meh... it's been quite a while, hasn't it? two months exactly... my inspiration's been dead for at least half the time, but i figured you shouldn't wait any longer than that, so here's whatever i could manage to put together. hopefully it's at least somewhat interesting...

anyway, thanks to Sumiko for loving all this crap anyway, and for being the annoying voice in the back of my head...
to Cettie for never complaining and for liking the part with Unmei - little more on that here.
and to Sakura for also being loyal and for the compliment to my plot. thank you very much indeed.

meh...so here it is. read on.

Part 3 (Chapter 3) - Picture the Possibilities

"Tea!" Yugi stared in surprise the moment he pulled the door away from its frame. "What are you…?"

"Hey, Yugi." Tea felt her cheeks warm slightly and forced the blush away. "You weren't at school today. I wanted to make sure you were still all right."

"Yeah. Thanks," Yugi said rather dumbly. Say something else! he mentally smacked himself. "I, uh, just felt a little queasy this morning. But I'm all right."

No, you're not, Tea wanted to say as she finally managed to meet his red-rimmed eyes. You've been miserable all day. You're not all right. But all that came out was "Can I come in?"

Yugi's eyes widened just a little. "Sure." He opened the door wider and allowed her to slip out of her shoes before closing it behind them. Stop it! he yelled mentally at his racing heart. It's just Tea! She's been over before. "Do you, um, want something to drink?"

"Water would be fine, thanks," Tea smiled genuinely.

You're turning red, hikari, Yami sounded faintly amused.

Yugi quickly turned toward the kitchen. And you're not helping!

Sorry, Yami said, though he didn't sound the least bit contrite.

"Here you go," Yugi returned with two glasses of water a few moments later and handed one to Tea. She received it with another smile and took a sip.

"Maybe we can sit down?" she asked a bit uncertainly.

"Yeah," Yugi fumbled over his words again but motioned to the couch. It took him a moment after Tea seated herself to realize that he was expected to sit next to her.

Tea was quiet for a long moment before speaking bluntly. "You've been crying again, haven't you?"

Yugi almost dropped his glass, and after fumbling with it for a few moments, managed to set it upright on the floor. "How'd you…?"

"You're a very easy person to read, Yugi," Tea said softly. "Still… I feel like there's so much I don't know about you."

And there's so much I'd like to tell you, Yugi thought to himself. I only wish I had the courage for that. "I…guess," was all that he managed to say aloud.

Tea met his eyes squarely. "Have you ever thought that maybe, the world doesn't rest on your shoulders?"

"What?"

"I mean it, Yugi," Tea said with soft certainty. "Sometimes you try so hard. Ever since you solved your puzzle," she nodded at the Millennium Item that still hung securely around Yugi's neck. "And I know," she continued before Yugi could interject, "That it is different now – that you have something…someone else inside of you. That your destiny changed because of it. But you're not the only one."

"I know that," Yugi replied.

"Do you?" Tea sent him a strange glance. "Sometimes I wonder if you're just saying that. Sometimes, you walk around like the fate of the world is on your shoulders. You talk like you're the only one who can make any sort of difference – like you're the only one your friends have to count on. But that's what friendships are about! Friends are there so that you don't have to stand all alone. They'll help you bear your burden."

"Not this burden," Yugi gave her a sad smile. "You didn't have to watch them die. You weren't there…because you couldn't be there." He paused for a moment. "We all have our own destinies. Sometimes they take us down different paths."

But Tea shook her head. "That's the other you talking. What happened to the Yugi I used to know? The one who believed in his friends?"

"I…"

Tea kept going. "Do you remember what you told me about when you first made friends with Joey? About your wish?" Yugi nodded. "Your Millennium Puzzle never did a thing," Tea told him. "That strength in your friendship came from within your own heart. Fate had nothing to do with it. You made all your friends on your own, and those friends have never left your side. There's nowhere you can go that we won't be with you. Let us help you."

"Tea…" Yugi was stunned.

"Kaiba!"

The CEO jumped just a little at his name, but when he saw the source, his eyes quickly narrowed. "Valentine," he said flatly. "How did you get in here?"

"The door," she said plainly. "Mokuba let me in, and I remembered the rest of the way. You showed me how back when we were still playing pranks."

"That's been over for a long while," Kaiba sighed and set his briefcase down on his desk, flipping it open and ignoring Mai. "Why does it seem like you continue to follow me?"

"Did you really give up on Tea?" Mai asked suddenly.

Kaiba gripped the edge of the table. "What—"

Mai shrugged and looked away. "She talks to me. I don't really know why I listen, but I do…"

"That's your business." Kaiba was fighting to keep his voice steady as he pulled out his duel deck and began leafing through it.

Mai frowned. "Don't you ever put those things down?"

Kaiba didn't look up. "I have no need to."

"You didn't lose because you were second," Mai tried again.

Kaiba walked around his desk and took a seat in the slick leather chair behind it. "You're mistaken. I don't lose."

Mai ignored his remark and stormed over to the desk, pulling a handful of spare monsters out of Kaiba's briefcase. "You lost because this is the only think you really care about. And because you can't stand to share that with anybody."

Kaiba was shooting daggers at her now. "How do you figure?"

"I don't know…" Mai straightened and studied the cards in her hand. "Yugi has something deeper than either of us could ever really understand. Tea wants to be there for him."

Kaiba looked away, "It's not just that and we both know it."

Mai looked out the window over his shoulder and just sighed.

"Hmph," Unmei complained aloud, battling away yet another overly-curious shade. "I didn't know Saishu kept so many possibilities locked away." She glanced over her shoulder to where one particularly antsy voice was beginning to rise above the collective murmur of wonderment. She narrowed her eyes, seeking the source, then dimmed some of the glow in her hand and reached out and wrapped her fingers around a touch of air.

"Eh…" Unmei spoke a little awkwardly to her hand. Her fingers twined through something that was a bit slippery and a little cold. "I'm sorry." She inclined her head slightly. "It's your time to go and I've been a distraction." She lifted her hand high above her head, near the top of the swirling cloud of shades. With a sort of crooning sound, the essence on her hand slipped away and floated up towards the ceiling of color, eventually fading out of the orb entirely.

These beings were Saishu's own creatures, sometimes called the demons of fate, though from what Unmei could tell, the association to evil was a very human mistake. Then again, mortals never took very kindly to anything outside their control. They were, as Unmei had called them, possibilities – an infinite number of dreams and visions and potentials that would never cease to haunt humanity – eluding their grasp or else bringing hopes in the most surprising ways. But it wasn't the future that Unmei was interested in just then…

Bakura was brooding as usual over the shadows around him. "It's strange…but nothing's as I expected it to be."

A faint echo of Ryou appeared in the space directly to Bakura's left. How do you figure?

Bakura raised one eyebrow. "You, for starters. You can make yourself visible now?"

Ryou smiled slightly. It's only in your mind.

Bakura sighed and looked away. "Then I'm going crazy."

You always have been.

"Is that your way of trying to be funny?" Bakura growled, then sighed again after a moment. "Never mind. I'd rather not know." He closed his eyes and leaned back. "What's going on, anyway? I feel different. Or rather…" he said slowly, "Like everything around me is different. The girl and her spirit are gone, the pharaoh and his boy locked themselves away, and I'm stuck talking to someone who isn't supposed to exist."

He played with a bit of magic between his fingers. "I don't even care anymore, what happens to it all. Like…there's something else more important, but I don't even know what…" he trailed off. "Ra! I don't even know what's come over me lately!"

Hmm… Ryou was looking off in the distance, apparently seeing something Bakura couldn't. Something's beginning to happen. Something that's much bigger than any of us.

hmm... don't think too hard about the thing with Unmei. it's just supposed to be fun, random, wierd, little side-adventure thing... tho something significant will come of that next chapter...

;-) thank you for coming back yet again. i'll do my best on the next chapter to make up for any excitement that's been lacking thusfar.