Seto walked into his bedroom and almost turned right around to exit.

Anzu was slumped over on the wide lounge near the TV, deeply asleep while two glasses of wine sat in front of her on the glass coffee table, right by her knees. It appeared she'd set them down and leaned back to pass out.

Shizuka was also sleeping deeply, half-hanging off the bed with her legs still touching the floor while she had her head laid down on Yami's shoulder. Yami's hand was resting loosely against the back of her head with a protective air while he was peacefully tucked in, the covers up to his stomach, his chest rising and falling.

God… I hate them, but they love him, Seto palmed his face tired and walked himself into the shower.

He tried to make a ton of noise, but when he came out, he tried not to feel dismayed when neither woman had moved, and Yami had only turned over on his side, making Shizuka's head rest flat on the mattress, inches away from a pillow. His pillow. God…dammmittttttt…

Keeping the towel draped around his neck, he palmed his phone out to text Isono before he changed his mind and walked down two rooms to find Joey.

The door was half-open, so he elbowed it aside to see Joey sitting by the couch, watching TV with the lights all on their full brightness while he had a bag of chips tucked under one arm, looking completely awake. Maniac.

"Hey. Come get your sister," Seto said gruffly, staying by the doorway and wincing at the bright lights, so he thumped his fist on the sensor to dim them. "And turn it down! Why do you need full brightness at 1AM? Stop wasting my electricity."

"Ey sorry bud, didn't know you could change the brightness," Joey replied seriously, and Seto felt like punching him. For real this time.

"Come move her for me. She's asleep on my side of the bed!" Seto hissed.

Joey jumped to his feet and ran at him with his fists raised, "I'mma kill you—"

"Why? Because I'mgay?" Seto snapped as he shot his arm out to grab Joey by the wrist in an iron grip, dragging him down the hall and pushing him into his bedroom.

Joey skidded to a halt and fought Kaiba's grip half-heartedly, his heart skipped a solid beat when he saw her laying in an uncomfortable position on the large bed with her legs still hanging off the side while Yami's spiky hair was on the other side, his shoulders rising and falling gently.

Anzu was passed out cold on the couch, even snoring lightly. Gosh.

"I'ono… Let's just leave'r," Joey whispered anxiously, not wanting to disturb her because he knew she was sleeping off the jet lag. "You all just got off a plane not too long ago. Did you even sleep?"

"I didn't!" Seto growled, swaying on the spot with exhaustion. "It was straight off the plane, then into interrogation….and now this. Do something. You move her."

Joey rolled his sleeves up and marched over to the bed.

Seto crossed his arms and watched Joey bend down, lifted both her legs up in one sweep and gently set them into the bed, even lifting the covers to tuck her in without disturbing Yami on his side.

There.

Joey leaned back with a proud huff. She didn't wake up from that.

Seto clapped a hand to his face so hard, his forehead stung.

He said to move her…out! Not tuck her in! Holyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy sh—

"Alrighty g'night," Joey muttered as he brushed past the CEO.

"Excuse me! That's my fucking bed! Where do I sleep?!" Seto ranted, hating the cop with all his might. "I said to move her! Away!"

"You got 800 thousand rooms with a tonna beds," Joey replied with a shrug, yawning loudly and making Seto turn his head away in disgust to avoid his gaping mouth. "See ya tomorrow, Rich Boy." And he walked back into the guest room to shut the door politely.

Jeez.

Fine! I'll sleep in Mokuba's room then! Seto raged as he trudged up the stairs and edged into Mokuba's dark room.

There was a snoring lump in the bed, so not wanting to disturb his little brother, he threw himself down on the couch and almost forgot to dig his phone out of his pocket to set it aside before he crossed his legs and closed his eyes, letting his breath out in a tight sigh.

Exhausted…

Mokuba woke up to his alarm buzzing, so he slapped it off and dragged himself out of bed to get ready for school.

When he came out of the shower to get dressed, he was shocked to see Seto sleeping with his legs crossed on his couch, so he moved quieter as to not disturb him, his heart warming as he wondered why Seto wanted to sleep with him today.

Maybe the NYC thing was scary.

He got dressed and walked past Seto on the couch, seeing Seto's phone blinking with a low-battery light, so he picked it up to plug it in on his desk, leaving a sticky note there to say, "phone plugged in on my desk, don't freak out, luv u, see u later."

He stepped out of his room to head down the steps, pausing to peek inside Seto's room and was shocked to see Shizuka fast asleep on Seto's side, while Yami's spiky hair was hidden somewhere behind her. Auntie Anzu had kicked her heels off and fallen asleep under a blanket on the couch.

Sleepover success….?

Pleased with this thought, Mokuba jogged down the stairs to hop into the waiting limo, enjoying the bright sunshine that blasted across his legs.

It felt like today was gonna be a good day.

A phone was buzzing.

Alarm.

Shizuka pried her puffy eyes open with effort and felt them fight back and stay melted together but she forced them open and dug her phone out from under her hip to silence it, realizing… someone had moved her into a bed.

She remembered she cried herself to sleep last night on Yami's shoulder, thanking him profusely for helping her.

So if she fell asleep like that…was this the same bed?

Letting out a nervous squeak, she sat up quickly and saw Yami wake up beside her by opening his eyes way too fast, and his pupils sharpened when he stared at the chandelier glimmering through the sheer curtains above them.

….Kaiba Mansion ceiling.

So that meant whatever he heard was not a threat…currently.

"S-Sorry…!" Shizuka whispered as she palmed her face in embarrassment and tried to inch out of the bed, mortified to find herself under the same sheet as him.

Yami slowly rested the back of one hand over his eyes and took a deep breath, willing his heart to stop humming in his ears. He needed to stop having 'sudden waking' moments, but he knew no matter how hard he tried to relax, it was an issue he needed to live with.

"Good morning… It's too early," Yami said evenly, hearing birds chirping up a storm outside the thick windows. That meant it was before 8.

"That was my alarm for class. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you..." Shizkua mumbled as she pushed the covers off her legs and slipped out of the bed. "H-have a good day. Thank you for…comforting me last night."

"Please feel better," Yami replied with his eyes still closed, telling himself to drift off again.

He heard her move into the bathroom and shut the door quietly, and he let out a sigh.

Last night, he recalled the girls had helped him up the stairs and into bed. Then Shizuka broke down crying, blubbering her thanks and expressing how genuinely terrified she was through all of it, and how thankful she was that he noticed she was in distress.

Anzu sat with them for a moment and brought her a glass of wine, hoping it would calm her down, but it only made her cry harder. Shizuka kept thanking him, and Seto, for flying her back safely and even killing the men in front of her, which she swore 'healed' her because it meant she could sleep well knowing they couldn't come back for her. Anzu chose to stay quiet, and Yami wasn't sure if it was mainly because of drunkenness or if she was withholding out of politeness.

Either way, he'd fallen asleep, still half-drunk, while stroking the back of her head reassuringly, telling her he'd gladly pick up a weapon for her anytime…even if retired. He didn't guarantee accuracy but promised he would move himself to help.

She'd fallen asleep after that, her tears staining the mattress near Seto's pillow.

I guess he slept somewhere else, Yami thought to himself as he drifted off slowly again.

Seto was so kind, allowing her to sleep peacefully without moving her.

She was still young, so hopefully this incident wouldn't traumatize her too much.

Shizuka quickly washed her face and tiptoed out of the room, aiming for her stacks of new clothes which had been left outside on the veranda, but received a text from Seto halfway down the steps that said, "had your new outfits brought in and boxed, ready to go home w you. Kitchen 3rd floor."

Pleased, she walked down another flight of steps and walked towards the brightly lit open area where the kitchen was sprawled artfully in the corner with a brick accent wall, and sure enough, familiar boxes were left atop the white leather bar stool.

Reaching for one, she jumped in shock when she noticed Seto sitting on the other side of the bar island, dressed handsomely in a stiff, gray suit and a blue tie, sipping coffee while reading something on a propped up pad.

"O-Oh, good m-morning..." Shizuka flushed in embarrassment and lowered the box onto the ground, moving fast because she was going to be late.

Seto almost choked on his coffee when he noticed her face was puffy, and his stomach curled.

Okay, that was why she fell asleep in that weird position.

She'd been scared shitless about the trafficking ordeal and clung to Yami last night, so that made him feel a bit better about giving up his bedspace. He'd received a note from Mokuba this morning, and his little brat of a brother never wrote anything down physically.

It was always a text. So the note was touching.

Everyone had been changed, it seemed.

Bunching the clothes to her chest, Shizuka dashed off to the nearest bathroom and wondered if the puffiness was noticeable. Either way, there was no time to worry about it. She needed to get to class…and oh shit, all her stuff—her books, her homework, laptop, everything—was gone.

Well I can…access parts of the textbook online with my new phone, Shizuka frowned as she slipped the socks on and tried washing her face again to get rid of the puffiness. Ugh whatever.

When she came out of the bathroom, Joey was sitting at the bar too, ordering up a huge breakfast from a man wearing a chef's hat, so Shizuka self-consciously raised the bundle of clothes higher to hide her face.

T-Too many people seeing her puffy face.

Joey grinned at his sister who was happily digging through the boxes of new clothes.

"Hey sis, g'mornin. Sleep good?" He asked loudly, and Shizuka nodded anxiously, her ears burning with embarrassment as she folded the worn clothes off to the side inside the box.

Sleeping beside Yami last night made her feel extra safe….

Seto finished his coffee and ground his teeth.
She looked horrible…like she'd cried herself to sleep. Was Joey blind?!

"You're not going to school looking like that," Seto said gruffly, palming his phone to call his stylist. "And are you going to lecture without your laptop, books, and everything?"

Shizuka kept her head underneath the tall flap of the box as her cheeks burned.

GOD. Seto remembered everything they talked about on the plane. It was kind of scary and annoying that he was bringing that up now.

"What? Whatssamatter with what she's wearin'?" Joey growled, thumping his fist down on the white marble counter and glaring at the CEO. "Keep yer opinions to yerself."

Seto pinched his brow and felt a headache coming on hard. "I'm not talking about her clothes…you imbecile."

He got up to grab a hot towel like the text from his stylist recommended, and heard Joey calling after him, "ya gonna call me names first thing in the morning' huh?"

"Joey stop," came Shizuka's soft voice. "He's being nice."

Damn right I am, Seto growled as he ran the towel under hot water and walked back to the kitchen to throw it on a plate and into the microwave.

While it was heating, he pushed his tablet over to her and noticed how she was sitting with her shoulders drawn forward, making her hair hang down the sides of her face…to hide it.

"Re-buy your books, and you can have one of my old laptops, okay?" Seto offered, pushing the tablet closer to her until it almost bumped her arm. "And let's order breakfast. What are you eating?"

"Nothing, I'm going to be late…" she whispered, and Joey narrowed his eyes, watching this interaction.

"You can skip your first two lectures," Seto insisted, his heart leaping into his throat as he took up the tone he used with Mokuba. "You have enough brains to play catch-up. You're not showing up looking like that. Have some dignity. A stylist is coming in 20 minutes. You can re-buy your books in that time, and I will double check to make sure you've bought every single one, and the correct ones."

The breath left Shizuka's chest in a tight whoosh, and she raised her head to stare at him incredulously. W-WHAT?!

"You think I'm stupid and don't know my own textbooks?" She challenged, feeling a fire burn inside her chest, oddly cheering her up.

"No. I think you're going to try avoiding my generosity," Seto shot back cleverly, and he tapped two fingers on the edge of the counter impatiently. "Show me the list in 30 minutes. Don't make me call your school."

Shizuka blinked and her stomach dropped to her feet. W-WHY?!

Why would Seto embarrass her like that?!

"I'm starting to understand why you're super uncool," Shizuka replied poisonously, and Seto gave her a cold smirk, jeering, "yeah, I was never popular. Glad you're catching on."

He turned around to take the plate with the hot towel out of the microwave and slid it towards her with a firm nod, "put that on your face for 10 minutes. It should help with the puffiness. Then buy your shit. I have a conference call."

And he walked up the grand staircase, leaving Joey sitting thunderstruck beside Shizuka, who was steaming from the ears.

"I hate him so much right now," she breathed, snatching up the hot towel to bury her face in it and letting out a silent scream into the soft microfiber. She understood why Mokuba kept saying 'Seto is the worst. You'll see. You think him assigning you the bodyguard for one month is bad? Just wait. He'll do something even more uncool, you won't even believe it when it happens, and he won't give you a choice. He's evil.'

She'd laughed him off, thinking it was impossible. But now, sitting here with the hot towel on her face on the verge of tears again, it was very possible.

Yami was better by far. By faaaaaaar.

Yami wouldn't threaten to call her school to double check her textbooks for her classes!

What kind of paranoid helicopter babysitting was that? Insane. Evil.

"You okay?" Joey asked sympathetically, giving her a warm back rub, and he received a nod from her, but she didn't look up from the towel. Aww… Baby…

A plate of eggs and sausages slid under his nose and he snatched up the utensils rolled in a napkin with a triumphant crow, "NOICE. Breakfast for a champ!"

And he dug in enthusiastically.

Finally feeling a bit better, Shizuka pulled the towel away from her face and talked at it.

"I'm glad you're my big brother, Joey," she said with finality.

Glad he wasn't like Seto. Or Yami.

"Love ya too, you're the best," Joey nodded furiously, his cheek pouched with food. "Imagine havin' Mokuba as a lil' brother. I saw him give the Interpol officer a new vein. Right here." He pointed at his temple, and Shizuka let out a tinkling laugh.

They were joined by Anzu who sleepily padded into the kitchen and winced at the brightness from the sun streaming in through the tall windows.

"What's up…oh, hey, how are you feeling?" Anzu noticed Shizuka palming a hot towel in both hands, and her heart went out to her. "You okay?"

"Yes. I'm okay," Shizuka announced, setting the towel aside and reaching for the menu that was beside Joey's elbow. "Let's order something yummy. I'm feeling like a salad. You?"

"Coffee…and sure, a salad," Anzu nodded and moved towards the coffee maker, stopping nervously in her tracks when Isono appeared and reached for it first. Um…

The manservant bowed and filled another silver cup that had the KC emblem on it. He set it on a tray and then put the pot back with a nod, "go ahead," was all he said, and he walked up the stairs to serve the master.

Joey was eating noisily.

She filled a cup for herself and sank into the spot beside a big box of Shizuka's new clothes.

Shizuka was delicately eating salad while shopping her textbooks on Seto's tablet.

Isono came back down and stood at attention beside the chef, dutifully waiting to assist the guests.

Anzu let out a sigh and stared down into her cup, speaking what she thought everyone was silently thinking.

"So. These sleepovers. How often are they going to happen?" She aimed this question at Shizuka, but Joey answered her instead.

"Every damn day if I didn't hate him so much," Joey said with his mouth full. "Lemme get a glass of milk." He slid off the stool and walked over to gape at the fridge that had a beautiful glass door lit with soft white LEDs. "Gotta get one-a these for the office," he said, grinning over his shoulder.

Anzu gave him an exasperated smile. "I'm serious."

Shizuka didn't look up from the pad while she talked, "Seto and Mokuba made it clear that I'm welcome any time. Yami hasn't said anything outright, but I cried on his shoulder until we both fell asleep last night so I think that he's fine with seeing me stay over more often."

Joey paused to take that in, but then nodded fervently. "Sure sis. I feel safer if you wanna hang out here some more, ya know?"

Anzu gripped her mug tighter and didn't say anything. Sure, she agreed… And would love to spend more time with Yami, because she had a feeling he was kind of lonely.

Because how did retired hitmen make friends?

They sat together in comfortable silence that was interrupted briefly by Isono who announced the arrival of the stylist, and a woman with a giant rolling suitcase arrived, with two bodyguards helping her carry another one behind her, and Shizuka was made to sit on a pop-up chair in the middle of the room, away from the food, while the woman got to work on her and struck up friendly conversation.

Upstairs, the women's laughter woke Yami up with another jolt, and he quietly closed his eyes again, cursing himself. His month of therapy had gone down the drain.

Time to let Seto know about it.

Dragging himself out of bed, Yami stood in the shower and stared at his own feet, his body heavy with exhaustion. The shoulder he used to steady a gun hurt.

His elbows ached every time he bent them. His knees were sore too.

Tight muscles crept down to give him pangs in his ribcage, and Yami hissed in pain.

My body has had enough, Yami thought nervously as he stepped out of the shower and threw on a robe, aiming to call the masseuse. At this rate, he might need physical therapy.

Massages wouldn't cut it anymore.

He yanked out his phone and saw a few update texts from Isono and Seto.

ISONO_Phone1: guests are still here, don't be alarmed (3rd floor)

55 minutes ago -

ISONO_Phone1: Anzu and Joey have left for work. Shizuka has stayed

I see, Yami nodded as he checked Seto's texts.

SETO: in a call, need anything, text first

25 minutes ago -

SETO: call finished. Cops left thank god. Gonna lift some weights b4 I head in

SETO: oooh shit… forgot to mention, we called in a personal trainer? Just a warning don't freak

SETO: we vetted him, I showed you profiles remember? Then we facially scanned them together?

SETO: just come up if you're awake. If not, catch you later when I return from the office

Okay, up to the gym I go, Yami thought as he shed the robe and put on some clothes, hating how his thighs ached every time he moved.

The pain always hit him at the end. Sometimes a day later, other times, two.

It only further reminded him that he was done. Really done.

He walked up the stairs to enter the gym and heard the rhythmic clanging of the weights connecting, and two male voices, one unfamiliar and the other belonging to Seto, asking questions.

"…That was 15 reps. Other side?"

"Yes, you'll want to set your feet apart more…" the man's voice was gruff, so Yami hung by the door, catching a glimpse of the man in the reflection of the mirrors. He was burly, tall, and had light blond hair. Friendly enough…

Yami lifted his hand to wave, thinking the man had seen him in the mirror, but no, he wasn't seen. The man was standing beside Seto with a watchful eye while he did his reps on the leg lift machine.

Seto hissed in pain and the man encouraged him with a steady count, "you're good. 8… 7… you're almost there… 6…"

Yami stepped into the gym and dared to glance up at the ceiling.

It had been fixed wonderfully. Long, wooden slats had been used to artfully reinforce where the holes had been, and then strategically covered with hanging light fixtures. Nice.

"Oh, your friend you were talking about," the personal trainer turned to give Yami a nod, and introduced himself with a wink. "I'm Keith. Nice to meet you."

Keith, Yami tried to remember it, and nodded stiffly in response.

"You can start on arms," the man suggested, his eyes nailed to Seto's ankles which were slipping from the position they were tucked in on the leg machine, and he moved a hand out to nudge the CEO's legs back closer together, earning another furious hiss. "You've got it. 4… 3… Hey, you wanna go with a 2kg ball?" He looked over his muscular shoulder to aim this question at Yami.

"No. No thank you," Yami chuckled and held his hands up defensively. "I am extremely sore."

The man nodded and walked over to the sports massage table and patted the hard surface with a rap of his knuckles. "Hup hup, kid. Let's take a look and maybe we can figure out what you're doing right. Or wrong."

Yami's eyelid twitched. A hard massage table meant pain.

Not that he didn't already feel pain on a soft massage table…

"Scared? Don't be," the man let out a loud laugh, shaking the blond hair out of his eyes. "I'm just gonna move you around and maybe see if you're doing a lift wrong. Otherwise, you're good. You can refuse."

"Yami, do it," Seto called over the sound of his weights hitting the stack, and he let it down with a huff, groaning as he hung his head between his legs, huffing. "Fuck."

"Hydrate and you're on the 5 kg ball," the trainer said happily to Seto, rapping the table again with his knuckles, aiming a question back to the spiky-haired man. "What's your name, friend?"

Yami grit his teeth and reminded himself to be pleasant. "Yami."

"Alright, Yami, c'mere," the man coaxed, noticing a bit of muscle on Yami's bare arms. The man was conveniently wearing a breathable tank top.

Wild spiky hair appeared under his nose as the man sat down stiffly and gave him a look with dark eyes, and the trainer kept a pleasant smile on his face, but felt goosebumps run down his arms.

"How old are you? I'm going to move your arms up first to the side, and I'll apply pressure here," the man inched his thumb up Yami's forearm, and Yami grit his teeth in pain, barely able to reply through a shaky breath, "…27…"

"Ah, I'm your senior by 3 years," the man winked again and he lowered Yami's arm, his thumb going higher and then digging into a tender point underneath Yami's shoulder from the back.

The jolt of pain was so harsh, Yami let out a rough cry and tried to jerk his arm out of the man's grip, but his entire arm went numb and weak, his fingers tingling as a result of the sudden shock. His gun arm…

"Whoa buddy," the man said darkly, moving his hand up higher along Yami's entire shoulder with a gentler touch. "One second, okay? Can you…" he held Yami's wrist and stood right in front of him, holding his arm out horizontally then reaching forward to dig his thumb into the crook of Yami's inner joint of his shoulder near his chest, earning another pained shout as Yami doubled forward and let out a weak groan. T-This man was torturing him on purpose…!

Seto stared incredulously, never having seen Yami behave this way before. Was he okay?!

"Just gonna hold your hand here," the trainer said calmly, sounding like a doctor while he gently weighed Yami's right arm in his grip and slowly raised it for Yami, seeing him wince, and then stop wincing when the arm passed his ear.

The trainer then lowered the arm slowly and noticed Yami's wincing started right when the arm was chest-level.

"Okay, you've torn something before, doing this lift too much or too fast," the man said calmly, lowering Yami's arm to give it back to him. "Left arm is the same, I assume?"

Yami blinked rapidly and shook his head tightly. No. Maybe not.

He dared to set his wrist into the man's much larger hand and received the same treatment. Pain every time the man tested all the points where he moved the most, and a tight ball of muscle had somehow formed around the joint of his left elbow.

Pure pain when the man dug his thumb into it.

I-I'd rather be shot! Yami gasped as his eyes watered when the man slowly released the pressure and gave him a concerned frown.

"If you're comfortable, can you take off your shirt and lay chin-down over here, my friend," the man said stoically, the cheerfulness leaving his voice the more he talked.

Seto had stopped working out and gotten up to stand at the head of the massage table, watching Yami lay down reluctantly after taking off his shirt with a wince and he watched the personal trainer frown and then pad his fingers down Yami's arms, shoulder blades, the middle of his back, and up his neck, earning more pained yells that were muffled by the headrest pillow.

Completely shocked, Seto stepped back further and watched the trainer move down Yami's legs and move his legs down in a walking motion, and then mutter something in concern when Yami's knee was bent, and then straightened again with a slow hiss. Yami was shaking and trembling, clenching and unclenching his fists while the trainer asked him to breathe slowly.

Yami inhaled. He held it.

He knew this was all his near-death experiences catching up to him.

He was now wishing he had died.

Firm fingers pressed into a tender spot on his neck, and he was instructed to move his head left and right.

Pain.

His arms were raised and tucked behind his back.

Agonizing pain. From the fronts of his shoulders, his chest, and all down his back.

"Alright, sit up and I'm gonna…ask you some questions I hope you wanna answer," the man said with a bead of sweat dripping down his temple, and he palmed it away with a rough motion, giving Seto Kaiba beside him a tense nod.

Yami sat up dizzily and reached for his shirt, unable to put it on because his arms were numb, so he merely draped it around his neck.

"Think you'd benefit from seeing a chiropractor," the man said with a dark frown. "And seriously consider a schedule of physical therapy. Stop lifting whatever weights you're doing immediately. The routine you're doing is breaking you down. I identified several tears that have healed into scar tissue, and re-working that would help manage your pain."

Yami blinked steadily and felt himself floating far…far…away.

Yes…he knew that…

Seto had to sit down, still hearing the trainer's voice echoing in the spacious gym.

"Dunno friend, I'm no doctor but I work with professional athletes and, I gotta say," he shook his head with a tense sigh. "Are you retired or something? Cuz it's time. What was your sport?"

Yami opened and closed his mouth. Hunting. People.

No, he had a more believable story.

"…Military," was what Yami managed to say, and the trainer's eyes widened knowingly.

"Shoot or brace especially with your right side?" the man asked, and Yami nodded stiffly.

"You've got a pulled muscle all down here," the man reached around his own rib cage and patted his muscular chest, digging two fingers into his own shoulder muscle joint near his armpit. "And then tight rotator cuffs. You must be a fast draw."

"Not at all," Yami lied, and the man grimaced.

"You've got the aches and pains of an ex-marine," the man said gruffly, looking away to avoid eye contact because the angular unblinking stare was disturbing him. "I'll recommend you some elbow braces and a knee brace for your left knee. I'd say stay off it, and start with light physical therapy on your right side to balance things out. Felt a crooked rib in there too, my friend. Might need to get that fixed. It'll help your muscles realign underneath."

Yami grit his teeth. Thanks Marik, for that one.

"Nothin' else I can do other than give you a recommendation. I don't personally specialize in physical therapy," the man announced, standing with a huff and jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the machines. "Mr. Kaiba, let's get you started on pectorals."

Seto stood slowly and rested his hand gently on Yami's shoulder, seeing him raise his head to give him a pained look.

"I said I was done. I wasn't kidding," Yami said quietly, and Seto gave him an equally pained smile.

"You are done. I'll make sure of it," Seto replied, and he walked away to get on a machine with the trainer on his left, instructing him where to place his hands.

Yami lowered his gaze again and stared at his own hands laced together. With any luck, he could heal well in the next two years and enjoy his thirties with Seto, like a regular retiree.

I'll fucking do it, Yami thought furiously to himself as he hopped off the table and walked out of the gym, thinking he needed to do some thinking.

And just heal.

Author's note:

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry I've been uploading chapters sporadically when usually I know I upload exactly on a certain day and time...and that's because recently,

(CW: PET DEATH, mild graphic description)

.

.

.
my darling bunny was sick (so sick that she couldn't walk and suddenly lost the use of her back legs). All of that scrambling and panicking, getting her new medicine, getting xray and biopsy, then making sure she was comfortable in her new paralyzed state, and while also making sure her partner wasn't feeling depressed, was a blur during all of February.

My darling bunny girl fought hard and hung in there all the way until a small, nerve damage seizure finally took her life.
She died as naturally as possible, because her entire body was shutting down slowly, so much that I had to feed her special liquid food and even help her use the restroom.

She was a very sweet, loving girl, leaving us at 80 years old, naturally turning blind at age 50, remarried to another bunny also at age 50, then popped out her hip at age 60 (shallow hip sockets due to genetics), and healed from that nicely for two years before finally living out her life to the fullest.

I'm grateful she stayed so long to comfort me, because she was really a treasure connected to my soul, and she took a piece of me with her when she left. I will never forget what a comforting and wonderful bunny she was to me and helping her through her end times was such an honor, I'm grateful she trusted me until her last moments and accepted my love.

Thank you for reading this far, and thank you for being my friends from near and afar, supporting me when I'm going through this sad time, and I'm crying again as I write this.

I appreciate your kindness as my yugioh fanfiction friends so much, I really have no words, only thankful tears.

Thank you, again.

-Ugli

*A new chapter for this story will be posted next week at the usual time and day (march 15 2023)