A/n it's been so long! The chapter kind if goes a bit downhill because I realized I put a whole bunch of info into this one chapter. Ultimately became a downfall because I became super impatient for this chapter to be over! Hopefully next chapter will be better... enjoy!

Edit: idk what happened but on my end this chapter both disappeared and was published. So I'm going to republish this?? The fifth chapter was ready and I suddenly lost progress. Idk what happed so we will see.

I edited some things anyways so uh... here we go! I'll write up the fifth chapter again ;-;

Yami couldn't sleep. Not that he needed to, but he could at least rest similarly to it. Yugi was snoring rather loudly, though that wasn't the cause for Yami's lack of sleep.

He sat at his throne in the depths of his mind and closed his eyes. He sighed, attempting to relax and rid himself of such an odd feeling.

He felt so empty.

Yami knew so many things but just couldn't remember anything. He remembered Suzuka, he remembered her memories, and even the moments where she taught him a new game. He remembered the feeling of having existed, of when they met, but he couldn't remember a single thing about himself outside of her.

"Yami?" A familiar voice echoed. He turned towards the direction.

"Yugi? What's wrong? Why are you here?" The tired boy put a hand at his chest.

"I felt really uneasy. Are you alright? I feel doubt." Yugi stepped forward before Yami decided to rush to the boy's side. After all, this room wasn't exactly the safest spot.

"I'm alright. How did you get here anyways? It's dangerous in my mind room." Yugi shrugged.

"I don't know. I kind of just... followed the rooms?" He shivered. "Gosh it's so cold in here," he chuckled. "Come on, let's go to my mind room!" He smiled to hopefully brighten Yami's weary thoughts.

It did.

They eventually made it to Yugi's mind room before deciding on playing a small game of random puzzles. While they could've played some duel monsters, it was clear Yugi wasn't quite ready.

"Gosh Yug'," Jounouchi shouted. "You look exhausted!" Yugi yawned, confirming Jounouchi's statement.

"Yeah, is everything alright?" Anzu added on. Yugi blinked slowly before comprehending what his friends had asked.

"Oh, yeah. The other me wasn't feeling very well so we decided to play games all night," he yawned. "I still haven't won yet..." he mumbled before falling asleep.

It was short lived after the bell rang and woke him up. In came Shio but she looked rather annoyed.

'Hmm' Yugi thought. 'I wonder what's up?'

"You look like someone ate your last pudding," Honda chuckled at Shio. They gathered for lunch in their respective classroom.

While he tried his best to lighten the rather glum mood, a sleepy Yugi and an annoyed witch, it ultimately failed. Yami instead took over for Yugi for the time being, as clearly, he couldn't even focus on eating, something he loved to do.

"Now who are your last pudding?" Yami smugly added on to Honda's remark.

Shio sighed.

"I'm exhausted." Yami perked at the odd statement. Witches don't get exhausted, unless it's an energy (magic) related issue.

"Used too many spells?" She shook her head. "Then... someone taking your energy?" She shook her head again before resting her head in her hands.

"I'm human."

. . .

"Huh?" They all uttered.

"What do you mean by human?" Anzu asked.

"Well," she raised her head and leaned back. "It's a side effect from being sealed for so long," she yawned, "and as a result everything is out of wack. My reflexes and magic are essentially gone for the time being. I'm basically human despite my immortality. Believe me, I've tried."

They ignored the grim implication and instead focused on the odd situation.

"And believe me when I say that sleep and hunger were the last thing I prepared for in this war." Shio clicked her tongue. "I'm just glad Kasari has her magic right now. She's taking over my responsibilities for the time being. But that just means I'm screwed for, well..." she paused.

"If you want, you can stay with me for a bit," Anzu offered. "I live in a small apartment, but it should suffice. And for food," she thought for a moment, "I guess I can pack some stuff. But I'll be honest, I hardly have time for my own lunch." Shio shook her head.

"That's more than enough. Thank you." Yami stayed somewhat unresponsive, as he wasn't entirely sure of how he should respond.

"Human?" Yami repeated. "You're... you... I mean, what?"

"Why so shocked for? I was human once you know."

"Yes but-,"

"You were WHAT?!" Jounouchi shouted, gaining multiple stares from around the room. "When?!"

"In my first life. I was a human who hunted demons." The group's jaw dropped and simply sat in silence, only the sound Yami chewing and the distant chatter of the other students in the classroom being heard.

"You being human just doesn't feel right," Yami continued his statement.

"You're telling me." She clicked her tongue.

Thus, ending the very normal lunch at Domino High.

Suzuka followed Anzu on her way home, feeling rather peculiar about spending the night at a friend's house. She certainly hadn't done that in lifetimes.

"So how long do you think you'd stay as a human?" She shrugged her shoulders, not really knowing the answer. Suzuka hoped it wouldn't last for more than a couple days.

"Anywhere from a couple days to about a week or so. It really depends." Anzu thought for a moment.

"Ah, I'm not too sure if I can house you for that long," she explained. Suzuka shook her head.

"All good. Thank you though. I only really need a night to get everything together and hopefully Kasari can help me out." Anzu unlocked the door to her apartment.

"No problem! It's just my mom is out for a trip with my dad but she's coming back in a couple days." She showed her to the guest room. "Here, you can stay in this room. I can get you some clothes to sleep in. Do you need me to wash your uniform?" Suzuka walked in the small yet cozy room.

"Sure. I only really have the one uniform for the time being." She turned to Anzu. "Thank you," she smiled. Anzu smiled back.

"Go take a bath and I'll leave clothes for you on the side. While you wash, I'll wash your uniform."

"Will do."

Hey Yami?' Yugi thought. The pharaoh peeked to see what the boy wanted.

'Yes?'

I was wondering, since Anzu won't have time to pack Suzuka lunch, I was thinking of bringing something small for her to eat. Do you know what she likes? Yami thought for a moment before chuckling.

'You know, something she really enjoyed back when she was human, was frozen strawberries and blueberry jam' Yugi paused as he repeated that sentence in his head.

"Frozen strawberries and blueberry jam?" Yugi said out loud to make sure he wasn't mixing up words. "Interesting," he muttered. He knew fresh strawberries and cream were common as well as strawberries and chocolate, but why two berries with one frozen fruit and one in a jelly form?

Now it wasn't exactly the weirdest combination, but more so something he just didn't expect.

"Okay, well I need stuff for my own bento, might as well get a snack for her too." Yugi put on his shoes and bid his mother and grandpa farewell as he headed towards the grocery store.

The next morning, Suzuka looked a bit more lively but just as annoyed. When art class rolled around, she was once again paired with Yugi.

"I guess we're working with charcoal today," Yugi exclaimed. He hated drawing with charcoal but loved the texture and feel of it. It was almost like working with sand, a weird statement no one in his friend group understood.

"A portrait with charcoal," Suzuka raised a brow. "Interesting." They each got their sketchbooks and started to draw.

"So how was your first night being human?" The witch smudged something on her paper before responding.

"It wasn't half bad. How distasteful it is though for humans to waste hours of their life just sleeping. The number of things I could do in that time is just comical." She continued shading. "Though it was pleasant. To be able to shut my thoughts and to rest my body. I can't remember the last time I was able to do that."

Yugi tried to focus on her features as he glanced down at his sketchbook. But her words were the only things he could focus on.

"What's it like being a witch?" A question he never thought he'd ask, escaped his lips. She took a moment to think before answering.

"Exhausting." She looked up to examine his features before looking down and continuing. "Witches and demons are at a constant war. On top of that, I have my own enemies and things I must do to ensure everyone's safety."

Yugi finally drew a few lines.

"Kasari is my stand in for now, but since she can't control time, it's taking far longer than it should." The boy perked up and was about to ask another question. However, Suzuka turned over her sketch book. "Done."

The sketch was rough. Yet it had these defined lines of a boy, his spiky hair, and a sketchbook. The shading and smudges looked as if the boy was put under the spotlight. When Yugi put his finishing touches, he looked down at his own piece.

Suzuka was drawn from the side as a woman who was praying. However, upon closer inspection, she looked as though she was being strangled. Yugi felt something sink inside as he started to feel unwell.

Why had he drawn her like this? Why?

When he was about to show her, she had gone up and left. The bell had rung, and Yugi was left confused.

Lunch rolled around and Yugi seemingly forgot about the feeling he felt in art class. Everyone sat around the desk and brought out their food. Suzuka sat, expecting to just sit and starve (not that it would kill her), but to her surprise, Yugi had placed a small bento box in front of her.

"I asked the other me for suggestions. I hope it's to your liking," he smiled. She was taken aback at the act and opened the lid. She gleamed once she realized what was in the box, frozen (thawed) strawberries and a small container of blueberry jam. "Sorry if the strawberries are a bit thawed out."

Suzuka smiled happily as she ate her first bite of strawberries and blueberry jam. For once, she actually looked human.

Yugi felt something inside of him. When he concentrated on the feeling, he realized that it came from Yami. He glanced over at his partner and noticed him staring at Suzuka. He looked rather relieved. Feeling this to be a wonderful opportunity, he switched with his beloved partner and hid in the far corners of their mind.

Surprisingly, the pharaoh never noticed.

While the gang stared in awe at the now grinning happy witch who seemed very much human and not very bloodthirsty, Honda noticed the switched boy, and who he was staring at.

"Yug'?" Yami flinched, startled that he was now in control. Realizing that now, everyone noticed his staring, he flushed, embarrassed.

'Aibou! You!' He scowled but felt little resentment for his partner. He sighed and shook his head. Suzuka noticing, offered the boy a strawberry.

Yami chucked before declining. "How's Kasari?" He changed the subject.

"She's doing alright," Suzuka responded. "She's not exactly doing amazing, but she's not struggling either." Yami took in the information and nodded. At least they were safe.

Before anyone could say anything, a boy popped up from behind her.

"Hey cutie," the boy leaned close to her, only for Suzuka to ignore him. "I notice you're hanging around these geeks, wanna hang around real men?"

She ignored him again.

"I was actually wondering, where's that boy that hangs around with you? Bakura, I believe is his name?"

The boy behind her got irritated that she ignored such a... handsome man, grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. Jounouchi and Honda stood up, ready to fight. Suzuka immediately swung her arm back to brush the boy's hand off her shoulder and stood up to him, mainting eye contact. She was a bit shorter than him, but it wasn't any less intimidating.

"What?" She asked. The boy scoffed.

"Look, no one ignores me and doesn't regret it. I'm impatient y'know and I get everything I want." She smiled.

"Guess I'll be a first huh?" Her smile dropped before turning around and sitting. "So? Where is he?" The boy adjusted his jaw out of disbelief and instinctively went for a punch out of frustration.

Jounouchi noticed first and nearly jumped towards the two of them.

Suzuka dodged and raised her fist towards the boy's face. Since he missed his target, he lost part of his balance and went face first into her fist. It wasn't much damage, it didn't even hurt physically. Just his pride.

"Fucking bitch," he murmered after regaining composure and left them alone.

"You idiot?!" Yami yelled. Suzuka felt quite offended by this remark.

"I just defended myself that's all." Yami shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. They all stood around the empty classroom and Jounouchi and Honda felt like the world would be ending. While Suzuka was right to defend herself, she made quite the enemy.

Apparently, Takaki Shigeru, the boy who tried to flirt with Suzuka, was affiliated with a well-known and arguably powerful gang. This wasn't common knowledge with the school per se, but it wasn't exactly not common knowledge. Of course, Jounouchi knew about him and as a result, the gang.

"Look. I understand you were defending yourself because he's a jerk and everything, but for once can you just consider the consequences of your own actions?" Yami felt frustrated with her seemingly nonchalant behavior.

"He's hardly a threat." Suzuka couldn't help but feel equally as frustrated. She could protect them; they would be safe. "He's all bark and no bite. As to how he was even able to join such a gang, well I'm honestly surprised." Yami shook his head and huffed another sigh. "Though seriously, where is that boy?"

Yugi, who was separated at this point with a spell at Yami's request, spoke up. "Bakura has been sick the last couple days but when I called him last night, he said he was feeling better. Hopefully we see him soon!" Suzuka looked rather concerned. "Why do you ask?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Nothing. Just wondered what one of your friends were up to. Does he know about me?" Yugi shook his head.

"He doesn't know anything."

Good.

"I see," she responded blankly.

"So, are we going to ignore that this powerful gang is going to go after us now?" Anzu asked, worried. Suzuka assured the girl that nothing bad would happen and that she would make sure of it. Yami sighed once again, and Yugi rubbed his back to make sure he wouldn't die again of all the stress.

When Anzu's parents came home, Suzuka had to figure out where to stay next. Since Kasari hadn't come back or responded to her calls, she was practically stuck. Honda had to say no since he knew his family would say something, and Jounouchi had refused because of his alcoholic father. Ultimately, Yugi was the only option and surprisingly, his family seemed okay with it.

They had a guest bedroom and Suzuka dropped her bags on the floor. She exhaled and sat on the floor, relaxing and feeling significantly better.

For a second though, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She was acting like an arrogant fool, a type she absolutely despised. As a result, she just felt paranoid, another feeling she hadn't felt in years. Though it lasted for a fleeting moment.

There was a knock at the door which revealed to be Yugi.

"Hey Shio! Futons are in the closet. If you need anything just let me know." He smiled and walked away before stopping and coming back. "Oh! And dinner is ready." The boy waltzed away and Suzuka simply sat in silence.

Suzuka skipped dinner.

Not that she wasn't hungry, in fact she was starving, but simply because she didn't want to talk to anyone. Suzuka knew there would be questions.

Being human was exhausting, an exhaustion she hadn't felt in quite a long time.

She had rolled out the futon and changed her clothes, clothes which had been stuffed in another bag which Kasari practically threw at her before disappearing. Her turning into a human was completely unplanned and she needed to get certain things cleared. Things turned for the worst when word got out that she had lost her magic for the time being. Kasari, though somewhat trained for combat, was obviously struggling. On a normal occasion, she would've had at least some amount of time to respond to any of her calls, but there were no answers, and she knew better than to ignore Suzuka.

"Kasari... what's taking so long?"

The next day was quite gloomy and grey. Every single one of the students just wanted to curl up in bed and do absolutely nothing. Once the bell signaled the end of school, everyone headed straight home.

All except Yugi and his friends. Jounouchi and Honda both received a threatening letter to meet up in a specific area behind the school after everyone had went home. If they weren't there, they would ambush them eventually one at a time in a secluded area.

Yugi was uncomfortable about it, and Anzu just wanted to go home and sleep. Suzuka felt surprisingly impartial, despite her brief paranoia the night before. While she knew she was supposed to feel guilty and regret, she really didn't. She tried, she really did, but she didn't feel anything.

Perhaps the numbness was a way to prepare for the worse.

Once they all arrived in the area, which was essentially a part of the field outside of any of the school window's view, they saw Takaki and a group of other men. Before anyone could say anything, everyone except Suzuka was held in some sort of restricted position.

"So," an older boy spoke up. "This is her?" He looked somewhat confused. "Shigeru, this is the girl who rejected you?"

The witch stayed silent and observed.

"Yeah, brother that's her! Her and her little group of friends. The ones who kept playing that weird card game." Suzuka inspected her surroundings before going back to staring at the others standing in front of her.

"You really brought your brother to this?" She asked, almost scoffing. Including the men restricting the others, there were twelve men.

"Look I said you were going to regret it. Come on brother! You said you'd have my back!" Takaki had such an irritating tone to his voice, it made Suzuka wonder if he only joined such a gang only because of his brother. She couldn't help but internally laugh. Such a scary gang letting in whining brats? Not so worried about their reputation, clearly. The older boy took out a pocketknife and took a step forward.

"I suppose you don't know who we are correct?" She continued to stay silent. She couldn't care any less. "We are the Cobras and don't like it when people disobey us." He took another step forward and she couldn't help but snicker.

"Cobras? Really? A gang named after one of the most highly venomous snakes, let in someone like him?" Two boys grabbed her arms, her reflexes slowed as she let her guard down.

"SHUT IT!" The older boy, Matoko, stabbed her right shoulder. "You will listen to me." Suzuka kept her poker face and made eye contact. Now, the injury didn't exactly hurt, she was used to pain, but boy this kid had the nerve to restrict her and stab her?

She was irritated.

"Stop!" Yugi cried out, desperate to save his friend. "Please! She doesn't deserve any of that! Please!" Takaki smirked victoriously and signaled the man holding Yugi to hold him tight. He glanced over to Suzuka and noticed her panicked look. He grinned a Chesire cat like grin and cut a shallow cut on his left cheek as to scare her, though all it did was give her an overwhleming sensation of dread. They were supposed to be upset with her, not him. Not his vessel or his friends.

"Get away from the boy!" Takaki completely ignored her. "Stop! I'm the one who rejected your pathetic remarks come on!" The older boy grabbed her face and leaned in close.

"Such a pretty face. What a waste." Matoko raised his blade and nicked the underside of her jaw. However, a blood curdling scream cut through the moment.

Anzu was the one screaming and Yugi's hand was covered in blood. His shoulder had been stabbed.

She snapped.

The two men holding her in place were suddenly on the ground. The older boy was startled for a moment before attempting to slash her arms. She managed to snap his left arm before taking his knife. Her right arm was bleeding profusely, but she paid no mind to it. Her blood felt hot, like it had just been boiled. Her breathing was slow and steady, her brain was clear with malice.

Did being a witch always feel like this?

Takaki, realizing what was going on, decided to help his brother and attempted to slash at her. He missed entirely and fumbled his balance and fell.

Realizing the men were going to harm them, Yami switched out and utilized his millennium puzzle.

The men's hands suddenly felt paralyzed and immediately backed off, completely unsure of what just happened. Yami looked up to see what was going on and the older boy was on the ground, his face profusely bleeding. She hadn't exactly skinned his entire face, but a good chunk was missing. The men who backed off immediately started to run away. Only Takaki, his brother, and a few men remained.

Suzuka held the blade and admired it for a moment, fully prepared to carve out poor Takaki's face. The boy was scared out of his mind and couldn't even speak. He couldn't scream and all he wanted was to wake up from this nightmare.

"You said I'd regret rejecting you," Suzuka whispered close to his face. "But here you are with the regret." She changed her mind and decided to instead take his eye. She raised her arm, preparing to strike.

"SUZUKA!" Yami shouted.

She froze.

Why? Why stop her? Why? A flood of varying feelings of rage flooded her brain as she clicked her tongue and threw the knife.

"Grab your brother and get out of my sight." Takaki, along with any other men, obeyed her command and disappeared within seconds. There must have been quite the commotion because Kasari appeared before them, panicked. Suzuka stood and stared at Yami, who then separated from Yugi, Kasari taking care of his energy levels and tending to his friends.

"What?" Suzuka asked. "What could you possibly want other than that fool's death?"

Now it was Yami who was pissed.

"You can't just do that!" Suzuka walked over to him.

"What was I supposed to do?!" Yami stood up to her.

"I don't know, not kill him?!"

"He attacked you all, held all of you hostage." Yami threw his hands up out of frustration.

"That doesn't mean you can just kill him."

"Defeat often means death, you of all people should know that." She pointed the words at him, as if he had experienced it personally. He couldn't help but feel baffled by her hypocrisy.

"Often not always. You can change that, make it less the norm... change the ideology!" At this point, the gang wanted to say something, yet what were they supposed to say?

"You know you humans are so pathetic. And you wonder why I redacted my first life in the first place!"

"You redacted your life because you can't accept the fact that humans are the superior race." She scoffed, finding his response to be absolutely hilarious.

"Oh really?" She cocked her head to the side and stepped even closer to him. "Above witches, demons, gods, goddesses? You know for an Egyptian who worships more than one god, you sure talk big." Yami stood his ground and maintained eye contact.

"You all are so power hungry, full of greed. Humans show compassion. They, love. Grow, care for one another-"

"So it seems for a king who sat his pretty ass on a throne." He reacted in such a way where clearly, he was offended.

"Excuse me? You think I haven't gone through any hardships for me to even empathize with those who's suffered?!" she pushed again.

"You never suffered through those means. Even if you did, it's been so long that you probably can't empathize with them."

"You never could in the first place!" At this point Jounouchi had enough.

"Hey! Hey, hey. Stop it! Both of you!" Unfortunately, it did absolutely nothing as they both ignored his attempt at diffusing the situation.

"We can use magic," she countered.

"Which ties in with greed," he reminded.

"You humans were the first to even develop greed!"

"And who's fault is that?!"

The argument suddenly fell silent. He wasn't supposed to say that. He wasn't supposed to admit knowing something he wasn't supposed to. It was then when Yami had taken a step back, as if to run away. Suzuka didn't take it very well.

"You knew?" Her voice laced with confusion. "You- you knew, and you didn't even bother to say anything?!" Now it was angry. His head hung low as he tried to end the conversation.

"I don't-"

"Don't fuck with me Yami. How long have you known." A hand snaked around his neck, and he suddenly couldn't breathe. Yugi immediately felt the need to protect him, yet he was completely frozen. Kasari, Jounouchi, and Honda's instincts kicked in as they took a step back.

Anzu, much like Suzuka felt hurt.

"What..." he croaked. "What difference would it have made?"

"How long have you known?"

"Why does that even matter?"

"Suzuka-ze please!" Kasari reached forward to pull her back and away from Yami. Suzuka only tightened her grip. "You're hurting him!"

"I want to know how long you've been lying to me," she hissed.

"I've... never, I've never lied to you," he clawed at his throat, wanting to feel the wave of satisfaction from breathing. "Setsura," he whispered.

Her grip loosened as a wave of pain and confusion hit her. Yami gasped for air and immediately took a step back, Yugi and Jounouchi grabbing ahold of him, ensuring his balance.

"Why are you saying that?" She groaned. It felt unnatural, she felt unsure. Nothing felt right. "Don't say that..."

"Suzuka-ze?" Kasari called out to her as she watched as her eyes glazed as if she were losing consciousness. Something was wrong.

The air felt suffocating and there was a rising heat. Kasari immediately realized what kind of danger they were in and transported them in an empty field of grass, a place with no people and minimal civilization. Suzuka crouched down as if in pain and began to cry out.

It hurt.

She was in pain.

A light began to shine from within her.

"What da hell?" Jounouchi muttered under his breath. Yugi was speechless and Honda simply stared, mouth agape. Anzu watched in horror as she saw Kasari doing what she could to help with the matter.

The light shone brighter, and brighter, until it suddenly blinded the five of them.

When the light dimmed and they were able to open their eyes, a sudden stench of blood overwhelmed their senses. The field they stood on was no longer lush and green but varying shades of brown with plants scattered at different stages of decay. Kasari and Suzuka were nowhere to be found.

What the hell just happened?

A/n Oh my goodness that took forever! Chapter may have been a bit confusing... but I'll answer any questions anywho I really hope you enjoyed!