And I'm FINALLY back with another fanfiction. This is my first Yugioh fanfiction and I'm well aware that there may be a lot of incorrect details but please just roll with it.

I do not own the show or characters or songs.

Yugi's been ignored by the people he thought were his friends. Now it's up to Ryou, Bakura, MariK, Malik, and Seto Kaiba to help their friend when he needs it most. But how can they make Yami and the others see what they were doing to their friend? Will Yugi even forgive them so easily?

WARNING, Contains cursing and mentions of self harm and attempt suicide.

EDIT: I received a comment informing me that I misspelled Ryou's name so the update is just me correcting the spelling.

Yugi PoV

"Damn that Pharaoh!" Bakura shouted angrily, punching the wall nearest to him. Ryou sighed as he finished patching up my chest.

"Punching the wall isn't going to help anyone." He stated bluntly, earning an annoyed TSK from the ex-thief.

"That good?" Ryou asked me softly as he finished taking care of my black eye and swollen cheek.

Despite the pain in my face from where Ushio punched me and my chest from getting kicked by his goons, I give him a smile and nod.

"Thanks." I say quietly, embarrassed by the situation, though I knew it wasn't really my fault for the sudden and unexpected attack- though I guess I was apologizing for everything that happened up til now.

"Just let me have at that good-for-nothing Pharaoh! I'll make him pay for abandoning his Hikari and letting this happen." Bakura growled, melodramatically shaking his fists in the air.

I sigh. "It's fine, Bakura. It's my fault for not trying hard enough to be a part of their group in the first place. I let it go on too long without saying anything, and now it's probably too late to change anything at all."

"It is most certainly not fine, Yugi. And it is not your fault!" Malik argued from the doorway.

"He's right, Yugi. It's not your fault." Ryou agreed.

"Yami's are supposed to protect their Hikaries no matter what. Not toss them aside and forget about them and their promises to them. Not to mention that fricken liar, backstabber, and 'little-miss-friendship-is-everything'. A bunch of traitors and hypocrites is what they are." Bakura exclaimed.

"Whoa!" Ryou teased, jokingly. "When did you learn such sophisticated words?" Bakura mumbled something incoherent, most likely insulting, and looked away with a feint blush coloring his cheeks.

"Shut up! Anyway, what I said still stands. They all swore to be by your side, but the second they're able to, they trade you in for someone else!"

I sigh, knowing he was right, but still not wanting to think about it even after all these months of being ignored by everyone.

Yami said that the Yamis' were able to rejoin the modern world with their counterparts as long as they swore to protect and be with them no matter what. Though I could never bring myself to blame him for wanting to enjoy his new life, but I still felt really heartbroken when he began basically ignoring me to be with my friends, same with my friends to be with him.

"I don't want him to be stuck protecting me all his life because it was his duty, but I guess I kind of hopped he wanted to because he might feel the same way about me as I do him." I sigh sadly, my feelings for my counterpart never once fading no matter what he said or did to me... Or in this case didn't say or do.

Ever since the final battle between Yami and myself, things have been different. Yami, Bakura, and Marik all returned only this time they had their own bodies. Also, this time Bakura and Marik were not evil, though they did enjoy causing mischief... A lot. Like every chance they got, though it was never too serious to hurt anyone.

The two had declared that they would do anything to try and make it up to their counterparts for they awful way they treated them before. Both Ryou and Malik immediately accepted their declaration and soon they each hooked up with their counterparts. It took awhile before the two ex-villains accepted the forgiveness from their boyfriends, thinking they deserved a harsher punishment or a least a longer one. Thankfully they didn't dwell on it and instead took the time to just be together and enjoy the present.

For Yami and I; at first it was great, we hung out together with our friends and did things almost everyday; though I could never bring myself to ask Yami to date me, even with Ryou and Malik's insists that I should.

However, slowly but surely I began to realize that my friends as well as Yami were slowly drifting away from me. It was like it wasn't me Joey and the others ever wanted around- but instead Yami.

At first it was subtle but I could tell how they would sort of leave me out of their conversations by either talking over or interrupting me then flat out ignoring me altogether.

It really hurt when it seemed that even Yami didn't even notice then started doing the same. Soon I just stayed out of their conversations altogether- because when I did try to talk they would get upset at me for interrupting them or something like that.

Next, they began to forget to invite me to hang out with them, but never forgetting Yami, though. At some point they flat out didn't even notice or chose to not notice when I wasn't with them. After the span of a month I just knew they just didn't want me around anymore, but didn't care to say it. It was like I was insignificant. And I continued to feel that way until Ryo and the others found out and started hanging out with me.

"I know Bakura and I aren't the best examples of Yamis. We know how badly we treated our Hikaries before and we both regret it." Marik states, blushing from what I guess is embarrassment for the way he acted. "But at we made piece with it and pushed to try and do right by them."

"Unlike that poor excuse of a Yami! Ditching his Hikari like that just so he can go out and party with friends that weren't even his in the first place. Seriously! Stealing your Hikari's friends- how messed up is that!?"

I knew they were right, but I just couldn't bring myself to let them go on belittling the person, who- even after doing so much wrong to me- I still loved with all of my heart.

"Guys. I know you're just trying to help, but I can't do this right now. I'm really tired. I'm gonna head back to the game shop now before it gets late and maybe head to the park for a while." Judging from the long faces I got I'd say they were just as happy as I was about my situation; and that was not at all. Though there was a strange, scheming look in Ryou and Bakura's eyes that made me question what was going on upstairs and what danger I or Yami may be in, probably Yami if I had to guess.

Thankfully those looks went away quickly and Ryou spoke up.

"You know you're still welcome to come stay here until your grandpa returns from Egypt." Ryou offers.
I send him a grateful smile but wave it off.

"Thanks, but someone needs to take care of the shop and house when nobody's there." I say, not really wanting to impose, but still grateful. Before I'm allowed to leave Malik stops me.

"Sorry, but I have to check. I don't mean to make it seem like I don't trust you or anything, but..."

"I know." I sigh as I hold out my wrists. He slowly pulls my sleeves up to reveal a bunch of faded lines across my arms. The newest of which were nearly a month old.

"Hmm." Malik hums. "They're getting lighter. So it seems the method we discussed is working."

"Yeah. Thanks for that. And sorry for making you guys go through so much trouble for me." I say as I pull my sleeves back down, still feeling weak and embarrassed of them.

"Don't think like that." Ryou says as he wraps his arms around me. "We're glad to help you out. Besides if it weren't for you none of us would be here right now."

"Bu-" I start, only to get interrupted.

"Don't say it wasn't you and that it was Yami and the others because we all know better. It was you who risked your life and soul more than once to save not only your friends and complete strangers but the world as well. Don't sell yourself short, kid." Marik grinned as he ruffled my hair. I laugh as I leave the house.

Yugi Pov

I make it home not long later and I grab my guitar and rush out of the shop before Yami notices me, well if he were home to, I didn't care to check at the moment.

The walk to the park takes thirty minutes, which I usually visit these days to write and play. I like walking though, it gives me time to think, and while that used to be a really bad thing for me a few months ago, now it couldn't be more relaxing and helpful. Though, sometimes it still does more harm than good.

Sometimes I would think about how bluntly they ignored me. But sometimes I remember the lies, like when I would ask Tristan if I could hang out with them and he flat out lied to me saying that they had no plans when right before I heard them discussing plans to go to the mall.

Other times I remembered the betrayal- Like how Joey, who I thought was my best friend- he said we were best friends and he would be there for me! Like... when he said Yami was his best friend in the world. Then when I was getting bullied he just walked by as if he didn't even notice it.

And sometimes I would remember how everyone didn't care enough to take a second look, to see that I was not fine despite the (what I now know was an unconvincing) smile. Like how once in a blue moon Tea would ask if I was okay when she saw me sitting alone crying when she left the group early to get something to drink for everyone else, I would just try to smile and nod then she would be on her way, never to give me a second thought.

Most of the time I would think about Yami. I wanted to hate him, so much. Just about everything has been handed to him since he's been back and even before then, but especially so when he was a great pharaoh of Egypt. Without even trying everyone seems to just want to go out of their way to give him whatever it is he wants or needs. But then again I guess I'm just jealous of him which makes me angry at myself. He was able to win over so many people so quickly where as I had to go through years of bullying an abuse before I could even get Joey and Tristan as friends, though I was so happy when it did happen- I finally had real friends so why wouldn't I be. Apparently it was all lies in the end.

But rarely, in that few moments of true peace, I think about Ryou, Kaiba and the others. How they saved me in more ways than one.

'I'm honestly glad to have them there for me when I need them most. I'm glad that they stopped me that night when I was ready to just give up and end it all.' I think as I enter the park. Once I find my way to the swing and begin practicing on my guitar I think back to that night a little over a month ago.

It was the first time in nearly two months Yami spoke to me- granted it was to lecture me on my grades and the likes; "What's going on with you Yugi?" Yami asked but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't really care. Ra, my stomach hurt so bad. How the hell they couldn't see the marks all over me, I'll never know.

"Yeah," Joey added. "You've been distant lately. You don't even hang out with us anymore." I wanted to laugh but I got a bit hopeful that maybe it was all just a big misunderstanding. I was about to answer when Yami cut back in.

"I got a call from the school today saying your grades have been dropping lately. Care to explain?" He gave me a disapproving look. Oh so this is it. He only notices when my grades are involved, why should he even care about that anyway. I didn't wait too long for that answer.

"Yeah!" Tea commented. "Don't you know that your grades reflect on Yami and your grandpa as well?! What's wrong with you, Yugi- You're better than this."

I felt rage burning inside of me. 'I'm so fucking sorry it's hard to turn in my homework when it gets stolen everyday. I'm sorry it's so damn hard to study for tests when I'm lying in bed all night with my stereo turned up while I'm screaming in pain from three cracked ribs and emotional pain from getting bullied when I don't don't have the strength to fight off six huge guys at once. AND I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you all hate me!' That's what I wanted to say, however all I did was stand there and take in every word about how Solomon would be disappointed if he knew how bad I was letting myself get in school. Along with the "you should be more like Yami" stares from the rest of the group.

The worst by far- the thing that pushed me over the edge was what Tristan and Tea said was when I said none of them knew what it was like to be me.

"Stop being so dramatic and selfish and think about others for once." Tea snapped.

"Yeah, just because you think your problems are more important than everyone else doesn't mean they are. Grow up." Tristan finished. Yami didn't defend me but instead looked away from me when I eyed him, begging him to say something.

-NO POV-

The sheer hypocritical statements from Yami and the others now made Yugi want to laugh and yet it still... hurt so much... They didn't know what he was going through. When he did try to confront Yami one time, he was brushed off without a second thought to go hang out with the others despite Yugi saying it was important.

That night, instead of just cutting like he would usually do when he couldn't handle to emotional pain he felt, Yugi waited until he knew Yami was asleep and he ran.

He ran so far and so long until he made it to his destination. The bridge wasn't very big nor was it insanely high, but from the reports he saw on TV a while back, he knew it would be enough to get the job done. In a trance-like state, Yugi took slow, but purposeful steps to the railings. When he reached the metal bars he slowly climbed up, holding onto a sign pole sticking out next to him. He just stared into the abyss of darkness whiles listening to the sounds of rushing water. The cold air stung his nearly numb face, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

'I really can't do this anymore.' He thought repeatedly. All he ever did in public was pretending. 'I'm so tired.' He wore a fake smile longer than he really smiled.. If he truly ever smiled at all anymore. 'Why?' Everyone thought he was so happy, and apparently selfish as well. "I just want this to be over." He whispered breathlessly.

He then went to take a step forward.

"Yugi!" Hearing his name being called so suddenly shocked the boy back into his senses and he began falling. However before he even made it part of the way over the edge four arms reached around him and yanked him back towards the safety of the bridge.

After a minute or two of collecting his bearings, Yugi looked up to see who had stopped him from finally being free from the pain. He was a little more than shocked to see Bakura under him, arms still wrapped around his waist, both lying on the concrete bridge. Observing a bit more he saw Marik crouched next to them, panting from racing to catch them. He had his arms spread outwards in case Yugi attempted to flee. Behind Bakura was Ryou and Malik, both wearing shocked and terrified expressions, yet relief as well.

Suddenly Yugi felt a pain in his head and realized he had been punched- however relatively lightly, but still enough to hurt- by Bakura.

"What the hell do you think you were doing!?" While his voice sounded angry- beyond angry- but his face told a different story. He looked just as freaked as the others, even Marik seemed startled.

Unable to stop himself, Yugi busted into tears, gripping Bakura's shirt.

"Why did you stop me?!" He yelled, angry yet scared. "I just want it to be over! I can't take it anymore! It's too much!" His words quickly became drowned out by his choked sobs and gasps for breath. Yugi didn't know how long he stayed like that but sometime later he found himself in Ryou's home that he shared with Bakura, Malik. and Marik.

"Here Yugi." Ryou offered a hand towel for him to wipe his face.

"Thanks." Yugi mumbled numbly, still dazed and now just sad. "How did you...How?" Yugi asked after a moment of awkward silence in the room.

"We were on our way home from having dinner when we saw you running." Malik answered.

"Yeah and Ryou suggested we try to catch up to you to see what was wrong." Bakura continued.

"Yeah. We tried calling out to you but I guess you couldn't hear us." Malik stated with a growl, trying to hide the shock and fear he still felt. "And by the time you stopped we realized something was not...right..." He sighed.

Ryo continued. "Before we even realized it you were getting closer to the railing, but when we saw you..." Ryou paused, choking back tears. "That's when we knew we had to do something. Bakura yelled out to you and I guess startled you because you just jumped and slipped. When we saw you start to fall off, Bakura and Marik raced halfway across the bridge and managed to catch you in time."

"After that you just... Broke down..." Malik finished. "And yelled a bunch of stuff about being done and not being able to take it anymore. The rest we couldn't understand."

Yugi couldn't bring himself to feel upset with them -or much of anything for that matter. Still he found himself thanking them and apologizing repeatedly, embarrassed of having been seen like that. All they were trying to do was help and because of them, he didn't do something he knew he would have regretted (well assuming he could regret in the afterlife). He still had his grandpa, what would he do if he returned home to find that his only living family had killed himself while he was away? And what about Yami and the others? Would they feel sad or would they call him selfish for almost ending his own life?

"Yugi." Ryou said as he placed his hands on Yugi's shoulders. "I know you may not want to talk, but we're here for you if you want to try. And if you don't want to talk to us, then I'm sure Yami will-" wrong words... He realized too late when Yugi once again burst into a crying fit.

"Yami doesn't care!" He half yelled in breaths. "None of them do! If I disappeared they wouldn't even notice, I'm just a selfish brat to them." It took Ryou and Malik twenty minutes to finally calm him down long enough to exclaim everything. At this point Yugi didn't care, he just needed to get it all out.

He told them how everyone began neglecting him and how the bullies targeted him again because in their words "they don't care about you now that they have him." Then how because of bullying his grades were suffering badly and then how Yami and the others called him selfish for not thinking of others. He even told them how at first he tried to ignore it by saying they just wanted some time to spend with their new friend and things would be back to normal when they realized what they were doing... But then it became hard not to think that they were only ever using him to get to Yami. And Yami to use him to get a new life and friends.

"I'm going to send them all to the shadow realm!" Malik growled angrily.

"Especially that Damned Pharaoh!" Bakura agreed. Both Yami's looking equally angry.

"No." Yugi stated weakly. "Even though I may not be their friend, they're still friends to me. And Yami..." He found himself choking up at the mention of his best friend and crush's name.

Ryou and Malik understood where Yugi was coming from. Even after a the crap they were put through by their current lovers, they just couldn't help but loving them through it all. Though, they couldn't even begin to understand the pain Yugi was feeling now, since neither of their Yamis ever flat out abandoned them as Yugi's had.

They just hoped that they could do something before this all ended in tragedy. Like it almost had that night.

'Ra, we were so lucky we decided to go out at the last minute.' Ryou silently declared. 'Seemingly reading his mind, the others nodded in agreement.'

"Yugi, is there anything else?" Malik asked, suspicious of a theory he hoped was untrue. Yugi stayed silent for a few moments, deciding whether or not to give up his dirty secret. Finally he decided he could trust them and rose his sleeves.

None of the four were shocked to find out Yugi had been cutting, but still felt their blood boil at the thought. They knew that it was Yami's fault for abandoning him, no matter how much Yugi argued otherwise. Suddenly Yugi felt a sharp pain in his gut and stumbled, luckily Marik caught him before he fell.

"Yugi, you okay?" Ryou exclaimed shocked by the sudden outburst.

"M-my chest... and stomach... H-hurts." Yugi mumbled.

Ryou lifted up Yugi's shirt to reveal a bunch or ugly looking bruises and cuts covering his torso. Some looked like shoe prints and made Ryo sick to his stomach. "Was it-" He couldn't bring himself to ask because he knew who's handy work this was.

"Yeah. Ushio and his gang." He replied.

"I'm gonna kill Them, too!" Bakura growled with far more anger than before.

"We need to get a doctor to look over you Yugi. This could be really serious. How were you even able to move, let alone run, like this?" Ryou insisted.

"I guess I just went numb to the pain for a while there. Sometimes it takes a while to kick in enough for me to notice it." Now Even Bakura and Marik felt uneasy, for someone to just be used to that kind of pain.

"How long has the beatings been going on?" Malik asked.

Yugi took a moment to think. "I guess since Yami and the others started ignoring me. So maybe about Five months? I don't know maybe closer to six now."

That settled it, they were going to kill Ushio and his gang then Yami and the others. Even Ryou and Malik felt the same blood lust as their counter parts did. Yugi, however, was too wrapped up in his pain once again to notice.

"I'm calling Seto Kaiba."

Ryou called up Kaiba and requested he have his doctors look over Yugi's ribs; then, at Yugi's okay, he explained Yugi's situation, leaving out some of the details for Yugi's sake; deciding that if he wanted Kaiba to know he would tell him. Luckily that turned out to be the case due to Yugi trusting the young billionaire completely due to mutual respect.

To say Kaiba was pissed would be an understatement. He threatened to kick Joey out of his mansion and make the others' lives miserable for then on; but of course he was convinced otherwise but a certain spiky haired teen who, despite what he happened to him, still thought of everyone but himself... However his objection didn't stop Kaiba from kicking his boyfriend out of the bed and onto the sofa. And maybe restricting the access to his mansion to the others for a while... Maybe about...Mm forever would be good with him.

Normally Kaiba couldn't care less about others' situations however, Yugi was one of the few people that he respected- and that Yugi respected as a person and a duelist and not for his status or money.

After a couple of weeks of staying at Ryou's house to heal both physically and mentally he decided it was time to go home.

"Don't forget." Malik warned.

"I won't. It's the only thing that seems to distract me long enough to let the feeling pass. Thanks again. For... you know...Everything" Yugi blushed and fidgeted with his jacket collar.

"Don't mention it." Bakura growled, attempting to sound nonchalant about it, but failing. In fact he was ecstatic that Malik and Yugi had been able to find to find a safer and more productive outlet for his suppressed emotions.

"I just wish you'd let us do something about this mess. I mean, it's not right, how they treat you." Ryo pouted.

"I think maybe after some time, maybe I could try again to tell them how I feel. But right now it just hurts too much. It's still kind of new." Yugi explained.

He knew that nothing would change if he did nothing, but at the same time he feared what would happen to him if he did do something and it still didn't change anything. The thought scared him that things may never be the same for him again and that he may never get to tell Yami how he felt.

"Try again?" Bakura raised an eyebrow.

Yugi nodded sadly at the memory. "Yeah. About a month since it began I got the courage to tell Yami about how I felt about being ignored. At the time I thought maybe they just didn't notice or something like that, but as soon as I asked to speak with him about something really important... He brushed me off to go be with the others. Said he didn't have time to chat or he'd be late to the mall with the others." With this knowledge, Bakura and Marik were mentally devising a plan to secretly murder the third Yami.

After a few moments of being pep talked by Ryo and Malik and with a promise to not do anything to Yami or the others from Bakura and Marik, Yugi made his way home.

To his dismay, he realize that Yami didn't even notice he was not there for two weeks because he and the others were just sitting in the living room watching some comedy movie Yugi barely remembered from a while back. No one even noticed his return as he walked by. He felt a piercing sting in his chest from the emptiness hurt and he locked himself away in his room.

Yugi then got to work on his "project" as he grabbed his old acoustic guitar and paper, then began writing.

-Now-

Yami Pov

Ever since I rejoined the world as my own person, Yugi's been...off. At first it was normal. He formally introduced me to the gang and thankfully we hit it off just fine.

Joey, Tea, and Tristan are all cool to hang out with. They all helped me get used to the modern times. However for some reason Yugi just slowly stopped hanging with us. When we did see him, he always wore a smile and seemed a little too happy. At first we were all confused but figured he would come hang out with us again in no time... That was nearly six months ago.

At home I noticed Yugi would be locked up in his room with his music turned up really loud. He would then ignore me when I came to check up on him to see if he was okay. So I figured I must have done something to make him mad at me because he also never walked to school with me or the others anymore as well.

When I learned that Yugi was letting his grades slip I got really worried and concerned, so the gang and I went to confront him...

I realize now that we may have been a bit too hard on him back then because now all I can see when I close my eyes are his violet eyes filled with pain and betrayal. I know he's not nor has he ever selfish, but that night I didn't say anything to suggest otherwise, I didn't defend him- I just stood there and let them say those things. And that I deeply regret.

I got extremely worried when I heard him leave the house that night but I decided not to follow, thinking he probably didn't want me around. I then nearly called the police when he didn't return home the next day or the day after that, however that's when things became more clear, or so I had thought. What I did learn that day hurt me more than anything else ever had.

This is the first of two chapters. Hope you like. Please let me know any spelling or grammar errors you find.