It had been hours since Sugoroku had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room. Domino had been hit by a freak snow storm since early last night. It was all over the TVs and radio stations- and outside in general. Ever since then the streets had been blanketed in long stretches of white. Cars were buried. People couldn't get out of their homes, but at least the power had seemed to hold well enough. Lots of statements had been made about staying inside your house (as if people could get out anyway) and keeping warm. Not just Domino, but Japan, was in a state of emergency. So of course it was the perfect time to turn on the news, look at pictures of the snow that could easily be viewed outside, and fall asleep.
Yuugi had been out doing who-knows-what the night previous, so he wasn't home at the time. He'd at least gotten a hold of his grandson to make sure he was alright. Yuugi's mother had been quite insistent that they find out where he was and make sure he was okay. But good ol' Jii-chan knew better. Yuugi had been all over the world. He'd seen things that no normal person would ever get to in their lives. Wherever he was, his grandpa was sure that he was doing fine.
...it didn't hurt to get a little confirmation over the phone, though. But that's what made it so easy to take a nap on the couch, after all. He didn't have to worry that his grandson was hurt or trapped underneath the snow somewhere. Goodness knows that even with that ridiculous hair of his, if the snow hit over five and a half feet, the kid would be buried completely! Thankfully Yuugi's cell phone had been answered rather swiftly and the two guardians were greeted to tons of 'I'm okay! Really!'. It was reassuring enough for grandpa.
That cloud of peace was swiftly interrupted some time in the late afternoon with the shrill ring of the shop's phone. The old man jolted from his spot on the couch, looking around to try and find the source of trouble. He wasn't very pleased when he realized he had to abandon his warm and comfy position to get up. His bones cricked loudly while his muscles twitched as he got to his feet. In order to try and shut off the offending sound he shuffled just about as fast as he could towards the head of the shop.
Who could possibly be calling now?
The phone was rather angrily ripped from its spot on the wall as he placed it to his face, pouting even then. "This is the Kame Game Shop, but I'm going to tell you right now! We're closed until further notice! I know gaming is rather important, but even with this storm it's impossible to get deliveries! So I'd suggest that you just stay in your home and keep warm!" He began to babble without even realizing it, going on some tangent about keeping safe even as he was still annoyed.
"O-oh! G-g-good! Final-lly!" A rather cold and trembling voice answered from the other end of the phone. The old man could barely place who it was.
"Whoever this is I hope you're not standing outside or anything! It's not like I can even open the door..." Those crazy kids and their need for their games. He really would have felt bad if someone had trudged all the way out in the snow and was waiting for him to open shop.
There was a sneeze on the other end before the person continued. "N-no! I'mm looking for Y-Yuugi. This is h-his ho-house right?"
"Say, don't I know who this is..." The elder began, tone edging off in a low hum as he tried to think of who was talking to him at the moment. "You sound familiar..."
There was a loud burst of annoyance. "Please! I need to know where Yuugi is! This is Ryota Kajiki!" The words when angry were all perfectly pronounced.
But the old man seemed to ignore the rather irked tone that they were spat in in favor of snapping his finger and grinning. "Ah, yes! The fish duelist, right? How have you been? I don't think I've heard from you in quite some time... What brings the call now?" A short laugh rumbled through his chest, shaking his tummy.
Ryota tried to keep his calm air about him. He suddenly sensed he wasn't going to get anywhere by getting angry. "L-like I said! I need to talk to Yuugi. Is he around?"
Sugoroku scratched his beard. "Mn, no... sorry about that. He's out doing- ...something." Though they had called his grandson, Yuugi hadn't exactly been very descriptive as to what he'd been up to. Now the old man was curious. Perhaps he'd call Yuugi and ask...
"Sh-shoot. I really need to talk to him." He sounded defeated, maybe even a little scared.
It was then that the man finally picked up on the urgency and strangeness of the call and became mildly concerned. "What's the matter now?" He tried.
"The sn-snow storm that hit Ja-Japan."
Grandpa just started laughing. "Yes! It is quite something, isn't it? But of course this is really nothing compared to when I was a boy, you know." He was about to go off on a huge tangent about his youth.
Thankfully, Ryota wasn't about to let him. "I need his help!"
This didn't seem so out of the ordinary. Everyone at some point seemed to need to lean on Yuugi. "Is that so? For what?"
"The sn-sn-snow storm. It was so b-bad that it froze the e-entire ocean! I-I'm stuck in the middle of a sheet of i-ice right now!"
The elder started nodding as the younger talked. "Mn. Is that so? Yeah, it really is ba- Wait a minute! What did you just say? FROZE THE OCEAN?" The over exaggeration rang across the phone as he held it tightly. "That's impossible!"
"You'd th-think so, but I re-really need help..." The forlorn tone was accidental, but he was started to become nervous that he really wouldn't be able to make it out of this one. "My r-reserves are g-g-gone. And I c-can't move. I ca-can't even fish like th-this."
Sugoroku frowned from his end. And yet he suddenly became skeptical. "Wait a minute, what is it you want Yuugi to do, exactly?" Though Yuugi was good for lots of things and did his very best to help everyone all the time, the old man couldn't really see anything his grandson could do by rushing to help in this case.
There was a long pause over the phone and for a moment, the elder swore he could hear teeth chattering. "I don't know." Ryota finally said. He had just had a feeling that Yuugi would be able to help him for one reason or another. Now when he was under scrutiny, he wasn't exactly sure why that was anymore.
Grandpa felt bad then, scratching his beard once more as he thought. "Hmm... well, Yuugi is friends with that Kaiba fellow." He said, perking up a little. "Perhaps he could get him to help out somehow." If anyone could, it was Yuugi! His grandfather had tons of faith in him!
"R-really? Th-that's great!" The boy's spark came back to his voice and he was filled with hope.
"Sure, sure. Now let me give you his number. ...ah- but you need to do me a favor in return." He said suddenly, a glimmer in his eyes as he leaned over the counter.
Another short pause before- "...what favor?" Suddenly he was unsure.
"Ask Yuugi what he's up to when you call, okay?"
Was it really that simple? "...sure?"
Sugoroku smiled. "Good! Good. ...also you have to buy your next fifty booster packs at Kame Game Shop!"
"NOW ISN'T THE TIME FOR THAT!"
"Heh-heh! Agree or I'll let you freeze!" The old man threatened.
A groan came from the end of the line. "F-fine! I promise!"
Grandpa immediately started laughing. Maybe he hadn't been so serious about it, but now that he'd gotten the okay, he was already feeling good about today. Now all he had to do was remember Yuugi's cell phone number.