Ranko: Hey guys, so I know that I should probably be updating on my other stories, but this is something that has been on my mind for a while.

Yuugi: You see, there are a lot of questions in the Shadow Game series that were brought up and never answered, and will probably never be answered.

Yami: So Ranko created this one-shot to answer one of those questions.

Ranko: For reference, this one-shot is set in a time that is long before the time in the Shadow Game story.

Yuugi: Ranko twin does not own anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh or the Forbidden Game series, both belong to their respected creators; this is a non-profit story.

Ranko: Enjoy! I hope that you guys like it! By the way, this one-shot will be entering a contest to create your own themed prompt challenge hosted by Unattainable Dreams, deadline is July 1st. If you are interested in the contest, please PM Unattainable Dream or look on her profile! On with the story!

-/-

A group of dark-cloaked men formed a tight circle around a pile of ashes. They were all very tall and lanky. Their clothes were a heavy black color and as it reached the ends, it became wispy like a gas. They had hoods pulled over their heads, so far down that it shadowed their faces.

They all held a long burning candle that was dripping wax onto their paper white hands that were the only part of their body that was showing. They were chanting something under their breath that seemed to be in a different language.

There was one voice, ancient and wise, that spoke out above the chanting. "Rise, my brother, rise from the pain and despair."

As he said this, the candles they were holding burst to life. The flames jumped up, higher than they should, and in the flames one could see figures dancing. The pile of ashes began to rise and twist, as if they were caught in a twister.

"Come to this side, my brother, do not be afraid! Rise and be burn again! Ashes to ashes; Light to Shadows!"

The twister of ashes froze and then fell. Before the ashes could hit the floor, they formed into a human body, or something that appeared to be human. The body in the middle of the circle of runes was shivering and was covered in a fine layer of silvery ash.

The body in the middle of the circle, a boy, was unearthly pale. His limbs were thin and weak, and his unnatural hair was brought up in three points.

Two of the hooded figures broke the circle to bring a cloak to the small child. They dropped it over his bare body and helped him to his feet, facing him towards their leader, the only who spoke the chant.

"Welcome to your new life, brother." One could hear the smile in his voice but it just make the small boy flinch. "You have been born anew to be a Shadow Man. You were created through the anguish that once resided in your human heart. Now tell us your name."

The boy was silent as he kept his head down and continued to shiver, from fear or the icy coldness in this realm. He muttered something barely coherent and the hooded man before him said, "Speak up, boy."

"I said that I do not remember my name, sir," the boy said, his voice like the sound of chimes in the wind.

Excited whispering followed the boy's response; something like this had never happened before. Their leader quickly silenced them with a wave of his hand. "Do you remember anything from your previous life, boy?"

"No sir," the small boy said.

The leader just stared at the boy from under the hood of his cloak, trying to come up with a solution to this problem. The leader lifted the boy's head with a withered hand and every Shadow Man saw the boy's distinct crimson eyes.

"Until you have remembered your name, you shall go by the name of Slifer, after one of our Shadow gods. Do you understand me, Slifer?"

"Yes, sir," the boy, Slifer, said silently.

"And from now on, you will address me as 'father.'"

Slifer gulped. "Alright…father."

Slifer wasn't supposed to enjoy the light, or color, or humans, but he found all of it so fascinating that he couldn't help but study it. It had been many years since his birth as a Shadow Man and he had learned many rules of their race.

They were predators. They stayed in the dark, away from human view and kept their faces concealed in shadow and darkness. Slifer was supposed to accept that but he was just so drawn to the light.

If father were to ever find out that he used the rune of Uruz to travel between worlds then Slifer would killed immediately. It was forbidden of a Shadow Man of his age to travel between worlds and use runes. Many years had passed since Slifer's birth but it did not appear that he had aged at all. The only way a Shadow Man could age was by how much dark magic they collected.

Slifer would never age and become powerful if he continued to travel to the human world to laugh and play in the sun. He loved to run in the fields and admire the bright flowers. He liked to lie in the tall grass and watch the clouds float by. Any human who would ever see him, which was highly unlikely, would just see a young boy enjoying a beautiful day; they would never realize the darkness that was within.

He spent his days in a field in the human world that was never visited because of how far out it was from the city. So imagine Slifer's surprise when he went to his field and heard the soft sound of someone singing. It was gentle and small, like a child's voice, and it was beautiful.

It was clear as bells and as pure as the snow whenever it fell in the winter. Slifer had decided that he liked the snow and ice better in the human world than the ice that was constant in the Shadow Realm.

The singing was beautiful but it also alarmed Slifer. What was a human doing out here? Ignoring his better judgment, he followed the sweet sound of singing.

What he found was a little boy, who could not be any older than six. He was sitting in the tall grass among the wild flowers as he sung his little tune to himself. The boy was small and delicate, like the flowers that matched his magenta eyes. His skin looked smooth and flawless, like porcelain, and he looked like one of the fairies that father told him were enemies to the Shadow Men.

The boy was beautiful.

Slifer stood there admiring the small boy longer than he thought he did, because suddenly, the little one looked up at him. They made eye contact and the boys gem like eyes widened in surprise.

"Who are you?"

Slifer recognized the language the boy spoke in, it was Japanese, one of the first languages he learned to speak fluently whenever he was born as a Shadow Man.

The Japanese boy stood up, the wreath of flowers that Slifer had not noticed was on the boy's lap fell to the ground. The beautiful boy took a step towards Slifer and the young Shadow Man flinched away.

The fairy boy looked hurt. "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you."

Slifer hated how beautiful the boy was and the way he made Slifer's chest constrict.

"What's your name?" the fairy boy asked.

Slifer was taken aback by this; what should he say? "Uh, I don't really have one." It was sort of the truth. Slifer is not his real name, it was a name given to him by father until he remembered his human name.

The fairy boy looked puzzled. "How can you not have a name? Everyone has a name!" he argued.

Slifer just shrugged.

"Can I call you Yami?" the boy asked, suddenly looking very excited.

Two whole minutes Slifer has known this boy and he suddenly gives him a name, as if they have known each other as long as Slifer has been alive, which was very unlikely.

"Why?" Slifer asked. Yami meant 'darkness' in Japanese, which was strangely fitting, but he wanted to know the reason the boy gave it to him; it made him nervous to think that the boy might know who, or what, he was.

The fairy boy shrugged. "I don't know, I have always liked the name Yami, I guess."

Slifer hated to repeat himself but he had to ask again, "Why?"

The boy giggled; it made Slifer's face turn red for some reason. "Because, the shadows and the dark are always there, but the light fades and leaves. The darkness is a constant and I find it comforting."

Slifer's face turned an even brighter red after this confession; he felt strangely honored now. "Alright, you can call me Yami."

So Slifer, or Yami now, and the fairy boy played in the field all day together. Yami had never realized how lonely he was in the Shadow Realm until he spent all day in the sun with this happy boy. He didn't want to go back to that loneliness after experiencing this feeling of being with someone.

The day passed quickly and soon the sun was setting over the horizon; it was time for both boys to return home. The voice of a mature woman called for the boy, and Yami's first friend looked sad that he had to leave.

"Will you play with me tomorrow?" the fairy asked.

Yami smiled. "Sure, I'll see you then."

The boy smiled and took off down the hill. Yami suddenly remembered something and called after the boy. "Wait, what's your name?"

The boy stopped and turned around. He smiled brightly at Yami and called back, "Suguroku! My name is Suguroku!"

Unfortunately, Yami could not keep his promise to his new friend, Suguroku. When he returned to the Shadow Realm, he was greeted by father, who had used his new name.

"Why, hello, Yami."

Yami was beaten and tortured for weeks, not only for illegally leaving the Shadow Realm and using runes, but also for associating with a being that was far worse than the fairies. Suguroku was of the Shadow Hunter origin. Shadow Men hated fairies because they were happy and bright, the opposite of Shadow Men. But Shadow Hunters killed Shadow Men and contained them.

Yami watched Suguroku come to the field everyday to see if Yami would appear and then be disappointed and return home for years. He watched Suguroku through the Mirror, a magical device that allowed him to glimpse at any place he wished from the human world, as the boy grew into a young man and then an adult, while Yami never aged. Then he stopped showing up one day. He assumed the man either died or moved away.

Then one day, Suguroku, his old friend and probably the first person he ever had feelings for, returned as an old man. By his side were a young man and a young woman; in the woman's arms was a newborn baby. The baby had the most gorgeous amethyst eyes he had ever seen and Yami felt that rush of warmth in his chest the way he did when he first saw Suguroku as a child.

He decided he would grow and become strong for that child, because that beauty would be his and he would love him.

When Yami saw the boy again, he saw those beautiful amethyst eyes wide with terror after he had opened the closet door that had contained them for years.

"Mystery."

Yuugi stopped dead in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. The boy was staring at Yuugi with a strange glint in his eyes. Like he was staring at something that was just out of reach.

"Danger. Seduction. Fear."

Now Yuugi turned around fully, the way the boy talked was mesmerizing.

"Secrets revealed. Desires unveiled."

Yuugi took a step towards the boy and stopped when the taller of the two pronounced the last word carefully, huskily.

"Temptation."

Ryou sucked in a breath and looked between the mysterious boy and Yuugi. "I-it's him, the paper doll, the-the…"

"The Shadow Man," Mai growled out. Yami winked at Mai like they were old pals. "One of them anyway."

The boy nodded his head, as if agreeing with Mai.

Jounouchi barked out a laugh. All eyes turned towards him, a pair of crimson eyes narrowed. "No, seriously, pull the other one." Jou laughed again. "Who are you really?" Jou asked.

Honey brown met blood red.

The boy smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "You can call me Yami."

'Darkness,' Yuugi thought.

Jounouchi tried to hold back his laughter. "Is that really your name?"

"Watch it, Jounouchi," Mai warned.

Already narrow eyes became slits. "It's as good a name as any."

Here, he wasn't afraid of Yami.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?"

Scratch that.

Yuugi's breath caught in his throat and his blood ran cold, like ice in his veins. He didn't want to turn around, he didn't want to face him. This was his safe place, he wasn't aloud here. Why was he here?

Ignoring his mind's warning, his body disobeyed and turned around. It was like everything was in slow motion. And then the two were facing each other like that day in the game shop when Yuugi first met him.

The gothic punk. The cute salesman. The boy with the predator gleam in his eyes. The mysterious boy that sold him the Game. The one who said, "At nine."

Yami.

Yuugi's dance partner stopped for the first time and stared into Yuugi's horrified, amethyst eyes. He removed the mask and a familiar face was revealed underneath. He was smirking, earlier that night; Yuugi couldn't put his finger on where he had seen that smirk before. Now he remembered…

"Long time, no see, love," Yami said.

"Attention, park-goers," a hauntingly familiar voice said through the megaphone. It was shocking to hear any sound in the thick silence and that voice was not one that Yuugi wanted to hear. It couldn't be…

"This is your friendly Shadow Man speaking. I ask that you have fun in Wonderland Park and explore!"

Anzu whimpered and looked around everywhere for where the source of the voice may be coming from.

Before the voice could say anything more, Yuugi yelled, "Enough of this, show yourself Yami and let's play your stupid little Game! And I want my friends back! That's the whole reason we're here, right?"

There was a slight pause before the voice said, "All in good time, little one." And then the transmitter clicked off and they were left alone again in silence.

Oh, God, there was no way…

"Ragnarok," said a musical voice, like water running against stone, "means both a rain of dust and the end of the world. To the people who discovered the runes, I mean. Don't you think that is interesting?"

"...Yami."

-/-

Ranko: And that, my dear readers, was my attempt at a one-shot. It showed how Yami was born as a Shadow Man, how he got his name, and a montage of some of my favorite moments of Yami being a jackass/badass through all three stories in this series.

Yami: I used to like Yuugi's grandpa? (shudder)

Ranko: Hey! He was cute when he was a kid!

Yuugi: Anyway, please review and tell us what you think! Tell us some of your favorite moments of Yami being a jackass/badass in any of the three stories!