Chapter Text
The Ra Yellow numbers were dwindling, and fast.
You knew this. You knew something like this was going to happen ever since the "Society of Light" had started taking over the Obelisk Blue dormitory.
But you never quite anticipated how powerful this Society was. Originally, you had thought that the Society of Light would have struggled quite a bit, considering it started off with a handful of Obelisk Blue students. But it seemed fate - or something far more dangerous than that - was on their side.
Within the walls of the Ra Yellow dormitories, you had been walking around without a Duel Disk - which probably was something you should have prepared beforehand.
The sound of your footsteps was the only sound accompanying you, but you stopped when you heard the sound of murmuring chatter coming from... the end of the corridor.
"...long have they been dueling in there? M'legs are getting real tired."
You ducked behind a column - it was instinctive now, due to the Society of Light making it's members go around to find duelists to brainwash "recruit" -, peering around to find two Society of Light students standing beside the double doors that led to the main hall.
"Oh my god, have some patience. He's been dealing with them for only 10 minutes. You've been asking non-stop!" One of them scoffed, pushing up her glasses to her nose.
"10 minutes too long! I'm tired, you dumbass!" The other grumbled.
She scowled. "DON'T call me a dumbass, you impatient bigot!"
"Impatient? BIGOT?! I'll show you who's a bigot! Let's duel, right here right now, to see who's the better Society member!"
"This place is too small for when I BASH YOU IN THE HEAD!"
It did not take long for them to start bickering and shoving each other all over the place. Soon enough, they went outside, presumably to have a duel, while shouting morbid curses at each other.
You blinked from your "hiding spot."
"Wow... I mean, I knew that whoever went in the Society came out angry, but geez that's a whole new level of temper tantrum right there." You sighed.
Your eventual joke was ruined by the sound of screams, screams that were so agonizing you jumped from where you were hiding.
Checking if the two dressed in white would come back, you crept to the large double doors and gently opened one of the doors with a slight creak.
Your heart stopped for a second, becoming as still as the three bodies of yellow-uniformed students that lay in defeat in the middle of the hall.
Oh, shit.
No longer caring that 11 pairs of eyes watched you scurry down to your classmates, you grabbed one and turned him over.
Your stomach dropped as something in your brain clicked together who's face you stared down at. "Oh my god, Raiden?!"
To your left, "Remi?!"
To your right, "NIKKO??"
Now, truth to be told, you never quite knew these boys personally. But when you're in a room with other people, would you not take your time to notice the lives of others?
Another ragged gasp tore through you. These were real people, people with lives, with friends, with family, and the Society never cared for that. The plain disregard was held in front of you, laid out like a punishment.
Trying not to assume the worst, your shaky hands went up to Raiden's neck, but before you could check his pulse, an arrogant scoff echoed throughout the main hall.
"They're alive, if that's what you want to know."
You almost sighed of relief, before remembering you had an audience of white. Scowling, you whipped your head around to stare angrily at the condescending smirk of a black-haired boy, his Duel Disk still online on his forearm.
"You!" You stood up fast, reaching for your cards and Duel Disk before swearing a string of curses as you patted empty air.
"Awww, what's wrong, the little Ra Yellow birdie doesn't have their Duel Disk?" He mocked, loud and in a sing-song tone. Sniggers from behind him were the only sound against the sounds of your thoughts wanting to grab the Society boy's neck and watch him writhe like a worm. God, his voice was so
"Why you son of a-!" No. No. Stay calm. You took a step backward, fists clenched.
Even his stance was infused with an ego of a peacock. He strode his way towards you, the snickers and malicious laughter growing louder from the other Society recruits behind him.
"Oh yeah? Well, as far as I see it, there's only two of you left in this disgusting Ra Yellow dorm. So why don't you just give it up to the Chazz already and embrace the Light?!"
It was like a trigger being pulled as the Society Whites started chanting in unison. "All hail the Chazz! All hail the Society of Light! ALL HAIL SARTORIUS!"
"Oh shut the hell up!" You snapped viciously. "You, your stupid Society, and your stupid Light."
Your fingers flexed, almost hesitant, before your conscience ultimately agreed on a decision that would get you in deep, deep trouble. (And your conscience agreed it would be worth it.)
"You're all good-for-nothing, useless cultists who go crying to Sartorius when things don't go your way." And before the boy in white could even process what you said, you pushed him hard onto the floor before breaking into a sprint back towards where you came from.
He let out a small sound of shock behind you, and you mentally calculate how much of a head-start you have.
It's not a lot, because everyone in that room immediately started shrieking at you.
"WHA-!"
"GET THEM!"
"HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT-!!"
Oh shit. Oh shit shit shit.
Maybe that wasn't worth it, as suddenly you could hear the thunder of angry footsteps rushing behind you at full speed.
Unluckily for them, they were in the Ra Yellow dorms, meaning not a single one of them had a clue about the layout or shortcuts. You did, though, during nights when you would sneak out to go do some pruning.
You expertly jumped up onto a bookshelf, being careful not to tilt it too much just yet, as the shouts of your pursuers shot through the double doors. Catching the handrails of the second floor, you pulled yourself up and then knocked down the bookcase to the ground when you deemed yourself high enough.
Hopefully that would buy you some time, as they probably thought you were escaping to your dorm. Which, yes, in fairness, but they also probably thought it was on the second floor. It was not.
Man, why'd you have to be assigned to the third floor dorms at this kind of situation? Your Duel Disk, deck, and gardening tools were in there.
Pushing open the door to the stairs, you started trudging up your way to the third floor speedily, sweaty hands pulling yourself forward on the handrail.
Finally, the third floor! Salvation!
You huffed, scrambling for your dorm room. Kicking the door open and letting it shut, you took a chair and put it at an angle under the doorknob. Your eyes sweeped away from the door, scanning your room until you grabbed a worn out piece of fabric from under the bed.
Swinging what appeared to be a dirty rucksack over your shoulder from under the bed, you flinched as the cultists Society members pounded at the door, trying to break it open. Reaching out to grab your Duel Disk, your deck of cards, and a random gardening shovel, you slid open the tiny window.
Turning back to risk a look, you grimaced as the chair creaked, crying for relief.
"It's now or never." You muttered. Taking a step back, you focused your gaze on the window, before running and jumping through like an acrobat.
You let out an "oumf!!" of pain as you landed in a bush. Sticks and stones scraped and scratched at your skin, close enough to draw thin lines of blood. You ducked deep into the bush away from view, just as the sound of wood crashing against concrete walls rang through the air.
"Dammit! They're gone!"
"Search the room!"
"Sir, it's just gardening tools!"
"Nothing here! They've disappeared!"
Soon, the shouting turned to bitter muttering, and eventually you could hear them stomp out of your dorm. You kept still in your hiding spot, your breathing shaky and minimal and your senses alert.
"...Can't believe that worked," a shaky sigh of relief escaped you once you heard the familiar sound of wood slamming shut. But you weren't out of it just yet. Not when you were near the Ra Yellow dorms.
And with the remaining bits of adrenaline that you had, you stood up with a slight wobble and sprinted through the tall blades of grass and into the darkness.
You were so tired.
So very tired.
Maybe sprinting across the entire campus wasn't a good idea.
...But then again, you weren't planning on getting jumped by a bunch of narcissists in crisp white. And so far, the Slifer Red dormitories was about the safest place on the island as of now. The Society of Light seemed to want the dorm destroyed, but the attempts clearly haven't worked.
Jaden Yuki, you think he's called, did manage to stop the destruction of the red dorm, like... three times. You haven't counted.
Stopping under a tree for a quick break, you panted, taking out a water bottle and chugged it like your life depended on it. The water felt like enlightenment to your throat muscles.
(Fuck the Society of Light, you'd much rather the Society of Water with how good the content in the bottle tasted.)
You huffed, gazing past the branches. From here, you could see the familiar silhouette of the bottom ranked class. Your friend, Emori, would definitely let you crash for a little while.
Before stomping up the stairs, however, you quickly scanned around just in case of any Society member before rushing up the thin wooden staircase and kicking down what you hoped was your friend's room door.
A blur of blond and black stripes pulled you into the room quickly, locking the door behind you. Emori pushed you towards the bed, offering you with a face that was paler than usual.
"Dude! Dude-" You couldn't even speak properly, not with the exhaustion finally settling in your body. Your throat felt so dry. You've never ran so fast in your life.
"What is going on?! I heard almost - no, not almost - everyone, in Obelisk Blue is under some sort of brainwashing?!" He ran a hand through raccoon-striped bangs in furious panic. "You're here, and you're sweating, meaning you ran all the way here, meaning..."
"...Everyone else in Ra Yellow is gone too." You muttered feverishly, gratefully accepting cup of boiling hot tea from Emori.
He froze. "Everyone. Are... are you sure-?" Emori's hands shook violently, scratching at the messily tied tie at his neck frantically.
"Yeah. Maybe like 2 or 3 others. I don't know."
A sick silence weighed down in the air.
"...Okay, so, you're going to stay here till this whole... thing is over. Yeah?"
"Yeah." You shuddered. "I saw those freaks take down Nikko, Raiden, and Remi, and I ran for it. They tried to chase me down, and... here we are."
"Managed to call them good-for-nothing cultists, though. On your behalf." The last line came out as an attempt at a light-hearted joke through cracked lips, and it failed miserably.
Another pause.
"...You can sleep on the bottom bunk. No one's sleeping there anyways." Emori muttered. You could hear the exhaustion in his voice, and you weren't going to go against him at a time like this.
Kicking off your shoes by the door, you could hear Emori swearing furiously under his breath as the bathroom door clicked shut behind you. The faint sound of running water faded into background noise as you washed the small cuts on your arms and face from jumping into that bush earlier.
Wincing heavily, you borrowed a clean towel that hung from the door and gently patted the injuries. Wiping your face, you looked at your face in the mirror, muttering incoherent words before leaving.
You didn't know how long you were in there, but by the time you peered at the top bunk, Emori was already fast asleep.
You sat down on the mattress, smoothing out crinkles, fluffing up the pillow a little, before settling down properly. The blankets were cold, like sheets of ice, as it welcomed you into the darkness of sleep.