Okay, this has been a really emotional ride for me, guys. I know that you all really enjoyed this story, especially since it's my most popular one so far, and that's a huge honor to an author as young as I am. Thank you so much for your reviews, comments, etc. and from the bottom of my heart, I really love you all.

Thank you for reading this and taking this journey with me. I look forward to seeing some of you read some of my other works and getting to know all of you more through your reviews and interactions with my newer work. You've all been really great.

But, for now, the final chapter.

Chapter 10:

Results and New Old Faces

Yuugi got out of surgery four whole hours later, and there were bandages wrapped around his eyes. The doctor's face looked grim as Yami approached the room where he was being held.

"I'm sorry." He said. Yami's stomach sank as his mind swirled around a million possibilities. "We won't know for sure whether it worked for at least another two weeks, maybe more. His eyes didn't take to the surgery quite as planned. We'll have to hope it went as well as expected." He said.

Yami wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, a little hope was better than none, which had been what they were looking at before. On the other, they didn't know, which would make the next couple of weeks hell on Yuugi. Especially since the doctor had explained beforehand that the surgery would be very painful for his eyes, even if it ended up failing. He didn't know how Yuugi would take the news.

He was allowed into Yuugi's bedroom, and he stood faithfully by Yuugi's side, the other's hand held in his own. He watched the monitor blink up and down, watching Yuugi's heartbeat as he slept away the anaesthesia.

Yuugi didn't wake until the next morning.

Yami had immediately ran to his side, wrapping his arms around the younger one. Yuugi had sleepily pushed him off, not registering who it was. He didn't look entirely there; the drugs had more of an effect on him than they usually had, so he was still a little under. He "looked" around and then tilted his head to the side, asking why everything was dark. Yami wasn't sure how to respond, so he didn't, and Yuugi fell back asleep moments later.

Four hours after that, (he'd woken up a few times, said some random things, and then went back to sleep) he finally came around, and immediately started yelling for Yami. Yami ran over to him and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I'm here." He said, his hands firmly holding Yuugi's. Yuugi nodded his head in acknowledgement, giving out a sigh of relief. As soon as he relaxed, though, he flinched. Yami frowned at the action, raising one of his hands to gently cup Yuugi's face. He ran his thumb along the warm skin, wondering what could make Yuugi flinch like that, and trying to offer comfort.

"Can you call the nurse?" Yuugi asked. He'd leaned into Yami's hand, but he didn't look much better. His features were slightly pulled up in displeasure, his nose wrinkling. "I think my pain medicine might be overdue."

After the nurse gave him another shot of the pain killers, Yuugi went back to sleep. He looked like death warmed over, all pale and sick, and Yami wished that there was something he could do for Yuugi. Unfortunately, he could barely stay awake long enough to eat, let alone for Yami to help him feel better. Whenever he did resist the urge to take more pain killers, he ended up in so much pain he would cry, which would hurt him worse. Yami would always cave and call the nurse before Yuugi even asked at these times, too reluctant to see Yuugi in pain.

Once a week had passed, the doctor ordered that he be weaned off pain killers.

It had started slowly, a couple less milligrams, a little further apart until the nurses were allowed to give him more. The two hardly even noticed, stuck in a cycle that would never seem to end of sleep and wake and worry worry worry. Once they did start to notice, Yuugi was in pain. By three days into the weaning, Yuugi was crying periodically, no matter how hard he tried to stop it.

He'd tried to tell Yami that it wasn't that bad, that he'd had worse, but Yami could see through it. He tried to tell him that he was only crying because of where the damage was, but Yami was too smart to believe it. He didn't argue with Yuugi, though, because he knew that Yuugi was much stronger than even he would have been. The mark of a man is not his ability not to cry, but rather his ability to keep going through the tears.

Keep going, Yuugi did. After the fourth day of tears and pain and hurt, it started to get better. Little bit at first, but then all at once. Yuugi would smile and talk to Yami again, bandages still secure around his eyes, and he even asked Mai and Joey to come and visit him once. Things weren't great, but all around, they weren't bad, either.

After the third day with no pain, the doctor finally gave the order that the bandages could be removed.

The air was thick with anticipation; Yuugi was sitting up in his bed, licking his dry lips. He reached for his water, feeling along the table until his hand closed around it. Yami sat in the chair nearby, exhausted from so many days of standing by the bed and sleeping in the chair. Yuugi picked up the bottle and brought it to his lips, his hands shaking as he took a big drink.

Finally, he set it back down, turning to Yami.

"I'm nervous." He said pointedly. Yami shook his head before remembering that Yuugi needed a verbal response, and making what he hoped was a sound of acknowledgement. Yuugi leaned back with a big, huffy sigh and squirmed around in his bed, talking to himself. Yami wasn't supposed to hear what he was saying, so he didn't try to read Yuugi's lips. He already knew that Yuugi was giving himself a pep talk anyway, and Yuugi would need one. Time to figure out if all the pain was worth it; Yami himself was incredibly nervous for Yuugi. He wanted this so badly.

Yuugi sat up again, turning over to Yami. "I want you to take off the bandages." He said. Yami did a double take, eyes widening in surprise. Yuugi wanted him to do the honours? He was flattered.

He stood up, nervous, but a strange calm making him able to move towards Yuugi. He knew that delaying wouldn't change anything, so he couldn't really count on it to lessen the significance of what was about to take place. He would have to suck up his nerves and just get it over with, because the longer he waited, the longer he went without knowing. The longer Yuugi would go without seeing.

"Are you sure?" He asked, standing in front of Yuugi. Yuugi nodded his head and pursed his lips as if waiting was unpleasant, and he leaned forward so that Yami could access his bandages. Yami tentatively moved his arms, going around the back and finding purchase in the bindings. Once he found the little bump, he scooted his fingers under and began to pull, the soft fabric coming away with every soft tug.

It seemed like forever until Yuugi was fully unwrapped, and Yami's hands were shaking by the end of it. It was odd to feel this mixture of calm yet so anxious; unlike anything he'd experienced before. Yuugi's eyes were still closed once he was done, flickering behind his eyelids, and Yuugi hissed against the light he'd been without for so long.

It felt like forever his eyes stayed closed, adjusting to the atmosphere. Yami held his breath, though he assumed the flickering was a good sign. He was reacting to something.

His eyes finally snapped open, looking right at Yami. Yami looked down at the violet orbs, the galaxy staring back up at him, and he felt his heart sink when he saw that the pupils were still blurred and pulled outwards, creating the same spilling effect as before. It was hauntingly beautiful, mesmerizing, and it looked broken. After all of this, Yuugi's eyes still seemed broken. But... why was Yuugi smiling so wide, leaning forward to pull Yami into a bruising kiss, laughing against Yami's lips?

Yuugi finally pulled away and Yami stood panting, looking back down at the broken orbs. Yuugi was crying and smiling, and suddenly, Yami realized something.

No matter how broken and beautiful they may look, Yuugi's eyes could see again.

Days passed with Yuugi getting rehabilitated, getting used to his new found eyesight. Everyone was happy for both of them, and the mood seemed to only rise as time went on. There was a certain air of simplicity to it all- everyone being together in this place, living as friends and brothers, and honestly, one big family.

Three days after his eyesight was back, the doctor came back to check up on how much Yuugi was seeing. Yuugi had plopped himself down on the bed and smiled broadly, shrugging.

"What do you mean by that? I'm seeing everything just fine. It's a little blurry if I hold really small print too close, but honestly, it's always been like that." He said, teasing a little. Yami chuckled from his corner of the room, a book actually clutched in his own hands. Yuugi had been reading everything he could get his hands on- a lot of fanfiction on the hospital's laptops and a lot of books from the library, no matter how dry others would have found them. He was so relieved at just having the ability to read again that Yami suspected he would never take it for granted.

"I mean, colours. How much of the spectrum can you see?" The doctor questioned, smiling a bit at Yuugi's assessment of himself. Yuugi blinked, pausing in thought.

"To be blatantly honest, I can only see reds and oranges, and some pinks if they're dark enough. So mainly warm colours. Everything else is in black and white for me." He admitted. The doctor shook his head, and Yami's eyebrows furrowed together. Yuugi couldn't see all of the colours? Why hadn't he mentioned that before?

"Okay, so the surgery was partially corrective." The doctor said, scribbling something down. His pen retracted with a small click and he smiled at his patient, tucking it into the clip board. "Thank you for your participation, Mr. Mutou. You helped a lot of kids in a similar position as you." He announced. Yuugi just smiled, his orbed eyes flickering across the doctor's face, and seeing only sincerity. He really had helped to revolutionize eye surgery.

The doctor left, and silence resonated between the walls. Yami gathered his words carefully, not wanting to come across the wrong way.

"Why didn't you tell me you only see some of the colours?" He asked. Yuugi turned, his brows furrowed in question at Yami's curiosity.

"Well, I didn't think it was that important." Yuugi mumbled, looking down momentarily. He looked back up, and there was a reminiscent smile on his face. "You know, actually, I was a little disappointed at first, too. Because I looked around, and there was only varying shades of grey, broken up by some orange flowers in a vase behind the bed. Then, I finally looked up at your eyes, and they were burning red with a kind of intensity I never knew you could have. I fell in love with the colour immediately, and suddenly, it didn't seem so bad any more." Yuugi admitted sheepishly. His face had the lightest blush on it at this point, a lovely kind of rose petal pink Yami wanted to never forget.

"You have the brightest way of looking at things, aibou. You never cease to amaze me." He said, giving a small chuckle. Yuugi smiled again, and the blush faded.

"Well, we can't focus on the bad in life. That's like giving up on the good."

More time passed than either thought possible at first, with patients and people and tons of busy work and happy teasing. The group of Seto, Joey, Mokuba, Yuugi, Mai and Yami hung out together more than any of them could have predicted. Every once in awhile, they would get to laughing and joking, or fighting (mainly Seto and Joey on that hand) and Yami would have the sudden realization that he felt like he was in a family. For the first time since Anna had died, he felt like he was at home. These people were his home.

One such time brought a new member of the family in, someone whom Yami had assumed gone forever.

They were sitting around a table, all of them joking around, laughing, having a good time. Kaiba was pretending to be unamused and acting like the company he was keeping was below him, but every once in awhile his lip would quirk up the slightest bit at a comment or he'd close his eyes and give a contented sigh that showed he truly liked the small group. Yami had learned to adjust to his presence and Joey and him still fought constantly, broken up by Joey drilling Seto about his latest date with Kisara. Seto gave as little detailing as possible.

"So, can you see this shade?" Joey had questioned Yuugi, holing up his pale orange ID badge. They had just learned of his colour impairment, and Joey had taken the liberty of being generally obnoxious and asking Yuugi if he could see anything and everything's colours. Yuugi had been a good sport and put up with it for the most part.

"A little." Yuugi said, squinting at it. "It's pretty faint, though." He admitted. Finally, Joey felt like he had asked enough questions, because he leaned back and thought for a moment.

"You have no manners." Seto mumbled from his side of the table. Joey ignored him.

"So, you're like a dog." Joey stated. Yuugi's eyes widened in confusion. "Because dogs only see reds." Joey explained. "Or maybe that was bulls." He thought out loud, and then gave a shrug.

"You're the one who's a furry, mutt." Seto put in from across the table. Joey's face became beet red and he sank down in his seat, his mouth forming silent arguments against the statement as he went. He eventually just stopped, his chin resting on the table.

"Why did you have to tell him that story?" Joey asked Yuugi.

Yuugi had given Kaiba a story of a time when they were at the private school and Joey had lost a bet, which forced him to wear a dog costume around school. Joey had been horrified at having to let the school hotshot, Duke Devlin, lead him around with a leash all day. The story had only been made better by Mai's insertion of her own thoughts on Joey's dog status, telling about how he could actually hear a dog whistle. Ever since then, Joey had been dubbed the furry of the group.

"Sorry, Joey." Yuugi apologized, smiling. (Just so you know; He wasn't really all that sorry).

Suddenly, a voice interrupted from behind, "Oh my gosh, furries are just so adorable! I would totally be a neko if I could be! I wonder if they have a surgery for that...?"

Yami froze in disbelief, but he saw the widening of Joey's eyes. Mai had this knowing smirk on her face, and Mokuba looked ready to explode. Finally, Yami could no longer resist the pull from behind him, and he turned his entire body to face her. "Mana."

Mana had been in the cancer unit with Joey, actually staying four months after him and forging a relationship with Mokuba. While she had been there with them, they had been best friends. She had brought energy and life into the group in Joey's last couple of months, when he was feeling the weakest. Of course, nobody would ever expect her to have had cancer. Her personality was bubbly and upbeat and her hair had grown down to a little ways down her back, accenting her beauty. Yami smiled at her.

They had played hide and seek in the pots, annoying the hospital staff to death. They had gotten many-a lectures on how they were behaving as children or how their parents would not have been proud. Yami knew it was foolish of them to spoil the fun, but he was respectfully quiet.

"In the flesh!" She enthused, clapping her hands together and smiling enthusiastically.

There was a rush of motion as the four that knew her ran to wrap her in a group hug, Mai reaching her first and wrapping her arms around the girl. Joey wrapped his arms around Mai and partially around Mana, and Yami did the same from the other side. They formed an awkward group hug circle, the girls giggling with each other in the middle and the boys awkwardly attempting to keep the group together. There was a certain air of nostalgia around the group as they remembered their time together, Mana's scent and overwhelming presence bringing back the past.

"Hey, don't kill her. Where would I be without my girlfriend?" Tea asked from behind the group.

They all turned and smiled warmly at her.

Tea had been there for Mana through all of her chemo, never failing to show up afterwards within the hour to keep Mana sane and help her deal with the energy drain. As they made it through the treatments and the stay together, they slowly became more and more intimate with each other. Right before Joey left, Mana had announced that her and Tea had come to the agreement that they were more than friends, and they had started their relationship.

Yami was happy to see that they were still together.

The group hug slowly disbanded, awkwardly letting go of each other and allowing Tea access to her girlfriend. Tea ran over and looped her arm around Mana's. The girls shared a look of silent communication, one that showed just how close they were, and Tea broke out into a smile.

"Does anyone want to play hide and go seek?" Tea said mischievously. Mana enthusiastically raised her hand, and Mai rolled her eyes at the two girls.

"Well, I'm on break anyway. Otherwise, I would not be partaking in your children's games." Mai said, trying to act more mature than she was. Joey just immediately raised his own hand, declaring his preference of the game to sitting around talking. Mokuba had nodded his head and agreed, and Yuugi had smiled and said that he was game. Everyone turned to Seto expectantly, expecting to be turned down.

As expected, what came out of his mouth was, "You can waste your time playing foolish games all you want, I'll stay here and play chess on my phone."

The entire group glared at him with equal levels of hatred and disdain. Kaiba needed to let loose, and the entire group was determined to make it happen. Most determined, though, was young Mokuba, who declared, "Kaiba, please! I'm so sick!" and then began to cough for emphasis.

Kaiba glared at his little brother, crossing his arms over his chest and looking uptight. He narrowed his eyes at the youngest of them, clearly not buying it. "You look fine now."

"Come on, Seto! You have to play, or else it won't be any fun for me! Don't you want me to have fun? You've barely gotten to see me in the hospital! I'm not even technically all better yet, and you won't even play hide and seek! What sort of a big brother-"

"ALRIGHT, I'll play hide and seek with you!" Seto shouted, huffing. Mokuba cut off his whining, sitting up a little taller in his chair as the group huddled around the table secretively, not wanting the rest of the staff to overhear their plans of mayhem.

"Okay everyone, since we have some new players," Mana said, glancing at Yuugi and Seto, "I'm going to have to explain the rules. Break is twenty minutes, so you'll have five to find somewhere to hide. Since we're not kids, you can keep moving if you'd like to, just understand it increases your risk of being heard. If you get caught by Tea or I," She said, gesturing between herself and her lover, "Or if any member of the staff asks what your doing or tells you to stop, you have to come back to here. Then you're officially neutral. Now, in the last five minutes of the game you can join in with the seekers and look for the others. If time runs out and we haven't found everybody, the hiders win. If we find everyone before then, the seekers win. No locking doors, no leaving the building. Parking garage is also off limits." She finished.

"Did everybody get that?" Asked Tea, looking specifically at the new players. There were a few quiet sounds of agreement, and Mana nodded. She looked up at the clock, her brown hair bouncing as her eyes narrowed at the time. Technically the hiders had the advantage, since a couple of minutes of break were taken up explaining the rules.

"Okay, I'm going to drag Tea over to that pole. As soon as we get there, you all run." Mana announced, grabbing Tea's arm. Tea willingly went, teasingly blowing kisses at the small group as she was pulled to the pole. Mana stopped. They turned and buried their faces in the structure.

Suddenly, the group was a mess of motion and action as people broke off and ran down the hallways, their legs working furiously as they propelled themselves towards their desired hiding places. They were lean and focussed, eyes scanning every nook and cranny to find a good place to hole up for the game. They were a well-oiled machine, with only one task in mind; Don't get found.

Well, except for Kaiba. He casually walked to the elevator and selected a new floor. He didn't really care what happened, just as long as he didn't look like an idiot in public.

Yami grabbed Yuugi's hand, pulling him along behind them. Yuugi barely managed to keep up, but he didn't want to ask Yami to slow down. He thought he was just a little bit attracted to this side of Yami; predatory, in the zone, focused on succeeding in the game. He was certainly happy Yami wasn't on the opposing team. He was certain that would not end well.

Yami led them further and further away from anyone, to the smallest waiting room, on the highest floor. There were a couple of children playing blocks, their small hands reaching for the pieces of colourful wood, and Yami stopped to look at them. He looked thoughtful for a moment, as though contemplating what they could possibly be thinking. Yuugi watched his lover's face with a keen interest, happy to see the look of concentration. Well, happy to see anything, really.

"Mana won't find us, because Tea doesn't like young children. They always work together, so I doubt they'd venture here." He announced proudly, standing up a little straighter. Yuugi smiled, letting it touch his eyes, as he always did with Yami.

Honestly, Yuugi could say that he'd never been happier at any point in his life. He felt guilty about it sometimes, because he should miss his parents more than he did, but it wasn't really something that he would let bother him any more. Yami had helped show him, no, this entire experience had helped to show him that you could either be a victim of circumstance or allow yourself to grow from it. He thought that he'd done a fairly good job at letting himself grow.

All in all, Yuugi hadn't gotten dealt the worst hand, anyway. He'd had hardships, sure. Focusing on that, though, would mean discrediting all the good that had come into his life. Sure he went blind. Yes, he lost two people he could have potentially grown close to. But he'd gained his eyesight back, and in losing his parents, he'd gained a whole new family. One that would listen, one that was attentive, a family that might have actually cared about him. He liked that.

"Just in case, though, we'll sit by the closet." Yami said thoughtfully, dragging Yuugi over. Yuugi took a seat in one of the (slightly uncomfortable) waiting room chairs, and looked around, his eyes tracing the patten of the wallpaper absent mindedly.

Yami reached over and laced their fingers together, smiling at Yuugi. Yuugi smiled back as his eyes tore from the decorations and settled on his lover's. They shared a look of silent communication, a look that not even a thousand "I love you"s could match.

Suddenly, Yuugi's eyes drifted from Yami's as he felt a hand on his leg.

He turned, eyes widening in surprise as he expected it to be Mana, having caught them. Instead of the mischievous girl, his eyes settled on a petite blonde who had freckles. She looked to be about six, and her parents sat in the seats across from them. Her hand was insistent on his leg, and he saw Yami turn towards her from the corner of his eyes.

"Hello. What seems to be the problem?" Yuugi asked, smiling at her. The little girl glanced back towards her parents, to make sure that they weren't paying attention. They weren't.

"How do your eyes see like that?" She asked, loud enough for some of the other children to turn and take interest. Yuugi felt his face turn red, and her parent's heads snapped up, as if just realizing they should have been watching her. The mother ran over and grabbed the little girl's arm, trying to pull her backwards.

"I am so sorry!" She apologized, and then turned to the little girl, "You should have better manners, young lady."

"No, no!" Yuugi said, maybe just a little too loud. He'd just unfrozen from the shock, and he knew that he probably would have wondered the same thing at her age. He wouldn't blame children for being curious; curiosity was the nature of someone that young. Who was he to squash that?

Yuugi leaned forward and took the little girl's hands, bending down to look her in the eyes. Her mother still had a hand on her shoulder, but she made no move to pull her daughter away again. "My eyes are like this because they were broken. They were broken really bad. The worst eyes can be broken." He explained. He took a deep breath at this point before continuing, "But, the doctors here did something that helped to fix them. The doctors let me see again, so now my eyes aren't so broken." He explained. The little girl looked like she was thinking for a moment.

"So now your eyes just look broken?" She asked. Yuugi smiled and nodded his head, and she smiled back at him. "They're very pretty, mister!"

Yami chuckled from beside Yuugi. "I think so, too."

Suddenly, a pair of giggling voices seemed to come from down the hallway. Yuugi tugged Yami's arm, gesturing in the direction they were coming from. Yami, luckily, got the hint, and he abruptly stood. His eyes went to the closet, and he turned, opening the door without a problem. Luckily, this closet was only cleaning supplies, and wasn't locked up like it would be if it had anything medical in it.

At the last minute, Yuugi poked his head out, looking at the girl. "If anyone asks if we came, tell them you don't know what they're talking about." He whispered dramatically. The little girl nodded her head, her eyes as wide as saucer plates.

The closet door was shut, and suddenly, the space seemed to shrink. Yuugi felt his body bumping against shelves and Yami's, and he prayed that the noises weren't as loud as they sounded from in here. Yami put a hand on his shoulder and he turned, their chests pressing up together in the small area. His eyes strained in the dark before finding the eyes of his partner, and he gave a small smile.

Time seemed to slow down. The lighting was dim, there was barely enough room to breath, and the space between them seemed to get smaller and smaller as time went along. Suddenly, with no recollection as to how it happened, they were kissing.

Mouths gently touched in the dark, hands were pressed against ribs, lips soft and moist as they pressed against other lips in the dark. It felt like an eternity before Yuugi pulled away, gasping for air, and he heard Yami's chuckle from above him. He leaned forward and pressed his head against Yami's chest, just listening to the other's steady heart beat and treasuring that he could. Yami meant more than anything to him now.

He was the person that Yuugi felt the closest to.

Suddenly, the door opened and Yami flinched as their hiding spot was covered in light. He gave a groan as he squinted, seeing Mana on the other side. She enthusiastically reached forward and grabbed onto Yami's arm with a squeal, pulling him out of the closet and into a hug.

"We found you~!" She declared, jumping up and down in excitement. Yami rolled his eyes and gave a deep sigh, putting his head in his hands. Yuugi chose this time to unlatch himself from Yami's arms, blushing bright red at Tea's raise of an eyebrow.

"Looks to me like we were interrupting something." Tea said, smirking at the two of them. Yuugi froze, a look of embarrassment evident on his features. Yami simply smirked; he was getting much more comfortable with showing Yuugi affection in public, and Yuugi's embarrassment was just too cute to pass up. So, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Yuugi again, pulling him close.

"Yes, you were. Now, if you'd be so kind as to shut the door again..." He trailed off. At this point, Yuugi unfroze, shoving Yami off of him.

"Come on guys, I didn't sign up for a hero's battle!*" He yelled, his lip quirking up the slightest bit. Yami let out a light laugh, shaking his head. "Besides, we have to go back to the starting point now and help out the seekers in a couple of minutes."

Yami stepped out of the closet, and soon, he found himself being pulled along by Yuugi. He waved goodbye to Mana and Tea, smiling like an idiot as Yuugi's warmth radiated into him. They turn and ran to the waiting room together, only stopping once they got in the elevator. If they waited any longer than necessary to get to the starting point and the last five minutes started without them, they would be cheating. Besides, they wanted to help now. They were technically on the Seeker's side, now.

They arrived soon enough, Yami and Yuugi both struggling to catch their breath. Yuugi glanced at the clock and saw that they still had thirty seconds left to go, so he slumped himself into a chair to attempt and recover his breathing. Yami did the same, his own tired body falling ungracefully onto the couch beside Yuugi. He lifted his head and looked at who had been caught so far, seeing that Yuugi was already doing the same.

Sitting in the room around them were two other people; Mai, and Joey. Seto and Mokuba were both still nowhere to be found. Mai gave both of them a slight smile as Joey waved at them.

"You two made the mistake of hiding together, too?" Mai asked. Yuugi blushed and nodded his head; he hadn't thought to mention to Yami that it was a strategically foolish idea. Really, he should have thought that one through better. Of course, what had already come to pass was already in the past, and the clock had just ticked down to the last five minutes.

All of them sprang up, mischief shining in their eyes as they began to head off in separate directions, checking all of the corners that they could. Time slowly melted away as they searched, and they were all feeling the pressure as the one minute mark was hit. If they didn't find Mokuba soon, they were going to lose. Six of them, losing to a fourteen year old. (Joey fully intended to blame it on his height advantage; he could fit in more places.)

Finally, the last thirty seconds was called. Yami jumped as his phone went off in his pocket, and he tilted his head curiously. Hardly anybody ever texted him... who could it be?

'Found Mokuba. Meet back at starting point. In case you've lost my contact, this is your friendly neighbourhood Mana speaking :-P' Yami blinked down at his phone for a couple of minutes before he shook his head, chuckling. Yuugi curiously nudged him, so he showed him the text. After a quick smile, they headed back towards where the text had directed.

When they arrived, they were met with choruses of playful banter and laughter, along with Mana declaring that they won. Mokuba simply smirked, shaking his head at the rest of them.

"You really do seem sure of that." He said, shaking his head. Joey rolled his eyes and Mana giggled, sticking out her tongue. Apparently, Mokuba had something against losing.

"You should really learn when to accept defeat." Joey said, reaching out and grabbing Mokuba, wrapping an arm around him for a headlock. Mokuba's eyes went wide as he struggled to try and get out of it, hands pushing at Joey's arms uselessly. Finally, after a couple of minutes of trying, he gave up, slumping in Joey's hold. He lazily blew a strand of bangs from his eyes, waiting for Joey to finish his fun. Joey released him, and Mokuba breathed a sigh of relief.

Yami could tell that something was off, though. There was no defeat in Mokuba's eyes, but rather a glimmer of mischief and patience. In that moment, he looked more like his big brother than he ever had bef-

WAIT! That was it! In all their efforts to find Mokuba, they had forgotten about Seto!

"He's right! We didn't win." Yami announced. All the other members of the group turned to him, confusion written all over their faces. However, they weren't confused for long. The elevator doors behind him opened, revealing the tall, brown-haired CEO strolling from the building. He had a smirk on his face and triumph in his eyes as he walked, and Mokuba ran to his side, jumping up and down in excitement.

"What?! Where the hell were you hidin?" Joey spat. Kaiba shrugged.

"In plain sight. You yourself passed me twice." He informed him. Joey sagged in defeat, and you could practically see the haze of disappointment taking over his features. "I simply walked into the cafeteria, got a coffee, and sat down. I worked on my emails, checked the stocks, and you walked right past me. Unobservant mutt."

"I-well-I-" Joey stuttered out, his face going red with shame. He finally gave up on speaking and crossed his arms over his chest, sufficiently pouting.

"Good job, big brother!" Came from Mokuba's mouth. Seto nodded his head.

"Congratulations. I hope we can have a rematch eventually." Yuugi said good-naturedly. The rest of the seekers slowly put in their agreements, all except for Joey, who remained brooding. Mana looked down and nodded her head, as if in thought, before she looked back up.

"You know, soon we'll have to plan stuff like this. I mean, Yami is moving out soon enough, probably taking his boyfriend with him, and Mokuba will be out of the hospital before we know it!"
She declared. Suddenly, the entire group paused, as if making this realization all at once. Yami could practically hear his friends all frowning, and it made him realize just how close they were to the time when he would go his own way, and leave the home he had known since he was a child.

The taste of the knowledge was bitter-sweet. Looking around at all of his friends, he knew it would hurt more than anything to leave them all behind. Deep in his heart, though, he knew that this was something that had to be done. He had to branch out on his own and become his own person, or else he'd never make his own way in the world. It wasn't going to be fun, but he knew that he'd have his friends to support him. Even if he moved halfway across the world, they would stay in touch. They would be there for him no matter what, and that knowledge was more important than his most valued possession. As Bobby Singer once said, "family is more than blood".

This was his family he was leaving behind.

"Promise me something, guys." He said, overcome by a fit of sudden affection. All eyes turned towards him. "No matter where we are, we'll always make time for each other. I never want to lose any of you, ever again. You've helped me come so far and you've been there for me through it all. Let's make a pack to always find our way back to each other. Okay?" He asked.

Mana's hand was slung into the air in front of her, and it was clear that this was supposed to be a sign of companionship. One by one, the hands joined, even Seto's. They sat there for a moment after they were all taking part, making eye contact. Silently agreeing to never fully leave each other.

Yami felt the side of his lip quirk up in a warm smile.

He might not know who his real family was, but this was certainly close enough.

Later that day, Yami was staring at his computer screen in shock.

The words, "congratulations!" and "accepted" got past his mind, but he honestly couldn't comprehend much else. He couldn't believe it; he hadn't actually expected to get accepted, especially not on scholarship. The best news? Yuugi had just gotten accepted last week.

There was a small change in the room, as if he was being watched. He turned, curiously, to find said boy standing in his doorway. Yuugi's eyes were alight with humour and happiness, as they always were, the black spilling out into that beautiful purple, and Yami couldn't help the warmth he felt radiating from his chest. He smiled at his partner, nodding to him to come in. Yuugi seemed to get the message, and he walked right in, collapsing on Yami's bed.

"I got accepted to the college just a couple of blocks away. The one that deals with special needs kids all the time?" Yami said, "The same one you're going to."

Yuugi sat up then, his eyes bright with excitement. "Really? Yami, that's great! We can share an apartment and walk together to school-" Yuugi suddenly cut off, his cheeks turning pink from his enthusiasm. "I mean, of course, if you want to. I would never push you to do something that would make you uncomfortable, and you might want to get a start on your own. Just, the offer is there." Yuugi finished, swallowing. Yami chuckled.

"Of course I want to. Who else would I share an apartment with? You're the most important person to me right now, Yuugi. I couldn't think of anyone better." He said, honestly. Yuugi blushed again, but this time, there was a shy smile on his face.

He got up off the bed and walked slowly over to where Yami was sitting, moving the laptop from his lap. Once the space between them was free, Yuugi leaned down to initiate a quick kiss to Yami's lips, the peck causing both of them to melt.

"I love you." Yami mumbled into the kiss. Yuugi smiled against his lips.

That, kids, is how this story gets its happily ever after.

*A hero's battle in card games is referred to as a two on one. Yuugi was defending himself against two people at once. Basically, a nerdy way of saying "Stop ganging up on me!"

Hero's battles are very fun for both sides. I have participated in a few.

Just so you know, the prologue is still coming and should be released just a few minutes after this. It's short but wraps everything up and answers a lot of questions.

If you liked my writing but you're impatient to wait for my next YuGiOh! fic, (which I won't start until around Christmas, sorry!) you could check out my Supernatural stuff. All of it is AU, which means that you don't have to watch the show to understand the plot. My latest one is more along the themes/lines of what my next YuGiOh! story will be, so you'll be getting a sneak peak of how I write nature-ish scenes and stories involving a strong element of magic :-)