Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Yu-Gi-Oh! A Tapestry Incomplete ❯ Umei's Death and Dene's Tears ( Chapter 9 )

~Previously on Yugiou; "This is madness! There are so many duelists on this island and we can't even find one." Jounouchi grumbled.

"Hey where is Mesmori?" Anzu brought up the discovery of a missing member to the group.

"Was she with us when we left Kajiki-san?" Yuugi was puzzled.

"Honda!" Anzu censured. "Don't you remember how Mesmori risked her life for Jounouchi… Maybe those two need to be alone for a while."

Honda was about to give a retort but he glanced over to see Yuugi shaking his head `no' as a warning.

Mesmori crawled up in the fetal position and closed her eyes. "AH! He followed me here, he's coming! AH! I can't kill anyone! Not me! Don't molest me again! AH!"

"Mesmori?" Jounouchi shook the girl out of her trance.

`OHMEGOSH! What have I just done!? Why did I say that! AH! I like Jounouchi!' Mesmori turned red and held her breath.

Jounouchi broke the silence by laughing uncontrollably.

A gust of steam exited from the petrified Mesmori's ears and nose like a chimney.

"Hmmm hmmm, so many girls to choose from now," Jounouchi whistled. He began to walk off in the direction of his friends.

Mesmori fanned herself and clutched her heart, `OH DIVINITY ALL MIGHTY! He knows I have a crush on him-'

`I shouldn't have exhausted myself again…' the girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a syringe. `I'm almost out too, I need to be more careful…'

"--Do you fight Pegasus in this special division?!" Mai was shaking.

"No… something else."

"Something?!" Mai shrieked.

Mai came back to reality when she found out someone was standing directly behind her.

~

-

A Tapestry Incomplete

Episode Nine: Umei's Life and Dene's Tears

-

"Did you hear that? It sounded like a gunshot…" Anzu perked up. She had been washing her face with the stream water until the potent noise startled her.

"I think I heard that too." Yuugi said in a fretful tone. He had been playing paper, scissors, stone against Honda and had been winning each time. Suddenly, a situation disturbed him. "Look over there!"

A flock of birds began to flutter in a panic.

"What do you think just happened?" Anzu walked up to a tree and leaned over it.

Honda brushed himself off as he stood up from the ground. "If a gun was involved, I have a good guess behind the gun… not many duelists would bring guns with them to settle a score with an old `flame' as it were…"

"Yo! Guess whose back!" Jounouchi roared at the top of his lungs followed by laughter.

He brought the group from the drama that had just stricken them. "Uh-oh, Jounouchi's laughing full of joy, wonder what happened…." They all said together.

Jounouchi came to a slow stride as he came to a halt by his friends. "Miss me?"

It took Mesmori a while to catch up but as soon as she did, she practically doubled over.

"Jounouchi, how could you make her run so hard, you practically killed her!" Anzu scolded. She brought Mesmori to her feet and asked, "Are you okay?"

Jounouchi began imitating Anzu in the background without her noticing.

"Oh I'm fine, I'll be full of pep for a while, I just had my inje-uh I'm fine." Mesmori said winded and flashed a weak smile.

"Took you long enough," Anzu narrowed her eyes at Jounouchi, "What were you two doing? Was she really that far from us?"

Jounouchi narrowed his eyes back but then brought his arm around Mesmori's shoulders and began slapping her shoulder so hard it made her buckle at the knees a bit. "Me and this not-so-quiet mouse have gone one on one. You know, you should give people a chance, you'll learn a lot about them that way."

"You should talk!" Anzu scoffed.

"Guys, guys, lets not argue here. Let's find some duelists to duel and then you two can argue all you want." Yuugi cajoled determined to get all his ten star chips now.

---

"This place looks even more deserted then by that stream." Jounouchi grumbled.

The group of five stood in the middle of a large meadow with different paths leading away from it. Yuugi grew a little disappointed not dueling anyone else as of yet.

"So where to now?" Anzu asked try to make the predicament a little lighter.

Mesmori had been looking around attentively as if waiting for something.

"Is there like some private meeting going on that all the duelists have gone to and we weren't informed about?!" Jounouchi went on.

"Maybe if we wait around for a while a duelist will come on by." Honda laughed.

And on cue with Honda's words, someone emerged from the forest behind them. Mesmori's eyes sparkled as she had unknowingly turned around so quickly. She then jumped on the person who she saw. The rest of the group spun around just to be shocked at who they saw.

"Umei?!" they all gasped, none of them expected to see her so soon from their last encounter.

Mesmori was rambling on embracing Umei in a huge hug. "Oh great leader Umei Jopa Crawford, I have been looking for you everywhere and now I've found you! Now you can see how I duel now! Now you will bring me into your sect!"

Umei stood unmoved and as if nothing was happening, she looked at everyone as placid as ever. "It seems fate doesn't want us to part ways…" she stared down at Yuugi with glazed eyes.

"Oh you see it too!" Mesmori grew hotheaded as she believed Umei was only talking to her.

"Ahem, I wasn't directing that to you now please, let go of me." Umei said in a monotone as she shut her eyes in annoyance. She obviously didn't care for Mesmori as Mesmori cared for her.

"Yes great Umei Jopa Crawford, anything great Umei Jopa Crawford." Mesmori became obedient and stood at Umei's side like a bodyguard.

Yuugi was first to speak then, "So what have you been doing since we last saw you? Ready for that duel?"

Umei fought a smile that quickly vanished. "Still at the same status as I was before. I have been visiting people."

Jounouchi grunted as he looked at Umei rather irritated.

Umei glared at Jounouchi but then her expression grew hurtful.

Anzu looked back in forth between Jounouchi and then Umei and then Jounouchi and then Umei and then Jounouchi and Umei again and for some reason at Mesmori-who had still been frozen like a statue. Anzu then pinched Jounouchi at the cheek and began tugging at his jaw while she spoke. "Don't worry, like all guys, Jounouchi is as stubborn as they come, we all know how he really feels…"

"Anzu!" Jounouchi growled.

"Frankly, I could care less of how he feels towards me," Umei started to say but noticed Yuugi's admonishing eyes so she added, "but part of me does care-besides I saw his girlfriend by the beach anyway."

Jounouchi grew a little alarmed along with Mesmori as she broke out of her statue.

"By the beach you say, which direction is-" Jounouchi noticed Mesmori getting horrified so he bit his tongue to stop himself.

"You bunch sure haven't changed since I left, anyone else you want to tell me about before I depart." Umei became bored and about to take off again. Mesmori began to contemplate.

"So you are postponing your defeat even more." Jounouchi stopped her in her tracks trying to start something.

Anzu smacked her forehead as Honda and Yuugi groaned for this same old routine.

Umei tried to calm herself but it didn't work out too well, "Don't challenge me until you know you can beat me, if you're ready for YOUR defeat we can have a go right now. Otherwise, back off."

"I already know I can beat you. Without your little tricks you'll have the disadvantage." Jounouchi clenched his fists.

"Don't think just because I won't use my `gift' means I'm a terrible duelist!" Umei turned to him and now clenched her own fists.

"You're a terrible duelist and person, you think of just about yourself and step all over others through deception! You don't deserve to be anyone's friend!" Jounouchi snarled.

Umei's eyes widened thunderstruck.

"Okay, what happened to giving people another chance!" Yuugi butted in trying to break the tiff up.

"She doesn't deserve a chance; however, she deserves every rotten thing that happens to her. In her words, `Frankly, I could care less'." Jounouchi shot his head the other way as if the mere sight of Umei disgusted him.

"Jounouchi!" Yuugi shouted overwhelmed. Anzu became melancholy and Honda stood there trying to not listen to the quarrel.

"… That tongue deserves to be ripped out…" Umei muttered casting her head down.

"I remember now!" Mesmori said all of a sudden. All eyes turned to her, even Jounouchi's. "I remember who else we met that would interest you, great Umei Jopa Crawford!"

Mesmori randomly brought up something that had already lost its value in subject. Everyone, even Umei, almost did a face-fault to the floor.

"Like who?" Umei asked very annoyed.

"We met the magnificent sea duelist Kajiki Ryouta! He's really nice and we ate some of his fish! Did you duel him yet! Yuugi did! He won!" Mesmori just regaled Umei on useless information.

"Ja ne…" Umei turned away and began to walk off regretting she had met up with Yuugi and his group.

Mesmori continued with information she knew would impress Umei, "And then Dene was here and she tried to kill Jounouchi and Yuugi and me! Isn't that just awful! Me killed, just awful! Everywhere I turn it is like someone wants to kill me!"

As soon as Mesmori said the name of her long-time rival she completely stopped breathing. The rest of the world shattered, it just didn't matter, only Umei and Mesmori stood there. Umei turned around slowly with a gruesome expression, she looked like death.

Mesmori didn't cease her rant, "She even said she wants to marry you! All she needs is something blue! She's looking for you, she followed you here to kill you not marry you! What shall we do my great leader! She brought HIM along with her!" the girl started bawling.

Umei broke from her hypnotic state as she peered off in one direction and saw something shine in the distance. She shot towards everyone in a split second and screamed all at once, "Get down!"

A gunshot went off. Everyone ducked and screamed while Umei plunged forward as the bullet of the firearm impaled the tree directly behind Mesmori. Umei had slung Mesmori to the ground with her just in time, saving her from a bullet to the head.

"Chikuso!" Jounouchi cursed still shielding his head.

Umei stood to her feet still more sedated than usual. She stepped over Mesmori's shivering body and stood to face the girl who stood at the other end of the meadow. "Hey stalker, how's life."

Dene swung her gun by her side and had a very maniacal smirk on her face that was unusual for her; her eyes were bloodshot and her pupils were beady. "Hell until I found you, koibito."

"OHMEGOSH! Umei saved my life!" Mesmori said over and over, now clinging to Jounouchi. The rest of the group got up and stood behind Umei.

"So you knew? I'm not so impressed." Dene removed her tote bag from her body.

"The first shot I heard caught me onto you, then I knew, how you are so pathetic to use others as bait, especially those I was acquainted to and had just came in contact with. As you know, Mesmori can't keep her mouth shut about me for a minute, so it was pretty easy to find you." Umei reached behind her back and placed her hand in her back pocket.

`Nani?' Jounouchi thought as he watched what Umei was doing.

"Really that predictable? I'm losing my edge, no matter, are you ready to die my dear koibito?" Dene shrugged and flipped her hair.

"Great Umei Jopa Crawford! Don't forget she wants to marry you!" Mesmori piped up.

Umei chuckled lightly. "And I suppose you want to molest me right now as well, you stalker? Bacchi gateru."

"Don't worry! We're safe with the great Umei Jopa Crawford around!" Mesmori cheered as if this was common.

"My, my, you should tell your little mouse to watch what she says. She doesn't know who could be watching…" Dene wouldn't take her eyes off Umei in a sadistic way.

"Iie! Great Umei Jopa Crawford will take HIM down again!" Mesmori shrunk.

"So Umei, which one shall I kill first? I owe both Yuugi and Mesmori too, then there is him," Dene used her gun to point at Jounouchi, "I should've killed him when I had the chance. Just think, you dead just intrigues me to a point where-"

"Yeh I don't think anyone wants to know about your `wet dreams' at night about me. I don't have time to play with you today, I have other people worth my time at dueling." Umei's hand began to slip out of her pocket.

`Who worth dueling? So much death talk lately.' Jounouchi thought.

"You didn't have time to spend with Mai before she died either." Dene said as if she blamed it all on Umei.

Not only Umei, but also the entire group had to have stood with eyes as wide as saucers at what they just heard.

"It's not true!" Jounouchi growled, Mesmori stared at him.

"That gunshot was meant for her, she wasn't truthful with me, truthful people should be punished, why did you kill her Umei?" Dene said with a devious grin to back her up. "If you don't believe me…" and at that moment, Dene threw down all of Mai's deck that was stained with blood. "Oh, and this isn't about dueling anymore."

Mesmori gasped as she clamped her hands over her mouth.

Anzu looked away and Honda clutched his head tightly.

Yuugi closed his eyes seeing that Jounouchi was acting out more then the rest of them. He had been trembling intensely as he stepped back. He gritted his teeth and kept shaking his head. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" each time he said it he gotten louder until he was to the point of screaming.

Umei's face was in shadow.

"Sad, she died… someone close to you." Dene licked her lips, "just like your mother."

Umei winced as her face came out of shadow to reveal tears streaming down her face, she threw what came out of her pocket to Mesmori. "Call security, the number is in-"

The object, a fancy cell phone, shattered to pieces in midair, right before Mesmori could catch it. Dene had quickly anticipated Umei's act and had already shot at it without everyone seeing her bring her gun up.

"Tsk tsk, you never use to want backup. Don't run from death." Dene scolded playfully by waddling her index finger back and forth. "Mai and your mother accepted it and they are probably happier that they don't have to be around someone as cold as you. Did you ever act like a friend to Mai?"

Umei shook her head trying to ignore Dene. "Shut up… shine."

"This is all your fault, you killed your mother, you killed your best friend, now, how about you kill your mouse!" Dene aimed her gun up but found it knocked out of her hands. Umei had unbelievably appeared in front of Dene and knocked it to the ground.

"Say it to my face, bakayaro." Umei growled.

Dene didn't seem afraid of Umei's intimidation. "How about I rub it in your face!" In an instant, Dene spat in Umei's face and dodged the oncoming blow delivered by Umei. "Fighting with rage, never saw this side of you." Dene mocked as she dodged yet another one of Umei's punches.

Umei pounced to the floor and swept Dene off her feet by brushing her own under the murderous girl. As Dene fell, she wrapped her legs around Umei's neck and threw her over to the side of her. Umei hit the floor with her back quite hard as Dene suddenly appeared on top of her, pinning her down forcefully.

"Losing your touch." Dene hissed as she brought her face closer to Umei's.

"What I lost was my expensive cell phone." Umei murmured.

"I'm sure you have twelve more just like it." Dene brought her cheek against Umei's.

"Hmm, you're right." Umei kicked her feet up and flipped Dene from off her. Dene rolled on the ground and then brought herself to her feet in the motion, miraculously holding her gun again.

"Danke, koibito, rolled me right where my gun laid." Dene flipped the trigger but the gun went off into an empty target. Umei had brutally impacted Dene with her right knee directly in the gut. The gun fell to the floor again.

"As you say, `danke'!" Umei grasped the back of Dene's head and slammed it into her right knee now, from the force, Umei could've ripped Dene's hair out.

Dene, through throbbing closed eyes, grabbed Umei by her right leg and brought her to the ground. But Umei kicked her leg in Dene's side and brought her tumbling over her. Umei jumped up and regained her fighting stance, "Same old, same old."

"Okay, how can she do all that in high heels?! How can Umei do all that in boots?!" Jounouchi protested.

"Jounouchi! Don't joke like that, we need to stop this." Anzu glared about to take off.

"Iie!" Yuugi warned her not to go. "You stay with Mesmori, we'll take care of this. But I don't know how we are going to get close to them; they are like wild beasts! We might get added to the fight if we try to stop them!"

"… Hey maybe you should let both Anzu and Mesmori fight." Everyone stared at Jounouchi, "Girl fight… Even though they don't fight like women… all we need is mud-I'll shut up now."

Anzu smacked Jounouchi in the back of his head.

"We need to stop this before they kill each other." Yuugi gasped as he looked at the gun sitting to the side of the battle. And then a crazy notion passed over Yuugi's mind that he knew he would regret.

Dene was now strangling Umei; both her arms were clasped over Umei's neck as Umei's hands were trying to free herself from Dene's hold.

"That's right," Dene hissed into Umei's ear, her lips brushing against it, "gasp for air, until your lungs heart! You in this position is much more arousing than Mai's."

"Eyah!" Umei cried out. With all her might, she shot her head down and then suddenly back up with just as much velocity, smashing right into Dene's forehead. Dene clenched her teeth so she wouldn't scream while her grip loosened around Umei's neck. Umei took advantage of this opportunity. She placed both her hands on Dene's right arm and flipped her over so that she was flying in the air before she came crashing down to the Earth. Dene was lying on her back as if dead; her eyes were closed and she wasn't breathing.

Umei stood over Dene, panting for air. "Don't play that with me!" she screamed at the same time she brought her foot down on Dene's face-or at least tried to. Umei would have finished the fight if Dene hadn't rolled off to the side. Umei's foot crashed into nothing but dirt. The blonde stood in that stance too long as Dene got up to her feet and began running to Umei. Dene's right fist collided with Umei's left jaw.

Umei took the blow and didn't falter; her hat fell off instead. Umei turned her eyes to look directly at the demented grimace of Dene's. Umei found more hatred for Dene because of that smile. Dene always had that smile when she was going to kill someone, and she would always kill someone. Back home, she hired every class of people to kill Umei, and none of them were able to. Dene killed them anyway. Umei couldn't stand it anymore.

"I'm trying to get rehabilitated… But how can I when you are everywhere! Hara ga tatsu!" Umei threw her right knuckle smack dab in the middle of Dene's face. Dene had to step back from Umei's punches but she couldn't get away. Umei punched and punched and punched. Twice into Dene's jaw and once again into Dene's face strenuously.

Dene put space between them by jumping back and immediately bringing her hands to the floor to do a handstand. She lifted her body up and forward, and since Umei anticipated this at the last minute her fist socked into air as the heel of Dene's high heels kicked right into Umei's chin.

Umei wobbled a bit, feeling her own sanguine fluid expel from her nostrils and mouth-the taste so bitter. Umei could barely see out of her eyes from her swollen cheeks.

Dene didn't give Umei a chance to attack. She was already in front of the tottering teen and had already executed her next death strike. She brought her right leg up, her black dress a thread from ripping, and plowed it into Umei's left ear.

Umei tried shaking off the pain that fled through her entire head but Dene didn't allow it. Dene had already kicked at Umei again, this time with her left leg to Umei's right ear.

Umei couldn't take it anymore; her head throbbed and pulsed with pain. It burned her so bad that she would surely blackout any minute. A deep cut was scratched into each side of Umei's head now, spilling the blood that stained her hair and dripped from her face to her neck to her white, long-sleeve over shirt. This was the end.

Dene knew it was over too. The black hair of the fiery girl flew out behind her as she had jumped in the air. In an instant, she had turned all the way around in midair as if she were floating. Her right foot came out as she came back around to face Umei for the last time. Dene's right foot flung in the air behind her from what she had just done. All motion stopped and for that second, everything was still.

Umei's back hit the floor as hard as Dene had hit her eyes with her right heel. Little beads of blood were exiting the corners of Umei's eyes; she laid sprawled out on the floor with the grass curling over her. Umei's eyes were wide open, but her pupils were gone, her exquisite green corneas were gone. Umei's chest didn't move up and down symbolizing that she was still alive. She lay there dead.

And with Umei's tears of blood, Dene cried too. For some reason Dene had tears streaming down her face as she gazed at the dead girl. "You left me…" Dene whispered, "Now who will kill me, you were suppose to kill me too. We were to both die together, we are meant to die together…"

Mesmori was crying into Anzu's shirt. She was stuttering and choking through tears, "T-th-his isn't tee great Umei Jopuu Craw-Crawfard, she never lost like dis, she never fought like dis! Imposter! It tisn't her!

"We need to act now!" Honda said ready to dash in there and take Dene down.

Jounouchi stood with an unreadable expression on his face.

Dene began to step towards Umei to make sure the deed was done but was stopped by the voice of Yuugi.

"Don't go any further…" His voice trembled as much as his hands did. Dene cocked her head back to see what Yuugi was holding. He was trying to straighten the gun he held but was too shaky to do so.

Dene smiled as her yellow eyes began to glow. "And you are going to stop me?" the girl began to walk to Yuugi.

"Stay back I-" Yuugi closed his eyes as the pistol almost fell out of his hands if Dene hadn't held it straight for him.

"You have to hold it up, you have to shoot for the most vital point of your opponent, the heart." Dene pushed the firearm right through her bosoms and let it rest directly over her heart.

Yuugi kept his eyes closed and he began to shake even more.

"Stop being afraid and do it!" Dene screamed, her insane personage returning. "Kill me so I can be with my Umei! I deserve it don't I! Mai and Umei both dead! Together! Don't you think I deserve it! Let me show you how!" Dene brought her fingers to the trigger of her own weapon.

"Yuugi!" Jounouchi and Honda shouted and dashed for the scene. Anzu pushed Mesmori's head away so she wouldn't see what happened next.

Yuugi's eyes widened as he saw Dene fly to the side, taking the gun with her. Out of no where, Umei had punched for Dene but the girl had already moved from harm. Umei was an inch from socking Yuugi in the eye if her hand didn't move to the right and pass the boy. Umei was on her tiptoes as she turned around to her adversary, her Anubis Girandole gleaming.

"You came back for me." Dene said hesitantly as she twirled the gun around.

Jounouchi and Honda grabbed Yuugi by the arms and were pulling him away from the scene; Yuugi was too shocked to move.

"Stay away from him, we have a score to settle, leave them out of it." Umei didn't care how much blood was on her face or how horrendous she looked, she just spat out a mix of blood and saliva to the side of her and chuckled lightly.

"So you care for them?" Dene glared at the three boys. "You finally abandoned that Kaiba Seto only to fall in the arms of one of them… Don't you see, I am the only one for you, koibito…"

Umei chuckled lightly; "I didn't expect you to have taken those lessons just to use the skills you learned in battle. Opens my eyes to ice skating." Umei could barely open her right eye.

Dene stopped twirling her gun, as she became fixated with Umei's legs. "And your agility and strength in your legs from running so much. Running away…You love it so much that it becomes your vital point!" Dene aimed her firearm to Umei's right knee and shot it off.

Umei saw this and did the only thing she could do. She couldn't move in time so she had to do it. The bullet drilled into the back of Umei's right hand. Unbelievable, why would Umei care so much about her legs that she would risk losing her fingers for it!?

Jounouchi and Honda became petrified like Yuugi.

`She protected her legs?!' Jounouchi left his mouth gaping in awe.

Umei was kneeling to the floor and staring at the bullet in her hand; she was biting her tongue and trying to take the pain as sweat broke out all over her face while her hair stood on end. "Tsh tsh tsh!" heard through Umei's clenched teeth.

"I thought so…" Dene began twirling her gun again. "Your hand is so close to being ripped off, you rather have your whole body torn apart just to protect your legs. Selfish."

Umei didn't speak, her left hand was quivering as she tried to pull the bullet from her bleeding hand.

"Anzu! You two get out of here!" Honda shouted behind him.

Anzu stood perplexed.

"Ike!" Honda could have popped a vein from how he screamed.

Anzu nodded her understanding and dragged Mesmori off into the woods. Mesmori was struggling to want to stay and watch but she gave in and ran off with Anzu.

"Now why did you do that?" Dene looked peeved. "The mouse is next in line to die, but since you are so eager." And Dene shot off another shot directly at Honda.

Jounouchi took a dive and brought his friend to the ground with him-just how Umei did it for Memsori. But Jounouchi left Yuugi isolated from protection, Dene's true plot.

"Danke." Dene aimed the gun at Yuugi now, "I owe you one… You should've killed me when you had the chance."

"Don't you dare!" Umei cried from the ground, "If you were any kind of a person you would shoot me instead! You don't owe Yuugi anything, you owe me! Kill me! Do it!"

Dene glanced over at Umei as she let her gun droop down.

Jounouchi was getting up to his feet while Honda was shivering from fright of almost being killed.

Dene closed her eyes and smiled, "You deserve to see someone else die because of you…" Dene brought the firearm back up and shot it for Yuugi's head.

Yuugi accepted his fate

"YUUGI!"

---

"Another gunshot! What's going on!" Anzu was holding her head and kneeling to the floor. "Oh Yuugi, please don't get yourself killed!"

Anzu had brought Mesmori to what looked like the stream the entire gang had been to before. Mesmori was leaning on a tree and staring at the ground.

"What if it was Jounouchi?! Or Honda?! Oh please no!" Anzu fell to the ground and started crying.

Mesmori looked away. Why wasn't she feeling the same way Anzu felt? She just kept thinking of the last she might see of Umei, her great leader Umei Jopa Crawford. How could someone hate her so much? Umei wasn't a terrible person, not to Mesmori at least. What could Umei have done to make so many enemies? Mesmori didn't want to believe that that was Umei, her Umei! Umei would never lose like that, even if her opponent had a gun. Umei will not die! Not to Dene's hands, not to anyone's hands, not even to Mesmori's hands.

Mesmori tried to find the courage to standing up to herself, how she would never murder anyone even if it meant her own life. "Umei's too good a person to die, I won't kill her…" Mesmori muttered to herself as she began to cry too.

"… You're ready to die by my hands then, MiMi-chan…" that voice shot through Mesmori's ears. Her eyes became small as she backed away from the tree, for some reason, only Mesmori could hear his voice, Anzu didn't stir from her crying spell.

"OHMEGOSH!" Mesmori tripped as she stepped back.

"You kill her, or you die… yamero." The voice said over and over again until it faded.

Mesmori was going insane! She shook her head back and forth. "Yamete! I won't, I won't, I won't!" Mesmori screamed and getting the attention of Anzu.

"Mesmori-chan?" Anzu asked.

Mesmori started running back to the battlefield still screaming.

"Mesmori!" Anzu ran off behind her.

---

"I don't believe it." Jounouchi was frozen in a running formation.

Honda held his head down to not look at what he saw.

"I didn't think he meant that much to you, to cost you your life for saving his." Dene rested her gun on her shoulder. "You aren't the sacrificial type, you want to be accepted that much, just until it kills you…"

Umei stood in front of Yuugi as if she were a statue. Yuugi was gazing up at her back and grew a little worried; she had saved his life, but where did the other bullet hit her? Why wasn't she moving?! Yuugi looked down at her hand, the bullet was still lodged in there.

"It's over." Dene sneered.

Umei had pins for corneas as more blood just spewed from her mouth, it became apparent that her right should was where the bullet had gone. So much blood covered her right arm it was as if it was always that way, as if her right arm had always been red, as if her white sleeve had always been that darkly red. She must have been injured internally as well because of the blood coming from her mouth so fiercely. The bullet had either sunk into her collarbone or top of her rib cage. It was the most gruesome sight Yuugi had ever been faced with; to see a friend die before him.

"Dead on your feet…" Dene snorted and started laughing maniacally.

Umei wobbled a bit, she began to fall back, still frozen, still not breathing, dead.

And in that instant, time really did stop, for Jounouchi it did. Everything was moving so slowly to Jounouchi, able to see the motions in movement, able to hear Honda yelling, able to see Yuugi shed tears. Jounouchi finally realized it all.

`She saved Yuugi, she didn't have to but she did. She protected us all so that every ounce of harm that was directed to us was turned on her. She was killed because of us. We killed her. I killed her, I was the terrible person to her… if I accepted her, maybe she wouldn't have been so keen as to prove to me she was finally my friend…I should have given her a chance… I lost it all…' Jounouchi didn't feel himself running towards her, he didn't feel himself catch her just when she fell, he didn't feel tears flow down his cheeks.

And Yuugi was right there beside him, holding her too. Time went back to normal but Umei still laid in both of their arms, still frozen like a lifeless corpse.

Honda found himself beside his friends as well, he was standing there staring at Dene but then brought his eyes to Umei.

Dene brought her gun up. "That's right, bunch together so I can pick off ya one by one. And when I'm done, I'll kill myself, I have no more purpose in this world anymore."

The guys didn't move, they became as motionless as Umei, they had finally accepted their death like Umei did?

Yuugi had been staring at Dene, disgusted with her. As Dene looked into Yuugi's eyes she found her hands shaking. Why was he affecting her in such a way? Dene steadied her hands and clicked the trigger.

Mesmori and Anzu emerged from the forest to become sickened from the sight they saw. They weren't the only ones that came from the forest at that moment as well.

Dene didn't fire a shot, her gun practically fell from her hands to the voice she heard behind her. She slowly turned to see if her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. There he was, her Bandit Keith Howard, standing there looking at her through his shades, holding her tote bag.

He said it again, "That's a good model for a gun, looks modified and created by hand, expensive, fancy." Bandit Keith looked at the job she had down, "Nice work done with it too, makes quick work of the competition…" he began to walk off down the path Umei was going to take earlier. He motioned for Dene to follow as he walked off, the sun illuminating his figure.

Dene was too mesmerized to remember what she was doing. She followed after him in a daze. Both Dene, and her angel, had disappeared into the light leaving the scene completely.

"Her… vital point…" a voice struggled to say. The boys looked down to see Umei trying to speak. She was still alive?! After all that happened to her, after that dramatic speech for her by Jounouchi in his mind, she was still alive?!

"Unbelievable…" Yuugi gasped as he wiped his eyes dry. The girls ran over to the group. Mesmori got there when they were trying to sit Umei up, she hugged Umei rather roughly.

"Oie!" Umei felt her muscles ache as Mesmori embraced her but she didn't pull away, instead she patted Mesmori on the back.

"Oh Yuugi, I…" Anzu kneeled beside Yuugi and couldn't finish what she had been starting to say. Yuugi smiled at her and nudged her.

Honda flopped to the floor in relief it was all over, this time for good.

Umei looked up at Jounouchi who was still holding her; she could hardly see him because of Mesmori's gigantic cowboy hat. Umei stuck her tongue at him and said, "You-gave me a chance…?"

Jounouchi turned his head away, he didn't want her to see the tears in his eyes, or the smile on his face.

---

To Be Continued