I'm Not Afraid of the Dark (Yuto x Reader)

*time skippy thing into dream/memory*

You have just been walked home by one of the lab assistants after another tiring day of testing. It hadn't been going on too long – the chip thingy the scientists keep talking was only installed two days ago and was yet to have significant success – but you were already sick of it. And one of the worst part was that you were kept in ignorance. You may be young, but you still crave some sort of control over your life, even if the adults like to make that dream rather difficult.

You also have no idea why you were chosen. No one told you, and you didn't think there was anything particularly special about you either. You know you're good at Duel Monsters, and that your intelligence is above average, but there are lots of other smart people at Duel Academy too, right? So why you?

You thank the lady for escorting you, though what you really want to do is scream to be left alone. Just one small piece of six-year-old normality; is that too much to ask?

Though truth be told, you weren't like the other kids your age. Your increased intelligence and maturity put you well above them in years mentally, even if not physically. Still, you had no say in your life.

When you open the door to your family's modest living quarters, [idk if they have separate actual houses in Duel Academy or not...] your mother greets you with a curt nod before you make your way to the cramped room your parents claim is your own. The only personalisation to the blank space is a book placed neatly on the bedside table, and the small (favourite animal) figurine beside it. Even the bedsheets are a bland grey.

Your father has been away for a few days on business. You didn't know whether he had been told about the chip, but if he hadn't, he won't be very happy when he finds out.

He was the only one of your parents, and to be honest, the only person in the whole world who you felt actually cared about you. Your mother was always so busy with her 'work', which was at the moment running tests on you and analysing the results. She didn't care if you got hurt in the process.

You pick up the novel, and lie back on your bed, squeezing in a few chapters before your mum calls you for dinner.

The meal is the same as it always is when your dad is away. Your mother spends the entire time swapping between her plate and her laptop without looking at you once. She's working on some sort of report, not that you could care less.

But afterwards, she hands her plates and cutlery to you to wash up, and stalks back to the confines of her study, without uttering a single word of thanks.

You clean up in silence and put yourself to bed. [Sorry that this part sucks and is boring, but I don't have that many ideas for flashbacks. Also, sorry that you seem a lot older than you are, but you are smart and mature for your age.]

*time skip to a few hours later*

You awaken to the sound of adults yelling at each other. It takes you a moment to realise that they are your parents, and another to process that that means your dad must be home.

Fighting has been getting increasingly common between them, though you find yourself not minding it. For one, it's the only time your mum shows any sign of emotion any more, and two, the only time your dad seems to care about what she says and does. They seem so distanced lately, and you can't help but put the blame on yourself. It was you they mainly fought about after all.

The walls of the residence are thin, and their rather . . . heated conversation travels easily to your ears.

"Do you not care at all about our daughter, (y/m/n – your mum's name)?! She has a right to choose whether you get to cut open her head or not, but you go ahead and do it anyway!"