Hey, guys! Another update of this remake story of mine! Let's do this!

Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own any Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!


"Hey, hey! Did you see that latest boy band video? The one I sent a link to you yesterday? How was it?"

"O.M.G! I absolutely LOVED it! Ah!~ Joshua-kun was as dreamy as ever!~"

"My favorite has got to be Kazuma! Eeeek! Did you see the way his hair swayed when he made those moves while playing the guitar?! Eeeek! I just can't get enough!~"

"Oh, by the way, you busy after school?"

"Nah, I'm free! Why?"

"Well, just wondering if you wanna hit the karaoke place later? I heard that they updated some new songs into the system!"

"Really?! That sounds awesome!"

Scribbling down important notes in her notebook while also studying her textbooks, Mitsumi kept herself occupied while sitting in her own seat. It was a free period right now and many of her classmates have already left the classroom to do their own activities or remained in the classroom to cheat amongst themselves. Mitsumi was the only one who chose to study and read her textbooks as always whenever she had free periods.

Feeling glares and whispers behind her back, Mitsumi paid no heed to them as she continued her work. The unwanted attention did feel a bit uncomfortable, but she had more important things to deal with than people staring at her. Though, that didn't mean she couldn't hear the whispers and mutterings about her.

"Pfft, look at Nazuno, always looking at her books! How boring could she be?"

"The sad thing is, her only friends must be her textbooks! Ha!"

"And her looks are wasted on such a boring and uninteresting person like her! She should be ashamed of herself!"

"And she can't even stand up for herself! Boring, uninteresting, and too timid!"

"Heh, she must be a pervert who enjoys being bullied!"

"A pervert! Ha! Good one!"

'Wow, don't those bitches have anything else to do?' thought Mitsumi, flipping a page on her textbook. 'But...ugh, forget it. Just ignore them, Mitsumi. Just like you always have...'

Like many people, Mitsumi hated going to school, but it wasn't for petty or simplistic reasons such as lots of homework or tests, the lessons, or being unable to understand something. No, it was more on the social side of school that she hated.

For Mitsumi, she always had top, good grades, pretty athletic, and most importantly to other people, had soft and beautiful alluring looks that was the envy of many girls and drew in a lot of boys at school. In addition, her "sweet and timid personality" only further increased her reputation at school, making her the most, if not at least one of the most popular girls in school.

Mitsumi lost count of how many times she so WISHED that she was fairly ugly.

Well, the problem wasn't her beauty, as even she enjoyed her looks, though she still heavily disliked having long hair. No, the problem was the issues that came with her looks and reputation. Because of that, she gained a lot of envy and unwanted attention from several girls at school. As a result, a lot of the girls in her class bullied her a lot. Almost every day, she's been slandered, scorned through laughter, been pushed and "bumped" a lot of times in the hallways, and much more.

And the worst part? She actually can't bring herself to stop it.

Oh, she actually wants to stop the bullying. In fact, she'd do anything to make it stop, but there are several issues with that. For one, none of her teachers are willing to help her. No matter how many times she reported the bullying to them, they often told her to stop lying and wasting their time or to deal with the issue herself. She was fairly certain they acted that way towards her because they were envious of her good looks and how she always seemed to answer the questions correctly, as evident whenever they growled every time. They probably thought she was a know-it-all, even though Mitsumi has never bragged about her talents at school. In fact, she'd prefer to stay anonymous and unknown in school, but that was impossible now. She should be pretty grateful that none of the teachers purposely graded her tests and homework as failed assignments.

Second, she actually hoped that the longer they bullied her, the more the bullying would come to an end. That line of logic doesn't make sense at first, she knew this. However, a small bit of her hoped that the more they tormented her, as long as Mitsumi doesn't resist and continued playing the "delicate and shy girl," they would get bored and move on with their lives. Thus, the bullying may come to an end and would be nothing more than a bad memory.

Third, her friends and grandmother. It really, REALLY sucks and is quite unfortunate for her that she doesn't share the same classes as her friends. But, at the same time, with her bullying problem going on, she's sorta glad that they aren't in the same classes. After all, she wouldn't want them knowing her problems.

She really didn't want to trouble Yuya, Yuzu, and Gongenzaka with her own bullying problems. If she recalled correctly, Yuya had a ton of bullying issues when he was younger, being called the "son of a coward," when his father mysterious vanished. She...never wanted to remind him of any painful memories. If Yuya tried to defend her, and she knows full well that he'd do it too, he'd be reminded about his father's disappearance and be subjected into another bullied frenzy, and that was the last thing Mitsumi ever wanted from Yuya. Scratch that, she NEVER wanted that to happen to Yuya.

Yuzu and Gongenzaka, she was certain they'd defend her, too. But, at the same time, she also knew they'd tell Yuya, who would also defend her. Yuzu already has problems at home, taking care of her father and trying to help keep You Show Duel School afloat, whereas Gongenzaka is busy as heir to his own dueling dojo school, so Mitsumi really didn't want to trouble the three of them.

Thus was the same case for her grandmother. In fact, her grandmother carried a heavier burden than any of her friends due to her elderly age. She should be at stay-home grandmother, resting and taking care of Mitsumi in her own parental way instead of spending long hours at the bakery, trying to earn money for the both of them. If her grandmother was much younger, then Mitsumi would have less to worry, but her grandmother is very, VERY, old, so naturally, her body is more easily tired and slow. Informing her grandmother will cause her to spring into action, yes, but it'll only cause her more worry and stress, which may cause her grandmother to collapse.

If that was the case, then Mitsumi would rather take on the burdens alone silently rather than having her friends and only family suffer alongside her.

"-llo? Nazuno! Don't ignore me!"

THUD! A sudden slam on her desk snapped Mitsumi out of her thoughts and made her pay attention to one of her main tormentors, Asuka Minami. As a matter of fact, she may as well be the boss of the bullies in her class. Asuka absolutely hated Mitsumi for being more beautiful and having a higher reputation than her, something that Mitsumi herself couldn't control, else she wouldn't have bullies to begin with.

Playing the shy role as always, Mitsumi looked up and asked softly, "Y-Yes, Minami-san?"

"God, not only are you so irritating, but you're SOOO stupid, too! I mean, I've been calling out your name for like, five times already! Your grades must be a total fluke if you're really this dumb!" Asuka said, tapping Mitsumi's forehead rather roughly several times. "Quiet, gloomy, submissive, and boring! No wonder you're such a loser!"

Laughter and mutterings echoed right behind Mitsumi, but she's far beyond caring what they had to think about her. But, she still had to keep up the shy and timid act, so she pretended to at least be depressed, which wasn't hard since she was already uncomfortable with her current treatment.

To her shock, Mitsumi felt a splash of water pouring on top of her head and glanced up, only for her eyesight to be shimmering from the water as well. It seems that another one of her bullies chose now to pour the contents of her water bottle down her hair, inciting loud, mocking laughter all around.

Clenching her fists, Mitsumi bit down on her lips and endured the humiliation bestowed onto her. 'Those bitches...THOSE BITCHES!' she thought, trembling with anger. 'No...calm down, Mitsumi...just let it go...just calm down and let it go, and they'll go away! Just like always...'

"Oh, nice one! Yeah, this pathetic sight definitely suits Nazuno real good!' laughed Asuka, grabbing a handful of Mitsumi's front locks and yanking it upwards, forcing a face-to-face confrontation between the two girls. "Just remember this, Nazuno! Just because you've got the better looks doesn't mean you get to act all high and mighty...Got it?!"

'Says you,' Mitsumi wanted to say. Actually, she wanted to spit in Asuka's stupid, laughing mouth and then teach her and her cronies a lesson, but she knew that a beatdown would only get her into more trouble. Besides, she didn't want to let down the shy and quiet imagery of herself.

"...Yes, Minami-san. I-I'm sorry that you had t-to get angry with someone as w-worthless and u-ugly as me..." stammered Mitsumi, bowing her head as she insulted herself just to appease her bullies. She could feel the smug grins and confident attitudes from all of her bullies and spectators as she gritted her teeth, forced to bear this humiliation and once again resist the urge to knock their teeth out.

"Weeellll...so long as you understand your place, all is forgiven!~" Asuka replied in a giggly voice.

'God, her voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard,' Mitsumi thought, gathering her supplies before leaving the room. She needed some alone time to herself and during that time, perhaps her hair and clothes could dry off in the process. Plus, she wasn't going to be leaving her stuff in her classroom. The first and last time she had done yet, her supplies were beyond repairable and utterly ruined, ripped to shreds, drenched in ink or water, and worst. She had to pay an abundance of money just to replace those supplies, but it was not an experience she wished to go through again.

When she headed out, droplets of water dripped from her hair and clothes, making a miniature path of small water drop-like puddles behind her. It was still a free period, so she thought to head to the rooftop where she could study and dry herself in peace.

And then, just when she was sitting down comfortably and was about to pop open a book, she made eye contact with Shingo Sawatari.

Her worst enemy.

Kidding. He was far too annoying and harmless for her to ever consider him as an enemy. Still, that didn't change the fact that Mitsumi's bitter mood further soured upon making eye contact with him. Fortunately, she managed to cover up her sour mood quickly with one of her "gentle-looking" smiles.

"S-Sawatari-san! How are you?" she asked, trying not to grit down her teeth.

"Oh, I am doing absolutely fabulous, thank you very much!" said Shingo, smiling as he approached her. Like Mitsumi, he also had a free period and wanted some fresh air, so he headed to the rooftop and enjoyed the fresh weather outside. Imagine his surprise when he suddenly encountered Mitsumi. It was almost as though fate wanted them to be together!

"I-I'm doing fine myself as well! It's certainly a surprise to see you here!" said Mitsumi, continuing to smile back at him. In her mind, however, she thought, 'Why the hell is he here? PLEASE don't waste my time flirting! I just wanna finish my homework and get it over with!'

Mitsumi's wish was not going to be granted anytime soon as Shingo kneeled down and stroked her chin with his fingers, forcing a face-to-face encounter with one another. "As am I, Mitsumi-chan!~ Ah, your cuteness and beauty never ceases every time I look at you!~ In fact, it only seems to grow every day!~"

'I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna totally bite his fingers off if he doesn't stop touching me, I swear to GOD!' Mitsumi's inner thoughts raged as she continued to smile. "T-Thank you very much for the compliment, Sawatari-san! B-But, you shouldn't waste your words on someone like me...I'm not that cute or beautiful..." 'SERIOUSLY! Go bother some other girl!'

Shingo shook his head. "You shouldn't say that, Mitsumi-chan! I truly do think that you're both cute and beautiful! Ah...if only there was a lovely word that could combine both adjectives into one! Now, what kind of word would it-Oh! Mitsumi-chan, you're all wet!"

Mitsumi had forgotten about the whole water bottle incident when she was trying to study and when she came across Shingo, so she glanced down and saw that she was still wet. "O-Oh...You don't have to worry about this, Sawatari-san! I'll be alright-"

"Here." Fishing out his personal handkerchief from his pocket, Shingo then wiped off a few water droplets off her face that were dripping from her wet hair bangs. He ceased and then tried handing it to her properly. "Here, you should use this. But, I'll be expecting it back soon!~"

'Great, this just gives him an excuse to want to meet me next time. Preferably to his flirting and attempt at dating me again,' she thought. "Thank you, Sawatari-san, but you really didn't have to-"

"Oh, and it looks like your clothes are wet, too! Here, take this!" Shingo took off his uniform jacket and laid it on her front.

'I don't really want this, but...I guess I do appreciate his sentiment,' thought Mitsumi, clutching the uniform jacket close to her. "B-But Sawatari-san! What about you? W-Won't you get in trouble if you don't have your uniform jacket on?"

"Eh, I can just make an excuse. Besides, I trust that you'll return both my uniform jacket and my handkerchief later to me! Maybe sometime tomorrow?" Shingo grinned and wiggled his eyebrows as he leaned in close. "And then...maybe a date?"

It took all of Mitsumi's willpower not to smack-throw his jacket back at his face out of annoyance. 'Ugh! So, he's just playing the gentleman just to try and get a date with me! Again! I should have figured that he had some sort of ulterior motive!'

"U-Um...I'm sorry, Sawatari-san, but I am really busy tomorrow after school! I-I have to go to You Show Duel School, buy some groceries, and-well, I am a very, busy girl. B-But, I promise that I'll try to give back your uniform jacket and handkerchief back by tomorrow!"

Shingo leaned back and rubbed his chin. "Hmmm...then, how about, just this one time...a lunch date tomorrow? Yeah! A lunch date!"

'Oh, god damnit,' Mitsumi thought, having never anticipated this sort of date strategy from Shingo of all people. Or maybe he just thought it up on the spot? Either way, Mitsumi had a feeling that she wasn't going to be given a choice in the matter. "S-Sawatari-san, I don't think-"

"I'll pick out the location, and it'll just be the two of us!" Shingo ranted on excitedly. "I know you're not going to be busy during lunchtime, and surely you could be apart from your friends for just one day, right? It's absolutely perfect!"

'...You know, in hindsight, I should have expected that he would eventually find some way to try and get a date outta me,' Mitsumi thought, thinking it over. 'But...if I do go on a lunch date with him, just this once, maybe he'll finally shut up about dating for at least a while. ...Goddamnit, Shingo, why can't you just get a hint that I don't wanna date you?! *sigh* Might as well...'

Mitsumi nodded. "J-Just one day, okay? What sort of food would you like?"

"I bet anything you cook will be perfect!~"

"Eh...okay, then would you like any dessert?"

"Hmm...Oh! I have a variety of desserts I enjoy, but my absolute favorite has to be this one called sweet milk apple-berry pie with honey..."


The next morning...

"Mitsumi-chan, it looks like you're preparing for a picnic of some kind," spoke Miyuki, sipping her coffee while watching her granddaughter running amok. Mitsumi was constantly glancing at the clock while cooking, as though her life depended on it.

"Eh...kind of," admitted Mitsumi. She really didn't want to explain that she had gotten herself into a "lunch date" with the most annoying person in the world, especially since her grandmother would squeal with joy if she ever discovered what was happening. That, and she was fully aware that Miyuki shipped both her and Shingo so much, always expressing about future great grandchildren and how much of a "cute gentleman Shingo was.

If only both granddaughter and grandmother pair didn't encounter Shingo that one time when they were shopping together, then this would have been a lot easier on Mitsumi's end.

"Well, when you're done, I've got a little surprise for you waiting!~ Oh, I just can't wait!~"

'A surprise? Well, whatever it is, it's sure gotten Grandma a whole lot excited,' thought Mitsumi, taking the sweet milk apple-berry pie out of the oven.

Once Mitsumi finished her picnic preparations and cleaning up the mess she made in the kitchen, she returned to Miyuki's side, taking a seat across from her. Then, an object was slid across the table towards Mitsumi, who caught the object in time.

In Mitsumi's hand was a silver heart-shaped locket with a small photo of both Miyuki and Mitsumi. The photograph itself took place several years ago, when Mitsumi was still a child, and she was happily hugging her grandmother.

Eyes widened, Mitsumi looked up to her grandmother. "Grandma, what-?"

"I figured that you're such a good, growing girl, Mitsumi-chan, and with the way things are, we probably won't be seeing each other a lot these upcoming days. So, I thought to give you this gift as a sort of a reminder that your dear old granny still loves you and that she'll always support you."

"I..." Mitsumi looked away in shame. "I...If I had known you were going to do something like this, I would have prepared something to remind you of me as well."

"But you have. Or rather, I should say that you always have," Miyuki said, smiling. "Why, your homemade meals, you know! Yes, yes, with the extra hours that I'm working at the bakery, of course I would be tired. But, I also know that I would have been even more tired it if wasn't for all your hard work! Cleaning the house, cooking the meals, taking care of the gardening outside...I could never have done that all by myself and with so little time! So...thank you, Mitsumi-chan. Please, just accept my gift. It's the least I could do to-"

Suddenly standing up, Mitsumi walked over and embraced her grandmother tightly, moving in close enough. "No way. I should be thanking you, Grandma, for always working so hard over clumsy little me. It's...it's because of me that we had to move three times already and lost so much, so...thank you for spending so much time and effort on caring for me. I really, really appreciate it."

Miyuki smiled softly and embraced back, humming to herself quietly. "Hmm...it's alright, Mitsumi-chan. I chose to do so much for you because I love you. It's..." Her happy expression lowered and reverted into one full of sorrow. "It's really the least I can do..."

Frowning, Mitsumi glanced at her grandmother, noticing some bags under her eyes. "Grandma...are you really sure that you're alright? You look really tired."

Miyuki shook her head. "I'm alright. Nothing that you should be worrying about. Now, why don't you finish getting ready for school? You don't want to be late, do you?"

"Well...Okay. I'll be off in a few!" Mitsumi called out, exiting the kitchen. Though, she did pause and cast a concerned look behind her shoulder before hesitantly walking off.


Later, during lunchtime...

Once the bell rang, signaling for lunchtime, Mitsumi sighed, getting up with her picnic basket on one hand. She really, REALLY didn't want this dumb lunch date with Shingo, but if anything, it'll shut him up for a while, so there's that. She already informed Yuya and the others that she couldn't join them for lunch today, though she never revealed the reason why, only that she'll be "occupied."

Fishing out her locket, with a click of a button, Mitsumi opened her locket to reveal the small photo of her and her grandmother, granting her a soft smile. She had decided beforehand that the locket would serve as her good-luck charm and as a reminder of her love towards her grandmother.

"Oh, Nazuno-chan!~ Could you come here real quick?"

Hearing Asuka's shrill, annoying voice made Mitsumi want to groan, but she kept herself composed and forced herself to smile, turning to the source of the voice. "Y-Yes, Minami-san? Can I help you with something?"

Gathered behind Asuka were, of course, some of Mitsumi's tormenters and bullies/Asuka's friends, though they seemed to be interested in the object in Asuka's palm. Mitsumi would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in what it was, but at the same time, she didn't really care too much on it.

"Nazuno-chan, come over here and look!" Asuka called out, trying to gesture Mitsumi forward.

Mitsumi could ignore Asuka and leave the classroom right now. Honestly, at this point, the lunch date with Shingo sounded far more tempting than what was happening now, but she had a feeling that Asuka wouldn't stop until she obeyed. Therefore, Mitsumi stood up, placed her locket inside her pocket, and headed towards Asuka.

"Yes?"

"Here! Why don't you hold this and take a look at my new pendant?"

"Hmm?" Mitsumi's arm was pulled forward before a gorgeous, silvery-blue glass gem pendant was placed on top of her palm. Oh, so that was what it was. Mitsumi gazed at it closely, mesmerized by the creative, illustrious design on the pendant and how she could even see her own reflection-

When suddenly, her arm was slapped to the side, enough for Mitsumi to accidentally drop the pendant. Upon impact, the glass gem pendant shattered, leaving massive cracks on its remains while the rest laid scattered on the floor.

"EEEEKKK! NAZUNO, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" shrieked Asuka, sobbing uncontrollably as she covered her tear-soaked eyes behind her palms. "T-That was an expensive gift from my parents! And I just got it yesterday! How could you?!"

But Mitsumi wasn't even fazed by her crying. In fact, she was frustrated at Asuka for her fake crying and obvious attempt to make her the bad guy. 'Oh, you bitch!' she thought, keeping up the facade of being shocked and horrified while angry at Asuka. 'I could totally tell that was intentional! Goddamnit, I shouldn't have fallen for her trap, but I did! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!'

With several witnesses around, many including Asuka's friends and followers, there was almost no guarantee that anyone would be willing to side with Mitsumi in this situation.

"I can't believe Nazuno-chan did that!"

"I know! I guess she couldn't take it anymore! She must have been jealous of Asuka-sama!"

"Asuka-sama must be more beautiful than Nazuno!"

"How could Nazuno do that?"

Just as Mitsumi was wondering what would occur next and how to get out of such a situation, Asuka wiped away the rest of her "tears" and proclaimed, "Wait, everyone! I'm sure Nazuno-chan didn't meant to do this! She would never try and harm me on purpose! It must have been an accident! Right, Nazuno-chan?"

The way she tried to convert the situation into something sympathetic was laughable in Mitsumi's opinion, because she's dealt with even worst manipulations before. WAY before she entered middle school and met Asuka. No, WAY before she even met Yuya and the rest of her new friends 4 years ago.

But right now, the smart thing to do was bow her head and apology, which is what Mitsumi reluctantly did. "I...I'm sorry, Minami-san. I...didn't mean to break your pendant."

'Shit! Fucking piece of shit! Does that mean I have to give her compensation money or something?! Goddamnit that horrible bitch!' Mitsumi cursed internally in her head as she composed herself.

"Like I said, Nazuno-chan!~ I'm sure that you didn't mean to break my precious item, so I'll forgive you!~" chirped Asuka, patting Mitsumi on the head. Suddenly, her demeanor changed as a twisted grin formed on her face and she found herself grabbing a handful of Mitsumi's silky hair in her palm. "On one condition!~ Gimme your precious locket."

'Wha-?!' Before Mitsumi could react, she had completely underestimated Asuka's speed as the other girl moved in quickly. Grabbing ahold of one of Mitsumi's arms to keep her in place, Asuka used her other hand to fish her hand into Mitsumi's pocket, grasping Mitsumi's locket from her before jumping back for some fair distance.

"Oh? What a cute design this locket has!~ I think I'll keep it for myself as compensation!~" cooed Asuka, dangling the heart-shaped locket back and forth.

It took every bit of Mitsumi's willpower to still keep a scared and timid expression on instead of a pissed-off death glare, let alone holding back her hidden anger. A small part of her mind kept reminding her to still keep up her composed facade, dominating over the much larger portion of her mind that just wanted to run over and strangle Asuka.

"Oh! Oh!" Purposely, Asuka kept dropping and catching the locket over and over, as though to tempt Mitsumi or get her to react differently, presumably in the form of begging. "Oh, I almost dropped it! How clumsy of me!~"

'...I'm gonna kill her. I swear to GOD, I will kill her if she keeps this up-!' Mitsumi thought, gritting her teeth as she continued to remain calm. "P-Please don't do anything to my locket! I-It's really precious and important to me-!" She covered her mouth, but by then, it was too late. 'Idiot! You stupid idiot! Why would you say something like that?! Now she's definitely not gonna return it now!'

"Oh? But it's definitely mine now, since it'll serve as compensation for what you did to my pendant," mocked Asuka, glancing down at the locket. "Well, I have to be somewhere real quick, but I'll make sure to take care of this locket real carefully!~ Bye-bye!~"

'Don't tell me that she's gonna destroy or throw it away?! Damnit!' "WAIT!" cried out Mitsumi, reaching her arm out only to be stopped by several of Asuka's followers/friends that blocked her way.

It was clear that they were all in it just to mess and bully with Mitsumi once more. Mitsumi was so, SO close to snapping and just beating them up just to get them out of the way or at least take her anger out, but instead, she chose the more rational route and continued to play the meek, timid girl that everyone knew. That meant that she had to step down and just wait...wait for the perfect opportunity to get her locket back.

Despite all the cons, at the very least, the only pro in this situation is that she has an excuse as to not spend time with Shingo, who's probably still waiting for her up on the rooftop, awaiting for her arrival.

Unfortunately, things didn't quite go as planned on Mitsumi's end. Even after lunch ended, they still had their classes, which meant that Mitsumi couldn't interact with Asuka at the time. Well, even if she did, Asuka would most likely ignore her or give her a smug smirk just to make her upset. However, once classes ended for the day, Asuka immediately ran out of the classroom, and Mitsumi hurried to gather her belongings and then give chase to her.

Everything seemed to be doing smoothly...until she came across Shingo and his friends in the hallway.

Not noticing Mitsumi's serious and focused expression, Shingo complained loudly, "Mitsumi-chan! Where were you during lunch? Do you know how long I've been waiting for-"

"I don't care. MOVE," growled Mitsumi, not in the mood to deal with any of Shingo's nonsense. She shoved him and his friends aside and continued marching down the hallway, too angry and focused to retrieve her locket back.

Stunned by this...unfamiliar behavior of Mitsumi's, Shingo shook his head several times to recover from his shock. He then grabbed Mitsumi by the shoulder, causing her to stop. "Mitsumi-chan, please-"

Whirling around, Mitsumi grabbed and then gripped the area between Shingo's wrist and hand, bending it back slowly but painfully. Shouting in pain, Shingo fell to his knees, tugging and trying to pull his hand out of her grasp. To his shock, he found himself unable to, proving Mitsumi's current physical strength, especially from how uncaring and angry she was right now.

"What?" growled Mitsumi lowly, tightening her grip on Shingo and making him yelp and whimper like a dog. "What could you POSSIBLY want from me?! I'm far too busy to deal with any of your bullshit right now, Shingo!"

Too much was happening right now for Shingo to process what was going on. Sweet, kind, gentle, and shy Mitsumi swearing? Her now calling him by his first name? Surely, this all had to be some sort of nightmare, right?

Unfortunately, the pain Shingo was experiencing right now was too real, so he dismissed the notion of the possibility of a nightmare right away.

"Gaaaaah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

With a scoff, Mitsumi shoved Shingo's arm away, before turning around. "Whatever. I've got far more important things to deal with than you right now." She stomped away, leaving a slowly recovering yet mentally hurt Shingo with his friends.

"Ow, ow, ow..." hissed Shingo, twisting his wrist and closing and opening his fingers to check for any further injuries.

"Sawatari! Are you alright?" asked Ootomo as he, Yamabe, and Kakimoto helped him up. He and the others had, like Shingo, been too shocked to help out their leader, and simply stood there as Mitsumi dominated over Shingo until she left. It wasn't until after Shingo started recovering that they, too, also snapped out of it and attempted to help him as a sort of compensation for their inability to help.

"Yeah...I...never really expected that," admitted Shingo, looking down at his wrist and wiggling it for a bit. "I've never seen Mitsumi-chan so...angry before. That definitely doesn't suit the cute and adorable Mitsumi-chan I know."

"Yeah, I think something really bad must have pissed her off. It must have been something really, really serious," theorized Kakimoto.

"Oh! I know! We can go check it out!" Yamabe suggested. "Like, do some investigation and stuff!"

Shingo snapped his fingers. "Great! You guys try and talk to a bunch of people and figure out what's going on! I'll be going after Mitsumi-chan!~"

"Uh...Actually, I think it might be a lot better if you leave her alone for now," suggested Ootomo. "I mean, you don't want a repeat of what happened earlier, do you?"

Rather than argue back, Shingo flinched, also not wanting to experience that incident again. "G-Good point...Um...How about we all split up and then gather information that way, then? It'll be much faster that way."

"Sure!"

"No problem!"

"Yeah, I don't see why not."

It was unanimously decided between the four boys before they took different sections of the school to gather information. It didn't take long for them to put the pieces together of Mitsumi being the unfortunate bully victim of Asuka, the leader of the bullies, and her cronies, and that Mitsumi was desperately searching for Asuka to retrieve her locket back.

Once the four met up to discuss what they learned, Shingo split up from his three friends, ordering them to instead find Mitsumi and keep a close eye on her in case she did anything reckless. Shingo planned to confront Asuka himself to try and convince her to return Mitsumi's special locket and to cease any forms of bullying towards her.

He was still roaming around the school grounds, trying to find her when he heard some loud laughter nearby. Placing his back against the wall, he carefully inched closer to the sounds of laughter and saw Asuka laughing alongside two other people, who were most likely her closest friends/followers.

"Ahahaha! I still can't believe I managed to get that stupid bitch's locket!" laughed Asuka, dangling the locket in the air.

"I know, right?" spoke one of her friends. "And all because you bought that cheap-ass pendant that barely cost like, $10?"

"Honestly, what did you originally planned after breaking that pendant?" wondered her other friend. "If it weren't for Nazuno having that pendant, what did you plan for her to do?"

"Well...I was debating whether to actually have her pay me or to make her my slave for who knows how long..." admitted Asuka. "But, I saw her looking so lovingly at her locket, that I just couldn't resist taking something that was most precious to her!~ Hehehehe!~"

Anger whelmed up inside of Shingo after he eavesdropped on what the girls had to say about Mitsumi's peculiar situation. 'So, they were the ones responsible for the pain and suffering that Mitsumi-chan's experiencing!' he thought, clenching his fists. 'No wonder Mitsumi-chan was so angry and upset! The humiliation she must have suffered from those...those bullies! I have to stop this!'

"HEY!" Stepping out from his hiding spot, Shingo confronted the three girls, but his main target was Asuka, the leader of the bullies constantly tormenting his crush. "What do you think you're doing, messing with Mitsumi-chan like that?!"

"S-Sawatari?! What are you doing here?!" questioned Asuka, shocked.

Marching up to Asuka, Shingo explained, "I'm here for Mitsumi-chan! How could you bully such a sweet and kind girl as her?! And you're even taking advantage of her kindness when it wasn't even her fault that you dropped your own pendant! You're despicable, you know that?! Just why would you want to harm a girl like Mitsumi-chan?!"

Asuka's shocked expression curled into a sinister grin as she finally realized Shingo's intentions for his sudden arrival. "Oh? You came all this way for that pathetic girl? Why waste your time with her of all people?"

"Because she's far more kinder, sweeter, and much more beautiful than you! Unlike you, she would never even dare harm a fly!" defended Shingo. "You manipulated and hurt her feelings! You took advantage of her kindness! I'll never forgive anyone who hurts Mitsumi-chan like this!"

"Oh?~ But...doesn't that mean that you'll never forgive yourself too, Sawatari-kun?~"

"W-What are you talking about?" asked Shingo as Asuka walked up to him.

Lightly placing a finger under his chin, Asuka coyly replied, "Don't you remember?~ You paid me and a couple of my friends to stage a scenario where we would taunt and torment the poor little thing, and then you would come in like a true knight in shining armor. Then, we would act all afraid and run away, pretending to be scared of you as you get the girl of your dreams!~"

Shingo paused; his eyes widening as he recalled the memory after Asuka's somewhat vague but plausible explanation. Come to think of it, he did involve Asuka and some of her friends in a scheme to make Mitsumi fall in love with him.

It had all started when he started harboring a crush on Mitsumi. He wanted to get her attention, but he wanted to do so in a special way so that she might possibly fall in love with him at first sight, just like he did towards her. At that time, he was only attracted to her beauty, and that attractiveness only improved upon learning her..."personality and kindred traits."

Therefore, he arranged and paid a few girls to bully Mitsumi, to insult and push her around a bit for a while. Then, the next phase of his plan would involve him stepping in and defending Mitsumi from the bullies. That would be their cue to act frightened enough to run away from him. Then, Shingo would start comforting Mitsumi, reassuring her and complimenting her in an attempt to make her feel better.

Technically, the last phase was meant to be the most significant part. If all things had gone according to plan, then Mitsumi would have developed a crush, or at the very least, some kind of interest in him. He was popular, rich, handsome, and he even had a small fan club. Therefore, he just assumed that Mitsumi would be the lucky one to be his girlfriend.

However, much to his surprise, she didn't seem to like him romantically. At the same time, she wasn't mean or rude to him in any way. Like any other decent person, she did thank him for his assistance and walked away, showing no other signs of interest in him whatsoever. This surprised him, because for the first time, this was someone who showed no interest in him. Oh, she was never negative towards him, and while he was happy for her gratitude, he wanted more from her.

From that day on, he started seeking her out, and it wasn't hard to find her and learn more about her, given that she was (unintentionally) one of the most popular students at school as well as beautiful. He always teased and bullied her in a friendly, harmless manner, but he did also sometimes bought her gifts and requested dates over and over, only to be politely turned down each time. Shingo was persistent, though, and refused to give up, hoping that someday, all his efforts will pay off, and they kinda did in a way since she did agree to a lunch date with him.

HOWEVER, he only ever paid Asuka and her friends to bully Mitsumi ONE time. Afterwards, he never thought nor bothered to try that sort of method ever again. In fact, he had forgotten all about the first time he tried to play the hero and impress Mitsumi just to get her to go out with him. And now, the consequences of his actions were all coming together. Shingo truly had no idea that Mitsumi had been continuously bullied afterwards and that if she had been bullied for such a long time, she must have suffered quite a lot.

And the worst part of it all? Shingo Sawatari himself had been the true instigator behind Mitsumi's pain.

"I...I...!"

"Minami!"

Mitsumi had appeared out of nowhere with the rest of Shingo's friends trailing behind her, though they kept a safe distance and chose not to say anything. Whether Mitsumi didn't know that she was being followed, or she did know and didn't care was irrelevant at the moment, as Mitsumi had set her sights on getting her locket back. And since Asuka had the locket, that meant that Mitsumi set her sights on her.

"I want my locket back! Give it back to me NOW!" demanded Mitsumi, marching closer. She was not in the mood to continue her shy and sweet facade. Right now, she was exposing her true, agitated self, and she didn't even care. What she did care about, however, was retrieving her special gift that she received from her grandmother, and her bullies was NOT going to ruin this for her!

Asuka, thinking that Mitsumi was trying to act tough and scare her, seemed unfazed. "Oh? You've got quite a scary look on you right now, Nazuno-chan," she purred, unaware of the danger she was placing herself. "It doesn't suit someone like you-"

"I don't give two shits about that! Gimme back my locket!"

Blinking in surprise at the sudden vulgar tone that the Mitsumi she knew would never utter, Asuka was taken aback. "W-well, you still owe me for breaking my pendant-"

"Bullshit, stop lying," Mitsumi growled, glaring at her. "I actually talked to some of your friends, and they admitted that what you brought was cheap-ass antique and that you had some sort of big plan to control me or whatever. It was already bad enough that you set me up and tried to take my locket as 'compensation,' but to go so far to this extent? That's pretty low, you attention whore..."

Everyone was just too shocked to step up or say anything else at the moment as Mitsumi's malice spilled into her spiteful words towards Asuka. Although, they also believed that given that Mitsumi was bullied, set up to take the fall for something she never did, and that a precious item of hers was forcibly taken, Mitsumi's anger must have done the talking. They believed that sweet and kind Mitsumi would never have spoken such vile words, and that her anger and upset state was taking over her.

Even Asuka herself was sweating and feeling the pressure from Mitsumi's anger towards her. But, at the same time, her pride refused to allow her to stand down and submit to the one person whom she was envious of. Gulping down, Asuka steadied herself and tried to think of a way out of this situation when she remembered that Mitsumi was rumored to be very terrible with duels. With that mindset, she cleared her throat and declared a proposal out loud.

"D-Don't say such lies! I-In fact, how about a duel? Just you and-"

"I want my locket back, not a stupid duel with you!" denied Mitsumi angrily.

"J-Just listen!" Asuka said, still attempting to act brave. "If I win, then you'll have to leave! But, if you somehow manage to beat me, then you get your locket back! How does that sound?"

Maybe it was just the smallest bit of rationality lingering in her mind, or maybe she just wanted someone to take her anger out on, but either way, after some battling of conflict in her head, Mitsumi finally agreed.

Shingo tried to intervene, believing that he should be the one to duel, considering that all of his experiences dueling Mitsumi usually led to him winning against her. "M-Mitsumi-chan, I think I should be the one to-"

"And you can just shut up!" snapped Mitsumi harshly. "I am getting my locket back one way or another!"

"A-Alright..." said Shingo, stepping back and retreating back to where his friends were, which was a pretty fair distance away from the duel, but still enough to witness it overall.

Ootomo turned to Shingo. "Y-You're not going to stop her?"

Yamabe said, "Are you kidding? Only an idiot would be brave enough to stop whatever's going on there! Let's just wait!"

As much as he felt guilty and hated being a coward, he knew that perhaps staying back and witnessing the entire duel silently may be for the best outcome. He's already made Mitsumi angry at him today, but if she were to learn the truth of the origins of her bullying tales, well...it would be...very bad.

After both girls equipped their duel disks and decks, they distanced themselves properly to begin their duel, though Mitsumi was looking more impatient than ever, as she wanted this whole ordeal with be dealt with as quickly as possible. On the other hand, Asuka felt her confidence growing, feeling certain that she could beat Mitsumi.

A mistake that would, no doubt, cost her.

"DUEL!"

- DUEL -

Asuka - 4000 LP

VS

Mitsumi - 4000 LP

"Alright, then!" said Asuka, trying to build up her confidence. "Since I'm being generous right now, how about you go-"

"Just shut up and go first," snapped Mitsumi impatiently. "It'll be a lot faster if you go first."

"F-Fine! Then, I'll go!" said Asuka, beginning her turn. "I summon Harpie Queen to the field!"

Harpie Queen - (WIND/Winged Beast) - LV4 - (1900/1200)

"With her special ability, she's also acknowledged as Harpie Lady! That means I can activate Elegant Egotist from my hand! With this card, if I have a 'Harpie Lady' on my field, I can now Special Summon the beautiful Harpie Lady Sisters to the field!"

Harpie Lady Sisters - (WIND/Winged Beast) - LV6 - (1950/2100)

"Now, with these two beauties on my field, I end my turn!"

"..." Mitsumi didn't announce her draw; instead, she simply drew her card swiftly at the start of her turn and glanced at it. "I set two cards facedown and then Set a Monster before I end my turn."

"That's all?" scoffed Asuka. "Ooh! It really must be my lucky day! I summon Harpie's Baby Dragon to the field!"

Harpie's Baby Dragon - (WIND/Dragon) - LV4 - (1200/600)

"Here's an interesting thing to learn! It gains effects based on the number of Harpie Monsters I control! And since I have 2 of them out, you should know that you can't target any other Harpie Monster besides Harpie's Baby Dragon! And, the second effect! Baby Dragon's original Attack and Defense Points are doubled!"

Harpie's Baby Dragon - (WIND/Dragon) - LV4 - (2400/1200)

"Whoa! That Monster's going to be tough even for Mitsumi-chan!" cried out Kakimoto.

"Yeah, I know! How's she going to beat it?" wondered Ootomo.

Even Shingo was having his doubts on Mitsumi winning, despite egging her on. He's dueled Mitsumi before tons of times and she's lost every time. Well, the only other times that she's won is normally because Shingo had pitied her and lost on purpose, but he had a feeling that Mitsumi secretly knew about that and chose not to bring it up.

"Now, it's time to finish this!" shouted Asuka, grinning wildly. "First, Harpie Queen, destroy her-"

"I activate my Trap, DNA Transplant," Mitsumi interrupted. "Now, every Monster's Attribute is declared as WATER. That means that for as long as DNA Transplant is in play, all face-up Monsters are WATER Attributes."

Harpie Queen - (WATER/Winged Beast) - LV4 - (1900/1200)

Harpie Lady Sisters - (WATER/Winged Beast) - LV6 - (1950/2100)

Harpie's Baby Dragon - (WATER/Dragon) - LV4 - (2400/1200)

"W-Well, so what? I'm not done with my at-"

"I activate my secondary Trap, Diamond Dust," Mitsumi continued. "Now, all WATER Attribute Monsters on the field are destroyed, and you receive 500 Points of Damage for each Monster destroyed. Making it a total of 1500 Points of Damage."

Strong, icy winds flew towards Asuka's direction before those icy winds' weather conditions were enough to completely encase the three Harpie Monsters in ice. The ice started to crack before shattering; bits of ice smacking into Asuka afterwards.

Asuka - 2500 LP

Mitsumi - 4000 LP

Everyone was astonished over witnessing such a skillful and swift move. With two cards, Mitsumi crippled Asuka's field, taking down her three strong Monsters with ease and without any bit of hesitation!

Left with no choice, Asuka growled, "I...I end my turn." 'Next turn! Next turn, I will definitely make a comeback! By then, there's no way that bitch will be able to defeat me then!'

Mitsumi drew her card. "I Flip Summon Ariel on my field."

Gishki Ariel - (WATER/Spellcaster) - LV4 - (1000/1800)

"With her Flip effect, I can add a Gishki Monster from my deck to my hand. I add Gishki Shadow to my hand. Next, I activate Gishki Aquamirror from my hand and use Gishki Shadow's effect to act as the entire Tribute requirement for the use of Monsters. I Ritual Summon Evigishki Mind Augus!"

A Monster with a similar face and physique as Gishki Ariel, yet wielding more power and riding atop of a mighty sea creature burst through splashy waves from underground.

Evigishki Mind Augus - (WATER/Aqua/Ritual) - LV6 - (2500/2000)

"...When Mind Augus is Ritual Summoned, in any Graveyard, I can shuffle up to 5 cards back into the deck. Just in case, I'll send Minami's cards back into her deck," Mitsumi said as Minami's cards from her Graveyard flew back into her deck. "Now, attack her directly, Mind Augus!"

Mind Augus lifting up her staff was the signal for her sea creature riding companion to unleash a devastating torrent of water from within its jaws, causing Asuka to shriek as she was blasted full head-on by water, causing her to crash on the ground, defeated.

Asuka - 0 LP

Mitsumi - 4000 LP

Everyone was stunned into silence at the unexpected outcome of the duel. Shy, sweet, but weak Mitsumi actually winning a duel on her own for a change? Granted, Asuka probably wasn't too skilled in dueling, but Mitsumi defeated her effortlessly and without even losing a single Life Point! One would have to be remarkably skilled in order to do that.

But Mitsumi didn't care about the statistics or anything of the sort. What she did care about was getting her grandmother's locket back no matter what. And since she won the duel, it appears that she will be given her wish back.

"Gimme back my locket! NOW! We had a deal!"

Asuka was trembling in anger, her face flustered in embarrassment as she felt utterly humiliated! With the way things were handled during that duel, it was as though Mitsumi wasn't even putting that much effort in their duel, making it looks like Asuka herself was the weakling! With witnesses around, there would be no doubt that the news will spread, and Asuka's reputation will take a nosedive! Well, if she was going down, then...

Getting back up, Asuka took out the locket and clicked on it, opening it before showing the inside of the locket to Mitsumi. "You mean this, right? Well, unfortunately, there's a bit of a problem with it..."

Mitsumi took a deep breath and exhaled, calming herself enough to ask, "What?"

"It's broken."

Before anyone could question what Asuka was talking about, the female bully dropped the locket on the ground and then smashed her foot in the area where the inside of the locket was present. Sounds of glass shattered were clearly heard, indicating that the glass container within the locket was broken, thus rendering the locket worthless and broken.

What happened next certainly was unforgettable and would still send a chill down everyone's spines whenever they recalled the memory. An enraged scream came from the top of Mitsumi's lungs before the girl herself charged forward. Knocking over Asuka's friends who happened to be standing close by Asuka, Mitsumi then tackled her to the floor, with Asuka screaming bloody murder on the way down.

Although shocked over what happened, Shingo wasted no time running towards Mitsumi, who scratched, clawed, and punched at Asuka, going completely feral on the bully who was still screaming and trying and failing to cover her face from the assault. Just as Shingo was about to grab one of Mitsumi's arms to get her to stop, he got an elbow to the face, making him yelp in pain and cover his nose before stumbling back. The sight of their friend getting hurt in the midst of the chaos was enough to snap Shingo's three other friends into action. They rushed over and, with their combined efforts including Shingo, who quickly recovered to assist them, managed to pull Mitsumi off of Asuka, restraining her. That didn't exactly stop Mitsumi from struggling viciously and screaming profanities at Asuka, who scrambled to her feet and ran away with her friends.

"Let me go! LET ME GO! That bitch! THAT BITCH! Ohhhh, that BITCH broke my locket! It was a gift my Grandma gave to me! Let me go! Get off me! I'm gonna murder that bitch for what she did!"

Mitsumi wasn't even trying to hide her true self anymore at this point. She was full-on raging, screaming, and clawing at the air, angrily desperate to take vengeance for what happened. No, it was much more than just her locket. This was all the pent-up anger, sorrow, and humiliation that was building up until this point just pouring out, all too eager to lash it all out onto the girl's bullies, even if not all of them were present.

It took a long time, a lot of struggling, screaming and shouting, and a whole lot of coaxing before Mitsumi finally calmed down. By then, Shingo and his friends were completely exhausted and Mitsumi had fallen down to her knees, defeated and sobbing.

She reached her hands out and was gathering up the broken metallic pieces and glass shards, trying to put them together even though it was futile. She kept trying, even when her hands became stabbed and cut several times by the pieces and shards. When she saw the small photo of her and her grandmother torn to shreds due to the glass shards, she broke even more into a deeper sob.

Shingo, seeing what she was doing, rushed over and grabbed her wrists firmly, forcing her to stop. He glanced over to his friends and asked, "H-Hey, could you guys try and find some bandages or something? Oh, and could you find her friends, too? S-She might need them now more than ever..."

With firm nods, Ootomo, Kakimoto, and Yamabe stood up and rushed to do their duties. Meanwhile, Shingo kept trying to comfort Mitsumi, carefully trying to remove at least some of the shards and pieces embedded in her bloody palms.

For Mitsumi herself, she could barely recall what happened after the duel. She was informed that Asuka broke her locket, Mitsumi lost control of her emotions and attacked her only to be restrained by Shingo and his friends until she calmed down, and then they got her friends. Then, they took her to the hospital for her hands before contacting her grandmother, who was informed of the situation later on.

It was only a few days later, but from what Mitsumi could remember in her dazed memory, Asuka tried to spread terrible rumors about Mitsumi as revenge for her beating her in a duel and then trying to claw out her face. A big fortunate effect for Mitsumi is that nobody, besides Asuka's friends who witnessed everything, seemed to believe her, thinking that sweet and shy Mitsumi would never do such a thing.

Because of Asuka's constant urging, she had practically confessed to stealing Mitsumi's locket and then breaking it, thus being suspended from school along with her friends. Afterwards, Yuya and the others had grown more protective over Mitsumi after the bullying incident, though they did scold Mitsumi for not relying on them and telling them about her troubles at school. As for Shingo and his friends...

"I'm so sorry!" apologized Mitsumi, bowing her head at Shingo and his friends after she had invited them privately for a talk. "I didn't mean to be all mean and rude and so selfish that other day! I'm really, really, sorry!"

After regaining her senses back, Mitsumi berated herself for losing control of her emotions and exposing her true self that day. She couldn't believe how stupid and arrogant she had been that time, even if it was to get her precious locket back.

"It's fine!" assured Shingo. "I understand that you weren't yourself back then because you were too focused on getting your locket back! It was really important to you because your Grandma gave it to you, right? All is forgiven!"

"Yeah, you don't have to worry! It's not your fault!" assured Ootomo.

Kakimoto nodded. "Yeah, it was because of those rotten bullies! They're the ones to blame!"

Yamabe said, "You have nothing to be sorry for! We don't blame you!"

Shingo nodded, grateful for his friends' support. "Yeah! In fact, I have something for you, Mitsumi-chan!" From his pocket, he took out a silver heart-shaped locket, similar in appearance to the one Mitsumi previously had.

Surprised, Mitsumi took it once it was offered to her. "T-Thank you, Sawatari-san...But, you didn't have to-"

"No, no! It's alright! I insist! I felt bad about you losing your locket, so I thought it would be best to get you another one. And, look! It's practically indestructible because I requested it to be the strongest silver material there is! So, you don't have to worry about it being destroyed by a simple stomp! Praise to yours truly! Ahahahah!"

"Uh...Sawatari? Might not be the best time to gloat now," advised Yamabe.

Ootomo nodded. "Yeah! You're kinda ruining the romantic mood here!"

Shingo's eyes widened. "Oh! Right, sorry!" What was he thinking, ruining the perfect romantic mood with his egotistical self when this moment should be all about Mitsumi!

Mitsumi shook her head and smiled, holding the locket close to her chest. "No, no, it's fine. Thank you, Sawatari-san...Um...about that lunch date-"

"Actually, it might be best if we re-schedule that for another day," suggested Shingo a bit hesitantly. "In fact, let's discuss that a different time, alright? The great Shingo Sawatari just remembered that he has to do something! Bye!"

He turned around and left with his friends trailing behind him, leaving a confused Mitsumi behind. 'The hell was that all about?' she thought, clutching the locket in her bandaged palms. 'Well, whatever the case is, I kinda like his gift this time. It feels...nice. Despite Shingo still being annoying, maybe...maybe he isn't so bad after all.'

In truth, the reason why Shingo wanted to avoid talking any further about the lunch date was because he felt guilty. Technically, the whole bullying issue started because of him. All because he wanted a creative way for Mitsumi to fall in love with him. Not only did that method fail, but it was the kickstart to her bullying days. Hopefully, with Asuka and her friends' punishment and her friends protecting her even more, Mitsumi's bullying days may slowly come to an end.

Even so, that doesn't excuse the fact that Shingo caused the whole mayhem in the first place. He still has a major crush on Mitsumi, even if she doesn't at the moment, but he feared that if he confessed to her the reason why she was bullied in the first place, then he'll lose any chance of actually being with her. Worst, she may even cut ties with him.

Which is why he'll keep the secret buried deep in his heart and try to continue winning Mitsumi's heart.


So, this chapter's ending was bittersweet because of Shingo's inner thoughts and the fact that Mitsumi's bullying troubles are done for the time being. Despite this being the second chapter, I thought to add this whole bullying issue to Mitsumi's character so that everyone could understand more about her as well as her true nature, which you all witnessed to the moment she lost her locket.

There's much more to Mitsumi's character and her inner self as the chapters come and go. Like the fact that she's not really a weakling but actually a really talented duelist. We'll get more into that some other time though.

Read and review!~