Chao- All this writing and yet Chao still can't stand English class…

YChao- Well duh! That class is pretty much useless…

Chao- Not to mention mean!

"Talking."

"Thinking."

/Yami and Yugi's mind link./

Chapter 1: Lonely Memories

A young teen with long, tri-color hair was asleep on his bed. He began to stir as he felt uncomfortable what he was experiencing with.

Dream

The same teen sat on a wooden chair in his room by himself. Light from outside snuck in through the blinds, but was fading away. He sat at his desk, looking out his window, watching the sun set. The clouds began to look like cotton candy as the pink melted together with the white and yellow that complimented with the background of the sun setting into the horizon.

Everyone who was in his class was out in the city for a giant festival. The teen chose not to go because he had no one to go with. He did have a childhood friend who was a girl but the boy did not want to bother her. Both of his parents were out and his grandfather was busy working the shop to earn income.

The teen sighed in not only defeat but of lonesome as well. He longed to have a companion to teach and enjoy all types of games he had received from his family as gifts. However, everyone at school seemed to not be interested with playing along with a timid nerd.

He stood up from his chair and looked over at his room. Game boards, pieces, and other such objects were scattered around his place. Some of them required only one player but many of the others needed at least two or three people. He always had fun playing with his parents and learning new strategies from his grandfather. He was also able to have a great time with his female friend while eating snacks together.

The room began to look dimmer as the shadows started to grow and take toll over the light that slowly faded away. The teen stood there and did not bother to turn on his light after the sun had finally left his side of the world.

"What would happen if I suddenly disappeared…" he asked himself out loud to no one.

End Dream

Yugi awoke within his own bed with a startle. Light entered the room as the sun began to rise. He tried to sit up in his bed, but dizziness swept him back to his mattress. While placed his hand on his forehead, he slowly shut his eyes. He had repressed his memories of times before he solved his Millennium Puzzle. Gloom, guilt, and distress began to fill the young teen's heart. He tried once more to sit up, and was successful this time. He continued to hold his hand to his face as he leaned over slightly. It wasn't a nightmare he had suffered from; it was worse. The teen had a repeat of a memory deep within himself he wanted to forget.

/Something wrong?/ a deep voice filled with confidence and worry within Yugi's head asked. The teen knew who the voice belonged to so he did not panic. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his focus to his transparent friend. He smiled as he acknowledge his darker half; he was grateful someone was concerned about him other than his family.

"No." Yugi answered, "I'm fine."

Just then, Yugi's alarm clock went off.

"AH!" the boy complained as he lied back down into bed and covered his face with his pillow in an attempt to block out the obnoxious noise coming out of the evil box, "I didn't get the much sleep!"

"Come on," the spirit encouraged, "Time to get up!"

After a few seconds of the buzzing alarm screaming, Yugi reached over and slammed his hand down on his evil clock. Silenced engulfed the room. The teen sighed and agreed to finally leave the comfort and warmth of his bed. He left his room, went down the hall, and into the bathroom. He removed his clothes and took a quick shower.

He allowed the warm water to make contact with his flesh. The temperate of the water made his entire cold body tingle but the adolescent enjoyed the feeling of heating up. He closed his eyes as the water continued to run.

Memories from not too long ago entered into his head. Yugi flashed his eyes opened immediately. He did not want to have such feelings within him again. Quickly, he changed into his clean uniform and went back to his room. He dumped his pajamas on his bed then placed his treasure around his neck. As he did, Yugi sighed, "Another day."

"Another day indeed," agreed Yami as he appeared beside his small companion, "With teachers you don't like but friends you get along with well."

The teen smiled as walked downstairs and went out the door on his way to school.

Over at his high school, Yugi was greeted by Tea first. The two walked together to change their shoes and then go over to their first period. Although his subjects were long and tedious, Yugi enjoyed being able to walk into class and be with his friends he was able to make. They would snicker in the middle of class and sometimes were caught by their instructors, who usually accepted an apology.

Yugi sat at his desk and behaved the rest of the class period by listening to his instructor and taking notes. When class was over, Yugi continued to sit in his desk. His mind began to wander. He thought back to the time where he would sit by himself and play a few one player games to keep himself entertained. Back then, he wished he had someone to play with.

"Yug, you ready to go," a male voiced broke through Yugi's thoughts.

"Hmm," he mumbled as he looked up to see his blonde friend smiling. Yugi smiled back and nodded his head. Everyone gathered around the class's door and all headed back to Yugi's place. The petite adolescent shut his eyes; grateful someone was walking back to his home with him.

"Man, that test sure was tough!" Joey complained as he yawned.

"Which test was it?" Yugi asked.

"Science!" Joey stated bluntly but his tone spelled out his expression of his great dislike for the subject.

"You think every test is tough." Tristan mocked.

"I do not!" Joey spat back.

"Yeah, you do!"

"Not every test is multiple choice, genius! Sometimes it's fill in the blank!"

"Then name one test that isn't so tough! Bet you can't do that, huh!"

"Sure I can! PE! I can pass any test that involves physical strength!"

"Only a moron like you would say that!"

"Take that back!"

"No way! It's true!"

As the two argued, Yugi and Tea went on ahead. The female sighed and mumbled, "Those two."

Yugi only chuckled. His smile faded away as he thought back to the time before he could be able to enjoy hearing his two friends mock each other and occasionally have a fight over it.

"Yugi," the girl's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Huh? What?" Yugi asked as he looked over at his childhood friend.

"I asked how you think you did on that science test." Tea repeated her question.

"Oh, um… I think I did ok." Yugi smiled a calm smile.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Tristan called out as he and the blonde ran back over to their friends.

"That's what you get for being slow!" Tea teased as the group continued on their way to the Turtle Game shop.

"Grandpa?" Yugi called as everyone entered.

"Yugi," Solomon stated with a serious look on his face, "There's something you need to see."

Tense built up in everyone as they were all curious as to what was going on. The TV was on to a channel with news. Everyone took a seat and listen carefully to what the news anchors were reporting.

"Behind me," one reporter stated, "is Domino Hospital where a young boy was taken in as he fell into a coma. The patient is Mokuba Kaiba, younger brother to President and CEO of Kaiba Corporations, Seto Kaiba."

Everyone's eyes widen open.

"There has been no comments saying why the child fell into a coma and Mr. Seto Kaiba has refused to say anything about the situation."

Everyone was speechless.

xxx

A few hours before…

"Mokuba!" Kaiba bellowed as he tried to wake his brother up.

There was still no reaction coming from the younger sibling. Kaiba double checked to make sure his brother was still alive by checking his pulse and breathing as well as inspecting the body for any serious outside damages. He sighed and was relieved to see no scars or bruises.

However, Kaiba knew just because nothing was wrong on the outside doesn't guaranteed nothing happened on the inside. He took out his cell phone to call for an ambulance. When the task was done, he grabbed his younger brother's hand tightly as he clutched his cell phone within the grip of his other hand.

"Mokuba…" the teen said with anxiety and great concern for the only person he cared about.

He looked down at his brother's face that looked peaceful and relax. That was a trait that the older sibling had always liked. Memories from when the two were young began to pour into Kaiba's head.

Flashback

A young boy with brown hair sat by himself with a chess board beside him. Other children were running around, yelling, and causing a nuisance. The child kept to himself for he did not enjoy playing such trivial games with other kids who broke the rules. He had been in the same building after the death of his parents for awhile but he did not like it. He was told someone like him would leave the place soon but he chose to stay, not for himself, but for someone he cared for.

"Seto, what are you doing," a young boy asked. He looked down to see his brother on the floor against the wall.

"Oh, just fiddling around with these chess pieces," the older boy answered as he glanced down back at his game board. The young child took a seat next to his brother against the wall and pulled his legs closer to his chest. He squeezed his legs with his arms as he felt lonesome.

"Hey, what's wrong?" the older boy asked.

"I… I don't like it here," the younger boy admitted. The older one understood his brother's pain. He, too, did not like living in a place with other children who were rude and were taught no manners. He did not want to live here as well but knew deep down he couldn't leave.

"I want to go back… with Mom and Dad." the younger child stated. The older brother placed one hand on his sibling's shoulder for comfort.

"It'll be ok." he finally encouraged to keep both their spirits up, "We'll get out of here and we'll be there for each other."

The younger child smiled but the older one could see in his brother's doubt.

"What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"I think it might be best if you just allowed someone to adopt you," the younger boy finally said. The taller one's eyes widen with shock, "Mokuba! How can you say such a thing?"

The brother buried his head into his legs as he sobbed, "Because those parents wanted you! You're smart and I'm not! If you leave then you don't have to be with all these mean kids! You can have another Mom and Dad!"

The boy with brown hair was taken back with what was just said. He embraced his sibling and allowed him to cry.

"It's true," he agreed, "They would adopt me and not you but… even if I was with another family, I wouldn't be happy."

He then titled his brother's head up. The eyes were shiny as they reflected the light that bounced off and combined with the tears. The boy with black hair looked up to see his brother smiling.

"I wouldn't be happy without you," he finally said. The younger boy began to cry once more but this time he was grateful to have someone care about him.

The taller boy wiped his brother's eyes dried and said, "Come on, I'll teach you how to play chess."

End Flashback

The ambulance arrived and carried the almost limp body into the vehicle. Kaiba hopped into the machine as well and it took off towards the nearest hospital. The tall adolescent had to answer several questions by the medics but he did not take his eyes off of his brother.

"Did the patient show any signs prior to before we showed up?" he asked.

"No," Kaiba stated bluntly but truthfully.

"Is there anything like this from you're family's medical history?"

"No."

"Is he on any medication or have any known allergies?"

"No."

Kaiba thought back to more memories as the vehicle continued to race through town in order to arrive at its destination.

Flashback

Outside a young boy was being picked on by some older children . He fell to his knees crying because he was unable to stand up for himself. A taller boy with brown hair came rushing over and tackled the tallest kid bringing him down to the ground.

"I give!" the bully shouted. After the children ran away terrified, the older boy handed his brother a toy airplane, "Here you go, Mokuba. That'll be five bucks!"

"What!" the younger boy yelled confused. The boy with brown hair smiled and said, "Heh, I'm kidding!"

The two of them laughed then headed back inside as the sun was setting.

The brothers slept together and although the youngest of them was fast asleep, the older one was wide awake. It's not that he wasn't sleepy, he just had to be sure his sibling did not suffer from anymore nightmares. The vicious cycle had started after the two were sent to live with other children but stopped after the two were allowed to sleep together.

There was also a lot of things on the older boy's mind, "How can I help Mokuba out? He cares about me and I care about him but… I… I would be lonely without him. Those people who wanted me only did so because I'm so smart but that's because I was raised by Mom and Dad, who truly cared about us. Those people don't care about me."

The boy with brown hair turned to his side and watched his brother, "If they did then they would adopt Mokuba, too… Until he came along, I was lonely. Dad and Mom were the only ones who understood me. Everyone else assumed because I'm smart, I have to be mean. But that's not true! I care about people! I cared about Dad and Mom but I care about Mokuba the most!"

The boy with brown hair smiled, "I think Mokuba can read me better than anyone else. He seems to know what I'm thinking but I can't let him know that I'm a little scared, too. I'm the older one and I have to be brave. For the both of us… We both don't like it here and the people here are assholes. But, thank you Mokuba, for being my only friend."

End flashback

The vehicle arrived at the hospital and Mokuba was taken into the Emergency Room. No one else was in the room so Kaiba waited by himself. Like he always had. He was always by himself before Mokuba came. Even now, in his current state of owning a very successful gaming company, Kaiba still pushed people away. He was aware how many enemies he had and how they will hire people to try and lure him into a trap. Others only want to be around him for money.

"I pushed everyone away not only for my safety but for Mokuba's as well. People have and they will continue to take advantage of him. Every time something happens to him, I can't help but feel responsible for it." Kaiba's thoughts were interrupted as the doctors came out. The tall teen stood up with a serious expression that is constantly written on his face. The doctors, as well, had a serious expression their face.

"What is it," Kaiba spat wanting to know what happened to his only family member.

"Mr. Kaiba, I'm afraid I have bad news." the doctor stated. The teen could feel his heart race faster and faster as though it would burst from the anxiety he was feeling.

"Your brother, Mokuba Kaiba, fell into a coma," the doctor finally said.

Kaiba could feel his heart skip a beat as he heard the terrifying news. All memories of seeing his brother expressing his emotions overfilled Kaiba's memory in his head and his heart.

To be continued…

Chao- Dun dun dun!

Kaiba- What have you done to Mokuba!

YChao- Aren't you concerned about the fan girls reading your thoughts back to the time when you were cute?

Kaiba- What, you're saying I'm not?

YChao- Hey! Nonexisting asexual here!

Yugi- What about me! Where do I fall into all this?

Chao- Please review!