Chapter Eight: Helpless

Yami stumbled down the street towards the police station, barely looking up at the few people that he passed along the way, hunching forward to make himself look smaller. He knew how he looked, with his clothes ripped and stained with blood from the few cuts he had gotten from the crash along with the sticks and mud that was stuck on him. And he was limping, obviously limping, down the street. The people were right to stay away from him. One look and they could have a number on their heads as well.

That creature might as well be stalking him.

Yami sighed, coming to a stop in front of the police station, staring up at it for a moment before climbing the steps, ignoring the frantic motions of Tomoya. The ghost was probably telling him not to go in, but it was the only thing he could do. His car was completely totaled again and Rebecca's body was still down there. It would be impossible for them not to connect her death to him when they found her, so it would be better just to turn himself in. Then maybe he could talk Joey into believing what he saw and then something could be done about it, or so he hoped.

He slipped into the station, looking around before limping back towards the offices, remembering the route all too well from his days of being hauled in to talk about his part in Tèa's death. He hung his head at the memory; glad that the few glimpses of his wife dead was all that he had. He didn't want to remember all of it if the rest of the memory was as bad as those glimpses. Yami shivered at the thought, looking up and shuffling to a stop when he felt stares on him.

His eyes widened as he realized that Joey wasn't the only one on duty as he had previously thought, his flight instinct kicking in. Yami swayed in place, not willing to run away just now. He had something to do here, even if the audience was bigger than he thought it would be. Yami took a deep breath and limped a few more strides forward, walking up to Joey and keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Yami! Where have you been, bud, we've been looking all over for you?"

"Yami?" He flinched at the sound of Yugi's voice, looking away as the reaper peeked out of one of the offices. He had forgotten that Yugi would be here.

He cleared his throat, glancing up at Joey before he went back to staring at the floor. It was the safer choice, he didn't have to see their reactions then. "I…I just came to tell you that Rebecca Hawkins'…body…is lying near my car. Off of Holloway Road."

There were a few gasps from the officers, Yami looking up as he felt someone run into him, surprised to find that Yugi was holding him close. He struggled for a moment before giving in, slumping against Yugi and allowing himself to feel the calm that always came from him being close to the reaper. "It's alright, Yami, you can't save everyone."

"Yugi…I saw what it did…and Rebecca…"

"Yami Gardner." He froze at the unfamiliar voice, looking up and finding himself staring at a pale man in a trench coat. Yami tried to take a step back, but was unable to with the way that Yugi was hanging onto him. The man stared at him with bright eyes before jerking his head to the back room. "Take him away."

"No." Yugi tightened his hold. "He didn't do anything!"

"And what do you know about him? From your own admission, Mr. Mutou, you only met him yesterday." The man grinned up at Yami. "What do you really know about your charming host?"

"Enough to know that-"

"This is an investigation, Mr. Mutou. I can have you locked up if you continue to impede." Yugi stared at the man before letting go of Yami, but still standing close. The man smiled and nodded, waving to two of the officers standing by.

Yami shivered as the pulled his arms forward, securing a pair of handcuffs around his wrists before dragging him toward the back room. He swallowed harshly and twisted to see Yugi, watching as Mai escorted the reaper and Serenity out of the station, finding it unlikely that Yugi heard anything that Mai said. He met Yugi's eyes for a moment before jerking his gaze away.

Yugi could find someone better than an emotionally scarred human to be his balance. The reaper would be better off without him around anyway. But that didn't stop him from watching Yugi until the reaper was out of his sight.

Yami grunted in pain as the man jerked his head back around, glaring at him before motioning for the officers to take him into the small interrogation room. He was surprised when the man grabbed his bound hands, tugging him into the room before slamming the door in the faces of the officers. He shivered as he looked up at his captor, the man regarding him in disgust before Yami was shoved towards the chair at the other end of the table. "Sit."

He stared at the man, the gesture to sit being repeated twice before he cautiously sunk into the chair, trying to shift so he was hidden from the man's sight. Yami had barely settled down when the door to the room burst open, Joey stumbling in with a frown. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Questioning a suspect, Officer Wheeler. I thought you would have been able to figure that out."

"Yami has done nothing to-"

"He had admitted himself that Rebecca Hawkins was killed and his own car is close by." The man narrowed his eyes. "Do you not think that's a bit odd?"

"We've questioned him before and-"

"Then you're obviously not asking the right questions!" The man turned to point at the door. "Get out."

"This is my station and you can't order me around."

"You are speaking to an agent of the United States government! This is your one chance to get the hell out of this room before you find yourself in cuffs for impeding this investigation. You choice, officer."

Joey glanced between Yami and the man, the former giving a little shake of his head. As much as he appreciated Joey's willingness to help him, he wouldn't ruin his friend's career over this. He looked over at the man, frowning as the agent slammed the door in Joey's face, taking a deep breath before turning to face Yami, a crazed smile crossing his face. "As I already know who you are, I think it's fair that you know me. I'm Agent Noa Kaiba of the FBI. I was called here because of the surprising amount of falsely labeled heart attack related deaths in the past five years. Something that you always seem to be connected to since they started with your wife, Tèa."

"I wouldn't have-"

"No. You don't speak until I'm done." Noa gave him a long glare before pulling out a chair, looking like he was going to sit down before stopping himself at the last minute. Yami saw the look of pain that ran across the agent's eyes before Noa was up and pacing again, wringing his hands. "I've been over the records and have found that all the usual causes of a heart attack aren't present, the heart just gives under extreme pressure which causes the arteries around them to burst. Twenty-seven recorded cases of this death, staring with Tèa and, I assume, ending with Rebecca. This can only mean the same thing. Do you have anything to say about this?"

Yami dropped his gaze to the table, the argument that he had planned dying the face of the evidence that he had been given. He hadn't been counting before; he had just known that people were dying. But, twenty-seven dead of the same cause? Twenty-seven people… Yami shook his head and slowly looked up at Noa, shivering. "I…I've seen something."

"What?"

"A figure…in a black cloak."

Noa snorted at that, rolling his eyes and leaning back again. "Who was it?"

Yami licked his lips, glancing around the room, wishing the handcuffs could come off so he could wrap his arms around himself. "Every time I've seen one of these killings….a figure in a black cloak…"

He yelped as Noa grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up into the agent's blue eyes. "Who was it?"

"Death." Yami was shoved back into the chair, sliding further down as Noa paced to the other side of the room with a laugh.

"When you've seen them? Are you finally coming to your senses?" Yami just shook his head, not understanding what the agent was getting at, something that Noa seemed to have prepared for. "There is no Death, Yami. That creature, that figure, is something you make up."

"No!"

"It's a figment of your imagination created to ease your conscious. Created by your twisted mind to satisfy your desire to kill and absolve you of your guilt at the same time!"

"NO!" Yami rocked back in his seat, almost tipping the chair over, but Noa was a step ahead of him, rushing over and pinning him to the chair, holding them both at an awkward angle.

"Tèa was first, she was the wife that you never wanted. You wanted to satisfy your libido and she wouldn't let you. You two were bound in holy matrimony and she held you to it." Yami just shook his head, clinging to an arm of the chair as he stared up at Noa, unable to speak a word. The agent plowed on, his blue eyes sparkling with sadistic glee. "You were the last one to see Tristan aside from his wife before he died, and you had known Joey for years. You knew that Joey didn't approve of the marriage, so you went out of your way to make sure that the marriage ended. And Rebecca…everyone knew you hated her. That newspaper article this morning was just enough to push you over the edge."

Noa paused at that, scowling in disgust before taking a step away, letting the chair thud back to all four legs. Yami trembled as he watched the agent pace the floor, not sure what he should think. What Noa was saying all made sense, horrific sense; but he didn't know if it was true. He couldn't think, his mind caught in a circular thought pattern, going from images of Rebecca's dead body to the evidence that Noa had against him, whimpering as he pressed back against the chair. He pressed the heels of his hands to his forehead, closing his eyes as he tried to figure out someway that he would be proven innocent, glancing up slowly and Noa laughed.

"There's no way out, Yami. The first step is to admit it to yourself. You killed those people, and you've got to be stopped before you kill more."

Yami stared at the agent, glancing at the door. He was the only one who could see that creature other than Yugi, but what if he was the one creating it? He had only started seeing it around recently, and only when someone was going to die. Was he becoming more aware of what he had done? Was that why he had blocked the memories of what had happened the night that Tèa had died, so that he could believe that he was innocent? And what about Yugi? Would he turn on the reaper next? Was this strange pull towards Yugi nothing more than his killing instinct or was it what the reaper had described to him?

He groaned and slumped forward, not sure what to think anymore, just focusing on the cool touch of the table. Yami blinked slowly, watching as Noa circled around the table, vaguely reminded of a shark. The agent repeated the move a few more times before stopping right in front of Yami and leaning over him. "So, what's the verdict?"

Yami licked his lips before closing his eyes. "Guilty."


Serenity walked out of the police station, brushing off a police officer that offered her a ride back to her house, the man probably trying to help her out on Joey's orders. She gave him a smile, quietly thanking him for his offer before walking down the steps and onto the sidewalk, taking a deep breath. It was morning already, most of their night spent cramped in the police station as the officers had looked for Yami and then as Noa had told his story. And what a story it was.

She rubbed her arms, trying to calm herself. She trusted her big brother when it came to the events of that night, Joey had been the one to find Yami and Tèa, Noa had only read the reports. And, with everyone afraid over all of these new deaths, it was only expected that they would suspect Yami. Still, there had to be a solution. If only she could get to two or three of the bodies to look deeper than just a heart attack, to look for an actual medical condition. Of course, she would have to ask for help from some of the more senior doctors, but she was sure that she would find something at least.

"It's not true, you know." Serenity turned around as Yugi spoke, watching him walk down the stairs, seeming to be completely exhausted. "It's just that… I can tell it's not true. He wouldn't have killed her."

"I know, Yugi. Joey told me the story before I even came here. That's just paranoia talking." She bit her lip, glancing around at the nearly empty street before turning to walk back to where she had left her car, freezing when she realized that Yugi had no way back to Yami's house. She turned around, watching Yugi lean against the police station wall. "Hey, you need a ride somewhere?"

Yugi was slow to respond, staring at the ground for a long minute before nodding slowly, looking back up at her. "Yami's house. I just want to…"

"You look like you need some sleep."

Yugi seemed surprised by her inference, giving her a relieved smile before nodding. "Yeah, sleep."

He fell into step behind her, the two quickly walking the block back to the café that they had been at just hours before, easily finding the small car. Serenity slid into the driver's seat, her eyes widening as she stared at Yami's car that was parked right across from them. Yugi's stuff was still in there since the man had only retrieved it this morning. She turned to look at him, Yugi seeming to realize this as well before he slumped with a groan. "I'll just throw these into the wash or something. I'm sure Yami wouldn't mind."

The smile that appeared on Yugi's face was gone in a second, the man turning to look out the window and falling silent. Serenity let him think, turning on the car and pulling out into the deserted street before heading out for where Yami lived, her mind still churning over what Noa had told them.

She didn't know about the pocket knife, that was the one thing that Joey had never mentioned to her, or maybe it had already been deemed unimportant. But from the few months she had lived in town, she knew that Yami was the one who kept the books in repair at the library. She had seen him using a knife, presumably a second one, to work and he had seemed very skilled. Serenity shivered at the thought of that knife cutting through Tèa's skin to carve the number onto her forehead. But she just couldn't imagine Yami doing it.

To her, Yami was the jumpy, quiet man who ran the library. It was hard to encourage him into a long conversation, but she knew enough to leave him alone. He was often melancholy, but that was probably because of what happened to his wife and repeated sessions of failing to dredge up the memory of that night. All of the people that she knew thought Yami was just a harmless man, unless the subject of the deaths was brought up, and then he would be the number one suspect.

Her hands twisted on the steering wheel, Serenity glaring ahead of her. Fairwater's narrow-mindedness was getting annoying; first with Yami and then with Vivian.

She sat up straight at the thought of Vivian, ignoring Yugi's shocked look. She had completely forgotten about the woman with all of this going on. Serenity looked up into her rearview mirror, smiling to herself when she saw that her bag was still it the back. Before she had gone home the night before, she had been told to be ready to visit the Wong residence again, in case Doctor Sanders was called to help with the recent deaths. But after Tristan's death, she had been given the day off. It was only right to pay Vivian a visit to make sure that she was holding up, maybe look at the cut and bruises again.

Of course, the sensible thing to do would be to go back home and figure out what to do now that Tristan was gone. There were a lot of things that she had to consider, like the house, things that she didn't feel quite up to thinking about right now. Now she had jobs that could distract her from the fact that she would have to go home and that Tristan was never coming back, and she would take that over sitting in her house crying. She just needed to distract herself until she was exhausted so she could just sleep. Maybe it would be better in a week or so. Until then, she didn't want to have to handle anything.

Serenity noticed that Yugi flinched away from the window as they passed Holloway Road, taking the time to glance over at the trucks and ambulance that were working there, trying to get the accident cleared before people started waking up. Thankfully, with Rebecca dead, the news that Yami had been the one to cause this would wait a while before getting out. Immediately afterward she felt guilty for the thought; Rebecca had just been doing her job, although she seemed to enjoy tarnishing Yami's reputation.

They drove on in silence until Serenity pulled into Yami's neighborhood, Yugi perking up at that and relaxing a bit in his seat. A moment later he was turning around to peer into the backseat, starting at something he saw there before turning back around, a relieved smile on his face.

"Yugi?"

"Sorry, didn't expect Tristan to be back there."

Serenity blinked at that, belatedly remembering that Yugi had acted like he had seen Tristan at the café. She had just thought that he was following Yami's lead before. "You can see him too?"

"Yeah." Yugi sighed and slumped in his seat, giving an exhausted laugh. "I've been able to see them for a…a long, long while."

"You've just been able to see them or…"

"There was a death in my family, a horrible accident." Yugi swallowed, turning to look back out the window before giving a long sigh. "I could see them since then."

Serenity shook her head. "It always seems to be accidents."

She turned the car into Yami's driveway, Yugi thanking her before clambering out, pausing to look back into the backseat again, smiling as he looked at her. "Tristan will look after you, so you might feel him hanging around a while."

"This isn't going to help me get over him."

"I know." Yugi nodded slowly. "I know, but think of it as a chance that few other people can get."

He shut the door before backing away with a wave, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked towards the house. Serenity stared after him for a moment before backing the car out of the driveway and continuing through the neighborhood. From here, it was only a few minutes to the old hospital and the Wong's home, the thought of the creepy place making her shiver. It was no wonder that Vivian was a bit unstable; living in that atmosphere for so long would have driven anyone crazy.

Serenity twitched at the cold touch and light pressure on her shoulder, hesitating a moment before tipped her head to the side to rest her cheek against Tristan's hand, thanking him for the support. His presence might not help her get over the fact that he was gone, but she didn't regret the fact that he had stayed for her. It was just a bit better than just having him gone completely. That was one other thing about Tristan being dead that she still had yet to grasp fully.

She turned onto the winding side road that would lead to the Wong's house, hunching forward as the overgrown trees on either side of the road blocked out the sun, Serenity getting glimpses of the old hospital the closer she got to the house. She swallowed nervously, looking up at the sign as she passed under it before inching the car up the drive, stopping just out of the line of sight from the house and turning the car off. She turned to grab her bag, searching through it to get the supplies that she needed before carefully opening the door to the car and slipping out. She shut the door with equal care and dropped into a crouch, sneaking along behind a bush until she could see the front door.

The door opened as she was planning a way to get across the lawn and into the house, the memory of Mrs. Wong's reception to her all too fresh in her mind. Serenity gasped and ducked further behind the bush, peering out around the side, the elderly woman moving towards the side of the house with a bucket. Serenity remained in her place long enough to see that Mrs. Wong had disappeared from sight before looking back at the open door and deciding to chance it.

She stood up from her crouch, doing a quick double check of the things in her pockets before stepping out and walking quickly across the lawn. She managed to make it to the porch before she felt Tristan grabbing at her and trying to pull her back. Serenity shoved him away, glancing around before glaring at the air behind her. "Tristan, this needs to happen! What are you doing?"

There was no reply, Serenity wishing that she could hear Tristan like Yami and Yugi could. She shook her head and snuck into the house, holding her breath for a moment before peeking into the sitting room, frowning when Vivian wasn't there. She looked back at the door, debating her choices. She could just shout for Vivian, but this would end it all too quickly. Or she could search the house as fast as he could until she found her. Settling on the second option, Serenity began climbing the stairs, daring to speak the woman's name in a low voice. "Vivian? Vivian are you here?"

"Doctor Taylor?" Serenity jumped at the quavering voice from above her, smiling as she spotted Vivian clutching a robe close to her. Vivian attempted to return the smile before motioning for Serenity to come up the stairs, quickly shoving her into a small room at the end of the hall.

Serenity got a glimpse of her unbound hand and fresh bruises along Vivian's arms to match the fading ones around her neck, shaking her head in disgust. "It's your mother doing this to you, isn't it?"

Vivian reached up to touch her neck before shaking her head, going to sit on her bed as tears formed in her eyes. "You don't understand. I…Mother hasn't been happy since Father died." Vivian's gaze strayed up to the portrait of the stern man that was hung over her bed before swinging over to the urn that was perched on a pile of books. "He killed himself after the trial; he said that I was evil like Johnny. He didn't understand."

"Your first love is always the hardest."

"Mother makes me keep his ashes in the room." Serenity's mouth dropped open in shock, turning to stare at the urn. So that's what it was, her stomach rolled. Who would ask that of their own daughter? Vivian seemed to sense her unease, making a small sound of distress before standing up and going to the urn. Serenity relaxed a bit as the container was placed in the closet. Vivian turned around once her task was done, rubbing her arms. "Am…am I evil?"

"Of course not." Serenity pulled her into a hug.

"T-they all say I am." She could feel Vivian trembling in her arms as the woman tried not to cry, Serenity rubbing her hand up and down Vivian's back. "They think I am. I can see it in their eyes."

"They don't know the whole story. If you could just go out there-"

"Mother will never let me go out." Vivian pulled away, wiping the tears from her face. "So I stay inside, and I read what they think about me."

"You…read…"

Vivian nodded, glancing around before taking her hand. "Follow me to Mother's room and I'll show you."

Serenity allowed herself to be pulled from the small room, the two of them crossing the upper landing quietly. She was ushered into a slightly larger room, Vivian partially shutting the door before scuttling over to the bed and yanking out a trunk that was hidden under it. She sat on the floor, nervously pushing the trunk over to Serenity before she got up and paced back to the door.

Serenity hesitated for a moment before opening the trunk up, her eyes widening at the yellowed newspapers that were neatly stacked inside. She carefully pulled them out one by one, skimming over the articles and staring at the pictures of Jonny Bartlett and fifteen-year-old Vivian, a sad smile crossing her face. Of course Vivian would think that the world hated her when faced with this everyday. She was willing to bet that Mrs. Wong didn't even own a television, so Vivian was unaware that she had been forgotten and that her infamous boyfriend was the one that everyone remembered.

She sighed and packed the papers back in their trunk, sighing and pushing it back under the bed. "This isn't you anymore, Vivian. You've changed."

Vivian looked away from her guard at the door, nodding her head and wiping away the tears that had formed. "It…It was Johnny, he just went crazy one day. I couldn't stop him. I thought that he was going to kill me next so I went along with it."

"Hey." Serenity stood up, hugging Vivian again. "It's alright. I understand. It wasn't the right choice but it was probably your only choice, and the rest of the world never got that. I'm sure that they would understand now."

Vivian gave a slow nod, both of them tensing as they heard the door slam shut. Serenity let out a curse, covering her mouth up in the next moment before looking down at Vivian. Mrs. Wong had come back inside, and they were both in her room.

Vivian was the first to act, grabbing Serenity's arm and dragging her to the old wardrobe in the room, whispering quickly. "I'll distract her. I'll take her to the kitchen and then you sneak out."

"Thank you." Vivian shut the wardrobe doors, Serenity pressing herself up against the back of the wardrobe and going still, listening as Vivian opened the door only to hear a squeak from the girl.

"What are you doing in my room?"

"I…I thought I heard a noise." There was silence for a moment. "I'll fix you some coffee mother."

Serenity heard Vivian walk out; holding her breath as she listened to Mrs. Wong walking around the room, sure that she was going to be caught at any moment. Then, the elderly woman walked out of the room, Serenity waiting until she heard the door close again to let out a slow breath, stepping away from the back of the wardrobe and beginning to open the door.

As the light came into the wardrobe she spotted something hanging off the edge of the shelf above her head, Serenity glancing at the door before carefully reaching up to pull the object down, her eyes widening as she stared at the pocket knife in her hands, her gaze dropping to the name carefully written in permanent marker near the base. Yami. Taking a deep breath, she flipped the blade open, staring at the red stain on the end of the blade, quickly snapping it back in before replacing the knife on the shelf. Her stomach rolled, Serenity placing a hand over her mouth. She needed to get out of here.

She snuck out of the room and onto the landing, nearly crawling down the stairs as she listened to the muffled conversation from the kitchen. Serenity glanced at the front door, relieved that it wasn't completely shut, meaning that she would have a better time sneaking out. She glanced back at the kitchen, wincing at the sound of a mug shattering against tile before she made her move, walking quickly towards the door.

As she was easing the heavy old door open, she felt something pushing at her, urging her to get out. Serenity looked over her shoulder, moving again after one final shove from Tristan. She couldn't see or hear her husband's ghost, but she was willing to trust him if he was that desperate to get her out of the house. Serenity broke into a run as she crossed the yard, desperate to get to her car and drive back to Yami to tell him the good news.

She slid easily behind the wheel of her car, starting it up and putting it in reverse before the car shook from the force of something landing on it. Serenity frowned and glanced at the hood before shrugging and backing down the driveway, not seeing the mangled ghost of her husband sliding off the hood of the car.


Duke walked through the police station, avoiding the people rushing around out of habit. He paused in the center of the room to look back over his shoulder, shifting nervously before walking further back. He had promised Tomoya that he would find and look after Yami if the kid watched over the reaper for him. It was a fair trade off, one that kept the reaper under their supervision. But it still would have been easier if Solomon was still around.

At the thought of the old miner, Duke felt tears prick at his eyes, rubbing them away before he remembered that they were just the memory of tears. He hadn't been able to cry since the sixties when he had died. Still, being a ghost didn't mean that he couldn't mourn. The old miner had been around for as long as he could remember, hanging around Yami to keep the man from doing anything stupid. Duke had started watching after Yami with Solomon, but it had always been with Solomon around. It was strange to have to do this on his own.

It had to be worse for Tomoya; the kid had looked up to Solomon, taken his cues from Solomon instead of Duke. But, then again, Duke was still too 'young' to be calm, still too easily driven to anger or fear, but at least he knew his own flaws.

Still, just because Solomon was gone didn't mean that they just stopped looking after Yami; after all, Solomon had given up his life so that they could get the human out of danger. And Yami needed them more than ever now, he was trapped in this place again with the news spreading that he had killed Rebecca Hawkins. Having met the girl once, Duke could honestly say that he wasn't impressed, but he knew that Yami would never kill her, no matter what she said or did to him.

Duke slipped through the small office space back towards the holding cells, checking in the interrogation room for a moment. If he stalled for time long enough, Tomoya would come back here with the reaper. And, as much as he hated to admit it, the reaper seemed to be good for Yami. With the three of them, they could spring Yami from jail, and then Duke would demand that the reaper take Yami somewhere where he wouldn't get caught. It would be the end of them being able to be around Yami, but it was for his own good.

The interrogation room was empty, not that Duke found that surprising. Yami had been hauled back here hours ago; they had probably gotten what they had needed. But why wasn't he out in the lobby then? They couldn't possibly have enough evidence against Yami this time. He hurried his walk, passing through walls and people to go faster, aiming for the cells, the only other place Yami would be.

Duke came to a surprised stop when he saw two people in the cell area, staring at the solid metal doors of the cells before walking forward, brought to a stop again as the one man who was peering into a cell started talking. "There he goes. He's finally stopped arguing with himself and accepted the truth."

"Agent Kaiba?"

"Of course, some parts of his conscious will struggle against it, but we have him now. He'll admit to the truth."

The cop looked nervous, shifting and staring at the folder that he held in his hand. "We don't have enough evidence to bring him to court." Duke saw the man at the door stiffen before turning to look at the cop, unnerved by the half-crazed smile that was directed at the cop. To his credit, the cop only took a step back, continuing. "Even with his testimony there are too many holes and guesses in this to ever make a case."

"Doesn't matter."

"Huh?"

"I said it doesn't matter." Agent Kaiba stood up straight, taking a pair of black gloves from his pocket and pulling them on carefully, making sure that the fabric rested evenly between his fingers. "I don't expect this case to reach court. With his mental state, I expect him to commit suicide in a few days if not hours."

The cop blanched and walked quickly away, probably to report what the agent had just said to Joey. The agent seemed to realize this too, frowning and drawing his trench coat closer to him. "They always do!"

Then he was gone, striding out into another part of the police department, ignoring where Duke stood frozen in the middle of the hallway. The ghost shook his head before rushing to the cell door, hesitating before walking through the door, his gaze dropping to where Yami sat on one of the bottom bunks.

To put it nicely, Yami looked like hell.

His clothes were rumpled and torn, probably from the crash earlier the night before and there were patches of blood still on his skin. Yami's hair was messed up more than usual, even the spikes that he kept it in drooping and beginning to come apart, strands of hair falling to the sides and over his face. There were dark circles under Yami's eyes, just accenting the empty look in them.

Worried, Duke knelt down in front of Yami and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. "Yami? Yami, are you still in there?" When his friend didn't respond, Duke gave him a shake. "This isn't funny, Yami! We need to get you out of here before they do something. You may trust Joey and the others, but I don't trust this agent guy they've got lurking around.

"I'll help you get out, but I'm not going to carry you. We'll get you back home long enough to pack some stuff and then we'll ship you off with that reaper. I know he's not the best choice, but if anyone can keep you safe it's the reapers." Duke rocked back, frowning as Yami continued to stare at him. No, through him. He reached up to wave a hand in Yami's face, surprised when his friend didn't blink. "Yami?"

"Yami!" The door to the cell was thrown open, Joey Wheeler rushing in and kneeling halfway through Duke. Annoyed, the ghost shifted a bit to the right, allowing Joey to settle in front of Yami. "Listen, bud, we need to get you out of here. There's no case on you and the Rebecca thing is cleared. She managed to get a good distance from your car. It's just like Tèa all over again, there's no evidence on you."

Duke saw Yami's eyes widen at the mention of Tèa, Joey seeming to realize his mistake a moment later. "Shit. Sorry, man. I didn't mean to…but… Damn it all, we have to get you out of here; the government has the wrong man. All of the officers in the station will defend you if it ever gets to a trial… But they're saying that they expect you to suicide and…"

Joey seemed to get his first real look at Yami, cursing and standing up, backing up until he hit the two bunks on the other side of the room. "You can't be really… No, not you. You can't let them win like this."

Yami didn't look up, continuing to stare off at that one point in the distance. Duke growled to himself and turned away. It looked like that government agent had won, Yami was giving up. Duke wanted to find that man again and rip him to pieces, annoyed that as a ghost he could punch the man and it would only feel like a light touch. He turned to kick the wall, not caring that his foot went through it; it was the action itself that counted.

Duke spun back around at a grunt, staring at Yami as he sat completely still, Joey's arm still extended from the punch that he had landed on Yami's chest. The blonde cop let out a groan before falling to his knees on the floor, staring over at his friend. "Snap out of it, bud, you can't just give up like this. I thought you were doing much better than this. Damn it, Yami, as soon as Mai caves I was going to have you be the best man at my wedding."

Yami didn't respond, Joey finally giving up and standing up with a long sigh before shuffling back towards the door, walking out of the cell and slamming the door behind him. Duke took the freed space in the middle of the room, shuffling into place and staring down at Yami.

He would just have to stay here then and stop Yami from doing anything stupid. That was easy enough. Duke glanced around the room before jumping up onto the top bunk of the two beds opposite from where Yami sat, leaning forward and settling down for a long watch.


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