Ranko:…I don't know what to say. So let's just answer reviews!

Yami: Wow, that was intelligent.

Yuugi: Shut it, Yami. Ranko was really happy with all the positive reviews for chapter two, a lot of people felt bad for me so this chapter we're going to see if Ranko lightens it up a bit.

lilpopsplash: I'm glad you liked the chapter so much, I was kind of happy to hear that you started tear up (not in a creepy way) that means that I'm doing something right in my writing! Please continue to review!

SokiKuro: Thanks for the review! Yeah, Ryou gets abused a lot, it's time for him to just sit back and relax. We will be getting a little more insight on why Yami is such an asshole. And the thing with Yuugi's parents, they just don't like each other, no reason behind it; some married couples are really like that for no good reason. Please continue to review!

mangaloverxoxo: Your review just made me so happy, I kept rereading it! I loved it when you called Yami a big ball of hormones and I did give gramps a bigger role than I intended him to have, but that's okay! Please continue to review!

jgrl68: Yami is a player, isn't he? I don't know why, I think that he's just cute when he tries to be sexy. And Yuugi is a little fighter, he won't give in so easily to Yami! That scene where Yuugi had no one to talk to, I started to tear up because it reminded me of those moments where I didn't have anyone. Okay, emo moment over! I think Yami will change his ways soon and be a big supporter for Yuugi. Please continue to review!

FanFicFanGurl101: I'm sorry if you were confused at the beginning of the chapter ^^ maybe I didn't make it clear how chapter one ended and I apologize for that. After lunch, Yuugi was walking to his next class and he was dragged into the janitor's closet and that's basically where it ended. Thanks for the compliment on the kissing scene, I usually can't write that sort of stuff. Yes, Yuugi will give into Yami and his sexy self in due time! Please continue to review.

Yuugi: You think you got them all, Ranko?

Yami: Ranko twin owns nothing except her laptop!

Ranko: Enjoy!

-/-

Yuugi groaned in pain from the aching in his back. He peeled his eyelids open and the light from the sun almost blinded him. He wanted to stretch but his muscles were stiff. He noticed that he was still leaning against the door, he must have fell asleep like that last night after he talked to Ryou

Yuugi pushed himself to his feet; his whole body was sore from sleeping on the floor. He trudged over to his dresser and got a cleaner, fresher school uniform to change into after his shower. He really did stink.

Yuugi stood under the stream of hot water. It helped wake him up and clear his mind. As he scrubbed shampoo in his wild hair he thought of what happened yesterday. It was all so unreal. How long has it been since he's seen his parents? One month? Two? And when he sees them again, they're fighting, as if that is much of a surprise.

Then Ryou was dating Bakura, which was probably the biggest shocker of them all. It wasn't that Yuugi thought it was impossible but…it was impossible. Ryou was too shy and Bakura would never admit to anyone his actual feelings.

Yuugi turned off the shower and stepped out, drying himself off and dressing quickly; his stomach was beginning to eat his backbone. He went into the kitchen and saw that his grandpa was no where in sight; strange. What immediately came into sight was a small note on the counter.

Yuugi,

I'm sorry about what happened last night. I'm going to be out for a bit today, I have some business that needs to be taken care of.

Grandpa

Yuugi sighed and poured himself a bowl of cereal. His grandpa usually made him breakfast because Yuugi could not cook anything. He really did not want to go to school today, he was so tired and he did not want to face Yami Sennen. His mind flashed back to what his father told him last night about responsibility.

Yuugi didn't want to care, he didn't want those words to affect him the way they did. But they did and that is what confused him the most.

Yuugi checked the clock and saw that it was almost eight o'clock. He should leave soon. He grabbed his bags and went out the door, locking the Game Shop door behind him. He sighed again, he realized he has been doing that often, when Ryou wasn't there waiting for him.

He expected Ryou to walk with Bakura today, but it still hurt Yuugi all the same. He began the long walk to school when suddenly he was pounced on, toppling him over on the ground. He went down with a yell and his attacker giggled.

"Sabah el khair!"

Yuugi didn't know what was just said but he recognized it to be Arabic. "What?"

Whoever was on top of him was still laughing and finally the pressure on his back was release and he was helped to his feet. Behind him were Jounouchi, Seto, and Malik, who happened to be the source of the giggling and his attacker.

Seto sighed. "I'm sorry about him; we should keep him on a leash."

"Uh…" Yuugi said.

Malik blinked. "Oh, he looks confused."

"He said 'good morning' earlier," Jounouchi said helpfully, translating the Arabic that Malik spoke when he tackled Yuugi.

"I don't think that is the reason he was confused, mutt," Seto said tiredly, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Jounouchi's left eye twitched. "Hey!" he shouted and tackled Seto to the ground. The two boys began to wrestle and yell at each other.

Yuugi just stared at them; and they were supposed to be the hottest and best couple of the year?

Malik giggled again. "And you two say I need to be kept on a leash." He turned back to Yuugi. "I'm sorry about tackling you earlier; I'm really not that crazy…all the time. You just looked so sad walking all alone, I thought that maybe we could join you."

Yuugi smiled at how pleasant Malik was being. "Oh, that's fine, I would love to walk with you guys."

Malik beamed. "That's great! I'm Malik, by the way; Malik Ishtar."

Yuugi nodded. "I know, I met you yesterday."

The two began to walk to school, only assuming that the couple was following behind them. The two talked about random things, like school and about themselves. Yuugi found the conversation very enjoyable, Malik was nothing like the rumors he heard about him.

"That's a really cute charm," Yuugi said, pointing to the golden heart charm that was hanging from his school bag.

Malik blinked and looked down at what Yuugi was pointing at, as if he didn't know what he was talking about. Then a look of understanding dawned on his face and he smiled at Yuugi, melancholy in his eyes. "Thank you, my boyfriend gave it to me."

Yuugi nodded. "That's sweet; does your boyfriend go to this school?"

The melancholy in Malik's eyes changed to sadness, but he still tried to retain his smile. "He…he used to. He's in the army, stationed in Iraq."

Yuugi blinked and then his mouth fell open, he quickly covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Malik smiled brightly again and waved his hand in a dismissing manner. "Don't worry about it! He's been in the army for a few years now so it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. Besides, he's coming home in a few weeks and I hope this time he's here to stay!"

"What?" Jounouchi chirped out excitedly from behind them. "Marik is coming home? Damn, I miss him! How's he doing?"

Malik smiled and looked over his shoulder at Jounouchi; if Yuugi didn't know any better he would have thought he saw tears of joy in Malik's eyes. "Uh-huh, he's doing great! He misses you all and plans on getting back at the prank you and Bakura pulled on him last time he was here."

Jounouchi paled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, no…"

Yuugi couldn't help but laugh a little. He couldn't believe that he had never met this group before. They were so fun and he would have thought Bakura would bring them up in a conversation sometime. He had known Bakura since middle school, after all.

They made it to school and Yuugi immediately recognized two boys with white hair standing under a tree in the courtyard. They were talking and when they saw Yuugi, the shorter of the two waved them over.

Malik shrugged and began to walk over to the new couple. "We have plenty of time until school starts. Hey, you two!" Malik called as he ran the rest of the way over to the tree; the three other boys followed him. Malik cooed and pinched Ryou's cheek. "Aren't you two the cutest couple? Can I keep him, Bakura?" Malik asked playfully, pulling Ryou in for a tight hug.

Bakura pulled Ryou out of Malik's arms and slung a lazy arm around Ryou's shoulder. "Back off, Malik, he's mine. Besides, you have Marik."

Malik waved his hand and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so? That doesn't mean I can't have a little fun. Besides, if I remember correctly, you once stole Marik from me once Bakura." Malik said this with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes so Yuugi knew the boy was joking.

Bakura flushed, from either anger or embarrassment. "It was New Year's Eve and we were dead drunk! Stop holding that over my head!"

Malik giggled. "I still have pictures; I can hold those over your head if you want."

Before the two boys could get into a fight, Seto cut in. "Not that I am not enjoying this quarrel but where is my cousin?"

Bakura blinked and looked over his shoulder; his eyes widened and he began to look around. "I swear, he was just here a minute ago…" he said under his breath. "He must have gone off somewhere with Anzu," Bakura said with a shrug.

Malik had that glint in his eyes again. "Off to do something R-rated, right?"

Bakura hit Malik's shoulder with his fist. "You little bastard, I don't know what Marik finds appealing in you. You know that they aren't a couple anymore."

"Yeah, but Anzu wishes they still were," Malik defended, rubbing his shoulder. "And for your information, Marik loves me because I'm sexy! I mean, look at me!" He pulled up his shirt to reveal his smooth, tan midsection.

A pair of hands shot out from behind Malik and pulled the boy's shirt back down. "Stop flashing everyone, Malik," a smooth voice said from behind the boy.

Malik turned around and hugged Yami. "Good morning, Yami! We were just talking about you!"

Anzu pouted. "Yeah, we heard."

Malik chewed on his bottom lip and tried to look as innocent as he could. "I'm sorry, no hard feelings, Anzu-chan?" Anzu simply sighed and shook her head in response.

"Good morning to you too, Malik," Yami said pleasantly. "Anzu and I had to go talk somewhere in private, away from these two." Yami pointed a finger at the couple. "They were all over each other and it was getting hard trying to hold a decent conversation when all you can hear is moaning."

The group of friends laughed, Ryou flushed a deep shade of red and smoke whistled out of Bakura's ears.

Yuugi just stood to the side, feeling awkward and out of place. He had no friends here so there was no point in just hanging around where he wasn't wanted. He turned to leave when someone put a firm hand on his shoulder. Yuugi jumped in surprise and turned around to see Jounouchi's kind face smiling down at him.

"What the rush, Yuugi?" the blond asked.

Yami's head shot up; Bakura leaned in to whisper in his best friend's ear. "Calm down, lover boy."

Malik held up his camera. "Can I take a picture of you? I want to send it to Marik, I'm sure he would love to know about one of his new friends."

"Friend?" Yuugi questioned, he didn't even know this Marik guy.

Malik nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Marik says that any friend of mine is a friend of his. You are my friend, right Yuugi?"

Yuugi shrugged. "Uh…I guess so."

Jounouchi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and Marik will basically become friends with anyone. He kind of tied all of together."

Yuugi's eyes traveled over every face of this small group of friends. "You mean, all of you are friends with Marik?"

"Yes," a voice spoke in his ear. Yuugi jumped in surprise again when he felt the warmth of a breath caress his ear. He looked up and over his shoulder into a pair of ruby eyes. "Everyone was devastated when we found out Marik was going into the army."

"Uh…" was the only thing Yuugi managed to get out when Yami slung his arm around the boy's shoulder.

"Take a picture of us side by side, Malik," Yami said. "Marik won't believe how much we look alike."

The camera clicked and Malik cried happily, "I got it! You guys are so cute together!"

Yuugi's eyes widened and pushed himself away from Yami. His eyes bore into the taller man's and they told Yami that he still had not forgiven him for what he did yesterday. Yami's eyes told him that he had not forgotten the slap to the face or punch to the gut.

"We are not…cute," Yuugi spit the last word out as if it were venom.

Later that day ~

Yami and Bakura were sitting on the track field during the lunch period. Bakura told Ryou that he would be right back, and then going after his friend as Yami walked quickly to the track.

"So, what the hell is your problem?" Bakura asked after a long silence between the two friends.

"I talked to Anzu this morning," Yami began. "She told me that her mother told her that he isn't doing too well."

"And you trust what that girl said?" Bakura asked with resentment.

Yami sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "You may not like her Bakura, I don't know why, but she is my friend. She is not that bad of a person, just a bit clingy at times but that doesn't mean she's a bitch. Besides, her mom is a doctor; she can't lie without getting arrested."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Bakura huffed out. "So are you going to see him after school?"

"I don't know, I don't think I want to see him," Yami said quietly.

Bakura laughed dryly. "Why? Because you don't want to see him sick or you know that he'll know you've been a bad boy." Bakura nudged Yami's side with his elbow and snickered.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yami spit out, shoving Bakura.

"You know what I mean," Bakura said; Yami gave him a look. "You mean you have no idea what I'm talking about? Come on, you know, what happened yesterday in the supply closest."

Yami wore a blank expression and then his eyes widened, his face burning up; Bakura laughed whole-heartedly at his friend's expression. "How—how do you even know about that?" Yami yelled.

"Give me some credit, I see all, remember? You need to be sneakier than that to get past me. Anyway, don't you think that it is about time you stop screwing around and pining over the kid? I mean, it's getting really weird. You've just been stalking him for over a year, it's getting creepy," Bakura said.

"It is not stalking, you bastard!" Yami yelled again, punching Bakura in the gut.

"Ow! Damn it!" he cried in pain, rubbing his abdomen. "I'm sorry, but sooner or later you are going to traumatize that kid. Just leave him along, stop making him hate your guts! I mean, he's not like the girls from your fan club."

Yami gave his friend a look. "I do not have a fan club, it was back in middle school and it was only, like, three girls. And I know Yuugi isn't like them." Yuugi's hurt expression from the other day flashed in his mind and he remembered what he told him.

"What the hell is your problem? Why do you have to be such an immature playboy? You don't always get what you want and not everyone wants you! Can't you accept that, you conceited jerk? Just leave me alone! I am not just some toy that you can have and use and then throw away when you're done! I am a person and I have feelings too!"

"Yeah, I heard what he said too," Bakura said, breaking the silence. Yami looked up and gave his friend a look; it was like Bakura just read his mind. Bakura patted his friend on the shoulder and pushed himself to his feet. "I'm going back to be with Ryou, you can stay here and pout if you want, I don't care."

Bakura turned around and began to walk away. He suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder. "You should go see him after school, I'm sure that it will make the both of you happy."

After school ~

Yuugi sighed as the last bell of the day rang, signaling it was time to go home. There was excited chatter around him as students packed their bags and talked about what they would do after school.

Honestly, all Yuugi wanted to do was go home, do his homework, and just rest. It was exhausting being back at school. If this was how the second day felt, Yuugi knew that this would be a bad year.

He was halfway home when Yuugi saw him. Yami was actually walking away from Yuugi, his back facing the other boy's, but it still chilled Yuugi's blood. What surprised him the most was that Yami was walking to the hospital.

Ignoring that little voice inside his head that told him to just continue walking home, Yuugi changed directions and followed Yami into the sterile building. It was all white, he could practically see his reflection in the floor and it smelled like hand sanitizer. Hospital made Yuugi uncomfortable, though he didn't know why.

He peaked around the corner and saw Yami talking to one of the nurses behind the desk. They were talking casually and the automatic doors to the side swung open. Yami waved his hand in thanks and walked through the double doors, they swung closed behind him.

Yuugi wanted so desperately to know why Yami was in a hospital. Who did he have to see? Why did he look so familiar in this place? Did he come here often? Yuugi smacked his cheeks to rid himself of those thoughts, reminding himself that he didn't care.

But unfortunately, he did care. His curiosity got the better of him and he walked up to the nurse Yami was talking to a moment ago. He cleared his throat to gain the nurse's attention and she looked up at him curiously. She looked to be in her early twenties, she had tan skin and spiky, dark brown hair. Her bright pink scrubs complimented her tan skin. Her name tag read, "Mana."

When she saw Yuugi, her face lit up. "Hello, how are you? Are you related to Yami Sennen? Are you here to see Atemu?"

Yuugi was taken aback by how fast the woman spoke and how quickly she asked her questions. "I…I'm fine, thank you. Uh, yes, I am related to Yami and I'm here to see…Atemu."

Mana nodded excitedly and pressed a button at her desk, opening the double doors for him. "Do you know where to go?"

"No, it's my first time coming here." It wasn't a lie.

"Atemu is in room 369 on the third floor, have a nice day," Mana chirped.

"Thank you, you too," Yuugi said, then he walked past the double doors and they closed behind him.

He felt so trapped in this area of the hospital. There were sick people everywhere and he had no idea where to go. He followed the signs as best he could to find the elevators and he was grateful when he found them. He rode up the elevator to the third floor and then he began the hunt for Atemu's room, whoever he was.

Yuugi couldn't believe he was doing this. He hated Yami, so why was he so interested in his life? He shouldn't be! It was just strange! And yet, he didn't stop himself from opening the door when he finally found the right room.

It was completely dark, the lights were off and the curtains were pulled together to cover the window. The T.V. wasn't even on to shed some light in the dark hospital room.

Well, this was the right room, so where was this Atemu person? Just when Yuugi turned around to leave the room, a quiet voice that was all too familiar to Yuugi spoke up. "Yami? Yami is that you?" The voice was rich and deep, a soothing baritone.

The bedside lamp clicked on and finally Yuugi could see. He turned around and gasped when he saw who was sitting up in the hospital bed. At first, he had mistaken the man in the bed for Yami, but there were small differences that told Yuugi it was not Yami.

This person was tan and had slouched shoulders, Yami never slouched. There were bags under his eyes; they were a few shades darker than Yami's, if that was even possible. And his hair was wilder than Yami's.

No, this was not Yami; it was Yami's twin.

-/-

Ranko: Ah! This was such a lame chapter, I'm sorry guys!

Yami: You're so melodramatic, Ranko.

Yuugi: Leave nice, long reviews to cheer Ranko up!