Yo! New chapter under the new-ish story. I do hope you read my announcement yesterday. If not, let me sum up. I went back and edited the first few chapters and have uploaded them today. Ren no longer has Schizophrenia or Dissociative Identity Disorder. Instead, I've replaced it with generalized anxiety, since that's more of a common thing, particularly among teenagers (who can blame us.) No worries, all of the plot points are still the same, just a little different in reasons. And now, I think this might help me in updating more often. Maybe? Yeah.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer- Could it be? She doesn't own Yugioh? *le gasp!* (no. no i do not.)


Jounouchi sat quietly at my table, observing the tiny apartment with curiosity. He squirmed and fidgeted quite a bit, though I wasn't sure if was due to being nervous or that he didn't like being still much. Opting for a mix of the two, I took a sip of my tea, marveled by his continuous silence.

There was clinking in the kitchen where Mom was making another pot of tea for Jounouchi. She'd been so excited when we found out we lived in the same apartment complex, and when I brought him in she immediately sat him down and rushed to the kitchen. The surprise on his face made me chortle.

"Is black tea okay, Jounouchi-kun?" Mom called from the kitchen.

Jounouchi visibly jumped and spluttered, "U-um, yeah that's fine, Algren-san."

I flicked up an eyebrow, surprised by his nervousness.

"There's no need for formalities here, Jounouchi-kun," Mom responded. "I'm Manami, you hear? Ma-na-mi."

"O-oh," he mumbled, fiddling with his jacket. "Okay."

I set my mug down and leaned forward a little. "I promise, she doesn't bite."

Jounouchi looked up and smiled awkwardly, "Sorry, I'm not really used to being around adults. I don't think I've met any as nice as your mom."

"Oh," I blinked. "Well, she's a kind person. She's really energetic today."

"She's not like this all the time?"

I looked away a leaned back, "Well, not really…"

"Are you too talking about me in there?" Mom called.

"Just about how beautiful you are," I immediately responded.

"Oh, well…"

Jounouchi sniggered, clapping his hand over his mouth to keep the sound escaping. He shoulders began to relax as he slowly returned to his normal state, though he was still a little tense from the new surroundings. I became fascinated by how his eyes twinkled, similar to an excited puppy- the image of him in a dog suit nearly made me snort- and I enjoyed the comparison.

"Enjoying the view?"

I blinked and looked away, trying to force the heat rising in my face down. "There's a hint of green in your eyes. It's a little odd."

Jounouchi tilted his head, "Well, my grandma was American. Mom said that's why I'm blond."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"Sweetie, could you make sure Mao is inside?" Mom asked from the kitchen. "I think it's going to storm pretty soon."

I glanced out the window. Sure enough, grey clouds were swirling around, heavy with unshed rain. If I were outside right now, the smell of rain would probably be strong and soothing.

"Mao is that cat, right?" Jounouchi asked. Mao hadn't taken well to Jounouchi, and had, with a hiss, darted off somewhere in the apartment.

"Yeah, that's him," I replied. "I'm still surprised that my uncle let me keep him."

"You're uncle?"

"He's the landlord."

"Th- landlord?!"

I chortled at his widened eyes and waving hands. "Yes, he's the only reason why we can afford to live here."

"What, family discount?" Jounouchi asked skeptically.

"Something like that."

There was a distant rumble, and I glanced at the window again. The clouds had already grown darker and more threatening. It would rain any minute now.

"Mao should be inside somewhere…" I mumbled to myself, my eyes flitting around the room.

"So where's your dad?" Jounouchi asked. My brow twitched at his bluntness.

"He passed away over a year ago," I answered carefully. Might as well tell him the truth.

"Oh," he blinked, looking a little guilty. "I'm sorry."

I hummed in acknowledgement, picking up my mug again. Speaking of dads, I wanted to ask him about his, since I'd just discovered that Jounouchi was the son of the drunk in room 103. Assuming that was the reason Jounouchi had the key to that apartment and was carrying in groceries, anyway. However, that was an obvious 'wait until he brings it up' deal, so I held my tongue. Even so, I felt bad. The other tenants, including my uncle, obviously hated the man. What could that have been like for Jounouchi? Was that man really so awful? I wanted to know, maybe I could help, but I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from saying anything. It was a big reminder that I still barely knew Jounouchi, and he barely knew me. I doubted he would want to bring up something like that.

"Sorry for the wait," Mom walked in and gently set the tray on the table before kneeling down. Taking the pot and pouring Jounouchi his cup, she asked, "So, you go to Domino High?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied. "I'll be a sophomore pretty soon."

"Right, you're in the same grade as Ren," Mom said. "Are you in the same class?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Great!" Mom smiled, setting the sugar and milk in front of him. "You two can study together."

"R-right," Jounouchi stammered, looking uneasy about the prospect of "homework".

"So, what do you and your friends do for fun?"

Jounouchi glanced at me, and I shrugged. It was her fault for asking.

"Well, me and Yugi-."

"Yugi and I," I mumbled the correction.

"Yugi and I," Jounouchi glared at me. "We duel."

Mom tilted her head in confusion. "With swords?"

I snorted as Jounouchi blanched in bewilderment.

"Normal people duel with swords," I told him. "It's called fencing."

"You make fences by sword fighting?" he asked incredulously.

"No they- never mind, continue with your dueling."

"Right…" Jounouchi looked back at Mom. "It's a card game that we call Duel Monsters."

"It's like what I was telling you earlier," I told Mom. "Remember? He dueled against Duke in a card game."

"Oh yes, I remember," Mom nodded in confirmation. "A game of strategies, am I right?"

"Absolutely."

"Sounds like chess."

I bit back a retort that Jounouchi might not even be able to play chess. That might have been a little mean. "Not exactly, but it's the same idea, I guess."

That was basically how our night went. Mom asked Jounouchi a bunch of questions about himself, and he happily answered all of them. We found out that he had a little sister who was scheduled for eye surgery sometime soon, and that he'd fought pretty hard to get the money for it at Duelist Kingdom. That was a tale he seemed to enjoy telling, particularly when he got the duel between him and Yugi. Yugi won of course, but gave the money to Jounouchi, making me wonder just how precious Yugi could be.

I noticed that even though Mom asked him about his family, she avoided the subject of his father. When I caught her eye and gave her a questioning look, she simply smiled and shook her head. With a small sigh, I finished my tea and continued to listen to Jounouchi as he described his duel with an overly American Bandit Keith. So Mom knew about Jounouchi's father already, and it made me relieved that I'd apparently made the right choice in keeping my mouth shut.

It had begun to storm by the time Jounouchi told us that he needed to get back to his apartment.

"You can stay here, if you like," Mom cast a worried glance at the window as a flash of lightening illuminated the room. "It's not always best to be by yourself in such a storm, and there's plenty of space in Ren's bedroom for another futon."

It took all my willpower to shout hell no! Normally I'd be okay with someone spending the night in my room, but this was a guy I still barely knew and this was a guy. Sure, Austin and I had sleepovers all the time but that was different.

"Yeah," I twitched. And yet, I was forced to agree with mom. I didn't want Jounouchi by himself either. "What she said."

Jounouchi blinked in surprise before laughing. "Thank you, but I'll be okay. I'm a big boy."

Mom smiled as Jounouchi stood and headed for the door. "Well, then you should know that you're welcome here anytime."

"Thank you very much," Jounouchi bowed awkwardly, turning to me. "I'll see you at school, then?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Don't forget to do your homework."

"What-? Oh, right, thanks."

Mom and I waved as he went through the door, and waited a few minutes after it shut with a click.

"He's a sweet boy," Mom said quietly.

I nodded. "How did you know about his father?"

"Takashi told me who the son of the drunkard was a few days ago. I would have never guessed you'd already made friends with him."

I hummed in acknowledgement. I had a feeling Jounouchi would be over at our place more often in the future.


The next day, I was walking to school- or, rather, hobbling- with a little disappointment. I'd wanted to walk with Jounouchi, but he'd already left by the time I was out the door. Maybe it was for the best since I'm not the fastest walker at the moment. I sent a glare down to my leg cast, blaming the injury for all my problems.

A blur of pink suddenly rushed past me, and I was graced with the sight of Anzu's fleeing backside.

"Oi!" I shouted, alarmed by her speed. Anzu turned around, startled, before rushing back toward me.

"Sorry, I have- I have to go get- Jounouchi and Honda!" she panted. From her twitchiness, I assumed she was anxious to get wherever she was going.

"Sweetheart, calm down," I attempted a soothing voice. "What happened?"

Anzu seemed to want to do anything but explain. However, she took a deep breath answered, "Somebody stole Yugi's puzzle, and he ran after the thief!"

"He ran after- is he insane?" I demanded.

"Probably," Anzu looked around. "That's why I need to get to Jounouchi and Honda. He'll need help."

"What- Sweetie, that's what the police are for!" I protested.

Anzu regarded me quizzically, as though I'd sprouted another limb. That didn't look good. Were they going to do this by themselves?

"There's no time to call the police!" she finally responded.

I gaped for a moment, but shook my head and asked, "Where did Yugi go?"

Anzu pointed behind me. "He and the thief ran down an alley off of Main. There's a fortune telling booth right in front of it. That fortune teller was the thief. Look, I'm sorry, but I have to go get the others!"

"Fine, go," I shooed her away. With a grateful nod, Anzu turned around and took off.

I began to crutch in the same direction for a little bit too, thinking about what she'd just told me. I remembered passing a fortune telling booth on the way as well. A creepy robed guy had been sitting there, as if waiting for someone. I hadn't paid much mind, but now that I thought about it, maybe that's who was waiting for? Someone with a valuable item? It couldn't have specifically been Yugi, could it?

I shook my head of the thought. He probably saw the shiny puzzle and figured it was worth something. I was simply curious as to how he was able to take it from Yugi. The only way Yugi would part with something like that is if he gave it-

Oh he did not.

I glanced behind me, wondering if I should go help as well. I still wasn't really in the friend group as tightly as they were. Would I be of much use in my condition? I threw a frustrated glance down at my leg again. I probably wouldn't even make it in time to help. Besides, it wasn't any of my business. I had school to attend, and I'd get in serious trouble if Mom or Uncle found out I skipped.

But…

I swiveled my head back and forth, from the direction of school to the direction of Yugi. After a few minutes of doing this- and receiving odd glances from onlookers- I let out a loud groan, turned around, and began crutching along.

In the direction of Yugi and the thief.

Even at my slightly faster pace- which was painful- it took me forever to reach the alley again. When I got there, I was met with a turned over table and what looked to be a broken "crystal" ball.

What's more, there were arrows pointing along down the alley.

I looked closely at one of the arrows. There was nothing wrong with them, other than the fact that there were a lot of them. Why were they here? I wanted to pass it off as something involved in some school activity. But that's awfully convenient.

Not sure what else to do, I skeptically followed the arrows. The further along I went, the more nervous I became. Did I take my meds this morning? Pretty sure I did, so there's less chance of a panic attack. Even so, I worried about what would happen if Mom found out about what I was doing. I'd skipped school a few times before, but that was back in America when my school followed one of the worst education systems since fascism. This school wasn't that bad at all, and I knew I'd be in for it. I'd have to ask a classmate for notes today. Maybe Ryou would help me.

Finally, the oddly placed arrows led me to a warehouse. I would have shrugged and passed it, but I heard some shouting inside, and one of the voices sounded familiar. So, with caution, I approached it and, with a bit of difficulty, opened the door with a loud squeak.

"Yugi?" I called, stepping inside. "Yugi, are you here?"

"Ren!"

I looked up and nearly fell over in shock. Yugi was standing on a tall podium-type thing overlooking a high-tech field- were those robots?!

My mouth hung open for a good few minutes before it registered that someone was talking to me.

"Ren! What are you doing here?" Yugi was asking, his eyes wide with surprise.

"I- Anzu said- your puzzle was stolen-," I spluttered. "I- what's going on?"

"It's a duel," Yugi explained briefly, casting a nervous glance behind him. "This holographic field is a dueling arena, and the monsters are registered into the system and brought up as holograms-."

"Cut the chatter, Yugi," a malicious voice said on the other side, sending shivers down my spine. The thief, perhaps? I craned my neck, unable to see the source from my current angle. "If you want your puzzle back, you might want to pay attention to this duel."

Puzzle?

My eyes landed on the side of Yugi's podium, where the Puzzle was glinting in the artificial light. It was hanging by its chain from a hook screwed into the podium. I frowned. How the hell did the thief put it there?

"Ren, I'll be fine," Yugi told me with a nervous smile. "You need to get back to school."

I felt myself shake my head. What am I doing?

"Nope," I said. "I'll stick around… for moral support?"

Yugi opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the evil sounding voice.

"Make your move, Yugi."

With a reluctant nod toward me, Yugi turned back to the duel.

When their attention was no longer on me, I took a few moments to get my bearings and try to figure out just what the hell was going on. Why is Yugi dueling for his Puzzle? Why did this seem like a setup? Why does the thief want the Puzzle? What was up with the thief's voice? And why is there a giant, expensive-looking piece of machinery lying around in a godamn warehouse?

Blood was pounding in my ears by the time I realized I was getting worked up, and my breathing was coming close to erratic. Clenching my teeth, I forced myself to place my hand on my diaphragm, take a deep breath, and feel my breathing steady itself. Now was not the time for a panic attack.

So, what would Shikamaru do?

Being as quiet as I could- though it seemed as though everyone could hear my heartbeat- I crutched away from the arena and, on my tip-toes, tried to peer over the side to get a good look at the thief. The first thing that came to mind was cult.

I mean really, who goes around wearing ancient-looking cloaks with the hoods up anyway? Well, actually, I wouldn't mind if cloaks came back into style, but the thing is, it's really not a fashion statement at all. Especially what this guy was wearing.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I moved forward and lowered myself to the ground, leaning against the wall of the arena, hoping I wasn't needed to watch the duel. I wouldn't understand it anyway.

There were connections that I wasn't seeing, and these connections might help us get out of here.

The first connection was that this guy was most likely a lunatic suffering from some severe delusions. A normal thief does not go around wearing cloaks, let alone try to duel the owner of the item he was trying to steal. So escaping was my top priority. I could probably just walk out right now, but every time I glanced up at Yugi, who looked borderline terrified, I reminded myself that Yugi was safer with somebody with him. Granted, I wasn't of much help with a broken leg.

I thought back to the fortune-telling booth in front of the alley, and the arrows leading to warehouse. If they led Yugi here, then the odds are that the thief wanted him to follow. But why? Why not just take the Puzzle and go? What was so important about it that he had to force Yugi to duel him for it?

I glanced up at the Puzzle, bringing up my long-standing question of why Yugi even carried it around in the first place. That was probably something I wouldn't figure out until he told me himself, but it seemed that this was something worth fighting for. Who am I to sit back and not assist in its retrieval?

Right, the coward.

With a silent sigh, I wondered where Jounouchi and Honda were. There was no way I'd be able to haul myself up and just take the darn thing. I couldn't climb anything with my leg, let alone actually haul myself up with just my arms.

"-and take your Puzzle to claim the power that is rightfully mine!"

With a blink, I snapped back to the conversation between Yugi and the thief. I'd been keeping one ear on the conversation, and it seemed that even though he had issues, the thief wasn't that bad a duelist. In fact, Yugi sounded as though he were having some difficulty in this duel, though he was holding his own. I still barely understood how dueling worked, but that was the gist of the tones I was hearing.

And then the thief said that.

Claim the power that's rightfully mine? I mulled over that phrase for a second as Yugi protested that the Puzzle didn't belong to the thief. He didn't even bother to comment on whatever "power" the thief was talking about.

I was jolted from my thoughts when a scream blared from the thief's side of the arena.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD," somebody shrieked. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, PIECE OF SHIT? I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"Keith!" Yugi cried, sounding distressed.

Confused beyond Dr. Parnassus, I scrambled to my feet, steadying myself with my crutches.

"OBEY ME!" the malicious voice of the thief commanded.

I strained to see just what was going on, but I was too short.

"What's happening?" I called to Yugi.

Yugi glanced at me before looking ahead again, saying, "Bandit Keith is the thief, but somebody's controlling him. I guess the connection was weakened-."

"I- what?" I blanched. "Mind control?"

"Yeah-," Yugi stopped himself, as though realizing something important, and looked back at me with an apologetic glance. I merely gaped at him.

Whatever it was he wanted to tell me was lost when Keith stopped screaming.

"Keith, what are you doing?" Yugi cried. I strained my neck to see, but again, height.

That didn't matter, though, when Keith suddenly came into view. Startled, I tried to step backwards but ended up falling on my arse, my crutches clattering around me.

"KEITH NO!"

I looked up just in time to see Yugi's Puzzle shatter into pieces by the hand of the thief. My eyes widened in shock, but my gut lurched when Yugi cried out in horror.

Then, like a white haired, English Tarzan, Ryou swung to rescue. He slammed into the thief and sent him tumbling over the side of the arena, where he lay unmoving.

I gaped at the scene above me, my thoughts not quite keeping up with my eyes.

"I- what- you- how?" was what came out of my mouth.

"Are you two alright?" Ryou asked, scanning over the both of us for injuries- excluding my leg, of course.

"I'm fine," Yugi jumped down from his podium, shooting me a concerned look. "How about you?"

"…Fantastic, really," I slowly, awkwardly got to my feet. "Just brilliant. Confused as hell, but managing I suppose. In fact, I could really go for some tea. Why wouldn't I be okay? Not like I got injured or anything. Just fell on my bum. But no, shouldn't we, I don't know, worry about the fact that you fucking went after a potentially dangerous thief? Not to mention the fact that I'm quite ready to believe he belonged in a fucking asylum! Can you spell schizophrenia because I sure as hell can't and that's definitely what that guy has-!"

"It's not schizophrenia," Yugi cut short my increasingly heated rant as he bent down and began collecting the pieces of his shattered Puzzle.

"Here, I'll help," Ryou kneeled next to him.

"Thanks," Yugi murmured. "I don't know what he would have done if you didn't show up."

"Then what could it possibly be?" I demanded, feeling rather small and ignored from down on the floor, not to mention useless. "A normal robbery? A psychotic episode? A mild case of I'll steal the thing you treasure most and make you duel for it?"

Yugi looked up from his pieces, regarding me with sympathy and… guilt?

"Keith has stolen things before," he said slowly. "But this is different. He wouldn't go out of his way to steal my Puzzle unless it directly benefited him. From what I could tell, there was nothing in it for him."

"Yugi, you're beating around I bush I can't see through," I leaned forward on my crutches. The knowledge that I was being harsh was tapping at my brain, but I wanted answers, and I was way too racked in the nerves to reign in right now. "What's going on? What the hell is so important about your Puzzle that this- this Keith actually setup a trap to make you duel for something that he could just as well have run off with?"

Astonishment flitted across Yugi's face, and I could see Ryou's brow flick up in surprise. They shared a glance, further making me feel like a stranger. It wasn't like they were my best friends or anything, but this? I bit my lip, holding back a wave of swearing that I hadn't unleashed since after the funeral.

Yugi finally responded- albeit with carefully chosen words-, "My Millennium Puzzle is probably one of the most valuable items in the world right now. Not just because it's worth a lot of money, but because of where it's from and the… history it has. Whoever wanted it must be aware of its value."

He was still hiding something incredibly important, but I could see the genuine guilt he had for not telling me. His explanation was probably the bare minimum he could share. Aware that I wasn't getting anything else, I relaxed on my crutches. At least he told me something.

"Here, you forgot a piece," Ryou handed another puzzle piece to Yugi as they stood up.

"Ah, thanks," Yugi accepted it with a grateful smile. "It'd be bad if I were missing something."

"Indeed," Ryou nodded, turning to me. "We should get back to school."

"Yeah, well," I looked away. "I think I'll stay here and make sure Yugi isn't by himself. Besides, the police might show up and wonder why there's an unconscious American fanatic over there."

"Alright then," Ryou lowered himself over the side of the arena. "I'll be sure and get you two notes- oof!"

I clamped my hand over my mouth to prevent myself fromlaughing as Ryou fell hard on his bum.

"You alright?" Yugi leaned over side in concern.

"Fine, fine," Ryou laughed, rubbing his bum as he got to his feet. "I'll see you around, yes?"

We waved him off, and I turned back to Yugi as he began examining the chain holding the top piece of the Puzzle.

"Why is it on a chain?" I asked curiously. "Wasn't it on a rope before?"

Yugi gave me a sheepish sidelong glance. "Well, funnily enough… Today I figured it would be safer if I put it on a chain rather than a rope… then it would be harder to steal."

I stared at him.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Today isn't your day, is it?" I shook my head.

He opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he might have said was lost when a loud cry came from where Keith was.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" he screamed. "FUCKING BASTARD, GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD!"

Both Yugi and I jumped, Yugi nearly dropping his pieces. Fear began to pump through my veins again when I saw Keith- with a metal rod no less- swing around trying to strike whoever was speaking to him.

Then, to my horror, his eyes landed on me.

"IT'S YOU ISN'T IT?" he demanded, hysteria wide in his eyes.

"Ren, get out of here!" I heard Yugi cry, but even as I tried to move my legs and crutch my way to safety, they wouldn't respond.

This isn't something I deal with every day, you know. I'm not a thrill seeker. A maniac charging me isn't normal, and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do in this kind of situation.

That knowledge made me panic, and for once that panic froze me limbs rather than make them faster.

So keep that in mind when I tell you how I screamed like a child as Keith stumbled toward me, hands holding the metal rod high in the air as he screeched, "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, BITCH".

"REN, MOVE!" somebody shouted.

My body obeyed just in time for my skull to avoid being cracked in two, though I wasn't fast enough to dodge him as he swung for my torso instead.

A loud crack sounded and I cried out as sharp- oh god oh god OH GOD- waves of pain shot through my body, stars and black clouds shimmering into my vision.


I'm not quite sure what happened next, but when I came to there was an immense amount of heat and I was choking and drenched in sweat and ohgodIcan'tbreathe-

"- hang in there, Ren," somebody was murmuring in the distance. "I'll get us out- I just have to solve this- I'm sorry- really sorry-."

He was coughing, too, wheezing like he was having as much trouble breathing as I was. Blinking the stinging sensation out my eyes, I peered through the haze and figured out why my vision seemed to be flickering.

Fire.

Somehow, the warehouse had become ablaze, and the flames were catching on to anything made of wood, which was most of the warehouse. I was right in the middle, away from the walls, but there were fiery beams falling from the rafters as well and what if one fell on me-

"Y-Yugi-," I choked out my words, searching for the boy. "What-."

"Ren!" I heard him say. "You're awake- cough- I'm so sorry I got you- cough- in this mess- cough -!"

He was in pain too. I could hear it.

I just wanted to lay there, I was in so much pain. From the location of the epicenter, I figured a rib or two had broken on Keith's impact.

But then, Yugi's face appeared in my sight for a moment, as though checking on me, and I had sudden motivation to move.

So, clamping my mouth shut and gritting my teeth, I pushed up with my arms- ow, ow, ow, ow- and heaved myself into a sitting position- ow, ow, ow, ow-

"Fuck," I gasped. "Fuckity fuck fuck fuck."

My vision was still hazy when I slowly got to my knees, and painfully, excruciatingly, moved my legs to stand up.

"FUCK," I cried when I fell back down, forgetting about my leg. Clenching my jaw, I reached for the closest crutch, only to snatch my hand away when the synthetic metal burned my skin.

I almost gave up and collapsed, but I kept reminding myself that Yugi is still here- he saved your worthless life- that I had to help him- he saved your worthless life- and that he was going to suffocate if that coughing was any suggestion.

I crawled over to the wall of the duel arena and propped myself against it, using it to balance myself as I sluggishly stood up. And still, the damned wall was too tall for me to climb, but I needed to see where Yugi was and what he was still doing here.

So, after a moment's decision, I reached for the top of the wall and began to heave myself up.

Oh. Ow.

The pain in my ribs was enough for me to pass out again, but I chanted in my head Yugi, Yugi, Yugi, Yugi- and somehow, someway, was able to pull enough to get my head over the wall, if only for a moment.

And there he was, putting the pieces of the Puzzle together. I was shocked to see that he only had a couple of pieces left- how long had I been out?- but as soon as he completed it, he slumped against the podium, still hanging on to the Puzzle.

"YUGI!" I cried in horror. "Yugi, wake up! We have to go-!"

My vision blurred, and I furiously blinked the stinging tears away. Before I could say anything more, though, I noticed a shadow next to Yugi.

A shadow that wasn't cast by anything.

I was probably hallucinating, delusional from the heat, but I could have sworn that it was trying to shake Yugi awake.

Before I could get a better look at it, though, my body gave up and I slid off of the wall and fell into a heap on the floor.

The cries that escaped my mouth from the pain of impact were probably horrific

I didn't notice when the door of the warehouse opened, nor did I realize that someone was shouting over my wheezing sobs, not until Jounouchi appeared and he was cradling my face in his hands.

"Ren!" he exclaimed. "Hey, come on now, look at me, you're alright-."

"J-J-Jou-nouchi-!" I choked, letting out a string of heavy coughing

"I'm here now, it's okay," Jounouchi grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. "I have to go get Yugi, Honda says he's not letting go of that Puzzle-."

"There was- cough- somebody with him-."

"Keith? Yeah, he split just now-."

"No-."

"I'll be right back, okay?" he reassured me as he stood up. "You're gonna be okay, got it?"

I nodded slowly, squeezing my eyes shut against the smoke.

Distantly, I could hear them shouting and grunting, whether pulling Yugi away or the Puzzle, I wasn't sure. That was about when things started getting fuzzy. The heat seemed to swirl around my brain, like hot fudge over a sundae, and the smoke had become so intense that my eyes were streaming to fight the invading toxin. I was fading in and out of consciousness, unsure if I was dying or not.

I came to again when I was on someone's back and rushing through the door of the warehouse, and I nearly sobbed in relief as cool air graced my skin.

"Yugi!" cried a distressed Anzu. "Oh my god, Ren! Why are you- Are you guys okay?!"

"Both of them need to get to the hospital," Jounouchi told her. I noticed he was holding Yugi, who was still clutching the Puzzle, in his arms.

"I think this one has a broken rib," Honda, who I realized was the one carrying me, said.

"What?" Anzu exclaimed.

"- Hullo…" I mumbled weakly, triggering a series of coughs, which in turn caused more pain in my ribs. "Ow… Honda hit the mark there…"

"Right, there's the ambulance over there," Honda nodded toward it and hefted me over to the stretcher some paramedics were rushing over.

I was loaded into the van, not knowing where Yugi was or what was going to happen, but as soon as a paramedic cut through my blouse and examined my rib by applying a tiny bit of pressure, I was once again out for the count.


I had fun with this chapter, though it took me several tries with the first part. I don't know, it makes sense to me that Jounouchi doesn't really trust many adults, or doesn't know many friendly ones. And yeah, I'm enjoying the though of him and Ren hanging out in the future.

Also, I'm not totally sure if I got Keith's dialogue right when he was being possessed. That duel was among my least favorites, so sorry if I bummed you out by being inaccurate. Eheh.

Ren doesn't seem to be having a great time in Japan, eh? I'm not sure why she's getting injured either. On the other hand, I'm not sure how the others didn't get injured that much. Geez.

Please review! I like reviews. They make me happy.