"Bullying the weak isn't what you call teaching someone to be a man!"
A girl walked in from the hallway—Téa Gardner. She lived in the same neighborhood as Yuto, and the two of them went to and from school together every day.
Seeing Yuto, Téa looked a bit upset.
"How come I didn't see you all morning? Seriously, I waited for you at the corner forever!"
"Sorry, sorry... I overslept this morning, hahaha..." Guilty as charged, Yuto could only offer a sheepish smile.
"Honestly... You haven't eaten yet, have you?"
Téa set a bag of bread on Yuto's desk.
"You're a lifesaver!"
Starving, Yuto hurriedly tore the wrapper open and started eating. After leaving the Academic Affairs Office, he'd gone to the campus kiosk, but it was packed. Seeing he couldn't get lunch, he'd come back to the classroom.
At that moment, Joey and Yuto's buddy Tristan Taylor walked in as well.
"What's the occasion? Wanna hit the arcade after school?"
Joey was the first to respond.
"I'm in, I'm in!"
Yuto glanced at Téa, who stared back at him with a stern face.
"I'll pass. I've got other things to do."
Just then, Miho came to the door—she was a friend of Téa's.
"Everyone's here... The kiosk was packed, and Miho's starving with nothing to eat..."
"That won't do! I'll go buy you lunch right now!"
"Wait! I'm going too!"
Simp No. 1 and Simp No. 2 deployed. Miho hid a little smile, sat down at her seat, and waited for the two of them to bring her food.
"By the way, what's in the box, anyway?" Téa asked, curious.
Yuto was curious too. He wanted to see what the Millennium Puzzle looked like while it was still in puzzle‑piece form.
"Oh, oh—keep it secret, okay?"
Yugi slowly lifted the lid. Inside were golden puzzle pieces.
'It's definitely solid gold, right? Does no one think this box is heavy?' Yuto thought.
"So pretty—so shiny!"
"It's a puzzle. Since I haven't finished assembling it, even I don't know what it looks like yet. That's why it's something I can look at but have never seen."
"Oh, oh." Yuto played along with an appreciative sound.
"My family runs a game shop, so I have lots of games from other countries. This was a secret treasure Grandpa got from Egypt—it's a very rare puzzle!"
"Egypt, huh..." Téa mused.
"Look, there are all kinds of strange designs around the box. What they basically say is: whoever completes the puzzle will have one wish granted." As he said this, Yugi looked very serious.
Yuto listened with great interest, while Téa felt like Yugi was making it up.
"Haha... uh... You must think I'm spouting nonsense..." Yugi said weakly.
"So, Yugi—what's your wish?" Not wanting the mood to die, Yuto tossed him a question.
"Ah‑haha, that... Ah, we've been chatting so long—it's almost time for class!"
Yuto sighed; he could tell Yugi didn't want to say.
Soon enough, afternoon classes were over. He left the school gates with Téa; it was still early.
"Yuto, want to swing by Yugi's family game shop?" Téa invited naturally.
"Ah, sure. Is there some game you want?"
"Mm... something for a party—so I can invite friends to play together."
Side by side, they walked in step toward the shop.
"I've been here once or twice before. Never thought it was the Muto family's place."
"Welcome!" An elderly man with the same star‑shaped hair stood up from behind the counter.
"Excuse me, is this the Muto family's shop?" Yuto asked.
"Ah, yes. I'm Solomon Muto, Yugi's grandpa. Looking for Yugi, are you?"
"We're looking to buy a tabletop game that's good for parties. Could you—"
While Yuto was speaking, the shop door opened again.
"I'm back... Eh? Yuto—and Téa?"
"Yo! We're here to buy a game," Yuto greeted Yugi.
After buying a game, the two of them went back to Yuto's place. Téa cooked dinner for two.
"Eat up—and don't sleep in tomorrow."
"Yesss..."
After dinner, Téa went home. Yuto cleaned up the dishes, took a bath, and went to bed.
…
The next day, after finishing their classes, Yuto was about to head home with Téa.
"Sorry, Yuto—something came up. How about you go to the arcade with Joey and the others today?"
Yuto was a bit puzzled, but thought nothing of it. Maybe Téa wanted to go shopping with Miho.
"Oh, okay."
He jogged to catch up with Tristan and Joey, and the three of them headed off campus together.
"Hold it, you three."
A voice brimming with authority stopped them. It belonged to a man built like a double‑door fridge—Tetsu Ushio of the Disciplinary Committee.
Several members of the Student Council trailed behind him.
"What is it?" Tristan asked meekly.
"You've been bullying Yugi Muto, haven't you?"
"Wait—why—Guh!"
Joey, whose impatience had just started to show on his face, took a punch to the gut from Ushio, dropped to his knees, and spat up some kind of liquid—stomach acid or spit, who knew.
"What are you doing—Agh!"
Yuto got floored by a punch as well. Tristan tried to fight back, but the moment he raised his fist—tiny compared to Ushio's—Ushio caught it, hoisted Tristan up, and drove a fist into his chest.
"Uunngh..."
The three of them crumpled by the wall.
"Watch them," Ushio said to the ones behind him, then strode toward the gate.
"AAh..."
The only thing Yuto could be thankful for was that Ushio hadn't gone for the face. His handsome face couldn't be allowed to take damage, after all.
"It hurts..." Joey tried to get up, yet the pain in his abdomen made it impossible to move.
Just then, Yugi came running over.
"Joey! Yuto! And Tristan?!"
"Well? What do you think, Yugi?" Ushio blocked his path.
"What do you mean?" Yugi asked timidly.
"I told you before, Yugi." Ushio pointed at himself, taking the opportunity to flex. "I, Ushio, am going to be your personal bodyguard. So I gave these bullies a lesson."
Frightened as he was, Yugi still stood in front of the three on the ground and protested, "But they're my friends, Ushio‑kun... Violence is wrong!"
"Joey, Yuto… are you okay?"
Joey shot Yugi a complicated look.
"You bastard... Happy now?"
Yuto knew there was no way Yugi had put Ushio up to this. He wanted to speak up; however, the pain in his stomach made him only groan.
Hearing Yuto's groan, Yugi drooped even more.
"Is... is that what you all think..."
"No—" Yuto squeezed out a single syllable with difficulty.
Seeing the kid was about to ruin his plan, Ushio shoved Yugi aside. Small and frail, Yugi fell right on his butt.
"Out of the way. The punishment isn't over yet!"
...
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