By the way, for some reason, if my italics are smushed together, please tell me. Something isn't working for me and I overlooked this chapter to make sure there were no squishing, but I could have missed one. I don't know what's up... but, oh well. Please enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer:I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Just my own characters!

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Atem's POV:

"Mana?" Atem called out as he wondered around the palace grounds. This had been the third night in a row he hadn't seen his best friend in his dreams and he was starting to get worried. He knew it was stupid to worry, since nothing could happen to her since she was in the After Life, but, he was concerned. After looking through all of the places he usually found his brunette friend and he couldn't find her, he decided to travel to his home, even if it was in the After Life. It wasn't hard for him to do, just took a bit to get there. Teleporting' his mind to the After Life took a bit of life energy from him, which was why he rarely did it. This just so happened to be his third trip here. Because he was once a pharaoh and was given a second chance at life, he was able to go to the After Life.

"Prince Atem? What're you doing here?" A voice called out, causing the once prince to stop and turn around. Coming towards him with a confused expression was none other than Mahad, one of the priests and also one of his good friends.

Atem smiled and greeted his old friend, "Mahad." Said name came to a stop in front of him as he continued, his smile fading into one more of concern, "Have you seen Mana? I haven't seen her in a few days." He looked over to his right where the courtyard was. But of course, he didn't find her there.

The priest slightly tilted his head, "Mana? Now that you mention her, no, I haven't seen her for a while. Now I understand why it has been so quiet here."

The prince bit his lip. If her own teacher hadn't seen her in a couple of days, then, where could she be?

"She's probably just traveling," Mahad noticed his friend's unease. "You know she likes to do that."

"Yes, but she has never been gone for this long."

Back when Atem had lived in the After Life, before he was granted his own body, he and Mana would take trips in the world otherwise known as the Dead. They would go to different time periods and see how other people lived. Sometimes, Mana left on her own without telling Atem, and later was scowled at by him. Ever since he went back to the world of the living, to be with Yugi, Mana only went exploring while he was awake. Every time he fell asleep, she was always there, talking up a storm.

Mahad nodded and started to walk away, knowing the prince would follow. Of course he did, but that didn't help get rid of the frown on his face. "Just give her some space. Maybe she found something interesting and wanted to get to know it better."

Atem snorted, that was totally true. Feeling a bit better, he asked, "So, how have you been doing, Mahad?" He turned towards his friend, trying to get Mana out of his head for a while. Before she 'disappeared', they would always spend the time together to where Atem and Mahad barely had any time to talk. Yeah sometimes the priest would join in with them, but that wasn't the same as 'men time.'

"I have been alright. What about you? I heard about your Light. Is he okay?" He gently asked, knowing fairly well the prince most likely wasn't. He had witnessed what had happened the day Yugi was taken from his home and noticed how Atem had been in a depressed mood.

"I have been holding up fairly well and as for Yugi, I want to say he is okay, but I'm not positive." Atem said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. He looked away and watched where he was walking. "I hope he is alright…"

"I am surprised you haven't gone after him."

Atem shook his head, "I've decided that I wasn't going to. This is one battle I cannot fight."

Mahad raised one eyebrow in surprise. This was the first he had heard the prince ever say he was going to leave something alone, whether it had been business with Egypt or of his Light. "Why is that?"

"This isn't my battle," he explained in a softer voice. "This is family business. Even though I'm a part of their family, I can't butt myself into it because I'm not related by blood. This is between Yugi and his father and mother." He shook his head. "I trust in Yugi to find his way home. My only concern is what his father will be doing in the mean time."

"And that is why I am here!" A very cheerful voice sounded. Appearing in a pink cloud of smoke, a few feet in front of the boys, was none other than Mana. She held her wand out to the side and smiled real big. "Atem!" She ran and jumped on the prince, hugging him tightly with her feet sticking out behind her.

"Mana," Mahad scowled his apprentice but it didn't do anything. Either Mana was ignoring that warning tone or she was ignoring it.

Atem had caught his friend, being used to it. "Where have you been, Mana?" He asked as he set her back down on her feet.

The young magician held her hands behind her back as she started to walk forwards. The boys followed. "Well, I've been a lot of places. And let me tell you, some people have very weird and scary dreams." She gave a shudder from memory.

"Dreams?" The priest asked and then realized what she had been doing, "Mana, don't tell me you've been snooping through other people's business again." He frowned at her.

Holding up an innocent expression, she said, "But I wasn't! I was on a mission!"

The prince tilted his head, "You can go through other people's dreams? I didn't know that."

Mana turned to him and nodded her head, "You don't only think I can go to yours, do you?" She smirked a bit.

"Uh…" Quickly changing the topic, he asked, "So why were you going through other people's dreams for?" He wouldn't admit it, but he did kind of think she could only come to his.

"Oh, right!" She cleared her throat and announced, "I've been traveling around to find someone. I never realized how hard it was… there are just so many people out there!" She twirled her wand in her hand behind her back without even realizing it. Atem watched in amusement.

"Whose dream are you trying to find?" Mahad asked patiently. He wasn't surprised by this, since it was something common for the young magician.

The girl looked towards her best friend and smiled proudly, "Well, I thought it'd be nice if Atem knew what was going on with Yugi, so I've been on the search for his mind."

Atem's eyebrows shot up. That was unexpected. He didn't even know how to respond so Mana continued.

"I won't be able to talk with him, since he didn't live in Egypt, but I can still watch over him and take notes." She said. "But, I don't even know where to look." The twirling of her wand stopped and she sulked. "It's been three days and I haven't found any trace of him."

"Have you tried looking in the…" He paused, trying to remember the name of that state Yugi's father moved to. "Texas? I think that's where he is at right now."

Mana shook her head as her eyes brightened up. "Nope, but now I have a lead."

It took Atem a moment to wonder how she did this. Going to different periods in time was easy because you just took a portal, but he never heard anything about dreams. Now he wondered how his friends got to his dreams.

"So wait, how exactly do you find dreams?" He decided to ask, curious. "I realized I never asked you how you always found mine."

Instead of Mana answering, Mahad did. "It's not always easy to find a certain person through their dreams. You first have to know the person to make the search easier." They continued to walk the halls of the palace, not once coming in contact with anyone else. "Each person has a different colorful strand that you can sort through."

"What does the color represent?"

"Their personality," Mana piped in. "Your dream strand is a really dark crimson color with blotches of violet and many dark colors of orange and red." When she received a curious, slightly confused look, she explained what they stood for, "Everyone's colors are different. As much as I have guessed for yours is that the crimson stands for your eye color, the orange and reds is because of Egypt and I haven't really guessed what the violet color was for."

'That's because it's not violet but amethyst.' He thought. Out of all of the eye colors he had ever seen, his Light's was his most favorite. He guessed it was because there was no other human with that exact color (that he knew of) and to him, it was just a unique color. Eyes was one thing he was always fond of because they revealed so much about someone. And, years ago, Yugi's eyes helped him find out just what his partner really thought.

"So, everyone's is different?" Atem asked, wondering how that was possible since there were so many people out there.

Mahad nodded. "You'd be surprised."

"I just don't know what color Yugi's is so I had to go through a lot of people's dreams to see whose it was. And it's been taking me forever to tell." She sighed.

"There isn't like… an index or something or has their name on the strand?" Atem asked, thinking that would be more helpful.

Mahad gently laughed and shook his head. "That would make things a lot easier, wouldn't it? But no, if it's really important to you, than you'll be able to find the right one."

Mana paused for a minute, thinking, "Hm… I guess I haven't been trying hard enough." The other two paused and turned around, watching her. Then suddenly, she bounced up and grabbed her best friend's hands by both of hers. She stared into his eyes and promised, "When I find Yugi's dreams, I'll watch him and I'll report back. You don't need to worry anymore!"

"Mana, you don't have to do this-," He started to say but apparently his friend wasn't paying attention.

"It will take me a couple of days and then a few more so I can watch him." She continued. "Though, I just wish he would be able to hear and see me." She sort of pouted at that. But then she brightened up and said, "Maybe I could use magic to help with that cause!"

Mahad eyes looked disapproving but his student didn't seem to notice, "Mana," he said.

Atem smiled and he was released. He was just about to say something when he heard an annoying beeping noise. "Ugh…" he groaned and both of his past life friends stopped talking and looked at him. "Sorry guys, but I have to go; my alarm is going off."

"Aw," Mana jutted out her lip. "Alright, but I'll see you soon!" She said and hugged him real tight.

He hugged her back and waved to Mahad before waking up from his dream.

XxxxX

Atem blinked his eyes open and turned over, his hand blindly started to look around for the alarm clock, even though it was always in the same place. The annoying sound made him hurry up since he didn't feel like listening to it anymore.

Finally, his hand found the machine and he pushed the little button to turn it off. He laid on his back and stared up at his ceiling, trying to wake himself up. His thoughts remained on what Mana had said.

'Well, that does explain why I haven't seen her in a while...' He closed his eyes for a moment, 'I kind of don't want her to tell me what is going on with Yugi. I don't think I'll be able to take it. But, then, on the other hand, at least I'll know if he's safe.'

He reopened his eyes and let out a groan. Out loud, he complained to himself, "I don't want to go to school." Despite his complaint, he sat up and started his day.

XxxxX

Yugi's POV:

Friday had come and gone in a blink of an eye. Yugi had gone to his new classes and actually liked them. They were all easy classes for him so he couldn't help but like them. AP physics, AP history, gym and another off period. Easy classes compared to the ones back in Japan.

He had a class with Richard and that was history and had gym with Lucy. Physics was the only class where he was alone, well, kind of. Once the people in that class realized who he was, everyone wanted to sit next to him. That was the only thing he didn't really like; everyone treating him like he was some famous person. He was only oncethe King of Games. He even tried telling people that his friend won the title from him, but they just laughed and thought he was joking. Richard had shrugged and told him when he next saw his friend, he was going to have to win the title back, but he had a joking sense with him.

His mom still couldn't get over the fact that her son had made friends so easily on the first day of school, that Yugi was starting to feel embarrassed. Thankfully, there was no one around to witness his discomfort. Chokichi could care less as he kept to himself.

It was now Saturday morning meaning there was no school. Yugi had already been dressed, eaten a piece of toast to stop his rumbling stomach and brushed his teeth. Now, he waited on the couch, watching some interesting cartoons while waiting.

Miyuki walked into the living room, quietly yawning with sleep still in her eyes. Her hair was in a mess as her eyes sort of drooped a bit. She had her bathrobe loosely wrapped around her and she stopped when she noticed her son already ready for the day. Then she noticed the time on the wall.

"Yugi? Where are you going so early in the morning?" She smiled as she walked over to him and kissed his forehead.

Without breaking eye contact from a show on TV called Gummy Bears (1)he said, "Grandma was going to be taking me out to lunch so we could talk."

Miyuki frowned but continued her stride into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee she desperately needed. "Really… Well, it's awfully early for lunch." She said, indicating that is was barely nine o'clock.

He nodded, "Well, maybe it might be for breakfast, I really have no idea. It's whatever she wants." Then he paused and began to think, a crease embedded in his forehead, not like his mom could see. "Or maybe… it could be like brunch."

"Brunch?" She raised an eyebrow as she poured the caffeine into a mug and spooned some sugar into it. She stirred it and walked back into the living room and sat down next to her child. She tucked her feet underneath her to get more comfortable.

"Yup," he turned away from his show and explained, "It's a combination of lunch and breakfast." He smiled even though he already had heard the word somewhere else before. "And there's another one for lunch and dinner. It's linner. Or, I also heard about this other one called lupper. Combination of lunch and supper."

Miyuki rolled her eyes as she took a small sip of her drink. "Have I ever told you how weird you are?" She playfully joked.

Yugi smirked, "Yes, but I had to of learned it from someone."

"Yes, and I blame your grandfather." She chuckled.

The teenager rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the TV.

After a couple of minutes, the show went to commercial and Miyuki looked around, frowning. "Have you seen Chokichi this morning?"She asked, remembering him coming to bed last night but don't remember him getting up.

"Yeah, he left when I was waking up; an hour or so ago." Yugi answered. "He said he had to meet someone this morning or something like that…" he frowned, trying to recall what his father had told him earlier. All he could remember was the urge to use the restroom or his bladder would explode. He shrugged, "I think he said he would be back later today." Really, he could careless at this point. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel right now about that man.

After another sip of her coffee, she asked, "So what time is Barbra getting here?"

Yugi looked to the clock on the wall and started to count in his head, "About… twenty minutes?" He said, making it seem more like a question rather than an answer. "When I had gotten up, she called and told me to be ready in the next hour." He bit his lip, rethinking his answer. "Or maybe it might be sooner than that."

Miyuki nodded her head, trying not to feel jealous that he was going to be spending his day with someone she didn't really like. But then she mentally slapped herself about feeling that way.

'This is this first time ever getting the chance to talk with his grandma. I should be happy for him now that he finally gets to meet some of his family other than myself and Solomon.'

She put on a happy face, dismissing the thought away and trying not to force it, changed her prespective, "I hope you have fun, sweetie." She leaned over and kissed his temple, making a loud smacking noise.

Yugi pulled away and wiped his temple with the back of his hand, "Eew!" He said, sounding like a little child. "But I will." Aside from him joking, he grinned back at his mom. "I can't wait to find out what she's like and find out new things."

Miyuki couldn't help but let that smile turn real by the eagerness radiating off of the teen. She held the mug in her hand carefully, making sure it wasn't going to spill everywhere as she rested it on her knee.

Continuing, Yugi paused for a moment, his smile fading a bit as something important just occurred to him, "Mom," he asked, his voice going sounding a bit serious.

"Yes?"

"Why haven't I met your side of the family yet?" He asked innocently. The thought never really occurred to him in the past and it wasn't ever relevant enough to ask. Now thinking about his father's side of the family got him curious about his mother's.

Miyuki thought for a moment, knowing he was going to ask that sooner or later. "You have actually met them, but you were only a toddler."

"Really?" His serious face melted away, leaving only curiosity plastered on his face. "But, why haven't I seen them since?"

"I don't really know, to be exact. I saw them from time to time when I was traveling around and stayed with my sister a few times." She said. She thought some more, wondering why her son hasn't seen her mom or siblings for pretty much his whole life. "Maybe someday soon, I'll call them up for a family reunion and bring you along. You must be dying to meet some cousins of yours."

"Cousins?" That caused a flicker of excitement flash in the boy's eyes. "I have cousins?"

Miyuki couldn't help but nod her head and smile. "Yes you do. If I remember correctly, you have at least five cousins. I have a sister and a brother, your aunt and uncle, and one of them has three kids while the other has two. If I remember correctly, two should be around your age while the other three are younger."

'I have cousins!' Yugi thought excitedly. All he ever knew for family was grandpa, his mom, Atem, Iggi, and his close friends. He never even dreamed about any cousins.

"What are their -," He was cut off by three short knocks on the door. He looked up along with his mom to the door before he said, "That's grandma." He leaned over and kissed his mom's cheek before half walking, half running over to the door to answer it.

Miyuki couldn't help but feel a bit happy by the boy's excitement as she watched him go. "Have fun, Yugi."

Answering the door, Yugi came face to face with his grandma who smiled warmly at him. "Good morning, Yugi." She said and added, "Are you ready?"

Yugi nodded eagerly before looking back to his mom and said, "I'll be back later." He walked out the door after seeing his mother nod her head and closed the door behind him. As he and Barbra walked over to where the car was parked in the drive way, he asked, "So, where were we going?"

Barbra walked to the driver's side while her grandson walked around and got in the passenger side. As they were buckling up, she announced, "There is a restaurant in Austin that I wanted to take you to. I've been there a few times and their food is amazing. The place is called Kerbey Lane."

Yugi nodded, "Sounds good to me."

XxxxX

After ordering their meal, pancakes for Yugi and French toast for Barbra, there was an awkward silence. Barbra had rested her elbows on the table with her chin resting on her folded hands as she watched her grandson try not to look around in curiosity. She didn't know where to begin on asking questions that contained Yugi's life. She wanted to know so much but didn't know how to form the right questions.

Yugi was the same way. He thought by looking around, he would be able to come up with some kind of answer to ask his grandma. The questions were in his head, yet, they didn't want to form out of his mouth. He was trying to figure out what to ask first.

About the same time they both thought of their question, they asked it at the same question, only to stop and smile at one another.

"You go first," Yugi said politely, not minding.

"No, you go first," Barbra said.

Knowing this was not going anywhere fast, Yugi thought up of a suggestion, "How about we play the twenty question game; you ask a question, I answer and then I ask you a question." He smiled.

Barbra nodded, seeing that make more sense. "Alright. So, Yugi, what is it you like to do for fun?" She took a small sip from her coffee mug that she had ordered when they arrived at the cafe and were seated.

Without even having to think about the answer, it sort of just slipped out, "I like playing Duel Monsters and hanging out with my friends." He said. Then, added a little sheepishly, "And uh... playing other games too."

She raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "You like to play games too?" Her ex husband always had a frenzy with board or card games that was why he opened a game shop. It was kind of no wonder this boy liked games.

Yugi nodded his head, "Yes, ma'am. They help be calm down or relax or help me think." He answered honestly. "I played a lot of games when I was younger." Then he thought to himself, 'It was the only thing I could do...'

Barbra nodded. "Do you have any favorite games besides this Duel Monsters?" She asked.

"Well, I like all of the other games equally. I don't really have a favorite besides Duel Monsters. Whatever game you have, I'll play and most likely like it." Which was true. "What about you, do you like games?"

"A few," she admitted, "Though they are mostly card games and they are the old ones."

For the next hour and a half, the two talked endlessly about everything. Since Barbra missed practically all of her only grandson's life, she wanted to know everything about it. She was a good listener and kept to herself about some things. Yugi, as he was explaining, felt relax around the woman and told her everything. Part of him wanted his grandma to know everything about him while the other part made him hush-hush about some things like all of the magic and Atem and his past life. Other than those few things, he explained everything without giving away too much. It wasn't that he wanted to keep it a secret, but more as he knew Barbra wouldn't believe him.

He was ending his Battle City experience when his grandma stopped him with raised eyebrows, "You won?" She asked and he nodded. She gave him a smile that showed she was proud. Yugi never felt happier about winning someone's approval like this before.

During the time they talked, Yugi had found out that his grandma worked as a manager at a company called HealthCare. He didn't know exactly what she did, but it sounded interesting. He also found out that after the divorce, she stopped dating and never got remarried. Even though she wanted grandchildren, she couldn't bring herself to love anyone else.

"And besides," she had told him, "I already have the perfect grandson. Why would I need more?"

Barbra had asked about Solomon and how he was doing and about his friends. She knew their names, but that was about it. She wanted to know more. For some reason, she stayed away from the topic of Atem, like she knew he was lying, but didn't want to call him out. Not just yet, anyways. Yugi was fine with it, because he didn't feel like lying to her. He was through with lying and didn't want to do it again.

"Well, we must do this again sometime soon," She said as the two walked out of the little café. She had already paid for everything and her tummy was full.

Yugi nodded eagerly, "We should." He loved talking with his grandma. Even though he just met her and it was awkward talking to her at first, he felt relaxed around her and started to get comfortable. It felt like he had known her his entire life instead of just a couple of days. "And thank you for breakfast." He grinned.

Barbra smiled and sideways hugged her grandson. "You're very welcome."

XxxxX

That night, Yugi was sprawled out on the floor in the living room, finishing up his homework from yesterday so he wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow. He already managed to get the majority of his work done and now just had to read two chapters for history. Miyuki was playing a game of Sudoku on the couch and was thinking deeply on the game she was currently on.

It had been a somewhat quiet night for the two. Chokichi had gone out drinking with friends from work an hour or three before so they were just resting up for tomorrow. But, before the man of the house had left, Yugi and his mom had met new people.

Flashback:

"Guys, this is my wife Miyuki and my son Yugi," Chokichi said, trying to keep his voice light and friendly. "Yugi, Miyuki, this is Tyran, Charlie and Danzo." He said going from left to right in order and nodded to each one.

"Hey," Danzo said with a friendly smile on his face. He held out his hand to Miyuki who shook his hand with a small smile. Then he looked over to Yugi and shook his hand while saying, "I can barely see the resemblance between you and your old man." He gave him a wink even though partly the statement was true.

Chokichi rolled his eyes but remained quiet as Yugi just nodded his head, feeling slightly uncomfortable. In his mind, he was glad he barely looked like his father so really, he was receiving a compliment.

Tyran just nodded his head in greeting, impatient to get going, though he never showed it.

And as for Charlie, he stared, gaping at Yugi in front of him. His heartbeat was pounding in his chest and he couldn't get over the fact that the man who he never thought of meeting was in the very same room as he.

"Oh, my Gods," Charlie almost shouted, scaring the poor teen. Everyone looked over to him just as he rushed over to Yugi, clumsily pulling out something from his pocket, "Yugi, I never, ever in my wildest mind thought I would ever get to meet you in person." He said and at that moment, Yugi knew where this was going.

'Oh great,' Yugi thought. He had enough of it at school. But, he faked a smile and let the much older man continue his blabbering.

"Please, can I have your autograph?" Charlie was practically bouncing up and down with excitement as he held out the paper and a Sharpie he had waiting in his pocket.

"Sure," Yugi said, ignoring the smirks he saw from the corner of his eyes from his father's coworkers. He took the paper and pen and was about to write his name when he noticed the paper he was holding. It was a Duel Monster's card and it just so happened to be a card he still owned, though it was back in Japan.

"Do you play?" He asked and wrote his name on the back of the card so he wouldn't ruin the picture.

Charlie shook his head, "Sadly I don't. Work eats up to much of my time, but I know the basics of the game." Yugi handed back the card otherwise known as the Duel Monster called Curse of Dragon. He held the card in his hand and added, "I've seen every one of your battles that they aired on TV, including the one with you dueling against Seto Kaiba the very first time. That's how I know how to play the game."

Yugi nodded and also gave the Sharpie back. He could tell by just looking at him jumping around in excitement he was a huge fan and it made him feel a little happy. "So why the Curse of Dragon?" He asked, curious on why he signed that card. Usually, there was always a back story, sometimes not.

This time, there was. "When I watched you battle against Mr. Kaiba, that dragon just seemed to call out to me." He ignored a snicker coming out of the peanut gallery. He even forgot that there were others still in the room. He had been so focused on Yugi, he completely ignored everything and everyone in the room. "From then on, I just had this admiration for it. And it's a shame you don't have him in your deck anymore."

The tri-haired boy smiled and shook his head, "I actually have two decks now." That sparked an interest in the twenty year old. "The one I use the most, it doesn't have The Curse of Dragon in it, but in my other deck does. I wish I could show you, but I don't have it with me. My brother still has it."

At the mention of a brother, Chokichi stopped any further conversation with a clear of his throat. "Well, we better get going." He looked to his coworkers and then to his family. "See you in a couple of hours," and then gave them a look that said not to leave the house. He smiled for show and ushered the men to leave.

As Charlie was practically being pushed out, he managed to call over his shoulder, "Hopefully, I'll get to talk to you soon, Yugi!"

Said name just smiled and sort of waved.

Before the door shut, Chokichi gave his family one last look before closing and locking the door.

End of Flashback:

Miyuki looked up from her game, a bit frustrated. She had been working on this puzzle for the last ten minutes and she wasn't having any luck with it. To try and clear her mind, she glanced up and her eyes sought out her baby. He was still lying on his stomach with his legs crossed and in the air. His attention was fixed on the textbook in front of him as he read with a fascinated look upon his face. He only moved his position when something fell asleep.

"Having fun?" She asked with amusement showing in her voice.

Yugi nodded his head without bothering to look up. "I don't know why, but their history is so interesting." He said, talking about the United States. He was fairly good in history even though he grew bored of it, but right now, he was glued to the text written there.

"Maybe it's because you didn't grow up with it and it wasn't forced to learn it."

He shrugged and resumed reading.

Miyuki gazed back down at the paper, thinking she could solve this impossible game now and bit the end of her pen in concentration. It wasn't long before she grew frustrated once more and looked up. Her eyes scanned the perimeter of the room, looking for something to keep her mind occupied. That was when she heard the keys in the lock, opening the door.

Both Miyuki and Yugi looked up just in time to see Chokichi stagger into the house, his face relaxed and looked like he was having the time of his life. He turned around to close the door and waved to his friends as they drove away (Charlie was the only one who didn't drink so he could drive everyone home.) He locked the door and turned around. And just like that, his smile vanished when he caught sight of his family. A glare was set in his eyes instead of that carefree look he had when entering the house. His smile was turned into a grim line and he started to walk towards them.

Sensing something bad was about to happen, Miyuki put her unfinished game down on the couch in a hurry and said to Yugi, "Honey, go to your room." Her voice was full of urgency that Yugi took as a hint and gathered his book and finished homework. He was just starting to stand up when his father said in a tight voice.

"Going somewhere, son?" He spat out the last word. He made it across the room and before his wife could even stand up or Yugi to turn away, he grabbed his son by the front of the shirt and lifted him off the ground to where his feet dangled an inch or two above the carpet.

The book and paper had slipped from the teen's grasp by the sudden movement and he went still for a second. Then, his hand automatically grasped his father's hand in attempt to try to make the older man to let go. Of course that didn't work so he said in voice that sounded scared but also mad, "Let go!" He squirmed a bit, hoping his weight would do something.

"Chokichi!" Miyuki yelped and tried to come to the rescue for her boy. She reached out and grabbed the arm that was holding Yugi and tried to pull his arm away, but, she wasn't strong enough.

Chokichi glanced down with a dull look that read Don't-mess-with-meand he tried shaking the smaller woman off. But, the woman held on like she was glued to him, making him irritated. "Get off!" He growled and managed to drop his grip on his son's shirt to slap his wife across the face.

From the force behind the slap, Miyuki was knocked to the ground; tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes. A bright, red hand print was beginning to form on her cheek as her fingers softly ran over the aggravated skin. She was starring wide-eye at the man who had just hit her.

Yugi's eyes widen in horror from where he landed on his butt. "Mom!" He yelped, trying to make sure she was okay.

By the sound of his voice, the drunken man looked down and smirked. His son was trying to get to his knees so that he could crawl over to his mother, but, Chokichi wasn't in the mood to see some sappy scene. Barely bending down, he grabbed his son by the hair and yanked him up so that he was on his feet.

The tri-haired teen cried out in pain as he was forced to a standing position. Both of his hands tried to stop the hurt as they gripped the other hand.

"Shut your mouth, runt." Chokichi hissed and glared down at his victim. "Or I'll shut it for you."

Yugi tried to stop causing noise but the pain was a little too much. Slipping one last time through his mouth was a small cry, but that was enough to have a fist in his stomach. He tried to double over in pain, but the grip on his hair made it impossible.

"I told you not to talk," He said, not at all sounding sorry for his action.

"W-why…?" Yugi managed to asked, even though he was punched once more in the stomach. He needed to know why he was getting beat up or if it was just the alcohol acting up.

Chokichi tightened his grip on the boy's hair before throwing his to the ground as hard as possible. When Yugi landed on his side, he pulled his leg back and kicked him hard in the stomach. "You need to be taught a lesson. A lesson that will be remembered." He said and kicked the unfortunate teen again. He continued talking, "And that lesson is to not disobey any rule I give you. You follow them and nothing will happen to you." And then he thought to add, "Or your mother." With one last kick in the side, he stopped.

Yugi had had his hands wrapped around his head as his body automatically went to fetal position. When the kicking had stopped, he felt the bruises he had received a few days ago start to ache again. No doubt they would be a darker black and blue tomorrow instead of just the light color they were now with some yellow coming up.

"Nn…" He grinded his teeth together from the pain in his sides. Then he stopped, not completely caught up with what his father had just said. 'Ormymother?' He thought. And then, panic sirens flared in his mind as it registered.

Ignoring the pain, he rolled over and made it to his knees, looking for his mom. Chokichi had grabbed her wrist and jerked her to a standing position. From there, he backhanded the woman on both of her cheeks as he tried to get away. But, he was still holding onto her wrist.

"Mom!" Yugi croaked, after the third slap (or fourth if you count the first one). He tried to make it to his feet, but before he could, Chokichi released her and whipped around, his eyes trained on his son's. Yugi cowered in fear, but, it was for nothing. Instead of his father turning his attention on him, he just walked past the teen and left the room, going to the room known as his office.

Not watching the older man leave, Yugi ran over to his mom and hugged her, asking her, "Are you alright?"

Miyuki's arms wrapped around her son's trembling frame. What had just happened, she didn't understand. Chokichi was known for doing more harm than what he had just done. So, why didn't he continue? Was it because the alcohol made him a bit soft but angry at the same time? What even caused him to lash out like he did? She still couldn't understand why he didn't continue the beating. Then she stopped herself. She was gladhe stopped. Why was she questioning on why he stopped?

'Get a hold of yourself, Miyuki,' She ordered herself. She shook her head to clear it and peered down at her son who was looking up at her.

"You alright?" He asked and loosened his grip on his mom.

She nodded her head but then grew concern on how he faired, "I'll live, but what about you?" She brushed his blond bangs from his eyes to look into his amethyst orbs. She saw a bit of pain there, but it wasn't much. It was barely there.

"Same." He answered and then looked over to where his father had left. "But, I wonder if he'll always be like that when he gets drunk…" His words lingered in the air as Miyuki said nothing. All she could think about was the night Solomon had ordered his own son to leave and never come back.

XxxxX Till next time! ^^

For Yugi not fighting back, there's a reason for it. Just please be patient because in a few chapters, it'll be explained.

1-This was an old cartoon back in like the 80's? 90's? I vaguely remember watching it, but my sister owns the first series so I've been re-watching it. You didn't know how bad I wanted to say he was watching Yu-Gi-Oh! Because that is what I watch Saturday mornings! ^^ I never get up in time for the nine o'clock show, I like my sleep a little too much, but I always watch the eleven o'clock one.