The Magicians' Realm Chapter 9: Second Impressions, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 9, everybody! In which we deal with the aftermath of the Masquerade Ball….

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Yes, good for Yami! Or bad for Yami, depending upon which one we're talking about. Well, that's good to know—I'll have to check it out. And the Rondo series…yes, I have heard of the Three Doors trilogy—I need to check it out….Eh, some time away from them will convince you that they aren't as bad as teenage years may make it—to quote the Weasley twins: you'll appreciate them a lot better when you have to wash your own socks. And speaking of, make sure you pack socks on this camping trip that you don't mind throwing away. :) Haha, and no, spreading us out didn't help—we'd gather at the Commons or the food courts and plot there. :D

References:

"1982" © 1985 Randy Travis (the song Kineil sings)

Original characters + setting © Kineil D. Wicks (myself, not the girl in the story)

Anzu woke up feeling like she should be singing "The Sound of Music."

Last night had been wonderful, impressionable…interesting. She had a fluttering in her heart whenever she thought of Yami, but she kept it under control for now. It wouldn't do for her to fall head-over-heels in love with someone unless she was sure he was interested.

But he was the eldest son of the Head Mage! If anyone could teach her a little magic….

She hugged herself a little, excited, when another thought crossed her mind.

The story about the boogie-mage, Skellington.

Why would Yami share his name with the worst mage of all time?

She wasn't sure, but she was definitely going to find out. And what better place to search for information then where she worked—the library?

*\*/*

Yami's home, Skellington Manor, had traces of opulence to it.

It wasn't overpowering, but it was large and high-class, with more than a touch of the gothic that came from his hometown. It had been built with one thing in mind: entertaining a lot of people.

Understandable, considering both his bloodline and his personality.

Yami, at the moment, was busy trying to track down the girl from last night, Teana. All he had to go on was her appearance, her first name, and where she worked. Hopefully, it would be enough.

It occurred to him that he should be at work, but he didn't enjoy entertaining the notion of what the Administrators would be like this morning.

So, with a cup of coffee, a pad of paper, and a full ink pen beside him, he stood at the floor-model telephone and started his search.

"Hello, operator?" he asked once the answering click sounded.

"'Please connect me—to nine-teen eighty-two!'" Kineil chimed from the table. She and Vulcan were currently at his kitchen table, cleaning out his pantry. He ignored her for the moment and focused on the phone.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked, covering his other ear with his free hand. "Oh, hello Miss Dale—I'm glad I got you. Tell me, do you know anyone with the first name of Teana?" he paused, listening to her answer. "No? Are you sure?" Another pause. "Of course you're sure. The thing is, I know she lives around here…." Another pause, this one longer. "Ah….I don't suppose you know how I could get a hold of the lower operator, do you?" Pause. "By going downtown. You're not connected to them?" Pause. "Irate phone calls. Understandable. Well, that does narrow my search. Thank you Miss Dale—have a good day." He hung up the phone and turned to his friends. "Miss Dale informs me that I have a lovely voice for the phone."

"At least it's not a lovely face for the phone," Vulcan told him.

"So Miss Teana hails from the 'commoner' side of town," Kineil announced, loading a piece of toast with strawberry jam. "I could have told you that."

"It's no indication," Yami told her, bringing his coffee and writing utensils over to the counter and sitting down. "Idgy goes to church down by the river all the time."

"Face it, Yami, you'll not see her again," Vulcan told him, getting up to get another cup of coffee. "It was a one-off thing, and chances are you won't see her again. Hey, you're out of coffee—mind if I make another pot?"

"Go on ahead," Yami said, waving over his shoulder. "Let's see….It's still pretty early—she probably wouldn't be at work yet, would she?"

"Not unless she works on a farm," Kineil told him.

"Hmm," Yami noised, writing down his findings on his pad. Kineil watched him for a beat and continued.

"Maybe it's for the best." Yami looked up at her; she elaborated. "Sometimes the universe tells you something is off even when you try for it—you know, like that mystic mumbo-jumbo that those Hippies in the woods go on about."

"Unfortunately for that mystic mumbo-jumbo, I'm stubborn," Yami said, putting a slice of bread into the toaster. "I suppose I should head to work for a while—then I can try that little shop she works at."

"That'll go over like a lead balloon with those boys," Kineil muttered. She didn't try to dissuade Yami. She knew better than anybody that once he set his mind on something, he would stick with it until the very end.

He wondered if that mentality would get him into trouble one day.

*/*\*

Yami's home, the Montgau Residence, had traces of opulence to it.

It came as no surprise to him, considering his family's station, but it was good to appreciate it, especially on a fine morning such as this.

He had sneaked down the stairs and onto the front porch of his home at the crack of dawn to wait for the newspaper and the milk to be delivered. Now he was sedate on the porch swing, waiting. He and Yuki would often compete for the right to bring in said essentials, and the fact that he had gotten them first by simply waiting for them on the porch would irk his little brother to no end, he knew.

That, and he couldn't really stay asleep last night.

The excitement had kept him up. Not the roiling success he had with the Administration last night—he had known that was coming—but the conversation with the lovely Anzu. She was beautiful, she was smart, she was funny….And she genuinely seemed to like him for him.

That last one, of all the others, seemed to him to be the most important thing.

"Hi Yami!"

"Hey, Josh!" Yami rejoined, seeing the young man come up the walk with the milk. "Nice morning, isn't it?"

"If you like to be up before the chickens," Josh said, depositing the milk and straightening his glasses. "So you decided to get up early to wait for me and the milk?"

"Pretty much," Yami said. "When Jo gets here with the paper, I'll be all set."

Josh made a small exclamation and dove for his milk truck. A few moments later, Yami divined why—he looked down the street as the whirring of bicycle wheels grew louder.

Jonouchi crested the hill at a good clip, newspaper bag seeming to float in the air behind him. Mid-air, he reached back and flung a paper at Yami's next-door neighbor's house.

Yami decided that Josh's approach was best, and ducked beneath the railing of his porch as the newspaper zinged in and banged against the front door.

"Nice arm, Jo!" Yami called.

"Hey, thanks!" Jonouchi called back, already disappearing down his route.

"I better get going too," Josh said, glancing up from the floorboard where he had taken shelter. "See you, Yami. Congrats on the promotion!"

"See you, Josh. And thanks!" Yami exclaimed as Josh drove off.

Josh's comment had cemented what Yami believed: that promotion was a sure thing.

He smiled to himself as he collected the newspaper and the milk from off the steps. With the sure thing set, he could now focus on something that might not be such a sure thing: Anzu.

Yami's smile faded slightly as he realized he had never found out anything about her last night. She had simply soaked up everything said like a sponge, thrilled to be there, and had never said anything about herself.

Yami shrugged and went into his house. Finding Anzu should be a simple matter.

After all, he was going to be Head Mage. With that certain, everything else would fall into place.

Because that was how things worked in his world.