As Yugi turned onto the main high street, the sight of the newest game store in Domino made her let out an unhappy sigh. It was impossible to miss the Black Crown. The shop had moved into a building in the busiest part of the business district, where foot traffic was the highest. The rent on small shop fronts around here was ridiculously high, but somehow they had managed to take over an entire multi-storey building.

Their name was plastered over their front door in giant letters, and their logo seemed to be a rather intimidating clown with a black face. Considering their logo was a clown, not a crown, Yugi could not help but wonder if someone had gotten the sign wrong and it was meant to be the 'Black Clown' gaming store but the owners had just run with it.

Their grand opening, which had happened the week before Duelist Kingdom, had been the reason the Queen of Games had started opening the Kame Game Store after school. The bigger store could afford lower prices than they could and could hold both a greater amount and wider range of stock than her tiny store could. It was inevitable that if she did not try to stay open despite her grandfather's soul being stolen, they would lose customers to the larger chain store.

As it was, she was horribly aware that sales had been down anyway. The Kame Game Store just could not compete with the Black Crown when it was closed seventy percent of the day, but there was nothing she could do about it. She legally had to go to school, and even if she did not, Jii-san would have her head if she skipped, even if it was to try and help the family business.

'You're doing the best you can, Imoto. You're still making sales, aren't you?' Yugi let out a quiet sigh as reassurance bounced down the bond from her other self. 'And Jii-san can't be too worried if he's keeping the store closed this weekend.'

'We're closed because he's been told by the doctors to rest after being let out, not because he wants to, Anesan,' Yugi countered. 'They think he still needs sleep or something.'

Oneesan did not call her twin on it, but she was honestly of the opinion that the store's closing was not just for their grandfather. She knew the elderly gamer well enough to know that he would have seen through Imoto's little act the last time she had gone in to visit him, and she was pretty sure he was keeping the store closed in order for Yugi to catch up on some well deserved rest as well.

She was not complaining; she was still recovering from the game with Crawford, too. Normally she would get some rest during the day, while her light was in class, if she was this out of it. However, with the way Ba-Khu-Ra had been acting recently, she did not dare sleep any time her twin was around the other spirit.

Both she and Yugi needed the rest that the brief close-down would provide, and it was showing in their moods. Still, she did not want to drag her Futago no Imoto any further down than she already was. Instead, she tried changing the subject in order to try and cheer her light up.

'Imoto?' she asked, sensing the churning emotions turning toward curiosity at what she wanted. 'What is the game we're picking up?'

Yugi let out an amused huff as she tried to see if she could spot the sign for the video game store she had pre-ordered at. 'Pocket Monsters: Pikachu Edition. I used to have the Red version, but it got broken when I leant Anzu my Game Boy.'

The Pharaoh felt embarrassed she had forgotten. As long as she had known her light-souled sister, she had been saving up part of her allowance each month in order to replace the Game Boy that Anzu had accidentally broken. As of this weekend, she had enough money to pay for both a new handheld console so she could play her old games again and the new game which had come out this morning. Oneesan had been looking forward to joining her twin in playing, but the argument with Bakura had blown it out of her mind.

The diversion had worked, though. The slight bounce in her younger sister's step was a distinct improvement on Imoto's mood from just moments ago. Plus this was the most awake and least ill-feeling her light had been since Duellist Kingdom. Oneesan was more than happy to encourage it, especially considering...

Yugi paused halfway down the road to the shop at the sudden crash of her twin's emotions as the Pharaoh remembered just how close things had gotten during that tournament.

'Anesan? I'm okay. I'm still here,' Yugi murmured softly, sending sisterly love and reassurance over their bond.

It was not the first time she had had to remind her sister that she was okay, and once again she could sense that the proof of their connection helped the dark-souled twin relax. 'Sorry, Imoto, I just...'

'I understand.' Yugi started walking again, her mood a little sedated compared to before. 'It... It was close. And scary. But we're home now, and there's no one here who wants to hurt us.'

As if those were magic words that attracted trouble, someone grabbed her arm and dragged her into the nearest alley. She did not get to see who before she was slammed into a wall, her right cheek scraping against the brickwork, causing her to cry out in pain. An arm pressed hard against her neck, pinning her there as her attacker dragged off her backpack.

Oneesan started to take control to protect her twin, but the arm moved and something sharp nicked Yugi's neck as it cut through the rope that held her Puzzle in place. The girl grabbed at the cord, preventing it from being taken from her, but her captor grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the wall, repining and stunning her long enough for the Puzzle's cord to go skittering out of her grasp.

"Told you it was gold. I bet we could make a small fortune off of this." She recognised the gloating voice. It sounded like Toshiro Akira, one of the seniors from Domino High, specifically one of the graduating class boys who had been bothering her in the days before she had solved the Millennium Puzzle. He was in the same class that Inogashira had been before Oneesan had Challenged him.

"Backpack's full of cash, too. Guess you were right about the prize money." The second male voice was less familiar, but his words made sense of this attack. The value of the prize money for Duelist Kingdom was common knowledge, and, like an idiot, she had openly stated that the check had cleared while in the school halls. These two had spotted her walking alone and decided to try and take it from her.

They could have the money in her bag, she could always save up from her pocket money again, but she was not going to let them take her Puzzle.

She stomped backwards, managing to land her heel on the toes of the guy holding her. He let go with a yelp, allowing her to wheel around and snatch the Puzzle from his surprised friend. As she darted away towards the road, she felt her sister's anger and desire to take control. However, she did not get a chance to tie a knot in the rope and put the Puzzle back on before one of the two thugs grabbed the back of her jacket and pulled her back and around, straight into a punch to her jaw that caused her to tumble to the ground and collide with the wall.

A foot slammed into her head, making it ricochet off of the brickwork, sending pain jolting through her and causing her world to blur and darken as she started to lose consciousness. She held on to enough awareness to curl around her Puzzle, protecting it. A second kick headed her way, but there was a reprieve as the jerk's friend pulled him back.

"There's no way…. all… money here... get her PIN…" The second thug was saying something as he rummaged through her bag, scattering various pieces of paper all over the floor, but Yugi could not focus on his words and simultaneously tie the rope back together. She hurt, she could taste blood, her world spun and she could not concentrate. Darkness was encroaching on her vision and she felt light-headed. Unconsciousness was oncoming and she needed her sister if she was getting out of this with the Puzzle.

The moment she slipped the rope over her head, the Pharaoh, furious at the way her twin had been treated, seized control and pushed herself to her feet, using the nearby dumpster to support herself. Not that the two jerks noticed as they debated the best way to get her pin number from her, their backs turned.

She could escape. That was an option. However, those assholes had hurt her light, tried to take the Puzzle, AND taken the money her twin had worked so very, very hard to save. In the last months after the announcement about the game bundle, Imoto had taken extra hours in the Kame Game Shop to earn a little more allowance so she could get it. She was NOT going to let these jerks walk away with that work.

The Shadows reached out, surrounding the thugs and trapping them. The pair could feel the cold reaching out and wrapping around them, and she was pleased to see nervousness in their body language as they turned around to face her.

"Not had enough?" Toshiro snorted, raising his fist, ready to strike her despite it being clear that she was only upright because she was holding onto the edge of the giant bin next to her.

He tried to take a step forward, only to find he could not move.

His friend found he had the same trouble. She smirked and let the Puzzle's glow allow them to come to their own realisation.

"W...what have you done?" Toshiro's voice shook.

"You seek to take money that's not yours." Her sharp tone and dark look made the two boys stop, neither having heard that tone come out of 'Mutou Yugi' before. "And you've trespassed in my soul. For that I Challenge you to a game."

"I'll punch your lights out!" The closest one strained against the darkness holding him, his fist raised.

"If you win, you can," Oneesan informed him, her gaze sweeping towards his friend, who was watching her with a level of realisation she was not sure she liked. "In fact, if you win, you'll be free to do whatever you like AND I'll give you my pin number. Of course, if you lose or cheat, then your fate is up to me."

"What do you mean, cheat?" Toshiro demanded, furious.

"We're playing a game. There have to be rules," the spirit pointed out as she pulled a 50 yen coin out of her pocket and flipped it. "Play fair, and you'll walk away unharmed. Cheat, and you won't like the consequences."

"This is what happened to Inogashira, isn't it?" The second thug's words made her nearly fumble the coin. "You did this to him, too."

"Inogashira cracked two of my ribs and was threatening my class." The spirit of the Puzzle scowled at him. "I was not going to let him continue."

"What's the rules?" the second demanded, looking determined. "I wanna kick your ass on his behalf."

"You're both five steps away from me. I'm ten steps away from the road. Reach me before I reach the road and you win. If I reach the road, I walk away with all of my money. Every turn you'll flip a coin." She tossed a coin each to the two boys. "Heads, you can move; tails, you have to stay put."

"Sounds simple, right Ito?" Toshiro asked as he caught his coin, confused and freaked out but willing to follow his friend's lead.

"Too simple," Ito disagreed, pissed at his friend for giving his name to this freak. "What's the catch?"

"The catch is that if you move when it's not your turn or try to harm me before you catch me, you'll get a Penalty." Oneesan shrugged with a sly smirk, pleased that Toshiro had given her his friend's name, "but you're going to play by the rules, right?"

"Who moves first?" Ito snapped out, already trying to think of ways he could kick her ass without breaking her rules.

"Toshiro, you can have first move, then Ito, then me." Her words eased his anger at his friend a little. If she already knew who Toshiro was, it would not have been hard to link back to him.

Toshiro glanced at him and Ito nodded, aware they were probably thinking the same thing. If she knew who they were, they were going to have to deal with her so she could not report them for trying to mug her.

Toshiro flipped his coin and left out a relieved breath when it landed on heads, allowing him to take a step forward. When Ito joined him, the relief on his face was obvious.

The haze that was trying to reclaim her did not help her mood when the coin flip gave her tails and prevented her moving towards safety.

'Be careful, please, Anesan?' The spirit of the Puzzle paused at the sound of her sister's shaky, nervous voice, as the two boys moved forwards again.

'I've got this,' the spirit promised her twin as she flipped her coin and took a step forward, still using the dumpster for support. She needed to. Her head still spun, her stomach was sore, her head ached, and there was at least one tooth loose, but she felt Imoto draw off some of the pain, helping her focus a little easier through the haze of a body that really wanted to be unconscious.

The two boys could not catch her in the next seven turns, and by the time they were two steps from her, she was one step from the entrance to the alley.

Ito saw the moment Toshiro decided that he was done playing by Mutou's rules, and though he tried to grab his friend's arm to stop him, the other teen launched himself forward and grabbed the girl's jacket, yanking her back and slamming her back against the wall, causing her to let out a pained cry.

He fought to hold himself still as Toshiro held the knife he had cut the cord of the Puzzle with to the girl's throat. "Screw your game. Screw your rules. Give me the pin number."

Ito took a sharp breath as Mutou's eyes lit up and the Puzzle glowed in sync with them. Toshiro's eyes widened and the vicious, smug smirk turned into a horrified expression as the darkness wrapped around him.

"You cheated," the girl hissed out as Toshiro backed up, terrified, reacting to something that only he could see. "Penalty Game, Congruence."

Toshiro backed up quickly, dropping the knife, as Ito heard her continue, "When you learn that no matter how big or small, everyone deserves to be treated with respect, you'll be free from those visions."

As Toshiro fled, Ito's anger flared up at her audacity. She thought she was better than them. That she had the right to judge them...

He snatched up the blade that his friend had left behind. Oneesan narrowly managed to dodge his attempt to stab her, causing him to stumble forward, and before he had managed to recover, the spirit of the Puzzle had cast the same Penalty on him.

As Ito fled and the magic wrapped up in the Challenge faded away, the Pharaoh leaned against the wall she had been slammed against, mentally exhausted and dizzy.

'Let me take over.' Imoto nudged her gently, worried and able to sense that she was tired. The Pharaoh winced at the headache the words caused in her already ringing head.

'I apologise, Imoto. You're not the only one still recovering from Duelist Kingdom.' The spirit felt guilty as she retreated to the Puzzle, leaving her twin to take over the battered body and start to sway.

'You're allowed to be tired too, Anesan.' Yugi shook her head and then wished she had not done so as she slid down the wall and sat on the floor, the pain in her skull pounding in time with her heartbeat. It was the first time in months she had been beaten to a pulp, and she did not like the feeling now any better than she had before Death-T. 'I'm sorry, we got really beaten up. I should have asked Honda to come or something.'

She glanced around, relaxing when she spotted her open backpack, which still had her savings within it.

'You couldn't have known,' Oneesan disagreed as her twin forced herself to her feet and stumbled over to the bag, kneeling down to pick up the papers the thugs had chucked everywhere, her vision blurring until she could only see colours. 'You sure you're up to collecting your game?'

'They only hold pre-orders for twenty-four hours. If I don't get it today, they'll…'

"Hello?" Yugi cut off and turned to look at the speaker. She found a blur of a red and black top and long black hair in the entrance to the alleyway. She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment and then opened them again, relieved when it helped her eyes focus enough to allow her to see a rather cute, tall teenage guy, probably about her age, with green eyes and long black hair, who had a dice earring dangling from one ear, a necklace with a clown head on a very spiky Christian cross around his neck, and a red headband with black diamonds that rested across his brow. "Are you okay?"

She tried to smile at him reassuringly and get to her feet, zipping up her bag as she got up, but she stumbled as she did so. He darted forwards and supported her until she was stable, then bent down and scooped something off of the floor before pausing. "I think this is yours."

She took it and squeaked, glad he had found her pre-order receipt before she had gotten too far away. "Th…thanks."

"You're welcome, but are you okay?" he pressed, offering her an arm to lean on.

"I'll… I'll be fine." She nodded, then winced in pain as her world spun and her vision blurred again. She took the offered limb, uncertain she would make it to the game store on her own, and leaned into the guy helping her. "I'm…"

"Mutou Yugi. The Queen of Games. I know," the guy interrupted, making the Duelist in question flinch. "Easy, I'm Otogi Ryuji… Games are kind of my thing. Don't worry, I'm not interested in your prize money if that's what you're worried about."

"Sorry…" Yugi apologised sheepishly. "I just…"

"I get it." Otogi shrugged, helping her towards the road. "That's a lot of money. I wouldn't want to lose it either."

"It's not… there's hospital bills." Yugi tried to correct him without telling him too much. "The money isn't mine to give away."

There was a moment's pause as the tall teen digested that piece of news and then sighed. "Should I be calling an ambulance for you?"

"N…No. I need to get to the store. There's no guarantee they'll be able to get the package deals in again, so I'd miss my chance if I don't.…" She trailed off as she felt her legs give out. Otogi's supporting arm adjusted into a proper grip as he helped her sit on one of the benches along the road, and concern pulsed along the bond from her other self.

"Sit there a minute, okay?" he suggested, concern clear in his words. When she nodded, he vanished out of her line of sight.

'He seems nice.' Yugi smiled slightly as she leaned back and closed her eyes, her head still pounding. The spirit of the Puzzle did not respond, though her twin could sense uncertainty trickling across the bond.

'We don't know him very well yet.' Yugi could feel her sister's shrug like it was her own, then the spirit sighed. 'Imoto? I have an idea. Can I try it?'

When the lighter soul stepped back, allowing the darker twin to take control of the body, she got to her feet and stumbled over to the newsagents. She paid for one of the water bottles from the cold drinks cabinet and sat back down.

'Anesan? What are you up to?' her twin asked as she searched out the card she wanted from their deck.

'You summoned a Kuriboh, a real one, back on Duelist Kingdom. If you can summon the monsters using the Puzzle, maybe we can use the spells, too,' the spirit of the Puzzle answered as she found Goblin's Secret Remedy. In the game of Duel Monsters it was a card that could restore 600 life points, so if her theory was right, it would heal her up a little.

She took a deep breath, reaching for the power of the Puzzle as she whispered, "I activate Goblin's Secret Remedy," and pushed the power into the water she had purchased, rather than directly into herself, not wanting to knock herself unconscious for days again if it did not work the way she wanted it to.

The water glowed a pale green for a second, then the light was gone. The Pharaoh unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip. The water stung as it went down, but it was worth it as the pain in her head started to ease and the prickling sensation from her scraped cheek faded.

'I wish we'd known about this trick months ago,' Yugi chuckled over the bond as Oneesan took another sip and looked around, wondering where Otogi had gone. 'So… chain from now on?'

'Huh?' The confused noise the spirit of the Puzzle let out made Yugi giggle.

'The Puzzle isn't safe on rope, so we should probably switch to chain or something a little hardier,' Yugi suggested as the spirit of the Puzzle allowed her to take control. She took another sip of the water and then a sharp breath at the sting as it went down, but she was able to relax as the pain almost completely vanished. 'That… doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Could this have been what Shadi was trying to do?'

'I don't know.' Oneesan huffed over their bond as Yugi got to her feet, feeling a lot more at ease now she could see straight again, and noting that her sister was beginning to doze off, suggesting that she had not really had the energy to do this, 'but if it was, he got it very wrong. Chain's not a bad idea, by the way. It would need to be something thicker than normal jewellery chain, though.'

'I have a couple of ideas, but we should grab our stuff first, before they try and sell it.' When her twin did not disagree with her plan, she headed for the game store. She took one last sip of her magic-infused water, leaving her with about half a bottle, before stepping inside to find Otogi was in the queue.

"Hey." He startled at Yugi's call and looked over, his eyes narrowing for a moment, before he lifted the cord to allow her to stand next to him in line. Yugi joined him, trying to ignore the grumbling from the people behind them.

"I held a place in the line for you." The teen smiled, his expression seeming honest. Yugi noted that his eyes rested on her healed cheek for a second or two, suggesting he had noticed the difference.

"Thanks." The Queen of Games smiled at him, noting the wariness floating at the back of her mind from her twin and trying to ignore it.

The teen paused, and there was a moment where she thought he was going to ask something, then he nodded. "So Duel Monsters isn't your only game, huh? You like Pocket Monsters, too?"

"Haven't gotten to play much." Yugi shrugged as they moved along the queue. "I was enjoying Red before I loaned my Game Boy to a friend and she accidentally broke it."

"Ouch, that sucks." He grimaced, wondering how it might have happened, but figuring Yugi would have told him if she had been willing to. "So you've never played Stadium?"

"Don't have an N64. That's the next thing to save for," she admitted sheepishly before squeaking as, in her distraction, she failed to see the pole that the rope guiding the queue was attached to, bumped into it, and knocked it over.

After much apologising, she and Otogi managed to stand it back up, by which time Yugi's head was spinning so badly she wanted to throw up. She thought she was hiding it well until her companion's voice told her otherwise.

"If you want to sit down, I can get your pre-order," he offered, his voice full of concern.

"We're nearly at the desk now," she disagreed. "Besides, I've already made enough of a fool of myself. I'm not going to give up now."

The other gamer chuckled at that and helped her to the counter before talking to a clerk at another till further down as Yugi handed over her pre-order slip.

"One copy of Pocket Monsters: Pikachu and a limited edition Pikachu Game Boy Color." The man behind the counter sounded far too happy about the pickup as he pulled open the drawer behind him and took out a yellow box with Pikachu on it, then had to go and hunt out the handheld console from the backrooms since all the shop floor ones had sold out already. Ten minutes later, however, he came back with a Game Boy Color box for a yellow console with multi-coloured buttons and a little Pikachu image.

Yugi mentally bounced as she pulled out her long-saved pocket money and handed it over, along with her loyalty card, in exchange for a carrier bag containing the two boxes. "Thank you."

"Thank you for shopping with us." The clerk handed the card back and bowed to her in return. She grinned at him as she turned away, looking for Otogi so she could be cheeky and ask him to give her a hand to the bus stop.

When she found him near the door, he had a huge bag and seemed to be waiting for her, as he immediately offered his arm again. "How're you getting home with that?"

"Bus."

Before she could say anything else, he was shaking his head. "I'll give you a lift home. My driver is outside."

"You don't have to," Yugi squeaked, surprised.

"We need to head that way anyway." His reassuring tone made his companion relax. "And what kind of man would I be if I didn't help a pretty girl out when she needed it?"

She could not help the blush that rose at the compliment, though she could sense the eye roll that her Anesan was giving.

She let him lead her out to his car and suddenly realised that her new friend might be richer than she had thought, when the vehicle outside was a limo-a short one, but a limo nonetheless. Otogi opened the door for her, and she slid into the rather comfortable interior, happy to be inside one of these willingly for a change.

He slid in after her, bringing the huge bag in with him, and closed the door before looking at the driver. "Kame Game Shop first, please."

As the car pulled away, Yugi could not help but ask, "You have a limo?"

"My Otosan owns the Black Clown." He nodded, watching the world go by through the window.

Yugi's eyes widened and her heart dropped. He was the heir to the rival store. The much bigger, much grander rival store, who could afford to have lower prices than theirs because they had the space and funds to buy in bulk. He probably had been secretly laughing at her the whole time he had been helping her.

"Ah…" Yugi looked down, trying to think of something to say. "Umm, I thought it was the Black Crown. Are you going to change the sign?"

Otogi snorted, amused. "Got an L arriving tomorrow to replace the R."

Yugi nodded, not sure what else to say as they pulled up outside the Kame Game Shop. Otogi got out and opened the door for her. He helped her out before taking out not only her bag, but also the huge bag that he had been carrying, and dropped them beside her.

"That's yours, not mine," Yugi tried to correct him.

"Mutou…" Otogi started, brushing his fringe out of his eyes and trying to ignore the twittering of the girls hanging around outside the clothes store next door. "Our families… aren't the best of friends."

"Wh…"

"Let me finish." Otogi cut her off before she could ask what he meant. "We have rival stores, and I know my Otosan has a… rather passionate dislike of your Ojiisan, but I'm hoping we can work around it, maybe spend more time in each other's company. This…" he said with a gesture to the bag, "is because I wanted to give you something special to prove I'm better than my Otosan."

"You didn't…" When Otogi held up a hand, Yugi fell silent again.

"I know I didn't need to, but I wanted to, and I'll be offended if you refuse it," he continued. "Yes, it's a big gift, but I wanted to give you something I knew you wanted. After all, you let me have the pleasure of your company."

The emphasis on pleasure and the slightly dirty smile made her sigh and her Anesan grimace. Some teenage guys were hopeless. "Otogi, I…"

"I'll see you in school." He cut her off again, entered the car, and shut the door behind him before she could ask any of the questions she now had about their family feud. As the car drove off, she picked up the bags, trying to work out what to do with the gift and ignore the way the girls were staring at her as she headed in through the back door that led straight up to the flat. Jii-san was there waiting for her, and the moment he saw her, he hugged her tightly.

"Glad you're home," Yugi mumbled into him, relief that he was safe and regret she was not home to welcome him intermingling.

"It's good to be home. You're late. Are you okay?" Her grandfather pressed, pushing her away slightly so he could get a good look at her.

"I'll be fine. Just need to rest," his granddaughter tried to reassure him, leaning on the counter slightly as she smiled at him, just pleased to see him home. "Someone tried to jump me, but Anesan sorted it."

He nodded and herded her through to the living room so she could sit down, before sitting next to her.

"We're fine now," she promised him as she chugged the last of the water bottle, the healing spell finished up, and the pain completely stopped. "Just tired. We'll probably head to bed early tonight."

"Let me know if you need anything, okay?" Sugoroku nodded, relieved to see her posture improve, though he could not help but wonder what they had done to the water to cause it.

"Of course, Jii-san." She nodded, sending gratitude to her other self for thinking of the healing card and actually getting it to work.

"You bought your game then?" Sugoroku asked with a grin after Yugi gave him a proper hug, relieved to see him home safely, as he gestured to the bags, "and then some it looks like."

Yugi paused, then nodded, pulling the Pocket Monsters: Pikachu game and special edition Game Boy out of her bag.

"What's in the other bag?" her Ojiisan pressed.

"I'm not sure." She opened the bag and stared for a moment before pulling out a grape purple N64, a spare controller, Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Pocket Monsters Stadium, along with both the transfer pack the Pocket Monsters game had come with and a spare, meaning two people could load their creatures into the N64 game.

"How…?" Ojiisan's voice was incredulous as she stared at the boxes, eyes wide. "Yugi… If you used some of the prize money…"

"No! I wouldn't!" Yugi shook her head violently, kind of hurt he would suggest it. "There was a guy, Otogi Ryuji. We were talking about games and I mentioned I'd never played Stadium because I didn't have an N64." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "he said our families don't get along and gave me that bag to prove he was better than his Otosan."

Her grandfather nodded, frowning slightly as he examined the boxes. He remembered the name Otogi. A couple of decades ago, he had been forced into a magical game with his student who went by that name. It was a game where you bet a number of years every time you moved, and at the end of the game, the loser aged by the amount bet.

He had won of course, but he could not help but be worried. This 'Ryuji' was a blatantly a relative. However, Sugoroku was not sure what he was up to. People did not just spend this much money on people they had just met, after all. Not unless they were flirting or up to something. He did not want to be suspicious, but he could not help but wonder if Yugi's new friend had bought it all just so he could flaunt how much wealthier the Otogi clan was. Buying the Mutou clan heiress things her family just could not afford right now would make Yugi like him and embarrass her guardian at the same time.

Then he kicked himself for labelling the child as bad as his predecessors without even getting to know the boy. Ryuji had given Yugi a gift to foster a better relationship, after all. He could well be better than his relatives. "Promise me you'll be careful around him if you see him again? He might seem nice, but don't be alone with him, okay? Not until I've met him."

Yugi nodded, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Why don't you like the Otogis?"

Her grandfather sat back with a sigh. "Otogi Kintaro was a student of mine and we got into a… heated debate while on a dig. One that involved magic. I haven't seen him since."

Yugi nodded, thinking as she looked over the boxes. "He said he bought me this lot because he wanted to have a better relationship with me than you and his dad have. I'd give it back, but he said he'd be offended. I'll have to find something to give him in return, though. This is much too much not to."

And there it was, Sugoroku mentally grimaced. Yugi felt like she was in Otogi's debt, giving the boy an advantage in future interactions. He could have been being honest that he wanted to get along with Yugi, but it was not good business to just spend what had to be around twenty thousand yen on a rival unless you were looking to butter them up for a takeover. Ryuji might have said he had good intentions, but Ojiisan just could not bring himself to trust the boy.

Still, for now he had not been overt about having ulterior motives, and this was something he had been trying to save up for to give to his granddaughter, so he supposed he should actually let her play.

"If he isn't going to accept this back, let's get it set up." Ojiisan hid his concerns behind a jovial tone and a small smile and was rewarded by a bright grin.

"Then we can play together?" Yugi offered hopefully and was rewarded by the retired explorer grinning back.

"Sounds good."