This chapter covers the events of chapters 2 and 3 of the manga


Anzu wondered whether there was such a thing as being "friend-jealous". It seemed a somewhat fitting description of how she felt. Although, maybe it wasn't quite jealousy, so much as concern – well, she told herself that, anyway. It was just that…it had always been her and Yuugi, just the two of them, a couple of misfits who people either ignored or tried to pick on (until she scared them off). It was somewhat of a lonely existence, but as long as they had each other, it was fine, right? Years and years they had been friends, and there had never been anyone else.

Until about a week ago, when they had finally solved that Puzzle that had been their shared task for eight years, and Jounouchi started sitting with them at lunch.

It had been so unexpected to Anzu, that someone who had been bullying Yuugi only the day before would come over and sit next to him, but Yuugi had just smiled and said that Jounouchi was a friend now. This had perplexed her, but it wasn't really that much of a surprise that Yuugi would say something like that. He was always too forgiving...

It had been awkward, at first, Jounouchi mostly staring at his feet and eating his food in silence, Anzu still wondering why he was there (the only thing she could think of was that Jounouchi felt some sort of obligation to Yuugi after the incident with Ushio), and Yuugi attempting to get all them to make conversation. Then Yuugi had brought up some punk band that he was into, and it turned out that Jounouchi was a fan as well, and the awkwardness between them had disappeared in an instant as they engaged in a spirited conversation about their favorite music and bands. It was still awkward for Anzu, though, as she watched them chat away. Yuugi had attempted to draw her into the conversation, bringing up music he knew she liked, but she had mostly commented with one-word answers, feeling a strange ache as the realization seeped into her mind that something had irreversibly changed. It was no longer just the two of them. Jounouchi was there to stay.

And he had stayed. It had only been a week, and he and Yuugi were already getting on like they had been friends their entire lives. Like she and Yuugi had been. Well, they still were – it was not like Yuugi stopped being friends with her, or ignored her in favor of Jounouchi. In fact, he made every effort to include them both in conversations when he could. And when Jounouchi wasn't there, it was like nothing had changed. Except, of course, that they had solved the Puzzle, and were passing it off to the other at the end of each day. It was amazing how quickly Anzu had gotten used to the feeling of it around her neck, its weight somehow feeling much lighter than she ever would have expected. Like Yuugi's new friendship with Jounouchi, it felt like it had always been there.

"I'm telling you, there must be an idol here!"

"I don't know, Jounouchi, it just doesn't seem very likely to me."

"What's this about an idol?" Anzu asked as Yuugi and Jounouchi came into view.

"There's a news van outside!" Yuugi said excitedly.

"It must be because of an idol who's secretly attending our school! I'm going to unmask her! A single picture will be worth tons!" Jounouchi said, not a tone of doubt in his words.

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal," Anzu said dryly. Whatever this was, it wasn't worth her interest. Jounouchi, on the other hand, took it as a challenge.

"Oh, really? And you wrote the law books, I suppose?"

"No, but I have common sense and decency, unlike you…"

"Guys, please don't fight…"

Anzu stayed quiet, and glared at Jounouchi. She wouldn't continue it if he didn't, but if he kept at it, even for Yuugi's sake she wasn't going to hold back. Jounouchi seemed to struggle with it, but eventually turned to Yuugi.

"Well, come on, let's go find that idol!" Jounouchi said, grabbing hold of Yuugi's arm and pulling him out of the classroom before he could react.

Anzu sighed. She didn't really care if Jounouchi got in trouble for doing something stupid, but she didn't want Yuugi ending up in any sort of trouble – he already got enough of that. She supposed she had better follow them.

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"Come on, Yuugi, I thought you would help me, at least!" Jounouchi said, exasperated.

"I'm sorry, I just think there could be other reasons for that van…" Yuugi said hesitantly. He didn't want to hurt Jounouchi's feelings, but he didn't want to go off on a silly wild-goose chase, either.

"Fine! I'll do it myself!" Jounouchi ran off before Yuugi could respond.

"Hey, wait! I didn't mean it like that…" Yuugi said, trailing off as Jounouchi got too far away. Maybe I shouldn't have said that…

"Your friend isn't wrong, you know."

"Huh?" Yuugi turned to look at who had just spoken to him, a student he had never seen before.

"You're Yuugi, right? From Class B?" the student asked.

"Yes…and you are…?"

"My name's Fujita, and I'm actually friends with that idol your friend is looking for."

"Rea…Really?" Yuugi said, surprised. So there actually is an idol here? He would have to apologize and tell Jounouchi.

"Yeah, and she wants to meet you, actually. She sent me to come find you." Fujita said, smiling. "I think you two would get along great!"

"What!?" Yuugi said. He could feel a blush creeping up his face. An idol? Wanting to meet him? Who could she possibly be? "No way…why would an idol want to talk to someone like me?"

"She didn't tell me exactly…come along, I'll introduce you, and you can find out for yourself!" Fujita said, beckoning Yuugi to follow him, which he did, heart pounding as he tried to wrap his mind around the idea that someone famous wanted to meet him. He couldn't possibly think of why, but then again, it was hard to think when his mind was filled with images of what this idol might look like.

Fujita led him around, out of the building and behind the gym, where he came to a stop, and turned back to Yuugi.

"…what's wrong, Fujita? Where's the idol?" Yuugi asked, looking around in confusion. He didn't see anyone…

"Well, as it so happens…" Fujita said, leaning in close to Yuugi, when he suddenly cut off, and punched swiftly upward into Yuugi's jaw before he realized what was happening. Yuugi groaned in pain, falling backwards.

What? Why did he…? he thought, before Fujita struck him again, punching the side of his jaw and knocking him the other way. Fujita then grabbed Yuugi's hair, preventing him from falling completely to the ground, and started to drag him off to the other side. He stopped, as Yuugi heard Anzu and Jounouchi shouting, for once not at each other:

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Yuugi felt Fujita being shoved away from him, and found himself being supported more gently. He opened his eyes, to see Anzu holding him up and glaring daggers at Fujita, who was being pinned down by Jounouchi. Yuugi was still too caught up in what had just happened to feel too embarrassed about it, but the thought still crossed his mind, I needed to be protected again…

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Anzu was caught off guard by the unfamiliar sensation. Well, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar – she had gotten angry plenty of times before when Yuugi had gotten hurt. But this time, something was different. It was like something in the back of her mind was burning with rage, something that wasn't entirely…her. She couldn't really explain it, had anyone asked, but it was an odd feeling, disconnected from the rest of her feelings. And she felt as though it was reaching out at her, as weird as it sounded. And reaching out towards Yuugi. She shook her head, she couldn't dwell on this now, she had to help Yuugi.

"Are you alright?" she asked him. He nodded, but she thought he seemed a little dazed. She frowned, and tried to examine his wounds.

"You think you can hurt my friend? I'll kill you!" Jounouchi growled at Yuugi's attacker. Anzu was slightly concerned that Jounouchi was completely serious on the murder part, but otherwise, she reflected, her opinion of him had gone up a bit more than it had in the past week. If he stuck up for Yuugi, then he couldn't be as bad as she had thought originally.

"I…I didn't want to!" the vermin squeaked. "But…the director, he wanted…!"

"Director?" Jounouchi and Anzu asked. What director…?

"That's enough, Fujita. I've got the footage I need now, you can go," the director said, stepping forward.

"So you did this?!" Jounouchi demanded, dropping the attacker to the ground, and Anzu could feel the burning rage swell. She fought it back, trying to focus on treating Yuugi's injuries.

"Yeah. Doing a documentary on bullying, someone had to be the victim. Just bad luck that your friend there was chosen, really. Hey, but at least you're a star now, heh! All the viewers will feel so sympathetic to your plight!"

"Do you want to die?" Jounouchi said, raising his fists.

"A documentary?" Anzu said, no longer able to contain her own anger, and barely able to restrain the other feeling of rage. She raised her voice. "How can it be a documentary if it's all a set-up? Yuugi gets bullied plenty at this school, and if you really cared, you wouldn't be adding to it! You wouldn't be making a spectacle of it! You're just trying to make money off of hurting him! You're the bully!"

"Yeah, what she said," Jounouchi said, stepping forward and grabbing the director by the shirt, and raising his other fist.

"Going to hit me? Go ahead, and every move will be caught on camera, for all to see – including the police," the director taunted. Jounouchi hesitated, and Anzu followed his gaze to the camera focused directly on him. She gasped as the director took advantage of Jounouchi's distraction, and kneed him in the stomach. Yuugi struggled to his feet.

"No, Jounouchi…"

"Heh. There's nothing you can do. I can make anything look like anything I want with my studio. But don't worry…I'll mosaic out your faces, no one will ever recognize you, if that's what you're so worried about!" The director walked away, laughing, his camera crew following.

"Jounouchi…" Yuugi said, crouching down beside him. "Are you okay? Jounouchi?"

"Yeah…"

"No, you're not. Let's get both of you to the nurse, right now," Anzu said sternly. She may not have cared very much for Jounouchi, but he had gotten hurt defending Yuugi, and that at least, was a reason to help him.

Jounouchi struggled to his feet, refusing to be helped by either of them, and they walked and hobbled their way to the infirmary, only to find no one there.

"Oh, no," Yuugi said. "It's getting close to the end of the day; I hope she hasn't already left. Anzu, can you stay here with Jounouchi while I try to find her?" He took off without waiting for an answer.

"Hey, wait! You really shouldn't be the one running around…" she sighed, as he was already gone. Jounouchi lay down on the bed, while she sat on the chair next to it. She didn't look at him, and stared at the door in silence. She noted, curiously, that the strange feeling, while still present, had died down somewhat since Yuugi had left her side. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but it no longer reached out towards her. She shook her head again. This was weird.

"…thanks," she said finally. She turned and looked at Jounouchi.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You stood up for Yuugi today. You protected him, you took a beating for his sake…" she paused. Part of her didn't want to admit it, but… "I think I had the wrong idea about you."

"Glad to hear that." He snorted, but then his voice softened. "I think I had the wrong idea about you, too."

"So…" Anzu didn't know what else to say. They weren't friends – and this didn't change that – but there was some more respect between them now, at least.

Yuugi returned with the nurse, who immediately went over to Jounouchi and began examining him. She cleared both Yuugi and Jounouchi to leave just as the bell rang to let class out for the day. Anzu walked out with the boys, saying nothing as they chatted as though nothing had happened. The feeling had increased again…just what was this? Why was it stronger with Yuugi there? Was it because seeing his injuries made her angrier? It was starting to worry her; she was certain this wasn't normal, this…detached rage.

Jounouchi left them at the school gates, saying goodbye to Yuugi and running off with surprising speed for someone who had been kneed in the stomach not an hour ago. Anzu turned to Yuugi, she had to head off on her own too. But first, she needed to hand over the Puzzle, since tomorrow would be Yuugi's day to wear it.

"Well, time to say goodnight, I guess. Call me if your injuries turn out to be worse…"

"Don't worry about me, Anzu, I'm fine!"

"You always say that!"

"But it's true…"

Geez… "Here, we'd better switch off," Anzu said, pulling the rope over her head, and held the Puzzle in her hands. She held it out to him, and the feeling in the back of her mind intensified. It felt like she was going to black out. She hoped she didn't, Yuugi needed to get home, and he certainly wouldn't leave her if she blacked out.

Yuugi reached to take the Puzzle from her, and the instant his fingers touched it, the feeling spiked, finally overwhelming Anzu as she was pulled away from the waking world.

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Finally.

It was agonizing to watch part of himself and his friend get hurt, while he could only observe – distantly, yet clearly perceiving every moment. He had hoped that the Puzzle would come between his selves earlier, so that he could rightfully bring justice to the director that had dared trespass on his heart – but it had not, and so he had been resigned to sit and watch (feel? hear?) from inside the endless maze he found himself in.

It had been a strange sight to come back to, after he had initially withdrawn from his bodies the night he had punished Ushio. He had expected to find himself in sleep, and perhaps dreams, as one usually did, but had instead found himself, fully awake, within the most convoluted and treacherous of mazes. Treacherous, as he had quickly found out, because it contained numerous hidden traps behind its innumerable doors.

Still, he didn't protest – he felt that he belonged there, and at least exploration was something to occupy him. It did force him to acknowledge his abnormality, though, and he still did not have an answer as to who, or what, he was. This made him uncomfortable – if he was not Anzu, if he was not Yuugi, if he was not both of them…then what did that leave? That was all he knew, but it was impossible to be them, but he also could not be anything other than them. They were him, they must be him, even if they were so different from him…and from each other.

He tried to reconcile this thought – they must be parts, parts of a whole. Like the Puzzle, with different pieces. They were each a piece, pieces could look very different from each other, but still fit together to be the same puzzle. Each fitting in its own place. Yes, that made sense. Anzu had her place and did not stray from it. Yuugi had his place and did not stray from it. And he…he did not have a place, a body, like they did. But he had a role – he was certain of this, if nothing else – he was certain it was his duty to protect and retaliate against threats, whatever they may be. To make sure that the whole was not damaged in any way. And if a friend was hurt, that hurt him too. That damaged the whole, even if the mark was not visible.

And so, with a strong sense of his purpose, he headed to the place where he was certain the director would be – the TV studio itself. His shadow grew long behind him as the sun's rays slowly vanished behind the horizon, the individual shadows of the two bodies merging into one. The studio was not far…he could see the ZTV sign atop a building at the edge of where the city thickened. His smiles grew wide as he approached. Of course, getting into the studio might prove difficult – but he had a better plan.

He slipped into the parking garage, trusting the Puzzle hanging between him to guide him, to bring him to the underhanded director. He found himself in front of a car, and although it was not unlike most of the other cars in the garage, it seemed that the Puzzle indicated that this was where he should be. He walked around to the back of the car, and there in the shadows lay wait, hidden from sight.

He watched people come and drive off in their cars, until the lot was nearly empty. Finally, he saw the one he was looking for, stepping into view with a coworker.

"The approval committee really took to your work today," the coworker said.

"Of course they did. Nothing gets you ratings like violence and cruelty – especially when the victim is such an obvious weakling like that – the viewers will eat it up!"

How dare he! I am not weak – no part of me is weak!

"That's certainly true," the coworker said. "Well, see you tomorrow, then." The coworker departed, heading for some other part of the garage.

"Heh…maybe next time I'll have someone killed on camera – that'll be something!" the director laughed to himself.

How despicable. His resolve to punish this wicked criminal increased tenfold. He stepped into the light, his forms reflected in the side-view mirror. The director gasped, startled, as he glanced into it.

"I've been waiting for you, director."

"What the hell do you two want? Compensation? Not happening, so beat it."

"For your crimes against me and my friend, you must play a game against me."

"Quit talking like that! Only weirdos talk in unison like that!"

He noted how perturbed the director sounded. Ushio had been the same way, both disturbed by him speaking from two mouths. Perhaps he should work on trying to keep his speech coming from only one, keeping his expressions different…but on the other hand, his opponents' reactions were very amusing. How they had been so sure of themselves, so tough and invulnerable while they were harming him – yet such a small thing made them quiver and lose composure so easily. Perhaps, somewhere in their damned hearts, they knew that judgement was upon them for their crimes.

"What? Are you afraid? It's a simple game – we will each roll a die, the winner is the one who rolls the lower number. In the case of a tie, I'll let you have the win. If you win, I will leave you alone. If I win, you will face judgement for your trespass. If you attempt to cheat…your punishment will be harsher."

"This is stupid…I have no reason to play your dumb game. Go play with your friend, if he's done recovering from that blow I gave him earlier."

"Game start. I roll." He let the die roll from his hands to the ground. The director could protest as much as he wanted, but there was no avoiding this game now. He felt a slight bit of disappointment as the die landed on a six. Still, this was a Dark Game – the directors heart would be revealed in this game, and there was no doubt that it was one that deserved punishment.

"You got a six. Look, I've already won. So there's no point…"

"You have a good chance. But the game isn't over."

"Damn you, you won't shut up about this game. Fine, I'll toss the die…" the director said, picking up the die. He stood up, and threw the die, "Maybe this at least will get through your skull! Now get out!"

He saw the die fly towards him, and he swung the Puzzle up in front of his targeted face, blocking it just in time to stop the die. He now had the satisfaction of knowing that he had been right. The director had now lost this game. His smiles reappeared as the die bounced off of the Puzzle, fell to the ground, and cracked, confirming this – the die had split in half, and now, in total, read seven.

"What? The die split…?"

"Penalty Game! Mosaic Illusion!"

"What's going on? Everything is…everything is being covered by mosaic?" The director began screaming, rubbing desperately at his eyes in a useless attempt to restore his vision to normal.

"A fitting punishment for one who distorts reality…" he laughed quietly. Satisfied that the criminal had been brought to justice, he departed the garage into the night, home-bound. At least, for one of his homes. He had to admit he preferred the one with all the games…

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As Yuugi awoke, he had the slight sense that something was off. Something was out of place. He tried to run through what it could be – what had he been doing before bed? He tried to remember, but the last thing that came to mind was taking the Puzzle from Anzu…

Who was right next to him. In his bed. Again.

Yuugi shot out of the bed. He picked up the Puzzle from where it had lain between him and Anzu. He stared suspiciously around the room, as though the forces that conspired against him would make themselves known. Nothing changed, so he looked down at the Puzzle in resignation. Perhaps…did the Puzzle have something to do with this? He eyed it carefully. After all, the last thing he remembered, in both this instance and the last, was something to do with the Puzzle. Although they'd handed the Puzzle to each other several times over the past week without incident, there was no denying that the strange blackout had only happened when touching the Puzzle. Yuugi had never really believed his grandpa about the various claims about the Puzzle having dark, dangerous magic – the power to grant his wish, sure (and he didn't know if he really thought it would come true before it did) – but he couldn't believe that there was anything bad about his and Anzu's Puzzle…but it also seemed too weird to be a coincidence that this had happened again…

"Hey…I thought you were supposed to give me powers of darkness or something, not 'wake up next to your unattainable crush with no recollection of how you got there' powers," Yuugi said quietly, with a soft, lighthearted laugh, so as not to wake Anzu. "So…uh, quit toying with me like this, please?" He felt a little silly talking to the Puzzle, but hey, there was no one else awake, and it had granted his wish, hadn't it? So maybe it really could understand him, somehow…or maybe he was just being silly.

Yuugi glanced up at the clock, and promptly panicked as he registered the time.

"Ahh! Anzu! Anzu wake up! We're going to be late for school if we don't get going now!" Yuugi cried, turning to her.

"What…?" Anzu murmured sleepily. "Why am I at your house…? And still in my school clothes?"

"I…don't know. It's like last time, when we solved the Puzzle. I don't remember anything. But we really have to hurry! I think we'll have to take the bus, too…"

"But at least I was at your house when we solved the Puzzle. I don't remember even coming over here last night. I remember giving you the Puzzle…I remember…being angry…or was that…Never mind. You're right, we have to get to school!" Anzu finished as she, too, noticed the time on the clock. "Where's our stuff?"

"It's over here in the corner. Here," Yuugi said, handing Anzu her bag. She took it, and they both ran out of the room and down the stairs.

"Bye, Grandpa! I'll see you after school!" Yuugi called as he ran past the table.

"Getting a late start today, I see…Oh, hello Anzu, I didn't know you stayed over last night!"

"I didn't either!" Anzu said as she and Yuugi ran out the door.

They kept running, not stopping until they approached the bus stop, where the bus was already waiting and loading passengers. They stood in line to get on, panting and trying to catch their breath.

"It's crowded today," Anzu said as they boarded. "Ugh. I wish I had had time to take a shower…"

Yuugi nodded. It really was crowded on the bus today. But despite that, and having to rush to get to school, he hoped that it would be a fun day. He glanced around, looking to see if there was a spot with more room, and spotted someone familiar.

"Good morning, Hanasaki!" Yuugi called to his classmate. Hanasaki looked up, but quickly looked back down again. This gave Yuugi pause. He and Hanasaki had never really talked much before, even though Hanasaki was kind of an outcast like him and Anzu, but they were in the same class together, he didn't think that Hanasaki would just ignore him like that…

"Oh, is Hanasaki on this bus?" Anzu asked.

"Yeah, he's over there. I don't think he saw me, though. Maybe it's too crowded…"

Anzu opened her mouth to say something, but the bus lurched as the driver announced an emergency stop. Yuugi lost his balance and was thrown to the back of the bus as it came to its sudden stop.

"Oww…huh? It's empty back here?" Yuugi said as he regained his footing. He then became aware of throbbing noise, and he looked up to see an older student, Sozoji, the sole occupant of this part of the bus. And it was no wonder – aside from the painfully loud 'music' blasting from Sozoji's headphones, he was generally an unpleasant person, who had such an inflated opinion of his own musical talent that he would force other students to attend his monthly 'performances'. Yuugi had been forced to endure this on two previous occasions, and he didn't like the idea of getting roped into another one. He tried to sneak away unnoticed, but to no avail.

"Yuugi! Come here, there's a seat next to me. I have something to talk to you about!" Sozoji shouted over the noise. Yuugi felt a growing sense of dread, but he didn't dare try to slip back into the crowd now that he'd been spotted. He approached Sozoji cautiously, hoping that this wasn't about what he thought it was…

"My live show is tonight, Yuugi. And so…I want you to sell some tickets for me," he said, pulling out said tickets and handing them to Yuugi, who felt he had no choice but to take them, his fears confirmed. "They're 2000 yen each, and that's a bargain to hear the likes of me! Anyway, you sell all of those before tonight…you know what'll happen to you if you don't, don't you, Yuugi?" Sozoji said with a grin, cracking his knuckles threateningly. Yuugi winced, nodded quickly, and took off towards the front of the bus, trying to squeeze past people without disturbing them. He nearly collided with Anzu, who was making her way towards the back of the bus.

"Oh! There you are! I was worried that something had happened when you didn't come right back after the bus stopped, so I was coming to look for you…"

"I'm fine," Yuugi said quickly. Anzu didn't need to know about the whole exchange with Sozoji. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Are you sure? What happened?" she asked. Yuugi tried to think of something that would sound believable, but also wouldn't make Anzu worry, but was saved by the announcement of the Domino High stop. The two of them disembarked, Yuugi hoping that Anzu wouldn't bring the subject up again.

Yuugi and Anzu sat at their respective desks after they entered the classroom. Yuugi breathed a sigh of relief that Anzu had not pressed him further the entire way in. But…what was he going to do about the tickets? There were ten of them – there was no way he could convince anyone, let alone ten people, to go to Sozoji's performance.

"Good morning, Yuugi!" Jounouchi said, entering the classroom.

"Oh…good morning, Jounouchi…"

"Hey, what's wrong? You seem down today," Jounouchi asked.

"No…it's nothing…" Yuugi said. Great. Now Jounouchi was worrying about him too. Why did he always have to worry his friends? Jounouchi slammed his hands down on Yuugi's desk.

"Tell me what's bothering you, Yuugi!" Jounouchi demanded. "I'm here for you!" He stared intently at Yuugi, as though by sheer force of will he could force Yuugi to reveal the truth. Yuugi forced a smile.

"It's really nothing, Jounouchi! But thanks…" Yuugi said, hoping Jounouchi bought it. It did make him feel a little bit better, even if it didn't solve the problem. But he couldn't tell Jounouchi about what had happened, either. Jounouchi would just try to get into a fight with Sozoji.

"By the way…I brought the goods."

"Oh?"

"Yeah…here it is," Jounouchi said, pulling out an inappropriate video, that he'd promised yesterday to bring to Yuugi. "Hope you like it!" Jounouchi said, winking. Yuugi looked around to make sure there wasn't a teacher watching before he took it, but even though no teachers were watching, someone else was.

"What's this?" Anzu asked, pulling it off the desk where Jounouchi had placed it. Both boys froze.

"Ah…give that back…" Jounouchi said nervously.

"Must be interesting, huh? Maybe I'll borrow it…" Anzu said teasingly. Yuugi shifted nervously. Although Anzu did seem to be much more…lighthearted with Jounouchi than she had been previously. Maybe they were starting to get along, after all. That thought cheered Yuugi slightly, but he was still a little concerned about how Anzu was going to react once she realized what the video was – if she didn't know already…

"Ack! No, you don't want that…" Jounouchi protested.

And then there was those tickets…he couldn't subject his friends to that horrible performance.

"I hope you're not trying to corrupt Yuugi." Anzu said, holding the video tantalizingly out of Jounouchi's reach.

Sozoji's singing voice was basically torture, amplified far beyond a volume human ears should be subjected to – Yuugi wouldn't wish that experience on anyone, let alone his friends. But the thought of what Sozoji was going to do to him if he didn't sell those tickets…

"I'm not corrupting him, Anzu! He was the one that asked me to bring it, anyway…"

I'm so useless…why do I always get into these situations? Just what can I do?

No answer came to him. Nothing came for the rest of the day, either, and it was wearing down on him. There was no way he was going to be able to sell a single ticket. At this point it was desperate, and there was no way he was going to avoid a beating…

He spotted Hanasaki, and the thought occurred to Yuugi to try to sell a ticket to him. But he stopped short. Even if Hanasaki wasn't his friend, he still couldn't do such a cruel thing. He started to berate himself for even thinking of it.

"Um…Yuugi…?" Hanasaki had taken notice of Yuugi standing there, and shyly approached him. "I…don't mean to be a bother, but…could you buy this ticket from me?"

"Wha…what?" Yuugi asked, startled. Is he also being made to sell tickets?

"Yeah…uh, they're for Sozoji, in Class C…I have to sell five of these but no one…well, it would be really helpful if you could buy one…" Hanasaki mumbled. Yuugi felt his heart beat faster in nervousness. So it was the same situation…just what could he do? He had ten tickets of his own to sell, but he knew Hanasaki would have been threatened just the same as him…he didn't want that to happen.

"Ah…you don't seem all that excited about it," Yuugi said.

"Well…if I tell you you might not buy one…but I don't really want to go."

I don't blame you, Yuugi thought. No one with any sense would ever want to. Still, he couldn't just turn Hanasaki down, leaving him to the same hopeless feeling that had bothered him all day.

"I'm afraid I don't have any money on me…so how about I sell those tickets for you? I'll take them off your hands, and then you won't have to go, right?" Yuugi offered. This way only I will have to suffer…

"You...you're really okay with doing that? Thank you, Yuugi!" Hanasaki said, his face lighting up before giving the tickets to Yuugi.

Ten tickets have become fifteen, Yuugi thought ruefully. But it didn't really matter, he wasn't going to be able to sell even ten, so what difference did it make? And if he helped Hanasaki, then it was worth it, right?

"Yuugi!"

He turned around to see Anzu running towards him. Hastily stuffing the tickets in his pocket, he forced a smile as she approached. She did not appear to be convinced by it.

"Yuugi, what's the matter? Jounouchi's right, you've been acting so weird all day. Ever since the bus this morning…"

"It's nothing."

"What are you hiding?" Anzu pushed. Yuugi grew nervous as Anzu glanced at the pocket where he had put the tickets. He shook his head, but Anzu was not deterred. "I saw you accept something from Hanasaki – if there's something going on, I want to know about it, especially if it's something that could get you hurt."

"You don't need to worry about anything, Anzu! I'm just doing a favor for Hanasaki," Yuugi insisted. Anzu continued to stare him down, unconvinced. Damn, she was persistent. He knew she meant well, but…he really didn't want to worry her, or anyone. But eventually he relented, wringing his hands under her intense gaze.

"Please don't get mad…but Sozoji made me and Hanasaki sell tickets for his performance tonight. Of course no one wants to go, so we can't sell any, so I offered to sell them for Hanasaki, so at least he won't have to go…"

"Geez, Yuugi. You really are too nice for your own good! You don't have to do anything that Sozoji guy wants," Anzu said.

"He…he doesn't take it well when I refuse or fail to sell the tickets…" Yuugi said, and immediately wished he hadn't. Anzu didn't know about the other times.

"How many times has this happened?" Anzu demanded. Yuugi shrank back.

"A couple," he admitted. "But it's not a big deal."

"Bullshit. If he's coercing you and hurting you, then I won't stand for it. When is this 'performance' of his? I'm not going to let him do this to you!"

"It's tonight, but you don't have to get involved, really!" Yuugi said, alarmed. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen. "I don't want you to have to be subjected to that guy's voice."

"Well, he's going to have to listen to mine before he even gets the chance to start singing!"

Yuugi sighed, disappointed in himself. There was no way he could talk Anzu out of it now. Why did he have to be such a burden on his friends? Why did he always end up pushing his problems on them?

.

.

.

Sozoji tapped his foot impatiently. Although it was still technically before the time he was set to begin, it was starting to cut it close, and no one had shown up yet.

Well, except Hanasaki, but Sozoji had sort of forced the issue there, now hadn't he? Stupid kid thought he could get out of it, but Sozoji had witnessed the twerp pull that little stunt. Trying to pawn off the tickets! The nerve! As if his live show was something to be dreaded! He was the best singer in town. But of course, no one appreciated him. No one had any sense of art! He snorted. It was unbelievable that an artist of his caliber had to force anyone to attend. Everyone ought to be lining up to see him!

The door opened, and Sozoji looked up excitedly, only to be disappointed as Yuugi timidly made his way into the room, followed by a girl Sozoji didn't know. Well, at least that was someone. Still, this was a disappointing turnout.

"How many tickets did you sell?" Sozoji asked Yuugi bluntly.

"I…" the boy started, and Sozoji quickly grew impatient. He didn't like where this was going. "I didn't…"

"What!?" Sozoji shouted. "You mean you haven't sold any of the tickets, except to her?" He gestured to the girl who had followed Yuugi in, who looked annoyed by the question.

"I didn't buy any of your stupid tickets. You have no right to force Yuugi to sell them for you!" she said angrily.

"I don't do these for free!" Sozoji responded in kind. "You pay up right now…and you, Yuugi!" He grabbed Yuugi by the shirt and hoisted him in the air, ignoring the girl's protests. "I warned you about not selling those tickets…"

"I'm sorry! Everyone was busy today! But I'll stay and listen…"

"Damn right, you will! And you're going to regret trying to skirt my rules!" He released Yuugi, then shoved a pair of headphones onto the boy. He started adjusting his equipment, turning up the volume to the maximum setting. He spotted the girl trying to remove the headphones from Yuugi, and annoyed, Sozoji stomped over and shoved a pair on her head, too. She sputtered at him, but Sozoji ignored her as she tried to shout at him and remove the headphones at the same time.

Sozoji picked up his mic, ready to go. He started the track, and began bellowing into the mic, losing himself to the music. He was going to make sure this was the best damn performance he had ever given! His talent had been unacknowledged for too long. He saw his guests attempting to remove the headphones, and he sang louder. He was going to get the appreciation for his music he deserved, even if he had to beat it out of them! He grinned as he finished up the song – here came the good part.

"I'd like to introduce our special guest for this evening!" Sozoji shouted into the microphone. With a flourish, he pulled away the curtains that he'd shoved Hanasaki behind. Still seemed to be conscious, he noticed. That was good, he wanted an audience, after all…

"Hanasaki!" Yuugi cried out, as the girl gave a wordless cry of alarm. They both ran over to the injured boy, and Sozoji grinned wider. Getting a reaction out of your audience was the best thing, and he knew just how to push it further.

"It's your fault, Yuugi. You helped him try to cheat me out of sales, after all."

"How dare you!" the girl shouted, turning on him angrily while Yuugi tried to comfort Hanasaki, who was struggling to remain conscious. "You forced this on them, you brute! How dare you laugh about it!" She ripped off the headphones and stomped up to Sozoji.

He easily shoved her back, throwing her back towards the boys before she even had a chance to cry out. She stumbled and fell backwards, and Sozoji laughed as she reached out wildly to try to stop her fall, her hand catching on that stupid necklace Yuugi wore, and pulling the both of them to the floor.

It was the oddest thing, but at once the atmosphere seemed to change. Sozoji felt a chill, but shrugged it off. He waited for his guests to get back up – he had a performance to get on with, after all. He didn't want to spend the night waiting around!

There was something eerie in the way their shaking forms moved in unison, slowly rising from the ground. But Sozoji put it off to a trick of the light. He noted that Yuugi's necklace had come off and was now held between the two of them, and that Yuugi had now ripped off his headphones as well.

"How could you do this to Hanasaki!? How could you do this to my friend!?" the two hissed at him.

"He tried to take the easy way out, and I wouldn't have it, simple as that!" Sozoji said. "Now have you got something to say to me, or can we get on with the performance? That's what we're all here for, after all."

"Oh, I have something to say," they said, with an unpleasant chuckle. "A question, actually. Tell me, Sozoji, are you a coward? If you aren't, you won't run away from a simple game…"

What the hell? Sozoji thought. The way they were talking and acting was really unnerving – completely different than they were before. And in unison…it was almost like they were…

"What do you mean, a simple game?" he asked, and immediately regretted it. He didn't want to see anyone smile like that ever again – it made him feel like he was in a horror movie.

"We'll play the silent game," they said. The each picked up a strange-looking clown toy that had been lying around the room, and placed them at opposite ends of the table. "These clowns react to noise – they'll start dancing if their sensor goes off. We will each sit in front of a clown, and upon the start of the game, will remain completely silent for as long as we can. The first to make their clown dance will lose."

"And what happens when you lose?" Sozoji asked.

"If I lose, I'll give my life. If you lose, you'll face a penalty game, for your crime against me and my friends."

It briefly occurred to Sozoji that he probably shouldn't ask them any more questions. He regretted it every time. He didn't know if this was some psychological tactic or if they were legitimately bonkers, but this was starting to get to him. What kind of people staked their life on such a game?

"It's 'two' against one…seems you have an advantage in this case, heh."

Sozoji bristled. Were they mocking him? He didn't like that tone; he didn't like being challenged. Against his better judgement, he accepted the game, and the room fell silent. Impatience set in quickly. He fought the urge to tap his foot, do anything but just sit here…but he couldn't. He would lose the game if he did.

It's not right. To think that I'm spending my performance in silence instead of singing! Sozoji thought as he glared at the pair seated across from him, frustrated by their smug identical smiles. He would show them…once he won this game, he was going to…

He then spotted something that made his heart leap. The jack to Yuugi's headphones had landed precariously on the edge of a glass next to the clown toy. If it fell, it would certainly set it off! Sozoji watched it intently, with an impatient excitement. Fall, he thought. Come on, fall! His grip tightened on the microphone as the jack wobbled almost imperceptibly. Fall. Fall. FALL!

The clown started dancing. Sozoji shot backwards in confusion. The jack had not fallen, and furthermore, it was the toy in front of him, not the other two, that had activated. What? What? he thought, his heart continuing to race. Had he just lost? How?

"Your heart," Yuugi and the girl said, as if in answer to his unspoken question. "You left the microphone on at maximum volume, and it picked up your heartbeat, playing it over the speaker right above you." Their tone slowly became angrier. "Appropriate, isn't it, that you would be done in by the microphone you use to torment people? You have lost."

Sozoji swore that the necklace between them just started glowing as they finished speaking, but that concern was replaced almost immediately as he noticed the glowing eye that had appeared on each of their foreheads. What…what the hell was going on? Sozoji didn't know, but something in him knew that he had stumbled into something dangerous. How? It didn't make sense! He…he had picked up on the weirdness earlier…he should have done something then!

"PENALTY GAME! DEAFINING BEATS!" they shouted. The glowing eye came off their foreheads and shot towards Sozoji. He screamed, but could not move as it overcame him.

For an instant, he thought the worst had passed – that nothing had happened. Maybe it had all been some sort of nightmare. But his heart continued to pound. Louder, in fact. Louder. And louder. He saw that the pair was speaking to him again, but he could not hear them over the relentless pounding. He could barely think…he had to make this awful noise stop! He sank to the floor helplessly as the other two picked up the unconscious Hanasaki, supporting him between them as they walked out. Sozoji screamed again.

But even that was drowned out by the overwhelming noise of his own heart.