Here's the newest chapter!! And please forgive me for breaking my one-week deadline. My computer got corrupted by a nasty virus, and I'm just now getting back. I really hope that everyone will forgive me for the long wait, and I will try my hardest to keep problems like a virus from surfacing. Just to let you all know I am doing a double update today and tomorrow. This will be the first time I will post two chapters BACK-TO-BACK. So here's the one for today, and one shall be posted tomorrow. So make sure you check back. And now, without further ado, happy reading!!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Return of the Pharaoh

Chapter 3: Unraveling of the Minds

"I- I can't believe it…" Yugi trailed off, not believing the fortune bestowed upon them.

"Yeah… now we can go introduce ourselves," Tristan grinned, pleased that the opportunity came so quickly.

"Um… yeah- let's go," Yugi replied. After recollecting himself, he led Tristan and Joey over to the table at which Desani was seated.

"Ah… hey, Desani," Yugi said, mentally reprimanding himself for stammering.

"Oh, hello again, Yugi," Desani said with her soft and velvety voice, looking up after realizing he and his friends were standing in front of her. Redirecting her gaze, it was almost as if warmth encompassed her entire being. "And this must be Joey and Tristan, my gallant saviors. I am grateful for your help."

This being the first time she had ever spoken to them, Joey and Tristan found themselves awestruck that she even remembered their names.

"Ah, well, it ain't a big deal," Joey spoke up after a few moments. "Just tryna help a Damsel in Distress. R-right, Tristan?"

"Um, yeah, just tryin' to lend you our assistance," Tristan added, rubbing the back of his head, slightly flustered.

Desani raised an eyebrow to them. "Damsel in Distress?"

"Oh, no, Desani! It's not that we meant that you couldn't- err- handle yourself," Yugi quickly said. "It's… uh…well what they meant was that they just wanted to keep you from getting… um… flustered by all those guys. I mean, it's not like we were thinking you were gonna be flustered or anything, its- um- yeah, I'm just gonna shut up now…" Yugi hushed, upset that he seemingly made matters worse.

To all of their surprise, Desani giggled. Being their first time to hear her laugh, they became enraptured by its beautiful and melodious sound.

"Do not fret, Yugi. I am in no way offended. I am actually flattered that all of you were willing to help me, a girl you barely even knew."

"Oh, um, we just wanted you to feel welcome since it's your first day," Yugi softly replied, relieved that she still seemed to like them.

"That is very kind of all of you. And I would like to properly thank you, Joey and Tristan, for I was unable to earlier after the incident."

"You're welcome," Joey and Tristan simultaneously replied, joy and pride emanating from the looks on their faces.

"Oh, where are my manners? Please sit down. I did not mean to have you standing for so long," Desani softly exclaimed, an apologetic blush spreading across her unearthly, yet beautiful face.

"It's no problem. We didn't know if ya wanted us to sit with you," Joey assured, not wanting her to feel guilty.

"Yes, but still…"

"Don't sweat it, Desani," Tristan interjected. "It would've been rude if we had just plopped down without your permission."

Yugi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Desani, so it's ok."

Desani rewarded his response with one of her breathtaking smiles.

Blushing, Yugi redirected the conversation. "Well, in homeroom today, you said that you've been home schooled…" Yugi quickly trailed off, frustrated at how stupid he just sounded. "Um, I meant to ask you if you could tell us why you were home schooled."

"Gladly," Desani replied, graciously not admonishing his mistake. "My parents are historians that have traveled all over the world and studied the cultures of many civilizations. They purely did it for the fun and knowledge of discovering the lost secrets of different people. However, because of their constant travels, they couldn't ever stay in one place long enough for my siblings and I to be enrolled in school. Thus, they decided to home school us so that we could accompany them on their journeys. I do not regret it, for I was able to learn many languages and go through many life-changing experiences."

"Whoa…" the trio exclaimed, amazed at how different her home schooling was from what they were expecting.

"Yes, yes, but please do not misconstrue my feelings. I really am looking forward to learning what it feels like to attend a real school. I am sad to say that my siblings have already become adults, so they will not be attending with me. However, I hope that all of you will get a chance to meet them."

"Yeah, it would be really cool if we could. Maybe one day you could tell us more about them?" Yugi asked. Desani responded with an affirmative nod. Blushing, Yugi dared to ask yet another question.

"Well… if your parents were home schooling you because you constantly moved, does that mean you're here to stay?" Yugi asked, hoping that her answer wasn't no.

"Yes," Desani said softly, he voice barely above a whisper, "this is my home."

"That's awesome! Now we can show you how we regulars do school," Tristan said with a grin. "I got a question, Desani. Of all those things you've learned, did ya learn any good kick-butt fighting moves?" Tristan asked, pounding his fist into his other hand, a sly grin plastered on his lips.

"Why, yes. I have had the opportunity of learning many different forms of combat."

"Wow, you really aren't a distressed damsel. You know how to handle yourself… hey!" Joey suddenly exclaimed, an idea washing through him. "Ya think you can show me and Tristan some of your moves?"

"Yes, of course," Desani replied, appearing to be caught off guard by his request.

"ALRIGHT!!" Joey and Tristan shouted, jumping up and giving each other high-fives.

"Sssshhh!" The cold and silent glares of the other students in the room quickly reminded them that they were in Study Hall.

"Calm down, you guys," Yugi said, trying to hold back his laughter. "We don't need to get kicked out."

"Our bad, Yug," Joey replied as he and Tristan took their seats.

A comfortable silence fell over the table as Desani returned to her book and the trio pulled out their notes, Joey and Tristan doing so reluctantly. Ten minutes passed before the silence was broken.

"I believe that since I answered all of your questions, I should be able to ask one myself," Desani said.

"Sure, Desani. Shoot," Yugi replied.

"Well…" Desani drawled out, a sensual tone to her voice, "I was just wondering if there was an extension to this little group of friends of yours."

"Oh, yeah," Yugi answered. "There's Téa Gardner, Seto and Mokuba Kaiba, Ryou Bakura, Mai Valentine, Rebecca Hopkins…" Yugi listed, counting them off with his fingers, "Mako Tsunami, Duke Devlin, and Marik and Ishizu Ishtar. The last two we don't see much because they live in Egypt."

"Egypt? How did you make friends with people in Egypt?" Desani asked, staring deeply into Yugi's eyes.

"Well, uh, we actually met them through Atem, another friend…" Yugi trailed off, surprised that he just mentioned the Pharaoh to Desani. He- nor the rest of the group- had ever spoken of Atem to anyone who hadn't partaken in their adventures. Why then, did he just reveal his lost pal to Desani?

Yugi snuck a glance at Joey and Tristan, their faces marred with confusion at his slip.

'Oh, no… what have I done?'

"Atem… you didn't mention him earlier. Who is he?" Desani inquired.

"He's… er- well he is actually my… cousin. Yeah, that's right. And, um, he used to live here, but he- moved," Yugi replied, not finding a better generalized explanation of Atem's crossover to his afterlife.

"I'm sorry. I hope he is able to come and see you often," Desani said softly.

"Well he does- when he can," Yugi lied, feeling slightly guilty about it.

"That's good. And I apologize if I have upset you," Desani replied, lowering her head slightly.

"No, its no problem, really," he said, his guilty pangs growing larger at Desani's remorse.

Smiling softly, Desani nodded. "OK… how about your other friends?"

"Well we don't see them often because they're busy, but Téa, Ryou, and Seto Kaiba go to school here, so you should meet them soon."

"Oh… I don't know about you, Yug, but I don't think Kaiba includes us in his little circle of friends," Joey interjected.

"And by little, we mean nonexistent," Tristan added, exchanging snickers with Joey.

"That's kinda harsh, guys," Yugi reprimanded. "He's difficult, but he knows that we're his friends, whether he likes it or not."

"If you say so," Joey commented, nonchalantly.

"Ignore them," Yugi said, turning to Desani. "Kaiba isn't as bad as he makes out to be. We've learned that his bark is worse than his bite."

"If that's so, then our first meeting should be quite interesting," Desani replied, a soft smile yet again settled on her lips.

Chuckling, Yugi nodded. "It will, indeed."

"How about your other friends, Ryou and Téa. What are they like?"

"Oh, Ryou? He's really cool. He's quiet and supportive of his friends. He wouldn't hurt a fly," Joey said, volunteering the information. Even when Ryou was being possessed by the spirit of the Millennium Ring, this proved to be true. He helped the gang through their turbulent adventures at Duelist Kingdom, and even though he was completely taken over by the spirit during Kaiba's Battle City Tournament, the gang still knew that he was in trouble and were determined to free him from his Yami's control. Ryou was a loving and gentle soul who was just unfortunate enough to have to bear the burdens of the Ring and Yami Bakura. Had it not been for Yugi's and Atem's defeat over Zorc, Ryou may still be plagued with the horrible doppelganger.

"Ah, I like him already. Cannot wait to meet him," Desani commented. "And how about Téa? What is she like?"

"Oh, well…" Yugi started, not sure how to describe his crush without revealing his feelings to the beauty in front of him. "Téa was actually like my first friend. I met her when I was 15, and Joey and Tristan came shortly after. She stuck up for me because I used to get bullied a lot," Yugi unintentionally pausing to glare pointedly at his two friends, who lowered their heads in shame, "I think it was because of my small stature, but luckily that problem's been fixed recently."

"That's interesting. She seems like a very lovely girl. I cannot wait to meet her," Desani said, pleased by Yugi's assessment of Téa.

"Yeah… you could've met her today in homeroom, but she's been missing all day," Yugi responded, worry crinkling his brow.

"Yeah. It ain't like her to miss school without letting us know why," Tristan added.

"Wow. You four must be very close," Desani softly said.

"Yeah, we've been through a lot," Yugi replied, thinking about the adventures they had to go through while trying to uncover the Pharaoh's lost memories.

Desani smiled. "Well hopefully one day you will be comfortable enough to tell me about it."

Realizing his slight mistake, Yugi smiled sheepishly. "Oh, yeah, sure. Does that mean you-"

RRRRIIIINNNGGGG!!

"There's the bell," Desani said, gathering her things. "I'm glad I had the chance to get to know you all more. We'll talk some more after school. Bye for now." Waving, Desani turned and headed for her next class.

"Bye…" the trio replied in unison.

"Well, we better get to class before we're late," Yugi said after Desani had left their view.

"Yeah, but it was so cool talking to her. I feel like she's already one of us. And I'm sure Téa's gonna be happy that we added a girl to our group," Joey replied.

"Uh huh. She's been complaining a lot lately about how she doesn't have enough female friends," Tristan jokingly added. "Can't wait to talk to her after school. Later, guys."

"Later," Joey and Yugi replied before all three stalked off to their designated classes.

"YUGI! JOEY! TRISTAN! Hey, guys!"

School had recently ended and the guys were surrounded by three girls who were positively fawning over the scrawny-turned-hunky Yugi. Turning from their conversations with Yugi's 'fan girls', they saw Téa running towards them at an incredible speed.

"Phew! I- I thought… I wouldn't… see you guys… 'til tomorrow," Téa burst out, trying to catch her breath.

"Téa! Where were you today?" Yugi asked, happy to see the sapphire- eyed, short- cut brown- haired girl in front of him.

"I was in… the Dean's office."

"Ms. Goody Two Shoes at the Dean's? Looks like we've finally rubbed off on ya, Téa," Joey jokingly commented, slapping skin with Tristan.

Téa glared at them, finally regaining her composure. "As if, Joey! I actually wanna get somewhere in life!"

"Heeey, what's that supposed to mean!"

"Nothing at all, my dear Joey," Téa sarcastically replied. "Anyways, there was a reason for why I was at the Dean's all day," Téa continued, her smirk quickly being replaced with an excited grin.

"Well? Are you going to tell us?" Yugi asked, happy that Téa was showing so much excitement, for that meant the reason was a good one.

"Yeah, that was my intention when I first got here, but then Joey had to go and say that stupid remark," Téa answered, pinning Joey with another one of her infamous glares.

"Keh, whatever. Now are you going to tell us or not?" Joey asked, ignoring her remark.

Hey eyes brightening, Téa nodded. "Last night, I got a call from the school wanting me to report to the Dean's office first thing this morning. Since school has been in session for only two days, I knew that it wasn't because of a behavioral problem. However, I was still nervous. So I went to his office this morning, and a teacher of mine was already there, and after sitting down, they told me that… that I…" Téa's voice trailed off, her excited expression replaced by one of shock and wonder.

Noticing her eyes deadlocked on a position behind them, the boys exchanged knowing glances, understanding that only one force could cause such a speechless reaction.

"Hey, guys, I'm ready… oh, hello there. You must be Téa. I'm Desani Miller. It's a pleasure to meet you." Bestowing Téa with one of her extravagant smiles, Desani offered a slim and flawless hand for Téa to shake. Absentmindedly, Téa took it, her thoughts in a daze as she too became enraptured by her eerily beautiful eyes.

"Uh… hello, um, Desani. Yes, I'm Téa. Uh, Téa Gardner," Téa responded after finally regaining her voice. "How do you know my friends?" she inquired, extremely curious as to why a dazzling beauty would want to talk to her friends- no offense intended.

"Oh, they haven't told you about their courageous stunt to save little ole' me?" Desani asked with a slight accent, batting her eyelashes at her three 'saviors', who all blushed at her praise.

"Well… we haven't had the opportunity, Desani," Yugi replied, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Téa just arrived and she was explaining her absence today."

"Oh, well I apologize for the interruption. Carry on, Téa," Desani said, smiling yet again.

"Um… sure," Téa replied, eyeing her warily. 'Did she just give me an order? That's what it sounded like…'

"As I was saying, the reason I was at the Dean's office was because… because…" Tea's slipped away, suddenly not wanting to share her news just yet. Not wanting to lie, Téa settled with just telling them half of it. "I was there because they wanted to inform me that- that I won a scholarship."

"You did? That's great, Téa!" Joey exclaimed, happy for his friend.

"Yeah, we're proud of you!" Tristan added, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Yeah, that's great, Téa… what school is it for?" Yugi asked.

"It's, uh-" Téa cut off again, knowing that if she told him that, then she would have to tell them all of it. So, she evaded the truth again. "I was so caught up in the excitement of my winning the scholarship, I guess I didn't catch what school it was for. But I'm going to be meeting with them later this week, so I'll have the 411 for you guys later," Téa finished, hoping that her smile had reached her eyes.

"OK, Téa. Can't wait to find out about it," Yugi said, not catching her little white lie.

"Yeah, we don't need this scholarship splitting our gang up after high school," Joey added, jokingly.

"Uh huh," Téa simply answered, guilt beginning to knock on the walls of her heart. Turning her eyes from her friends, she took another glance at Desani; she immediately wished she hadn't.

Desani was looking at Téa directly, an arched eyebrow slightly raised. The expression on her face clearly read that she knew Téa was lying, and she was going to get the truth whether Téa liked it or not. After several moments, Téa had to avert her gaze from Desani's glare, for her strange eyes gleamed of knowledge, and it was as if they were burning right through to her soul.

"Hmm… well now that we've all become acquainted- and reacquainted," Desani added, staring pointedly at Téa, "shall we go? I am very interested in seeing your grandfather's game shop, Yugi."

"Yes, of course. Let's go, guys," Yugi replied. "Oh… and we will continue our conversation tomorrow, ladies," he added, remembering the 'fan girls' they were talking to before Téa's arrival.

Feeling bummed at Téa's, and later, Desani's appearance, the girls quickly perked up after regaining Yugi's attention.

"OK, Yugi. See ya tomorrow!" The girls ran off, giggling.

"Now that they're gone… let's go! I'm hungry now," Joey said.

"Yeah, me too, and it's gonna be awhile before we get to your gramps, Yug," Tristan added, afterwards exchanging glances and groans with Joey.

"You guys are always hungry," Téa mumbled under her breath.

"Hey! We're growing boys. We gotta eat!" Joey replied, exaggerating his hunger pains even more by wrapping his arms around his stomach. Téa simply rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Ok, ok, we're going," Yugi replied, laughing. "And on the way, perhaps Desani and Téa can get to know each other better with- er- girl talk and all that…"

"Sounds like fun to me," Desani agreed, looking at Téa.

"Yeah… tons," Téa replied as she fell in step with Desani, the girls leading the pack.

'Who knows what Desani wants to talk about. All I know is that I got a bad feeling about it… and who is she? Maybe I'll get some answers as well.'

Téa sighed, not quite sure about this new addition to the group.

Well there you have it! You all learned a little more about Desani, and the appearance of Téa must have raised a few questions in all of you. Scholarship? Heh heh, if you know Téa like I do, then I'm pretty sure you know what that's all about. But why is she hiding it from the others? Will she ever tell them, or will she wait until it's too late? All questions will be answered in the next chapter, and you all will find out if Desani and Téa do strike up a friendship. Do you think it will happen, or do you believe I'm planning a small rivalry? Leave your thoughts quickly, for the next chapter will be up tomorrow as promised!! :D