A/N: Oh my Ra! I didn't expect for this to be so popular! 8 Reviews and 93 visitors in two days! Wow...

Well... The polls are still open! For Malik to be a girl, so far I have 3 votes Yes, and 2 votes no.

For my OC to be in here, I have 1 vote yes, and 0 votes no.

Keep voting, people!

And I won't keep posting the disclaimer, summary, and other such things. They are in the first chapter, there is no need for them to take up space here.

Yami/Hikari Speech: Yugi- \Like this\ Yami-/Like This/ Ryou- (Like This) Bakura- ((Like This)) Malik- [Like This] Marik- [[Like This]]

Bakura: *Tosses a knife at a random bystander.* I'm bored.

Ryou: 'Kura!

Masks

A Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfic

By Clockwork Soul

Chapter 2: New Friends and a Corrupted Director!

~Japan, Domino High School, 7:45 AM~

Yugi's newest friendship with Jounouchi and Honda were greeted by stares and disbelieving rumors.

But they didn't care.

"Yug'!"

Yugi turned and grinned, seeing Jounouchi and Honda running toward her, still looking a little worse for wear, "Jou! Honda!" She called, waving. They caught up to her and they started walking toward the doors of the school, Jounouchi and Honda on either side of her. Jou immediately went off on the newest rumor, something about a female celebrity supposed to be here. Honda rolled his eyes.

"Jou, why would a celebrity want to come here, of all places?" Honda asked, raising his eyebrow at him.

"I dunno, but I'm gonna find out!" He replied determinedly.

Yugi looked around with detached interest. Jou glanced at her and noticed her blank look. 'She must be talking to Yami.' He thought. The two had taken the news that Yami was a spirit of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh rather well, surprisingly. Then again, when Yugi manipulated the shadows around them, and then formed Yami a body to prove it all, it was kinda hard not to believe.

Jou poked her in the side as they got close to the door. She jumped and smiled thankfully at him, her mind coming back to the world.

~Japan, Domino High School, In Class~

They had a sub, who let them have free time, since she had absolutely no idea what she was doing. Yugi sat on Jou's desk, with Honda across from them. She grinned at pulled her bag over, "Hey, you guys want to play a game?" She asked, pulling out a deck of cards, "It's pretty simple. All you have to do is pull out a card, and, lets say, if I get a seven, I can say anything else, like, say, a queen. You guess whether the real number is higher or lower then what you said. Ace is low."

Jou and Honda both agreed, and Yugi shuffled the cards, placing the deck on Jou's desk. "I'll go first." She pulled out a card and looked at Jou. "Jack." Jou stared at the card as if he could will it to tell him the right answer.

"...Lower."

"Nope!" She laid the card face up, a King.

"Damnit."

~Five Minutes Later~

Jou stared down Yugi, brown eyes burrowing into her amethyst ones. His mouth twitched in concentration and indecision. Yugi was smirking, her own eyes narrow and daring.

Honda held his breath before...

"Higher!" Jou cried, pointing an accusing finger at her. Yugi's smirk turned victorious, dropping the card face up. Jou growled, "Not again!" he yelled dramatically.

"Ha!" She laughed, "Better luck next time, Jou!"

Honda moaned and gave Yugi a small wad of bills, "Damnit, Jou! Yug's gonna run me dry if you keep this up!" Yugi, who still had a victorious smirk on her face, thumbed through the bills happily. Jou growled and swiped a card from the deck. He looked at the Seven of Spades and then to Yugi.

"Five."

"...Higher."

"DAMNIT!" He threw the card in the air and flopped backwards in the seat dramatically. The card fluttered down and landed on his head while Yugi and Honda laughed at him. Honda reached over and patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"You know, we should really just go ahead and call you the Queen of Games, Yug'." He said, making her grin. She glanced around the classroom, noting a few of the poms staring at them. She noticed two people off on their own. Hanasaki Tomoya and Nosaka Miho. Hanasaki was shy and quiet, kind of like Yugi used to be. Miho used to be a pom, but she didn't like hanging out with people who would pick on others, and so she broke off with them, even if it meant she would become an outcast too. Yugi respected her for that. Yugi had never really considered them friends, per-say. Perhaps acquaintances?

\Time to change that.\ She thought determinedly, and Yami sent mixture of emotions though their link that said Go for it!

"Hey, Hanasaki! Miho!" She called, causing them to look over, "Want to play a game with us?"

They looked shocked, which wasn't much of a surprise. The Ice Queen asking you to play a game with her? It was unheard of. Miho hesitated before smiling slightly and nodding, walking over. Hanasaki gulped and followed too. Miho fiddled with the yellow ribbon in her blue hair for a second before speaking up, "So.. what are you playing?"

Yugi grabbed the deck and reshuffled it, explaining the rules. They nodded, understanding and pulled some desks over, and Honda snagged a card before looking at Hanasaki.

"Three."

Hanasaki hesitated, "A-ano... Lower?" Honda groaned and flipped down the Ace of Hearts. Hanasaki picked up a card and looked over at Miho.

"An.. Eight?"

She pursed her lips and thought for a moment, before putting her fist in her palm in the universal 'I Got It!' gesture, "Lower!" Hanasaki shook his head and flipped down the King of Clubs. She pouted, "Dang it."

This went on for some time, and Miho and Hanasaki were becoming fast friends with the trio. Yugi laughed as she won another round, and the others groaned, a round of "Damnit all..." going around. She grinned and reshuffled the deck. "You guys want to play another game?" She asked, snickering when they all readily agreed.

"How about Crazy Eights?" Miho asked, hopeful until she saw Yugi smirk. They all sweat-dropped, 'Crud! She has that look!'

"Sure," Yugi nodded, the others following, "I like that game." She passed out the cards.

~Some Time Later~

Yugi tossed her last card onto the pile, causing the others to groan. "Yugi-chan!" Miho pointed accusingly at her, "Your out of the next game!" Yugi laughed.

"Fine, fine, Ribbon-chan" She waved her hands in surrender, "I have to use the little girls room anyways." She tossed the Puzzle—electing a cry from Yami—she had taken off on the middle of the game to Jou, "Watch that, would ya?" She said before walking out the door of the class. (The teacher had vanished somewhere.)

Jou caught the Puzzle—barely—and set it on his desk, Eye up. Miho and Hanasaki leaned in to get a better look at it. "I noticed her wearing that," Miho started, "Where did she get it? It's so... gaudy."

Jou and Honda snorted, suppressing their laughter. Honda spoke up first, "It's the Sennen Puzzle. Her grandfather gave it to her eight years ago. She solved it only lately."

Hanasaki looked awed, "Must have been one heck of a puzzle... Yugi's a master at any game!"

Miho voiced a thought that had been on her mind ever since Yugi called them over, "...Yugi-chan is... different then what I expected from the Ice Queen..." She muttered, "Not that I don't like her this way, it's just..."

"You weren't expecting it?" Honda supplied. She nodded.

Jou shrugged, "I think the 'Ice Queen' mask is only for those who really deserve it. We thought the same thing when we first saw her without her mask."

"Mask?" Hanasaki wondered.

"Its the best way to describe it." Honda said before clapping his hands and grabbing the deck, shuffling them, "Ready for a game without the Game Queen?"

~Japan, Domino High School, 12:00 AM~

"Ribbon-chan, can I have a bite of that rice ball?"

"Yes, Yugi-chan."

"Yatta!"

Miho laughed at Yugi's antics. She was surprised at how fast she and Yugi had hit it off—they were acting like they had known each other their whole lives! Miho glanced at the road outside the school from the old tree they were all sitting under.

"Hey, look at that!" She said, pointing at a TV van.

Jou gasped and stood up, "It must be that celebrity!" He said, grinning, "I've still got to find her!"

"'Her'?" Yugi asked, raising an eyebrow, "How do you know it's a her?"

"Jou believes every rumor he hears." Honda said, nodding sagely.

"I do not!" He yelled while the all laughed.

Yugi took a bite of Miho's rice ball and nodded toward the van, "Then why don't one of you go check it out?"

There was a pause.

"I vote Hanasaki!"

Hanasaki shook his head at everyone's vote, "Oh.. A-ano... I really..."

"Nyeh, come on, Hanasaki!" Jou said, tossing his around his shoulders, "Just go over and see if you can see anyone!"

Hanasaki gulped and nodded before getting up and walking tentatively toward the van. He looked close to the window, nearly touching it, before turning back to them and shrugging, shaking his head. Jou groaned and hung his head in defeat as Hanasaki came back, "It must be a one-way window."

~Japan, The Van, Just after Lunch~

The director glanced down at the picture he took of the shy-looking boy. He handed it to his assistant, "Find that kid, and bring him to the back of the gym after school. Were going to get some real good footage today.." He chuckled darkly while the assistant gulped at nodded, running off.

~Japan, Domino High School, After School~

Hanasaki looked around excitedly. The celebrity's friend had said to meet behind the gym, alone, but Jou had overheard and all of his new friends had come. They were currently hiding in the bushes a ways away. He spotted the guy he was supposed to meet and ran over to him, looking for the idol.

"...Huh? Fugita-san?" He said, confused when he saw no one, "Where's the idol?"

Fujita leaned down, whispering in a conspirator's voice, "Well, you see... Wait! I hear someone coming..."

Hanasaki looked at him, confused. He gasped in pain as the others knee slammed into his midsection, "You idiot, there isn't an idol!" He was about to punch him when a group a voices called out:

"Hanasaki!"

Jou and Honda ran up, coming between the two, while Yugi and Miho dropped down next to Hanasaki.

"Hanasaki, are you alright?" Miho asked.

"What's the big idea, you bastard!" Jou said, grabbing Fujita's collar.

"I- I didn't want to, really!" The other cried, "The director made me!"

"Director?" Honda asked.

"That's enough." A voice called, and a older man stepped from the bushes, a camera man following. Jou growled and tossed Fujita to the side.

"You made him do this to our friend?" He asked darkly.

"It'll make a grand episode. To bad poor Hanasaki got unlucky enough to be cast as 'bullied kid'. Just a bad roll of the dice." He chuckled, "He's the hero! The hero of my broadcaster, that is!"

Jou growled, "I'm gonna kill you."

The director smirked and waved to the camera, "And it'll all be caught on tape."

Jou was about to say something, when another voice spoke up.

"You dare to hurt my friends?" Yugi said, and the shadows lengthened, darkening the area. "You have stumbled into my realm of influence, and now we shall play a game..." She tossed a dice in her hand and looked up at the director with a dark smirk.

"A Yami no Game..."

Jou and Honda looked nervous, and moved to stand next to Yugi. Miho and Hanasaki looked confused. 'Yami no Game..?'

The director scoffed, "'Yami no Game'? Please."

Yugi chuckled, "Scared, director?" She asked.

"As if!"

She smirked, "Very well then!" She held up the dice, which had the Eye of Horus where the one would be. "We shall play with this! Since the time of ancient Egypt, die were used to decide the fates of men.

"Here are the rules... After I roll the dice, if you can get a number lower or the same, you win.

"If you lose... you face the Penalty Game."

She raised the dice and dropped it, "Game start!"

Everyone paled as the dice landed on six, while the director laughed, "A six! Ha!"

"You certainly seem lucky, but the Game is not over yet."

The director snorted and muttered something about stubborn brats. He picked up the dice and suddenly got a wicked smirk on his face, "Feh, while I'm at it..." He said before tossing the dice hard at Yugi. She brought the Puzzle up casually, and the dice hit it's point. It fell to the ground, landing on one.

The director laughed and turned to walk away.

There was a clink as something fell to the ground.

"The Door of Darkness has opened."

The director turned and looked at the dice.

It was split in half! A one and a six.

"W-what? Seven!" He looked up at Yugi, and gasped when he saw the glowing Eye on her forehead.

"You twist reality in front of the camera to suit your own needs. We should punish you as the Shadows say, and give you no chance through the Illusion of Mosaic, and strike you blind."

"But what would you learn? Nothing. So I shall give you a chance. You shall hear all that which you choose not to, the cries and pleas of those you have harmed. And if you will not listen... then you shall be punished." She pointed a finger at the director and called out in a commanding voice,

"Penalty Game!"

The others watched as the director seemed as if he would laugh at her before turning his head to the side, like he heard something, "What..? Who's speaking?" He asked, confused. He growled and covered his ears, "No! It was great! You don't know anything!"

They watched as he ran off, ears still covered. Jou and Honda gulped. That was a Shadow Game and Penalty Game? Jou looked over at the camera man and Fujita. He pointed to them, "Hey.. Yug'..." She glanced at him, "What should we do with those two?" She looked over at them and frowned, her eyes going blank for a moment as she talked with Yami.

\Well?\

/...I say we punish them, too./

\Yami!\ She scolded, \They were just doing their job!\

The spirit sighed and thought for a moment. He got an idea, /We can erase their memories./

\...We can do that?\

/Probably./

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively to the two cowering figures, she and Yami commanding the shadows to erase their memories of this event and drop them off in their houses. The others jumped as a tendril of shadow snaked out from Yugi's own and wrapped around the two. They vanished, and the shadow snaked back to it's place.

"W-what's gonna happen to them?" Jou asked.

Yugi sighed, "Hopefully? Their memories wiped and they dumped in their homes.

"...You can do that?"

"Probably."

"Y-Yugi-chan?" A small voice spoke up behind them. They turned to see Miho and Hanasaki staring at them. Yugi gulped and scratched the back of her neck.

"Ah... hey there... Ribbon-chan... Hanasaki..." She glanced around sheepishly before sighing and looking them straight in the eyes, "Can I trust you two? With my greatest secret?"

They blinked, before Miho, nodded, determination in her eyes, "You can trust me with anything, Yugi-chan!" Hanasaki smiled and nodded too.

She sighed and smiled before holding up the Puzzle, "Well, I might as well start at the beginning. This is the Sennen Puzzle..."

~Japan, Domino High School, 12:00 AM, The Next Day~

Yugi yawned and walked outside for lunch.

\I'm amazed they took it so well.\

/As am I./ Yami replied, walking next to her in spirit form.

\It's kind of amazing, you know?\

He looked over at her, confused, /What is, Game?/

She smiled at held the Puzzle in one hand, tracing the Eye with her finger, \Ever since I solved this, I've been gaining more and more friends.\

He chuckled and said nothing, his own contentment at being with her washing though their link.

She blinked as she spotted Jou and Honda huddled a little ways away from the 'Sennen Tree' as they had dubbed it, after her Puzzle. Hanasaki and Miho were looking over at them with raised eyebrows. Yugi strolled over behind them.

"...and no matter how much I squint, I just couldn't see the good bits!" Jou cried, holding up a tape.

"Yoink."

"H-Hey!" They said, spinning around to see Yugi with a smirk, holding the tape. They suddenly looked very nervous, "Y-Yug'! What are y-you doing here?"

She looked over the tape, "Oh, nothing, just looking at an interesting movie I found..."

"O-oh," Jou said, fiddling with his jacket, "Thats ours..."

"Oh?" She replied in an innocent voice, despite the danger in her eyes, "Mind if I... ah.. borrow it?"

"Oh it's er- not that good! Yes," Honda said, "It's not that good at all."

"Oh? Well that's to bad. I guess you wouldn't mind if I do this then!" She grinned and broke the tape in half. She tossed one half to Jou and Honda each, "Come on, boys." She said, the innocent voice gone, "Your far to young for such things!" She said, wagging a finger at them.

"Yuuuug'!" They groaned.

~Yami no Linebreak!~

A/N: I am loving writing this! I really am. ^.^

Thanks again for all the kind reviews!

(Edit 9/26/11: Fixed a few mistakes, nothing major.)