Chapter One

Back to Reality

It was a normal morning at Domino High, the halls were teeming with teens who were either making there way to class or meet friends. Or, in the case of some, standing in front of their lockers staring listlessly into their crowded insides and wondering where their books were. It was noisy overall, people talking about the weekend they had or sharing the latest tidbit of gossip. The hottest topic, as per usual, revolved around Duel Monsters and in turn to the new Egyptian exhibition that was headlining the fall festival in the park later that day.

Snatches of different conversations could occasionally be heard above the incessant rumbling.

"… Deals on rare monsters…"

"… Through the ancient tomb…"

"… Just imagin' all tha Egyptian dancah babes!"

The last comment came from none other than the infamous, and ever flirtatious, Joey Wheeler. He was leaning on his closed locker, talking to his friends amiably, ignoring the fact that the bell had already rung and he still had yet to get his books out. The fact that he was born and raised in America was evident in his highly accented Japanese.

"Joey, do you have any idea how much us normal women hate to be referred to as 'babes'?" one of his friends, a shorter, brown-haired girl, named Tea, chastised him, accentuating her opinion with a slam of her locker.

"Wha'd ya say Tea?" he said, redirecting his attention to her from the group of girls who were clustered around on the other side of the hallway. Clueless as always he was always wondering why she was mad at him.

"Joey, you need to learn to treat girls with more respect," another boy stated from beside Joey, he was shorter than the others, almost abnormally so, with spiked red hair with golden highlights. His name was Yugi and was usually the one to break up the arguments within the group, though he was small he had a heart of gold and everyone knew he was the strongest of them all. If not in body, than in mind and heart, Yugi had gone through things they could only begin to imagine.

But at this moment in time, no evidence of past evils and conflicts could be seen. It was yet another school day where saving the world from the dark forces was far from anyone's mind.

The last teen in the group laughed, slinging a fully loaded bookbag over his shoulder. "Listen to Yugi, it's no wonder you're always in the doghouse with women bro!" He carelessly brushed a hand through his brown hair, styled in an interesting formation on top of his head. The two had been friends for as long as they could remember, but provoking Joey was always one of Tristan's favorite pastimes, if only to see how long he could keep it up before Joey was chasing after him.

These days it seemed to take a little less goading.

"'Ey!" he growled, earning more laughter from his friends, "enough of tha dog jokes 'ear me?"

"Sure Jo, don't worry, I'm sure you won't have to beg for dates forever!"

"Tristan! I'm gonna!"

Tristan grabbed Tea and held her in front of him like a living shield. The ever heroic Yugi tried to jump between them and grab the fist that was heading steadily towards the cringing Tristan. Suddenly, he froze in mid-swing.

For a moment no one moved, afraid of setting Joey off again. As seconds passed and no one moved, the friends started to get worried.

"Joey?" Yugi asked slowly, backing away from his American friend, "what's wrong?"

"Jo?" Tristan peered out from behind Tea cautiously, unsure of if Joey was still coming after him or not.

Joey stood stock still, as if in a trance. His openmouthed stare was directed down the hallway. Curious at their friend's stranger than usual behavior, they followed his gaze to the closed office door.

"Joey? What are you staring at?" Tea asked warily. Joey didn't answer; he let his fist fall to his side and stood up straight, as if he hadn't heard them. He still stared slack-jawed at the door.

Suddenly, he snapped out of whatever spell he had fallen under.

"Huh? Hey guys, what're ya starin' at me for? Nevah mind, I jus' saw tha most gorgeous girl in the entire world!"

Yugi, Tristan and Tea face-vaulted.

"JOEY!"

"Wha'?"

Shaking their heads at his hopelessness, they continued on their way to Miss Haruna's homeroom.

"'Ey guys wait fo' me!"

He caught up with them easily, after yanking open his locker and tossing a few things into his backpack. He jumped between Yugi and Tristan so he would be centered enough to continue his narrative.

"Ya shoulda seen 'er, she had blue hair wit silver highlights, an' man what a figure!" he continued on, unaware his friends were hardly listening to him at all. Other than Tea, who hit him upside the head with her math book.

"Come on Joey, Miss H gave us the afternoon off for the festival, don't ruin the mood by degrading all the girls you see!"

"But Tea! She 'ad blue hair!"

"I fail to see your point." Tea muttered darkly.

"What has blue hair?" asked a voice from behind them.

"Kaiba? What're you doing here?" asked Tristan regarding the new arrival with skepticism. "I thought you would be at the festival already, since KaibaCorp is displaying their new dual deck and all…"

Kaiba shrugged offhandedly. "We're involved in a number of things in the festival, I have some stuff to pick up before I get there." Kaiba's tone might have been carefree but his underlying words were clear, 'I run it I can go when I want.'

"That's cool Kaiba, I guess you get a first look at all the exhibits and displays then?" Tea asked, finding it hard to contain her enthusiasm, she couldn't wait to see all the different artifacts.

"I'm more concerned with our areas moreso than examining relics," Kaiba stated, not truly meaning to sound standoffish, "I will have to be working nonstop to keep everything in order.

Seto Kaiba was in the same grade and homeroom as Yugi and the gang, but for a long time hadn't associated with them, or anyone else, very much. Partially this was because Kaiba thought they were childish and immature and because everyone else thought that Kaiba was a heartless businessman whose attention was fixated only on KaibaCorp. After some complicated issues had developed and been solved with the help of little Yugi and his friends, Kaiba found it easier to talk to them. Or at least stand them, even the unorthodox Joey Wheeler – to an extent. Although Kaiba still enjoyed his own company rather than that of his 'friends' he had come to rely on being able to talk to them. Duelist Kingdom and the Battle City Tournament had taught him that there was something beneficial about having friends to rely on, though he would never admit it openly.

"Are the Duel Deck systems all up and running?" Tristan asked.

"Yes, and all ready for the first hapless test subjects, how 'bout you Wheeler? You want toe be a guinea pig? Or would that be a step up from lap dog?"

Joey growled. Yugi put a hand out to hold him back from doing anything stupid or might result in permanent damage to his friend.

"Come on Joey, it was just a joke… right Kaiba?"

He laughed, "of course it was Wheeler, I actually DO need your… expertise, and Yugi's too of course, to help sell my project. I'll be busy overseeing and can't participate in the demonstration itself."

"Sure Kaiba," Yugi answered quickly, hoping that Joey wouldn't blow his top and start a fight so early in the morning. "We'd be glad to try them out for you!"

"The demo starts at 4:00, so you'd be good to show up at 3:15, if I'm not there Mokuba and a few of my techs will be there to brief you and get you ready for the exhibition. If there are any problems, Mokuba will know how to get a hold of me before ShowTime." He turned to walk away when Tea spoke.

"What will you be up to all day Kaiba?"

He stopped and looked over his shoulder at them, regarding them with a detached, cool look he had perfected after years of dealing with people who were trying to pry into areas of life he didn't want to discuss. They watched him in interest, wondering why he would not be present to overlook every minute detail, a trait he was known for.

Kaiba didn't think it was their business, knowing what his schedule was.

(I promise…)

Kaiba stood lost in a fog, not really looking at Yugi and his friends anymore, recalling an old, ancient memory. The recollection had only come to him, hours earlier, in the form of a dream, and he was finding it hard to keep his mind off it and back in the real world.

(I promise…)

The voice was his, that much he was sure of, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out who he was talking to. It wasn't much help that he could only remember a few sketchy seconds a time.

(I promise I will always love you.)

"Kaiba?" Yugi's voice broke through the haze that was dulling Kaiba's mind, in any other instance, hearing his voice would have been enough to startle him out of any daydream (not that he did that a lot mind you) but he was having a hard time shaking out of this memory.

"Kaiba? You okay man?"

Kaiba shook his head, trying to clear the confusion that was slowing his thinking and making it near impossible to stay in the waking world. Why was this dream having such an effect on him?

"Kaiba is there something wrong? You don't look so hot…"

'Little Yugi,' Kaiba thought distractedly, still caught in the dream world, watching the conversation as if he were only a bystander, 'Little Yugi, I know you have something to do with this…"

Finally, Kaiba snapped free of the vision and was jolted back to reality with a such ferocity that his head was spinning, or was that a result of the concentration he'd exerted, trying to recall more of the dream?

"I'm fine," Kaiba answered automatically, snarling at them a little harsher than usual, they backed away sensing the change in his temperament. "I have things to do, see you later." He turned on his heel and left, his trademark trenchcoat billowing as he walked.

"Bye Kaiba…" replied Yugi halfheartedly after the bluntness in his exit.

Joey pounded his fist into the nearest locker.

"ARGH! (clang) Why (clang) do (clang) we (clang) PUT UP WITH THAT?! (clang, clang, clang, clang)"

"Calm down Joey!" Tea cried, aware that Joey's actions were drawing an audience, but she couldn't stop him from taking one last punch at the defenseless locker he had been beating on.

(Flamumph!)

"Opps, heh heh…"

The unfortunate locker was now decorated with the indent of Joey's fist, and, consequently, bent almost double.

"My locker!"

They all turned to the owner of the voice. Behind them stood a boy with stark white hair and was wearing an expression of disbelief as he stared at his now crumpled locker.

"Sorry Bakura," Joey apologized lamely.

Tristan sighed them pulled his friends away form the locker and growing throng of people trying to see where the noise had come from, "Come on guys, if we're done with the tooth-grinding and locker-punching, cough cough, Joey… we have places to be."

"Tristan's right," Yugi agreed, eyeing the growing, humming crowd apprehensively, "C'mon Bakura, Joey will pay for the damages I'm sure."

"Sure Joey will," Joey muttered in third person, earning him concerned stares from his friends, "I jus' wish it'd been Kaiba I was punchin' 'stead of some locker… Why's he gotta be such a rude jerk all tha time?"

Tea laughed under her breath then mumbled, "Probably the same reason you have to be so ignorant about women…"

They entered their quickly filling homeroom one after the other and took their seats. A few minutes later…

"I 'eard that Tea…"

Kaiba made sure not to turn around as he walked away, certain that if he did, it would show his normally cold and cunning face in a state of confusion. Thought flew rapidly through his mind, bouncing off the insides as random and irregular as a maniac machine gun.

He made his way through the empty halls, to any casual observer – looking as if he knew exactly where his destination was. But under any closer scrutiny, he was wandering in a daze.

'Yugi knows,' he thought angrily, 'I know he knows something about this blasted dream!' He pushed his way through the front doors, oblivious to the smaller students he had shunted out of his way in his unintentional haste. 'Him and that millennium spirit of his…'

He stopped outside the front doors, staring absentmindedly into the morning sky. The air was crisp and clear, a telltale sign of the peak autumn season. The leaves on the two trees guarding the entranceway to the school were rapidly changing from their summertime brilliance to fall oranges, reds and yellows in all their splendor. A stray breeze ruffles the branches, sending leaves spiraling to the ground below, The breeze threatened to bring more of Seto's dream to the fore but his probing sent any new discoveries farther down below the surface.

'I will figure this out! My past is just as shadowed as Yugi's spirit's, Yami figured his out, why can I not do the same? Why is the only thing I remember me confessing my undying love to someone I can't even see?'

Calming himself down with a few slow, deep breaths, Kaiba started walking again. He left the school grounds on foot, instead of travelling by limo as he usually did. With a dejected set to his shoulders and a contemplating scowl etched deep in his facial features, Kaiba walked home. Alone, and trying to think of someone who could help him.

And still, the leaves fell.

End Chapter One

A/N – Heya guys, in case you haven't noticed yet, I'm trying to make things as two-toned as possible for your reading pleasure. Meaning that Kaiba is going to be as morose and depressing as usual and all the scenes with Yugi Joey and the like will be as upbeat and funny as possible, ok? Good.

Gotta book it!

Satori Blackthorn