A/N: some of you may have thought the story was over…well it ain't over till it says "the end" so rest easy, there are still a couple more chapters! That was intense eh? well maybe not so intense…just tell me it was so I feel good.

Disc: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! Or anything related.

Chapter 8

"AAAAH!" Jounouchi screamed, waking up. He was lying on his stomach, and propped himself up on his arms. It was dark, no one was around, and he had passed out in the streets. The last thing he remembered was being so drunk he was shaking, and didn't even recognize this part of town that well. He wondered why Hirutani let him go. Typically Hirutani wouldn't let him out by himself unless he was clear headed, because he knew how many people were trying to kill him.

One thing was for sure he had one thing on his mind and nothing would keep him from doing it. He wanted to go home.

He burst through the apartment door and found his dad sleeping on the couch, a half full beer bottle in his hand. Jounouchi didn't really know what he was doing, and caught himself off guard when he ran to his dad and started crying into the man's shoulder. He hugged him and just sobbed, uncontrollably. The senior Jounouchi was woken up by this, and was confused. Katsuya never ever even tried to hug him since he was a little kid. This was almost scary- which was why he didn't freak on the boy and throw him into a wall. Instead he wrapped his arms around his pale son, and rubbed his back.

"Katsuya? I haven't seen you in days- this isn't like you. Where have you been?" He was really glad he was only slightly drunk right now. He was in that stage of being really friendly and it seemed important to him at that time to be a dad for the first time in a decade. Jounouchi looked up into his dad's face, eyes blood shot, hair greasy from not being washed, he had obviously been wearing the same clothes for some time, and he had cuts and bruises everywhere. He looked like absolute crap.

"I…I really need help." The boy cried, clutching his father's shirt, and burying his face once more. "Help me please!"

"Katsuya…what are you doing to yourself?" The man sounded so disappointed. His son was becoming like him already. "Why don't you explain what's happened."

"I…I…" Jounouchi turned his head so that his head was still lying on his father's chest, listening to the heart beat rhythm, and so that he was able to talk. "I went back to this gang I was in a few years back, and it just got out of control. I don't know what to do. I'm in too deep now to pull out…but I can't take it anymore. It's killing me. The drugs, the drinking, the days on end without a second of sleep…I can't even stand the fights anymore…I'm so tired." A few tears were still streaming from his eyes. "I dreamed I killed myself, with this girl I love, and then I woke up on the streets and I don't know how I got there…"

"Am I really the best person to talk to?" His father asked.

"I dunno where else to go!" Jounouchi cried, almost pleading. He thought that his friends probably wanted nothing to do with him now, and he certainly couldn't talk to the gang about it, or Shizuka. His father was the only one. "Please, please Tou-san, can't you help me? Please?" He sounded so desperate; it almost broke his father's heart.

"I don't know what I can do." The man began massaging his boy's head with one hand while the other still rubbed his back. "I think though…you should probably not be in that gang anymore."

"I know, but I can't get out now. It's all I have left!"

"Why don't you go have a bath or something, and then get some damn sleep?" His father pushed him off and forced him to stand up. "Quit crying about it, and be a man, like I've always taught you to be."

"Yes Tou-san." Jounouchi said quietly, and then turned to go to the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and turned the water on. He stripped naked and got in, allowing the hot water to drench his hair. It felt so good to be getting clean, despite the stinging of his cuts, but he couldn't relax. He was feeling anger, frustration, anxiety and depression all at once. He was even more upset that he was going to become his father and he knew it. He didn't want to, he had this ideal future planned, with a wife he loved, a kid or two, a dog, a nice job and a nice home. He wanted a life his father and mother didn't allow him to experience- but it seemed life had something else planned for him.

He pictured his life in 10 years from now…Honda would have a little nuclear family and he'd work as an engineer or something like that. Yugi and Anzu would be married, living in America where Anzu has a famous dancing career, and Yugi is the duel monsters champion of the world. Mai would marry some handsome, rich man and live a life of luxury. Probably Kaiba (this thought made Jounouchi so angry, he squished the bar of soap beyond recognition)! He on the other hand, if he was still alive would either be in jail, or living in some shitty dilapidated house in the worst part of town, with his trashy girlfriend who he would probably hate, but just wanted around to fuck, and maybe he'd have some stupid delinquent son, like himself. The house would be full of empty beer cans and bottles, and Jounouchi would struggle to keep a job while supporting his heroin addiction and alcoholism. Then, one day, he meets up with all his old friends again, and they would finally see him for what he really is. A big fucking loser.

"I am NOT helping myself by thinking like this." Jounouchi shook his head. He could control his life, couldn't he? He didn't have to end up like that. He needed some sleep, that's what he really needed. He finished in the shower and dried himself off quickly. He went into his bedroom and threw on a pair of boxers then buried himself in his blankets on his bed. He felt like he hadn't been there in years. He really wondered how much time had passed. Days? Weeks? Maybe a month or two, in any case it didn't matter right now. He would get some sleep and think about it later.

Once he fell asleep, his father came in. He had gone though his son's room while he was showering and removed all the drugs and alcohol, and bolted the window shut. He double checked Jounouchi's clothes to make sure there were no drugs in them, and then locked the door so his son couldn't get out. It was the only way he thought he could help. After a few days he was sure he'd get over the withdrawal and addiction.

Jounouchi woke up very late the next day. He felt groggy and he hurt. He reached into his bottom drawer looking for some of his stash, but was terrified to find that there was none. He dug through it in a panic just to double check. Gone. It was all gone! The liquor, the heroin, the pot-ALL of it! He ran to the door with the intentions of asking his dad if he took his stash, but it was locked. He tried to escape from his window, but it too wouldn't open. He sighed, and flopped on the bed. He was ok for now, but he knew it wouldn't be long before he needed a hit and bad.

It was his second day, and the hallucinations were starting to hit. Sweat was pouring from him like tears as he lay on the bed, twitching. He had dark rings around his eyes, and his pupils were dilated. He rolled off the bed, and crawled to the door. He began scratching it and pounding on it, screaming. He tried the knob again, and desperately tried to break it down. He tried to break through the window, but when he and his dad had moved in, they made sure they had very good windows that couldn't be broken through.

"PLEASE! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I NEED A HIT! FUCKING CHRIST!" He screamed over and over again. His father was generally gone most of the day, but at that moment he was sitting in the living room, listening to his son scratching at the door. He knew it would be a painful detox, but there was nothing he could do for him. Katsuya would just have to ride it out.