WARNINGS: Swearing

LIN NOTES: I have no excuse for abandoning this story, and Maelstrom, other than I lost the inspiration to write. Last night, I found my notes for Pulled on an old laptop, and after much thought, decided to put this together. Thank you if you're still reading. Sorry if there's any inconsistencies… I tried to be as careful as I could.

-Pulled-

Chapter Four: Tempers on Fire

He was hot… so hot that he wouldn't be surprised if he spontaneously combusted right there on the spot. The weekend had passed in a fevered frenzy, and already he felt a thick layer of grime and sweat covering his lithe body. Everything hurt; his throat was raw from hours of vomiting, the muscles of his gut overworked as his body tried to purge whatever virus he had picked up. With a shiver, he carefully arranged his thick, white comforter tighter around his torso, nearly upending a glass of water on his bedside table.

Well, he mentally groaned, this is one Monday that I won't be spending at school.

With shaking hands, he reached for the slim, black phone next to his bed. Black spots danced before his eyes as he lifted his head to look at the screen, his tri-colour hair sticking up in all directions after the few hours of restless sleep that he had gotten. With less precise movements than he was used to, he managed to dial the number he needed. After several rings, a deep voice answered.

"Dan," he rasped painfully. "I-it's Yami. I-I don't know what bug I've picked up," he said with a shaky laugh, "but whatever it is, it's knocked me right out. I won't be in today, can you let Figgins know? Yeah, I'll keep you updated."

-o-

I hate Mondays, Yuugi thought glumly, as he strode begrudgingly past the rows of red bricks and through the double doors of Domino High. The weather, it seemed, echoed his sentiment; large droplets of rain fell lazily from the overcast sky, covering most of the schoolyard in a doomy, dreary daze. Not to mention the student body, Yuugi snickered, casually navigating the busy hallways, lit with a bleak, luminescent light. They look like zombies. Finally, he made his way through the swarms of people to reach his locker, painted a deceptively cheery colour of blue, and glanced quickly at his schedule.

Calculus and gym this morning, great way to start, he thought sarcastically. When it came to math and athletics, the only thing Yuugi was worse at was deciding which one he hated most. With a grumpy sigh, his pale hands began ruffling through the haphazard pile of papers on his shelf, searching for his calculus textbook. I wish I could waive Gym, like Tea did. The bubbly brunette's parents were concerned that she would injure herself in gym class, canning her dreams of being a professional dancer, and had secured permission from the school board for their daughter to take twelfth grade kinesiology instead. Still, might as well get the worst parts of the week over first, he continued, desperately trying to inject optimism into his rather bleak mental dialogue.

"Yuugi," a cold voice sneered behind him, causing him to freeze. I spoke too soon, he realized fearfully, already knowing which face would greet him when he turned around.

"Hey Malik," he said quietly, proud when his voice didn't quiver. "What can I do for you?" he then asked, mentally noting that the tanned student before him looked exhausted, though his narrow amethyst eyes, so unlike Yuugi's own, had lost none of their ferocity.

"Meet me in the gym after class. Alone." Malik ordered, before turning on his pointy toed boot and walking confidently away, without waiting for a reply.

Yuugi stood gaping for a moment. What a jerk, he thought hotly, though a small part of him was curious. Though he knew offhand that Malik was in his gym class, the platinum haired boy never showed up. I guess we'll have to wait and see, he grumbled, knowing that he'd spend the next two hours paying even less attention to his calculus studies than usually.

-o-

"Are you trying to win a race?" Ryou asked with amusement as Yuugi quickly changed into his gym uniform, sliding into the plain white shirt and loose navy shorts in seconds.

"I want to see if Malik is actually going to be there," Yuugi explained, as he speedily threw his hair into a lopsided ponytail. As predicted, he had spent most of his first class quietly whispering with Ryou and Tea about his morning encounter. While his white haired best friend was intrigued, Yuugi also knew that Ryou was worried. Here it comes, he thought sarcastically, as Ryou's pale face dropped into a slight frown. "I think Grandpa shrunk my gym shirt," Yuugi said offhand, hoping to diffuse the scolding before it began.

However, Ryou correctly identified Yuugi's attempt to change the subject and swiftly ignored his last comment. Instead, he replied, "are you sure meeting with him is a good idea, especially alone? He may want to finish what he started on Thursday. Perhaps you should bring Joey with you?"

"No," Yuugi said surely, lacing up his running shoes. "If there's one thing that I've learned about bullies, Ryou, it's that if you show fear, they never go away."

"So you're not nervous?" Ryou asked disbelievingly, raising a thin eyebrow even as he smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles from his shirt.

"I never said that," Yuugi said with a nervous laugh, bending down to tie the laces of his other shoe, "but this is something I've got to do, y'know?"

"I still don't like it, Yuugi," Ryou replied, narrowing his chocolate brown eyes. "The boy's insane."

"I know you don't," Yuugi said with a sigh, as he straightened up. "But at least you'll get to say 'I told you so' if something does go wrong right?"

Ryou snorted derisively, shaking his head abruptly, causing his white, spiky hair to dance around his face. "I guess now that you've got that tattoo, you think you're something of a bad ass now huh?"

"Exactly," Yuugi replied with an exaggerated wink. "Who knows, maybe he just wants to say he's sorry?"

"That will be the day."

-o-

To Yuugi's complete surprise, Malik had deigned to show up for class, though he was fifteen minutes late and reeking of cigarette smoke. Gold jewelry still dripped from his tanned ears, and his white gym shirt, silk and cropped at his waist, was clearly not standard issue.

"Ishtar," Daniel Rishido, the tall gym teacher, barked loudly, crossing his muscular arms as the Egyptian student walked purposefully to the back of the gymnasium, "gracing us with your presence today?" The unnatural light glinted off of the gym teacher's tanned head, bald except for the long, thick, black ponytail that hung heavily over his shoulder.

"It must be your lucky day," Malik replied with a smirk, brazenly sitting down on the tiled floor, and crossing his arms to mirror that of the instructor. Yuugi gaped at the other boy's audacity, but quickly dropped his eyes after a quick nudge from Ryou.

"Just ignore him," Ryou cautioned, as Malik leaned his back against the wall, clearly refusing to participate. Mr. Rishido stared at Malik for several moments, with something akin to pity in his eyes, before shifting his gaze back to the students that were waiting patiently for class to begin.

"All right," he said with a clap of his mighty hands. "Let's go. Two teams. We're playing dodgeball!" he announced grandly. Joey and Tristan let out a loud whoop while Yuugi groaned inwardly, promptly forgetting all about the delinquent lounging languidly at the back of the room.

Let's see if I make it through the class first, he grumbled, unconsciously moving closer to Joey's direction. Then I'll worry about Malik.

-o-

Luckily, Yuugi ended the class with nothing bruised, except for his ego. He and Ryou had strategically hidden behind Joey for most of the match, while the brash blonde pounded the opposition with red dodge-balls. Sure, Yuugi had let out an unmanly squeal when one of the flying missiles had nearly struck his shoulder, but miraculously, he had stumbled out of the way just in time. At that point, he'd decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and had snuck off the field to join his teammates on the bench.

With the immediate threat of dodgeball firmly in his past, Yuugi was able to concentrate on the latest matter at hand. He had noticed Malik casually remain behind in the gymnasium, his fierce eyes closed. Guess it's now or never,Yuugi thought bravely, waiting until the rest of his class had departed to the change room, before he approached the student still seated at the back of the gym.

If Malik noticed his approach, the tanned boy didn't give any indication until Yuugi stood directly above him and quietly cleared his throat. Lazily opening one of his eyes, Malik regarded Yuugi with boredom, before speaking.

"I wanted to apologize," he said, the words sounding almost forced and the distaste clear on his harsh face. Despite the boy's tone, the words themselves were enough to make Yuugi's jaw drop.

"You're kidding," Yuugi replied, gobsmacked. Did he seriously just apologize, or have I finally lost it?

"Obviously not," Malik snapped, "or I wouldn't be wasting my fucking time here with you. Unlike you, I've got better things to do with my time than playing children's games."

Yuugi bristled inwardly. If it were anyone else, he might have been inclined to agree with them, but this was Malik he was talking to. Still, this was more than he could have hoped for, and significantly better than the punch to the face he was half expecting. Deciding to let the last little bit go, he hesitantly reached his hand down to shake the Egyptian's, causing his shirt, that he was now certain was too small, to ride up slightly around his waist.

Malik regarded his hand with sarcastic amusement. "Do you really expect me to-" he began snidely, before his eyes drifted downwards to Yuugi's exposed midrift, and suddenly widened in pure rage.

"Where the fuck did you get that?" Malik demanded, standing in one, fast motion. He then grabbed Yuugi by the shirt, spun the small boy around, and slammed him against the gymnasium wall. It took Yuugi a dazed moment to realize that Malik was pointing furiously at the inky tattoo on his hip.

"L-let go of me," Yuugi stuttered, flailing his limbs and hoping to dislodge his captor. Much to his surprise, Malik released his iron grip with a frustrated noise, and Yuugi quickly regained his footing on the ground. Rubbing his neck, Yuugi hissed, "W-why do you care if I got a tattoo?"

"A tattoo?" Malik asked in astonishment. "You call that bloody mark a tattoo?"

"Isn't it?" Yuugi replied, trying to cover his genuine curiosity with cool indifference. Malik, however, clearly saw right through Yuugi's charade, as his light purple eyes widened slightly.

"You-you have absolutely no idea what that is, do you?" he asked incredulously before narrowing his eyes. "You stupid, stupid boy!"

Don't let him see your fear, Yuugi thought bravely, his words from earlier coming back to him, and lending him strength. "Leave me alone!" Yuugi hissed in return, raising his voice slightly and shoving Malik back with an open hand. "I'm not just going to sit here and let you insult me."

"I'll insult you all I want you, but that's not the point you fucking imbecile!"

"You're such a dick!" Yuugi screamed back, the final syllable lost in a muffled sound as Malik slapped his spidery hand over Yuugi's mouth.

"Now Yuugi, someone will hear you with that foul language," Malik sing-songed maliciously. "And you know that swearing will land you in detention. Can't have the perfect King of Games staining his perfect record."

Yuugi snapped as he heard his childhood title being flung back into his face. He may not play Duel Monsters professionally anymore, but as a former world champion, it was something that he was damn proud of. "I don't care about my record!" Yuugi shrieked from behind the hand, still muffling his words. "Someone needs to see what a crazy fucking psychopath you are!" With a violent flail, Yuugi struck out his left foot and kicked Malik soundly in the shin. The other boy grunted slightly in pain, and his hand slipped from Yuugi's mouth, but his grip on Yuugi's shirt did not loosen. Malik's persistence made Yuugi even madder.

"No wonder your sister took off, if she had to live with you!" he shouted, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Instantly, Yuugi knew he had gone too far.

Malik stilled, before tightening his grip on Yuugi with a savage cry. "Now you listen to me and you listen to me good," Malik hissed violently, his tone completely devoid of the former pomp and sarcasm. His voice demanded no argument, and despite Yuugi's previous courage, he instantly stilled as he felt his attacker shudder in rage. "I'm not playing a fucking game anymore. I'm going to release you, and then you're going to walk out of here, and meet me at my car in 15 minutes. If you don't, I'll come find you, and fucking drag you there if I have to. Do you understand?"

He's going to kill me, Yuugi realized, a chill making its way down his spin as he saw the fire in Malik's eyes. He knew the boy was dangerous, he had seen him in action, but this Malik was different. This Malik looked positively feral.

With a gulp, Yuugi whispered, "W-why would I do that?" To his surprise, Malik dropped the hand he was using to restrain him.

"Because if you don't," he replied, calm but deadly, "someone is going to die. And as much as I'd love to see you take your last breath, it won't be you."