Though in pain, Yugi continued to sleep, resting his body. It was morning, though Yugi did not know of that. He had been held captive for more than a day, and had somewhere lost track of time. He hung from the wall, but that did not stop him from sleeping. He still felt exhausted, and felt perhaps a bit of sleep might give him some of his strength back.

His rest would be cut shorter than he wanted it to be. Anubis would return to him, bringing along a few different weapons, their purposes soon to be known. He saw Yugi sleeping, and decided he would give him a rude awakening. He figured a punch to the groin would work well, in which it did. Yugi instantly awoke and could not breathe for the first few seconds of being awake. He looked up and saw his foe standing before him. He knew that the true test of his strength would begin now.

"The Gates have opened," Anubis informed. "Now there is only one escape route, and that is through me."

"I am no coward, and won't use the route you have given me," he snarled at him.

"The route is always open," he told him. "Besides, you have not yet experienced it yet. When you do, you will be begging the God to release you and you will be reasoning why you do not deserve your punishment."

"If it is Other I who you want, then why don't you just separate us?" he questioned. "Or are you afraid the worst could happen, just like last time?"

Anubis punched him above his right eye.

"That is too easy. It would be too simple and less enjoyable. I am no coward either, and taking that path would merely show weakness and fear, and I have neither," he said. "There is no flawless person, however. And when his flaws are discovered by anyone, they are used against him, and that brings him to his knees."

"That is true, but the will of him determines whether he stands or falls, even when his weaknesses are attacked," Yugi added.

"Can you justify your statement?" Anubis asked of him.

"Yes I can," he replied.

"No, can you be the example which justifies it?" he became a bit more specific.

"Am I supposed to be afraid now? Because I'm not," Yugi remarked.

Anubis realized that his intimidating remarks were not working. He was not trying to make him extremely frightened, but understanding of what was coming. Either Yugi knew what was ahead and was merely not afraid of it, or he did not know what was about to happen.

"I tell you because you will have to be the example that justifies your own statement, and if you should fail, shall you eat and choke on your words!" he yelled.

Randomly, he turned around and walked a little ways away. Yugi heard him pick something up, but could not see what it was, and with the little sound he heard, he could not make out what it was. It was then he looked down towards Anubis' feet and saw a few different items, most of them being weapons. A belt, small dagger, and whip were among them. He looked up to see what Anubis had just picked up was a kendo stick. There was only one explanation as of why he brought those with him.

Viciously, he drove the top end of the kendo stick into his gut, and then smacked the other end across his face. He couldn't even try to catch his breath again before he was struck across the chest with it. He was hit in the legs, then arms. He took several blows in different areas of his body, and each strike was consistently strong and painful.

And so the pain continued.

Jounouchi and the rest, Otogi, Honda, Anzu, and Bakura, had returned to the Game Shop to check in with Sugoroku. They had been on the search all morning, and continued to come up blank. The police had been searching as well, and they too, searching through the night and morning, had not discovered anything regarding Yugi. Sugoroku had made them lunch and served it, as they sat at the table trying to think of more ideas.

"I'm drawin' a blank," said Honda. "We've looked through almost the entire city and haven't found even a clue!"

"Damn," Jounouchi said. "I didn't think it'd be this hard."

"Well does anyone think he left the city?" Otogi threw out an outrageous suggestion.

"Why would he do that?" Anzu yelled at such a stupid remark. "He has no reason to go elsewhere! I refuse to believe he left Domino!"

"She's right," Jounouchi agreed. "I don't think he left the city. He has to be here somewhere; I just don't know where to look."

Bakura hid his face momentarily. He was sick of going around the city looking for the one he wished to get rid of. He wanted the Millennium items! And now they were in the very household which were supposed to have them, and he was just sitting there! He was so tempted to dash to Yugi's room, just take them, and leave, but he resisted. He needed to find a way to get into Yugi's room without making it look obvious he was after the items. Quickly, he came up with an idea.

"I have a suggestion," Bakura began. "Well this seems awkward and random, but what if we looked in Yugi's room for a lead? He could have left something there, like a note or something. It's crazy, but sometimes, the craziest things turn up in the oddest places, as I believe we all know."

They wore skeptical looks, but figured they had tried about everything else.

"It's a long shot, but it's worth a try. He brings up a good point," Anzu said.

"Alright then. Let's do it!" Honda led the way to Yugi's room.

Bakura could only grin evilly. He would rip the room apart if he needed to, as long as he left possessing the seven millennium items.

His body full of cuts and bruises, Yugi continued taking shot after shot, and still refused to submit. Blood ran down his face, as well as his chest where the dagger had cut through him a couple times. He could hardly breathe, and barely feel his arms and legs any more. Welts grew from the two whip and belt lashes, and all the while he hung from the very spot he had awoken to a little over a day ago. Even more remarkably, he only cried in pain, not in surrender.

"Who is here to help you now? You are alone! 'Other I' is doing nothing for you! And everyone else is Ra knows where! You suffer alone, and you rest in your own blood! How can you live with this?" Anubis cried to him as he delivered one final punch. He had beaten him heavily for quite a while, giving him short breaks to redeem himself as he taunted him, and wished not to kill him. His hands were soaked in the boy's blood from the punches. Breathing heavily, he stepped back.

"I…am not alone…" Yugi mumbled, barely able to see. The wall behind had splatters of blood on it as well. "They're…always…here…"

"If they were here, why have they not helped you? You never had anything, and you will continue to have nothing if you keep going the way you are!" he scowled.

"I have…something…but you cannot see it," Yugi said silently. "That which you cannot see is why I'm still here, and why I've not tapped out to you. If you believe my flaw is in my physical strength, then you are right. I am weak in that perspective, but it is my will that has me fighting through it, and here I stand still."

Angrily, Anubis elbowed him once more.

"You have more weaknesses than your physique, Yugi-chan," he growled. "This is merely the beginning. And when all is said and done, you will be broken."

He picked up the weapons he had brought and walked out of the room again, leaving Yugi alone once again. Yugi had made a statement to him which showed him that he would put up the type of fight he had hoped for. It was just all smiles for him as he returned to his chamber and wiped the blood off his hands.

I shall slowly make it to the core, to the heart of my prey, he thought to himself. I will take him apart, piece by piece.

Yugi's arms felt as if they were about to fall off. He wanted the chains on his wrists to just fall off and he'd fall so he could lay and rest, but he knew he could not do that. It hurt even to inhale and exhale, and his head hurt so bad he felt as if it could explode. He began trying to rest again, though soaked in blood.

"Aibou!" he heard Yami Yugi call to him within his mind. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied. "This pain is nothing."

"I hate this!" Yami Yugi cried for him. "I can't stand seeing you punished like this! This is worse than dying!"

"But you dying is worse for me than whatever he can throw at me," Yugi told him. "I will be fine, Other I. Please understand. I know that this is hard for you, but you too have to be strong and resist him. He is not only trying to get me to break, but he is also trying to bait you out, too, and if you give in, it's all over, and everything I'd done up until that point would have been for nothing."

Yami Yugi was silent.

"I'm willing to take pain if it meant protecting what's important, and I can take it," he continued. "Maybe he has more, and worse than this, but I am not going to fold. And I know you will do the same. It's not easy, it won't be pretty, but it's what you have to do."

"I understand, and I still worry," Yami Yugi said. "But you're right. We can't let him win."

"That's right," he said. "Let me rest now. A rescue will come…trust me."

Yugi left Yami Yugi in his mind. Yami Yugi couldn't help but have much concern for his friend, but he could not deny it: Yugi was doing the right thing.

I trust you, Aibou.

It had been a little bit. Clothes were scattered about his floor, and Honda had accidentally knocked over the miniature trash can in his room. Yugi's room had become a wreck. Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu, Otogi, and Bakura had looked everywhere; the desk, the closet, underneath his bed, everywhere. They still found no hints.

Bakura became upset. The Millennium Items, where were they? Yugi had hid them, but Bakura was unaware of that, and now he was angered that they had not turned up in Yugi's room. Frustrated, Bakura ripped open one of the desk drawers, grabbed a handful of junk inside, and threw it. Of course, the rest of the group merely thought it was a sign of worrisome of Bakura for Yugi.

In the junk that he threw was a little, colorful packet. Jounouchi picked it up, and recognized it as a Duel Monsters Rule Book, which Yugi and he had received when the Battle City tournament began. This sparked an idea in Jounouchi's mind, and he looked around Yugi's room to find that his deck and Duel Disk was gone. As he usually did, Yugi had taken it with him.

"Jounouchi," Anzu saw Jounouchi kind of staring off. "What is it? Why are you holding the Rule Book?"

Jounouchi turned to her and grinned.

"I may not have gotten a lead on where he is, but I've got a hunch on how we could find him," he said. He held up the Rule Book and the rest stared blankly at it.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Otogi asked him.

"That's the book for the Battle City tournament," Honda began to think, "which had new rules for the game…and a new invention, which was a portable device which is used to duel."

"Yugi's duel disk!" Anzu exclaimed. "It can be located from anywhere by the simulator at Kaiba Corporation!"

"Bingo," Jounouchi showed her she was correct.

"Totally knew that," Otogi tried to claim, but of course was not believed.

With a way to locate their friend, they, even a sickened Bakura, ran to the main building of Kaiba Corp. in hopes of finding their friend.