A/N- HI MINNA! waves enthusiastically I'm BAAAACK!

crickets chirp

Um...yes...sorry about the long delay...rather busy with things (mostly school...ick!) and didn't have time to write...besides it took me forever to come up with a plot for this story as some of you may have noticed.

Well, I hope you all enjoy this new one! Please Read and Review (R/R)!

Chapter 1: Enter Serafina
"Hello there, young lady," called a deep, resounding voice from out of the darkness of the nearby alley.

Serafina paused upon hearing the voice, debating whether to find out if she should run or stay to see what the person wanted. Her panicking mind screamed for her to run as she started to feel suffocated from the shadows that reached out for her in an attempt to catch her...and hold her in place.

"Don't be scared, young one," said a man with midnight, black hair and wrinkles all over his wizened face. He was heavily adorned with jewelry and flashy garments that seemed a bit "tacky" when thrown together the way this man had done.

"What do you want, sir?" Serafina asked, trying to put as much confidence into her voice as she could with her limbs shaking as badly as they were.

"It's just that you look so much like my daughter that just left me. You could almost be her twin; you look so much alike. She happened to leave behind this bracelet and since I no longer have any use for it, I thought I'd pass it along.

Not knowing what to say, Serafina stammered, "I...uh...um," before the golden trinket was pressed into her hands and the old man drifted off into the darkened alley, swallowed up by the shadows.

Serafina just stood on the side of the street, stunned, at a loss for words. When she was finally able to gather what little semblance of calm was left to her, she continued walking the way she had been as if it was a common occurrence for old men to hand golden bracelets to girls in the middle of a crowded street.

She did not stop walking until she a small suburb, in which she went to the nearest house on the right and entered it before collapsing on her living room sofa with a weary sigh.

"This place is so weird...and different from where I lived before. I just wish things would go back to the way they used to be," she said sadly to herself.

After propping her feet up on the arm of the couch, Serafina took out the bracelet she had been given and inspected it as she turned it over gingerly in her hands.

"Hm..." she murmured every few seconds as she looked at the piece of expensive jewelry she had just been handed by a complete stranger. The bracelet was covered in gold and looked as if it had come right out of Egypt with the eye symbol in the direct center of it and fancy hieroglyphs all around the eye.

Serafina shrugged to herself, thinking the man might just be generous instead of having an ulterior motive, and slipped the bracelet onto her petite wrist.

As soon as the gold was around her arm it seemed to shrink in size so that it was clasped tightly around her. Serafina's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in amazement as she tried to loosen the bangle from where it rested; it did not comply with her wishes and remained stubbornly where it was.

Light flashed from the armlet and a look of pure malice and contempt replaced the confused expression on Serafina's face and she whispered into the empty room, "I'm back Yugi Mutou and this time you're going to get what's coming to you," followed by sharp, high evil laughter.

Serafina shook her head violently and looked into the mirror on the opposite wall of the room and said in a somewhat hushed voice, "Woah, I hope nothing like that happens tomorrow for my first day of school here. I'm sure I'll have enough people calling me a freak as it is."
"...and I attack you with my Dark Magician, which takes your life points down to zero. Sorry, Joey, but I win again."

"I don't see how you do it, Yug! Nobody can beat you! I had you trapped and then you just turned it around on me. You ALWAYS do that and I just can't figure out how!"

"It's the heart of the cards, Joey...besides, I have had a lot more experience playing than you have. You just need to practice some more and soon you'll be able to beat me."

"I don't think so...No one can beat you, Yug!"

"That's exactly the kind of attitude that will make you lose, Joey. You need to believe in yourself and tell yourself that you can win, no matter what-"

"Alright, alright! Settle down class and we'll get started. I have a few announcements and an introduction to attend to after all. First off, even though this is only the first month back at school I expect you all to be getting started on your midterm projects to be handed in on the day of your test. Next, I'm sure all of you have noticed that Kerri Sohalia has been absent for the past few weeks-"

"Hmm...I wonder why that is, huh, Yug?" Joey leaned over across his desk to whisper to Yugi.

"I received a call from her guardian last night to say that she transferred back to her previous school and will no longer be attending Domino High with us any longer."

"What a shame. If I never see Selina ever again, it will be too soon-"

"Joseph Wheeler!"

The tall blond jerked dramatically and quickly responded with a, "What?"

"I would appreciate it if you did not talk while I am talking."

"Sorry, sir."

"Right, now. I'd like to introduce you to another new student. She has just moved here from America and speaks mainly English. I would appreciate it if all of you would be kind enough to lend her a hand when she needs it. Allow me to present to you, Miss Serafina Moon."

Immediately following this speech a teenage girl entered. Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan gasped simultaneously at her appearance. She had brown hair with natural blonde highlights, an orange tan complexion, and light blue- ish gray eyes. Her face was heart-shaped and she had a petite, slim figure; in short, she looked exactly like a sweeter version of Selina.

Joey and Tristan shared a look and both of their expressions darkened, Tea's face looked confused, and Yugi looked pensive.

/Yami!/

What is it, hikari?

/That girl...look! She looks just like Selina! But how could Selina get out?! I thought we trapped her in the Millennium Bracelet!/

Wait a minute, Yugi. Calm down, I'll scan her.

/Well?/

...

/Yami!/

Don't worry, Yugi. It's not Selina. This girl may look like Selina, but that is not her. She doesn't have the same ambient energy that Selina did. Although there was something odd about the way she feels. I don't think she means any harm, but you should be careful around her.

/Alright./

"I'd like for all of you to say hello and make your new classmate more comfortable."

"Hello, Serafina!" the class chorused together, excluding the small group of duelists.

"Konnichiwa," Serafina replied confidently. The teacher looked at Serafina in amazement and Serafina answered his unspoken question. "My mother has taught me Japanese ever since I was young. I speak both Japanese and English so you don't have to worry about that."

The teacher looked surprised but decided not to comment, he just said, "Well, then, why don't you tell us a little more about yourself?"

"Well, I was born here in Japan, but then my parents got a divorce and my mother moved with me to America where I've been living until recently. My mother died in the middle of the summer and I came back here to live with my grandparents. Now I'm here with all of you and I hope to make some very good friends during my stay," at this Serafina smiled at all of the students looking at her.

"Well, it seems we won't need to worry too much about you, now will we? You may take the empty seat at the back of the room that was occupied by our former transfer student."

"Thank you."

Serafina sat down in the unoccupied chair placed next to Yugi. After taking out utensils needed for the class, Serafina looked up to find four sets of eyes staring at her. She seemed taken aback by all the attention, especially when she noticed most of the stares seemed to be unfriendly in nature.

Deciding to act unaffected, Serafina stretched out her right arm to shake the closest hand to her. This caused the hem of her sleeve to come up, revealing the strange bracelet that had attached itself to her arm.

The four looked at the bracelet warily and the two biggest boy's faces darkened further. The one closest to her though, gave her a big smile and shook her hand.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Yugi Mutou," the boy whispered.

Serafina smiled back pleasantly and did her best to look inoffensive. "It's nice to meet you too, I hope we can become good friends!"

"Me too," he said before turning back to the teacher who had finally started the lesson.
"What do you think you're doing trusting her like that!? It's Selina, she's just hiding behind an innocent face again!"

"Think, Joey. Selina is smarter than that. She hid behind the face of Kerri last time, she wouldn't do it with her own face when we all know what she looks like."

"But she was wearing the Millennium Bracelet!"

"I know, Joey, but that also brings up some interesting questions. How could Selina have gotten out of the Millennium Bracelet if she's a spirit now?"

"How am I supposed to know?! She wasn't supposed to get out of the Shadow Realm the first time you put her there either, but it happened. Maybe this is the same thing."

"No, Joey. Remember, Bakura can get out of the Shadow Realm too, but he hasn't gotten out of the ring. He's trapped inside of it unless, he's taking over Ryou's body or he is manifested in his spirit form and even then you can tell that he's not like a normal person. My opinion is this Serafina girl is a hikari like me. After all, we did make Selina into a yami when we placed her within the Millennium Bracelet; that means she is able to have a hikari that will be the wielder of the Millennium Bracelet and Selina will probably be able to take control of Serafina."

"I won't trust her until I see it for myself."

"I'm with Joey," Tristan put in. "Selina has been able to trick us before, I'm not about to start trusting her double, especially if she's wearing the Millennium Bracelet. There's just too much at risk."

"Well, I see both side of this guys and I think it's only fair that we give her a chance, besides, what Yugi says really makes sense. She's been really nice so far and surely Selina wouldn't try to hide behind her own face. Although, I do think we should be careful around her. I mean, after all, if she really IS Selina's hikari, she's still wearing the Millennium Bracelet and that means that Selina might be able to take over her at any moment," Tea informed them all.

"Yeah, Yug. I don't want you around her unless one of use is with you, got it?"

"Joey, might I remind you that in the event that Serafina is taken over by Selina there is nothing you can do about it except get sent to the Shadow Realm since you have no magic to defend yourself with?"

Joey looked abashed at this, but continued on with his tirade. "Still, I don't want you going off on your own and especially with this Serafina Moon. I'm stick'n to ya now pal and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I figured as much. Just please try to keep an open mind, Joey. If this girl really is just Selina's hikari then I don't want you to ruin a friendship we might have with her."

"Why would you want to be friends with her if she was Selina's hikari?!"

"The same reason that I'm friends with Ryou. Even though Bakura likes to take control of him and try to steal my puzzle, Ryou is still nice and everyone needs friends. Serafina seems like a really friendly person and I don't want you to mess this up, Joey. Besides, I have a feeling that the relationship between Selina and Serafina, if they are yami and hikari, is going to be much more like the relationship between Ryou and Bakura than the one Yami and I have. She'll need someone who understands...hm...maybe I should try to get Ryou to talk to her."

"I don't know if that will work, Yugi," Tristan said, looking into the distance as they walked home.

"Why not, Tristan?" asked Tea.

"Well, Bakura's kinda upset about Selina taking his ring and eye from him and I seriously doubt he'd be letting Ryou get close to this girl either. With everything that's gone on lately, little miss Serafina Moon is going to find it difficult to make friends this year."

"Exactly!" Yugi exclaimed, startling everyone so they jumped. "That's why we need to be friends with her! Because no one else will."

"Yug, sometimes you are just far too selfless and trusting for your own good."

"I know...otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation, if you remember how we became friends, Joey."

Joey flinched and nodded, "You're right, Yugi. I won't say anything mean to her, but I'm not making any promises. I don't trust her, but for your sake, I'll try to be nice to her."

"Thanks, Joey."

"No problem, Yug, but the moment she does something to hurt either you or someone else the deal's off and she'll be getting it from me."

Yugi merely sighed and continued walking home, followed by his three companions. None of them noticed the shadow hiding in the alleyway, watching them with bright bluish gray eyes.

'Excellent. They're going to trust us for the moment. This is perfect. Now all I need to do is set things up so that once they are caught, there is no way out.' Selina smirked at this thought before it quickly turned into a frown.

'Although how they figured out Serafina is a hikari so quickly is lost on me. Maybe Yami had something to do with that. I'll make sure he and his brat of a charge pays for foiling my plans. They will regret the day they sealed ME in a Millennium Item. Everything is moving smoothly according to my plans...' with that last thought, Selina relinquished her hold upon Serafina and shrunk back into the shadows of the Millennium Bracelet.

"Wha-what's going on here?" Serafina thought aloud as she looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. "How on earth did I get to be all the way out here?"

Shrugging it off, Serafina started walking looking for a familiar landmark to help her return home.

A/N- Well, what do you think? Thoughts, questions, and comments are all welcome. Feel free to give me any helpful hints about writing that you think I need. Don't worry about writer's block for this story...it shouldn't be much of a problem since I finally have the plot all figured out. Although, there are a few things that I need to change or clarify about the previous stories...for instance:

Yamal- Selina's dad- is not going to be Selina's real father. I know I said something like that in ROD II but when I began this plot I forgot about him being her father...so he is just going to be her adopted father. This will all make sense later on in the plot...I hope. Well, I hope you like it and will continue to read it!

Ja ne! SerafinaMoon

PS: This quick-edit-feature-thing is really cool! I think I can finally get bold and italics now with this! Cool!

Selina: You're so easily amused...

Serafina: I know!