Katsuya stared at his phone, rereading the text message he had just received from his best friend.

"Please make sure you pick up the club room keys from my desk, just in case. You might need to open up for the Senshi tomorrow."

Something was very wrong. The way it was worded sounded like Yugi was not sure if she would be in school tomorrow and the way she had fled from him, darting between the other students like there were oni on her heels, suggested that whatever it was, she did not want him involved.

He had made Yugi a promise that he would let her and Meisa handle things, as long as she agreed to not throw herself to the wolves if she did not think that she could get away safely. By saying 'might' Yugi clearly thought she might get away and was not breaking her word.

But by leaving her keys it was clear she was not certain of it and right now, with the Puzzle in pieces, she did not have Meisa to back her up if things went wrong.

He fired off a reply, asking Yugi to tell him where she was but got no answer. That fact alone caused him to huff and head back to the classroom, hoping that the others were still there. By the time he had gotten there, Anzu had gone, which was frustrating but not entirely unexpected since she had a dance class today, but Honda was still there, as was, surprisingly, Kaiba, who was doing something on his phone when the Duelist entered the room.

Katsuya strode across the room to Yugi's desk and opened the drawer, letting out a soft hiss as he spotted the keys for club room seven, the one belonging to the Domino Senshi. He had expected them to be there, but considering how caught up in the club his friend was, the fact she had left them behind for him was seriously worrying.

The sounds of footsteps striding across the room made his head snap up. The sight of Kaiba heading through the door gave him an idea, "Rich Boy."

"What, Mutt?" The CEO demanded, wheeling around to stare at him coldly.

"I think Otogi's made his play." The blonde huffed, tossing his phone across the room to the brunette whose eyes narrowed as he caught and read the text messages.

Seto internally scowled at the implications of the texts. He was not stupid enough to miss what Yugi had been inferring. He was, however, irritated at himself for both not following through when he had thought there was something wrong at lunch time and letting Yugi distract him.

"I need to return to Kaiba Corp." He grumbled, needing to check whether the Otogis had moved on the threats that would involve his company before it made his life inconvenient. "I'm assuming you can handle this?"

He was about to throw the phone back to the teen opposite him, only spotted Honda, who had been by the door when he had swept past, holding his hand out for the phone.

"Yeah. We got this." Katsuya snorted as the CEO dropped the device into his right hand's palm. "As long as Yuge's gone to the Black Clown. If they've gone anywhere else though…"

"That's the only building in Domino that the Otogis own. If the Otogis are the problem, she'll be there." Kaiba informed them, having checked it on his phone when the teachers had not been looking and turning towards the door again as Honda's expression darkened.

The thought occurred to him that he needed to get a tracker on Yugi in case she wandered off like this again. After all, he could not ensure her safety long enough to take his Championship from her if he did not know where she was.

"Kaiba?" He paused at the call of his name, having not expected it's use from the speaker, and glanced over his shoulder, back towards the blonde. "Thanks."

He did not dignify it with a response, only strode from the room. Honda ignored his leaving and turned to Jou.

"So we're going to back her up, right?"

"You even have to ask?" The dragon duelist demanded, "Let's go."


The sounds of dice rolling across a table and Ba-Khu-Ra's voice, which faded in and out, declaring that her piece was sending someone's back to square twenty one, were the soundtrack of Yugi's painful return to consciousness.

As she opened her uninjured eye, the world around her swam, forcing her to take a moment to try and pull herself together before she lurched to her feet. Luckily both Challenger and Caster were thoroughly distracted by the Shadow Game as she staggered to her feet and stumbled across the room, past both the physical items on the table and the spectral, illusory forms of the Senet set that Ba-Khu-Ra and Otogi Kintaro were playing, allowing her safe passage.

The room spun as she moved and she did not register the liquid that was trickling down the back of her neck, too focused on getting her hands on the Puzzle pieces before the haze that was swamping her mind, the pain from her pulsing head and the struggle to draw breath past the injuries to her throat overwhelmed her, allowing someone to take the Puzzle from her again.

She fell to her knees next to the fallen box and started picking up the pieces, putting them carefully in their rightful container, 'I'm going… to get you back… Anesan.'

Her trapped other self could not respond, but Yugi did not care as she picked up the last fragment of her most precious treasure and tried to get to her feet so she could retreat safely behind Ba-Khu-Ra. However, the movement caused her to go severely light-headed. She swayed as the world momentarily blacked out, and sat back down heavily, realising she was not going to be getting to her feet of her own accord.

Worried, since she was now on Otogi Senior's side of the room and the man had already proved to be violent and surprisingly fast, she started assembling the trinket that would get her Anesan home safely, hoping to finish it before the man's inevitable cheating came into play, in case she and Bakura needed backup.

Even under the best conditions, working on the Puzzle was hard. With her mind so hazy and her right eye swollen shut from the elder Otogi's strike with his cane, she was having problems connecting the pieces correctly. More than once the gold clinked to the floor, as a piece or two fell out and she glanced at the pair, just waiting for Ryuji's Otousan to realise what she was doing and lash out.

Thankfully, the Shadows surrounding the players hid her from view and muffled the sounds of the outside world. Completely furious at the way the bearer of her item had been treated, Ba-Khu-Ra had called down the full force of the Shadows, partly separating the two players from the real world as she planned out exactly how she was going to destroy this fool's soul.

She watched as he rolled his dice, still waiting for him to decide that playing was not worth the time and effort and try attacking her instead. She hurt all over, was starving and the body was exhausted, having not slept much at all last night thanks to the obnoxious lighting in the room, which was not the best condition to be Challenging someone in. Plus with how fast he had proved to be when he had snatched the Millennium Ring from her, she was wary that the rules she had laid down would not react fast enough to stop him from attacking her.

Not that she had ever considered that before Keith Howard had managed to shoot her. Her left hand went to her right shoulder, which still occasionally ached even though she had healed up the bullet wound once she had been safely home from Duelist Kingdom.

Once she was home and knew she did not need to throw more magic around, she would heal up the body, but while Otogi considered the board, then moved his piece forward four spaces before rolling again, having gained a second roll, she had to put up with the aching bruises, grumbling stomach and slight dizziness.

As he silently, sulkily rolled a two, moved one of his black pyramids forward and gestured for her to go, she looked forward to the energy this prick's soul would provide. It would be completely satisfying to use the power boost she would gain from stealing yet another soul, to ruin his son for aiding and abetting him.

She just needed to get through this game first.


It had been a while since Jonouchi and Honda had broken into anywhere, nearly two years in fact, however as they worked on getting the back fire exit open so they could slip inside, they agreed that this was a good use of their old skills.

They would have gone through the front doors, but they had been locked and the store closed, which was weird for a store of the size of the Black Clown at this time of day. It was not until they got the door open and slipped into the warehouse that they realised why.

Shadows coated the floor and the moment they stepped into them they felt a sense of foreboding that had them wanting to flee. The same carpet of darkness was in the corridors and, as Honda checked, the shop floor, where he found the lifeless bodies of two thuggish looking security guards.

"Ba-Khu-Ra?" Katsuya asked his friend, only ruling out Meisa because the Puzzle was in pieces, since he was fully aware that the Spirit of the Puzzle could get murderous if Yugi's life was in danger and she had no other options. The Burger World fire had proved that.

"Probably." Honda grimaced, "If the Otogis were the ones holding her, she probably plans on bringing the building down."

"I'm kind of surprised she thought to empty the place first," The duelist huffed as he headed back into the staff areas, "She doesn't normally care about collateral damage."

His right hand followed with a grimace, disagreeing with his friend, but not wanting to start an argument right now. The Thief Queen was a lot more cautious about who she hurt than Jonouchi was giving her credit for. If you were in her way, then yes, you were fair game, but if she could remove a problem and make her task easier?

She would take that option every time.

Finding the stairs upwards was easy and the sounds of Otogi Ryuji quietly cussing up a storm led them to a game room where a projector table was showing off a half finished game and the teenager in question was trying to get a barely visible door in the wall open.

"Otogi!"

Katsuya barely got his snarl out before the other boy wheeled around, relief and regret obvious on his features, and blurted out, "My Otousan's lost the plot. He's got Bakura and Yugi in there and locked the door from the inside. I can't get it unlocked."

Jonouchi looked at Honda. He did not need to say anything. After all the years they had been kicking rears and had each other's backs, Honda knew exactly what he was thinking without words. The brunette nodded, looking determined.

"Otogi," Katsuya glowered at the teen in question as he and his friend pulled back, preparing to launch themselves at the door to break it down, "Move!"


"She betrayed you…" The Shadows whispered as they ripped away not only parts of her soul, but the memories of her freedom, one by one, taking away everything she cared about. "She smashed the Puzzle...you belong to us again!"

It was a lie. She knew it was a lie. The Puzzle smashing had not been the light's fault. She knew that her light would never, ever send her back into this hell deliberately. It was not her fault.

The light had tried to free her, had promised that she would see her again. That one thought kept her going and gave her something to hold on to as other memories were ripped away.

Names, faces, her own actions… gone, one by one… but she still fought, desperate to hold onto her memories of her light, even as the memories of her friends were stripped away from her.

No matter how long it took, the light would free her again. The spirit had every faith that she would and she just knew that the light would feel guilt beyond measure if her protector returned to her with no memories and no sanity, just as she had been when she had been first released.

She had to resist. She had to be strong. No matter how long it took to free her from the darkness, be it eight seconds, eight days, or eight years, she had to hold onto that which the Shadows were so desperate to rip from her. No matter how much it hurt. No matter how much easier it would have been to just let the Shadows tear her apart.

Suddenly the world around her was bright and she had to close her eyes against the light as she felt the Shadows retreating, the whispering, hissing voices that had lied about betrayal screaming in rage as the Shadows's prisoner felt power assembling. Power she knew better than any other.

The Puzzle was being put back together. There was no way she could not recognize the effects that had on her dark and icy prison after the many, many attempts the light had made over the eight years. The spirit tried not to hope though, not with how many times she had thought that freedom was just around the corner, only to have it snatched away at the last moment.

Each piece that slotted into place pushed the darkness back further and caused the icy cold to thaw. Each 'click' that rang in her head, let her connect better with her precious sister's light, reassuring her that the girl was there and waiting for her as secondhand memories reminded her of what the Shadows had stolen away and informed her of what had been happening while she had been gone.

As she reconnected, she could feel how injured and dizzy her twin was and silently swore that if she got the chance, she was going to tear Otogi apart and if she did not get the chance, she was going to thank Ba-Khu-Ra for dealing with him for her.

She just needed Imoto to finish the Puzzle and put it on…

As the last piece of the Puzzle slipped into place, releasing her from her dark bonds, she darted for the door and slipped straight into control of the body.

She momentarily regretted her haste as disorientation hit hard and pain slammed into her like a truck, but it was worth it as spectral hands rested on her shoulders, supporting her, as a voice echoed through her mind, 'I'm glad you're back, Anesan.'

Meisa was about to reply, just as glad to be free again as her sister was to have her back, when a loud snarl from the game going on behind her caught her attention, causing her to glance back over her shoulder.

"You have to be cheating! There's no way your rolls are this good!" Otogi Kintaro growled out as Ba-Khu-Ra made her move and was left with just one piece on the board.

"It's not my fault that your luck has abandoned you, Otogi." The cold, cruel sneer of a reply warned the Spirit of the Puzzle that the Thief Queen was deeply entrenched in her magic right now and would not be safe to approach, especially as hurt as she was. She reached for where their deck normally hung, wanting to heal the body before the Shadow Game was over, praying she would be able to focus enough to make the spell work properly.

"You rigged it! You rigged the dice! Probably with the help of my traitorous spawn!" She was too late. The elder Otogi let out a furious noise and shoved the table aside to get to Bakura, sending the physical objects on it tumbling to the floor.

The Pharaoh's eyes widened as she realised those physical objects included several lit candles.

The carpet caught alight and the adrenaline produced from the combined shock and fright of the Mutou twins allowed Meisa to push past her injuries and scramble to her feet. She hesitated for just a moment unsure how thick the illusions were and if Bakura could even see the flames right now, before trying to pull Ba-Khu-Ra away from the fallen table and the fire.

It was a mistake. Bakura instinctively lashed out at her touch, blasting her former friend with so much Shadow magic at such a close range that she went tumbling across the room, coming to a stop when she collided with the wall and stopped in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Ba-Khu-Ra was furious as the Shadows claimed the soul of the screaming bastard who had dared to imprison her and her Landlord and try and take their item for his own and she started to wheel around to snarl at the Pharaoh's Brat for trying to interfere, pausing to listen as the dark magic dragged the secret of the lock system out of him before they devoured every last drop of his soul, only to realise as illusions faded enough to let her see the real world again that the place was on fire.

"Runt, why didn't you…" She trailed off as she realised that the one who had grabbed her was not the brat, but the Pharaoh herself, who was shakily pushing herself sitting, Shadows swirling around her as the remnants of the blast drained more of her strength before fading away.

Leaving the Pharaoh to pick herself or faint, whichever came first, the Thief Queen moved over to where the hidden keypad that Otogi Kintaro had screeched about before his soulless body had hit the now burning floor, was hidden. Opening the panel, however, revealed that the lights on it were off. She pressed a few buttons and got no noise or light in response. Checking the second door revealed the same problem. It too was offline.

Frustration coursed through her as the thought that they could have shut down because of the heat, or because of a safety measure to stop fire from spreading, though she somehow doubted the latter given the older Otogi's lack of concern for others.

Trying to ignore the steadily increasing pain in her chest as the dry, hot, ashy air entered her lungs, she ran her hand down the sides of the door, hoping to find a crack that she could use to wedge open the door, but it was sealed tightly. She coughed and grimaced, running through ideas and pulling memories from her host to see what her Landlord had tried to get the door open last night.

A hacking cough from behind her made her glance back at the Pharaoh. Meisa had managed to push herself to her feet and was leaning on the wall, unsteady on her feet and her breath coming in painful wheezes that suggested that her lungs were objecting as much as Bakura's were.

Fury flooded through the Thief Queen.

If the Pharaoh had not been stupid enough to let her light get chucked down the stairs, then the Puzzle would not have fallen apart and Ryuji would not have gotten a chance to steal a piece. If she had not had to hunt the stolen piece, Ba-Khu-Ra's own host would not have been hurt and they would not be trapped in this damn fire.

If their hosts died here, everything she had been through would be for nothing because the seal would break and while her people would be free, so would everything else that had been sealed away in the Shadows over the Millennia. Her chance to get the Pharaoh's name would be lost with the brat's soul and there was a chance she would never get the chance to get the souls of Kul Elna into the afterlife.

There was even a chance that the Items would not survive the flames and if the Ring and the Puzzle melted away, she had no idea what that would do to the sealed parts of their souls…

'I can save us, but I need her item.' The demon hissed, its own nervousness making her realise that it too was worried that the parts of it that were sealed within the Puzzle and Ring could be destroyed. 'After all, I still have to make good on my half of our deal…'

All the agony, shock and despair of the day she had been betrayed came flooding back with the memories of nearly bleeding to death on the desert sands and only being saved by a deal with the darkness that had been stalking her since.

"I'll save you and help you kill the Pharaoh who betrayed you and whose line has taken so much from us…"

Overwhelmed by the emotional flood that was dragging her down, she did not resist as the demon guided the actions of the body and she stalked towards the badly injured Queen.

"If you give me your soul and help me regain the power I have lost…"

Amane, realising that her other self was no longer in control of her actions, tried desperately to seize her vessel back, not wanting to lose a friend, but was unable to stop the creature possessing her form from slamming the physically tiny and badly concussed Pharaoh against the wall by the throat.

"Baku…" Meisa's eyes widened and she trailed off as the hands around her throat tightened, sending pain shooting through her already injured neck as the digits pressed against the bruises that had already formed and partly cutting off what little air she could get.

Not that the hands were what she was paying attention to.

"I've waited three thousand years for this." The amber colour of her attacker's eyes and the dark hiss of a masculine voice warned the Pharaoh that she was no longer dealing with the Thief Queen.

"Who are…you?" The Spirit of the Puzzle forced out as she tried to wrestle the hands away from her throat despite the physical strength difference between her and her former friend.

"I'd be disappointed that you don't remember me," The creature hissed as it unleashed its full, shadowy aura, which swept outwards and took a dragonic shape behind it, wings flared, the flames in the room not able to break through the darkness of its shadow. The sheer force of its magic set the Pharaoh trembling as she realised that the thing in front of her was not just another Shadow spirit within the Ring, but the very thing she had ripped her soul in two to stop.

"But you had to forget me in order to seal me back in Egypt," It gloated as it proved its physical strength and the fruitlessness of her attempts to break free, by tightening its grip further, pressing relentlessly against the bruising that had already formed and almost cutting the air flow entirely. "So I'll reintroduce myself."

She felt her twin's support and anger push back at her own fear, helping her regain enough presence of mind to glower at the thing possessing her former friend, both refusing to back down and using her defiance as a distraction so she could reach for her deck.

"My name, Pharaoh, is Zorc. I'm the one you gave everything to seal back in Egypt and I've been hunting your brat for Millennia." He hissed in her face, too busy gloating to realise she was opening her deck holster, "Each time she's come back, I've gone looking, hoping to kill her and break your precious seal once and for all. And every time I've missed her because of your allies. I've even had to deal with my own servant trying to keep you alive because she still needs your name!"

"But it's all over now." Malicious amusement dripped off his voice, "The seal has weakened every time your brat has died. One more death and it shatters. And I'm happy to help it along. After all, I don't need your name, I just need to break the seal to rule this world and this time, this oh so important time, your life is in my hands. There will be no more hunting. No more playing your stupid game. Your world burns with you!"

Able to sense the dark energy and protective aura of the Dark Magician at her fingertips, she drew the card from her deck. Almost as if her allies knew she needed an opening, something slammed against the metal door her twin had been tossed through, distracting the demon and giving her a chance to put what little energy she had remaining, into calling forth her ally.

As the door buckled, admitting Katsuya and Honda, the Dark Magician smacked the creature in the face with his staff, knocking it backwards, causing it to nearly tumble backwards into the flames. It released its captive, who collapsed to the ground, coughing badly as she tried to force the air she had been denied, into her lungs.

"Yuge!" Katsuya darted forward as the Dark Magician scooped the Pharaoh into his arms, and darted around the flames, not turning his back on the Thief Queen for a second.

"Give her back to me!" The demon hissed out, staggering to its feet as the fire spread through the open door, "This ends here!"

"No it doesn't!" The demon froze as its host, the one it could not control, threw all of her strength and all the power she could draw from the Ring at the thing controlling her vessel, her voice emerging from the body. "I am not going to let you kill my sodding friend!"

The Ring exploded in light, momentarily flash blinding the occupants of the room and when it cleared Amane was in control of her body again. She wavered on her feet and started to fall, but Honda was there before she could hit the floor. He caught her and scooped her up into his arms in a bridal carry as Mahad reached Katsuya and passed him his load, giving him a respectful and trusting stare. "Look after her, Djau."

"What?!" Katsuya demanded, the name familiar in a weird way, but did not get an answer before the Duel Monster faded away. At his leaving he felt a hand clutch his shirt and he looked down to find Meisa had grasped his shirt. Her head rested against his chest, leaving a weird wetness behind that made him flinch slightly and her eyes were barely open as she fought the combination of drowsiness from the concussion, the oxygen deprivation and the smoke inhalation. All of which were trying to render her unconscious.

Ryuji darted past the quartet to find his father as Honda and Katsuya glanced in the direction the other guy had gone. Then they grimaced at each other and shook their heads, deciding in the same moment that their friends were more important than the Otogis. They could not get both girls out and help Ryuji with his father, it just was not possible. If there was time, they could come back, but Yugi and Amane had to come first.

They turned and left, coughing already themselves and both concerned about how much smoke the pair of Item Holders had inhaled. The flames were spreading with supernatural speed as they fled the building and Jonouchi silently wished he had magic of his own so he could do something to get them out faster.

A quiet wheeze from Honda's passenger made the former thug look down. The Ring Bearer's eyes were nearly closed, her breathing was labored and she coughed painfully as her lungs started to give in.

"We've got you both." The brunette promised, not pausing in his escape as he spoke, "I promise, we'll get you out."

"Otogi… the old one… he's behind this all… he's been forcing Ryuji's hand… Ryuji… didn't want to hurt us…"

"Worry about that later." Honda glanced down at the Ring Bearer, "Just rest, okay?"

Amane nodded and leaned her head against his chest, closing her eyes as she did so, too depleted and sore to insist on walking and understanding that right now she would only slow them down. She was just relieved to be no longer alone and safely in the arms of a friend who gave a damn about her.

The moment they got outside, taking the shortest route by going through the now broken open front doors, they were confronted by the flashing lights of police cars, ambulances and fire engines and the feel of water against their skin from the fire hoses aimed at the building, before they were dragged over to the ambulances.

Katsuya had never been so grateful for Kaiba interfering in their lives as he was when his best friend, who had passed out on the way out and who could barely breathe for the finger shaped purple-blue bruising that was layered over chain formed black and blue welts around her throat, was snatched from him by the medics the CEO had called and bundled into the back of an ambulance.

One of the ambulance men paused to look at the blonde, "You hurt?"

"What? No…" Katsuya looked down and blanched as he saw the red staining on his t-shirt where his friend's head had rested. "It… It's not mine, it's hers… Yugi's."

At his words the man asking nodded and sped for the ambulance holding Yugi, while another pair took Amane from Honda's arm. Once she was also safely in the care of the doctors, Honda put a hand on his shaky friend and nodded towards the shop, asking if he still wanted to go.

Katsuya took one look back at the ambulances, praying that one of the most important people in his life was going to be okay, and then turned back to his oldest friend and nodded. They darted past the officials trying to stop people getting too close, covering their mouths with their shirts in order protect themselves from the smoke and dove back into the fire.

Rushing for the stairs, Honda and Katsuya were halfway up when they heard the sounds of the building beginning to collapse and Katsuya hesitated for a moment before continuing, knowing they did not have much time left.

They did not have to go far before they found Ryuji, trying and failing to fireman carry his badly burned, unconscious father out of the building. Without a word Honda helped shift the elderly man onto Jonouchi's shoulders, understanding that the blonde was the strongest of the three of them without even having to ask. As they worked their way back down, the building groaned and creaked, the sounds of things falling suggesting that they had minutes at best, seconds at worst.

Ryuji hesitated as they reached the corridor into the main shop, staring down the hallway to the warehouse, where what little stock of Dungeon Dice Monsters his father had allowed him to store in the building was burning up.

"Come on." Honda shoved the teen harshly as something crashed loudly ahead of them. They emerged onto the shop floor to find the roof at the front of the store was drooping and was about to give way. The three boys ran, Jonouchi slowed by the weight he was carrying. Honda and Ryuji got ahead and managed to get through the door before the roof collapsed, trapping Jonouchi and his load between barricades of flaming beams and slowly melting metal.

The duelist stared at it, shock and fear crashing through him as he realized he was stuck. Stuck inside the burning building.

"Shit… shit…" He gasped out before coughing violently, staggering for a moment as he nearly lost his footing due to light-headedness from the smoke and grabbed on to the nearest shelving unit, burning his hand but keeping himself upright.

He refused to fall. Not here. Not now. Not like this.

The Shadows that had been clinging to him since the very first time he had stepped into a Shadow Game and been steadily building ever since, swirled around him, reacting to his anger and his sheer refusal to die now.

Darkness and fire erupted out and started taking shape in front of him, forming into a dragon whose black scales glinted in the firelight, red eyes burning with an internal fire as it built up flames in its mouth.

Jonouchi had the disconcerting sensation of seeing through both his eyes and his dragon's and feeling the fire build up in his own throat, before the creature spat the fireball forwards. It exploded on impact with the barricade, making him an opening to escape the building and Katsuya took it, darting past the dragon to get the hell out.

He had just made it past the door when the rest of the ground floor ceiling gave way, crushing his summoned beast, which shattered into shards of dark red light.

Jonouchi went crashing to the floor as the backlash from its destruction hit him like a truck. Pain and exhaustion ripped through him, draining every last ounce of his strength. Thankfully, a pair of firemen pulled him away from the door, while others took the elderly Otogi.

Comforted by the thought that everyone was out of the fire, Katsuya let the darkness take him.

Distracted by his collapse and trying to bundle him and his load to the nearby ambulances, the medics did not see Amane shakily escape from the back of her ambulances until it was too late to track the girl.


Mutou Sugoroku had received many frightening phone calls in his time, but hearing from a defeated sounding Honda that Yugi and Katsuya were being rushed to hospital had been the most terrifying thing he had ever heard.

He had rushed there, only to have his path blocked by Otogi Ryuji.

Barely holding back from forcing the young man to get out of the way, he had listened long enough for the boy to plead with him to let him tell the 'full' story before he rushed inside, probably hoping to appeal to the older man's better nature.

Unfortunately, the events as Ryuji told him them, keeping his own actions as in the background as possible, only served to make the Mutou patriarch more furious.

If he lost any of his family because of the Otogi Clan leader, he was going to see the man rotted in jail, if Bakura had not ripped his soul out and fed it to the Shadows.

"That absolute bastard." Mutou Sugoroku snarled out as he paced the hospital car park, having just heard the truth of what had happened from Ryuji, who had been bowing apologetically the whole time. "I get it, he hated me. I've never thought that I didn't deserve his hate even though he was the one who started it! But to drag my Magomasume into this! To kidnap her friends and endanger her life! I can't forgive that!"

The younger Otogi could not blame the old Game Master for his fury.

His father's revenge had destroyed everything, just like the fire that had consumed the Black Clown.

Otogi Kintaro's drive for revenge had destroyed his bond with his son, the family name, their financial future, his physical wellbeing and, as Ryuji straightened and watched the police approach, having been taking witness statements from the paramedics who had been on scene, he realized that it was going to impact his father's liberty too.

And possibly his own…

The former archeologist took a deep breath, knowing that entering the hospital in his current state would not be a good thing.

"I apologize." Sugoroku sighed as the officers passed him and Ryuji and entered the hospital to find out what state both victim and prime suspect were in, "I shouldn't have snapped but…"

"No, I understand." Ryuji really did. He had wanted to hit his Otosan so many times over the years that he could not blame the older Mutou for getting furious. Especially considering… "I'm sorry."

The former archeologist paused to consider the teen. "I am angry at you; I won't deny that. However, people do insane things for their family. From what I've been told, you didn't want Yugi involved and tried to stand up to your Otosan for her, so I'm going to give you a chance, but I'm warning you…"

The sudden steel in the old man's voice made Ryuji pause and watch him carefully.

"Do anything to harm my family again and you'll regret it." The old Game Master did not look like he was joking and the ice in his voice made the game designer shiver.

Suddenly he understood why his father had gone searching this man out to become his apprentice. This was not the jovial elderly shop owner who would be friendly with everyone. It was the Game Master who was laser focused on what he wanted and would do anything to protect his family.

"Yes Mutou-Sensei." He bowed, a full, respectful one.

The old gamer let out a sharp huff and then took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before he entered the building. Once he was a little more level headed, he turned back to the teen before him.

"Do you have anywhere to go now?" The game shop owner looked worried as he straightened, his tone still a little sharp but certainly softer than it had been seconds ago.

Ryuji paused. He had a decent amount in his bank account for now, but the shop was gone, his remaining Dungeon Dice Monsters stock now had nowhere to be sold from and production costs had come out of what little he had been given from his father's accounts, so he could not afford to stay anywhere long. He supposed that he could try to find his Okaasan to stay with, but he was not sure how to even start, which left…

"I can get in contact with my Ojiisan, but it's going to take a few days." Ryuji sighed and shrugged.

"If you need somewhere to stay in the meantime," Sugoroku offered, shocking the boy. "I have space in my home, if you don't mind a camp bed."

Otogi stared at him, confused.

"I'm serious about this." The old gamer promised, "It's better for you to have somewhere quiet you can go, then have the chance of the press catching you at some hotel wanting to know what happened with the store and quite frankly I don't want my family harassed when you bring their names up."

Ryuji smiled shakily, understanding that this was for Jonouchi and Yugi's sakes, not his. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Doctor Mutou put on a fake smile that he really did not feel that slipped as he entered the building.

He hated hospitals. The atmosphere was oppressive and far too many of his friends and family had entered one, only to never come out. Knowing that his granddaughter had been rushed into surgery to get her damaged throat operated on made him incredibly nervous and it was only made worse with the knowledge that his ward had collapsed and been brought here too.

Not that he could let Yugi's friends see it. The children had been on the receiving end of an awful day. They needed him to be the responsible adult they could look to and who could be reassuring.

He stepped into the waiting area, where, despite the soot clinging to Honda and the fact Anzu was missing dance class, the other half of the close-knit group waited. He could not help but be proud of them. Yugi had been claiming since Duelist Kingdom that her friends were like family to her and this just proved that she was right.

They were here, where they needed to be, when she needed them. He was honestly glad to have them here. They were as much Yugi's kin as he was.

Anzu was wearing the Puzzle but she took it off and handed it to him immediately, not because she did not want to protect it, but because she honestly felt like the older man would be of better comfort for the spirit within, than she would.

Sugoroku's hand brushed over the Puzzle as he wished his other granddaughter could be there with them, because she probably needed the comfort as much as the rest of them.

'It'll be okay, Meisa.' He thought towards her, not expecting the words to go through but needing to try and be there for the spirit, who had just been through hell. 'Just hang in there a little longer. You'll see Yugi soon, I promise.'