Here's the next chapter.

Enjoy!

Chapter 87- Siblings

The morning was rather quiet for Yugi.

Yami had left to go to work a while ago, so Yugi had been sitting in the living room for the last little bit. He was drinking a cup of coffee while he was reading the paper.

There was still time before Yugi had to get the kids up for them to go to school, so Yugi was simply enjoying the time before he had to get them up.

Yugi had gotten a call back from the doctor's office he was hoping to work at, so he had to go in for a second interview, which Yugi found to be a good sign. He had to go this afternoon for that interview.

Mitchell and Brighton were supposed to be getting there some time that morning. The two would be staying at the mansion for a few days.

Yugi just hoped that having her older brothers here would do some good for Sophia.

Once it got to six-thirty, Yugi got up and headed upstairs to wake all of the kids up. He slowly woke them all up and told them to get up.

Given that things were still going to be a little strained between them for the time being, Yugi knocked on Sophia's door instead of walking on in. "Sophia, are you up?"

"Yes. I'm up." Sophia answered.

"Just making sure." Yugi replied. He went back downstairs to wait for the kids to get up.

Yugi made some muffins for the kids to eat before school.

Gabriella and Jared were the first to come downstairs.

"All right! Muffins!" Jared shouted as he dashed over to the table.

"Jared! Indoor voice!" Yugi reminded him sternly.

"Sorry, Papa." Jared mumbled.

Yugi smiled. He knew that Jared loved muffins, so he wasn't surprised by the reaction, but he also knew that he needed to make sure Jared stopped shouting when he was in the house so much.

Danny soon came down. "Cool! You did make chocolate chip, right?"

"Of course I did, Danny." Yugi assured him.

Lizzy and Abby came downstairs next, and Sophia followed them soon after.

As Sophia had said, she wasn't wearing all black now. She was wearing a light pink dress that reached her knees. She also wore dark stockings and a pair of white dress shoes. She also had her hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"All right. Everyone eat so that we can get you to school." Yugi told them.

Everyone sat down and started eating.

"Papa, are Mitchell and Brighton getting here today?" Abby asked.

"Yes, Abby. They'll get here later this morning. You can see them when you get home from school today." Yugi assured her.

"Surprised Brighton could tear himself away from Brooke." Danny muttered.

"Danny!" Yugi snapped.

"What? It's the truth. He rarely goes anywhere without her." Danny replied.

Yugi sighed. "Danny, it's not unusual for two young people in love to want to spend all their time together, but it doesn't mean that they are not willing to leave each other."

"Besides, Brooke and Brighton are planning their wedding. They have to work together to plan it." Sophia added.

"But Chris didn't help Mitchell plan their wedding." Gabriella pointed out.

"Each couple is different." Yugi replied.

Lizzy looked at her father. "What about you and Daddy?"

Yugi smiled. "Your grandmother and I planned most of the wedding."

"Virtually, you told dad where the wedding was, when it was, and what he had to wear, right?" Sophia asked.

Yugi laughed. "He gave his opinion on a few matters, but in the end, yes, that's about what it came down to." He glanced at the clock. "All right, kids. Hurry up. We have to leave in fifteen minutes."

The kids finished eating before they headed upstairs to brush their teeth.

Yugi cleaned up the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, planning to wash them later on.

Soon, the kids were all downstairs with their book bags in hand.

"All right. Let's go." Yugi said.

"I'll take Danny to school today if you want me to." Sophia told Yugi.

"Okay. That'll help. Go on." Yugi told tem.

Danny and Sophia then left.

"Okay. I'd better get you four to school. Let's go." Yugi told the.

The four headed outside and got into the van. Yugi also got in and started toward the school.

As Sophia drove to school, she was deep in thought. She knew that she was going to have to bust her butt to get herself back on track as far as school was concerned. She was upset with herself for allowing things to get so bad with her. She needed to apologize to her teachers for her actions, and she also needed to see if they would give her extra help so that she could catch herself back up. She also needed to cut her "friends" loose and see if she couldn't make up with her old friends.

"Hey, Sophia." Danny suddenly said.

Sophia glanced over at him. "Yeah?"

"Are things okay between you and Papa?" Danny asked.

Sophia sighed. "They will be. I guess I have some things to work out, but things will be fine."

"Okay. I noticed things were a little easier this morning."

"Yeah. I'm working things out. I know that Yugi has nothing to do with my problems. He's been great to me all these years, and I know that. We're all lucky to have Yugi as our stepfather."

"I know we are. He's always treated us like we were his own kids without ever letting us forget about our mother. I mean, I don't even remember her, but Papa makes sure that I know about her."

Sophia was surprised. "But Yugi never knew our mother."

"I know, but I think Dad talks about her with Papa a lot, so Papa knows a lot about her. Plus, Papa shows me pictures of our mom from albums that Dad has."

"Oh." Sophia hadn't realized that Yugi did all that. She was starting to believe that Yugi really was the best thing that had happened to her family. She did know that her dad hadn't been very happy after her mother's death until he met Yugi.

Soon, Sophia pulled up to Danny's school.

"Thanks, sis. See you after school." Danny told her.

"Okay. I'll be picking you up, too." Sophia told him.

"Thanks." Danny replied before heading off.

Sophia then continued on her way to school.

After dropping the four kids off at their elementary school, Yugi had gone back to the house. He went in and finished cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast.

"Hey! Anyone home?"

Yugi smiled. "I'm in the kitchen, Brighton."

Brighton walked into the kitchen. He had gotten taller since he was sixteen. He was almost as tall as Seto was. He had short hair, and his crimson eyes had darkened over the years. "Hey, Yugi. How have you been?"

"I'm doing fine. Where's your brother?" Yugi asked.

"Right here."

Mitchell walked into the room. His blue eyes had lightened a little bit over the years, but he hadn't gained much height. He was rather big because of the fact that he was six months pregnant.

Yugi glared at Brighton. "You couldn't help him into the house?"

Brighton shrugged.

"I'm used to it, Yugi." Mitchell assured him.

"Come on. We'd better get you off your feet." Yugi said.

"Thanks." Mitchell replied.

The three walked into the living room and sat down.

"So, how are you doing?" Yugi asked.

"I'm okay. My feet kill me all the tome, and so does my back, but I'm fine other than that." Mitchell replied.

"Except for the kidney shots." Yugi remarked.

Mitchell groaned. "Don't remind me."

Mitchell and Chris had been married fro two and a half years and were expecting their first child. Mitchell was kind of nervous about this since he lived in Tokyo away from his family, but he was getting along fine. He talked to Yugi a lot on the phone for advice.

"So, how are things here?" Brighton asked.

"They're fine." Yugi answered.

Mitchell raised an eyebrow. "Dad mentioned the trouble with Sophia."

"Oh. Yeah. That's been a trip, but we've made some headway there." Yugi assured them.

Brighton put his feet up on the table. "So, what all have we missed?"

"Put your feet down." Yugi ordered.

"Geez. I'm on my own and about to get married, and I'm still being scolded." Brighton muttered, putting his feet down.

"This is my house, so you're not going to do things like that." Yugi replied.

"Okay. Back to Sophia." Mitchell told them.

"Right. I think a lot of what has been going on is the fact that Sophia is now a teenage girl, and she needs a woman to talk to and help her out. Let's face it. There are just some things that your father and I are not the ones that she wants to come to." Yugi told them.

"Right. Like talking about her period." Brighton stated.

"And boys." Mitchell added.

"Let's not forget about when she wants birth control."

"Enough!" Yugi ordered. He knew all of these things were true, but he certainly didn't want to think about them at the moment.

"Sorry." Brighton stated.

"Okay. I know that. I know that there are things she would rather talk to her mother about." Yugi told them.

"So, what are you two planning to do?" Mitchell asked.

"Well, there is your grandmother that Sophia can go to, but my friend Tea and her family are moving here pretty soon. I'm thinking of asking her to be there for Sophia to go to if she needs to talk about something." Yugi replied.

"You think she will?" Brighton asked.

"I know Tea would be happy to, but I'll talk to Tea about it first." Yugi answered.

"Well, I know that Dad asked us to come here so that we could help Sophia out, but I don't know what we can do." Mitchell said.

"Be there for her. Talk to her. Most of all, talk about your mother. I think Sophia has trouble remembering her mother on some level, and I think that talking about her will do a world of good for Sophia." Yugi told them.

"We can do that." Brighton stated.

Yugi glanced at the clock. "I need to get ready. I have that interview in two hours."

"Yeah. Dad mentioned that you were going back to work." Brighton said.

"Well, all of the kids are in school, so I would be utterly bored if I stayed here. Besides, I miss working, and it'll be nice to get back to work." Yugi replied.

"Why not go back to Domino General? I'm sure that the hospital would have loved to have you back." Mitchell told him.

"I know they probably would have, but I want to work somewhere that I'll have regular hours. I'd have to work eight to five working at the doctor's office, and that would be perfect for me." Yugi answered.

"True." Brighton agreed.

"I'll leave you boys to talk." Yugi said before he headed upstairs.

Mitchell looked over at his younger brother. "So, how do we go about this with Sophia?"

"I guess get things from her perceptive first. Then we can go from there. I think talking about Mom would be a good idea." Brighton said.

"Probably wouldn't hurt to make sure that she knows that Mom would have wanted Dad to move on and find someone else to love and who would love him and us." Mitchell murmured thoughtfully.

"Good idea." Brighton agreed.

"It won't be easy." Mitchell said.

"Nothing ever is."

Yami was doing some paperwork in his office. It was mostly routine things that he had to sign every time he turned around, so he was barely paying attention to what he was signing.

The intercom buzzed.

"Mr. Sennen." Malik said.

Yami was thankful that Malik was still his secretary. Malik was efficient, he kept everything organized, he kept Yami on task, he stuck to company policies, and he was an excellent worker. Plus, Yami didn't have to worry about Malik trying to hit on him. Malik was more than happy with Marik, which meant that he had no reason to hit on Yami.

"Yes." Yami replied after hitting the intercom button.

"Your mother is here to see you." Malik explained.

"All right. Send her in." Yami said. He welcomed the excuse to rest his hand, although he had no idea why his mother would be come.

Amara walked into the room. "I demand an explanation, and I demand it now!"

Yami jumped.

There was a greeting he didn't expect.

"Who? What? I don't-" Yami stuttered, still in shock at the way his mother was treating him.

"I know that you are almost forty, Atemu, and I understand that you have no real reason to discuss your life with your mother, but I expect to be informed about something like this." Amara told him, folding her arms across her chest as she tapped her foot.

Yami gulped. He felt like he was a child again being scolded about something he had done wrong. He felt like he had when he had broken his mother's vase at the age of six and tried to hide it.

"Well?" Amara demanded.

"Um, Mom, what are you so upset about?" Yami asked.

"Why was I not told that my grandsons were going to be in town?" Amara asked.

"Oh. That." Yami scratched the back of his head. He knew better than to argue too much with his mother.

"I want an answer. I don't care how old you are. You will still answer me." Amara demanded.

"Okay, Mom. The truth is that I didn't think to tell you and Dad that they were coming. It was a last minute thing that was decided. Plus, we asked them to come here to talk to Sophia. We thought that talking to her brothers might help her out." Yami explained.

"Well, that I can understand." Amara agreed. She walked over ands at down in the chair across from Yami.

"So, I assume that you have seen them." Yami stated.

"Yes. I went to your house to see Yugi. He's already gone to the job interview, but Mitchell and Brighton were both there." Amara answered.

"Well, I'm glad. Maybe they'll be able to help Sophia out." Yami stated.

"Now, before they leave, we must have a family dinner." Amara stated.

"Okay, Mom. You can talk with Yugi about that and arrange it." Yami said.

Amara raised an eyebrow. "Why Yugi?"

"Because he's the wife in the relationship, and wives are the ones that normally plan dinners like this." Yami explained. He then looked horrified. "Please do not tell Yugi that I called him a wife."

Amara smirked. "I won't, but don't think I won't hold this over your head when I need a favor later on."

"Fine. Fine. Whatever you need." Yami stated.

"Good. Now, I'll let you get back to work. Good bye, Atemu." Amara stated.

"Bye, Mom." Yami replied.

Amara then left.

Yami sighed in relief. As much as he loved his mother, she still terrified him to this day. She could take a single tone with him and still make him feel like a child. Granted, she rarely did anything like that, but he hated that's he still affected him so much.

'I wonder if Brighton and Mitchell ever feel this ay with Yugi.' Yami thought.

Yami knew that Mitchell and Brighton had grown to respect Yugi as another parental figure, and he knew that they valued Yugi's opinion very much. He just wondered if Yugi still had that effect on them.

When Sophia had gotten home that day with Danny, Jared, Gabriella, Abby, and Lizzy, they found that their two older brothers were there.

Since Yugi had some things that he needed to do, Sophia had picked up all of her brothers and sisters that day.

"Mitchell! Brighton!" Lizzy exclaimed excitedly as she ran over to them with Abby, Gabriella, and Jared behind her.

Brighton laughed. "Hey, guys. Glad to see ya."

"When did you get here?" Jared asked.

"Around ten. So, how was school?" Mitchell asked.

"Okay. It's really great to see you guys." Gabriella said.

"It's great to see all of you, too." Mitchell told them.

"How long are you going to be here?" Danny asked.

"We'll be here a few days. Who knows? We might decide to stay longer." Brighton stated.

All of the kids started asking them questions about how they were doing and what was going on with them.

Finally, Mitchell had to take control of the house. "All right. You all need to start on your homework." Mitchell told them.

"We can do it later." Jared told them.

"Do you want to say that to Yugi and Dad?" Mitchell asked.

Jared grimaced. It wasn't a pleasant thought for him.

"I didn't think so." Mitchell stated.

The kids headed upstairs.

"Sophia, hold it a second." Mitchell said.

Sophia stopped and turned to face them.

Mitchell waved her over and motioned for her to sit down,

Sophia walked over. "I'm assuming that Dad and Yugi talked to you."

"Yeah. They are still worried about you, Sophia. They just thought that maybe talking to us will help." Mitchell told her.

"So, what's been going on?" Brighton asked.

Sophia told them everything that she had told Yami. She told them about feeling upset that she didn't have their mother. She told them how she felt like Yugi had replaced her mother. She told them how he had been treating Yugi and everything that led up to her current grounding.

"Damn. I don't think we ever did anything like this." Brighton stated.

"I know." Mitchell agreed.

Sophia looked down. "I'm not proud of what I've done. I regret everything I've done and said to Yugi. He didn't deserve it. He's always been great to me." Sophia stated.

"Yeah. He has. Sophia, Yugi would never try to replace Mom. He knows that she's our mother, and he would never make us forget about her." Mitchell stated.

Brighton chuckled. "I remember the second anniversary of Mom's death. When Yugi found out about that day, he had us get out old home movies we had that had been put on DVD and watch them. He's the one that told us that remembering their life was much better than dwelling on their death."

Sophia blinked. "Hey! I do remember that."

"See. Yugi always wanted us to remember Mom when she was here. I think that's one of the things that helped us out." Mitchell stated.

Sophia sighed. "I guess it's just hard for me when I think about not having her."

"We know." Brighton said. He reached over and rubbed Sophia's back. "Believe me. We all miss her. I know that Mitchell would have liked for Mom to be at his wedding or be here when the baby's born."

"And Brighton would want her to be here for his wedding, but it just won't happen. It's not easy, but you can't blame Yugi for that. Believe me. One thing Dad won't stand for is disrespecting Yugi." Mitchell stated.

"I know, and I know I was wrong." Sophia told them.

Brighton thought a moment before he got an idea. "I think that there's somewhere we need to go."

"But I'm grounded, remember?" Sophia reminded him. She wasn't about to leave the house and get into even more trouble.

"I'll take care of that." Mitchell stated. He took out his phone and made a call.

An hour later, Brighton, Sophia, and Mitchell were all standing at their mother's grave.

"Hey, Mom. Sorry that it's been so long since the last we've been here. Our lives have been kind of hectic lately." Mitchell said.

"Yeah. Mitchell's got a kid on the way, and I'm getting ready to get married." Brighton added.

Sophia was quiet a moment. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had been at her mother's grave. It made her feel kind of guilty that she had not even considered coming to see her mother's grave.

"All right, Sophia. Talk to Mom." Brighton urged.

Sophia looked at the grave. "Hey, Mom. I know I haven't been in here in a long time. I really don't have an excuse. I haven't been the best daughter recently. I've given Dad and Yugi a lot of problems." Sophia bit her lip. "I miss you, Mom. A lot. I guess I've felt like Yugi replaced you recently, but I found out that it wasn't true. I treated Yugi badly, and he never deserved it. I just took my anger out on him. I just, I miss you, Mom. So much." Sophia then started sobbing.

Brighton and Mitchell both wrapped their arms around Sophia and let her cry. Both knew that this was what she needed.

When Sophia calmed down, she knew that she felt a lot better. "I guess I needed that."

"Yeah. You did." Brighton agreed.

Mitchell looked and noticed something. "Hey. Isn't that Yugi?"

All three looked and were sure that it was Yugi they saw kneeling by a grave.

Yugi set the flowers he was holding at the headstone. He then stood up and looked at the headstone. "Hey, Dad. I just wanted to come by and see you. I know that today's your birthday, so I thought I'd come. I just got a new job today. I'll be starting next week. I'm working in a doctor's office this time." Yugi smiled. "I miss you a lot, Dad."

"Yugi?"

Yugi turned to find his three oldest standing there. "What are you three doing here?"

"Well, we brought Sophia here because we figured she needed to see Mom." Brighton exclaimed.

"It would do good. I know that it helped me out a lot." Yugi told them.

Mitchell glanced at that headstone. "Is this a family member?"

"Yeah. My father's grave." Yugi explained.

"Oh. Sorry, Yugi. We didn't mean to interrupt." Sophia said.

Yugi smiled. "No worries. I come here several times a year, but I always make sure that I come here on my dad's birthday and on the anniversary of the day he died."

"Which is it?" Brighton asked.

"His birthday. I just came by for a minute before I go home." Yugi explained.

Sophia was quiet a moment. "Does it ever get easier, Yugi?"

"It always hurts, Sophia, and you'll always miss your mother. You learn how to deal with the pain, and it will get easier. With time." Yugi assured her.

Sophia smiled. "I hope so. I just miss her a lot."

"I know, Sophia, and I understand that you need a woman you can talk to." Yugi said.

"Yeah. Sometimes, I just don't want to go to Grandma." Sophia admitted.

"Well, my friend Tea and her family are moving here to Domino. If you want, I'm sure that Tea would be willing to be there for you. You could talk to her about the things that you don't feel comfortable talking to your grandmother about." Yugi told her.

"Really?" Sophia asked.

Yugi nodded.

"That would be good for you, Sophia. Tea's nice, and you could talk to her." Brighton said.

"I think that it's a good idea, too." Sophia agreed.

"All right. I'll talk to Tea about it." Yugi told her.

"So, should we get home?" Mitchell asked.

"Probably a good idea." Yugi agreed.

The four headed for their cars.

"So, does your father know you are here?" Yugi asked.

"Yes. Mitchell called Dad and made sure it was all right for me to come." Sophia stated.

"As long as he knew." Yugi replied.

Once the four reached the cars, they got in and headed home.

Hope you liked it.

Next: Probably a wedding anniversary for Aknankanon and Amara.

R&R.