I am so so sorry this took so long. I have been busy non stop. With assessment and rowing and swimming, I've been exhausting myself. I havn't even had time to read :( but I'm back now and I want to give you all a really big thanks for reading, voting and commenting! It's amazing really! Sorry for any grammatical errors, I write this on my iPod. I don't own YuGiOh or any of its characters. Enjoy!

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Yugi scribbled down notes as fast as he could. He sighed in slight irritation when he saw how the quality of his hand-writing had slowly declined over the course of the lesson. Ancient Egypt was the topic that they were currently covering in history, and Yugi was beyond ecstatic. Ancient Egypt was his favourite time period by far, and the fact that the school play was set in that civilisation; learning as much as he could would allow his acting to be a bit more realistic. Of course they would have to write an essay about a particular level in the society, but overall the trade-off wasn't that bad. Yugi wished that Yami was in his class so that they could, not fanboy exactly, but excitedly talk about the topic. Knowing that Yami loved Ancient Egypt too made both it and Yami just that much more beautiful.

The teacher decided to end the day with a 'fun' fact. However, knowing that the cat was mummified and buried with their master, was enough to make Yugi, and the rest of the class, grimace.

"Now, I don't see you all until next term. So, have a good holiday and don't forget to work hard on those essays!" the teacher sung cheerily.

Yugi hummed to himself happily, packing up slowly, the rest of the class lumbering away like animals. He jumped slightly when the teacher eased into the chair next to him, "Mr Mutou?" She was quite young, and Yugi guessed that this was her first year of proper teaching. She had perfect, bronze skin and sea blue eyes that were almost as deep. The kohl eyeliner made them seem bigger and brighter, adding to her exotic appearance. Her hair was flowing brown, intertwined with gold circlets. She was the nicest teacher that Yugi had ever met. When she talked about the subject her eyes glittered and she smiled so enthusiastically that Yugi couldn't help but smile along with her. It seemed that sometimes she forgot that she was the one in charge and jumped when students asked her for permission. She treated the class as if they were real people and could actually think for themselves. She often asked for the students opinions and was open to conversation.

"Ms Ishtar?" Yugi had no trouble talking to her, she was more like a friend than a superior. She laughed quietly, "Please, my name's Ishizu,"

Yugi smiled, she wasn't really too much older than him, maybe four or five years.

"Okay, Ishizu, did you want anything?"

"Yes actually. You're a friend of Yami's aren't you?"

Yugi's heart jolted at the name. For the first time in Ishizu's presence he felt nervous.

"Y-yes, I am. Why?"

Leaning back, she sighed, "Well, I don't really like to talk about my students, but Yami is a family friend."

Yugi stiffened at the news, family friend?! He never told me! His voice remained calm, "Yes?"

Ishizu shuffled uncomfortable and didn't meet Yugi's gaze, "Well, to tell the truth, he's not very good at writing essays,"

Yugi let out a breath and smiled knowingly, willing Ishizu to continue.

"So, I was wondering, if over the holidays you could help him with writing it?"

She gazed at Yugi curiously, waiting for his reply. She looked generaly worried about his grades, like an overprotective sister. Yugi giggled at her concern and nodded madly, "Of course I'll help him!"

Ishizu smiled, relieved, "Thankyou, you don't know how much this will mean to both him and me. He's had such a difficult childhood, you're probably his first helpful friend..."

She looked over Yugi's shoulder, but he thought that it was more like she was looking into the past. How come all these random people know about Yami and his past but not me? When Ishizu didn't move for a while Yugi coughed, "So is that all, Ms Isht....Ishizu?"

Her gaze slowly made its way back to his face before coming into focus, "Oh, yes, thank you again, Yugi," she smiled sweetly, "and have a nice holiday."

He walked calmly out the door, waving to Ishizu. He waited for the door to close behind him before breaking into a run. Mr Kumo's going to kill me! He ran through corridor after deserted corridor. Of course my locker has to be on the other side of the school! It makes life just that much more 'fun'. His footsteps rung out along the hallways, he flinched at how loud they seemed against the empty back drop. He finally reached his locker, puffing. He fumbled with the lock with shaky hands and pulled. Dammit! He turned the lock again, slowly this time, trying to gain control of his tired body. This time the door gave in and swung open. Yugi shoved all his books into his bag along with whatever else would fit. He had probably just bent a number of papers but he didn't care, Mr Kumo's wrath was much more problematic. He swung his bag over his shoulder, nearly crumpling at the weight, before slamming his locker shut and starting up his run once again.

He reached the Hall door and tried to slow his breathing. His shoulders ached from running with the heavy bag and he could feel his heartbeat in his stomach. He groaned at the weird sensation. He reached towards the door, grimacing when his shirt stuck to his skin. Opening the door he had expected to see crowds of students, all grumbling and complaining about being here on the last day of term. But instead the room was eerily quiet. Yugi stepped into the middle off the Hall and turned, scanning the space. "Where is everyone?" he whispered, panic finding its way to his chest. Is everyone gone? He couldn't help but think. The silence of the room pressed onto him.

He felt a cold breeze flow through the Hall, washing down from the high up windows. He shivered at the change in temperature, no longer hot from running. "This is weird," he mumbled to himself. Yugi took a breath and stepped forward, determined to find someone, anyone. He jumped when the noise of his own footstep echoed unnaturally off the walls. He scolded himself for being frightened, but couldn't deny the fact that his heart was beating a thousand miles an hour. He moved carefully towards the stage, listening out for any sign of Mr Kumo and the rest of the students. His heart thumped painfully against his chest as he edged closer and closer. From ground level Yugi couldn't see to the back of stage. He narrowed his eyes but the shadows were too vast. He blinked when he thought he saw the faint outline of a person. It is a person! He gulped, choking down his ever rising fear, "H-hello?"

The figure seemed to sway. Something metal clattered to the ground. That was it, Yugi turned on his heel and ran. His bag weighed nothing, his tiredness had evaporated. He didn't care if his footsteps were loud, his life was more important. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins and realised how much he wanted it to stay that way. Unwelcoming footfalls followed him, no, they were gaining on him. Yugi almost laughed at the thought of him dying because of his short legs. Almost. He saw the door in front of him and allowed a smile to flash across his face. To late though to make it out. A strong hand had closed around his arm, It's fingers long and cold. Yugi wasn't proud to admit, but he screamed. He was forced to turn and ended up face to face with the eyes of the devil himself.

"Ryou!? Ra dammit you scared me half to death!!"

"Yugi I..."

"I thought you were a killer or something!!"

"Yugi, let me..."

"Where is everyone!?!"

"They're..."

"Did you kill them!!?"

"What?"

"I knew it! I knew that one day you'd loose it!!"

"Yugi..."

"You and your occult stuff!! It wasn't enough was it!? No you just had to become a murderer too!!"

"They're not..."

"Here?! Yeah I can see that!! What did you do!? Stuff them under the stage?"

"Why would I..."

"What the actual hell Ryou!?! You stuffed them under the stage!?!"

"What?! Yugi..."

"Don't 'Yugi' me!! Now you're probably going to kill me too!!"

"I didn't..."

"I should of kept running when I had the chance!! I don't want to join the 'stuffed under the stage' club!!"

"You need to..."

"Calm down!?!"

"Yes,"

"I don't need to calm down! I'm perfectly reasonable. You're the one who needs to calm down!!"

"What?"

"Killing people isn't the answer!!"

"I didn't..."

"Kill them?! That's what they all say!!"

"I'm not..."

"Only once you accept that you have a problem can we help you!!"

"You're the one with the problem!"

"Listen to yourself Ryou!! You can hear the crazy in your voice!!"

"Yugi..."

"What did I say before!? Were you even listening?! Don't 'Yugi' me!"

"Yugi..."

"What!?"

"I'm sorry I scared you."

Yugi huffed, his whole body shaking with fear and anger. Not at Ryou, whose large chocolate eyes only held warmth and guilt, but at himself for being scared and unreasonable. He let his muscles relax and looked up at his friend, "It's okay Ryou. I'm the one who should be apologising to you for shouting." Yugi twisted his hands guiltily, trying to look as sincere as he could. Ryou's face split into a dopey smile and laughed, "You were so scared! You should have seen yourself!'

Yugi pouted, "Hmf. You know you're a horrible friend right?"

Ryou laughed again and started towards the stage, "Don't worry, I know."

Yugi hesitated slightly before following him, "But I wouldn't put it past you to actually stuff all the students under the stage."

Ryou looked at Yugi with mock seriousness, "Whose to say I haven't already?"

Yugi giggled nervously, scared that Ryou actually had, "What did happen to the other students?"

"That's for me to know and for you to not find out."

Yugi paused, Isn't that what Bakura said the other day?

"Yugi? Are you okay?"

Yugi shook his head and put a small smile on his face, returning to the joking manner, "But seriously," he punched Ryou in the arm, jumping and jogging towards the stairs to the side of the stage, "what did happen to the other students?"

Ryou jogged to catch up, "Mr Kumo decided that because it's the last day of term everyone can go home except for the main characters."

Leaping up onto the stage it wasn't as dark as Yugi thought it would be, "Why?" he called.

"He wants to get some costume stuff done early so he has time to change it if necessary."

Yugi nodded at the information. Wait, "How do you know this stuff? You're not in the play." He turned to face Ryou, this was suspicious.

Ryou paused and scratched his head, "Well, I was with Yami last lesson," Ryou smiled, causing something in the pit of Yugi's stomach to boil, "and we were having a great conversation, so I walked with him here and decided that I would stay to watch."

Yugi felt disconnected. Of course he was glad that Yami and Ryou were getting along. They were two of his best friends, but he couldn't help but feel slightly left out.

"Yami asked me to wait out here for you 'cause he knew that you had History last and would probably be late," Ryou shrugged. Yugi turned away so that Ryou couldn't see the massive grin that had spread across his face. He felt the familiar warmth spread through his body at knowing that Yami cared for him. He didn't know what it meant but he liked it.

Assuming Mr Kumo and Yami were backstage, Yugi started towards the doorway. His foot snagged on something solid and he tripped. Gracefully. He felt as though he was falling in slow motion, or maybe he was just thinking really fast. He could feel the pain thumping its way up his leg. He could here Ryou calling out. It sounded funny in slow motion. Yugi briefly hoped that he would be able to save himself but his body couldn't move as fast as his thoughts. He hoped that maybe someone would catch him but with his luck, he would probably be left with the floor. Yugi sighed as he fell, he was not looking forward to landing. All to quickly the floor appeared before his face. Finally his instincts kicked in and he twisted like a snake, flipping so that he landed on his bum and his hands. Yes, graceful was the word. He landed with a thump, "Oooowwwww," he groaned. He heard a choking sound and looked up angrily to see Ryou trying to muffle a laugh. "I'm so sorry Yugi," he spluttered, "that was my fault. I accidentally knocked down that hat stand before I scared you."

Yugi huffed, his body was going to hate him. He looked at what tripped him and saw that it was indeed a hat stand. Made of metal. "Ra dammit Ryou! You are trying to kill me!"

Ryou laughed and moved to help Yugi up. He winced when a bolt of pain shot through his foot. Ryou looked at him apologetically and let him lean on him. As terrible a person as Ryou was, he was good at heart.

There were actually lights backstage so it was not likely that Yugi could trip over anything else. Although he didn't want to tempt fate. His pain had subsided so he no longer needed to lean on Ryou. The room was a comfortable size; not too big, not too small. Boxes of materials and props were stacked up along a wall, while racks of clothes filled the other half of the room. All the colours that Yugi could had ever imaged were present. It looked like there were two change rooms, red curtains draped over the front to give privacy. In one shadowy corner of the room was door that looked like it lead into the the hallway. Standing in the middle of the room was Mr Kumo, "Ah, Mr Mutou. Here at last I see. I was starting to think that you weren't going to show."

Yugi bowed apologetically, "Sorry Mr Kumo."

Mr Kumo's face was as unreadable as always. When the silence continued Yugi glanced towards Ryou, who just shrugged. A high pitched giggle got his attention. It had come from one of the change rooms.

"Ra, I look like an idiot."

Yugi smiled when he heard the familiar voice. Yami.

"Nonsense darling, you look just like a pharaoh."

Yugi heard a groan and saw the curtain rustle, "You know pharaohs had tall crowns right? This is just a band of gold."

"It's called poetic licence sweetie. And besides, a crown would never fit on your hair."

Yugi snickered at the comment. This was comedy gold, but before he could pull out his phone to record the conversation, Mr Kumo called out, "Miss Kujaku, if you please."

More light giggling could be heard before the curtain was drawn back to reveal a tall woman. She stepped forward out of the way, golden locks swaying by her waist. She had large indigo eyes that glittered when she smiled. He clothes consisted of many shades of purple; shirt, skirt, boots, all of it. She waved quickly at Yugi and Ryou before facing the change room, "Don't be shy Yami, you look wonderful!"

Another groan, then the curtain was swept away and Yugi could only focus on one thing, his pharaoh. Yami was dressed in a white tunic, a gold band around his waist. What seemed to be a blue cloth hung over the bottom half of the tunic. He wore a golden neck plate but it was hardly visible beneath the night blue cape. Small golden wings sprouted from the tunic's shoulders and circlets of the same metal hugged his ankles, wrists and biceps. A golden band did indeed circle his head, wings at the sides. It's centre piece, an eye, hung upon his forehead. His hair was messier than usual and his eyes were burning rubies surround by kohl eyeliner. Yet something seemed to be missing. All the earthy colours made his skin seem darker and softer. He usually had an air of confidence but this was different. He had a commanding aura. Yugi felt as though he would do anything for him, even his homework. This effect was broken when Yami smirked and wriggled his eyebrows, "You like it Yugi?"

Yugi put his hands on his hips and pouted, "Jerk."

Yami tilted his head back and laughed his rich, musical laugh. Mr Kumo coughed, "If you'll excuse my interruption, but I must formally introduce you to Miss Kujaku," he gestured towards the woman, "she is our costume designer."

Yugi didn't want to mention that he had figured that out already and just smiled politely.

"I'll be doing yours next sweetie!" She lunged forward and grabbed Yugi's arm. He stumbled forward in surprise and was only vaguely aware of Yami chuckling amusedly behind him. He was pushed in to the other change room and landed heavily on his sore foot. Dammit! He could feel tears forming in his eyes and mentally scolded himself. Trying to subdue the pain he looked around the space. It was bigger than he had expected, probably so it was easier to get into larger costumes. The walls were white and the carpet black and fluffy. There was a mirror on one wall and Yugi made sure that he had his back to it. He could hear Miss Kujaku rummaging through the clothes racks, humming along to an imaginary tune. He could hear Yami and Ryou talking quietly and Yugi wished that he could join in. Clothes were thrown into his arms. He sneezed when the dust rose up to tickle his nose.

"Okay sweetie, you can get changed now."

Yugi sighed, removing his shoes and socks. As he shifted around he was acutely aware of Yami and the others waiting outside. He glanced at the costume as he took off his jacket. It looked like a pillow case that had holes cut into it for a head and arms. A purple rope was laying beside it. Well I can see she went all the way with this costume, he thought sarcastically.

Standing in the middle of a room with a woman fixing his clothes and three other people staring at him was not an experience Yugi ever wanted to repeat. He stood there awkwardly, shuffling from foot to foot. Miss Kujaku tugged and pulled at different parts of the pillow case tunic. The fabric was soft and cool against his skin. It surprisingly reached all the way down to his knees, making Yugi feel shorter than ever. Yami was looking at him and smirking, seemingly just to annoy Yugi. As Miss Kujaku circled around him Yugi stared back at Yami angrily. Yugi frowned when he saw Yami lean over to Ryou and whisper something in his ear. Yugi glanced at him suspiciously when his lips pulled into a smile. Oh no! Both Yami's and Ryou's eyes shone mischievously. When Miss Kujaku had her back to the two, they started making the stupidest faces. Yugi widened his eyes in surprise and he could feel laughter bubbling up chest. Not wanting to give them satisfaction he forced the feeling down and replaced his face with a stern mask. When the two saw this they stopped in their antics. They only gave each other a look before skipping and prancing around in circles, hand in hand. Oh my Ra, why!? Yugi bit his lip, trying to stop his laugh from escaping. Luckily before he could make a fool of himself, Miss Kujaku straightened, "You look wonderful darling!"

Yugi smiled sheepishly, seeing Yami and Ryou stop prancing about behind her. Mr Kumo walked up to inspect Yugi, luckily he did it at a distance. "This will suffice. Thank you Miss Kujaku, you may leave now."

Miss Kujaku wan't thrown off by his cold approach, "Okay, but may I ask that over the holidays you two could maybe work on a tan? You are to look like Egyptians." Yugi and Yami stared at her confusedly. Unfazed she waved and left the room with the confidence of a celebrity. Mr Kumo sighed, "You two may change out of these costumes and leave when you are ready. I will be outside ready to lock up, please do not dilly dally."

All three boys were joking around while, Yugi and Yami put their shoes back on. "So guys," Ryou started, "how are you going to get tanned? Are you actually going the leave the pasty pale skin club?" He smiled cheekily at the end, flicking his hair over his shoulder. Yugi giggled and Yami snorted, "We might actually have to spend some time outside this holidays."

Yugi smiled jokingly, "Outside. What's outside?"

The others laughed and Yugi shook his head at their easy entertainment. Yugi breathed in sharply when he remembered what else he had to do these holidays, "Hey Yami, what level of society are you doing for your history report?"

Yami looked down at him, red tinting his cheeks, "Pharaoh," he mumbled. Ryou laughed hysterically while Yugi shook his head in mock disappointment, "How predictable. How very predictable."

"Oh yeah? What class are you doing then?"

It was Yugi's turn to blush, "Servant..."

Yami's smile beamed down on him, "And I'm the predictable one am I?"

A new voice entered the conversation, "Yes Pharaoh, you are."

Long pale arms draped themselves over Yami's shoulders. Yugi instantly knew who it was. Only one person could be both that creepy and that weird at the same time. Bakura. Yami shook him off and started scolding him. Yugi couldn't hear what they were saying as Ryou had turned to Yugi and asked, "Who is this guy?"

Yugi couldn't find the words to describe him so he just shrugged, "Bakura. I think that he prefers 'Theif' though."

"Theif?"

"I don't know. He has a thing for nicknames."

Ryou looked at him quizzically but didn't push it. Yugi looked back at the taller two and saw that they had finished arguing. Bakura was staring at Ryou, eyes narrowed, "Hey Angel, who's your friend?"

Yugi sighed at the name, "This is Ryou. Ryou, this is Bakura..."

"Theif, actually," he interrupted, "why the hell does he look like me?"

Before anyone could say anything he had stepped closer to Ryou and looked him in the eye, "Are you a demon?"

What to say to that, I don't know, Yugi thought. Ryou however did, "Maybe. I wouldn't test it if I were you."

Bakura growled, impressed at his response. He turned with a flourish, "Pharaoh, Angel, Demon. I think it is time to go, we have a lot to discuss and I know just the perfect little café."

Yugi smiled as Bakura showed Ryou out the door he had come. Yami looked at him and shrugged, falling into place next to Yugi as they too made their way out of the building.

Something tells me life's about to get a bit more interesting.