Magi Magi Magician Gal (MMMG): Chapter 15 is here.
Joey: I was nervous that you would fall off the updating bandwagon again.
MMMG: Nah. Chapter 14 took a long time because I was still trying to rewrite it, this chapter, and the next few chapters are mostly done. I just need to read though them again to make sure I got everything.
Seto: Who cares? Each chapter posted brings us closer to my appearance.
MMMG: You don't appear until this story's sequel now, remember?
Malik: Ha-ha! Especially since I already appeared!
Marik: This chapter is based on Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga Ch. 22 & 23: American Hero (parts 1 & 2).
MMMG: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Enjoy the chapter!
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Cyberbee15: Glad you like the new version.
Dragonwolf416: Thanks, I actually changed the shirts from "I have the Sexiest/Cutest boyfriend in the world, now leave me alone", to something that could work with a group of friends.
InuYoiushi: Glad you liked the surprise appearance!
Killer-Fangirl: I wish the shirts were real. They are based on real shirts, most of them going something like, "If lost or drunk, return to 'person's name/location'." Thanks for pointing out that oops, it got corrected.
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Chapter 15: Zombire
Yugi walked into school Monday morning and headed to class, fully ready for his friends to pounce and pry vacation details from him, since his grandfather had turned them away yesterday while he and Yami recovered from their poor sleep on the flight home from Australia. Just as he thought, Joey, Tristan, and Téa were waiting at the door of the classroom.
"How was it?" Joey demanded the instant Yugi entered.
"Australia?" Yugi asked as he blinked, getting used to being back at school in Japan and not on vacation.
"How was your vacation?" Tristan clarified.
"I don't think we have the time to share, so will you accept the souvenir shirts instead?" Yugi inquired as he glanced at the clock and pulled the shirts out of his backpack.
"Thanks Yugi." Téa took her gift as the warning bell rang.
"Definitely sharing on break." Joey grinned as he claimed his own keepsake and headed to his desk.
"Sure." Yugi agreed.
Within the next 5 minutes, class had started, and they had to pay attention. Thankfully it went by quickly, and during the break between classes, Yugi was able to show his friends many of the pictures that he and Yami had taken in Australia. Yugi's favorite picture was one he had taken of Yami at the Melbourne Zoo, the teen having a look of absolute shock on his face because a Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo had flown close to him only to scream at the teen.
After explaining everything they had done on the tour, Téa shared her time at dance camp, and then Joey showed Yugi what he and Tristan had been up to over spring break: an American comic called Zombire, (pronounced Zomb[ie Vamp]ire), a new comic coming out right at the start of the break. Tomoya Hanasaki, the boy Yami had rescued from the karaoke maniac Souzouji back at the end of September, overheard some of their conversation, and to the surprise of all, he jumped in.
"That's Zombire isn't it?" Tomoya asked, his hands on his own small collection of Zombire comics.
"Yeah." Yugi nodded. "I didn't know you collected American comics, Tomoya."
"Yep." Tomoya nodded happily. "And Zombire is the most popular right now. I've always liked American hero comic books, but Zombire is my favorite."
"Why are all of the American heroes so beefy though?" Téa asked as she flipped through the pages of a comic. "Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America, Aquaman, they all seem to be muscle-men."
"Zombire isn't just some muscle-head!" Tomoya snapped, really out of his normal character. "He was originally a Death God, but human love awoke him. Now he fights evil for all of humanities sake. And he hides his face with a mask because his real one has become as ugly as a zombie. His life has been shortened and yet he still fights evil."
Yugi blinked in shock at the outburst, but recalled one specific outburst that he had, when he had yelled at Ushio that he wasn't going to hurt Joey and Tristan, and that had led him to making the friends he had today. Tomoya blinked, and his words caught up with his brain. The brown-haired teen recovered, and was obviously embarrassed.
"Sorry." Tomoya mumbled. "Sometimes I get too excited about Zombire."
"It's okay to get excited about something." Joey replied.
"Yeah." Yugi agreed. "The game shop started selling Zombire figures before spring break, and according to grandpa, they're going like ice cream on a hot summer's day."
"Are there any garage kits?" Joey asked.
"Not sure." Yugi shrugged in response. "I only know what grandpa told me."
"How about we go to my house after school?" Tomoya shyly offered. "You guys could see my collection. Are you interested?"
"That's a great idea!" Joey cheered.
"I'll have to check with grandpa, but I think I can go" Yugi grinned, ready to spend some time with his classmate, and maybe make a new friend.
"Great!" Tomoya cheered, now hardly able to wait until school got out.
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After leaving school, Yugi felt the recognizable drain of Yami leaving the puzzle and gaining a physical body, and looked around for the teen. Yami exited from an ally behind the group, sneaking up behind Yugi, and covered Joey's eyes with his hands.
"Guess who?" Yami taunted while Joey panicked for a brief moment.
"Ah, shit." Joey panted as he calmed down.
"Not even close." Yami wrinkled his nose.
"Yami!" Yugi scolded as he pulled his boyfriends hands off and Joey calmed down. "Tomoya, this is Yami. He helped me, us, with Souzouji at the karaoke house a while ago. Is it okay if he comes with?"
"Yeah." Tomoya blinked at the similarities. "Is he you twin or older brother?"
"No, we've done the DNA test." Yugi giggled. "We're not related."
"Hello Yami." Téa greeted. "So good to see you!"
"Hello Téa." Yami nodded briefly. "Sorry about the scare, Joey. Where's Tristan?"
"It's fine." Joey waved the apology aside. "Tristan had to take his dog to the vet for some shots."
"So if Tristan has some scratches on him tomorrow, we know why?" Yugi asked.
"Yep." Joey nodded.
It didn't take the group too long to get to Tomoya's house, where the teen immediately brought them to his room. Tomoya's room was filled with all types Zombire merchandise. All sorts of statuettes and action figures covered the shelves. Yugi was honestly reminded on wall-to-wall display cases that the game shop would sometimes use, except here, it was everywhere and Zombire themed. Yugi was in jaw dropped shock as Yami let out a low whistle since he was that impressed.
"So… much… Zombire." Joey mumbled as he recovered from the Zombire overload.
"Did you collect all of this?" Téa asked as she gaped at the amount of American hero.
"Not all of it." Tomoya responded. "My papa always brings me something whenever he comes back from a business trip in America."
"You have the rare gold figures." Yugi whispered as he found a box. "We can't get any of these here in Japan, and grandpa has tried."
A knock on the door had heads turning. Tomoya's mother standing in the door with a plate of Zombire head cookies and milk, and a warm smile on her face. She was quite happy that her son had finally brought home some fellow students from Domino High, honestly worried that her child would never make friends during his school years.
"Welcome everyone!" Mrs. Hanasaki smiled at the group. "I've brought some snacks."
"Thank you." Yugi smiled back.
"Tomoya, there's one more surprise guest." Mrs. Hanasaki said with a mischievous giggle.
"Huh?" Tomoya asked as a tall being in a skull mask appeared behind his mother.
"I'm Zombire!" the mask cackled.
Yugi and his friends all jumped in shock, and they all ended up clinging to Yami. Yami was amused and a little annoyed, but understood it was because the group knew he had protected Yugi in the past.
"Papa!" Tomoya cheered.
"Papa?" Yami mumbled in shock, gently encouraging everyone to let go of him.
"When did you get home?" Tomoya asked as he ran over to his father.
"Just now." Mr. Hanasaki replied as he stepped into the room, showing his business suit as he patted his son on the head.
"Is that a real Zombire mask Papa?" Tomoya asked in awe.
"Yeah." Mr. Hanasaki nodded as he pulled off the mask, showing a kind faced gentleman with glasses who looked a lot like Tomoya. "I knew you'd want it."
"It must have cost a lot." Tomoya whispered.
"Anything to make you smile." Mr. Hanasaki replied as he rubbed his son's hair.
Tomoya grinned happily as he glanced back at his guest, who were still calming themselves down. The teen quickly realized that his father's cosplay must have scared them since they wouldn't be used to the man's behavior, or the ritual return that he had with his on.
"Please enjoy your snacks everyone." Tomoya encouraged. "I'm going to go try this on quick."
"It's a Zombire house." Joey mumbled weakly as Yugi dipped his cookie in his milk and nibbled on it.
"And I live in a Game Shop." Yugi replied as Tomoya exited the room. "What's your point?"
"Nothing." Joey looked around again. "Hey, a Zombire Garage Kit! I've never made one before."
"What's a garage kit?" Yami asked with a small frown, not quiet understanding how you could fit a car garage in a small box.
"It's a plastic model of a character." Yugi explained. "Since Pro Modelers make the original design, the completed model looks really cool."
"Tomoya must not have had enough free time to assemble it." Joey mused as he opened the box. "So I'll do it here. Ooh, a soft vinyl kit."
"Shouldn't we ask first?" Téa asked with a frown. "Tomoya may have wanted to preserve that model in the box unmade."
"Don't be such a wet blanket." Joey replied as he stuck his tongue out at the girl.
"I agree with Téa, we should ask first." Yami interrupted while taking the box out of the blond's hands.
"Please!" Joey begged.
"No." Yami passed the box to Yugi and engaged Joey in some wrestling to keep the blond from getting it.
"I'm back." Tomoya said from the door, in full Zombire costume and mask, pausing at the sight on Yami and Joey tumbling around on the floor.
"Hey Tomoya." Yugi nodded with a grin. "Nice costume."
"Joey wants to put together one of your garage kits." Yami said as he still kept Joey away from Yugi and the box he was holding.
"I want to preserve them in the box though." Tomoya replied softly.
"Oh." Joey stopped struggling. "Sorry. We'll do that then."
"Thanks." Tomoya took off the mask and smiled.
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Hours later, and many Zombire themed games later, Yugi, Yami, Joey, and Téa, finally got ready to leave Tomoya's house. It had been very fun, and Yugi believed that he may have made a new friend. He would have to spend more time with Tomoya to make sure that the friendship they had started would grow.
"Thanks for the great time, Tomoya." Yugi said as the group exited the house.
"Thanks for coming over." Tomoya replied.
"Bye, see you later." Téa waved.
"See you at school tomorrow." Tomoya replied as he and his mother headed back inside.
"Everyone, please stay friends with Tomoya." Mr. Hanasaki called after he was sure Tomoya was in the house and the door was closed. "Please."
"We'll always be friends with Tomoya." Yugi replied, though he was surprised Mr. Hanasaki asked.
"Yeah." Joey added.
"Thank you." Mr. Hanasaki sighed in relief. "Tomoya's body has been weak with different illnesses for a long time. Because of my job, I can't always be around. And I'm a bit ashamed to admit this, but it only recently occurred to me that his only friends might be his action figures."
"You don't have to worry, he's not weak at all." Joey replied with a curt nod.
"Have a good evening Mr. Hanasaki." Yugi waved and started down the street with his friends.
A couple blocks later, the group split, heading their different ways to their homes. Yami dipped down a side street and then into an alley when he noticed that Téa was doubling back to follow him, and once he was certain he was out of sight, Yami let his body fade away, and allowed his transparent spirit to hover next to Yugi as the teen returned home.
-Téa was trying to follow me back to my 'foster home'.- Yami commented, and Yugi looked over his shoulder to see the brown haired female was now heading in the direction of her house.
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Back at Tomoya's house, the young male was jumping around in his room, still in the full Zombire costume. He was enjoying the thrill of being able to do things athletically, and he loved the way the costume made him look. The teen paused in his jumping about to look at a poster of Zombire. He who tore apart the dark night, he who rose out of the urban canyon and vanquished evil…
In his costume, Tomoya began to believe that he was Zombire. Glancing out the window, Tomoya saw that night had truly fallen, which suited Zombire just fine. Now he could venture out, and no one would know that it was him. Tomoya opened his window, crawled out, and leapt down to the street. Unbeknownst to the teenager, Mr. Hanasaki had seen his son, and watched him run down the street before carefully following.
Without a care in the world, Tomoya ran to the nearby park, feeling like the real Zombire. He could honestly get used to the way he felt at the moment. Then the sounds of a scuffle caught Tomoya's attention. Turning, the teenager saw two guys were beating up another guy. With it being 2 against 1, Kuroi with the black hat, and Giniro, Tomoya felt that the safest course of action would be for him to head back to his home. Tomoya started to leave, but then stopped as he remembered that Zombire never fled from a fight. Taking a deep breath, and truly scared out of his wits, Tomoya approached the struggle.
"Y-you who prey on the weak, stop at once!" Tomoya stuttered his demand.
"Who the hell are you?" Kuroi demanded.
"Zom-" Tomoya started but cut himself off, remembering that heroes didn't give their names until after they beat their opponents.
"I'm going to pound you!" Kuroi yelled as he lunged toward Tomoya, tired of waiting.
"Eep!" Tomoya thrusted his arms out and the thug fell back.
"How dare you do that to-" Giniro yelled as he rushed at Tomoya, but received the same result as the teen threw out his arms to protect him. "He's too strong! We're no match for him, run!"
Tomoya blinked in shock. And then he remembered now was when he was supposed to say his name.
"I'm Zombire!" Tomoya proudly proclaimed.
Tomoya then turned to go home, feeling confidence bubbling inside him. It was a good to know that he was as strong as Zombire, especially since his body had been physically weak for so long. But behind him, the guy who was beaten up, Gisei, stood up as the other two thugs came back. Mr. Hanasaki stepped out of the shadows and approached the group.
"Was that what you wanted old man?" Kuroi asked.
"Yes, here is your money." Mr. Hanasaki replied and handed them 100,000 yen*, feeling that he had just bought some self-confidence for his son.
"I like this job." Kuroi said. "We play the 'bad guys' and get paid 100,000 yen."
"I might need your help again." Mr. Hanasaki said.
"Okay, in that case, please tell us your son's name and where he goes to school." Kuroi replied as he hid his smirk, knowing that he and his friend had hit the jackpot.
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The next day, Yugi left school with a soft smile. While he didn't have to work at Burger World that afternoon, Joey and Tristan had gotten detention for falling asleep in math class, and Téa had to go straight home for some reason she didn't seem comfortable sharing. Yugi didn't question it. It just meant that he had more time to spend with Yami. Inspired by yesterday, and Yami's curiosity about it, they were going to put a Zombire Garage Kit together.
"Hey you!"
Yugi turned around to see a couple of punk-looking teenagers, the ones that had played the 'bad guys' the night prior with Tomoya, though Yugi didn't know that. The only thing that Yugi did know, was that they didn't go to Domino High with him.
"You go to Domino High, right?" Kuroi asked.
-These two don't look very friendly, Yami.- Yugi told the spirit, not verbally responding to the inquiry.
-I'll be right there.- Yami replied and went to make himself a physical body in a nearby ally.
"You know a Tomoya Hanasaki?" Giniro asked.
Yugi immediately wondered how these rough looking two guys knew his classmate's name, and decided that the best thing to do was to keep Tomoya safe. Even if it put his own safety in jeopardy.
"No, I've never heard of him." Yugi shook his head.
"You're lying." Kuroi growled as he pushed Yugi against a nearby wall.
-Yami, hurry!- Yugi gasped.
At that point, Tomoya walked down the street, and gasped when saw two teens were ganging up on Yugi. He recognized Giniro and Kuroi from the previous night, and felt that despite the lesson they learned, they still were preying on the weak.
"Tell the truth brat" Giniro threatened as he grabbed Yugi by the collar.
"I don't know." Yugi repeated.
"Stop you two!" Tomoya said loudly as he stepped in front of Yugi, arms spread.
Yugi was shocked at the confidence was displaying. Giniro and Kuroi quickly glanced at each other, recognizing Tomoya's voice as the voice of the "hero" from last night. Tomoya knew that he couldn't show that he was scared, that he had to hide his fear. If he cracked in front of these goons, he was in big trouble. At that point, Yami walked up the group.
"Is something going on here?" Yami asked, his tone leaning towards very unpleased.
The two bullies rounded on Yami, and immediately took a step back. Yami looked very intimidating as he stared at the two, not even glaring. He was poised, calm, confident, and there was an unspoken requirement for others to show respect rolling off of him. Yugi knew that if he wasn't already in love with Yami, he would have fallen at that moment, hard and fast.
"No, nothing." Giniro replied airily.
"Let's get out of here." Kuroi said, and the two walked quickly away.
Yugi blinked in shock while Tomoya sighed in relief, the amethyst eyed teen grateful that the bullies had left, but confused that they had gone without a fight. Yami's eyes followed the two until they rounded the corner and were out of sight. He didn't trust the bullies one bit.
"Are you okay, Yugi?" Tomoya asked.
"Yeah, but that was amazing, Tomoya." Yugi replied with a smile.
"If you see any more bad guys, please come to me, because I'll protect you." Tomoya promised.
"Uh, yeah." Yugi nodded, feeling confused at Tomoya's sudden confidence.
"Are you two, okay?" Yami asked as turned his attention back to them.
"Yeah." Yugi sighed as he focused on his boyfriend and grinned.
Yami was wearing the t-shirt he had gotten in Australia, the one with the Dark Magician declaring he was on The Squad. In fact, the entire group of friends had worn their Squad t-shirts that day, keeping the pictures and words out of sight under their buttoned up school uniforms.
"Oh, hello, Yami." Tomoya greeted, just noticing the teen. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine." Yami replied. "But what about you two?"
"We're okay." Yugi replied with a smile.
"I have to get home to Yugi, Yami." Tomoya said. "I'll see you two later."
"Bye Tomoya!" Yugi called and walked home with Yami. "It was weird, Yami. Tomoya showed up and those guys just… paused. It's making me nervous."
"I didn't like the looks of those thugs either." Yami replied. "We should keep an eye on Tomoya, at least for the time being."
"Good idea." Yugi nodded as they entered the Game Shop. "Ready to start on the garage kit Yami?"
"Don't you have math homework?" Yami smirked.
"Drat!" Yugi pouted.
"Finish that and then we'll work on the garage kit." Yami chuckled.
"Hello again, Yami." Solomon greeted as he came out of the storeroom.
"Hello, Grandpa." Yami replied.
"Is Yugi going to do his homework before the garage kit?" Solomon asked.
"Yes." Yami nodded. "I had to remind him about his math assignment though."
"Math is evil!" Yugi yelled as he raced up the stairs. "It's going to kill me!"
"I think your mother will kill you if your grade point average drops below 80%." Yami replied as he followed with a leisurely pace.
"Shut up, Yami!" Yugi called as he locked Yami out of his room.
Yami laughed as he allowed himself to be drawn back into the Millennium Puzzle before reappearing in Yugi's room. Yugi playfully pouted, and Yami tried to help Yugi with his math, but quickly found that he didn't understand the Patagium Theorem… at all. But Yugi managed to finish, and a couple of hours later, they were almost finished working on the Zombire Garage Kit. All they needed to do now, was paint it.
"Here we go." Yugi came back with a can of spray paint, but when used, discovered it was empty. "Aw, we were so close."
"I don't recall seeing any other paint cans in the shop." Yami sighed.
"And all the hardware stores are closed." Yugi added with a glance at his clock. "I know! Maybe Tomoya would let us borrow some! He does have some completed garage kits in his room."
"Good idea." Yami nodded and grabbed a couple of jackets.
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At Tomoya's house, Gisei, the thug who had played the victim the prior night, stepped out of the shadows with a note in his hand. It had been easy to find out where Tomoya had lived since his father had told them their last name. Inside, Tomoya was eating dinner with his parents.
"You're returning to America tomorrow, Papa." Tomoya sighed a bit unhappy. "When will you be back?"
"I don't know yet." Mr. Hanasaki replied.
"Oh." Tomoya looked back at his plate and poked his rice around.
"But Tomoya, I heard a rumor around the neighborhood." Mr. Hanasaki said, noticing the downturn in his son's mood. "Last night in the park, a couple of punks were picking on a weak guy when a hero showed up out of nowhere! Maybe it was Zombire."
"Yeah." Tomoya smiled as he finished his rice, thinking how surprised his dad would be if he knew it was him. "Thanks for dinner. Please knock before coming into my room."
"Tomoya has been acting so mature." Mrs. Hanasaki smiled.
"Yes, he has." Mr. Hanasaki agreed.
Mr. Hanasaki believed that because of last night, Tomoya was more confident. And he really hoped that it would last. Inside his room, Tomoya had put on his Zombire costume and was hitting and kicking a blown-up punching bag. His goal was to get stronger so he could fight crime at any time. The glass of his skylight window broke, and a cloth wrapped around a rock hit the floor. Bending down, Tomoya picked up the note and read it.
To the Self-Righteous Hero,
We have your Friend.
Next to the words was a hand-drawn picture of a map, and a picture of a tied up and crying Yugi. Tomoya realized that the note must have come from the two teens who had been picking on Yugi right after school, and that made him mad. Yugi had been kind to him, and they were on their way to becoming close friends. Tomoya jumped out the window and began to follow the map to where Yugi was being held captive. Unfortunately, Tomoya didn't notice that Gisei was standing in the shadows.
"He took the bait." Gisei said into the long-range walkie-talkie he had in his hand. "He's coming your way, I'll follow."
"Roger." Giniro replied and turned to Kuroi, who was spray painting a skull on the wall at the Domino Pier. "He's on his way."
"Alright, next stage of the plan." Kuroi turned from his masterpiece, inhaling on his cigarette.
"Okay!" Giniro agreed as he pulled out his cell phone.
"And raise the money amount." Kuroi added. "We're going to be set for a long time."
"Good idea." Giniro replied as Mr. Hanasaki picked up. "Hello, is this Tomoya Hanasaki's home? Are you his father? About the game from last night, we want to play it again. And this time the reward is 500,000 yen**. And if we don't get paid, we turn the story of the righteous hero into the story of the dead brat."
"Th… that amount of money?" Mr. Hanasaki gasped.
"Hey, he's here" Kuroi hissed at 'Zombire's' appearance.
"The hero just arrived, Daddy." Giniro smirked as he continued the conversation. "Hurry up with the payment, or the next time you see your son, he'll be in a hospital bed, or the morgue."
"Where is Yugi?" Tomoya demanded as the Giniro ended the call. "Answer me villains!"
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At that moment, Yugi and Yami arrived at Tomoya's house. Yugi knocked on the door, and not to long after, Mr. Hanasaki opened the door.
"Good evening." Yugi said. "Is Tomoya home?"
"To-Tomoya!" Mr. Hanasaki gasped. "Tomoya is…"
"Calm down Mr. Hanasaki." Yami instructed. "What happened to Tomoya?"
"T-This… in Tomoya's room…" Mr. Hanasaki gasped as he held up the cloth note. "What do I do? What do I do?"
Yami gently took the note from Mr. Hanasaki and handed it to Yugi. Yugi gasped when he saw the contents while Yami read the note over Yugi's shoulder. While he and Tomoya had grown closer yesterday, he hadn't thought that his new friend would go as far as to take on bullies for him. They had to help him. Yami took Yugi's hand into his own, and gave a firm squeeze. He would do what he could to help Tomoya.
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Back at the pier, Tomoya was getting punched and kicked by the three thugs. He couldn't understand it. What had happened to his strength? He had been so strong last night, and tonight, he hadn't even been able to throw a single punch before he had gotten knocked down, and kept down by these thugs.
"What's wrong Mr. Hero, can't find your strength?" Kuroi taunted as he punched Tomoya again. "Let me tell you something. Last night was a game of pretend. Your old man paid us off."
"You're lying." Tomoya whispered as he got to his feet and lunged at the thugs. "That's a lie! You lie!"
Kuroi just chuckled and sprayed the spray paint he had in Tomoya's face. Tomoya screamed and dropped back to the ground, the sting of chemicals making his eyes water.
"How could a weak little brat like you beat us?" Giniro laughed as he kicked Tomoya.
"That is enough!" Yami's baritone voice rang out. "Let's play a game."
"Huh?" Kuroi blinked in shock. "Don't tell me another fake hero showed up."
Yami strode down the steps and onto the platform, placing himself between Tomoya and the gang of bullies. Giniro and Kuroi recognized him from earlier that afternoon, the teen having the same air of confidence and requirement for others to show him respect about him. Yugi and Mr. Hanasaki helped Tomoya up, and escorted him off the platform and up the stairs to safety.
"Are you okay Tomoya?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah." Tomoya whimpered. "My eyes…"
"A game sounds fun." Giniro admitted his interest, despite his shock.
"You're going to take on all three of us?" Kuroi smirked as he flicked his cigarette away.
"This is all we need to play a game." Yami replied as he picked up the forgotten can of spray paint.
"Don't be so careless." Kuroi cackled.
Kuroi and his gang opened the pocketknives that they never left home without. Yami smirked at them, still calm and poised. The gang lunged at Yami, but he dodged them, running all over the platform while running a continuous spray of paint. Making lines all over the place, Yami kept up his pace. Yugi left Tomoya with his father and walked halfway down the stairs that led to the platform, keeping his eyes trained on Yami while he dodged the bullies, but also kept himself a safe distance away.
"He keeps dodging around." Gisei growled in anger.
"We're going to beat you into a pulp." Giniro yelled at Yami, who ignored him.
"Damn it, is this a game of tag?" Kuroi hissed and turned to his thugs. "Get in front of him and drive him to the edge!"
"Tomoya, are you okay?" Mr. Hanasaki asked while Yugi kept his eyes trained on Yami.
"Yeah, my eyes are watering, but…" Tomoya replied as he turned to the fight.
"Come on Tomoya, we're going home." Mr. Hanasaki sighed.
"Papa I can't run away!" Tomoya replied, taking off his mask. "If I run from this, I'll never be strong!"
Mr. Hanasaki gasped, and could only watch as his son down the steps. The costumed teen startled Yugi, who quickly followed his new friend. On the other side of the platform, the thugs had finally managed to corner Yami.
"Gotcha." Kuroi smirked. "Get ready for some pain."
"Did you think I was running randomly about, you idiots?" Yami chuckled. "Look at your feet."
"You've been… drawing on the ground?" Gisei asked in confusion.
"It's no ordinary drawing." Yami explained as he pointed at the still burning cigarette. "The cigarette butt that was thrown away… is the fuse connected to the paint."
"What?" Kuroi gasped. as the flame touched the paint.
The smoldering flame touched the wet paint lines, which burst into flame, and lit the paint soaked shoes of the gang on fire. Yami chuckled at his Maze of Flames, but would admit that his shadow magic made sure that the paint would light on fire, and then pointed to the far left corner of the platform they were on, which he had purposely left paint free.
"The exit is on the other side of the maze, so I suggest you start running." Yami smirked. "But don't worry, if you escape the maze, you'll be saved."
"Augh!" the three thugs fell off the platform and into the ocean.
"Yami!" Yugi called as he and Tomoya ran over to his boyfriend.
"I'm sorry that… you had to…" Tomoya stumbled over his words. "I'm such an idiot."
"You're not an idiot, Tomoya." Yami replied.
"You thought I was in danger and came to help me." Yugi smiled. "That's what a good friend does."
Mr. Hanasaki stood sadly as he looked at the Zombire mask in his hands. He could admit that what he had done was wrong, and that he had thought wrong about his son. He had thought that if his son dressed like a hero, mask and all, it would give him confidence and courage. But the real hero, was the one who had gotten hurt for the sake of his friend.
"No matter how much I try I'll never be a hero." Tomoya sighed sadly.
"You can be a hero." Yami replied. "Just look inside yourself."
"Thanks." Tomoya smiled. "I'd better go to the hospital so I can get this paint out of my eyes."
"Good idea." Yugi smiled. "We'll see you later."
"Hey Yugi, why are you here anyway?" Tomoya asked.
"Somewhat ironic, but we were hoping that you had a can of spray paint we could borrow for a garage kit." Yugi giggled, glancing at the can that was still in Yami's hand. "But I think we got some now."
"Actually, it's empty." Yami demonstrated with a hint of embarrassment.
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*¥100,000 Japanese Yen is about $1,000 United States Dollars
**¥500,000 Japanese Yen is about $5,000 United States Dollars
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MMMG: And done with Chapter 15.
Yami: You seem sad.
Yugi: She just found out that Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of the Yu-Gi-Oh manga and trading cards, has passed away.
MMMG: Yeah, so… drop a comment if you feel like it. Likes, dislikes, spelling or grammar mistakes, or if you have any questions.
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Original Word Count: 4,499
Repost Word Count: 5,212
Next Chapter: 07/28/2022