Yuugi didn't know how long it had been since he passed out. All he knew was that eventually the agonizing darkness succumbed to a gleam of light. His eyes fluttered open to look at the worried faces above. "You're alive!" shouted Jounouchi joyously.

"Oh, thank goodness!" choked Anzu, tears of relief threatening to spill over.

"He got you too?" asked a soft voice.

Yuugi turned a little in his bed to see Bakura sitting near the head. He was still a little paler than usual, but definitely perkier. Yuugi could see the gauze wrapped around his friend's torso where the collar dipped. The sweater, unfortunately had been torn and stained beyond repair, and Bakura apparently didn't have another one right on hand. "Yeah," said Yuugi, touching the puzzle. "Only, it wasn't a guy. It was a girl."

"WHAAAT??"

Yuugi nodded. "The girl we met after the hospital. It was her."

"No way!" Jounouchi nearly yelled. "But she was so…so…"

"Such a ditz," finished Anzu, irritation flaring in her eyes.

"Yeah."

"Just a very good actor," corrected Yuugi gravely. "I think this is definitely more than we were expecting."

"But she's only one person," came a voice from a shadowed corner of the room.

Yuugi sat up suddenly. "Kaiba!"

"Yeah," said Ryou. "Honda thought that since he had come to visit me in the hospital, he was probably going to get caught up in this anyway."

"And it seems as if you'll be needing help," said Kaiba stepping forward. "She obviously took you by surprise this time too."

"And she's fast. I didn't even see her leaving, and I was first in the room!" added Anzu. "She may be hard to catch."

"There's always some way to draw out and defeat the enemy," said Seto. "Sometimes, though, it means playing their game."

Jounouchi grinned. "Yeah! But we've got the Yu-Gi-Oh on our side! King of Games!"

"That's right!" agreed Honda. "He never loses."

Yuugi smiled. "Never. And he always seems to have an extra trick up his sleeve even when things look impossible!" His face went grave all of the sudden. "But Yami got hurt when the girl came…" he said, the traumatic memory rushing back.

"What do you mean?"

"Just before I blacked out, I think, I came out of my soul room. He came out of his too and collapsed in the hall. I'd better check on him."

Yuugi lapsed from outer-world consciousness. The others waited for a little, Ryou twisting his fingers nervously as he sat by the bed. "I fear he may have fallen prey to the same fate as my Yami," he said softly. Everyone wanted to shush him for that discomforting comment, but they all knew he had a case for his theory. Fortunately, he did not further pursue the subject.

Yuugi opened his eyes and did not speak.

"Well?"

"He's there."

"Great!"

"But he's not responding. He just lies there in the hall, like he's sleeping, and he won't w-wake-" He choked up. "I'm scared," he whispered, pulling his knees up to his chin and closing his eyes hopelessly. There was an awful moment of quiet.