Yugi was worried when she turned onto her street to see that there were two police cars pulled up outside the shop. She sprinted the last few meters and entered the shop to find her grandfather was talking to the officers the cars belonged to.

"It's all on here. We didn't touch him," Sugoroku was saying as he handed over a video tape. "He came in, roaring drunk and…"

He trailed off when he saw Yugi hovering.

"Jii-san? What happened?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

"I'll explain in a minute, please go upstairs." His tone allowed for no argument and she scurried up the stairs, able to feel the stares of the officers on her back as she went.

She paused as she entered the living room to find that Rishid was guarding the opposite doorway, while Ishizu's voice was coming from further down the hall. She politely nodded to the older teen, who nodded back tersely and then glanced towards the sofa.

She followed his gaze to find Katsuya was sat there, his hands in his lap, balling and unballing, just staring at the floor.

Yugi made her way across the room and sat down next to him, putting her hand on his. "Katsu?"

"Otousan…" Katsuya swallowed hard, his eyes coming up to meet hers, the raising of his head revealing a rather nasty looking bruise on his right cheek. "He…"

"Are you alright?" Concern flooded through her and she felt her twin mentally 'sit up', more than ready to deal with the man after all the pain he had caused their partner and his sister. "I can…"

He caught her hand as she traced the bruise. "Not right now… I… it'll look weird to the cops, so we should let it heal on its own."

"If you're sure." Yugi turned her hand to intertwine her fingers with his. "What happened? Jii-san was talking to the police and wouldn't tell me anything."

"Otousan came to… discuss the whole Kangoken thing." She could feel he was shaking in time with his voice as his eyes turned to the floor. "He… wasn't happy."

"Want me to deal with it?" Meisa took over, furious that Katsuya's father had taken out his anger on his son.

"You won't have to," Rishid spoke up, his tone low. "My brother did it for you."

"What do you…?" The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs caused her to trail off. Sugoroku entered the living room, the twist of his lips and narrowed eyes telling Yugi that whatever had happened was serious. He shut the door behind him and looked to Rishid before speaking to Katsuya or Meisa.

"I need to speak to your siblings in a minute." When Rishid nodded, Sugoroku turned back to the two who lived within the home, moved towards them with a shuffle that suggested to Yugi that he really did not want to have to give the news he had, and sat on the table in front of Katsuya. "I'm sorry."

Katsuya raised his eyes. Startled, worried brown met sad, sympathetic purple. "What…"

"Your Otosan didn't make it to the hospital," Sugoroku spoke softly. Meisa's eyes widened, then she dropped back into the Puzzle, allowing Yugi to tighten her grip on her partner's hand. "He had a seizure mid-route and…"

Before he could finish, Katsuya's eyes screwed shut and his whole body tensed. Tears escaped despite his best efforts to contain them as he asked, "Was it… the… the game?"

"They don't know for certain what caused it," Sugoroku admitted. "Even if it was magic, they wouldn't be able to say. The police said the medical crew thought it was a combination of him hitting his head on the floor when he collapsed and the alcohol in his system. They're going to test his blood, but we could all smell it on him."

"There was magic?" Meisa shot back into control to ask. "What happened?"

"My akh protected your family, Pharaoh." At the sound of Ishizu's voice, Meisa shot to her feet and moved between the other item holder and her hurting family. The Bearer of the Millennium Rod watched her carefully, her hand going to the golden item that the Pharaoh could now see was tucked into her belt. "He cast judgment on the man for attacking his own son and he cheated. If the brute's soul wasn't strong enough to survive the punishment of the Shadows, that's on him, not Marik."

"A Shadow Game?" The Pharaoh straightened and blinked, surprised. She had sensed Shadows from Marik, but she had not thought him capable of creating a Game, let alone inducing a Penalty. "How?"

"I will be taking Marik and leaving now." Ishizu did not answer other than to glower at her for her audacity to ask.

"No one is stopping you. I'd like to discuss what happened, but it can wait." Sugoroku held up his hands, unwilling to take the risk of anyone else getting hurt tonight. "Do you have money for a taxi home?"

"We'll manage," the girl hissed out before turning back towards the corridor. "Rishid, is he…?"

Her posture softened when Marik stumbled into the living room, still pale and tired looking, but standing. "I'm fine, Ukhti."

He turned to Katsuya, his expression closing off as he realized how distraught the teen was. "I won't apologize. Not for doing what was right, but I am sorry for your pain. I know how hard it can be to lose your Abi. Even when the man isn't… isn't good."

Katsuya stared at the teen for a moment, then opened his mouth to say something, only for a strangled sound to emerge as his emotions overwhelmed him.

Marik's shoulders sank and he looked away. Ishizu put her hands on his shoulders and the teen leaned back into her. The young woman shot a look back to the doorway, where Rishid held Marik's bag, her own frame drooped, and she nodded to him before leading Marik outside.

"Pharaoh… the thing Marik used..." Rishid reached the stairs down, then hesitated before speaking, "It's something Ukhti gave us for our protection. I'm not surprised he used it against… not with our family history, but…"

He let out a heavy sigh. "I'd say you don't have to worry about running into a Memento, but Ishizu's been making more recently. I'd hope she wasn't planning on using them against you because the consequences can be… unpredictable… but…"

"Thank you for the warning." Meisa gave him a smile she did not feel, then nodded and he reciprocated before following his siblings out.

'Well that makes Battle City more terrifying.' The slight tremble in her twin's voice matched the unease the Pharaoh was feeling as she looked to her grandfather.

"Look after him." Sugoroku gestured to Katsuya. "I need to make a phone call."

Before she could say anything, he headed into the kitchen, leaving her alone with Katsuya. Meisa was unsure what to do or say as she sat next to her closest friend and simply squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry."

"The…" Katsuya swallowed hard. "The last thing I said to him… was to tell him he wasn't my family anymore… That's why he lashed out. That's why Marik…"

"Oh, Katsu." Yugi shot into control and hugged him tightly. The teen tensed in her arms for a moment, before pulling away.

"I'm not… I don't need… that's the worst part." The boy hiccupped, closing his eyes tightly again. "I'm sad, but I'm… relieved too. I'm finally free of him… And I know that's horrible of me, but it's…"

"Your Otosan hurt you. A lot." Yugi swallowed, putting her hand on his. "You're allowed to feel relieved that you don't have to deal with that anymore."

"Even if it's my fault he's gone?"

"You couldn't have known." Meisa stepped into control, her firm, certain voice and steady gaze helping Katsuya find his mental footing easier. "You had no way to know that Marik was going to Challenge him. Or that your Otosan wouldn't survive the consequences."

Her best friend nodded and looked at the floor, clearly not entirely taking it in.

"I know it's not much, but I'm going to add my ancestors' names to the family shrine." Meisa spoke softer than she had for anyone except her twin. "I'm sure Jii-san would let you add your Otosan's too. I'll help."

Katsuya looked at her for just the briefest second, then his shoulders sank further and he nodded.

"I… I'd like that. He might have been an ass, but he was my Otosan."

"Okay."

"I think that's everything," Kawai Sakura said as she straightened up, having fished out Shizuka's old, well-loved puppy plushie from under the bed, where it had fallen this morning. The toy had been a gift from Katsuya, given the first time he had been allowed to see his sister after the divorce, and Sakura knew that Shizuka would not forgive herself if it had been left behind.

"Thank you." The girl in question held out her hands and cuddled the plush tightly when it was passed to her. "Okaasan… I'm sorry."

Her mother blinked, surprised. Then it hit her. "I…"

"I shouldn't have said what I did on Saturday." Shizuka's head turned, as if she was trying to look away, ashamed. "You've done a lot for me and I've been ungrateful."

Sakura let out a soft breath and sat on the bed next to her daughter, putting her hand on the girl's arm to let her know where she was. "I won't deny it hurt, but you weren't incorrect. I was smothering you. I was just so worried about something happening to you, I forgot that you needed your own space."

"Truce?" The girl's voice trembled slightly as she asked, "I'll try to remember that you're trying to help, if you remember that there ARE things I can do myself?"

"Truce." Her mother pulled her into a hug, one that only ended because her phone started ringing.

She pulled away and checked it, expecting it to be a spam call, only for her eyes to widen when the caller ID said 'Mutou Home'.

"Moshi moshi?" she answered without a second's hesitation. "Kawai Sakura speaking."

"Kawai-san, it's Mutou Sugoroku." The elderly man's voice sounded tense and unhappy. "Are you able to sit down?"

"Is Katsuya alright?" she demanded, getting to her feet and starting to pace up and down the room, ignoring the worried squeak from her daughter at her words.

"Are you sitting down?"

"Yes." It was a lie but she did not care.

"Jonouchi Goro came to the shop today to protest the Kangoken transfer."

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, paling at the name. "Is everyone alright? Did he hurt anyone?"

"Katsuya has a bruise on his cheek where Jonouchi hit him, but there's more." Sakura's free hand balled into a fist at the news her son was hurt, but she said nothing to interrupt what was coming. "He was very drunk when he showed up. He tripped or something and hit his head. We called an ambulance for him when he didn't get up, but… he's gone."

It took her a moment to process the words. "I… I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"He's gone. Jonouchi Goro had a seizure and passed away in the ambulance on the way to the hospital."

She had heard him correctly. Her ex-husband, the man who had made her life a living hell for years, who had taken her son from her, who had threatened the sight of her daughter, was gone.

He would no longer get between her and her son. He would no longer be able to threaten her family's well being.

"Kawai-san? I'm sorry to…"

"No… no. This is… a shock, yes, but for me, it's not… awful. How's Katsuya taking it?" she asked, noting that Shizuka was tracking her across the room and that the girl was shaking slightly, probably in worry and fear.

"He's… I think he's in shock. He might have disliked the man, but…"

"He was still his Otosan," Sakura breathed, understanding. "I, at least, will be in Domino as soon as possible. I might bring Shizuka with me. If she's been released from the hospital. We're just waiting on the doctors now."

"I'll have a camp bed set up. Worst case scenario, one of you will have to take the couch."

"Thank you. If we'll be in town longer than a couple of days, then I'll make other arrangements, but I'm not leaving my musuko to clean up that drunkard's messes alone."

"Thank you." The relief in his voice was obvious. "I can send you my lawyer's number if you think it will help."

"Please do. We're going to need to have legal backing if we're going to get limited consent through the courts."

"Limited consent?"

"It means that Katsuya would only inherit the debts of his Otosan up to the amount of credit he would inherit. He wouldn't owe anything. You know the debtors are going to fight it though, which is why I need your lawyer's number. The one who handled my divorce retired last year or I'd ask her."

There was a sharp breath on the other end, then, "I'll send it straight away."

"Thank you, see you soon."

"See you soon."

She ended the call and turned to her daughter, who had gone very still.

"Kaasan?" The girl's voice was shockingly cold. "Did I hear that right? Otosan's… gone?"

"How did you…?"

"You were talking about inheritance. You only get inheritance when someone passes away," Shizuka pointed out. "Is it true?"

The mother sat on her daughter's bed and took one of the girl's hands in her own. "Yes, your Otosan passed away this afternoon. I want to head to Domino to help your Oniisan sort out his estate."

"Can I come?"

Sakura was not sure what response she had expected from Shizuka at the news. Maybe sadness, possibly shock. This complete lack of anything, except possibly relief, however, was not it.

Then it hit her. Shizuka had been seven when she had been ripped away from her brother. Since then, she had not seen or interacted with Goro at all. She was closer to Takahara then she had ever been to her birth father. To put it in terms she had heard her English-speaking colleagues using, Jonouchi Goro had been her Father, but Takahara Hoshi was her Dad.

"If the doctor decides you're fit to leave the hospital, yes. Hoshi won't be around to keep an eye on you during the day until you can take your bandages off, so it would be better for you to be where I can keep an eye on you. Otherwise you'll have to stay here."

"Can you ask the doctor?"

She checked the time, then nodded instinctively as she made up her mind. "Let me make another call, then if he hasn't come back, I'll go find him."

"Okay."

Sakura scrolled through her contacts until she found her own hospital, the one she worked at, and quickly started calling. When it picked up, she tapped in her staff ID and the code for human resources. Within three rings, the call was picked up.

"Sacred Star Hospital, Human Resources, Ashina speaking, how can I help?"

"Ashina, it's Kawai. I'm a nurse from…"

"I remember you Kawai, you looked after my daughter when she had that operation," Ashina cut her off. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to take some family time. Urgently. My zenpu passed away, and I need to go to Domino to help my musuko pick up the pieces."

"Should I offer my commiserations or buy a cake?" Ashina asked, noting the bitterness in the term for ex-husband. "And do you know how long you're going to be gone?"

"Hopefully it won't take more than a week or two, but I'll let you know if that changes." Sakura ran a hand through her hair as she spoke. "Is that okay?"

"Hmm, I'm just checking the schedule. It'll cause a little mayhem tomorrow, but I'm sure I can find someone to cover. I know of four people looking for more overtime and several looking for less so…"

"Thanks, Ashina." The doctor entering the room made her pause. "I need to…"

"Keep us updated, good luck getting things settled." Ashina ended the call before Sakura could.

"Kawai-san?" the doctor asked as he offered her a bunch of paperwork. "If you could put your signature on here, you can take Shizuka home tonight. You'll just need to pick up her antibiotics on your way out."

She reached for the paperwork without hesitation, relieved that something today was going to be simple. The sooner she signed, the sooner they could be on their way. She would just have to call Hoshi on the way to the car.

Shizuka clutched the puppy plushie tighter as her mother signed off on the papers.

"Thank you." The doctor smiled at the older woman. "The pharmacy is on the bottom floor, just inside the outpatient entrance."

"Thank you too. For everything." She bowed to the doctor, who bowed in return and left.

Before she could say anything else, Shizuka was already sliding off of the bed and slipping her feet into her trainers, which had been put beside the bed in case she wanted to wander to the bathroom.

"Let's go."

Sugoroku sighed as he hung up the phone and leaned against the kitchen counter. He was not sure what he had expected when he had phoned Katsuya's mother, but he was honestly pleased that the outcome was what it was.

If Kawai was correct, Katsuya would be clear of his father's chains soon and would be able to choose his own life. The elderly gamer was selfishly worried that once everything was settled, the teen would decide that he wanted to stay with his mother and sister, rather than with them. He would not blame the boy if he did, but he knew he would miss the boy, and with Katsuya and Yugi's budding relationship, he knew his granddaughter would too.

He quickly fired off the contact details of his lawyer, then poked his head back in the door and watched the two teens within the living room. Katsuya had slumped onto the couch and his head rested in Yugi's lap, his eyes closed and his posture more relaxed. The girl was running her fingers through his hair, just trying to be supportive, but she caught her grandfather's gaze and mouthed 'asleep' to him.

Doctor Mutou was not surprised that the boy had fallen asleep. With all the emotional upheaval, letting the teen doze was probably the kindest option. It just meant that, for now, he would have to prepare for Sakura's arrival by himself.

The sound of the phone ringing startled him and he wheeled around to glower at the offending electronic device. It ignored him and continued to ring merrily as he stalked across the room to it.

"Mutou Sugoroku speaking." He mentally winced at the sharpness of his tone.

"Solomon!" He relaxed as a cheery American voice called a nickname he had not heard in months. "It's Arthur, how are you?"

"Arthur, isn't it five am where you are?" Sugoroku could not help the startled question, easily able to remember that his friend was not normally up before seven at the earliest.

"Yes, yes, but I haven't slept yet, my friend." Arthur Hopkins sounded ecstatic. "I've made too big a discovery! And I wanted to pick the brains of the wisest archeologist I knew."

"You flatter me, but we both know you only gave me that nickname as a taunt, my friend, and you don't actually believe I have the wisdom of King Solomon." The elderly gamer chuckled, kind of relieved to have a distraction from current events. "What can I do for you?"

"I'll send you copies of the documentation to double check, but I think I might have found the location of an Atlantean temple," Arthur crowed, far too excitable for California's morning.

Sugoroku understood it if he was correct though. Arthur had been chasing the legends of Atlantis for decades. Several of their colleagues in the scientific community thought of the man as a coot because of it. Sugoroku, however, had seen enough of the unusual in his lifetime to believe the man when he said that he had stumbled across some Atlantean ruins in his youth that had been blocked off when he had returned with others.

"I'd be happy to double check the findings for you," he promised. "If it's real, do you want help on the dig?"

"Actually I have another request," Arthur admitted sheepishly. "I don't want Rebecca to be on her own, and if my coordinates are right, this is going to be a difficult dig, so I don't want to bring her."

"You'd like me to babysit?" Sugoroku was a little offended, having hoped to be with Arthur when Atlantis being real was finally confirmed, considering how much work they had done together on the project.

"This isn't Atlantis itself, my friend," the American archeologist reassured him. "Believe me when I say that you're the first person I want by my side when I find the city and finally prove everyone who doubted us wrong, but I don't want to leave Rebecca unattended while I'm off on a dig. It's going to take me a couple of months to organize everything, so it won't be any time soon. She wants to attend an event in Japan anyway, so I was hoping to time my dig up with that."

"I'd be happy to take her." The elderly gamer relaxed a little. "What's the event?"

"Battle City."

Sugoroku paled, remembering what had happened earlier and how it could happen again over the course of the tournament. "Arthur, I…"

"I know your Yugi's competing, but Rebecca's insistent that she needs to prove herself to the international Dueling community," Arthur interrupted. "She's a good girl. She won't be a problem, I promise."

"I…"

"I would put her up in one of the hotels Kaiba Corp is providing, but she's going to be there for more than just the duration of the tournament, and I don't want to leave her in a hotel by herself. She's only twelve. Plus most places won't take a child without an adult."

Realising that Arthur was not going to take no for an answer, Sugoroku let out a sigh, deciding to talk to him about it when the man was less excitable and sleep-deprived. "Alright, how long are you thinking she'll be here?"

"At least two weeks, but I can let you know closer to time."

"Sounds good."

"Thank you so much, Solomon, she'll be really excited."

"I'm sure. Go get some sleep, Arthur. We'll work out details later."

"Good night!"

As the call dropped, Sugoroku stared at the phone, wondering how he was going to explain everything to Arthur the next time they spoke.

The moon had begun its descent and the birds were beginning their morning song when Meisa emerged from the Puzzle.

Sleep had not come easily to either of the Mutou twins. The concern for their friend and the thought that a man had died because of something that was in the building because of them and that they were going to have to face had kept them from drifting off easily, but eventually the younger of the sisters had managed to fall into slumber, mostly because she had been unable to resist Morphius's call any longer.

Meisa, however, had not had such luck. She had no physical form to grow tired and she had used very little magic since the fight with Zorc, so while she was still a little drained from that, the relative peace of the weekend, bad news notwithstanding, meant she was mostly recovered.

Thankfully her twin had not taken off the Puzzle, giving her access to the world outside it, so she did not have to stay in the soul rooms and risk waking her sister.

She paused, realizing that she did not know what she was going to do now she had emerged from the Puzzle. Everyone was asleep and silence ruled the building. Without a mortal form she could not go and turn on any games or make herself a hot chocolate, so she had no way to entertain herself without waking her twin's body.

Frustration surged through her. She knew she was lucky to have the life she had, but it was times like this that she loathed her existence. Her freedom was a sham. She only had what independence she was allowed or felt right taking. The leash that kept her bound to this world also kept her from being a part of it.

For a moment, just a moment, she regretted that she had not been reincarnated like others of her court had, and had, instead, lost the rights to her own mortal shell.

Then her twin whimpered from the bed and her shoulders sank as she turned to look at the girl, hoping Imoto had not been awake enough to catch that. Thankfully the girl was fast asleep, but the expression on her face suggested it would not be for much longer as she tossed and turned.

The muted, sleeping fear the Pharaoh could sense across their soul bond suggested that the girl was caught up in a nightmare. The Spirit of the Puzzle reached across the bond, trying to see what her twin's mind was seeing, only to catch a glimpse of fire and broken, scattered gold.

Meisa grimaced at the knowledge that her sister was suffering through yet another nightmare about the Black Clown's destruction and their own near death.

Without a moment's hesitation, Meisa strode across the room and sat next to the girl, taking a hand in hers as she sent strength, reassurance, and calm down the bond. 'I'm here, Imoto. You're safe, I promise.'

She felt her twin's mind brush against hers, as if subconsciously testing that claim, then Imoto calmed down, settling back into a peaceful slumber.

Guilt surged through the spirit. Her twin had risked her life and freedom to recover the Puzzle piece that had been stolen, so she could free Meisa from her shadowy prison. The Pharaoh's selfish desire was a poor way to repay her Imoto for her selfless act.

If Meisa had not split her soul the way she had back in Egypt, Yugi would not exist. Her bright, wonderful twin, who meant so much to so many people, would not ever have had the chance to form.

And that was something Meisa would not trade for any amount of freedom. She could cope with being the specter in the shadows around her friends, if it meant that her twin got to live.

The sounds of someone moving around downstairs and low voices caught her attention. No one should be awake at this time of the morning. Even Jii-san, who was always the first to wake up, should not be up for another couple of hours.

She rose and strode from the room, planning to retreat to the Puzzle and borrow the body to deal with the issue if she needed to. Heading downstairs and into the living room, however, revealed that her grandfather was awake and had let in a couple of guests. The identities of the pair surprised her briefly, though when she considered them, it made sense.

"Sorry again," Kawai Sakura was saying as she helped Shizuka put a pair of suitcases in the corner of the room out of the way. "I know it's early, but…"

"It's okay." Jii-san's smile turned more reassuring as he spotted Meisa in the doorway, watching. He could not speak with her while there were others around, but the wink he offered eased the knot in Meisa's chest a little and reminded her that there were those who were able and willing to interact with her as her own person. "I would be up shortly anyway. I'm just glad you came."

"We couldn't leave Katsuya in trouble." Shizuka's voice was firm, but it was easy to read the unease in her body posture, something that was understandable considering that she could not see and she was in a location she did not know.

Meisa hesitated for a moment, then made up her mind and retreated to the Puzzle, gently shifting into control so she did not wake her twin's soul as she woke the body. She quietly passed by Katsuya's room on her way downstairs and lightly coughed as she entered the living room. The occupants jumped and Sakura at least had the grace to look sheepish.

"Sorry, Mutou-chan, did we wake you?"

"No, no, I was coming to get a glass of water and heard a noise." She told a small lie and noted that Shizuka's stance changed slightly at the sound of her voice. "Thank you for coming. Can I help you get settled at all?"

The relief in Shizuka's frame and the proud glance Sugoroku shot her made the effort worth it. She helped Shizuka get set up on the sofa and was just showing Kawai where she would be sleeping when Katsuya emerged from his room.

The teen sleepily bumped into his mother, mumbled an apology, then stopped and did a double take, his eyes widening as he actually took in who he had collided with.

"Okaasan?"

"I'm here to help, Katsuya," Sakura promised her son for the first time in his life.

"I…" He swallowed hard, relief and anger flickering across his features in quick succession. "Thank you."

"I brought Shizuka with me too."

"Really?" He visibly perked up. "Where's…?"

"I'm on the sofa, Katsuya." The sound of his little sister's voice sent the teen dashing into the living room. His mother shook her head, exasperated and amused.

"Hello to you too," she grumbled to herself. Meisa did not dare say a word. She had many thoughts about the woman and the way she had treated Katsuya, but now was not the time to voice them.

Instead she led Sakura to Sugoroku's study, where a camp bed had been set up, leaving very little room for the man to work.

The thought occurred to Meisa that if the pair were going to stay long term, maybe more space would need to be made, especially since she was certain that her best friend would struggle with having his mother in this close vicinity. Having another area where they could go to relax, away from the main living room, would help with that. Not to mention that having another sleeping area available would allow them to keep guests out of the room where all their business and personal documents were kept.

Perhaps it was time to poke her twin about the plans she had made for a spare room/gaming area in either the attic or the basement. Meisa was certain that if Imoto took them to Jii-san, he would at least be willing to help her work out if it was viable.

Author Note: Early release because NaNoWriMo kicks off in two days. December may be late because of rewrites and weird timings, sorry.