A/N: Remember when being 11 was important and you rubbed it in everyone else's face?

...Yeah, me neither.

Anyways, I've got some news on Atemu and Akefia's arrival…sort of. Well, I haven't decided which chapter they're coming into, but they're definitely coming soon (then the real drama can start...hopefully).

The real, evil plot is hinted at in this chapter. Don't worry if you can't figure it out, 'cause all will be revealed soon enough…-low chuckle-

Warning: Mentionings of blood (it's nothing too gory, though).

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited!

Enjoy~

Yuugi twitched, shifting subtly in the warm bed. His dreams had been blissfully blank and void of terror. His muscles felt a bit sore, so he stretched - eyes still closed - like a cat would after a satisfying nap. His hands brushed the headboard, fingers curling to get a good grip as his body turned to rest in a more comfortable position.

His feet gently bumped into a lump that sat above the corners. Yuugi muttered under his breath, mind still a bit foggy. He rolled onto his other side, arms reaching to find something that wasn't there.

It was when Yuugi remembered what - or, who - he was looking for did his amethyst eyes snap open and his heart skip a few fearful beats. Like the bare skin of his fingertips had reported, the spot beside him was bare and messy. The person who had previously inhabited the bed with him was gone, the patch of messiest cloth cold, indicating that the other had left sometime ago.

But...where?

The lump on the edge of the bed - which Yuugi had just recently remembered was still there - shifted and the bed squeaked in protest. His heart had increased its pace by tenfold, and Yuugi was paralyzed in fear of what sat next to him. A faint memory of dancing shadows in the moonlight came back to him, but he couldn't make any connections to this moving lump.

Yuugi held his breath, tensely waiting for this thing to find out he was now awake. However, there was mere silence that ate its way through his own sanity. Why didn't it attack? Was it waiting for Yuugi to turn so he could see its face before pouncing on his throat?

Was it possibly Yami?

Yuugi's thoughts stopped abruptly. It could be him, couldn't it? Of course it was. It had to be. Yami had never really been apart from Yuugi's side since coming out of the Sennen Box, so why leave when Yuugi was still sleeping, being recently prone to horrid nightmares?

He swore, if Yami was watching him sleep once again...

Tiredly, Yuugi decided that it was too early in the morning for such inquiries and tilted his head to the side so he could see the shadow figure that had been in his peripheral vision beforehand.

A shuddering breath of relief blew from his mouth. It was Yami after all. Note to self, Yuugi thought in exasperation, quit watching so many horror movies.

Yami was sitting on the back of his legs, staring at the morning sun intently. When Yuugi peered closer, he noticed that those violet and red eyes were dulled and glossed over, which brought a chill as old memories of his parents and that fateful car accident arose…

He swallowed back the memories and concentrated on the spirit in front of him.

Yami was still unaware of Yuugi's stare, his hands clutching the pajama pants Yuugi had given to him last night. They twitched every now and then, his cheek giving a more subtle copy of the action along with it.

The smaller's eyes were drawn from the hands and to the pale arms. What he saw made his breath hitch dangerously and his already a size too large eyes bug out of their sockets.

Almost immediately, Yuugi jerked into a sitting position, threw the pooling covers away, and, rather roughly, gripped Yami's upper arm. The spirit practically jumped five feet in the air, and Yuugi thought he saw the beginnings of dark shadows creeping around his fingers before the spirit realized who it was that had attacked him so.

"Yuugi…?" he murmured, almost confusedly. Like he hadn't remembered if the young man was supposed to be there, or if he was alright...or real in the first place. Yuugi just decided to ignore that and focus on what had caught his attention.

"Yami, your wrists are bleeding!" Yuugi's voice went high in mild panic, and he vaguely registered the time of eight in the morning from the clock at the right. A small voice complained about all this happening at such an early - at least, for his sleep in times - hour.

The spirit blinked owlishly, then glanced down at the aforementioned wrists Yuugi was tenderly holding. Crimson blinked back up at him, and Yuugi took in the wonder and confusion written clearly on his face. Did he not know he was bleeding so profusely?

Yuugi gently tugged at the other's arms, deciding not to comment on it at this moment in time. He guided a somewhat stunned and silent Yami to the bathroom, where he dug out the red first aid kit from under the counter. He made Yami sit on the tolit seat while he fished out the supplies he'd need from the box.

Yami remained taciturn, watching as small trickles of blood ran down his arm and pooled at the elbow, dripping onto the white tiled floor below. Yuugi tried to ignore the fact that he'd probably be the one to clean that all up.

"Yuugi?"

Snapping his attention instantly to the other, Yuugi almost dropped the gauze he was holding. Instead of those glazed, dull eyes from in the bedroom, Yami now looked at him with glittering concern. It made Yuugi's head hurt.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

The question caught Yuugi off guard, for who asks such a thing when they're practically bleeding out for no apparent reason? He resisted the urge to laugh in the other's face.

"I'm…" he searched for the correct term to use. "I'm fine...Are you alright? How did you cut your wrists?"

Another owlish blink was directed his way, and Yuugi faintly wondered if he was suffering from short term memory loss. That would explain a lot…

"I don't know."

Yuugi was unsure whether that answer was for how he was feeling or how he got cut, but the smaller had the sneaking suspicion that the answer was as clear as crystal. It did the opposite of calm his nerves.

He cleaned and wrapped the other's wounds in silence, neither saying a word. After the task was said and done, Yuugi's fingers lingered on the rapidly tinting pink gauze. Questions flickered in and out of his mind, and it must've shown on his face, since a second later, a large hand was on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze for comfort.

It did more help then he ever thought another's touch could.

The rest of the morning turned out to be pretty uneventful. They ate some brunch, since Yuugi didn't have enough food in the fridge for two separate meals and didn't feel like going out for another shopping trip.

Now, Yami was wearing his favorite outfit (which Yuugi thought offhandedly looked pretty damn good) and the two were watching commercials flash on the TV screen. A currently replaying drama show episode was on, and they found themselves hooked.

Or maybe it was just a way to push that morning away from memories, for a distraction was what they needed the most.

Thankfully, Yuugi's phone started to chirp, a sign that a new text message awaited him. Bored with watching over exaggerated ads, the young man eagerly scooped his phone from the coffee table.

You have to come over right away. Mariku and Bakura are tearing up our house, and not even Ishizu's threats can get them to stop! ~ Malik

A huff of amusement escaped Yuugi's lips, and his fingers danced across the screen in reply.

Well, since both of us are pretty bored, I think I can spare some time to visit. We'll be there in an hour, k? ~ Yuugi

AN HOUR?! Why the frig not now?! ~ Malik

'Cause there's this marathon Yami and I are watching and it's pretty dramaish. I don't think Yami would like it if we abandoned it for some yelling and smashing of plants. ~ Yuugi

ARGH! Fine, just get here as soon as it's over. I think someone's about to be murdered, but I don't know who'll do what. ~ Malik

Yuugi chuckled and tossed the phone back onto the small table. Yami rose an eyebrow as a question. The smaller gave a sweet, innocent smile.

"We're going over to Malik's after this episode. Seems like your buddies are causing some trouble."

It was Yami's turn to chuckle. "Sounds like them. Although, we should probably go now. I don't mind missing this...what did you call it again?"

"Filler episode." Yuugi provided, jumping to his feet. "In that case, let's get ready, shall we?"

Five minutes later, they were heading outside the door, the half completed Sennen Puzzle tucked safely under Yuugi's arm.

Oh, lookie. I gave some of Yuugi's background info. Cliche car accidents. Yippee.

Was it just me, or did I get pretty lazy at the end there…? Oh well.

Alrighty then. Next chapter will hopefully be up on Monday, so you won't have to wait five freaking days. Might consider changing the dates to Monday & Thursday…-shrug-

(Did you know elbow and below are the same except the 'b' is moved two spaces? ...Eheh, random trivia.)

R&R~