Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Gi Oh!, its characters, etc.
Jou: PLEASE tell me you didn't get any reviews.
Me: What, you want to have died for nothing?!
Jou: ... When you put it that way...
Me: We got... *cracks open box, pulls out slips of paper* FOUR!!! WOOT!!! THAT'S FOUR MORE THAN I EVER COULD HAVE HOPED FOR!!!
Jou: You're psycho, you know that?
Me: *dancing around in little circle of joy*
Jou: Just read the damned reviews!
Me: Ah, yes, ahem. *reads them* ^_^ They like me! They really like me!

Crystal Crittenden: even though your review was simple, it was also the first! *hands three doughnuts to CC* Thanks for playing! XD
Crystal Knight: okeeyay... *is weirded out because two people in a row have 'crystal' in their name* But I'm so glad you think the fic is goo! Personally, I think it is very very goo. My brother thinks all my fics are goo. Thanks for supporting me in the whole killing Jou thing (Jou: Grrr...). I might need a knight around to protect me from rabid fangirls...
optimistic girl94: fantastic? 0_0 wow. Best praise I've ever gotten.
watery-angel: what does it look like I'm doing?! Eheh, well, actually, a little explanation is required on why this fic is exactly a week late...

~flashback~

Fekket (look! it's me! I didn't know I'd be in this! Where's my agent?!): But I need to update my fic!
Mom and Dad: No, you need to study for the ultra-hard sort-of-annual test that we know you're going to fail anyway!

~end flashback~


Fekket: u_u I hate being a homeschooler.
Jou: So, when do I come back to life?
Me: Right after I kill Samurai Jack.
SJCDFs (look it up): *come roaring over the horizon weilding pointy objects*
Jou fangirls: Hey, we get to maim her first!
CDFs: No, we do!
Jou fangirls: We do! *they start fighting*
Yami fangirls: What about us?
Me: *mutters as she sneaks away* You'll get your turn, don't worry.

Running From Me
By FekketC
Chapter 2

Anzu sat in the chair at the foot of the bed, crying harder than the boys had ever seen her cry before. Bakura was sitting in a chair next to her, halfheartedly trying to console her but failing. Honda paced the room quickly, his hands shoved in the pockets of his school uniform.

"It's all my fault," he kept muttering. His hair was disheveled; though the three were dressed in their school uniforms, none looked like they had brushed their hair that morning.

Yuugi was sitting in the hospital bed, clutching his knees to his chest and trying to find something to feel. But he felt like an empty shell now, incapable of summoning any emotion. It was the afternoon of the day he woke up; the others had gone to school with the news of Jou's death following them like vicious dogs. Anzu had finally exploded in sixth period, hurling a beaker of chemicals at the wall and then bursting into hysterical tears. The boys hadn't done much better; Bakura had forgotten all his homework and Honda had nearly beat up two kids in the parking lot.

Yuugi had had to lie in his hospital bed all day, staring at the ceiling and playing the movie over and over in his head. Wake up. Jou's last words, wake up. If only he had stayed awake a little longer, he could have dropped Jou off and then died on his own.

No matter how I look at it, it all comes back to that. I should have died, not Jou. Not Jounouchi, he didn't deserve to die.

The others hadn't said a word to him yet, but he knew what they were thinking. This was everyone's fault: Bakura's for not being there to keep everyone from getting drunk; Anzu's for enticing everyone to drink; Honda's for throwing the party in the first place. But deep down inside Yuugi knew that it was his fault the most. He had killed Jounouchi; he might as well have rammed his friend's head into that column with his own hands.

At last Bakura looked up at Yuugi. "Will they be letting you out soon, Yuugi?"

The younger boy refused to meet his eyes. "Yeah. My grandpa's going to come pick me up in an hour. I was just knocked out, nothing serious-" And then he felt something explode in his chest and he burst into tears. Honda sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed his back, but Yuugi barely felt it. He cried until a nurse came and made him take two pills and asked the others to leave. Yuugi waved goodbye to them, and then drifted off.

~~~

Grandpa called and said something came up, so I've got to walk home, Yuugi thought. He was dressed in his normal clothes again, the hospital gown left behind. Now if only he could leave behind the guilt that hung like an anvil chained around his neck.

Up ahead someone was standing on the sidewalk. Somehow Yuugi knew who it was without looking up, but he just couldn't beleive it. At last he reached the person, and stopped. His eyes slowly travelled up the long legs, past the yellow t-shirt that said 'be what you are and fuck the rest', and saw the face.

"How you doin', Yuug?" Jou asked, grinning.

Yuugi couldn't say anything; he felt like his jaw had been wired shut.

Jou nodded understandingly. "Yeah, the doctors told you I was dead, huh?"

Yuugi managed a nod.

The older boy laughed. "Man, this could be a soap opera. Embarrassing, huh?"

And just like that the inhibitions were gone and Yuugi leaped forward, wrapping his arms around Jou's waist.

"I... You scared me! I missed you so much!"

Jou returned the hug as best he could, putting his hands on Yuugi's shoulders and squeezing. "I missed you, too, bud," he said softly. "And now I need you to do something for me."

Yuugi looked up into his friend's smiling face and nodded eagerly. "Anything!"

Jounouchi's smile never left his face. "I need you to wake up."

Yuugi sat up and started crying. He had been lying in the backseat of the shop pickup truck, Grandpa driving.

"Are you alright?" his grandpa asked. "We're home, and I tried to wake you up, and you just started crying."

The boy calmed down a little and met his grandfather's worried violet eyes. "I'm alright now, Grandpa. Just a... Just a dream."

The walk from the car into the shop, and then up the stairs to his room was all a blur to Yuugi. He closed the door behind him and fell onto the bed, his tears spent. He had nothing to think about; once again he felt dead inside.

He listened to the cars passing by on the street, the radio playing downstairs, the bustle in the shop. A few hours passed and Grandpa opened the door and asked if he was hungry.

Yuugi sat up. "A little, I guess," he whispered. "Give me a few minutes."

Grandpa nodded and closed the door quietly. Yuugi looked around the room, searching for anything to think about besides greif.

His eyes fell on the Millenium Puzzle sitting on the bedside table and realization flashed in his mind. He had left the Puzzle in his room on the night of the party; Yami had professed to being tired and in no mood for watching people get drunk. Yuugi had half-agreed with him, and had gone only because he had promised to drive.

Yami can help me, he thought. He must've lost a lot of people in his lifetime; maybe he can help me deal with the pain. At the very least, he needs to know what happened to Jou and why I haven't put on the Puzzle in almost a full day. Reaching out he took hold of the cord and slipped it around his neck, waiting for Yami to make contact.

When he didn't, Yuugi closed his eyes. Suddenly he was in his own mind, walking towards the door that usually seperated him from Yami. He took hold of the knob and started to turn it.

It was locked.

A wave of panic took over him and he yanked at the knob. On the other side he could hear very faint voices, and occasionally it felt like someone else was trying the door from the other side. For a straight ten minutes Yuugi tugged and twisted the knob frantically, until at last the sounds on the other side faded away and he collapsed in exhaustion. A few minutes later he went downstairs for dinner, leaving the puzzle on his bed.

~~~

He spent the next day sleeping; the doctor didn't want him going back to school until he had had enough rest. The day after, he put on his uniform, combed his hair, and took the bus to school.

When he arrived he discovered something curious. There were three reactions he got throughout the day: the first, cold and blaming, he got from a lot of students who had known Jounouchi; the second, complete sympathy, he got from the teachers and most of the other kids; the third, being avoided or ignored, he got from his own friends. He couldn't blame them; they needed to sort this out as much as he did. And what good would it do to tell them about the trouble with the Millenium Puzzle? They understood it even less than he did, and wouldn't be able to help at all. The best they could do was leave each other alone until they had come to grips with what had happened.

Yuugi was sitting in Algebra that afternoon, trying to concentrate and failing, and his eyes wandered. Sitting next to him in the seat that had been Jounouchi's but hadn't been taken yet, was Jou. He was leaning back in his chair, chewing a toothpick and lost in thought. Finally he noticed Yuugi staring at him and grinned.

"Come on, man, the teacher's talking, wake up!"

Yuugi's head snapped up and he stared ahead at the teacher. The man smiled partonizingly. "Off in daydream land?"

Yuugi didn't know what to say. He had fallen asleep in class, and had mistaken the sound of his teacher waking him for Jounouchi. Was he going crazy, or were these normal greif symptoms? He did his best to stay awake during the last three classes, and then headed home. He tried the Puzzle again but found only the locked door with silence beyond it. He did his homework and went to bed early; his grandpa checked him at seven o'clock and found that the boy had cried himself to sleep.

~~~

Chapter 2, finished! Well, read and review and I'll submit the next chapter next Saturday evening. Yeah, I PROMISE this next one will be on time, ALRIGHT?! And in exchange for that solemn vow, you owe me a review! Now, review! *sees stampede of screaming Jounouchi, Samurai Jack and Yami fangirls holding clubs, pitchforks, and all make and model of silverware* HEY HEY LET ME FINISH THE FIC BEFORE YOU TURN ME INSIDE-OUT!!! *runs away* *as she's running* Jeesh, I have got to stop killing characters all the time. What is with me?
Jou: *running alongside me* It's because you're a crazy bitch!
Me: WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!?!?!
Yami: *running on my other side* Same reason I am!
Samurai Jack: *running ahead of us* Watch out, there's a minefeild!
Me: *sigh* I have got to get a better, safer gig! Like skydiving or tiger hugging!