Authoress Notes: I just realized I didn't explain something last chapter—Serenity was in Japan. Yes, when her brother died she went there to kind of make peace with herself, and it didn't work that well. At the actual time Joey was killed she was in America. This Chapter One was going to combine the first few old chapters. But then everything kept expanding…

Warning: This chapter contains an OC and mentions of child abuse. Not to mention Joey's deviant religion.

Disclaimer: Guess what? I bought YGO today for about a billion dollars, you gullible fool. I own very little—a plot, Ayashi-kun, Ayashi-kun's clothes, and little things. Most (all) of the furniture belongs to friends.

Put him outta my Misery

By Livi ania

Chapter One

Moving On

"It's a guitar made of the blood of fornicators and the sinews of thieves and gluttons. It-It's a Fender."-Will Ferrell, SNL

Sweet Dreams are Made of These 1

(Early 2004)

Ayashi sat on a comfy, green fuzzy contraption passing itself off as a chair, her legs too shaky to hold her. She sucked in air as fast as she could, as if she was about to suffocate.

"Why is it so hard to walk across the room?" she asked quietly. She understood not being able to walk long distances…but the apartment her parents had afforded for her was a tiny hovel. Five feet did not a decent walk make; yet she felt like a marathon participant.

"You've been in a coma for the better part of a year," her 'nurse' told her gently. "Almost all muscle definition is gone, and not just in your legs. Your lungs too aren't used to powering a moving body. If you'd been in a hospital you're rehabilitation would be easier, but your parents are cheapskates." Most people Ayashi had only known by sight for a week would have been boxed for that, but she had known the other woman far longer than that. Besides, she wasn't in much condition for violence.

"So, how much of this did you know was going to happen, Isis-san? You obviously had time to get nurse's credentials, which I'm fairly sure takes more than a year. Also, you took the trouble to come from Egypt to find me."

"I was already studying to be a doctor," Isis told the girl softly, "but I easily transferred to nurse. I've told you how…demanding…my father was and I'd joined the program in an effort to get out of his realm of influence. Basically, the government pays for your tuition and training, but you're indebted to work for them for a certain number of years. 2 Since I ended up not becoming a doctor, I got out of the deal fairly easily. I had to pay some money, but by then my father was dead and I had quite a bit of an inheritance." Isis stood and paced, her long black hair swinging behind her.

"Ayashi-kun…I truly didn't realize what was going to happen to you. I have a similar artifact of my own, which doesn't tax my body much at all. I didn't even have an inkling of what might happen, until I saw what happened to my brother." 3 She took in a breath, "I'm not sorry though. What is meant to be is meant to be, and besides, there is one other person involved, and they may actually benefit from this arrangement—whoever they are."

The young blonde fingered her pink halter in a tentative movement, a reassuring gesture. Opening her mouth, she was abruptly cut off.

"No. You know more than enough for now. The future strikes a delicate balance as it approaches the now."

Some of the Want to be Used by You

(Later that year)

Ayashi woke from a noise in the middle of the night, "Isis?" she called slightly. The woman was no longer her nurse, technically speaking, but her roommate. She'd told Ayashi she was going to be gone for a week for family problems. Actually, she'd said it in a voice not even a mother could trust.

Not hearing an answer, she turned toward the door slowly, pulling her pajama shorts to cover as much of her butt as possible. Slipping out of the covers, she padded to where she thought she had heard the noise, and whispered, "Who are you?" She'd meant to sound slightly threatening, but she sounded like what she was—a scared, alone, teenage girl.

As the boy turned, she wished she had thought to grab some form of weapon. Not only was he big, in her apartment in the middle of the night, but he was staring at the front of her bright yellow 'Sun & Surf' tank top. 4

"Who am I?" He repeated her words, his own voice sounding lost. "Who are you? Where is this? What is this?"

"Where is this?! This is my apartment! In the middle of the night! Stop looking down my shirt, pervert!" She yelled at him, growing hysterical. What a way to continue one of the worst years in the history of man. Shifting her weight, she felt a glimmer of warmth from the gold around her ankle.

'The anklet has powers,' Isis told her, looking into her eyes. 'I don't know when they'll manifest, but they will. Be careful how you use them. Shadow magic comes at a price.'

'Shadow magic?'

'The magic all types of the items use. Powered by death, hatred, blood…yet for some reason, it is always the pure types who possess them. They access the magic through,'

Here Isis cut off, ignoring Ayashi's protest. 'You don't need to know.'

"I'm Ayashi. Ayashi Neko," she told him softly, fixing in on that sensation of warmth, letting it fill her mind. Looking at him, her blue eyes unfocused and she fell straight forward, landing on his chest.

Although that phrase doesn't accurately describe it…the instant their skin touched, both of them appeared to melt together, until only Ayashi's unconscious form was left in the kitchen.

Some of Them Want to Abuse You.

Some of Them Want to Be Abused.

"Where is this?" Both of them marveled, same words, different rooms.

A dark, gloomy sort of space surrounded Joey. "O Great Cheeseburger…deliver me." 5 He peered around, waiting for his night vision to kick in. Gradually, he made out a largish bed with a nightstand to its side, upon which sat the only recognizable personal effect. A picture taken awhile ago of him and Serenity hugging—of course, the photo as he knew it previously didn't have Mai, Yugi, and that jerk Kaiba in the background.

Ayashi peered nervously around at the blue walls around her. The room was blurred, like looking through a soft focus, but she no longer liked going out of her apartment. Physically weakened, emotionally unloved, mentally traumatized…factors just didn't conspire to make her outgoing and adventuresome. "Please, someone else, please?" She begged softly to the walls, not noticing another important development—her summery pajamas had been replaced with jeans and a shiny blue blouse.

For a brief moment, her head felt spinny. Then, she was standing in the same room, but that intruder was standing there too, holding her up.

"Um…Nice to meet you, Ayashi-san. I'm Jounouchi Katsuya. Tell me tonight isn't going to get any freakier? I almost wish the old man was beating up on me.

Everybody's Looking for Something.

END FIRST CHAPTER

Let's see…I'm moving the plot far faster than last time, but I had thought this chapter would cover more. Little glossy things I just thought to add turned really long. Like all that Isis/Ayashi interaction? It started out as a sentence.

1 Lyrics are from the lovely song 'Sweet Dreams', originally by the Eurythemics, redone by Marilyn Manson. Both are terrific.

2 I took this from an actual program thing in the US, but skewed it a whole ton to suit my purposes. Northern Exposure anyone?

3 So, I mentioned Malik…how many of you want to see more of him?

4 There is no Jou/Ayashi. But I see Jou as the type to look when he sees a girl bra-less.

5 I didn't invent the Great Cheeseburger. Currently, I can't remember who did—but they get credit THE INSTANT I find it. So basically it should be next chapter.