Invisible Me

Author’s Note: I have to apologize once again for the delays in updating my stories. My muses ran into a snag, which made the writing process come to an abrupt and terrible halt. Fortunately, they’ve resolved the issues and because of being on ‘cloud nine,’ they’re contributing now. Unfortunately, life also provided problems. My husband and I had to move, which slowed everything down as well. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get everything back on track. On a happier note, I can’t begin to thank my reviewers enough for your kind reviews! People tend to forget that without the reviews from the readers, the writer really has nothing to go on. It’s an encouragement to us, so please remember to review the stories you read! A huge thanks goes out to DracOnyx and ladywolf_Terri for their support and late night chats! I couldn’t do it without you two!

Disclaimer – If they were mine, I’d be having a hell of a lot more fun right now.

Chapter Two – A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

At school the next day, Yugi spent most of his time drawing in his sketchbook once he’d finished with the lessons in each class. The teachers, knowing that he had finished his work, said nothing about his preoccupation. As long as he was quiet and not causing trouble, they didn’t care what occupied his time and were happy that at least one student would keep quiet and not cause any problems. So he spent his free time engrossed in the book, not really paying attention to what was going on around him and his preoccupation was noted by those closest to him.

At lunch, Ryou peered over Yugi’s shoulder and nearly shuddered at the drawing he found. When the amethyst eyed teen realized what was going on, he tried to shut the book but a slender hand stopped him.

“Yugi?”

Both of them stared at the drawing for a long while, not saying a word to each other. The others had yet to join their table, so they had a few moments to themselves before the noise and general chaos would begin. Finally, knowing that the silence was becoming awkward, the smaller hikari broke it to try and give some sort of explanation as to what it was that he had been working on so diligently that day.

“It’s nothing, Ryou. Just something that hit me today and wouldn’t let me be. Once I get it done, I’ll work on something else.”

Ryou allowed him to close the book and made the decision to speak to Bakura about it later when the two of them could talk without anyone overhearing the conversation. The drawing was haunting him and would continue to do so until he could speak to his yami about it.

When Bakura, Joey, Tristan, and Duke joined the duo, they found an uncomfortable silence at their usual table. Bakura’s mahogany eyes took in the muted expression on Yugi’s face, telling him that the hikari was hiding something that was deeply troubling him. He also saw the worried look on Ryou’s and, after taking a seat beside his hikari, questioned him through their link.

-“What’s going on?”-

-“I just saw the picture Yugi was working on.”-

Bakura was confused, not understanding what it was about a drawing that had upset the white haired hikari. Sensing his yami’s confusion, Ryou went on to explain.

-“It’s a perfect description of how Yugi is feeling around Yami right now. You need to look at it, Bakura. Yugi didn’t want me to see it. I think he’s afraid of letting us know how he’s feeling.”-

-“Damn kid tries to be strong for everyone. I want to see this picture now.”-

-“He’s not going to show it to you.”-

Bakura bit back a grin, knowing that Ryou had just unwittingly provided him with a small challenge.

-“Leave that to me.”-

Lunch passed on as it usually did. The group chatted amicably amongst themselves with Yugi barely responding to any of the comments that were occasionally thrown his way. Ryou had to remind him to eat, knowing that the tri-colored haired teenager’s appetite had dwindled lately.

About halfway through the meal, Bakura got up to put his empty tray in the trash and on his way back, in an uncharacteristic display of clumsiness, knocked over the stack of books that Yugi had close to the edge of the table. Only Ryou noticed when the sketchbook was slid into the uniform pocket, not rejoining its brothers on the table.

“Ryou?”

Startled to hear his name, the chocolate eyed duelist turned to look at his yami, a questioning expression on his beautiful face.

“Yes, Kura?”

“You said that we’d go find that book for my English project after we’re finished eating.”

Ryou, recognizing the ploy, slowly nodded as he answered.

“Well, I’m finished eating Kura if you want to go to the library to find it.”

The thief casually shrugged, slumping in his seat. The expression told the group that he wasn’t too happy about wasting time at the library but would do it. When the yamis had regained their bodies, all of them enrolled themselves in school and were doing extraordinarily well, probably due to their hikaris’ influence.

The two left the cafeteria and headed towards the library, knowing that they wouldn’t be interrupted. Once they went to a corner in the back, Bakura took the book out of his pocket and began flipping through it. His frown grew deeper with each page he turned and by the time he reached the drawing Ryou had seen, he was shaking his head.

The drawing had a picture of Yami, who looked both powerful and mysterious in the garb of a pharaoh. The figure was surrounded by other beautiful figures, each vying for his attention. All of this was done in intricate detail, but what drew Bakura’s attention was the small figure standing in the background.

Mahogany eyes stared at the tiny figure that represented Yugi. Although it was clearly drawn, there were elements to the drawing of himself that showed his insecurities and pain. While the others had been drawn to show great beauty, the small drawing showed ruthlessness, indicating that everything the young duelist had been through had only diminished his self esteem. What haunted the thief was the look of pain and longing shown in the pencil drawn eyes.

-“Kura?”-

-“Something has to be done, hikari. You were right. Everything Yami has done has whittled away whatever confidence Yugi has in himself.”-

-“So what do we do?”-

-“Wait for Téa to call us to set up a time to meet. Afterwards, we find a way to get the Pharaoh’s head out of his ass.”-

Ryou nodded and followed his yami out of the library, watching as the thief skillfully returned the book to Yugi without the amethyst eyed teenager ever knowing that it had been missing. The white haired duelist could only hope that Téa would call them soon, knowing that their friend was not doing as well as all of them would hope.

At dance rehearsal that evening, the small duelist was very much on the dancer’s mind. She sighed softly to herself as she laced up her toe shoes, somewhat tuning out the excited chatter around her. A voice she had learned to hate soon penetrated her concentration.

“How’s it going, Sachi?”

“Going extremely well. He loved his birthday gift. Yami and I are going to the concert next weekend.”

“You two make a great couple.”

“We do. I just wish I could get him to stop hanging out with those losers.”

“Bakura, Malik, and Marik aren’t that bad.”

“They’re the only good ones in that bunch. The others I can somewhat tolerate, except for Ryou and that little pipsqueak that Yami lives with. They’re too damn goody-goody. I don’t know why Yami even keeps them around.”

Téa’s teeth started grinding as she suppressed the need to go over and yank every strand of blond hair out of the obnoxious girl’s head. Unseen, her fists clenched tightly as she fought against her anger.

“The two of them are awfully quiet most of the time. I don’t know why you wouldn’t like them, Sachi.”

“You don’t know anything, Minako. I’m getting rid of them as soon as possible. My Yami needs the best around him.”

“How are you going to handle that?”

“I’m working on a plan. I’ll talk to you guys about it after rehearsal. Speaking of which, are you guys still planning on trying out for that solo?”

“No, the steps are still too complicated. What about you, Sachi?”

“Of course. I plan on taking what I want. I deserve the spotlight, don’t you guys think?”

“You’re the best dancer out of all of us, Sachi. I think the solo should definitely be yours.”

Blue eyes watched the group exit into the dance hall with a cold, calculating expression within their depths. The usually gentle voice was rough with fury as she spoke, breaking the silence of the now empty dressing room.

“We’ll see who gets the last laugh, bitch. I’m going to take everything you think you deserve away from you and pop that inflated ego of yours. That solo is mine, and I’m going to make sure that everyone knows what an ungraceful cow you are on that stage. Then I’m going to sit back and laugh as Yugi takes Yami away from you. And you know what I’m going love about that, Sachi? You won’t even know what the hell hit you until it all falls apart on you. No one insults my friends and gets away with it.”

Determination filled her and she strode into the dance hall, warming up with her classmates before her teacher began the try outs for the solo. The dark haired dancer watched as Sachi performed her try out piece, quietly noting the mistakes the girl made.

“Téa, it’s your turn.”

Téa walked out to the middle of the floor and fell into position, closing her eyes for a moment. She pictured a pair of amethyst eyes filled with pain and tears, focusing herself on doing what she could to take away the sorrow and put joy back into those depths. Once she was ready, she opened her eyes and nodded at her teacher, who put the music on.

For the first time in her life, Téa danced for her best friend’s happiness instead of dancing to feel the joy that usually filled her. She put every ounce of her emotions into the steps, determined to emote the story she was telling. Her body responded better than it ever had before, carrying her through the dance with grace and assurance.

When she had finished and had fallen into her final pose, the sapphire eyed teenager knew that she had never danced this well before and silently thanked Yugi for motivating her.

The lesson continued and the motivation never left her, driving her to put all of her effort into each and every task asked of her. Her classmates and teacher realized that something was different with the girl and by the time it ended, Téa’s instructor smiled as she presented the results of the try out.

“Given the quality of the performance, I’m giving the solo to Téa. Sachi will be her understudy. Téa, I expect to see this level from you from this time forward.”

“I understand. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity.”

“You’ve earned it, my girl. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As she made her way into the dressing room, Téa was more than aware of the venomous looks she was being given by Sachi and her group. A smirk settled on her face as she went to don the sweats over her tights and leotard, exchanging her dance shoes for normal tennis shoes.

Sachi brushed in, changed into her street clothes, leaving in an angry huff. Before the door closed behind the irate teenager, Téa heard a comment from the girl.

“I can’t believe she got that part! That should’ve been mine. I don’t know how that geek got it!”

The so-called geek merely grinned, a vicious expression in her sapphire blue eyes.

“Yeah, I’m a geek because I play Duel Monsters and hang out with the sweetest people on earth. That only means I can out strategize you any time of the day, Sachi, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

Téa shouldered her duffel bag and headed out the door. Her last words echoed in the empty room as the slender girl headed towards her home.

“Now, time to go and call Bakura.”

Author’s End Note – Well, there’s the chapter and I hope you enjoyed it! Sounds like Sachi ticked off the wrong person, huh? My muses and I thank you for taking the time to read this and hope that you will feed our inspiration by reviewing! See you soon with more updates for this story and for my others!