Shadow: Yet again we must applaud Shadow on her utter inability to get anything done. (sighs) People who read a lot of my stuff (or just look at my profile) know that I try to update at least once a month, and have been doing so….for five months now? Well, this month I was supposed to upload WAWOTW but did I?

Short answer: Nope.

First two weeks of April I was busy with coursework all due in before I broke up. The two weeks after that I was broken up and in Spain – hey, at least I got the chapter outline done there – and just recently? Pft. I'm back in with the – you have important exams next month after your birthday!

…At times, I hate life…

Important notes: The following chapters take place in three different areas of time/space: Then, Now, and Now. They're all marked below, so pay attention to what happens in each. They all tie together as to what happened, and what's happening now because of it.

Yugi and Yami were separate last chapter. They aren't in some of this. Why? Because they're not separated yet. Hence the whole Then, Now and Now thing applying.

Bakura has a bit of a mouth in this chapter. You have been warned.

Meltdown

Chapter 4: Coming besides

Now

Nurse Teresa Barnes was late for her rounds after her morning break. Quickly tying some of her flyaway brown hair back she dashed down the corridors of the hospital where she worked trying vainly not to bump into anyone and further hold herself back, heading for the private wards. First stop:-

Mouto, Yami

A handsome teenager looked up at her as she entered his ward, smiling lopsidedly from his perch on the edge of his bed, cards spread across the sheets.

"Quick light?"

Yami knew the woman smoked. Though it was hospital policy for medical staff to change out of their scrubs should they want a cigarette, smoke still clung faintly to Teresa's hair and skin as she moved about. Nurse Barnes had been assigned him on her rounds a few days back. Yami liked her; she was a pleasant, friendly woman, and didn't patronise him.

"Yeah..." The young nurse smiled apologetically, moving over to his bed. "I don't usually smoke at work – even in breaks -, but I woke up late and couldn't have one this morning." Teresa liked this polite, quiet youth. Yami was so unlike the other boys his age, and he was always friendly and kind…to the nurses and general staff, anyway. He seemed to hold an exceptionally strong dislike for his personal doctor, and he hated the hospital psychiatrists and psychologists with vim. "I've been dying for a smoke all day."

"They'll end up killing you, you know." Yami quietly gathered up his cards, stacking them in a neat pile on the table to the side of his bed.

"I know." Teresa carefully took Yami's blood pressure and temperature, unhooking the appropriate instruments from where they hung at the foot of the bed. "I used to smoke a lot more, but I'm slowly weaning myself off them now. Down to less than five a day generally; hopefully I can quit altogether soon."

"All the best with that." Yami craned his head over to look at the numbers the nurse was writing on his chart. "So. Am I likely to die from a heart attack anytime soon?"

Teresa laughed. "No; no heart attacks for you. You're in wonderful physical health for someone who not so long surfaced from a coma, Yami. How's your physio going?"

A shrug. "I bend; I stretch. I limp back to bed one great big hurt. Apparently that's good?" All in deadpan.

Teresa snorted. "It's for your own good."

"Daily torture's healthy?"

"Ah, pish. Would you rather your muscles deteriorated from lack of use?"

"As compared to them deteriorating from overuse? Well…"

Teresa laughed, hooking Yami's chart back where it belonged, grinning when her patient smiled at her again. "You…you're utterly hopeless, you know that?"

"I'm a lost cause." Was the adroit reply.

Then

"Stupid pharaoh; stupid Ring; stupid bloody frickin' hikari-"

Ryou and Yugi heard Bakura before they saw him. The tomb-robber's mutters spread from the centre of nowhere…and then the Shadows followed, creeping along the walls of the Mouto living room and pushing back the now afternoon sunshine.

The tomb-robber stepped from the darkness, one of his monsters at his side. The stench of decay was awful…Ryou recognised the creature immediately – it was Bakura's Earl of Dark Demise – but why-?

"Yami!" Yugi was up on his feet and heading for the Earl before he was thinking straight, gaze locked on the crumpled form that the monster was carrying in its rotting arms.

Bakura flung his arm out, effectively halting the boy's motion in its tracks. Amber eyes looked down, cold. "Do you want to end up as Zombie-bait, shrimplet? Or did baka Pharaoh teach you nothing of the Shadows as he criticises me so strongly for?"

Yugi hastily took a few steps backwards as Bakura's Earl leered at him over its master's shoulder. "I…Yami taught me." His voice was quiet. "I just…"

The tomb-robber snorted. "He didn't teach you very well then. What fool are you, to rush at a monster not of your own summoning?! I should just let you got eaten…"

Ryou frowned as Yugi's spirit crumpled. "Bakura!" His tone was sharp. "Stop that and just put – have Yami put down on the sofa!"

His yami scowled at him. "Hikari dearest." Sarcasm rang in the albino's voice. "Your wish is my command." He nodded a head at the Earl behind him, bored. "You heard the brat. Dump the baka pharaoh on the sofa and go."

Ryou hastily covered his mouth as the Earl lumbered past him, suppressing the urge to retch as the scent of decomposing flesh filled his nostrils. Yugi, at his side, let out a soft moan of disgust – that thing was touching Yami! Oh…

The two hikaris breathed a sigh of relief (and fresh air) when the monster vanished from the room, Bakura banishing the Shadows with him. Yugi, grateful, stumbled over to the sofa and his darker half's side.

Yami was fast, fast asleep, curled up where he had been laid. His skin was a little more tan than Yugi was used to seeing it – but a little paler than he'd expected, considering Yami had been Egyptian and all -, his hair a little darker, but otherwise…he seemed exactly the same as he had been as a spirit, albeit now in flesh and blood.

Fondly, Yugi stretched out a hand, brushing golden-blonde bangs back off the pharaoh's face. Yami smiled slightly in his sleep at the comforting action, letting out a soft murmur before slipping back into the very depths of slumber.

Oh, inside of him ached-

"Why's he asleep?" Yugi's question came out sharply.

Bakura shrugged apathetically. "He's exhausted. Big magic takes big energy, simple enough physics for you?"

Yugi frowned. "But how can he sleep? Doesn't he hurt-?"

"Like hell, midget." Bakura glanced away. "As you will you if I assume if you go by my omote's reaction to the split…"

Ryou had the grace to blush at that point.

Yugi for once ignored them, concerned only with his other half. Carefully, he pulled the Puzzle's chain over his head, slipping it over Yami's. The Item, settling itself comfortably there, began to glow.

Bakura's head shot up so quickly at the light he nearly gave himself whiplash. His voice was indignant. "How come he doesn't get blasted across the room?!"

Now

Mid-afternoon, and Yami was alone in his ward. Ciara had visited him the day before, had apologised and said she wouldn't be able to make it that day due to an after-school orchestra practice. Upon querying the girl as to what instrument she played Ciara had flashed him a smile –

"Drums."

"You? Drums? I never thought…" Yami grinned suddenly. "You have drums in orchestras?"

"Yup." The girl who said she was his sister stretched out lazily at the foot of his bed. "'Xcept they call them 'percussion' for sheer snobbery's sake."

And…now he was bored. Yami sighed, sweeping the cards spread about his bed back into a stack again. There were only so many games of 'Patience' you could play before you longed to throw your deck across the room in a version of 'Fifty-two card pickup'. Although Yami was loathe to admit it, he was beginning to miss when Ciara wasn't there. She was a nice, friendly girl who reminded him still so very much of Yugi, and she brightened up his otherwise quite dull days. Again, like 'Patience', there was only so much baiting of the doctors you could put up with.

So he put the cards away, and pulled out a jigsaw from his cabinet. It was a five thousand piece one…so it'd probably last longer than cards.

…Then again…

"Yami?"

Startled, Yami lifted his head from where he'd been arranging the jigsaw pieces on his table (he'd already found the four corners and half of the left side), surprised to see a small girl with her head stuck around his door.

"Yes…?"

The girl smiled, trotting into his room. She was a pretty little thing, looking to be about ten years old, with a mass of coal-black curls and grey-blue eyes. A pad of some sort was clutched importantly to her chest, and her smile was trusting and friendly.

"I'm not supposed to be here;" she cheerfully informed Yami, clambering onto a chair beside his bed, "Mum says you don't know anybody anymore but she's here with Auntie Marie anyways. She said not to bother you because you were still really, really ill – but you don't look really, really ill, Yami." A pout. "Are you faking? Because it's an awfully long time to be away from home and everybody's still kinda upset… I missed you while you were in here."

"Um…" Yami looked at the girl blankly. "I know you…?"

"Yuh-huh." A bright nod. "Mum said you had forgotten stuff – even like who your mum and dad were and everything. Which is kinda silly. And I'm supposed to look up to you still, I think. Well, no-one's said anything else, really. And big brother's too antisocial to be much of a role model, apparently. Seth doesn't really care though… Oh! He said I had to tell you he said you were an idiot." A decisive nod. "And give you this." She held out the pad. "He said you forgot to get it back off him before you banged your head and he thought you might want it. He doesn't want you to be too bored when you're recovering, and he said that could be a while due to how awkward you are." She dangled her legs over the chair's edge. "My name's Salena, Yami. Seth said I had to tell you that since you'd most likely have forgot. You're my cousin and Seth's my big brother – but they wouldn't let him come because they're mean. And I shouldn't really be here either but I am so there." A pause. "Don't tell my mum?"

Yami smiled, taking the pad and shaking his head. "I won't tell your mum, Salena – I doubt I'll know who she is. Are you the one who sent me the chocolates?"

"Yeah…did you like 'em?"

"Very much, thankyou. And…thankyou for bringing me this," Yami waved the pad, "and thank your big brother for me too."

Salena beamed, sliding off her chair and climbing up onto her cousin's bed. Flinging her arms around the crimson-eyed teen's shoulders she kissed Yami on the cheek. "Love you, Yami." She cuddled into the boy's chest. "Get well soon?"

"I'll be out of this hospital as soon as I can get past the doctors." Yami promised.

Now

Kaiba was secretly quite impressed on how well he was able to stalk down the small ward to the cubicle at the end, even weaker than usual and not all that steady on his feet. Not that he'd doubted his ability to be able to do that in the first place, of course. No…he was Seto Kaiba, and there was no man alive that could stand in his way – well, there was one, maybe two if you included his 'light' but –

A sleepy voice from the bed he was passing. "Ne…Kaiba-kun…?"

The brunette stopped dead.

Yugi Mouto's way-too-wide amethyst eyes were cracked open to look at him, lavender irises hazy from sleep and exhaustion. "What are you…?" The slight teen trailed off, raising an arm to block the overhead lights shining directly into his eyes. "Where…?"

"You're in hospital, Yugi." Kaiba was more grateful than he'd like to admit to Ryou at that point, as the albino moved to the spiky-haired duelist's side, voice gentle and soothing. "How're you feeling?"

"…Like I've just been ran over by a truck." The replies were getting quicker as Yugi came to his senses. "And then ran over again, just for good measure."

Ryou laughed. "Do you want some water or something?" He looked up at Kaiba. "We should really call the doctor-"

"Mokuba." Kaiba didn't even need to look at his little brother to know the boy had run off, light feet pattering down the corridor to fulfil his unspoken command.

"…Oh." Ryou blinked, and looked back down at Yugi. "Right. Well…"

But Yugi had gone back to looking at Kaiba with his luminous eyes. "Kaiba-kun, what are you doing here? Not that I mind…but it's unusual. And you're injured. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Kaiba glared at him. "I will decide for myself what I shall I shan't do, Mouto." His tone was cold…and then he frowned. "And what do you mean, I'm 'in-"

Yugi didn't let him finish, merely smiling wryly, and pointing vaguely in the direction of the CEO's face. "You have a wonderful bruise, Kaiba-kun, right down your left of your jaw. That, and I can see your arm is bruised too…"

Kaiba's glare turned into an outright scowl, but he raised a hand to his jaw, feeling the tender skin there. Damn hospital gowns…

Yugi flumped back into his pillow. "…Where's Yami?"

Ah, the million dollar question…

"Well-" Ryou hesitated. "Yugi, maybe you should-"

"Where's Yami?" The hesitation sent a panicked note into Yugi's voice, the boy sitting upwards with a bolt, completely ignorant of his aches and pains. "Ryou!"

"…In the name of Ra give it a rest, shrimp." Familiar whining tones spoke up from the bed everyone was currently ignoring at that moment in time. "Some of us are trying to rest."

"Bakura!" Ryou beamed, dashing over to his yami. "You're awake!"

"Yeah, well…" The former tomb-robber shadowed his eyes with a hand, blocking out the painful lights like Yugi had done before him. Hazily, his gaze slid from Ryou, to Kaiba to Yugi. "It's a bit hard to sleep with the racket you geese are making." A grumble, Bakura dragging thin blankets up over his head, slightly muffled when he spoke again. "If I could be bothered to clap my hands I would:- congratulations one and all. You have just officially woken the dead. And now, if you wouldn't mind, the dead would very much like to go back to sleep again."

"Oh no you don't." Kaiba grabbed the sheet; yanking it down past Bakura's feet.

The yami let out a noise somewhere between a grumble and a whine. "What now?"

"Now you have a check-up, Bakura-san. You too, Mouto-san." The same woman who had treated Kaiba before came in, Mokuba at her heels. The boy cast a sympathetic look at his brother, but the doctor's expression was stern. "Kaiba-san, I strongly suggest you sit down."

The brunette glared. "I'm fine standing."

"I said sit down, Kaiba-san; you are physically exhausted. If you do not wish to be seated I will call in the orderlies, and they will escort you back to your private ward where you will be confined to forced bedrest."

"You can't do that."

A sweet smile. "Would you care to try me, Kaiba-san?"

Scowling, Kaiba took a seat on the edge of Yugi's bed.

Now

The pad was filled with beautiful drawings. Strange, mysterious creatures moved and lived and breathed between its pages, monsters sketched in pencil, pastel, pen. There was even a watercolour… This was an artist's pad, full of dreams. Full of pictures of Duel Monsters drawn so well, so wonderfully, they would have put even Pegasus himself to shame.

Yami's fingertips traced the edge of a drawing of his favoured card, the Dark Magician, the sorcerer's gaze warm and kind and wise as it looked out from the pages at him. Tears pricked the back of his eyes and his vision blurred slightly, but he remained, curled up on his bed, quiet…quiet.

"Hey…Yami!"

The sketchpad fell with a quiet thump onto hospital sheets, Yami craning his head over his shoulder at once. "Ciara? I thought you had orchestra." His tone was questioning.

The girl sighed, slinging the red bookbag she had over her shoulder on the floor as she not-so-gracefully dumped herself in the chair by the other's bed. "It got cancelled." She pulled a face. "The teacher who takes orchestra was off ill; but did anyone think to tell us? No… We, the poor students who have millions of other things we could be doing just sit there, until eventually some half-baked underling pops her head round the door and blithely announces the teacher's sick with flu, and has been off all day. Seriously!" The girl scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Does no-one in this society respect the fact teenagers do not appreciate having their time wasted by idiots other than themselves?!"

Yami chuckled. "My condolences on the loss of your so-precious time."

An amethyst glare was levelled at him. "As if you can speak! You don't have school right now. What do you even do in here all day?"

"Get visits from little cousins, apparently." Yami tossed his 'sister' the sketchpad. "A little girl by the name of Salena came and dropped this off for me, courtesy of one 'Seth'. Do you recognise it?"

Ciara glanced at the sketchpad, blinked, and then looked up at Yami. "It's your sketchpad. Your private one. You were forever carrying it everywhere and you never let anyone – but Seth -" a slightly jealous note crept into the girl's voice, "see it."

"Well…you can look at it now, if you like." Yami shrugged. "I don't care."

Ciara immediately flipped open the book. "Oh…wow…" She was quiet for about ten minutes, carefully going through all the pictures with a stunned look on her face. Yami, silent also, watched her. Eventually the girl looked up at him, handing the pad back. "Yami…I always knew you were a good artist, but…wow. I mean…hell; I don't know what I mean-"

"Don't compliment me," Yami sighed, drawing his knees up to his chin and wrapping his arms around them, "when those pictures aren't mine."

"But, you drew them-"

"I don't know that!" A snap from the boy. "I don't know anything, remember? Regardless of whether I actually drew those pictures or not; I don't remember drawing them, so it's all the same. They're not mine."

"I…" Ciara sighed. "Okay, then. Um…" She paused. "Since we're talking about pictures, I guess I should give you this." She bent down to retrieve a thick book from her bag, handing it to Yami. "Lots of people suggested giving this to you to er…'jump-start your memory'."

Yami frowned at her, but took the book.

It was bound in old, worn leather, rust-red after many years of love and looking over. Yami pulled it towards himself, idly tracing faded loops of gold that adorned the cover with his finger.

Ciara seemed nervous. "It's old, as you can see. We've been filling it since forever." Ruby eyes looked at her, and she fell silent.

Yami opened the book, and let out a soft gasp.

It was him. It was a photograph, obviously taken quite a few years ago because he only looked about eight, but it was most definitely him. No-one else had his hair, his eyes; it was physically impossible that the photograph was of anyone else but him…but he didn't recognise the house he was in front of. He didn't know why he was smiling; he didn't recognise the clothes he was wearing – when had they taken that photograph? Yami turned the page, and panic hit him. So he turned again, and again, and again and again and again and again and again, back and forwards, his heart beating faster and faster in his chest.

Every page.

Every single Ra-damned page.

The pages were covered in photos. Yami in hospital, newborn; baby Yami; his first birthday; Yami and a swimming trophy, the two people who said they were his parents in the background, beaming proudly; Yami climbing a tree with the girl he now knew to be Ciara, both of them looking to be about twelve; more birthdays; Christmases; holidays; barbecues; award ceremonies; Yami with a slinky black cat perched on his shoulder; sports days; dances…photo after photo after photo looked up at the real Yami, his own face, smiling and laughing and joking with people who he didn't know and save three of them, had never met. His entire life was shown between the pages of a worn-out photograph album, from birth to where he was now – except it wasn't. He didn't recognise the people in the photos; they were strange, alien – how could he have a life and not remember any of it?! The Puzzle…but he didn't have the Puzzle! He didn't – he couldn't -

Yami cried out, picking up the photo album and flinging it across the room. Ciara yelped as the worn covers smacked into the hospital wall, a few stray pictures fluttering out to land, pathetically beside. "Yami-"

"Get out."The teen's words were cold.

"But, Yami-"

"I said get out!"

Flustered, Ciara scrambled up from her chair, grabbing her bag. "Yami, it's not my fault-"

Ruby eyes, narrowed and angry glared at her.

Ciara stumbled back a few steps. "…Okay…" Her voice was quiet. "Yami, I'll come back tomorrow if you want -"

"Get. Out!"

Ciara fled the ward, the door slamming shut behind her.

The fury deflated out of Yami. Scared, tired, confused and miserable as hell he curled up on his bed, wishing the world would just go away and leave him alone. Lonely despair came over him then, and his tears wet his pillow when he wept.

Now

Much to Kaiba's relief, it didn't take long for Yugi and Bakura to be checked over and declared 'stable'. The irksome doctor then left, Mokuba shutting the door behind her with a soft 'phew'. If the woman had stayed any longer he didn't really know what his brother would've done to her…

Actually, Yugi wasn't looking all too pleased either. But…he seemed more pissed at Ryou…

"Where's Yami?!"

"Midget, who cares?" Bakura was back to whining again. "I, for one, actually find it quite peaceful when the oh-so-mighty-one isn't around."

"He saved our lives, Bakura!" Ah, and Yugi's temper now fully encompassed both albinos. "You wouldn't have any peace were it not for him!"

"So what?" Bakura scowled. "You expect me to bow down on bended knee and pay him homage? Did your size affect your brain or something?"

"Bakura!" Ryou looked outraged. "You owe him your life!"

"I owe him nothing!"

"Will you all in the name of sweet God shut your mouths?!"

Stunned, three members of the room turned to stare at a fuming Kaiba. Mokuba, carefully, hid himself behind his brother's back…and then promptly eeped as the brunette moved, stalking (once more) to the cubicle at the end of the ward and flinging the curtains there back.

Bakura, ever determined not to fulfil a command any longer than necessary, spoke up. "…You know, if all else fails Kaiba, you should really try for the hospital drama team."

The rest of the room glowered at him, heading over to the CEO's side…or, more specifically, Yami's. Bakura huffed.

The former pharaoh was was…perfect, unblemished, unhurt. He had but a single wire attached to him to measure is heartbeat, a tube connecting him to a machine to feed him. But…that was all. There was nothing about him that seemed particularly wrong, or hurt at all. Yami could just have been sleeping, lying in a hospital bed.

But there's this feeling…

"What…" Kaiba tried to speak, his voice cracking slightly for reasons he didn't quite know, blue gaze never leaving the slim form on the hospital bed in front of him, "what's wrong with him?"

"Well…at first they said it was just immense energy drain – exhaustion." Ryou's tone was soft. "Just like Yugi and Bakura." A glance at the hikari beside him, Yugi's face pained, and then over at Bakura, who scowled, before determinedly turning his back on them. "But then…they got over that, with all the rest they got. So the doctors did more tests on him."

"And?"

The albino looked seriously uncomfortable. "And they didn't find anything. At all. Kaiba-san, there's nothing wrong with Yami. Not medically, anyway." The Brit sounded almost bitter. "Medically he's just…asleep." A slight pause, Ryou glancing up at Kaiba from under half-lowered lashes. "I don't suppose you recognise the symptoms?"

"Joy." Sarcasm rang from the opposite end of the room. "So we have a soulless, comatose pharaoh. Zippadee-do-daa. Can I throw a party, or will I just get yelled at again?"

Now

It was all a lie

All of it. Was. A. Lie.

There had never been a Puzzle to unlock – there had never been a Yugi to unlock it. There had never been a Ring, a Rod, a Necklace, a Key, the Scales, an Eye. There had been no Grandpa, to give him his Exodia pieces. There had been no Joey to save his Exodia cards before Duelist Kingdom. There had been no Pegasus to organise Duelist Kingdom. There was no Kaiba; the brunette had never forced his hand above the castle battlements, and later went on to arrange Battle City. There had been no Battle City. There hadn't been an Ishizu, to save the God cards, because there had never been a Marik. There had never been a Marik because there had never been a pharaoh. There had never been a pharaoh because-

Because there was never an Atemu.

No Yugi, Grandpa, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Duke, Mai, serenity, Ryou, Bakura, Marik, Malik, Rebecca, Mokuba, Ishizu, Odion, Noah, professor Hawkins, Weevil, Rex, Mako, Pegasus, Shadi, Mahado, Karimu, Isis, Akunadin, Shimon, Akumunkano, Seth or Atemu.

There had never been the Shadow Games, so there had never been the Millennium Items.

It was impossible to accept.

How could- how could he have a…a life – a whole, complete life, and-and ….and discover it was all…a lie? A fantasy? A dream…? He had lived and he had loved, he had led and he had followed, he had laughed and he had cried. How could all of that be false? Untrue? No, this life, this…place had to be the lie. How could he have made up everything else? It was simply… impossible…

"Hey, Yami, I've -" Nurse Barnes entered the room, frowning when she saw her charge curled up in a ball on the bed. "Yami? Are you alright?"

"Fine." The answer was clipped.

"Oh…right…" A spot of red caught Teresa's eye and she turned, her frown deepening when she saw the splayed photo album on the floor. "What's this?" She bent down to pick it up, not even noticing as something glittering fell from her breast pocket as she did so-

"Leave that alone!"

Teresa jumped, startled to find Yami glaring at her. "Okay…but won't it get damaged just lying there?"

"I don't care whether it gets damaged or not." The teen was back to his curled up ball. "Just…please, leave it alone. Leave me alone. I…need some time to myself…"

"Alright then." The nurse was confused, but she turned to leave. What had come over Yami, to make him so withdrawn and unfriendly?

Behind her, Yami sighed. He sat up again to get a drink from the pitcher of water on his bedside cabinet –

And frowned, something gleaming at him under the overhead lights. Slipping out of bed he padded across the ward to it, scooping up cold metal in his hands whilst completely ignoring the photo album.

…It was a lighter…

Then

The moment ruby eyes cracked open Yugi was at his darker half's side.

"Yami, how do you feel?"

"Aibou…" The former pharaoh's gaze was sleepy, but a smile crept up onto his face. Gently he raised a hand, brushing stray bangs off his hikari's face. "I feel all the better for seeing you…but gods, am I tired…"

"Bakura said you'd be." Yugi said quietly. At the way his other perked up, eyes suddenly scanning the room he smiled. "He's not here anymore though…he and Ryou left about two hours ago."

"How long have I been out?"

"…About four since Bakura brought you out of the Shadow Realm. I've no idea how long since the actual…ceremony."

"And I'm still tired?" A faintly disbelieving note crept into Yami's voice. "Ah…I thought it would take a lot of energy to separate us, but not this much…"

"You'll be okay though, won't you?" Worry in Yugi's voice.

"I'll be fine, aibou." Yami smiled reassuringly, dropping his hand before carefully sitting up. "I…just need a bit of a rest. I don't suppose I could use your bed? I get the feeling I'm going to hurt a great deal tomorrow, and I'd like to save as much aches and pains as possible never mind backache from sleeping on a sofa too long."

Yugi grinned, helping his yami to his feet. The other stumbled slightly, but then regained his balance. "You're welcome to it."

Now

In the hospital where Yami was being kept, the fire alarm went off. A lightboard immediately informed staff on the set desk as to which room the alarm had been set off in, that end of the hospital going into immediate electrical shutdown save vital equipment, sprinklers set off in the room where the 'fire' had begun:– the slowly-becoming-infamous Mouto ward.

Of all the people who rushed to Yami's ward, not a single one of them would forget in the many years they had left of their lives the sight that met them there.

In the darkness of the ward caused by the automatic electrical shutdown in that end of the hospital a pale ghost stood, drizzle falling from the sprinkler overhead and slicking hair usually so many colours dark black and blood, wet strands clinging to a narrow, fine face while the emergency lights gave defiant, hard ruby eyes an eerie glitter. At the hostile youth's feet the last stubborn embers of a fire were being put out by the falling rain, paper burned and curved and ash littering the floor. Smoke, bitter and cloying, choked the tongue.

"Here." A gleaming object was thrown across the ward to the stunned crowd, one of the male interns raising a hand automatically to catch it. Opening curled fingers revealed a beautiful lighter coiled in the shape of a silver dragon, the metal of the case still wet and cold from Yami's touch.

"You-" The young man was at a loss.

Yami smiled – cold. "Give that to Nurse Barnes with my thanks, would you? She dropped it here this afternoon. It was most useful."

The gaping intern was shoved not-so-gently out of the way, doctors and nurses surging forwards as one mass to grab Yami's arms, hauling the soaked Yami from the ward.

Passive, Yami offered them no resistance.

When the crowds had left the room, only the intern with the lighter still clutched in his hand was left. He had only recently gained his position at the hospital, and had quite a way to go before he could even be considered for making doctor. Yami…he had never met someone like Yami before.

The pile of burned, twisted paper on the floor caught the young man's attention. Curious, he bent down to pick up a scrap, turning the charred piece over to reveal a ruined photograph, the picture's glossy surface melted and streaked with ash and soot.

It had obviously been a family photograph, once upon a time. Various figures of ranging sizes (and a cat) could just be made out, peoples' faces lost to hungry flames and a crimson-eyed youth's anger. Of the large group who had originally been in the photograph to start with only one remained untouched – Yami himself. The boy's hair was loose and wild, casually spiked up and raked back by tanned fingers, his smile in the picture charming and exasperated. But the feelings in his eyes…

Sighing, the young intern dropped the photograph on the floor. It fluttered downwards lazily, completely ignoring the haste the sprinkler overhead and emergency lighting seemed to create in the rest of the atmosphere. Sliding the lighter in his pocket the intern left the ward, unsettled, trying to put as much distance between himself and that strange, strange picture as possible.

For…even when Yami was smiling, seemingly happy, in the dim light of his ward it was impossible to tell whether it was the poor illumination that gave the boy's eyes such a haunted, shadowed look, or whether Yami's eyes had always been that way.

Notes on Yami: Uh…he's a little emotional this chapter. (Understatement of the year, much?) We now have him tired, upset and confused, as well as annoyed. Never a good mix in anyone, least of all a volatile ex-pharaoh. Not at all… Actually, I'm surprised that he only set fire to the photo album. When Yami-kun's pissed, he can do strange, strange things…

Concerning Yami's ability to draw…I don't really know where that came from. Yami must've been able to write when he was Pharaoh, in all three versions of ancient Egyptian script (hieroglyphics, hieratic and demotic). Since the former two are always pictures, I'm guessing that, by extension, Yami must be able to draw pretty well too. …Just a side note, but hieroglyphics are a pain to draw…

Notes on Salena: Congrats to those of you who figured out last chapter that yes, Salena has Mokuba's birthday. Salena herself…? Ah, she's based partly on Mokuba and partly on what I remember my little cousins to be like at that age (yes, they were actually sweet once).

Notes on Seth: Seth is personally beginning to remind me way too much of what my big brother used to be like when we were kids, getting his little sister to trot round and do stuff for him. (pouts) As to why Yami had left his sketchpad with Seth…(grins) You'll find out.

Shadow: …I should really go do my art coursework. It's all due up on the walls for display this week to be moderated (ulp), and there's a lot I should really go get done on it. (sighs) Wish me luck for my exams?