Wizard

by Xeora

All Yugi Mouto ever wanted was to have friends, to be loved, and to be protected. Solving an ancient puzzle grants him that one wish, and gives him so much more. (AU)

Notes: Decided to write this because I am at a block for Of Guns and Sand, my Puppyshipping fic. Which is unusual, since I'm only four chapters in... O.o; This idea has been haunting me for awhile. Enjoy the Puzzleshipping :3

Warnings: Boy love and such. Possible violence. Hints of other couples is a maybe. (most likely JouKai or Tender.... ._. ... hn.)

One

The problem with me, Yugi Mouto thought, leaping over a bench as he cut through the park. Is that I don't know how to face my fears.

His fears included many things. A few to be listed include things such as turtle soup, falling down the stairs, the darkest corner of his closet, sighting his grandfather's back hair, and being punched in the face. Despite how many times it happened already, being socked in the face that is, was still something Yugi cringed at. A raised fist always made him instinctively cover his large obsidian eyes, grit his teeth, and wait for the impact. On lucky occasions, there would be enough space between him and his attacker to allow escape. Thankfully, this was a lucky occasion. Unluckily, and this always happened eventually, he would be caught. Although, 'prolonging execution' always shone a small ray of hope. Sadly, Hirutani was pretty fast for such a large, beefy guy. Dashing away dreams of escape seemed to be this scary young man's greatest pleasure.

Hirutani was a senior at Domino High School, and Yugi a lowly little freshman. Lowly, weak and quite small. His tiny frame was often the target of many bullies. Hirutani had to have been the worst. Every day he would pay Yugi a visit to take money, shove him into a locker, lock him in the women's restroom, and basically make his first year of high school a living hell. At the end of the week to celebrate the coming weekend, Hirutani would literally drag Yugi by his spiky tri-colored hair into some unseen alley and beat the ever-loving crap out of him. This Friday would be no exception. The only thing off about it is that Yugi finally pulled up the guts to run.

Yugi was immediately starting to regret it. Hirutani was relentless, and his threats were starting to make this tiny teen's stomach turn.

"I'll rip out your spine this time, Mouto!" He crowed. "And mail it to your parents!"

Yugi wouldn't put it passed him to actually do it. The scary senior had massive hands and could probably flatten a trash bin like a can of cola. However, he didn't seem intelligent enough to actually figure out postage.

With that huge gorilla only about ten feet behind him, Yugi mentally kicked himself for saying so out loud. That growl Hirutani had was vicious.

"I'll kill you!"

Yugi shook his head, clenching his eyes for only a few seconds. A warm, wet tear was moistening his cheek. What are you doing? His inner voice sounded exasperated. You don't have time to cry, you sissy! You need to get away!

In the end, that is all Yugi could focus on. Escape. He took in heavy puffs of breath, coming to another street corner as he exited the park. Hirutani must have chased him for blocks, that's what it felt like in the very least. Without quite realizing it, the small teen had come upon the market streets. There were small mom-and-pop shops on either side of the wide road. He turned the next street corner, unconsciously making a decision. He grabbed the nearest shop door, swung it open, and practically threw himself inside. The small bell on the door jangled quietly as it closed behind him. Within this tiny shop he hid behind a shelf, knocking down a few of its knickknacks, each object making a dull thud. Yugi breathed heavily, clutching his heaving chest. "Please just run past... please just run past..." he murmured to himself.

His heart stopped suddenly when he heard the jingle of the door bells. Yugi gripped the front of his uniform jacket, trying to ease his breathing. The sound of footsteps was near-deafening in to his ears. More tears pricked at his large eyes, and he tried not to sniffle. He felt a presence loom over him. Yugi braced himself, instinctively covering his face. Hirutani had him now.

"Oh great. Someone left their kid in the store again," the voice wasn't the low gruff of the school bully. This voice was feminine, and definitely posh. Yugi blinked, moving his hands from his face to look up. The sight that greeted him would seem far too overwhelming for most teenage boys.

Standing over Yugi was probably the prettiest woman he had ever seen. 'In real life' so to speak, and not on the TV or in a magazine. This woman had long wavy blond hair, sharp blue eyes, and such curvaceous figure. On her slim body was a long red dress with no visible straps. It was simply pulled over her large breasts. The rest of the material hugged her nicely. Being within the presence of someone so lovely always made Yugi blush. Added, males were no exception to that rule either.

On her pretty face was a frown though. The downturn of her lips was certainly a sign that she wasn't pleased to see him there on the floor, surrounded by a few fallen objects. "Now don't just sit there. I know you're old enough to understand me. Where's your mom, kid?" She crossed her arms, which were covered in long velvet gloves.

"S-sorry..." Yugi said, standing quickly. He stumbled, knocking another item off the shelf. "Im sorry, I really am. I was--"

She rolled her eyes, but held up an elegant hand. "Don't worry. Just tell me where your mother is."

"Oh... I'm not here with my- I'm in high school!" Yugi said, frowning a little bit. This wasn't the appropriate time to be offended, but that still damaged what little pride he actually had. "Sorry, I didn't mean to run in here and mess up your store. I was... kind of trying to get away..."

"Get away?" The woman put a hand on her hip. "From what? Your homework?"

Yugi shook his head suddenly, wiping his face with his sleeves. "Just some bully. I was hoping to hide in here and call my grandpa or something."

The woman's frown slowly softened. She gave the small teen an unreadable look, then one of sympathy. "Sorry to hear that, hun. But my shop doesn't have a phone." Upon seeing Yugi's downcast look, she quickly added. "But you can stick around in here until you feel safe enough to go home."

Yugi immediately brightened up, giving her a wide, grateful smile. "Thanks so much miss!"

"Wipe your nose kid," She said with a slight giggle. She passed him a handkerchief. "And its Mai Kujaku. 'Miss' makes me feel old. 'Mai' is just fine."

Yugi took the cloth, wiping his face first before blowing his nose. "I'm Yugi Mouto. Its really nice to meet you, Mai."

"The pleasure's all yours," Mai said in her sultry voice. "Why don't you go pull up a chair near the register, hun?"

Yugi nodded, but paused to look down at the objects of the floor. "Just let me put these back for you," These items weren't like anything Yugi had encountered in any normal shop. He knelt down to pick one up. It was a bag of stones that smelled of lavender. He picked up another item that looked like a miniature cauldron. Inside looked to be green gelatin caking the sides. He looked back up at Mai, "What are these things? I've never seen stuff like this before."

"Hm," Mai waved a dismissive hand. "They're just unusual wares my grandmother brought in from her travels. This was once her shop. I took over when she passed away three years ago."

"Oh," Yugi carefully placed them back on the shelf. "So she brought things from far away places to sell?"

"Something like that," Mai said, a bored look on her face. "She was a pack rat. Took things that she deemed interesting. When she got tired of it, she put them on the shelves here."

Yugi nodded. "Um... do you mind if I look around?"

"Well, it is a store, hun." Mai said with a wink, making Yugi flush. "Knock yourself out. Just don't knock anything down while you're at it."

Yugi blushed, and once more nodded. Mai left him alone then, swaggering her way behind another shelf. The small teen let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. He was safe from Hirutani for the time being, under the protection of this woman and her shop. For now. Even if Yugi did manage to go home without a scratch, he knew Monday would be absolute torture. Sighing, Yugi pushed back those thoughts for now, deciding to go with his current interest. This being the items littering the shelves and the walls of this intriguing shop. Clocks of all shapes and sizes were posted on the walls. There were several shaped like birds, commonly chickens. The classic "coo-coo" clock was somewhere on the far right, and even a large grandfather clock was somehow mounted towards the very top.

Yugi browsed each aisle, examining what he found to be the most interesting. He found more bags of lovely scented stones. There was something else that looked a lot like a pirate's treasure chest. It was much too heavy to move, and locked so he couldn't peak inside. He came upon a book that had the same sentence printed over and over on each page: "This is how the story begins and ends".

"Heh... easiest read I ever had." Yugi grinned a little to himself, placing the book back where he got it. He looked around the shelf a bit more, standing on the tip of his toes to see if he could find anything else. He peered around, blinking his large eyes. Something gold had caught his attention. He reached up, fingers barely brushing against the object. It felt cold to the touch, much like chilled steel. Sadly, it was still too far for him to grab. Yugi was once again flat on his feet, looking up at the shelf with a pout. Just what could I use to get up there? He tapped his chin. Oh! I know! Grinning, he stepped on the mid section of the shelf, carefully pushing himself up. He gripped the edge of the top with one hand, taking hold of the golden box with the other. "Yes!-- ack!" He lost his balance then, falling back with a loud "Oof!"

His bottom now feeling sore, Yugi whined quietly to himself, hoping he didn't make too much noise. He shook his head, looking down at his lap. There the golden box was, both hands still on either side of it. This box wasn't just a simple box. It had intricate carvings. The details on the surface of the gold were probably hand carved. Hieroglyphs littered the edges, and on the front glared the Eye of Horus.

"Awesome..." Yugi said softly, amazed he had found something this fascinating. He always had an interest in anything that was from ancient Egypt. His grandfather was an archaeologist before he retired and opened their game store. He used to bring back all sorts of things for Yugi to play with or collect, since he didn't have any friends to be with. He still had it all. From bits of stone, a piece of pottery and even jewelry. This box looked a lot like something that held royal jewelry. He shook it experimentally, like he did during the holidays when the first Christmas presents were placed under the tree. He pressed his ear to it, listening for a sound. He was greeted with the gentle jangle of possible gold. Grinning, he flipped the top open, looking inside. Blinking curiously, he reached in, lifting up a jagged golden piece. There were several in the box. Over fifty pieces, was Yugi's guess.

"A puzzle?" Yugi said to himself. He dug around in it, lifting another jagged piece. He clipped that and the first one together, smiling when he found a perfect match. "A puzzle!" He loved games dearly. Games were probably the only things that actually kept him sane. He had a knack for puzzles, and this one here looked especially tough. Goodness, did Yugi love a challenge. He hesitantly put the piece back into the box, placing the lid back on top. He scrambled to his feet, walking towards the back where the register was.

"Miss Mai!" He called, looking around. "Miss Mai!"

"No need to yell, sweety, I'm right here." That made Yugi jump near a foot in the air. He whipped around, seeing Mai to his left. "And its just 'Mai', remember? Now, what's gotten you so excited?"

Yugi didn't realize he was grinning so much until now. "Hee, sorry Mai. I just found something really neat." He presented the box to her. "There are puzzle pieces inside. I just wanted to know how much it was."

Mai blinked, looking down at the box with a bit of surprise on her face. "I remember this old thing," she said, tilting her head. "Drove my grandmother mad. Or rather, madder than she already was."

"Huh?" Yugi gave her an odd look.

Mai let out a small huff, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "She got it after her millionth trip to Egypt. She said she saw the thing for sale in one of the market streets at Cairo. She bought it because the vendor told her some cock-and-bull legend about it. It apparently belonged to some powerful person. Long story short, she had it for eight years and couldn't solve it. Drove her bonkers. Last I remember she tossed it on some shelf in the back, and we never saw it again."

"Oh. What was the legend?" Yugi decided to ask.

Mai merely shrugged. "Hell if I know, doll. I never really paid much attention to her when she rambled to herself."

"I see," He said, chuckling nervously. "But... it's for sale right? I love a good challenge."

"Do you?" Mai curled her lips, looking amused. She walked closer, placing her hand on the top of the box. "Its made of real gold you know. My grandmother had it marked for at least 200,000 yen."

"200,000?!" Yugi's eyes widened, sputtering slightly. He looked downcast once again. "But I don't have that kind of money..."

"Aww. That's too bad," Mai said with a sigh, a pout on her full lips. She watched Yugi for a moment. The small teen ran his fingers over the box, longing in his big eyes. Her own expression softened again. "You know, I think I'm a sucker for that face of yours."

Yugi looked up, resembling that of a curious child.

"Mmhm. I am." Mai brushed her hair back again. "I'll make you a deal."

"A deal..?"

"Yes. A deal." She tapped the top of the box. "If you can solve this puzzle before closing time tonight I'll let you have it. Free of charge."

"Really?" Yugi's face lit up. It was as if his birthday had come early.

"Yes, hun, really." Mai said with that sultry wink of hers. "I'll even gift wrap it for you, if you want."

Yugi nearly leaped for joy, but did his best to contain himself. "What time do you close?"

"Six PM." Mai said. Looking over at the many clock, they all read 5:30. Yugi's expression fell again, and he seemed panicked. She giggled, then said, "Six PM on weekdays. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we're open until nine. You have a little less than four hours to do it. You think that's enough time?"

Yugi nodded enthusiastically. "More than enough! I'll get started right now!" He was about to plop on the floor and do just that. Mai, however, would have none of that. She led him to the back where the register was, letting him sit on a stool at the counter. Yugi eagerly opened the box, taking out the first two pieces he managed to fit together. Determined, he began to study the pieces, and started to try and fit them together. For the most part, Yugi had confidence that he could solve any puzzle. After all, that's all he ever did at home. The longest time he had spent on piecing together things such as this was an hour, tops.

Although, Yugi hadn't encountered a puzzle as complex as this. Each piece connected with another. Many of them were three dimensional, and had a "core" so to speak. A center piece that that connected to several completed pieces in order to create a whole. Several times Yugi got stuck, and had to disassemble to start all over again. The clock continued to tick. When the teen glanced up to see the time, it seemed that three and a half hours really wasn't enough time. Every fifteen minutes or so, Mai would come by to see his progress. With each time she passed, he seemed to be getting more and more frustrated.

"Want some water, hun?" She offered around 6:45PM.

"No, I'm okay." Yugi said, licking his dried lips. He was thirsty, but he didn't have time to drink. He had too much to do still. "Thank you."

Even then, Mai still placed a bottle of cool water next to him, and even a few crackers for a snack. Yugi found himself unconsciously taking a bite or two, and drinking from that bottle.

Around 7:30PM, Yugi had nearly given up hope. He stopped for about five minutes to rub his tiring eyes, wondering if his grandpa was worried. He most likely was. School ended at three, and he hadn't been home for almost five hours. He still got stuck on that same place. It was half finished, the base a pentahedron, seeming to go up to a point. Yugi imagined it was probably a pyramid shape. However, he wouldn't truly know until he completed it. As the minutes ticked by, Yugi was quite sure that he wouldn't ever see it finished.

Mai returned to see his progress, and to take the napkin littered with cracker crumbs. She folded it over, then tossed it into a nearby rubbish can. She looked at the half finished puzzle, leaning over the counter. "Half done. To be honest, my grandmother couldn't even get this far. She'd connect a few pieces and then give in after they couldn't fit anymore."

"I can see why she would be frustrated," Yugi said, rubbing the back of his neck. "This is very hard... I don't think I can do it."

"Oh?" Mai brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "You seemed confident earlier."

"Well, that was until I saw how really complex it is." Yugi said, pointing to the puzzle. He moved the completed bit over, showing Mai. "Its like a mechanism. Some of these pieces look as if they fit, but they don't click like they're supposed to. If that makes any sense... its like I have to twist it to make it..." his eyes widened. He took hold of a piece within the completed structure, attempting to turn it. It twisted, just like a rubix cube. "Then I can put this.." he grabbed another piece from the box, easily sliding it in. "That's it!"

With a little bit of interest, Mai watched as Yugi twisted and turned what he completed, sliding in the remaining pieces. It was 8:45PM before Yugi held the final piece, which bore the gleaming Eye of Horus.

"The last piece... the last one," Yugi looked so exhausted, but so happy. "When I put this in, it's all done." He was about to do just that, but Mai took hold his wrist to keep him from placing it in.

"Hold on a sec, hun." Mai said, a pout on her face. "Before you put that in, let me tell you a little something that I managed to catch my grandma ranting about."

Yugi glanced at the clock, then nodded to Mai. "What was it?"

"She said the man that sold it to her told her that this puzzle, if completed, has the power to grant one wish." Mai said, letting Yugi's wrist go. "Don't want to waste a good wish, right? So just think for a minute before you place that in there. Don't worry ,you have time."

The clock read 8:55PM.

Yugi tilted his head, looking down at the Eye of Horus. It gleamed at him in such a mystical way, it almost convinced him that it really was magical. Making a wish after completing something so difficult didn't seem so bad. In fact, it seemed like the perfect thing to do. "One wish..." he murmured. He closed his eyes. Just what did he want? Money, fame, superpowers? The first two, maybe not to so much. Superpowers, maybe so. He cracked a small smile.

He knew what he wanted.

"I wish I wasn't so alone." Yugi said softly, gripping the last piece tightly. "I want to.. be protected... I wish I was loved." He opened his eyes slowly, gently pressing the last piece in. He had done it then. The puzzle was completed. Sitting before him was a golden pyramid. The Eye of Horus bore holes into his own eyes, as if it could see into his very soul. The moment Yugi touched it, he felt warmth radiate from the once cold pieces. For a brief moment, Yugi felt as if this object were actually alive. It beat in his hands, like a heart. So transfixed by it, he didn't notice Mai trying to get his attention, until she shook his shoulder.

"H-huh?" Yugi looked at her. The beating in his hands ceased.

"You zoned out for a minute. " Mai said with a soft laugh. "You must be so tired after all that. I'm closing up, so... I'll give you a ride home, all right? No one should be walking around this late at night."

"You're too kind, but my home is only a block away." Yugi said, stretching. He placed the completed puzzle into its box, but was unable to close it due to its girth. Mai passed him a plastic bag, which he took after a moment of hesitation.

"You and I made a deal," Mai said. "This puzzle is yours. You can take it home in that, since carrying an open box would just seem silly."

Yugi smiled at her. "Thank you..." He put away his puzzle in there, carrying the bag at his side.

"Are you sure you don't want a ride?" Mai offered again. "Even though I barely know you, I'll worry."

Yugi shook his head. "I'll be fine. Thanks for your concern, though. You've already done so much for me."

"Well, all right then." Mai adjusted the top of her dress, placing a hand on her hip. "I'll be seeing you around then, hun." She leaned over, kissing Yugi's cheek.

He rubbed it, blushing from slight embarrassment. Mai only laughed.

"Get a move on, cutie. There are some pretty nasty people out this late," She turned to walk away, heading for the back room of the store. She paused at the door, "... and I really hope you get your wish."

Yugi stared after her, his face still red. "... thanks..." But he wasn't sure Mai had heard him. She already left for the back room. With his item in hand, Yugi walked out the front door of the shop. He assumed Hirutani had given up on him for tonight. That made walking down the street a little easier, and thankfully without the weight of too much worry.

Contained in the bag at Yugi's side, the completed puzzle sat. Unnoticed, the Eye of Horus flashed a brief white-gold, and once again began to beat like a human heart.

:/

Very much unsatisfied with it. But its long, so love me? XD' Reviews please.

Next Chapter Soon~

Xeora