A/N: Thanks so much for all of the reviews last chapter. I know a few people are still reeling from the whole guardian thing but hey, we can't just sit around, now. It's time to get some action back into the story. Or start to, anyway. And for anyone who really enjoys bronzeshipping or tendershipping, I've posted a new story concerning those two pairings. I haven't gotten a whole lot of feedback on it, but I'd appreciate some if anyone is looking for something extra to do this weekend. Otherwise, enjoy!

They cornered him later, as he'd known that they would. He was standing at his locker, which was fortunately now on the bottom row instead of the top, which he could barely see into, and quickly taking the books he wouldn't need for the night out of his backpack so that they could be shoved into his locker in whatever manner they would fit. Yami had asked that they meet after school, and Yuugi had agreed, if for no other reason than he didn't think he could face going back to the Kame Game Shop all by himself. Ryou or Malik would have gladly accompanied him, but he didn't feel right in asking them to do it, either. It would be upsetting for all of them to visit the shop without Sugoroku's cheerful presence, and his friends had more than enough on their plates as it was.

So there he was, bent over his backpack, when a hand fell on his shoulder. In spite of the fact that he'd known it would be coming eventually, Yuugi still jumped about a foot in the air and managed to crack the top of his head against the metal of the locker door in the process. Stars burst in front of his eyes and he barely managed to hold back a pained groan as, almost instantly, a headache started to throb in his temples, and just when he'd finally been feeling more recovered from Maiden of the Moonlight's attack, too. Clasping a hand to the aching spot, he backed out of the locker and turned, squinting up at the people standing behind him. His heart sank, though he was not really surprised to see that Mazaki Anzu, Hiroto Honda, and Otogi Ryuji were surrounding him.

"Rebecca-san's not with you, is she?" he blurted. It was the first thing that came to mind.

Anzu smiled. "No, she's not," she answered, sounding more than a little amused. "Are you alright, Yuugi-kun? You hit your head awfully hard. Do you need to go see the nurse?"

"I'm okay," he said once the ringing in his ears had faded a bit. "You just startled me, that's all. What did you want?"

"I – we – wanted to talk to you about what happened last night," Anzu said quietly, leaning towards him a little. "I tried to talk to Yami-san earlier, and he completely brushed me off." She bit her lip, looking anxious and pained, and twisted her hands together. "I don't think he wants anything to do with me right now."

"He's just upset," Yuugi said, glancing away from her. "He'll get over it."

"I certainly hope so. Now, do you mind if we have a chat?"

Yuugi considered the request. His last class had let out about fifteen minutes early, so he had anywhere from twenty minutes to half an hour until he had to meet Yami. He suspected that his other half would probably be annoyed if he knew Yuugi was even considering talking to the "guardians", but honestly, he was curious as to what they might have to say. And really, there couldn't be any harm in just talking to them, right? Slowly, he nodded, softening further when at the sight of the look of relief that spread across Anzu's face. It was obvious that Yami's rejection had cut deep, which was likely exactly what the boy had intended.

"We'll go outside," she said quickly, not wanting to give him a chance to change his mind. "Shizuka-chan and Mokuba-kun are waiting for us."

"Alright," he agreed, slamming his locker door shut. "Lead the way."

The three of them, especially Anzu, were all too eager to do just that, quickly leading him down the hall and outside, across the school yard, and down the street. Yuugi hesitated to go too far away from the school, and was relieved when he realized their target: a small playground that was just a few doors down from the school. Sure enough, as they approached, he could Shizuka and Mokuba waiting for him. Mokuba was wearing a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and Shizuka was dressed in a skirt and coat. They were sitting on the swings and having a quiet discussion with their heads close together. Upon closer perusal, he could tell that Shizuka had been crying, and that sight made him feel bad for her. Jou had been so angry that he hadn't spoken a single word to his sister in almost two days, perhaps fearing what he might say if he did. The situation was clearly upsetting her.

"Hey, you came!" Mokuba exclaimed, rising to his feet. The swing bobbed gently behind him as Shizuka glanced up with a surprised expression. "I didn't think that you would."

"Why not?" Yuugi asked, genuinely curious.

Mokuba blinked. "Nii-sama is pissed. So's Yami. I guess I figured that you would feel the same way."

Yuugi gave a half-shrug in response. In all honesty, there was just no room for much anger inside of him. Not with all of the emotions that he'd been going through during the last few days. "I never said I wasn't angry," he said, just to avoid letting them off the hook altogether. "I just thought that you deserved to have someone who was willing to listen to your explanation."

"And we thank you for that," Anzu said, folding her arms. She didn't look particularly grateful, though. More determined. "Yuugi-kun, you have to convince Yami-san and the others that we meant no harm by being guardians and trying to protect you all. Even if we didn't tell you, it's what Isis asked us to do. We were just following directions."

"Did it ever occur to you to just not follow them?" He couldn't resist asking, and didn't even feel guilty when he saw Anzu flinch at the question. "You could have just told Yami that Isis had approached you and he might have understood. Maybe he would have even welcomed your help. He's pretty fair, you know."

"How would you know? You've only known him for about five minutes!" she snapped, blue eyes blazing.

"Anzu!" Otogi said sternly, a clear warning in his voice when Yuugi's eyes widened at the comment. The green-eyed boy shot her a glare before turning back to Yuugi. "Look. None of us wanted this job, okay? Acting as a guardian to some kid who happens to be the reincarnation of a pharaoh is not my idea of a good time. Isis, Shadi and Rishid made it seem like things would be over with sooner if we made your yami and his foolish friends seem more vulnerable by not having any protection whatsoever." He put a hand on his hip and swept his hair over one slender shoulder, looking put-out. "Obviously, that never ended up happening. I tried to tell you people, but did you listen? Pegasus is no one's fool."

"All of your business deals with him tell you that?" Anzu muttered.

Otogi rolled his eyes. "I keep telling you, that's entirely separate! Business does not care if Pegasus is a psycho trying to take over the world or collect the Millennium Items. As long as Industrial Illusions exists in the here and now, with a good reputation, I have to deal with them, okay?"

Yuugi looked at Otogi with more interest. Although he had met Shizuka and Mokuba, and had attended elementary school with Anzu and Honda, he didn't know the other boy at all. This was the first time he'd ever even seen Otogi up close, and he couldn't help feeling a little intimidated by the overwhelming amount of confidence practically oozing out of Otogi's every pore. His long, silken black hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail, and his emerald green eyes were heavily lined with kohl to emphasize them even further. Added on to that were the tight leather pants and the red shirt that showed off most of his muscles, and he noticed that several girls walking by had slowed down to stare and giggle. Surprisingly, however, if Otogi noticed the interest, he was ignoring it.

"You know Pegasus?" he asked, giving his full attention to the boy and ignoring the others entirely for the time being. "How?"

"My family owns the Black Crown," Otogi replied, naming the extremely popular chain of stores that had begun popping up around Domino and the surrounding areas about five years ago. It had nearly put the Kame Game Shop out of business. He added, "And I invented DDD, or Dice, Dungeons, and Dragons. Pegasus was interested in purchasing the rights to the game from me." Shooting an annoyed glare at Anzu, who just rolled her eyes, he continued, "Industrial Illusions is one of the biggest gaming companies around. The only one more important was Kaiba Corp. I had to take the chance while I had it."

"You didn't have to - " Anzu began, clearly willing to continue what was obviously an old fight.

"Enough!" Amazingly, the shout came from Shizuka, who had risen to her feet, revealing green-flecked eyes that sparkled intently with tears. "Please, you two, we don't have time for stupid fights. This is totally ridiculous. It's bad enough that everyone is angry at us, and that we left the school un-protected in order to have this talk, but if we fight amongst each other, we're doing exactly what Pegasus would want. So just stop it!"

A guilty look flickered over Anzu's face and she took an unconscious step back. "I'm sorry, Shizuka-chan, Otogi-kun," she mumbled. "I'm just..." She trailed off and shook her head.

"Otogi's sorry, too," Honda said, looping an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders. Otogi opened his mouth, perhaps to protest, and Honda quickly covered it. "Yuugi, basically what we're trying to say is that we would all appreciate it if you could help explain to the others that we were just trying to do our jobs. We were asked to protect you, but at the same time, keep our distance. I'm only friends with Jou and believe me, that was a lot harder than it sounds. I can't imagine what it was like for the others." He cast a quick look at Anzu, Shizuka, and Mokuba. "Believe me when I say that none of us meant to... to lie for so long."

"I know," Yuugi said quietly, though he wasn't quite sure what else to say. If his grandfather had been trying to protect him, then he was too grateful to the man to even think about being mad. Ryou was too busy thinking about Anzu's cryptic comments about his sister to be pissed, but Bakura was fuming enough for the both of them. Yami was just plain furious, and Malik and Mariku were unusually quiet, which was likely a sign that neither of them were too happy, either. Seto had retreated into an icy cold silence, and even the perpetually cheerful Jou had been giving everyone the silent treatment. None of that could be erased with a few words, no matter who those words came from. "I just don't know what to tell you. I'm not sure Yami will even want to listen to me, much less Jou and the others."

"You're his hikari," Mokuba said flatly. "He'll listen. You're all he's thought about for the past several years."

A flush came over Yuugi's cheeks. "Just because I might be his hikari doesn't mean that Yami will automatically listen to me," he stated defensively. "He is still his own person, you know, and that's exactly why he's so mad. If he's supposed to be the Pharaoh, then why aren't you treating him right? You all keep making decision for him… and not just for Yami, but for everyone! That doesn't seem right to me. And I don't see why it should be my responsibility to smooth things over when it's your own fault. Even if you were just listening to Isis or Rishid, you should have known better! You're supposed to be friends with Yami or Jou or whoever, you know," he added, looking around at the group. "Surely you must have realized that this was coming!"

His little speech caused a heavy silence to fall over the group. No one was quite willing to meet his eyes after that, and Yuugi just sighed to himself. He could see things from their point of view in a way, but he also knew Yami was feeling. The emotions and vague senses that had been floating through their bond for the past few days told him the darkness was actually rather hurt by what had been going on behind his back, though he'd never be willing to admit it. Yami was completely out of sorts because he didn't know what his place in the world was supposed to be. That much had been obvious from the little comments he made here and there. But no one else seemed to willing to understand where they were coming from, and that just made him more annoyed than anything. It must have shown on his face, because Shizuka stepped forward.

"Please." She reached out and laid a hand on Yuugi's arm. Her eyes were filled with such pleading that he couldn't look away. "I can't stand it when Onii-chan is angry with me. I know that it's not even the fact that I'm helping to protect him… It's that I was hiding this from him. We don't keep secrets, the two of us, and I assure you that it's been very difficult for me. I just want the chance to talk to him and explain. He won't even give me that, right now."

He sighed, unable to deny that quiet plea. "I'll try, okay? I'll talk to Jou and maybe he can talk to Seto." Yuugi glanced at Mokuba, who looked relieved. "But I can't promise they'll be understanding. And as for the rest of you… Fix your own problems."

"Yuugi-kun!" Anzu exclaimed, sounding wounded. "Why won't you help us?"

"Because I think you're the only one who can do anything about it," Yuugi answered calmly. He'd never really liked Rebecca, only tolerated her for his grandfather's sake, so finding out that she had been lying to him – or at least, keeping the truth from him – all along wasn't a huge deal. But Yami had been fond of Anzu, and had even felt a certain amount of guilt over not being able to return her feelings. Now he felt like she had been playing him all along, and for someone like Yami, that was a huge blow to his pride. Anzu was the only one who could smooth things over between them, and if she wasn't willing to put in the effort, then no one would be able to help her. "If you really like him that way, Anzu-chan, and you really want him to speak to you again, then you have to be the one who goes the extra mile to fix things. It won't mean anything coming from me."

"Thank you," Otogi muttered, draping an arm around Yuugi's shoulders. He stooped a little so that he could speak directly into Yuugi's ear. "We've been trying to tell her that for the past two days. She seems to go a little around the bend when it comes to your yami. I'd watch out if I were you."

In a flash, Anzu's depressed expression vanished. She turned a murderous glare on Otogi for the implication. The boy's eyes widened and he took a single step backwards before he whirled and fled, dashing back in the direction of the school and presumed safety. Anzu took off after him. Honda put a hand over his face and sighed, shaking his head slowly before he ambled after the two of them. Shizuka giggled and wiped a few of the tears off of her face, while Yuugi stared after them in astonishment, realizing that perhaps he didn't know Anzu as well as he'd thought. She had apparently changed a great deal.

"She won't... hurt him, will she?" he asked nervously.

"Nah." Mokuba waved a hand. "Anzu-san and Otogi-kun fight like that all the time. Otogi-kun takes a special kind of pleasure in being able to set her off. Thanks, Yuugi. This means a lot."

"Really, thank you, Yuugi-san," Shizuka added softly, giving him a tiny smile. "I just... If you can get Onii-chan to listen to me, I can take it from there. We both can." She glanced at Mokuba.

"I'll do my best, but Jou really loves you, so I wouldn't be too worried," Yuugi told her. He could well remember how destroyed Jou had been when Shizuka had been taken from him in elementary school. For weeks, the blond had wandered around the school with an utterly lost look on his face, like he hadn't been quite sure what he was supposed to do now that his sister was gone. There was no way that Jou would be able to give her the silent treatment for much longer without breaking; frankly, it was amazing he'd lasted that long.

"That's right," Mokuba said with a grin, sliding an arm around Shizuka's slender shoulders. "All we have to do is make him sit down long enough for you to give him the puppy eyes, and he'll melt all over the place."

Yuugi smirked, remembering his own experience with Yami. "I'd say that's an accurate description," he agreed. The argument between him and Yami had certainly ended the instant Yami caught sight of his puppy eyes. He was actually kind of proud of how fast the reincarnated Pharaoh had crumbled. At that thought, he checked his watch and realized that it was about five minutes past the time that the school would have let out. That meant Yami was probably looking for him, and he wouldn't be pleased if he heard that Yuugi had left the building with Anzu, Otogi, and Honda. Finding out that there were guardians around had only served to make Yami more protective, not less. "Do you mind if we head back to the school now? I'm supposed to meet with Yami."

"We'll walk you back," Shizuka said instantly.

"You don't have to - " he began.

Mokuba said firmly, "Yes, we do. If something happened to you, Yami would kill us, and I doubt even Nii-sama or Nii-chan would be able to stop him."

"Fine." It was easier just to give in. Yuugi hitched his bag higher and started walking back towards the school. Shizuka and Mokuba fell into step beside him, one on either side. Both of them appeared to be on alert, though they were very subtle about it, which he appreciated. It was nothing short of bizarre to think that there was an evil psychopath out to steal his Millennium Item, or worse, if he tried to stop the theft. He hadn't forgotten the stunning set of bruises that Ryou had received from Samira, or the spell from Tsuki that had nearly killed him. Some part of him appreciated their presence, even if it was strange to have guardians who were so young.

"How are you and Yami doing, Yuugi-san?" Mokuba asked finally, scuffling his foot against the ground. "Are you... getting along well? I only ask because I know how hard Yami can be to get along with," he added in a rush when he saw the blush on Yuugi's cheeks. "I don't mean to pry, it's just... He and Nii-sama are too much alike, sometimes, and I know it can get frustrating. The last time I really had a chance to talk to you, you didn't even want to admit that you were his hikari. So I just thought I'd ask."

"It's going fine," Yuugi said, looking down at his feet. "It's... weird. A couple of weeks ago, I was just a normal kid trying to solve the Millennium Puzzle." His hands moved to cup the Puzzle, and he gazed down at the golden object silently for a long moment, gathering his thoughts. "Suddenly, my whole life has completely changed. I... I like being with Yami, but it's..."

"Overwhelming?" Shizuka suggested gently. "That's to be expected for all of you, Yuugi-san. You weren't born into this like Yami-san and the others were, and even they're having a hard time. It will take some time for you to find your place."

Whatever he might have wanted to say completely fled his mind when he looked up and saw the school. The building wasn't actually there anymore. It was a... cloud. A dark, stormy, violet-black cloud that was practically oozing a feeling of wrongness. His skin prickled at the very sight of it, and a sense screamed into his mind that he should be running in the opposite direction as fast as his legs could take him because he couldn't really feel Yami anymore. Instead, he took off towards the school, startling Mokuba and Shizuka, who looked after him with confused expressions until they caught sight of the cloud.

"Yuugi, stop!" Mokuba yelled, racing after him. He caught up to the older boy just as Yuugi would have run straight into the cloud and caught Yuugi's arm, jerking them both to a stop.

"Let go!" Yuugi ordered. "All of my friends are in there. Ryou and Malik are in there!" And so was Yami, a tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered. He cringed and grabbed Mokuba's hand, trying to force him to release his grip.

"That's the Shadow Realm," Shizuka said, breathing heavily as she stopped near them. She bent slightly, placing her hands on her thighs as she panted. "It's a very dangerous place for normal humans to go because they lack the magic to open a portal back to the regular world. So at best, you might get lost and just spend an eternity wandering around without being able to find your way out. At worst, if a Duel Monster caught you, they would probably kill you. You'd be sent to the graveyard and you won't come back."

"Right. That's why you should stay here, and Shizuka-chan and I will go in and see what's going on," Mokuba said.

"No way. I'm not a normal human, after all," Yuugi pointed out. He stopped prying at Mokuba's fingers and settled for scowling at the two of them. "I'm a hikari, remember? And my yami is in there. Without me and the Puzzle, he doesn't have nearly enough magic to do anything. I have to get to him." His heart was pounding, and he felt useless, just standing there.

Shizuka looked hesitant. "Yuugi-san... the Shadow Realm is an even worse place for a hikari to go," she said worriedly. "You are light... and that realm is the absence of that. It is darkness, but it doesn't have a balance. It's an absence that searches for light. I don't think... I know it could swallow you."

He couldn't quite repress a shudder at the thought, but it didn't lessen his determination. "The Puzzle will protect me," he said with a confidence that he didn't really feel. "I'm not going to let Pegasus win this."

Mokuba and Shizuka exchanged doubtful looks. It was obvious that neither of them were happy with the idea of Yuugi going anywhere near the Shadow Realm. But it wasn't like they could really stop him, either, especially when Yuugi decided to take matters into his own hands. Without warning, he jerked backwards, hard enough to make Mokuba stumble. His arm came free, and before Mokuba could grab him a second time, he plunged into the dark purple-black cloud, leaving them behind. Swearing under his breath, Mokuba jumped up, grabbed Shizuka's hand, and ran after him.

GMA

Because they were in the same class as Yuugi, Ryou and Malik also had the last fifteen minutes of school to themselves. Malik remained behind with their teacher, but Ryou went up to the roof. It wasn't exactly a place that held good memories for him, but he needed some fresh air, and he knew that it wasn't a good idea to leave the schoolyard without Bakura. There was no telling when the next Duel Monster was going to show up. Almost unconsciously, his hand went up to his cheek, where the lingering bruising from his last encounter with Samira was still vividly painted across his pale skin. The livid purple and blue splotch, faded to a splotchy yellow at the edges, had gotten him more than a few concerned looks at school. He'd offered up a lame story about running into a door that no one really believed.

"Okay, so I suck at lying, sue me," he muttered, leaning against the chain link fence. His eyes were drawn to a familiar head of red, gold, and black hair. It was Yuugi, leaving the yard with Anzu and two boys Ryou didn't know. He briefly wondered if Yami knew and suspected that the other boy was unaware. No doubt Anzu was trying to work her way back into Yami's good graces through Yuugi. Ryou doubted that it would work, but he couldn't fault the girl for trying.

A chill ran down his spine and he shivered, wrapping his arms around his stomach loosely. It was steadily growing colder outside, he noticed... and was it just him, or was the air growing hazy? Ryou blinked and then rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was losing it. The world actually seemed to be growing darker. He looked up at the sky, wondering if there was an eclipse than no one had mentioned, and was alarmed to see that the sun and sky were actually fading away. No – a mass of something was forming. Dark as ink, cold as anything, and with the same kind of feeling that he'd gotten when Samira had hugged him. His mind flickered back to that moment when Bakura had gotten rid of Samira by sending her into a world of black, a world of shadows, and fear shot through him.

He spun, intending to get back into the school before the shadows took over completely, and found that the door to the stairwell was gone. Ryou stopped, his breathing coming in low, harsh gasps as he stared at the spot where his salvation had been. Suddenly nervous, he took a single step backwards and looked around. The world had gone completely foggy and dark, so dark that he could hardly see his hand when he held it up in front of his face. Fear tingled down the back of his spine and he shivered, realizing that he was alone. Against his will, he found himself remembering the expression of abject terror on Samira's face when she fell into Bakura's trap.

"Oh God," he muttered under his breath. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, like he'd entered a twisted version of winter. "Hello! Can anyone hear me? Hello!"

His voice almost seemed to echo for a few feet before the sound was abruptly cut off. Wincing, Ryou started to walk, holding his hands out in front of him, half-expecting to trip over something he couldn't see at any moment. There was no way to tell where he was going; he'd gotten completely turned around, and for all he knew, he was about to walk right off of the roof. That thought was enough to make him stop instantly. He stood completely still, his heart pounding so hard that it was beginning to physically hurt. Where was he supposed to go? Was he supposed to just sit there and be a sitting duck for whomever or whatever decided to stumble by and kill him?

He sucked in a sharp, frightened breath, feeling very much like a sitting duck. "Bakura, where are you?" he whispered. As much as the older boy annoyed and vexed him, he would have given just about anything to see Bakura walk out of the shadows right then. "Please - can't anyone help me?"

Someone giggled. Ryou tensed up even more, his breath coming in quick, short pants as he looked around desperately, wondering where the mischievous sound had come from. He squinted, straining his eyes in an effort to see through the murky darkness. A sharp pain in his shoulder made him yelp. At the same time, something swept his feet out from under him. The ground of shadows was still fairly hard, as he discovered when he landed flat on his back. It knocked all of the air out of him, and for a couple of minutes, he just laid there, gasping harshly, while the sounds of what was unmistakably a battle came through the air from where to his left. Flinching, he finally managed to roll onto his side and sat up, clutching uselessly at his shoulder.

"Who's there?" he demanded, searching blindly. "Show yourself!"

A low sound, like a sigh - and then she was there. Ryou blinked up at her, his mouth open with shock. She was fairly tall, much taller than he remembered, with the same soft, white hair that had plagued them both as children. Her deep maroon eyes twinkled mischievously and her lips formed that familiar smile. It was her clothing that was throwing him off. The left side of her body was dressed as an angel, complete with a single white wing, while the right side of her body was dressed as a demon, with a leathery bat wing. A heart had been painted over her chest, with the left side red and the right side deep purple. It was so odds at with what he remembered, and yet it fit, too - she who would turn on the tears to get him in trouble one minute and then smile sweetly the next.

"A-Amane?" he said finally, dazed. "Onee-chan... is that you?"

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