Yuugi looked out into the night sky from his bedroom window. It was getting harder for him to hide the ache in his heart from his friends. He'd thought he would be ok without his other half, with his friends by his side, but that was proving more and more fruitless. He couldn't tell Joey how beautiful the sky looked tonight, Tristan how lonely his own bedroom now felt, or Anzu how disheartening it was that he couldn't go see his own soul room anymore, let alone the pharaoh's- or Atem's, he amended.

"Aibou."

The teen turned quicker than a flash of lightning. Before him, as the mighty pharaoh he had been, was his other half. "A… Atem?" he asked, unbelieving. "You went back, didn't you…?"

"Someone's deep depression brought me back. I'll let you guess who's." He looked pissed.

Yuugi looked at the floor, further ashamed. Now he'd even let his other half down. "I had thought winning our duel proved I was strong enough on my own. But… but…"

"Aibou, do you remember what I said to you right before I left?" the man asked, eyes becoming softer.

The teen finally looked up at the former pharaoh, tears in his eyes. He recalled the final words Atem had spoken through their now non-existent link and repeated them. "Aibou, no matter how far away you think I am, I am always watching over you," he said. "But I can't feel you near me anymore. I can't even talk to you!"

The spirit looked sadly at crying boy. "Then you feel just as you did before we met," he said softly.

"That's not what I said." Atem's eyes widened, surprised at the sudden sharpness in the teenager's voice. Suddenly, Yuugi looked quite determined. "If you say that, then it's as if all the time we had together was nothing. It wasn't. It meant the world to me. I… I feel like I haven't lost a friend… I… I… I feel like I lost a lover!"

And to his surprise, the spirit smiled. "Aibou, I'm sure there are even lovers who haven't been as close as we are. Sharing a mind with someone destroys all boundaries between the two involved, be it fortunate or not. And it seems as if not this life, but perhaps the next…" he trailed off, Yuugi looking at him curiously. "In any case," the man continued. "You will be fine, aibou, you just need to believe it yourself."

"I… suppose…"

"And Joey may not appreciate a lovely night sky, but I would think Anzu or Rebecca would. Just because you can't tell someone one thing doesn't mean you can't tell them anything. If I know Joey, he wouldn't laugh at you for being lonely. Just make sure Tristan's not around."

The boy laughed softly, closing his eyes to wipe the tears away.

Atem smiled. "That's the aibou I know and love," he said.

Yuugi opened his eyes. "Than-," he began to say, but found himself alone once more.

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"You know what I do to spirits who leave my realm without my permission," the jackal-headed man sneered.

"You denied my request. I had no choice," Atem replied calmly.

"Is that boy really worth such torment?"

The spirit closed his eyes, thinking of everything Yuugi meant to him, then what he was about to go through. Opening them, he replied, "Yes."

Anubis' eyes narrowed at the former pharaoh. "Go now. Tell no one of our discussion. I'll think of a serperate punishment for you."

Atem bowed and left the god. 'I know he's still angry with me, but it's fortunate for me that he has a heavy respect for former pharaohs."