"Well thanks Dr. Clarington. I don't understand why you keep wanting to see me, but it's nice to have someone to talk to." Yugi Moto finally stood up after lying down on the psychiatrist's couch for nearly half an hour. "Now you said that you wanted to speak with all of my friends in the next session?"

"That's right." The young woman slowly stood as well to escort Yugi from the room. "Now there's nothing to worry about." She walked him over to the door, gently placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I just want to see what kind of people you interact with to understand you better."

"Alright. I'll see you next week." Yugi jogged out of the office and down the street.

Back at the psychiatrist's office, Dr. Clarington took in a deep breath and sighed. "That poor boy." She had been in the medical practice for a long time and never had she had a patient as disturbing as Yugi Moto. Most of her patients seemed disturbed or lashed out, but he seemed like such a nice normal young boy. There was no way for her to break it to him, about what she thought. Dr. Clarington turned on her computer and began typing her report.

Psychiatric Report 1:

Subject: Yugi Moto

Analysis: After many discussions with young Mr. Moto, I have come to the conclusion that he may be in need of immediate medical assistance. He seems to have a serious case of schizophrenia, which may have rooted from a long period of seclusion from other people. Also, he seems to have low self-esteem due to matters of his height and suffering from denial of any problems he has. Removing him from his environment and giving him the necessary medicine and treatments may be a challenge due to his condition. Mr. Moto appears to be extremely "clingy" to the people around him (who will also be under evaluation). There is even suspicion that he may have developed a Dependant Personality disorder. There is also the matter of the alleged "Spirit" that lives in his chain. According to Mr. Moto, this "Spirit" is an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who wants to protect the world from evil people that want to take over it. The base of this problem seems to revolve around the game of Duel Monsters. Mr. Moto has even admitted to having befriended his cards, (may also root from at one time having a lack of friends) and "believing in the heart of the cards". Still he denies having any problems. It is in my professional opinion that young Yugi Moto is put under evaluation in an appropriate mental facility.

There. It was done. She didn't want to have to send this in. Maybe a discussion with his associates would change her mind about him. Then again maybe it might make things worse. She had to find out.

"What? No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Sorry Yug but this time you're on your own pal. No way am I goin' ta see some shrink." Joey stepped away from his friend and turned in the opposite direction. Yugi had been having a hard time getting anyone to come along with him to Dr. Clarington's office. Yugi sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him to catch up with his friend.

"Oh please Joey. I really need you guys to come along." Joey didn't stop walking as Yugi raced to keep up with him. "Could you at least slow down?"

"Yug, I'm no good with doctors. They creep me out." Joey finally stopped as he wondered. "And why do ya have to go to that place anyways?"

" Well the person who referred for me to come asked to remain anonymous and Dr. Clarington says that she wants to understand me better."

" Sorry Yug, but this time… I'm not so sure." Joey put his hands in his pockets and waited to hear what Yugi had to say. Yugi cradled his Millennium Puzzle close to him like a teddy bear as tears welled up in the small boys eyes. "Awe come on Yug." Joey placed a consoling hand on his shoulder but Yugi jerked away running blindly into the street. "Dammit! Well I guess I'd better round up the gang." Joey slowly headed in the direction of Tristan's house. "Man. THIS SUCKS!"

Later that day Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Bakura walked up to the Turtle Game Shop. When Yugi had first left a message on Tea's phone about his appointment, everyone had been avoiding him for the past couple of days. That is until he bumped into Joey. Now they felt guilty. Bakura rang the doorbell as Tristan took in a deep sigh and Joey remarked how much the predicament 'SUCKED' for the seventh time in the past half hour. After a few seconds Yugi answered the door. "Well it's about time. The appointment is at four o'clock so we'll meet here at three. Oh, and thanks for being such great friends. You guys are the best. We can overcome any obstacle as long as long as we stick together. See ya tomorrow, bye." And with that Yugi shut the door. Outside everyone was shocked. They had all been tricked into going to a shrink. Unable to fully comprehend everything that just happened they all just stood there. After a while Joey finally broke the silence.

"Oh, THIS SUCKS!"

The gang walked back to their houses slowly, still thinking about what had just happened.

"Man, I can't believe Yugi tricked us into going to see a shrink." Joey muttered.

"I know." Tristan muttered back. "We've all been dooped by a dwarf."

"Suckered by a short person." Joey joined in again.

"Hey come on you guys, we should have agreed to go in the first place. He's our friend and he needed us. Instead we acted like selfish little kids. But now we're going anyways and it will be just fine. Because our friendship will get us through." Tea argued at the two. Both Joey and Tristan turned to face Tea.

" You know, I'd really like to know where you get that stuff from." Tristan coolly commented.

"I know. That has to be some of the corniest shit I've eva heard." Joey agreed. Tea was about to speak when Bakura locked pinkies with her lightly tugged.

"It's alright Tea. I know you mean everything you say." Tea gave him a small kiss of gratitude for standing up for her, but it was short lived. "Even though you were the first person who tried to ignore him and the one who warned everyone else about it." Tristan and Joey burst into laughter as Bakura tried unsuccessfully to dodge Tea's relentless blows.

"Well here's where Bakura gets off." Joey managed to get out as they approached Bakura's house."

"Well then I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." Bakura said still trying to get away from Tea.

"Not so fast there." Tea answered. " I think we have to have a talk about our friendship." Tea grabbed Bakura's hand and led him towards the house. "So WE'LL see you guys tomorrow." Bakura looked nervous as the spunky brunette pulled him into his own house. Tristan and Joey snickered and gave out small hoots and woops at the pale boy.

"Uhh, Tea. I don't think its appropriate to- " but by then he had already been pulled inside the house. With the "lovers" gone, there was nothing else to laugh at as the two walked home. Joey was beginning to feel the insecurity of going to a psychiatrist again.

"Hey man. There's nothing wrong with any of us so don't worry, alright." Tristan tried to cheer his friend up a bit but it didn't work. "Hey, why don't you call Mai? I'm sure she could help you out more than I can." A smile grew on both of their faces.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Joey retorted, the devilish grin growing larger with every word. Tristan kept grinning and raised his eyebrows up and down in response.

"Well here's my stop. See ya tomorrow man." Tristan jogged up to his house and stepped inside. Joey continued to walk until he reached his own house. He slipped inside and crept up to his room, careful not to make too much noise. Grabbing his phone, Joey stripped down to his boxers and dialed Mai's number. He lay down in his bed as the phone rang on the other end. He was about to hang up when a tired voice answered 'what the hell?' on the other line.

"Ey Mai its Joey." Once again there was a pause and another "what the hell?' "Good you're listening. I have to ask ya a favor …"

Dr Clarington paced around her bedroom. She was very nervous. She never felt this nervous about the well being of a patient before. She just felt sorry that the boy was suffering from so many problems. He didn't look like the kind of person who needed to be under special supervision because of his encounters with "evil spirits". "Why couldn't he just have normal imaginary friends? Well maybe if I meet his real friends there can be an explanation made." She really did hope so.

Dr. Clarington, Joey, and Mai were not the only one's loosing sleep because of the appointment the next day. Yugi also laid awake wondering about the appointment. Yugi was staring at the ceiling when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't bother to turn to see who it was. "Hey Yami." Yugi's voice was filled with melancholy.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" The concerned spirit asked. It hurt him to see the boy that way.

"Nothing, its just … I'm afraid, I guess … about my appointment tomorrow. And I had to trick the gang into going with me. I mean … they might be angry with me now. I didn't want to resort to trickery but … I just really needed them to come." Yugi paused for a while to collect up his thoughts again. "I don't know why Dr. Clarington keeps asking me to come back." Suddenly it hit him like a bolt of lightning. It was so obvious. "Yami, you don't think … that she might think … that I'm crazy … do you?" There was fear in his eyes now. Yami lowered his head, closed his eyes, and folded his arms on his chest.

"Hmm, I think she might. Our story is not the most understandable one. And that is probably why she asked to meet with our friends. To evaluate how they react around you and what they think so that she can make her judgment." The fear in Yugi's eyes grew. "Don't worry Yugi. If you act like yourselves she'll see that you are sane. If we are all there to back up your story, she will have to believe it." Hearing this made Yugi feel better.

"You know what? You right! I just hope the guys aren't too mad at me."

"They're your friends. They'll understand."

"I just don't understand Joey." Mai walked down the block beside Joey still looking confused. "Why does the psychiatrist want to see you?" It was approaching 3:00 pm, as Mai and Joey walked down to the Turtle Game Shop together. He had explained everything the night before and asked if she would come with him. Being able to sense his anxiousness over the phone she agreed to come along … for moral support.

"I don't know all the details yet so guess we find out when we get there." Joey still sounded anxious. Mai lightened the mood with some humor.

"Oh, what's wrong kiddo? Ya need mommy to hold your hand down to the doctor?" She extended one hand out to him.

"Actually that doesn't sound too bad." The confused Mai gently held his hand as they continued to walk. "Well this is nice." Joey said after a moment. "But I was hoping you would hold my other hand." Mai stopped and looked at Joey, once again confused. How was she supposed to grab his other hand? "You know, the hand with one finger." He cracked a large cheesy smile and did his signature laugh. Mai's face dropped from confusion to disgust.

"You little perv. She went after him trying to inflict any damage that she could. As she tried to get him once in the face, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it a bit. Joey had become serious once again. "Oh now what?"

"I really do want to thank you for coming with me." The two looked into each other's eyes for a while longer and Joey brought their hands up to his face and kissed it. There was warmth between them that could be felt by anyone nearby. Joey squeezed her hand again. "Now … what to do with the my other hand?"

slap

"Tristan! Hey Tristan!" Tristan was walking towards the Game Shop when he heard his name being called. He turned in the direction of a black convertible that had slowed nearby him to see Serenity! His heart skipped a beat when he saw her smiling face looking back at him. "Hey Tristan, where are you headed?"

"Yeah Tristan. Where you goin'?" His skipping heart tripped on a root and fell with a hard thud as he realized that she was talking to him from the passenger's seat of Duke's car. Even worse, Duke was in the car with her … in the driver's seat of course.

"Hey Serenity. I'm headed over to the game shop to meet up with everybody. Yugi's seeing a psychiatrist and needs his friends to be there with him." Tristan tried to block out Duke's presence.

"Hey, can I come along with you." Serenity eagerly replied.

"Sure ya can." Tristan answered too happily. He opened the door for Serenity to get out.

"Well Seren, I gotta get outta here." Duke said looking over his shoulder. Serenity leaned in and kissed him affectionately. Tristan felt the blood in his veins boiling as the seconds passed. The kiss was abruptly ended by the sound of three screaming girls in cheerleader outfits running high speed in their direction.

"There he is. Catch him, quick before he drives off."

"Damn, they've caught up already." Duke said. He flashed Tristan a smile as he pushed a lock of his black hair out of his eye only for it to fall right back in place. Serenity giggled.

"Hm, they're relentless." She added.

"I'll pick you up later on." Duke cracked another smile. "See ya Tristan." With that he sped up the block and rounded a corner.

"Love ya." Serenity yelled as she waved to him. Duke waved back just before leaving their sight.

"Wait Duke, wait! We still love you!" The three obsessed Duke cheerleaders ran trying to catch the car. The taller, brown haired cheerleader took a moment to stop and hiss at Serenity before attempting to catch up with Duke again.

"So Tristan … How's Joey?" The two walked in awkward silence until they heard some commotion behind them.

"I'll get you Wheeler." A woman's voice screamed.

"Oh no!" Serenity gasped grabbing Tristan's hand. "It's one of Duke's cheerleaders again. Quick, we need to get out of here." Serenity tried to pull Tristan across the street but he wouldn't move. She gave him a worried and puzzled look that was answered when he pointed behind them. It was Joey! And he seemed to be running away from Mai.

"Nyeh-heh." Joey looked back at Mai while he was running and didn't notice the two until he almost collided with them. "What the …Serenity! What're ya doin' here?" Joey gave his little sister a hug.

"Tristan told me about Yugi and I wanted to come along." Serenity bubbled.

"Really? That's great Serenity. Me and Mai was just about ta meet up with them now. Ain't that right Mai?" Joey turned around to find Mai. She was right behind him and did not look happy. "Oh come on Mai. You aren't still mad about that-" but Joey didn't even have a chance to finish. With one swift movement Mai used all her power to deliver direct contact between her heel and his groin. His eyes bulged and he held in a mighty yelp as the pain surged through his most private of areas.

"Oh no Joey. Are you alright?" Serenity rushed to her big brother's aid.

"Don't worry about me." Joey spoke to her in a hardly audible voice.

"Would you two give us a minute?" Mai asked. "We'll catch up." Serenity was about to protest but Joey gave her the okay. Once they were out of sight, his knees buckled and Joey was on the ground.

"Gyahh!" Joey yelled. He took a few deep breaths to regain his cool but he still was in too much pain to get off of his knees. "You play too rough. Don't do that anymore." Joey remarked childishly.

"Oh you poor baby. Did I hurt you? Get over it." Mai told him. Joey started to get back on his feet very slowly. Joey's grin began to appear once again.

"Well, I could get over it sooner … if you kiss it and make it all better." Mai raised a threatening hand. "Just kidding, just kidding." Joey laughed. He really didn't want to get hit again. Mai helped him up and they ran (well Joey kinda limped) to catch up with Tristan and Serenity.

It was three o'clock and everyone was now at the game shop except Tea and Bakura. The gang wondered where they could be. There was a nervousness that clouded the area. Solomon eagerly waited for everyone to leave upstairs. Yugi, Joey, Mai, Tristan, and Serenity waited for the other two outside. The tension grew with every passing second. It was only a few minutes but by the time Tea and Bakura's figures were visible, it seemed like hours. Bakura seemed to be pleading with Tea. He looked as though he was trying to console her, but Tea didn't look like she needed consoling. Seeing something new caused everyone to become extremely curios. They stayed very quiet, straining their ears to hear what they were saying.

"Please Tea. You have to forgive me. I can't control what he does." Bakura needed to know that there were no hard feelings between them. His Yami spirit had taken control of his body earlier that day and said something to her. He hadn't heard what he said, (the spirit made sure of that) but he knew from the surprised look on her face when he regained control again, it couldn't have been anything appropriate.

"For the last time, don't sweat it Bakura. He didn't threaten me or hurt me or anything like that. You worry too much." Tea was growing annoyed.

" You don't have to hide it from me." Tea wrapped her arms around the worried boys neck.

"Look. Listen and listen good. He didn't make me mad and he didn't make me mad at you. If he ever does I promise to tell you first, okay."

"Okay." He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Good." She laughed as she messed up his hair playfully. "Now lets get going because everyone is staring at us." Realizing that they had been caught everyone pretended to not be listening. Joey turned his head and badly acted as though he had just spotted them.

"Hey look you guys, it's Tea and Bakura." Everyone else acted surprised as well.

"So … let's get goin' everybody." Yugi chimed in. " Thanks for coming. I mean it this time."

"Its okay Yugi. We should have agreed to come in the first place." Tea replied coming up to his side.

"Yeah bud. We've gotta stick togetha' on this one." Joey rushed to his other side.

"We'll show that quack that you're no psycho." Tristan ran up to the gathering crowd.

"And even if you are … You have … people who like you anyway?" Mai couldn't say anything helpful. She wasn't going to make that psychiatrist think that she had problems too.

"My big brother will protect you Yugi." Serenity joined the bandwagon grabbing on to Joey. "Isn't that right?" she flashed Joey a confident smile.

"Uh … he-he." Joey wasn't too sure about that one.

Bakura laid a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "This may be our greatest battle yet. But we always pull through. This time wont be any different."

"He's right Yugi." Yami's translucent form appeared. "We've come too far to let this woman scare us."

"Whatever crosses our path, we'll get over it …together." Yugi told his friends. But there was one thought on everyone's mind.

Man, this really sucks.