Tornado: Well no one reviewed last chapter, which is perfectly understandable because it was down right boring. 

DT: Yes I almost fell asleep while I was reading it, and it was too short!

Tornado: Well, it's just the introduction to the story.  The chapters will get longer so relax.  Anyway, I don't own anything except for Sclera, and the millennium flame.  For those of you wondering how Sclera is pronounced it's Skuh-leer-uh.  Sorry but it was annoying when I realized that it could be pronounced about eight different ways.

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 Sclera's POV

The moment that I had stepped in the room, the familiar faces flooded through me.  How they all had changed over the three years in my absence.  Joey still had his blonde hair kind brown eyes.  Tristan was still his best buddy until the end of time.  Tea was still radiating with her perfect glow, and Yugi was just as short as he had always been.  The one face that surprised me was the face that I should have recognized the moment that I walked in, Seto Kaiba's.  I had not stared into his face for three years, and now, the moment that I had been dreaming about for so long, proved to be not what I had expected.  Time had not shed any pity on him.  Sure his face was young and handsome, but his eyes were weathered away into emotionless pits that never ended. 

I just sat down beside him without saying a word fearing what might come out if I did.  Seeing him again gives me second thoughts about what did.  Was it the right thing?  Why I had run away is still eluding my mind, but I know that there is a reason for why.  It lies with those memories of bloody nights, and praying for it all to come to an end.

I welcomed the ringing bell, and decided that it was best to just file out with the rest of the class.  Thankfully the principal had given me a map of the school because I would have been wandering for hours searching for the right classroom.

My morning passed without any more of my old classmates popping up in any of my classes.  I had signed up for all advanced, and was surprised, but gracious, that Seto was not attending any of my morning classes, which were too easy for my tastes.

The morning flew by in a blur, and I was soon hustling toward the cafeteria for lunch.  Everyone was staring at me as I entered the windowless prison, and bought my lunch.  Guys were checking me out, but I simply ignored them.  I was searching desperately for a seat that hopefully coed when I heard my name being called from somewhere behind me.  I spun around to see Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Yugi motioning for me to join them at their table.  I gratefully took the seat that was unoccupied, filling up the table. 

"Thanks, I was afraid I was either sitting by myself, or sitting with all guys."

"Yeah, yah looked like yah could use some help.  I'm Joey Wheeler by da way.  This is Tristan, Tea, n' Yugi," the blonde boy said.

"I saw you guys in class.  It's an honor to meet such great duelists."

"Thanks, Yugi's grandpa taught me how to duel."

"Really?  I taught the game to myself, and then ended up teaching almost all of my friends.  The game is my distraction from life."

"That's cool.  So, how good are yah?"

"I'm fourth in the world."

"Fourth in the world?  No way!"

"Yeah, I lost to Pegasus.  I swear he cheated, it was like he new my hand."

"Well, I'm sure there was some way that he could have seen your hand without you knowing it," Yugi informed me.

"Yeah, like through my mind!" I shot before I could refrain myself.

"It's possible."

"Yugi, look, you have a millennium item, so I'm sure after your duel with him, you know just as well as I do that his millennium eye allows him to read a person's mind."

"How did you know about the millennium items?"

"Because I have one, see it's called the millennium flame," I told him withdrawing a golden necklace with a flame pendant from underneath of my shirt.  It had a ruby sphere in the center that gleamed in the light.

"I've never heard of the millennium flame?"

"The millennium flame was worn by the princess of Egypt during the reign of king Yami.  The princess was the pharaoh's sister, and she was said to fight beside Yami in times of war."

"Hm, that's interesting."

Seto's POV

My morning passed without another run-in with the new girl.  I was glad that I was not joining to have to battle with my attention between an unchallenging lesson, and a beautiful girl.  Normally, girls don't bother me, but something about her was different from all of the low-rated sluts that run around school flirting with every guy they see even though they have a boyfriend.  This girl paid no attention to the numerous stares that she was getting form every guy in the classroom, and sat down right next me without even so much as attempting to sneak a glance my way.  It was like she didn't even care that I was rich, or great at duel monsters; she just did her own thing.  I wish that there were more women like that, but riches and fame blind them all.

I strode into the cafeteria ignoring the hungry eyes of every girl in the place.  Wait, not every girl was looking at me.  Sclera Marshal was in a conversation with Yugi and the mutt.  I realized that I had purposely looked at her to check if she too was staring at me, fantasizing being by my side as I entered the room.  I quickly reverted my eyes to my usual table that stood in a shadowy corner close to the door.  I loved this spot.  It was the only place that I could block everything out and focus on my life that was always changing.  Today the first thing on my mind was the story behind the mystery girl from the city of Obadiah.  I shook my head hoping to annihilate the thought from my mind, but found that there was nothing else to interest my curiosity.  I began doing what I always did in long, boring meetings with absolutely no point: math problems.  As boring as it may sound, it always seems to distract my mind from anything that might be going on in my messed up life. /Twenty-five squared is six hundred twenty-five. Twenty-six squared is six hundred seventy-six.  Why am I staring at that girl?/ I thought as I caught myself staring at Sclera.  She was talking animatedly to the group of people that she was sitting with.

/What does she want with that group?  She could be sitting with one of the numerous clicks that the sluts have formed.  Yet another thing I don't get about her./ I went back to my math problems when the bell chimed alerting all students to go to their next classes.  I sighed, frustrated that I would probably be drifting off into erotic thoughts during my English lesson.  /This is just how I wanted to spend the day/ I thought before I rose from my chair and exited the room.

Sclera's POV

We were still talking about Duel Monsters when the bell rang.  Glanced toward the corner where Seto had taken a seat to find him darting for the door.  My gaze lingered there even after he had left.  When I turned back, Joey addressed me.

"I'm gonna give yah a bit of friendly advice, yah might wanna think about stayin' away from Kaiba."

"Why?"

"He ain't the friendliest person on the block."

"Interesting.  He's got everything in the world any man could want, why is he so surly?"

"Who knows.  I ain't gonna try and understand the guy.  He's a jackass.  Yah've been warned."

"Thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to use it.  I'll see you guys in homeroom," I said before heading to the door.

So, Seto is a jackass.  Why doesn't that surprise me?  I guess Gozaburo succeeded in creating a replica of himself.  It's sad to think that the cheerful boy that I once knew is now a jerk.  That would explain why his eyes were so withdrawn from the world.  Maybe if I had stayed with him, perhaps I could have prevented that.  Poor Mokuba, his brother is a jerk and probably a workaholic.  The kid's going to have a rough life. 

I strolled through the halls to my next class.  Memorizing the routes of the school had paid off.  My thoughts were still on what Joey had said.  The tone in his voice had portrayed the thought that he was not on good terms with Seto.  Actually, he made it sound like nobody was on good terms with Seto.  I took a seat at the back of the room where I could think without being disturbed. 

I was deep in my thoughts when the most unexpected person walked in.  The boy had changed a lot since I last saw him, but nonetheless it was definitely him.  Ryou Bakura, the alleged albino, was standing in front of me with rather wide eyes.  I smiled, allowing my white teeth to shine through, and motioned for the boy to sit beside me.  His chocolate eyes never left my face as he plopped into the chair.  I was overjoyed that he was able to identify me even after all of these years.

"Hello, Ryou.  Long time no see, eh?"

"Oh my, I can't believe it's actually you!"

"You know that you're the first person to recognize me so far today."

"Not even Joey?"

"Joey, was completely oblivious, and I didn't get the chance really talk to Seto."

"Not even Yugi though?  I mean you'd think that…"

"I know, Ryou.  I was surprised that you even noticed me," I said cutting him off before too much escaped his mouth.

 "Didn't your last name give it away?  I know that there are a few Scleras around here, but I don't know that there are two from the same family."

"My name's Marshal now, Ryou," I whispered.  "Not Lireal."

"Do your parents know about your past?"

"My foster parents died, and they left me a restaurant that they owned here in town.  I'm an independent now, living off of what the restaurant brings."

"Can you make enough money to support yourself?" he asked curiously.

"And about five other people.  It's a classy restaurant, and very expensive.  When I say restaurant, I mean about nine or ten across the country.  It rakes in some dough."

"Are you happy with it?"

"Ryou, you know that I've always wanted to be independent, but when I left that just wasn't an option.  Now I'm wealthy and independent.  What more could I want?"

"Don't you get lonely?"

"Hardly ever.  I'm still in contact with my gang from when I was ten.  Pyro drops by and hangs out with me every Friday, and the rest of the guys come if he can't make it.  I love the position I'm in."

He nodded knowing that all of my life I've just wanted to live on my own.  I hated depending on anyone except myself because with my luck they al seem to fail me.  My friends are a different story.  I rely on them for so many things, but that's because it takes months before I trust them with anything.  Trust is the one thing that I have problems with.  A lot of people in my life have let me down on so many occasions, and those have stuck with to form a theory that if you don't get close to anyone you won't get hurt.  Well, that was back a few years right after I left Domino.  After I was adopted into the Marshal house, I realized how lonely my life was.  So, I began taking so much caution before truly trusting a person.  I was thankful for that when I began to have a fairly active love life.  I must just attract scumbags because every boyfriend that I had turned out to be cheating on me, lying to me, or ended up trying to rape me or some other physical action against me.  I just have lousy luck with lovers and parenting figures.

"So, have you been?" I asked him, eager to hear what he's been doing in my absence.

"Well, I continued playing Duel Monsters when you were gone," he began knowing that when I said, "how have you been?" I meant, "What have you been doing?" 

"That's great.  Have you gotten any better?"

"Yes, I have, but it's not quite up to your caliber.  Have you played on Kaiba Corps new dueling arenas yet?"

"The huge holographic boats, or the compact wrist-watches?"

His English laugh filled the air around us.  "I take it that you have.  It's amazing how much time and effort Kaiba puts into a game, especially since his favorite line is, 'I don't have time for this. I have a company to run.'"

I chuckled.  That sounded just like Gozaburo.  I shook my head in slight disgust.  Ryou sensed what I was thinking.

"He's really changed since you left, Lera," the boy said gravely using my nickname in attempt to lighten the news.  "Right after you ran away, he became withdrawn suddenly.  He refused to talk to anyone, not even the teachers could get him to say anything.  I talked to Mokuba a few months later, and he said that Seto was burring himself in work. I decided that it was best to keep my distance and not remind him of you.  Why did you leave?"

The whole time I had been listening, with a smidgen of hope that I had told Ryou why I was going away, but now sat there in my empty void with nothing going through my head except how selfish I had been.

"He got along without you.  Perhaps it was for the best that the two of you deal with it your own ways.  He became secluded, and you removed any memorabilia of the incidents.  I'm not quite sure how those two solutions would have mixed," the boy voiced softly.

"I still feel like I betrayed him.  I know one thing, if I had to look at his face everyday, I probably would not have made it this long.  Now that he's older, he's changed enough that my mind's image doesn't go back to that boy when he was eleven years old, it stays and compares it to the boys that I've seen."

The silence that I had been fighting off was now victoriously present, slowly eating away at my soul.  I thought of all the things that I could have told Seto before I left, and in my mind they were blurted out, but in reality they were just thoughts that couldn't quite be worded.  I was glad to be talking about this to someone that knows me and the situation that I was in.  The thing about Ryou is he sugar coats the truth just enough that you aren't shocked by the extreme truth of it all, but you can still see that you've done either something right or something wrong.

 "Good afternoon, class," a female voice called from the front causing both Ryou and I to turn to face her.

She was a redhead with jade eyes and darkened lips.  Her eyes seemed to have a shadow looming over them from the black eye shadow that she wore.  Her skin was slightly tanned and her cheeks a pale rose.  She was rather pretty in my opinion, and it was semi-obvious that I was not alone in that thought.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Punjab," the class replied.

Ryou and I slid back in our seats slightly before he offered me a stick of gum.  I snatched it from his hand and thanked him before shoving it in my mouth.  We sat there for the entire lesson just staring blankly off into space chewing the gum that Ryou had supposedly "slipped" in.  at first I thought that we weren't supposed to have it, but when Ryou answered a question, the teacher got a full look of the gum and failed to mention it.  I thoroughly relaxed after that with my hand positioned on my temple.

Seto's POV

Finally, I'm out of that crowded cafeteria.  I don't have to look at Marshal any more either, but unfortunately, English is the most boring, simple class on my agenda.  I grabbed a seat in the back of the classroom like I usually did, and whipped out Tom Clancy's Executive Orders and read until the teacher walked in the classroom.  I hesitated in putting the book away, but I knew that I would never get away with reading during class.  The droning voice of Mr. Doctrine commenced moments later causing my mind to slip away from the class.  I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair while my concentration began to refocus itself on another topic that was more appealing.

The ocean lay sparkling in front of me, as I was perched on the balcony of my beach house.  The golden sand was deserted along with the ocean.  One lone soul was frolicking in the waves.  The girl was muscular and her long brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail.  Her long legs were revealed as she walked out onto the sand. I turned inside, and was soon heading out to the beach to greet her.  I reached the sandy area within minutes, and the girl was standing there smiling at me.  She was wearing a bikini that had a black background and blue flames that set off her pristine sapphire eyes.  The water droplets on her body made her look even sexier than she already was.  She gently licked her rose lips as she beckoned me closer.  I was more than happy to oblige. I picked her up off her feet the moment I was at her side.  She laughed warmly as I felt the lust welling up inside of me.  I brought her down, and crushed my lips against hers engaging in a fiery kiss.  Her fingers began unbuttoning my shirt without breaking the kiss.  By the time I had removed my shirt we were both gasping for oxygen.  Her eyes were glittering as she began to remove my belt buckle.  I pulled her into another kiss.

"MR. KAIBA!"

I nearly jumped off of my seat as someone screaming in my ear snapped me awake.  Mr. Doctrine was standing in front of me with a furious expression. 

"What?"

I thought back to the content of my dream and prayed that I had not been muttering anything in my sleep.

"Perhaps If you spent less time sleeping you'd know what I was asking.  Name one of Shakespeare's plays."

I felt relief wash over me, and tried not to let it show too much.  "Hamlet."

"Good. Now if you'd be so kind as to pay attention to the lesson."

As he stalked off I allowed my mind to drift back to the daydream.  A bullet of recognition shot through my brain the more I thought about that girl.  / Damn you, Sclera Marshal./

Sclera's POV

Ryou and I had another lesson after our math together.  We exchanged phone numbers, and I promised to call him sometime tonight.  I headed back to homeroom feeling much happier now that I knew at least one person recognized me.  This year would be much easier now that I knew that I could talk Ryou if need be.  

The moment I walked into homeroom, Joey motioned for me to come over and sit with them.  I fell into the seat next to Joey, and watched the duel between him and Tea.  This was the perfect end to my day.  Whenever I watched a duel I watched from the standpoint of a judge.  I don't take sides or cheer one person on.  I look at the moves themselves to judge a player, and don't get intimidated with throwing their names or Duel Monsters around as scare tactics.  The outcome of a duel doesn't matter who you duel, but rather how you duel.  I watched the two of them with great interest and a keen eye.  Tea was obviously a beginner, and Joey was taking it easy on her.  I had been snagging looks at their hands all game long, and Joey had about three cards that could wipe Tea out.  When I glanced at his hand he always looked at me as though he felt bad that he could crush her and she had no idea.  Finally he broke.  He laid down his Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and wiped Tea out.

"Man, I coudn' take that for another second.  I just had ta lay my Red-Eyes," the boy exclaimed.

"How long did you have that card in your hand?" Tea asked.

"Oh, about half the game," I replied.  "I was wondering when you were going to lay it."

"Joey!  You mean to say that you took it easy on me?"

"Tea, if he hadn't you would have been wiped out within the first three turns," I informed her.  "You need to work on your tactics, you're so predictable."    

"How am I predictable?"

"Well, first thing's first, you lay the strongest card.  You're pretty good with magic cards, but what you don't understand about the game is that the most powerful card may not always be the most useful one."

"How so?"

"It's hard to explain, but before you lay a monster, consider what magic cards in your deck can be combined with that monster.  For example let's say you have a Battle Ox and a Mystic Horseman in your hand, and in your deck you have polymerization.  Also in your hand you have Curse of Dragon.  Curse of Dragon may be the strongest card in your hand, but it's no the most useful.  The Battle Ox or the Mystic Horseman is.  Get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah."

The bell rang declaring that the day was finished.  We grabbed our stuff and headed towards the door with the rest of the student body. 

"Hey, Sclera, why don' yah hang with us for the afternoon?" Joey asked.

"I'd love to."

I talked to Tea about the duel that had taken place in the classroom, and what I would have done differently about it. We were still talking when the sunshine warmed me as we stepped out of the educational prison.  Soon, Tea and Yugi commenced a conversation, and I joined Tristan and Joey in their discussion about motorcycles.  They seemed semi-surprised about my knowledge of them and the fact that I had a Suzuki myself, though I couldn't drive because I was only fifteen.  Tristan seized the opportunity to talk about his motorcycle.  I could tell that he was flirting with me, but I let it slide because I was feeling generous today. We told Tea and Yugi that we would catch up with them at the Game Shop later, and sat down on the steps still talking about automobiles until a cold voice interrupted us.

"Well, what are two losers doing talking to the new girl at school?"

We turned around to see none other than Seto Kaiba standing there.

Seto' POV

I had walked out of the school after talking to the math teacher all last period about tonight's homework.  I didn't need any help on it, but it was an excuse not to see the new girl.  I looked out across the ground and saw the most peculiar sight.  The mutt and his liter mate were talking to Marshal alone.  Even though I had been avoiding her all day this was one thing that just wouldn't slide.  I snuck up behind them hoping that they were too busy to notice me, which they were.

"Well, what are two losers doing talking to the new girl at school?" I asked.

They turned around, and the looks on their faces were two extremes.  Marshal looked quite shocked, while the other two looked unsurprised and pissed off as hell.

"Come on, Kaiba, leave us alone.  We ignored yah completely today," the mutt said.

"Yes, but you've ruined my day by existing, mutt.  So therefore you are annoying me."

"Leave us alone, Kaiba.  Don't you have a company to run?"

"I need a temporary distraction.  Mutt, contrary to what you think, I doubt that Marshal will even consider you for a date.  Why don't you just go back to paying sluts to sleep with you and save yourself the disappointment, or did you run out of sluts and the ones you did fuck refuse to come back for any more?"

"Why you bastard!"

I knew I pushed him too far, but if he was going to fight me I might as well knock him around pretty good.  He stood up and threw a misaimed punch at my face, which I caught in mid-air and slammed my knee into his groin causing him to double over.  It took a minute for him to regain his composure and attack me again. I blocked all of his attacks and slammed my knee into the same area as last time and accompanied it with a blow to stomach.  This time he fell down and didn't show any signs of getting back up.  I smirked, satisfied with what I'd done.  I turned to leave when a voice called from behind me, "Do you always run away after your fights?"

The words run away triggered emotions inside of me that I could not control.  I spun around to face the girl that was standing in front of me.  Her were flaming with unbridled hatred.  I gave her a cold stare before I spoke.

"Do I look like I'm running away?"

She smiled cruelly.  "You're not giving anyone else a chance to avenge him."

I laughed my cold laugh, allowing it to fill the air.  "You couldn't take me with every gun in the world."

"Let's see, shall we," she said before coming at me with her fists raised.

She didn't get a good shot I before I caught her jaw sending her to the floor.  Taylor and a newly recovered Wheeler rushed to her side.  She waved them off, and stood up on her own.  Blood was trickling from her mouth.  In an instant all I saw was the image of a young girl her clothes tattered and blood seeping from numerous wounds.  Her eyes were forlorn as I approached her trembling form.  All this because she was not a virgin.  I tearing sensation came from within me, and the world that I was presently in materialized around me.  I turned and left before any more horrors escaped from the dead.

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DT: HOLY SHIT!  That was a long chapter.

Tornado: You said that the last one was too short so I gave you long.

DT: Does it hold the readers attention though?

Tornado: *ignores the question* The point my dear yami?

DT: Huh?

Tornado: Last chapter you asked if there was a point to this story.  What do you think now?

DT: It confused me.

Tornado: How?

DT: The images?

Tornado: That will come in later chapters.

DT: You know if it comes too much later the readers may not stay interested, and that means…

Tornado: No reviews!  Okay, I know this doesn't seem like much of a story, but please be patient.  The plot will come soon enough.

DT: This gets her every time.

Tornado: Well, DT, if there are no reviewers, there can be no fic that suits the readers because there is only the author's idea, and if you want that than go read a book.

DT: Hikari, seek help.

Tornado: Oh, and what did you think of Seto's little daydream?  That will come into play later.  Please R&R.