"Yugi! What the hell happened to you? Why did you never visit your grandfather? Why didn't he tell me you were coming back? You're not leaving this time, are you?" Anzu bombarded her friend with questions as lunch break started.
"C-Calm down, Anzu! In order: I moved to the other side of the country, my parents never had time to visit grandpa so he was the one who visited instead, he wanted to keep it a surprise, my father was transferred overseas and my mother thought it was better for us to move back with grandpa so I'll be living here until I finish high school!" Yugi took a deep breath.
"...I missed you." Anzu smiled.
"I missed you too!"
"Hey, new kid. The name's Katsuya Jonouchi, you probably don't remember but we met once. You got a teddy bear for my sister." A blonde boy approached the duo.
"Of course I remember, Jonouchi-kun! How's your sister?"
Katsuya's face fell, "She's fine."
"Wait, you remember Yugi but you had no idea who I was?" Anzu crossed her arms.
"Look, Mazaki, It's way easier to remember a guy with literal three-colored hair than a generic brunette! And we met 8 years ago, I'm surprised that you two even remember me!"
"G-Generic?!" The girl growled.
"D-Don't fight, okay? Jonouchi-kun, we remember because that day was very special to us!" Yugi smiled, "Let's be friends, okay?"
"Friends?" Katsuya chuckled, "Sorry, but being seen with you nerds is just embarrassing!" Katsuya turned around and left the classroom.
Yugi frowned. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Ignore him, he's just a jerk! Well, tell me more! How have you been?" The childhood friends felt like they had found a lost piece of themselves.
As the weeks passed, Yugi's initial thoughts were proven correct. He wasn't really bullied, but he was a loner with a single friend.
"Why Jonouchi-kun hates me so much?" He frowned, he really wanted to be friends with the blonde.
"Hey, Muto! Want to play basketball with us?" One of his classmates asked him.
Yugi sighed, he did want to play but his short stature and lack of physical prowess would just get in the way, "No, sorry. But thanks for asking!"
The classmate shrugged and left.
Anzu sat in front of him, "They wouldn't be mad if you're not a good player, you know?"
"I know, I just don't want people losing because of me. Hey, Anzu, wanna play some games together?"
"Sure! Just let me grab something to drink first, do you want anything?"
"I'm good, thanks." Anzu got up and left the classroom, leaving Yugi alone.
"I'm so lucky that I'm in the same class as her," Yugi smiled.
"Guess I'll ask her help to solve the puzzle, just like old times…I always carry it around…my greatest treasure." Yugi took the golden box with the puzzle from his bag and set it on the table, but a hand snatched the box away.
"Hey, Yugi! What's this? Your jewelry box?"
Yugi sighed, "Give it back, Jonouchi-kun."
"Why? Was it a gift from your boyfriend?"
"Just give it back, man." Katsuya's friend, Hiroto Honda, entered the room with an annoyed look on his face.
"I'll take a peek first!"
"You can look, but please don't lose anything! It's very important for me!" Yugi hoped that this would make Katsuya lose interest.
The blonde opened the box, "This is lame!"
Anzu entered the classroom, taking the box from his hands, "If it's lame then give it back!" She said in an authoritarian tone.
"I was just taking a look!"
"You were bullying him!"
"I wasn't!".
"Those two can't stay in the same room for 5 minutes." Yugi thought a little annoyed.
"Whatever, man! Let's go! Sorry about him." Hiroto dragged his friend away.
"I can't believe you still haven't solved this thing!" Anzu analyzed the golden box with fondness.
"Me neither, sometimes I think that something supernatural is messing with me! Sometimes I manage to fit two pieces together, but when I try to fit another one, no piece fits! It's like magic!"
Anzu chuckled, "Are you telling me that some ancient Egyptian magic is messing with you?"
"B-By the way! Do you want to come over after school? I got this horror game called Biohazard, it's really good but I'm too sca-uncomfortable to play alone." The short boy changed the subject.
"Sure!" She smiled as her friend finished laying the pieces of the puzzle on the desk. They spent the rest of the lunch break trying to solve it, just like old times.
"That Mazaki…She's such a bully!" He was not bullying him! He was teaching Yugi to be a real man!
"Jou…that would be you. Why do you bother Yugi so much anyway?"
"I just want Yugi to fight back! He's too damn nice, doesn't even have the balls to take his so-called 'treasure' from me! Am I really the bad guy just because I want him to be a real man? If that makes me a bully, so be it!" The duo turned a corner and bumped into a tall and muscular teenager.
"I heard something about bullies." The intimidating teenager said in a low tone.
"Not your busine-"
"Nope!" Hiroto covered his friend's mouth.
"You shouldn't bully others." The behemoth glared at them.
"Of course! No bullying around here!"
"Good." He left, and as soon as he was out of sight, Hiroto released Katsuya.
"Who…was…that…guy?" Katsuya struggled to regain his breath.
"That was Ushio, of the Discipline Committee. Don't pick a fight with that guy! He could break us in half with his bare hands!"
"I'll be the one breaking him in half!" Katsuya shook his fist in the direction that Ushio went..
"Calm down, dude! Are you trying to die?"
"Whatever! Hey, check this out!" Katsuya took a golden object out of his pocket, "I took this from Yugi's box without him noticing! It looked like some sort of puzzle, he will never solve it without this!"
"Jerk move, man." Hiroto shook his head in disappointment.
"Meh, not my problem," He threw the object out of the window into the river behind the school, "Maybe now he will man up and stop crying over a toy. Let's get lunch!"
After class ended, Yugi left school with Anzu. When they passed through the gate, a tall teenager stopped them.
"Hey, you're Muto-kun, right? My name is Ushio, I'm from the Discipline Committee. Can I ask you something?"
"Err…Sure, I guess. How can I help you?" Yugi felt something weird about this guy.
"I'm the one who wants to help you!" He smiled, "Have you been bullied lately?"
"Not really. Why do you ask?" Yugi said and Anzu stared at him in confusion.
"For nothing, it's just that you fit the description of people who tend to be bullied, and it's my job to prevent that."
Yugi smiled, "Thanks for asking, then. But I'm not being bullied at all! Now, if you excuse me, I'll be leaving." Yugi left quickly, almost dragging Anzu away with him. He didn't know why but that Ushio guy gave him the creeps.
Ushio watched them leave with a smile on his face.
"AAAH HOLY FUCK!" Anzu screamed as a dog broke through the window.
"I told you that the game was scary!" Yugi laughed, it was scary to play by himself but watching someone else playing was hilarious.
"Screw this, let's play something else." She dropped the controller.
"Sure thing!" Yugi turned the Playstation off and plugged his good ol' Super Famicom in. He put Super Mario World and hoped that Anzu still liked Mario.
"Oh! I love Mario!"
Yugi smiled.
"Say, Yugi... Why didn't you tell that Ushio guy about Jonouchi?"
"I was not being bullied! He was just teaching me how to be a man! You understand that, right?"
"Well…" Yugi glared at her, "Calm down! I just hope that he doesn't bother you anymore, he looked very shady."
"Yeah, he was acting weird."
While the duo played the game, Anzu noticed a trophy with a card in a display on Yugi's shelf.
"Where did you get this trophy?" The girl asked her friend.
"Oh… A few years ago I was a professional Duel Monsters player! This trophy is from when I won the national championship!" He said with pride.
"Duel Monsters? The card game? I didn't even know that there were tournaments…"
"They're not well known outside of the community, but it's every duelist dream to enter the national championship…" Yugi gazed longingly at the trophy.
"Is this the only one you have? Did the competition get too tough after that?"
"No…I stopped playing."
"What? Why?"
"Things happened."
"What things?"
"I don't want to talk about that." Yugi frowned and Anzu dropped the subject, she never saw Yugi so upset before.
What happened?
In the morning, right after arriving at school, Ushio called Yugi.
"Hey, Muto-kun. I want to show you something." Ushio took Yugi to the back of the school, the short teenager felt uneasy with his schoolmate's strange behavior, but nothing could prepare him for what he saw behind the school.
Katsuya and Hiroto were on the ground, covered in bruises and bleeding, they were barely awake.
"Yugi…I…Should've known…" Katsuya asked weakly.
"N-No! I did not ask for this! Ushio-kun. why did you do this?!"
The tall teenager smiled, "I got rid of your bullying problem, I told you that this was my job, right?"
"But I told you that I wasn't being bullied!"
"You think I'm stupid? It's clear that they hate you! To them, you're worth less than dirt! Now out of my way, I'm not done punishing them!" Ushio pushed Yugi aside and kicked Honda on the ribs, the boy passed out with a pained groan.
"Stop!" Yugi jumped between the burly teenager and the injured boys.
"What's wrong? It's your opportunity! Kick them! Hit them as much as you like! It's the only opportunity you'll ever have to feel strong!"
"No! Stop hurting them! They're my friends!" Katsuya looked at Yugi with an unreadable expression.
Ushio laughed, "Is that so? Are you a masochist or something? Whatever, you still owe me my payment!"
"Payment?"
"200.000 yen! In cash!"
"W-What are you talking about? I don't have this much money!"
"What? It's not a fair deal for you? Do you want me to hurt them a little more?"
"NO! If you want to hurt someone, then hurt me instead!"
"Hurt you? You're not only a masochist, you're insane!" Ushio punched Yugi on the face, sending him to the ground.
"Whatever, just bring me my money tomorrow. This was just a warning…but if you don't get my money…" Ushio took a knife out of his pocket and put it on Yugi's throat, "Then you're going to regret it. See you tomorrow, dear client!" He pocketed his knife and left.
"Hey, Yugi." Katsuya said, Yugi looked at him, "Thanks."
"It's nothing, you guys are my friends." Yugi smiled weakly.
Katsuya frowned, "That Ushio guy…He jumped us…but don't worry, me and Honda are going to teach him a lesson, you don't owe him a single coin…" he lost consciousness.
Yugi smiled, "Don't worry, Jonouchi-kun, Honda-kun…I'll find a way." Yugi limped away to get help.
Yugi didn't find a way.
He only had 1.656 yen, there's no way he would find 200.000 to pay Ushio.
He wouldn't kill him, right? If he didn't get the money he would only get a beating, nothing that he couldn't handle!
Yugi started working on his puzzle, it was the only thing that could calm him down.
"Wait... this piece fits here... and if I twist this one this way... it fits perfectly!" Yugi's mind was taken by a sudden calm and focus, as if guided by someone, he was done in minutes.
"I…I did it! Now, only one final piece…eh?!" The box was empty.
Where was the final piece?
"No no no no no, this is not happening!" Yugi turned his room upside down, looked into every possible place, but the piece was nowhere to be found.
"No way…"
"Are ya winning, Yugi?" His grandfather entered the room, immediately noticing the near complete puzzle on his table, "You did it!"
"No, grandpa, I didn't. The puzzle is missing one piece, I'll never finish it."
"It does look like you're missing a piece…Maybe it's this one?" He extended his hand, revealing a shiny golden piece.
"You…You found it! Where was it?"
"No idea! A friend of yours passed by and asked me to give it to you. He was soaking wet, which is a little weird since it didn't rain in days. I'll be going to bed now, don't stay up too late, okay?"
"Yes! Good night, grandpa!" Yugi ran back to his desk.
"Good night, Yugi."
Before leaving, Sugoroku slipped an envelope with enough money to pay Ushio in Yugi's bag, "Your friend Jonouchi told me everything, Yugi. Why didn't you tell me anything?"
Sugoroku closed the door behind him, happy with his grandson's success and dreading what was coming. He remembered that day 30 years ago.
"I've been waiting for you, Siamun." A young man with regal clothes saved him from falling to his death, no, not a young man. The spirit of a young man, the nameless pharaoh who originally owned the Millennium Puzzle. Many years have passed since that day, and as his grandson got older the more he looked like the spirit that he saw.
He was afraid, the legend says that whoever completes the puzzle would inherit the shadow games and become the guardian of justice who would pass judgment on evil. He didn't want this for Yugi, but knew that this was his destiny.
Yugi stared at the puzzle, he lifted his trembling hand and slipped the final piece in its place.
A powerful light illuminated his room, and Yugi was no more.
"I can't believe that Yugi called me out in the middle of the night," Tetsu Ushio approached the school, the air was freezing that night.
Ushio entered the school, finding a mysterious figure sitting in a vaulting box, "Yugi?" He asked reluctantly, it couldn't possibly be Yugi, right?
"Thanks for coming, Ushio." He said with a malicious grin, what was wrong with him? Well, it wasn't his problem.
"Didn't expect you to hand over the money like a good boy…Now hand it over!" The tall teenager extended his hand.
"It's right here! But it looks like I made a mistake…I brought 400.000 yen instead!"
"400.000?!" Ushio grinned.
"Yes! But just handing it is boring…Why don't we play a game instead?"
"A game?" What was the weirdo trying to do?
"Yes! If you win, you can earn way more than 200.000!"
"Interesting…" What did he have to lose? He would just take all the money at the end.
"We just need one thing to play! That knife of yours!" Ushio took his knife out and stabbed the vaulting box.
"We'll take turns putting the money over our hands and stabbing it! The money on the knife goes to the player, we'll continue until the last bill is gone! If you stab yourself, try to take the money with your hands or quit in the middle, you lose and suffer a penalty game!"
"Interesting…Let's play!" Was it really Yugi? Did he have a crazy twin brother or something?
Yugi put the money over his hand and stabbed it, only a few bills stuck to the knife, "Less than 10 bills…Maybe I'm more scared than I thought?"
Ushio took the money and put it over his hand, he took a deep breath.
"Remember, if you stab too hard, you'll hurt yourself and lose! Control your greed!" Yugi smirked.
"Shut up!" Ushio stabbed the money, around one third of the bills stuck and he didn't hurt himself, "See? Not a scratch!"
The duo kept playing for a few more rounds, Ushio kept getting large amounts of money while Yugi got only a few bills each turn.
It was Ushio's turn now and there were less than 10 bills, "I…I can't control my strength! I'll stab myself! Wait…there's one way to not stab myself and get all the money…" Ushio smirked and looked at Yugi, "Die, Yugi!"
Yugi easily dodged the stab and put distance between them, "Penalty game! The illusion of avarice!" A third eye started shining on his forehead.
Ushio was taken by a deep joy, why wouldn't he? He was surrounded by all this money!
Yugi yawned.
He had a weird morning, he remembered falling asleep on his desk after finishing the puzzle, but he woke up in his bed. He was pretty sure that he fell asleep wearing his school uniform, but he woke up in his pajamas and with washed hair. He could accept going to sleep without remembering, but going to the bathroom, taking a shower, changing his clothes and then going to sleep was a little too much for him.
Maybe he was just too stressed because of Ushio.
Ushio, that was another weird thing.
When he got to school with no money and ready to take a beating, he found Ushio rolling around a pile of leaves and yelling "Get away from my money!" at anyone who got close.
At least he escaped the beating.
"Hey, Yugi. You finished your puzzle, huh?" Yugi ran into Katsuya on the way to class.
"Yes, Jonouchi-kun! After 8 years, I finally did it!"
"I also brought one of my own treasures today." He smirked.
"Really? Can I see it?"
"Not really."
"Oh…fine, I guess…"
"You can't see it because my treasure is our friendship!" He smiled, "We're friends, right?"
"Yes!" Yugi smiled brightly, making Katsuya blush.
"L-Let's go! We're going to be late for class!" Katsuya ran away and Yugi followed him, laughing all the way to their classroom.
"Yugi! You finished the puzzle!" Anzu noticed the golden pyramid as soon as the boys entered the room.
"Yup! Finished last night!"
"So, did your wish come true?"
Yugi smiled at his friends, "I never needed the wish."