Disclaimer: Both Yu-Gi-Oh and Beyblade do not belong to me. If they did, they would be combined for the ultimate laughs.
Dedication: To Aletha! Thank you for telling m to write this and for being such a great friend. Also, for getting me into Beyblade. This story wouldn't have happened without you.
"Ugh…"
Again, the pieces just didn't fit.
Yuugi Mutou frowned and ran his hands through his hair roughly, looking at all the golden pieces; his mind trying to find how all the pieces could fit together. He had no idea what shape the puzzle would become, there was no example to go by. It made it more challenging and more frustrating.
It was a puzzle nobody had ever been able to solve. Found during an excavation of an ancient Egyptian tomb; it was rumored that everybody there had died, although Yuugi didn't believe it. But a need to solve it was always there and he was never sure why. It could have been because you were granted a wish once you put the puzzle together. But his wish had already come true. He had always wanted to wish for a true friend, but he had friends now. Anzu, Jounouchi-kun, and Honda-kun. He no longer had a wish and he really didn't need anything. His life was fine and he was happy. Why make a wish when you had everything you needed?
With a sigh, he picked up two pieces and studied them carefully. He still wanted to solve the puzzle, though.
"Yuugi! Anzu and Jounouchi are waiting for you!"
Blinking, the boy looked at his clock before seeing that he should have been ready ten minutes before. Time had escaped him again as he had worked on the puzzle. He cursed silently to himself while pulling his clothes on as quickly as he could while simultaneously dumping things into his backpack. Running out of his room quickly before running back in just as fast.
"Can't believe--ack!" He dumped the puzzle pieces on his desk into their golden box, and placing that inside his backpack as well before running back out of his room once again. Then--"Forgot--!" He dashed back into his room, to his desk to pick up the other item he had forgotten: his beyblade. He smiled at it before putting it into his backpack. This time, he took another moment to try to remember if he had forgotten anything else important--
"Yuugi! Hurry! They're still waiting!"
"Sorry!" He kept repeating the word as he ran down the stairs that led to the game shop. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" He waved good-bye to his grandfather before running outside where his friends were waiting for him.
"Finally, Yuugi! I was beginning to think you forgot all about your best buds," Jounouchi joked, wrapping his arm around his friend's shoulder as they walked to school. "What took you so long anyway?"
"I was working on the puzzle again," Yuugi explained, his breathing a little hard from running so much in such a little time. "Sorry for keeping you guys waiting."
Anzu smiled. "Stop it with the apologizing already. It's not like you had us waiting for that long anyway."
"But you're still working on that damn thing?" Jounouchi asked, and at Yuugi's nod, he scowled. "Why? I mean, how long you been working on that puzzle anyway? Maybe it's broken or something. You're awesome at that kind of stuff and you've never even gotten close to solving that thing! I'd give it up."
"It's not broken! It's just a really hard puzzle, that's all. Even Grandpa never got close to putting it together." It was true, too. Sugoroku had said he never even got two pieces put together. He had tried for two years before giving up, realizing it was out of his own level. But Yuugi had been putting together difficult puzzles at an early age and Sugoroku had said that if anybody could solve it, it had to be him. "I have to solve it because Grandpa never did, you know?"
"Not really," Jounouchi answered truthfully, causing Yuugi to frown.
Anzu made her way in between the two boys, glaring at the blonde. "Of course you wouldn't know. You couldn't solve anything like that even if your life was on the line." She ignored the protests that followed right after to look at Yuugi again. "Do you think you're close?"
"Well…" He had thought he was close so any times, before being stumped once again and his confidence on the matter plummeting once again. He had been at it for seven years now and not any closer. Like his grandfather, he had not managed to even put together two of the pieces. "I don't know." He decided to give a straightforward answer.
"That's okay. You can do it. I know you can," she replied honestly, causing Yuugi to blush and look away, hoping the girl couldn't see how she had affected him.
"Okay! Okay! Enough of this gushy crap!" Jounouchi said, interrupting the moment again to squeeze in between Yuugi and Anzu. "I'm sick of hearing about unsolvable puzzles. Let's talk about something that's actually important. Yuugi, you got your beyblade with you, right?"
Anzu rolled her eyes, wondering how a top could be anymore important than an ancient Egyptian artifact. It just seemed the latter would interest somebody more than just her. It came from over a thousand years ago! How could a measly beyblade be more interesting than something like that?
"Yep!" Yuugi answered excitedly, showing Jounouchi his beyblade, the matter of the puzzle being pushed to the back of his mind for later. His own beyblade was colored a dark violet that he called Magician. He worked on it himself. Buying the parts and studying how to make it faster and stronger, cherishing every moment he spent on his beyblade. It was like a friend to him.
"Great! Think we can have a battle at lunch? Worked on my blade for a little while last night and I think I'll finally be able to beat you."
Beyblading had become the world's most popular game in just less than ten years. It was Yuugi's favorite, along with just about everybody else's in the world as well. A game which involved tops called beyblades, which was where the name came from-- and trying to knock your opponent's beyblade out of the stadium. It was challenging, but fun. It was no shock it was so popular. Yuugi had heard schools all over were popping up to teach kids how to play the game.
"I don't understand what the big deal is about beyblading," Anzu said, voicing the same opinion she always did when it came to the game her best friends seemed obsessed with. She had her own, of course, and she had played the game. It was fun, but it wasn't the greatest thing she had ever played. Luckily, Honda, who also played, wasn't obsessed with beyblading either. "I mean, it's just a top."
"Just a top?" Jounouchi repeated, almost as if he couldn't believe the words he had just heard. "It's more than just that! It's a sport! It requires skills and a good mind, too! You gotta be quick on your feet and make sure you know what the other guy's gonna do! It's more than just a top. Psh, just a top," he muttered to himself, saying the words as if they were disgusting.
"Skills and a good mind?" Anzu repeated dryly before smiling. "So that's why you always lose," she teased and Jounouchi took the bait and began defending himself, and Yuugi tried to make him feel better. Same old, same old. But that was fine with Yuugi because as far as he was concerned, his life was perfect. He had his family, friends, and beyblading. There was nothing else he needed.
Except solving that puzzle would have been nice.
----
"So, you and Jounouchi are going to battle, right?" Honda asked, walking over to Yuugi's desk for their lunch break. At Yuugi's nod, Honda looked over to Jounouchi, who had just walked up to Yuugi's desk as well.
"And this time, I'm going to win!" Jounouchi grinned, confidence exuding from him.
"Dream on. Yuugi's beaten you every time." Honda said as he wrapped his arm around Jounouchi in a harmless hold. It was his job to try to knock some sense into his friend, who definitely needed it sometimes. To help keep him grounded. "Give it up. Yuugi's the best in the school, there's no way you are ever going to beat him. You've never even gotten close to it."
Yuugi decided to stay quiet this time, looking out the window uncomfortably. He really hated when they started talking like this. It wasn't as if Jounouchi was a bad beyblader. He just needed work. And there had been a few times Yuugi had had to think a little quickly to avoid being knocked out of the beyblading dish because of him. Jounouchi definitely had it in him to become a great beyblader.
Without anybody noticing, Honda's words had sparked interest in somebody who had been sitting in the back, reading a book quietly. He smirked in interest and watched the scene from a safe difference. The best in the school? It was clear it was a friend's overconfident opinion and definitely not the truth. After all, the best in school was already taken. Not to mention the best in the entire country, most likely world. But nobody seemed to really notice him and so he continued to study the situation, wondering how it would turn out.
"What kind of friend are you?!" Jounouchi yelled as he got out of the hold his friend had on him. "I'll win! Come on, I'll show you all right now!" With that, he started to stomp out of the room going to the roof where there'd probably already be beyblade dishes ready to use. Yuugi followed behind, grabbing his beyblade out of his pocket while Honda and Anzu were behind him, knowing what the outcome would be. It was always the same anyway.
----
There had already been a crowd up on the roof beyblading--as usual-- and one group had had no problem letting Yuugi and Jounouchi borrow their dish. Actually, they had seemed excited for them to use it.
"See Yuugi beyblade? Sure, use it. I love watching him battle. It's like watching a professional without having to pay to see it."
Yuugi had felt embarrassed at the compliment and had thanked him modestly. Jounouchi had frowned, noticing he hadn't been included. He pulled out his beyblade with new determination. He would just have to prove he was supposed to be included. He could be just as good as Yuugi, maybe even better.
"No offense, Yuugi, but I got to beat you," Jounouchi said.
Yuugi smiled and shook his head. "No, I hope you do. You have to try to win every time. And it isn't like I'm really as great as they make me sound anyway. I'm nowhere near a professional."
Jounouchi sighed, not knowing why his friend couldn't accept that he really was an amazing beyblader. He really could start a professional career with it if he really wanted, which he always said he didn't. It was just for fun, he said. But it didn't matter. Yuugi was still a pro at the sport. It was the reason why he wanted to beat him. If he did, it showed that he was just as great. Although he wasn't sure why, he still felt that if he beat Yuugi, it still didn't solve anything. That there was more to his problem than just a lack of skill. But that was something to ponder over later, after he beat Yuugi.
They readied their beyblades over the dish. Jounouchi hoped he'd practiced enough that he'd be able to get it in the dish at least. He could remember all the times he hadn't gotten it into the dish, and making everybody laugh at him. He didn't need that humiliation for today, not when he had just stated he was going to beat Yuugi with as much as confidence he had given.
"Go shoot!"
Luckily, the beyblade did end up in the dish. So far, so good.
The first attack Jounouchi made was easily dodged by Yuugi's beyblade with a skillful swerve that Jounouchi wasn't sure he'd ever be able to copy. When he tried once again, Yuugi managed to miss that one, too. It was the same as always and Jounouchi felt himself start to get annoyed. He could never get an attack in. He knew Yuugi excelled in defense, but this just seemed ridiculous. He really should have been able to get something in, without making this seem like a childish cat and mouse chase with beyblades.
As he looked at Yuugi now, who looked determined and not ready to back down from the beyblade battle, Jounouchi felt admiration for his friend. He'd never be ready to go fistfight somebody who had insulted him, but Yuugi was definitely strong in his own special way.
He hadn't even known Yuugi for a year, but from what he did know, the guy just wasn't very confrontational. It was the reason why he and Honda had bullied him. They had known they could get away with it because Yuugi wasn't the type to do anything that would cause any kind of conflict. So he would never tell anybody what was going on. It wasn't until another bully had beat them up, using the whole 'security guard' scam, that Jounouchi had seen Yuugi really speak up. And he had spoken up for him and Honda, which had definitely shocked Jounouchi. What he had gotten was what he'd deserved, but still, Yuugi spoke up and said it was wrong. After that, they had begun their friendship. And it definitely had to be the best thing that had happened to him. He'd been going nowhere before, but now with Yuugi, things were different for him. Better.
Having been lost in his thoughts, he hadn't been paying much attention to the battle. It wasn't long until Yuugi finally sent his beyblade out of the dish.
"I lost?! Again?!"
"Maybe if you'd actually been focused on what you were doing, you could have stood a chance," Anzu said sternly from her place behind Yuugi. "You were just staring at him. You can't win if you aren't paying attention."
Honda slapped his back in what could be called a friendly manner. Or at least what their friendship was like anyway. "Come on, Jounouchi. What did you expect? Yuugi's on a whole other level than you. Just work harder, that's all."
"I'm really not that great…" Yuugi muttered again, though it had been too quiet for anybody else to hear. He gave an apologetic smile to Jounouchi afterwards. "I'm sorry you lost this time."
It wasn't Yuugi he was mad at, or Honda or Anzu. There was no reason to be mad at them. It wasn't their fault he lost. He was more mad at himself than anything. No matter what, he never improved and Jounouchi was sure it had something to do with him. So he gave Yuugi a big smile. "Nah, don't be. You won, Yuugi. Fair and square."
"And stop saying you aren't good!" Anzu said, giving Yuugi a look that dared him to tell her otherwise. "You're really good."
"I…" He wasn't good at compliments, and he was sure he felt a blush developing on his face. Fortunately, he was spared having to say anything when one onlooker spoke up.
"Man, Mazaki's totally right. Yuugi is really good! I think he's the best in the whole country! Better than anybody I've seen on TV anyway. He just totally wiped the floor with Jounouchi."
Yuugi frowned at the praise. He honestly wasn't that great, nowhere near the best in the whole country. He just made sure to trust in his beyblade and worked hard to get better. Anybody else could have gotten the same results as him, he was nothing special.
"The best?"
Everybody's head turned to where one person was walking forward.
"Seto Kaiba!" One person shouted, pointing to the new person who had shown up.
"He never bothers here to come check out the battles going on…"
"What do you think he's here for? Kaiba's kind of loner."
The crowd had started talking amongst themselves about the newcomer, who seemed not to notice that everybody was clearly talking about him. He ignored them, walking past them to make his way to Yuugi.
"I want a beyblade battle, Yuugi," Seto said, getting straight to the point. Not the type to put up with useless things.
It made Yuugi gulp.
"Um…"
Jounouchi frowned, walking up next to his friend. "Why do you want to battle him, eh? Why don't you just battle me?" Jounouchi had never gotten the right kind of vibes from Seto Kaiba. He always seemed to act like he was better than everybody else and stuck to himself. Anytime somebody tried to show him any sort of friendliness, he would always turn it down. He knew Kaiba ran Kaiba Corp. and was easily one of the richest people in the world. Everything about the creep just rubbed Jounouchi the wrong way. It made him instantly dislike Seto.
"I don't waste my time with mutts." Seto gave him the briefest of looks before looking back to Yuugi, who was beginning to worry more and more. It didn't seem like a good situation and even though he had never judged Seto before, he was wondering how all of this would turn out.
"What?!" Jounouchi shouted, ready to teach the guy a lesson until Honda got in and held his friend back, trying to tell him not to bother with the other boy. "Let me go! I wanna teach this jerk a lesson! You don't call me that to my face!"
"I'll battle you, Kaiba-kun," Yuugi said quickly, trying to stop any possible fights while his eyebrows furrowed in determination.
"Yuugi, you don't have to. He isn't worth any of our time!" Anzu said, speaking up and giving Seto a glare. She honestly didn't like him much either. She had tried talking to him before, tried to be friendly, but he had always ignored her as well.
Yuugi shook his head. "No, I will. It's fine."
As they positioned themselves over the beyblade dish, everybody began chatting excitedly.
"You know, I wonder who's going to win. I've never seen Kaiba battle. And I mean, Yuugi-kun is really good. Look at the way he beat Jounouchi!"
"Didn't you know? Kaiba's Japan's national champion! He's totally going to beat Yuugi's ass."
"Seriously?!"
Yuugi, who had heard what they'd been saying, automatically felt himself starting to panic. Could he really beat a professional? He had never known even known Kaiba beybladed! But the way he had treated his friend…he had to win!
Jounouchi, who had also heard, scowled. "Don't worry, Yuugi! Just beat his ass! Show him fancy little titles mean nothing!"
"You can beat him!" Honda cheered alongside Jounouchi.
"We believe in you!" Anzu shouted.
Seto smirked. "Cheerleaders aren't going to help you."
Yuugi didn't listen to what he said, trying to ignore him and just listen to his friends. They believed in him and that was all that mattered. It didn't matter what anybody else thought.
"Go shoot!" They both shouted, sending their beyblades into the dish.
Acting without thinking in beyblade could cost you and so Yuugi didn't move just yet. Defense was what Yuugi always thought about most. Attack and endurance were important, yes, but he had always excelled in defense.
Suddenly, quick enough that Yuugi almost missed it and lost the battle, Seto's beyblade went straight towards him with deadly precision and speed.
Seto's blade was made for speed and from the looks of it, it looked expensive. A silvery blue and Yuugi thought it looked like--was it?!
"Can you tell already? What my beyblade is?"
Yuugi didn't look up, but kept his eyes on the dish so Seto couldn't surprise him and knock him out of the dish. Yuugi wasn't about to take any chances with this battle. Or any battle for that matter. He was sure he had an idea what it was, but didn't say anything.
"A Blue-Eyes," Seto answered his own question, obviously wanting everybody to know just what he had and what they did not. He got the reaction he wanted. Everybody watching gasped, although Anzu didn't and she looked over to Jounouchi, confused.
"What's a Blue-Eyes?"
"It's a really rare beyblade! Like, only one was made and nobody knows why. That kind of thing. Yuugi told me about it the other day. Supposedly really good and strong," Jounouchi answered and then glared to Seto. "Kaiba probably spent millions on it. Probably thinks he's special or something because of it. Come on, Yuugi! Beat this asshole!"
Yuugi knew all the rumors about the Blue-Eyes beyblade. He had only seen them in pictures and now he was up close to one, battling it and hoping to win. There had only been one made for a reason and nobody knew. Yuugi didn't know its stats or anything. And if Seto was a professional, then what were his chances of winning?
But giving up and claiming he'd lose no matter what didn't settle well with him and so this time, he sent his beyblade forward, Magician grinding against Blue-Eyes. He was not going to back down.
"Yuugi's holding pretty well against Kaiba-kun, huh?"
"Well, Yuugi is really good. Maybe he can win."
But as Seto heard that, he scowled. Why hadn't Yuugi lost yet? He dodged every attack and he moved just as quickly as he did, if not quicker. Yuugi Mutou was definitely a great beyblader.
And Seto did not like that.
"Blue-Eyes! Attack! Attack!" He was getting desperate, seeing that his skills were evenly matched with Yuugi, if not greater. There was a chance he could lose and he never lost. At anything. He wasn't about to let some nobody win and take his title as Japan's best beyblader.
"Kaiba's kind of freaking out, huh?" Honda said to his friends as he watched Yuugi progressively gain the lead in the battle, feeling more and more certain of his friend's win.
Yuugi stayed quiet, drowning out the noise of the crowd, who were all starting to notice Seto appeared to be losing. Magician was steadily pushing Blue-Eyes back and Yuugi knew if he could just maneuver it just right…
He bit his lip and gave a quick look to Seto, frowning.
"Blue-Eyes! Stop losing like this! I said attack!"
It seemed like he didn't really care for his beyblade and didn't treat it as he should. It made Yuugi feel horrible that anybody could treat a beyblade in that manner. They were supposed to be treated with respect. It fought for you. It was like a partner. How could you treat your partner as if it had no value?
"Magician! Attack!"
With that, Magician finally all is strength to send Seto's Blue-Eyes out of the beyblading dish as Magician kept spinning proudly. Gasps were heard all around from the crowd and Yuugi's friends ran to him. Jounouchi's arms were around him suddenly.
"Haha! I knew you could do it!" He cheered, picking Yuugi up and swinging him around as Yuugi laughed loudly. Setting down his friend, Jounouchi pointed to Seto. "Take that!"
"Jounouchi!" Anzu hissed, slapping his arm softly. "Stop being rude." She looked over to Seto, seeing his shocked look. Obviously distressed by his lost. "I think he's been beaten up enough already."
While Yuugi was definitely glad he won--and shocked (he had beaten a professional! A national champion!)--he kind of felt bad for Seto. "Kaiba-kun?"
A Yuugi's voice, he looked to him. "How did you win? How? I'm Japan's best. I…nobody has ever beaten me."
"You don't treat your beyblade like you should," Yuugi said and when Seto looked at him as if he had said nothing at all, the smaller boy knew that he didn't understand. "Your beyblade is like your partner, you can't just treat it badly. It's not like it's your underling or anything like that."
Seto glared. "It's nothing but a top. What you say is just foolish and I'm not going to follow such advice. I have no idea how you won, but don't expect this next time. Next time, I'll beat you."
Taking Blue-Eyes from where it was thrown, he was gone and Yuugi was left with a bunch of people, proclaiming how amazing he was. But Yuugi worriedly watch Seto walk away, wondering if he'd be okay.
----
Usually, Yuugi would have hung out with Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda after school, but today he had promised his Grandpa he would work in their game shop and had told his friends not to bother boring themselves as he worked.
Although Yuugi found lugging boxes to and from the storage room exhausting and manning the cash register boring, he loved the shop and didn't mind working there. He loved games and just being around them, helping people choose what kind of game they'd love best; was very interesting to him. One day, the Kame Game Shop would be his and he would probably pass it down to his children.
When he got home, he noticed that it said the shop was closed and Yuugi frowned. Why would it be closed? It wasn't close to closing time and he had told Yuugi to work that day. This had him worried and when he entered his home, he called for his grandfather, who immediately came to him.
The look on his grandpa's face made him freeze in his steps as soon as he had seen him. Sugoroku Mutou was a cheerful old man, hardly ever solemn and serious. This look, this worried expression, did not fit him.
"Grandpa…?"
"Yuugi, I have some bad news," Sugoroku said and Yuugi felt his heart drop down into his stomach. He barely noticed himself moving until he saw he was sitting down on the couch beside his grandfather in the living room.
"Grandpa, tell me. What's wrong? What's going on?" He was growing more nervous as each second passed treacherously slow.
Sugoroku finally sighed and nodded, as if deciding upon something to himself. "Yuugi, there's no easy way to say it. It's better if I just say it right out, no holding anything back. Yuugi," he started again, repeating his grandson's name for what seemed the hundredth time. "The game shop is being closed."
That had not been what Yuugi had been expecting. He had expected hearing his dad's plane had crashed or his mom had gotten into some sort of accident. He had not though about the game shop.
"But what do you mean it's closing? I mean, you don't want it to close, right? So how is it closing?" His mind wasn't thinking fast enough. He wanted to make sense of all this now and he was still in his state of shock.
"This shop is my pride, you know that. I'd do anything to keep this place going forever, to be able to pass it down to you. But we just aren't doing well. Big businesses are moving in, small businesses like our shop aren't doing so well. We've been getting in debt more and more. I can't keep the shop going any longer. I didn't want to worry you, so I didn't tell you, but this shop just hasn't been doing well. There's just no way we can keep it thriving."
Yuugi looked away from his grandfather and to the floor. It just didn't make any sense. This game shop was his home. It had been his home for as long as he could remember. He could recall memories of his grandpa showing him all the different games, teaching him of their rules and all their little tricks. He could remember birthdays here and holidays. Sad moments, happy moments. All in this place. This place was his home…
How could he leave it?
Sugoroku realized Yuugi wasn't going to say anything and so he began talking again. "We have two months before we have to move. Your mom has some money saved and your dad already knows about the situation, he said he'll be sending some too so we can find a place to stay until I can get everything settled for us."
"But…if you don't have the shop, what will you do? This shop makes you happy, Grandpa." That was now running through his head. What about his grandpa? It wasn't like he was young enough to go jump into something else. In so many ways, the game shop was all the old man had. He had told Yuugi countless times how the Kame Game Shop felt more like home than anything else ever had. What would he do?
"Oh, don't worry about me! I've been around enough to handle these sorts of surprises! I mean, I've been trapped in Ancient Egyptian tombs! Something like this? Just a little adventure compared to that stuff!"
Yuugi tried to laugh at his joke, knowing his grandfather was just trying to lighten the mood, but what came from him could hardly be called a laugh, but more like a second-rate copy of any sort of laugh. His grandfather noticed that and immediately stood up.
"I think I'll keep the shop closed for the rest of the day," he said, walking away from the living room and Yuugi automatically left the living room to hurry to his bedroom before shutting the door quietly, trying not to alert his grandpa he had gone.
It was only when he fell to his bed he felt tears begin to burn his eyes.
What was he going to do? He didn't want to leave. This was the only place he knew he could ever really call home. He'd moved around so much when he was younger and he and his mom had stayed with his dad still. Not being able to stay in one place for long had been awful. Not knowing what was going to be in the next town, not knowing if you'd like the next place you'd live. It happened over and over until finally, his grandfather had just had Yuugi move in with him.
If it closed, he'd have no home. And where would they go? Away from Domino? Away from…
Yuugi pressed his face harder into his pillow, finally allowing himself to cry.
He would have to move away from his friends and Yuugi wasn't sure if he could do that. They were his first real friends and the idea of not having them in his life anymore was gut wrenching. He'd never find friends like Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda again. It was impossible.
Without really thinking about his actions, he lifted his face from his pillows and removed his backpack, setting it on the bed to retrieve his puzzle. He realized what he was doing and didn't know why, but his mind was screaming to him to work on the unsolvable puzzle.
"Puzzles calm down my nerves sometimes," he muttered a half-thought reason to himself as he walked to his desk to lay the pieces out. He wasn't sure why he was excusing his actions. He did feel a little silly, crying and worrying about the shop, and then trying to work on the puzzle. He had things to do. He had to think out a plan, he had to think about what to say to his friends. He had to prepare himself for the move and…
Without really knowing how, two of the golden pieces fit together.
"What…?"
He had never done that before. Never had he been able to actually put together any part of the puzzle. Was this his chance? His chance to finally solve the puzzle nobody else had ever solved? A new determination bubbled inside him as he set to his work. He was going to solve the puzzle. He was going to do it tonight. And he was sure he was. Everything about the puzzle was making so much more sense now. It seemed obvious how the puzzle was supposed to be formed.
Hurry…hurry…
Some voice in his head, a voice he had never heard was tugging at his mind and Yuugi started repeating the word as well. Yet at the same time, he felt that maybe he was just being stupid. He should be down in the shop, trying to comfort his grandfather. There were so many other things he should have been doing. And at the same time, Yuugi knew that putting together the puzzle was the only thing he should do.
The pieces were coming together now and making a shape. Yuugi realized it was a pyramid, but it barely registered to him. As soon as it had come, it was gone and his mind was now filled with demands he wasn't sure were even coming from him.
Hurry…hurry…hurry…hurry…!
It was strange how easily the pieces came together and how hard it had always been before. There had been times where he had spent hours just trying to solve it. Now it looked like the puzzle would be solved in less than ten minutes. It was weird, but Yuugi found he couldn't care that it was suddenly easy. That voice in his head was so persistent and made any other thought that didn't include putting the puzzle together vanish from his mind.
Soon enough, Yuugi saw he only had one piece left. A center piece with an eye that Yuugi was sure was called the eye of Horus, though he wasn't sure how he knew. He frowned and picked it up, examining it and knowing exactly what he was going to wish for.
Hurry--!
"I wish everything will be okay."
With that, the last piece went in. Before Yuugi could so much as breathe or blink, a feeling Yuugi could only describe as being submerged in a freezing ocean came over him. His body suddenly feeling full, which made no sense. With the strength he had, he opened his eyes to see crimson eyes staring before him.
Thank you…
But Yuugi wasn't even sure he heard it because his eyes closed as he fell into a deep sleep.
And somewhere, as soon as the Millennium Puzzle had been solved, somebody grinned.
It was time for their plan to begin.
Notes: O-oh my. I finally finished the first chapter for this story! :D I suppose there should be some things everybody should know. There will be a surprise pairing. Don't try to guess, because you won't figure it out (unless I have told you and if you know it, don't spoil it~). Other than that pairing, there will be no other pairings. So don't expect any. But there will be a ton of subtext! Kind of like actual Yu-Gi-Oh in a way. And also, I'm only using Beyblade's dub terms because heck, it's all I know and it's easier for me. Except I won't be using 'let it rip' because it reminds me of farting. Ew. Anyway, next chapter: Yuugi learns that solving the puzzle was a horrible mistake. Yami no Yuugi learns that making somebody go insane is not any way to impress somebody. Jounouchi wonders why he sucks at beyblading and Seto angsts in a corner over how he lost. Oh, and people get kidnapped. This story is just like Yu-Gi-Oh, except with a lot less card games and a lot more tops!