Here it is, my first fanfic ever. :D Please review afterwards. I hope you think it's good.
FLUFF WARNING: I live for these friendship stories. This wasn't intended to be puzzleshipping (YugixYami), but it could work either way.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-gi-oh. Wish I did, I could really use the royalties.
If You Weren't Here
Yugi was the host of a five thousand year old pharaoh's spirit. He had been saving the world for the past four years. He had been to the Shadow Realm and back. He took on enemies ranging from an ancient Egyptian tomb robber to a giant sea serpent that thrived on human souls. So what was so hard about this English class assignment?
Yugi was so bored by his homework. His bedroom was too quiet and the only thought in his head was the due date for the essay. Eventually, he was bored to sleep, and when Yugi fell asleep with a frustrated mind, he always ended up in his soul room. Yugi looked around the familiar room filled with children's toys and board games in annoyance.
"If only there was a way to just… tell the Millennium Puzzle that not every solution to my problems can be found in my soul room," he thought to himself. Now that he was here however, Yugi could sense something… something wrong. It wasn't that anything looked different; it was just a feeling, like an instinct. It could only mean one thing; it had to do with the spirit who shared his mind and body.
Yugi left his own room and carefully opened the door to the labyrinth that represented the Pharaoh's mind. He called out for his other self, and heard nothing. This didn't make any sense. Yami had to be here, Yugi could sense his presence and there was no way that Yami couldn't tell that there was someone in his soul room, so what was going on?
"How could I break my promise just like that?"
Yugi stopped dead. That was Yami's voice, so he was here. Yugi found him sitting on one of the many staircases. His face was in his hands. Why hadn't he sensed Yugi at all? Before Yugi could approach him, he heard Yami's thoughts again.
"Yugi warned me not to play the Seal of Orichalcos. I betrayed him, but he sacrificed himself to save me. I knew that card was evil." The Pharaoh paused to put his hands down and Yugi saw his face. It was the same face he saw when he dueled Yami in the Valley of Souls after his soul had been captured.
"I knew what I was doing there as well," Yami continued while an image flashed in Yugi's mind. It had only lasted a second, but he recognized it as Pegasus's castle. "I had the best intentions. I thought I was helping Yugi, but then…" At this moment, Yugi heard the voices of Tea and Kaiba in his mind and knew instantly what Yami was thinking of.
"Surrender!" Kaiba dared, "Unless you have the courage to unleash your attack!"
"Kaiba I've never backed away, and I'm not starting now." came Yami's response, "Celtic Guardian attack!"
"Yugi! You can't take this risk!" There was Tea's voice. "This isn't like you, call him back!" Yugi swallowed hard as Yami went on.
"He was afraid of me, really afraid of me. I sensed that fear. That's why… that's why I promised never to go against his wishes again. I didn't want to lose his trust, not ever, but I did anyway. I haven't changed at all since Duelist Kingdom." He stopped for a moment and Yugi considered going up to him before Yami started again. This time his voice was cracking, but it was more angry than sad. "Why am I being so selfish? Yugi has sacrificed his friends, his family, his life, and for what? Because we share a body? Because he has to? I've given nothing in return!" Yami held the puzzle around his neck in his hands and stared at it in hatred, as if he wanted to pin all the blame onto the necklace. "I should destroy this, just break it to pieces. I mean… he shouldn't… it would have been... better. It would have better if we never met."
Yami was so enthralled with the puzzle, that the sound of someone approaching didn't even register. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he finally looked up.
"Yugi! What are you…?" Yami didn't finish his sentence when he realized something in horror. The look on Yugi's face answered Yami's question, but he asked it anyway. "How long have you been there?"
"I heard everything Yami," was the reply, "I heard every word."
"Yugi, I…" Again Yami couldn't finish his sentence. This time it was because Yugi wrapped his arms around Yami's neck in a comforting embrace.
"Don't ever say that again." Yugi said, "It bothers you that I was afraid? Well you're scaring me now." Yugi loosened his grip so he could look Yami in the eyes, but he still held on. "I know I said I wanted a normal evil-free life, but that's not because of something you did. It's not your fault."
Yugi just stared at the Pharaoh. This was so bizarre for him. Normally when things got bad, Yugi was the one who needed a shoulder to cry on and Yami was the one who stayed strong and inspired Yugi to get back up. Now, it was the other way around. But what made it difficult to look into those scared and confused eyes was knowing just how much Yami hated himself. That he thought things would be better if he was gone. Did he really not see how much of a change he had made in Yugi's life?
"I'm not supposed to be here." Yami finally spoke up, "You're a modern day teenager, and I'm an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. I don't belong here, never have."
"Does that make things your fault? You never asked for this."
"But…"
"But what? You can't tell me you'd prefer to be where you were before I put together the Millennium Puzzle. Not after being alone for five thousand years. You can't want that."
"No!" Yami was quick to respond and Yugi felt a wave of mixed emotions, none of them good, shoot through him in a way that only happened when he was feeling what his other self was feeling. He guessed Yami was remembering that empty experience. "I don't want that. It's just… I don't know why my spirit resides here. Perhaps it was a punishment for being an evil pharaoh. Without my memories, I can't be sure."
"Then isn't it just as likely that you're not evil?" said Yugi, seizing the opportunity to break through. It must have worked because Yami didn't contradict him, but he did stay silent. "Besides, it wasn't all for nothing. How many times have I said that you have given me courage and confidence, and even helped me make friends?" Still more silence. Yugi suddenly thought of something. "Let's have a duel, right now."
At first, Yami couldn't think where that had come from, but then he realized with embarrassment that Yugi was trying to cheer him up. He agreed anyway, knowing full well that it did make him happy and they played several games.
When Yugi "woke up," it was almost nine-o-clock. He'd finish his assignment later; it wasn't going anywhere anyway and it was too late now. The talk he had just now had got him thinking about how different his life would have been without the Spirit.
It was Yugi's grandpa who had found the Millennium Puzzle, and he hadn't been able to solve it so it ended up on a shelf in the back of the game shop until Yugi happened to come across it. For that matter, Yugi had only come to live with his grandfather because his parents had died. In that sense, it was a miracle he had met the Pharaoh at all.
Suddenly the memory of Yugi's parents stuck in his mind and he had an impulse to find the picture he had of them. He hadn't seen the photograph in a while and for a moment Yugi wasn't sure where it was. Probably in the closet, that was where he kept most of his treasures, like the other Millennium Items. He had to pull up a chair to reach the top shelf though, just another reason to hate being short. While he was looking, he sensed Yami enter the room behind him.
"What are you looking for Yugi?" he asked.
"A picture," Yugi said without turning around, "I don't even know if its in here, no, no it's here." Yugi climbed off the chair and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Yami, who looked over Yugi's shoulder. The picture showed a couple in their mid-twenties. They looked happily into the camera while standing in a close embrace together. One was a Middle-Eastern woman in a white sundress. She had straight ebony black hair that went down to her shoulders and dark hazel eyes. The other was a Japanese man in a white collared shirt that was tucked into denim jeans and a beige jacket. He had hair that was only a bit shorter than the woman's and tied back in a ponytail that rested on his neck. Yami noticed that the color of his hair and eyes were the same as Yugi's, which helped him to guess who these people were.
"Yugi, are these your parents?"
"They are," Yugi said, handing Yami the picture.
"I've never seen them here at your grandfather's house," Yami continued without looking up from the photo, "where are they?"
"They died nine years ago."
"I'm sorry."
"That's okay."
Yugi lay back on the bed. For a minute, they were both silent, not uncomfortably, just silent because there was nothing else to say. Yami continued looking at the picture. Yugi's parents appeared to be standing in a busy marketplace in a desert.
"Where was this picture taken?" Yami asked.
"Probably Cairo," Yugi said as he slowly leaned back up to a sitting position, "That's where they met. I don't remember Egypt very well so I can't be sure. I think I was two when they moved to Japan."
"You've been to Egypt before?"
"You don't know the half of it. I was born there. My mom was Egyptian." Yugi smirked when he noticed Yami's surprised expression. "It's true. They were both archeologists. They fell in love when they were working together at an excavation in Cairo."
"So you've always had a connection to ancient Egypt." Yami added.
"Yeah," was Yugi's only response. Yami had the impression that reading Yugi's mind right now would be prying, but he could sense that there was more to the story than Yugi was letting on. Yugi suddenly started again.
"As a matter of fact," he paused and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. The next few sentences he said were in Arabic.
"You speak the language," Yami said, slightly amused.
"Mom taught me. I can't believe I remember how; it's been so long since I've used those words." There was a knock on the door.
"Yugi," called Mr. Mutou, "Joey's on the phone."
"Okay Grandpa." Yugi opened the door.
"I thought I heard you just now," his grandpa mentioned, "Were you talking to the Pharaoh?"
"Yeah I was." Having said that, Yugi turned back to the spirit that was still sitting on the edge of the bed and reached out to him through their mental link. "Are you all right?" Yami smiled.
"I am. I'm sorry I scared you."
Yugi left to answer the phone. Sugoroku Mutou watched him leave, waiting until his grandson was out of earshot before he turned and addressed the bedroom.
"Thank you Pharaoh. I don't know what you said, but that's the first time Yugi has talked about his parents since they died. I can't say I'm surprised. He had stopped talking all together until he started putting that puzzle together. He's not alone anymore." The old man left the room and for a while Yami said nothing. Then he leaned back onto the bed, propping himself up on one elbow. He held the photo up again.
"Neither am I."