Eternally Cursed Soul
by Latemur

Main Characters: Atemu and Yugi (brotherly love/no yaoi intended)
Take place: At the end of the Yu-Gi-Oh! DM series
Rated: Mature
Sypnopsis: After having endured tremendous pain and countless battles, the nameless Pharaoh at last regained his long lost memories thanks to his friends and mostly his 'aibou'. As little Yugi continued on his own life, no one would have expected him to endure even more pain and hurt. The gang separated to follow their own dreams, but who would have thought that their reunion after more than five years is only beginning of yet another adventure and caused the return of a long lost friend...

Note: I shall only use the Japanese kanji "aibou" in this fanfiction, because I don't think there's a fitting translation for this term. It means something along the way of 'partner'.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter I – Prologue

My body moves upwards by every pound. It scratches my back upon the fine-made silk underneath me. Yet, it burns. Moving back and forth, it feels like the scraping upon the sand of the golden desert lacking the mercy of Ra. Out there, numerous poor souls have been tortured, tormented by their thirst till Anubis came by to pick them up.

I envy them.

My body continued to get forced upwards till the top of my head hits a wall. I could feel the familiar tension, as the muscles loosened and tightened at an irregular rhythm. It stopped, it finally stopped. Though, a shiver runs down my spine at the hearing of a delighted scream.

"How do I look?" A young adult with tri-colored hair asked his best friend, spreading his arms in front of a big mirror. "Yug, we've been 'ere for hours!" His impatient friend exclaimed who was getting frustrated, while he waved his arms in the air in a dramatic way. Yugi sighed. He knew he was being too picky. After the tenth suit he has lost count, but he was just so excited to know Tea is returning to Domino City after five years. She finished her dancing course at the city of New York last year and she'll be taking over a dancing studio because of the retirement of Ms. Fumihiko. In about a week Tea will be opening her very first dance school, here at Domino City!

Yugi and Joey are momentarily looking for suits to attend the opening ceremony of her dance school. The duelist, who used to be called the underdog, has become a top pro-duelist. This basically means he was one of the main spokesperson, when it's about dueling. He was obliged to enter all the tournaments hosted by Kaiba Corporation and shot commercials for new cards and duel disks, while he travelled all around the world. As much as Kaiba loathed Joey, he is also a business man and Joey is especially popular among the new generation duelists in North America. Currently, he's been upgraded from underdog to cash cow by all the pleasantries of Kaiba.

"How 'bout this one?" Joey held a milky-colored suit in front of Yugi's nose.

"I've already tried that one, Joey."

"How 'bout this one?"

"No, I've tried that, too."

"And this one?"

"No, I don't want an orange suit!"

"Ok, this one then?"

"Joey!"

It was noon before they decided to return home. "I see ya tomorrow Yug!" Joey yelled, before hitting on the gas pedal again. Yugi waved at the retreating car, before entering the Kame Game Shop. "I'm home!" he announced loudly like he has always used to during high school, even though he knew there was no one to greet him. It has become a strange habit. Grandpa Solomon passed away last year because of a heart attack, which Yugi still thought was odd. Grandpa has never had any heart conditions before. He was a very healthy man. How could that all of a sudden be? While he was still grieving his loss, he was even more bitter about the way the doctors handled the situation at the time.

Yugi shook his head to remove those miserable thoughts out of his mind. He does not want to fall back into the state he has been earlier. He has just recovered from a long depression. Ever since his girlfriend Rebecca Hopkins has been murdered four years ago, he has never been his cheerful self anymore. They had been dating for three months only, before that happened. The culprit left no evidence behind. It's been four years and the police have not found any trace yet. Yugi wanted to know why. Why was she murdered? Her corpse was robbed of all valuables including jewelry and her wallet. The police department assumed it was robbery with murder. But if that's truly the case, why were her arms and legs cut off? What kind of sick maniac is that? The image of Rebecca's parts lying on the open street has been so shocking to the society and especially Yugi that he instantly fell into a deep depression.

At the time, all his friends have already left Domino City. Tea went to New York to do her long desired dance course, Joey to Los Angeles for the promoting of the new cards and Tristan to Tokyo to study law at the National University of Tokyo. That left Yugi on his own in Domino City after their graduation of high school. To him it felt as if he was forced back to square one. He was all alone. Before he could fully recover from the loss of Rebecca, his grandpa unexpectedly deceased…

Yugi sighed again and shook his head. Actually, it all started five years ago on that very day. It's a day that Yugi could never forget, because it changed his whole life. It's the day his other half left them.

[Flashback]

Even his other half, now going by the name Atemu, had watery eyes as he walked into the bright light through the doors of Horus. At last, he shall find the peace that no one more than him deserves to have. During his whole life, and after, he's been battling. He dedicated his life and soul to this world, shouldering this burden on his own. During the battle against Dartz, Yugi finally understood Atemu's true destiny. Why it was that his soul was released in this time era. It's because the world needs him. The world itself called out to him and now he finally served his purpose. He's like the plaything of fate, the sacrifice of fate herself.

But now, he is going to rest in peace. Yugi smiled at this thought and encouraged his other half to go to the place he should belong. He might be gone, but he will not be. "I hate ta break this to ya, pal, but ya ain't goin' anywhere!" Joey said, "coz everythin' ya taught us, stays right here!" He pounded his chest, indicating exactly what Yugi was thinking.

There was a warm-hearted smile at the former Pharaoh's lips, before he raised his thumb. His legs brought him further and further away from them.

Just that moment the ground started trembling and the Millennium Items fell into a deep pit. The doors of Horus were slowly closing, as Yugi could no longer see his other half. He silently bid his farewell, and then quickly turned to follow the others out of the cave.

Before he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could faintly make out a light flying pass him. Though, since rocks and sand were falling down and screams were filling the air, he probably had just imagined that.

[End Flashback]

However, the leave of his other half was harder on him than he expected.

Here, he goes again, thinking back to all the depressing stuff he has been through. Didn't he promise himself to live his life to the fullest, because he knows Atemu, Rebecca and his grandpa would like to see that? Yugi poured himself some coffee and sat on the couch in front of the flat-screen TV, though he didn't bother to turn it on.

I panted heavily as those rattling chains were placed back around my weak wrists. Though, these were not needed, because destiny has me shackled already. She lifted my chin forcing my eyes to meet hers. Those bloodshed glowing eyes were already burnt into my mind, related to an emotion I was not used to. Fear.

I could feel her warm breath on my face, before I turned my head away from her. Disgusted by the lack of distance or maybe it's even shame, made me closing my eyes firmly. I could feel her licking my neck, gently placing kisses on my sore and delicate skin. My eyes began to water slightly, seeing for there is no escape. How long is an eternity? A question I've asked myself countless times.

That's it for now ^0^ Please review if you enjoyed it!