Anyone walking down a certain street in Domino City, Japan would've seen her.

But she was beyond caring. So what if people saw her on her knees, in an alleyway, sobbing? She didn't understand what had happened; only that she was now somewhere far, far away from home.

It had happened after school. She was walking along, simply enjoying the afternoon. The crisp, cool air, the sun on her face- to her, that was bliss.

Until the wind picked up.

She hadn't noticed at first, but soon it began blowing fiercely around her. Everything went dark, all she could hear was roaring, and then she was here.

In a city she didn't recognize.

The thing that astounded her most, however, was her appearance.

Before, she had had blond curls that hit her shoulders but didn't go past them. Her eyes had been a warm, chocolate brown, and she'd been freckly on the nose.

When she'd seen her reflection in a puddle, however, it had made her stop and examine herself again. Now, though her hair was still short, it was dark brown, almost black, and perfectly straight. Her freckles were gone- her face didn't have any blemishes, in fact. One might think that a girl her age would be happy about that, but she realized that they were a part of who she was.

She didn't want to lose that.

Her eyes were no longer brown; instead, they were a bright, clear turquoise, and somehow deeper than before. The strangest thing, however, was the symbol on her forehead. It looked like an eye, but was a little too symmetrical. It was gold, and metallic-looking. Slowly, she reached up and touched the eye, gasping when she realized that it was metal.

Great, she thought. That's going to be pretty darn bad for my health.

Fully aware of her surroundings for the first time, she forced down her tears, realizing that she had to find shelter. Before she did, however, she noticed one more thing. Her pocket was heavy.

She pulled out her duel deck, and blinked. I'm sure that I didn't put that in there, she thought. Shrugging, she re-pocketed it, and ran off.

Yugi and his friends sat, beneath their favorite tree. It was Saturday, and rather than stay inside on a day like this, they decided to head for the park. Jonouchi was still rambling on about how Yugi had beaten 'that rich punk'- in other words, Seto Kaiba.

"I mean, it was amazing, Yug," said Jonouchi, still grinning, "How you kicked his keister and all."

Yugi smiled, slightly embarrassed at his friend's praise. "Well, I couldn't have done it without you guys there. Not to mention my grandpa's deck helping out."

Anzu looked thoughtful. "You know, Yugi, maybe you should consider entering a tournament."

"Yeah, great idea!" Jonouchi exclaimed. He wrapped his arm around Yugi's neck, giving him a noogie. "We've got a champ, right here!"

Honda snorted. "Maybe, Jonouchi, but he still has a long way to go."

Jonouchi frowned at his friend. "Naw, Yug'll beat them all, you'll see."

"That's reassuring, cause you sure won't."

Jonouchi rounded on Honda. "What was that?"

"Relax, guys," said Yugi, sweatdropping. "I'm probably not going to enter a tournament anytime soon anyhow."

They continued the discussion, Honda and Jonouchi trying to convince Yugi to duel more often, while Anzu just rolled her eyes. Eventually, however, their conversation was interrupted by yells further down.

Jonouchi paused. "Eh? What's going on?"

"I don't know," Yugi, answered, looking worried. "I think we should check, though."

The four of them hurried over to where a large crowd was gathered. Shouts rang out, all directed at someone standing in the center.

"What's with the thing on your forehead, huh?"

"Yeah, do you come from somewhere that gives metal tattoos, freak?"

A single voice, female, rang through, loud and clear. "If I'm a freak, what does that make all of you?"

The yelling increased at this remark, and the crowd looked even angrier. Jonouchi and Honda pushed themselves through everyone, to find a girl about their age being harassed. She looked furious, her hands balled into fists that hung at her sides, shaking. Her unusual turquoise eyes burned, and her hair was slightly disheveled.

Jonouchi and Honda stood in front of her. "All right, clear outta here!" they yelled. There was no need, however; the teenagers in the crowd were losing interest, walking off in smaller groups, casting curious glances at the girl. As for the girl herself, she turned to Yugi and his friends.

"Thanks, but I can take care of myself."

She turned to go, but before she could walk a step further Honda grabbed her arm. "That's the thanks we get? You could at least tell us your name."

She whirled around, crossing her arms. Yugi couldn't keep the gasp from escaping him as he beheld the symbol on her forehead. He glanced down at his millennium puzzle. The girl, following his gaze, also saw his item. She pointed. "What is that?"

Yugi held it up. "It's my millennium puzzle," he answered. "It was a gift from my grandpa, who found it in Egypt. It took me years to solve."

Jonouchi gawked at the strange girl's forehead, until Anzu kicked him in the shins. Looking slightly awkward, he asked lamely, "So… do you duel?"

In answer, she took her deck out of her pocket. "My name's Jess," she said. Her eyes traveled over each of them. "What are your names?"

Joey grinned; he loved introductions. "This is Yugi, soon to be the duel monsters champ," he said. Yugi smiled kindly. "That's Anzu; she's got a bit of an attitude, so watch it."

In response to that, Anzu kicked him again. Wincing slightly, Joey continued. "That's Honda, the serious guy, and then of course there's myself! Jonouchi's the name."

Jess smiled. "It's nice to meet you all."

Yugi turned back to Jess. "We're heading to my grandpa's game shop to take a break. Would you like to come?"

Jess fidgeting slightly. "Umm… I guess so." Anzu smiled at her, trying to look reassuring. Jess returned the smile, but it didn't seem to reach her eyes.

She opted not to join in their conversation. Sure, they all seemed nice enough, but she had quickly learned not to trust anyone around Domino City. She was getting by so far, hiding out in an abandoned building for now. As for food, well… she'd never admit it, but she was scavenging.

Jess walked a few paces behind the others, wondering why dueling was so popular around here. Sure, back home they'd had the cards, but they didn't have holographic systems to portray the cards.

Her thoughts wandered back to home, and she didn't notice Yugi drop back to talk to her.

"So, you're a duelist? What kind of cards do you like?"

Jess shook herself. "Huh? Oh, uh, dragon. They're strong, beautiful, but gentle too."

Yugi grinned at her. "I'm a fan of… I guess, all kinds of cards. If I had to choose, though, I think I'd pick spellcaster."

Jess felt a pang, as she was reminded of her younger brother- who she might never see again. "Spellcasters are cool, too."

They continued discussing their favorite monsters, comparing weaknesses and strengths of various cards. Jess enjoyed speaking about a subject that took her mind off of home; she ached for her parents, her brother, all her friends, and her cat. Some of the sadness on her face must have shown, for Yugi looked at her with concern and asked, "Are you okay?"

Jess planted a smile on her face. "I'm fine."

"Yugi!" Jess glanced over in the direction of the voice, noticing the aged, slightly overweight man waving over at them. He looked cheerful, as thought sweeping in front of his shop didn't bother him in the slightest. Anzu, Honda, and Jonouchi already waited, while Jess and Yugi caught up. Jess realized that he was Yugi's grandpa.

"Hey, grandpa," said Yugi. "Are you feeling better?"

"Never better!" the old man exclaimed. "My short duel with Kaiba was tiring, if nothing else. Knowing that you defeated him helped me back on my feet as well." His purple eyes- the same color as Yugi's, Jess noted- traveled over her. "Is this a new friend of yours?"

Jess stepped forward. "I'm Jess," she said.

"I asked her to come too," Yugi added.

His grandpa beamed. "Well then, Jess, welcome to my game shop! Do feel free to look around."

The four of them entered, heading upstairs to where Yugi lived with his grandpa. Jess liked the feel of it; it was cozy, but not in an embarrassing way.

"So, Jess," said Yugi, grinning. "How about a duel?"

Jess grinned back. She didn't have anything better to do, after all.

A few hours later, it was nearly dark outside. Jess had spent the entire afternoon dueling. Her match against Yugi had gone on for awhile, until Jonouchi had interrupted. He'd stated that he wanted a shot against her, claiming that he'd beat her in five minutes. Four duels later, he lost again.

"I don't believe this!" he shouted, pouting slightly. Jess yawned; dueling Jonouchi had been almost boring for her; she felt ready to take a nap.

"Hey, guys, look!" called Yugi, staring at the television. "The regional final match is about to start."

Jess only watched to get the names of the duelists, as well as their card preferences, before tuning out. She thought about what she'd be doing today if she hadn't come to this crazy place. She'd be having dinner with her family about then…

"…And that concludes today's match! The winner is Mr. Weevil Underwood! And now, please give it up for the Maximillion Pegasus, who will be giving Mr. Underwood today's trophy!"

Jess watched, noting when a man in a crisp red suit stepped out into the stadium. He handed the trophy to the winner- a short kid with an odd haircut and glasses that made him look like he had bug eyes. Pegasus turned to the crowd.

"Duelists from all over will be given this special invitation to duel in my Duelist Kingdom tournament. The boat leaves in just two days, so don't be late!"

Jess was slightly revolted by his attitude. She had come to dislike people who thought everything was fun. Nothing's really fun, she thought bitterly, thinking of all the good times she'd spent with her friends back at home. All that had been snatched away from her. She glanced around at Yugi's friends. How can I ever be a part of their group? That mob from earlier was right; I'm a freak.

A sigh escaped her. She reached up and, out of habit, touched the symbol embedded in her forehead. She wished she could tear it out and just be normal.

Then there was the fact that the same symbol was on Yugi's puzzle. She wondered if that was really a coincidence, or if more was at work here.

Just then, Yugi's grandpa entered the room. "Yugi! There's a package for you."

Everyone turned to see what could've shown up. In Mr. Mutou's (Jess had learned Yugi's last name from Anzu earlier) hands was a plain brown box. "It says that it's from Industrial Illusions."

That got everyone's attention; Jess was curious now. She wondered what the company could've sent to Yugi.

Yugi brought it over, and Jonouchi began tearing into it at once. He frowned when he saw what was inside. "Eh? What's the use of all this stuff?" he asked.

Inside the box was a magenta glove, and two tiny stars. Jess wondered what their purpose was, and then she noticed the tape. She pointed it out. "Maybe that'll explain."

Yugi nodded. "Good idea." He headed to the VCR, pushed the tape inside, and waited.

Popping up on the TV screen was none other than Pegasus himself. "Oh, joy," Jess muttered. Jonouchi gave her an odd look.

"What'd you say, Jess?"

"Nothing."

Pegasus was speaking. "Greetings, Yugi-boy. It's wonderful to make your acquaintance. Before I explain, however, there's a tiny bit of business to be taken care of."

He lifted the hair covering his left eye (Jess's right), and Jess caught a glimpse of gold before everything went black.

It was like surfacing from deep water; Jess struggled awake, opening her eyes to see- more blackness?

She sat up, groaning, and flinched; Pegasus's gaze was trained on her.

"Consider yourself honored, Jess-girl." He smiled unpleasantly. "You get to witness me crush Yugi-boy in his first Shadow Game."

Jess felt her eyes widen slightly as she saw Yugi, crouched down with his brow furrowed in concentration. He held a few of his cards in his hands, and a mini Summoned Skull sat in defense mode. Jess glanced around, seeing nothing but darkness around them.

"I must say, the fact that you have that particular symbol on your forehead intrigues me," Pegasus continued. Jess turned to glare at him, but he didn't so much as flinch. "I was just telling Yugi-boy that we have something in common: a millennium item. You already know of his puzzle. I possess the millennium eye, which gives me the power to read minds."

Jess made an attempt to blank out her mind, to not think at all…

"Nice try, Jess-girl. I already know all about you, and there's quite a bit you haven't told Yugi-boy, isn't there?"

Yugi glanced at her, looking shocked. "Jess, what?"-

"Oh, it's nothing too important," Pegasus drawled. "Just that she's not from this world, she used to have a different appearance, and that she's homeless. That's all."

Jess shook with both anger and sadness. Yugi's violet eyes bored into her. "Jess," he said quietly, "Is that all… true?"

Turning her head so that their eyes met, she nodded.

"On with the duel!" Pegasus proclaimed. The smile widened, and Jess had to stifle the urge to try and slap it off his face. "Oh, too bad; it looks like we've run out of time. The time it took to explain things to Jess-girl just made the minutes fly by. Oh, well.

"The glove and the star chips are both needed to get on the ferry to Duelist Kingdom. Oh, and Jess-girl? I'll be sending you an invite as well. I wouldn't want you to feel left out."

Jess's voice was hardened. She felt her dislike of Pegasus growing. "And what if I'm not interested?"

"Believe me; it's in both of your best interests to go. Jess, you do want to know why you acquired that symbol, don't you?"

Jess decided not to reply; she didn't want Pegasus to know that she was intrigued. She slapped her forehead, groaning when she remembered that Pegasus could see her thoughts.

"Yugi-boy," Pegasus said; his voice suddenly became more menacing. "I'll be claiming my prize now: say goodbye to your grandfather's soul!"

He lifted his hair once again, and a yellow beam hit Mr. Mutou. Something must've been pulled from him, for a moment later, his face appeared on the TV screen. He called his grandson's name once, before vanishing.

"Grandpa!" Yugi yelled, shaking the TV. "Come back!"

Jess felt frozen, horrified by what she had just seen. She knew that Yugi would have to duel in the tournament now. She also knew that if he was dueling, she'd be dueling alongside him.

And you will succeed.

Jess jumped, looking about her, but no one else seemed to have heard it. She glanced to where Yugi's friends were gathered around him, before sinking into her own thoughts.

She was shocked at what she found there.