Hunting Passion

Title: Hunting Passion
Part: 3/?
Author: Usagi [miakalikestamahome@hotmail.com]
Warnings: nothing really serious
Genre: Romance, Angst, Supernatural, AU
Pairings: Yami no Yuugi x Yuugi
Criticism: Constructive criticism welcomed

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, I don't make money from fanfiction.

Description: They came at midnight. He didn't know how they were able to intrude into his house, but somehow they succeeded. They were a male and a female. HE, was the leader, obviously. She seemed to be some kind of apprentice to him. Not that it really mattered. For they were both strong and deadly.

But when a young teen is able to run from the grasp of his captors, it is the start of a long game of hide and seek. He finds a new side to himself he would have never dreamed he had. And it helps him to keep the game to his advantage. But he knows the game will never end, at least not before his death. Because his hunter is a vampire.

Thanks to my betareaders Elsalhir and Deb for the usual quick work. ^^

***********

On the run


It was still early morning when Jonouchi Katsuya lay sprawled out over his bed sleeping. Usually around this time he would wake up and get ready for school, but since it was weekend he could sleep in.

The window to his room was open and a light morning breeze played with the curtains of his room. It was the only moving thing inside. That was until suddenly a small cat showed up on the windowsill. For a moment it sat there, its watchful eyes scanning the room for any danger, its tail moving back and forth in a playful manner.

Satisfied at finding nothing threatening, the cat jumped into the room and silently stalked up to the sleeping blonde teen. Jumping onto the bed, the cheeky animal chose its resting place right in the middle of the bed on the boy's belly. Snuggling into the blanket, the cat let out a content purr. It checked the room one last time for any danger before finally closing its eyes and immediately falling asleep.

Things became silent and still in the room again. The only movement left was the slightly floating curtains and the soft breathing of the two beings on the bed. The picture maintained some semblance of peace. This peace remained for a few more hours, until the blonde owner of the room started to stir and opened his eyes.

Since the day Jonouchi Katsuya had met Mutou Yuugi, he had learned that life was full of surprises. Thus, nowadays, it was hard to openly surprise the blond sixteen year old at all. But this morning, when he woke up from his deep slumber, the first thing to greet his eyes was such an unusual sight that he was not able stop himself shouting out in surprise.

"What the hell?!"

He was wide awake within seconds and out of bed immediately. The cat, which had been sleeping peacefully until the outburst, fell off the bed with the sudden movement. But as was usual for cats, it landed safely on all four paws.

Animal and teenager looked at each other for a moment. Jonouchi had his mouth open in disbelief. The cat, on the other hand, seemed to consider what to do next. But it was Jonouchi who found his voice first.

"What are you doing in my room?" he asked the small being, not exactly caring that an animal was hardly able to answer. The cat tilted its head to the side and gave a small, quiet mew. As if realizing that the the blonde teen would not be able to understand this kind of language, the small animal straightened and Jonouchi was in for his next shock.

In front of his eyes the small animal was suddenly engulfed in a blinding light and when he was able to see again, in place of the cat stood the last person he would have expected to see.

"Yuugi?"

That was the moment his legs decided to give out under him and he fell to the ground. His smaller friend was at his side immediately, worry written all over his face.

"Jonouchi-kun! I didn't shock you that much, did I? I am really sorry, that was not exactly how I'd planed to make my introduction, but it seems I never considered your reaction to finding a cat sleeping with you on the bed."

The delicate built teen scratched his head before smiling sheepishly at his best friend. "Sorry about that, I guess I was just too tired. By the way, can you tell me what time it is? I need to know how long I've slept."

As if on automatic, Jonouchi glanced at the watch he wore around his wrist.

"It's just after twelve right now," he answered. The blond was still dumbfounded and in shock. "I am dreaming right now, am I not?"

Yuugi couldn't help but smile slightly at his friend's behavior before his face darkened considerably.

"If you are dreaming right now then I was supposed to wake up weeks ago, Jonouchi-kun," he sighed. "So, no, you are not dreaming."

For a moment there was a heavy silence. Jonouchi stared at Yuugi, took some deep breaths and pinched his upper arm to confirm the fact that he was wide awake. After the pain told him that, yes, this was very much reality, he opened and closed his mouth a few more times before he was finally able to get out a word.

"Yuugi, what the hell is going on here?"

The smaller built teen sighed deeply and offered his best friend a hand to get up from the ground. He then sat down on the bed while Jonouchi was not exactly sure what to do with himself.

"Uhm, not to be impolite or anything, but could you get me something to eat, Jonouchi-kun?" Yuugi pleaded with big eyes. "I haven't eaten for more than 24 hours and I'm really, really, hungry."

Finally able to calm down from the shock he'd received, the blonde remembered his manners as a host.

"Sure, give me a second and I'll see what we have in the house," he assured with a small smile and sneaked out of his room. It took the blond around five minutes before he returned with a tray full of bread, chocolate cream and jam. It was a simple, western style breakfast, nothing really special and nothing like a typical Japanese breakfast was supposed to be. But Yuugi attacked his meal as if he was a starving man eating part of a five course menu for the first time in his life.

His best friend was watching him in astonishment, not feeling really hungry himself at the moment. After the smaller one felt sated, he put the tray aside and looked straight at his best friend.

"Thanks for that, Jonouchi-kun. I'll be forever grateful for what you just did. Now, I think you have some questions you wish to get answers for, right?"

Jonouchi nodded sitting down beside the other teen on the bed.

"Exactly. And I have more questions besides why the hell you've been able to turn into a cat. For example, let's start with your strange behavior these past weeks. I mean, first you were telling all of us that your family is away and what a good thing it would be to meet at weekends to hang out and suddenly you cancel everything with a lame excuse." He looked at his best friend with a mix of accusation and worry. "You don't even have time to hang out at all and you sleep in the infirmary at school? Something just CAN'T be right here."

Yuugi nodded his head, guilt filling his insides because he knew his friends must have been worried all the time. But he just couldn't tell them. He was too afraid they wouldn't believe him. Or in the worst case, insist on accompanying him home. The last thing he wished was for his friends to end up as a vampire's meal.

But now the whole situation had changed. After his last confrontation with the other vampire shortly before sunrise, Yuugi had been busy trying out his newfound shifting powers. However, tiredness quickly caught up with him and he realized he needed a safe place to sleep for a few hours. The only place he could think of was at his best friend who was now looking at him expectantly.

"Well, this will take some time to explain," the young teen sighed. "And most of the things will sound quite unbelievable."

Jonouchi just snorted.

"More unbelievable than you being a cat?"

"Well, maybe not quite, but I guess something like that," Yuugi admitted with a small smile and he started to tell his best friend everything. He told him about the night the vampires had suddenly shown up in his room, how he became a prisoner in his own home, the escalated situation last night, his escape, his confrontation with Rebecca and how he found out about his strange power.

"... and then this other vampire told me I'm what they call a 'shifter'," he said, nearing the end of his story. "He warned me that he will be after me from now on and that I should try to run while he's sleeping. It was my first thought as well. I need to warn my family, but then I realized how tired I was. I needed a little nap before I headed off, so I changed into a cat and here I am."

He tried to chuckle a little. The young teen was surprised at himself; how well he was coping with his new situation, but he suspected it was simply the fact that he had already had some weeks to get used to being threatened by vampires. Jonouchi, on the other hand, was still busy swallowing what he'd just heard.

"So," the blond finally managed to get out, his eyes wide, "you mean to tell me that you'll be on the run from a vampire from now on?" Yuugi nodded. "And you are a 'shifter'? You can change into any animal you like?"

Again the smaller one nodded and the blond's eyes widened even further, if that was possible.

"Wow," he breathed out, "that would be what I call one hell of a life!"

"That's your opinion," Yuugi retorted dryly. "Personally, I think 'one hell of a nightmare' fits better."

"Oookay, you are trying to be sarcastic, now I am definitely worried," Jonouchi replied. "Sorry, Yuugi, I guess I still need some time to digest what you just told me."

The smaller built teen only shook his head with a small smile. "It's okay, Jonouchi-kun. I guess I would react the same way you did. No. I think I would freak out. Take all the time you need to sort out what I've told you. I'm just sorry I will not be here to talk with you about it any more."

Jonouchi blinked when he heard the last sentence and looked up, alarmed.

"Just a second, what do you mean 'I will not be here'? Where the hell do you think you are going?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yuugi asked, with a determined look on his face. "I am running away. I have to find my family and warn them. I think after I warn them, I will leave Japan and get as far away as possible from everything important to me."

"You... you... you CAN'T!" the blond shouted, jumping up from his bed. "Yuugi, are you crazy? You can't just blindly run away. That's crazy!"
He started walking up and down in his room, thoughts in an uproar. "We need a better plan than this. Yes, that's it! You are staying here, with me. I mean, what about school? You can't just go missing. And if you run away all alone you are without protection. Stay with me, I can protect you. Two against one, that shouldn't be that dangerous now, should it?"

Yuugi's answer was a dry laugh and he shook his head forcefully.

"Jonouchi-kun, that's not a good idea and you know it. This vampire is three times stronger than you and Honda-kun together. And he wants ME. He doesn't care what he has to do to get me. He knows I care for others. I stood up for someone I didn't even know last night. So, you can quite well imagine how much more I will care if a friend of mine is involved."

He looked at Jonouchi, desperation and caring shining in his eyes.

"If I stay with you, he will not only find me really quick," the delicate built teen explained softly, "he will also use you to get to me. Please understand this, Jonouchi-kun. You are my best friend; I won't take risk of losing you just so I won't be alone on my journey."

The blond wanted to protest, but Yuugi beat him.

"Look at it from this point, the vampire has strength and unfortunately he can fly. But I can change into any animal I want. I am able to adapt to anything, no matter where I am. Also, I need to protect my family."

His eyes were soft and friendly now, silently pleading for his best friend to understand.

"Jonouchi-kun, you would do the same for me if you had to, wouldn't you? Please trust me with this! For the vampire, this hunt seems to be a game. Even thought this is a deadly game, I love games. I will play any game given to me, no matter the rules. You know me, Jonouchi-kun. I've won every game I ever played so far. And I am not planning on starting to lose now. Have some faith in me!"

The tall teen looked like he still had quite a lot to say about his friend's decision, but he just sighed and bowed his head in defeat. "Damn it, Yuugi I hate it when you have that look in your eyes," he groaned. "It doesn't matter what I have to say, you'll leave anyway, won't you? Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Yuugi just chuckled. "Didn't you say only some weeks ago that my stubbornness is one of my best traits?"

"I take everything back," was the whining reply, which caused the small teen to laugh out loud for the first time in weeks. Jonouchi returned the laughter with a small smile of his own.

"At least you haven't lost your sense of humor," he sighed. "Yuugi, no matter what anyone else says you are the strongest boy I've ever met. I mean, look at you, this whole situation is so weird, so dangerous, but you are still able to laugh where others would have ended up in a mental hospital by now."

"Thanks, Jonouchi-kun," Yuugi mumbled, touched. "Well, I guess I've had enough time to adjust to my current situation."

"Even the shifters thing?" the blond retorted. His smaller built friend just scratched his head.

"Okay, maybe this is a different thing, but... I already feel used to it. Maybe, if what this vampire told me was true, this power really is a part of my family and I am only adjusting this well because it's been in my blood all my life without me knowing."

Jonouchi looked thoughtful. "Maybe... Anyway, when will you leave?"

Yuugi looked down at the wristwatch his best friend wore and sighed. "I guess I should leave right away. It's already near two in the afternoon and I only have about four hours till sundown left. I need to get as far away as possible till then." He looked at Jonouchi with serious, worried eyes. "Do me a favor, Jonouchi-kun?"

"What do you want, Yuugi?"

"Before sundown, call Honda and ask him if you could stay the night. Don't tell them what I told you. It's bad enough with you worrying about me. I don't want the others to worry as well."

"You are aware that they will start to worry as soon as they find out you're not at school tomorrow?" Jonouchi replied dryly, but Yuugi shook his head.

"Tell my teacher that a family emergency occurred and I had to drive to my family. They have to believe you for the time being because my family isn't exactly at home to confirm my story with a note. If our friends ask, just tell them it's important but nothing to worry about. Maybe they'll believe it."

The blond didn't exactly look like he believed what was happening, but he let it go without comment.

"Okay, so I'll tell our friends and teacher there is an family emergency. But what about me having to stay out the house tonight?"

"This vampire has a really good nose. He'll find out that I have been here, I am certain about that. And if you are here when he arrives, your life is in danger. So you need to be out of the house for the night. If I evaluate his actions right, he will not waste precious time trying to look for you. He will continue tracking me down by my smell. So, if you spend the night out, you should be safe."

"Okay, I understand," the blond said, nodding. "I'll call Honda right after you leave and ask him if we can do a guys night. We could watch some porn stuff, talk about the latest babes and..."

"Ok don't continue, I've already had more than enough information about your evening than I am comfortable with," Yuugi groaned out playfully. It caused his friend to grin. The smaller teen smiled softly before he said.

"But thanks for following my suggestion, Jonouchi-kun."

"No problem, Yuugi. It's already bad enough that we have to worry about you." The blond scratched his head a little helplessly. "And I guess it's not helping your mind any if you have to worry about me on the run. So I will stay away for the night to give you a clear mind."

Yuugi smiled and gave his best friend a sudden, and quite forceful for his height, hug.

"You are the best friend I could wish for," he told the taller one after he released him. "And to give you less reason to worry I herewith promise to contact you as often as I am able to while away. Would that work for you?"

"Yes, that would do a lot to calm me down," the blond replied thankfully. "By the way, how will you get to your family. They are not taking their holidays in the next town now, are they?"

"No, they are at Hokkaido at the moment, as far away as you can get from Domino without leaving Japan," Yuugi explained with a sigh. "But if I hurry maybe I could reach them by tomorrow. I'll fly as a bird. That should be quick enough."

"From here?"

"No, that would be too obvious," the delicate built teen admitted. "I was planing to go as a Eurasian Swift. It is not a Japanese bird but they're agile and the quickest bird on earth. We talked about them in a lesson once, remember? I'll change out of town in the forest. I guess I'll leave your place the same way I arrived... as a cat."

And with a grin on his face, Yuugi was engulfed in light again. When Jonouchi was able to look, instead of his best friend there was a small cat sitting on the ground, looking at him.

With a small sound of awe, the blond took the cat into his hands and carried it to his open window. He sat it down onto the windowsill, his face showing sadness and worry. The small animal gave a small mew and licked his hand thankfully. It caused a slight chuckle and he stroke over the soft fur.

"I wish you good luck, Yuugi," he said. "And don't forget about the promise you made. Call as often as you are able to."

The cat gave a small nod and then it was out of the window and down the pathway. The blond watched the cat leave until it could not be seen anymore in the crowd of people.

***

It was a dark, silent night over the isles of Japan. A small moon was illuminating the grounds with little light. On the horizon the first signs of the upcoming morning sun could already be felt.

In the peaceful silence of the ending night a lonely bird was sailing high above the sky. With quick, strong strokes of its wings it followed the pathway of a railway.

From his position high at the sky Yuugi was able to see the first shimmer of light from the sun quite well and he was thankful that morning was finally approaching. Even though in his new taken form of a Eurasian Swift he was quick and surprisingly strong, he could still feel tiredness.

He guessed it was the strain on the magic inside taking its toll because it couldn't be the lack of sleep. In the middle of his journey north, tiredness had overcome him and without realizing he slept on and off in the middle of his flight in the sky.

When he woke up again his first fear was that he'd lost his direction and didn't know where he was. But it seemed the natural instincts of a Eurasian Swift, were in his case, programmed to follow the railway under him which was his only source of how to find the hotel his family was staying at. Obviously he'd been following that given path, even in his sleep.

After waking up, he'd felt surprisingly refreshed and ready to continue his journey with a little more speed. He even flew so fast, that he could see the end of the main isle and the beginning of Hokkaido, his current goal. But now his mind started to feel awfully exhausted.

Yuugi knew he needed to land soon, or he would end up changing back into a human in the middle of the sky. Motivating himself to fly a little faster he decided that he should at least try to reach the northern isle of Japan before changing back. It would be morning upon his arrival, meaning that his pursuer would hopefully take a break from his hunt to sleep.

Fortunately for the currently transformed teen, he was indeed able to reach Hokkaido just as his last ounce of mental energy was going to fade. The Eurasian Swift landed in a small alley near a railway station and within seconds it changed into a delicate built human.

"Gods," Yuugi panted as if he had just finished a terrible marathon. After he got some air back into his lungs, he walked over to the train station he'd seen from the sky. He bought a small drink from the money he'd taken with him when he left his home the night before.

The next thing he did was find out which train was going to the small town his family was currently staying in. He bought a one-way-ticket and sat down on the platform to wait for his train to arrive.

The journey to his final destination took the young teen the entire morning. But his journey passed smoothly. When he arrived at the hotel he was tired and deeply exhausted, but at least he was there and nothing else mattered.

The receptionist of the small place was nice and when he asked for the room number of his jii-chan he immediately got his answer without any questions. It seemed his family was already known by the hotel personnel and his looks resembled his jii-chan's that much that it was obvious he was family.

Yuugi slowly made his way to his jii-chan's room, his body too tired to quicken his walk. The young teen was just thankful that his parents had taken another room. He was not sure if he wanted to explain to them the whole story before he spoke to his jii-chan alone.

Sugoroku Mutou had always been more believing and open to supernatural happenings and magic. His daughter-in-law and son, on the other hand, were more practical people who believed in technical and scientific explanations. After all, it had been the old Mutou who told his grandchild that the Sennen Puzzle was said to contain some unknown magic.

Finally, Yuugi arrived at the door of his jii-chan. Taking a deep breath he raised his hand to knock the door. But before his knuckles came in contact with the wood, it opened and in front of him stood an old man, as high as him with gray hair. He stared at the young teen with an open mouth, not quite believing what he saw. "Yuugi? What in all gods names are you doing here?"

Said teen cringed at the loud voice and signaled for his jii-chan to keep his voice down.

"I am here because something happened, jii-chan," Yuugi explained. "I am still not sure how to explain this all to kaa-san and tou-san, so please can I come in? I would prefer if no one besides you sees me for now."

The old Mutou still seemed to be a little shocked about Yuugi's sudden appearance but he recovered quickly and let his grandson in.

"You look tired," the old man stated when Yuugi fell gracelessly on the couch of the main room.

"I am, jii-chan, I am. Exhausted and tired. It took me the whole night to get to Hokkaido."

"How did you travel here anyway?" his jii-chan asked curious. Yuugi smiled slightly.

"Would you believe me if I told you I flew?"

To his surprise his jii-chan only raised an eyebrow, suddenly very calm.

"Depends on the circumstances. Tell me what happened what caused you to come all the way to Hokkaido just so you could speak with me."

"This will take some time to explain," Yuugi sighed with a small smile. He remembered quite well that he had given the same kind of answer not even twenty four hours ago to his best friend Jonouchi. For the second time in his life he started to tell his jii-chan the whole story from the arrival of the vampires, his discovery of his new powers and his journey to Hokkaido in the form of a Eurasian Swift.

After the young teen finished, Sugoroku Mutou was silent for a long while. To Yuugi's surprise his jii-chan took the whole story quite well. He had been sure he would have to change his form to prove his words but it seemed the old man didn't want to hear any of it. He just sat down beside his grandson and stroked over his head.

"Well, I always believed that one day someone would awaken our family's abilities again, but never in my dreams did I think it would be you," the old Mutou admitted with a chuckle. "Kaa-san always told me the Sennen Puzzle would be the key to our secret and when I was child there seemed to be the chance that the puzzle would be solved for the first time in Millennias. But my hope was proven wrong, the puzzle remaining unsolved."

He sighed, looking slightly sad at this memory before he glanced over at his grandson with a proud smile.

"But then I gave you the puzzle, Yuugi. At first I thought you would fail as I had when I was your age. But to my surprise, not only did you not give up on your task, but slowly you succeeded in putting the first pieces together. When you finished, it was like a dream had come true."

Yuugi blinked for a moment, trying to digest what he'd just found out.

"Just a moment, jii-chan. You told me that the puzzle was supposed to hold some unknown magic and you asked me that night when I finished if anything had happened. I still can't remember anything special happening but I always believed that maybe the puzzle would grant me a wish after being solved."

The old man laughed out loud at his grandson's words and he looked a little embarrassed. "I never told you the whole story behind the puzzle, did I?" he admitted a little guiltily.

"Just that the puzzle was said to be a magic item," Yuugi replied with raised eyebrow, curiosity written all over his face. "And the vampire said that my newfound power had been banished long ago by such a shifter and that a certain key was needed to activate it again."

Sugoroku Mutou nodded at this and took the upside down pyramid, his grandson wore into his hands.

"This Sennen Puzzle, Yuugi, is the key. I told you once that an ancestor of our family was pharaoh of Egypt. He was a so called shifter, and the power was said to be a gift of the gods to the family of the pharaoh. The power had been with them for generations, but then intrigue inside the family increased. Attacks against him often cost the life of innocent people and this pharaoh loved his people and wished for their happiness. Thus, when he saw how his family abused their power, having no concern for the people, just to kill him, he gathered his most trusted priest and together they banned the magic he inherited."

"That was a great sacrifice the pharaoh made, was it not?" Yuugi asked softly. "I mean, his ability to change into any animal possible would have been a good way to protect his life and a great advantage in solving a lot of problems Egypt had to face back then."

His jii-chan nodded. "That it was, a great sacrifice. During the ritual he destroyed the Sennen Puzzle, explaining to his family later that only the person who was able to put the puzzle back together would free the sleeping power again."

"And no one succeeded?" Yuugi asked, already knowing the answer.

"No one until you," the old man confirmed. "I think the condition to be able to solve the puzzle was a kind soul with a great sense of fairness. The pharaoh wanted to be sure that the person who would be able to use the power again, would never dare to use it for his personal desires without caring about who could get hurt. He wanted the person to be fair and open when using the power and not ready to stab someone's unsuspecting back like a coward."

"But you are kind and one of the fairest man I've ever met, aren't you?" Yuugi asked surprised. "Tou-san is also not that bad, why were you not able to solve it?"

"Well, your tou-san is a good man, but he doesn't believe in magic at all, as you know and he never liked games. I am also not sure if he really thinks much of fair play. It was pointless to give him the puzzle. It would just have ended up him giving it away and that's the last thing I wanted."

"And what about you, yourself?"

"Oh me," Sugoroku scratched his head and became slightly red. "I am not as kind as you may have thought, Yuugi. When I was younger, I sometimes went with my emotions. That's not a good idea for a power which could end up hurting people if you don't think about your actions. Also there was once someone I was not able to win against in a game. In my frustration I tried to cheat. I still didn't win and I guess that day I lost my chance to solve the puzzle for sure."

He watched the astonished look on his grandson's face and ruffled through his hair affectionately. "Don't worry, I promised that person to never ever cheat again, no matter how strong my opponent may be. And I've kept my word till now."

He smiled kindly at the young teen.

"But you are the perfect candidate, Yuugi," he continued with pride in his voice. "You have always been calm and you never stopped considering other people's feelings, even if you were angered by something. You care about others first and about yourself later and you treasure fair play over everything else in a game. You may be shy, but you are certainly no coward. I guess this is why you are now the first person in our family who has the honor of receiving the power and title of shifter back."

"But isn't it egoistic and kind of like cheating that I used my power to get away from this vampire?" Yuugi asked, a little skeptical. His jii-chan however, shook his head.

"Did you ever consider becoming a dangerous animal and attack your assailant from behind, Yuugi?"

"I would fight if there was no other way to get away," the young Mutou admitted. "But I would face him openly, not from some corner. I would never dare to back stab him. It's just... it feels wrong in my eyes, even though my situation alone would be excuse enough to do it anyway."

"And the killing of the girl was an accident, wasn't it?" A silent nod was the answer. "See, you are still fearing an action that could hurt anyone, even the vampire," his jii-chan explained, smiling. "And if you have to face him, you want to do it with honor, not like a cheating coward. This is why you are the right person."

"I see," Yuugi replied thoughtfully. "So this means that every descendant I may have, will be a shifter?"

"I guess that's the case," the old Mutou replied, grinning. Yuugi just shook his head in amusement about his jii-chan's enthusiasm. But his face suddenly darkened.

"Well, depends on if I survive being hunted by a vampire that is," the young teen sighed and looked at the older man. "Jii-chan, I can't stay here much longer. I have to leave Japan as fast as I can to get away from everyone who is dear to me and you can't stay here in the hotel for the next few days either. He is following me and he will come here for sure. I fear for your life if he arrives and finds you."

"You are again only thinking of others," his jii-chan stated with a shake of his head. "Your own well being comes last in your mind. In your eyes the safety of your family and friends is more important; we really need to do something about your way of thinking."

"Beside the fact that you are taking everything quite calmly, jii-chan, do you really think you are able to change my way of thinking?" Yuugi replied with a raised eyebrow. His jii-chan bowed his head with a sigh.

"No, you've been like this all your life. You won't stop being you just because we are worried about you."

"I'll be okay, jii-chan, really," the young teen assured. "I think with my newfound power I'll be able to hold him at bay, but I'm worried about you."

"Don't be," the old man assured, stroking over his grandson's head to calm him down. "Your parents and I booked a trip to the north of Hokkaido with a tour guide. We will be away from this hotel for the next four days. Then there are only two days left anyway before we return back home."

He looked at his grandson seriously.

"That's when the real problems start. We have to come up with an excuse to explain your absence to your parents and school."

Yuugi nodded in understanding and sighed.

"So, jii-chan, what do we do?"


TBC...