Yeah, I know, I was supposed to update this story before I did mmml. However, it didn't take me long to finish the chapter. It's kind of short, but the next one will be longer. I do not own Yugioh, enjoy! [PHONE SPEAK]

Chapter 24

"…can't stay here…scholarship to protect…only way out…hell hole." Someone said in a broken sentence angrily.

"Should've…overdose…pain killers." Someone said back calmly.

"…sure there was a reason."

Yugi blinked his eyes open, a faint beeping noise coming from his left, he realized the people were talking outside the room. What had happened? Where was he? Oh yeah, that was right, Atem. He had tried to force him to have sex with him, and Yugi had only just managed to get him to leave. After though, what had happened after that? Oh right, he was in a lot of pain emotionally, so he had taken a handful of painkillers to take care of it. He couldn't remember anything past that.

"What were you thinking, Yugi?" a quiet voice asked from beside him.

He looked over to see Rebecca sitting there flipping through a magazine. He highly doubted she was actually reading it though, considering it was upside down. He groaned, before slowly sitting up. Rebecca looked up at him over her magazine which she then sat down.

"Well?"

"I was trying to get rid of all the pain. It's too much, Rebecca, just too much. I lost my Grandpa, my parents, and now Atem enters my life and just seems to be slowly making my life worse. He only looks at me as a booty call. I don't want that though, I know it sounds girly, but I want the passion of romance, not a one night stand."

"So…you were trying to end your emotional pain?"

"Yes?"

"They want to keep you here until Tuesday you know."

"What? No! I'll lose my scholarship!" Yugi shouted turning wild eyes on her.

"Then perhaps you should have been thinking of that first before you overdosed on those pain killers." The Doctor said walking in.

"I'm human Dr. Outani, I'm allowed to do stupid things."

"Right and I'm a Doctor, so I'm allowed to punish you for those stupid things."

"Mira." He said looking at the girl behind him.

"I tried, you're just going to have to live with this decision, Yugi." She said not looking him in the eye.

Yugi growled in frustration, before looking outside, and noticed that he seemed to be on the bottom floor. Looking around some more he noticed a coma patient in the room with him. Looking down at his hands, he noticed one of those pulse things on his finger. It would be so simple to take it off his finger and place it on the other's. Then he could sneak out the window, and be halfway to school before they even noticed. Testing the theory slightly, he took off the finger pulse thing, and put it on his other finger. He flat lined for a second, before his pulse started up again.

"And the point of that was?"

"I think my fingers should feel equally squished. What day is it, by the way?"

"Sunday."

"Sunday!?"

"Yes, Sunday."

"Mira, I have some assignments in my room. Will you be the nicest gang leader ever and go get them for me, please?"

"Oh, and will this account for one for the favors I owe you?"

"You're right, Rebecca?"

"Sure, got nothing better to do anyway."

"Thank you."

"Traitor." Mira muttered as she passed her.

"For helping out a friend? I'm hurt that you feel that way, Mira."

"Pah, tell Kaiba he's awake on the way out would you?"

"Sure, but I doubt he's going to be nice about it."

"Yugi's problem, not ours."

"Whatever, he's up, Kaiba." Rebecca said as she left the room.

"Mira, get out." Kaiba said as he entered the room.

"Be nice, he signed the treaty as you well know."

"A treaty yes, not a kissing agreement."

Yugi blanched, had one of his friends seen Atem kissing him and he respond to it? Did they not know how hard it was to resist such a good kisser? Or that he loved the man? Oh, who was he kidding, of course they didn't know he loved him. Had fallen for him hard, like a rock sinking in water.

"Look, Kaiba, you don't understand."

"No, I don't. And I suppose what Malik saw through the shop window wasn't what it looked like?" Kaiba asked looking at him with a cold expression.

Yugi blanched. What Malik saw? Through the shop window? But they hadn't mentioned…then that meant…no. Yugi's eyes widened, no, he shook his head, he saw him kissing Atem. Not Atem kissing him. He closed his eyes, letting out a breath before re-opening them and looking away.

"You know to what I'm referring to?" Kaiba asked. Yugi simply nodded.

"Why?"

"Because he said he didn't know how to love, but teaching someone like that it's…futile. A wasted effort."

"So why even try?"

"Why not? If we can change his character, maybe we can…" Yugi trailed off catching the look on Kaiba's face. It a look that was a mixture of disappointment, pity, and confusion.

"We can what?"

"We can…help him out of the hole he's in."

"No, he was born into that hole. He'll die in it too."

"Born? Like Mira? He's a gang leader's son?"

"Yes, he was the gang leaders son. His only heir. He killed his first person when he was only ten. He was bred to kill, you can't change a mindset like that. It would be better for you to just ignore him. Ignore and avoid him, come and live with me. I want you to be able to leave this place, and become something so much more. Like I wanted for Jou too, and Ryou and Malik. Atem is changing you, and you can't even see it, but everyone else can."

"Am I really?"

"Slowly, bit by bit."

"But I can't abandon the shop."

"I'll take care of it. Please, Yugi, you almost killed yourself because of him."

He nodded, it really was for the best if he was changing and not even noticing it. He'd go live with Kaiba, for a little while at least. Until he could handle Atem again. He could catch up on his cooking skills and homework too.

"Good, I'll come pick you up on Tuesday, we'll get your things from the shop, and then you'll stay with me." Kaiba got up and left.

That was all well and said, but there was no way Yugi was going to stay here and lose his scholarship. No, first thing was first, he had to get out of here, and looking over at the coma patient, an idea popped into his mind of how he was going to accomplish just that. He had an extra hand that he could spare, that he wasn't using. It was time for a little community service.

[Atem]

He paced outside the territory line. The Pawns watching his every move, back and forth back and forth back and forth, their eyes followed him. He tried to blow through them again, but several daggers pulled from thin air were at his throat, forcing him to pull back and start pacing again. It was like they didn't know about the treaty, or knew about it and were ignoring it. He was allowed on their land from five to eleven.

"Thank you girls, you can go now." Mira's voice rang out. They all dropped their stances and walked off back further into the territory.

"What the hell?" Atem shouted at her as she came to stand on his side of the line.

"Yugi isn't here, so there's no reason or you to visit him. On the other hand, you've been neglecting your agreement with me. We need to discuss destroying Satake, he's the only one who could be behind this."

"Not even he has the strength of man or woman power to pull it off. He's getting help somewhere." Atem said back frowning.

"I agree with that, but I don't want to accuse someone unless I have proof. I have proof that he's killing off our members."

"How?"

She looked away as her mind flashed back to what had come to her attention just this morning. Olivia had brought it up. Clarissa denied it at first, but even she couldn't deny the truth staring her in the face. Eventually she admitted that she had found out about it, but she just didn't want to believe that her best friend was capable of such a thing. Fighting back tears as she went to fetch her.

"Mira, how?" Atem repeated.

"Polly. Polly Guyngy." She sighed.

"Who's that?"

[Mira]

[Flashback]

"Are you sure about this, Olivia?" Mira asked.

"Yes, she took the body from the other Pawn, but the funeral home has no record of it. She left the territory and came back empty handed. We're not sure what she did with the body, but last night Satake's group had a secret funeral." Olivia's voice was heavy with the suggestion but it seemed like even she didn't want to accuse full out.

"Fetch me Clarissa, Sheila."

"Yes, King."

Mira watched her walk off. If this girl really was a spy, than they had a major problem. She had helped with the comings and goings of Pawns, Knights, the Queen and even herself. It would explain how they were being killed off so easily. How could such a snake manage to hide among her ranks for so long? So long without getting caught? Oh, yeah, because she let her. Maybe she needed to do another background check on everyone though, not just the ones with a possible vendetta against her. She needed to weed out anymore snakes, the ones she didn't already know about.

"You wanted to see me, Mira?" Clarissa's voice spoke up from behind her.

"Yes, has your friend, Polly, been acting weird lately?"

"No more than usual."

"Sneaking off?"

"Only to the clubs."

"So, you've been going with her to these clubs?"

"No. I've been busy working around the clock."

"I'm only asking questions, Clarissa, there's no need to get angry."

"What's your point?" she asked rudely.

Mira whirled around, slamming the back of her hand against the other girl's cheek. Her head barely moved to the side from the impact, but she didn't let out a single cry. A true member of her gang if she ever saw one.

"Don't be rude."

"Sorry, King."

"Show her what you found, Olivia." The other girl nodded and moved forward to show Clarissa. She visibly gulped as she read the information over, and then again, as if it hadn't processed the first time. She let out a strained laugh.

"Come on, Polly wouldn't do this. Satake killed her family, she hates the man."

"So she said, but did you ever meet them?"

"How could I when they're dead?"

"Let me be more clear, have you ever visited their graves?"

"I…no, she never wanted me to come."

"An odd thing to say to someone you've known for twelve years, wouldn't you think?"

"She has trust issues, but can you blame her?"

"As the leader of this gang, yes, I can. Fetch her for me."

"Please, Mira, she's not a spy."

"Now that I believe, but fetch her anyway, I want to have a little chat with her. And then go back to your normal duties, you too, Olivia."

"Yes, King." They said together.

Mira walked over to a seemingly random table, and pulled out a small key ring. Placing one of the keys into an almost invisible keyhole, she gave it a quick twist and opened the drawer. Inside were an array of knives of all different shapes and sizes. She heard soft footsteps coming towards the room, and closed the drawer again. Polly walked in. She was an averaged height girl, with reddish orange hair pulled back into a ponytail, and almond shaped chestnut colored eyes. She was strong and athletic, getting more than her fair amount of time in a gym.

"You wanted to see me?"

"I did. Why don't you come into the room more?"

"I'm fine." She smiled.

"Please, I insist." Mira said returning it and moving away from the table, taking the key out as she went.

Polly moved cautiously into the room, stopping in the middle. She watched Mira's movements as she walked over to the windows drawing the curtains on them. As she moved towards the door, shutting and locking it.

"I have a problem, Polly. It seems you took that girl back into Satake's territory, when I ordered for her to be dropped off at the funeral home. Why?" Mira asked facing her.

"I thought her Father should see what happens to those we don't keep a well enough eye on."

"I see."

"May I go now?"

"No, I have another question. That girl came from Atem's territory, so why would you think she came from Satake's?"

"She did? Oh, that was my bad then."

"You sound genially surprised that your information is wrong."

"I am."

"I don't believe you."

"What, do you think I'm some kind of spy?"

"No, you're much too cautious to just be a spy. You play by all my rules and have moved quickly and efficiently up through my ranks. I wonder if you're something more than just a spy, but a bit more efficient than that. You're obviously someone's toy, I just want to know who's playing with you."

"Nobody is playing with me."

"No? So you're not really Laurel Kynger? Best known narc of the Domino Police Station?"

The girl froze. Her muscles tensed, as if she was preparing to run. Her face was calm though, no fear leaked onto her features. It was a mask that said this conversation was boring her. Her body still betrayed her though.

"Honestly, did you think I didn't notice the moment you joined my ranks? Please, sit, and we'll discuss what you know."

"Why should I?"

"Because I said so." Mira responded throwing a knife at her. She didn't even flinch as it skimmed her forehead, the flat side of it sliding across it like an ice skate on ice, before making an indent in the wall.

She turned, and walked over sitting down in the chair. The pressure she put on the seat of the chair activated it, as metal cuffs wove around her wrists, ankles, and throat. She struggled and squirmed, trying to get loose. It was to no avail though, she was stuck and she knew it. Mira walked slowly over to the table, and re-opened the drawer. She pulled out a small thin knife, no bigger than two toothpicks lined up, and just as thin too. She walked over to Polly, and tilted her head up, she started to write the word NARC into her forehead, branding her with her title.

"If you knew for so long, then why not kill me off right away?"

"I was so young then, I was in no position to kill anyone off. Besides, I told my Mother, she thought I was crazy, but I had seen you running around with other cops before. And then when I took the reins of the King, I decided to treat you like an experiment, and see how long it would be before you brought my lifestyle to justice. Before you set us free. You never did, so here we are." Mira explained like she was talking about the weather over a cup of tea.

"Free you? More like lock you up!"

"A freedom in a sense. Tell me what you know. Who's behind the rift in the gangs right now? Is it one of the other leaders or a higher up?"

"You're a smart girl, figure it out." She sneered.

Mira punched her, once, twice, three times. Her mouth filled with blood and Polly spit it out onto the ground, along with one of her molars. She looked at Mira with a look of pure disdain and loathing.

"Who's behind the rift?"

"Satake, and another player, I haven't figured out who yet."

"Hmm, another player. It would have to be someone who he thinks he can control easily. Someone with a common goal. But who? Who would side with Satake and possibly risk starting another war?" She turned away pacing in front of her. Polly spit some more blood onto the floor. She spun back around, and started to flip the knife in the air, Polly's eyes following it.

"Tell me why I should let you live."

"I can gather more information for you."

"This is true, but you can also use ours against us."

"I could, but since my partners were taken out by Satake's crew lately, I'm more obliged to help you out. I want him and his pathetic crew that he calls a gang off the streets more than any of you. Atem looks after his own just as much as you do. Satake doesn't give a damn unless it affects him. Let me help you eliminate him."

"No."

"What?"

"You're worth more to me dead than you are alive."

"Fine, kill me then."

"No."

"What?"

"You're worth more to me dead. To others, you might be worth more to them alive." She said walking over to the table and tilting a book. The cuffs on Polly came undone.

"You're letting me go?" She asked standing up

"No."

"Then what are you going to do?" Polly asked sounding annoyed. Mira kicked her in the stomach, and then in the ribs twice. She then grabbed her by her ponytail and dragged through another door, opposite of the one she had come in. She dragged her to the basement where she threw her in one of the many cells she kept down there. She slammed the door locking it.

"Let me go! I'm of no use to you!"

"Not yet…" Mira said back before leaving and giving off random orders to Pawns. One of which was to hold Atem at the border until she could get there.

"So, you're just going to let the little devil live?" Atem asked in disbelief.

"For now. Until we can figure out who this partner is, she's better use to me as a captive than a dead body. Plus, I wrote NARC on her forehead, I can't let her walk around like that. She'll get killed off before I can figure out why the Popo sent her in the first place." Mira smirked.

"Where's Yugi, since he's not here?" Atem asked like the question just occurred to him.

"In the Hospital, because if you."

"What did I do?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. Whatever you did Friday night left Yugi in so much emotional pain, he took a handful of painkillers to try to kill it."

"You gotta be kidding me. Trying to convince the boy to have sex with me drove him to do something so stupid?"

"Depends on your convincing methods."

"Maybe I was a little rough with him."

"A little? My girls heard gun shots, I think you were more than a little rough with him. You know that gun you gave him is becoming his new favorite toy quickly. I don't like it. I want you to repossess it immediately. I want it out of my territory."

"Whatever." Atem scoffed turning away. Mira threw a small knife at him, embedding it in his shoulder. He roared yanking it out and spinning back around, throwing it right back at her.

"You little, Bitch!"

Mira caught it two centimeters away from her forehead, cutting her own hand on the blade. She blinked in boredom as she put the knife away. Atem's stared at her, fury written across his face.

"I want it out. I'm not going to tell you again. If I see so much as a sliver of that silver in his home anymore after tomorrow, I will do worse to you then imbedding a knife in your shoulder blade. Next time it'll be your back, and then your neck. I have the power to start and end a war, can you say the same?" Mira asked as she turned and walked away. Atem whipped out his gun and shot at her, twice. One blew through her forearm, the other whizzed past her head. She didn't even flinch or stop walking.

"I'm not your Bitch, Mira, so stop treating me like it." He shouted at her.

She merely raised her hand that she had heard him, the same one connected to the arm that he had shot. She heard him scoff, before she moved out of range of his voice. Once she had turned the corner, she slumped against the wall, and ripped off her sleeve, checking the gunshot wound. The bullet had blown right through thankfully, but it had also torn though some muscles. She needed a doctor, a real one, not her Aunt. She ran back to her place, and straight into the garage. She hopped into her neon orange Camaro and headed for the Hospital.

[Yugi]

"Uh, the bathroom. Obviously I'm not dead, but then again you could be talking to my ghost." Yugi teased the Nurse as he put the little heart monitor thing back on his finger. He had asked what it was called.

"Tell someone the next time you want to use the loo, we thought you had left."

"Tempting, but I don't particularly want to get in trouble with my Doctor, now do I?" Yugi asked.

"I wouldn't put it past you." He said walking out. Yugi scoffed before flopping back down on his bed and pulling the tray back so he could get some more of his homework done, as well as study for that test tomorrow. He checked his watch again, only three more hours and Dr. Outani and the Nurse, whatever his name was, would be gone. There would be a five minute in between time between them and the next set coming in, and he was going to use that to escape.

Yugi stretched and looked over at the coma patient and smiled, he was so lucky to have a helper with his plans. So lucky. And they were such idiots to put them in the same room. Stay here until Tuesday, pah, like he was really going to do that.

Shaking his head, he got back to studying the possible problems that would be on the test. He started to yawn as two hours passed by slowly, but he couldn't fall asleep, he couldn't miss his only opportunity. There was a commotion out in the hall that jerked him awake.

"I don't believe you Ms. Kiryu. I want to know how you got this bullet wound and I want to know now."

"I already told you, I got into a tussle with Atem and he shot me." Mira responded calmly.

"You have a treaty with him, he wouldn't risk it by shooting you."

"Wouldn't he?"

Yugi peeked out into the hallway and saw that all the Nurses and Doctors were surrounding her. None were at the desk, and no one was paying attention to any of the monitors. Perfect. Yugi rushed back to his bed, stuffed his things in the backpack that Rebecca had brought, and slung it over his shoulder. He then crept over to door and checked that they were all distracted before quickly attaching his heart monitor to the coma patient's free hand. He opened the window, popped out the screen and jumped out of it. He breathed out, before taking off running.

It was a little embarrassing running down the streets with his Hospital gown flapping open in the back, but he'd do anything to be able to attend school. To not lose his scholarship. It was his only option out of this place. For a better future, a better life, and he was going to do anything to protect it. He wasn't going to risk it again, no matter how much pain he was in, he wasn't going to take any more risks. First though he needed to pack a bag for Kaiba and him to pick up tomorrow straight away. Mira, he was sure, would understand. He hoped she would anyway. Avoid Atem, leave, and never look back. That was the plan, and he was going to stick to it. The man was dangerous, and it was time Yugi started to accept it.

[Satake]

"I want Mira off the streets now!" he screamed into the phone.

"I can't do that. I have to get rid of Rebecca and Serenity first. If I don't, it'll take even longer to get rid of her."

"I'm tired of your excuses. You've failed me. Watch your back, because I'm going to be having people trying to make a corpse out of you."

"Let them try. I'll dispose of every last one of them."

Click.

Satake threw the phone across the room, and smashed it against the wall. It was time Penny learned that he controlled the reins here, not her. She wasn't an asset to him, only a liability and it was time he rid himself of it. He stood up, calling his three best assassins into the room, he set one out to kill Penny, and the others out for Mira.

One asked about a possible war. He responded by saying to make it look like her handiwork. Then he paused and just decided to put all three onto Mira. If they made it look like her handiwork, than Mira's girls would just destroy Penny for him. Leaving his hands clean of at least one death. He set them loose, and told them to check in with him every week. He wanted to hear about their progress. He wanted her dead, and her head as a trophy mounted on his wall.

Things are about to speed up, so be prepared for that, we're getting near the end of the story. Oh, and remember that double ending we had last time with this story, that's gone now. there is only one ending, I'm not sure if you guys are going to lie it per say, but you'll live with it at the very least. Thank you to everyone who are/have following/favorited this story. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed Guest and User alike. Please review. Midnight ;p