"Twin sisters?" Came Yami's shocked echo. "Where are they now?" Yugi's face was unreadable. "You'll find out in a minute." Eliana was looking at him carefully over the paper, pretending to be absorbed in whatever she was supposed to be doing. "We were very happy, for a while. But war was brewing, my father could tell. He was good at reading the mindset, and all he saw was a potential explosion. Quietly, he started to arrange for us to leave. But war moves swiftly, and soon the borders were closed except for the three countries that border Movia, but their borders were closed as well. Everyone in the doomed four was stuck. Still, my father made plans for us to leave and jump the border. There was still time, the war had really only been declared, it was limited to a few long-winded speeches about 'crushing resistance' and such. That ended in my ninth year. It was spring. We were leaving the next night. Most of our things had been sent, before the war started, to Jii-chans. We only had our small bags to carry with us. We were one night too late. The soldiers came, and the war truly erupted that night in our village. My parents and sisters were killed. I escaped only by lucky" he said the word sarcastically, "coincidence."

He looked as though he were going to move one, but Eliana cleared her throat. "You know you'll still have to tell them later if you don't tell them now." Yugi rolled his eyes at her.

"Yes, mom." Grinning at her annoyed look, he sobered once again and continued. "Fine. They started at our house because they found out that dad wasn't a citizen. Mom sent me after him, hoping that they would just, I don't know, interrogate him or something. They didn't. They just shot him and stuck him in a ditch. There wasn't anything I could do to help, so I ran back to make sure mom was safe. She wasn't. they had dragged her out of the house and shot her, then locked the twins inside and," his voice dropped to a pained whisper, "set the house on fire. She was still alive, trying to rescue my sisters. I don't know how, but I was able to break the door open by breaking off the handle. I ran to my sisters, who were blocked in their room by a piece of furniture. I managed to open that door as well, but Jolandra- it was too late. I watched- it was horrible- I barely managed to grab Alessa and run out. Mom was almost dead by that point. The soldiers were coming back. They were doing the same thing all over the village."

Yugi paused to take a shuddered breath. "Fire was everywhere, and screaming- not like amusement park screaming. The type of scream that haunts your worst nightmares. Pain, despair, no hope…" he trailed off, lost in memories. Yami tried, but the link was blocked off. Yugi came to on his own. "Alessa was doing bad. But I couldn't help her. All I knew was what dad had told me, that there was a refugee camp in the north. If I could get there, everything would be fine." He shook his head slowly. "I travelled as fast as I could. I hid us, though it was hard when Alessa slept. She just had these nightmares, and she was getting worse. She'd been burned pretty badly, and she kept coughing. But I couldn't help her. I didn't know natural medicine then like I do now. I helped her as much as I could, and I carried her."

He smiled fondly. "I was the proper height for my age, back then. And the twins had always been small. She was five, when she died. We made it to the camp. But they didn't have the supplies to help her either. All they could really do was make sure she wasn't in any more pain. She died less than a week after we got there." Yugi was rubbing a spot on his arm.

"I wasn't sure what to do, but I wanted to help other kids. I'd met some on the way up. Eliana and her brother Cole, for example. We formed a little…group, and our goal was to find kids and help them make it back to the camp. It's the only safe one, you see." Yugi shook his head. "I don't know what we were thinking, really. A bunch of eight and nine year olds. But really, we weren't kids. No one's a kid in this area, not anymore," Eliana said sadly. Yugi nodded, absently agreeing with her. He sighed. "We've been doing this ever since. Course, grandpa found me when I was fourteen, and took me away."

Yami was startled at the emotion in Yugi's voice. Was he angry about leaving?

"You know it turned out for the best, Yugi. You've helped us so much!" Eliana turned to Seto and Yami. "He sends money and supplies. At first it was just whatever he could, working part-time at the shop." Yugi interjected, "Jii-chan wanted me to forget. But I couldn't. I had to help." Eliana continued. "So! Yugi here started dueling. He sends us almost everything he earns, either in money or supplies. He knows how to get it to us too, without 'government aid' ministers stealing half of it. His grandpa can't do anything about it, other than insist Yugi save 10%. And I agree with him," she said, giving Yugi a very 'I-know-better-'cause-I'm-your-sister' sort of look.

"You deserve something for everything you've done," she insisted. Yugi shook his head angrily. "No. I understand that I'm helping, but don't tell me I deserve something for doing the right thing. It would be wrong it I didn't help."

"Sorry, that's not quite what I meant. I mean in principle, it's good that you have something besides us occupying your time. Something besides the past," she added softly. Yugi seemed to understand her intention this time and relaxed. Yami's eye caught something on Yugi's arm.

"What is that on your arm, Yugi?" he asked. Yugi sighed. Holding out his injured arm as well as he could, Yugi showed them. 01742. "It's the camp number I was assigned. I kinda got taken prisoner when I was 11." He shrugged to show it was no big deal. "I hide it with this paste stuff. It doesn't come off unless you rub it. Course, it itches like crazy. Don't know why I was hiding it here, though. There's really no need." Yami looked like he was about to have a panic attack. Or a nervous breakdown. Or go on a rampage, alternately driving insane and banishing to the shadow realm those who had DARED hurt his aibou.

Yugi was watching Yami's reaction, and sighed. "And THAT'S why no one in Domino-except Jii-chan, of course, knows, and he doesn't even know about everything. I didn't want to tell him, and maybe I stretched the truth a little bit. For his own good, of course. He barely handled my parents and sisters deaths, imagine if he knew the rest."

"So you- Yugi Moutou- actually LIED to your only living relative? And hid the truth from your friends? You r loyal, faithful, dweeb patrol?" Seto looked like he was more in shock at Yugi actually fibbing than anything else. Yugi's mouth twitched in an ill-hidden smile.

"You have no idea what I can do, Seto Kaiba. And yes, I did lie and hide the truth. You know how much I hate getting a bunch of attention. And this, honestly, was not really their problem. It was mine. Personal. Plus, it really is a safety breach for a ton of people to know."

"Yugi lied," muttered Kaiba. Yugi shook his head. "Perhaps we've had a few too many revelations for one day, yes?" he said. Eliana nodded, hiding her giggles as best she could. "If he acts like this now, what will he think when he finds out more?" she said evilly. Yugi glared, surprisingly well. Yami looked overwhelmed. "More?"