Chao- When it comes to the stuff Hiroshi says to his son, he says it in a very mature and adult manner. What are the chances kids would actually understand what he says? There are two ways of reading him: What he says is somehow translated into kid language but written in a manner for readers to understand, or Yugi is a smart kid and can already understand his father. Your choice.

"Talking."

"Thinking."

/Yami and Yugi's mind link./

Chapter 20: Mini Games

"I can't believe how much we have to study for!" Joey griped.

Yugi and his usual cluster sat together around his desk in their classroom. Each one inspected the mounts of study guides and final projects' instructions. Their faces of agony matched that to the given task.

"How do teachers expect us to get this all done?" Tristan moaned.

Yugi placed down his sheets and rubbed his large eyes from the blurred texts. He mumbled disheartened, "I guess I'll have to wait until the end of the semester to finish up any videogames."

A dreaded time had finally arrived for students: Final Exams. Despite Joey's theory of tests and mean teachers being out to get him, the concluding quizzes were designed to evaluate students of how much material they had retained. And now even heroes who had saved the world from darkness had to study with crucial intentions.

Although this time was hectic, Yugi was happy he had study buddies. All members in his group had their own strength, just like when they played videogames. They could work together to tackle each subject and gain points in knowledge against the overall villain of multiple-choice questions and essays.

"So what should we work on today?" he asked his crew, ready with his sword—pencil—in hand.

"I need to get to this motorcycle shop after school," Tristan explained. "They got my bike there."

"How about you carry the books, and I'll drive the bike?" Joey grinned, prolonging his job of opening his lackluster textbooks and memorizing useless facts.

"Like I'm gonna let you touch my baby! But you can still carry the books. Thanks for offering!"

"I didn't offer you nothing!"

Tea, knowing the two taller students would be locked in battle, turned her direction to her smaller friend. She offered, "I guess you and me can start something this afternoon."

Yugi looked at his worksheets. There were some matters he already understood and needed to review, yet there were some subjects he needed help with. One teacher had gone on maternity leave, so he was stuck.

"What do you say, Yugi?" Tea asked, breaking into his thoughts. "Want to come to my place?"

"Sure," Yugi laughed. "I'm gonna need all the help I can get!"

He figured he could seize this prospect to recap some lectures, like in his games were he must collect rubies or other materials before beginning the big quest. The pair gathered their materials and was on their way out.

"We'll see you two tomorrow!" Tea waved as the other two members continued their squabble.

As Yugi and Tea made their way out of the educational building, students around them were also asking each other for assistance for the upcoming exams. Yugi's heart raced a bit; he wasn't a model student in comparison to Duel Monsters, but he hoped his change in attitude halfway into the semester could raise his grades. He wanted to make his father proud and stay away from his mother's discipline of adopting lethal ladles as punishments.

"How have things been?" a voice asked, breaking through his thoughts.

"Fine," Yugi answered his female companion. "Everything's been ok since my dad has helped me with a few things."

Tea became quiet. Studying her friend's eyes, she formed an idea of what he meant. She smiled, "That's good to know."

She had been noticing Yugi bringing puzzles to school lately, obtuse of Yugi's true pain in his heart. She watched him fiddling around with them at break while Joey received lectures from their teachers. The puzzles weren't that glamorous, but she was happy Yugi took time to explain them to her. She was fascinated by the challenge.

"Yugi," she called once more. "And what about home?"

"Ok," the small teen assured. "I know things have been a little rocky after sending in that Family Tree project earlier, but I'm ok."

"You've just been missing your dad?"

The pair stopped walking for a moment.

Yugi took in Tea's caring blue eyes. He recalled his hasty act while exiting the computer lab as their class worked on the online assignment. He was aware of the drama his classmates had seen, and he knew how worried everyone had been. But he kept the truth hidden, and he was yet primed in mentioning his issue to anyone. He only solved his puzzles and played his games to relax himself.

"I have," he replied, giving half the truth.

Before he could add on, he looked ahead. He saw children playing carefree as groups raced each other home after their own hard day at school. No exams or family matters worried them, only friendships and cartoons. He felt the Puzzle around his torso slightly in motion. Knowing how much Tea had always placed her friends into relaxing activities, he decided to be the one to initiate the fun.

"There's so much going on right now; let's take a quick break before we hit the books."

In a park nearby the school, Yugi lied himself down onto the lush green. He gazed up towards the endless blue sky. A breeze blew across the land. He felt peace come over him. Despite the challenge of being the Puzzle bearer, the downside to his father's absence, and the resurfacing of his abuser's memories, his problems began to settle. He felt like a snow globe; all his quandaries swishing around his mind slowly came to the bottom, allowing him time to relax.

He looked to his side. Tea was on her back on the grass as well. He was happy to have her by his side, helping him study and supporting him in his game challenges. He looked at his Puzzle that rested on his chest. He was happy to have Yami and talk with him about his problems.

"Maybe things won't be so bad," he surmised as he closed his eyes. "I just need to handle all this school work one step at a time. I may be doing this for school, but at least I'm not alone."

He felt like a lead character in one of his many videogames. He needed to enjoy small stages once in a while along the grand journey in order to recharge. The break also granted the hero a chance to reanalyze other situations at hand.

"I know I have strength from my friends, but will I be ready to see my uncle one day? And what if I do cross paths with him? I don't want to place any of my friends in danger."

A little pain grew in his heart.

Not wanting his friend to notice his expression and question it, he told her his dream he encountered while on vacation. He focused his tale on the adventure of searching for that toy bear as he left out the pieces of his fear while in the dungeon portion. But he accepted the presence of that scene was vital to his view of his relationship with everyone.

"That's really interesting," Tea remarked with a little laugh. She couldn't imagine surviving an avalanche or exploring distorted architectures and rooms.

"Yeah," Yugi agreed. "And that's the second time I've seen that painting in my dream. I guess I'm just thinking about that art class. It's so hard! I barely got a B for our pottery assignment!"

"Totally! But, you know, that painting you mentioned can be thought-provoking."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Because of the space and color between the two characters. The angles are white, and the devils are black. That is obvious. But the two are made between each other's shape."

Yugi became interested, so he listened in.

"Some people only see one side, either the angles or devils." Tea elucidated as she rolled onto her stomach. "And for when people finally do see both, is that to say the world cannot exist without good and evil? Or is this just a great piece of radial symmetry that people are looking way into?"

Taking in those words, Yugi looked at his Puzzle. There was a balance within the ancient item since two souls were present, light and dark. The pair had worked as a team throughout their adventures of finding clues to a former pharaoh's past life. And although difficult jobs and tasks made their way into the journey, the two found compromises while forming an unbreakable bond.

"I guess it's good that we're in this art class together," Yugi laughed. "It's going to get tough when the teacher asks about the history behind each painting!"

"We'd better get going before it gets too late," Tea suggested. "Let's take a short cut to my place."

"Ok," Yugi nodded. "I don't want to be late coming home either."

The two stood up and repositioned their bags on their backs. They had their recharging moment, and now they needed to return to reviewing their lessons for the big exams. The two cut across into an alley. The parting between two large buildings was not as filthy as the ones closer to the warehouses or outskirts of the city. Dumpsters were positioned between each building, but no waif animals were seen roaming and dashing behind the large trashcans. The other end did not have a gate, granting free access to anyone passing by. Yugi and Tea walked in and started up a conversation of Yugi explaining his latest 3D puzzle to his friend as she appeared interested.

But as the pair came into the middle of the alley, blocking the heroes' pathway was an adversary, an older adolescent. A red vest covered his T-shirt, and grey jeans opened at the knees clothed his legs. His head was covered in greasy, long black hair.

Yugi at once recognized the enemy. He placed his arm in front of her to prevent Tea from moving forward while admitting her protection.

"What are you doing here?!" he barked. "I saw you were taken away! And so was the Warm Color Gang!"

"Let's just say the team took one for the leader," Hotaka smirked. "While they're tangled within the court system, I'm free to roam about."

"You let your friends take the fall for you?!" Yugi gasped.

"That's the worst!" Tea rebuked with indignation. "Friends need to stand by—"

"Sorry, girlie, I don't got time for no speeches. High school punks probably don't have as much, but I'll take whatever I can get."

Yugi saw the danger. The leader may not have his teammates this round, but he was wholly virulent. Yugi knew he had to protect his friend. "I've faced him before using my own skills. I know I can do it again."

"Let's go!" Hotaka ordered. "I don't got all day!"

"I've got a better idea," Yugi replied confidently. "Let's play a game. We'll each take a piece of paper and write down what we are—an animal, a place, a thing. We give the paper to each team member from the opposite team. One person will give hints about their choice, and we'll take turns guessing what it is. The first one to guess correctly wins."

"And what makes you think I want to play a game? Don't think I forgot what happened last time."

"Because, it'll give you a chance to face someone who had detected your plot a while ago," Yugi answered boldly.

Yami was aware of the peril the leader had bestowed upon his other half. He didn't want a knife to slash across Yugi's throat, but he spotted the determination and confidence in the teen's eyes. He smirked; he trusted his buddy. /Go get him, partner!/

Tea studied her buddy. Her eyes expanded a little realizing the person standing by her was the same one she had known since childhood. She knew the spirit of the Puzzle typically came out in these situations, yet Yugi remained standing.

"Fine," Hotaka accepted. "But who will read off what we have? It can't be played just the two of us; that'd be cheating."

Yugi disdained the last comment and turned to his tall friend. "Tea, I hate to ask, but could you do this task? He does have a point."

Tea turned stunned upon the request. She grew nervous because she didn't view herself as a good, strong partner like Joey. But she trusted her friend and knew he needed help; otherwise, he wouldn't have set the stage and request in the manner he had. "Sure, ok."

Yugi removed his backpack and took out a sheet of line paper. He ripped it in half, leaving the split page uneven. He handed one side to the opponent.

Hotaka accepted his piece and took out his own pen from his pocket.

The enemies looked at each other and swiftly wrote down their answer. They folded it up and handed it to the girl. Tea scanned each one to ensure the given answer would be correct. She remained quiet, so Yugi could focus.

"I'll go first," Hotaka insisted arrogantly. "I am an animal with an unusual name. Only four letters."

"That's a challenge since there are a lot of animals in the world," Yugi acknowledged. He then gave his own clue, "It's something you can show, but can't see."

Hotaka needed more information, so he gave his next piece, "I am illegal to hunt."

Yugi was aware of the endangered species list. He also decided to provide his next hint, "I am needed by mankind."

"Money?" Hotaka quickly guessed.

Tea shook her head.

"Money is something needed by mankind," Yugi accredited. "But it doesn't fall underneath the first category."

Hotaka grunted. But as he figured his choice was challenging, even for the greatest of riddle solvers, he decided to bequeath his opponent another observation. "I am mainly found in North America, Europe, and even northern Asia."

Yugi still needed more inklings. His geography wasn't the best as all that came to mind of endangered animals were pandas. He passed to guess and gave another indication. "Aristotle gave a quote about it: Without this no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods."

"My connection to American Indian mythology is that I am a keeper of secrets."

"A coyote?" Yugi guessed.

"Sorry, Yugi," Tea replied mournfully.

"That animal is in North American," Hotaka replied with a grin. He then added sarcastically, "So sorry, but you're welcome to try again."

Yugi tried to keep himself collected as he said, "Having this will give you shelter from the world."

"A home?"

"A home is important, but no."

"Home is not his answer." Tea reiterated.

"Poor King of Games," Hotaka mocked. "I have guessed plenty of times, but you haven't as much. Are you that stuck? I'll give you an easy one: I have spots."

Yugi was about to open his mouth for cheetah, but he enumerated that particular animal did not fall underneath the other categories. He clinched his fists as he was becoming frustrated. He looked at Tea and remembered his own choice.

"This is something always worth fighting for," he dictated from his heart. "Always."

"So let's see—something worth fighting for, giving shelter from the world, that one quote from that dead guy, and something to show but not see… Is it pride?"

"No," Yugi answered. "Pride is a good thing to have, but too much of it can lead to arrogance, and that is many people's downfall. This is something far more valuable."

"I am rarely seen in media as they favor cats and dogs, but when I am, I am popular." Hotaka gave. "You'll never guess what it is!"

Yugi brushed off the hecklings; they had been swung in his direction many times before, and over the years he had learned to bear them, understanding those taunts were given to distract players from achieving their goal. He analyzed the references he had been given. The pride of his gaming skills was on the line but so was the safety for his friend. As he evaluated his information, all clues began to connect with each other like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

"You're a lynx." Yugi stated proudly.

"What?!" Hotaka gasped, stunned that his clever answer had been uncovered.

"That's right!" Tea cheered.

"A lynx," the small teen repeated. "I'll admit it was challenging, but once you said it's an animal and rarely seen in TV and movies, it all made sense."

"Yugi wins the match!" Tea hailed.

The small teen glowed with pride. He proudly stood up for those he cared about, and his used his own wit to win a game he had set up himself.

Hotaka became very irascible with his results. He had already lost to the King of Games before, and now all his cohorts that had completed his dirty work for quick money were gone. In his rage the robber leaped on top of Yugi, shoving the two to the ground.

"Yugi!" Tea screamed.

A flash from the Puzzle initiated, and Yami was now in control. The hands of his enemy were pressing against his shoulders as his back mounted against the dirty concrete. The weight above him was great. To fight back his clasped his hands on the adolescent's wrists. He gathered his strength and propelled his enemy off of himself.

"You have lost the game," the spirit reiterated, standing up. "It'll be best if you leave now."

He and Tea began to make their way around the adolescent who sat on the ground.

Hotaka grunted at his failure. He was once a leader of a proud gang, and now he was alone with no strength to be feared. As his eyes darted away from his opponents, he spotted something underneath a wheeling dumpster.

"You can't just leave!" Hotaka shouted as he jumped to his feet. "I've seen you duel before!"

The mentioning of Duel Monsters caught the trio's attention. Yami at once sensed danger. He turned and immediately stood in front of Tea.

"I see that passion in finishing off your opponent in quick moves!" Hotaka yelled, holding a rusty led pipe. "I believe this lovely piece of metal wants you to play with me."

"How about I give you a second shot at guessing my riddle," Yami offered. "If you fail this round, then you shall face a penalty game."

/Yami!/ Yugi chided.

/Yugi, I understand your feelings towards this,/ Yami replied with the same insight. /But this man has already disrespected the game of Duel Monsters with his fake cards, nearly killed you awhile back, failed to accept his defeat in your game, and no doubt will bring harm to others, especially Tea. This is our only option./

/There must be something else—/

/Yugi, we had agreed about who he wishes to face, have we not? Hotaka had wished for this./

Yugi clenched his fists. /Just be careful./

"Let's try some of these clues again," Yami began towards his enemy. "It's something you can show, but can't see."

"I say that's a sucky clue!" Hotaka yelled. "That's the same thing!"

"No, it's not." Yami corrected calmly. "There is plenty that can be shown to one another, but not everything can be seen solely through the human eyes. Some acts can only be seen by the heart."

The once leader of disreputable plots to schemes was growing furious. "By the heart? What a joke!"

Hotaka, having enough, snatched the paper right out of Tea's hand, who became so stun from the act that she froze.

Hotaka's eyes burned as they traced over the sheet to find the answer. "Friendship!? What the fuck type of answer is that?!"

"It's something you can show, but can't see." Yami recapitulated with heart. "I can see that you wouldn't know since you allowed your team to take a fall for you. How will they speak to you upon their release?"

"Games are stupid!" Hotaka shouted as he crumpled and tossed the paper aside. "They have adults acting like kids! Other times, people claim a game to be innocent when really it's just an excuse to gamble! Don't think you intention for this game or Duel Monsters is innocent either! I bet you enjoy smashing your opponents' life points!"

The adolescent who had lost everything was filled with rage. He used both hands to grip his metallic weapon. He at once charged towards his enemies. He swung a few times with his opponent dodging.

Yami grew furious at the robber. Not only were the rules broken, but his passion had been violated.

"You have failed to abide by the rules!" he bellowed, evading the hardware that had been adapted into a pernicious weapon. "Penalty game!"

The dark magic was released, and Hotaka screamed. With the game over, the adolescent fell down to the ground on his side. His hand released the pipe that rolled back underneath the faded green dumpster. He remained motionless.

With Yugi in his transparent state, he and Tea stared at the victim, unable to take in what had happen. They had seen with their own eyes beforehand, but up close and to be on one end was another story.

Yami looked at his hand. He understood why his partner had forbid this act and why it was outlawed to act upon for his uncle. He hadn't done if often, but this was an important circumstance. He looked down at his clothing and spotted a little tear on the sleeve.

"Another torn uniform," he noted. The incident might have occurred when he was shoved to the ground. "Yugi's mother won't be pleased about this."

"Pharaoh?" Tea called.

Yami looked to the girl. He was glad to see her well and safe, but even after all their adventures games, dealing with dark magic was always tricky. But his partner was correct in that friendship was always worth fighting for, defending those he cared about against deranged people or helping the others through tough times.

"Let us go back to your place." Yami insisted. "I know you and Yugi have plenty to study for."

The two continued their way once more.

To be continued…

Chao- There had to be a Shadow Game in this story, and the victim was already created previously. There was already work placed into him, why create another meaningless character just for this game?

YChao- Meaningless? Shouldn't every character serve a purpose? Even ones that are just for brief comic reliefs?

Chao- Do you honestly mean that, or are you only saying that because he tortured Yugi several chapters ago?

YChao- A little of both.

Chao- Fair enough. But for Hotaka, we saw him calm and confident in chapter 6, his cool attitude lost in chapter 7, and his appearance in this chapter now that he lost everything. That seems pretty developed.