Chapter 2

Enter at Your Own Risk

She stood in front of the Game Shop staring at the return address on the envelope in her hand. She carefully folded the envelope and placed inside her purse. Looking up she took a deep breath and said to herself, "It's now or never."

The door opened with a distinctive bell ring, and a funny looking little gray haired man peered up from the cards he was holding. A huge grin came across his face as he greeted the young woman. "Oh, hello my dear! How can I help you?"

"Are you Mr. Muoto?" She asked in a respectful manner.

"Why, yes, I am. I see my reputation proceeds me! Let me guess, you're looking for a rare card and someone told you to come and see me. Am I correct?" The man was practically glowing with pride.

"I'm sorry, no. I don't play." As the words exited her mouth, the old man's face turned from a smile to frown. She could tell he was a little befuddled. "My name is Anna Sung. I wrote to you. And you responded back." She pulled the envelope out of her purse and held it in front of him.

"Of course, Anna! It's so good to finally meet you!" The old man's smile was more timid now. She knew he was just as nervous as she was.

"I apologize for being early. I was able to leave before I expected and well,.....I figured it was better to meet sooner rather than later."

"Quite right! It's time the two of you meet. After all you are going to be spending a lot of time together from now on."

"So he is here?" Anna could feel the butterflies dancing in her stomach.

"Oh, yes, let me take you to him."

Luckily there wasn't anyone else in the shop, so the old man locked the door and flipped the closed sign. Then he proceeded to show Anna the back stairway that led to the apartments above the shop.

Leading her up the staircase the old man couldn't help but boast. "You know, Yugi normally helps me at the shop, but he just got back from a huge dueling tournament yesterday and he is completely exhausted. Since he won first place I told him he could take the day off and relax." The subtle comment about Yugi's Duel Monster title wasn't lost on Anna, it even made her giggle a little. He was trying to be so smooth and he couldn't have been more obvious. 'I think I am going to like this old man', she commented to herself.

Reaching the top and entering the living quarters, she noticed the humble surroundings. Plain furniture, a modest kitchen, and sprinklings of ancient artifacts. She hadn't expected those. Most she recognized as Egyptian, but there were a few Mayan, Greek, Roman, and even Hindu pieces in the collection. Her spirits we raised at this new discovery, and she gained more strength to face her upcoming challenge.

"Please have a seat in the living room; I'll go get him." The man said as he gestured toward a chair, and then scurried off down the hallway.

Anna walked to the chairs and was pretending to find a seat when the old man left her. But as soon as he was out of sight, her curiosity took over and she leapt across the room to the artifacts on display. First studying them with her eyes, then with a quick glance down the hallway to make sure he wasn't watching, she gently picked up one of the statues. She rolled it over and over in her hands, inspecting every mark and crack. 'It's real,...Egyptian marble,......very well preserved,.....' Anna stopped in amazement when her fingers ran across the cartouche on the base of the statue. She gasped. "Ramses the I!" She was trying to whisper, but her excitement temporarily overcame her. Lowering her voice, "Wow, this thing is Nineteenth Dynasty. Thousands of years old." Her hands began to shake a little and her smile was a wide as the Nile itself. She might have stood there and drooled all day if she hadn't been disturbed by noise from down the hallway. She quickly placed the statue back on the shelf, adjusting, then readjusting it, and adjusting it again until she was sure it was at it's best presentation. Then she rushed over to a chair and sat down. Now she knew what those giddy schoolgirls on the train felt like. She was actually bouncing in her seat. "I think I'm going to like this family," said with a giggle and a bounce. But in a moment her happiness was turned to anxiety when she heard shouting. Her eyes peered toward the hallway. She held her breathe. If only she could make out what was being said.

A few minutes earlier, Yugi Muoto was a kid on top of the world. He had just claimed victory in the Battle City Tournament, took possession of all three god cards, saved Marik and his family, and he had the best friends in the world.

Yugi sat at his desk revamping his deck once again. He had to come up with the best strategy for using the three God Cards. Considering how powerful they were, he didn't want to use them, but with how crazy his life had become, he found it better to be well prepared. He was quite pleased with his desk when there came a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Grandpa entered the room with an unusual look on his face. Yugi didn't know what to make of it. He closed the door behind him.

"What's the matter, Grandpa?"

"Yugi, we have to talk..."

Yugi knew this wasn't a good sign. "Is everything all right? Did something happen?"

"Oh no, everything is fine," Grandpa said with wave and a fake smile on his face. It took grandpa several attempts before words actually came out of his mouth. "You know that your family has always wanted the best for you, Yugi. And although you don't get along well with your mother, you shouldn't be mad at her, she was only trying to help you."

"Grandpa, what are you talking about?"

"While you were gone.....I got a letter."

"A letter?"

"And you weren't here, so I responded....." Grandpa started ringing his hands.

"What was in the letter?"

"It wasn't so much what was in the letter, as who sent the letter."

"Who sent the letter?" Yugi was growing more confused by the minute.

For the next couple of minutes Grandpa couldn't make any coherent sentences, just one-syllable sounds. He scratched the back of his head and sweat poured down from his brow. Finally Yugi got the courage and said, "It's okay, Grandpa. Just tell me."

Grandpa looked at Yugi with the most apologetic eyes Yugi had ever seen. Yugi got a lump in the bottom of his stomach. Whatever this was, it was going to hurt.

Grandpa stood up straight, took a deep breath, and spouted out the words. "When you were little, your mother arranged a marriage."

"For who?"

"For you, Yugi."

"What!?" Yugi screamed his response.

"They had a matchmaker do it." Grandpa could see the disbelief and horror that had encompassed Yugi's face. "It's not what you think." He was hoping to cheer him up. "Their family is rich. Oil tycoons. They had money, but not the family name to be accepted by high society. So they arranged for their only daughter to marry you. There is no better name than Muoto! Did you know you were descended from a long line of honorable Samurai?"

Grandpa would have kept going if Yugi hadn't interrupted him. "You agreed to this?!"

"I'm only your grandfather, I had no say. It was your parent's decision."

"When were you going to tell me about this?"

"Well, I thought I had more time. Your fiancee wasn't supposed to arrive for another three days...."

"She's here?!"

"She's in the living room."

Yugi began to hyperventilate. me?"

Grandpa went over and placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "At least go out and talk to her. She's very pretty." Grandpa thought his comments might encourage him, but he knew nothing he would say would make a difference. Yugi needed some space. "I'll ask her to come back another day."

"No, Grandpa," Yugi snapped back. "I'll talk to her." The shock had begun to wear off. "Just give me a minute."

Grandpa nodded and left the room.

Yugi got out of his desk chair and composed himself in front of the mirror. At this moment he more terrified than he had ever been when dueling. He didn't know what he would find beyond his bedroom door, but if there was anything he learned from his time with the Pharaoh it was that you had to face adversity. He summoned all the strength he had just to turn the doorknob and walk down the hallway.

The first thing he saw was her raven black hair. It was long and pulled back from her face. Her skin tone was golden bronze. And as she turned her head to greet him he could see those eyes. Clear brown, lined in mascara, with the most exotic shape. As she stood he was able to take in the full form of her shape. The short sleeve v-neck sweater and mid-leg length pleated skirt did well to accentuate her features, but hid just enough, not to be trashy. 'Grandpa was wrong' he thought to himself. 'She's not pretty, she's gorgeous'.

He moved around the furniture until he was facing her. She gave a polite bow. She was unaccustomed to Japanese culture, and she prayed that she did it right. They both sat down opposite of each other. The silence was uncomfortable. Anna made the first move.

"He didn't tell you I was coming, did he?"

"I didn't even know you existed until a few minutes ago."

"That was unfair. Someone should have told you..... I've known since I was five that I was betroved."

"And you are okay with that?"

"It was all arranged a long time ago. We are bound to the agreement. So I learned to except it." Anna could see the mix of anger and frustration on his face. "I understand if you are mad. I've walked into your life and destroyed it."

"I'm not mad at you; it's not your fault." Yugi said while staring at the floor.

Anna was afraid she was losing him. "We've met before, ya' know." This made Yugi look up with interest. "You probably don't remember, you couldn't have been more than two or three years old. But I remember you." Yugi looked on her more intently. "I think it was when they were arranging the marriage. There were a lot of people in the room. I couldn't tell you who they all were. And I remember my mother going over to you. She poked and pinched you, like she was inspecting a horse she wanted to buy. And when she went to look at your teeth, you bit her."

"I did?!" The pair laughed uncontrollably for a few minutes.

"What did you're mother do after I bit her?" Yugi had to ask.

"She said, and I quote, 'I like him, he has a fighting spirit.'"

"She really said that?"

Anna responded with a nod and a smile.

"That's cool."

"It's funny, of all the memories I have of my mother, that's my favorite."

"Your mother.... is she gone?" Yugi asked with hesitation.

Anna dipped her head and nodded. "Both my parents, in a plane crash, when I was eight. I've been a ward of my uncle ever since."

"I'm sorry." Yugi said apologetically.

"I miss them. But I have to go on with my life. They would have wanted me to." Anna's face cheered up a bit and she could look at Yugi again. "This marriage was what they wanted, it was important to them, so I'm going through with it."

"You've known your entire life that you would have no choice in who you marry?"

"I try not to look at it was not having a choice, it's just one more thing I don't have to worry about. I have enough stress." She was hoping to lighten his mood. "It's not all bad ya' know. It's quite liberating actually. With my marriage guaranteed I never had to worry about dating, or boys, and all the pretending you do to try and impress people. I could just be myself." Anna smiled at him, and it was infectious because Yugi smiled back.

Anna was on a roll, she should be, she'd practiced this speech a million times. "Listen, I don't believe in that 'love at first sight' thing. I think that is something Hollywood made up to sell tickets. I believe it's something you have to work at and that you have to be friends before you can become lovers. And I would really like to be your friend. Do you think we start from there and then....well, we'll see what happens."

Yugi smiled and nodded. Something about her was very calm and reassuring. His first impression was that he was going to like her.

"So if we are going to be friends we have to know everything about each other. Ask me anything you would like to know."

"Okay," Yugi thought for a second and with a puzzled look on his face said, "What is your name?"

Anna couldn't help but laugh, "I guess that's a good place to start. My name is Anna, Anna Sung. And it is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Muoto." They shook hands and laughed together. They both felt much better about the situation from that point on.

"Call me Yugi, all of my friends do."

"What else do you want to know?" Anna smiled at him.

"Ummm," Yugi delayed. "How old are you?"

"You should know better than to ask a woman her age," Anna teased. "But since you asked nicely, I'm almost sixteen. And you?"

"I'm fourteen"

"That's great!"

"Where have you been living?"

"I lived in Egypt until I was eight, and since then I've been to numerous boarding schools all over Europe and one in America."

"You've been to America?"

Anna nodded with enthusiasm. "Have you ever been overseas?"

"No," Yugi responded. "I've barely been out of Japan."

"I'll have to take you some time. You won't believe the sights. Europe is full all kinds of ancient cities and buildings. And America is huge. They have skylines that go on forever. Vast tracks of land that are untouched. Not like Europe. In Europe they build new on top of old. Everything is stacked up on top of each other. But don't get me wrong, that is cool too. You just have to experience it."

Yugi sat there smiling at her. Her enthusiasm was contagious.

"I'm sorry, I'm babbling. I do that occasionally. If it ever gets really bad, just say, 'Hey Anna, shut up!' and I'll stop." Anna giggled at herself.

"That's okay, you sound like you loved it there."

"It had its ups and downs." Anna leaned onto the arm of the chair and prompted her chin upon her hand. "Okay, I have to ask. What's with the giant gold pendulum?"

Yugi laughed a little, then held the Millennium Puzzle up for her to see. "It's an artifact that Grandpa found in Egypt. It's a puzzle. It took me years to solve it, but I finally did it."

"It's cool, big, but very cool!"

"I like yours too." The ankh shaped necklace Anna wore didn't go unnoticed by him.

"Thank you, it's an heirloom from my mother's family. It's been passed down from mother to daughter for hundreds of years. My mother gave it to me, so I guess I'll give it my daughter one-day. You don't mind if we have a daughter, do you?" Anna teased.

Yugi's anxiety came back in bounding strides. "You're not planning on having kids soon, are you?"

"We've got to get married first." Anna couldn't help but chuckle at him.

"And....when are we supposed....."

"To get married?"

Yugi nodded with a soft, "Uhuh."

"The date was set for sometime after you turn sixteen and right before I'm eighteen. So, we have some time."

Anna approached her next question gently; she wasn't sure how he would react. "Do you...have a girlfriend?"

Yugi was embarrassed by the question, but he did his best respond and not sound like a total loser. "Umm, no, I don't have a girlfriend. I have some really great friends; they have stuck with me through everything. But no 'girlfriend'."

"That's good. I was afraid that I was going to cause some trouble in that department. But, sounds like we don't have to worry about that. I'm glad."

Yugi suddenly went into a panic attack. "Oh, no! What am I going to tell my friends! How am I going to explain all this!"

Anna didn't expect to have to deal with this, but she tried to help as best she could. "Just tell them the truth. If your friends are as true as you say, they will support you."

"This is not going to be easy," Yugi scratched his head in nervous frustration.

"I'd like to meet your friends."

"They are definitely going to want to meet you."

Both Yugi and Anna were in good spirits as Anna left the upstairs apartment. With the understanding that they would have lunch tomorrow and then meet his friends on the way to school on Monday morning, Anna found new enthusiasm for the days ahead.

"Good bye Mr. Muoto. I will see you tomorrow." Anna said gleefully as she passed Yugi's grandfather.

"Please, call me Grandpa. We are practically family after all!"

"Thank you Grandpa!" Anna chimed, matching the sound of the bell as she exited.