A/N: Alright, I'm back. Now me, sitting on fluffy pink floor pillow, petting my plot bunny with my advisor Tonberry on the side.

First, I'd like to thank browneyes730 for the review. Glad to get at least one.

browneyes730: As my first reviewer, though I try not to play favorites this early, I can tell that I'm already gonna like you. To answer your question: No, this isn't a Tèa bashing story. The amusement part will be the chaos in which the gang will endure. I could have sworn I erased the payback part, but apparently not. Tèa acts as neutral character for me, so I'm not really into a bashing story. (Tonberry: We read many though. ME: Shut up) Now Pegasus or Dartz, I thought that was hilarious. Maybe I'll have Dartz appear in a flashback? He was totally bad! My summary does sound like Kaiba after I reread again, but maybe I wanted to give that impression?

Hope you enjoy this next chapter! Ton-Ton, disclaimer please!

Tonberry: IBD does not own Yu-Gi-Oh; she only claim rights to Phoenix, her OC and creation.

ME: That's right! No matter how much he reminds me of Axel from KH2! XD

Chapter One: Kindness and Sticky Situations

Six months earlier…

"Chocolate bar."

"A bag of cookies."

"Two pieces of hard candy."

"One juice box and a box of crackers."

"Hey, there's only four pieces left! And that juice is open!"

"What's ya point?"

"My point being is that half of what you're offering is nearly gone!"

"Yeah? I see only half of a chocolate bar over there. Wanna argue about that, Tristan?"

"That's different; I saved that half for another day."

"How's that any different? You still took a chomp out it!"

Glancing up from the novel she was engrossed in, Tèa turned her attention to the game in front of her. Once again, Joey and Tristan had struck up another game of Go-Fish and, as expected, decided to make things interesting by betting with junk food. Yugi was sitting between the two, looking fairly amused and uneasy at the pair's bickering as he played the peacemaker.

"Guys, calm down, this isn't poker," Yugi joked.

"Yug, Tristan is trying to swindle me out of my winnings here!" Joey cried. "It's about principality and respect."

"But… it's Go Fish," Yugi deadpanned.

"I'm surprised he could say big words," Tristan said.

"What was that?" Joey growled.

"I'm saying since when did you learn to read the dictionary?" Tristan mocked, a hint of laughter threatened to escape.

"You want some of this? Get over here and say that again," the blond challenged, making a show that he was terribly offended.

The two got into it once more, leaving Yugi sweatdropping on the sidelines as he helplessly looked on.

Tèa smiled. It had been too long since they spent some time together like this. It was nearly a full year since Yugi's victory in the Ceremonial duel with the pharaoh, returning him back to the Afterlife. Sure, the gang was sad to see him leave but it had to be done; Atem didn't belong in this world. Afterwards, they returned home and were immediately immersed with their own personal lives and school, barely leaving any room to hang out.

The longtime friends had hopes of spending time together over summer vacation before their last year of school. Unfortunately, no such luck. Domino City had experienced nothing but dark, gloomy skies releasing an onslaught of torrential rains. You couldn't go one block without being drenched like a dog. So, most of the time was spent indoors due to the dreary atmosphere.

So, imagine the giddiness in the fact that all four friends nearly had identical schedules. With only one or two classes separate, the gang had almost all classes and lunch together. Tèa rolled her eyes skyward. The day was perfect, for once, and so they all agreed to enjoy lunch outside. It was nice. The color of baby-blue splashed across the sky with puffy, white clouds passing idly by. She breathed in; it was a lovely adjustment.

Yes, change had indeed taken place, as how they had.

Tristan gained some facial hair along his chin, creating a shadowed and rugged look on him. His body became broader, due to the added muscles of ridiculous exercising, but he still maintained his lean figure. The main thing that stayed the same was his pointed hair with black on top and brown on the bottom.

Joey had the least; only his bangs grew an inch longer, becoming troublesome in covering his eyes. He occasionally had to push them out of the way, but he made no complaints.

Along with Joey, Tèa's hair had grown to where it reached an inch past her shoulders. She had cut her bangs so that it fell as a swoop just over her eyes, covering her left eye every so often. Taking a hand to move said bangs to the side, Yugi's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Tristan, I don't think how many push-ups you can do in your underwear is relevant to this conversation," Yugi mused.

Joey grinned widely, "See? I knew Yug was on my side."

Yugi shook his head, "I'm not on any side, just making a statement."

The blonde's face fell. "You're not turning on me, are ya?"

"Don't bring Yugi into this, even if he's on my side," Tristan taunted.

Yugi groaned; facepalming as the older boys went into a completely unrelated topic. He cast a glance to Tèa.

"A little help here, Tèa?" he pleaded, amethyst eyes begging for assistance.

Tèa shook her head apologetically.

"No way am I getting mixed into that," she admitted, her hands placed as a 'no thank you' gesture. She giggled when he titled his head towards the sky in defeat.

Ah, Yugi, the youngest of the group and the only one who experienced a drastic transformation.

After a few months, he slowly started to inherit a few inches. He was no longer their small friend; though he matched Tèa's height eye-to-eye, he was still smaller in height compared to Joey and Tristan. His baby face had begun to mature, but his innocent wide amethyst eyes remained. His former, high squeaky voice had gone an octave lower, sounding just a touch near velvet.

In other words, Yugi was beginning to look and sound just like his former dark, Atem.

Atem…

She closed her eyes. No use crying about it now! He's gone with no hope of returning, end of story!

Still, the simple aspect of that didn't help one bit.

Stop that! It's done, so stop agonizing over it.

She exhaled trying to make an attempt to soothe her confusing feelings. Opening her eyes, Tèa stared smack into Yugi's concerned ones. She had been so absorbed with her thoughts that she hadn't realized he had moved over to stand right next to her. Lunch was finally over, and now it was time to return to their classes.

"Are you okay, Tèa?" he asked softly, offering her a hand.

She forced a laugh. "I'm fine, just thinking."

Tèa took his hand and was very careful not to stare directly into Yugi's gentle eyes. It was heartbreaking to gaze into them that brought hard feelings to comprehend. She silently wished that he stopped showering such kind gestures on her; she didn't deserve them.

"So, who won the argument this time?" she questioned, hoping to fill the small awkwardness between them.

"They decided to go out for pizza." Yugi raised an amused brow, "The toppings complete with anchovies, peppers, sausage with cheese stuffed crust. Milkshakes on the side with a double Baconator sandwich as a second meal."

Tèa stared with incredulity. "You're not kidding are you?"

Yugi chuckled, "Not in the least. I barely managed to convince them to drop the banana splits."

"That's Joey and Tristan for you," she said. "Men with bottomless pits as stomachs."

Yugi laughed as they walked to catch up with the two. Tristan and Joey stood, waiting patiently for their other peers to show up.

"What's so funny?" Joey asked.

"Oh, nothing, Joey," Tèa answered without a beat. "By the way, did you study for the test in college algebra?"

The faces of Joey and Tristan morphed into looks of horror. You would have thought someone told them zombies were on the attack.

"SAY WHAT? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?" both males shrieked.

Tèa rolled her eyes. "Our teacher has been saying when the test would be for a week, you two."

"Oh, man," Joey whined. "I'm not prepared this. I'm gonna fail!"

"Why didn't you say this earlier, Tèa? You're the responsible one here!" Tristan accused.

"I told you this yesterday," she said, pushing past them to saunter off towards her next class.

Tristan turned to Yugi in desperation. "Did you know about this?"

"She told us again this morning, so I studied a little bit." Yugi replied, walking down the hallway to History. "You two weren't listening when she said it," he reminded them.

As he walked away, he could still hear them.

"Think the teacher will forget?"

"Keep dreaming, Joe. Keep dreaming."

The day went on as normal and the students of Domino high gathered their things to head home.

As Tèa had predicted, their math teacher, Mr. Tanaka, had a test prepared. As always, Tèa scored high on her test. Yugi scored about little more than average; Joey and Tristan bombed the test, waterfalls of anime tears on their faces.

Dividing polynomials was a crazy concept.

"In what part of my life am I going to need to know how add polynomials?" Joey grunted as he pulled on his sneaker. "Oh yeah," he mocked," 4ab square is the answer needed to figure out how to throw a baseball at the height of 314 feet."

Yugi frowned, "I didn't understand that question either."

His blond companion sighed, "No use of worrying about it now." Shifting his mood as they headed outside, he replied cheerfully, "Hey, I heard the arcade got the Mortal Kombat installment. Wanna check it out later?"

"Yeah, I'm game," Tristan said.

Yugi nodded. "I can stay for a while, and then I have to get back home to help Grandpa with the store."

"Tèa, you up for it?" he asked her, giving a playful smile.

She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm heading out to dance practice."

Joey nodded in understanding. He would never stop Tèa from her passion in life. The group paused at the gates of the school.

"It's cool. We'll catch up later?"

"Yes," she said. "Keep them out of trouble."

Joey puffed out his chest with pride. "Glad to see your faith in me, Tèa."

Tèa laughed as she walked backwards, opposite of the direction the guys were going.

"I was talking to Yugi. With that, she gave a short wave before fully turning around to continue down the sidewalk. She could hear the chuckles from Tristan and Yugi, clearly at Joey's expression.

"What do ya mean by that?" he shouted.

Standing at the stoplight, Tèa waited patiently for the 'Walk' sign to change. Her smile was still on her lips, replaying the events that happened earlier. It felt like a long time since she's been able to laugh and smile so genuinely.

Then, her smile faded slowly as a frown appeared on her features. A blanket of despair and sadness engulfed her, smothering any existence of previous happiness.

It was times like this that she hated to be alone.

The 'Walk' sign signaled a 'go' and Tèa strolled across the crosswalk deep in thought. She wasn't pleased with having to lie to the guys; there was no dance practice, but that was the one thing she knew they wouldn't question. She hated lying to them, especially since they may have so little time to spend together. Tèa knew that, after graduation, the gang will drift to different paths in life. Who knew when they'll have any free time for each other?

She sighed heavily.

She couldn't be near them. She couldn't bear the laughter at Tristan and Joey's antics. Yugi glancing over at her in humor, worry, and kindness as they watch their hotheaded friends brought a knife of cruelty to her. Her attempts to appear okay, when deep down, she was far from it. Faking smiles and chuckles to cover what she truly felt. No, Tèa didn't want to burden them with her problems. She was supposed to be there for them. There was no need to place letdowns in the mix. But the kindness of her friends was like a whip, slashing at her heart unmercifully.

It was a horrible situation and she was trapped in it.

Too much. Too much. Too much.

She was a horrible friend.

"Oh, what a mess," she murmured to herself. This self-pity is getting her nowhere.

"Oh, man," a man's distressed voice said. "I don't think this is the right street."

Tèa looked up, spotting a young man cross referencing the street sign with a paper in his hand. He seemed lost, which struck Tèa as odd.

"Excuse me," she said politely as she strode over to him. "Do you need any help?"

Up close, Tèa realized that the young man was quite young and handsome. He was at least a head taller than she was with a lean figure. His skin was a golden tanned. The most dominant feature about him was the spiked, flaming red hair highlighted with orange that nearly matched his eyes in his hair and bangs. He wore a solid, white dress shirt unbuttoned over a black t-shirt with washed, black jeans. A messenger's bag was worn across his chest, resting just below his right hip.

He gave a sheepish, pearly grin.

"Yeah, I'm kind of hopeless when it comes to directions. Do you know where I can find S & U Law firm?" he asked, looking back at his paper.

Tèa smiled. "You're not too far off. That building is always hardest to find because it's practically hidden by other buildings."

He groaned. "Great, with my luck I'll end up passing into a portal before I get there."

Tèa laughed sweatdropping. "It's only a few blocks south from here. I can take you myself if you want."

"Really? Thanks, you're a real lifesaver," he said, tawny colored orbs blinking in appreciation.

"No problem. It's in the same direction I'm going," she returned as they started southbound.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this," he replied. "My name is Phoenix Suen, by the way."

"Tèa Gardner. So, is this your first time in Domino City?"

"Not exactly. I've lived here before, but I never actually been in downtown Domino. It's been a long time since I walked these streets."

They came and waited a spotlight.

"So, you said you're looking for the S & U law firm. Are you a lawyer or something?" she asked, intrigued with the conversation.

Phoenix shook his head. "Nope, that would require taking more school time to accomplish that." He chuckled, "I'm a student teacher and working on my master's degree to become a full time teacher."

"Wow, sounds exciting!" Tèa exclaimed.

The light turned and they crossed the street.

"Yeah. I've been teaching and studying at Shinjuku University," he said with excitement. "I really do enjoy it."

"I can see that. But then, why are you here in Domino?" she asked innocently.

"Legal matters and I know Ryu will have my hide when I show up," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

A voice nagged Tèa in the back of her mind. But Phoenix had such a laidback aura that she completely ignored it.

"Is Ryu your brother?" she probed. She wasn't trying to be nosy, but she did want to know for some reason.

"Nope, nephew," Phoenix responded. "He should be about your age, actually."

Tèa gaped at him openly. "Seriously? How old are you exactly?" She clamped her mouth shut instantly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean –"

He smiled, "No worries. I get that a lot whenever I mention it. But I like to think of him as a younger brother, and sometime even I forget I'm his uncle. I'm only twenty-seven." A dreamy look appeared in his eyes as he reminisced. "It'll be nice to see him," he told her. Then he grimaced, "Of course, that is if I survive his punishment, if he has one."

Tèa blinked. "Why would he punish you?"

He ducked his head as he spoke, "Ryu offered to walk with me to the law firm, but I told him I could find it myself. This will seriously give him the obligation of 'I told you so.' Or maybe he'll just attack me with a book."

"I hope I get to see that," she giggled. She laughed even harder at his bewildered expression.

"Both you and him are sadists," he deadpanned, but he grinned all the same.

She waved him off. "I'm sure he'll understand." She paused, "but maybe you should prepare to take cover just in case."

"Maybe I'll just use you as a shield," he beamed wickedly.

"Don't you dare," she gasped in mock shock. "It's not my fault you didn't take his proposal bring you here personally."

He fell to the ground anime style. "My own words used against me."

"You'll be fine," she assured him. "In fact, we're here." She gestured to the building in front of them.

It was a standard building with double glass doors at the entrance. Shrubbery placed under the front two windows on each side. A huge banner displayed the words, S & U Law Firm across the building.

Phoenix checked his watch. "Whew, made it with only two minutes to spare."

"And you didn't even fall through a portal to another dimension," she chided.

"Hey, stranger things can happen," he defended.

So true, she thought, remembering those trips to the shadow realm and all the other dangerous adventures.

"And with any hope," Phoenix continued on, "Ryu is probably distracted with homework or some duel monsters tournament."

Wait, what?

That nagging voice returned with warning bells in her mind.

"Your nephew… is a duelist?" she tested the words on her tongue.

Phoenix stood proud, hands on his hip.

"Yep. He's probably not well-known as much as that Yugi Mutou kid, but he's still a recognizable one." he explained. He stopped, musing in thought. "However, he really hasn't been the same person lately," he muttered cryptically.

Tèa lifted a brow; apparently Phoenix didn't expect her to hear that. He glanced back at her, giving off a megawatt smile.

"Gotta go," he said, tapping his watch. 'Have a very important appointment to attend. Later, Tèa!" He took off towards the door, whistling as he went.

"Wait!" she cried. "What's your nephew's name?"

He shouted back over his shoulder, "Ryuzaki!" And he entered through the sliding glass doors.

No. Freaking. Way.

Even after he was gone, Tèa stood there staring in disbelief, her mouth ajar. Then finally, like a bat out of hell, she tore down the rest of the street by some uncompelled reason.

Ryuzaki.

This entire time she has talking to the uncle of Rex Raptor.

Yep, she was royally screwed.

A/N: Ok, all together now: WHAAAATTT?

SURPRISE! It wasn't too eventful, but I hoped you liked it nonetheless. Didn't expect that, did ya?

Just to clear some things up I purposely had Phoenix say Rex's japanese name. Note: the Japanese version will only be used by family, and the pet form (Ryu) will be said by Phoenix or someone close. Also, when it comes to that, I'll be using 'Ryuzaki Raptor' because 'Dinosaur Ryuzaki' is a title, not a name (since he's the dino-duelist).

Tonberry: So, Raptor is our guy? You probably did that because you're fangirl of his.

ME: (puts on t-shirt of Rexy) Fine, I'm a fangirl of his, so what? Don't tell me there aren't others who feel the same because I've seen some. I feel that he's a great character with a lot to offer and I really didn't appreciate how he was dumbed down. So, now, I'm rebuilding his reputation... from a dark side. (hint hint)

Tonberry: So, will he be in the story?

ME: I'm sure we'll see him... but he won't be the same! Hehe! So, what's going on with Tèa? Lying to her friends and reoccuring despair from our girl? Will Phoenix tell his nephew he met her or will she crash into Rex herself (wink)? Will Rex really beat him with a book? So many questions in all due time.

Tonberry: Until next time?

ME: Yep! I even know the title of said chapter - Dangerous Encounters! ^_^

Review and continue reading!

TA TA FOR NOW!