All Yuugi wanted was a friend.

Anzu had a busy life. She never really had much time to sit down and play a game with him. She had other commitments, tutors to see, dances to learn, responsibilities to worry about. She did not have the time to play games, but she was always nice and looked out for Yuugi when she could.

Jounouchi and Honda were... well, they could have been a lot nicer to him, but they never lied to him. They never beat him up, or took advantage of him, or did anything truly mean-spirited. They would sometimes play the games he brought to school.

Not like Ushio.

Ushio lied. Ushio attacked. Ushio threatened him with a knife.

So of course, he stood up for them. Jounouchi and Honda were the closest people Yuugi had in his life besides his family. He called them his friends.

So why did he keep getting distracted by that goddamn puzzle!?

Yuugi sighed. His swollen and purpled face hurt. His hair was more of a mess than usual. He could only put together ¥1656, barely a dent in the ¥200000 Ushio demanded.

He never felt this alone before.

So Yuugi did what he always did when he was down, find a game to distract himself from what upset him. The Millennium Puzzle was just the first thing he saw and thus the first thing that came to mind.

He had already memorised where the first few pieces go. The "L" piece went in the back-left corner, the filled out right-angled "8" piece clicked in place next, and then the tiny pyramid. The small odd golden shapes continued to click together.

I wish... I wish I could have a friend... a really good friend...

The clicking sounds of puzzle piece against puzzle piece echoed against the walls of the bedroom above the Kame Game Shop.

Sugoroku swept the storefront. Not out of any necessity, he just needed to do something, anything to get rid of his nerves.

Yuugi... His precious grandson. Bright, cheerful little Yuugi... And some upstart punk had the nerve to beat him up like that. He just could not fathom it. Why would anyone want to hurt Yuugi like that?

Of course, Yuugi tried to lie about it and say he fell badly. Sugoroku knew otherwise, however. You don't get marks like that on the face and a black eye after falling down the stairs. He may not look it, but he got into a few tussles when he was younger. He knew the signs of a fight.

Still, knowing what happened didn't do anything to ease his worries. He could not get the thought out of his mind that someone, perhaps the same someone, may try to hurt Yuugi again. Perhaps it could be even worse. His fists tightened around his broomstick.

Suddenly he heard footsteps. Sugoroku looked up to see a high-school student walking up to the store. The uniform told him that the kid went to Domino High just like Yuugi, but unlike his grandson, this kid had an attitude. He could just tell by the way the kid held himself. The first thought that ran through his head was that this could be the same person who attacked Yuugi. But then, as he stepped into the light of the streetlamp, he was left confused.

The kid was soaking wet as if he had just been standing in heavy rain for an hour, yet in the spring night sky, there wasn't a cloud to been seen. Not only that, but the kid had bruises all over his face, and he walked with a limp. The kid came to a stop.

"Hey," the kid greeted. "You're Yuugi's gramps, yeah?"

Sugoroku hesitated. "What of it?"

"I uh... I found something he dropped," he said taking his hand out of his pocket. "Could you give it to him?" In the kid's hands was a familiar glint of gold. A very familiar glint.

"Oh!" said Sugoroku. "Yes, yes. Of course." He took the puzzle piece from the youth's hand. "You look like you've just been through a car wash. Would you like to come inside?"

"Nah, nah, I'm good." Then the kid turned to limp away.

He was almost gone when Sugoroku said, "Hold on a moment."

The youth turned back around. "Yeah?"

"Do..." Sugoroku laid the broom against the wall. "If you don't mind me asking... Do you know what happened to my grandson?"

The youth blinked, and suddenly his brow furrowed as he looked away.

Sugoroku was about to acknowledge that the youth would not say anything when he was interrupted.

"He tried to protect me..." he explained. "He..." His hands clenched. "We teased him so much. Then when we were beat down, he just walked in front of the bastard who did it three times his size and called us his friends. I reckon the only reason we're not all in hospital is 'cause that thug, Ushio wants Yuugi's money." The youth sighed. "And I was the one tellin' him he needs to man up." He looked back up to Sugoroku. "I'm real sorry he got dragged into our mess."

Sugoroku was shocked silent. His grandson, stood up to that? The young man in front of him was clearly used to roughhousing, and even he couldn't stand up to the person who beat Yuugi up. Oh... that brave little Yuugi.

"You don't have to apologise," Sugoroku explained. "You sure you don't want to come inside?"

"I'm sure gramps," he assured and continued back the way he came back.

"Young man?"

"Hm?"

"May I ask your name?"

"Uh..." the man in question ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Name's Jonouchi but... could you not tell Yuugi that it was me?"

"Ah... I understand, Jounouchi. I won't tell him."

"Thanks, man." Jounouchi disappeared into the night.

Sugoroku stared at the puzzle piece in his hand. Perhaps Yuugi might just get his wish, he thought as he entered his store.

"Where is it? Where is it!?" Yuugi was in a right state. He was Overturning furniture, emptying drawers, and quadruple, no, quintuple checking all the pockets of his schoolbag. He was almost finished with the Millennium Puzzle, just one more piece and he was done! One more piece and his wish could come true! After eight years of on and off attempting to piece it together, he had finally got past the part he always got stuck at. He had to half turn the fifth piece after the seventh clicked into place, and then the rest of the puzzle was easy. There was only one problem.

"WHERE'S THE LAST PIECE!"

Yuugi could picture it in his head, the flat piece with the eye on it. It would fit perfectly in the empty space, and he knew for a fact that he had not already used it in the puzzle. So, he could not be at a dead-end or in the middle of a red herring. But Yuugi had to face the fact, that he had somehow lost the final piece of the puzzle.

It was Grandpa who discovered him sitting defeated at his desk, in front of a puzzle destined to never be completed.

"Woah ho!" he shouted. "I'm amazed! You finished the Millennium Puzzle!" He picked up the puzzle to closely inspect its completeness.

"No..." Yuugi sighed. "I couldn't finish it after all, Grandpa..." He could feel a pang of guilt, he promised the puzzle would be a memento of Grandpa after he died. Now it would never be complete.

"Let's see. Ho, ho!" The man cheered anyway, a near infuriating smile on his face. "Yuugi," he said. "You've poured your heart into this puzzle for the last eight years. You should have more faith!"

"Huh?" Could Grandpa not see the big hole in the middle of the puzzle? Why is he not upset?

"Your wish will be granted!" Grandpa proclaimed punching the air in front of him. Then suddenly, his hand opened, and Yuugi could see a familiar glint of gold. A very familiar hint of gold. "Ta-da!" He was holding the final puzzle piece in his hand!

"Oh..." Yuugi could scarcely believe it. "G-Grandpa!" After all this time, he could finally, finally, complete the Millennium Puzzle. He leapt out his chair and glomped Grandpa. His arms and legs wrapped tightly around him. "Thank you!" he screamed. "You found it for me!"

It took considerable effort, but Grandpa was able to avoid losing his footing. "Here now." He whispered as he pat his back with the last piece still in his hand. "Yuugi, I wasn't the one who found it," he suddenly explained.

"Huh?"

"A friend of yours just came by," he said as Yugi dropped back down to the floor. "He asked me to give that to you." He handed Yuugi the puzzle and the last piece. "Even though it was raining, he was soaking wet."

Yuugi couldn't help but wonder, who could it have been? But decided it didn't really matter. Thank you anyway!

"Good night, Yuugi," Grandpa called from the door as he exited Yuugi's room.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Yuugi called back. "Good night."

Yuugi stared down at his hands, his left hand held the eye piece, while his right held the rest. The near-completed puzzle made his hands look small and stumpy in comparison.

He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, and his mouth became dry. Swallowing, he thought, I'm finally going to complete the Millennium Puzzle!

He switched the puzzle and piece in his hands, he held the last smooth and spiked piece between his thumb and forefinger, it felt as if it was staring into his very soul.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he placed the last piece in the crevices of the puzzle as it made a dull chink. He pushed the piece the rest of the way until, finally, it settled.

Click.

The puzzle vibrated in Yuugi's hands. The room smelt of ozone. There was the sound of a single strike to an aquatic bell. The pupil of the puzzle's eye began to glow growing brighter and brighter.

Yuugi's world exploded, and reality twitched.