A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait. I had to cut this chapter down significantly, because there was just so much to tell and I didn't want to overburden only the second chapter. Anyway, for readers of my first story (Save Me from Myself), I took it down to do a bit of construction on it. It will come back in due course.

Now, on to this story: I, of course, do not own Yugioh. Also, there are some humourous elements. Sure, a lot of it is going to be like the dub (and maybe sub), but keep in my that this is A/U., as well. Any questions, just send me a message. Now enjoy!

Chapter 2: The God of Games

Yugi arrived at Domino High School, her chest heaving and burning. She made a mental note to start taking gym class more seriously-running was no joke! When she finally arrived at the steps of Domino High, she took several deep breaths, clutching the burning stitch at her side. Pulling out her phone, she felt a quick rush of panic. 11:50 p.m.

Okay, let's do this.

Regaining what little energy she had left, Yugi ran up the stairs to the school and began pulling the door's titanium handles roughly, all the while, refusing to believe that they were locked.

They couldn't be locked! Her puzzle was in there!

Yugi sighed. She wasn't really surprised. Of course the school would be locked, and of course, there wouldn't be any janitors here.

Hot tears prickled Yugi's eyes, as she sat on the concrete steps. She just had to solve the Millennium Puzzle! Fate downright sucked. She had been working on the puzzle for almost eight years now, and finally, just finally, when she was so close to solving it, the main piece of it would go missing! All because she was dumb enough to bring it to school and allow stupid Joey Wheeler to see it and grab it from right under her nose. She had always known that Joey was a bully, but this was almost unforgivable in Yugi's eyes.

Once again, Yugi thought about how this whole mess It just wasn't fair. Now, after eight years of endless work, she would probably never solve the Millennium Puzzle. Knowing her stupid luck, one of the janitors found the piece and either tossed it or kept it, and Yugi honestly didn't know which scenario was worse. It was even worse than Ushio potentially arriving in less than ten minutes for his money that she didn't have.

Without warning, Yugi let out a loud hiccup, as burning rivulets of tears were now streaming down Yugi's face, and even though it was only a few minutes until midnight and Ushio would be arriving soon, Yugi found that she didn't care.

Fuck everything.

Bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head on her kneecaps, she began sobbing loudly.

"Ya know, Yugi, you're actin' like a total girl," said a familiar voice.

Yugi's head jolted up, and it felt like hot wires of electricity were flowing through her veins.

"YOU!" she snarled at Joey Wheeler. The cause of this whole mess. With lightning fast reflexes that she wasn't even aware of possessing, Yugi charged at Joey.

The blond gave a startled gasp as he felt Yugi's small fists pummeling his chest rapidly.

"Whoa, Yugi. I come in peace." With the physical strength of someone who had been running around with gangs for most of his life, Joey held Yugi back, looking into her tear-filled violet eyes.

Damn, his dad was right; he was a piece of shit.

Before Yugi could pummel him anymore (not that it was hurting him all that much), Joey reached into the pocket of his green jacket, holding out Yugi's puzzle piece.

Yugi's already large eyes were now the size of saucers.

"You had it this whole time…" she breathed, relief evident in her voice. Her small hand shaking profusely, Yugi reached out and took the Eye of Horus from Joey's hand.

"Joey, I-"

"It's nothin', Yug." Joey smiled down at her. "Truce?"

Yugi smiled. "Have I ever told you that you are such a bastard, Joey Wheeler?"

Joey had opened his mouth to give his new friend a retort, but before he could say anything, another familiar voice called out from behind them.

"Well, well, look who decided to show up. And…" Ushio's dark eyes landed on Joey. "Looks like I get a two for one special tonight."

"Go, Yugi!" Joey's voice was urgent. "Run and I'll hold him off!"

Yugi turned and was about to run when she heard Joey's yell of pain and the sickening sound of Ushio's fist connecting with Joey's bone.

Yugi turned and felt herself grow pale at the sight of Joey bleeding profusely on the sidewalk as Ushio continued to kick his stomach in rapid procession.

"GO, YOU IDIOT!" Blood continued to gush out of Joey's mouth.

"Ow!" Yugi felt the Millennium Puzzle burn her skin in such a way that it had never done before. It was no longer the comforting warmth, but rather it felt like an open flame. For a brief second, she thought she heard a comforting baritone voice, but she quickly brushed it off as stress and Joey trying to hold Ushio off.

This is the stupidest thing that I've ever done... Yugi thought grimly, as she quickly pulled the puzzle out and placing the Eye of Horus in its missing spot, right as Ushio turned to her.

"YUGI! RUN! FORGET THE PUZZLE, IDIOT!" Yugi hazarded a glance over at Joey's direction and saw that his face was swollen almost past the point of recognition and he still had blood pouring out of his mouth.

"Your turn, little girl, and I'm going to have a different kind of fun with you…"

Mistress...

Before Yugi could even react, there was a bright flash of light that erupted into the entire sky, causing Ushio, Yugi, and even a barely conscious Joey to look at the source of the light.

Please, protect me. Protect us. Yugi found herself desperately wishing. Or maybe she was even praying. After all, was there really a difference?

What Yugi saw made her blood run cold and she felt as if she were on the verge of passing out.

Standing before her was a male, who could have easily passed as her twin brother. He was short for a male, but still a few inches taller than her. He even had the same hair color as her, only his tri-colored hair went up in three spikes, his blonde bangs jolting out like lightning strikes that seemed to mimic the passion in his eyes.

As his eyes met hers, she was surprised to see more angular eyes, with irises of mixed violet and red.

As for his clothing...he was wearing what looked to be a white kilt...but…

She felt blood begin to drain from her face-a sure sign that she was on the verge of passing out. She slowly sunk to the ground, the small rocks from the sidewalk digging into her knees and hands. She stared in fascination at the red blood.

Keeping her eyes on the mysterious man, Yugi watched as he turned to Ushio, his eyes hellfire.

"Stay. I shall deal with you in a moment." As if obeying his command, dark shadows arose from the stranger's hands, keeping Ushio in a vice-like grip.

"Yugi! Help me! I never meant any of it! I was joking!" Yugi watched in horror as Ushio struggled with the shadows that seemed to be strangling him more and more.

"Be still and be quiet, you dog, if you know what is good for you!" the stranger growled, his baritone voice growing more dangerous.

Giving Ushio one last disgusted look, the stranger turned his gaze on to Yugi, and Yugi was amazed at how much a gaze could soften in a brief second. The man's eyes took on a pure violet hue, much like her own.

He began to walk slowly to her, and she felt her heartbeat quicken with fear.

"Oh God," she whispered, as she frantically tried to move. He knelt down to her, and despite her fear, she was amazed at how handsome he was, with his sharp eyes and cheekbones, as well as the gentle smile that crossed his face, as he looked hungrily at her.

"My beloved, Mistress and Savior. I will protect you from this filthy animal. But for now, I need you to close your eyes and slip into oblivion."

As if hypnotized, Yugi watched in a slow-motion haze, as the strange man reached out and with long deft fingers, closed her eyelids.

The last thing she remembered saying was something about "not hurting Ushio…"

"Sleep…" the deep baritone voice echoed once again through the chambers of her mind and Yugi felt herself falling into a peaceful darkness that seemed to hold her in comforting strength.

When Yugi opened her eyes, she was in a room. Not her room, but a room that could definitely belong to her. There were different games, puzzles, and toys scattered throughout the bed, shelves, and floor. Some were older games that Yugi played as a child, and some were timeless games, such as a battered checker board that was sitting on a polished wooden desk, beside a rather large bed with lilac sheets, very similar to the ones that she had in...the real world. Yugi glanced around her "room" in appreciation: there were posters of her favorite bands, stacks upon stacks of games, both electronic and "old-fashioned." The only flaw that Yugi could find was in the corner of her room was a full length cracked mirror. Thinking nothing of it, she sat on her the bed, marveling at its softness, and much to her delight, there was a Nintendo DS with the latest Pokemon game. Yugi stared at it longingly, but as always, her curiosity got the best of her.

Bouncing off the bed, Yugi walked towards the immaculate white door of her room, grabbed its polished silver handle and slowly turned it. She paused momentarily before it, stepping into a dark and rather cold hallway. Across from her room, was another door and this particular door sent chills down Yugi's spine. It was a gray stone slab, with an ornate brass door. Unlike the door to her "room," which was just a normal white wooden one, this door seemed to be made out of a slab of concrete, with black tendrils that looked like vines creeping up to the top of it. Like the centerpiece for her Puzzle, the Eye of Horus was stationed at the center of the door and it seemed to follow Yugi's every move as if protecting the occupant inside.

The smart and rational part of Yugi told her that she should probably turn around and go back to her room, where she would hypothetically be safe. The more dominant and less rational part told her that she should find out where this mysterious door led to. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the cold brass handle and turned it.

Yugi wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but she was met with a large Labyrinth of never-ending stairs that went: up, down, sideways, upside down, started in mid-air-almost like a puzzle. Or an M.C. Escher piece. She wasn't sure which.

In most cases, Yugi liked to think of herself as a rational human being. She received excellent marks, she had never received a detention, and she was almost never in trouble with her mom, grandpa, or even her distant-father. However, in other cases, usually involving games, Yugi often found another half of her soul that was just downright reckless and seeing this conundrum of a puzzle, Yugi felt that recklessness take over her like a hard shot of adrenaline.

Yugi took a step to the center of the room, just to get a better look at the "maze and puzzle room," but before she could take another step, a deep voice spoke up behind her.

"Mistress? What are you doing here?"

Yugi slowly turned around and found herself face-to-face with the beautiful and mysterious stranger. As she had noticed before, he was wearing what looked like an off-white kilt and tunic; she was sure that there was a more accurate and appropriate name for what this mysterious man was wearing, but she let it slide. Yugi currently had more important things to worry about, such as how she couldn't get over how similar she and this stranger looked to one another. However, this man possessed a charisma that Yugi knew that she couldn't achieve in a million years, and his sultry eyes were lowered in deference to her, only looking up, as he gave her a gentle look, waiting for her response.

"I-"

There were so many questions burning at the tip of her tongue: Where am I? What happened? Am I dead? Why are you calling me Mistress? Where's Ushio? What about Joey? WHO ARE YOU?

Before Yugi could contemplate which question to ask first, she heard herself saying: "Um, I'm really confused. Did I die or something? Are you real?"

The spirit let out a deep chuckle that seemed to vibrate against Yugi's chest. "I imagine that you do have quite a few questions for me, Mistress. Let me see if I can answer what I can." He gave her a small nod and began walking, which Yugi took as an invitation to follow him.

"Why don't you start?" he asked politely. "I can't imagine this is easy for you to take in…"

Yugi tried to sound graceful, but instead, she blurted out the first question that came to her mind. "Who are you?"

The stranger blinked. "That...is a very good question. Unfortunately, it is one that I cannot answer right now, as I have no idea who I am."

"You don't remember? Do you remember anything?" Yugi prayed that her voice didn't sound impudent.

The mysterious man shook his head. "None at all, I'm afraid. There was just darkness and then…" he paused to smile warmly at Yugi. "And then you completed the puzzle and there was light again. I saw you. I knew what I had to do. I have a purpose again." He stood in front of her and she was amazed to find him only about three or four inches taller than her. Quite an improvement from the other boys who easily towered over six feet, and even Téa who was a graceful five feet seven inches.

"I...is Joey okay? What about Ushio?"

"Your friend Joey is fine. He may have a mild concussion, as well as some scrapes and bruises, but nothing too serious."

Yugi nodded. She wasn't happy about Joey getting hurt, but she conceded that it could have been a great deal worse.

Yugi swallowed. "...what about Ushio?"

She watched her taller doppelganger's face darken ominously, a snarl forming on his slightly full lips. "Some things are better left unsaid, Mistress."

Yugi felt her face flushing at the stranger's change of tone.

"I have just one more important question."

The man arched one perfectly formed eyebrow. "Only one, Mistress?"

Again, Yugi felt her cheeks heat up. "Only one important one. Are you real? Will my friends and family see you?"

He looked confused. "Why of course I'm real, Mistress. Did you think that I am some spirit who appears at random?"

"Erm, I really didn't know what to expect, to tell you the truth…"

While Yugi was happy that the mysterious stranger seemed kind (and truth be told, overly formal), she felt herself secretly freaking out about what she would tell to her mother, grandpa, as well as her everyone else. Plus, there was the whole bizarre "Mistress" thing that the Spirit had going on.

Fuck.

The Spirit smirked as Ushio continued to throw the leaves in the air, further displaying the sin of his avarice and greed. What a fun game that had been, indeed...so fun that the Spirit wished that he could continue toying with Ushio, however, he had to get his Mistress home and in bed.

He couldn't help but smile as he looked down at her, her full lips opened slightly as she settled further into her dreams. Their talk in his Soul Room was further proof that her mind was indeed resting and deep within the recesses of their mind.

Crouching down next to Yugi, he gently brushed her blonde bangs, so similar to his own, out of her eyes.

She was a beautiful girl, there was no doubt about it. Even while resting, her porcelain skin had a beautiful dewy glow to it. Her dark long eyelashes, fluttered slightly as she slept.

Slipping one arm under her legs and another around her upper back, he easily picked her up and began walking towards the Game Shop. Even though he had only been out of the darkness for less than an hour, Yugi's memories, as well as her knowledge of the modern world, came flooding into his mind at a rapid speed.

It was a miraculous thing, really. He would have almost no trouble adjusting.

Reaching the game shop, the Spirit gently maneuvered Yugi so that her head was resting on his shoulder. This allowed him to retrieve her house key from her uniform pocket. As he opened the door, the beeping of the security alarm gave him the thirty-second warning. Without thinking twice, he typed 0918 into the keypad, locked the door behind him, and continued to carry his Mistress up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Deciding it would be improper to undress her, the Spirit (for he really had no idea what to even call himself), simply pulled back the soft violet bed sheet of her blanket and gently tucked her in. Once again, he brushed her bangs away from her eyes.

"My Yugi." his voice was barely a whisper. "No one will ever harm you again."

Scanning her memories, he walked over to her closet and pulled out a thick pink comforter and a few spare pillows. His eyes growing heavier with the lateness of the night, the Spirit smiled. Even though he was sleeping on the floor, he was by his Mistress and his Yugi and that was all that really mattered to him.

End Chapter

A/N: I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter! Again, I'm so sorry to keep you guys waiting on it. I'm trying so hard with this story, so I just want it to be...well, you know...

Read and Review, tell me what you guys think! Throw tomatoes! But concrit is the best :) Thank you guys for being patient and awesome.

-Caterina