A/N: Several chapters already written, so aiming for once a week updates for the foreseeable future, somewhere around Monday nights/Tuesday mornings. R&R.
The air was unusually warm for spring in the Kanto region of the world. Domino City, which sat near the coast, felt warmer still. The students of Domino High, particularly class 1-B, were taking advantage of it for their lunch break.
"Hey, who's up for basketball?"
"Let's invite the girls to play!"
"Yuugi," a dark haired boy called. A short student with dark, red-tipped spiky hair peeked shyly up from under dyed blond bangs. "You should come play with us! It'll be fun."
Yuugi Mutou shook his head rapidly, grinning apologetically. "Thanks, but I'm fine. Besides, any team I'm on will just lose."
"Yeah, but—" The student sighed, then shrugged. "I guess that's true." The boy left without even looking back, tucking the basketball under his arm and running to catch up with the rest of the class.
Yuugi looked down at his cards. He had brought them with him because it was a popular game and he thought maybe someone would want to play, but…"I guess no one wants to play Pokemon today," he whispered, slouching down. He barely interacted with the other students in his class, barely spoke to anyone, so sometimes he spoke to himself just to hear something. "That sucks. Maybe I should stop bringing them…but they were talking about starting that club, that could be fun…"
He sat back in his chair. A couple students had mentioned starting a Pokemon club just so they could have something not related to school. But it would require a petition and Chono-sensei was notorious for opposing "non-essential" things like that.
"Oh, I know! I can work on my treasure today." Yuugi sat up and dug through his bag for the small gold box he carried with him constantly. It was covered in old runes formed of circles and spindly lines. They looked almost like the English alphabet used in Unova and Kalos, but the circle-within-a-circle thing always threw him off when he tried to read it. And he wasn't exactly good at English, either.
He popped open the lid. It was filled with jagged gold objects, most of them with sharp edges and smooth sides, except for three pieces with a raised design, one of which was an eye. "I wonder how far I can get with you today…"
The lid snapped shut under the weight of a large, long-fingered hand. "Talking to yourself again, Yuugi?"
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi looked up with wide amethyst eyes. Jounouchi Katsuya was a blond teen with messily styled hair who, like Yuugi, wore the dark blue slacks and jacket of Domino High's winter uniform. Why was Jounouchi in here instead of out playing basketball with the others?
"What is this thing, anyway?" Jounouchi held the box up, tilting his head in curiosity, locks of blond hair falling out of place.
Yuugi bit his lip. "Okay, you can look at it, but don't lose any of the pieces! It's my treasure, it's important to me."
Jounouchi opened the lid. "What the hell is this?" He glared at Yuugi. "You're annoying, you know that? Going on about this special treasure, and it's just a puzzle! Makes you sound like a girl." He poked the loose pieces, picking one out and holding it up. "It's about time someone taught you to man up. You want this back?" Yuugi nodded, biting his lip fretfully. What did Jounouchi mean? "Tell you what, then. You attack me, full-force, and I might give it back. Give me everything you got!"
"Wha—?" Understanding dawned on Yuugi—Jounouchi wanted him to hit him! Or at least try. Yuugi knew Jounouchi's reputation, Yuugi wouldn't be able to lay a hand on him. "No, I hate fighting!"
Jounouchi held the box over Yuugi's head, out of reach. "Guess you're never getting it back, then!"
"Jounouchi, is that you?" Hiroto Honda, the classroom beautification officer, stuck his head in the door. "Why aren't you outside?" He looked at Jounouchi, then at Yuugi. "Come on, Jou, give it back to him."
"Why? It's dumb, anyway." Jounouchi closed the box and tossed it at Honda, who scrambled to catch it without dropping it. Before he could, however, another, more delicate hand snatched it out of the air, saving the puzzle from spilling out onto the floor.
"If it's so dumb, you should have given it back to Yuugi," a feminine voice scolded.
"Mazaki!" Jounouchi yelped, stumbling slightly. "Where the hell did you come from?!"
"Anzu!" Yuugi grinned, his cheeks reddening slightly when he saw the brunette. He and Anzu had been best friends all through elementary school, until she ended up in a different middle school. When they realized they were in the same class at Domino High, though, their friendship picked up again like it never stopped.
"If you and Honda are only going to cause trouble, you should leave." Anzu glared at the bigger boys. Honda tried to protest, but it was lost on her.
"Whatever, Mazaki." Jounouchi glared back, then turned deliberately to Yuugi. "You really need a girl to stick up for you?" he taunted.
"Will you just shut up already?" Anzu snarled. There was a soft gasp, making them all look around. A cute girl with pale purple hair looked at them with mournful, watery eyes. "Miho!" Anzu grinned weakly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean you."
"Miho-chan!" Honda and Jounouchi both tried to get her attention, tripping over each other.
Like Anzu, Miho wore the girl's winter uniform—a pink blouse with a blue knee-length skirt and a bow on the blouse's front. Her lilac hair was pulled back and held in place with a yellow bow, her bangs partially covering her eyes and lending her a shy appearance. She batted her eyes at the boys, pulling their attention from Anzu and Yuugi completely. "I came to find Anzu for lunch. I haven't eaten yet."
"I'll go buy you something!" Jounouchi and Honda yelled together. Yuugi blinked as they both tried—and somehow succeeded, wow, look at that—to squeeze out the door at the same time. He cautiously poked his head out the door, wary Jounouchi at least would remember he had been busy teasing Yuugi, but was barely fast enough to see them rounding the corner, well on their way to the lunch room.
"Wow, Miho," Yuugi said, "they're already gone!"
Miho bit her lip, but her eyes sparkled. "They really shouldn't run so fast. The line was really long when I was there, they'll probably just end up waiting."
Yuugi giggled. "Thanks, both of you," he said sincerely. "But Anzu, weren't you playing basketball outside? Why did you come in?"
Anzu snorted and dropped into the empty seat in front of him, setting the box carefully in front of him. "Oh, that. The boys were passing to the girls a lot, and I thought it was weird. Then I saw them looking up the girls' skirts when they made a shot! No way am I putting up with that."
"Yeah, that's awful…" Yuugi said, his face turning bright red. Wonder what Anzu's panties…nope, he scolded himself. Anzu was a fun, strong person, what panties she was wearing was the least important thing about her.
"So what was Jounouchi-kun bothering you about?" Miho asked, linking her fingers behind her back.
"Oh! Um, this." Yuugi tapped the box. "It's my most precious treasure, my Millennium Puzzle." He drew a fingertip down the side. "See these markings? They're runes. They're found around the world. The Millennium Puzzle was found in a ruin near the Hoenn coast, but the ruin didn't really mention it anywhere, so they don't know if it belonged to that civilization or if it was moved there later." He cracked a grin. "I bet it says something like 'whoever solves this puzzle will be granted one wish' or something."
"Wow, Yuugi! Where'd you get something like that?" Anzu exclaimed.
"I found it in the attic one day. Jii-chan was the one who found it, I guess, years ago, when Hoenn still let adventurers keep part of their finds." He laughed slightly. "He said that's why they changed the law so soon after, so they wouldn't lose any more valuable artifacts."
Anzu raised an eyebrow. "And he lets you just run around with a valuable artifact?"
"I'm careful with it," Yuugi defended, placing one hand over the box.
"I know you are. Sorry, Yuugi, I was only teasing," Anzu said apologetically. "Why would you let Katsuya look at it, though? He doesn't exactly like you."
"Jounouchi-kun's not so bad," Yuugi said softly. He looked away from her. "He just wanted me to man up, that's all." He looked up, grinning weakly. "Besides, you scared him off pretty quick."
"If I'm nice, I get walked on," she pointed out, leaning back in her chair. "The same goes for you—you have to stand up to them, at least once in a while, otherwise they won't leave you be."
"I guess…" Maybe Anzu was right, he thought glumly. But he hated fighting.
"Wow, it's so pretty!" Miho exclaimed, pulling their attention back to the puzzle. She stroked one of the Puzzle pieces. "What did you wish for?"
Yuugi shook his head and lifted himself out of his thoughts. "That's absolutely top secret! It won't come true if I tell you guys."
Anzu was already gone by the time Yuugi was ready to leave at the end of the day. He pouted slightly—he had been hoping to offer to walk her home. Oh well, he thought, another day. Tomorrow, maybe. He ran outside, following the crowd but sticking to the edge of it—being in the middle of a crowd was uncomfortable at best when you were as small as he was.
"Yuugi Mutou." Yuugi paused and turned, head tilting slightly. He swallowed when he saw who it was—Ushio, president of the Disciplinary Committee.
"Um, yes, that's me." Yuugi took an instinctive step back. Ushio was huge.
"I wanted to check in with you, Yuugi," Ushio said seriously. "Are you being bullied by your classmates?"
"Wha—? No!" Yuugi shook his head hard, slightly taken aback by the direct question. "No, of course not! Why would you ask that?"
"Of course you would say that," Ushio said, shaking his head regretfully. "Victims always stand up for their abusers." The young man smiled, and Yuugi was pretty sure he meant it to be reassuring, but there was something off about it he didn't like. "Don't worry anymore, Yuugi. I will be your bodyguard from now on. I'll make sure no one bullies you ever again."
"I don't need a bodyguard, Ushio-san," Yuugi insisted. "I'm not being bullied, I promise. I-I have to get home now, though. Goodbye!"
He dashed away before Ushio could say anything else, backpack bouncing against his shoulder. "Weirdo," he muttered. "Why does he even care?"
He tried to shake off the weird feeling he got from the encounter, but the unease clung to him all the way home.
"Jii-chan, I'm home!" Yuugi pushed the front door of the Kame Game Shop open, the bell ringing cheerfully to announce his arrival.
"Welcome home!" Sugoroku called cheerfully from the counter. He was as tall as Yuugi and wore green overalls, a white long sleeved shirt, and an orange bandanna. At one point in his life he had had black hair in spikes similar to Yuugi's, but now his hair was a solid steel color and the spikes drooped slightly. The customer he was with turned, smiling cheerfully.
"Hey, Yuugi!"
"Anzu!" Yuugi grinned. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to surprise you," she said. She looked around. "Seems like it's been forever since I've been in here."
"Not since middle school," Sugoroku agreed, scratching his beard. "Anzu was just telling me about the Millennium Puzzle. You still haven't given that up?"
"Of course not," Yuugi said cheerfully. "I've spent so long on it, I bet I'll solve it any day now!"
His grandfather shook his head. "It might be better if you didn't," he said seriously. "That puzzle is beyond human knowledge, Yuugi. It does not want to be solved. Did I ever tell you about what happened on that expedition?" Yuugi shook his head, eyes wide, and Anzu scooted closer, drawn by the irresistible pull of one of Sugoroku's adventures. It made it harder to concentrate on his grandfather's story—she was right there! She was almost touching him! But he managed. "We found the remains of a series of tombs, probably belonging to an ancient civilization that lived in Hoenn. This tomb had been harder than most to open, and most of the traps were still intact.
"I wish cameras had been more portable then. The walls were full of carvings of strange creatures, and of course the ancient language archaeologists have found all over the world. It was a long, hard journey to get inside…" Sugoroku trailed off, eyes unfocused as he drifted in memory. "A lot of things happened in that tomb…I won't get into all of them. But that puzzle was there at the end, instead of the embalmed body we expected. Of course I was able to retrieve it and bring it home."
"And Hoenn decided any artifacts found were theirs, instead of letting explorers take part of it," Yuugi concluded.
"Yes, but that's not all," Sugoroku said, wagging a finger at them. "Several of my team died in that tomb." Anzu gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. "Oh, yes. Many got sick before we even started exploring—those poor people died afterward. But some of them, the ones who didn't get sick, died because of traps inside. That tomb was said to have been cursed." He pointed to the letters adorning the side of the box. "Do you know what this says, Yuugi?" Yuugi shook his head, eyes wide. "It says, 'Whosoever solves this puzzle shall inherit the knowledge and power of legends.'"
"That sounds so cool!" Yuugi gushed. He held up the box. "Makes me want to solve it even more!"
"Yuugi, no!" Anzu pleaded. "It's dangerous! What if it's cursed or something? You should give it up."
"Anzu's right," Sugoroku urged. "I…" He seemed to consider what to say, then continued. "I decided when I brought that puzzle home that I would never try to solve it. I believe that's why I'm the only survivor of my team. But you, Yuugi? You were a kid, and I think that protected you, but you aren't anymore."
"No way!" Yuugi said hotly. He held the box to his chest. "To me it sounds like it'll grant my wish after all. And nothing bad has ever happened to me!"
"Except when Katsuya and the other boys bully you," Anzu pointed out dryly.
"Jounouchi-kun just wants me to man up," Yuugi said lightly. "And the others are only teasing, they're not being mean."
"You're father—" Sugoroku began. Then he hesitated.
"Tou-san is working overseas," Yuugi said firmly, after a few moments' pause. "He can't afford to fly back and forth all the time."
Sugoroku sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry, Yuugi, I know you're right on that." He glared at the counter top. "It has nothing to do with the Millennium Puzzle."
Anzu was giving him a look, but suddenly Yuugi didn't want to hang out anymore. "I have homework," he announced, "and then I should probably get some sleep." He smiled brittlely. "It's been a long day. I'm sorry, Anzu."
"Yuugi—"
He turned and fled through the door connecting the shop to the house.
That night Yuugi worked on the Puzzle, forgoing his homework entirely. It was a welcome distraction after…he shook his head. He wasn't going there. It was a bad idea.
So of course his brain went there anyway, he thought bitterly, half-formed thoughts on the subject popping up and fading out. He sighed and let himself think on it.
So what if his father had been gone for years, since around the time he found the Puzzle? That didn't mean the Puzzle was responsible. Curses weren't real!
The pieces clicked together almost reluctantly.
So what if his father hadn't written or called in over a year? That wasn't because of the Puzzle. His father was just busy, that was all.
He fell asleep at his desk, the Puzzle next to him partially complete.