Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Unconditionally (Version 1 - SEMI FINAL)

Prologue 1

The sun shone brightly in the city of Domino. Birds were twittering and the city was already bustling at 8:30 on a Saturday morning. Téa Gardner trotted cheerfully around the corner, waving to the old man humming to himself and sweeping the concrete outside the Kame Game shop. She said, "Good morning, Mr. Muto!" Solomon Muto looked up and his face lit up. He greeted her with a bright smile.

"Ah, Téa," he said, "Good morning! Yugi's upstairs getting ready. I'll call him for you." She nodded in response and Solomon asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

Téa shook her head and said politely, "No, thank you. We're already going to be late."

She looked down at her wristwatch anxiously as Solomon opened the door and called inside, "Yugi! Téa's here!"

Upstairs, Yugi finished bending the strong links of a new chain into place with two sets of pliers. He lifted it up, draping his Millennium Puzzle, a heavy, golden, pyramid-shaped artifact embellished with a large eye, around his neck. He shouted, "I'll be right there!" He smiled and thought, looking into the small mirror standing on his desk, "This new chain ought to keep the Millennium Puzzle safe." He heard a second voice in his head; that of the ancient spirit that dwelled within his Puzzle who went by the name 'Yami'.

"We're going to need it now, more than ever, Yugi. The Millennium Puzzle connects us and I sense that fate has more in store for us."

Yugi bit the inside of his lip nervously and said, "Well, we're in this thing together, no matter what."

Yami said as Yugi grabbed his backpack and jogged outside, "I wish I knew more, but our future is still unclear to me."

Yugi said, "Well, Yami, I'll help you figure it out." He ran down the stairs and out the door, passing his mother in the kitchen with little more than a goodbye, to join Téa on their relatively short walk to school.

Téa teased, "About time, Yugi. What took you so long?"

Yugi looked down at his Puzzle and said, his voice lowering in uncertainty, "Uh, I was talking to the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. Yami seems a little worried about our future, or at least, I think so anyway. He said something about our destiny being unclear." Téa cocked her head to the side and he continued, "Ever since we defeated Pegasus together in Duelist Kingdom, he's been talking about fate. Almost like there's something more he has to do. He really doesn't know that much about himself like where he came from or why he's here, but I'm babbling and we're running late."

Téa nodded and said, "Oh, right. We should go." The two walked on their way, waving goodbye to Yugi's grandfather as they turned out of sight.

A few streets away, Emiko Kaiba walked at a brisk pace towards Domino High School, her guitar case hoisted up onto her shoulder. She felt herself starting to sweat, thanks to the weight of her instrument, but she was thankful that there was a gentle, cool breeze that day. She looked down at her watch and sighed. She thought, "Dang. The game doesn't even start for another two hours." She shrugged and continued walking, but stopped when she heard a familiar, soft voice behind her.

"Emiko!"

Ryou Bakura was running towards her, his gentle, British-English accent being immediately recognizable, even from a distance. She smiled at him and said, "Hey, good morning!"

He said, stopping next to her, "Good morning. Are you ready for the soccer game today?"

Emiko shifted her guitar case's strap on her shoulder and said, "Yeah. I just hope my song being right before the game doesn't kill the mood. I mean, everyone's so excited and my song isn't even all that...bombastic...you know?"