Falling to Darkness

V

Okay, you guys are freaking awesome, y'know that? I don't think I've EVER had a story with this much positive feedback. In all honesty, I really wasn't that pleased with how Falling to Darkness was turning out, but your comments really spurred up some inspiration in me. I've gone through the other chapters and done a little bit of fine-tuning, fixed the spelling errors, and added some small details to the text. So, here I am, 11pm on a school night, and writing up chapter five.

This chapter is dedicated to all my readers who stuck with this story through my absence on Wattpad! You guys are AWESOME, and I hope Chapter V is up to your standards!

o.o.o.o.o

"Tou-san, I'm home!" Heba greeted as he walked through the front door.

The home of Bakari and Heba Mutou was simple and organized, a classic little suburban flat in a disjointed neighborhood. It was a good thirty-minute walk to and from school, therefore about the same distance from Downtown Domino City, as well. The outside was an off-white with pale jade trimmings, and a red-brown, shingled, tri-angled roof. At two stories, containing three rooms, and two-and-a-half bathrooms, it was spacious and comfortable. A deep voice returned his greeting from the full-scale kitchen, which Heba caught a glimpse of as he removed his shoes and entered the living room.

"How was school?" It was a simple, short reply that Heba was used to. Mutou Bakari was a man of few words.

Heba hesitated a bit, stalling his reply by walking into the kitchen, finding his father sitting at the oak-wood dining table, a laptop set in front of him. He slid into the seat across from him, ignoring the way the elder's navy eyes flicked up to him from the laptop screen.

Heba offered a meek shrug and grin, though it felt strained. "Eh, it was alright."

"Homework?"

"A little..." His finger absently tapped at the wooden surface of the tabletop, eyes flicking from one object to another. There was a particular interest his nervous mind found in the dark granite countertops and stainless steel appliances across the room. "We, uh... we got a new student in our class today..."

"Don't mumble. Speak up," was the curt reply.

"G-Gomen," Heba said, clearing his throat. Why were his hands feeling so clammy, all of a sudden? Maybe he should have just kept quiet...

"So," Bakari asked, typing away on the keyboard in front of him, "Who's the new face? What's their name?"

Heba swallowed, fingers drumming anxiously over the tabletop. His socked foot toed at the tile below him and his chair. "It... was..." He swallowed again, voice surprisingly thick with nerves. "... it was Yuugi.."

He tried not to flinch as the tapping of keys abruptly paused. He dared to glance up in his father's direction. His face was impassive, and rather lifeless. But his eyes seemed to have darkened from a rich, saturated sapphire, to a dark blue-black. Almost like a nasty bruise.

Heba swallowed, mentally scolding himself. Kami, I should have kept my big mouth shut. Or made up something, at least!

Heba's elder brother was not a frequent nor a favourite topic in the household. Heba had always been the favorite of their parents, which was no secret amongst the family. It was something the half-Egyptian teen despised. His Nii-chan had definitely been given the fairer amount of crap in the pair's lifetime. That much was clear when their father had packed up and left without a single word, Heba himself, in-tow behind him.

The tense silence was broken as Bakari began typing again. "Really..." he said mutually, showing no obvious signs of what he was thinking or feeling. As usual. Heba silently cursed at his father's stoicism. It would get rid of a lot of the guesswork involved when trying to figure out the man's current thoughts or emotions.