"Tea, the reason I'm keeping you here is because the others by now, have tight feelings of angst towards me- they won't be able to listen to reason." She looked astonished; it was hard for her to believe Yugi had agreed to let Yami control him.

"Who am I talking to, Yugi, or Yami?"

A sorrowful expression appeared on Yami-Yugi's face, as he answered, "Yami. Tea, I won't keep you locked up in here, I swear it. You will be treated with care, love, and equality. You will have your own room, and will be able to visit any part of the palace, except the throne room and my bedroom. Of course, if you ask me if you want to enter the throne room or my quarters, you will be allowed. I've already contacted your parents, and they know where you are. So please, don't be so sorrowful about staying here."

Tea seemed okay about everything, then, which surprised Yami-Yugi, gave him a friendly hug. "Yami, I'm sorry I screamed at you like that earlier; I do care for you."

Blushing, Yami-Yugi accepted the hug, and then said to her, "I forgive you Tea, and I'm happy to know that you care." Expecting for her to say something, he was surprised to see her let go so quickly.

She had a confused face, and then said to him, "Yami-Yugi, when you said that, it was in your own voice, not Yugi's! Yami, it was in your voice!" A confused yet shocked expression appeared on Yami-Yugi's face, as he turned away from her, hands behind his back.

"Tea, I need to be alone; I need to think things through. I'm going; the guards will show you your room." He immediately walked out the moment he was finished talking, leaving Tea with the guards.

When Yami-Yugi walked out, he didn't even notice Bakura was next to the door, spying on him and Tea. Tea also didn't see Bakura when the guards escorted her to her quarters. When Bakura made sure no one else was around, he tapped a button on his wristwatch communicator.

"Seto Kiaba, I believe I found out what triggers Yami and Yugi to separate."

*Huh? Bakura, you know what will separate Yami from Yugi?*

"Yes, it's when Yami feels care or love towards Tea."

*What!? That's insane! Are you sure about this Bakura?*

Bakura was sneaking back to his bedroom, and locked the door behind him. He got settled into bed, then said rather quietly, "Yes, and this is why. I was just spying on Yami-Yugi and Tea; Tea apologized to Yami-Yugi, and gave him a friendly hug. When Yami-Yugi spoke, he was speaking in his own voice, in Yami's voice- not Yugi's!"

*That's...that's strange. Why would something as stupid as that, separate him from Yugi? Well, good work Bakura for finding that out right away. In the morning, I want you to keep tabs on how Yami-Yugi and Tea interact with each other. I predict that Tea will want to talk to Yami-Yugi, since she won't really have anyone else to talk to. Also, keep an eye on how Yami and Yugi interact with each other, that is, if they can.*

"Yeah, I will don't you worry. Until I find out more information, I'll talk to you later."

*Later.* Bakura hung up the call, and that was that.

Later that afternoon at Joey's house...

Joey, Tristen and Yugi's dad were all talking to each other about how they view what's been happening to Yami-Yugi. All sitting together in the living room, Tristen seems worried, but definitely not as much as Joey. Yugi's father seemed more frightened than worried about his son.

The air in the room felt tense, which made Tristen uncomfortable to say, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've got a bad feeling about the future, but specifically, Yami's future. I see, hard times for him in the future, struggles."

There was a pause, and then Joey began to slowly say, "You're right Tristen, complications are ahead of us, and we can't do much about it." Joey glanced at Yugi's father, who seemed as though he just needed to relax; take a breather from it all.

"Excuse me, but I need to get some water." quickly said Yugi's dad, so he went to the kitchen and got a glass of water. Tristen was thinking about Tea, then said rather loud, "Hey, shouldn't we somehow contact Tea? Why is Yami keeping her at his palace?"

Joey thought on it, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know Tristen, but knowing Yami he won't treat her badly. I just wish we could see how she's doin, y'know?" Now yawning, Tristen nodded his head in agreement. Tristen glanced at the large living room window, focusing on the hard snow that was outside. Yugi's dad returned to the living room then was standing in front of both of them. He felt the need to express what he was feeling to them, so he did.

"Joey, Tristen, I've known you two for as long as I can remember. Whatever may happen to my son or Tea, I know I can count on you boys to be there to help them. Even if you're not with them right now, you are with them in spirit and friendship."

The slightest bit of sorrow appeared on Yugi's dads face. "As Yugi's father it's my responsibility to keep Yugi safe from harm, yet I failed to keep him safe from Yami. What makes matters worse is that I had no idea he even had the millennium puzzle, more or less a spirit around him while I was on my business trip. I didn't say really much of anything at the palace because I was too frightened and didn't know how I could help my son." He bit his lip and his eyes were tightly shut as he turned away from Joey and Tristen.

They both looked at each other rather solemnly, and then Joey stood up and said to Yugi's dad, "Mr. Moto, it's not your fault that you couldn't do anything. We all wanted to help Yugi, but we couldn't because Yami practically trapped us, only letting us see the coronation. We couldn't even hear what they were talkin' about and same vice versa." Mr. Moto turned to Joey, feeling somewhat better from his empathetic words.

"Thanks guys. I really appreciate it. By the way, I'll be heading home now. My dad is at home resting, so I'll just be taking care of him and getting my at home job stuff done." He walked to the front door, grabbed his briefcase and hat, and walked out the front door, shutting it roughly.

An odd silence was between Joey and Tristen; neither of them really knew what to do about Yugi, or Tea. The only thing they did know is that long, hard times are ahead of them. As of what mental state Yugi will be in the next time they see him, that's far beyond what they can expect.