"Please let me go!" Yugi wasn't used to whining; it didn't come naturally to him.

The 'Millennium Puzzle', had been clinging to him incessantly for at least ten minutes now. She was literally on his back, her arms and legs wrapped around him like some kind of human limpet.

She hadn't given him a chance to get a word in over her relentless talking; it was quite literally impossible to speak over, "Yugi, what's the matter? I don't get it! Yugi, can we go outside? Oh, that's right; we're leaving at eleven! Yugi, why haven't you started your homework? Yugi, I'm hungry!"

At Yugi's last comment, however, she instantly backed away, the blanket dropping from around her shoulders again, Yugi blushed, turning around. "P- can you please just pick that up again?"

The Millennium Puzzle - Yugi grimaced; he couldn't believe he had actually just called her that, even in his head - picked up the blanket again and wrapped it around her near-naked bady. "Okay, Yugi! If it makes you happy!"

They suddenly fell into silence.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked quietly.

She blinked, confused. "I already told you - the Millennium Puzzle."

Yugi braved a glance at her. She had indeed covered herself up. "How? The Millennium Puzzle is..." He hesitated. "Well, it's not...a person." He couldn't bring himself to say 'girl'.

She sighed, frustrated. "You always call me that - 'it' - it isn't very nice."

"Um..." How do you respond to that? Yugi wondered. "So, you're telling me you've...turned yourself into a person?"

The Millennium Puzzle shook her head. "No, silly, of course not! I'm still the same me - I've just taken human form. Nothing's changed! You're so silly, Yugi."

Yugi hesitated. "The Millennium Items can do that?"

She nodded again in that way that made her golden hair start bobbing. "Of course; we were people too, once."

Yugi just stared at her. "You...were?"

Suddenly, she froze.

It was as though she had just said something she hadn't meant to. Her unusual red-black eyes clouded over with worry. "Oh, ah...kind of. Not really. Sorta. Ish. A- anyway!" she threw in shakily. "What are you so worried about? I'm still the Millennium Puzzle - I just wanted to talk to you...that's all." She looked down. "It gets so lonely...having you and the Pharaoh around so much, but not being able to talk to you."

At this, Yugi felt his heart soften. He could only imagine what such an existance must have been like. Hesitantly, he took one of her small, petite hands in his own. "Well, you're here now..."

And then she was grinning cheesily again. "Mm-hmm! Yep! So what are we going to do now? Are we going to do the homework first?"

Something that she had said earlier suddenly sunk into Yugi. "Hang on," he said suddenly. "The Pharaoh?" He stared at her. "You know him?"

She looked confused. "Of course I do; he lives inside me, remember? Look, I'll show you!" Without waiting for a reply, she hurtled herself at Yugi again, flinging her arms around him.

Only this time, her tanned, olive skin was glowing gold.

"Pharaoh?" Yugi asked hesitantly.

It hadn't felt like a particularly unusual switch; the absense of the Millennium Puzzle around his neck made it a little daunting, but when he found himself standing beside his own body in spectral form, he realised what had happened.

"Yugi," Yami said, looking at him.

Satisfied, the Millennium Puzzle released her hold on Yami, but still remained holding his hand with the hand that wasn't keeping the blanket in place.

"See?" she asked. "I'm still linking you two; it's exactly the same as it was before. As long as I'm around, you'll be just as connected as you ever were!"

Yugi stared at his other self as though he expected something to be different. He didn't know what to say.

"This complicates things a bit," he began, addressing the Puzzle.

She cocked her head to one side. "Why? It was never a problem having me around before."

Yami spoke this time. "Yugi can't wear you to school. He can't carry you around everywhere. It's going to be more difficult to always have you with us."

"Oh, that's easy! I'll just enroll at your school. Problem solved!" She grinned, jumping up and down like a little girl.

"What?" Yugi stared at her. "You...can't do that!"

"Why not?"

There was a pause. Yugi and Yami looked at each other.

"Then it's settled! Come on, let's get some breakfast! I haven't eaten in five thousand years!"

Just as the connection between himself and the Pharaoh had always been stronger when he was wearing the Puzzle around his neck, Yugi found that the bond between them was stronger when the Puzzle was holding his hand.

Back in his own body with Yami beside him, Yugi was being dragged down the hallway to the kitchen. "Your grandpa will understand; he's the one who found me, so he knows all about how special I am," the Millennium Puzzle was saying. "I can't wait to meet your friends! I mean, I've already met them, but still. They're so nice! I especially like Joey - he wore me once before, remember?"

"Yeah..." Yugi said, lost in thought.

"We can't exactly ask her to change back," Yami whispered. Both of them knew it was pointless; she would be able to hear them no matter what. The whispering was pure tokenism.

Yugi nodded. "We don't know the full story; it might have been really difficult. And she seemed so lonely..."

They both sighed. "Even so, she's better off the other way, isn't she?" Yugi wondered, looking at her. She was watching them over her shoulder, still refusing to let go of Yugi's hand.

Yugi wondered how they were talking about her so casually when they knew she could hear them. Maybe they were simply accustomed to talking about her; they had never hesitated in talking about the Millennium Puzzle before - perhaps it had somehow seeped into their subconscious.

Yami was looking at her too. "It's like you just said; we don't know the full story. Maybe she had a reason."

"Maybe," she said sourly. She tightened her grip on Yugi's hand. "So come on, already! Let's go!"

Yugi instantly felt horrible for talking about her so openly behind her back. Whatever else he was used to thinking, she was still a living thing; he just hadn't known it until now.

The Millennium Puzzle wasn't a fussy eater; when Yugi plodded into the kitchen and started opening cupboards, she was already making for the fruit bowl. Within three minutes, she had devoured an apple and half a pear, stuffing them into her mouth ravenously.

Yugi stood a few feet away, a box of cereal in his hand. He shifted his weight uncomfortably. She had clearly never learned any form of etiquette, or simply hadn't used them in so long that she had forgotten. "Um...did you want some of this?"

She froze mid mouthful. "What is it?" she asked, covering the food in her mouth she was still eating.

Yugi looked at the box. "Fruit Loops."

She swallowed. "Works for me," she announced happily, taking the box and stuffing a mouthful of dry cereal straight into her mouth.

Yugi let her guzzle and sat down at the table, watching her.

She had found a way of typing the blanket Yugi had given her around herself in a manner similar to a toga, and was now able to move freely about with both hands ready for use.

Yugi wondered what he was going to tell his Grandpa when he woke up. It wasn't as though having a...girl...in the house was something normal.

With the Puzzle standing on the other side of the kitchen, he could feel his bond with the Pharaoh was weaker. He wished they could go somewhere alone, then instantly regretted it; if she was the bond that linked himself and Yami, and Yami could hear his thoughts, it was only natural that she could hear them too.

She seemed too preoccupied with her discovery of Fruit Loops to be worried about what Yugi was thinking, however; she was already tipping the box backwards, consuming the last of what had formerly been a half-full box. "That was awesome, Yugi!" she gasped, dropping the empty box. "Is there any more?"

"There's another box in the cupboard."

She dived for it, knocking several tins of food over before finally emerging with the unopened box of cereal. She didn't hesitate before stuffing her face again standing in the middle of the kitchen floor.

"You're going to get sick if you keep..."

The Millennium Puzzle stared at him with wide, pleading eyes.

Yugi melted at once. "O- okay...you can eat more."

She pulled out another handful of Fruit Loops, spilling most of them over the kitchen floor. "Thank you! I love you, Yugi!"

Yugi felt his face redden. "Er, okay...um...thanks." He hesitated, wondering how she expected him to reply. "I...love you too?"

She covered her mouth while she spoke. "'Course you do; you grew up with me. I'm your treasure."

Yugi stared at the table. "Yeah...I guess you are."

After a moment, she kept guzzling Fruit Loops.

"So you got a name?"

She nodded, spilling cereal everywhere. "The Millennium Puzzle; why? You already knew that."

Yugi drummed his fingers against the table absentmindedly. "I need something to call you by."

She frowned, confused. "The Millennium Puzzle."

Yugi sighed. "I can't call you that; I'd be, 'Look out, there's a car about to run into you, Millennium Puzzle!'. You'd be dead."

She frowned. "Why would there be a car about to run into me? Cars don't run; they have wheels."

"Well I-"

"And besides, if you just yelled, 'Millennium Puzzle, move!' it would relay the message much quicker."

Yugi laughed. "Okay, I'll try this again; for the sake of convenience, you need a nickname."

It suddenly clicked. "Oh, I see! A nickname! Like how Joey calls you 'Yuug'! Why didn't you say so?" She didn't wait, and fed herself another handful of Fruit Loops, thoughtfully. "How about 'Mizzle'? Like 'Millennium' and 'Puzzle' put together! Okay, I'm Mizzle!"

Yugi laughed again. "You may need something a little more...inconspicuous; something more normal."

"Not Mizzle?" Her face fell into a pool of crestfallen self-pity. "Please, Yugi? Please? Pleeeeeeease!"

Yugi tried to harden up. "I just don't think it would work."

"M- M..." She screwed her eyes shut, thinking hard. She started bonking herself on the head. "Think, think, think...that's Winnie-the-Pooh, isn't it, Yugi?" She opened her eyes. "What about 'Winnie'?"

Yugi shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Mmmm..." She bit her lip. "Mill..."

"Millie?" Yugi offered.

She gaped at him. "What kind of a name is 'Millie'?"

Yugi held up his hands. "Just a suggestion."

She stared at him in utter disbelief as though he had just insulted her. "Oh, you think I'm too chicken for a name like Millie! You think you're taunting me!"

Yugi blinked. "Wh..."

"I'll show you who's chicken! From now on, you actually have to call me 'Millie'! Hah!" She grinned wickedly. "You didn't think I'd say yes, did you?"

Yugi just stared at her.

'Millie' laughed. "It's your own fault."

"There's...nothing bad about the name 'Millie'..." Yugi said quietly.

"Don't bother, Yugi! My mind is made up; you have to call me Millie."

"O...kay?"

"But all your friends have to call me 'Mizzle'!"