I love you guys! Ya'll gave me 22 reviews! I'm so happy! Well, here is the second to last chapter. I can't hardly believe the next chapter is the end of this story. I feel like I'm gonna cry. Oh, and I apologize for the vulgar language in this chapter, but a lot of the characters got really angry for some reason. As usual, I do not own Yugioh, enjoy! I need a tissue... [YAMI, and YUGI]

Chapter 37

"What do you want Mai?" Yugi asked warily.

"Nothing, yet. No, all I want is for your precious boyfriend to show up. He has a nasty habit of doing so when I least want him to." Mia said back vindictively.

"I don't think that's going to be happening this time." Yugi said as he looked down and remembered that he left the puzzle at home on his bed.

"Oh, he will, I'm sure of it. He always seems to know where you are." Mai replied back folding her arms across her chest.

Yugi? Yugi, I can feel that you're awake, tell me where you are.

No.

"No he's not." Yugi replied back sadly.

"Yes he will! Or Vivian here will take punishment for his crime of butting in to places where he doesn't belong!" Mai said flicking on a light.

Yugi's head snapped up to see Vivian hanging in a similar position that he was in. Chains were wrapped around her torso as well, and she too was suspended in the air. Vivian was worse for wear than he was though, bruises and cuts littered her neck and what little of her legs that Yugi could see. He didn't even want to think of what the rest of her body looked like.

"Vivian?" Yugi called out fearfully.

Vivian's head slowly rose to Yugi's voice, and Yugi was horrified with what he saw. One of Vivian's eyes was swollen shut, and there were many lacerations on her face. They trickled out blood, every one of them. She smiled painfully at him.

"You know that old saying Yugi? Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer? I think I might have kept my enemy too close to me." Vivian said in a hoarse voice.

Yugi! Tell me where you are!

You'll only get hurt. I don't want you to get hurt.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?! SHE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND! THAT'S JUST SICK!" Yugi yelled at Mai.

"Was, actually, but that's right you don't know, do you?" Mai said smiling and laughing slightly.

"Know what? Explain it to me!" Yugi spat out.

"Why everything I did, for us Yugi. So we could be together." Mai said sincerely.

Damn it Yugi! This is no time chivalry!

Quiet Yami, I'm gathering information.

Information on what?

Listen.

With that simple word, Yugi let his barriers come crashing down. He let Yami hear and see all he could, he trusted Yami, with his entire soul, heart, mind, and body. He trusted Yami.

"What did you do?" Yugi asked gently.

"Well, I spread that rumor about you and Malik dating. It spread through the school like a wildfire. I tried to push Rebecca Hawkins off the roof, but you messed that up. You almost ended up dying yourself. I sent that bear and rose to you, with that special message. I wanted the roof accident to be our moment and our moment alone. But you had to go and tell your bloody boyfriend about it. You had to ruin everything by telling him!" Mai's voice started to rise in anger, but Yugi was a quick thinker.

"I'm sorry Mai, so sorry. I didn't know; if you had only told me, of course I would have kept a secret between us." Yugi said putting in a bit of charm to his voice. It worked as Mai continued to tell Yugi all she had done.

"Well, I attempted to run you over with that car, but Jou pushed you out of the way. I paid Ushio and Bandit Keith to beat you up on a regular basis, so your spirit would be broken. That was the only thing that actually seemed to work. When they went crazy about how the shadows were out to get them, I hired Satake and his two lackeys to take care of you next. They ended up in the Hospital with more injuries than a deer that's been slaughtered. So last I tried to resend you the gift, but you talked to your boyfriend the same day." Mai explained the rest of what she had done.

Where are you Aibou?

The old Domino car warehouse, it's in the slums of Domino.

I'm halfway there; keep the link open, please.

I wouldn't dream of closing it now.

I love you Yugi.

…

Yugi?

I have to focus on the task at hand Yami.

"You paid them? You paid them to beat me nearly senseless twice a month?" Yugi asked slowly and carefully, trying to keep his voice even.

"Yes. But I must say, you pushing your friends away like that was quite the little bonus for me." Mai said smiling in that sick way again.

"You said you'd hurt them." Yugi replied back.

"No, I said if you talked I would kill everyone involved. Yami and Vivian is the party involved here. You're friends had nothing to do with it. They didn't know I was involved, but thanks to Vivian, Yami now knows, and so do you." Mai said smiling.

Yugi stared at her in horror for a few moments as the information sunk in. He didn't have to push away his friends? He didn't have to hurt them like he did? He could have kept them?

"THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFE!?" Yugi screamed that last thought out.

"Yes, Yugi, they would have been safe." Mai said back calmly.

"YOU VINDICTIVE CONIVING LITTLE BITCH! YOU RUINED OUR FRIENDSHIP JUST FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL AGENDA! HAVE YOU NO SHAME FOR YOUR ACTIONS?!" Yugi continued to scream at Mai why twisting and turning in his bonds.

Yugi! Calm down! Yelling at her isn't going to get you anywhere!

Like hell! She destroyed our bonds of friendship! She broke us apart.

Just calm down, I'm almost there.

Make sure you rescue Vivian too, when you get here. I want to be able to tell her I'm sorry.

Okay.

Yugi was crying, with silent tears making tracks down his face. They fell in endless rivers, and no matter how many times he squeezed his eyes, they didn't stop flowing. Yugi took in deep breaths to try to calm himself down, Yami was right, yelling would get him nowhere.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Yugi, do you really want to talk that way to the person who can just let you drop to the floor at the push of a button. Be careful, you don't want to upset me, I might do something drastic in my anger." Mai mocked Yugi's shaking form.

"Leave him be Mai! Your vendetta is with me! I gave Yami the final piece of the puzzle, not him!" Vivian's voice rang out behind Mai.

"Oh, Viv, I almost forgot about you. Thank you so much for reminding me that you're here." Mai said turning her back on Yugi and walking toward Vivian with a sickly sweet voice.

"Don't. Touch. Her." Yugi's voice rang out next.

"What is it with you two? Have you decided to gang up on me?" Mai asked with mock disbelief.

"Don't even try that Mai." Vivian said in a bored voice.

"Shut up Vivian!" Mai ordered.

"No." Vivian said. It was so short, so simple, but held so much defiance; even Yugi was surprised by it.

"What did you say?" Mai asked with an angry disbelief.

"You heard me, I said no. I'm tired of listening to you. You know I don't even believe we were ever friends. I think I was just your play thing until something more interesting came along." Vivian said with a sudden realization in her voice nodding in Yugi's direction.

Mai's head whipped around in Yugi's direction. It was good thing too, because at that moment a familiar shadow wrapped around Vivian and she disappeared within its depths. Leaving the chains to rattle soundlessly, as their previous victim of captivity was released from their binds. Yugi knew that shadow very well, it was the same one that was in his bedroom, which must mean that Yami was here, or at least close by. Yugi looked down to Mai, smiling in way that would have made Yami proud of him, he was sure.

"Lose something Mai?" Yugi jeered quietly looking across the room.

Mai whipped back around and her body tensed at seeing the chains that were formally around Vivian clattering to the ground, their victim gone. She turned to look back at Yugi, to find him still hanging where he was supposed to be. She couldn't help but smile that Yami had rescued Vivian before his boyfriend. She supposed that they weren't that close after all.

"It looks like he cares more for her than he does you." Mai said back laughing in her own sick way.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you, Mai." Yami's voice rang out from all around them.

Its suddenness had both Yugi and Mai looking around for its source. Upon not finding it, Mai produced a knife out of her jacket pocket and lowered Yugi until he was right in front of her, the blade pressed harshly against his throat.

"Come any closer Sennen, and I'll slice him up." Mai called out.

"Actually, that's where I wanted Yugi, thank you. Now I can get down to business. Get ready for hell, because that's exactly where I plan on sending you Mai." Yami replied back like it was no big deal before his voice became as cold as winter.

"I'm warning you!" Mai called out shakily. It was difficult to appear brave and in control when you couldn't see your adversary. A humorous chuckle was her only reply.

You're going to leave me here with her?

I was never in the room Yugi, I was simply using my shadows to manipulate the ones already currently in the room. Vivian is safe, I sent her home with the Mystical Elf for company.

Thank you. What are you planning to do?

Light her up.

[With Yami]

As soon as Yami sent that thought to Yugi he put up mental barriers of his own. He knew Yugi had a heart of gold, and he didn't want Yugi to know about the dangerous thing that he was doing. He knew that Yugi didn't like Mai, but was his dislike enough to kill Mai? No, Yami knew that Yugi wouldn't approve of what he was doing, but it was something that had to be done. If he didn't do it, this would never end, that he was sure of.

Yami wandered around the warehouse until he came across the wires that he had seen earlier. He didn't really know anything about wires, but he knew that sparks were dangerous around the right things. Looking around, Yami found some old wooden boards and piled them up around the protruding wires.

Bending down, Yami used some Shadow Magic, until the two wires began to spark, and land on the wooden boards around them. Once a small fire was going, Yami found some old newspapers to get it really going. The paper caught to flame, instantly and by dropping them on the wooden boards, the boards too began to become engulfed in flame. Standing up, Yami smiled at it in a satisfactory way before beginning to make his way to where Yugi was.

Yami could feel the heat of the fire he had created constantly pressing against his back with each step he took. He didn't dare look around; for fear that the fire might be catching the building more quickly than he had originally intended it too. Still, Yami didn't run he only walked towards his intended destination.

Opening the door that he could feel Yugi's presence behind, Yami was slightly shocked when a rush of smoke flowed into the room as well. It made it almost impossible to see Yugi, but he could still see him. Yugi was coughing and hacking, as was Mai, but the knife was no longer pressed against Yugi's neck. It was lying on the ground near his head. She had probably dropped it.

Yami quickly moved forward and wrapped him up in his shadows; he transported them both out of the warehouse and a good distance away. Yami placed him on a bus stop bench and left Kuriboh with him. Yugi was out cold, and Yami only hoped he would be okay until he returned. Yami then transported himself back to the warehouse to watch, to make sure, that Mai perished in that fire.

Yami watched from the shadows, only his crimson eyes showing, as he watched Mai slowly choke to death on the smoke. He watched as she stopped breathing. He continued to watch as the flame came and licked away at her body, until the smell of burning flesh filled the room, and made Yami want to retreat. He stayed though, until Mai was a charred mass of muscle, bones, flesh, and pieces of clothing.

Then, and only then did Yami retreat to the place where he had left Yugi. He was surprised to see Bakura there, at the bus stop. Bakura looked up at him as he approached. He nodded at Yami, and then walked away. Yami had the funny feeling, that Bakura had known what he had done, but decided not to question it. If Bakura wasn't going to bring it up, than neither was he.

Yami picked up Yugi in a bridal position and carried him all the way home. Yugi was holding Kuriboh like a teddy bear the entire way. When Yami arrived home, he walked right past Yugi's Grandfather's sleeping form on the couch and upstairs to Yugi's room where the Mystical Elf stood waiting for him.

Yami placed Yugi on the bed, and gently eased the Kuriboh out of his arms allowing the Mystical Elf to heal him. Yugi squirmed a bit during the process, but other than that he remained asleep. Once the Mystical Elf was done, she returned back to the Shadow Realm. Kuriboh however, decided that he like being Yugi's personal teddy bear and sat back on the boy's chest. The result was instant as Yugi's arms came up around the small fuzz ball, to hug it snugly to his chest.

Yami couldn't help but smile at the cute scene as he climbed into bed behind Yugi, tucking them both in. He wrapped his arms around Yugi and pulled him close to his own chest, falling asleep almost instantly after doing so. Yami didn't stay awake long enough to see Yugi's Grandpa check up in on them. He smiled to see his Grandson and protector safe where they were both supposed to be. At home, safe and sound in bed. Though, Yugi's Grandpa would have preferred to see them in separate beds, he supposed it was better than nothing.

"Thank you Pharaoh, good night Yugi." Grandpa whispered to the sleeping couple before slipping out of the room as quietly as he came in.

[sniff, blow] Oh, are we at the bottom already? Right, my poll is going got be up until I've posted two chapters for each of my other two stories. Then I'm planning to take it down, because by then everyone who would have wanted to vote should have been able to. 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