Y.A.R.: We're nearing the halfway point of this story!

Amy: That's a first.

Y.A.R.: Shut it! Do you realize how many days that I'm working per week that takes me away from writing anything at all?

Amy: Don't you have your nights to deal with that?

Y.A.R.: I'm not Seto Kaiba!

Yami: We're starting this chapter while those girls are dueling things out.


Chapter 8-A Feeling of Tenderness

To connect through touch, is it truly a connection to the person that you miss the most or could it be a new blossoming love?


~Tuesday afternoon, in the Domino High courtyard- 12:47 p.m.~

"Damn, Yami." Yugi said worriedly. "To think that Amy found out about your true name in such a short amount of time is starting to scare me. But, I never would have suspected that she wasn't one to mess around with. Not to mention that she spoke to you after the first weekend of your cooking classes."

"Trust me, Yugi. It was heart-dropping for me as well when I saw what she was capable of." Yami said. "But, I also learned a lot from her; the bond she shares with Kaiba is truly a dedicated one and the fact that she cherishes her childhood with the brothers themselves actually surprised me."

"What about her love life?" Yugi asked.

"Aside from the constant harassment she gets every day, she's not quite happy about it." Yami answered. "Amy told me that barely any man that she's been with never respected her personal space and always treats her like she was a helpless woman. Me and you both know how the women in our lives deal with the males of today."

"Of course; they can get scary when their buttons are pushed." Yugi said.

The two boys were waiting for the rest of the group to show up during the first block of lunch at Domino High. When Yugi noticed Yami's expression after coming home from the community center, he tried to convince Yami to tell him what happened, yet Yami avoided the questions until earlier today that he demanded an answer before he asked Amy herself of what went down after his cooking class. Knowing that his partner would try to enter his mind via mind link, Yami had no choice in the matter but to tell Yugi of the words that were exchanged after his first day of class, shocking Yugi completely. The extent of the truth about Yami's existence was at risk, but Yami reassured him that Amy was keeping the whole ordeal a secret, easing his thoughts. Just as Yugi was about to ask him another question, Tristan and the rest of the group arrived with their lunch. Joey, however, appeared to have a black eye patch covering his right eye and catching the attention of both boys.

"My Ra, Joey! What the hell happened to you?" Yami asked.

"Well, you guys know about Amy's temper, right?" Ryou inquired.

"Who hasn't? We remember that outburst since she first started attending school." Yugi said.

"Well, apparently dumbass over here insulted her without even knowing it and can pretty much say that he got what was coming to him. It all started back around first period in science class..." Tristan recalled.


~Three and a half hours earlier: first period, Chemistry class- 8:17 a.m.~

As the day was starting to unfold for many of the students that were waiting for their somewhat punctual teacher, Amy had walked into the classroom carrying a lot of papers of which was designated as take-home worksheets and the weekly tests. Her presence caught the attention of all the boys, making the girls growl in anger. Joey, Tristan, and Ryou had this class together; noticing Amy made Joey take the opportunity to further his chances of landing her as his girlfriend.

"Hiya, Ames!" Joey said. "What are you doing here?"

"Delivering Mr. Tanakiko's papers for the whole week." Amy said. "Why are you so interested in what I'm doing, anyway?"

"C'mon, the fact that you're trying to play teacher's pet to the bastards in this school really bothers me." Joey said.

"So? I know what they're really doing to the students here anyway. Who do you think gets first response to their yearly evaluations?" Amy remarked.

"But, sweetheart...Why bother dealing with them, when you know you can help us in more ways than one, if you know what I mean." Joey hinted.

But, it was the wrong kind of hints and choice of words that got Amy really pissed at Joey. How dare he suggested such an offensive tactic of her knowledge and degrade her like she was some type of prostitute! Balling up her right fist in anger, she needed to teach somebody a lesson in respect.

"Hey, Joey. I got something in my right hand that I want to show you." Amy said, but in a tone that will definitely make you want to run away.

"Really? Let me see..." Joey started, but it was too late to pull back.

WHAM!

The contact of Amy's fist collided with Joey's face, knocking him onto the ground and clearly unconscious. The boys and girls in the classroom backed away from the furious girl; who knew such anger would lead to violence?

"How dare you disrespect me in such an illegitimate manner! You're lucky that I won't report you for using that sort of approach, but next time, you better have more respect for women! Hmph!" Amy shouted, marching off in frustration. As the boys came near Joey, only one word can describe the sight that they saw on his face:

"Damnnnn!" the students echoed.

The teacher came in, only to see the blond on the floor and many of the students gathering in a group around him.

"Did Mr. Wheeler get into another fight again?" the teacher asked.

"Sort of..." one student replied. "He kinda insulted a girl and she punched him for disrespecting women in general."

"Taylor and Bakura, take Mr. Wheeler to the nurse's office. I'll have to notify the principal about this."

~End of flashback~


"As you can see, Joey got lucky from the punishment that he was given from the principal to take counseling for his poor manners." Ryou said.

"I'm guessing that Serenity must have gotten wind of who really punched her brother, huh?" Tèa asked.

"Just be glad that..." Duke started.

"Wheeler!" Seto shouted. "You have a lot of explaining to do!"

"Never mind." Duke finished. "Apparently, gossip goes around quickly."

"You think?" Tristan whispered.

When Seto got word from Amy that Joey initially offended her without knowing it, he became absolutely furious. It's one thing that you don't mess with Mokuba, but when you insult his best friend that he cherishes as his secondary mother...you have officially pissed off a CEO that you definitely do not want to get into a scuffle with. Joey heard his foul-mouthing enemy yelling at the tip of his lungs and got angry himself; as if he doesn't have enough of a bad day as it is!

"What the hell do you want, Moneybags?" Joey barked.

"Explain to me why Amy has told me that you offended her to degrade herself towards every student body in this wretched damn building!" Seto demanded.

"Hey, that crazy friend of yours took my words the wrong way! I almost got killed by that fucking punch had I not been lucky!" Joey retorted.

"You deserved it for disrespecting her in the first place!" Seto countered.

"Whoa, easy there, guys!" Yugi interjected. "Don't you think that maybe we should ask Amy ourselves about what really happened earlier?"

"Best to back off her when she's this pissed off." Yami said. "Amy's strength is truly a frightening case when invoked. I saw the huge dent she made at the community center and I jumped in fear; if I ever happened to piss her off, I would give her enough space to let her cool down."

"Why didn't you tell me this shit before school started, Yami?" Joey asked.

"Simple: you never asked." Yami answered. "Plus, you don't want to start explaining to your sister about how you got two black eyes on the same day."

"Then, why don't you talk to her?" Tristan asked.

"Me?" Yami pondered.

"Yeah, you! You're in love with her and all..." Joey started.

"Since when did those two ever gone on a date?" Tèa interjected. "Amy's way out of his league; she'll only go for the rich types like Kaiba."

"Gardener, you're misleading yourself in more ways than one and becoming this close to being hit by me." Seto said.

Yami didn't want to mention about the offer that Amy asked him to answer her proposition concerning the gala event that her family was hosting this upcoming weekend, but it could be the chance to talk to her about the issues she's been having with her love life and maybe learn about her values to avoid any misinterpretations in the future. He barely knew much about the girl when she was dealing with the crowds that she's used to, yet something told him that Amy wanted to feel unchained from the continuous cycle of her everyday life. Certain about the answers he wanted, Yami departed while the group was bickering about scrambled topics.

"Hey, Yami! Where ya going?" Joey shouted.

"Probably going to talk to Amy to calm her down." Duke said.

"...You don't think he's gonna come back with a black eye himself, do you?" Tristan asked.

'What does that bitch has that I don't?' Tèa thought, bitterly. 'I've been trying to get Yami's attention ever since he got back from the afterlife, yet all he thinks about is that girl Amy! I'm gonna have to have a little one-on-one chat with Miss Perfect...'


~On the rooftop of Domino High- 1:03 p.m.~

She was severely furious over what happened a few hours ago.

Joey didn't know that when it came to female values, she was truly a believer and quite the activist! Even if he didn't mean it, still that part of her went off and punched him so hard that the black eye she gave him wasn't going to go away that easily.

Amy was trying hard enough to control her anger hopefully before the second block of classes began. The students knew of her anger, but to see it physically scared them into thinking that she was off-limits when provoked. It wasn't her fault, she thought realistically. The magnitude of her suitors' relentless pursuits made her fury to a point that you don't want to enter. What was so hard about trying to vent out her anger in violent ways? If only there was something that she can take out her frustrations on, then Amy could be back to the way she was before the incident in Chemistry class.

The sound of the rooftop door opening made Amy put her fists up to punch whomever was coming, but backed down when she realized that Yami came by to see if she was okay.

"I feared that I was going to get sucker-punched like Joey when I saw those fists coming right up." Yami said. "You feeling alright or some of that anger still in there?"

"I'm very pissed off right now." Amy growled. "Joey should know by now that pushing my buttons is not a great idea at all. I can't believe what he said to me was degrading!"

"Hey, Joey didn't mean to upset you. He felt that you took his words the wrong way, and that black eye's getting a lot of attention from the students." Yami said.

"I know, but still..." Amy groaned. "Joey never knew that when it comes to feminine values, I stand by my beliefs and that part of me just came out."

"You must have a lot of values that you follow every day, huh?" Yami asked.

"I have many morals that I pursued throughout my lifetime." Amy stated. "With all the constant proposals and stalking that I get from my unwanted suitors, adding the insults that I get from the females...you can say that I'm one unhappy woman."

"Hey, don't you at least have some females that respect your wishes to be treated fairly in the world not for your looks, but for your personality?" Yami pondered. "I know that famous people have very few real friends that look beyond their social status in the world, and your family is truly a famous one at that."

"I do have some friends, including Reni." Amy said. "The fact that you're the first male since Seto-kun to not go crazy over me, I guess that you must be someone precious to me."

"Well, um..." Yami stammered. "A-Anyways, I have some leftover sweets that my mother gave to me over the weekend. You want them?"

"Well, that depends...what are they?" Amy asked.

"Just some chocolate bonbons." Yami answered.

"Ch-Ch-Chocolate?" Amy stuttered.

If there was one major weakness that the pink haired beauty had to show to someone, was that chocolate was her kryptonite. Like many chocoholics, Amy tried to resist the temptation of the dark, rich texture of the seductive, sweet concoction. In fact, the girl was going through chocolate withdrawal for seven months now! Amy tried to hold herself together, but failed miserably.

'Must...resist...chocolate cravings...OH screw it! I need my chocolate!' Amy thought bitterly.

"Uh...are you alright, Amy?" Yami asked.

"CHOCOLATE!" Amy screamed.

"Whoa!" Yami yelped.


-Down below...-

"CHOCOLATE!"

"Was that Amy's voice just now?" Duke asked.

"I think she went insane..." Tristan said.

'Crap...Yami must have given Amy chocolate to calm her down. He doesn't know that when someone gives her chocolate, she can go pretty berserk.' Seto thought.

"Ouch!" Joey screeched. "Seren, that hurts!"

"This is what you get for not choosing your words right, Joey!" Serenity chided.

-Back on the roof...-


He didn't know that chocolate would set her off, let alone getting tackled by her just for the treats he had in his bag. Well, at least he knew what her favorite sweets were. Just the mere mentioning of the word made her jump onto him in hopes of getting the sugary delicacy; though her reaction was one out of surprise.

Yami was on the ground being held in Amy's arms, who jumped on him when she was offered his leftover chocolate. He was quite astonished that she lost her entire anger in less than five seconds, returning to the girl that he met from the first day they met. However, once their eyes locked in, he felt something entirely different from the feelings that he shared with Ayame. Yami couldn't be developing feelings for Amy as well, even if she and Ayame looked alike! But, her delicate touch made his cheeks burning red, hoping not to go overboard and do something that he'll regret later on.

Amy also felt different while holding Yami in her arms, looking straight into the soul of a Pharaoh for the first time of her life. She saw the anguish of losing his beloved Ayame, but at the same time seeing the leadership qualities that he possessed for so long. As if time stood still for both of them, visions of his love life coming back into his mind, making Yami snap back into reality and looking at the girl once more. Amy herself also snap back into reality as well, hoping to forget the memories of the only Mr. Right in her love life before he was murdered a day after being engaged to him.

"Uh...you still want the chocolate?" Yami asked.

"Uh...yeah." Amy said. "Thanks for the offer."

"Speaking of offers, about that gala event this weekend..." Yami pondered.

"What about it?" Amy asked.

"Well, I was wondering what type of gala this is going to be if every single rich person is coming by. Knowing that a lot of celebrities are going to be there is kind of making me nervous about setting a good first impression with your folks." Yami stated.

"Are you trying to get on their good side?" Amy chuckled.

"I don't want them thinking that I'm your next boyfriend or whatever." Yami said. "And the men over there must be pretty handsome to get your attention."

"Like I told Seto-kun a thousand times, rich men aren't my type." Amy stated. "Anyway, the gala itself is more of a charity gala considering that my mother is one of Japan's top charity advocates. We have eight charities accepting donations from across the world, and it's also to celebrate my return to the city. But, I don't want to get another man in my life right now with things becoming so busy for me these days."

"I see..." Yami said. "Well, considering the factors that you want to avoid any type of romantic feelings coming from any man and control your anger before things get worse, I'll have to accept your offer as your date."

"Are you serious?" Amy asked.

"Would a Pharaoh lie to anyone in desperate need?" Yami smirked.

"Thanks a 'effing ton!" Amy cheered. "I needed this so badly! But wait, where are you going to get a tuxedo for the gala?"

"I'll rent it if I have to." Yami said. "I want that night to be as smooth riding as possible."

"Good. Anyways, best to head back down before the bell rings, huh?" Amy said.

"But, don't you want your bonbons?" Yami teased.

"Give me my chocolate!" Amy whined.

At the end of the school day, Yami finally gotten the answers he wanted as well as scoring a wonderful date with Amy to her family's gala event. However, telling Yugi and his grandpa about the offer went completely crazy as the two were ballistic that Yami never told them about the date offering that Amy asked him over the weekend. Things calmed down and they helped him for the rest of the week sharpening his manners, along with finding a tuxedo to rent for the weekend.

However, his feelings for Amy and Ayame were starting to become conflicted within his heart. If he fell in love with Amy, how would this affect him when the time came into bringing Ayame back from the dead?


Finally done! Next chance to update this thing is when I get more inspiration over these next several weeks. Also, I'll finally be able to post up the last of my one-shots and concentrate on other sectors that I know of.

R&R, people!