Nice catch, Katya. xD I was wondering if anyone had noticed that. The whole color problem will probably end up being somewhat explained in this chapter or the next, but I don't think we'll be hearing a whole lot about it for a while. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter. :3

For a moment, he thought, that tower almost looked shoddy.

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When he arrived home, Yugi shut the door carefully behind himself and kicked off his shoes. There was a significant lack of light in the main hallway, which he found slightly unnerving. His grandpa usually made it a point to leave most of the lights on in the house, so he wasn't quite used to the darkness.

Dropping his bag down on the ground next to his shoes, Yugi stumbled down the hallway towards the living room. As he got closer, the sound of a man talking gradually got louder. There was a light coming from the room, he realized, as he stepped in. Apparently his grandpa was watching something on tv.

"Grandpa," Yugi started, staggering over to the elderly man. When had his walking become so... er, bad? "Why are all the lights off?"

"Didn't you hear?" Sugoroku smiled, keeping his eyes on the television. "Father is requesting that everyone save energy by keeping the lights off." On the screen, and a black-haired boy that couldn't have been older than thirteen was speaking with a big grin. He looked terribly familiar, but Yugi couldn't seem to put a name to the face.

'Maybe he's one of the middle school kids?'

The boy on the screen gestured to the tower behind him. For some reason, Yugi felt his heart skip. "As many of you already know," the boy started, winking once. "Father will be hosting his annual Domino City party next week, so be sure you're ready! There's going to be a very important announcement during the dinner portion of the event, though no further information will be given at this time. That's all for today's news; thanks for watching! May Father be with you all."

"Father's messenger is growing up to be a fine young man." Yugi's grandfather chuckled, standing up to shut off the tv. "Kids these days are so energetic."

'Oh, right. His messenger. I suppose if I hid my face from my people constantly, I'd want one of those, too.' Yugi was shocked by his sarcastic thoughts, and quickly shoved them out of his mind. Such thoughts were uncalled for; when had he started being so disrespectful? "I... yeah. I wonder what the announcement is gonna be about."

"Who can say? But if it's from Father, surely it must be important." Sugoroku nodded once. "You're home late today. Why?"

Yugi shrugged, stumbling to the side slightly. His footing was getting worse and worse by the minute. "I'm not feeling good, I guess. I'm gonna... go upstairs for a bit, okay?" He didn't wait for an answer, and quickly headed up to his bedroom. After nearly tripping and falling back down the stairs, Yugi flung his door open and fell onto his bed with an audible "thump".

For the first time for as long as he could remember, Yugi felt genuinely distressed. His head was pounding, his limbs felt like fifty-pound weights, and it was as if all of his senses had improved ten-fold. Even the slightest prick of a pencil tip felt like the point of a knife. The dull purple color of the sky through his window was sharpening into a fiery fuchsia color; one that nearly mirrored the eyes of the two boys outside of the school. The colors of everything were gradually becoming brighter... even his own skin was becoming lighter, reflecting more light. Not only that, but the voices he heard, the squeaks of doors opening and closing, even the scuffing of his feet against the ground seemed five times louder. Yugi wanted nothing more than to find a volume knob for the universe and turn it way down. His mind was on the verge of exploding.

And he had no idea why this was happening.

In no more than a day, he'd gone from a perfectly normal teenager with normal habits and normal abilities to a shaking, dizzy, disconcerted boy. Wasn't Father supposed to protect him from feelings like this? He'd been told so nearly all his life.

It was then that the door bell rang. Yugi let out an audible groan, throwing himself off the bed to his feet. He staggered, then paused for a second before heading back downstairs. "I've got it, Gramps," he called, reaching out for the doorknob. Pulling the door open, he nearly fell backwards when a case of bottles was immediately thrust into his arms.

"Good evening, Yugi!" the man past the doorway grinned brightly, cracking his knuckles subconsciously. "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Oh, Otogi," Yugi blinked, looking down at the bottles in his hands before looking back up to the green-eyed man. "Yeah, I guess so."

"When the water boy brings your supply tonight, do exactly as he says. Understand?" Yami's lowly voiced request flashed through Yugi's mind, causing him to take a step back and don a serious expression.

"Um, O-Otogi... I heard from someone that you," he paused for a second to squirm awkwardly. "Er, have something to tell me."

There was a short silence as Otogi's grin fell gradually to mirror Yugi's face. "Understand this; I'm risking my position at Father's side for your sake here, Yugi."

Yugi gave him a puzzled look, eyes widening slightly. He said nothing.

"...Alright, listen here. When you get inside, take your share from the case and tell your Grandfather that you're taking them up to your room so you can keep the water evenly divided between you two for the weekend." He took a breath, and leaned in a bit closer to Yugi. In a quieter voice, he continued, "Tonight, if... no, when you meet up with Yami, give him all of your water. He'll be able to explain everything and give you something safe to drink. Got it?"

"What do you mean, safe?"

"Like I said," Otogi grinned and turned to head back down the sidewalk of Yugi's house. "He'll explain everything... trust him."

D: I really wanted to include Yami and the other boys in this chapter, but they're going to have to wait until next chapter. Oh well. OTL

Don't forget to review; I'll have the next chapter up before Tuesday, for sure!