Joey's brown eyes still held the light and enthusiasm they always had, and although most of his blond hair was under a cap, he wiped his hands on the apron around his waist and smiled. Or smirked. But his expression had softened with age, a small bit of hair could be seen on his chin.

Noah's eyes were wide as he stared at him, "Y-You're the Joey Wheeler…!"

Joey gave a proud grin, drawing his shoulders back, "Nice to know I'm still recognized in the community."

Jessie looked at him with a small smirk, "You haven't been out of the circuit that long, Daddy…"

Joey shrugged nonchalantly, but Noah took his hand in a small shake, "I've been following your dueling since I was a kid!—I-I mean, not for a long time, b-but—It's an honor to meet you–!"

This made a small blush appear in Joey's cheeks and he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, "Well, I am up there with the King of Games, after all…"

A voice from the back room floated through the swinging doors, "Careful there, it took twenty years to deflate that ego even a little bit. We'd like to keep it that way."

Joey looked back at the door with a light glare as he let go of Noah's hand, "Hey, I'm not that bad!"

Another blonde woman came from the back room afterwards, rather tall herself along with voluptuous, wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail and violet eyes that grew bright when she saw Jessie, "Hey there, sweetie—I see you're excited about something."

Jessie then grinned and stood behind Noah, her hands at his shoulders, "Mom, Daddy—Look at his face. Tell me you recognize this face!"

Noah tensed a little, sighing to himself and mumbling, "Not this again…"

Except he was startled when Joey only shrugged and replied, "'Course I do, it's Noah. Why?"

Sarah looked to him in slight surprise, "Wait, you do? For real? You actually know him?"

Joey looked back with an arched brow, like the answer was obvious, "Sure I do." He looked at Noah with a shrug, "Though last I saw ya, you were only about three or so."

Noah's brows knit, "But…r-really? Y-You were there–? Wh-When I was a kid?"

"Well, yeah! Ya didn't think I wouldn't want to see my best friend's son, didja? I mean, your ma never told ya Yugi put me down as your godfather in case anything happened? Téa just didn't wanna overwhelm ya."

Noah looked all the more discomforted, shoulders growing rigid, "B-But…"

"Hey, where's the fire at–?"

From the front, another couple came in, and Sarah smiled and went up to the female of the pair, "Hi, there–!"

The young woman smiled, and then she looked over to Joey; she had long, reddish-brown hair and brown eyes that matched Joey's, and the shape of her face matched Sarah's. Meanwhile, the man behind her was broad-shouldered and dark brown hair, styled in a form of modern-day elvis.

The woman arched a brow at Joey behind the counter, "What's up, Joey? What's going on?"

He smiled fondly, motioning to Noah, "T, Serenity, take a look at who walked in."

The other couple seemed to recognize him immediately as well, though it was Tristan who responded with a small grin, "Oh, hey! You're Yugi's boy, right?—"

"I am not his boy," Noah replied harshly suddenly, voice a bit too firm, hands clenching into fists.

A bit of silence fell before he turned back to be facing Joey, voice calming and quieting a bit, "I'm his son…I am not his 'boy.' Not anymore. And I don't care to be."

Joey's brows knit, "That's a pretty heavy statement, Kiddo."

"Look, I'm just 'Noah,' okay?" Noah replied firmly, volume rising a bit more, "I've only just moved back for my senior year. I'm finishing up the school year and then I am gone."

"But you can't just go," Jessie replied, a bit startled by his resolve, "Domino City is your family's stomping grounds! You belong here!"

"I don't belong anywhere where that man was!" Noah replied harshly, pointing back at the group picture on the wall, "Every step he walked was empty and a lie, and I'm not gonna fill 'em just to protect him! He doesn't deserve it!"

Joey straightened at that, coming around the counter and looking to Noah sternly, though he kept his voice gentle, "Okay, fine. No one's gonna argue with ya right now. Mind telling me why you have such a problem with my best bud, though…?"

Noah straightened before moving back, looking away, while he quickly deflated, "I-I don't know why I should…"

"I'm a father myself, and a big brother, Noah. I know mistreatment of a child when I see it, and I can't exactly believe the Yugi I know would mistreat his kid."

Noah looked down at his feet, calming for just the moment, "He wasn't the Yugi you know…not from what I remember…"

"And what do you remember?"

"Not much before the age of five," Noah shook his head once, "My memory sucks, okay…? I've never been able to remember my childhood well. All I can call back on my own is a fight I had with D—"

He fell abruptly silent, glancing up with a brief flash of panic on his face before looking away; Joey could tell who he meant.

Joey frowned briefly, but then took a small breath, "What do you remember about him, though…?"

After a moment's hesitation, Noah looked back up at him. His eyes stung just a little already, "I just…remember him being gone a lot…Like all the time…A-And then when I would actually see him, he would just ignore me or tell me he was busy…"

Joey straightened at this, more than a bit startled.

"Anything good…?" He went ahead and asked hopefully.

Noah's throat felt tight, and he tugged on the hem of his jacket.

"Not really…" He replied quietly, "There's…some…not a lot…I-I can't remember it very well…"

To be honest, that had always bugged him; he really could only remember the neglection, not any of the good times he'd had with his father before he turned seven and Yugi started changing. But talking about it also brought up the ugly memories and it made Noah's sturdy demeanor dissolve a little.

"I-I need to go, M-Mom will be home by now and I only told her I'd be gone an hour," He replied suddenly, in a single breath, repositioning his backpack.

Joey straightened from the abruptness, but said nothing more as Noah headed for the door.

Jessie went after him and stopped him, frowning, "W-Wait, i-it's okay, we don't have to talk about it anymore—"

"That is exactly why you brought me here," He replied sternly, a light glare on his face though it wasn't as harsh, "If you didn't want any of that crap brought up, you should've left me be after you ran into me."

And then he continued out, not once looking back as he headed down the street, back home.

From inside the café, Joey looked after Noah with concern, and Mai spoke to him after a minute of silence.

"That boy's been hurt. And pretty badly, too," She said softly, looking to Joey with knit brows, "No wonder Téa moved away so quickly…"

He sighed softly, giving a small nod, "Yeah…" He looked back at Mai, "I just can't believe Yugi did that to him, though, y'know–?"

"But we don't know what happened before he disappeared," Serenity mused softly, a small frown on her face, "Something could've changed in Yugi. He did stop talking to all of us a couple years beforehand, and no one has seen or heard from him…"

Joey looked down in thought for a minute, but then took off his cap and tossed it lazily on the counter, "I'm gonna go after 'im and check on 'im—and Téa, too. I'm done with 'em not talkin' to us."

"How come?" Tristan questioned as Joey moved behind the counter.

"Cuz they're my best friend's family and I'm responsible for 'em while Yug's gone," Joey replied firmly, "Anyone else comin' with–?"

The door shut with a slam.

Noah knew his mother would get after him for it, but at the moment he felt a bit too numbed to care. Numbing was his defense mechanism; it was how he coped when too much emotion came up at once.

When no one got after him for the door, he went ahead and gave a small call, "Mom? I'm home–!"

No response came to that either; then Noah took notice of the note on the counter in the kitchen, and he set his bag down heavily by the couch.

'I'll be at the store after work, so if you get home before me, make sure not to eat too much. I want to make something special for you after your first day. And I want to hear all about it! ~ Mom'

Noah sighed heavily after reading it, before crunching up the note in his hands and tossing it away. Téa was gone a fair amount, though not because she wanted to be; Noah had taken a fair amount of small jobs when he turned sixteen, to help pay for things while his mother worked full time as an instructor. Upon moving back to Domino City, Téa insisted that he take it easy so that he could focus on school, and she took on a new job teaching dance at one of the small universities in Domino.

Noah sighed and trudged over to the couch, sitting against the back of it; from the side table next to him, he took the family picture and slumped back, looking at it with his chest feeling tight.

He felt around the frame as he gazed at the picture, sighing heavily again. He did wish he could remember at least a little of his childhood, of the good times he'd had with his father. Maybe it would lessen the pain (he scoffed to himself). He knew there was a fair amount of good memories up until he turned seven, when Yugi started changing suddenly and began ignoring him, but it was like his mind purposefully blocked them out.

Noah knew Joey was only trying to help and understand, and he supposed he appreciated the concern, but at the same time he wished he had just said 'no' to Jessie and went on home after his first day. He could've avoided everything if he'd just said 'no.'

One thing he did remember about Yugi, at the very least when he was a child, was that he'd been very loving and understanding when Noah was a kid. From an early age, Noah was seen as the outcast and an odd boy. He couldn't remember why, but he remembered that whenever he came home after a hard day, Yugi would be there with open arms waiting, and words of encouragement following after, offering to show him his Deck and make jelly-filled sandwiches to cheer him up. It was something Noah had always looked forward to at the end of the day.

But then when Noah turned seven, Yugi started changing. He stayed away from home more often than not, and he would ignore Noah when he was at home. He would see his parents argue a bit, though Téa did a bit more of the actual yelling than Yugi did, and Noah was surprised when he figured out that she meant it.

And then Noah's ninth birthday rolled around. It seemed like, that whole month, Yugi had begun to get fairly sick, but he was still away from home too often. He was ignoring Noah a bit less, but then he would just sit with Noah and hug him, not saying a single word. It was very uncomfortable for an eight-year-old.

The night before Noah's birthday, the child finally asked Yugi on his own that his father would stay home the next day, which shouldn't have been as hard for Noah to ask as it was.

It was all too easily and monotonous that Yugi said he couldn't. And something snapped in Noah that day. By this point, he could only remember being in a fit of rage, yelling at Yugi and 'meaning it' himself. He did recall telling his father that he hated him, and that if he left again, he better not ever come back.

It almost seemed Noah had gotten his wish: Yugi disappeared the next day, and never came back afterwards. He left Téa and Noah to fend for themselves, and he was never seen again.

Coming back to himself, Noah hardly noticed how tight his hold was on the photograph.

With decent force, he threw the picture away, trembling all over and not even flinching once the glass shattered in the frame from impact with the hardwood floors.

'It was all a lie,' A dark little voice would whisper to him, 'You told him to never come back, it's all your fault. He never cared about you, it was all a lie.'

'No it wasn't,' A different whisper would tell him, even as a child, 'He cared for you, he loved you. It wasn't his fault, and it wasn't yours.'

More often than not, Noah would lean on that encouraging whisper, perhaps because it reminded him of Yugi, or perhaps because it sounded so real, so genuine.

As a child, Noah had always believed that strong voice to belong to an imaginary friend of his. The friend almost acted like an older brother, always encouraging and a voice of reason. Of course, it was usually just a voice. A few times, when he was older, Noah believed he was just crazy. Presently, he still believed that to an extent.

At some point though, Noah had to dismiss it, deciding that he needed to 'grow up' and leave behind his childhood things, like dueling, and singing, and drawing…and his imaginary friend. He would catch himself doodling or humming from time to time, he couldn't completely stop habits like that. But he never heard that encouraging voice again.

And it was times like this, when Noah was alone and feeling small, that he wished he hadn't gotten rid of his imaginary friend. A bit too old at this point, perhaps, but at least it would've been someone to talk to.

Somehow, Noah had managed to get himself up to his room and changed out of his uniform into a more comfortable t-shirt and jeans. He still felt numbed at this point, so he just figured he would go sit and wait for his mother to come home.

Right when he got to the bottom of the steps, a few hard pounds were made on the door. Noah flinched, knowing his mother never knocked like that. ['Doesn't she have her key on her anyway?' He mused to himself.]

So, he went up to the door, about to unlock it.

*bump—bump—*

He yanked his hand back.

It was the same feeling he'd gotten earlier, at the stairs of Domino High, right before Jessie rammed into him. His heart gave a hard beat in his throat and then fell to his stomach.

His brows knit, 'There it is again…what even is that…?'

To satisfy the nagging feeling in his gut, he instead checked out the peephole, or at least had intended to.

But before he could even check through the small hole, the door was forced open and he was pressed against the wall with a terse groan.

He pushed the door closed to get it off, rubbing his shoulder, where he'd gotten the most impact, "Hey, who the hell d'you think you—"

This time, something came at him across the face in a punch, knocking him off his feet. He first wiped at his mouth, but then also felt a sting to his cheek, where a small cut had been made.

"I told ya not to go nosin' into other people's business…"

Noah snatched up his head, surprised to see the two males he'd gotten off of Sarah earlier darkening the doorway.

His eyes narrowed, nearly snarling, "Great: instead of rape, you can get arrested for breaking and entering and assault."

The taller of the two males picked Noah up by the shirt; he had black hair pulled back from his face into a tight ponytail, and his eyes looked sly with their gray irises.

"We were never properly introduced…" He replied, jerking his head to the other male first, and then giving a terse nod for himself, "Kevin, and Jet."

The other male was shorter, and a bit more stout, skin and hair dark and he had a scar across his cheek. He glared at Noah himself, teeth bared in an attempt of intimidation, "You made us miss a hot night, newbie!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but a lady has to give you permission to let you touch her. Clearly you two were raised by snakes."

He earned another punch for this, though he managed to get himself off the ground before Jet got him back up by the collar again.

"I'll teach ya another principle to live by," Jet replied with a slight rasp, "Pick your fights better."

He threw Noah to the ground, twirling a dagger at the hilt; it had almost just 'appeared' in his hand, though Noah could see how he'd been cut earlier.

Except then he threw the dagger at Noah after letting go, and multiple others from thin air after the first. Noah backed up quickly enough to miss being hit, but then his eyes widened at how they had all just appeared.

Jet gave a small chuckle at his shock, "Oh, yeah, forgot to tell ya. Apparently, you pissed off someone else, along with us. He has a bone to pick with you, too."

Noah straightened, "Unlike you guys, I don't go around looking for fights!—I don't know who you're talking about!"

But his shoulders fell in shock when Kevin pointed at him, "Noah Mutou, only son-a Yugi Mutou, five-foot-ten, blond hair, blue eyes, and a scar on the back-a yer neck from a childhood accident."

Noah flinched and put a hand to his neck, right where the scar was. His voice was quiet at this point, "H-How did you know that…!?"

"We didn't, but this guy did. You may not know 'im, but he knows you," Jet replied with a smirk.

Noah's eyes widened sharply, while Kevin rubbed his fingers together, "He paid us a pretty sum to bring back a head, too. So let's get it on, already!"

Just when Noah was standing up, back against the wall, Kevin drew in a harsh breath and spat, but what came out was what looked like webbing instead of a spitwad. Noah cringed with a yell of disgust as it stuck to his wrists and the wall, and then winced when it burned into his skin. He gave a few tugs to try and see if he could free himself, but tensed when he found himself stuck.

"Guy gave us a couple pretty pieces ahead-a time, too," Jet replied, smirk broadening, "Nice guy, ain't he?"

Noah cringed again, breathing quickening from the drastic turn of situation.

Before he could think very far on what to do, Jet grabbed his hair, drawing his head back, aiming another dagger at his neck just below the Adam's Apple.

"Now, why don't we finish the job and get that head to our new friend…?"

Noah's eyes were wide, a few gasps escaping him as he hyperventilated. Death had never frightened him, but his body being left for his mother to find was terrifying.

'Please…! I don't want to have her hurting anymore…! I don't want her to find me like that–!' He thought to God-knew-who, or perhaps he was just praying to someone in general, 'Please, I need help–! Somebody, anybody who can help! Please–!'

He thought Jet might've sliced his throat already when he was blinded by a white light; he didn't feel any pain at his neck, but he also wasn't totally numbed either.

The light burned off whatever was keeping his wrists bound to the wall, and then Jet let go of his hair. Noah exhaled sharply in relief, slumping to his knees and panting for the moment.

When he finally looked up a bit, he didn't see Jet or Kevin before him, but he saw crudely-made slip-on shoes instead, or at least they were crude, compared to modern-day sneakers.

Noah backed up to sit against the wall, gaze slowly moving upward to take in the appearance of the new body before him.

It was a presence vaguely familiar to Noah, almost like they were much older than they appeared. The eyes were intent with a violet hue, skin darkened by everyday exposure to direct sunlight added to a naturally-darker skin tone. The tunic and royal-purple cape he wore were fastened with pure gold, as was the crown that fell over his forehead.

Noah's eyes were wide, mouth parted as the person looked down at him with concern. Then their brows knit, asking in a gentle tone, "Are you all right…?"

Noah blinked a few times, thinking he was either hallucinating, or was in the process of dying and hallucinating because of it.

"I…th-think so…" He got out in a whisper, still staring in shock.

The royal-looking man before him looked over him for just a moment more before turning his back to Noah, spreading his arms out in protection.

"I will not permit you to harm him any further," He said to the two, voice now harsh and stern.

Noah flinched at the tone, but he looked at the male's back with knit brows.

'Who…Who are you…?'