Chao- Man! Ideas just keep flowing on in!

YChao- Ideas or you just procrastinating doing homework again?

Chao- It's a combination of both this time.

"Talking."

"Thinking."

/Yami and Yugi mind link./

Chapter 3: The Attack from Within

The sun started to rise the next morning.

"Maybe he just wanted some privacy last night," the spirit assumed as he retreated back to his Puzzle. He figured Yugi would be all right for the day.

The young teen slowly woke up and prepared for school. He went down to the restroom to go brush his teeth. As he placed toothpaste upon his toothbrush, he felt something wrong with his stomach. Yugi recognize the uneasy feeling so he dropped what he was holding and rushed to the toilet.

The lid was already open so Yugi grabbed the rim of the seat for balance and began to vomit. He did not enjoy the taste coming from his stomach to his mouth. He then began to gasp for air as he knelt on the ground with his body trembling.

When he was ready, Yugi lifted himself up and wiped off his mouth with toilet paper. Yugi firmly grasped the top of his sink with one hand and leaned over while he wrapped his other arm around his stomach.

"This… this isn't about…me… I just need… to take some medicine… and Yami… can get help."

Yugi stood up and finished preparing for school. When he was in the kitchen, he made sure to take some medication with him and an apple so he could eat on the way to school. This particular routine was changed just a little bit; Yugi decided to place in some ear buds and listen to music on his way to school. He normally preferred to have a conversation with Yami or Tea, but the teen knew he would be traveling alone.

He arrived in class with Tea greeting him with a smile. Yugi took his seat and said, "Thanks for being flexible. I hope this won't interrupted anything tonight."

"No problem," Tea comforted, "I'm glad I can help."

"Good," Yugi replied, "I'm sure he can use that special charm of yours."

"So was is it you need me to do?" Tea asked wanting clarification.

Yugi leaned over and whispered his plan over into his friend's ear.

Xxx

Yami's Soul Room

The former pharaoh sat against his walls like he had been for the past several hours. His legs had gone numb and his mind began to dull. However, he believed regardless of his condition, this was the best choice to protect Yugi.

Yami's P.O.V.

How could I have been so blind? I cause my friend problems and here I am still attached to him.

Is he really that concerned with me?

Someone who causes him harm?

Why?

He cut himself off from me earlier, but I vaguely heard him apologizing… It was only shut off for a minute or two then went back on… Why did he do that? I worried about him and fortunately nothing serious happened to him. I still, however, know he has not been feeling well. I could sense it.

I should probably at least talk with him but… how? What exactly can I say? I made sure the other night he had food within his system. Am I really only concerned with myself? If Yugi does die then… I go with him. I'm not so much so caring for myself as I do for Yugi. If only there was some way to solve this then maybe…

I sighed.

Although I can no longer take part in his life, I still can't help but care about him.

End Yami's P.O.V.

Xxx

The day went by like any normal day. When school had ended, Yugi went down to the school's library to meet Tea. He open one of the doors and noticed hardly anyone was there. His friend was sitting at one the tables staring at a book. Yugi smiled, walked over, and greeted her. She looked up from her book and smiled back.

"I'm ready," she said.

Yugi nodded his head. He shut his eyes and concentrated on the bond that was vaguely there between the boy and the spirit he was sharing a body with.

/Yami, I know that you can hear me. You may not want to talk with me, but I think there's someone else you can be comfortable with./

Xxx

Deep within Yami's Soul Room, his focused was broken when he heard Yugi call his name. He heard him say, /Yami, I know that you can hear me. You may not want to talk with me, but I think there's someone else you can be comfortable with./

"Wait, what does he mean by that?" Yami asked himself out loud.

Suddenly, the spirit could feel himself being pulled out of his chamber. The sensation was strange but familiar as the formal pharaoh had used the same method to switch himself with Yugi when he had to take control of his partner on several occasions. Before Yami knew what took place, he found himself sitting on chair next to Tea.

"Hey, there, Yami," she welcomed with a smile.

"Err…" Yami did not know what to say. He was unsure why he was brought out into the real world if there were no Duelist or any criminals to deal with.

"Don't worry," Tea explained, "Yugi was the one who planned this."

Yami blinked in confusion, "Yugi? But why?"

"Because he was worried about you." Tea replied in a childish tone though she was also concerned. The dark spirit looked down at the floor and started to feel guilty for making everyone feel uneasy.

"I'm sorry," he finally managed to say. Tea smiled and explained, "Yugi told me he would be away so you could tell me anything in private."

Yami was grateful his light was able to give him such opportunities. He thought about what he had been thinking about for the past couple of days. The spirit sighed and said, "It's not that I don't want to talk with Yugi… Maybe I don't? I'm not even sure myself."

Tea listened carefully to her friend as he continued on, "I want to be with him but I can't… I'm sure I've been causing more problems than I could solve… I can't help but feel like…like I'm… not being at all useful… Like I'm…a…"

Yami was at lost for words.

Tea wanted to assist both of her friends. She thought for a moment then had an idea of her own. She smiled once more and said, "Come on, let's go take a walk. Today, I'll shall show you around once more. Just call me your 'hostess'."

Yami's eyes widen when he heard that word. He stood up and yelled with sorrow in his tone, "Don't say such a horrible thing!"

Tea was taken off guard for a moment. She was not expecting such a response from a reserved person. The spirit realized he had frighten someone so he apologized. Tea stood up and still agreed with her previous idea. Yami nodded his head.

The two walked down a path with a silence between the two.

"Um… The weather sure is nice out." Tea commented. Yami did not say anything; he did not feel comfortable after he raised his voice. The girl scrambled around some possible speeches she could say. But before she could say a word, a man jumped out of the bushes and ordered, "That's a nice necklace. Hand it over!"

Yami stood in front of Tea. He did not want any harm to come to his friend. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted by his foot a tree branch that could be split in half similar to a wishbone from a bird. He reached for it and said, "Let's play a game."

"A game?" the man asked confused.

"We each grab hold of one end of the stick. We pull down on it and the person with the bigger side wins." Yami explained. The man looked annoyed and impatient so Yami added, "If you win then we both hand over what we have, but if I win, then you will leave. Fail to obey the rules and you play a Penalty Game. Do you accept these terms? How else can you win as you have no weapon on you?"

The robber was furious but accepted the conditions. Yami walked away from Tea as he held one end of the stick. The man came closer and reached for the other side. They pulled on the twig and it snapped. Yami held the other end with pride as the robber was shocked he held the shorter end.

"I win." Yami declared. The man was so upset at his lost that he tackled Yami. Both bodies feel to the ground. As Yami slid across the dirt, his arm was cut by a pointy shard of glass. He yelled in pain. The man got back on his feet and ordered, "Give me all of what you have!"

Tea helped Yami stand up.

"You failed to obey the rules." Yami noted unhappy. He raised his right hand and yelled, "Penalty Game!"

With that, the man screamed in terror and he ran off. Yami held his arm and covered his wound. Tea reached for it, examine it, and advised, "Let's go wash that off."

The two walked over to a park nearby the school. Tea held her friend's arm over the water fountain and poured water to wash away the blood.

"Thank you," Yami said.

"No problem," Tea replied. She took out her bag and removed a cloth. She wrapped it around the injury to keep it clean. When she finished she said, "I should be thanking you for stopping that man."

Yami did hear what the girl had said but was lost in thoughts.

"I know when Yugi takes control, he'll have the same small gash that I do." He walked away from Tea and continued on, "I had caused not only problems with Yugi but also with Tea."

He looked out at the sun as it began to melt into the horizon. The view reminded him of Yugi for some reason. The way the bright, orange and yellow ball glowed as it said goodby to the world and it would be back soon.

At that moment, Yami felt a sharp pain in his lower abdominal area. He gasped in agony and clutched his stomach area as he landed on one knee. When Tea saw this, she quickly knelt down and asked, "Yami, what's wrong! Does something hurt!"

Yami gasped and answered, "Yes but… it's not me… There's… there's something wrong… with Yugi!"

Tea's eyes widen and asked, "What's wrong with Yugi?"

"I'm not sure," Yami replied truthfully. He observed his partner had been having problems for the past day and this could be one of the reasons behind it.

"But… I think he might need… medical attention." Yami suggested. Tea nodded her head. She pulled out her cell phone and called for an ambulance.

"It's ok, Yami; help is on the way." Tea informed as she held on to her friend.

"What's going on?" Joey asked Tea as he and Tristan suddenly appeared.

"We saw that an ambulance was coming." Tristan observed.

The girl was surprised to see her two companions, but she decided to ask questions later. The two boys saw Yugi, rather, Yami on the ground with his arms wrapped around his waist and gasping for air.

"Hey man," Joey said as he knelt down, "Just hang on a little longer."

"The medics are almost here," Tristan said, "But shouldn't they take Yugi since it is his body?"

Yami looked up a bit confused as he always thought he and Yugi shared the same body.

"He's right," Tea said, "The doctors are going to need to examine Yugi and ask him the questions."

Yami nodded his head. He closed both of his eyes and before he commenced the switch, he thought, "I'm sorry for causing you this, Yugi."

Tea and Joey grasped the body as it went from Yami to Yugi. The young teen eyes widen. He gasped in pain and while firmly continuing to have his arms wrapped around his diaphragm. He was nearly knocked out from the throbbing sting.

Two medics came by and took Yugi firmly from Tea and Joey. They placed the almost limp body on a stretcher and then wheeled the boy out to the ambulance. The three friends could only watch as their small buddy was wheezing in pain and was losing color as he was placed within the car.

"We need to follow him!" Joey announced ready to take off.

"We also need to inform Mr. Mutou." Tea advise.

"We could also maybe get a lift with him." Tristan said.

The three nodded their head as Tea pulled out her cell phone and called the Turtle Game Shop.

Xxx

Everyone abided in the Waiting Room impatiently for the news about their friend. Tea sat down on a chair and closed her eyes. She did not know why Yugi suddenly collapse like that, and she did not enjoy having the same images of what just occurred happen again in her mind. She did, however, wanted him to recover. Her prayers were interrupted when a nurse came out and had asked Yugi's grandpa if he showed any serious signs of medical problems.

The elderly man sighed and said, "The only thing that I'm aware of is that his appetite went down. He had not been eating as much as he use to."

The woman wrote down the information on her clip board. Tea stood up and decided to help out by informing, "Ma'am, Yugi also has not been himself."

Everyone looked at the brave female teen. The nurse walked over and was early waiting to write down any more information. Tea continued, "I'm not sure if this counts as anything, but he has been somewhat depressed about… something. He had also took some pain killers earlier on."

"I assumed he had taken them over a period of time," the nurse questioned.

"Probably." Tea and Yugi's grandfather answered.

"The doctors also noticed that there is small gash on his right arm, how did he get that?"

Tea answered he was pushed and fell to the ground. When the nurse was done, she walked back over to the room where she had walked out. After waiting in silence, Tea decided to ask Joey and Tristan, "Where did you both come from earlier today?"

"Err…" was what both men stuttered.

"We kinda followed you both around to make sure that everything was ok." Tristan explained sheepishly.

"Yeah, we were both worried after all." Joey added.

Tea believed it was not right to scold the two as they were just as concern about Yugi and Yami as she was. Suddenly, a nurse came over and told the group they could see Yugi. They walked quietly into a small room where the curtains were closed and Yugi's necklace was placed on a nightstand.

Everyone saw how pale their friend became over the trip to the hospital. Luckily for them, they did not have to wait any longer for Yugi to wake up. Bit by bit the small teen opened his eyes. He managed to make them halfway open. His vision at first was hazy but when he saw everyone in the room, he smiled and whispered, "Hi, everyone."

"Hey, Yugi." everyone greeted back relieved that their companion was all right. He looked down at his arm that felt itchy and saw a bandage wrapped around it professionally. Before Yugi could question what happened, a doctor came into the room carrying a clipboard. He had a stern look on his face.

"I have the test results back from the lab," he said, "But, I can only disgust the matter with family only."

Before Yugi's friends left, the adolescent protested, "Wait… Let them… stay…."

Yugi's grandpa understood his grandson's need. The elderly man nodded his head and said, "It's all right with us if they stay."

The doctor cleared his throat and went on, "We had taken a blood sample from the patient and ran some tests, which is why he has that small band-aid wrapped around his finger."

Yugi looked down at his left middle finger and realized a band-aid was there. He looked back at the doctor as he continued, "He managed to test negative for almost everything, which is good, except for one thing."

Everyone waited anxiously to hear what the doctor knew what was wrong with their small buddy.

"He had tested positive for having a tapeworm."

Everyone gasped.

"A… tapeworm?" Joey asked confused. Tea went on to explain, "We barely know any information from our biology class but we did learn that a tapeworm causes problems within the intestine of a human being. The said parasite lives within a host and sucks the nutrients from the host while causing damage."

"Correct, sounds like you could be a doctor" the man said trying to make light of the situation, "But, yes, the symptoms include having lower abdominal pain, vomit, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and weight lost. It's a good thing we caught it early but unfortunately, there isn't much that we could do other than give you some medicine that will hopefully destroy the parasite."

"But how does someone get a tapeworm?" Tristan asked. The man replied, "He might have caught it from eating an animal that had consumed a tapeworm that eventually laid eggs within the creature. They can live within pork, beef, or fish. Although it is common for citizens to have tapeworms within Africa and South Asia, it usually only is a problem if the food is undercooked or the place that served the food was careless and did not take care of its restaurant. Is it possible young Yugi went to a place like that from the past few weeks?"

Everyone looked at the petite teen, who had his eyes closed. He clutched his hands into fists and squeezed the blanket he had between his fingers. He thought back to the times where he would feel pain, such as abdominal discomfort and vomit. He was not feeling well but was disgusted something like a tapeworm was living off of him in such a manner. He wanted to vomit from the idea, but he mainly wanted to throw up as that was one of the symptoms. Yugi fought within himself to keep it down.

"After all, there were several places that were closed due to too many health violations," the doctor informed, "And because many people just feel discomfort and vomit, they often think they are coming down with something else. So, it was only natural to take pain killers. However, I'm going to prescribe him some medicine that will help."

The professional then left the room to give Yugi a moment of privacy with his friends. Tea walked closer to her friend and gave him a hug. Yugi was grateful his pals cared about him, but he was more worried about his darker half rather than himself. There was a moment of silence before Yugi asked, "What happened to Yami?"

Tea sat at the edge of the bed and explained, "We did managed to talk, but he was tongue tied between his words and his emotions."

Yugi nodded his head and waited for her to continue, "We went for a shot walk and then this guy came out and demanded the Puzzle. Yami managed to play a game with him and win. The robber didn't take it well so he tackled him and Yami fell to the floor and that's why you have a bandage on your arm."

The young looked back down at his right arm and thought, "Yami… Please be ok."

Yugi sighed. Tea further explained, "I think he feels as though he's using others. We all know it isn't true but… he raised his voice after I told him to think of me as a hostess in showing him around again."

Yugi looked at his friend then back down at his sheets. He, too, was at lost of words. He didn't know how to feel.

"Don't overwork yourself, Yugi," the elderly man finally said something. He understood his grandson was worried about his companion who lived in the Puzzle, but the boy needed to also focus on himself. "You are also not feeling well and you need your rest."

Yugi nodded his head, "I know, Grandpa. I'll do what the doctors tell me to do."

Tea hugged her childhood friend once more and everybody left. At that moment, Yugi looked around and saw a small trashcan by his nightstand. He reached for it and started to throw up. He was feeling exhausted after having been through so much as well as having to fight to keep the bile down. His body started to shake as he inhaled in gasps.

"Ooo… this hurts… Stupid parasite… taking away my time from my friends… making everyone worry… Ack! Not again!"

He threw up once more. When he was done with another set, he held on to the trashcan just in case. He calmed himself down by taking charge of his breathing. He closed his eyes and focused on inhaling and exhaling.

The door to the room opened and a different doctor came into the room. The woman handed her patient two pills in a small, disposable cup. She explained, "The small, white pill is treatment for the tapeworm and the other is to help you sleep. The white pill's side effects include drowsiness, fatigue, dizziness, headache, lower back pain, sweating, and fever. But, keep in mind this is to only assist your body in the fight against the said tapeworm."

Yugi nodded his head and was prepared to take the pill.

"The other pill will help you sleep tonight." The woman left a small cup full of water then walked out of the room.

Yugi placed the white pill in his hand. He grabbed his water cup and took a few sips of water, then swallowed the pill. He repeated the same pattern for his other medication. He placed both cups on the nightstand and grabbed his Puzzle.

He looked at the mysterious eye and thought, "Why hasn't Yami been answering me?"

The boy closed his eyes and decided to pay his friend a little visit.

Xxx

Yugi found himself in his Soul Room. He looked across the hallway and saw his friend's door. He was relieved to know he was were still connected with his darker half. He walked over and made it to the door. He tried to pull the handle but it was no use as the room was locked. Yugi knocked on the door, "Yami? Can you hear me?"

The boy waited for an answer but did not receive one.

"It's me, Yugi. Can you please come out?" Yugi begged as he knocked a little harder. Still, there was no answer. Yugi wrapped his arms around his shoulders as he began to feel very lonely. The teen suddenly lost his balance for a moment. He placed one hand on his head and the other against his friend's sealed off door for support.

"I guess the pills are working," Yugi observed. He slowly walked back to his room but before he entered, the adolescent looked back over to Yami's Soul Room. He sighed as he went inside his own room and collapsed on the ground.

Xxx

Yugi awoke in the real world. He then lowered his eyes to being halfway open. He could feel the pull of sleepiness over his entire body. His physique and mind begged for the boy to close his eyes and enter slumber.

He wanted to get better soon but in the back of his mind he couldn't help but worry about Yami. After a few moments of hazy thoughts, Yugi finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Xxx

Yami's Soul Room

Yami sat down against one of his walls. Because he had tried to hid from everyone, Yami did not hear anything that had happened earlier. He was too focused on being attacked once more because someone was greedy and wanted the Puzzle.

"People everywhere want to get their hands on it. Because of that, Yugi is in danger. We manage to pull through together, but here we are once more in the hospital."

Yami immediately stood up when he felt that there was something wrong with Yugi. He was unsure what was going on but he did manage to hear Yugi's thoughts: "Ooo…this hurts… Stupid parasite… taking away my time from my friends… making everyone worry… Ack! Not again!"

Yami slid down against his wall once more. He pulled his legs closer to him as sorrow and shame entered his soul. He was in silence for several minutes until he heard someone knocking on his door. The spirit knew it was Yugi as this was Yugi's mind; he was just lucky to be there.

"Yami? Can you hear me?"

Yami heard his light say but did not say anything.

"It's me, Yugi. Can you please come out?"

Still, the spirit did not have the energy to reply. He looked down at his right arm where he had taken a hit earlier. Tears build up within the eyes of the former pharaoh.

He slide down as his wall as he whispered, "I'm sorry, Yugi."

To be continued…

Chao- Whoot!

Yami- Waa! Yugi! I'm so sorry!

YChao- Meh heh, well, the definition of a parasite is a pest taking that lives within something else to survive.

Chao- Like a younger sibling?

YChao- Sure, why not.

Chao- Yayness!

Yami- Waa! Sorry Yugi!

YChao- Well, do the fans think that Yami is a parasite?

Chao- (flying on an emo unicorn) Eee! Please review! Thank you all who have