"Every morning as I wait for the bus, I think 'I hope something fun happens today!" Yuugi looks at his puzzle and smiles warmly. "I know… there's not really a reason to talk to you right now, but I don't want to just give up and ignore you." He paused, trying his best to give some sort of mental hug to his partner. "It's better than being alone… What do you think?"

Sleepy… Hug… Warm… Happiness…

Yuugi smiled. "You know, you toss and turn a lot. Are you okay? You don't seem like the restless type. Is it because of the puzzle? I felt it when I solved it. It was like… chains holding you down, poor thing." He imagined what it might feel like to be held down. "Well, I'll make sure you're safe, just like you do for me."

Happy! Hug! Thank you! Gratitude! Still sleepy…

Yuugi laughed to himself. Why was he so cute? It was almost child-like. "We seem to be communicating okay. Maybe we'll be able to talk soon? You're half-awake more of the- wait!" The bus drove up to the stop, picking up Yuugi and other students. "Better stop talking, don't want to get distracted and miss my stop! Sorry!"

That's okay! Happy. Cuddle. Sleep.

As the spirit fell asleep, Yuugi smiled and ran his fingers over the puzzle. "He's so sweet." You blushed softly, then brought himself back to reality. He noticed his classmate Hanasaki walk past him. They weren't exactly friends, but Yuugi liked to be friendly to everyone. Plus, they both shared the position of bully targets. "Good morning Hanasaki!"

The boy looked away, avoid eye contact. "Why? Is he okay? Maybe he's just shy. I did just befriend Jounouchi and Honda" Yuugi thought to himself. "I'm still going to nice to him. It's not like making friends means I can't make new ones."

The bus then made a sudden stop, throwing Yuugi to the back of the bus.

Alarm! Concern. Worry.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt."

Okay. Sleep.

As Yuugi got up, he saw the back of the bus was vacant. He didn't need to wonder why, though. A larger student sat on the furthest seat, listening to rock music though his earbuds. Not that it mattered, the music was loud enough to be heard from where he stood. Yuugi quickly got himself back up and attempted to leave.

"Stop! Yuugi, friend, come join me."

Yuugi's heart raced before remembering he had the spirit with him now. No need to be afraid. "What is It Sozoji?"

"Just got an offer you can't refuse. I'm holding one of my famous and beloved 'All Night Solo Live Shows!'" He fished though his jacket and pulled out a few tickets. "And I need your help selling my tickets."

Yuugi's face paled. The shows were absolutely awful. Yuugi had been to them more than a few times, and he never wanted to go to another one again. "I'm sorry Sozoji, but I don't have the time! I'm sure you can sell those tickets though!"

"I don't think you heard me." Sozoji stood up and rolled up a sleeve, getting ready to attack. "I said 'an offer you can't refuse.'"

Yuugi puffed his chest. "Are you really going to attack m in front of a bus full of witnesses?" It was true. As soon as Sozoji called out to Yuugi, the whole bus has turned around to look. They didn't want to intervene, no that might mean becoming victims themselves, but they watched.

"I'll get you later, punk." Rolling his sleeves back down, Sozoji plugged his earbuds back in, muttering to himself.

Yuugi used this opportunity to talk back. "I wouldn't recommend that Sozoji, really I wouldn't." As he walked to the frnt of the bus, the boy held the puzzle in his hands. "I feel so brave, and it's all thanks to you."

Happy. Proud.

"That punk, acting like he's strong just because he has friends now, eh? I'll show him. Some twig first-years are nothing to me."

Leaning back Sozoji watched the brat walk down the bus. "Heh, doesn't matter. The dork with the glasses has tickets anyway. I'll still sell a few, even if I need to get a few bruises in him first."

With a chuckle, Sozoji closed his eyes and moved his lips to the lyrics of the son blasting in his ears.

"Mornin' Yug!" Jounouchi leaned on Yuugi's chair. Yuugi greeted him in suit. "I asked 'round, and yeah, there's no star here… yet!" With a snap Jounouchi says "Because I'm gonna be the star of this school."

"Oh." Yuugi responds, lost in thought.

"What, no enthusiasm? No 'Yeah go for it'?" Looking at his friend's face, he noticed his face. "Somethin' up?"

"No, nothing." Yuugi looked down at the puzzle. It became a habit to look down at it when he was worried. He had a bad feeling about Sozoji.

Jounouchi was quick to take this the wrong way. "Is it him? What did he do?"

"N-no!" Yuugi sighed. "Honestly, someone tried to pick on me on the bus. I stood up for myself, but I still have a bad feeling about it."

"Someone tried to pick on you?" Jounouchi's face scrunched up. "Who? Who did it? I'll-"

"Jou, look, it's nothing." Yuugi cut off. He didn't want anymore fighting, especially coming to his friend. "But, I feel a little better letting it out. It's nothing, really!" Yuugi's hands fell to the puzzle. "I don't need to worry about bullies anymore. It almost feels a little silly to be afraid."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious." Yuugi smiled. "Because I have you, and Anzu, Honda, and-"

"Nah nah, I get it." Jounouchi smirked. "Take your time! Honda and I still have to execute Plan P.T. See ya at recess, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Ready for execution of P.T?"

"Yeah!"

"Operation Panty Tank is a go!"

Honda and Jounouchi snuck up behind Anzu, holding a wooden plank with handles attached. As they got closer, the boys lifted up Anzu's skirt, making her underwear very visible. She quickly pushed her skirt down before turning around and hitting the two perverts on the head. She announced what perverts they were loudly to the class.

The girls quickly shuffled to their desks and sat down, not wanting to be the next victim of the dreaded Panty Tank.

After class, Yuugi found Hanasaki changing his school shoes for his outdoor shoes. He quickly called out, hoping this time, he wouldn't be ignored.

"Oh… Hi Yuugi…" Hanasaki looked down. "Sorry to bug you but…" He pulled out a ticket from his pocket. "Could you buy this ticket from me?"

"This is why he ignored me this morning" Yuugi noted. He must have been nabbed by Sozoji before him. "Look, Sozoji already has it out for me because I refused to sell his tickets. How about you just give me yours and tell him I took them off your hands. You don't have to go to his show, I'll take your place."

Hanasaki looked up and gave a smile of relief. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

"It's nothing, really. Sozoji can't do anything to me, so don't worry."

"Thank you so much, you're a life-"

Before Hanasaki could finish, Sozoji stepped out from behind the lockers. "Hanasaki. I saw that." Sozoji grabbed Hanasaki by the collar and lifted him up. "You think you could weasel your way out?"

Jounouchi and Honda casually walked their way around the corner before seeing the scene and stepping in to help. Sozoji quickly put Hanasaki down. With as tsk, Sozoji left. Before he was gone, Yuugi heard a faint muttering.

Sozoji walked towards the school gates, kicking stray stones as he walked. Those damn punks. Thinking they could get away with passing around tickets to avoid him and his shows. Why didn't they see the were being blessed with the opportunity to hear his voice? Whatever, doesn't matter.

He knew where those fuckers lived. He knew how to get them to his shows. He had connections.

He chuckled to himself.

"The more the merrier." He muttered, smirking.

Yuugi heard the phone ring downstairs in the game shop. As it was picked up, he heard his grandfather's voice. "Yuugi! Phone!"

Yuugi came down the stairs and picked up the phone. He immediately recognized Sozoji's voice on the other end. "Look, Sozoji, I'm not going to sell your tickets for you."

"Nah, that's fine. Water under the bridge bud. I just wanted to invite you to the show. It's on the house. You really don't want to miss it. I got all your friends here, so drop by to see them."

Yuugi clenched his teeth. That bastard. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as he clenched his free hand into a fist. He could feel the spirit inside him stir and awaken.

As his vision faded, the spirit held him tight. A promise to make sure this man is put to justice. A promise to destroy the man who hurt his Savior. With a small sway of his body, Yuugi knew his protector was taking control.

The last thing Yuugi heard before he fell into the darkness was a voice he was unfamiliar with. "I'll be there Sozoji."

The guardian stood at the door, looking in with eyes that seemed to glow in the dark of the entrance. "Sozoji. Where are they."

Sozoji turned to the voice with a smile on his face. He opened his arms in greeting. "Ah, Yuugi! They're all in the karaoke room! We've been waiting for you."

As the spirit looked in, he took a small step back. Jounouchi, Honda, and Hanasaki were the ground, badly bruised and beaten. After the shock passed, he quickly ran to his friends' aid. "Jounouchi! Honda! Hanasaki! What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yeah Yuugi… We're fine. Just go, get out of here!" Honda groaned, laying on the floor.

"No, Honda. It's okay man." Jounouchi looked at the spirit's face. "That ain't Yuugi."

Honda raised his voice in confusion, but before he could ask, Sozoji spoke up. "So, Yuugi, why don't you come watch my show? Your friends seem to enjoy my talent." He brought the microphone to his face and sang a few notes, off key and loud. The speakers gave the loud screech of feedback, causing the victims to wince.

The spirit stood up, straightened his posture, and without looking towards the menace, spoke in a low, quite voice. "How dare you. How dare you treat my Lord's friends this way."

His fist clenched beside him as he looked down, hiding the smile stretching across his face. Inky darkness wormed its way through the cracks of the door, slowly flooding the room with shadows. The tendrils climbed the walls and crawled the floors, tinting the room with black and red.

Sozoji was taken aback, but quickly recovered and lunged at Yuugi. "You little-" As he lept forward, the shadowed had begun to wrap around his legs, throwing him back against a wall.

"So, you wish to challenge me to combat?" A small chuckle arose from the spirit. "How foolish." With a flick of his wrist, Sozoji was pinned to the ground.

"What? I-! I can't move! What the hell is this?"

"You think I'd put a weapon in the hand of my enemy?" He tilted his head towards the man on the floor, letting his bright red eyes to pierce through him. "Once again, you prove yourself to be a fool." He turned his head back to his Savior's friends on the floor. "Well, Jounouchi? Honda? Hanasaki? What should be his punishment? You were the ones wronged, so it is fitting that you be the one to bang the gavel on his sentence."

"What the f-" Honda whispered.

"Later, Honda. Questions later. Look, uh-" Jounouchi struggled to call the spirit something.

"Yami. My name is Yami now."

"Yami? Right, okay. I'm fine, but Honda and Hanasaki got pretty messed up. Can you do… whatever you did to me when that bastard got in a lucky shot?"

Yami nodded. "Of course. I should have thought of it before. Thank you for bringing it to my attention." Yami then posed his hands in front of Honda and Hanasaki, letting a light radiate from it and onto the targets.

Hanasaki sat up. "You guys… I"

Jounouchi looked at him. "Hanasaki, dude, you alright?"

"I'm sorry, I-. It's all my fault. If you guys hadn't tried to defend me, I, you-"

"No, Hanasaki." Yami kneeled to meet him face to face. "My Lord also blames himself for incurring Sozoji's wrath." Placing a hand on the young student's shoulder, Yami continued. "It is the evil in Sozoji's heart that caused all this pain, not the actions of those who meant no harm. Please, rest easy."

Hanasaki looked into Yami's eyes. "Who… Who are you?"

"I am Lord Yuugi's protector. That is all I am. You should rest. I healed the injuries but did not have the strength to replace your energy." Yami stood up and stretched his hand out. "I'll send you back home." He closed his eyes and let the shadows envelop Hanasaki before fading away, Hanasaki no longer there.

Honda stood up and spoke through gritted teeth. "Okay, explanation time. What the FUCK is going on? First, Yuugi is 'not Yuugi', next, shadows! Everywhere! Grabbing shit and flinging men against walls, and now, teleportation? And what he hell is this 'Lord Yuugi' bullshit? What the actual fuck is going on?"

"Look, look, okay. I get this doesn't make sense. It's really complicated, but Yuugi has a spirit on his hands, and Yug really trusts this guy, and I do too, at least as far as I could throw him."

Yami smiled and laughed. "I suggest changing your phrasing. You wouldn't be able to touch me, let alone throw me far."

Jounouchi gave a worried laugh. "Can you blame me? Who knows what you could do?"

"Not me. I tend to go my instinct. I don't know what I'm capable of until the moment strikes." Yami gives him a bigger smile now.

"Okay, now you're giving me the creeps, but it's nice to see you actually have a sense of humor."

The moment is broken by the sounds of Sozoji yelling at them, asking what's going on and demanding, or rather begging, to be freed. "Oh right, Honda, got anything poetic we can do to this guy?" Jounouchi looked back and smiled as he pointed to the victim with his thumb. Even in the darkness, everyone could see the color in Sozoji's face fade. "You got a crush on that libraria-" An elbow was nudged into Jounouchi's side, cutting him off.

"Shut up. Just, please, explain what's going on." Honda sighed. "I'm just tired and nothing is making sense."

"Okay, fine. This is…" Jounouchi fished his memory for the name again.

"Yami."

"Yeah, Yami. Like I said earlier, Yuugi has a spirit now, which was trapped in the puzzle thing Yuugi was solving a while back. He's Yuugi's guardian or whatever now and he does all sorts of weird shit to people." Jounouchi looks back to Sozoji, who is now dead silent, listening in. "And now, he's gonna curse this jerk." Jounouchi walked to him and gently kicked his boot to Sozoji's side. "For messing with Yuugi and his friends. Any idea 'bout what to do to him?"

Honda didn't truly believe in everything but gave his idea anyway. "Sound… Sozoji basically tortured us with sound, which should be beautiful, right? Maybe he should hear horrible noise? Not permanently, but-"

"It's just temporary?" Jounouchi asked, looking at Yami.

Yami looked at Sozoji. "Yes. It is not right to harm those who have been reformed. It would make it difficult for them to redeem themselves and undo the harm of their crimes."

"I guess that makes sense." Jounouchi shrugged. "Honda? What about you?"

"Whatever… Just don't hurt him too bad."

Yami nodded. "Understood." He made a gesture with his hand and Sozoji was lifted from the ground, but still restrained. "Listen Sozoji! As penalty for your sins, you will hear the singing that has caused others great pain, as they heard it, drowning out any and all other sounds." He took a step back and closed his eyes, letting a golden eye open up and glow from his forehead. He outstretched a hand and opened his eyes, letting a light shine through.

Sozoji was then dropped. As he crumpled onto the floor, he clutched at the sides of his head, screaming. He looked up at Yami with tears in his eyes, begging him to make it stop. He grabbed Yami's leg and continued to beg, only to have Yami pull his leg out and turn away.

As Yami exited the room, he wobbled, but continued forward. Honda and Jounouchi looked at Sozoji with a small inkling of pity. "Oh man…" Honda muttered.

Jounouchi turned himself towards the door and began to walk out. "You can't see he didn't deserve it. Come on, let's get outta here."

As they left the building, the smallest boy wobbled again, but quickly caught himself and stood up.

"Hey, look, Yami…" Honda spoke.

"Sorry, he's asleep right now. Are you guys alright? What happened?" Yuugi asked. His eyes were back to their normal violet hue.

"Don't worry 'bout it, we're fine." Jounouchi smiled. "Can you say thanks to Yami for us? He woke you up before we could."

"You can tell him yourself, actually." Yuugi placed his hand on the puzzle. "I know I say he's asleep, but he's actually more alert than he was before. I really don't have an idea of what else to call it besides sleeping, but it's more than that. Still can't really talk to him though…" Yuugi looked down at the gold. "I hope he gets stronger soon. I suggested writing notes in the past, but he doesn't want to wake up unless something's horribly wrong."

"Yeah, he said something about not wanting to live your life for you when we first met" Jounouchi added.

Yuugi looked up. "What's he like? When he's awake I mean… I can tell he has a good sense of humor, and that he cares about me a lot, but other than that…"

"Yeah, he's got my sense of humor, ya know, nasty shit happening to people who deserve it. He calls you 'his Lord' like I said, but he treated Hanasaki pretty good." Jounouchi paused. "I really don't know much more than that. It's not like we've met socially. He's a good guy who really cares about you and your happiness, and he treats the rest of us fine, but he's reserved. It's weird how formal he acts."

"Oh…" Yuugi kicked a stray pebble. "I wish we could talk more…"

"You will soon." Jounouchi placed a hand on Yuugi's shoulder.

"Uh, guys?" Honda spoke up. "I guess I kinda get what's going on, but… If you guys are messing with me, I'm gonna destroy you."

"How could we fake that?"

"I dunno. Red contacts?" Honda thought. "That doesn't explain the shadows though… You're right… But am I the last guy to find out about this? Does everyone but me know?"

"Nah, I didn't know until Yami was already halfway through saving my ass. Does Anzu know anything?"

"No…" Yuugi answered. "I mean, Honda barely believed it, and he has proof. Anzu would probably ask for evidence, and Yami won't come out unless I'm in trouble… I thought you guys might've thought I was bonkers or something."

"Is he in your head now?" Jounouchi asked. "You said you could sense him when she sleeps."

"Yeah, I sense him all the time, but it doesn't really feel like it's in my head… It's weird… but he feels…" Yuugi closed his eyes" …really satisfied right now, and just happy. He's happy a lot of the time, like everything is perfect. I don't know why though." He opened his eyes again. "I try to ask why, but he only answers with this warm feeling and an image of a bright healing light. It was really terrible in the puzzle before I solved it."

"How do you know? I mean, if you can't talk to him." Honda asked, curious.

"I started feeling him when I finished the puzzle, so I felt him being freed. I can remember… chains. Cold metal chains with spikes. It was so cold… so dark… so when I finished the puzzle, he was so happy. He couldn't believe he was finally free. It's like he never thought he would escape…" Yuugi hugged himself, partially to hug Yami, but also to try and warm himself after experiencing the memory again.

"He told me he owed his life to you, even saying he'd serve you forever." Jounouchi said softly.

Yuugi looked down at the puzzle once more. "Oh…"

As a homage to the original, I'm going to be responding to reviews at the end. That chapter feels almost incomplete without it.

Alice: Wow! This is super amazing! I love it!

Thank you so much! Please remember to read the original! This work wouldn't be possible without it.

SilverFire87: I loved the original story and am looking forward to reading your rewrite of it!

Once again, thank you so much! I'm actually writing these as I read them. I'm currently on chapter 28 as of writing this one, so I'm honestly super excited about doing the future chapters as well.