something to eat at the cafeteria."

"Fine with me." said Joey, shrugging. The others murmured their agreement, save only Bakura and Yami.

"Mind your own business," were their replies when asked. When they left, Malik asked Ryou about the whereabouts of the dark halves. Ryou just shook his head, being as equally puzzled as Malik himself was. Yugi's response was the same.

After satisfying their hunger, the gang returned to their class, just before the bell rang. The two yamis were still no where to be seen. Ryou and Yugi were starting to worry. Joey agreed to go search for them - just the perfect excuse to skip class.

The next lesson, Science, was so boring that Malik felt a powerful desire to cause an uproar to liven up the class, which he did. The result was expected: he was sent to the principal's office. Of course, Malik would not obey so easily, or his reputation as a Millenium Rod holder would be damaged. Half way to the office, he threatened the monitor who was escorting him to get the fuck away from his sight and shut up if he still treasured his life. The monitor, pale with fright, promised weakly and ran off. Malik sneered. Not that he was afraid to go to the office, but he just wanted out of the Science class.

All right, now that he was free, what should he do? Either he just find a place to sit, or walk around and explore a bit. Finally the Egyptian decided to take up the second choice, considering that he may bump into either Joey or Bakura and Yami.

He did bump into Joey - with another guy. They were making out wildly at a dark corner, not noticing him - if Malik had not looked close he would just have passed them. This new guy was the rich-man type, the sort that girls would flock around. He was, in fact, pretty good-looking, though not in Malik's category. So what was this person doing with Joey?

Whatever it was, Malik did not want to interfere. He was about to leave when his foot accidentally stepped on a twig. The cracking noise it made stopped the 'activities' immediately. Malik wanted to hit himself for being so careless. Sighing, he turned to face the two people.

"Malik!" was Joey's first response. Instantly he blushed a bright tomato red, embarassed at being 'caught in the act'. Malik shuffled his feet uncomfortably, too.

"You know him?" this guy - most probably Joey's boyfriend - asked in a rather deep voice. He showed no signs of awkwardness, discomfort or unease.

"Um… that's Malik…" Joet muttered. Malik groaned inwardly. What a great way to be introduced. "New kid."

"Uh… hi," Malik said, not knowing what else to do or say. "I'm Malik Ishtar."

"Seto Kaiba." was the brief answer. The speaker then narrowed his eyes menacingly and continued, "You shut up about whatever you saw in there just now. Or else…!"

Malik wondered, slightly amused, what could this Seto Kaiba do to threaten him with. He was not the least afraid of him. "Or else what?" he taunted, unable to resist the temptation of mocking Kaiba.

Anger lines were clearly forming themselves on Kaiba's forehead. Before things could get worse, Joey added hastily, "He's just joking. Malik is part of our group." Malik could see a flash of surprise on Kaiba's face. Turning to Malik, Joey continued, "Kaiba just arrived at school."

"Whatever you say," the Egyptian replied. "See you later." With that, Malik turned his back on them and left. Joey heaved a huge sigh of relief. It had been a mortifying experience for him when Malik bumped into them at their middle of their…um… making out.

"So that's Malik Ishtar?" Kaiba's voice jolted him back to his senses.

"Yep." Kaiba was silent for a minute. Joey wondered if the CEO was embarrassed, but then thought, Nah, Seto Kaiba being embarrassed? It would never happen, not even if the world ends. Breaking the silence, Joey suggested, "Lets go to class."

"No." Kaiba smiled and turned to his lover. "I prefer staying here. With you." With that, he placed his lips across Joey's. He saw the flicker of surprise there, then desire. Desire to belong to the billionaire. Desire to make the kiss go deeper. Right now, right here, Joey Wheeler was willing to just be Kaiba's pleasure toy and sex-mate.

Soon the pair were engulfed in their own sensations, forgetting entirely about the embarrassing episode that had taken place just now.

* * * * *

Malik sighed. Everybody was a pair: Seto with Joey, Yami with Yugi and Bakura with Ryou. Just him alone - nobody else. He liked Ryou - a lot - but that thought was definitely out. Ryou had Bakura. Bakura, on the other hand, also looked very enticing and inviting to Malik. Perhaps it was because of the fact that Bakura seemed to smell - though very faintly - of blood. Fresh blood. Malik knew that sort of smell from afar - he saw too much blood and death before.

Another thought troubled the Egyptian, too. What was this odd link he felt connected to Bakura and Yami? And there was also his Rod, too. Why did it glow whenever he looked at Yami and Bakura? Were they Millenium Item holders, too?

Malik laughed aloud. What? Yami and Bakura, Millenium Item holders? Impossible. But… Malik shook his head, which was about to explode. So far, in his life, he had only met one Millenium Item holder, and that was himself. Plus, Yami and Bakura couldn't possibly come from Egypt, right?

Damn, damn, damn! This was all so confusing… Malik continued to walk around aimlessly, lost in his own world. The grand result was that he hit his head - hard - against a pole. Rubbing his head, Malik muttered a barely audible string of curses, wondering who the hell would have thought to put a pole there. Damn… why was his life so stupid? No boyfriend, weird connection… and to top it all off even the pole seemed to tell him to get the fuck away. Shit!

Suddenly all consciousness seemed to fade away. Malik could feel darkness surrounding him… like he was about to fall… he reached out his hands… no… he can't reach it… the faint line of light… was he going to die?... no… he can't die… he don't want to die… not now… like that time… like in Egypt…

I ran as fast as I could. I could hear yells behind me, warning me to never, ever, return again. Yells of hatred. Loathing. Fear. Anger. All directed at me…

I wanted to cry. But I hold back my tears. I was made of tougher stuff. This wasn't enough to break me down. I wouldn't allow the tears to fall, to show that I was weak. All I did was just run, run, run. Away from the pain, the dread. Am I escaping, avoiding reality? I don't know.

The pain on my back was worsening. Why? Why me? I never chose to become the bearer of the secret of the ancient pharoahs. I never chose to be the holder of the Millenium Rod. I never chose to be born, in this hell. I never even wanted to exist!

But all this had chosen me.

Why? What did I do wrong? What crime did I commit? Me, a ten-year-old boy, an outsider, a stranger to everybody. Hazardous. Dangerous. Poison. That's what I am. Or so people said. I had always tried my best to be kind, to be nice. But my offers were turned down cruelly. Was this my fault? Was I born to be like this, to suffer? Was I cursed, destined to undergo this sort of childhood?

I stopped under a tree, breathing hard. In my hand, a dark mist erupted from the Rod. I gazed at it, stunned. This had never happened before. I could feel my senses numbing. I was losing awareness…no… I couldn't faint here… what the heck's happening? My eyelids were so heavy… I need sleep…

When I awoke, I was in my village again. I got to my feet unsteadily, amazed by the scenery that greeted me. Uncountable corpes piled in front of me. The smell of death was hanging in the air. I recognized the faces of the dead bodies - it was the faces of the villagers. Their throats were slashed open, their eyes wide with fright. And all dead…

I realized that my face, my hands, my whole shirt and body were splattered with blood. Fresh blood. Was this the blood of the dead villagers? Were they killed by… me? No! No… A mixture of emotions filled my body. I was glad, happy, even sort of delighted and impressed. On the other hand, I was shocked, dazed. Did I do this? Impossible…

Yet, I felt an odd sort of pleasure in all this. I couldn't help myself. I smirked in satisfication. They were all dead. All dead…

I love this.

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Sinclair : *sighs in relief* Finally did it… R&R, people! I love you all readers out there! (Don't dare to say 'reviewers'… not sure if I'll get one) The next chap. will be coming up soon!

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