Ray of Sunshine

Author’s Note – Man, I didn’t realize how long it’d been since I posted the first chapter. My apologies for making everyone wait so long. Unfortunately, life can sometimes get in the way and my muses have been somewhat stubborn lately. Hopefully, things will settle down so that I can continue to update more frequently. My humble thanks goes to those who reviewed, and I hope that you will continue to follow this tale as we find out how things will work out. A big thank you goes out to DracOnyx!!!

Disclaimer – As much as I wish I did, I don’t own any of the characters of YuGiOh. They belong to a very talented Japanese guy, who I am VERY jealous of! 

Chapter Two – Settling

Yami spent most of the morning cursing under his breath and dodging teachers, not wanting to explode and land himself in detention. His bad mood was not made better when he realized that he shared more than one class with the ‘little shit.’ Although he had not said anything to the smaller boy, his rage at his prior embarrassment continued to grow.

He stomped into the cafeteria with Bakura at his side. Marik, Tristan, and Joey were behind them, quietly snickering over the incident that had put Yami into such a disgustingly foul mood. They were enjoying seeing their friend in such a rage, knowing that it would make for a more interesting day. So far, the morning had been extremely entertaining for them and the afternoon could only get better.

The group sat at their usual table and five minutes had barely passed when Tristan nudged Joey and Bakura. There was an almost evil looking smirk on the hazel eyed teenager’s face as he addressed his friends.

“Speak of the devil, guess who just sat down behind our table?”

Yami, realizing what Tristan was talking about, looked over his shoulder and crumpled the bag of chips he’d been eating. He hadn’t expected to see the blind kid again, hoping to be able to forget about him before his afternoon classes started. His anger spiked again, becoming evident in his voice as he cursed. Bakura could only shake his head when he heard the word that was forced from between tightly clenched teeth.

“Shit!”

Despite the laughter going on at his table, the crimson eyed teenager could hear the conversation going on at the table behind him. There was a part of him that didn’t give a flying fuck about what was being said but, for some damned reason, Yami couldn’t pull his attention away from the light hearted conversation that flowed at the ‘little shit’s’ table.

“So, how’s your first day here at Domino High, Yugi?”

“It’s all right, Seto. It’s certainly a lot better than my old school. I’m glad they finally managed to make the upgrades so I could come here. That drive was really taking a lot out of Grandpa. I was getting worried about him because of him having to get up so early to make sure I got there on time. He’s not getting any younger.”

Téa smiled as she responded to her friend’s answer. She knew how worried Yugi had been about his grandfather, which had been one of the main reasons that had prompted Seto to ask his father to push for Domino High to add the necessary requirements to accommodate people with Yugi’s disability. She hoped that this would lessen Yugi’s worries somewhat and also knew that being able to attend school with the friends he’d made at a young age would also be an important plus to him. It certainly was to the rest of them.

“You know Grandpa would do anything to ensure that you’re healthy, happy, and getting the best education you can. And it’s definitely a good thing being able to see you every day. We hated it when you were at the other school. We didn’t get to see you much at all.”

The green eyed teenager sitting next to the petite young man spoke up then, almost laughing as he added his own opinion to the conversation. Yugi’s not being home as much because of the distance to his old school had been a strain on all of them. They’d all missed him terribly and to have him in their classes, cutting up with them when the situation permitted, was something that had brought joy to all of their hearts. The group was finally back together for the first time in years.

“Yeah, we’ll have more time for having fun now. We won’t have to worry about meeting only on the weekends and summer anymore. What do you think, Ryou?”

Ryou’s thoughts had followed along the same line as everybody else’s. Like his friends, he was ecstatic to have his oldest friend back where he belonged. Since Yugi had lost his eyesight, the group had been feeling broken and fractured without their tiny friend. Today had been fantastic simply because the tri-colored haired teenager had returned to where he belonged.

“I agree. It’s good to have the group back together again.”

Yugi gave a warm smile, and happiness could be heard in his voice when he responded to the words of his friends. He hadn’t been oblivious to his friends’ feelings during the long time they’d been separated and, in fact, had feel the same way. His friends had been one of his primary supports after his illness and being separated from them because of the simple fact that Domino School District had not been prepared to handle a newly blinded student had been torture for the boy.

“Thanks, guys. I’m really glad to be with you again, like we’re supposed to be.”

Ryou took a sip of his soda and questioned the tri-colored haired teen, drawing the conversation into a different direction.

“What’s your next class, Yugi?”

Yugi pulled a large card out of his backpack and ran his fingers over it before answering the question.

“I’ve got study hall in the orchestra hall.”

Brown eyes gleamed for a moment as they met the other gazes of his friends. This was the one class that all of them were looking forward to. Malik’s enthusiastic grin only confirmed the anticipation that all of them were feeling.

“So do I. We’ll go together, if you’d like. The rest will meet us there for orchestra as they’ve got study hall elsewhere.”

The rest of the group agreed with Ryou, and the conversation soon moved on to other things.

After lunch was finished, Yugi tucked his hand into his friend’s arm and the two of them walked out of the cafeteria, unaware of the crimson eyes that were watching them closely. The two small teenagers made their way into the orchestra hall and were met by the teacher.

“You must be Yugi Mutou.”

Yugi smiled warmly as he answered his teacher. Like his friends, this was the one class he’d really been looking forward to.

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m Mr. Sasaki. Ryou and your other friends have been telling me about you for quite some time now. I’ve been wanting to meet you since I’ve heard all about your talents. How long have been playing the piano?”

“Since I was three, sir.”

Even though Yugi couldn’t see him, the instructor nodded and continued to question the teenager on the information his students had provided him with over the years.

“You play by ear?”

“Yes, sir. I was able to do it before I lost my sight, and the ability just managed to get better once I couldn’t see the music anymore.”

Sasaki nodded again, knowing that such a gift would be a blessing for a musician. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he ever lost his sight. To lose the ability to make music would be a devastating blow to any musician. Yugi was fortunate to have this rare ability, and the instructor was interested to see how accurate his gift was. So far, all he had to go on was the comments that his students had made about this teenager since he’d taken over the class.

“Let’s see how you do. I’m going to test you during this period and if all goes well, you’ll join in during the next class. We’ve been needing a new piano player since our last one moved to the United States.”

A few moments later, Yugi was handed a walkman and after slipping on the headphones, he handed the walkman to Ryou. His friend pressed the play button, and the CD player came to life. Yugi relaxed as he focused on the music, allowing his mind to absorb the pieces that were being played. The first time the seven songs were played, it was purely piano. The next batch of tunes were the same songs but with the full orchestration, allowing the blind teenager a chance to hear how the piano part fit in with the rest of the orchestra.

The slender teenager handed the headphones back to Ryou and nodded, smiling to himself. This was going to be fun, Yugi mused to himself before breaking his silence to speak to the instructor.

“Got it.”

The teacher led him to the grand piano and watched as Yugi sat down on the bench, making the necessary adjustments for his height. A few seconds later, the first piece that had been on the CD suddenly filled the confines of the large room.

The students stopped what they were doing and listened as the blind musician played all of the pieces flawlessly. Expressions of amazement were seen on all of their faces as the music continued to flow from the piano.

Mr. Sasaki nodded, smiling as he spoke to his new student. The others hadn’t misled him when they had spoken of this young man’s talent, and he was thrilled to have someone so gifted joining his orchestra.

“Well done, Yugi. Take this period to get used to this instrument. Welcome to the orchestra.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Ryou grinned as the instructor walked into his office. He turned to his friend, and there was a note of excitement and anticipation in his voice when he questioned the smiling Yugi.

“Feel up to a jam session?”

Yugi laughed for a moment before answering his friend’s question. This was going to be his favorite class, he could tell that already.

“Bring it on.”

Ryou raced to his instrument shelf and quickly pulled out the violin. He listened to the strings for a few moments, making sure the tuning had held, before going back to the piano.

Before long, the sounds of the violin and piano filled the hall and shortly before the study hall period ended, the rest of their friends had made it to the hall and claimed their instruments, joining into the impromptu jam session.

Once the bell rang for the next class to begin, the teacher listened in barely concealed amazement as the friends continued to play, loathe to make the ensemble stop so that class could start. Eventually, the music stopped and the orchestra began to rehearse, this time with their new piano player.

For Yugi, this day had been fantastic. The little problem he’d had in the hall that morning was the furthest thing on his mind. It was great being with his friends, and he really liked his new school so far.

For Yami, the day had gone from bad to worse. Despite his best laid plans, he’d managed to land himself into detention because he hadn’t finished his homework for his literature class. The essay was incomplete due to the problems he’d run into the night before, but he knew he couldn’t tell his teacher that. Things would become a lot worse if that had ever come out and despite his occasional problems with laziness, the crimson eyed teenager was not stupid.

With a soft sigh, he nodded as his friends said goodbye and headed towards the detention room. He had to get through his homework and hope he got it all done before returning to the hell he called home. Yami could only hope that what he would find when he got home wouldn’t be as bad as it usually was.

Sneering to himself, he stepped into the classroom and buried that hope, knowing that nothing would change and that he couldn’t expect anything to go his way.

Nothing would ever change for Yami, and no one gave a damn anyway. Right?

Author’s End Note – Before people ask, yes, Seto’s adopted father is still alive. However, he won’t be a bastard in this story. Seto will be important to the story, which requires him to have more time on his hands. Thus, he needs to be able to enjoy being a minor. I hope you’ll understand that slight change and continue to enjoy the story as it develops. Thank you so much for reading my story and please be kind – leave a review!