I believe I shall learn from the authors of fictions past and begin responding to my reviews here! Sound good? Well, I don't know who to give credit to, so, uh... thank your pet or something. Anyways, here goes!
starrynightz: Congratulations, here is another chapter for you! Unfortunately, you never learn who the girl is in it.
Amazoness Archer: Of course I posted ahead of you, cause I'm the baron. Thanks for the compliment on the story! My first chapters are typically just introductions, a means of introducing new characters so you have an idea of who they are and such. They're not meant to be plot-revealing or... entertaining.
Hysterik-Angel: Sorry I didn't update soon, I just had some trouble finding the inspiration for this chapter... but I already have inpiration for the next, fear not! I'm enjoying this so far... Thanks for reviewing and liking my story and such. I'll see you around!
Rice Kracker: Yep! That sense of comfort is what I hoped to go for! But... it took you this long to put me on alerts? After the entire "The Masked Duelist" story? You fiend! Ah, well. I guess beggars can't be choosers. Not like I'm the most popular ficcer on here, eh? j/k. You're cool. Thanks for reviewing!
bakuras-gurl2003: Pretty? I don't know where you found my pic, but... thanks for the compliment? lol, j/k. I'll definitely write more. Hey, look! I did! Whaddaya know! More to come, too! You can bet your left sock (you're gonna lose one of them anyway, may as well be the left).
Sorry pal, I'm not even a big fan of vampires. I personally don't think they make very good horror monsters. I'm actually doing this fic as part of a fic duel. An opponent and I are assigned a genre of fanfiction to make, and try to write a better fic than the other, determined by the members of a forum I am part of. If anyone wants to join in the fun of Yami/Tea, by the way, check out Yamea: The Yami/Tea forums at s3. fan: Yami/Tea... Yami/Tea... Idunno... Like you said, romance-y stuff isn't my strong suit. I'd say maybe... some subtle hints, but nothing too blatantly Yami/Tea.I don't know, but the good news is that my stories write themselves! The possibilitie's still there.
IWillLearnToLoveAgain: The girl was Dolimus's date. Trust me, if I wanted you to know who it was, her name would be put in there, lol.
Everybody, again, thanks for reviewing! This chapter... I'm not too happy with it, but the end turned out pretty nice, so I decided to keep it as is. Hope you all enjoy!
Darkness Absolute
By: Von Stupor
Chapter 2
It was another day at school for Yugi. One year after the Battle City tournament, everything had finally died back down and returned to normal. He came into his first period class and sat in his seat.
Yugi, remember to concentrate on your schoolwork more than the puzzle of the god cards… Yami thought to him. You can leave that to me during school, we don't want another incident like yesterday to occur…
Yeah, I know. Maybe I was getting a bit too absorbed in my own mind, he joked in reply.
The previous day, his obsession with figuring out the secret behind the legendary ancient Egyptian god cards had finally reached a climax when he entered his own little world and fell down the stairs during school, knocking over everyone in his path. Later that day, he had completely lost his grip on reality to the extent that his teacher had to slam a book on his desk to snap him out of it.
I'll just mind my own business, he laughed.
A few kids stared at him, weirded out.
The bell rang and his teacher came inside the classroom. She took the binder full of papers she was holding and plopped it on her desk.
"Alright class, before we begin, I'd like to announce that we have a new student in class," she spoke. She peered toward the back of the class and asked, "Would you like to introduce yourself?"
The class looked at the mysterious new student in the back of the room. Yugi, sitting in the second to first row, had to turn around and crane his neck around to get a good look.
"With all due respect, ma'am, I've never excelled at public speaking…" he said quietly.
"Would you just tell us your name and a little about yourself, then?"
Standing up, he cleared his throat and spoke. "Well… my name is Dolimus. I moved here from Romania. I currently live with my father. Um… I guess that about it."
"Thank you Dolimus, that was very nice. Class, will you show him some respect?"
He received a weak applause from the class. Giving in, the teacher sat at her desk.
"I have a few papers to finish up with, so you all can talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes."
Yugi noticed a lot of girls staring at Dolimus.
Yugi, I have a strange feeling about him, thought Yami.
Really? Why? asked Yugi in reply.
I don't know. Perhaps just a feeling, nothing more.
He seems nice… I'll talk to him after class, try to meet him.
Once the class ended, Yugi followed Dolimus into the hall.
Dolimus wheeled around to face Yugi before he could say anything.
"Wow!" chirped Yugi, surprised. "Talk about perfect timing, huh?"
Dolimus stared at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Heh… I'm Yugi," he introduced, extending his hand.
"Do you like cold feet… as much as I do?" he asked, his eyes narrow.
Yugi withdrew his hand and shifted his gaze to the side. He shuffled his feet, nervously.
"I'm just playing with your mind, Yugi," Dolimus chuckled, extending his hand. "I'm sorry I overestimated your sense of humor. Nice to meet you, the name is Dolimus."
"Oh! Ha ha, I was starting to believe you were serious… Wow, your personality just seemed so… different in the classroom. I'm in your homeroom… by the way."
"I see. Well then, I did mention in there that I was not the best public speaker. It's just not my favorite thing to do."
"Oh, okay. I get nervous, too. Anyway, I'd like to stay and chat, but I have to get to my next class."
"Yes, same here. What class do you have?"
"Oh, I have physics next."
Dolimus pulled a piece of folded paper from his pocket he read over it, and said, "I have… algebra next. Well, then I guess I'll let you go. You're a nice kid, Yugi. Let's chat again soon."
"Yeah, okay!"
Dolimus left towards the math pod and Yugi wandered toward his science pod, muttering under his breath.
I'm sure he didn't mean it offensively, Yugi, Yami thought to him.
I'm not a kid.
Yugi wandered into his physics class and was greeted by Joey and Tristan.
"Hey, Yug, howyadoin!" Joey shouted, slapping him hard in his back.
Yugi stumbled forward a few steps and rubbed his back.
"That's a heck of a way to greet someone, Joey…" commented Yugi.
"Ah, I'm a little hyper today, to tell the truth."
"That explains the energy. The stupid actions are just him being Joey," Tristan cracked.
"Why I oughtta…" threatened Joey, shaking his fist at Tristan. He was cut off when the bell rang.
Yugi scampered over to his seat while Joey and Tristan meandered to theirs. Joey had been assigned to a seat on the opposite side of the room to prevent his habit of disrupting class by goofing off with Tristan, who sat in front of Yugi.
The teacher came in and began his lesson while Tristan and Yugi slipped comments to each other.
"I think I may have met a new friend," Yugi said to him.
"That so? What's his name?"
"It's Dolimus. He moved here from Romania!"
"Really? That kind of… far. What's he like?"
"Well, he's got a sense of humor… sort of."
"Sort of?"
"Never mind about that. Anyways, judging by the class he has next, I think he has lunch at the same time we do. I'll introduce you guys to him!"
"Sounds good to me."
Come lunch time, Yugi, Joey, and Tristan got their lunch prior to sitting at their usual table. Yugi kept a watchful eye for Dolimus moving through the line. Within a few minutes, Tea approached the lunch table with him.
"Hey guys, I have someone I'd like you all to meet!" she said.
"Hey Dolimus! What's up?" piped Yugi.
"You're Dolimus? Wow, you're a handsome devil!" Joey joked, raising an eyebrow.
"I wish I could say the same," he replied.
The two stared at each other for a moment, when Dolimus smiled and said, "I'm joking. Nice to meet you."
"Ah haaaa, I like you already!" Joey said, shaking the man's hand. "Name's Joey Wheeler, at yer service!"
"I'll keep in touch."
"My name's Tristan," he introduced himself. "I hear you're from Romania?"
"Yes, I am. I moved here a week before I was enrolled at the school."
"What did you do in Romania before you came here?" Yugi asked, curious.
"Oh, nothing too important… it's boring, really," he answered, laughing it off.
"Hey, you gonna get any lunch?" Joey asked him.
"That's okay; I really never enjoyed cafeteria food. Thank you for the offer, though, Joey."
"I always pack my lunch," Tea offered, fetching them both a chair. "You can have one of my sandwiches if you want. I never eat them both."
"Really, I'm fine. Thank you for the kind gestures, I guess I'm just not all that hungry."
"Hey Tea," Yugi addressed her. "Dolimus has only been here a day… how do you know him already? Did you meet him in algebra?"
"Yep, exactly! He decided to talk to me because I was the only girl that didn't drool over him."
"They seem to follow me everywhere… I don't understand it, really. Then again, I can't complain…"
Everyone chuckled, and Joey added, "Ferget about da fish in the sea, you got enough in yer private aquarium!"
They all laughed harder.
"Hey, man, we're all headin' over to Yug's place to fire up a big game o' Monopoly," Joey mentioned. "You care ta join?"
"Hmmm… I think I'd appreciate that very much," Dolimus said, smiling. "Can't say that I've played before, though… So I may not be as good as you all."
"Wat!" Joey cried. "How can anyone have never played Monopoly before?"
"Is that… a bad thing?"
"No, Monopoly is just so hugely popular, that we don't see many faces your age that haven't played it before," Yugi explained for him.
"Yeah, forgive Joey. He's about as blunt as a rock. About as dense as one, too—"
Just then, Joey bonked him on his head with his fist. "Hey, watch it!" he threatened. Tristan merely looked and pointed at Joey, a stern look on his face. Everyone else laughed.
It wasn't long before the bell rang for lunch to end.
The gang took care of their trash and parted ways.
"See you at my place, Dolimus!" Yugi called.
Dolimus nodded and headed off with Joey to his next class.
After school, Yugi and company met up at the Game Shop as arranged. Dolimus met with Yugi and followed him back directly from the school. As they entered, they found Sugoroku Mutou, Yugi's grandfather, restocking one of the shelves.
"Hi, grandpa!" Yugi greeted him.
He peered over his shoulder and climbed down to greet the friends.
"I don't believe we've met before…" he said suspiciously to Dolimus.
"He's a new student at the school, grandpa. His name is Dolimus," Yugi answered for him.
"Nice to meet you, Dolimus," smiled Sugoroku. "My name is Sugoroku Mutou, but a lot of people have trouble with my name, so you can call me Solomon."
"Wait…" Joey interjected. "Weren't you Trusdale just a week ago?"
"Yep, but not anymore! It's Solomon now!"
"Yeah, okay… this guy's name goes through more transformations than Optimus Primal…"
"What?" Tristan cried aloud.
"Beast Wars, man, come on. You need ta live a little, rememba yer youth!"
"I remember, all right, I'm just a bit surprised you're making a reference to that show."
"Wat's dat supposed ta mean?" Joey became defensive.
"It's an outdated kid's show!"
"Kid's show? Hey man, dat was more den a kid's show! Dere were some interesting references if you paid close enough attention! Not only dat, but dere was character development, an amazing and complex plotline…"
"It was a show about robots that turned into animals! Wow! Turning into an animal sure makes you stronger!"
"Hey! Dose forms were ta protect dem from energon buildup, thank you very much, and you liked it when you were younger, admit it!"
"Yeah, when I was younger! Now that I'm twice that age and twice as mature—"
"Guys, are we gonna play some Monopoly or listen to you two argue over some geeky little show from your youth?" Tea interrupted.
"Hey! It's not geeky—" Joey started when Tea shoved her finger in his face, a stern look on her face. She then proceeded towards Yugi's room, Yugi and Tristan following close behind.
"It's still a cool show…" Joey muttered under his breath. And ventured toward the stairwell.
"Oh, Joey," Sugoroku called after him.
"Yeah, Yugi's Grandpa?"
He then tossed him a DVD case from a shelf. Joey caught it and looked at it.
"Hey! Dis is Beast Wars Complete Season One!" he exclaimed.
"I liked it while it was on, too," he admitted, winking. "Call it a gift, fan to fan."
"Wow! You're giving me the whole series?"
"You're buying the other two, don't push your luck."
"Gotcha."
Everyone had been playing for a few hours when Joey's sister, Serenity, came into Yugi's room.
"Hey, Serenity!" called Joey from the other side of the room.
"Hi, Joey! I came to tell you that you need to come home now. Dinner is on its way."
"We ordered out? Awesome! Wait… why didn't ya call?"
"Well… I wanted to stop by and say hello to everyone, and let them know I'm here!"
"Yeah… you never told me Serenity was here, Joey," commented Tristan flatly.
"There was a reason fer dat…" he muttered under his breath in reply. "Well, she came here ta visit for a few weeks."
Serenity's eyes scanned the room until she laid her eyes on a surprised Dolimus. The two locked eyes and became transfixed on each other. After a moment, Yugi stood up.
"This is Serenity," he introduced her to him, and turned to face her. "Dolimus, this is Serenity, she's Joey's sister."
"Hi…" he choked out, while Joey raised an eyebrow. "Pleasure to meet you."
Her cheeks flushed a bit, and she smiled sweetly in response.
Joey shot up and blurted out quickly, "Alright, it's gettin late anyway, I guess we should be goin. Come on Serenity, let's go, let's go! You guys figure out what ta do with my stuff, don't let me stop yer fun"
He shooed her out the door and shut it behind him. Dolimus stood there for a moment, and sat back down. He seemed deep in thought about something.
"Are you okay, Dolimus?" Yugi asked, concerned.
"Hm? Yes, I'm okay, thanks for asking. Whose turn was it now?" he replied.