This is my first attempt at a YuGiOh one-shot. I've been sad lately, and tried to imagine how Yugi would feel after Atem is gone. Please, no flames - CONSTRUCTIVE criticism please.
I do not own Yugioh or anything associated with the awesome show.
Other than that, enjoy! ^.^
XxXx
Yugi was afraid of death.
He tried to not think about it, but it always popped up in his head from time to time. When it did, he always wondered how he would go about dying (hopefully in his sleep), and how his friends and family would feel.
Where did you go after you died? Did you go anywhere at all? Was there really a place for spirits to go? If there wasn't, would all you see in darkness, or would your spirit be born again into the next life immediately, having no recollection that you died at all?
When it got to be too much, he would freak out until he was able to calm himself again.
When he had met his Other Self, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. The spirit was technically dead, only existing due to ties to the Puzzle.
Yugi made sure to never let the spirit feel dead, though he never knew for sure what it felt like. He shared his memories, his emotions, his friends, his life. He was included in everything, and was always considered. Never once was he forgotten.
Yami (that's what Yugi had taken to calling him) had become the most important person in his life, only second to his grandpa. He would try to forget that someday, Yami would leave him and go to where he belongs.
When that day came, Yugi felt as if he died along with his best friend.
He was able to hold his emotions together on the trip home, instead offering kind words to his friends, giving some of his famous speeches whenever Anzu or Jonouchi requested one, and trading petty insults with Kaiba.
The mask he managed to put together broke like glass when he stepped into his room. He spent many hours on that carpeted floor, sobbing, calling out for his now forever gone friend. He craved his soft, but firm voice. His reassuring hugs. The smile that was only reserved for him.
Atem, Yami's real name they had all learned, had answered Yugi's wish and was his first friend. He guided Yugi through all the hard things, and shared the good moments with him. He helped Yugi discover the courage that was already in his heart. He saved Yugi and his friend's lives a countless number of times.
Atem gave Yugi something to believe in.
Now that Atem was gone, Yugi felt alone once again. He didn't want to go on without him. It would be wrong. He'd forget Atem if he did. He couldn't do that, not after anything the former spirit had done for him.
But he knew that if he didn't go on, he would be stuck in the past. His friends would truly leave him behind; they knew how to deal with these type of things. He knew Atem would be angry; he would want Yugi to enjoy the rest of life.
Yugi was sure he couldn't. His guide, his best friend, his partner wasn't there anymore.
He spent many weeks in the Game Shop and his room, unsure about everything. All calls were ignored, and texts were read with empty eyes. Grandpa couldn't get him out of his stupor, not even with the mention of a new game Kaiba was putting out.
With all the time he spent with only his mind and thoughts,there was one thing he knew for certain.
He was afraid to live.
