Warning: Any flames will result in me disabling the ability to review anonymously. Gotta love it when one bad apple ruins the bunch. I'm sorry that this update is kind of late and rather short, but I've been dealing with a lot lately between finals at school and my job. Another update will be along shortly. I apologize that I did not respond to reviews this chapter, but I am exhausted and just wanted to get this posted. Well, PLEASE review and let me know what you think. By the way, chapter 9 is already in progress. :) This is just a filler to get me from here to there.

The CEO kept reminding himself that this was for the puppy's own good, and that he couldn't be selfish. He moved to sit by Jou's head while the others visited with him and Kaiba looked into his eyes. He saw... a talking tree... Okay, he supposed that was... well, it really wasn't possible in the real world, but in the Grey World the impossible seemed to come to life. He watched as they traveled together for some time. It was when Jou came across Honda and Otogi, though, that Kaiba became truly engrossed in what was going on.

Why that dogsuit, of all cruel things that his mind could have done to him? Jou stared at it with a frown, already knowing what was going to happen. If he lost this battle, he would be forced to wear that ridiculous thing... forever. Jou let out a very puppy like whimper before Midori grinned at him. The tree knew that Jou would be just fine. This battle between the two was not going to be quite intense as the last. It would be a bit easier in this round, though the next round was going to be even harder than facing the Pharaoh, though it wouldn't be because they were so close. There was more to the next battle than that. Midori mused to himself for sometime before finally one of the two spoke.

"Hello doggie. I have something special just for you," Otogi said with an ugly sneer.

"You'll look so much better with it on," Honda spoke up. Jou watched as the path split into two, each way blocked by one of his friends.

"What the-?"

"In order to continue on, you must answer several random trivia questions."

'Aw great, and my memory in this world is absolutely horrible,' Jou thought to himself as he looked between the two.

"If you fail to answer 3 of 5 correctly, then you will forever more be my servant and entertain me in whatever way I please," Otogi said, his smirk growing. This was already worse than the real world, Jou thought to himself. To be stuck forever with Otogi... A small dose of the pretty boy was fine, but he was far beyond over dramatic and completely stuck on himself, which Jou just couldn't stand. Suddenly he was reminded of someone else who had a tendency to be a bit on the arrogant side, though the face and name disappeared from the blond's mind before he could place it. He sighed and nodded.

"Fine then..." They both nodded.

"The first question: A cat and a dog have superior hearing to humans, but which of the two can hear a full octave above the other?" Jou thought for a moment. He always heard about a dog's hearing, but never a cat's.

"Um, a dog?"

"That's incorrect," Otogi exclaimed happily.

"Next question," Honda spoke up, "In classical mythology, what God dressed as a woman, spun wool, and performed other womanly tasks for 3 years to appease his fellow Gods?"

"Um... Achilles?"

"Nope," Honda replied with a big smile.

"One more wrong, my cute little mutt, and you will have to forever do my bidding... not that I have a problem with that." Jou looked over at Midori, who was watching intently.

"What were Cinderella's slippers made of in Frenchman Charles Perrault's original version of the fairy tale classic?" Jou remembered being forced to read this story while in his Freshman year of high school. It was torture, but hey, at least it was going to come in handy somewhere.

"Fur," he said with a smile. Otogi's smirk changed back to a sneer.

"You may have gotten one right, but that won't stop you from becoming my dog. Next question: Who was the firs U.S. President born outside the 13 original states?"

"Why would that matter to me," Jou asked, feeling a little confused.

"I said random trivia questions doggy. Don't worry if you can't answer it. I'll take good care of you." Suddenly Jou heard the voice that told him to take the flowers trying to tell him the answer. 'Abraham Lincoln,' he heard the voice say. It hadn't been wrong, so he might as well go with the answer.

"Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln," he replied without much confidence. Otogi's sneer turned even uglier as Honda spoke up.

"2 and 2. One more right and you will have to guess the path. One more wrong and you stay with Otogi." Jou nodded. "Last question: What celebrity once appeared in a Japanese applesauce ad?"

"Um... a Beatle?" Otogi smirked.

"That's incorrect." Honda shook his head.

"Actually, that is correct and an acceptable answer if you can give me the first name of the band member." Jou's eyes widened.

"I seriously thought it was a bug! Um... R... No, Paul... No... Um... Um... Um... I'll go with Ringo I guess."

"Correct," Honda said, making Otogi stomp his foot and growl. Jou smiled at his friend.

"I think I should use Honda's path. He seems less likely to try and trick me." Honda nodded and moved to the side.

"Because you chose the correct path, Midori will continue with you." Jou looked completely overjoyed when Honda revealed that perk, while Otogi eyed his partner in crime and decided that he would look just as good in the dogsuit as Jou would. Jou found the idea of those two together weird, but at the same time it seemed to make sense to him. He shrugged and continued with Midori by his side, looking much like a happy puppy who should be wagging his tail.

Kaiba was beyond relieved that that session of trivia was over. He had been afraid that Jou was going to fail miserably, and for some reason, he had only been allowed to interfere once. Jou had never really been the best in school, always slacking and sleeping. It took Kaiba a minute to realize what exactly had happened. He was relieved when Jou was able to get the other two question. To lose his puppy to Otogi would simply be too much on the young CEO. He pulled the blond close to him, holding him tightly. Something about holding Jou made Seto's heart flutter. He needed to pull Jou out of this so that he could at least see if his feelings were reciprocated in any way.

Midori smiled at the blond. Jou was happy to have the walking and talking tree with him, though he really didn't understand why Midori was guiding him. They continued in the path, conversing a bit as they did so. Jou was surprised when the path suddenly seemed to become narrower. It was the first sign of nearing the end that he had seen since this journey had begun. The blond looked up at the tree, who seemed to have a knowing smirk on his face... a smirk that was somehow... familiar. Jou felt himself growing agitated at it, like he wanted to yell and scream, throw insults and argue with Midori. He felt terrible for having such a reaction to someone who was trying to help him, but Jou just couldn't help himself. Something about that smirk just made him want to go crazy. However, after a moment it faded away and Jou had to wonder if maybe he had simply imagined that familiar expression.

"Jounouchi Katsuya, the road only gets harder from here. No one can help you unless you choose to help you yourself. You have suffered much in this life, but if you can return to the world of color, then I promise that you will be rewarded." Midori was speaking in a cryptic manner that Jou did not particularly care for, but he decided that what the tree said was important, so he thought those words through carefully. Indeed it seemed he had simply been born to suffer. The time that he had been ripped away from his sister by his heartless mother had been the beginning. At first, the elder Jounouchi did his best to take care of him, but eventually, alcohol and gambling became the norm. Then eventually, his father sleeping with him became routine, and Jou acquired multiple injuries. His father's death had simply been the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

But it seemed that there was a ray of sunshine that Jounouchi had forgotten about, and even now, he couldn't seem to remember him... Yes, it was certainly a him, and a him that Jou didn't exactly get along with. Still, something about this guy made him smile and feel oddly warm and fuzzy. If he could just remember that one person who seemed to be the one lighting up the Grey World, the only person that Jou felt that he could trust... if that was the case, would the path finally end? Would Jou finally be allowed to exit this world? Yes, the other world held pain, sadness, and tears, but with those things also came happiness, love, friendship, and him... But who was he?

Seto Kaiba had to leave the clinic a bit later, mainly just because he was hungry. He had already spoken to a few people at the clinic, and they had decided that once the blond woke, he would be allowed to go home with Kaiba, as it seemed that the brunet was the only one who could really even get through to him. Kaiba was honestly relieved. He hated being in places like that he had to see so many depressing sights. It reminded him of what he went through as a child, but he couldn't allow that to affect him when Jounouchi's recovery seemed to be resting with him. Kaiba sighed and went to grab food from across the seat before returning. He ate quickly and then laid back down with Jounouchi. Of course, he had forgotten that the entire gang, all Jou's friends, were right there with him. They saw him cuddling the blond, and suddenly they had all these ideas that Kaiba and their best friend were... well, that they were something they were not. That was not Kaiba in denial. He wanted to be something more with the blond, but how could he be when he couldn't even get through to Jou to find out if he liked him or not.

Jounouchi Katsuya looked around himself. Where was Midori... everything had suddenly turned black and cold... he seriously thought that he was nearing the end of the road. Jou thought back to the challenges he had faced before. They had both been difficult. What was happening now? Was he going to be stuck in the Grey World because he had done something wrong. Jou felt a chill run up and down his spine. The wind picked up, kicking up blackish grey leaves. Jou looked around, feeling his fear growing. The next thing he knew, Midori was in front of him, and he was transforming. Jou watched, unable to breathe. He was shaking now, not knowing what to expect and scared out of his mind. He heard a snapping and Midori split into two. Each of them smirked. Then they split into two once again, making 4 people... the two middle ones split once more, and Jou was looking at 5 of his friends and a person he recognized only now.

Before him stood Yuugi, Mai, Ryou, Bakura, Marik... and Seto Kaiba... His name was Kaiba. They fought like cat and dog, and Kaiba often referred to him as a canine. It all came flying back to him, including the unrequited feelings he had long harbored for the brunet. Jou was in love with him, and he knew that whatever task these 6 presented, it was going to be difficult. Even worse was the fact that he had grown close to his guide before the tree had split into 6 grey or shadow versions of his friends. These 6 didn't look as menacing as the others, however Jou knew better than that. He knew that the most challenging part of the Grey World was about to come. He had no clue that the real Seto Kaiba and the rest of his friends were witnessing this firsthand through his eyes.

"I wasn't kidding when I said this was going to be the hardest part," Kaiba said in a tone that Jou was not familiar with. "We will begin with Ryou." The British boy walked up to Jou and looked up at him, Bakura standing not too far behind.

"Jounouchi, you will name one thing that you do not like about yourself and one thing that you do not like about me as your friend. Because my favorite card is Change of Heart, I have the ability to change one thing that you do not like about yourself, but only one... Each of us can do one thing to help you through this, but you must choose carefully. Once you've asked for something, you can't take it back... and you might end up dueling the person for which you asked for the gift... So tell me, old friend. What do you want?"