"It's become something of a legend in this town" Anzu explained. It was just a typical day in Domino City, Japan. There were no evil threats of late and the gang enjoyed it. A strange rumor began to circulate around the school. It made the students curious.

"What are you talking about Anzu?" Honda asked curious why the brunette girl started to speak.

"The rumor around the school" she said. "The one that everyone is talking about; you know about the murders. They say it's something supernatural. "

Honda thought for a moment. "When isn't something supernatural" he said.

Yugi frowned. "Maybe…it's a clue. You know. About Jonouchi" he said softly.

Anzu glanced at the shorter boy. "You know, Yugi, Jonouchi just ran away. There was a note and everything." she explained.

"But it's not like him Anzu. Jonouchi would never run away! No matter how bad his home life is!" Yugi protested.

Anzu sighed. "Just give it up, Yugi. You are going to make yourself sick with all that worrying" she scolded.

Yugi looked down sadly. "But…Jonouchi is our friend" he whispered softly. He stroked his chest slowly in the place where the puzzle used to be.

The brunette girl just rolled her eyes. "Stop feeling bad for Jonouchi! He chose to run away from his friends! He didn't even ask us for help!"

"Whoa Anzu, calm down." Honda said.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she snapped. "I'm tired of hearing about Jonouchi! It's been a whole four months since he ran away! We should move on already with our lives!"

Yugi flinched a bit at the girl's tone. He got up slowly and headed to the door trying to hold his tears back. Soon the smaller teen was out of sight.

"Great job, Anzu. You upset Yugi " Honda said with a sigh.

"Well, he will have to get over it" she replied.

Yugi sat on the roof weeping silently. His knees were pulled up against his chest. "Jonouchi…where did you go?" he sniffled.

"Yugi?" asked a soft voice thick with a British accent.

Yugi turn his head a bit and stared at Ryou. "Oh..Ryou. Hi" he said wiping his eyes quickly to get rid of the tears.

"What is wrong? Why are you crying?" the albino asked while walking over. He sat beside him.

"Anzu was being heartless again." Yugi said with a small sniffle. "She used to be so nice. But when Jonouchi disappeared, she became really mean" he said.

Ryou looked at him "I have noticed that as well. It seems the whole school has been shaken up with Jonouchi's disappearance."

"You think he disappeared too?" Yugi asked.

Ryou nodded. "Yes. Joey isn't the type of person just to up and run away. "

Yugi looked at him "I just want to know what happened to him. I want him to come back" he said.

Ryou nodded "I do too. Jonouchi was the type of person that when he enters a room, everyone's moods change and they feel better." He said.

Yugi nodded "Yeah" he said with a weak smile. "I miss him a lot. He is like a big brother to me"

Ryou looked at him "I know a lot about the occult and the supernatural. Do you want me to help you look for Jonouchi?" he asked.

Yugi's eyes widen and he looked at the albino boy. "Yes! Please! I need all the help I can get. Anzu stopped helping me look months ago and Honda is so busy with work" he said.

Ryou smiled warmly at him "I will be happy to help"

Yugi felt happy in the first time in months. He couldn't help but hug Ryou. "Thank you! "

Ryou smiled and returned the hug. "So, what makes you think Jonouchi disappeared? " he asked. "I just want to get the facts straight"

Yugi nodded "I understand. Well, it happened the day after we came home from our camping trip. It was Jonouchi, Honda, Ryūji, Anzu, and I " he said. "We didn't realize right away that Jonouchi vanished until his father was murdered. It was all over the news. That night I snuck to Jonouchi's place to make sure he was okay and he wasn't even there. All this things were untouched." Yugi explained.

"So he didn't pack up to stay with a friend or a family member while the house was a crime scene" Ryou stated.

"Yeah. It was strange. On the news, they said they found Jonouchi's father drowned in the bathtub, but there were no signs of struggle."

"How odd" Ryou commented.

"Yeah. So I go into Jonouchi's room and found a note tapped to the door. " he said grabbing his bag and pulling out the said note. He handed it to Ryou.

The British albino began to read:

I cannot bare to be in this world anymore. I just want to vanish. Don't come looking for me. I don't want to be found. –Katsuya Jonouchi.
Ryou frowned. "This doesn't seem like Jonouchi at all" he said.

"I know. The hand writing is too neat. Jono's hand writing is really messy and hard to read." Yugi said.

Ryou frowned a bit. "Yes. This is most troubling"

Yugi nodded. "It is…" he said looking down.

Ryou touched his shoulder. "It will be alright. We will find him. I know! Let us go speak with Kaiba. Weren't they hanging out a bit more before the hunting trip?" he asked.

Yugi blinked and nodded "Yes. Something like that. I think Jonouchi broke something that belong to Kaiba and Kaiba was making him work it off."

"Alright. Let's go talk with him then." Ryou said.

After school, the pair headed to the Kaiba mansion.

"So you are still looking for Jonouchi too?" Mokuba asked as he led the two to Kaiba's office.

Yugi nodded. "Yeah."

Ryou just nodded.

"Seto is too. He is pretty mad that Jonouchi just left without paying him back, but I think Seto is worried." The black hair Kaiba brother explained.

Yugi blinked and watched Mokuba open the door and walk in. "Seto. Yugi and Ryou are here to talk to you" he explained.

Seto glanced at them at them and frowned. "Make it quick. I have work to do" he said bitterly.

Yugi nodded and sat down in a chair near the desk. "Seto. Do you think Jonouchi ran way?" he asked.

Seto frowned "I think he was forced into it. The mutt wouldn't just up and leave" he said. "Especially when he owes me a lot of money"

Ryou blinked "Maybe that is one of the reasons he left?"

"No. It isn't" Seto said. "When he broke my vase in the living room; He vowed he would work it off no matter how long it took. He just wanted another chance to prove to me he isn't a total loser…which he is"

Yugi frowned and pulled out the note. "You think something happened to him…like me and Ryou think as well." He handed the brunette male the note. "Look, this is the note I found in Jono's room. It's not his handwriting"

Seto took the note and read it. "I agree" he said as his eyes skimmed the note. "There is no way, the pup can write this good"

Ryou nodded "Yes. Kaiba, after the camping trip, did Jonouchi come here to work his debt off?"

Seto nodded "Yes" he said.

"Did he act strangely?"

" No. Not what I can tell. I don't pay attention to him while he works. So if he was, I didn't see it" Seto said.

"Wait" Mokuba spoke up.

Ryou glanced at the boy. "Do you know something?"

"Maybe. When Jonouchi was in the yard raking up the leaves, he was muttering something to himself." The black hair Kaiba brother explained.

"Do you remember what he was saying?" Ryou asked.

"Parts of it. It sounded like he was having an argument with himself." Mokuba said looking at Ryou. "It's was creepy to tell you the truth."

"What happened after that?" the albino asked.

"Nothing. He went home. I figured maybe he was just over tired. He did come straight to work from the camp site"

Ryou blinked. "Interesting" he said looking Yugi.

Yugi was looking down sadly.

Mokuba frowned "Hey. We will call you if we find anything" he said.

Yugi looked up at the Kaiba brothers. "Thank you" he said getting up.

Ryou got up as well. "If we have any more questions. We will be back" he said.

The brothers nodded and watch the duo leave the office and the mansion.

Mokuba looked at Seto. "What if..Jonouchi is dead?"

"Then I will track down the murderer" Seto replied. "For killing my servant"

"Seto" Mokuba said.

"Where should we go now?" Yugi asked as the two walked down the street.

Ryou thought about it and looked at the shorter teen. "Let's go to the campsite. "

Yugi nodded. "It's about three hours away"

Ryou looked at the time and it was growing late. " Alright. How about this? Tomorrow is the start of the weekend. We bring our camping gear and do our own investigation. "

Yugi blinked and nodded " Okay"

"Alright. I will pick you up tomorrow then at the game shop."

Yugi smiled weakly. "Thank you for your help, Ryou"

Ryou smiled in return. "You help me a lot. So I want to return the favor" he said walking in the direction of his apartment.

Yugi smiled and headed to the game shop. His mind full of thoughts of what might have happened to Jonouchi and then he silently prayed that the blonde was safe and sound. He also prayed for his save return. In times like this, Yugi wished his counterpart was still close, giving words of wisdom and comforting the small teen in rough times.

Soon Yugi was home and in his bed trying to sleep. The four past months, his sleeping habits had changed and he barely slept. Yugi turned and stared out the window and looked at the stars counting them slowly until, finally he managed to fall into a dreamless sleep.