Tornado: Hi people. I actually got 1 review last chapter! Thanks Midori iro for reviewing.
DT: The pace is going to pick up on the story now, just let us get through the second day of school.
Tornado: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh by the way.
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Sclera's POV
I stepped out of my Mercedes, and allowed my feet to hit the school parking lot with a soft thud. I gently hoisted the rest of my body from the car, waving good-bye to Henry before he drove off. Joey and Yugi came running up the street to reach me. They were both panting heavily when they stopped, causing me to giggle lightly.
"Who dropped yah off, Sclera?" Joey asked.
"That was Henry, my butler/chef/chauffer."
"Yah must be rich."
"Not excessively. I'm just wealthy."
"We'd better get to class before the bell rings," Yugi said anxiously.
"Yugi, we have a whole ten minutes before school starts, will you relax?" I asked the boy.
"It's just that Joey isn't on great terms with the teacher, and I don't want him getting into trouble."
"Yuge! She don' need ta know dat!"
"It's all right. So what, a teacher doesn't like you, big deal."
"Yeah, but still."
"Let's get inside before too many guys check me out."
We raced up the stone steps, and strolled down the passages of the prison. We entered thee room to find Seto Kaiba typing away on his laptop. He didn't even notice that we had entered the room, or so it seemed.
"Hey, Kaiba, why do yah always have ta have your laptop wherever yah go? Does it tell yah ta breath in, and breath out or somtin'?" Joey asked.
"Actually, mutt, it plays music so I can attempt to ignore you, but with your shrill yapping you drown it all out."
"Classical music don' cover much noise."
"No," Kaiba said removing the headphones that he had been wearing. "But Limp Bizkit does."
Joey burst out laughing. Yugi didn't seem surprised, and I was slightly amused. It wasn't totally outrageous that Seto would listen to hard rock and cursing. Joey on the other hand, was in hysterics over the fact that Seto Kaiba might actually listen to good music.
"Yeah right, Kaiba. Yah wouldn' listen to that stuff if your life depended on it!"
Seto simply handed Joey the headphones, and continued typing on his laptop. Joey scoffed, but placed the headphones on his head. His face fell after a few moments. I turned to Seto with the fiercest eyes I could muster, but I felt my glare falter the moment I glimpsed his young face. He turned from his computer screen, and stared straight into my eyes.
Seto's POV
I stared into her sapphire orbs with my most hateful glare. It never wavered as I looked into her eyes. No matter how beautiful she was, my glare would not weaken if I willed it not to. She didn't flinch at the intensity of the moment. Her eyes took on a new form. At first they had been cold but kind, now they were fashioned into a turbulent gaze of her own. There were many mystical qualities that flittered in and out of view. I never allowed myself to back down from the silent challenge that her eyes proposed. I could not refrain from taking in her beauty. There was something about the aura that she created that was unlike that of the others. Her beauty radiated free and limitless, completely untamable. It was so different from the repeated splendor of standard girls or the saintly air of the angelicas; this was demonic and uncontrolled.
I felt myself become awed at the display of power before me. It was surging through my veins as my blood, but what it exactly was I knew nothing of. This girl, whatever her past may be, caused every feeling that I encountered in my many years with Blue-Eyes, sending them crashing into my system all at once.
"What do you want?" I snapped.
"Nothing. You were the one that was staring at me," she shot back.
"I was returning your glare."
"Why the interest?"
"You tell me."
She could not retort. Either I had caught her, she had caught me, or both. Something inside of me hoped that I had caught her, not to throw into her face, but for other reasons.
Joey and Yugi had not said a word since our gaze had met. More students filed in, and the duo left me sitting with Marshal to my right. We never said a word to each other as the rest of the student body took their seats. The bell rang five minutes later, allowing me to escape from the hell the imprisoned me. I strode down the hall, noticing that Marshal was behind me.
"What do you want?" I asked annoyed as I spun to face the girl.
She glared back as though I'd struck a deep nerve that she valued before snapping, "I'm going to my next class. What does it look like I'm doing?"
"Following me."
"Why the fucking hell would I do that?"
"Because I'm rich and seemingly good looking since all of the girl drool over me."
"Not all of the girls," she said before commencing her strides once more. "I think I'm the only one that doesn't."
"You and Gardner," I replied, also walking.
"Even Tea drools."
"What?"
"Yes, I noticed that yesterday at lunch when you walked in. She tuned out of the conversation, and stared in your direction. She did the same thing when you left."
"How would you know when I entered or exited the cafeteria?"
"My curiosity was aroused when she tuned out a second time, so I too stared where she was staring."
"Why aren't you drooling or flirting with me right now?"
"Because you are an asshole."
"If this is about yesterday, you attacked me first."
"I'll give you the fact that you have excellent reflexes, but this is more towards your behavior when you interact with Joey."
"The mutt brings it upon himself."
"How does he do that?"
"He's the biggest idiot on the face of the earth. Him and his litter mate."
"They happen to be nice, believe it or not. One other thing, if you're so 'rich and seemingly good looking' why don't you have a girl friend?"
"Because most of the girls just take and never give."
"So you basically want a you-give-nothing-but-take-all-relationship?"
I stopped, grabbing her arm to stop her as well. She made no move to remove my grip, but instead stared into my depths. I soon released her arm, and strode into my classroom, which she followed. The teacher stopped her a moment, and ordered her a place to sit, which was conveniently right next to me. The girl was so thrilled to have that particular seat that she hissed at me the moment she took her seat. I was inwardly full of anxiousness and dread.
"Today," the teacher started. "We will be beginning a project that counts as forty percent of your grade. This will be done in partners. A Home Economics class is required to give you a taste of how to manage your home and work life. You will be required to seek a profession adding all of the costs into your life. You will have to research the pay, amount of time it takes to reach that certain rank, and also the cost of education. This will have to be done for your spouse as well."
"Spouse?" a muscular blonde asked.
"Yes, Keith, spouse, your partner. There will hopefully be a male and female in each group. I think that there is one group that is not coed. Your whole project is explained in this packet," he continued holding up a very, very thick stack of papers. "Now, for the groups…"
He paired people up for several minutes. I sat there hoping that I could be paired with a guy, not because I'm bi, but because there are way too many girls that would drool over me in this class. /All except Sclera Marshal…/
"Sclera Marshal," the teacher said, jerking my attention back to reality, same with the majority of the male population of the class. "You will be paired with Bandit Keith."
"Yes!"
"Wait, I'm sorry I read the wrong one. Bandit Keith will be paired with Katrina Martin, and Sclera Marshal will be paired with Seto Kaiba," the teacher corrected.
There were several groans from the class, both male and female. I sat slightly stunned, glancing over at Sclera to see her in the same state. She met my gaze with a slightly open mouth, and shrugged, signaling that it would make no difference in her work. I shot a look at Keith who looked like he had been denied of something he should have been given. I inwardly sighed because I knew that Keith would have pestered her to no end with his useless flirting. Now the other problem surfaced, I was going to have to work on a Home Economics project that required you to have a "spouse" with an attractive woman.
The teacher finished the list of partners quickly, and dismissed us into our groups. We both turned to each other, not quite sure of what to say.
"This is stupid," I said as I examined the packet that had been given to me by the teacher just seconds earlier.
"Tell me about it. At least there's one good thing about it."
"What's that?"
"I'm paired with someone I feel comfortable with."
I dropped my stack of papers, and stared at her in disbelief. She looked remorseful about her comment, but made no large deal about it.
"Why are you comfortable with me?"
"In the day that I have been here, you are the only male that I have met, besides Yugi, that has not in any way tried to impress me."
"What makes you so sure that the fight yesterday wasn't to impress you?"
"Because it seemed like it happened all too many times before."
"And it has. For the record, I'm glad that I'm not paired with some erotic bimbo that's going try to fulfill her fantasias."
"How do you know that the fight yesterday wasn't to impress you?"
I leaned close to her face, so our noses were but an inch apart. She smelled of vanilla. I smiled a true smile that I only grace Mokuba with before I said in a flirtatious voice, "I don't mind."
Sclera's POV
It was different to see Seto's flirtatious side. I was amazed at how it seemed to gush from his lips. I felt myself become pulled into his realm, which was something that I didn't care about. Old feelings entombed within the nights of pain and blood were resurrected from the grave. It pulsed through my system, creating an overdose of emotion, and forming an addiction. He was romancing me into a deadly game of lovers. This was a risk that could save me or bury me.
"Look, if we don't get started soon, we could really be behind on the project," I informed him.
"I know. Okay let's focus on the professions. What field do you have in mind?"
"Science. Forensic science."
"Damn. Lots of education and time."
"Yeah, well, it beats the routine of desk work."
"Touché. What do I want to be? Oh, I know, how about CEO of Kaiba Corps."
"Oh my. That requires a whole fifteen minutes of driving time, and a genius brain."
"Gee, I think I have those."
"Mr. Kaiba, I hate to burst your bubble, but you will be required to select another profession," the teacher said from behind him.
"But Mr. Satchel, I don't have another field I'm interested in."
"Well, think of one," Mr. Satchel said before gliding off.
"But. Oh what's the use?"
"You could be a professional duelist," I suggested.
"Is there such a thing as that?"
"Yeah. Who do I know that is a duelist? Well, most duelists now are kids, but Pegasus would be considered a professional duelist, even though he cheats and has a company."
"I don't think I want to take after Pegasus. All right, I'll be video game designer."
"Aren't you already?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your virtual reality world."
"You heard about that?"
"Everybody heard about that, but not how you got trapped in it. Nobody even knows that you were at Duelist Kingdom. I heard all of this from Yugi and Joey, by the way."
"Glad they filled you in. Why though?"
"They mentioned Duelist Kingdom, and I asked about it."
"Why the interest?"
"Don't worry about it. Why are you opening up?"
"What do you mean 'opening up'?"
"Why aren't you being an asshole?"
"My reasons are none of your concern, so if we could get back to the project, more would get done," he snapped.
"Much better. Now, you research your thing I'll research mine," I snapped back, pulling out a black and blue laptop, and connecting to the Internet.
He pulled out a blue and sliver laptop, and did the same. I did not know if he had suddenly caught himself off guard or if he was just reacting to what I had said. We worked in silence for the rest of the period not speaking to the other at all. There was definitely tension between us. The bell rang, and he scampered out of class before I could say anything to him. I gently slid my laptop into its case before starting to my next class. The rest of the morning came without any more conflicts with Mr. Big-Shot-Asshole. I made a resolve to ask him at lunch when we could do our project.
Seto's POV
I had caught myself off guard in class. I knew my sudden nature pushed her further away from me, but I had to react. Hopefully, this project would help me get closer to her rather than make her despise me like the others. Deep within myself I knew why I pushed people away, especially girls. I simply brushed the event off of my mind, and buried myself in a book for my other classes, minus math.
Lunch came sooner than I had expected, but it was no matter to me. I went to my same shadowy corner, and sat down ignoring most of the world. I had one eye trained on my book, while other was focused on a girl that had just entered the room with four other students. The girl's light brown hair was in a bun, leaving two blue strands to frame her oval face. Her cerulean eyes were blended with her navy eye shadow and liner, and her bloody lips gleamed and sparkled. I couldn't quite understand why I had severely shoved her in the opposite direction when she was simply making a conversation. Something inside of me screamed betrayal when I looked at girls or even talked to one. I couldn't let go of her.
I observed the way the beauty took her long strides, dropping her shoulders slightly as she did so. Her eyes were a glittering mass as she chatted with her other group members. Her laugh rang through the cafeteria in a loud manner, but no one had seemed to notice. They took their seats giving her a very clear view of me. I quickly averted my eyes back to my book, hoping that there had been no damage, but the girl soon rose from her seat, with many protests from her lunch mates, and strode purposefully over to my table. The chatter of the cafeteria immediately ceased, and several guys rose as if to defend her if she fell. Many girls were also on their feet, but they were going to pry the approaching girl from me. All eyes were upon us, and I twitched at the attention.
Sclera's POV
I met Joey and the gang outside of the cafeteria. They arrived in different groups. Joey and Tristan were the first to arrive shortly followed by Tea and Yugi. We strode into the dining area, deep in our conversation about Kaiba.
"I can' believe that jerk listens ta punk music like Limp Bizkit. It's almost a crime for a guy like him ta listen ta good music. Give da band a bad name," Joey said.
"Joey, it's a free country, he can listen to what ever he wants," Tea replied.
"I know, Tea, but it's an insult ta da band," Joey informed as he paid for his lunch.
"Can you guys imagine Kaiba as a punk?" I asked.
"What would he wear?" Tea asked.
"I see him in black baggy pants, a blue muscle shirt, studded leather bracelets and choker, and his hair hi-lighted black," I replied.
"He'd look like nobody drug dealer," Tristan commented.
"He already has da nobody part down, now for da crack, which he probably don' is illegal."
I laughed at their speculations. Sure Seto was rich, but he knew the streets just as well. In Fox Run, there was a city near by, and Seto, our gang, and I went to school there and walked home after school. The things that we saw on our way home were enough to scar us for life. On top of that we hung out in the alleyways during the weekends as well.
I took my seat, realizing that I had a clear view of Kaiba. He was reading his book, ignoring the scene around him. I stared at him for several moments before I made my decision.
"I'll be right back," I told the group as I rose from the table.
Joey and Tristan made several attempts to call me back, but I was set in my resolve. I took long strides to the table Kaiba occupied, and the distance seemed to grow instead of shrink. The usual chatter of the cafeteria abruptly halted, and many students rose from their seats, including Tristan, Joey, and Tea. My eyes were set purposefully on my target, who seemed completely oblivious to the silence around. I soon reached the table, and stood silently, waiting for his voice to commence.
"What do you want?" he shot.
"Can I sit?" I asked.
"No," he said, and I sat down beside him.
He glared at me with turmoil eyes. "I thought I told you that you could not sit here."
"Well, it's a free country so stick it up your ass," I shot, earning several gasps from the onlookers.
"You're not afraid of me are you?"
"Why should I be? All you are is a cold, heartless, asshole whose bark is bigger than his bite."
"I thought you and the mutt were friends?"
"He's not an asshole. I came to talk to you about something."
"Well, it's going to have to wait because I'm leaving," he said, getting up from the table and heading to the door.
I wasn't about to give up that easily. I sprinted from my chair, allowing it to topple over as I pursued the teenager. I grabbed his arm before he could escape, facing him with flamed eyes.
"You think that this is all about you, well here's a reality check. There are other people in this world who have worse things that have happened to them than you."
"You don't know me."
"You're right. I don't know you, and I doubt if anyone including your brother knows you."
He shoved me backwards into Joey, who had crept up behind me without my knowledge.
"Stick with your liter mates, bitch," he said before leaving.
I surged against Joey's grip, but he held me into place. Hatred pulsed through my veins, causing me to continue my struggle against the blonde's hold.
"He ain' worth it, Sclera. Just let him go," Joey soothed.
"He'll pay for what he said. Mark my words," I vowed.
"Come on. Let's finish eatin'"
My hands shook as I ate. I could not believe that Seto had said those things to me. Not only had it wounded my pride, but it had scarred any hope I had of making him remember me. I was scorched inside. Ryou would definitely be hearing about this.
We left right after lunch, and I ran to math, taking a seat in the back as I had done the day before. Ryou appeared at my side within seconds of my seating. He was concerned as he saw the look upon my face. Pure disgust was all it said. He was about to ask what happened when a bleach blonde girl with emerald eyes approached us.
"You might want to think twice before you mess with the Great Seto Kaiba again. He won't reduce himself to dating the puppy's bitch," she taunted.
In a flash my chair flew from beneath me, and my fist collided with a book that Ryou had held in front of the girl's face. His hands jerked back a good amount, hitting the girl rather hard. I felt out of control. Hell, I was out of control. The demon inside fought to release itself upon the threat. The class stared at me, wide-eyed in fear. Ryou was calm, for he had seen this happen to many times before.
"You dip shit, you hit me!" the girl screamed at Ryou.
"You would have flown back a couple feet if hadn't placed that book in front of your face," I snapped.
"You're all bark and no bite."
"You want to try me on?"
Just then, the teacher strode into class with none other than Seto Kaiba and my English teacher, Mr. Doctrine. The trio looked onto the scene with moderate confusion. Kaiba saw the blonde, and sighed frustrated. Both teachers questioned with their eyes about the scene the beheld them, but he didn't hesitate as he spoke.
"Alicia, you may want to back down. It takes more than a cat to fight a dog," he said.
The blonde turned away, taking her seat in the front of the class. Ryou and I were the only ones standing, but soon sat down as I glared daggers at Seto's head. He had returned to conversing with the teachers, no doubt telling them that I was trouble. He then left without a second glance at me, followed by Doctrine. Ms. Punjab stared at me in a mixture of amazement and confusion. I simply stared back with no emotion in my eyes.
"May I ask what happened to your face, Alicia?" the teacher asked.
"Certainly. I told Marshal that she might want to stay away from Kaiba, and she just up and punched me," the girl replied smoothly.
"That's not true!" both Ryou and I shouted.
"What happened then?"
"Do you mind if I quote? She said, quote 'You might want to think twice before you mess with the Great Seto Kaiba again. He won't reduce himself to dating the puppy's bitch' unquote," I said.
"I second that," Ryou replied. "Sclera was going to punch her, but I held a book in front of her face. The book was sent back a few inches, and I hit her, giving the red mark as a result."
"Class would you please get out your homework. Ms. Marshal, come with me please."
I followed her reluctantly, thinking that I was heading straight to the principle's office, and would be getting one week of detention. We walked down a hallway that I was familiar with. She stuck her head inside of the classroom before saying, "Excuse me, Mr. Doctrine, but may I borrow Seto Kaiba for a minute?"
Seto's POV
After I had to break up the cat and dogfight that had taken place in the math room, I settled into my usual seat in English. I didn't quite know why I had behaved the way that I had, but I knew that it had something to do with the betrayal that I felt inside. I was drifting into my own world when Ms. Punjab stuck her head in the door.
"Excuse me, Mr. Doctrine, but may I borrow Seto Kaiba for a minute?"
"Certainly. Mr. Kaiba, go."
I stood, trying to ignore the looks that I was getting from all of the other classmates. I stepped outside to see Sclera Marshal standing there, looking just as stunned as I was.
"The two of you will be going to the school councilor," Ms. Punjab said.
"What?" we exclaimed together. "We don't need a councilor!"
"Follow me."
We did as instructed. I glared at her, and she glared at me. I knew that I had pissed her off for no good reason, and perhaps she was one to stay away from. Ms. Punjab told us to have a seat in the lobby area while she fetched the councilor.
"I hope you're proud of yourself," she said.
"Why's that?" I barked.
"You landed us in here. If you hadn't said those things we wouldn't be here."
"Correction, if you had more self control we wouldn't be here."
"You know you have quite the fan club going. You know what that slut of yours said to me? Allow me to enlighten you. 'You might want to think twice before you mess with the Great Seto Kaiba again. He won't reduce himself to dating the puppy's bitch'."
I sat there silently, taking in what she had said. She was pissed off. Not at me, but at Alicia for what she had said to her, causing her pride to be wounded. There was nothing I could do or say to make this moment any tenser than it already was. I smiled lightly.
"Well, now we know how to fight like an old married couple. That should help our project," I said.
Through the tension she laughed. I found that it was quite healing. I could no longer try to hate her. She was too much like Blue-Eyes. /Forgive me…/
"The councilor will see you," Ms. Punjab announced. "Return to your classes when you're through."
We gave each other a grave look before we rose, and entered the dreaded dungeon.
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Tornado: See. There is more conflict, making the story more interesting.
DT: It only has two reviews, how can it be interesting?
Tornado: Well, the two reviews that I got were urging me to continue.
DT: Still, I don't think it's going anywhere.
Tornado: We'll find out. R&R.