A/N: Ahh, too much angst here… where's the humour? Blah.

The concert. Was. Horrible.

Of course it was; the twins were used to causing havoc, not be self-nominated to be put on damage control! Genta was no help at all, unless you count her muttering conspiringly to herself under her breath. Kaithey refused to talk to anyone, choosing to chew and stab blank pieces of papers with pencils in frustration. Yuki fled whenever one of them came close.

The seats had been crowded. There were probably more people in Kaiba's stadium than they ever had for their concerts – or even expected to have in a venue full of (probably) music-ignorant duel monster geeks - and here they were, playing the worst gig in their life.

x-x-x

"That sucked." Matthew commented, slowly packing up his electric piano at the end of the concert.

"Hmm." His twin answered noncommittally, perched glumly on a chair beside him.

Matthew sighed, running his hand through his raven-black hair. Life sucked.

They were doing so well these past years. But then, they just had to come to Japan, didn't they? They shouldn't have agreed. And what were they thinking, coming over to Domino City so early? Everything that could've gone wrong did go wrong, and it was their entire fault for agreeing with that stupid plan!

If they had just waited until today before coming to Domino City, nothing would've happened! But no-o, they wanted some stupid food from some stupid café with stupid umbrellas.

They watched as Yuki sped out of the stadium as soon as their concert was over. He hardly spared his band-mates a second glance. Kaithey left not a second later, pointedly heading the opposite direction. Genta merely sighed, rubbed her temples, and ordered the twins to take care of their equipment before she left as well. If Matthew didn't know any better, he'd say the band was falling apart. …or, it was getting quite close to there, at least.

Maybe if Matthew and Antonio had tried harder to keep Yuki attention away when they noticed the other group coming into the café, none of this would've happened either. All they needed was five minutes to get Yuki out, to block his vision as he pasted the table behind them. But even that, they failed at. In trying to convince Yuki that nothing was wrong, they just had to embarrass the boy enough to make him call out. And wouldn't you know it, the other party just happened to recognise his voice. Seriously, what were the chances of that?

Was their band doomed to failure? Would they ever be able to make it up to each other before they would be stuffed together in a cramped twenty-four hour plane ride tomorrow afternoon? With the way things were now, the tension would only get worse during the stuffy plane ride back home.

A laptop beeped from the corner of the room. At last, Matthew's eyes lit up, first time since the beginning of the long, dreadful day, "Com'n Darlin'!" he crooned half-heartedly.

Antonio rolled his eyes.

Antonio ignored his older twin's enthusiastic tapping, until he noted the continually present frown on his brother's face. "What's wrong?" he finally asked.

There was no answer until Matthew raised his hand in a beckoning manner, "Hey, bro," he said, voice troubled, "Come here fer a sec." He tilted his head pointedly at his laptop, website page opened wide on the screen.

Antonio cautiously walked over. He leaned over his brother's shoulder, squinting, reading. There was a pause. A moment passed. "Oh." Antonio said darkly into the screen. His face mirrored identically to the troubled look on his twin's face, if not more annoyed.

Matthew nodded at his words, "Oh." He agreed.

They were really starting to hate Japan.

"I don't see what all the hubbub was about." Tea commented as they left the Stadium with the rest of the audience. "I expected something more spectacular seeing as they were ranked so high."

Tristan nodded at her word, "Yeah, they seemed like a normal band. They didn't completely suck, but it wasn't like they were awesome either."

From the back of the group, Yami gave a small frown, almost looking guilty, "Maybe it was our fault?" he wondered out loud.

The three whipped their heads back, "What? Why are you blaming yourself for their concert? They're the once whose singing sounded off. What does that have to do with us?"

Yami ran a hand through his tri-coloured hair, "I suppose," he said hesitantly, "I just thought maybe our argument the day before might've affected them?"

The sole girl in their group shrugged indifferently, "If they can fall apart from such a small argument, they don't deserve to stay together." she said.

"Well…"

"Besides," The brunette continued, "Aren't they supposed to be professionals? If they can let something like an off day affect their performance, then they definitely don't deserve the title. That just shows they're nothing but kids trying to pretend to be something they're not."

Yami looked like he was ready to defend the band when Tea shook her head again. The girl looked pointedly at Yami, "Did you ever loose duels just because you weren't feeling well?"

The Pharaoh looked affronted at that statement, "I wouldn't duel half-heartedly; I wouldn't let down my monsters just because something was bothering me."

There was a nod. "Then they shouldn't sing half-heartedly." Tea concluded.

A soft voice, sounding almost uncertain spoke up from the group suddenly, "Well, ya know, I think a band might require m'oar teamwork tha'n duellin' does … Arguments might affect them m'oar than it would ta us… "

There was a pause. Tea rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Or maybe they're just horrible to begin with." she offered. That was always possible.

Yuki was pissed, and that concert they just held didn't help matters anymore. Kaithey was ignoring him, not that he cared any bit about that. No he didn't! Genta was dangerously anger, so he stayed away from her. As for the twins, Yuki didn't know what they thought about the whole matter, but what were the chances they'd be on his side? They were the girls' friends longer than they'd been his. Why would they ever consider taking his side?

So, as soon as the concert was over, he fled out of there, avoiding contact with anyone he could. It wasn't so hard, seeing as Kaithey and Genta were practically doing the same thing.

There was a sharp sting in his chest seeing how divided everyone was, but he skilfully ignored it – he had lots of practice ignoring the pain.

No one else cared about it, so why should he?

Slipping quietly into the crowd of Kaiba Land, Yuki sighed, allowing himself to be swept aimlessly with the crowd. There was no where he wanted to be. There was no where he cared to be. There was no one who wanted to be with him. There was nothing; nothing for him here or anywhere.

Why couldn't he have figured this out sooner?

Why did he like deluding himself with fantasies that he actually belonged?

The sudden prickling sensation behind his eyes caught Yuki off guard. Why was this affecting him so much? It wasn't like he actually-

No. He did. He actually thought he would get a 'happily ever after' where all his friends would stay together, forever for once.

Oh, who was he trying to fool? Life was nothing but trouble. Load of rubbish, pathetic, stupid-

Yuki rushed, keeping his head down, and trying to control his sudden erratic breathing. He wouldn't – he absolutely wouldn't give in to his tears. Not to this. No. Why was it affecting him so-

Hic. His hand shot up to scrub his eyes, feeling the first drop dripping. He wouldn't. He wouldn't cry.

And would you know it, chanting that didn't help one bit.

Yuki rushed to the darkest room he could find, hoping to hide his tears from the world. He pulled the dark knit hat he wore as a disguise, as far down as he could, wishing it was big enough to swallow his face. He ran towards the stadiums, glad how the lighting of the area shone focally on the players and not the audience.

He was dimly aware of the battle going on before him, wrapped in his own misery.

He was crying for the longest time, but slowly, Yuki realised that he was … feeling better? The shouting in the background was so nostalgic. The roar of the monsters, the trust in the cards, the invigorating rivalries. In a matter of moments, Yuki lost himself into the world of duel monsters once more as he watched the game, engrossed in the fierce battle, and mind forgetting everything else.

"- I place this card face down in defence and end my turn!"

"Go Gaia the Fierce Knight! Destroy his Battle Ox!"

"Ha, you just activated my trap card; Ma-"

A baritone voice cut through Yuki concentration, startling the young boy. He hadn't even heard anyone come up to him! "Well, well, look what we have here." the voice sniped.

It took a moment for Yuki to get his blank, shocked mind working. "K-Kaiba."

"Mutou." he returned civilly. "Why am I not surprised to see you drowning yourself in duel monsters?" the older man smirked, "Trouble with all your non-inanimate friends now?"

Annoyance flashed across Yuki face briefly, "Of course you know all about it." he muttered, mostly to himself.

Kaiba heard him anyways, "Of course I did. Where do you think you are; this is Kaiba Land. I own this place. I am this place." he said with a touch of oh-so-familiar superiority in his voice. "And, what do I see the moment you set foot in here?" he continued, "Why you, letting people step all over you again."

Anger bubbled within Yuki. He had enough. What gave Kaiba the right to lecture him? He wasn't even part of this! "What do you know!" Yuki exploded, yelling for all it was worth, "Who do you think you are?" the singer screamed, voice lost with the roar of the monsters, unashamed of the scene he was making. He didn't care. He just didn't care anymore. For what was probably the first time in ages, Yuki let it all out. "Don't you dare start with me too! This is my problem, not yours, and if you're just here to make fun of me, you can go away. What right do you have to say that to me anyways?" he finished with a snap, huffing, short on breath.

Dark eyes stared unwavering back at Yuki, as calm as ever. It irked the green-haired boy how Kaiba had remained impassive his whole speech, but frankly, by now, Yuki had no anger left. Even if he wanted to yell at the older duellist, Yuki didn't think he could pull up anymore anger after the whole episode he just had.

For a moment, Yuki saw something flicker in Kaiba's eyes – was that amusement? – and then the man opened his mouth, "Hmm, 'what right'? I just thought you might have wanted some normalcy in your life, with things as they are right now." he drawled, an eyebrow arched.

Yuki paused, running the words through his mind. What? He considered the words ('some normalcy in your life'), and then suddenly, surprising even himself, he bursted out laughing.

Oh.

Of course; it was so like Kaiba to be snarky no matter what was going on. It was so him. While everything in the world was going crazy, he could trust Kaiba to be the same; a consistency in his hectic life. Yuki giggled, unable to help himself. He didn't even know what was so funny anymore, but that thought only made him laugh harder.

It was his nerves, Yuki realised, feeling no longer capable of controlling his own actions. His body shook as he let out insane laugher, clutching his stomach. He laughed and laughed and laughed and then without warning, tears streaked down his face again.

This time Yuki let them run free.

x-x-x

Sitting side by side, watching as battle after battle were fought in the stadium, the two former classmates didn't speak a word with each other, eyes focused on the duellist in front of them.

Kaiba had sat down next to Yuki though his whole hysteria, professionally refraining from commenting about Yuki's crying.

As the day grew darker (not that they could see that inside the darkly lit stadium), and once Kaiba was sure all signs of sniffling from the younger boy beside him was over, he turned to Yuki, eyes serious.

"Mutou, go home." he said.

The shorter boy bit his lower lip nervously at the thought.

Home? Did he want to be stuck in the hotel room with the three of them, anger fuming all around? "No," he said hesitantly, after a moment, "I don't want to see them. I can't face Genta, and the twins, and … Kaithey. They-" No, he was trying to fool himself again. The anger he could deal with; it was their stares, their eyes he wanted to avoid. What would he see? Disappointment? Regret they thought he was actually worth it? Pity for his past?

Silence clung to the air for a moment, before Kaiba shook his head. "No, Yugi," he enunciated, "go home."

Yuki stared up at the other man, eyes blank. Home? New York?

"Home." Kaiba repeated for a third time, eyes narrowed at him, as if glaring would help Yuki understand what he was saying.

The single word, home, echoed through Yuki's head. Home. HOME. And then it clicked.

"But-"

Kaiba's look tore through any complaints the boy wanted to express.

Yuki tried to refrain himself from biting his lip again. Violet eyes closed, as he took in a breath. Home. GameShop. His shoulders tensed. Grandpa. His lips tightened, determined not to give into his feelings, as a sudden stab in his stomach ached as he thought of his Grandfather – the old man who'd practically raised in from birth when his parent left him there.

His heart ached, and he couldn't ignore it, try as he might. And he knew even Kaiba could see that.

"I-" his voice crackled, giving, "I don't-" And then Yuki couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't lie to himself, especially not when he'd been longing for his Gramps all year long. He'd been happy in the band, with his new 'family', but they weren't family 'family'. They'd never raised him, taught him everything he knew, comforted him from bullies, nightmares, and the boogie man. He really, really wanted his Gramps. "I'll go," Yuki murmured.

Kaiba nodded, "Good. Or else I would have had to threaten you to go as compensation for that horrible concert you performed." he said, and there was the faintest hint of a smile on his face when he said that.

Yuki's hand rose to the doorbell, finger twitching, as he tried to draw up the confidence the press down.

What was he doing here again? Gramps wasn't going to greet him with open arms; not after what he'd done!

His foot tapped rhythmically on the ground in a nervous twitch. He could always turn back now; it wasn't like Gramps knew he was here, right? He could go back to Kaiba Land … and then what? Endure a night with his annoyed bandmates? Regret this moment for the rest of his life?

Violet eyes narrowed at the thought. 'Regret'. He'd done too much regretting for one lifetime. With a growl the boy stabbed his finger down on the buzzer. He'd be damned if he had to regret another thing.

Yuki took deep breaths at the door, trying to stick to his resolution even as he heard slow thudding coming closer and closer. The boy felt his mouth dry and throat close you as every second ticked by. He would not regret, he promised himself determinately.

And then the door swung open.

There was a silence as the two started at each other from either side of the doorway. Neither spoke, as if daring the other to make the first move. The green-haired boy could feel his palms sweating, and the world before him spun ever-so slightly.

"Yu-Yugi?" The old man finally stuttered out. His wrinkled arm shook, grabbing the doorframe to steady himself.

Panic coursed through Yuki. "Gramps?" he whispered. The old man looked much older than he'd ever been. His greying hair was now white. Wrinkles covered his face, and he'd lost weight, giving him an almost gaunt look.

Where was the jolly old man who'd always looked younger than he really was? The grandpa who was always up for an adventure? The grandfather who was able to be as energetic as ever even after being held hostage by Pegasus?

"Is it really you, Yugi?" a wavering voice called. Violet eyes glistening as they looked up towards the green-haired boy.

"I- It's- uh-" Words caught in his throat, seeing his Grandfather like this in front of him. Did he worry him that much? "Sorry. Yes. I'm so sorry, Gramps." he tumbled out. Yuki was pulled into a hug before he could finish.

"You're back." the man whispered out, so loving, so caring, Yuki couldn't help the small watering smile he gave back.

"I'm home, Gramps."

x-x-x

Somehow the scene of being pushed onto the couch, a plate of steaming dinner shoved into his hands, and a frantic grandfather standing over him lecturing him made Yuki giggle. Solomon Mutou stopped mid-point and watched.

"Gramps?" Yuki said when he realised the old man wasn't going to continue any longer.

The man closed his eyes, slowly lowering himself into the space beside his grandson, "I missed you, Yugi." he murmured, "I thought I wouldn't ever see you again."

Guilt stabbed at Yuki heart. Gramps sounded so old, so ancient when he talked like that. Fear darted through the boy. What if he had chickened out earlier? Would his Gramps be here alone, still worrying for his grandson until the day he died, not knowing a single thing? Was that anyway to treat the man who raised him lovingly?

"I- there was some issue I had to work out myself." Yuki muttered softly, to the ground.

There was a light smile on his Grandfather's face, "Well, we all have to have time to ourselves once in a while." Gramps justified for him, "I remember when I went out to Egypt on my own as a kid…" his violet eyes then suddenly softened, into an almost begging look, "But … Yugi, my son, what did I do?"

The green-haired boy felt his heart jumping in his chest, "What?"

"I did something wrong, didn't I?"

"No!"

"Yugi." Solomon said in disbelief. His tone was more than begging now.

"You didn't!"

"Yugi."

"It was me! I overreacted." Yuki cried, "Gramps, you didn't do anything."

Solomon was quiet for a moment after Yuki's exclamation. With a pause, the old man patted his grandson on the head, "Alright then, tell me what I didn't do."

"Gramps…" The boy began, but his grandfather would have none of it.

"Yugi Mutou, something clearly affected you to make you want to run off on your own. What kind of grandfather am I to have not noticed?" the old man demanded, "Please?"

Yuki stared at the ground. Nervous hand rubbed against each other, as he eyed his grandfather through his lashes, trying not to make eye contact. "It's nothing." he whispered. He saw disappointment flashed though his grandfather's eyes, and for a moment he was thrown back into the past, watching and listening to his Gramp's disappointed muttering in his mind's eye.

"I was jealous." Yuki suddenly snapped. The old man jumped at his tone. "I tried so hard, everyday! And Yami; everyone loves him no matter what. How can I compete with the Pharaoh. What am I without him? I'm not even half as good as him in duel monsters." He was rambling again, but he couldn't stop himself. "Everyone could see that. And the whole time I was deluding myself I wasn't as pathetic as I really was. But everyone saw. Why be with Yugi when Yami's so much better?"

"Better how?" Solomon cut in before the boy could degrade himself any further.

Yuki froze, "What?"

"How is Yami better than you? I don't see it. You are two different individuals. How do you compare people?" The old man demanded.

"Well, he's stronger than me for one. He's the duel monsters champion. He ruled over Egypt once. Saved the world a few times too." he said bitterly.

"And you helped save the world too, didn't you?" Yuki bit his lip as his Gramps continued on, "And what about your skills? And don't you dare say you have none."

The lead singer swung his legs on the couch, "I can sing." he said, feeling himself rub his cheeks in embarrassment, "and hmm, my English isn't too bad." he added softly. The boy looked up, running his life though his mind for a second before frowning again, "Oh, does it matter?" he retorted suddenly, "Everyone ends up with Yami in the end. Everyone loves him more."

"Yugi, that's not true."

"Joey, Tristan, and Tea! I thought they were my friends. We went through so much together, but in the end they chose Yami over me!" The boy jumped up, storming, "And heck, I wouldn't've even cared if they didn't choose me over him; I just wanted everyone together and happy!"

"Is this what this is about?" Solomon asked, his voice strangely tight. Yuki looked up. "Are you letting the opinions of three teenagers affect your whole life? Two of whom were bullies before everything?" the old man cried, "And when there's a whole world out there," he said, flinging his arm out, "filled with thousands more who most would beg to differ."

"I - I … suppose-"

The door rattled at that moment. Yuki's head shot up; Yami was home. A chill of panic spread over the green-haired boy, and Solomon almost froze seeing his grandson behave like that. The old man's violet eyes narrowed, grabbing the boy by the shoulders, "Come on, Yugi." he said, pulling the kid into the kitchen.

Yugi crouched behind the kitchen island, arms wrapped around his churning stomach. Suddenly he wasn't so sure he did the right thing coming home to the GameShop. He couldn't face Yami again, not after what happened last time.

A hand rubbed his back comfortably, "Don't worry," Solomon said with a smile as he got up, "I'll take care of it."

Yuki watched, eyes peaking behind a chair, as his Grandfather walked towards the door, intercepting Yami just as the door swung open.

Yami's crimson eyes widened as the old man appeared, "Oh, you scared me for a second, Grandfather." he said.

Solomon just smiled, "Where have you been?" the old man asked, glancing behind the Pharaoh.

Yami shrugged, "With the group at Kaiba Land. There was this … thing going on." He glanced down at the old man, eyes uncertain, debating with himself if he should tell the man that Yugi was back in Japan.

Solomon Mutou cut him off before he could decide, "Actually, Yami, would you mind spending the night with your friends?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Ahh, this old man just wants some time alone." he answered. "Old people are like that." he added as if it made a difference.

Yami looked concerned for a moment, even as Solomon tried to brush off his worries. In the end, the Pharaoh nodded, "If you're sure." he replied, eyes studying the old man, "Don't work yourself too hard."

Gramps smiled, shooing him off, "I'm just going to relax, Yami, not clean out the house. Now be a good boy and go." he dismissed.

Yami nodded, face contorted in mild confusion as bid the man a goodnight. He wandered down the path heading towards Joey's house. A moment later, Yuki emerged from the kitchen.

"Did you just kick Yami out of the house?" Yuki asked, feeling slightly detached.

"I did not!" Solomon huffed.

Yuki raised an eyebrow.

"Well, just for one night." Gramps corrected, "He's a grown man, Pharaoh and all. He can take care of himself."

"I can take care of myself too, Gramps."

The old man fixed a stern violet eye on him, "Perhaps, but you'll always be my little grandson. Clumsy, cute, drools in his sleep, hides candy under his pillow to eat at night-"

"That was ages ago, Gramps."

"- modest, makes sure everyone has a smile on their face." He ushered the boy out of the kitchen and into the living room once more. "Now sit," he said strictly, patting the seat next to him. Yuki felt like a kid once more, stilling on his gramp's knee and telling his grandfather about the monster under his bed. "… and tell me everything."

Yuki looked up at his grandfather who was staring so tenderly down at him, he couldn't help but smile softly. With only a mild hesitation, Yuki did tell, spilling his whole story to hear.

Strangely refreshed the next morning, Yuki waved goodbye to his Gramps, rushing out of the GameShop back to Kaiba Land.

He felt like a kid again; recalling how he used to cry his eyes out to his Gramps every night something happened, and the old man would pat him on the head and spout wisdom. 'Old man Wisdom', Yuki couldn't help but call it, the advice from an experienced old man.

For hours and hours after Yami was kicked out, Yuki and his Gramps sat on the couch just talking.

By the time he was shooed off to bed by his yawning Grandfather, Yuki was felt like the world was suddenly so much clearer to him. There was no one like his Grandfather. Kaiba was right to have forced him to go home. Everything seemed much better now.

Yuki smiled to himself, scourging through his pockets for his Kaiba Land pass to show the employee. He took three confident strides into the amusement park before a loud voice cut through his thoughts.

"YUKI!"

The boy froze.

"Yuki!" the voice screamed again with an odd mixture of panic, relief and anger undertone to it. The lead singer didn't even know that was possible to achieve.

Long arms wrapped around the smaller boy pulling him into a tight hug, squishing his face against her chest. Her perfume wafted around him. As she leaned down on him, Yuki could feel slight tremors in her arms.

"Can't … breathe…." he choked out, trying to crack a joke.

When her hands grabbed his shoulders to push him away so she could stare him straight in the eye, there was nothing but rage in her dark eyes as she glowered down on him.

"Gen… ta?" he greeted hesitantly.

"You IDIOT!" Yuki shrunk back at her words. "Do you know how worried we were?"Genta continued, voice almost hitting a shrilled tone, "We spent HOURS waiting for you! I thought you left us." Panicked fear crossed her face momentarily.

Yuki tried to dispute her worries, but the girl continued on her rant without giving him a chance. "It was getting so dark and you weren't coming back. What if you were kidnapped! I called and called, but you even left your cell in your room! And then all of a sudden we get a call from the front desk from Kaiba saying you weren't going to come back for the night. I had half the mind to call him in for kidnapping!"

The boy glanced nervously at Genta. The taller girl noticed and waved away his worry with a "Psh, as if I would challenge Mr. Kaiba, especially when he seems to care for you just as much as we do."

As Genta's rant seemed to slowly die down, Yuki looked up to the girl clearing his throat, wanting to explain things. With a deep breath, the guitarist calmed herself before nodding at the shorter boy. "Alright," she said, seemingly realising she was doing nothing but yelling at him, "You can talk now."

"'Kay… so, I went home." he began, suddenly at a loss of words. The next thing he knew, he was apologising. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't stand being in the room with everyone's anger just fuming all around." Yuki tried not to look at the older girl, feeling as though she would suddenly remember she was mad at him and storm off.

Her answer, instead, was calm. "We aren't angry." she stated.

"Tell that the Kaithey."

"She's not angry. She's just a snot-nosed brat lacking grey matter in her brain." Genta said succinctly. The guitarist sighed a moment later. "Kai gets like that sometimes – she doesn't think before she speaks. She's not angry; she's just really worried for you." Genta elaborated, trying to get eye-contact with the shorter boy, as if hoping that would help him understand better.

"Worried?" Yuki looked skeptic, and Genta really couldn't blame the kid.

Genta looked up towards the sky, taking in a deep breath, and looked at the past through her mind's eye. "Hey, you remember what Kaithey was like when you two first met?"

Yuki shrugged, "Hyper? Bipolar?" he said, "Screamed a lot around the house too."

"Now?"

"Same." he said immediately before he stopped to actually think about the question. No, it wasn't the same. Sure Kaithey was always up to crazy antics, but her insanity died down a lot as he got to know the girl better. In the beginning, Yuki remembering thinking to himself that he wouldn't fit in with such a wild, hyper group. That wasn't the case anymore. Everything seemed toned down.

Genta noticed his relevation. "Kaithey has – well, you can call it trust issues. It's true she's quite hyper, but some of it, sometimes, is an act. She doesn't like people getting close to her, and you know, her 'extreme insanity' throws people off – stops them from getting close." The burnette glanced down at Yuki, "Despite how she acted, you never left, played along, and even tried to get to know her better. And as we got closer, got to know each other better, she slowly dropped her act around you." Genta said quietly, in an almost reminiscing voice.

Yuki gave her a worried 'but why?' face.

Genta shuffled her feet nervously, "It's my fault, I suppose."

The green-haired boy stared confused. Genta tried to breathe normally. "To be blunt, my Grandparents hated me." she said suddenly. Yuki was then reminded that he still didn't know Genta's past. She'd offered to tell him when they first met, but never got around to it when Genta got too agitated.

The boy grabbed her arm, dragging the older girl to a bench where they could talk in peace. The taller girl smiled a soft thanks, continuing on her story. "My mom was Asian while my dad was full Caucasian. They fell in loved and married, but my Granparents – my mom's grandparent, by the way because my dad's parents are already deceased – didn't approve. They wanted my mom to marry another Asian." Genta frowned, remembering. "They're old, like really old. They support the old way of thinking and all that. I don't like the way they think, but I know why." Genta defended them half-heartedly.

She paused a moment after that as if collecting her thoughts. "Anyways, so they had two kids; my younger brother and I. Obviously, my Grandparents loved my brother more than me. You know, the whole Asian thing where they love the sons best because they carry the family name." The girl added idly, waving her hand like she didn't care about the whole thing. Her dark eyes told a different story. "My parents didn't care, but my Granparents did. And the fact that my little brother actually looked Asian didn't help. I looked more like my dad than my mom." She added. "When my parents died, they took care of us. They clearly favoured by brother over me, and I grew up jealous, angry, and hating my whole family."

Genta sighed, running a hand through her long brown hair, trying not to let her story bother her, "I don't think my brother ever saw what was going and that only made me angrier. The angrier I was, the ruder I was to my brother, and the more my Grandparents hated me. It was a never-ending cycle." Genta looked nervous about saying the next part as she gnawed on her nails. "And one day … one day I pushed him off the top of the jungle gym in the playground." Yuki froze at her words, and Genta tried not to look at him, "He got a concussion, broken bone, and all that horrible stuff. My Grandparents absolutely hated me from that day on. My brother stayed in the hospital for a really long time. I thought I killed him." The girl cried guiltily. "My Grandparents separated us from that day on – they never let me near him. I couldn't even apologise properly. I think he knew that I purposely pushed him, or hell, maybe my Grandparents were spreading lies about me to him; my brother never talked to me after that.

"My childhood was like that for eight years afterwards, before I finally had enough. The moment I hit Junior high school, I ran away."

Genta looked lost in her own world before suddenly shaking her head, "Anyways," she said clearly, "The thing is, Kaithey was my only friend – the only one who would stick around me despite all the scalding insults I hurled at her from anger. She was the only one I would fill in about what was happening at home. I started to unload my problems onto her since an early age, and I think somewhere along the way, I made her unable to trust people after telling her just how evil some can be.

"She keeps everyone an arm's length away until she's certain they're okay. And she's protective of what little friends she has. She can't stand it when people hurt us."

Genta sent a begging stare at the shorter boy beside him, her tone and posture all but pleading, "Please don't be mad at Kai for what she said. I'll admit she was wrong at some points, but that was her anger talking more than anything. She just really, really didn't want them to hurt you anymore, and her mouth just went wild." Her long fingers fiddled with the strays of her skirt in an uneasy twitch, "I know I can't apologise for her, but at least know she's sorry, and the rest of us REALLY aren't mad at you. We miss you."

Yuki squirmed under her begging gaze, understanding building. "Actually," Yuki said, sounding more calm than he really was, "I've been running the argument through my mind over and over again for a really long time." He'd even told his Gramps about it and got some advice from the old man. It made him even gladder he went back to the GameShop last night. "I can see where she's coming from. I think she might've been overreacting a bit, but I can see she's genuinely worried for me. If she's not mad at me, I'm definitely not mad at her." the boy declared.

Genta smiled at that. "Trust me, she's not. She's repenting."

The lead singer nodded, spirits lifted at her words.

"And," Genta continued, "You're better telling her that instead of me." There was a large smile on her face now. Yuki couldn't help but mirror that look.

"That being said," The girl said abruptly, suddenly serious, "I need you to get back to the hotel, stat." Her tone was all business, and Yuki knew his own face was seeping with confused at the hasty change. Genta tilted her head, brown hair spilling onto her almost grimacing face, "The twins have something important to tell us." She paused. "Really important."

Yuki nodded. "Right, I'm going."

"Good." stated Genta. She was turning around already, "And now I have to find Kai. That girl's disappeared since this morning." she moaned to herself, running off. "I'll meet you back at the hotel."

Yuki nodded, staring after her retreating back. He tilted his head upwards, resting his eyes on a calm floating cloud, before snapping to attention. He hopped off the bench.

To the hotel then, the boy thought to himself with determination, somewhat nervously. He only hoped Genta was right with her own observations.

He wanted to make up with everyone soon.

Shuffling his feet along the ground, Yuki tried to prolong his journey back to the hotel room as much as he could. He ran over thoughts along his mind in the meantime, trying to organise everything. Gramps and Genta were both right … and as was Kaithey … for some parts, at least.

He had to apologise to the wild-haired girl. She clearly had been worried for him when she shouted all her concerns in the café that day. It didn't justify the two of them yelling at each other, but Kaithey merely had his best interest in mind.

Yuki knew he had to apologise, not only because it was the right thing to do, but also because he missed her; he missed everyone.

'Friends' barely described the bond he had with his band-mates. They were more than that – they were family. Yuki would not let such a strong bond fall apart just because of a simple fight. -Just because he was too scared to face them after the fight. -Just because he was a coward that ran away whenever someone tried to talk to him.

Yuki took in a deep breath, calming his nerves as the cool morning air rushed into his lungs. After apologising, it would be up to Kaithey. Whether she accepted his words, or threw them back at his face, he could only wait to find out.

But Yuki wasn't nervous. Despite all she had yelled at him at the café, he was confident Kaithey cared dearly for her friends. No matter what she had screamed at him, he knew that she felt the familial bond the band shared. Genta told him so as well.

Yuki trusted Kaithey. And he believed that was more than enough. Believing in the heart of the cards, or in the heart of a friend, it was the same thing. All that mattered was the faith he sincerely had for them. And for Kaithey, Genta, Matthew, and Antonio, Yuki had more than enough. He was nervous sure, but he had faith in them.

And that knowledge alone was able to sooth his own wavering heart.

Striding deep, deliberate, confident steps up to the hotels Yuki practiced breathing out steady breaths. He needed to trust. He needed to believe. He needed to face his problems head on. He needed-

Yuki froze mid-chant.

And speak of the devil; there Kaithey was, heading towards him.

Yuki watched, in a controlled panic, as Kaithey slugged over to him, dragging her feet with every step. She had her shoulder hunched, and hands shoved angrily in her pockets. Her face held an almost sulky frown as her blue eyes stared evenly back at Yuki's violet ones. The guitarist eventually halted in front of Yuki, after what seemed like a journey that took entirely too short to be possible.

Yuki trembled; he wasn't ready yet! His sweating palms scrubbed the thighs of his jeans, as his mind whirled dangerously fast, "Kaithey-" he started hesitantly, for a lack of anything intelligent to say.

His racked his mind for something suitable, something that could properly express his feelings. I'm sorry? I missed you? I don't like fighting with you? I like being friends? I take back my words?

So many possibilities, but nothing seemed right. Yuki tried to hedge forward with his apology, but that wasn't necessary. "Kaithey-" was as far as Yuki got. Before the last syllable even made it past his lips, the girl suddenly thrust her fisted hand into his face.

Yuki didn't even have any time to react, as he could only stare straight on as her fist approached.

Author's Note: I swear, I'll stop with the angst next chapter (hopefully). :P
PS. Like my ending? I had this ending planned for such a long time; I'm glad I finally got to this chapter. ... well, not really, there was too much angst in here, and every few paragraphs or so, I had to stop and work on something else because angst makes me sad. This, believe or not, was why there suddenly was so many chapters for 'Naruto's Quirks' (if anyone here actually reads that). I needed humour.

And well, you might argue that this chapter really wasn't that sad, but I'm the type that cries easily when reading books or watching sad films. It's embarrassing, but I can't help it.

Anyways, thanks for all the reviews everyone! I smile everything I read them, no matter how short or long they are.