Olivia: So... much... things...

Joey: What's her problem?

Desirae: Just being a drama queen as per usual. You should know, I called in my favour in part.

Yugi: In part?

Desirae: Well, Olivia needed some, how would you say, inspiration for Yugi's background story. You know, the whole 'what happened to him when Yami left him alone before thing'. So I gave her some pointers. It doesn't count as a favour because I helped her as much as she helped me so she still owes me half a favour. Though, I don't think she did it justice at all.

Yugi: Um, when you say pointers, what does that mean?

Olivia: Sorry Yugi! :(

Yami: You better not have hurt my Aibou...

Olivia: Sorry, but I kind of did. I don't know whether the flashback should be T or higher, so I'll just warn you, there's violence. I don't recommend reading the flashback if you don't like violence. All you need to know is Yugi gets the stuffing beat out of him and there's a corny ending. Also more gem children (probably).

Yami: Don't make me send you to the Shadow Realm. Nobody hurts my Yugi.

Olivia: Des helped me with it! Blame her.

Desirae: So, did we find the mystery typer yet?

Olivia: No. They haven't shown themselves in forever. Which reminds me, we're rambling. Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh.

Desirae: And thank you reviewers.

Olivia: Youngbountygirl, ToxicElixir, DarkHeartInTheSky, Kamen-Oh, Luna Vampire Princess, IcyShadowsFTW, and Pk Love Omega.

Desirae: Yea those guys.

Jounouchi had yet again awoken to the sound of Yugi screaming and raced down the hall. He unlocked and opened the door to find Yugi with one arm wrapped around his knees with the other wiping sweat off his forehead and him breathing deeply. Jounouchi sighed and calmly walked over to the bed. He sat down and put a hand on Yugi's shoulder, smiling out of sympathy a little as he jumped in surprise.

"Do you want to talk about it tonight?" To his surprise, instead of shaking his head like Yugi always did, he sighed, wrapped his other arm around his legs, and stared at his feet. Jounouchi sat closer to Yugi and waited for him to go on.

"It was about six or seven months ago," Yugi began.

FLASHBACK

Yugi peeked his head out around the corner, careful to keep his eyes shadowed by his bangs. The way seemed clear enough. Normally he wouldn't be outside without Yami, especially not slinking around an area that wasn't exactly known for its neighbourly inclinations. Then again, normally he and Yami wouldn't have been separated so easily. He still couldn't believe it.

Earlier they had been breaking into a game shop in hopes of finding something fun to occupy their downtime that was also easy enough to pack up quickly at a moment's notice. Well, Yami had been breaking into the shop; he was the only one who could successfully disable the alarms and security cameras without leaving evidence. Yugi had been waiting outside, keeping a watch out for any passersby.

He had been gazing up at the stars when he heard the sound of feet slamming rapidly and forcefully against the concrete. He turned to go into the shop when the source of the sound raced around the corner and collided into him, knocking both individuals to the ground. Closing his eyes and gasping in pain along with the somebody on top of him, he heard another set of running footsteps approaching.

He didn't have time to react when the weight of the person on top of him, who couldn't possibly weigh more than he himself did, was lifted as though the figure was picked up. Yugi's breath caught in his chest when he heard a voice whisper in his ear, "We were never here."

Even as he heard the footsteps continue past him, he still couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. He was scared and confused as to what happened. Four more sets of footsteps came by and paused in front of him. A pair of strong arms lifted him to his feet. He heard the strong, commanding voice of a man speak to him. Yugi froze. This was the voice of a Gem Con Officer.

"Are you okay, son?" Yugi didn't know what to do, he just kept his eyes shut and nodded. He felt the man rest a firm hand on his shoulder and silently willed Yami to get himself out of the building.

"Son, did you happen to see where the two boys went?" Yugi shook his head, "No, I- I didn't see anyone. I was just walking by myself and tripped over, over my shoe lace." It was a transparent lie and he knew it. Lying just wasn't his strong suit. But there was an unspoken law amoung gem children that you never sold out another gem child, even if your life depended on it.

He didn't know if the boys in question knew he was one too, or even if they were gem children themselves, but he had no intention of breaking that law. He felt the man's hand tighten on his shoulder and he had to focus on keeping his breathing even.

"Son, could you open your eyes for us?" Yugi shook his head slowly and the hand on his shoulder tightened to the point of causing pain. His fear was so intense that he could feel it from the pit of his stomach through to his extremities. A second officer stepped forward and Yugi didn't have to see to know that three weapons were being pointed at him. The second man's voice was far more threatening than the first, "Open your eyes, now."

Yugi felt a harsh tug as the man holding him was propelled back with intense force and opened his eyes to see the men on the ground, guns and all. He turned to the shop to see Yami standing in the doorway, the glow of his eyes fading as he ceased his command of shadows.

The officers got up and as two advanced on Yami, the others advanced on Yugi himself, almost reaching him before Yami's shadows knocked them off their feet again. Yugi's eyes met Yami's and an unspoken message was passed through from the eldest o the youngest, run.

Yugi bolted down the street, homeward bound, ducking down as many side streets as possible to deter followers as Yami had instructed him to do in this situation. He desperately wanted to stay with Yami to be sure he was okay, but he knew he'd only hinder his brother instead of help him. Besides, he had complete faith in Yami.

That left Yugi in the situation he was in now, looking around the corner and across an empty parking lot. Just a few more streets and he'd be back home. Before dashing out to cross the lot, he closed his eyes and focused on his brother's emotions. He was feeling the rush that only accompanied winning an argument or a game. Yugi smiled. His brother always was one for making anything into a game. Yugi couldn't see why people ever thought Yami was too serious.

"Hey kid!" The voice brought Yugi out of his reverie as he turned around to see a group of people stepping out of the alley he had just passed. How had he not seen them when he ran past? The biggest, whom Yugi suspected was the leader, continued, "You shouldn't be out so late. Don't you know what kind of creeps lurk the streets at night?"

Yugi spun back around and tried to dash off again but after a few seconds of running, he felt someone yank his wrist back, putting an end to his escape. A few seconds later, he was surrounded. This was just not his night. One of the group members came up to him and lifted his chin to look into his eyes. The rather large male gasped and turned to his friends.

"Hey, this ain't no kid. It's gem child." A few of the group backed up while one of them snickered and turned to the leader, "It doesn't look so tough, Hirutani. I say we take it and hand it over to Gem Con. We'll get a nice reward that way." Oh for the love of crap, Yugi thought as his fear levels spiked to the highest they had been all night, Fate is just not on my side tonight. The one called Hirutani extended his arm to stop his friend from walking forward.

"We could do that," he said calmly with a hint of malice, "or we could do that after we have a little fun. You were talking about how we don't have any ways to blow off steam lately." The group glared down at Yugi. He took a step back, his eyes widening, if possible, even more with terror.

He was pushed down on the concrete as the men formed a circle around him. Some cracked their knuckles while others grinned maniacally as their rings glinted in the moonlight. Yugi shuddered. Hirutani stepped forward and glared down at the trembling boy.

He kicked Yugi square in the chest, sending searing pain throughout his body and successfully knocking the breath out of him. The rest of them joined in, spewing insults in the process, and soon every part of his body had either been punched, kicked, or stepped on. He couldn't tell where the hits were coming from, or even make out their faces anymore. However, he didn't need to see them. Their faces were already burned into his memory.

Surely, Yami would have felt Yugi's overwhelming fear by now. Even if he was in the midst of his own battle, how could he not? Yugi's heart was pounding so vigorously every beat felt like another punch in his chest and it was difficult for him to breathe, he was so scared. The hits he took didn't help in lowering his too fast breathing and heart rates either. The physical and verbal hits, though it was getting harder and harder to hear the verbal ones.

He hoped Yami was okay and that he could find and save him from any more of this torture. It seemed his bruises were getting bruises. He even heard a few gut wrenching cracks of bone breaking but that pain was just masked by the rest. At this point, Yugi was positive he was going to die.

Mercifully, the hits came sparser and fewer until it felt like only one or two people were still going at him. The others must have gotten tired, or bored. Finally the other hits stopped for a moment.

Yugi lay there gasping for breath. Despite the muffled sounds he heard and mental sluggishness, the pain didn't feel any less dull. It was as though all that existed was the pain. Then Hirutani spoke.

"Open your eyes! We're not done with you yet." Yugi hadn't realized he'd closed his eyes. But he didn't want to comply, not that he could if he wanted to. He couldn't remember how to open them. Another blow to the face came, followed by cold steel pressed against his neck.

"Open them or-" Hirutani's voice was suddenly cut off, the knife disappeared, and then all Yugi could hear were screams. What was going on? He sensed something brush across his arm and through the pain of being touched, he felt the cool chill of darkness he could recognize anywhere and it filled him with such relief, he could have burst. Shadows.

"I shall have all your heads for what you've done! Penalty Game!" Yugi hear the men shriek in terror and it made him wonder what they could be seeing that would frighten such heartless and cruel people enough to utter such sounds of horror.

When he heard sickening ripping and snapping noises closely followed by cries of pain, he was suddenly very glad he couldn't see what was happening. After about two or three minutes, the sound silence graced Yugi's ears. He heard footsteps carefully approach him and someone gently brushed the bangs out of his eyes.

"Aibou?" he heard the familiar voice say hesitantly yet desperately, "Yugi, it's me, Yami." Yugi wanted to respond, but try as he might, he couldn't find the words to do it. Yami spoke up again, "Yugi, you're going to be okay. I'll just take you home and then we can fix you up. It's probably not as bad as you think. You're going to be alright, I swear." It seemed Yami was trying to convince himself more than his brother. Yugi felt hands try to lift him up and even the soft touch sent immense pain throughout his body.

He groaned and clenched his jaw, but that just caused him more pain. Hot tears burst from his closed eyes. He felt the hands instantly leave him and tiny wet drops fell on his skin, stinging him. Yami was crying. But, Yami never cried. Yugi had to stop him, it wasn't right for Yami to cry.

"I'm so sorry," Yami said with a thick voice, "I should have kept you with me. I should have gotten here sooner. I should have put them through more hell for what they did. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." Yugi tried to move closer to Yami to try and comfort him, to tell him it wasn't his fault, but his body wouldn't let him.

"Y-Yami?" Yugi finally managed to choke out. Yami's tears stopped falling and Yugi felt him come a little closer, "Yes Aibou?" Yugi's eyes slowly fluttered open and he could now see Yami's panic-stricken, tear stained face. His heart broke at seeing him so scared and worried, and that he was the one who caused him to feel like this. Still, he couldn't help but feel joy at the truly gratifying fact that his brother was here with him, that his brother had saved him. Even the pain couldn't stop the small smile from gracing his lips.

"Let's… home." he said. He may be hurt now, and he may hurt for a while after, but he knew by looking into those ruby eyes that he'd be safe and protected as long as Yami had a say in anything. However, Yami still looked hesitant.

"Are you sure? The last thing I want to do is hurt you." Yugi tried to nod with difficulty and immediately regretted his decision when the fiery pain shot through his neck to the top of his head. He groaned and the world turned black.

END FLASHBACK

"Later we found out from a, um, 'friend' of a friend that I had a fractured skull, some internal bleeding, and a few broken or cracked bones. They said it could have been a lot worse and that I was lucky to survive." Jounouchi was shocked, that story was just so horrible. He let Yugi continue his speech.

"Ever since that night, I've been having nightmares about it and I haven't been apart from Yami since then. Well, the night before the day you found me was the exception for both, and look what happened. I've been essentially kidnapped and now I have some psycho after me for no obvious reason." Jounouchi was quiet for a while. He didn't know what to think or what to say.

"Damn," he finally said, "I'm sorry that happened to you. It's no surprise you're having nightmares." He mentally kicked himself for not being able to say anything remotely helpful. Where were comfort pancakes when you needed them? Yugi nodded and continued staring at his feet. Jounouchi leaned back against the wall, thinking.

"Well, that does explain why you were so scared when I first met you and why you never wanted to make eye contact. And it does explain why Hirutani and his gang mysteriously went missing. If it makes you feel any better, I punched that guy in the face." Yugi smirked.

"I heard. It's one of the things that scared me a lot when you first brought me here. You mentioned his name and I thought maybe you were friends with him. Once you started being nice to me I realized you probably weren't." Jounouchi nodded sadly.

"I used to be, back in the day. But he just got too hardcore and I had to get out of that friendship. He kept trying to bring me back in his little gang, he even threatened to taser me to death, but I always said no. Eventually we had a brawl and he left me alone after that." Yugi looked up at Jounouchi and smiled.

"I'm glad you left them." Jounouchi grinned, "Yea, me too." The two looked away from each other and were silent for a while, alone in their own little worlds. Finally, Jounouchi couldn't take it anymore and turned to Yugi, "Um, so who is Yami to you, exactly?"

Yugi bit his lip and glanced sideways at Jounouchi, "I can trust you completely right?" As a wave of guilt from the plan washed over Jounouchi, he nodded, "Of course you can." Yugi smiled and nodded.

"Yami's my older brother. We've been together as long as I can remember. He's looked after me since the age of five and he's my best friend in the whole world." Jounouchi nodded, "You must miss him a lot then." Yugi nodded sadly, "Yea, I do. And I can feel he's missing me all the time too." Jounouchi felt his pulse rising a little bit as he questioned further.

"Is he a gem child like you?" Yugi shook his head, "No, he's not like me. He's powerful, probably the most powerful I know. He can bend and twist the shadows to do anything he wants." Jounouchi's eyes widened as realization hit him, "He's the one that made those guys disappear." Yugi nodded.

"He never told me what he did to them. But whatever he did, he did it to save me. I'm not strong, so it was more my fault than his." Jounouchi was at a crossroads now. He knew if he ever came face to face with this Yami, he'd probably be killed slowly and painfully, regardless of what or who stood in his way. Yugi on the other hand, was the opposite.

Jounouchi couldn't keep him here. If he was found out, he, Jounouchi, would be arrested for harboring a gem child. Besides, he couldn't stay away from classes forever and Ryou was bound to come home soon. So now he was faced with two choices.

Option one, he could go through with the original plan in part by calling Gem Con and have them take Yugi away. He would collect the reward money and pay off his father's debts with his share. But if he were to do that, he wouldn't know what they would do to Yugi. It wasn't like Gem Con really advertised what actually happened to gem children except to say that they were 'eliminated', 'done with', or 'taken care of'. Jounouchi didn't think he could live with the guilt if any more harm were to befall Yugi.

Option two, he could let Yugi leave and pretend that this never happened. He personally preferred this option. But if he were to do that, he couldn't be sure that Yugi would be able to find his way home safely, if at all. He was unconscious for the duration of the trip. Besides, with Yugi's luck, Gem Con could catch him anyway, or possibly the mystery man who had almost killed them both.

Jounouchi felt his phone in his pocket. He had brought it with him just in case that guy came back and he needed back up from Honda. He sighed and reached into his pocket. He knew what he had to do.

Joey: WHAT? It ends with me reaching into my pocket! I'm not going to call Gem Con. No way.

Yugi: I sure hope not, that was so mean Olivia! You just love to see me suffer, don't you? :(

Desirae: You think you guys have got it bad? She ruined my suggestions to her! She really watered down the beating.

Everyone: ...

Desirae: I am an artist! My work was compromised!

Olivia: Your work? I wrote it!

Desirae: And look what happened. True art has been tainted, tarnished, never to be realized because of the cliche-ness. There's no point.

Olivia: And I'm the drama queen.

Desirae: If you don't recommend reading the flashback, why make it more than half of the chapter anyway?

Olivia: I don't know, I guess it didn't really occur to me until we scrolled down how long it was.

Yami: So, which one should I send to the Shadow Realm?

Olivia: Not me! If I'm gone, who will write this and give it a happy ending, maybe.

Yami: I don't like that maybe...

Desirae: Please review and hopefully save me from the Shadow Realm. Oh, and Olivia would like it. Flames welcome.

Olivia: Why flames?

Desirae: If I had my own FanFic account, that's what I'd be sending you.

Olivia: You suck :(

Desirae: ;)