Yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah. I know. Who would expect Double-F to be interested in Yu-Gi-Oh, of all things? Well, to tell you the truth, this isn't about the cards, and this will be based on both the Manga and the Anime in some ways – meaning if it's different from the manga it's probably using elements from the anime, and vice versa. I haven't seen a novelization around here (yet, I may not be looking hard enough), so I thought I'd do it myself.

SUMMARY: Novelization of Season Zero. Yuugi Mutou, a constantly bullied high school student, finishes a mysterious puzzle one day and inherits the Shadow Games. Can he handle the risks involved with it, or will he succumb to the pressure?

EDITED AND RE-POSTED ON MAY 7, 2008

Also, for reference since not everyone knows who is who, here's the translations (keep in mind that the Japanese pronounce names last name – first name, whereas Americans pronounce them first name – last name.):

Mutou Yuugi – Yugi Muto

Katsuya Jounouchi –Joey Wheeler

Masaki Anzu – Tea Gardner

Hiroto Honda – Tristan Taylor

Nosaka Miho – Miho Nosaka / Melody /"ribbon-chan" (Note that Miho will not be appearing much if at all in this fic)

Mutou Sugoroku – Solomon Muto

Saa, geimu no jikan da! Let's get on with this already.

Yu-Gi-Oh

The Shadow Games

Game One

The Shadow Awakens

A group of archaeologists gathered around a wall they had just broken down. Inside was the tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh…there HAD to be a good treasure inside, there was no doubt about it. The only thing that they really had to worry about was the curse. Of course, the tomb was of a nameless pharaoh; if no one remembered his name, he couldn't have been that great.

Inside they saw what was right on the money. There were several artifacts, and the room itself was somewhat open…it seemed suspicious, but the Professor with them seemed pleased. No plunderers had reached this tomb yet. He had not ventured in far, however, when he noticed something suspicious on the wall.

It seemed to be some sort of box, and it was well crafted – golden, elegantly decorated, and set carefully in a small hole in the wall. It was displayed in such a way that made it hard to miss, prompting the Professor's attention. The man slowly approached it, hands reaching for it eagerly, but before he could go any nearer he jerked back in pain.

"Professor!" one of the assistants cried, rushing to the man near him.

The man doubled over, clutching his abdomen and shaking violently. He struggled desperately for breath as pain ran in waves over his body. His colleagues gathered around him in attempt to give him comfort or possibly calm him down from the unexpected seizure. "Professor!" One of them cried. "Please, pull yourself together!"

The man looked up weakly, his gaze locked onto the golden box. He now knew exactly what that puzzle was…

There's no doubt about it. That's got to be…the Puzzle…

It was strange, but it was almost as though the puzzle was watching him…

Afternoon recess had finally arrived. As the bell clanged loudly over Domino High, many of the students rushed out of the school building to the courtyard. Some headed for the basketball courts while others hung out near some of the picnic tables. Everyone had something to do, someone to do something with during the mid-day break. Everyone, that is, except for one person.

Yuugi Mutou sat alone in his desk, still in the classroom, assembling a card castle with some spare cards he brought from home. He wasn't good at sports at all, and he didn't have any friends at school anyway. Even so, it hardly bothered him – he was content playing games by himself. When he was home he usually found something to do there, too. It still mildly disappointed him that no one ever came to play with him, but he usually managed to entertain himself somehow. Especially when it came to…

"Yuugi, are you coming?"

The boy turned to look past his card castle to find the source of the voice, but unfortunately he bumped into the edge, causing the whole thing to tumble apart. Paying little heed to this, he glanced up at his classmate in front of him and shook his head, smiling sheepishly. "No, that's fine," He replied.

The boy shrugged and walked off, basketball in hand. As the room swiftly emptied, Yuugi opened his bag and stuffed the cards back into it. He really wanted to play a game with someone sometime, but everyone usually went and did something else. He always brought enough to school to entertain himself, so he didn't mind; the fact was everyone seemed more interested in sports or gossip.

After a moment of pondering, Yuugi finally decided on an activity to amuse himself. Ah, that's right! What if I finish that today? Excited, he pulled a small, golden box covered in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics out of his bag. Inside the box was Yuugi's greatest treasure, his most prized possession. The riddle of what was inside was "something you can see but you've never seen before," but Yuugi never quite knew what it meant. Eager to get to work, he reached for the box…

…when it got snapped up right from in front of him.

For a moment, Yuugi blinked in surprise, but after snapping out of the momentary shock he turned around to see a very familiar person holding the box in front of him. "Jounouchi?"

The blonde-haired boy behind him, Jounouchi Katsuya, was looking casually at the box in front of him. "Playing by yourself again, Yuugi?" He said, sounding as though he was trying to suppress annoyance. "You know, you act like such a girl about this thing…must be pretty valuable to you."

Yuugi knew good and well that Jounouchi had to be taunting him, but he didn't really want to start a rukus. He jumped up and reached for the box, only to have Jounouchi lift it higher out of his reach. Being naturally short for his age was clearly a nuisance. "Give it back!"

But Jounouchi just laughed. "Not a chance. If you want it back so badly, be a man about it and come at me full force!"

"But I hate fighting and violence!" Yuugi cried, causing Jounouchi to plug his ears – which was a feat, considering he was still holding the box. Yuugi might not have had any guts (as Jounouchi would put it), but his voice was definitely loud.

"Jounouchi," A new voice announced. "Knock it off."

The bully's expression changed from a wince to a sort of smug grin as a brown-haired young man entered. "Well, if it isn't the janitor, Honda."

Honda Hiroto's expression immediately shifted. "I am not a janitor! I'm…"

Jounouchi rolled his eyes as Honda began to ramble about the joys of cleaning dirt and other filth from the world. Instead, he completely ignored the newcomer and turned to Yuugi. "What is this thing, anyway?"

Yuugi felt relieved somewhat, but he was still nervous. "You can look, but don't lose it! It's really, really important to me!"

Jounouchi sighed exasperatedly as Honda got onto him for not listening, and opened the box for a moment. When he closed it, he lifted an eyebrow. Whatever was in the box clearly didn't impress him. Before he could look further into the situation, the box was again snapped away…this time by a girl.

Yuugi smiled brightly as his childhood friend Anzu Masaki entered the room, his precious box in hand. "If this thing bores you so much, Jounouchi, why are you having such a problem giving it back to Yuugi?" She asked sternly. "Besides, if you're wasting time bullying the weak, you're awfully boring yourself."

Jounouchi winced. Anzu might have been a girl, but the whole school knew that she wasn't one to taunt. With a look of utter defeat, Jounouchi quickly made an excuse. "I'm ganna go get some lunch at the cafeteria. Bye!" With that, he rushed off with Honda following after him.

Once the bullies were gone, Anzu handed the box back to her friend, her stern visage swiftly changing to a warm smile before Yuugi could protest against her actions. "Here, Yuugi. It's important to you, right?"

Yuugi nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Thanks!" He glanced toward the door where Jounouchi and Honda stood a moment before. "They're so scared of you, aren't they?"

Anzu shook her head in protest. "If I act soft, they'll be all over me. You really need to have some guts against them. Yuugi…"

"I don't mind," Yuugi replied, smiling cheerfully. "Jounouchi isn't a bad person, not really…"

"If you keep saying that, you're going to keep getting mocked."

Yuugi had to repress a sigh; Anzu was right. The thing that was hard for him was that he couldn't stand to insult anyone in any shape, form or manner…even if he wanted to he simply couldn't, and that made it difficult to stand up for himself. All he wanted to do was have fun and play games. He didn't really feel like starting fights or trouble of any sort, even if it was to defend himself somehow…

"Anyway," Anzu said, breaking the somewhat odd silence, "What's in this anyway? You've never showed me before."

That was all it took to perk Yuugi's interest. Inside the box was a very special treasure to him, but he trusted Anzu with it. "Ah, right! Take a look, but be careful…"

Anzu nodded, smiling, and opened the box. The box itself was somewhat small, but it was slightly heavier than Anzu anticipated. As such, she only slightly lifted the lid when she tried, but what she saw still amazed her.

Yuugi beamed as he pulled out a few fragments of gold from the box. "It's a puzzle!" He said proudly. "I haven't really finished it yet, so I'm not sure what shape it is…it's supposed to be something you can see but you haven't seen."

The brunette couldn't help but chuckle. It was like Yuugi to get into games and riddles…though he didn't often get into riddles as much as he did his love for games. "It looks pretty," she commented. "Where did you get it?"

"It was collecting dust in the far corner of the shop," Yuugi said. "I found it when I was really young and I started putting it together. Someone who used to own the place kept it really safe because it was some sort of rare Egyptian artifact, but he didn't seem to want it when Grandpa took over."

Anzu couldn't help but feel curious. She was familiar with Yuugi living in the upper story of his grandfather's game store, so that came to no surprise. What caught her attention, however, was the fact that Yuugi found the puzzle when he was younger…and another fact.

"Are you sure it's an Egyptian artifact?"

Yuugi nodded. "Yeah. Grandpa studied Egyptology a lot before he started running the game shop, and he's pretty sure of it. Besides, look at the hieroglyphics on the box."

"What do they say?"

"Well," Yuugi began, "Grandpa says they say something about a wish being granted to whoever solves the puzzle. I've been trying for eight years to get my wish granted, but I haven't solved it yet…"

Anzu chuckled. "I'm sure you can solve it, Yuugi. You're good at just about any game that's been thrown at you as far as I know."

Yuugi beamed. Anzu was right. He had solved countless puzzles before. If he kept trying he was bound to solve this puzzle.

"She ticks me off," Jounouchi muttered angrily as he strode down the hall with his friend.

Honda cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "Who?"

The blonde groaned. "What are you, deaf? I'm talking about Anzu!"

Honda shook his head. "She seems like an okay person to me."

"Hmph," Jounouchi mumbled, either ignoring his friend's comment or trying not to get mad at it. "Who's bullying the wea-oof!"

Jounouchi and Honda came to an abrupt halt when they walked right into someone in the hall. They cringed immediately as the recognized him…that dark hair, the banner around his arm, it could only be Ushio, leader of the Public Morale group.

"Say something about bullying, you two?" Ushio asked sternly.

"No!" They both cried simultaneously. "Nothing at all!"

Ushio strongly seemed to doubt them, but he kept walking anyway. Once he was out of earshot, Jounouchi scowled. "I hate him so much…"

Honda couldn't help but agree. Ushio made – and enforced – all of the school rules. He definitely seemed like he was up to something. When he turned back to Jounouchi, he found the blonde grinning smugly with something in his hand: a fragment of gold with a wadjet eye decorated onto it. "What's that?" Honda asked.

"I swiped it from Yuugi's box," Jounouchi said, as though proud of his deed. "I'm pretty sure whatever he's got in there is a puzzle, so if he doesn't have this one piece, he can't finish it."

"You sound like a villain spilling out his evil plan," Honda said dryly. "You're so hopeless…why don't you listen to your brain for once?" With that, Honda walked off, shaking his head. "I'm going to lunch, see you in the cafeteria."

Jounouchi didn't answer. Instead, he turned to the open window and hurled the golden puzzle piece out the window and into the water canal just outside the school. How is something like this a treasure to him? He thought. Yuugi was always acting like a child…it made him so mad. Putting his thoughts aside, he headed for the cafeteria.

After the last class had ended for the day, Yuugi had packed up his things and put his books back in his locker. As he headed across the courtyard that evening, he noted the Public Morale group having a gathering. After pausing momentarily to observe them, Yuugi quickly left so he would not to disturb them.

"You there!"

Yuugi paused, wincing. Hopefully he wouldn't be in trouble. "…?"

A young, strong-built young man approached Yuugi casually, an enigmatic smirk on his face. "You're Yuugi Mutou, right?"

Yuugi nodded politely, recognizing the student as Ushio. "Yeah, that's me…"

Ushio gained a somewhat concerned look on his face. "I wanted to ask you something. Has anyone been bullying you lately?"

Yuugi's eyes widened slightly, and he blinked in disbelief. How did Ushio know about Jounouchi? "No, of course not."

"Wait a moment." Ushio responded sternly. "A person like you would usually say something like that. I'll have to look into this."

"Um…okay…" For a moment, Yuugi caught something in Ushio's eyes that seemed to betray what he said.

"You can relax, Yuugi," Ushio said, grinning. "I'll be your bodyguard from now on, alright?"

Yuugi didn't like the looks of this for some reason, and began stuttering. "B-but, I really haven't been bullied! Sorry, I need to get going…" He promptly took off running. Though not frantic, Yuugi was definitely confused. Weird…what's with him…?

As the evening sun fell, Yuugi was happy to be home. It had been a long day – more eventful than usual – and he was eager to start working on his puzzle again. When Yuugi opened the door, however, he found a familiar face waiting.

"…Anzu?!" He said incredulously.

"Hi, Yuugi!" The brunette said cheerfully. "It's been a while since I visited."

An old man behind the counter of the shop waved. "You're finally home, Yuugi," he said. "It took you long enough."

"Sorry, Grandpa," Yuugi replied. His grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou, was the owner of the game store, as such he was normally busy. It was getting a tad late, however, so he had some time to visit.

"I heard from Anzu," Sugoroku said. "You still haven't given up on that puzzle?"

"Of course not," Yuugi replied, trying not to look like his feelings had been hurt. "Why do you ask?"

Mr. Mutou shook his head, smiling ever-so-slightly. "That puzzle is beyond human knowledge, Yuugi; I doubt you can solve it."

Yuugi blinked. It wasn't quite like his grandfather to say such things unless he was incredibly serious. Even so, the man continued. "It's got a bit of history behind it that I never really told you before, Yuugi. An excavation team found this puzzle – called the Millennium Puzzle – in the Great Pharaoh's valley, in the tomb of an unnamed pharaoh. After the team returned to Japan, everyone mysteriously died, and the last person left was said to be screaming something about a 'Shadow Game'…"

"That's kind of creepy," Anzu said nervously. "Like the curse on King Tut's tomb…"

"But look what it says," Yuugi protested. "'To the one whom solves this, I will grant great wisdom and power'…" Yuugi's eyes widened in excitement. "I knew it! My wish will come true!" As Yuugi grabbed a firm hold of the box and ran up the stairs to his room, his grandfather in hot pursuit.

"Hey! Give that here! It'll sell for a lot of money!"

"No way! You just want to sell it! This is supposed to be my memento of you!"

"I knew it! You're ganna kill me, aren't you!?"

"Knock it off!"

Anzu shook her head, laughing. She rarely met with Yuugi and his grandfather at times like this, but she knew them well enough to know their sense of humor.

Later that night, Yuugi was sitting at his desk in his pajamas, still playing with the puzzle. He nearly had it, he was sure. For some reason even, he even felt like he finally found out the riddle.

Unknown to the boy, however, Sugoroku was peering through the keyhole silently. He felt somewhat concerned; the legend said that whoever solved the puzzle would inherit the power of the Shadow Games. Though Mr. Mutou doubted the existence of such a legend, he had hoped that relaying the story to Yuugi earlier would have stopped him. Of course, it hadn't, and Yuugi was working harder than ever to finish it, even after eight futile years.

After a moment's pause, Sugoroku noticed Yuugi nodding off at his desk. He turned away to head for his own room. Maybe it's best if he doesn't finish it...

Yuugi, meanwhile, lay peacefully asleep at his desk. The puzzle was half-way completed, and was faintly pulsing.

The next day at school, Yuugi couldn't stay awake very well in the morning classes. He had stayed up working on his puzzle, and had even fallen asleep at his desk at home. Later in the afternoon he had enough energy to keep up with everyone, though unfortunately he had to catch up on his sleep in a bit of off-time he had between his classes.

"Yuugi."

Yuugi knew the voice anywhere. It was Ushio. "What is it?" He asked meekly.

"Come here. I'm sure you'll like this."

Yuugi, pushover as always, went along with the young man, following him behind the gym of the school to where a few other members of the Public Morale group were standing in a sort of semi-circle. What Yuugi saw in the center of their group was something he absolutely did not like.

Jounouchi and Honda were slumed on the ground against the wall of the building, the other Public Morale groupies next to them. Honda was badly hurt and on the verge of passing out, and Jounouchi had a bloody nose…as well as an extremely angry glare sent Yuugi's way the moment he came into view.

Yuugi called out to them and ran over, but was stopped by Ushio. The older student seemed rather proud of himself, and grinned smugly. "Well, Yuugi? What do you think?"

"What's going on here?!" Yuugi asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"I told you," Ushio replied calmly, "I'm your bodyguard, so we've been punishing them for you."

"Why?" Yuugi protested. "Ushio, this is horrible!" Ignoring Ushio, Yuugi raced to the two boys collapsed against the ground. "Jounouchi, Honda, are you okay?!"

But Yuugi's blonde-haired classmate just glared at him, hatred burning in his eyes. "I knew you had something to do with this…you happy now?"

Yuugi barely got a protest off his tongue when Ushio stepped forward. "Move, Yuugi. I'm not done with these two yet." And following his words, he sent another kick to the two boys against the wall. Neither of them could move to dodge or protect themselves.

Unable to stand for the violence any longer, Yuugi threw himself in front of Jounouchi when he had a chance. "Stop!" He shouted, throwing his arms out as though trying to protect the boys.

Ushio seemed humored by Yuugi's actions, and chuckled. "Covering for them? You're a weird kid. Now's the chance for you to get any revenge you want on them for being so mean to you. Hit them!"

But Yuugi wouldn't have it. He shook his head vigorously. "No! I can't do that to my friends, Ushio!"

Jounouchi did a double-take. Friends…? He thought. He bullied Yuugi just the other day, and stole part of his puzzle. In fact, even before then he had been completely rotten. How could Yuugi consider him a friend after what he had done?

Noticing Yuugi's intention, Ushio laughed. "You call these guys your friends?" He asked. "They're bullies that exploited you. They're not friends."

"They're not bullies," Yuugi replied desperately. "Jounouchi just wanted me to be a man!"

Jounouchi's couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even through the ache that ran over his entire body, his attention was now focused on Yuugi's words. Is he nuts?!

"Fine," Ushio said, his smug gaze not falling. "By the way, kid, it's time you paid up."

Yuugi blinked silently for a moment. For one, if someone had been humbled, they wouldn't still have an expression like that. Something told him Ushio had more planned than disciplining bullies, and whatever it was he didn't like it.

"My bodyguard fee," Ushio said slowly, clarifying his statement for the dumbounded boy in front of him. "Twenty thousand yen."

Yuugi cried out in complete shock. "Wha-Twenty thousand!?"

"Unless," The older student continued, "You want me to beat them up more."

"No!" Yuugi shouted, quickly regaining his stance. "You've gone too far. If anyone's hurting them in any way, it's me!"

Jounouchi still couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even when he bullied Yuugi around, he would never stand up for himself, but now that Ushio was bullying them, Yuugi was standing up for them, even if he had to get some of the treatment himself. But why…?

Yuugi sat quietly in his bedroom, fumbling almost blindly with his puzzle. The day's events made him exceedingly nervous. Twenty thousand yen…he didn't have that kind of money…and there was no telling what Ushio would do if he didn't pay up, though he already had a pretty good idea. Why did he always have to be a pushover?

Ushio had used him from the beginning…it was such a horrible setup! Yuugi had never been taken advantage of like this! He hardly had any money to give Ushio, and there was no way he could…

"…huh?"

Yuugi looked at his hands in slight shock. For some reason, when he had gotten home from school that day, he had unconsciously gone straight to his desk and began working on his puzzle. Perhaps it was a habit of his, which wasn't surprising considering every day for eight years he had done it. What surprised him was that this time, he had nearly solved it.

It was strange…he felt awful, completely miserable in fact…but he also felt that he was finally going to solve the puzzle that night. Shrugging it off, he continued.

Click. Click.

Yuugi smiled in excitement. If he wasn't wrong, he was only moments away from solving the puzzle. Just one more to make sure…

Snap.

The boy felt a bright smile crawl up from the depths of his depression. He had finally solved the puzzle at last! All he had to do was put in one more piece! He excitedly reached for the box…the last piece, and then his wish would come true! He would finally get what he always wanted...all he needed was to add the final part...

...but the piece he needed to complete the puzzle wasn't there.

Yuugi blinked in complete disbelief. The piece he needed to finally solve the puzzle and get his wish…it was gone! He slumped back in his chair hopelessly. He had gone so far as to show his best friend Anzu his treasure, and now it would never be complete…

Just then, a thought struck his mind. Perhaps he had dropped the final piece at school somewhere when he was showing Anzu...? Without a second thought, Yuugi grabbed his backpack, put on his shoes, and made a mad dash out of the apartment and down the street. Please, please be at school!

"Like I said," Honda replied, shaking his head, "We've got no clue what Yuugi's thinking."

"I said that, not you!" Jounouchi said vehemently, rolling his eyes at Honda.

"Doesn't matter who said it," Honda said casually. "All I'm concerned about is what Yuugi's up to. I'm sure it's not bad, but still…"

Jounouchi shook his head. Honda was right; the way Yuugi acted the day before had completely baffled both of them. For a moment, he paused at the sewer canal next to them as Honda kept walking. It was where he had thrown Yuugi's puzzle piece when he was so angry with him. It was strange how the day after that kid had been bullied by those two and his puzzle piece was stolen, he had defended them from Ushio. As Jounouchi pondered a reason why, Yuugi's words echoed in his mind as he looked at it.

I can't do that to my friends, Ushio!

Jounouchi thought quietly for a moment…he remembered Yuugi saying something about a treasure when he was talking about the box he was holding. With an oath, he leapt over the edge of the canal and into the water and began wading through, keeping a close eye on the ground in the water below him.

Hearing the splash, Honda spun around and gawked at the sight that he saw. "Gah! What the crap are you doing, Jounouchi!?" Honda watched as he dipped underwater and came back up moments later, holding up a fragment of gold – something he recognized as the puzzle piece Jounouchi had tossed out the window the day before.

"Found it!" his friend cried in triumph, displaying the tiny gold piece like it was worth ten million yen.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Honda tossed a cloth onto him. "I normally handle dirty stuff around school, you know," He paused and winked at his friend, "So you owe me a new towel when you're done!"

Jounouchi, at first confused by Honda's words, didn't take long to figure out the meaning He glared at his friend in minor annoyance. "You cheapskate! That's not fair!"

Honda grinned. How typical of Jounouchi to act like that. When he looked up, however, he noticed Ushio walking nearby. And he wasn't alone. His smile instantly turned into a scowl. "Jounouchi…what's Yuugi doing here?"

Jounouchi, whom was climbing out of the water via the nearby ladder, swept his gaze to his friend immediately. "Yuugi's here?"

Honda nodded. "Yeah…and it looks like Ushio is with him."

The blonde quickly cleaned the golden puzzle piece and looked in the same direction as his brown-haired friend. He had a bad feeling about this. A very, very bad feeling.

"Had enough, Yuugi?" Ushio asked, somewhat angrily.

Yuugi had tried to avoid anyone if possible, but Ushio had noticed him right at the school gate. He didn't even have the money, and when he told Ushio of the situation, he was dragged off for an "education." In other words, Ushio was beating him up for not bringing the money.

Ushio's fist flew across Yuugi's face again, sending him into the wall before he then sank to the ground in pain. The puzzle, already tied to a rope as though it was a pendant, fell out of his backpack. He had only come to school to look for the missing piece. Instead, he was being bullied by someone whom had claimed to be protecting him.

"U…Ushio…" Yuugi stuttered.

"Fine," The bully snarled, beginning to turn away. "I'll have to teach you another lesson tomorrow if you fail again…"

"Hold it!"

Yuugi didn't have to look up to know who came, but he did anyway (but only barely) and was still surprised. That voice was familiar enough to him. Jounouchi…? Why's he here?

"Yuugi," Jounouchi said, for the first time sounding concerned, "You okay?"

After a moment, Yuugi managed to find his voice again. "I asked…the puzzle…for some true friends…" he said absently. Yuugi felt Jounouchi stand still for a moment, then something was pressed into the palm of his hand, and Jounouchi closed his fingers around it for him.

"Ushio!" Honda stated, sounding angry for the first time since Yuugi met him, "Until now, I actually respected you, but I guess I was mistaken. You've got no right to treat Yuugi like this."

Ushio gave a quiet "hmph" and turned to face the two other students fully. "You want to pick a fight with me? I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson, too!" The two boys lunged at Ushio, enraged at how he had betrayed Yuugi.

Ushio proved to be more than a match for both of them. Even as they fell, the boys still rose, adamant on getting back at Ushio for what they had done to Yuugi. Honda took a blow to his stomach, and was sent skidding to the ground. Jounouchi took a punch to the face and fell right next to his comrade.

"This is what you get for picking a fight with me," Ushio said, beginning to walk off. He laughed, striding away with smug victory the only thing on his mind.

Yuugi barely had the strength to move. Looking up, he knew Jounouchi and Honda would not be woken up after taking such a beating. He then remembered what Jounouchi had done; he had put something in his hand. When he opened it, his eyes widened at what he saw.

It was the missing piece to his puzzle.

With all the strength he could muster, Yuugi reached for his puzzle and slipped the final piece in. He had done it. He had solved the puzzle after eight futile years. Now, his wish would finally come true…

I only wished for friends…someone who would never betray me no matter what…

As the piece clicked into place, the puzzle began to pulse mysteriously. Yuugi's eyes widened in surprise as he felt something shift. The last thing he saw was a blinding flash of light…

So…it's time for a game.

Ushio felt an eerie breeze against his back. He spun around to see whose voice he had heard, but before he could react, he found himself tied to a rope, dangling from the top of the building he had been standing near just moments before. Before he could fall, he grabbed the rope, doing his best not to look below him. He never really had a fondness of heights. "Who's there?!" He demanded.

What he saw he did not expect. At first, it was just a dark figure standing above him. But from a strange pendant dangling from the person's neck came a strange golden light, and with that light came the voice's identity…a very, very familiar boy. The boy smirked. "Hello, Ushio."

Sure enough, there stood Yuugi Mutou, the little boy he had just bullied…but no, it couldn't be him! How was this Yuugi? His aura…it seemed more confident than before…and incredibly sinister. Even his stance had drastically changed. "What the…what the hell are you doing here?!"

The reply was simple, and Yuugi's dark smirk didn't even fade. "I brought you what you asked for."

Ushio's mood completely changed. "Ah, you brought it?" He asked happily. "If you had spoken up earlier I wouldn't have had to beat you up like that. Hand it over!"

"How boring."

Ushio blinked. "Wha-?!"

The smirk crept further up Yuugi's visage. "Just giving it to you…that's not any fun at all. No…how about we play a little game?"

"Game?" Ushio echoed.

"But not just any game," Yuugi replied. "It will be a Shadow Game."

Ushio laughed. "I haven't lost at a single game in my entire life. Shadow Game or no, I'll take you on!"

Yuugi looked highly amused. "Very well. Let's get started!" He leapt from his spot, in his hand a deck of playing cards that he spread in a smooth line down the dome. As he lowered equal to Ushio's level, a rope whipped into place. "The rules are simple," He began, "We take turns drawing cards from the line. You go up the number of steps indicated on the card. Your opponent, however, goes down. Whoever reaches the top wins the prize, in this case the money."

"Simple enough! I'll go first." Ushio drew a card. "Ten of Diamonds…looks like the odds are already in my favor!" He said in hopes of taunting Yuugi, and he climed.

Yuugi didn't lose his smirk as Ushio ascended. He drew a card. "A ten."

"What?!"

Yuugi deftly climbed back up. The game continued fiercely, with Ushio's glare becoming more and more intense. He had to win that money, but this was only a game of chance, or it seemed so far. He reached for a card and drew. "Two of spades!" He cried.

"We can't have that, now," Yuugi replied, as though he had done this all his life. He drew a card and showed it to his opponent. "Queen of Spades." He climbed.

But Ushio wasn't giving up, either. He did his best to keep a stern gaze as he drew turn after turn. Unfortunately for him, however, it wasn't long before he was dangling at the bottom of the dome. Doing his best to not look down, Ushio clung to the rope he was tied to desperately. Yuugi was high on the dome, almost to the prize.

"What's wrong, Ushio?" The boy taunted, his expression unchanging. "Running out of cards to draw?"

Ushio was furious. How could that little shrimp be taunting him?! He reached for the nearest card to him. "Shut up! The next card I draw is going to turn this…what?"

Yuugi grinned, knowing exactly what Ushio had drawn. "Too bad, Ushio. Joker is a miss in this game."

"What?!" The bully shouted, incredulous that Yuugi could see what was in his hand. "You fixed this from the beginning, didn't you? Don't screw with me, punk!"

Yuugi ignored him and drew his final card, an Ace of Diamonds. "Looks like I win."

"Shut up!" Ushio shouted as he began scrambling up the side of the building, his face etched deeply in a malevolent, greedy smirk.

Yuugi lifted an eyebrow, frowning at his adversary in somewhat mild disappointment. "Breaking the rules?" He inquired calmly. "If you cheat, you'll face a penalty, you know."

"I said shut up, you brat!" Ushio swiped his hand, sending Yuugi falling swiftly down the dome.

Yuugi just chuckled darkly. "I knew you couldn't follow the rules, Ushio."

Ushio barely heard him. He tore the rope in two, sending Yuugi to his doom. Laughing manically, he turned his attention back to the spire. Who needed some stupid game? It was just a waste of time! Now all the money was his! His hands tore the cash from their holding place, his greedy eyes gazing intently upon…

…a deck of playing cards?

The Door to Darkness has opened.

Ushio had little time to decipher the meaning of Yuugi's words. He felt the spire of the dome snap, and he was sent falling toward the water canal below.

A Shadow Game shows a person's true character. You will be swallowed by your own greed, Ushio…a fitting punishment for someone like you.

Ushio suddenly wasn't worried. He was only falling toward the water canal, he'd only get wet…but he didn't expect three great, monstrous worms to erupt from the water, their gaping maws open and reaching for him. The last thing he remembered from that night was his own ear-splitting scream…

Yuugi closed his locker gingerly, and then rubbed his eyes as he yawned. What a weird night…the last thing he remembered from the day before was helplessly watching Jounouchi and Honda being beaten up by Ushio, and he solved his puzzle with that one wish in his heart…and he had awoken in his bed at home, feeling incredibly tired for some reason. People were gossiping about how Ushio was found on the ground the next day in an enormous shock and was rushed to the hospital. His grandfather or maybe a friend of his must have found him and carried him home, but what could have possibly happened to Ushio…?

"Yuugi!"

The boy stopped in his tracks, the puzzle he had solved the night before dangling around his neck. In front of him was a bandaged, bruised, but definitely not broken Jounouchi. In fact, the boy was leaning casually against the wall. Yuugi smiled brightly. "Jounouchi! Good morning! Great to see you're okay."

Jounouchi nodded, smiling oddly. "Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?"

Yuugi nodded, deciding not to bring up the incident from the night before in case it agitated the blonde. "I'm doing great."

"By the way," Jounouchi said, apparently trying to suppress a chuckle and nodding to the puzzle tied around Yuugi's neck, "I'm following your example, so I brought my own treasure today."

"Cool!" Yuugi said eagerly. "Can I see it? Please?"

The blonde snickered at Yuugi's antic, but shook his head. "Sorry, no can-do."

This made Yuugi blink. Jounouchi hadn't seemed like bullying him this morning...what was he up to?

"You can see it, but you can't," Jounouchi continued, "So I can't show it to you!"

Now Yuugi wasn't confused…he was completely dumbfounded. Jounouchi was repeating the riddle he had tried to solve for eight years. "What do you mean?"

"It's friendship," the blonde said at last. "We can see it in each other…but you can't see friendship itself, right?"

Yuugi smiled. His wish really had come true. Jounouchi, on the other hand, was feeling incredibly foolish. His face twisted oddly in a half-grin half-frown, and it began turning red at a considerable pace. He turned away quickly. "A-anyway, class is starting! Let's go before we're late!" He took off running so quickly his sneaker flew completely off his foot. Yuugi followed closely after his friend, but not quite in pursuit.

"Wait up, Jounouchi! Your shoe!"

WOOT! That was fun.

EDIT NOTES: I had a great time re-writing this, and I really hope it's better...especially if it's got about 2,000 more words... Also, when I wrote about "someone who used to own the game shop," I almost wrote "someone who used to pwn the game shop" instead. Cracked me up when I envisioned that, but I caught it in time. That would have been funny if I left it in there. I also was about to have Honda and Jounouchi lunch at Ushio instead of lunge at him. I had a weird picture in my head for that one. XD