I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did,it would have been much more...twisted (insert evil laugh here). So,I've started this new story... Yeah... I should warn you that English isn't my first language,so... Don't be too harsh? Pretty please? I appreciate constructive criticism,though... Feel free to give ideas,too. I'm gonna stop blabbing now. Here goes...

Chapter 1

"Hey,Yugi! Wait up!"

Yugi turned around as soon as he heard the familiar voice of a friend,running towards him.

"Hey!",he greeted Tea cheerfully when she finally managed to catch up with him. "What's going on Tea?"

"I-uh-",the girl in front of him suddenly blushed,"Are you going home?"

"Yeah,uh,I promised grandpa I'd do some chores after school",he looked at her quizzically,"Why,did you have something in mind?"

"Uhm-",her cheeks were burning red now and she was starting to feel angry with herself.

"Oh,get a grip,Tea!"

"I just thought that after me and...the Pharaoh spent last Friday together,with going to the museum and all...maybe it would be good to...well,do it again these days? I mean,maybe it will help him trigger his memories this time!"

She nearly cringed at her own pathetic try to bend the truth. But she couldn't just tell Yugi the truth. Well,sure,she wanted to help the Pharaoh and all,but this really wan't the only reason she wanted to go out with him again. The truth was,Tea was starting to feel something she had never felt before towards the mysterious dark spirit from Yugi's puzzle. Especially recently,when she was finally getting to know him for who he truly was. Not some millennia-old Egyptian Pharaoh with the destiny to save mankind from darkness. He was kind,and compassionate,and,not to mention,a real like and so unlike Yugi at the same that Yugi didn't possess any of the listed qualities above,no. It was just that Yugi was...well,Yugi. The sweet and innocent Yugi,once so shy to the point of being antisocial. The Pharaoh,on the other hand...He was more confident,darker and had that regal charisma all around him. He was often quiet and kept his thoughts to himself alone,usually letting Yugi do the talking outside the duel arena. But that was expected,provided that he had so many questions and not even one satisfying answer.

"Yeah!Sure,Tea!",Yugi exclaimed with a wide smile on his face,"I also think that's a good all,we have nothing to lose,right?"

"Right",she smiled rather bashfully.

"But would you mind if we do it tomorrow,cause I already promised grandpa that.. "

"Oh,don't worry,Yugi! We don't have to go right now,tomorrow sounds fine!"

"Well,it's a date then!",Yugi let out a harmless laugh to Tea's slight discomfort at the word "date"."See you tomorrow!"

She watched as the spiky-haired boy walked away and soon hid behind the corner. Then she let out a sigh.

"Dummy",she mentally kicked herself,"Why did you have to act so foolishly?What are you-five?I bet he did see right through ..."

The moment Tea could no longer see him,Yugi looked down at the puzzle and smiled impishly,"Guess who has a date tomorrow."

The slim silhouette of Yami suddenly appeared next to him.

"I am well aware,Yugi. I was there. I must say that I am mildly surprised by how Tea took helping me unravel my past to heart. I am greatly thankful to her for that."

Yugi's smile grew even wider and he slightly shook his head with amusement.

"You do know what I meant by date,right? "

The Pharaoh looked at him as if his partner was mocking his intelligence.

"Well,yes,of course. A meeting with a friend who offers her help in order to..."

But he suddenly stopped as Yugi started to laugh.

"May I ask what is it that you find so amusing,Yugi?",Yami narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Ooh,boy. Do you mean to tell me that you've never had a date date in your days as a Pharaoh? "

"A date date?",the Pharaoh asked completely oblivious,"Yugi,I must admit that the meaning of whatever you're implying keeps eluding me."

"Yami",once Yugi managed to pull himself together and stop laughing,he looked at his darker half with sympathy,"Tea offered to help,because she likes you. And I don't mean only as a friend.I mean,like a girl likes a ,in this case,like a girl likes a three thousand year-old Egyptian Pharaoh."

Yami blinked. Then stared at Yugi. Then blinked again. It took a moment to sink in. Then,much to Yugi's surprise...the Pharaoh blushed. He didn't even know that the spirit had the option to blush. He was always so self-assured and not letting anything get to him. But there he was now,blushing like a hot tomato,unable to say anything comprehensible.

"Oh,this is a Kodak moment",Yugi thought to himself,this close to bursting out laughing.

"But I...She never...How did...When did you...So tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow you're going on a date with Tea",Yugi nodded in agreement of the words that never got out of Yami's mouth.

"But...Yugi!",the Pharaoh finally managed to overcome the initial shock,"Ï'm not prepared for this!This isn't a duel!"

"Oh,come on. You said that last time and you did just fine,remember?"

"But last time I didn't knew of the matter!"

"The matter,is just one harmless date,Pharaoh! Come on,you must have liked someone in your past! After all,you were still a teenager back then! "

"This is just the problem,Yugi! I don't remember anything from my past! I have no knowledge of having any affair of the heart",the spirit looked saddened as he glanced down at his millennium puzzle,"I have been lost in this eternal game of shadow and light for so long that even if I did remember anything of the sort...maybe I wouldn't care about it any more."

The cheerfulness had disappeared from Yugi's face,too. He could feel the sorrow that his partner was keeping deep inside of him as his had given his youth,his life for his people. He'd never had the chance to experience anything normal as just going out with his friends and having fun or meeting his first teenage love...Yugi was so used to thinking of him as an ancient Pharaoh that he never saw the young boy who was still living in the very core of his heart.

"How old are you?",Yugi suddenly asked which forced the Pharaoh to come back from the dark corner of his mind he had once again unconsciously gone to.

"What do you mean,Yugi?",he asked slightly surprised by the sudden enquiry,"You know my age. I'm more than three thousa-"

"No,I don't mean that age",Yugi interrupted,"I mean the age that you...died. How old were you then?"

"I cannot be entirely sure. But if I were to guess,I would say...somewhere around eighteen,I suppose."

"Eighteen",Yugi thought bitterly,"That's only two years older than me." He clenched his fists his head dropped on his chest,a single tear falling down on the surface of the millennium item.

"That's...not...fair... Why did destiny had to be that cruel? Couldn't she just have passed the burden of saving the world to somebody else?"

A sad smile appeared on Yami's lips and he touched Yugi under the chin,making him raise his head and look at him.

"If that had happened,partner",he whispered tenderly but confidently,"We would have never met. You would have never given me a part of that light that shines bright within your soul. And I would have never learned what a true friend is."

Yugi glared back at him,courage and hope sparkling in his teary eyes.

At that moment the millennium puzzle started emitting light so bright that it illuminated the world around them with its power. The power...Yami could feel it,pulling him back inside with its invisible chains around his very heart.

"Pharaoh,what's going on?",Yugi screamed with panic,not able to control his "treasure",as he once used to call it.

"I...DON'T...YUGI!"

The last thing either of them remembered was that mystical,blinding light that sent them into complete darkness.