Paradise

By Citrus Luver

Author's Note: I feel so bad. I'm starting another fic with so many incomplete. Actually none of my fics are complete, but they will be. That I know. Uh, what to say? Besides that strangely enough this idea was been in my head for a really, really long time, and I actually have an outline for how it's supposed to turn out from beginning to end. So finally after a really long time, I have finally decided to write it down on paper and hopefully it is original.

Oh yeah. Japanese names are used in this fic. I like them better, and I can barely remember what the English names are or how to spell them anymore. -. -''' I've been watching Yu-gi-oh, the original Japanese version, for so long. Oh and the not so nameless three thousand-year-old Pharaoh will be called Atemu. It was either that or Yuugi, and I thought that would be too confusing.

Atemu has a body in this fic not Yuugi's body, his own body. Basically this fic happens right after the whole ancient Egypt saga in the anime/manga. I don't know how many people know this, but in the manga they didn't go to Egypt immediately. In the manga, the slate was still in Domino Museum, and there was a three month intermission between discovering Atemu's name and actually going to Egypt for the ceremonial battle. So the two years before time that Atemu speaks off happened in that three months. So now everyone is in their senior year in high school.

Oh and finally a warning. There will be shonen-ai in this fic! I repeat shonen-ai, which is boy X boy. Not comfortable with couplings like that I suggest that you proceed carefully. This is your first and final warning.

Summary: The essence of time and illusion, two years early in a game of wrong identity Yuugi was brutally murdered in front of Atemu. Fleeing for their lives, Kaiba gave both Atemu and Surogoku new identities hoping to divert the evil, yet now a strange calling has brought them back. With Surogoku, who is trying ever so hard to regain his business and Atemu who returns to school sees that much has changed since he was last there. All seems peaceful until strange, mysterious and deadly events start occurring, the 'marking'. Yet with each new victim Atemu finds paradise with Yuugi and each time drawing him closer and closer to eternal slumber…

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh!

Chapter 1

Hope

The city of Domino, just like the name implies was a city of lust, illusion, and magic. It was a gem, a jewel beyond a jewel. A beacon of light in a thick ever engulfing sea of fog, it stood out before all others and drew in all from the hinterlands. It drove the rich and the weak hearted. It was founded for its five-star hotels, exotic cuisine… and technology. Funny, how time could corrode anything. After all Domino City was like that no more… a gem? No, more like a burnt piece of coal. It was no longer lively, no longer the haven for all, a place to go home not an ounce richer but a pound happier. Yet at one point it did draw in people like a magnet, yet now it was as if the magnet had broken. All that remained was a town filled with dark spirits and dark hopes.

Something he knew all too well.

His piercing crimson eyes were turned towards the window, absorbing in every detail that passed by. Their color was stunning not the normal blood thirst that was associated with red, but a different type of red. It was like the red of a newly bloomed ruby red rose, a shade more mysterious than romantic, yet they were tainted with a trait that didn't belong. Utter loneliness filled the souls of his pupils. A long slender, tanned hand pressed against the window. The faint drops of rainwater falling lightly. It's rhythmic beat falling ever so slowly on the ceiling before sliding down the windows creating smoothing cascades of water. Long blond bangs flowed over his forehead and fell to his nose. Long ebony black hair framed his tanned face, radiating defiantly. The ends of each piece tinted with the same redness that matched his eyes.

An elderly man sat beside him. Wrinkles covered his once flawless and youthful face now aged by the passage of time. A pair of torn green overalls adorned his body. A black handkerchief adored the top of his head like a cap, streaks of gray hair sticking out here and there. Two small white symbols imprinted upon it. A small bag was sitting on his lap.

Silence lingered in the small cab engulfing the two passengers and driver. The elder man blinked before opening his mouth. He licked his lips moistening them from the dryness that was caused by the cold, wet weather outside. "Atemu," he said quietly breaking the dreadful silence. "How does it feel to finally come home after all these years?"

Silence followed the question. The young man blinked. His hand slipped from the window to his lap. Once again he blinked before shifting in his seat. "Kyoto is my home," he replied simply, a hint of annoyance and anger fueled his words.

A small sigh escaped from the old man's lips. The old man tried again, this time with a different approach. "Atemu, you promised you would give Domino another chance." The young man stayed silent. His eyes flashed at the window, the same loneliness enclosed around them once more. "Please," the old man pleaded, now betraying his desperation.

"Where are we staying?" The hollow words flowed out of the young man's lips.

Now it was the old man's turn to be uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat and readjusted the bundle upon his lap. "The game shop."

A long pause followed. "Why?" A simple word escaped the young man's lips betraying his emotions of hurt and loneliness. "Why, Jii-chan? Doushite?" pleaded the young man. His hands left his lap as he grabbed his grandfather's hands. "Why? Why? Why?" he moaned… each time more and more desperate as slowly tears began to form. "Doushite? Doushite? Doushite?"

The elder man didn't comment but instead looked away. He focused everything on the small water droplet stuck to his window as he tried to drown out his grandson's pleads. His hands still locked into his grandson's iron grasp.

A while later, which had been spent in nearly pure silence, the taxi pulled up to a broken down store. The paint was slowly peeling away from all sides of the store. The sign was falling apart as some of the lettering had already eroded away due to the forces of nature. Nature had ensnared the once vibrant store which had once been filled with laughter and the chattering of gaming fans. The windows were boarded up with planks. Most were now hanging limply from the careless and haphazard nailing that had been done. "You sure this is right place, mister?" the cab driver asked a hint of disbelief evident in his words as he stared at the game shop. The old man looked at his grandson.

"Yeah," said the elder man simply. "Atemu, come on. We're home," said the old man softy undoing his grandson's dead grip from his hands before exiting from the cab. The young man soon followed. The cab driver was already unloading the luggage and setting it on the curb. Once done a simple 'arigato' and a handsome amount of yen was dropped into the driver's hands. With a tip of his hat, the cab driver pulled away leaving a horrified young man with his grandfather, who was digging for the keys to the building.

"Jii-chan, what did you do that for? We… can't" the young man stated before collapsing on to the sidewalk. The rain soaked into his newly paid for leather pants, yet the young man paid no heed. He was beyond caring.

"Atemu, get off the ground. It'll ruin your clothes," the older of the two snapped… trying his best to ignore his grandson's anguish. Too many years had passed and too many unspoken words had be kept between the two.

"Jii-chan! Jii-chan! Are you mad? We can't stay here."

"Atemu," Surogoku snapped. "Just stop it! Stop it! It's been a long ride. I'm not in the mood for this. All that matters is we're home. This is home," the old man's words lingered before dissolving into the night's air.

"I rather see Osiris," hissed Atemu under his breath. Sarcasm and irony lingered in the air as he dug a finger into the mud that covered the street which created ripples each which grew bigger and bigger.

A sigh escaped the old man's lips as he watched his grandson's depressed actions. "Atemu."

"Yes," the younger spoke. He looked up hopefully.

"Come, it's not good to be out in this weather."

The younger nodded. He knew there were no turning back and no way to change his grandfather's opinions. His grandfather was intent on coming home. He, like Atemu, must have heard the calling of Domino and of the ever lingering and undying love from the young boy who had died here almost two years earlier in this house, in front of him… his aibou.

The young man sighed. He walked into the dark, damp abyss that had become of the Kame Game Shop. A lone dark image stood before him. "Come Atemu. I will call the electrician tomorrow. I brought some candles, and we can light a fire in bedrooms tonight." The elder man stated. His face seemed to have aged a thousand years as he limped up the stairs. The young man watched his grandfather's retreating figure. His crouched over back and his wobbling hand has it grasped tightly to the staircase railing. Atemu shook his hand slightly. He knew of grandfather's vow of entering his grave without a cane. He knew what the elder man longed for. They were both crushed and broken by the events that had transpired nearly two years ago. Yet Atemu wasn't and couldn't. How could he when had broken his final promise to the one he loved… yet never got to tell? His aibou… his dear beautiful aibou had died… never knowing his profound and undying love.

Moments later Atemu also transgressed the stairs. His vision lingered upon a door to his left, the closest to the staircase. The faint moonshine that cast through from the window… shone on the door. The door's wood framing was charred and burnt. The wall paint around the door frame was gone leaving beside the remains of burnt cement. The young man stood at the door, for the longest amounts of time he just stared. He stared at the mark… the mark of the devil itself. He gulped and raised his hand. It hovered over the door knob as he had done many times in the past. And for the split second it seemed as if the burnt smell had dissolved and the wood once again retained its vibrant coloring. And the faint sound of music that was playing could be heard. A rare smile appeared on Atemu's face. A sense of longing overtook him. His fingertips nearly touched the steel knob. For a moment everything that had happened in the last two years dissolved away.

And for a little while, a sudden and jolting bolt of bliss pierced into his aching heart. His mind and his heart told him two separate things, yet this time he went with his heart. All he had to do was open the open, and he would be there. His mind ached and screamed at him that it was all a lie. The dead couldn't and wouldn't be revived. Yet his heart told him another. After all, hadn't he himself defined all laws of nature? Hadn't he himself transgressed time… and space? Hadn't he himself transgressed not only a hundred years but three thousand years? Had he been reborn here within the soul of another? Hadn't him… somehow… instead of perishing along with his aibou… like most had expected… instead lingered on in this world in the body he had gained? His soul, his spirit, had survived the passage of time and space so why couldn't others?

For the longest time, Atemu expected… no knew… that the moment he pulled open the door before him that he would find his aibou sitting in front of his desk or on his bed. The faint glow of heavenly light would transpire in the room. His cherubic head would be bobbing to the music… his angelic voice singing along. It was a beautiful sight and one that he always cherished. But it never lasted long for his aibous always knew. The moment he would walk into his aibou's bedroom his aibou would look up. All thoughts of studying for his next exam would vanquish and a smile would appear on his aibou's face. He would bounce up from his bed and run to give him a hug. He would then sit on the ground while his aibou would pull out one of his infamous board games, and the two would play. They would play for hours till a winner would emerge.

Tears that Atemu didn't even knew he had left fell from his eyes. They rolled down his cheeks. His fingers were mere centimeters from the knob…

"Atemu!"

Atemu gasped. His lungs throbbed. He hadn't noticed it, but he had been holding his breath. His lungs burned as he fueled them with air. Sugoroku watched his grandson stumble back from the door. He fumbled with his hands trying to hid their previous almost sinful deed. His eyes seemed to have dimmed over as if in a trance before seconds later dissipating.

He glanced at the door that the younger had been standing in front of moments earlier. His face clouded over. What had the younger been doing or more like seen?

"Atemu! Come… I made you a room in the guest room." Sugoroku stated. He walked over to the boy and grabbed his arms. The younger made no movement to saw he had heard. He was still stunned. He still longed to open the door. But just as Sugoroku pulled him into the guest room… his eyes caught a flash of the charred door. It no longer felt friendly but ominous… not ominous… but pain? Atemu gulped before sitting down onto the bed. A boxed lunch was sitting on a dust covered table. A lone candle sat beside it to give off comfort. He hadn't noticed that his grandfather had gone around and had lighted all the candles in the house.

"Eat!" The elder urged. He placed a pair of chopsticks in his grandson's hands. Atemu nodded. Still too stunned from remembering his aibou and how for a second he had felt as if time had reversed and taken him back to when times were good. It had been a long time since he thought about his aibou and saw his features that clearly in his head. Just months earlier, he had been afraid that he would someday totally forget what his aibou looked like, sounded like, and felt like.

Would being here help him? Would dare he say it home be the cure that he longed for? To soothe his aching heart and walk into the light that he dared not believe was there any longer? Or would? Atemu looked up and watched his grandfather leave the room for his room across the hall. "Jii-chan!" The boy called.

"Hmm." The elder man asked and turned around. His face masked with pain and suffering.

"You were right. It is good to be home… home." Atemu whispered lingering upon that word. He pushed aside pain he thought the door had given off just moments earlier for the friendly and vibrant feeling when had just walked up the stairs.

"I'm glad. Oyasumi Atemu. If you need anything, I'll be across the wall. I left your suitcase in the closet. There should be running water in the bathroom."

The young man nodded and watched his grandfather exit. His door swung shut, leaving him alone in his bed with his boxed lunch. Yet hope and determination had transpired through his body. He would go through that door. He would open it… soon.

And… and Aibou would be there on the other side… waiting for him. A smile appeared on his face. He would feel his hug and smell his strawberry scent. And they would hug like there was no tomorrow and no time had passed. And… when he told him everything that had happened, Aibou would laugh. He would laugh and say 'it was all just a dream and his imagination was getting the better of him again'. And all would be well again…

Yes… that was all he had to do… open the door…

Open the door…

To paradise.

-TBC-

A/N: Well? How is it so far? Bad? Good? Remotely interesting? I have no idea. Should I give it up… or continue? Is it even original? I know there are tons of fics out there where Yuugi has died… but I decided… I don't know. Give a spin to it. Worth continuing? I have no idea. It's your choice.