The Grains Of Time
Written By Demonic Angel

Rating ~ R
Possible lemon in future chapters.
Genre ~ Angst, Romance
(It SHOULD be in the drama section too but ff.net doesn't allow a third subcategory!)
Pairing ~ Joey/Seto, minor hints of others.
Disclaimer ~ I do not own any of the characters used in this work of fanfiction. I merely borrow the characters for my own distorted fun. I do, however, own the plot. Please ask permission to use it.

Summary ~
For nine years, a depressing secret had been kept in the dark. When it can no longer be concealed, Joey is forced to face the devastating truth. All of his hope had long since been lost and although his friends refuse to believe it, there is nothing that they can do.

Warning ~
Please be aware of severe depression and slight violence.
Also, yaoi pairings (male x male relationships) are present and focused on.
Please read with caution.

Sorry for the long delay, everyone. December wasn't the best of months, unfortunately. I had been banned from all computer use for nearly three weeks simply because I hadn't been studying enough. So January was the only time I had to work on this. Pity me. -_-' But don't get me wrong, I solemnly vow to finish all of my fics, no matter how long it takes. So don't think I'm dead if I've disappeared for awhile. ^-^

Oh, and about the difference between malignant and benign tumors…It's true that malignant tumors are more life threatening. But when I inquired and researched on it, I found that a person with a malignant brain tumor at its lowest level of severity could only live about six years untreated, six months at its advanced level. So I'm guessing/hoping that benign tumors, while not immediately considered dangerous, could eventually grow large enough to be fatal. Joey would be dead by now if he'd had a malignant tumor since 7.

BUT, I might (most likely) be wrong. So…Don't take all of this seriously.

Chapter Three
Questions Raised, Omitted Answers

They found him, curled up into a ball on his side, his lip bleeding. Joey had nearly bitten right through it in his attempt to bear the pain. Anguish filled Shizuka's heart as she gazed at him, wishing that she had the ability to quell his pain. Trembling, she dropped down beside him and ran a nervous hand through his blonde locks, hoping that the person she'd brought might be able to help him.

"It's okay, Joey. I found somebody. You're going to be all right."

But for once in his life, Seto was confused. Kneeling on the grass, he placed his palm on Joey's forehead, then mentally cursed when he felt the cold sweat. It was apparent that the boy was in pain, and suffering. But what wasn't apparent was the cause of it. Seto had already noted that the blonde didn't appear to have any physical injuries other than the bruise on his face. Nothing life threatening, anyway. Even his limited knowledge on medical treatment wouldn't be of any help in their current situation.

Frustrated, he glanced towards Shizuka. "Why is he like this? Do you have any idea on what happened?"

The younger girl bit her lip and glanced nervously at her brother's face. The sentence, 'Should I tell?' kept repeating itself in her mind. It was after all, Joey's affairs. She was torn between respect for her brother's privacy and his life.

"Well?"

Stuck in confusion and unsure of what to do, Shizuka closed her eyes, prepared to voice the reason for Joey's pain. But a clammy hand suddenly gripped tightly around her wrist and a quick glance at her older sibling's face revealed pleading amber eyes. He didn't want her to say anything.

"I-I don't know. I-It just started on its own." She stuttered nervously, unused to telling lies. At least half of it is true. She silently consoled herself.

The brunette sighed, worried; concern flooding his senses. He was practically on the verge of panicking although his face didn't show it. His sharp eyes had not missed Shizuka's brief hesitation or the firm grip that Joey had clamped around her wrist. But it wasn't exactly the right time to be contemplating thoughts and reactions. Not when his puppy was laying curled on the ground in pain.

His puppy? Seto mentally slapped himself. This is not the right time to turn insane, you idiot!

"I'm calling for emergency help." He muttered.

Standing up, he reached into his pocket and drew out his cellphone. But just as he contacted the local hospital, Joey slowly felt the throbbing pain recede. His surroundings eventually swam back into focus and his grip on Shizuka's wrist loosened. Cautiously, he pulled himself into a sitting position, to his younger sister's great relief.

"Wha-What happened? What's Kaiba doing?" He mumbled tiredly, his hands rubbing his temples.

Shizuka reached into her backpack and pulled a white handkerchief out. "He's getting some medical aid for you." She said as she gently wiped the blood from Joey's mouth.

Immediately, he stood up, ignoring the sudden dizzy feeling he felt afterwards and his sister's instant protest. "What?! No! I don't need to go to some hospital! I don't need help! Nothing happened! It was just a minor headache!"

"But Joey!" Shizuka cried, jumping up, the bloodied cloth falling from her hand. "You need medical attention!"

He glared back at her, a silent message in his eyes, emphasizing each word as he spoke it. "No, I don't." She flinched.

After overhearing the two siblings and realizing that the blonde would survive, Seto canceled the call. Slowly he walked over to Joey, the skeptical look on his face clearly saying that he didn't believe the blonde's words at all. Placing warm fingers beneath his chin, the tall brunette gently tilted the shorter boy's face to scrutinize the still bleeding wound on his lower lip.

"At least allow the nurse to put stitches on this." He muttered gently, eyes narrowed.

Joey's amber eyes widened in surprise. No way…He's not actually *concerned*…is he? Wait. No, of course not. This is Kaiba for God's sake! He probably just wants me kept alive so that he has someone to torture. Yeah, that's right. What other reason could it be?…Dad always says that I'm worthless.

Nevertheless, he couldn't fight down the blush that rose onto his face before managing a barely discernible nod. He'd never been this close in proximity to Seto before; not unless he was trying to physically harm the other. It felt awkward, to say the least.

…He looks adorable when he blushes like that… Seto mused. An entire second passed. WHAT THE FUCK?! Oh that is IT. You are definitely going on a vacation soon. Kaiba Corp.'s finally made you crack.

Abruptly he pulled away, embarrassed, and Joey couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at the loss of his touch. Shizuka cocked her head questioningly to one side.

"So that's Seto Kaiba?" She inquired. "I didn't know you two were friends. Didn't you say in one of your letters that he was an insensitive corporate jerk?"

The two boys immediately froze. In other words, the infamous calm before the storm. Then all at once, Shizuka found herself in the middle of a heated argument of insults. She shook her head in disapproval as they verbally fought and bent to pick up her backpack.

"ME _friends_ with HIM?! Never! He IS an insensitive corporate jerk!" Joey shouted, flushing angrily.

"You insolent mutt!" Seto fumed. "I am NOT insensitive, nor am I a jerk. But why should I bother wasting my breath on you? There's no use in trying to talk some sense into a brainless, naïve, little, puppy!"

"Better than being a Neanderthal like you!" He retorted.

"Oh God. You actually KNOW a word that long, much less the meaning of it?! I'm impressed!" The older boy replied, faking shock.

"Why you-!"

Raising his fist in a threatening manner, Joey was about to pounce on Seto when he felt Shizuka's grip on the back of his jacket begin to drag him in the opposite direction and effectively preventing his planned assault. (Which was probably for the best.)

"Shizuka-!"

"NO, Joey. Your lip is STILL bleeding! You're not going anywhere until you get that fixed. You need to see the nurse. Now either you tell me where the health room is or I'm going to find that Yugi friend of yours and tell him…"

At that point, both their voices became inaudible and Seto found himself only able to observe Joey's reaction of sheer panic. But for all he knew at the moment, he couldn't care less what the blonde idiot was begging of his sister. Joey's insults kept echoing in his head, stinging him emotionally much more than he was used to.

What an asinine! For that idiot to go blabbing insults like that about me when he's not much better himself?! That little arrogant…

Seto crossed his arms and scowled, infuriated. But when his gaze fell to the ground, his glare instantly faded and his anger replaced with something that felt suspiciously like concern. Kneeling, he picked up the white handkerchief that Shizuka had forgotten to pick up, still partially soaked in Joey's blood. At the far end of the field, small groups of students were just beginning to trickle out of the cafeteria.

"Minor headache my ass. It takes a lot more than that to draw blood like this." He said to himself.

Whatever it is, it must be an internal problem…I'll have to admit, you've gotten pretty good at lying, Katsuya. You may have fooled all of your friends but I'm not as gullible as that. You're hiding the truth behind deception and one day, it'll explode in your face and you'll be left, picking up the pieces.

Standing, he tucked the drying cloth into his uniform pocket and proceeded to head to his next class.

~*~

After leaving the field, they'd managed to reach another hall in a building nearby, unfamiliar to his sister but easily recognizable to Joey. He trudged along behind her, more than just a bit reluctant and stubborn to get his wound checked out. But knowing Shizuka, she would probably never stop pestering him until he did.

"Okay, fine! I'll show you where to find the stupid nurse." Joey sulked, finally giving in to his sister's demand as he wiped more blood from his lip with his sleeve. "Just please, don't tell Yugi, or anyone for that matter, about my condition. I don't want them to worry."

Shizuka instantly paused and turned to stare at him. "If your friends are as loyal and supportive as you've told me they are, then they would much rather share this pain with you than watch you suffer alone. Why are you denying them the truth?" She asked softly.

Joey immediately found the floor very interesting as he stood beside her. Who knew that a little cluster of tiny ants attacking a dead cockroach could be so fascinating?

She's right. Am I truly wrong to keep them from knowing about this? But…I don't want them to be concerned about me. Not after all they've already done for me in the past…I should be the least of their worries! It's not like I have a chance at surviving, anyway.

"You won't be able to hide your signs forever, onii-chan." She continued gently. The little ants were just beginning to drag the dead corpse away, causing the insect to seem as if it were still alive.

…Maybe so…But I've got to prolong their knowing of it for as long as I can…It's the least I can do for them.

"I know but…I still don't want them to know, not yet anyway."

Tears once again began to gather at her eyes and with a sob, Shizuka flung herself forward and tightly hugged her dying brother. Several students passed by, but barely gave them three seconds of a glance.

"I love you, onii-chan." She whispered.

"I know. I love you too." He replied, hugging her back. "…But we should probably go find that nurse now. The janitor would freak if he found blood all over his clean floor…And I think you've just stepped on that dead roach."

Clearly, he was exaggerating on how much his lip could bleed. The flow had slowed to the extent where it almost looked as if it'd stopped. And as they walked away, the mushy insides of whatever bugs they stepped on were smeared unnoticed on the tile floor. Possibly twenty lives were killed in three seconds. But do we really care?

~*~

It was the last period and nearly an hour had passed before Joey was allowed to go back to his class. And even that had been a miracle. For the lady that had been sewing up his injury kept insisting strongly for him to go home and give it time enough to heal.

But Joey had firmly refused, afraid to even think on what his father would do should he come home early due to an injury. Managing to convince both the lady and his sister that he couldn't miss another class on account of his already failing grade, he walked out of the health room with a written excuse on why he was late while Shizuka reluctantly left to go back home.

Or in this case, the apartment that she'd rented to stay in for the rest of her visit. Fortunately, she was too courteous to impose on staying with her brother, and he was secretly extremely grateful for it.

Minutes later on his arrival, he handed the note in and sauntered to his seat, ignoring the surprised looks from his friends and fellow classmates at his appearance.

/Yami?! Yami, look! What happened to Joey?!/ Yugi mentally wailed, completely taking the five thousand year old pharaoh by surprise. He could vaguely hear a distinct yelp, a thud, and then several more crashes, as if Yami had painfully fallen off of (or over) various things. /Oops…/

//Um, aibou?//

/Yes?/ Yugi replied, much too innocently.

//Could you clean up your soul room?! Not only are these toys disturbing to see in the mind of a sixteen year old, but they are hazardous to my health!//

/There's not only toys in there, you know./ Explained Yugi, temporarily distracted from Joey's injury. /In a far corner, there should be a whole mess of thoughts about Duel Monsters and homework. Besides, I'm going to be seventeen in a few days./

//What about my HEALTH?!// Complained Yami, but with a playful tone in his voice. //As soon as I heard you yelling, I ran in here, completely worried about you, only to trip on that damn doll over there, step on a bunch of marbles, then fall into this stupid pile of colored blocks! And this is the thanks I get for being concerned?!//

/Now that you mention it, what was that first thud about, after you yelped? You didn't explain that one./

//…Uh…I sort of fell off of my chair…But that's NOT the point!//

Yugi laughed. /Fell asleep during the lecture, did you?/ Then suddenly, he became serious. /But you're right. That isn't the point. I'm just really worried about Joey…I mean, just look at his face! No wonder he was missing./

//How can I when you're staring at the blackboard?//

/Oh, right./ Yugi turned his head slightly to look at Joey, who happened to be sitting next to him on his right.

//…Ra, what happened to him? He seems to be getting a lot of 'accidental' injuries lately.//

/I have no idea. I'll definitely ask him later, though…Did you happen to hear on what next week's test will be about?/

//I was asleep, remember?//

/…Crud./

~*~

Sighing wearily, Joey kicked a random pebble on the sidewalk, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. As soon as the school bell had rung, all three of his closest friends had crowded around him and started demanding answers to their questions.

They'd all wanted to know what had happened and Honda had even accused him of being in a fight without him. He couldn't, of course, tell them the real reason why he had needed stitches so he'd lied, telling them that he'd tripped on a stairwell on his way to class. All the while sincerely hoping that they wouldn't learn anything about it from Seto.

"Knowing him, he probably wouldn't say a word to us even if his life depended on it. I guess that's one good thing about that egotistical idiot."

Feeling unusually depressed, he sighed again, dreading as usual, the moment that he would have to walk through the door of his home. Luckily, the glass shards and wooden splinters that had pierced his feet and right arm the day before hadn't been that deep and he'd hardly felt the pain as he'd gone through his day. But he didn't care to get anymore. The supply of bandages and antiseptic that he kept hidden under the bathroom sink were dwindling as it is.

~ You really should hurry, then. Need I remind you of what will happen if you are late? ~

Disliking the fact that his own mind would chastise himself, Joey frowned before quickening his stride. A mere fifteen minutes later and the familiar building came into view. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. What had to be the absolute most irritating thing about it was that it didn't look bad from the outside. In fact, any normal passerby would have deemed it as normal as the rest. It was the inside that was a whole other matter. To him, even his house seemed to mock his personality, indifferent on the outside, chaotic on the inside.

What a joyful place to live. He thought sarcastically. I think I'd be happier homeless.

Stepping up to the door, he unlocked it before instantly preparing to walk through the living room as if it were a minefield, afraid to even make the slightest of noise for fear of alerting his father of his arrival. So it was to his surprise that upon walking across the threshold, he found the aforementioned man to be lying unconscious in the middle of the floor, a large assortment of trash scattered all around him. It didn't look like he'd be waking up anytime soon.

Thank God!

"Well this must be pure luck." Joey muttered quietly as he tiptoed down the hall to his room.

Extremely relieved and glad at the prospect of a quiet late afternoon, he settled on the floor and took a few hours to finish some schoolwork before jumping into the shower.

It's interesting how several undisturbed hours can do wonders for your neglected homework. He thought dryly as he rinsed the suds from his hair. I was actually able to complete that long English assignment that was due three months ago.

While he was drying himself off though, a sudden idea occurred to him and he quickly got dressed and left. Before Shizuka had left him at the school, she'd given him the address to the building that she'd be staying at along with her room number. He never did get to see the picture he'd painted and anything was sure better than waiting for his father to wake up.

~*~

The meeting at Kaiba Corp. had lasted nearly three hours and Seto felt exhausted. For some ungodly reason, the idiots that worked for him just couldn't seem to take it into their heads that when he said, "No, I do not want my company to develop that product." he meant it. For hours he had to sit listening to them explain about how it's development could 'improve' business and peruse market diagrams that meant nothing to him.

What IMBECILES! I have REALLY got to change the process that they use to hire new employees. Those idiot underlings are completely USELESS.

Groaning, he slammed the front door closed and prepared himself for the inevitable arrival of his younger sibling.

"Hi big brother! Did you get my email?!" Mokuba cried out happily as he barreled himself into Seto.

The brunette smiled then frowned slightly at his younger brother's comment. He easily pried Mokuba from the death grip hug around his waist and set him on the ground in front of him.

"Mokuba, you know that I'm always getting emails from other companies and deleting them. It's probably already been put into the trash can by mistake."

The black haired youth smiled innocently. "Thought so. That's why I changed your desktop background! Did you see that?"

Immediately, Seto began to feel his left eye twitch in irritation. His blue orbs darkened involuntarily as he remembered the secret humiliation that he had felt from it.

Calm down, Seto…This is your little brother here. At least give him a chance to explain before making his life completely miserable…

"And WHY exactly did you go messing with my laptop?!" The already irate CEO asked.

Mokuba's grin widened considerably. "Well…I was thinking…my birthday's coming up soon…and…" Seto raised an eyebrow. "Can we get a puppy?!" He blurted out.

"WHAT?!" The brunette practically shouted, his face flushing an unnatural red.

"Well…" Replied Mokuba, drawing out the word as his brother glowered at him. "Puppies are cute! My friend got one the other day and it's just not fair! Please can we get one? Please, please, please?"

If looks could kill, Mokuba would be long dead and buried at the center of the earth by now. As it was, Seto placed his suitcase on a nearby corner table before stepping towards his younger brother, looking about ready to strangle him. Very unlike the caring big brother he had always been.

Uh-oh…Better start running. Thought Mokuba. With a loud "Eep!" he took off running down the hall, Seto close at his heels.

"Come back here, Mokuba!" Seto shouted. "You know, I was going to ground you until you were twenty. But now, you can just forget about it! You're grounded for the rest of your life!"

Puppies cute?! My ASS!

~ Uh-huh, suuure…Just keep telling yourself that. ~

Shut up, shut up, shut UP! Someone get this damn voice out of my head!

~*~

Dropping a bulky box onto a table, Shizuka paused momentarily to look at the digital clock on her desk before diving into its contents. There was much that she'd brought with her from her home to the temporary one here. Many of it things that she wanted to give or show to Joey. Almost immediately, the first things that she pulled out were picture frames and old photo albums. Setting them aside, she drew out more items. Some necessary, others just mere knickknacks that she couldn't do without; such as a teddy bear that she'd been given on her fifth Christmas from Joey.

These, she carefully arranged around her apartment until the box was empty before going to pick up another one, when the doorbell suddenly rang. Smiling, she opened the door to greet her brother. After all, he was the only one that she'd given her address to, so far.

"Hi, Shizuka! Mind if I visit?" He grinned.

"Of course not!" She replied happily. Then she cringed. "It's a mess in here though. I've only just started sorting through my things."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me? Then I could've come here earlier and helped you out." Stepping in, he assessed the situation of the room before realizing the absence of a certain person and frowned.

"Why isn't mom here?" He asked with a voice that suggested he didn't care.

Shizuka shifted uncomfortably, an innocent look of sad confusion appearing in her eyes. "She…She didn't want to come. I don't know why…I tried to convince her but…I'm sorry Joey."

Figures. He snorted quietly before turning back to Shizuka with sudden concern.

"It doesn't matter…But what about you? Are you sure you can live here by yourself? You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."

"What are you talking about?!" She looked at him in horror. "Of COURSE I want to stay here! I believe I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Joey." She giggled. "I don't think I need you to baby sit me anymore."

"Hmph."

Sticking his nose up into the air as if offended, Joey stalked over to the nearest box, plopped it onto the table, and pulled out the first thing he saw with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

"You _still_ have this?!" He questioned, waving the small blue blanket slightly. "Didn't this used to be my favorite when I was a kid?"

Shizuka laughed and nodded. "Yep, you used to drag it with you everywhere! I wonder what your friends would say if they knew you never used to go anywhere without your favorite security blanket?!"

Joey paled. Instantly, an unwanted image of a smirking Seto flashed through his mind. "Breathe a word about my personal life as a kid to ANYONE and you can kiss Frou-Frou good bye." He smirked, bringing out a stuffed white kitten and twisting its head threateningly in his hands.

"Joey, NO!" She cried, eyes wide. "You wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't I?" He grinned, tightening his grip.

"Oh, come on, Joey! I was only joking! Give Frou-Frou back! I'll tell mother!" She wailed.

He gasped and stared at her with large, watery eyes. "You would tell on me?

"Onii-chan!"

"All right, all right. Here." Joey laughed.

Immediately, she snatched it from his hands and hugged it to her chest. She was too embarrassed to admit it but Frou-Frou, among all other things, was her most prized possession. Joey had also given her that one, but it had been her very first birthday present, when Joey himself was only four. Sighing, she gently placed the old plush onto a bookshelf. Despite what all children are known to do to their toys, Frou-Frou had managed to stay intact over the many years and the artificial fur glistened white from a recent wash.

Meanwhile, Joey had been pulling more things from the box when he suddenly found a new calendar at the very bottom. Pulling it out, he quickly skimmed through the bright pages, briefly noting the marked off days when he came across June. A brown bird stared up at him, newly hatched chicks clustered at its feet. But Joey paid no heed to any of that, his eyes instead glued to where the marked days ended on the 2nd.

"It's already June 2?!" He squeaked, eyes widening.

"No, really, Joey. It's September 6, 5010." Shizuka retorted sarcastically, smiling. "Why?"

"Yugi's birthday is the day after tomorrow!" He ran a hand through his locks. "How could I have forgotten?! Thank God I still have a day left before Yugi turns seventeen. What am I going to get him?!"

Shizuka beamed. The idea of shopping for a gift sounded fun and meant that she could spend more time with her brother. It was the perfect opportunity.

"I know!" She exclaimed. "I'll help you look for it tomorrow! Maybe we can get the rest of your friends to join us, too."

"Great idea!" He replied. "I'll call them up tomorrow morning and let them know. Someone's going to have to distract Yugi though…Probably Yami since he's always with him in that Millennium Puzzle of his. I DID tell you about him, right?"

Thank God that I'm paid on Tuesdays. Looks like I'll have to find a way to survive not eating for a couple weeks, though…

"Oh, I just remembered! Can I see that picture I'd painted? I never did get a chance."

"Sure."

Crossing the room, she picked up the blue backpack off of a beige couch and pulled the folder out. Then upon walking back, she handed him the single watercolor painting in a sheet protector.

He frowned. "I didn't know I could paint this bad. We look more like sticks with heads than anything else."

~*~

Several pairs of eyes stared angrily from their hidden spot in an alley as the familiar blonde exited the tall building and made his way down the street, gazing thoughtfully at the sky as he went.

"Are you sure we should do this?" A hushed voice asked cautiously.

"Yes." A furious male growled back in reply.

"But, Hirutani, he's too strong! We've tried before!"

"Silence! I will not have cowards working for me!" He glared threateningly at the other boy who immediately shrank back in fear. "Joey WILL come back to us. Besides, you DID get the stuff, right?"

He nodded before motioning towards the newest member of their group. Instantly, the dark haired youth brought forth two unlabeled bottles from a bag that hung from his shoulder.

"But even if this does work, how will we persuade Joey to rejoin with us?" He asked, handing the bottles to their leader.

"If he doesn't agree to come back with us, then we'll just have to make sure that he learns to regret ever leaving in the first place…But I doubt that will happen. After all, I think we've found his weakness."

Hirutani smirked, his eyes drifting towards the window in which Shizuka could be plainly seen, trying to hang pink lace curtains against the glass. He gripped the bottled liquids tightly in his hands.

"But why? Why go to all this trouble to get him back?" Another member asked.

He scowled. "Joey was the best fighter we've ever had. But thanks to that shrimp, Mutou, he broke away. He's valuable…And if any of you fail to comply with my orders in his capture, you're dead meat."

They all nodded fervently before the first person that had spoken from the very beginning stepped forward. "Don't worry, Hirutani, we won't. But when do we strike?"

Hirutani frowned, deep in thought. "…Not yet, not now. He's too alert, too able to fight. We'll have to wait until an opportunity presents itself." He looked sharply at the boy who'd asked. "Gorou." He barked, causing the addressed person to jump. "Make sure someone's following him at all times. I want tabs kept on this one. As soon as he's vulnerable enough, we'll attack…with these."

He held up the two glass containers, allowing the pale moonlight to filter through the liquids. One was black in color but the other looked disturbingly like plain water. The boys glanced at each other, the majority of them having no idea what he held.

"They were both hard to find." Said the dark haired one. "Luckily, a black market dealer in Tokyo had hidden reserves of the stuff and I managed to contact a friend in Thailand who was able to get me the antidote."

"Which one's the poison?" Hirutani asked.

"Nuckmai, the clear one. It's extremely dangerous, though. You could accidentally kill Joey with it. Just the tip of a single needle dipped into the poison is enough to paralyze him for a few hours. A few drops in the bloodstream would be fatal. The other is called Quantay Dojiatung. Drinking about 2 milligrams of it should cancel the effects of the Nuckmai. That one especially came at a high cost."

"As long as they both work. This is much better than that cheap, chloroform shit." He replied, smirking. "At least with this, he won't be able to fight back."

~*~

The next morning, Joey promptly rolled out of his bed onto the floor. The blaring alarm clock on his nightstand read 4:30 am and with bleary eyes, he went to take a quick shower before phoning his friend. Grinning at the idea of waking him up at this hour, he patiently listened to it ring five times before a slightly dazed Honda picked up.

"H-Hello?"

"Hi, Honda!"

"…Joey…You DO realize that it's 5 am, right?" He replied, yawning.

"Of course I do, knuckle head. But I needed to make this call before leaving to do my rounds. Did you know that Yugi's birthday is tomorrow?"

Immediately, a loud thump was heard as Honda fell to the ground in shock. "WHAT?!"

"Hehe…Looks like I'm not the only one who'd forgotten."

"Well DUH. If he were like you, he'd be running around months before, reminding everyone. But with him, it's like it doesn't even exist!"

"Haha, very funny. Well shut up and listen. I need to get him a gift too so why don't you call up the rest of the gang and we can go look for it after school? Let Yami know so that Yugi won't think it strange when we all leave him behind on some mystery errand."

"All right. But did you have to wake me up now?" He grumbled.

"Yes."

Smiling, Joey rudely hung up the phone before tiptoeing past his still sleeping father and walking over to a slightly battered bike half buried in the weeds of his front yard.

"Time to go deliver papers and earn my pay." He smiled.

Quickly he took off down the street, loving the exhilarating feel of the wind rushing past his face. It didn't even occur to him that the person following behind him on a bike of his own could mean anything bad. Especially when the said person had a familiar face.

~*~

After school, Joey, Shizuka, Ryou, Honda, and Anzu met together by the front gate of Domino High. Yami had agreed to keep Yugi busy while the five of them wandered the mall, getting his gifts. Apparently, organized Ryou and Anzu hadn't forgotten the occasion but they had decided to go with them anyway.

"Well, let's go." Shizuka smiled.

Slowly, they made their way through the crowded shopping area before settling at an unusual store filled to the brim with foreign products; unfortunately, Bakura chose that time to pop out of his Ring.

"Where the Hell are we?" He demanded, eyeing the many shiny objects under glass counters.

"It's just a store. But oh! Look at the pretty rocks, Bakura!" Ryou answered happily, purposely leading him away from the weapons and jewels display.

Everyone sweatdropped as the ex tomb robber allowed his hikari to drag him towards a large set of wooden boxes filled with various sorts of colored rocks. Anzu then curiously walked over to a display and laughed.

"This would be good for Yami, don't you think?" She exclaimed, gesturing towards an exact replica of an Egyptian pharaoh's headdress.

Honda peered through the thick glass. "Yeah, if you had like, $300 to spare." He said, pointing at the price tag.

"Speaking of Yami, when IS his birthday? Do you think it's the same as Yugi's?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

A beautiful sculpture having caught his eye, Joey had just started walking towards a glass showcase when without warning, his vision became unfocused and he faltered in his step, nearly falling over if Shizuka hadn't latched onto his arm.

"Onii-chan, are you all right?" She asked worriedly.

Bringing a hand up to his face, he closed his eyes, trying to will the dizziness away. Luckily, it only took a few seconds and he straightened. Quickly, he resumed walking as if nothing had happened.

"Onii-chan?"

"I'm fine now, Shizuka." He smiled reassuringly. "Just a little dizzy, that's all. Nothing serious."

She gazed doubtfully up at him as he admired the many large crystal carvings of dragons and other mythical creatures.

"Come on, you guys!" Honda called to them from the entrance. "Let's check out the video games!"

~ To Be Continued ~

~*~

~ Notes on This or Upcoming Chapters ~

1. For those of you who were hinting (or asking) there will be a lemon placed somewhere in this fic. Probably near the end if not in the very last chapter. Don't worry, though. I'll give a fair warning on where it'll appear. Wouldn't want to get erased now, would I? ^.^ (*gasp* ff.net erases people's identities! Lol.)

2. Time will start elapsing between certain scenes. I'm sure all of you would be bored beyond death if I described every day to you. So I'll have to jump some months at a time.

3. Before anyone can bombard me with questions on exactly how much a lip can bleed, I have personal experience on the matter. I left a freaking PUDDLE before I even realized that I was bleeding. O.o

4. Nuckmai and Quantay Dojiatung ARE actual liquids with actual effects. Don't think I just made this up. I try to use as much actual information in my fics as I can.

5. Yugi really CAN hear what's going on in their soul rooms…As long as their bond (a.k.a.-connection) is strong. After all, I AM a sucker for the Yugi/Yami pairing. ^.^

6. I'd like to warn all of you beforehand that the next chapter might have a lot of violence. I just can't get enough of Joey angst. It's so cute when Seto's fawning over him afterwards! ^__^

7. I DID find a grammar error in chapter one and managed to cover it up with this chapter. *sigh* Grammar has always been one of my weak points. Oh, and I also found two wrongs that are irreversible: Joey lives in an apartment, not a house. . And all of their school subjects aside from PE, Band, and Science are held in the SAME classroom. (Thus confirming the fact that Joey has every class with Seto.)

8. I know that Seto and Joey are supposed to be around the same height but it's my fic and I say that Joey should be at LEAST six inches shorter! =P

~*~

Eh…Sorry if this wasn't as angsty or as exciting as it's supposed to be. In fact, this was positively dull in my opinion. -.- I needed to tie up some loose ends in this chapter and start new problems. (Like Katu said, it would be boring if Joey just waited for his death…) I promise that the next chapter will be much more interesting.

And can everyone pretend that in this fic, Joey's last name is Katsuya? I've just recently found out that Jounouchi really IS Joey's Japanese last name. . And I thought it was his first. It sure seemed that way considering how everyone else was referring to him (a.k.a.-Jou).

The reason why I've used the Japanese names on everyone except him is because I consider the name Joey to sound cuter than Jou/Jounouchi/Katsuya. But I wasn't sure on what to use for his last name. It would sound weird if his full name was Joey Jounouchi and I absolutely REFUSE to use Wheeler. Katsuya was the only choice left unless I made something up. Sorry for the mishap, everyone. I should have explained earlier. -.-'

P.S. ~ If any of you don't believe me about Katsuya being Joey's FIRST name, then you'd also be contradicting what an overly obsessed friend of mine is saying. She's known Yugioh since it first came out nearly nine years ago and can remember practically all of the original episodes ever aired in Japan. I get most of my information from her. ^.^ She'll probably be reading this later, too.

(You can skip to the end if you don't want to read anymore of my annoying babble!)

~*~

Demonic Angel's Little Corner for Rants and Ramblings

Demonic Angel: I'm sorry. But I'm just REALLY annoyed right now. It seems like everyone thinks that Yugioh is a guy's thing. Apparently, no one's ever checked the fanfiction section.

Ryou: ^-^ Yep. It's like fangirls aren't even accounted for. ^-^

Demonic: And what's REALLY annoying about this whole Yugioh obsession thing is that most kids don't collect because they LIKE the game or show. NO…They collect only so that they can show off. I swear, in the name of all seven Hells, they're going to make it look as bad as Pokemon!

Bakura: Who give's a shit?! I'm tired of listening to you blabber about your problems! When are you going to be done?!

Demonic Angel: Not yet, that's for sure. I have several other things I'd like to point out. ^-^ Has anyone else ever noticed that some of the dubbed names sound like they're subliminally brainwashing us to get low paying jobs…Or is it just me?

Seto: It's probably just you.

Demonic Angel: T.T Shut up. Just listen: Joey Wheeler makes him sound like a car salesman; Tea Gardner sounds like she's a gardener; and Tristan Taylor sounds like he's…Well, a tailor. Just think of all the little kids who idolize these characters!

Seto: So? Who the Hell would idolize the puppy anyway? They must be idiots in the first place to follow an idiot.

Joey: *glare* I am NOT an idiot.

Seto: Oh, but you don't mind being a puppy? *smirk* At least you finally admitted it.

Joey: *death glare* You know, it's comments like those that drove me to stab you in the other fic. Care to relive that scene again?

Seto and Joey: ::continue to bicker in the background::

Readers (if any): O_o *sweatdrop*

Demonic Angel: -_-' ANYWAY, moving on…Bakura?

Bakura: WHAT?!

Demonic Angel: Is it true that you only keep strong cards in your deck? ^-^

Bakura: Of COURSE, you MORON! Why would I put otherwise?!

Demonic Angel: Then…Why was the Happy Lover card in your deck when you read Pegasus' soul? ^.^

Bakura: …It's Ryou's fault! That's his card, HIS!

Ryou: MY fault?! You know you have control over my body practically 90% of the time! You had PLENTY of chances to get rid of it. Besides, I didn't even know we HAD that card!

Bakura: Well how ELSE do you tell fortunes?! I'd like to see YOU try and read someone's soul with only fiend monsters!

Ryou: AHA! So you DO admit to owning the card!

Bakura and Ryou: ::continue to bicker in the background::

Anzu: Has anyone seen my Happy Lover card? I can't seem to find it. What's Joey, Ryou, Seto, and Bakura fighting about now?

Readers (if any): …

Demonic Angel: *sigh* Yes, I do seem to have an uncanny ability to start fights. Let's ignore them for the time being and get back on track. Did anyone know that WB seems to use the same voices for multiple characters? In a single episode of Pokemon, I could have sworn that I heard Mai, Shizuka, Weevil, and Seto.

Lacrimare: Your point being…? And didn't you already know about Seto?

Demonic Angel: Yes, I knew. I just find it oddly disturbing and unoriginal. ^-^

Readers (if any): *anime fall*

Anzu: Has anyone heard me, at all?! I'm looking for my Happy Lover card!

Lacrimare: ::smiling sweetly:: Bakura must have stolen it in order to add it to his deck. Remember, honesty is ALWAYS the best policy. He is, after all, a thief. =^-^=

Bakura: Why you rotten little…! I am a TOMB robber! TOMB!

Anzu: Bakura! I know you're jealous of my deck but resorting to stealing is NOT what friends do! We should always be able to trust one another, that's what friendship's all about!

Bakura: JEALOUS?! FRIENDS?! ::pulls out an Egyptian dagger before running after Anzu and Lacrimare:: DIE you little freaks!

Ryou: Bakura! Be nice! ::grabs onto the back of his shirt and proceeds to drag him out of the room::

Bakura: NOOO! I want to kill them! Let go of me! ::disappears around a corner kicking and screaming::

Seto and Joey: ::are still bickering in the background::

Demonic Angel: …I think…That I should go…now. Maybe I should hang around Yugi, Yami, and Honda more often…Might be less insane that way. *sweatdrop*

Lacrimare: I seriously doubt that. =^.^=

Demonic Angel: Why?

Lacrimare: Because we'd be following you. ^-^

All: ::nods in agreement::

Demonic Angel: You do and you die. I'm not considered insane and demonic for nothing. *glare* Unfortunately for you guys, a blue fairy didn't designate a little cricket to be my conscience.

Readers (if any): …

Demonic Angel: And as for YOU, my dear readers (if any)...

Readers (if any): ::Backs away in sudden fear::

Demonic Angel: Thanks SO MUCH for the reviews! I practically live on them. ^.^

Seto: Actually, you only got that many because you let them accumulate for so long!

Demonic Angel: …I can't believe that I idolize YOU…Of all people…

Seto: WHAT?! I'm a GREAT role model! Isn't that right, everyone?!

All: …