Chapter Two – Keep Your Hands Off My Sister and The New Girl

You look at me but you don't see
Understand I'm a sinner
Don't corner me, don't lecture me
Raise your hands; you're a sinner

- Chorus, Sinner ( Drowning Pool )

"Eh, Anzu, are you sure we want to be doing this…?" Trailing after the impatient brunette, Honda scratched the back of his head and shrugged. Despite all the time he had spent with Jou, wandering around in his neighborhood ( and especially his apartment complex ) gave him the chills. His memory of the last time the blonde's friends had decided to check up on him at home on added more to Honda's uneasy. "I mean, we could always just give him a call."

"And have him ignore it the way he's done for the past week?" Shaking her head, Anzu planted herself firmly in front of the battered brown door ( the tarnished gold '302' labeled it as the Jounouchi residence ) and slammed her fist against it. "I'm sick and tired of having to take care of Jou's schoolwork Whatever's bugging him, he can come out and face it himself."

"Yeah, but his dad-"

"Honda, we have faced crazy mad-men bent on world destruction. We have fought real – not holographic, real – duel monsters. We have spiritually traveled back in time to aid Atemu in a battle against the dark spirit in Bakura. Are you telling me you're really afraid of Jou's father?" Anzu tilted her head to the side and gave Honda a level gaze; the other had the decency enough to look ashamed. "Damnit, Jounouchi! Open-"

The door swung open and both Anzu and Honda started at the sight of Jou. He was dressed in his school uniform with his backpack slung over one shoulder. Looking first at Anzu and then at Honda, the blond blinked in confusion. "There a fire at the school or something I should know about?"

"Well, er, we…" Anzu blushed and looked down, straightening the front of her skirt. "We were just stopping by to see if you were going to come to school today."

Jou blanched and stepped out of his apartment, shutting the door hastily behind him. Despite his resolve to go speak to Yugi, his cowardice had won out and Jou had spent the better part of a week hiding at home and ignoring any calls. His father had repeatedly threatened to 'beat the living daylights out of you, boy!' but as long as Jou stayed mostly unnoticeable locked back in his room the older man didn't really care. So much for fatherly love. "Eh, well, takin' care of my father and all that. Sorry for worryin' you guys."

"Jounouchi!" Anzu clapped a hand over her mouth and pointed at his left hand. The blond looked down and sighed. The cut on his palm had been deeper than he first thought and he had bandaged it to help it heal.

"Oh, that. Just, uh, you know… cleaning up after my dad…" Honda made a sympathetic noise and clapped a hand on Jou's shoulder.

"You're a real good son Jounouchi. Your dad doesn't deserve to have you taking care of him."

"Eh-heh, yeah." Feeling something dying inside at his friends' words, Jou forced a smile and pulled away from Honda. They wouldn't be saying the same things if they knew the truth. "Come on, let's just get to class. There's something I need to talk to Yugi about."

Both Honda and Anzu paused and glanced at each other, looking decidedly uneasy. Jou frowned and turned slightly to face both of them. "What? What is it that I don't know?"

"Well..." Anzu sighed. "Yugi's been really sick lately. About the same time you stopped showing up he did. Well, I mean, Yami took his place so he hasn't been any days according to the attendance but… according to Yami, Yugi hasn't been able to sleep or eat much of anything."

-0-

"Uncle Joe?" Smiling slightly at the odd statement, Yugi rolled his eyes. "Now that would be the family secret no one would ever talk about." They both laughed at that, though there was a twinge of hysterics in Yugi's laughter. After they calmed down, he took a deep breath and sighed, releasing it slowly. "Okay, well… I've just been having nightmares the past week which makes it hard to sleep with…"

-0-

"He tried to tell me."

"Huh? Jounouchi?" Anzu tilted her head to the side, looking up at the distressed blond curiously. "Did Yugi tell you somethi-?"

"I gotta go. I gotta go see Yugi; I'll be in class later." Both Honda and Anzu watched in dismay as Jou sprinted off down the hall, heading away from their school. Honda sighed and pressed two fingers against his forehead.

"And you felt we had to go check up on him for this?"

"Shut up Honda. Just shut up."

-7-

"Hello? Grandpa Sugoroku?" The door to the Kame Game Shop was unlocked and Jou walked in slowly. Glancing around the dark interior, he felt along the wall until his hand brushed over the light switch. Before flicking the lights on, he called out again: "Grandpa Sugoroku? Yugi?"

A light turned on upstairs in the hall behind the shop counter and Jou could hear someone shuffling around. Taking the risk of being arrested for 'breaking and entering' ( although, in his defense, he really didn't break into anything ) he slipped behind the counter and started padding up the stairs.

"Jou? Is that you?" Yugi shuffled out into the hall, rubbing one eye with the palm of his hand. Jou paused and looked up the stairs at him. Yugi looked as bad, if not worse, than he had been expecting from what Anzu told him; even from this distance the tri-haired boy looked wane and pale with dark, heavy marks under his eyes.

Jou bounded up the stairs, two at a time, and stopped in front of the sick boy. "Yugi, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have, I mean, after what you said about Seto and I wanted to stop by to return your boots but I was just… um…" Yugi stared up at the taller boy impassively. "… I'm sorry, Yug."

Yugi finally smiled, allowing Jounouchi to relax. "It's okay Jou. I didn't mean to run away, I just…"

"You said you were havin' nightmares." Placing his hands on Yugi's shoulders, Jou spun the smaller boy around and pushed him back into his room. Meekly complying, Yugi crawled up onto his bed and turned around to face Jou. After dropping his bag on the floor, the blond pulled out the wooden chair at the desk and sat down, tilting it back. "Are you still having them?"

"There's a girl and she's running. She's terrified of something but I don't know what." Lowering the chair back down on all four legs, Jou leaned in closer to listen. "I think she's trying to get away from something. It's not something that's chasing her but it's almost worse that it isn't… she disappears at the end and…" Yugi sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. "I know, it doesn't sound like the kind of thing that should be bothering me. I know I've seen worse things than a panicked girl… but I know her. I just can't remember how I know her and… I'm terrified for her."

"Yug…" Jou got up from his seat and walked over to the bed to sit beside him. Yugi glanced up at him and smiled wanly. "Is this a girl from the past? Maybe something left over from Yami getting his own body?"

"No… No, I know her. Not necessarily Yami… and she's in the present but I don't know where." Yugi groaned and leaned forward, holding his head in his hands. "I know I must sound crazy but I keep seeing her. Even when I'm awake now I see her…" He reached over to the edge of the desk and picked up a piece of paper. Handing it to Jou, he added: "This is her. I see her so often, I drew her."

Taking the picture from him, Jou laid it out on the bed next to him and studied it. It was hard to judge how tall the girl was since there was no point of reference but she was slender. Waist length hair curled down around her back – even though the picture wasn't in color, he could tell it was a lighter shade from the way Yugi drew it. It was the same deal with her eyes; impossible to judge the color but they were light. She wore a simple dress-and-skirt combination and Yugi was right, she did look familiar. Incredibly familiar. But Jou couldn't put a name to her face.

Jou carefully put his arm around Yugi and pulled him into a loose hug. "It's- Jesus Yug, you're freezing!" The smaller boy sniffed and leaned against Jou who tightened his arm around him. "You're sick… maybe that's why you're having so many of these bad dreams. They probably don't mean anything. I bet if you just got a good couple hours of rest-"

"But I can't!" Yugi blurted out, interrupting Jou. "Every time I try to sleep I dream of her and I can't, I can't get any rest… Sorry."

"Don't be sorry Yug. Why isn't Yami here with you?"

"With all the days of school I've missed because of the Duel Tournaments I didn't want to have it marked down that I missed any others." Jou frowned and rubbed Yugi's shoulder.

"I can't stay Yugi, I just wanted to apologize. But when I get to school I'm going to tell Yami to get his stinkin' Pharaoh's ass back here to take care of you." Yugi's eyes widened when he heard this and he sat up suddenly, pushing Jou away. Jou stared at him, confused and hurt. "What? Is that a bad thing?"

Yugi shook his head and looked down. "I didn't want Yami to know. He won't go to school then and he'd just worry about me. He's always been overprotective of me and now that we're toge-" Realizing what he was starting to say, he looked back up at Jou. "Toge… uh… anything I try to turn that into is going to sound just as incriminating, isn't it?" Jou chuckled and nodded. "Oh, damn…"

"So Yami was the guy that everyone in the gang knew, huh?" Jou elbowed him, grinning. "And did you two fall on each other in a messy pile of hugs and kisses when you finally confessed your feelings for each other?"

"No, we-"

"I can just see it now." Raising his voice to mimic Yugi's, Jou clasped his hands together and tilted his head to the side. "Oh Yami, I love you so! Every day that I see you I just want to rip your clothes off and make love to you!" He then lowered his hands, balling them into fists at his side and deepened his voice. "Yes Yugi, I have known this since our first meeting and I too feel the burning desire but I waited until you truly accepted your feelings for me. Oh, Yugi!"

"I hate you," Yugi muttered while covering his face with his hands. "I hope you know that I completely and utterly hate you right now. If Dartz came back and stole your soul with the Seal of Oriechalkos I'd be hard pressed to make myself even care let alone save you, that's how I feel right now."

Jou laughed and clapped his hand against Yugi's back. "Yeah, I'm sure that's how you really feel." Getting up from the bed he leaned down to grab the strap to his backpack. "So I'll tell Yami and I'll try and stop by after school, okay? Though I have a feeling Shizuka's going to have my head for the disappearing act that I pulled…"

"Disappearing act?" Jou blanched when he remembered that Yugi had been out as long as he had; of course he wouldn't know what Jou was talking about!

"Eh, nothing Yug. Just try and get some rest. You know, take a nap and drink some orange juice. Something like that." Yugi nodded as Jou clambered down the stairs and through the shop below. Hearing the bell on the door ring to single it was opened and shut he laid back, sighing. Even if he tells Yami… what can he do? He can't protect me from my own dreams…

-7-

I am going to be chewed apart when I get to class. Jou lurched around a corner, panting heavily. Even if he tried to fake a note from his father it was doubtful the teacher would accept it. His situation was the same as Yugi's; with all the days he had missed because of various dueling tournaments it was important that he didn't miss any more. Probably more so, actually, because of how desperately he was hanging on to his passing grades. Damnit, I don't need detention to-

"What the fuck!" Stopping dead in his tracks, Jou ogled at the sight of his sister, his sweet and innocent baby sister, making out with a certain black-haired dice boy. Shizuka was pressed back against a row of lockers while Otogi ran one hand along her side, the other tangled in her long hair. Both jumped suddenly and tried to turn their activity into something as innocent as possible at Jounouchi's exclamation; Shizuka coughed and stepped to the side, pulling at the hem of her shirt while Otogi stepped back and turned away, turning toward Jou.

"Oh, uh, hi Jounouchi!" He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't expect to, uh, see you here. How're you doing?"

"You have about ten seconds to explain to me why I shouldn't pound you into next week," Jou hissed through clenched teeth, his hands balled into fists at his sides. Shizuka made a noise of annoyance and stepped forward to be between the two boys.

"Come on you two, play nice." Holding her hands up for a moment to signal both of them to stay silent, the brunette turned to face Jounouchi and jabbed her finger in his face. "I have no idea what your problem is, Mr. I'm Not Going To Show Up To School For A Week For No Goddamn Reason. I'm more than old enough to start dating. You can't possibly think that I can't go out with someone if I don't want to."

"That wasn't the point." Jou batted her hand away and scowled. "Date whoever you want – well, no, date reasonable people – but sucking their face off in the middle of the hall at school? You don't think there's anything wrong with that?" Shizuka flushed and glowered but said nothing. "You're making it that much harder for me when I have to jump to defend your honor."

"Hey, don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Stepping around Shizuka, Otogi glared at Jounouchi and crossed his arms over his chest. "She's your sister. You're not supposed to say things like that to her."

"Oh, so instead I'm supposed to pretend that things like that never happen and just let her be thrown to the wolves?" Jou grabbed the front of Otogi's white shirt and whirled him around, slamming him back against the lockers. Ignoring Shizuka's shrieks for him to stop it, he hissed loudly into the dice-boy's ear: "If I ever hear so much as a breath of a rumor about you two I will kill you. If you ever do anything to hurt Shizuka, I will kill you. If you are anything short of the perfect boyfriend-"

"You'll kill me." Otogi grabbed Jou's fist and pried it away before shoving the blond back. "I get the picture Jou and I'm not going to do anything like that. I care about Shizuka. Maybe not as much as you but I care enough not to want her to ever be hurt."

"Yeah, yeah…" Jou stepped back and turned toward Shizuka, who turned away from him. With a sigh he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Sis, you know I'm just looking out for you…"

"I know." She nodded and tilted her head back to look at him over her shoulder. "Sorry for reacting the way I did. I was just sort of scared you'd try to rip into Otogi… You'll tell me what happened to you later?" Jou nodded. "Good. Now, let me guess, you're going to need a note for the teacher?"

Otogi grinned and slung an arm around Jou's shoulders much to his displeasure. "No worries there Shizuka. I'll just tell the teacher that he was helping me set up for the exchange student and that's why he was gone."

"Hold up, exchange student?" Both Shizuka and Otogi glanced at each other before shrugging. Jou squirmed out of Otogi's death grip and rubbed the back of his neck. "Who left and who's here now?"

"That's right, you wouldn't know!" Shizuka nodded and pounded her fist against the palm of her other hand. "Haga and Ryuzaki left to go study at some other school down in Tokyo. There's a new girl here… I think her name's Hana. Anyways, she's staying at Otogi's because of all the extra room he has at the shop and not because of anything else. He's been coming and going all week to set up and we'll just say you helped him."

"Wow, um… I don't know what to say."

"How about 'Thank you Otogi'?" The black-haired boy shrugged and grabbed Jou's arm. "Come on, let's hurry before teacher gets too angry with us. All the excuses in the world won't help us if she catches us yapping away out here."

-7-

"… and then you take the square root of pi and you multiply that by three…" Jou yawned and leaned back in his chair, trying to feign a look of interest as the teacher walked them through their math lesson for the day. Immediately after showing up for class, and as surreptitiously as he could, he had passed him message on to Yami and the Pharaoh had quickly found a reason to leave school for the day. Otogi was still busy helping 'Hana' get ready for school and Anzu and Honda were mad at him for what had happened this morning. This left him with little options other than paying attention during class…

… or trying to make Kaiba's life hell. Smirking, he glanced over at the young corporate executive. Much to his delight it was obvious the brunette was stressed over something. Heh, maybe his stock prices have plummeted… or maybe he's still upset over Yug's rejection. Either way, he's miserable and I'm surprisingly not.

"Sorry for being so late teacher, Hana just needed to pick up some books." Otogi rushed in and bowed politely before heading back to take his seat. The teacher nodded and gestured toward the door.

"Class, I would like you to meet Hana Minawara."

"Thank you teacher…" Only half paying attention, Jou barely gave the new girl a glance as she walked in. She bowed to the class and something clicked. He looked back at her again and did a double-take.

She was taller than Yugi ( then again, who wasn't? ) but she wasn't as tall as Anzu. Waist length light-brown hair was held back in a blue hair-clip that matched the shade of her skirt. As she straightened and looked around the class, Jou saw that her eyes were a washed-out shade of pale green. Oh my god…

"You can take the empty seat next to Katsuya."

"Thank you."

Jou stared at her wided-eyed as she walked back toward him. This is the girl that Yugi kept on seeing. She's the one from his picture.

She's the girl Yugi's been dreaming about!