A/N: I have no idea whatsoever how this story is going to turn out. So just bear with me if I'm a bit slow at updating! I don't know what the pairings will be so I need input.

Disclaimer: No I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, if I did Yami Bakura would be mine.

Summary: Atemu finally has his own body thanks to the gods wish for him to make up for his past life. But now everyone is seems to have no time for Yugi, who is drifting further and further away from the group. When Yugi find out Ryou was treated the same way by Bakura they become fast friends. Will they ever return to Domino the same?

"…" dialogue

'…' thoughts

Chapter 1: Too Much

Yugi didn't look up as the door closed with a loud bang behind him or when his once best friends' laughter came though the closed doorway. Looking sadly at the floor, Yugi eyes brimmed with unshed tears as he recalled the times that his friends were his. The times when thoughts of death, pain, hate, and hopelessness weren't clouding his head. Lifting his head up, a broken boy, clear, expressive, amethyst eyes full of laughter, hope, and joy, now shone devoid of emotion except sadness and pain. Yugi's tri-colored hair was limp and dirty from weeks without washing and his body looked like a skeleton.

As he heard the laughter filtering in from the cracks in the door, Yugi smiled, a small, sad smile that had the power to bring even the emotionless to tears as the familiar pain stabbed though his heart. 'I was foolish enough to ever think that they were my friends, all along they were here for him and not me. Never me…and who blames them. He is the confident one, the strong one, the perfect one. I'm…I'm just a weak, little boy who can't do anything...'

Ever since Atemu gained a body after Battle City, he had slowly begun to take over Yugi's life. First his friends – who he found out later were never really his friends in the first place and only stayed with him for Atemu – began to abandon him time and time again. His grandfather tried to comfort him but soon stopped acknowledging him all together in favor of focusing on his new branch of business given to him by the request of Atemu from Seto Kaiba. Yugi's grandfather worshipped the ground he walked on after that. And if that wasn't enough they all ignored him, when he tried to be optimistic in the beginning and involved in the group as much as possible, they just brushed him off. His so-called friends didn't even acknowledge him anymore; he was just a shadow, not worthy enough to be in their presence.

When he heard the door close and the house become silent Yugi got up. 'I bet none of them even paid me any thought whatsoever. It certainly shows when they don't even see if I'm in the house or not.'

A painful memory resurfaced as the boy walked slowly down the stairs. Yugi remembered, he had walked into the living room to go to the kitchen for a drink when he over heard the conversation.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"He is good for nothing, why do you let him live here anyway?" Mai said her sugary voice arrogant and frustrated. Yugi could imagine the busty blonde checking her painted nails at this point, making sure she stayed perfectly perfect all the time.

"Because he can do the chores and clean the house, after all a king needs a few servants." Yami replied, leaning against the wall. His blonde bangs surely hanging over his head in a way that made girls sighed and giggle to the extreme.

Just as he predicted, a highly flirtatious giggle escaped Anzu. "You're so kind Atemu." She gushed. "That boy doesn't even deserve to be in the same country as you."

"I know." Atemu replied, his very voice telling of the arrogant smirk that adorned his lips. Then the worst came, they all laughed.

XxXxXxXxXxX

They had laughed and talked like he wasn't even there. That had happened a week ago and now they took every possible chance they got to harass him. Shaking his mind out of his memory reserve, Yugi opened the door to the living room, intending to go into the kitchen; however his hopes were dashed when he was stopped by none other than Atemu and company. Atemu smirked at him while the rest of the group snarled in disgust at his appearance.

"I knew if you thought we were gone you would come out!" Atemu exclaimed triumphantly, his eyes glancing over his body in barely held back disgust.

Yugi mentally rolled his eyes. 'Wow, what an accomplishment.' He thought sarcastically, enjoying the slight momentary feeling of insulting his attacker, even if he couldn't hear it.

"Now get us snacks and drinks while you go to the kitchen."

Yugi eyes narrowed in anger, something that happened quite often recently. "I'm not your personal slave! Go get the food yourself!" He snapped his posture defiant and stubborn.

Too late, Yugi realized it was the wrong thing to do. Atemu hated people who defied him, especially in public. Atemu's eyes now narrowed with rage and a hand rose and slapped Yugi on his right cheek. Even at the peak of his health, Yugi had been light for a fifteen year-old boy and now with his body malnourished, Yugi fell to the floor heavily.

"How dare you speak to me like that, lowlife! You should be glad that I even allow you to live here!" Atemu snarled at Yugi as he repeatedly slapped and hit him with no remorse. Even as he was thrown to the ground, Yugi didn't flinch or cry out at the sharp, stinging blows marred his skin. He didn't even feel hurt at the fact that Joey and Tristan joined in the beating like it was a favorite pastime. He had no more tears left for them, he wouldn't cry anymore, not for people like them.

'I have felt much worse than this.' Yugi thought even as the girls giggled in amusement. God, how anyone thought they were attractive was beyond him.

Yugi let his body rest on the floor for some time after they left him before getting up and going back to his room, forgetting the reason why he wanted to go to the kitchen in the first place. He took out his duffel bag and threw everything that meant something to him in it, along with a few clothes, a couple of knick-knacks he threw in the bag also.

His hand brushed a hard, metal object, cool to the touch and made out of heavy material, the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi hesitated; the object was the catalyst of introducing Yugi to Atemu in the first place. Biting his bottom lip, Yugi made up his mind and took the millennium item, fastening the large piece around his neck and slipping it under the large sweater he had thrown over himself.

Rummaging through his desk, Yugi searched for the ticket that would take him to Egypt, fingers wrapping around the black, velvet box deep within his drawer. Clicking it open, Yugi gingerly lifted the ticket like lifting a hen's egg from beneath the hen, from underneath instead of above. This was his ticket to freedom. Below the ticket glinted something that Yugi had completely forgot about, another piece of powerful jewelry. An all-knowing eye stared back as he traced the outline of the Millennium Necklace.

A gift from a person that meant a lot to him, a woman who desired to protect the pharaoh and thus needed to protect him when the two had shared the same body. Just as much as she wanted to protect the pharaoh, she had wanted to protect Yugi as well from the dangers of being associated with the ancient being.

Quickly coming to a decision, Yugi grasped the necklace and tied that around his neck making sure to slip it under the collar too. He wasn't worried that the two metal objects would be detected by the security gates at the airport. The magic within the two ancient artifacts bent the magnetic fields around them in such a way that they would slip by unnoticed.

Getting out of his pajamas pants, Yugi threw those in the duffel bag and dressed in his usual leather pants and went out of the house to take the next bus to the airport. 'No one is going to miss me anyway. They'll probably miss beating me up and ordering me around but that's all. But that won't happen when I come back. If I ever come back.' As Yugi look out the bus windows at the blur of buildings he made a silent vow to become stronger.

The airport was bustling; it was easy to blend in among the people. Just like Yugi thought, the metal detectors didn't make a sound when he passed through, causing an uncharacteristic smirk to adorn his face.

As Yugi was boarding he saw a blob of white hair ahead of him. The distinctive spikes that some how looked soft even when they narrowed to a point made Yugi gasp. Another larger state of surprise hit the small teen when the white blob turned around. "R-ryou?"

The said boy looked up from the ground in confusion and a bit of panic, which turned into relief when he saw Yugi. "Oh, hi Yugi."

'That's weird, why would Ryou panic like that?' Yugi shoved the thought away from his head. 'It's probably nothing. I would panic too, if somebody called my name right now…'

Turning his mind away from his current thoughts, Yugi's forehead furrowed and asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Ryou pointed out, his hand absently rubbing his forearm.

Nodding, Yugi kept silent as they took their seats, which were conveniently right next to each other. As the plane took off they were silent through out nearly half of the ride when Yugi decided he couldn't take it anymore.

"Ryou, you want to know why I'm taking a flight to Egypt. Am I correct?"

Ryou nodded.

"It's because…it's because no one wants me around any more. My friends don't acknowledge me. Heck, they even laugh when I'm insulted or beaten."

Ryou's soft brown eyes widened.

"Really? ­I never thought that would happen to you, I mean you and your friends used to be so close."

"Keywords in that sentence: used to be. Before I found out that they were only my friends because of Atemu." Yugi replied bitterly.

"Well, I have my own confession: My friends – your friends – ignore me too. And they also harass me when they're over." Ryou whispered.

Yugi's expression twisted into one of confusion. "But you can just not invite them, can't you? Atemu is always the one who invites them over to the house. You obviously don't like them anymore so who's.....­Oh, it's Bakura, isn't it?"

Ryou nodded sadly, wringing his hand at the memories. "And the thing is he seems to enjoy it as well. My connection with him was severed some time ago."

Yugi thought about it. "Yeah, mine was cut off too. I guess I never notice because it was a small thing and I hated Atemu by then."

Ryou's eyes widened to saucers.

"What?" Yugi asked worriedly.

"Oh, it's just I never heard you say the word hate before. But I feel the same, I absolutely despised Bakura now. I thought I could get along with him in the beginning but now ­I know it won't ever work." Ryou sighed, burying his face in his hands.

Yugi nodded in agreement, comforting his friend as much as he could by rubbing soothing circles on his back. Finding another person in the same situation made them both feel immense relief. They pour out their stories from the beginning and by the end of the flight they knew each better than they knew themselves.

"Hey Yugi you have any idea where you'll be staying in Egypt?" Ryou asked, staring out the window of the plane, the loud buzz of the engine filling his ears now that the serious subject had passed.

"I was hoping to go to Malik's place to ask if I can stay, but I really never thought about it. And of course you can come with me."

Ryou smiled as Yugi read exactly what was on his mind. A few more hours passed before the plane landed and both of them getting what little belongings they had, went to the area where Malik lived.

After a few hours…

"Yugi, do you know where you're going?" Ryou sweat dropped as Yugi turned around shaking his head frantically in every direction, trying to find some sign of someone they knew.

Sighing again, Ryou said, "Didn't Malik say they lived on the outskirts of town? Let's try there."

Yugi nodded, following Ryou. When they reached the outskirts of town, Yugi, in a moment of klutziness, tripped over a small pebble. Expecting the hard ground, Yugi braced himself for the pain. But the pain never came as two muscular arms wrapped around his thin waist, preventing his fall. Yugi cracked open his eyes. A handsome, blonde, lavender-eyed teenager stared back at him, smirking crazily with a maniacal glint of laughter in his eyes.

"Well, well, what's the pharaoh's light doing here in the middle of the desert?" The smirk widened as Yugi's eyes widened in what he thought was fear but was in fact realization.

"Malik? What no, you're Marik!" Yugi exclaimed tackling Marik down. "By Ra, I thought we would never find you and Malik in a thousand years!"

"Huh?" Marik said, his deep voice conveying confusion and raising an eyebrow for dramatic effect. "What happened to the 'beware of the psycho maniac' phase?"

"Nah, I wasn't scared of you from the beginning. Anyway how can I be scared of you when you saved me from hurting myself?" Yugi said grinning, getting out of Marik's hold while he was busy muttering about how hikaris and backbones shouldn't be put together in the same sentence. "Anyway, where's Malik?"

"Over here!" said the non-psycho – maybe a bit psycho – teenager.

"Ok...um, couldmeandRyoumaybeumstaywithyouguysbecauseouryamisabusedusandwewenttoEgyptandhavenowheretogo." Yugi said, mouth moving a mile a minute. "So can we?" Yugi continued hopefully.

Marik and Malik blinked for a couple of seconds before Malik replied. "If I think I know what you're saying then sure you guys can come live with us. Actually we'll be glad to have some company!" Malik smiled warmly. "Maybe you could help me break Marik's bad habit of raiding the fridge at night."

Marik glowered. "I'm fine with them living with us but I'm not babysitting them."

Malik shook his head; his other half was such a child. "I can tell you. Ryou told me everything while you were saving Yugi from hitting the ground."

"Okay then shall we go?" Ryou piped up. Yugi and Ryou followed Marik and Malik to their underground home, knowing that this was the best decision they had ever made.

"I do not 'raid' the refrigerator. It's only a midnight snack!"

A disbelieving snort. "Of course, half of the entire week's supply of food consists of your 'midnight snack'."

"I'm a growing being! Being trapped so long in the Shadow Realm takes a toll on body strength! I need that food!"

"It's been months already and during that time you haven't used any shadow magic. Even you should have recovered by now."

"…" A guilty glance away.

"Marik…have you been using shadow magic without my permission?"

"…"

"Marik!"

"I'll get rusty!"

"That's no excuse!"

Yugi brought up a hand to hide the giggles that were threatening to erupt, Marik was so – so not like the Marik he was used to. He was happier it seemed, no longer bloodthirsty. Yugi's intuition was nagging him that his transformation had something to do with the worried blonde Egyptian who was currently scolding Marik.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Back in Japan Atemu stared dumbly at the note in his hand. Joey pried the note away from Atemu as Tristan pried a similar note away from Bakura who happened to drop by looking more than pissed off and perhaps maybe a little shocked. Joey read the note, his face growing pale with every word.

This is Yugi. If you haven't notice by now, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't, (actually it would be uncharacteristic of you if you did). Anyway if you haven't noticed by now I'm gone. I bet you guys will be happy to hear this next part, the reason why I left. All of you drove me away. I was isolated, harass, and step on. If you feel guilty and terrible than good, I got my point across. Now that that's off my chest I can say goodbye to you all. I hope that I never see you guys any time soon in the far future!

Yugi

The paper slipped out of Joey's hands and on the floor, where it was picked up by Anzu who read it with tears in her blue eyes and gave it to a solemn Duke and Tristan, who had given the note Bakura brought to Joey.

If anyone bothers to read this, then here goes. To all the people who abused me, I hate you with a passion I never had. I'm not a person to hate someone but you guys gave me no choice. How can anyone not hate the people who abused, harass, and secluded them? I don't know when I'm coming back or if I'll ever come back. I don't care anymore.

Ryou

Atemu began gripping the paper tightly after Tristan handed it back to him, muttering with self-loathing. "It's my fault. ­It's my entire fault. Why didn't I realize it sooner?" And a bunch of other nonsense that the others for the first time in a long time tuned out. Joey, Tristan, and Tea had the grace to act shocked by the two notes, while Bakura reverted back to his cold, impassive expression.

While all of them had different reactions, they were all thinking the same thing. 'Where in the world are you guys?'

A/N: This chapter totally sucked grammar wise when I first uploaded it and lacked a lot of detail, it's better now, I hope.... If you have any ideas or any improvements then tell me ok! (More the ideas though, need more ideas!­) Oh and I'm fixing the chapter until chapter five, so you may chose to delete the alerts telling you that it's a new chapter...

Fluffy ^_^