100 Ways To Love Your Child

Chapter 3- Pancakes

In case I forgot previously, I do not own Yugioh, but will someday write my own manga! Muahahah!

"Yugi?" Grandpa Mouto gently shook his grandson. Number 75: Wake them with a smile kept a friendly grin on his face. "Come on Yugi, time to get up."

Yugi reluctantly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw that Tuesday morning was his grandfather's smiling face. /Crap/ he thought. /This mood change is lasting way too long/ He automatically slipped the Millennium Puzzle around his neck and was met by an admonition.

/Yugi! Don't say that word, it's rude/

/I'm sorry Yami. It's not that bad/ Yugi sighed and sat up.

"Hurry up and come downstairs for breakfast," his grandpa urged gently. "Oh, and don't forget to brush your teeth!" He hugged him, then went downstairs.

Yugi bared his teeth in annoyance. /Since when does he have to remind me to brush my teeth? And breakfast? What the hell is up with that/

/Yugi/ Yami scolded.

/Sorry. / Yugi sighed again, then went about his early morning ritual. He then trudged down the stairs, looking forward to an actual meal, but dreading his grandpa's horrible cheeriness.

"Sit, Yugi! Sit, sit!" Grampa bustled around, and the smell of pancakes wafted through the air.

Yugi plopped into his chair. His growling stomach was the only thing that kept him from going into an absolute fit at his grandfather's behavior. He inhaled deeply, and his mood meter increased slightly.

"Here you go," his grandpa said cheerily, setting a plate stacked with pancakes: six of them made a tower. Butter was melting and dripping on the top pancake and between each one on the way down. Yugi started salivating. "There are blueberries and chocolate chips in them, and you have your choice of syrup, whipped cream, or strawberry toppings."

Yugi stared at the pancakes. They looked so delicious, but…but…they were heart-shaped! Oh well. He piled strawberries, whipped cream, and syrup on his pancakes and cleaned his plate in two minutes flat. "Thanks Gramps, that was good," he said, hurrying upstairs to collect his books.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"Yes Grampa," Yugi snarled. He brushed his teeth, stuffed his books and sketchbook into his bag, grabbed his deck and raced down the stairs and out the door.

"Bye Yugi! I love you! See you after school!"

Yugi didn't even answer. He slowed to a trot after a block. /Yami, this is awful! He's getting worse! Did you notice the heart-shaped pancakes/

/I noticed/ Yami replied. /You seemed to enjoy them/

/Well, yeah, I was hungry! But the heart shape was so disturbing/ Yugi kicked a rock and growled in frustration. "Oh well," he said to himself out loud. "It's almost June, and once school's out, I'll be able to spend all my time away from home with my friends!" A sudden breeze made him shiver, and he glanced up at the sky. Ominous black clouds rolled slowly closer. The wind picked up, and so did Yugi's pace. By the time he reached Domino High, fat raindrops had begun to fall. He stopped just inside the door to shake the water out of his spiky hair.

At his locker he was joined by Joey and Tristan. "Hey man, did you see the sky out there?" Tristan asked. "It looks vicious!"

"Yeah, well, the weather's the least of my worries," Yugi mumbled. "Gramps has gotten even worse!"

"Still yellin at ya?" Joey sympathized.

"No, it's worse! He's being nice!"

Joey and Tristan both frowned in confusion. "I thought that's what you wanted," Tristan said.

"So did I." Yugi slammed his locker shut and marched to his first period study hall. "And now I realize that I much prefer the yelling."

Joey and Tristan looked at one another uncertainly. They had never seen their friend in such a bad mood. Normally, cheerful, light-hearted little Yugi could make appendicitis look like a blessing. Yugi plopped sulkily into a chair at an empty table. Joey and Tristan silently took seats next to him. Yugi glared at his mechanical pencil, slowly clicking the lead out. Joey finally spoke up.

"Hey, Yug, it can't be that bad!"

Yugi glared at him, shoved the lead back in, and started clicking again.

Joey cleared his throat. "Well, maybe it can. What all did 'e do?"

"Well, he helped me with my homework, fixed me real food, said 'I love you' three times just yesterday, reminded me to brush my teeth, and fixed me heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast!" Yugi flopped forward on his desk and covered his head.

"Uh…" Joey and Tristan held back their snickers. "Well…" Joey started. "That doesn't sound so awful….granted, the heart-shaped pancakes are kinda creepy. But the rest just sounds like he cares 'bout ya and's tryin to feed ya a few decent meals. God knows ya could use some."

Yugi glared at him. "Thanks a lot Joey."

/Yugi/

Yugi rolled his eyes and folded his arms. /What is it Yami/

/You need to calm down. I know your grandfather's behavior is bothering you, but perhaps you should appreciate the time you have away from him and not take your frustration out on your friends/

Yugi sighed and slid down in his seat. "You're right," he mumbled.

"Say what, Yug?" Joey asked tentatively.

"I'm sorry you guys. I didn't mean to take it out on you. It's just all so weird. I guess it doesn't sound as bad as it feels." He bit his lip. "I mean, he did help me with my homework…." He pulled out his sketchbook. He hadn't shared any of his drawings with his friends, but he wanted to make a point. "But look at this." He flipped through to the picture of the Dark Magician Girl.

"Whoa, that's awesome!" Tristan praised, he and Joey leaning forward.

"I did'n know ya could draw!" Joey added. "But what's with that?" he asked, pointing to the green streak across her face.

"That's what I mean," Yugi said. "Grampa snuck up behind me and scared me. He never used to come in my room."

"I can see how that would get annoyin," Joey said with a nod. He looked at Yugi hopefully. "Could we uh…look at the other pictures?"

"Sure," Yugi agreed. "Say, where're Ryou and Tea?"

Tristan looked up. "Ryou's over in a corner studying like crazy for that Algebra II test…and I dunno where Tea's at."

"Algebra II test?" Yugi said. "Oh no, I forgot about that!" He thought for a second. "Well, Gramps helped me with that, I've got the quadratic formula memorized thanks to him…"

"Wow Yug, these're awesome!" Joey exalted. "The Dark Magician, Gazelle, Chimera, you've got everything in here!" he looked at Yugi with his puppy dog eyes. "Any chance ya might draw somethin for me?"

Yugi grinned. "Sure. Like what?"

Joey shrugged. "Shoot, I dun care! Anything!"

"All right, I'll think of something." First period went uphill from there as the trio chatted animatedly over Yugi's sketches. All too soon, the bell rang, and Yugi went to his Algebra II class feeling quite prepared.

At the same time, Grandpa Mouto sat at the kitchen table going over his beloved pamphlet. He was making a list: Which numbers to do every day. This is what it looked like so far.

2. Give them lost of hugs.

3. Discipline them with love.

4. Listen to them.

7. Be patient.

10. Talk WITH them not AT them.

16. Remember that words can hurt.

18. Protect them from violence.

23. Help them with their homework.

He stared at the list. That was only the first page. Memorizing all of them would prove difficult. "Maybe I should just memorize the REALLY important ones, and keep the pamphlet with me to consult at all times….Okay, so which are the really important ones?"

38. Praise them.

41. Let them follow their own paths.

54. Be caring.

62. Let them know it's okay to make mistakes.

73. Say "I Love You!" at least three times a day.

93. Make sure they brush their teeth.

98. Let your kids now you're proud of them.

"There! Those ought to do…that's not so bad." he glanced out the window and saw the clouds. Thunder rumbled, and in the distance lightning split through the sky. Mr. Mouto just smiled. "Looks like I'll be able to do number 80 sometime soon!" If only Yugi knew what was in store for him…