Yugi was unable to sleep.

She had tried, but worry for her missing friend had prevented it, assisted by the repeating memory of the blow up with Otogi and the fear for her other self.

Instead she found herself working on the Millennium Puzzle, knowing she could not complete it, but needing to clear her head and help the one person she knew she could help right now.

The further she got with it, the more an aching pain sank into her, her mind went fuzzy, her stomach churned, and her head pulsed as her body objected to the lack of rest, but there was no point in trying to sleep because her brain would not shut up long enough to let her settle.

Working on the Puzzle had always helped her calm down after a bad day before, and it was the same again. The difficulty of it meant that she had to focus on it and only it if she wanted to make any progress, allowing her to ignore the rising nausea and the stress of recent events.

"I'm sorry, Anesan," she murmured as she worked, piece after piece clicking into place as she silently wished she could see her other self. "I'll free you again, I promise."

Meisa had promised that whenever she had worked on the Puzzle, their souls had connected. She wanted to believe that it was true and that her light could protect her twin from the darkness.

As the last piece she currently held clicked into place, disappointment crashed into her. Without the last piece there was no bond between them. At least not on her end. She still could not sense her sister's soul.

Yugi rested her head against the golden item, swallowing back the sob she could feel rising.

"Anesan, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered, hoping beyond hope that even without a full connection it would reach her dark half. "I couldn't protect the Puzzle. I couldn't protect you. But I'm trying. I'm trying so hard to help. And when I get the last Puzzle piece back, the first thing I'm going to do is release you from the Shadows, I swear it. Please, just hang in there."

For just a moment, she thought she felt something feebly brush through her mind. It was so weak that she could not tell what her twin was trying to send, but just the belief that they had been able to connect was enough to ignite Yugi's hope that, yes, this was working, and give her a moment of relief.

"I'm fine, Anesan." It was a lie, the only lie she had ever told her darker half. She was not okay, not even slightly, but her twin needed to think she was, needed to be able to trust that Yugi would be able to complete the Puzzle again. "A little fritzed, but I'm fine. I'll have you free soon. I promise."

The sound of a loud crash from the living room made her jump, jarring the Puzzle cupped in her hands and causing the thing to fall apart again with a rattle of the chain that she had attached the top piece onto before she had started. Yugi let out an exasperated, angry huff as she shot to her feet and stalked towards the living room, where she found Jou and Otogi glaring at each other.

"What is going on?!" she bit out, shaking in her frustration and upset at having hours of work come undone, putting Meisa at the mercy of the Shadows once again.

Katsuya froze at the sight of the girl in the doorway, wondering if she was aware she was glowing slightly with a soft white light, but Otogi just grimaced. "Jonouchi decided to renew a conversation we were having the other day. I'm sorry if we disturbed you."

Yugi glanced at the clock and huffed as she realized she would have had to put the Puzzle down soon anyway, since it was nearly seven and she had to be ready for school by half past.

"Please don't fight in my house." Yugi spoke firmly, none of the physical shaking coming though in her voice. "I know you don't like us, Otogi, and I'm guessing, Katsuya, you don't like him, but I can't… not right now. So please, both of you. Stop."

The two teens looked embarrassed at being scolded as Yugi stalked into the kitchen and put bread on to toast while she threw clean clothes on. It was not until she had retreated to her room and started to change that she realized she had just yelled at the pair while in her nightdress. Blushing in embarrassment, she threw on her school clothes and swept the Puzzle pieces back into their box, wanting to keep them close.

Part of her wanted to head to the now open shops and ask around. There was a chance that someone had seen her friend, and she wanted to find out what had happened. However, if she skipped school and Bakura had been messing with them or had been waiting until later to break into somewhere, she would miss her friend and the Puzzle piece.

It made sense for her to wait until later to head for the shops. It would be more likely that the late shift staff from yesterday would be on duty, and Amane was pretty distinctive, so if they had seen her friend last night, they would be able to tell her where she had gone. She did not like the idea of leaving her friend in trouble, but she was not sure what else she could do. At least right now. The late staff would not be in until midday at the earliest.

The best option, she decided, was to head into school, and if Amane was not in, bail at lunch time, when the first of the evening staff came in. She could head for the shops, ask around, and then give the location to Jou and the others so they could all go and help their friend.

Having made up her mind, she headed back to the kitchen. Jou was already eating her toast, but thankfully he had put more on for her. While she waited, she pulled Otogi's clothes out of the tumble dryer and handed them to the other teen. He went to get changed, which gave Katsuya a chance to ask, "How're you doing? Did you get any sleep?"

"What's sleep?" Yugi responded with a yawn as she buttered the bread that popped out, trying to ignore the fact the smell made her want to throw up, and then put one more round in for Otogi.

Her friend snorted, feeling much the same way despite the couple of hours he had gotten. "Has Bakura tried to call?"

Yugi grimaced as she checked her phone and found that once again, there was nothing. When she shook her head, Jou grimaced. Otogi re-entered the room and noted she looked worried, causing him to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Amane still hasn't messaged me," the girl responded, looking troubled as she handed her plate of toast to Otogi, no longer hungry.

"She might have overslept," Ryuji offered, trying not to think about the fact that the girl in question probably had not slept at all and certainly was not getting breakfast.

"True, but…" Yugi trailed off and shook her head, clearly worried.

Otogi huffed and pushed the toast aside, trying to hide that her concern was actually bothering him. "I'm going to head home. I'll see you at school."

He did not give them a chance to respond as he headed for the door, ringing for one of the cars as he went. Within minutes his limo was picking him up and driving him to the Black Clown.

It was just opening its doors when he got there, but he did not stop to speak to any of the staff. Instead he headed straight for the upper floors. Knocking on his father's office door proved fruitless, and he was about to turn away when he heard a female voice cry out in pain.

He entered without permission to find the door to the hidden room was open, and his father, assisted by a couple of the less scrupulous security men they had hired, had entered to 'talk' with the girl trapped within.

One of the men blocked the door as the other had a firm grip on the girl, who had her left hand pressed against her right side, suggesting she had been hit, and with the way his father had his cane raised, he clearly planned to strike her again.

"Otousan." Otogi's call to his father made the older man pause and turn to look at him.

"About time you got home. Where the hell have you been?" the shop owner demanded.

"Gathering information from the Mutous. Yugi was out all night looking for our guest." Bakura let out a startled noise at that, then looked up at Otogi with a pained, sad, disappointed expression, coming to the realization he had lied to her friends as he said, "I distracted her, don't worry."

"I should hope so." His father sounded far too pleased with his actions before turning to Amane. "See, girl? No one is coming to help you, just accept it and do what you promised."

He was not expecting the response he got.

She spat at him, making him recoil.

"Never," Amane hissed out, earning herself another blow from Kintaro's cane, which slammed into her side.

She did not give the older Otogi the reaction he was looking for, instead biting back the pained noise and giving the clown the smuggest look she could muster.

"I will never, ever help you, and I will never give you MY Millennium Item," she swore. "You don't deserve it."

The cane slammed into exactly the same spot as before, but she just managed to squash the pained gasp, refusing to give him what he wanted.

"You can't beat the Mutous by yourself, can you?" she taunted the elder Otogi, channeling her darker self. "That's why you need to control your son. Why you hit and abuse him. Why you control everything about him! But you've screwed yourself over. The Millennium Items need someone with a strong mind and heart to control them. Anyone else will get ripped apart by the darkness. Neither of you is worthy of holding one!"

She was proud of the anger that caused. A few weeks ago, if someone had told her that they wanted to take the Millennium Ring from her, she would have gift wrapped it for them. The Ring had put her through hell since she had made the mistake of picking it up, and she would have been glad to be rid of it.

However, after Duelist Kingdom, when she had bonded better with the spirit of her item, found out why Ba-Khu-Ra was the way she was, and come to the realization that the ghost within did actually give a damn about her, there was no way that she was going to just give it up now.

She was determined to get the hell out of here and take her Ring with her, and if she could insult these assholes in the process, she was more than happy to.

"You realize if you help us, you would be in a much better situation," Otogi Kintaro stated, the anger in his tone proving she had gotten to him.

"You held me prisoner and you expect me to help you?" She snorted, trying not to show how afraid she was.

"What other choice do you have?" the elderly man asked with a snort. "You can't escape, and even if you did, you'd be leaving the Millennium Ring with us. Why fight us?"

"I already told you why," Amane huffed. "I'm never going to play you for MY item. It's mine. I don't have to accept any challenge for it."

"You can't refuse…"

"Oh, I can," the Ring Bearer declared. "I don't have to accept any challenge I don't want to. You can't force me to make a move because if you even try touching my Ring, it'll destroy you."

"I can handle the Ring at any time I want." Otogi's father turned his back to go grab the Ring and prove it.

There was a moment where Amane was tempted to just watch him get himself killed for trying to wear an item he was not worthy of, just like her father had on that fateful night.

Then the memory of her father's body on the ground and the sheer pain of seeing the Ring destroy him flashed through her mind.

As much as she disliked the Otogis, as much as she wanted the older Otogi to receive punishment for his actions towards her and his own son, she did not want to be responsible for his death.

Amane stamped on the foot of the thug holding her. He let her go in shock as pain shot up his leg, and the Ring Bearer used the chance to slip past the startled guard at the door. That guard turned to try and grab her, while Otogi senior and the other man slipped out of a second passageway, which Ryuji was startled to see led into his gaming space.

They managed to pincer the girl between them as she tried to unhook her Ring from the clip it had been attached to while the older Otogi talked to her, and Ryuji winced at the pained sound that emerged from her as she was slammed against a wall and pinned there by one of the guards.

"Smart, girl, very smart," Kintaro huffed, ill amused as the guard pinning Amane grabbed the girl's wrists, trapping them behind her. "But not smart enough: you shouldn't have stopped to grab your Ring."

"Otousan, let me handle this?" Otogi suggested, uncomfortable and wanting to at least try to prevent the true Ring Bearer from being any more hurt. "Perhaps talking, rather than fighting, will get us further."

There was a moment where the clown watched his son sharply, wondering what he was up to. Then he nodded. Otogi gestured for the guard who had his hands on Amane to follow him.

"Ryuji?" his father demanded. "Where are you taking her?"

"Just let me handle this." The son gave his father a sharp look, asking him to trust him. Kintaro considered Ryuji for a moment, then huffed.

"Fine, but she goes back to her research once you're done." He turned to go close the doors, leaving Ryuji with the guards and Amane.

The girl in question held her tongue as they headed into a small, private kitchenette area, wondering what the heck Ryuji was up to.

"You, guard the door." He gestured to the second man and then turned to the one holding Amane. "Bathroom."

Amane gave him a confused look as she was shoved inside the bathroom and the door was partly closed behind her, enough to give her some privacy, but not enough to allow her to lock it behind her. She glanced around and grimaced as she realized there was no window and no escape route.

"I would suggest you use the time wisely," Otogi called through the door as she heard him clattering around the kitchen. "Otousan will only tolerate my interference in his scheme so long. Especially when you said you can fix him."

The Ring Bearer took the hint, using the loo and washing herself using the sink before being escorted to the kitchen, where she was forced into a seat.

"What do you want?" Amane asked, confused and wary.

"I've spent the entire night watching your friends freak out because you were missing," Ryuji explained as he made her some breakfast. Just some cereal, nothing that would require giving her a knife, but from the way the girl's stomach rumbled at the sight of it and she tucked in quickly, he was fairly sure it was appreciated. "And unlike Otousan, I care about your wellbeing."

"Then give me my Ring back and let me go," the Ring Bearer snarked.

"Wish I could." He sighed, gesturing for her to eat. When she started eating, he settled down opposite her. "You weren't wrong. I'm not free either."

Bakura paused to consider him, then nodded, having suspected as much, and continued eating. Otogi paused then got her a drink, which she sipped slowly despite how thirsty she was.

"Otousan wants to get back at Mutou-Sensei so badly that nothing else matters to him." The sadness in Ryuji's voice did not need to be faked. "And after Okaasan abandoned him because of what Mutou did, I had nowhere else to go. I have to follow through, or I'll be out on the street."

"And you're willing to follow him even with what he's doing now?" Amane asked, curious and a little bitter.

Otogi's grimace told her he was not happy about the current situation. "I didn't want this for you. I also hoped Yugi would get out of my way. Unfortunately, you told Otousan you can fix him, and he's not going to let that chance go, and Yugi…"

"She'll risk her soul for her Ojiisan." Amane grimaced when Ryuji sighed and sat back.

It matched up to what he had seen of Yugi last night.

"It leaves me with no choice. I need to get her out of the way before Otousan does to her what he's doing to you, or worse," the younger Otogi huffed, "because I saw last night that it doesn't matter if she hears the truth, she will get between us and her Ojiisan."

The Ring Bearer paused to consider that. He was only slightly wrong about the Puzzle Bearer. There was no way that Yugi was not going to protect her grandfather. If the truth really was against him, she would still stand up for him, but she would be more willing to hear the other side out. Considering how quickly Otogi Kintaro had turned to violence when she had told him she had not made any progress yet, she could easily imagine that he would lash out at Yugi if, or rather when, she stood up to him.

"You know, we could help you with your father…"

"Otousan is not in the wrong." Ryuji cut her off, anger in his tone. "Mutou Sugoroku was the one who refused to give him the Puzzle and challenged him. He should have just handed the damn thing over. Then none of this would have happened."

The game master paused as she considered that new piece of information. "He was after the Puzzle back then, too?"

The game designer nodded shortly as Amane finished her cereal bowl. "Yes, but Mutou wouldn't hand it over because of Yugi."

"Yugi is bound to that item." The girl sighed, not entirely comfortable with talking about this around the guards, but since Otogi had started it, she needed to get him thinking while there was still time. "If she hadn't received it… things would be bad."

"What do you mean?" The young man frowned.

"Look up the comas in…" And she listed everywhere she had visited between getting the Millennium Ring and arriving in Domino City. She saw his eyes go wider and wider as he double checked the information and beheld the sheer numbers. "That would still be happening."

Ryuji sat back, eyes still wide as he considered the number of children who had been in comas. "She stopped this from happening?"

Amane reluctantly finished the drink and nodded. "And reversed it, which she could only do because she finished the Puzzle."

The game designer grimaced. "That doesn't make what happened right."

"No," the game master agreed, "but it's something else to consider when you're thinking about what you're doing. Doing what she did took an insane amount of energy and power, and she could only do it with full access to the Puzzle's power. No one else could have."

He just nodded, biting his lower lip as he considered this new information.

"I know you probably don't want advice from me, but I'm in a similar position to you, trapped assisting in someone else's revenge." Otogi's head snapped towards the other teen. "There is one really important thing I've learned. You might have to watch as your tormentor hurts others, you might even be forced to help them, but you don't have to be like them. You don't have to follow in their footsteps and hurt those who don't deserve it. You can be a better person. Even if there's a cost."

Otogi did not respond immediately. Instead he got to his feet, paused, and then grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge as Amane was forced to her feet by the guards. He walked her back to the room containing the Game of Life, nodding to his father as he passed. He escorted her back to the table and used the opportunity to hide the water bottle behind one of the thick table legs.

As he stood up, he gave her a hard stare that he did not particularly feel. "Surrender the Millennium Ring to me tonight, and Otousan will probably let me give you another meal."

"I'm not giving up my Ring," Amane bit back, though she was not sure how much of his attitude was an act, considering the water bottle he had left her.

"Then you won't eat," he huffed as he turned to leave, trying to think if he could ensure the girl's escape before then and internally flinching at the thought of just how badly his father would react. After all, Bakura had promised to fix what the Game of Life had broken. He could not justify freeing the girl when there was a chance she could give him his father back. The food and drink was the best he could do. At least for now.

The guards followed him through as he tumbled her words over in his head and ensured the door was shut behind them. His father was not wrong to want revenge on the older Mutou for what had been done to him, but did that really mean hurting someone who had not been involved at all? Did Bakura and Yugi deserve what they were going through?

"Ryuji." The teen stopped midway out of the office door at his father's call.

"Yes, Otousan?" he asked as he turned to look at the elderly man, who was sat at his desk, and tried not to shudder.

"I've got business to handle today," the clown-masked man informed him as he checked that the Millennium Ring was securely fastened to the clip on the wall. "So I will be out of the building most of the day. Make sure you've made progress by the time I next see you."

"Yes, Otousan." Ryuji bowed, wondering what his father expected him to do in the space of one day.

"Which class is Bakura in?" The creepy clown did not give him any hints, only reached for the phone.

"2-F." Ryuji frowned, confused as to why it mattered.

"Thank you…" He picked up the phone and started dialing. "We're so close I can taste it, my boy. Soon I'll be young again, and the Mutous will be less than nothing. Especially since I put in that application you filled out to buy the land their shop's on from Kaiba Corp."

The teen gulped, having not actually planned on filing that, despite what he had threatened Jonouchi with. He had only started the paperwork to show his father he was trying something to create issues for the Mutous.

"I wouldn't have thought of that, Ryuji. I'm actually proud of you." Kintaro's malicious pleasure made his son's heart twist uncomfortably. "Now get going or you'll be late."

Ryuji left as fast as he could, highly uneasy with how much pleasure his father was taking from causing others pain and with Bakura's words ringing in his head.


Yugi was worried.

She had headed into school early, hoping to catch Amane at the gates, only to find the girl had not come through them before the bell rang, and just after taking the register, the teacher turned to Anzu. "Mazaki, Bakura's Otousan rang in. She went straight home after school yesterday, threw up, and has been ill since. As class president, can you collect copies of her homework so you can drop it off to her?"

Anzu agreed, but Yugi, Honda, and Katsuya looked at each other. They knew she was not at home, which meant someone had possibly grabbed her and was now giving a cover story to the school to avoid suspicion regarding her disappearance. Someone who knew what school and class she was in.

This was bad. This was really bad.

Yugi had a horrible feeling that it was linked to the person from the school who had walked off with a piece of her Millennium Puzzle. She just wished that she had some sort of lead on who that was.

She tried to focus on her schoolwork, but her mind kept tumbling over everyone who had been there when she had fallen down the stairs. She trusted Anzu, Katsuya, and Honda. Bakura was her enemy, but she needed the Puzzle as whole as Yugi did. Not only that, she was now, somehow, being held captive, and that meant the enemy was rather intelligent.

There was one person, though, who kept coming to mind.

The boy who had been pushing himself on her, causing the girls to attack her.

Who had just happened to be there to catch her when she had fallen down the stairs and had been in the perfect position to steal a Puzzle piece without anyone noticing.

Who had been where they had gone to look for Bakura, tried to steer them away from his shop, and tried to encourage her and her friends to go home without looking for their friend.

Who knew which class Bakura was in and could have rung in before he came to school.

She wanted to be wrong, she really did, but as the lunch bell rang, she headed for Otogi's classroom, wanting to talk to him, and hoping she was wrong.

Otogi was showing off to some of the girls in his class when she stepped in. The moment he saw her, however, his expression darkened for a moment before he apologized to his admirers and made his way over.

"Yugi?"

"We need to talk. Now," she told him firmly. "Privately."

He paused, frowning, and then nodded and followed her out. She led him to the empty club room corridor and then turned to him. "Otogi… I…"

When she hesitated, he tilted his head. "What's up?"

"I want to be wrong. I really want to be wrong about this, but…" The worried and slightly angry expression on Yugi's face concerned Ryuji. "Otogi? You have my friend and a piece of my Puzzle, don't you?"

"What? No!" On anyone else it would have worked, but the momentary panic and irritation at getting called out gave him away to a girl who had been practicing reading expressions against a Game Master for almost as long as she could remember.

"Otogi, don't lie to me," she confronted him. "Where is it? And where's Amane?"

"How would I know where your friend is?" Again, for anyone else he could have covered the nervousness up, but Yugi saw it.

"She was hunting the missing piece of my Puzzle. You were the only one who was in a position to grab a piece without my friends seeing, which means she would have come to confront you," Yugi reasoned out. "Where. Is. She?"

Ryuji paused to consider his options. He had not expected to be called out this quickly. He was too tired to be dealing with this after last night's search, and from the way Yugi was moving, he could see that she was, too.

If he came clean here, he had no escape options and she would call her friends down on him. If he lied and claimed he did not have the Puzzle piece, there went his reveal later. Then again, that was already spoiled, considering how angry Yugi was. Really, he had only one option that got her to do what he wanted…

He pulled the golden piece out of his pocket and saw the Queen of Games halt, her expression momentarily distraught, like she had been honest when she had said she did not want to be right, then it was cleared and she was glaring at him.

"Give that back!" she demanded, taking a step forward.

"Stay right there, or I'll destroy it," he warned, making her freeze.

"Otogi…"

"Make a scene, tell anyone else, and I'll destroy this piece and I won't tell you where Bakura is," he threatened, cutting her off. He saw her hands ball into fists as anger flooded through her. "You will come to the Black Clown game store tonight, and we will play a game, got it?"

"If you wanted to play a game, you could have asked me," Yugi bit out, furious beyond measure that Otogi was holding three of her friends prisoner to get to her. Amane and Bakura directly, and Anesan by holding onto that Puzzle piece. "We can play right now if you want."

"No." Otogi shook his head, angry that his plans had fallen apart so badly. "You will come to the Black Clown tonight after school, and we will play then. Win and you can have this piece back. Lose and you give me the rest of them."

"You're doing this to get the Puzzle?!" Yugi snapped at him, her voice getting louder as she took a step forward, posture tensing up like she was going to lunge for the Puzzle piece. "You pretended to like me, kidnapped my friends, and stole a piece of MY Puzzle, because you want the…ack!"

She got cut off as Otogi grabbed her by the collar and slammed her against the wall. The pained cry she let out as she collided with the wall made him put his hand over her mouth, muffling it and anything else Yugi could say.

When she struggled, trying to free herself, he adjusted so he could use his greater size, strength, and body weight to pin her firmly, hesitating when he twisted Yugi's left arm sharply and she let out a muffled, pained sound, her face scrunching up to match.

The sound covered the quiet sounds of a first-year girl letting out a soft gasp and darting away to get help.

Shame crashed through Otogi, and his mind flashed back to this morning, when his father and the goons had manhandled Bakura in the same way. He quickly loosened his grasp, remembering the Ring Bearer's words. His father was not there to punish him for being soft. He did not have to act on what his father would want him to do.

Yugi was still hurt from her fall the day before, and he did not have to be responsible for aggravating those wounds. Especially when his father was not looking.

He could feel her trembling in his grasp as he hissed out, "Sorry. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt either of you."

Pain-darkened eyes opened, and she gave him a confused look over the hand keeping her from speaking.

"If you promise to keep your voice down, I'll let you go." When Yugi nodded, he released her.

"Ow," Yugi murmured, more to herself than Ryuji as she rubbed her arm.

"Sorry…" The Puzzle Bearer looked over at the teen holding three friends and a piece of her Puzzle hostage. He honestly looked ashamed, which she was kind of surprised about.

"Why are you doing this?" Yugi hated herself for the way her voice shook and tried to suppress the upset and anger that were surging through her. "Is it really all because you want my Puzzle?"

"Otousan… he's suffering because of what your Ojiisan did. I need to help fix him."

"How does kidnapping my friend help? Amane and I have nothing to do with any of this."

"Bakura said she could undo the Penalty on my father and get him back his lost years." The Game Designer shook his head. "And you're a Mutou. You're attached to this by family."

"She said… do you have any idea how hard it is to undo a Penalty?" The Queen of Games stared at him. "How much energy and power that takes? The magic might even recoil onto her. She won't take that risk if you treat her badly, it's too dangerous."

"If she won't help, I'll take the Ring from her by force and undo the Penalty myself," Ryuji half-lied, scowling as her words matched up to what Bakura had said about Yugi reversing the comas. "Once I've used it to get revenge on your Ojiisan."

"Leave him alone." Yugi glowered back. "And let my friend go. What's stopping me from going to the police right now?"

Fear crashed into Otogi. If she called the police and they found Bakura, both he and his father would get arrested, and they would lose everything. He could not let that happen. He was too far in over his head to be able to talk his way out of it, and his father would not be able to get the medication he needed because of the rapid aging.

"You honestly think we're stupid enough to hold Bakura at the shop?" he demanded, keeping his tone firm and determined, despite the terror under the surface. "If you call the cops or bring your friends with you, I'll destroy the Puzzle piece and I won't tell you where your friend is. You'll never see her again."

Just the threat to the Puzzle piece was enough to make Yugi pull back. If it was destroyed, Anesan would be trapped in the Shadows forever. The additional threat to Amane's freedom made her back down entirely. She could not risk the safety of her friends.

As Otogi saw the resistance drain out of the girl, a tiny part of him was pleased she was going to listen to him, but that was almost drowned out by the self-loathing caused by his words and actions.

He wanted to defeat Yugi and prove himself, yes, but this was not right.

"All of this… all of this because my Jii-san won a game? A magical game that both players knew had consequences?" she breathed, sadness and hurt clear on her face.

The look she was giving him drove guilt firmly into him, so he turned away.

"We do what we have to do for our family. I'll be waiting at the gate, by my limo; come alone, or else."

With that, he left.

Yugi moved back against the wall and slid down it, ending up sat on the floor with her head resting on her knees.

Otogi had Amane and Ba-Khu-Ra. Otogi had her Puzzle piece. Otogi had hurt her…

She was angry, she felt betrayed, she wanted to lash out, and she was not normally the sort to hit someone.

Suddenly she had a better understanding of how Ba-Khu-Ra had felt when she had thought the Pharaoh had betrayed her. Only it must have been so much worse for the Spirit of the Ring. She had only known Otogi for a few days. The Thief Queen had known Anesan for years.

She let herself vent the anger through tears and then got to her feet and brushed her eyes with the back of her hand. She could not tell anyone or let them find out. The safety of her friends depended on her walking into danger without telling anyone.

She would do it, too. She was not going to let them down.

First, however, she needed to get through today, and to do that she needed to look like she had not been crying.

She went to the girls' bathroom and cleaned herself up, ignoring the dirty looks that she was getting from some of the other girls. Tomorrow, once everyone was safe, she was going to publicly tell everyone that Otogi was an ass, there was nothing between them, there had never been anything between them, and any other girl was welcome to him. Today, however, she had to put up with the dirty looks and not make a scene.

Anzu came rushing in, pushing past the girls leaving the bathroom. "Yugi? Are you alright?"

Yugi checked she could pass for normal before putting on a fake smile for the dancer. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"One of the Kobayashis, Maru, I think Jonouchi said her name was, came to find us and said you'd gotten in a fight. We were worried." Anzu fussed as she checked her friend over, ensuring she was unharmed before she huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Yugi lied, her tone even enough to cover for it. "Just needed the bathroom. Kobayashi must have been mistaken."

Her friend pursed her lips, not entirely sure that she believed her, then sighed. "Kaiba's in. He said he wants to talk to you."

Yugi face palmed, having noticed Kaiba was in today, but so distracted with Amane's disappearance that she had not even thought to acknowledge him. "Great, just great."

"You okay?" Anzu pushed, concerned.

"Fine, fine." She tried to wave it off. "I just forgot he would want to talk to me."

The dancer nodded, still worried, but fully aware that even if Yugi had gotten into a fight, there was no guarantee that she would tell her friends so they would not get into trouble.

Yugi sighed and headed for the classroom, aware Anzu did not believe her and half-expecting to get back to the classroom to find Jonouchi and Kaiba having a verbal spat. However, Anzu caught up to the boys in the corridor, letting them know Yugi was okay, distracting them, while Yugi headed into the classroom where Kaiba was waiting at his desk.

His eyes narrowed as Yugi approached. "Mutou. You appear to be missing something."

"It'll be fixed soon." She shrugged it off, really not able to go into it right now. "How can I help you?"

"We're having a meeting, tonight after school," he stated as her friends entered the room, "to discuss the debt between us."

"Not tonight. It can't be tonight." Yugi shook her head, not able to deal with Kaiba and Otogi at the same time. "Tomorrow."

"I cleared my schedule for tonight. I don't have time tomorrow." The CEO of Kaiba Corp scowled at the girl, able to easily see something was wrong and certain that it was not just the missing Puzzle. This Yugi was normally so much more polite than her other self. Her current behavior was unusual and suggested greater problems.

"I have another meeting tonight," Yugi informed him, trying not to insult Kaiba but also struggling to deal right now. "One I can't push aside… when are you free after tonight?"

"Mutou… are you in trouble?" The question nearly made her laugh. That was one way of putting it.

She shook her head, though, remembering Otogi's threats. "No, no, I've just got an important meeting which I can't miss."

His eyes narrowed, planning on interrogating her friends when she was not looking to find out what exactly was going on and who he had to drop kick to get her attention focused where it should be. On him. "Friday?"

"Friday. Friday is good." Yugi relaxed. "I can do Friday."

At least she hoped she could do Friday and she was not going to get kidnapped or killed tonight.

When he dismissed her with a sharp nod, she slumped back into her seat and put her head down. If she was going to be rescuing her friends tonight, she wanted at least a little shut eye before then.

While she was napping, Jonouchi looked over at Kaiba, then pointed out of the door.

The CEO, who would normally completely ignore the mutt, nodded and rose to his feet.

If there was one thing he hated, it was not having all the information. It made him make bad decisions, and he refused to make poor decisions regarding Yugi. Both because of everything he owed her and because of everything he still needed to win back.