The whole process of getting Malik into a class was extremely complicated and confusing, mostly because Yuugi couldn't give any straight information to the lady in the office. Even if she had been one of the understanding type, it wasn't as if she'd believe the kid had come out of an egg a day or so earlier; yes, Malik was currently living with Yuugi; no, the kid didn't have parents as far as he knew; yes, he had living relatives, an adult sister; no, there was no way to contact her; no, he had no past grade records. But it somehow everything was worked out so that Malik could at least temporarily join one of kindergarten classes. A very exhausted Yuugi dropped a very excited Malik off at room 1-K quite a while later before heading off to his own classes.

Malik blinked at all of the other kids for a while until the teacher showed him his seat. The first thing on the agenda happened to be art. Each group of desks had a large tub of crayons, and each child received a large piece of paper. "Now, I want all of you to draw a bird," announced the teacher with a smile. "Try to make it so I can tell what it's doing, like flying or sitting in its nest. Okay?"

There was a general high-pitched chorus of "hai" from around the room, and then quiet as they began their masterpieces. After a few minutes, the teacher began to slowly walk around the room, glancing at all of the pictures forming. "That's lovely, Tsuruko, the clouds really show that it's flying in the sky… Nice, Hideto, you picked the colors very nicely…" and so on.

Suddenly, a child in the corner raised her hand. "Sensei," she called, "the new kid is drawing an ugly bird."

Malik scowled at the tattletale. "It's NOT ugly! It's majestic."

"I never did say to make it a pretty bird," admitted the teacher as she walked over. "Let's see it."

Malik sat back to let the teacher see over his shoulder. "See?"

"Oh…my…"

Rendered in messy crayon, but definitely recognizable, was the God of Ra, its wings spread and its head thrown back in a screech of triumph. Half of the table's cadmium red crayon was smeared down Ra's front and dripped from its beak. "Well?" demanded Malik.

"Um…what exactly happened there?"

"Huh?"

She gestured at the crimson that dominated the picture.

Malik rolled his eyes disdainfully. "He just won a duel of the Shadow Games, of course. Nobody defeats Ra, nobody! I thought adding the loser in added to the effect." He gazed at the picture fondly with his large, violet eyes and brushed his fingers down the streaks of scarlet as if he could feel the feathers.

The teacher sighed in resignation. "That's very…nice, Malik."

Malik nodded and picked up the red crayon again, or what was left of it. "I still have to finish it."

"Do you ever draw happy birds, Malik?"

He cocked his head. "Happy birds? But Ra is happy. He won his duel."

"All right, then."

At math, Malik finished his counting exercises before anyone else. The teacher glanced over his paper to check it, and then handed him a harder worksheet, this time with some addition. He finished that too. For the rest of the afternoon, Malik worked his way up the math levels until finally the teacher called the office to see if he could join another class for at least that subject.

Poor Yuugi nearly fell out of his seat in shock when Malik arrived at his math class the period after lunch. As the kid slid into the much-too-big desk next to Yuugi, he whispered, "I guess I didn't forget this stuff."

Yuugi shook his head in awe. "I wish I could've gotten this far when I was two days old. Sure would've saved me a lot of homework."

Malik brightened. "That's right! We get homework in this class don't we? Say yes!"

Yuugi sighed as heads began turning their way. "Malik…"

Malik grabbed Yuugi's assignment sheet. "We do! Hooray!"

All heads were definitely facing the newcomer and Yuugi by now. Yuugi was an unusual shade of pink as he suddenly focused abnormally well on the lesson at hand. Malik sat close by, also studying the book. "I understand the problems," he whispered as the teacher droned on, "but I can't tell what else there is."

Yuugi looked up, surprised. "That's right, you can't read this."

Malik nodded. "It's not hieroglyphics."

"I don't believe this."

Yuugi's usual group of friends walked home with him and Malik that afternoon once school was over. Malik was busy outlining his day for everyone. "And did you know that the teachers' lounge has packets of sugar?"

"That's probably for the coff-hey, how do you know what's in the teacher's lounge?"

"I went it."

"You did??"

"Yeah."

"You're not supposed to!"

"Why not?"

"It's for the teachers, Malik."
"So?"

"Never mind. Just…maybe stay out of there from now on."

"K. And at lunch Tsuyoshi blew bubbles in his milk with his straw, and it overflowed, and there were milk bubbles on the table. And Kimi spilled her ramen on the floor, and Akira slipped on it and fell down. And do you know what Tatsuo did with his French fries?"

"I don't think I want to know," said Anzu wearily. "The guys in my grade are bad enough."

"Like when it comes to playing basketball?" asked Yuugi, remembering a comment Anzu had once made.

"Yeah," she said, making a face.

Jounouchi scratched his head. "What's wrong with blowing bubbles in your milk?" he wondered.

"I dunno," said Honda.

"You guys get water when we get to Yuugi's then," said Anzu.

A few minutes later, they walked into the game shop to Yuugi's usual "Jiichan! Tadaima!!"

Sugoroku smiled at them from behind the counter where he was organizing a new card display. "Welcome! Oh, Yuugi, you got a letter in the mail today."

"I did?" Yuugi looked puzzled. "From whom?"

"I don't know," replied his grandpa. "Check." He handed the envelope to Yuugi as the other crowded around to see.

"Open it!"

"Yeah!"

"But who would write a letter to Yuugi?"

"At least it's not a video tape from some big company that would never bother with teens."

"Tell me about it. Remember last time?"

"Do I ever."

"Honda! Jounouchi! Urusai! Let him open the thing in peace!"

Yuugi carefully slid his fingers beneath the seal and lifted the flap to reveal a single sheet inside.