Ranko: Hey guys! I have always read stories with a long note in the beginning that had the author talking to the characters. It looked fun so I decided, "Hey, why not?" Also I am a nerd.

Yuugi: Stop putting yourself down.

Ranko: O.O

Yuugi: (cringes) What?

Ranko: (glomps Yuugi) You are so cute! I love you!

Yami: Hey! (pulls Yuugi into arms possessively)

Ranko: (begins tug-o-war with Yami) Back off, he's mine!

Yami: No! He's my aibou!

Yuugi: Actually! Neither of you own me! Ranko twin doesn't own me nor anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh! nor the Forbidden Games, both belong to their respected creators!

Ranko: (pouts) Your still cute. This was actually really fun, I might do it more often…if I'm not lazy. Enjoy!

Yami: (keeps Yuugi away from Ranko) Or not…

Ranko: Shut up! (grabs Yuugi and runs)

-/-

Yuugi looked over his shoulder and then quickly whipped his head back around to look forward again.

They were still following him – the two new kids that just joined Ushio's gang. Before you were able to join Ushio's gang of merry men, you had to pass the initiation: stalk Yuugi Motou and then beat him up. Yuugi had known Ushio since elementary school and since then he took great pleasure in beating or picking on the smaller boy.

These two kids, only a little taller than Yuugi but much more muscular, were not doing a good job at stalking him though. He noticed after a while that they had been following him; when he slowed down to look at something, they would too, or if he stopped, so would they.

Yuugi looked ahead and sighed in relief when he saw that the movie store was just a few blocks ahead. But wait, if he crossed the street than the two boys would be able to catch up with him. Maybe they had decided that Yuugi wasn't worth their time and went home? Yeah, that was just as likely as hell freezing over. Yuugi slowed down slightly and the footsteps behind him slowed as well.

Damn it.

'Whatever you do, just don't look back,' Yuugi told himself. He had dealt with many other people like this and if he looked back he would just be acknowledging the bullies and encourage them. 'Great, I can turn right on this street up ahead and duck into a store until they leave. Yeah, do that Yuugi.'

Yuugi squared his slim shoulders back and tried to stand as tall as one could at a height of five foot. Yuugi caught his reflection in a store window and couldn't help but grimace. He understood why people picked on him all the time, it was because he radiated innocence, even his best friend picked on him at one time.

Who could blame them though?

With his wide amethyst eyes that sparkled like gems and were so childlike. His soft features and his small frame that made him look so fragile that if you hugged him too hard he might break. His height didn't help him either, many people had mistaken him for twelve years old when he was really sixteen going on seventeen.

But his most standout feature was his gravity defying hair that poked up like a star. His soft ebony hair was tipped with a purple that matched his eyes. He had spiky blond bangs that framed his cute face and a little bang that fell across his forehead cutely, no matter how many times he brushed it aside.

He snapped out of his trance when he noticed the street he was going to turn right on was approaching quickly. He stood tall and quickened his pace by half a step. When he turned the corner he immediately scanned the area for protection. But all of the stores he could see were either closed or out of business and boarded up.

Now Yuugi was panicking.

He flattened himself up against the wall and pushed his golden bangs behind his ear to listen. Were those footsteps or the pounding of his own heart?

Yuugi really wished Jounouchi was here.

The two had known each other most of there lives but only became friends two years ago when they were freshman in high school. Jou was the one who gave him confidence to make new friends. He was like Yuugi's older brother.

But then again, Jounouchi couldn't be with him. Yuugi was out shopping for his best friend's birthday party. He was out looking for a game he could play with all his friends for the party. Jou and most of Yuugi's small group of friends loved games, so it was only natural to host a game party. The task should be easy considering that Yuugi's grandfather owned a game shop but Jou had played all the games his grandfather owned more than once and Jounouchi was the type of person that likes change, surprises, and excitement.

So Yuugi, being a bit of a procrastinator, waited till the day of Jou's birthday party to look for the game. Yuugi could easily buy a video game or a computer game, but Jou didn't like video games as much as he liked old fashioned board games and his grandfather didn't own a computer, besides Yuugi's old laptop. Besides, it had to be a game that a large number of people could play at the same time and something everyone would enjoy.

Yuugi was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps. They were close.

What could he do? He quickly looked down the road again and noticed an odd mural painted on a storefront. Yuugi squinted and then blinked in surprise. Strange…some parts of the mural looked real and almost…three-dimensional. Like he could reach out and grab that doorknob…

Yuugi jumped back when he realized that the doorknob was real. He lifted his hand to touch what he assumed was a door that was hidden in the mural and was once again surprised when he felt wood under his fingers instead of a stone wall. A door, no, a store, hidden by a mural? That was strange. It must not get much business because it was camouflaged.

Yuugi heard footsteps quickly approaching and without hesitation he grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open and stepped inside a dimly lit room. He shut the door quietly behind him and noticed a push lock button on the handle and depressed it. Yuugi sighed in relief and rested his head on the door, he should be safe for now.

When he collected himself he turned around and took in the sight of the store. It was a game shop…a really weird game shop, but a game shop non the less. The fact that he stumbled upon a game shop was strangely convenient but he didn't care, he could look around and possibly find a game for the party while he waited for those guys to leave.

'I'm sure the owner would appreciate a customer,' Yuugi thought as he wondered around the nearly dark room, hearing music playing from somewhere inside the store. It was a strange combination of electro and classical. 'Must not get many customers because of that mural.'

As he wondered around the store he noticed how strange it really was. Everything looked so old and ancient and…creepy. Yuugi shivered when he saw a pirate game that consisted of chopping off the other player's pirate's head. Most of these games Yuugi had never seen before, and that was saying something. Wait, was that a triangular chess board?

Yuugi sighed in relief when he noticed something that was familiar to him – Duel Monsters. He shuffled through some of the cards and furrowed his eyebrows together. He had never seen these cards before. What was the Seal of Orichalcos? Yuugi shrugged and set the cards back down before looking around the store again.

It didn't look like there were many normal games that a large group of teenagers could play. All the games looked morbid and dark and otherworldly, then again, this whole store had a weird otherworldly vibe.

A sign hanging above the counter read:

W E L C

O M E T

O M Y W

O R L D

As Yuugi was tilting his head, trying to read it, he noticed a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw a golden box with strange Egyptian hieroglyphics scratched on its sides. In the center of all the strange markings was an eye. It looked familiar, his grandfather often talked about it. It was the Eye of Horus? Is that what his grandfather called it?

Yuugi reached out to touch the box, curious if it was real gold, and wanting to feel its cold, smooth surface, but then a voice sounded behind him.

"Can I help you?"

Yuugi nearly jumped ten feet in the air. He spun around and…lost his breath. Standing behind him was a boy, about Yuugi's age, maybe a few years older. The first thing Yuugi noticed was how similar this boy's hair was to his own, except with was more wild and had blond lightning bolts running through his hair.

Then Yuugi was taken aback by his eyes, and if he had any breath left in him he would gasp. The boy's eyes were slanted and had a certain gleam to them. They were the color of blood. They shimmered and shined in the dull lighting like rubies, catching the light and reflecting it just like real gems did. And…oh, God, they were beautiful.

The boy was tall and lean, he was possibly only an inch or two shorter than Jounouchi. He wore skin tight leather pants that hugged his hips and accentuated his long legs. He wore criss-crossing belts that were obviously just there for show. He wore a leather tank top, showing off his muscular, long arms.

"Can I help you?" the boy asked again, snapping Yuugi out of his daze. His voice was such a rich, deep baritone. The taller male planted a hand on his hip and stared at Yuugi, starting to get impatient.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry," Yuugi quickly apologized, blushing madly. The boy must think that he was a total idiot.

Amusement glittered in his ruby eyes. "It's fine. But is there something your looking for?"

"Oh, yeah! I want to buy a game…for a party…for my best friend."

Damn it! Why couldn't he speak today?

Yuugi came out of the closet about a year ago but he still didn't know how the whole being gay thing worked. He wasn't even comfortable approaching guys.

The boy's eyes suddenly brightened at the possibility of making a sale. "Be my guest. Is there anything in particular that you are looking for?"

"Um, something a lot of people can play at once."

"Ah, I think I have just the thing," the boy said happily. He moved over to a table where on display was a bronze board with tiny figurines sitting on it. "The ancient Tibetan game of goats and tigers. You see, the tigers," the beautiful boy picked a figurine of a crouching tiger from the board. "Stalk the innocent little goats and the goats try to get away from the tigers." The boy held another figurine of a goat in his other hand. "It's meant for only two players, but I guess more people can play."

Yuugi tried not to look frightened when the boy was describing the game to him. "N-no thanks." Yuugi cursed himself for stuttering. "That's not really the game I had in mind."

The boy rubbed his chin in thought and Yuugi just noticed a tattoo of a thorn bracelet circling his right wrist. Strange, it even had blood tattooed on where the thorns would prick his skin. 'He's so cute, but really strange. He's like one of those gothic punks.'

"I need a game that a lot of people can play at once," Yuugi said again, feeling stupid for repeating himself.

The gothic punk smiled at Yuugi that sent chills down the younger boy's spine. The taller male looked at Yuugi in a way that a predator would look at his prey. Now Yuugi was nervous.

Yuugi swept his eyes over the store once more and nervously took a step back towards the front door. "It doesn't look like you have anything like that in this store, so I better leave. Thanks anyway." Yuugi quickly turned around and started towards the door.

"Mystery."

Yuugi stopped dead in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. The boy was staring at Yuugi with a strange glint in his eyes. Like he was staring at something that was just out of reach.

"Danger. Seduction. Fear."

Now Yuugi turned around fully, the way the boy talked was mesmerizing.

"Secrets revealed. Desires unveiled."

Yuugi took a step towards the boy and stopped when the taller of the two pronounced the last word carefully, huskily.

"Temptation."

There was that strange glint in his red eyes again.

"Wh-what do you mean?" The way the older boy was staring at him gave Yuugi a full body blush.

The boy smirked happily, obviously pleased at Yuugi's reaction. "The Game, of course. That's what you want, isn't it? Something very…special." The boy's eyes roamed over Yuugi's body at the word "special". Yuugi shivered, feeling like those captivating red eyes were undressing him.

"I think I'd better lea—,"

"We do have something like that in stock," the boy said eagerly, not wanting Yuugi to leave.

Yuugi noticed that the boy said "we", but during his stay at the game store he only saw this one boy, no other workers milling about.

Yuugi opening his mouth to speak when he was cut off yet again. "Let me got get it for you." And then the boy disappeared through a door to the back room.

'Quick Yuugi, now's your chance, leave while he's gone,' Yuugi thought. But the boy quickly reappeared like he had sensed Yuugi was about to leave.

He smiled fondly at the younger male and approached with a Monopoly sized box in hand. "I think this is what you've been looking for," he said, holding the box out to show Yuugi.

It was a simple cardboard game box but what really caught Yuugi's attention was how it was designed. It was golden with Egyptian hieroglyphics printed on the box, the Eye of Horus in the dead center. It looked like that other box he had seen earlier. At the top, above the eye, the words: THE SHADOW GAME was scrawled on messily like they were done in black sharpie.

Yuugi immediately felt drawn to it.

The older boy smiled like a lion, like he knew that Yuugi desired the game.

"Could I see it?" Yuugi asked, reaching out a hand to touch it.

The taller boy swiped it out of Yuugi's reach and tried to contain his smile from stretching across his face anymore. Yuugi pouted; now the boy was just teasing him. "I don't know…" The boy tilted the box between his hands, appearing to ponder if he should sell it to Yuugi or not, but Yuugi could hear the amusement in the other boy's voice. The boy finally shook his head. "On second thought, I don't think I should sell it to you after all."

Yuugi had to resist the urge to stomp his foot like a child. He could practically hear the boy snickering inside his head. But wait, did Yuugi actually hear snickering coming from the back room. Nah, that was just his imagination.

"Why not?" Yuugi asked, irritated.

"Because it's too special to give to just anybody. Maybe if you explained to me what the situation is…"

Yuugi huffed; what a tease. "I already told you," Yuugi said, his tone sharp. "It's for a party, for my best friend, Jounouchi. He's turning seventeen today."

The boy played with the sharp corners of the box and looked indifferent. "So?"

Yuugi took a deep breath. "So…I need something for us today. I already screwed up with planning and organizing the party and Jou really deserves the best."

The boy looked up and stared at Yuugi with his shocking red eyes. "Does he?"

Yuugi was at a loss for words at this. "O-of course he does! He's my best friend and we have always been there for each other. He is always protecting me and giving me courage. He's a really sweet guy and everything I wish I could be."

"I get it," the boy nearly snapped out.

Yuugi shook his head. "No, you don't." Yuugi had no idea where all this courage came from. "He is a great, wonderful guy. We haven't known each other that long but he has made up for that. He is the best friend any guy could ask for and if anyone disagrees—!"

Yuugi stopped. The box was being held out to him.

"Here, you can have it if you want," the boy said, his voice had no real emotion or enthusiasm in it.

Yuugi hesitated for a moment. The boy sighed and shoved the box in Yuugi's face, starting to get irritated. "Do you want it or not?"

Yuugi cleared his throat and took the box from the boy's long, lean fingers. The box buzzed and tingled under the pads of his fingers. "Yes, thank you. H-how much?"

The boy shrugged his shoulder and cleaned his fingernails. "Free."

"Wh-what?" Yuugi choked out.

The boy sighed again. "Listen, if you want it, that's fine, just take it. Just go before I change my mind."

Yuugi blinked; where did that come from?

"Oh, um, thanks. Uh…see you later," Yuugi said politely. He turned around to walk out, not expecting a reply.

He heard the boy behind him murmur something that sounded like "at nine" but it must have been something like "that's fine".

Yuugi looked back one more time and saw the boy hidden half in the shadows, his sharp features jumping out. He has looking at Yuugi with a hungry look in his eyes. He smiled at Yuugi, unnerving the younger boy. "Enjoy," he said happily.

Yuugi opened his mouth to say something when he heard an unseen grandfather clock strike.

7: 30

Yuugi couldn't believe the time, there was no way that he had stayed in the store for so long. Yuugi dashed out the door, yelling another "thank you" over his shoulder, before slamming the store door shut behind him. He ran as fast as his short legs could carry him, cradling the box to his chest. He really hoped he could get home before everyone else did.

In his rush, Yuugi didn't even notice that the mural and the door to the game shop had disappeared, leaving behind a blank, colorless wall.

-/-

Ranko: I love the Forbidden Game series so much and I was just struck by inspiration one day and this came together!

Yami: You are such a liar. Why don't you just admit that you really wanted to do a Yu-Gi-Oh story and create a dark/evil me?

Ranko: Shut up, Yami! You're already dark and evil!

Yami: No I'm not!

Ranko: (laughs) Have you not seen season 0? 4kids doesn't own season 0 so it isn't censored so you basically see Yuugi get his ass handed to him every episode. And then you (points to Yami) go all crazy and torture anyone that bullied Yuugi.

Yuugi: (shudders)

Yami: …Oh yeah

Ranko: (nods) On another note, I finished Yu-Gi-Oh last night and I am still depressed. You see what happened was—!"

Yami: (covers Yuugi's ears) No spoilers!

Ranko: Oh…right. Anyway, to cheer myself up I put this plot together in five minutes, grabbed my Forbidden Game books and went to work. For some people out there who have read the trilogy, I love to add my own twist to the story when I do a crossover. I take away and I give, so don't expect this story to be exactly the same way L.J. Smith did it.

Yuugi: (gives the puppy dog eyes of death!) Please review.

Ranko: Warning! This story will contain: dark puzzleshipping (maybe one-sided), one-sided wishshipping, and one-sided puppyshipping. Cause I like it!