So this chapter is really long, but it didn't work to split it up, so just bear with me, please. I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

(Thank you, Krista.)

*************Chapter 7 *************

Later that evening when Yugi and Mokuba were off playing TF2, Seto debated whether or not to call Yami. He didn't want to come off as being completely weird and creepy, but he could use the chem project as an excuse. Finally making up his mind, he flipped his phone open, scrolling down to the very last entry in his contacts list. Before he could second guess his decision, he pushed send and waited tensely as the call went through. He answered on the fourth or fifth ring, just as Seto was beginning to think that he wouldn't.

"Hello?" Seto frowned. His voice sounded different...Kind of hoarse. Maybe he had a cold or something.

"Hi, um, Yami?" Goddammit, why can't I talk to this kid? He raged inside his head at the stupid way his words had come out.

"Yeah... who is this?" Yami sounded tired and a little disgusted, as if he expected this to be nothing more than a prank call.

"Hey, this is Seto- Don't hang up yet! Please!" Seto pleaded, worried that Yami would hang up the second he knew who he was talking to. "Listen, I'm sorry to call you when you're... sick," he paused, still doubtful of the validity of his excuse, "but we're doing projects in chemistry, and we're in a group, so I thought you might want to know." He then remembered to breathe.

"Oh... thanks for letting me know. Now good bye."

"No! Wait! Er, I mean, your brother is at my house, and I have to bring him home later anyway, so maybe we could at least choose our topic?" he knew he was grasping at straws, but he wanted to see that Yami was okay.

"What?! Why is Yugi at your house?!" Yami's voice rose in both decibel and pitch. Seto smacked his forehead.

"He's hanging out with Mokuba. Remember, my brother?"

"Oh... well, make sure he isn't home too late. Sooner rather than later," Yami demanded.

"So, do you want to work on our project?" It didn't hurt to be hopeful.

"I... don't think so. Not tonight. Bye." Before Seto could protest, he heard the line go dead. Well, they didn't have to work on their project, but Seto knew that something was up, and he wasn't going to leave without seeing Yami with his own eyes.

"This one, right here," Yugi told Seto as they stopped in front of a large house. Seto was surprised to see how nice the house was; most of the houses in Domino were mediocre at best, but this one looked to be almost on the same level as his own. Almost. Not quite. As he turned off his car and stepped onto the driveway, he tried to think of an excuse to go inside. Fortunately, Yugi saved him from that.

"Hey you two, come inside for a bit. You don't have to leave right away, do you?" Mokuba turned to Seto, putting on his most pathetic puppy-dog eyes.

"Please? It's Friday, so we get to sleep in tomorrow!" Pretending to be annoyed, Seto sighed heavily.

"Alright, we'll come in for a little while." Mokuba let out a shout of victory, and the two younger boys took off running into the house. Seto followed at a more reasonable pace, entering the house just in time to hear Yugi shouting.

"Hey, Yami! Come down here!"

"What do you want, Yugi?" Was the disgruntled reply from up the stairs. The smaller boy giggled.

"Just come here!" a moment later, Seto heard a door slam, and then the sound of someone walking very slowly down the stairs.

"What-" he stopped abruptly, his sentence ending in a gasp. Seto gasped sharply at the same moment; Yami's face looked terrible. His beautiful, delicate face was covered in dark purplish bruises and angry red scrapes. Both of his eyes had large purple shadows under them, as though Yami hadn't slept in days. Yugi seemed to be oblivious to the tension in the room as he chattered excitedly.

"Mokuba likes games too, and he's gonna go to the next game club meeting with me! And he likes all the same videogames, so we're gonna go play more!" with that, the two ran off, babbling incoherently about their "achievements." Yami glared at Seto, who was at a loss for words.

"What- what happened?" he asked softly.

"Nothing important. It was my own damn fault," Yami snapped. He sounded angry and defiant, but Seto could hear a slight hint of something like panic in his voice. He shook his head, refusing to accept that answer.

"Yami, really?" He took a few steps closer, stopping when he noticed Yami shy away from him. "Yami, just tell me what happened. I'm not gonna do anything to you... I just really want to know." The crimson eyes refused to meet his blue ones.

"Nothing happened, okay? Why do you want to know so badly? So you can just go spread more shit about me?"

"I would never do that. I heard people talking about you..." Yami tensed, as if he had heard this before and was bracing himself for the onslaught. "They were idiots. Narrow-minded, stupid, bigots. Yami, I'm... concerned. I..." He swallowed hard, not believing that he was really going to say this. He usually did not share his feelings unless it was an absolute necessity; although, he reasoned, it was necessary if he was to gain Yami's trust at all... "I...I...Ikindoflikeyou." There. It was out. Yami's expression would have been funny, if Seto hadn't been so concerned for his answer.

"No, you don't." Seto's heart dropped at the words. He sort of expected rejection, but still, it hurt. He'd never had any experience with this kind of thing, and this was the reason he found it best to isolate himself from the rest of the world. Yami's voice rang with defeat. "Don't even try that. It's already been done, and I'm not that stupid." Although he tried to hide it, Seto still picked up on the sorrow that permeated his words.

"Wha... yes, I do. I'm not just saying that to make you feel better."

"Pffft- make me feel better?" Yami scoffed bitterly. "Why would you want to make me feel better? Especially when you have this perfect opportunity to embarrass me, to hurt me? To expose me to everyone as the freak I am? Like I said, it's been done before, so just leave me alone." Seto's heart was breaking as the meaning of the other boy's words sunk in. How could anyone do that to someone?

"Yami, I swear to you that I had no intention of that. I don't even... I don't know what kind of sick fuck would do that to someone. You wanted to know why I keep 'following you,' as you put it? It's because I... like you. It's stupid, I know, and I've only talked to you, like, twice. Hell, you hate my guts, but I can't help it. I like you." His face was burning with embarrassment by this point, and although he was dying to look at Yami's expression, he couldn't make himself face the boy to whom he had just spilled his heart. After a long, uncomfortable silence, a small squeak made Seto sneak a glimpse at Yami. Immediately, he was next to him, unsure of how to comfort the silently sobbing boy.

"Yami, what's wrong? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... What did I do? Yami?" Seto was panicking by now. He didn't think he had said anything terrible to him, but he wasn't sure. Yami shook his head forcefully.

"No, no no. You can't mean that... please don't do this to me..." The anguish in his voice brought Seto to tears as well, and he was unable to control himself. The innocent boy in front of him had been subjected to God only knows what kind of pain; he had been so broken. He wrapped his arms around Yami as he too began to cry, babbling pathetically.

"Yami, I mean it, I swear, I'm serious, please believe me..." The two stood there like that, crying and holding each other, until the absurdity of their situation struck them.

"Wow," Yami muttered, wiping his eyes roughly. "We really are a mess, aren't we?" Seto laughed through his tears, managing to nod.

"So... so does this mean you'll talk to me now?" he asked in a pathetic sounding voice that broke at the end of the sentence. Yami glared at him reproachfully.

"How could I not, when you sound like that?" he asked, feigning anger that sent both of them into fits of giggles again. "Oh, god. We are special. Do you want something to eat?" Yami offered awkwardly, but Seto shook his head.

"Thanks, but I ate... If you're hungry, though..."

"No. Let's sit down..." Suddenly, Yami's knees buckled beneath him, and Seto had to move quickly to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Yami, what's wrong?" he gushed, upset. Yami shook his head.

"I'm sorry; I hate to ask, but can you, um, take me upstairs? The second room on the right," he asked Seto, his voice sounding small and scared. Seto was very careful not to lose his balance or run into anything as he carried the boy into a bedroom that must have been his. Seto set him carefully on the bed, not missing the way Yami winced whenever he was jostled. As soon as he was on the bed, Yami moved slightly away from Seto so that they weren't quite touching, as if afraid that the slightest contact was something to fear.

"Okay, Yami. Please, tell me what is going on," he leaned forward, reaching his hand forward slowly to not startle Yami. He very gently brushed the boy's bruised cheek, a flame of anger rising inside of him. "Who did this to you?" Yami averted his gaze. "Yami, you can trust me. I promise. I know you hardly know me, but please, please trust me," Seto begged.

"S-Seto... I'm sorry. It's so hard to..." Tears began to gather in the scarlet eyes again.

"Shh, shh; it's okay," Seto whispered, wiping them away before they could fall as he tried to offer some comfort. Yami covered his face with his hands.

"But why would you be any different than the rest of them? How-how can I trust you? Fuck, I don't know you from Adam, and you want to know everything about me? My darkest secrets?" Yami didn't sound angry at this point; rather, his voice was weak and weary, as if living were an arduous task that he didn't really care to complete. Seto closed his eyes and shook his head, lightly pushing Yami's hair out of his face.

"I... I don't know what to say that will make you trust me, and I don't blame you. But Yami, you need to tell me if someone is hurting you- it's just wrong, not to mention illegal. You don't have to put up with it."

"It isn't that simple, though... you think I haven't considered getting help? Lot of fucking good that did me. They won't step in unless they have hard evidence that it's happening. Apparently my word isn't good enough. And Yugi... I can't leave Yugi to get hurt..."

"Who's 'they?'" Yami clammed up immediately, apparently thinking he had said too much. "Is it protective services? Yami, did someone... close to you do this?" Yami didn't answer, so Seto took that as an affirmative. "Was it your dad?" Yami just curled in on himself tighter.

"Seto... please don't tell anyone about this... People already hate me enough; I don't want them to know how weak I am." Seto's heart broke into two at the thought of Yami's pain.

"Hey, you aren't weak. It isn't your fault." Yami shook his head stubbornly.

"No, this time it was. I... I should have... studied more..." His voice trailed off at the rage that spread across Seto's face. He flinched slightly.

"This was about you not studying?!" Yami nodded fearfully.

"That test that we took..."

"That... That's why you didn't want to have to get it signed..." Seto whispered, almost to himself. "Bastard!" He hissed suddenly, feeling terrible as Yami jumped violently. "Sorry! Not you, I'm not mad at you," He reassured him, tentatively stroking his hair. "Yami... what exactly did he do to you?" Yami shook his head violently.

"No, no, no! I can't talk about it!" He was almost hyperventilating by this point, and Seto tried frantically to calm him down. Slowly and gently, he reached for the other boy's hand.

"Hey, hey, it's okay! It's okay." When Yami had calmed down to the point where he was only trembling slightly, Seto tried again. "May I?" he asked as he caressed his wrist. After a moment, Yami closed his eyes and nodded. Seto very carefully rolled back his sleeve, pushing it up above his elbow. The soft skin was mutilated, covered with deep lacerations. "Yami, did he...?"

"No... That was... me." Yami sounded as if he would cry at any moment. Seto did something that surprised himself. He carefully lowered his lips to the wounds, kissing them softly.

"What happened here?" he asked, frowning, as he noticed the bruised, chafed skin of his wrist. Yami didn't answer, and on closer inspection, Seto could see the faint impression of the large fingers that had gripped him so tightly. "Yami, can I see the rest of your wounds?" Yami flinched backwards, fear showing in his eyes. "Hey, it's okay, Yami. I don't want to hurt you; I just want to make sure you're not hurt too badly." Yami wouldn't look at him. "Please?" Finally, Yami moved to remove his shirt, grimacing at the movement. Seto caught his breath, and Yami's cheeks flushed bright pink. Huge purple and black bruises covered his chest and back, and in a few places, the skin had been broken. There were marks similar to those around his wrists surrounding his throat and on his shoulders.

"Yami, this is... this is terrible," he hissed. Yami buried his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry... I-I know it's... ugly." Seto couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What?!? Why in hell are you apologizing?! You're the one who got hurt! Yami, you do not deserve this. No one deserves it, except maybe the people who do this kind of thing to people." Seto was breathing hard, almost shaking with the injustice of the situation. As Yami shifted uncomfortably, something caught Seto's eye that made his blood run cold. "Yami... how did this happen?" He asked as he lightly ran his fingers over the marks on his hips, dreading the answer. There were clear impressions of fingers as well as deep fingernail marks, as if someone had been gripping his hips tightly from the back. Yami buried his face in Seto's chest.

"Ee lmphfs mm." his voice was muffled by the material of his sweatshirt.

"Huh?" when Yami raised his face to look at Seto, there were tears streaming down his face.

"He loves me... he really does..." Yami sobbed. "He... he said that he loves me." Seto clutched the boy's frail form tightly to his body, rubbing his back and stroking his hair as sobs shook him.

"God, Yami. I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this, please try to believe me..." A spine-chilling thought occurred to him. "Yami... what about... Yugi? Does he hurt Yugi like this too?" Yami shook his head.

"N-no. Just me. I-I-I told h-him that he c-could do whatever t-to me as l-long as he-he didn't t-t-touch Yugi..." Yami was crying so hard that he could barely get the words out. Seto was beyond words as he protectively hugged Yami close to his chest. That anyone could even lay a finger on someone as beautiful as Yami (he blushed) was almost incomprehensible; to break his spirit... that was unforgivable. Yami suddenly jerked, violently pushing himself away from Seto.

"W-Yami, what's wrong?" Yami had stumbled off of the bed and now sat crammed into the tiny corner of the room. He hugged his knees into his body, his eyes shut tightly.

"Please, just leave me alone," he whispered hoarsely. "Don't... just... please. Don't try to help me." Seto was shocked, stuttering protests. "Really. Please, don't do this to me. No one else knows about this. Please, I can't... I can't. Because even if you are full of good intentions now, you'll still turn out just like the rest of them, and if I trust you with myself... that... I can't handle that." Seto quietly made his way over to Yami's corner. Ignoring his cries of protest, he bent down and scooped Yami off of the floor and into his arms. "H-hey! Put me down!" Yami flailed his arms weakly, but winced as pain shot through his body, and he lay still.

"Yami..." he refused to look at Seto's face, apparently becoming very interested with the carpeting. Seto sighed sadly, setting him back on the bed, where he made no effort to move.

"I just don't understand... why you would care what the fuck happens to me. So you think you like me; it will end up that I can't give you enough of what you need, and you'd just... go about your business like you never met me. I mean, I'm sure half the girls in Domino would hop in bed with you in an instant."

"No! No, I don't just want sex. I wasn't even thinking of that, I swear." Yami rolled his eyes. "Yami, this is terrible. You've been treated like shit for no reason, and you've got yourself convinced that it's your fault. That is... so wrong. None of this is your fault. Yami, you deserve to be happy." Once again, Yami had begun trembling. It tugged at Seto's heart, but he had to say it. "Yami, I don't want you to get hurt. I... I don't know how I can protect you, but if you ever need... help... please call me. I'm dead serious. I absolutely will not purposefully do anything to hurt you. I... I want you to be happy..." he trailed off, unable to express the sincerity of his words. He waited as Yami fought (and failed) to hold back a few sobs before he turned his tear-streaked face to look at Seto.

"As much as everything I have ever learned tells me to just... run away from you, I-I want this so badly. I... I want... oh, God. I don't even know what I want. I want to feel like... like I'm not a mistake..." He shook his head, another sob escaping. "Which is stupid. I know it isn't right, but I feel like I don't deserve to even want to be happy. I said, I know it's stupid," he shushed Seto as he opened his mouth to protest. "but... I'm so tired of living. I want to feel like... someone other than Yugi actually cares whether I live or die..." He turned to face Seto, his expression serious, his red eyes searching. "But I swear that if this goes badly... If-if you turn out to be like them, and just use me and then throw me away, I don't think I can handle it... It will kill me. I-I don't mean that as a threat, it's just that- that I truly believe that. I want you to know how much of my shit you'll have to put up with. If you're gonna change your mind and flake out on me after a while, then just leave right now. Or better yet, just kill me. That would make things so much easier..." Yami was working himself up again, his breath coming quicker and quicker, his voice breaking in anguish. Seto clutched him tightly once again.

"Hey, Yami. Even if things don't work out between us...er...well...romantically... I won't abandon you. I'll help you in any way I can, I swear. Okay?" Yami nodded, although his expression clearly showed that he was anything but convinced.

"You-you should probably go..." He whispered. He looked exhausted, and Seto didn't want to push him any farther today than he already had.

"Alright. I'll go get Mokuba. And Yami," He took one of Yami's hands in both of his, giving the boy his most earnest look. "I truly care about you, so call me if you need anything, no matter how unimportant it might seem." Yami looked surprised, but nodded, biting his lip.

"O-ok. Thank you Seto..." he had practically shut his door in Seto's face, but Seto couldn't really complain. He hurried to call Mokuba, who was reluctant to leave (we just unlocked the newest spy weapon!), said good-bye to Yugi, and drove his brother home. Only when he was in the comfort of his own room did he reflect on the evening... he sighed. This would be... challenging... to earn the boy's trust. Of course, that was okay, because Seto Kaiba never turned down any challenge.

A/N: so there was this one time, when my boyfriend was over, and I was feeling really emotional and started crying. Then he got all upset and started crying, and then we started laughing and crying at the same time. It was hilarious. Anyway, that's where the part in this chapter comes from.

Also, thank you all for reading and reviewing. I love you!!!

~alex~