This chapter has been made up of old chapters that have since been deleted, rewrote and added to this one. If you wish to read the old versions of these chapters than simply message me and I will send them over to you. This chapter was made up of the original versions of chapters 8-11.
"1656 yen, what should I do that's not even close to 200,000." Yugi said out loud as she finished counting up her savings, placing the notes and coins down on her desk in a small pile. When she had arrived home that afternoon her Grandpa had practically thrown a fit the second he had seen her injuries, wanting to march over to the school and demand why he hadn't been called after she had visited the school nurse. Yugi had been able to stop him before he put his plan into action however, telling her Grandpa that she just wanted to forget about what had happened and then proceeded to distract him by asking if he would go out and fetch some more bandages from the shops.
By the time her Grandpa returned he was completely calm and no longer had any plans to call up the school, instead he did what she asked and tried his best to not talk about what had happened to her. Instead he closed the shop early so that she would be able to rest, her body too sore to do much work without gasping in pain. For hours he acted like a mother hen, carrying her books, helping her replace the bandages and he even ordered her favourite takeout food so that she didn't overexert herself cooking.
It wasn't until much later that Yugi was finally given a moment alone, using that time to have a shower so that she could soothe her aches and pains and also check the scale of her injuries, not having been able to look herself over all day. However as soon as she had finished putting on a set of clean pyjamas she was once again summoned back down the stairs to her Grandpa, the old man not wanting to let her out of his sight for too long. It didn't take long however before she was able to sneak away, her Grandpa having fallen asleep while watching the tv.
As soon as she reached her bedroom Yugi began her hunt, looking in every possible corner of her room for any spare change she had lying around, looking at the bottom of her draws and inside all her jacket pockets. However, the money that she found and the yen from her small nest egg were nowhere near her goal of 200,000 yen, she hardly had enough for a new packet of Duel Monster cards. All the money that Yugi had to her name came from either pocket money or the tips of very generous customers, her Grandpa only giving her pocket money rather than a wage for working at the shop; it was their family business after all and if she didn't help out then they would have no income at all. "If I don't pay he'll beat me up again…"
Was her only option to ask him for money?
As Yugi sat at her desk fiddling with the Millennium Puzzle she began to think about all the possibilities that would occur if she returned to school the next day without the money that Ushio demanded. Would she even survive tomorrow if she didn't bring him the 200,000 yen, she didn't put it past the 3rd year to actually use the knife that he had threatened her with, but would he simply torture her with it or outright kill her. If she went to school without the cash than she would either return home covered in cuts or lay bleeding out in some alleyway, Yugi was certain of it.
"Why am I working on the puzzle, this isn't the time for that." Yugi exclaimed in anger as she practically slammed the puzzle down on her desk. Since she had arrived home the puzzle had hardly left her side, despite the fact that she had more important things to do then try to solve it, like figure out a way to get out of the mess she was in. And yet even though her mind was busy trying to come up with a solution to her problems she found that for some strange reason she was able to solve the Millennium Puzzle much easier than she ever had before, even easier than the night before. To think that in the last two days she had managed to make more progress on the golden puzzle than she ever had in 8 years.
Could she really do this, ignore all her problems to instead work on the puzzle. If she didn't come up with a solution to Ushio's threats then where would she find herself this time tomorrow, safe and sound in her bed or laying in a morgue. But the only solution that she had been able to come up with involved her asking either her Grandpa or one of her best friends for the money, however Yugi didn't want to worry the pair even though she knew that they would happily supply her with the cash without complaint. Perhaps she would spend just a few minutes on the puzzle so that she could take a break.
Time seemed to disappear as Yugi worked on the puzzle, the feelings of dread and fear that lay deep in her stomach disappearing with every piece that she managed to put together. All her ideas about how to put together the money for Ushio had long left her mind, all that mattered to her now was the puzzle and the goal of finishing it tonight. She couldn't let this small moment of clarity disappear, fearing that if she did it would take another 8 years before she came this close to solving the puzzle again.
"So, if I turn this piece." Yugi spoke gently as she placed the piece she was holding into its slot, quickly realising afterwards that it was the second to last piece of the puzzle. Yugi could hardly believe it, she had finally done it, she had completed the Millennium Puzzle; she had achieved the impossible. What had been described as beyond human knowledge since she could remember sat in the palm of her hand one piece away from completion, this was the greatest moment of her life; in a matter of seconds all the years that she had put into the puzzle would be worth it. "I did it! When I fit in the last piece it will be done."
Yugi couldn't describe the immense feelings that rested inside of her, wanting to scream and cry from the happiness that she felt all at the same time. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so happy in her life, perhaps she never had felt so happy before today. To think that her Grandpa had been wrong all those years telling her that she would never complete the puzzle, she couldn't feel prouder knowing that she had proved him wrong. Perhaps now the dream that she had placed on the puzzle would finally come true.
However, when Yugi reached inside of the golden box to retrieve the final piece all she felt was cold metal no matter what direction she moved her hand in. Quickly picking up the box and bring it to her eyes Yugi found the box completely empty. She couldn't believe it how could a piece have gone missing, Yugi had been so carefully with the box since the day she had gotten it, how could it not have all the puzzle pieces inside. The last piece had to be somewhere in her room, she must have been fiddling with it one day and simply forgot to place it back inside the box with the others.
After almost an hour of tearing her room apart, emptying boxes, raiding her draws and completely ruining her ironed clothes Yugi found no trace of the missing puzzle piece much to her dismay. Could the puzzle piece have been lost when she had taken it to school or had the piece even been in the box at all when she found it, if either of those ideas were true than it was all over; her dreams would never come true. All those years of wishing and working on the puzzle had been wasted on a childish fantasy. 'I can never solve the puzzle. My wish will never get granted'.
"Whoa. I'm amazed! You finished the Millennium Puzzle!" Yugi heard her Grandpa speak from behind her, interrupting her thoughts with his words. Yugi wasn't sure just how long he had been awake for, having not heard him at all, however she figured that she must have made enough noise during her hunt for the missing puzzle piece to wake him from his slumber.
"No, I couldn't finish it after all Grandpa; there's a lost piece." Yugi replied as she passed the Millennium Puzzle to her Grandpa and showed him the weirdly shaped hole on one of the sides. How she was able to speak without crying Yugi didn't know, her whole body feeling tight and finding herself hardly able to breathe as she thought about her shattered dream that would now never come true.
"Yugi you've poured your heart into this puzzle for the last 8 years you should have more faith, and be more careful with your things." Yugi's Grandpa told her as he handed her the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi stared at her Grandpa in confusion for a moment before he brought out his hand from behind his back and revealed to her the final piece of the puzzle that she had believed had been lost forever.
"Thank you, Grandpa. You found it for me." Yugi shouted as she flung herself at the old man, ignoring his grunt of shock as she tightened her grip on him. Yugi didn't know how her Grandpa had come across the puzzle piece, he could have taken the piece from its box the day she had asked if she could keep the puzzle and she wouldn't have cared, she was just happy that she would be able to finish the Millennium Puzzle.
"I wasn't the one who found it." Sugoroku told his granddaughter as she stared at the piece he had handed her, half listening to what he had said. He had been awoken around 20 minutes ago by the sound of knocking at his front door, for a moment he thought that he would leave it for Yugi to answer however when the knocking persisted and he opened his eyes he found Yugi no longer in the seat next to him. Thinking that something had happened to her Sugoroku rushed to the door expecting to see the police however instead he found a soaking wet young boy wearing the same uniform that Yugi wore.
For a moment Sugoroku though that the boy had been the one to hurt Yugi however when the boy began explaining why he was there he quickly realised that wasn't the case, instead he was another victim of the bully who had hurt his granddaughter. The boy told him that his name was Jonouchi and that Yugi had gotten hurt protecting him from a thug named Ushio who alongside beating her up threatened her with a knife if she didn't give him 200,000 yen. Jonouchi also asked Sugoroku to not tell Yugi his name before reaching inside of his pocket to retrieve a piece of the Millennium Puzzle, telling the old man that he was sorry for what he had been doing to Yugi for the past week before walking off.
"A friend of yours just stopped by. He asked me to give that to you." Yugi's Grandpa told her as he turned away and began to walk towards her bedroom door, pausing for a moment when he reached her school bag so that he could place the small envelope of money that he had been hiding inside; hopefully Yugi would be safe from this Ushio after she paid him. "Goodnight Yugi."
"Goodnight Grandpa." Yugi replied as stroked the piece of the puzzle gently, quickly saying a small 'thank you' in her head for the mysterious friend who had found her puzzle; without their small act of kindness her hopes and dreams would still be shattered.
As soon as Yugi inserted the final piece of the Millennium Puzzle into its place a blinding white light began to fill her bedroom, however no matter how hard she tried Yugi was unable to let go of the puzzle to cover her eyes from the light. Instead, Yugi found herself becoming drowsy, no longer able to support herself despite how awake she had felt moments ago. With her hands busy holding onto the Millennium Puzzle Yugi had no way of catching herself as she began to fall backwards towards her hard-wooden floor.
For a moment Yugi thought that she would slam down onto her floor however instead she landed into a pair of strong arms that couldn't have belonged to her Grandpa. Not knowing who it was who had caught her Yugi tried with all her might to open her eyes so that she could see the face of her mysterious saviour, however no matter how hard she tried her eyelids refused to move as she found herself drifting into unconsciousness. The last thing that Yugi heard was the same voice from the dream the night before ringing out.
"Thank you."
"I can't believe Yugi called me out here in the middle of the night." Ushio spoke to himself as he walked past the school gates, turning his head constantly as he kept a lookout for the short tri coloured haired girl. He had been woken up some time ago by a phone call from the first year, telling him that she had the money but didn't want to risk taking all of it with her to school the next day, so instead she asked if he would meet her at the front of the school at midnight to make the exchange. Ushio didn't know how the girl had come across his number but he didn't care, he was getting paid that was all that mattered; he just hoped that the girl would arrive soon.
Unbeknownst to Ushio, Yugi would not be meeting him that night or ever again if everything went according to plan. Instead, Ushio would be meeting the spirit that resided inside of the Millennium Puzzle who had vowed to defend and protect Yugi the day she had discovered the puzzle. Ever since Yugi had held a piece of the puzzle in her hand the pair had been connected, the spirit able to follow and watch over her even when she didn't bring the Millennium Puzzle with her. For years the spirit had watched over Yugi, observing her as she suffered in silence from the torment she was subjected to by her peers for being a little different.
The spirit had wanted to do something about Yugi's bullies since the first time he watched her get picked on, all he needed was a few seconds in control so that he could make her stand up for herself for just once in her life, but he knew that she wasn't ready for him back then. If Yugi had completed the Millennium Puzzle when she was a child there was no telling what the repercussions would be, so the spirit waited, spending his time building up the connection between him and Yugi so that she would be prepared for when he took control the first time.
The spirit had thought that Yugi would be safe for a few more years however the second Ushio appeared the spirit knew that it was time to let Yugi complete the Millennium Puzzle and complete their bonding. It had been a good thing that the spirit had begun letting Yugi solve the puzzle as the very next day she along with Jonouchi and Honda had been beaten up by the burly older teen. It had made the spirits blood boil knowing that Yugi had been hurt and he was unable to do something, but he wouldn't let Ushio get away with what he had done to his host. He would serve justice to Ushio and he would be punished accordingly through the shadow game they would play, and Ushio would never be able to harm Yugi or anyone else ever again.
"Thanks for coming Ushio." The spirit spoke as he used his powers to shift the shadows that he had surrounded himself with away, having wanted to surprise Ushio and cement himself as being the one in control of the situation. As the spirit came into view Ushio stood there in confusion, surprised at Yugi's difference in appearance, unsure if it was due to the lack of lightning or if he just hadn't noticed how she really looked during their limited interactions.
Ushio had been right that Yugi did look different, the spirit only able to somewhat hide when he took control of her body. The main difference between the spirit and Yugi was their height, the spirit adding several inches of height to Yugi's small stature; actually making her look more like the teenager that she was rather than a child which she was often mistaken for. Another difference was Yugi's voice, which deepened when the spirit took control while still sounding feminine. The final difference between the pair was their hair. The two already had similar hair, commonly styled the same and even had the same tri coloured scheme, however the spirit had blonde strokes of hair stretching out into his black locks that now appeared in Yugi's hair. Enough differences between the pair that would cause friends and those who knew Yugi enough to pause and question her appearance however for strangers like Ushio the differences wouldn't matter nor would they question it.
"I knew you would be a good girl and give me the money. Now hand it over!" Ushio shouted as he stretched out his hand, ready to receive the money that he would not be getting.
"I have it right here, and I've raised it 400,000." The spirit told him as he reached inside of Yugi's school jacket and took out the money. How nice of Yugi's Grandpa to provide him with the extra cash, if he hadn't then the spirit wasn't sure he would have been able to interest Ushio into playing a game. The spirit needed a way to win over the older teen and sway him into taking part in the shadow game and the easiest way to do that would be to give him the chance to line his pockets, his greed filled heart unable to resist the opportunity. "But this much money… It wouldn't be any fun to just hand it over. So how about we play a game."
"A game?" Ushio questioned, shocked by what Yugi was staying. Gone was the scared little girl who he had beaten up, instead there stood a confident young woman who didn't care that he had threatened her earlier that day. She should be scared, fearful for what he would do to her if she upset him and yet here she was challenging him to a game; the girl was even weirder than the rumours he had heard.
"How about it, if you win you get more than 200,000 yen. We need just one tool to play, the knife that you've got hidden." The spirit told Ushio as the older teen brought out the knife that he had shown Yugi earlier from his inside pocket. The second the spirit had seen the knife he knew just how he would use it in his shadow game, in fact it was vital for his plans, everything would have been ruined if Ushio hadn't brought the knife along with him; however the setting for their game resolved that issue after all who wouldn't bring some form of protection with them while walking around in the middle of the night.
"I'll explain the rules." The spirit began as he walked over to the P.E equipment that he had moved out into the middle of the school entrance for their game, placing down the pile of money and the knife that Ushio had handed him. Before this night was over Ushio would find himself punished for his acts against the innocent and the spirits host, lost in a sea of illusion that the spirit had created just for him; the older teen would regret ever harming anyone.
"The players take turns putting money on top of their hand and stabbing it with the knife, keeping only the bills that the knife stab, players also must always take more than one bill." The spirit explained as he grabbed the knife and gave Ushio a small demonstration of what he was asking him to do, though the spirit didn't actually stab the pile of money; stopping the knife just before it was about to plunge into the bills. "The game continues until the last bill is gone, the challenge is to take as much money as possible. If a player tries to take the money by hand or quit the game before it is over then they forfeit all the money they have collected and hand it to their opponent. But be warned Ushio, if you break the rules then as punishment a penalty game will decide your fate."
"It's just a test of courage." Ushio began as he stared at the pile of money and the knife that rested in front of him. Ushio cared little about the 'penalty game' that Yugi spoke of, caring more about the 400,000 yen sitting in from of him. He could simply walk away from the school with the 200,000 that he had asked for however 400,000 yen was just too much money to let slip away from him. "I accept."
"I'll start." The spirit told Ushio as he placed the pile of bills onto his hand before picking up the knife that had been wedged into the P.E equipment, planning to make the first move. However, as the spirit hovered the knife over the bills resting on top of his hand his thoughts drifted to the possible outcomes of the duel rather than on his turn. If everything turned out the way the spirit planned then Yugi as well as everyone else at the school would never have to deal with Ushio ever again. But if the spirit lost then not only would Ushio have his money but also walk away unscathed, still in his position of power inside of the school able to make Yugi's life a living hell. The spirit couldn't let that happen.
Yugi meant everything to the spirit and he would not allow any more harm to befall her while he could stop it. The spirit had no memories of his life before residing in the puzzle nor did he have any memories of the many years that he had resided inside of a tomb, only knowing that he had been hidden away for 3000 years although he had no sense of the time passing by in his head. The spirits first memory in fact involved Yugi's soft hands gently picking up the golden box that housed the pieces of his puzzle.
It had been such a shock that day, finding himself awoken for the first time in years. All the spirit knew was that he had been woken from his slumber by a young girl named Yugi that he vowed to protect the second she made a wish on his puzzle. She was so innocent, her heart pure of any thoughts of darkness that would often be found in the souls of others, she was a miracle to be found in the dark infested world they lived in. There was no one else more deserving of the puzzle the spirit was sure of it and now that his puzzle was complete and he had full control of his powers he would dedicate his life to protecting hers.
'I'll keep you safe Yugi, no matter what.' The spirit though to himself as he plunged the knife into the pile of bills. As the spirit eased his way into the notes he took his time, making sure that he only used enough strength as necessary to cut through more than one note rather than give it his all. If the spirit made one wrong move than Yugi would end up waking up in her bed the next morning with a gaping hole in her hand and if that happened then the spirit would have to appear to her before he planned to so that he could explain how she had got the injury.
"I didn't even get ten bills, I thought I'd put my strength in it but they're not easy to stab." The spirit told his opponent as he lifted the knife so that it was level to his eyes, showing off the bills that he had managed to grab to Ushio. After taking the bills that he had grabbed off the knife the spirit pocketed the cash quickly before turning the knife around so that the handle was facing Ushio so that the teen would be able to make his move. As Ushio prepared to take his turn the spirit began to speak once again, trying to increase the fear within the teen. "If you use too much strength you'll stab yourself. The point of the game is to control your greed."
"SHUT YOUR TRAP!" Ushio shouted as he plunged the knife deep into the pile of bills, managing to grab a larger amount of bills then the spirit had. Ushio had told himself that he would be sensible during this game, taking his time so that he didn't accidentally injure himself. However that idea had quickly been thrown out of the window after Yugi's comment about greed, Ushio was now fuelled by the rage that he felt about her words, but with rage came mistakes and that was just what the spirit had hoped for. As Ushio tugged the knife out of the money laying on his hand he began laughing like a madman when he saw just how much of a difference there was between his and Yugi's own pile. "Look! Over 100,000 yen and not a mark on my hand. I should have stabbed harder."
"Not bad but it gets harder to control your strength each turn." The spirit warned Ushio and he picked up the knife and readied himself for his second turn.
10 minutes later
"There's not much money left, the games almost over." The spirit told Ushio as he handed the older teen the knife once again. Ushio was currently in the lead with over 200,000 yen, a lot more money than he had originally asked for. However the only reason that Ushio was winning was because he only had himself on the line, the spirit on the other hand had to protect the body of his host at all cost to make sure that she didn't become aware of the spirits presence.
'There's nothing to this game, this brat was foolish for ever challenging me.' Ushio thought to himself as he raised the knife once more. In his mind he had already won, after all he had much more money compared to Yugi that she would never catch up even if she stabbed all the way to the bottom of the pile, there was nothing that she could do to win. 'The rest of the money is mine!'
'My arm. I can't relax my right arm.' Ushio thought to himself in a panic as he found to his surprise that no matter how hard he tried he was unable to relax his hand, battling himself in an attempt to weaken the strength in his arm that wanted to swing down with all its strength, however failing miserably. 'My arm isn't listening to my brain. If I don't stop it then I'll... I'll lose everything... I have to fight it.'
"In the shadow games a person's true nature is revealed to decide their fate." The spirit told the older teen as he watched Ushio fight against his own body. This was what the spirit had been waiting for, the moment that Ushio's true self would come through and cause him to do something drastic to stop himself, he just needed that final push and everything would fall into place. "Your right arm is controlled by your own greed, you can no longer stop it Ushio. So what will you do, sacrifice your left hand to get the money or…"
"The answer is simple. There is a way for me to take a stab without hurting my left hand and get all the money." Ushio interrupted the spirit mid-sentence, finally coming up with an answer to his problem. If Ushio was being honest he hadn't planned to harm Yugi any more than he already had the day before as long as she paid him the money that he asked for. True, he had considered blackmailing her later on in the year for more money to keep his silence for what he had done but asides from that he had no plans to hurt her again. However those plans had changed, if only she hadn't challenged him to a game she might have walked away from the school unharmed; perhaps if he was feeling generous he would call for an ambulance so that she didn't end up bleeding out. "DIE YUGI!"
As soon as Ushio had uttered the words he quickly turned the knife that he was holding away from his hand to instead aim directly at Yugi's heart, swinging down his arm with all his strength. However just as the knife was about to make contact with Yugi's body the spirit made it jump backwards out of the way of the blade, landing safely nearly 5 feet away from Ushio.
"Just as I thought, you weren't able to follow the rules." The spirit told Ushio as a grin appeared on his face and a golden glowing eye symbol appeared on his forehead, unleashing the power that rested inside of his soul. "This mark is only seen by those who 'trespass in my soul'! Like those who hurt my friends and try to steal my money."
"PENALTY GAME! GREED THE ILLUSION OF AVARICE!"
"'Thank you.'" The mysterious voice had been on Yugi's mind all day from the second she had woken up, in fact it was all she was able to think about. She had recognised the voice immediately, it was the same voice that she had heard in the dream the night before last, and yet Yugi still couldn't link the voice to a face. Although Yugi felt as though she knew exactly who had said those words, her mind simply refusing to help her remember his face. Her mind also refused to tell her what had happened after completing the Millennium Puzzle, having forgotten once again even getting into bed the night before, and yet that morning she had awoken under her covers; the Millennium Puzzle resting directly on top of her chest.
"Yo Yugi. How are you doin'?" Upon hearing Jonouchi's voice Yugi let the Millennium Puzzle drop down out of her hands, having been admiring her hard work while walking to class. As Yugi looked up she saw that Jonouchi's face was similar to hers, covered in bruises and plasters from Ushio's beating the day before. If Yugi was being honest she had thought that Jonouchi would never approach her again after what had happened the day before, believing that he would instead simply ignore her for the rest of their school lives together.
"I'm fine and you?" Yugi asked as she focused her gaze on Jonouchi's injuries, feeling guilty for getting him hurt.
"This is nothing, happens all the time." Jonouchi told the short girl as he pointed to his face, having noticed her prolonged looks at his cuts and bruises. He hadn't been lying, it seemed like every day he earned a new injury from either getting into fights or accidentally setting of his old man; in fact Jonouchi could hardly remember a time when he wasn't hurt in some way. "You know Yugi if you can keep a treasure so can I. Want to see it. It's 'Something you can show but can't see.'"
Yugi took in his words, surprised that he had used a riddle similar to the one that he had heard her say the day before in class. However no matter what Yugi though of she couldn't come up with an answer, standing there for a good minute staring off into space trying to think of anything that would fit the riddle and failing miserably.
"Give up? C'mon... It's friendship. Thanks for showing that were friends Yugi." It took Yugi a few seconds to react to what he was saying, hardly able to believe that Jonouchi had just called the two of them friends. Jonouchi, who she had been warned about being a gang member within the first hour of her first day at high school had said that they were friends, was this the same blonde that she had known for a week. Perhaps this was the work of the Millennium Puzzle, finally granting her wish.
"Yer." Yugi told the taller teen as she gave him a radiant smile, tears welling up in her eyes from how happy she felt upon hearing his words. As soon as Jonouchi saw Yugi's smile he found himself bringing his hand up to his face in an attempt to stop the blood coming out his nose from ruining his clean uniform. Not wanting Yugi to see his reaction Jonouchi quickly turned around and began running down the hall towards the boy's bathroom, Yugi's voice ringing out behind him in concern.
"Wait Jonouchi you can borrow my handkerchief!"