A year ago we lost a great man who helped shape the childhoods of a generation. Thank you for making us believe in the heart of the cards, Takahashi-sensei.

I have shared this story before, but many years ago, my friend gave me the September 2003 Shonen Jump monthly. I knew about Yu-Gi-Oh! but I didn't know there was anything prior to Duelist Kingdom. In other words, I didn't know there was a seven volume manga that dealt games other than Duel Monsters and a much more intense spirit in the Millennium Puzzle. The three chapters in that monthly issue were Digital Pet Duel and American Hero parts 1 and 2. Because it had such an impact, I had to do American Hero even though there wasn't an anime version.

The American comic showed a woman cornered in an alley by a supervillain. She begged for help, the text written in English and translated into Japanese. Out of the shadows, a zombie superhero jumped down and rescued the woman. He announced he was Zombire and the woman declared her love for him.

"This is so cool!" Yuugi and Jounouchi cried.

The friends were gathered around Hanasaki's desk. He had brought a bunch of comic books and was showing them off to them.

Hanasaki smiled. "See? Isn't Zombire great?" He held another comic in his hand.

"Wow, Hanasaki-kun! I didn't know that you collected American comics," said Yuugi.

"Yeah! Zombire is super popular in America!" Hanasaki added. "I've always liked American superheroes! Zombire is my favorite!"

Mahou was holding her sketchbook and was outlining Zombire on the page.

Anzu and Miho were looking at the comic book on the desk.

"He's not very handsome," Miho said quietly.

"But why are American comics full of these macho bodybuilder guys?" Anzu asked, causing Hanasaki to twitch.

"Zombire isn't a 'bodybuilder guy'!" Hanasaki yelled. "He was originally the god of death, but he learned how to love and started to fight evil! But . . . the more he turns good, the more the face hidden behind his mask rots away like a zombie. And every time, his life gets shorter! But he still fights evil! That's why he's the greatest hero ever! They call him . . . Zombire!"

They all stared at him.

Hanasaki gasped. "Uh . . . sorry about that . . ." he said, embarrassed. "I get all excited when I talk about Zombire."

"No! Just shows how much you like him!" Jounouchi told him.

"Yup!" agreed Yuugi. "At my family's store, import Zombire action figures have been selling like hotcakes!"

"Do you have garage kits, too?" Jounouchi asked.

"Hey guys! Do you want to come to my house?" asked Hanasaki. "I'll show you my collection!"

"Sure!"

"Yeah! I'd love to see it, Hanasaki!"

"Okay!"

After school they followed Hanasaki to his house. He showed them up to his room.

"Wow! Zombire everywhere!" they cried.

Every available space in Hanasaki's bedroom was covered in some form of Zombire merchandise. There were posters, stickers, knickknacks, stacks of comic books, and shelves full of action figures both in and out of their boxes.

"Did you collect all of this, Hanasaki?" asked Jounouchi.

"Actually, my father works in America," Hanasaki told them. "Every time he comes back to Japan, he brings something for me."

Yuugi picked up one of the boxes. "This is really amazing! This is a rare gold variant figure! You just can't get these in Japan."

Mrs. Hanasaki came in with a tray of snacks. "Welcome, everyone! Would you like some Zombire snacks? They're from America!"

"Zombire snacks?" Miho repeated.

"Wow, Zombire is so popular it has its own snacks," said Honda.

"This is the first time Tomoya has brought so many friends home!" Mrs. Hanasaki said. "But before I forget, you have another surprise visitor, Tomoya!"

"Huh?"

Someone popped up behind his mother wearing a Zombire mask.

"Bwa ha ha ha! I'm Zombire!"

The friends were startled and stared.

Hanasaki's face lit up. "Hi, Dad!" He jumped up to hug him.

"Dad?" the friends repeated.

"When did you get home?" asked Hanasaki.

"Oh just now!" he replied.

"Dad, is that a real Zombire mask?" Hanasaki asked, excited.

"Oh yes! It's the one you wanted, Tomoya." Mr. Hanasaki took off the mask.

Hanasaki took the mask in his hands. "This must have been expensive . . ."

"That's okay," said Mr. Hanasaki. "As long as you like it."

Hanasaki left the room, calling over his shoulder, "Please, have some snacks everyone!"

"Whole family's Zombire crazy . . ." Jounouchi muttered, holding his teacup. He got up and looked at more of the collection. "Whoa! A Zombire garage kit! He hasn't completed it yet!"

"What's a garage kit?" asked Miho.

"It's a plastic model of a character," Yuugi explained. "They're designed by pro modelers, but you build them yourself! They look mega cool when they're finished."

"Hanasaki's too busy collecting to put this thing together! Awright, I'll do it for him!" Jounouchi declared. He tipped out the contents. "This is your basic soft vinyl kit! First you soak the parts in warm water and mold them into the right shape! Once the parts are warm you cut off the excess from everything except the parts you need. Connect the parts with glue . . . a little bit of spray paint and it's done!"

"You've done this before," said Anzu.

"A few times," said Jounouchi, putting the finishing touches on it. He sat it up on the desk. "It's finished! Isn't it cool?"

The door flew open to reveal Hanasaki in a Zombire costume. He saw the completed garage kit. He picked it up and sat on the floor.

"Why . . . why did you put it together?" he asked sadly, rubbing at his masked cheek. "I wanted to keep it in its original box . . ."

"Huh? You weren't going to build it?" Jounouchi panicked.

"You look cool, Hanasaki-kun!" Yuugi commented.

Miho agreed. "You look like a mini-Zombire!"

Honda sat back. "Hanasaki . . . don't cry in that outfit . . ."

It was dark when the friends needed to leave.

"Thanks for having us over!"

"Sorry about the kit, Hanasaki . . ." Jounouchi apologized.

"It's okay! Actually it looks better this way! You did a really good job!" said Hanasaki.

"Heh, maybe I should have had Mahou paint it," said Jounouchi.

Mahou perked up at her name. "Me?"

"Sure. You paint all the time," said Jounouchi. "You could make it look a lot better than I did."

"Goodbye!" Yuugi said.

"See you tomorrow!" said Hanasaki.

Hanasaki and his mother went inside, leaving his father to watch them go. He followed after them.

"Ahem . . . Excuse me, everyone . . ."

They stopped and turned.

"Please stay friends with Tomoya," pleaded Mr. Hanasaki. "I . . . I beg you . . ."

"We'll always be his friends," said Yuugi.

"What did you think?" asked Jounouchi.

"Thank you," said Mr. Hanasaki. "To be honest, Tomoya is . . . fragile. Because of my work, I haven't been able to spend as much time with him as I'd like . . . I was starting to think his only friends were those action figures . . ."

"Don't worry, Mr. Hanasaki," Jounouchi said. "He's not as fragile as you think he is!"

"Later!" Yuugi called and they all went home.

The next day Yuugi and Mahou walked home from school by themselves.

"I'm going to work on my Zombire garage kit when I get home!" he told Mahou as they left the school gates.

"Do . . . do you want me to paint it for you?" Mahou asked.

"No thanks, Mahou. I want to do it myself," Yuugi replied.

"Hey!"

They turned around to see two old teens in street clothes behind them.

"You from Domino High, right?" one of them asked.

They look like trouble . . . thought Yuugi.

"You know somebody named Hanasaki?"

Mahou stiffened. Hanasaki?

Huh? Hanasaki-kun . . . thought Yuugi. What do these guys want with Hanasaki-kun? I'd better keep quiet . . . "Who?"

The two teens forced Yuugi and Mahou against the wall.

"You're lying! You do know him!"

"We know you know Hanasaki!"

"No, we don't!" Mahou denied.

And then Hanasaki was between the teens and Yuugi and Mahou.

"Cut it out!" Hanasaki yelled.

There was a tense moment of silence.

"Hey, let's get out of here," said the one teen.

"We can't handle that guy!" said the other.

They walked away.

They ran away when they saw Hanasaki-kun! Yuugi thought.

Hanasaki turned to them. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah! That was incredible, Hanasaki-kun!" Yuugi told him.

"From now on, let me know if you have problems with bullies," said Hanasaki. "I'll take care of 'em for you!"

Yuugi smiled. Hanasaki-kun really seems confident.

That was brave of Hanasaki-kun, but . . . Mahou watched the boy go on his way. I can't help but think there's something wrong here . . .

Mahou didn't think about it again until later that night. She heard Yuugi above her yelling about something. She got up from her desk, leaving her just finished Zombire drawing, and went upstairs. She knocked on his door.

"Yuugi?" she called, sticking her head around the door.

Yuugi was at his desk with the Zombire garage kit.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"The spray paint is empty," Yuugi pouted. "And I was almost done, too."

"Do we have anymore?"

"We don't stock it at our store and everywhere else is closed now," said Yuugi. "But I can't stand leaving it like this."

"I can finish if for you with acrylic," Mahou offered. "I think I have the right colors."

Yuugi looked at the clock. "Eight o'clock. Maybe Hanasaki-kun will let us borrow a can! Come on, Mahou!"

Mahou grabbed her bag and put the Zombire drawing inside. Hanasaki-kun will like this.

The two hurried over to Hanasaki's house.

Yuugi rang the bell. "Good evening! Is Hanasaki-kun home?"

Mr. Hanasaki answered the door, pale and sweaty. "Tomoya is . . . Tomoya is . . . !"

"What happened to Hanasaki-kun?" Yuugi pressed.

"I found this . . . in Tomoya's room . . ." Mr. Hanasaki handed Yuugi a note.

'Attention superhero – we have your friend! Don't try and stop us!' It was finished off with a map and a caricature of Yuugi.

Hanasaki-kun! You did this for my sake!

Mahou noticed the light glow from the Millennium Puzzle.

"How did this happen?" Mahou asked.

Mr. Hanasaki confessed. "I paid those teens to pretend to be beaten by Tomoya when he was in the Zombire costume. I wanted him to gain some self-confidence. I didn't think they would do this. They told me I have to pay 500,000 yen or they will hurt him. They used this note to get him to come to them."

"How long ago was this?" asked Yuugi.

There was a faint edge to his voice, an edge that Mahou only heard in Yami.

"Right before you came," admitted Mr. Hanasaki.

"Then there's no time to waste," said Yuugi. "We need to help him."

Yuugi turned and started running for the place Hanasaki was meeting the teens. Mahou chased after him and was aware that Mr. Hanasaki was following them.

When they got to the meeting place, a fenced off area next to the bridge, three older teens were beating someone up in a Zombire costume. Mahou recognized two of them as the two they encountered on their way home from school.

"Tomoya!" gasped Mr. Hanasaki.

"A little twerp like you could never be strong!" one of them yelled, kicking Hanasaki while he was down.

"That's enough, you scum!" roared Yami. He stood at the top of the steps with his hands in his pockets. "I'm the one who's going to play with you!"

"What the -? Another wannabe hero?"

Yami walked down to face the teens.

Mr. Hanasaki and Mahou went to Hanasaki.

"Tomoya, are you all right?" asked Mr. Hanasaki.

The teens watched them, one of them taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Heh heh . . . Think you can take on all three of us?" he asked, flicking the cigarette away.

Mahou watched Yami reached down and pick up a can of spray paint. She looked on the wall and saw a skull and crossbones freshly painted on it. It was also the same color of paint running down Hanasaki's Zombire mask.

He's got spray paint in his eyes?

Mahou took Hanasaki's arm. "We need to go," she told Mr. Hanasaki. "Come on, Hanasaki-kun. You need to get up." She started directing them up the steps.

Yami chuckled darkly. "I think this'll be fun."

The teens took out the knives they had hidden on themselves.

"He's dissing us!" said the one who appeared to be the leader.

Yami darted off and around them, spraying the spray paint on the ground.

"Fast little brat!"

"I'm gonna kill him!"

"Dammit . . . I don't have time for tag!" snarled the leader. "Hey! Circle around from the other side! Corner him by the bridge!"

Yami didn't seem bothered by any of their yelling. He was running circles around them, continuing to put down lines of spray paint.

Yami, what are you doing? Mahou thought. Her attention was redirected when she heard Mr. Hanasaki.

"Tomoya, are you all right?"

"Yeah . . . My eyes are just blurry . . ." Hanasaki looked at the scene below them. Yuugi? Yuugi is fighting them . . . ? He's fighting them for me!

"Now's our chance, Tomoya," said Mr. Hanasaki. "Let's get you back to the house."

Hanasaki didn't move.

"Come on! Tomoya!"

Hanasaki took off his mask. "Dad, I won't run away!" He was beaten and one of his eyes wouldn't open. "If I run away now, I'll never be strong!" He turned and ran down the steps.

Mr. Hanasaki stared in disbelief.

"Hanasaki-kun, wait!" Mahou ran after him. She grabbed his arm. "He's got this. I don't know how, but Yuugi's got this. The best thing we can do is stay out of his way."

Yami was now up against the wall.

"Ha ha! Got you cornered now . . ." laughed one of the teens. "Prepare yourself!"

Yami chuckled. "Fools! Do you think I was just running in circles? Look at the ground!"

"Wh-what?"

The ground was covered in stripes of spray paint.

"He's been tagging the ground with spray paint?" one of them realized.

"I wasn't 'tagging'!" Yami told them. "Your cigarette butt is the fuse . . . to set the paint on fire."

The teens stared in horror.

"Wha . . . wha . . ."

The cigarette butt that had been thrown was still burning back to its filter, which was sitting in wet spray paint. A second later, the paint ignited with a loud whoosh!

The teens screamed as their pants and shoes caught fire.

"Welcome to my maze of fire!" Yami yelled over their shouting.

"Aagh! My legs!"

They floundered and started running, trying to escape the flames around them and on their clothes.

Yami laughed. "That's it, run! Run to the end of the maze!"

They started running the winding path to the gate that led directly into the canal, the only place that wasn't blocked by fire.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!"

Yami smirked. "Don't worry . . . If you get out of the maze, your lives will be spared . . ."

They jumped over the edge and splashed into the water below.

"Yuugi!" Hanasaki ran to Yami. "I'm sorry . . . It's all my fault . . . I'm such an idiot . . ."

Yami put his hand on Hanasaki's shoulder and gently guided him back up the steps. Mr. Hanasaki looked at the Zombire mask in his hands and then to Hanasaki.

Tomoya . . . your dad was wrong . . . The true hero's face was hidden behind the mask . . . the face that got bruised defending your friend . . . There's no way I could be a hero . . . Of course you can . . .

"Hanasaki-kun, you really should get home and flush out your eyes," said Mahou. "It may not have been much, but spray paint can do some serious damage to your eyes. You may want to see a doctor, too." She looked up at Mr. Hanasaki for guidance.

"Yes . . . let's go home, Tomoya," said Mr. Hanasaki. He turned to Yami and Mahou. "Thank you."

"Oh!" Mahou reached into her bag. "Hanasaki-kun, this is for you." She handed him the drawing.

Hanasaki smiled. "Thank you. See you tomorrow."

Hanasaki and his father walked home.

"We forgot to ask to borrow some spray paint," Mahou remembered.

Yami held up the spray paint he used. He gave it a shake. "There's enough in here. And it's the perfect color." He put his hand in his pocket and started walking back home.

Mahou followed a step behind him. She looked back at the still smoldering maze.

He set them on fire for hurting Hanasaki-kun. Everyone else was driven mad, but this time . . . Is there nothing he won't do to those who hurt us . . .? And if not . . .

She looked at Yami and felt the familiar tightness of a panic attack creeping up on her.

What can I do?

I remember reading the original chapters and was sitting there stunned. Yami set people on fire? Oh, I got to find the rest of this. It led me to an arc where Yami was much less forgiving and a bit unhinged and I was all for it. Later I discovered Season 0 and wondered what it would have been like if the entire series would have been like that.