A/N: O.O Wow! I'm so happy! So many reviews! I feel so loved. Thank you all so much!
Oh! Yes! Happy Chinese New Year! It's the year of the rooster.
O.O Whoa! That was the expression I had when I was writing the first half of this chapter. Yeah, basically this chapter builds up the plot a lot. It's kind of… uh… I'm not sure if disturbing is the right word to use, but yeah. Disturbing… this chapter is really, really disturbing. Basically… uh… read this chapter with an empty stomach. And this chapter and another chapter later on are the reasons why this fic had its rating boasted up an R rating.
Disclaimer: T.T I do not own Yu-gi-oh!
Chapter 3
Yuugi
A beam of sunlight radiated into the room of a two-story store. A sixteen-year-old boy could be seen fast asleep in bed. His covers were drawn over his small frail body. Light breathing emitted from his lips. The boy whimpered before his amethyst eyes flirted open. Confused and disoriented, the boy sat up only to find himself in bed. He was dressed his baby blue pajamas with little yellow stars. The clothes he had worn the day before were in a neat heap on the ground beside his bed. He groaned a confused. He stifled another yawn as he raised his left hand only to notice it was haphazardly wrapped in a piece of cloth. Red dried blood stained the wrapping.
Like a whirlwind, he felt his memories hurling back at him. The boy remembered. He remembered his late night excursion to the store to rent a video only to run into those three men. Yuugi trembled. He remembered how one of them had cut his hand while another had held him down. But… something… no someone must have saved him, but who? Who was that person that had saved him when he thought all hope was lost?
Let's play a game.
His savior had said that. It was powerful voice. It was filled with confidence. Something Yuugi wished he possessed. But more than anything… he wished he had seen his savior's face, so he could at least say 'arigotou'. But that was impossible if all he had was a voice. It was something that he wasn't quite sure he could trust. After all just a second later he had blacked out. Yuugi sighed before getting up. But still that didn't answer his other question… how did he get home? Unless his savior knew where he lived… how did he get home? Deciding not to dwell on something so trivial and impossible to answer, Yuugi walked over to his closet and pulled out a loose t-shirt and a pair of pants. He hoped it was still Sunday… if not, he surely wasn't going to school… not at noon...and especially not with his homework incomplete.
Once dressed Yuugi walked over to the window and opened it. He sighed in contentment at the feeling of the autumn air as it blew past him. Even the normally noisy sounding traffic didn't seem to bug Yuugi today. Today was a day of rebirth. He was going to enjoy today. He was going to go to the beach after he finished all his homework. He hadn't gone to the beach in a long time, but somehow today the salty sea air called out to him. He blew a bubble with his saliva. A puffy white cloud passed overhead. "Arigotou whoever you are. Arigotou!" Yuugi shouted before breaking into a fit of giggle especially when a passing pedestrian looked up at him peculiarly. But for once… his shyness didn't take over him. "Ohayo!" He called at the pedestrian. The pedestrian returned the gesture with a faint wave and a small smile. If it had been any other day, Yuugi would have immediately concluded that the passer-by thought he was insane, but today he didn't care. Yuugi waited for the person to turn the block before closing his window and walked away only to catch the gaze of mou hitori no boku. Its normal smile was imprinted upon its face causing Yuugi's smile to brighten. He back stepped and picked up the doll… cradling it in his arms.
Playfully Yuugi asked. "Did you see the person who saved us?" Yuugi giggled. He didn't wait for an answer. Instead he ran out of the room with his doll in hands. For once it didn't bother him that his grandfather wasn't home. A tune played on his lips as Yuugi sat the doll on a chair before walking over to the stove. He reached for the bag of rice and measured out one cup full before setting it over the flame.
"One egg or two?" Yuugi asked to the doll. He craned his head as he looked back at the doll. Once more Yuugi didn't wait for an answer, and it didn't bug him that he would never get an answer. Instead he reached for two eggs and simultaneously cracked both open. Yuugi continued to hum as he cooked. He fried the eggs and mixed a sauce. Ten minutes later breakfast was served: two heaping platefuls, one for the both of them. Yuugi giggled as he set one before mou hitori no boku and the other for himself.
Ten minutes later, Yuugi rose from his seat. His plate was clean. The one before the doll was still as full as it had been ten minutes earlier. Yuugi sighed before licking his lips. "Oh well. I guess you still aren't use to Japanese food. I know! I'll go to the bookstore and find some Egyptian cookbooks. What do you think mou hitori no boku?" Like before Yuugi didn't wait for an answer, instead he picked up the plate full of breakfast and set it back in the refrigerator before washing his own.
An hour later, Yuugi sighed as he forced himself into a full body stretch. He had long retreated to his bedroom and had opened all the windows in his room allowing the warm, autumn sunlight and warm fall breeze be his only form of light and A/C. Three fourth of his homework was already complete. The boy drummed his pencil on his desk. His doll was seated not that far away. It was once again leaning on the small shelf that was attached to the wall above his desk. His amethyst eyes sparkled. A small 'o' formed upon his lips as he stuck the pencil to his lips… lightly twirling it in his hands.
"I hate pre-calculus," Yuugi moaned. He still had three more pages of book left unfinished, not to mention it was also getting late. He was wasting precious daylight doing annoying math. The boy groaned as he wrote down the solution to another problem before looking up to meet the gaze of the doll. Mou hitori no boku was always looking at him. It must be one of those illusions. Yuugi had long deduced that was the case. It was like those paintings where no matter where you stood the person in it would always be looking at you. Yuugi wasn't sure if it worked for dolls, but it was the only logical explanation.
"They should make a law. It should be illegal to give this much math homework on Saturdays." The boy groaned. He could have sworn the doll was taunting him just then… laughing at his frustration. A small pout appeared on Yuugi's lips. He twirled his pencil around his thumb and index finger before lightly jabbing the doll with it. "Are you laughing at me?" Yuugi asked a little annoyed. Taking the doll's silence as a yes, the boy became even more annoyed. He slammed his pencil down on his table before shutting his math book. "You're not getting dinner!" Silence. "For the rest of the week!" Yuugi added. Still the doll looked on at him. Its taunting smile ever present. Yuugi growled. "I'm going out!" His once happy mood broke as he grabbed his wallet and stormed out the shop. Still the doll said nothing. It didn't even blink when Yuugi returned ten minutes later, his face red.
The day ended on a sour note for Yuugi. His pride didn't allow him to say sorry as he finished his homework in a silence. He left the doll sitting on his desk when he went to bed that night.
A large yawn escaped Mutou Yuugi's lips as he walked into his classroom. Not many people were there yet, and Yuugi wasn't surprised. He had purposefully left early this morning since he couldn't bear to stay in the same house with mou hitori no boku. What irony! An inanimate object had just kicked him out of his own house. Now that didn't happen every single day.
"Mutou!" A voice shouted… startling the young boy from his mindless state.
"Huh?" He asked before looking up.
Oh shit! It was his physical ed. teacher Karita-san. Yuugi had never been on good terms with the elder… mainly because one, he was never the physical type and two it didn't help that his first class of the day with him. Once, they were doing track events and one of them was high jump. Yuugi was short and was horrid had any track event that ranged from running to jumping. The elder had given him a pole that was two times taller than Yuugi was. Jounouchi thinking that it was the perfect time for Yuugi's next 'man' lessons ended up tripping the boy by accident. The pole went sailing without Yuugi and ended up hitting Karita square in the face. It had produced a nasty bruise on his face and broke his jaw. Ever since then Yuugi's physical ed. classes had been like hell.
"Yes, Karita-sensei," Yuugi replied. His face flustered as he dropped into a light bow.
"First Mutou, listen when you are first addressed. Two, don't speak till you are addressed. Three, never question me…"
"But… I…" Yuugi started before being abruptly cut off.
"Fourth, never argue with your elders. Haven't your parents taught you anything?"
"Karita-sensei! Karita-sensei!" A boy's shouts could be heard followed by the heavy footsteps of a boy. He was seventeen years of age; he was Yuugi's senpai. His breath was stained as he supported himself on the door-frame. Yuugi recognized him. He was on the school's basketball team. Domino high was famous for their basketball teams. They always ended up making it into the intercontinental championship with all of the country's best basketball teams.
"Kuro! What's the matter boy?" Karita-san immediately spun around. He placed his hand on younger's shoulder and another on his back as if he was supporting him. Yuugi looked on in wonderment. He had never expected Karita-sensei to actually… well… care. Then again Kuro was one of the stars on the basketball team that Karita-sensei just so happen to coach. There was no debate that it was Karita's couching that always allowed the team to do so well. As a result Karita would receive a bonus for that month's salary when the team goes to the championships.
"It… it's Yoko! He… he's hurt. He was practicing one of our plays when he twisted his leg. We… we think he broke it." Kuro exclaimed. Karita immediately paled. No matter how little Yuugi knew about the school's sports he knew that they did have a big game coming up soon, and that Yoko was their best three-point shooter.
"I'll deal with you later Mutou!" Karita growled before following Kuro outside where the team had been practicing. Yuugi sighed before sinking into the bottom of his chair. He was saved for once. Now he remembered why he never came to school early if he didn't have to. Karita was always there, and it usually resorted in Yuugi doing random things for him. They always ranged from laundry duty to sweeping the locker rooms. He could only blindly follow since he knew the school would never fire Karita. He was too valuable and that made Yuugi sick to his stomach.
Twenty minutes later, students and other teachers started showing up each with their own piece of juicy news. One piece seemed to practically stick out for the boy. Two girls, part of the school's cheer leading squad, were talking with a member of the track team, a handsome boy with short brown hair. Yuugi felt sick watching the way that they would flirt with him. How they would let out that annoying high pitch squeal when he spoke. Most of the girls in his class had long given up trying to get a date with Kaiba Seto who seemed to have a one track mind… business.
"And even now the police don't know what happened to them. There aren't any fatal marks or anything on them, yet the doctors claim it's like their minds have been ripped out of them or something."
The girls squealed. Yuugi's eyes widened. No… it… it couldn't… could it?
The young teen was in a daze for the rest of the day as he walked home and immediately ran to his room. He gave the doll a peculiar stare before letting out a loud, almost insane laugh. He pulled the doll into his lap. He lightly stroked its bangs. "Gomen ne, mou hitori no boku. I'm so sorry for venting on you like that yesterday. How about we go to the beach tomorrow? I'll skip school, and we can…" Soon Yuugi broke off. A small grin slowly formed on his lips. "You wouldn't like that would you? I bet you never skipped a lesson with your tutors. I bet you were a brilliant ruler of Egypt and ruled it with a strong hand. Ne, mou hitori no boku?"
Yuugi sighed setting the doll down on his bed before walking over to the desk. He sighed before starting his homework. A glint of light startled him. The sunlight had cast a glare onto the glass of the picture frame. How the heck did that get there? Yuugi's brow furrowed. He didn't remember ever seeing the picture frame much less remember being in that picture. It was him when he was little with his parents and grandfather. Right before the Christmas when he received mou hitori no boku. His eyes watered. He forgot how pretty his mom was when she smiled. He forgot how his father used to tickle him when he would cuddle up close to him. His untrimmed whiskers use to bug the him to no end. Yuugi sighed before picking the picture frame up, lightly drawing circles around his parents' faces. He held back another wave of tears before reaching down and opening a drawer in his desk. It looked so dark and damp in there. It was the perfect resting place for his past, present and future… cold, dark and damp. Yuugi shivered as he set the picture frame upside down before shutting it away with it went his feelings, memories and emotions.
Two weeks had gone and past since the day that Yuugi was cornered in the dark alley. Two weeks since that person saved his life. Two long weeks of detention with Karita for doing absolutely nothing…
The old man had cornered the boy earlier that week when he had class with him. He made up this crazy story that Yuugi had cheated in his 2 km run which seemed quite peculiar considering the fact he had finished last. So he ended having to survive two long weeks of detention that resulted in him cleaning out the locker rooms, delivering water to the basketball team and washing the laundry by hand.
Yuugi shuttered at the memories. He could still feel the blisters that had developed on his fingers. He felt as if he had experienced military camp for the past two week. Strict discipline… absolutely no talking… punctuality…
At least it was finally Saturday night. Plus, an added bonus his grandfather was coming home later that night or the next morning depending if there was a layoff in San Francisco.
A smile was present upon the boy's lips as he made his dinner. He didn't have that much homework, and his grandfather was coming home. Maybe someone in heaven finally acknowledged his plea of not having pre-cal homework over the weekend. Yuugi hissed as a drop of hot grease landed on his cheeks. He usually wasn't that careless when it came to making dinner. He hadn't burned himself in years, and it startled the boy. He quickly turned off the fire before rinsing his face off with ice cold water then coated his cheeks with a thin slab of salve.
The boy sighed… lightly tapping the tip of chopsticks to the table. He drew a deep breath and blew a piece of hair away from his eyes. His bangs fluttered.
The night drew on. The city lights were starting to darken. Yuugi sighed as he walked into his grandfather's translating shop. The rich heavenly smell of leather engulfed his olfactory system. He set his doll down on his grandfather's solid cherry table before he slipped into his grandfather's chair. It was on wheels and rolled. The boy giggled as he pushed the chair letting it go into a fast spin. Something he hadn't done in ages. When he was little, he would come into his grandfather's office and fool around. His grandfather didn't like it, but the customers always found Yuugi to be interesting. They always thought he was the most adorable thing they had ever seen. They loved to pinch his cheeks and play with his exotic tri-color hair.
That was one reason why Yuugi stopped coming in after he entered middle school. He had still retained his baby fat and being called cute in seventh grade was starting to bug Yuugi especially since it meant girls thought of him the same way. Feeling playful Yuugi decided to dig through his grandfather's stack of paper. It was the unfinished work that his grandfather had left behind before leaving for Mexico. Yuugi couldn't help but wonder when his grandfather's client had wanted the translation done. It had to be for one of those museums that were never in a hurry. That was the thing with museums. They could wait the longest time for something to be translated. They already had too much to show, so they were in no hurry to add another item to their collection.
"I wonder when Jii-chan's getting home, mou hitori no boku. I wish he would call us then we could go pick him up." Yuugi sighed. He stroked the doll's long purple cape before doing one more spin around on the chair before stopping in front of the computer, his grandfather's newest computer. It was custom made by Arthur Hopkins' own genius granddaughter Rebecca. A smile appeared on Yuugi's lips. He wondered what the young eleven-year-old was doing right now. She was genius… probably more of a genius than Yuugi was. Then again she did care more about her studies than Yuugi could ever care. His future didn't interest him as much as Rebecca cared about hers. The boy had only met the girl once or twice in his lifetime. Once when Rebecca was five, and the second time was on her tenth birthday. Rebecca and Arthur had come to visit them. The girl had brought one of her favorite games to try out with Yuugi 'Monster World'. It was one of those newest tabletop RPG games by Industrial Illusions. At the end, Yuugi beat her… much to Rebecca's dismay. After all she was one of the best Monster World game masters in the world and having a beginner beat her was not something she took too kindly. Rebecca ended up challenging the boy to multiple games each time she lost. By the end of the week, the girl had somehow fallen in love with him much to Yuugi's horror. Unfortunately for him, both their grandfathers found it amusing and ended up encouraging Rebecca to continue to call him 'darling'.
The girl had even gone as far as trying to get Yuugi to agree to marriage once she turned eighteen. In her mind a five-year age difference was just right. Yuugi chuckled at his memories as he watched the computer connect to the Internet. He was very adamant on continuing to play Magic and Wizards, an online game where opponents across the world 'dueled' each other for the championship title Duel King. There had been rumors running around for years that Industrial Illusions were making the game into one with actual cards and such… although the name was going to be changed.
"Yes!" Yuugi exclaimed twenty minutes later. It was his first duel of the day, and he had already broken his record. He had managed to win a match in less than thirty minutes. "Score!" He grinned happily as he watched his duel chips, the currency in the game, increase. It was just enough to buy that final piece of Exodia that he needed. "Let's go out for ice cream, mou hitori no boku." Yuugi exclaimed picking up the doll. There wasn't anybody online who he really wanted to duel or more like those who wanted to duel him. But there was someone that Yuugi could always count on who always wanted to duel him at least once or twice a week. The person had the codename Dragon Master. Yuugi suspected it was because Dragon Master had never beaten him in a game, and it seemed to aggravate the other to no end.
The boy sighed as he pocketed his wallet… just then… a strange scrapping sound could be heard at the door. Almost like cat… or some other animal… the boy shrugged it off. Probably a neighbor's cat that gotten loose, or the wind had blown off a piece of branch. The scratching continued much to Yuugi's annoyance. He set the doll on the counter before walking to the door. Haphazardly he peeped through the window. It was a habit that he developed over the years. Nobody and nothing was there, yet the scratching sound continued. He cocked his eyebrow as he opened the door… only to find nothing. "Strange," Yuugi muttered.
A cold, gloved hand was placed upon his shoulders before moving up to his neck… slowly and surely. Yuugi jumped as he watched the hand slowly shimmer down the side of his body. Yuugi let out a small 'eep'. He smelled the faint trace of liquor and cigarettes mixed into one. "Hello, little one. Didn't your mommy and daddy teach you to never open the door at night?" The voice whispered… huskily and rough.
"W… what do you want?" Yuugi whimpered. "Money?" The boy croaked.
"Oh no… not money… kid. My master wants something more precious. Something that belongs to him. Something that you took from him!" The man muttered slowly his voice grew louder and louder before full bloom arrogance. He quickly turned the boy around. Yuugi let out a high pitch scream. His amethyst eyes widened. The man… no the creature had deformed appendages…one which vaguely resembled that of a face. "See what you have done to me!" The thing cried.
Tears transcended down Yuugi's face. He was horrified. There was no doubt about that. "I… I…!"
"Give it back!" The thing screamed. It shook the boy's body back and forth. "Give it back!" Yuugi continued to cry before feeling his throat hick. He felt his air passage become constricted as he felt a strange form of darkness transcend upon him. Slowly it crept and spread throughout his whole body.
"Help," Yuugi whimpered as he felt his body being thrown across the room before crashing into the wall. His vision blurred over as he thought he saw the thing morph. A dark light radiated from his body. His eyes rolled over as a golden light transverse the room followed by a voice of superiority.
"Let's play a game."
"Yuugi! Yuugi! Wake up! Wake up!"
The boy groaned. His eyes fluttered as his vision came back into focus. In front of him, kneeling down… was the face of concerned man… not just any man… but his grandfather.
Yuugi's eyes widened. "Jii… jii-chan," Yuugi whispered.
"Hai Yuugi." The man nodded. The boy's broken face immediately brightened as he threw his whole body weight upon his grandfather.
"Jii-chan… jii-chan. You're… you're home." Yuugi mumbled.
"Hai Yuugi. I… I'm so sorry. I… I shouldn't have left you alone. I just haven't been myself ever since your father and mother passed on. I seemed to have been trying to lose myself. Seeing the Mayan ruins… climbing to the top of their step pyramid. It revived me. I should have been there for you. We both lost people… dear to us. I… I shouldn't have made you stay…"
"Jii-chan," Yuugi interrupted aspirated.
"Hmm."
"What… what happened to that… that thing?"
"What thing?" Sugoroku questioned. His brows creased.
"This… this thing… creature… it… it was deformed and emitting dark energy. It… it tried to rob you Jii-chan." Yuugi explained only to see his grandfather's brow furrow even more. He looked so tired… and sad. As if he had just aged over a century in such a short amount of time.
"Yuugi, please. Don't… don't."
"Don't what?" Yuugi asked confused. He too began to feel irritated as his grandfather continued to attempt to calm him. "There was… was this thing! There was this scratching sound. I opened the door. This… this thing said I took something that belonged to his… his master."
"Yuugi… you didn't steal anything did you?" Sugoroku's eyes widened.
"Iie!" Yuugi gasped horrified. "I… I would never."
"Just like you would never cut yourself," Sugoroku replied.
"Yes," Yuugi answered finding the question to be…rather peculiar. He felt a large slap run across his face. He felt it sting hours later. He could still remember his grandfather's distant looks. His muffled sobs. Hopkins-san and Rebecca had ran in… from what seemed to be nowhere and pulled Sugoroku away from him… after the initiate hit. He remembered feeling like a zombie transcending up the stairs to his room.
Now… hours later Yuugi's amethyst eyes were as dull as ever as he cradled his arm. Vivid cut marks were ever present along his arms. They were now red and pussy. Craved into his arm was a strange design. A serpent wrapped around an eye. He could hazily remember that a knife had been beside him. His wrist and hand were still bandaged with the same bandages that had been there two weeks earlier. His memory was hazy… hadn't… hadn't he taken them off over a week ago? Or… or had he been too scared to unwind the bandages? Also was he too scared to think about the possibilities? Was… was he really going insane just like his grandfather must believe him to be? Had… had been the one who cut into his arm… and had… had he forced himself to believe that he was being attack to compensate for his pain and actions? And the incident two weeks earlier… when he found himself in bed. What… what if he… he never left the house in the first place… and… and it was himself that had cut into his flesh?
After all there really is a fine line between illusion and reality. Yuugi gulped as he grabbed his legs and slowly rocked back and forth… back and forth. His bandaged arm… hanging limply beside him… red and slowly developing into that of purple. The boy gulped as he slowly unwrapped the bandages. Half praying, half hoping that there was nothing underneath the wrapping.
Yet… yet deep down he knew he wasn't that lucky. There… in the center of his hand was a strange dark hole. It led from his palm to the back of his hand. He was probably missing a piece of meat that was a centimeter wide in diameter. Yuugi gazed at his hand. He looked at it stupidly… turning his hand this way and that. A couple of times he would shake his hand as if testing if any more blood would flow from the wound, yet none did. A nearly insane chuckle transcended within him as Yuugi covered his hand once more with the bandage.
He couldn't help but wonder what his grandfather was doing. Maybe he was finding him a psychiatrist or something. Maybe… maybe he was even looking for a place to lock him away forever… one of those insane asylums.
But Yuugi also possessed the strangest of luck. Neither had occurred. He returned to school that Monday. The only difference was, was he was no longer home alone, and Hopskin-san and Rebecca would be spending the month with them. Turned out that the Mayan culture might be more than just an idea on how to open the cross dimension than Egypt was. Thus they decided to devote their energy on Mayan hieroglyphics as opposed to Egyptian ones. And his grandfather was giving him odd looks all the time… as if he would collapse into his unstable form once more.
Only Rebecca treated him normally at the shop. She believed that her darling wasn't going insane. She was the only person that believed him.
Yuugi sighed as he left school. Karita had caught him again. The boy was starting to really despise the old man. He was like some annoying hindrance that just wouldn't leave him alone. Not only that but because he was staying after so late all the time, his grandfather was starting to suspect that he had joined some bike gang or something especially since he always came home looking so tired. The long bus ride home was as boring as ever. There weren't that many people out at night especially on a weeknight. Only an old lady with a cane… a middle age man reading a newspaper… and a mother and son. Hadn't he seen such a scene months earlier… before his parents' passing?
Before everything in his life changed… before… that night at the hospital when he started hallucinating. Only this time Yuugi didn't walk to the back of the bus. This time he didn't have a book by an English author to read. This time the bus didn't pull to a quick stop as the boy got off. For a second he was tempted to stay on… and ride around Domino for another two hours before going home… hoping… praying that if he rode the bus long enough… it could take him back into time… to that night when he received his parents' last letter. So that he could call them… and tell them that he still loved them… or even to warn them not to go to work that day. But he didn't do any of those things… instead he walked off the bus… feeling sorry for himself.
The light jiggling of the shop bell announced Yuugi's return. He found Rebecca in the living room watching a strange documentary. Her legs were curled up under her. She was balancing big bowl of popcorn on her thighs. He had never noticed till just then how much the young girl had aged. Just last year she was an illtempered little girl not to mention a sore loser. Now, she was a college student and looked more grown up than Yuugi himself. The girl had obviously ditched her fuzzy teddy bear and gained a pair of specs. Unlike Yuugi, he still found refuge in mou hitori no boku. The pharaoh doll seemed to be his only form of companionship, and he could no longer imagine life without it.
"Darling! You're home," the young girl chirped breaking the near silence that had transcended in the room… beside the infrequent sound from the television. "Ojii-san and Sugoroku-jii-chan left for some meeting in Tokyo. They aren't going to be back until tomorrow. I made your dinner. It's on the table." Yuugi's cocked his head… surprised. "Don't worry. I didn't poison it."
"No… it's not that. Just… just arigotou." The boy muttered. "I really appreciate you…"
"Darling… darling is darling. I believe you," the girl chirped before returning to her program. A smile appeared upon Yuugi's lips… one that hadn't been there for days. As he walked into the kitchen once more, Rebecca called out to him. "Whoever that girl is that you like Darling, she is really lucky."
Yuugi immediately twirled around… confused. "Nani?"
Rebecca giggled. "I'm a girl remember?" Yuugi nodded before walking into the kitchen… lightly shaking his head. Boy was Rebecca something. Had circumstances been different… maybe… just maybe they really could have had been something.
Two hours later, Yuugi sighed… straining his neck before letting out an aspirated sigh. His paper was finally done. He watched as it exited his printer before bending down to grab his physic book. Ten pages of problems awaited him and a bunch of math and history. Yuugi hissed as his elbow glazed the side of his desk. He had bruised it when one of the guys on the basketball missed the basket and it ended up hitting him instead. "I hate Karita. I wish he would just die or something!" Yuugi grumbled. "I guess one can't have everything, ne mou hitori no boku?" Yuugi sighed as he lightly stoked the doll's face before returning to his studies.
Hours later, the small shop seemed to be asleep except for the lone light that was lit within Yuugi's bedroom. Minutes earlier the young boy had fallen asleep on his desk too tired to take a shower or anything. The light sound of a faint breathing emitted from his lips. The lights flickered once then twice before going out. A lone hand reached for the phone. A husky voice… mighty and powerful spoke… a pair of crimson eyes flashed in the darkness. A rustle of a long cape… before the door opened then quickly closed. The lone dial tone could faintly be heard.
Rebecca moaned as she sat up. Confused and disoriented at haven heard a door slam shut. Thoughts of a thief ran through her mind as she grabbed her robe and ran downstairs. As she entered Sugoroku's shop, the front door had just slammed shut. A small 'o' formed upon her lips as she ran to the window. There, the lone shape of a boy could be seen hurriedly running off. Rebecca's eyes furrowed. The shape of the boy vastly reminded her of Yuugi. After all how many boys out there had the same exotic hairstyle as her darling had, but what was Yuugi doing out so late?
Deciding that running after the boy would be futile, she settled in the couch waiting for his return. An hour later… Yuugi still hadn't returned as a result thoughts of sleep once again claimed the young girl. Her vision grew hazy as the front door opened once more. A circle of dark mist encircled the room. A pair of evil bloody red eyes flashed. Rebecca's eyes widened… terrified. Sleep left her as she let out a mighty scream.
Sunlight emitted into the small shop as Yuugi awoke. The faint sound of the beeping from his alarm clock sounded off. A loud moan escaped the boy's lips as he frantically stuffed his papers into his bag… praying that he had finished it all before falling asleep. A yawn left his lips as he ran downstairs. He wouldn't have time to make breakfast or lunch… instead he grabbed a hand full of money. There was a restaurant not far from his school, so he could buy something there.
He hasty grabbed his shoes before suddenly discovering that something was out of place. Where was Rebecca? She was normally awake by this hour. Deciding that she must have had a long night, the boy went against shouting out a 'ja ne' before running out of the house. Unknowingly, a pair of horror filled eyes had been watching his movements. A young girl with blond bangs could be seen crouching behind the couch. Her cell phone in hand, "one, two, three," the girl counted under her breath before dialing a number on her cell. Three short rings could be heard before an elder man's voice could be heard coming through.
"Ojiichan… please come back," the girl whimpered something she had never done before.
Mutou Yuugi sighed as he walked into his classroom. A large yawn left his lips. He felt so tired as if he hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep the night before. "Ohayo," he mumbled offhand before collapsing into his seat. He closed his eyes… waiting for Jounouchi to try to catch him off guard. The young blond seemed to have given up giving him lessons on being strong and instead decided to scare it out of him. The seconds ticked by… still nothing. His amethyst eyes scanned the room afraid that Jounouchi had decided to test his patience for once. Only then did he realize that there was nobody in the classroom.
"Strange," muttered Yuugi getting up from his seat. He could have sworn it wasn't Sunday. After all yesterday was only Friday, unless he had been sleeping for a lot longer than he had calculated. But that didn't make any sense… if he had overslept than Rebecca would have woken him up. Come to think of it. He hadn't seen Rebecca that morning anyways.
Yuugi bit his lips as he walked over to the window. It overlooked the playground. His mouth formed a large 'o'. It seemed that the whole student body was out there. They were standing around a large oak tree. Yuugi's brow furrowed. There were even policemen out there and an ambulance. What in the world? Hopefully some chemistry experiment didn't explode again.
The boy quickly ran back to his locker and pulled on his shoes before walking out to the playground. There standing in the back, surrounded by her cheer leading friends was Anzu. Her chocolate brown eyes widened considerably. She was cradling her right hand while her fingers were playing with the bracelets hanging around her wrist. The other girls seemed to be sobbing or at least in shocked. Shyly Yuugi walked up to the girl. He hadn't talked to her since they kissed which was months ago.
"Anzu."
"Hmm, oh Yuugi," the girl looked up startled. She waved away one of the girls' hand before walking over to the boy. "I… I…" Her cheeks flushed pink. "I…"
"What happened?" Yuugi asked. He decided it would be best to avoid the topic of the kiss.
"Oh," the girl's face immediately returned to normal. "You didn't hear?" A pause before the girl waved it away. "Of course you didn't hear, or you wouldn't be asking. Something happened to Karita-sensei."
"Karita?" Yuugi gasped not sure he should attempt to feel bad or be jumping for joy. "As in the PE teacher?"
"Uh huh… something happened to him." The girl added. She fidgeted a little.
"What?"
"They think his mind got stolen or something." The girl muttered.
"What!" Yuugi gasped horrified. "H… how is that possible? Somebody stole his brain?"
The girl nodded. "And… and cut off his ears." Yuugi's eyes widened. No matter how much he despised the old man. Nobody deserved that.
"Is… is he died?" The boy muttered. The girl bit her lips before nodding.
"Yeah. Classes are cut till next week, but they want us to stick around. They think that it's a serial killer."
"Serial killer?"
Once more Anzu turned around… seeing her friends crying. The girl bit her lips. "I… I got to go. Ask somebody else." With that she disappeared into the crowd… leaving a stunned Yuugi. As he stood there, everything around him seemed so far away. The trees… they seemed to curve in a nasty way. The people… they seemed so far away. A loud scream echoed through the playground… without knowing it… it came from Yuugi's own mouth… a loud, painful shriek as he felt that his own ears had been set on fire.
Yuugi let out an aspirated sighed as he walked through one of the Domino's largest department stores. Thousands of miniature stops were located on all ten floors yet after searching for over three hours he still hadn't found the thing that he was looking for. For some strange reason, Rebecca seemed to be petrified of him…afraid that any moment he would pull out a knife and chop her up into pieces. He wasn't sure why, but his grandfather didn't seem all that pleased when Rebecca had pleaded for them to hurry home. Since that day… two days prior, the day that Karita was found murdered his grandfather had been giving him even more frequent odd looks.
To appease his grandfather and hopefully win back Rebecca's trust, Yuugi decided to buy back her trust. No matter how low and undignified it was, that was unfortunately his last resort. What the heck does a genius child whose only eleven want… especially something that is cheap? Yuugi's cheeks fumed bright red. He could feel the pocketful of yen jiggling in his pants' pocket. He didn't have a lot, so he couldn't buy her a new computer or one of those high tech software.
The neon lights flashed before him attracting his attention. Yuugi's eyes widened to plate size. He was fully attracted to wide assortment of red, blue, orange, purple, blue, and green flashing lights. It was the new arcade that had just opened. He immediately shook his head and forced himself to back away. Only then did a small store near the north exit of the department store catch his fancy. There was a very tidy and clean store. He watched a couple exit. Both the man and woman were dressed in business attire. His brow furrowed before breaking into a smile. That's where people like Rebecca would go to one of those stores.
Afraid that the newly built arcade would draw him in further, Yuugi took off in fast paced walk into the store. There people with glasses… smart… genius folk dwelled. Gigantic computers littered the store and aisles and aisles of books covered the room. "May I help you?" a little old man asked. He had a sly smile on his face and was playing with his fingers in an odd way.
"Uh… yes. Do… do you have… uh… anything…" Yuugi bit his lips. It wasn't till that very moment did he suddenly realize that he didn't have a clue what he wanted to buy for Rebecca. He didn't even know what she even liked. All he cared about up to this very moment was finding a store where studious people like Rebecca congregated. "Uh…" Yuugi eyes wandered around the small shop before landing on a vase. There in the center of the store on a tall bookshelf was a beautiful vase. Pottery! That's it! I'll get Rebecca pottery and some flowers! Girls like that kind of stuff… right?
"Do… do you have any pottery for sell?" The boy questioned before receiving a peculiar look from the elder.
"Pottery?"
"Yes, pottery. I would like to buy some pottery for a… friend." Yuugi quickly clarified.
"Oh, pottery," the man's eyes lit up. "Of course we sell pottery. Follow me. We have some very fine selections in the back." Yuugi simply nodded not quite sure if Rebecca even liked pottery. After all, how many eleven-year-old girls liked pottery? Then again Rebecca wasn't a normal eleven-year-old. The boy's amethyst eyes immediately widened as he looked around the room. His eyes widened in awe. There were so many different kinds of pottery from all over the world. "So… which one would you like." Yuugi's lips formed a small 'o' as he walked up and down the aisles intrigued by the different types.
"Err…"
"Hiruma-san! Hiruma-san!" A young girl's voice could be heard which broke Yuugi's train of thought. The young boy looked up and saw a young girl with short aquamarine hair color. She was holding a porcelain plate in her hands. Yuugi immediately backed away and slipped off his backpack. "Hiruma-san! How could you?" the girl shouted. Yuugi cocked his head a little confused. He noticed that the young girl seemed to have been crying. The porcelain plate was still tightly clasped in her hands. The sound of footsteps broke the tension that was slowly forming around the room as an elder man appeared. Perspiration covered his face, it was evident to Yuugi that the elder had been running.
"Harumi!' The man gasped immediately pulling the young girl to him. The girl's cheeks puffed up. Her haze colored flashed annoyance.
"Otousan! He cheated us!"
"Harumi, we don't have proof."
"Yes we do. He did! He did!"
Yuugi's brow cocked. What in the world? "Uh… I…I" Yuugi started to feel a little uneasy at being caught in the client/ worker feud.
"No, wait. Kid don't leave yet. You can be our witness," Hiruma, most likely the store owner, said immediately grabbing on to Yuugi's wrist.
"I… I can always come back later. Jii-chan is going to be worried if I don't get home soon."
"No, really kid… I insist." Yuugi felt as if the other was giving him a hard desperate stare. The boy gulped before faintly nodding and returning the corner he was standing. He watched the scene play out. The young girl and her father were arguing how Hiruma had cheated them out of an authentic piece of pottery. He didn't know how it happened or even how it began. Suddenly… one moment the piece of porcelain was in the girl's hands and the next it was in pieces on the ground. The beautiful hand crafted artwork was gone. It was smashed into dozens of pieces. Yuugi gasped. Harumi's tears cascaded down his face. Her father looked on stunned. While the shop owner let out a smirk. "Well… there goes the evidence. You should be more careful next time," he said calming. With that he turned his back and started walking out of the room. Yuugi's face darkened. Anger boiled in his veins.
Seconds later a blinding gold light emitted throughout the room. "Matte Hiruma. How dare you trespass upon Harumi's soul! Let's play a game if you are not too scared."
A small yawn escaped Yuugi's lips. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes… clearing his hazy vision. His eyes widened as he found himself inside the arcade… in front of a fighting game… his favorite, and somehow his name was on the high score list. What in the world? How the heck did I end up here? Wasn't I just in some pottery store? Pottery! "Harumi! Her plate," Yuugi muttered immediately spinning around. His brow cocked as he ran outside. A loud crowd could be seen in front of the store he had just been in moments earlier. "What in the world." Yuugi muttered. He was confused, yet he couldn't bring himself to walk over the crowd and ask what had happened. Half of him was afraid at what he might find. Luckily for him, at that moment in time, a man walked by. "Wait, Uncle!" Yuugi shouted. Immediately the elder turned and saw the frantic young boy calling out to him.
"Yes, child."
"Uncle… what happened?"
"As in at Hiruma's shop." Yuugi nodded. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but…" The elder hesitated as if judging Yuugi. Whatever he was testing, Yuugi seemed to have passed for the elder continued. "Something… or someone attacked Hiruma. It's quite grotesque. It seems as if the culprit took out his mind and craved out his mouth." Yuugi eyes widened.
He muttered a quiet 'arigotou' before hurrying back to the arcade machine he had been at minutes earlier. He didn't know how he couldn't have noticed before, but laying next to his school bag was a porcelain plate much like the one that Harumi once owned. "Did… did I buy this?" Yuugi muttered not sure whether to be scared or relieved. Deciding that he didn't want to know… or simply didn't dare to find out, the boy quickly left the department store… the porcelain plate in hand.
The short… high pitched ringing of the golden bell sounded as Yuugi returned to his grandfather's shop to meet an unusual sight. There… sitting around the living room was Rebecca, Hopkins-san, and his grandfather. They all seemed so far away. The young girl was nested in her grandfather's lap still as terrified as always. "Hi, I'm home," Yuugi muttered almost afraid to break the silence. Nobody answered. The boy bit his lips, unsure whether to proceed. He shifted back and forth on the balls of his feet. It was something he did quite often when he was nervous or unsure of himself. "I… I got you something, Rebecca."
The girl raised her brow. She was confused as Yuugi set a hasty wrapped present in front of her. She eyed it fearfully as if afraid if she touched it. She looked at her grandfather, unsure of what to do. "Go on Rebecca. Yugi-chan must have spent a lot of effort in finding whatever it is for you. Go on, open it." Rebecca nodded. She trusted her grandfather, yet then again she had once trusted her darling too. She eyed her darling some more, searching and scanning his eyes as if testing if he was lying to her, yet his amethyst eyes stayed pure. No malicious or evil aura seemed to be present. She decided to trust after all once she had trust him.
Yet the girl couldn't help but be careful as she slowly unwrapped the present to find the porcelain plate. She looked at it funnily. She ran her hands through it. Her lips formed a small 'o' before looking up and noticed Yuugi. His sincere and kind of clumsy look but it was full of love… platonic love. She felt tears protruding from her eyes as she left her grandfather's side and threw herself onto the boy. She immediately wrapped her arms around his waist. The boy… too stunned… took a while before fully registering what had happened. A small smile slowly appeared on his lips as he too wrapped his arms around Rebecca.
"Arigotou, Darling. Arigotou." Rebecca muttered. Tears continued to cascade down her cheeks. "Gomen… gomen ne," she muttered over and over again.
Weeks then months passes since Rebecca and Hopkins-san had returned to America. Yet before leaving like always they promised to write and contact Sugoroku if they discovered anything new with the Mayan step pyramids. Yuugi trudged through the first half of the day. The school year was about to end. He was going to be in eleventh grade in about two months. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to sit in front of Jounouchi come next year.
He was in a particularly good mood. The weather hadn't been as cold as it had been lately. There were still traces of snow left over from snowstorm two nights ago. Yuugi sighed as he brushed back a piece of his blond bangs. He shifted his bag on his lap before drawing out a box. It was a board game that he just received from his grandfather for Christmas, and he was dying to play it. It was strange form of an RPG and could be played with one or more people. He broke the seal, salving the scent of a newly opened board game. He loved the scent of challenge.
"Hey, Yuugi," a girl chirped… causing the boy to look up. Immediately he felt like he couldn't stop himself from drooling as his childhood love stood before him. Anzu grinned. She winked at the boy before pulling up a seat. She randomly picked up one of the pieces from the box and lightly twirled it around her forefingers. "What are you playing?"
"Uh… Sword and Shield," Yuugi answered. he felt his face fuming bright red.
"Oh," Anzu said uninterestedly before glancing over at the strange pharaoh doll. Yuugi's face immediately burned red as he reached for the doll as Anzu did the same… only to another have another beat them both.
"Wow. I didn't know Yuugi still played with little dollies. Did you Honda?"
Yuugi groaned… afraid to look up. His face gained an added shade of red as he looked up. A smirk had appeared on Jounouchi's lips as he juggled the doll in his hands. "Aww… it even looks like him. Here catch, Honda!" With that… Yuugi's eyes widened as the doll sailed through the sky landing in Honda's arms. The brunette looked at the doll with dissatisfaction turning it this way and that.
"It's so poorly made. Even my nephew wouldn't like this mess." Honda smirked. "You can have it back Jounouchi." Once more the doll landed with a thump in Jounouchi's arms.
His amethyst eyes widened. He slammed his fist hard on the table… startling both Jounouchi, Honda and Anzu. "Give it back," Yuugi shouted.
"Make me. Fight me!" Jounouchi taunted. A smirk appeared on his face. "Prove you are a man."
"No! No! I don't like fighting!" Yuugi shouted. Tears fell from his eyes as he watched his best friend sail through the air, yet he was too weak to get it back from them.
Anzu watched the scene in wonderment. A smile formed on her lips. Ahe had finally found a boy who didn't like fighting. Lightly, she set her hand on Yuugi's shoulder. She watched as Honda threw the doll back. She watched it form a parabola… how it sailed so smoothly through the air. With a quick wrist movement she grabbed the doll just before it was about to land in Jounouchi's arms. Both, Jounouchi and Honda's eyes widened as Anzu handed the doll back to Yuugi. The boy's face now bright red as she scolded them. Anzu, arigotou.
Yet none of the five knew that they were being watched. An older boy… in their same grade level but in a different class had been watching the encounter with a smirk on his face. Money and payment were the only things on his mind as he cornered Yuugi later that day. "Hey kid!" Yuugi immediately skid to a stop. He gulped before looking back. Ushio… the class bully when they were little, now reformed and had been upgraded to class monitor. "Yuugi-kun, right?"
Yuugi merely nodded. He had heard rumors about Ushio. None of them had been pleasant ones. For a while now, Yuugi had managed to escape Ushio's trap. He had managed to avoid the older as much as possible. "I… I just want to say. I'm sorry for beating you up when you were younger." Yuugi's brow furrowed. He had always learned to never take apologies lightly especially from people like Ushio.
"Uh… okay."
"No… I… I did a lot of bad things to you when we were younger." Ushio bit his lips. Yuugi cocked his head. Was Ushio actually thinking? He looked really weird doing it. "I know! I'll be your bodyguard. I'll protect you for a month. What do you think?"
"Err… okay," Yuugi shrugged not sure what to say. He was half-afraid that if he declined Ushio would actually end up beating him up but there had to be some kind of a catch.
A week passed and strangely enough nothing happened. Yuugi let out a sigh as another day of class ended, and Jounouchi and Honda hadn't bothered him since the incident with mou hitori no boku and Anzu. As for Anzu, she seemed to have reverted back to keeping her distance. Girls like Anzu really did have really strange mood swings. He felt like singing as he exited the school. Nothing could get better… till…
"Hey Yuugi!"
Till he heard Ushio's disgusting monstrous voice called out to him. Yuugi immediately turned around. He felt his blood chill. Lying by the side of the school and stumped over were Jounouchi and Honda. Bruises covered the majority of their bodies. The towering inferno of Ushio was laughing as Yuugi walked over. "Yes."
"What do you think? I'm a pretty good bodyguard ne? I beat up these guys for you. What do you think?" Ushio let out another insane chuckle before kicking Jounouchi's side.
"No! Stop!" Yuugi screamed. His amethyst eyes widened. No matter how much he didn't like Jounouchi and Honda's teasing. They still didn't deserve this. "Stop!" Yuugi screamed before latching onto Ushio's arms. Yet Ushio didn't stop. Adrenline had long over taken him. He continued to kick the two boys. "Stop! Stop!" Yuugi screamed. He shouted and even tried punching Ushio's arms to no avail. "They… they're my friends!" Yuugi shouted unable to contain him. He didn't know why he said that. Maybe it was a secret longing to be friends with Jounouchi and Honda. Maybe it was because he thought it was the only way to get Ushio to stop. What was the reason, he gasped as if he felt that hot acid had just been poured down his throat. It had been years since he said that word aloud. It was almost a taboo word in his mind. Yet it seemed to have to opposite effect on Ushio. Instead of stopping, Ushio seemed to have gotten angrier. He threw Yuugi to the wall. The boy screamed as he felt as if his pelvic bone had just been cracked upon impact. The beating continued. He felt his eye sight fog up. He could have sworn he heard Jounouchi gasp before blacking out.
Amethyst eyes fluttered open. Yuugi sighed as he gazed up at pure white wash floors. The faint beeping of an all too familiar machine. He was at the hospital. He didn't even have to shift to his left before realizing that. Yuugi sighed as thoughts of what had happened moments before he had blacked out intruded upon his mind. He had been trying to protect Jounouchi and Honda from getting further beaten up. He had proclaimed that they were his friends. He remembered Jounouchi's concerned face moments before falling unconscious. He didn't know what had he come over him. Had it been even months or a year earlier he wasn't sure how he would have handled the situation. Would he have stood up for them? Protected them so willingly? Somehow without realizing it, he seemed to have gained confidence as he started to lose his memory. Yuugi hadn't revealed it to anyone, but since his birthday he had been blacking out for long periods of time without knowing what or where he was, yet he always seem to wake up in a safe place. Yet… yet every time… he always heard that same confident voice 'let's play a game'. That was his goal. The person he looked up to. The owner of that voice, Yuugi longed to be as brave as that person, and maybe that's how he gained the strength to stand up for Jounouchi and Honda like that.
Only then did Yuugi notice the husky labored breathing in the bed adjacent to his own. The boy groaned as he sat up only then did he notice that he had only sprained his wrist and bruised his torso. It must be from the added immunity of spending so much time in the hospital when he was little. It wasn't something that he particularly liked. Yuugi tilted his head as he noticed the blond mass of hair exposed in the other bed. "Jounouchi," Yuugi muttered. He looks so broken up. Yuugi raised his right hand; it hovered over his left arm. He bit his lips. He hadn't pulled out an IV tube in years. He used to have a habit of disconnecting them when he was little when it became too painful or when he just wanted to get up and walk around. To him the mere sting of removing the tube was worth the moments of relief. He looked at his limp hand stupidly as the tube came undone. He groaned as he walked across the room. At least they had the decency to get keep his clothes on him. "Jounouchi," Yuugi whispered once more. He watched the other open his eyes slowly. He seemed to be heavily drugged.
"Yuugi?" Jounouchi whispered. He seemed so lost and confused.
"Yeah, it's me," Yuugi answered meekly not sure if that was the answer Jounouchi wanted to hear.
Yet when he watched the blond's face grow calmer, he knew he had answered right. Jounouchi was obviously hurting. His voice was strained "Help…" he muttered. "U… Ushio… Ushio… stole… stole m… my S… Shizuka."
"Shizuka?" Yuugi's brow furrowed.
"He… he stole her."
"Huh?" It wasn't until then did he notice that something really was missing from Jounouchi's body. It was something that he would never remove. Once a long time ago, a boy had tried to remove it. Jounouchi nearly broke the boy's arm had a teacher not stopped him. "Your necklace." It looked like a dog tag. He always wore it around his neck. Everything clicked into place now for Yuugi. Whatever it was, it wasn't just a dog tag. There must have been a picture or something. Whoever this Shizuka was, she was obviously very important to Jounouchi. Yuugi watched Jounouchi's eyes cloud over before opening his mouth once more.
"Arigotou… Yuugi," he croaked out. "Gomen ne. You really are s…strong."
He felt tears protruding from his amethyst eyes. He watched as Jounouchi fell asleep. Yuugi clutched his fist… hatred eloped him as he turned around. Only then did he notice mou hitori no boku sitting on the desk by his bed. Like always the doll's face carried that same caring look on its face. Yuugi nodded. A grin appeared on his face. "Yes… I promised Jounouchi. I will get your Shizuka back." With that Yuugi grabbed the doll. As his hands came in contact with the doll, he suddenly felt faint.
Iie… Jounouchi-kun… Shizuka. Yuugi gasped as he felt his heart break quicken. Darkness overwhelmed him. A blinding white light eloped the room.
"You will pay Ushio! Time for a game."
Sunlight was cast into the hospital room as Jounouchi awoke. He groaned, shifting his hand. Only then did he notice the cold hard metal touching his skin. He raised his hand. A metal chain was dangling from his hand. His dog tag like picture frame was clasped in his hand. Jounouchi smiled. "Yuugi," he whispered remembering waking up last night and seeing Yuugi leaning over him. Could Yuugi have heard and gotten the tag back from Ushio for him? He turned his head. ghere sitting up on the corner of his bed with his back to him was Yuugi. The boy looked hunched over and a little disheveled. "Yuugi." No comment. Once more Jounouchi called out to the boy. It wasn't till many calls later that Yuugi looked again. His eyes were red.
"Jo… Jounouchi-kun… I… I mean…" Yuugi started. He looked flustered and shy.
"It's okay Yuugi. I… I want to say… say gomen," Jounouchi blushed. "Y… you were really brave yesterday… standing up for Honda and me. You even got this back for me." Jounouchi raised his necklace. It caused the boy to cock his head a little confused.
I… I did?
"I… it was the least I… I could do. It kind of was my fault."
"Nah… it wasn't. People told me you like games and stuff," Jounouchi sniffed and rubbed his nose. His cheeks turned red before he spoke once more. "A… and riddles."
Yuugi nodded happily. "Yeah… I like riddles."
"Good, cause I have a riddle for you. What's something that you can't see, but you can shown?" A strange confused look covered Yuugi's face. It caused Jounouchi to chuckle. The boy couldn't help but admit defeat as Jounouchi answered with a confident smirk 'friendship'. Yuugi's face immediately broke into a grin. "Y… you mean… we… we…"
"Yep. We're friends."
"Friends," Yuugi muttered ten minutes later. Him and Jounouchi were friends. After nearly half a year later, was his birthday wish finally coming true? Was he finally gaining his first friend? It got even better after that. Jounouchi asked him to go with him to a gaming convention in Tokyo. There would be a wide assortment of games on display there. It even included the newest games not yet released to the general public. In some strange twist of fate Jounouchi had managed to win two tickets to the convention by answering a radio question right. Honda wasn't that into games, and since he had just became friends with Yuugi, who loved games, it was a no brainer. He couldn't help but jump for joy as he ran through the streets to school. For some strange reason he wanted to come to school today.
As he entered to school gates, there a mob of muttering students and teachers gathered around an ash tree located near the entrance to the grounds. Yuugi walked over to the students. Nothing liked this hadn't happened since Karita was attacked and murdered months earlier. Somehow, in some strange twist of fate he managed to push his way to the front. His eyes widened. He felt sick. There, lying in a strange position was Ushio. There was no doubt about it. He was definitely dead and probably from intensive blood loss. But it wasn't the dead body that bugged Yuugi, it was what surrounded the body. In front of the body, lying just mere centimeters away in what seemed like Ushio's own fingers was the word 'greed' written in kanji. The fingers seemed to be drenched in what was looked like blood. Yuugi gasped, horrified and sicken for numerous reasons. One, how did Jounouchi get his necklace back? Two, why did he seem to feel like he knew how the crime was committed?
Yuugi felt sick to the pit of his stomach as he pushed his way out of the crowd. His once desire of coming to school was quickly drenched from his system as he ran down the street… back to the bus stop to catch a bus home. He longed to go home. He couldn't bear to go back to the hospital and see Jounouchi again.
One month later, break finally rolled in. It was short a New Year break before school started up again. Yuugi couldn't help but smile as hopped off the magnet train followed by Jounouchi. Both had their bags on their back. Both were exhausted but excited since they had gotten up at five that morning to make sure they caught an early train. The earlier the train the less people would be on and neither liked a fully crowded train with sweaty and hot people.
"I really want to see the arcade games," Jounouchi exclaimed as they walked out of the train station. The park where the convention was held was only a five minute walk away.
"Yeah, I know! I can't wait to see what kind of games they are making. And… and RPG games, board games, and trading card games too," Yuugi exclaimed.
"Trading card games?"
"Uh huh. Haven't you heard? Industrial Illusions is really going to make Magic and Wizards, a card game played on the computer," Yuugi clarified noticing how lost Jounouchi seemed to be, "into real game that anyone can play. I love that game." The young blond simply nodded as they entered the park. Jounouchi handed their tickets over. Both boys were given a map of the parks, and where all the booths were. Both boys' eyes widened. It was so crowded and lively. The whole park was decorated with an assortment of banners, balloons, and streamers. Children and grown-ups were everywhere. It was even bigger than the fairs that were held annually back in Domino.
"We got to see everything," Yuugi gasped. This was paradise. Something he had dreamt of seeing his whole life. A loud grumbling interrupted his thoughts as Yuugi looked up to see Jounouchi blushing. The shorter immediately giggled.
"I… I guess I'm… I'm kind of hungry. I… I know. I'll go get us some food and meet you…" The boy unfolded the map and pointed to the center of the park. "Here… in half an hour."
"Okay," Yuugi nodded. "I'll go find us a spot." With that the two split up. Yuugi was in awe at all the newest games that he passed by. He kept making mental notes of all the booths that he wanted to come back to especially the booth with games from all over the world. There was even an Egyptian exhibit. He hadn't played a game from Egypt since he was really little. As he made his way to the center of the park, a group of people were already crowded around an area that looked to be roped off. His brow furrowed as he walked up. He pushed his way through. He mentally cursed at his height. His eyes widened. There sitting in the center in front of a small wooden table, looking as arrogant as ever was "Kaiba Seto," Yuugi gasped. The other, the multi-millionaire of a huge gaming company seemed to have heard as he looked up.
"Mutou Yuugi." The boy smirked. Perfect. "Hey, Yuugi! Play a game with me."
"Game? Me?" Yuugi asked confused. Kaiba nodded. The crowd went wild. They all seemed to know about Kaiba's winning streak except for this boy. And it seemed like fun beating such a child.
"Uh huh. Play a game of chess with me. It'll be fun. What do you think?" Kaiba smirked. He knew a lot about Yuugi already. He knew that the boy loved games and would never turn down a challenge that involved games.
"Okay." Yuugi nodded. He hadn't played chess in a long time. The last time was with his grandfather's computer before he discovered Magic and Wizards. He climbed over the yellow tape and popped himself down in front of Kaiba. The young CEO smirked.
"I'll let you be white."
"Okay." Yuugi nodded. His amethyst eyes narrowed. A grinned appeared on his face… his gaming face.
"Game start."
A/N: O.O That was one long chapter. I don't think I have ever written a chapter this long before. O.O So how was it? Good? Bad? Indifferent? Please tell me. I'm not sure if it was such a good idea. Having so many different things happen to Yuugi and so many games yet not once did I actually write what exactly happened in the games. I did give hints, but that was it. I'm considering after this fic is over I might write a bunch of one shots that fills in the missing scenes. But it is your call. So vote my readers and reviewers. Should I or shouldn't I? And please tell me your thoughts for this chapter.