Well, I am happy to say, I have 18 reviews, and 844 hits!

Yugi: That's it?

Me: Well, excuse me. It is very hard to get even past 3 hundred hits. . .

Yami: Yeah, but your other story has over 3 thousand hits.

Me: ….. It's because that one's cuter . . .

Yugi and Yami: *Rolls eyes*

Me: Just do the disclaimer already! You're making me sad . . . ish.

Yugi: Kairi doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor me or any of my friends! Just the ones she made.

Me: Enjoy . . . . :/

One more thing, just a reminder, the tense is now past tense! I don't even know why I wrote in pre-tense . . . . errrr! . Past Tense!

And, so sorry it's been a long time for an update!

Chapter seven:

Dinner was done and over with. (Spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad. Mmm) All the teenage boys, (all twelve of them) were in their room, asleep on their beds. Well, all except for one.

Yugi lay on his side, curled tightly into a ball. His eyes started blankly off into the distance while his left palm stretched open, his right hand rubbing the middle of his palm, almost as if massaging it.

Without even realizing it, his fingers started to trace the old, burned flesh embedded on his skin. His thumb traced he letter 'C' first, before slowly going over the 'S'. His mind sighed.

Flash Back:

"Hey, Mr. Mutou."

A young, small boy looked up from his lap. He sat cross legged on the bed that was his and he slowly got up when his name was called.

A man, as everyone knew as Coby, waited by the door as he watched Yugi climb out of bed. "Hurry up, we don't have all day." He said, half heartedly.

All of the boys, who either was lying down on their beds, talking with one another, or playing one of the many games that were scattered across the floor in one area, looked up. Every one of their faces expressed a grim expression like they knew what was going to happen. (Which they did, ;) )

Yugi walked past Devin, who wasn't friends with him yet. He was rubbing his left palm while looking avoiding Yugi's gaze. Yugi furrowed his eye brows but continued walking.

Once the small boy made it to the door, the atmosphere had gone from slightly cheery, to a ghost town; dead and quiet.

"Huh, well . . . carry along guys." Coby said. He turned around and walked out of the door, gesturing with his hand for Yugi to follow.

Yugi obeyed and walked out of the room. (A/N The door was closed by one of the boys after Yugi left)

The two walked in silence for a while until Coby spoke up. "So, how do you like it here?" He looked over his shoulder to find Yugi shrugging. "Heh, not wanting to talk? Well, that's fine. No one usually wants to for a while once they get here."

Yugi just shrugged again. He'd been here for two weeks, the first down in the basement . . . . And the second above ground doing chores. Life was hell, so up until this point, he didn't care what was going on and didn't feel like speaking to anyone.

Coby continued to talk, however, Yugi just tuned him out and zoned out. He didn't really think about anything. If you looked into his mind, it'd probably show you a blank sheet of paper, much like how you get a paper and you're suppose to write an essay about some dead guy you know nothing about.

After several minutes of random talking from Coby, the two stopped at a metal door, the only door like it in the entire mansion. Yugi looked at it curiously, but stayed quiet.

"Well, here we are." The larger man said. He opened the door and beckoned Yugi to go in first. He did as he was told and entered the room.

Inside was lightly lit with a fire burning in the fire place in the back of the room. The fire was small and had an object sticking out of it. A metal table and wooden chair sat near the fire. The whole room was small, almost looked like a normal bathroom size. But, other than the fire and table and chair, the room was empty. (A/N Pretty boring, ain't it? And I was thinking about making the room look bad ass . . . Sorry xp )

"Go to the table." Coby instructed him. He closed and locked the door behind him before walking over to the table. The locking noise made something in Yugi's stomach lurch.

Yugi walked to the tabled and stood beside it, watching as Coby made his way to the boy. Once at the table, Coby ordered, "Now, place you hand on the table, no you left hand, with the palm facing upwards." Yugi did so. "And now," Coby reached under the table, found whatever he was looking for, and pulled it up. Before Yugi could even process what was brought up, the object clicked itself against his hand.

Yugi let out a startled yelp. On his wrist, was an odd looking contraction. It would remind you of hand cuffs but the metal extended to that it clipped around the fingers, holding them opened. You couldn't even bend your fingers in anyway. The metal was attached to the table, so the victim couldn't go anyway.

"W-what's going o-on?" He stuttered.

Coby crossed over to the fire and knelt down, grabbing the object out of the fire before standing back up. He crossed back over to the boy.

"Once you're here, you need some sort of mark that bounds you to Cassandra. Something that'll always remind you where you're at and who owns you. Cassandra and I, we were thinking about a tattoo, but that can always be removed. But this method, there's no way of getting rid of it unless you cut it off." Coby held the object up so Yugi could see what it was. When he caught sight of it, his blood ran cold. What Coby was holding was a branding stick with the initials CS connected to it. The metal was still burning red as Coby walked closer.

"This might hurt a little." Coby said.

The stick came closer and closer until it was hovering over Yugi's palm. The heat radiated off the metal in waves, each one making the boy flinch. Then, without another moment to lose, the metal came in contact with the flesh.

An ear piercing scream tore its' way out of Yugi's mouth. The pain, the pain felt like a hundred knives piercing his skin all at once. The pain felt like dipping your hand in boiling water for a few minutes. The pain, it felt like someone shoving your hand in a grinder. No, it felt worse than all of those things, so bad that he could even describe what it felt like.

Coby left the burning metal on for a few minutes to make sure that the mark would stay and not heal up. Finally, when he did pull the metal away, the flesh underneath it was brightly read; irritated, greatly, and some of the skin was bubbling a bit, in an odd way that it shouldn't. He looked down to the boy to see tears streaming down his face.

Yugi's eyes were squeezed shut and his screams died down. His right fish was clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The boy was breathing through his clenched teeth while his left palm still burned.

Coby, unlike Yugi who didn't move, walked back to the fire and placed the branding stick back where he had found it. He didn't say anything, just had a guilty look upon his face.

End of Flashback:

The sounds of people softly talking aroused Yugi from his sleep. He blinked his eyes open and quickly covered them with his hand, trying to shield his eyes from the bright sun light.

"Mornin', Yugi!" A cheery voice said.

Yugi slowly opened his eyes again and rubbed the sleep out of them. "Good morning, Devin." He said. He blinked his amethyst eyes and half smiled at the boy who plopped himself down next to him.

Devin moved over a bit to give Yugi room to sit up. "So today, I thought we could work in the kitchen. I don't really wanna wash the floors again." He continued to chatter away, making it easy for Yugi to not talk except for the occasional 'yes' and 'uh-huh'.

Everyday since Yugi and Devin became friends, Devin would wake up and climb down from his bed (A/N He and Yugi shared a bunk bed and Devin has the top bunk.) and chat away until it was time to take showers, get dressed, have breakfast, and go back to doing chores. So today was a normal day, whatever you call normal for them.

Yugi stretched and yawned. "Do you think we should get a head start taking showers?" He asked Devin, when there was a pause.

Devin nodded and yawned from the sight of Yugi yawning. He stood up and gathered his clothes at the end of the bed. "
At least we'll get a chance at the hot water . . . for once." He said with a playful smile.

"Yup," Yugi also gathered his clothes. Then, with Devin walking next to him, they head towards the showers.

XxxxX

After showering and getting dressed, the two boys headed down to the dining room where their breakfast awaited them.

"Hm . . . I hope there will be pancakes!" Devin said rather excitedly.

Yugi smiled before asking, "Devin, what makes you so happy every morning?"

Devin looked over to Yugi and also smiled, "I dunno, I've always been like this. My parents always said that, as long as they've known me, I've never had a bad morning. A few years ago, I told people that every day was a new day and that you should welcome it with open arms, and a happy, energetic mood."

Yugi's smile faltered a bit. He once told his own friends something similar, but instead of happy mornings, it was about friendship. He sighed, catching Devin's attention.

"What's wrong, Yugi?"

"Hm . . . alright." Devin shrugged. The two boys didn't even get two feet before Devin started up his normal chatter. "So, did you wanna work in the kitchen today? I don't remember you answering earlier."

Yugi chuckled, "Yeah, fine by me."

"Okay, then we'll probably have to sweep the hallways after we get done. The kitchen usually doesn't take all day. Well, that is when you're working." He beamed from the memory of him and Yugi doing kitchen duty one time. The two were supposed to be cutting vegetables for lunch, but because they got bored, they started to play a little game involving who could throw the carrot the farthest. The head cook got really mad and kicked them both out for a month.

The two boys continued to walk and talk as they made their way down the hall for breakfast.

XxxxX

After breakfast, Devin successfully had his pancakes while Yugi ate some toast; he wasn't very hungry, the two boys made their way down to the kitchen where they were put to work peeling and cutting potatoes and carrots. There were many carrots, but today, there was none flying in the air.

An hour later, they finished cutting and peeling, but were sent to wash and cut the lettuce. The green vegetable didn't take very long, so when they were done, the head chef sent them to wash the dishes.

Now let me tell you a little about the kitchen. When you work in it, it's all work and no play. (You know what happens when you play. ;) ) When you're in the kitchen, the chef will tell you what to do and you did it. If you refused, you were kicked out. The chef had a short attention span, if you ask me.

"Man, I don't wanna see another dirty pot again!" Devin whined as he and Yugi left the kitchen, done with everything they were assigned to do. The blue-eyed boy turned over his pruned hands to look at his fingers. His small hands were red from scrubbing the pots and also red from the hot water.

Yugi rolled his eyes. "But, it's better than washing the floors, right?"

His friend shook his head and let his hands fall back to his sides. "Nah, I think I'd rather mop than nearly break my arm off trying to scrub pots. The floors are already cleaned. The pots, not so much."

They continued walking, passing other boys who were doing chores; some washing the already cleaned floor, washing the spotless windows, and some who weren't even doing anything.

Some of the boys looked up when Yugi and Devin walked by, but then they quickly looked away. No one really cared about Yugi, but they do think he's the one to help them escape, much like Alex, Krissy, and Devin. Sometimes at night, when Yugi lays awake on his bed, he could hear the others try miserable to whisper. (They talked to loud) They always argued about him being the 'one' and the one to save them, while the others only argue, saying the opposite. Though, through it all, Yugi ignored them, knowing that both sides were right. He's been thinking non-stop for ways to escape, but everything has been a no-go.

Yugi quickened his pace, surprising Devin a bit. As they quickly retreated down the hall, the working boys looked back down again and continued to clean.

"Hey, Yugi, what's up?" Devin asked once he caught up to him.

They turned a corner and Yugi continued his pace. After about a minute or two, he slowed down to a normal speed.

"Nothing . . . I just didn't want to be over there any longer." Devin nodded, but pressed ob for more information, curious. "Why? They didn't do anything, did they?"

"No . . . it just felt . . . weird."

"Odd? How?" He stopped walking and planted himself to the floor.

Sensing that his friend had stopped, Yugi stopped as well and turned around. "What's wrong Devin?"

"Yugi, if people are talking about you, just ignore them. Whatever they say, it's not true!"

"You mean like I'm the one to help them escape?" He asked his voice solemn.

The kid fidgeted. "Oh, uh . . ."

"How am I supposed to help everyone, Devin? I can't even help myself out, let alone everyone else. What am I supposed to do?" He crossed his arms against his chest, a confused look upon his face. "Every one of the guys expects me to come up with something. Is it because I'm well known? Or . . ." He cut himself off, unsure of what else to say.

"Something like that." Devin mumbled, his voice dropping an octave. "Before you came here, Yugi, all of us guys were discussing a plan to get out. But we were lacking something, brains. Having brains to think everything through, everything out, and stargazing all the routes to escape.

"We heard of you on TV about you dueling. Some people said that you could strategize ten moves ahead when you're dueling or playing a game. When we heard that, we wished we had you among us because you would've been able to help us. And on that same day, you walked into the room. Everyone was surprised and just well, surprised."

Yugi uncrossed his arms as his friend continued. "We were all really excited, well, all except Mark, but he has his own reasons. With you here, we could be free." He took a deep breath and watched his friend, unsure of what his reaction would be.

Yet, Yugi just nodded his head. "Well, that makes more sense. But, I just can't think of anyway . . . to help everyone. Cassandra has us all. She's thought everything through; from locking the doors at night, to the security cameras."

Devin's expression dropped.

Yugi bit his bottom lip before adding, "But, that doesn't mean I can't still try to come up with something." Devin smiled real big, "It's going to be difficult for us to escape, but I'll still need everyone's help."

"Don't worry, Yugi. Everyone' got your back."

XxxxX

The two boys ((A/N I need to find a new words for that… :? )) continued to do chores. Just about an hour or two ago, they were in the hallway, talking about Yugi being the 'one'. Now, they were sweeping the floors, but instead of Yugi's mind concentrating on cleaning, the talk he had with Devin kept replaying in his head.

'There has to be a way to escape. There's always a way, I'm just not thinking hard enough!'

If you were wondering, Yugi and Devin had to split up about half an hour ago since they were sweeping. Cover more ground sweeping separate than barely moving sweeping together.

The tri-haired boy continued to sweep the hallways alone, thinking about freedom.

'There's no way to escape without leaving someone behind.' He gripped the broom tightly without even realizing it. One of his thoughts was to have someone stay behind to keep Cassandra occupied while the rest made their escape. 'There's always another option . . . one that Joey would think of . . . one that would involve the police and a burial and . . .NO! Why am I even thinking of that? That's not my personality! Violence is never the answer. So . . . what is the answer?'

'After a year and a half, I'm just now thinking about an escape plan.' He continued down the hall, not aware of where he was heading. 'Well . . . no, that can't be right. I remember thinking all year but nothing ever came to mind. What am I going to do? This has to be the month to escape, no other. We need to put a stop to Cassandra and her sick mind. No more rape, no more of her 'pleasure', no more of this! We need to - -.'

His train of thought broke. Yugi swept past a door that was cracked open a bit with a faint glow illuminating from the room, along with voices. He froze in mid-step. He should have continued walking, but what the voices were saying made him stay. He walked over to the door and leaned against the wall, trying to make it look as though he was just taking a break.

"Yes, I was thinking about getting another." A female voice sound and instinctively, Yugi recognized the voice as Cassandra's.

'Getting another what?' Yugi thought.

"How long has it been?" A deep, husky voice asked. No mistaking it, the voice belonged to Coby.

Movement was heard behind the door before Cassandra spoke. "The last one was Yugi. A year and some odd months ago."

"Ah, Mr. Mutou. I can't believe it's been that long already. It felt like only yesterday I was at his house." Coby laughed.

Yugi heard Cassandra's soft laugher before adding, "Yes, and he still acts like he's new. Every time we get into bed, his mind obviously goes distant and he's as still as a log throughout the session." She sighed as if remorseful.

'Huh, I wonder why?' Yugi sarcastically thought, glaring at the door. Though it was true, that's how he acted every time it was his turn to spend two days with Cassandra. She did all the work; he distanced himself as much as possible with her. Usually, he thought about all the duels he's ever participated in, then he would think about his and Yami's dueling deck.

"Huh, well no wonder; he still had that innocent look." Coby stated. "We need to break him if you expect anything to happen."

From the sound of her voice, Cassandra was smiling. "True . . . but, I don't know. He's still pretty cute and I don't really want to break him . . . yet."

Replacing the glare on his face, Yugi's eyes doubled in size. His grip on the broom tightened.

"Oh, before one of us changed the subject," Coby said, getting back on track, "you wanted to get another. Where?"

Once again, Yugi's attention changed, his expression growing curious now.

"Hm . . . I was thinking about Domino City again." Yugi's heart nearly stopped. "I was looking at some of the photo's you collected. There were about three of them, but I made up my mind about which one I want."

"Really? Who?"

"He's one of Yugi's friends. He also has a millennium item."

'No, Ryou!' Yugi nearly yelled. Thankfully, he caught himself before a word could even form. Ryou was one of the bearers of the millennium items. He had the Millennium Ring.

More movement was made; the sound of paper shuffling and squeaking of a chair. Yugi stayed where he was, crouching.

"Oh really. Then that wouldn't be a problem. We fixed that when Mr. Mutou came." Coby said.

'Fixed? Fixed what?'

"Yes, we did. Good thing too; the pharaoh would have found some way of finding Yugi. Good idea, Coby." Cassandra practically purred. "Researching the millennium items and finding that plant to minimize the connection between the spirit and their hikari's.

Tears of anger sprung to his eyes. 'They messed with our connection! They . . . Yami!'

"But, just make sure Yugi keeps eating his dinner. That's where the poison works." Cassandra said calmly, but you could hear the authority in her voice.

"Will do. Was that all? The boys are probably wanting lunch by now." Coby said.

There was a pause. Then "Yes. Oh, but tonight, make sure Yugi is ready. It is his night."

"Sure thing. So, how did Leon's night go?" Coby asked, getting off of track again.

Yugi didn't stay to eavesdrop anymore; he had heard enough. Making sure the broom was still in his hand, he ran down the hall as quickly and quietly as he could manage.

He learned a few new things today that he could probably use further on: one, Coby and Cassandra were going to kidnap Ryou. Probably because he has a millennium item and lives alone. Two, tonight was his night to go with Cassandra . . . well, that's not really new news. And three, they poison him to weaken his and Yami's mind link. And that's not allowed.

XxxxX

Well, there you have it, chapter seven! Sorry it took so long! I'll try to make sure the next chapter doesn't take this long! ^^

I wanted to thank all my readers and reviewers. I love y'all so much! ^^ Y'all make me happy that you actually can't wait to read more! ^^

One more thing before I let you go, I was needing help. I wanna change the title of this story, but I can't think of anything to change it to. Any suggestions?

R&R please! Thank you for reading! ^^