YD: Thank you to all you reviewers out there! I realize this is overdone but I hope this story won't go the way most go. For one, I have decided there will be no couplings. Everyone is single all throughout the story. Although if I get enough people asking for shounen ai then I'll have an alternate ending. It all depends really.

HS: And so, it starts…

Disclaimer: Honestly, you do think I could own the miracle of Yuugiou? I'm flattered but no, I don't own it.


Chapter two, Planning

It was beautiful outside. The winds were just right and the sun wasn't too bright. (Hey that rhymes! Sorry, back to the story.) The clouds looked a little gray with a threat of rain but other than that, it was beautiful. Yuugi was asleep, dreaming of flying through the air, free.

RING! RING! RING! RING! RI-CRASH!

Yuugi slammed the alarm down forcefully. He really wasn't a morning person… He groaned and literally rolled out of bed. Getting aquatinted with the floor, Yuugi groaned inaudibly. Yami wasn't a morning person either and since he was the abuser, Yuugi wouldn't exactly want to get on his bad side.

"Damn." Yuugi mouthed. He extracted himself from the bindings of his bed sheets and stood, stretching. He put his ear against the door and listened. Yami usually left early since he talked to Yuugi's ex-friends. A door slammed. That was Yuugi's cue.

Yawning, Yuugi gathered his clothes and headed toward the shower. Surely cold water would wake him up… Yuugi stumbled as he walked into the door. Well, that wasn't smart… Rubbing his forehead, Yuugi entered the bathroom.

Approximately ten minutes later, a wide-awake Yuugi stepped out of the bathroom. He wore blue jeans, having discarded his leather for something a little more comfortable and free. A silver belt with chains hung from his hips. It was more for show than anything else. A black shirt with white words saying Tainted Darkness added a little personality to the ensemble. A silver bracelet was the only thing on his left wrist. It had been the last gift his friends had given him. Life, love, light, the three elements crucial to the existence of a person.

Yuugi wiped away a tear. He entered his room and sat down at his desk. Opening the drawer, a silver blade shined. It was the very blade that relieved so much pain. It was the blade which Yuugi had been using to cut himself ever since Yami first hit him. Yuugi picked up the knife by the blade, not caring that it cut his skin. Slowly, he rolled his sleeve up and dragged the knife against his unscarred flesh. It didn't hurt since Yuugi was used to it. Blood dripped from the wound to land in his lap. Yuugi sighed; this was his release from all other pain in the world. It never had hurt, only was numb.

After a few minutes of cutting, Yuugi healed all his wounds, not leaving a scratch. Only recently had he discovered that he could wield Shadow Magic just as easily as his yami. Yuugi couldn't summon anything but he could use small bits of it now and then. He cleaned the blade and returned it to its rightful place. Cleaning up the mess of blood, Yuugi used a little more magic to remove any stains on his pants. Checking that everything was orderly, Yuugi left the room.

He was starving. Silently, Yuugi rummaged through the fridge, searching for anything edible Yami wouldn't miss. Gathering ingredients for a turkey sandwich, Yuugi ate the sandwich without toasting the bread. He checked if everything was as he left it and it passed his judgment. Time to get to school.

Yuugi grabbed his backpack and locked the door before leaving. He dropped the key into his pocket and started on the five minute walk to school. Looking around and seeing nobody, Yuugi ran into his favorite hangout. It was the place he met Malik and Ryou for the walk to school. His only two friends were sitting in the corner, talking quietly. They stopped as soon as they saw a shadow and smiled when they saw it was only Yuugi.

"Hey, Yuugi. Do you have any news?" Ryou asked, motioning for the shorter boy to take a seat.

"Guys, how long have you wanted to escape your darkness?"

"Ever since I knew about him." Came the simultaneous answer. Yuugi nodded, he was expecting that kind of answer.

"Well, Yami followed me to the club last night. I guess I got careless or something. He threatened me and he said something about making money off of me. Well, I was thinking, since we have enough money, why don't we leave and start a new life?" Malik and Ryou thought it over for about a split second.

"Hell yeah!" They slapped five and started planning what to do. Only a foolish person would go without a plan, hoping for the best. No, Yuugi had done that and look where it got him.

"We'll need help. I'm sure the others would ask Kaiba so let's convince him to join our side. He'll be really useful. Think about his computer skills!" Malik offered. Yuugi nodded in agreement.

"Then it's settled. We leave today at ten PM on a plane to England." Ryou said. Since they were going to a brand new place, they wanted to go somewhere familiar. Ryou was born and raised for most of his life in Britain. It would be nice to actually know what you were doing and not wander around a place you had no information of.

"Let's get to school now." Yuugi suggested. The others stood up and walked out together. He hoped they wouldn't run into anyone they didn't want to meet. One good thing was that their yamis couldn't abuse them in public the bad thing was that Jounouchi and Honda's new gang could…

As soon as the Lights got to school, the bell rang. It was like this everyday. Get to school as late as possible without being late and you have a better chance of getting beat on. Now, between classes, that was a whole different problem. The three separated for class, each hoping the other would be okay. They never knew if someone from school went to the club they worked at.

Ryou sat down in his seat at the farthest corner in the class. He was separated from civilization a bit since all the talkative people sat far forward. The teacher didn't care as long as they did all their work. If they didn't… it wouldn't be pretty.

Time is such a fickle thing. For some it goes too fast, for some it goes too slow. For the three hikaris, time went too slow. As soon as the lunch bell rang, there was a stampede of teenagers.

The Lights met at their favorite place to eat, high up in a tree. Or course, everything had to be balanced or you'd fall off. No one ever found them unless they were looking close enough. Malik noticed that two very familiar figures stood beneath the tree they were currently in. He captured his friends' attention and gestured to the two beneath the leaves of the tree.

"Where the hell are they?"

"We have the entire lunch period to find them. Even if we don't, we have time after school. Those three have gone too long without a beating."

Lucky for them, the two turned away and left. The three just sat there, slowly processing what Yuugi's ex-friends had said. A few tears slipped down his cheeks. Life sucked. His yami abused him. His ex-friends had split up and went separate ways.

Anzu joined the cheerleaders and constantly put everyone down. Jounouchi and Honda formed a dangerous gang called Living Ghosts. They never killed, only put people in the hospital. They were never caught either. Otogi became extremely rich had tons of money-lovers hanging all over him. Shizuka got tired of it all and returned to life with her mother, far away from here. The Darks had joined up and became the most powerful group existing called, Dark Shadows. No one dared mess with them.

"We'll be ok, Yuugi. Dry those tears." Ryou comforted. "Think of what life will be after we get out of here."

"First we'll find someone to support us. Meanwhile we'll be finishing our education and when someone does sponsor us, we'll make them proud. Soon, we'll be famous and everyone that used to know us will beg for forgiveness. I can't wait to say no to the little wannabes." Malik said vehemently.

"How do you know we'll become so famous?" Yuugi asked.

"You heard the crowds every time we played and sang. And that dancing, Yuugi, that was spectacular. We keep this up and we'll be rich and famous in no time." Yuugi blushed at the comment. It just all come naturally to him.

"What about Kaiba?" Ryou asked. "We still need to convince him to join our cause."

"Did any of you forget to heal your wounds? We could show the proof of abuse. You know how Kaiba hates abuse. After all, his step-father abused him." Ryou held out his arm and rolled up the sleeve. Black, blue, purple, yellow bruises were all up and down his frail arm.

"I think Yami called Bakura or something. He tried to make me dance and sing for him but I refused. Bakura went as far as holding a knife against my throat but I still didn't. He ended up just beating within an inch of my life." Small crystalline tears shone on his face.

"Oh Ryou, I'm sorry. I should have checked. It's all my fault." Ryou shook his head.

"Don't blame yourself, Yuugi. No one would have guessed that your yami would follow you." Yuugi released a guilty sigh. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

"Well, time to get to class." Malik said with a sigh. I mean, hey, who liked school anyways? They packed up their things and jumped down from the tree. "See ya later, guys." Ryou and Yuugi waved and left.

The rest of the classes were uneventful. Jounouchi and Honda were looking at each other a lot, seeming trying to relate a message mentally. Yuugi ignored them, instead paying attention to the outside world. Birds flew freely, how Yuugi longed to be one of them. So free, so alive.

"Mutou!" The sharp voice of the teacher interrupted his thoughts. Cold gray eyes stared at him. Yuugi was unperturbed. How many times had Yami looked at him that way with hate in his eyes?

"Yes, sensei?" The teacher looked at her student. He wasn't intimidated. Strange, most students were terrified of her wrath.

"Answer the question on the board." She was tough but fair. Some teachers would hand out detentions just for annoying the, this teacher would not. Yuugi glanced at the board. If -9m – 12 11 – 3m, what is m? Yuugi closed his eyes and worked out the problem.

"M is less than – 23/6" Jaws dropped all around the class. Who knew the little shrimp could ace math? The bell rang and Yuugi, who had already gathered his things, ran out the door. He had to get home before Yami did. That way, he could still leave.

The three friends met outside. They smiled at each other, glad that escaped anyone who wanted to hurt them.

"Hey, Mutou, Bakura, Ishtar!" Or maybe they spoke too soon. Pale, the three addressed teens turned. The gang Living Ghosts stood in front of them. Jounouchi and Honda smirked. "You know what comes next." The ten boys surrounded the three. Growling in annoyance, the Lights got into a fighting position. Malik had been teaching them how to fight. They couldn't fight their Darks; only fight others like Jou and Honda.

"So the little Lights finally decided to stand up for themselves." Honda taunted. The fight was fast. One person dove for Yuugi and he avoided the larger bully easily. Usually, the plan was not to get hit. Ryou dodged a punch aimed for his stomach. Malik caught a fist aimed for his face and punched the guy.

"You're going to have to do worse than that to get through to us!" Yuugi shouted. He dropped to the ground and kicked some guy's feet from underneath him. Ryou was hit from behind and dropped to the ground. Dizzy but still conscious, he kicked someone in the shin. The person howled in pain and kicked Ryou. Malik rushed to his friend and knocked out the person who hurt Ryou.

"You ok?"

"Fine." They resumed the fight. Pretty soon, the odds were seven to three. The odds were in Jounouchi and Honda's favor.

"You fight good, brat, but not good enough. They surrounded the Lights again and kicked them off their feet. Once they were on the ground the gang started kicking them unceremoniously.

"Damn…" Yuugi whispered. They curled up, not wanting to get kicked anywhere important. After ten or so minutes, the gang got bored.

"See ya later, jerks." Jounouchi told the battered Lights. They left. Yuugi moaned and uncurled himself, every part of him aching. At his side, Ryou and Malik did the same.

"What that was fun. Let's go do it again." Malik whispered sarcastically. Ryou scoffed.

"Yes, let's. Can we get home and pack now?"

"No let's go see Kaiba first. We have proof of abuse now, all right." Yuugi whispered back. Slowly lifting themselves off the ground the trio started limping down the street, wincing with each step. Curiously, luck was on their side today. A familiar black limo pulled up beside them and a window rolled down.

"What happened to you three?"

"Got caught by goddamn bullies." Malik replied, venom lacing each word. Yuugi stumbled and was caught by Ryou.

"Thanks…" Uncharacteristically, the stone cold Kaiba was worried.

"Get in." He opened to door and the trio gratefully entered the limo. A tiny bit of magic sparkled. Yuugi paled.

"Guys, I don't have enough magic to heal myself. What am I supposed to do? I can't let anyone find out." Yuugi whispered, voice extremely low and panicky. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, Kaiba overheard.

"Find out what, Mutou." Yuugi flinched.

"Please don't make me answer that question, Kaiba. I can't." Yuugi's pleading eyes bored into his.

"You're being abused." Whatever color there was disappeared.

"What make you think that?"

"Give me your arm." Yuugi inched away from him. As gently as he could, Kaiba grabbed the smaller boy's arm and pulled up the sleeve. Small bruises marred the pale skin. "You said something about healing yourself. How can you?"

"I use magic. Before you say anything, there's a limit to how much I can use. I've already used up enough to heal my cutting."

"Kaiba, we know you hate abuse. Can you help us? We want to run away from here, but we'll need your help." Ryou asked. He gently rolled up his sleeve. His bruises and cuts were a lot more severe that Yuugi's had been.

"Ryou doesn't have that much of control over the Shadows." Malik explained. He too rolled up his sleeve. All three boys had bruises and cuts.

"Who did this?" The Lights were silent.

"Can you help us? We know that someone will ask you for help. Don't tell them anything. Just make sure the others don't find out. We can't risk them coming after us." Yuugi pleaded. Kaiba dropped the boy's arm.

"I will. I absolute cannot tolerate abuse. Where will you go? What will you do?"

"We have everything planned, don't worry."

To Be Continued


YD: Well that was long. It was eight pages on Word! I realize that Kaiba is a little OOC but hey, the kid was abused. Doncha think he'd hate abuse afterward?

HS: I want some reviews please! Every author must feed on reviews. I'm hungry.

YD: Till next update. The wait won't be long, hopefully.