Moonlight streamed through the window of the library at Sunnydale High School as Yami Yugi sat floating in mid-air in the lotus position above one of the tables. His legs were crossed, and he had his first fingers connected with his thumbs, while his elbows were above his knees. His crimson eyes were closed; however, he wasn't exactly asleep. Mentally, he was on guard for anything and anybody that might enter the library at this time of night.

"Yami?" said a voice in a whisper.

Yami opened his eyes, his senses now on full alert. He grinned as he perceived none other than the librarian and Watcher Rupert Giles.

"Rupert, my friend," he said, his own voice also in a tone of whispers. "How are you?"

Giles let a smile cross his own face as he replied, "Oh, please, Yami, call me Giles. After all, Buffy and Willow do. Of course, Xander takes any opportunity he gets to call me ‛G-man', which is-"

"A nickname you dislike with a passion, I take it," Yami nodded in reply.

Giles chuckled a little. "Ah, yes, of course. But just between you and me, Yami, I have secretly taken a liking to that nickname, though."

"I see, and relax," said Yami as he raised his right hand as though swearing an oath. "I will keep that a closely well-guarded secret to myself, of course."

Giles nodded as though to say something along the lines of, ‛I knew I could count on you, Yami' before walking over to the table where Yami was still floating in mid-air.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me, Giles?" Yami queried, a puzzled look on his face.

Giles blinked before pulling his mind back to the present. Apparently, he had wanted to tell Yami some good news about his schoolwork.

In Giles' mind, Yami definitely was the scholarly type of genius, although he never made a big deal about it. Even the other students seemed to sense the studious nature that Yami had; deep down, they wished they had his work ethic, too.

A memory came to Giles just then. A few days ago, he had heard a few members of the football team talking to each other about Yami at the lockers.

"That Yami dude sure is quite something."

"Yeah, he sure does have a lot going for him. For one thing, there's his looks. Those crimson eyes, that aura of self-confidence about him."

"I agree. There's also his work ethic. From what I've heard, he can pull awesome scores on tests like nobody's business. It's like he's... I don't know, maybe some sort of super-genius. Or a child prodigy, maybe."

Giles remembered wanting to tell Yami about it when he got the chance. And he did exactly that in the library. Yami's reaction was one that even Willow's boyfriend, Daniel Osbourne (who preferred to be called Oz), would have sometimes — stoic and calm.

For a moment, Giles wondered if Yami and Oz had been getting together and rehearsing those kinds of reactions beforehand. If they had, it certainly wasn't a surprise to him.

"Uh, yes, Yami," Giles said as he mentally pulled himself out of his memories and back to reality. "You see, um... I've been wondering about something. Basically... have you developed an interest in world history lately?"

Yami paused with his left knuckle supporting his chin, thinking over the query for a few moments, which was enough time to let Giles know he was ruminating on it.

"Maybe I have. Why?" Yami finally asked.

Giles' reply to that was pointing to a book on the very table that Yami happened to be hovering above. "Well," he said, "it looks like you've been reading ‛Chronicles of the 20th Century', for one thing. And that happens to be a very heavy book."

Yami nodded. "Indeed it is, Giles."

Giles took off his glasses, as per his habit; after cleaning them, he put them back on. "Also, I've been catching you with not just that book, but also other books, such as books about school and grades sometimes."

Again Yami nodded. "Indeed I have," he replied.

Giles just shook his head in amazement. "I'm just astounded, Yami. You're doing so well in your classes, and even your teachers like how you study a lot." A grin of pride broke out across his face as he thought over his next words. "And I just want to tell you... that I'm proud of you."

Yami smiled at hearing those words of encouragement. Apparently to a student like him, hearing those words from Rupert Giles, the English librarian who also happened to be Buffy's Watcher, sure felt good.

"Thank you, Giles. It's hearing encouraging feedback from you that makes me want to test my limits and take one step at a time with learning a lot in school," the former Pharaoh remarked.

Giles nodded, smiling still, and told him "you're welcome" in return.

After saying their goodbyes, Giles turned and left the library, while Yami stayed where he was, and returned to his meditation state.

In one night, a librarian/Watcher had learned what being proud of a student was like, and a former Pharaoh had discovered that being diligent with one's studies and having a good work ethic, especially in high school, were definitely two good qualities to have.

And in Yami's case, having the entire student body become intrigued by him because of his being the way he was, personality-wise, sure happened to be something special.