Those Who Mourn the Wicked [Ryou Bakura/Yami Bakura x OC]

01. First Encounters

A/N: I've been working on this for a while now, though it's still not perfect. Things might get edited and moved around at random, and for that, I apologize. The chapters (if you can really call them that) are quite short, which was sort of what I was going for. At first this was doing to be a drabble series, but then they expanded enough to just be short little parts that are kind of interlinked. Fair warning, there are occasionally POV changes between parts and I don't think I've mastered making it very clear yet, besides the obvious different of he vs. she.

Though the first chapter doesn't make it very obvious, this will become funnier and less...flat.

Feel free to leave any and all feedback. I'd really appreciate it.

Obvious disclaimer, I only own Akane and part of her family.

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        First days of school were always tough, but they were even tougher when you had yet to shake the 'new kid' vibe. It was probably because she was a foreigner, only half Japanese, that her classmates seemed to have trouble realizing she had indeed been there for a year now. Even some teachers continued to ask her whether or not she was still 'liking Japan' most notably when her accent dwindled into her speech. Usually she blamed her hair, a seemingly unnaturally bright red, and if not she'd blame her eyes, steely grey. It was annoying, but luckily, today hadn't been all too much of a problem.

        At first, she had wondered why, but as soon as she stood by her locker, she found out. Most of the lockers were in Alphabetical order, but peoples who names didn't fit into the Kanji system, or transferred late in the school year, were always at the end of the row. Akane Shinda was one of those people, as the name on her birth records was Akane Carter. Shinda was her mother's maiden name and the name her aunt, the woman she lived with, went by.

        But today, there was someone else there with her. She blinked once, then twice as she walked over to her locker. He seemed pretty cute, with long white hair and a fairly slim build. He was pale too, like her.

        "I didn't know our grade had a new student," she stated, eyes catching the class 2-B printed on the corner of his timetable as he slipped it into his locker. He seemed to stiffen a bit, obviously having just noticed her presence. He looked over to her and she offered a flat sort of smile. She was used to that reaction. Apparently she walked a bit too quietly for most.

        "Sorry, I didn't hear you come over," he smiled softly, turning warm brown eyes to her. She felt her heart-rate speed up and a blush come over her cheeks as he bowed once. Too polite, and much too kind. She could already tell.

        "Maybe you need to get your hearing checked then," she shot back, trying to cover up her nervousness. He laughed at that, like rain hitting a window pane. Soft and melodic. And his smile reminded her of sunlight, warm as you step out of the shadows. She opened her locker quickly, hiding her face with the door as she exchanged her books and pulled out her outside shoes.

        As she closed it, the boy was still looking at her. He smiled a bit more. "Perhaps you're right. My name's Bakura Ryou. I'm in class 2-B."

        "Shinda Akane. 2-A." she replied, holding herself back from stuttering, "Are you from England?"

        He blinked one, his brow moving up on his forehead. He nodded in response and she nearly kicked herself for being so blunt.

        She offered about as much of a smile as her Grinch heart could bear, "Me too. I'm from Surrey, you?"

        "West Sussex. Grew up in Chichester," he smiled a bit more, obviously more at ease now that he knew why she was asking the questions she was asking. Suddenly, though, his brows seemed to furrow and he stepped back from her, his eyes widening a bit, "I should get going. I was nice talking to you, Shinda-san."

        "You..." Akane watched with her own look of confusion on her face as the words fell from her lips. He was gone, having rushed out the door, "...too"

        What a weird kid.

        She picked up her book bag from the floor and shrugged. Whatever. Couldn't be helped. Wasn't like she was exactly known for being good at making friends in the first place. She slipped her ear-buds in, blasting her ears with Metallica as she stepped out of the school building and headed home.

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