AbhorsenSabriel87: Well now, it's been a while again. I thought I was going to get more reviews than I did, but then again that last chapter wasn't very good, so I suppose it's conceivable.
Hiei: What are you ranting on about, ningen?
Sabriel: Nothing much. Anywho, for those who did review, responses are at the end of the chappie as usual, and now onto the fic.

Disclaimer: My stuff is too angsty for the real Yu-Gi-Oh!, so don't even suggest that I own it. Also, Hiei is only my muse, and though I play with his mind and bought his soul on eBay, I don't own his character.

Hiei: My soul isn't yours! You bought the fox's!
Sabriel: --hits him in head with her mallet--

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---When Dr. Knisley came back, Jou knew something was wrong. Her face was set in a mask of confusion and worry, bordering on anger. "Sumthin' wrong, Doc?" he asked, straightening as soon as she entered the room. The surgeon looked up, then looked back down at the chart in her hands.

---"That girl who was with you has already left the hospital," she stated coldly, as if his action displeased her greatly.

---"Oh, good," Jou answered, doing his best to feign relief even though his blood had run ice cold. "That means she's okay, right?"

---"…Yes." The doctor looked up at Jou, then bluntly asked, "What were you really doing at the Kaiba mansion today, Jounouchi-san?" Jou could tell it wasn't really a question, though he also knew that no one could know that Kaiba had been taking care of him for the past two weeks.

---"Look, as I said, I was walking by and I saw the flames," Jou explained carefully. "I ran inside because I thought I heard Mokuba hollering for help." The woman still looked suspicious, but decided to drop it for now. Checking over his chart, she gave him a bottle of painkillers for his ribs and stated that he could now visit Kaiba's room if he wished. After she briskly left the room, Jou himself jumped up and left, pulling his shirt on before heading out the door. The floor was cool against his socked feet (his shoes he'd tossed out because the soles were all but completely gone), and the air smelled of sickness and sterilizing chemicals. One of the many reasons he hated hospitals…

---He found the room easily enough, noticing that Seto was still unconscious and a doctor was in there watching over Mokuba. The red-headed man glanced at Jou, then left the room quickly. Jou watched him go before walking over to Mokuba and placing a hand on the child's shoulder. Light gray-violet eyes met his, filled with hope and tears.

---"He'll be fine," Jou said, smiling kindly. "When have you ever known your brother to just give up to a problem?" Mokuba still looked about ready to cry, but he had the grace to smile a bit. Jou ruffled his hair gently and looked over at the sleeping teen he owed so much to before. Does this mean…we're even? he thought, worried that if it was he would not have any reason to be near these two anymore. No, he reminded himself forcefully, shaking his head. I can't leave them until Angelina is taken to the police, and I can be sure they're safe.

---You also want to stay with them, a voice nagged at the back of his mind. With them, you're safe, and you still have someone to protect. It's better than that apartment you live in with him… Jou shook his head again. No way was he going to do that. He was already being a burden as it was; he didn't need to make their life harder by asking to live with them permanently. He needed to fight his own battles and leave them out of his most personal life.

---"He did the same, didn't he?" Kaiba's voice still rang in his ears from the night before. It seemed like so long ago when they finally talked to each other without wanting to rip out each other's throats. "I'm sorry…" He had apologized for the mistake he made unknowingly, and Jou had only left, hadn't acknowledged it. It tore at him now, made him want to ask for his own forgiveness. Too late now, he supposed, but maybe he could when he was awake…

---Noticing that Mokuba looked a little sick, Jou eased his way out of the room towards the nurses' station, not taking his eyes off the room.

---"'Scuse me," he said to the nurse there. "I've gotta get sumthin' for me an' another kid ta eat. Could you watch him for me?"

---"Sure, Jounouchi-kun, though I'm glad you're up and about again." Jou snapped his eyes to the woman behind the counter in shock, then grinned. Mai smiled back at him, that same seductive smile that she wore unknowingly.

---"Well, lookie 'ere!" he praised, leaning over the counter. "So, ya finally gave up card games and got a real job, huh? Dat's great!"

---Mai laughed and shook her head. "No, I still play, but since I don't win the big hitter tournaments with you and Yugi and Kaiba in town, I found something else to pay the bills."

---"Good idea," Jou laughed, remembering his own job. Without showing it on his face, he cursed himself about it; now he had to find a new one. Undoubtedly, for being gone so long without telling them first, he was fired. "Hey, listen, I gotta go get Mokuba sumthin' ta eat," he reiterated, pointing back at the room.

---"I'll watch him until you get back," Mai smiled, standing up and walking around the edge of the station. Jou couldn't help the second nature pass over her rather curvaceous body, nor the low whistle. He had to admit that even though she didn't attract him, she sure was definitely one of the finer young women he'd ever seen, especially in that tiny nurse's uniform. Mai winked at him and walked off, her hips swaying gently behind her curtain of golden waves that she called hair. As soon as she opened the door to Kaiba's room, he left down to the cafeteria, shoving his hands in his pockets for change.

---He was just outside the door of the cafeteria when the hospital doors slid open… and Yugi, Anzu, and Honda all ran in. Deciding it would be better if they didn't see him here yet, he ducked into the cafeteria and watched as they ran to the nurse's station, then ran upstairs. He was guessing they were here to check on Kaiba and Mokuba, so he just got some food from the line, paid the cashier with the money he found in his pocket, and walked off after them.

---Damnit, they don't know where I've been all this time or why I've been gone, he fumed angrily. How am I going to explain this to them? Well…maybe they'll believe that I was visiting my sister. I'd better call Shizuka and explain to her so that she can back me up later. Stopping at a payphone, Jou shifted the two sandwiches to one hand and called up his sister.

---"Moshi moshi," came a crisp and adult voice on the other end of the phone. Jou scowled; it was his mother.

---"Hey there, 'Kaasan," he answered cheerfully. "I know it's kinda weird, but can I talk ta Shizuka?"

---"…" Silence came from the other end, and Jou knew she must be fuming about his call. He smirked darkly. Good. It was just as much her fault as his father's that he got into so much trouble. If she hadn't left, Shizuka would still be here, and he would've stood up to his father long ago. He'd do it soon, but he had to make sure that Kaiba got better first.

---"Why do you want to talk to her?"

---Because I sure as Hell never want to talk to you. "I haven't seen or talked to her in months. I just wanna say 'hi' and see how she's doin' in Tokyo."

---"…Fine." On the other line, he heard his mother call for his sister, then the phone being handed over.

---"Hello?" Jou smiled. Finally, he heard his sister's pure, sweet voice again.

---"Hey there, Sis," he replied lovingly, smiling despite himself. "How are things?"

---"Katsuya!" she exclaimed on the other line. "Oh my goodness, it's been ages! Why didn't you call sooner?"

---"Ah, you know Mom," he shrugged off casually. "Hey, listen, Shizuka, could you do me a favor?"

---"What kind of favor?" Jou liked that his sister was never suspicious of him, only eager to help, but he still worried that it'd get her into trouble someday.

---"I've been kinda out sick for a while and I dun want my friends to find out. Could ya tell 'em if they call dat I was with you?"

---"Of course, Katsuya. Though, you are feeling better, right?"

---"Like I could run over to your apartment and kiss ya."

---He heard the giggle over the other line and smiled warmly again. He loved that his sister was still that innocent after all these years. He supposed it was the sole upside to the divorce.

---"All right now, I gotta go, but I'll see ya later, 'kay?"

---"All right, Katsuya. I love you, Anii-han."

---"Love you, too, Shizuka. Ja ne." Hanging up the phone, Jou walked back to the room in slightly better spirits. At least his sister would always be on his side. He hated that he'd asked her to lie, as she wasn't the type to do so, but he needed an alibi without making Kaiba a prime suspect. Whistling some random J-rock tune he heard on the radio a while back, he headed back upstairs to Kaiba's room.

---Right outside the door, Anzu was talking to Mai, who stood in the doorway like some succubus bodyguard, her violet eyes watching the two high-school boys in the room as Honda talked calmly with Mokuba and Yugi stared blankly at Kaiba. Jou instantly felt guilty; Yugi looked like he'd barely gotten any sleep and hadn't eaten at all since he disappeared a while back. Dark circles were around the amethyst orbs as he watched the older of the Kaiba siblings sleep, his expression holding exhaustion and worry as well as grief. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he walked over to the girls, feigning surprise.

---"Anzu? What da heck are you doin' here?" he exclaimed, breaking out into a grin. He tried to act somewhat like a kid at a normal Christmas; surprised and overjoyed. Needless to say, the young brunette he'd spoken to spun around in surprise before scowling at him.

---"I should be asking you that, Jounouchi Katsuya," she snapped, her blue eyes flashing in anger. "Where have you been for the past few weeks, huh?! We've been worried sick about you!"

---"Sheesh, calm down a bit, would'ja?" he grumbled, rolling his brown eyes in exasperation. She could be so grating at times… it almost made him want to laugh in her face. She really couldn't look stern without looking comical at the same time. "I was visitin' my sis in Tokyo," he explained. "I didn't call coz it kinda slipped my mind."

---"Slipped your mind?!" Her voice seemed like it wanted to scream at him, but she knew the rules about staying quiet in a hospital. "We were scared for your life, you selfish jerk! We tried calling the police, but they don't want anything to do with you!"

---"Eh, well, what'cha gonna do?" He shrugged casually, then looked into the room past Anzu's furious face. "Hey there, guys!" he called out cheerily. "Ya miss me over here?"

---Yugi's face came up instantly, his violet eyes wide with hope as he stared at the door. Honda looked amazed, unable to even stop the shocked look from appearing on his face. Yugi stared for a couple more moments before suddenly bounding over to the blonde and clutching him around the waist as if he never wanted to let go. "Hey there, Yuge," Jou said warmly, ruffling the younger boy's hair a bit. He was always surprised with how soft it was, considering the spiky, gravity-defying style. "Ya miss me?"

---"Where were you?" Jou was prepared for the question, but not the expression that went along with it. Yugi's eyes were bloodshot and circle with dark rings, as if the only way he'd gotten any rest was by crying himself to sleep. Filled with tears, he looked as if he couldn't believe the Jou standing there before his was real. It made Jou really guilty that he had to lie, but he steeled his heartstrings and did it anyway. For the Kaiba bro's sakes.

---"I was in Tokyo with my sis," he said calmly, hugging the boy back. "Sorry I didn't call or anything, but I was really busy."

---"At least you got one note to us, you ass," Honda grumbled, having gotten over the shock of seeing his longest friend standing there after being missing for God-knows-how-long. Jou looked up blankly, and Honda held up a letter whose time stamp stated it had been delivered a while ago. "Oh, that one," he said, acting like he suddenly remembered sending it as he grinned at Yugi. "See? I told you where I was. I just a little longer than expected, that's all!" Looking over at Mokuba, he handed the kid the sandwich he bought for him. "There ya go kid," he said quietly. "Ya gotta eat, or you'll be getting' sick, too."

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---After the hospital incident with Yugi, Anzu, and Honda, Jou preferred Mokuba and Kaiba's company alone. Mai came in every once in a while to check Kaiba's stats and talk with Jou for a bit as he kept Mokuba preoccupied with a hospital copy of shogi. This kept up until Mai's shift ended at around midnight and she went home, leaving Jou with a sleeping Mokuba and an unconscious Seto.

---Sighing, Jou wondered exactly what brought everything together like this. Fate? Destiny? Pure random chance? Was there something he was missing about this whole thing?

---Mokuba's shivering caught his attention quickly, and Jou walked over to him. It wasn't an unusual thing; hospitals were always freezing, even at school. Gently, he picked the boy up and held him like he used to do to his sister, covering him with a blanket while giving him body heat to warm his skin. Slowly, the shivering stopped, and Mokuba once more slept soundly.

---Jou knew he wouldn't, though. Not with Angelina still out there, ready and waiting to kill them all.

---He just hoped some karmic justice managed to swing her way in those short hours since she disappeared from the hospital.

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Sabriel: Again, a filler chapter, but it will get more exciting in the next one! It also has a game in the next chappie, too!
Hiei: --growls, having just regained consciousness-- You are a very odd human, have I not told you this?
Sabriel: Shaddup and give me my list of reviewers.

The-Anibee – Yes, I tried to dispense some well-deserved karmic justice on her, and I hope you liked the random fluffiness.

Shadowy Fluffball – Fine, then. I will.

S'Star – Thank you. I rarely get compliments anymore and I am seriously beginning to doubt my abilities as a writer.

Ice Dragonspirit – I'm hoping to get the next chapter up within the month, but I have a lot of things stealing my time currently. I hope this chapter is to your satisfaction.

Sabriel: Read and Review, o loyal fans.
Hiei: …I still say-
Sabriel: --slaps "CENSORED" sticker on him-- No one cares what you think, midget.