(Chapter 1)
Yami watched his grandfather over his chopsticks. He could tell the old man was distracted by something. He had been deep in thought ever since Yami returned home from school, and only smiled when prompted. Not even Jounouchi's antics could get through to him. Yami had asked what was wrong after Jou and the others had left, but Grandpa simply shook his head and gave the first real smile of the day. "Nothing to worry about," he had said.
"Okay, Grandpa, spill!" Yami said, putting his chopsticks down. "Something happened today. What is it that has you so down?"
"…I wonder if he felt like I rushed him out…" Grandpa muttered to himself.
"Wait, what? Who are you talking about?" Yami asked, thrown.
"It's nothing to worry about…" assured the old man distractedly.
Grandpa's eyes drifted from his grandson to the kitchen window. It had not stopped raining out, and the sun was beginning to set. He pictured the same boy from his shop standing in a doorway, trying to stay warm and safe for another night. Grandpa felt deep in his heart, although he had no solid proof, that the boy truly had nowhere safe to go.
Sensing his Grandfather's attention slipping away again, Yami sighed and stood. He cast one more concerned look at his grandfather before he gathered the dishes on the table and brought them to the kitchen.
Grandpa Mutou watched his grandson and thought that the boy from today could have easily been Yami, and was thankful that it was not. Although both of Yami's parents were alive and well, they were also absent. His father was forever traveling for business and his mother had moved out of house one year after his father stopped calling. It was unspoken that Yami would be taken care of by his grandfather. Their support came in the form of spontaneous cheques in the mail. Despite what could have been a very crippling emotional blow, Yami instead had become a confident and compassionate young man. Grandpa was very proud of him.
Shaking his head to dispel the depressing thoughts, Grandpa also stood and gathered his dishes. He hoped that the boy from the shop was safe and would feel comfortable returning if he ever needed a place to hide from the rain again. He supposed that was all he could do.
Over the next few days, as the sun came out, Yami was pleased to notice his Grandpa become his old self again. It seemed that whatever had gotten to him down had been gradually forgotten with the rain.
Two weeks later Grandpa was trying determinedly to carry a hefty load of groceries all the way from the shop to his home. He could feel the plastic beginning to give under the weight and cursed the inexperienced bagger who did not double-bag the milk jug that he put with the sharply-edged box of cookies. On top of that, his arms and hands were aching from the strain.
Huffing, he conceded defeat and dropped the groceries ungracefully to the pavement. Pedestrians gave him dirty looks at he stopped in the middle of the path. Grandpa rubbed his hands on his pants, glaring at the passersby.
"Ungrateful generation… never heard of respecting your elders…" he muttered to himself then bent to collect his bags again.
"E-Excuse me…" a small voice interrupted. "Would you like some help?"
Grandpa looked up in shock, recognizing the voice immediately. "It's you!" he practically cheered. The boy who had entered his shop all that time ago stood before him with the same unsure posture and the same dirty clothes. He seemed taken aback by the elder's enthusiasm to see him.
"Oh… you're from that shop…" the kid mumbled, avoiding eye contact again.
"Yes, I would love some help, please, if you wouldn't mind." Grandpa said quickly, sensing another moment of silence forming. He bent over again to gather some of the groceries, smiling when the boy copied his action.
They began to walk down the street together, the only sound between them from the rustling bags. It was apparent to Grandpa that this boy was shy and reserved. Awkward pauses were a very real danger around him.
"What's your name?" Grandpa asked as they neared the shop. The boy seemed hesitant to answer.
"Yuugi." He replied finally, his voice characteristically quiet.
"How old are you, Yuugi?" There was another pause.
"I'm 15, sir."
Grandpa suddenly loudly guffawed at the title, Yuugi started at the unexpected laughter. "Ho, ho, ho! No need to call me sir. You can call me Grandpa Mutou if you'd like, or Sugoroku if you feel more comfortable with that."
"A-Alright…" Yuugi replied, ducking his head.
The duo stopped in front of the game shop. "Well, here we are." Grandpa announced, fishing around for the keys in his pocket.
"You live here…?" Yuugi asked shyly.
"That's right!" Grandpa answered with pride in his voice. He opened the door, then propped it open with his foot and nodded for Yuugi to enter.
"Cool!" Yuugi exclaimed, before bowing his head again, embarrassed. Grandpa's heart swelled when he saw a genuine smile on the boys' face.
"Where should I put these?" Yuugi asked. Grandpa led him towards the back of the dark store and into the home portion of the building. In the kitchen, he put his own bundle of groceries on the counter and gestured for Yuugi to do the same.
Grandpa was then confronted by the awkwardness of the situation. Should he offer Yuugi money for helping him? Would the boy be offended if he did? Or if he didn't? Was it rude of him to have a presumably homeless, presumably hungry boy handle his groceries?
"I better get going…" Yuugi mumbled.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Grandpa asked suddenly.
"…Er…"
"It's really not a problem. My way of saying thanks for helping me."
"Uhm… I-I guess I could… if you're sure…" The boy was twisting his dirty and frayed sweater cuffs in his pale hands.
Grandpa smiled encouragingly. He began to energetically rummage through the bags, making a show of getting dinner together. "It will be a while yet, so why don't you go get cleaned up. The bathroom is just through the hall there."
Body language screaming nervousness all over again, Yuugi mumbled something and went in the direction Grandpa indicated. Grandpa stopped his flurry of actions as the boy left his line of vision. Truthfully, he wasn't quite sure what he was doing. All he knew was that he felt the need to help this boy, in any way he could. A nice hot meal would do him good. Sighing as he began to put the groceries away and prepare dinner in earnest, he started to wonder what Yami's reaction to their dinner guest would be when he got home from school.
Eventually Yuugi wandered back into the kitchen. The dirt on his face and hands was gone and it was apparent that he had taken measures to tame his hair as well. Grandpa attempted to make conversation while he prepared the meal, but other than politely answering his questions, Yuugi didn't have a lot to say. He kept his eyes focussed on a disassembled gold puzzle sitting on the counter.
"Ah, I see you've noticed the Sennen puzzle!" Grandpa remarked after following his gaze. "Yami and I, my grandson, take a shot at it every now and then. It's nearly impossible!"
"Oh, I see…" Yuugi replied.
"Go ahead and try to solve it. We sure could use the help."
Tentatively Yuugi picked up a piece of the puzzle and inspected the small chunk that had already been solved, his attention caught.
"Speaking of my grandson," Grandpa continued, "he should be home right away. He lives here with me."
Yuugi's actions froze, an anxious expression crossing his face. "Oh," he breathed, "Maybe I should go…"
"No, no! It's alright, he's a nice kid!" Grandpa panicked. "There's no need to feel unwelcome…"
The boy continued to fiddle with the puzzle, clearly nervous. Grandpa frowned at him, feeling saddened and inexplicably guilty. He wished there was something he could do to put Yuugi at ease. Silence lapsed between them once more, the sounds of cooking food and gold puzzle pieces clicking together being the only noises in the kitchen.
"May I use the restroom again?" Yuugi spoke up a few minutes later, still staring at the puzzle.
"Of course."
He placed the puzzle pieces on the counter where he found them. "Thank you," he said softly before disappearing down the hall.
A few moments later, Yami walked into the kitchen with a frown.
"Oh, Yami. I didn't hear you come in!"
"Who was that leaving just now?" Yami asked instead, pointing behind him.
"That would be… wait, leaving?" Grandpa gasped, dropping a ladle into a pot of boiling pasta and rushing out of the kitchen. He raced out the front door, looking both ways for any sign of Yuugi. An empty street was all he found. Sighing sadly, Grandpa re-entered the store. Yami stood in front of him, worriedly reaching out for his grandfather.
"Grandpa, what is it?"
"I'll explain over dinner," Grandpa mumbled, leading his grandson back into the house.
"Wait, you let a homeless kid wander our house alone?" Yami interrupted, shocked. "What if he stole something? Grandpa, you're too trusting! He could have robbed you blind, or hurt you!"
"He wasn't dangerous," Grandpa disagreed, shaking his head. "You would agree if you had the chance to meet him properly."
Yami's eyes dropped down to his plate, recalling the boy he bumped into on his way into the shop. The kid completely avoided making eye contact while mumbling an apology and ducking out of the store. Yami was quite surprised to see somebody in the closed shop, especially a small kid he had never met before. He seemed quiet and weird, but not dangerous.
"So that's why you were so depressed the other day?" Yami asked slowly.
Grandpa nodded, apparently absorbed in his own thoughts as well. They continued to eat in silence, both thinking about the enigmatic Yuugi. When dinner was over, Yami cleared the dishes again and began to wash up without being asked. After tidying, Yami started to walk out of the kitchen. Seeing his grandpa still preoccupied with his thoughts, he paused at the doorway.
"I'm sure he'll be alright." Yami offered. "Like you said, we don't know if he really is homeless. And if he is, he has been able to take care of himself this far."
"Ah," Grandpa acknowledged absentmindedly.
Yami turned to leave again when he noticed a dirty messenger bag lying beside the counter. "What's that?" he asked, pointing. Grandpa followed his grandson's finger and recognized the bag as being the one Yuugi was carrying with him.
"Oh no!" He gasped, retrieving the bag. "This is Yuugi's!"
"…what's in it?" Yami asked, curious despite himself as he approached.
"I don't know! And we can't snoop through it, that's an invasion of privacy!" Grandpa snapped.
"But what if it gives us a clue where to find him to return it? It's not snooping, it's helping!"
Grandpa frowned, but couldn't argue with the logic. He tentatively unzipped the bag. Yami had scooted closer, peering over his grandfather's shoulders. Grandpa reached inside, but could not identify any of the items without pulling them out.
Within they found a travelling toothbrush, a thick jumper (just as frayed and filthy as the rest of Yuugi's clothing), a few bank notes with change, a half-drunk bottle of water, and a half deck of old Duel Monster cards; but no clue as to where to find the boy.
Disappointed, Grandpa put the items back in the bag.
"Well," Yami started, hating the dejection rolling of his grandpa in waves, "he knows where you are. He'll be back." He rose from the kitchen chair and patted Grandpa's shoulder on his way out of the room.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy. Also, thank you to all of you who gave this story the time of day and even left a review. I haven't been that giddy in a while!