Okay, this is probably horrible of me to say, but this chapter is definitely one of my favorites. And while it may not seem like a happy chapter . . . well, please be aware that I am posting this on Valentine's Day (hint, hint).
Alright, now you can read. Enjoy!
Kaiba stormed into his first class more than fifteen minutes late. It made no difference that he was late – the teacher was also late, and Kaiba never got in trouble for being tardy to class. "Mr. Sunshine seems especially cheerful today," Tristan commented to his friend, Joey. The blond snorted in response.
"His housekeeper probably shrunk his pants," he offered.
"I don't have a housekeeper, mutt," Seto growled as he slumped down in a chair in the very back of the room. He was in no mood to put up with Wheeler's antics.
"Ahh!" Joey jumped back away from him. "Grumpy, too."
"Get a life, Wheeler," the older student muttered. Joey stood and moved toward Kaiba with his hand in a fist.
"Why don't you say that to my face, smart mouth?"
"I think I just did, mutt." Joey was just about to hit him when Tristan grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him back into his seat.
"Chill, man. You wanna get killed?" Tristan warned. Joey frowned and grumbled back at him.
"I coulda taken 'im!"
"Sure, you could have." Tristan chuckled.
"I heard she got kicked out of her old school," one student whispered to his neighbor on the other side of the room.
"The new girl? I head that she plays Duel Monsters," the second boy replied. A short girl behind them interrupted their conversation.
"Yeah, well I heard she used to be one of those Rare Hunters!" she exclaimed loudly, trying to impress them.
"Yeah, right, Ashley. A girl being a Rare Hunter? Pu-leeeese!"
"Well, that's what I heard." Ashley sat back in her chair as she folded her arms, pouting. Kaiba was trying to ignore all of the noise that threatened to break his concentration on the data moving across his laptop screen. He glanced over at the trio in the corner when he heard the words "Rare Hunters" and shot them a wary glance. If one more person says 'Duel Monsters' . . . Just then two girls came in the room giggling, hiding behind their notebooks.
"And then he told me that this new girl was coming to our school!"
"Get this – Eric told me that she kicked Kaiba's butt in Duel Monsters!"
"No way! She beat the Seto Kaiba? Shut up!" Seto slammed the top of his laptop down in anger. The new girl . . . but it couldn't be . . . He took out a book from his computer bag and forced himself to start reading as the professor entered, followed by the new student the entire school had been talking about.
When she walked into the room, all eyes looked up. Except for Kaiba, who remained stretched out in his seat, immersed in his reading. This class is such a waste. History had to be the most pointless subject in education. In fact, school in general was a waste. Seto knew more than any other students at Domino High, likely more than any of his teachers. Gozabura had seen to that. The only reason he forced himself to go through this torture was Mokuba.
"Who's da new chick?" Joey whispered loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. He apparently had been oblivious to all of the rumors that had been going around Domino High already that morning.
"Joey!" protested a girl with short brown hair.
"Wha-at? I'm just gonna go intraduce myself."
"Get in line," said Tristan. "I saw her first." He shoved Joey out of the way. The girl frowned. Kaiba finally looked up when the teacher set his papers down on the large desk in the front. Only forty-five more minutes of this . . . .Oh, great. As if this day couldn't get any worse. He had just seen who the new student was. But now I can get my card back . . .
"Class, I'd like you to meet our new student, Kirandra. She's originally from Domino, but she has spent the last several years in Egypt." The teacher motioned for Kira to take a seat. Are there any left? Oh, one in the very back, just behind . . .Her eyes slanted with realization, as she walked to take the desk directly behind Seto. This should be fun . . .
"We're going to have a long lecture today, so I hope that all of you are prepared to take a lot of notes. Ahh, Mr. Kaiba, so nice of you to grace us with your presence once again." After searching in vain through her bag, Kira leaned her head back against the wall. Of all the things . . . How could I have forgotten to bring a pencil? Egyptian sand in my brain . . . Kaiba looked back at her and smirked. He then reached into his computer bag, pulling out two new-looking mechanical pencils. He held both of them up, then dropped one back in his bag, after making sure that she had seen. Then he turned back around to his notebook. He was going to make her time at Domino High as miserable as possible until he got his card back. She deserved worse for cheating and taking his Blue Eyes. Kira shook her head in disgust. Grrr . . . The brown-haired boy in the chair next to her handed her a pencil with a crumpled piece of notebook paper. "Welcome to Domino," it said in barely legible handwriting. "I'm Tristan Taylor. Want to take a ride on my motorcycle later?" Seto decided to get Kira's attention by sending her a note of his own. He crumpled the piece of paper and threw it over her head so that it landed in front of her. Kira caught it as it slid toward the edge of her desk. She looked back at Seto, but his face was buried in his book. Glancing back up at the front to make sure the teacher had not seen. Apparently someone was still mad. . .He definitely does not take losing well. Kira opened the crumpled paper and read the note. "Give back what's mine, or I tell everyone whose daughter you are." She smirked as she crumpled the paper back up and placed it quietly into her bag. I wouldn't be here if I were going to let that bother me. She heard Seto sit up in his chair as his feet slammed down on the floor. Another crumpled piece of paper landed on her desk. Kira shook her head slightly as she picked it up, then silently dropped it on the floor. She then stepped down on it hard, turning to make sure Kaiba had seen, then she began smashing it even further with her heel.
- - - - - - - - -
Kira walked into lunch alone, but she was soon noticed by Tristan and his friends whom she had met earlier. They motioned for her to join them, and knowing no one else there besides Seto, she decided to go. There was no way she could ignore their frantic waving anyway. Joey jumped up awkwardly and pulled out the empty chair next to him for Kira. She smiled at him as she sat down.
"Oh, how sweet! Thank you, Joey." The blond's face flushed red with embarrassment.
"It's nothing'."
"What, you do that for your girlfriend Mai, too?" teased Tristan, trying to put a damper on his friend's "progress" with the new student. Joey's face turned a brighter shade of red.
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"Guys!" Tea tried to stop Joey and Tristan from fighting. Kira looked slightly amused.
"Sorry," Joey apologized first.
"Yeah, you should be," Tristan remarked, brushing his hair. Tea shook her head, then turned to her spike-haired friend who was sitting next to Tristan on the opposite side of the table.
"You're rather quiet today, Yugi," she commented.
"What? Oh, sorry. Just thinking." Then he noticed Kira. "Umm . . . sorry, but I don't think we've been introduced."
"Oh, yeah!" Joey exclaimed. "Yug, this is Kira. Kira, this here is my best friend, Yugi."
"So you are the infamous Yugi Motou, the Duel Monsters champion." Yugi's eyes grew wider.
"You play Duel Monsters?" Kira shrugged.
"A little. Probably not up to your standard though."
"Aww . . . well, I couldn't do it without the support of my friends." The girl smiled in response. I feel like I know him somehow . . . "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kira." Yugi offered his hand, and as she took it, she was instantly transported to another place.
"You cannot win! I am the pharaoh of Egypt and you are only a priest. I have all of the power!" The pharaoh, looking mysteriously like the boy she had just met, stood with his arms crossed, three large tablets of stone that had been carved with the figures of various creatures stood in front of him. His opponent across the dimly lit room was the exact likeness of Seto Kaiba.
"I will defeat you, Pharaoh! It is time for change in Egypt, and it will start with me taking over now!" The young priest had only one stone tablet standing directly in front of him, but his eyes were lit with a fire that amazed Kira. Somehow she knew that he would not lose, he could not. She had the feeling that he had nothing left to lose in this critical duel. But beyond that consuming fire, she detected a sadness, a pain that made him seem almost less than human.
Kira shook her head. It was not the first time she had experienced a vision of the past that seemed to parallel the present. I wonder if the others know . . . . She suddenly realized that she needed to get her books for her next class.
"I have to go," she told the group.
"See you later!" Tea exclaimed. Joey and Tristan waved, while Yugi sat there silently.
- - - - - - - - -
After lunch, Kira decided to stop at the drinking fountain to fill up her water bottle. On the way there she nearly ran into another student, a shy boy with white hair.
"Sorry about that!" He apologized as he bent down to pick up a few papers he had dropped.
"It's fine, don't worry about it," Kira replied. The boy smiled at her.
"You must be new. I'm Bakura." She froze when she heard his name, but then quickly recovered.
"My name is Kira, and yes, this is my first day. I need to get to class," she said rather hastily.
"Oh, okay, bye!" Kira walked hurriedly around the corner than stopped. Bakura – the thief king? Come on, Kira, that was in the past . . . She again shook her head and then remembered her original reason for being in the hallway and headed for the drinking fountain. Her water bottle was almost full when she heard a familiar voice complain from behind her.
"Does it take that long to get a drink of water?" Kaiba complained as he started pushing his way toward the fountain. "Kira!" he exclaimed with disgust when he saw who was holding up the line. By this time, a small crowd of students including Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Yugi, had gathered in the hallway to see what was going on. "Get out of my way."
"Fine." Kira responded simply, as she stepped back to allow him to move in front of the fountain. Seto looked at her strangely, then bent slightly over the fountain. He pushed the button on the front and sputtered in anger as he was suddenly sprayed with a burst of water from the fountain. Everyone froze, and the hallway was deathly silent as the students anticipated Kaiba's next action. Spinning around to face Kira, who was standing nearby, covering her mouth as she laughed, he opened his mouth to say something, then changed his mind and stomped away down the hall. Joey scratched his head as he watched him leave.
"Ehh . . . what just happened? Did I just see what I think I saw?" Tristan laughed.
"The new girl just made Kaiba look really stupid. Man, that's got to be one of the oldest tricks!"
"Come on, guys. Just because Kaiba's a jerk most of the time doesn't mean we should laugh at him. It's not right!" Tea complained.
"Tea's right," Yugi said while laughing. "It's . . . not . . . funny!"
"You guys are so immature," said Tea, leaving the crowd to go to her next class. The other students standing around clapped and cheered for Kira as Kaiba left, thinking the threat of violence from him was over. Then, a few at a time, they began to leave. Kira, on the other hand, was not quite finished tormenting the CEO.
"Hey, Kaiba!" She called out. "I think you're supposed to drink the water. Showers are in the locker room." Seto turned so quickly that the heels of his dress shoes clicked as he spun around again to glare at her.
"Do me a favor," he growled.
"Anything for you, Sunshine."
"Go jump off a bridge."
"If that's really what you want," she paused, smirking at him. "But you still won't have your card, Exodia."
"What did you just call me?"
"What, you didn't understand? Let me break it down more simply for you – I just said that you are a sorry jerk and a poor loser."
"Uh oh," Joey said to Tristan and Yugi, who had stayed with him because they greatly enjoyed seeing someone make a fool out of Kaiba. "This could be trouble. Kira, I'd be getting' outta here if I was you." He warned. She showed no sign of moving, and Kaiba was already virtually sprinting back down the hall toward her. The three friends moved to block his path to her. Joey and Tristan both grabbed one of his arms to hold him back when he came near enough while Yugi stood directly in front of him. Kaiba struggled against them as he looked back up at Kira. She stood only a few feet away from him, with that infuriating smirk on her face. Unable to take out his anger on her directly, he shoved Joey off of his right arm, flinging him toward the wall. Then he struck the opposite wall with all of his strength his fisted hand barely missing Tristan's face as it passed. Then he turned around and walked back down the hallway in the opposite direction. Behind him, he could hear Kira asking Joey if he was alright. She'd won again. But not forever. He would catch her alone, then she wouldn't be so lucky. I will get my card back.
Okay, a few notes before you go off and review . . . ;)
1. I couldn't resist bringing in Joey, and I had fun trying to imitate his great accent. Unfortunately, I had to bring the rest of Yugi's gang in, but I think it turned out alright.
2. The whole "Exodia" thing was an inspiration from "Smallville" - Lois Lane calling Clark Kent "Smallville was just so amazing that I had to find a counterpart for Kira to call Kaiba.
Please let me know what you think of the chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. And, Happy Valentine's Day!