Chapter One

Human: Christina Perri

Kyrri's POV.

Sinking against the grimy yellowed wallpaper of my 'new room,' I gasped, lifting my nearly empty water bottle and downed the remainder in a few quick gulps. This place always reeked like musty cigarette smoke and cheap booze thanks partly to my deceased Great-aunt, who lived here twenty-something years, but mostly due to my father and his vices.

Looking at the room, I noted that although my furniture fit, I don't have much space left in the place. There is only about a foot, maybe a few inches than that betwixt my bed, desk, and my chest of drawers that took up the whole other wall.

Having just finished unpacking what few things I have. I pushed my bed to one side; next, I pressed my desk to the wall beneath the window. My dresser sat barricading off my closet door I keep locked. Inside was my only belongings I genuinely cherished. Tucked gently in a shoebox lay my birth certificate, some personal belongings from my infancy, and a picture of my mother. Adjacent to that, I kept a humongous iron cast combination safe, holding one thing, an envelope containing two-thousand eight-hundred and eighty-two dollars. The funds I was saving to move elsewhere, anyplace inclusive of a significant distance from my father the second I graduated. The safe was the most troublesome thing to move since it weighed umpteen tons and was cumbersome.

Standing up and dusting my hands over the preposterously skimpy blue ruffled skirt, which was part of my new schools' regimentals. Come on, who designs these things some senile pedophile? I flicked my long bangs and tucked them on the other side of my ears using bobby-pins to hold it in place. Giving myself a once over to make sure that everything was in its place, I nodded to myself pleased.

I pulled my backpack on after slipping on my matching blue jacket and left my room, making sure to lock the door on the way out. The lock was the first thing I had bought when my father and I arrived in town two days ago. He had immediately opened a 30 pack of beer and began drinking in the 'celebration' of our successful move. Halfway around the world mind you to Domino, Japan.

The only reason I had even heard of Domino was that I liked duel monsters, and it was dueling the capital of the world. I guess you could say there was a part of me that was a tad bit excited, but that didn't matter because my father and I never stayed in one place for too long.

I walked down the hall of my tiny home. The wallpaper was hideous in every room but was worse in my room where it looked like my Aunt smoked for a few decades, the paper stained with chemicals. It even smelled terrible in there, like old socks and stale smoke. I rounded the corner, entering the living room to find my father passed out, drunk, on the couch. Typical, he didn't even unpack the boxes before he began his binge drinking.

Frowning, I and grabbed a trash bag out of the kitchen and started picking up the multitude of beer cans that littered the carpet as quietly as I could. Once I thought it was semi-acceptable, I left sparing no last-minute glances at my father as I locked the front door behind me just as I had done with my bedroom.

I pulled out my Ipod as I embarked on my journey to school, plunging my headphones inside my ears. Turning it on shuffle, then sliding it back in my pocket and turned left on the sidewalk to embark on my walk. It didn't take me long to reach the school since I mapped my path out the previous day to make sure I wasn't late to my first class.

It looked like I had gotten here a little early. Almost no one was here, so I walked inside and found the office. Inside, behind a mahogany desk littered with papers, sat a tiny old lady. Her wrinkles made her look like a pug, and I couldn't see if her eyes were opened or closed. She suddenly saw me standing there, and a gentle smile broke out across her small, round face.

"Oh, hello dear, how can I help you today?" She asked, gesturing for me to take a seat in one of the wooden chairs. I sat, pulling my transcripts out of my backpack and handed them across the table to her.

"My name is Kyrri; I'm transferring here from America." I struggled through my Japanese as I spoke quietly. I was never loud, having learned better. I looked down while she looked over my transcripts. She flipped through the papers and, once in a while, nodded her head in approval.

"Ah yes, Miss Rutherford, your transcripts are impeccably flawless. Never had a grade below a B. That's good. Did you have your schedule in mind at all?" She asked, looking at me while opening a program on the computer on her desk.

"Well, I was in all advanced classes before. What classes will lead to my best opportunities?" I asked, folding my hands in my lap and pulling an 'all business' look. If it was possible, her smile widened even more, reaching well across her face, like some bastardized Cheshire cat.

I began to feel uncomfortable. Was there that much to smile about? It seemed far-fetched that she was simply that happy just because I was serious about my future. I shifted in my seat and reached a hand up to brush my hair behind my ear. Why am I nervous? It's just an older woman, I told myself in my head.

"We have a wonderful curriculum for gifted students. There are calculus and trigonometry mash-up for more talented students. But you have enough credits that the class is unnecessary. For seniors, there is zoology, English literature two, and Government." She finished her speech and took a huge breath.

"What about electives?" I asked with a purse of my lips. She opened the drawer of her desk and pulled out a piece of paper handing it to me. I looked over the article, a list of after-school programs that partnered with the school. There was a lot to choose from, but immediately my eyes fell upon Art at 1901 6th avenue in the east district of town. A two hour class on Wednesdays and Mondays only. I could do that, but I needed something else to consume my time. There were a bunch of useless after school activities like dance and debate. None of that interested me. At the bottom of the list written in ink, unlike the printed catalog, said, ' Theory and method of business.'

"How come this is inked in and not printed?" I asked, running my fingers over the neat cursive. Something drew my eyes to hesitate over the words.

"Ahem, yes, it is a program new to us this year. Mr. Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, started this for 'underprivileged youths' who usually would never get such a chance to intern for such a highly rated company. He planned to take on three interns, but nobody has signed up yet, so..." She trailed off with a strange look on her face, but I wasn't interested enough to ask her why.

Nobody else, huh? Something like this could be just what I needed to get some hands-on experience in the real world, and a great excuse to stay out later. Seto Kaiba. CEO of Kaiba Corp, second place duelist in the world. I forced the part of me that was excited to remain calm.

"Okay sign me up for that too," I said and handed her the paperback, her brows knit together and she nodded and started typing on her computer.

"I'll take the Calc and Trig too," I stated plainly and began to shuffle my feet together, looking at the picture of a little sailboat floating peacefully on the crystal clear ocean. That is until a storm rages in and disrupts everything.

I looked away back to my hands and tried to still my cryptic thoughts. A few painfully quiet minutes passed as I sat watching as my fingers curl and uncurl. The little woman cleared her throat to regain my attention. She held out a few papers.

"This is a map of the school and your schedule. The other papers have information about your after-school activities. And your locker number and combination are written on the back of your map. Is there anything else I can do for you?" She sputtered, and in almost one breath, I shook my head and retreated from the small office.

My schedule said that the first hour was homeroom for everyone, and according to my phone, class started about ten minutes ago. It looks like the office lady took more of my time than I thought.

The only thing I hated more than being the new kid in the middle of the school year was introducing myself to so many strangers. In the middle of a senior year no less, it seemed unlikely that I would make any friends in the little amount of time I had left. But if I could just make it through the rest of the year and then to my birthday, I could escape 'home' once and for all and never have to worry about the endless moves, the sleepless nights, or the sickly smell of whiskey drowning out all other senses.

I shook my head again to clear my thoughts as I hesitated in front of the classroom door that had the numbers 903 printed above the wooden frame in black. Did I want to do this again, even if it was hopefully the last time? Did I want to start over once more?

" Well, it's now or never Kyrri," I whispered, and with my new resolve, I knocked a little louder than I had intended. Once the door opened to reveal a notably young blonde woman with bright green eyes, she blinked once. Twice, and then the door flew open as she smiled enthusiastically.

"Hello, you must be our newest student." She greeted me kindly with a statement, not a question. I nodded as she gestured for me to come in. I swayed awkwardly by the door as she turned to the class.

"Okay, everyone, this our new exchange student from America. Isn't that exciting! Well, why don't you tell us something about yourself, dear?" She smiled, showing her perfect teeth and round dimples as she leaned against her desk slightly. I nodded again and looked at the floor, my long bangs casting a shadow over my face and hiding the bright blush that invaded my skin.

"I... Well, my

name is Kyrri Rutherford. I used to live in the States, but my mother was Japanese, so I know most of the language, But I'm not great at it. I am an artist, well an aspiring artist that is, and that is about it. That's all there is to me." I stuttered through my introduction just as I had with every other introduction on every other first day at a new school I had ever had. A few students smiled at me warmly while others didn't even look up from their work. There were kids of different ages in the class, Homeroom, I assumed, was not separated by age as I knew the other courses would be.

"Yo, Kye-chan, you should come to sit over here with us." Said a tall, lanky blonde boy whose school uniform looked worn and dingy. Kye-chan? I had been called a lot of things, some names not so lovely but never before had someone giving me a regular everyday nickname. I studied him for a moment unsure of what to do; He had light honey-colored eyes that seemed a little naughty as he smiled my way. Not seeing another empty seat, I took the obvious boys' advice and sat down next to him quietly.

"My name is Jonoichi, but everyone here calls me Jou. So you're from the States, huh? What's it like over there? Is there duel monsters overseas? I lived there when I was a kid, but I barely remember anything." He asked with a goofy lopsided grin plastered on his cream-colored face. He seems friendly enough, but this was a territory that was uncharted for me. I wasn't used to talking to people. I spoke to myself because I was all that I had. All there was that was dependable and safe. But I was also lonely, and the opportunity to speak to another human being that was my age was so tempting.

"Of course, there are duel monsters! Dueling is everything. Almost everything," I started strong with a lot of enthusiasm and lost my nerve somewhere in the middle of the sentence and ended in almost whispering. Shit. I'm so anti-social. I cursed myself silently.

"Oh, so you play?" He asked one eyebrow-raising slightly in surprise before a huge smirk made its way into his features.

"One does not just simply play Duel Monsters," I stated smoothly Jou nodded his head in approval and chuckled lightly. For some strange reason, this made me grin too, and not just grin, but I felt it on my face, against my will, brightened. But even as this happened out of my control, my red flags started to go up. What am I doing? Smiling, feeling, thinking. No, I couldn't waste my time with such dangerous things as friendship.

"Jou, aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend?" A seriously short boy, taller than the lady at the office but still tiny for a high school student, walked up. He had spiky black hair and soft golden bangs, around his neck, was an upside-down pyramid. My eyes widened, and for a moment, I just stared at the object in shock. I quickly shook my surprise away. What was that about anyway?

"Oh well, guys, this is Kye-chan and Kye; this is Yugi. My long-time best bud," he said, grabbing Yugi by the shoulders in a light hug. Yugi smiled up at him and then extended his arm out to shake my hand. I took his hand, smiled too, I couldn't seem to help myself, his cheerfulness slightly infectious.

"Nice to meet you, Kyrri. How is Domino so far?" He asked, and Jou observed me as well. I frowned slightly and shook my head.

"This is only my third day here. My father and I moved here after my Aunt passed away, and I've spent my time unpacking and organizing my room, so I haven't had the time to explore the city yet." I said, looking away quickly when both their faces shifted to pity. I hated pity more than anything.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that are you okay?" Yugi asked concern lacing his high pitched voice. What a strange boy. I forced myself to meet his sad eyes with a sneer on my face, unable to control my reaction to his warmhearted, moral question, but it just made me mad that everyone was always pitying me.

"Whatever, I didn't know the bitch anyway." and I blew my hair out for my face in a 'huff.' Yugi's eyes widened slightly before his face melted into an even more sickly sweet smile. More pity! I was boiling under my skin, but I forced myself to become calm and duck my head down so I could hide behind my thick layer of hair. With my face shadowed, one single lonely tear slipped from my right eye as if to purposefully betray my wishes, stubborn damage. When I dared to glance through the black curtain hiding my eyes, Yugi and Jou's eyes aimed at the ground where I saw one tiny droplet on the wooden floor.

I turned my head as fast as I could and sat promptly at my desk, within two seconds, the bell signaling the end of the class chimed itself with the small hammer I knew was inside. I jumped from my seat, bag already slung over my shoulder haphazardly, and ran from the classroom, only catching the slightest of worried glances from Yugi.

My next class was an advanced math class. A calculus and trigonometry mesh. There was never a class like this in America, and I had been to plenty of schools in the last seven years, always opting to take a higher-level education. Still looking for the next challenge.

Then was PE and Lunch, so I didn't need any books aside from my Calculus and Trigonometry textbooks for a while. I quickly hunted down my locker and twisted the cheap lock until I had put in the proper combination written on the back of my class schedule.

I deposited my Zoology, English Lit and Language, and History book off within my Grey locker for later. Then I glanced at the map and hunted the fastest path to room A-3. I entered the class long before the bell was due to ring as I made my way over to the teacher, a gruff looking man in his mid-forties who seemed the pretty matter of fact. Stereotypical for a math teacher. I handed him my slip from the office stating my enrollment into Domino High. He simply nodded and waved his hand over to the desk motioning for me to find a seat without even giving me his name.

I choose the back left corner that was closest to the long windows that ran across the wall. Outside was a peaceful view, one I figured I would find myself losing concentration within its vibrant frame frequently in my future. Forcing myself to look away and quietly watch the rest of the students file in the small class one by one.

Once everyone was seated, and the bell had rung, I exhaled quickly, happy that I didn't share my most important class with those boys, Jou and Yugi, who seemed a little too intrusive for my comfort or they're good. Soon the teacher began to drone on about some complicated equation writing it down step by step on the whiteboard. Luckily for me, he didn't seem to feel it necessary to publicly humiliate me and bring attention to me by having me introduce myself to the class. I put my full focus on my work, taking neat and precise notes as I went. My school-work was easy to focus on when my goals were in mind.