I'm back with an updated story! I fixed several of my errors and added and/or subtracted a few things. Still the same story!

Disclaimer: Don't own Yugioh

Chapter 1

Assigned Partners

The classroom was noisy as students sat chatting about the field trip they were going to attend within an hour. The science class of Domino High was going on a two-week nature hike and would be staying at a resort as tents had been ruled out by the school board. The hallway walls were lined with bags that were filled with possessions the students wanted to take on their vacation like field trip. Many of the bags looked over stuffed as the zippers barely made connection with one another. Seven kids stood in the hallway talking excitedly as they placed their bags alongside the rest.

"I'm so glad you advanced in science Serenity," said a shaggy blonde haired boy his crystal blue eyes sparkling as he smiled. Reaching down he adjusted his blue t-shirt and white jacket that had slid up his back. Shoving his hands into his black jeans he glanced down at his black tennis shoes which had come untied. He was half tempted to just yank the laces out from frustration.

"I'm happy too Joey. Mom always said that science and math were my strong points," Serenity responded with a smile as she set down her pink bag. Having been finally dubbed a "freshman" she was now only two grades behind her older sibling and his friends in some aspects. Standing back up she tucked a lock of her auburn hair back behind her right ear. Serenity looked at her outfit with her chocolate brown eyes. "Do you think my outfit will be fine for the first day of hiking?"

"It looks great Serenity! It will be perfect for the hike. Plus I don't think they'll be having us hike when we get there. They'll be too busy trying to get us all settled into our rooms." A girl with short brown hair stated looking over at Serenity's red shirt, blue jeans, black hiking boots, and the black zip-up hoodie tied around her waist.

"Thanks Tea," the auburn haired girl replied a hint of pink visible on her cheeks.

"We better get in the classroom. The teachers are assigning hiking buddies." Tea said as she set down her black book bag as her blue eyes looked over at everyone else. Standing up she smoothed out the wrinkles in the black T-Shirt she was wearing taking extra care of the word dancer that was written in blue. After adjusting her blue jeans over her white tennis shoes she led the way in.

"Serenity would you do me the honors of being my partner on this trip?" a boy with raven colored hair, which was pulled into a high ponytail, asked as he smiled at her holding her left hand within his own two hands. Serenity's face turned a light shade of pink as she glanced to her right at the older boy. He was wearing the same outfit that he had worn to Battle City. Serenity began to question if that was the only outfit he owned or if he even did laundry.

"Uhm, well we'll find out soon Duke. We're being assigned to partners not picking." Serenity whispered before an arm came around her shoulders and she turned to face Duke's rival Tristan.

"No, she'll be my hiking buddy," Tristan stated with sheer confidence his brown eyes locking with Duke's as he ran his other hand through his spiked brown hair. He had decided to wear a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of insanely bright green shoes for the first day of the trip. Serenity ducked out of the hold Tristan had on her unnoticed as the two males began to glare at each other. She shook her head as she followed the other four into the classroom. Apparently the word 'assigned' was not in their dictionary.

"I'm glad we don't have to wear our uniforms," stated a boy with spiky tri-colored hair, which was purple at the ends, black in the middle, and blond in the front. He was rather short the tip of his hair just breaking even with Serenity's shoulders. His violet eyes held such a warm look that Serenity wondered if Yugi was made of pure sugar and not human at all. Yugi wore a black tank top, black pants, a pair of black tennis shoes, and a small golden pyramid on a chain with a weird shaped eye design on one of the sides.

"I too am happy about that, Yugi. It would be quite uncomfortable," piped in the final boy in the group as he leaned against his desk. His hair was white as snow and his eyes reminded Serenity of chocolate brownies. She often gazed at his hair wondering how he came to posses such an amazing color. Serenity was caught off guard at what he was wearing. Today, Ryou had decided to wear a red t-shirt with a black Chinese dragon that coiled around the waist and its head coming up and over his right shoulder the mouth open revealing several sharp fangs, blue jeans adorned his legs, and black boots protected his feet. In his left hand draped over his shoulder was a red sweatshirt with a black stripe running down the sleeves.

"Hey Ryou? What made you change your mind about coming?" Yugi asked the white haired boy.

Ryou smiled down at his friend as he replied, "Dad said it wouldn't hurt me to do this assignment and bring my grade up. Plus ever since a little kitchen fiasco he won't allow me in the kitchen unsupervised, that and he wants the house to himself for once."

A chuckle was shared by the older ones as they recalled this event but Serenity looked at them slightly confused and left out. What had happened that was so funny?

"Students! Please take a seat," exclaimed the teacher as he walked in his brown boots making a soft thud as they found their way to his desk. "We will be boarding the bus shortly but we need to pair you into groups of two or three. Now when we call your name and your partner's name, please grab your things and board the bus. First pair is Yugi Moto and Tea Gardener."

Yugi and Tea stood up from their seats. Tea winked at Serenity before following Yugi out the classroom door. The younger one gave a small smile. She knew Tea had been waiting for this chance to get some alone time with Yugi. As she remembered Tea babbling to her about how much she liked the small teen and worried he wouldn't return her feelings. Serenity tried at that time to calm the girl's hysteria by stating that since Yugi was indeed a guy he could be just scared to come out with it. "I mean, guys don't want their other male friends to know they like someone they'd never hear the end of it!" She remembered stating trying to keep Tea from pulling her hair out.

"The next group is Joey Wheeler, Duke Devlin, and Tristan Taylor."

The three boys groaned as they got up from their seats. Grumbling could be heard from each of them about something different. A grateful sigh came out from the girl's lips as she thanked whatever higher being was looking over her. At least the two couldn't brag to the other about how they got her as their partner.

"Serenity Wheeler and Ryou Bakura."

Serenity snapped out of her thoughts in time to smile at Ryou who smiled back. In all honesty she felt sad for the boy because the others seemed to slightly distance themselves from him. After Battle City, she thought, it was only natural as he did try to hurt Yugi. Only, it wasn't him. Was it? Ryou stood up sliding his chair back into place before turning to Serenity. Serenity stood as well and after replacing her chair followed the white haired male out into the hallway.

Ryou walked over to his black book bag and slung it over his shoulders Serenity following suit with her own pink bag. Her eye twitched slightly remembering how her mother had picked it out for her.

"Serenity, are you surprised that you didn't get matched up with your older brother?" Ryou asked innocently as he picked up his dark blue duffle bag. The question surprised the auburn nearly causing her to lose grip on her matching pink duffle bag.

"Not really. If anything, I'm sort of, well, relieved." Serenity replied truthfully as they started towards the doors outside.

"Really now. Why is that?" Ryou asked his face slightly contorted in confusion. It seemed like every day she was never truly away from her brother's side. The two were nearly attached at the hip or so it seemed.

Serenity gave a sigh as she pushed the glass doors open to the outside world. Was it really that hard to figure out why she was relieved or could no one see the look in her eyes? Could they not hear the distance in her voice at times when she was with Joey and his friends?

"It's a complicated reason and I don't feel like sharing at this time if you don't mind." Serenity answered with a warm smile. She was being perfectly honest. They were approaching the bus and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt her brother's feelings if he overheard her.

Ryou nodded a dark gleam shimmering in the corner of his eyes going unnoticed by the girl next to him. The truth would reveal itself in due time but he already had a suspicion about her answer. A little observance was all it took to get what he wanted. Stepping up to the bus Ryou turned to the girl behind him who was chewing on her bottom lip.

"You don't mind sitting in the back of the bus do you? I get a little queasy when I sit in the front," Ryou lied as he watched the girl come close to making her lip bleed.

"Not at all," Serenity said as she watched Ryou hand the bus driver his duffle to be stored in the baggage compartments. Serenity passed off her larger bag as well happy to be rid of the object for a brief time. Ryou stepped onto the bus and made his way towards the back passing the other five with a smile. Serenity gave them a small wave before slowly passing rows of empty cloth covered coach bus seats.

Placing their belongings on the rack the male teen allowed the girl to take the window seat. Serenity immediately turned her head to look out the window. She was glad that the weather was smiling on them. The sun was shining brightly and no cloud was in sight within the sapphire sky. A fresh spring breeze blew through the leaves which required nothing but a light jacket to ward off the slight chill.

Fifteen minutes rolled by before the rest of the class was on the bus. Serenity and the others had taken that time to pull down their books or MP3 players before the bus became crowded. Soon, three teachers came onto the bus.

"Students," one of the teachers yelled over all the noise. Silence suffocated the bus as students quickly put their things on the racks and sat down. "Now when we get there you will be handed a key to your rooms. Girls will be paired with girls and guys with guys. Two people to a room so if you so choose you may pick who your roommate will be upon arrival at the resort. If you do not pick someone then anyone without a roommate will be assigned to you.

"When we get started on the hike you must only bring things that will fit in your book bags. Once in your rooms pack your backpacks with the essentials for the hikes. Nothing more otherwise you will be weighed down. Everything else can be left safely in the room." The first teacher sat down as his position was replaced by a second teacher.

"Now the rules on this hike are to stay with your partner!" Everyone in the bus jumped at how loud he had gotten, including the bus driver and the other two teachers. "You are to stick to the trails there. If you happened to get separated from the group there are trails that are marked with bright red arrows that will lead you back to the path you need to be on. There is to be no inappropriate behavior. That can be saved for after the hike. We don't need any 'incidents' or this trip and all future trips, no matter where they are, will be canceled. Do not litter! If you are caught littering you will be sent home. The resort we are going to was very kind to let us go hiking there." The teacher sat down as the last teacher stepped forward.

"Now the drive is a few hours long. We will be stopping for lunch at noon after that there will be only one break for bathrooms. There is a bathroom at the back of the bus if you need to use it. That is all." The teacher sat down. With that all said and done the driver started the bus and put it in drive. As soon as the wheels began to move all the students let out a loud WHOOP! The long drive had begun.

Ryou pulled out his iPod from his pocket and set it next to him. He untangled the cord of the headphones before setting them next to the device. Ryou reached in the bag again pulling out a black book and then closed the bag up. He stood up and placed the bag back on the rack.

An hour later Serenity was feeling a little tired. She had set down her book after she felt she couldn't read anymore. As she looked out the window she thought about what the hike would be like. She was glad they had finally gotten away from the speed bumps that were on the road leading to the school. The bouncing had been irritating to the point where her left eye was beginning to twitch a little. When she heard shifting next to her she glanced at Ryou.

Ryou had been busy trying to pull off the sweatshirt he had been wearing but managed to get tangled up in it in the process. An auburn colored eyebrow rose in a curious manner as a head of white hair tried to remove itself from the clothing. Muttered curses were heard along with threats towards the 'sweatshirt from hell and cursed to make a person look like a fool.'

"Dare I ask how that managed to happen?" Serenity giggled as Ryou growled in frustration. A slightly muffled sigh was heard from within the sweatshirt before an answer was given.

"The zipper is broken so I couldn't take it off the usual way. Now it's stuck and I can't move."

"You want some help?"

"No."

"Suit yourself." Serenity stated with a shrug as she watched Ryou thrash around again. His arm suddenly hit him and a soft curse let her know that it had connected with his face. Another sigh was heard and the clothing blob turned to 'look' at her.

"Okay I give, help, please." Ryou sounded annoyed as his arms were situated in the weirdest angles. Serenity bit back a giggle as she reached forward. Taking the zipper in her hand she gave it a gentle tug. It moved but very little. Pulling down on the bottom of the sweatshirt she gave it another small tug. The zipper began to slowly but surely move.

"Well there was your problem," Serenity began after a few more tugs and unzipping the sweatshirt the rest of the way. "The zipper caught on part of the sweatshirt!"

"You have got to be kidding. That was the whole reason behind that fiasco?" Ryou questioned while removing his arms from the sleeves. His hair look disheveled and his shirt had moved up his torso showing off part of his lower stomach. Serenity quickly turned her gaze away from the bare skin. "Thanks."

"You're welcome Ryou." Serenity said with a smile before turning back to the window. She placed the headphones to her Zune in her ears and let her eyes close. Ryou stood up and pulled out a book from his bag to pass the next two hours before lunch. Returning his headphones to his ears he scrolled through several songs before settling down on one before turning his attention to his book.

A half hour later Ryou became aware of a weight on his shoulder he looked down. Serenity was sleeping peacefully his shoulder giving her a temporary pillow. He sighed and placed his book down careful to not wake her. Seeing her asleep reminded him just how tired he was from packing all night.

"Well, sweet dreams Serenity," said a deep voice as brown eyes glinted with something dark and mysterious. Seeing no other option for a way to rest his head, that wouldn't result in his arm sliding off the arm rest, Ryou let his head rest upon Serenity's. Soon he too drifted off but unlike the girl next to him his sleep was void of dreams.

"So Yug what do you think we're gonna see on this hike?" Joey said propping his feet on the back of Yugi's headrest considering his friend's hair didn't even reach it.

Yugi shoved his friend's feet off the chair not wanting anything from the bottom of the shoes to fall on his head. "Don't know Joey. I'm sure we'll see a lot. It's a resort the views will be great."

"Yea we can fill up our albums with pictures of us at the park!" Tea said. The group of friends had recently started an album with pictures so they could always look back at memories. It was filling up quickly and everyday there were more pictures to be put in.

Joey held his stomach. "Man I'm hungry. When's lunch?"

Tea looked at her watch. "Lunch is in an hour and a half."

"I can't wait that long." Joey groaned.

"Hey Joey we could play a mock duel until we get there." Yugi said holding up his deck. This seemed to cheer Joey up as he removed his own from the deck pouch on his belt.

"Alright Yug I'll duel ya. I gotta feeling I'm gonna win this time." Five duels later Joey was groaning again. "How do you always win Yug?"

"Never mind that Joey, we're stopping for lunch." Tea said pointing to the fast food restaurant the bus was pulling up to.

"Alright lunch!" Joey cheered. This woke Tristan and Duke up both of whom had fallen asleep shortly after the bus had started moving. Both of them had argued with each other into exhaustion and the people around them were grateful when they had finally shut up.

"Food!" They cried happily.

When the bus stopped a teacher stood up. "Students, you are to get in there order you food and bring it back onto the bus. You will be eating on the bus so we can make good traveling time. Go to the bathroom if you need to but do not mess around. You may go now."

Students stood up and filed out of the bus hurrying into the building. Yugi looked back to see Ryou and Serenity still asleep.

"I'll go wake them up." Yugi said after all the kids passed his seat.

"Alright we'll order for you." Tea said following Joey, Tristan, and Duke out of the bus.

Yugi headed towards the back seats. When he got there he tapped Ryou lightly. Ryou batted his hand away. "Um Ryou we stopped for lunch."

Ryou opened one eye, which glared at Yugi for a split second. "Alright, let her sleep." He said carefully laying Serenity down on the chair after moving the arm rest that separated the two seats. "I'll buy her lunch.'

"Okay." Yugi said before walking off the bus.

Ryou walked off the bus and entered the restaurant. Kids were milling about waiting for their orders to arrive others were waiting in line for the bathrooms. Tea, Joey, Tristan, Duke, and Yugi were already at the counter. No one was behind them so he jumped the bars to keep people in line and stood behind them.

Tea finished up ordering their lunch and the five friends helped pay for the food. When they walked away Ryou stepped forward. He looked up at the menu wondering what Serenity would like. He looked over at Joey. "Hey Joey, what would Serenity want for lunch?"

"Um… cheese burger, fries, and a chocolate milk shake." Joey responded.

Ryou turned to the lady at the counter. "Two cheese burgers, two fries, and two chocolate milk shakes." The lady rang up the order.

"Ten dollars and ninety-five cents please. Your order number is seventy-five." The older woman stated sounding relieved that he was the last of the huge mass of teens that flooded the place.

Ryou paid the cashier before walking towards the other counter to pick up his food when it arrived. He leaned against the wall there and crossed his arms over his chest waiting slightly impatiently. The restaurant was quickly emptying with kids who had gotten their lunches and relieved themselves.

"Number seventy-four!" A man shouted. Tea walked over and grabbed the three overstuffed bags on the counter. "Number seventy-five!"

Ryou stood up straight and went over to the counter. He grabbed the bag there and walked out. When he got onto the bus he noticed some boys milling around the seat Serenity was in. From what he could tell they were trying to flirt with her and doing a horrible job. He shook his head having enough of their embarrassing acts towards the girl. Stepping forward he sat down in his seat and placed an arm around Serenity's shoulders.

"I bought lunch hun, I got your favorite. I hope you don't mind that I didn't wake you. You looked so peaceful," He said pouring as much sweetness and sugar that he could muster into his words.

"Thank you baby," Serenity responded catching onto Ryou's antics fairly quickly. "You're so sweet."

The five boys that had crowded around the brown eyed girl began to grumble while returning to their seats. Serenity decided to add a little of her own piece of fun by resting her head on the white hair boy's shoulder. The two smirked inwardly at the reaction they had both received.

The bus driver got on the bus and started it up. The traveling began again as Ryou pulled out their lunch. Serenity and he began to munch on their meals happily as they watched the scenery pass by.

Every now and then a darker set of brown eyes would stare at the girl when she wasn't looking. Something about her was putting him off and he couldn't figure out why. 'What is this strange feeling I'm getting from her? There's something about her that I can't place my finger on. What is it?' Thought a dark voice in Ryou's head.

Serenity and Ryou finished up their lunches and put the trash into the empty bag. "So how long do you think it will take until we get there?" Serenity said looking out the window.

Ryou shrugged watching her. "Who knows? I'm sure the hike will be better than the trip getting there."

"It's been a long time since I went hiking." Serenity said with a small yawn.

"I've haven't gone hiking in a while either." Ryou said watching the girl as she struggled to stay awake. He smiled and pulled her down so her head was on his shoulder again. "Sleep Serenity. I'll wake you when we get there."

Serenity nodded and soon drifted off. The dark voice in Ryou's head was thinking again. 'I need to find out what is going on here. Something is stirring in the shadows and I want to know what it is.' A half hour later he was asleep along with half of the other students.