100 Ways To Love Your Child

Chapter 2- A Better Connection?

(Please see bio)

The last school bell rang, and students poured out into the halls of Domino High. Yugi gathered up his books and things, then walked with his friends out the door. "See you guys tomorrow," he said. "Who knows? Maybe Grampa will be in a better mood when I get home!"

"I'm sure if you show him a little friendship, everything will be fine!" Tea encouraged.

"Oh for God's sake, Tea, it's his Grandpa!" Tristan cried.

"Yeah, what's he sposed to do?" laughed Joey. "Take 'im to the arcade 'er do homework tugether an' stuff?"

"What're you talking about, Joey? You never do homework!" Tea scolded disapprovingly. "All someone has to do is offer you food and you'll be their best friend for life!"

"That is not true!" Joey protested.

"Yeah, depends what kind of food and how much," Tristan prodded.

"Well, in any case, good luck with your grandfather," Ryou said with a quiet smile as the others traded insults.

"Thanks guys!" Yugi said. "I'll let you know tomorrow if there's any change!" Then he turned homeward bound with a happy mind. Telling his friends about his worries had been a good choice; they had been so supportive.

/You've been a big help too, Yami/ Yugi addressed his other half mentally. /I swear I'd forget how to live if I didn't have you with me/

/I try my best/ Yami replied. He kept his thoughts locked in his maze-like half of their mind. He tried to make like everything was all right, but somehow he sensed something building like a tidal wave. A change was coming, and something told him it was going to be a bad one. But, not wanting to burden Yugi's jovial little mind, he held it all back. /I'll always be here for you./

/I know./ Yugi grinned. He wouldn't let Grandpa get him down, no matter what kind of mood he was in!

"I'm home!" he announced, bursting through his front door.

"Hey there Yugi! How's my favorite grandson?" Mr. Mouto bustled in and hugged Yugi. "I love you!"

Yugi was in shock for a moment, then he smiled again. "I love you too Gramps!" They broke off the hug, and Yugi, though puzzled, was pleased. His grandpa's mood had definitely improved! "I've got homework to do, so I'll be up in my room for a while, okay?" Yugi headed past his grandpa for the stairs.

Number 23... went through Mr. Mouto's mind. Help them with their homework… "No wait! You can do it down here on the kitchen table. I'll help you with it!"

Yugi paused, unsure, then smiled a little. "Okay." He walked to the table, dropped his bag on the floor, and started pulling things out.

Feed them nutritious meals and snacks, number 29... "I'll fix us a little snack!" Grandpa hurried over to the refrigerator and dug deep into the drawer of fruits and vegetables.

"Okay. I'm doing my math first. Algebra II. I need help memorizing the quadratic formula, it's driving me crazy!"

"The quadratic formula?" Grandpa asked, cutting celery. "Oh, I remember! It's 'a' squared plus 'b' squared equals 'c' squared!"

"Uh, no Gramps, that's the Pythagorean theorem," Yugi said with a frown. "The quadratic formula is 'c' squared plus the square root of…no wait, that's not right, it's 'b' squared plus or minus the integral…no, that's calculus…Argh!" He banged his head on the table in frustration.

Grandpa brought a little plate of peanut butter celery sticks to the table. "Here. Eat. It'll help you concentrate. I remember which one you're talking about now. It goes, 'b' squared plus the square root of negative 'c' minus 2 'a' 'c' all over 4 'b'."

"Yeah!" Yugi said, brightening. "Yeah, that sounds right, thanks Gramps!" He took a bite of a celery stick and started writing.

An hour later, Yugi and finished his Algebra II and written a quick summary on how Mr. Rochester had kidnapped Bilbo in Daniel Defoe's Tale of Two Cities. "Thanks for the help, Grandpa! I didn't understand the reading assignment at all; you sure cleared it up for me!"

Number two, give them lots of hugs… "Anytime, Yugi," Grandpa said, giving his grandson a quick hug. "Anything else you need? Anything at all?"

"Uh, no, that's okay Grampa," Yugi assured him. "I'll be in my room." He picked up his books and trotted up the stairs.

His grandfather had an urge to follow him and keep the connection, but 37, respect their privacy held him back. Yes, just live by the pamphlet and everything would become perfect. Nothing could go wrong.

Yugi tossed his schoolbooks on his bed and carefully set his precious sketchbook on his desk. Next, he pulled out his dueling deck, set it next to this sketchbook, and put his next art project on the top of the deck: Dark Magician Girl. He sighed a little, admiring the pretty sorceress. He would definitely do this one in color.

About two hours later, Mr. Mouto knocked gently and peeked into Yugi's room. "Yugi?" Little Yugi was so engrossed in his artwork he didn't notice his grandfather come into his room. Grandpa paused, then moved slowly to stand behind Yugi and peer over his shoulder. Yugi was meticulously coloring in the deep green eyes of the Dark Magician Girl. He watched his grandson for a wile, then praise them often, number 38 brought him to his senses. "Wow, Yugi, that looks great!"

Yugi jumped in surprise, and the green pencil he was using jerked up across the Dark Magician Girl's head. "Oh no!" he wailed in distress. "I worked on this forever, now it's ruined!" He hung his head.

"I'm so sorry, Yugi!" his grandpa apologized. 66, remember number 66, hug them when they're sad… He put his arms around Yugi. "I didn't mean to!"

Yugi sniffled a little, then sighed. "I know you didn't. It's okay, I'll try to fix it later."

Relived, his grandpa smiled. "Alright. I came to tell you dinner's ready."

"Dinner?" Yugi looked up at him curiously. "You cooked.?"

"Of course! I'm so proud of you," (number 98), "so I have to take care of you, right?"

"I…guess so," Yugi said.

"Come on down, your plate's getting cold." He patted Yugi n the back, then followed him downstairs. He watched Yugi's face as they came into the kitchen and saw the table set, plates full of food, glasses full of milk, and forks on the left. His little jaw positively dropped.

"Grampa, what on earth? Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a salad? What-"

"Sit! Sit!" his grandpa urged. Number 94: "I'm allowed to spoil you once in a while, aren't I?"

"I guess…" Yugi said uncertainly. He sat down, took a second to find his fork, then stabbed a chicken strip. He held it up, sniffed it, took a tentative bite, and- "Wow! It tastes great!" He tore into the meal without a second to spare. If he kept eating like this, he was bound to hit a growth spurt…this new change may have a good side effect, since being called "shrimp" all the time did get rather annoying.

"Thanks, Yugi." Grandpa took a bite of his salad, swallowed, then said, "I love you."

Yugi choked on his chicken. His eyes got big; he started coughing and reached desperately for is milk and start chugging. The chicken finally went down, and he gasped for breath. Once he breathed steadily, he smiled uncertainly and said, "Uh, ditto Gramps."

They finished their dinner with Mr. Mouto making friendly conversation and Yugi quietly giving one word responses. After all was done, his grandpa, inspired by number 58, give them special family jobs, said, "Before you go Yugi, I've got a little job for you. Would you mind rinsing the dishes for me?"

"I s'pose," Yugi said quietly.

Minutes later, after an almost unwanted hug, Yugi raced upstairs. Number 93 had his grandpa calling up after him, "Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"I won't!" Yugi called back. He brushed his teeth, raced back to his room, undressed, and leaped in bed. /This attention is getting creepy fast/ he whined mentally.

/I'm sorry Yugi. Perhaps if you ignore it, it will go away./ Yami suggested.

/I sure hope so./ Yugi thought. /At least I won't have to deal with him till morning, right-/

"Hey Yugi?" The thought was cut off as his grandpa peeked into the room. "You in bed? I just came to tuck you in." Number 74.

/Tuck me in! This is ridiculous, Yami/ Out loud, he said, "M-kay."

Mr. Mouto sat on the edge of the bed, pulled the covers up around Yugi's shoulder, and kissed his forehead gently. "G'night, sweetie. I love you." Number 73, say "I love you!" at least three times a day..yup, that was the third

"'Night Grampa," Yugi mumbled.

Grandpa Mouto left the room quietly, praising the pamphlet in his mind. It was working! Tomorrow he would go over more of the ideas, loads of them…he could feel a better connection already.