-Prologue-
Yugi Mouto after graduating high school, remained a top competitor in many important duel monster's competitions. Wishing to avoid a suit over no payment due for the King of Games (despite the title being given to an certain pharaoh), Seto Kaiba, reluctantly, footed the bill for each match Yugi participated or appeared in. Yugi's name and title brought good publicity and integrity to his company as a plus. Yugi had a good run as King of Games.
However, after fifteen or so years on the throne, he stepped down around the age of thirty. The greatest reason being was parenthood. Deciding, albeit with some of familial pressures, when He and Anzu had their little girl a few years back, it was more important to be responsible father and not a champion and King of Games. Having a history and anthropology degree, with some connections,Yugi was able to obtain a job as an Egyptian curate for the Domino Museum. Sometime after Grandpa Mouto's death,Yugi also took on the game shop. Neither job paid as big as dueling, but, it was plenty enough for a small family. As the years of not dueling flew by, Yugi settled into the role of being a father. Juggling the stress and struggles of two jobs and his preschool daughter, Merit,Yugi took each day with his usual can do attitude, caring ,and commitment to his daughter. Anzu however, didn't quiet settle down as quietly as her Duel Monsters champion partner.
Despite having fewer dancing opportunities being older and pregnant, her past American misadventures came back to haunt her. While Yugi never judged Anzu's past mistakes and poor choices, he couldn't keep quiet when reading the gossip articles. Each day was a topic surrounding her alcoholism, steroid use and possible lawsuit involving the loss of intellectual and company property. Yugi worried for Merit's future and the possible harassment from other people. He begged and asked Anzu to seek help for her problems. Anzu refused. Not wanting to let motherhood be the reason she quit her dream, she wanted to show Merit that hard work and commitment could achieve her dreams.
Yugi pressured her still. Nothing he said or did worked towards getting Anzu to quit. Neither was Yugi able to shield Merit from her watching her dancing star mother from becoming the biggest dancing flop during a football tournament. To his horror, Merit watched live from an American Football game, Anzu collapsed and passed out. Later, it was said that Anzu died on stage. Anzu's cause of death was a blood clot to her brain caused by her mixing medications and overdose. Yugi's heart couldn't have weighed any heavier when losing Anzu and having Merit watch her mother collapse publically.
It doesn't matter how many goodbyes he would say or smiles or laughs in the memory of those he lost. The pain of loss stung deeply for Yugi. On the day Anzu was cremated, Joey and Honda now policemen. banished any and all paparazzi from the funeral for Anzu. People came to give their prayers. Mai, Bakura, Ryuji, Shizuka (Joey's sister) and even Mokuba with his kid,Noah. Yugi never forget the expression on Merit's face whose world shrunk from the loss of her mother, he felt like such a failure. The most shocking part of the whole thing was that Merit never cried. From the moment she watched her mother pass suddenly on live television to having her picture set up on the family alter. Not a single tear. Yugi tried to speak to Merit after the funeral,she wouldn't say a word. The day after, he stood in front of the family alter and let out a sob. Yugi felt alone, unsure of what to do next, Merit seemed distant and quiet, deep down his stomach flopped and did backflips to his feet as did his heart. He was an emotional wreck. In his sorrowful stance, he Remembering what an old friend once told him.
"Get up Yugi. A champion shouldn't be on his knees…."
It was a rough thing to say to himself after all that happened, but, he needed to move on with life. Accept what happened and try to make every day as normal again for Merit. Even if Anzu wasn't the perfect mother, Merit was important. Her life was only beginning. He was going to be the best father he could. Stand there when she needed him, be the parent that would prepare her for life later on, but also cheer her on when she needs the words and the encouragement to hear them. He wasn't stupid in thinking that it would be easy being a single parent, but, for Merit he was willing to do anything for. She was worth it.
