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A/N: Right, so here we are with what wasn't really meant to be a chapter. In fact, you'll find this snippet to be quite on the short side. Sorry if you were looking for more, but this is important and there's not much more to it than what's already written. I figure it's understandable :)

Without further adieu..

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Chapter 3: Prediction

"It's over."

"What are you talkin' about? What do you mean 'it's over'?"

He looked back down with his bottom lip slightly hung, the cold and stale air easing it's way into his lungs. A speedy heart pump blood fast and the Pharaoh's throat ran coarse. "He's gone. Partner... he's gone. I can no longer feel... no longer feel his presence."

A lone tear slid slowly down his cheek until it was too small for gravity to maintain it's hold on it. The Pharaoh sighed, lost in his thoughts.

"What should we do?"

"Why would he look for Bakura? Isn't he in the Shadow Realm or somethin'?"

"I thought so..."

"Poor Anzu.."

The words were all meaningless. The voices held little value to him as well. "You're all going to die," he said dryly. They all stopped and looked at him, slightly bewildered but more so disturbed.

Silence fell upon them.

"Die?"

"We are going to die? What do you mean we're going to die?!"

"How can you say that?"

"..Anzu..."

The words kept trotting around his ears, but none entered nor caught his attention. He continued anyway, his words chilling them to the core. "He'll want to kill you. He would have already killed me if it were simple. But no."

"You mean," Shizuka started, her voice near a whimper, "he wants to make you suffer?"

He nodded, his frail spine lightly popping from the sudden movement of his statue-like presence. Still, he sat on the cold floor afraid that, without his partner, he couldn't even stand. He made a small effort to lift himself up, but lost the willpower to do so. As he saw his friends rush to him, his heart broke and made a twisted knot in his chest. Breathing suddenly became harder to do, and the faded sight of Anzu's bleeding corpse behind the gang forced another tear.

Honda and Ryuuj lifted him up on their shoulders as Shizuka and Jounouchi cradled each other beside them. In one instant, the Pharaoh's breath ceased, and his heart raced to fix the problem. "Oy, what's wrong, pal?"

He clutched his chest tightly and pressed the tips of his fingers into his skin, hoping that the jolt of self-caused pain would remind him how to breathe again..

But the knot he felt in his chest grew to a tightening pain; like something strangling the heart.

A heavy gasp helped them realize the problem, and all fell somber. "I couldn't.. at first there was.. but then I.." The heavy breaths came easy to him and his head was filled with more oxygen than he could desire. A slight headache throbbed and bothered his eyes, forcing him to cover them from the beams of lights hooked around the ceiling.

As if they knew and understood his distress, all nodded and became a bit more relaxed. He shook his head to himself. They would never understand. His hands fell from his facing, sometimes pulling on the skin and distorting his initial expression of sorrow. "Geez, pal, don't give us anymore reason to worry about you!" The Pharaoh looked across to see the young blonde grinning with his sister beside him. His eyes traced down his bloodied arm to see the bandaged nub carefully cared for by Shizuka. That reminded him of Anzu, somehow. Yes, that was why - Anzu would have done the same thing for him. He was probably the one that she cared for the most - and that bastard killed her. She was slaughtered and he didn't bother to lift a finger. He was too concerned with his partner that was long gone to even notice that he already lost another friend. Never before had he felt so helpless.

He looked back up to Jounouchi - back to his eyes and left the helpful grips of Honda and Ryuuj. "Don't leave me. Please."