"The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love."
Hubert Humprey
"Tristan not coming today?" Yugi asked Joey as he joined the group.
"No," Joey replied, "He just, didn't meet me on the way."
"Maybe he's ill," Téa suggested.
"Maybe," Joey agreed nodding his head, "But he always calls me before school to tell me. Whatever, I'll stop by his on the way home."
___
And that was that. That little conversation was the unknown catalyst to a world of hurt.
___
As the streets were deserted from the occupants of Domino City on that dull afternoon; Téa Gardener sat in her bedroom listening to the rain hit softly against her window like little beating drums.
Her mind couldn't focus on her homework so she had just let herself drift off into a daydream. The ringing of her mobile disrupted the peace, causing her to jump slightly and almost at once she answered it.
"Hello, Téa Gardener speaking," she answered, lifting to phone to her ear, leaning on her desk lazily.
"T- Téa?" Straight away his voice unnerved her and she sat up straight.
"Joey?" She asked just to confirm.
"Yea, it's m-me Téa."
"What's the matter?" It seemed that 'Are you okay' would be a stupid question at that moment.
"There's been-," his voice broke halfway through his speech. She waited for him to continue. "Tristan's in trouble."
_
Joey hadn't wanted to elaborate on that statement, but he had convinced her to come round to his house where he told her that he would explain everything.
Téa wasted no time grabbing her coat, briefly telling her mum that she was going to Joey's house and would be back for dinner and sprinting down the street.
_
When she arrived at Joey's house the door was answered by Duke. She hung up her coat and when she walked into the living room the sight of red rimmed eyes shocked her.
Yugi was sitting beside Joey, comforting him, Duke was walking back to a chair and Ryou was also in the room. Serenity came up to her and offered her a drink, which she refused; she also had the evidence of previous tears.
"Oh my God," she whispered to herself, "What's the matter? What's happened to Tristan?" Her voice started to rise with each word and her eyes began to fill with tears from the emotions in the room.
Joey opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Tears streamed down his face and a chocked sob escaped Serenity's mouth. The steady beating of the rain outside the house filled the room until Ryou spoke up.
"He's gone."
Téa's mind was blank for a few seconds before she took a few steps towards him, "How'd you mean?" she asked refusing to believe the first thought that entered her mind.
"Gone. Killed. Murdered." Joey spat out.
Again, her mind was refusing to cooperate with all the words thrown at her. "Murdered?" she murmured to herself. "Dead?"
Serenity had burst into tears by now and Duke had his arm around her, but not in his usual flirting way, genuine comfort.
"How is this possible?" She blurted out. "When? How?" Tears were rolling down her cheeks and her vision became blurred.
Nobody seemed to want to answer her at first.
"The police seem to think that he left his house of his own free will last night and during the night he was m-mur-murdered." Yugi explained.
"Do they have any proof? What if he's just missing?" None of this could be real!
"There's no mistake." Téa only just heard Yugi.
She waited for him to elaborate.
He didn't.
In his silence she fell down to the floor on her knees sobbing.
Ryou was beside her in a second. He seemed to be the only one in the rrom not in tears at that moment.
Téa clutched his shoulder crying into his chest as he explained briefly what had happened.
"His parents said that he had vanished this morning. The only thing there was-" He stopped, seeming to choose his words. "A heart was found on his bed."
Téa looked up at him in confusion. "A h-heart?"
He nodded.
"I d-don't understand."
"It's just what it sounds like. Just a heart was found, a plain bloody human heart." Téa gasped and covered her mouth with a hand to stop the bile rising in her throat.
-
Téa was still unsure about her friend's death, but after witnessing Tristan's parents hysterical and after hearing all the evidence, there was no mistaking it.
Tristan was dead.
___
Coping through it was a nightmare for them all, but it was obvious who took it the hardest.
-
"He's been arrested again." Yugi informed her.
"Again?" Téa sighed closing her locker door.
"He hospitalized three men this time."
"How does he expect this to help? Meaninglessly threatening anybody who hangs about on the streets isn't going to find Tristan's killer." She said, mainly to herself.
"It's his way of grieving-"
"It's not the right way to grieve." Téa interrupted.
"Then what is the right way?" Yugi countered.
She couldn't answer that.
Tristan's closest friends were given a few days off school after his death to grieve on their own. Yugi had visited each of his friends at least once but other than that, spent most of his time playing various games from his Grandpa's shop. Téa visited Joey many times and teamed up with Yugi to support Joey but when it seemed to fail she abnormally spent the rest of her time on her own, either crying by herself of loosing herself in her dancing. Joey reverted back into some of his old habits, unfortunately for many yobs on the streets; it meant that they got themselves beaten up for not being able to answer any of Joey's questions.
When he'd normally converse with his dearest friend, he wasn't there. Yugi just didn't seem to level up to Tristan in that area of friendship; so Joey lost his way.
_
Soon enough the funeral arrived and dressed in black, the gang said their goodbyes to Tristan.
_
At first Joey had refused to go to the funeral, thinking that if he went then it was his final goodbye to Tristan, accepting that he was dead.
Yugi figuratively and literally held his hand throughout the whole ceremony. Duke offered his condolences and stayed near Joey's side if he was needed. Téa stayed beside Yugi and Joey as well, at first. But it seemed as if they didn't need or want her help and support, both lost in their own sorrow.
Téa, instead, spent most of the funeral leaning on Ryou's ever-open shoulder.
___
Losing one of his friends, Yugi's eyes didn't hold the same innocent sparkle that they used to, he stopped playing lots of games in class and he got quieter than he normally was.
-
Losing one of her most precious friends, Téa stopped helping people with trouble in the corridors or on the streets. She began to lose a lot of her faith in people.
-
Losing his best friend, Joey lost a lot of his boyish charm. His practical jokes stopped and his grins rarely appeared, if ever.
But one week after that, after receiving a phone call from his mother, Joey stopped altogether.
_
He didn't arrive at school the next day, nobody took it too seriously; they assumed it normal after his lose.
_
He came to school the next day, bags under his eyes, hair dirty and messy while dragging his body through the halls. He gained many looks in the hallway as he passed, but he either didn't notice or didn't care.
"Joey?" Téa whispered to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. She felt him tensed under her hand.
He only glanced at her with blank eyes.
"Joey, what's wrong, you look worse than usual." It wasn't taken as an insult.
"Her head." His voice croaked.
Yugi and Téa stared at him blankly.
"It was on her bed." Another pause and a shaky breath from Joey. "They're out to destroy me."
He then continued to drift down the corridor.
Yugi was about to run after him when Téa grabber his arm. "You know what that means." It wasn't a question. "I don't know what he's doing here. He should be at home, resting, looking after himself."
Yugi nodded in agreement and then ran to catch up with Joey.
Téa watched him leave as a white-haired boy caught her eye. He turned to look away from Joey and met her gaze with his own questioning one.
She gave him a sad smile.
Téa knew it wasn't fair for her to, but she knew that she was about to vent her frustrations out on him again.
_
Joey's mother had called earlier that day in hysterics about how she had found Serenity's severed head sitting in the middle of her bed. Joey's father wasn't in at the time. Joey assumed he was unconscious in the street somewhere or still drunk off his ass. Unable to fully comprehend his mother's words, Joey had cut off his emotions and had headed for school that morning.
___
The next day though, Joey didn't turn up. People figured with the loose of his sister that he had taken some time off of school to grieve.
_
Joey hadn't answered his mobile that day and Yugi and Téa were starting to get worried.
They decided to visit him to make sure he was ok. But when nobody answered the door they began to panic.
Téa suggested the back door and to their surprise, it was unlocked.
Yugi pushed the door carelessly opened, "That was easy," he mumbled.
"Wonder why it's unlocked, nobody seems to be home." Téa didn't seem overly worried.
"Ladies first."
Téa gave Yugi an unimpressed look but stepped inside none the less.
The house was a complete mess.
As Téa stepped over some empty beer bottles, she searched for the stairs. This is probably why Joey never invites us round, she thought.
After finding nobody downstairs Yugi was the first to ascend the stairs. Téa found a bathroom and what appeared to be a study but Yugi found Joey's room.
"I think this is it." He called to her stepping though the doorway.
The sight of a relatively normal room greeted Téa, a few old posters and an unmade bed.
"There's nothing important in here, and especially no severed limbs or organs."
_
Yugi and Téa went their separate ways after leaving Joey's house after finding nothing.
The fact that there hadn't been any detached limbs on Joey's bed had settled their nerves somewhat. But Joey was still missing
___
He didn't turn up for school the next day.
_
Téa found Yugi eating lunch by himself and as she watched him for a few seconds she saw a few tears escape his eyes. She sat beside him on the bench and put an arm around him, letting him rest his head on her shoulder.
Téa wait for Yugi to speak first.
"Everything's things gone wrong."
Téa vaguely knew what he was talking about, but she didn't know how to respond.
"Joey's probably dead." She was surprised at how much sorrow there was in his voice, he sounded nothing like his usual self.
"Don't worry about him. He's probably out beating up more good-for-nothings on the street." She wasn't sure if that was meant to be a joke or encouraging in any way.
Leaving Yugi alone to finish the rest of his lunch in peace Téa's own thoughts began filling her head, with doubt and uncertainty.
"Everything alright?" A voice asked behind her.
She turned around and found Ryou standing behind her.
She stood there looking dumbstruck before mumbling "Where's Joey," and falling into silent sobs.
He only wrapped his arms carefully around her, letting her cry into his chest.
_
The police had been round their houses and questioned them multiple times after reports of Joey going missing. But after three days of unsuccessful searching, the police declared Joey dead.
___
Téa's eyes were now red and puffy and she didn't care who saw it, unless it was Yugi.
Even though Yugi had the constant support of Yami, she still did her best to be strong in their time of sorrow.
_
It was difficult to get through the days for them; the nights weren't even a source of comfort.
This went on for another few days until it seemed that Yugi had had enough. When Téa had knocked for Yugi the next morning Yami had been the one to answer the door and spend the day with her at school.
That day the school had news for the students.
_
Téa was walking hanging around the lockers waiting for Yami to meet her so they could walk to the school's new defence class all the students had to take.
After the murder of three teenagers, the police and school had organised a few events to try and keep the students safer.
As Yami met Téa and they were about to head off to class a boy in their year stopped them.
"Have you heard?"
_
What did you do when your friends were being killed off one by one?
Did you run and hide in case you were next? Or spend as much time with them as you can as it could be your last minutes with them?
_
Questions flooded Téa's mind as she entered her front door.
The news from earlier hadn't affected her as she had thought it would.
A severed ear with Duke's trademark earring had been found on his bed.
The police had sent of the ear for a DNA test to see whether it was Duke Devlin's but Téa was certain that it was.
And she was almost certain that someone was killing off all her friends. Who would be next? Yugi? Ryou? Or maybe it was her next.
Yugi and Yami had had a similar idea. They had offered for her to stay round their house as to keep her safe in case something happened. Unfortunately Téa's mum didn't want her daughter leaving the house.
So, unable to spend with any of her friends, Téa got changed out of her uniform ate dinner and spent the rest of her evening enticed with her thoughts.
___
The media was in a total uproar the next day.
Téa's dad had literally thrown the newspaper in her face, while her mum had wanted to break the news to her gently.
Either way, the Kaiba brothers had gone missing.
_
A trainer with a severed foot still inside it had been found on Mokuba's bed and Seto Kaiba had just seemed to have disappeared.
_
She threw on the uniform and headed straight to school. Knowing what kind of effect this would have on Yugi.
_
Téa couldn't find Yugi at the beginning of school.
She asked Ryou whether he had seen him that day. Ryou hadn't.
Straight away panic arose inside her and the worst solution came to her mind.
_
She left school and rushed straight round the Yugi's house without a second thought.
She arrived at the Game shop's door, banged on it and every second that she waited for someone to answer felt like a ton of bricks had been dropped on her. So when Yugi's grandpa opened the door and told her that Yugi was is his room she could have collapsed with relief then and there.
_
When she first saw Yugi, she could have pounced on him. But she refrained herself.
She was so relieved as she told him to 'never to do that again'.
Yugi wondered what she was talking about and she explained about how everyone was disappearing and being killed and how him not making an appearance at school didn't help.
He didn't reply he just had a dazed look in his eyes and held the puzzle in his hands tightly.
"Are you talking to him, Yugi?" Téa asked him.
Yugi didn't acknowledge her for about a minute and when he did, he only looked at her.
"Have you heard the news?" She knew he had, otherwise he wouldn't be in this state.
He nodded, "Kaiba's dead."
_
Téa sat with Yugi the rest of the day. He rarely spoke, occasionally saying something very vague about all the deaths. Only twice did he actually acknowledge the fact that she was still alive. She tried to make it apparent that she would always be there for him, but he seemed to deny it, it broke her heart.
_
It all seemed to cliché for her liking.
The rain had only started when she began walking away from Yugi's house.
_
She felt useless. Yugi was broken beyond recognition and there was nothing she could do about it.
She'd lost Tristan and Joey, two of the greatest friends you could ask for. Duke, they weren't close, but it wasn't a loose she would have wanted. The same with Kaiba, but Mokuba and Serenity, they were both so young, they'd done nothing wrong and now they had both lost their lives.
Who did she have now? Her mother and father would always be there for her if she needed them. But her relationship with them and her friends was completely different. So who?
Ryou.
She looked up from the pavement she was currently walking along and saw that she was now in front of Ryou's apartment building.
He had always been there for her. Always appearing at the right time for her to lean and cry on.
And now, she knew she was going to be extremely selfish again, but she needed someone to comfort her again.
_
She knocked on his apartment door and it opened to reveal just the person she was looking for. She smiled a sad smile before collapsing into his open arms.
He offered her a drink and sat her down on the sofa with a blanket to help her dry off from the rain.
But none of it seemed enough. She needed to forget everything that had happened the past couple of months. But when she leaned over and caught Ryou's lips with her own, she didn't realise how big of a mistake that was in that moment.
_
School the next day was a massive blur to Téa. None of the notes she made in class made sense and she couldn't even remember answering her own name for the register.
She sat alone for lunch and break but after school she felt the urge to go behind the gym. So she did.
She wasn't sure why she went or why she even felt she should go.
But the last thing she expected to find there were Ryou and Yami duelling.
Except when she made her presence known and her eyes met with Ryou's it wasn't him, his eyes were dark and cruel.
"Téa!" cried out Yami.
"Yami," she replied, "What are you doing?"
"We're playing a shadow game, my dear." That voice couldn't be Ryou.
"What's wrong with Ryou?" Téa asked Yami.
A dark chuckle filled the area and Yami replied, "That's not Ryou."
"The spirit of the millennium ring," she whispered.
"How very observant of you." Sarcasm was laced within his voice.
_
Watching the duel continue for a few minutes was too much for Téa. Te guilt that she felt from the night before grew within her every time her and the spirit's eyes met.
Eventually it became too much and she began to retreat. A few steps every few seconds.
Yami noticed this.
"Téa, where are you going?" He called to her.
She just shook her head in despair and began running away, as far as she could.
An evil laugh broke out behind her, "What have you got to fight for now? They're all dead. You sat by and let them die one by one and now you little wench can't even stand beside you?"
His voice faded out as she got further and further away.
_
She needed answers. Too much hurt. No more.
_
Tea hadn't knocked for Yugi that morning on the way to school, fearing the worst.
In fact she didn't even see a single friend that day. Not even a glimpse of Ryou.
She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.
Who won the duel? Who got sent to the Shadow Realm?
They couldn't both have.
_
After school she found herself outside Ryou's door again. As she was about to knock on it, it opened as if on cue.
There stood Ryou. But it wasn't Ryou. His eyes held cruelness, his hair was wild and he gave off and evil aura.
He stood there with the millennium ring and puzzle round his neck, smirking.
Téa brought a hand to her mouth gasping, eyes fixed on the puzzle.
"Why?" She choked out, "Why all of them?"
"To break them down of course" She stood frozen. "To get the pharaoh I had to get his hikari, for that I had to kill Kaiba and Wheeler, their siblings came in handy. And getting rid of Devlin and Taylor was an easy task to help kill Wheeler." He took a step closer towards her, raising his hand to her cheek then grasping her chin roughly and pulling her in for a bruising kiss. She just let him. He pulled away and let out a laugh. "You were just a lovely piece of ass on the side." He finished before exiting the house fully slamming the door and leaving an empty shell of what once was Téa Gardener.
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside of us while we live."
Norman Cousins