Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! King of Games and do not receive profit
from it. Also, one of the events present in the storyline was derived from
the wonderful CLAMP's Clover, and I should add that I don't own that
either. However, the basic storyline is mine, as are all added characters.
A/N: This story is about the origin of Duel Monsters, Seto Kaiba's past, the Millennium Items, ect. Of course Yugi and the rest are involved. If you want a certain couple or something like that, ask for it and I may incorporate it into the story.
* * * * * * * * * * * * For those who are not familiar with the original version, here's a brief list of characters whose names were changed:
Anzu: Tea Honda: Tristan Jounouchi: Joey
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Anzu politely covered her yawning mouth as the red-haired girl before her chattered on. She had done the orphan visit purely on Yugi's pleading. Now she wondered how he could do this every week, and felt a flash of admiration for her friend. She wasn't nearly as giving, and could imagine how badly Honda and Jounouchi were faring.
Stoneridge Orphanage housed over a hundred children, and was one of the first in the area to start the "Teen to Teen" program. They rounded up teenage orphans and non-orphans to try and evoke social interaction. She felt plainly uncomfortable, almost guilty, because she had had a good life and these kids had been screwed over. The girl she had been paired with, however, apparently did not, and had been cheerfully talking nonstop for the last hour. Anzu wondered at her ability to speak and not say anything; so far all she had learned was that the food was good, but sometimes not, that she was good at school, but then you could say she wasn't, and that though the people were extremely boring she could find plenty to say on each and every one of them. The brown-haired girl mentally scolded herself- she was here to listen, and if there was a lot to listen to, then so be it.
A little while later, the coordinator of the entire event waddled up to the makeshift podium at the head of the room. She was a short woman, with wavy blond hair- well, as Jounouchi had said, "She looks kind of like Yugi. Only fat."
"Atten-" the rest of the word was drowned out by the squealing of the microphone. "Atten-" and again the noise was smothered. "ATTENTION!" she bellowed, startling everyone in the room, and the microphone settled down.
"Ladies and gentleman," she continued, in her normal, rather nasal voice, "it is my pleasure to be up here in front of you all. A dedicated boy from our community, who was a regular volunteer, suggested the program, 'Teen to Teen'. He has worked very hard to install this program, and it is because of him that we could enjoy this time with each other."
There was a round of silence.
She coughed and moved on. "It makes me proud to see all the children here today." Aside from she and her friends, only a few others had shown, and Honda and Jounouchi had threatened most of them into it. Not many children that lived there had come either. The woman- Anzu squinted to see her nametag- Miss Sasaki seemed completely oblivious of this, and happily prattled away.
"Yu-" Miss Sasaki stopped suddenly, and even Anzu could see, three tables away, Yugi drawing a finger swiftly across his throat and violently shaking his head in a negative fashion. "The program's originator wishes to remain anonymous, but I would like to thank him anyway." She winked obviously at Yugi. "So say goodbye to your new friends, and then head toward the exit."
"Goodbye, new friend. It was lovely listening to all your bullshit," said the boy at the table next to Anzu, voice loaded with sarcasm. Surprised, she turned around and saw a boy, with sandy blond hair and acid green eyes; smirking at the girl he had been paired with. Her amber eyes lowered to the ground, seemingly trying to hide herself in her long sheet ebony hair hiding most of her face, evidently hurt.
"Shut it, Tomokazu," Anzu's partner, Minami, snapped. She seemed angry with him. Anzu figured that the boy must be the one from Stoneridge.
Tomokazu swiveled around on his chair, raising an eyebrow. He saw the red-haired girl's angry expression, and a wry smile twisted his lips. "Ah, Minami," he sighed mockingly. "Always the gentle one, aren't you? Almost dog-like in your efforts to please."
"Tomokazu!" she cried.
"Well, though you may be lacking in pride, I most certainly am not. I haven't chattered my life story away to a rich little girl just dripping with pity for us who are worse off. But, you know, she feels our pain." His eyes raked over Anzu, and his lip curled. "Looks like I got off easy. You," this was directed at her, "look like a regular little bitch. Probably from Minami. Did you try to pay her to shut up?"
Anzu felt her cheeks flush in anger, fully ready to tell this little brat exactly what she thought of him, but Minami cut her off.
"Well, at least I have a sense of dignity," she said, taking a deep breath. "I don't make myself look like an idiot, trying to feel all big and powerful by trying to make others feel like crap. I treat people with respect."
"Oh, boo-hoo," Tomokazu mocked. "That almost sounded like you had a brain, Minami. How long did it take to rehearse?"
By now, everyone was looking at them.
"Hey, what's your problem?" Anzu could recognize the voice of her friend, Jounouchi.
"Oh look, they defend each other," said Tomokazu. "It's touching. It really is. Hey," he yelled, "What are you doing on the rich side of the table? I could've sworn I saw you digging your meal out of a trashcan. Come here, the food's not bad, last time I didn't even find any bugs in it!"
The cook, who was nearby, bristled.
"Why are you always so angry?" Minami whispered sadly, so soft that only Anzu could hear her. "I try to help."
"Is there trouble?" Miss Sasaki was waddling toward them, an expression of concern on her face. Her glasses reflected the glare from the sun, making it difficult for one to look directly at her. Her gaze settled on Tomokazu, and her kindly face suddenly contorted with anger. Doughy hands gripping her hips, she tapped her foot as she began what was to be a lecture. "Tomokazu, of course, why would I expect it to be anyone else. Always causing trouble, aren't you, always ungrateful, and we try to help you, but no, you always shun everyone away. It has to be you, just you, always strong, always making others feel bad, and you just can't accept that you need help-"
"Help?" Tomokazu sneered. "Help? My god, Sasaki, who are you to talk about help? You're a forty-year-old virgin who gets paid diddly squat to deal with people who couldn't care less if you quit or not. And I'm sorry, but a 'compression garment' is still a girdle, and we know that not even they could narrow your waist."
And he continued, throwing insults left and right, until Anzu was quite willing to rip him limb from evil little limb. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Yugi, motioning for her to leave with the rest of the group moving toward the doors, but she was trapped between Miss Sasaki and Tomokazu's partner, Hikaru.
"Tomokazu," Minami whispered, "Please, please can you stop-"
"And you," said he, rounding on the only one who as far as Anzu could see had shown him any sort of kindness, eyes blazing maliciously. "You are the worst person I've ever met. Little girl trying to pretend that she has a normal life, that she'll ever have a normal life, that she has a chance to succeed, that any of us have a chance to succeed. You're just a stupid little girl, Minami, and I really do hate your guts, so just shut up and die. Far, far away from me."
Minami burst into tears. Silent tears, they were, flowing from pretty ruby eyes down a rose-flushed face. Humiliated, she pushed back her chair and squeezed between the tables into the crowd. People backed away from her as she ran into the building, door swinging shut behind her. An odd silence rang pervaded the spring afternoon. Anzu found herself getting up and beginning to follow her. Something gripped her elbow and she turned to see Honda, eyebrows furrowed, hand on her arm. Yugi and Jounouchi were there as well; farther back were the rest of the participants. As they all began to walk away, Anzu saw Tomokazu, standing there alone, looking at the door.
"I apologize for that." They all looked back and saw a sad-faced girl. "I did enjoy today, truly I did, and I thank you, Jounouchi."
Jounouchi blushed and waved his hand as though to say, "Ah, forget it." They must have been partners.
"Why did she let him say those things to her?" Anzu wondered to herself. The girl heard her.
"Who, Minami?" Anzu nodded. "Oh, she's the sweetest person you'll ever meet. And Tomokazu.. He's a jerk, to put it mildly, but he and Minami have known each other forever. She tries so hard to make him act like even a semi-human being, and he just makes her cry." Then, with a boldness that surprised them all, "He thinks he's so much smarter than everyone, so much better, and he can't even figure out that for some inexplicable reason she's in love him."
There was an odd silence. "Well, thanks for having us," Yugi murmured quietly. "We'd better leave."
And they all moved toward the exit.
A/N: Yeah, I know, I know, there wasn't even a mention of Seto, and it didn't seem at all related toward the summary, but you know this is the first chapter, and without it none of the rest will make sense. The next one will move along more.
A/N: This story is about the origin of Duel Monsters, Seto Kaiba's past, the Millennium Items, ect. Of course Yugi and the rest are involved. If you want a certain couple or something like that, ask for it and I may incorporate it into the story.
* * * * * * * * * * * * For those who are not familiar with the original version, here's a brief list of characters whose names were changed:
Anzu: Tea Honda: Tristan Jounouchi: Joey
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Anzu politely covered her yawning mouth as the red-haired girl before her chattered on. She had done the orphan visit purely on Yugi's pleading. Now she wondered how he could do this every week, and felt a flash of admiration for her friend. She wasn't nearly as giving, and could imagine how badly Honda and Jounouchi were faring.
Stoneridge Orphanage housed over a hundred children, and was one of the first in the area to start the "Teen to Teen" program. They rounded up teenage orphans and non-orphans to try and evoke social interaction. She felt plainly uncomfortable, almost guilty, because she had had a good life and these kids had been screwed over. The girl she had been paired with, however, apparently did not, and had been cheerfully talking nonstop for the last hour. Anzu wondered at her ability to speak and not say anything; so far all she had learned was that the food was good, but sometimes not, that she was good at school, but then you could say she wasn't, and that though the people were extremely boring she could find plenty to say on each and every one of them. The brown-haired girl mentally scolded herself- she was here to listen, and if there was a lot to listen to, then so be it.
A little while later, the coordinator of the entire event waddled up to the makeshift podium at the head of the room. She was a short woman, with wavy blond hair- well, as Jounouchi had said, "She looks kind of like Yugi. Only fat."
"Atten-" the rest of the word was drowned out by the squealing of the microphone. "Atten-" and again the noise was smothered. "ATTENTION!" she bellowed, startling everyone in the room, and the microphone settled down.
"Ladies and gentleman," she continued, in her normal, rather nasal voice, "it is my pleasure to be up here in front of you all. A dedicated boy from our community, who was a regular volunteer, suggested the program, 'Teen to Teen'. He has worked very hard to install this program, and it is because of him that we could enjoy this time with each other."
There was a round of silence.
She coughed and moved on. "It makes me proud to see all the children here today." Aside from she and her friends, only a few others had shown, and Honda and Jounouchi had threatened most of them into it. Not many children that lived there had come either. The woman- Anzu squinted to see her nametag- Miss Sasaki seemed completely oblivious of this, and happily prattled away.
"Yu-" Miss Sasaki stopped suddenly, and even Anzu could see, three tables away, Yugi drawing a finger swiftly across his throat and violently shaking his head in a negative fashion. "The program's originator wishes to remain anonymous, but I would like to thank him anyway." She winked obviously at Yugi. "So say goodbye to your new friends, and then head toward the exit."
"Goodbye, new friend. It was lovely listening to all your bullshit," said the boy at the table next to Anzu, voice loaded with sarcasm. Surprised, she turned around and saw a boy, with sandy blond hair and acid green eyes; smirking at the girl he had been paired with. Her amber eyes lowered to the ground, seemingly trying to hide herself in her long sheet ebony hair hiding most of her face, evidently hurt.
"Shut it, Tomokazu," Anzu's partner, Minami, snapped. She seemed angry with him. Anzu figured that the boy must be the one from Stoneridge.
Tomokazu swiveled around on his chair, raising an eyebrow. He saw the red-haired girl's angry expression, and a wry smile twisted his lips. "Ah, Minami," he sighed mockingly. "Always the gentle one, aren't you? Almost dog-like in your efforts to please."
"Tomokazu!" she cried.
"Well, though you may be lacking in pride, I most certainly am not. I haven't chattered my life story away to a rich little girl just dripping with pity for us who are worse off. But, you know, she feels our pain." His eyes raked over Anzu, and his lip curled. "Looks like I got off easy. You," this was directed at her, "look like a regular little bitch. Probably from Minami. Did you try to pay her to shut up?"
Anzu felt her cheeks flush in anger, fully ready to tell this little brat exactly what she thought of him, but Minami cut her off.
"Well, at least I have a sense of dignity," she said, taking a deep breath. "I don't make myself look like an idiot, trying to feel all big and powerful by trying to make others feel like crap. I treat people with respect."
"Oh, boo-hoo," Tomokazu mocked. "That almost sounded like you had a brain, Minami. How long did it take to rehearse?"
By now, everyone was looking at them.
"Hey, what's your problem?" Anzu could recognize the voice of her friend, Jounouchi.
"Oh look, they defend each other," said Tomokazu. "It's touching. It really is. Hey," he yelled, "What are you doing on the rich side of the table? I could've sworn I saw you digging your meal out of a trashcan. Come here, the food's not bad, last time I didn't even find any bugs in it!"
The cook, who was nearby, bristled.
"Why are you always so angry?" Minami whispered sadly, so soft that only Anzu could hear her. "I try to help."
"Is there trouble?" Miss Sasaki was waddling toward them, an expression of concern on her face. Her glasses reflected the glare from the sun, making it difficult for one to look directly at her. Her gaze settled on Tomokazu, and her kindly face suddenly contorted with anger. Doughy hands gripping her hips, she tapped her foot as she began what was to be a lecture. "Tomokazu, of course, why would I expect it to be anyone else. Always causing trouble, aren't you, always ungrateful, and we try to help you, but no, you always shun everyone away. It has to be you, just you, always strong, always making others feel bad, and you just can't accept that you need help-"
"Help?" Tomokazu sneered. "Help? My god, Sasaki, who are you to talk about help? You're a forty-year-old virgin who gets paid diddly squat to deal with people who couldn't care less if you quit or not. And I'm sorry, but a 'compression garment' is still a girdle, and we know that not even they could narrow your waist."
And he continued, throwing insults left and right, until Anzu was quite willing to rip him limb from evil little limb. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Yugi, motioning for her to leave with the rest of the group moving toward the doors, but she was trapped between Miss Sasaki and Tomokazu's partner, Hikaru.
"Tomokazu," Minami whispered, "Please, please can you stop-"
"And you," said he, rounding on the only one who as far as Anzu could see had shown him any sort of kindness, eyes blazing maliciously. "You are the worst person I've ever met. Little girl trying to pretend that she has a normal life, that she'll ever have a normal life, that she has a chance to succeed, that any of us have a chance to succeed. You're just a stupid little girl, Minami, and I really do hate your guts, so just shut up and die. Far, far away from me."
Minami burst into tears. Silent tears, they were, flowing from pretty ruby eyes down a rose-flushed face. Humiliated, she pushed back her chair and squeezed between the tables into the crowd. People backed away from her as she ran into the building, door swinging shut behind her. An odd silence rang pervaded the spring afternoon. Anzu found herself getting up and beginning to follow her. Something gripped her elbow and she turned to see Honda, eyebrows furrowed, hand on her arm. Yugi and Jounouchi were there as well; farther back were the rest of the participants. As they all began to walk away, Anzu saw Tomokazu, standing there alone, looking at the door.
"I apologize for that." They all looked back and saw a sad-faced girl. "I did enjoy today, truly I did, and I thank you, Jounouchi."
Jounouchi blushed and waved his hand as though to say, "Ah, forget it." They must have been partners.
"Why did she let him say those things to her?" Anzu wondered to herself. The girl heard her.
"Who, Minami?" Anzu nodded. "Oh, she's the sweetest person you'll ever meet. And Tomokazu.. He's a jerk, to put it mildly, but he and Minami have known each other forever. She tries so hard to make him act like even a semi-human being, and he just makes her cry." Then, with a boldness that surprised them all, "He thinks he's so much smarter than everyone, so much better, and he can't even figure out that for some inexplicable reason she's in love him."
There was an odd silence. "Well, thanks for having us," Yugi murmured quietly. "We'd better leave."
And they all moved toward the exit.
A/N: Yeah, I know, I know, there wasn't even a mention of Seto, and it didn't seem at all related toward the summary, but you know this is the first chapter, and without it none of the rest will make sense. The next one will move along more.