Word of Ryou's first day at Pegasus spread all over school. Dozens of people approached him throughout the day, offering well wishes and the like. Ryou hadn't known a quarter of them by name, yet bowed and thanked everyone anyway. His friends thought that it was great and for once, didn't order away any of the usual girls who insisted on following Ryou everywhere they went.

When the final bell rang, Honda hopped up from his seat, bid Ryou a hasty farewell and then hurried out the door. Ryou barely had time to ponder the strange behavior before he was surrounded by a group of females requesting the honor of walking him to work.

He spent a minute trying to assure them that it wouldn't be necessary before Anzu breezed into the room and dragged him away. She had a student council meeting to get to, but wanted to tell him good-bye and good luck. She also had lots of advice: "Have fun, don't worry if you make a mistake; don't let a bunch of girls distract you, and if Mr. Pegasus gets too creepy, punch him."

It was comments like the last one that reminded Ryou of just whom Anzu had grown up with. He nodded though, if only to humor her, and she surprised him with a quick hug and promised to call him later before she ran out.

Jealous mutters could be heard as Ryou slipped his papers into his bag. Undaunted, he bade the group good-bye and then headed out himself.

A few students lingered in the hallway. Some called out good luck to Ryou as he passed, and he thanked them on they way to the locker room. One quick shoe change later, he walked outside.

The sky had turned coal black, and the school's exterior lights had been turned on. Wind swirled about; slow, but still cold. Students hurried down the stairs toward their rides or designated paths home, and Ryou hurried to do the same.

Streetlights flickered to life as he joined the groups of students on the sidewalk. Ahead, a few voices talked about the strange weather. "The darkness came from out of nowhere," one of them said. "It freaked me out a little, and kind of made me think something bad might happen. You know, like one of those omens or whatever they're called."

That was definitely something Ryou hadn't needed to hear. Apprehension was the last thing he needed while determined to find out what Mr. Pegasus was up to.

He thought about Shizuka's party instead. Honda hadn't been the last person to ask him if he was going. Anzu and Jounouchi had also wanted to know, and seemed disappointed when Ryou had told them he wasn't sure. Well, only Anzu SEEMED; Jounouchi had balked and demanded an explanation. Luckily, a whack from his unknown ladylove had ended the small outburst, and Jounouchi just mumbled for Ryou to think about it.

He had, and still was. Shizuka reminded Ryou a lot of himself when he had been her age, but with a great deal more talent. She attended Domino's School for the Gifted, which was an exclusive establishment that paired students with private teachers according to those students' abilities. In Shizuka's case, that particular ability was singing. "She's gotta voice that makes angel's cry," was how Jounouchi loved to put it.

That was most likely why he had gotten so upset at Ryou's uncertainty about the party. His pride in his sister and her gift was fierce. Not wanting to attend was probably synonymous with insulting Shizuka directly in Jounouchi's book.

To a certain degree, Ryou wished it were that simple. Not liking the birthday girl was a much better reason for staying away than the selfish one he harbored.

The lights of Pegasus were a dazzling contrast to the dark, dreary weather, and Ryou realized almost immediately that his preoccupation that morning had been considerable. The inside of the shop was packed. Not just in terms of people, but in terms of stuff. That's what surprised Ryou, the amount of stuff that he could see through the windows.

But that shouldn't be unusual. Surely Mr. Pegasus wouldn't have planned on opening yesterday if he hadn't also planned to be prepared for it. He could have easily hired a slew of hands to help him set everything up over the course of those thirty-six hours. Ryou couldn't recall seeing any type of movers or delivery trucks, but those sheets had been put up over the windows for a reason, right?

Nevertheless, his skin prickled. Empty Friday night, filled to its forty foot, two-story capacity by early Sunday morning.

Without any outside help remembered to be seen.

Several customers lingered on the walkway as Ryou made his way up to the doors. They held white bags and talked in excited voices. Someone even hummed horribly off-key with the music, and it reminded Ryou of Jounouchi who, unfortunately, hadn't inherited the same ear for tune as his sister.

Mr. Pegasus appeared in the doorway just as Ryou was about to step inside. He wore a white suit, black tie, and his ever-present smile as he shook the boy's hand. "Hello! My, you've brought quite a crowd with you. We had better get you settled and ready."

Crowd? Ryou looked over his shoulder to find a number of his classmates behind him; including the small clique he thought he'd left in his homeroom. They waved to him and giggled.

"And you believed that your popularity wouldn't be able to help," Pegasus remarked. He took hold of Ryou's arm and led him inside.

Even after all his outside observations, nothing prepared Ryou for the overall spectacle that greeted him. Everything a young heart could ever want leapt out at him as Mr. Pegasus guided him down the carpet. Kids chased each other through the aisles. Happy shouts echoed throughout the room. Ryou craned his neck and tried to see it all; Built-in shelves, the lights and displays around the walls, a giant chandelier…how had Mr. Pegasus done it?

"Magic."

Ryou looked up at him. "Ex-excuse me?"

A bit of gold eye peeked through Mr. Pegasus's hair, while the other glimmered despite the dark circle around it. "That is one of the foremost descriptions of our shop, Ryou. Magic. Destiny as well, but you mustn't tell our customers any of that. It is something that only the two of us are allowed to be privileged to."

"Then why did you advertise destiny on a sign in front of the shop?"

Silence, then Mr. Pegasus chuckled. "Oh, believe you me, it can still very much be our secret."

Before Ryou could ask how, a stocky man in a dark green sweatshirt halted them. "Excuse me, but are you Mr. Pegasus?"

"Guilty!" was the bright reply. "And this young man is my assistant, Bakura Ryou. May we help you with something?"

Relief sparkled in the man's round, blue eyes as he vigorously shook the owner's hand. "Please. My name is Carter, and I'm looking for a Christmas present for my niece. She's six years old, and I haven't seen her in over a year. Do you have any suggestions as to what she might like?"

Pegasus put a hand under his chin and seemed to think. Ryou however, felt that more information was needed. What kind of little girl was the niece? Boisterous? Quiet? A tomboy? What was her favorite color? Did she like Teletubbies, or did she prefer tea parties?

"What do you think, Ryou?" Mr. Pegasus asked suddenly.

All eyes were on him. Nervous, Ryou tried not to fidget and said, "Well…what does she like?"

"All kinds of things," Carter answered. "That's what's making it so hard for me to choose."

I should have seen that coming.

The deep disappointment on Ryou's face earned another small chuckle from Pegasus before he turned to the customer. "I find that most little girls are quite taken by animals. Horses, in particular. Do you know if your niece shares these feelings?"

"Yes!" Carter exclaimed. "My brother mentioned she had started a horse collection a while ago. I can't believe I forgot about that!"

Mr. Pegasus patted the man's shoulder. "The mind never forgets, my good fellow. It merely hides things from time to time, waiting for someone to find them. Now, if you will come with me I have a rather unique orange palomino the child may be interested in."

"That's perfect! Orange is Chisu's favorite color!"

"Really?" Pegasus's face shone with great surprise. "Well, what a coincidence!"

Yeah, Ryou mused. What a coincidence.

The palomino turned out to be wooden with a velvet covering. Mr. Pegasus rang it up at the counter, still happily chatting with the now ecstatic Carter the whole time. After he left, Ryou's school bag was stored under the counter, and he was given a quick lesson with one of the old-fashioned registers. The owner then stepped back and was pleased to watch Ryou successfully help the next few people.

"Very well done," he praised when Ryou had finished. "Now, scurry on out there and familiarize yourself with everything. I will find you if I need assistance here or anywhere else. But first, do you have any questions?"

Many, but none that could be asked right then. Ryou shook his head. "I'll be all right."

Mr. Pegasus opened up the side of the counter. "I believe that you will. Oh, and one more thing. There was an incident last night with a young customer who failed to follow my posted age rule, so I'm afraid that the second floor is off limits. I would appreciate you also making sure that our customers steer clear of the stairs while out there."

An incident? Ryou stepped out onto the carpet and pushed the counter back into place. "What happened?"

Pegasus sighed and folded his arms. "The child destroyed an entire display of glass and other breakable items. I regret that the mess is still up there, but I got involved in another more important project that unfortunately took all night to complete. So the clutter will have to remain until tomorrow evening. A full night of sleep is what I need tonight."

Ryou remembered the circles around the man's eye and felt a pang of sympathy. As strange as his boss was, opening a business and trying to keep a number of shoppers under control had to be far from easy. Especially while working alone on the first day.

"I can clean it up," he volunteered. "I'll go right now. Do you have a broom and trash bags?"

The offer was generous, but Mr. Pegasus waved a hand and said, "That won't be necessary. The glass display will have to be rebuilt before I can restock. It will take a bit of time before anyone can go up there."

"Oh. Well, I can just sweep up and throw things away. That way, you'll have one less thing to worry about."

Something akin to indecision appeared on Mr. Pegasus's face. Nevertheless, he reached over the counter and ruffled Ryou's hair. "You're a good boy, Ryou. That is why I'm telling you no. I don't want to upset you."

He didn't understand. "How could a mess of broken glass upset me?"

There was a moment of hesitation. "Because it was a display of Magic and Wizards memorabilia."

An invisible hand clenched around Ryou's heart. He should have suspected it. The game had grown into a worldwide pastime over the last year or so. What fan wouldn't want a stuffed Kuriboh or a glass statue of the Mystical Elf? There had to be tons of things inside the shop related to the game.

"Don't trouble yourself any longer," Mr. Pegasus told him. "For now, just wander about the customers and get the feel for things." He purposely raised his voice. "I would suggest you start with your friend Jounouchi. He's been crouched down on the other side of the counter for a while now, and I suspect that he might need help in standing up again."

A crash sounded and a familiar voice cursed. A moment later, Jounouchi's head popped up into view. His cheeks were pink. "Uh, hey Ryou. How's it goin'?"

No wonder the humming earlier had reminded him of Jounouchi. Sighing, Ryou walked over and helped the other boy to his feet. "I'm fine. Are you hoping to find something for Shizuka?"

"Huh?"

"Shizuka," Ryou repeated. "Did you want to find something for her birthday?"

Confusion fled, and Jounouchi was suddenly more alert than ever. "Ye-yeah! 'Course! That's why I'm here. Just to check the place out, see what kinda, uh, stuff's for sale. Lotsa talk goin' around about it so…yeah, I wanna have a look."

Ryou replaced the box of candy bars Jounouchi had knocked down and then brushed off his hands. "Well then, let's walk around together and see what's out there."

"Okay." Pause. "Hey, where're the aprons?"

"Aprons?"

"Oh, those frilly things?" Mr. Pegasus spoke up. "I disposed of them after yesterday. Domino's teenagers are quite blunt about fashion, you know. One boy in particular even went as far as to call me a weirdo." He stopped there and looked pointedly at Jounouchi. "Although personally, I thought that he was the strange one, what with his odd hairstyle and all."

Jounouchi seemed uncomfortable and turned away. "You got any dolls around here?"