Umm... Hi, guys. You might've noticed that this drabble is almost three months late. Well, okay, that's stating the obvious.

And I have to admit, this is actually an author's note, but I know it's against the site rules to post note chapters, plus it's annoying to finally get an update on something only for it to turn out to just be a message. So, drabble. But please read this message, since it's really important.

I'm really sorry everyone, but I can't keep my promise to carry on writing these. I got completely tired of this fandom, if I'm honest, and for some reason reading or writing fanfics for it always made me tired and lacking interest, almost feeling depressed for some reason. Some time in early July I decided to try and watch Yugioh ZeXal, which helped a lot, and I've fallen totally in love with the series (Which is also the first anime I've ever finished watching entirely, except for Season Zero which doesn't count because it's only 27 episodes). I know that's going to disappoint a lot of you, but... I've left DM for Zexal, now. There's no character bashing, everyone in the fandom is super cool, and it's just generally a great place to be.

Although I'm really glad I spent my time in the DM fandom with you guys in particular. You guys have got to be the sanest people in DM fandom, as far as I've met, and I'm grateful for it. But I'm sorry to say, I've just really lost touch with the characters in this show, and it took a lot of difficulty for me to even write this drabble.

I've also moved accounts, because I had too many emails coming through from fanfiction on this one, so I'll be on the account 'Shingderp' if you want to talk to me for any reason. I might attempt fanfics for Arc V and/or Zexal in the future, sorry if that's not your cup of tea. But if it is, great, I hope to hear from you again! x3

Anyway, this is the final drabble in this collection... For now, unless inspiration strikes me again sometime. Sorry if anyone's out of character, it's been over two months since I last saw anything with these guys in, so... Ahahaha. Plus my writing's kinda out of touch since only started writing things again yesterday.

I hope it's okay, enjoy!

#56 - Dreams

Words - 1043

Rating - K

Setting - AU (Middle school AU)

Shipping/s - Light hints at puzzleshipping. Sorry for that, I wanted this to be rather friendship-centric.

Warning/s - None

Disclaimer - Yu-Gi-Oh! doesn't belong to me, but to Kazuki Takahashi.

"Come on, guys! Hurry up!"

The sound of laughing could be heard clearly, even from a distance, as five teens around the age of fifteen could be seen running across the sand by the beach. The group, consisting of four boys and one girl, flopped down by the water, chatting away with more laugher and big grins.

"Well, I'm glad that's over!" The blond boy of the group said, casually lying back on the sand, resting his arms above his head. "No more school!"

"For a couple of months," another boy said, this time a brunet. "We still have high school to get through, Jounouchi."

"Hondaaaaaa...~" Jounouchi whined with a slight pout. "Way to ruin my good mood!"

"It was your own fault!"

"Why you-!"

The remaining three teens laughed as the two boys began to squabble, leading to a small wrestling match.

"Yeesh, calm it, you two..." The girl, Anzu, said after finally getting her giggling under control. Her companions, two boys with tricolored hair styled slightly differently nodded in agreement, before Yugi, the one with a slightly tamer hairstyle, spoke up.

"I doubt they will... You know what Jounouchi-Kun and Honda-Kun are like, Anzu!"

Anzu puffed out her cheeks. "Yeah... But a girl can dream, right?"

"Don't waste your dreams," Yami, the fourth boy, snorted. Everyone knows that Jounouchi-Kun..." He turned around slowly as a feeling of foreboding washed over him, only to see that their other two friends had stopped fighting, and Jounouchi was watching him expectantly, a bucket filled with water in his hands. He gave an awkward laugh as he tried to cover up his mistake. "...That Jounouchi-Kun will always win a fight in time to talk to his friends!" The blond snorted.

"Pfft, nice try, Yami!" Without warning, he tipped the bucket of sea water over his friend's head, and he yelped loudly, eliciting more laugher from everyone.

"My haaaaaair!~" He whined, pulling away a large piece of seaweed from his blonde bangs, not even mentioning the fact that his uniform was now sopping wet. Yugi grinned.

"Dork." And with that, he leaned further towards the sea, grabbing an even larger piece of seaweed and dumping it on the other's head.

"H-hey! AIbou! No fair!"

"You asked for it!"

"Well, I'll get you back for that!"

"You're both dorks..." Anzu murmured under her breath, but she couldn't help but smile to herself as Yami pushed his best friend into the sea. Yugi shrieked, and the splash he caused resulted in a soaked Honda, too.

"Am I the only one here who doesn't need a change of clothes?!" Anzu looked around, and sure enough, Yugi, Yami and Honda were all dripping wet from the sea, and even Jounouchi's clothes were damp after the water bucket incident. "Let's go back and get changed, guys, before you catch a cold or something."

Later on that day, the five middle-schoolers, finally with a fresh change of clothes, were all sat on a hilltop after a rather fun and refreshing day. After finishing up on the beach and each going home to get changed, they'd met up again at burger world for a bite to eat, before going to the arcade for several hours. Now, it was beginning to get dark, and Honda had dragged them all out here for a firework display that he said that his sister and her husband had decided to have at her house. The hilltop was the perfect place to see it from a distance, and the teen had been rather eager to show his friends the sight.

"It won't be long, now..." Honda muttered to the others. "Sis is probably just trying to find the matches again. She did that the last time they had fireworks, too."

"Ah." Jounouchi gave a nod of understanding, and they fell into a comfortable silence, eventually punctuated by Yugi.

"It's gonna be weird, not going to Domino Junior High anymore," he said quietly. "But... More than anything, I'll miss you guys..."

Yami blinked. "Huh? We're all going to stay friends... Right?"

"People grow apart..." Yugi averted his eyes from the group, staring at his feet. "I've heard so many stories of friends falling apart in high school. I don't wanna lose any of you, and I'm scared that I will..."

"Don't you dare think like that, Mutou Yugi!" Anzu scolded, conking him on the head ("Hey!" He grumbled, rubbing the side of his head while glaring at her slightly.). "We've all been friends for years, and high school isn't going to change that! I won't allow it!"

"Same!" Jounouchi defended with a goofy smile. "You guys are all my best friends, and you always will be!"

"Don't worry about these things," Honda smiled. "We all get along too well to let time split us up, right?"

"Exactly!" Yami leaned over a bit, hugging Yugi. "We're all best friends. And Aibou..." His cheeks turned slightly pink, and the other three exchanged knowing grins. "I'd never leave you behind. Ever."

Yugi smiled, looking around all his friends. Yes, they were right. They'd all get through high school with their friendship intact, no matter what.

"Thanks, I needed that. I guess that's my biggest dream for high school... That we're all still friends. Besides, we'll see each other at summer break too, so it probably won't matter."

"Umm..."

Everyone's attention turned to Anzu.

"Me and my parents are spending the holidays in America this year. I'm taking an under-sixteens summer school for dance over in New York, so I won't be back until just before high school starts..."

"And I have to do a lot of helping out at home, I guess..." Honda murmured. "I might not get to see you guys as much."

"I never thought about that!" Jounouchi whined. "Oh, damn! Dad's gonna expect me home a lot, too."

"I guess we all have things to do..." Yugi muttered. "Me too, I guess. But even if it's goodbye for now, we'll all see each other again, and that's what counts! This isn't goodbye forever!"

"He's right!" Yami grinned at everyone. "And we can all keep in contact. This doesn't change anything."

Nods from the group, before Anzu suddenly squealed, pointing up at the sky. "Ooh, look! The fireworks are starting!"

And for the rest of the night, the five friends simply sat on the hill, enjoying each other's company and talking about their hopes and dreams for the future. This wouldn't change anything. At least, not in a bad way.

Sorry if it's crap. This prompt was annoying me for weeks. But... Yeah. That's it, for now. Like I said, I'll be moving to the account Shingderp from now on for convenience. Anyway, thank you to everybody for your encouraging words, and for standing by this story for so long! Wow, it's been almost a year since this collection began, and this collection has 485 reviews, 39 favorites, and 46 followers. Holy shit, that's amazing! I love all of you, and I'm really proud to have got to know you guys. Again, I'm so sorry that I couldn't carry on, but DM just really isn't one of my passions any more. Thanks to absolutely everyone who even so much as clicked on this story, all of you are amazing, beautiful people and you've made my day countless times.

(Also, if I ever do continue... #57 is Deep In Thought.)

So, until we speak again, Mana's Madness, out. I hope to see you guys again soon!