Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter, guys. It's awesome to know this is being enjoyed ^_^

This chapter uses the unfortunate plural 'yamis'. I was reluctant to use a word that looks and sounds so wrong but if I used the more correct 'yami' it could - in this context - be confused with the singular form (yami as well). I therefore feel it must be used for greater clarification. Please grin and bear it :)

I know it's not set-in-stone canon, and in fact I think it's been mostly debunked by now, but in the past it's been put forward that Yugi had diabetes. I don't accept it fully as headcanon (although I can see some plausibility), but in the universe of this fic, Yugi is diabetic. It may or may not be a huge plot point as the story progresses, but it is a fact. If it bothers you, consider it AU.

Enjoy!

"Don't tell them, Hikari," Kioku whispered. "I don't think they'll like me anyway."

They sat in Yugi's classroom, surrounded by his friends. It was the first time Kioku had been around anyone else since he was released and Yami had protested but lost, as he seemed to be doing a lot lately.

Why would you think that? Yugi asked through the mind link, understandably reluctant to verbalize the conversation. They're really nice, you know.

"It's alright, Yugi," the spirit replied with a smile.

"Hey Yuug, you still there?"

"Hm?" Yugi looked up again at Joey's voice. "Sorry, I zoned out for a minute."

"You've been doing that a bit. Sounds like the Pharaoh's been keeping you busy lately," Tea probed, lounging on the side of the boy's desk; Yugi tried very hard to keep his eyes focused on her face.

"Yeah, well…" He scratched his head. "I guess we're both a little restless. Haven't had a good duel in a while."

"Can't you guys give it a break sometime?" Tristan frowned. "I mean yeah, it's important but it's nice not to have some psychopath challenging you to a Shadow Game, isn't it?"

"Ah, shut up, Tristan. Duelling's the best," Joey remarked coolly. "Ain't that right, Yuug?"

"Definitely," Yugi grinned.

"The Pharaoh lives for duels, it makes sense really," Tea reasoned.

"Well I know I'd rather be out doing other stuff," Tristan persisted, crossing his arms.

"Like what?" Joey's gaze narrowed.

"You know," Tristan suddenly looked away, shuffling his feet. "I have… hobbies."

"Sure you do."

"But I do!"

"Uh-huh."

Tristan just grumbled and sat down, adjusting his jacket collar. He rarely won arguments with Joey. Kioku sidled further up to Yugi.

"How long until we go home?" he asked, watching the boy's friends warily.

It's only the middle of the day, Kioku, Yugi reminded him. I'm still here for a few hours.

This earned a groan from the Shadow and he sank to the floor, leaning against Yugi's chair and resting his head on him.

Sorry, his hikari said.

"Don't apologise, Aibou." Yami suddenly appeared beside them, standing tall and scowling down at the reclining spirit beside the young light. "He needs to learn to be patient and respect your schooling."

The Other said nothing, but turned in towards Yugi and leaned his forehead on his thigh. By now the Pharaoh had learnt not to outwardly react when Kioku was affectionate towards the boy. He was sure that half the reason the Shadow did it so often was because Yami hated it so much. No one would be that open if they weren't trying to prove a point, surely.

"I think Yugi would agree it's best if we left for now," the Pharaoh said coldly. "The teacher will arrive soon and he doesn't need us around when he's trying to concentrate on his lesson."

"I'm not distracting him, I just want his company," Kioku sighed, closing his eyes. "And I'm getting to know his friends."

"His friends don't even know you exist."

"Do they care that you exist?"

Kioku! Yugi interjected. That's mean.

"I'm sorry, Yugi," the Shadow said earnestly. "I try to be kind to my Other but it's hard when he's so cold."

Yami, try to be nice, Yugi told the Pharaoh. You're both like the same person, how can you be so horrible to each other?

Neither yami responded, each too proud to apologize to the other. Yugi gave a long-suffering sigh and rested his chin on his palm.

"Hey Yuug, wake up!" Joey waved a hand in front of his eyes.

The boy blinked. He looked up at his friends who existed in the physical plane. They were all watching him with concern.

"Boy, the Pharaoh must be chatty today, huh?" Tea raised an eyebrow.

"Uh…" Yugi coughed. "Yeah. Yeah, he is…"

"Is something up, buddy?" Joey stared hard at him. "You can tell us, you know."

Yugi swallowed. His friends were always so supportive. He suddenly felt very bad for trying to keep Kioku from them, but he wasn't willing to trigger anymore potential arguments between his yamis. The constant tension was already a lot to handle.

"I'm fine guys, really," he insisted. "The Pharaoh's okay too. But thanks. We're alright."

None of the other teens looked very convinced, but they could tell their friend didn't want to talk about it. They left it at that, and moved back to their seats as the teacher walked in the door. Tristan did mutter something along the lines of insulin and should eat something but Yugi paid it no heed. His yamis had finally left, the Pharaoh having somehow dragged his Other into the Puzzle with him. Their hikari wasn't too certain on the science of it, but he could sense their argument after Yami's actions.

It was late when Yugi stirred. The Pharaoh sensed the movement as he lay dormant in the Puzzle, never truly sleeping but deep in thought or his own kind of meditation. He wasn't sure why his hikari would be up in the middle of the night. There was always the possibility he had to go to the bathroom, but Yugi wasn't normally one to feel the need during sleep.

Strangely, he didn't hear any activity from the boy's mind. It was still in blissful slumber. Yami closed his eyes and concentrated… yes, Yugi's body was definitely moving somewhere outside. Odd. Unless— the Pharaoh opened his eyes, scanning the main room of the Puzzle. There was someone missing.

Yugi's body stumbled out of bed. It stretched lazily, bones crunching satisfyingly. It stared out the window of the small bedroom, noting the absence of the moon in the sky – it was incredibly late. The body crept carefully out of the room and past Solomon's own bedroom. It stalked downstairs. It looked around with interest, unfamiliar with its surroundings. Spotting a bookshelf on the far wall of the small living space, it moved over to it and read the titles of all the books lining it. When it saw the one titled Medical Journal it stopped searching and pulled it out. It carefully walked to the windowsill, leafing through it slowly in the dim illumination of the streetlight outside. When it found the page it was looking for, it began reading.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The Pharaoh watched with disdain as Yugi's body spun around, and he was met with crimson eyes that certainly didn't belong to the boy. Kioku straightened up, glaring at the spectre.

"Still awake, Pharaoh?" he asked.

Yami ignored the question. "What are you doing using Yugi's body?"

"I'm afraid that's none of your business."

"Someone using my hikari's body without his permission is my business," the spirit replied coolly.

"He's our hikari," Kioku reminded him, but the Pharaoh didn't care.

He glanced at the book the demon held and frowned.

"You were reading?"

The Other's gaze dropped to the floor. He turned away. Yami stepped forward to get a better look at the open page of the Journal, and the Shadow didn't move to hide it.

"Diabetes?"

He looked at the spirit. Why would he be reading about diabetes? Well, Yugi was diabetic. Yami wasn't very fluent in medical language or concepts but he had enough of a grasp to understand the condition once Yugi explained it to him.

"You don't know what it is, do you?" he realised aloud.

Kioku still hadn't looked up. He closed the book and walked it to the shelf. When it was back where it belonged, he silently started to move upstairs, completely ignoring the spirit.

He stopped when Yami called after him. "Diabetes is a condition which prevents people from properly turning the sugars in their blood into energy for their body. It can be serious if it's not watched. Yugi is a type one. He's very good at managing it."

The Other didn't move for a long while. Eventually, he kept walking. Yami retreated into the Puzzle; for once he wasn't compelled to wait until Yugi's body was safely back in bed.