Chapter One

My name is Leah Darkling. I was 16 when all this went on, but I want to tell you before this, how it started.

At this time I was about 6. I didn't have a mother or father, so I lived on the streets alone. I always asked for food and never stole... well that's not entirely true... but I used to not steal. I had asked people for food and sometimes they would give it to me, other times they would knock me away. Sometime even hit me shouting in my face yelling stay away from them.

I don't know how I survived for 6 years by myself. But I must have did something to keep myself alive.

One day I needed food but I didn't see anyone around. Not one person in sight. I searched around the area where people usually were selling and trading. I frowned and started heading to a home. I knocked on the door, someone slowly started opening the door, as soon as they saw me they gasped. I was confused why. But they hissed under their breath, "Get inside!"

I walked in confused. I didn't know why they told me that but I didn't argue. They checked me out and asked who I was. I rubbed my head, I didn't know my last name but I knew my first. "All I know is my first name, and it's Leah," I held out my hand for him to shake it but he frowned.

"Where are your parents?"

I looked down sadly and mumble to almost a whisper that he had to strain his ears to hear, "I-I don't have any..."

He frowned but then said, "So you're an orphan?" "I guess, I just wonder the streets hoping someone will take me in." I looked up at him and he smiled.

"Well, Leah, I'll take you in. But only if you're ok with it."

My eyes widened. I squealed loudly, "You will!"

He smiled and said, "Yes, but first you can take my last name, Darkling. You will be Leah Darkling."

I hugged my new father. "Thanks, dad." He smiled, "Let's go see your new room." He led me upstairs

I had lived with him for a few years, I was now 10 years old. He had medium length hair that came down to his shoulders, his hair was black with a little bit of red at the tips, he also had a few yellow bangs that came to the sides of his face, he also had three yellow bangs spike up like lightning bolts. At one point it looked as if his hair had been spiked up but I didn't ask. His eyes were a ruby red and ten like an Egyptian's , I guessed that's where he was rather from or his ancestors were from. His name was Atem but I always called him 'dad'.

I loved him like he was my real father, but I knew he wasn't. He has a son who looks like him and has his hair but without the three bangs that jolted up, his son had purple eyes that could steal you in them and never let you go, he had very pale skin, his name was Yugi Muto/Darkling (His parents never got married so he had to use his mother's and father's last name, usually his mothers). Me on the other hand, I had fair skin that was between the two, I had blue crystals, like dark blue sapphires. I also had long blond hair, that I had later cut short when I was 12, but I had blue -like my eye color- edge my hair and I wore leather almost all the time, and it would usually be black. He would come over on the week days because his father lived closer to our school.

Yugi and I got bullied all the time, but I would usually fight back so I got the worst beating. Yugi always tried to stop me from fighting back to protect me but I never listened. And the one day I got the worst beating is where it all began.

Me and Yugi had just got to Domino Elementary School. We walked there just like every other morning. I had bandages from my last fight on still. Yugi only had a few band aids on his face, I hated to see him like that, sad, depressed, and hurt. He was a little smaller then me by an inch. We were both small children. But he was smaller.

He happy excided eyes had been dull. He knew something bad was going to happen. Plus he was sore all over, I could tell by the way he walked, he winced in pain in every step he took. I sighed. We were going to get our morning beating soon, or at least that's what we thought. We were wrong.

When we got to the school the bullies were nowhere to be found. We searched a bit. But still no one.

Yugi's expression lightened up. "They must not be here today!" Yugi piped up. I smiled, 'Maybe there will not be a beating today? Oh please Ra let us be right!'

We had a normal day but there were no bullies. We had our classes... Still no bullies.

Everything was going well and then, it happened. School ended and we walked outside the school with our friends, all of us laughing. Our friend Joey, he had messy blond hair and brown eyes, had told us a story of what happened on a show he had saw the night before.

Our friends left and we began to walk home. Then one of the bullies, walked out in front of us from an ally. that was beside us. He grabbed us by the collar and said with a snicker, "You guys missed your early morning beating... Now it's time for your afternoon special beating." He took us down the alley to an old abandon warehouse for shipping goods.

We were pulled in. Yugi hugged me while shaking rapidly. He was scared. 'Don't worry Yugi, I will protect you. Even at the cost of my life.' I held his hand while the lights slowly buzzed on. For two small 4th graders the place was huge.

The group of bullies came out. They were teens and other 4th graders.

We stood there unsure what to do. Then their leader came out. A high schooler that was taller than an average one. He walked right up to us.

"Well well well, look who missed their early morning beating. Surround them!"

END OF CHAPTER

~Leah~