"Yami! Don't-"
"Yuugi. I have to. You know the rules. You won the duel, and now I must go." The taller boy's fingers were slipping away from mine.
"YAMI-" His stoic expression softened, as he pulled away, his dark blue jacket flapping in the nonexistent breeze. The dark blue softened in color, as he approached the blinding white light. "Yami…" a single tear trickled down my cheek. His booted feet paused on the threshold as he tipped his head away from the light. Was he hesitating? I rushed up after him, begging him to stay. A slight smile touched his lips, and his thumb protruded from his hand; our old signal. Then, he was gone.
The tears that had threatened before now began to flow, as I sank to my knees, my palms embracing the icy temple floor. Sobs wracked my chest. He was gone. A familiar hand appeared on my shoulder.
"Yuugi…" Anzu. The person I honestly wanted to see the least right now. I could not move, I could hardly breathe as my soul fractured, and all traces of my yami, my best friend, disappeared, flowing away like the shifting sands.
He was gone.
-
Fuzzy yellow hair tickled my nose. My eyelids fluttered open. Jounouchi, my best friend as long as I had known Yami, carried me, my arms draped around his neck. At another other time, I would have laughed to be piggy-back riding my friend, but not today. Maybe not ever, anymore.
Honda appeared next to us. "You okay, Yuugi?" I did not move, my eyes glazed over, half closed. The airport slowly materialized in front of us, far in the distance, and I realized where we were headed. They wanted to take me back to Japan, far away from my beloved yami. I summoned my strength, testing my muscles.
"Hey, Yuug! What are you trying to-" Jounouchi never finished the sentence. I dropped my arms, slid down his back, and pushed away. I would return to the temple and wait for my yami's return. Without warning, I spun around, and began sprinting back the way we had come. Honda and Jounouchi's shouts of alarm mixed as they realized where I was going. The ever-threatening tears spilled down my cheeks, my ribcage thumping, my boots pounding the soft earth. My energy fed by adrenaline, I kept a swift pace. Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu, and Marik could not catch up.
The Egyptian wind caressed my face, urging me onward. A misstep in the sandy earth threw me forward, my feet temporarily leaving the earth, my ribcage thudding against the sand. Driven by my desire to see my yami, I hurriedly stood and threw myself forward. The sounds of my friends' footsteps hammered the ground, keeping time with my heartbeat. My eyes narrowed, searching the horizon for my destination. The sandstone building of my yami's demise rose up in the east. I immediately altered my course. Anzu and Honda's ragged breathing filled the air as Jounouchi and Marik closed in on me. Marik, used to running on the soft soil of his homeland, easily kept pace with Jounouchi, the strongest and fastest of my friends. I had never hated them, or anyone, more in my life than I did now.
My final step towards the place I was destined to never reach again brought me to my knees as Marik threw himself upon me. I tried to shake him off, but Jounouchi sped up, taking advantage of my handicap. He threw me into the sand, covering my body with himself to pin me down. I struggled, oh I struggled, but I could not escape. Honda and Anzu, then Marik's caravan appeared behind us. My eyes wild with fear and anger, I kneed Jounouchi in the crotch and threw sand at Marik. I don't know whether I hit my targets, but I was suddenly free once again. As I scrambled to my feet, Anzu grabbed my arm. I shook her off, accidentally slapping her in the face, but not caring. Honda, thinking like Jounouchi, tried to tackle me, but missed when I sidestepped.
I misstepped, rolling my foot, and I collapsed in the sand, a few hundred feet away from my previous sand bath. The sand grains settled in my hair and more pooled around my body. My energy reservoir of emotions was dry. I had nothing left. I twitched slightly, unconsciously muttering HIS name over and over. I was again rendered motionless. Through my reverie, a pair of tanned arms lifted me from the sand. My face brushed up against the familiar white linen. Was it Atem? Had he returned? My eyelids remained half-open. Crooning voices washed over me, then faded out.
-
"Yami... You disappeared. I thought you had gone. How could you pull such a trick?" The familiar figure of my alter ego shrank a little bit in my doorway. I sat in my desk chair, staring blithely at him.
"I... I'm sorry Yuugi. I misunderstood... And I think you do to. Did you think I WANTED to leave, and leave all my friends?" Yami fingered his wristband. I stood, pushing the desk chair away, approaching him. His kind expression suddenly twisted into a sneer of hatred. His black and crimson hair morphed into spiky white hair. Akifa looked down on me, chuckling insanely. Swallowing hard, I banged against my desk trying to back up. My archenemy shivered then split; the second Bakura morphed into Yami Marik. My eyes widened in fear. The Millennium Ring and Millennium Rod glowed dimly. I couldn't move. They had frozen me in time. The Duel Monsters cards materialized behind them. There I was, little Yuugi all alone, surrounded by only enemies. My own Dark Magician and Dark Paladin lowered their wands at me. Summoned Skull was completely charged. Winged Kuriboh flitted up to me, searching my face. As I watched, another face appeared in the Kuriboh's eyes. HE was there. And he was calling my name.
"Yuugi! Yuugi! YUUGI!" A hand roughly shook me awake. A flash of white obscured my vision.
"K-Kaiba...?"
"Yuugi." Seto, my old archenemy and currently tentative friend, stood before me, his face unreadable. I glanced around, realizing I was in my bedroom. I closed my eyes again, overwhelmed by the thought that it had been two weeks since I had arrived back from Egypt. Two weeks since Yami had disappeared. I glanced to my closet, where I had disassembled and hidden my Millennium Puzzle. Seto followed my gaze to the golden box, hardly visible on the closet shelf. "You miss him, don't you." It was not a question that required an answer. I looked away, not daring to see Seto's expression. A sigh brought my gaze back to him. I sat up on my bed, staring sadly into the distance. "Yuugi." He walked to the window, his shoes not making a sound. "I am beginning a side project in assembling a private dueling school. As the King of Games, I came to you to implore-"
"I'm not the King of Games." I spoke quietly yet with defiance. "Yami is the King of Games. Without him, I am nothing. YOU could easily destroy me in Duel Monsters."
Seto had not looked away from window. "Yuugi. Regardless of Yami, you are a strong and popular duelist. You have no idea what it would mean to me, the students, and the school, if you were to join the staff, or at least live there."
I looked away in embarrassment. How could I show my face to the dueling world? I could lose to anyone, especially with Yami not by my side. And then where would I be? The owner of many rare and powerful cards, yet I could still lose. I no longer believed in the heart of the cards.
"I don't want you to answer right away." Seto had not finished his proposition. "Think it over, and give me your answer later." He swept toward the door, pausing as he opened the door. My eyes snapped shut as a flash-back and a fresh wave of silent tears erupted. The tall, silent figure, standing in the doorway, about to leave could so easily be morphed into Yami's departure. When I gained control of myself once more, Seto was gone.
I felt for the tissue box, but it had once again run dry. Sighing, I tip-toed my way to the closet, searching for more. I sighed, staring at the shelf. Carrying three boxes back to my room, I pulled out the Millennium Puzzle box from the closet as well. The chain I had so often worn with the puzzle was also removed from the closet. Perched on my bed, my nimble fingers drew the pieces of the mini pyramid from the box in an attempt to reconstruct my old accessory. The battered golden pieces slipped into place without a murmur of protest. Once again, the Millennium Puzzle had been assembled. Except this time, nothing happened. There was no Pharaoh inside to split and share my soul. For some foolish reason, I thought it would.
Shattered hopes and a shattered soul pooled around me. Suddenly angry, I chucked it out the window, not bothering to see where it disappeared. I stood, deciding I needed a hot shower to clear my head.
"Yuugi! You have a visitor!" I stuck my head under the showerhead to rinse out the shampoo. Would no one leave me in peace? Fresh tears mixed with shampoo and water and flowed down my face and neck. The shower handles squeaked off.
Five minutes later I cracked the door open, dry and dressed. No one was in the hallway. Slightly confused, I tip-toed down the stairs, reluctant to see anyone. A familiar stranger stood by the kitchen sink, staring out the window at the neighbor's garden. His attire resembled that of my high school uniform. No, it WAS my high school uniform. The blue cuffed pants, black sleeveless top, the blue jacket swung over his shoulder, revealing two studded belts looped around his waist and a belt choker around his neck. Two similar studded belts covered his wrists. His spiky black hair which nearly doubled the size of his head was edged with burgundy. But, most importantly, the Millennium Puzzle which I had just thrown away, was gripped firmly in his left hand.
He turned, displaying his crooked blonde bangs, and a SECOND Millennium Puzzle hanging around his neck. If my eyes could get any wider, they would have just then. I swallowed hard, tripping backwards into the stairs. It was like my recurring nightmare. Part of me called out, I wanted to call out to him. I wanted to call him by name and hug him and know that this apparition was my yami. But another part of me was angry, angry at him for leaving. My conflicting emotions compromised with tears, once more. "H-how…?" He laid his jacket and my Millennium Puzzle on a chair, looking away. When he spoke, his comforting voice was gravelly with emotion.
"Yuugi. Hikari. I suppose I owe you an explanation and an apology." He turned, facing me. Tears poured down my cheeks as he strode silently to where I was sprawled out on the stairs, squatting down beside me. I turned away, curling into a ball, hiding my face from his.
"Yuugi…" Exasperation and sadness filled his voice. Would he turn into Bakura again? "Yuugi." Yami touched my arm, shaking me gently. I hiccupped loudly, my forehead twitching slightly. He looked out the window and nodded to someone. I uncurled slightly, craning my neck to see who it was. No one was there. As I looked around in confusion, his fingers touched my shoulder lightly. I curled up again, reluctant to let him near. His fingers caressed my face, reminding me of the way he had left, slim fingers slipping away. Yami brushed my hair away, out of my face, wiping away the tears. "Y-Yami…" I stuttered. He shushed me, shifting into a sitting position. For a long while we just sat there, him rubbing my back, my eyes closed. I couldn't take it any longer. I sat up and hugged him tightly, with a fresh round of tears threatening. Like the ever-patient yami he was, he allowed me to cry into his shoulder. "I... I'm getting your shirt all wet!" I blubbered. But he just shook his head and held me closer. As I sat there, I came to a realization. Yami had all the love I had ever wanted. I didn't want Anzu or Mai or Miho, the latter had transferred about two years ago. Yami was my soulmate, quite literally. The only one I loved. As I came to this realization, I looked up at my friend. My tears had stopped, and I knew this wasn't a nightmare. "Yami... I..." he placed a finger to my lips, quieting me. I knew from the look in his burgundy eyes that he had known and felt this all along. I blinked, sensing the wetness in my eyelashes. "But, how could you come back like this? What happened?" he smiled quietly. "Atem is the person I was 3000 years ago. I am his spirit. However, you are his reincarnation. And I... I'm sort of a mix of you two, but I used to belong more to the Millennium Puzzle. Atem got sucked into the light, back in time. Not me."
I had nothing left to say. My eyelids fluttered with tiredness from the tears. My eyes flew open as Yami's fingertips caressed my chin, tilting it upward. My heart thumped as his lips met mine. I pulled away, then held him closely, never wanting him to leave. His lips brushed my forehead. "Hey, uh, Yuugi... Do you still want the Puzzle?" I glanced up at him, startled. Then, nodding, I leaned my head on his shoulder.
"Yami... If you're a spirit, why do you have your own body?" I futzed around with the hem of my shirt, now leaning against him.
His eyes followed my fingers as they rolled and unrolled the cloth. "It's difficult to explain. Instead of disappearing with Atem, I kinda... broke away from him. When I fully extracted myself from Atem, it was the power of the Pyramid of Light mixed with the Millennium Puzzle's power that was able to solidify my soul into a human being. However, because I was the only one there to perform the spell- I could not wait- the Pyramid of Light was a good distance away, so the spell will only last for so long. After some time, I may have to return to the Millenium Puzzle to recuperate, and at that point we may work together as we used to."
I nodded silently, accepting his story as fact. His forehead tapped mine as he gazed into my eyes. I began to feel myself tipping backwards, was he pushing me down? but kissed him back anyway. "Yami... I-" my back touched the carpeted step and a tiny jangle from the chain on his pants announced the movement of his leg over my body. I shivered in anticipation, his sweet lips pressed against my own. Oh, how GOOD it felt! I threaded my fingers into his cleverly spiked hair and looped my other arm around his waist. I might as well take advantage of our time now... It would awkward trying to make out with myself later! A giggle bubbled in my throat at the thought, breaking off our kiss. He smiled down at me, like a guardian angel. Tears prickles the corners of my eyes again, this time happy tears. A slim finger appeared on my lips, quieting me, brushing away my tears. Yami scooped me up in his muscular arms, easily climbing two steps at a time. Shoving the door open with his shoulder, he laid me out on the bed, kneeling by my side, pushing my bangs away and gently pecking me on the cheek. "I'll be back up in a few minutes." He disappeared down the steps. I lay on my bed, wondering how things could have fallen into place like this. Did he come back because of the Millennium Puzzle being reassembled? A familiar shape appeared in the doorway.
"Hi Grampa." I smiles tiredly at him.
"Yuugi... Yami has returned..."
"I know, Grampa. I hope he can stay." I turned over and my eyelids drifted shut, gently weighing me down into the most restful sleep I had had in weeks.