I hate the new review button.

Sage: Seriosuly?

It's so bulky! And it takes up, like, the entire bottom of the page.

Sage: Quit your bitchin' and get on with the story.

Yeah, yeah.

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Yami allowed the information he had recently learned to sink it. He had to mull over everything he had learned. Things with Yugi started to make more sense now. Why he didn't like being touched for example. If what Joey said was true, and Yami had no reason not to believe him, if Yugi had been abused for over a year…

Any touch would mean pain. No matter how small, no matter how subtle. After a year of living in a world of pain, that kind of thing would become engraved into your mind. Every time you were touched, your mind would revert back to that time in your life when touch equaled pain. And Yugi still had that rationale.

Joey's tale also explained Yugi's mood swings. The memories still seemed to be fresh in his mind, any little thing setting a movie of them playing in his mind. Seeing those memories…maybe they made him relive his memories, and he reverted back to how he felt during the memory.

He couldn't believe all the terrible thing that had happened to Yugi in his short life. It wasn't fair. Yugi was still a kid, he didn't deserve anything that had happened to him. He was such a nice, sweet, kid. Yami felt his fist clenching. He hated hearing what had happened to Yugi during his last…relationship. It explained so much, though. Why Joey and Anzu reacted the way they did. Now that he knew what he did, he couldn't blame them for their overprotectiveness. It was out of necessity, not because they saw Yugi as a helpless child.

Yami hated this 'Jack' person. He was nothing more than a pathetic worm. How dare he hurt Yugi? How dare he take advantage of Yugi? And more importantly, how dare he land Yugi in the hospital?

A thought came to Yami suddenly. He looked over at Joey was sipping his tea quietly.

"What happened to Jack?" He blurted out. Joey almost gagged on his tea for a moment, coughing for a few moments.

"What do you mean?" He asked, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, which earned a glare from Anzu.

"Was he ever arrested?"

Joey's eyes dropped and they looked deathly sad. He turned his head away from Yami, instead choosing a small spot on the wall to stare at. "When Yugi was in the hospital, the police searched his home. There were no signs of him, he had just packed up and left. And since they couldn't interview him specifically, they couldn't say he did abuse Yugi. So, it just became a cold case."

Yami could feel Joey's radiating hatred. It was easy to tell that it was taking a lot for Joey to maintain his composure. It was obvious to Yami that Jack hadn't just hurt Yugi; he had also, consequently, hurt Joey and Anzu. Yami hated Jack, a man he did not even know. And to hear that the man had gotten away with everything he had done to Yugi made his hatred grow even more.

Yami wanted to kill Jack. How much can you hate someone you don't even know? Yami didn't think it was possible. Maybe it was because of his connection with Yugi, his love for the shy, smart, boy that made this emotion possible. Yami felt his fist clenching.

He heard a strangled sob coming from Anzu. He looked up to see her beautiful blue eyes shimmering with tears.

"Yugi still…" she took a shaky breath and let out a sob, "he still hasn't recovered. The physical wounds were bad, but the emotional….Yugi thinks he's worthless. He thinks he deserved everything that happened to him. I hear him all the time." Anzu looked up and to Yami's dismay, she was smiling. It was a broken smile, one that reflected her pain as well as Yugi's and Joey's. "He always says, 'If only I was stronger' or 'If only I didn't feel as much'. The things that make him Yugi…he hates them. He hates himself."

Yami felt his heart clench at the pain Anzu was still feeling for Yugi. "Does Yugi know?" He asked quietly, feeling the tension in the room rise.

Joey sighed. "He knows Jack skipped town. It was ridiculous. When the police came to talk to him, Yugi refused to say anything. He didn't want them to find Jack. He did, however, give his full name weather he meant to or not. That was enough information for the police to find Jack's apartment."

Yami felt confused at Joey's statement. Yugi didn't want Jack to be arrested? Why? He had almost been killed by that man! Why would he have compassion for the man who hurt him? Yami couldn't make sense of it and he spoke his concerns.

"Why wouldn't Yugi want Jack arrested?"

Joey bit his lip. "Yugi tries to protect everybody. Even those who hurt him."

"Why?" Yami couldn't understand it. It was human nature to want revenge against those who hurt you. Why would Yugi deny that part of his existence? Why would he not want justice to be served, to have closure brought to him?

Joey shrugged and let out a small laugh. It was cold and bitter, distant. As though it weren't coming from Joey himself but from some unknown source. "That's the way Yugi's always been. He doesn't like to see anyone in pain. He forgives instantly. Yugi is stupid like that. If he were to be killed, he would forgive his murderer without a second thought. No haunting the bastard, no nothing."

"Yugi holds no grudges," Anzu chimed in, "except for those who hurt his friends."

Yami felt a smile being born at the corners of his mouth. "I still can't believe he stood up to Kaiba like that. I've never seen anyone talk to him like that. Yugi would be the last person I expected to do it."

Joey smirked and rubbed the bottom of his nose. "It was entertaining watching Yugi mop the floor with that bastard." Joey paused for a moment, remembering what had happened just the other day. "What is your affiliation with that guy anyways? He looked like he was going to eat me when I tried to punch you."

Joey spoke of the attempted assault as though it were nothing.

Yami shrugged. "He's my cousin. I work for him."

"That explains a lot."

Yami wanted to ask what that was supposed to mean, but decided against it. He didn't want to anger the blonde any further. He had already been very generous with his willingness to talk about Yugi. But, that didn't matter for now. Right now, all that mattered was trying to help Yugi. And trying to bring justice to him as well.

"What would you do," Yami began to ask hypothetically, "if you ever saw him again? Would you kill him?"

Joey was silent for a moment, and then his eyes darkened and he smiled. It was dark and angry, and Joey let out a despicable laugh. "I wouldn't kill him." He looked up to meet Yami's eyes. At that moment, the older man thought he was staring into the blonde's soul. It was dark, and menacing, but he could also see a spark of humanity in them. "That would let the bastard off to easy. No, I wouldn't kill him. I've already thought about what I would do if I ever saw him again." Joey's smile widened.

"What would that be?"

Joey leaned in so that his face was only a few inches away from Yami's. "I'd torture him. I'd tie him up and lock him in a basement. I'd starve him for two weeks, then give him enough food to keep him for another two. I would do everything he did to Yugi. I would make him feel helpless, and worthless. I would make him feel all the pain Yugi felt, I would make him live the hell Yugi lived. And I'd do it until he killed himself."

Yami was taken aback by how sadistic Joey sounded, but he also understood. Joey wanted revenge on Jack, a man who had hurt his friend. Joey was experiencing natural human feelings. Yami wanted to hurt this man too and he had even less of an idea of who he was than Joey did.

Joey stared at Yami for a while and then he sighed. "Let's go." He said, finishing the last of his tea and standing up. "We told you what we know. You are not to tell Yugi we told you." Joey paused for a moment, a flash of despair showing in his eyes. "He doesn't like people worrying over him. He doesn't like being treated like a baby."

For some reason, Yami felt like something more had happened between Joey and Yugi than the blonde let on. Yugi complained about his friends treating him like a baby, and here was Joey, saying the same thing.

"Thank you." Yami said as he got to his feet. "For telling me. I appreciate it. And I appreciate you allowing me to see Yugi."

Joey smirked. "Don't get too eager, buddy. Remember, I got my eye on you." He walked up to Anzu and said good bye to her, and thanked her for the tea. She said nothing, but nodded. Yami followed him outside, where they said nothing. They stood there for a moment before Joey sighed.

"You can go now." He said and started walking away. It was the opposite direction of his house, Yami noticed.

"Wait!" He called, "Where are you going?"

"I have something I need to do." Joey said, but didn't turn around. Instead he continued to walk down the pavement, away from Yami.

The older man paused and chewed on his lip for a moment. He had no idea what it could be Joey had to do, but he decided not to dwell on it. Instead, he turned around and began to walk back to the apartment complex so he could retrieve his car and leave.

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Yugi groaned as he turned in his bed, pulling the sheets tighter around him. His head was still throbbing and the smallest hint of light caused an intense headache. He could feel his pulse pounding in his temples and he just buried his head further into his pillow.

'I'm so stupid' He thought groggily. This was the worst headache he ever had. He couldn't believe he let himself get drunk, and in the middle of the sidewalk too. What if something had happened? Then again, he didn't care if something had happened. His life wasn't anything worth living. He wouldn't upset his friends any further by trying to hurt himself, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about living.

Joey had left a while ago. What had he said? Yugi couldn't remember, but it probably wasn't something important. In fact, it was better with Joey was gone. The blonde was still pissed about last night's binge drinking episode. How could he have let that happen, Yugi thought. How could he do something so stupid, so immature? He had never touched alcohol before last night, why would he do it so suddenly?

Oh yeah…He had fought with Joey. He had hurt Joey's feelings and wanted to forget about it all together. The alcohol was his ticket to memory loss. He had heard of people who used drinking as a way to deal with their problems in the real world. Yugi wanted that. He wanted to self-medicate. It was so easy getting stuff like that in this area. Nobody cared about age. If you just had enough money you could anything. Hell, he could've something a lot worse than Moonshine if he wanted too. It would've been so easy to have traded in that bottle for any kind of illicit drug, or some narcotics.

Yugi shifted slightly and got out of his bed, walking over to the bathroom. He shut the door tightly behind him and leaned on it for a moment, still groggy. He forced himself over towards the vanity where he braced himself against the sink, taking in heavy breaths. He turned on the facuet, scooping on some water with his hand and drinking it slowly, trying to get rid of the burning sensation in his throat. He splashed some on his face and dabbed it dry with a nearby towel.

Yugi flinched when he heard the sound of a door opening and slamming. It had to be Joey. Anxious to apologize for the fight earlier, Yugi flung open the bathroom door, running into the living room.

"Joey!" Yugi called, "Joe—"

He was cut off when he spotted his blonde friend. Joey was in the kitchen, holding a wet paper towel to his head. He leaned against the sink and hissed in pain. Yugi could see red beginning to stain the towel.

"Joey…" Yugi whispered, walking closer to his friend, "what happened?"

Joey turned towards Yugi, grunting slightly. "Some ass threw a rock at my head, that's what happened." His voice was rough and tired sounding.

"Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Yugi questioned, observing just how much blood was soaking through the paper. He had to breathe slowly in order to keep himself from becoming sick. He hated the sight of blood. Any time he saw it, no matter what the amount was, it made him nauseous.

"I'll be fine." Joey assured, peeling back the towel. Yugi couldn't see the gash, but he could see Joey's blonde hair a bloody mess. "I was just walking back home when –Bam!- someone threw a rock the size of my fist at me."

"Did you see them?"

Joey shook his head. "By the time I realized what had happened, they were gone. And I was alone on the street. No one else was there."

Yugi grimaced, trying to ignore the gruesome sight of blood he was facing. Joey looked pale and like he was about to throw up himself.

"I'm gonna go clean this up." Joey said, throwing away his bloodied towel. He walked past Yugi and into the bathroom. Yugi stayed behind, watching Joey enter the bathroom. He sighed and walked over to his bedroom, feeling his hangover acting up again. He closed his door behind him and walked over to his bed. He was about to lay down in his bed and go to sleep when he heard a beeping sound.

It had been his phone. Yugi frowned and dug into his pocket, pulling out his cellular device. Nobody had his number besides Joey and Anzu…it had to be a wrong number. Yugi flipped open his phone, ready to see what the text message was.

His heart stopped as he began to read it.

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Sucky chapter, I know. But from now on, things will begin to heat up. Also, this is the last update for a few weeks. I have finals next week, and then will at once go on vacation with the family. I'll bring my computer with me, so I'll be able to write, but I won't have reliable internet.

That being said, I will try very hard to finish the story while on break. Then, I will update daily. I want to thank you guys for being so patient with me. You're the best.