a/n: Okay, since all you nice reviewers are liking my story and want me to continue, here we go! (I can't believe most of you actually read my author's notes)

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"And where have you been?" Katrina's father stood before her looking murderous.

"Yugi was helping me study," she signed, glad she didn't have to form words in her throat through the tight knot.

"Don't use all that stupid hand stuff with me!" he yelled, and grabbed her by the neck. He slammed her into the wall, then hit her in the face, causing her to fall.

Kitty lay on the floor, too scared to move. Her teeth were gritted and her eyes squeezed shut. Yami's words echoed in her mind. "Until then you have to be strong. You must be able to withstand anything that comes your way..." She felt slightly stronger as she remembered what he had said. If Yami thought she could do it, then she could.

Alan grabbed her hair and pulled her up, Katrina wincing. As he punched her in the stomach and then in the face, not a single tear fell from her eyes. He kicked her in the knee, and it was all she could do not to cry out from the excruciating pain. But she didn't. Not a sound left her throat.

He threw her across the room and she landed hard on the floor. She looked up and saw him begin to advance on her. Then, she did something she had never done before. She got to her feet and ran. She didn't hear her father's yells as she sprinted up the stairs. Kitty wasn't even aware of the pain in her knee just then. All that mattered was escaping him.

She made to her room and closed the door, locking it. She then ran to her closet and buried herself deep inside it after closing that door as well. Then she waited.

Alan pounded on her bedroom door and shouted threats at her but she heard none of them. She simply sat in the back of her closet, hugging her knees and waiting.

After a little while, Alan stopped, promising himself he would make her pay dearly for that in the morning.

Unsure of whether or not he was still there, Kitty lay down in the closet and closed her eyes. She wouldn't open them again until the next morning.

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When Kitty opened her eyes, she saw darkness. She began to panic slightly, forgetting where she had spent the night. It was only when she felt around that she realized where she was. She opened the closet door and tried to stand. The first few times she collapsed from where her father had kicked her, but finally she managed to stay on her feet.

Her mother was probably in her own room, still badly hurt from the night before. Kitty felt sorry for her, but knew she couldn't leave her room or risk her father.

She looked at her watch, trying to steady herself against the bed. 10:12 a.m. Getting an idea, she moved to her window, limping slightly. With every step she was in pain, though she tried not to let it show, despite the fact that she was alone.

She opened the window and noted the tree a little ways away. She had never tried this before because of her acrophobia, but now she felt as though she had to do it. As she reached to grab a branch, she caught a glimpse of the ground below her and she felt sick. Freezing for a second, she took a deep breath. Kitty forced herself to continue.

She managed to grab onto the branch with only a slight grip on the window left. If she could swing her leg around the branch, she would be able to make it down.

- One, - she counted to herself. - Two. Three! -

She let go of the window and grabbed onto the branch with her other hand as well as swinging her leg around. She almost had it, but her foot slipped, resulting in her hanging by just her hands. Terrified of the height and her situation, she froze for a second. When her hands began to slip she got really scared.

- Now what? - she thought, her eyes wide.

Getting an idea, she began to shimmy to the tree trunk. At long last, she was close enough where she could attach herself to the tree. She wrapped her arms around it and breathed in relief. Now her only problem was getting the rest of the way down.

It was at a height where she could have conceivably just dropped, but not with her knee so badly damaged. She doubted it was broken, but it felt badly inflamed.

Well, she had to try something. She couldn't stay in the tree all day. Not after she had made it this far. Looking around her, she was not happy to see she was on the lowest branch. She tried to think of another way down and finally came up with something. It wouldn't be comfortable, but it might work.

She positioned herself around the tree and closed her eyes as she began to slide down. Suddenly, a sharp piece of wood cut into her hand as she slid and cried out, letting go and falling the rest of the way. It wasn't too far, but when she landed on her feet, she collapsed from the pain.

She struggled to stand, holding onto the tree for support. Her right knee was searing with pain, but she had been in worse situations. She took a step and she felt as though knives were being driven into her leg. She winced, but refused to let tears fall.

Kitty managed to step away from the tree and begin down the road at a rather slow pace. She was limping, but it wasn't the first time she had been forced to.

Somehow she made it into town and to the game shop. Hoping she didn't look too awful, she entered, trying her best to walk on both legs. Yugi's grandpa stood at the counter.

He caught sight of her and rushed over. "What happened to you?" he asked, staring at her.

- Do I really look that bad? - she wondered, looking over her shoulder at her reflection in the glass door. There was blood on her cheek from where her father had hit her and underneath it, a bruise was evident.

"Yugi!" his grandpa called, leading Kitty to a chair. She forced herself to walk evenly, though it pained her greatly.

Kitty looked at the stairs where Yugi now stood. "Kitty!" he cried, rushing down. "Are you okay?"

She nodded as his grandpa went to get a damp cloth. The Millennium Puzzle glowed as the two switched.

"You will be all right," Yami said as Yugi's grandpa came back and began to wipe the blood off Kitty's face. She winced slightly, but allowed him to continue.

"What happened, Katrina?" Grandpa Motou asked.

She forced herself to laugh slightly. "I fell out of a tree," she signed. "I'm really spastic."

Yami translated and Grandpa Motou sighed.

"You need to be more careful," he said. "Why don't you go upstairs? I have work to do."

Yami and Kitty nodded and she tried to stand, only to fall back into the seat. Yami glanced over at the counter to see Yugi's grandpa disappear into the back.

"Here," Yami said, putting her arm around his shoulders and helping her up. She gave him a weak smile as she was able to stand with his support.

She took a few steps, but when she tried to put weight on her right leg, a searing pain spread through it. Her knee buckled, but Yami caught her before she hit the floor. He lifted her in his arms and carried her upstairs. Her heart fluttered as she leaned her head against his chest.

He entered Yugi's room and lay her down on the bed. He then got up and closed the door.

"What happened?" he asked, sitting beside her.

"He was home when I got home last night," she said, sitting up and leaning against the head board. "I guess I estimated the time wrong."

"Is he gone this morning?" Yami asked, feeling guilty, though he wasn't sure why.

Kitty shook her head. "I climbed out the window," she replied. "Maybe I shouldn't have..." she started, feeling sort of stupid.

"No," Yami interrupted. "You were right to do that. Had you stayed there you would only have been beaten more."

"I'm sorry I'm weighing you down with all of this," she said.

"You're not," he replied and she smiled gratefully.

"Yami," she said.

"Yes?"

"Don't tell the gang that I speak. I'd prefer to sign with them."

Yami gave her a warm smile and nodded. "I won't tell them."

"I wish I could be as calm and collected all the time like you," she said.

Yugi phased out of Yami. - He's not like that /all/ the time! - he said with a smile.

Yami chose to ignore his counter-part. He was about to speak when Kitty dug in her back pocket for something. She pulled out a key and handed it to him.

"If I'm going to call you if something goes wrong, then you'll need a key to my house," she said.

Yugi phased back into Yami, who nodded. "This will help," he said and she gave a small laugh. He put the key in his pocket and looked at her.

She touched the bruise on her cheek lightly and closed her eyes, remembering the night before. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up," she said opening her eyes.

"You're doing well. We will get through this, I promise," Yami told her.

"How?" she asked.

Yami thought for a moment. "We will go to the police."

Kitty shook her head. "He'd kill me," she said.

- Well, that obviously won't work, - Yugi thought dryly. - Come on, Yami! Think of something! -

"What if you didn't come home?" Yami asked.

"He'd find me. Yami, I don't know if there's anything we /can/ do," she said.

"There is! And we will find it! I promised I would and I never break a promise," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She smiled. "I don't know if he's gone or not," she said. "If he's still at home..." she trailed off, knowing he was aware of what she meant.

"You're in no condition to be walking, Katrina. Does he answer the phone?" he asked.

"Um... not... not really, why?" she asked.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," he said, getting up and going to the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked, sitting up. He didn't answer as he started down the stairs, closing the door behind him.

She sighed, leaning back against the bed. She was so tired. She just wanted to sleep. What did she ever do to deserve this?

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Yami picked up the phone and dialed Kitty's number, hoping Kitty was right.

"Hello?" It was a female voice.

"Mrs. Lakewood?" Yami asked.

"Yes, who's this?"

"Yugi," he replied.

"Hi! I-I'm sorry, Kitty can't talk... she's..." Eliza said.

"I know she can't. She's here."

"What?" Mrs. Lakewood cried. "Why? What happened?"

"She climbed out her window. I know what's going on. I know what will happen if her father knows she's been gone. Can you get him out of the house for a little while?" he asked.

"I don't know... I don't think so. Yugi, you have to understand something..." she started, but he cut her off.

"There must be something you can do."

There was silence for a second. "Can you keep her there tonight? I can do that much."

"Yes. And tomorrow?"

"Bring her by after school. He'll be gone then. Yugi, you can't tell anyone, not even the police, all right?" Mrs. Lakewood said.

"I know. I'll take her home tomorrow," he said.

"How is she? What happened? Why did she climb out her window?"

"Her knee is inflamed. It will be all right in a few days though. I have some Aspirin. It helps reduce inflammation."

"Okay. And, Yugi..." Eliza said.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Take care of her."

"I will. Good bye," he said and they hung up.

He started back up the stairs and entered Yugi's room once more. He stepped up beside the bed and looked at Kitty for a second. She was asleep. Her head was slightly to the side and her hand rested on her stomach. Yami went into the hall and opened a closet. Pulling another blanket from it, he went back into Yugi's room. He gently covered Kitty with it and he watched as she rolled her head to the other side, still asleep.

"It will be all right," he told her softly. He sat down in Yugi's chair and watched her. There was a pain in his heart to see what she had to go through.

Suddenly, the door opened and Joey and Tristan traipsed in. They were followed shortly by Tea and Bakura. They stopped immediately, though, when the saw Kitty. Joey raised his eyebrows and Yami stood.

"You got something to tell us?" Joey asked.

Yami searched for words. He couldn't tell them the truth. Kitty didn't want them to know.

"Does Yugi know?" Tristan asked.

Yami mentally slapped his forehead. "It's nothing like that, Tristan."

"Well then, what?" Tea asked.

- Maybe we should tell them, Yami. It's better than what they're thinking now, - Yugi said and Yami knew he had a point. But how could he tell them when Kitty had told him not to?

He looked at her briefly, then turned back to the gang. "I can't tell you right now," he said.

"Huh? Why not?" Joey asked.

"I can't explain. You will know soon enough," Yami said.

"Right," Tea said, confused. "So, uh, now what?"

"You should leave. Katrina needs to rest."

"Why? What happened?" Bakura asked.

"I can't tell you right now. Please, just go," Yami said.

"O-okay," Tea said. "Uh, see you later I guess."

"Yeah, bye," Joey said, confused.

"If you need our help, you know you can call us," Tristan said.

"Thank you, Tristan," Yami replied.

The friends left, feeling very confused.

"What was that about?" Tristan asked as they left the shop.

"I don't know," Tea replied.

"Yami's not telling us something," Joey said.

"But what?" Tea asked. The others just shrugged.

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a/n: Okay, next chapter, more stuff goes on. (duh) Don't forget to REVIEW!! It's necessary for me to continue you know.