. . . = Yugi's thoughts
~ . . . ~ = Yami's thoughts
"Grampa? Can I ask you something?" Yugi asked, his huge eyes twinkling innocently.
"Sure! We can talk awhile until the next customer arrives," Grampa said. "What is it you need?"
"Well, Grampa," Yugi began, "when I tried to put back the pieces of my Millennium Puzzle yesterday, I think I made a mistake. And when I tried to take out the pieces to try again, they wouldn't come out."
"Hmm," thought Grampa aloud. "That's interesting, Yugi. Here, let me see." He reached for the Millennium Puzzle, but since he had said Yugi's name, Yami had come out. And since Yami was out, the Puzzle could not be taken off, as if a powerful force was keeping it on his neck. "I can't remove it! I must be getting too old."
"No, uh, Grampa," Yami said. "It's some kind of magic, but I hope you'll be able to help us . . . err, me."
"Well, when I'm done with the Shop today, I'll go through my archeological things to see if I have anything that can help. You don't want to yank that thing too hard, Yugi. It's still an ancient artifact," Grampa explained.
The next day, Sunday, was Grampa's day off from the Shop, so he had plenty of time to try to help out Yugi. "I searched through my equipment, but all I could find was this machine that sterilizes artifacts. It's worth a shot, I think. If dirt is keeping the pieces from coming out, then this could work."
"Okay," said Yugi. He took off his Millennium Puzzle and put it in the machine. "Now what?"
"It will take an hour," said Grampa. Just then, someone was at the door. It was Joey. He came by on Sundays for a little supplemental training from Grampa. "Ah, young Joey, you're here . . . late! Yugi, you can sit here and watch your Puzzle while I lecture your young friend here about why you should play cards face-down in certain situations." He and Joey went into another room.
Yugi sat and stared at the Millennium Puzzle and the machine that was supposedly cleaning it. He then noticed that the green light that was normally on top of it was not on. The machine was not working. "Grampa!" he called. "The machine is broken!"
"I'm busy now!" Grampa called back. "I'll fix it tonight."
That night, Yugi tried to fall asleep, thinking about the present situation. He thought that he could maybe leave his Millennium Puzzle at home, but he has never done that. "I'd rather risk switching around over leaving my Puzzle alone," he said quietly to himself.
The next morning, Yugi got to school and turned in his pink slip. As long as nobody addresses me, we're fine.
~Let's just hope for the best.~
But the worst happened. "Good morning, class," the teacher began. "Today's the day we begin with our projects."
Projects?! Yugi had completely forgot. On Mondays, projects begin, and this week, the project was mock marriage. The idea made Yami shudder.
"Now this is how it's going to work," the teacher explained. "I am going to pair you up randomly. This evening, you will all have to report back here for the mock wedding. You will have to take care of bills, housing, and . . . this." The teacher pulled out a toy baby from a box behind him. The class made a lot of noise. "Quiet! At the end of the week, each of you will have to give a report."
~Take the Puzzle off! And don't put it back!~ Yami was clearly unhappy.
I couldn't do that. It's too precious for that. Yugi retorted.
The teacher passed out their arrangements, written on a small folded paper. Yugi opened his up slowly, then gasped. He was paired with the prettiest girl in the class.
~Who is she?~ Yami inquired.
Everyone wants to go out with her. This is going to be very interesting.
~Just keep me out of it.~
"Hello. Yugi, is it?" a voice from behind him said. "So I guess it's you and me."
~I told you to keep me out of this!~ Yami thought, as she shook his hand.
"You know, I've always wanted to get to know you better, since you ARE pretty famous. I heard that you were crowned King of Duelists at the Duelist Kingdom."
Yami nodded proudly. "But I'm not ALL about dueling."
The girl touched Yami's chin. "Of course you aren't. Hmmm, you're taller up close than you are from a distance. And pretty cute, too." She giggled. "This might be fun."
At the end of the day, Yami was already going crazy. "Joey!" he said, catching up with him. "Say my name! Say it now!"
"Yugi, what has gotten into you? Did you get personal-jinxed? You aren't supposed to talk, then. I would sock you if you weren't my pal," he said.
"Uh, yes," Yugi said. "Thank you, Joey. So, who did you get paired up with?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Joey admitted. "Let's just say that she can figure out those bills with her eyes closed." He sort of laughed. "Come on, Yuge, let's go home. I gotta find something to wear for tonight!" He put his hands behind his head.
Yugi laughed nervously, but he realized that he didn't change when people called him "Yuge." "Yuge . . . I like that name. You should always call me that," Yugi told Joey.
"I've always called you that," Joey said. "But if that's what you want, little guy, then fine with me. I'll tell Téa, Bakura, and Tristan about it, too, if you want."
Yugi smiled. "Sure." Just then, Téa, Bakura, and Tristan caught up with them. "Hi, guys! Who did you guys get paired up with?"
"I'm with him!" Tristan pointed at Bakura. "There are more guys in our class than girls, so we're stuck together!" He shuddered.
"It's not cup of tea for me, either," Bakura added. "We're just lucky that we don't have to do some of the normal things. All we have to do is pay the mock bills and show up to the wedding, but we don't even have to wed."
"You think YOU guys have it rough? I was paired up with creepy Kaiba!" Téa fumed.
"Kaiba?" Yugi asked. "Are you going to go through with it?"
"No way!" Téa yelled. "My grades are high enough to skip this one project, though I can't say the same of Kaiba." She shuddered. "He told me that he's been so busy with Kaiba Corp. this quarter, that he needs this project to get a decent grade!"
"So what are you gonna do, Mrs. Kaiba?" Tristan joked.
"That's NOT funny!" Téa yelled. "We'll see what happens tonight. I've got to get home to find something to wear."
Back in his room, Yugi picked out his only tuxedo and laid it out on his bed. He held his Millennium Puzzle, wondering if it was wise to leave Yami behind.
"Oh, honey!" Yugi's mom cried. "You're going to look so darling in that little tux of yours. I think this is so wonderful!"
~Ha, ha, ha.~ laughed Yami.
Yugi put on the tux. "How's that, mom?"
"You can't wear that deranged puzzle on your mock wedding night!" Yugi's mom pointed out.
"Why not?" Yugi clutched it, but his mom had yanked it off. Maybe Yami wanted that. he thought to himself.
Yugi was about to leave the house without his Puzzle, but then he remembered that if Bakura's evil spirit happened to see that he was without it, he might try to come by his house and steal it. He could not take that risk, but what else was he risking?
Before he left, Grampa came by. "Yugi, I've fixed the machine. We'll give it a go after you come back. Goodbye, my boy!"
~NOOO!~ Yami cried. His pupils went to the middle of his eyes as walked into Domino High School and saw the place all decorated. "Joey!" Yami called when he saw him.
"Hey, you look awesome, man!" Joey said, himself in a sort of ghetto tux.
"Say my name."
"Sure thing. Yuge," Joey said.
Don't you remember? I told him to call me "Yuge."
Yami panicked as the wedding bells began to ring.
(To be continued)
"Grampa? Can I ask you something?" Yugi asked, his huge eyes twinkling innocently.
"Sure! We can talk awhile until the next customer arrives," Grampa said. "What is it you need?"
"Well, Grampa," Yugi began, "when I tried to put back the pieces of my Millennium Puzzle yesterday, I think I made a mistake. And when I tried to take out the pieces to try again, they wouldn't come out."
"Hmm," thought Grampa aloud. "That's interesting, Yugi. Here, let me see." He reached for the Millennium Puzzle, but since he had said Yugi's name, Yami had come out. And since Yami was out, the Puzzle could not be taken off, as if a powerful force was keeping it on his neck. "I can't remove it! I must be getting too old."
"No, uh, Grampa," Yami said. "It's some kind of magic, but I hope you'll be able to help us . . . err, me."
"Well, when I'm done with the Shop today, I'll go through my archeological things to see if I have anything that can help. You don't want to yank that thing too hard, Yugi. It's still an ancient artifact," Grampa explained.
The next day, Sunday, was Grampa's day off from the Shop, so he had plenty of time to try to help out Yugi. "I searched through my equipment, but all I could find was this machine that sterilizes artifacts. It's worth a shot, I think. If dirt is keeping the pieces from coming out, then this could work."
"Okay," said Yugi. He took off his Millennium Puzzle and put it in the machine. "Now what?"
"It will take an hour," said Grampa. Just then, someone was at the door. It was Joey. He came by on Sundays for a little supplemental training from Grampa. "Ah, young Joey, you're here . . . late! Yugi, you can sit here and watch your Puzzle while I lecture your young friend here about why you should play cards face-down in certain situations." He and Joey went into another room.
Yugi sat and stared at the Millennium Puzzle and the machine that was supposedly cleaning it. He then noticed that the green light that was normally on top of it was not on. The machine was not working. "Grampa!" he called. "The machine is broken!"
"I'm busy now!" Grampa called back. "I'll fix it tonight."
That night, Yugi tried to fall asleep, thinking about the present situation. He thought that he could maybe leave his Millennium Puzzle at home, but he has never done that. "I'd rather risk switching around over leaving my Puzzle alone," he said quietly to himself.
The next morning, Yugi got to school and turned in his pink slip. As long as nobody addresses me, we're fine.
~Let's just hope for the best.~
But the worst happened. "Good morning, class," the teacher began. "Today's the day we begin with our projects."
Projects?! Yugi had completely forgot. On Mondays, projects begin, and this week, the project was mock marriage. The idea made Yami shudder.
"Now this is how it's going to work," the teacher explained. "I am going to pair you up randomly. This evening, you will all have to report back here for the mock wedding. You will have to take care of bills, housing, and . . . this." The teacher pulled out a toy baby from a box behind him. The class made a lot of noise. "Quiet! At the end of the week, each of you will have to give a report."
~Take the Puzzle off! And don't put it back!~ Yami was clearly unhappy.
I couldn't do that. It's too precious for that. Yugi retorted.
The teacher passed out their arrangements, written on a small folded paper. Yugi opened his up slowly, then gasped. He was paired with the prettiest girl in the class.
~Who is she?~ Yami inquired.
Everyone wants to go out with her. This is going to be very interesting.
~Just keep me out of it.~
"Hello. Yugi, is it?" a voice from behind him said. "So I guess it's you and me."
~I told you to keep me out of this!~ Yami thought, as she shook his hand.
"You know, I've always wanted to get to know you better, since you ARE pretty famous. I heard that you were crowned King of Duelists at the Duelist Kingdom."
Yami nodded proudly. "But I'm not ALL about dueling."
The girl touched Yami's chin. "Of course you aren't. Hmmm, you're taller up close than you are from a distance. And pretty cute, too." She giggled. "This might be fun."
At the end of the day, Yami was already going crazy. "Joey!" he said, catching up with him. "Say my name! Say it now!"
"Yugi, what has gotten into you? Did you get personal-jinxed? You aren't supposed to talk, then. I would sock you if you weren't my pal," he said.
"Uh, yes," Yugi said. "Thank you, Joey. So, who did you get paired up with?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Joey admitted. "Let's just say that she can figure out those bills with her eyes closed." He sort of laughed. "Come on, Yuge, let's go home. I gotta find something to wear for tonight!" He put his hands behind his head.
Yugi laughed nervously, but he realized that he didn't change when people called him "Yuge." "Yuge . . . I like that name. You should always call me that," Yugi told Joey.
"I've always called you that," Joey said. "But if that's what you want, little guy, then fine with me. I'll tell Téa, Bakura, and Tristan about it, too, if you want."
Yugi smiled. "Sure." Just then, Téa, Bakura, and Tristan caught up with them. "Hi, guys! Who did you guys get paired up with?"
"I'm with him!" Tristan pointed at Bakura. "There are more guys in our class than girls, so we're stuck together!" He shuddered.
"It's not cup of tea for me, either," Bakura added. "We're just lucky that we don't have to do some of the normal things. All we have to do is pay the mock bills and show up to the wedding, but we don't even have to wed."
"You think YOU guys have it rough? I was paired up with creepy Kaiba!" Téa fumed.
"Kaiba?" Yugi asked. "Are you going to go through with it?"
"No way!" Téa yelled. "My grades are high enough to skip this one project, though I can't say the same of Kaiba." She shuddered. "He told me that he's been so busy with Kaiba Corp. this quarter, that he needs this project to get a decent grade!"
"So what are you gonna do, Mrs. Kaiba?" Tristan joked.
"That's NOT funny!" Téa yelled. "We'll see what happens tonight. I've got to get home to find something to wear."
Back in his room, Yugi picked out his only tuxedo and laid it out on his bed. He held his Millennium Puzzle, wondering if it was wise to leave Yami behind.
"Oh, honey!" Yugi's mom cried. "You're going to look so darling in that little tux of yours. I think this is so wonderful!"
~Ha, ha, ha.~ laughed Yami.
Yugi put on the tux. "How's that, mom?"
"You can't wear that deranged puzzle on your mock wedding night!" Yugi's mom pointed out.
"Why not?" Yugi clutched it, but his mom had yanked it off. Maybe Yami wanted that. he thought to himself.
Yugi was about to leave the house without his Puzzle, but then he remembered that if Bakura's evil spirit happened to see that he was without it, he might try to come by his house and steal it. He could not take that risk, but what else was he risking?
Before he left, Grampa came by. "Yugi, I've fixed the machine. We'll give it a go after you come back. Goodbye, my boy!"
~NOOO!~ Yami cried. His pupils went to the middle of his eyes as walked into Domino High School and saw the place all decorated. "Joey!" Yami called when he saw him.
"Hey, you look awesome, man!" Joey said, himself in a sort of ghetto tux.
"Say my name."
"Sure thing. Yuge," Joey said.
Don't you remember? I told him to call me "Yuge."
Yami panicked as the wedding bells began to ring.
(To be continued)