As promised, here is the second chapter to 'Haunted'!

Yugi: So why a day late?

Long day and super tired really. I barely even remember yesterday.

Mokuba: So what happens in this chapter?

You'll find out when you read it.

Ryou: Hope everyone enjoys this update!

Yami was proud of the progress made on the empty farmhouse. He had cleared off the broken and rotted furniture and had decided to rest against the outside wall of the house. As he took a brief nap, Ryou and Malik had returned home. They noticed that the porch had been cleaned up and the nails were pounded back into place. The pair looked at the napping teen and were shocked to see how much like their brother this boy looked.

"The only real differences are that his bangs blend into his hair, he's taller and a shade darker," Malik pointed out.

Ryou rolled his eyes, "He's also living, Mal. I can't believe that you wanted to scare him off for trying to fix the porch."

"How was I supposed to know that he wasn't a vandal!?" Malik vanished into the house and into his room.

Ryou sighed, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see how he fares."

Yugi watched from the edge of the tree line as this boy worked on the outside of his home as if he cared for it. He thought back to the rattler that he had killed. Yugi remembered the day that one had nearly struck their baby brother, the one they referred to as 'Baby Solomon'.

The triplets were fifteen and their baby brother was a year-and-a-half. He had been crawling around and had gotten too close to the venomous snake. Ryou heard the rattle and cried out as he pulled the baby boy out of harm's way. Yugi threw a y-branched stick to Malik who pinned the snake to the ground. Their father had heard the commotion and rushed out to see the angry snake rattling its tail furiously. Malik held the branch in place long enough for their father to sever the snake's head from it's body.

The sound of an approaching vehicle pulled Yugi from his thoughts. It was a faded grey truck that pulled into the drive. An elderly man got out and cautiously made his way to the farmhouse. Yugi left before he could see what would happen when the man discovered the sleeping teen.

Yami was gently shaken awake. He stretched and opened his crimson eyes to discover his grandfather standing over him. He braced himself for a stern lecture.

"Yami, I'm amazed at what you've done to this place," the man was awed. "I want to know, honestly, what you think of this old house."

Yami smiled, "I got bored and figured that I had to do something. Besides, they left me behind without my cell phone. But it's nice here, Grandpa."

The elderly man gently placed something into Yami's hand, "I want you to have this. You are the only one that hasn't been scared off and apparently cares about this property."

Yami looked at the item in his hand and was shocked. "But, Grandpa, I thought that you had other plans for the land."

"Just because it was never sold, or altered, doesn't mean that I had plans for it," the man stated. "I wanted to eventually pass it on to you three, but your brothers aren't responsible enough to take care of a single houseplant without killing it. You are meant to have it."

Yami was stunned, "Um, Grandpa, what do you mean by scared off?"

"This house is haunted by the ghosts of three boys who died here so long ago. They tend to scare off those they feel are a threat to their home."

"Were they the boys whose names are on that statue out in the clearing?"

The man was curious, "Show me."

Yami lead his grandfather to the clearing and watched as he stepped closer. "Oh, my poor brothers," he whispered softly as he touched the smaller of the three. He turned to Yami, "Yami, those three boys were your great-uncles. Mother wouldn't tell me what happened to them before she passed. From what I could gather, they weren't a bad set of boys. Please, whatever you do, don't anger the dead. Give them the respect they deserve."

"I swear it," Yami stated.

A faint rustling of leaves caught their attention. As the two watched the fox that had saved Yami earlier crept out as if it didn't notice them. The second it saw them it froze and stared. "That's the fox that killed a snake before it bit me," Yami whispered to his grandfather.

Solomon gave a small bow to the fox, "Thank you for saving my boy from a snakebite."

The fox gave a small yip before vanishing into its burrow. Solomon turned back to Yami, "How about tomorrow we hire an inspector to look the place over before you start making it your own?"

"Really," Yami was excited at the idea of an oasis from his brothers.

Solomon nodded, "Really. This place it yours now, Yami. You've earned it."

Yugi remained outside the house secretly playing with the fireflies while his brothers worried about him. He had wondered what it would be like to have been able to grow up, but the thought passed his mind as he jumped into another firefly that got too close to the one he currently controlled. He loved the night, but missed feeling the cool breezes that came with them.

As he played, Yugi had forgotten that the anniversary of their deaths was fast approaching. Had he known, he would have possessed a deer and ran toward the boundary as fast as he could just to try to escape the pain he'd experience yet again. Yugi hated the feeling of his lungs filling with blood and the pain of numerous broken bones. The shot to his chest was painful as well, but not as bad as the injuries sustained in the fall down the stairs.

Malik sighed, "It's coming soon, Ryou. I feel it."

"I know," Ryou replied. "It can't be escaped. I just hope that we have no witnesses like we did that one time. The poor kid was frightened near to death seeing Yugi's 'death' repeat itself."

"I just hope that Yugi will be alright," Malik stated.

The two knew that to reenact their deaths yearly tore Yugi apart. The poor boy would vanish for days before returning looking lost and confused. Ryou had a feeling that Yugi was trying to escape the land via some poor animal host, but refused to tell Malik about it.

Malik: I can't believe that Yugi ran away from us!

Ryou: You upset him, Mal! That's why he took off.

*Sigh* Just settle down you two. Think about next week's update.

Malik: Oh, yeah...

Ryou: Next week's update will be 'Hunted'!

Yami: Until next time!