Hi! I'm Flower Petals and this is my very first fan fiction. I wrote it for my sister as a Christmas present last year, so please don't mind if it's kind of old. I wrote it way before the second season of Yu-Gi-Oh began, so I was clueless about everything from personalities to Millennium Items. I know there are long paragraphs, but please suffer through them. It gets better, I promise.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything pertaining to it. But I do own my sister, (Taleah). He, he, he. . .
Flower Petals
Presumptions
"You know what I must do, do you not?"
"Yes, sir."
There was a slight twang as glass touched the surface of a cherry wood table. The red liquid within the glass, stirred. A fork was placed down also, on a plate occupied by cheesecake of the richest sort.
"I have waited too long. Much too long. I must have it. I need-" There was a clearing of the throat. "I require it."
"Yes, I know, sir."
A quick flash of gold was quickly shown. "You know the arrangements, now off with you!"
"Yes, sir!"
A door was shut quickly and footsteps could be heard in a rapidly increasing rhythm.
A vicious little chuckle ripped through the air. "They'll all be mine, given the right amount of time. Oh, yes. I can see it now. Mine, again. . ." Sputters of laughter ran out into the darkness.
"I love you. You know that don't you?"
"Oh, yes. I have loved since the very first day we met. Never will I not say that you are in my heart. I'll always hold you dear, no matter how close together, or far apart."
"Taleah! Shut that thing off already! You are going to be late for school."
Taleah sighed and brushed away the tears that flowed freely from her cheeks. She loved that movie. It was her favorite. She watched it everyday before she went to school. Her mother just didn't understand; she thought it was like any other romantic comedy. But Taleah knew that it was different. Love Ties had character, and spunk. It had twists and turns, and a surprise ending. Of course, Taleah was the only one who liked it. (Her parents having fallen asleep the first time they watched it after the second scene). But she didn't mind. She liked having something all to herself.
At that thought, she touched her bracelet. She had owned it since she could remember. It was very special to her. Never took it off once. It always seemed to be there for her, like her only friend was supposed to be, but so often not. It seemed to grow warm when she was sad like a reassuring hand, and light and springy when she was happy, like It shared her joy. It never broke. Once, Taleah had gotten it stuck in a washing machine, (a tale she did not like to reflect on), and It had come out just fine. But the thing she loved most about It, was that It looked like no other. It was clearly ancient, and had beautifully carved intricate patterns all the way around. In the very middle, was a mysterious eye, unlike she had ever seen. The Object appeared fragile and easy to break, but Taleah knew that it was ever strong. A single ruby lay on the top bordered with what looked like tiny diamonds. Everywhere she went, some person was admiring It and asking her questions of Its origin.
Now out of the front door, Taleah was making her way down the steps when her mother came around the corner of the house, carrying her school backpack.
"You always forget this."
Taleah managed a small smile of guilt. "Lucky me that you always remember it."
Her mother shook her head. "Have fun at school, dear."
Taleah grimaced. School. The last place I want to be. It wasn't so much the work that bothered her. It was the teachers. She swore they hated her. They were always glancing in her direction and glaring. They also seemed to give her twice as much school work as the other students. Taleah didn't mind; she liked school work. But that made them even more evil. Mostly, it was because she helped all the other kids out. They all came to her for aid. No, Taleah thought, that's a euphemism for what they really mean me to do. More often then not, she ended up doing their homework for them. The teachers knew that. That's why they disliked her. And that's why she dreaded going to school.
"Hey, Taleah!"
It was Tae - Taleah's only friend. She loved Tae, dearly, but she had to admit that sometimes her friend was a bit of an air head. Once, Taleah had decided to play a prank on her friend and called her pretending to be a celebrity. Tae believed her instantly and kept ranting on and on about how she was, "Robert Redoe,"'s biggest fan and about how she always wanted to speak with him. When Taleah had told her that it was a joke, and that she was really, Taleah, Tae hadn't believed her. She even persisted that Taleah was Robert Redoe. It had taken about two and a half hours to finally convince her that it was Taleah on the other end. But even then, Tae had seemed skeptical.
"Hi, Tae."
"What took you so long?"
"I was watching Love Ties," Taleah answered.
Tae giggled. "You do that every morning." She shook her head. "Some things never change."
"Some things do."
Tae raised her eyebrows.
"I only watched it once today."
Tae rolled her eyes.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, just enjoying each other's company. They did that daily. Every day Tae waited for Taleah around the corner. And every day she complained about how late she was. But it wasn't true-both ended up at the school about the same time as everybody else. Nobody took the school bus any more. It was a small town and the school was in the very center; walking distance for every kid.
Their school was almost like a castle. Some even said it had been once. It stood about castle high and was about a castle's width. It also had many rooms and corridors. Some of which were quite easy to get lost in. The very first day Taleah and Tae had gone to the school, they had gotten lost. But they hadn't been the only ones. Half the kids that were supposed to be in their classes winded up being missing. All were found hopelessly lost, walking up and down winding passages and hidden labyrinths. The next day, only a quarter of the kids who had gotten lost the day before were missing. Taleah and Tae were one of the few who decided to go exploring. They were found of course, and excused as just taking a wrong turn. That was, until Tae spoke up,(one of her air head moments), and explained that they had disappeared on purpose. Since then, Taleah and Tae were never absent for class.
"Wow, that's amazing!" one girl cooed.
"You are so brave!"
"No, no. It was just my natural instincts that kicked in. You know, someone's in trouble and on the verge of death so go and save them."
Tae snorted. "I hate him."
"You'd think people would get tired of hearing his story," Taleah agreed. "After all, Simmick has been telling it every day now since it happened three years ago."
Simmick was one of the popular kids. He had been considered a dork by many's standards, until a few years ago when he had pulled an elderly lady from a burning car. Since then, he had become very popular and was even once called an idol. Girls worshiped him. They could listen for hours as he went on and on about how hot it was near the burning vehicle and how he had looked death in the face. They'd gather in circles around him and giggle and touch his earing of which he was equally proud of. Simmick just loved his new found fame.
Taleah and Tae finished climbing the last few stone stairs of the castle and made a right into their first class of the day-history. The classroom was big-about twice the size of Taleah's own bedroom. It had a rather large desk at one end with Mrs. Timblenook, their history teacher, and approximately twenty different chairs for the students with little built-in desks. Taleah and Tae sat on the far right side like they always did. Not many people were in the class that day. But surprisingly enough, one person who was rarely ever there, sat just a few chairs over to Taleah's right.
As was the way with him, he saw tall and erect; perfect posture always. It was Seto Kaiba. Not only was he the richest teenager in the whole town, but he was also president of his own company that dealt with the newest creations in technology-holographic generators. Of course, that was just one project of many-his company created a wide range of things, all of which only the very wealthy could afford. Kaiba was all over the place most of the time. He was always in some different country on a "business trip," or in his mansion, working on his machines. Even when he came to school, quite frequently one of his employees or fellow business associates would enter the classroom and beckon for him to come with them. Kaiba would then apologize and leave without another word. Which was common for him. He rarely ever spoke and when he did, it was always nasty or cold. He had no friends and as far as Taleah knew, had no family except for his brother.
His, was a strange tale indeed. Seto Kaiba had actually been born into a well respected poor family. His mother died giving birth to his brother and his father died a year later in a car accident. Both brothers were sent to the orphanage where they lived for a number of years. It was said that when Gazubaru Kaiba entered the orphanage looking for a son, (an heir to run his company), Seto challenged him to a chess game. Seto won and Mr. Kaiba was so impressed that he adopted both him and his brother. But it was not the fairy tale ending all had hoped it would be-Mr. Kaiba abused Seto and treated him awfully. That was why, many believed, Seto was so cold hearted. Nobody recalled ever seeing him smile since he had left the orphanage with high hopes. Finally on one ill-destined day, Seto had felt like he had had enough and threatened to push his father off the roof of a skyscraper. Or so, that was what he said had happened. But nonetheless, Mr. Kaiba died of a heart attack and Seto inherited his company.
"Students!" Mrs. Timblenook rapped on her desk. "I would like to introduce you to-now none of that! That is very impolite! As I was saying-Belennia, get your finger out of your nose! Silence! That is better. Now class, this is Bakura, a transfer student. Bakura, would you care to tell us a little about yourself?"
Taleah couldn't see Bakura having a rather large boy sitting right in front of her. Maybe if I just lean a little ways in that direction, I might hear a little better. Bakura was now saying something but Taleah still couldn't hear. A little further. . .
There was a deafening clatter.
Taleah quickly stood up and rubbed her sore bottom. She picked up her chair and placed it back. Tae mouthed, Are you okay? Taleah nodded. Now I've done it! Got everybody to look in my way, that is! Leaned too far in the wrong direction.
"Yes, Taleah," Mrs. Timblenook said, "We all know that Bakura is a very nice looking young man. But that doesn't mean you have to fall head over heels for him."
The whole class was a mess of laughter. That was, except for Kaiba. He gave Taleah a critical look and then went back to writing what could only be business papers.
Very funny, Taleah thought to herself. She plopped back into her seat and pouted. She knew the day would only get worse. First would come the pointing, then the teasing, then. . .
"Are you alright? You had a mighty hard fall, I should say."
The voice had come from behind her. It was a quiet voice with the hint of a soft accent.
Taleah slowly turned around. Her eyes met those of who could only by the new transfer student, Bakura. Taleah almost melted staring into his eyes. They're the most sweetest brown eyes I've ever seen! But the thing that made him different from any other teenage boy Taleah had seen, was the fact that he had white hair. Beautiful, wavy, white hair that cascaded far down his back.
"Um. . .uh. . ."
Bakura smiled revealing a set of perfect teeth. "I'll take that as a yes."
Taleah nodded and turned back around. Stupid! Now he thinks that I'm some blubbering idiot! I'll just hide from him. That's it! I'll make sure I stay out of his way.
History class was as boring as ever. Mrs. Timblenook had a very good memory and could recall every little detail of everything that had happened in the last one thousand years. She would ramble on through most of the class talking about certain things of which she would always get sidetracked from and end up telling a story about herself. All the students knew so much about her from that, that they could recite her whole entire life.
The next few subjects were math, science, and social studies. Every one Taleah tried her best to hide from Bakura. But for some reason, he had all the same classes as her and he always sat behind her. Sometimes she would find herself trying to stare at him over her shoulder. A few times he met her gaze and smiled and waved. What's wrong with me? There's just something about him. Something peculiar. . .
Yugi Muto stepped out of the men's bathroom feeling very miserable indeed. He rubbed his black eye and sore sides. Today hadn't been one of his better days. This was three times now that he would go home with a black eye. Each different time spaced just so that he would recover from one, and then wind up with another one on the same eye.
He sighed. Bullies loved picking on him because he was short and because they knew he wouldn't fight back. Yugi just wasn't a fighter. He liked and respected peace and could never imagine himself punching someone in the face. As for his other problem, Yugi had been short his whole life. Very short. Very, very short. The average height for teenage boys nowadays was around six feet. Although he liked to consider himself four feet tall, Yugi only stood about three feet, ten inches. He was also very thin, all his clothes being at least several sizes to big. That gave all the more reason for bullies to pick on him. To them, it was just another excuse. But Yugi wore his clothes proudly. His grandpa had given him those clothes, and Yugi could never turn down a gift. So despite all, Yugi Muto walked out of the men's bathroom with his head held high.
Most of the kids were walking home by now, school being over and all. So Yugi was feeling pretty certain that he wouldn't run into any more of those bullies on his way back home. That was, he was feeling pretty certain until he heard voices a few yards down the hall. He briefly considered turning heel and running out of there as fast as his small feet could carry him, when he heard someone begging and then being very quiet.
Feeling that somebody was in trouble and needed help, Yugi forgot his fears and ran to see what was going on. He didn't have to run very far before he saw the scene. Joeseph Wheeler and Tristen Taylor, (two of the school's worst bullies), were backed up against the wall and being threatened by Bredigan Bridge, who was by far, the worst bully of them all.
Yugi swallowed. "Is everything okay, guys?"
The three turned their heads to stare at him. Tristen took this to his advantage and ran off crying. Joeseph stood his ground.
Bredigan sneered. "Well, if it's not Mr. Never Had a Growth Spirt. Glad you could join us. Joey and I were just discussing a few things."
"Well if it's alright, Joey can come with me now. We'd best be on our way."
Joey's eyes brightened and he tried to sidestep Bredigan. But it didn't work. Bredigan whipped around and grabbed Joey by the arm.
"I told you already, Mr. Shorty, Joey and I are just speaking about a few things. Besides, he enjoys my company better."
"I think da only person who enjoys ya company is yar mommy," Joey spat, his voice heavy with a New York accent.
Bredigan tightened his grip and twisted Joey's arm around. Joey cried out but didn't attempt anything this time.
Yugi felt anger whelming up inside him. It was all turned into power and poured into a single object that hung from his neck. It was seemingly gold, and shaped like a triangle or pyramid with a funny shaped eye in the center. Like so many other times, Yugi felt himself changing; becoming taller, smarter, wiser. His voice got deeper and his hair grew pointier. He had become Yu-Gi-Oh, which usually happened when he felt strongly about something or needed advice. A voice spoke to him; a strong, persuasive voice that often gave good counsel. Stand up to him, the voice said. Remain strong and stand up to him.
Bredigan was shocked. He had never seen such a change take place before. The result of his surprise, made him let go of Joey's arm.
Yu-Gi-Oh took it to his advantage and stepped in-between them. "Leave now. You no longer have anything to discuss with Joey. As I said before, he's coming with me."
Bredigan, still confused, quickly saw that he was one against two and ran off shouting over his shoulder, "This is not over!"
Yu-Gi-Oh grinned, happy with himself. Victory at last. The presence he had felt, the voice, slipped away back into the Item around his neck and he became himself once again.
Joey slapped his hand hard over his thigh. "Alright! Way da go Yug! Ya showed tha' overgrown dork!"
Yugi couldn't help but grin. "He sure ran awfully fast."
"Yeah. Probably still runnin'!" Joey shook his head in disbelief. Then a thought occurred to him. "Wha' happened though! It looked like ya became somebody else."
"My Puzzle, my Millennium Puzzle," Yugi said, referring to the thing he wore around his neck. I solved It not too long ago and unlocked It's secret. My grandpa found It when he was in Egypt collecting cards. He gave It to me. It's strange, sometimes when I need help or advice or something, I feel this strong, courageous presence inside the Puzzle. It helps me and advises me." Yugi stopped, seeing Joey's blank expression. He chuckled. "It's all rather confusing really."
Joey blinked. "Ya tellin' me?"
A few hours later, despite their past differences, Joey and Yugi sat on top of one of the towers of the school, trading stories, jokes, and just enjoying one another's company.
Joey rubbed his stomach after laughing really hard at a particularly funny joke Yugi had just told him. "Ah, Yug. That one was da duesy." His face suddenly grew serious. "Ya know, nobody's ever done dat for me before. Stand up for me dat is. Ya're da really good pal."
Joey's face flushed a bright red and he stood up and muttered something about having to get back.
Yugi watched Joey as he walked away. And smiled.
It was after school now and Taleah was walking home by herself. It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly overhead, vanquishing all the greedy clouds that sought to cover the sky. The air smelt strongly of pine trees. Every house on the block had at least two of them. Taleah loved to stop and admire their beauty. But now she did no such thing. She wanted to get home as quickly as possible.
She was almost there when she heard, "Let's get him!"
She couldn't help but turn around. And there was Bakura. But he wasn't alone-he had what seemed like all the girls in the whole entire town after him. Taleah even heard one ask for his autograph. She would have normally just minded her own business and walked off, but Bakura looked troubled. He was trying to be polite, but at the same time, trying to put a lot of distance between himself and his admirers. It wasn't working.
Forgetting that she had wanted to hide from him, Taleah took a deep breath and walked up to Bakura who was trying to explain that it was not necessary to have his autograph.
"Hi, Bakura!" Taleah said, putting on a big smile. "Glad I found you. Come with me."
"Hey, that's not fair!" shouted one girl.
"Yeah, you can't keep him all to yourself!"
"Share him! Or else!" called out on girl who apparently had just stepped out of the shower, (she was wearing a towel and hair net) to join the throng.
"He's mine! He said he liked my earings."
"No, he was just saying that to be polite. He's such a nice guy!"
"He told me that he liked my earings too."
"Mine too!"
"He said he liked my shoes!"
"With your big feet? I don't think so."
"Hey look! They're getting away!"
Taleah had long since grabbed Bakura's arm and was pulling him away at top speed. But the greedy girls were catching up fast. Some even threw their earings and shoes at Taleah and Bakura to try to slow them down.
"This is not working," Taleah said as she continued to run. "We're going to need some place to hide."
Bakura threw his arms up in defeat. "I have never been here before. I would not know of any good hiding places."
"Alright, then this will have to do." Taleah pushed Bakura into a rather large bush and then jumped in herself. They rolled a little ways and then remained perfectly still. No sounds could be heard except for their panting, (they were quite out of breath). No girls screaming and yelling.
"Do you think we lost them?" Bakura asked, straining his neck a little so he could see over the top of the bush.
"Maybe, I don't-"
"I think they went that way!"
"Let's get them!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Taleah clasped a hand over her mouth. "I guess I was wrong," she whispered very quietly.
"We can't stay here for much longer," Bakura warned. "This is a dead end road right? Yeah. They'll be coming back. Come, follow me. I shall bring you to my place."
"Do you know how to get there from here?"
Bakura grinned. "I said that I wasn't familiar with this road. Not that I was completely and utterly lost."
Taleah grinned also. "Okay, Mate. Lead the way!"
About ten minutes later, traveling through dense wood and stopping whenever they heard the slightest sound, Bakura and Taleah had finally reached their destination. Bakura lived on a long, winding road that was parallel to Taleah's. His home was a small one but very charming. It had lots of little this's and that's that made it even more special. For instance, there was a rather cute bird feeder right outside the front door that was beautifully made and even had a tiny little welcome mat. Inside, the house seemed much bigger.
"I guess we just utilize our space well," Bakura explained. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Sure."
There was a small deck through one of the sliding glass doors in the kitchen. It looked over gorgeous terrain. One could see for miles in every direction. To the north lay the mountains with their white peaks and to the east, if one could look far enough, (over all the tall pine trees), one would see the vast ocean.
"What a beautiful view!" Taleah cried.
"Yeah," said Bakura grimly as he handed Taleah her drink. "Yeah, it is. Too bad I never have anybody to share it with."
Taleah was confused. "What about your parents? You surely don't live alone?"
"My parents are traveling folk, as they like to call themselves. They'd never be happy just remaining in one place. They're all over. Sometimes I can barely even keep track of where they are! I wouldn't mind traveling myself one day, but I still have school to look forward to for many more years." Bakura sighed. "Most of the time I'm by myself. Gets quite lonely it does. My parents are somewhere in Africa now. They just left a few weeks ago. So they should be back sometime around the end of this month. That is, if everything goes well."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Well if you want company, I heard that I'm not that bad to have around." Taleah grinned, mischievously. "But you'd have to put up with me."
"Shouldn't be too much of a problem. But yeah, I'd like that."
"And I make a last good resort," Taleah added, "So if you're really bored and have nobody to talk to, nobody to hang out with, nothing to watch on television, no games to play, nobody left to call, you can always give me a ring or you could come over. I'm sure you're welcome."
Bakura laughed. "Last resort, eh? I don't think so. I think you'd be my first resort."
Taleah blushed. "Alright, if you say so. Why don't you tell me about a few of your own travels?"
Bakura went on to tell Taleah about a certain time when he went to China and was trying to say thank you in Chinese but it had come out wrong and he ended up saying something like, "Die you sucker!" Of course, he hadn't known and was wondering why they were all looking at him funny. Taleah laughed and laughed as he told her of other times when he was in Korea and Germany and Poland and had tripped or said something he wished he could take back. He especially loved to tell about Germany, which he claimed was his most favorite place in the world. He'd tell her about the nice people he met and the wondrous sights he saw.
"Some day I'd like to live there," he said. Then he grew quiet.
Taleah gazed at him dreamily. His accent is so charming. I could just listen to him talk for hours! Which was what she had done.
"Where did you get that?" Bakura asked rather quickly.
Taleah looked into his sweet brown eyes and saw that he was staring at her Bracelet. "I. . .I can't remember. Why?"
Bakura's eyes looked funny. "Just curious, that's all."
Over the week, Taleah and Bakura spent a lot of time together. When they weren't over at each other's house hanging out and having a great time, they were sitting next to each other at school, and during lunch breaks they ate together. Bakura even walked her to school now, (Tae being jealous that Taleah had found somebody new to hang out and completely ignoring her).
Yup, Taleah thought to herself, during one particular lunch break, This is the beginning of a great new friendship.
"Hi, Taleah."
It was Tae.
"Tae! I've missed you!" It was true-life just hadn't been the same without her friend.
"Yeah. Well are you going to introduce me to Mr. Shy over there or not?"
Bakura blushed and stuck out his hand. "I'm Bakura. I've heard a lot about you. Nothing but good things, of course."
Tae looked relieved. "It's nice to know that I wasn't forgotten."
"Of course not!" Taleah said, punching her friend playfully in the side. "So how was your week?"
Tae shrugged. "Same as usual I guess. Nothing new to report. Except that I got an A in math. Can you believe it? I did it without any help from you! Not that I didn't miss your help, that is."
"Well, that's great," said Taleah smiling. "Keep it up. How about, You Know Who? How's that going?"
Tae looked miserable. "As far as I can see, he doesn't even know I exist. He doesn't look at me, not even glance in my direction! He doesn't sit next to me, he doesn't even talk to me!"
"If you'd go over to talk to him I'm sure he'd like you right away."
Tae turned to Bakura for support.
"Sorry, but I have no idea what either of you are talking about!"
"Tae has had a crush on this guy, Yugi, since the fifth grade," Taleah explained. "But she's way too shy to go over and talk to him. They've never even spoken to each other."
"Invite him over," Bakura suggested. "Now, if you'd like."
"I don't know. . ."
Taleah did. "Hey, Yugi!"
Across the room a spikey haired kid turned around. Yugi had purple hair with black streaks and yellow bangs. Surprisingly enough, it went well with his bright purple eyes. He saw Taleah beckoning him over and started walking in their direction along with a tall kid, (of whom he had been speaking to) with a mop of messy golden hair that stuck out in just about every direction.
Yugi's week had went well enough. He and Joey hung out a lot at his grandpa's. (His grandfather was teaching Joey how to duel). Joey was very stubborn and liked making up his own rules, but Yugi's grandpa was very persistent. Yugi found it quite entertaining watching the two go at it, arguing over who was right. Of course, the fights would end up with both rolling around on the floor laughing, or Joey finally giving in and admitting that he was wrong and apologizing.
Even though Joey seemed to put on a tough act, Yugi soon found out that it was all fake. Joey was very emotional mostly because his parents had divorced when he was very young and his sister went away to live with their mother. He hadn't seen her since, but talked about her often. He'd talk about how funny she was when she was little and how brave she must be now. For even though Joey didn't talk about it a lot, he did mention once to Yugi that his sister had a very bad eye condition and that one day she might even go blind. Yugi tried being very supportive for his friend and promised that he would do whatever he could to help. But sometimes it was difficult, for Joey often put up a strong defense, like a hard shell that he kept around his feelings. Other times, Yugi found him hard to be around and difficult to understand. But Yugi would never give up on his friend. He couldn't-wouldn't. As complicated as Joey was, Yugi liked having him as a friend. And besides, Yugi thought to himself, without Gramps and Joey constantly arguing over Duel Monsters, what other entertainment would I have?
Duel Monsters was a hard game to play. It consisted of a match in which two players faced off in an all out battle that took skill, practice, and strategy. The main battles were waged between incredible monsters each with their own skills and fighting styles. In addition, players could use magic, set traps, and even change the battle field itself. It was a highly complex game, and Joey was learning very quickly.
Yugi was just telling Joey how good he was doing at school one day, when he saw Taleah Dundigan on the other side of the cafeteria motioning him to come over.
"Ya really thin' so?" Joey looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Thanks, Bro."
"I think Taleah wants us to go over there," Yugi said.
"Huh? Oh. Taleah. Taleah Dundigan? Wha's she want?"
Yugi shrugged. "I don't know. Lets go find out." Yugi had always liked Taleah. She was nice, kindhearted. And she helped him with his homework. But when he saw that she was standing next to Tae Gardner, his heart nearly stopped. Why, I've had a crush on her since fourth grade. I always try to act distant so she'd never find out. What if she knows? Is that why Taleah invited me over?
Joey strolled over casually. "Howdy Taleah. Whassup?"
"Hello Joey," said Taleah brightly. "How did Mr. Rothe like that science paper I helped you out with?"
"Passed wit' flyin' colors!"
"You're the new student, Bakura right?" asked Yugi.
Bakura nodded. "Yes. That would be me. And you're Yugi Muto."
"Er, hem." Joey cleared his throat.
Bakura appeared to be thinking very hard. "Joeseph something. . .uh. . .Wheel. . .Wheely. . .Whiney. . ."
"Ho, ho!" the blonde cried. "Dat was on purpose!"
Bakura drew back and covered his face with his hands. "Oh, I got it now. You're a Wheeler!"
Joey folded his arms. "Better believe it."
Tae started to laugh. It started with a giggle and then turned into hysterical, uncontrollable laughter. "Sorry! It's just so funny. Ooooooahhhhhh! I mean. . .Wheeler! What a silly name. Congratulations, you're a Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler, here's your prize. Will that be all for you, Mr. Wheeler? You'll have such adorable little Wheelers!"
Everybody was laughing now. Taleah and Bakura were laughing so hard their stomachs hurt. Yugi had to hold onto a table to even stay upright.
"It's not dat funny," Joey snarled. But that just made it worse. By the time they were finished, they were picking themselves off the floor.
Yugi wiped the tears from his eyes. "Sorry, Joey. But that just cracks me up."
"All of us," Tae added.
The five of them sat down at the nearest table. No one was hungry so they just all talked about funny things that had happened to them whether it was walking in on somebody using the restroom to even entering the wrong restroom.
"My uncle used to do that all the time," Tae admitted. "Walk into the wrong restroom, that is. If he was caught, he'd pretend to be blind. It always worked."
"My uncle is da private eye," Joey said.
"Sure Joey!"
"I don't have an uncle," Yugi said.
"Mine is a horse tamer."
Everyone looked up. Tristen Taylor stood behind Joey. He had brown hair that often stuck straight up in some kind of strange mohawk and had very narrow eyes. He wore a long, tan trenchcoat covering his white T-shirt and dark brown jeans. "Scoot over pal."
Joey grimaced. "Go park yar butt somewhere else, Tris."
"Careful, next time I just might sit on you!"
"A horse tamer, huh?" Yugi asked, changing the subject. "That sounds exciting."
Tristen shrugged. "Well if you like horses. Dang scary things if you ask me."
Taleah rolled her eyes. She had always liked horses. "Yeah. With their velvet muzzles and big, bright eyes. Very threatening."
Yugi chuckled.
Tristen's face flushed. "What about you? Do you have a relative that's extremely good at something? What's your family's heritage?"
Taleah's expression grew grim. "Dundigan was an Irish horse thief who stole one horse too many and was going to be hung but somehow managed to escape to America and start a family."
Tae, Joey, Tristen, and Yugi all laughed. Bakura put a hand on Taleah's shoulder. "Mine's not that much better."
There was a pause. It seemed that nobody could think of anything to talk about. Tristen started munching on an apple. Bakura sighed and stretched out his legs. Joey pulled out something from his jacket and started leafing through what could only be a card deck.
"Man, why does Duel Monsters have da be so complicated?!" he whined. Then he placed his deck neatly on the table and put his head in his hands.
Yugi patted his friend on the back. "I think you're doing just fine, Joey. Keep up the good work." Then he noticed that Taleah had her mouth open. Drool started to form in the corners. "Do you play Duel Monsters?"
Taleah realized that she was gawking and closed her mouth. "I have my own deck and all," she replied. "I know most of the rules and a few strategies. But my deck is nowhere near in comparison to Joey's. I saw a monster that had an attack strength of eighteen hundred!"
"My best one," Joey admitted, grimly.
"My grandpa owns his own card shop," Yugi said.
Tae fluttered her eyelashes. "Really?"
Yugi nodded. "Sure. Maybe after school if it's okay, we can all head over there."
Tae appeared so shocked that she looked like she was going to faint. "Sounds great!"
"Taleah?"
"Fine with me."
"My pleasure," said Bakura.
After school, the six of them made their way down to the shop. It was unmistakable-it took up a whole corner. Dazzling beasts and elegant fairies hung from the roof in a fantastic battle scene. Just below were the pink, green, and blue neon letters that red, "Game Shop." Parked right outside was a limousine.
Joey clapped his hands together. "Hey! Check out dat limo!"
"Pretty neat," Yugi commented.
"Oh, man! I've always wanted da ride in da limo. Da front seat!"
Tae cocked her head. "I thought there was only a driver seat up there."
Joey shook his head. "No way. Of course der has da be two seats. An' I've always wanted da sit in one. Feel da air on my face as da car picks up speed. Wave da all da people gawkin' as I ride by. . ."
"He's hallucinating," said Tristen. "Somebody slap him silly and snap him out of it."
"Mine!" cried Joey. "Mine for da takin'!"
Just then, the front door of the Game Shop opened and an angry Kaiba stepped out. Without a word, he threw himself into the limo and it sped off.
"It's gone!" Joey said, sinking to his knees.
"Yeah, well get over it."
The other five walked past Joey who was muttering something about a dream being lost, and entered the Game Shop. The first thing they noticed was the warm, musty smell that saturated the air. Then, the magnificent wood shelves that stood over several feet high and held thousands of different kinds of cards. The whole shop was a rainbow of colors. Posters hung on the wall that showed monsters fighting and princesses being saved. One could stand and marvel at them for hours.
"Hi, Grandpa. I'd like to introduce you to my friends."
Grandpa was an older man in about his late fifties. He had long grey hair in a pony tail and large purple eyes. He had a humbleness about him that made him seem friendly.
"Don't jump da conclusions based on first appearances," Joey, (who had gotten over the limo and had come inside), whispered. "He's really very evil."
Grandpa heard. "I know that I have been hard on you, Joeseph. But I just do what I think is necessary to teach you. You're doing quite well."'
"Ya mean dat, Gramps?"
Grandpa nodded. "Yes, indeed." He turned to face Yugi. "Now my grandson, introduce me to your friends."
"This is Tristen Taylor. This is Taleah Dundigan, Bakura, and Tae Gardner."
Grandpa smiled when he heard the last name, but nobody saw. "So tell me, what can I do for you all?"
"Well first you can explain what that creep wanted," Tristen said.
"Kaiba? It was strange. Very strange indeed. He asked if I had any rare cards. I replied, 'Yes, but it's not for sell.' Then he got angry and demanded that I tell him what it was. When I answered that it was the Blue Eyes White Dragon, the rarest card of them all, he went crazy and begged that I'd let him see it. So naturally, I did. 'I"ll pay any price,' he begged. 'I bet you could,' I answered. 'But like I said before, this card is not for sell.' When I had finally convinced him of it, he made me a deal. He made me promise that I would never part with it and always keep it safe and hidden. 'I do that anyway,' I had said. Then Kaiba turned tail and left. Weird. Very strange."
They all nodded.
Bakura scratched his head. "Wonder why he wanted that card."
"Cards!" Taleah cried. "Of course! Sorry, but I meant to ask you if I could buy a few cards. My deck is not all that great."
"Certainly, dear. In fact, I'm selling a few of my own decks. Would you like to take a look at one?"
Taleah refused kindly. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm one of those who believes in the Heart of the Cards. How could my heart ever live in somebody else's deck?"
"Ah! You are very wise. I too believe in the Heart of the Cards. It's a very powerful thing."
Joey's face looked blank. "Heart of da Cards? Wha's dat?"
Tae giggled.
"Here are a few popular cards that you may want to look at," Grandpa said, pulling a shoe box stuffed full of cards from a drawer behind him.
Taleah's excitement rose. "Wow! Look at all these delightful cards! I want them all. I can't buy them all, of course. But I'll take this one and this one. No, maybe not this one. Yeah. But definitely that one!"
Grandpa chuckled. "Take your time dear. Take your time."
The next day with a drastic improvement of her deck, Taleah was feeling much more confident in her ability to win a duel. She had never won before. She and Tae were always dueling, but every time Taleah lost. Not this time, she thought with an evil smile, I'm going to win this time. Or so she had believed when she first challenged Tae to a match during their lunch hour. But that belief was quickly diminishing. Despite all the great new trap cards, ideal magic cards, and powerful monster cards she had purchased the other day, Taleah was losing. Bad.
Tristen, Joey, Bakura, and Yugi were standing nearby rooting them on. (That was, Tristen, Joey, and Bakura were taking sides while Yugi cheered for them both). Bakura was undoubtedly on Taleah's side, for whenever she executed a great play, he'd pat her on the back and tell her how wonderful she was doing. Tristen took to Tae's side and every once in awhile, gave her some advice. Then they'd both put on mischievous grins and damage Taleah's chance of winning even more. Joey didn't seem to know who to support-one moment he was telling Taleah which monster card would be the best to play, the next, he was telling Tae what Taleah's strategy was or vice versa. Then he just gave up altogether and claimed to be neutral. Yugi congratulated them both whenever one made a good move.
"Ha, ha!" cried Tae, who was wearing the same evil grin as Tristen, "You lose twenty-four hundred more life points!"
Taleah moaned. "I may be losing, but I'm not giving up!"
"That's right, Taleah," said Yugi. "Believe in your deck."
"Ya mean believe dat her deck will give her another bad card?" asked Joey.
"That's not what I meant at all!"
"I thought you were neutral, Joey," Tristen brought up.
"Doesn't mean I have da refrain from makin' comments."
"Don't listen to him," Bakura advised. "I'm sure if he was dueling Tae, he wouldn't have lasted this long."
For the next twenty minutes, Taleah and Tae went back and forth, each robbing each other of their life points. Tae was strong and a brilliant strategist, but Taleah was defiant and determined to win this match.
"Dis is takin' too long," commented Joey. "I'm goin'a go get me a soda."
"Wait for me, pal!" called Tristen.
Bakura yawned. "I think I'll go for a little walk if you don't mind."
Yugi shrugged. "I better brush up on my math."
"Traitors!" yelled Taleah. She turned back to the game board. "Er. Hey! What happened? Why am I missing one thousand more life points?!"
"Pay attention and I'll show you again."
The school bell rang. It usually meant that students had about ten minutes to enter their classrooms until the second bell rang. That one meant that they all had about ten seconds to get back or else.
Kids were rushing by, shoving each other out of the way so as to not be late. But one kid stopped and silently watched Taleah and Tae duel without ever turning to face them. It was Seto Kaiba.
"Just admit defeat!"
"Never!"
"Alright, then I'll give you one more turn. But until then, I play Change of Heart! It's a magic card that allows me to take control of one of your monsters."
"Change of Heart? I've always wanted that card. I love it!"
Tae smiled. "I order Battle Warrior to destroy its fellow companion, Swamp Battle Guard! That takes your life points down to two hundred."
"Alright, I hate it now." Taleah looked at her card deck. All I have to do his draw a strong monster card. Then it would be all over for Tae. I must believe in the Heart of the Cards. I must believe. . . She drew a card from her deck and her whole face lit up. "Yahoo! I play Rude Kaiser in attack mode and chose to demolish your Shining Friendship card!"
Tae groaned. "I guess you won this time."
Taleah was so jubilant about winning her first match, that she didn't even notice that Seto Kaiba was still watching. But she did catch a glimpse of him walking away.
"Well at least I didn't lose in front of Yugi," Tae said grimly.
"Great job Taleah! Congratulations!"
Yugi was back. So was everybody else.
"First time for everything," said Tristen.
"Yeah," agreed Joey, whose face was all twisted up like he had just tasted something really sour. "First an' last time I ever try dat Diet Pepsi."
"That's not what I mean, genius."
"Genius? Why Tris, dat's the nicest thin' ya every called me."
"How about a-"
"That's enough you two," interrupted Yugi.
The second bell rang. It was back to school for all of them.
"All necessary arrangements are made, sir."
"Very good. Yes." There was another flicker of something gold. "Carry on with my plan."
"I'll see to that, sir."
~
Flower Petals: For those who managed to read through all of the chapter, thank you! And for those who started to read it and gave up, er! But thank you! Please write a review. It would be really encouraging to know that there's someone out there who has read this. Flames, criticism, and all points of view are respected and accepted.
Thank you!