A/N: Whoo, I'm back. Sorry this update took so long. Got distracted with the Royal wedding (come on, it was so touching), Osama Bin Laden's sudden death, flooding and tornado warnings, and... the Kentucky Derby, oh yes. By the way, Happy Mother's Day to your moms! Show them you care! Plus, I had the occasional writer's block; I wasn't sure on how to start this chapter.
browneyes730: You bring interesting things to mind. Interesting indeed. But no worries, Tèa will still continue dancing. There just wasn't any plans to do so on that particular day. (But cool that you're a ballerina. I had a teacher who used to be one!) I totally understood your explaination on surprising you guys. I originally had the idea of just a friendship fic, but I may add some romance. Don't worry; there's no pairing of Kaiba and Serenity. As of Rex's age, technically he is around the same age as the gang but he still could be young considering his birthday is December 29th. Besides, the Internet is tricky with determining actual age. (Come on, when you first saw Yugi, doesn't he look like an elementary schooler in the series?) Tèa's anxiety will be explained briefly in this chapter to at least a view of what's worrying her, but it will be explored in depth in future chapters. ^_^
starlitkoneko: Welcome to the party and I hope you stay along for the ride!
ME: Now that's done, time for the disclaimer... again.
Tonberry: IBD doesn't own Yu-gi-oh or any of its copyrights.
ME: Yep, yep. Only the OCs in this chapter belong to me.
Warning: Strong language used in this chapter. Of course.
Chapter Two: Dangerous Encounters
Yugi stifled a yawn, tapping his pencil impatiently to keep himself awake.
The voice of Mr. Kazuki droned on, relaying information that students were barely paying any attention to. Several students had given up the fight to stay awake, and now opted to sleeping instead. Some were just staring blankly at the board, attempting to take in the words written across it; or, just doing something else entirely. Yugi had given up the task of taking notes as the urge of sleep seemed tempting.
Ugh. Something about History after lunch doesn't seem to mix well.
Yugi's eyes drifted to the clock hanging above the board. He suppressed a groan in realization that class has only been in session for ten minutes. Ten minutes?
Dear god, someone ends this now.
He shifted in his chair to a more comfortable position to bring his mind to focus. In his peripheral, he could see some girls ogling him. They kept giggling to each other while continuously glancing in his direction, hoping to catch his gaze.
He ignored them like before. He's been getting this a lot lately.
"Girls, pay attention," Mr. Kazuki scolded.
They hushed quickly, but continued on quietly when the teacher returned to his lecture. Yugi placed his head in his hand, drowsy eyes to the front. There was a girl in the front row who was diligently scribbling down notes, dutifully alert and on task. Honor student, obviously.
Yugi smiled inwardly as she reminded him of Tèa.
She would have no problem in this situation. Tèa would make sure she had the work, and made certain that the rest of them had it as well. Not that she would let them copy it, but checked to see they attempted it.
"It doesn't help for you to just copy it. There will come a day that you will need to learn for yourself and you won't have someone to do the work for you," she once told them.
Yugi sighed, switching to a new position again.
This strategy to keep moving wasn't working.
Heavy lids were dangerously close to covering amethyst eyes. Tèa. One of these days, he'll take her out somewhere. Just the two of them.
Maybe… after he takes this short nap.
"Whoo, I thought that the bell would never ring," Tristan said, relieved.
Joey narrowed his eyes. "Wat da hell are ya complaining about? You just left art."
The bell had just rung for dismissal to sixth period. Joey and Tristan had class opposite each other and are now walking together towards Math to meet with Yugi and Tèa.
Tristan grunted. "If you must know, not everybody enjoys leaving class with paint all over themselves," he said pointedly, gesturing to his uniform. It had splotches of yellow, green, and red paint on his crisp white shirt. Well, at least it used to be. "It took me three washes to get this stuff out last time." Then he added, "Someone's a little grumpy today. What's up?"
Joey groaned, "Three chapters to read and I have to write a two page critical analysis about it! Not to mention studying for a vocabulary test on Monday. It's ridiculous, stupid English."
Tristan nodded in sympathy. "That sucks, man. Especially since it's the weekend."
"Don't remind me," the blonde whined.
"Hey guys!" a voice called out.
Both males turned and were greeted by Yugi coming behind them.
"Yo, Yugi," both answered in unison.
Yugi slightly frowned at Joey's forlorn look. "Something wrong, Joey?"
Joey gave an overdramatic sigh. "It's terrible, Yugi. School is terrible and life is terrible. Whatever happened to the universal agreement to an easy, breezy senior year?" he cried theatrically, his hands on the sides of his head.
The tri-colored duelist raised a brow, directing a look towards Tristan. Tristan rolled his eyes.
"Hey, prima donna, its homework," Tristan replied. "If you have an issue, ask Tèa to help."
Joey looked over at him. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."
Yugi stifled his laughs while Tristan sweat dropped.
"Let's just get to class before I end up murdering you," Tristan muttered.
"Aw, come on, you wouldn't do that. Ya love me!" Joey teased, earning hysterical laughter from Yugi.
It continued like that until they finally reached the classroom. Yugi filed in first, spotting Tèa in her seat almost immediately. She was seated in the second to last row in the back, positioned next to the window. Her chin rested in her palm as she gazed out the window. The sunlight gave her a warmly glow.
Joey wasted no time getting in his words to her.
"Hey, Tèa! I need the brain of a smart person," he blurted out, occupying the seat front of her.
"So you're admitting that you really are an idiot?" Tristan commented, smirking.
Before the blonde could answer back, Yugi cut in. "Joey needs your help with some English homework," he said, taking the seat across from Tèa.
Tristan nodded, "He's practically dying over it."
Tèa chuckled, causing Yugi to smile at his childhood friend.
"What do you need help with, Joey?" she asked.
As Joey explained his assignment to Tèa, Yugi noticed that Mr. Tanaka had yet to arrive. In any case, this is odd as he's always in there on time, on the dot.
"Where's Mr. Tanaka?" he questioned.
Tèa paused in her discussion with Joey. "His wife went into labor today. He left suddenly, so this period will just be study hall for today since the school isn't able to find a substitute."
All three blinked at her.
"Are you all-knowing or something?" Tristan joked.
"No," she said simply. "Our class president announced it before you came in."
"Son of a biscuit!" Joey exclaimed. "Thank god for the inconvenience of labor. Less homework to worry about."
Tèa narrowed her eyes, smacking the blonde upside the head with her hand. But there was a small smile on her lips. Joey and Tristan chuckled lightly.
"Speaking of which," Tèa said. "You could use this time to read those chapters now instead of having to worry about it later."
Joey frowned. "Like, right now?"
Tèa scowled disapprovingly. "That's what study hall is for, Joey."
"Better do what she says, man." Tristan sniggered.
Joey glared at him, but reluctantly reached for his reading book anyway. In the process, a thick magazine fell out of his bag, landing on the floor in a heap.
"Aw man, I just bought that," he moaned. It wasn't cheap either.
Yugi perked up, "What magazine is that?"
"It's called Duelist Monthly. It does articles on duelists and tournaments around the world. It even does some trivia and spreads on duel monster cards," he said, straightening the pages out and closing it. "It's pretty cool."
"Well, hand it over," Tristan responded.
"Say please." The blonde retorted.
"When hell freezes over," the brunette shot back.
"I still don't hear the magic words."
In one swift movement, Tèa plucked the book out of Joey's hands and placed it in Yugi's.
Both males stared in astonishment. Tèa simply shrugged.
"Yugi's been trying to get your attention to see it. Thought I speed things up for him," she remarked, her gaze on the younger boy who sat in amused embarrassment.
Joey rubbed the back of his neck in shame. "Sorry, Yug."
"Yeah, man," Tristan chipped in.
Yugi shook his head, "Don't worry about it and thanks, Tèa."
Tèa nodded absently as Tristan sat sideways in his chair to lean over as Yugi turned the pages. Joey crossed one leg to balance his book in his lap as he got started on his homework. Joy. This left Tèa to return to staring out the window once more. She laced her fingers together, creating a bridge to rest her chin on top.
It had been a full week since her encounter with Phoenix. And for reason, it left her on edge for some time. Okay, he was a relative of Rex Raptor, so what?
The irrational part of her mind envisioned him popping out of nowhere, telling her to never go anywhere near his uncle. However, the rational part reasoned that it's highly doubtful that he would even care. Neither Rex nor the gang has ever had pleasant encounters with each other.
No, she shouldn't be worried. But she found herself thinking about absurd things.
Why exactly is it important to you of how he reacts?
She shook her head. Maybe it was because she wanted Phoenix to have a happy reunion with a family member without something like 'I ran into your rival's friend. She seems nice,' ruining it.
Pitiful excuses. Perhaps you just want to revisit the good old days.
Tèa blinked in confusion. Where the hell did that come from?
Maybe unconsciously you want something to happen. Atem is gone. But Rex plus Joey equals disaster and that brings excitement to you, doesn't it? The voice turned from inquisitive to a mocking tone.
She gritted her teeth. That makes no sense, why bring Rex of all people into the mix? She hasn't seen the runt in over a year.
Then why are you so riled up about it? She swore it was laughing at her. You're completely terrified over the fact you might love Atem over Yugi. Even when they were separated, you were still confused.
Blue eyes drifted slowly in Yugi's direction, as if to disprove the voice wrong. It didn't help.
Raptor provides a distraction for you, something familiar in a sense.
She snorted. Yeah, hatred was what she familiarized with him.
Ah, but hatred is a strong emotion.
Tèa sat bemused. Since when did the voices in her head started playing devil's advocate?
"Check it out," Tristan said, snapping Tèa out of her reverie. "Mako has become the new regional champion in Tokyo."
Yugi read on, "He won the two day tournament after defeating the four-time regional champion, Jace Price, with a narrow win by destroying his monsters with a trap card."
"Good for him," Tèa spoke up.
Joey surprisingly kept his eyes on the book, but acknowledged the comment by nodding. Tristan turned the page over and nearly catapulted out of his chair. Yugi looked on, amused.
"What?" Joey asked, not lifting his gaze but was curious of whatever the hell Tristan was doing.
Tristan regained his senses. "Weevil Underwood just won a tournament in London."
Finally, Joey raised his eyes up. "Say what? Bug boy's in London?"
Tèa frowned. Why exactly was he in London? It seemed a far way to go just to duel in a tournament.
Yugi scanned the words. "It doesn't say."
The blonde snapped his book shut. "I'm amazed he's actually allowed to duel in one."
Tristan shrugged, "Guess Domino City tournaments weren't enough. But at least, there's one less pest we have to worry about."
Weevil. A thought occurred to Tèa, and as much as she wanted to stay quiet to spite that certain little voice, she found herself asking anyway.
"Yugi."
"Yes?" he answered, looking at her.
"Is there anything about Rex by any chance?" she asked softly. Her tone and question in general caught them off guard.
Shock crossed his features, but Yugi complied with her request searching further in the book for the dino-duelist.
"Why do ya ask about him, Tèa?" Joey inquired. It's been awhile since they heard anything about said duelist.
"Just a thought," she stated, her shoulders giving a slight shrug of indifference. Yugi continued through the book until he reached the end. No such luck.
"Sorry, Tèa," Yugi said. "There's nothing in here about him."
She refrained from clicking her tongue.
Well.
"Okay," she amended. And just for good measures she asked, "What about Mai?"
That question brought a blush across Joey's face.
"W-Why are ya bringing her up?" he uttered incredulously.
The other three smirked, knowing of his feelings towards the blonde. They haven't seen her since the Orichalcos incident, and that unfortunately goes the same for a certain dual-toned duelist.
Tèa muttered under her breath.
Asking Weevil was out of the question, even if she could find him. Phoenix was a no-go either, considering she just met him on the street that fateful afternoon. Maybe Kaiba knows? It is his business to know competitions. However, she needs to ask him alone. But he had no classes with them, much to Joey's relief.
Still, as a top honor student, she has access to many things that even a class president doesn't. Meaning, she knew that he spends sixth period in the library, considering that is his study hall.
Now, to get there without suspicion…
"Excuse me, guys," she announced suddenly, getting up from her seat.
They stared with bewildered expressions that she didn't bother looking at. She approached the class president, who was watching over them in place of the teacher. "Restroom," she spoke to him. As she expected he asked no more details and handed her the hall pass. With a pleasant 'thank you,' she left the room.
Luckily, the library and restroom were in the same direction, but opposite ends of the hallway. Tèa made the left detour towards the double doors of the library and entered through them. It was one of her favorite places, mainly because it was quiet. Rows and rows of tall bookshelves filled the room with several chairs and beanbags to sit on spread throughout the front and back. The computers were closer to the wall with the checkout desk on the left end when you enter.
Currently, nobody was there. Perfect.
Tèa glanced around quickly. Hmm, Kaiba wasn't in the front, so he was possibly – hopefully – in the back. She progressed forward, moving around the bookcases so that the students actually in the library didn't see her. As she continued on, she heard the telltale tapping sound of keys. A laptop, and there was only one person she knew who brought their own.
Sure enough, when she reached the end, there sat Seto Kaiba on the loveseat typing furiously on the keyboard.
"Kaiba."
He paused briefly, as if thinking he heard right and continued typing without looking up.
"Gardner," he said by way of welcome.
"I need to ask you something," she admitted.
"I'm busy here, Gardner. Can it wait?" he replied indifferently.
"No, it can't," she whispered harshly. "I need the location of a duelist."
Kaiba cast cold, blue eyes in her direction. "If Yugi's looking for new competition to duel, he shouldn't send his cheerleader to do it for him," he replied. He smirked, "Besides, I'm the only one who can truly take his title."
Tèa suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and beat him over the head with that laptop.
"No," she muttered through clenched teeth. She had to refrain from insulting him; otherwise she would've come here for nothing. "I need you to tell me the last place Rex Raptor dueled."
Kaiba lifted a brow, but said nothing. Instead, he typed a few things on his computer. For a moment, Tèa wasn't sure if he even did what she asked until he answered for her.
"Raptor's last duel took place at the Grand Prix. Though that was rather unofficially," he declared. Indeed it was as he and Weevil swapped another duelist out to take his place under a disguise, but was given the chance to duel. Kaiba continued, "But other than that, there are no other new records of his duels."
Tèa stared in disbelief. "None? What about street duels?" Surely there was something.
"The duel disks given out during the Battle City tournament had GPS chips placed in them to keep track of duelists, right? If he still has that certain one, then Kaiba Corp would know of other duels that are not tournament based," he explained. "His in particular hasn't been active in over a year. He hasn't competed in any other places either. Raptor has been off the grid for some time, Gardner."
Lovely.
"Oh."
"Anything else?" he drawled. "Perhaps you want me to look for a litter of lost puppies? Or a doghouse for Wheeler?"
A vein popped in her forehead as Tèa pretended not to hear that last remark.
"Nope," she grounded out, spinning on her heel to leave. Because, really, she didn't need the count of first-degree murder of a CEO businessman tarnishing her clean record.
No matter how much he deserves it.
Tèa left the library in a huff, mentally and physically slapping herself at her efforts. She could hear the voice in her head laughing at her. Seriously, it was. She snuck out of class under a pretext, practically hunted down Kaiba for information, and got nothing in the end.
A little anxious to see what he's been up to, huh?
Tèa scowled in disgust, knowing damn well that's what she wanted to know.
Off the grid? What the hell did that mean?
Even if you knew what's he been doing, what exactly did you plan to do?
Tèa carried on her mental tirade when she came back to class, only to find that everybody else was 'off the grid.' They were all clamoring near the windows, observing something that was going on outside. Yugi waved her over when he caught sight of her.
"What's going on?"
Joey spoke before Yugi did. "Just your everyday troublesome gang, creating chaos and mayhem."
Tristan clarified, "There's a group of thugs outside the school grounds making a fuss. Apparently, they must have spray painted something on the gates because security is out there, telling them to leave. I think the leader wasn't too happy about that, so they started throwing glass bottles over the gates."
Yugi nodded. "Security threatened to call the police, but it really didn't do much. The gang resorted to yelling some not-so-nice things."
This is the third time this week this particular group has 'passed by'. And it's not just Domino High that they keep harassing; it's the schools in the general area.
Tèa probed, "Anybody knows what gang they belong to?"
Joey observed in thought, "I don't think they are even a part of one. They could be just some punks with nothing more to do than terrorize high schoolers."
The four looked on as a shouting match continued. One member threw another bottle with accurate aim, sending it flying towards one of the windows they stood behind. It crashed below it, however, causing the class to jump back with a collective gasp.
"Shit," Tristan cursed. "Dude can throw, I'll give him that. Gonna kill somebody that way and we're on the second floor."
Joey scowled, "Lowlifes."
"I heard they attacked two students from Providence High yesterday," one student said.
"They attacked another high school just last week, leaving one person hospitalized," another added.
They stood stunned at the information. So these guys are not to be taken lightly.
Yugi examined them closely. Each member wore a black bandana tied either on their wrists or upper arms. At least, they had a way to identify the group if encountered outside of school. Finally, the 'black bandanas' departed from the gates, leaving a sea of broken glass in their wake.
Tèa sighed in relief. "They're gone."
But Yugi wasn't convinced. " I have a feeling it won't be the last time."
Joey and Tristan gave blank expressions.
"Neither do we, Yug," the blonde said slowly. "Not by a long shot."
"Where is it?" Tèa growled, pulling a dress out of her closet. "How hard is it to find a simple sweater?"
Later that afternoon, the gang decided to visit the Cherry Blossom festival in Domino Park. Joey even mentioned that Serenity would come, which of course prompted Tristan to jump abroad immediately. Said sister, who was now perched on Tèa's bed, looked on as Tèa nearly tore her room apart for the clothing article.
"Maybe it's in the dresser drawers?" Serenity offered.
Tèa spun around. She was dressed in a black tank with a tan skirt appearing peeved and annoyed. Honestly when you don't need something, it's there. But when you actually need it, it goes m.i.a.
"I already checked there," Tèa said. "I swear if mom took it to wear it on her date with dad, I'm throwing it out."
Serenity laughed softly, "Have you checked the laundry room? Maybe you washed it."
Tèa brightened, "Why I didn't think of that, I don't know."
She walked out of the room in hopes of finding that damn sweater. Serenity seized the opportunity to place the rejected clothes back where they belong. Tèa may be organized, but even she can't avoid having an overcrowded closet of clothes. Really, the girl had a lot.
Brushing her long hair off her shoulders, Serenity took in her own apparel. She wore a bright yellow sundress complete with gladiator sandals. Normally this would go great for today, but the temperature has gone down a bit, giving a chill in the air. But she didn't mind; she got to see her big brother today.
"Serenity, you're a genius!" Tèa's voice exclaimed. Serenity turned to spot Tèa wearing a woven, pink off the shoulders sweater. "It was in the dryer, though I don't remember putting in there," she said, putting her suede boots on.
"The smallest things elude us," Serenity advised. Maybe Tèa's mom did wear it? Huh, better not bring that up.
"True," her older friend sighed. She grabbed her purse, "Ready to go? I'm sure those two knuckleheads want to get to the food stands as fast as possible."
Serenity just laughed, following Tèa out of the apartment. It didn't take long to meet up with the guys as they met halfway.
"Finally!" Joey complained. "Thought you would never get here!" He was dressed in a blue football Jersey with a white shirt underneath, and jeans on top white tennis shoes.
"Girls take forever to dress, Joe," Tristan reprimanded him, wearing his red and black biker jacket, washed jeans and a plain black shirt.
"Gee thanks," Tèa said sarcastically, "You guys look nice, too."
"You two look great," Yugi replied genuinely. He opted for his black muscle shirt with leather pants, his belts crisscrossing. He donned a black hoodie that was zipped up halfway.
"Thank you, Yugi. It's good to know at least one of you is a gentleman," Tèa responded.
The other males looked dubious at her comment.
"Hey, we can be gentleman if we wanna be," Joey cried.
"Sure you can," Tèa deadpanned. "Chewing with your mouth open full of food shows off your polite manners."
Serenity burst into laughs, hugging her brother around the torso. Joey rubbed the back of his head, but embraced his sister.
"Alright, I get it," Joey grinned sheepishly. "Can we go now?"
They all nodded and headed off. Well, Tèa, Yugi, and Tristan did; Joey grabbed his sister's hand and took off like a cheetah, leaving a trail of laughter coming from both of them. Tristan deadpanned and chased after them, calling Joey everything from 'idiot' to 'hogging Serenity to himself.'
Yugi grinned. "Well, at least somebody's happy."
Tèa could help but smile as well.
Domino Park was filled with numerous booths and rides of entertainment. A huge crowd of people gazed on in wonder, excited to be outside for once. Little kids played games to get the biggest stuffed animals. Couples strolled through, sharing snacks with another. Even families, who decided to watch the puppet show, snickered at the fox puppet playing a trick on the dog.
Yugi and Tèa went on the Ferris wheel, waving at their friends who watched down below them. Joey and Tristan played a few games, handing their winnings to Serenity. They saw Duke there, who set up a kissing booth that didn't surprise them in the least, but ticked off Tristan when Duke offered a special kiss to Serenity. Joey only threatened to tear him and the booth down if he tries it.
Joey entered a pie eating contest, which left Tèa in disgust as he scarfed down ten pies. He didn't win; however, he was more concerned that they weren't 'filling' enough. Whatever that means.
Tristan went to try his strength at the 'hammer' game (A/N: what is that game called?). It hit the bell with a satisfied ding. Joey whooped in encouragement as Yugi stepped up and actually succeeded as well. A round of applause burst from the group as Yugi took his prize in shy embarrassment.
It occurred to Yugi that Tèa had yet to be given a prize, since Serenity had an overload to toys on her. So he momentarily left the group to play another game, winning a cute Hello Kitty stuffed toy.
"Is there something you want to tell us, Yug?" Joey smirked at the sight of the cat as Yugi returned.
Yugi smirked back slyly, "Yep; that your sister and Tristan are going off on an unsupervised date."
The blonde spun around, glaring in annoyance and horror that the two were further away.
"Hey, get back here!" he bellowed, chasing after them like a parent catching their child doing something wrong.
Tèa rolled her eyes at the scene as Yugi handed her the stuffed animal.
"Here you go, Tèa," Yugi murmured quietly, a blush on his cheeks.
She smiled softly, holding the toy to her chest. "Thank you, Yugi."
This was nice, being here together.
Before Yugi could get another word in, a small child walked up to them. "Woah, Yugi Mutou! Can I have your autograph?" he asked, holding up a pen and paper to sign.
Yugi spared a glance to Tèa, but she didn't mind. He was the King of Games; it was to be expected. As he turned to sign it, several more children gathered around eager to have him autograph something of theirs. Yugi chuckled, coaxing that he'll get to them one at a time.
Tèa watched on patiently, smoothing down the faux fur of the Hello Kitty.
Yugi is so sweet and great with little kids.
She laughed quietly when a girl wanted to touch his hair. He sweat dropped, but leaned down to let her do so. At last, he finished signing all of them.
"Whew, that's the last of it," Yugi breathed, flexing his hand.
"Careful, I think you might have some hairdressers coming in your future," she joked.
"I think I'll just stick to kids for now," he laughed. .
A loud crash caught their attention. Two girls stood huddled together as they watched their booth get torn down by a group of thugs. They threw the pieces all over as bystanders moved to see what was going on. Yugi recognized them right away; the 'black bandanas' from earlier.
"Yugi, it's them," he heard Tèa whisper. He nodded in agreement, keeping his gaze on the scene before them.
"Don't have a booth to scam people out of their money, do ya?" one thug sneered.
One girl shook her head and Yugi realized that both were from Domino High.
"You lost fair and square!" the girl, Tori, squeaked.
"That game was rigged, bitch!" the thug snarled at her. Tori cowered behind her friend, Aki, who didn't take the name calling lightly.
"Jerk, maybe you're just a bad player!" Aki snapped hotly. "You threw the ball nowhere near the bottles. You're nothing but a sore loser!"
The guy curled his hands into fists and Yugi sprang into action before things went any further.
"Tori, Aki, what happened?" Yugi questioned the two.
Aki sighed in relief as the thug looked down on Yugi like he was common trash.
"This punk and his pals destroyed our booth because he lost the game," Aki explained.
"Yugi, it's not safe here," Tori whispered urgently.
Yugi just kept his eyes on the thug in front. "Aki said you lost. You should leave," he regarded him coldly.
The leader sneered, "Who the hell are you?"
"Boss, that's Yugi Mutou, the King of Games," one of his followers answered for him.
"This scrawny kid is the King of Games?" the leader snorted. "I don't believe it."
"Ya should," Joey's voice drifted into the conversation. He and Tristan flanked either side of Yugi. "Yug's the best, so show some respect."
"Tèa, please move Aki and Tori away please," Yugi requested.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she pulled the girls away to a safer distance. Serenity came and stood with her, seemingly apprehensive of what's to come. The three males stood off against the gang. The leader not looking the least bit pleased, but still had a cocky smile on his lips.
Six against three was the advantage they had.
Tèa scowled. Now this wasn't a fair game.
A minion of the gang directed his attention to the crowd, looking slightly jolted for a moment. He nudged the leader, gaining a glare from him. The young man ducked his head but gestured further out in the crowd. The leader leered past Yugi, Joey, and Tristan.
Tèa frowned. What in the world was he staring at?
Whatever it was, it was enough to wipe the smile off his face. He swore under his breath.
"It seems you lucked out today," their leader scoffed. "Boys, let's go." With that, they left the premises. And on a strange note, a few kept looking back with anxiety written on their faces.
Yugi, Tristan, and Joey exchanged glances. They made their way towards the girls.
"Man, what a buzz kill," Joey snorted.
"Wonder what changed his mind," Yugi said aloud.
"Thank god for whatever it was," Tèa sighed.
"Do you need help rebuilding your booth?" Tristan questioned Aki and Tori.
Both shook their heads. "Nope, it's almost time to leave anyway," Aki said, gazing at the dark sky. "Beats staying here to take it down." Tori nodded.
Serenity placed a hand over her mouth as she yawned. "It is late," she said sleepily.
"Let's head out or else I'd hear an earful from ma," Joey suggested, putting an arm around his younger sister's shoulders. Tèa noticed that she was wearing Tristan's biker jacket, but she didn't say anything. The same went for Tristan and Joey.
They all walked together until it was time to depart. Joey and Serenity headed off in one direction; Serenity promising she would return the jacket. Yugi and Tristan escorted Tèa to her street after she finally convinced both males she was capable of walking the distance alone. But Yugi insisted on watching until she reached one block of her house. Tèa giggled, but played her part waving back at him when she came to the one block radius.
He smiled with content, returning the gesture as he disappeared with Tristan.
She strolled towards the apartment building when the sounds of distress reached her ears. She paused, making sure she heard correctly. Indeed she was, as somebody raced past her from the alleyway as if fleeing in fear. Bewildered, she recognized him as one of the men from the park.
In fact, peeking around the corner, she saw that the whole group was there. Her mouth dropped as the members were on the ground, moaning in pain or plainly passed out. There were three new males and obviously they're the ones delivering the punishment. The street lamp illuminated orange light over them.
"Think they had enough?" a blue-haired male asked. He stared at two thugs slumped against the wall.
His companion shook his head, black cropped hair flailing left and right as he scanned over three bodies.
"I think they could use a little more persuasion to catch our meaning," he replied, amused. "Their leader likes to run his mouth a lot."
Tèa and both males glanced towards said leader. The 'boss' as he was called was unconscious on the ground with the third male crouching over him. As if inspecting to be sure that he wasn't faking it. The hood from his jacket obscured his face from Tèa's view.
"I'd say we put them out permanently," the blue-haired boy said.
"That puts blood on our hands, Azure," his friend admonished. "That's not what we're here for."
Azure growled, "These punks are attacking us and our friends, Nic. What do you want, a peace treaty?"
Nic released an exasperated sigh, turning to the hooded male. "What say you?"
The figure gave a snort of disgust as he stood up. Tèa marveled at his tall frame; he's probably at least Kaiba's height.
"I don't care what happens to them or where they go," his deep voice responded. "As long as they leave the damn city and everybody else alone."
Azure smirked, "See? Raptor agrees with me."
Time seemed to stand still as a gasp escaped her lips. Rex? No, it couldn't be. The height, not to mention the voice, didn't match at all. Maybe it was another family relative? And damn her luck because Azure heard her.
"Well, looks like we have an audience," he leered. Nic darted his gaze in her direction. Though she needed to, Tèa didn't care about the other two knowing her presence. She needed to know if the Raptor in question is indeed who she thought. Azure took a few steps forward.
"It's a chick," he confirmed.
"What now?" Nic inquired, directing his question to nobody in particular.
"She's harmless," was the answer.
Azure snapped his head back to them. "You know her?"
A shrug. "By personal experience, yes. She's just a cheerleader."
Tèa bristled at the comment. "Excuse me?" she cried angrily.
Nic raised a brow, "She doesn't look a harmless cheerleader to me."
Azure grinned, "Spunky. I like that."
Tèa bit back a retort as Azure was pulled back by his shirt and pushed near Nic.
"We're done here," came a reply. "We've overstayed our welcome."
The blue-haired accomplice grumbled but said nothing more. He and Nic hiked down the alley. Tèa then took her chance to pull at the hood while the taller male's back was turned. In slow motion, brown hair was revealed.
"Rex?" she demanded.
Brown hair proved nothing. She knows lots of people with brown hair. Slowly, he spared a glance over his shoulder giving the view of long, purple bangs in need of a cut. Her grip weakened; it was Rex.
"Go home, Gardner," he spoke to her. Then he turned his body halfway around to face her. "By the way, you never saw me."
And without another word, he strolled in the direction of his friends, disappearing in the darkness.
Tèa stood dumbfounded. She had found the duelist she had been searching for. The duelist whom she hunted desperately for – for no apparent reason mind you – she finally found.
Only to let him slip from her grasp. Ugh.
"However, he really hasn't been the same person lately," as Phoenix's words drifted in her thoughts.
A crazed laugh dripped through her lips. That was an understatement.
So, what now?
Rex came and went. There was nothing more she can do. Was there? The voice popped into awareness, screw it. Go after him, stupid!
Tèa powered walked home, having only one idea in her mind. For reasons unknown, she was going hunting… for a Raptor.
Yes, she has truly gone off the deep end… and saw no problem with it.
IBD: Wow, 17 pages of this stuff. But Rex made an appearance! :) Alright, it was brief, but we'll see moar of Rex and his new...self later. That's right, I said MOAR. I had different endings to this chapter, but I'll settle for this one. Going hunting for a Raptor, Tèa? I agree with the crazed voice in her head: go for it! Come on, admit it, you enjoyed reading Tèa go 'James Bond' for a moment.
Tonberry: So what's with her obsession with Rex?
ME: I'll explain: ever had that moment where you know you shouldn't look into something but you look anyway? It's like that in case Tèa's pursuits were confusing. (I thought it was funny) The case of curiousity strikes again! And what will she get? I know, but I won't tell you.
Tonberry: Devilish woman.
ME: This is why it's fun being the author for once, but I will give a small spoiler. Tèa and Rex WILL meet in the next chapter... by force. Of what? Haha, you'll see.
Keep reviewing! Ta Ta For Now!
IBD