Yugi was laughing wildly as he looked at the two before him. In a strange turn of events, Malik and Jou had ended up standing with hair full of pink paint, while Ryou was laughing behind them.

"Well Jou," Malik hummed as he looked at him, "This must be karma for wishing bad to Ryou."

Jounouchi growled as he gripped at his hair, pulling out bulks of pink liquid. Then he threw it at Malik's face, who scowled in distaste at the action. Ryou held back a chortle as he started to pick up the bucket that had fallen on the two.

"I knew you two would come in eventually and try to prank me," he giggled as he placed the bucket on one of the counters.

Jounouchi huffed.

"Jokes on you, Ryou, we're not the ones who have to clean up this mess," he scoffed with a smug smirk.

"Jokes on you, Jounouchi, this is an art room. Paint spills in here all the time, so we don't bother with cleaning it," Ryou retorted with a knowing grin.

Walking past the two pranksters, he grabbed Yugi and walked away from them in fits of giggles.

"Well, let's get going then," Ryou grinned.

Yugi laughed. "You, my friend, are a mad genius."

As they walked down the hall, the other two were trying to wipe up most of the paint on their hair with towels from the art room. After they had cleaned up most of it, they followed along.

"So, Ryou, did you run into any princes lately? Or was it just us again who have suffered the fate of our cruel gods?" Malik asked, whining his last question.

"Um, well," Ryou paused as he thought, "I'm doing an art project for my music and arts class with one of the most hot headed princes of all time this week... Does that count?"

Malik's eyes widened as he placed a hand on Ryou's shoulder, causing the other to pause. He sighed and shook his head and looked down at the ground. He sniffled and looked at Ryou with teary eyes.

"Another fallen brother," he cried.

Ryou rolled his eyes and punched his arm. "Shut up. It's not even that bad... It's just that... well... He won't sing. That's all."

Yugi raised a brow. "Isn't this project one-third of your quarter grade?"

Ryou sighed and nodded.

"But I asked if I could do something a little different..." he trailed off with a small smile, "But! He wasn't all bad, Malik. He told off some mean people..."

Malik frowned. "I mean, maybe, just maybe... I don't know. I'm still annoyed at the stupid prince because of what happened today."

"What happened today?" Ryou asked with a raised brow as they walked out of the building and to the front gate.

"Don't even get me started!" Malik snarled as he punched at the air in front of him, "When I get my hands on him, he's going to go from tan to black real quick!"

Jounouchi chuckled, before nudging Ryou.

"He's upset because Prince Ishtar, who had broken five keyboards, came back, and instead of replacing the keyboards, he replaced every single computer, along with Mal's personal one," Jounouchi explained.

Ryou looked at Malik with a worried expression. "It's okay, Mally," Ryou said softly.

Malik's brow twitched at the affectionate nickname that was privileged only to the group of outkasts. Yugi smiled softly and tackled Malik in a hug from behind.

"Cheer up, O'Mally cat," Yugi teased as he squeezed the other.

Malik rolled his eyes. "How many nicknames do I need?" 

He let out a bemused chuckled before continuing to walk down the path. As they walked they hadn't noticed two figures close in from behind.

"You guys are quite a crew," Yami hummed from behind.

Said crew jumped as they turned to see the king before them, followed by another prince, Bakura.

"Sennen!" Jounouchi scowled, "What's it to you two?"

"Nothing," Yami said with a curt nod, before his gaze trailed over to Yugi.

His face was emotionless at the moment, but his eyes glinted with a sense of mischief and amusement. At least, that's what Yugi had perceived. As the taller stared, Yugi had realized that Yami had started to approach him with grace-filled footsteps.

Yugi couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. How nice it must have been to be blessed with grace, whereas Yugi could barely walk like a normal human. He practically felt like he walked like a chicken on ice.

Yami blinked at him, before laughing. Yugi frowned and looked towards his friends, who all bore disappointed looks.

"Yug', you really gotta stop saying your thoughts out loud," Jou muttered as he turned away from the scene.

Yugi flushed at his own realization before growing shy and looking down at his feet timidly. He internally damned his mouth and mind, while listening to Yami, who was trying to gather himself out of his laughing moment.

Yami sniffed as he wiped a tear away.

"I apologize. I did not intend to embarrass you or anything," Yami relieved, "But I am fascinated with the description that you've given your walk."

If Yugi thought that he couldn't get any redder, he was just proven wrong. He let out an undignified noise as he felt Yami pat his head once again. His eyes widened as he looked up at the other. Yami's motion paused, before pulling away and coughing to clear his throat.

"Sorry, I forgot that you don't like that," he said quietly. 

To the side, the group continued to stare at them in bewilderment, before Ryou tugged on Yugi's sleeve, pulling the other out of his trance. Yugi looked back at Ryou and nodded in understanding, before turning back to Yami. He offered the other a small smile.

"Well, it was nice running into you, Sennen, but we have to get going," Yugi said, "I'll see you later."

Yugi bowed, and then began to leave, before feeling Yami grab his wrist. He internally hissed at the warmth that surged through his arm in the middle of this cold weather.

"Um, excuse me for my rudeness, but I would like to remind that my offer for giving you and your friends a ride is still available," Yami said.

Bakura's eyes widened as he looked at Yami.

"You must be out of your damned mind—

Yami gave him a glaring look, which forced Bakura to grumble his comments to himself. Yugi gave a small hum, before glancing at his friends, who all shrugged.

"Hold that thought," Yugi said with a small smile as he pulled away and grouped with his friends in a huddle. "What do you guys think?"

"I don't trust it," Malik growled, "Two princes? And that Bakura guy is pretty sketchy."

"Mal, you say that about all the princes," Ryou said with an eye roll.

"I'm just saying," Malik huffed.

"I say to hell with it," Jounouchi muttered, "At this point, fate is riding us like we're the horses of its choice. It's cold. I'm covered in paint. The faster we get home, the better. Let's just go with it."

"And what if they kidnap us and kills us?" Malik asked.

"Well gee, Malik. It's not like we're already dying currently. We're stuck with these princes either way. Let's just go," Jounouchi said sarcastically.

Ryou chuckled. "Y'know, I think Jounouchi may actually have a point."

Yugi let out a laugh before looking back to Yami and Bakura, who were chatting among themselves. "It might not be that bad..."

"Oh great," Malik grumbled, "So it's three to one."

Malik shook his head as the other three grinned at him.

"Fuck it," he said, "I'm covered in paint, too. Let's go."

Meanwhile, with Yami and Bakura, who were bickering. Bakura was not feeling this adventure at all. He shoved his fists into his pockets in order to avoid hitting the other. 

"You're insane, baka pharaoh," he hissed. 

"Why do you even bother to complain? Don't you have your own car?" Yami asked with a raised brow.

Bakura raised a fist to aim at Yami, but decided to  cross his arms over his chest. He could clearly feel a vein popping out of his forehead. His brows furrowed together and he closed his eyes. 

"Not today I don't!" Bakura yelled as he opened his eyes to glare at the tri-colored haired male.

Yami gave a tilt of his head, feigning interest as he listened.

"If you think that for one moment, I am going to let the squirt ride in your car with you, without me, you've definitely got rocks for brains," he barked.

Yami looked back at the quad, before looking at Bakura with a cheeky grin.

"Oh? Is the thief worried for his dear little rabbit?" Yami said knowingly, "Don't worry, I won't do anything. I'm after a much bigger prize."

Bakura felt another vein exploding.

"A bigger prize?" Bakura questioned, "First of all, you short stack of burnt sand, my interest is the better prize. Anyone would be lucky to—

"Okay, we've decided!" Yugi interrupted with a small hum, "We'll take your offer."

Yami grinned and wiggled his brows at Bakura, before turning to Yugi.

"Perfect! Let's go," he said as he began to lead the way.

Bakura scowled and made a sound that sounded like an angry dog. This brought Ryou's attention to him. Their eyes met and Ryou offered a kind smile to him, which put the taller to ease for a little bit.

"If it's alright, would it be okay for us to discuss the project on the way?" Ryou asked quietly.

"Huh? What did you say?" Bakura asked with furrowed brows, "Can you speak up louder?"

Ryou squeaked, before clearing his throat.

"I said I was wondering if it would be okay to talk about the project on the way?" he asked, louder and clearer this time.

Bakura stared at the other, who began to shrink as the quiet continued to drag on. The wind blew the smaller's white hair, causing him to shiver and shrink into the collar of his jacket. It was an adorable action, but to someone like Bakura, who was unused to such things being cute, it was an action towards a heart attack for onlookers. 

"Good Ra, this child is—" He paused his thoughts there and his scowl grew even bigger, causing Ryou to flinch and look down.

"Gah, Ra be damned," he grumbled as he grabbed Ryou's wrist and then forcefully shoved his free fist in his pant's pocket. "Let's go. We're falling behind."

Ryou gasped and looked at where they were connected. He gave a small smile as he followed along.

"You still didn't answer the question," Ryou said softly as they walked, trying to keep up with the other's long strides.

Bakura huffed. "Yeah, whatever. We can do whatever you'd like. Just don't be annoying."

Ryou chuckled and nodded. "'Kay."

To be continued...

Gabby: GUYS! I AM SO SORRY! IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME! AND I APOLOGIZE AND I HAVE BEEN BUSY, SO HERE IS MY MAKE UP FOR LEAVING YOU ALL FOR SO LONG.

Jounouchi: It is about time! I thought you forgot about us!

Gabby: No. Never. Forever a fan. Love you guys! Thanks to all who've been devoted for ages... lol. Sorry.