AN: Well, I haven't gotten any indication to not continue this, so here's the next chapter. I do want to thank all those that have supported this story however, in whatever form, whether it be following, favoriting, reviewing, or just in spirit. I will try to update more often but I can't make any promises.
(As for any weird plot devices, such as Atem's name not being directly mentioned last chapter, there is a perfect reason for this and it will be explained in time.) Now let's get on to Yugi and the gang. More AN at the end.
Disclaimer: Have I suddenly gotten ownership of Yu-gi-oh? Let me check...nope, it still belongs to Takahashi Kazuki.
Chapter 1
Yugi's POV (Present-day-'ish', Domino City)
A seven goes here which means that a nine goes there…(*RING*) and complete. And just as the bell rang for recess. As the teacher had been lecturing the class, I had gotten bored and had pulled out a Butterfly Sudoku Samurai puzzle (1) that I had gotten just yesterday, solving it easily in the span of one class session. I guess I'm going to have to get something more complicated tomorrow. I would have rather played some other game but I didn't want to risk whatever game I pulled out to be confiscated and with a sudoku puzzle it would look like I was taking notes. I know I should be paying more attention to my classes, as my grades are far from the best, but how can I focus on topics that are not stimulating in the least to me? Thankfully, I still manage to pass my classes because of my grandfather and my only friend, Anzu, who both know how to make the information in these dull lectures sound exciting and like the games that I adore.
"Hey, Yugi!" I looked up from my completed puzzle to see one of my fellow classmates with dark hair and eyes, wearing the standard Domino High male uniform of dark blue pants and jacket, holding a basketball in his hand calling to me while the rest of the class filtered out through the door. "Do you want to play some basketball instead of sitting in here all alone?" I don't recall his name, but I do know that he is one of the few who does at least acknowledge my existence in a decent manner, whereas most either tease me or outright ignore me. I'm used to those kinds of interactions though due to the knowledge that I'm abnormally short for my age, not having even reached five foot yet after fifteen years, and still have plenty of baby fat which makes me appear younger than I really am. I also have atypical large, child-like, violet eyes. In addition to my child-like appearance, I have an unusual hair-style that looks like a gravity-defying 7-point midnight star tinted fiery-red on the ends with golden blonde bangs that frame my face. I like my hair, but others seem to find it as a beacon for harassing me.
Giving a sad smile, I tell the boy that I would be of no use to anybody and that I would rather stay inside instead of being a weak link to anyone's team. He shrugs nonchalantly as though he only asked me out of courtesy and follows the rest of the class 1-B students outside. Sighing, I move to put my completed sudoku puzzle away to pull out another game that I have stashed away in my bag. I wish I could play with the others; I even bring plenty of games so that we all could play but everyone would rather play physical games that I can't participate well enough in. Oh well… Looking in my bag at all the games I have hidden away in it, I have spark of enthusiasm as I reach down to reveal a secret space hidden away in the bag lest Chono-sensei brought up a surprise inspection, especially since I most definitely didn't want to lose this particular item. My most prized possession! Today I will complete it! I then set a golden box engraved with Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs on my desk, the Wadjet eye on one side of the box staring knowingly at my joyful expression.
"There is a riddle associated with my treasure," I whisper to myself, unaware of anyone possibly listening to my spoken thoughts, as I move to lift the lid off the box. "'It can be seen, but you haven't seen it, what is it?'; the answer of course is–" My expression instantly changes from one of joy to horror as I watch my treasure being scooped away from me while cruel laughter echoed in my ears. I glance up to see two of the more prominent students that are known to torment me. Honda Hiroto, with brown eyes and pointed brown hair, holds my box out of reach with a smirk on his face while his buddy Jonouchi Katsuya scrutinizes the box, running a tanned hand through his mop of dark blonde hair while his eyebrows furrow in apparent confusion.
Breaking out of my stupor, I leap out of my seat trying in vain to reclaim my treasure, the two much taller boys laughing at my hopeless attempts, while Honda kept holding it above his head. "Honda-kun, give that back! Please, give it back!"
With a smirk, Honda held my treasure out to me. Although I should have been suspicious based off his expression, all I felt was relief as I went to take it back. But just as my hands were about to grab ahold of the box, he chucked it in the air towards Jonouchi. The two boys then proceeded to fling the box back and forth between themselves, ignoring my ever-increasing cries, while I kept jumping, uselessly trying to catch the box before it could possibly fall to the ground.
When I didn't think I could jump anymore, Jonouchi caught my treasure and began to toss it in his hand, looking down at me as if I was the most pathetic person on the planet. "Why are you acting like such a child about this, Yugi? Do you really think this is that valuable that you have to embarrass yourself like that? Well, you need to cut it out! Your childish antics are really irritating me!" Then, with an evil glint in his dark brown eyes, Jonouchi stopped juggling my puzzle and sneered at me. "If you want this back so badly, then you'll first have to man-up." He then pounded on his chest with the hand not holding my precious treasure. "Give me your best shot! I won't even fight back."
Hit him?! I couldn't fathom doing the act myself. Why can't we solve this peacefully without all this unnecessary violence? Taking a deep breath, I shouted at the top of my lungs, "BUT I HATE FIGHTING AND VIOLENCE!" The scream forced both boys to cover their ears. Exhausted from yelling so loud and leaping so much, I held out my hand and peacefully asked for them to return my box. As I should've known, the two boys refused and Jonouchi started inspecting the box just out of my reach as if to try to figure out what was inside it. Panicking for the safety of the contents of the box, I pleaded with him, "Y-you can look in it but p-please don't lose any of it! I-it's incredibly valuable to me!" Having been given consent, Jonouchi peeked inside the box but scoffed at the contents and threw the box over his shoulder back to Honda.
I could only watch helplessly as the gold item flew in the air, pleading to whatever entity that exists to not let it drop, only to see the box be plucked mid-air by an outside hand. I sighed in relief as I saw that the hand belonged to none other than Mazaki Anzu, my best and only friend since elementary school. She was clad in the girl's uniform which consisted of a pink jacket with a blue bow-tie and a short blue skirt that revealed her long pale legs. Although the uniform looks atrocious, I think she still manages to pull it off and look cute in it. She had a fun personality, loving to play with me when we were younger even though she wasn't as good at the games that I liked to play, but whenever she saw another person being bullied in any capacity I found out it was never a good idea to be on the receiving end of her ire. Glaring at the two boys who had been pestering me, she said in a harsh voice, "If you think it's so dumb, then you should give it back to Yugi. You shouldn't be picking on someone smaller than you, anyways. Now beat it you two, before I change my mind and teach you a lesson myself!"
Jonouchi and Honda didn't waste any time and fled the room like dogs with tails between their legs. With the threat gone, Anzu relaxed and returned the box to me. "Thank you, Anzu," I joyfully said. Anzu had made it clear early in our friendship that she didn't want us to be so formal with each other, so against my polite nature I don't add any honorifics to her name. "You're amazing! How do you always manage to scare off bullies with just a word and a glare?"
Waving off the praise, Anzu said, "It was nothing. I just can't stand people who torment others that they deem weaker than themselves. All the guys in this class are like those two bozos. Always using others for their own amusement. I mean the only reason why the guys let the girls play basketball with them was so that they could take a glance under our skirts whenever we were making a basket." A peek under a girl's skirt! Possibly Anzu's! Now I kind of wish I had taken up that guy's offer…but at least Anzu is here alone with me! I could feel my face grow warm at those thoughts. Although I would never admit aloud, I have had a massive crush on my only friend for years.
Returning to the present, I saw Anzu giving me a weird look and if I wasn't already blushing profusely, my face became even more red. Thankfully she didn't press me on it and instead, with a curious look in her ocean-blue eyes, inquired about the contents of my treasure. That's right, I've never let her see this before!
After getting her to promise to keep what she saw secret, I lifted the lid to reveal the inside of the box. Set against the red fabric lining were a bunch of gold pieces. Taking up a few, Anzu marveled at the golden objects and asked what they were. "It's a puzzle! I've been working on it for eight years and I've yet to solve it. I don't know what the finished piece looks like so it is something that you can see but you haven't seen it!" Seeing as how I still had her interest, cerulean eyes widening in awe, I continued, "I live in a game shop, remember, so there's a whole bunch of rare and unusual games in there, especially ones that my grandfather has collected from his many adventures. This one in particular was gathering dust in a back corner of the supply closet, so I decided to try my luck at it. It was found in the tomb of an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. I'm not sure what the symbols on the box mean but I can take a guess that they say something along the lines of: 'the person who solves this puzzle will have their wish granted.' I hope I can solve this but being that it's already been eight years, I just worry about if I can." All while I was explaining, Anzu just kept staring fascinated, sometimes bobbing her chestnut colored head.
At least until that last line. Hearing my words of slight defeat, she gave me a reproaching look. "If anyone can solve a puzzle as complicated as this, it's you, Yugi," she said encouragingly, making me feel like I was floating on air to hear this praise, especially since it came from Anzu. Then with a wink and a smile she continued, "Sooooo…What would you wish for, Yugi?"
"Nope. That is a secret that I won't tell." I slightly chuckled.
*RING*
FINALLY! School is out! Now I can head home and work on the puzzle again…after homework of course…and so long as Grandpa doesn't need me to help with the shop.
"Hey! You're Mutou Yugi, right?" a voice called out. Turning around I saw a giant of a man, with his thick arms that could pass for tree trunks crossed in front of his chest, staring at me. I sheepishly nod my head as I craned my neck to be able to look into his dark eyes shrouded mainly by his thick, ebony eyebrows. "I'm Ushio, from the Morals Committee. Now I have to ask: have you been bullied by anyone recently?" Scared, I quickly shake my head. I didn't want to be the reason anyone got into trouble. Also, even though most would consider the acts that Jonouchi and Honda committed today was bullying, I knew that deep-down they only had the best intentions. I had realized that the two had wanted to help me get a backbone to be able to stand up for myself, but the way they went about it to teach me this lesson was probably not the best. "Now, now. You don't need to cover for anybody. I will personally investigate this matter. Also, from now on you can consider me your personal bodyguard."
BODYGUARD?! "Th-thanks f-for the offer Ushio-san, b-but I'm fine. Really. N-no one's b-been bullying m-me," I stuttered. "B-bye!" Then I turned and ran home with only one backwards glance. That was weird. Hopefully he just drops this whole thing. Little did I know then that this matter was far from over or that this was only the beginning of a much stranger adventure.
Soon I was in front of the Kame Game Shop, the store that my grandfather ran which also had our living quarters above it, giving the building a turtle-like appearance as the name of the store suggests. For a moment, I just stared at the vibrant letters that adorned the roof of the shop, thinking about the irony of the situation. I loved games and puzzles, so it felt only fitting that I could live in a place that sold so many varieties of what I loved. It's also a bit ironic that my name means game. I chuckled at this thought.
The thoughtful moment now over I continued towards my home, but right before my hand touched the handle to the door I heard my name being called for the second time this afternoon. However, instead of a massive behemoth, the voice belonged to the sweet and wonderful Anzu. "It's been a while since I came over to play so I thought I'd come over. Is that ok?" I eagerly nod in response and then hold the door open for her so that we both could enter the shop.
"Welcome to the Kame Game Shop!" is the immediate automatic greeting from my grandfather, Mutou Sugoroku, who could easily be identified as a relative of mine with his equally wild hair held back only by a black bandana, plum-hued eyes, and short stature. He currently was seated behind the counter, wearing his usual green overalls, looking through what appeared to be a magazine. Please let him not be looking at his porn magazines while working…that certainly can't be good for business. Finally glancing up from his reading material, the gray-haired man's eyes light up in joy at who stood before him. "Oh, it's just you, Yugi. And you brought Anzu. My, it has been a long time since I've seen you here. And, wow! You surely have grown, in height and especially here." At those last words, he started motioning towards her chest in a way as though he wanted to cup her. Annnddd, there went any hope that he wouldn't act like his weird perverted self in front of Anzu. I felt my eyes bulge out in panicked mortification and the blood rush to my face coating my entire visage up to the tips of my ears with the crimson blush. Turning to Anzu, I saw her looked as equally uncomfortable so I hastily started pulling her upstairs towards my room, quickly muttering something about doing homework. However, before we could even manage to reach the stairs, my grandfather spoke up again, "Wait a minute, Yugi. When you say, 'doing homework', I hope you don't mean that you plan on working on that puzzle again. I've told you that thing is beyond human comprehension. And, of course, the history behind it is quite gruesome."
"Gruesome history?" Anzu nervously asked, stopping in her tracks, eyes wide as she glanced back and forth between my grandfather and me.
With a wicked glint in his eye, my grandfather got up from behind the counter, coming around to stand before the both of us to tell his frightening tale. "That Puzzle was found in an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh's tomb. Almost all who went into that tomb died cruel and mysterious deaths. One had physically escaped the tomb, but his mind was never the same again. Before he too died, he would constantly scream in terror about a 'Shadow Game'…"
Hearing this tale, Anzu's face paled in absolute fright while mine lit up just thinking about this so called 'Shadow Game' seeing as how I have never heard of it before and I have a love for all things game-related. Fully curious now, I pulled the puzzle out of my bag to admire it and all its newly revealed secrets. Spotting the puzzle in my hands, my grandfather moved to point at the many symbols engraved into the box. "The symbols on the box read, 'To the one who solves me, I will grant dark wisdom and power'." So my wish will come true! I then broke out into a full-blown grin and whooped in glee.
Completely forgetting about the other two in the room (or even the idea of homework), I ran straight to my room to complete the puzzle. It was late in the night when I even remembered other things existed when my grandfather poked his head in my room to tell me to go to bed. ANZU! I had completely forgotten about her! I hope she made it home safely and forgives me for my stupidity. Staring at the parts of the puzzle that I had completed, which only seemed to be the framework (It looks like it's a pyramid. Figures. It is Egyptian after all.), I yawned loudly. Although I didn't want to quit now, I knew that I couldn't do much with a sleep-addled brain, so I resigned myself to going to bed as told. I guess I won't finish it today. *YAWN!* Maybe I can finish it tomorrow… These were my last thoughts before I slowly drifted off into sleep.
I realized the next day the major mistake I made in working on the puzzle so late. I could barely keep my eyes open in any of my classes. Thankfully I wasn't reprimanded by any of my teachers. When recess finally came around, I had a fleeting thought to work on the puzzle again, but then opted to try and catch up on some of the sleep I missed. Hopefully Anzu would be able to wake me up before anything bad happened. I was so grateful this morning when I apologized profusely to Anzu for my behavior last night and she waved it off as inconsequential. "Yugi. I know how much you get excited at the thought of a game and after hearing about how much you have invested in that puzzle, I figured you were entitled to be a little narrow-minded." Then with a slight smirk she had teasingly told me to never do that again to her which I whole-heartedly promised.
"Hey, Yugi-kun!" a familiar voice shouted breaking me out of my light doze. Lifting my head off the desk, I was greeted with the sight of Ushio, who had a mischievous smile adorning his face. "I have a surprise for you. Would you come with me so that I can show it to you?" Although he stated it like a question, something inside me told me that I really had no choice in the matter, so I begrudgingly got up from my seat and proceeded to follow him. I started to get suspicious, however, when he took us to behind the school. This can't be good. I wasn't mistaken in my assumptions when I saw two figures ahead of us leaning, looking all bloodied and bruised, against the side of the building. Once closer I could identify that one of the figures was brunet while the other had a mess of dirty-blonde hair.
"JONOUCHI-KUN! HONDA-KUN!" I ran to the two groaning boys, unsure of what I could possibly do to help. Amethyst eyes widened in complete horror, I looked back at Ushio and asked, "W-what…what happened?"
"These two are bullies. And because I'm your personal bodyguard, I had to punish them," The giant laughed, his eyes growing as cold as ice. Even though I had a feeling that reasoning wouldn't affect this unsympathetic brute, I tried anyways, only for the man to laugh harder. Instead of trying to continue that route, I kneeled in front of the two injured teens. Their faces were swollen, blood seeping out of their noses and mouths, their skin looked less tan and started to become increasingly more black and purple as the multitude of bruises began to form. It appeared that Honda had lost consciousness but Jonouchi was still awake and glaring at me with his one eye that wasn't completely sealed shut.
"Fuck you, Yugi," Jonouchi spat at me, his one open mahogany eye hardened in malice. Shocked at the outright unjust vehemence towards me, I started to deny that I had any part in this. However, my denials even sounded weak to my own ears.
Before I could completely explain myself to the one conscious boy in front of me, I was roughly shoved to the side. I felt my limbs scrape across the pavement and I had a feeling that I was probably now bleeding from the newly made cuts. Peering up from my huddled form, I saw Ushio prepare to land another kick into Jonouchi stating that he wasn't finished punishing them. Without even a second thought, I pulled myself up and threw myself in front of the two beaten students, staring at the mammoth-sized man before me. "STOP! I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY FRIENDS!" I yelled defiantly. My stunt however only served to amuse Ushio as he began to laugh.
"Really, Yugi-kun? This is your chance to get your revenge on these two that bullied you. Yet, you call them your friends? You must have a twisted sense of reality if you believe that the interactions between them and yourself were grounds for friendship."
"They weren't bullying me. They were only trying to help me," I quietly say, my eyes dropping to stare at my feet. I knew that Jonouchi, Honda, and I were far from being considered 'friends' but I also knew that even despite their harsh antics against me, they did not deserve to be hurt this cruelly. This was too much.
"Whatever. Have your delusions. Either way, I'll be taking my bodyguard fee now. 200 thousand Yen." My head whipped up so fast that I could've gotten whiplash as I stared at the malicious behemoth in absolute horror. 200 THOUSAND YEN! I don't have that kind of money! Continuing to chuckle to himself, Ushio looks at me with a sneer, "What? Don't have the money? I'll give you until tomorrow, since I'm feeling generous. And just as a reminder about what happens if you don't pay up…" He then picked me up by the collar, lifting me far off the ground, and before I could even blink, his fist connected hard with the side of my face. I started to fall to the ground, but I never reached it as a foot kicked me airborne again. Then a knee landed straight in my abdomen. Luckily, I did not end up spewing the contents of my stomach all over the pavement. However, I was not given a reprieve from the onslaught of blows to my already weakened body for another few minutes. When Ushio determined that I 'had got the message', he gave one last kick to my gut before walking off, turning only once to relay that that was not the worst he could do, the threat implied by the knife that he pulled from his pocket. Damn. Now what am I to do? I have no way of beating him even if I did condone fighting, myself. I'm just too small and weak. And I don't have that kind of money either. I'm doomed.
Once Ushio was finally gone and it was just us three battered teens sprawled across the ground, Honda finally opened his eyes. Without even one glance towards me, the brunet hefted himself to his feet before assisting his blonde friend and hobbled away. It was almost near the end of recess when Anzu finally found me and immediately, upon seeing my condition, rushed me to the nurse. She and the nurse begged me to tell them what had happened, but I remained tight-lipped for fear that Anzu might get hurt trying to defend me. I would rather face ten Ushio's then have her face even the one.
Later that night, I was working endlessly on the puzzle again. Anzu had insisted on walking me home today after the whole 'Ushio incident'. Usually carefree and jovial, my grandfather's face showed absolute terror when I walked through the game shop door covered in bruises and band-aids. He also tried to determine what I had endured, but, as with Anzu, I refused to speak about it and rushed up to my room. For the first few hours, I had scoured every nook and cranny in my room trying to accumulate the necessary 200 thousand Yen to appease Ushio, but I didn't even come close. Defeated, I had begun to work on the puzzle again. At least before I probably get brutally beat within an inch of my life or worse, I can at least finish this puzzle. I had wanted to finish it for years and I can only hope that I finish it before I have to face the horrors that Ushio surely has planned for me.
As I continued working on the artifact, I noticed that peculiarly I was having greater success in completing it. The pieces almost seemed to sing to me, telling me which piece went where and before I knew it, I had a full mini golden pyramid in my hands. The only piece that remained was the one with the Wadjet eye which lay in the center on one side of the puzzle. Reaching blindly into the box, glee overwhelming me at the prospect that I finally achieved my goal, my hand was met with nothing. Thinking I was surely mistaken and that my hand just missed it, I glanced over at the box only for my joy to plummet into horror at seeing the emptiness. I-it's not there. Did I lose it?! Frantically, I tore apart my room looking for the one golden piece but to no avail. Did it fall out at school? Where could it be?! If I don't find it now, I'll probably never be able to finish this and–and I won't get my wish. I felt tears swimming behind my eyes as I slumped over my desk, too tired and defeated to do much else but stare at the puzzle that I had come so close to completing. I was so lost in my own head that I didn't even hear someone enter my room.
"Wow! Amazing! You actually finished the puzzle. I honestly didn't think that you would be able to do it, but you proved me wrong." Disappointed in my failure, I didn't acknowledge my grandfather's praise. Instead I dug myself further into my despair by relaying to him that I did not in fact complete the puzzle, that there was still a missing piece. "Now, now, Yugi. You have dedicated eight years of your life to this. You shouldn't give up so easily, for you never know what fate might have in store…" With these words, the elderly man shoved his wrinkled but still strong fist in front of my face before slowly opening it. THE LAST PUZZLE PIECE! Ecstatic, I leaped at my grandfather, hugging him tightly and thanking him extensively. "I'm not the one you should thank. A friend of yours came by, dripping wet I might add, and returned this." A friend? Anzu? But wait–if it was Anzu then why didn't he just say her name? He knows who she is…so then who? Well, whoever it was, I am eternally grateful to you.
Staring at the piece now in my hand, I almost want to pinch myself. I'm finally going to complete the puzzle. I'm so absorbed in my accomplishment and my joy at now having the last piece that I didn't notice when my grandfather left or that he had left something else behind. When I finally felt that I had basked enough in the glory of the idea that I was going to be the one to complete the ancient puzzle, I took a breath, and silently made my wish as I pushed the last piece into the puzzle. I wish for friends. Friends that wouldn't betray me and who I wouldn't ever betray. When I heard that final click, I opened my eyes to see the finished product. As I looked at the puzzle, I felt a warmth grow from it before the golden object seemed to glow, blinding me. I wanted to look away, to close my eyes against the bright light but I could only stare, slack-jawed, before finally I felt myself start to lose consciousness. As I drifted, I had a weird feeling that this was just a beginning. A beginning to what, I had no idea.
(1): Butterfly Sudoku Samurai is a sudoku puzzle consisting of fives groups of four puzzles all interconnected. Basically a reeaally large and complex sudoku puzzle. Honestly, watching both Season 0 and reading the manga and knowledge of most teachers, I HIGHLY doubt Yugi would have been able to just randomly pull out an intricate game during class without possibility of it being confiscated. Also, it doesn't seem like enough time before recess has started for him to have either built a stacked card structure or pulled and played with whatever game that is in the manga (name escapes me right now). So, that is where the sudoku puzzle comes in.
AN: So again, please tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks!