Chapter 5: The Wielder of Fire

"I'm telling ya, Tristan, it was like having an angel walk into the room," Joey blathered on as he, Tristan and Yugi walked down the halls of Domino High to their class. "And when she smiled...Everything about her lit up."

Tristan rolled his eyes, "Including you it seems."

Yugi laughed at the antics of his two friends as Joey growled at Tristan, "What is that supposed to mean!"

"The way you describe her--I don't see how this girl can even exist. Besides," Tristan sighed dreamily, "No one can be sweeter or lovelier than my Serenity!"

Joey moved as if he was about to strangle Tristan, "She's not your Serenity!"

Yugi stepped between his two friends before they started a full blown fight, "Come on, guys. If you start this now we'll be late for class."

Tristan stopped glaring at Joey to look down at Yugi and asked, "What about you, Yugi? You met her as well right? What did you think of her?"

Yugi stopped in mid-step and became very thoughtful. He spoke slowly as if still trying to figure it all out for himself as well, "She's not a person you don't forget, that's for sure. I can't believe a week has gone by and no one in class seemed to notice her." Yugi's eyes grew distant as he stared off into space for a moment, "I feel as if I've met her before this and that I can trust her."

I too feel that way.

Yami? But no answer came from Yugi's spirit companion as the bell rang and the three guys jumped in surprise. They yelled in unison, "WE'RE LATE!" Dust flew in their wake as they raced down the halls to their class.

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Brighty was slumped over her desk half asleep when Yugi took his seat in front of her and chimed cheerfully, "Morning, Brighty!" Brighty jerked herself erect in shock, just barely saving her face from being slammed into her desk. "I'm sorry! Are you okay? You look awful," Yugi continued on in a concerned voice.

Brighty blinked her eyes at him owlishly, trying to clear her fogged mind. She smiled ruefully at him, "Good morning, Yugi." She yawned and rubbed her tired eyes, "Nothing to be sorry for, it's my own fault for not getting enough sleep last night."

"Problems at work?" Yugi asked.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Brighty said with a touch of lofty confidence. "No, my nights have just been plagued with nightmares of late," she answered with a small frown marring her lovely face.

"See, she's been dreaming about you already," Tristan said jokingly to Joey.

"Why you..." Joey swung at Tristan but Tea grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Not in the classroom, dimwit! Do you want to get suspended?" Tea asked with a touch of annoyance.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Yugi exclaimed repentantly. "Brighty, these are my friends Tristan and Tea. You met Joey at the game shop yesterday."

"Well I guess the bonehead didn't lie," Tristan stated as he examined Brighty critically. "But still you don't hold a candle to my Serenity," he said with a pensive sigh.

Both Joey and Brighty flushed a little and Brighty replied laughingly, "Well people in love hardly notice anything else."

"It's your lose that a guy like me is taken. Serenity and I are a match made in heaven!" Tristan went on to state. Yugi and Tea had the look of people long used to suffering through this and Joey couldn't seem to make up his mind to be angry or embarrassed.

"I think I'll thank my lucky stars and start to pray for her," Brighty said with a giggle.

Before Tristan could say anything to that, the teacher walked into the classroom and bid everyone to take their seats. Yugi turned around and whispered to Brighty, "We're all gonna get some ice cream after school, want to come?"

Brighty smiled with delight, "That would be great, of course I will."

"Settle down class," the teacher said. "Before we get into today's lesson I have an announcement to make. We have a new transfer student." A tall, slender boy walked into the room. He moved with the grace of a practiced fighter and there was an air of confidence around him to match it. He had long, dark brown hair that he kept back in a ponytail, and his deep-set, chocolate brown eyes had ever girl's heart aflutter.

Something about his eyes made Brighty a little uneasy. "They look far too hard for one so young," she thought to herself. "They've seen and suffered too much."

Tahliat? A soft and surprised voice whispered through Brighty's mind. With a start Brighty looked around to see who had said that but no one was talking. She glanced back at the new kid and their eyes locked for a second. His eyes narrowed and Brighty tried to catch her breath as waves of pure hatred battered at her. He glared a second longer and then broke the contact; Brighty took a shuddering breath as the attack ended.

Brighty shook her head and rubbed at her neck. "I'm just imagining things. I don't even know him! How could he hate me already? And now I'm hearing voices...I really need to get more sleep," she thought to herself with a mental sigh.

"Class," the teacher continued, "This is Evan. He just recently moved here from England. I'd like you all to make him feel welcome." The teacher looked around the classroom and then pointed, "There is an empty desk behind Bright Hart, Evan. Please take you seat so we can start class."

Evan took his seat and Brighty felt like he was barrowing holes in the back of her head. "God, it's going to be a long day," she muttered to herself.

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Brighty almost cheered when the bell rang to release them for the day. She had never had a worse day at school in her life. Evan made her feel uncomfortable. He had been watching her every move all day. Additionally, since he showed up, she'd been hearing a tiny voice in her head. A soft voice, no more than a bare whisper, and she couldn't make out the droning words. But it was there all the same and it made Brighty jumpy. "I've finally cracked, all the stress of the past few days is getting to me," Brighty bemoaned to herself.

"Gah..." Joey got up from his desk and stretched, "I thought class would never end."

"Like you even paid attention; it looked like you were daydreaming about something all day," Tea commented as everyone gathered their stuff together to leave.

Joey flushed lightly and glanced quickly at Brighty and then away, "Well...uh..."

"Anyways, after such a long day we deserve a treat," Tea continued, not even noticing Joey's nervousness. "So let's go get some ice cream! I even invited Evan along as well." Tea smiled shyly, "I figured it would be a good way of making him feel welcome."

Brighty almost face vaulted at this bit of news but bumped into Joey instead, who steadied her before she fell on her face. "You okay?" He asked with concern and then got lost gazing into her green eyes. He jerked his hands back as if something had burned him when he heard Tristan snickering.

"I'm fine, thanks for not letting me fall. That would have been a rotten way to end the day," Brighty smiled in gratitude at Joey, who blushed with conflicting emotions of agitation and pleasure.

Yugi stifled his laughter for his friend's sake, "Let's go, guys."

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"Brighty, are you sure you're alright?" Yugi asked as they walked down the sidewalk together. Tristan and Joey were walking ahead of them, arguing over something as usual, and Tea was behind them walking with Evan. It annoyed Yugi a little to see Tea so taken by this new kid but there wasn't much he could do about it.

Brighty hesitated a moment before answering. She wasn't sure if she should really tell him this but something deep inside told her she could trust him and that he would even understand. "Not really," she said finally with a sigh. "There is something about Evan that puts me on edge. I get the feeling he doesn't like me much but I don't know why. I've never met him before this so how could he dislike me so much?"

Yugi glanced back at Evan, "There is something off about him. But what can he do with so many people around? I just wouldn't worry about it for now. Besides, we really don't know him well, it would be wrong of us to judge him with nothing to really go by."

"Yeah, you're right." Brighty smiled contritely and rubbed the back of her neck, "I'm just being paranoid, I guess. I think I just need a good night's sleep for a change, that's all."

"Hey guys!" Tristan yelled back at them as he and Joey turned down a side alley, "Let's take a short cut."

Brighty's heart gave a hard thump. She didn't know how or why; but she just knew that was a bad idea. Yugi must have had the same thought for he took off running after his friends, "Tristan! Joey! Wait! I don't think that is a good idea!"

"On the contrary, this is just the opportunity I was hoping for," Evan stated as he pushed Tea into Brighty, knocking both girls to the ground. "I hope you've made your peace with God, Miss Hart, because you're about to meet him." A fey fire seemed to light Evan's eyes as he glared down at Brighty with a look of pure malice on his face. Both Tea and Brighty gasped and cowered back in fear where they had fallen.

The guys had stopped in their tracks when Evan had made his little speech and then raced back to help the girls. "Tea! Brighty! Are you okay?" Yugi asked urgently as he knelt at Tea's side.

"No...my ankle..." Tea blanched in pain as she tried to stand. Tristan and Yugi steady her on her feet and Brighty stayed on the ground, stunned with disbelief at what was unfolding before her.

Joey stood protectively in front of his friends, "I didn't like the look of ya when I first saw ya and now I'm really pissed. No one hurts my friends, pretty boy."

"This doesn't concern you, monkey," Evan said mockingly as he reached at his side and appeared to grasp something. Then out of thin air he pulled a golden sword from his side. The hilt was decorated with a strange eye and the blade was etched with peculiar markings. "Stay out of this if you don't want to get burned," he warned as he held the sword sideways out in front of him, the flat of the blade laid across the palm of his hand. He muttered a few words in a language that hadn't been spoken in thousands of years. The runes on the blade glowed red at his words and then fire snaked from the sword, striking at Joey.

"What the--!" in shock Joey fell back to the ground before the fire could scorch him.