To the two of you who reviewed: Yay! You reviewed! I was afraid I wouldn't get any response!
Go, Disclaimer Dude!

Disclaimer Dude: Miriku only owns the OCs in this story.

Yeah! Shame on you idiots who think a wonderful work of art such as YuGiOh could have come from the hands of a paranoid Floridian girl such as moi! Worship Takahashi-sama!
Ahem...enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Two
New Friends

Bzzt…

Bzzt…

Bzzt…

Tecuo moaned, rolling over in his sleep. "Go 'way," he mumbled.

Bzzt…

Bzzt…

Bzzt…

BZZZZZZZT!

Tecuo leapt out of bed with a startled yelp. "I'm up, I'm up!"

Grumbling, he switched off the alarm clock and opened the closet. He quickly slid into his school uniform and brushed his hair. As he reached for his backpack, a glimmer of gold caught his eye.

On his desk rested a small gold box. It was carved with all kinds of symbols and hieroglyphics. Most prominent on the front was an eye.

Tecuo looked at it for the longest moment. It seemed almost familiar to him.

But…how did it get there? It wasn't there when I went to bed last night…

Almost without thinking, he reached out and touched the box. Something inside him seemed to click.

"Tecuo!" Mrs. Mutou called. "Are you up yet?"

Tecuo stuffed the box in his backpack and headed downstairs.

I'll puzzle it out later, he thought resolvedly, sitting down at the breakfast table.

Mrs. Mutou smiled, setting a large omelet in front of him. "I figured that, since this is a special day, you get a special breakfast!"

"Thanks, Mom!" Tecuo exclaimed, digging in. He finished it in seconds.

"Now, go on—you remember where the school is, right?"

"Right! See you later!"

Tecuo headed out the door and down the street, looking around in wonder. He'd grown up in a small town, and the height of most of the buildings in this city amazed him.

He felt the box inside his backpack thump against his back.

I wonder what's in there…?

OooO

Tecuo sat at the back of his first class, looking around at the chattering students. Everyone in here was so much taller than him…

The teacher, a woman with long black hair and sharp blue eyes, rapped her ruler on her desk. "Now, I know your summer vacations have been exciting," she admonished, "but please save it for later!"

The class immediately quieted down. The teacher smiled.

"Now, as most of you know, I am Ms. Alia."

"Hello, Ms. Alia," the class chorused in response.

"Yes, hello, and welcome to another year at Dominion High!"

There were a few groans from the students.

"All right, class!" Ms. Alia called as the bell rang. "I need you to open your books to page 135, section A…"

OooO

Tecuo could hardly believe it, but he actually enjoyed his classes. All his teachers were nice—and he was so small that everyone usually looked him over. He was left completely alone; and that was pretty much the way he wanted it.

Too soon, the end-of-school bell rang. Tecuo had to squeeze back against a wall to avoid being trampled. Grumbling, he exited the room and headed for the stairs.

"Well, what've we got here?"

Tecuo froze. Three huge boys were blocking the stairwell.

The first boy bared his teeth. "Looks like a shrimp!"

The boy on his left crossed his arms. "This is our stairwell, shrimp!"

Tecuo backed away. "Okay!" he squeaked. "I'll go somewhere else, then!"

Quick as a flash, the third boy grabbed him and twisted his arms behind his back. "Too late," he hissed. "You already crossed us."

Tecuo struggled to break free, but the other boy's grip was too strong.

Suddenly, a girl's voice echoed from behind the third boy.

"What are you three doing?"

The boys paled visibly. The third boy quickly flung Tecuo to the floor and whipped around. Tecuo, still trembling, edged back towards the wall.

A girl with shaggy blond hair and deep brown eyes stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at them. Next to her was a girl with silver hair and blue eyes that glittered dangerously.

"What have we told you about bullying?" the second girl asked quietly.

The boys stammered out apologies, backing away.

The first girl raised her fist. "Scram."

They did so, yelping like scared puppies. Tecuo watched them go, starting to feel a bit afraid of them himself.

The concern in their eyes as they hurried up to him banished the fear entirely.

"They didn't hurt, you, did they?" the second girl asked.

Tecuo shook his head, rising to his feet. He barely reached their waists.

"You came just in time…"

"Those damn bullies," the first girl spat, glaring off after where they went. "Oh, if only we could teach them another lesson!"

Tecuo blinked. He had never met such violent girls.

"I'm Kania, by the way," the second girl said. "Kania Bakura."

"And I'm Soria Wheeler," the first said. "Nice to meet you."

"You mean, nice to save me," Tecuo muttered dryly.

Soria burst out laughing. "Now that's a good one! I have got to tell my dad about that one!"

Tecuo fell silent, remembering his dream. Dad…

Kania put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, buddy—you okay?"

"Yeah…"

Jena furrowed her brow. "I think I've seen you somewhere before!" she burst out, looking at Tecuo. "I just can't remember where!"

"I doubt it," Tecuo laughed. "Now, come on—I need to get home soon, or my mom'll kill me!"

"Me too," Soria said.

Kania giggled. "Me three!"

Laughing, the three of them made their way down the stairs and out the door.

"There's my mom!" Soria exclaimed, pointing at a hot pink convertible. She dashed down to the car, followed by Kania. Tecuo started on his way home, shaking his head. Girls…

"Wait!" Soria called. "What's your name?"

"Tecuo!" he called over his shoulder.

OooO

Soria glanced at Kania. "He said Tecuo, right?"

"Yep."

Soria opened the car door. "Hi Mom! Oh—hi Mrs. Bakura!"

Mrs. Bakura smiled, absently swiping her brown hair out of her eyes as she turned to face Soria from the passenger seat.

"Hello, Soria. Your mother offered to drive Kania home, and I thought I'd come with her."

Soria slid in, and beckoned to Kania to follow.

"Mom!" Kania exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Mrs. Bakura explained it again as Mrs. Wheeler started the car.

Seeing something half familiar out of the corner of her eye, Mrs. Wheeler turned—and froze. Just rounding the corner was a boy that looked almost exactly like one of her childhood friends—a man that had been missing for going on ten years now.

Yugi…

OooO

Tecuo sat at his desk with a sigh. His homework was done—and there was only one thing nagging at him.

He reached into his backpack and pulled out the gold box. He hadn't told anyone about it—not even his mom.

He carefully scrutinized the box. There had to be some way to open it…

Without thinking, he rested his hand on the lid. It pushed down a bit. He pushed harder, and the lid sank in further. He let go, and it sprang open on cleverly concealed hinges.

Sneaky, he thought, peering into the box.

It was full of small, angular pieces of gold. To Tecuo, they had the semblance of a big jigsaw puzzle.

And Tecuo and always loved puzzles.

"You get it from your father," Mrs. Mutou had told him. "From what I've been told, he was always putting something or other together. You seem to have inherited that."

Entranced, Tecuo picked up two of the pieces.

Click…click…

"Nope," he murmured, setting one down and picking up another. "Maybe this one…"

Click…click…

"Maybe not…"

And the presence was there; watching; waiting.

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