Hello everyone. It's me again.

I'd originally planned to publish this story last year, but...well. You know.

ANYway, that aside, this is my first crossover fic! Whoohoo! And my first attempt at Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic! This fic was inspired by Murinae's story Driven, a crossover fic between Hikaru no Go and Death Note. If you haven't read it, you should. Murinae doesn't know I exist, but I still thank you from the bottom of my muse's heart.

This will be a multi-chapter story, although each chapter will be further split into smaller parts. Each chapter can be their own standalone story with different characters from each manga, but they all occur in the same universe (just at different times), so I decided to group them together under one title. If there are spoilers in a particular chapter, I will warn you beforehand. You don't have to know too much about either manga to be able to follow this story, but the more you know, the more 'tidbits' you'd be able to pick up. For example, kudos to those who know where this story's title comes from.

I've done my research thoroughly before writing this story, but if you find any inconsistencies or mistakes, please feel free to let me know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go or Yu-Gi-Oh. Hey, that rhymes!


It's Time to Play a Game
by ten

Chapter 1: Meeting a Stranger (Part 1)

The bell on the door tinkled, and Harumi Ichikawa looked up from the magazine she'd been reading.

"Oh, hello. I mean, welcome to the Go Salon!" She gave the person a cheerful smile, trying to hide her nervousness. In truth, she'd only been the Go salon's cashier for a week, and she'd desperately needed the job despite one of her friend's attempts at scaring her, saying that 99% of the customers were old, perverted men. But so far, nothing bad happened, and she hoped it would stay that way.

One thing her friend was right about was the demographic of the salon's customers, which was further proved by the customer standing in front of her – a man quite short even for the average Japanese man, but with round, curious eyes that wrinkled pleasantly at the corners. He was at least in his late fifties, but the sparkle in his eyes made him look a little younger.

"Hello. My, they hire such pretty girls for front desk jobs nowadays, eh?" He chuckled, making Harumi shudder inwardly. Perhaps her friend was right…? But before she could respond, she saw a head peek out from behind the old man's legs and was greeted by—

"EEEEEEEEEEE! He's so cuuuuteee!" She leaned over the counter to take a closer look, causing the child to duck behind his temporary 'refuge'. The man burst out laughing and stepped aside.

"Now now, Yugi. Say hi to the lovely girl."

The boy still had a hand clutched to the older man's pants, but squeaked out a 'hello!' before ducking his head in nervousness. In that brief moment, Harumi caught the big, violet eyes, untameable hair and chubby cheeks and her heart just melted.

"Awwwwwwww. Don't be shy, Yugi-kun. Here – have a candy." She took a candy from the stash she usually reserved for her other 'cute pet' and offered it to the kid, who just glanced at it before ducking again.

"Sorry about that. My grandson's a little nervous around strangers, but I'm sure he'll warm up to you soon enough…Ichikawa-san." The old man peered at her nametag to make sure he'd gotten her name right before straightening up. "Anyway. Is Touya-kun – err, Touya-san here?"

She blinked at the request. Did this guy want to challenge one of the greatest Go players in Japan?

"He's attending a Go function at the moment, but he said he'd drop by at around four today. What do you need him for?"

The man's face fell a little before smiling again.

"Ah. He used to be a student of mine, and I wanted to surprise him – I live in Domino City and just happened to be visiting the area. He's done pretty well for himself, I must say." He chuckled, though Harumi was surprised at this. Was this the man who taught Touya Meijin how to play Go?

"Well, if you want to meet him you could wait here. Maybe play a couple of games with the other customers." She gestured to the half-full lounge. "When he comes, I'll let him know that…umm…"

"Mutou. Let him know that a Mutou is waiting for him." He felt a tug on his pants, which made him laugh. "Actually, make that two Mutous."

"Sure! Please write your name here, and your Go level next to it."

The older Mutou scribbled on the form and clinked several coins onto the counter with the air of a seasoned player.

"Thank you Ichikawa-san! And keep the change!" With that, Mutou-san headed towards the other customers with Yugi-kun trailing behind him.

Since he sounded really eager to play, Harumi sighed and didn't stop him to insist on returning the extra money. She'd wanted to waive Yugi-kun's fee since she was pretty sure he wouldn't be playing. He seemed too young to know how to play such a complicated game, and besides, even if he did he'd be too shy to play against a stranger.

She hummed. She was sure Akira-kun would tag along with his father later on, and it would be nice for the Go-crazy boy to befriend someone his own age for once. Hanging around all these old geezers all the time surely wasn't good for any kid, plus it would be absolutely adorable to see two cuties play against one another!

She giggled, eyes watching the spiky crimson-tipped hair as it bobbed after the older Mutou.

-To be continued-


Don't worry; I will post part 2 right now. It seemed better when I made part 1 its own 'chapter'.