The Alternative

Chapter Twenty

He would never forgive him.

Not that Yugi knew how Atem was involved. He just knew that he was. Somehow.

And it truly pissed him off.

Rage boiled in his mind to the point where he couldn't think of anything besides revenge. He kept his fists clenched by his side as they swayed viciously to the aggressive bounce of his step. He could feel the muscles in his face tense along with the gradual squinting of his eyes. Most days searching for Atem would be pointless.

But today he would find him. He had to.

The thing with Atem was he was getting better.

But things were getting stranger.

Atem started as a sadistic, demonic figure. However, everything other than him was relatively normal. Unfortunately, that had changed rather fast. As Atem grew warmer and kinder, Yugi's social bubble began to fall apart. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. It simply didn't make sense.

Atem had to be involved. Somehow. And Yugi would find out how.

Wind lashed at his face as he picked up his pace towards the Industrial Dorm, where he hoped to find Atem. Yugi tore through the silent atmosphere of campus with his raging aura. Nothing would stop him now.

I'm going to find him. I'm going to straight up interrogate him like the criminal he is. He's harmed my friends and now he has to go through ME.

"Wow! I haven't seen you this angry since---since ever, actually."

Yugi shrieked in fear at the sound of a sudden voice that interrupted his thoughts. He jumped back in confusion, swinging his head around to look for the source.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

No. It couldn't be possible.

It didn't make any sense.

"Wha-what the hell are you doing here?!" His voice quivered in shock.

A genuine smile ran across her peaceful face, dimples peeking at both sides. She flipped her thick brown hair out of her face and stopped to face Yugi.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," she beamed joyfully. "So, how are you?"

It was an honest question, but her cheerful take on it had vanished after staring at Yugi's terrified expression for too long. His eyes widened to an abnormal amount, quivering in the sunlight. His whole body shivered in the brisk air as he attempted to analyze who stood before him.

Yugi blinked a few times in a row, followed by a deep eye rub and shake of the head. When he looked back up to see the same girl, he groaned in disappointment and tried again.

"Yugi? Are you okay?" She reached out to pat his shoulder for consolation.

He immediately retreated, staring at her in disgust. "What the fuck is going on?!" He grumbled, mostly to himself.

"Relax. It's only me."

"How are you here right now?!" Yugi flailed, searching around to make sure no one else was around. "Am I hallucinating?!"

She shrugged in thought. "Kinda," she motioned. "I allowed us to become acquainted last night so you wouldn't be too surprised if I visited you today."

"Acquainted? Acquainted!" He groaned. "I dreamed of you last night! I didn't communicate with you or talk to you in a way that allowed us to become acquainted!"