Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter.

This chapter is the start of a flashback, the next few chapters will be leading up to what made Yugi so upset.

I don't know about the Japan educational system after compulsory school; so I have based it on England. We have to choose at least 4 subjects, although some people drop some after a while. You can choose more if you want, but it's optional.

~*~Angels Fall First~*~

The school hall was filled with students, even though it was not a school day. In fact it was one of the remaining days of their holiday, but the students had to choose which subjects they wished to study next year, and so had been called in from their relaxing activities to return to the dreaded building.

Of course for some getting out of the building was more urgent than for others.

"Yeah, that'll do. And that one. Yeah, that looks mildly interesting. And that one makes four!"

"Jounouchi, if you do this properly it will take no longer than about half an hour; is school break so important that you can't take thirty minutes to decide your future?"

"But Anzu; I really do want to take…advanced maths…WHAT? No I don't! Honda pass me an eraser would ya?"

Anzu sighed and turned her attention to the smallest member of their group. Yugi was scribbling away at his own form; blissfully unaware at what Jou had just done.

She looked over at what he had chosen so far and frowned when she saw that not the recommended four boxes had been filled; he had chosen five so far – and was still writing.

"Yugi, how many lessons are you going to take?"

"Huh? Oh, well I can't decide what to take, so I'm choosing any that appeal to me. I've got biology, physics, chemistry, maths, computing and now English. What do you think about History?"

Jou had now erased the unwanted maths from his list and had listened in on the other's conversation.

"Yug, are you planning on eating and sleeping at all this year, bud? I mean I'm taking four and I'm planning on dropping as many as I can."

"Yes well, some of us actually have aspiration, Jou."

"Oh yeah, Anzu? Well what are you taking?"

"Art, media studies, dance and drama."

"Hmm, figures you'd go for stuff like that. Yug, seriously though maybe you should reconsider? I mean six A-levels are a bit much even for you…"

"Seven. I'm going to take geography too."

Jou sat open-mouthed as Yami who had been sitting next to Yugi spoke up.

"Aibou, maybe Jou is right? That is going to be an awful lot of work, you don't want to over work yourself."

"I'll be fine; I can always drop a subject if it gets too much."

Yami frowned slightly and watched as Yugi and Anzu made their way to the front desk to hand in their forms. Jou was still trying to pick subjects and had now enlisted the help of Honda.

"Well what have you got so far?"

"Gym."

"Yeah, gym and what?"

"Just gym."

"You can't just take one lesson. What about history? You were quite good at that. And English."

"Yeah, they were two of the only subjects I actually got a pass in. Why not?"

Jou wrote them down and went with Honda to hand in their own forms.

Yugi and Anzu were waiting with Yami outside of the school building, sitting on the wall talking excitedly about the new lessons they were going to take. But this conversation stopped when the two boys approached; they hated speaking about school work, especially when it was their holiday.

"Finally, that took forever."

"Jou, I'd have thought you'd take a little more interest in something that is going to affect your life so much."

Jou mumbled an inaudible response and sat on the wall next to Yugi who was staring at his timetable. They had all received a table telling them when and where their lessons would take place, and of course, most importantly; where their free periods were.

"Man, Yug, you haven't got any free lessons. When are you gonna take a break from that lot?"

"I don't mind, I can relax at weekends or something."

Jou pulled out his own now crumpled timetable. It was filled with blank gaps where he had no lessons; each block on Yugi's was filled with a subject, he had no time off at all during the week.

Honda suddenly became distracted with the appearance of his crush; Miho.

The brown haired teen left the group without so much as a word and began to chat up the purple haired girl.

Jou sighed, watching the pathetic excuse for flirting. Honda would never get anywhere with that girl; but that didn't stop him from trying.

Anzu glanced up at the clock on the side of the building and gasped; grabbing her backpack from the ground and her timetable from Yami who had been comparing it to his hikari's and hurried off.

"I'm really sorry you guys, but I have to get to work; I'm already late! I didn't realise the time!"

"Bye Anzu…"

She had already turned the corner. Yugi dropped his hand sadly; Anzu hardly ever had time for them anymore. Honda too, he was always hanging out with Miho and her group of friends. At least Anzu had a good excuse; she needed the money so that she could go to America and study dance.

A few moments later Jou too departed; his excuse being that he had to practice basket ball. Yugi didn't even bother to wave goodbye this time.

Yami turned to his aibou.

"Yugi, Anzu's taking a lot of classes, but she still has time for free periods. Maybe you should cut back? The school is still open; we could go get it changed now?"

"Iie, Yami I'll be fine. I want to take all of these lessons; I wouldn't know which one to drop!"

Yami sighed in defeat as Yugi spotted Ryou running towards him.

"Hello Yugi, Yami."

"Hi Ryou, have you got your timetable yet?"

"Yes, mines a bit full though."

He looked at Yugi's and his eyes widened.

"You're not really taking all of these classes are you?"

"Yes, I need to get home though, come on Yami."

Ryou walked with them as it was on his way, he hung back so that he could talk privately with Yami.

"You're letting him take all of these?"

"I can't change his mind, this is what he wants. I'm sure he'll be fine; he has his friends to talk to if anything gets really bad right? I mean he'd come to one of us wouldn't he?"

Ryou said nothing; just stared at the ground.

"Maybe…"

Yugi had already reached the Game Shop and called out goodbye to Ryou as he entered.

"Yami, I'm taking most of lessons he is, I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks, you want to come in for a while? Yugi and I have nothing to do tonight and what with school starting soon it may be a while before we can hang out like this."

"Yeah, why not? Can I use your phone to call my father?"

"Sure."

The two followed Yugi into the shop; hearing no sounds they moved into the living room where a pale Yugi was holding the phone; his large violet eyes holding back tears.

"Yes…thank you…I'll be right there…"

Yugi shakily replaced the phone and looked up into Yami's eyes.

"Jiichan is in hospital, he had a heart attack…"

The tears which he had held back came out full force, Yami rushed to his side and held him close; his shirt was getting soaked but he didn't really care right now.

"Yami, do you want me to call a taxi? You can go to the hospital and see him."

"Thanks Ryou."

Ryou picked up the phone and began dialling. Yami began rubbing Yugi's back as his sobs showed no signs of subsiding.

"Yugi, it's okay. He'll be fine; you'll see. We'll go visit him and you'll see that he's okay."

Yugi's tears began to slow, and he turned his shining eyes upwards to meet with Yami's crimson ones.

"You sure he'll be okay?"

"Positive, look Ryou just ordered a taxi; we can go see for ourselves."

Yugi nodded, but as Yami let go of him he fell to the floor; his body weakened from crying so much and from the mental exhaustion.

Yami picked him up and sat him on the couch, Ryou handed him a glass of water and he took it shakily, almost spilling it.

Grabbing the glass Yami helped him to drink it to spare the couch from being washed.

"Thank you…"

Ryou decided to join them when the taxi turned up, Yugi sat in between them in pure silence the whole way there; not noticing the concerned looks he was receiving from his friend and Yami.

When they arrived Yugi paid the driver; Ryou insisted on paying half. Yami paid nothing as he had left his wallet at home.

Yugi virtually ran up the stairs, flying past doctors making his way to the front desk.

Yami and Ryou struggled to keep up with him; they weren't as small as he was and so couldn't slip past people as easily.

"Where is my grandpa? What room is he in? Is he okay?"

As Yugi frantically asked the nurse a thousand and one questions a doctor appeared behind him.

"Are you Yugi Mutou? If so please follow me."

Yugi said nothing but followed the doctor up the stairs and into a waiting room.

"I have a few questions."

Yugi nodded and began to answer them as they were fired one by one.

"Ryou, which way did he go?"

"I saw a doctor take him up those stairs; I think…"

Sensing despair through their mind-link he raced up the stairs to see his light crying into his hands as the doctor continued asking questions to the clearly distraught teenager.

Yami was more than a little pissed off.

"Do you know if he has a will?"

"I don't know…I…he…"

"What about preferred funeral arrangements?"

"Um…I don't-"

"Have you any other family members you can stay with if he does die?"

"I don't know!"

Yami picked the doctor up by his shirt and pinned him to the wall; Ryou rushed to Yugi's side and wrapped his arms around him, trying to calm him.

"What the hell have you been asking him?"

Yami's voice; which was dangerously low, was enough to scare the doctor, and relieve him of any cockiness he had held with the smaller Yugi.

"J-just standard stuff…"

"Well, any other 'standard' questions will be directed to me. Understood? I can answer them as well as he can."

The doctor merely gulped and nodded, praying that the teen would release him from the death-grip soon as he was finding it hard to breathe.

Yami threw the doctor to the ground and mumbled something under his breath about going to visit Yugi's grandpa.

"No. I'm sorry, but I cannot allow that."

This time a security guard barred Yami's path. He was a lot bigger than Yami, but that didn't stop him from asking him questions

"Why not?"

"He is in the ICU at the moment, and is in critical condition. The doctors need to stabilise him and that may take some time. I think it would be best if you went home right now, and come back in the morning."

Yami was about to send him on a one-way trip to the Shadow Realm when he felt a gentle tug at his sleeve. Looking down he saw the tear filled eyes of his hikari.

"Please, Yami. Don't."

Sighing Yami lowered his hand, muttering some swear words under his breathe which made Yugi and Ryou giggle.

Sending the guard a death glare he followed the two hikari's out of the building and they made their way back home, intending on returning tomorrow.

~*~To be Continued~*~

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