Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Again, this is going to be an adventure for not only Tea, but the author of this story as well! This is going to be more of an adventure/supernatural story... haven't decided how long it's going to be yet. But whatever content it will contain, it will be a bit different from my other stories.

And of course, it will contain romance. No story of mine is complete without some element of it, right?

I just urge you to be patient. I have a paper due Monday and a bigger paper due Thursday. Bear with me.

Read and review, please!

ALG

Chapter 1

The clock had just turned 11pm, closing time for Burger World.

Tea walked nimbly around the small burger joint, looking for something productive to do for someone. The lingering customers just ate away, no one requiring her services. She was closing tonight, so she had to wait until all the customers leave. Thankfully, Lula, her manager, stepped out of the kitchens with her heavy coat on. She made a quick announcement to the crowd.

"Excuse me please, everyone, may I have your attention for a quick second – it is 11pm and Burger World will be closing soon, so please wrap up your meals. Have a good night." With one weary smile flashed at Tea, Lula was gone.

Tea leaned against the register on her elbows, wiping her tired eyes. She had been working since right after school, at 2pm, and she was exhausted. The night seemed to drag on – it felt like she had been waitressing for much longer than 9 hours.

She wondered why this day seemed to drag on so long, compared to other 9-hour shift days she'd had before. She had nothing to look forward to that night, except to go home and do her biology homework. There was no one waiting for her. She had no more important things to do for today. And yet, despite her standing in a small restaurant with other people, an empty feeling of loneliness and despair flowed freely through her heart. This was similar to the feeling when Duke left Domino to tour the world with Maximillion Pegasus, showcasing his own original game, Dungeon Dice Monsters. Only, it wasn't quite the same.

She missed someone.

She missed Atem.

Ever since that fateful day, when she watched him disappear into a door-portal into the world that he truly belonged in, away from her – away from everyone – time seemed to slither on by, like a snail on dry cement. A day didn't feel like a day to her anymore; it more felt approximately seven days, or even ten days. While she kept up in school and her waitressing job, she felt like absolute empty space. It was then, in the midst of this slowly-moving time and space continuum, she realized that she had fallen for the former pharaoh much harder than she had previously thought.

I wish that I could see him again, she thought, even if just one more time… please hear my plea, Gods, grant me my wish...

Tea suddenly felt her throat tighten and warmth tickled her face – she then realized with great dismay that she was crying… in front of a customer waiting to pay his check.

"Excuse me miss, are you alright?"

Tea swallowed hard, attempting to push back her emotions once again, as she had been doing for the past two years.

"Yeah I'm fine. That will be $10.87, please."

Tea glanced at the clock – 11:47pm just rolled by, and the last customer was finishing his meal, alone. He was an older man, in his 60's perhaps, with plenty of scraggly grey facial hair. His eyes always seemed to be searching for something… something he had been looking for a long time. He carried an aura of longing and discontent, which became more noticeable by Tea as he approached the register.

"Good evening, that will be $11.09, please."

The man just stared at her, staring straight into her eyes with his sharp, but fatigued, hazel. He placed his hands on the counter.

"You look lost, my dear."

Tea was startled, quickly recollecting where she currently was – Burger World, 1601 Autumn St, Domino. Seven blocks west from her house, two blocks southeast from that sketchy warehouse in which she was almost mugged and raped…

When she first noticed Yami's existence, when he saved her…

"Oh, I am not lost, sir. That will be $11.09."

The man did not budge. Something was emanating from him, something ethereal and strange. His eyes were watery from their dryness.

"That is not what I mean, young one. I've been wandering this earth for centuries, searching for something to get me through the rest of eternity. My children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren have long since lived and died. There is no greater torment than roaming a place in which you don't exist, nor have a purpose. That, my dear, is being utterly lost."

A tear escaped his eyes and slid slowly down his face, clinging to his jaw line.

Tea's eyes softened; though she thought he was slightly crazy, she understood that this man was indeed chagrined over something, and needed some comfort.

"Uhhh… I am sorry. Don't worry about your check, I can cover it."

He smiled slightly, though his face was still heavy with despair.

"Tell me, my dear, what are you searching for?"

The young waitress was puzzled on how exactly to respond. Something about him made her want to tell him everything, but she knew he probably would not understand once it started to become more supernatural.

"I miss someone very dearly, and I'm searching to fill a hole in my heart from his absence." That was honest and vague enough, she thought.

"He is… in the heavens?"

She nodded. He returned her nod with a look of understanding.

"You love him."

Again, Tea nodded, with a small sigh to follow. She envisioned his face and body, sculpted by angels, and empowered by the Gods themselves. She could even hear his voice speaking nothings to her, in his rich, deep voice that was smoother than honey. She thought of his kindness, bravery, and selflessness. It made her heart heavy with ache, knowing that she once knew him, once stood at his side… once felt his touch… his heavenly touch that spread immeasurable warmth throughout her body.

The man seemed to notice her grief, and his gaze softened.

"You will see him again… sooner than you think."

Tea briefly mulled over those words, staring at the man in wonder. What was he saying? How could he possibly know?

The man removed his hands from the counter and turned towards the door, tear still hanging on his chin.

"Wait!" she pleaded, reaching out for him over the counter. She completely froze, mind and body in total shock, at what she saw.

Her hand passed right through him.

She could only watch in awe as he strolled out the door, tears now falling freely from his face, and fading away in the air long before they could reach the ground. The cold air that passed through her fingers from when she tried to make contact him was still lingering slightly.

"Who was that man?

-To Be Continued-