Hi, again! It's OverlyFanaticPanda.

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who liked and reviewed my story. I really appreciate it!

Secondly, I struggled with this chapter and it took me longer than I would have liked to finish it. I rewrote it about three times and took a lot of unnecessary points out.

Thirdly, the next chapter might take me longer to put up since I'm starting a new job tomorrow, but I'll do my best to type it up before a week passes!

Thanks again to everyone who likes my story and enjoy!

Chapter Five: School Start

It's Sunday night when Yuugi is washing the dishes after dinner that he realizes he starts school the next day. He finishes the last of the silverware before rinsing the sink clean and drying his hands with a dish towel. Then he makes his way to his grandfather's study down the short hall from the living room. He knocks twice on the door and hears the muffled reply to come in.

His grandfather's study isn't a particularly spacious room, but its broad enough to fit a medium-sized desk on one side and a small sitting area with two plush chairs, a side table, and a standing lamplight on the other side. Lining the back wall are shelves that extend all the way to both ends with a waist high counter-top and storage cabinets beneath it. The top shelves hold artifacts and souvenirs –mainly from Egypt, but a few other places as well– from his grandfather's exploration days, which, incidentally, is how Solomon and Hawkins became such close friends, after a tomb caved in and trapped them together for several hours. The rest of the shelving is filled with books ranging from Geography to Cooking to more obscure books of unknown origin. Yuugi could only guess as to what the cabinets hid.

He closes the door behind him and walks over to the desk where Solomon is reading over the Kame Game Shop's inventory records.

"Hey, Grandpa. Are you busy?" Yuugi asks while looking at the papers spread across the desk.

"No, just reading over some things," Solomon says. He pauses in his reading to give his grandson his full attention. "What do you need, m'boy?"

"Well, I start school tomorrow and we haven't talked about it at all."

Solomon blinks in surprise, "I knew I was forgetting something!" He abruptly stands from his chair and moves to kneel down in front of the nearest cabinet next to his desk. Yuugi doesn't see what's inside, because Solomon stands up as soon as he has what he's looking for in his grasp.

The elderly man groans as he stands back up, placing the textbooks, notebooks, pens, pencils, and planner on the corner of his desk.

Yuugi blinks wide-eyed, "Professor Hawkins wasn't kidding when he said you were a well-prepared man."

Solomon chuckles, placing his hands on his hips. "Better to be prepared than caught unawares, as they say. These are for all your classes and your uniform is in the laundry room."

Yuugi tilts his head sideways to read the titles of his textbooks, "Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, History, and…Literature?" He turns his questioning amethyst gaze to gleaming plums.

"While you are technically exempt from actual English classes, the school still requires you to take some kind of English class." Solomon says. He walks behind his desk to sit back in his chair. Yuugi shrugs, but agrees.

"Anyway," Yuugi starts, "what is this school like?"

"Well, Domino Academy is a great academic school, which is why I chose it for you. Because it's like that, there's only three separate classes for each year, which are further split into two groups. And each class is separated by a floor."

"I think I'll understand that better tomorrow. Is there anything else?"

"Besides those five classes, you'll also be taking gym and have a study hall period."

Yuugi groans at the thought of having to take part in a sports class.

"Sorry, m'boy," laughs Solomon, "but that's one class you can't exempt from."

Yuugi becomes quiet, blankly staring off to the side. A thought flickers across his eyes, which Solomon notices.

"Yuugi? What is it?" Solomon slightly tilts his head, eyes and voice containing concern.

"Do you…" Yuugi hesitates asking his question, unsure if he wants to continue. After a sigh, he locks eyes with his grandfather as he voices the rest of his question, "Do you think he'll be there? If he'll…want to see me after what I did? If he even remembers me, that is…"

Solomon's voice is soft and gentle with a layer of warmth when he speaks, "Yuugi, I'm positive he remembers and wants to see you again. After I sent you to live with Arthur, that boy came around everyday for two whole months looking for you. I finally had to sit him down one day and explain where you went and why. He hasn't come around since then, though, so I'm afraid I don't know if he's still in the area."

His grandson doesn't say a word, so Solomon asks, "Do you want to see him again, Yuugi?"

"More than anything," the teen replies quietly.

"Then you'll find him," Solomon smiles.

At six-thirty the next morning, Yuugi's alarm clock blares out the chorus to SVRCINA – Burning Heart. He reaches a hand out from under his covers to shut it off. Then slowly sits up, the covers falling from his body. He yawns loudly as he gets up to walk to his closet. Hanging front and center is his new uniform, which he grabs along with a clean pair of underwear and socks.

The stillness of the morning hardly helps Yuugi to wake up, but he walks out of his room to the one place that will help him fully wake, the bathroom. The light nearly blinds him when he flicks it on, the pure white walls and tiles acting like reflecting amplifiers.

He groans, his eyes adjusting as he shuts the door behind him, "I've got to get Grandpa to add some color to this room."

He hangs his uniform on the hook screwed into the door and places his clean underwear and socks on the toilet seat. He turns the shower knob to a little past lukewarm and undresses as it sputters to life. He imagines different colors coating the room, a deep red or seafoam green or icy blue, and what complimenting shades or contrasting tones would look nice.

Those thoughts quickly flee him as he steps out of the pile of clothes on the floor and into the onslaught of warm water. Yuugi spends the next minutes washing his hair and scrubbing his body clean of oils and dirt. The next two minutes he spends working up the willpower to shut the water off and finish getting ready for school.

Finally, with a sigh, he twists the shower knob off. He yanks a towel off the bar before carefully placing his feet on the bath mat. He dries his thick mass of hair first, then his body. He pulls on his underwear, socks, a black undershirt, the blue uniform pants, and white dress shirt, but leaves it unbuttoned and keeps the jacket on the hanger for now.

The last thing Yuugi does before exiting the bathroom is brush his teeth. He gathers his dirty clothes and jacket and heads back to his room. He dumps the dirty clothes in the hamper and the jacket over his desk chair. He moves to stand in front of the mirror above his dresser which reflects a small array of accessories. He picks up a wide black choker and buckles it around his neck, a matching bracelet that he puts on his right wrist, and a thin silver bracelet on his left wrist.

He looks at his jacket then his wrists. The jacket sleeves will probably cover his bracelets, he thinks, but, oh well, he'd feel naked without them.

Sounds trickle up the stairs from the kitchen and Yuugi figures his grandpa is up and making breakfast. So, he grabs his jacket and backpack and follows the smell of pancakes.

He greets his grandfather upon entering the kitchen.

"Ah, Yuugi. Good morning. Would you please set the table for me? I'll have breakfast done in a few minutes."

Yuugi does as his grandpa asked and sets the table with plates, glasses, and silverware. He finds the butter and maple syrup in the fridge, also taking out the juice. Once he's done and sitting in his seat, Solomon sets plates of pancakes, bacon, and eggs on the table. Yuugi readily grabs what he wants and digs into his food, "Thanks, Grandpa!"

Solomon takes a few bites of his own food before asking, "So, Yuugi. Are you ready for school?"

With his mouth full, Yuugi nods.

"And you know the way there?"

Yuugi swallows, "Yup. I memorized the way last night before bed."

"It's a bit of a walk, but you have about twenty minutes before you should leave." Solomon tells him.

Yuugi looks at the stove clock, seven-eleven gleams in green. A thought pops into his head, "Oh. I should make a lunch really quick."

"I've already prepared a lunch for you with yesterday's leftovers. It's in the fridge." Solomon sips his coffee while gesturing to the refrigerator.

Yuugi frowns, "I can make my own lunches, Grandpa. You don't need to."

Solomon chuckles, "Oh, really?"

Yuugi nods.

"Then how come I distinctly recall Arthur telling me about the time you set fire to a pot of water that wasn't even sitting on or near a heat source?" Solomon smirks at the sight of his grandson's flaming face, the humiliating memory clearly playing in Yuugi's avoiding eyes.

"Rebecca, the sneaky girl, also sent me pictures as proof."

"She what?!" Yuugi indignantly shouts.

Yuugi sends what energy he has left into pushing his legs to run faster along the sidewalk towards Domino Academy.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He berates himself. "It was a left turn, Yuugi! A left turn! Not a right!"

Minutes prior, Yuugi was on the right path to school when he mistakenly made a right turn, instead of crossing the street to go left. He only realized he was walking in the wrong direction when a kind elderly lady recognized his uniform and told him that Domino Academy was the other way.

The school is in his sights when he hears the first bell ring loud and clear, and he barely crosses the threshold of the gate when the second bell rings signaling that any student not already seated in class is late.

"Great," he huffs, "I'm…late." He takes a moment to catch his breath before standing straight and getting a good look of the school.

The courtyard he's walking across is easily several city blocks long and wide. Lining the sides ad middle every so often are sitting areas of stone tables and benches decorated with grass and flowers, and tall shady trees. The structure of the school is built in the shape of a block-style U, three stories high all around. A fence encloses the perimeter of the accessible parts of the roof. Yuugi can imagine himself standing up there feeling the breeze ruffle his hair and clothes.

A high-pitch whistle cuts through the air capturing Yuugi's attention. He sees a blonde-haired woman wearing a white lab coat standing at the top of the steps leading up to the entrance doors.

"Oi, kid!" She calls out. "You comin' in or what?"

Yuugi hurries over to her, "Yes!"

He stops a step below the woman he assumes is the school nurse since the word Infirmary is stitched cursively in red across the top of her coat's front pocket. Underneath her lab coat she wears a light purple blouse tucked into a black pencil skirt and black heels.

"The new transferee, right?" Her sharp violet eyes framed by blonde hair falling to her shoulders rivet Yuugi where he stands. He has a feeling that if he were to look away right now, she wouldn't hesitate to haul him up by the front of his shirt and make him look at her.

"Y-yes," he answers shakily.

"Thought so." She turns on her heel and walks towards the doors. "C'mon."

Yuugi follows the woman, wondering if it's okay to speak to her. She has this ineffable air encompassing her that he isn't sure he can breathe. She leads him through the doors, past rows of storage lockers, and straight across a hallway intersection.

"Uhm…"

"I'm taking you to the principal's office where you were supposed to be ten minutes ago." Her voice is cool, but not indifferent, which gives Yuugi enough courage to speak.

"I, uh, I made a wrong t-turn and, uhm, got a bit l-lost…" He mentally slaps himself for stuttering.

She only hums in response and doesn't say anything further. Yuugi trails after the intimidatingly beautiful woman a few more feet before she stops at a set of big double doors. She doesn't bother to knock, just goes right in.

"Sir, I've brought the late transfer student."

After a brief introduction in the principal's office, the woman, now identified as Mai Valentine and the school's nurse, leads Yuugi to his first class while also explaining the system of Domino Academy.

"The ninth and tenth years' classes are held in the West Wing of the school, while the eleventh and twelfth years' classes are in the East Wing. Each year is separated into three classes: A, B, and C. And each of those classes are divided in half, Class One and Class Two. Furthermore, each class is on its own floor. For example, Yuugi, you are in tenth year and, since you have excellent academic grades, are in Class A1. So, most of your classes will be on the first floor of the West Wing. Got it so far?"

"Yeah, I think I do. Any student in an A Class will be on the first floor, while those in B will be on the second and the ones in C will be on the third." While Mai still intimidates him with the blunt way she talks, Yuugi manages to control his nervous stutter.

"Yup," Mai says, popping the p. "The middle section of the school is called Center. The principal's office, my infirmary, the cafeteria, and a couple storage rooms located on the first floor. The teachers' offices are on the second floor and the lecture rooms are on the third. Backyard of the school, which is even larger than the school itself, contains the sports fields where the physical education is taught."

Mai stops outside a door and turns to Yuugi, "Not much of a tour, but should be enough information for you to get around."

Yuugi nods, "Yes. Thank you, Miss Mai."

Mai lifts one side of her lips in a half smile, "Cute." Then she knocks on the door. It slides open revealing a silver-haired man wearing red slacks and a white dress shirt.

"Nurse Valentine, hello. What can I do for you?" His voice is smooth like silk when he speaks.

"Got your new student," Mai throws a thumb over her shoulder. The man peers over her to see a short boy fidgeting with the straps of his bag.

"Ah, yes. I was wondering when he'd show up."

"Had business in the office to take care of." Mai takes a piece of paper from her pocket, "Here's a slip to excuse him." She turns, pats Yuugi on his shoulder as she moves past him, and says, "Have fun. If injured, come to my infirmary."

Yuugi regards his new teacher. The man is tall with an elegant posture, his silver hair covers half his face, and, strangely enough, his choice of red pants oddly suits him. The teacher smiles, stepping sideways to welcome Yuugi into the room.

"Do come in, dear boy."

Yuugi stands at the front of the classroom as the teacher introduces himself and addresses the class, "I am Maximillian Pegasus, your Chemistry teacher. Class, as I stated at the beginning of our lesson, a new student from overseas will be joining us."

Pegasus gestures for Yuugi to introduce himself.

The many pairs of eyes scrutinizing his form make Yuugi feel like he's part of a side attraction at a questionable circus. His eyes flicker side to side until he sees a white-haired boy with warm brown eyes smile at him in a friendly way. He takes a deep breath before speaking, "H-Hello, my name i-is Yuugi Mutou. I, uh, j-just arrived a few days a-ago."

The boys and girls fire off their comments as soon as Yuugi finishes his sentence.

"Where are you from?"

"How tall are you?"

"Are you really a high school student?"

"He looks like he's twelve."

"Why'd you move?"

"He has to be smart to be in this class."

"Chibi Darkness."

The last comment, said in a scoffing tone, dumbfounds Yuugi, but before he can decipher its meaning, Pegasus claps his hands.

"Don't all speak at once. It's very rude," Pegasus frowns.

The boy with white hair raises his hand, "Where did you move from?"

Yuugi blinks at the sound of the boy's accent. The inflection is one he knows very well, having grown up around a city of people who spoke it every day.

"W-Well, I'm from here o-originally, until I was four. Then I, uhm, grew up in England."

Yuugi senses a new wave of questions ready to fall from the students' lips, but Pegasus once again claps his hands, "Alright. There will be plenty of time to get to know Yuugi later."

The Chemistry teacher points to an empty seat near the back next to a window, "You can take that seat. I've already explained half the lesson, but you won't have trouble following along, will you?"

Yuugi affirms that he won't have trouble following along and starts down the aisle to his appointed seat. He catches the white-haired boy staring at him who then smiles. Yuugi smiles back and thinks that maybe his first day of school won't be so bad as he sits down.