(A/N: Gaahhh!! Sowwy! I know this should've been posted yesterday, but I couldn't finish it until... five minutes ago? Ten? Bleh, whatever, here it is! n-n I hope you like it, I worked hard on it!

Disclaimer I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the characters, just the plot. Enjoy! :D)

Protected

The lightings and thunders stroked the sky as the rain fell and hit hardly the window from where a young boy stared at the filled-with-war atmosphere. Rain was supposed to calm him down…

"Yugi, come here, get away from the window!" He felt when his older brother grabbed his wrist and began to drag him towards the other side of them room.

BOOM!

The house shook and trembled roughly and both siblings fell to the floor. The older one stood up first thing, took Yugi on his back, and ran out of the house.

He didn't care about the rain wetting and soaking them; he only cared about his little brother's safety, praying for his sake that both of them could make it in time, harmless, to the small of their refuge.

As soon as he touched the doorknob, the older got inside and locked the door while putting Yugi on the floor.

"How many times—" he panted heavily, resting his arms on the door frame, "—have I told you to stay away from the window?"

"Sorry, Yami," mumbled Yugi, staring down at the floor with sorrowful eyes.

"Stay here." Yami opened a small closet with drawers within it. He pulled open one of those drawers and took out two towels. He put one of them around his neck and with the other one, still in hands, he began to dry off the boy, rustling the towel across his hair and head.

"Sorry, big bro," repeated the infant, his voice muffled by the towel.

"Go and sit in the bed," said his brother once he had finished drying him off, speaking with a soft tone of voice.

"I'm scared," replied the boy as he obeyed, lying his head down on the pillow that was at the corner of the mattress.

"I know you are." Yami sighed heavily and took a place at the edge, giving his back to Yugi. "Hey, now what do we have here?" he asked as he saw a teddy bear resting underneath the bed. He took it out and showed it to his brother. "Is this yours?"

"Mr. Snuggles!" cried Yugi, hugging the plushy lovingly.

"Mr. Snuggles?" repeated the older one, letting out a soft chuckle.

"Do you think I'm too grown up to have a teddy bear?" Yami shook his head.

"Of course you aren't. Who gave you that, by the way?" Yugi squeezed the plushy.

"The Shepherd did, as a goodbye present, the day you became my legal guardian," he remarked, a smile sprawled on his face.

"Really? I hadn't seen it until today," replied Yami.

"Well, it hasn't been even half a year since then."

"Yeah, that's right." The older one turned his head to the window behind him. "But a lot has changed, actually."

He wasn't wrong at all. War had hit them so suddenly that they didn't even know what it was at first. It had been about a week after Yugi legally became Yami's little brother, and they both had seemed to surround themselves with a world full of happiness and joy.

Yami knew that someday, the city would crumble to ruins and all the children would have to be evacuated to some other place; a safer place; where they could stay until the war ended. In fact, some of them had already been taken; he didn't know if Yugi would be next… he didn't know when he would be next.

He feared that day… feared it with his heart and soul.

Obviously, he cared for his little brother's safety; but he was deeply afraid of losing him.

"Bro?" Yami turned to Yugi. "Will those guys come to take me, too?" The older one held his breath.

"W- What are you talking about?" he asked nervously. Yugi was sitting up, looking down to the teddy bear he had on his hands.

"I have… heard you talking about them—" he murmured. "Well, mostly like… 'yelling' about them… while you're asleep." Yami's eyes widened.

No, no, no, no, no, why?

"I've been waking up at night these past days… and I hear you—like, saying these weird things about not losing me and not wanting them to take me, either."

He had done everything he could to hide his pain and agony from Yugi… and the boy had figured it out thanks to Yami himself; thanks to all of those nightmares he'd had recently.

"I'm also scared, you know," Yugi kept talking, still looking down and his voice low and mumbling. "From what you've said sleeping, I know that many children like me have already been evacuated or taken to some other place."

This was it. Yugi was going to tell his brother to let him go, even if he was afraid. Yami hid his face within his hands, using them mostly to cover his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" asked the boy. Yami frowned slightly and slid his hands to his knees while looking at Yugi's face. His little brother started at him with doubtful eyes.

"I didn't want to worry you," he finally spoke, answering. Then, he turned his sight away. "I mean, we've only been really siblings during a month. If more time had passed…" The older one covered his eyes again, sniffling and biting his lower lip. "No, I think it would still hurt as much just to think about it even if we had already been years together…"

He sniffled again, water drops swiftly falling from his eyes through his hands that still covered his face.

Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his arm. He removed his own from his eyes and stared at it.

"I won't go with them," said Yugi firmly. "Even if they force me, I'm not going to leave my big bro here, all alone." A smile formed upon his lips. Yami looked at his little brother.

"Even when you know that they would force you because it's for your own good?" The boy's smile grew slightly and he nodded.

"Do you think that after all this time wanting you to be my real big bro, I'm just going to leave like that?" he asked, still smiling. Yami smiled back and shook his head.

Yugi's eyes started filling with tears and he quickly threw his arms around Yami's neck, hugging him tightly. Yami was caught off guard, but after just a second, he gave back the hug, embracing his little brother as if there was no tomorrow.

Yami suddenly looked up.

"What's wrong?" asked the boy, confused and sniffling.

"I haven't heard any bomb right now," answered the older one. "The last one was when we were at the house."

"Do you think they retreated?"

"Maybe, but I think—"

KNOCK, KNOCK

Yami's head immediately turned to the door.

Crap.

KNOCK, KNOCK

They had come to take Yugi.

Yami wildly shook his head, listening to Yugi's sobbing as he tightened his grip on his big brother.

"Yami? Are you there?" The older one gasped.

"That's Ryou!" said the boy loudly. "What's he doing here?"

"You can come out, there's no danger!" Yami slowly stood up, told Yugi to stay where he was, and walked to the door; then he opened the door.

"Ryou, what are you doing here?" he questioned.

"I have very good news! Oh, wait, has Yugi…?" The younger of the two understood what he was trying to say.

"No, not yet," he answered as his little brother crawled down the bed.

"Oh, then, that's wonderful!" said Ryou with a grin. "I came as soon as I found out!"

"Found out what? What's going on?"

"The general that was going to tell when the children would be evacuated came just a while ago to the orphanage," explained the oldest. "At first, I thought that he went to take the rest of them, but he said that there was no need!" Yami, deeply confused by his own thoughts, didn't seem to comprehend what his friend was saying. Ryou apparently noticed. "Do you know what that means? The war has stopped! Yugi won't have to leave!"

Yami felt as if somebody had smashed his heart in pieces and then glued them together, but better.

"The general said that he was telling everyone, and I decided to come here and give you the good news while the shepherd did me the favor of staying with the children at the orphanage."

"Y- Y- You're r- really serious?" asked Yugi, his mouth wide open.

"Of course I am! I was worried that Yugi had already been taken, but now I see that this whole mess stopped just in time, right?" His older brother brought a hand to his mouth, tears spilling down his face.

"I thought… I didn't think…" As he cried, Yami let out a chuckle, which suddenly turned into a laugh. "I can't believe…!"

"Bro, you heard that? I'm gonna stay here, bro!" yelled Yugi happily as he ran to his brother's side, water sliding down his cheeks. "I'm not going to leave!"

Yami took Yugi in his arms and began to spin around, both of them laughing and yelling excitedly. It was the greatest miracle that he had ever received.

The two brothers were so happy and sank into their own world of joy that they didn't even notice when Ryou left.

(A/N: Crappy ending... I didn't like it at all. But I can't find anything better to say XD And this is the end of my brothers trilogy!

Oh, well, if you liked it, review!! :D)