Chapter Text
Another week gone by, another Thursday of working toward getting Atem out to Egypt now, since Zorc Necrophades was defeated—or rather, defeated as far as Jounouchi understood it. Guy got blasted to smithereens and all by Horakhty, but with the way Bakura was acting today, Jounouchi would've suspected, like he would’ve before, that something was up with him and it was the Ring Spirit’s and then maybe Zorc Necrophades’ fault. But now? Now Jounouchi felt like an ass for suspecting anything, and yet—
“Hey,” Yuugi said as he got to Jou’s desk. “What’s up with Bakura?”
“What, you see it too?” Jou asked.
Yuugi nodded and said, “Yeah, he’s…” But he trailed off just long enough to glance over at Bakura in the corner of the classroom, surrounded by his herd or pack or something of fangirls, honest to god actually chatting with them.
Just yesterday he’d been trying to fend them off and having trouble even accomplishing that. Jounouchi didn’t get it. He didn’t get Bakura doing all that smiling, or the leaning toward the crowd, or him actually holding what looked like a bento one of the other girls had been holding last time Jounouchi had looked.
And then one girl said something, and Bakura said something back that made them laugh, very much unlike Bakura’s usual nerves or disinterest, like he was—
“Flirting,” Yuugi said with some disbelief.
Oh, thank god. “I thought I was hallucinating,” Jou said.
“No, no.” Yuugi shook his head. “You’re definitely not. Definitely the opposite. Lucid, maybe.”
“Whatever it is, yeah, and whatever this is,” Jounouchi said with a nod at Bakura, “I don’t know if I like it.”
“What?” Yuugi cocked his head some. “Why?”
“Why?” Jounouchi asked. He gestured vaguely, flippantly, if only because— “Bakura doesn’t—he doesn't flirt!”
Yuugi hemmed or hawed a bit or something, only to go, “I mean… yeah, but…”
“What?”
“I don’t know,” Yuugi said. “Maybe with the Ring Spirit gone—”
Jounouchi cocked his head around and said, “And you really think he’s gone if Bakura’s acting like this?”
Was that wrong of him to say? Jou wasn't so sure, if only because Yuugi threw him a dull look. “Jounouchi. Don’t be rude.”
“Rude?” Jounouchi asked.
“Yeah, rude. Maybe Bakura actually likes…” Yuugi leaned a hand on Jou’s desk, as if thinking. “…girls.”
That gave Yuugi enough pause for Jounouchi to look back, again, and check how Bakura was doing.
And Bakura was leaning into one girl’s space like she actually interested him enough to bump shoulders with.
“Oh, gosh.” Yuugi said this like he realized he was talking nonsense. Which, fair. Bakura had never shown interest in girls before this, really.
And yet— “Look,” Jou said, leaning toward Yuugi a bit. “Whatever’s happening doesn't feel right. Not all that right, really. But it doesn’t feel like the Ring Spirit.” Not yet, at least.
Yuugi glanced like he was glancing at Atem briefly, which Jou supposed was a good thing to do if Bakura was acting odd again. But then he said to Jounouchi, “So what do you suggest?”
“I don’t know. Wait it out?” Jounouchi said. Better safe than sorry, right?
At that, Yuugi glanced again at what had to be Atem. He pursed his lips together the next second, then nodded and said, in agreement, “Wait it out.”
Which happened to be the moment that some of the other kids started their controlled scrambling to their seats—kind of like a wave originating from the edge of the classroom around the doorway. It made sense as the teacher's voice came through, clearer and clearer:
“Get to your seats. Get to your seats, everyone.”
The bell rang right on cue.
Yuugi patted Jounouchi’s arm briefly, then headed off toward his seat once the teacher appeared. At that same moment, Bakura nudged past Yuugi and toward his seat next to Jounouchi. Bakura’s focus remained on his own desk in particular. Jounouchi sat, and Ryou settled in too, only to flash Jou a casual smile at odds with what he ended up saying to him.
“You guys were awfully chummy.”
Jounouchi couldn’t quite connect that to any point Bakura could be making. “What?”
“You two,” Bakura said. “You and Yuugi.”
“And?” Jounouchi asked.
Bakura opened his mouth again, but the teacher spoke up and said, “Jounouchi, class is starting.”
Bakura hiccuped on a muffled laugh at that. Jounouchi felt his throat clench up.
“What?” Jounouchi didn’t get it. Not only were they in the back—and supposed to be safe or safer or whatever from getting called on—but Bakura wasn’t getting told to shut up?
Bakura smiled lightly, mirthfully, like he realized how off the hook he was too. Despite the familiarity of that smile and that laughter, Jounouchi couldn't quite place why it felt different, or why it felt strange, really.
Like, sure, Bakura was himself and all, had been himself and all since once and for all getting free of the Millennium Ring’s influence. Jou remembered clearly how aware Bakura had been of this upon waking up after the Millennium World RPG. “Oh,” he had said while sitting there and looking down at the Ring. “That’s it then?”
“That’s it, then,” Atem had said, and he’d kept the Ring on him ever since, just in case, but it had been understood: the Other Bakura, the Ring Spirit, was gone, as in utterly gone, and Bakura was utterly free.
No more reason to be suspicious. No more reason to doubt Bakura as being Bakura.
Which should’ve been a weight off Bakura’s shoulders, surely, but the guy hadn't said anything about anything like that since that final game. It’d made sense at first, maybe. Probably Bakura felt guilty his diorama got used for such bad reasons, or he felt awkward talking about the Ring Spirit using his body again alongside the diorama for revenge. Jou didn’t know. Bakura didn’t talk about anything, so of course Jounouchi didn’t know for sure.
And yet—compared to this flirting behavior today, Bakura’s behavior even yesterday was distant. Lost, perhaps. But—that was normal, in a way, wasn’t it?
Bakura too often had his head in the clouds, or off in some daydream, and Jounouchi wasn’t sure if Bakura wanted anyone to really push at getting him to talk. They were still trying to get Yuugi—get Atem—back to Egypt, now. They’d been busy with that, were busy with that, and they’d let Bakura stay by the wayside, maybe, but—
—Jounouchi shook his head, raking his nails through his roots. The teacher was writing stuff on the board and Jou hadn’t been paying attention, again, because of course, of course, that would happen to him.
So he dug out his notebook, opening it and clicking his pen a time or two to get it ready. But he couldn’t quite shake it. This feeling that something was up with Bakura, that is.
Bakura was Jounouchi’s friend, even if they had to focus on Atem for Atem’s sake right now. Bakura was their friend, and the flirting felt out of character. Why, just yesterday the guy had been staring out the window and spacing out like he couldn’t even figure out how to turn his brain on. That was the Bakura Jounouchi was used to.
Was Bakura, the real Bakura, really this outgoing—this flirty—this deep down, without the Ring Spirit there to influence him?
Jounouchi tried to ponder that some, but Yuugi and Atem were the smart ones. Jou just chewed at his pen and gritted his teeth a bit, ’cause man, his head felt tight.
But then—
But then Bakura nudged Jounouchi’s leg with—with a pinched up piece of paper, all calm-like, but still kind of insistently, all things considered, which was strange. Even if Bakura wasn’t studious, he wasn’t one to distract anyone in class.
Jou nudged him back with his leg. Bakura nudged him again a second time, and it hit Jou that Bakura wanted him to take the thing—to take the note.
A note?
Jou held back his scowl. The teacher wasn’t looking, so Jou took the paper and unfolded it, quietly, in his lap.
When he glanced at Bakura, Bakura was writing whatever the teacher was saying this time. Jou placed the note on his own notebook, to let it blend in, and read what it had to say:
Hey, what’s up with you and Yuugi today?
Whatever Bakura was trying to really say flew right over poor Jounouchi’s head. What was this? Was he suspicious back at them? Suspicious of them being suspicious?
Should Jou tell Bakura they were worried about him, even?
Jou wrote back, slowly, Nothing more than what’s usually up, why?
He then waited a moment before subtly tapping the side of Bakura’s foot with his own. Bakura’s hand went immediately out, and he took the note back when Jounouchi offered it to him.
They wrote to each other like that, back and forth, a few times. Bakura responded at first with:
You just seemed awfully chummy is all.
To which Jounouchi replied:
We’re pals, aren’t we?
It took Bakura a moment, but he wrote:
I suppose so. He’s kind of cute, isn’t he?
Which got Jounouchi staring hard enough he forgot to even worry, for a moment, about getting caught passing notes in class of all things.
He was much too unsure about what Bakura had written to worry about getting caught.
So he wrote back, You know that’s Yuugi you’re calling cute, right?
Maybe this was their Bakura. Jou passed his note back, wondering if Bakura was just trying one last ditch effort to like girls before going for boys, and yet—
Bakura wrote back to him, And? I can admire a cute face, you know.
—the way he wrote that just felt sleazy, which was even odder for Bakura.
Jou bit back a scowl and wrote, Don’t go doing anything you’ll regret later, Bakura.
To which Bakura simply wrote back, Now, when have I ever done that? with a winky face.
Jou glanced, again, at Bakura, but Bakura simply winked briefly at him and turned his attention back to the lecture in front of them.
And that seemed to be the end of that. Or rather—Jounouchi had such an eerie feeling in his chest that he left things at that, not even bothering to write something back. That speck of unease further trickled down into his stomach, ’cause really—Yuugi? Cute? And the winky face, even—in a way Jou wasn’t entirely sure was friendly—
This couldn’t be the real Bakura, the deep down Bakura, because even Jounouchi knew Bakura well enough to know he wasn’t a callous flirt. But the Ring Spirit was gone, so it couldn’t be the Ring Spirit, and this wasn’t really the Ring Spirit’s thing, either—so who the hell was sitting next to Jounouchi all morning, if the guy wasn’t Bakura Ryou?
With the lunch bell came Honda sliding over, through a throng or two of people, toward Jounouchi and his desk and “Bakura.” Bakura turned to Jounouchi easily, some sort of brightness present in his chatter. “You think he’s cute, too, don’t you?”
Jou felt inexplicably warm. “What?”
“Who?” Honda asked.
“Yuugi?” Jou sputtered.
And Honda, completely out of the loop, looked at Jounouchi with disbelief. “Yuugi?”
“Yeah, Yuugi,” Bakura said. “Jou here was chatting him up.” And then, a bit mischievously, he reached over and elbowed at Jounouchi’s arm. “You don’t mind if I try and chat with him a little, do you?”
“Excuse me?” Jounouchi squeaked.
“Jou,” Honda said, and went on, “did something happen since I last saw you this morning?”
The way Honda was looking at Jou—Jounouchi sputtered, again, “No, Honda—it’s not like that—”
“If it’s not like that,” Bakura said, “maybe I'll go say hi then myself.” He pushed up out of his seat, then maneuvered past Honda, saying, “Don’t wait for me.”
Jounouchi sputtered a formless sound or two, if only because he didn’t know what to think of anything Bakura had implied. Jounouchi—and Yuugi—?
“‘Don’t wait for me?’” Honda muttered. “What’s he think we’re gonna do otherwise…?”
“Honda, you gotta help me out here man,” Jounouchi said.
Honda was quick. “What’s up?”
“That’s Bakura, right?”
Honda turned. He stared, and Jounouchi followed his line of sight to where Bakura stood, talking to Yuugi and Anzu very much like he had been talking to his fanclub earlier, before class.
Attentive. Flirty. The whole shebang.
“Not some Ring Spirit imposter?” Jounouchi asked.
Honda’s posture shifted minutely. He was taking Jou seriously, at least.
“Well,” Honda said.
“The guy’s dead,” Jounouchi said. “Tell me he’s dead.”
“He is,” Honda said. “And… Bakura doesn't have the Ring.”
Jounouchi let out a brief sigh.
“But stranger things have happened, I suppose,” Honda tacked on to the thing. That bit got Jounouchi groaning.
“Oh, don't say that…”
“How come?" Honda asked.
Jou rubbed his eyes a bit. “Now I’m gonna think he’s back all day.”
Honda patted Jounouchi a bit on the shoulder. “If he’s back,” he said, “Atem can deal with him. Don’t worry about it.”
Still, Jounouchi found himself watching Bakura schmooze Yuugi—and Anzu?—over. Uncharacteristic of Bakura to the core.
“I’m not so sure I can’t.”
“Come on,” Honda had said. “Walk with me.”
“Yeah?” Jou had said.
“Don’t you need some fresh air, man?”
Which was how they had made it out of the classroom, at least. Not even a moment after that, the door banged right open, and Jounouchi jerked his head back and found Anzu in the doorway.
She pointed, immediately, at Jounouchi. “That’s—that’s not Bakura.”
“What?” Jou asked.
“Bakura. That’s not Bakura.”
“What, you too?” Honda asked.
Anzu trotted down to them, gesticulating with her hands as if frustrated. “He’s never acted like that around me. Like I was—was—”
“What,” Jounouchi said, and this was the only place his mind was still going, “a girl?”
“—a toy to play with!” Anzu snapped.
Jou winced. “Oof. That bad?”
“Like he was playing around with my buttons to get the reaction he wanted,” Anzu went on. “Like—like—”
“That doesn’t sound like Bakura at all,” Honda said.
Anzu pointed at him now. “It does sound like the Spirit of the Millennoum Ring, though.”
“Does it?” Jou genuinely wanted to know.
“What,” Honda said to Anzu, “you too?”
“What do you mean, ‘you too?’” Anzu asked.
Honda nodded at Jounouchi. “Jou over here is also suspicious.”
“Shut up. You should be too at this point,” Jounouchi muttered. “Doesn’t hurt anything to be suspicious.”
“I know,” Honda said. “I would know, definitely, but—”
“He stared at my boobs, Honda,” Anzu said.
“—well, maybe I'm a little suspicious, hearing that,” Honda amended.
“Are ya, pal?” Jounouchi asked, which happened to be the exact moment Bakura trotted out of the classroom. Yuugi wasn’t that far behind him.
Bakura, upon spotting Anzu, slipped into some sort of coo. “Oh, hello again.”
“Back,” Anzu snapped while pointing at him.
“Cute!” Bakura chirped.
Yuugi looked Jounouchi in the eye directly, all worried and flighty as fuck. “Jounouchi—”
But Bakura grabbed Jounouchi’s arm in a firm fist, dragging him along as he walked. “Jounouchi! Talk to me. And you too, sure, Honda.”
“What?” Honda chirped. “What are you—”
“You scamps, the lot of you, the girls won’t wait for us forever!” Bakura said, only to lean closer and immediately hiss, “He’s talking to imaginary friends.”
“What?” Jou asked.
“Imaginary friends, Jou,” Bakura said as he dragged Jounouchi along. Honda had followed after them, because he was as an upstanding guy like that or something. “In his head. At this age. All serious-like!”
Jounouchi didn’t quite get the point. “And that’s… what?”
“Who even picks a mummy as an imaginary friend?” Bakura went on. “Ancient Egypt is so old and boring… Only my dad could love that subject…!”
“Wait a—” Jounouchi started, only to be beat to it by Honda.
“Do you mean the Pharaoh?”
Bakura’s head snapped immediately to Honda. “You’ve seen him muttering about that?”
“Uh,” Honda said, then shared the same stumped look Jounouchi was feeling with him. They slowed by the stairs, and Honda simply said, “Atem’s not an imaginary friend?”
“The mummy has a name?” Bakura squawked.
“Bakura,” Jounouchi said. “You’ve met Atem. Multiple times.”
Bakura laughed, once, but the longer Jounouchi and Honda didn't laugh, the more Bakura’s face actually fell. “Oh, now you’re just gaslighting me.”
“You’re gaslighting us, you mean,” Jounouchi said, because if this wasn’t the Ring Spirit, perhaps it was a sick practical joke—
“No, no,” Bakura went on, though. “I would know if I’d met anyone named Atem in Japan. I’m good at remembering foreign names.”
“He’s literally with Yuugi right now, Bakura,” Honda told him.
To which Bakura’s stare somehow turned flatter.
Then, without any humor, Bakura said, “Don’t tell me he’s got a second personality.”
Jou frowned. “That’s not even—”
“You like the, ah, unique cases, don’t you, Jou?” Bakura asked, which frankly kind of pissed Jounouchi off.
“Don’t talk about Yuugi like that!” Jou snapped.
But Bakura didn’t even seem interested anymore. He took out his phone, humming, “I’m just saying!”
And Jounouchi wound up an impulsive fist. “And you’re just asking—!”
Honda swatted Jou’s fist down anyway. “Hey, don’t.”
“You can have him all to yourself is all I’m saying,” Bakura went on, checking something or another on his phone—during school hours no less. Then he laughed, saying, “My sister’s leaving me on read, can you believe it?”
“What?” Honda chirped.
“Sister?” Jounouchi asked.
“Sisters, am I right?” Bakura asked. He typed away at something or another, saying, “All I’m trying to get out of her is if she and Mom are coming over for the weekend, that’s all…”
Has… Bakura ever mentioned having family besides his dad before?
It would make sense, surely, Jounouchi assumed. Bakura having a mom who birthed him?
And yet—
“Jounouchi,” Yuugi called, and Jounouchi turned enough to spot him trotting after them.
Beside him, Jounouchi could see Bakura waving.
“I’m gonna find the girls,” Bakura said. “Go nuts.”
And then he headed straight down the stairs.
Yuugi stopped in front of Jou and Honda, and Anzu trailed behind him. “That’s not Bakura,” he said.
“Yeah, I believe you guys at this point,” Honda said.
“My boobs,” Anzu reminded him.
“I said I believe you!”
“He thought you were crazy, Yuugi,” Jounouchi said, still feeling weird about it. “Like Atem wasn’t a real person at all.”
Yuugi glanced away again, only to say, after a moment, “Atem says yeah, that checks out. He got weird and wouldn’t acknowledge Atem when we were talking.”
“Is the Ring Spirit back somehow?” Honda asked.
Jou groused, “He’s supposed to be dead.”
“He’s been ‘supposed to be dead’ before,” Yuugi pointed out.
“Whatever’s happening,” Anzu said, “Bakura’s not acting like Bakura. If it’s not the Ring Spirit, maybe it’s—I don’t know—”
“What?” Jounouchi asked.
“—something else controlling him?” Anzu tried, and that idea gave Jounouchi some pause.
Honda, however, was immediately thoughtful, rubbing his chin like that. “I don’t know what else could be controlling him…”
“Zorc is dead,” Atem said, very abruptly popping in, “so I doubt very much it could be him.”
“Oh, hi, Atem,” Jounouchi chirped. “Long time no see.”
“Long time no see,” Atem agreed.
“You saw each other yesterday,” Honda said.
“Same difference,” Jounouchi said back.
Atem, meanwhile, grew seriously thoughtful. “If someone got ahold of the Rod, though… perhaps….”
“What,” Anzu said, “you think it's mind control?”
“It could be,” Atem declared solemnly.
Jounouchi scowled though. “But who would be controlling his—”
“Oh, god,” Honda suddenly said while looking out the window. “He’s flirting with his fanclub in the courtyard.”
“What?”
“In broad daylight.”
“What?” Jounouchi said again.
“He was flirting with my partner earlier as well…” Atem hummed. Yuugi must’ve said something, because Atem said, “Don’t deny it, Partner. You’re handsome enough to be flirted with.”
“Flirted with by mind controlled Bakura?” Anzu asked.
“Well…” Atem murmured.
“It's sickening,” Jounouchi murmured upon looking out the window. There Bakura stood, just as Honda said, in the courtyard with his legion of girls.
He touched one of the girl’s hair, and the pack of them started laughing, swaying, maybe even swatting at each other—
And Honda went on to say, “I don't think I've ever seen him so comfortable around a girl he knows likes him likes him.”
“We gotta do something,” Jounouchi said.
“Agreed,” Atem said.
And after that, Yuugi popped back in to say, frantically, “Yes, agreed, agreed.”