AN: Hey there! Glad you clicked on One Million Reasons. I thought a while if I should start writing down my thoughts and start my own fan fiction. And well, here it is. My first chapter. I don't really know were this story will lead exactly, I have some ideas for the plot, but there's a lot work to do. :P and I hope I can manage to complete it! Please review, no flames - but constructive criticism is highly appreciated. I'd love to have your thoughts and maybe suggestions for scenes :-) My excuses if my English isn't the best. I decided to write the story in English, although my native language is German. I like English much much more!

Chapter updated: spelling errors and style. enjoy :-)

Well then, enjoy and make sure to review!
XOXO

Chapter I: Scars

Spring was finally here and the trees started to regain their beautiful green leafes, which danced in the mild winds. The sound of it met her ears when she stared outside the window, observing the beauty of mother nature awaking again after a long chilly winter. Her slightly tanned face rested in her palm while her lips nibbled on the black pen in her fingers.

"Miss Jendayi! I'm not asking you one more time!" A harsh female voice cut through her daydream when she snapped back to reality. "Could you please answer the question?" the familiar, yelling voice met her ears again. It was her teacher, who shot an angry glare towards her.

Jesara blinked at her in confusion. "I'm sorry Mrs Johnson, but I have to admit that I missed the question…Obviously. Would you be so kind to…" she said sorrowfully, but was immediately cut off by her teacher. "No, I'll not repeat myself for the third time. You're not here for daydreaming. Better you take school more serious if you want to make it through the final exams! So I suggest you'll write a ten page essay about Romeo & Juliet to catch up on what you've missed. I expect you to hand it to me at the end of this week."

First there was silence in the classroom. A few seconds later it was filled with snickers and whispering from the other students when suddenly the school bell finally declared the end of the lesson. Jesara still locked eyes with her teacher and finally nodded. "Understood, Mrs Johnson. You'll have the essay this friday. I'm sorry…" she said quietly.

The room filled with scratching sounds of tables and chairs when most of the students stood up, collected their things and left for the break. She still didn't move and just stared at the book in her hands. It was Romeo & Juliet. Oh how much she hated literature, especially love stories and kitschy stuff like that.

"I wonder how someone like you is playing duel monsters that good while having the attention span of a fly." A familiar voice said in a well-known bothering tone. Piercing steel blue eyes stared at her from the side, slightly covered under chocolate brown bangs. It was Kaiba who shot her one of his annoying, arrogant smirks which she would love to beat out of his pretty boy face.

"Mind your own business, Mr Rich & Famous!" She hissed when she gave Kaiba an angry glare. Without saying one more word but still smirking Kaiba elegantly stood up from his seat and stepped out of the classroom chuckling.

"Jess, is everything alright?" Tea now stood by her table, sighing at the fact that the rich jerk had left the building. "What were you thinking about?" She kindly asked.

Jesara finally looked up and met Tea's friendly gaze. "Uhm… Nothing special. I was just daydreaming I think. I'm fine." She said as she started to pack her pens, schoolbooks and notebook into her cross-shoulder bag.

It did't take long until little Yugi, Joey and Tristan joined their company. "Damn Jess! I really pity you for this awful ten page essay about this creepy book!" Joey huffed in his typical manner. Yugi & Tristan nodded in agreement. "If you need help with it, just let us know. We could help you with the essay if you want." Yugi said while wearing a warm smile, his violet eyes told nothing than kindness.

"Thank you Yugi, but you don't have to deal with my problems…" Jesara exhaled and formed a wry smile on her lips, still stuffing her things into her bag.

"But that's what friends are for, you forgot?" he answered with a slight giggle.

Jesara smiled down at him, her eyes filled with thankfulness. "Thank you. I really appreciate that. I'll let you know if I need any help."

"So." Yugi looked around at everyone in the group. "Would you all like to meet for a coffee or so in downtown after the girl's swimming lessons this afternoon? It'd be great to enjoy the spring sunshine!" He cheered.

At this Jesara froze and her face went as pale as fresh snow. "Oh no…" she sighed. "I must've totally forgotten about this…"

"What's wrong, Jess? Did you really forget about the swimming lessons today? To remind you, they're starting in just 15 minutes, so we should get going." Tea declared by giving Jesara a small smile. She clearly hoped for her to join, because swimming lessons were better with friends and Jesara was the only other female in their clique.

"Uhm, well…I- I don't think I…" Jesara stammered and rubbed her temple searching for a good excuse.

"What's wrong? Or is it this time of the month…?" Tea arched a curious brow at her light grey haired friend. This time she spoke a bit lower, but Yugi & the rest of the gang did hear her suspicion anyways.

Jesara grimaced at Tea's spoken thoughts. "Oh… uhh. Well, yes. And I don't really feel well, you know this time of the month always makes me feel a bit sick." She lied. "Tea, I'm sorry for not joining you. Can you please tell Mrs Carter-Stewart that I'm dropping out this time because of… you know… strawberry week?" Jesara tried to whisper and bit her bottom lip nervously.

Tristan's, Joey's and Yugi's eyes widened in embarrassment while listening to the girl's conversation about that kind of girl stuff. It wasn't like they didn't knew about those things, but hearing them talk about it made them feel highly uncomfortable. "Weeeeeeeeeeell ladies! I think that's our keyword to leave now!" Joey snickered while his face turned as red as tomato juice, so did Tristan & Yugi. "See you then! I'll text you when and where!" Joey exclaimed while the three buys left the classroom in a hurry.

Tea and Jesara burst out laughing after the boys left because of too much information.

"Okay then. I'll tell Mrs Carter-Stewart about your physical condition." Tea smiled at Jesara, turned on heel while heading for the exit. "I guess I'll see you later for a delicious chai latte?"

"That's for sure!"

"Alright then! CU later! I will tell Mrs Carter-Stewart that you went home because of PMS." Tea left the classroom and turned right for the direction of the natatorium. Jesara was now all alone in the silent room, her expression immediately changed from happy to sad. 'If they only knew…' she thought, exhaled deeply and grabbed her bag. 'I'd rather have periods for three lifetimes than…that.'. She then also headed out of the classroom and made her way home.

/ At Jesara's Flat

When she entered her flat she tossed her bag in a corner and threw her jacket on her coatrack. She slowly made her way to the bathroom while taking off one piece of her schools uniform after the other and dropped them down right along her way. It really wasn't her best day after all so she couldn't care less about making her flat a total mess. Who should even care about that? She was living all alone at her tender age of seventeen, almost eighteen.

After a long, hot shower she dried herself with a fluffy dark grey towel und wrapped it around her body. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror to check her appearance. 'Well, I think a soon visit at my coiffeur will do me no harm. Oh Ra, my hair is growing like hell…' she thought while running her slight fingers through her light grey hair. Long time ago she started to dye her hair that way, because she thought that granny hairstyle goes well with her darker skin tone. So she had to refresh it every once in a while to cover her nearly black roots, but her last date with her beloved and absolute clearly gay hairdresser Chad has been about 4 months ago. After this long period of time her natural dark roots blended beautifully with her light grey hair color - making it look like an extreme kind of that ombré look. 'Mh, although it could be worse. This beauty accident isn't looking too bad…'

After towel drying her hair she made her way towards her wardrobe and put on fresh undergarments. From the corner of her eye she could see herself in her full-body mirror - her expression grew sad again before she squinted her eyes. After a few moments of hesitating she turned to look at herself in the mirror once again. Her eyes, which had a fancy color-mix of light amber and some sort of olive green, inspected herself from head to toe. Jesara was a girl of average height similar to her friend Tea, although she was a bit thinner and her breasts were quite smaller than hers. Her expression was tense, a mix of sadness and also self-confidence. 'You're not his toy anymore. You're not a victim. You're free and this part of your life is over. Forget about it and never remember it again.' She told herself while scanning herself in the big full-body mirror with a golden barock-style frame.

After taking a deep breath she turned her back towards the mirror and glanced over her shoulder to see her reflection - a few tears gathered in the corner of her eyes when she looked at the deep and numerous long scars on her back, which reached from above her hips up to her shoulder blades. She clenched her fists and tried to hold back her tears, before finally giving them a run. Jesara buried her face in her hands and sobbed. 'But how could I forget about this day when I'm doomed to carry this scars with me as long as I live…?' After taking a few deep breaths to calm down she shook her head lightly, as like she wanted to shake off all those negative emotions and memories. 'You're stronger than this. He'll never hurt you again. May he rot in his anger somewhere in egypt…'

She grabbed an outfit out of her closet to get ready for meeting the gang in Downtown Domino. Black is my happy color would describe her style perfectly - her closet was some sort of a little brother to an enormous black hole. Just a few pieces of color could be found in it. Jesara decided for black skinny jeans, studded black ankle-boots, an olive-green tank top and a slim-fit black leather jacket on top. To finish her outfit she decided for 3 differently, lightly studded black leather belts, which she wore criss-cross around her waist. One belt had her duel monsters deck case attached to it. She loved dark clothes, leather and studs - she didn't like typical girly outfits, short skirts or dresses like Tea liked to wear. Her more masculine and tough clothing was a kind of wall to hide herself behind. It gave her the feeling to be strong, although she highly doubted that.

Just as she brushed her chest-length hair intro place her cell phone peeped and vibrated on the highboard beside her - she got a text message.

"Meet in 30 mins at The Coffee&Cake! Hope to see ya there! Kisses!" She read out loud from her phone's display when she made an embarrassed grimace and face-palmed. "Oh Joey…" she cried out loud. "Please stop texting me freaking kisses…" She knew Joey had a little crush on her, but he really wasn't her type. He was a nice guy, funny and a person she knew she could rely on, but he wasn't a guy she could imagine to date. Jesara just friend-zoned him from the very beginning. After throwing her cell phone, purse and other things in her matching shoulder bag she left and headed for the subway station to downtown Domino.

/ At the Coffee&Cake

"Hi Jess! Hope you're feeling better now with your... urgh" Joey shouted in excitement when his eyes caught Jesara approaching them, but sometimes his tongue worked faster than his brain. His voice changed to an embarrassed mutter when his sentence came to the girl stuff part.

"Hi! Yes, I'm fine" she smiled and lightly scratched the back her head. "How was your afternoon so far?" Jesara took a seat at the outside table the gang sat on. It belonged to the cafe "Coffee&Cake" and hell, they offered the best chai latte in town.

Yugi, Tea, Tristan and Joey looked with an unreadable expression at each other, which meant nothing good. Jesara arched a brow at her friend's wry faces. "Is anything wrong?" She asked.

"Well, there was a cloaked weirdo, who stole Yugi's puzzle and-" Tea started to report, when Jesara cut her off.

"WHAT? How do you manage to get in one trouble after another? What the hell happened?" She squeaked.

"Uhm… long story short. This weirdo forced Yugi to duel him in an old building. The winner would keep the puzzle. Yugi won and everything's alright. But it turned out that this cloak-wearing weirdo was Bandit Keith - at least he looked like him." Tea continued telling Jesara the latest events with a worried expression.

When Tea's words sunk in Jesara raised a brow with a questioning expression on her face. Her amber-olive eyes locked with Tea's blue ones. "What do you mean by at least he looked like him?" She asked and then looked over at Yugi for more details.

"He did't act like the Bandit Keith we all know from duelist's kingdom… he didn't even sound like him, his voice was so different. Also his accent was completely different from which we know. And he knew a lot about the millennium items and my puzzle. I don't really know why… how could he know about them?" Yugi explained, his eyes narrowed in concern while he focused on his coffee mug on the table. Jesara's eyes widened and thousands of thoughts rushed through her head. 'It can't be, This has to be a freaky kind of coincidence.'

"Oh my god… A-and what do you think why he acted s-so different?" She stammered. Just then Joey interrupted them when he put a mug of chai latte in front of Jesara and gave her the sweetest smile he could manage. "Oh, thank you Joey!" She smiled at him, then she looked back to little Yugi to hear what he had to say.

"Mhh…" he murmured. "His face was almost expressionless when he spoke… and his eyes were so dead, blank… soulless. It was like it wasn't Bandit Keith who spoke out of him."

When Yugi's words met Jesara's ears she nearly inhaled her chai latte instead of drinking it, she choked and coughed a few times before she regained her voice. "What!?" She nearly screamed, for a short moment she totally lost control of her voice and reaction.

Tea gave her a piercing glare. "Jess, is everything alright?"

"Oh uhm - yes." Jesara murmured. Hell Jess, watch your words! "I-I'm… it's just sounds so… you know. quite creepy & and hard to believe."

The whole gang nodded in agreement and downed their drinks. After a few moments of silence Joey spoke up. "BUT there are also some great news! Moneybag's hosting a duel monsters tournament! It'll start in just 2 days!" He exclaimed with a grin.

"Oh wow… this guy seems to be quite spontaneous. Two days, huh?" Jesara raised a brow and looked over to the blonde. Kaiba is always thinking four times before doing anything. And why should he announce a big tournament just 2 days before it starts? 'Maybe the hormones…or maybe his bruised ego.' she thought to herself, rolling her inner eye by thinking about the selfish Kaiba.

"So, are you signing in, Jess?" The blonde asked, his face full of excitement - like he only would accept a yes from her.

Jesara's eyes were glued to her mug while she thought about it. She never took part in any king of duel monsters tournament and all she could think about now what that incidence with Bandit Keith was all about. She was good in playing duel monsters, she also had some quite rare cards and Joey always lost when they both duelled. Duel monsters was fun for her, she enjoyed it. But a tournament…? After 3 more seconds she looked up, meeting her friends expectant eyes. "Yeah, why not give it a try?" She ginned.

The gang spent the whole afternoon chatting about the upcoming tournament and other stuff. It was close to sunset when they decided to make their way home. They hugged each other and said goodbye. Jesara decided to walk home instead of taking the subway. Todays events kept her in deep thoughts and didn't let go of her mind.

'What if this different side of Bandit Keith has something to do with him…? Why would a jerk like Keith want Yugi's puzzle? That guy is almost too dumb to even know on which continent egypt is.' She thought while walking through the busy streets of Domino. 'This must be a coincidence… At least I hope it is.'

About 20 minutes later she arrived at her home, sighing when she saw the mess she left earlier. Jesara cleaned it up in just two minutes and got herself ready for bed, but her thoughts didn't let her sleep too soon. 'No… Bandit Keith's behavior must've other reasons… I'm sure. Don't worry, Jess.' She conceived herself when she tossed and turned around in her bed. 'And by the way… when I'm joining moneybag's tournament I should hire a ghostwriter for this stupid Romeo & Juliet essay…"