okay, so i'm going to be honest; it's been a while since i've done any kind of fan fiction, let alone a yu-gi-oh one, so you're going to have to bear with me. that being said, i would appreciate and any all feedback you have for me, so please please please review. ( : there also might be a few typos, so i apologize for those in advance. after hours of staring at the computer screen, sometimes i just kind of miss them.

disclaimer: i own neither yu-gi-oh nor any of the characters.

CHAPTER ONE: STEP ONE: ADMITTANCE

"Aw, man. Again?"

Joseph Wheeler looked down at the test sitting in the center of his desk, his grade—a big, fat F—circled obnoxiously in red marker several times, as if to expound on his failure. He didn't understand it; he had studied so hard for the test the night before, and he had been sure that he had known everything, but here he was, failing again. It just didn't make any sense. He propped his chin on his hand, miserably staring down at the test, ignoring the cheerful chatter of Yugi and Tea behind him; clearly they hadn't failed. Even Tristan had somehow managed to scrape an acceptable grade.

"I'm a failure," Joey muttered to himself dejectedly, flipping his test over so the glaring F wouldn't keep mocking him. He slouched back in his chair, sinking down so that his neck rested on the back instead of the small of his back, like usual. The teacher pretended not to notice him, something that was becoming more and more frequent with each of his repeated failures in the class. Finally, however, someone acknowledged his mood.

"Something wrong, Joey?" Yugi asked, pausing his conversation with Tea to look over at his best friend.

Joey waved a hand, tempted to play the part of the macho man and shrug it off. "Ah, it's nothin'," he said airily.

Yugi wasn't fooled. "Joey, we've offered to help you before," he said delicately, keeping Joey's explosive temper in mind.

"Yeah, and you did!" Joey cried, sitting up straight and staring beseechingly at his friend. "You all studied with me the week coming up to this test, and I still failed! I don't get it!" He brought his fist down on top of his desk, causing his paper to flutter to the edge. "Maybe I'm just stupid."

"You're not stupid, Joey!" Tea said, sounding horrified. Secretly, Joey hoped she didn't continue; he really wasn't in the mood for one of her inspirational speeches right now. Thankfully, Yugi, sensing the danger, stepped in.

"Maybe you could get a tutor, Joey," he offered helpfully.

"But I had you guys help me, and that didn't work! What good will a tutor do?"

"Hey, that tutor that I got for History really helped me," Tristan offered.

Joey grunted, unconvinced. "I dunno, Yug…" He fidgeted uncomfortably; the thought of admitting that he needed a tutor was almost too much for his pride to bear.

"Look, Joey, we can try and help you study, but there are just certain things we aren't good at. The tutors here are good at that sort of thing; that's why they're in the tutoring program," Yugi said gently, trying to coax Joey into it.

Miserably, Joey stared down at the back of his test. There were red markings on almost all of the questions. As much as he joked about it, he really didn't like failing, which prompted his dangerously upset moods, like the one he was suffering from now. But going to get a tutor would be like admitting defeat; he hadn't wanted to let the grades beat him. He had been able to do so much on his own, and he didn't like the idea of having to rely on people. He'd had to rely on Yugi a lot in the beginning when he'd started playing Duel Monsters, and now he could do it all on his own. He had hoped studying would be the same.

He flipped the paper over, looking again at his grade—which was still a big, fat F—and sighed, knowing he was letting them talk him into something he really didn't feel like doing. Tea was already going off about how getting a tutor might be good for him, and Tristan—when he could get a word in edgewise—was also supporting the idea, repeating in several different ways that getting a tutor had helped him. Still, just because it had helped Tristan didn't mean it would help him. Joey was uncomfortable with having to go to someone he didn't know for help. But Yugi was right—there were just some things they couldn't help him with.

He glanced up at the clock. School was almost over, and the teacher was showing no inclination of teaching anything else today. Joey wondered why she did that—why she purposely gave tests back at the end of the week. He sometimes had the suspicion that it was because she wanted him to have a lousy weekend. While he knew that that was stupid, it was the only thing he could come up with. She'd had it in for him from day one, and Joey knew that it probably had something to do with his affinity for making paper airplanes out of the homework and sailing them around the room. But really, how could she expect him to pay attention that long?

"We'll go with you, Joey," Yugi offered helpfully, and that sealed the deal. Joey's shoulders slumped, a clear sign of defeat, and he sighed, a little irritably. "All right, all right! I'll do it! I'll go get a tutor."

It seems like, once you're dreading something, it comes up that much faster. It seemed that way to Joey, anyway, because time seemed to be moving much quicker now that he had resigned himself to do something he didn't want to do. The clock seemed to be moving at warp speed, and even the chattering in the background seemed to have picked up. Joey chewed on his thumbnail nervously, wanting the school day to go slower for once. He really didn't want to have to walk down to the tutoring rooms. It would be like going to his hanging.

All too soon, the bell was ringing to signify the end of the school day—and the week—and it was like a stampede to get out of the classroom. Joey, for once, moved much slower than usual, taking his time in putting his horrible test into his bag and standing up from his desk with agonizingly slow movements. He could almost hear Tristan's eyes rolling in their sockets as he over dramatized. Finally, when he knew he could stall no longer, he looked over at Yugi, who was looking up at him encouragingly, and sighed in defeat.

He gestured in front of him. "Lead the way, Yug," he muttered.

"Hey, man, look on the bright side," Tristan said as they trooped into the hall. He clapped Joey on the shoulder and winked. "You could get a hot tutor."

Joey smirked, lewd images of sexy librarians dancing through his mind. The thought kept him going until he got to the door of the classroom where the after-school tutors sat, each at their own table. All lewd thoughts, however, were banished from his mind the second he looked into the room. It seemed all of the tutors here were guys. He mentally cursed Tristan for getting his hopes up. Especially since it seemed the only open table—aside from the one that was totally empty—was occupied by Ryou Bakura.

Joey had nothing against Bakura, really, but every time he saw him he couldn't get the image of that freaky spirit from the Millennium Ring out of his head. The last thing Joey wanted—or needed—was another trip to the Shadow Realm. He would much prefer to fail all of his classes than end up in that weirdo place again. He almost turned around and walked out when Bakura spotted them and got up and walked over.

"Hello, you guys," he said pleasantly, smiling softly; Joey sincerely hoped that the real Bakura was in control and this wasn't creepy Bakura playing a game with them. "What brings you here?"

"Eh…" Joey scratched the back of his head, trying to make it apparent without having to actually admit it out loud. Somehow, he felt like admitting it out loud would be a sentence of death, even though the only other people in the room were the other tutors and their tutorees.

"Joey was hoping to get a tutor," Yugi piped up, jumping in when it was clear Joey wasn't going to say anything.

"Oh!" Bakura's face was mildly surprised, but he quickly masked the emotion and merely smiled again at Joey. "What do you need help in?"

"Everything," Joey muttered almost inaudibly. Thankfully, Ryou didn't seem to need him to repeat himself.

"I see. Well, I don't know if we have anyone who has quite that much time to spare…" He cast a glance back over his shoulder, where a guy in their year was sitting himself down at Bakura's table. He waved to indicate that he would be right over before turning back to Joey.

"Well, that's too bad. Guess I'm out of luck," Joey said quickly, making to turn around and head out the door.

Unfortunately, Lady Luck wasn't on his side today, because at that moment, another person—this time a girl—wearing their uniform walked into the room and sat herself down at the empty table. Bakura's eyes alighted on her, and he smiled.

"Ah! Never mind! Let me just talk to Hikari for a moment. I don't think she has anyone for today, so she could at least look things over with you today before we can get you situated with a proper tutor."

"Great…" Joey muttered to himself as Bakura meandered over to talk to the girl. Annoyed, he looked over at his three friends, who were grinning sheepishly at him. "Thought I was gonna get out of it for a minute, there."

"Well, that wouldn't have done you any good!" Tea admonished, and Joey snorted. "Really, Joey, at least give it a try."

Joey was silently hoping that the girl would have better things to do than sit with him this afternoon—especially on a Friday—but it seemed that that was asking too much. Bakura was headed back over, still talking to the girl, who had gotten up from the table and was walking beside him, listening to what he was saying and nodding occasionally.

"You're in luck—Hikari's tutoree just cancelled on her earlier this week, so she's free to take you on, Joey," Bakura told him, clearly delighted; Joey could not share in his enthusiasm.

But what could he do now? He couldn't just say no and walk out, especially not with Yugi and Tea giving him The Look. Tristan, meanwhile, was sizing the girl—Hikari—up, and Joey turned his attention back to Bakura and his new tutor, who was looking at him now, doing her best to look friendly. Joey knew he looked anything but friendly, so he attempted to arrange his expression into something at least a little polite.

"I hear you need some help," she said politely, and Joey grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, a little…" He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, even though no one was listening to the conversation but the people standing around him.

"Okay. Is there anything you want me to help you with real quick today?"

Joey stared at her, at her open expression, and he took her in for the first time, trying to see her as a normal human being rather than a robotic tutor. She was kind of pretty, he thought in an absent, offhand kind of way. Her hair was a deep blue-black sort of color, a little longer than Tea's, he guessed. It was hard to tell: it was pulled back in a messy bun. Her eyes were a light green color, almost hidden behind the thick frames of her black rectangular glasses. If he hadn't walked into this room, he probably honestly wouldn't have ever looked twice at her.

Seeing Joey was still not going to be very helpful, Yugi stepped in again. "We got a test back today," he said lightly, and Joey shot him a glare.

"That's right," Tea piped up, nodding encouragingly. "A math test."

"Great!" Hikari said, clearly pleased by this information. She turned to look at Joey. "I could look it over with you, and then you'll be free to go, since I'm sure you have better things to do with your Friday than sit around school all afternoon. I know I do, anyway," she added with a laugh.

Joey blinked, startled by this information. He hadn't expected a tutor to have a life. He had thought that she would just go home and study or something. The fact that she had better things to do on her Friday nights than study shocked him. In his moment of shock-induced silence, Tristan pushed himself in front of Joey.

"I'm Tristan," he announced, while Hikari stared up at him, obviously a little confused and startled.

"Okay," she said slowly. When he didn't say anything else, she asked carefully, "Do you need tutoring, too?"

"Huh? Who, me? Oh, heck no," Tristan said, waving a hand and snorting. "I just wanted to, you know, introduce myself. And let you know Joey can be kind of a handful." He added the last sentence in a loud, conspiratorial whisper.

"I'm right here," Joey commented blandly, his eyes narrowing.

"We'll wait for you at the game shop, Joey!" Yugi said quickly. "Come on, Tristan. We won't start the movie without you, Joey," he added as the three of them left.

"See ya…" Joey muttered, watching them go. He shifted his bag uncomfortably on his shoulder when he turned back to Hikari; Bakura had gone back to his own table.

Hikari offered him a knowing smile at his awkwardness. "We can sit over here," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the empty table. "I won't keep you long, I promise," she added over her shoulder as she led the way over. She slid into a chair, and Joey slid in beside her, dropping his bag on the floor. "So let's see that test."

Joey made a face. "Eh, can we not?"

Hikari raised her eyebrows patiently. "Okay, I get it. You're afraid to admit that you need a tutor. But the first step, Joey, is admitting that you have a problem."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I thought that was when you were a drunk or somethin'."

"Yeah, well, in this case your problem is bad grades instead of alcoholism. So, come on, say it: My name is Joey Wheeler and I need to be tutored." When Joey remained silent, she prompted, "Go on. Say it."

He sighed. "My name is Joey Wheeler and I need to be tutored," he deadpanned, even though he found it a little amusing; at least she wasn't a total drag.

"Good. Now let's see that test."

Grimacing, Joey took a long time opening his bag to get the test out again. Hikari waited patiently, making patterns on the table with her finger while Joey acted like he was five. Finally, he slid the test onto the table facedown and pushed it over in her direction, turning a little red. He was embarrassed to have some girl he didn't know looking at his failing grade. With practiced fingers, Hikari turned the paper over and scanned his grade; her expression didn't change a bit, and Joey was grateful, since he was sure she was passing with flying colors.

"Okay, so math isn't your strong suit," she said lightly. She leaned over to get a pencil and some paper out of her bag. "No big deal."

"Looks like your Friday night's shot," Joey muttered gloomily. He expected going over this test would take forever, and the gang would have to start watching the movie without him. He also felt a little bad knowing that Hikari had plans, too. But to his surprise, Hikari snorted and waved her hand dismissively.

"Nonsense. We'll be out of here in no time."

"Are you blind, woman?!" he asked, his eyes widening. "Did you think that was an 'A' or somethin'?"

Hikari laughed, much to Joey's surprise—and dismay; she seemed much calmer about this than he was. "No, I see that you failed; but it's no big deal. Nothing we can't fix. Come on. This one—why did you get it wrong?"

Joey eyed her for a moment before turning his head to look at the problem she was pointing at. He screwed up his face, confused. "I just…I don't get it. Numbers and letters together; it makes my head hurt. I mean, I thought letters were supposed to stay in words."

Hikari laughed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But look—this one's not too hard. Just pretend the letters aren't there for a second." She covered them with her finger; Joey remained confused. "Okay, look at it this way," she said, keeping her finger over the letters. "You're in the middle of a duel, and you come up with the card Gift of the Mystical Elf. You play it and—"

"Wait, hold on—you play Duel Monsters?" Joey interrupted, surprised.

"Not very well, but yeah," Hikari replied patiently. "Now focus. You play it, and there are five monster cards on the field. How do you figure out how many Life Points you get?"

"I multiply three hundred by five," Joey replied, as if she were stupid. "And I get fifteen hundred Life Points."

"Exactly!" Hikari replied, pleased that he understood. She removed her finger off the variables. "Now, when you multiply x by itself, you get what?"

"Eh…" Joey looked from the paper to her face beseechingly, confused.

"Okay. When you multiply two by itself, you get what?"

"Four."

"Good. What is it called when you times a number by itself?"

Joey stared blankly for several moments, hoping to read the answer on her expression. Hikari's face, however, remained unreadable, and he racked his brains, his eyebrows drawn together. He didn't understand quite what she meant. "Can I have a clue?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure. It starts with an 's' and it's also a shape."

Joe muttered "starts with an 's" and "a shape" to himself under his breath, thinking hard. Finally, when he thought he had it, his expression relaxed, and he looked up at her, wide-eyed. "A square?"

"Yes!" Hikari said, nodding. "So when you multiply x by itself, you get…?"

"…You get x squared?" Joey asked cautiously, and he beamed when Hikari nodded. "So…so that means I have…" He thought back to the metaphor Hikari had used earlier—the dueling scenario. "I have fifteen hundred x squared?"

"Yes! Okay, let's try this one now. It's a little harder…"

Joey was surprised that it took only a little over an hour and a half to get through the whole test. But Hikari was good at coming up with hypothetical situations involving Duel Monsters to help him out, and he found he wasn't as confused as before. He was in a better mood about this whole tutoring thing when he packed his test away in his bag again. Hikari stood up with him, returning her pencil and paper to her bag as well and hitching it up over her shoulder. They headed for the door together.

"You need me to walk you home?" Joey offered as they reached the doors to the outside. He felt a little weird asking, but she was a girl—he would have felt like a moron if he hadn't at least offered.

She hook her head, pushing her glasses a little farther up her nose as they slid down. "No, I'm fine, thanks. My brother's waiting for me." She gestured to a boy who looked identical to her waiting at the bottom of the steps. "Thanks, though." She paused at the bottom of the steps, next to her brother, and Joey paused, too.

"No, thank you. Really. I thought I was gonna flunk the whole year," he admitted, laughing.

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you on Monday. And enjoy your movie," she added with a smile as she and her brother began to back away, in the direction of where Joey assumed their house was.

"See ya," he said, lifting four fingers off the strap of his bag to wave before turning and heading for the game shop.