Kath: Where's the new chapter?!

Anna: For which fucking book?

Skies: You haven't finished your real book! Why are you making a new chapter for the fanfic?!

Anna: Fuck you is my answer.

Draga: *sighs* Coffee. Desperately need coffee right now.

Anna: Gah! I'm not even under any stress and I still can't write!

A/N: I haven't given up but it's been too long. Reading and hoping someone updates my favorite fandoms is too annoyingly boring. Also, there is a reason that Yami Marik is Mariku and that Mariku is Isis's brother.

~To your grave I spoke

Holding a red, red rose

Gust of freezing cold air

Whispers to me… that you are gone

Spend a life time of holding on

Just to let go

I guess I'll spend another lifetime

Searching for a new hope~

- A New Hope by Broken Iris; The Eyes Of Tomorrow

Chapter 3: Freezing Cold; New Hope

A creak from unoiled hinges broke through the peaceful silence in a darkened room. A small silhouette form was uncovered as the door squeaked open from the dim lighting in the hallway he stood in before looking around the room, gazing and watching for anything that was not supposed to be there, and the form let out a soft sigh. A hand reached for the switch to the room and, with a flick of his fingers, the lone naked bulb flashed on, bathing the room with its dim glow.

In the light, the room reluctantly let the world see what secrets it held as the form stepped in and closed the door firmly behind him, finally letting himself sub come to the wary depression that became his companion in the years that had pass.

A desk was pushed over to the wall, beside the door he walked through, an overused wooden chair was carelessly pushed back under the worn wood that made the surface of the desk - two plastic shelves holding it up. Scattered reports and files covered the surface under the unused lamp, broken pencils and ink stains covered the papers. Under the desk an overflowing trashcan sat and the form kicked his shoes under, beside the trash, before shrugging off his jacket with a grunt, aching muscles protesting movement, and walked to the closet beside the disk.

The door opened to show faded, miss-matching clothes hanging precariously off bent wired that served as hangers and flayed shoes scattered on the floor below them. He threw the jacket in, shutting the damaged door as he pulled off his shirt, the cold air attacking the bare skin, and threw it to the corner, other garments already in a pile as it fluttered over to lay with the others.

Shuffling across to the twin size bed, he fell on it, eagle spread as he bounced a few times, and closed his drained eyes with a wiry sigh before reaching up for the pillow and pulled his head up enough to lay comfortably as possible with the state his body was in. He struggled under the covers before he forced himself to relax just enough to find some sort of ease that let him drift off in any form of sleep.

It was a riotous day for Yuugi to go through on top of the enough more disorderly week following the loss of half of his team.

First, there was another attack from the east - reports from survivors saying that Marik was cited as the leader of the movement with a Silver Fang and a Scrap Orthros that were usually seen by his side. Then, scouters spotted the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon on the west side within the next hour. On top of that, the F.P. Unit 16, with still only three members and the Council thinking it was a great idea, was ordered to face and slay the beast that continually reck havoc against the world, alone! To say that they had their asses handed to them on a silver platter was more than an understatement, it was a fucking mockery to their name. The only reason they weren't wiped out was because Marik called off his attack and returned to his castle saying he was feeling apathetic!

Joey swore that he heard the dragon snort in disdain.

He rolled over onto his back, bringing up a hand to rub at his temples, and remembered the stories he was told when he was just a little tyke by his Jii-chan whenever he asked about the rare dragon in Duel Monsters. His grandpa always told the story with fondness, as if talking about his favorite memory. Always making the dragon sound so majestic and powerful, unchecked by all. Jii-chan always said at the end of all his tales that a beast that beautiful, that influential and awed should be unrestricted and never tied down in any reason, especially like a pet.

His jii-chan must be rolling over in his grave knowing that his favorite dragon was under the control by a raving maniac.

It made Yuugi want to see the beast fly once in the heavens - unbound and free - as a child.

His feelings haven't changed. He just didn't want to see such a bright jewel be surrounded by such a desolate sky, let along fight it. He remembered how unbeatable it was in the game. Hell, he fought against it when it was in Kaiba Seto's deck seven years ago. Or was it eight?

Blue Eyes was supposed to be cherished and treasured: A leader to all and a light to most. To take away that freedom, those rights, from anyone was wrong.

'Guess Marik didn't get the memo,' Yuugi thought tiredly, pushing away the memory as his heart started to throb. 'And to make things worse, we were raided. With the Marik distraction, H.Q. sent almost every available S.H. members – trainers and trainees alike – in the Domino sector to stop the Shade, leaving the base open for an attack.'

Yuugi let out a sigh, thinking about what the rest of the city's population were going to have to go through to resupply the rations. 'Looks like someone took advantage of confusion to get a better meal.'

Because Yuugi didn't even want to think of the other option. It would mean that their security wasn't even close to skin tight. It meant that Marik was just playing around and wasn't even serious about killing them off. That this game of life was just that: a game.

It meant that they couldn't even dream about defeating Yami Mariku. He was that out of reach.

With the Domino sector running low on, not only members (or, heaven forbid, good members), but the food supply that everyone shared they were in the worse predicament. If Marik caught wind of this then he would take it upon himself to fix it, by killing off every one of them like it was a hunting sport. Yuugi was just glad that winter was over and that the wind had started to warm up for farming to finally be started within the month without the fear of frostbite to the newly growth. They might be able to have the crops ready to be harvest early to fix the newly growing problem and still have enough for the next winter to come.

He groaned at the complicated hiccups that just loved to derail his slightly peaceful life inside his little sanctum as he continued to rationalize everything inside his mind like an unstoppable merry-go-round. There was a reason why he failed economy class in freshman and junior year. He let out another sigh, closing his eyes and snuggled closer to the pillow, wrapping his arms around the support before relaxing again.

Téa.

Anzu.

Honda.

Gods how he missed them. He still hadn't sit back and just bawl his eyes out like he wanted. He wanted to move on and just remember them as friends that died in battle, not as the ones that were added to the ever-growing list of people that he could have saved if he didn't fuck up six years ago. He wanted to remember them as how he should remember them.

Remembering Téa as the spunky waitress that was pining to go to America to be on Broadway – to dance and sing. Her dreams of being a world-famous dancer not too far out of reach and was almost within her grasp. Her scholarship finalized and ready to go when she graduated. His and his twin brothers' childhood friend since she moved from 'The States' with her aunt and uncle and continued to be so later as they grew up even though her family moved away.

The girl that he fell in and out of love with over the years until she started to date THE Seto Kaiba. The girl that taught him secretly how to dance to be flexible enough to escape his bullies. The girl that showed him how to fight by not only relying on his own strength but the strength of his friends too. The girl that had opened so many doors and let him choose which one he wanted when his mother wouldn't. The girl that was there when he freaked about started to find guys attractive and knocked some sense into him when he thought he was beyond help by think so.

She was the one girl that helped so many but asked nothing in return. The one girl that he loved like a bigger sister and couldn't be there to stop her from passing.

He wanted to remember Anzu as how he met her. Full of life, sights set on a future that most wouldn't even dream of seeing become real. Looking so useless in combat until she got a hold of you. Her calculating eyes always thinking, always saving. She, recklessly rushing into battle without a second thought and coming out the winner even if she was beaten black and blue. Constantly fighting for a future for her continually growing family. Always talking about a small house with a white picket fence after the war was over. Talking battle stories to her next generation so that they would pass it down to the next and so on.

The girl who was Téa's sister. The girl who was going to be a mother, bringing a vibrant life in the sea of darkness. The girl who promised to marry his best friend when they could settle down. The girl who never thought ifs but whens when others thought differently. The girl who didn't know anything about his team, tore through it and made her spot known, showed them she wasn't as weak as they were treating her. The girl who became their self-appointed mother and treated them as if they were her precious, irreplaceable dearest loved ones.

Anzu was his baby sister and he just let her fucking die.

And Honda. Dear gods Honda. He didn't want to forget the memories him and he shared in high school. He wanted to remember the one that was fixated after Miho Nosaka but not to recall that he was the only one to watch as she fell from her death from their school's roof because she couldn't deal with living under Marik's rule. To remember his high school friend as he helped Yuugi's grandpa more times than even he did when he was too busy saving the world. Him being there to save Yuugi's ass when he gotten over his head and needed that extra help. Seeing the brunet grow from a ragging hormone teen into the dependable hothead warrior that he'd stake his life for.

He was the boy that grew into a great man when he could have broken down like those he tried to save continuously. The boy he always wanted to secretly become but knew he couldn't. The one he trusted to have his back more than the nicest person he ever knew. The one boy that he knew would pull down Jounochi down to earth and Jounochi doing the same to him.

He even wanted to remember the time before he become Honda's friend. The time when he and Jounochi were bullying him to become a man even though he knew how to be one.

He didn't want to remember not being able to save them. That if he was faster if he didn't waste too much time. If he just kept fucking going and not question his surroundings. If he just stayed and waited for backup like Honda and Ryou said could have come. Then maybe. . .

Maybe he wouldn't have lost more than he could have afford.

And maybe he could have more a heart than the thing that was beating in his chest. How fucked up was that he had all the regret and guilt and remorse but could not shed one – just one – damn tear.

'Damn it guys,' Yuugi thought, smothering his face into the musty pillow, hoping slightly that there was a possibility of suffocating in his sleep as his mind become fuzzy and his thoughts drifted beyond his grasp. 'I hope you know how much you're missed down here, Téa, Anzu, and Honda.'

(The Shadow Games: Shadow World)

He was floating.

He knew this before he opened his eyes and a warm feeling bubbled in his chest, flooding through his veins and drove away the cold ice that began to seep into his limbs from the realm he was in. A smile wormed its way to his lips before he could stop it, not that he wanted to, at the familiar feeling – welcoming it with open arms – and he finally opened his eyes as he pulled himself to his feet.

The floating feeling that was in his limbs lessened as he stepped on solid ground but never truly leaving. Black was all around him, surrounding him on all sides, but the smile never faltered, instead only getting bigger at the never-ending color.

He looked around taking in the overly familiar scene with utter calmness as his heart fluttered with warmth collecting there until if flowed through his veins along with his blood. He shuffled forward a bit and raised a hand, seeing the appendage perfectly like he expected, its glow-in-the-dark quality that his figure gave off was like light a lighthouse signaling to a boat at sea. His body was the only light he had to navigate through the sea in front of him.

Letting the smile soften, he looked forward, raising his hand above and out near him to light a path, and took a small step. Then another. And another. Until he finally was advancing into a light jog as he moved through the purple and black storm around him, searching left and right for something out in the darkness. Something that gave him the calmest feeling, to end the little voice in his head that told him to keep moving. To find it.

There was no sense of time in this realm and he couldn't feel any shortness of breath or the aching of protesting muscles so when he seemed to be getting nowhere he slowed to an almost stand point and looked one last time behind him before scuffing. He trained ears listened for even the smallest sounds and pouted when he couldn't hear anything. Sitting down crossed legged on the solid black, the fog drifting away from him to give him a large berth of space, and the intruder pushed away the worry and thoughts that plagued his mind. Telling himself to relax.

He played with a bang that fell into his grasp as he waited, debating on how long it would take before the one he was waiting for would show up, and worried his lips.

Just as the silence was getting to him, soft, almost nonexistent, footfalls suddenly broke the intruder out of his silent argument against the voice in his head that wanted to lay down and he perked up at the sounds. A wide smile broke through his control and tried to pay attention from what point in the haze that the noises were coming from. He tilted his head, listening to the inhuman steps that were farther away than they declared since this world made any sounds from far away sound as if they were right in your sights, and he knew then that he had found what he was looking for. Though it seemed as if it found him instead.

He turned himself around, still sitting, to where he pinpointed the commotion was coming from and saw a form suddenly break through the black a few feet from where he was seated, just barely catching a quick glance of a purple silhouette before it did so.

A large wolf broke through the black sound bubble, swinging his muzzle around as he searched out the human he looked for, his large pink tongue rolling out as he panted from his run, and his tail wagged behind him unconsciously from the scent that filled his black nose. Silver tipped black ears twitched at the sound of smothered laughter, his perfect hearing helping identify where the sound was coming from, and a wolfy smile twitched on his muzzle at the bell-like breezy giggles.

The black furred wolf turned his head back to the middle of the bubble of light he could see that repelled the dark around them. He felt his red tipped shaggy tail swing faster at the happy feelings that filled him when he saw his human he sniffed out through the endless space.

The wolf bounded over, his silver and red specked paws barely making any sound in his run, when his blood red crimson eyes connected with innocent happy amethyst orbs. He jumped into the human's awaiting arms with a happy rumble of appreciation.

He forced himself not to let out a deadly growl when he was pulled tight against the breakable warm torso of the male, battle instincts flaring before the familiar vanilla soothed the bloodlust beast in him as he registered the human as a friendly than a threat. A deep purr-like throaty rumble started low in his chest before it grew as the human gently rubbed the silver tipped ears.

And he settled on the solid black nothing underneath him, laying his head on the crossed legs as slim fingers strayed down until they scratched at his cheek. A sigh escaped him as the tension he usually held in his powerful body melted away from the gentle caresses, the smell from the human soothing his soul like a balm even though he didn't know the names humans gave them. All the wolf knew was that this human was his and it smelled like home.

The human smiled at the pleasure filled sigh and leaned back, his other, unoccupied hand planted behind him to keep him up as he tried to find a more comfortable position. The wolf in his lap squirmed until they both found a place where they were both contented and he went back to stroking the black silk fur, absentmindedly straying back to the satin ears a few times. A reassuring silence fell over them, only interrupted by the constant purring from the wolf, familiarizing each other and still enjoying the other's company until he sighed, fingers slowing to a stop on the spot between to ears.

He felt the weight in his lap shift and he looked down into crimson eyes, almost human in a way and the intruder had a flash of an old memory. A time before everything become cold and desolated. And he tried to grasp at the memory, fluttering in and out of his flustered hands like the butterfly he tried to catch when he was six. Those eyes were so familiar but he couldn't remember why. All he could get out of the memory was a rush of emotions that left him breathless every time.

He almost thought he saw concern flash through red orbs, such a human emotion not meant for an inhuman beast, that he almost believed that the other was truly able to feel until he recalled that the other was a companion only found in this weird dreamland. He wasn't real.

A high-pitched whine from the crimson eyes made him realized that the wolf was out of his lap and was now trying to get his attention by nuzzling his muzzle in his face, giving a few snorts here and there afterwards.

He blinked before smiling kindly at the overgrown doggy in front of him and grabbed the wolf's face between his hands, rubbing small circles into the black cheeks. He chuckled softly as pleasure filled eye closed and that purr came back in full force, the wolf bowing his head slightly as his body leaned closer for more satisfying strokes.

He heard the human move, making his hackles rise at the unprepared sound and he started to growl lowly in warning, expecting the human to stop moving all together only to be stopped short when he felt a warmth pressing on his forehead. Crimson eyes opened to see the human leaning his forehead against his own, breathing deeply before letting out a gust with amethyst eyes closed. As if feeling his gaze, those eyes opened to stare at his before they rested slowly on the floor underneath them.

"I'll be better," the human finally spoke, voice barely above a whisper, to the wolf. He could practically feel the incredulous stare from the four-legged creature and he snorted a little after banishing that thought. Trying to forget what happened the past days, he ignored the wolf with the judgmental glare until he felt a soft tongue lapping at his face.

Dumbfounded he reopened his eyes and moved just out of the way of another lick to his eyeball. The wolf whined again, bumping his nose against his cheek before pulling back with a tilt to his head. The intruder raised an eyebrow but still reached up to his face only to be stunned as he realized what his companion was trying to tell him.

Crystal tears fell from amethyst jewels as they widen at the new discovery and the intruder didn't know how but one way or another this detection made him start crying harder. Small hands rubbed at the continuous stream of waterworks as his nose started to run. Sniffling, the human scrubbed his face on his blue jacket he would always wear in this world as he tried to calm enough so that he could get under control. Apparently, his body had other plans.

The wolf, uncertain on what to do to stop the strange occurrence going on before him, laid down on his human's lap and pressed his muzzle into the black shirt where a squishy stomach was. When that didn't help, he got up on all fours, fuzzy tail dropping low with fuzzy ears and he pawed at the arms. He sprang back when he heard a soft sound coming from the human that he didn't like. His human was in distress and he didn't know how to fix it. Not knowing what else to do he yapped at the human, bumping his forehead against the other's.

In some way feeling emotions not his own, the human blinked against the water on his eyelids at the yap the wolf made. Sniffling softly, he smiled brokenly and reached for the wolf and the animal pounced on him, making both fall back. He started to laugh as the wolf licked at his face again, trying to clean away his pain in the best way he knew. And the wolf barked happily, standing on all fours again above him and his human scratched at his ears as reward for his hard work.

"Alright, alright," his human said with laughing eyes and a bright smile and the wolf gave a wolf-like smile, panting happily even as the human tried to push him away to get up. "Come on Kishisu. Get up, you're heavy."

The wolf barked at the weird word that his human always say to him – almost like calling him – but didn't budge. Instead he laid on the human, across his stomach, making a weird sound come out of his strange muzzle and he grumbled happily, starring eagerly at his human.

The intruder groaned. He was never a dog person, preferred cats and snakes than dogs but still. . . "Damnit Kishisu," he said with a sigh of resignation but his eyes smiled at the puppy excitement on his furry companion's face. "You can cuddle but lay here!"

The wolf complied to the human's condition and snuggled by his right side, the body curving to his own. The human rubbed down the fuzzy back as he thought, finally taking the time to sort through his thoughts.

"Kishisu," the human whispered softy to the wolf after a long pause and a head turned to him, looking at him expectedly. "Don't leave me," he said, turning to consider crimson eyes and the wolf blink, bumped his nose into his own and then turned around with a huff. But he got the message:

'Like I'll every willingly leave. You're stuck with me about as much as I am with you, dumbass.'

At least that's what the human thought he said at least. He really was bad with animals.

He smiled and spoon around the warm fluffball, placing a hand on a black side. He watched it move with the wolf's breathing before letting himself sub come to the feelings he held back longer than he should.

"Kishisu I lost my best friends and might lose even more," the human whispered and black ears picked up, listening closely.

"Yami Mariku attacked the city again. We're running out of food. I'm so confused on what I'm supposed to do." He finally confessed out loud, realizing how true it was. His mission was to stop Marik. Now what did he do? He knew to fight but fight what? And how did he do that? According to Isis he was only half a soul, had only half of his power. So, if that was true then. . .

"Where's the Nameless Pharaoh?" The human asked not feeling his companion freeze at the name.

The wolf called Kishisu felt something click at the weird name he hadn't heard uttered since he was born and he felt a burst of adrenalin. A memory of scorching sand, bright lights, giggling laughter, and a flash of purple sprang at the wolf, assaulting his senses and he could almost feel running on two legs after that flash of purple and bell laughter before the memory slipped away. He tried to continue the memory, feeling like it was importantly, but it trailed out of his hands like water.

Wait hands?

The wolf came back to the dream with small start, not making his human realize that the wolf had gone to another world without trying. He didn't know what his companion needed to know. It's not like he could speak anyway so he did what he could.

A wet feeling on his hand vaulted over any thoughts in his mind and the human looked to the limb laying on the side of the wolf only to see that said creature was licking at it in a show of comfort. Smiling again he curled closer to the fur and tried to fall asleep like his wolf was trying to do.

"Thank you Kishisu."

In the realm of darkness, the Hikari of the Nameless Pharaoh could find peace in a place most people wouldn't.

~What a shame we all became

Such fragile broken things

A memory remains

Just a tiny spark

I give it all for the oxygen

To let the flames begin

To let the flames begin

Oh glory, oh glory~

- Let The Flames Begin by Paramore; Riot