Vol. 1, Ep. 2 – Pride


It's been two weeks since Yugi completed his pedant and the ancient spirit of Atem was free from it to live in his body. During that time, Yugi's personality has changed bit by bit. He was more confident than usual, a lot friendlier and more interactive to other students when it comes to aiding them on their homework, joining them in the basketball court and especially when it comes to school activities like soccer and judo. Hey, he figured he needed to defend himself at some point.

As well, his appearance changed as his hair grew out a little bit longer, appearing somewhat messy and his soft facial structure grew rather sharp to put a delicate balance between adorable and handsome (if there is such a thing). It reached to a point where some girls started coming up to him to flirt with him, sometimes requesting a date. Of course, Yugi's timid side never really went away when it comes to the opposite sex. So Atem thought to let him suffer for his own entertainment by Yugi's inability to talk to beautiful girls his age or even older.

Though a jealous Anzu would abruptly end the conversation by saying Yugi isn't interested and taking him away back to their homeroom. Besides that, it was clear against school rules for students to date, for they will be expelled as a result. But thanks to that, it lead to gossip that Yugi and Anzu are actually dating in secret, much to Yugi's embarrassment. Anzu helped clear these cases that it's just gossip, but Yugi himself wanted to be more than friends with her. That is if he has the guts to admit his feelings for Anzu. The kid still had a long way to go and Atem could see that.

Anyways, on with the our story, where in Class 1-B, most of the students surround Yugi and Jonouchi playing a rather competitive card game. Yugi calls to his friend and reminds him that it has been his turn. Jonouchi seemed intensely focused on playing the right card so he doesn't lose…again. Around then, Honda appeared and wrapped his arm around his long time's friend to see the progress.

"Aw, isn't he cute when he's thinking?" Honda teases.

Somewhat annoyed, Jonouchi replies, "Hey, Honda. In case you haven't noticed, Yugi's teaching me to play Duel Monsters."

"Drooling Monsters?"

"DUEL MONSTERS, you nimrod!" he shouts, shoving Honda's face off.

The story goes that this new game on the block was created by Maximillion Pegasus, who based the card designs on ancient Egyptian carvings and hieroglyphs, and soon released in stores around the time Yugi was in third grade. Surprisingly, it grew immensely popular among other schools, and soon, all around Japan. To this day, the one thing every gamer talks about is Duel Monsters as they can never get enough of this phenomenon.

Back to our game, Jonouchi plays the Headless Knight onto the battlefield in Attack Mode. He felt very confident that he's got this turn in the bag, but little did he know that Yugi already had this won when he played the Dark Magician, instantly defeating Jonouchi's monster with ease and winning the duel.

"WHAT?!" Jonouchi jumps out of his seat. "Ah, thanks a lot! A card that powerful totally wipes me out!"

"I guess you can say I'm a natural," Yugi replies while rubbing the back of his head humbly; he could even hear Atem chuckling inside his thoughts.

A student then rushes inside the classroom to call out, "Put away the cards and get back to your seats, guys! Mr. Saito is on his way!"

The rest of the students ran to their seats while Yugi and Jonouchi panic and quickly clean up their respective set of Duel Monster cards to place them back into their bags. Yugi made sure each and every card that belonged to him would wound up back in the Millennium Puzzle's old case. After the class has reassembled in ordered fashion, a man in his early thirties with a regular haircut in black, a clean white suit with a crimson tie and black pants steps into the room. Obviously, this was Mr. Saito, or by his full name, Okita Saito.

Within class, he's somewhat bearable, but he is known to be unintentionally boring to some students and often strict. For example, when a student falls asleep out of boredom or not paying attention at all (i.e. Jonouchi at one time…well, twice…maybe a couple of times), Saito likely smacked his ruler over their desk to wake them up and/or get their attention, humiliating them in the process in front of their classmates.

"Good morning, everyone, I hope you all had enough fun with that Duel Monsters card game," Saito refers. "Open up your textbooks on page 210, we will be recapping from what we know yesterday about the fall of Rome and resume from there."

As the teacher starts writing on the chalkboard, the classroom, with a collective groan, start picking up their books to either slam or drop them without a care. Of course, Saito scolded them that the books are a delicacy, which Jonouchi retorted that these books are literally "ancient history," inciting laughter from a few classmates as Saito gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Well, it's not like he's that far off," Atem says, appearing as a spirit beside his host resting on his back midair with his hands behind his head. Thankfully, only Yugi can see him and talk to him within his thoughts so no one would notice at all and consider him weird for talking to himself. "Those books do look like they haven't been properly up to date."

"Correct. These books are actually over ten years old. Apparently, the school thought it needed to cut back on buying updated books in order to save money. As you can see, that hasn't exactly worked out for us when it's the school being cheap," Yugi replies. "Not to mention corrupted with some teachers on the staff."

"What ridiculous bullshit," Atem scoffs.

"Agreed. …Hey, seems you're getting used to learning how we speak in the modern era. I'm impressed," Yugi muses in a joking manner.

"And you're becoming quite a smart ass. Learn much from Jonouchi?"

"Look who's talking."

"Hmph. Then I guess I won't warn you for what Mr. Saito will do next."

"Huh?"

Yugi was brought back down to reality as a ruler smacked his desk, causing him to yelp. He looked up startled to find a frowning teacher, who says, "Mr. Mutou, this is NOT the time for you to be daydreaming in class! If you're going to do that, then the least you can do is pretend you're listening. Even Mr. Katsuya knows this and you're actually friends with the buffoon!"

"Huh? Me?" Jonouchi blinks.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Saito! I-I didn't mean to tare off like that…" Yugi replies sheepishly.

Okita then sighs, "It's fine. I'll let you off the hook this time since you're not one to usually misbehave in my class. Now, I repeat for the third and final time, would you please read the beginning of the page for us?"

"Yes, sir," Yugi nods as his teacher returns to the front, now feeling a shade of red as his classmates snicker.

"Well, that was much more amusing than I thought," Atem smirks.

"Oh, shut up…" Yugi growls lightly in his thoughts as he currently reads from his textbook aloud.

From an outside perspective, Anzu sees how Yugi looked out the window with a bothered expression, almost as if he was glaring at someone. Matter of fact, she has noticed the newest traits on Yugi ever since he's completed that puzzle from his appearance to his personality to even his height. Forgot to mention that Yugi was originally 4'11" before deciding to grow two inches taller, recently turning up at 5'1" not too long ago. The pattern here that Anzu already notices is that with each week passing by, Yugi gains an inch to his height measurement. Perhaps next week, he'll turn up 5'2" or maybe even 5'4" so quickly, reaching Anzu's height!

"Could it have to do with that puzzle…? Maybe I'm just imagining things. I'm sure Yugi's going through a late growth spurt… No, that's dumb. …But still, it's strange…" Anzu ponders, discreetly glancing at Yugi. "Ever since he completed his treasure, he's become more outgoing, more interactive with others, joining school activities with JUDO of all things. He's still the same Yugi nonetheless when it comes to being shy in front of girls, always adoring his games, having a childlike innocence, and so on. …Hmhm, yeah, I'm sure it's nothing."

After Yugi finished his part and the teacher proceeded with the lecture, he saw her glance and simply smiles. She returns it with a gentle one of her own, reassuring herself that everything's just fine.

[Later…]

"MAN, I never thought that class would end!" yawns Jonouchi, stretching his arms out.

"You say that every time when it comes to Mr. Saito, Jonouchi," Yugi remarks.

"Yeah, not like it ain't true, Yuge," Jonouchi replies.

"I guess." Yugi chuckles. "Anyway, I gotta go get my stuff for the next class. Be back in a bit!" Yugi heads out of the classroom and onward to his locker.

As Yugi reached it and began opening it up, the other students walking by start creating space, backing up against the wall in fear. The reason for this was because a gang marching through the halls. Consisting of only five, they were obviously students of Domino High with their uniforms, but colored all black and opened loose. One stood out the most from the group and that was their leader, a six-foot foreign exchange student at only eighteen years old from America by the name of Joseph Grimes. He has brown hair styled with frosted tips, his eyes glowed light green, and the same black uniform and a white T-shirt underneath, but with a menacing white skull on the back to symbolize his leadership. Meanwhile, the rest had armbands on their upper arms with skulls of their own.

The Downfall Syndicate; that's the name of this group. It was created around the time Joseph came to Domino six months ago. The reason he was exchanged to Japan was because his parents thought Joseph can be disciplined better that way. Clearly, that has not been the case. Since then, he made a name for himself as the most feared student in all of the faculty, even some of the teachers were too afraid to stand up to him.

This kid had a bad attitude and it showed from top to bottom. Recently, the gang has been causing more trouble around the school than usual since Ushio was sent to a mental hospital after Atem's Shadow Game basically turned him insane. Something of which Yugi has partially blamed him for. Greedy and corrupted, yes, but Ushio still knew when to set all students straight. Without him to prevent the Syndicate's dirty deeds, they were free to do whatever they please.

"Out of the way, douches! Downfall Syndicate are just here for business!" one of the gang members shouts.

Yugi overhears them and immediately panics on the inside, "Crap…!"

The boy quickly takes what he needs for his next class, shuts his locker around and turns around to instead bump into Joseph, who glares down with his sneering gang at the short teen.

"Hey, there, Yugi… Sorry we haven't talked much," Joseph grins menacingly.

"G-Good morning, Joseph…" Yugi gulps.

–.–.–.–.–.–

"Joseph?" Atem queries, watching the situation from Yugi's point of view within.

Curious, he checks his soul room and takes a look up at the upper right corner for the crimson and black colors shining, reaching with an index and middle finger to touch respectively. In doing so, he gains a vision from the past, where the black-clad gang left a beaten and battered Yugi at a nearby river after school. Atem frowned at the memory, deciding to look further back for the reason.

He found out that Yugi accidentally spilled what was left of his drink into Joseph's clothes. It was only a small stain, not that noticeable and can easily be washed off since it was on his black uniform. But Joseph had such a nasty attitude and full of pride, this is what brought Yugi to getting beat up and practically left for dead.

"…Picking on someone smaller than yourself… How pathetic," Atem comments before flashing forward to that same night, where Yugi was recovering in his room.

Yugi had swollen bruises and bandages all over his face, sitting alone with just the light on from his lamp. He winced just from one touch from his fingers to his cheek. Then he would look down on his hands, the weak and feeble hands that did nothing but protect himself to no avail. With a sad demeanor, Yugi lowered his head to hide his face, which would drop tears onto his knees. He hated being weak. He hated being picked on. He hated people like Joseph and wished he just teach him a lesson one day…and as a matter of fact…he now has that power as the memory fades away.

"So he's one of the few that wronged Yugi," Atem says to himself, turning to the current vision of Yugi being bullied by the Syndicate. "…Heheh, it seems I've found the right opportunity to guide him to a righteous path."

–.–.–.–.–.–

"I see you've been trying to avoid me since this morning, Yugi… That anyway to treat a friend who's in dire need of lunch money?" Grimes asks with a sneer.

"I-I'm sorry, Joseph, but…I don't exactly have the money right now…" Yugi looks down, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Don't give us that shit, ya little punk!" a short, obese Syndicate member with a black bowl cut calls out, pointing at a startled Yugi. "If you know what's good for ya, give the boss what he wants or—"

"Kohta, just shut up and let me handle his," Grimes raises a hand up, settling him down. He leans against the lockers to rest an elbow on top of Yugi's head, much to his dismay and silent fuming.

"Now little Yugi, I get it. You don't hand over the cash your folk trusted you with. But you're not exactly in a good spot, so you got no choice. You know how much the human body needs to eat in order to get through the day, man. You've been through it. I'll make it simple for you, little man; you lend me all the money you owe for today, my friends and I can go out to buy real food that this shitty school doesn't offer, and you get to walk away without any problems. …Though you'll likely end up hungry the rest of the day, but I'm sure it's worth it for you to know that you've made all five of us happy."

As the chuckling Syndicate await for Yugi's response, Yugi himself stays still with his eyes shadowed by his hair. Usually, Yugi would outright tell them that he doesn't have any money at all or reluctantly give them what they want in order to go home without bruises, albeit very hungry. Yugi's been used to this treatment for so long…and something was telling him that he's just about had enough of it all.

–.–.–.–.–.–

"Having a hard decision, Yugi?" Atem asks.

"Yeah… And I'm sick of going through stuff like this… As much as a few things have changed, this hasn't at all," Yugi bites his lower lip.

"…Do you wish for me to take care of this…Joseph Grimes? I can easily do that," Atem's bloody-colored eyes glared up in Yugi's vision.

"No!" Yugi suddenly yells, turning to the spirit. "I mean… You don't know what he's capable of. I just don't wanna get into trouble…"

"I understand, but you forget. I'm an ancient spirit with powers of darkness on my side and yours. With what he's put you through, I know how much you really want to put that bastard and his goons in in their place. And you can't deny the truth, not even from the Puzzle."

Atem wasn't wrong. Yugi had no reason to lie to himself as his Puzzle reveals the true nature of others. But still, despite Yugi hating Joseph for making his life hell and wishing go give payback, he felt he wouldn't be any better than him. Bless his kind soul. Even so…

"…Just…just don't anything I wouldn't do. Please," Yugi begs, turning back to the vision.

"I make no promises here…but I'll see what I can do," Atem nods as he rests a hand over Yugi's back, white light consuming them both.

–.–.–.–.–.–

"C'mon, Little Yugi, the bell just rung and you don't wanna be late for class," Grimes sneers. "Just be honest with me and lend the money over—"

"I don't owe you a damn thing, Grimes, so just screw off and leave me the hell alone!" Yugi suddenly yells.

That yell was almost like he shot heard 'round the world; almost instantly, that yell caused a moment of dumbfounded silence from the Domino High students to stare in shock and awe, the Syndicate in simple shock and Joseph…also in shock, then his left eye twitches.

"What…did you just say?" Joseph snarls.

Yugi would likely whimper…but thanks to Atem taking control, he shoves his arm off and glares up at him, showing a mixture of vengeful red and ominous violet. "You heard me, Grimes… You've always been taking advantage of me because my height and because you know I hate fighting. And I'm sick of it. I gotta say…it's downright pathetic of you."

"Is that little shit serious…?" murmurs a Syndicate member with a shaved head.

"Yes, I am," Yugi glares, making the gang member flinch. "Now shut your mouth; I'm speaking here." He turns back to Joseph. "The fact that you'd rather pick on those weaker than you just to make yourself feel good and feel like the most powerful guy in the entire school, especially your lackeys standing by you just so they feel good about themselves…you're all so pitiful, Grimes. You're actually the most boring person I've ever met."

As the bystanders are generally surprised Yugi, the shyest kid around the school, is standing up to one of the biggest tyrants to ever set foot in Domino High. With Yugi still glaring, Joseph just took the words in…remaining silent for the moment…and left eye continues twitching.

"Tch, I've said all I can say to you. Compared to you, Jonouchi was a better bully to me than you are. Seriously, he's got no need for a gang he can back himself up like a man," Yugi scoffs as he shuts his locker. "Now if you'll excuse me…I have to get to class. I'm already late enough as it is. We all are."

That reminder sent all the remaining bystanders in a panic and rush to their classes. Though, some stuck around and hid to see what would happen next. Yugi attempts leaving from the Syndicate with victory on his back…but then Kohta grabs him by the arm to prevent him from doing so.

"What gives you the right to tell that crap to us, especially the boss?! Who are you to judge?!" he yells, then gasps the second Yugi looked back with direct eye contact.

Kohta's eyes widen up the size of saucers with his pupils shrunk, getting a portentous feeling that something wasn't right with Yugi the more he looked into his crimson-violet eyes. For a brief moment, all Kohta can see was Yugi glaring at him and a dark silhouette with glowing bright eyes and a third on his forehead, smiling wickedly at him. Freaked out, Kohta lets go and backs away, confusing his gang.

"Hey, Kohta, what the hell's wrong with you?" asked the shaven-head teen.

Kohta can only shudder, staring in absolute fear as he thinks, "Oh, man… This guy…he's become REALLY bad news now…! Did I just see what I think I saw…?"

"Uh…hey, Joseph…m-maybe it's best we leave the kid alone, huh?" Kohta requests. "I-I mean, there are plenty of su-suckers around here to take their money…"

Joseph, snapping out of his intense glare and eye twitching, notices Kohta's frightened expression. "The fuck? …I've never seen Kohta this afraid before… What did he see that none of us did?"

The leader looks back at Yugi, who turns his glower back to him. As he looked a little closer, Joseph notices how his eyes went from the usual violet to a mixture of that and intense red. Pride and ego was slightly shattered, so he had to make up for it by putting up a request.

"Okay, Yugi… Tell you what. Since you've finally grew a set, telling me to my face that you're so sick of what we've done to you, how about we settle it all? Twelve o'clock. When the bell rings at that time, come meet me in the yard during lunch," Joseph proposes. "I'll be happy to put you in your place."

Yugi thought up on that offer and replies almost instantly, "Heh…you have yourself a 'date', Grimes. See you then."

With that, Yugi takes his departure to class and Joseph's smirk soon falls to become an ugly frown, instantly smashing the lockers with his fist. Superiority feeling cracked, Joseph Grimes was now determined to make Yugi pay for humiliating him in front of his gang.


"Atem? Everything go okay? I…strangely blacked out for a second…" Yugi rubs his head.

"I know. It was intentional so you wouldn't have to worry and so nothing goes wrong," Atem clarifies. "Anyways, I spoke to Grimes and set him straight. He won't bother you any longer…after our fight, of course."

"Oh, thank you, Atem. I knew I could count on you…" Yugi sighs in relief. But when those last five words registered in his head, his eyes went wide. "EH?! What is the matter with you?! You promised you weren't gonna cause a fight!"

Atem grimaces, picking out his right ear, "Augh… Jonouchi was right, you really are loud…"

"ATEM!"

"To be fair, you never said those exact words. You told me not to do what you wouldn't do…and I said I'll see what I can do. So…here we are," the spirit casually shrugs.

"What kind of answer is THAT?!" Yugi clenches his head, panicking at high levels of anxiety. "Oh, this is bad! This is so very bad…!"

"Calm down, child… Don't you think it's about time you earn your vengeance for what he's done to you? You wished to be strong, right? Well, this is your chance. You'll finally have redemption and your pride will be restored. Don't you want that? Just let all of your hatred towards Grimes flow into me and I'll take care of it myself… I do have an idea to keep your reputation and put those people in their place," Atem offers.

Yugi grinds his teeth together at a slow pace, feeling so conflicted over Atem's words and his own perspective. As helpful as judo class is, he doesn't wish to start up any kind of fighting at all as he hates it always. He believes it only brings nothing but trouble…but after so many years of suffering, does he have much of a choice?

Clenching onto his arm, he finally speaks, "Okay, Atem…do what you have to do. I may not like it, but I'll have to trust you on whatever you plan you got."

"I can promise you no failure, Yugi. For now, let's focus on our classes until lunch," Atem says.

"All right…" Yugi hesitantly nods, soon disappearing from the darkness.


Time flies and word has already spread around the school over Yugi's bravery against Joseph Grimes this early morning, speculating there is to be a fight breaking out between them soon. This news reached to Yugi's friends as Anzu now grew heavily worried about her childhood friend possibly changing a lot more than she thought. Mutou assured her that everything is fine and dismissed them as just rumors. At least until when the clock hits 12:00 pm.

It was now less than a minute until Yugi's gym period ends as he was just about finished with running laps as everyone else was catching up, especially Jonouchi coming up last as the gym teacher berates him for being too slow. Yugi was catching his breath as he was practically training himself for what could lead to be the best or worst lunch hour of his entire life. He did feel something different from within, though; every time Atem takes control, even for a mere second, he could still feel his dark power seeping into his veins. He wasn't sure whether it felt wrong or right.

The bell has rung and landed on the designated time, every student getting dressed to leave for lunch. Yugi himself didn't follow yet. He told Jonouchi and Honda that he'd meet up with them in the homeroom later as he has to "take care of something important" first and ran off almost instantly. This brought up quite a confusion from the two since Yugi acted almost strange and suspicious. Jonouchi, though, assumed it's probably nothing for them to worry about, but Honda was smart enough to figure out that it might have to due with what the other classmates were talking about earlier.

Little did he know as Yugi was halfway to the school yard and come to a slow halt. This is when he realized what he was about to get into. It showed when his legs began trembling over how he's moments away from facing the most ruthless person in all of Domino High—perhaps even in the city in general. He's entering a fight. A FIGHT. The one thing a pacifist like Yugi found barbaric and just not wise to settle things…and in reality, it'd be unlike Yugi be in a fight, let alone propose or join one.

He thought to just walk away, not worry about it at all. It'd be so much easier to do this and not get into trouble at all. Of course, he'd be considered as a total wimp, someone who's just talk and no action. Not surprisingly, Yugi was fine with that. He hates conflict, anyway. But unfortunately, as he attempted to leave…

"Yugi…are you having second thoughts? What happened to trusting me?" Atem asks with a frown as Yugi struggles to move his legs, realizing who's preventing him from leaving.

"Huh?! Atem, how are you…?! Never mind, I…I can't go through with this…" Yugi states.

"Yugi, let me be clear and blunt here. The old you? …He's gone. Not completely, but you still have the choice to cement yourself a new person right here and now, finally escaping that shell you were stuck in for as long as you can remember. Think back HARD to those painful memories you wish that never existed. You wished to become tougher, didn't you? Was that not your wish? Becoming strong in order to protect yourself and your friends?"

Yugi stood still for what felt like eternity as he muses over Atem's words. He took a good look at himself at the reflection on the window, seeing how he's changed physically. Heavy as the consequences are for getting into a fight, the result of Yugi backing out would end up much worse as he'd be labeled a "chickenshit." Yugi being a wimp was his character and that was fine, for as long as he still had his friends. But once he thought deeper, comparing himself then and now, he recalls all the painful times Joseph have harassed and picked on him to no end. Those punches, those kicks and the laughter of their own sick amusement. It…it angered him.

By the time the flashbacks ended, Yugi tightly clenches his backpack's straps…and asks, "Atem…you said you have a plan for this sort of thing, right?"

"Hm? Yes, I did… Why?" the spirit queries.

"Just asking… Now let's go humiliate those bastards together," Yugi swears, eyes shown to be determined and focused.

Atem's eyes grow as wide as possible with how Yugi suddenly uttered a profanity like he was used to it. But then, he comes to realize what's happening now…and smiles. He smiles, oh, so disturbingly evil, he tries hard to hide it from his host's sight even though he was more focused on where the Syndicate might be at.

'I'll be… Yugi is showing a little more aggressiveness now. Mmm…good… A small step forward, but better than nothing…' Atem thought.

"Glad to know we're now on the same page for once… Lead the way, Yugi. And let me handle everything from here," he smirks.

Yugi nods to his spirit's words and wasted no time ambling straight to the yard…and lo, and behold, the Downfall Syndicate, especially Joseph Grimes, were waiting for him to settle it all.

"Well, well…you actually showed up," Joseph spits his gum out as Yugi, now under Atem's influence, remains a glare with a scoff.


"Hey, guys, do you know where Yugi is at?" Anzu asks, noticing how he hasn't showed up since lunchtime started.

Jonouchi, while a mouthful of white rice, answers, "Yeah, he said he had to take care of something important."

"…Without talking in a mouthful, Jonouchi," Anzu deadpans.

"Jonouchi said that there was something Yugi had to take care of. It was 'important', he said," Honda properly responds.

"Thank you, Honda. But what is it?"

"We don't know. He ran off before we can ask him."

"Strange… I hope he makes it before lunch ends. He's been gone for quite a while. You don't think that the rumor about him and Grimes is true, right?"

Jonouchi swallows up his food and shrugs, "Eh, I doubt it. For as long as I've known Yuge since I've met him, the guy's a toothpick. I'm sure he's arriving here to prove us wrong as we speak." He then hears the sounds of someone running into homeroom. "See? There he is. …Huh?"

Though the stature was close enough, turns out that it was just a casual dark brown-haired student instantly opening the slide door, seeing Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda. "There you are!" he yells, coming over to them and stopping to take a breather. "You…y-you guys…gotta come…! Schoolyard…!"

"Hey, take it easy, kid. Catch your breath. What's happening at the yard?" Honda tells him as Jonouchi gulps down his orange soda in the background.

After doing so, the student tells them, "You guys have gotta come to the schoolyard! It's Joseph and his gang! Y-You're not gonna believe me, but…he's fighting Yugi Mutou!"

Jonouchi spit-takes all over Honda (who will pay Jonouchi back for that later) by accident, coughing while pounding his chest and turning his attention back to the student.

"WHAT?! Yugi's fighting that guy?! He's gonna get himself killed!" Jonouchi yells.

Anzu, the most shocked out of the group, blinks hard in disbelief over hearing this, "…Yugi…"


Meanwhile, as the students gathered around during lunch break and before his friends received the news, Yugi stands off with Joseph…and his gang that now currently surround him.

"What's the meaning of this, Grimes? I thought we were supposed to have a one-on-one fight," Yugi assumed, folding his arms.

"Yeaaah…only you agreed to it. I didn't," Joseph sneers as his gang chortles to their numbers game.

However, Yugi didn't seemed fazed whatsoever after seeing up to five guys, including the leader, having him circled. He can only shake his head in disappointment.

"You're just proving me right yet again, Grimes," Yugi states. "I thought you were pathetic, but now you've really outdone yourself to stoop this low. You really are boring. Instead of fighting me yourself, you're wanting to rely on your boys to do the dirty work for you. Don't you think you should've just accept my words and change yourself for the better?"

"Don't give me that crap!" Joseph yells, pointing at his victim. "I don't need a fucking midget like you thinking you can say that shit to me and get away from it! We're the Downfall Syndicate and we're gonna be teaching your scrawny, faggot ass a lesson on what happens when people like you think you can just step up to our gang! Hell, we'll hang you by your fucking underwear just as warning for those to know who's in fucking charge!"

"Oh, look, threats with usage of profanity and slurs. That'll scare me," Yugi rolls his eyes.

Having enough of not being taken seriously, Joseph barks, "SUIT YOURSELF! BOYS, KICK THAT LITTLE SHIT'S ASS! BURY HIM!"

"With pleasure, Boss!" Kohta grins before charging towards Yugi with his crew.

All the while, Yugi remains at the center waiting for the Syndicate to come closer and subtlety smiles with a hint of Atem's roguish style.

"Ooh, hoo-hoo… This is going to be fun," Atem chuckles in his thoughts.

Now that the trio have finally arrived, they apparently couldn't see the fight going on for themselves with how nearly crowded it was and how bad it was getting with the audience cheering this on.

"Oh, man, I can't see a damn thing!" Honda states.

"We have to get him out of there…!" Anzu cries.

"He's getting what he deserves!" yelled out a male student with a curtain cut.

"What?!" Jonouchi angrily shouts, grabbing that student by his collar. "Care to say that again, ya little punk?!"

"Whoa, whoa, hey, what are you talking about, Jonouchi?! I thought you were friends with Yugi! Why would you wanna pull Joseph out of the fight?" he panics with his hands up in defense.

"Eh?" he blinks, looked as if he was trying to answer a really hard math question. "What are you talking about?! We are friends with Yugi! And what kind of dumb question is that?"

"Yeah, Grimes is probably beating up Yugi right now!" Honda implies.

"Actually…you might want see for yourself, guys," said a short pink-haired female student with glasses, stepping aside for them to get a better view.

Anzu was the first to step forward, gently forcing herself through the crowd and gasps in horror once she reached the middle of attention. Yugi stood tall over the gang that are appear beaten up with bruises and marks all over their faces. Even Joseph was nailed with a few good inflicted shots as he staggers up to his feet. Looking at Yugi, he didn't seem to have any a single scratch on his face…nor his knuckles! Though, there was some on his clothes from being on the ground and so on, but still.

"Whoa…Yugi got all these guys down…and he doesn't have a single scratch on him. Like, at all!" Jonouchi's jaw drops.

"Jonouchi, this isn't the time to be impressed! We gotta do something to stop this!" Anzu asserts. "Yugi shouldn't be doing this… It's not him at all."

"Yeah, but…I don't think Yugi's really fightin' those thugs, and he doesn't seem to have much trouble," the rough blonde scratches his head.

"Actually…you're right," Honda notices as well. "It looks as if he didn't bother lifting a finger."

The brunette could see their point as she saw the way Yugi remained clean with no signs of bruises, blood or anything else other than the dirt on his back. A short nerdy student next to them explains that all Yugi has done is evade their every move, purposely letting them attack each other instead, and toss them around into each other thanks to his judo skills to the point where they are unable to stand. Anzu was certainly surprised that her best friend was now able to stand up for himself while willing to put an end to the Syndicate's tyranny for good. Like Yugi, she may not be a fan of fighting, but she's relieved Yugi was at least safe for now.

"Please be careful, Yugi…" Anzu beseeches, hoping her best friend makes it out in one piece.

Yugi, with Atem's eyes, watches Grimes using the remainder of his strength to stand up no thanks to the clusterfuck of Yugi constantly dodging his gang's attacks and letting them hit each other instead.

"Is this seriously why your Syndicate was 'so feared', Grimes? They're as pitiful as you, after all," Yugi mocks.

"Fuck you…little shit…! Don't think…you've won so easily…!" Joseph groans as he can barely stand on his two feet and bears a broken nose. "I'm not done…burying your ass!"

"Correction—you haven't even struck me down once, but yes, you aren't done… I am, however; I've gotten bored playing around with you monkeys," Yugi then starts walking up to Joseph and points up at his own forehead. "Although, I have a fun, easy game for you. Rules are simple; all you have to do is land one shot to my forehead for the knockout. You win, you take my money. I win, you leave the school for good. Fair?"

"…Just one punch?" Joseph asks.

"One punch," Yugi assures.

"Tch… If it'll…put you away…then whatever," Joseph huffs.

He stands tall over the boy with a right fist ready to knock Yugi's lights out with ease…but he begins to tremble in his legs. Then up to his arms. Now even his whole body, albeit faintly, and the crowd notices him just standing still, bringing them to murmur what's happening. Joseph's body seems to be legitimately frightened by feeling another dark presence with him and Yugi, but his thoughts doesn't seem to acknowledge it.

Yugi raises a left brow with his head cocked slightly, "C'mon, Grimes…I'm waiting~"

"What…What the hell's happened to me?!" the Downfall Syndicate leader questions in his thoughts. "I…I-I can't move at all! My body won't let me move an inch! …Wait a minute… His eyes…!"

It's then Joseph sees the way Yugi's eyes have been this entire time, appearing completely hallow in a mixture of crimson red at the top and dark violet on the bottom, and his wide, almost psychotic smile that only he can see and it looked eerie and terrifying. He can now acknowledge what Kohta was freaked out over earlier. Especially how he can see a dark silhouette standing tall over the boy with the same glowing golden glare, glowing Eye of Anubis on his forehead and the open evil smile.

"H-HOLY SHIT. This kid…h-he…he ain't even HUMAN…!" Joseph thought.

Soon, he falls onto his knees with a pale face like he's seen a terrifying ghost. Yugi smirks in satisfaction as Atem is amused to no end on the inside before deciding to put an end to this game.

"You're really not gonna do it? I'm giving you a golden opportunity here! …Ah, forget it. This game's already boring. And I rather not get my hands dirty from this fight, but since I've caused enough trouble and the fact that I'm starving," Yugi takes his hand out from his pocket, placing a middle finger behind his thumb over Joseph's forehead, "I'll fight you with just one finger. This one digit…that will cement the end of your vile reign on this school. Once that's done…you and your thugs leave us alone for good."

Joseph growls, "Y-You…you son of a…!"

Before Joseph can finish his sentence, Yugi flicks his finger against his forehead with enough force to send him flying halfway across and hits the ground to an unconscious state. As the crowd remain silent in shock, especially Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda, Yugi walks over to simply turn him over by his foot, pick his back pocket and check his wallet. He scoffs to find out that he actually had plenty of money to feed himself and his gang, carrying up to around 34,000 yen (translate: $300); just wanted to steal more from people like Yugi for the fun of it.

"Tch…that figures," Yugi says as he simply drops the wallet on Joseph, not worth taking the money. "Keep the change. I'd be no better than you if I took money from you."

And after all of that was over…

"YOU DID IT!"

Yugi, now free of Atem's control, is suddenly barraged with a crowd of cheering students, much to his surprise. They all gathered around and hoisted him up in the air to celebrate their hero, chanting his name proudly as Yugi grew a small smile on his face. But as quickly as it appeared, it went away the moment he saw Anzu outside the crowd. All he sees is Anzu and her alone as the ovations volume down to a minimal sound.

Yugi believed there was disappointment in the eyes of his longtime crush and he couldn't blame her. He participated in a fight, the type of notion that he previously found barbaric. Yet he got involved and it just made him a hypocrite. All he can do was give pure apologetic eyes, asking for forgiveness and never intending any of this to happen. Anzu sees it very well and reassures him with a nod, her face telling Yugi they'll have a talk about this later. Yugi nods back and Anzu forms a light smile in the end, relieved to know her best friend was still okay. Yugi returns that same smile before being literally back down to reality by Jonouchi.

"Yuge, you actually did it, you crazy little bastard!" Jonouchi grins shaking his friend by his shoulders.

"Uh…what did I do?" Yugi blinks twice while dazed, seemingly confused after being so focused on Anzu.

"Very funny, pal. You just knocked the 'eff out of the Syndicate and you barely did a damn thing! You're a badass, man!" Jonouchi pats his friend's back.

Yugi couldn't help but blush humbly from the overwhelming ovation by the students for his bravery. He pops out of the crowd and suggests they should get back before the faculty staff get involved. Unluckily, it was too late. He bumps into a very tall man at 6'4" in his late forties, donning a regular haircut in dark gray color, wearing a navy-colored suit with a matching tie, leather shoes, and to top it all off, the sternest face that almost every student is afraid to even make eye contact with.

"Ah… O-oh, uhh…good afternoon, Principal Komuro," Yugi chuckles nervously. "…Eep."

"Yugi Mutou. My office. NOW," Principal Komuro, in his intimidating deep voice, orders.

Looking down on the ground, Yugi complies to avoid more trouble and heads back to the school. The principal then orders the students to return inside immediately and they do so without hesitation, likely out of fear. Meanwhile, the Syndicate would be taken to the nurse's office to get their wounds treated. The topic of this event being whispered among students aside, Anzu looks to where Yugi left, wondering about what might really be happening to him.


"Yikes…a two-week suspension?" Jonouchi asks Yugi, seen leaving Domino High with him, Honda and Anzu.

"Yeah… Thankfully, I won't be left behind as a homeschool teacher will be visiting me starting tomorrow Saturday," Yugi says.

"Meh, I'd be bummed out if I had that happen to me," Jonouchi scoffs.

"Hey, I gotta keep up with my education, Jonouchi. Besides, I had this coming for the mess I caused…" Yugi sighs.

"Ah, don't be like that, Yuge. You stood up to the Syndicate that's terrorized our school since that bastard, Grimes, arrived. If anyone deserved to make a fool out of that jerk and his tools, I'm glad it was you. Hell, everyone was glad it was you, much to their disbelief."

Yugi would likely agree in his own thoughts, especially since the principal actually said those exact words to him earlier in the office. He was let off easy since he's never one to cause any kind of trouble other than being the one in trouble. He understood why students like him would eventually stand up for himself and his dignity. Of course, when actions such as these are occurred, there are always going consequences, such as his two-week suspension. Yugi had no problem with that, though Atem scoffed at how his host remains soft.

Even though Yugi should feel proud of himself for finally growing some guts, he couldn't just exploit his self-esteem skyrocketing because of someone he considers special…and she happens to be walking ahead of the group. While Jonouchi and Honda were talking in the background, Yugi stares at the back of Anzu's head, wondering what she has to say about all of this. He felt like he made himself such a bad guy in front of her and thought she was giving him the cold shoulder. But it could be what only Yugi is thinking. So who knows what Anzu's real thoughts are?

Jonouchi notices how Anzu and Yugi didn't talk at all since they've gathered back in the homeroom, being thoughtful enough to come up with a lie to leave them alone to discuss things. He said to Yugi that he and Honda actually have something important to do, confusing Honda…but then he realizes and takes advantage by saying they're off to debate over Jonouchi's membership with the Beautification Club. See? Told you he'd give him payback.

"Wait, what?! I never said anything about that, you dick! I TAKE IT BACK! YUGE!" Jonouchi yells as he's dragged away.

Yugi chuckles, "Guess he didn't that one through, huh, Anzu? …Anzu?"

He looks back and sees she's still walking ahead. Yugi was tempted to run after her, but Anzu came to a complete stop. Silence reigned between the two as Yugi looks down, trying to think up what to say to her and apparently, it's the same for Anzu. They stood in their exact spots, Yugi digging the tip of his shoe into the sidewalk…until he decided to be the first to speak up.

"Anzu…I understand that if you're mad at me because of how I got involved in the fight with Grimes…but I-I want you to know that I was just so tired of being pushed around. I'm always told by you and Jonouchi to stand up for myself. I did take those words into consideration…and…well…"

Mazaki didn't respond. Not yet. Her own face tells she was conflicted. She was unsure whether that was really Yugi out there in the schoolyard…or someone else entirely. She eventually turns around and replies, "No…I understand. I…I just never thought you'd actually get involved in a fight. You really scared me into thinking something terrible was going to happen to you, maybe worse. …It didn't help with how much you're changing so fast. You really had me worried today, Yugi."

"…Change can be scary when you think about it," Yugi implies. "I was scared out of my mind, too, accepting Joseph's offer to fight him… It sure didn't help when he brought his friends to gang up on me, but…something inside…a force that's been building up deep within has helped me overcome those odds." He looks at his palms, almost smirking as both hands ball up into fists. "Never…have I ever felt that good all my life. Seeing them all getting embarrassed by me due to evading their attacks… Seeing them injured by their own hands at my feet… Vengeance has never felt this so damn sweet."

Almost instantly, Anzu smacked Yugi right across the face, surprising the boy, the spirit, who just lost his sick smile at this new sight, and even herself. Yugi held his burning cheek as his face return to normal from under Atem's influence before getting pulled into a hug by the brunette. Anzu couldn't really believe she just did that to her own friend and even what she was hearing from Yugi himself. That power-hungry tone of voice at the end of his sentence didn't sound like the Yugi Mutou she knew at all. It was like he was someone else…which he was for a brief moment.

Now more shocked than ever, Yugi can only remain still in her softness before whispering, "A…A-Anzu…?"

"Yugi…I'm sorry about that, but…please don't ever talk like that again…" Anzu frowns. "I know what I said about you standing up for yourself and I should've said something better…but I don't wanna see you let it all go to your head and walk down a path where I won't see you—the real Yugi Mutou ever again…"

In that moment of realization, even with the usage of Atem's power, Yugi knew it couldn't be worth losing someone like Anzu from his life. He couldn't go on without her in his life. She was his first and only friend before Jonouchi and Honda. Without Anzu, Lord knows how Yugi can even cope with himself. He soon returns the hug, soothing her.

"I'm sorry for that, Anzu… Didn't mean to go out of character like that," Yugi says. "Look, I can promise you that no matter what happens, no matter how I change for the better or for the worse…I'm not gonna abandon you, Jonouchi and Honda. You guys wouldn't do that to me, so why should I try? But don't be so hard on yourself…we're both guilty in this case. Especially me."

"Got that right…baka…" Anzu replies.

Yugi chuckles and continues hugging his best friend, who tells him to never scare her like that ever again and he nods. After the two finished making up, Anzu offers to walk Yugi home and asked if she can hang out for him to teach her understand the Duel Monsters game more. Of course, Yugi agrees with no sign of hesitation. They smile at each other and began heading home…where Yugi is likely to receive a lecture from his grandfather, and most definitely, his mother. But for now, he felt pretty happy this all worked out in the end.

However, there someone else who was not happy about this aftermath.


"Shit… This really is going to be much harder to convince Yugi than I thought," Atem grimaces, sitting cross-legged in the middle Yugi's soul room and playing with a toy car, which he then flings into the red fluid up on the upper corner wall. "Especially after that sappy crap fest…"

After witnessing the exchange between Yugi and Anzu, Atem was not a happy pharaoh. He had Yugi eating out of the palm of his hand, feeding off his hatred and vengeance for the Syndicate's humiliation. Even though he actually wanted to beat the ever living hell out of them, he couldn't with Yugi's current reputation as a kindhearted boy. It made him sick to his stomach. And it certainly didn't help with how he sees Anzu is one of the reasons for "making him weak" to not inherit his dark power and knowledge.

He needed to figure a way for his plans to succeed, to make Yugi his successor and he can't do that with his crush in the way. Otherwise, it'd be for naught.

"…Hmm…actually…" Atem ponders, turning his head to a framed photo on a small table.

He stands to pick the photo up, seeing it feature his host and Anzu, both smiling together at a local festival with Yugi wearing tiger face paint and Anzu with a Kitsune mask over her head. As much as he wanted his host to become what Atem envisioned him, Anzu stands in the way, but at the same time, he can't blame him. In his opinion, he has good taste in women, he'll give him that. The pharaoh soon runs a thumb over Anzu's face…looks over her slender, curvy body…and slowly forms a lustful grin, licking his lips at the sight of her.

"Hmm… Mmm… Yes…maybe, just maybe… Perhaps we can work something out in the end with this girl, after all. She can likely be our…Heh. One step at a time, Atem," the pharaoh chuckles to himself as he exits his host's room and enters his, sitting down on his throne. "Everything from your host's body…to his delicious vixen…to the Items…and so on, so forth will be yours. After all, the old saying goes…good things come to those who wait patiently."


To Be Continued…


A/N: Credit for the name "Downfall Syndicate" goes to author KingOfMyOneTrueWorld.