Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Chapter 4

I paced sullenly across the living room carpet until a wall halted my path. Then I whirled on a heel and paced in the opposite direction, until I was faced with a similar problem. As I whirled a second time, Mokuba's hesitant voice drew my attention.

"Er; Seto? Are you alright?" he questioned worriedly. I just shrugged and kept pacing in silence, and he watched me cross to a wall and turn again before he prodded me further.

"Seto, please say something," Mokuba pleaded. "You're acting really strange. What happened?"

I suddenly froze and glared at Mokuba, my eyes snapping dangerously; but instead of my concerned little brother my mind conjured the image of a thin, crimson-eyed young man who gazed at me proudly. "I was just trying to help!" I snarled angrily. The figure cowered at my tone, and suddenly it was Mokuba again, eyeing me in shock.

I ran a shaking hand across my face and closed my eyes tiredly. "I was just trying to help…" I repeated in a whisper.

Mokuba rushed across the room and wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug, something the two of us rarely engaged in, despite our close bond. But, Mokuba had always been better than me when it came to sensing emotions, and he could probably sense how much I needed the reassurance right then.

Not that I'd admit it, however.

"Seto, something happened with Yami, didn't it? Whatever it was, I'm sure he'll forgive you if you just apologize," Mokuba soothed.

How did my little brother suddenly know everything? I felt like I was losing my edge.

"Mokuba…sometimes things aren't that simple," I muttered. "And I just keep screwing things up, anyway; maybe I should just leave him alone."

Mokuba shook his head vehemently. "NO! He really likes you; he told me he did," Mokuba protested.

My heart gave a disconcerting lurch and I gulped. "Wh-what?" I stuttered in surprise.

Mokuba didn't notice my discomfort and merely nodded his head. "Yeah; when he came over that day, he told me how happy he was that you two were friends again; he said that he'd missed having you around," Mokuba explained matter-of-factly. "I told him that you'd probably missed him, too, since you always used to talk about him."

My eyes widened and my heart lurched again before it started thudding crazily; and I gaped at Mokuba in shock. "You…said that I…" I stuttered again. How embarrassing; what must Yami think of me?

Oh, wait. He hated me, because I got him fired.

I groaned in exasperation and Mokuba glanced at me quizzically, tilting his head to one side, but when he opened his mouth to say something I cut him off with a dismissive gesture.

"Stay here. I'm going out for a while," I ordered before I rushed out the door.

Maybe, just maybe, I could still fix things.

The door rattled noisily under my continued assault as I pounded angrily on the entrance to apartment 6F. I knew Yami sat inside, because I had seen his figure through the window as I drove up to the curb, but he hadn't answered my hesitant knock- or acknowledged my numerous apologies. Now, twenty minutes after I first arrived, I had resorted to pounding furiously on the door in the hopes that Yami would finally get tired of listening to me and let me inside.

I know, I know. I've become truly pathetic.

I finally sighed in defeat and rested my forehead against the stained wood. "Yami, please. I'm sorry- I was just trying to help you. I promise I'll find you another job; or maybe I can convince Bakura to take you back…" I mumbled awkwardly.

A rustling sound came from inside the apartment and I jerked my head up hopefully, but nothing came of it. I sighed once more and buried my face in the palms of my hands, cursing myself mentally. How had I sunk this low? Maybe I should just go back to work and forget all about Yami.

An image of his tired crimson eyes lighting up as he smiled happily at me flashed through my mind and I determinedly began knocking on the door once more.

"YAMI!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, thankful that the teenage thugs weren't anywhere nearby. "Yami, please at least talk to me! I'll help you any way that I can, I promise… I'll give you a job at KaibaCorp," I offered.

At this, I finally heard the click of a lock and my heart leapt in sheer relief as the door creaked open. Yami's miserable face glared up at me, and residual tear tracks stained his pale cheeks. Reflexively I reached to wipe them away, but he shied away from my hand like a frightened animal. "I don't want your pity, Kaiba, or your charity," he growled. "Just take a hint and go away."

"What do you want from me?" I snapped back at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"I want you to GO AWAY," he repeated slowly.

I felt a little stupid.

"No, I didn't mean it like that," I groaned. "I meant, how can I make it up to you? If I offer to help you, you say it's pity; and if I offer you a job you say it's charity. I…I just want to make things right," I finished awkwardly.

He stared at me like I was an idiot.

"Seto, you can't make it right, because you don't really understand what happened," he sighed. I blinked in confusion and he sighed again. "It's just…things were a little more complicated than you knew." Now, Yami was the one shifting awkwardly on one foot, while I watched him curiously.

He bit his lip. "I know I'll probably regret this, but come in for a second," Yami told me.

I grinned in relief but he gave me a stern look, so I followed him inside his abnormally tidy little apartment without comment. When I stood just inside the door Yami quickly shut it behind me and rested his hand in the crook of my elbow for a brief moment. "Wait here," he ordered, and hurried into his bedroom.

I obeyed, uncomfortably aware of the warmth of his hand against my arm long after he'd removed it.

After what seemed like ages, Yami finally returned, carrying a slip of paper in his slender hands. He gave me a breathless smile and handed me the note triumphantly, barely brushing the tips of his fingers against mine. I wished he would slide that hand into my elbow again…

Shut up, Kaiba.

"Here. There's someone you need to talk to," Yami told me wryly, and opened the door in a clear invitation for me to leave. I hesitated for a moment and he nodded toward the hall, his blonde bangs sweeping across his forehead as he did so. "Go on, Seto. You'll understand soon enough," Yami added more gently.

Then he reached up and squeezed my upper arm softly for a brief second, nodding outside once more. I slowly stepped out of the apartment and he closed the heavy door behind me before I could look back.

I stumbled down the dank staircase on shaky legs.

Early the next morning I hopped into one of my cars and sped recklessly down the road; I was eager to finish this so that Yami could hopefully forgive me- though I wasn't exactly sure what he wanted me to do. The slip of paper he'd given me had turned out to be an address for Tokyo University, with a building and room number penciled in on the bottom. I assumed it was Yugi's.

Of course, by now I should have learned not to assume anything, especially anything to do with the unpredictable King of Games.

When I finally arrived at the university, I searched hopelessly for the right building until a little blonde girl wearing too much makeup eventually had pity on me and showed me where to go. I nodded my thanks and she frowned, crestfallen. She must have been hoping for a date. Like that would ever happen.

Anyway, I found the right building, and when I knocked on the door number Yami had given me, I expected a short figure with violet eyes to greet me. Imagine my horrible shock when, instead, a familiar idiotic brown-eyed blonde opened the door.

"Kaiba?!" he gasped in disbelief.

"What are you doing here, mutt?" I responded in an equally incredulous tone.

"What do you mean? I live here," Jounouchi growled.

I frowned sulkily. Yami probably hadn't told me who lived here because he knew I wouldn't come if he had; or maybe he was still angry and this was his revenge…

"Well…" I began, deciding to at least attempt politeness, for Yami's sake, "Yami gave me this address. He said I should talk to you." I scowled deeply as I stared at the mutt. "Though I have no idea why," I added under my breath.

Jounouchi apparently didn't hear me, because he just gave me a thoughtful, searching glance. "He must want me to tell you, then…" the mutt murmured softly.

That got my attention.

"Tell me what?" I asked, fighting to keep the eager note from my voice. The mutt grinned snidely, however, so I guess it didn't work. He glanced furtively along the empty hall before motioning me inside his dorm room.

It was filthy. Clothes lay in heaps along the floor amid stacks of textbooks and papers, and an odd smell lingered in the tiny room- it reminded me of rotten bananas. Jounouchi shoved some clothes from a desk chair and motioned for me to sit, which I did, gingerly. "Yugi is my roommate," the mutt informed me seriously, and I rolled my eyes.

"So?"

"So, you're lucky that I was here and he wasn't, stupid," the mutt snapped, and I jumped angrily to my feet, clenching my fists. "Sorry; sorry, Kaiba," Jounouchi apologized, lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender. I slowly sat once more. He was being strangely amiable…

"What's going on?" I snarled.

The mutt sighed. "I should have expected you to come by. Yami called and told me what happened with you and Bakura."

Okay, was Yami talking to everyone about me? That should be annoying; but somehow it was also strangely flattering.

"He told me the money would probably be late this month," Jounouchi continued.

"Huh? What money?" I asked, startled out of my usual composure, and the mutt smirked a little at my use of the word 'huh.'

Jounouchi didn't answer me for a moment. Instead he made sure the door was locked securely and leaned his back against it, blocking any escape, unless I decided to leap from the window. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Kaiba, you've seen Yami's apartment, right?" he asked seriously and I nodded. "Well, he doesn't have to live there; Bakura pays him a lot of money- or at least he did," the mutt continued, frowning at me. I ignored the last comment, instead mulling to myself about Yami's voluntary poverty.

"But…what is he doing with the money, then?" I asked slowly, scarcely able to believe that I'd actually asked the mutt a legitimate question.

"I was getting to that," Jounouchi sighed. "The thing is…Well, the guys and I all got scholarships here- yes, even me," he cut in, noticing my smirk, "all except for Yugi. For some reason, he didn't qualify; so he didn't have enough money to go to school. He was miserable for weeks- I've never seen him so depressed. Finally Yami decided to do something about it.

"Yami swallowed his pride and went to Bakura, begging for a job. I think the only reason that thief even hired Yami was to make Yami's life more miserable than it already was, but at least he hired him. Then, Yami asked me for help. Together, we worked out a payment plan for Yugi's tuition and fees and set it up with the school; then made a fake letter and sent it to Yugi, telling him that he got a scholarship to Tokyo U. after all.

"Yugi was ecstatic, and Yami even broke out of his own depression for a few days, since he was so happy for Yugi. The only problem left was how to keep it a secret. Yami knew he couldn't stay with Jiichan anymore, because Jiichan would inevitably find out where all Yami's money was going, so he had to move out to cover it up; making some excuse like he wanted to try living on his own, or something like that. I'm still not sure that Jiichan truly believed Yami, but he hasn't said anything.

"Living alone, though… I think that was the worst possible situation for someone in Yami's condition, but of course he would do anything for Yugi. Yugi's like his baby brother. Kinda reminds me of Shizuka and me; I know I'd do the same thing in Yami's shoes…" Jounouchi finally finished, shaking his head sadly.

I stared at him in disbelief, wondering why I didn't think of something like this before- Bakura had told me that Yami really earned a lot of money. Of course he would spend it like this; he was so selfless…

"But don't you dare tell anyone, Kaiba, because Yugi would drop out of school in a second if he found out. Everyone's been worried enough about Yami as it is," Jounouchi threatened.

"Don't tell me what to do," I snapped. But then I paused in surprise. The mutt had said… Yami's 'condition'? Everyone…worried about him?

"What…what's wrong with him? Is he sick?" I asked hesitantly. A great lurch of fear caught in my chest, and I gulped.

The mutt just stared at me in surprise. "Kaiba, didn't you know? I thought everyone did- Yami's been pining over some mysterious lover for over two years."

If I thought my heart had lurched before, it was nothing compared to the gymnastics that started in my chest at that statement. Yami was in love with someone?

"W-who?" I stuttered in surprise. "Who is it?"

Jounouchi shrugged. "No one knows. At first we thought it was Anzu, because Yami started acting depressed when she and Yugi first started dating; but then he confessed that it was a guy…I think he only admitted that much just to keep from upsetting Yugi. He talked to me a lot after those two became a couple; it was hard for Yugi and Anzu to keep secrets from each other. Still is, as a matter of fact," the mutt rambled, and I began losing my patience.

"Well, if he talks to you so much, you should know who he's in LOVE with," I snapped.

"Shut up, Kaiba! You know how secretive Yami can be! He wouldn't even tell you he was paying Yugi's tuition," Jounouchi retorted nastily.

I grumbled under my breath and stood; this was quickly deteriorating into a normal encounter with the mutt- a senseless argument.

"Hn. Whatever; I'll figure it out for myself," I spat. Jounouchi took a warning step toward me, but I dodged him and stalked out the door, fuming.

I should have known this trip would only raise more questions.

Sighing to myself, I stomped to my car and drove to the other side of the campus as thoughts whirled crazily in my overstressed mind. Yami was suffering; not just financially, but physically and emotionally. He barely slept or ate, and he was in constant misery over some jerk that broke his heart- and I'd just made things worse for him ever since the moment I wandered back into his life.

I stopped by the tuition department before I left the campus.