I don’t own Yugioh.  But you all already know that.

Again, more mentioning and writing of child abuse and some language.  Read the warning in chapter one for the complete speech.  I’m not going to repeat myself over and over.  It gets monotonous to write, and you as the readers probably stop reading it.  ^^;;

On with the next chapter!

 

Chapter 2

 

“Hand over your money,” a sixth grader sneered at Yugi.

Yugi backed up against a wall, more tears falling from his face.  Between the night before and today, he didn’t have any spirit left.  He wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

“Give it up,” the second boy nodded.

Yugi shook his head, “I…I don’t h-have…a-any…”

“Liar!”

The second guy punched him in the face, “Give it up!”

Yugi cried out, falling to the ground.  Tears ran down his face.

A girl’s voice broke into the scene, “Don’t you boys have anything better to do with your time then to pick on someone weaker then you!?”  The girl was dressed in a pink sweatshirt with pale blue jeans.

The two boys spun around, then ran off.

“Run!  It’s Anzu Mazaki!  Her pop’s a lawyer!”

“Move, move, move!” the second boy ran ahead of the first.

Anzu snorted, “Honestly.”  She glanced at Yugi, “You okay?”

Yugi nodded, wiping his eyes.  “Th-thank you…”

“Wow…how much did they hit you?” Anzu blinked at his injuries.

“N-not j-just from th-them,” Yugi stammered, gulping back more tears.

Anzu sat down against the wall next to him, “We’ve been friends for two years now, haven’t we?”

Yugi wiped his eyes, nodding.  He was wearing his usual cargo jeans and orange with a blue stripe sweatshirt.  He didn’t own much else.  And, since they were only in fifth grade, they didn’t need school uniforms.

Anzu was growing concerned for him.  In the past month, he’d picked up a lot of injuries, as if he was getting beaten up every day.  She lived right down the street from him, but they never really got to see much of the other after school.  Yugi seemed to be on permanent curfew to the house after school.  She had called once, and his mother had answered the phone.  She absolutely refused to let Yugi out of the house, and said that he could never play.  Then, she hung up.  Anzu didn’t much care for his parents.  But Yugi was kind and gentle.  He protected even the bugs in the classroom and wouldn’t even step on an ant if he could help it.  He was shy, though, and was afraid to stand up for himself.

Anzu sighed, “You can’t let them keep on doing this, Yugi.”

“Wh-what else c-can I do?” Yugi sniffled.

Anzu shook her head.  He didn’t always used to stumble over his words.  But ever since about a month or two ago, when his injuries were really showing up, he started to stammer, like he was afraid to even speak.  Anzu studied him again.  He was looking at the ground, very pale.

“Yugi…are you sure you’re alright?” Anzu asked gently, “You’re very pale.”

“I-I’m okay,” Yugi stammered. 

Anzu watched him for a little while.  He’s going to pass out.  “Yugi…let’s go to the nurse…”

“NO!” Yugi gulped scooting away in fear, “No…!”  He started to cry.

“Okay…,” Anzu sighed, “Look…this happens every time I suggest going there.  You need to get your injuries treated.  They look like they’ve been sloppily treated as it is.  Why don’t we go there…?”

“She’ll kn-know!” Yugi cried, “I c-can’t!”

“She’ll know what?” Anzu raised an eyebrow.

Yugi clamped his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide with fear.

“Yugi, you look like you’re going to pass out any second now,” Anzu shook her head, “I will take you to the nurse…”

Yugi shook his head, leaning against the wall, “I’m o-okay…”

Anzu sighed, “Tell me if anything’s wrong, alright?”

Yugi nodded, “N-nothing’s wr-wrong, though.”

Anzu shook her head.

The bell signifying recess was over rang.

Anzu offered a hand to him, and helped him up, “Let’s get to class now.”

Yugi wiped his eyes and nodded, “A-arigatou, Anzu-san.”

Anzu shook her head, “Just plain ‘Anzu’ is fine.  How many times do I have to tell you?”

“G-gomen, A-Anzu…”

Anzu smiled, “That’s it.  Come on.”

Yugi nodded and followed her.

 

Yugi dreaded the bell ringing that signified the end of the day.  It meant he had to go home.  He slowly got up and lingered a bit at his locker.

“See you tomorrow, Yugi!” Anzu waved as she ran out, “I’ve gotta go!”

Yugi nodded, waving.  He sighed sadly and closed his locker, then started to walk out of the building.  Just as he rounded the corner, a huge kid that was at least two feet taller then him stepped in front of him.

Yugi just stood there.

“Hey, punk,” the guy grinned, “I’m gonna make yas an offer.  Give me 2,000 yen and I won’t beatcha up.”

Yugi shook his head ‘no’.

The kid growled, “You dare turn down an offer from me, the great Ushiro!?  If you ain’t gonna pay, ten I beatcha up, too!  Well?!”

“I d-don’t care,” Yugi whispered, “D-do what y-you want.”

Ushiro blinked, “Kid are yas ask’n for me ta beat ya to a bloody pulp?!  What’s yer name?!”

“It’s n-not important,” Yugi shook his head, “B-because I’m n-not.”

Ushiro growled, “Damn, kid!  You’re freaky!  Listen here!  Gimme all of yer money now, and I’ll let you off with only a light beat’n!”  He grabbed Yugi by the shirtfront and lifted him up.

Yugi reached into his pocket and pulled out a 5 yen piece, “I-if you w-want m-my money, then th-this is all I h-have.”

Ushiro looked at it incredulously.  He growled and threw Yugi against the fence.  “You gotsa be kidd’n me!  That ain’t alls you gots…!  You wanna be beat’n up!?”

“I a-already said…it doesn’t m-matter,” Yugi shook his head, painfully getting to his feet.

“Listen up, punk!” Ushiro pointed to him, “Either yous bring 2,000 yen ta me by tomorrow afta school, or ya’ll be in a world o’ pain!”  With that, he turned and stalked off.

Yugi watched him go.  That’s right…I’m not worth it.  They don’t want to even hit me anymore because I’m not worth it.  I have no worth to anyone.  He turned around and started to walk away, when he bumped into someone and fell back down.

“Hey.  Watch where you’re going, brat!” the tall boy he had run into growled at him.

“G-gomen,” Yugi stammered, shakily standing up.

The other boy walked away.

Yugi shook his head and continued towards home. 

 

 

Once home, he had to lock the door behind him because nobody was home yet.  He went into the bathroom and started to patch up the new injuries he had received for the day, then went back into his room.  He pulled out the puzzle that he was working on and started to put it together.  It was one of the few things he owned, aside from a Duel Monsters deck.  His grandfather had given it to him shortly before leaving for another excavation.  There were three things in the room that he cherished the most:  the puzzle, his Duel Monsters deck, and a picture of his family when he was about five years old and everyone got along.  It was in a beaten up and broken picture frame…after all, anything glass in the house didn’t last too long these days.  They had to use plastic cups and plates because glass got shattered.  A couple of the windows were now plastic coated as well after they gave up on repairing the constant holes that ended up in them. 

*click*

Yugi put another piece in, letting tears fall down his face as he remembered when everyone in his family used to get along.  It was before his father lost his first job, before his mother started cheating on his father, and before all the arguments started.  Yugi wished that they would just get divorced already.  They had been going through the process for almost a year now.  And the house was World War III whenever both his mother and father was home.

*click*

Another piece slid into place.  It made Yugi feel a bit better, putting the puzzle together.  He liked to solve puzzles and play games.  These days, putting the puzzle together was the only thing he enjoyed doing.  Even Duel Monsters wasn’t fun anymore.  When you win all the time, nobody wants to play you because they’re afraid of your deck.

*click*

Tears ran down his face, and he wiped them away with his arm, sniffling.  His ‘room’ was really just the attic of the house.  There were cobwebs all over the place.  Yugi hated it because it was scary.  His bed consisted of a futon with lightweight sheets.  There was an old, splintered, wooden desk and a chair against one wall, and a box of old toys in another corner.  He also had a pile of games near the toy box.  Across from that was an old drawer from a dresser that had his clothing in it.  There wasn’t much in there, and he didn’t have that much since there would be no where to put it.  As it was, he had a pair of jeans thrown over his old chair.  It was dark and musty.  The only light he had was from a small, oval window right in front of his desk.  There weren’t any outlets up in their attic, so he couldn’t get power for any sort of light or anything else.

Ever since four months ago, his parents treated him like something unwanted.  After a while, he started to accept that into himself, often telling himself that he wasn’t wanted, and that he was just a bother.  They had moved his room up to the attic because they needed the space of his original room for his father since they stopped staying in the same room as one another.

*click*

Yugi shifted on the cold, wood floor.  Sometimes, he’d often wonder why he stayed alive.  Who would miss me if I was gone?  Mom and dad wouldn’t.  The kids at school would lose their punching bag, but they’d find someone else to replace me.  They wouldn’t miss me.  Grandpa wouldn’t even know about it.  I wonder if Anzu would miss me.  Probably not.  She never calls or anything.  We’re probably just ‘school friends’.

More tears ran down his face.  He glanced at his school bag, which was propped up against the desk leg.  It was a small, green bag that was coming apart a bit.  After all, he’d been using it for over a year now.

*click*

It was late now, and he already heard the door, meaning that his mother was home.  His father would be home in another hour or so, then the arguing would start again.

Yugi reached into the box and found that he only had one piece left.  He blinked.  Shakily, he inserted the picture of an eye into the center of the puzzle.

The puzzle started to give off a white/golden light that made Yugi cover his eyes and back away a bit.

When the light died down, Yugi opened his eyes and slowly put his arms down, then gaped.  There was a boy standing there, a bit taller then him, with the same hair style he had.  The boy wore a pair of blue pants with boots and a long sleeved blue light jacket over a lot of black buckles around him.  His crimson/violet eyes looked around.

“What a dump,” the boy grunted.  He looked down at Yugi, then walked over to him.

Yugi looked up at the boy in fear.  The boy looked much stronger then he did…

“Were you the one who solved the puzzle?” the boy asked.

Yugi gulped and nodded, trying to keep a whimper down that was surfacing.

“What’s your name?” the boy asked.

Yugi looked up, “I-it d-doesn’t m-matter…”

The boy glared at him, “I said, what’s your name!?”  He knelt down in front of Yugi.

Yugi winced, preparing for a blow, tears streaming down his face, “I-I d-don’t…”

“This is the last time I’m going to ask you, and you’d better answer me!  What is your name?!” the boy moved so that his face was inches from Yugi’s.

Yugi whimpered, “Y-Yugi …”

“Yuyugi?  That’s a strange name…”

“N-no…j-just Yugi.”

The boy glanced at the cowering kid, and backed off a bit.  “Fine.  Yugi.  That’s your name?”

“Y-yes,” Yugi sniffled, wiping his eyes.

The other boy grunted, “Humph.  Why are you crying, Yugi?”

Yugi fervently wiped his eyes and didn’t answer.

“Silent type, huh?  Be that way,” the other boy shrugged, then started to walk away.

“W-wait!” Yugi called out.

The other boy turned around.

“D-don’t g-go down th-there!” Yugi whimpered.

The other boy blinked, “Why not?!”

“M-mom will f-find y-you,” Yugi whispered, fear reflecting in his eyes and voice.

The other boy paused, then looked directly at Yugi.

Yugi gasped as a third eye seemed to appear on the boy’s forehead, and it glowed.

Yugi whimpered, shaking, tears rolling down his face, expecting to be hit or feel pain.  Nothing happened.

Yugi looked up, cracking an eye open tentatively.

The other boy was still standing there.  The third eye had disappeared.

“I don’t see a lie,” the other boy stated, looking around, “You are who you say you are.  In fact, you’re more.  Tell me.  And answer truthfully or you will be punished.”

Something in the boy’s tone scared Yugi more then his parents, and he nodded, letting more tears fall down his face.

“What do you think of yourself?” the boy asked.

Yugi blinked.  That was an easy enough question.  “I-insign-nificant.  Unw-worthy.  A b-bother.  A…”

“Enough!” the boy shouted.

Yugi backed up against the wall, cowering from the boy.

Just then, his mother shouted something to him.  “YUGI!  What the hell are you doing up there?!  I told you never to talk unless spoken to, didn’t I?!  Bastard child, I’m coming up there!”

The other boy blinked, his eyes a bit wide.  He looked at Yugi, who was absolutely petrified.

Yugi shook his head, hearing the footsteps on the stairs.  He turned to the other boy and whispered, “You h-have to g-go!  R-run!  She w-wants me!  D-don’t let y-yourself g-get caught, t-too!  Please!”

The other boy crossed his arms, “I don’t run from anything…”

Yugi got to his knees, and grabbed the other boy’s arm, “Onegai!”

The boy paused, then nodded, “Fine.  But I’ll be watching.  And I’m coming back out as soon as she leaves.”  He glowed, and went back into the puzzle.

Just then, the door slammed open.  His mother stood there, her brown hair sticking in all directions, and her pink dress crumpled a bit.  Her brown eyes bore into Yugi.  She stalked over and glared down at him.

“What was all that noise?!  Some people are trying to sleep!” Shike shouted at him.

“I…I…I…I…,” Yugi stammered, tears running down his face.

Shike cuffed him across the face with the back of her hand.  “Well?!”

“I-it w-w-was…,” Yugi whimpered.

“It was what?!” Shike demanded, cuffing him again.

Yugi fell and his foot got caught in a plank of wood.  He winced, stopping himself from falling or else it would hurt.  He tried to pull his foot free, all the while looking at the angry mother in front of him.

“Answer me!” Shike shouted, “Or you’ll be sorry!”

“I-It w-was n-n-nothing…,” Yugi gulped.

Shike grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him down to the ground.

Yugi screamed as pain tore through his right leg, from the foot where he was caught.  It would be a miracle if it wasn’t broken.  He gasped, his breath leaving him, as he was slammed onto the floor.

“Answer me!” Shike shouted in his face.  “ANSWER ME!!!”

Yugi cried, “It w-w-w-was m-m-me!  I-I’m s-s-sorry!”

CRACK!

Shike had curled her hand into a fist and cuffed him as hard as she could across the face.

Blood trickled out of the corner of Yugi’s mouth, and he felt where a tooth had been prematurely loosened again.

“Don’t you ever make so much noise again!” Shike shouted, standing up and walking away, “Or you’ll sleep outside again!”  She slammed the door upon leaving.

 

Yugi lay on the ground, crying.  His foot had become unstuck when he was slammed into the ground, but it hurt badly.  He curled up into a ball, trying not to cry loudly.

The puzzle glowed, and the boy came out, his jaw dropped open, staring at the closed door as if he couldn’t believe his eyes of what he just saw.

“Oh, Ra,” the boy whispered,  “that was brutal.  How can she be human?”  He glanced at Yugi, then knelt down next to him, “Hey, Yugi.  Are you alright?”  Stupid question.  Take a look at him.  Does he look alright?!  He suddenly felt something he hadn’t felt before.  A compassion for the crying boy.  He looked around the room and suddenly noticed that there were some old blood stains on the wall and floor.  Probably…Yugi’s blood.  How long has this been going on?  “Why did you tell me to hide?  I could have helped.”

“B-because I d-didn’t w-want you t-to g-get h-hurt,” Yugi choked out, “I d-didn’t w-want her to h-hurt you, t-too…”

“Damn it!” the boy hissed at him, “If you worry about everyone else, you’ll always be beaten!”

Yugi curled up tighter and cried harder.

The boy’s anger instantly melted.  He placed a hand on Yugi’s shoulder.  “Where is the first aid kit?”

“D-down s-s-stairs in the b-bathroom.  But I’m n-not allowed t-to leave the r-room…”

The boy shook his head and stood up, “You can’t, but I can.  I won’t get caught.  I’ll be right back.”  He left.

Yugi nodded, wondering if the boy was really going to help him. 

A minute or so later, the boy snuck back into the room and closed the door gently, then walked over.  The first aid kit was in his hand.

The boy grinned and held it up, “Told ya.”

Yugi sniffled, sitting up.

“Let’s get started,” the boy nodded, pulling out some disinfectant and bandages, “I’m not that bad at first aid.  Don’t you dare scream.  It’ll sting, but don’t scream or else you’ll get beaten again.”

Yugi nodded, and braced himself.  The boy was right.  It stung.  He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a small whimper, and a couple of tears.

The other boy finished cleaning out the wounds on his face, and stuck a bandage on a bleeding one by his cheek.  “There.  Now, let me see your leg.”

Yugi slowly moved his right leg out, wincing a bit.

The other boy gently pulled Yugi’s sock off and rolled up the pant leg.  The area from his instep to just above the ankle was swollen, reddened, and black/blue.  The other boy closed his eyes and gently ran his fingers over it, searching for any breaks in the bone.

Yugi tensed at the pain and winced, letting tears fall down.

The boy opened his eyes after a moment, “Not broken.  Came very close, though.  If you hadn’t managed to pull your leg out from under that beam, then it would be broken.  I’ll wrap it.”

“A-arigatou…”

“Hush.”

Yugi obediently went quiet as the other boy found the right bandage and started to wrap his foot.

When he finished, the boy put the supplies away and turned to Yugi, “Have you told anyone about this?”

Yugi shook his head.

“Why not?”

“B-because m-mom and d-dad say that if I t-tell, they’ll h-hurt me m-more.  Th-they said they w-would h-hurt me in a w-way that I w-would n-never f-forget,” Yugi whispered.  “I d-don’t kn-know what th-they mean, but I d-don’t w-want to f-find out.”

The other boy’s features became hardened a bit.  He understood what they were implying that they would do to the boy.  How can they!?  Their child!  Their own child!  How can they even think of doing that to him!?  Stripping him of his innocence!?  They aren’t humans…they’re abominations!  They’re sick monsters!

“U-um…,” Yugi stammered.

The other boy looked at him, “What?”

“Wh-what is…what is…,” Yugi stammered, “…y-your n-name…?  C-can you t-tell me…please?”

The boy looked at him, then offered a small smile, “Yami.  My name is Yami.”

Tears ran down Yugi’s face, and he reached out and hugged Yami, “Thank y-you, Yami.”

Yami blinked, confused at his actions, then nodded and wrapped his arms around the shaking boy, “You’re welcome, Yugi.”  I wonder if this is my new mission.  To help this boy and protect him.  Well, then that’s what I’ll do.  I won’t allow them to treat him like this.

 

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

Chapter two.  Still more to come.  I was just going to post the first chapter, but it isn’t much.  Please review!  Be gentle!  Arigatou gozaimasu!  ^-^