A/N: I had a super hard time writing this chapter... I'm not quite sure why. I guess it's a matter of not being sure how to get from point A to point B. And also, since I had to update four fanfics this week, I was also experiencing some burn out! Regardless, I wanted to let you all know that I update once a week on Friday. Enjoy!

Dinner at the Mutou household that night was quiet and subdued. Sugoroku kept sending curious glances in the direction of his grandson, wanting to inquire about his first day at the new school, but Yuugi didn't seem very interested in saying much of anything. He'd been in an odd mood all afternoon, focusing on putting new merchandise out in the shop instead of working the counter like he normally did. Even though Sugoroku had cooked one of his favourite meals, he mostly just pushed his food around so that it would look like he'd eaten more than he had, and gave one word answers to the few questions that his grandfather posed.

"Yuugi, I wanted to let you know that we'll be having a few guests for dinner tomorrow night," Sugoroku said finally, determined to get a response one way or the other. "So I'd like it if you could come straight home from school to clean your bedroom. Arthur Hawkins and his granddaughter are in town, and I've invited them over."

Yuugi's head sank lower and he dropped his fork onto his plate as he tried to control the instinctive groan that wanted to slip out. "I take it you've already asked them over?" he asked, resigned to his fate. Arthur was a very nice man who was good friends with his grandfather, but Rebecca Hawkins was a completely different story. The girl was nothing short of a nightmare. She was only twelve years old, a far cry from Yuugi's seventeen, but that didn't stop her from being completely certain that she and Yuugi were going to be married someday, and she had no qualms about doing whatever it took to make that happen.

"I know Rebecca-chan is a bit of a handful, but she looks forward to seeing you so much, Yuugi," Sugoroku smiled fondly. "You're one of her only friends, you know. But if you want, you can invite Ryou-kun and Malik-kun over."

"They probably won't come, but I'll ask." Yuugi forced a little smile, wondering if he could lie to his friends about just who would be at the dinner. He dreaded the thought of seeing Rebecca again – he'd only just barely escaped being kissed against his will by her last time – but he would do it for his grandfather. "Do you want some help with the dishes, Jii-chan?"

"There's not too much to do. You can go upstairs and do your homework."

"If you're sure." Rising, Yuugi scraped the food on his plate into the garbage. "Actually, we didn't get that much work today, since it was the first day back. I think I'll walk over to Ryou's."

"So late?" Sugoroku narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure your day at school was alright, Yuugi?"

"It was fine, and I just need some air, that's all.." Uncomfortably aware of Sugoroku's sharp eyes on his back, he set his dishes in the sink and then walked into the hallway, reaching for his coat. Truth be told, he would much rather have been upstairs working on the puzzle in the comfort and safety of his own room, but he was well aware of the fact that his grandfather could be merciless when it came to prying information out of him, and he didn't feel like admitting that he and Ryou had both skipped most of their first day of school. "Don't wait up for me, okay, Jii-chan? If I decide to sleep at Ryou's, I'll call you."

"Alright. Be careful!"

"I will. Bye." Yuugi closed the door behind him with a relieved sigh and set off down the sidewalk. He loved his grandfather very much, but there were some things that he didn't feel comfortable sharing with the man, and sometimes getting out of the house was the only way to escape. Ryou wouldn't even be home for another hour or so – every Thursday night, he attended a chef's class at Domino University that went from six until nine, and sometimes he went out for dinner with some of the other students afterwards. It was only a little after eight, so it would be a while yet until he was home. But that was alright; even though Yuugi had initially just wanted out of the house, a walk actually sounded nice.

He pushed his hand into his pocket, curling it around the small box of the puzzle, and looked up at the stars. Even just holding the puzzle was enough to make the stress of the day fall away. His treasure was about halfway completed, which was further than he'd even been able to get before, and he was pretty sure that this time he would actually be successful. Yuugi was excited to think about what it would be like when it was finished. Perhaps they would even be able to find out what the odd riddle on the side meant! Smiling to himself, he swung right, into the park, and stepped off of the familiar path. There were more people out and around than he had expected, and he wanted to find somewhere more private.

Yuugi hadn't gone very far into the bushes before he heard loud voices accompanied by the sound of someone screaming. Curious in spite of the mental voice loudly telling him to keep walking, he stopped and looked in the direction of the playground. Immediately, his violet eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. He stepped closer, mostly hidden behind a large tree, and watched with fascination. There were five men standing near the swings, and three of them had a surprising resemblance to him, Ryou, and Malik.

The one who looked like Ryou and the one who looked like Malik actually didn't seem to be paying much attention to what was going on; the two of them were lounging by the slide and seemed quite pre-occupied with something in their hands. A third man was seated on a bench on the other end of the playground, too far away for Yuugi to see what he was doing. He appeared to be hunched over whatever was in his lap, and as far as the boy could tell, was completely ignoring what was happening in front of him. The one who resembled Yuugi was standing over the fifth man, who was huddled into a ball on the ground. As he watched, the man looked up and put his hands over his face, trying to shield himself.

"You... you can't do this!" he cried. "No one gets the better of Kuromaki!"

"You are a foolish man," said the man who looked like Yuugi, shaking his head. He was a few inches taller than Yuugi, with lean muscles and tanned skin. Surprisingly, he possessed similar tri-color hair, except that his had more blond in the bangs and the black was tipped in crimson, not violet. His face was angular and hard, with crimson eyes that glittered like cold stones. One of his hands rose, pointing straight down at the man sprawled before him. Something glimmered on his forehead, but even though he strained his eyes until they stung, Yuugi was too far away to see what it was. "You will be punished for your crimes. Until you can see that not everyone exists to be your prey, you will be the one preyed upon. Penalty Game!"

Kuromaki arched his back and screamed in agonizing pain. Yuugi clapped a hand to his mouth in an effort to muffle his gasp, but he was too late. The Ryou-look-alike must have heard the sound, because he spun around and gazed directly at the tree. In retrospect, Yuugi might have been better off if he had only remained perfectly still, but his automatic response when it came to anything frightening had always been flight. He took off, fleeing back through the brush towards the main part of the park.

"Hey! Stop that kid!" someone shouted behind him. "Damn it. Stop!"

Running had never been his strong point, and Yuugi was quickly remembering why. His breath came in short, sharp gasps, and his legs began to ache as a stitch grew in his side. He could see his salvation, though: there was a group of teenagers wearing uniforms that he recognized from Domino Middle School lounging around the main path, and if he could only reach them, he knew he would be safe. But it was at that moment that he felt something large hit his knees, and as he went down hard onto the grass, he realized that one of the men had tackled him. His head struck the ground hard and pain exploded down his neck and shoulders. A pained moan escaped his lips, but it went unnoticed in the flurry of footsteps rushing towards them.

"Shit, Bakura, you didn't have to take the poor kid out."

"How the fuck was I supposed to know who he is, Seto? You were supposed to be on the look out, you know, while the Pharaoh did his thing. I realize that looking at pictures of your puppy when you can't be around him for two seconds is fascinating, but if you could join the real world for a minute or two…"

"Knock it off, you two. Bakura, get off him. He's just a kid."

Previous experience told Yuugi to lay as still as possible and keep his breathing calm and slow, like he was unconscious. A lot of the bullies that he had faced in the past grew tired of hurting him when he "passed out"; a victim was only fun while they could respond. He remained limp as someone reached out and rolled him over, biting back the groan that threatened to emerge when his head rolled to the side rather painfully. There was an odd, heavy silence, during which Yuugi got the feeling that he was being stared at, which was finally broken by someone swearing rather violently.

"By Ra, I think we've actually fucking found one! Figures it would be Yami who found his first."

"You think he's really…?"

"It's a possibility." A surprisingly gentle hand smoothed the bangs out of Yuugi's face and tilted his head forward. "He certainly looks like a more innocent, lighter version of me. If it's not him, then I'd say one of the gods is playing an exceptionally cruel trick on us. Seto, what do you think?"

"I agree that it's a possibility, but I would have to do some research to be sure. Yami, can you sense the puzzle?"

"I think it's close, but it's hard to tell with the lingering sense of shadow magic in the air."

"We could always search him to see if he has the puzzle."

"And let you help yourself to whatever else he has of value? Touch him, Bakura, and you'll be receiving a one way trip to the shadow realm."

"Hey! What are you guys doing with that kid? Get away from him!"

"Mind your own damn business, would you?"

"I'm calling the police if you don't leave that kid alone!"

"Good going, Bakura. You sure showed them!"

"Shut up, Mariku."

"Come on, Yami," said one of them, interrupting the squabble between the other two. "If it's really him, you know that you'll meet again someday, but for now we have to go. In case you hadn't noticed, there's a very pissed crowd of people heading over here. We can't afford to have any questions asked about us, especially once they find Kuromaki."

The hand on his face stroked his cheek just once, and then vanished. Yuugi pried his eyes open and squinted into the light of the lamps that the city had installed along the trails, but he was unable to make out anything but spots. Who were those men? And what the hell had they been talking about? His head ached, preventing him from thinking straight, and it only grew worse when that noisy crowd of teenagers he'd spotted earlier surrounded him. One of the girls knelt beside him, her eyes wide. She held a cell phone in her hand and seemed ready to dial.

"Are you okay?" she asked urgently. "We saw those guys standing around you and chased them off. Did they hurt you? Should we call someone for help?"

"No, I'm fine," Yuugi said, managing a smile. For once, his innocent, childlike appearance was actually working to his favour, because she appeared to be charmed. No doubt these teens, actually younger than he was judging by their school uniforms, thought that he was an elementary school kid. "I just… tripped, that's all. I don't know who those men were but they were probably just checking to see if I was alright."

"Do you need some help getting home?"

"I don't live too far away. Really, I'm okay. I just hit my head, but it doesn't even hurt." He sat up and then slowly pushed himself to his feet, relieved when his legs – though shaky – held his weight. Pain still throbbed from his head down into his neck and shoulders, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. "See? Thank you for your help, though."

"You're welcome," she said, standing as well. "Take care."

Yuugi nodded to her, concealing a wince when the motion made the pain that much worse, and set off, walking at a pace that was casual but hurried, in the opposite direction of the Kame Game Shop. He was much closer to Ryou's house than his own, and he didn't dare walk home alone in case those men were still hanging around. Ryou had given both he and Malik a key to his home a couple of years ago, and he knew his friend wouldn't mind if Yuugi spent the night.

It only took him about ten minutes to get to Ryou's, but he spent the whole time on high alert. He didn't think that the men were following him, but he'd also faced some extremely determined bullies in the past who had kept tracking him long after he'd thought that they would have given up. Relief swept through him when he came to Ryou's street, and picked up his pace until he was running. The house was dark and silent when he let himself in, and a quick glance at the clock showed him that it was only half past nine. Yuugi made sure to lock the door behind him and closed the curtains, preventing anyone from seeing into the house. How Ryou lived alone in such a large space, he'd never know.

"So much for my walk," he muttered, entering the kitchen. Ryou had always kept his medication in the cabinet above the stove. Yuugi opened the door and grabbed the bottle of aspirin, then popped the top off and shook a couple into his hand. He swallowed them dry, put the bottle back, and wandered upstairs to what was unofficially "his" room.

There were five bedrooms in Ryou's home, which was obviously a place that had been purchased with the intent to have more children, being that it was too large for the family that had once lived there. Two of the rooms were never opened, and for as long as he had been friends with Ryou, Yuugi had never once seen inside of them. One had belonged to Ryou's older sister, Bakura Amane, and the other had belonged to his parents, which Bakura Osamu still occupied on the rare occasions that he visited. According to Ryou, his father had insisted that Amane's room remain untouched in the months following her death, and even now – years later – it remained looking like some kind of memorial to a thirteen-year-old girl who would never come home.

Ryou had decided that, in his father's absence, the other two rooms were his to do with as he pleased, and so, Yuugi and Malik each had a room where they could sleep over whenever they desired. Malik took advantage of it the most, as there were plenty of nights when Ishizu would remain at the museum, where she had a small couch in her office, but sometimes Yuugi liked the fact that he could get away, too. Both of the rooms were decorated simply, as they doubled as guest rooms whenever Osamu returned home, but the beds were comfortable and that was all that mattered.

He used the house phone to put in a quick call to his grandfather, but the line was busy, and he ended up just leaving a message to say that he would be staying at Ryou's for the night. Then he stretched out on the bed and closed his eyes, realizing that the aspirin either hadn't kicked in yet, or wasn't going to be able to do anything about the ache in his neck and shoulders. It took him a long time to find a comfortable position. Eventually, he fell asleep, and a few hours later when Ryou came home, he covered Yuugi with a thin blanket before retiring to bed himself.

GMA

The next morning, after a small breakfast and a long conversation with his grandfather, Yuugi and Ryou left the house and began making their way to school. Yuugi was visibly tense and kept glancing around for the men he'd seen the night before, but the only person who approached them was Malik, who had stopped by the Kame Game Shop and ended up taking Yuugi's backpack along. Now that Malik had joined them, Yuugi began telling his friends about his encounter in a low voice, hoping that they would be able to shed some light on it. By the end of his tale, Ryou looked perplexed, while Malik was frowning.

"You say this "Yami" referred to you as his and said that you were a lighter, more innocent version of him? And that he knew about the puzzle?" Ryou repeated thoughtfully. "Did you hear anything else, Yuugi?"

"No." Yuugi shook his head. "I almost wish that those kids hadn't intervened when they did."

"It's a good thing that they did. I've met people like that. They could have really hurt you," said Malik, unconsciously rubbing his right shoulder. Both Yuugi and Ryou shot a worried look at their friend, but Malik pretended that he hadn't seen them. When he was ready to speak about his absence, he would, and not a minute before. "That whole penalty game thing worries me. I really don't like the sound of this, Yuugi. I think you should stay out of the park after dark from now on, especially if you're alone."

"Yeah, I guess," he sighed. "I just… I kind of wish I knew who they were and what they meant. If they know something about the puzzle… I'd love to ask them some questions."

"It's not worth it," Malik told him. "What if they'd done something to you beyond just tackling you to the ground? What if there was no one else around at the time? Ishizu had a copy of the paper this morning, and there was an article about an unidentified guy in the park who was found at like five this morning after he attacked a woman who was out jogging. The police were trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Apparently, he kept screaming about how he was being chased by spiders and could feel them crawling all over his body."

"You don't think that he was the same person?" Ryou's brown eyes widened at the thought. "It sounds more like he had a mental disorder of some kind, and you couldn't do that to someone, could you? Yuugi, you were there. What do you think? Yuugi?"

Yuugi wasn't listening to either of his friends. During their talk, the three of them had reached the school and passed through the gates, and almost immediately, his eyes had landed on someone that made him stop. Malik and Ryou glanced at each other in confusion and then followed Yuugi's gaze to the far end of the schoolyard, where there was a fairly large crowd of people surrounding three people who bore a remarkable resemblance to Ryou, Malik, and Yuugi.

"Oh my…" whispered Ryou, shocked by the sight of the older boy that could have been his brother. He was taller than Ryou, with the same white hair and tanned skin. It was difficult to see any more details, and he didn't dare venture closer. "No wonder our classmates were staring at us yesterday. That must be Tenno and Takahashi, those boys we were being compared to."

"Those are the men I saw yesterday in the park!" Yuugi cried.

"Fuck," Malik muttered, checking out his own taller and more muscled counterpart. This did not bode well. "Come on; let's go in before anyone notices us."

It was too late. Almost as though Malik's remark had been overheard, the boy who looked like Yuugi turned and caught sight of them. He stared openly, causing nearly everyone around them to look in the direction of Yuugi, Malik, and Ryou, freezing the three boys where they stood. At the realization that the boy who looked like him had actually gotten up, however, Malik snapped out of his daze and began quickly hustling Yuugi and Ryou towards the school building, not wanting any kind of confrontation where the two of them might be involved. Just once, he glanced back to see if the three of them were being followed, but the five boys had gone back to their own conversation, and gradually the rest of the students had lost interest as well. Malik hoped that would be the end of it, but somehow, he suspected that their encounters with their doubles had only just begun.

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