1.
Yugi waited patiently behind the high school gates. It was inevitable not to notice the students and teachers staring right at him through their high windows, which each floor in every building consisted;
Wondering just who exactly was he and who was he waiting for. Some of them had probably recognized him by now, there were many names to call him; Dueling Champion, King of Games, holding an unbeatable winning record nobody ever threatened, maybe expect one.
But when the last bell of the day finally rang, no one seemed to care anymore. Hundreds of students roamed down the hallways, striding their way towards the school's gate as if their life depended on it. Yugi searched around relentlessly, hoping to find the one who brought him to this memorial place.
Just before he gave up trying, he got a glimpse of a blonde strand of hair. He walked slower than the others, two friends following each of his sides. That was the time Yugi left his waiting position and stood right in front of him, keeping an even distance between them as he stared at one of them specifically.
As if calling him without clearly stating his name, those two friends at his sides stopped, worried looks met their faces. That never included him. Simply and quietly, the message had been received without him showing it, as he simply called them off, "Go on without me, I'll catch up with you soon enough".
One of them asked silently, "You sure pal?"
"Positive".
"Roger that," the other answered.
And so both of the young man looked the other way, passing Yugi by each side and giving him a suspicious look while at it. Seems like they knew, their friend didn't know this man who waited for him until class was over. But maybe they had recognized him for the least from back then.
Clearly, he didn't mind it. His mind was puzzled, taken by one certain trail of thought, leaving no disk space to anything else but the figure standing in front of him, which reflected in his eyes, staring right back at him with a questioning look.
"I recognize you," he said. "Kame Game Shop?"
Yugi nodded slightly.
"What business could the former King of Games have with me?"
"Wait," Yugi said, an hopeful look on his face. "Do you recognize me now?"
"Of course I do, you were all over the news in your time of glory. I don't know what happened since then, but my father and me used to watch your every tournament, we adored you".
"Oh," Yugi replied weakly, his face falling slightly. "but do you-"
He didn't give up on this just yet, it was entirely too late to give up.
Yugi clearly remembered that day at the store. Once inclement evening, he decided to open it for business after a long period of time which he hadn't. It probably was to keep himself busy, distracted, since the store wasn't busy anymore, it never was.
He cleaned the shelves, wiping out dust and rust from the role-playing figures, some of them including the most legendary and recognizable Duel Monsters cards, such as, Dark Magician Girl and Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Then, all he had left to do was swab the card's showcase clean until it shone against the ray light coming from outside the window.
When it was time to call it a day, he stepped closer towards the door, reversing the 'open' sign to 'close'. As Yugi watched the digital clock hanged over the wall striking six, he couldn't deny it was way too early to close, but didn't see a single customer coming the entire day, then what was the point?
He stopped when he heard footsteps and people talking coming closer towards it. As they opened the door, the chimes swung gently against the wind, alarming him of a new arrival of customers which he already saw coming at the time.
Of course, Yugi was in no mood for that and decided to call them off. They were a large group of five to six people, and it would take some time before they left. He gave them his back, preferring not to face them face to face as they were asked to leave, "Sorry, but we're just about to close-"
"C'mon Atem," one of them said, "let's go to an arcade, why are you so fixed on visiting this old dump?"
Yugi wasn't offended by that last comment. Instead of it, the sound of that name, almost made him jump out of his skin, not daring to look back. His heart beat furiously against his chest, but he knew it would be foolish of him to check it out.
Although the name Atem was clearly Egyptian and not only that, it was a pretty ancient one at that, it was unlikely to meet someone named that way around here from all places. Then again, things like that could happen. Right?
That was, until he heard him speak.
"What's the harm?" He asked. "I heard they sell Duel Monster cards around this area, I thought this might be it".
"Man, that's so old-fashioned".
This time, Yugi did turn around to see, and when he did, not only the broom he held met the floor tiles, but also he did. He started panting heavily, his vision blurring around that figure, which only walked closer and closer towards him.
He laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and shook him a little, "Hey, are you feeling alright?"
Their faces were so close, that little doubt about it remained. Those crimson eyes which stared at him, those odd colored pair, remained just the same as they used to. But how could it be? Yugi accepted his hand which gently but firmly pulled him up on his own two feet. As they stood side by side, their shoulders which remained almost about the same height, bumped slightly.
The teenagers which came in after their friend, simply stood behind the counter, uncertain about what they should do next. Instead, they did nothing and remained frozen on the very same floor tile.
"I-I'm sorry, I just wasn't feeling too hot". Yugi said, forcing a smile on his face. "How can I help you?"
He pretended to be fine outside the surface, but inside, he was a total mess. There was no doubt about it; he should have remained calm and think this through, only then, could he decide the next action to make. It didn't seem like his mind was functioning normally at the time though.
As if reading his pained expression, he replied, "Well, there were some Dueling cards I kept my eyes on for a while, but if you're not feeling well, I could-"
"-Do you really not remember?!"
Yugi awoke back to reality from his inner thoughts.
Immediately after he did so, he turned his backpack to the side, within his reached as it brushed his hip softly. While unzipping it, he shoved his hands into the case and searched for something. The second his fingers recognized it, his eyebrows arched a little.
While Atem watched him silently and patiently taking it out, he didn't say another word, although he probably knew where this was going. There was no way to prepare him for what he saw.
With two hands, Yugi held a golden box between his fingers. Never did he see something like this in his entire life. It contained ancient Egyptian letters and symbols, and on the front side of it, you could see a golden eye carved on it.
"You can't possibly not remember this," Yugi said silently, hopefully. "This was the very same box my grandpa retrieved from Egypt, containing all the fragments to completing the Millennium Puzzle, the same one your soul was trapped in for so long until I... released you".
"Hold on," Atem replied sheepily, "I clearly-"
"A-And that's not all!" He kept at it, his eyes gradually facing the ground. "After everything we've been through together with our friends, during Duelist Kingdom, Battle City and the Ceremonial Duel, there is just no way you couldn't remember a single thing about it".
What more could he say? Yugi couldn't stop now. Because if he did...
"I'm sorry Yugi," Atem's eye narrowed, a pained expression appeared on his face. "there's nothing else I can say to relieve your lost, since as I told you before, I don't remember a single thing about what you told me, because that's not me".
While he started walking slowly away, following the same trail as he did almost daily, rain drops began pouring heavily. Washing the entire scene away, washing it all away, and erasing it like they never found their way towards one another ever again.
But it couldn't end like this, Yugi wouldn't let it. "You don't understand, you just have to be him! There's no other option, you and him, are one and the same!"
Atem stopped, but didn't turn around. "What makes you so sure of that?"
Yugi remained silent. When Atem truly was living inside of him, sharing the same body with him, he could definitely feel his presence whenever he was around. They shared a link, a connection, which now was already lost. Then how did he know? Did he only convince himself to believe that?
" I couldn't be the same person you're referring to, but he should know how significant he was to you. No, I hope he actually does".
That's it? Not anything about it being completely irrational? Not anything about him being completely out of his head? Not a single thing? Maybe it would hurt a lot less if he did treat him like a lunatic, but Yugi knew he never would, because in an essence he really was him.
Instead of it, he took him by the hand and shook it slightly. Yugi remained completely passive to it, as his final words were, "Even if it were so, it's time to bid our goodbyes".
2.
"Turns you found out".
Answered a voice fairly different than the inner one in his mind, harsh and manlier, and also quite familiar. After letting those following words sink in, Yugi's next reply came down with a heavy sight, "I should've known, nothing gets past you".
There was no particular reason to meet his gaze to know, behind his shoulder, Kaiba was smirking idly in return; if he didn't take that as a boost to his already overflowing ego, Yugi didn't know what it was. "For how long?"
"Six months".
Less than initially estimated, but Yugi pretend to think otherwise, "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked adamantly, staring blankly at the froth gathered on the verge of his filled coffee mug, which apparently had already gotten cold.
"You expected me to?"
This time around, he faced him, for first in years. Apart from a few minor signs of adolescences, a shallower cheekbone and a sharper jaw line, he perceived no intrinsic changes in the man he once used to know, not down the surface whatsoever.
Expect for brief changes in his usual everyday attire, he wore the same old KaibaCorp designed sleeveless coat with the patted shoulders, exposing his black shirt from underneath it. The difference was the lack of accessories which he had.
He utterly discarded the spike-studs, the matching pairs of extra belts strapped around his upper arms and shins, leaving nothing but the card shaped pendant left hanging from his neck to the height of his middle chest.
Yugi didn't quite know how to put it, but his expression seemed slightly... softer?
In regard to his question, Yugi knew full well Kaiba wasn't the type to roam around freely, passing on information for no particular reason, expect for his own benefit regarding it. That was why Yugi never sought a reason to answer it by thinking of it the same way he did.
"For the most part, I expected a message, a postcard, or whatever, regarding it".
Taking their exchanging of glances into consideration, Kaiba seemed to take it as an invitation to help himself with the unoccupied sit in front of his, although such an invite was never initiated loudly or so much as gestured.
Yugi, which wanted to hear more about it, didn't dare to stop him.
Long ago before another word was stated by each party, a long haired waitress cut off the silence, offering the newcomer a drink and Yugi a new cup of coffee, which they kindly accepted.
Given the time taken for it to cool off a little, Kaiba simply stared right through the well-worn out window glass of the shop; at the exact well-thought out angled view, which Yugi himself kept staring at only momentarily ago.
From there he could see the oriented table of the burger restaurant who had opened for business just recently, in the side line, there were a few separated groups of abundantly young customers sitting next to the window row, just like he was;
The profile view of a certain teenager could be seen from there. He wore a well-known high school attire which belong to Domino High, his hair was styled in that familiar spiked manner Yugi himself had detached several years ago.
He drank cold juice from a straw, talking and associating with a group of friends wearing those same old uniforms, without a care in the world. That scene had already seemed like it was taken out of a movie, he certainly seemed like that to him.
Kaiba straightened his fingers, as if presenting the small figure from afar within he's gasp, "The reason I didn't tell you was, to avoid what you're doing right at this moment".
Yugi's faced flushed furiously, "What do you mean by that?"
Kaiba's face twitched. "What were you thinking? A thirty years old man running around a teenage boy, without him knowing, what do you think it'll look like when someone notices you?"
Now that he was thinking of it, it certainly seemed like he was bothering him. "W-What is it to you?" He asked, unable to look him in the eye; instead they averted all over the place, just until they rested on the light beam reflected on the table.
"You have to acknowledge the fact, the man you see beyond the glass, isn't truly the one you used to know," Kaiba said indifferently. "in terms of essences, they're completely identical, same name, same DNA, same fingerprints.
However, there's only one thing which tells them apart, and those are memories. Those same old memories which made him who he was for you, for your friends, and also... for myself. He won't be coming back Yugi".
Hearing that left Yugi short of breath. He's patience was running thin as he bumped his fists against his weakened knees, earning a few glances from curious customers, who swiftly shifted their gazes elsewhere when nothing else happened.
"What would you know about it?" He asked firmly and loudly, warm tears began gathering in his eyes, "What could you possibly know?! Did you ever feel like a part of yourself was taken, and after all those years, you encountered an opportunity to retrieve it?"
"I haven't".
"Then you would never understand what I lost that day, someone like you could never hope to comprehend-"
Surprised by his own words, Yugi stopped talking before he had spilled something he shouldn't. Something he would regret about later. Even if it probably didn't affect Kaiba, that wasn't him speaking those words.
"However, I did lose something that day". Yugi looked up, surprised. "After he passed, I've spent endless time wandering, thinking back about what could have happened if it was me dueling him back then, not you. Those thoughts alone won't bring him back though".
Seemingly, as he got closer by each passing day, he never began asking himself to what destination exactly? Could he ever recover the relationship they once had? Was he delusional the entire time, too lonely to see the truth laid right in front of his eyes?
Yugi thought this, as Kaiba continued.
"You've proven yourself worthy to be his equal, to stand on the same ground and live on your own, act like it. Did you ever consider he might not want to remember? Maybe he's happier this way?"
It was hard to believe those words ever came from Kaiba's mouth. He didn't care to admit it, but deep down Yugi knew he was hurt by Atem's departure as well. Those two had a different relation he could never come between.
He could feel the thrilled chill sent to Atem's bones, as he dueled him, a feeling no one else ever made him feel. Then the pace he got over it, was it quicker, or did he only start letting it go on an earlier stage than him?
"He already let you go, it's time you do the same and live on".
And with those words, Kaiba paid way past the bill, leaving his coffee cup empty and left the shop by his own.
3.
"Home at last".
Yugi stated to no one in particular as he entered the door step of Kame Game Shop, worthy of the catchphrase 'games and puzzles to your heart's content' and also, the place he used to call his 'home' for several years now. Now, it was just a temporary thing until he moved out.
Locking the door behind him in a single click, he took one strap of his backpack off his shoulder, simply laying it down the cold wooden floor. Then, he slowly toed his sneakers off and walked down the hallway, not caring to turn on the lights.
It was pretty late anyway, and the sunrise drew near. Coming back so late wasn't part of the plan, but sometimes he felt relieved to be somewhere else. At least there, his thoughts never took the better of him.
In the shop laid an odd number of unopened packages with new products bought for the store, but Yugi never cared to open and organize them on the shelves. He knew his grandpa would have been content, knowing his grandson took care of his beloved shop in his place, but Yugi didn't quite live to his expectations.
He opened the shop in an irregular basis, sometime he felt like it and sometime he didn't. Of course it affected the customer's rate, new faces almost never stepped the store's door step, but there was still some regular ones who remained loyal to the shop. It was hard to do so without recalling back all those memories they used to share in here, both happy and unhappy. It was too painful to make him remember them any single day when he only tried to forget, he hoped he would understand that.
Yugi sat on the back of his knees, in front of his grandpa's memento hanged over the thin, undecorated wall; containing a picture of him, and his torn, most precious Dueling Monster card, 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon".
Then he clapped his hands together twice and prayed for him like he did every day right after he came back home. Since he left early every morning and came back home late, the light switches around the place were mostly never turned on, leaving his grandfather in the dark.
Expect for the duties he couldn't possibly skip, Yugi did everything he could to get them over with, as he climbed up the stairs and simply carved back into his bed. He didn't care about eating, bathing or even changing his clothes to sleep wear, expect for hanging his jacket on the rack in the entrance of the room.
All he wanted to do at the moment was empty his mind and drift off to sleep. Easier said than done. Kaiba's words kept taunting him, because he knew they were hurtful as much as they were well pointed out.
Never did he look back to consider whether Atem was happy the way thing were or not. He only thought about his own well doing, not seeing how selfish and blind he was. That's probably not the way Atem remembered him and he wouldn't want to change that now, even if that teenage boy wasn't truly him.
In essence, he really felt that he was. How couldn't he? He looked pretty much the same as he did back them, acted very closely to the original, although he seemed more carefree and less formal than used to, everything else remained quite similar.
Anywhere Yugi had found him, he was surrounded by friends, like he always should have been, if only he had possessed a body of his own. He wondered whether he had a family now or not expect the father he mentioned, how had he been living until now, and mostly, why was he resurrected?
He would probably never know.
And then... an idea strike him. Yugi rolled off his bed and strode quickly near his drawers. He opened each one of them, searching desperately and quickly until a sigh of relief escaped his lips.
He held the object which he found as close to his heart as possible, and with no regret in the world, shoved it inside his jacket's pocket. Only then was he ready for dreamless sleep until a late morning hour.
4.
The hour was somewhere between morning to early noon, when Yugi awaited behind the high school's gates again. As large groups of students rushed their way back home quicker than ever, probably due to it being a Friday, a sign for the long-awaited weakened which now finally begins, he saw him from afar, striding upright and slow.
The clouds lingering above them joined together, forming largely quaint shapes, causing the entire scene seem somewhat darker, just as it was fitting. When Yugi finally cleared his throat, preparing himself for the worst possible scenario and held back his tears, their eyes met again.
This time, the look Atem shot him wasn't quite as gentle as before. He wouldn't exactly call it hostile either, but it certainly didn't seem affable. As a code Atem had already seem to pass his friends without clearly saying anything, they left on without him, as he drew near Yugi as close as he could, while maintaining an even distance between them.
They kept at it for the first couple minutes, not saying a thing to one another, but simply observing the other, like opponents sharing the same battlefield. The one who broke the silence first was Atem, who had a hard time figuring out just what were Yugi's true intentions all along.
Yugi could see just how troubled it made him, and conflicted. None of his stories proved believable, and yet they were so detailed and particularized, not something even an imaginative mind could come up with easily.
Not only imagination, but they also must have taken a lot of free-time and effort, just thinking about them. And Yugi, he was a public figure, one a lot of children and grown-ups altogether looked up to. He never presented himself as a shady character with an imaginative mind, not anything the media ever caught anyway.
But then again, why would he do that? Why choose some kid to pick on, selling him stories about an Egyptian Pharaoh which used to be his partner, about a golden necklace which tied them together to the very same fate?
It was cruel no matter how he looked at it.
"This is about the other day, isn't it?" He asked, frowning. "If I wasn't clear enough then, then I will be now, it's time for you to call it quits. You've taken it too far, and I won't be so forgiving the next time".
"There won't be a next time," Yugi answered, a sad smile formed on his lips. "today isn't going to be like the others, I won't be trying to persuade you to believe me anymore; I think there's a particular reason why you don't expect for it sounding completely unreliable, that is".
"Then what is it you've come for?"
Yugi shoved a hand to his jacket's pocket the second he asked. Although the objects which he looked for wasn't too hard to find, being it pretty large and taken most of the space inside the pocket, he wasn't too quick to actually draw it out either. Slowly, he reached it out, holding it out to him altogether.
"I wanted you to have this".
Atem stared at the object Yugi held with two fingers intently. Firstly, he saw a thick layer of glass, meant to guard something between its frames, and more precisely, a certain Dueling Monster card.
In fact, it was the older version almost every Domino City resident knew of the legendary wizard, the 'Dark Magician'. Never did he imagine to see one of them right in front of him, not inside of a television or mobile screen.
And more than that, he didn't think there were any more copies of those in the entire world, since it's been so long since they have been produced in that certain version. This card was the original anyone could only dream of, a collector's item which probably be worth a ton.
"It can't be, you're giving me you're signature card?" He asked, his lips slightly parted by shock.
The smile didn't fade of just yet, "Although this card holds a very special meaning to me, this isn't my signature card, not this one".
"What are you saying? This is the card you've won all your tournaments with! This is the same one who helped you out of so many difficult situation before, this is your trump card, and you're simply giving it up?"
When Yugi saw Atem had made no move to take it, he pulled his hand and closed his fingers around it. "That's where you've got it wrong, I'm not giving it up. I'm letting you keep it since your connection with this card is far stronger than mine, no matter which time this is".
And you're already proven it so many times, he thought in his head.
Atem didn't say another word as Yugi positioned his hands back to his sides, disconnecting them from his own while at it; as if saying there's no turning back or he won't accept the card back now, it was far too late.
And now that Atem had seen it from up close, he could get just how well this card had been taken care of, not having a single scratch across it frame or edges. This couldn't be a joke, it was a serious matter.
"Alright, I promise I'll take good care of it, just like you did".
Those were his final words before he left off. Before Yugi had noticed it, it's already been about half an hour that he simply stood there, staring into space and thinking back about what he just did, about the expression formed on Atem's face as he left and whether the real Atem would forgive him, giving someone else his most treasured card.
Yugi stuffed his hand into his empty pocket, and this time, he could finally let them out. And those weren't tears of sadness which he cried, but tears of hope. Hope for a new beginning, and this time for them both.
Between his sobbing, a sound of footsteps became clearer and clearer as the silhouette of a tall man approached behind him, using that same familiar tone while saying, "This time, you did right".