Magi Magi Magician Gal (MMMG): Hello, everyone! Welcome to the reposting of 'Why did it come to this?'. I did my best to add more details in between character dialogue, and hopefully I got all the spelling and grammar errors corrected. Now, if you've read the Author's Note at the end the Téa Bashing Version of this story, you know why I'm reposting, but I'll explain what's going on again.
I'll admit, I'm not bothered by Téa/Anzu/Teana bashing (English/Japanese/Egyptian names for the same character), but my bashing of her in WDICTT made me cringe when I reread the story years later. My writing style and perspective have changed over the years, so while I liked it when I wrote it, it made me squirm when I reread WDICTT to get inspiration flowing for writing new chapters. I'll still use her as a villain in some stories, (that won't change), but I won't bash her as bad as I did in the TBV of this story.
So, I've scaled back on the Téa bashing in this version. I know that is what many of you came here for, (following How did it come to this?), but the bashing was only occurring because I didn't know what else to do with Téa. During the years of silence from me, I came up with an idea for what to do with Téa, and how to tie it back to this story's prequel. But in order to implement it, I needed to scale back on the amount of bashing. Téa is still not the nicest girl in this version, but she won't be getting bitten by dogs for no apparent reason anymore.
That being said, the original story is being left as is under the title Why Did It Come To This? (Téa Bashing Version), and has been marked as completed, but has been abandoned and discontinued by me, and is up for adoption if anyone wants to continue the trend of bashing Téa with no remorse.
Yami: Onto the rewrite! The chapters for 'Why did it come to this?' will have content from the 'Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga', 'Toei Anime/Season 0 Anime', 'How did it come to this?', and MMMG's imagination.
Yugi: Chapter 1 has content from Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga Chapter/Duel 1, Season 0 Ep. 1, Chapter 3 of 'How did it come to this?', and a small piece from the 'Yu-Gi-Oh! Pyramid of Light' movie.
MMMG: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Enjoy the chapter!
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Chapter 1: The Puzzle of the Gods
5,000 years ago, an ancient magic swirled across the land. A pharaoh and his love lived together, but they were torn apart by a demonic being of great evil. One was sealed away, the other was reborn. The one reborn was given a gift from his grandfather, hoping that the one sealed away would be able to rejoin his love. But with the gift, came dreams. Strange dreams that would scare him to the point that he would stop working on the gift for a time… but he had to keep going.
This is their story.
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The bell shrilly rang in the Domino High School, signaling it was time to start recess. The teenagers all stampeded outside, grateful for the break in studies. One of the guys in Ms. Chono's 11th grade class grabbed a basketball that he and his friends could play with, rolling his eyes when said friends started to invite the girls to play as well, because he knew full well how that was going to end up. The teenager looked around the classroom to see if there were any stragglers, and found one.
"Hey Yugi." the teen called.
The person the teenager was calling too was a 17 year old boy with pale skin, star shaped styled tri-colored hair, (black base, blond bangs, and amethyst trimming), gentle amethyst eyes, and not counting his hair, stood at only 4' tall, making most people believe that he was around 10 years old. Overall, Yugi gave off a rather cute air, something that his peers would call childlike, or chibi, but all agreed that he needed to grow out of it. The nicer people in the school simply said his puberty was going to come later than most others, and that he was just a late bloomer. Yugi glanced up from the card pyramid that he was building, sighing in disappointment when it collapsed, but still made a sound of acknowledgement.
"Don't play by yourself all the time." the guy said as he twirled the basketball on one finger. "Come play some basketball with us."
"Uh…" Yugi ducked down slightly embarrassed. "No thanks. The team I'd join would just loose."
The teen with the basketball paused his spinning as he recalled Yugi's performances during gym class the week prior, which was basically an extension of his sophomore year. He had a big heart and tried his best, no one could deny that, but any and all athletic sports were not Yugi's strong suit. Maybe after he actually went through puberty and got taller things would be better, but as for right now… the less said about Yugi's lack of sport skills, the better.
"That's true." the guy agreed with a nod, and he left the room. "Alright everyone, let's go!"
With another sigh, Yugi began to gather the fallen cards together. He really did wish that he could play the recess games with his peers sometimes, but also felt that he was too short, and that his hand-eye coordination was too close to non-existent to play any of the sports. But he wasn't that bored at recess because he always brought a lot of games from home to play with. Placing the deck of cards back into his backpack, which was sitting right next to his desk, Yugi's hand bumped a golden box that was hidden under a spare uniform jacket.
A giddy feeling grew inside Yugi as he took out the shoe box-sized container and put it on his desk. What if he finished this today? The box was made completely made out of gold, and Egyptian Hieroglyphs were written on all sides. On the one of the long sides of the box was an eye, which Yugi's grandfather said was the 'Eye of Anubis', or the 'Millennium Symbol'. Yugi's grandfather had given him this box, and the treasure within, when he was eight years old, but had only started taking it with him wherever he went once he turned 14 years old. The teen gently ran his hands over the golden box. The treasure inside was a total secret to everyone but him and his grandfather. No one else knew what was inside.
"The treasure in this box is something that you can see, but have never seen before." Yugi said softly as he picked it up, and began to open the lid. "And what's inside is…"
A different hand snatched the box out of Yugi's hand, leaving the teenager dumbfounded as he turned to see Joseph "Joey" Wheeler and Tristan Taylor. The trouble making duo had been close friends since middle school, and were the current bane of Yugi's existence. Joey had hazel-brown colored eyes and golden blond hair that was in a shaggy mop on his head. Tristan had brown eyes and brown hair that was styled in a point above his forehead, and was the teen now holding the box.
"Yugi, what are you doing in here?" Tristan teased as he kept the box out of short little Yugi's reach. "It's so dark and gloomy. And what's this about a treasure?"
"Tristan, give that back!" Yugi shouted as he jumped up. "Give it back, please!"
"And he passes to Joey!" Tristan grinned as he tossed the box to his friend, who lazily caught the box.
"Timidly treasuring this box." Joey mused. "Since you're acting like such a girl about this, it must be pretty valuable. Just quit being a wuss, Yugi! I'll teach you how to act like a man!"
"What?" Yugi asked numbly.
"I'll give you back this box, if you come at me full force." Joey smirked.
"But I hate fighting and violence!" Yugi yelled, making the two bullies back up at the sudden loudness as they rubbed their ears.
"No guts, but a loud voice." Tristan commented, slightly impressed.
"Please, just give me the box back." Yugi asked tiredly as he held up his hand.
"Not a chance." Tristan grinned evilly.
"What's in this box anyway?" Joey lazily asked.
The taller teen studied the object with one eye, but Yugi was left feeling nervous. The box and the contents inside the box were made of solid gold, not that he had actually told anyone that. With the box being a gift from his grandfather, he really didn't want to lose any of it.
"You can look, just please don't lose it." Yugi timidly replied to the inquiry. "My grandfather gave it to me as a gift, so it's extremely important to me."
Lifting the lid, Joey took a peek before sighing and putting the lid back down. With a roll of his eyes, Joey tossed the box up and down again, making Yugi tremble each time he threw it back upwards.
"That's extremely boring and dumb." Joey commented and tossed it towards his friend. "Here Tristan."
Tristan reached out his hands to grab the box, but before he could grab it, another hand reached out and caught the golden box. The hand belonged to a female who had shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes, and stood at about 5' 5" tall. The girl had been a good friend of Yugi's since elementary school, and could be bit hardheaded at times, but all-in-all, she was a very nice person.
"If it's so boring and dumb, then you should give it back right away." Téa Gardner said while she glared at the two.
"Téa!" Yugi cheered. "Nice catch!"
"Thanks, Yugi." Téa nodded before turning her attention to Joey and Tristan. "If you pick on people who are weaker than you, you're the dumb ones."
"I'm not bullying Yugi!" Joey protested. "I'm helping him become a man!"
"Shut up!" Téa snapped, making Joey and Tristan cringe. "Now beat it!"
"Nosy girl!" Tristan growled as he dashed out of the room.
"This isn't over." Joey vowed as he followed.
"Well, here it is." Téa said as she set Yugi's box on his desk. "Your item."
"Thanks, Téa." Yugi smiled as he ran his hand over the gold again. "You were so amazing. One word from you, and they ran. They're pretty scared of you."
"If I act soft, they'll mess with me." Téa replied with a shrug. "There are times you just need to have guts. Besides, I didn't want them tossing your treasure around, jerks that they are."
"But Joey and Tristan aren't that bad…" Yugi mumbled softly.
"Saying stuff like that about people like them is why you're made fun of." Téa replied gently, but also firmly. "All the guys in this school are like them. Just now the girls were invited to play basketball, only for the guys to look up their skirts while they shot baskets."
"That's not nice." Yugi frowned as the teens sat at his desk.
The young teen didn't find the idea of peaking up skirts appealing, which was another clue to his peers that his hormones hadn't kicked in yet. If Téa was honest, it was one of the things about Yugi that she liked most right now. He was a breath of fresh air amongst the hormone-riddled school.
"By the way, what is this?" Téa asked, changing the topic. "And what's in it?"
"Oh!" Yugi gasped as he giggled. "You haven't seen this yet, right? I guess I can let you see, but you have to keep it a secret."
"Okay." Téa nodded as Yugi pulled of the top, reveling exactly what was inside. "It's so pretty, and they glitter like gold."
"That's because they are gold." Yugi giggled as he pulled out some of it.
"Are they parts of something?" Téa asked as she held some up. "It's scattered."
"That's because it's a puzzle!" Yugi exclaimed excitedly. "I've never finished it before, so I don't know what its final shape will be yet. It's 'something you can see, but you've never seen before'. Get it?"
"I see." Téa nodded.
"My house is a game store, but you knew that." Yugi grinned as he tried to connect a couple of the pieces together. "There are lots of rare and exotic games from many countries there. Old and new. My grandpa found this in an Egyptian ruin, but was unable to solve it. He gave it to me when I turned eight."
"Egypt?" Téa asked.
"Well, look at the carvings on the box." Yugi replied as he held it up to eye level. "And I'm guessing what it says, since grandpa used to be an archeologist and taught me some hieroglyphs. 'The one who solves this puzzle will have their wish granted'."
"Really?" Téa asked quietly.
"Yeah." Yugi nodded. "But that's too good to be true… You think I'm dumb now. I see it in your eyes."
"No way." Téa laughed lightly. "So, what's your wish?"
"Oh no." Yugi winked. "I'm not telling. That's an absolutely confidential secret."
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On the other side of the school, Joey and Tristan were stomping through the halls, glaring over their shoulders in the direction of their classroom, and grumbling about what had happened back in said room. Neither of them liked losing, and they liked losing to a girl even less.
"She ticks me off." Joey growled. "Stupid Téa."
"And why was she defending that nerd?" Tristan added.
"Who's picking on weaker people?" Joey hissed.
"That would be us, Joey." Tristan sighed.
"That was rhetorical Tristan." Joey glared.
Since the two were looking over their shoulders, they didn't see the 6' 9" male step in front of them until the bumped into him. He had this 'mess with me and you're dead' aura about him, and a red armband that said: 'Public Moral' in sharp black letters.
"What do you mean 'picking on'?" the guy asked.
"I might have meant you." Joey replied snarkily. "Move it you-"
"We didn't mean anything!" Tristan said loudly as he covered Joey's mouth.
"Bullying is wrong." the guy replied.
"That's very true!" Tristan exclaimed, not noticing Joey turn red from lack of oxygen. "I understand."
"And make sure your student uniform is buttoned properly." the guy added as he walked down the hall.
"Whew." Tristan sighed as he finally let go of Joey. "That was close."
"Hey!" Joey yelled at his friend. "I couldn't breathe."
"Idiot." Tristan growled back. "Don't you know who that was?"
"No." Joey responded simply.
"That was Moral Enforcer Ushio." Tristan replied extremely seriously. "He enforces the school rules. Don't bad mouth him unless you really want to end up in the school dumpster with a whole bunch of bruises."
"Screw him." Joey replied as he flipped his middle finger at Ushio's retreating backside. "Guy needs to loosen up."
"Now there nothing to do." Tristan complained as he kicked an open locker door.
"Maybe." Joey replied with a smirk as he opened his hand.
"What is it?" Tristan asked as he took a look, and in Joey's hand was a large golden puzzle piece with the same eye that was on Yugi's puzzle box.
"When I was looking in Yugi's treasure box, I secretly took this just now." Joey replied with an evil look. "I only got a glance but I'm sure it's a puzzle. He didn't notice, but without this one piece, his puzzle ceases to be one."
"That's slick." Tristan snickered.
"And as for this… take that!" Joey whined back his arm and tossed the puzzle piece out of an open window and into the nearby swimming pool that was used when the weather was nice. "That felt good! Especially since that 'secret treasure' stuff makes me sick."
"Then let's go." Tristan grinned as the two walked away.
As the puzzle piece sank to the bottom of the pool, the eye began flashing. It was as if it knew it had been separated from the rest of the pieces, and its owner.
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Leaving the school building, Yugi walked as fast as his short legs would carry him, glancing briefly at the Public Moral Committee practicing karate in the school courtyard. Sometimes Yugi would stay and watch, but at that moment, he really wanted to get home so he could continue working on the puzzle. He seemed to be making progress, and wanted to see if he could keep his momentum.
"Wait a moment." a voice said behind Yugi, making him turn to see Ushio. "You're Yugi Mutou right?"
"Yes." Yugi replied nervously, the extremely tall male making him want to run far away.
"I'm Ushio of the Public Moral Committee." Ushio said. "There's no need to be scared. I just want to ask you some questions. Have any of the students in class been bullying you?"
"Nothing likes that has happened to me." Yugi replied as he started to edge away.
"Wait a moment." Ushio said. "A person like you would say that."
"A person like me?" Yugi repeated, starting to feel insulted.
"Yes." Ushio nodded before continuing. "I personally must investigate this. Just relax Yugi. From now on, I will be your bodyguard."
"No, I don't need a bodyguard!" Yugi protested.
And with that, Yugi he turned and ran out the school gates. He really didn't understand what had just happened, and reevaluated his opinion of Ushio, now finding the taller teen to be very weird. Behind him, Ushio smirked as he watched the boy run away. This was going to be too easy.
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Not much later, Yugi had reached his home, the Kame Game Shop. For the most part, it was just Yugi and his grandfather, Solomon Mutou, who lived in the shop. Lately though, Yugi's mother, Miyuki Kujaku, had been spending more time at her father-in-law's home, despite her job in politics. Yugi's father, Hiro Mutou, had died of illness shortly before Yugi turned 8, and that left Miyuki as the financial support for her child. After several long discussions, Miyuki had given her father-in-law complete custody of her only child, while she would be gone long hours to financially support them.
"I'm home!" Yugi called as he opened the door and stopped at seeing someone in the entryway. "Téa!"
"Hi Yugi." Téa greeted with a wave. "It's been a while since I came over."
"You're late Yugi." Solomon Mutou said as he came out from behind the counter.
"Sorry grandpa." Yugi said. "A student wanted to talk with me after school, but I'm home now."
"And it's good to see you to Téa." Solomon nodded to the girl. "It has been a while since you were here last, and that was when you were shorter than me. You've really grown taller."
"Thanks." Téa nodded with a small blush.
"And Yugi, I've heard from Téa that you're still working on the puzzle." Solomon turned his attention to his grandson. "I'm surprised you haven't given up yet, it has been over eight years."
"Yep, still going." Yugi nodded. "And who said anything about giving up?"
"I didn't." Solomon replied. "It just proves that you're my grandson. But that puzzle is beyond human knowledge. You may never solve it. Especially if you consider its history."
"History?" Téa asked.
"Yes." Solomon nodded. "I found the puzzle in a tomb with many traps. The two guides I had hired both ended up dying, both saying the same thing. 'The Shadow Game'."
"Uh, Yugi?" Téa asked as Yugi took off his backpack. "That puzzle sounds dangerous. Maybe you should leave it."
"What's a 'Shadow Game'?" Yugi asked as he took the box out. "I'm curious."
"Look at the symbols carved into the box." Solomon said. "The one who solves this puzzle will receive my dark knowledge and power."
"Dark knowledge and power…" Yugi repeated. "Guess I translated wrong. I thought it said, 'The one who solves this puzzle will have their wish granted'. But I'm still going to complete it."
"Well, if it's too hard, let me know and I'll see if I can sell it." Solomon said.
"What?" Yugi exclaimed as he hugged the golden box close. "Never!"
"I'm teasing!" Solomon raised.
The older man his hands in 'surrender' as Téa rolled her eyes at the family 'squabble', but all of them ended up giggling. Téa and Yugi worked together on homework, and making dinner for the three of them. After food, they played some old board games, laughing and enjoying themselves. Around 8 pm, Téa headed home, thanking the Mutou's for the fun time. Once she was gone, Yugi continued to work on his homework, and then got ready for bed.
Once his bedtime routine was done, around 10 pm, Yugi bade his grandfather goodnight, and began to work one the puzzle once again. Playing with a couple of the gold puzzle pieces, Yugi tried to get them to fit together, but they just didn't connect with each other for some reason. Despite the two pieces looking like they would fit, they didn't. Looking closer, Yugi decided that an edge was blocking the pieces from fitting, so would it go with this piece? After many more attempts, Yugi's eyes started to droop, not noticing that it was after midnight. With a sigh, his head rested on his desk, and Yugi fell asleep with one hand touching the puzzle.
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Dream
Yugi watched as four people in their late teens stop in front of what appeared to be a prison cell. One of them had tripped a bucket. Right. In front. Of the cell. A young man with gravity deifying, star-shaped, tri-color hair (black base, blonde bangs, and tipped mahogany), along with lightning bolts streaks that ran up his hair, tanned skin, dressed in an elaborately decorated tunic, gold cuffs on his wrist and arms, and gold earrings, turned to the fallen one, who looked like the CEO of Kaiba Corp., Seto Kaiba
"Cousin!" he said. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." 'Seto' said flatly and looked toward his feet to the source of his fall as two taller teens started to snicker. "What did I trip over?"
"You tripped over a bucket." said one of the teens, his voice laced with humor and disbelief.
He had spiky, wild, white-blond haired speaker, lavender colored eyes, wore a simple tan tunic, a black belt, a decorated dark purple robe, elaborate sandals, and simple gold cuffs.
"You would have to if you were walking in front of me and behind him." 'Seto' glared at the one who had just spoken.
"What's that supposed to mean?" a teen with stalk white, semi-spiky hair, and dark brown eyes spoke up.
He was wearing a black tunic, a dark grey belt, a sleeveless blood red robe, sandals, and no jewelry.
"Your hair really is the only thing we can see down here in this dim light." 'Seto' explained. "I was focusing on it so I wouldn't trip and fall."
"No offense, cousin, but I don't think it did much good." the tri-colored hair teen said, trying not to laugh.
"Thanks for pointing that out, cousin." 'Seto' said sarcastically.
"No problem." the tri-colored hair teen grinned.
Yugi's lips twitched into a brief smile once he learned the mahogany eyed teen was cousins with 'Seto'. Which explained why he had been concerned when 'Seto' had tripped over the bucket.
"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or be offended and give a sarcastic comment back." the white haired guy stared at 'Seto' with a blank look while the spiky, white-blond haired teen absolutely howled in laughter.
"Don't start." the tri-colored hair glared first at the teen white hair, and then his cousin. "We came down here to do something, so let's get it done."
Yugi shared looks with four other people in the cell with him. One of them looked like Joey, and the other two he didn't know. One boy had grimy white-blond haired and light lilac colored eyes, and the other male had albino hair that looked more grayish black due to dirt and chocolate brown colored eyes. Yugi could tell that they had the same thought running through their heads: What in were the four elegantly dressed people going to do? Yugi turned his gaze back to the front of the cell just as tri-colored hair was helping 'Seto' back to his feet. When he lifted his head, Yugi sucked in his breath. The teen with tri-colored hair had locked eyes with him.
And Yugi had never before seen a more stunning shade of mahogany.
End Dream
Yugi woke with a jerk, panting. He had been having those dreams about Ancient Egypt ever since he had started to try and solve the puzzle, but they stopped when he wasn't working on it. Yugi looked at the puzzle, still in his hand, and thankfully what he had solved was still intact. The last time he had one of those dreams, he had accidentally shattered all the progress he made when he had woken up. Yugi picked up the semi-completed puzzle and placed it, and the remaining puzzle pieces, back inside the golden box.
Standing, Yugi stretched his limbs and looked at his clock, which read 3:38 AM. He really didn't know how long he had been asleep at his desk, but the ache in his upper back and shoulders told him that he had been snoozing long enough for it to be a bad idea. Making sure the of all of the puzzle pieces were in the box, Yugi crawled into his bed, fell asleep, and had no dreams for the rest of the night.
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At school the next day, during lunch time, Yugi yawned at his desk as he held his puzzle box. Maybe he shouldn't have stayed up so late working on the puzzle last night, he was having a rather challenging time staying awake today. Thankfully, none of the teachers had noticed, or maybe they had, but he would've been in pretty big trouble if any of them had called on him during class.
"Yugi." Ushio said from the doorway. "Would you come with me for a minute?"
Yugi paused, and put the lid back on his puzzle box with a sigh before he nodded, and followed the extremely tall teenager outside. Yugi really hoped that this wasn't about what Ushio had declared the night prior, that he would be the much shorter teen's bodyguard. But the feeling that Yugi had in his gut said that it was. Apparently, Ushio didn't understand what the word 'No' meant.
"Why do you want to see me Ushio?" Yugi asked as they headed toward the back of the school.
"Just come with me Yugi." Ushio replied with a chuckle. "I'm sure you'll like this."
Ushio stopped and pointed, and Yugi gasped at the sight of two people who had been beaten and were slightly bloodied, panting and groaning in pain as they leaned against the school. Yugi had never felt so horrified in his entire life.
"Joey! Tristan!" Yugi yelled and rushed forward, but was stopped by Ushio's hand.
"What do you think Yugi?" Ushio asked.
"What is this?" Yugi asked softly.
"I told you Yugi, I will be your bodyguard." Ushio replied. "It's my duty to punish these bullies for what they've done to you."
"And I told you no, I don't need a bodyguard." Yugi shook his head and went to Joey and Tristan. "This is cruel and horrible. Are you okay Joey, Tristan?"
"Yugi, you brat." Joey grunted out. "I knew you were behind this. Are you satisfied?"
"I'm not." Yugi gasped at the accusation. "Why would I ask for something like this?"
"Move Yugi." Ushio said as he pushed Yugi aside. "I'm not done punishing them."
Raising his foot, Ushio kicked Joey in the gut, making the blond-haired teenager grunt in pain. Yugi couldn't stand to watch anymore, and jumped in front of his two injured classmates with his arms spread out to the sides.
"STOP IT!" Yugi shouted.
"Really Yugi?" Ushio questioned. "Why are you covering these jerks? Now's your chance to dispel any resentment and anger you have. Get your revenge. Hit them, kick them!"
"I can't do that to my friends!" Yugi protested.
"Friends?" Joey whispered weakly, not believing that's what Yugi believed him and Tristan to be.
"You're a rare guy." Ushio chuckled, but it sounded malevolent. "Most people hate those who bully them, but you call them your friends."
"They weren't bulling me." Yugi whispered, making Joey lift his head a little bit as he listened closer. "Joey and Tristan just wanted me to be a man. This punishment you gave is no good."
"Well, alright." Ushio conceded. "But you're a complete weirdo. By the way Yugi, it's time for my payment. Your total cost for my bodyguard fee is 200,000 yen*."
"200,000 yen!?" Yugi repeated, not believing his ears.
"Well?" Ushio questioned as he chuckled again. "For 200,000 yen, you can hit them as much as you like. But who said it would be cheap?"
Yugi panted softly as reality set in. It didn't matter if he said he hadn't wanted a bodyguard, or if he wasn't going to pay him for something he didn't agree to. Ushio was going to take what money he had him by force, day after day after day, simply because Yugi was too weak to beat him in a fight.
"Maybe you're unsatisfied because I didn't hit them enough." Ushio suggested.
"NO!" Yugi shouted, hoping that by raising his voice Ushio would get the point. "You've done enough of that! If anyone is beating them up more, it's me!"
"Fine, have it your way." Ushio replied and picked Yugi up by the front of his jacket. "But I'll leave you a bodily reminder to pay me. It's in my nature to hate bullying, but this isn't 'bullying'. It a 'warning'."
Ushio punched Yugi in the face and followed up with kneeing him in the stomach. Joey and Tristan watched, dismay building in their stomachs as Yugi was hurt for their sakes. Yugi was the quiet one, never putting up a fight, even when he was ganged up on. So, why was he helping and protecting them now? Even after all they had done to hurt him.
"I guess that's enough, so until tomorrow, when you bring my money." Ushio said, staring down at Yugi's bruised and bloodied body, and pulled out a large pocketknife. "Remember, its 200,000 yen. And believe me, the pain you feel now is nothing. I could teach you the real meaning of pain with this."
Yugi groaned and coughed as Ushio walked away, laughing his head off. Who knew something as simple as breathing could hurt when you felt like you had been trampled by a herd of elephants? He knew from the rumors how bad Ushio was, and the reports kept getting more vicious. But what could he do? Yugi knew that he would never be able to beat Ushio in a physical fight, what had happened just now proved that. It seemed like the only thing he could do was pay his persecutor, and hoped to be left alone after.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Hours later, back at the Game Shop, Yugi counted out the money he had on hand, snagging every dollar and coin that he had hidden away, and even digging for loose change in the sofa, wincing as he moved his bruised body. The total only came to 1,656 yen**, not even 1/10th of what he needed. Yugi sighed as he finished counting out what was left of his allowance. He had known that he didn't have that big of an allowance, and there was no way he was going to ask his grandfather for the money either because things had been getting financially tight at the Game Shop.
So, what could Yugi do? He could stand his ground and not pay Ushio, but today was a good lesson in what would happen if he did, and there was the threat of that knife if he didn't give the taller teen the money. A faint clicking sound brought Yugi out of his worried musings, and he saw that his hands were working on the puzzle on their own accord. How could he possibly be working on the puzzle at a time like this? But when a solution to his problem with Ushio failed to come to mind, and as he kept working on the puzzle, Yugi found his mind becoming clearer.
"And if I do that, this piece will fit." Yugi whispered as another piece fit.
If felt like a miracle. Suddenly, Yugi was easily solving his puzzle, even though he felt terrible. As he progressed, Yugi found himself believing that he would solve it today! A final click made Yugi hold the puzzle up at eye level. All that was missing was one piece, the large one with the 'Eye of Anubis' on it. Just one more piece, and for the first time in 5,000 years, the Millennium Puzzle would be completed! Yugi reached into the box for the last piece, and paused when his hand met nothing but air and the golden sides and bottom of the box.
"It's not here?" Yugi exclaimed as he looked in the box before he pushed aside the papers on his desk in an effort to find the last part. "No! The last piece is gone! I must have dropped it. But where?"
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"I take back what I said." Tristan spoke to Joey as they walked around on the school grounds after finishing their cleaning duty. "About Yugi having 'a loud voice, but no guts'. You can't tell what he's thinking about."
Joey didn't reply, he was looking down into the pool, where he had tossed Yugi's final puzzle piece the day before. The blond-haired teen could still hear Yugi protesting against Ushio's policy of justice, that he couldn't beat-up his… his friends. Joey was still stunned that Yugi considered himself and Tristan to be his friends. As Joey watched at the water in the pool ripple gently, he made up his mind.
"Joey, are you listening?" Tristan asked as he turned around in time to see Joey dive into the pool. "What are you doing?"
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After turning his room inside out, Yugi had departed from the Game Shop as the sun set, leaving the puzzle in his room, and running as fast as his injured body would allow. He couldn't find the final puzzle piece in his room, and the only other place he could think that it would be was at Domino High, since it was the only other location that he had worked on it. Yugi entered the school gates, and headed towards the front doors, hoping that a teacher would still be here and willing to let him look in the Lost and Found.
"Hello Yugi." Ushio said from behind the teen, making Yugi freeze.
"Ushio." Yugi whimpered as he slowly turned around.
"You must have brought the bodyguard fee." Ushio held out his hand. "That's a good boy."
"No, I forgot something at school and came to pick it up." Yugi shook his head. "Anyways, I'm not going to be paying you. I don't have any money."
"Then I guess you need another lesson." Ushio replied with a mad grin.
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"I did it!" Joey exclaimed as he resurfaced, holding the last piece, and swam to the edge of the pool where he pulled himself out. "I found it!"
"Why does it matter?" Tristan asked.
"I can't really explain it." Joey replied as he shook himself to relive some excess water. "It just does."
"Hey, look." Tristan said as he looked over the top of Joey's head. "It's Ushio. And Yugi is with him."
"What?" Joey asked in shock. "We'd better go check it out."
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Yugi couldn't stop the exclamation of pain that fell from his lips as Ushio hit him, knocking him down for the last time. The taller teen had kept it to hits and kicks, remembering his 'promise' of not using his knife until tomorrow. But Yugi's already sore and injured body ached even worse, new bruises forming on top of the ones he'd gotten earlier that day. At this point, he couldn't even walk, much less get himself home on his own power.
"That's enough for today." Ushio said as he pulled out his knife again. "Tomorrow, I'd better see the fruits of this 'lesson', or you'll hurt a lot more."
Yugi could only whimper as Ushio walked away. And how was he supposed to pay the 'bodyguard fee' that he didn't have? Footsteps pounded in his ears, and Yugi flinched at the noise, the sound much louder than it normally would have been. Someone called his name, but the ringing in his ears made it next to impossible to tell who was talking to him.
"Yugi!" Joey said as he knelt next to Yugi. "Oh man. Ushio really did a number on him."
"We'd better get him home." Tristan sighed. "We're no match for Ushio, even if we were in top shape."
"Yeah." Joey nodded as he picked Yugi up, placing the last puzzle piece in his hand. "I'm sorry I took your final piece."
"I… I made a wish the puzzle… I asked for true friends." Yugi whispered, his eyes closed and unaware that he was talking out loud. "Friends who would never betray me… whom I would never betray. Someone who would care about me, no matter what."
"You can't get any more innocent than that." Tristan sighed with a soft look in his eyes as he watched Joey carry Yugi.
"Let's get him home." Joey nodded, and they began the trek back to Yugi's house.
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When Yugi became aware of his surroundings it was warm and soft, so he wasn't at the school anymore. He opened his eyes and saw that it was dark, but he recognized his bedroom. His body ached terribly, but the wounds had been cleaned and bandaged. But honestly, Yugi would be very surprised if his grandfather let him go back to school tomorrow. And speaking of his grandfather, Solomon Mutou had entered his grandson's room with a tray of food.
"Yugi." Solomon said as he saw his grandson awaken.
"Grandpa?" Yugi questioned as the old man helped his grandson sit up and eat some chicken noodle soup. "What happened?"
"A couple of your friends came and brought you home." Solomon replied. "They also said you were having some bully troubles."
"Oh?" Yugi questioned as he sipped the soup. "Who were they?"
"They asked for me not to tell." Solomon replied, noticing the change in subject, but let it go. "But they also brought something else they said was missing."
"What?" Yugi asked as his grandfather opened his hand to revel the last piece of the puzzle. "Where did they get that?"
"They said they found it in the pool area at school." Solomon replied as he gave Yugi the part.
"Thank you." Yugi whispered as he looked out the window. "Whoever you are."
Solomon left the room, slipping an envelope with 200,000 yen inside it into the side pocket of Yugi's backpack. At the beginning of the school year, the teachers had sent home notices about Ushio to the parents/guardians, more specifically how the teen's current juvenile detention sentence worked. He could only be suspended if a teacher or policeman caught him in the act of his bullying, and that was because he had been suspended from previous schools based on the words of some beaten-up teens alone. Ushio had complained about the 'unfairness' of it all, so there had to be an adult witness.
Not long after his grandpa left the room, Yugi slowly reached for the golden box on his desk, despite his protesting body, and pulled out the almost completed Millennium Puzzle. Yugi was immensely grateful that he hadn't taken it to school with him, because Ushio might have tried to take the solid gold box and puzzle to sell as his 'payment'. Shaking his head to clear that unwanted thought, Yugi held the two separate pieces of the Millennium Puzzle in his hands.
The one lone piece, and the other pieces all put together to form an upside-down pyramid. At long last, for the first time in 5,000 years, it would be completed. While Yugi didn't know if his wish was going to come true, or if he would inherit some sort of dark power, it wouldn't hurt to make that wish. Sliding the last piece into place with a click, Yugi smiled as the puzzle lit up, and slipped the rope attached to the ring on the puzzle around his neck.
So elated that he was finally finished, Yugi didn't notice the small beam of light that entered his body, that his shadow had lengthened, or that a mysterious eye lit up on the shadow where the forehead would be. Yugi's attention was on the puzzle itself. Its glow got brighter and brighter, until dark bolts of energy sprang from the eye, forming shapes of monsters around him, each one of them looking vicious, and ready to kill.
Except for one… a small ball of brown fur brushed against Yugi's hand, making him turn to see a purple eyed monster with green feet. Something inside Yugi clicked, and he knew who the monster was.
"Kuriboh?" Yugi asked, receiving a soft coo in reply.
With a roar, a dragon shaped monster lunged at the 17 year old, making him scream as Kuriboh jumped in front of him, the one small body multiplying into many, and stopping the attack. But doing so left the faithful little monster unable to do it again. As a ghost lunged at Yugi, who held the tired Kuriboh, Yugi felt a strong pull within every fiber of his body, and his vision faded to darkness as another bright light filled the room.
YU-GI-OH!
When the light faded, someone else stood holding the Kuriboh. A young man with slightly tanned skin, tri-colored hair, (black base, mahogany edging, and yellow bangs with three lightning bolt streaks), and sharp mahogany eyes surveyed his surroundings. The monsters roared at him, but the young man who wasn't Yugi glared back at them.
"Shadow Creatures!" the young man said in a deep baritone voice as one hand grabbed the magic pulsing puzzle with one hand, and held Kuriboh in the other. "Be gone, I command you! Return to the dark realm from where you came!"
The Millennium Puzzle pulsed with magic, and then released it on the shadow creatures, forcing them to retreat, and leaving the room empty again. With a sigh, the man released his hold on Kuriboh, who cooed in delight.
"Nice to see you too, Kuriboh." the man smiled.
"Woo?" Kuriboh cocked his head at the young man.
"You may call me Yami, young monster." Yami replied, understanding what Kuriboh was asking him.
With a nod, Kuriboh went back to the realm of shadows, where it would remain until its master called for him. Smiling, Yami brushed the mind of the person who solved the Millennium Puzzle, and held still as the younger teen's memories flooded his mind. A 17 year old, child-like male named Yugi. Yugi looked like him, but apparently lacked some of the more masculine qualities that would prevent people from thinking of him as a child.
Exploring Yugi's memories further, Yami chuckled when he found that some delinquent named Ushio had been causing trouble for his… host? No way, he'd have to come up with a better name than that. But still, there was no way he was going to let this creep of a bully walk all over the boy. Yami pulled out Yugi cell phone, (thankful that Yugi's memories showed how to operate it), and called the bully who wasn't expecting a call so late at night, while snagging the envelope with the 200,000 yen in it.
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An hour or so later, an extremely tall teenager walked into the empty schoolyard of Domino High with a pissed off look on his face. Ushio couldn't believe that Yugi had called him in the middle of his sleep to demand that he come back to the school. In fact, that was the only reason Ushio was there, to teach little Yugi another 'lesson' about what happened when he started to make demands. The clock on the top of the school softly chimed as the hands changed to midnight, and Ushio looked around, but didn't see Yugi anywhere… until a laugh made Ushio whirl around to see that 'Yugi' was sitting on one of the benches.
"Yugi!" Ushio snapped, not realizing that this wasn't the Yugi he knew.
"Good of you to come, Ushio." Yami smirked evilly.
"You'd better have a good reason for this Yugi." Ushio snarled.
"Don't worry." Yami snickered as he pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket. "I have your money right here. In fact, I have doubled the original amount."
"400,000 yen***!" Ushio exclaimed in excitement
"But since handing it over would be so boring, we're going to play a game." Yami continued, snapping a rubber band around the wad of cash.
"A game?" Ushio growled, just wanting the money.
"Yes." Yami replied. "But it's no ordinary game. It's a 'Shadow Game'. If you win, you get the 400,000 yen, but if you lose, you face a 'Penalty Game'. How about it?"
"I have never lost a game!" Ushio boasted, even though it was a lie. "I accept."
"Very well." Yami nodded. "It's game time."
'Yugi' snapped his fingers. There was a flash of bright light, and Ushio found that he was standing on the wall of the school. The taller teen yelled as gravity did its thing, and the rope that was tied around his waist became taut… that line of rope was the only thing keeping him from falling into the school pool below. The other end of the rope was tied around Yami's waist, with the teenager standing next to the bell stand on the rooftop.
"The prize is right here." Yami said as he tapped a taped-up packet that was on the bell stand. "Here we go, Ushio."
Yami jumped off the roof, sliding towards Ushio. The rope around his waist had been wrapped around the back of the bell stand, splitting the length between them. As he slid down the wall, Yami slid a pack of cards along the wall, one after the other, in a straight line. Yami slid past Ushio, and then climbed back up until they were level with each other.
"The rules are simple." Yami said after he finished the small task. "We take turns flipping over these cards. The value on the card determines how many paces you go up, while the other goes down the same amount. A Jack is 11, a Queen in a 12, and King is a 13, and a Joker is a miss, so choose carefully. The first one to the top, wins the prize."
GAME START!
"I got it, and I'll start." Ushio replied with a smirk as he reached for the line of cards. "10 of Diamonds. Well Yugi, better prepare yourself."
Yami just kept smirking as Ushio counted 10 paces up the side of the building, and he went down. Yes, the bully had gotten a good card, but the game had only just begun. Keeping his laughter to himself, Yami reached for a card himself.
"Jack of Diamonds, 11." Yami said as he revealed his card.
"What!" Ushio gasped as Yami walked up eleven paces, and drew. "2 of Spades. I'm catching up!"
"We can't have that now." Yami smirked as he drew again. "Queen of Spades, 12."
"What?" Ushio asked as he slid down further, and quickly drew. "3 of Diamonds."
"9 of Hearts." Yami shot back.
"6 of Clubs." Ushio said, starting to panic.
"Jack of Spades, 11." Yami replied, still smirking as the card put him one pace from the top. "What's the matter Ushio? Got nothing left?"
"Shut up! This next card will turn things around!" Ushio snapped as he drew again. "J-Joker? No!"
"Too bad Ushio." Yami snickered. "The Joker is a miss. My turn."
"What?" Ushio turned red as he roared in anger. "Don't mess with me. You fixed this game from the beginning, you pipsqueak!"
"Ace of Diamonds, 1." Yami replied calmly as he picked up his last card. "Victory is mine."
"Shut up!" Ushio shouted as he began to climb the up wall.
"Oh, breaking the rules, are we?" Yami questioned. "If you do that, you'll face something terrible."
"Quiet!" Ushio snapped as he threw a punch at the shorter teen, who turned and avoided the blow.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to follow the rules." Yami said as he fell, not panicking.
"Fall!" Ushio roared as he snapped the rope with his hands, and grabbed the money. "I did it! What?"
In his hands was not 400,000 yen, but another pack of cards.
"What is this?" Ushio asked in angry confusion. "This is not money!"
"Bab ul-zulumat futeh****." Yami declared in Arabic as the Eye of Anubis appeared on his forehead.
"What?" Ushio exclaimed.
The bell stand broke apart, pushing the bully into the swimming pool. Surfacing and gasping for air, Ushio swam to the side of the pool and pulled himself out. After looking around, he saw that Yami hanging onto a decorative brick that stuck out of the wall with his left hand. A golden eye of light was on the center of his forehead.
"A Shadow Game shows a person's true character." Yami explained. "This eye can see nothing but what is in your heart. Your heart is filled with nothing but greed and the pleasure of hurting others. Penalty Game: Illusion of Greed!"
"Ah!" Ushio gasped in horror as the eye on Yami's forehead engulfed him, and then delight and money swirled around him. "It's money! Money everywhere! I'm so happy!"
"Let me tell you something." Yami said as he walked away. "If the object of your greed is money, then the that will be all your eyes can see. And since money is all you see, then this must be a happy ending."
"It's money!" Ushio exclaimed as he began to jump up and down like a kid who just got a puppy. "Money!"
Yami hummed and he nodded and exited the school yard with a smirk on his face, knowing what was about to come. The smirk changed to a shark-like grin when Ushio's happy cheers morphed into screams of terror. The money had changed into tube-like worm monsters that swallowed Ushio whole, the beast's digestive track hitting him from all sides like he used to hit his 'employers'.
GAME OVER!
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The next day, Yugi yawned as he walked into the school yard, and saw Ushio curled up on the ground, whimpering before an ambulance took him away. While Yugi did wonder what had happened to Ushio, he was happy he didn't have to pay the bully a 'bodyguard' fee. When he reached his locker, Yugi overheard a small group of girls gossiping about what happened to the bully. Ushio was in such a state of shock that he had to be hospitalized, and that he could end up in the mental asylum if he didn't snap out of it.
Shaking his head, Yugi headed towards first period. Pushing Ushio out of his mind, Yugi gently held the complete Millennium Puzzle in his hands, having no memory of what happened after he completed it the previous night. His treasure was finally completed. Yugi smiled as he gently ran his hand over the smooth golden surface.
"Yo, Yugi." Joey said from behind a corner.
"Good morning, Joey." Yugi greeted.
"How are your injuries?" Joey asked briefly.
"Fine." Yugi replied, slightly confused to why Joey wasn't teasing him. "How about you and Tristan?"
"I feel fine, and so did Tristan when I spoke with him earlier." Joey replied. "Yugi, I'm following your example. I also brought a treasure today. Want to see it?"
"Yeah!" Yugi exclaimed.
"Sorry." Joey shook his head with a mild chuckle. "My treasure… 'is in plain view, but you can't see it', so I can't show it to you."
Yugi frowned as he mulled over Joey's riddle. What could be seen, but invisible at the same time? Besides air, and his now solved puzzle, but he didn't think either of those were it.
"It's 'friendship'." Joey said to Yugi's confused look.
"What?" Yugi asked quietly, not believing he heard right.
"Yugi and Joey are visible…" Joey explained with a grin. "But our friendship, and the courage that you showed yesterday, is completely invisible."
"Yeah!" Yugi agreed as a few tears came to his eyes.
Joey almost moaned at the embarrassing things he was saying, but kept his complaints to himself. It was actually nice to have a new friend… And at that moment, the warning bell rang.
"Ah!" Joey exclaimed as he took off running. "We've got to get to class or we're going to be late!"
"Ah, Joey!" Yugi shouted as he took off after his new friend. "You dropped your shoe."
Watching from Yugi's shadow, Yami observed as his new light, his "Hikari" in the boy's native tongue, chase after Joey and give him his shoe back once they reached the classroom. Yami had been planning to Shadow Game Joey and Tristan after school that day, but Yugi's courage against Ushio had changed Joey's heart, and given the boy a new, real friend. Maybe the same was true for Tristan, so Yami would hold off unless the teen acted hostility towards Yugi again.
As Yugi and Joey interacted with each other, it was then and there that Yami made a vow. That even if the world should come to an end, he would never abandon Yugi, and would always be there for him.
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Japanese Yen to United States Dollars
Since currency values are always changing, I'm going to make this simplistic and not according to a certain date.
¥1,000 Japanese Yen is around $10 United States Dollars
¥10,000 Japanese Yen is around $100 United States Dollars
¥100,000 Japanese Yen is around $1,000 United States Dollars
So, to configure the currency in this chapter…
*¥200,000 Japanese Yen is about $2,000 United States Dollars
**¥1,656 Japanese Yen is about $16 - $17 United States Dollars
***¥400,000 Japanese Yen is about $4,000 United States Dollars
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****Bab ul-zulumat futeh- The Door of Darkness has been opened.
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About Yugi's parents. Yugi's father died from illness when he was 7, so Yugi's mother, Miyuki, had to focus all her time and energy on her career in politics to provide for her child, while Yugi lives with his grandfather, who has complete guardianship. Miyuki goes by her maiden name, Kujaku, in an attempt to keep her family from getting dragged into the political scene.
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MMMG: And there is the end of Chapter 1!
Yami: Something to note. Every event in the story has been officially dated on a calendar, so this story officially starts on September 11th, 2017, a week after the beginning of Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Téa's Junior Year of High School, (that's 11th Grade in America, average ages of 16 - 17).
Yugi: The exact date of when something occurs in the story may not be stated in the story, but MMMG has made a calendar and marked when a chapter occurred on it, so she can keep track of when stuff happened better.
MMMG: This is helpful to me in knowing how long it has been since past events that are mentioned in future chapters.
Joey: On a different note, I've never seen that shadow game before.
Seto: It's the Season 0 anime version, not the manga version.
Mokuba: Please Review! Let MMMG know what you like, dislike, if there were any spelling/grammar mistakes missed, do you have any questions, etc.
MMMG: One a final note, I will be posting 1 updated chapter every 2 or 3 days until I run out of chapters. Currently, that will take 2 - 3 months.
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Character Ages
When a main/reoccurring character is introduced, I will let you know their current age and when their birthday is. I will also let you know when they age up.
Yugi Mutou: 17, June 4th
Tristan Taylor: 16, April 19th
Joey Wheeler: 16, January 25th
Téa Gardner: 17, August 18th
Solomon Mutou: 70, October 4th
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Original Word Count: 6,604
Repost Word Count: 8,634
Next Chapter: 05/03/2022