| Yugi has grown so much since ninth grade. I used to be a good 8 inches taller, and now he's a full 13 inches taller than I am, but I have not grown. But I don't only mean physically. He has matured to a degree that I never thought was possible; especially because he matured so much in just a few months. I must say that he has taken all that has happened over the past four years very well. After he rescued the Kaiba brothers and his grandfather, Sugoroku-ojii from Pegasus, we went home as fast as we could. When we returned to Grandpa's shop, we found that he was very ill. None of us knew what to do. When we took him to the hospital, we found that he'd caught pneumonia when he had gone out in the freezing rain to find us, and it could be a fatal case. Grandpa ended up staying in the hospital for three months. Worst yet, Yugi almost had to stay with his parents. I know neither how nor why the courts forgot that the only reason Yugi lives with his grandfather was because his parents abused him as a child. That's why he was so timid. Anyway, he ended up staying with Bakura, rather than alone at his own place. To top it all off, Yugi's parents decided that Bakura was bad company, so they came here to Domino City to "claim" him. I couldn't believe it. Yugi didn't know how they'd found him, and to this day still does not. When they arrived here in Domino, they went straight to City Hall. They said that their son had been staying with his Grandfather for a while and that he had moved, so they couldn't find him. They gave him a permit to take Yugi back (as their slave, no doubt) and live go home with them. Then they went to the Turtle Game Shop, and how they knew to go there we don't know; Grandpa doesn't advertise and isn't listed in the phone book. But they got there and they found Yugi behind the counter� chatting with Joey, Tristan, Bakura, and Seto. I was chatting with Mai, Katharyna, Miho, and Serenity around the small table that the guys had set up near the counter. "Welcome to the Tu�" at this point, he halted and paled. Joey saw him pale and asked, "Hey, Yug, something the matter?" He hadn't noticed that Yugi had started inching toward the door to the back rooms and upstairs of the Shop. When he touched the door, he grabbed the knob and raced out of there. We were worried about his behavior; Yugi was no coward. Before the others could race up to him, I stopped them. "I'll talk to him. You stay down here." With that, I raced upstairs. "Yugi? Is something the matter? Who were those people?" I asked as I walked toward his room. I heard mumbling coming from his room, so I walked in. I found him sitting on his bed, shaking. "Yugi, what is the matter? You are many things, but a coward is not one of them. Who were those two? Old neighbors, godparents, aunt and uncle, perhaps?" I inquired again. I sat down on his chair, as I wished to provide comfort, but not be too forward. "Sit on the bed, please." He asked. "I'll tell you who they were, and their connection to me. They're�" He trailed off and didn't continue for several seconds. "They are�" I prompted. CLIFFIE!!!!! Tune in next week for Chapter 2! |