KT: Many tear-filled thanks to kagome-princess, Sansi, pyromaniacgrl, AngelViper9, Pharaoh Atemu's Angel, and ladywolfTerri for reviewing. I asked for two, and you gave me...well, if you look at the counter, it obviously displays a number higher than two, yes?
Juni: Yep.
Taku: Wait, let me count it...
KT: (rolls eyes) So, here's the first real chapter, as your reward.
Juni: It's only been a couple of days since the prologue.
KT: (happy) Oh, well, I'm sure they don't mind.
1: A Dare
(present day)
Everyone had heard of Domino City. It was a big city, and home to KaibaCorp's main headquarters. But not many people who didn't already live there had heard of Domino Town, which was only about ten miles away from the city. There were about 2,500 people in Domino Town, a relatively small amount for any place where a bunch of people live, except for maybe a neighborhood. The town was a place where nothing exciting or important ever happened, and no one got into trouble. The crime was down to a minimum because no one had anything valuable enough to steal.
Among the 2,500 people living in Domino City were three teenagers. They were all best friends. They, like everyone else, had no excitement in their life. If the UPS man came to the town with a package for somebody, they considered that the day's adventure.
Unfortunately for some, and fortunately for others, things were about to change.
"I dare you to...rattle Ms. Jenkins' fence!"
"Aw, please! I can do dat!"
Sixteen-year-old Joey Wheeler puffed out his chest, like a macho man, and strutted over to where Ms. Jenkins' chain link fence separated her yard from the rest of the world. He intertwined his fingers between the links and jerked it back and forth. Immediately, Ms. Jenkins' pit bull, Grub, started growling and barking at him. Joey backed away so he wouldn't get his fingers bitten off.
"Aha!" Joey crowed, pointing an accusing finger at Tea Gardner. "I went through widdit! It wasn' so bad!"
Tea and the third member of their group, Yugi Moto, were both hiding chuckles behind their hands. "Oh no?" Tea managed to get out. "You sure about that?" She pointed.
Joey turned and saw that somehow Grub had managed to get a hold of the hem of his new leather jacket in its teeth, and was now trying to drag the blond back to the fence. Joey yelped and tore himself away, running a safe distance from the fence.
Tea and Yugi were in hysterics now. "D-didn't you just buy that, Joey?" Yugi said between laughs.
Joey glared at them. "It ain' dat funny!"
"Sure it is, Mr. Show-Off!" Tea shot back, finally containing herself. She rested her hands on her hips. "All right, Joey, you did complete my dare without too much injury, so now it's your turn. Dare one of us."
"A'righty den," Joey said. "I'll dare Yugi."
Yugi shrugged. "What am I doing?" he asked.
"Hmmm." Joey gazed around, chin in hand. "I dare ya to...hmm... Nah, not dat... Nah, dat's too easy... Gotta thinka payback fer laffin' at me...aha! Yugi," he said, pointing at his friend, "I dare ya t' go into da Ferbidden Forest!"
"Joey, are you nuts?" Tea exclaimed. "That stupid forest is haunted by a bloodsucking vampire! People have gone in there, never to be seen again!"
"Aw, don' tell me you two chickens belie' dat ol' fairy tale!" Joey teased. "Everybody knows dea ain't no such thing as vamps!" He turned to Yugi. "Are ya goin'? If ya do, ya gotta stay in dea fer ten minutes!"
Yugi narrowed his eyes. "Fine," he said. "I never back down from a challenge. Especially in a game." They all started walking.
"This is ridiculous," Tea said. She now seemed worried. "Even if there is no vampire, he could get lost, or anything!"
"It's a legitimate dare, a'right?" Joey told her.
Tea glared. "That doesn't exactly assure me."
"There it is," Yugi said, pointing. They looked up and found themselves in front of the Forbidden Forest. It seemed even scarier to Yugi considering he was about to go in it. A sign in front of it read WARNING-DO NOT ENTER.
"What if there is a vampire in there?" Tea asked. "Just because we've never seen one doesn't mean that they don't exist."
"Tea, don't worry," Yugi assured her. "There's no such thing as vampires. People just say that because everybody's afraid to go in a dark forest like this."
Joey nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Dey commup widda legen' or fantasy so's they got a 'legitimate' reasin not t' go in dea, dat's all! But I do hea dat the trees're so tall 'n' thick dat da sun can't get in. Soun's spooky, don' it?"
Tea glared at him again.
"So, what?" Yugi asked. "Do I just go in there and walk?"
"Yeah, do dat," Joey said. "I'll time ya. When five minutes've passed, I call out t' ya, and you can start walkin' back hea. Den you can dare wonna us."
Yugi shrugged. "Simple enough." He walked to the edge of the forest, and, after a deep breath, made his way in.
Joey held up his arm to look at his watch. "I'm timin' ya!"
"Be careful, Yugi!" Tea called anxiously.
Yugi walked farther into the forest, wishing he had a watch of his own in case Joey tried to cheat and make him stay in the forest longer. He kept his eyes on the ground, making sure he didn't get his feet tangled up in the exposed roots, fallen branches, low bushes, and piles of leaves and sticks that were all over the forest floor. He could barely see his feet though.
"It's so dark in here," Yugi thought aloud, "almost like night. And it's in the middle of the afternoon." He looked up to see if he could see any part of the sky anywhere. Thick tree branches seemingly miles up in the sky blocked his view.
Yugi sighed. "I wonder if it's been five minutes?" he thought, continuing along with his hands in his pockets. "It would be just like Joey to do something like that. I'll have to ask Tea if she noticed anything suspicious when I get out of here."
Suddenly, Yugi tripped over an exposed root he hadn't seen. He fell to the ground and was shocked when he found himself rolling down an incline. Leaves and twigs flew into his face as he rolled downhill. He felt sticks scratch his hands, but his arms and legs were protected by his jacket and jeans.
Yugi landed with a painful thud and an "Oof!" He lay there for a moment, the left side of his face pressed into the dirt, trying to assess the pain. His legs hurt but not too much. And his hands were stinging from the scratches, but those weren't serious injuries. He could still walk. He rose to his knees, then his feet, brushing dirt and leaves and twigs out of his hair and off his skin and clothes.
"Darn, that hurt," Yugi grumbled. He looked up to the hill he had fallen down. "I'd better try to climb it," he said to himself.
Four unsuccessful tries later, Yugi found himself still at the bottom. "What am I going to do?" he sighed in frustration, rubbing his face tiredly. "I have to get back up this hill. If I don't, who knows when I'll be out of this stupid forest?"
Sighing, he stood up, preparing to try and climb the hill again. Then he heard a rustle, and he froze. Slowly he turned, hoping it was just a squirrel and not...
Not what? Yugi thought to himself. A vampire? Those don't exist. Stop being crazy and find a way up that hill.
Yugi turned back to the hill. Then he heard another rustle, and it sounded too suspicious too ignore. He turned. "Is someone out there?" he called. He listened to the final syllables of his question echo off the trees, going unanswered.
"Maybe I'm just a little nervous being in this forest by myself," Yugi thought aloud. "I've got to stop letting my nerves get to me."
"Oh, it isn't your nerves."
Yugi's blood ran cold. He turned, slowly, looking for someone. He saw no one. "Who's there?" he called out as bravely as he could.
"Did you know you are trespassing in my forest?"
"I..." Yugi didn't know how to answer. The voice was deep and chilling, and it sounded very threatening.
"A capital crime. You are going to have to pay."
Yugi gulped. He tried to climb backwards up the hill, but he just couldn't seem to get any leverage. "Please, just leave me alone. I didn't mean any harm, I just came in here on a dare one of my friends made."
"One of your friends is an idiot."
I might have to agree with that, Yugi thought, having no choice but to stand to his feet. He remembered his proclamation to Joey. I never back down from a challenge. He'd have to be brave and face this one down too.
"You foolish human, you should never have come here. You could have saved yourself by staying out, but now it's too late."
Yugi felt fear clawing at his brain. He didn't respond. He heard another rustle, and suddenly, a figure a head taller than him landed in front of him, making him jump. It was too dark to see anything.
Except...for two glowing red eyes that scared all sane thoughts from Yugi's mind. He simply stared up at the eyes, unable to speak or move or barely breathe. He had a feeling this wasn't just some crazy person trying to scare him. "W-what...are you?" he found himself saying.
He received no answer. The glowing red eyes were simply staring at him, and he felt like this figure was scrutinizing his very soul. It was a very uncomfortable feeling, and some smart thought in the back of his mind told him he should try running. But he still felt frozen in place.
"Strange," the ominous voice said. But it didn't sound nearly as threatening this time. Yugi couldn't tear his gaze away from the glowing eyes. They were so evil, in a way. Yet so beautiful. He flinched when he felt something cold touch his cheek. He realized it was fingers. Is he touching me for some reason?
"You look just like me," the figure said.
I do? Yugi wondered. I can't see him though.
Suddenly, the fingers left his face. Yugi had a bad feeling something he wouldn't like was about to happen. He still couldn't seem to get his legs moving so he could run away.
"You're very fortunate," the voice abruptly spoke. "Very fortunate indeed."
"I am?" Yugi found himself saying. "How? Why? I mean, what does that mean?" He was scared. Was something about to happen to him?
There was an evil-sounding chuckle. Then Yugi felt something touch the back of his head. The world around him seemed to disappear in an instant, and he lost consciousness.
KT: Well, that's the first chapter. Like? Dislike? Couldn't care less? Let me know.
Juni: Anonymous reviews can now be given, too, so anyone who wants to say something can.
