So I wasn't sure if I should do just Yami's p.o.v and neutral but I figured it would be hard to explain alot that way, so I am going to use who ever's is most appropriate. I will write before hand who it is.

Don't think anything needs to be explained here... Prideshipping starts to show and starshipping, spiritshipping/selfshipping/advancedshipping (the name of the Haou/Jaden/Johan triangle).

Enjoy!

-Jaden's P.O.V-

On Seth's orders, I had no choice but to comply. I had tried to argue but Tight-Ass (aka Seto) had told me to just do it, before slamming the door in my face. The only supply of alcohol we had right now was at the saloon, but Mai happily have me some (against Marik's knowledge). Ryou showed me which room the injured man was staying in and then left me to enter alone.

Let's just say I was not expecting what I was greeted with.

First off, the room smelled like blood, soap and old medical supplies. The sheets had probably just been cleaned but his bandages had not; and blood was seeping through them into the bed. Great. I groaned.

I pulled down the blankets and began to unroll the bandages- only after assuring he was asleep. It was hard to do since I had to hold up his torso and unwind the bandages on my own, but it was done quickly enough and they were discarded.

The wound on his side was long, deep, and curved from his top rib to his low front hip. I dipped a rag into a basin of water and then brought it over the areas where the gash had bled, until most of it was gone. The rag was now mostly red as well, so I dunked it back into the water before giving my hands a quick wash in it. Before applying alcohol to it, I sat back to observe the cut in question. How on earth did that happen?

I sighed before standing beside the bed; bottle in hand. One of the dry rags was laying beside the basin so I poured the whiskey onto it to dab at the cut. The man didn't flinch, so it came as surprise when I heard him groan.

"That hurts." He gasped.

I glanced up at him. He was trying to sit up on to his elbows, so I pressed a hand to his chest to get him to lay back down. "Don't try to move, you're hurt." I explained.

The man rolled his eyes but he slowly fell back down into the blankets. "Whatever." He muttered. I began my work again; pulling slightly at the edges of the cut to make sure when I dabbed the rag on it, it got into the wound. He hissed a few times and flinched but otherwise stayed silent. As I worked, I felt my eyes go up to his face. He was very handsome- with a narrow face, and big blue eyes that had long lashes above them. He was fairly pale skinned, with dark blue/black hair that had a few yellow strands sticking back. He definitely was a stranger. I usually remembered people who passed through multiple times and he had not.

"Why are you helping me?" He finally asked.

The inevitable question. I paused nonetheless before answering. "Seth made me." I had a feeling he was wondering who Seth was so I continued. "Seth's kind of in charge. He had three brothers- Mokuba, Noa and Seto. The one who shot you." I added quickly. "Seto is Seth's twin. They kind of run town together."

The man gave a disinterested nod. "Why are you here?" I asked.

"...We heard a rich family lived here." He murmured. "The twins were sick so I needed money to buy medicine."

I pulled at the cut again and he winced. "Sorry. We can heal them you know. You don't have to steal." When he didn't respond I added, quietly, "And then you could just work off the debt."

He scoffed. "Sure."

"So what's your name?"

He must've seen this coming eventually because he didn't react to the question. "Fudo. Yuusei Fudo."

I smiled and stuck one hand out to him as I leaned back from his side. "Jaden Yuki."

He carefully shook my hand. I stood to re-dip the cloth in whiskey then started on his lower cut again. Yuusei closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I figured he was trying to sleep, so I stayed quiet while I finished. Once it had been cleaned I washed my hands in the water basin and then picked up the dry bandages to wrap around him. I set my knee on the edge of the bed then leaned over him to pull the roll over his stomach, back under his spine, then around; repeating the movement until it was effectively covering the bottom half of his torso.

"What are you doing?"

Surprised, I looked at him. Yuusei had one eye open, amusedly watching me wrap him. I felt my face flush and quickly pinned the end of the bandage and climbed off the bed. "Wrapping your cut, obviously." I stammered.

He smirked at me. "Well, then."

"Why's it matter?"

"Maybe it felt good."

I rolled my eyes noe. "Uh huh. Go back to sleep." I picked up a glass of whiskey and held it to his lips; tipping his head back so he could drink it. "This will sedate any pain. I have to get effective tools to clear the bullet once it stops bleeding."

Yuusei's grim grew wider. "Mhm." Was all he said at first once I had pulled the glass away. "I think I'm looking forward to it."

I flushed darker and climbed off the bed. "And I think you have a girlfriend."

"Akiza?" He laughed.

"Now you're drunk. Go to bed."

I gathered my supplies and left the room quickly. Once the door was closed, I ran my hand over my cheeks- as if that would erase the blush on my face. "Yuusei.." I whispered, testing his name. "Hm."

-Yami's P.O.V-

"Seto?"

The brunette in question looked up from the porch he was staring at from the street. "Oh, Yami." He replied shortly. "I was thinking about checking how you're doing.."

I smiled and leaned on the open doorway. "You can come in."

He bowed his head before coming up the stairs and I moved aside so he could enter. "Atem and Yugi are in the living room, or if you wanted to talk we can go to the kitchen.." Something by his expression said he wanted to be alone so I began putting my boots on. "Or we can go to the bar?"

He smiled and opened the door back up for me. We headed down the street the few houses away the bar was. Haou, Johan and Jaden were walking in a three person line with their arms around each other; singing drunken songs off rhythm and out of tune across the street. Jaden (in the middle) stumbled and fell over onto Haou, who then collapsed against the building beside them. Johan only stayed up because he bared himself with both hands against the house, with one on either side of Jaden.

"How much did you drink?" I called; half joke and half scolding.

Jaden leaned forward in an attempt to stand and grabbed onto Johan's upper arm. "Oh hey Yugi." He hiccupped painfully.

"I'm Yami." I laughed.

The multi colored brunette groaned, almost sexually. "Dammit Niisan you gave me too much to drink.."

"You accepted." Haou laughed as he pulled Jaden close by his hips. The younger twin half heartedly pawed at his chest in an attempt to get him to let go.

Seto sighed. "Haou no rape." He warned. "You too, Johan."

"No promises." the green haired boy hummed.

I shook my head and pushed the door into the bar. Seto followed quickly, clearly as disturbed as I was. Inside the bar, a slow song was playing. Two blonde, tan men were behind the counter talking loudly to the girls sitting there. The shorter of the bartenders (Marik) ran over to us with a smile. "Hey guys! Want a private booth again?"

Seto nodded. Marik bounced off the to far wall, near which was a small staircase that lead to a booth in the corner. The bartender waited until we were seated to leave and get our drinks.

My companion sat near the middle, so I slid in near him and leaned on my elbows on the table. "So what is it? Obviously you wanted to talk about something."

He took a small, shakey breath before leaning back against the cushion. "I guess I'm just starting to wonder if I am the best 'parent' for Mokuba and Noa.." I watched the sadness appear on his features. "You know, right? Being in charge of Yugi.. You want what's best for him, but also want him to be happy."

"Yeah but let's face it. Atem is a horrible parents. I have no choice." I replied, waiting for him to laugh but he didn't. "And we are all he has."

"But I'm not all that they have."

So that's what this was about. The letter...

A fee months ago, Seth had received a letter from Gozabura (Seto and Mokuba's adopted father) saying he wanted possession of the youngest boys. Seto and Mokuba had fled that household because Seto thought Gozabura was beating Mokuba, and come here to join Seth and Noa. At first, Seth had kept the letter a secret from Seto, and told Atem instead (who in turn confided in me). Seto still had only known about the letter a few weeks but he had grown much more protective of Noa and Mokuba since then.

"Just ignore him." I laid a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

Seto dazed off; staring at the table. A few moments later Marik brought us our drinks and a small cake as usual. I smiled. "Thanks Marik. Tell Mariku his cakes are good." To prove my point, I swiped a finger through the icing and stuck it in Seto's mouth before he could protest. Marik laughed and sauntered away, the long tails of his purple dress shirt billowing as he did.

The blue eyes of my friend turned to me and I realized how close we were. The din lighting reflected off his silver vest, and the cerulean flannel he wore under it looked navy. Finally I pulled my finger out of his mouth and wiped it on a napkin nearby. Seto put his left arm on the head rest behind me as he smiled, and I sent him a glare. "What?"

"Thank you for talking with me."

"Hm?"

I fully looked at him, surprise making my heart thud in my chest. He never expressed gratitude like this. Then again, he told me a lot of things no one else knew. I had always considered him a friend but I had never really realized that if he trusted me this much, didn't that make me his friend as well?

Seto leaned a little closer to me, still smiling. "Thanks."

My cheeks flushed a little, so I leaned away and took a drink of my beer. "You're welcome." I gasped once I had swallowed.

He used his right hand to pick up his own drink. When he sat it down, he grabbed his fork and took a bite of the cake. "It is good." He agreed.

"You already tried it! It's my turn!"

Before I could take my fork, a different one was shoved into my mouth. It scooped out so the cake was still on my tongue, and I swallowed it down quickly. Seto was grinning out of the corner of my eye so I looked at him curiously. "What was that for?"

"You said it was your turn."

"I can eat on my own."

The brunette's forehead lay against the side of my head as he breathed in deeply. His breath was hot on my ear and I shuddered. "I know. But I was returning the favor."

"You're drunk." I murmured amusedly.

"Am not. I just like being around you."

Jaden's words from that morning came into my mind, causing me to wonder again if I should just for it and tell Seto how I feel about him. Attempting to gather courage, I slid away just enough that I could fave him without our noses touching. He looked at me with one eyebrow raised: curious and confused.

God, he was...

"Yami?"

His eyes met mine and I raised my glass to finish my drink a little too quickly. We stayed quiet then, each occasionally taking a bite of the cake. My courage had fled; scurried off to some corner of my body where it would probably stay all night. But my heart was s little relieved. It was better this way, after all. Just being here for him and being his friend.

Yeah...

This was gonna suck.