Author's Note: As promised, an extra update. Here' s chapter four for y'all. Look for chapter five (hopefully) on Friday.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, All Dogs Go to Heaven or the song Heaven's Not Enough; they all belong to their respective creators. Everything in between is mine.

Warnings: Blood, not a lot, but it's still there.

Chapter Four

He was in darkness, totally darkness. But he was moving, he could tell, moving at a fast pace. He opened his mouth to scream, but found he had no breath to do it with. Then the colors came, flashing by so fast it made his head spin; pink and blue, sharp and soft. He narrowed his eyes to keep the ache from the flashing colors back. In doing so, he missed the bright light that flared before he crashed into something solid and metal.

Yami lay on the ground, groaning at the sharp pain in his back. His head throbbed painfully, the events of the recent past very foggy. Slowly, he rolled onto his hands and knees, wincing as the pain that lanced through his skull. He had had hangovers before, but nothing as bad as this. His musing was interrupted by the appearance of a slim hand in his line of sight. Cautiously, he looked up.

Standing before him was a beautiful women of Egyptian descent, looking to be in her mid twenties at the least. Her black hair hung loosely down her back in stark contrast to the bright white robe with gold trimmings. He was held captive by her blue eyes for a moment, wondering why the color seemed so familiar and filled him with horror. She waved her hand in front of his face before he finally took it, listening to her laughter.

"Hello, I'm Isis."

"Goddess of…" He trailed off as he head throbbed with the action of getting up combined with thinking. Yami stood and swayed in place for a moment, fearfully glancing to one side to see what he had run into. He got a glimpse of a silver stand crumpled on the ground with a book to one side, creamy pages open to the sky before Isis' laughter distracted him again.

"No, no."

"Oh. Sorry about that," he motioned to the stand, unable to quite fish out the word, "there."

She patted his shoulder sympathetically before stooping to pick up the book, idly flipping through the pages. "It's alright, Atemu. No harm done."

He nodded and looked around him, surprised to find himself standing on an intricate oriental rug. Yami squinted off into the distance, surprised to see a field of what looked like papyrus flourishing where the rug ended. Confused, he tipped his head back to look at the sky, surprised at the array of stars. He had never seen them so bright before as most of the lights in Domino blocked them out completely. Still looking at the sky, he spoke to Isis. "Where am I?"

"Oh, perfection and paradise itself." She paused when he lowered his gaze back to her, blinking slowly. The words fit in some sort of order in his pounding head, but he couldn't make anything out of it. Yami was cautiously shaking his head, well aware of his headache, while Isis continued. "You're in heaven."

"Well, with…" He trailed off with a faint shudder. Why did that sound so familiar? The pounding of his head returned, and he lifted his hands to rub at his temples. The movement of his arms disturbed something around his neck, the faint sound of metal on metal making him stare down at the gold watch that hung around his neck. Yami picked the watch up off his chest, staring at its blank golden surface. This was familiar. He had gotten it…it was a gift from a friend…no, something like a friend, but not quite an enemy. It was important because…he had got it before all of this happened. Before all of what happened?

Yami looked helplessly at Isis, watching the gambit of emotions across her eyes. Resignation. Sorrow. Pity? And then the blue eyes were back to calm. She carefully closed the book she was holding, making sure her finger remained in a certain place between the pages. "You're dead."

The fog in his head disappeared in an instant, leaving him without any pain in his head. He remembered it all. The party. The present. The docks. The blindfold. The sound of the car. Pain. And darkness. Yami tightened his grip around the watch, staring at Isis, ready for her to call her bluff. But her face remained sincere, and Yami felt his stomach drop out. "You mean I'm…I'm…"

"Deceased." She reached out and gave his shoulder a quick squeeze before opening the book again and walking away. "I'm sorry Atemu."

"But…" Yami stared after her for a moment before rushing towards her, jumping around the white wings that emerged from her back. How he had missed those before was a mystery to him. "That can't be I was…" The memories finally slotted into their proper place, leaving Yami gaping at the solution that entered his mind. "I was murdered!"

"Yes." There was pity in Isis' voice, something he didn't need. "It's sad what people do for money. Although," she went back to her book, "your record isn't the best I have seen either."

He could care less what that darn book had to say about him. Yami raced to stand in front of her, holding out both hands in a plea for her to stop, one still holding the golden watch. "I was murdered! In the prime of my life!"

"I can see that-"

"My partner killed me!" Yami watched helplessly as Isis walked past, still cradling the book. "I was double crossed! I just got out of jail!" There was a pause as Isis stopped, looking over her shoulder at him before dropping her gaze back to the book.

He was out of his depth here. "Is there someone else I can speak to, a superior? Because, I really don't want to be dead."

"Nobody does, Atemu." The sharp tone startled him just as much as the use of his real name and the realization that she had been using it from the start. "But that is how life plays out. Your life, it says here," she gestured at the book, "ends when your business partner, one Noa Kaiba, used a car to break your neck and shatter most of your ribs, which led to one of your lungs being pierced. But you drowned before you could die of those wounds because you were unconscious upon impact with the ocean. Does that satisfy you?"

"No." Yami was regaining his confidence now. Did she expect to cower because she rambled off an explanation of how he could have died? He stormed over to her, leaning over to book to talk to her. "Let. Me. Go. Back."

"I cannot." She pushed him away before shoving the book in his face. "This is your life, all written out so you can be judged when you come here."

Yami stared at the close writing, unable to absorb what was in front of him. His eyes snapped up to the title that lined the top of the pages, starting at what was written there: 'Atemu 'Yami' Seti'. He stared back at Isis, red eyes demanding an explanation. He was immediately yanked to the side, through something that looked like a cloud bank.

His first impression with this new place was the constant sound of ticking. He found himself surrounded by clocks of various make and design. His hand tightened around his own watch, which he had still not let go of, before glancing at Isis. "What's some watch department prove?"

The book was yanked from his hands and a watch shoved in to replace it. Yami stared at the timepiece, having dropped his original back to hang around his neck, turning it over carefully. It looked exactly like the other one; a gold fob watch. Except this one was hanging on what looked like a loop of leather, tied hastily to the watch itself. He flipped it back to the front, surprised to see something engraved on it. He traced the upside down pyramid shape with a finger, lingering over the Eye of Horus in the middle before raising his eyes to look at Isis.

"That watch is your life. And it's stopped."

Yami flicked open the watch, staring with incomprehension at the still hands. He gently tapped the surface of the watch, hoping that there was something left that would get him back. His ministrations disturbed the white tag that he hadn't noticed before, the slip of paper fluttering down the loop of leather to rest by his hand. On the front it had his full name. Yami flipped it over quickly, his heart sinking as he read the list of injuries incurred and cause of death. Down at the bottom of the tag, in neat handwriting were two words; 'Stone Cold'.

Isis chuckled to herself, telling him that the expression on his face was something interesting. "It gets pretty boring in this department, so they have what fun they can."

Yami snapped the watch shut, staring at the small pyramid on the front of the watch. Isis seemed to take his silence for acceptance, because she went back to the book, the soft sound of pages turning the only sound between the two of them. He found the sound to be too grating on his fraying nerves, unconsciously fiddling with the leather around the watch, tying and untying the one knot.

His mind refused to work, running back over all the information that had been dumped upon him. He was dead. This was paradise, heaven, his reward for a life well lived. His partner had killed him. Noa had murdered him, drowned him. Stabbed him in the back. His hand clenched around the watch, wincing slightly at the press of the bulb on the top that controlled the winding mechanism.

The feel of the cold metal pressing against his hand sparked an idea, a welcome break from the circular path his thoughts had been taking. Yami glanced up at Isis, holding the watch out to her. "You can just wind this thing back up again!"

"And send you back!" The book nearly fell to the ground, the usual grace of the woman broken by the demand. "No one is ever allowed to go back!"

"What?"

"Atemu," he rolled his shoulder away as she attempted to touch it, growling at the unwanted contact. He heard Isis sigh, the soft rustle of her robes betraying her movement. "Atemu, no one can go back. We can't start to make any exceptions to this rule."

"But I never got to live!" Ryou. Gods, how was Ryou going to handle being on his own. The image of his white-haired friend sprang immediately to mind. Yami glared at the angel who was tormenting him. "And I have people down there that need me!"

"Doesn't everyone?" The icy blue eyes flashed, making Yami taking a step backwards out of sheer habit before he shook it off. This wasn't Noa, this was some angel who was bound and determined to make his afterlife hell. He opened his mouth to retort when she went on. "Do you think that I didn't have any loved ones that I left behind? They just have to learn to live without you."

Yami turned away from Isis, glaring at the watch that he held in his hand like it was the cause of all of his problems. It just wasn't fair! He couldn't leave Ryou alone back in Domino, especially not with Noa running free. How long would it be until Ryou was found and killed too? Marik wasn't at the house to protect him; the poor kid only had Bakura. And how trustworthy was the thief? He could get caught by the police any day now, which brought Yami back to square one. How to protect Ryou from getting harmed by any of this?

He realized that he had been fiddling with the leather on the engraved watch again, watching with fascination as he easily slipped one end of the leather from the ring at the top of the watch before moving it back to retie it. Yami focused on the watch around his neck, comparing the two identical watches with a plan forming in his mind.

When had he ever before gone to someone for help? Barring the prison incident, which had been out of his control from the start, he had always gotten out of his messes by himself. Why was he waiting for help from an angel who clearly did not want to be dealing with him. A smirk moved onto his face, the customary expression settling in as he formed his plan.

Making sure to keep his posture the same, he slipped the gift watch from around his neck, fingers easily finding the clasp that kept the chain secure. Yami pulled the chain from the ring on the gift watch, replacing it quickly with the plain leather that he had removed from the engraved watch. He flinched as Isis spoke again, peering miserably over his shoulder at her outstretched hand. "I'll need that watch back."

Yami sighed and slapped the watch with the leather loop back into her hand, turning around sulkily as he clasped the watch on the chain back around his neck. When the strained silence following his move became too much to bare, he turned around with a quickly snapped, "What?"

"I need you to sign." The book was floating in front of him, a quill and ink bobbing gently beside it. Yami snatched up the quill, one hand dropping to play with the watch that he wore around his neck.

"Why?"

"For the records." Isis was staring at the tag that remained on the loop of leather, reading it over before letting the watch drift back to its spot. Yami saw her jump as he played with the winding mechanism on his watch, seeing her relax after a moment. He fought to control his smirk. After all, she had just removed the temptation from him, right?

"Fine." He hastily scrawled 'Atemu' across the blank space, dropping the quill back in the ink and stepping away. Isis caught up the book, a smile appearing on her face. Yami didn't return the smile, instead looking sulkily at the watch that he cradled in his hand, still cautiously winding it up.

He was so focused in his task that he missed the odd look that Isis sent him. He missed the shudder that the book gave before new lines of text began to write themselves out, spilling over onto where he signed his name, eradicating it.

Yami finally looked up as Isis gave a strangled scream, watching with a perverse sense of pleasure as he finally read the next line of his life, backing away as Isis ran toward him. "Atemu, don't wind that watch!"

"Sorry." He let his hand fall away from the mechanism, feeling the watch vibrate and shudder in his hand. Isis leapt for him as light began spilling from the watch, the brightness of it blinding him. Yami put up an arm to block his eyes from the light, crumpling over as he felt something like a punch in the gut before he was pulled fiercely backwards.

The lights flashed by again, angry pulsing in time to the light from the watch. Yami winced and shut his eyes, noticing that the darkness was returning quickly. He plunged into the heart of it, still reeling from his quick journey back. And then he was drowning in silence.

Was he back in that tunnel under the prison? When were Ryou and the thief showing up? Would they just leave him here to die?

Yami felt something brush across the back of his neck. He reacted instantly, turning quickly to push away from the object. As he moved his body cried out in pain. Yami opened his mouth to scream, but felt water rush in instead. In a panic, he shoved himself off the ground, only managing to rise a few feet under his own power before he began to writhe in pain.

Parts of his body felt like they were tearing off from others, ripping through flesh and muscle to return to places that they did not seem to belong. Limbs twisted and contorted to return to the wrong configuration. There was suddenly a lot of activity, too much to be normal. And there was a strange pounding in his chest, something that had never been there before.

Frantically, Yami clawed his way up to the surface, taking in a deep gulp of air before sinking beneath the water again, doubled over in pain. Barely conscious, he tried for the surface again, his hand smacking against something hard before grabbing a hold. He used this flimsy anchor to haul himself back to the surface.

Wood rubbed against his exposed skin and caught on his soaked clothes, making the climb back up to the dock excruciatingly slow. Yami finally shoved himself up with the one leg that still worked, collapsing onto the rough surface to breathe heavily, only to find that he couldn't. At least, not properly.

Before he knew what he was doing, Yami was on his hands and knees, coughing water out of his lungs as his body shook. Faintly over the sounds of his coughing, he could hear a series of cracks as more bones lined themselves back up, leaving him sore all over. With all the water out of his body, Yami no longer had the energy to hold himself up, so he collapsed back to the dock; groaning as he rolled his face away from the puddle of water he had created.

His last rational thought for a while was to knock the watch around his neck away from the water, wanting to keep it safe for a reason that refused to stay in his exhausted mind. With that task done, he finally allowed himself to drift back into darkness.

Solomon Mutou vaguely puttered around the small game shop that made up the front of his house; an activity that he would normally never engage in. He was used to a more purposeful movement, something gained from the years in foreign countries as an archeologist, not this useless, nervous motion that he was doing now. But it was helping him cope, and that was all that mattered to him.

Thoughtlessly, he straightened some displays although they needed no tending. Anything to keep his mind off the festival currently going on.

Any other year he would have been outside with the rest of Domino, cheering and laughing with his family. But, any other year, he would have had the company of his grandson and daughter. They had always made it around to Domino at this time.

His hand dropped away from the nearest display, his body turning to trudge back to the stool behind the counter. There was no reason for him to still be in here, the shop was closed in honor of the festival. But the house was dangerous. The house held pictures. The house held memories.

It had been a year and a half since he had last heard about his grandson. A year and a half since he had learned that his daughter had been killed and her son orphaned. He had been found by the police, who had explained the situation. The boy, however, had yet to be found. In fact, the police had even given up hope, going so far as to pick out a random criminal to accuse of killing the boy. After a year and a half, there was little hope that Yugi was still alive.

But hope Solomon did, even though it hurt him to do so. He wanted to believe that his grandson was still alive, that he was coming back. Because memories were not enough to sustain him, not enough to keep the image of the smiling boy in his mind. Solomon was old and memories did not stay as long as he wished them to. Little Yugi and the memories of his smile, his infectious laughter, were the only things that kept him going; the only thing that kept his shop open. At least he could see the smile of other kids as they discovered a game or beat their rival.

And that was enough, for now.

Trudging up the courage, Solomon finally dragged himself from his stool and made his way up the stairs in the back of his shop that led to the house. Running a hand over his eyes. He would sleep tonight instead of going out with friends.

For him, there was nothing left to celebrate.

Yami woke with a gasp, quickly pulling himself away from the dampness under his cheek, half afraid that he would find himself in the water again. He shifted away from the damp boards of wood, one hand reaching up to steady his beating heart. It knocked against something metal on its journey, making Yami look down at stare at the golden watch.

Carefully, he cradled it in his hands, staring down at the Eye of Horus engraved in the little pyramid design. He ran his hands over the timepiece in awe, the watch the confirmation that everything wasn't just a dream. Awestruck, he opened the watch, smiling at the faint ticking that matched the beat of his heart. "I'm alive."

Faint whispers drew his attention to the center of the watch, where it pulsed pink in time to the words leaking out. "Atemu, you can never come back. You can never come-"

He snapped the watch shut before the sentence could finish, chuckling as he did so. So he couldn't go back, that was fine with him. At least he wouldn't have to live that nightmare again. He was still chuckling over his success when he tried to get up, wincing as muscles protested.

He dragged himself over to a piling, using it as a brace until he could stand on his own, subconsciously adjusting the watch that hung around his neck. Cautiously he looked around, cursing himself for not doing so earlier. Noa could have been waiting with his thugs to see if he was really dead. He could have been shot down before he had a chance to stand up. But, thankfully, the area was clear, the sounds the soft lapping of waves against the dock and the faint noises of the festival, the latter still in full swing.

Satisfied that he was safe, Yami was determined to get home. His clothing was soaked and he was starting to shiver from the prolonged exposure. He wanted to get home, get a warm shower and fall into bed for a long sleep. Anything to get his whole body from protesting motion. With that goal in mind, Yami straightened up, one hand going to the watch as he nearly fell.

He strode off in the direction of his home, the usual confident gait marred by the limp he was forced to accept. Still, he moved as quickly as he could, staying in the shadows in case Noa had set a watch for him. The further he moved from the sight of murder, the more confident he became. And the more disgusted in his former business partner.

How could Noa be so confident that Yami would be dead? So confident that he would just leave with all the pieces to solving the murder case right there? Yami shook his head, stopping the motion when his head pounded in time to the ticking watch. Was Noa so set on being separate from Seto that he skipped all the proper procedure? No wonder the Baroness had gone downhill since he had left.

Yami relaxed a bit more at the sight of the familiar neighborhood, all the houses in different states of disrepair, just like the occupants wanted. Here Noa would never bother them because it was beneath the aqua haired teen and because it looked like there was no money to be had. But this was where the lords of this side of Domino lived. All the smart ones anyway.

Here he was safe. Here he could plan his revenge on Noa. Yami smiled, the expression being the limit of what he could do with his protesting body. His former business partner needed to be taught a lesson; he needed to know exactly what would happen when you double crossed the Pharaoh. Even Bakura wasn't stupid enough to do that.

Just as his legs were about to give out, he stumbled into the wall of his home. He reached for the keys in his pocket, thanking whatever gods he could think of that he hadn't left them back at the dock. It would have been embarrassing to knock at the door until Ryo answered. Even worse considering his plan to surprise his housemates. Yami smirked as he inserted the key into the door and shoved his way inside, forcing himself to move slowly.

Yes, to see the shock on their faces as they woke up and found him calmly sitting at the table, eating. Noa wouldn't be able to resist spreading the word about his attempt-Yami refused to call it a success-on his life. And Noa would not be easily persuaded that his former partner was still alive. So, he had a bit of room to think and plan. But, right now, his body said sleep.

He slumped down the stairs that led to the actual house, moving automatically down the hall towards his room. He picked up snores from Bakura's room, telling him that the thief was in, but he couldn't bring himself to care. So the thief had called it an early night. Why should that bother him? What did stop him from his mindless trek was the sound of whimper from Ryou's room.

Yami acted on habit, the long years of being big brother to the British teen pushing past even his own exhaustion. He silently opened the door, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the more complete darkness of Ryou's room. There on the bed, was the white-haired teen, tossing and mumbling in his sleep.

Yami crept into the room, carefully stepping over the things strewn on the floor, worried about the state of the room. Ryou was neater than this usually, almost OCD about keeping his own room clean while letting the others mess theirs up however they pleased. Yami circled the bed, sitting down on the edge farthest away from the door. He winced, briefly wondering what Ryou would do to him for soaking his covers with sea water, before reaching over and gently shaking the shoulder of the teen.

"Ryou?"

He was being chased through the dark. He could hear gun shots and laughter as they followed him. Frantic, Ryou dashed into his house, slamming the door behind him before rushing downstairs toward his room. They would never find him there; nobody could. And, even if they did, Yami could hold them off.

Ryou squeaked in panic as the door that hid the stairs shattered upon impact, scrambling with the handle to his room. He slipped in moments before the thugs piled in, herding the white-haired teen into a corner. Frightened out of his wits, Ryou curled himself against the wall and screamed for Yami.

Silence fell as he waited for the familiar sound of someone coming at a run, but silence remained. Cautiously, Ryou peered through the arms that shielded his face, stomach dropping as he watched the thugs smile and nudge each other. What did they know that he didn't?

"Sorry, Ryou, but Atemu isn't coming." Noa! Ryou jumped at the familiar voice, dropping what defenses he had to look at the aqua haired teen as he strode calmly through the door, like he owned the place. Ryou glared at Noa. Only Yami could walk about like he owned the place; this was his house! The smile that Noa offered as a response to Ryou's glare made the British teen shiver. "In fact, Atemu isn't going to be able to save you anymore."

"What-"He flinched back against the wall as something was thrown into his room, something that slammed into him before rolling to the floor. Shivering, Ryou glanced at the offensive thing, mouth going dry as he recognized the crimson eyes that were staring up at him. He reached out to shake the shoulders of his friend, glancing up at the thugs every once and a while. "Yami. Yami. Please, help!"

Noa laughed, the thugs providing an inelegant accompaniment to the sound. "He can't, little Ryou. You're on your own."

Ryou drew his hand away, ready to shout a reply at Noa when he registered the sticky sensation on his hand. He looked down at it, freezing when he saw the blood that coated it. Ryou yelped and looked down at the floor, scrambling backward at the puddle of blood that was pooling around Yami. He shivered against the wall, trying to curling up as much as possible. So much blood…

"Y…you ki…killed him!" Ryou found himself stuttering the sentence out, wincing away as the smile on Noa's face refused to disappear.

"Yes. And you're next."

"No!" Ryou threw his hands up to guard his face as the thugs walked over, some even stepping on Yami's body to get to him.

"Goodbye, Ryou." Noa gave him a little wave before walking out of the door, leaving Ryou to the mercy of his thugs. The British teen reached out only to have set of hands clamp around his neck. He thrashed against the hold, still whimpering out the name of his protector.

"Yami…"

"Ryou?"

"Yami, please help me."

"Ryou, wake up."

The thug was now shaking him too, crushing his windpipe and sending his body slamming back into the wall behind him. Ryou clawed at the hands around his throat as the shaking increased in intensity. "Yami, please, I can't breathe!"

"Ryou! Ryou, it's just a dream. Wake up!"

His eyes flew open, the shaking stopping a second after the action. Ryou immediately sat up, hands going for his throat to find it unharmed. Heart still pounding, he glanced at where Noa had thrown Yami's body in the dream, thankful that there was no gristly pool of blood on the floor. No Yami. He shuddered at the thought, wrapping his arms around himself. He was surprised when another set of arms pulled him into a hug, not expecting Bakura to be this affectionate.

Because it had to be Bakura. He remembered now, something that he had not remembered in his dream. Noa was right, Yami would never be there to help him again. He was on his own. Tears still refused to come at this thought, the British teen still drained. He let his head drop back against whoever was holding him, preferring not to care at the moment.

"You okay?" Ryou smiled at the worry in the voice, too deep to be Bakura. At any rate, Bakura wouldn't do this, he was sure of that. It was more of Bakura's style to throw something at him, yell at him for waking the thief from his sleep and stumble back into his room. No, maybe Marik had come home.

"Yeah, I was just so scared because there was Noa. And he was threatening to kill me." He squeaked as the hold tightened on him for a moment at the name, relaxing reluctantly after that. "And Yami wasn't coming to save me, because he was dead."

"What do you mean? I'll always come to save you."

Ryou blinked sleepily, tipping his head back as he spoke. "Yeah, but not anymore…"

He trailed off as he saw the outline of his comforter, the silhouette of the spiky hair too familiar to discount. There was no one else that wore their hair like that, no one at all. Ryou spun around, exhaustion blown away by this moment of discovery. He scrambled for his lamp, feeling the arms let go of him in confusion. The light clicked on, revealing a very confused Yami. And Ryou screamed.

"You're a ghost!"

Yami lunged for him in the next moment as Ryou jumped away, falling off the bed with a loud thump. He lay dazed on the ground before scrambling to his feet as Yami jumped off after him. The British teen raced for the door, leaving it wide open in his panicked state. He needed somewhere safe. He adjusted his flight from Bakura's room to the kitchen. He could defend himself now.

Ryou leapt behind the table, screaming as something grabbed his leg and began to drag him back into the open. He scrambled against the smooth floor, hand reaching for a cabinet and opening it, wincing at the ruckus the pots and pans made as they fell to the floor.

The ghost let go of him and backed away, snarling under his breath, "Do you want to wake up Bakura?"

"No." Ryou grabbed a frying pan and swung it at the ghost, watching the surprise play across the familiar red eyes before it connected with the ghost's arm. Ryou dropped the pan as the ghost cursed, cradling his arm. The white-haired teen lunged for the other side of the table, wanting to put as much distance between him and the ghost as possible, but the ghost was faster.

Ryou yelped as he was slammed against the counter, one hand slapping over his mouth as the ghost leaned close, whispering quickly. "I'm not a ghost. I'm not dead." It took a deep breath before leaning back, hand still over Ryou's mouth. "Now, I'm going to take my hand from your mouth and you are not to scream, got it."

He nodded frantically, already thinking of plan B and hating himself for it. As soon as the hand was gone from his mouth, Ryou sucked in a deep breath and screamed. "BAKURA!"

The hand was back over his mouth in a flash. "Oh no, no screaming. Look…" The specter cast around for something, using his free hand to reach back over Ryou's head. The white-haired teen quailed as the ghost's hand returned with a knife. His brown eyes widened in fear. This ghost was going to kill him!

"Look." The knife was brought down on the other arm, cutting into the skin before being thrown off to the side. "Do ghosts bleed?"

Ryou shook his head, the hand releasing him as the owner backed away with a hiss, reaching for a hand towel to wrap around his bleeding arm. "No, ghosts don't bleed."

He watched as the person sighed and walked away, barely noticing the limp in his stride. If this person looked like Yami, then he was Yami. But Yami was dead. But, as that person…Yami had said, ghosts don't bleed. So that meant…

Finally Ryou's mind caught itself up with the series of events, a huge smile breaking across his face as he rushed Yami, hugging him before they both fell to the ground. He ignored the muffled cry of pain, instead preferring to hold his protector and friend close. "Yami, I'm so happy to see you! It was so horrible! I thought…"

He pulled away, hands clamped over his mouth. He watched Yami sit up, noticing how his friend winced, rubbing at his ribs. When Yami was settled Ryou cautiously began to speak again. "I saw the car…and…and then you…your lifeless body, flying through the air. And we waited for you. We waited and you didn't come back. I thought you were dead."

Yami chuckled, looking up at Ryou for the first time in this discussion. "Takes more than that to kill me." He looked back in the direction of Bakura's room, jerking his head in that same direction as he spoke. "I'm surprised we didn't wake up Bakura."

"He's had a rough night." Ryou was looking down at his hands as he fiddled with the rug that they sat on. "We both did."

"Ryou, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to see that. But I'm fine really. Sore, but fine." The reassuring tone in Yami's voice made Ryou smile. Everything was back to normal now. Yami was back, taking care of him where he belonged. The thought grew sour as he looked back up at his friend, realizing what this meant.

"Noa will come after me now."

"No." Yami reached out to grip his shoulders, forcing Ryou to look him in the eyes. "Noa will not touch you."

Yami stood up, letting go of Ryou at the last minute to stretch. "I'm still here and he doesn't know about that. You thought I was dead, so will Noa." The usually calm red eyes suddenly darkened.

"He killed me." Ryou's eyes widened at the confession, confusion entering his mind. He dark look on Yami's face broke as his hand found a gold watch that was hanging around his neck. Yami glanced at the watch and chuckled before looking at Ryou. "Tried to kill me. And for that I'm going to make him suffer, long and slow."

"No." Ryou was shocked at the sound of his own voice, looking around for a moment to see if maybe Bakura had walked into the room. Yami seemed to share his surprise, one hand clutching at the watch around his neck. Ryou ducked his head, hair falling in front of his eyes. "No, we need to hide, lay low for a while until he forgets about us."

"He won't forget." Yami was kneeling in front of him. "And he'll come after you next. We need to make this place safe again, and save the Baroness."

"Yami-"

"No, he should have gone under without me, but he managed to stay afloat, just barely. Don't you think I noticed that most of the customers when we went back were from other casinos? Noa must have spent that time running them out of business. He's just using them to surpass his brother, and I can't let that happen."

"We can help them, just not here. Bakura can take care of himself, but we still need you around."

Yami glared at him, crimson eyes flashing. "We stay here."

"No! Noa's got thugs and guns. They tried to kill you once, they'll try again."

Yami gave a cold laugh, one that sent shivers down Ryou's spine. "Let them."

"You're not a god, Yami!" Ryou clenched his hands into fists, glaring for all he was worth back at his friend. "Noa's got things that we can never have, even if you called in all your favors. He's got a monster for gods' sake, Yami!"

"A monster?"

"Yes, I said monster."

"Monster?" Ryou suddenly quieted, he didn't like the look on Yami's face. His friend rocked back on his heels, studying the wall just behind Ryou for a moment before getting back to his feet. "Come on."

"But…but…" Anything to keep them here where it was safe. "You're soaking wet."

Yami snorted, still heading for the door. "It won't kill me."

Read and review. Criticism will be greeting with a smile and flames with laughter.