Hey, nice to meet you all. The name's crea-sei.

This story is completely self-indulgent. (And, if I have to be honest, this is the most fun writing I've had in a while – which says a lot about who I am, really.) So don't expect consistent updates or shit like that, okay? Just, please, don't ruin this for me, I beg of you.

Warnings: Jerk OC, language, violence, death(s), rape (only mentioned vaguely, not done on main OC), and the general fuckery that Yu-Gi-Oh! is. Reincarnated OC from our world, so if it's not what you're searching for, I suggest you leave.

Some of who I am shines through this OC, so maybe this is partly a self-insert, too… meh. I don't know.

Railway

00 – Prologue — or: How to be Screwed Over by the Universe

On the second day of middle school, Koizumi Hinata realized he was screwed.

Now, please realize that as of that moment, he was already familiar with the supernatural… Well, maybe 'familiar' isn't really the right word to use, but at least, he knew it existed.

Reincarnation counts as supernatural, doesn't it? And Hinata Koizumi – or at least the person attached to that name – was the product of reincarnation. (Which was quite weird, considering that he wasn't anything special.)

So the revelation of being reincarnated in a previously-thought-fictional world wasn't that big of a deal, not for him. No, no, the problem was which previously-thought-fictional it was.

It was Yu-Gi-Oh!

Of all of them, he thought when he realized. But as shocked as he was, he couldn't deny that it made a bit more sense than being reincarnated into the world of the Care Bears or the world of Barbapapa. (Though maybe those worlds were used for children who had died young… and maybe the world of the Teletubbies was used for horrible persons, as a form of Hell.)

As much as he had liked the story, and even as it brought back fond memories – childhood memories mostly, but a bit into late teenage hood, he had found back his liking of the series, and had begun reading it again – he didn't want to get involved.

It wasn't that he would actively try to avoid them like the plague; no, if he did that, they would notice, and as curious as they were, would try figuring out why he would avoid them like that. Instead, he would just try to avoid them – not too obviously.

And what better way to keep people away from you than being mean?

(Except that if he were mean only to them, then they would notice something was wrong, and come investigate. So he would just be mean to everyone… He didn't really care, anyway, and he quite enjoyed antagonizing people.)

"Hey, Koizumi."

Hinata looked up, and scowled as he saw who had interrupted him from his reading. It was Masaki Anzu. "Hello, Masaki," he said curtly. Just to spite her, he immediately went back to his book, ignoring her.

He heard her grit her teeth. "Koizumi," she forced out.

"Yes, that's my name, Masaki."

"Koizumi," she said again. "Listen, I'm not here to bicker with you—"

Hinata quirked up an eyebrow. "Oh, really? You should know by now that it's all I do. Is that not what you keep repeating? How childish I am?" He gave a short laugh, and went back to his book.

She sighed. "Koizumi," she began, but didn't continue for a long time. Maybe she had lost track of what she had wanted to say before. "You're the only one in the class not having already given back your form."

"What form?" he asked, even though he knew what she was talking about – it was just the sheet about joining a club. He hadn't joined one – now, why would he ever do that – but he was still forced to give back the form.

"For the club."

"What club? My bad, I was not informed we all had to join the same club." He saw her clenching her fist, and smirked. "Oh, no need to get angry, Masaki. I will give you back my form," he said, but didn't make any move to get it.

She took a deep breath, to relax herself. "Now? Please," she pressed.

"Sure, sure." He fished into his desk, and blindly gave her the first sheet that passed under his hand. "Here you go."

"Koizumi," she said slowly. "That's not the right form."

"Oh, it's not? How strange. I guess I mustn't have it, then."

She grit her teeth harder. "Koizumi."

"I thought we already established that's my name."

"I..." Oh, finally, she was beginning to give up. "Koizumi, please. If you give it to me now, I'll stop bothering you."

He hummed pensively, looking up from his book. "Oh, you know, I never thought of that. How utterly stupid of me, right?" He gave a laugh, and stared up at Masaki – she looked a bit tired, oh poor her. "You must be really smart to have thought of that, Masaki."

She didn't answer.

"Alright, alright," he relented, and took the right form (which was in his bag, and not in his desk – it made her look a bit angry, so another victory to him). "Here you go, oh wonderful class rep of ours." He laughed again, and went back to his book.

As she walked away, he could practically hear her grit her teeth.

Mission successful, he thought, and it would have been gleeful if he had any care for that 'mission.'

"Hey, Koizumi."

Hinata sighed, and looked up again. It was Jounouchi Katsuya and Honda Hiroto. What, did he have some sort of sign on his back that read: 'Please come bother me, especially if you're a main character of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Franchise.' Well, he had been able to avoid all of them for the entire middle school period, so he guessed now that high school had started, his luck had run out. "Yes?"

"How do you always manage to drive her away like that?" Honda asked. There were bandages on the right side of his face.

Hinata blinked innocently. "I don't know. What are you talking about?"

Jounouchi's shoulders drew up defensively – did he think that Hinata was trying to start a fight? "You know exactly what we're talking about."

"No," Hinata said slowly, as if he were talking to a stupid child. "No, I don't. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking you."

Jounouchi's eyes narrowed, and he frowned; he was considering if Hinata was telling the truth or not. "You don't…? You don't realize…?"

"Realize what?"

"How you're driving her insane," Honda said before Jounouchi could even open his mouth. "You're doing the same to us," he accused. It sounded like a whine to Hinata's ears.

Jounouchi looked faintly surprised by this, but then his features hardened and he glared at Hinata.

Leaning back in his chair, Hinata smiled. "Am I?" he asked, vaguely.

"You are."

"So I am," he resolved, and went back to his book. "If you want a fight," he interrupted, as he saw Jounouchi's position shift – his shadow had also moved, and his fist was raised, directed to Hinata's neck (probably to grab his collar, as every cliché past-delinquent manga/shounen character would do). "Then wait until school has finished. I don't mind being beaten up – it's quite a fun hobby, actually – but it's annoying to explain my absence in class afterward."

Jounouchi growled. "No need for that. We won't beat you up," he said, but there was a trace of uncertainty in his voice, "not now, and not after school. But you better watch out," he promised.

"Right, right," Hinata said, but he had already stopped listening. "Whatever you say."

Growling, Jounouchi made a move for him, but suddenly stopped. "Whatever," he said, and hurried out the door.

Honda followed him closely.

Hinata's smile disappeared, and he re-immersed himself in his book. It was quite the story; a man able to travel through screens was trying to figure out who had killed his wife and children – Hinata wasn't too big on mystery books, but this one was bearable.

He was reaching the end of the eighth chapter when a shadow passed by his desk.

He looked up.

"Eep," Mutou Yuugi squeaked quietly, taking a step back in his panic and bumping into the desk behind him. It rattled a bit loudly, and Mutou looked mortified.

Hinata smiled. "No need to be scared, Mutou," he said, and regretted it immediately. Each time, he was nice – or as nice as he could be – to Mutou, even when he tried to be mean. It's just impossible to be mean to someone like Mutou, he decided. And he had tried, so he knew what he was talking about.

Mutou just nodded, said a brief: "Goodbye, Koizumi-san," and fled the classroom.

Hinata stared at the door frame, wondering if he had angered someone important in another life. Did he really deserve that fate? When he had died in his past life, he had just wished to rest, forever, and when he had been reborn, he had thought that it was a punishment. But wasn't this punishment a bit too much? He wasn't sure he could bear it any longer.

The silence was suddenly insupportable.

Hinata bookmarked his page, and left the classroom.

01 – God Puzzle — or: How to be a Spectator

The bell rung.

Hinata, who had been busy looking out the window and counting how many students sneaked out (or in), looked up at the clock, and sighed. Recess, the time for basketball, as his annoying classmates said each time.

"Recess! Time for basketball!" See? They said it again – each fucking time. "Let's let the girls play!"

Standing up, Hinata got out a book. He wondered where he would go today – the rooftop had become dull now, but maybe he could try to sneak into the teachers' lounge, or maybe go to the nurse and pretend illness.

"Hey, Yuugi! Don't you wanna play some basketball, instead of sitting in here alone?"

Mutou, who had been playing a game, gaped for a moment. "I-I'm fine… Every team I join just loses anyway..."

The classmate who had asked that laughed. "Yeah, that's true!" He walked out the classroom.

Hinata frowned briefly, but then decided that he didn't care anyway. No one cared about Mutou, it seemed. Even Masaki, who had hung out with him for most of middle school, had slowly begun to leave him alone recently. Poor guy, losing all his friends – which were at the wonderful number of one!

No, no, Hinata didn't care.

He walked to the door frame, and hesitated.

But what if he did care…?

("…")

No, no, it didn't matter.

Hinata walked out the classroom.

In the end, Hinata went to the pool. (Sneaking into the teachers' lounge had been a good idea, but it was too troublesome for him – maybe he could just introduce the idea to someone else.)

It wasn't that he particularly liked the pool. In fact, he loathed it; memories of school forcing him to swim (forcing him to learn how to swim, especially) always resurfaced when he saw the pool – and he could remember the unease, the gaze of others, the feeling of drowning.

He loathed the pool.

But sometimes, watching the waves of the clear water made him relax, made him dream.

Even if he wasn't fond of the sea (and of anything that belonged to the sea), he could easily imagine what kind of stories could take place on the sea. There were of course the obligatory stories: pirates, marines, traders, adventurers, mermaids; but the ones Hinata was fond of were the more subtle ones: stories of people who lived by the sea, who dreamed of going to faraway lands, or to simply live deep into the sea.

Sometimes, Hinata just stared at the pool for hours on end.

It wasn't what he was doing today though. He still hadn't finished his book, but he planned on doing so before the end of school. So Hinata sat – against the fence, and in a spot where teachers wouldn't be able to see him – and made himself comfy.

He was at the beginning of the eleventh chapter when a faint splashing sound interrupted him.

Hinata looked up, scowling in annoyance. There wasn't anyone in front of him, and he hadn't heard any footsteps, so he guessed that someone had thrown something from afar.

Meh, it wasn't his problem, anyway.

He was about to go back to his book, when something gold glinted from inside the water and blinded him for a moment. Gold? Why would anyone throw gold away?

Now curious, Hinata got up, and walked to the edge of the pool. He crouched down, and squinted at the water. The sun was still high in the sky, so he was able to see the bottom – even if the waves made everything blurry. From his position, he could see a little, solid, golden thing. He couldn't see the exact form, but it looked vaguely familiar.

"Wait..." he muttered, frowning. "Someone throwing a golden object into the school's pool… Why does this sound familiar…?" A sudden thought made him gasp; "Don't tell me."

He squinted harder, leaning over more.

To his horror, the 'little, solid, golden thing' had a very familiar and recognizable eye in its middle.

Hinata stared for a moment, silent. The horror made place to incredulity, and then became hysteria, before turning into hilarity. So he laughed, and laughed, and laughed, until he couldn't breathe anymore.

"If you think I'm gonna help you," he said meanly to the Millennium Puzzle through a fit of laughter, "then you're gravely mistaken."

The bell rang.

Hinata, soaked with the pool's water, sneezed, and decided to go to the nurse's office.

(The last piece of the Millennium Puzzle, from its place in Hinata's pocket, glinted in pleasure.)

The next day, as he was sitting on the edge of the school's rooftop, Hinata watched as Honda and Jounouchi were beaten up by Ushio Tetsu.

Hinata absently wondered what he would have at lunch.

Some time later, Mutou was led to Jounouchi and Honda by Ushio, and then was beaten up when he tried to protect the two from Ushio.

Sighing, Hinata got up, and took out the last piece of the Millennium Puzzle. In the sunlight, it glinted mockingly. (For a brief, brief moment, the urge to steal the rest of the Millennium Puzzle filled him—but the thought wasn't his, and he squashed it.) He ignored it, and threw the Puzzle's piece into the pool.

Tonight, the Millennium Puzzle would be completed, and the Spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh would wake.

…Hinata didn't care.

The next morning found Ushio completely insane, mistaking leaves and garbage as money. There was a small crowd around him. Hinata spent a few seconds looking at him, before continuing on his way as if he had never seen it.

As expected, the Pharaoh had gone too far.

02 – Lying Eyes — or: How to Get Apologies Out of ZTV

One week later passed, and one morning, Hinata found himself staring at a ZTV van parked in front of the school.

Of course, he had expected it to happen – and, to be honest, he only felt a very slight hysteria at the sight – so he didn't spend the whole morning staring at it in horror, or wondering what he should do and what he shouldn't do about it. No, he had already decided what he would do: nothing. After all, he hadn't done anything (of significance) during the last 'episode,' so why would he start doing anything now?

Why would he care if Mutou and Jounouchi were beaten up again? They weren't his friends, and they would never be, so he had no reason to help them – he didn't even have morals (or ethics, for the matter).

So, sticking with his decision not to get involved, Hinata watched Mutou stick his face on the van's window, and then continued on his way.

And as the bell rang, Hinata watched with bored eyes as the shooting began.

"Whaat, an idol?!"

Hinata looked up from his book – a boring book, if you asked him. For some reason, he wasn't surprised when he saw that the one who had screamed was Masaki. She usually was a calm person, but since she was also part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! cast, she would be sure to constantly get into some kind of trouble.

The group – which consisted of Masaki, Jounouchi, and, of course, Mutou – was a desk away from him, so he was able to hear them speak clearly.

Turning back to his book, Hinata continued to eavesdrop.

"Sure!" Jounouchi exclaimed. "And the evidence is the TV van parked outside the school gate!" He nudged Mutou. "Tell her, Yuugi!"

"W… Well, yeah..." Mutou stuttered.

"But if it were true, someone would've seen this idol..." Masaki said, and Hinata could hear the smile in her voice. "And I haven't heard anything about an idol!"

"Moron!" Jounouchi said back. "She's hiding, probably disguised as a student! But I'm going to get her alone and unmask her!" He laughed loudly – and perversely.

Oh, right, Jounouchi was a complete pervert, wasn't he? Hinata huffed on a laugh, and looked up to send Jounouchi a deadpan look. The pervert didn't notice, sadly. Deciding that he had had enough of their conversation, Hinata stood up, quickly putting his book in his desk.

"J-Jounouchi-kun… That… That's..." Mutou stuttered. He sent a nervous glance at Hinata's direction – flinching when he met Hinata's eyes – and whispered: "Don't say it so loud..."

"I could make a killing with a photo of her," Jounouchi continued, as if he hadn't heard Mutou's complain – and maybe he hadn't.

"That's a crime!" Masaki exclaimed, sounding a bit exasperated. "They'd arrest you!"

"There's no penalty for stripping!" Jounouchi exclaimed back.

Hinata left the classroom on those words. He didn't want to listen to any more of their conversation. Maybe he should go try to find that impostor guy from the TV crew. Hopefully, he already was here. (Hopefully, Hinata would be able to mess with him.)

It took Hinata only two minutes to find the impostor. He was near the stairs, looking terribly out of place – though he wasn't particularly tall, his face was mature, and the way he held himself was strange for a normal high school student.

When Hinata approached, the man called out: "Hey, w-wait a moment."

Hinata stopped, and smiled pleasantly. "Yes? I apologize, but I don't believe we met before."

"O-oh… I'm Fujita."

"Nice to meet you, Fujita," Hinata purposefully stressed the name – it probably was the guy's true name, since he looked uneasy with Hinata saying it. "My name is Koizumi Hinata. What can I do for you?"

The man hesitated, but then took out a photograph of Mutou – his face was squashed against something, so Hinata guessed the photograph had been taken when Mutou had stuck his face on the van's one-way window. "Can you tell me who this is, please?"

Hinata's smile widened, and he forced himself to look confused. "Sure…? Er, it's Mutou Yuugi. He's from my class; class 2-A." Which wasn't true; Mutou and him (and the rest of Mutou's gang too) were in class 1-B, but it would confuse and infuriate the guy, and Hinata lived to infuriate people.

"Th-thanks a lot!" Fujita said, and walked away.

Hinata watched him go silently, unable to mask his smile.

Hinata managed to find himself a good spot to spy on the whole ordeal.

Since the bullying would take place behind the school, Hinata wouldn't be able to stay inside the building. So instead, he took a page out of the TV crew's book, and hid nearby. However, while the TV crew was inside the school's ground, hiding in the bushes, Hinata was outside the school's ground, behind the wire fence that separated the school's backyard from the street.

Positioning himself so that he would be able to see the whole scene (and close enough so that he would be able to hear everything), Hinata turned on his phone's camera, and waited patiently.

He was rewarded for his patience when Fujita arrived.

"I wish that Yuugi guy would hurry up… My job is on the line..." Fujita muttered.

Mutou followed a minute later, a bouquet of flowers in his hands, and a dumb expression on his face. He looked excited, and his cheeks were flushed red.

"Aha!" Fujita laughed, sounding relieved. "Here he comes…!"

"Yes!" the TV crew's director whispered excitedly. "Get the camera rolling!"

There was a click as the camera began filming, and Hinata smirked. Everything so far had been perfect; he had a clear shot of the director's head, he had the camera on tape, and the incriminating 'lines' had been delivered. Now, he just needed to catch the bullying on tape, and his operation ('Destroy the Director's Reputation,' as he had dumbly named it) would be completed.

Maybe he would film the moment where the director would threaten Jounouchi and Mutou too. He would need to be careful though, because he really shouldn't show Mutou transforming into the Other Him. That would bring too much trouble.

"You're just in time!" Fujita exclaimed.

"Huh…? Fujita-san… Where's the idol?" Mutou questioned naively. And with that line, it was clear that he had been deceived – even more incriminating.

Fujita leaned forward. "Well, the truth is… Wait, I hear someone coming..." And before anything else could be said, Fujita punched Mutou – completely destroying the bouquet.

Hinata, knowing that he too was filmed (even though he wouldn't be caught on any tape – unless something unexpected happened), played his part; he gasped, and stumbled back, as if surprised and shocked.

The TV crew's director laughed. "Great!" he whispered excitedly. "Now, be more flashy!"

"Moron..." Fujita was saying, as he continued to punch Mutou. "There isn't any idol..." He gave Mutou another mean punch. "And there never was!"

Hinata continued his act. "I need… a teacher…?" he muttered. "The police…?" He offered a whimper, and whispered furiously: "What am I even supposed to do?!" He made a deliberate pause, and then hurriedly said: "Teacher," as he began fake-running and cut the footage – just as Fujita said that the director had made him do it.

He stopped moving, and pocketed his phone.

It was sad he wouldn't be able to catch the end of the altercation – Jounouchi had arrived, and the TV crew's director had begun his speech – but he had enough to ruin the director's reputation. He only needed to take a photograph of the TV van with the ZTV logo.

He had already worked out a reason for him starting to film. In his story, he was a curious, easily excitable boy that had seen the camera crew and had thought that it was a good idea to film them filming – he had wanted to prove to his family that there really had been a TV crew at his school. It made for the perfect, innocent story.

And tonight, he'd edit the video (to hide Mutou and Jounouchi's faces – he wasn't that heartless, and it'd attract trouble, anyway) and then post it on the net. With a clickbait title; something like: "ZTV CREW DIRECTOR FORCING BULLYING – CAUGHT ON TAPE." It would be perfect.

"Do you finally get it?!" the director was saying as Hinata began walking away. "You can't resist the power of the camera! With it, your faces could be held up to the public's scorn!"

Hinata laughed.

When Hinata eventually posted the video online, the episode about Mutou's bullying had already been broadcast, and the director had already been punished by the Other Mutou.

The viewers were affronted, the video went viral, and ZTV had to offer apologies.

Hinata continued to laugh.

03 – Hard Beat — or: How to Fuck Up All Your Plans

About a week later, Mutou entered the classroom with a troubled, almost depressed look on his face. Hinata glanced at him, and sighed: Mutou had been bullied again—it wasn't even funny anymore.

"Mornin', Yuugi!" Jounouchi greeted jovially as he entered the classroom.

"Ah… Morning, Jounouchi-kun..." Mutou said, a falter in his voice.

As stupid as he appeared, Jounouchi was perceptive about his friends – though in this case, Mutou wasn't being very discreet. "What's got you down, Yuugi?"

"Nothing, I'm fine!" Mutou (almost) yelped, smiling awkwardly.

Jounouchi gave him a long look, but then let it go, and changed the subject. "Yuugi, I've been investigating ever since that time, and… As I thought, there is no idol in this school!"

Hinata chuckled lowly, careful not to be heard. As amusing as the conversation was, he didn't enjoy being discovered eavesdropping; especially not now – he recognized the conversation, so it meant that it had appeared in the manga, so it meant that the Other Mutou would appear, so it meant that Souzouji would appear.

Mutou jumped in surprise. "What the… Jounouchi-kun, you're still investigating that?!"

"Therefor, Yuugi..." Jounouchi continued, as if he hadn't been interrupted, and made a dramatic pose. "I shall become the school's number one idol!"

At the last word, Mutou flinched, and looked down. Maybe the word 'idol' had reminded him of Souzouji, and his insufferable singing.

Jounouchi flushed, having noticed that his friend wasn't looking at him at all. "Yuugi..."

Mutou yelped. "Ah! Eh?" He had obviously zoned out.

Growing serious, Jounouchi grabbed Mutou's shoulders. "What are you worrying about?! Tell me! I'll help you!"

"Really, everything is fine!" Mutou tried to convince, though his voice quivered a bit. "Thanks anyway, Jounouchi-kun."

"Okay!" Jounouchi agreed easily.

Hinata couldn't help it; he laughed.

And this time, both Jounouchi and Mutou heard him. While Mutou sent him a clueless look, Jounouchi clearly understood he was laughing at them, and glared at him.

"What are you laughing at?" he growled.

Apparently, the animosity that had been born the first time they had talked (and when Jounouchi promised not to beat up Hinata – he still found himself laughing at that fact, what an idiot) hadn't died yet. Good, good.

"Nothing, nothing," Hinata laughed. Under Jounouchi's growingly darker glare, he admitted: "Just at your idiocy," he said, and didn't know whether he was directing it at Mutou or Jounouchi.

Jounouchi gritted his teeth. "What do you mean, you jerk," he asked, forcefully.

A smile appeared on Hinata's face. "The fact that – apparently – Mutou over there," he gestured at Mutou, who flinched, "doesn't trust you enough to tell you what's bothering him." Even though he knew it wasn't trust, and more of lack of self-esteem and self-confidence. "And the fact that you accept his pathetic excuse so easily." Even though he knew it wasn't truly the case, that Jounouchi knew Mutou had lied, and had only agreed to ease his mind.

"T-that's not it…!" Mutou protested weakly.

"Oh? It isn't?" Hinata said, before Jounouchi could begin talking too. "Ah, but if I'm not mistaken, you've been bullied again, haven't you?"

Mutou flinched – briefly looking down in shame – before frowning at Hinata. "N-no…!"

Jounouchi sent him a sharp look. "What do you mean?" He didn't sound angry at Hinata anymore (which was a shame, truly), but only concerned for his friend.

Hinata hummed. For a moment, he considered not telling, but the temptation was too strong. "Well, for one, when Mutou arrived, he had the usual depressed look on his face – which he usually has after being bullied. Secondly, while waiting for you, he didn't take out any of his usual game – those from his Game Shop, I think. Thirdly, when you were doing your speech, he flinched at one word, and one word in particular: 'Idol.'"

Mutou was looking increasingly nervous. Jounouchi looked on the point of jumping on Hinata and shaking the answers out of him.

"Which leads me to another hint: the tickets in your pocket." He pointed at Mutou.

Looking horrified, Mutou tensed, his shoulders drawing up. Even under Jounouchi's insistent stare, he didn't take the tickets out of his pocket. Hinata commended him for that.

Leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms, Hinata played innocent: "Those tickets seem awfully familiar." He sighed dramatically; "Now, I'm no expert, but I'd bet on my mother's life" – as if he cared about her – "that they are tickets to enter the wonderful Souzouji's All Night Solo Live." What an unnecessarily complex name for such a horrid thing.

Jounouchi turned to look at his friend with a serious face. "Yuugi… Is that true?"

"I…" Mutou faltered, and sent Hinata a wide-eyed look, begging for help.

Ah, as if. "Don't send me that look, Mutou," he said, but not as meanly as he would have liked to. "Trust me, I enjoy bullying as much as the next guy" – "What next guy?" Jounouchi grumbled – "but the rate at which you are being bullied is becoming a bit ridiculous."

Hinata paused.

"Now," he said a bit louder, to gain back their complete attention. "I know that you two want to talk it out, but I'd suggest not doing it here. We – my bad – you are already very lucky that no one heard us talking about this; I doubt this luck will stay for much longer."

He paused again, thinking.

"If..." he hesitated – how uncharacteristic of him. "The school's rooftop's door will be unlocked today." It was well known that going on the rooftop wasn't authorized – or at least for now, since recently there had been rumors about the school's director considering opening it for students in the near future. "There's no one there during lunch period," he said. He was about to say more, but then decided that he had already offered enough of his help.

He gave them a long look, and then turned back to his book without another word, tuning them out.

At noon, Hinata waited until the two passed through the door to sit down on the stairs in front of the door. He didn't like having to be a watchdog, but it was better than making an empty promise.

No one came, and Hinata was gone before the two passed through the door again.

For the rest of the day, Jounouchi followed Mutou closely growling at those that approached his friend too close. Hinata finally truly understood why Kaiba ever would call him a puppy – if he was being truthful (which he always was), it was a bit pathetic. Mutou seemed a bit reassured by his friend's protectiveness however, so Hinata didn't comment.

Hinata spent the rest of the classes trying to remember who was Souzouji's other victim—or at least, he would have, had he not glanced at the back of the class and seen Hanasaki's troubled face. Now that he knew who was the other martyr, he only needed to get him out of the way.

So during recess that afternoon, Hinata fled the classroom as fast as he could – ignoring Mutou, who apparently wanted to speak to him – and hurried to class 1-C, where he knew Souzouji was.

"Souzouji," he called from class 1-C's door, grinning when Souzouji sent him a questioning glare. "Could you come with me for a moment? There's something I need to talk to you about."

Souzouji scowled, but followed him to a secluded spot.

"What do you want?" he asked harshly.

Hinata laughed lowly. "Souzouji," he said, warningly. His grin widened when Souzouji tensed – good, at least, he knew that Hinata wasn't to be messed with. "Until now, I've gotten along with your tendency" – it was clear that he was talking about his singing shows – "but I realize now that I shouldn't have done so."

Souzouji tensed even further. "What do you mean?"

"Souzouji..." Hinata said gravely, putting on a glare for the effect. "Did you bully anyone into accepting your tickets, this morning?" Souzouji opened his mouth to answer, but Hinata cut him off with a 'tsk'. "No need to answer, Souzouji. I already know what you have done."

"Wh… Why does it bother you, anyway?"

"Bother me?" Hinata said, in fake surprise. "No, no, you don't get it, do you?" He laughed, a little cruelly. "This isn't about you bothering me. This about you involving people you shouldn't have."

Hinata paused.

"Souzouji," he said again, blanking his face. "I will let it go for this one time. However," he pressed. "If this happens again… or if I see any injury on them…" he trailed off, and smiled widely.

"T-then what?" Souzouji asked, bravely.

"Oh, I don't know," Hinata answered, putting obviously-fake innocence in his voice. "Maybe I should tell your dear lackeys about what happened on the 14th of November, last year. Or maybe I should tell everyone about that evening of January. Do you remember? When—"

"I get it, I get it!" Souzouji cut off, nervously looking around.

Hinata shut his mouth, and glared. "Souzouji. The next time you dare interrupt me like that, there won't be anything to stop me from telling all your pitiful lackeys about those pathetic, shameful actions that you try so hard to bury."

Souzouji gulped, and nodded.

Hinata regained his smile. "Good, good." He patted Souzouji's cheek condescendingly. "Ah. Also, if you even try to warn anyone about this, or if you even hint about it..." His smile sharpened. "Your reputation will be the last of your worries."

Hinata made a pause.

"Glad we reached an understanding," he said. "Goodbye. Don't ever talk to me again."

He walked away, satisfied.

When he walked back into class 1-B's room, Mutou and Jounouchi were still there. Mutou smiled at him – though a bit shyly –, but Jounouchi, still true to his nature, glared at him.

"K-Koizumi-san," Mutou greeted.

"Mutou. Is there anything you want?" he asked, as kindly as he could. It seemed he couldn't be mean to someone as naive and kind as Mutou, so there was no need to make things even more awkward by trying to be a jerk.

"U-um… I wanted to thank you for… for telling Jounouchi-kun," Mutou said, sounding sincere.

Hinata froze. "What?"

Mutou flushed. "B-because if you hadn't told him, then I wouldn't have told him," he explained.

There was no need for explanation though. Hinata had understood what he had meant the first time – he wasn't stupid. No, what had shocked him was the fact that Mutou had thanked him, the one with the reputation of being a jerk who seemed to never be caught in the act.

Even Jounouchi looked surprised.

"Wait, wait," Hinata backtracked, shaking his head a little. "I got that. I was asking… why are you thanking me?" Some of his incredulity must have showed in his voice, because both Jounouchi and Mutou stared at him. "I mean, I did that because I wanted to annoy you, you know? I literally told you that you were an idiot."

"Yes," Mutou said slowly, an odd expression on his face – Hinata couldn't decipher it, which meant trouble, because he usually was able to understand people very easily. "But you said that I was an idiot because I didn't tell my friend the truth, right?"

"Well, yes."

Mutou and Jounouchi shared a look.

"And you told me I was an idiot," Jounouchi began, "because I didn't call out Yuugi on his lie."

"Yes," Hinata said again. He drew up his shoulders: "Listen, if you're trying to make me lose my time—"

"No, no!" Mutou hurriedly cut off. "That's not what we're trying to do. We're just..." he trailed off. "Well, I'm just thanking you."

"Oh," Hinata said dumbly. "Alright…? And…? That still doesn't make sense."

Mutou stared at him.

Feeling even dumber than usual, Hinata glanced at Jounouchi. Said idiot was looking on the verge of collapsing into giggles. Hinata frowned, and crossed his arms.

Mutou elbowed Jounouchi. Jounouchi immediately stopped snickering—like an obedient dog, Hinata thought, and got a flash of Kaiba.

"I don't know how to explain it to you," Mutou said, uselessly.

"Yes, I noticed."

Contrarily to what Hinata expected – anger, embarrassment –, Mutou laughed. "Well, it's a bit complicated to explain. It's usually something people understand naturally," which didn't help; Hinata felt even dumber. "I'm thanking you because you helped me."

"Maybe I did," Hinata said slowly, uncrossing his arms. "But, as I said, I did that to antagonize you. You know, the whole 'I'm a bully' thing."

Mutou shrugged. "Regardless of your intentions, you helped me." It sounded like he didn't even believe that Hinata had done that to annoy him.

Barely refraining from sighing, Hinata shrugged. "Whatever," he said, and went to his desk.

Jounouchi looked a bit annoyed, but the thing that bothered him was Mutou's expression: there was that odd expression again. It looked a bit familiar; as if he had resolved something that had been a mystery to him for a long time. Maybe satisfaction.

Hinata took out a book, and tried to ignore the persisting stares he received from both Jounouchi and Mutou.

That evening, after class ended, Hinata fled out of the classroom – Mutou looked as if he wanted to talk to him again – and hurried out of the school before he could even glimpse at the scene between Mutou and Hanasaki.

He didn't know if it even happened, actually. But, well, it didn't matter.

Two days later, after successfully avoiding Mutou, Jounouchi, Souzouji, and Hanasaki – even though that one hadn't done anything –, Hinata went to the karaoke All-You-Can-Sing! Souzouji usually went to, and waited.

Instead of the expected 'Souzouji dragging a bloodied and injured Hanasaki,' Souzouji dragged an unconscious – but neither bloodied nor injured – Hanasaki into the karaoke.

Unfortunately for Souzouji, unconscious meant injured. So Hinata took a photograph of Souzouji and Hanasaki, and waited some more.

The second surprise came in the form of Mutou, who had come with Jounouchi, instead of coming alone like Hinata had expected. Though maybe he should have realized this would happen: Jounouchi wouldn't let his friend be bullied like that.

As heartwarming as this was, Jounouchi coming along destroyed all of Hinata's plans.

He had made sure that Souzouji wouldn't be allowed to hurt Mutou or Hanasaki (or at least not too much – he wasn't sure if Souzouji realized his singing hurt or not), but he hadn't accounted for Jounouchi coming. Because of that, Souzouji would be able to twist his words against him, and wouldn't face consequences if he hurt Jounouchi.

Souzouji could think all he wanted; regardless of whether Jounouchi had been included or not, if he came out of the karaoke with an injury, then Hinata would show Souzouji why exactly it wasn't a good idea to go against him (or to try to, at the very least).

When faint screaming (or was that singing? Oh sweet mercy) came from the inside of the karaoke, Hinata simply grit his teeth, and tried to ignore it.

Some minutes later, three figures came out of the karaoke: Mutou, Jounouchi, and Hanasaki.

Jounouchi had a bruise on his face, and was on the verge of consciousness. Hanasaki was free of any bruises, but he looked a little dazed. And Mutou… Mutou wasn't there; instead, it's was the Other Him.

Hinata took a moment to look at his red eyes. He didn't linger, however, and disappeared in a dark alley.

That evening, two files of blackmail on Souzouji were published on the net.

Souzouji's reputation had been destroyed.

The next day, Hinata reveled at the whispers about Souzouji, and tried not to smile every time he heard someone say his name.

"You..." Jounouchi said to him, at one point. Hinata worried that he had unconsciously smiled, and patted his face, but his face was still blank. "You're really dangerous," Jounouchi concluded.

Hinata blinked, flattered. "Aw, thanks," he said, and tried to hide his blush with his hands.

Jounouchi looked even more disturbed.

04 – Escaped Prisoner — or: How to Hide Like a Coward

Three days after the incident with Souzouji, the prisoner 777 escaped from the prison near Domino City.

Hinata, while he still had some influence on people like Souzouji or Ushio, knew for a fact that he wouldn't be able to do much about that guy. So while he planned some little things, he didn't make a full plan. It made him feel a bit insecure, but in the end, he found he didn't really care.

What could happen, at worst? Him dying—ah! What a joke.

Jounouchi yawned loudly. "It's over! It's over!" he cheered. "No more classes…"

"For today," Hinata muttered, but Jounouchi didn't hear him.

"Hey, Yuugi," Jounouchi called. "Want to stop somewhere on the way home?"

"Yeah, okay!" Mutou immediately agreed. His face brightened. "Let's go to that new restaurant, 'Burger World'! Their hamburgers are famously good!"

Until then, Hinata hadn't been sure when exactly the Shadow Game would happen, but now he was sure it would happen today. He knew that Masaki worked at Hamburger World – more blackmail – and he definitely remembered that in the canon story Masaki had been dressed like a waitress when the escaped prisoner had come. So unless she was into cosplay, that was it.

Talking about Masaki, she had flinched at the restaurant's name.

Hinata hid a grin; he had his confirmation. Now, he only needed to avoid everything about Hamburger World and everything would be alr—

"Koizumi-san, want to go with us?" Mutou asked, smiling.

Hinata's poker face broke in his surprise; his shoulders drew up, his back straightened, his eyes went wide, and his jaw slackened. "W-what?" he demanded, before regaining his wits and forcefully relaxed his body. "Uh, no. Thanks," he hurried.

And, not even glancing at Mutou's face – he knew it would be all sad and shit because Mutou was the kindest guy he had ever met –, Hinata fled.

Not his bravest moment.

Hinata stopped runni—walking (not running, not running at all) when he reached the school gate.

He hesitated.

Eventually, he sighed, and started to walk toward Burger World.

Outside Burger World, there weren't many people, and there were even less hiding spots. There were cars, trees, and there even was a forest – but Hinata knew that the escaped prisoner would come out of this forest, so that was a big no-no – but nothing good enough for Hinata.

He couldn't just go inside the restaurant either; not only would Jounouchi, Mutou and Masaki see him, but then he wouldn't be able to offer much help.

Hinata let out a long sigh.

Looking around once more, he decided that he'd just have to hope for the best, and hide behind some cars. If he angled himself just right, then the escaped wouldn't be able to see him when he arrived; and if he chose the car of someone who just arrived, then he would (most likely) be sure that the car's owner wouldn't come back to their car and realize there was a creepy kid there doing who-knows-what.

Sighing again, Hinata went to his hiding spot.

It took three minutes for Masaki to arrive, and four minutes for Mutou and Jounouchi to follow after her. They stood in front of Burger World for one whole minute, and then the 'confrontation' with Masaki (aka; Jounouchi and Mutou stared at her, and she stared back in horror, slowly inching back into the restaurant) took another minute.

After that, Hinata only had to wait four minutes for the escaped prisoner to arrive—maybe he shouldn't even have had to hide, because the guy didn't even look around to see if there was anyone (even while crossing the road).

Hinata called the police, telling them everything he knew (the pistol, the tattoos on his face, the place, the time, everything he could think of that wouldn't immediately imply that he knew what was going on inside even though he was outside – the windows were one-way only, so that excuse wouldn't work).

After hanging up (even when the police told him not to), Hinata stood up from his hiding spot, and walked away.

The next day, the news told of the escaped prisoner who had burst into flames. As expected, the Pharaoh had killed someone.

Strangely enough, Hinata didn't take much satisfaction from that.

05 – Strange Prophet — or: How to Take Care of Everything All by Yourself

"Whaaat?! A psychic high-school kid?!"

"That sounds like a premise of a bad shounen manga," Hinata muttered before he could think better of it. In his defense, he had badly slept – and for two weeks, too! Damn, maybe he should consider moving out of Domino City instead of just trying to avoid Mutou and his gang – so his brain-to-mouth filter was pretty faulty.

The group (Mutou, Jounouchi, and Masaki) turned to him.

Mutou smiled, as if he was happy that Hinata had 'joined' the conversation. But that guy had stopped making sense to Hinata a while ago, after the fourth time he invited Hinata to come along with them to Burger World.

"What kind of manga do you even read?" Jounouchi asked, sounding a bit incredulous. Maybe he thought bad mangas didn't exist.

Hinata shrugged. "...Bad manga?" he guessed. "Those that no one buys – and for good reasons." He shook his head. "Anyway, don't mind me. Talk about your fake psychic kid," he waved his hand at them.

He turned back to his bag, taking out his phone – it wasn't allowed inside the building, but it wasn't as if he gave a damn about school rules (they were all stupid anyway; like that one about the uniforms: why did boys have to wear masculine uniform and girls have to wear feminine uniform? He would wear a damn skirt if he damn well wanted to).

"Fake?" Masaki repeated, though she was frowning at Hinata. She didn't like him, obviously – but he could be excused, she was just so amusing to tease.

"Yeah," he replied absently, checking his messages, "fake. You know what it means, right?" he jabbed, almost gently comparing to what he did usually.

Nevertheless, Masaki flushed. She put her hands on her hips. "Of course I know! I'm just asking why you would say that."

Hinata looked up from his phone, and blinked at her. "Because he's fake…?" he said slowly, as if he were speaking to a child.

Now scowling, Masaki opened her mouth, ready to answer.

Hinata cut her off. "Alright, alright," he relented, ignoring her surprised look. "Listen Masaki, I have blackmail on everyone in this school" – they looked surprised at that, so he raised an incredulous eyebrow at them – "don't tell me you didn't know. That's the first thing people know about me." He shook his head. "Anyway, as I was saying, I have blackmail on everyone, so, of course, I have blackmail on that stupid fake." He grinned. "And can you guess what that blackmail consists of?"

"Him being a fake?" Mutou guessed easily.

Hinata dramatically clapped his hands. "Bravo, bravo," he 'cheered.' "We have a winner."

Though she wasn't on the defensive anymore, Masaki still looked a bit unconvinced. "And do you have proof on that?"

"Of course."

She waited for a few seconds, but as he didn't move to show them, she demanded: "Can you show us, then?"

Hinata shrugged. "If you want. I was planning on delivering it, anyway." He searched through his files on his phone, but didn't stop talking: "He's becoming too annoying for me – and he's too dangerous. Considering the…" he faltered, "the obsession he has with a certain person, I can't let him continue."

"Obsession…?" Jounouchi asked, frowning.

"Yeah, the obsession." Hinata gave a weak laugh. "I suspect he's been planning to drug them to…" he trailed off, looking up at their faces, and then looked at the side. "Well," he said a bit awkwardly. "You don't need to know." He frowned, "Or at least, I hope you don't."

"Err..."

"Here," Hinata said, shoving his phone in front of them. "Those are photos of the inside of Kokurano's cloak. It's a pretty famous way of hiding predictions, so I don't really know why no one pointed it out yet. Or, at least, why they didn't point it out publicly."

Masaki looked a little pale, for whatever reason. "Koizumi… You… you said that you have blackmail on everyone…" Aah, so she was worried about that.

Smiling, Hinata pocketed his phone. "Yes, I do." Before she could say anything, he continued: "However, I only use it on people who deserve it. You don't, so don't worry about it. What I have on you isn't anything incriminating, anyway." He waved his hand. "Just your job and that kind of thing. You're a good, innocent person, anyway."

"Is that… a compliment or an insult?" Jounouchi asked. "Usually, I'd say it's a compliment, but with you…"

"Nice to know you think of me as that kind of person." Jounouchi flinched, and looked ready to apologize, but Hinata only smiled. "It's a compliment. Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not a complete jerk." He frowned. "I guess."

Mutou sweatdropped. "That doesn't sound very reassuring."

Smile brightening, Hinata shrugged. "I guess not." His phone buzzed, and he took it out again. "Anyway," he said absently, "I would have expected for you to go running there, Jounouchi."

Jounouchi's shoulders slumped a little. "I wanted to," he said honestly – which surprised Hinata, since he thought Jounouchi would immediately deny. "But you ruined it."

Hinata let out a small laugh. "I did, didn't I? I apologize, then." He typed a quick reply to the message he had received. "Why don't you go see him, still? You could tell everyone that he's a fake. Though you may get hate on you for the moment, once I reveal the truth, you'll be claimed as a hero – or something of the like."

Jounouchi looked interested. Both Mutou and Masaki sighed.

"Please don't give him weird ideas," Mutou begged.

Grinning, Hinata waved it away. "He can do whatever he want – look at him, he's already doing it; acting like an idiot." The jab didn't go unnoticed, and Jounouchi yelped at him. "I have something to do," he said hurriedly, beginning to walk away, and sending a quick: "See you!" over his shoulder.

That afternoon, it was released to the whole school that the truth of Kokurano's psychic powers was just an old magic trick. His whole thing fell apart, his believers stopped believing, and students hurried to see if Kokurano really had papers stuck under his cloak.

He did.

06 – Burning Struggle to Death — or: How to Take Care of Everything All by Yourself (Again)

The festival was approaching.

Hinata knew that there was something about the festival – a guy with takoyaki, or maybe okonomiyaki, he wasn't sure – and so far, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He had already involved himself too much (because his heart was too mellow, and, fuck, his determination was next to nonexistent), so it wasn't like he could suddenly say: "Do whatever you want, I won't help, fuck you all."

Sighing again, Hinata looked through the window.

"If you have an idea, raise your hand!" Masaki said, as they were deciding which attraction the class should do for the festival.

Hands were raised immediately. Ideas went by, but Hinata listened to none of them – except for Jounouchi's, who asked to do a cabinet (or, basically, just a 'dress-up some random girl like a pervert' idea), but that was because he was too loud.

"Koizumi..." Masaki called, snapping him out of his daze. "Do you have any idea?"

Hinata blinked. "Alas," he said, a bit dramatically, "I do not." He grinned. "It appears, however, that Mutou has one." Even though nothing pointed to that fact.

Masaki turned her attention to Mutou, and Hinata went back to zoning out.

Two days later, in the afternoon, the stands were almost completely built.

Some classes' stands were outside, while others were inside classrooms; 1-B's was outside, in one of the most favorable spot, just at the right of the school's entrance. Which showed why exactly the metal-plank-guy (what was his name again?) would want that spot, since he and his class would clearly earn more money that way – especially since his class did food, and hunger didn't linger forever, not when in a festival.

By mid-afternoon, all materials had been built, and the beginning of the stand (the walls, and the sign) had been built. One of the attraction – the human pop-up pirate, the most expensive – was being built by Jounouchi, Mutou was making the Bluebeard mask, and Hinata was making the necessary wooden knives. Masaki was supervising the whole thing.

"I finished the Bluebeard mask!" Mutou exclaimed, as Hinata was finishing the last wooden knife.

"I'm almost done here..." Jounouchi said in return.

"Wow, that's great!" Mutou exclaimed. He sounded really excited; but it was understandable, this was his first time at a school festival. "Jounouchi-kun, you're good with your hands! I'm impressed!" Mutou said honestly.

Masaki smiled, putting a hand on her hip. "Everyone has some redeemable quality…"

Not offended in the slightest – or maybe he just hadn't heard her –, Jounouchi laughed. "I've been putting together plastic model kits in my garage since I was a kid!"

Hinata stopped in his movements, and looked up. Of course, he knew about Jounouchi's past (blackmail plus knowledge of the Yu-Gi-Oh! story), but it was always nice to learn new things.

"Look!" Jounouchi climbed inside the barrel. "How about this? It's perfect!"

"Cool..." Mutou muttered, sounding genuinely impressed.

Jounouchi cackled. "I wonder who'll be playing Bluebeard… I'm gonna laugh my butt off!"

Hinata laughed lowly, not wanting to interrupt the scene, but knowing that the one who would play Bluebeard would be Jounouchi.

"Why, you, of course!" Masaki exclaimed, raising an eyebrow at him. "You're the perfect size…"

"Wha…?!"

"I made the mask to fit your head!" Mutou exclaimed, joining on the teasing.

"What?!"

"It's decided, you're Bluebeard!"

"Don't screw around!" Jounouchi flailed, looking a bit stuck in his barrel.

Hinata froze. Jounouchi stuck in the barrel? Then it meant that the metal-plank-guy was coming. Hinata stood up, and peeked out of the stand.

As expected, the metal-plank-guy was there, arms crossed and an odd headband on his forehead which read: "Hiroshima Style." His face – or rather, his haircut – was recognizable, so Hinata finally obtained his name: Inogashira Gorou. He was in 3-D, and the food he was planning on making was okonomiyaki (Hiroshima Style was a type of okonomiyaki).

There were six guys behind him, holding onto the giant metal plank.

Hinata sighed, and acted as if he hadn't seen anything.

Maybe he should slip out, act as if he had gone to get drinks for anyone – out of generosity, of course – and then only discovered what had happened when he came back… Yeah, right, as if that would work. No one would believe that—ah, but since when had he started caring about what people thought of him?

"What do you brats think you're doing here?!" Inogashira shouted. Hinata was unsure whether he was frowning, or whether this was just his resting face.

Masaki frowned, looking baffled. "Preparing for the festival, of course..." she could have said 'duh', and it would have fitted with the rest of her sentence.

"You're joking!" Inogashira shouted, even though it was obvious she wasn't joking at all. "Every year for the past three years, class D has used this spot for our festival event!"

From the corner of his eye, Hinata could see Mutou curling on himself, and Jounouchi's fists shaking in anger.

"We've already marked it! We got this spot in the lottery, fair and square!" Masaki defended, bravely.

"Fair and square..." Inogashira repeated.

Then, he and his 'buddies' did the most cliché thing ever: they threw their heads back, and laughed.

For some reason, the sight infuriated Hinata more than anything else they did. He was suddenly filled with rage – and it felt like this rage wasn't even his.

His phone clicked as he opened it.

Somehow, the sound managed to freeze everyone there. Hinata's classmates turned to look at him – those who didn't know about his blackmail, in incredulity, and those who knew, in relief, or in fear – and Inogashira and his classmates stared at him, as if surprised he was there.

"...Koizumi?" Inogashira called, almost hesitantly.

Hinata offered a sharp smile. "Inogashira," he said back, in greeting. He walked to stand next to Masaki, in front of Inogashira. "You know, I recently met this nice, wonderful lady," he said, as if he was talking about the weather. "Her name is Misako; do you know her?" He didn't wait for Inogashira's answer. "I'm sure you do."

"You..." Inogashira growled, gritting his teeth so hard that Hinata heard it.

But he wasn't intimidated. Quite the contrary: his smile widened. He dangled the phone in front of Inogashira, knowing that he would take the bait and—

Crash!

—break the phone.

"Ah!" Inogashira laughed. "Not so strong without your phone, huh?"

Hinata laughed along with him until he stopped. "Yeah, I guess not," he said easily, and took out another phone.

(Now, don't believe that he had thousands of phones. In fact, he only had three – well, until now, now he had two – but he knew that antagonizing people with the information on his phone almost always led to them destroying his phone. As if that would help.)

Inogashira looked at him with obvious fear on his face. "You..."

"Me?" Hinata questioned.

Everyone was looking at them, and it was a bother. Hinata decided that he'd better make this quick. Immediately, his smile sharpened. "Inogashira," he warned, "get out of here. Right now."

Inogashira glared, gritting his teeth, and his fists shaking in barely-hidden anger. It took a moment, but eventually, he called: "Let's go!" at his classmates, and briskly walked away.

Hinata waited until he was out of sight to sigh, and crouch down next to the corpse of his previously-favorite phone. "You will be missed," he muttered, taking his favorite strap (a dice) out of the mess, and clicking it on his now-favorite phone. He took the rest of the phone, and stood up.

Some were still staring, but the rest had already begun to disperse. Jounouchi and Mutou jogged to him.

"Koizumi-kun! Are you alright?" Mutou asked worriedly, eyeing Hinata as if he was waiting for an injury to pop out. It was weird – especially since Inogashira hadn't even touched him.

Hinata blinked at him. "Oh, you're calling me 'Koizumi-kun' now? It evolved." He glanced at his expression, and sighed. "Yes, yes, I'm alright. Don't worry yourself silly over poor ol' Hina."

"Hina?" Jounouchi repeated. "Who's that?"

"Uh…" Hinata frowned. "My name's Koizumi Hinata, you know."

"And you call yourself Hina?" Masaki answered, joining them.

"...Yes?" His frown deepened. "Why?"

"Nothing," Masaki smiled. "It's cute."

"Oh, thanks." Hinata smiled back. "That's what I had in mind when I chose that nickname, you know."

Jounouchi looked shocked. "What? You… You like cute things?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Yes," Hinata said honestly. He looked down at Mutou. "Maybe that's why I'm so—" he cut himself off. "Ah, I think that was insulting."

Mutou flushed. "What? What were you about to say?"

Hinata sighed. "If it is insulting, don't blame me," he said quickly. "I was saying: maybe that's why I'm so weak to you," he said to Mutou, who flushed an even darker red.

"How is that insulting?" Masaki asked.

Jounouchi's chest puffed up. "It's insulting because Yuugi's a man! Men aren't cute."

Masaki hit the back of his head. "It's only insulting if you're macho."

Mutou was still pink, when he said: "I-it's alright. Since you like cute things, I'm guessing that it's a way of saying that you lik— that you don't hate me."

Hinata considered, and then nodded. "I guess." He laughed, "Sorry, I'm not very good at positive emotions."

"That's..." Mutou began.

"Sad," Masaki decided.

"But expected," Jounouchi finished.

Hinata blinked. "That was pretty neat," he complimented sincerely.

"Is that honestly the only thing you noticed?"

06.5 – Interlude — or: How to Enjoy a Festival With Your Classmates

The day of the festival came.

Since the attractions didn't need many people – six people (two for the pop-up pirate, one for the hit-the-bottles, and three for the target practice) – the shifts didn't last for too long; usually one hour and a half per person, though they were some that volunteered to stay longer so that the others wouldn't have to do anything. Jounouchi was the unfortunate one, since he had to stay there for at least four hours (they had managed to find someone else to fit inside the pop-up pirate, a pity).

Hinata had the same shift as Mutou, Jounouchi and Masaki; Masaki had been the one to make the shifts, so maybe the fact that he was with them was on purpose.

He was given the task of managing the 'hit the bottles' game – something about being able to 'taunt [those who failed] just right' – which was quite strange, considering he had a bad eyesight, but maybe Masaki didn't know about that.

Even if with reluctance, he had to admit that managing that game was (a bit) fun.

Taunting those who failed was fun, especially since many played along with him and got fake-angry, and just piling up the bottles again and giving a plastic ball to the player was simple, even though it was a bit annoying to have to sweep away the remains of the glass bottles – the sound they made when they fell and crashed was magnificent though.

Also, from his spot, he could clearly hear Jounouchi's cries of pain as he was repeatedly stabbed by the wooden knives Hinata had made. (Some of his pleasure might have showed on his face, because at one point in time, Mutou sent him a disturbed glance.)

The end of his shift came.

Sighing in relief, Hinata cracked his fingers.

Mutou gasped, staring at him – or, at his hands. "Koizumi-kun… Your fingers…!" He took Hinata's hands, and turned them over, inspecting them.

Hinata blinked at him, and looked down at his fingers. "Yeah? What about them?"

"…Did you pick the glass bottles bits with your bare fingers?" Jounouchi asked slowly.

"Yes… why?"

"B-but! We gave you gloves!" Masaki sputtered.

"You did?" Hinata frowned. "Oh right." He gave a light laugh, and took out the gloves out of his pockets. "Sorry about that, the fabric ripped the first time I used them."

Masaki stared at him. "Yes, maybe… but your skin is more important than those gloves. They were meant to be used that way, you know?"

Hinata nodded. Of course he knew. "Yes."

"That's it?" Jounouchi asked. "You knew, but you still did it?"

Hinata nodded. He was about to say something, but Mutou suddenly piped up.

"I don't see any glass inside the cuts, but you should go see the nurse." He frowned up at Hinata. "Koizumi-kun, you should take care of yourself better. Who knows what kind of illness you could catch if you're not careful," he fretted. "And don't hide injuries from us either – don't even try to deny," he said, when Hinata tried to protest, "I know you're the type to do that."

Hinata's eyes narrowed, but it was only because his eyes were suddenly burning – maybe he needed to wear his glasses more often. "Ow," he said, absently. "Okay, Moma Mutou."

Mutou flushed, and suddenly let go of Hinata's hands, reeling back as if he had been burned. "W-wha?! 'M-moma Mutou'?!"

"You don't like it?" Hinata asked teasingly.

"It fits," Jounouchi supplied helpfully.

Flushing a darker red, Mutou whirled on Jounouchi. "T-that's not helping!" He gave Masaki a pleading look. "Anzu, please, help!"

Masaki grinned. "They're right. But don't worry Yuugi, I'm sure you'll make a wonderful mother."

Mutou's blush covered his face from the back of his neck to his ears. "Guys, stop~" he whined.

They only laughed.

07 – True Face — or: How to Miss Everything (But Still 'Meet' Your Classmate's Other Self)

Hinata sighed.

Because of a certain person – his mother, it always was his mother, what a bitch – he hadn't been able to sleep the night before (she had brought back some random guy again, and they had gone at it all night long. It disgusted him), and so had fallen asleep in the early morning. And now he was paying the price.

He was running late – not that he cared – and since his class' homeroom teacher was Chouno, she was probably gonna go all 'You're expelled!' on him again.

Hinata sighed again.

Well, it didn't matter, anyway. He had a whole lot of blackmail on her—her makeup, for one, and the numerous men who rejected her because they knew her real nature; of course, there were other things, but they weren't as important for her, so he would have to rely on those ones.

Sighing again, Hinata slid open the door to his classroom.

Almost immediately, cheers erupted. Not for him – of course not, why would they ever do that? – but for Chouno, who was standing in front of the classroom, the makeup on her face peeling away like it was a puzzle.

"C-c-classes are over for today!" Chouno screamed – no, shrieked. "This is just between you and me! Tell anyone and I'll kill youuu! Bye!" She said hurriedly, running away, past Hinata, and into the corridor. "I'll remember this!"

Hinata blinked, and looked around the class.

For brief, brief moment, Mutou met his eyes.

Hinata tried not to tense, as he recognized the spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh. The red eyes were unmistakable, and the strands of blond hair that spiked up instead of staying still were easily noticeable. The Millennium Puzzle was glowing faintly, probably because Other Mutou had recently used it to change the puzzle into a Shadow Game.

Hinata blinked.

The moment passed, Mutou came back in control of his own body, and the class continued to cheer.

Hinata smiled – though maybe it was a shaky smile at best – and walked over to the teacher desk. On top of it, there was the puzzle that, if he remembered right, Mutou had written so that Jounouchi could leave it in Nosaka's desk because Honda loved her.

My dear, lovely Ribbon-chan,

Your yellow ribbon is perfect.

I love you more than anything in the universe.

Signed, Honda Hiroto.

His smile softened. "How cute."

End of Chapter.

(1) Yes, I know, it's a little long, isn't it? I wrote this (11,000 words, the first volume of the first manga of Yu-Gi-Oh!) in two days, and I had loootsa fun. Like I said before, this is the most fun I've had writing in a (long) while. So maybe I will write the next chapter very rapidly, maybe not. I don't want to stress out about this; I hope you understand.

(2) I don't know if he's some kind of Gary-Stu. I don't think so (since he's a jerk, anyway), but if you have any advice, go on. Not sure I'll listen (since this is some kinda venting fic, ahah), not on this fic maybe, but on others, yes. So if you give me advices, I'll apply them on my other fics.

(3) I made the cover myself. [As of the 31st of October,] It's just a quick sketch for now, but maybe in the future, I'll redo it. Probably. I tend to do that a lot.

(4) I hope you enjoyed this. Thank you for reading.